"Regressive Progressives"

photo by Wendy A.

Did you March Against Monsanto this past weekend? We did--and got caught in a rainstorm--but we made our voices heard nonetheless. Our planet can't take much more poisoning at the hands of agri-chemical conglomerates. Recent studies have shown Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller  in our municipal water supplies as well as our very rainwater. Yes, even something as natural as rainwater has been corrupted and poisoned by cancer-causing chemicals such as Roundup (glyphosate). Our honey bees are dying off as well, insects who help pollinate the vast majority of our crops, because of the use of neonics (bee-killing insecticides). And of course, climate change is in the news yet again as we hit another all-time high temperature month. We're running out of time--we need to speak out and show solidarity with the Earth. Yet some in elected office act like they're too busy with "more important" issues than the safety and quality of our food, air and water. Who are these unenlightened individuals? Read on and see.

"Regressive Progressives" 

by C.A. Matthews

If you don't what quantitative easing is (meme above) and how it's affected our world economy for the worse, watch the movie The Big Short. The "too big to fail" banks are back in business, bigger and badder than before. The next mortgage crisis could be right behind the corner many economists say, only we might call it the student loan crisis instead.

Since it's difficult for me to explain economic theory, watch this video.(Warning: Adult Language used occasionally.)

https://youtu.be/Sgb8-i9COHU

If you're wondering why I posted the top meme showing former President Obama and quantitative easing, consider this: Obama recently received $3.2 million for a one hour speech in Milan, Italy. This, of course, was a couple of weeks after he accepted $400,000 for speech given on Wall Street. Do these sound like the actions of "progressive" individual who understands what it's like to be a struggling, working American? Or does it sound like a retired corporate politician who's cashing in on his lobbyist friends' promises of more money to come?

Here's another video explaining what progressives are not:

https://youtu.be/XvxY46nzKFY

Jimmy Dore is a comedian with a razor sharp wit that can cut through the bull in the headlines and get to the bottom of things. You can't pull something over on someone like Jimmy and trick him into thinking you're something you're not. He sees through your mask, and he calls you out on your blatant lying.

What has Jimmy's razor sharp wit got to do with our topic of "regressive progressives"? If you haven't watch the above videos, do so now and you'll see. Jimmy and many others refuse to play games with corporate Democrats who think they've fooled the voters into thinking they're "progressive" when they're not. Uh-uh. If you're on the corporate payroll and rather whine about "Russia, Russia, Russia!" instead of focusing your energies on passing the Medicare for All bills and protecting Medicaid from being dismantled or sponsoring the New Glass-Steagall Act that would protect ordinary Americans' savings and home mortgages, then you're not a true progressive.

Simply put, if you want to keep the status-quo of only two factions in power and you're okay with the Citizen United ruling, stating "money is speech," and you can't wait for your next Big Pharma or Big Oil lobbyist paycheck, then you're not a progressive. To progress means to go forward--not to go backward to the 19th century. The International Monetary Fund has said neoliberal policies (policies sponsored by both the Democratic and Republican Parties) since the Reagan era have made our economy into one where today there is worse income inequality than in Victorian times. 

Let that sink in for a moment. The IMF sees the American worker and our economy as worse off than it was in good ol' Victorian times, when children worked in factories instead of going to public schools and African-Americans were kept as slaves on Southern plantations. Air darkened by coal smoke and rivers filled with human wastes and no universal health care were all familiar things in the 19th century. It wasn't just pretty hoop skirts and gentlemen in top hats. Sorry to say, but PBS Masterpiece dramas leave out a lot of the horrible stench, death, decay and epidemics rampant in the 1800s when life expectancy was very low.

In other words, the "good ol' days" weren't all that good--and they particularly weren't that good for the majority of the world's population. Why should we regress to those times when only the immensely wealthy had half a chance of living long enough to enjoy a leisurely retirement? Why aren't we--and our elected representatives--working for a better world where all human beings are guaranteed  health care, education, and adequate food and shelter? 

Could it be because everyone is being distracted by the "Oo-shiny!" tactics created by the neoliberals or "regressive progressives"? While our backs are turned, Billionaires Lay Siege to Our State Government. These billionaires get away with it because we're easily distracted by the manufactured news items put out by the mainstream media while ignoring the important stories happening around the world. Amazing how Americans still place their trust in the mainstream media, which is owned by  a handful of corporations and financed by the likes of the Koch Brothers. (You say you didn't know billionaires were telling you what to think and believe all this time via the mainstream media outlets? I have only one thing to say to you: "Ooo-shiny!")

Who has the most to gain by manipulating the public's attention by focusing on only on smokescreen issues instead of passing progressive legislation--could it be the failing DNC? They've certainly done all they can to quash any mention in the mainstream media of their mistakes, including the story of DNC staffer/potential Wikileaks DNC email leaker Seth Rich's murder. They've certainly done all they can to stop any mention about the ongoing class action lawsuit by Bernie Sanders supporters against the DNC, in which the DNC has openly admitted in court they aren't legally obligated to hold honest, non-rigged primaries.

Political factions that act more concerned about keeping their positions of power and cashing in those lucrative lobbyist checks than in taking care of ordinary Americans' needs are not "progressive" by any stretch of the imagination. They don't deserve our attention to their smokescreen tactics that hide their laziness and selfishness. They definitely don't merit our votes. Let your elected representatives know you're not a toddler distracted by the "Oo-shiny!" stunts to deflect attention away from their flaws. Let them know you expect to be heard and your needs attended to, or else they can progress to the nearest exit and head home after the next election.

We the People are progressing forward. The status-quo-loving fat cats will be left behind. For good.

