I'm glad I'm not the only one who makes a distinction between America and the US government; I believe conflating the two is the most commonly accepted idiocy, a disservice to democracy, and a flirtation with fascism.
Tell that there is a "distinction" between the American government and America to the Peoples of SouthEast and SouthWest Asia, the Middle East, Northern and Equatorial Africa, and Eastern Europe.
Tell them that there is a difference between what the American government does and the American Peoples; and what those Peoples have in the past and still let that government do today all over the Planet.
And America's "flirtation" with Fascism became a full-blown Love Affair quite some time ago. Like since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, then FDR's failed New Deal that led inevitably to America's involvement in World War II; and, particularly, ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the launch of Cold War I after WW II.
Especially since 9/11.
And most currently, since the launch of Cold War II in Ukraine, Taiwan, and now Palestine.
The conflation is a way of disguising culpability for consequences on the part of the actual decisionmakers. No one should be made to feel responsibility or guilt for decisions that they haven't made- especially those that they've vocally or actively opposed.
Yep, democracy is now diffusion of responsibility, covered with propaganda, distracted with drama and disguised as compassion; no one is guilty is the empire.
Then again, maybe that's the way it's always has been, although with a formal monarchy, there can be a revolution from time to time.
Bill, this was a tough post to read - and I'm sure to write - as it brought up similar frustrations and anger that I have. I suppose I feel most a sense of betrayal; betrayal of the hopes and ideals that most of us were raised to believe; both were shattered on a cold November day in 1963. But we strove to still believe as Vietnam raged; as RFK and MLK were murdered; the shootings at Kent State. And all the crimes and murderous wars since through to today.
Yes, I know and met many of similarly wonderful people that you have. They are not responsible for the crimes of the US government; it's increasingly difficult to call it "our government" as it doesn't represent us. But many still cling to some view of this country that is a fairy tale - at best existing at one time in the past; at worst being only a creation of the owners to provide distraction.
Cynicism seems to be the logical outcome. But as I recalled a movie critic writing about Rick (Bogart) in Casablanca: his cynical exterior covered his shattered ideals. That's the way I feel.
Your disgust for our leaders is shared by many Americans and much of the civilized world! Our policies and blind support of the Genocidal maniacs in Israel have painted a bullseye on every American's back.
Our Founding Fathers warned about this tragedy, and they also suggested what we should do about it. Something about feeding our Tree of Liberty with blood! I hope it doesn't come to that, but I can't support the psychopathic, murderous thieves in Washington any more.
Bravo, Bill! As usual, you've said as much as anyone can say in a limited number of words, and you've said it explicitly and extremely well. You've said what has to be said and summarized it in the single word "disgust." Your Bracing Views tell it like it is. We cannot all imitate Aaron Bushnell's self-sacrifice, but we can do what you have done by verbally and vocally crying out our disgust, our outrage, to all the nations. We must not let such a painful sacrifice go unnoticed, unreported, ignobly ignored. Keep up the good work!
I think our situation can be summed up fairly easily and it is highlighted by the Bushnell suicide that is so hard for us to grasp. We would never do the same because all we can think of is his horrible pain with death with nothing we can think of for which we would suffer it. To hold an idea so dear, so superior to existence, is alien to us. It is no surprise that Christianity is rapidly fading away as it was all about that very thing - putting idea over the material.
People are selfish. That is no crime because all of life is selfish and survives because of it (so far, at least). Striving is natural and for humans, the ultimate strivers become billionaires. If what Bushnell did was unnatural and crazy, equally crazy are the likes of Bezos and Musk, only in their case we accept it as naturally crazy because we understand always wanting more as a fact of life, only with them it is obsession at any cost in character.
Thousands of lives lost at a distance can be tolerated, even ignored, if things are going along ok for me. What do dead Palestinians matter? Give me my big flat screen, my new pickup and the incredible 24/7 cornucopia of Amazon that brings goodies from all over the planet to my door often in only 1 day from the moment my interest is aroused. What will pique my interest tomorrow? What will tech bring in a year or two?! And TV. Dozens of channels for every interest and professional sports - a beautiful thing to see in fabulous color in my living room! Sure the team owners are the 1% but I love baseball and football and hockey and you name it. As for distraction, what can top my smartphone always at my side if not in my hand?
I don't need to think! Take the advice given everywhere and often. Enjoy! We are in consumer paradise, while billions are inadequately fed. It isn't me that's suffering. Why change that?
Yes, some people are angry, mistakenly putting Trump on a pedestal to represent them. There is too much drug addiction, too much money spent on the MIC, Congress is corrupt and as has been true with every society in history, those at the top rake it in. But what collection of hundreds of millions of people anywhere at any time has had all our stuff?
Bottom line: capitalism produces our stuff. Capitalism depends on endless growth. The earth is finite. We are literally undermining the ground beneath our feet. Capitalism has no future as global warming has arrived to show us beyond doubt. But as the short term creatures we are, present pleasures far outweigh future threats.
It was mentioned here that what we need to do is stop buying. That is the very last thing we would do because it is what makes life not just tolerable but enjoyable as community crumbles. Bushnell would certainly understand the motivation but his kind is rare and our kind, the dedicated consumer not really thinking too deeply about anything, is everywhere.
