How To Recognize Your Class Enemies
by C.A. Matthews
Revolutionaries should all be on
the same page as to whom we should be fighting. So, without further
ado, we present this short test to enlighten and inform.
Read each of the following scenarios and pick
your answer from the four provided. Ready? Begin.
1. Mr. Moneybags, the mortgage broker,
assured you in 2007 that your adjustable rate mortgage was exactly what you and
your family needed to purchase the home of your dreams. By 2009, you
were well behind in your payments and by 2010 (after the loss of your job) you
and your family found yourselves living on the streets. Mr. Moneybags is--
A.) Your
class enemy B.) A capitalist asshole C.) A
misguided nice guy D.) A tool of the
corporate state
2. Ms.
"I-know-what's-best-for-you" is an insurance salesperson who tells
you that private health insurance is much better than single-payer improved
Medicare for All, although your private insurance refuses to cover many of your family's medical bills. She insists you don't support any candidates or organizations
that tell you otherwise. Ms. I is--
A.)
Misinformed/brain-damaged B.) In
the pockets of Big Insurance
C.) Your class enemy D.) Working on commission
While Ms. I could be A., she is most
definitely D. and B. Hence, she is your class enemy or C.
3. Mr. Windbag ran for office on a platform
of tax cuts for the rich and trickle-down economics. "If we give
hard-working billionaires a break, they will create new jobs locally," was
his slogan. After he's elected in a landslide, dozens of local factories and
businesses close their doors and soon schools, hospitals and churches follow
suit. Mr. Windbag is--
A.) A
benefactor to the community B.) Lying through his teeth
C.) On the take from his corporate donors D.)
Your class enemy
I hope by now you can tell that Mr.
Windbag is B. and C. Whether or not he is A. he is most definitely D., your class enemy. It's
all about him and his pocketbook, after all.
Too bad about your town falling apart and losing your job, but you've
helped him buy a new yacht. Feel better?
4. Mrs. DeVos-Wannabe insists that your award-winning
public school district would be better served by private educational firms and
charter schools. And who needs those nasty teacher unions? Teachers make way
too much money! She convinces your town to outlaw them. But within a year of
private companies taking over your schools, your kids' neighborhood school is
shuttered, and you're faced with a long drive to take your kids to a
sub-standard school. You're even thinking of enrolling them into a costly
private institution now. Mrs. DeVos-Wannabe is --
A.) A failed kindergarten teacher B.) Your class enemy C.) The CEO of an private educational firm that
makes money on how many students they have on the books and not on the quality of the
education they receive D.) Utterly and
entirely repulsive
By now, you should be able to see past
her being D. and realize that she is probably C. and most certainly B. or your
class enemy. It's sad if she's A., but that doesn't give her the right to take
it out on your children, does it?
5. Ms. Work-Harder and Mr. Dropdead are the
hardest working employees in your office. They work overtime frequently without
extra pay and without complaint and come to work as sick as a dog frequently. They are always complimenting the managers and higher ups in a obnoxious, sycophantic
manner. They even skip their children's important life events and don't bother
to take time off when their grandmother is on her death bed. These two are
definitely--
A.) Self-deluded, wishful thinkers that feel
they'll get ahead somehow if they keep this up just a while longer B.) Terrified of losing their jobs
C.)
Work-a-holics D.) Your class
enemies
So many workers fall for A. because of B.
Their bosses all love them for being C., but they really have no respect for
these workers and secretly enjoy watching them sweat. Ms. Work-Harder and Mr.
Dropdead are enemies of the working class since they perpetuate the lie that they'll be acceptable to the upper classes someday through hard work alone and not because they're related to a millionaire, so D. is the best answer.
6.