***

For those who wonder why we at Our Revolution Continues have not worked ourselves into a tizzy about "Russia, Russia, Russia!" the following pretty much explains our position on this "Oo-shiny!" smokescreen topic.

From Jill Stein and the Green Party--

Corporate media’s Neo-McCarthyism: Don’t believe the hysteria

NBC recently reported that I had been at an event in Russia along with Vladimir Putin in 2015. Notice that whenever you see this story in the corporate media, it consists of nothing more than a photo, because if they reported any of the facts behind the photo it would undermine the story they are trying to invent.

In reality, the NBC report didn’t say anything that wasn’t in my campaign’s press release about the Moscow event in December 2015. My trip to Russia, like my visit to the COP21 climate conference in Paris as part of the same trip, was about promoting diplomacy, peace, and international cooperation on pressing global issues. I criticized the militaristic policies of both the Russian and US governments, and proposed an alternative vision: working together on a “Peace Offensive” to de-escalate conflict in the Middle East and around the world.

I was one of a number of American advocates for a more peaceful and just foreign policy in Moscow, including Thom Hartmann, Rocky Anderson, Ray McGovern, Max Blumenthal, and Jesse Ventura.

The Moscow conference featured public figures, politicians and academics from across Europe and North America, as well as journalists and major media leadership from India, China, Russia, Europe and the US. It was an honor to be able to address the international community, and show them we Greens are fighting for a foreign policy based on international law. human rights and diplomacy, not on economic and military domination.

It is not only justifiable to attempt to communicate with other nations, it’s essential to do so if we are to have any hope of solving the gravest threats to human survival: endless war, climate meltdown and the threat of nuclear conflict. The Greens are the only political party with a plan to address all these issues. No wonder we are under attack by both Democrats and Republicans, and their surrogates in the corporate media, even outside the election cycle.

NBC and other corporate media outlets have tried to create the impression that I refuse to answer questions about my Russia trip. Actually, I have answered these questions so many times I’ve lost count, but when the corporate media realize that the answers don’t support their pre-conceived smear narrative, they refuse to print the facts. No, I did not speak with Vladimir Putin. Nor did I receive any payment from Russia. Why has one reporter after another, after hearing these facts, decided not to publish them? Why do they choose instead to encourage sensational conspiracy thinking based on a photo?

This transparent campaign of neo-McCarthyism perfectly demonstrates why Americans’ trust in mass media has plummeted to an all-time low.This is just the latest in a long line of smear campaigns from the corporate media. For a look at the many desperate attempts to discredit our grassroots movement, check out our “Haters Gonna Hate” page debunking the smears.

It’s time to withdraw our trust and support from these masters of

misinformation, and put our resources towards building independent, non-corporate people’s media to provide the truthful information we need to create the future we deserve.

Meanwhile, the fact that Democratic apologists are attacking us outside of an electoral campaign is a great sign. We have become a force to contend with and they are rightly worried. The American people are clamoring for a new way forward and together, we're creating a future whose time has come, that puts people, planet and peace over profit.

It’s in our hands!

Jill Stein

***

Here are some progressive groups that are staying on task. Our planet can't wait for the media circus to die down. We need to work on climate change now. 

From Climate Hawks Vote:

While Donald Trump is firing FBI directors and slipping state secrets to Russia, global warming isn’t going away.

Here are some important stories you may not have heard this week, about the reality of the threat we face — and of our ability to take action.

    An arctic refuge for the world’s most important seeds, built to last forever, flooded after permafrost melted. Designed as a deep freezer for the world's most previous seeds, the buried vault was nearly breached by meltwater due to extraordinarily hot Arctic temperatures.

    Fueled by carbon pollution, severe storms and tornadoes in the Midwest killed three people and injured dozens more. On Tuesday alone there were 26 reported tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

    Early last Saturday afternoon, California’s grid hit a new record for renewable energy usage. Renewable sources produced a record-breaking 67.2% of electricity for California's largest power grid.

Fossil-fueled climate change remains the defining crisis of our time. Even when the real world doesn’t receive Trump-level coverage on television, we need to continue building our movement for action.

Resisting Trump isn’t just about stopping his day-to-day recklessness. It’s about getting our nation back to work on addressing reality.

If we work together we can keep fossil fuels in the ground, win 100% renewable energy for 100% of people, and bring climate deniers to justice.

That’s our end goal. Let’s keep growing this movement together.

Your fellow climate hawk,

Brad

www.climatehawksvote.com

References

Severe Storms, Tornadoes Kill 3 and Injure Dozens More In the Midwest, Plains, The Weather Channel.

Arctic stronghold of world’s seeds flooded after permafrost melts, The Guardian

California grid sets record, with 67% of power from renewables, SFGate

And from March for Science:


At a confirmation hearing late last week, the nominee for Deputy Secretary of Interior, David Bernhardt, told a Senate panel that the President’s political positions could be prioritized over science when deciding agency policy.
In fact, the last time Bernhardt served in the Department of Interior, he was one of several officials accused of ignoring scientific data. 

This is part of a troubling trend of nominees to senior science-related positions that have either no background in science or have a record of ignoring or minimizing science in policy-making.
If you believe that putting politics ahead of science is wrong, please add your name to oppose nominees who don’t respect science.

Perhaps even more troubling is that dozens of key science and technology positions remain unfilled, including the heads of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and more.

The names that have been floated to fill some of these key roles are either scientists whose views are entirely outside of the consensus on key issues like climate change or have no scientific background at all, as is the case with the likely nominee for Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

It is vitally important to fill these critical science positions at Federal agencies and to voice opposition to the appointment of nominees who ignore science in policy-making.

Speak up right now -- add your name and oppose ignoring science in the Federal government.

-The March for Science Team