The Revolution Continues blog is news, views, opinion and other expressions of hope from a leftist point-of-view. (We are not affiliated with any candidate, political party or organization. All are welcome.)
Showing posts with label mainstream media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mainstream media. Show all posts
“The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.”
—Ursula K. LeGuin
The Exercise of Imagination
by C.A. Matthews
My husband has a new hobby. Every evening he turns on the local newscast to view the weather forecast so we know how much watering our garden will need the next day. Lately he waits until the national newscast comes on. This is when his cathartic yelling at the screen begins.
“What the…? It’s not a war, asshole. The children of Gaza are being murdered. It’s a goddamn genocide. Say the word, you stupid bastard!”
Mercifully, the six o’clock newscast runs only about sixteen minutes or else he’d be permanently hoarse. I timed the commercials one night, and discovered the half hour is made up of mostly commercials for Big Pharma. That gives you some idea who their target audience is—older Americans with deep pockets who love popping pills.
National newscasts really don’t provide news as much as they give out headlines. Their headlines tend to be predictable propaganda soundbites courtesy of the Ministry of Truth or the government propaganda machine. The news readers with their Hollywood-movie-star looks aren’t trying to impart factual information as much as they’re trying to persuade and provoke emotions, such as hatred and animosity toward those whom the oligarchy wants us to hate. They want us to despise and fear others so much that we’d be willing to go to war with them and die—or at least we’re okay with our children or grandchildren dying for the cause.
After watching several national newscasts, the emotional manipulation became bleedin’ obvious (as my British husband says). Do the regular consumers of mainstream (legacy) media realize they’re being manipulated to believe and feel a certain way in the first place? (See last week’s post about who does the manipulating and why.) What do they really get out of it? Do they actually enjoy being lied to? Do the lies reinforce their deep-seated prejudices and feed their wildest fears, making them fat and content in their hatred? Is warmongering propaganda a source of entertainment for them?
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We need to tell the truth about the ugliness to history. We don't honor our forefathers if we don't learn from their mistakes. —Radical Jesus on X.
The Ugliness To History
by C. A. Matthews
I had an dream about what to call what I wanted to write about this week. My original title idea was along the lines of “The Truth of the Matter” But then I came across Radical Jesus’ awesome post and thought it summed up what I wanted to say nicely (so I borrowed it with permission).
All of human history is ugly. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. You will know what you’re reading is the truth if the author doesn’t varnish over the nasty, disgusting, horrific bits that happened in the past. You’ll know what you’re reading is the truth if the past isn’t painted in uniform, glowing colors and all the actors therein portrayed as decent folks “just doing their best during tough times.”
Because if everyone is just doing their “best” why do things still suck nowadays? How did so much evil come into the world if our ancestors were “doing their best” for all of humankind? Doesn’t voting for the “lesser evil” bring about good eventually? (If you read this piece, you’d know that’s impossible.) Let’s be absolutely honest with ourselves: Human beings all lie, and they have done (and still do) some rather selfishly shitty things to each other and our planet.
There. I said it. I confessed humanity’s deepest sin. We are all liars. We are all manipulators of our own history in order to make ourselves look like decent, non-shitty actors on this stage called life. Countries and corporations are no different. In fact, they’re worse—way worse...
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 easily leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the
weekly blog post in your email box as well. (We'll think you'll like it
much better than Blogspot.) Power to the people!
“The
first casualty when war comes is truth.” —Senator Hiram W. Johnson
From
Caitlin Johnstone’s Newsletter:
AP's
anonymously sourced report
which said "A
senior U.S. intelligence official says Russian missiles crossed into
NATO member Poland, killing two people" went
viral because of the massive implications of direct hot warfare
erupting between Russia and the NATO alliance. AP subsequently
retracted
its story as the mainstream political/media class came to accept that
it was in fact a Ukrainian missile that had struck Poland.
