Getting folks to realize that this country is far better described as a plutocracy than a democracy will require a lot of unlearning. But it is definitely a prerequisite. Real, fundamental change is pretty much impossible as long as the myth of democracy persists. It's time to wake up and shed the mythology! We live in a country of, by and for the rich--that's the definition of a plutocracy. As for the danger of an imperium in decline, that certainly applies. As the walls continue to close in on US global control, as the power of new power blocs (BRICS, etc.) continues to increase, the National Security State and the neocon cabal get increasingly desperate. Being the zealots that they are, they just might decide that giving up global control is simply not an acceptable option. Heaven help us all!
The end of the empire will be brought about by fossil fuels rather than an asteroid. The dinosaurs however didn't do it to themselves, but we are going to. I guess we can put some political spin on it and blame the dinosaurs. After all it's their remains causing climate change.
The best alternative to, antidote for, and action against the “choices” that America’s Ruling Political Class is offering Voters in 2024 is NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES [NOTC].
Casting one’s vote for any of the 3rd, 4th, or 5th Party candidates will accomplish nothing except give the individual Voter the satisfaction of having voted in accordance with one’s conscience. It will have no impact whatsoever on whether Trump or Biden gets elected.
But if all those contemplating voting 3rd, 4th, or 5th party voted instead for NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES, it could have an impact. Certainly more than scattered votes for the different alternative candidates.
And if all those Voters who have nobody to vote FOR in the election, and only Trump or Biden as who they are going to vote AGAINST being the next President by voting for the other guy, the so-called “lesser of two evils,” it could have an impact, as well.
Done in sufficient numbers all across the nation, a strong showing by NOTC It would send a very loud and clear message ~ a shot across the bow, as it were ~ to that Ruling Political Class that its time of unbridled, unchallenged, and unchallengeable political power is over. And that having to choose between “the lesser of two evils” is really nothing but a thinly disguised version of “the evil of two lessers.” And is no longer an acceptable option.
And as regards RFK, Jr: If he becomes a serious threat to the RPC’s Game Plan, his positions on The COVID Event and vaccinations will suddenly become a hot button issue; and, for some, so will his position on America’s proxy war in Palestine.
Note: All this assumes that there will be an election on November 5, 2024. Which, face it folks, at this stage of The Game, nobody can guarantee.
I think you sum up US governance with descriptive precision, Bill. The fossils know that the youth see a different vision for the country because many are accessing tools that are unregulated by the status quo, hence the increasing censorship of various platforms and personalities. Heck! I see that the Congress is voting on TikTok censorship bill at this very moment. (But Congress ignores the US complicity in killing tens of thousands of Gazans) The youth are smart, increasingly aware and are the hope for the future. It will not be easy but my vision of democracy rests with the youth and successive generations. Though I keep opposing the dinosaurs.
Whether Biden, Trump or RFK Jr, is elected President, they are supporters of Zionist Israel.
My personal belief is if there is no CEASEFIRE in GAZA soon before the US Election, this World by it's indifference, will already be engaged in the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty aka ARMAGEDDON/WWIII. I hope I'm proved wrong in that belief. I do not say that as an Article of Faith!
'The Antisemitism Industry doesn’t speak for Jews. It speaks for western elites'
Film-maker Jonathan Glazer’s crime at the Oscars was to threaten the establishment’s stranglehold on the West’s narrative about Israel – and itself
Many years ago, the Jewish US scholar Norman Finkelstein wrote a best seller that caused uproar among a group he exposed as the “Holocaust Industry”: people who invariably had not been direct victims of the Holocaust, but nonetheless chose to exploit and profit from Jewish suffering.
Though treated as leaders of the Jewish community, they were not primarily interested in helping survivors of the Holocaust, or in stopping another Holocaust – the two things one might have assumed would be the highest priorities for anyone making the Holocaust central to their life. In fact, hardly any of the many millions the Holocaust Industry demanded from countries like Germany in reparations ever made it to Holocaust survivors, as Finkelstein documented in his book. [...]
