F35A approved to carry two nukes, making it a first-strike weapon:

US about to Make Nuclear War Much More Likely

The US is about to move towards a far more likely first use of nuclear weapons, with word that the Air Force has “completed flight testing” of the cost-and-performance-plagued F35A Lightning fighter, all units of which are being “upgraded” to carry thermonuclear weapons. What this means, as explained in a new article in Popular Mechanics, …

The third in a ThisCantBeHappening! discussion of the 2020 Sanders campaign:

Sanders is No Socialist; He’s not even a Democratic Socialist

  By Ron Ridenour   Entering into the debate on the pages of TCHB, namely pieces by Laurie Dobson (April 9) and Dave Lindorff, let me start by defining what social democracy is and is not. Social democracy is not socialism. It is various reforms for improving workers lives so that they will not overthrow …

John Prine and Bernie Sanders:

Honoring Two Men Just Brought Down by the Coronavirus Pandemic

  Two hugely important people were taken down by COVID-19 this past week. Both have left a legacy, the importance of which cannot be ignored. John Prine The first struck down last week is one of the greatest modern songwriters of my lifetime, John Prine. One of my favorite musicians, Prine was a humble, funny …

Huge layoffs = major recession; Raging infections and deaths = major epidemic:

Neither Pandemic Nor Economic Collapse is Going to Be a Short-Lived Crisis

  On Thursday, April 2, the bottom fell out of the US economy, as the US Department of Labor reported that an unprecedented 6.6 million more workers in the US had been laid off and had filed claims for unemployment compensation payments with their state Unemployment Offices last week. That stunning news followed the already …

An urgent message for Bernie Sanders:

Bernie! You Need to Call for Immediate Expansion of Medicare to All Americans to Combat the Coronavirus Pandemic

  This is your moment! Nature, globalization, Trump perfidy and idiocy, Democratic gutlessness and the sheer insanity of the US health “system” have come together to present you with the perfect answer to the question: How to defeat the entrenched neoliberal Establishment controlling the Democratic Party and their figurehead candidate of choice Joe Biden, and win the …

Snakes and would-be leaders:

Warren’s Identity-Politics Race for the Nomination Dies as She Drags Sanders’ Campaign Down with Her

  I will bet, Elizabeth Warren, that it has been a long time since you had insecurity about the basic needs in life. You are supremely set up for life. I know your type; I used to float in your circles. Wearing a fancy Patagonia jacket to your press conference to talk to all the …

Hold tight!:

Bernie’s Leap Ahead to Tuesday’s ‘March Madness’

      Today is Saturday, February 29, South Carolina’s primary day. It’s a leap year and three more days to “Super Tuesday.”  That’s got me  thinking about ‘superlative’ thoughts and how they affect us.  This is an opportune moment to consider what makes things “supercharged.” What is it that makes things power through, and …

Notes from New Hampshire to Texas:

Sanders Ramps Up His Message, while the Media’s Message Wranglers Ride Herd

  In my travels through New Hampshire before the February 11th NH Primary, I witnessed no negative energy of any kind being displayed during 12 Sanders campaign event stops. This included: at canvassing/GOTV organizing offices in Salem, Hudson, Portsmouth and  Manchester, at rallies in Keene, UNH Durham, and SNHU Manchester, at a breakfast rally in …

What does a social democratic political program really mean?

Truly Remaking Social Security is the Key to Having a Livable Society in the US

Social Security is back in the news, as both Donald Trump and Michael Bloomberg, two emblematic one-percenter oligarchs, raise the issue of its future as part of their campaign strategy. Trump (a faux wannabe billionaire) has put Americans on notice that while he may have promised during his 2016 campaign “not to touch” the New …

Executions of enemies on the National Mall?

The Red-Baiting of Bernie Sanders Has Begun and is Already Laughable

  By Dave Lindorff With Bernie Sanders now having won New Hampshire (and probably Iowa, where he won the popular vote) and confirmed his position as the frontrunner for president in the Democratic Party primaries (the New York Times’ poll guru Nate Silver is giving him a better than 40% chance of gaining enough delegates …