Canceling Free Speech

 

Is this the end of protests?

If western governments need to keep ramping up censorship, propaganda and the persecution of journalists in order to defend western freedom and democracy, is it really freedom and democracy? And, is it worth defending? —Caitlin Johnstone

 

Canceling Free Speech

by C.A. Matthews

 

The best thing about being American, in my opinion, is The Bill of Rights. The best amendment in particular is the First Amendment and the part where it says that We the People have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. But Americans can’t even depend on that bit anymore, and it sucks.

Thanks a lot, fascists!

If you don’t equate free speech with our right to assemble and protest, then perhaps this recent incident involving arresting the bail fundraisers for the Cop City (Weelaunee Forest) protesters  in Atlanta won’t upset you like it does me:

https://communitymovementbuilders.org/stop-cop-city/

Rights advocates warned Wednesday that the arrests of three board members of an Atlanta-based bail fund could mark the beginning of a new era in the United States’ treatment of peaceful protesters—one in which both demonstrators and those who support them are targeted by law enforcement.

...The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Atlanta Police Department carried out the arrests of Marlon Scott Kautz, Savannah Patterson, and Adele Maclean of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund (ASF).

The group offers financial support to people who have been arrested for protesting, including the dozens of people who have been detained for resisting the development of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, also known by critics as Cop City—a $90 million police training facility that would take up 85 acres of publicly-owned forest. From ‘Behavior of a Fascist Police State’: Legal Aid Organizers Arrested After Backing Cop City

Atlantans can’t exercise their right of free speech to protest the building of a “Murder Academy” on the one remaining piece of virgin forest in their region. They’ll risk arrest if they do, and then their compatriots will be arrested when they raise funds to bail the original protesters out of jail. Our government says murder by cops is okay, but the bailing out of peaceful protesters isn’t to be allowed and those who do bail them out risk being locked up as well.

So much for the First Amendment!

The fact of the matter is that free speech has been weaponized. (Read Weaponizing Free Speech for a sample or two of what I mean.) Anyone expressing an opinion that isn’t sanctioned by the status quo can expect to be censored, arrested, charged and/or thrown into jail without even the possibility of being bailed out.

To this black mark on the First Amendment and The Bill of Rights I say: God bless America! Let “freedom” ring! (Yeah, right. *cough, cough*)

We’re living in an era of “Cancel Culture.” Free speech isn’t seen so much as a right as a suggestion. If what you say doesn’t upset the powers-that-be and their sycophants and paid trolls, you’re okay, but don’t you dare express an opinion they don’t like. Oh no. They can't have critical thinkers who can read between the lines, can they?

This fascistic outlawing of protesters is not just happening in the US—it’s a worldwide phenomenon. A recent video from The Juice Media out of Australia demonstrates just how inventive a “Five-Eyes democracy” can be when it comes to squashing voices of dissent.

 

youtu.be/kecnSHmznic  

This short video says it well. You don’t like something your government is doing (or allowing a big corporation to do) and you and your friends get out in the streets to protest it—you’ll wind up in jail and totally bankrupt. “Cool and normal” as the Aussies say. That phrase translates to roughly, “Bend over and take it,” in American English. 

Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly have been effectively canceled. God bless… the fascists, or so it seems.

Persons of conscience are being forced into making one of two difficult choices: Go along with whatever those in charge of our “democracy” tell you is “correct thinking” nowadays and shut up, or if you can’t “love it” you're told to “leave it.”

But where can we go? More importantly, why should we be forced from our homes because fascists desire endless wars for oil and want us to cooperate with the immoral death machine, a.k.a. the Military-Industrial Complex? Don’t we lovers of peace and harmony deserve to live here as much as the warmongers? 

God bless... those who don't believe the lies.  

The West sure loves to brag about its love of “freedom and democracy” and its “free press,” but it sure doesn’t act like it gives a flying Flag Day about them. Without independent journalists and media outlets, we wouldn’t have known about the jailing of the Atlanta protesters and their bail bond funders. Without the indies' reportage, we wouldn’t know about the US national security apparatus funding and endorsing coups d’etat around the globe, would we?