NEW POLL FINDS PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN DEAD HEAT BETWEEN 'UNCOMMITTED' AND 'NONE OF THESE'
U.S. — According to a new national poll, the 2024 presidential race is locked in a dead heat between Democratic incumbent "Uncommitted" and Republican opponent "None of These".
Members of the American public have reportedly dissolved friendships, even turning against their own families, as INTENSE DISAGREEMENT BREAKS OUT OVER WHETHER THE NATION SHOULD GO WITH "UNCOMMITTED" OR IF "NONE OF THESE" CAN BE THE CHANGE AMERICA NEEDS.
"I'M TEAM 'NONE OF THESE' ALL THE WAY," SAID LOCAL CALIFORNIA RESIDENT DYLAN VERNON. "IT'S NOT THAT I'M 'UNCOMMITTED', I KNOW GOOD AND WELL I WANT NONE OF THESE FOOLS TO BE PRESIDENT."
According to American statistician Nate Silver, the American public hasn't been this divided since the Civil War. However instead of fighting over slavery and states' rights, SILVER FEARS THE NATION WILL SOON TEAR ITSELF APART OVER HOW MUCH THEY HATE EVERYONE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. "People either can't decide because they dislike their options, or have decided for sure that they dislike their options," explained Silver. "It's really going to come down to the wire."
At publishing time, "No Opinion" entered the race as a viable third-party candidate.
I consciously stopped using the possessive plural when referring to the US government's actions. We didn't bomb anyone, our GOVERNMENT did. Most Americans, like most people in the world, are good people. The ruling elite can try to train us to hate our neighbor, but I don't think it's working that well anymore.
It's us vs them. "Them" are the rulers, the ultrawealthy, and all their support staff who chose money over morals. My plan is to talk with my neighbors. To smile at the person I'm supposed to hate. It might not seem like much, but it's a good place to start.
The American Peoples have done absolutely NOTHING to stop America's Wars in Ukraine and Palestine, Rachel.
Just like they did absolutely NOTHING to stop "The Forever War" in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, etc following 9/11.
As long as the American Peoples do NOTHING to stop all the Wars its government keeps getting itself involved in, absolutely NOTHING is going to change.
Except to get worse.
The ONLY reason the people who run this government have gotten away with all killing, maiming, and destroying of lives, land, property, and Hope over these past 22+ years is because the American Peoples have let them.
And as long as the American Peoples continue to let them, this government will have its Wars.
I remember a MSG who protested in New Orleans against the Iraq War. He did SOMETHING. We all need to do SOMETHING. A lot of something can add up to everything.
That protest in New Orleans ~ against the proposed, planned, and programmed War on and in Afghanistan in response to and as revenge, retaliation, and retribution for 9/11 ~ was indeed "something," Bill.
But it accomplished absolutely nothing in the Real World; particularly as regards getting Any other Americans whatsoever to do "something," ANYTHING to first prevent ~ and when that failed, to then end ~ that War. And thus was "The Forever War" launched in fine fashion. And thus is it still going on.
Everybody doing "SOMETHING" will not add up to Anything if what is being done has no impact whatsoever on the people in DC making those decisions about where and how the current War is being waged, and where and when the next War is to be choreographed into action.
Well, 22+ years after attempting to set an example, whatever power was generated back then on the streets of New Orleans has long since dissipated and disappeared. Like on the very day that the protest ended.
The tragedy ~ and totally unvarnished, unequivocated Truth ~ is that: 1] that protest was completely and totally ignored by the local media and local national mainstream media outlets; and more importantly, 2] by any standard and criteria, that protest was a complete and total failure.
And that item 2] is the one part of that whole experience that i am unable to forget.
The ones that actually work start with an Objective and Supporting Goals to be achieved in order to accomplish that Objective.
And they then spell out exactly How those Goals are to be met and the Objective reached; including Alternative Courses Of Action, in the event that Resistance to the accomplishment of that Objective arises and has effective impact.
The only place that "Hope" enters into the creation, formulation, and execution of a Plan is the Hope that it is based entirely on Reality in The Real World, as actually perceived, conceived, and hopefully, appropriately reacted and responded to by the Planners.
Thus the old IG Colonel's admonition that "Hope is not a Method." And neither is it how all Plans start. At least not the ones that are successful in accomplishing The Mission at hand.
Get out of the mindset that you 'employ' or 'vote' people to do it for you.
No. That's not right. That's not what you're supposed to do. You are supposed to do it.
They are just supposed to obey your instructions - 'represent' YOU '.
BUT we recognise it has never been practicable to poll the people all the time about everything/anything. Even an election once every few years is a mammoth undertaking.
BUT it is all different now.
With cellphones and the internet and the right apps we can be polled on anything at any time night or day. We can register our vote any time night or day 365 per.
We can monitor the behaviour of our 'reps' and control it.
I won't carry on. You either get the drift or you don't.
The essence: we're living in the past. Using anachronistic structures, methods.
You are so right. Have you tried writing to your elected officials and suggesting this? I've written to a few and received no response. One was to the white house during the Obama era and the website PROMISED a response to all emails. I'm still waiting. So how do we accomplish even what you are suggesting? The entire federal government needs to be cleared out.
