The Elephant In The Room

While you were shopping, bombs were dropping... on Gaza.

Toledo area peace activists took a tour of a local shopping mall sharing their concerns over the genocide happening in Gaza. You can see their march here:

https://www.facebook.com/bbop.toledo/videos/1074727953942628 

The holidays aren't supposed to be about death and destruction, but this year that's what's happening to the Palestinian people. It's difficult to remain quiet and talk about children's toys and games when a child is killed in Gaza every ten minutes. An innocent child who will never be able to celebrate a birthday or holiday ever again.

Sometimes, you have to face up to reality and discuss the "elephant" in the room...

The Elephant In The Room

 by C.A. Matthews

 

On a snowy December evening, a twenty-something couple park their small sedan in a crowded, long driveway of a large suburban home somewhere in the American Midwest. Cheerful holiday lights and decorations adorn the front of the house. As they get out of the car and stroll toward the front door, she explains the situation to her date that he is about to encounter.

Kayla: Remember Kev, if at any time you feel uncomfortable around any of my family members, and you want to bail, just give me that look of yours with the rolling eyes and nod. I'll rescue you from the conversation and get you into a safe place like the laundry room or pantry. Okay?

Kevin: No problem! I'm sure I'm going to love your family if they're anything as special as you. (He gives her a kiss on the cheek as they step up to the front porch and head toward the door.) Ready to introduce the new boyfriend to the clan?

Kayla: Well, ready or not, here we come--or should I say my cousin Emily has already spotted us.

Emily: (Laughing as she opens the door and invites them in.) Welcome! Come in, come in! You must be Kevin. Kayla has told us absolutely nothing about you.

Kayla: Ha ha. Very funny, Em.  Here, take our jackets.

Emily: (Winking at Kevin.) She just doesn't want me to flirt with you right off the bat. I can take a hint. (Emily takes their coats and whisks them away to another room.)

Kayla: Now you see what I mean about my extended family being a bit too...forward. I hear the crowd partying in the den, so let's go on in and face the music. (She leads him through a large foyer and down a long hallway.)

Kevin: So far, so good. I don't know why you're so worried about introducing me to your family. Your parents seemed very nice when I talked to them last month at homecoming.

Kayla: You only chatted with them for a few minutes in the middle of a crowded college football stadium. When my family is in their own "habitat" things can be quite different. For instance, beware of Uncle Bill. Just keep him away from the spiked eggnog and the rum punch.

Kevin: (Nodding.) Oh, I see. I understand what you mean. In spite of his...problems, I'm sure he's a great guy.

Kayla: Only when he's sober. And then there's my two male cousins who got caught peddling drugs at rock concerts--don't bring them up around my mom. She really gets upset about them. They're the current black sheep of the family. Fortunately, they're not able to attend this year since they didn't get early parole.

Kevin: (Flashing a concerned look.) I didn't realize the drinking and drug use sort of runs in your family. I'll be careful not to bring it up.

Kayla: Thanks. It's not uncommon nowadays, but it is a...touchy subject around the holidays. And then there's my crazy Great-Aunt Sally. We've just got to stay as far away from her as we can help it.

Kevin: Understood. Sort of like Uncle Bill?

 

Kayla: Worse!

They reach the large family room crowded with people drinking, snacking, and loudly chatting over festive holiday music while a roaring fire blazes in the fireplace. Kayla nudges her boyfriend over to the smorgasbord where they fill their plates.

Uncle Bill: Hey, it's my little Kayla all grown up! My favorite niece! (He throws an arm around her and then notices Kevin.) Is this the new man in your life?

Kayla: (Flinching from his breath.) Yes, it is. Seems like you started celebrating early, Uncle Bill. Why don't you go and sit by the fire and enjoy your liquid supper?

Bill frowns but takes the hint and moves away. Kayla guides Kevin to a quiet place in the corner with a couple of chairs behind a huge Christmas tree so they can eat in peace.

Kayla: Whew! We'll be safe here. My parents seem to be busy talking with some distant relations who flew in from the Bahamas, so we'll have a chance to eat and relax a little before the interrogations begin.

Kevin: You really have to stop downing your family, Kayla. They're not all that bad. You need to meet mine sometime.

Kayla: I will. I promise. It's just not been convenient to get into the city... Oh, dear. Here comes Aunt Sally. Don't make eye contact--don't make eye contact! 

 

A woman in a brightly colored tie-dyed caftan approaches and smiles widely.

