Hey FERAL Reserve, Cut Interest Rates NOW!

Inflation is now effectively beaten.  Not only has it cooled significantly, but now the specter of deflation has recently been raised, and has already been seen in the prices of durable goods falling a bit recently.  Oil is also down as well, which has of course led to a recent drop in gasoline prices.  And this is in spite of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which otherwise would have raised oil prices, ceteris paribus, due to the resulting geopolitical instability and uncertainty. 

Deflation may sound like a good thing, especially after such a high inflationary episode, but if it persists, it can turn into a downward economic spiral that is far worse than inflation (think the Great Depression, or Japan's three decades of rolling deflation from the early 1990s until very recently).  It also amplifies the sting of debt, and with debt of all kinds at such stratospheric levels today, America needs that like a hole in the head.  Once such a spiral begins and sets in, it is very, very difficult to extricate from.  Not even QE can seem to end it (though giving such "helicopter money" directly to We the People might work). And deflation is, at best, very difficult to control.

So the FERAL Reserve really needs to cut interest significantly, and pause QT, yesterday, before they create a problem that is practically impossible to dislodge.  And if that doesn't work, prepare to not only restart QE, but also implement "QE for the people" as well. say you weren't warned.

UPDATE:  Looks like the Fed decided to stop hiking interest rates, and signaled three interest rate cuts next year in 2024.  So now is the best time to put your money in a CD account to lock in the current rates.

We Reaffirm Our Zero-Tolerance Policy Against Antisemitism (And All Other Forms Of Racism and Bigotry Too)

In the wake of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war following the brutal and barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, there has been an outpouring of antisemitism lately from both left and right.  Some of it is ostensibly at least tangentially related to current events, while some of it is simply a "mask off" moment for longstanding hatred against Jews that has always been there but now has come to the surface.  Either way, it is completely unacceptable.  Regardless of how one may feel about current events, there is NO excuse for that sort of bigotry.  And the silence is deafening among those who should know better than to be silent in the face of it as well.

As we have said in the past, we the TSAP hereby vow to NEVER make that sort of mistake by either omission or commission, and hereby condemn antisemitism in the very strongest of terms, just as strongly as we do racism in general.  And the reader is put on notice that we will NEVER tolerate any overt or covert antisemitism in our party, period, no matter how much one tries (in vain, by definition) to dress it up in any sort of leftist or social justice rhetoric.  Bigotry by any other name still stinks.

Therefore, using any of the following red flag words, phrases, or references will get your comments promptly deleted, and severe and/or repeat offenders will be banned permanently:

Obviously, any known slurs against Jews ("y*d", "k**e", "h**b", "Chr*st-ki**er", etc.), or any permutations thereof
Using the word "Jew" or "Jewish" itself as a pejorative or insult
Adding pejorative modifiers such as "dirty", "cheap", or "money-grubbing" to same

Comparing Jews to vampires, vultures, bloodsuckers, parasites, pirates, carpetbaggers, etc.
Blood libel or vilification of any kind
Stab-in-the-back legends vilifying Jews

Claiming that Jews are sinister puppeteers or secretly rule the world 

Claims of divided loyalties 
Calling for violence of any kind against Jews or Israel
Inciting pogroms of any kind

Praising the October 7th terrorist attack
Any Holocaust denial (including "soft" denial or minimization, or JAQ-ing off)
Any Holocaust jokes, or any jokes about gas chambers, ovens, or death squads in relation to anyone Jewish.  NOT FUNNY!

Any Anne Frank jokes
Any other jokes demeaning to Jews

Any praising of Hitler or the Nazis (or neo-Nazis)
Any praising of the KKK or white supremacists or white nationalists, including the "alt-right" and neo-Confederates
Any praising of known Holocaust deniers
Any praising of Hamas or Hezbollah (or al-Qaeda or ISIL, for that matter)
Falsely accusing any Jew of being a Nazi collaborator or kapo, or repeating such unproven or debunked claims
Putting (((triple parentheses))) around anyone's name, as a code for "Jew"
Obsessing over (((George Soros))), for example

"14 (Words), or 14/88"
"311" (unless clearly referencing the band)
"88" (without clear explanation)
"America First" (depending on context)
"Anglo-Israelism" (when giving it any credence)
"The Bad War" (in reference to WWII)
"Cultural Marxism" (as a dog-whistle slur)
"Death to Israel" (or something similar)

"East Coast Liberal Intellectual Elite" (dog whistle)

