As you indicate, ‘the banality of evil’ is by now an immortal phrase. But what stops me in my tracks, unable to process for a moment what I am reading, is the pettiness of the evil of Israel’s tactics. The pointed cruelty, the vindictiveness, the obscene dancing of the Israeli military, wearing women’s underwear, stuffing their mouths with cream cakes to entertain starving children. Israel has created a nightmare, the one where you’re trapped, paralyzed with dread…I lived through the London blitz as a child, had nightmares for decades afterwards, but nothing my terrifying dreams match the horror of Gaza today.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen was at the Rafah crossing and he said he was shown a warehouse full of material seized off the aid trucks by the Israelis. Maternity kits. Solar-powered water distillers. The Israelis gave no reason why these things were seized, other than a general claim that they hold back anything that could have "dual use."
Too many people are not LISTENING to Trump "bloodbath" context. Exactly like you pointed out, Like I had when he said it in Ohio, he's stating the tariffs of car industry will be nothing in comparison to the "bloodbath in the country". Trump is signalling, again. What happened last time? Jan 6.
I believe that Trump is insane and the American media- a journalistic disgrace that dumbs down an already ignorant public drawn to material excess and consumed by every day struggles. Gaza has given us clarity as to the falsities of so many American myths…and I have seen all the videos you shared. The insanity of Trump’s MAGA is no less scary than the Biden-Harris embrace of the genocidal state of Israel-a monumental strategic mistake and a dishonorable and repugnant lack of morality of our democratic leaders who preached to us of the dangers of Trump’s totalitarian and fascistic inclinations but embrace the genocidal fascists in the Likud government. Oh! The hypocrisy and where to turn? That! Is what I would like to know. The monstrosity of Israel’s armageddon and butchery in the Palestinian territories is our present holocaust. There is no end to Israel’s monstrous depravity; and, there is no moral center anywhere in the US or Western Europe!
Reagan was senile in his second term, they just didn’t tell the American people. It was all a sham. I was working in DC at the time. After 80, age is not just a number. If Biden could step down now because his foreign policy is a disaster and we still cannot grasp the consequences of his misguided old Zionist world view. In fact, the dearth of leadership is astounding!
Biden has a stellar record in domestic issues, and he's widely respected around the world. But his old school blind devotion to Israel is wrongheaded and out of step. He's taken on the epithet "Genocide Joe"
And why is Biden still trying to send billions of $ worth of weapons to Israel knowing they're being used on innocent people? Hasn't Hamas been killed off yet, and how can Hamas have any weapons left at this point?
It is widely known that Reagan was suffering from Alzheimer's in his second term, and his presidency was in name only as his staff did the governing for him.
Thank you for the two video clips. I'm looking forward to your official launch. American mainstream media has shitcanned international news coverage. This is contributing to the public's ignorance.
The scarcity of ethical,moral leaders is suffocating . It feels claustrophobic ,whichever choice we make seems to have heavy consequences . Trumps rhetoric weighs down the community and his supporters show us yet another step down level of depravity that is acceptable to the public .
I have to admit that the think pieces on the media’s ineptitude to do their f***ing job are part of the issue cuz who is the audience if everyone seems to see a problem yet the problem keeps continuing?? Maybe a dumb question I don’t know 🤷🏽♀️
I have always loved the Intercept, DemocracyNow, and The Guardian for how their work challenges me, so I’m glad to put this one in that group.
Also, I wrote a research paper on Naomi Klein’s latest book and what’s wild is that she has literally discussed at length the issue of what’s taking place in Gaza and what she called the “doppelgänger politics” of Israel and Palestine. She has about three specific chapters that go into great depth about ways to approach the topic and how to think through certain things, but in almost every interview I could find of her no one ever asked her about it. It’s probably one of the most in depth non-academic books that discusses it drawing from history and how trauma interplays into why people act the way they do in the present it’s very nuanced in the way that the stories we tell ourselves through history have tangible ramifications when we don’t challenge why something is the way it is & leading through empathy. Highly recommend it, I believe they are chapters 12-14 or 15 (though the entire book is excellent).
Thank goodness you are here and writing, Mehdi!!! The “legacy”/ corporate media has devolved into constant repetition of the same sound bites. Even MSNBC with few exceptions does not hold trump and his surrogates to account. I am infuriated that Garland would not investigate trump and Jan. 6. No one holds this man or his surrogates accountable nor do they push back WITH FACTS any of the garbage they spout during an interview. Why, some ask, can they get away with this ….. because they can!!!
