Chris, After Citizens United, I believe you stated that the only thing that will have a chance to affect change is civil disobedience. While I support Cornel West, I think his energy would be more useful in organizing demonstrations. There aren't enough votes or money to overcome this two party system. His candidacy will go the way of Nader's.
I vote for third parties when the candidate is good like Dr. West, but although I see very few chances of winning, I consider my vote an act of civil disobedience that could lead to the politicians of the main parties to understand that we had enough of their lip service and we are not going to continue supporting them.
He burns much time attempting to pump false life into issues that are actually pipe-dreams ...
Hedges is actually loathe to comment on hard news, so he does this just to maintain his place in the independent media food chain ... he deftly stepped over to the other side with the March 2020 lock downs ... follow him as closely as I have these past 10-12 years, and you'd realize how truly insincere he has become ...
This is the year I will NOT for ANY Democrat other than Barbara Lee. I don't care if the Democrats go down in flames. They're devotion to Wall Street money is sending humankind down in flames. Cornel West is my candidate for sure. He's devoted his guts to truth and justice his whole life!!!
It is long overdue to publicly state and restate that we have been and are in the middle of largest US conspiracy ever.
Conspiracy led by Hillary DNC team (including St. Obama, Pelosi, Biden, Schiff, etc.) and Deep State (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc.) and also select RINO GOP collaborators.
The unprecedented and on-going CONSPIRACY includes
• Russia-gate 5-year hoax and major election interference,
• coup in Ukraine and attempted coup against elected US president,
• Hunter laptop premediated lies, silencing of US president in social media and resulting stealing of 2020 election,
• protection of Biden and Biden’s family major corruption,
• Jan. 6 armed insurrection set-up (with almost ten dead according to AOC),
• Building a major censorship apparatus led by CIA and FBI executives in State media, Internet, major universities and technology giant firms – that is still maintained
• Persecution, prosecution, and silencing leading 2024 presidential candidates who are opposing the US War uni-party
It is essential that the issue of illegitimate restrictions of the electoral process be addressed nationally. There is no actual presumption of preference for the republican or democratic parties. Currently there is only money. Money means nothing in regards to integrity, a history of intelligence and good acts, or alignment with our current desperate realities. It is a secondary or even third, in terms of priorities. It is time for an NATIONAL ELECTORAL STRIKE! To demand REDRESS! It truly is the only way to break the oligarchy. Trump and Biden, the wars, the lousy, greed driven, healthcare, a Congress that has devolved into a bribery distribution scheme. None of which can be voted for or against. It’s time for a NATIONAL ELECTORAL STRIKE! Vote local only!!
Am I the only person in this hemisphere who has grown tired of Hedges telling us how gloomy things are? ... In this article, he conveys the hopelessness of ever forming a third-party movement with a true voice ... agreed, things look bleak ... he could have also admitted that our only hope lies in the power of local government, but he just won't go there ...
Ever notice? ... Hedges will quickly point out the deep-seeded divisiveness among us and then reach into his bag of wedge issues to tell us our problem is Trump-MAGA ... The problem in America IS NOT Trump-MAGA ... the problem is the Elite's relentless pursuit of the goals of UN Agenda 21/30, and he obviously has no intention of ever going there ...
I've followed him very closely since 2011 ... he has never even mentioned Agenda 21, the Book "the Fourth Industrial Revolution, The Great Reset or the World Economic Forum ... NOT ONCE, EVER! ... BTW, those Trump-MAGA types actually want the same things we do, like fair elections ...
Did you know? ... Hedges has cynically labeled those of us who openly question the motives and tactics of our elected officials as "conspiracy theorists" ... that's right and he's done it more than once ... ... if you happen to believe that 9/11 was an inside job as I do, Chris has in fact called us conspiracy theorists ...
Ever notice? ... although his core message has always been to confront tyranny, Hedges threw the working class under the bus with COVID once the March 2020 lock-downs were declared ... he has since refused to stand with us against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports ...
Did you know? ... Hedges actually stood with big pharma and endorsed their "safe & effective" narrative just 30 days after the explosive court-ordered FDA FOIA release that revealed over 1200 deaths and 34,000 adverse events in the first 10 weeks of their COVID vaccine trial ... and after taking sides with big pharma in a 2022 interview with Krystal & Kyle, he also openly admitted that he does not trust Moderna and Phizer ... clearly this man did not give a hoot about the consequences ...
Ever notice? ... Hedges' position on the climate change aligns perfectly with the "existential threat" narrative pushed by turncoat Davos converts Al Gore and John Kerry ... more people are waking up to the existential threat BS, but Hedges keeps pushing it ... did you see how Gore and Kerry acted like complete, unhinged jack-asses when discussing this topic at the recent Davos conclave? ... great company Chris!