I have not done as much as I should have. Virtually nothing is the truth. In regard to contacting my two reps: one State and one Federal. Not since Covid times when I contacted both and learned what to expect from them.
Here is the thing: they do NOT respond to today's comms from a handful of people here and there. They ARE out of control. They ARE mere tools of the Party and the Party is a tool of the vested interests.
So don't expect anything from them. Don't.
We accomplish what we need by getting those apps written and installed on everyone's smartphone and it becoming the fashion of the day for people to use them.
That's how.
The first thing is the apps. I don't know which one will be first. There'll be any number. And they'll be of all kinds. And some will be deliberate ripoffs and some will be flaky and a waste of time and so on.
What we want is good honest apps as free and as good as say a Linux distro is a good example.
Open source so anyone can check the code and know it's legitimate, no backdoors, no viruses, no tricks. So's the world of open source programmers can be checking all the time just like they do with Linux looking for improvement and for fixing faults.
The first one might simply be a 'vote for the govt' thing. Which allows you to cast your vote for the govt by a press of the thumb at any time day or night year round.
And amasses all the votes and displays a bar chart and numbers, percentages or something, showing how the voting is going.
Got it?
And it will change day by day of course. And when ALL the people are using it then it'll be like a big stick to the govt. Because they'll know the people are waking up and they'll know the people are doing something and they'll know the people are showing signs of intelligent organisation and if the voting is going against them they'll know without a shadow of doubt its real, not spin, not opinion, not random sampling surveys fixed or not.... just bald truth.
THAT could spread through the nation - through the world in fact - overnight. Like wildfire. What was the quickest app ever to take over the world of smartphones? I don't know.. twitter maybe or something like that? Tik Tok, GPT tells me.
Whatever. I think 'digital democracy' could sweep across the voters easily within a year.
I just had a thought. From Covid. Well within a year everyone had the Covid app on their phones: by law. Couldn't get into shopping malls here without scanning qi codes with your app.
well in the same way I'd expect digital democracy (to coin a phrase) apps to suddenly appear on everyone's phone once they get the idea.
I will maybe write something about it and put it on the blog to show what I mean.
It's a great idea. I wanted to try something similar on my substack page but the problem I found is getting subscribers. An app might just do the trick if made "fashionable". I'll subscribe to your substack (or you can subscribe to mine) so we can talk about this directly if you like. I tried the direct message substack just came out with and can't get it to work. At this point anything is worth trying. I'm tired of the naysayers who refuse to try anything unless it's "gauranteed" to work . I read the declaration of independence yesterday and almost all the reasons for breaking away from England are happening today. And George the second started it all on 9/11.
I also still believe that a national boycott of consumer goods would be a good start. Simply stop shopping for anything but essential goods. It would take no effort on anyone's part and hit the elite where it hurts them the most. In the pocket book.
While we wait for the apps to appear the thing to do is prepare the ground by explaining it to folks. Showing them what to expect.
I think a good starting place would be the question: "If you had a smartphone app for it would you push a button to change your vote for against the government whenever you felt a need? "
I don't know about boycotts, effective or not but I feel I do know the problem is the people, us, you and I, not 'the elites'.
We have the machinery in place to run the country ourselves because that's what it is supposed to be - a democracy, a place run by the people for the people.
And now we the tool - the web, the phone, and the apps coming - for us to really be able to do easily and well.
" We have given you a republic, if you can keep it".
And the problem with a boycott rests solely on the participation of the "people". Considering that retailers cry when profit is down 1.or2 percent what do you think would happen if it went down 50 percent or more for a month?
And How ~ exactly ~ is that federal government to be "cleared out'? Who is going to do that "clearing," and with What?
And with What and Who are they going to replace the current system and its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees?
And given the number of Americans who are totally and completely dependent on the federal government for their incomes, livelihoods, and life styles ~ and those who are very dependent on those who are totally and completely dependent ~ Who is going to lead that "clearing out"?
Except the power of the oligarchs over the Party and the power of the Party over the representatives (congressmen, I think, to you Americans).
And that will happen of its own accord by pressure from 'below', from the electorate, when digital democracy apps begin to show very clearly what the electorate is thinking and doing and wanting.
You do understand that reps today are fearless of the electorate not only because the electorate is so 'absent', so docile and amenable and happy to leave the rep alone to do as he wishes, but also because the rep knows he's 90% probably being elected on the Party ticket.
In a safe Party seat he's safe. End of story.
But when digital democracy apps begin to give people they understanding they can exert power, made themselves be heard, see what all the others are thinking and saying and manifest all this to the rep then the rep is going to see it. Directed right at HIM. He is going to get booted in the next election.
Because Party politics will just collapse under the tsunami of 'people politics'.
The people will come up with their own shared desires made manifest on smartphone and they'll know to a percentage point how many of them agree on this thing and they'll push the rep for that thing. THAT thing. Cutting right across Party lines, ignoring Party lines, just focusing on that thing. Wanting, demanding that thing.
So bad, so rotten, so eroded and twisted and destroyed is American democracy that the electorate doesn't even dream of exercising its will. It is generations schooled in simply picking a Party and then praying that somehow that Party will sometimes do something to help them.
