The Land of the Greed and the Home of the Child-Haters

by C. A. Matthews

There’s nothing to be proud of living in a country that openly and unapologetically hates children. All children.

For those who are totally clueless (or pretending to be) the following articles will enlighten you. Once you’ve read them, you will no longer be able to claim ignorance of the genocide happening in Gaza and America’s involvement in it. You will understand why the rest of the world feels nothing but disgust whenever they spy the Star Spangled Banner waving in the breeze alongside an Israeli flag.

Ready to open your eyes and your mind? Here goes…

 (The article links can be found in the article on Substack.)

...You didn’t think I was going to leave out domestic child abuse/endangerment articles, did you? If the US government is willing to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on sending aid to Israel to bomb, burn, and maim Palestinian children (and then won’t even let them into the country for treatment), why wouldn’t it be willing to not spend any money at home to improve American kids’ health and educational opportunities?

Why wouldn’t the US government spend billions on hiring masked vigilantes under the guise of ICE to terrorize and rip families apart who are looking for asylum? Why wouldn’t the US government want to destroy the First Amendment and censor protests against these horrific American policies? It does these things because it can and it does get away with them.

And why? Because America hates children...

 

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Food: The Most Lethal Weapon

by C.A. Matthews

Our early morning emergency protest proved challenging. When I arrived, I discovered the entire street in front of the building where our Congresswoman’s district office is located in the process of being torn up. There were drainage pipes being replaced along with concrete mixers and gravel trucks and graders galore. Once I figured out where to park and how to cross the construction area to get to the front door, I found my fellow protesters already hard at work banging loudly on their pots and pans.

The noisy demonstration was to draw attention to the mass starvation of the inhabitants of Gaza. Israel has killed 20.7% of Gaza's population in the past 22 months, or approximately 434,000 people by some estimates.

I don’t hold out much hope for any positive actions coming from our representative, Marcy Kaptur, a conservative Democrat fully in the zy0nists’ pockets. Perhaps we could guilt her into doing something right in Congress for a change. Marcy almost lost her last election, so the longest-serving Congresswoman really should be more cognizant of pleasing her voters, right?

After several minutes of clanking pots together and chanting, “Stop starving Gaza!” a woman in a catering uniform wheeled a cart full of pastries, fruit trays, and large coffee flasks into the building. How ironic! Here we were protesting against the deliberate withholding of food to the people of Gaza, instigated by the US government’s GHF faux humanitarian program, and the occupants of perhaps Congresswoman Kaptur’s office upstairs were about to stuff their faces full of delicious goodies in celebration for a job well done. For me, this cruel comparison of using food as both a means to hurt some and as a means to reward others is an image that will never be forgotten.

A few days later, I joined in a protest march through the University of Toledo where an outdoor arts show was being held on the main mall. The deer-in-the-headlight stares we received from onlookers were more than plentiful. You’d think these very well-heeled folks buying expensive art weren’t aware of the genocide happening in Gaza and that the US was playing a big part in it.

One art hawker even pulled out an American flag and started waving it and shouting angrily at our lack of patriotism as we repeatedly marched past his booth. None of these art-lovers looked like they’d ever missed a meal in their lives—and a few looked like they’d eaten more than enough for two or three persons in their lifetimes.

When it comes down to it, food is the most lethal weapon. Withhold it—and your enemies weaken and starve to death. Lavish it upon them—and your enemies could become your allies or at least less hostile to you, as long as you keep feeding them. Food is the ultimate way to control human beings, forcing them to respond the way you want them to with a minimum of effort. Other than depriving people of oxygen, there’s probably not a control substance in the known universe that’s quite so versatile.

Now you know the real secret behind the starving of millions of Palestinians. Starvation might take a bit longer to accomplish its goal than simply bombing cities, villages, and bodies into rubble, but it’s a relatively simple thing to do. What’s happening currently in Gaza is called a forced famine as it is man-made and not due to natural causes. And withholding food is much cheaper than building or buying bombs, jets, tanks, and other weapons—a win-win situation for aggressors...

 

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It’s been a long two years, hasn’t it? So many people have stopped speaking to others they don’t see eye-to-eye with. To quote an old cliché: Things will never be the same again...

 

Imagine Living In A World…

by C.A. Matthews

Imagine living in a world where you could get arrested for saying “Don’t kill the children!” because it might hurt the feelings of the killer.

Imagine living in a world where all children are cherished and taken well care of, always have enough to eat, a safe place to live, access to a decent education, and medical care whenever necessary.

Imagine living in a world where your country uses your tax dollars to provide the armaments, bombs, planes, and bullets for a genocide of innocents and won’t allow you to speak out against these war crimes upon pain of prosecution.

