AT&T Hates Our Cat

by C.A. Matthews

We returned home from the cat shelter around 1 PM with our new foster cat Elsie, a twelve-year-old tabby with a sweet disposition who we hoped would be a friend to our four-year-old cat, Bowtie. Since Bowtie had been cooped up for a while, and it is his normal schedule to take a romp in our garden in the afternoon, we let him out so we could concentrate on settling Elsie into her new home. We have a long lot with trees and many raspberry bushes on a slight incline away from our house, so we were unaware that anything was amiss with our back fence line when we let him out.

Little did we know that while we were out picking up Elsie contract workers for AT&T had bent over our wire fence, dug a deep trench, cut away limbs from the trees behind us, and opened an exit for a curious and frightened cat to dart through when he heard the loud noises of their equipment shoving fiber optic cable underground. We had received no warning from AT&T that they would be doing such work in our area. Nothing—no paper hanger on the door, no post card in the mail, no phone call. We had no idea that their workers could casually knock over our fence and leave it that way, causing our beloved pet to escape...

...I believe this incident sends a message: Those of us who live in normal, working class neighborhoods have zero rights compared to huge corporations. Our local officials can’t be bothered to stand up for us if our property is damaged and our pets or family members become lost or hurt, either...

 

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"The sickness of capitalism is that if you kill a person with paperwork, it simply doesn't count." -- Val for Nevada on X https://twitter.com/ValforNevada/status/1864436943955873970 

 

The Sickness of Capitalism

by C.A. Matthews

No doubt, it will be called the surveillance video of the century. Well, no one who is working class—or even upper middle class or whatever is the term for those who aren’t quite in the top one-percent of earners in the US—is going to forget it. If you have ever paid private health insurance premiums, co-pays, and deductibles, or filed for bankruptcy because of medical debt, or if you or your loved ones have ever been denied necessary health care by a private insurance company, then you will understand why so many are cheering over the gunning down of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on a Manhattan sidewalk.

Thompson was a man already under suspicion of insider trading by the Department of Justice, a man who made well over $10 million yearly, a man whose estimated net worth was estimated at approximately $42.9 million as of February 16, 2024, according to Wallmine.com, and a man whose corporation, UnitedHealthcare, has become notorious for its 32% denial of claims, with a market cap of $561.15 billion, the world’s 16th most valuable company by market cap according to CompaniesMarketcap.com.

So, yeah, it couldn’t have happened to a “nicer” guy.

The internet is full of some of the best memes and quotes ever this week. The shooter is being called the “Adjuster” by some, since he acted as a “claims adjuster” of sorts. The upside of all this hullabaloo is that after a lull we’re once again seeing a familiar hashtag: #MedicareForAll

It doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was actively volunteering for a presidential candidate who touted Medicare For All... 

 

To learn who this candidate was and more about the sickness of capitalism, please read the rest of this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com. There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can also subscribe and receive the weekly blog post in your email box. 

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Fighting Words

Fighting Words
by C. A. Matthews

 

If you’ve ever wondered what people were talking about when they say something like, “The US is essentially an oligarchy,” then welcome to the club. All those “ten dollar words” some insist upon using can be downright confusing and make one feel lost in the conversation. Never fear! The following brief explanations and illustrations will have you using those sophisticated-sounding, ten dollar words like a pro in no time.

Gerontocracy

A public incident this past week brought up a excellent example of this word. Everyone on my Twitter feed couldn’t get enough of Mitch McConnell’s second big blank-out moment at a press conference.

According to Wikipedia: “A gerontocracy is a form of oligarchical rule in which an entity is ruled by leaders who are significantly older than most of the adult population. In many political structures, power within the ruling class accumulates with age, making the oldest individuals the holders of the most power.”

Whenever you hear the US being called a gerontocracy, realize that it is people like McConnell, Diane Feinstein, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden that make it so. Our Supreme Court justices are also good examples of a gerontocracy, as they are able to hold their positions of power until they keel over, such as in the case of Justice Ruth Ginsburg.

The downside of life in a gerontocracy has nothing to do with ageism as much as it has to do with a concentration of power stagnating in the hands of a few elderly individuals who won’t retire timely and pass their positions of control onto others. Ideas of how to run a country can become very stale and, frankly, old-fashioned and out-of-touch with current reality when persons in their 80s or 90s refuse to step down. If we allowed young’uns in their 30s, 40s and 50s to step up and try newer, more timely ideas, a lot of society's problems could be cured.

In other words, being labeled a gerontocracy isn’t exactly a compliment for any nation. It means you’re stuck in your ways for the worse, not for the better. And all because of the next word on our list—

Oligarchy

I must have heard this word a thousand times, thinking I understood exactly what it meant, before I looked it up in a dictionary and realizing that I didn’t.