Rachel Russiagater is a political pundit/news talk show host that spews
non-stop rhetoric in support of the status quo. She's all for continued war,
for big business making profits, and for whatever her bosses tell her to say. She's not afraid to make up smokescreen stories to distract from what's really
happening to us little guys and the rest of the world. Hey, she's making
over $30 million a year--what's so bad about telling a white lie on a news show,
huh? It's all considered "entertainment" since the Telecommunications
Act was passed in the 90s and the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" was
dissolved anyway. Rachel Russiagater is--
A.) Your class enemy B. ) A lying sociopath C.) No longer a part of the working classes, but a
well-paid, card-carrying member of the 1%
D.) All of the above
You know the answer to this one. It's all
of the above, or D. Rachel is your
class enemy, and worse of all, she really should know better. The money helps her sleep at night probably.
If you scored 100% on this test, welcome
to the revolution! If you scored less than 50%, it's time you turned off the
mainstream network news channels, tuned in the independent progressive journalists podcasts and joined your local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. We'll be waiting for you.
***
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The Revolution Continues has set up an easy way to donate in order to keep it ad-free. Almost four years without obnoxious pop-up ads (that many news sites have to cover costs) has been great, but the editor does have to pay for internet, electricity, etc., out of her own pocket, and she would like to be able to pay her contributors someday.
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Power to the people--not the corporations!
***
There can be no Congressional compromise that includes a dime of funding for a wall and we must stand against any future attempt to institute a state of emergency by the president.
We don’t have time to waste. Lives are at stake, and those who are most vulnerable are caught in the crossfire.
Demand your elected officials reject this border wall compromise, commit to end the government shutdown and stand against the invocation of a state of emergency. Click to call your senator now.
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Politicians who are willing to fund the border wall are the same officials threatening to slash food and housing assistance, gut FEMA funding aiding folks in California, restrict access to affordable healthcare and so much more.
We can defeat this attack on millions of innocent workers, families and poor folks on both sides of the border once and for all by refusing to compromise on a racist border wall. Together, we can protect our democracy by standing against the call for a state of emergency.
Hold our elected leaders accountable and demand they refuse to fund any racist border wall and immediately reopen the government. Click to call your senator now.
Fight poverty, not the poor!
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
***
Yesterday, paychecks didn’t arrive for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Sexual assault survivors can’t get lifesaving services, and Native American communities are cut off from critical health care. Safety inspections for everything from produce to water pollution are at a standstill.
Trump is holding our families, our health, and our livelihoods hostage over his racist, dangerous, ego-driven border wall. And Congress is letting him.
The House has already passed a bill that would end this shutdown without funding Trump’s wall — but Mitch McConnell’s Senate is refusing to do the same. We need to raise a ruckus and make sure that every single senator hears that their constituents demand they take back their authority and end this crisis.
Add your name: The Senate must reopen the government, without funding Trump’s wall >>
Make no mistake: there is no national security crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But there is an ever-worsening humanitarian catastrophe driven by Trump and his cabinet of anti-immigrant hardliners.
When Trump yells about "border security," he means firing tear gas and rubber bullets at families seeking refuge. He means caging children — with deadly consequences. He means preventing survivors of poverty, conflict, climate catastrophes, sexual violence, and persecution — catastrophes that decades of disastrous U.S. foreign policies in Central America have repeatedly helped to foster — to achieve their right to safety and justice.
Enough is enough.
We say NO to deadly borders-turned-battlefields.
We say NO to Trump’s authoritarian power grab.
Tell the Senate: No wall. No shutdown. Open the government, now.
Thank you for working for peace,
Mariam, Stephen, Michelle, and the Win Without War team
P.S. Got 30 seconds? Please consider voting for Win Without War to win a share of CREDO Mobile’s $150,000 grant by clicking here. The more votes we get by January 31, the more money Win Without War will receive!
***
From the AFL-CIO:Teachers in Los Angeles are taking to the streets to strike on Monday. These educators are fighting for every child in the city to have a safe and welcoming place for learning, and they’re fighting against the austerity measures for public schools that the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District continues to promote, despite nearly $2 billion in reserves.
Sign the petition and tell the LAUSD superintendent that students and teachers deserve better.
