The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

 

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Is No Democracy At All)

by C.A. Matthews

 

I believe most Americans understand that the United States is not a democracy or even qualifies as a representative democracy. The US is, in fact, an oligarchy, which means politicians work for their big money donors and not for the people.

The Princeton Study proved that no matter how hard average voters try to influence their elected representatives—try to make them vote for or sponsor a bill that would benefit ordinary people and not billionaires—the result will be the same. Whatever corporations and the super rich folks who own them want, they’ll get. To put it plainly, “Screw the needs of ordinary Americans!”

I came across an example this week that illustrates the American oligarchy in action. I will make a few suggestions on how we can fight back against their tactics, but feel free to come up with some actions of your own. Please write them in the comments below because sharing knowledge is power. Thank you.

From a recent Jill Stein for President campaign email:

On Thursday June 27th, the FEC [Federal Elections Commission] informed us that our campaign had qualified for primary matching funds. Then minutes later, FEC told us the Treasury department will withhold our payments to give priority to general election funding–just in case the Democratic and Republican candidates decide they want it.

Let me explain why that’s so outrageous...

 

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Exposing Dirty Tricks

Exposing Dirty Tricks

by C.A. Matthews

Has anyone ever tried to pull the wool over your eyes? Fooled you into believing something that turned out later to be false? How did you feel after you discovered that you'd been bamboozled? Sad? Angry? Determined never to let something like this happen to you ever again?

Now you know how the Arizona Green Party (AZGP) feels upon learning that Green voters could become the victims of a series of terrible tricks. This scam essentially denies all Arizona voters a choice for US Senate. And who are these con artists attempting to pull a fast one over on the electorate? They're none other than the Democratic Party.

Here are the details as they were presented on X (Twitter) by the AZGP:

The message thread begins at this address: https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1780413138262954472

The Arizona Green Party has discovered compelling evidence that suggests that the Democratic Party is attempting to interfere in our primary election process for the U.S Senate race via the campaign of faux-Green candidate Mike Norton.

First, Norton isn’t even a registered AZGP member AT ALL. Voter data provided to us from the Maricopa County Elections Office indicates that Norton’s most recent change in party affiliation was to “Independent”, which he registered as on August 17th, 2023, not as a “Green”.

Norton filed a Statement of Interest to run for the U.S. Senate as a Green on March 17th, 2024, a mere two weeks before the deadline to submit a sufficient number of candidate nomination petitions. He had no prior involvement or contact with the AZGP whatsoever before this.

On March 18th, the first of 7 total out-of-state paid petitioners, all claiming to be working for Wells Marketing LLC, begin to register with the AZ Secretary of State’s Office via the Circulator Portal and designate that they are circulating petitions for Norton’s campaign.

The next day, March 19th, Mike Norton files a Statement of Organization with the FEC for his candidate committee, “Mike Norton for Arizona”. FEC Law stipulates that this has to happen once a Congressional candidate raises or spends a combined total of $5K.

On March 21st, the “Save Democracy PAC” a super-PAC with ties to the Democratic Party, donates the max contribution of $5K to Norton’s candidate committee. Reminder: anybody who knows anything about the Green Party knows that we DO NOT EVER accept contributions from super PACs.

[Editor’s note: You can learn more about the Green Party at https://gp.org]

On March 27th, two more Democratic Party linked super-PACs (“End Citizens United” and “Defend The Vote”) max out donations to Norton’s campaign, contributing $5K each.

Both these super-PACs have already officially endorsed Ruben Gallego for the 2024 US Senate seat in Arizona. [Editor’s note: Ruben Gallego is running as a Democrat.]

Get ready, cuz this is a BIG one. On March 28th, 5 individuals made maxed out contributions of $3300 each to Norton’s campaign, and 1 contributed a lesser $1000 donation. The names/backgrounds of these individual donors may surprise you, so let’s go through them one by one.

Michael D. Smith is a Principal/Director at Cornerstone Government Affairs. He’s also a member of the DSCC Majority Trust Legacy Circle since 2008, and a formerly appointed member of the DNC Credentials Committee. Smith contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign. [DSCC—Democratic Senate Congressional Committee]

Paul Bernon is a Managing Partner at PMB Ventures, a Co-Chair of the Emily List Creative Council, and a member of the DNC Finance Committee. Bernon contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign.

Devin Rhinerson is a Partner at Pace LLP and a former senior policy advisor to the (now deceased) Democratic Senator from the State of California, Diane Feinstein. Rhinerson contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s Campaign.

Elizabeth E. Steinglass (David’s wife) is a Harvard graduate, a poet/author, a Research Fellow at NYU School of Law, and- like her husband- a frequent big money donor to Democratic campaigns. Elizabeth contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign.

Capping off the individual contributions is Timothy Webster, an Associate Professor of Law at WNE University who made a more modest contribution of only $1000 to Mike Norton for Arizona. While we have not yet confirmed Webster as being tied to the Dems, the timing is suspicious.

