Hazy Days Are Here Again

Hazy Days Are Here Again

by C.A. Matthews

Hazy days are here again—

Smoky skies and tears to lend

The environment is screwed my friend!

Hazy days are here again!

(*Sung to the tune of Happy Days Are Here Again)

 

If you don’t think it's possible to write an article incorporating a climate catastrophe story along with the opening bell of an alternative party presidential run story, then you have another thing coming to you! It’s also includes poorly written filks of old tunes as segues. (Sorry about that, but they just seem to fit.) 

In the news climate-wise, people in New York City were forced to give up breathing this past week due to particulate pollution caused by Canadian wildfires. The Air Quality Index (AQI) in parts of Brooklyn reached 484 — nearly double San Francisco’s highest hourly reading during California’s 2020 fire season. And it wasn’t just New Yorkers who were gasping for air. The smoky haze and micro-particulate clouds covered skies from Illinois to Ohio to Pennsylvania to South Carolina to New York State to Maine… In fact, just about everybody east of the Mississippi experienced horrible air quality indices this week.

Who cares though, right? Breathing is for sissies! We're told that unhealthy AQIs can cause serious health issues for vulnerable populations such as asthmatics and those with COPD as well as children and the elderly. But what’s more important—keeping poor working class people alive or growing sociopathic billionaires’ bank accounts? You know which group is more important to please for those idiots in Washington DC and in your own statehouse, don’t you? For your sake, I hope you do.

 

The fossil fuel industry takes no responsibility for causing a build up of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere due to the polluting by-products which come from combustion engines and coal-fueled power plants. It’s not like carbon monoxide and other gases have caused the so-called “greenhouse effect” that bring on heatwaves and dry up the forests of North America. No, not at all. It’s just coincidence that record breaking spring temperatures this year occurred. In no way could they have helped to spontaneously ignite tender-dry forests that have continued to burn unabated for weeks now. Pure coincidence.

It’s also pure coincidence that my garden in Northwest Ohio hasn’t seen a speck of rain in over 21 days—setting a dry spell record that is unheard of in the Midwest since the “Dust Bowl” era of the 1930s. The brown, hazy skies and dry winds that smell like a permanent bonfire have only caused me to reach for my emergency inhaler a dozen times this week. 

Well, who doesn’t need to quit breathing from time to time? The tears streaming down my face from my smoke-irritated eyes can go a long ways in filling our bone-dry rain barrels, too.

If you’re thinking I’m being facetious, think again. Between the millions who are still suffering from the lasting effects of COVID-19 and this recent air quality disaster, who knows just how many Americans have or will suffer a debilitating illness that could disable them for life? The time to take action to eliminate the use of fossil fuels and other polluting methods to generate power isn’t today—it was yesterday. In fact:

A new study by 50 leading scientists conducted to supplement the “information gap” between Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports said global greenhouse gas emissions have soared to a record high and are threatening to push our planet into “unprecedented” global heating.

Which leads me to the next story…

Oh, hazy day! Oh, hazy day!

When Cornel West… came to show us the way!

(*Sung to the tune of Oh, Happy Day)

Cornel West at BGSU in 2017

This next story is one that has captured the focus of many a leftist thinker. Dr. Cornel West, academic, philosopher, and former Bernie Sanders delegate to the DNC, has announced that he is running for the presidency in 2024. The biggest controversy at the start of his candidacy is that Dr. West has stated he is running as a People’s Party (MPP) candidate. He’s not running as a Green Party candidate or as an independent but as a candidate for an alternative party that barely exists.

To say this has caused an explosion of conversation and cursing in online forums where Lefties hang out is an understatement. Dr. West’s decision to go with the MPP is being questioned on several levels. Does he realize that the MPP doesn’t have ballot access (or even statewide organizations) in more than a handful of states? Would he be open to becoming a “fusion candidate” that several left-leaning alternative parties such as the Green Party US would be glad to nominate, thus giving him broader ballot access and more experienced organizers? Chris Hedges has said he’d speak to his good friend about switching to the Green Party. Could we see a West/Hedges 2024 ticket? We’ll see.