But we don't need to go around shooting people or wrecking things to fix that. Party politics will disappear like snow in the sun. Trickle away.
It just needs the people to stand up. To manifest. They don't even need to take a walk to the rep's office. I know that's a drag. Don't need to give him a call: also an unrewarding drag. Don't need to email him: never does any good anyway. Don't need to text him, nor fax him nor write a snailmail.
Just push a button the app and it sends a message to him directly with your voicemail or vote or whatever.
Just push another button and it registers your change in vote for the President.
And so on. Push button democracy. Modern, cyber democracy. Labour saving democracy. Possible universal suffrage democracy.
The problem Ray is that there is no accountability. And in your case you are not a "constituent ". Our (s)elected officials only represent there constituents regardless of how good the idea is.
The crisis with poison food here from highly processed food was being addressed by senator Cory Brooks by adding labels to food indicating the healthfulness. A skull and crossbones would work just fine. But it wouldn't stop the problem because the majority of Americans can only afford the cheap food and the chemicals would remain. What needs to be addressed is the chemicals in the food not labels. The job of the FDA.
Did the voters get to approve the 1.5 trillion dollars for the upgrades to the nuclear weapons arsenal? No. We're they even aware of it? No. Is it beneficial to Americans? No.
Are we being ignored? Yes.
Is the problem of being ignored solvable? Yes, with today's communication abilities most definitely. Is there a good excuse for not solving the problem? No.
I see George Galloway won the by-election making UK complicity in Gaza a real campaign issue. In his victory speech he said, "Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight.”
Great line and a glimmer of hope as he proclaimed, "This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates ... We crushed Labour by ten thousand votes. The second place candidate was not the Conservatives," [but an independent.] "This is the first time in British political history that in a by-election both of the major parties were completely crushed."
Scott Ritter concludes his 2 Mar 24 piece THE SILENT EULOGY as follows:
So here is to the American experiment.
Born July 4, 1776.
Died…we’ll never know.
An imperfect union, it strove to be better, fighting a revolution to free itself from the tyranny of the British crown while preserving slavery as a constitutionally approved institution. America fought a bloody Civil War to end the evil of slavery and preserve the Union, all the while implementing its self-anointed God-given “manifest destiny” which drove into near extinction the indigenous people who populated the continent we conquered. We came to the aid of Europe not once, but twice, over the course of a century, helping defeat the forces of fascism and imperialism, before becoming fascist-like in our domestic policies that supported our imperialistic foreign policies.
America, the beautiful.
God shed his grace on thee.
This is the eulogy I will never be able to deliver, because like the rest of you, I am fated to die in a nuclear holocaust of our own making. We have embarked on a collective journey whose only destination is death and destruction.
We have ignored, at our own peril, the efforts of those, at home and abroad, who have tried to get us to take an off-ramp.
I would have liked to have had the epitaph on my gravestone read, “Here lies a warrior for peace, who dedicated his life to the cause of making the world a safer place to live.”
Alas, I, like all of you who are reading this, am doomed to die in a war that could have been avoided if we just tried a little bit harder to avoid it.
The shame is that, at that moment when the inevitability of our passing hits home, in the millisecond that will follow the flash of light and the comprehension of what it signifies, all of us will think “If I had just…”
But it will be too late because we did not.
We allowed the military industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about to become manifest.
We remained indifferent to the reality of its pervasiveness, even as our own government informed us that the reason for pursuing our suicidal path of destruction with Russia in Ukraine was so that our defense industry could profit.
But there is no profit in death.
Rest in peace, America.
And may God damn us all to hell for destroying that which he had bequeathed us.
It's Zionism. We must De-Zionize our institutions. Simply changing the official spokesperson of the ruling classes (e.g. Politicians) does no good. We have to reform our institutions from academia to healthcare and government. It all has to be divorced from the racist extremist ideology that is Zionism. UN Resolution 3379 declared Zionism to be racism decades ago. Time to act on it.
I think this all can be summed up by man's inhumanity to man since time immemorial, and Tribes gathered for strength and unity... That was the beginning of the greed and selfishness pitting one tribe against another. Nation states are nothing more than that, but on a larger scale. Hopefully when all the Wars are over there will be a better more enlightened civil society and future. I only wish I could catch a fleeting glimpse before I die.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who makes a distinction between America and the US government; I believe conflating the two is the most commonly accepted idiocy, a disservice to democracy, and a flirtation with fascism.
Disgusting is right.
Tell that there is a "distinction" between the American government and America to the Peoples of SouthEast and SouthWest Asia, the Middle East, Northern and Equatorial Africa, and Eastern Europe.
Tell them that there is a difference between what the American government does and the American Peoples; and what those Peoples have in the past and still let that government do today all over the Planet.
And America's "flirtation" with Fascism became a full-blown Love Affair quite some time ago. Like since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, then FDR's failed New Deal that led inevitably to America's involvement in World War II; and, particularly, ever since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the launch of Cold War I after WW II.
Especially since 9/11.
And most currently, since the launch of Cold War II in Ukraine, Taiwan, and now Palestine.