In a SINGLE day on March 28th, and between only 6 individual contributors, “Mike Norton for Arizona” received a whopping $17.5K, the majority of which came from Democratic Party insiders and their big money donors. But wait, there’s still more…

The following day, March 29th, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU-COPE) ALSO made a maximum $5K contribution to Mike Norton’s campaign. “Why the Transit Union?”, you ask? Norton’s background is as a CEO, Senior Executive, and Legal Counsel to 3 major transportation companies.

But that undersells it, because those companies specialize in the transportation of “High Security Products”. Can you guess what kind of products those may be? Here’s the answer: weapons, ammunition, explosives, and radioactive materials. A decidedly un-Green career, we’d say. [Editor’s note: The Green Party platform states clearly that they are for “People, Planet and Peace (over corporate profits). You can see now why this contributor is highly suspect.]

So, let’s summarize: Norton’s not a registered Green, and never has been. In the span of ONLY 12 DAYS after filing an initial Statement of Interest, he received over $15K from confirmed Democratic Party insiders. And now he’s trying to fool the Green Party voters of Arizona.

And if you’re wondering, as some of you surely would be, “What do the Democrats gain from heavily funding a fake Green Party candidate?”, consider the case of ‘18 Senate candidate Angela Green, who dropped out and endorsed Sinema at the very last minute against McSally.

Sinema ultimately won regardless of Green’s endorsement, but it was a close race, and the AZ Dem Party, the DSCC, and the DNC have no desire to take that chance with Ruben Gallego in 2024. They’re willing to fight dirty and do everything they can to sabotage the competition.

And what better way is there to stop any possible *real* competition for Gallego from our party than by implanting an operative in our primary, funding him so heavily he easily wins, and then immediately having him drop out in the general to endorse the Democratic candidate?

Well, Mike Norton you may be a smart man, and you may be well-funded by the corrupt DNC, but you can’t fool us, and you won’t get away with your lies and dirty tricks. We know a true Green Party candidate from a fake like you. And now, Arizona knows you’re a fraud too.

Wow… After making quite a few sloppy moves, do the Dirty Dems really think they’ll get away with this conman of a candidate? Do they think Arizona’s voters are stupid enough to vote for a “faux Green”?

I think you know the answer to both those questions. It’s “yes.”

The saddest part about the Dems pulling dirty tricks is that most voters won’t do much in-depth research into candidates running for office at any level. They’ll believe whatever is put before them in the mainstream media without questioning it. Most have never heard of OpenSecrets.org where they can check out where politicians are getting their money and just how much they've taken. Most voters have never thought of researching the party platform that the candidate says they’re promoting, which in this case is very important as Norton seems to stand for the complete opposite of the Green Party's philosophy.

If voters did do their research, they would learn that the Green Party is for “People, Planet and Peace” and their candidates pledge to never take money from PACs or Super PACs. They’d think twice about Mike Norton’s acceptance of money from an industry dedicated to war along with large donations from Democratic Party insiders.

I mean, why would well-heeled Democrats give money to a Green Party candidate in the first place? That should be a big giveaway right there. But wait, there’s even more nefarious activity going on in the Dems’ dirty tricks campaign to undermine the Arizona Green Party's primary. The AZGP has also reported there is yet another possible “faux-Green” candidate being promoted by the DNC.

The thread for these messages begins here: https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1781897196419621221

In addition to the meddling by the DNC in our primary election via the campaign of Mike Norton, the Arizona Green Party has found irregularities in the campaign finance reporting of Arturo Hernandez, the other faux-Green candidate for U.S. Senate. Here’s what we found.

Arturo filed his statement of interest with the AZ Secretary of State’s Office on March 1st, 2024, and he filed his FEC Statement of Organization (Form 1) and Statement of Candidacy (Form 2) on March 11th, 2024.

While it’s not required for a candidate to reach the $5K threshold before they file paperwork and start submitting FEC reports, as soon as they file that paperwork, they are obligated to report all funds that are raised or spent by the candidate’s committee.

Because Hernandez filed his Statement on the 1st of March, he was officially campaigning as of that date and cannot claim to have been “testing the waters” in the form of an exploratory committee, as is allowed for and outlined in FEC guidelines.

Part of that FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy requires candidates to declare their intent to expend personal funds if they are a candidate for Congress. Hernandez’s FEC Form 2 indicates that he claimed intend to spend $0 of his personal funds in the primary and general election.

However, if you examine Mr. Hernandez’s Q1 FEC reports, he has also claimed $0 in receipts and expenditures. Here’s where things start to get really fishy…

We know from personal testimony from AZGP members like @jonralstonlmt and research done during the signature challenge period that Mr. Hernandez had paid circulators distributing his candidate nomination petitions. Yet, Mr. Hernandez has not reported any money raised or spent.

Additionally, we know that Mr. Hernandez is a client of “In Compliance Inc.”, and his designated Treasurer and Custodian of Records is Chrissie Hastie, President/CEO of In Compliance Inc. However, no payments to In Compliance Inc. have been reported by Mr. Hernandez in Q1.

Even if the paid petitioners AND In Compliance Inc. were to have worked pro bono for Mr. Hernandez, they would still need to report this as an “in-kind contribution”. No such reporting has been made on the Q1 FEC report for “Arturo for Arizona”.