Sally: Hello there, Miss Kayla! (They hug.) You're so grown up now. A senior in college, right? And this young man is...?

Kayla: This is Kevin. He's my boyfriend. Now, if you'll excuse us we need to go speak with--

Sally: Say, Kevin, would you like a button? I made them myself, and I'm giving them out as gifts in the spirit of the season. 

 

Kevin: Sure, thanks.

 

Sally reaches into a tie-dyed bag and pulls out a printed badge and hands it to him.

 

Sally: How about I give you this one: "All I want for Christmas is for Israel to stop bombing babies."  And here's one for Kayla. (She reaches in and retrieves another badge.) "Peace on Earth for ALL Humankind Not Just The Rich with Guns." I thought you might like that one, being a business major and all.

Kayla: Oh, yeah, thanks a lot, Aunt Sally. We've gotta go and--

Sally: (Interrupting.) What do you think about your button, Kevin? Do you agree with it?

Kevin: It's...very interesting. I mean, why should Israel be bombing babies? Isn't Christmas about the birth of a baby there long ago who would bring peace to the entire world?

Sally: You are so right! That's why the carpet bombing of Gaza and the slaughter of thousands of innocent Palestinian children is such an abhorrent act. A child is killed in Gaza every ten minutes on average. And they've turned off the water and electricity so illnesses and infections from wounds caused by these bombs are made even worse. Can you imagine a toddler having to have all his limbs amputated because there's no antibiotics, and it's the only way to save his life?

Kevin: A friend showed me some photos and videos from there on his TikTok account. It's horrible. It's downright criminal.

Kayla: (Pulling on his arm.) Come on, Kev, we've got to move along now and--

Sally: So, would you two be interested in attending our "Peace in Palestine Caroling Event" tomorrow night since you both are in town? We'll be singing familiar carols with an emphasis on peace and a permanent ceasefire in that part of the world. What do you think?

Kevin: The caroling sounds really nice. We don't have anything else on our schedule tomorrow, do we, Kayla?

Kayla: (Sighing.) No, we don't, but--

Sally: Great! I'll give you the details. Want a flyer? I put them over there by the cheese balls, let's go check it out...

Kevin follows Sally over to the food table, smiling and chatting animatedly about the caroling. Kayla crosses her arms and frowns. Emily approaches.

Emily: Seems Great-Aunt Sally has stolen your boyfriend away, cousin. That's two for two at these holiday get-togethers, isn't it?

Kayla: Yeah, I don't know how she does it, but she has a talent for hooking people into her crazy causes and getting them to do stupid things with her. At Christmastime, no less! (She shakes her head sadly.) Kevin and I should be out and about drinking and eating and shopping like normal folks, and here Aunt Sally has roped him in to sing carols for peace in some backwards part of the world. Sheesh!

Emily: (Nodding.) Well, at least she didn't get him going with the "People, Planet and Peace" of the Green Party schtick like she did with your last boyfriend. I remember how excited he was to learn that Greens believe in free college tuition and reparations. He dropped you faster than a hot potato after he spotted the Biden/Harris sticker on your car bumper on campus, didn't he?

Kayla: Don't remind me. Damn! Why do I keep picking these overly sensitive types? 

 

Emily: (Checking out Kevin talking with Sally and others.) Well, if it's any consolation, he is kind of cute. 

Kayla: Yeah, but I keep picking guys who believe dumb brown kids in the Middle East are worth saving. Next thing I know, Kevin will want our families' stock portfolios to tank by divesting from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, General Dynamics, and Raytheon. And both our families have been making good money recently on those bombs Aunt Sally gets all in a huff about falling on top of poor people.

Emily: That's Aunt Sally for you. Such a bleeding heart she has.

 

Kayla: For sure. She has an "Eat the Rich" sticker on her electric car. You can't get anymore loser than that, caring about others more than your own family.

 

Emily: (Glancing over at the food table.) It seems Kevin and her are getting on like a house on fire.  Still, it's better to find out about what he's really like now before your parents' big mimosa brunch on New Year's Day for the County Democratic Party candidates' fund. He just wouldn't fit in with that crowd. At all.

Kayla: (Sighing.) No, he wouldn't. I suppose I'll have to let him down gently tonight.

Emily: Yeah, or just drop a bomb on him like Israel does to the Palestinians. Shuts those complainers right up after they've been buried under tons of rubble. It's probably the easiest way to solve your problems. A peaceful world only works for those who have the biggest bombs, right?

