Fucking perfect quote from Scahill there, "If you don't understand that the American Exceptionalism story is the Grand Lie that fuels the elites, the congress, the politicians, the political parties in this country, if you don't understand that that is a big lie, everything that you say, your whole analysis, is going to be based on fraud."

"Kompromat" and "Desinformatsiya" are also ridiculously Russified words that people like to bandy about. As if no one in history has used (compromising) disinformation before Stalin invented it.

Yet if you talk about the evils of imperialism and they say what about Communism that is not Whataboutism. It only goes one way.

Podcast makes a great point about enhancement of fear by terms such as "Slavic." The US government does this constantly in terrorism cases by using Arabic words when there are perfectly reasonable, innocuous English words. https://aymplaying.wordpress.com/2018/03/22/more-government-generated-anti-arab-bias-scaring-people-with-innocuous-arabic-words/

check out "draining the sea," a US tactic developed in response to guerilla warfare in which US forces intentionally displace and kill civilians who might back the guerilla

history is total Howaboutism. How about it?

Chapo News Network senior political analysts Franklin Darrow and Taft Hartley run down the winners and losers of DC in 2018. Then, Matt and Virgil engage in a freewheeling discussion of predictions for 2019. New Years, baby, gimme dat new ass year.

Chapo Trap House

Episode 276 - Under the Hood at the Beltway Garage (12/30/18)

Since the beginning of what’s generally called ‘RussiaGate’ three years ago, pundits, media outlets, even comedians have all become insta-experts on supposed Russian propaganda techniques. The most cunning of these tricks, we are told, is that of “whataboutism” – a devious Soviet tactic of deflecting criticism by pointing out the accusers’ hypocrisy and inconsistencies. The tu quoque - or, “you, also” - fallacy, but with a unique Slavic flavor of nihilism, used by Trump and leftists alike in an effort to change the subject and focus on the faults of the United States rather than the crimes of Official State Enemies. 

But what if "whataboutism" isn’t describing a propaganda technique, but in fact is one itself: a zombie phrase that’s seeped into everyday liberal discourse that – while perhaps useful in the abstract - has manifestly turned any appeal to moral consistency into a cunning Russian psyop. From its origins in the Cold War as a means of deflecting and apologizing for Jim Crow to its braindead contemporary usage as a way of not engaging any criticism of the United States as the supposed arbiter of human rights, the term "whataboutism" has become a term that - 100 percent of the time - is simply used to defend and legitimizing American empire’s moral narratives.

We are joined by Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of The Intercept.

Episode 66: Whataboutism - The Media's Favorite Rhetorical Shield Against Criticism of US Policy

Eli Valley stops by to talk Ilhan Omar, Meghan McCain, Chelsea Clinton, and the latest act of fascist mass murder in Christchurch, NZ.

Also Virgil solves the Israel-Palestine conflict.

https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/christchurch-shooting-victims-fund

298 - The Israel Nerd feat. Eli Valley (3/18/19)

"The United States believes any Palestinian government must renounce violence,” a U.S. official told Ha'aretz. When it comes to nonviolence, writes Barbara Reynolds in The Washington Post, “Black Lives Matter seems intent on rejecting the proven methods." "Violence Is Never the Answer," New York Times columnist Charles Blow insists.

We are told endlessly that violence is inherently and unequivocally bad, something - when it comes to advocating for social justice or against military occupation and fascism - that’s always to be avoided, condemned and renounced. It must be rejected, our press and politicians declare, in favor of non-violence, so-called "peaceful protests" and the democratic process.

But in popular discourse, discussions of violence aren’t really about violence; rather, they’re about sanctioned versus unsanctioned violence. The routine violence of poverty, racist policing, militarism is never called "violence"–––it's just the way things are, a law of nature, the price of "stability". But unsanctioned violence, namely that carried out by activists, non or sub-state actors, and those generally distant from the halls of power, causes outrage without any coherent criteria for this indignation. 

