"...and to the Republic for which it stands..."
When I was young, I was confused by the fact that our nation was a
Republic, but at the same time we were a Democracy.
In time I found that it made little difference, since it was all Talk.
Our Founding Fathers(no Mothers)designed a iunique form of government.
It just wasn't what they told us it was. What they produced, and what
has been crafted over the years, has little baring on function of
government. But for certain the American Corporate Empire would not
have evolved without that original Constitution.
Personally, I believe we've already gone over the Falls in our leaky
barrel, but maybe I'm wrong. Still, it's difficult for me to
understand how Biden can defend democracy while leading a Corporate
Empire. And worse yet, using the military might of the ACE to protect
Tyrants around the Globe.
Still, we are in a period of time when the Empire can afford to relax
a bit. After all, we've put trillions of dollars in their off-shore
accounts, and down the road they can always tighten the noose again.
but Joe Biden is no friend of the Working Class. True, in his mind he
is no enemy, but when it comes to watching our backs...Biden is
standing behind the Establishment...the Empire.
Carl Jarvis
On 3/22/21, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
America the Usual
By Jeffrey Sterling, Reader Supported News
22 March 21
Though the assault on the Capitol was over two months ago, I continue to be
haunted: not only by what I saw in the news reports but also in the overall
meaning that was on stage for the world to see. Much more than a horrible
insurrection and assault on democracy, what I saw and have been continually
reminded of is that what happened on that fateful day was America, the
usual.
I was trying to be fair in the aftermath of that horrendous scene and
attack. I thought I would see substantial and meaningful action by our
elected officials, the same ones who were nervously taking cover behind
their protectors in the Capitol, to hold those responsible for the assault
accountable. I saw a glimmer of reasonableness when the House voted to
impeach Mr. Trump as the inciter of the attack (the fact that Mr. Trump is
the first president to be impeached twice speaks for itself with regard to
his suitability as president during his tenure). However, the failure of
our
elected officials to convict Mr. Trump and the overall response before,
during, and after the attack on our Capitol and our democracy have left me
with an all too familiar feeling of disgust and frustration with where this
country stands on not only race but also accountability. As the drama has
unfolded, the powerful words from James Baldwin linger in my mind: "How
much
time do you want for your progress?"
The attack on the Capitol struck home for me concerning so-called dangers
to
America and how our government and nation react to them. My own personal
experiences have been testaments to how this country really sees African
Americans. When I had the audacity to sue the CIA for racial
discrimination,
the government and the courts felt such a trial, an African American
fighting for his constitutional rights, would be a grave threat to national
security and therefore should not be allowed to go forward and destroy the
country. Furthermore, I was wrongfully put on trial as a threat to the
national security of this country. My experience was nothing more than what
has been standard operating procedure for America. Think about the numerous
so-called race riots, officially sanctioned lynchings of African Americans,
the firehose and dog attacks upon protesters during the Civil Rights
Movement, and just about every official response to racial uprisings. The
all too recent heavy-handed and militaristic responses to protests related
to Black Lives Matter all over the country are proof enough that the
shameful trend of branding African Americans as national security threats
continues.
What took place at the Capitol was a public display of the other side of
the
national security coin. That wild, angry, and inflamed mob did not face the
same preparation and heavy-handed response from law enforcement as has been
the case with just about every African American movement for justice and
change throughout American history. That mob was the right color - or more
likely the wrong color to embody a threat to national security. As clearly
demonstrated by the mob being able to walk right into the Capitol, do their
damage, and walk right out afterward, those protestors were just good white
folk merely expressing their constitutional rights.
My question: if what happened on that horrible day and the indications
leading up to it were not considered threats to national security, then
what
would be? I and African Americans in general are considered threats to
national security merely because of the color of our skin, but attacking
and
trying to forcefully and illegitimately change and corrupt the very
foundation of our nation and our democracy is not. The disparity at the
time
was clear, and it has been reinforced by the official actions afterward.
True, there have been some arrests, but none of the charges have been
related to sedition or national security. And those who have been arrested
have been given compassionate treatment by the courts. We've all seen the
images of the so-called QAnon Shaman "expressing" his constitutional rights
in the Capitol. He was arrested, but a judge ordered his transfer to
another
jail so he could receive organic food. I can tell you from experience in
the
various jails and prisons I have been subjected to, no such accommodations
were made, or even considered. Yes, a vegetarian option was available, but
it certainly wasn't organic, and it certainly wasn't palatable. Seems
incarceration for those who actually are threats to the national security
of
this country is not the same as for those who are considered de facto
threats. Such empathy from our justice system has never been the case for
those of the wrong color - or the right color to symbolize a threat to
national security.
The same holds true for the instigators. Then-President Trump incited the
mob and encouraged what happened at the Capitol. His words to that angry
mob
were the very definition of sedition, yet he has not been held accountable
and likely will never be. And then there is the honorable Senator from my
state, Josh Hawley. What responsibility has he borne for also inciting that
riot? None. A raised fist in the name of insurrection and sedition by an
honorable, white Senator evidently is more well-received and respected than
a black fist raised in the name of equal rights. And now, because he is
conveniently part of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the honorable
Senator is participating in the hearing on the Capitol security breakdown.
I
question the veracity and accountability of our homeland security with
riot-inciter Hawley being on that committee. These honorable men strove to
overturn our democracy and the very foundation of this nation, yet their
actions have not and will not be considered the threats to national
security
that they have been and are. Indeed, the lens of national security is
color-sensitive.
Like so many others, I have suffered under the wait for progress and the
weight of the lack of progress in this country. The Capitol riot has had me
screaming at my country, "How much time do you want?!" It is apparent that
no one who can answer that question is bothering to answer it. So many of
us
have been and continue to be victimized by the perfidy of national security
claims, and there is no indication that will change any time soon. Do we as
a nation really have the time to continually give those in power infinite
time for progress? The longer we have to wait, the longer actual threats to
national security can and will destroy this country.
Jeffrey Sterling is a former CIA case officer who was at the Agency,
including the Iran Task Force, for nearly a decade. He filed an employment
discrimination suit against the CIA, but the case was dismissed as a threat
to national security. He served two and a half years in prison after being
convicted of violating the Espionage Act. No incriminating evidence was
produced at trial and Sterling continues to profess his innocence. His
memoir, Unwanted Spy: The Persecution of an American Whistleblower, was
published in late 2019. This essay, written for the RootsAction Education
Fund, was distributed by the ExposeFacts program of the Institute for
Public
Accuracy.