You are MUCH NEEDED and I look forward to your full launch in April!
Unless I am mistaken, Garland did launch an investigation… nearly three years after the fact. He then announced a special counsel to investigate Biden just weeks later when a few confidential documents were found in his garage. Why Mitch McConnell blocked Garland’s Supreme Court nomination for a year is beyond me. He would have fit right in with the majority cabal.
I’m extremely angry at Garland for his foot-dragging on Trump, about jumping quickly to appoint a SC to investigate Biden, & about him releasing Hur’s report without redactions, or at least a cover page commentary. I disagree about his scotus appointment, I think his temperament would have been well suited to the slow deliberative process there & his wanting to appear nonpartisan. He was a terrible choice for AG in this age of Trump; we needed an aggressive bulldog.
Medhi had a piece in The Guardian today, April 1st, urging Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire now to avoid a rehash of RBG’s replacement following her death. I agree with the assessment of the situation but unfortunately don’t trust Biden to do the right thing with her replacement. He has left many of Trump’s worst appointments in place. Take Postmaster Louis Dejoy. Joe also has this stupid position on bipartisanship. Decades in elected office with little insight to show for it.
I certainly agree with you on the errors of leaving terrible Trump appointees in place, like DeJoy. However, I’m under the impression that the only the Postal Board of Governors has the ability to fire him. Biden did replace the Rs on that Board or Commission & they need to fire DeJoy. Of course, Biden could apply some pressure.
Not sure of the current makeup of the board, but when Biden was elected he filled two vacancies. One a Republican hack and the other one not. If he had filled both seats with reform minded individuals who actually cared to address the last three decades of attacks against the service, Dejoy would be gone. But not bipartisan Joe. Of course Obama left something like 4 seats vacant throughout both his terms. I can only assume it was in retaliation for the Postal unions endorsement of Hillary. I wish there were one party consistently supporting the right things but both are compromised. One now is a cult.
Writing that Trump is "warning" of a bloodbath if he loses again is far better than the MSM's "predicting" (as if he's a mere poll watcher,) but this mob boss and aspiring despot is actually "threatening" the rest of us and at the same time "commanding" his most highly-armed mobs. Trump is such an alien to normal, civilized humans that it is hard to put his demonic words together in context. But we must.
Thanks again Mehdi for another spot on about all that’s been going on since your last writing. It’s frightening to hear Trump’s tirades and threatening of violence if he doesn’t win and not to be called out by other Republicans for his rhetoric on the campaign trail. It’s not surprising that no one in his party stands up and calls him out publicly. I was happy to see that finally a high ranking Democrat (the Senate Majority Leader) took a much needed stand against the horrific tragedy that’s ongoing in Gaza. I’m eagerly looking forward to your full launch of Zeteo in April.
With all due respect, it's a stretch (and that's putting it kindly) to suggest that Chuck Schumer "took a much needed stand." He simply said that Netanyahu must go, because his coalition, like Donald Trump, says the quiet part out loud. Benny Gantz (or whoever else takes power if and when Bibi is ousted) isn't going to change a thing as far as the occupation, the Apartheid etc. are concerned. While I concede that this is a counterfactual, I think Israel would've bombarded Gaza just as relentlessly, with the same bloodlust, had Oct 7th occurred under someone else's watch. Why - you may ask? Because there's always been just as much consensus across the political spectrum in the Knesset regarding the absolute necessity to indefinitely maintain a crippling military occupation on the West Bank and a brutal siege of Gaza as the unyielding, unconditional bi-partisan support that Israel gets in America.
Those of use who agree with Mehdi must continue to speak out in our circles of influence. One way to do that is to share his posts and media appearances. Americans, in general, are woefully uneducated about politics, Israel-Palestine, Russia, etc.
Medhi Hasan is one of the very best in the business - his appearance on the Piers Morgan program is proof. Razor-sharp, unflinching and informed truth-telling. Right on, Mr. Hasan. I will continue to support your work and respect you (and your work) immensely.