"False flag" (if allegedly done by Jews or Israel)
"From the river to the sea" (without detailed explanation of what one really means)
"Globalist" (as a dog-whistle slur)

"Globalize the Intifada"

"Glory to the martyrs" (in reference to terrorists)
"Gotta pay the Jews if you wanna sing the blues"
"Hexagram" (instead of "Star of David")
"Heil Hitler", "Sieg Heil", or "Hail Victory"
"Hitler was the good guy"
"Hitler was a socialist"
"Hitler was a Rothschild"
"Hitler was Jewish"
"Hoaxocaust" or "HollowHoax" or any permutations thereof
"Hooknose" (or any caricatures thereof)
"Hymietown"

"Illuminati" (in reference to Jews)

"Infidels" (in reference to Jews)

"Infowars" (in reference to Jewish conspiracy theories of any kind)

"Intifada" (when praising violence against Jews)
"ISIS = Israeli Secret Intelligence Service"
"Israel (or Jews) was behind 9/11"

"Israhell"

"Jew them down"
"Jews caused the financial crisis"
"Jews have us hypnotized"
"Jews killed Jesus"
"Jews own Hollywood"

"Jews own X percent of the wealth"
"Jews will not replace us!"
"Jewish Slave Trade"
"Jewish Cabal"
"Jewish Media (Elites)"
"Judeo-Bolshevism"
"The Jew York Times"
"Khazars"
"Kosher Tax"
"Loy-yahs"

"Lugenpresse"

"Mein Kampf" or "My New Order"
"Money boys up in New York" (dog whistle)

"New York bankers" (dog whistle)

"Octopus" or any images thereof (in reference to Jews)

"Pat Buchanan was right"
"Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion" (if claiming that this long-debunked canard is true)
"Red Diaper Doper Babies" (RDDB)
"Rootless cosmopolitans" (in reference to Jews)
"Rothschilds" (in reference to conspiracy theories)

"Shylock"

"Shyster" (when referring to a Jew)

"Synagogue of Satan"
"Unite the Right"
"War on Christmas" (when used without irony)
"White Genocide" (conspiracy theories)
"White Power" or "White Pride"
"Winston Churchill was the real bad guy"
"Wipe Israel off the map" (or any variations thereof)

"Work will set you free" (especially in the original German)

"Wrathchild" (as an alternative to "Rothschild")
"You will not replace us!"
"Zionazis"
"Zionist Conspiracy"
"ZOG" (Zionist Occupied Government)
Images of swastikas, Confederate flags, nooses, burning crosses, "Le Happy Merchant" or "Evil Jew" caricatures, or any other recognized hate symbols, period
Any other antisemitic canards or tropes

Please note that anti-Zionism per se, when honestly and seriously included as part of a broader anti-colonial framework, is not automatically prohibited here.  The same goes with supporting some forms of Zionism but not others, and so on.  Criticism of Israel (and/or support for Palestinians) is fine as along as it is nuanced and grounded in reality, but be sure to be specific about exactly which individuals, policies, and/or political parties you are criticizing, and why.  Vaguely using "Zio(nist)" or any permutations thereof as a veiled slur against Jews in general will not be tolerated, and of course the same goes for any specious claims that Israel has no right to exist at all.

For the record, the TSAP supports the "two-state solution", which is shorthand for 1) revert back to the the pre-1967 borders of Israel and Palestine, 2) officially recognized Palestinian statehood for Gaza and the West Bank, 3) end any non-consensual Jewish settlements in Palestinian territories, and 4) both Israel and Palestine have a right to exist, period.  And we have long vehemently opposed Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud Party (as well as parties even further to the right still), while also vehemently opposing Hamas and Hezbollah all the same.  Yes, it's entirely possible to oppose both at the same time.

As for criticism or negative views of patriarchal religions, that is fine, but do NOT single out Judaism.  Keep in mind that the most prominent and populous branches of Judaism are typically among the most progressive and least patriarchal of all the Big Five mainstream religions nowadays.

As for conspiracy theories in general, you may share them, but please don't drag the Jews into it, and don't use any dog-whistles either.  Seriously, don't do it!

And while the TSAP loves to criticize the big banks, Wall Street, usury, and oligarchs in general, along with their nefarious system, we ask that you NOT appropriate such ideas for scapegoating Jews or dog-whistling your virulent hatred of same.  Keep in mind that most banksters and oligarchs are WASPs, not Jews.  So let's not pretend otherwise, OK?  That old trope really didn't age very well at all.