In an oligarchy, power rests with a small number of people. Wikipedia states that “These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, religious, political, or military control.”

Whenever I hear someone say or write, “The government of the US is an oligarchy,” I have to stop and think hard about what they’re saying. It doesn’t make sense at first. After all, we aren’t being ruled by a military junta or a monarchy. What small group of people could they mean when they accuse the US of being ruled by “oligarchs” or actually being an oligarchy?

Look at the definition above for gerontocracy and you’ll see one such small number of people, the elderly, in power. Consider some of their other defining characteristics in this group… Could it be they’re all quite wealthy? Yes, they most certainly are. Does this small group of wealthy, older persons exercise political power or run huge multinational corporations where they can exercise power over the lives of billions of others? Yes, they do.

To easily gain and maintain positions of power and control in American society, one can’t be dirt poor or without the connections that can only be gained by attending elite schools such as Harvard and Yale. If you do a little research, you’ll understand that those in the highest positions of power in the US government and Big Business belong to a very small club, and you’re probably not a member of it—unless your mommy and daddy left you a sizable fortune and hooked you up with other powerful people in their networks.

Sorry to say, but even if a person of relatively meager means makes it big in American politics (or business), by the time they retire from office or their corporate position (if they ever do), their net worth will have been multiplied by many factors of ten. Web sites such as Open Secrets can show you just how much our elected officials are taking from corporate lobbyists for passing favorable legislation and how much their private bank accounts have grown.

A recent example of a president who went from "rags to riches" is Barack Obama. When Obama entered the White House, his family's net worth made them barely millionaires at $1.3 million. When he left office eight years later, his net worth had skyrocketed to $70 million. American presidents only make $400,000 per year. Looking at his increased net worth, do you really think Obama wasn’t influenced by small group of persons who possessed great wealth and corporate power who "gifted" him for his hard work for them? Looking at the number of bombs dropped during his administration and his nickname of “O-bomber,” can you understand how Obama was influenced by the military-industrial complex and the power of these corporations while in office?

That’s what is meant whenever the US is labeled an oligarchy. The small number of wealthy, powerful people (the oligarchs or billionaires) who ultimately determine political policies don’t necessarily have to be elected to office—they just have to “own” (bribe) the people they do allow to be elected to office. How hard is it to resist promised millions of dollars just to act as the oligarchs’ puppet?

The answer is I don’t think any politician really can resist that temptation. They just take the money and do as their corporate owners tell them to and smile as they lie to their constituents. It’s easier that way.

Plutocracy

Sometimes you’ll hear the word plutocracy used instead of oligarchy when it comes to labeling what sort of government the US has. It is a more specific term, and it has nothing to do with the former ninth planet, Mickey Mouse’s dog, or the Roman god of the underworld.

The Wikipedia definition simply states that, “A plutocracy or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income.”

As previously mentioned, the concentration of power in the US is in the hands of mostly older (mostly white male) individuals who are wealthy and act as puppets of even wealthier oligarchs. These oligarchs/billionaires usually own or run huge multinational corporations. They like having their friends in government on their side, especially when it comes to them being able to pollute land, sea, and air freely and engage in other morally ambiguous activities. Consider how the US government allowed the billionaire Sackler family of Purdue Pharmaceuticals to claim their opioid OxyContin wasn't addictive, leading to thousands of overdoses and deaths of ordinary Americans. The Sacklers haven't spent one hour in jail to this day.

So, one could say that the US government has elements of a gerontocracy, an oligarchy, and is a plutocracy as well. Rich, older (generally white and male) persons tend to hold the most positions of power, in both elected positions in government and appointed positions in corporations. Which leads us to our next term—

Corporatocracy

“Corporatocracy is an economic, political and judicial system controlled by business corporations or corporate interests. The concept has been used in explanations of bank bailouts, excessive pay for CEOs, as well as complaints such as the exploitation of national treasuries, people, and natural resources.” —Wikipedia

This makes perfect sense. The small number of powerful and wealthy individuals who run things in the US are controlled by business corporations and corporate interests. The Open Secrets web site can fill you in on the specifics. It’s no secret that since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court ruling that “money is speech” and “corporations are people.”

At the end of the day, we ordinary people have to face facts: We don’t have enough money to matter to the politicians. All the politicians do what they’re told by those who hand them suitcases stuffed to the gunnels with lobbyist cash. (Learn more at the Move to Amend web site.)

The famous and often quoted Princeton University Study shows this to be true. Average citizens’ appeals are routinely ignored. Corporations and corporate interests are routinely catered to.

Repeat after me: “Money is speech. Corporations are people.” Very, very important people indeed.

Which leads us to our next term that explains how this has come about so completely in a mere blink of an eye.

