Exposing The Lie

Exposing The Lie

by C.A. Matthews

I never quite fell for the lie.  And, perhaps, that's been a saving grace.

I never quite believed what my ninth grade Civics teacher told us one day in class. Our economy was supposed to go on and on and grow and grow, forever and forever. Literally. When I dare questioned, "Why?" I was told, "Because it has to." 

"But what if everyone already has two cars, a home, and all the stuff a family could possibly ever want or need in it?" I wondered aloud. 

I got strange looks from my classmates upon that utterance. No worries, I was used to it even back then. I figured I wasn't supposed to think outside the box and expose the lie. I was supposed to just keep quiet and accept it. I pretended I did to get through the rest of the unit and receive a decent grade on the test, but I never really believed what I read in our textbook or wrote on those tests.

Flash forward to middle age and then some: Now more than ever, I don't believe anything anyone with any so-called "expert qualifications" tells me about the lie. I go along with billions of others worldwide who believe just the opposite. Economies aren't supposed to expand exponentially forever at the expense of the planet's and the people's health and well-being. 

Those of us in the know realize what we have in the US is a fiat currency. Simply put, we'll always have more than enough money for endless wars and weapons spending and tax cuts and bailouts for the rich, but we'll never have enough to cover health care costs for our people or education costs from pre-K through college for everyone or guaranteed housing for all. Nope, we no can do under the lie that the powers-that-be operate under and force us to follow. We're told that We the Little People will have to manage without, or spend out all the "ones-and-zeroes" in our bank accounts just to provide the bare necessities of food and shelter and health care for our loved ones.

"That's the way of the world," we're told by our so-called elected officials as they vote themselves a pay raise, give more "free money" to banks and corporations who mismanaged their ones-and-zeroes in their ledger sheets, and ignore our increasingly worsening plight.

But it doesn't have to be that way. How do I know? Remember, I don't believe in the lie and once one's eyes are opened (or re-opened) one can't see things the way the liars would like us to see them. I don't see how it can be considered "fair" or "legal" to allow people to die because they can't afford an operation or medicines to keep them healthy and alive. I don't accept the lie simply because those with more ones-and-zeroes on their bank statements tell us to. I don't see these persons as my superiors to be obeyed like a mindless slave. I resist and I speak up.

Even worse, I encourage others to resist the lie and speak out against it too. 

Are you in the know? How do you know if you are? How do you know you've not fallen hopelessly into the pit of liars?

If you've noticed the increasing number of  COVID-19 deaths in the US, heard on a podcast or via the grapevine how many workers worldwide are currently on strike or are voting to organize and/or strike or are simply walking off their jobs because they've had enough of the liars' manipulations and ill-treatment of workers, then you're part of the billions like me. We don't believe in the lie called capitalism. We don't see it as a fair and equitable way to distribute resources to all human beings because simply there's no proof that it actually works for the majority of us.

Sure, there are thousands and thousands of private non-profits and "charity organizations" worldwide that fill in the gaps, but why are there "gaps" in the first place? Could it be because our so-called "democratically elected governments" don't want to fill in the gaps because they don't give a sh*t about hungry and homeless people and wish they'd just fade away? Just look at how the US government puts all the onus of picking up the slack of not taking care of all its people onto the backs of those most easily guilted into doing so. And these charity groups do it because they've come to believe the lie all along that it is their job to do so.

What if we told them that it shouldn't be left in the hands of private charitable agencies to take care of the public's needs? What if we opened their eyes as well to the lie and how their good natures have been taken advantage of for centuries by evil and selfish men who want to keep the majority of resources to themselves? What would happen? Would these charitable persons demand an end to the lie of capitalism and expose its ugliness to the world?

We'll have to see. Some folks are really into being bigwigs in the non-profit realm and see themselves as successful capitalists, too. They've joined the "Liars Club" and profit immensely from the status quo. They might not want to give up giving out  old clothing to poor homeless vets and the occasional free meal or donating canned goods that were given away as a favor to clear the shelves for new products to be stocked at well-to-do grocery stores. But maybe, just maybe, once the charitable bigwigs become a part of the working class living from paycheck to paycheck, hand out to hand out, they'll start to see the bigger picture, too.

Until then, don't close your eyes and forget how you see the lie at work in the world. Help others to see it and denounce it. And don't cross the picket lines.
 