Throughout the last year of bargaining with the district, members of United Teachers Los Angeles have fought to create a better future for our students. Yet the Los Angeles Unified School District has refused to bargain issues that would give our schools a fighting chance.
Urge LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner to meet the demands of teachers, parents and students in Los Angeles.
Enough is enough. LA students and educators deserve better.
In Solidarity,
Christian
--------------
Christian Sweeney
Deputy Director of Economic Power & Growth, AFL-CIO
***
From 198 Methods:
Shutdown wheeler, not the epa
This Wednesday, the Senate is set to consider Andrew Wheeler, Trump's climate denying, fossil fuel loving nominee to replace Scott Pruitt as head of the EPA.1
Wheeler, you might remember, has spent most of his life as a lobbyist for the coal industry, most recently for infamous coal-baron Bob Murray. And in the few months he's been "acting" EPA administrator, he's stopped at nothing to put fossil fuel profits ahead of public health and the health of the planet.
While he hasn't committed the kind of outrageous, headline-grabbing scandals Pruitt was known for, Wheeler is an even bigger danger because every time he's given a chance, Wheeler puts corporate polluter profits ahead of the health of our people, communities and planet.2
The
pattern is clear - every time he's given a chance, Wheeler puts
corporate polluter profits ahead of the health of our people,
communities and planet. Sign here to tell the Senate that they MUST reject Andrew Wheeler's nomination to be permanent EPA Administrator.
To add insult to injury, Wheeler's nomination is being considered in the middle of the longest government shutdown in history - which has left some 800,000 government employees, including most of the EPA, furloughed, or forced to work without pay.3 EPA staff who are supposed to be out cleaning up toxic pollution, or monitoring for air pollution right now are stuck home, unpaid and forbidden to look for work.4 And efforts to recover from recent climate-fueled fires and storms in California, Puerto Rico, or Florida is on hold thanks to Trump’s racist, stupid shutdown.5
For the Senate to even consider Wheeler's nomination during the shutdown is outrageous. Sign here to tell them.
The good news is, we might actually be able to block Wheeler's confirmation during the shutdown. The Trump team is under fire for prioritizing corporate profits over the public good right now - like how the Interior Department is forcing staff to work overtime to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, even as they fail to pay park rangers to protect rare, endangered Joshua Trees in our national parks.6
Sign now, and we'll deliver your message to Senators on the relevant committee this week. Give us your cell phone number when you do, and we'll text you updates from his committee hearing, and use our new tools to patch you directly through to the right Senators before they vote.
PS – Looking
for the footnotes? There were too many to fit in an email. But they're
all in the blog post - it's a great way to look at all the work we've
done together over the last year too.To add insult to injury, Wheeler's nomination is being considered in the middle of the longest government shutdown in history - which has left some 800,000 government employees, including most of the EPA, furloughed, or forced to work without pay.3 EPA staff who are supposed to be out cleaning up toxic pollution, or monitoring for air pollution right now are stuck home, unpaid and forbidden to look for work.4 And efforts to recover from recent climate-fueled fires and storms in California, Puerto Rico, or Florida is on hold thanks to Trump’s racist, stupid shutdown.5
For the Senate to even consider Wheeler's nomination during the shutdown is outrageous. Sign here to tell them.
The good news is, we might actually be able to block Wheeler's confirmation during the shutdown. The Trump team is under fire for prioritizing corporate profits over the public good right now - like how the Interior Department is forcing staff to work overtime to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, even as they fail to pay park rangers to protect rare, endangered Joshua Trees in our national parks.6
Sign now, and we'll deliver your message to Senators on the relevant committee this week. Give us your cell phone number when you do, and we'll text you updates from his committee hearing, and use our new tools to patch you directly through to the right Senators before they vote.
1 - https://www.politico.com/
2 - https://www.nytimes.com/
3 - https://www.nytimes.com/
4 - http://www.tribtown.com/2019/
5 - https://www.washingtonpost.
6 - https://www.npr.org/2019/01/
- https://www.washingtonpost.
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