UPDATE: Chris Hedges did talk to Dr. West and he has decided to run as a Green after all! The West campaign website doesn't reflect this recent change in Dr. West's plans yet, so please be patient.

It’s early days so Dr. West has time to change his mind about running, or he could simply switch his choice in a party and run in one with less controversy attached to it. The MPP has fallen apart (in spite of its auspicious start with West, Nina Turner, Paula Jean Swearingen and other big names supporting it) because of sexual harassment and financial misuse charges brought against its current chair and founder Nick Brana. One would hope Dr. West would address the harassment mess and that Brana would step down so West could run without being associated with any nasty business.

Dr. West is a decent and compassionate human being. He might actually believe the voting public will look past the inadequacies of the People’s Party and concentrate on his message. One would hope that proves true, but for now… The discussions and debates continue online. (UPDATE: Even with Chris Hedges talking Cornel West into running as a Green, things are still relatively up in the air and the discussions are ongoing. You're not going to please everyone, in other words!)

West posing with friends in 2017 (photo by author)

 

To draw these seemingly radically different stories together—hazy, polluted skies and Cornel West running for office—I’d like to posit that only a presidential candidate of Dr. West’s moral caliber would do anything worthwhile to end the reign of the fossil fuels oligarchs and help put our ailing planet back on a path toward wholeness.

My reasoning? The duopolists take millions of dollars yearly from capitalists who don’t care about the health of the people or our Earth. (I suppose these rich types expect a ticket on Musk’s or Bezos’ rocket to their “Elysium” in space once they’ve destroyed our world.) Leftists candidates like Dr. West would more than likely put the fates of the poor and working classes before the billionaires’ bank accounts.  

During a Cornel West administration, we’d probably see action taken to convert our energy grid from dirty to clean energy sources, along with punitive measures taken against capitalists who don’t cooperate in these lifesaving measures. That’s why it’s imperative those who care about their lungs, their family members’ lungs, and the health of the entire planet leave the duopolists’ ranks and join with independent thinkers to destroy the corrupt, planet-killing system currently in power. 

With cleaner skies, the end of wars for oil, health care for all guaranteed, civil rights assured for the people, we’ll be singing:

Roll out those non-hazy, crazy, lazy days of summer!

(*And you thought I was done with the filks? That’s what a lack of clean air gets you. Bwahaha!)

 

Related Articles and Links of Interest:

Our first meeting in person with Cornel West was back in 2017 at a lecture he gave at Bowling Green State University: https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2017/01/justice-is-what-love-looks-like-in.html

Cornel West Discusses His Presidential Campaign https://www.blackagendareport.com/cornel-west-discusses-his-presidential-campaign 

Cornel West 2024 website: https://www.cornelwest24.com/

Sabby Sabs: Cornel West Joins... (video) https://www.youtube.com/live/xH434-Ze5Jk

As Canada Burns, Docs Reveal Oil Giant Weighed In on Government Carbon  https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/11/as-canada-burns-docs-reveal-oil-giant-weighed-in-on-government-carbon-plan/

NYC Officials Knew Wildfire Smoke Was Coming But Did Little to Protect Residents  https://truthout.org/articles/nyc-officials-knew-wildfire-smoke-was-coming-but-did-little-to-protect-residents/

New York City Skyrockets To World’s Most Polluted City
https://popularresistance.org/new-york-city-skyrockets-to-worlds-most-polluted-city/

Deadly wildfire smoke spreads across much of northeast US
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/09/imyu-j09.htm

New York Reports Worst Air Quality in the World as Smoke Creeps Along the Coast https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/08/new-york-reports-worst-air-quality-in-the-world-as-smoke-creeps-along-the-coast/

As New York Skies Darken, Delivery Workers Help Each Other
https://popularresistance.org/as-new-york-skies-darken-delivery-workers-help-each-other/