Imagine living in a world where you are free to speak your mind about the immorality of genocidal war crimes no matter how it casts a dark shadow upon the reputations of those in power, the oligarchs their political henchmen, and their celebrity endorsers, and your tax dollars go to support programs that actually serve the public.

Imagine living in a world where proxy wars have become commonplace and your tax dollars go to finance these conflicts in order for wealthy CEOs in the oil industry, the military-industrial complex and related industries to make even more billions at the expense of millions of lives.

Imagine living in a world where the polluting fossil fuels industry is no more because clean and plentiful sources of green energy from the sun, the wind, the tides, and the geothermal activities of the Earth itself have been developed and made available to all, thus making the need to start wars for oil and other resource grabs entirely unnecessary...

 

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The United States of Hypocrisy

by C. A. Matthews

I went through the same indoctrination program most American children are put through. We heard the same narrative over and over again in school and in the Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, Junior Achievement, church and civics organizations... I learned more or less what other people in my age group did.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance and at least the first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner. I learned what the Latin phrase e pluribus unum means on our coins. Ask me how many members are in the House of Representatives (435) and how many senators there are (100). I can even recite the Preamble to the Constitution fairly well.

I know the correct way to fold a flag when you take it down from a flag pole. I can name you all fifty states’ capitals (at least I used to be able to). But none of this nonsense means a damn thing in the year 2025, and I’m sorry I wasted so much time learning it.

Why? Because the United States of America is dead.

Maybe it was never alive, but it most definitely is dead and gone today—or at least the picture I had of it in my mind growing up and even into a good portion of my adulthood. What’s left of it is the true image of the current monster that masquerades as a “beacon of democracy.” With “liberty and justice for all” it prances about like a flashy red-white-and-blue Captain America action figure as it doles out bunker busting bombs to genocidal maniacs. 

I call what remains of my birth country “The United States of Hypocrisy.”

Feel free to call it the United States of Hypocrisy (USH) if you feel the same way I do. Tell your friends and family members they can do so as well, unless that gets you into a world of hurt...

 

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An Anthem For Our Times

by C. A. Matthews

I wanted to do something different this week just to see where it would take me.

Last week’s post was on the longer side, and fact-heavy articles tend not to get re-posted as much. So I decided this time ‘round to share some more of my poetry, but this time by putting it to a tune. (Maybe this kind of audio post will help me break into the Substack Top 100? I’d be happy just to get my subscriber count over 2,000, including a few more paying subscribers.)

I won’t claim to be a poet. I’ve had some of my poetry published before, such as last year’s poem Dust From Gaza in For All, the Revolutionary Poets Brigade anthology. I know a lot more talented poets here on Substack (such as Dan Denton) who make my attempts at poetry pale by comparison. But I was inspired by two recent events to write this poem, which quickly became the lyrics to a song, an actual honest-to-goodness protest song.

I thought: “Every generation has a protest song, a song that sums up what’s really important and needs to change to make the world a better place. Why can’t I write that song?”

I know that sounds a bit arrogant, but one can always dream of being remembered for more than just writing a weekly sociopolitical column for the past ten years and pissing off more strangers, friends, and acquaintances than there are grains of sand on the beach in Gaza. I’d like it if people could say at my passing: “Wow, she cared enough to put herself out there and write a pro-Palestine protest song that made even more people hate her.”

The inspiration for my song came from Caitlin Johnstone’s brilliant in-your-face essay, Nobody Say “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine” which was in turn inspired by the Northern Irish hip-hop group Kneecap’s brilliant in-your-face protest screen at the recent Coachella music festival. Caitlin and Tim (they’re a writing team, so I don’t want to leave either of them out) stated that one should never say the phrase “Fuck Israel, Free Palestine,” as this could be considered hurtful by those folks who think “genocide is good.”

Well, let me state for the record that I’m certainly not one of those immoral, sadistic, sick and twisted bastards who thinks “genocide is good.”

 

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Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. —Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew 17:20

Moving Mountains

by C. A. Matthews

“How do we do this? How do we make things right?” a friend earnestly asked me the other day.

I had just bombarded her with facts about what’s actually happening in Palestine and Lebanon. I told her the latest death toll estimate in Gaza—approximately 200,000+—and emphasized that it was probably on the low side since so many are still missing under the rubble and so many have been shredded by bombs into unrecognizable bits. I could tell that she was distressed at the news, but I told it to her anyway. I felt like she really needed to know.

After I got home, I regretted overwhelming my friend with so much information at once. She probably hadn’t been following the genocide in Gaza over the past year as closely as I had. She probably gets her information from mainstream media sources, not independent journalists like I do.

Hearing too much bad news at once can be quite a shock to the system. I owe her a big apology. I’ll try to make it up to her somehow, but how? I can’t change the statistics or the stories of whole families being wiped out in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon, can I?

How do we make things right?

This haunting question echoes in my mind...

