The discussion Katie Halper and Aaron Maté had on their most recent Useful Idiot’s programme along with their interviews with two Palestinian ladies was worthwhile in my opinion.
The following is the description from their Substack.
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“What is your overall view of 2024 and what should be done?”
This is the question we asked two Palestinian-Americans: Lexi Alexander, a filmmaker, and Rania Batrice, a political strategist who served as deputy campaign manager for Bernie Sanders in 2016. Both guests took the question not to mean who will be better between Trump and Harris, but instead which evil will be worse.
“Number one,” responded Lexi, “is that I don't think anybody in any situation ever should vote for genocide. Not just for Palestinians, but for themselves. And so I find myself constantly shocked to watch Americans eagerly vote for what I consider to be Adolf Hitler in 1942.”
Voting for either candidate, she argues, is a vote for genocide. “If Trump will be worse, then we'll endure it together. And we'll fight that fucker too. But you still can't reward genocide.”
Rania, on the other hand, warns of the dangers of a second Trump presidency. “I don't think we get to continue this fight and continue fighting for humanity, for Palestinian people, and many, many other communities under a Donald Trump presidency. But I do believe that with a President Kamala Harris, we have a fight to fight.”
The two each give a long list of reasons why both candidates are terrible, but give different takes on whether a genocide could get worse, whether or not Jill Stein is a worthwhile candidate, and how the two candidates compare on domestic issues. Plus, Katie reveals who she’s voting for in 2024.
And don’t miss this week’s Thursday Throwdown: Victoria Nuland Preemptively Warns Rachel Maddow and her audience that Putin Stole the Election
The following was Katie and Aaron’s Thursday throwdown post and video with Nuland and Rachel Maddow returning to a tired old script.
“It’s the third election in a row,” says Rachel Maddow with a told-you-so grin, “in which Russia has tried to interfere to try to get Trump into the White House.”
“He’s at it again,” responds former State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland, the same smile on her face (it seems they’re struggling to hide their joy this time around). Nuland, who has worked for both George Bush and Dick Cheney, has become a go-to warrior for Dems as a leading pusher of stolen election claims as well as a driving force behind the Ukraine-Russian War. “This time [Putin’s] not even trying to hide his hand, and he has far more sophisticated tools.”
Russia’s so-called tools in the past amounted to, as evidenced in the Mueller report and an FBI investigation, a few thousand dollars spent on social media posts, such as the ‘buff Bernie’ meme. This time, Nuland claims, Putin has a sophisticated new AI, plus $10 million spent on influencers to steal the election for Donald Trump. This accusation, of course, needs no further investigation from Maddow.
Only another smile.
On the other side of our terrible election, Donald Trump is making new threats against Iran that sound equally crazy. After his pet Sean Hannity asked why Kamala Harris is encouraging Iran to assassinate him (what?), Trump went on an unhinged rant about how the US should treat Iran.
And when it comes to our terrible treatment of other countries, it’s harder to find a more one-sided relationship than the US-Ukraine alliance. And Ukrainian President Zelensky seems to be finally realizing that as well, calling out the US for pushing him into a needless war which has led to the deaths of countless Ukrainians.
It’s a terrible week on corporate media as always. Watch with Katie and Aaron to hopefully laugh instead of cry at all of it. Thanks for supporting Useful Idiots, subscribe to watch the full episode here:
