More Warfare! Less Health Care! What Bad Air?

 More Warfare! Less Health Care! What Bad Air?

Some observations on too much media consumption by C.A. Matthews 

If I were an active consumer of American mainstream media (i.e., CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, NPR, Wash. Post, NY Times, etc.), I might come to some odd conclusions on what all is happening in the world and what is really important to Americans. 

I might assume that Americans love continual warfare since we're spending $800 billion plus on our defense (offense, more likely) budget. I might assume we don't care much about brown or black people since we give military and economic aid to countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel who are set on genociding the Yemenis and Palestinians. 

I might assume we're good with supporting fascists since we've given massive amounts of military hardware to the Azov Battalion, an openly Neo-Nazi militia. I might assume that America means for all these weapons to wind up on the black market to be sold to terrorists around the world, since that's what's happening to the arms we've sent to Ukraine. I might assume that money laundering through these black market arms sale is agreeable to those who profit the most from them, the top one-percent who own shares in Raytheon and their ilk.

If I were an active consumer of mainstream media, I might come to some odd conclusions about the importance of health care in the US. I might assume that all Americans have private health care and love it. I might assume that we don't place much value on women since we seem to like taking away their rights to bodily autonomy. I might assume that we place zero worth on women of color in particular since their infant and maternal mortality rates are so high. I might assume that the life of a pregnant person is worth less than a fetus since many states have already passed laws declaring it to be so. I might assume that Americans have little empathy for victims of rape and incest--particular the youngest and most vulnerable.

I might assume that it's okay for people to go bankrupt whenever they have an expensive healthcare emergency since the majority of bankruptcies in the US involve some form of medical debt. I might assume that homeless persons do not have the right to health care and especially mental health care since we seem more preoccupied with pushing them out of our cities than in getting them the help they need and a roof over their head. I might assume that COVID-19 was no more, and it no longer posed a threat to human life on the planet. I might assume we'll never have to worry about another pandemic ever again in spite of reports about the spread of monkeypox.

If I were an active consumer of American mainstream media, I might assume there's no such thing as the "climate catastrophe" or climate change since these kind of stories are seldom reported on major outlets. I might assume there's no such thing as "greenhouse gases" and that CAFOs--concentrated animal feedlots--are wonderful and don't dump tons of animal wastes into watersheds. I might assume that Americans don't care about the suffering of animals raised under these horrible conditions. I might assume toxic blue-green algae is rather pretty  and its washing up on the lake shores doesn't poison drinking water for millions.

I might assume that this summer's record high temperatures are just an aberration.  I might assume that wildfires in the south of England are a regular event along with their roads melting. I might assume that coastal erosion and sea level rise are just myths and that a huge icy chunk of Antarctica didn't break off and start melting into the sea. I might assume that Glacier National Park was named after something other than giant ice fields.

I might assume that millions of people suffering from lung disease have nothing to do with the rise of pollutants such as ozone and heavy particulates in our air. I might assume that there's no way microscopic bits of plastic have become a part our drinking water and are now a part of all our bodies thanks to the fossil fuel and plastic industries promotion of non-recyclables.

So, what's wrong with taking mainstream media at its word? If you said, "Everything," then you'd be correct. These erroneous assumptions that American mainstream media encourages demonstrate how propaganda skews our worldviews. Mainstream media propaganda causes more harm than good. People who don't have access to differing viewpoints can form skewed and sometimes dangerous opinions and actions. They need to know that non-violent options exist. (Check out Rad Indie Media for different viewpoints.)

As I sit here at my laptop, listening to the Annual Meeting of the Green Party US this weekend, I hear speakers conversing on related topics that don't support any of these assumptions. In fact, they paint very different pictures and tell very different stories--and give very different responses on how to deal with challenges. Greens don't take corporate money and don't listen to billionaires and do their bidding. Their visions are clear and not clouded by money, unlike members of the establishment factions.