Over 115 million across US and Canada choked by smoke as massive wildfires burn out of control https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/08/misv-j08.html

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reach Record High https://popularresistance.org/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-reach-record-high/ 

Canada’s wildfire season off to record start, with fires burning in the East, West and Far North  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/06/zrbv-j06.html

Requiem for Our Species https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/requiem-for-our-species

Norfolk Southern seeks to have lawsuits dismissed over derailment, toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/07/epal-j07.html

Julian Assange Dangerously Close to Extradition Following High Court Rejection of Appeal https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/08/uk-julian-assange-dangerously-close-to-extradition-following-high-court-rejection-of-appeal/

Cornel West: Running for President, Ending Ukraine War & Taking on “Corporate Duopoly” of Dems & GOP (video)
https://youtu.be/wW2iPjaJ-Js 

Hurting the Democratic Party is essential for revolutionaries, & voting Cornel West is our best way to do this
https://rainershea.substack.com/p/hurting-the-democratic-party-is-essential

Dr. Cornel West Announces He is Running for President https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/dr-cornel-west-announces-he-is-running

BRICS New Development Bank de-dollarizing, adding Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe as members https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/brics-new-development-bank-dollar-expansion

The war in Ukraine and the fight over raw materials
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/10/53c5-j10.html

Patrick Lawrence: First There Were Neo-Nazis, Then There Were No Nazis, Then There Were https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/06/patrick-lawrence-first-there-were-neo-nazis-then-there-were-no-nazis-then-there-were/

FBI helps Ukraine censor Twitter users and obtain their info, including journalists https://thegrayzone.com/2023/06/07/fbi-ukraine-twitter-users-including-journalists/

Durham ignores Clinton role, and new holes, in Russian hacking allegation https://mate.substack.com/p/john-durham-ignores-clinton-role

Journalism at War https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/journalism-at-war

High Court Denies Assange Right To Appeal
https://popularresistance.org/high-court-denies-assange-right-to-appeal/

Twitter Files Extra: How the World’s ‘No-Kidding Decision Makers’ Got Organized https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/07/twitter-files-extra-how-the-worlds-no-kidding-decision-makers-got-organized/

Senate Bill Calls for Investigation Into Indian Boarding Schools
https://truthout.org/articles/senate-bill-calls-for-investigation-into-indian-boarding-schools/

New Anti-transgender Laws Will Hurt Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Religious Expression https://scheerpost.com/2023/06/07/new-anti-transgender-laws-will-hurt-indigenous-peoples-rights-and-religious-expression/

Coming soon, the first book from The Revolution Continues blog:  The Little Red Book of Revolution

How can you get your e-copy? The easiest way is to subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack as a paying subscriber. Choose what level you'd like to subscribe at via the buttons on any post online at https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

If you'd like to help out in the meantime, buy me a coffee!  https://ko-fi.com/therevolutioncontinues

More details to come. Power to the people!

We Know What They're Afraid Of

 

We Know What They're Afraid Of

by C. A. Matthews

Have you ever heard the old expression, When your enemy is making mistakes, don’t stop and correct him? I believe working class Americans are currently in this situation. And it gives me optimism we may just make it after all.

What makes me feel so positive? First off, The Revolution Continues blog was censored by Google (Blogger) for the second time in a week. Now, censorship is not usually something that makes me happy, but the probable reason behind what triggered the censorship reinforces my optimism. It's a sign that things are about to get very interesting, and they could work out well for the majority of us if we hang in there.

Check out last week’s blog, Weaponizing Free Speech, for the details of the first round of censorship the blog experienced and how it was circumvented. This second censored posting came from the same time period—about seven years ago—when the blog was still The Bernie Blog, and guess what? It also contained a short article about the Dems rigging the 2016 primaries against Bernie Sanders. This piece was actually a call for Berners to sign a petition for open DNC primaries. (The first censored blog had a piece about primary wins that were outright “stolen” from Bernie.) It seems somebody in authority has commanded Google to shut down any blog posts on the topic of trying to steal or manipulate the outcomes of Democratic Party primary elections.