Kayla: (Smiling wanly as she takes her cousin's arm.) You're right. Let's go get some of that punch before Uncle Bill drains the punch bowl dry.

 

The Nativity Scene at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem

 

 As the US vetoes a United Nations Security Council resolution for a ceasefire...

... The global charity Save the Children warned that at least 7,685 children under age five in Gaza are now so malnourished—a result of Israel's total blockade of the enclave that began in October and the delivery of just a small fraction of the aid that is needed—that they require "urgent medical treatment to avoid death."

"The repeated failure of the international community to act signifies a death knell to children," said Jason Lee, country director for Save the Children. "I've seen children and families roaming the streets of what hasn't been flattened in Gaza, with no food, nowhere to go, and nothing to survive on. Even the internationally-funded humanitarian aid response—Gaza's last lifeline—has been choked by Israeli-imposed restrictions."

"Gaza's children are being condemned to further bombardment, starvation, and disease," said Lee. "We must heed the lessons from the past and must immediately prevent 'atrocity crimes' from unfolding."

The intensifying opposition to Israel's U.S.- and U.K.-backed bombardment of Gaza was made apparent by an estimated 15,000-20,000 people who marched through London on Saturday to demand a cease-fire. --from

'Moral Insanity': Biden Admin Bypasses Congress to Rush Tank Shells to Israel

Be sure to check out The Revolution Continues on Substack. You can read the article from your email box or go online to its page where you can leave comments and interact with the growing Substack community. Subscribe today! https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

Related Articles and Interesting Links

I Will Not Look Away https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/i-will-not-look-away

 

The US ceasefire veto condemns tens of thousands more Palestinians to death  https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/the-us-ceasefire-veto-condemns-tens

 

The Evil Israel Does is the Evil Israel Gets
https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/08/chris-hedges-the-evil-israel-does-is-the-evil-israel-gets/

The Chris Hedges Report with reporter Antony Loewenstein on how Israel tests new weapons and surveillance technology on Palestinians before selling them to countries around the globe.
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-chris-hedges-report-with-reporter-b17

 

'Moral Insanity': Biden Admin Bypasses Congress to Rush Tank Shells to Israel  https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-2666509472

How Israel’s Mizrahi Jews are “Making Israel Great Again” https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/how-israels-mizrahi-jews-are-making

I used to think the term ’Judeo-Nazis’ was excessive. I don’t any longer.  https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/i-used-to-think-the-term-judeo-nazis-was-excessive-i-dont-any-longer/

Walmart Is Selling Hanukkah Candles That Fund Anti-Arab Discrimination in Israel https://truthout.org/articles/walmart-is-selling-hanukkah-candles-that-fund-anti-arab-discrimination-in-israel/

The ‘Greater Israel’ Scheme and Its Global Power Play: A Delusional Recipe for Armageddon https://www.globalresearch.ca/greater-israel-scheme-global-power-play-delusional-recipe-armageddon/5842416

Inside the Pro-Israel Information War  https://www.leefang.com/p/inside-the-pro-israel-information

‘If I Must Die, Let It Be a Tale’: A Tribute to Refaat Alareer
https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/08/if-i-must-die-let-it-be-a-tale-a-tribute-to-refaat-alareer/

Why Journalists Must Speak Out About Gaza https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/07/why-journalists-must-speak-out-about-gaza/

Digital Rights Groups Urge Meta to Stop Silencing Palestine https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/08/digital-rights-groups-urge-meta-to-stop-silencing-palestine/

 

As the US vetoes UNSC ceasefire resolution, the people take the streets for Palestine  https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/09/as-the-us-vetoes-unsc-ceasefire-resolution-the-people-take-the-streets-for-palestine/

 
As Israeli Genocide Continues: Protesters Stay In The Streets
https://popularresistance.org/as-israeli-genocide-continues-protesters-for-palestine-stay-in-the-streets/

Matt Taibbi: Sue the Bastards: Federalist, Daily Wire Take the State Department to Court https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/06/matt-taibbi-sue-the-bastards-federalist-daily-wire-take-the-state-department-to-court/

KISSINGER, ME, AND THE LIES OF THE MASTER
https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/kissinger-me-and-the-lies-of-the

Congress Reviews Plan to Facilitate Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians From Gaza https://news.antiwar.com/2023/12/04/congress-reviews-plan-to-facilitate-ethnic-cleansing-of-palestinians-from-gaza/

The Official Story Of October Seventh https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-official-story-of-october-seventh

There's Nothing You Can Say To Make Me Accept The Murder Of Thousands Of Children  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theres-nothing-you-can-say-to-make