AP's firing of reporter James LaPorta looks at this time to be the
end point of any accountability for the circulation of this extremely
dangerous falsehood. AP spokesperson Lauren Easton says
no disciplinary action will be taken against the editors who waved
the bogus story through, and to this day the public has been kept in
the dark about the identity of the US official who fed such extremely
egregious misinformation/disinformation to the public through the
mainstream press. —AP Editor Says She “Can’t Imagine” a US Intelligence Official Being Wrong
I find it odd that any
grown, normally-functioning
person couldn’t possibly imagine being lied to by a US
intelligence official, but that is what this recent news
story suggests.
The mainstream media (the AP or Associated Press, no less) is
acting stupid to please the American intelligence community. Simply
put, the US government wants to keep us in the dark about which one of their
propagandists fed false information about these missiles to a now unemployed
reporter, James LaPorta. I
think in this case the intelligence official(s) knew the lie would be
exposed sooner or later, but they felt confident that the damage they
wished to inflict upon the reputation of Russia would be enough to justify their actions.
According
to journalist Ben Norton at Multipolarista:
By publishing the fake news, the
AP set off an international scandal that could have triggered a
direct US military attack on Russia.
To try to save face, the AP fired LaPorta on November 21... This
controversy shows how cozy mainstream corporate media outlets are
with US intelligence agencies, and how anonymous spies feed them
claims that are often false, but that serve Washington’s
foreign-policy interests. —Media Regurgitates Fake News From US Spies Risking World War III with Russia
Is
it? When has “lying in war” ever come
close to the equivalent of
“fairness”? To propagandists, lying is just another tool in their
repertoire they use to control
the public’s initial reaction and later to build devotion to a
cause. In this case, the cause is the continued support of the NATO-led proxy war
in Ukraine and the continuing monetary and military aid the US is
sending without hesitation to that part of the world.
If any evidence
would surface to demonstrate that the billions of dollars of
weaponry the US is giving away isn’t being used for the purpose it
was sent for, then it would be more than embarrassing—it could prove
fatal to the cause. (For more about the 70% of US-provided weapons gone missing in Ukraine, check out Lab Rats of the World Unite! and the archived CBS 60 Minutes documentary.)
If the actual facts were made crystal clear, people might see through the trickery practiced by the US "Ministry of Truth" and demand an end
to this conflict
altogether. But never fear, the military industrial complex and fossil fuel corporations would never stand for
that. Neither would their politician-puppets who enjoy all the money that come from these special interest groups.
The propaganda-spewing US mainstream media stays in step as they cry in horror about the dangers of free speech. Award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald states:
Online censorship has become one of the most potent propaganda weapons they possess, and there is no way they will allow anyone to dilute it even mildly without attempting to destroy them. (...)
In unison, these media outlets decreed that not only would greater
free speech on Twitter usher in the usual parade of horribles they trot
out when demanding censorship — disinformation, hate speech, attacks on
the “marginalized,” etc. etc. — but this time they severely escalated
their rhetorical hysteria by claiming that Musk would literally cause mass murder by permitting a broader range of political opinion to be aired. —The Media's Deranged Hysteria Over Elon Musk's Restoration of Free Speech
Journalist
Matt Taibbi shares another instance of how the US intelligence
community is working to muddy the waters of public opinion:
Whether or not you thought the
actual content of the story was important, the suppression of the
Hunter Biden laptop affair was a crossroads moment in the history of
modern censorship. YouTube played a major role in this event.
This was a case in which major news media — including CBS, NBC,
PBS, CNN, and countless other outlets — actively embraced
disinformation, in the form of a group
letter from 50-plus former intelligence officials saying the
laptop story (they referred to a “laptop op”) had the “classic
earmarks of a Russian information operation.” All the
aforementioned news agencies fell for this, as did Twitter (which
blocked access to it, in what then-CEO Jack Dorsey later admitted was
a “total
mistake”) and Facebook (whose increasingly adrift founder Mark
Zuckerberg later told
Joe Rogan the story was throttled down at the suggestion of the
FBI).
YouTube also pushed this disinformation campaign. It still does.
