Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. —Martin Luther

What Are You Thankful For?

words and holiday parade photos by C.A. Matthews

About this time of the year in the good ol’ USA there comes a national holiday that pretty much is celebrated by all Americans (except for Jehovah Witnesses, of course). It seems a benign enough harvest-time holiday with no overtly religious overtones, but with some covertly religious ones for those who partake. Americans of all persuasions and socio-economic backgrounds celebrate this holiday, with or without help from their local food pantry or soup kitchen.

This national holiday is called “Thanksgiving.” It was supposedly the brain child of English colonists who invited the local Native Americans over for a grand meal in thanks for the Native’s assistance they unwittingly gave their white invaders. If it hadn’t been for the kindness of the Native Americans, the English colonists would have completely died off their first winter at the Massachusetts Bay colony. Later, the Natives would come to regret their good manners when the Europeans stole their land and passed small pox on to them, but white historians conveniently leave out all those unpleasant details.

Instead, historians have chosen to emphasize the happier aspects of the Thanksgiving feast—good food, togetherness, neighborliness, and sharing leftovers with anyone who’ll take them off your hands so you’re not stuck eating turkey for the next three weeks. These aspects make it a pretty nifty national holiday to celebrate in the short, dark, and damp days of late autumn in North America—as others called “Canucks” also celebrate this harvest festival about a month earlier. (Apparently they forget the calendar includes months after October.) Thus, border families of mix American-Canadian heritage have the chance to eat two Thanksgiving dinners, with the added bonus of putting on enough blubber to survive the arctic onslaught of the coming winter.

While everyone sits around the dinner table feasting on the traditional meal of roast turkey and stuffing—which is no where close to the supposed original Thanksgiving feast of venison and seafood—guests are supposed to share what they are thankful for in their lives. This is when the problems begin.

In presidential election years, Americans with big mouths not filled with mashed potatoes and gravy might make mention of how thankful they are their favorite presidential candidate won the recent contest. Others, who are not feeling quite so happy about this outcome, will then attack the sanity of the first party and call them some rather nasty names. The atmosphere of Thanksgiving thankfulness will immediately evaporate. Thrown bread rolls and tossed turkey drumsticks can be turned into semi-lethal weapons if calmer heads don’t quickly prevail.

This is why on pain of having a pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream thrown in their face that most Americans do their best not to bring up politics at Thanksgiving. No one is more thankful than the hosts of the traditional meal that politics have been left where they belong—in the trash can out back—before entering their home. With dinner table small talk limited to sports, the latest Hollywood blockbuster, and how everyone will go about losing all the weight they’ll gain from gorging on turkey and several desserts, the day proceeds much more smoothly than things did ultimately between the Native Americans and the English colonists.

So, here it is another US presidential election year and Thanksgiving approaches. This begs the question for Americans and Non-Americans alike: What are you thankful for?

 

To discover more you can be thankful for, please read the rest of this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see related article and video links, all the parade photos, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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Money Can’t Buy Me…?

 

Money Can’t Buy Me…?

by C.A. Matthews

I'll give you all I've got to give
If you say you love me too
I may not have a lot to give
But what I've got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money
Money can't buy me love –Paul McCartney & John Lennon

The Beatles are more than the greatest pop group in history. They are the proletariat’s philosophers. Their catchy song lyrics often express deep truths that aren’t easily ignored. Their 1964 hit Can’t Buy Me Love is still a favorite of many.

Wonder why? Could it be because it’s true? Sure, money can buy all the accouterments of love, but it can’t buy the real deal. One has to earn another person’s love and respect or else… It’s not really love, now is it?

The same could be said for buying votes.

Kamala Harris spent upwards of $1 billion dollars on her ill-fated “Joy” campaign. She still owes some $20 million to her campaign workers and some of the celebrities she bribed to endorse her. Beyonce’s asking price was $10 million—and that didn’t even include her giving a concert, which was a huge disappointment to the many fans who came to a Harris event just to see Beyonce perform. Oprah Winfrey’s production company had an asking price of a cool $1 million. That’s a lot of incentive to “love” a candidate, isn’t it?

Did giving tons of money to these celebrities truly earn their love and respect for Harris? The Beatles had it right, don’t you think?

So, what did Harris get for her record-breaking spending spree on the campaign trail? Well, it didn’t get her the White House...

 

To learn more about what money can't buy you, continue reading the rest of this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com There you'll also see related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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The Mystery of the Missing Votes

A Terrible Tale of Voter Suppression. (Plus "A Letter to Kamala.")

by C. A. Matthews

Living with a mystery series writer (check out my husband’s Veronica Nash series), I watch many (and I mean many) mystery movies, TV series, and the like. I’ve never been the biggest fan of mysteries since some feature “copaganda” with their noble-minded police detective sleuths showing off how damn smart they are. Putting that fault aside, I watch mysteries in order to learn more about how to plot a story as well as learn interesting science facts that occasionally pop up. I find an interesting twist in the tale or an outright surreal ending (like in a Twilight Zone episode) enjoyable, too.