Kakistocracy

“A kakistocracy is a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.” —Wikipedia

Do you know any “worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens” who have been installed into high office? Neoliberals will yell, “Orange Man bad!” or Donald Trump. Neocons will yell, “Biden Crime Family!” and not be far off the mark, as more details regarding the payments made by the Ukrainian corporation Burisma Energy to Hunter Biden are revealed in court.
 

When it comes down to it, there’s nothing new or special about the lack of morality with either Trump or Biden. Unscrupulous people have been elected or appointed to office for over two centuries. Pick up a history book and read about the illegal dealings going on in the cabinets of presidents Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Ronald Reagan. Read the recent headlines about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni taking luxury vacations, property, and other payments from  billionaires. Taking political office, either elected or appointed, is rightfully seen as one big con-job by many Americans.

We almost expect our politicians to be crooks in the US. Look at Richard Nixon. He’s not seen as being unworthy of high office in 2023 as much as he was back in 1974 when he resigned after the Watergate Scandal broke. Nixon was just stupid enough to get caught is how most see him today. Most politicos have better lawyers nowadays and will get off without even a jail term.

If you think it’s odd that the corporate oligarchs, who choose their politician-puppets for their corporations’ benefit, would employ criminals and morally weak individuals to do their bidding, think again. Who else would put the billionaires’ welfare above that of the ordinary citizens’?

A person with a well-developed sense of right and wrong wouldn’t let ordinary Americans with no health care suffer and die like our current lot of politician-puppets do in order to please their Big Pharma donors. A person with a well-developed sense of right and wrong wouldn’t let people sleep in the streets, homeless, when there are more empty houses and apartments currently than there are homeless individuals. A person with a well-developed sense of right and wrong wouldn’t just ignore what the US military-industrial complex is doing around the world with their grabbing of natural resources and then installing “friendly regimes” that will continue to “do business” with American corporations.

A person with a well-developed sense of right and wrong probably wouldn’t be allowed to live long or serve if they actually did get elected to the presidency. The oligarchs/billionaires would make doubly sure of that. This makes our last term that much more poignant.

Democracy

“Democracy is a system of government in which power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or through freely elected representatives.” —Britannica

If the US is an oligarchy, a gerontocracy, a plutocracy and a kakistocracy, can it be a democracy at the same time? I would say no. Is the power actually “vested in the people” or is it vested in the oligarchs and their corporate interests? Do we “freely elect representatives” if candidates representing alternative viewpoints from alternative parties (third parties) are regularly railroaded right off the ballot by the establishment party/parties that take billions of dollars from corporate donors to do their bidding?

Just ask Green Party US members how difficult it is to get their candidates on the ballot in most states. You’ll be shocked. That’s where those unscrupulous people really come into their own, twisting rules and bending laws to prevent any competition to the corporate-owned puppets.

While living in an actual democracy might be a nice dream to have, it’s not the political reality of the twenty-first century United States of America. And that’s why we have to learn what all these “ten dollar words” mean so we can have meaningful conversations with others on how to go about undoing all the harms this small group of mostly aging, white male oligarchs have done to our country. Because to do nothing and to pretend we’re living in a democracy is essentially to give up and give in to the billionaires/oligarchs and their environmental and societal destructive agenda.

Give up? I don’t know about you, but them’s fighting words. I say, "Power to the people—not the corporations!" (And the billionaires and their lackeys don't count as "people," either.)

Related Articles and Interesting Links

Mitch McConnell’s Flash of Humanity https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/01/caitlin-johnstone-mitch-mcconnells-flash-of-humanity/

Don't Ignore Politics, Just Ignore The Fake Kind
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/dont-ignore-politics-just-ignore

Making a Killing: The US Opioid Epidemic https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/01/03/making-killing-us-opioid-epidemic 

Presidents' Net Worth, Before and After Taking Office https://blog.cheapism.com/what-presidents-are-worth 

The Number of Bombs Dropped by the US in Each of the Last 15 Years https://247wallst.com/special-report/2022/03/05/the-number-of-weapons-the-us-released-every-year-since-2007/2/

Move to Amend https://www.movetoamend.org/amendment  

Study: Congress Literally Doesn't Care What You Think https://act.represent.us/sign/problempoll-fba/ 

Open Secrets https://www.opensecrets.org

New Filings Reveal More Luxury Trips and Opaque Payments to Clarence Thomas' Wife, Ginni  https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/09/new-filings-reveal-more-luxury-trips-and-opaque-payments-to-clarence-thomas-wife-ginni/

Sitting on the Dock at the Hague https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2022/03/sitting-in-dock-at-hague.html

GoFundMe Go To Hell https://www.racket.news/p/gofundme-go-to-hell

Opposing The Empire Means Widening Our Circles Of Compassion
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/opposing-the-empire-means-widening