After all, as a party that greatly supports Bernie Sanders and Marianne Williamson, both of whom are Jewish, we would really be suicidal to ignore antisemitism on the left, right, or anywhere else on the political spectrum.  In the USA, it has long seemed to be far more prevalent on the right wing, though very recently the "left" unfortunately seems to be stealing the show in that regard. And it has no place in our party.

We ignore it at our own peril, and everyone else's.

Time To Abolish Political Parties

Yeah, that's right.  It's time to abolish political parties in the USA.  And yesterday is not soon enough.

We see the terrible consequences of party politics every single day.  Our nation is more polarized and divided now than any other time since the American Civil War of 1861-1865.  And it shows.  The best we have gotten was gridlock, and the worst is yet to come if we stay on the self-destructive path we are on.

The elephant and jackass duopoly must end.  They are both nothing more than two sides of the very same corporate- and oligarch-owned coin.  

George Washington, the leader of the Founding Fathers and the first President of the United States, famously warned against political parties (or "factions", as he called them) in his Farewell Address.  And he warned against them with the same fervor as he did against "foreign entanglements".  And of course, no sooner did he leave office than did political parties (and foreign entanglements, to one degree or another) become the norm for America.  He must really be spinning in his grave right now!

Just Say NO To World War 3!

It has come to our attention that there is a faction in the USA and elsewhere of largely neoconservatives who are incessantly itching for a hot war with Iran more than ever.  The casus belli this time (as though the warmongers really needed a new one) is 1) that Iran has long supported and funded both Hamas and Hezbollah, which is true, and 2) that Iran's fingerprints are (allegedly) all over Hamas's brutal and barbaric terrorist attack against Israel, which is debatable.  That is in addition to Iran's alleged nuclear weapons ambitions, of course, which was the previous justification, as well as their proxy attacks against American troops in Iraq and Syria.

(For the record, we thoroughly condemn Hamas's brutal and barbaric terrorist attack against Israel, without qualification.)

That said, going to war with Iran directly would be a major strategic blunder for a number of reasons.  First, a ground war and occupation there would be an even worse quagmire than the ill-fated ground wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Secondly, even a predominantly air war, which could set Iran back centuries if we really wanted to, would ultimately create a "failed state" which would be a magnet for extremists in the future.  The inevitable blowback sooner or later would be horrendous to say the least.  As the saying goes, "you break it, you own it".  At the same time, a half-assed war would in fact be the worst of all options in the long run, and any forcible "regime change" will inevitably create a dangerous power vacuum sooner or later.  And finally, a war with Iran would be very likely to draw in Iran's staunchest allies:  Russia, China, and North Korea, three nuclear-armed countries that any sane person does NOT want to get into a hot war with!  That would be World War 3, essentially, and even if it somehow doesn't go nuclear (which is far from guaranteed), it would still be truly horrendous and extremely costly in both lives and resources.  Any "victory" would be a Pyrrhic victory at best.

(Nuclear war is simply too horrible to even contemplate, something no sane person could ever support, period.  But just one miscommunication and it can happen.)

In other words, the USA attacking Iran would not be like cutting of the head off of the proverbial snake, but rather more like a Hydra whose heads will keep multiplying each time one is severed.  OOPS!

At the very least, a three-front war like that (without going nuclear) would NOT be even remotely possible to win with an all-volunteer military for very long.  The Reserves and National Guard can only buy us so much time for what will likely be a very long and bloody war of attrition that would likely dwarf World Wars 1 and 2 and the American Civil War combined.  That's the biggest elephant in the room.  So for all the people who want to go to war with Iran (or any the other aforementioned countries), let's put it up to a vote.  Those who vote "yes", well, greetings, you have just been drafted!  Those who abstained will be next if needed.  Those who vote "no" shall be exempt.  And the vote should be repeated annually to decide whether or not to renew the war effort for yet another year.  And if that is still somehow not enough for a truly existential war that already began and where withdrawal is truly not an option, and a more comprehensive draft is still somehow needed, then draft the billionaires first, then the millionaires, and so on.  It's only fair.

With absolutely NO apologies to the modern-day Ayn Rand disciples who are itching to fight Iran, and yet paradoxically quail at the very thought of personally having any sort of skin in the game themselves.