Unfortunately, many mysteries are poorly plotted. If I can guess “whodunnit” within the first ten minutes of a mystery movie/TV show (or first chapter of a novel), then it’s safe to say it’s crap and needs a re-write. I mean, how the heck should anyone figure out the mystery so quickly? Mediocre mysteries are the worse. There’s no use reading the rest of the book or watching the next hour and half of silly red herrings if you know who the murderer/kidnapper/thief is already. I’ve got better things to do with my time.

Which brings me to what I do with my time these days—I try and solve real life mysteries of the political kind. In this season of post-election blues in the US, I submit for your approval the following: The Mystery of the Missing Votes or A Terrible Tale of Voter Suppression.

In New Jersey, Green candidate for Congress Ben Taylor was ahead of his duopoly competitors with 50,000+ votes, but a second later the screen said that Taylor was behind and had only 3,000 votes. What happened to his lead? Did his votes all die a mysterious death? 

 

To see and solve more electoral mysteries, continue reading the rest of this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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Nothing To Say

by C. A. Matthews

This post will go live on November 5. I wrote it a couple of days earlier, so I have no clue about what the outcome of the US elections are, nor do I really care. I’m just glad it’s finally over so we can return to concentrating on more important tasks—such as saving our fellow humans from being butchered by the American imperialist military-industrial complex in order to steal their land and natural resources, and hastening the death of capitalism.

Having said that, I will now explain the sign on the left in my yard:

I got the “heart [love] your neighbor” sign a few months ago from a local group, Neighbor-to-Neighbor. I thought it was a nice idea to promote neighborly love, and so I said I would put one up in my front yard during the months leading up to the election. The idea behind the sign is to help smooth over the “divide” many people are feeling during this particular presidential election season. Several community events were planned, and we were given a list of things to do order to let our neighbors know that there are “no hard feelings” after the winner of the presidential election is announced. Here are some of the tips:

Intentional Acts of Kindness

Let someone go ahead of you in the checkout line

Take trash bins in for a neighbor

Pick up litter on a bike/walking path

Call an elderly neighbor

Offer someone a ride to the store

Recognize one good thing about every person you meet

Not bad ideas on the whole. I’ve done most of these things before, so they aren’t much of a stretch to continue doing , but I find that last tip a real doozy: Recognize one good thing about every person you meet. This suggestion has become particularly challenging to me after these signs popped up in our neighborhood about a half-month before the election:

Yeah… What good thing can I find to recognize in a person or family who displays a sign supporting a blatant genocide enabler such as “Holocaust Harris”? Do I recognize that they haven’t attempted to kill me (yet)? 

To find out more about my dilemma...

Please read the rest of this article by clicking on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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The Founders Would Be Proud

 

The Founders Would Be Proud

by C.A. Matthews

It’s not every day that I say something like this, so please take note.

The Founders (a.k.a. "The Founding Fathers of the United States of America") had a good idea when it came to making a permanent separation between church and state. It may have been one of only a handful of good ideas they ever had, being handicapped with their white, wealthy, Eurocentric, males-only, slavery-is-good-for-business worldview. But it is impressive that they foresaw a day when the need to be a strictly secular state (government) would be to their—and consequently our—benefit. So, for this insight I heartily thank them.

I do believe there were “Founding Mothers and Others-of-the-Non-White-Male Variety” as well, but in this case, we're sticking with the "Fathers" who wrote our founding documents. I was reminded of their wisdom concerning church/state separation when Dr. Jill Stein gave one of the most brilliant rebuttals of all time at the recent Free and Equal Debate.

The Constitution Party candidate, Randall Terry, had just given the most sick and twisted rant imaginable. I don’t know much about the Constitution Party, but if this is their pick for president, I really don’t want to know anything more about them. Terry’s diatribe went along the lines that Americans should believe as he does (seemingly he’s an ultra-conservative, Zionist “Christian”) and that those of the Muslim faith are dangerous terrorists and deserve to be killed in Gaza (and elsewhere). He actually sounded like he would start another Crusade if he ever got into the White House. His verbal vomit of sheer naked bigotry sent shivers down my spine.

Dr. Stein’s reply to Terry’s steaming pile of Islamophobia was eloquent and to the point. Watch a clip on X/Twitter or on You Tube:

https://twitter.com/peopleforstein/status/1849264793011818948 or

https://twitter.com/TeamJillStein/status/1849906420340408804

https://www.youtube.com/live/HLCplaowzy8?si=AKHM8u9vnCWE1v5U

Randall Terry’s rant and Jill Stein’s rebuttal starts at approx. 1:20 and goes to about 1:24.

To find out what else would make the Founders proud...

Please read the rest of this article by clicking on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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The Moral IQ

 

The Moral IQ 

(The US isn’t in any position to lecture anyone about morality. It's time to kick the moral idiots out of office.)

by C.A. Matthews

“How can they do such a thing!” is a phrase I’ve heard more than once over the past twelve months, closely followed by “That’s insane! They’re acting like sociopaths! They’re immoral!”

I agree wholeheartedly. Israel’s genocide of Gazans, trapped in an open air prison, on what are basically made up excuses to steal their land and resources qualifies as insane, immoral, and sociopathic. But it’s happening now to the Palestinian people in both Gaza and the West Bank, and the evil is spreading into Lebanon with the blessings (and armaments) of the USA.