Anyone who challenges the Antisemitism Industry’s – and therefore Israel’s – stranglehold on Jewish representation in public life is hounded as an antisemite or self-hating Jew, as is currently happening most prominently to Jewish film-maker Jonathan Glazer. He is the Oscar-winning director of The Zone of Interest, about the family of a Nazi commandant of Auschwitz who lived blind to the horrors unfolding just out of view, beyond their walled garden.
I wrote an earlier piece about the manufactured furore provoked by Glazer’s comments at the Oscars. In his acceptance speech, he denounced the hijacking of Jewishness and the Holocaust that has sustained Israel’s occupation over many decades and generated constant new victims, including the latest: those who suffered at the hands of Hamas when it attacked on October 7, and the many, many tens of thousand of Palestinians killed, maimed and orphaned by Israel over the past five months........
As usual, you have hit the nail on the head, Bill, and I'm sending this to those I know are planning to vote for Biden because they are afraid Trump will destroy our "democracy". You've stated it pretty clearly here that a vote for Biden and most probably a vote for Trump will pretty much assure that the US will end up in WWIII. Biden and his advisors (particularly CIA Jake Sullivan and Blinkin) are determined to continue this preparation for war with Russia. Medea Benjamin and Nicholas Davis of Code Pink have an oped in Common Dreams that spells that out even more specifically. So I hope you will continue to point out to those who are planning to vote for Biden because they assume Trump will destroy democracy that the destruction of democracy has been accomplished already and the money folks have taken over (thank you Supreme Court), and our last chance of avoiding a radical change-over with "buckets of blood" is to vote for a third party candidate. I suggest either Jill or RFKJr - and probably RFK because he has created more interest so far. Regardless of whether you agree with ALL his ideas, he has enough good ones to make it worthwhile to vote for him as opposed to Biden who we all know, after decades of watching him con the public, is essentially a republican and also plans to have a war in order to keep the US as an imperialistic superpower, which, as you point out is what failing empires usually do as they fall apart. You have made the point that voting for either of our two parties will probably cause a major war as our oligarchs attempt to prevent the political world change that is apparently happening. I hope you'll keep reminding us until we finally take Yoda's advice and "unlearn".
RFKJ is another all-in-for-Israel guy with which DC is loaded. I don't know Williamson's stand on Israel. Stein and West are free of allegiance to Zionism.
What does the Future hold with this developing Reality?
The individual income taxes that keep our government running. Did you know that in February alone, the US government collected a whopping $120 billion from individual income taxes?
That’s a significant chunk of the government’s revenue. But here’s the catch – they had to spend $76 billion just to pay the interest on the national debt. That’s right, a considerable portion of your tax dollars isn’t going to roads, schools, or social security – it’s solely going towards paying off the interest on the debt.
And guess what? If this trend continues, we might soon reach a point where 100% of individual income taxes are needed just to cover the interest on the debt. Imagine, all your hard-earned money going towards servicing debt rather than funding essential services.
It’s a concerning situation that we need to keep an eye on in the coming years.
Who is most likely to suffer the cuts to bring Government finances under control? The rich? The Military? The Middle Class? The poor? That is, if we don't blow ourselves up before then?
This election demonstrates that we don't live in a democracy. If only the worst people are allowed to run by the RNC and DNC, then the election is over before it even starts. The game is totally rigged at the level of primaries. RFK is even worse than Biden on Israel/Gaza, so he is not going to get my vote.
'Has the risk of a major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah increased?'