Despite the total absence of evidence ever existing that the laptop
was either fake or part of a Russian “information operation” and
a growing pile of evidence that the laptop is real, YouTube continues
to leave unmolested on its site countless videos promoting the
conspiracy theory — that’s what it is, let’s be clear — that
the laptop story is both bunk and an intelligence op. —YouTubeCensors Reality, Boosts Disinformation: Part 1
Once again, a US intelligence agency—in this case it appears to
be the FBI—has jumped into the news cycle and tried to deflect
attention away from what is actually happening. Not only did they try to
cast doubts on the authenticity of the contents of the Hunter Biden
laptop, they tried to place the blame for the laptop’s potentially
embarrassing and possibly criminal contents on another source.
Hunter
Biden’s laptop contents were a “Russian op” like the Ukrainian
missiles shot into Poland were “Russian missiles.” No thoughts are given to the facts of how the
Ukrainians are still using Soviet-era rocket launchers and multiple experts in ballistics can prove the missiles were launched by Ukraine. No thoughts as to how much of the content of the laptop in question has already been verified. (Read more about how Hunter Biden joined the board of directors of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2014 here.) Whatever the US intelligence community wants the public to think, that's the story mainstream media is going with.
There seems to be sort of a pattern to these disinformation attempts... Who are we supposed to trust? Who are we supposed to distrust? What actual
evidence have we been given not to trust these people other than what the
US intelligence services have told us?
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” —John 8:32
Before
we get too down on journalists in general, here's more
sobering news that reporting
the truth can prove dangerous to one’s health and career:
Sweden’s parliament adopted a
major espionage law expansion that will permit the country’s police
to investigate journalists, publishers, and whistleblowers if they
reveal secret information that “may damage Sweden’s relationship
with another state or an international organization.”
Journalists, publishers, or whistleblowers found guilty of
revealing such “damaging” information could be sentenced
to up to four years in prison under the new law.
What comes to mind after reading
this bit of
news is that Sweden has
cooperated with the United
States and the United Kingdom to
keep Wikileaks publisher
Julian Assange imprisoned, first in the Ecuadorian embassy in London
and currently in Belmarsh Prison. Western governments—particularly
NATO members—seem to be big on perpetuating their propaganda and
covering up the truth from the public. They're more than willing to cooperate with each other if the lie proves to be of benefit to them, too.
Here’s
another example of the hypocrisy of this situation:
US State Department spokesman and
CIA veteran Ned Price tweeted
disapprovingly about the Kyrgyz Republic's decision to deport
investigative journalist Bolot Temirov to Russia, where press freedom
groups are
concerned that the Russian citizen could face conscription to
fight in Ukraine. (...)
This is after all the same government that is working to extradite
an Australian journalist from the United Kingdom with the goal of
imprisoning him for up to 175
years for exposing US war crimes. Price says "Journalists
should never be punished for doing their job," but that is
precisely what the government he represents is doing to Julian
Assange, who has already spent three and a half years in Belmarsh
Prison awaiting US extradition shenanigans. This is in top of the
seven years he spent fighting extradition from the Ecuadorian embassy
in London under what a
UN panel ruled was arbitrary detention. —US Officials Concern Troll About World Press Freedoms While Assaulting Them
Whistleblowers are forever
being painted as
the enemy, but never those
who openly lie and obfuscate the truth via
the implementation of propaganda.
Our so-called freedom
relies on government officials
lying to us and locking up truth-tellers, or so it seems.
“A
fool and his money are soon parted.” —Proverbs 21:20
Once
again, US propagandists and mainstream media pundits are good at
confusing the public about what’s really going on in the world and
how much tax payer money we’re throwing at it.
We’re informed
that economically distressed Americans
shouldn’t be too
concerned about how the US is sending billions of dollars in military aid to country with a
dubious history to fight our proxy war against Russia. There's never enough money for social programs such as universal health care and student loan debt relief, but
there's always enough to buy and ship instruments of death:
The
White House on Tuesday asked
Congress to approve $37.7 billion in new aid for Ukraine, which
would bring total US spending on the war to about $105 billion.
According toThe Hill, the request includes $21.7 billion
in military aid for Ukraine and to replenish US military stockpiles
that have been sent to the country.