Tracking Orwellian Change: New Meanings of "Deep State" and "Working Class" https://www.racket.news/p/tracking-orwellian-change-new-meanings

Living on a War Planet https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/30/living-on-a-war-planet/

US Victim of Own Propaganda in Ukraine War
https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/30/us-victim-of-own-propaganda-in-ukraine-war/

Another Regime in ‘French Africa’ Is Toppled https://consortiumnews.com/2023/08/30/another-regime-in-french-west-africa-is-toppled/

Shocked By Niger Coup, Victoria Nuland Appeared ‘Desperate’ During Africa Tour https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/30/shocked-by-niger-coup-victoria-nuland-appeared-desperate-during-africa-tour/

UN Strengthens Children’s Rights To Fight Climate Change In Court https://popularresistance.org/un-strengthens-childrens-rights-to-fight-climate-change-in-court/

After Wildfires, Native Hawaiian Farmers Resist Attempt To Shift Blame https://popularresistance.org/after-devastating-wildfires-native-hawaiian-farmers-resist-attempt-to-shift-blame/

Colonialism And Capitalism Are Decimating Our Forests
https://popularresistance.org/new-film-colonialism-and-capitalism-are-decimating-our-forests/

Wave of Actions to End Fossil Fuels https://www.acttoendfossilfuels.org

California Becomes Largest Economy to Back Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty
https://truthout.org/articles/california-becomes-largest-economy-to-back-fossil-fuel-nonproliferation-treaty/

The Climate Crisis Will End When Capitalism Ends https://popularresistance.org/the-climate-crisis-will-end-when-capitalism-ends/ 

We Still Have a Dream https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/03/we-still-have-a-dream/

UK May Block Assange’s Attendance at Appeal to European Court of Human Rights https://truthout.org/articles/uk-may-block-assanges-attendance-at-appeal-to-european-court-of-human-rights/

Our Collective Trauma is the Road to Tyranny https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/our-collective-trauma-is-the-road 

 

Seen on the formerly known as Twitter:

What the hell is this? Why are people like Biden, Feinstein and Mitch McConnell still in positions of power and leadership roles when they are literally malfunctioning? What is this? Why are these people making decisions about our future when they're mental unfit? This is a mess! https://t.co/GpD7Ar61c3

— ✊🏾🇱🇷MisFitBlackGirl💁🏿‍♀️LIB_QN32☭ (@LibQn32) August 31, 2023

https://twitter.com/LibQn32/status/1697051987861295448

https://twitter.com/ProudSocialist/status/1699164752797126950

 

Behind The Curtain

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

In these weird times, sometimes it's good to take a break and look back into our past and see what all we can learn from those who came before us. Sometimes, it's just good to take a look back and see where we went wrong and do our best not to take the same or similar path again.

This week, during the big wind up to the coronation of King Charles III, I had a conversation with our resident historian and British person, Coast Watcher, about who's really the power behind the throne. We both agreed that Charles has no real power outside of his billions in the bank and his ability to boss around (and fire) his household staff. But is the power in the UK really in the hands of the so-called Prime Minister, either?

The same could be argued about who is the power behind the American presidency in the twenty-first century. Who really manipulates and control the president's agenda? Nowadays no matter who is in office, no matter what part of the "uni-party" the president claims to be a member of, it seems that the same ol' things occur.

Wars are started on the flimsiest of excuses in order to take resources (oil, natural gas, lithium, etc.) from other countries. This is particularly true of nations that try to disengage from doing international trade using the petrodollar, such as Libya and Iran. These countries eventually wind up being either bombed and/or economically sanctioned. Millions die. US banks and big corporations are bailed out of debt, but the working classes aren't.

The Princeton Study clearly shows how corporations own everyone and everything in the US, but who exactly pulls the strings on a daily basis? Who are those "men behind the curtains" worldwide? Let's take a peek...

Behind the Curtain
by Coast Watcher

Back in the 1980s there was a hugely popular BBC TV comedy series called Yes, Minister. It portrayed the bumbling antics of Jim Hacker (played by Paul Eddington), Minister for Administrative Affairs, as he negotiated the labyrinthine pathways of British government. Working behind the scenes was the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by Nigel Hawthorne), the Permanent Secretary attached to the ministry.

Minister Hacker was frequently left in the dark by his supposed civil service underling, Sir Humphrey, who always had an eye for maintaining the hegemony of the British Civil Service while enhancing his own position and prestige wherever possible. As the character of Sir Humphrey says, "Ministers may come and go, but the Civil Service goes on forever."

And so it is with most Western governments. Like that of the UK there’s always a solid core of apparatchiks determined to advance their own cause and feather their nests, often at the expense of government transparency and efficiency. Like Sir Humphrey these people may be permanent fixtures in the civil service, but there are always some who come and go over the course of years, taking advantage of the revolving door between government and industry. 