Related articles:

US Billionaires Got 70% More Wealth Under COVID. They Didn't Deserve Any of It.  https://www.rsn.org/001/us-billionaires-got-70-more-wealth-under-covid-they-didnt-deserve-any-of-it.html

Capitalism is Violence https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2021/10/26/capitalism-is-violence-notes-from-the-edge-of-the-narrative-matrix/

Don't Believe the Corporate "Labor Shortage" Bullsh*t  https://scheerpost.com/2021/10/25/dont-believe-the-corporate-labor-shortage-bullsht/

 

***

 

Climate chaos or a clean energy future – that’s the choice before world leaders at COP26. Demand that they move to keep fossil fuels in the ground and pass a Fossil Fuel Treaty.   TAKE ACTION

In less than two weeks, I’ll be with leaders from around the world in Glasgow, Scotland for COP26 to discuss how the world will combat climate change.

I firmly believe that if we’re to stave off the worst of the climate crisis, a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty based on the principles of no new exploration, a managed wind down of existing production, and a just transition must be a major topic of conversation.

However, we’ve learned from past COPs that without significant amounts of public pressure, world leaders can avoid hard questions and decisions. We can’t let that happen.

World leaders need to not just understand what’s at stake, but that they’ll be held accountable if they don’t do what’s necessary in the fight to maintain a habitable climate.

Will you sign the petition demanding world leaders start working on a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty at COP26?

PASS A FOSSIL FUEL TREATY

The record breaking heat waves, extreme weather events, and catastrophic wildfires we’ve seen over the past few years are nothing compared to what’s coming if the global community doesn’t come together to keep fossil fuels in the ground and initiate a just transition to clean energy.

It’s incredible that this hasn’t happened sooner. As historic as the Paris Climate Accords were, there was no mention of coal, oil, or gas – the fossil fuels responsible for 86% of global emissions [1] – in the entire document. Not once! You can’t solve a problem if you won’t even recognize it.

And let’s be clear – we have plenty of solutions and a clear path forward to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy while keeping workers employed and economies strong. 

We know that we have more than enough renewable energy potential to replace fossil fuels without needing any new production. [2] We know that renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels, and the disparity keeps growing. [3] We know that, at least in the United States, there are three times more clean energy jobs than fossil fuels jobs. [4]

Join me in calling on world leaders to choose a clean energy future over climate chaos by negotiating a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Climate change is a global problem and it’s time that the world started acting accordingly. 

As a member of the Stand.earth community, you know that we can do anything we put our minds to. 

We’ve gone up against multinational oil, gas, and coal companies worth billions of dollars and come out victorious, blocking dozens of their projects that would have poisoned local communities and accelerated the climate crisis. We’ve protected millions of acres of forests that people thought couldn’t be saved. We’ve shifted billions of dollars of purchasing from corporate powerhouses like Starbucks, Staples, and Levi’s onto sustainable pathways.

Because of people like you, we're achieving victories that others thought were impossible. This community is more than half a million people strong (and growing!). Together, we're using our collective power to fight climate change, protect wild spaces, stand with impacted communities, and say no to new fossil fuels.

Now, let’s make the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty a priority at COP26.

With hope and determination,

Tzeporah Berman
International Program Director
Stand.earth

[1] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_TS.pdf
[2] https://indd.adobe.com/view/e0092323-3e91-4e5c-95e0-098ee42f9dd1
[3] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/renewables-cheapest-energy-source/
[4] https://www.forbes.com/sites/energyinnovation/2019/04/22/renewable-energy-job-boom-creating-economic-opportunity-as-coal-industry-slumps/?sh=329027a93665

***

From Hip Hop Caucus:

We need to kill the oil industry before the oil industry kills us.

What we definitely do not need to be doing is approving the hundreds of petrochemical plants Biden is set to approve. Creating oil and plastics is bad for our water supply. It’s bad for our air supply. It’s bad for our very survival. And if Joe Biden is as serious as he claims to be about protecting our future, he’ll stop this madness before it goes even further.

TELL JOE BIDEN: Stop pouring fuel on the raging fire of the Climate Crisis. Stop Approving Petrochemical plants.

Big oil makes money for big oil. In the process, these are the companies which dodge their taxes, poison every community they enter, give us cancer, and burn the very planet we rely upon for life. It’s disgusting enough we have to fight the fatal impacts of the petrochemical plants which already exist.

The very least we can do is not create any more.