Now, why would the Dems all of a sudden get twitchy about people reading an article about how their primaries have been “stolen” in the past? Could it have something to do with the recent announcement that both the Democratic Party primaries and the candidate debates are being canceled in 2024 so that Joe Biden can be crowned the party’s nominee with no need for him to undergo the hard work of campaigning? This announcement was made after both Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Junior announced they’re planning to run as Democrats.

Don’t believe me that the DNC is paranoid about Biden having to fight off competitors in a primary? Independent journalist Matt Orfalea reports on how faithful Dems are being banned and kicked off the the national Democratic Party r/democrat Reddit forum simply for stating they support either Williamson or RFK Jr.  Between the censoring of anything to do with Democratic Party primaries (even seven year old ones) and the banning of any talk of Williamson and Kennedy online in the subreddit for Dems, I've got a strong gut feeling that the big bosses of the DNC are very worried. 

I believe the Dem bosses are very concerned there will be a lot of upset blue voters demanding primaries and debates. Perhaps the bosses worry they'll be some very vocal and visual protests against Biden’s automatically assuming the throne without at least debating Marianne and RFK Jr.

These duopolists are afraid—and I mean very afraid—of We the People not wanting a clearly confused, elderly career politician in the likes of Joe Biden rammed down our throats. Recently, Biden was seen holding very detailed note cards at a press conference; the notes contained the questions that so-called “press members” were going to ask him and how he should answer these predetermined questions in front of the cameras. 

That's pretty clear evidence of why the Dem bosses don’t want Biden to be in a debate situation or have him go on the road, campaigning for the primaries. He’s not capable of answering questions that aren’t written out—and answered for him—when he’s out in public. There is something else they're deathly afraid of: They're terrified that We the People won’t stand for having a cognitively incapacitated president in office for another four years.

To pretend that President Biden is focused on trying to reach the American people by different means, and not avoiding the give-and-take of a news conference open to all, as a White House aide told the New York Times, is just horseshit.  --Seymour Hersh,  Confessions Of A Political Flack

This non-choice of DNC candidates is particularly obnoxious when you realize that Donald Trump is the likely Republican Party nominee. Here is where the duopolists’ hubris might get the better of them. They think every American has been brainwashed enough to never consider not voting in protest or instead voting for an alternative party or independent candidate. But intelligent folks know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. A recent Gallup poll shows over 49% of Americans don't identify as either “Democrat” or “Republican” but as “Independent.”

Unlike Biden, We the People can think for ourselves. We understand how the same billionaires have bought off both the Ds and the Rs. We realize they're working for the billionaires and not us, and do as they're told. An intelligent electorate is scary indeed for the oligarchy. 

Joe Biden's approval rating is at a record low according to Gallup: only 37% approve while 59% disapprove of the job he is doing. Of special note is that he's only at 31% with independents. The economy is the number one reason. No wonder the DNC won't allow debates.  --Professor Anthony Zenkus on Twitter

See what I mean about not correcting your enemy’s mistakes? The donkeys and elephants of the duopoly have felt confident for almost one hundred-seventy years that their man (literally a male, and a white, wealthy male at that) will be the winner of the presidential election. There’s been zero exceptions, although there have been some close calls. Could the 2024 presidential election be the upset of the millennium? Could Americans actually see a libertarian, socialist, eco-socialist, or even a professed communist assume the presidency? Could we witness some real change?

Before you laugh and say something along the lines of “That’s not possible,” I'll remind you of just how many damning duopolist-driven government lies and obscenities have been exposed lately. Who thought these embarrassing truths would ever come to light? Who knows how these revelations might persuade voters to vote for other than the duopoly?