It is no secret that Mr. Hernandez is a sham candidate who has jumped onto our ballot line with the intent to fool Green Party in Arizona into wasting their vote on an infiltrator with nefarious intentions. Mr. Hernandez has even been so bold as to contact us to gloat.

While we are continuing to investigate further evidence of wrongdoing, we believe that it is highly probably that Mr. Hernandez and his candidate committee “Arturo for Arizona” have violated the FECA of 1971. We urge all AZ Green Party members to NOT vote for or support him.

If any individual would like to submit an FEC complaint against “Arturo for Arizona”, which could trigger a thorough investigation process by the Commission that may be very expensive for Mr. Hernandez… , here is the process for how to do so: https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/enforcement/complaints-process/how-to-file-complaint-with-fec/

Anybody can file an FEC complaint, and the more complaints filed, the more likely it is the commission will review the case.

To further clarify:

https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1781734840930549853

To be clear, the Democrats are trying to kick faux-Green Arturo Hernandez off the ballot, while they have installed a well-funded Democratic operative to run in our primary named Mike Norton. The AZ Green Party’s endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate race is @Quintana4Senate

Even the Republican US Senate candidate, Kari Lake, is exposing these Dem shenanigans:

https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/1781729926451999071

It appear the AZ Dem Party is attempting to kick the AZ Green Party candidate off the ballot so that their Trojan horse candidate can drop out & endorse Ruben Gallego.

These are the people who lecture us about democracy.

Mr. Hernandez doesn’t sound like the brightest bulb in the box to me. Could he be yet another DNC faux Green candidate that didn’t quite work out as well as they’d hoped, so they brought Mr. Norton on board later to be their “official faux Green candidate” instead? Why does the DNC pull such criminal stunts like this? Are they worried their own candidate, Mr. Gallego, isn’t electable?

Ruben M. Montejano states in an X post:

https://twitter.com/damnitruben/status/1781156089276641337

From what I gather AZ Green Party thinks if Norton wins their primary he will drop out leaving no Green Party Candidate to run against the Dem and Republican candidates in the general election.

The official Arizona Green Party candidate is Eduardo Quintana.[@Quintana4Senate]:

https://twitter.com/Quintana4Senate/status/1777399449985126691

My name is Eduardo Quintana, I am a dedicated Green Party activist in the Tucson area, and I am running a grassroots, corporate-free campaign for the U.S. Senate with the AZ Green Party

The Dems' actions demonstrate how very scared they are very scared of losing the US Senate seat in Arizona. They possibly fear that voters see them as supporters of Genocide Joe Biden, repellent genocide-enablers. They’re willing to spend large sums of their donors' money and risk committing fraud to take away the voters choices at the ballot box. 

When the news of these dirty tricks in Arizona eventually leaks out to a wider audience, won’t the Dems be helping their Republican opponent by making her look more honest than they are? This time around the Dems can’t claim the Green Party candidate is stealing votes from them because they are, in fact, funding “spoilers” like Mike Norton and Arturo Hernandez in the Green primary.

What does Norton in particular get out of all of this skullduggery? It seems his connection with the weapons industry is behind his reasoning for doing this so he can continue to fund Gallego and other Dem candidates who love passing huge military budgets. The military-industrial-Congressional complex operators don’t really care what label a candidate wears as long as she/he votes the way they want them to. As long as the duopoly remains in power, billionaires will thrive and workers will suffer as more and more money is siphoned out of the workers' pockets and slipped into the oligarchs’ bank accounts.

Worse yet, more innocents will continue to suffer and die as more US bombs are provided to apartheid Israel to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people in Gaza. A Green Party senator from Arizona would work hard to end this horrific situation and all US military interventions worldwide.

What can the Arizona Green Party do to shut down this scam? They can take legal action against Norton for misrepresenting himself as a Green, but court cases take time, and it wouldn’t come up until after November. The Dems are counting on that. It’s why they waited until almost the last moment to sneak Norton in on the Green primary. In the meantime, they’re probably “rewarding” (i.e., bribing) all the Arizona judges to make a ruling in the DNC’s favor when the case finally does come to court. Criminals do tend to stick together.

If you’re a person who loves democracy and wants to help the voters of Arizona, there are a few things you can do. First off, share this story (and the X posts/Tweets) with others. The mainstream media certainly won’t cover this DNC trickery. They wouldn’t dare anger their corporate owners. So, it’s up to us everyday people, indie journalists, and independent podcasters to get the word out.

Secondly, file a complaint with the FEC if you feel moved to do so. And if you’re able, donate your time, talents and/or money to the AZGP and/or the GPUS. Lawyers don’t come cheap, and a party like the Green Party that only accepts donations from voters like you and me (not millionaires/billionaires) needs all the backers they can get. 

It’s why the Dirty Dems pick on the people-powered Greens—the Dems receive billions of dollars from their wealthy Super PAC donors but no real support from the masses. The Dems use their corporate donors’ money to pull undemocratic stunts like this one in order to manipulate us, We the People. Remember, “freedom isn’t free” when the people are being blatantly outspent by billionaires bribing politicians.

Last and certainly not least, support causes that are working to take big money out of US politics. Just think if the DNC wasn’t able to pull all this money together and create fake candidates to thwart voter choice, we might not be seeing these kinds of dirty tricks in the first place. Check out the Move to Amend and Ranked Choice Voting initiatives. 