The elected politicians are not really of any consequence to these non-elected career civil servants. Many politicos don’t last the course, either losing voter support or doing just enough for long enough to earn all those lovely benefits that come with holding public office. Sir Humphrey definitely knew of what he spoke of.

Such an environment is fertile ground for deep conspiracies which are seldom in the best interest of the public. Of course, the elected ones can always proclaim they had no idea what was happening behind the curtain after these heinous deeds are exposed to the world by a whistleblower like Julian Assange, whether or not their professed ignorance is real.

For instance, it was revealed recently that the CIA had recruited and operated two of the 9/11 conspirators. Whatever the reasoning behind this spectacular self-centered goal, there’s no denying it was certainly not in the interests of the American public—nor that of the citizens of Iraq, whose country the Western coalition invaded by using 9/11 as a pretext under the false flag that it held WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction).

It’s no secret, either, that the intelligence services have their hooks deep into the body public. The CIA began as the OSS—Office of Strategic Services. Drawing many valuable lessons from the British Special Operations Executive, the OSS morphed into a powerhouse organization with virtually unlimited budget and almost zero accountability to the public.

The first head of the Central Intelligence Agency was John F. Dulles. A personal friend of President Eisenhower, Dulles’ influence enabled the CIA to set almost all elements of US policy toward the Soviet Union and Communist China. Such influence is still apparent today, with the operations against Russia in the current conflict in Ukraine and the wind up to start a war with China over Taiwan independence. 

There’s no denying the woeful impact the manufactured war in Ukraine has had on the peoples of the European Union. They are paying through the nose for natural gas to heat their homes after US Navy divers sabotaged the NordStream II pipeline. In many ways, it’s turning into a defeat for America, as the supposed stringent sanctions against Russia are backfiring in spectacular fashion following the creation of the BRICS initiative set to sideline the petrodollar. And one can't deny that China's diplomatic initiatives to bring about a peaceful resolution to several disputes--including the one between Ukraine/NATO and Russia--makes the United States look even more hawkish than usual.

Of course, as with any Western government, capitalism can’t be ignored. Capitalists must be served! The UK saw the Industrial Intelligence Bureau created in the early 1920s by British businesses to "acquire intelligence on industrial unrest arising from the activities of Communists, Anarchists, various secret societies in the UK and overseas, the Irish Republican Army and other 'subversive' organizations.'" Its founder, Sir George Makgill, was close friends with Desmond Morton, Head of the Special Intelligence Service.

Another revolving door between government and private industry existed between the Industrial Intelligence Bureau and MI5. Agents from one would work for a time in the other organization. No conflict of interest there! The British Fascist movement had its own followers and fellow-travelers inside the intelligence agencies of state and industry, a state of affairs that lasted well into World War II.

With America and, to some extent, the UK sliding ever closer toward fascism, I’ll end this article with some pertinent words from that granddaddy of all fascists:

Democracy is beautiful in theory; in practice it is a fallacy. You in America will see that some day.

Democratic regimes may be defined as those in which, every now and then, the people are given the illusion of being sovereign, while the true sovereignty in actual fact resides in other forces which are sometimes irresponsible and secret. ~ Benito Mussolini

BIO: Coast Watcher uses the power of history to see the patterns of what's happening in the present to predict the future. What could possibly go wrong with intelligence agencies dictating foreign policy and domestic surveillance? Nothing to see here... Move along now.

 

Articles of Interest:

Private Spies Hired by the FBI and Corporate Firms Infiltrate Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp https://www.leefang.com/p/private-spies-hired-by-the-fbi-and 

Why the Release of Julian Assange Is Crucial for Our Future https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/05/fabian-scheidler-why-the-release-of-julian-assange-is-crucial-for-our-future/

$400 Million Embezzlement Revealed (and more)
https://www.youtube.com/live/NAbkfR3-pvo 

Calling for the Immediate Release of Julian Assange on World Press Freedom Day  https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/this-i-talk-i-gave-in-new-york-city

A Kingly Proposal: Letter From Julian Assange to King Charles III
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/06/a-kingly-proposal-letter-from-julian-assange-to-king-charles-iii/

Bombshell Filing: 9/11 Hijackers Were CIA Recruits
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/bombshell-filing-9-11-hijackers-were-cia-recruits/

Patrick Lawrence: Journalists-on-Journalists Crime
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/06/patrick-lawrence-journalists-on-journalists-crime/

US makes up c 40% of global military spending, 10x Russia, 3x China  https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/us-military-spending-russia-china

The Twenty-First Century of (Profitable) War https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/04/the-twenty-first-century-of-profitable-war/

Second and Third Largest US Banking Collapses in Past 2 Months https://youtu.be/1hyYlhk978I 

4 US Banks Crash in 2 Months https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/05/first-republic-bank-crisis-michael-hudson/