Journalists of integrity are fast becoming a rare and endangered species. They find themselves harassed and threatened with prison. Journalist Matt Taibbi did after his Congressional committee testimony concerning the Twitter Files. (Read Digital McCarthyism about how Taibbi was called a “so-called journalist” by members of Congress.) Reporters Veronica Coit and Matilda Bliss in North Carolina were actually arrested and charged with trespassing while covering the eviction of homeless people in Asheville’s Aston Park. During their trial, Judge James Calvin Hill refused to acknowledge their press status or that this was a First Amendment case. He found the duo guilty. In his decision, Judge Hill stated, “They may be journalists, but there was no evidence provided to the court that they are journalists.”

American reporter Gonzalo Lira is now sitting in a Ukrainian jail because of his in-depth coverage of the war in Ukraine. When asked if the US government would help free Lira, a government spokesperson wouldn’t say if US officials would even consider asking their Ukrainian counterparts for his release. Our so-called “representatives” are okay with letting a journalist rot in jail. 

No precedence there, is there? 

Meanwhile in the UK, journalists can find themselves treated like terrorists, grilled for hours, and their computer devices taken. This is what happened to The Grayzone’s Kit Klarenburg.

As soon as journalist Kit Klarenberg landed in his home country of Britain on May 17, 2023, six anonymous plainclothes counter-terror officers detained him. They quickly escorted him to a back room, where they grilled him for over five hours about his reporting for this outlet. They also inquired about his personal opinion on everything from the current British political leadership to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone

Aw...the smell of “freedom and democracy” wafting in on the early summer’s air! It covers over the stench of those pesky truth-telling reporters like Kit, Gonzalo, Veronica, Matilda, and Matt. Kit might even find himself locked up at Belmarsh Prison with fellow truth-seeker Julian Assange if a judge decides he's “not a journalist.” I sincerely hope not.

God bless... independent voices who keep reporting what's really happening in the world in spite of threats from the fascist state.

This summer isn’t particularly a good time of the year for me. It’s not that I don’t enjoy sunshine and picnics, because I do. It’s just that I’m not that into American “patriotic holidays” like Memorial Day, Flag Day, or the Fourth of July. There’s not much to celebrate when your mind connects these holidays with endless wars for American hegemony, senseless killing for profits, and locking up persons who protest violence and report on war. Others simply associate these holidays with hot dog eating contests, fireworks, parades, and apple pie, but I just can't anymore. 

There’s little joy to be found in any patriotic holiday pretending to be supportive of our First Amendment rights like free speech and freedom of assembly while our so-called “elected representatives" are ripping those very rights out of the people's hands. The fascists in power have ruined things for me. I honestly can’t see myself wearing red, white, and blue and waving a little flag while watching an Independence Day parade ever again.  

I just can’t, knowing what I know. I can’t approve of the evil status quo hiding behind those once sacred symbols of the flag and The Bill of Rights. I’ll have to find myself another holiday to celebrate this time of year.

I know… Happy Bastille Day!

Related Articles and Other Insightful Links:

Honest Government Ad | Anti Protest Laws (SA) https://youtu.be/kecnSHmznic

The Crushing of Free Press Continues https://www.youtube.com/live/ggZHodvFu50

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker https://pressfreedomtracker.us/

If the Police Can Decide Who Qualifies as a Journalist, There Is No Free Press  https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/02/if-the-police-can-decide-who-qualifies-as-a-journalist-there-is-no-free-press/

British police detain journalist Kit Klarenberg, interrogate him about The Grayzone https://thegrayzone.com/2023/05/30/journalist-kit-klarenberg-british-police-interrogated-grayzone/

State Department Won’t Say If It’s Working to Free US Citizen Detained in Ukraine  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/29/state-department-wont-say-if-its-working-to-free-us-citizen-detained-in-ukraine/

15 Reasons Why Mass Media Employees Act Like Propagandists https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/15-reasons-why-mass-media-employees

Authoritarianism Keeps Surging In Western "Free Democracies"
https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/authoritarianism-keeps-surging-in/comments

‘Behavior of a Fascist Police State’: Legal Aid Organizers Arrested After Backing Cop City https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/behavior-of-a-fascist-police-state-legal-aid-organizers-arrested-after-backing-cop-city-protesters/

Arrest Of Bail Fund Organizers In Atlanta Sets A Dangerous Precedent https://popularresistance.org/arrest-of-bail-fund-organizers-in-atlanta-sets-a-dangerous-precedent/

The Empire! "We're Coming For All Of You!" https://indienewsnetwork.substack.com/p/the-empire-were-coming-for-all-of/comments