For the first time in more than five months, the once-contained conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated beyond its original boundaries. This shift followed Israel's decision to expand its targeting, hitting Hezbollah sites and logistics units that had previously been untouched. Breaking with traditional rules of engagement, Israel's actions prompted Hezbollah to respond in kind, targeting Israeli military installations in the occupied Golan Heights. This significant move by Hezbollah is aimed at forcing Israel to return to the original terms of engagement to contain the battle within a limited geography across the borders. Instead of striking deep inside Israel, Hezbollah focused on military sites along the Lebanese border and in the Syrian-occupied Golan Heights, giving Israel a chance to reset the terms of engagement. The question is: Are both belligerents on the brink of a broader conflict than before?
Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict and the launch of Hezbollah's "Solidarity and Support" front, Israel has intensified its offensive, using some 4-5 tonnes of explosives per day in bombing southern Lebanon and the Bekaa. In retaliation, Hezbollah has now matched this firepower, targeting Israeli positions mainly along the extensive 110-kilometre Lebanese border. This protracted front shows Hezbollah's commitment to keeping its forces prepared, with laser-guided missiles and drones used in precise exchanges against Israeli drones. They also use Burkan rockets, which carry 250 to 500 kilograms of explosives, and Katyusha rockets, which carry 50 kilograms of explosives. In a significant operation, Hezbollah simultaneously fired in one day 100 missiles at Israeli forces in the occupied Golan, confirming its capabilities and presence along this volatile border and determination to match the Israeli firepower.
The buzz in the sports world is that Kennedy has been in touch with noted deep thinker, sage, anti-vaxer, and master of the snappy quip Aaron Rodgers about the VP slot.
Getting folks to realize that this country is far better described as a plutocracy than a democracy will require a lot of unlearning. But it is definitely a prerequisite. Real, fundamental change is pretty much impossible as long as the myth of democracy persists. It's time to wake up and shed the mythology! We live in a country of, by and for the rich--that's the definition of a plutocracy. As for the danger of an imperium in decline, that certainly applies. As the walls continue to close in on US global control, as the power of new power blocs (BRICS, etc.) continues to increase, the National Security State and the neocon cabal get increasingly desperate. Being the zealots that they are, they just might decide that giving up global control is simply not an acceptable option. Heaven help us all!
A clash of dinosaurs marks the end of empire"
That says it all in a sentence.
The end of the empire will be brought about by fossil fuels rather than an asteroid. The dinosaurs however didn't do it to themselves, but we are going to. I guess we can put some political spin on it and blame the dinosaurs. After all it's their remains causing climate change.
The best alternative to, antidote for, and action against the “choices” that America’s Ruling Political Class is offering Voters in 2024 is NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES [NOTC].
Casting one’s vote for any of the 3rd, 4th, or 5th Party candidates will accomplish nothing except give the individual Voter the satisfaction of having voted in accordance with one’s conscience. It will have no impact whatsoever on whether Trump or Biden gets elected.
But if all those contemplating voting 3rd, 4th, or 5th party voted instead for NONE OF THESE CANDIDATES, it could have an impact. Certainly more than scattered votes for the different alternative candidates.
And if all those Voters who have nobody to vote FOR in the election, and only Trump or Biden as who they are going to vote AGAINST being the next President by voting for the other guy, the so-called “lesser of two evils,” it could have an impact, as well.
Done in sufficient numbers all across the nation, a strong showing by NOTC It would send a very loud and clear message ~ a shot across the bow, as it were ~ to that Ruling Political Class that its time of unbridled, unchallenged, and unchallengeable political power is over. And that having to choose between “the lesser of two evils” is really nothing but a thinly disguised version of “the evil of two lessers.” And is no longer an acceptable option.
And as regards RFK, Jr: If he becomes a serious threat to the RPC’s Game Plan, his positions on The COVID Event and vaccinations will suddenly become a hot button issue; and, for some, so will his position on America’s proxy war in Palestine.
Note: All this assumes that there will be an election on November 5, 2024. Which, face it folks, at this stage of The Game, nobody can guarantee.