Whatever you do, don’t give up hope. Make a vow to never let the Dems get away with dirty tricks ever again. Power to the people—not the corporations who own the Dems, their criminally minded minions!

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Democrats Sue to Block Green Candidate https://arizonaglobe.com/fl/democrats-sue-to-block-green-candidate/

Challenging the duopoly: Jill Stein on why she's running for US president as Green Party candidate https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/jill-stein-president-green-party

'Obvious Evidence of Genocide': Mass Grave Discovered in Gaza's Nasser Hospital https://www.commondreams.org/news/mass-grave-gaza-nasser-hospital 

Israeli Strikes in Rafah Kill 22, Including 18 Children https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/21/israeli-strikes-kill-22-in-rafah-including-18-children/

Israel Is Turning Hospitals Into Mass Graves While The West Fixates On 'Antisemitism' https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-is-turning-hospitals-into

We need to have a conversation about Zionism https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/we-need-to-have-a-conversation-about

Bankers upgrade Lockheed stock after Iran strikes at Israel https://responsiblestatecraft.org/lockheed-martin-israel-war/

Leaked Cables Show Biden Pressuring Nations to Oppose Palestine's UN Membership https://www.commondreams.org/news/palestinian-statehood

In Fit of anti-Palestinian Hatred, Congress tries to Outlaw “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/palestinian-congress-palestine.html

Leaked Cables Show Biden Pressuring Nations to Oppose Palestine's UN Membership https://www.commondreams.org/news/palestinian-statehood

In Fit of anti-Palestinian Hatred, Congress tries to Outlaw “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/palestinian-congress-palestine.html

Stop Pretending Biden Is Some Passive Witness To Israel's Warmongering https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/stop-pretending-biden-is-some-passive

Israel's Latest Lie Is That It Has 'No Choice' But To Attack Iran https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israels-latest-lie-is-that-it-has

If The Mainstream Worldview Was Accurate, Gaza Wouldn't Be Burning https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/if-the-mainstream-worldview-was-accurate

Amal Clooney’s Silence on Gaza Shows the Limits of Liberalism  https://www.mintpressnews.com/amal-clooney-silence-gaza-shows-limits-liberalism/287251/

The Palestine Movement Has Completely Undermined the US-Israel Relationship  https://youtu.be/X1Zz2Hnmr7w

Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes https://www.propublica.org/article/israel-gaza-blinken-leahy-sanctions-human-rights-violations

Protesters Block Road To Shannon Airport in Ireland, Calling For End To Usage By U.S. Military https://worldbeyondwar.org/protesters-block-road-to-shannon-airport-in-ireland-calling-for-end-to-usage-by-u-s-military/

Escalation With Iran Seemingly Over; Now We Have To Worry About Rafah  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/escalation-with-iran-seemingly-over

The US Doesn't Support A Two-State Solution, It Just Supports Saying It Does https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-us-doesnt-support-a-two-state

Palestine Coverage – Latest Unicorn Riot Stories from Palestine and Pro-Palestine Protests  https://unicornriot.ninja/palestine-coverage-latest-unicorn-riot-stories-from-palestine-and-pro-palestine-protests/

US Government Rejects Australia’s Call To End Assange Case, Submits 'Assurances' For Extradition https://thedissenter.org/us-government-rejects-australias-call-to-end-assange-case/

In Gaza The Sniper Drones Are Crying Like Babies https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/in-gaza-the-sniper-drones-are-crying

From Florida to Australia, Global Coral Bleaching Could Soon Be Worst on Record  https://truthout.org/articles/global-coral-reef-bleaching-event-brings-bad-news-for-the-climate/

Dead Last (With Emphasis on Dead!) https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/17/dead-last-with-emphasis-on-dead/

Assange Extradition Case Moves Forward While The CIA Covers Its Tracks https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/assange-extradition-case-moves-forward

"Rules-Based Order" Means Rules For Thee But Not For We https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/rules-based-order-means-rules-for

FBI Violated Your Rights An Unbelievable Amount According To Gov't Docs! https://youtu.be/6lk7bAYoiRo?si=9cyf6s58SjrnRSN6

 

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Whatever This Is, It's Not A Democracy

 

Did Not Vote is a powerful majority. Why are their voices suppressed?

Whatever This Is, It's Not A Democracy

by C.A. Matthews 

Some folks running for office can tell their story much better than I can, so here's one in the candidate's (Matthew Hoh) own tweets: 

When the Democratic Party decided to go to war to try to push a disabled Marine combat veteran off the ballot, they should have known: we’re not going to back down from a fight for our democracy.

We will stand up and fight this outrageous corruption.

