Read The Room

 

Read The Room

 by C. A. Matthews

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." ~George Orwell

Example 1:

"Wherever violence, fear and hatred thrive, working people cannot,” reads a statement by Mary Kay Henry, the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU, which boasts two million members, just joined a growing section of the US labor movement in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. SEIU is now the largest union in the country to issue such a statement. —One Of The Largest Unions In The US Called For A Ceasefire In Gaza

On December 14, the leadership of the United Auto Workers, the Postal Workers Union, and the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), held a press conference in Washington, DC with several members of Congress to call upon the labor movement to take action for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I thank our UAW members for speaking out and pushing us to come out in support of a ceasefire,” said UAW President Shawn Fain, whose union joined the movement for a ceasefire earlier in December. “It was the right thing to do. Now it’s time for the rest of our elected officials to step up and do what it takes to end the violence. And I call on the rest of the labor movement to join us in this mission for peace and social justice for all of humanity.” —US union leaders call on labor to join movement for a ceasefire

470+ UAW members have signed a new petition calling for the union leadership to only endorse candidates who publicly call for ceasefire in Gaza, and specifically criticizing Biden's support of Israel. Many expecting a Biden endorsement from UAW today (January 24). —Lauren Kaori Gurley, labor reporter for the Washington Post on X

UAW Endorses Joe Biden for President of the United States https://uaw.org/uaw-endorses-joe-biden-for-president-of-the-united-states/

UAW members protest for a ceasefire, as this is their union’s official position: https://twitter.com/codepink/status/1750636511530189015


Read the room, UAW President Shawn Fain. Your rank-and-file union members want a ceasefire in Gaza. They're even loudly protesting for a ceasefire at a big union shindig! Genocide Joe Biden wants to keep furnishing arms to Israel so the IDF can continue murdering Palestinians in Gaza--especially babies and children. He's also turned a blind eye to the Israeli settlers' terrorist activity in the West Bank. Biden is good with the settlers moving in and stealing the natural gas and oil reserves that rightfully belong to the Palestinians. 

One day you say you're with your union members supporting a ceasefire in Gaza, and the next you're endorsing the largest supporter of genocide in the world for president. What is your word worth when it comes to representing the wishes of your rank-and-file union members, Shawn? Nothing.

Read the room.

Example 2:

Half of Biden voters say Israel committing genocide in Gaza: Poll
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4429906-half-biden-voters-israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-poll/

Biden Thinks It’s Just a Matter of Time Before US Troops Are Killed in Iraq or Syria https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/22/biden-thinks-its-just-a-matter-of-time-before-us-troops-are-killed-in-iraq-or-syria/

The brutal war that Israel is waging on Gaza is increasingly becoming a regional conflict. Since October, the United States and Israel have bombed not only Gaza, but also Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

Now, the U.S. government is even threatening Iran with war. President Joe Biden sent the Iranian government a private message while the U.S. military was bombing Yemen on January 13. He said threateningly, “We’re confident, we’re well prepared”.  —Is a huge war coming? US bombs Yemen, Iraq & Syria. Israel bombs Gaza & Lebanon. Both threaten Iran. 

2024 is an election year, and Biden, who is running for reelection, has been hounded by Pro-Palestine demonstrators at several campaign events already. Mainstream media outlets openly worry about Biden’s chances in 2024, with the aging President losing key demographics of Democratic Party support such as young people and Arab-Americans.

“Instead of focusing on the American people, our tax money is being used to spread hatred, to spread warfare, to support criminal activity, frankly speaking, to support a genocide,” Mohamed Sabri, who traveled from Chicago to attend the march in DC, told Peoples Dispatch about why he will not be voting for Biden. —400,000 marched in Washington DC against Biden’s complicity in Israel’s genocide

 “Based on unproven allegations alone, the U.S. has cut off funding to UNRWA, one of few groups which provides crucial on the ground aid to Palestinians,” said the antiwar group CODEPINK. “Yet, as Israel commits war crime after war crime, the U.S. continues sending weapons.”

