Some days I hear a another world breathing, too. Other days, I despair I won't live long enough to see this new world, let alone experience it. Our corrupt system of government takes away our ability to control our lives and make our own choices. When will the system collapse, and how will We the People deal with its collapse? Let's address these and other questions as we consider America in 2018 and what's at stake in this life and death struggle for control.
None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. --Goethe
A Matter of Control
by C. A. Matthews
While weeding the garden, I contemplated the recent nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. How is this latest Trump-sympathizer being put forward as our next justice a part of what has been happening since January 2017? How is Kavanaugh a symptom of the underlying disease of corporatism/fascism in our corrupt system? Where does his particular pathology fit in with the current sociopathic nature of American governance?
I pulled hard at a stubborn weed that wouldn't let go of its hold of the soil, and it all suddenly became clear to me. Kavanaugh's nomination is a sign of the establishment's need to be in control of every aspect of our lives--from the pre-cradle to the grave and every stage in between. We the People, that is, we the working and poor classes, are "weeds" that need pulling and controlling. The oligarchy will use every technique from brute force to chemicals to contain and eliminate us at will. Allow me to explain.
Some of the biggest chatter on the web is the likelihood of Kavanaugh helping to overturn the landmark case of Roe. v. Wade. With just one Supreme Court ruling, women could find themselves in back alleys seeking abortion care once again. No doubt, the death rate of women of child-bearing years will
rise. Incidents of suicide and self-harm by women could increase--particularly by those who have been impregnated through rape or incest. Women with serious health concerns could die in forced childbirth. The number of child abuse and neglect cases could also climb because, more than likely, there will be no funding increases for social safety nets that feed and assist these children and mothers. Overnight, helpful programs such as WIC, SNAP, Medicaid and HUD housing allowances could disappear--the current administration proclaims that it will cut them all.The eventual upshot of a Kavanaugh Supreme Court could mean an America flooded with women with children they simply don't want and can't afford. (It might even lead to a booming black market in baby sales and/or child sex trafficking.) Considering the Trump's administration's attitude toward the poor, it doesn't seem probable a right-leaning court would support laws forcing fathers to pay their fair share of child support, either, as ultra-conservative males generally demand the right to do as they please. In a post-Roe v. Wade America, the economic, social and emotional burdens all fall primarily upon struggling-to-survive women.
What a perfect way to control women! What a perfect way to control the ninety-nine-percent by forcing them into a perpetuity of hand-to-mouth living! The motivation behind fascists' determination to overturn Roe v. Wade makes sense to me now. It's not because they actually care about babies or children. If they did, they'd increase spending to SNAP benefits, education, health care and related programs, but they do not. The fanatical right is fine with the vast majority suffering because it simply wants to use the "abortion card" as a way to keep the poor in their place.
After all, a rich woman can travel and pay whatever it takes to terminate a pregnancy. Wealthy women did this before Roe v. Wade became law, and they'll continue to do so afterward. Don't be swayed into thinking"pro-life" is a moral stance. It's not. The one-percent will continue to enjoy safe abortion care elsewhere. No one can tell a person with more-than-adequate financial resources what to do with his or her body, right? Anti-abortion activists are better labeled "pro-birth" or "pro-control," as in controlling others (mainly the poor) through denial of their human right of choice.
I've learned that Judge Kavanaugh is not a friend of the environment, either.
Once our natural resources are gone or ruined, We the People won't even have a nice place in which to relax and admire nature. The rich can always enjoy the majesty of the mountains and the grandeur of the ocean elsewhere on the planet. The struggling will be stuck staring at blown-off hilltops and strip-mined mud puddles left behind by uncaring capitalists.
https://youtu.be/GDTpkEKav5o
What a perfect way to control and break the spirits of the ninety-nine-percent! We'll be too sick from pollutants in our water, our food and the very air we breathe to protest. How can we fight against the rich and powerful if we're weak from malnutrition or illness? How can we take on the elites if we're dealing with depression from simply having nothing of nature's beauty nearby left to admire? How do we grow stronger if we have zero access to health care because capitalists cut our benefits or raise private insurance premiums to astronomical levels? How can we fight back if we are discriminated against because of previous health conditions while the right-wingers simultaneously dismantle the ACA and outlaw Medicare and Medicaid?
The pieces of the puzzle fall into place quickly now. With Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's intentional weakening of our public schools, the oligarchy will have poorly-educated, mindless drones to work dead-end jobs--drones who can't think clearly enough to reason their way out of their dismal situations. Those who try to better themselves with a college education will find themselves enslaved to overwhelming debt and skyrocketing interest rates on their student loans. (Ka-ching! Ka-ching! The banksters are drooling even now.)
Willing to take any work available to pay off their debts, the poor are often too afraid to speak out against workplace safety hazards and injustices, such as sexual harassment and abuse. Outlawing unions and collective bargaining will further weaken the workers' abilities to exert pressure against unfair labor practices.End result? The one-percenters tighten their grip on every aspect of the ninety-nine-percent's lives. The mega-wealthy take complete control. We are their puppets, to use and abuse for their pleasure. They will milk us for all our savings and then some. They will take our homes and lands away from us through unregulated banking practices, foreclosures and eminent domain to exploit as they like. Goodbye unwashed masses cluttering up the planet!
Access to abortion care, access to health care of all kinds, access to a good education, safe food, clean air and water, access to rest and relaxation in our national parks, freedom from unjust laws and banking practices--they're all interrelated. It's a matter of control. The one-percent have it, flaunt it, and will do anything to prevent us little people from having it.