Part of the problem is that last time, before he was elected, they didn't take him seriously and gave him too much uncritical coverage, which helped him a lot. Now they aren't covering him enough, which is also helping him. I think the missing piece is the criticism and context that should be provided to explain to people who might not get it exactly how crazy and dangerous he is.
Entitled rich white guy and one that is crazy. They are accommodating him for those reasons and fear of not being able to maintain their coveted power over everybody else. Everyone and anyone else would be sitting in jail or better yet prison.
Right wing knuckleheads like Piers Morgan disregard the decades of torment visited on Palestinian women, children and noncombatants, justifying it by the familiar refrain, "Israel has the right to defend itself." However, they fail to explain how killing these people has somehow not wiped out Hamas by now, nor have they explained just why Hamas supposedly hasn't run out of weapons even though Iran has no means to provide any. Logic tells us that this is not a war, but a genocide.
Don't want anyone to think that I'm making excuses for the media, but look at what they're dealing with, The American People:
1) His idiot supporters wouldn't listen if you reported his craziness 24 hours a day at the top of your lungs outside their bedroom window
2) Sane people who are paying attention turned against him 8 years ago,and don't really need more reports on how crazy he is
3) Who's left? The Undecided, who are completely checked out and impervious to any information about anything. Sometime in the first week of November they might briefly turn their attention to the Presidential race, and then they'll vote based on what they paid for gas that morning.
4) Those who say they are undecided/hate everything Trump stands for, but are still saying they will hold their nose and vote Republican in November anyway. Feels like more crazy still wouldn’t move the needle for them though.
There should be a special ad campaign for these people, don't try to sell them on Biden, just gently suggest they might find something more enjoyable to do on election day that's not voting for Trump: "My wife and I saw a beautiful sunset!", "I took my grandkids to the zoo!"
As you indicate, ‘the banality of evil’ is by now an immortal phrase. But what stops me in my tracks, unable to process for a moment what I am reading, is the pettiness of the evil of Israel’s tactics. The pointed cruelty, the vindictiveness, the obscene dancing of the Israeli military, wearing women’s underwear, stuffing their mouths with cream cakes to entertain starving children. Israel has created a nightmare, the one where you’re trapped, paralyzed with dread…I lived through the London blitz as a child, had nightmares for decades afterwards, but nothing my terrifying dreams match the horror of Gaza today.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen was at the Rafah crossing and he said he was shown a warehouse full of material seized off the aid trucks by the Israelis. Maternity kits. Solar-powered water distillers. The Israelis gave no reason why these things were seized, other than a general claim that they hold back anything that could have "dual use."
Too many people are not LISTENING to Trump "bloodbath" context. Exactly like you pointed out, Like I had when he said it in Ohio, he's stating the tariffs of car industry will be nothing in comparison to the "bloodbath in the country". Trump is signalling, again. What happened last time? Jan 6.
Trump began signalling in 2016. He's all about scraping the scum from the bottom of the pigsty in order to get voters.
Well,
I believe that Trump is insane and the American media- a journalistic disgrace that dumbs down an already ignorant public drawn to material excess and consumed by every day struggles. Gaza has given us clarity as to the falsities of so many American myths…and I have seen all the videos you shared. The insanity of Trump’s MAGA is no less scary than the Biden-Harris embrace of the genocidal state of Israel-a monumental strategic mistake and a dishonorable and repugnant lack of morality of our democratic leaders who preached to us of the dangers of Trump’s totalitarian and fascistic inclinations but embrace the genocidal fascists in the Likud government. Oh! The hypocrisy and where to turn? That! Is what I would like to know. The monstrosity of Israel’s armageddon and butchery in the Palestinian territories is our present holocaust. There is no end to Israel’s monstrous depravity; and, there is no moral center anywhere in the US or Western Europe!
But...but...Biden's age....
Ron Reagan was more aged than Joe Biden and he was President for two terms.So
in this century age is often just a number!
Reagan was senile in his second term, they just didn’t tell the American people. It was all a sham. I was working in DC at the time. After 80, age is not just a number. If Biden could step down now because his foreign policy is a disaster and we still cannot grasp the consequences of his misguided old Zionist world view. In fact, the dearth of leadership is astounding!