Yep, and now that ugly little mindset can be found in the least expected areas in America, what might be called the ultimate sorrow of empire.
The wars have come home.
The conflation is a way of disguising culpability for consequences on the part of the actual decisionmakers. No one should be made to feel responsibility or guilt for decisions that they haven't made- especially those that they've vocally or actively opposed.
Yep, democracy is now diffusion of responsibility, covered with propaganda, distracted with drama and disguised as compassion; no one is guilty is the empire.
Then again, maybe that's the way it's always has been, although with a formal monarchy, there can be a revolution from time to time.
Bill, this was a tough post to read - and I'm sure to write - as it brought up similar frustrations and anger that I have. I suppose I feel most a sense of betrayal; betrayal of the hopes and ideals that most of us were raised to believe; both were shattered on a cold November day in 1963. But we strove to still believe as Vietnam raged; as RFK and MLK were murdered; the shootings at Kent State. And all the crimes and murderous wars since through to today.
Yes, I know and met many of similarly wonderful people that you have. They are not responsible for the crimes of the US government; it's increasingly difficult to call it "our government" as it doesn't represent us. But many still cling to some view of this country that is a fairy tale - at best existing at one time in the past; at worst being only a creation of the owners to provide distraction.
Cynicism seems to be the logical outcome. But as I recalled a movie critic writing about Rick (Bogart) in Casablanca: his cynical exterior covered his shattered ideals. That's the way I feel.
Thank you Bill!
Your disgust for our leaders is shared by many Americans and much of the civilized world! Our policies and blind support of the Genocidal maniacs in Israel have painted a bullseye on every American's back.
Our Founding Fathers warned about this tragedy, and they also suggested what we should do about it. Something about feeding our Tree of Liberty with blood! I hope it doesn't come to that, but I can't support the psychopathic, murderous thieves in Washington any more.
Bravo, Bill! As usual, you've said as much as anyone can say in a limited number of words, and you've said it explicitly and extremely well. You've said what has to be said and summarized it in the single word "disgust." Your Bracing Views tell it like it is. We cannot all imitate Aaron Bushnell's self-sacrifice, but we can do what you have done by verbally and vocally crying out our disgust, our outrage, to all the nations. We must not let such a painful sacrifice go unnoticed, unreported, ignobly ignored. Keep up the good work!
Many thanks for that.
You could footnote this with a reference to Biden eating an ice cream cone while answering reporters' questions about his genocide in Gaza.
Consider it a nice cherry to top off the Sundae of our Disgust.
Devil's advocate here.
I think our situation can be summed up fairly easily and it is highlighted by the Bushnell suicide that is so hard for us to grasp. We would never do the same because all we can think of is his horrible pain with death with nothing we can think of for which we would suffer it. To hold an idea so dear, so superior to existence, is alien to us. It is no surprise that Christianity is rapidly fading away as it was all about that very thing - putting idea over the material.
People are selfish. That is no crime because all of life is selfish and survives because of it (so far, at least). Striving is natural and for humans, the ultimate strivers become billionaires. If what Bushnell did was unnatural and crazy, equally crazy are the likes of Bezos and Musk, only in their case we accept it as naturally crazy because we understand always wanting more as a fact of life, only with them it is obsession at any cost in character.
Thousands of lives lost at a distance can be tolerated, even ignored, if things are going along ok for me. What do dead Palestinians matter? Give me my big flat screen, my new pickup and the incredible 24/7 cornucopia of Amazon that brings goodies from all over the planet to my door often in only 1 day from the moment my interest is aroused. What will pique my interest tomorrow? What will tech bring in a year or two?! And TV. Dozens of channels for every interest and professional sports - a beautiful thing to see in fabulous color in my living room! Sure the team owners are the 1% but I love baseball and football and hockey and you name it. As for distraction, what can top my smartphone always at my side if not in my hand?
I don't need to think! Take the advice given everywhere and often. Enjoy! We are in consumer paradise, while billions are inadequately fed. It isn't me that's suffering. Why change that?
Yes, some people are angry, mistakenly putting Trump on a pedestal to represent them. There is too much drug addiction, too much money spent on the MIC, Congress is corrupt and as has been true with every society in history, those at the top rake it in. But what collection of hundreds of millions of people anywhere at any time has had all our stuff?
Bottom line: capitalism produces our stuff. Capitalism depends on endless growth. The earth is finite. We are literally undermining the ground beneath our feet. Capitalism has no future as global warming has arrived to show us beyond doubt. But as the short term creatures we are, present pleasures far outweigh future threats.
It was mentioned here that what we need to do is stop buying. That is the very last thing we would do because it is what makes life not just tolerable but enjoyable as community crumbles. Bushnell would certainly understand the motivation but his kind is rare and our kind, the dedicated consumer not really thinking too deeply about anything, is everywhere.
Yes, Clif. Your comment reminds me of a friend's theory that as long as Americans can buy 75" TVs, they believe all is right in their world.
Surely we must strive for peace, love, and understanding, to go back a few decades ...
NEW POLL FINDS PRESIDENTIAL RACE IN DEAD HEAT BETWEEN 'UNCOMMITTED' AND 'NONE OF THESE'
U.S. — According to a new national poll, the 2024 presidential race is locked in a dead heat between Democratic incumbent "Uncommitted" and Republican opponent "None of These".