Supremes Declare War on Wetlands https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/supremes-declare-war-on-wetlands/

Lee Camp: The Threat Of Dangerous Ideas And Why We Need Them (podcast) https://popularresistance.org/lee-camp-on-the-threat-of-dangerous-ideas-and-why-we-need-them/

Dozens of GoFundMe Users Seek Funds to Flee States Passing Transphobic Laws  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/dozens-of-gofundme-users-seek-funds-to-flee-states-passing-transphobic-laws/

Nearly Half Of Earth’s Animal Species Are In Decline
https://popularresistance.org/study-nearly-half-of-earths-animal-species-are-in-decline/

Police Use Water Cannons, Mass Arrest At Extinction Rebellion Protest https://popularresistance.org/police-use-water-cannons-mass-arrest-at-extinction-rebellion-protest/

The War We’re Finally Allowed to See https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/patrick-lawrence-the-war-were-finally-allowed-to-see/

G7 Versus Diplomacy for Ukraine https://consortiumnews.com/2023/05/31/g7-versus-diplomacy-for-ukraine/

Drone attack on Moscow aims to escalate US-NATO war with Russia https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/31/furs-m31.html

China builds global alternative as US-led financial order decays
https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/china-alternative-us-led-financial-order

FBI Reopens Assange Investigation https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/report-fbi-reopens-assange-investigation/

The Slow Ethnic Cleansing of Ein Samiya’s Bedouin Community
https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/01/the-slow-ethnic-cleansing-of-ein-samiyas-bedouin-community/ 

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

Digital McCarthyism https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/03/digital-mccarthyism.html 

Breaking News: Dr. Cornel West Announces He is Running for President https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/dr-cornel-west-announces-he-is-running

 

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. Choose 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!

The Unwelcoming Society

The Unwelcoming Society

by C. A. Matthews

When my mother first got off the ship in the United States of America, I wonder… Did she feel welcomed?

It was right before the start of the second World War. Mom had lived in Brazil all of her young life. Now, her parents thrust her into a strange, new world full of different people, weather, flora and fauna. Being scolded by her mother to “speak only English,” she soon lost the ability to converse in Portuguese, remembering only snatches of songs and nursery rhymes in later years. Mom learned that she had to speak English only because now she was American, for better or worse.

Nowadays, it almost always seems to be “for the worse” whenever an immigrant attempts to enter the US. They may be desperate to escape persecution and violence in their home country, but once they arrive in the US or at its border, their fears not only aren’t relieved—they’re often magnified.

I wrote about the end of the infamous Title 42 program and the new Biden Asylum-Transit ban a couple of months ago in The New Title 42. The mainstream media’s continual emphasis on the urban myth of the US southern border becoming inundated with immigrant hordes after the pandemic ban was lifted has not happened. However, the re-traumatization of asylum-seekers seeking safety has just begun.

How welcoming is that?

From the terrorists masquerading as Customs Border Patrol agents at our borders, to the outright Jim Crow decrees from our state legislatures, it can’t get much more unwelcoming in the United States of America in the year 2023 CE. If you think I’m kidding, get a load of this:

A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as a real estate brokerage firm in Florida that primarily serves clients of Chinese descent, are filing a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the legislation unfairly restricts most Chinese citizens — and most citizens of Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, and North Korea — from purchasing homes in the state. Unless the courts act, the law will take effect on July 1, 2023…

Today’s lawsuit argues that SB 264 will codify and expand housing discrimination against people of Asian descent in violation of the Constitution and the Fair Housing Act. It will also cast an undue burden of suspicion on anyone seeking to buy property whose name sounds remotely Asian, Russian, Iranian, Cuban, Venezuelan, or Syrian. 

Gov. DeSantis has argued that this law is necessary to protect Florida from the Chinese Communist Party and its activities. But this misguided rationale unfairly equates Chinese people with the actions of their government, and there is no evidence of national security harm resulting from real estate ownership by Chinese people in Florida. From Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional, Discriminatory Law

This horrible law brings to mind the first immigration law passed in the United States, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882:

From 1882 until 1943, most Chinese immigrants were barred from entering the United States. The Chinese Exclusion Act was the nation's first law to ban immigration by race or nationality. All Chinese people--except travelers, merchants, teachers, students, and those born in the United States--were barred from entering the country. Federal law prohibited Chinese residents, no matter how long they had legally worked in the United States, from becoming naturalized citizens… The Geary Act, passed in 1892, required Chinese aliens to carry a residence certificate with them at all times upon penalty of deportation. Immigration officials and police officers conducted spot checks in canneries, mines, and lodging houses and demanded that every Chinese person show these residence certificates. --From Digital History

We’re really come a long, long way in the good ol’ US of A, haven’t we?