On this episode, we discuss how what is and isn't deemed "violence" by our media is largely a function of proximity to power and whether those actions challenge or serve the interests of the status quo. 

We are joined by journalist and author Natasha Lennard.

Episode 74: Liberal Gandhi Fetishism and the Problem with Pop Notions of 'Violence'

“'Right-to-work' means freedom and choice,” a Boston Globe op-ed explains. “As housing costs rise, some people are choosing to live on the road instead,” a Fox Business headline states. “If your insurance company isn’t doing right by you, you should have another, better choice,” reads Joe Biden’s campaign platform. 
We’re told repeatedly that “freedom of choice” is essential to a robust economy and human happiness. Economists, executives, politicians, and pundits insist that, the same way consumers shop for TVs, workers can choose their healthcare plan, parents can choose their kids' school, and gig-economy workers can choose their own schedules and benefits. 

While this language is superficially appealing, it’s also profoundly deceitful. The notion of “choice” as a gateway to freedom and a sign of societal success isn’t a neutral call for people to exercise some abstract civic power; it’s free-market capitalist ideology manufactured by libertarian and neoliberal think tanks and their mercenary economists and media messaging nodes. Its purpose: to convince people that they have a choice while obscuring the economic factors that ensure they really don’t: People can’t “choose” to keep their employer-provided insurance if they’re fired from their jobs or “choose” to enroll their kids in private school if they can’t afford the tuition. 

In this episode, we examine the rise of “choice” rhetoric, how it cravenly appeals to our vanity, and how US media has uncritically adopted the framing--helping the right erode social services while atomizing us all into independent, self-interested collections of “choices.” 

We are joined by Jessica Stites, executive editor of In These Times.

Episode 95: The Hollow Vanity of Libertarian "Choice" Rhetoric

“145 CEOs Call On Senate To Pass 'Common-sense, Bipartisan' Gun Laws,” NPR states. “Local Democrat pushes back on NY bail reform law: It's about 'common sense,' not politics,” a Fox News headline reads. “The Only Thing More Dangerous Than Trump’s Appeal to Common Sense Is His Dismissal of It,” The Nation warns. Everywhere we turn we are told by pundits and politicians that "common sense" demands we support their preferred policy prescription. 

It's a common appeal: a political issue—whether health-insurance, immigration, foreign policy, or gun violence—reaches a real or perceived extreme, and, in reaction, media pundits and political figures claim the most appropriate response must be ostensibly neutral, reasonable "common sense" reforms.

But these claims are insidious. While "common sense" may appear to be a constructive guiding principle, there is no meaningful definition of the concept and when it is evoked, it's almost always an appeal to status quo ideology. What’s sensible to a member of the Tea Party isn’t the same as what’s sensible to an activist seeking to end police violence. So, whose “common sense” is really being promoted when we hear these calls to action?

On this week's episode, we explore how appeals to “common sense” present politics as a matter of rationality rather than of morality; how these demands reinforce centrist and right-wing ideologies and how the Left can work to build an alternative common sense.

We are joined by cultural anthropologist Dr. Kate Crehan, Professor Emerita at College of Staten Island and the CUNY Graduate Center.

Episode 101: The False Universality of “Common Sense”

How can one achieve happiness? It’s the eternal question. From Aristotle to Al-Ghazali, Thomas Aquinas to Arthur Schopenhauer. The answer, we’re told, is to look within. These days, we’re told repeatedly by our modern philosophers, Oprah Winfrey, Srikumar Rao, Tony Robbins, Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra and other corporate happiness monitors that prosperity and fulfillment come through deep introspection and mindfulness—just pay for more inspiring books, videos, retreats, seminars, and classes!

These prescriptions, while ostensibly useful in the short term for answering personal questions or alleviating stress, all fall within the genre of self-help. The trouble is, on the whole, they’re not very helpful at all. The self-help industry is predicated on the ever-American and thoroughly capitalist concepts of rugged individualism and personal responsibility, arguing that if you have a problem, it’s invariably up to you, and only you, to fix it. Meanwhile, it imparts the appearance of virtue and legitimacy with hollow, cherry-picked references to Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and psychology.