Americans can’t deny it. US tax payers are arming “The World’s Most Moral Army (TM)” with our tax dollars. We’re arming them in spite of Israeli soldiers videoing themselves committing war crimes such as looting and shooting innocent civilians and children in cold blood.

So how is it that Israel claims to have a “moral” army when its soldiers are anything but? How can the US claim to be moral when it has broken its own humanitarian laws that say it's unlawful to arm a country that is breaking those same humanitarian laws? How can what the US military is doing in the Middle East be considered moral when they don’t even live up to their own standards?

“Because we say it is,” is the typical reply given by US and Israeli government spokespersons. “We say our actions are moral, and you are mistaken if you think otherwise. We are superior in our wisdom.”

Do you believe them? I don’t...

 

Please read the rest of this article by clicking on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. 

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The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

 

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (Is No Democracy At All)

by C.A. Matthews

 

I believe most Americans understand that the United States is not a democracy or even qualifies as a representative democracy. The US is, in fact, an oligarchy, which means politicians work for their big money donors and not for the people.

The Princeton Study proved that no matter how hard average voters try to influence their elected representatives—try to make them vote for or sponsor a bill that would benefit ordinary people and not billionaires—the result will be the same. Whatever corporations and the super rich folks who own them want, they’ll get. To put it plainly, “Screw the needs of ordinary Americans!”

I came across an example this week that illustrates the American oligarchy in action. I will make a few suggestions on how we can fight back against their tactics, but feel free to come up with some actions of your own. Please write them in the comments below because sharing knowledge is power. Thank you.

From a recent Jill Stein for President campaign email:

On Thursday June 27th, the FEC [Federal Elections Commission] informed us that our campaign had qualified for primary matching funds. Then minutes later, FEC told us the Treasury department will withhold our payments to give priority to general election funding–just in case the Democratic and Republican candidates decide they want it.

Let me explain why that’s so outrageous...

 

To read the rest of this article, click on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see the related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. Subscribe today! Power to the people!

Exposing Dirty Tricks

Exposing Dirty Tricks

by C.A. Matthews

Has anyone ever tried to pull the wool over your eyes? Fooled you into believing something that turned out later to be false? How did you feel after you discovered that you'd been bamboozled? Sad? Angry? Determined never to let something like this happen to you ever again?

Now you know how the Arizona Green Party (AZGP) feels upon learning that Green voters could become the victims of a series of terrible tricks. This scam essentially denies all Arizona voters a choice for US Senate. And who are these con artists attempting to pull a fast one over on the electorate? They're none other than the Democratic Party.

Here are the details as they were presented on X (Twitter) by the AZGP:

The message thread begins at this address: https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1780413138262954472

The Arizona Green Party has discovered compelling evidence that suggests that the Democratic Party is attempting to interfere in our primary election process for the U.S Senate race via the campaign of faux-Green candidate Mike Norton.

First, Norton isn’t even a registered AZGP member AT ALL. Voter data provided to us from the Maricopa County Elections Office indicates that Norton’s most recent change in party affiliation was to “Independent”, which he registered as on August 17th, 2023, not as a “Green”.

Norton filed a Statement of Interest to run for the U.S. Senate as a Green on March 17th, 2024, a mere two weeks before the deadline to submit a sufficient number of candidate nomination petitions. He had no prior involvement or contact with the AZGP whatsoever before this.

On March 18th, the first of 7 total out-of-state paid petitioners, all claiming to be working for Wells Marketing LLC, begin to register with the AZ Secretary of State’s Office via the Circulator Portal and designate that they are circulating petitions for Norton’s campaign.

The next day, March 19th, Mike Norton files a Statement of Organization with the FEC for his candidate committee, “Mike Norton for Arizona”. FEC Law stipulates that this has to happen once a Congressional candidate raises or spends a combined total of $5K.

On March 21st, the “Save Democracy PAC” a super-PAC with ties to the Democratic Party, donates the max contribution of $5K to Norton’s candidate committee. Reminder: anybody who knows anything about the Green Party knows that we DO NOT EVER accept contributions from super PACs.

[Editor’s note: You can learn more about the Green Party at https://gp.org]

On March 27th, two more Democratic Party linked super-PACs (“End Citizens United” and “Defend The Vote”) max out donations to Norton’s campaign, contributing $5K each.

Both these super-PACs have already officially endorsed Ruben Gallego for the 2024 US Senate seat in Arizona. [Editor’s note: Ruben Gallego is running as a Democrat.]

Get ready, cuz this is a BIG one. On March 28th, 5 individuals made maxed out contributions of $3300 each to Norton’s campaign, and 1 contributed a lesser $1000 donation. The names/backgrounds of these individual donors may surprise you, so let’s go through them one by one.

Michael D. Smith is a Principal/Director at Cornerstone Government Affairs. He’s also a member of the DSCC Majority Trust Legacy Circle since 2008, and a formerly appointed member of the DNC Credentials Committee. Smith contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign. [DSCC—Democratic Senate Congressional Committee]

Paul Bernon is a Managing Partner at PMB Ventures, a Co-Chair of the Emily List Creative Council, and a member of the DNC Finance Committee. Bernon contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign.

Devin Rhinerson is a Partner at Pace LLP and a former senior policy advisor to the (now deceased) Democratic Senator from the State of California, Diane Feinstein. Rhinerson contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s Campaign.