“The US is collectively punishing Palestinians, who rely on UNRWA to survive, based on Israeli allegations against 0.0004% of UNRWA’s staff. Outrageous,” said the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU)…

“So, the US State Dept drops a rather significant statement on (unsubstantiated) allegations against UNRWA workers and pulling funding on the day of the ICJ ruling which finds sufficient evidence for plausible genocidal acts—- and decides there’s no need for a press briefing,” wrote AJ+’s Sana Saeed. “Honestly, this would be masterful manufacturing of the news if it wasn’t so transparent.” —Biden cuts off life-saving aid to Palestinians based on Israeli allegations against UNRWA

'The most difficult case': US judge deliberates suit accusing Biden of failing to stop genocide https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/most-difficult-case-us-judge-deliberates-after-testimony-accuses-biden-failing-stop-genocide

Arab and Muslim Leaders in Michigan Refuse to Meet With Biden Campaign https://truthout.org/articles/arab-and-muslim-leaders-in-michigan-refuse-to-meet-with-biden-campaign/

Read the room, President Biden. The vast majority of voters have stated that they want a ceasefire in Gaza, and most have wanted it from day one of Israel's assault on the Occupied Territory. Americans have repeatedly said that they don’t want the genocide of Palestinians to continue, and they don't want you to keep sending arms to Israel. Some have even taken you to federal court to stop the ethnic cleansing in order to save their loved ones in Gaza.

Poll after poll have shown Americans don’t want to widen the field of conflicts instigated by the US in its quest for world hegemony and to steal natural resources. Bombing more countries to steal their oil only ups everybody’s risk for nuclear war. Burning fossil fuels is causing catastrophic climate change to speed up. The US military is the number one polluter in the world.

In case you haven’t heard, most young Americans won’t cooperate with a military draft if and when you do decide to start war on multiple fronts. Nobody desires to die in a war with China, Russia and Iran simultaneously. There's no way so many conflicts at once could be sustained with our meager numbers of volunteer troops. People will resist conscription. You're going to get us all killed.

Growing numbers of Americans of color don’t care much for perpetuating white settler colonialism. They see what is happening to other POCs throughout the world, and they see themselves in the Palestinians, a people who are simply trying to stay in their homes on their native land. What makes you think that sane and caring Americans wish to inflict more injustices upon others who have already suffered so much? 

What makes you think most Americans are lacking compassion and empathy just because you do? The large Arab and Muslim communities in SE Michigan are openly stating they will not vote for you in November. Why would you throw away all those votes when you could keep them by simply stopping the sale of arms to Israel and shutting down the genocide in Gaza once and for all? All it would take is a phone call to your counterpart in Israel.

Your administration even stopped providing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, on the same day Israel lost its genocide case before the International Court of Justice. How petty can you get!  UNRWA provides food and medical aid to refugees around the world, not only to Gazans. You’ve unilaterally decided that, because the Israelis don’t want life-saving aid to reach wounded and starving Palestinians in Gaza, UNRWA must be unfunded immediately. Are you mad or just plain cruel? 

You've committed such an inhumane act of denying humanitarian aid to reach people in Gaza because of unsubstantiated allegations made by a country that's been accused of genocide at the ICJ. You're doing so based on the flimsiest of stories, that 12 persons out of 13,000 United Nations workers might have worked for Hamas at one time. And you know that Israeli hasbara propagandists are known for telling whoppers—huge, fat lies like beheaded babies baked in ovens that were easily debunked by independent journalists.
 
You've already garnered the nicknames of “Genocide Joe” and “Butcher Biden," both of which are currently trending on social media. Do you really want this heartless bloodthirstiness to become your legacy? Do you even know what's going on in the world, or is Antony Blinken really calling all the shots?

Read the room.

Example 3:

January 26: The ruling issued by the ICJ [International Court of Justice] ordered six provisional measures including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Crucially, the Court also ordered Israel to preserve evidence of genocide and to submit a report to the Court, within one month, of all measures taken in line with its order.

“Today’s decision is an authoritative reminder of the crucial role of international law in preventing genocide and protecting all victims of atrocity crimes. It sends a clear message that the world will not stand by in silence as Israel pursues a ruthless military campaign to decimate the population of the Gaza Strip and unleash death, horror and suffering against Palestinians on an unprecedented scale,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“However, the ICJ decision alone cannot put an end to the atrocities and devastation Gazans are witnessing. Alarming signs of genocide in Gaza, and Israel’s flagrant disregard for international law highlight the urgent need for effective, unified pressure on Israel to stop its onslaught against Palestinians. An immediate ceasefire by all parties remains essential and – although not ordered by the Court – is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering. —Israel must comply with key ICJ ruling ordering it do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

It’s really up to the international system as we know it to make sure that genocide is not carried out. And so it’s imperative that this be followed up by countries around the world making sure that Israel doesn’t get to do whatever it wants to do with Palestinians in Gaza and continue this genocide. —Genocide Scholar: ICJ Ruling Is “Beginning of a Process of Isolating Israel”

Gaza was pounded with bombs, missiles and artillery shells as the ruling was read in The Hague — at least 183 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours. Since Oct. 7, more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost 65,000 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Thousands more are missing. The carnage continues. This is the cold reality.
Translated into the vernacular, the court is saying Israel must feed and provide medical care for the victims, cease public statements advocating genocide, preserve evidence of genocide and stop killing Palestinian civilians. Come back and report in a month.

