StarrNarrative

  OP-ED: Republicans Can Only Win by Cheating   By David Starr   Ever since the results of the 2024 U.S. elections came out, I’ve had this nagging feeling that it was too easy a win for the Republicans. Especially when considering how the campaign went with Trump going up against Kamala Harris. That latter seemed to be leading in several states and had momentum. That is contradictory to the election results.    So, I remain suspicious about the GOP’s “landslide” victories. And keep in mind that Republicans over the years have practiced voter suppression. MSNBC host Joy Reid  pointed this out .   Oddly, Trump and the Republicans have not commented on the election results as to whether any cheating was going on by the Democrats. Before that, they hysterically complained that there would be election fraud. And they still claim the 2020 presidential election was stolen.   Trump was ranting about election fraud before the results. According to Sarah Wire,  writing in   USA Today , “Donald T

  The 2024 Presidential Election: Fascists Regain Power By David Starr   Eventually, people will recover from the shock at seeing the Republicans win the presidential election, in a landslide. Something is terribly wrong with the United States, and the two ruling parties have not helped, being hellbent on holding on to power.    Both parties may differ in some respects in regards to tactics, but ideologically, they have the same goal: maintaining and expanding the rule of capital, and usually at the expense of workers and the poor.    Having Donald Trump in as president again (more like tyrant) and Congress now controlled by the Republicans, there’s a chance that fascism will move further ahead in imposing the Republicans’ right-wing agenda. Project 2025 makes up that agenda. On its website, the culprits  who have forged  Project 2025 make it sound like its benefitting the working class, stopping corruption, and promoting democracy. It is made for imposing conservative “values” on the

  The U.S. Embargo Against Cuba Violates International Law and Must Be Lifted By David Starr   The recent blackouts on the island nation of Cuba are a  reminder of the consequences  of the 60-year-old U.S. embargo, or as Cubans call it, The Blockade. Cubans, however, are a resilient people and have effectively coped with it, despite those consequences.    It can’t be denied that the embargo has done its damage over the years. Economically, Cuba has had to cope with a major loss of revenue. In an annual report published by the Cuban government,  it is estimated that Cuba has lost over the equivalent of five billion dollars between March 2023 and February 2024. This loss was 189.9 million dollars higher than the previous 12 months. At the close of 2023, Cuba’s gross domestic product (GDP) decreased to 1.9%.   The USA has  allowed restricted commercial activities  with Cuba “through exemptions and licenses,” quoting from  On Cuba News , “under certain conditions – such as payment in cash

  Israel’s Barbaric Crusade to Expand By David Starr   There is a major problem in the Middle East that still hasn’t been resolved: Israel giving up the occupation and settlements of Palestinian land.    If Israel were to do this, it would improve the situation. Instead, Israel is attempting to do the opposite for the sake of establishing a “Greater Israel.” This would encroach on the territory of neighboring countries. Besides Gaza and the West Bank, this crusade, based on the myth of religious supremacy, would affect Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen which are all Arab countries, where their sovereignty would be violated, and Israel would have committed yet another violation of international law.   To top it off, Iran and Israel have been conducting strikes against each other. Israel claims that it’s been the “victim” of military actions by Arab countries because Israel has been the recipient of months of attacks. The recent attacks by Israel on military targets in Iran is supposed to b

  Trump vs Harris: A Choice Between a Fascist and a Neoliberal?   By David Starr   The United States government has had an ideology problem. Going way back, it’s been dominated by the rule of capital. While there have been  accomplishments in themselves , there is the current world order that has actually benefitted the few who have too much and not the many who have too little.    The governing parties, Democrats and Republicans,  have been both implementing, and imposing, the rule of capital regardless of the bottom-line consequences . Both Democrats and Republicans are ideologically the same, in that they are both capitalist parties. They are like two tendencies of one party.    But both sometimes have had tense relations,  disagreeing on tactics  but not strategy. Nowadays, the Republicans, far from being the party of Lincoln, are dominated by MAGA politicians. The Democrats, at one time being a New Deal party and strongly supporting workers’ rights, now are mainly corporate/Third

  Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Vows to Continue AMLO’s Legacy   By David Starr   Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, passed the political baton to Claudia Sheinbaum, who is Mexico’s first woman president. AMLO has been president for six years and introduced the project of the Fourth Transformation, where there was more of a focus on progressive policies complimenting labor rights, and indigenous rights. Sheinbaum will continue the Fourth Transformation in order to further improve the conditions within Mexico for the many. AMLO declared he was retiring from politics.   According to  People’s Dispatch , Sheinbaum  praised AMLO in her acceptance speech  for the presidency, saying, “History and the people have judged AMLO, one of the greats, the most important leader and social fighter in modern history, the most beloved president, the best president of Mexico, who started the peaceful revolution of public life.”    AMLO has indeed been a force to be reckoned with. His  lega

  The Attempt to Promote a Left-Right Alliance Despite Irreconcilable Differences By David Starr   A Left-Right alliance sounds impossible given the foundational positions of each. But there have been attempts to establish an alliance between the two sides. The Rage Against the War Machine (RAWM) rallies have been a prominent example.   On RAWM’s web site,  there are 10 demands  which do sound impressive:   1)      Not one penny for wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 2)      Negotiate peace. 3)      Stop the war inflation. 4)      Disband NATO. 5)      Global nuclear de-escalation. 6)      Slash the Pentagon budget. 7)      Abolish the CIA and military-industrial deep state. 8)      Abolish war and empire. 9)      Restore civil liberties. 10)   Pardon Julian Assange.   But the RAWM rallies have been significantly influenced by the Libertarian Party. On its web site, the Libertarian Party  claims that it is  “your representative in American politics.” Its’ slogan is the its “The Party of Princip