Working in immigration advocacy, I am always shocked at how woefully ignorant most Americans are of how poorly we treat and have treated immigrants. Consider this sobering fact: It wasn’t until the middle of America’s involvement in World War II (1943) that Chinese-American persons—people of Chinese ancestry, born and raised in families that had lived for several generations in the US—were allowed to become naturalized citizens.

Just because your last name was Li or Chin, and it wasn’t Smith or Schmidt, you couldn’t vote even though you were born in the US, went to school all your life in the US, and raised your own family in the US. You and your children weren’t entitled to any benefits of citizenship simply because your ancestors were born far, far away, across a big, wide ocean. Funny how those “Smiths” and “Schmidts” whose ancestors also came across an ocean were able to claim US citizenship and vote without any problems, though.

Wonder what the big difference is between these two groups, persons of European ancestry and those of Asian ancestry? Hmm... Do you think it has anything to do with their skin color perhaps?

And you think the Chinese had (and still have) it bad? When did American Indians become US citizens? Their ancestors have dwelt on the North American continent for tens of thousands of years, but most who live within the boundaries of the USA were not able to call themselves American citizens until… No, not 1776 or 1865, but 1924. It actually took until the second decade of the twentieth century for Native Americans to be considered “American.” 

Now, convince me just how “welcoming” American society is if it can't even acknowledge the original inhabitants of this continent or keep any of the treaties it made with their leaders. I'll wait.

The US is so “welcoming” that we don't even believe that having enough food to eat is a human right. Imagine that! We voted against that proposal in the United Nations, of all places. That attitude certainly goes a long way in explaining our homeless and hunger problems, doesn't it? It's not that Americans can't feed and house our own people, it's that we don't want to.

But it isn’t always about race and ethnicity in the US when it comes to being unwelcoming. Senator Rick Scott (another Floridian) this past week has decided that those who are professed “socialists” aren’t welcome in his state. This announcement has really put a crimp in my vacation plans. I wanted to go south and visit my aunt, uncle and cousins in Florida, along with my sister and brother-in-law who recently retired there. Senator Scott says he doesn’t want any of my no-good socialist money in his state. It’s not good enough for the likes of Florida, like Chinese people’s money isn't, or Cubans’, or Venezuelans’, Syrians’, Iranians’, Russians’, and North Koreans’ money.

If you are trans or non-binary, you’re not wanted in the Sunshine State, either. It’s almost as if your gender identification is seen as a contagious disease. Give Florida its due—they’re racist, fascistic, and terrified of people who don’t meet their expectations of what a boy or a girl is supposed to be like. You could call it “Equal Opportunity Bigotry.”

I know it’s not only the state of Florida that has passed these prejudiced decrees recently, but it is the perfect example of evil in action. Florida is full of hateful opportunists who are riding a wave of terror of “otherness” and hoping to make a profit while doing so. Look at what color Florida is on this map and what it stands for:

It's nothing to be proud of, in my opinion. I wouldn't be planning a vacation to Disney World or Universal Studios, in other words, unless you're a raving homophobic/transphobic, anti-Asian, anti-socialist. Then, by all means, go right ahead! (Just don't bother to return home. We can isolate all you bigots in Florida with a simple “border wall” at the top of the peninsula. We don't want your kind of “immigrant” in our states.)

A year ago, it was all “Hate the Russians! Love Zelensky! Who needs to spend billions on universal health care when America can spend it on the military-industrial complex and make our Congress members with insider stock trading deals richer!” And soon it will be, “Stop eating Chinese food and hate the Chinese! We’re at war with China over… over...”  

Gee, I forget! Why is the US mad at China? Is it because the have decent reserves of lithium? Silicon chip manufacturing? Or because they’ve been trying to bring about a diplomatic end to the conflict in Ukraine, saving lives and ending the madness in the process?  