 

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That Level of Cruelty Is Where We’re At

 

Israel apologists have been amazingly defensive about its latest acts of terrorism in Lebanon. It’s extremely important to them that everyone believe it’s awesome and good to turn electronic devices into thousands of bombs placed throughout unsuspecting civilian populations. --Caitlin Johnstone, Biden Didn't "Fail" To Get A Ceasefire; He Never Tried

As someone who has just spent the last 3 years completing a PhD on how tech can be used for international crimes, I never thought blowing up civilian (including hospital staff and children’s) devices would be something to consider. But, apparently that level of cruelty is where we’re at. --Sarah Zarmsky on X

That Level of Cruelty Is Where We’re At

by C.A. Matthews

It’s not the plot of a science fiction novel or an action movie. It’s not an advanced level in a spy-thriller video game. It’s not even some poorly-written fan-fic that others gleefully critique on a deeply-hidden Reddit board. This actually happened. Within two days there were at least 32 human beings killed and thousands severely wounded in Lebanon. (As of September 23, the death toll has risen with 274 more people, including 21 children, 39 women and 2 paramedics killed in southern Lebanon today. 1,024 people, including 15 paramedics, were wounded according to the Lebanon Health Ministry.) Children and doctors and nurses and paramedics murdered indiscriminately and without warning.

According to the United Nations...

 

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Baby-Killers Make Lousy Leaders

Baby-Killers Make Lousy Leaders

by C.A. Matthews

I can’t take it anymore. I can’t keep silent and act politely while there are sadistic madmen and inconceivably evil women roaming the face of the planet. I don’t care who I offend with my next statement, so here goes:

Baby-killers should never be allowed to become popes, priests, presidents, or prime ministers.

There. I said it. I’m glad to get that off my chest.

Many studies have shown that a particular type of personality disordered individual seems to rise to the top in business, politics, organized religion, and life in general in this sick capitalist society. This individual’s mental illness allows them to out-compete, out-manipulate, and out-evil (I made that word up for lack of finding an adjective that works in this sentence) all others in order to get ahead. This type of individual doesn’t lose sleep over screwing over others. Heck, if they have to steal, beg, borrow, prostitute themselves and/or kill to achieve power that’s exactly what they’ll do.

No pity. No remorse.

No kidding.

Most would label these merciless creatures “sociopaths,” which means a person who displays anti-social personality traits. I’m growing tired of that word myself. It doesn’t go far enough, so I’ve come up with a synonym that’s more descriptive and easier to understand: I call these creatures simply “baby-killers.”

For those who can’t quite make the connection, here is why I’ve chosen to label these creatures baby-killers…

 

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Shutting Down The Bullies

"We Have Blood On Our Hands" (original painting by Caitlin Johnstone)

Shutting Down The Bullies

by C. A. Matthews

Israel to Punish West Bank After 3 More Countries Recognize Palestinian State https://truthout.org/articles/israel-to-punish-west-bank-after-3-more-countries-recognize-palestinian-state/

Blinken suggests the World Food Program could be defunded to protect Israel https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/blinken-suggests-the-world-food-program

Indeed, there is no comparison: Israel's crimes are far worse than Hamas' https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/indeed-there-is-no-comparison-israels

Israel Massacres Children, Which The Western Press Says Is Fine https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-massacres-children-which-the/

What do the above headlines (articles) have in common? If you guessed “Israel,” you’re partially correct. If you guessed “Israel’s Zionist actions”, give yourself a point. But if you said, “These articles show how Israel’s Zionist actions are used to bully, intimidate, and frighten others into giving into their unreasonable demands,” give yourself ten points and an aspirin.

Why the painkiller? It’s because you know just how much of a headache Zionists can be and how big a migraine their sycophantic lap dog, the US, is as it conspires with Israel in its genocidal rampage against the Palestinian people while providing cover for them on the international scene.

Notice how I’m not limiting Israel’s intentions to strictly wiping out the population of Gaza. The first article will tell you that no person of Palestinian heritage is safe in the West Bank as well, and the second article shows you that the US isn’t afraid to withhold food and starve people worldwide in order to protect their “ally”.  

Or is that the Americans’ “battleship” in the Middle East? One wonders how friendly any country can be with such a bully as the ethnostate of Israel. It certainly stinks of an abusive relationship with a side order of sadism thrown into the mix, especially when you considered what Israel did to the USS Liberty in 1967. Not a healthy relationship for sure.

I’ve given a new moniker to Zionists who use the antisemitism card to excuse their violent tactics: zio-bullies. It goes well with my term for those who suffer from “zionarcissism.” (Read all about it here.) The zio-bullies are led by Benjamin “I’m calling the shots when it comes to violently shutting down college protests” Netanyahu with major assistance from the de facto leader of the United States Antony “Get a load of my high up Zionist connections” Blinken.