BTW, I've got all the details: ... times, dates, context and direct, verbatim, head-scratching quotes by the duplicitous Mr Hedges ... all ya gotta do is ask ...
Pita, "The problem in America IS NOT Trump-MAGA ... "
Since you seem to know what the MAGA boys want, could you please explain to this ignorant and simple man what the "Make America Great Again" MAGA followers are referring to: Great for whom? and Again in comparison to what period of our history? Prohibition, Jim Crow, robber barons and gilded age, slavery and antebellum, indian wars?
I am not a MAGA type and I also happen to think Trump is a complete horse's-ass of a human being ... I'm an independent progressive who did not vote for either of those sexually-obsessed bullies in the last election ... but to address your question, all I know about those MAGA types is that they are U.S. citizens and human beings ... and I must tell you Julio, Hedges has cynically ignited his flock on the TRUMP-MAGA connection here on Substack ... and he has also referred to those of us who question the official story of 9/11 as well as Q-Anon advocates as conspiracy theorists ... Hedges is a master at dividing us in a way that his followers don't even notice.
Of course, Trump and his followers are U.S. citizens and human beings no matter how confused they might be. Since you couldn't answer my question I hope that some member that understands these hocus pocus politics is willing to enlighten me about what is that those guys are looking for.
I know you love to be a contrarian but I believe you chose the wrong place to spread your gospel. Have you tried to contradict members of some conservative substack to check if they have the patience that we have?
Those MAGA types want the same things we do ... like free speech, fair elections, universal health care ... and regarding my tendency to test your patience, I'm not here to annoy you and you know it! ... Hedges has said and done some rally nasty things these past few years, and I will continue to call him on it as long as I continue to collect LIKES on my comments ... all of my criticisms of Hedges are based on making his followers aware of his direct verbatim quotes ... some people don't like it, others do.
"I'm a very gentle man, even-tempered and good-natured
whom you never hear complain
who has the milk or human kindness
by the quart in every vein."
Professor Higgins lyrics in My Fair Lady.
Me too. In fact, today I arrived at the conclusion that I'm such an exceptionally nice man and so extremely kind and understanding that I decided that starting today I'm giving myself a big present on mother's day.
( I wish the merchants also celebrated Goof's Day in which case I would award myself with double gifts)
Seriously, I was just wondering what would happen if you joined the substack of a Trump worshiper and told them that Trump is "a complete horse's-ass of a human being" and that the owner of the substack is a sanctimonious hypocrite who is trying to divide us (the core of your gospel). How would they react? Well, you are protected by the anonymity of a false name in the internet, so be daring and try it. Once in the gym, a Trump follower who just had told me that for him the most two important persons in the world were Jesus and Trump and I replied to him that what I didn't like of Trump was his hatred, he didn't let me finish and almost hit me.
I will admit, your point about commenting on a pro-Trump Substack is challenging ...
And yes, I'd be hesitant to criticize the orange man in the midst of his worshipers ...
But I must tell you, Julio ... I'd still vote for Kari Lake over anybody else out there ...
I firmly believe she too knows that Trump is a horse's-ass of human being, but she has to latch on to his coattails because it's the most politically expedient thing to do right now ...
"Under democracy, each party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule, and both easily succeed. H. L. Mencken"
“On nearly every major issue — war, trade policies, militarized police, suppression of the minimum wage, hostility towards unions, revoking of civil liberties, gouging of the public by big banks, credit card companies, big pharma and the healthcare industry — there is little or no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.”
Oh come on! Geeze. Really? This is so, so mid-last century
Yes, there is no real organized left in the US -- no real alternatives to the two major parties that share a lot of pro-capitalist and related policies and goals. But whose fault is that? Blaming election law hurdles is a cop-out. We have a handful of academics and public intellectuals and a scattering of mostly white, privileged college-educated folks who call themselves grassroots organizers and progressives but who have no conception of what a leftist really is or what a truly oppressive state has done and can do to real, actual progressives who threaten the status quo.
Why is that? It’s not the fault of the two major parties. It’s our own fault. For the last 40+ years, both the Repub and Dem Parties subscribed to a noxious Neo-Liberal consensus around globalization and we “progressives,” did nothing much more than ride the wave of income and wealth transfer to greater heights of the comfortable and privileged peanut gallery. Except for Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns (which effectively showed how weak the left is), what left forces have even tried to vie for real political power? Yes, there are a few really authentic groups who do really important work, like the Working Families Party in NY, but these are the vast exception that the rest of the so-called left ignores for fear of getting their hands dirty. Our unions? Pretty much the same.