This past week it was revealed the CIA recruited some of the 9/11 attackers from Saudi Arabia, covering up for them after the Twin Towers fell. Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and independent journalists like Julian Assange have revealed how Americans have been spied upon and outright lied to, only to be exiled or jailed without trial. The Russiagate conspiracy has been totally debunked, and the Hamilton 68 dashboard was revealed as a government-funded troll farm to perpetuate these myths.

The US is perpetually at war for other countries' resources, making the military industrial complex CEOs ever richer and turning our children/grandchildren into casualty figures fighting the billionaires' wars for oil. Many Americans express horror at a possible nuclear war between the US and Russia and/or China. They know nuclear winter is not survivable.

In an attempt to bring an end to this war, China has taken the lead in advocating peace talks. Brazil's President Lula da Silva has backed Beijing's efforts. The West, on the other hand, has vociferously opposed all attempts at diplomatic negotiations and instead pushed to escalate the NATO proxy war on Russia, sending fighter jets and tanks to Kiev. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, are treating their country as a for-profit company, frequently traveling to the United States in search of lucrative business opportunities.  --From US Corporations Cash In On Ukraine’s Oil And Gas

Ordinary working Americans watch in horror as the billionaires who own the duopoly grow richer while the workers' food prices and rents skyrocket.

...It is profit-gouging, not wage hikes, that is the primary driver of inflation... the Times reported how giant food conglomerates have sharply raised prices and reaped higher profits. PepsiCo raised prices 16 percent and saw an 18 percent increase in profits last quarter. Nestlé raised prices 9.8 percent, growing its revenue 5.6 percent to $26.48 billion. Coca-Cola also raised prices, boosting its profits to $3.1 billion, a 12 percent rise. Beyond the food industry, one major corporation after another released earnings reports this week beating analysts’ estimates, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, Amazon and Caterpillar. --From US jobs massacre accelerates, as ruling class confronts growing upsurge of class struggle

The workers' “enemy” has made a lot of “mistakes,” and many of them have been revealed. Why should We the People trust the duopolists currently in power? They unquestioningly do the bidding of their billionaire masters. Why should we allow the billionaires and their puppets to prosper at the workers’ expense?

We’re already seeing the scales fall from the eyes of the French and the Peruvian workers. They have been marching and protesting in the streets for months now, livid at the evils of their respective governments. Even in the US this year  we’re seeing a record number of protests, strikes, and new unions forming. Apparently, a good number of We the People aren’t afraid to take our disputes public and shout down our oppressors any longer.

Then there are deaths of despair–-in its massiveness a nearly unique American phenomenon. These seemingly ubiquitous encounters with the Grim Reaper from suicide, drug overdose or cirrhosis of the liver predominately afflict middle-aged whites–-for obvious reasons, namely, this demographic has suffered a stupendous decline in its living standards in recent decades due to Wall Street-enforced deindustrialization. Good jobs just don’t exist in their old numbers anymore, and many people cannot “adjust” to this. As a result, according to Health System Tracker, “the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy countries, while it far outspends its peers on health care. --From As American Life Expectancy Plunges, Political Bigwigs Stay Busy Not Noticing

As more and more Americans lose their COVID-related Medicaid health care and other tax breaks, I predict there will be even more protests and strikes. As the climate catastrophe worsens and more Americans find themselves dealing with floods, forest fires, and super-storms, I see more activism and demands for the billionaires to clean up their messes at their expense, not ours. 

As the “copbots” and "robo-dogs" shoot at protesters, I hope we’ll see even more protesting and demonstrating directed toward the useless duopolists who have militarized the police in their fear of us. They think we’re not courageous enough to take them on. But hunger, homelessness, desperation, and anger all can motivate a person, so perhaps we are.

A clueless president who can’t answer questions on the spot and speak to the people’s concerns doesn’t deserve our respect or support. A greedy ex-president who would rob us all blind doesn’t deserve a second chance. And neither of them deserve our vote.

We know what they’re afraid of—they’re afraid of us, the American workers, We the People. We're not all brainwashed. We see through their lies. We're determined to be rid of those who persecute and prosecute us for simply trying to live our lives. 