Genocide Joe “the Butcher” Biden is only serving in a support role at this point in time, as his recent incoherent babbling while addressing a crowd demonstrates. He still thinks he saw photos of beheaded babies back in October, an incident proven to never have happened. Well, not until recently, that is, when mass graves filled with the bodies of patients—including tiny incubator babies—were discovered at the bombed-out Al Shifa Medical Center in Gaza. Perhaps Joe was given an explanation of what Netanyahu’s zio-bullies were planning, and he got confused into thinking it had already happened?

If you’ve ever dealt with bullies before—and anyone who has ever attended K-12 schools in person in the US probably has—you know there’s only one way to shut a bully down. You refuse to give in to their terror tactics. You don’t stay quiet about their abuse. You snitch on them to the authorities and inform the public what the bullies are up to and shame them for their violent actions. You don’t suffer in silence or pay the bully off to prevent them from attacking you again because that will only encourage the bully to keep doing what they have been doing all along.

What does this mean in regards to Israel and its “buddies” like Blinken who cover for their war crimes? It means that we keep sharing information about their zio-bully actions. We share this info as widely and as frequently as we can. We share it online and in person via discussions, demonstrations, and protests. (Last week's post was on this topic, “To Proclaim Loudly”.) We don’t hold back on not reporting their atrocities in hopes the zio-bullies will learn their lesson and have a sudden change of heart. That kind of tactic won’t work.

Why won't it work? Well, it's simple: A zio-bully doesn’t have a “heart” or a conscience to begin with. Face it, how can a greedy racist who intends on wiping out the entire indigenous population of Palestine and stealing their lands and resources possess a conscience? How can an IDF solider who shot a ten year old on a bicycle in the back of the head look at herself in the mirror? If zio-bullies had even the inkling of a conscience, it would bother them all the time, and they wouldn’t be doing such horrendous things.  

So, there’s no need to feel shy or guilty about snitching on these evil bastards. Keep sharing their war crimes and horrible policies with everyone you know and then some. The light of truth needs to shine into the zio-bullies’ darkest corners until it kills all the malevolence growing there like sunshine kills mold on contact.

Yeah, I just compared a bunch of murderous sociopaths with mold. Please forgive me, mold. I still enjoy bleu cheese crumbled into a salad from time to time.

American zio-bullies like Secretary of State/President de facto Blinken and most members of Congress are also in need of some bright lights shown into their despicable lives. I’d line them up under klieg lights and do a thorough interrogation until they confessed how much money AIPAC has given them and what other naughty things they might have gotten up to on Jeffery Epstein’s Lolita Express and private island that Mossad is holding over their heads. I’d also make them give back their Israeli passports before they pull a stunt like former US spy Jonathan Pollard did to flee justice and stop paying taxes. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Pollard)

Of course, American zio-bullies Blinken and the others wouldn't be able to do the heinous things they're doing in the first place, like providing bombs to Israel to commit a genocide, if they didn't have henchmen. I'm talking about America's IDF-trained militarized police departments, cops who have been taught to crack open heads of protesters first and don't ask questions later. In fact, the cops are even allowing zio-bully vigilantes to do some of the head cracking for them. How “neighborly” of them!

And with the zio-bully cooperatives in the US mainstream media, all this violence is dismissed as easily as The Atlantic magazine can say “legally killed child” to describe the mass murders of children by the Israeli forces raining fire down upon a refugee camp in Rafah filled with families sleeping in tents.

Considering their love of violence, dare we consider fighting back against zio-bullies through means of physical force? Sometimes violence is the only language a bully understands. The last eight months have revealed how the zio-bullies aren't willing or able to stop their genocidal destruction of Gaza. The Netanyahu regime has always turned a blind eye toward Israeli settlers’ violence against the indigenous population in the West Bank as well. If exposing their war crimes and embarrassing them in public doesn’t stop zio-bullies, perhaps we will be forced to use their kind of bully tactics against them in return until they get the message.

However, fighting back doesn’t always have to be conducted through the use of military might. It can include intense economic sanctions and boycotts of Israel's products and services. The BDS Movement has been a thing for some time now, but it hasn’t shut down apartheid Israel yet. Perhaps the boycott/divest/sanction movement needs to be put on steroids to increase its effectiveness? Every country on the planet needs to quit doing business with Israel, not just a handful—no exceptions.

The student encampments in solidarity with the Palestinian people have been working hard to get their individual college campuses to divest from Israeli corporations, and it’s working. There have been some big successes within the University of California system. We need all Western schools of higher learning to do likewise.

Protesters with the group Palestine Action shut down Israeli military contractor Elbit Systems in Leicester, England, and were able to make their case to a judge and be let off charges. Think if we could replicate their success a hundred-fold. Good-bye zio-bully war machine!