Elizabeth E. Steinglass (David’s wife) is a Harvard graduate, a poet/author, a Research Fellow at NYU School of Law, and- like her husband- a frequent big money donor to Democratic campaigns. Elizabeth contributed the maximum $3300 to Norton’s campaign.

Capping off the individual contributions is Timothy Webster, an Associate Professor of Law at WNE University who made a more modest contribution of only $1000 to Mike Norton for Arizona. While we have not yet confirmed Webster as being tied to the Dems, the timing is suspicious.

In a SINGLE day on March 28th, and between only 6 individual contributors, “Mike Norton for Arizona” received a whopping $17.5K, the majority of which came from Democratic Party insiders and their big money donors. But wait, there’s still more…

The following day, March 29th, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU-COPE) ALSO made a maximum $5K contribution to Mike Norton’s campaign. “Why the Transit Union?”, you ask? Norton’s background is as a CEO, Senior Executive, and Legal Counsel to 3 major transportation companies.

But that undersells it, because those companies specialize in the transportation of “High Security Products”. Can you guess what kind of products those may be? Here’s the answer: weapons, ammunition, explosives, and radioactive materials. A decidedly un-Green career, we’d say. [Editor’s note: The Green Party platform states clearly that they are for “People, Planet and Peace (over corporate profits). You can see now why this contributor is highly suspect.]

So, let’s summarize: Norton’s not a registered Green, and never has been. In the span of ONLY 12 DAYS after filing an initial Statement of Interest, he received over $15K from confirmed Democratic Party insiders. And now he’s trying to fool the Green Party voters of Arizona.

And if you’re wondering, as some of you surely would be, “What do the Democrats gain from heavily funding a fake Green Party candidate?”, consider the case of ‘18 Senate candidate Angela Green, who dropped out and endorsed Sinema at the very last minute against McSally.

Sinema ultimately won regardless of Green’s endorsement, but it was a close race, and the AZ Dem Party, the DSCC, and the DNC have no desire to take that chance with Ruben Gallego in 2024. They’re willing to fight dirty and do everything they can to sabotage the competition.

And what better way is there to stop any possible *real* competition for Gallego from our party than by implanting an operative in our primary, funding him so heavily he easily wins, and then immediately having him drop out in the general to endorse the Democratic candidate?

Well, Mike Norton you may be a smart man, and you may be well-funded by the corrupt DNC, but you can’t fool us, and you won’t get away with your lies and dirty tricks. We know a true Green Party candidate from a fake like you. And now, Arizona knows you’re a fraud too.

Wow… After making quite a few sloppy moves, do the Dirty Dems really think they’ll get away with this conman of a candidate? Do they think Arizona’s voters are stupid enough to vote for a “faux Green”?

I think you know the answer to both those questions. It’s “yes.”

The saddest part about the Dems pulling dirty tricks is that most voters won’t do much in-depth research into candidates running for office at any level. They’ll believe whatever is put before them in the mainstream media without questioning it. Most have never heard of OpenSecrets.org where they can check out where politicians are getting their money and just how much they've taken. Most voters have never thought of researching the party platform that the candidate says they’re promoting, which in this case is very important as Norton seems to stand for the complete opposite of the Green Party's philosophy.

If voters did do their research, they would learn that the Green Party is for “People, Planet and Peace” and their candidates pledge to never take money from PACs or Super PACs. They’d think twice about Mike Norton’s acceptance of money from an industry dedicated to war along with large donations from Democratic Party insiders.

I mean, why would well-heeled Democrats give money to a Green Party candidate in the first place? That should be a big giveaway right there. But wait, there’s even more nefarious activity going on in the Dems’ dirty tricks campaign to undermine the Arizona Green Party's primary. The AZGP has also reported there is yet another possible “faux-Green” candidate being promoted by the DNC.

The thread for these messages begins here: https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1781897196419621221

In addition to the meddling by the DNC in our primary election via the campaign of Mike Norton, the Arizona Green Party has found irregularities in the campaign finance reporting of Arturo Hernandez, the other faux-Green candidate for U.S. Senate. Here’s what we found.

Arturo filed his statement of interest with the AZ Secretary of State’s Office on March 1st, 2024, and he filed his FEC Statement of Organization (Form 1) and Statement of Candidacy (Form 2) on March 11th, 2024.

While it’s not required for a candidate to reach the $5K threshold before they file paperwork and start submitting FEC reports, as soon as they file that paperwork, they are obligated to report all funds that are raised or spent by the candidate’s committee.

Because Hernandez filed his Statement on the 1st of March, he was officially campaigning as of that date and cannot claim to have been “testing the waters” in the form of an exploratory committee, as is allowed for and outlined in FEC guidelines.

Part of that FEC Form 2 Statement of Candidacy requires candidates to declare their intent to expend personal funds if they are a candidate for Congress. Hernandez’s FEC Form 2 indicates that he claimed intend to spend $0 of his personal funds in the primary and general election.

However, if you examine Mr. Hernandez’s Q1 FEC reports, he has also claimed $0 in receipts and expenditures. Here’s where things start to get really fishy…

We know from personal testimony from AZGP members like @jonralstonlmt and research done during the signature challenge period that Mr. Hernandez had paid circulators distributing his candidate nomination petitions. Yet, Mr. Hernandez has not reported any money raised or spent.