The authoritarian right is on the upsurge here in the US and in many countries around the world. And it is capturing much of the working class as once Stalin and Hitler did. And as Orban has done more recently in Hungary. This is not some disconnected coincidence. This authoritarian upsurge is part and parcel of our American history that continues to rhyme -- especially since “progressives” haven’t challenged it in decades. And it’s horrifying, as we can see from what the Trump/Putin alliance is willing to do to “win.” Putin was explicit about what he was going to do and with Trump’s apparent blessing -- despite the fact that Trump was neither re-elected nor succeeded in effecting a coup -- he went ahead and did it. Horrifying.
Trump is being very explicit about what he intends to do to our “liberal” state when he’s elected. It likely woouldn’t be as horrifying as what Putin is doing, but, if you like what Orban is doing, then you’ll love what Trump and his allies have planned.
So, sure, we all want a much transformed US and the end of capitalist exploitation, etc., etc. But, yes, there are worse things. And when those worse things rear their heads and threaten mass destruction and repression, we must come together to resist and defeat them. Right now is one of those times.
Any third party candidacy that isn’t Trump’s will help Trump win. Full stop. Cornell West is a fine fellow, but his candidacy in this moment is a pure vanity effort. Tilting at windmills when we need to be pulling together and being friends with every conceivable “enemy of my enemy” so that we might all live to fight another day -- or decade -- whenever WE do what is necessary to have a real, viable, impactful enough Left that the middle/working class is actually at the heart of it and doesn’t immediately and enthusiastically jump into the arms of America’s home-grown noe-fascists.
"Why is that? It’s not the fault of the two major parties. It’s our own fault." Quite right, in my opinion, and that is why Bernard Shaw said that democracy is the best political system to give the people the government they deserve.
The Green Party supports animal-based "regenerative" agriculture, which is an erroneous and dangerous approach. Joseph Poore of Oxford University and Thomas Nemecek of the LCA Research Group in Switzerland have estimated that a general transition away from animal agriculture would free up farmland approximately equal in area to the continent of Africa or four times the contiguous United States. 31 million square kilometres of land would become available for reforestation, afforestation and rewilding. Those measures and a massive reduction in further land clearing are essential for the climate, biodiversity and retention of a habitable planet.
Jill Stein, West's campaign manager needs to consult with Obama's fundraising guru.
In all, no US politician has ever raised so much money for a political campaign – and this one will be the most expensive ever. Of the $942m in receipts so far for the 2008 race, Obama has raised $347m, more than double John McCain's $143.8m.
Same in UK I think its all part of the global corporate take over of the planet by the billionaire investor corps. They are the end of times people. They will enslave and cull workers globally imho
Chris, After Citizens United, I believe you stated that the only thing that will have a chance to affect change is civil disobedience. While I support Cornel West, I think his energy would be more useful in organizing demonstrations. There aren't enough votes or money to overcome this two party system. His candidacy will go the way of Nader's.
I vote for third parties when the candidate is good like Dr. West, but although I see very few chances of winning, I consider my vote an act of civil disobedience that could lead to the politicians of the main parties to understand that we had enough of their lip service and we are not going to continue supporting them.
John ... bet the ranch that Hedges knows this ...
He burns much time attempting to pump false life into issues that are actually pipe-dreams ...
Hedges is actually loathe to comment on hard news, so he does this just to maintain his place in the independent media food chain ... he deftly stepped over to the other side with the March 2020 lock downs ... follow him as closely as I have these past 10-12 years, and you'd realize how truly insincere he has become ...
This is the year I will NOT for ANY Democrat other than Barbara Lee. I don't care if the Democrats go down in flames. They're devotion to Wall Street money is sending humankind down in flames. Cornel West is my candidate for sure. He's devoted his guts to truth and justice his whole life!!!
It is long overdue to publicly state and restate that we have been and are in the middle of largest US conspiracy ever.
Conspiracy led by Hillary DNC team (including St. Obama, Pelosi, Biden, Schiff, etc.) and Deep State (FBI, CIA, NSA, etc.) and also select RINO GOP collaborators.
