Tag Archives: Citizens United

Matthew Hoh Interview (Video): An Objective Look at U.S. Foreign Policy

Posted on February 12, 2023 by johnrachel

Most recently and most admirably, Matthew Hoh ran this past election cycle for Senate, representing North Carolina. His bid was unsuccessful for the usual reasons, chiefly among them big money in politics. But I suspect there was another decisive factor. … Continue reading →

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William J. Astore Interview (Video): An Objective Look at U.S. Foreign Policy

Posted on February 8, 2023 by johnrachel

As a former Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, William J. Astore knows the military. He’s seen how the closed loop of the DOD and the commercial defense industries has exponentially grown and now disproportionately determines the priorities and direction of America’s dealings with the rest of the world. Continue reading →

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Economics, Political Analysis, Revolution, Social Commentary, Video Blog, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Whack A Mole Activism

Posted on May 29, 2017 by johnrachel

The ruling class have us constantly scrambling, in a frenzy, panicked and overwhelmed, confronted by one crisis after another. The reaction by our end of the political spectrum has been short-sighted and fragmented. Disoriented and exhausted by the sheer number of crises being created, we’re never able to mount a unified, comprehensive, coherent counterattack. We work hard but our energies are scattered. We end up with what I call Whack A Mole activism. How then do we stop playing this game? We unplug it, take it out back, then take a sledgehammer to it. We destroy the machine! There is no other choice. Continue reading →

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Political Analysis, Political Rant, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Asymmetry

Posted on February 9, 2017 by johnrachel

Congress can impeach a president but a president can’t impeach Congress. Thus the real locus of government power resides in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Impeaching Trump will not eliminate what Trump represents. But replacing 450 corrupt pay-for-play congressman will and is how we truly make a difference that makes a difference. Continue reading →

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Economics, Political Analysis, Political Rant, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Warren Buffett or Jimmy Buffett?

Posted on January 31, 2017 by johnrachel

The Warren Buffett Rule for reforming Congress is a nice idea. In fact, it’s a great idea! But it suffers from one fatal flaw. It would have to be passed by Congress. And as the record clearly shows, our current Congress will do nothing for everyday citizens. They are 100% loyal to, in fact owned by, the rich and powerful. Until we replace 95% of those currently in our legislative bodies, we can kiss good-bye any hope of getting anything done which will benefit the vast majority of us. We need to stop kidding ourselves and get to work: Regime change in Washington DC! Continue reading →

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Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part V

Posted on April 7, 2016 by johnrachel

It’s all about people power. Not PACs and SuperPACS. Not big piles of money. Change still comes down to the choice each of us personally makes in the voting booth. Power resides in our aligning our individual choices, so that collectively — as in tens of millions of us united in an unstoppable juggernaut of people power — we get done what needs to get done. We must elect representatives who represent us. We will guarantee they will represent us by making candidates sign legally-binding contracts. Or we don’t vote for them. Continue reading →

Posted in Deconstruction, Democracy, Political Analysis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part IV

Posted on March 29, 2016 by johnrachel

People must unite at a local level, not under party banners, but as a voting bloc around issues that are important to them. Party labels — also very much the case with ideological labels — muddy the waters, get people unfocused on what’s truly consequential. ‘Democrat’, ‘Republican’, ‘liberal’, ‘conservative’, ‘libertarian’ — even more so with ‘socialist’, ‘Tea Party’, and ‘Green Party’ — have recently become so emotionally charged, clear thinking becomes difficult, constructive dialogue impossible. Continue reading →

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Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part II

Posted on March 18, 2016 by johnrachel

Americans actually agree on a lot of important things. Most things! But the astonishing and powerful consensuses get lost in the trivialization, marginalization, and other weapons of mass distraction and sheer propaganda we all endure just trying to find out and understand what’s going on. We are teased, taunted, cajoled, manipulated, titillated, dazzled, and generally overwhelmed by the main stream media. Thus we lose focus. We can’t keep our eye on the prize, because by watching television we have no idea what the prize even is.

Turn off your TVs. Hide your smart phones under the mattress. Let the screensaver on your computer do whatever it does — swimming fish, go-go dancers, shooting stars — and don’t disturb it to watch the latest Trump riots or primary predictions. Go talk to someone. Your neighbor, your cousin, your kid’s teacher, that lady down the street who is always working in her garden, the guy who polishes his car three times a week. Bring cupcakes. Get to know them . . . and talk. Continue reading →

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How Bernie Sanders Can Win and Turn America Around

Posted on November 7, 2015 by johnrachel

Here is a video of the announcement Bernie Sanders needs to make in order to win the presidency and turn the country around. Continue reading →

Posted in Banking, Corporatism, Democracy, Economics, Environment, Political Analysis, War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What if you . . . ?

Posted on July 19, 2015 by johnrachel

What if hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of voters did the same as you and voted for someone they could trust, even though that person was not a Democrat or a Republican? Continue reading →

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