Shutting down Elbit Systems and the like is going to make the military-industrial complex billionaires antsy. Israel is one of the biggest distributors of armaments in the world. Can you believe it? A place the size of New Jersey with a zio-bully population not much more than New Jersey is distributing killing machines and ordinance to everyone and anyone who will pay them hard cash.

That’s why I find it rather disingenuous of Israel to claim it’s “afraid” of everyone in the Middle East and needs to commit a genocide of the Palestinian people in order to “remain safe.” It’s been selling its Arab neighbors armaments for years! And tell me who has successfully invaded them since the Zionists took Palestine away from its original inhabitants in 1948? Buehler?

Zio-bullies are a strange lot. Manipulating others and hiding their motives about what they’re actually doing (not what they say they’re doing) seems to be their thing. They apparently enjoy causing endless chaos if it gets them what they want. And what’s that? At the end of the day, all they really want is the indigenous people dead or gone so white Israeli settler-colonizers can steal 100% of the Palestinians’ land to create the perfect apartheid ethnostate.

“All for me and none for thee,” sums up the zio-bullies' motives. I guess that’s why they appeal so much to the rulers of wannabe apartheid states like the US. Imagine how turned-on Blinken, Biden, Sen. Lindsay Graham and others must be thinking about getting rid of all us Americans who are the wrong race, wrong religion, wrong gender identity, wrong politics… They probably figure if their “ally” the Israelis can commit a genocide, why can’t they?

I doubt zio-bullies really know what to do with themselves if they aren’t constantly playing their zionarcissistic victim card. Theirs is not a mentally healthy society. Don't stand too close to them because their sickness is contagious. 

And ultimately terminal. It's time to shut them down. Permanently. By any and all means necessary. Today.

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Israel Massacres Children, Which The Western Press Says Is Fine https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/israel-massacres-children-which-the/

Norway, Ireland, Spain to recognise Palestinian state https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/22/norway-will-recognise-palestinian-state-pm-says

Biden’s Rafah ‘red line’ is a green light for 'death and destruction' https://www.aaronmate.net/p/bidens-rafah-red-line-is-a-green

 
No aid unloaded at US pier has reached Gaza: Pentagon https://thecradle.co/articles/no-aid-unloaded-at-us-pier-has-reached-gaza-pentagon

Israeli Military Accused of Genocide International Criminal Court https://lrna.org/israeli-military-accused-of-genocide/
 
South Africa vs. Israel: ICJ Orders Immediate Halt to Military Offensive in Rafah https://www.citizenschronicle.org/p/south-africa-vs-israel-icj-orders

'We're Fed Up With It': Survivors of the USS Liberty Look for Answers 55 Years Later https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/06/08/were-fed-it-survivors-of-uss-liberty-look-answers-55-years-later.html

Chris Hedges: The Slow-Motion Execution of Julian Assange Continues https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/21/chris-hedges-the-slow-motion-execution-of-julian-assange-continues/

Biden’s Response to Israel’s ICC Prosecution Is an Attack on International Law https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-response-to-israels-icc-prosecution-is-an-attack-on-international-law/

The ICC reaffirms it’s Jan 26 order & has ordered the following measures:Israel must immediately halt its offensive military action in Rafah, maintain open the Rafah crossing to allow aid in  unhindered & allow access to the Gaza Strip for any commission inquiry.  https://twitter.com/BeccaB44000status/1794011991834587203

PROOF Israel Is Not A Democracy! https://youtu.be/5TCK0FwfLmI

‘We’re next!’ US senator warns about ICC https://www.rt.com/news/598060-graham-senate-icc-israel/

Jury finds Palestine Action activists NOT GUILTY over Elbit occupation  https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2024/05/24/palestine-action-not-guilty-elbit/

Germany deports 7 Ukrainian soldiers for wearing Nazi symbols https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hydtdcxmr

Dr. Jill Stein interviewed on George Galloway's MOAT podcast
https://www.youtube.com/live/eeyZZKr1V6A?si=b3hik-auHUZ-u6F5

Biden fears ‘huge Jewish influence’ – White House aide https://www.rt.com/news/598009-biden-condemn-israel-veritas/

Jewish Scholar's Book Reveals Zionism's Fascist Roots & Close Collaborative Role With Nazi Regime https://mark192.substack.com/p/jewish-scholars-book-reveals-fascist

UN expert @FranceskAlbs- western media have manipulated language to build an unprecedented, sanitised cocoon around the #Israeli regime, to obstruct accountability.   https://twitter.com/timand2037/status/1792287671374540891

Harvard Students Stage EPIC Commencement Walkout https://youtu.be/oK7SqvNKSPs?si=e8o-r3a9WIE3qWIz

