Caitlin delivers yet another gem, another masterpiece exposing the rot of empire, the rot the elite monsters deliver day after day - the rot that continues to kill and maim fellow human beings and the planet we live on. The light at the end of the tunnel snuffed out . . . for what?
Sinwar didn’t give up. He fought evil until his very last breath. And although he did not live to see Israel fall, he lit the match. He exposed Israel for the sham that it is and the rest of the dominoes are now falling. If a Palestinian refugee born in a concentration camp can ignite a revolution, it means all the Joe Schmoes in the entire world have matches as well. All we have to do is light them up.
I keep on, hoping that at least enough of the rest of us will reach some level of civilizational maturity to stop this ugly thing and turn the corner to a better path. Right or wrong, the struggle is the only worthwhile thing to keep doing. And taking care of ourselves, and finding joy in the process. In times like these it's deeply meaningful.
“Republicans win and they still act like underdog victims. Democrats win and they act like Republicans. Meanwhile any real political opposition which starts getting its legs underneath it gets stomped into the dirt in its infancy.”
Perhaps the most frustrating thing isn’t how hard it is to win any of these battles, it’s how hard it is to get more people to even realize they need to be fought.
Exactly right. The criterion determining whether we should do something is not "Will it succeed?" or "Will my 'team' 'win'"; it should only ever be "Is this the morally right thing to do?"
Well I would still reserve that to the Gestapo's reign of terror in Germany 30s & 40s. But what's been coming out of Israel these last few years is beginning to reach that horrific level of evil. Which one would have hoped, humanity would never revisit again.
"They ALL think the same as the Pope, as spoken by Cardinal Manning (you can definitely see Trump in this):
"'I acknowledge no civil power; I am the subject of no prince; I claim more than this – I claim to be the supreme judge and director of the consciences of men – of the peasant that tills the field, and of the prince that sits upon the throne; of the household of privacy, and the legislator that makes laws for kingdoms; I am the sole, last supreme judge of what is right and wrong.'"
What is possible changes moment by moment. What could never happen just did, and creates new possibilities. The more people involved in the process, the more possibilities arise.
Those in control have a monolithic view of the world, therefore they see very little. We, the people, are far more varied, and therefore the more we are and do, the more everything becomes possible.
To do or think any less is capitulation, which is not my thing. It’s clearly not Caitlin’s. I’m thinking it’s not yours either. Am I right?
If we put a person in chains and they struggle against their confinement so fervently that they bloody themselves against their shackles, though they come no closer to breaking their bonds, we may tell them that:
their response is irrational,
their resistance is futile,
their behaviour a symptom
of mental illness -
but where does the insanity lie?
In the person or in the chains?
Is defiance a disorder? Or is it an essential element in all living things? Isn't the ceaseless struggle against adversity a common thread running through our ancestors? A vital energy, without which you would not be here to read these words?
The insanity lies within the person that chained them, not within the one chained. Being chained is not a natural state - it is imposed by another person, not by nature.
I am reminded of the line from Oblivion: “And how can men die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods “.
Interesting how words take on different meanings in different minds. That quote is from the poem "Horatius", which, as it happens, was Churchill's favourite. I imagine he thought of himself as defiant, even as he worked to project the might of the Empire across the world. What a complex and textured reality we find ourselves in!
This is so true. Disappointing, but true. Yet, over the long run, I think our efforts to resist will create change. It's a cumulative effect. And what better choice do we really have?
I think "resistance" is a waste. What you need is an organization, a voting block with money that persists from election to election and can punish those who don't follow the line.
This is the thing that irks the shit out of me. It’s like, ok we know what the problems are. The question is how, or if we can fix them. No answers forthcoming. Change will not come from the phony political class, it must come from a banning together against the machine. But how? Even if we could get everyone to quit this red team, blue team bullshit, what’s next?
Unions and organized political resistance groups/meetings. National strikes. Underground newspapers. Social media groups like substack. Supporting rare politicians like Mamdani (assuming he doesn't stab all his supporters in the back, like what Sanders and AOC did).
When the change comes it will be sudden, like the Mamdani election. That's what happens when oppressed silenced majorities get a voice. The Republican party was founded in 1854 and took charge in 1860. The people who opposed slavery got fed up with the Whigs and left en masse. The same could happen to today's Ds.
Political organization, that's the ticket. An organization with money that persists so it can punish those who cross it. Look at how much influence the NRA has with 4 million members.
I disagree. We have two, possibly 3 political parties. It’s what gave us this. We need some other kind of grassroots thing. I don’t know what that looks like, but I do know that the “system” s so rigged and corrupt it will never allow change to happen.
Mamdani's campaign was grassroots. 90,000 volunteers!
USA people are totally sold on the two party lesser-evil system. I don't get it. 1854 proved that it can be done. Mamdani was also greatly aided by ranked choice voting. The duopoly will fight that tooth and nail.
Mamdani may be, and probably is another puppet. I’m no fan of Socialism or communism either, because it requires us to give more control, wealth and power to the government, and depending on them to do what’s just and fair with it. That will just never happen.
Caitlin delivers yet another gem, another masterpiece exposing the rot of empire, the rot the elite monsters deliver day after day - the rot that continues to kill and maim fellow human beings and the planet we live on. The light at the end of the tunnel snuffed out . . . for what?
Keep fighting against the machine. TY all.
We have to keep talking about it—I mean the genocide in particular. And taking whatever action we can. Kia kaha.