— Matthew Hoh for Senate (@MatthewPHoh) June 30, 2022

"In recordings and eyewitness accounts provided to the Green Party and the media, Democratic Party operatives falsely claimed to be representing the Green Party and even the Board of Elections as they bombarded our petition signers with deceptive claims. (This video link shows what happened.) https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/nc-green-party-claims-harassment-amid-pressures-to-be-removed-from-ballot/

"The decision to deny our ballot line comes after a massive voter intimidation campaign from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee aided by the Elias Law Group, targeting NC residents to pressure them to request their names be removed from our petition. https://www.matthewhohforsenate.org/hoh-slams-democratic-partys-voter-intimidation-campaign/

"At the @NCSBE meeting, the @NorthCarolinaGP's lawyer Oliver Hall of @voterchoice asked if there was any evidence why the NCGP's 15,953 verified signatures should not be certified. SBOE Chair Damon Circosta, 1 of 3 Democrats on the 5-member board, refused to answer the question...

"When the NC Green Party's lawyer Oliver Hall repeated that his only question was if there was any reason not to certify the Green Party petition, given NCGP's 15,953 verified signatures well exceeded the requirement, Chairman Circosta demanded the Green Party’s lawyer be muted.

"After silencing Attorney Oliver Hall, the only representative of the Green Party allowed in the meeting except for observers, the NC State Board of Elections proceeded to vote 3-2 against certifying the Greens’ ballot access petition, with all 3 Democrats voting No. 

 "Please watch yesterday's hearing where we were denied party certification by the NC State Board of Elections in a brazenly partisan manner. Most disturbing, among several concerns to me, was the lack of due process.  (This video starts where the vote to deny party certification begins.)  https://s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov/State_Board_Meeting_Docs/2022-06-30/State%20Board%20of%20Elections%20Meeting-20220630%201300-1.mp4

 "Allegations that the Green Party committed fraud in the signature-collection process have come primarily from the ELIAS LAW GROUP, a FIRM THAT SERVES AS GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE (DSCC)."

Watch some of the videos above (and below in the related links) and you'll get more of a feel at just how coordinated this effort at preventing the Green Party from having a senatorial candidate on the NC ballot is. Denying qualified candidates from having their names on the ballot without due process--under the cloud of possible illegal electioneering tactics by the DSCC's law firm--isn't what most honest Americans would expect living in a "democracy."  In case the NC State Board of Elections has forgotten what the word democracy means:

Free elections? The rule of the people is honored? The majority of Americans belong to the party called "Did Not Vote." Using bullying tactics via text, telephone calling, and actual door knocking by Democratic Party operatives to get NC voters to remove their names from Matthew Hoh's senate petition doesn't sound fair, does it? And yet, this unfair behavior is allowed because those currently in power in North Carolina (a.k.a. the Democrats)--who are backed by plenty of money from very powerful, very wealthy people (a.k.a the oligarchs)--want it to happen.

Competition during a very contested election year cannot be allowed by the Dems. In their opinion, the voters do not deserve to have choices at the polls. To quote our Australian friends from The Juice Media, makers of Honest Government Ads, the voters are expected to choose candidates from the "Shit Party" or from the "Shit Lite Party." And then voters are expected to shut up and put up with the whole stinky mess that voting for a "lesser evil" candidate causes.

You can see why the NC Democrats have gone to such extremes to keep Matthew off the ballot. Just by listening to him in the videos you can tell how intelligent and compassionate he is. He has served several tours of duty as a Marine and worked in the US State Department. He seems the ideal candidate--energetic, smart, experienced in government, and a true patriot. So, what's wrong with him? He won't take corporate money and lobbyists' dollars like the duopoly candidates do. He wants to represent the people--not Wall Street.

And the oligarchs can't have that, can they?

So, why won't the Dems even allow Matthew Hoh's name on the ballot for US senate as a Green Party candidate? Just let his name be on the ballot... Well, the biggest problem with that is the Democrats would have to campaign against him. And what bad things could they actually say about Matthew? Not much.

Consider this: How bad would it look for the Democrats to say disparaging things and make spurious claims in commercials and printed materials against a disabled veteran? A veteran who served his country and was wounded in the process… It would be pretty low behavior even by the dirty Dems' standards, the same party who openly screwed over Bernie Sanders in their 2016 and 2020 primaries.

Whatever this voting system we've got in this country is, it sure ain't a democracy.   

We The People who believe in democracy and fair play shouldn't allow stunts like this to happen. No political faction should be able to prevent third party or independent candidates from being on the ballot. Support Matthew's cause to get his case heard in time for him to appear on the NC ballot so voters there have a choice of one decent candidate for senate. Support the Green Party US so they can easily get their candidates on ballots everywhere.

Who knows? These types of shenanigans might be happening currently in your state, too. Why would you want voters stuck choosing between the two "lesser evil" choices? How will We The People ever hope to change the corrupt status quo and make the world a better place if we're stuck choosing between "Shit" and "Shit Lite" candidates? It's time to flush the dirty duopoly tactics down the drain forever!