It is hard to see how these provisional measures can be achieved if the carnage in Gaza continues.

“Without a ceasefire, the order doesn’t actually work,” Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, stated bluntly after the ruling. —It May be Genocide, But it Won’t Be Stopped   

The U.N. General Assembly now can suspend Israel from participation in its activities as it did for South Africa and Yugoslavia. It can admit Palestine as a full member. And — especially since the International Criminal Court has been a farce — it can establish a tribunal to prosecute the highest level officials of the Israeli government, both civilian and military.” —Israel Accuses The ICJ Of (You Guessed It) Antisemitism

Read the room, Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s “dream team” of lawyers didn’t exactly wow the ICJ judges. The South African lawyers just had to read out your government's officials' actual words—and your own indicting words—spoken at various press conferences and in media interviews to demonstrate to the court that the total annihilation of the Palestinian people is what you’ve been aiming for all along. You know full well that public opinion both within your borders and from without is against this ethnic cleansing operation of Palestinians, the indigenous people of the land.

And stop with the weak arguments that somehow Palestinians aren’t indigenous—just take a look at a map from 1947 or earlier. As a secular Ashkenazi Jew, you’re about as indigenous as your buddy Joe “Butcher” Biden is. You even lived in the US as a child and attended M.I.T. as an adult. I guess that's where where you learned how to be such a great racist/Zionist, right?

The ICJ is giving you an honorable way to stop the mass killing of civilians and slink back into your hole with your tail between your legs. If you don’t call for a permanent ceasefire and cooperate with getting humanitarian aid to the Gazans, the United Nations could excommunicate Israel from the family of nations like they did to apartheid South Africa a few decades ago. 

You know, South Africa the country that built such a solid case against your government in front of the sixteen justices at the International Court of Justice? Do you want more of your country’s dirty laundry to be aired in public when the UN sets up military tribunals to air the grievances of those you’ve persecuted? Do you want the thousands of human beings you've maimed and crippled for life to give their testimony in public as to what your soldiers got up to in Gaza?

Do as the ICJ says, Bibi, and you might even survive an assassination attempt, unlike Prime Minister Rabin, the man it is said you helped “retire permanently” because you disagreed with him. Take the ICJ up on their offer and call for a ceasefire in Gaza now and let the humanitarian aid flow into the beleaguered area ASAP.

Read the room. Read the goddamn room the lot of you. Or we will read you the riot act.

Related Articles and Interesting Links

US Union Leaders Call On Labor To Join Movement for a Ceasefire https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/14/us-union-leaders-call-on-labor-to-join-movement-for-a-ceasefire/

United Auto Workers (UAW) becomes largest union in US to call for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza https://youtu.be/XUNZ3RTpw2E?si=0hv6OChbGgXxuROo

US union leaders call on labor to join movement for a ceasefire https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/12/14/us-union-leaders-call-on-labor-to-join-movement-for-a-ceasefire/

UAW members protest for a ceasefire, as this is their union’s official position: https://twitter.com/codepink/status/1750636511530189015

More than one-third of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, poll shows https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/24/americans-believe-israel-committing-genocide-poll

Three American Troops Killed in Drone Attack in Jordan

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/28/three-american-troops-killed-in-drone-attack-in-jordan/ 

 

Israel Has Written Its Own Death Warrant in the Blood of Children

https://ohiobarbarian.substack.com/p/israel-has-written-its-own-death 

 

As Civilians Starve in Gaza, Israelis Block Humanitarian Aid Convoy for Third Day https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/28/as-civilians-starve-in-gaza-israelis-block-humanitarian-aid-convoy-for-third-day/ 

 

ICJ Rules in Favour of South Africa and Against Israel
https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/icj-rules-in-favour-of-south-africa

International Court of Justice Rules That Israel Must Stop Killing Palestinians https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/24/international-court-of-justice-rules-that-israel-must-stop-killing-palestinians/

Governments that have made statement in support of the case against genocide include Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Bolivia, the 57 nations of the Organization of Islamic Countries, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Maldives, Namibia, and Pakistan, Colombia, Brazil, and Cuba.