I promise there is nothing you can say to me that will cause me to cease opposing the murder of thousands of children in Gaza. There is no name you can call me, no accusation you can scream at me, no talking point you can regurgitate at me that will ever make me shut up and accept this. --Caitlin Johnstone

"Stop Murdering Thousands Of Children," Said The Evil Crazy Nazi

https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/stop-murdering-thousands-of-children

 

Dr. Jill Stein: A Ballot Challenge to the Crimes of Empire https://blackagendareport.com/news/1781/33/Dr.-Jill-Stein-A-Ballot-Challenge-to-the-Crimes-of-Empire

 

Israel's genocide in Gaza has Biden's green light https://www.aaronmate.net/p/israels-genocide-in-gaza-has-bidens

What’s UN Resolution 377A, can it help in efforts to stop Israel-Gaza war? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/11/whats-un-resolution-377a-can-it-help-in-efforts-to-stop-israel-gaza-war

Seen on X/Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MalghaniNudrat/status/1733182242544107928

 

https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/1729609886441312668

The Great Divide

 

The Great Divide

by C.A. Matthews   

 

Imagine, if you will, a Great Divide so wide and so deep that it takes hours—if not days—to cross on foot. To get from one side to the other, you must carefully climb down the first wall, taking care not to start a fatal rock slide, until you reach the canyon floor.   

 

Once on the plain, you hike several miles until you get to a river, a whitewater, fast-flowing stream with no way to get around it except to swim through it. If you survive the river crossing, then you face several miles of canyon floor to cross in order to reach and scale the steep precipice of the far-side wall.

 

Did I forget to tell that you have no tools save your bare hands to climb to the top of this near vertical jagged rock cliff? That’s the situation, but still you struggle and strain and slowly inch your way to the top. You’re not going to let the Great Divide defeat you. You keep working harder and harder...

At last! You’ve made it to the top where you are left panting in exhaustion with only a few cuts, bruises, gnashes, and muscle pulls to show for your exertions. There’s no celebration of your achievement or even a cold drink of water waiting for you, sorry. A sign commands you on pain of death to turn around and do it all again. And again. Because. 

 

Now, imagine that same Great Divide you just traversed with a long, high bridge crossing it. No, you don’t get to use the bridge to cross the second time. The bridge is not for the likes of you. Only those deemed worthy to take the bridge will be ferried across the gorge in comfortable luxury vehicles driven by chauffeurs. They don’t even notice ant-sized persons like you crawling up and down the walls, hiking across the plains, and swimming through the churning river below. They just swoosh past you, sipping champagne in their posh rides, leaving you choking on their exhaust fumes.

 

While it takes you long hours to cross the Great Divide, those being driven across will cross it in a matter of minutes. What awaits them on the other side is far better, too. They’re greeted by a cheering crowd of friends and family at a party where cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are served by good-looking hosts and hostesses. They are given a choice whether or not they wish to cross over again on the bridge, too. Choice, comfort, recognition...they deserve it. Why? Because they were born with the correct last name.

 

Fair enough, right?

If you’re starting to question this corrupt socioeconomic system most Western countries live under, you’ll probably have a few choice words to give those who zoomed by and left you suffering in their wake. Why do only certain persons get to take the shortcut? Why do they get to take the easy route and even employ others to do the actual hard work like driving for them? What besides sheer dumb luck of where and when and to whom you were born to determines which path across the Great Divide you’re allowed to take? 

It’s difficult for many working class Americans to grasp just how great that Great Divide is between those just scraping by and those whose total net worth is larger than some countries’ Gross National Products. A recent study done by Oxfam tells us that for every $1 you earn as a worker, a billionaire makes $1.7 million. This isn’t an exaggeration. Let's say you make $10 an hour working. In that same time period a billionaire sipping champagne makes $17 million an hour—and he doesn’t even risk getting his hands dirty!  

The super rich have been growing wealthier over the past three years of the pandemic, growing wealthier than ever in history. While millions suffered from COVID-19, Long COVID, and the deaths of loved ones due to COVID, the billionaire class and their wealth have kept growing and growing and growing… We the workers can take comfort in the fact that the actual number of billionaires on the planet is actually still quite small—only about two thousand in total. But these two thousand individuals own most of all wealth in the world, leaving a small portion for the remaining eight billion of us to share. 

