Carl,
One of the articles I've read, said that we're now living in a Fascist state
because basically, this is a corporate state, a government run solely for the
benefit of corporations. People emigrated here to escape poverty because
companies here needed cheap labor. They came here to be free to not starve, to
become wealthier. There was the promise of freedom. I suppose that had to do
with there not being hundreds of years of tradition here like there was in
Europe, so people could invent new ways of living. There was a lot of land for
them to explore and settle. That's where America's reputation as a free country
came from.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2021 11:16 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: America the Usual
"...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.