Biden has a stellar record in domestic issues, and he's widely respected around the world. But his old school blind devotion to Israel is wrongheaded and out of step. He's taken on the epithet "Genocide Joe"
Ditto! He has a set mindset and a blind spot! So disappointed in his viewpoint. Netanyahu wants to being him down…
And why is Biden still trying to send billions of $ worth of weapons to Israel knowing they're being used on innocent people? Hasn't Hamas been killed off yet, and how can Hamas have any weapons left at this point?
It is widely known that Reagan was suffering from Alzheimer's in his second term, and his presidency was in name only as his staff did the governing for him.
Thank you for the two video clips. I'm looking forward to your official launch. American mainstream media has shitcanned international news coverage. This is contributing to the public's ignorance.
?
I agree with everything you say. And I'll be voting for Biden in November.
Exactly - well said
The scarcity of ethical,moral leaders is suffocating . It feels claustrophobic ,whichever choice we make seems to have heavy consequences . Trumps rhetoric weighs down the community and his supporters show us yet another step down level of depravity that is acceptable to the public .
Agreed
I have to admit that the think pieces on the media’s ineptitude to do their f***ing job are part of the issue cuz who is the audience if everyone seems to see a problem yet the problem keeps continuing?? Maybe a dumb question I don’t know 🤷🏽♀️
I have always loved the Intercept, DemocracyNow, and The Guardian for how their work challenges me, so I’m glad to put this one in that group.
Also, I wrote a research paper on Naomi Klein’s latest book and what’s wild is that she has literally discussed at length the issue of what’s taking place in Gaza and what she called the “doppelgänger politics” of Israel and Palestine. She has about three specific chapters that go into great depth about ways to approach the topic and how to think through certain things, but in almost every interview I could find of her no one ever asked her about it. It’s probably one of the most in depth non-academic books that discusses it drawing from history and how trauma interplays into why people act the way they do in the present it’s very nuanced in the way that the stories we tell ourselves through history have tangible ramifications when we don’t challenge why something is the way it is & leading through empathy. Highly recommend it, I believe they are chapters 12-14 or 15 (though the entire book is excellent).
Thank goodness you are here and writing, Mehdi!!! The “legacy”/ corporate media has devolved into constant repetition of the same sound bites. Even MSNBC with few exceptions does not hold trump and his surrogates to account. I am infuriated that Garland would not investigate trump and Jan. 6. No one holds this man or his surrogates accountable nor do they push back WITH FACTS any of the garbage they spout during an interview. Why, some ask, can they get away with this ….. because they can!!!
You are MUCH NEEDED and I look forward to your full launch in April!
Thanks Sandy!
Unless I am mistaken, Garland did launch an investigation… nearly three years after the fact. He then announced a special counsel to investigate Biden just weeks later when a few confidential documents were found in his garage. Why Mitch McConnell blocked Garland’s Supreme Court nomination for a year is beyond me. He would have fit right in with the majority cabal.
You are correct, Garland waited almost 3 to do anything for fear of not wanting to look partisan. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
I’m extremely angry at Garland for his foot-dragging on Trump, about jumping quickly to appoint a SC to investigate Biden, & about him releasing Hur’s report without redactions, or at least a cover page commentary. I disagree about his scotus appointment, I think his temperament would have been well suited to the slow deliberative process there & his wanting to appear nonpartisan. He was a terrible choice for AG in this age of Trump; we needed an aggressive bulldog.
Medhi had a piece in The Guardian today, April 1st, urging Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire now to avoid a rehash of RBG’s replacement following her death. I agree with the assessment of the situation but unfortunately don’t trust Biden to do the right thing with her replacement. He has left many of Trump’s worst appointments in place. Take Postmaster Louis Dejoy. Joe also has this stupid position on bipartisanship. Decades in elected office with little insight to show for it.
I certainly agree with you on the errors of leaving terrible Trump appointees in place, like DeJoy. However, I’m under the impression that the only the Postal Board of Governors has the ability to fire him. Biden did replace the Rs on that Board or Commission & they need to fire DeJoy. Of course, Biden could apply some pressure.
Not sure of the current makeup of the board, but when Biden was elected he filled two vacancies. One a Republican hack and the other one not. If he had filled both seats with reform minded individuals who actually cared to address the last three decades of attacks against the service, Dejoy would be gone. But not bipartisan Joe. Of course Obama left something like 4 seats vacant throughout both his terms. I can only assume it was in retaliation for the Postal unions endorsement of Hillary. I wish there were one party consistently supporting the right things but both are compromised. One now is a cult.