Members of the American public have reportedly dissolved friendships, even turning against their own families, as INTENSE DISAGREEMENT BREAKS OUT OVER WHETHER THE NATION SHOULD GO WITH "UNCOMMITTED" OR IF "NONE OF THESE" CAN BE THE CHANGE AMERICA NEEDS.
"I'M TEAM 'NONE OF THESE' ALL THE WAY," SAID LOCAL CALIFORNIA RESIDENT DYLAN VERNON. "IT'S NOT THAT I'M 'UNCOMMITTED', I KNOW GOOD AND WELL I WANT NONE OF THESE FOOLS TO BE PRESIDENT."
According to American statistician Nate Silver, the American public hasn't been this divided since the Civil War. However instead of fighting over slavery and states' rights, SILVER FEARS THE NATION WILL SOON TEAR ITSELF APART OVER HOW MUCH THEY HATE EVERYONE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT. "People either can't decide because they dislike their options, or have decided for sure that they dislike their options," explained Silver. "It's really going to come down to the wire."
At publishing time, "No Opinion" entered the race as a viable third-party candidate.
Source: https://babylonbee.com/news/new-poll-finds-presidential-race-in-dead-heat-between-uncommitted-and-none-of-these; EMPHASES added.
https://youtu.be/sRCLHBhZPQ4?si=ZDRCfCyDNo52ugz0
Hope isn't a plan but all plans start with hope.
I consciously stopped using the possessive plural when referring to the US government's actions. We didn't bomb anyone, our GOVERNMENT did. Most Americans, like most people in the world, are good people. The ruling elite can try to train us to hate our neighbor, but I don't think it's working that well anymore.
It's us vs them. "Them" are the rulers, the ultrawealthy, and all their support staff who chose money over morals. My plan is to talk with my neighbors. To smile at the person I'm supposed to hate. It might not seem like much, but it's a good place to start.
The American Peoples have done absolutely NOTHING to stop America's Wars in Ukraine and Palestine, Rachel.
Just like they did absolutely NOTHING to stop "The Forever War" in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, etc following 9/11.
As long as the American Peoples do NOTHING to stop all the Wars its government keeps getting itself involved in, absolutely NOTHING is going to change.
Except to get worse.
The ONLY reason the people who run this government have gotten away with all killing, maiming, and destroying of lives, land, property, and Hope over these past 22+ years is because the American Peoples have let them.
And as long as the American Peoples continue to let them, this government will have its Wars.
I remember a MSG who protested in New Orleans against the Iraq War. He did SOMETHING. We all need to do SOMETHING. A lot of something can add up to everything.
That protest in New Orleans ~ against the proposed, planned, and programmed War on and in Afghanistan in response to and as revenge, retaliation, and retribution for 9/11 ~ was indeed "something," Bill.
But it accomplished absolutely nothing in the Real World; particularly as regards getting Any other Americans whatsoever to do "something," ANYTHING to first prevent ~ and when that failed, to then end ~ that War. And thus was "The Forever War" launched in fine fashion. And thus is it still going on.
Everybody doing "SOMETHING" will not add up to Anything if what is being done has no impact whatsoever on the people in DC making those decisions about where and how the current War is being waged, and where and when the next War is to be choreographed into action.
Never underestimate the power of setting the right example. I haven't forgotten your protest.
Well, 22+ years after attempting to set an example, whatever power was generated back then on the streets of New Orleans has long since dissipated and disappeared. Like on the very day that the protest ended.
The tragedy ~ and totally unvarnished, unequivocated Truth ~ is that: 1] that protest was completely and totally ignored by the local media and local national mainstream media outlets; and more importantly, 2] by any standard and criteria, that protest was a complete and total failure.
And that item 2] is the one part of that whole experience that i am unable to forget.
I get that. But I watched it and I haven't forgotten it, so it wasn't "a complete and total failure."
And all plans Do Not "start with hope," Rachel.
The ones that actually work start with an Objective and Supporting Goals to be achieved in order to accomplish that Objective.
And they then spell out exactly How those Goals are to be met and the Objective reached; including Alternative Courses Of Action, in the event that Resistance to the accomplishment of that Objective arises and has effective impact.
The only place that "Hope" enters into the creation, formulation, and execution of a Plan is the Hope that it is based entirely on Reality in The Real World, as actually perceived, conceived, and hopefully, appropriately reacted and responded to by the Planners.
Thus the old IG Colonel's admonition that "Hope is not a Method." And neither is it how all Plans start. At least not the ones that are successful in accomplishing The Mission at hand.
You need people to start running the country.
Get out of the mindset that you 'employ' or 'vote' people to do it for you.
No. That's not right. That's not what you're supposed to do. You are supposed to do it.
They are just supposed to obey your instructions - 'represent' YOU '.
BUT we recognise it has never been practicable to poll the people all the time about everything/anything. Even an election once every few years is a mammoth undertaking.
BUT it is all different now.
With cellphones and the internet and the right apps we can be polled on anything at any time night or day. We can register our vote any time night or day 365 per.