Over one-hundred billion dollars sent to Ukraine and who knows how
much more will be forthcoming. And US intelligence officials will continue
to lie to us about what’s really going on there.
When will Americans realize that wars are not being run by generals? They’re being run
by propagandists. Yeah, fools
and their money are soon parted. Disinformation from our own
government is turning us all into penniless fools. What are we going to do about it?
Whole lotta “AsSaNgE iS nOt A JoUrNaLisT” geniuses out today so allow me to remind you that not only is Assange a journalist, he’s the only journalist on earth with a 100% record of accuracy. Thank you, next. #FreeAssangeNOWpic.twitter.com/5B5L7BMkpb
— Comrade Misty is Putin’s Buddy 🍀 (@SarcasmStardust) November 28, 2022
US changed Iranian flag to that of protesters during #WorldCup coverage. Iran should change the US flag to a BLM flag pic.twitter.com/eEEb27knLm
Few people sincerely want the truth about the world. Most just want
politicians and pundits to whisper reassuringly in their ear, "Don't
worry. We've got this. Your schoolteachers told you the truth about
everything, and so did the news man. You are on the side of
righteousness." --Caitlin Johnstone, US Interventionism Always Makes Things Worse
Friendly reminder that it's impossible to get a clear understanding of
what's going on in the world without accounting for the fact that very
powerful people within your own society are actively working very hard
to manipulate your understanding in their favor. -- Caitlin Johnstone, US Interventionism Always Makes Things Worse
It's time for a lesson in...
Critical Thinking Skills For The Masses
by Redd Phlagg
Critical thinking is making reasoned judgements that are logical and well thought-out. --Study.com
Function of the CIA:
1. Run secret wars 2. Disseminate propaganda to influence people’s minds
That’s not hyperbole. That’s from the Former Operations Director of the CIA.
Think about this next time you buy the narratives that are crafted to control you. pic.twitter.com/HysmXBejUV
You meet a person, and they become the love of your life. You trust this person and believe every word that comes from their mouth and trust every action they take or ask you to take on their behalf. One day, you come across irrefutable evidence that your beloved has been lying to you, not just once but many, many times. As time goes on, you discover that this person has been lying to you all throughout the time you've known them and are confident that you will never confront them about their lying. They are free to abuse your trust and even possibly abuse you physically, psychologically, and spiritually because they know you will never leave or speak ill of them.
Do you stay in this relationship? What is your payoff for putting up with the lies and abuse?
If you're able to think critically, you should be able to weigh the evidence and come up with a theory about how this person will act in the future based on their past actions. If they have lied repeatedly to you, you will act skeptically about any information they have given you or will give you. You will eagerly double-check whatever claims they make against other authoritative sources. If you believe these sources and discuss your options with others you trust, you should come to the conclusion that it's not worth your effort to remain with this person. You will make the logical decision to leave them.
But human beings aren't logical and rarely use their critical thinking skills when it comes to the people and groups they have emotionally bonded with. We make excuses for other's lies and tell ourselves that we deserve to be lied to. We convince ourselves that the lies we've been told are actually "truths" even if our higher cognitive processes tell us there's no possible way they can be true.
"I'd never accept a lie as the truth!" I hear you say. Are you so sure? "No way would I continue believing anything out of the mouth of anyone who repeatedly lied to me," you insist.
Okay, then answer me this: Do you believe everything the US government has told you about the whys and wherefores about what's happening in Ukraine? Do you believe everything that mainstream media outlets such as NBC News tell you about what's going on there?
If you answered yes to either or both or those questions, the following is going to blow your mind:
NBC News has a new report out citing multiple anonymous US officials, humorously titled "In a break with the past, U.S. is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid".
The officials say the Biden administration has been rapidly pushing out "intelligence" about Russia's plans in Ukraine that is "low-confidence" or "based more on analysis than hard evidence", or even just plain false, in order to fight an information war against Putin. (…)
Just as the smear campaign against Julian Assange trained mainstream liberals to defend the right of their government to keep dark secrets from them, we may now be looking at the stage of narrative control advancement where mainstream liberals are trained to defend the right of their government to lie to them. -- Caitlin Johnstone, US Officials Admit They're Literally Just Lying To The Public About Russia
It's time to use those critical thinking skills... NBC News (a mainstream media outlet) is quoting US government officials who state they're telling outright lies. Do you continue believing these officials who candidly admit to lying?