International Coalition To Stop Genocide In Palestine Welcomes World Court’s Order https://popularresistance.org/international-coalition-to-stop-genocide-in-palestine-welcomes-todays-icj-order/

Genocide Scholar: ICJ Ruling Is “Beginning of a Process of Isolating Israel” https://truthout.org/video/genocide-scholar-icj-ruling-is-beginning-of-a-process-of-isolating-israel/

The War On Journalism In Belmarsh, The War On Journalism In Gaza https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-war-on-journalism-in-belmarsh

Palestinian Paints Murals on Rubble Amid War on Gaza
https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/palestinian-paints-murals-on-rubble-amid-war-on-gaza/

Stripped, Beaten or Vanished: Israel’s Treatment of Gaza Detainees Raises Alarm https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/23/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-palestinian-detainees.html

Many Say They Want Peace When What They Really Want Is Obedience https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/many-say-they-want-peace-when-what

Biden Thinks It’s Just a Matter of Time Before US Troops Are Killed in Iraq or Syria https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/22/biden-thinks-its-just-a-matter-of-time-before-us-troops-are-killed-in-iraq-or-syria/

Chris Hedges: The Four Horsemen of Gaza’s Apocalypse
https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/21/chris-hedges-the-four-horsemen-of-gazas-apocalypse/

Palestinian-Led Initiative Warns European Officials Of Intention To Prosecute Over Complicity With Israel https://popularresistance.org/ palestinian-led-initiative-warns-european-officials-of-intention-to-prosecute-over-complicity-in-israels-crimes/

US Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Silence Palestinian Rights Advocacy https://www.commondreams.org/news/u-s-campaign-for-palestinian-rights

Gaza Is Exposing Western Liberals For The Frauds They Are
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/gaza-is-exposing-western-liberals

Undercounted: These Hard-To-See Pieces Of Plastic Are Probably Harming Us.  https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/undercounted-these-hard-to-see-pieces

One Of The Largest Unions In The US Called For A Ceasefire In Gaza https://popularresistance.org/one-of-the-largest-unions-in-the-us-called-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza/

Pro-Palestine Protesters Block Israeli Ship From Port Of Melbourne https://popularresistance.org/pro-palestine-protesters-block-israeli-ship-from-port-of-melbourne/

How Britain invented modern torture https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/how-britain-invented-modern-torture

Campaign to Demonize Palestinian Advocacy Shows Cracks at Columbia and in Courts https://truthout.org/articles/campaign-to-demonize-palestinian-advocacy-shows-cracks-at-columbia-and-in-courts/

NYPD investigating alleged chemical attack on pro-Palestine Columbia University students https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/23/alleged-chemical-attack-columbia-students-pro-palestine-new-york 

 

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today! Blogspot/Blogger isn't working as well as it once did (Is it blatant censorship? Who knows?) so it's time to migrate to a better platform. Go to https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com/ and click on one of the stories and subscribe at the link at the end of the article. You'll enjoy having each week's post automatically sent to your email box or reading it at the Substack site. Many thanks for your consideration.

Performative Politics

Performative Politics

by C. A. Matthews

I’ve heard the term performative politics quite often in recent times. It makes me wonder why this kind of politics has come into vogue.

 

Let’s take a look at the words and define them separately. According to Wikipedia:

Politics...activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.

Merriam-Webster Online defines performative this way:

1. Relating to or marked by public, often artistic performance

2. Made or done for show (as to bolster one's own image or make a positive impression on others)

Both definitions describe more than a few actions taken recently by neoliberal politicians. Before I describe these incidents, perhaps it’s wise to define what exactly is meant by neoliberal or neoliberalism.

From Britannica.com:

Neoliberalism: an ideology and policy model that emphasizes the value of free market competition. ...It is most commonly associated with laissez-faire economics... Its confidence in free markets as the most-efficient allocation of resources, its emphasis on minimal state intervention in economic and social affairs, and its commitment to the freedom of trade and capital.

Now that we’re on the same page with what is meant by these terms, politics, performative, and neoliberalism, here are three examples of recent performative politics and what I think each of the actors (that is, politicians) is communicating to their obvious and not-so-obvious audiences and why they choose to perform in such as way at this time.

First off, we have the extremely photogenic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or “AOC” as she is known. AOC gave a fiery speech at the recent March to End Fossil Fuels in New York City. Her obvious audience was, of course, the crowd that gathered there or watched her performance online. This crowd included environmental activists and protesters of all the destructive things “Big Oil” has done to our planet with their constant drilling, mining, and burning of fossil fuels. But who was the not-so-obvious audience AOC was reaching out to with her speech? And why did she choose to perform this particular speech at this particular place and time?

To understand, AOC’s motivations we have to do a little research and look back at her history in politics. AOC ran as a “Bernie Sanders Democrat” and was photographed interacting with the youth-led Sunrise Movement environmental organization. She led a very loud protest with these young environmental activists inside Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s offices early on in her career, so it makes sense that she would show up at the march where many of them were protesting that day.