In recent years, there’s rightfully been a new crop of criticism leveled against the self-help industry, with books offering “anti-self-help” alternatives for improving one’s life, calling for people to relax and stop placing so much pressure on themselves. Still, many of these critiques embrace the same form of individualism as the media they decry, ignoring the reality that the best way to ‘help’ people is to ensure their material needs—like housing, food, and healthcare—are met. 

On this episode, we’ll chronicle the development of modern self-help culture, from its 19th-century protestant, capitalist roots to its modern ambassadors; analyze how self-help culture promotes the values of neoliberalism; examine the ways in which modern mainstream critiques of the self-help industry fall short, embracing the same reactionary principles they should be rebuking, and dissect the profound institutional incentives that compel us to prioritize solipsism over solidarity. 

Our guest is political economist and author William Davies.

Episode 109: Self-Help Culture and the Rise of Corporate Happiness Monitoring

In this episode, we are joined by Chapo Trap House cohost Matt Christman to discuss the rehabilitation of Bush, the future of America, and the growing possibility that Hillary Clinton ushers in Purge Night.

To support the show and get access to more content, become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/expandthediscourse

BUSH DERANGEMENT SYNDROME ft. Matt Christman

And introducing, from Iceland, our NATO ally to the north, it’s BJORK. The most famous musician from the isolated northern island, Bjork has built an incredible career and international  fame from her unique voice and genre-exploring, endlessly idiosyncratic music. And today we’ll be exploring all things Bjork from her coffee table book BJORK and a 2004 Bjork New Yorker story called “Bjork’s Saga”.

Songs in Order:

CarlosAndres90 - Army of Me (YouTube FL Studio cover)
Bjork - Ruby Baby
Recordings of Bjork at age 11:  https://www.openculture.com/2014/09/the-album-bjork-recorded-as-an-11-year-old.html
KUKL - Dismembered
The Sugarcubes - Birthday
Bjork - Human Behavior
Bjork - Army of Me
Bjork - Alarm Call

And Introducing

#82 BJÖRK!

We are joined by the creators of Preserving Worlds, a documentary series on Means TV that explores the process of archiving dying online game spaces like Second Life, Worlds Chat, and the Doom mod community.

PRESERVING WORLDS:
https://means.tv/programs/preservingworlds
https://means.tv/

DANIEL BESSNER'S FPS PIECE
https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-cultural-contradictions-of-call-of-duty/

BRIDGE MUSIC
Boss Theme by Sawsquarenoise on dojokratos
https://freemusicarchive.org/genre/Chiptune

KATE WILLETT'S BOOK
https://www.audible.com/pd/Dirtbag-Anthropology-Audiobook/B08W5FSQ1V?qid=1613952937&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=Z5VFRYRGPMG16EZH249G

MERCH
poddamnamerica.bigcartel.com

PATREON (Bonus eps + Discord!)
Patreon.com/PodDamnAmerica

Librarypunk 2021 w/ Preserving Worlds

https://www.patreon.com/seekingderangements

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Last November we sat down and watched this movie about a pinkpilled forcefemmed assassin for the mob who's turned trans by the direct opposite of Ben Carson - a crazy surgeon with no hands! michelle rodriguez telegraphed her performance in, while tony shalhoub and sigourney weaver delivered probably some of the most electric scenes in cinema history. 

intro/// Kiyoshi Sugamoto - Yeh! Boogie (1980)
outro/// Raney Shockne - Tomboy (Main Title Sequence) (2016)

SD 39 UNLOCKED! - The Assignment AKA Tomboy AKA The (Re)Assignment AKA Tomboy: Revengeance

Citations Needed is a podcast about the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit. It is hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson, and produced by Florence Barrau-Adams.

Episode 66: Whataboutism - The Media's Favorite Rhetorical Shield Against Criticism of US Policy

Citations Needed Podcast

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