We can't believe the fairy tales our corporate-sponsored,  status quo/duopolist politicians promote any longer. We just don't have the time. The earth is heating up. Crops are failing. People will starve. People are dying in the US now because we don't provide universal health care, and guaranteed food and housing. 

People are dying around the world because the military industrial complex wants the US Empire to grow. The US Empire wants to force other countries to give us their natural resources, whether they want to or not. It's profits over people. The Empire will bomb other countries until they hand their resources over.

When will Americans realize they've been lied to and stop these horrors? Would obvious lying and voter suppression caught on tape perpetrated by the party in power convince them? If not, what will?

How about when they announce it's time for World War III let's all just be like "Nah, we're not doing that."

And then let’s build a healthy world. -- Caitlin Johnstone

 

Related Articles:

When They Announce WW3 Let's Just Say 'Nah' https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/when-they-announce-ww3-lets-just

Medical Debt Is A Rip-Off  https://scheerpost.com/2022/07/21/medical-debt-is-a-rip-off/

Proof US Missiles to Ukraine End Up with Terrorists https://leecamp.com/proof-us-missiles-to-ukraine-end-up-with-terrorists/ 

In Ukraine, A Proxy War on the Planet  https://mate.substack.com/p/in-ukraine-a-proxy-war-on-the-planet-413 

The Imaginary War  https://scheerpost.com/2022/07/17/patrick-lawrence-the-imaginary-war/

The CIA's Worst-Kept Secret: Newly Declassified Files Confirm US Collaboration with Nazis  https://ips-dc.org/the_cias_worst-kept_secret_newly_declassified_files_confirm_united_states_collaboration_with_nazis/

Servant of the Corrupt https://popularresistance.org/servant-of-the-corrupt/

Zelensky's Hidden Offshore Assets and Corruption Exposed (video) https://youtu.be/muA7fZIl08Q

If This Isn't a Climate Emergency What Is https://www.rsn.org/001/if-this-isnt-a-climate-emergency-what-is.html 

As Europe Burns, Biden Puts Profits Over the Climate https://www.leftvoice.org/as-europe-burns-biden-puts-profits-over-the-climate/

Roads Are Literally Melting in Europe During Unprecedented Heat Wave https://truthout.org/articles/roads-are-literally-melting-in-europe-during-unprecedented-heat-wave/

Les Miserables, Living and Dying on American Streets https://scheerpost.com/2022/07/22/les-miserables-living-and-dying-on-american-streets/

NC Democrats' Version of Stop the Steal  https://www.pmrt.org/nc_democrats_version_of_stop_the_steal

We've Been Lied To Our Whole Lives About Everything That Matters https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/weve-been-lied-to-our-whole-lives 

Seen on Twitter: 

So we can send 54 billion dollars to ukraine to fund natzis and enrich the MIC but when it comes to climate change we get virtually nothing... pic.twitter.com/1XAXrM1I8n

— The Status Quo Kills (@Vibing_IRL) July 23, 2022

Stop believing the Gov't is telling us the truth when your favorite team is in charge and face the fact that both Parties are really on the same team, and they're all corrupt liars.

— Black in the Empire (@blackintheempir) July 23, 2022

“The facts in the case that the North Carolina Green Party is prepared to present to the Court show national Democrats committing fraud, lying to voters, and manipulating and misusing voter registration data, and these facts are on audio tape & video tape.”https://t.co/5lYTeBTZRY

— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) July 23, 2022

Liberals once again melting down at Noam Chomsky for him having a based take on Ukraine 😂

He calls out the west as more pro censorship than Russia.

— Revolutionary Blackout Network🥋 (@SocialistMMA) July 24, 2022

Lake Erie is Not A Toilet (But The Supreme Court Most Certainly Is)

 

It's a brave new world... One where a woman in the state of Texas no longer has control over her own body. I touched upon the threats against a woman's right to choose in my piece A Matter of Control. It was written about the influence Brett Kavanagh could have on the Supreme Court in regards to Roe v. Wade. Was I prescient or not? 

I suspect we'll be talking more about this subject for a long time to come. Read more about what we should do next in this article:  It's Time For Abortion Activists to Push a Federal Abortion Rights Law.