WHO Declares End of COVID Emergency, But Pandemic Inequality Is Still Rampant  https://truthout.org/articles/who-declares-end-of-covid-emergency-but-pandemic-inequality-is-still-rampant/

Who Helped Overturn the "Pentagon Papers Principle"? The Washington Post and New York Times https://www.racket.news/p/who-helped-overturn-the-pentagon

Multiple US Officials Confronted About US Assange Hypocrisy On World Press Freedom Day  https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/multiple-us-officials-confronted

Report on the Censorship-Industrial Complex
https://www.racket.news/p/report-on-the-censorship-industrial

The Debt Ceiling Debate Is a Manufactured Crisis. Tax the Wealthy What They Owe.  https://truthout.org/articles/the-debt-ceiling-debate-is-a-manufactured-crisis-tax-the-wealthy-what-they-owe/

Washington Is Obstructing the Path to a Political Settlement in Ukraine  https://truthout.org/articles/washington-is-obstructing-the-path-to-a-political-settlement-in-ukraine/

Workers Who Have Occupied An Italian Factory Are Close to Owning It https://popularresistance.org/workers-who-have-occupied-an-italian-factory-are-close-to-owning-it/

Statement on the Ninth Anniversary of the Odessa Massacre
https://popularresistance.org/statement-on-the-ninth-anniversary-of-the-odessa-massacre/

In another first for the blog, we had an article featured on the Indie Left Media podcast recently.  Check it out:

Weaponizing Free Speech | @HowDidWeMissTha
https://youtu.be/bmIxGjtYVxs

 

Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Chose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

More details to come. Power to the people!

We Know What They're Afraid Of

 

We Know What They're Afraid Of

by C. A. Matthews

Have you ever heard the old expression, When your enemy is making mistakes, don’t stop and correct him? I believe working class Americans are currently in this situation. And it gives me optimism we may just make it after all.

What makes me feel so positive? First off, The Revolution Continues blog was censored by Google (Blogger) for the second time in a week. Now, censorship is not usually something that makes me happy, but the probable reason behind what triggered the censorship reinforces my optimism. It's a sign that things are about to get very interesting, and they could work out well for the majority of us if we hang in there.

Check out last week’s blog, Weaponizing Free Speech, for the details of the first round of censorship the blog experienced and how it was circumvented. This second censored posting came from the same time period—about seven years ago—when the blog was still The Bernie Blog, and guess what? It also contained a short article about the Dems rigging the 2016 primaries against Bernie Sanders. This piece was actually a call for Berners to sign a petition for open DNC primaries. (The first censored blog had a piece about primary wins that were outright “stolen” from Bernie.) It seems somebody in authority has commanded Google to shut down any blog posts on the topic of trying to steal or manipulate the outcomes of Democratic Party primary elections.

Now, why would the Dems all of a sudden get twitchy about people reading an article about how their primaries have been “stolen” in the past? Could it have something to do with the recent announcement that both the Democratic Party primaries and the candidate debates are being canceled in 2024 so that Joe Biden can be crowned the party’s nominee with no need for him to undergo the hard work of campaigning? This announcement was made after both Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Junior announced they’re planning to run as Democrats.

Don’t believe me that the DNC is paranoid about Biden having to fight off competitors in a primary? Independent journalist Matt Orfalea reports on how faithful Dems are being banned and kicked off the the national Democratic Party r/democrat Reddit forum simply for stating they support either Williamson or RFK Jr.  Between the censoring of anything to do with Democratic Party primaries (even seven year old ones) and the banning of any talk of Williamson and Kennedy online in the subreddit for Dems, I've got a strong gut feeling that the big bosses of the DNC are very worried. 

I believe the Dem bosses are very concerned there will be a lot of upset blue voters demanding primaries and debates. Perhaps the bosses worry they'll be some very vocal and visual protests against Biden’s automatically assuming the throne without at least debating Marianne and RFK Jr.

These duopolists are afraid—and I mean very afraid—of We the People not wanting a clearly confused, elderly career politician in the likes of Joe Biden rammed down our throats. Recently, Biden was seen holding very detailed note cards at a press conference; the notes contained the questions that so-called “press members” were going to ask him and how he should answer these predetermined questions in front of the cameras. 

That's pretty clear evidence of why the Dem bosses don’t want Biden to be in a debate situation or have him go on the road, campaigning for the primaries. He’s not capable of answering questions that aren’t written out—and answered for him—when he’s out in public. There is something else they're deathly afraid of: They're terrified that We the People won’t stand for having a cognitively incapacitated president in office for another four years.