But many things have happened since AOC’s time hanging out with the Sunrise Movement in 2018. AOC has been re-elected to Congress a couple times, and she’s made quite a name for herself, not so much as an environmentalist but as a very good Democrat who does as she’s told. She has voted several times for massive Pentagon/Defense Department budgets in spite of the fact the US military is one of the most polluting organizations in the world.

AOC declared earlier this year that she supports President Biden running for office again, although he has done the complete opposite of what an environmentalist would support. Biden has opened up more federal land to oil drilling than any other president, particularly with the Willow Project:

The Biden Administration released its final decision approving three drilling sites for the Willow Master Development Plan, otherwise known as the Willow Project that threatens local communities, wildlife, and the global climate. This is a massive oil drilling development on Alaska’s North Slope, which is a stretch of public land known as the National Petroleum Reserve that borders the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

This project developed by ConocoPhillips would be the single largest oil extraction point on US public lands, emitting 278 million metric tons of climate pollution over the next 30 years. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions from 74 coal plants — one-third of all remaining U.S. plants. Willow will disproportionately impact the community of Nuiqsut, a predominantly Iñupiaq village of about 500 people already suffering extreme pollution from existing oil projects.--from Biden Administration Breaks Climate Promise and Approves Willow Project

By supporting Biden's actions, it seems AOC doesn't care much about the environment at all.

AOC has never protested the billion of dollars Biden has sent to Ukraine to continue NATO’s proxy war there. She hasn’t really come out against the sale of cluster munitions (cluster bombs) and depleted uranium to Ukraine, either. Cluster bombs maim primarily civilians—children for the most part—and depleted uranium radiation can lead to generations of genetically malformed babies and horrible rates of cancers in persons of all ages.

By supporting these astronomical Defense budgets and the US sale of cluster bombs (munitions that have been outlawed in almost every country in the world) as well as Biden’s Willow Oil Project, AOC's actions tell us that she isn’t particularly concerned with the health and well-being of her fellow human beings or the planet. Her actions in Congress just don’t support her image or “performance” as an environmental activist, now does it?

Who is Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez’s not-so-obvious audience she was trying to reach with her fiery environmental tirade at the march? I think she was telling the major donors of the Democratic Party—the military-industrial complex, corporations like Raytheon, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing and the rest—that she is more than willing to act as a front to keep the public from looking too closely at what’s really going on behind the scenes in Washington DC. AOC is good at getting positive press by looking pretty on camera and saying what the public expects at the right time and place. What she says has no real depth or substance, since none of her actions back her words up. 

AOC’s example of performative politics shows that she is willing to act as the perfect front in order to take interest away from the true polluters and causers of death and destruction on our planet. She’ll make all those young environmental activists in NYC forget that nothing has really changed since she first marched with them. Magicians would say she’s the “smoke and mirrors” of the establishment, a perfect distraction. And by the size of her growing bank account since joining Congress, she has been well rewarded for her work.

This next example of performative politics is very easy to spot, and it’s easy to figure out who the obvious and not-so-obvious audiences are. The United Auto Workers are on strike. President Joe Biden—who didn’t permit the railroad workers to go on strike for safer working conditions in 2022—said he wanted to be the first sitting president to visit a picket line. So Biden spent about 12 minutes for a photo op at one of the picket lines in Detroit. Looking at the photos of some of the strikers, you can tell what the obvious audience thinks about Biden’s performance. Just look at the expression on the guy’s face standing to the far left in this picture!

Tim Black tells us exactly what Biden’s motivations were for making that oh-so-brief visit in this video clip on Twitter:

Does Joe Biden Really Care About Union Workers? #JoeBiden #CornelWest2024 #UAW pic.twitter.com/4s55qW127k

— RealTimBlack (@RealTimBlack) September 29, 2023

The not-so-obvious audience of the CEOs of the Big Three Automakers know that Joe Biden’s many years of not supporting the workers and always being there to help bail out the corporations at the expense of the public purse isn’t going away anytime soon. They understand Biden's trip to a UAW picket line was just the photo op that it so obviously was. The billionaires hope that it will trick enough workers into thinking they're being heard by Washington to stave off the revolution for a while. But does Biden and his campaign staff realize just how shallow this attempt came across? That remains to be seen.

Our last example of performative politics took place recently north of the border. Compared to the first two examples, it was a complete and unmitigated disaster. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government invited a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran to be honored with a standing ovation in the House of Commons… A man who turned out to be a veteran of the 14th division of Hitler’s Waffen-SS (1st Galician) in World War II, a group that was known for its genocide of Poles, Jews, and other ethnic minorities in what eventually became Ukraine after the break up of the Soviet Union. The soldiers of the 1st Galician were responsible for burning 1,000 Polish people alive.  Horrific!