Additionally, we know that Mr. Hernandez is a client of “In Compliance Inc.”, and his designated Treasurer and Custodian of Records is Chrissie Hastie, President/CEO of In Compliance Inc. However, no payments to In Compliance Inc. have been reported by Mr. Hernandez in Q1.

Even if the paid petitioners AND In Compliance Inc. were to have worked pro bono for Mr. Hernandez, they would still need to report this as an “in-kind contribution”. No such reporting has been made on the Q1 FEC report for “Arturo for Arizona”.

It is no secret that Mr. Hernandez is a sham candidate who has jumped onto our ballot line with the intent to fool Green Party in Arizona into wasting their vote on an infiltrator with nefarious intentions. Mr. Hernandez has even been so bold as to contact us to gloat.

While we are continuing to investigate further evidence of wrongdoing, we believe that it is highly probably that Mr. Hernandez and his candidate committee “Arturo for Arizona” have violated the FECA of 1971. We urge all AZ Green Party members to NOT vote for or support him.

If any individual would like to submit an FEC complaint against “Arturo for Arizona”, which could trigger a thorough investigation process by the Commission that may be very expensive for Mr. Hernandez… , here is the process for how to do so: https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/enforcement/complaints-process/how-to-file-complaint-with-fec/

Anybody can file an FEC complaint, and the more complaints filed, the more likely it is the commission will review the case.

To further clarify:

https://twitter.com/AZGreenParty/status/1781734840930549853

To be clear, the Democrats are trying to kick faux-Green Arturo Hernandez off the ballot, while they have installed a well-funded Democratic operative to run in our primary named Mike Norton. The AZ Green Party’s endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate race is @Quintana4Senate

Even the Republican US Senate candidate, Kari Lake, is exposing these Dem shenanigans:

https://twitter.com/KariLakeWarRoom/status/1781729926451999071

It appear the AZ Dem Party is attempting to kick the AZ Green Party candidate off the ballot so that their Trojan horse candidate can drop out & endorse Ruben Gallego.

These are the people who lecture us about democracy.

Mr. Hernandez doesn’t sound like the brightest bulb in the box to me. Could he be yet another DNC faux Green candidate that didn’t quite work out as well as they’d hoped, so they brought Mr. Norton on board later to be their “official faux Green candidate” instead? Why does the DNC pull such criminal stunts like this? Are they worried their own candidate, Mr. Gallego, isn’t electable?

Ruben M. Montejano states in an X post:

https://twitter.com/damnitruben/status/1781156089276641337

From what I gather AZ Green Party thinks if Norton wins their primary he will drop out leaving no Green Party Candidate to run against the Dem and Republican candidates in the general election.

The official Arizona Green Party candidate is Eduardo Quintana.[@Quintana4Senate]:

https://twitter.com/Quintana4Senate/status/1777399449985126691

My name is Eduardo Quintana, I am a dedicated Green Party activist in the Tucson area, and I am running a grassroots, corporate-free campaign for the U.S. Senate with the AZ Green Party

The Dems' actions demonstrate how very scared they are of losing the US Senate seat in Arizona. They possibly fear that voters see them as supporters of Genocide Joe Biden, repellent genocide-enablers. They’re willing to spend large sums of their donors' money and risk committing fraud to take away the voters' choices at the ballot box. 

When the news of these dirty tricks in Arizona eventually leaks out to a wider audience, won’t the Dems be helping their Republican opponent by making her look more honest than they are? This time around the Dems can’t claim the Green Party candidate is stealing votes from them because they are, in fact, funding “spoilers” like Mike Norton and Arturo Hernandez in the Green primary.

What does Norton in particular get out of all of this skullduggery? It seems his connection with the weapons industry is behind his reasoning for doing this so he can continue to fund Gallego and other Dem candidates who love passing huge military budgets. The military-industrial-Congressional complex operators don’t really care what label a candidate wears as long as she/he votes the way they want them to. As long as the duopoly remains in power, billionaires will thrive and workers will suffer as more and more money is siphoned out of the workers' pockets and slipped into the oligarchs’ bank accounts.

Worse yet, more innocents will continue to suffer and die as more US bombs are provided to apartheid Israel to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian people in Gaza. A Green Party senator from Arizona would work hard to end this horrific situation and all US military interventions worldwide.

What can the Arizona Green Party do to shut down this scam? They can take legal action against Norton for misrepresenting himself as a Green, but court cases take time, and it wouldn’t come up until after November. The Dems are counting on that. It’s why they waited until almost the last moment to sneak Norton in on the Green primary. In the meantime, they’re probably “rewarding” (i.e., bribing) all the Arizona judges to make a ruling in the DNC’s favor when the case finally does come to court. Criminals do tend to stick together.

If you’re a person who loves democracy and wants to help the voters of Arizona, there are a few things you can do. First off, share this story (and the X posts/Tweets) with others. The mainstream media certainly won’t cover this DNC trickery. They wouldn’t dare anger their corporate owners. So, it’s up to us everyday people, indie journalists, and independent podcasters to get the word out.