For Future Generations,

Rev Yearwood
President & CEO
Hip Hop Caucus

***

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments about Texas’s extreme anti-abortion law. But the mere fact that they refused to overrule it on sight two months ago has sent other states scurrying to craft knock-off legislation. We need to send a loud, clear message: Abortion is a right, and we’re not going to allow it to be taken away by a rigged Supreme Court or a gerrymandered state legislature. Sign the petition: Stop six-week abortion bans! Protect our reproductive freedoms! SIGN NOW The People United fights for politicians who will work to unrig the courts and codify the right to an abortion in law, by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act and repealing the Hyde Amendment. Together, we will win. In solidarity, The People United

The People United is new, but our fight is as old as democracy itself. Corporate interests use big money to make politicians betray the People. But there are more of us―and together, we can push things forward. We're fighting to elect candidates who don’t take power for granted, and are willing to use it to fight for the People as hard as Mitch McConnell fights for corporations. We won’t have deep-pocketed corporate donors. This is only going to work if The People are United. DONATE NOW

 

Noblesse Oblige

Happy Thanksgiving! 

However you might celebrate it, this is the time of year when many Americans express their gratitude toward others who have helped them (or have at least been kind to them) in the previous year. But what is it about Western society that thinks one day a year is sufficient enough to say "thank you" to our fellow human beings? How can one big meal make up for the centuries of exploitation that colonialism brought to the Americas? And why do we think that a little bit of showy philanthropy offered by a billionaire will right all the wrongs this individual has wreaked upon both people and the planet? 

Our guest blogger considers this age-old concept, that somehow our "betters" will take care of us all...free of charge? You'd be surprised how common this bizarre belief still is in the 21^th century.

Noblesse Oblige

by Coast Watcher

In French, noblesse oblige (No-bless OBlee-je) means literally "nobility obligates." It refers to the social contract whereby those of high rank, birth or wealth are supposed to act generously and honorably to others, especially those of lower status and/or wealth.

The phrase has its roots in the feudal system that originated in Carolingian France of the 8^th century. It spread to dominate the whole continent of Europe within the next three hundred years. Something akin to feudalism existed at times in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, but in any case it basically refers to the need of the weak and innocent for the protection of a powerful man. The powerful—read, nobility—would allow those of lower class to live on their land in exchange for providing general labor or military service. In time the structure of feudalism became rigid, with little scope for mobility between classes.

Feudalism began a slow decline in the 14^th century when the Black Death struck Eurasia and Europe. One of the most devastating pandemics in human history, the true death toll is unknown. Estimates vary, but somewhere between 75 to 200 million people died during the plague, which peaked in Europe from 1347 to 1351. The sudden scarcity of those who would labor or fight for the nobility—usually under threat of dire punishment if they defaulted on their obligations—resulted in a radical shift in favor of the lower classes. Without a military to back them up the nobility found themselves powerless in the face of demands for social reforms from the lower classes. 

The increasingly centralized power of monarchy also diminished the nobility’s scope to rule those beneath them. In time this led to a redistribution of wealth, and the middle class, or bourgeoisie, rose to occupy the ground between peasant and noble. Richer than a peasant, not as rich as a noble, the bourgeoisie lived comfortable lives and often worked in trade and industry. As a class they tended to be conservative. They also took on some aspects of noblesse oblige to those less fortunate.

So much for the history. What of the modern world?

It’s said that capitalism arose when democracy met feudalism, and I believe there’s an element of truth in that. Some members of the bourgeoisie who did well in the fields of trade and industry became wealthier than the nobility, often by a huge margin. Their enterprises grew into the multinational corporations we see today. Each and every one of those corporations had its origins in somebody’s store, shed, barn or laboratory. Over the course of decades, and perhaps centuries, those businesses merged or predated upon one another to become vast, bloated operations too powerful for the public’s good. They grew wealthy and powerful enough to control governments.

Quo plus habent, eo plus desire ~ The more they have, the more they want.

Capitalism is a greedy and demanding cuckoo in the nest of humanity. The more it feeds off the public in the shape of tax concessions and subsidies, the more it wants. It loves it when conservative-oriented governments privatize public assets and sell them to the highest bidder. Often capitalism doesn’t have to use force—just wads of lobbyist cash. The more money capitalism takes from the economy, the more ordinary people have to struggle to keep their heads above water. Money which would otherwise be in circulation is being stashed away in offshore accounts where its sole purpose is to provide purchasing power for big business’ next venture.

When poverty increases, there’s a commensurate increased need for charity to step in where government either fails to do so adequately or otherwise ignores the problem. In 1929 the Great Depression began with the infamous Wall Street Crash, lasting well into the thirties. Charities that normally provided a stop-gap solution to immediate problems found themselves having to sustain an impoverished population for far longer than funds would permit. The situation was eased by FDR’s New Deal, which provided public funds to get industry back on its feet and the public back to work.

Of course, the New Deal really came about because the establishment was scared to death by the rise of socialism and communism, both of which are anathema to capitalism. It wanted all the anger and outrage generated by the Great Depression channeled into safer courses. Once the heat had gone out of the situation, those liberal policies gradually went away or were watered down. The 1960s resurgence of public pressure for social reforms was another scary period for the establishment, but again, come the Reagan era, the reforms wrung from government dissipated over time.