It wouldn't be the first time US government officials have lied to us about a military action. Do you remember the reason George W. Bush sent our troops into Iraq-- something about "weapons of mass destruction" being found there? Does that ring a bell? It's been verified there were never any WMDs in Iraq. This "false flag" or fictional excuse was concocted to give the US an excuse to invade that country.
And no, none of the 9/11 terrorists came from Iraq. Most of them came from Saudi Arabia. So, why didn't we invade Saudi Arabia? Good question. Invading a country we don't like just made more sense at the time than invading one we did/still do like.
Hey, stop using those critical thinking skills now! It's embarrassing to the US government to point out that they're liars.
When our government wants the American people to believe something or go along with a military action (no matter how abhorrent it may be), they will expect us to keep our minds turned off and our mouths shut.
This year we're supposed to hate all things Russian with a passion and to think there's no such thing as a Ukrainian Neo-Nazi paramilitary unit such as the Azov Battalion. But here's the Pentagon and another mainstream media outlet--Reuters--reporting about a recent event in Ukraine that you probably have heard about and might have upset you. Warning: I might upset you again by telling you that it's possible that this horrible event might not have even happened or it wasn't quite what you were led to believe:
WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. military is not in a position to independently confirm Ukrainian accounts of atrocities by Russian forces against civilians in the town of Bucha: “The Pentagon can’t independently and single handedly confirm that, but we’re also not in any position to refute those claims.”
If the Pentagon, which includes the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, cannot confirm any of the atrocities that Ukrainian government claimed, then what really happened? Did anything happen? Who can be believed?
Critical thinking skills can help us in this instance. Other sources of information should be consulted and the evidence weighed before jumping to conclusions. According to this source:
The Ukrainian President caused controversy in Greece by including a video message from members of the neo-Nazi Azov battalion in his speech to the Greek parliament. This caused a walk-out by a number of Greek MPs who protested the move on Thursday. (…)
The Azov Battalion is based in Mariupol, and had led a terror campaign against civilians there, including the city's 120,000 Greeks. Greek City Times also reported that the Ukrainian nationalist forces have "killed people for trying to leave the city."
Greece's SKAI news asked Mr. Kiouranas, a Greek who lives in Mariupol, if he was planning on leaving the city, to which he responded:
Since foreigners living in Ukraine have confirmed the violence of the Azov Battalion, and other sources have stated that multiple atrocities have been committed against ethnic Russians by these fascist groups since the 2014 coup when the eastern republics that make up the Donbas region voted to leave Ukraine, then it's possible the Russian Army isn't committing atrocities at all. It seems highly probable that Ukrainian fascists such as the Azov Battalion are killing ethnic Russians and are trying to shift the blame and focus away from them and the Ukrainian government instead.
Now, more than ever we need to use our critical thinking skills to prevent a proxy war over a liquid natural gas pipeline (and possibly American/Ukrainian biolabs working on military grade pathogens) from turning into World War III. And if you don't believe this conflict could turn into a nuclear apocalypse, just read what one former top NATO commander says about how the use of nuclear weapons is a "proper response" in this article, Former NATO Military Analyst Blows The Whistle on West's Ukraine Invasion Narrativehttps://www.rsn.org/001/former-nato-commander-says-western-fears-of-nuclear-war-are-preventing-a-proper-response-to-putin.html
Remain skeptical. Read widely. Don't give your love or trust away automatically to any person, group, political party, or government just because they tell you, "You can believe us! We'll never lie to you!"
Because even our co-opted mainstream media has told us that's completely bogus.