Let’s use their fear of us to our advantage. Let's put them on the spot. Let’s keep them guessing what we’ll do next. Let’s keep doing whatever it takes until they break and we get what we deserve.

Get off your sofas and out of your basements, Doomers and Gloomers! Take to the streets! Demand change! You have nothing to lose but your misery.

Related Links:

Biden Begins Reelection Bid at Low Point in His Presidency
https://news.gallup.com/poll/505202/biden-begins-reelection-bid-low-point-presidency.aspx

Democrats Censoring Democrats On Reddit https://censorednews.substack.com/p/democrats-censoring-democrats-on

Oops! DNC Says There Will Be No Debates--Because... Democracy! (video) https://rumble.com/v2l7q3s-oops-dnc-says-there-will-be-no-debates-because...-democracy.html

Confessions Of A Political Flack https://popularresistance.org/confessions-of-a-political-flack/

America is Doomed: Biden & Trump Announce Re-election Runs https://youtu.be/8n43PGH58io

As American Life Expectancy Plunges, Political Bigwigs Stay Busy Not Noticing   https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/28/as-american-life-expectancy-plunges-political-bigwigs-stay-busy-not-noticing/

Kamala Harris Drops EPIC Word Salad On College Students https://youtu.be/5OUWNYPq2Q0

Facebook censors journalist Seymour Hersh's report on Nord Stream pipeline attack https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/facebook-censors-seymour-hersh-nord-stream

Your Messaging Service Should Not Be a DEA Informant
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/your-messaging-service-should-not-be-a-dea-informant/

An Insider’s Guide to “Anti-Disinformation” https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/26/an-insiders-guide-to-anti-disinformation/

Biden cheat sheet shows he had advance knowledge of journalist’s question  https://nypost.com/2023/04/26/biden-cheat-sheet-shows-he-had-advance-knowledge-of-journalists-question/

Bombshell Filing: 9/11 Hijackers Were CIA Recruits
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/bombshell-filing-9-11-hijackers-were-cia-recruits/

US Propaganda Backfires--Hard (video) https://youtu.be/VQ6EkK2WGfc

Federal agents barge into wrong Boston hotel room during training, handcuff pilot https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/revere-hotel-boston-fbi-botched-training-cheryl-fiandaca-wbz/

US Corporations Cash In On Ukraine’s Oil And Gas https://popularresistance.org/us-corporations-cash-in-on-ukraines-oil-and-gas/

Biden to Send Nukes to South Korea https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/biden-to-send-nukes-to-south-korea/

Joe Lauria: State Dept. & Senate Leaders Troll Assange
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/27/joe-lauria-state-dept-senate-leaders-troll-assange/

How the Press Misled the Public on Russiagate https://therealnews.com/how-the-press-misled-the-public-on-russiagate

Oceans Have Reached Warmest Levels in Modern History. Scientists Are Worried. https://truthout.org/articles/oceans-have-reached-warmest-levels-in-modern-history-scientists-are-worried/

An Urgent Need To Fund Water Infrastructure
https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/an-urgent-need-to-fund-water-infrastructure

US jobs massacre accelerates, as ruling class confronts growing upsurge of class struggle https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/04/29/jobs-a29.html

Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration as US Life Expectancy Falls  https://truthout.org/articles/experts-cite-the-health-impacts-of-incarceration-as-us-life-expectancy-falls/

Warren Report Reveals Vast Pentagon-to-Defense Contractor Lobbying Pipeline https://truthout.org/articles/warren-report-reveals-vast-pentagon-to-defense-contractor-lobbying-pipeline/

From Military to Policing, Say No to a Federal Budget That Prioritizes Violence  https://truthout.org/articles/from-military-to-policing-say-no-to-a-federal-budget-that-prioritizes-violence/

Weaponizing Free Speech https://continuousrev.blogspot.com/2023/04/weaponizing-free-speech.html