To pretend that President Biden is focused on trying to reach the American people by different means, and not avoiding the give-and-take of a news conference open to all, as a White House aide told the New York Times, is just horseshit.  --Seymour Hersh,  Confessions Of A Political Flack

This non-choice of DNC candidates is particularly obnoxious when you realize that Donald Trump is the likely Republican Party nominee. Here is where the duopolists’ hubris might get the better of them. They think every American has been brainwashed enough to never consider not voting in protest or instead voting for an alternative party or independent candidate. But intelligent folks know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. A recent Gallup poll shows over 49% of Americans don't identify as either “Democrat” or “Republican” but as “Independent.”

Unlike Biden, We the People can think for ourselves. We understand how the same billionaires have bought off both the Ds and the Rs. We realize they're working for the billionaires and not us, and do as they're told. An intelligent electorate is scary indeed for the oligarchy. 

Joe Biden's approval rating is at a record low according to Gallup: only 37% approve while 59% disapprove of the job he is doing. Of special note is that he's only at 31% with independents. The economy is the number one reason. No wonder the DNC won't allow debates.  --Professor Anthony Zenkus on Twitter

See what I mean about not correcting your enemy’s mistakes? The donkeys and elephants of the duopoly have felt confident for almost one hundred-seventy years that their man (literally a male, and a white, wealthy male at that) will be the winner of the presidential election. There’s been zero exceptions, although there have been some close calls. Could the 2024 presidential election be the upset of the millennium? Could Americans actually see a libertarian, socialist, eco-socialist, or even a professed communist assume the presidency? Could we witness some real change?

Before you laugh and say something along the lines of “That’s not possible,” I'll remind you of just how many damning duopolist-driven government lies and obscenities have been exposed lately. Who thought these embarrassing truths would ever come to light? Who knows how these revelations might persuade voters to vote for other than the duopoly?

This past week it was revealed the CIA recruited some of the 9/11 attackers from Saudi Arabia, covering up for them after the Twin Towers fell. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and independent journalists like Julian Assange have revealed how Americans have been spied upon and outright lied to, only to be exiled or jailed without trial. The Russiagate conspiracy has been totally debunked, and the Hamilton 68 dashboard was revealed as a government-funded troll farm to perpetuate these myths.

The US is perpetually at war for other countries' resources, making the military industrial complex CEOs ever richer and turning our children/grandchildren into casualty figures fighting the billionaires' wars for oil. Many Americans express horror at a possible nuclear war between the US and Russia and/or China. They know nuclear winter is not survivable.

In an attempt to bring an end to this war, China has taken the lead in advocating peace talks. Brazil's President Lula da Silva has backed Beijing's efforts. The West, on the other hand, has vociferously opposed all attempts at diplomatic negotiations and instead pushed to escalate the NATO proxy war on Russia, sending fighter jets and tanks to Kiev. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are treating their country as a for-profit company, frequently traveling to the United States in search of lucrative business opportunities.  --From US Corporations Cash In On Ukraine’s Oil And Gas

Ordinary working Americans watch in horror as the billionaires who own the duopoly grow richer while the workers' food prices and rents skyrocket.

...It is profit-gouging, not wage hikes, that is the primary driver of inflation... the Times reported how giant food conglomerates have sharply raised prices and reaped higher profits. PepsiCo raised prices 16 percent and saw an 18 percent increase in profits last quarter. Nestlé raised prices 9.8 percent, growing its revenue 5.6 percent to $26.48 billion. Coca-Cola also raised prices, boosting its profits to $3.1 billion, a 12 percent rise. Beyond the food industry, one major corporation after another released earnings reports this week beating analysts’ estimates, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, Amazon and Caterpillar. --From US jobs massacre accelerates, as ruling class confronts growing upsurge of class struggle

The workers' “enemy” has made a lot of “mistakes,” and many of them have been revealed. Why should We the People trust the duopolists currently in power? They unquestioningly do the bidding of their billionaire masters. Why should we allow the billionaires and their puppets to prosper at the workers’ expense?

We’re already seeing the scales fall from the eyes of the French and the Peruvian workers. They have been marching and protesting in the streets for months now, livid at the evils of their respective governments. Even in the US this year  we’re seeing a record number of protests, strikes, and new unions forming. Apparently, a good number of We the People aren’t afraid to take our disputes public and shout down our oppressors any longer.

Then there are deaths of despair–-in its massiveness a nearly unique American phenomenon. These seemingly ubiquitous encounters with the Grim Reaper from suicide, drug overdose or cirrhosis of the liver predominately afflict middle-aged whites–-for obvious reasons, namely, this demographic has suffered a stupendous decline in its living standards in recent decades due to Wall Street-enforced deindustrialization. Good jobs just don’t exist in their old numbers anymore, and many people cannot “adjust” to this. As a result, according to Health System Tracker, “the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy countries, while it far outspends its peers on health care. --From As American Life Expectancy Plunges, Political Bigwigs Stay Busy Not Noticing

As more and more Americans lose their COVID-related Medicaid health care and other tax breaks, I predict there will be even more protests and strikes. As the climate catastrophe worsens and more Americans find themselves dealing with floods, forest fires, and super-storms, I see more activism and demands for the billionaires to clean up their messes at their expense, not ours. 