I think you sum up US governance with descriptive precision, Bill. The fossils know that the youth see a different vision for the country because many are accessing tools that are unregulated by the status quo, hence the increasing censorship of various platforms and personalities. Heck! I see that the Congress is voting on TikTok censorship bill at this very moment. (But Congress ignores the US complicity in killing tens of thousands of Gazans) The youth are smart, increasingly aware and are the hope for the future. It will not be easy but my vision of democracy rests with the youth and successive generations. Though I keep opposing the dinosaurs.
Whether Biden, Trump or RFK Jr, is elected President, they are supporters of Zionist Israel.
My personal belief is if there is no CEASEFIRE in GAZA soon before the US Election, this World by it's indifference, will already be engaged in the Battle of that Great Day of God Almighty aka ARMAGEDDON/WWIII. I hope I'm proved wrong in that belief. I do not say that as an Article of Faith!
'The Antisemitism Industry doesn’t speak for Jews. It speaks for western elites'
Film-maker Jonathan Glazer’s crime at the Oscars was to threaten the establishment’s stranglehold on the West’s narrative about Israel – and itself
Many years ago, the Jewish US scholar Norman Finkelstein wrote a best seller that caused uproar among a group he exposed as the “Holocaust Industry”: people who invariably had not been direct victims of the Holocaust, but nonetheless chose to exploit and profit from Jewish suffering.
Though treated as leaders of the Jewish community, they were not primarily interested in helping survivors of the Holocaust, or in stopping another Holocaust – the two things one might have assumed would be the highest priorities for anyone making the Holocaust central to their life. In fact, hardly any of the many millions the Holocaust Industry demanded from countries like Germany in reparations ever made it to Holocaust survivors, as Finkelstein documented in his book. [...]
Anyone who challenges the Antisemitism Industry’s – and therefore Israel’s – stranglehold on Jewish representation in public life is hounded as an antisemite or self-hating Jew, as is currently happening most prominently to Jewish film-maker Jonathan Glazer. He is the Oscar-winning director of The Zone of Interest, about the family of a Nazi commandant of Auschwitz who lived blind to the horrors unfolding just out of view, beyond their walled garden.
I wrote an earlier piece about the manufactured furore provoked by Glazer’s comments at the Oscars. In his acceptance speech, he denounced the hijacking of Jewishness and the Holocaust that has sustained Israel’s occupation over many decades and generated constant new victims, including the latest: those who suffered at the hands of Hamas when it attacked on October 7, and the many, many tens of thousand of Palestinians killed, maimed and orphaned by Israel over the past five months........
https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2024-03-14/antisemitism-industry-jews/
Anti vaxxer anti science
conspiracist RFK jr. He'll get trump minded folk.
Cornel West: is he still running
Libertarian party...who's running.
Socialist working party: I'm in but too too many folk hooked on emperial capitalism heroin.
Jill: peace planet people will probably get my vote.
No way Biden or trump
That my sum of it.
As usual, you have hit the nail on the head, Bill, and I'm sending this to those I know are planning to vote for Biden because they are afraid Trump will destroy our "democracy". You've stated it pretty clearly here that a vote for Biden and most probably a vote for Trump will pretty much assure that the US will end up in WWIII. Biden and his advisors (particularly CIA Jake Sullivan and Blinkin) are determined to continue this preparation for war with Russia. Medea Benjamin and Nicholas Davis of Code Pink have an oped in Common Dreams that spells that out even more specifically. So I hope you will continue to point out to those who are planning to vote for Biden because they assume Trump will destroy democracy that the destruction of democracy has been accomplished already and the money folks have taken over (thank you Supreme Court), and our last chance of avoiding a radical change-over with "buckets of blood" is to vote for a third party candidate. I suggest either Jill or RFKJr - and probably RFK because he has created more interest so far. Regardless of whether you agree with ALL his ideas, he has enough good ones to make it worthwhile to vote for him as opposed to Biden who we all know, after decades of watching him con the public, is essentially a republican and also plans to have a war in order to keep the US as an imperialistic superpower, which, as you point out is what failing empires usually do as they fall apart. You have made the point that voting for either of our two parties will probably cause a major war as our oligarchs attempt to prevent the political world change that is apparently happening. I hope you'll keep reminding us until we finally take Yoda's advice and "unlearn".