(Normally I would agree that a country that needs a draft to defend itself deserves to lose, and that in any case they could easily have enough recruits for an all-volunteer military if they simply paid them enough.  And in principle that still remains true.  But a World War 3, due to its inherently massive scale and duration, would kinda be the exception that proves the rule.)

So seriously, warmongers.  KNOCK IT OFF.  Yesterday.  Do everything you possibly can to defuse any impulse to start such a war.  Yesterday.  The life that you save may very well be your own.

QED

We Condemn Hamas' Barbaric Attack on Israel

The TSAP hereby condemns in the strongest possible terms the barbaric attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7th.  There was literally ZERO justification whatsoever to deliberately target innocent civilians (men, women, children, and elderly alike) with such vicious violence like that.  Whoever engages in that sort of evil and inhuman behavior thus acquires an indelible stain on whatever semblance of honor that they may have still had before.  The same goes for those who support or cheer on such vile depravity as well, including, but not limited to, certain ignorant knee-jerk "leftist" fools in the Western world, as well as the predictable garden-variety antisemitism.

That said, the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict has nonetheless been a very complicated and nuanced issue in which both sides have very much blood on their hands, including the blood of civilians. The years-long siege of Gaza by the Israeli occupation is brutal and unjustifiable as well, as is their broader illegal occupation of areas not permitted to be occupied in the original plan that prevailed before 1967.  The fanatical terrorist group Hamas is NOT representative of the Palestinian people in general, no more so than the crooked far-right Netanyahu Likud government is representative of Israeli Jews in general.  Both sides actually have legitimate claim to the Holy Land to one degree or another, and DNA evidence has revealed both Jews and Palestinians to be essentially cousins to one degree or another.  And ultimately, this is not really America's fight.

All of these things can be true without the universe exploding.  And as Mahatma Gandhi famously said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".

UPDATE:  For the record, the TSAP supports a two-state solution, not a one-state solution of either kind.  We believe two-state solution is the least-worst solution overall.  And now that Israel has indeed responded to the Hamas terrorist attack, we do not support any further escalation (or any other countries entering the war on either side), and strongly recommend a ceasefire or at least a humanitarian pause.  But all of the hostages still need to be released, and perpetrators still need to be brought to swift, certain, and severe justice all the same.

"Never Again" does NOT come with an asterisk.

Too Late To Avoid A Recession, But Let's NOT Make It Worse!

It looks like it is too late to avoid a recession at this point, as some degree of one is already baked into the cake at this point.  Not only are there several big headwinds right now (rising oil prices, rising insurance rates, record-high credit card debt, student loans coming due, Congressional dysfunction, and the prospect of a government shutdown), but the FERAL Reserve has obstinately kept interest rates high at a Fed Funds Rate of 5.25%.  While it may not seem high by historical standards, combined with their Quantitative  Tightening and record-high levels of debt throughout the economy, it can easily feel like the double-digit interest rates of the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Aside from oil (thanks to Russia and OPEC) and a few other things, which interest rate hikes are utterly useless and even counterproductive against, the recent inflation has already been largely defeated, and may soon turn to deflation.  Which sounds great in theory, but in practice is anything but.

While it is most likely too late to avoid a recession at this point, the very least the Fed could do is cut interest rates yesterday and end Quantitative Tightening to avoid an even worse recession or depression.  Don't say you haven't been warned.

UPDATE: As of September 30, the government shutdown was averted, but the issue was really just delayed by 45 days via a stopgap funding bill.  Additionally, as of early October, crude oil prices began falling but diesel fuel remains stubbornly high for a number of reasons such as a refinery crunch.

We Support The UAW Workers' Strike

The TSAP supports the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against the Big Three automakers.  The CEOs of these companies, who were already making eight-figure salaries, saw a 46% increase in pay for themselves over the past four years, while the workers got a mere 6% increase, not nearly enough to keep up with inflation.  That, along with their ridiculous "two-tier" pay system for older versus newer employees, is basically a microcosm of all that is wrong with the economy today.  So one can see how the management in other industries is starting to get nervous about the "Hot Labor Summer" spreading to those industries as well.  The plutocracy trembles.

Ever since the PATCO (air traffic controllers union) strike debacle in 1981 under President Ronald Reagan, and all the ripple effects in its aftermath, organized labor has weakened dramatically.  Unions had become such pikers with their demands, which only led them to become even weaker in the face of an all-out assault against the working class from the plutocracy and their sycophantic lackeys in government.  But now, after a very long detour, the tide seems to be finally turning for the better.

It's LONG overdue.  What better time than now?