 

According to Oxfam, an international humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and hunger, in their report Survival of the Richest the wealthiest 1% of the world’s population took nearly two-thirds of all new wealth, six times greater than the wealth made by the poorest 90% of workers. Simply put, billionaires are getting richer while overall global poverty is increasing. Oxfam warns:

• Since 2020, the richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth – nearly twice as much money as the bottom 99% of the world’s population.

• Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7 billion a day, even as inflation outpaces the wages of at least 1.7 billion workers, more than the population of India.

• Food and energy companies more than doubled their profits in 2022, paying out $257 billion to wealthy shareholders, while over 800 million people went to bed hungry.

• Only 4 cents in every dollar of tax revenue comes from wealth taxes, and half the world’s billionaires live in countries with no inheritance tax on money they give to their children.

• A tax of up to 5% on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires could raise $1.7 trillion a year, enough to lift 2 billion people out of poverty, and fund a global plan to end hunger. 

  You're probably catching on to how wide, deep, and treacherous the Great Divide is. And it’s not just about how horrible the distribution of material wealth is on Earth. The Great Divide is an analogy for how political and military/police power is distributed as well. The more money you have, the more power you wield and the more military/police might to back up your claim to that wealth and power you have. This is readily apparent at a yearly gathering of the super-wealthy and their sycophants in Davos, Switzerland.

 

The World Economic Forum in Davos is where our “betters” get to tell us, the struggling workers, what we should be doing. They'll toss a few nuggets of wisdom our way, like we all should stop purchasing gas stoves or we should simply stop being sick and get back to work whether we have access to health care or not. Those little patronizing gems are supposed to convince us that the elites actually care about those of us at the bottom of the pyramid of wealth accumulation. 

You know that COVID pandemic thing that’s “over” according to President Biden? The billionaires at Davos see the threat of the coronavirus in a completely different way: 

From The billionaires at Davos protect themselves from COVID-19, while declaring the pandemic “over” for working people

...State-of-the-art ventilation and HEPA air cleaners have been made available in common spaces and private rooms and the over 3,000 attendants will ensure these areas are cleaned and disinfected several times a day. Free access to N95s and respirators was provided because the participants, who have called such measures useless (for working people), know very well that they work. In fact, meeting organizers said that on “Forum-provided official transport,” the requirement is for “all drivers (chauffeurs) [to] wear masks at all times.”

And if this wasn’t enough, there have been reports that Upper Room Ultraviolet Disinfection systems and Far-UVC lights have been installed to disinfect the spaces and remove any virus that gains unauthorized access to the meeting.

The rich elites won't be missing any ski parties from coming down with a nasty virus, will they? 

 

Why does this handful of billionaires get to dictate terms to billions of other human beings? Why do they force workers back into the workplace when they themselves know that the pandemic is still raging, killing and crippling workers daily around the world? Why do they get to use the expressway over the Great Divide while the rest of us have to crawl through the dust on our bare hands and knees? Think about it. You know why.

Capitalism is the magic socioeconomic system that cures all ills, according to our masters at the WEF. Two thousand hoarders of wealth and power get to tell us, the other 8 billion inhabitants of Earth, what’s what. And the truth of the matter is that we of the bottom 8 billion don’t count in their big picture. We’re just here to provide them the wealth that our labors generate.  

The Great Divide is essential for capitalism to exist because if all of us had adequate food, shelter, and health care—or even an access to the “bridge”—then how would the billionaires ever “motivate” (read: frighten, scare, threaten) us into working for them in the first place?

Someone has got to drive the billionaires around, clean their toilets, cook their food, sew their designer clothes, manufacture their fancy cars, fly their private jets, perform their facelifts, etc. If we’re content simply to take care of ourselves and our neighbors, we’d never take care of those at the top, or so they fear. We might even ignore them until they become as poor as we workers are—and that can’t be allowed! (Read Why Are the Rich So Scared of Socialism for more answers.) 

So, what's the real reason why the rich can't become like the workers? Look at their last names again. That’s why. 

Because there’s no real reason why any human being should hoard wealth at the obscene rate these handful of billionaires (and their close friends the multi-millionaires) have done. We are all equals under the sun or in the eyes of God (if that’s your belief). Equals don't allow equals to starve just for the sake of showing off vast hoards of material wealth and flaunting their power over others. 

Capitalism as an socioeconomic system is a perversion of how to organize work and community for the benefit of all. It’s totally lacking in a sense of community for starters. Capitalists intentionally divide workers into different groups so these factions can be manipulated into spending time and energy hating other factions so much that they don’t have time to actually see it’s the capitalists who have forced them into this untenable situation in order to control them. 