Sinwar didn’t give up. He fought evil until his very last breath. And although he did not live to see Israel fall, he lit the match. He exposed Israel for the sham that it is and the rest of the dominoes are now falling. If a Palestinian refugee born in a concentration camp can ignite a revolution, it means all the Joe Schmoes in the entire world have matches as well. All we have to do is light them up.
I keep on, hoping that at least enough of the rest of us will reach some level of civilizational maturity to stop this ugly thing and turn the corner to a better path. Right or wrong, the struggle is the only worthwhile thing to keep doing. And taking care of ourselves, and finding joy in the process. In times like these it's deeply meaningful.
tina (there is no alternative) to bringing it down.
“Republicans win and they still act like underdog victims. Democrats win and they act like Republicans. Meanwhile any real political opposition which starts getting its legs underneath it gets stomped into the dirt in its infancy.”
Perhaps the most frustrating thing isn’t how hard it is to win any of these battles, it’s how hard it is to get more people to even realize they need to be fought.
People wake up when their standard of living drops. That's what they mainly care about. Inflation is about to get worse.
Exactly right. The criterion determining whether we should do something is not "Will it succeed?" or "Will my 'team' 'win'"; it should only ever be "Is this the morally right thing to do?"
It's like we are living under the most sadistic Mafia operation in history. ...No, it's not "like". We ARE living under the most sadistic Mafiosa.
Well I would still reserve that to the Gestapo's reign of terror in Germany 30s & 40s. But what's been coming out of Israel these last few years is beginning to reach that horrific level of evil. Which one would have hoped, humanity would never revisit again.
There are worse things. Much worse.
"Addiction to wealth and power is a common theme…
"They ALL think the same as the Pope, as spoken by Cardinal Manning (you can definitely see Trump in this):
"'I acknowledge no civil power; I am the subject of no prince; I claim more than this – I claim to be the supreme judge and director of the consciences of men – of the peasant that tills the field, and of the prince that sits upon the throne; of the household of privacy, and the legislator that makes laws for kingdoms; I am the sole, last supreme judge of what is right and wrong.'"
https://griobhtha1.substack.com/p/the-polyglot-of-evil
What is possible changes moment by moment. What could never happen just did, and creates new possibilities. The more people involved in the process, the more possibilities arise.
Those in control have a monolithic view of the world, therefore they see very little. We, the people, are far more varied, and therefore the more we are and do, the more everything becomes possible.
To do or think any less is capitulation, which is not my thing. It’s clearly not Caitlin’s. I’m thinking it’s not yours either. Am I right?
OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANT DISORDER
If we put a person in chains and they struggle against their confinement so fervently that they bloody themselves against their shackles, though they come no closer to breaking their bonds, we may tell them that:
their response is irrational,
their resistance is futile,
their behaviour a symptom
of mental illness -
but where does the insanity lie?
In the person or in the chains?
Is defiance a disorder? Or is it an essential element in all living things? Isn't the ceaseless struggle against adversity a common thread running through our ancestors? A vital energy, without which you would not be here to read these words?
The insanity lies within the person that chained them, not within the one chained. Being chained is not a natural state - it is imposed by another person, not by nature.
I am reminded of the line from Oblivion: “And how can men die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods “.
Interesting how words take on different meanings in different minds. That quote is from the poem "Horatius", which, as it happens, was Churchill's favourite. I imagine he thought of himself as defiant, even as he worked to project the might of the Empire across the world. What a complex and textured reality we find ourselves in!
This is so true. Disappointing, but true. Yet, over the long run, I think our efforts to resist will create change. It's a cumulative effect. And what better choice do we really have?
I think "resistance" is a waste. What you need is an organization, a voting block with money that persists from election to election and can punish those who don't follow the line.
It’s not ‘us’ against ‘Them’ it’s ‘us’ against ‘us ‘. In a democracy, you get who you vote for, and you chose president Trump..
"Lots of losses and no clean wins." The new Israeli/American way of governing.
This is the thing that irks the shit out of me. It’s like, ok we know what the problems are. The question is how, or if we can fix them. No answers forthcoming. Change will not come from the phony political class, it must come from a banning together against the machine. But how? Even if we could get everyone to quit this red team, blue team bullshit, what’s next?
Unions and organized political resistance groups/meetings. National strikes. Underground newspapers. Social media groups like substack. Supporting rare politicians like Mamdani (assuming he doesn't stab all his supporters in the back, like what Sanders and AOC did).
When the change comes it will be sudden, like the Mamdani election. That's what happens when oppressed silenced majorities get a voice. The Republican party was founded in 1854 and took charge in 1860. The people who opposed slavery got fed up with the Whigs and left en masse. The same could happen to today's Ds.
Political organization, that's the ticket. An organization with money that persists so it can punish those who cross it. Look at how much influence the NRA has with 4 million members.
I disagree. We have two, possibly 3 political parties. It’s what gave us this. We need some other kind of grassroots thing. I don’t know what that looks like, but I do know that the “system” s so rigged and corrupt it will never allow change to happen.
Mamdani's campaign was grassroots. 90,000 volunteers!
USA people are totally sold on the two party lesser-evil system. I don't get it. 1854 proved that it can be done. Mamdani was also greatly aided by ranked choice voting. The duopoly will fight that tooth and nail.
Mamdani may be, and probably is another puppet. I’m no fan of Socialism or communism either, because it requires us to give more control, wealth and power to the government, and depending on them to do what’s just and fair with it. That will just never happen.