Related Articles and Videos Links:

Blatantly Partisan: NC Green Part Candidate Slams State Dems For Denying Ballot Petition https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/07/01/blatantly-partisan-nc-green-party-candidate-slams-state-dems-denying-ballot-petition

Hoh Slams Democratic Party's Voter Intimidation Campaign https://www.matthewhohforsenate.org/hoh-slams-democratic-partys-voter-intimidation-campaign/

Dems Illegally Kick 3rd Party Off Ballot in North Carolina (video)  https://youtu.be/sn1nQCEr5JU

Matthew Hoh Joins JB (A very thorough video interview. JB asks some very good questions, and Matthew opens up on a variety of topics.)  https://youtu.be/kVmpl3OndEg

Court Concedes DNC Had The Right to Rig Primaries Against Sanders https://observer.com/2017/08/court-admits-dnc-and-debbie-wasserman-schulz-rigged-primaries-against-sanders/ 

What Would a Real Opposition Party of the People Do? https://scheerpost.com/2022/07/04/what-would-a-real-opposition-party-of-the-people-do/

Matthew Hoh for US Senate  https://www.matthewhohforsenate.org

Ballot Access Fund--North Carolina Green Party https://www.ncgreenparty.org/ballot-access-fund  

Seen on Twitter:

Either we live in:

1. A democracy where citizens can run and vote for candidates under whatever political party we want.

or

2. An oligarchy where 2 corporate controlled parties who can literally pick their nominees in a smoke filled back room dictate who can run for office.

— The Progressive Michigander (@Progress_Mich) July 1, 2022

Democrats just fought harder to kick a Green party candidate off the ballot than they’ve ever fought against Republicans. They make speech after speech about saving democracy as they’re actively destroying it by suppressing the people from having better choices at the ballot box.

— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) July 1, 2022

What's being done to @MatthewPHoh, in North Carolina is a shameful act by the "Democratic" Party to deny the people of a candidate they will probably want to vote for... when Dems should be working on #ReproductiveRights.

If you want to help... please RT.https://t.co/DauEEfWnhl

— JustinBGreen (@JustinBGreen1) July 2, 2022

Democrats vs the Right: There’s nothing we can do, the parliamentarian said so!

Democrats vs the Left: We will do whatever it takes to destroy you. https://t.co/fUAWPPsyLs

— Matthew Hoh for Senate (@MatthewPHoh) July 3, 2022

Democrats are mistaken if they think kicking third parties off the ballot will help them win. There are a growing number of us who will not vote for a party whose sole purpose is to keep us trapped in this corrupt duopoly because it’s made them and their corporate donors rich.

— Ryan Knight ☭ (@ProudSocialist) July 2, 2022

😂

Once people see what the Democratic Party really is, it can never be unseen. https://t.co/E2G6ZSlIqW

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 2, 2022

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The Plan (Plus: A Caucus Observer's Tale)

The Plan
by C. A. Matthews

Coincidences happen. Serendipitous events do occur and can be taken advantage of. Conspiracies actually take a lot of work and plotting, though, something which implies its participants are energetic and coordinated. Most groups can’t be bothered with that level of sophistication in order to promote their agendas.

It’s just easier for organizations to make simple plans—long-term or short-term plans. Many on the Left are fairly certain they see the overarching plan of the Democratic Party’s leadership in regards to the 2020 presidential election fleshing out. The Dem leaders don’t like democratic socialism, socialism, or anything that hints at taking care of our neighbors and bringing everyone’s standard of living up to an equal level and providing health care for all Americans. The top dog Dems like PACs/Super PACs and accepting large sums of money from corporations and individuals. In short, they ain’t too bothered with overturning the Citizens United ruling and outlawing money as speech. 

And why would the DNC leadership want to change their ways? Getting rid of PACs and billionaires’ contributions is not in their best interests. Who really cares if poor folks can eat or pay their heating bills anyway! The poor don’t write big checks or put high-powered Dems on boards of directors after they’ve retired from their cushy party or government jobs. Democracy and fair play obviously aren’t important virtues to the DNC. Face it, they’re just not.

At least this time around they’re not hiding their tactics. If anything, they’re telegraphing them loudly and clearly. They allowed billionaire Michael Bloomberg to buy his way onto their debate stage by purchasing tons of commercial ad space on TV, the internet, print and billboards with what amounts to his pocket change. No one at the top of the party blinked an eye, either. No one said, "Hey, that's not fair to poorer candidates!" The DNC might say they hate a certain white male racist misogynist one-percenter in Washington, DC, but they’re more than willing to install another one in his place it seems.  

It's surreal. The DNC doesn’t really care about being seen as hypocrites while touting widely they’re the “party of workers.” What kind of “workers” are those, Dems? Professional butt-kissers? Amateur Boot-lickers? It boggles the mind how anyone with half a brain and an ounce of morality would have anything to do with such a morally bankrupt organization.

But then you stop and think and realize that the status quo establishment yields tight control over the ballot box and the debate stage. So the choices of the “major” parties in the November presidential election will be (once again)  Trump and Not-Trump or "Trump-lite" Bloomberg. Surprised?

Unless an outsider can get a foot in the door of this corrupt duopolistic system, don’t expect anything short of a revolution (a violent one) from changing how the system works in this country. “The Plan” says things stay the same and the money keeps flowing upwards into the billionaires’ pockets while We the People grow steadily poorer and sicker and our waters become ever more undrinkable and our soil turns to dust. Too bad, so sad you weren't born a Zuckerberg or a Bezos or a Bloomberg, right?