It doesn’t take much to start a hate campaign against another country or ethnic or racial or political or gender group in the US. I sure wish our so-called “leaders” could do something to stop all this hate-mongering and sit down like rational adults and work out their differences with others in the best interest of every living thing on the planet before a nuclear war breaks out. (And no, corporations aren’t people, so they don’t count as “living things.”)

You could say that I’m just more than a little tired of the United States leading the way in all this worldwide nastiness; aren’t you?

The initials “US” are very appropriate. The initials “US” can also stand for the “Unwelcoming Society.” It's what we've become—or perhaps we've always been this way? It's time we stopped and took steps to reverse this horrid trend, don't you think?

 

Related Articles and Articles of Interest

Digital History: The Chinese Exclusion Act https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3291

Chinese Immigrants Sue Florida Over Unconstitutional, Discriminatory Law https://popularresistance.org/chinese-immigrants-sue-florida-over-unconstitutional-and-discriminatory-law/

ICE, Homeland Security Accused Of Targeting Outspoken Migrant Worker For Deportation https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/27/ice-homeland-security-accused-of-targeting-outspoken-migrant-worker-for-deportation/

Afghan families traverse most of Latin America to seek asylum at the US border https://theworld.org/stories/2023-05-17/afghan-families-traverse-most-latin-america-seek-asylum-us-border

Why are these Afghan refugees still stuck in limbo? https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2023/05/24/two-years-after-us-withdrawal-afghan-refugees-still-stuck-in-limbo/ 

Dozens of GoFundMe Users Seek Funds to Flee States Passing Transphobic Laws  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/31/dozens-of-gofundme-users-seek-funds-to-flee-states-passing-transphobic-laws/

Target Accused of “Selling Out the LGBTQ+ Community to Extremists”  https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/27/target-accused-of-selling-out-the-lgbtq-community-to-extremists-after-pulling-pride-merchandise/

 

Many transgender health bills came from a handful of far-right interest groups https://apnews.com/article/transgender-health-model-legislation-5cc4a7cb4ab69150f670d06fd0f361ab

About Quislings
https://popularresistance.org/about-quislings/

East Palestine, 100 Days Later
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/25/east-palestine-100-days-later/

US Troops To Train Peruvian Armed Forces, Proves US Behind Coup  https://popularresistance.org/us-troops-to-train-peruvian-armed-forces-proves-us-behind-coup/

$1.1 Trillion Was Spent On Militarism And War Last Year
https://popularresistance.org/new-report-1-1-trillion-or-62-of-the-federal-discretionary-budget-was-spent-on-militarism-and-war-last-year/

 

Washington-Insider Jeffrey Sachs on US Provoking Ukraine War | SYSTEM UPDATE https://youtu.be/kU7UzrJeX6E

Ukraine: Why Negotiations Are the Only Rational Option in the Face of Climate https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/25/ukraine-why-negotiations-are-the-only-rational-option-in-the-face-of-climate-chaos-and-nuclear-dangers/

 

Yes, Those Bioweapons Labs in Ukraine are a Real Thing

https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/yes-those-bioweapons-labs-in-ukraine-are-a-real-thing-fad3785f3818

Media's Complete U-Turn After Russia Wins Bakhmut
https://youtu.be/O3kr4ZZl5FA

Fossil Fuel Companies Owe $5.4 Trillion In Reparations, Study Says
https://popularresistance.org/fossil-fuel-companies-owe-5-4-trillion-in-reparations-study-says/

10 Years After Snowden: Some Things Are Better, Some We’re Still Fighting For https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/23/10-years-after-snowden-some-things-are-better-some-were-still-fighting-for/

The Democratic Party’s Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion

Manufactured crisis over US debt ceiling sets stage for bipartisan assault on Social Security and Medicare https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/25/pers-m25.html 

Kissinger vs. ‘The Most Dangerous Man in America’ https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/28/kissinger-vs-the-most-dangerous-man-in-america/

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. Choose 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!

(How Not To Say) Told You So

 

The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.― Joe Klaas

 

(How Not To Say) Told You So

by C.A. Matthews

Seven years ago, if you’d asked me if Hillary Clinton was going to win the 2016 presidential election or not and why, I would have answered: “Of course not! She’s not that popular. She actually smiled gleefully on television about slaughtering Qaddafi in cold blood when she was Secretary of State. Ew! She just rubs people the wrong way.”