Inside USC Annenberg’s Commencement, Outside the “Free Speech Area” https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/22/inside-usc-annenbergs-commencement-outside-the-free-speech-area/

UCLA attackers exposed: meet the violent Zionist agitators LA police haven’t arrested https://thegrayzone.com/2024/05/13/ucla-attackers-exposed/

If You Can't Even Elect A Candidate Who'll End A Genocide, How Real Is Your "Democracy"? https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/if-you-cant-even-elect-a-candidate

Meanwhile, We're Still WAY Too Close To Nuclear Armageddon https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/meanwhile-were-still-way-too-close

Untenable investments: Nuclear weapon producers and their financiers https://www.icanw.org/untenable_investments_nuclear_weapon_producers_and_their_financiers

Republican bill aims to give Americans in Israeli military same benefits as US soldiers https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/republican-bill-wants-americans-israeli-military-have-same-benefits-us-soldiers

Like So Much Else, The Fuss Over 'International Law' Is Really About Narrative Control https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/like-so-much-else-the-fuss-over-international

The actions of the ICC and ICJ are useful only insofar as they help disabuse people of the delusional belief that western powers care one iota about international law, and in that they make it clear to the whole world that Israel and its powerful western allies are openly violating the rules they pretend to stand by.

‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 230: Israel Lashes Out at West Bank in Wake of ICC Request https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/25/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-230-israel-lashes-out-at-west-bank-in-wake-of-icc-request/

It's Actually Amazing How Stupid The Propaganda Is Getting https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/its-actually-amazing-how-stupid-the

China & Russia strengthen friendship, blasting Western 'neocolonialism' & US militarism https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/china-russia-west-neocolonialism-us-militarism 

Fantastic Song: Jordan Smart -- Who Would Jesus Bomb? https://youtu.be/gMPAHL4K-FA?si=yZO2zWCA554TISFs 

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Introducing “The Aarons”

Hollywood has its “Oscars” so why can’t the activist community have its “Aarons”?

Introducing “The Aarons”

 words & photos of the U.T. Students for Justice in Palestine  

Aaron Bushnell memorial event 

by C.A. Matthews

The last five months protesting the genocide in Gaza have brought together some very diverse people both online and offline. When a person commented on one of my Substack posts that they found it interesting how they were agreeing with me, a “Communist”, I was momentarily taken aback. Most Communists wouldn’t label me as such, in spite of my cool Substack and Twitter/X avatar picture with the In Event of Capitalist Crisis Break Glass fire alarm box with a hammer and sickle inside.

It really doesn’t make much difference to me how anyone labels what they perceive are my political leanings or philosophical outlook. I’d call myself a Christian Liberationist/Eco-Socialist, but if you want to call me a Green, or a Communist, or a Socialist, or an Anarchist, or a democratic socialist (small d) it doesn’t faze me one bit. I replied to the comment that I hoped I could be labeled “a human with a conscience” during these dark times when a genocide is being livestreamed on social media while simultaneously being denied by the corrupt and manipulative powers-that-be and their sycophants.

This brief interchange got me to thinking. What does it mean to be “a human with a conscience”? What would a human who possessed a conscience look or act like? And then it hit me. “A human with a conscience” is the perfect description of Aaron Bushnell. Aaron who sacrificially gave up his life in order to draw attention to the people of Gaza because it pained his conscience to see their suffering ignored. 

The signed photo was hung on the Free Speech board in the Univ. of Toledo Student Union

A human with a conscience such as Aaron should be praised, but often they’re dismissed, ridiculed, or scoffed at in our mainstream media. People are seldom truly acknowledged for their compassionate actions taken on behalf of others in our self-centered capitalist society. We praise billionaires and entrepreneurs for increasing their corporations’ profit margins instead of honoring all those kind souls who humbly help their neighbors.

Thus, the idea of “The Aarons” was born.

Superficial and self-centered Hollywood has its “Academy Awards” or “Oscars,” so why can’t the selfless and hard-working activist community have its “Aarons”? Officially the awards would be known as “A Human With A Conscience Awards.” I’d freely give them to as many people as possible so that nobody is forgotten or not thanked for their sacrificial giving to the world at large.

The awards presentation ceremony wouldn’t have to be a once a year event in a huge, glitzy theater with sparkly chandeliers and a red carpet because, let’s face it, activists aren’t usually into that sort of fancy dress-up and show off your bling thing. We could just throw a casual, come-as-you-are pot-luck supper while doing some food distribution to hungry folks in the park or near the community center where we passed out the awards. I think Aaron Bushnell would have approved.

My suggestion is we throw the first Human With A Conscience Awards here in inner-city Toledo at the Frederick Douglass Community Center (a.k.a. “The Doug”). But until I can get a non-profit organization set up so we can crowdfund some money in order to host and make the awards themselves, that big ceremony will have to wait. I’d also like to be able to provide a grant to each person or organization who wins/are nominated to help them continue their good work in the community. Because what’s the good of a statuette on your shelf if you’re in desperate need of funding to continue serving others? (If you have experience with creating a non-profit and would like to help me create one, please leave a comment below or direct message me. Thank you.) 