The next time someone tells you that certain people (Gays, Muslims, Blacks, Asians, etc.) are "inferior" to you stop and think. Who told me to hate people from this group? What reasons do they have to make me hate others? What control do they exert over me? 

We the workers must get past the “othering” we’ve been brainwashed into doing. There's no time for it. Our planet is in the grips of a climate emergency:

Over the longer term, the greatest existential risk the world faces is climate breakdown. The last eight years were the hottest ever recorded, with 2016 being the warmest. Extreme weather events that once took place every several hundred years are now taking place annually.

We have already started to approach the tipping points that will rapidly and unpredictably accelerate the processes causing the climate breakdown. The oceans are becoming acidified, arctic ice and permafrost are melting, and forests are being lost at a devastating rate. (...)

The greatest risk the world faces comes from the class currently assembled at Davos. If they really wanted to save the world, they’d hand over their wealth and power to their workers—the only class with the ability and the incentive to deal with the challenges the world currently faces. --From Davos Elites Can’t Solve The Problems They Create 

 

If it’s freedom to choose the bridge over the Great Divide you’re looking for, then look no further than a system such as socialism that rewards the workers for their labor and gives them an equal vote in deciding how to run things. Americans in particular have been duped to think “capitalism equals democracy” when, in fact, it’s the opposite. Capitalism equals rich people telling working people what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, punishing us when we the workers don’t or can’t do it. That isn't democracy. It's oligarchy.

Why are we of the 8 billion strong allowing a handful of capitalists rule over us? It’s time for us to organize and fight back. A new organization forming called Workers Strike Back could help lead the way in the US. American workers should check them out. 

Remember: We the workers have the power. We certainly have the numbers. Now is the time for us to take control of our future. Our children and our planet are counting on us.

Related Links:

 

Workers Strike Back https://www.workersstrikeback.org/ 

 

Survival of the Richest (Oxfam report) https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/survival-richest   

The Billionaires at Davos Protect Themselves from COVID-19, While Declaring the Pandemic "Over" for Working People https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/21/gkzt-j21.html 

 

Davos Elites Can't Solve the Problems They Create https://popularresistance.org/davos-elites-cant-solve-the-problems 

 

Why Are the Rich So Scared of Socialism? https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2020/01/why-are-rich-so-scared-of-socialism.html

 

Over 1 MILLION Protest in France Against Macron’s Pension Plan https://youtu.be/H4gqRU94v6U

 

Political crisis emerges within leadership of Democratic Socialists of America https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/20/dsac-j20.html

Share of Workers in Unions Hit Low in 2022, But Number of Unionized Workers Grew https://truthout.org/articles/share-of-workers-in-unions-hit-low-in-2022-but-number-of-unionized-workers-grew/

 

Solving The Debt Crisis The American Way https://popularresistance.org/solving-the-debt-crisis-the-american-way/

 

The WEF's Diabolical Plans To Control Your Life (video)

https://youtu.be/rz84hnZu4U

 

World Economic Forum’s global risk report: A devastating picture of the capitalist crisis https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/19/gwug-j19.html

 

How Title Lenders Trap Poor Americans in Debt With Triple-Digit Interest Rates  https://www.propublica.org/article/title-lenders-trap-georgia-residents-in-debt

Richest 1% Took 2/3rds of Global Wealth Since 2020 – Twice as Much as 99% of Population Earned  https://scheerpost.com/2023/01/19/richest-1-took-2-3rds-of-global-wealth-since-2020-twice-as-much-as-99-of-population-earned/

True Priorities of the Global Elite https://popular.info/p/the-true-priorities-of-the-global

Oxfam report documents “explosion of inequality” during pandemic  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/17/mufg-j17.html

Oxfam: Social inequality and poverty soaring in Australia

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/17/vske-j17.html

 

As Income Inequality Skyrockets, the Rich Are Paying Less Into Social Security  https://truthout.org/articles/as-income-inequality-skyrockets-the-rich-are-paying-less-into-social-security

 

Economic Justice Coalition Launches ‘Full Employment For All’ Campaign https://popularresistance.org/economic-justice-coalition-launches-full-employment-for-all-campaign-on-mlk-day/

 

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Eat The Rich, Feed The Poor (And Other Revolutionary Recipes)

 

"When the people shall have no more to eat, they will eat the rich." —Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1793

Eat The Rich, Feed The Poor (And Other Revolutionary Recipes)

by Redd Phlagg

So many depressing headlines hit my inbox this past week that they not only made my head spin, they made my entire worldview spin. It became ever more apparent to me that we can no longer afford to wait for the bought-off ruling establishment to take action to save our planet and its peoples. It's time. We the Workers, the little people, the 99% must get off our backsides and grab the reigns of our runaway climate catastrophe and social collapse before it's too late.