I was right. Told you so.

If you would have asked me after the 2016 election how Hillary and the Dems were going to take their embarrassing loss, I’d have said: “They’ll come up with some elaborate excuse to cover up for the fact that they were too lazy to campaign in the Rust Belt, Deep South, or Rural West in order to garner those electoral college votes. They’ll refuse to accept their responsibility for this loss and will place the blame on others, pretending to be ‘victims’ of some great plot to make them look bad. Just you wait and see.”

Told you so—again. This time it was a much more sinister thing to have been right about. And it's been an uncomfortable seven years being maligned and shouted down although, in the end, I was proven right.

According to Black Agenda Report:

Taken together - the Mueller report that failed to uncover collusion between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign, and the Horowitz report that revealed violations of FBI protocols and which generated legal proceedings against some agents related to information used to justify launching Crossfire Hurricane, and now the Durham report - it is clear that the political and cultural phenomenon known as “Russiagate” could be legitimately characterized as a state-sponsored domestic psy-op.

The release of the Durham Report has finally vindicated my (and many others’) take on the Russiagate scandal. It has been proven beyond any shadow of a doubt to be indeed an elaborate fraud concocted by the Democratic Party with the help of the FBI. The 306-page report was sent to Congress by Attorney General Merrick Garland and concludes that the FBI engaged in a witch hunt, code named Crossfire Hurricane, that was orchestrated by Hillary Clinton’s campaign, aided and abetted by senior FBI officials who loathed Trump.  

We at The Revolution Continues were so confident that Russiagate was simply an elaborate cover up for Hillary’s unpopularity and big loss that we even created a whole page full of links to articles and videos demonstrating that none of the claims made by the Dems  were remotely true. (You can see just how much evidence we accumulated here.) 

To those of us on the actual Left who follow the reporting of independent journalists, Russigate was a blatantly obvious scam from the start. It didn’t deserve a moment’s notice of a serious publication or network and should go down in history as an example of how far a US political party will go to manipulate the mainstream media into covering for its extremely unlikable candidate and her poorly run campaign. President Richard "Watergate" Nixon is rolling in his grave at how long the Dems have got away with it.

So, here we are seven years later and the Durham Report has spilled the beans. There was no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and any foreign power. Zero evidence. No convictions were ever made from any of the multitude of allegations. Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald covers the whole story well in this episode of System Update: Durham Report Obliterates FBI for Russiagate Misconduct.

I hate to say, “I told you so!” to friends who fell hook, line and sinker for all the Russiagate nonsense, but it doesn't make any sense. Why didn’t they listen to us here at TRC in the first place? We could have saved them a lot of time and worry fretting over a so-called “foreign influence” interfering with the presidential election. Let’s face facts: The only persons who interfere with American elections are our fellow Americans who already have the power and means to do so, as well as the desire to change and/or manipulate the numbers in their favor. 

You think we’ll get an apology anytime soon from the top-ranked Dems who came up with this load of hogwash? I sincerely doubt it. To admit complicity in such a criminal plot that was a fiendish waste of time (and ultimately taxpayers’ dollars to debunk it) in order to **snigger** make demagogue Donald Trump look “bad” would make the Democratic Party look even more inept that the cognitively challenged resident currently residing in the White House. 

But Russiagate goes beyond mere ineptitude according to Black Agenda Report:

Remember, the infamous ‘Steele Dossier’ was paid for by the Clinton campaign and played a significant role in the mythology of Russigate. (…) Despite the fact that the Mueller report concluded that there was no evidence of Trump campaign collusion with the Russian Federation and that Russian election interference was largely an urban myth – the FBI’s absurd charges against the African People's Socialist Party (APSP) and its Chairman and supporters is based on the acceptance that the Russians are still involved in “malign influence” campaigns across the U.S. The FBI claims that the APSP has committed the ideological crime of “sowing dissent” among the public by their opposition to the Biden initiated war in Ukraine.

 

We talked about this incident concerning the APSP a couple of weeks ago in Weaponizing Free Speech. A made up hoax to cover for Hillary’s embarrassing loss in 2016 has led to a culture that demonizes and censors all groups that hold a very different outlook when it comes to eternal wars for resources at the expense of others. Because of a huge lie that has demonized Russia, dissenters such as the members of the African People’s Socialist Party must be arrested by the FBI and locked up. Their voices must be silenced—all because of the horrendous mess that is Russiagate, which was created for solely selfish political purposes.
 