And now a look at how we're all being "controlled" in a different way... Controlled by the abuse of our natural resources such as our drinking water. Lake Erie is perhaps the biggest poster child of neglected gems of nature--and so easily ignored.

 Lake Erie Is Not A Toilet

photos and words by C. A. Matthews

It's not everyday that a world class professional golf tournament comes to your town. When it happens, you have to make the most of it. 

The city of Toledo was fine with hosting a super spreader event during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they opened the proverbial doors to the LPGA's Solheim Cup, along with the tens of thousands of fans it attracts. 

Golf fans who don't believe in wearing face masks I couldn't help but notice.  In return, the fans didn't take much notice of our lovely banner as they hurried past us to enter the private country club.

Yours truly holding up one end of the banner. Photo by Mike Ferner

The Lake Erie Advocates (formerly known as the Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie or ACLE) raised a large sum of money to put up billboards throughout the city and also to have two large banner signs printed to promote the message of how Toledoans are tired of their drinking water being put at risk by the toxins caused by blue-green algal blooms. Can you imagine not wanting massive amounts of animal wastes from large-scale factory "farms" (or CAFOs) flowing into the streams and rivers and then into Lake Erie, the source of the Toledo area's drinking water as well as 11 million+ other human beings living along its shores?

So the brave activists of LEA took position with two large banners outside the front gates of the Inverness Golf Club. An estimated 100,000 visitors were predicted to come into town for the week-long golfing extravaganza. Surely the banners would be seen and the message understood, right?

But, like I said, the predominantly upper-middle class white golf fans from out-of-town didn't seem to be too bothered about poisonous blue-green algal blooms on Lake Erie. Some of the bored looks I caught from passers-by unfortunately only reinforced the stereotype of the rich white suburbanite who lives in a "golden bubble"of affluence (not effluence), choosing to remain happily oblivious to the environmental harm their mega-consumption of meat causes. 

I'm certain they drink nothing but bottled water whenever they come into an area like Toledo. Well, either that or champagne.

The morning's activism wasn't a total loss. I did meet and chatted with a very nice fellow activist. Harold told me that he had attended every day of the Solheim Cup so far (since the beginning of the week) proudly holding his Black Lives Matter sign. His upbeat attitude and energy was a real inspiration. As he stood outside the front gates of the venue, I noticed he generally received good responses to his sign. Only one sour-faced woman stopped and scolded him with a "Shame on you--it's All Lives Matter!" taunt. I returned her taunt with a short explanation that I'm sure she didn't listen to, but at least I tried to set her straight. Harold just smiled at her. I'm sure he's heard it all before and takes it in stride.

In all fairness, I'm not a golf fan (or of any sport really). I wasn't even sure this location or event was the best place for banners dealing with such a serious topic as water pollution, saving our beloved Great Lake, or animals' rights. But the enthusiasm of activists like Harold who show up day after day gives me hope that maybe some of our message might get through to the crowds of well-to-do golf lovers. Perhaps some will even do a quick Google search about what we meant by factory farms and why there was a glass of "green Kool-Aid" on our banners. (It's a glass of slimy blue-green algae-tainted water actually. Yum.)

I try to keep a positive attitude, but it is hard when you see so many people not wearing masks during a deadly pandemic rushing past you while trying not to make eye contact (or banner contact). If a person doesn't care about taking precautions to keep his neighbor safe (by wearing a mask during a pandemic at a crowded sports event), then would they really care about keeping our water clean and shutting down CAFOs? Do they care at all about Lake Erie except as a possible place for their next yachting adventure? It remains to be seen.

No matter how much the golf fans hide behind their red, white and blue outfits, I-phones, and Rolex watches, it won't stop those who care about our shared environment and their neighbors' health from trying to get the word out. The Lake Erie Advocates know time is running out, and they're not giving up. 

We can't keep dumping massive amounts of animal poop into one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world and expect to get away with it. An increasingly warming climate is only enabling algae blooms to explode across the lake surface. Human beings are turning Lake Erie into a massive toilet, one that we might find is impossible to clean someday. 