The outliers like Bernie Sanders or a third party candidate like the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins or Dario Hunter will not be allowed to compete. The Plan has already developed its "apps" and has the rigged electronic voting machines ready. The Plan doesn’t allow for the voters to actually have a choice to tackle the climate catastrophe and restore our lost civil rights. Oh no! The fat cats can’t have that. And so the DNC will (once again) rig their convention by using their Superdelegates to keep the “people's choice” Bernie from the nomination for the people's own good.

Lee Camp and Saagar Enjeti both give pretty good explanations of how this plan will come about in the following videos. A brokered convention all but puts the nails in the coffin of a Bernie Sanders presidency. The other Dem candidates on the debate stage in Las Vegas appear to be in on the fix, too, as they salivate at the chance to take power in Milwaukee. The will of the people doesn't enter even the picture.

And, of course, they DNC will try to blame any apparent lack of democracy in their primary process on the "Russians" or whomever is convenient rather than accept responsibility for their own heinous actions. I'm just waiting for it to happen. Oh, wow... They just did.

I apologize if this tirade comes across as a bit of a downer, but I thought you should be prepared for the worst. If by a miracle-upon-a-miracle the miraculous happens and the voters actually receive a “choice” at the voting booth this time, that victory will taste all the sweeter. 

But for those of us who were there in Philadelphia in 2016, I caution you to not hold your breath. You’ll need your oxygen to pick up your pitchfork and get marching immediately. As the song says, “We won’t be fooled again.” See you in the streets.

https://youtu.be/mjW_zh-xEXA

https://youtu.be/CTzDY4Q5zqc

Related articles and videos:

Nick Branna, Former Bernie Staffer Tells What Will Happen Next in the Primaries (video)
https://youtu.be/B9On84hT9cQ

Why Does Anyone Think Michael Bloomberg Would Beat Donald Trump?
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/02/why-does-anyone-think-michael-bloomberg-would-beat-donald-trump

Leaked Audio: Bloomberg Says Only Minorities Commit Crimes (video)
https://youtu.be/bT8g2ImDckc


And for those who try to dig up "Russiagate" and use it as a reason to eliminate Bernie Sanders from the DNC nomination:  

US Intelligence Briefer Appears To Have Overstated Assessment of 2020 Russian Interference
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/23/politics/intelligence-briefer-russian-interference-trump-sanders/index.html

Analysis Show DNC Servers Locally Hacked
https://www.mintpressnews.com/analysis-dnc-servers-locally-hacked-russian-interference-unlikely/229699/

 ***

And now a special report courtesy of Our Revolution--Northwest Ohio:

How Bernie Sanders Learned from 2016

Last week a group of four activists from Our Revolution – Northwest Ohio traveled to Iowa to canvas, knocking on hundreds of doors and driving vans of people to their caucus sites, and then serving as observers. Below is a brief memoir from Dennis Slotnick, Caucus Observer.

Observing a Caucus in Iowa in 2016 In a small precinct 25 miles north of Davenport, Iowa, a roller skating rink turned into a Democratic Party caucus site. Voters checked in on paper sheets and sat in the skating area in two almost equally populated sections. I counted heads: Bernie 65, Hillary 57. The organizer wrote on a white board different numbers. He was the only other person visibly counting. He put reverse numbers up: Bernie 56, Hilary 63. Numbers are approximate because it was not possible to know who were caucusers from observers. Children and teens wandered about getting food and drinks, sitting in the area to be counted. After presentations to the groups by pro-Hillary and pro-Bernie campaigners the realignment occurred. When I counted again, the second count was about the same, although nothing was written and no paper trail could be made. There were no ballots, no cards or documentation.  Just the whiteboard. I was stunned. In shock, I looked to the guy from New York who also observed and we both agreed that anyone could walk down on the floor to be counted. We shook our heads in bewilderment. There were not any Bernie campaign precinct captains. There was not presence of organized observers. There wasn’t a way to identify who was an observer or caucus member. Other problems occurred as you may recall. Many precincts were so close that a coin flip settled the question in eight districts--7 of the 8 flips went to Clinton. What was the probability of that occurring? 1 in 256. Apparently, this was not an isolated case, and apparently word got back to Bernie because caucuses were run differently in 2020.

Left: At caucus site, Des Moines, 2020. Observers were identified with labels. Right: These people are holding their voter cards with name, address, ID number and their signature.

February  3, 2020: Des Moines, Iowa, Caucus Precinct at 3500 2nd Street  There were three precinct captains from presidential candidates Sanders, Warren, and Biden. They assisted with the caucus in handing out voting cards, taking count by raising of hands, and announcing the count out loud as each person was called. This occurred both before and after realignment and then the cards were all collected, counted and recorded by the precinct captains for the caucus. This is where the internal Sanders campaign caucus result numbers come from. There were also a dozen observers for Bernie Sanders available to assist in the caucus as needed and performed the witness role. Vote Count Precinct 3500 2nd Street:  Bernie Sanders 138 Joe Biden 9 Elizabeth Warren 1   Since neither Warren or Biden got 15%, all delegates from this precinct would go to Bernie Sanders. There were a dozen Bernie observers available that performed the witness role. Sanders' internal numbers were not the same as of the Iowa Dems.  Sanders Reporting Numbers        Iowa DNC Reporting numbers   Sanders 29.4%                                   Butigieg  26.8% Butigieg 24.87%                                Sanders 25.9% Warren 20.65%                                 Warren 18% Biden 12.92%                                     Biden 15% Klobuchar 12.92%                           Klobuchar  12%   How could this be?   The reporting came to a halt when the Sanders campaign revealed their internal numbers to the Iowa Democratic Caucus organizers. This data was accompanied by five lawyers to challenge the results. The five Bernie lawyers approached the Iowa Dems demanding to know why the Bernie inside list votes were so different from the Iowa Dems' count.    A faulty app was blamed for the delay and “inconstancies” in reporting while a recount of cards began. Dems withdrew their first release of numbers and decided to count the cards to verify the electronic numbers. (Recall that if Sanders campaign did not work with the Iowa Democratic Party to get these cards and use them in the caucus, this manual recount would not have been possible.)   Bernie still stands with his numbers. See statement from Bernie campaign