Time to stop the excuses! We must take control of our lives. We the People must fight for our rights as human beings and demand to be treated as such. We must stop Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination and shut down the fascist state before it's too late. Vote, protest, call, text and write your representatives regularly and encourage others to do the same. Wake up your neighbors and get your metaphorical pitchforks and guillotines sharpened, if not the real deal... Because if the rich aren't going to play nice, then why should we?
***
Sister Joan Chittister, O.S.B., sums up the hypocrisy in the "pro-life" movement:
"I do not believe that just because you're opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don't? Because you don't want any tax money to go there. That's not pro-life. That's pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is."
***
This short video is a perfect example of our blog topic two weeks ago, how humor, satire and parody can take down a tyrant. Check out Michelle Wolf's "ICE Is" and see if you don't agree. Comedy cuts through the bull and gets to the heart of the matter. https://youtu.be/dNF6sVurAuI
***
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***
From Credo:
Mitch McConnell wants to fast-track Brett Kavanaugh's nomination before October. That is an outrageous timeline.
If McConnell gets his way, there will be no time to review the more than 1 million pages of documents from Kavanaugh's career, including important records from his time as White House staff secretary under George W. Bush. It is common practice to release these kinds of documents. The Senate reviewed all of Justice Elena Kagan's documents from her time in Bill Clinton's White House before confirming her. But Republicans are so committed to steamrolling this process and handing Trump the Supreme Court that they are opposing the release of Kavanaugh's records.1
CREDO is joining Daily Kos, Demand Justice and other progressive groups in calling on the Senate to release Kavanaugh's records and give ample time for review before his confirmation hearings. Will you sign the petition?
Tell the Senate: Don't fast-track hearings on Brett Kavanaugh. Release and review his records before holding confirmation hearings. Click here to sign the petition.
Republicans don't want to release the records, so they are trying to downplay Kavanaugh's five and a half years as staff secretary in the George W. Bush White House. In that key role, he gave final approval to Bush's controversial "signing statements" that Bush used to circumvent laws passed by Congress, including laws about torture and national security.2 There is even a question of whether Kavanaugh lied under oath about his involvement in deciding Bush's torture policy during his confirmation hearing for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2006.3
Kavanaugh has the longest paper trail of any nominee in history. It's one of the reasons Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to discourage Trump from nominating Kavanaugh.4 It will take significant time to thoroughly review Kavanaugh's papers, and more controversy about his record is likely to emerge.
Earlier this month, two Republicans joined Democrats to block Circuit court nominee Ryan Bounds over his racist writings from college.5 If a judicial nominee's college writing matters, then Kavanaugh's career writing and his time as a key adviser to Bush absolutely must be examined before he is given a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land. We have to pile on pressure to make sure that every member of the Senate – starting with the Senate Judiciary Committee – reviews all of Kavanaugh’s documents, emails and paperwork before the confirmation process continues.
Tell the Senate: Don't fast-track hearings on Brett Kavanaugh. Release and review his records before holding confirmation hearings. Click the link below to sign the petition.
https://act.credoaction.com/
Thank you for speaking out,
Kaili Lambe, Organizing Director CREDO Action from Working Assets
Add your name:
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- Ali Rogin, "Senate Republicans clash with Democrats over access to Kavanaugh's White House records," ABC News, July 25, 2018.
- Laurie Kellman, "Kavanaugh denies role in detainee policies," The Boston Globe, May 2, 2006.
- Michael Kranish, "Kavanaugh’s role in Bush-era detainee debate now an issue in his Supreme Court nomination," The Washington Post, July 18, 2018.
- Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Martin, "McConnell Tries to Nudge Trump Toward Two Supreme Court Options," The New York Times, July 7,2018.
- John Bowden, "White House formally withdraws Bounds nomination after McConnell cancels vote," The Hill, July 24, 2018
***
Here is a simple truth — no one in our country should be sitting in jail just because they are poor.
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Right now,
there are over 700,000 people in county or city jails — sixty-five
percent of them, more than 400,000 people, have not been convicted of a
crime. Many are locked up simply because they cannot afford bail.
Let me be clear. The United States of America has criminalized poverty and that is not acceptable.
That is why this week I introduced the No Money Bail Act in the Senate to stop this horrific practice.
The United
States has a broken criminal justice system. We have over 2 million
people in jail, more than any other nation on earth, and they are
disproportionately African-American, Latino, and Native American. We
spend $80 billion a year keeping people behind bars, money which could
be used for education, job creation and affordable housing.
The
decision to put someone behind bars should never be decided based on how
much money a person has, or what kind of mood the judge is in on a
given day, or even what judge the case happens to come before. In a
country where we pride ourselves on the principle “innocent until proven
guilty,” we should not be keeping hundreds of thousands of people
locked up before they have actually been convicted of a crime simply
because they can’t afford bail.
Those who
can’t afford bail, even when they are innocent, face punishments that
could impact them for the rest of their lives. After spending weeks in
jail, many lose their jobs and have trouble finding new work after they
are released. With a loss of income, they aren't able to pay their rent
and may find themselves homeless. They may even lose custody of their
children. And they were not guilty of any crime other than being poor.
The No
Money Bail Act is simple. It ends the use of cash bail in federal
courts. At the same time, it works with state and local governments to
end this broken and destructive system in every area of the country.
The time has come to end "debtors' prisons" in the United States.
Four words are engraved on the front of the Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law. We are very far from that ideal today. Let’s fight for this legislation to bring us one step closer.
Let’s get to work.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
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