Oops! 

After Canadian Jewish groups demanded an explanation, the prime minster tried to rationalize why his government acted so callously:

Trudeau, meanwhile, pointed to the “deeply embarrassing” event as a reason to “push back against Russian propaganda,” as though the Kremlin somehow smuggled an nonagenarian Nazi collaborator into parliament, then hypnotized the Prime Minister and his colleagues, Manchurian Candidate-style, into celebrating him as a hero. --from Canada's Honoring of Nazi Vet Exposes Ottawa's Longstanding Ukraine Policy

Using your critical thinking skills you’ve sharpened with the first two examples, who are in the obvious audience and the not-so-obvious audience Trudeau hoped to reach with this performance? We can assume that the public wasn't suppose to discover the genocidal history of this particular Ukrainian-Canadian veteran and that this “honor” given by Parliament would promote more Canadian corporations arms sales to Ukraine. Obviously, independent thinkers weren’t fooled and shared the information of the man's identity widely. Whether or not this negative publicity will affect Canadian arms sales to Ukraine remains to be seen.

Trudeau's not-so-obvious audience were the arms manufacturers who want the bloodshed to continue in Ukraine. The CEOS of the Canadian military-industrial complex were probably salivating at the thought of more arms sales. Endless proxy war is great for the NATO war machine, even if it’s not so great for the health and safety of human beings on the whole.

Hopefully you’re getting a handle on what is meant by “performative politics” by studying these recent examples. If you’re still confused why I labeled these three politicians “neoliberals” then go back to the definition for neoliberalism above and re-read the last line: [neoliberalism's]“commitment to the freedom of trade and capital.”

Think about that sentence. There’s a lot of capital to be made in the trading of armaments and munitions. All three of these politicians—AOC, Biden, and Trudeau—are on good terms with the military-industrial complex and are eager to see the trade in arms grow. They may say they support the striking workers, the environment, and veterans, but at the end of the day their actions make more money for the CEOs of the Big Three automakers, Big Oil, and the military-industrial complex.

And remember: actions always speak louder than words. Just ask this guy:

Keep sharpening your critical thinking skills and doing your research into the backgrounds and motivations of everyone who is involved in politics or the “activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status.” 

Why? Because it seems politicians enjoy distributing the world's resources into their own pockets and keeping the status quo exactly the way it is while the world burns. Their fat personal bank accounts apparently help them sleep well at night, too. Stop believing the "performances" of politicians and hold them accountable before it's too late.

 

Related Articles and Interesting Links:

The Climate March, Joe Biden, and AOC's Dubious Endorsement https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/19/the-climate-march-joe-biden-and-aocs-dubious-endorsement

Biden Administration Breaks Climate Promise and Approves Willow Project https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/biden-administration-breaks-climate-promise-and-approves-willow-project 

Clusterf*cked: The Cruelty is the Point https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/07/clusterfcked-cruelty-is-point.html

Nazi SS Veteran Receives Standing Ovation in Canadian Parliament https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/09/26/nazi-ss-veteran-receives-standing-ovation-in-canadian-parliament/

Canada's Honoring of Nazi Vet Exposes Ottawas Longstanding Ukraine Policy https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/01/canadas-honoring-of-nazi-vet-exposes-ottawas-longstanding-ukraine-policy/

How Joe Biden and The Democratic Party’s Climate Agenda Increases Environmental Racism More Than It Reduces Emissions https://blackagendareport.com/how-joe-biden-and-democratic-partys-climate-agenda-increases-environmental-racism-more-it-reduces

GOOD NEWS: Climate Lawsuits Against Fossil Fuel Industry Starting to Build Major Momentum https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/good-news-climate-lawsuits-against

Biden’s Picket Line Visit Doesn’t Mean He Is On Our Side
https://www.leftvoice.org/bidens-picket-line-visit-doesnt-mean-he-is-on-our-side/

Canadian parliament’s applause for Nazi war criminal exposes NATO war against Russia  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/28/xalg-s28.html

In Canada, Denialism Grows Over Residential Schools Ahead of Orange Shirt Day  https://truthout.org/articles/in-canada-denialism-grows-over-residential-schools-ahead-of-orange-shirt-day/

Senator Menendez and co-defendants plead not guilty as Democrats seek to contain fallout from bribery scandal
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/28/lwpt-s28.html

William Astore: What Would Real ‘National Defense’ Look Like?
https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/27/william-astore-what-would-real-national-defense-look-like/