Writing that Trump is "warning" of a bloodbath if he loses again is far better than the MSM's "predicting" (as if he's a mere poll watcher,) but this mob boss and aspiring despot is actually "threatening" the rest of us and at the same time "commanding" his most highly-armed mobs. Trump is such an alien to normal, civilized humans that it is hard to put his demonic words together in context. But we must.
Thanks again Mehdi for another spot on about all that’s been going on since your last writing. It’s frightening to hear Trump’s tirades and threatening of violence if he doesn’t win and not to be called out by other Republicans for his rhetoric on the campaign trail. It’s not surprising that no one in his party stands up and calls him out publicly. I was happy to see that finally a high ranking Democrat (the Senate Majority Leader) took a much needed stand against the horrific tragedy that’s ongoing in Gaza. I’m eagerly looking forward to your full launch of Zeteo in April.
Thanks
With all due respect, it's a stretch (and that's putting it kindly) to suggest that Chuck Schumer "took a much needed stand." He simply said that Netanyahu must go, because his coalition, like Donald Trump, says the quiet part out loud. Benny Gantz (or whoever else takes power if and when Bibi is ousted) isn't going to change a thing as far as the occupation, the Apartheid etc. are concerned. While I concede that this is a counterfactual, I think Israel would've bombarded Gaza just as relentlessly, with the same bloodlust, had Oct 7th occurred under someone else's watch. Why - you may ask? Because there's always been just as much consensus across the political spectrum in the Knesset regarding the absolute necessity to indefinitely maintain a crippling military occupation on the West Bank and a brutal siege of Gaza as the unyielding, unconditional bi-partisan support that Israel gets in America.
Those of use who agree with Mehdi must continue to speak out in our circles of influence. One way to do that is to share his posts and media appearances. Americans, in general, are woefully uneducated about politics, Israel-Palestine, Russia, etc.
Thanks Brian!
Refreshing, as usual.
Medhi Hasan is one of the very best in the business - his appearance on the Piers Morgan program is proof. Razor-sharp, unflinching and informed truth-telling. Right on, Mr. Hasan. I will continue to support your work and respect you (and your work) immensely.
Appreciate that Charles
Part of the problem is that last time, before he was elected, they didn't take him seriously and gave him too much uncritical coverage, which helped him a lot. Now they aren't covering him enough, which is also helping him. I think the missing piece is the criticism and context that should be provided to explain to people who might not get it exactly how crazy and dangerous he is.
I think the press didn't know how to handle a crass POS like Trump. So they pretended he was normal.
Entitled rich white guy and one that is crazy. They are accommodating him for those reasons and fear of not being able to maintain their coveted power over everybody else. Everyone and anyone else would be sitting in jail or better yet prison.
covering Trump has been a cash cow for the media, for years now it has been 24/7 coverage> I have to go to BBC News and The Guardian for other news.
Right wing knuckleheads like Piers Morgan disregard the decades of torment visited on Palestinian women, children and noncombatants, justifying it by the familiar refrain, "Israel has the right to defend itself." However, they fail to explain how killing these people has somehow not wiped out Hamas by now, nor have they explained just why Hamas supposedly hasn't run out of weapons even though Iran has no means to provide any. Logic tells us that this is not a war, but a genocide.
The banality of crazy. Deadly.
Don't want anyone to think that I'm making excuses for the media, but look at what they're dealing with, The American People:
1) His idiot supporters wouldn't listen if you reported his craziness 24 hours a day at the top of your lungs outside their bedroom window
2) Sane people who are paying attention turned against him 8 years ago,and don't really need more reports on how crazy he is
3) Who's left? The Undecided, who are completely checked out and impervious to any information about anything. Sometime in the first week of November they might briefly turn their attention to the Presidential race, and then they'll vote based on what they paid for gas that morning.
4) Those who say they are undecided/hate everything Trump stands for, but are still saying they will hold their nose and vote Republican in November anyway. Feels like more crazy still wouldn’t move the needle for them though.
Ah, yes. The most infuriating group of all.
There should be a special ad campaign for these people, don't try to sell them on Biden, just gently suggest they might find something more enjoyable to do on election day that's not voting for Trump: "My wife and I saw a beautiful sunset!", "I took my grandkids to the zoo!"