Russia supposedly killed civilians in Bucha that they: -Lived in peace with for a month -Did not ever previously engage in combat with -Were distributing food & aid to -Knew we’re supporters of Russia (white armbands) -Were peacefully leaving during a withdrawal of the city 🤔
Independent journalist Richard Medhurst: "What EXACTLY Happened in Bucha" featuring UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter (video) https://youtu.be/klPYYqhqO74
Russia: We did not and are willing to allow a full UN investigation
The West: No investigation or we wont be able to keep saying Russia did it 🙄
— Michael R. Weinstein, Bookseller #EndTheOligarchy (@fToRrEeEsSt) April 6, 2022
If Russia was trying to hide "guilt in mass killing" then why did they TWICE request a Security Council meeting to call for an INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION? And why did Britain block the requests? This will now be a bogus investigation!
— Kinkajou51 #IStandWithDonbas 🇳🇮 (@Kinkajou5123) April 5, 2022
Everyone stopped talking about the fact that Hunter Biden was funding dangerous zoonotic pathogen research in level 3 Ukrainian biolabs as soon as the bogus allegations of Russian war crimes in Bucha & Kramatorsk hit the headlines.
BREAKING NEWS: US State department officials leak that when asked what benefit we gain from freezing and starving the EU with Russia sanctions Victoria Nuland responded "less Europeans."
"The purpose of establishment propaganda is to deceive the ruled into believing that their interests are one and the same as the interests of their rulers." --Caitlin Johnstone
Propaganda is NOT Journalism
by Redd Phlagg
Even a stopped watch is right twice a day. Too bad that can't be said of the American mainstream media.
These are "real" journalists: Aaron Maté, Glenn Greenwald, Chris Hedges, Caitlin Johnstone, Lee Camp, Jordan Chariton...
These are not: Anyone who works for network or cable news or publications owned by Jeff Bezos (Washington Post) or other such oligarchs.
Why do I say this? Because the first group actually reports on events happening in the here-and-now, provides facts, researches to compare historical precedents, and doesn't waste their time covering things up for the powers-that-be. They tell it like it is.
The second group are obedient little puppets of the corporate state. They will say or do anything to please their plutocratic masters. They exist to cover up the multitude of sins the ruling elites commit on a daily basis in hopes that one day they will become exactly like their rich owners, brain dead billionaires without an ounce of human compassion.
Don't believe me? Take the following short quiz to see how the mainstream media scores and how much you've been sucked into their lies.
1. What does Rachel Maddow or Tucker Carlson or the CBS Evening News or the like say about Julian Assange? Is he:
a.) A hero for revealing how the US military drone bombs civilians (including fellow journalists) and then lies by calling these casualties "dangerous terrorists."
b.) A terrorist for revealing how the US
military drone bombs civilians (including fellow journalists) and then
lies by calling these casualties "dangerous terrorists." We just can't have the world knowing the awful truth about our military-industrial complex, can we?
c.) They don't say anything at all about Julian Assange. They pretend he doesn't exist and never report on him.
If you answered "C" then you've realized one very important thing: Propagandists will ignore people, places, events and things when it's convenient for their lords' and masters' agendas. If it's embarrassing, controversial, or potentially could cause a revolution, mainstream media types will shut up and stay quiet.
2. Real journalists routinely ignore ground-breaking journalism work by fellow journalists.
a.) True
b.) False
c.) How much are they getting paid to ignore it?
Ah-ha! Now, you're catching on. If you answered "C" then you know that TV "journos" such as Rachel Maddow make $30+ million per year. They're making better regular wages than Hollywood stars! And when you think about it, it makes sense. They're just a different form of entertainer. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 pretty much says that all television news programs are entertainment and don't have to present other points of view, especially ones their owners don't like.
So much for "fair and balanced" news reporting, huh?
3. Facebook "protects" all journalists on its platform from receiving contradictory comments on their posts because We the People cannot be allowed to argue with these sterling tellers of the truth!
a.) False. Freedom of expression should never be suppressed. Facebook would never do such a vile thing.
b.) True, because journalists never tell a lie and censorship for the benefit of the elites is good. (See first two questions.)
c.) Partially true, because Facebook picks and chooses who it considers to be a "journalist." Facebook gets to choose who is worthy of protection and what stories they post that need to be censored from the Facebook platform.