People Are Dying For Inches In Ukraine, The "World's Largest Arms Fair"  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/people-are-dying-for-inches-in-ukraine

Caitlin Johnstone: Neocons Love the Ukraine War
https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/28/caitlin-johnstone-neocons-love-the-ukraine-war/

US House Rejects Cluster-Bomb Ban https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/28/us-lawmakers-reject-cluster-bomb-ban/

Fog Over Nord Stream https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/28/fog-over-nord-stream/

Files Expose Syrian ‘Revolution’ As Western Regime Change Operation https://popularresistance.org/files-expose-syrian-revolution-as-western-regime-change-operation/

Patrick Lawrence: The Undiscovered Country https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/28/patrick-lawrence-the-undiscovered-country/

Suing For a Livable Planet https://scheerpost.com/2023/09/28/suing-for-a-livable-planet/

A Major Win Against Factory Farming In Oregon https://popularresistance.org/a-major-win-against-factory-farming-in-oregon/

Uninvited and Unaccountable: How CBP Policed George Floyd Protests https://theintercept.com/2023/09/21/cbp-george-floyd-protests/

UN Report Urges End to Forced US Prison Labor—a 'Contemporary Form of Slavery' https://www.commondreams.org/news/racism-in-the-criminal-justice-system

Philadelphia Youth React When Charges Are Dropped Against Killer Cop https://popularresistance.org/philadelphia-youth-react-when-charges-are-dropped-against-killer-cop/

Why Our Popular Mass Movements Fail https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/why-our-popular-mass-movements-fail

 

On The Line/Sugar and Cyanide

photo by Crystal Jankowski

On The Line
picket line photos by  A.J. Matthews 

This week two separate actions across the Glass City brought attention to the power of the people fighting against the corrupt system. First up, Toledoans for Safe Water and Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie (ACLE) made some noise outside the federal building in Toledo, letting Judge Zouhary know that the people have a right to be in on the secret discussions concerning the Lake Erie Bill of Rights citizens' initiative. Second, UAW union nurses and support staff at St. Vincent's/Mercy Health Medical Center are on strike after talks fell through concerning hiring more staff to prevent overwork and abate unsafe working conditions.

Now our guest blogger, Coast Watcher, takes a closer look at how our system of governance has been turned against us--and why we must be ever vigilant.

photos by Crystal Jankowski

Sugar and Cyanide

 by Coast Watcher

One tactic used by bought-and-paid-for politicians is to hide a "rider," an additional clause or clauses containing legislation harmful to ordinary voters inside bills on unrelated—and usually beneficial—topics. What I term a Sugar and Cyanide Bill. A favorite target for those who frame such riders are appropriation bills. The failure to pass appropriation bills can lead to delays in funding for vital government programs.

In House Bill 166 Ohio lawmakers added an across-the-board state income-tax cut, new health-care consumer protections—and language that effectively nullifies Toledo’s hard-won Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) citizens' initiative. HB166 was voted into law on Thursday, June 9.

Of course at first glance this bill would look popular. Who doesn’t like a cut in income tax or good health care? The problem is that like a Trojan Horse, or a Trojan virus designed to kill computers, the bill contains an element of pure evil. If the bill goes unchallenged it will effectively prevent citizens from trying to protect their water supply through legal action.

The executive branch of government actively seeks to destroy the environment for the greater profit of Big Business. The legislative is totally in the pockets of Big Business when it comes to framing law. That leaves the judiciary as the sole course of action for the citizen. Now, thanks to those same bought-and-paid-for politicians, in Ohio at least even that avenue is closed, allowing those who pollute the water supply for over 12 million people to do exactly as they please.

Parts of HB166 could face scrutiny in the Ohio Senate. Those parts will not include the clause negating the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Instead, in a clear example of complete disregard for citizens of Ohio, the senate is more likely to argue over the scrapping of Ohio’s $40 million motion-picture tax credit.

In common with other states, Ohio’s State Constitution forbids riders on unrelated topics to be inserted into bills. This prohibition was blatantly disregarded by those who framed HB166, and the Ohio House went along with it. It opens the bill up for legal challenge, but it also means that the whole legal process will take time to settle. This means the polluters get  more years—even decades—in which they can continue to dump whatever toxic materials they like into Lake Erie and the watercourses that flow into it.

Just as damaging to the lives and rights of ordinary people are bills containing hidden clauses that discriminate. Often tucked away inside legislation are clauses aimed at harming LGBTQ+ citizens. North Carolina has a woeful record for this. In 2016 House Bill 2 contained language that stripped North Carolina workers of their right to sue under a state anti-discrimination law, a right that has been upheld in court since 1985. Described as "a Trojan Horse of hate," the manifestly discriminatory bill was aimed at firing up the anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice felt by bigots in the NC house to the point they would pass the legislation in a landslide, thus enabling those who inserted the clause—Big Business sponsored politicians—to serve their corporate paymasters.