It’s time we recognize and celebrate all those who work selflessly to aid other human beings without regard to status, class, gender identity, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or any other characteristic used by the bourgeoisie to divide us. Humans with a conscience are people who care about the people that our sick and twisted society ignores or sneers at because they aren’t “successful” in the dog-eat-dog world of capitalism, or what I call “the endless rat race” of accumulating monetary wealth or material gain.

Are there any other qualifications a person must meet in order to receive an Aaron? I believe my article on The New Litmus Test describes the essential character an Aaron recipient should have. First and foremost, they cannot be pro-genocide or pro-Zionist. They can’t be enthusiastic about white settler colonialism in any way, shape or form. Forcing indigenous peoples from their homeland isn’t a thing a compassionate human does or condones. Practicing racism and apartheid isn’t something to be proud of, in other words. Expressing classist or elitist opinions are telltale signs of a lack of conscience as well.

What about those who make excuses for those who commit or aid and abet genocide? Or those who simply turn a blind eye and pretend that a genocide in Gaza isn’t happening? These kinds of actions reveal to me they’re not worthy Aaron recipients. While pulling the trigger and killing another makes you a murderer, those who help the killer load the weapon or place it in the killer’s hand or commit perjury to cover for the killer's movements can also be charged with murder. 

For example, Hitler himself never hit the switches or turned any valves on the gas chambers at the death camps, now did he? Yet we consider Hitler responsible for the crime of genocide committed by his soldiers working under his orders. Kissing up to genocidal powers-that-be and then claiming later that you were “only following orders” or trying to fit in with the crowd to maintain your status or further your career doesn’t indicate that you ever put the needs of others before your own or even possessed a conscience in the first place. Actions like these will bring about their own rewards in time.

Genocide apologists who post vile comments online against the victims of Israeli violence are on par with the actual culprits, in my opinion. Anyone who spends so much time and energy trying to convince others they’re “good people” while making excuses for those who are ethnically cleansing innocent civilians and starving children probably wouldn’t want to hang with us do-gooders anyway. They're free to attend the Oscars instead.

Please drop me your suggestions of award categories and the names of humans and groups worthy of an Aaron in the comments below. My talented husband has helped me put together a meme that they can display on their social media accounts showing that they’ve been nominated for an Aaron in the meantime. Folks who see the meme will know to thank them for their service to their fellow human beings. And hopefully, this award will encourage others to demonstrate that they, too, have a conscience and want to help their neighbors at home and around the globe.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone on the planet could be nominated for a Human With a Conscience award? Wouldn’t you like to live in such a world? I know I would.

Here are some my ideas for Aaron recipients so far:

Best Medical Group with a Conscience: Doctors Without Borders

Best Food Distro Group with a Conscience: Food Not Bombs, Third Thursday

Best Community Center/Library Builder with a Conscience (Detroit): Unholy Rome with Tour for the Poor 

Best Activist Organizers with a Conscience: AMP – American Muslims for Palestine, Jewish Voice For Peace, Not In Our Name, Veterans for Peace, CodePink

Best Indie Podcasting Channel Highlighting the Struggle of the Workers with a Conscience: Revolutionary Blackout Network

Best Video Compiler Blogger with a Conscience: Truthful News Weekend on Beanstock's World https://beanstocksworld.wordpress.com

Best Network of Independent Podcasters with a Conscience: Indie News Network/Indie Media Today https://www.indiemediatoday.com/

Best Comedian-Journalist with a Conscience: Lee Camp, Ron Placone, Graham Elwood

Best Essayist/Political Commentator with a Conscience: Caitlin Johnstone (and Tim Foley), Chris Hedges, Julian McFarlane

Best Political Cartoonist with a Conscience: Mr. Fish (ScheerReport), Mark Taylor (DeMockracy Ink)

Best Independent Journalist with a Conscience: Max Blumenthal, Aaron Mate, Glenn Greenwald, Richard Medhurst

Best Documentary Maker with a Conscience: Abby Martin

Best Podcast Interviewer with a Conscience: Sabby Sabs, Briahna Joy Gray, Katie Halper, Joy Marie Mann

Best Alternative Radio Show with a Conscience: DJ Amjad’s Deep Mix: Music and More

Best Film-maker with a Conscience: Jonathan Glazer

Best Film Festival with a Conscience: The Media Decompression's 2024 Palestine Film Festival https://mdctoledo.org/

Best Political Figure with a Conscience: Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party (Sign the pledge against genocide at her website https://jillstein2024.com); Claudia de la Cruz, Party of Socialism and Liberation; Dr. Cornel West

Best Religious Figure with a Conscience: the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac of Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in the West Bank who gave the famous “Christ in the Rubble” sermon on Christmas Eve

Humans with a Conscience who sacrificed their lives in service to others: Rachel Corrie, Aaron Bushnell

I know I’ve left out a lot of worthy recipients. Share your thoughts below in the comments and share this link with your contacts who might have more suggestions. The main requirement to be nominated is to be “a human with a conscience” so, no A.I. ‘bots please! Also, no sociopaths, psychopaths, neoliberals, or other warmongers

We should all strive to be a human with a conscience and follow Aaron Bushnell’s instruction: Free Palestine!