RFKJ is another all-in-for-Israel guy with which DC is loaded. I don't know Williamson's stand on Israel. Stein and West are free of allegiance to Zionism.
What does the Future hold with this developing Reality?
The individual income taxes that keep our government running. Did you know that in February alone, the US government collected a whopping $120 billion from individual income taxes?
That’s a significant chunk of the government’s revenue. But here’s the catch – they had to spend $76 billion just to pay the interest on the national debt. That’s right, a considerable portion of your tax dollars isn’t going to roads, schools, or social security – it’s solely going towards paying off the interest on the debt.
And guess what? If this trend continues, we might soon reach a point where 100% of individual income taxes are needed just to cover the interest on the debt. Imagine, all your hard-earned money going towards servicing debt rather than funding essential services.
It’s a concerning situation that we need to keep an eye on in the coming years.
Who is most likely to suffer the cuts to bring Government finances under control? The rich? The Military? The Middle Class? The poor? That is, if we don't blow ourselves up before then?
Sent Today, March 14
@JakeSullivan46 @Morning_Joe @AymanMSNBC @andersoncooper @wolfblitzer
https://johnmenadue.com/history-will-record-that-israel-committed-a-holocaust/
You, Jake, and Biden are complicit!
This election demonstrates that we don't live in a democracy. If only the worst people are allowed to run by the RNC and DNC, then the election is over before it even starts. The game is totally rigged at the level of primaries. RFK is even worse than Biden on Israel/Gaza, so he is not going to get my vote.
Maybe if Trump is elected the Democratic Party will let some of their leaders be for peace. It's possible. Ditto for CNN, MSNBC, CBS etc.
https://rayjc.com/2024/03/13/greater-love-has-no-man-than-this-that-a-man-lay-down-his-life-for-his-friends/
'Has the risk of a major conflict between Israel and Hezbollah increased?'
For the first time in more than five months, the once-contained conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated beyond its original boundaries. This shift followed Israel's decision to expand its targeting, hitting Hezbollah sites and logistics units that had previously been untouched. Breaking with traditional rules of engagement, Israel's actions prompted Hezbollah to respond in kind, targeting Israeli military installations in the occupied Golan Heights. This significant move by Hezbollah is aimed at forcing Israel to return to the original terms of engagement to contain the battle within a limited geography across the borders. Instead of striking deep inside Israel, Hezbollah focused on military sites along the Lebanese border and in the Syrian-occupied Golan Heights, giving Israel a chance to reset the terms of engagement. The question is: Are both belligerents on the brink of a broader conflict than before?
Since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict and the launch of Hezbollah's "Solidarity and Support" front, Israel has intensified its offensive, using some 4-5 tonnes of explosives per day in bombing southern Lebanon and the Bekaa. In retaliation, Hezbollah has now matched this firepower, targeting Israeli positions mainly along the extensive 110-kilometre Lebanese border. This protracted front shows Hezbollah's commitment to keeping its forces prepared, with laser-guided missiles and drones used in precise exchanges against Israeli drones. They also use Burkan rockets, which carry 250 to 500 kilograms of explosives, and Katyusha rockets, which carry 50 kilograms of explosives. In a significant operation, Hezbollah simultaneously fired in one day 100 missiles at Israeli forces in the occupied Golan, confirming its capabilities and presence along this volatile border and determination to match the Israeli firepower.
https://ejmagnier.com/2024/03/13/has-the-risk-of-a-major-conflict-between-israel-and-hezbollah-increased/
Definitely a bummer.
The buzz in the sports world is that Kennedy has been in touch with noted deep thinker, sage, anti-vaxer, and master of the snappy quip Aaron Rodgers about the VP slot.