From The Ramparts

                                                     

From The Ramparts

 Junious Ricardo Stanton

 Don't Believe The Hype, Don't Drink The Kool-Aid

 

            "It may be that during your lifetime you will not be formally judged as to your culpability or lack of culpability for the acts of your leaders. But in relation to Natural law, you will be guilty or not depending on what you do. If you refuse to inform yourself as to what your leaders are doing, if you unthinkingly accept the propaganda and lies of the capitalist cabal, then you will be guilty of the crimes of your rulers. You cannot legitimately excuse yourself with catch-phrases such as: 'My country right or wrong, I'm only following orders, I don't make the laws, I merely carry them out, I'm only agreeing with the ideas of our leaders, If I'm critical of my country's leaders, I'm a traitor.'" America's Suicidal Ignorance http://www.hermes-press.com/insane_masses.htm

            As the campaign rhetoric ratchets and the political circus grinds on, my advice to you is don't fall for the okey-doke, don't believe the hype and don't drink the Kool Aid! The campaign circus is a distraction to deceive you into believing the United States is a real democracy, that you have agency in the political process, that your vote counts. If you listen to what Bernie Sanders is saying he is telling the truth. The system is rigged against ordinary people, the system has been totally corrupted by big money. He is correct a "political revolution" is needed to turn things around.  The problem is he is asking young people to believe in a corrupt system; the very same system that is stealing votes from Bernie Sanders as he speaks via so called "Super Delegates".

            The system is rigged in favor of the insiders. The Super Delegates are not bound by the results of the caucuses or primary elections where the voters cast their votes for the candidate of their choice. Many of these Super Delegates are already beholden to Hillary Clinton who is probably more corrupt than all of the men running in both parties put together. So in this regard, Sanders is being disingenuous. He is setting the young people up for major disappointment just like Barack Obama set folks up for disappointment during his first campaign. (I know defenders of Obama will say the Republicans have obstructed him and tried to sabotage everything he's done. But they are either a-historical or they forgot during the first two years of his presidency, the Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, and all he did during that time was bail out Wall Street!) The system is rigged!

            Both Trump and Sanders are outsiders and this is why they are so wildly popular to their core demographics young people for Sanders and disaffected, frustrated and anxious white males (mostly) for Trump. Both of them say things the "establishment candidates" dare not say. Essentially they talk about class warfare, how ordinary folks are being jerked around by the establishment already in power. Former US Senator John Edwards was run out of the 2008 presidential race for saying the same things that upset the powers that be. But conditions are worse now and much more obvious. Income inequality is at an all time high wealth the gap is wider than ever before. The talking TV heads openly admit the ruling class is apoplectic about Trump and Sander's success and on air they hypothesize how the establishment can take back both parties. They do so because they work for the establishment corporate media that makes millions in ad revenue and consultant fees every national election cycle.

            Now due to the success and popularity of Sander's message Hillary Clinton the consummate Washington insider is forced to call herself a "progressive" and speak in populous jargon when everyone knows she is a bought and paid for shill of Wall Street, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the Military Industrial Complex, the Bio-Tech industry, private prisons and big money. As Bill's wife she has always served as his campaign surrogate, spokesperson and shill. Hillary was the rah rah girl for his racist welfare "reform" legislation, his anti-crime bills that saw a disproportionate rise in incarceration rates for black and brown folks for the same crimes committed by white folks who didn't go to prison! Sure he later apologized when he was called out for it; but what did he or Senator Hillary Hillary do to reverse that legislation and those policies? Nothing!

            While Bill Clinton did appoint a record number of African Americans to cabinet and subcabinet level positions, people forget that when the Republicans went after Lani Guinier, Clinton left her hangin'. Same thing with Mike Espy and the Tyson Foods Scandal. The Clintons threw Espy under the proverbial bus because there were prior shady connections to them and allegations about Hillary's hanky-panky with Tyson Foods going back to 1978-79 when she and Bill were in Arkansas. The last thing the Clintons wanted was the press to dredge up that scandal in 1997. So they sacrificed the Brother. Espy should have known better than to take the bribes in the first place, but the game is rigged and bribery is how the game is rigged!

            Let's not forget Bill Clinton and Al Gore turned the Democratic Party to the right, courted and wooed Wall Street and Corporate America while selling the party base: organized labor, blue collar workers, African-Americans, women and other splinter groups down the river. They adopted a version of Ronald Reagan's "Southern strategy" because they were both from the South and they courted white Southerners back to the Democratic Party.

            Under Bill Clinton the depression era Glass-Steagall Act, which established a fire wall of separation and safety among investment banks, commercial banks and insurance companies, was repealed. This set the stage for the Wall Street shenanigans that imploded the global financial system in 2007-08 that we are still feeling the consequences of. By the way Blacks and Latinos suffered a greater wealth loss during the 2007-08 economic implosion, home foreclosures, lost wealth and asset devaluation that will never be recouped, than anyone else. Now Hillary expects her House Negroes to ignorantly and dutifully endorse her, stump for her and vote for her. Don't drink the Kool Aid!

            On the Republican side don't go for the okey-doke about "Conservative values". None of those clowns are conservatives. The last real Conservative to run for president was Barry Goldwater who was so out of touch he lost in a humongous landslide to LBJ in 1964. Under Ronald Reagan the man the media the mind control apparatus touts as a "Conservative hero", he violated all the tenants of conservatism: the federal government grew and expanded, Reagan even added a whole new department to the federal bureaucracy, the Department of Veterans Affairs.

            Due to his bogus trickle down economic theory Reagan was forced to raise taxes seven out of eight years he was in the White House and under him the federal deficit ballooned three times what it was before he entered office. In fact when George H.W. Bu$h succeeded Reagan he too was forced to raise taxes which did him in when he ran for re-election against Bill Clinton.

            Don't believe the hype! Conservative is just a word they use to try to trick you. Just like Hilary now calls herself a "progressive". When we look around we see the government in total paralysis and gridlock except for the military industrial complex and deep security police state, which are booming. All the candidates want to spend even more on "national security" at the expense of Main Street, education, the physical infrastructure and social programs.  They want to spend more on war, arm, train and fund more Saudi Arabian Wahhabi fanatics at a time when the US is broke! The federal deficit is over 5 trillion dollars and climbing http://www.usdebtclock.org. The number changes every second, as do the figures for Social Security, Medicare and other unfunded liabilities.  As of this writing this means tax payers are on the hook for $840,360 per tax payer. (Keep in mind by the time you read this the number will be higher!)  The numbers are staggering  and mind boggling for the total national debt. Go to http://www.usdebtclock.org to see a real time up to the minute stats on the debt.

            This is insane and totally unsustainable; which is why I urge you not to fall for the flim flam of the election cycle. The best way to change things is to take to the streets with massive strikes, shut downs, civil disobedience and boycotts. Make the 1% pay attention and act in our interests for a change. Ask yourself is any candidate talking about real peace, shutting down the war economy and converting to a peace time economy? Is any candidate talking about closing the US foreign bases and bringing the troops home? Is any candidate talking about channeling the money we spend for war and the CIA's immoral covert operations into the infrastructure, health care, education or economic development?   What are they saying about protecting citizens rights? Nothing! Even the outsiders Trump and Sanders aren't saying anything like this.

            Please don't allow the politicians to make fools and suckers out of you! Don't believe the hype, don't drink the Kool Aid and don't go for the okey-doke.

                                                            -30-