Secondly, file a complaint with the FEC if you feel moved to do so. And if you’re able, donate your time, talents and/or money to the AZGP and/or the GPUS. Lawyers don’t come cheap, and a party like the Green Party that only accepts donations from voters like you and me (not millionaires/billionaires) needs all the backers they can get. 

It’s why the Dirty Dems pick on the people-powered Greens—the Dems receive billions of dollars from their wealthy Super PAC donors but no real support from the masses. The Dems use their corporate donors’ money to pull undemocratic stunts like this one in order to manipulate us, We the People. Remember, “freedom isn’t free” when the people are being blatantly outspent by billionaires bribing politicians.

Last and certainly not least, support causes that are working to take big money out of US politics. Just think if the DNC wasn’t able to pull all this money together and create fake candidates to thwart voter choice, we might not be seeing these kinds of dirty tricks in the first place. Check out the Move to Amend and Ranked Choice Voting initiatives. 

Whatever you do, don’t give up hope. Make a vow to never let the Dems get away with dirty tricks ever again. Power to the people—not the corporations who own the Dems, their criminally minded minions!

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Democrats Sue to Block Green Candidate https://arizonaglobe.com/fl/democrats-sue-to-block-green-candidate/

Challenging the duopoly: Jill Stein on why she's running for US president as Green Party candidate https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/jill-stein-president-green-party

'Obvious Evidence of Genocide': Mass Grave Discovered in Gaza's Nasser Hospital https://www.commondreams.org/news/mass-grave-gaza-nasser-hospital 

Israeli Strikes in Rafah Kill 22, Including 18 Children https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/21/israeli-strikes-kill-22-in-rafah-including-18-children/

Israel Is Turning Hospitals Into Mass Graves While The West Fixates On 'Antisemitism' https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-is-turning-hospitals-into

We need to have a conversation about Zionism https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/we-need-to-have-a-conversation-about

Bankers upgrade Lockheed stock after Iran strikes at Israel https://responsiblestatecraft.org/lockheed-martin-israel-war/

Leaked Cables Show Biden Pressuring Nations to Oppose Palestine's UN Membership https://www.commondreams.org/news/palestinian-statehood

In Fit of anti-Palestinian Hatred, Congress tries to Outlaw “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” https://www.juancole.com/2024/04/palestinian-congress-palestine.html

Stop Pretending Biden Is Some Passive Witness To Israel's Warmongering https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/stop-pretending-biden-is-some-passive

Israel's Latest Lie Is That It Has 'No Choice' But To Attack Iran https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israels-latest-lie-is-that-it-has

If The Mainstream Worldview Was Accurate, Gaza Wouldn't Be Burning https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/if-the-mainstream-worldview-was-accurate

Amal Clooney’s Silence on Gaza Shows the Limits of Liberalism  https://www.mintpressnews.com/amal-clooney-silence-gaza-shows-limits-liberalism/287251/

The Palestine Movement Has Completely Undermined the US-Israel Relationship  https://youtu.be/X1Zz2Hnmr7w

Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes https://www.propublica.org/article/israel-gaza-blinken-leahy-sanctions-human-rights-violations

Protesters Block Road To Shannon Airport in Ireland, Calling For End To Usage By U.S. Military https://worldbeyondwar.org/protesters-block-road-to-shannon-airport-in-ireland-calling-for-end-to-usage-by-u-s-military/

Escalation With Iran Seemingly Over; Now We Have To Worry About Rafah  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/escalation-with-iran-seemingly-over

The US Doesn't Support A Two-State Solution, It Just Supports Saying It Does https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-us-doesnt-support-a-two-state

Palestine Coverage – Latest Unicorn Riot Stories from Palestine and Pro-Palestine Protests  https://unicornriot.ninja/palestine-coverage-latest-unicorn-riot-stories-from-palestine-and-pro-palestine-protests/

US Government Rejects Australia’s Call To End Assange Case, Submits 'Assurances' For Extradition https://thedissenter.org/us-government-rejects-australias-call-to-end-assange-case/

In Gaza The Sniper Drones Are Crying Like Babies https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/in-gaza-the-sniper-drones-are-crying

From Florida to Australia, Global Coral Bleaching Could Soon Be Worst on Record  https://truthout.org/articles/global-coral-reef-bleaching-event-brings-bad-news-for-the-climate/

Dead Last (With Emphasis on Dead!) https://scheerpost.com/2024/04/17/dead-last-with-emphasis-on-dead/

Assange Extradition Case Moves Forward While The CIA Covers Its Tracks https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/assange-extradition-case-moves-forward

"Rules-Based Order" Means Rules For Thee But Not For We https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/rules-based-order-means-rules-for

FBI Violated Your Rights An Unbelievable Amount According To Gov't Docs! https://youtu.be/6lk7bAYoiRo?si=9cyf6s58SjrnRSN6

 

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True Civilization

Watch this artwork's creation at https://twitter.com/borjaguti1/status/1763598552981213524

True Civilization

 by C.A. Matthews

There has been a lot of discussion both online and offline about the extreme act of protest US Airman Aaron Bushnell committed in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC on February 25, 2024. Some of the chatter is put out by Zionist trolls trying to negate the magnitude of his sacrifice, calling him “mentally ill,” “suicidal,” “homicidal” or worse. However, most of the commentary has been respectful and awe-filled, praising the commitment Aaron made toward creating a lasting peace for the people of Palestine.

