StarrNarrative

  The Wave of Propaganda from the Western Media Reporting on the Russia-Ukraine War By David Starr Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, the western media has been full-throated in condemning Russia as evil incarnate. It has boiled the whole affair down to a black and white/good guy vs. bad guy scenario. It is, however, a pattern of behavior that is nothing new when the United States media especially has used negative propaganda against perceived enemies. It is not to say that Russia is totally innocent when it comes to the invasion. It is probably accurate to say that some Russians troops have committed rights abuses on the battlefield. But the western media has consistently used exaggerations and outright lies when reporting on the crisis. A lot of this has to do with the Ukrainian government, putting out atrocity stories that the western media has uncritically gobbled up. Journalist Caitlin Johnstone wrote (05/23/2022) in the Monthly Review th...

  Dr. Caitlin Bernard Did the Right Thing in Providing Abortion Care to a 10-year-old Girl By David Starr Members of the right have been more or less agreeable on women and girls giving birth regardless of the circumstances; including a ten-year-old kid having a kid. In a Politico report , a National Right to Life official was quoted as saying that the girl should have had the baby: “She would have had the baby, and as many women who have had babies as a result of rape, we would hope that she would understand the reason and ultimately the benefit of having a child.” The problem with this reasoning is that we are not talking about women here. We are talking about a ten-year-old girl. As it turned out, though, the girl had to go from Ohio to Indiana because of Ohio’s abortion ban to receive medical care from an obstetrician. Dr. Caitlin Bernard performed an abortion on the girl using an abortion pill. The girl was six weeks pregnant. But Bernard was negatively criticized for ...

The Threats Posed by Different Strains of Right-wing/Conservative Movements in the United States   By David Starr There are hardcore right-wingers and conservatives in the United States that pose a further danger to the nation as time passes. The misperceptions and disinformation embraced and used by the them enhance that danger. In a study done by R. Kelly Garrett and Robert M. Bond and published as a research article in Science Advances (06/02/2021), Garrett and Bond found out in U.S. public opinion polls that conservatives are more prone to accepting and making claims grounded in misperceptions and falsehoods than liberals. But the evidence of such a conclusion is limited to a “relatively narrow set of topics.” Garrett and Bond wrote that “conservatives’ performance might look better if we assessed beliefs about topics reflecting a wider range of issues broadly discussed by the public.” Nevertheless, the misperceptions and falsehoods embraced by the right are enough to...

  Too Few Have Too Much, While Too Many Have Too Little.   By David Starr All in all, the title sums up the current world order and its consequences. While human history has had numerous stages of inequality, there has been some progression as well. The revolution that birthed the United States was a triumph for shattering the dominance of feudalism and the monopolized power of the aristocracy. As U.S. society developed, more of the common people got access to intellectual pursuits, a decent standard of living and a sense of security. But this cannot be called a paradise. Many, based on race, class and gender, were and are still held down by a world order that is dominated by the rule of capital. And the U.S., as an empire, has been the world leader in protecting and expanding it. As a result, there are still a small number of “developed” countries and a large number of “developing” countries. The origins of this unequal relationship are essentially the results of Eu...

  Overturning Roe v. Wade: The Current U.S. Supreme Court’s Irresponsible Decision By David Starr Because of the right-wing judges’ decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ,   the current Supreme Court is illegitimate. These judges are trying to turn the clock back to a time when women were kept in their place in regards to reproductive choice; and with men in general, via the government, to decide for women what choices they have. Whether legal or not, women are going to, at the least, seek out information about abortion. Before Roe v. Wade , women took desperate chances to get an abortion. Back alleys and coat hangers come to mind. There was a lack of hygienic measures to properly perform the procedure. As a result, women died. With laws being enacted by Republican-controlled state legislatures, the attempt is to make abortion a crime and to punish women, abortion providers, etc. But do the same Republicans (as well as “pro-lifers” in general) support U.S. imperial wars wit...

Nancy Pelosi’s Delusional Remarks About the Republican Party By David Starr Neoliberals in the Democratic Party have usually put up some resistance to the Republican Party’s agenda. Beyond that, they usually cave to that agenda in the name of “bi-partisanship.” Neoliberals, or “Third Way” Democrats, have expressed support for social issues such as LGBT rights, women’s rights, rights for people of color, etc. But they don’t go far enough in their support. At a certain point, they will act as conservative as the conservatives, going along with Republican objectives like the scenario of cutting Social Security. Would they go along with Republicans wanting to privatize or even eliminate this beneficial social program for seniors? Hopefully, it won’t come to that. Loyal opposition has been tried over and over again but usually leads into a dead end. As a result, the Republicans can dominate the political narrative. An example of this loyal opposition came in the form of bizarre comm...

  Socialism With a Human Face   By David Starr Introduction: The title of this article is borrowed from the slogan characterizing the reforms that were implemented by Alexander Dubcek, chairman of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia, starting in April 1968. The reforms were called an "Action Program," where there would be more of a liberalization of society economically and politically. Dubcek wanted to improve socialism to make it more dynamic. After about four months, the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia (a member of the Pact, ironically), stopping the process. About two decades later, in the Gorbachev era, Czechoslovakia was "liberated," splitting into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.   Now, both countries are afflicted by right-wingers who are homophobic and anti-semitic (not to mention anti-communist). The West refers to them as "democracies." Perhaps an important feature of socialism with a human face was/is the de-Stalinization of soci...

  The Pentagon and Arms Industry Gone Mad, for Profits By David Starr It must be said that the United States, as an empire, has its priorities ass-backwards. The Pentagon has been getting a load of federal help from the U.S. Congress in the form of a $7.5 trillion budget over the next 10 years. And the arms industry is monetarily making out as well. Due to the Russia-Ukraine war, defense contractors and their investors have been expecting an increase in their profits with the sending of more weapons to the Ukraine side. And it’s been a bi-partisan effort to spur all of this along. Democrats and Republicans are usually on the same page when it comes to funding wars. While war is prioritized, social needs in the U.S. is secondary, if even that. The $1.5 trillion dollar package, covering 10 years, that would help with social programs has been pushed aside, in particular by Republicans who continue to mainly obstruct this investment in healthcare, education, climate change and ...

  The Political Incompetence of Herschel Walker By David Starr Over the years the Republican Party has had quite a number of members who have been very unqualified to hold office. And the tradition continues. Herschel Walker won the Georgia Republican primary by a landslide, which says a lot about his supporters considering that Walker is one of the most unqualified individuals to run for office. Over the past few months, Walker has made incredibly inaccurate assertions, has lied, and has a violent past. He’s also made the kinds of remarks that an incompetent would make. The right, particularly Trump supporters, have consistently asserted that the presidential election Joe Biden won was, and is, fraudulent. Donald Trump has been very loud in condemning the “stealing” of the election. Walker thinks the same way. But in an interview, Walker claimed that he never heard Trump say the election was stolen, expressing an obvious lie. According to a CNN Fact Check report (08/28/2021...