We can monitor the behaviour of our 'reps' and control it.
I won't carry on. You either get the drift or you don't.
The essence: we're living in the past. Using anachronistic structures, methods.
We need to wake up and get with it.
https://abrogard.com/blog/2023/12/25/dont-write-to-congress/
You are so right. Have you tried writing to your elected officials and suggesting this? I've written to a few and received no response. One was to the white house during the Obama era and the website PROMISED a response to all emails. I'm still waiting. So how do we accomplish even what you are suggesting? The entire federal government needs to be cleared out.
I have not done as much as I should have. Virtually nothing is the truth. In regard to contacting my two reps: one State and one Federal. Not since Covid times when I contacted both and learned what to expect from them.
Here is the thing: they do NOT respond to today's comms from a handful of people here and there. They ARE out of control. They ARE mere tools of the Party and the Party is a tool of the vested interests.
So don't expect anything from them. Don't.
We accomplish what we need by getting those apps written and installed on everyone's smartphone and it becoming the fashion of the day for people to use them.
That's how.
The first thing is the apps. I don't know which one will be first. There'll be any number. And they'll be of all kinds. And some will be deliberate ripoffs and some will be flaky and a waste of time and so on.
What we want is good honest apps as free and as good as say a Linux distro is a good example.
Open source so anyone can check the code and know it's legitimate, no backdoors, no viruses, no tricks. So's the world of open source programmers can be checking all the time just like they do with Linux looking for improvement and for fixing faults.
The first one might simply be a 'vote for the govt' thing. Which allows you to cast your vote for the govt by a press of the thumb at any time day or night year round.
And amasses all the votes and displays a bar chart and numbers, percentages or something, showing how the voting is going.
Got it?
And it will change day by day of course. And when ALL the people are using it then it'll be like a big stick to the govt. Because they'll know the people are waking up and they'll know the people are doing something and they'll know the people are showing signs of intelligent organisation and if the voting is going against them they'll know without a shadow of doubt its real, not spin, not opinion, not random sampling surveys fixed or not.... just bald truth.
THAT could spread through the nation - through the world in fact - overnight. Like wildfire. What was the quickest app ever to take over the world of smartphones? I don't know.. twitter maybe or something like that? Tik Tok, GPT tells me.
Whatever. I think 'digital democracy' could sweep across the voters easily within a year.
I just had a thought. From Covid. Well within a year everyone had the Covid app on their phones: by law. Couldn't get into shopping malls here without scanning qi codes with your app.
well in the same way I'd expect digital democracy (to coin a phrase) apps to suddenly appear on everyone's phone once they get the idea.
I will maybe write something about it and put it on the blog to show what I mean.
It's a great idea. I wanted to try something similar on my substack page but the problem I found is getting subscribers. An app might just do the trick if made "fashionable". I'll subscribe to your substack (or you can subscribe to mine) so we can talk about this directly if you like. I tried the direct message substack just came out with and can't get it to work. At this point anything is worth trying. I'm tired of the naysayers who refuse to try anything unless it's "gauranteed" to work . I read the declaration of independence yesterday and almost all the reasons for breaking away from England are happening today. And George the second started it all on 9/11.
I also still believe that a national boycott of consumer goods would be a good start. Simply stop shopping for anything but essential goods. It would take no effort on anyone's part and hit the elite where it hurts them the most. In the pocket book.
While we wait for the apps to appear the thing to do is prepare the ground by explaining it to folks. Showing them what to expect.
I think a good starting place would be the question: "If you had a smartphone app for it would you push a button to change your vote for against the government whenever you felt a need? "
I don't know about boycotts, effective or not but I feel I do know the problem is the people, us, you and I, not 'the elites'.
We have the machinery in place to run the country ourselves because that's what it is supposed to be - a democracy, a place run by the people for the people.
And now we the tool - the web, the phone, and the apps coming - for us to really be able to do easily and well.
Yes it's most definitely the people.
Ben Franklin replying to Mrs Powell
" We have given you a republic, if you can keep it".
And the problem with a boycott rests solely on the participation of the "people". Considering that retailers cry when profit is down 1.or2 percent what do you think would happen if it went down 50 percent or more for a month?
And How ~ exactly ~ is that federal government to be "cleared out'? Who is going to do that "clearing," and with What?
And with What and Who are they going to replace the current system and its elected politicians, entrenched bureaucrats, and anointed appointees?
And given the number of Americans who are totally and completely dependent on the federal government for their incomes, livelihoods, and life styles ~ and those who are very dependent on those who are totally and completely dependent ~ Who is going to lead that "clearing out"?
And Who is going to follow them?
Nothing needs 'clearing out' in my opinion.
Except the power of the oligarchs over the Party and the power of the Party over the representatives (congressmen, I think, to you Americans).
And that will happen of its own accord by pressure from 'below', from the electorate, when digital democracy apps begin to show very clearly what the electorate is thinking and doing and wanting.
You do understand that reps today are fearless of the electorate not only because the electorate is so 'absent', so docile and amenable and happy to leave the rep alone to do as he wishes, but also because the rep knows he's 90% probably being elected on the Party ticket.
In a safe Party seat he's safe. End of story.