Take that warning and flush it down your golf club bags, fans!

 ***

 

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Texas' 6-Week Abortion Ban & Bounty has gone into effect.

Extreme anti-abortion lawmakers, led by Greg Abbott have passed one of the most extreme abortion bans in the country (TX SB8). Texas SB8 is a 6-week abortion ban and puts in place a vigilante bounty in place to criminalize those who help or intend to help anyone obtain an abortion outside 6 weeks. As a Texan, let me tell you right now that Texas is not okay. This will hurt people in need of abortion AND ALSO those that support them, young activists, abortion providers, and potentially anyone that speaks out publicly to support people who need abortions in the state.  Most people do not even know they are pregnant until they are at least 6 weeks! Only about 10-15% of abortions happen before 6 weeks. That means “6 week bans” are effectively total abortion bans. The addition of incentivizing vigilantes to “turn in” people who help or intend to help someone get an abortion outside of the 6 week period is extreme violence. This law gives anyone - a neighbor, distant relative, abusive partner, or even a stranger from out of state — the ability to sue someone for having an abortion in civil court AND collect $10,000 for each successful claim. This is one of the most heinous anti-abortion laws in history, it will cause extreme harm to Black, Latinx, Indigenous, low-income, young and rural Texans who already face tons of barriers to accessing abortion. Texans deserve better.

In this critical moment, we need the support of people across the country who believe that people should be able to get the healthcare they need without shame, unnecessary restrictions, or outside interference. What is happening in Texas today might happen in your state tomorrow. We know this ban will be the blueprint for bans across the country. Unless we do something about it. You can help by sharing information and taking action. Look to those in the state to lead. Support Texas abortion funds, providers, and practical support organizations. Donate money, follow them on social media, signal boost their requestions.  Visit Needabortion.org for real time updates on abortion access in TX Talk to your friends about what is happening in Texas and share this video on your social media.   In Solidarity, Jazmin Gonzalez (they/she) Digital Campaigns Manager P.S.  While we’re happy to stay in touch via email, social media is another fantastic way to keep stay in the loop. Click here to follow us on Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , and even TikTok  *** Amazon continues to feel the heat in Alabama. Last month the National Labor Relations Board ruled that Amazon unfairly tampered with the union vote in Bessemer, Alabama.1 The NLRB found that Amazon used their power to bully the postal service into putting a mailbox at the workplace in Alabama, which may have caused workers to feel Amazon could see when and how they voted -- and fear retaliation from Amazon. This is just further proof that Amazon has too much power, and is abusing it to undermine workers' rights. On Labor Day, one way we can fight back: urge Congress take bold action to break up Amazon and make it easier for workers to join a union. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to break up Amazon and make it easier for workers to organize! ADD YOUR NAME Amazon isn't just a tech giant, it's a global behemoth with tentacles gripping nearly every part of daily life. And Amazon workers, especially Amazon warehouse workers, feel the squeeze the most. Amazon warehouse working conditions are notoriously bad. So much so, the National Council of Occupational Safety and Health named Amazon one of the most dangerous employers in the country.2 On top of that, during the historic heatwaves earlier this summer, Amazon warehouses pushed workers to their physical brink, without providing air-conditioning. But the tide is turning. Activists are speaking out and demanding Amazon be held accountable. In Alabama, that might mean a new worker union election. But we can't stop there. Amazon has proven time and again that they have too much power and influence, and use it to undermine their workers and their right to a safe workplace. So now it's time for Congress to step in. Together we can raise our voices and pressure Congress to take action to break up Amazon's monopoly and make it easier for workers to organize. Sign the petition: Tell Congress to break up Amazon! Thank you for taking action, Tihi and the team at Demand Progress DONATE Sources: 1. Vox, "The Amazon union drive isn't over yet," August 3, 2021. 2. Futurism, "After Deaths, Amazon Lands on List of Most Dangerous Employers," October 18, 2019.