Fellow Americans, the members of the APSP, could be sent to prison because (wait for it)... Because the Dems in 2016 wanted to make Hillary Clinton look like a victim of Russian propaganda and manipulation. It would be almost comical if it wasn't altogether criminal what the FBI is currently doing to the APSP members who were merely exercising their First Amendment rights to free speech.

And of course neither Hillary nor any of her pals in the DNC will ever see jail time for this criminal enterprise. Disgusting.

So, how can we prevent ourselves from saying “Told you so” when it’s oh-so tempting? Perhaps the best way is to not let these situations happen in the first place. Preemptively encourage your friends and family members to develop critical thinking skills. They must trust their natural sense of “What’s the motive behind this action? Who profits from spinning the narrative to make the public scared/angry/indignant about this particular person/place/organization? Is anyone trying to cover up for something they should or shouldn’t have done?”

If your friend or loved one can learn to stop and carefully question an organization’s or corporation’s or government’s or a political party’s motives and narratives, perhaps they will be able to stop themselves from becoming victims of the propaganda spewed from the mouths of co-opted mainstream media pundits. You won’t have to say “Told you so” ever again because they will be able to discern the truth and uncover the lies for themselves.

We talked about developing critical thinking skills on this blog before in our article on the East Palestine, Ohio/Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical burn (American Chernobyl). I know it’s easier said than done to inspire others to develop these necessary survival skills.

Some folks seem addicted to CNN or Fox News or whatever pundit they feel is speaking the gospel truth at that moment. They’ll automatically accept whatever is told to them by someone such as Rachel Maddow, even though her lawyers admitted in court that she isn’t truthfully reporting news but is “entertaining” her audience with whatever they want to hear. (And at a $30 million+ yearly salary Rachel will say anything. She doesn’t care if she’s acting like a parrot for a government disinformation agency. The money is good.)

This continual reinforcement of a false narrative from the media—such as the continual emphasis that Trump was working for Russia or that APSP members’ activism for peace in Ukraine is somehow “anti-American”—can make others act defensively when irrefutable evidence such as the Durham Report is given to them. They’ll lash out in anger or denial of the facts because of the psychic pain of cognitive dissonance. Providing facts that could overturn a big lie such as Russiagate could also ruin your relationship. I know I’ve been there. 

I was trying to convince a person that the Nazi influence in Ukraine goes way back to World War II. He wouldn’t have any of it. Photos of statues of Ukrainian Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera in prominent display throughout Ukraine wouldn’t convince him. Videos of the summer camps that Ukrainian children attend where they are taught white supremacist dogma didn’t impress him. Even the fact that the Russians lost 26 million lives to the Nazis and are vehemently anti-Nazi wouldn’t convince him that they had strong motives to help their fellow ethnic Russians in the Donbass who had been repeatedly bombed by Neo-Nazis since 2015. I suppose asking him to read this well-researched piece, Nazis in Ukraine—It's Worse Than You Think, wouldn’t change his mind, either. 

When at long last it comes out in the mainstream media that there have been real live Nazis in Ukraine all along—and no doubt it will come out as NATO distances themselves from Ukraine and the potential war with China heats up—how will I stop myself from shouting, “I told you so”? It’s going to be tough. I’ll have to bite my tongue. Hard. 

But if I really care about this person, step-by-step I’ll help him see how he has been indoctrinated by an uncaring mainstream media...who works at the behest of an equally uncaring government...who works essentially for the billionaires of the military industrial complex that profits from eternal war. I’ll take things slow and easy. If he starts to connect the dots on his own, I won’t stop him and take the credit, but give him all the praise he deserves as a critical thinker. 

Because that’s who we need more of in this world. Critical thinkers who won’t blindly follow the horrendous hoaxes such as Russiagate. Critical thinkers who’ll stop and dissect the propaganda they’re being constantly bombarded with. Critical thinkers who’ll fight back against the censorship imposed upon us by those who wish to manipulate us. 

Welcome to the “good fight,” comrades! 