And so it is today. The 2008 crash saw poverty hit America once more. Barack Obama bailed out the banks claiming they were “too big to fail” instead of letting them perish for blatant mismanagement of their assets—this after the CEOs of those big banks flew their executive jets into Washington DC so they could plead poverty. The mortgage crisis hit millions across the country. Homelessness rose and has continued to rise. Bankruptcies—especially from unforeseen healthcare costs—are endemic. Charities are stepping into the breach once more, as they did during the Great Depression, and again these charities are struggling to cope with a high demand for their services.

What makes this situation all the uglier for those suffering economic hardship is the attitude of those more fortunate.

Noblesse oblige is noticeably absent. A callous streak infects the rich and generally better off. A pseudo-Calvanistic attitude prevails, whereby many of those more fortunate than others believe the poor and suffering deserve their fate because “God ordains it so.” They use it as justification for doing nothing. Some donate to charitable causes as a sop to their consciences, but they’d rather not have any direct contact with the poor. Another justification to deny charity is that people will become too dependent on charitable donations, and to a certain extent this is true. Much as feudalism created a serf class dependent on the nobility’s largess, so does charity become a crutch which is hard to discard even in better times. 

Even so, governments use the same philosophy to refuse assistance for the sick and struggling even though—especially in the case of the United States Constitution—it has a legal obligation to help.

Big business does indulge in a form of noblesse oblige, usually as a public relations ploy and especially if their business practices draw public and press disapproval. Some businesses such as Amazon are not interested in performing any charitable function. In fact, Amazon owner Jeff Bezos plowed over a million dollars into the recent Seattle council elections specifically to depose Socialist Alternative city councilor Kshama Sawant and pack the council with his toadies. This was after he browbeat the council into abandoning a tiny tax on businesses in the city aimed at providing funds for the homeless. Bezos’ plan failed. Only two of the seven council candidates he sponsored won their seats, and they look set to lose them at the next election.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is another example of capitalist noblesse oblige. With over $50 billion in assets the foundation’s activities are worldwide and often controversial. It drew criticism for its inoculation program in Africa when it was linked to attempts to sterilize women. Accusations have been leveled at the foundation concerning a hidden agenda.

All things considered, the nobility and rich in general take far more than they give. They rely on charities to take up the considerable slack in helping the poor and disadvantaged in society. It costs the rich far less than a tax on their wealth aimed at providing at least adequate social benefits to citizens. 

Noblesse oblige: At the end of the day, is it worth it? Does it work? Did it ever work? Or is it nothing other than gesture to soothe a rich person’s conscience?

BIO: Coast Watcher stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as a child. He certainly doesn't believe in the mythical "generous and charitable one-percent class," either. He recommends you open your ears and use your brain to think through what the billionaires are really up to whenever you see them portrayed as heroes in the mainstream media. You do realize they own all the mainstream media outlets, don't you?

This excellent short video poses an important question of morality that needs to be answered for our very survival.  https://youtu.be/axN8ppre-mU

From Bernie Sanders' Twitter Feed: 

Bernie Sanders

@BernieSanders

The wealth of the billionaire class is almost incomprehensible. The Waltons get $70,000 richer every minute. Jeff Bezos makes $2,489 a second. That is why it is not radical to say that millions of people in this country should not be paid starvation wages.

11:41 AM · Nov 25, 2019

Check out even more damning evidence of how billionaires call the shots worldwide--by starting wars and funding coups to obtain oil and other resources illegally. Excellent piece from Dirk at Beanstock's World. Here's a short excerpt:

https://beanstocksworld.wordpress.com/2019/11/25/unaccountable-u-s-government-agencies/#more-7808

"By now, a growing number of Americans have become aware of how our intended democracy has become undermined by Big Money and turned into a sham where voter participation is essentially blocked by a twin party tyranny of the R- and D-Party, both working exclusively for the rich and their corporations, think tanks, and an army of 42,000+ registered lobbyists (plus many more unregistered ones) while dangling billionaire puppets in front of us as “our” candidates, excluding true people’s representatives from our ballots or rigging the elections when one does make it on the ballots."