Americans need to feed our poor, tax our rich, and make certain that the narcissistic behavior that got us in these desperate straits in the first place doesn't ever return. We need to stop allowing ourselves to become distracted by the silly antics of the duopolists in DC who do only as they're told by their corporate masters. And we need to start yesterday.

A recent study found that 338,000 Americans died due to COVID-19 because our government couldn't take steps to implement Medicare For All or a similar universal single-payer system to provide them needed health care. That's one in every three of the one million plus Americans who contracted and died from the coronavirus and its variants. That's roughly the population of many medium-sized US metropolitan areas, including the one where I live, all gone. Needlessly.

COVID-19 has caused a million and counting deaths in the US. Since these deaths are spread across the country, you might not have noticed so many missing persons yourself but future generations most definitely will. American children will ask what happened to their parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends, babysitters, and even siblings as they grow up. What will we tell them?

Out of the one million plus Americans who have died since 2020 because of the pandemic, what percentage of them could have been saved? If the public's health and safety were the main priority of the ruling establishment rather than making profits for shareholders in the health insurance industry, Big Pharma, and the like how many could have lived? I feel that almost every American who caught COVID could have been saved if they could have received immediate treatment, free of charge, and weren't forced into situations that put their health at risk. There was no scientific reason to stop the lockdowns and force workers back out into low-paying service industry jobs (such as restaurant workers and hotel maids) so soon. In doing so, the politician-puppets of the oligarchy also forced these struggling workers' children back into daycares and public schools where the virus is extremely transmissible and proven deadly for teachers and students alike.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) could have been given to all American families to stay home and stay safe with their children until the virus died out. In countries that implemented such policies, the spread of COVID and its variants was much less, and their death tolls practically non-existent. Putting people over profits means that people win at least another day to live.

But, once again, the establishment duopoly sat on their backsides in Washington DC and moaned about how keeping people safe at home was hurting "the economy." They said this with a straight face while spending billions on the most bloated military budget ever passed in the history of humankind. They continued saying this while starting a proxy war to flush even more money down the drain so they could get rid of a natural gas competitor in Europe (i.e., Russia). No matter what label they give themselves--Republican, Democrat, "The Squad", Bernie Sanders even--these politician-puppets demonstrate by their actions that the profits of the military-industrial complex are infinitely more important than the lives of the vast majority of Americans.

Insult upon insult is dumped upon the poor and working classes' shoulders. We're forced to suffer the consequences of the duopolists' bad decisions to take on a fellow nuclear power with oil reserves and resources the Western powers envy. We're paying for it every day at the gasoline pump, grocery store, and pharmacy. But to "red and blue" alike it's okay if the working classes grow poorer trying to survive because… well, "democracy" is at stake. Democracy in an already corrupt corner of the world ruled by fascists who took over in a coup in 2014 with the help of our CIA? What larks!

Why do We The People, the working classes continue putting up with this disgusting behavior? Why are these millionaire-idiots still in office wearing smug smiles on their faces? Could it be they've militarized our local police departments to such an extent that they know they can keep us poor folks in our place if we rise up?

I realize now that not every American realizes who is putting them through each and every fresh hell because our freedom of the press has been seriously curtailed. Revealing the dirty secrets of American war crimes put one Australian journalist, Julian Assange, into jail with a threatened 170 year sentence for treason. Yes, it's treasonous to publish news stories that reveal American politicians and officials for the war criminals they are. And if the war criminals in DC can slap an insane charge of treason on a journalist doing his job, you can imagine the charges they've cooked up to slap on us if we dare take our pitchforks to the streets in protest.

 When the French rose up at the end of the 18th century to protest numerous injustices inflicted upon them, they didn't let the fear of the militarized police stop them from punishing the aristocracy who had created the hell they were living in. Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake!" while the French people couldn't even afford to buy a loaf of bread. (Sound familiar?) The commoners responded with the right idea--they built the guillotine and deployed it. Yes, it's bloody and violent, but the detached head of a obscenely wealthy sociopath made their point quite well, don't you think?