Aaron was willing to die in order to make the point that others should be allowed to live. His positive and self-sacrificial message has made it through the dregs of negative propaganda and found a welcoming place in millions of hearts worldwide. Here are some comments I've found particularly illuminating.

 Nuno Marques (@numarqs) on X/Twitter says:

Aaron was not mentally ill. This system that calls him mentally ill and supports a genocide is mentally ill. As someone who has gone through therapy myself, I find it abhorrent to insult martyrs this way. What the US government and its media stenographers want you to believe is if you have a conscience, you’re mentally disturbed! https://twitter.com/numarqs/status/1762276006340301148

I agree. Having a conscience is not a “mental illness”. Far from it. Having a conscience shows you are a fully realized human being who can empathize with the suffering of others and have compassion on them and their plight. This week I learned that Aaron left his savings in his will to the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund. 

Aaron really did believe in using whatever means he had at his disposal to help others, to bring about justice and peace.
As Nuno Marques says Aaron Bushnell is a martyr, deserving of our thanks and praise.

Another who expressed a similar take on Aaron’s protest is Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti of Ansar Allah. (@M_N_Albukhaiti) Here is what he said about honoring Aaron’s sacrifice:

Today, the world lost Aaron Bushnell, a brave, noble, and conscientious human being, but his message reached and resonated around the world. Aaron proved that his conscience's ability to bear the scenes of dead and wounded Palestinian children was weaker than his ability to bear the pain of fire burning his body, so he continued to chant freedom for Palestine until the last moment of his life. Thank you Aaron, your message has awakened the global conscience, but we will continue to cry for you as we cry for the children of Palestine. https://twitter.com/M_N_Albukhaiti/status/1762198093628375103

Aaron Bushnell has “awakened the global conscience.” His protest is powerful and positive, not the act of a madman or mentally ill individual. Thank you, Aaron, for waking our sleeping consciences so that we may be inspired to do good deeds for our fellow human beings in their time of trial and need.

Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and ordained minister Chris Hedges sees Aaron Bushnell’s self-immolation as “divine violence”. He phrases it this way:

Divine violence terrifies a corrupt and discredited ruling class. It exposes their depravity. It illustrates that not everyone is paralyzed by fear. It is a siren call to battle radical evil. That is what Bushnell intended. His sacrifice speaks to our better selves.

Aaron’s protest has exposed the depravity in our “corrupt and discredited ruling class”, and for this reason alone it is worthy of our attention. Hedges is right to call it a” siren call to battle radical evil” because this is exactly what Aaron wished to expose—the evil of genocide, the evil of bombing innocent children and their parents whose only “crime” was being born Palestinian in the modern ethnostate of Israel.

Aaron Bushnell: A martyr who practiced divine violence in order to awaken the global conscience.

“Aaron Bushnell wasn’t addressing the Israeli government with his soul-jarring message. He wasn’t even addressing his own government. He was addressing you. Each of us. His goal was to get us all to open our eyes to the horror of what’s happening, and spur us to action to end it,” said journalists Caitlin Johnstone and Tim Foley. They call Aaron’s actions “a profound act of sincerity.”

I agree. In a world built on lies, manipulation, and gaslighting, when evil meets that pure and unadulterated sincerity of love of others so much that Aaron felt compelled to lay down his life for the sake of the persecuted Palestinian people, it pauses, astonished and chastised. Could we lesser mortals ever learn to put our hatred and racism aside and embrace such sincere compassion?

It remains to be seen, but the conversation has begun. For that profound act of sincerity alone, I see Aaron as a saint and a genius.

Aaron Bushnell: A martyr who practiced divine violence in order to awaken the global conscience through an act of profound sincerity and compassion.

A quote that has been mentioned in relation to Aaron’s extreme act of protest is one attributed to the world-renown anthropologist Margaret Mead. Surgeon Dr. Paul Brand remembered Mead saying:

Early in my career I heard a lecture from the anthropologist Margaret Mead. “What would you say is the earliest sign of civilization?” she asked, naming a few options. A clay pot? Tools made of iron? The first domesticated plants? “These are all early signs,” she continued, “but here is what I believe to be evidence of the earliest true civilization.” High above her head she held a human femur, the largest bone in the leg, and pointed to a grossly thickened area where the bone had been fractured, and then solidly healed.

“Such signs of healing are never found among the remains of the earliest, fiercest societies. In their skeletons we find clues of violence: a rib pierced by an arrow, a skull crushed by a club. But this healed bone shows that someone must have cared for the injured person—hunted on his behalf, brought him food, served him at personal sacrifice.” --a quote from Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: A Surgeon Looks at the Human and Spiritual Body by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. (Found at https://quoteinvestigator.com/2021/07/25/femur/)

Caring for your fellow human beings in their time of need is a sign of true civilization according to Margaret Mead. If so, what sort of sign is committing (or aiding and abetting) a genocide then? A sign of a false civilization? A false civilization that cannot acknowledge that ethnically cleansing two million plus people is evil and wrong?

No wonder this false civilization we live in doesn’t recognize Aaron Bushnell for the saint he was, a man who practiced divine violence in order to awaken the global conscience through his act of profound sincerity and compassion!
 