Occasionally attempts to place riders in unrelated bills fail. In 2005, a West Virginian bill aimed at limiting the number of members cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation included a rider making English the official language of West Virginia. Most of the senators and congress people of the state were unaware of the rider until after they’d passed the bill. Thankfully it was vetoed by the then governor on the ground that it violated the state proviso that bills must only be related to one topic.

That’s not to say such attempts have ceased or will cease in spite of such restrictions. Ohio’s passing of HB166 is a clear example. Instead of calling the cops on the persons responsible for this flagrant violation of the law, the matter is passed to the courts where it will be tied up in legal limbo for decades. In the meantime, CAFOs and similar polluting agencies will continue to daily pour several hundred thousand tons of effluent into Lake Erie.

There’s no known cure for this tactic. Those politicians right of center will continue to use the method to pass legislation aimed at benefiting Big Business, or anti-women, or anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice at the expense of ordinary citizens for as long as they are bribed to do so or see an advantage in their favorability ratings.

BIO: Coast Watcher won't be fooled again. Neither should you. He advises that you keep an eye peeled for the next Sugar and Cyanide Bill the corrupt duopolists attempt to pass through your statehouse. Don't let them do it!

***

From Take It Back.org:

Breaking: Alabama goes off the deep end and bans all abortions including for victims of rape and incest– sparing only the life of the mother exception. Missouri follows suit.

Will  you sign our petition asking Alabama Governor Kay Ivey reconsider her decision -- or risk a national boycott of her state that could cost Alabama thousands of jobs and billions of dollars?

Yes I will sign the petition.

Thank you for your help and support.

Sincerely, 

TakeItBack.Org

P.S. We will also send you Governor Ivey's Montgomery office number so you can contact her via telephone as well.

***

We welcome the opportunity for 21st Century infrastructure package. Our country desperately needs a real public infrastructure plan that focuses on long ignored and abandoned communities of color and low-income communities that fixes crumbling roads, bridges, ports, water, and sewer pipes, while investing in clean energy technology and green jobs to fight global climate change and increase resiliency and ensure our communities thrive.

The good news is that we already have a framework for exactly that plan, with growing support in the House of Representatives. Recently, more than ninety Members of Congress signed on as original sponsors of a new resolution, HCR 36. This resolution outlines 10 principles for any spending on infrastructure. These Principles are supported by a broad and diverse coalition of labor, community, and environmental organizations representing millions of Americans.

DEMAND AN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN PAID FOR BY THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS

A sound infrastructure plan would create millions of good jobs while revitalizing America’s crumbling infrastructure. It would accelerate our response to the climate crisis.  It would be paid for by making Wall Street, giant corporations, and the rich pay their fair share. By contrast, a bad plan will drag down the economy by incurring all of the costs without the benefits, while missing an opportunity to protect our planet and further burden struggling families and communities of color.

President Trump says he will respond with an infrastructure proposal in three weeks. We’ll judge any plan by whether it meets the standards enumerated in the Lieu-Krishnamoorthi-Crist Congressional resolution.

DEMAND AN INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN PAID FOR BY THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS

In solidarity,
Ana Maria Archila
Co-Executive Director, CPD/A

*** 

From Roots Action:
 

To: U.S. Congress and state legislatures
From: You

6.1 million Americans nationwide are denied their right to vote due to felony disenfranchisement. Join us in demanding that EVERY American citizen of age -- including those who are incarcerated -- can cast a ballot and be heard in our democracy.

Click here to sign this petition.

A true democracy that is of, by, and for the people must extend the right to vote to all its citizens.

But right now, most states deny that right to millions of incarcerated Americans -- creating a class of people who are subject to the laws of this country but have no say in how they're governed. (Only Maine and Vermont allow incarcerated people to vote.)

On top of that, most states count incarcerated people as residents of their prisons when drawing electoral maps, not of their home communities -- even though people in prison are unable to vote in the prison’s district. The result? A form of gerrymandering that unfairly skews political representation towards the rural, whiter communities where prisons are often built.

Our mass incarceration system is silencing the voices and communities most impacted by it. And that’s by design -- dating back to the Jim Crow era, felony disenfranchisement laws are one of many tactics used to attack black people’s political power.

We believe that ALL American citizens have the right to vote. Join us in calling on federal and state officials to end felony disenfranchisement once and for all -- and allow incarcerated citizens to vote.

Sign here.