***

Don't let Wall Street silence activists

Tell SEC commissioners: "Shareholder resolutions are a crucial way for shareholders to hold corporations accountable. Changing SEC Rule 14a-8 would silence shareholder activism and protect big corporations from the consequences of their actions. Withdraw changes to SEC Rule 14a-8." Add your name:

Wall Street is trying to silence the voices of progressive activists, and Trump's handpicked Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair is helping. Shareholder resolutions have forced Fortune 500 corporations to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, promote transparency, improve racial diversity and confront climate change. But now, after lobbying from corporate CEOs, the SEC proposed new rules that make activists jump through increasingly difficult hoops in order to introduce and pass shareholder resolutions.1,2 We can't let the SEC help Wall Street crush the shareholder activists who hold major corporations accountable. We need to speak out against this awful proposal now, while the SEC is still accepting public input. Tell the SEC: Don't help Wall Street crush activists. Click here to sign the petition. The SEC is supposed to protect people from Wall Street. It is doing the opposite. In the past, the SEC made sure shareholders – from mom-and-pop investors to the pension funds of teachers and firefighters – can propose and pass resolutions demanding changes from the company they own stock in. But under the leadership of Trump's handpicked SEC chair Jay Clayton, the SEC is helping corporations hide their actions and escape accountability from shareholders. The Sierra Club recently sued the SEC to find out how the watchdog routinely allows corporations to exclude shareholder resolutions that force them to confront climate change.3 Shareholder resolutions are a powerful tool for holding corporations accountable. Many standard practices today – including banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, allowing shareholders to hold a vote on excessive CEO pay and banning conflicts of interests among board members – began as shareholder resolutions. And shareholders continue to push corporations to do better on racial and gender diversity, climate change, environmental and labor practices, disclosure of political spending, and far, far more.4 The new SEC proposal would help corporations crack down on these shareholder resolutions by limiting who is eligible to submit new ones and rejecting previous resolutions unless they gain immense popularity over a short period of time. It would even give corporations a say in which resolutions to recommend to shareholders – akin to letting Donald Trump edit the New York Times opinion page.5 Right now, the proposal is open for public comment and the narrowly divided SEC gives us a chance to block the new rules. Trump's SEC chair wants to let Wall Street CEOs write the rules governing who can hold them accountable, and we cannot let that happen. Tell the SEC: Don't help Wall Street crush activists. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/sec-shareholder-resolution?t=9&akid=35055%2E9999572%2EVipUpL Thank you for speaking out, Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Ganesh Setty, "Shareholders would have tougher time submitting resolutions under SEC’s proposed rule," CNBC, Nov. 5, 2019. Lisa Woll, "The SEC wants to change the rules for filing shareholder motions — for no good reason," MarketWatch, Nov. 5, 2019. Hazel Bradford, "Sierra Club sues SEC over denial of climate-related shareholder resolutions," Pensions & Investments, Oct. 25, 2019. Woll, "The SEC wants to change the rules for filing shareholder motions — for no good reason." Ibid.

 ***

Tell Congress: it’s time to investigate Amazon’s surveillance empire.

 

Surveillance is at the heart of Amazon's monopolistic business model.They record our conversations, capture video footage of our lives, creep into our elections, track our faces, and partner with police to build a nationwide surveillance network. They exploit our intimate moments and sensitive personal information for their profits. ^1,2,3

 

Amazon devices don’t make us safer. Their executives recently admitted there are no safeguards in place to protect our data, privacy, or our civil liberties in their Ring doorbell cameras and surveillance police partnerships.⁴

 

In response to Amazon’s blatant disregard for our basic rights and security, a group of Senators sent letters demanding answers. But now that lawmakers in DC are asking questions, Amazon will dispatch their army of lobbyists and call in their favors with the politicians they helped elect. There’s nothing they won’t do to avoid scrutiny and accountability. 

To stop Amazon, we need to build grassroots pressure on lawmakers to launch a full Congressional investigation of Amazon. Click here to demand Congress take action now.

TAKE ACTION

Amazon is going to continue to expand their surveillance network. They will take advantage of the holiday season to sell more devices that listen to us and watch us. 

We need lawmakers to intervene. A Congressional hearing is the only way to expose Amazon’s invasive data harvesting practices, and lay the foundation for laws that will rein in their for-profit surveillance practices. 

If you want to protect your rights and privacy, tell Congress to investigate Amazon.

 

Together, we can shutdown Amazon’s surveillance dragnet.

Ayele at Fight for the Future

---

Footnotes:

1. Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2019/05/16/why-amazon-alexa-is-always-listening-to-your-conversations-analysis/

2. Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-elections-amazon-com-insight/how-amazon-com-moved-into-the-business-of-u-s-elections-idUSKBN1WU173

3. Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/11/19/police-can-keep-ring-camera-video-forever-share-with-whomever-theyd-like-company-tells-senator/

4. Fight for the Future: https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2019-11-20-amazon-admits-it-has-enacted-zero-civil-liberties/