But when digital democracy apps begin to give people they understanding they can exert power, made themselves be heard, see what all the others are thinking and saying and manifest all this to the rep then the rep is going to see it. Directed right at HIM. He is going to get booted in the next election.
Because Party politics will just collapse under the tsunami of 'people politics'.
The people will come up with their own shared desires made manifest on smartphone and they'll know to a percentage point how many of them agree on this thing and they'll push the rep for that thing. THAT thing. Cutting right across Party lines, ignoring Party lines, just focusing on that thing. Wanting, demanding that thing.
So bad, so rotten, so eroded and twisted and destroyed is American democracy that the electorate doesn't even dream of exercising its will. It is generations schooled in simply picking a Party and then praying that somehow that Party will sometimes do something to help them.
But we don't need to go around shooting people or wrecking things to fix that. Party politics will disappear like snow in the sun. Trickle away.
It just needs the people to stand up. To manifest. They don't even need to take a walk to the rep's office. I know that's a drag. Don't need to give him a call: also an unrewarding drag. Don't need to email him: never does any good anyway. Don't need to text him, nor fax him nor write a snailmail.
Just push a button the app and it sends a message to him directly with your voicemail or vote or whatever.
Just push another button and it registers your change in vote for the President.
And so on. Push button democracy. Modern, cyber democracy. Labour saving democracy. Possible universal suffrage democracy.
do you get it?
Your last sentence is the money quote here, Toma.
The problem Ray is that there is no accountability. And in your case you are not a "constituent ". Our (s)elected officials only represent there constituents regardless of how good the idea is.
The crisis with poison food here from highly processed food was being addressed by senator Cory Brooks by adding labels to food indicating the healthfulness. A skull and crossbones would work just fine. But it wouldn't stop the problem because the majority of Americans can only afford the cheap food and the chemicals would remain. What needs to be addressed is the chemicals in the food not labels. The job of the FDA.
Did the voters get to approve the 1.5 trillion dollars for the upgrades to the nuclear weapons arsenal? No. We're they even aware of it? No. Is it beneficial to Americans? No.
Are we being ignored? Yes.
Is the problem of being ignored solvable? Yes, with today's communication abilities most definitely. Is there a good excuse for not solving the problem? No.
I see George Galloway won the by-election making UK complicity in Gaza a real campaign issue. In his victory speech he said, "Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight.”
Great line and a glimmer of hope as he proclaimed, "This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates ... We crushed Labour by ten thousand votes. The second place candidate was not the Conservatives," [but an independent.] "This is the first time in British political history that in a by-election both of the major parties were completely crushed."
Amen.
https://mywisdom.substack.com/p/light-on-a-genocide
Scott Ritter concludes his 2 Mar 24 piece THE SILENT EULOGY as follows:
So here is to the American experiment.
Born July 4, 1776.
Died…we’ll never know.
An imperfect union, it strove to be better, fighting a revolution to free itself from the tyranny of the British crown while preserving slavery as a constitutionally approved institution. America fought a bloody Civil War to end the evil of slavery and preserve the Union, all the while implementing its self-anointed God-given “manifest destiny” which drove into near extinction the indigenous people who populated the continent we conquered. We came to the aid of Europe not once, but twice, over the course of a century, helping defeat the forces of fascism and imperialism, before becoming fascist-like in our domestic policies that supported our imperialistic foreign policies.
America, the beautiful.
God shed his grace on thee.
This is the eulogy I will never be able to deliver, because like the rest of you, I am fated to die in a nuclear holocaust of our own making. We have embarked on a collective journey whose only destination is death and destruction.
We have ignored, at our own peril, the efforts of those, at home and abroad, who have tried to get us to take an off-ramp.
I would have liked to have had the epitaph on my gravestone read, “Here lies a warrior for peace, who dedicated his life to the cause of making the world a safer place to live.”
Alas, I, like all of you who are reading this, am doomed to die in a war that could have been avoided if we just tried a little bit harder to avoid it.
The shame is that, at that moment when the inevitability of our passing hits home, in the millisecond that will follow the flash of light and the comprehension of what it signifies, all of us will think “If I had just…”
But it will be too late because we did not.
We allowed the military industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned us about to become manifest.
We remained indifferent to the reality of its pervasiveness, even as our own government informed us that the reason for pursuing our suicidal path of destruction with Russia in Ukraine was so that our defense industry could profit.
But there is no profit in death.
Rest in peace, America.
And may God damn us all to hell for destroying that which he had bequeathed us.
Full article at: https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/the-silent-eulogy .
It's Zionism. We must De-Zionize our institutions. Simply changing the official spokesperson of the ruling classes (e.g. Politicians) does no good. We have to reform our institutions from academia to healthcare and government. It all has to be divorced from the racist extremist ideology that is Zionism. UN Resolution 3379 declared Zionism to be racism decades ago. Time to act on it.
I think this all can be summed up by man's inhumanity to man since time immemorial, and Tribes gathered for strength and unity... That was the beginning of the greed and selfishness pitting one tribe against another. Nation states are nothing more than that, but on a larger scale. Hopefully when all the Wars are over there will be a better more enlightened civil society and future. I only wish I could catch a fleeting glimpse before I die.