An Example of a Substack "Note"

"The problem, as is so often the case, is that mainstream westerners make the assumption that "If that's what was happening, we would have heard about it in the news." Not understanding that their "news" media is designed to advance the interests of the powerful, not to report the news." --Caitlin Johnstone

This is why I wish they'd get rid of the moniker "news" for the infotainment shows on the networks and "news" channels. They're not telling us anything we really need to hear--they're simply covering for the powerful, the manipulators of kings and corporations. It's time to do like the character of Howard Beal did in the movie Network and throw the tube out the second story window.

 

 

Read more "Notes" like this one at our Substack page and subscribe today: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

 

Related and Insightful Links:

Durham Report Obliterates FBI for Russiagate Misconduct. Major Changes at Twitter Raise Serious Questions. And Reflections on the Extraordinary Life of David Miranda | SYSTEM UPDATE #83
https://rumble.com/v2o5wgs-system-update-83.html

Durham Report Reveals the Real Threat to “Democracy” – The FBI Weaponized by Democrat Party Affiliated Elites
https://www.blackagendareport.com/durham-report-reveals-real-threat-democracy-fbi-weaponized-democrat-party-affiliated-elites

Why the Conspiracy Theory About Trump and Russia Won't Go Away  https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/why-the-conspiracy-theory-about-trump

Eight Takeaways From the Durham Report
https://www.racket.news/p/damn-thats-thin-i-know-it-sucks-the

A Century of Censorship https://www.racket.news/p/a-century-of-censorship

Western News Media Exist To Administer Propaganda
https://open.substack.com/pub/caitlinjohnstone/p/western-news-media-exist-to-administer

Bellingcat is a Western 'psy-op'
https://mate.substack.com/p/elon-musk-is-right-bellingcat-is

We Must Speak Up Before the Propagandists Get Their War with China  https://therealnews.com/we-must-speak-up-before-the-propagandists-get-their-war-with-china

Counter-Disinformation: The New Snake Oil
https://www.racket.news/p/counter-disinformation-the-new-snake

Who is Accountable.us? https://indiemediatoday.substack.com/p/who-is-accountableus-howdidwemisstha

Marching To The Beat Of The Imperial Machine https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/marching-to-the-beat-of-the-imperial

‘Death Outlives War’: Analysis Estimates Post-9/11 ​US Conflicts Killed Over 4.5 Million https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/16/death-outlives-war-analysis-estimates-post-9-11-us-conflicts-killed-over-4-5-million/

A New Report Finds That the “War on Terror” Led to More Than 4.5 Million Deaths https://truthout.org/articles/a-new-report-finds-that-the-war-on-terror-led-to-more-than-4-5-million-deaths/

Biden Okays F-16s for Ukraine, US Weapons to Attack Crimea https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/biden-okays-f-16s-for-ukraine-us

Ukraine Aid Funding Expected to Run Out by Mid-Summer
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/16/ukraine-aid-funding-expected-to-run-out-by-mid-summer/

Nazis in Ukraine--It's Worse Than You Think https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/nazis-in-ukraine-its-worse-than-you-think-80a2b8028306

Peru’s coup-plotting congress has 6% approval, 91% disapproval (but full US backing)
https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/04/16/peru-coup-congress-approval-us/

Seymour Hersh: The Ukraine Refugee Question
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/19/seymour-hersh-the-ukraine-refugee-question/

Patrick Lawrence: Farewell to the Welfare State? Not Just Yet.
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/17/patrick-lawrence-farewell-to-the-welfare-state-not-just-yet/

The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World
https://eisenhowermedianetwork.org/russia-ukraine-war-peace/

Patrick Lawrence: The USA’s Soviet-Style President
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/17/patrick-lawrence-the-usas-soviet-style-president/

SCOTUS Case May Slash Regulation Of Everything https://popularresistance.org/scotus-case-may-slash-regulation-of-everything/

Inflation drives US household debt to record $17 trillion
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/16/fcta-m16.htm


Montana Becomes First State to Ban TikTok Amid Concerns of First Amendment Violations
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/18/montana-becomes-first-state-to-ban-tiktok-amid-concerns-of-first-amendment-violations/

Report Reveals Top CEOs Dodge Taxes on Nearly $9 Billion in Retirement Funds
https://truthout.org/articles/report-reveals-top-ceos-dodge-taxes-on-nearly-9-billion-in-retirement-funds/

The Flight From the US Dollar
https://scheerpost.com/2023/05/18/the-flight-from-the-us-dollar/ 

American Chernobyl https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/02/american-chernobyl.html

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

 

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