“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?” Aaron posted on his personal Facebook page before he began his walk toward the Israeli embassy. “The answer is, You’re doing it. Right Now.”

Aaron Bushnell’s very last words spoken as he walked to the place where he would set himself ablaze: “I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I'm about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine, at the hands of their colonizers it's not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

“Free Palestine!”

We will never live in a true civilization until we have freed ourselves from the tyranny of those who commit genocide for their own corrupt purposes. As Mead says “personal sacrifice” is what was shown in the earliest forms of human civilization. Caring for the injured and the sick was what made us truly “human." How quickly we’ve forgotten what our ancestors learned and practiced!

Let us follow Aaron’s lead not by burning ourselves alive in front of an embassy, but by doing all we can to stop the corrupt ruling class that has brought about this false civilization in which we currently live. A civilization that is destroying our planet with its wanton pollution of our air, land and water... A civilization that is destroying our very souls with its greed and inhumane actions. 

Our personal sacrifice to the cause of ending this false civilization will save the lives of billions and save our own humanity. Anything less from us isn't worthy of the sacrifice that Aaron Bushnell made to open our eyes to this evil reality.

Rest in Power, Aaron. May we all live to make you proud.

*  *  *

The Organizer-in-Chief

photos and words by C.A. Matthews

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein came through the Toledo area this past weekend where she met and chatted with avid supporters and skeptic questioners alike.

I've seen just about every interview Jill has ever done with both independent and mainstream media journalists, but there's something special about being in Dr. Stein's personal presence. She really is a believer in the ability of "We the People" to enact and practice true democracy. She never talks down to her audience, and she's always welcoming of folks' feedback, information, and comments. It is truly refreshing to be taken seriously as a voter and to be treated with such graciousness.

I particularly like how Jill envisions a "Green House" in DC. She sees herself acting as the "Organizer-in-Chief," keeping the various activist organizations that will work together to bring about a Jill Stein victory and a better America doing just that even after she takes office. We will all continue working together against the corrupt status quo politicians and their policies until they are no longer in power, and a true democracy in the USA is born. 

It's a lofty goal and a beautiful vision, one that many will want to become a part of as we "Abandon Biden, Dump Trump, and Join Jill!" (For more information about how you can volunteer, donate, or just learn more about Jill, check out jillstein2024.com)

Related Articles and Interesting Links

A profound act of sincerity https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/a-profound-act-of-sincerity

Aaron Bushnell's Death Can't Rightly Be Called An Act Of Suicide https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/aaron-bushnells-death-cant-rightly

On Aaron Bushnell, Methinks The Israel Apologist Doth Protest Too Much https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/on-aaron-bushnell-methinks-the-israe
 
Aaron Bushnell’s Divine Violence https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/aaron-bushnells-divine-violence

A message from Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti (Ansar Allah, a.k.a. The Houthis) honoring Aaron’s sacrifice https://x.com/m_n_albukhaiti/status/1762198093628375103

The Life & Death of Aaron Bushnell: U.S. Airman Self-Immolates Protesting U.S. Support for Israel in Gaza
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/2/28/aaron_bushnell_self_immolation_gaza_protest

Aaron Bushnell: Very Emotional Vigil Interview at Israeli Embassy (~4 min video and transcript) https://couragenews.substack.com/p/aaron-bushnell-very-emotional-vigil

Media's Israel bias exposed by US soldier who set himself on fire to protest Gaza genocide https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/media-israel-bias-aaron-bushnell-gaza-genocide

Don't Avert Your Eyes: Gaza Has Suffered the Equivalent of 1,200 September 11th Attacks https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/dont-avert-your-eyes-gaza-has-suffered-2c0

Egypt Sells Out Palestinians for $10 Billion Loan Package https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/egypt-sells-out-palestinians-for-10-billion-loan-package/

When The Imperial Media Report On An Israeli Massacre https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/when-the-imperial-media-report-on

US Slammed For Providing Israel With ‘License To Kill’ Palestinians https://popularresistance.org/us-slammed-for-providing-israel-with-license-to-kill-palestinians/

Millions Plan to Take Part in Global March Calling for Israeli Ceasefire in Gaza https://truthout.org/articles/millions-plan-to-take-part-in-global-march-calling-for-israeli-ceasefire-in-gaza/

Britain Wants to Ban Boycotts of Israel. Does That Mean They’re Working? https://scheerpost.com/2024/03/01/britain-wants-to-ban-boycotts-of-israel-does-that-mean-theyre-working/

World Court hearing on legality of Israeli occupation ends following week of testimony https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/world-court-hearing-on-legality-of-israeli-occupation-ends-following-week-of-testimony/

Nicaragua Hits Germany With ICJ Case for Aiding Israel in Gaza Genocide  https://www.commondreams.org/news/icj-israel

‘Move The Money’: Detroit Votes For Slashing Bloated Pentagon Budget https://popularresistance.org/move-the-money-detroit-votes-for-slashing-bloated-pentagon-budget/

Secret cable: CIA orchestrated Haiti’s 2004 coup https://thegrayzone.com/2024/03/01/secret-cable-cia-haiti-coup/

Honest Government Ad | Whistleblowers (STFU) https://youtu.be/ZWkGmw3xMTU?si=QuLVr6Ddizx1sjrf

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