Left: Cards raised by caucus goers used for oral count. Holding high for Bernie Sanders. Right: Recording and reporting the collected cards for Bernie Sanders'  internal numbers.

It is profoundly revealing to me that the the campaign of Bernie Sanders has learned from the primary elections four years ago. The campaign has built a massive network of skilled precinct captains in every precinct, instituted the voter card system, and kept a methodical record of the numbers. Anticipating the problem, there were lawyers on site to challenge the data and make a case as soon as the results came out. 

The media has now revealed that the app used by the Iowa Dems was bought for $85,000 from Shadow, Inc., a media company that Pete Buttigieg has a vested interest. Furthermore, Pete Butigieg paid $40,000 to assure this system was used.

 

*** 

From the Move to Amend:
 
There is some debate about whether he said this but we're thinking about these words attributed to President Abraham Lincoln:
“I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”

And here we are. The top tenth of a percent owns more wealth than the bottom 50% of people in this country -- and we have no mechanisms in place to stop or even mitigate that upward flow of wealth. Help grow the movement to end corporate rule and get big money out of politics by sharing the Motion to Amend today.

If we weren't sure whether or not we live in an oligarchy, we are watching in real time as a multi-billionaire is purchasing his way into a lead spot in the Democratic Party primary. If Bloomberg succeeds and gets the nomination, the American people will have a choice between two grotesquely wealthy politicians, both with corrupt histories. 

This isn't random or just an unfortunate blip in our history -- this is the culmination of a century and a half of corporate domination over political system (not to mention our communities, our environment, our bodies, etc). Now is the time for us to come together to amend the Constitution to make clear that corporations are not people, and money is not free speech! There is a solution -- share it with your friends and family today, by sharing our petition on your social media and email networks!

The #WeThePeopleAmendment is the only amendment that gets to the root of corporate rule by getting big money out of politics, and abolishing ALL corporate constitutional rights. 

It is the only way to turn this ship around and correct this disastrous course -- that Lincoln so presciently warned about -- toward real democracy. 
But it takes a movement. Share the petition far and wide, so we can build that movement for democracy!

Thank you for being in it with us --
- Move to Amend National Team

P.S. Help us grow the movement to fundamentally change the system that even President Lincoln could see was tilted in favor of corporate interests by sharing our petition today! 

***

Day by day, Amazon is extending its reach into everyday people’s lives through new technologies marketed as helpful and harmless. That cannot be farther from the truth. We are on the brink of a mass surveillance crisis and Amazon is ushering in this dangerous new era via Ring.


Ring, owned by Amazon, is a doorbell camera that allows the user to monitor activity through the Neighbor app, to see what’s happening outside of the home and many times, inside as well. Amazon not only has access to this footage, they own the content in perpetuity. But it gets worse-- Amazon makes insidious deals with local law enforcement agencies, rapidly targeting cities and writing marketing scripts for police officers to convince residents to buy Ring, often at a discounted rate or even for free.

Innovative technologies should not be used to increase policing at the expense of our privacy and freedom. Sign the petition to tell your mayor or local police chief to put an end to shady partnerships between law enforcement and Ring.

Sign the Petition

It has been proven time and time again that Black and brown communities suffer the most at the hands of technology bias. Algorithms that supposedly function without racial bias, in fact do. Facial recognition technology supposedly created to increase accuracy, often get it wrong-- especially among people of color. Pairing what we know about these problems in emergent technology with the widely reported flaws and hacks that have already happened with Ring, is clearly a recipe for disaster.
 
Our people are already overpoliced and over-surveilled through practices ranging from Stop and Frisk, to Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) which specifically targets MASA (Muslim Arab South Asian) communities. Technology has no place in further terrorizing people of color. It’s time we demand an end to over policing and it starts with holding Ring accountable.

Tell law enforcement not to partner with Ring

The future of technology is ours to shape. We need to demand proper safety and privacy standards now or run the risk of living in a tech fueled 21st century police state tomorrow. We must take a stand before it’s too late.

In solidarity,
Kim Flores and the ACRE team

P.S - Are you being watched at work? Read the Medium post from our friends at Coworker.org and take the brief survey at the end to tell your story of surveillance. Coworker.org is a global platform to advance change in the workplace. Surveillance and control in the workplace is an authoritarian dream come true and we can’t be silent while everyday workers are being impacted.