As the “copbots” and "robo-dogs" shoot at protesters, I hope we’ll see even more protesting and demonstrating directed toward the useless duopolists who have militarized the police in their fear of us. They think we’re not courageous enough to take them on. But hunger, homelessness, desperation, and anger all can motivate a person, so perhaps we are.

A clueless president who can’t answer questions on the spot and speak to the people’s concerns doesn’t deserve our respect or support. A greedy ex-president who would rob us all blind doesn’t deserve a second chance. And neither of them deserve our vote.

We know what they’re afraid of—they’re afraid of us, the American workers, We the People. We're not all brainwashed. We see through their lies. We're determined to be rid of those who persecute and prosecute us for simply trying to live our lives. 

Let’s use their fear of us to our advantage. Let's put them on the spot. Let’s keep them guessing what we’ll do next. Let’s keep doing whatever it takes until they break and we get what we deserve.

Get off your sofas and out of your basements, Doomers and Gloomers! Take to the streets! Demand change! You have nothing to lose but your misery.

Related Links:

Biden Begins Reelection Bid at Low Point in His Presidency
https://news.gallup.com/poll/505202/biden-begins-reelection-bid-low-point-presidency.aspx

Democrats Censoring Democrats On Reddit https://censorednews.substack.com/p/democrats-censoring-democrats-on

Oops! DNC Says There Will Be No Debates--Because... Democracy! (video) https://rumble.com/v2l7q3s-oops-dnc-says-there-will-be-no-debates-because...-democracy.html

Confessions Of A Political Flack https://popularresistance.org/confessions-of-a-political-flack/

America is Doomed: Biden & Trump Announce Re-election Runs https://youtu.be/8n43PGH58io

As American Life Expectancy Plunges, Political Bigwigs Stay Busy Not Noticing   https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/28/as-american-life-expectancy-plunges-political-bigwigs-stay-busy-not-noticing/

Kamala Harris Drops EPIC Word Salad On College Students https://youtu.be/5OUWNYPq2Q0

Facebook censors journalist Seymour Hersh's report on Nord Stream pipeline attack https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/facebook-censors-seymour-hersh-nord-stream

Your Messaging Service Should Not Be a DEA Informant
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/your-messaging-service-should-not-be-a-dea-informant/

An Insider’s Guide to “Anti-Disinformation” https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/26/an-insiders-guide-to-anti-disinformation/

Biden cheat sheet shows he had advance knowledge of journalist’s question  https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/biden-cheat-sheet-shows-he-had-advance-knowledge-of-journalists-question/

Bombshell Filing: 9/11 Hijackers Were CIA Recruits
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/bombshell-filing-9-11-hijackers-were-cia-recruits/

US Propaganda Backfires--Hard (video) https://youtu.be/VQ6EkK2WGfc

Federal agents barge into wrong Boston hotel room during training, handcuff pilot https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/revere-hotel-boston-fbi-botched-training-cheryl-fiandaca-wbz/

US Corporations Cash In On Ukraine’s Oil And Gas https://popularresistance.org/us-corporations-cash-in-on-ukraines-oil-and-gas/

Biden to Send Nukes to South Korea https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/biden-to-send-nukes-to-south-korea/

Joe Lauria: State Dept. & Senate Leaders Troll Assange
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/joe-lauria-state-dept-senate-leaders-troll-assange/

How the Press Misled the Public on Russiagate https://therealnews.com/how-the-press-misled-the-public-on-russiagate

Oceans Have Reached Warmest Levels in Modern History. Scientists Are Worried. https://truthout.org/articles/oceans-have-reached-warmest-levels-in-modern-history-scientists-are-worried/

An Urgent Need To Fund Water Infrastructure
https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/an-urgent-need-to-fund-water-infrastructure

US jobs massacre accelerates, as ruling class confronts growing upsurge of class struggle https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/04/29/jobs-a29.html

Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration as US Life Expectancy Falls  https://truthout.org/articles/experts-cite-the-health-impacts-of-incarceration-as-us-life-expectancy-falls/

Warren Report Reveals Vast Pentagon-to-Defense Contractor Lobbying Pipeline https://truthout.org/articles/warren-report-reveals-vast-pentagon-to-defense-contractor-lobbying-pipeline/

From Military to Policing, Say No to a Federal Budget That Prioritizes Violence  https://truthout.org/articles/from-military-to-policing-say-no-to-a-federal-budget-that-prioritizes-violence/

Weaponizing Free Speech https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/04/weaponizing-free-speech.html