If you answered "C" then you're pretty sharp. You realize that some folks are more equal than others, and only they should have access to the Facebook platform to spread whatever story their corporate masters wish.
What should we call what these "privileged" journalists are reporting? How about propaganda?
According to Dictionary.com--
Propaganda: information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
Journalism: the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing, or broadcasting news.
Propaganda is not journalism! Let's stop treating it as such. Stop watching and reading the propagandists for the warmongering oligarchy. Support those journalists who aren't afraid to tell us the truth no matter how embarrassing it is for the rich and powerful. And for f*ck's sake, Free Assange!
BIO: Redd is getting tired of the lies and the way the liars feel invincible to being caught and punished. Lock'em up! Free your mind! Check out independent journalism sites at https://radindiemedia.com/
“Wealthy people who fail to manufacture the consent of their subjects have historically wound up with their heads in baskets. That’s why they work so hard to manipulate the way the public thinks, acts and votes, and that’s why our society is as messed up as it is” — @caitozpic.twitter.com/KrEUOeC36N
With
all the Republicans opposing the Build Back Better investments, a small
handful of conservative Democrats are now blocking the historic
agenda―putting essential housing provisions on the chopping block.
"Optimism has given way to anxiety," Friday's New York Times
reported. "Low-income housing, and the voucher program in particular,
are among those most at risk of being sharply scaled back as the White
House seeks to slash the package to accommodate the demands of two
centrist Democrats…"1
Housing is just one of several priorities on the chopping block in the negotiations. But enacting the housing section of the Build Back Better plan would likely have an immediate positive effect on our country’s most vulnerable people. That's
because rental assistance addresses a foundational problem: securing an
affordable place to live when rents everywhere are outpacing earnings.
We can afford these investments in our people and our communities when the rich and corporations pay their fair share.
The House Ways and Means Committee previously voted to include $2.1 trillion in revenue in the Build Back Better Act,
by taxing the rich and corporations. No one making less than $400,000 a
year would pay any more in taxes. And now, Senate Finance Committee
Chairman Ron Wyden has proposed the Billionaires Income Tax to ensure
billionaires pay taxes on all of their income, just like you and I.
Senator
Wyden's legislation would only apply to the roughly 700 American
billionaires, taxing the annual growth of their wealth. Unofficial
estimates predict this tax could raise hundreds of billions of dollars
over 10 years.
America’s
more than 700 billionaires saw their wealth increase by $2.1
trillion―or 70%―during the first 19 months of the pandemic.
Billionaires’ wealth surged from under $3 trillion to $5 trillion over
this period. That dramatic boost in wealth, alone, could pay for a lot
more than half of the president’s 10-year $3.5 trillion Build Back
Better plan.2
There
are plenty of revenue options available to Congress to unrig our tax
code and invest in working families. After all, we don't need more
privately owned spaceships, we need a historic investment in our
communities.
Thank
you for all you do to demand accountability from our political leaders
and to fight for the needs of the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.
Deborah Weinstein Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs
***
It’s less than two weeks until the start of the Glasgow Climate
Talks, the most important international climate negotiations since
Paris. Yet, we have barely seen any new fossil fuel policies from major
US financial institutions. So we’re taking our demands to the streets.
On Friday, October 29th, young people and their adult allies
are taking to the streets in their thousands to demand an end to the
funding of climate chaos.
There are actions happening in cities across the country. Some
actions will target JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest funder of
climate chaos. Others will demand that BlackRock, the world’s largest
investor in the fossil fuel industry, align its business model with the
Paris Agreement. And others still will target the Federal Reserve, the
US central bank which so far has refused to address the climate crisis.
These actions are being led by the Youth Climate Finance Alliance,
and actions across the country will be led by youth climate activists.
We’ve already seen the power of the youth climate movement.
In 2019, nearly one million people took to the streets in the US as
part of the Climate Strikes ― now it’s time for the banks and insurance
companies funding climate chaos to feel the power of the youth climate
movement.