Related Articles and Other Interesting Links 

 

True Civilization https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com/p/true-civilization

 

The New Litmus Test https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com/p/the-new-litmus-test 

 

Remembering Rachel Corrie: American in Gaza Crushed by Israeli Bulldozer https://youtu.be/qHCafAwhFZo?si=I9OOtIdcnqOh3sCN 

They're Really Going To Try To Lay All The Blame For Gaza On Netanyahu https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/theyre-really-going-to-try-to-lay

Genocidal Psychopaths Celebrate International Day To Combat Islamophobia https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/genocidal-psychopaths-celebrate-international

Killing Palestinians by Blocking Aid. Killing Palestinians by Airdropping Aid https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/gaza-food-drops-human-rights

US building Gaza port to facilitate mass 'voluntary' migration: Anadolu Agency https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23838

Report Exposes The Oil Giants ‘Fueling Israel’s War Machine’ https://popularresistance.org/report-exposes-the-oil-giants-fueling-israels-war-machine/

Mapping the Business of War https://thebusinessofwar.substack.com/p/mapping-the-business-of-war

Investigation exposes Israel's lies and shows they killed their own on Oct 7th https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/investigation-exposes-israels-lies

The US wants to ban TikTok to protect Israel's genocide https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/the-us-wants-to-ban-tiktok-to-protect

If Israel Wants To Be An "Independent Nation", Let It Be An Independent Nation https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/if-israel-wants-to-be-an-independent

Crocodile Tears For Gaza While Backing Its Destruction https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/crocodile-tears-for-gaza-while-backing

ACLU Slams House for Latest Plan to Ban TikTok and Stifle Free Speech  https://scheerpost.com/2024/03/13/aclu-slams-house-for-latest-plan-to-ban-tiktok-and-stifle-free-speech/
 
The Genocide in Gaza Is Filling Our Beautiful Month of Ramadan With Dread https://truthout.org/articles/the-genocide-in-gaza-is-filling-our-beautiful-month-of-ramadan-with-dread/

Ending Impunity for the Crimes Against Palestinian and Israeli Civilians, A to Z https://www.passblue.com/2024/03/07/ending-impunity-for-the-crimes-against-palestinian-and-israeli-civilians-from-a-to-z/

Canada and Sweden defy global trend: Rush to aid Palestinians as Israel faces torture allegations https://www.nationofchange.org/2024/03/13/canada-and-sweden-defy-global-trend-rush-to-aid-palestinians-as-israel-faces-torture-allegations/

US marathon runners wave Palestinian flag at Olympic trials https://therealnews.com/us-marathon-runner-waves-palestinian-flag-at-olympic-trials

Unequal before the law https://therealnews.com/unequal-before-the-law

Biden’s Use of the Slur “Illegal” Underscores His Rightward Lurch on Immigration https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-use-of-the-slur-illegal-underscores-his-rightward-lurch-on-immigration/

Chris Hedges: Joe Biden’s Parting Gift to America Will be Christian Fascism  https://scheerpost.com/2024/03/17/chris-hedges-joe-bidens-parting-gift-to-america-will-be-christian-fascism/

Black Alliance For Peace: Haiti Behind The Headlines https://popularresistance.org/black-alliance-for-peace-backgrounder-haiti-behind-the-headlines/

Judge Allows East Palestine Residents’ Lawsuit Against Norfolk Southern https://popularresistance.org/judge-allows-east-palestine-residents-lawsuit-against-norfolk-southern/

The last days of Julian Assange in the United States https://www.declassifieduk.org/the-last-days-of-julian-assange-in-the-united-states/

Failed ICJ Case Against Russia Backfires, Paves Way for Genocide Charges Against Ukraine https://www.mintpressnews.com/failed-icj-case-against-russia-backfires-paves-way-for-genocide-charges-against-ukraine/287028/

You Can't Trust Any Part Of This Dystopia If You Want Health And Sanity https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/you-cant-trust-any-part-of-this-dystopia

Their Time Will Come (Say Free Palestine on Saint Patrick's Day) https://matthewhoh.substack.com/p/their-time-will-come

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.