Should struggling Americans do likewise? The guillotine dispatched quite a few members of the French establishment along with Marie Antoinette, but it saved many more who saw it as a symbol of how the workers wouldn't take any more shit from those who thought themselves "superior" to the working classes. These smart aristocrats buckled down and cooperated with the common folks, and France was changed. So the guillotine doesn't have to be used indiscriminately and widely to make its point. Just the thought that the abused people have no problems getting rid of their abusers can bring about change.

It's time for Americans to let the money-grubbing, duopolistic puppet-politicians know that our patience is wearing thin. It's time to stop wasting time arguing over "the lesser evil" and being distracted by their idle rich antics that have nothing to do with us and our lives. Whatever symbol We The People choose--the guillotine, the pitchfork, tar and feathers (our founders' favorite means of singling out sociopaths)--we need to post it everywhere. We need to post it along with the message that we are not inferior to those who hoard wealth and play God with our health and safety--and the health and safety of the planet and everyone else on it.

We The People, the workers, the commoners, the 99% are, in fact, their bosses. They need to do what we say or else. And we let them know in no uncertain terms they're going to be a head shorter if they don't.

Related Articles:

UN Food Chief Says Hell on Earth Looms From Hunger Crisis Triggered By Ukraine War  https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/18/un-food-chief-says-hell-on-earth-looms-from-hunger-crisis-triggered-by-ukraine-war/

"A Chilling Message to Journalists": UK Approves Assange Extradition to US https://truthout.org/articles/a-chilling-message-to-journalists-uk-approves-assange-extradition-to-us/

Medicare For All Could Have Prevented 338,000 Deaths in the US https://truthout.org/articles/medicare-for-all-could-have-prevented-338000-covid-deaths-in-the-us/

100 Million People In America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt https://popularresistance.org/100-million-people-in-america-are-saddled-with-health-care-debt/

"No Place For A Child" (The horrors child immigrants experience when they cross the southern border.) https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/18/no-place-for-a-child/

  "Revolting": Senate Panel Raises Biden's Bloated Military Budget By 45 Billion https://truthout.org/articles/revolting-senate-panel-raises-bidens-bloated-military-budget-by-45-billion/

US Secretly Reviews and Approves Israeli Airstrikes in Syria https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/17/report-us-secretly-reviews-and-approves-many-israeli-airstrikes-in-syria 

Chris Hedges: American Empire Is Finished (video) https://youtu.be/OW52qqlQiJQ 

The State of Politics From An Anti-Establishment Perspective (Direct Left Callin podcast) https://www.callin.com/episode/the-state-of-politics-from-an-anti-gQcWTfYQHQ

The Smear Campaign Against Independent Journalism (video) https://youtu.be/nkoIfWt4Z2k

New Global Movement Against Capitalism For Socialism https://popularresistance.org/international-peoples-assembly-new-global-movement-against-capitalism-for-socialism/

Seen on Twitter:

Trump didn't save shit. Biden isn't going to save shit. Wake up already.

— Brutal Regime Apocalyptic Dreams (@brutal_regime) June 18, 2022

Capitalism's instability hits us. Over centuries, crashes and inflations follow each other. No reforms, monetary or fiscal policies ever ended them. System change: now we need it more than ever.

— Richard D. Wolff (@profwolff) June 18, 2022

Some of the most dangerous and corrupt organizations in the world, like the DOD, the CDC, the IMF, the World Bank, the CIA and the FBI are hailed as pillars of safety and justice.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

— Just.A.Thought 💭 (@e_galv) June 18, 2022

Governments will do anything to preserve themselves in power.

— Just a communist who lives in Outer Space (@LizzieCosmos) June 18, 2022

We're cutting school lunches while expanding the military budget.

Make it make sense. https://t.co/VrKNEhBW2e

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) June 18, 2022

This is the United States without any embargoes or sanctions. pic.twitter.com/7PaBEM9fQK

— 🅹🅾️🅴🆈աrecκ ☭ (@joeywreck) June 16, 2022

Poverty wages are violence.

— Communist Special Agent Dana Scully (@CommunistScully) June 19, 2022

*** 

In a near-future dystopian world, hope blossoms where mutual aid and democracy begins...

Zonta’s world is turned upside down when Jake arrives at the commune to investigate the disappearance of agents of the Authority. Can she persuade him to switch sides before the Protectors (antifascist fighters) take action?

Available now from Extasy Books: https://www.extasybooks.com/Where-the-Bodies-Lie 

Please buy direct from the small publisher and not via Amazon. Why? Amazon takes a huge percentage of the book's price and leaves very little for the publisher and author to share. Thanks.