The unprecedented and on-going CONSPIRACY includes
• Russia-gate 5-year hoax and major election interference,
• coup in Ukraine and attempted coup against elected US president,
• Hunter laptop premediated lies, silencing of US president in social media and resulting stealing of 2020 election,
• protection of Biden and Biden’s family major corruption,
• Jan. 6 armed insurrection set-up (with almost ten dead according to AOC),
• Building a major censorship apparatus led by CIA and FBI executives in State media, Internet, major universities and technology giant firms – that is still maintained
• Persecution, prosecution, and silencing leading 2024 presidential candidates who are opposing the US War uni-party
It is essential that the issue of illegitimate restrictions of the electoral process be addressed nationally. There is no actual presumption of preference for the republican or democratic parties. Currently there is only money. Money means nothing in regards to integrity, a history of intelligence and good acts, or alignment with our current desperate realities. It is a secondary or even third, in terms of priorities. It is time for an NATIONAL ELECTORAL STRIKE! To demand REDRESS! It truly is the only way to break the oligarchy. Trump and Biden, the wars, the lousy, greed driven, healthcare, a Congress that has devolved into a bribery distribution scheme. None of which can be voted for or against. It’s time for a NATIONAL ELECTORAL STRIKE! Vote local only!!
Am I the only person in this hemisphere who has grown tired of Hedges telling us how gloomy things are? ... In this article, he conveys the hopelessness of ever forming a third-party movement with a true voice ... agreed, things look bleak ... he could have also admitted that our only hope lies in the power of local government, but he just won't go there ...
Ever notice? ... Hedges will quickly point out the deep-seeded divisiveness among us and then reach into his bag of wedge issues to tell us our problem is Trump-MAGA ... The problem in America IS NOT Trump-MAGA ... the problem is the Elite's relentless pursuit of the goals of UN Agenda 21/30, and he obviously has no intention of ever going there ...
I've followed him very closely since 2011 ... he has never even mentioned Agenda 21, the Book "the Fourth Industrial Revolution, The Great Reset or the World Economic Forum ... NOT ONCE, EVER! ... BTW, those Trump-MAGA types actually want the same things we do, like fair elections ...
Did you know? ... Hedges has cynically labeled those of us who openly question the motives and tactics of our elected officials as "conspiracy theorists" ... that's right and he's done it more than once ... ... if you happen to believe that 9/11 was an inside job as I do, Chris has in fact called us conspiracy theorists ...
Ever notice? ... although his core message has always been to confront tyranny, Hedges threw the working class under the bus with COVID once the March 2020 lock-downs were declared ... he has since refused to stand with us against the illegal and unconstitutional mandates and passports ...
Did you know? ... Hedges actually stood with big pharma and endorsed their "safe & effective" narrative just 30 days after the explosive court-ordered FDA FOIA release that revealed over 1200 deaths and 34,000 adverse events in the first 10 weeks of their COVID vaccine trial ... and after taking sides with big pharma in a 2022 interview with Krystal & Kyle, he also openly admitted that he does not trust Moderna and Phizer ... clearly this man did not give a hoot about the consequences ...
Ever notice? ... Hedges' position on the climate change aligns perfectly with the "existential threat" narrative pushed by turncoat Davos converts Al Gore and John Kerry ... more people are waking up to the existential threat BS, but Hedges keeps pushing it ... did you see how Gore and Kerry acted like complete, unhinged jack-asses when discussing this topic at the recent Davos conclave? ... great company Chris!
BTW, I've got all the details: ... times, dates, context and direct, verbatim, head-scratching quotes by the duplicitous Mr Hedges ... all ya gotta do is ask ...
Pita, "The problem in America IS NOT Trump-MAGA ... "
Since you seem to know what the MAGA boys want, could you please explain to this ignorant and simple man what the "Make America Great Again" MAGA followers are referring to: Great for whom? and Again in comparison to what period of our history? Prohibition, Jim Crow, robber barons and gilded age, slavery and antebellum, indian wars?
Hey Julio ...
I am not a MAGA type and I also happen to think Trump is a complete horse's-ass of a human being ... I'm an independent progressive who did not vote for either of those sexually-obsessed bullies in the last election ... but to address your question, all I know about those MAGA types is that they are U.S. citizens and human beings ... and I must tell you Julio, Hedges has cynically ignited his flock on the TRUMP-MAGA connection here on Substack ... and he has also referred to those of us who question the official story of 9/11 as well as Q-Anon advocates as conspiracy theorists ... Hedges is a master at dividing us in a way that his followers don't even notice.
Of course, Trump and his followers are U.S. citizens and human beings no matter how confused they might be. Since you couldn't answer my question I hope that some member that understands these hocus pocus politics is willing to enlighten me about what is that those guys are looking for.
I know you love to be a contrarian but I believe you chose the wrong place to spread your gospel. Have you tried to contradict members of some conservative substack to check if they have the patience that we have?
Those MAGA types want the same things we do ... like free speech, fair elections, universal health care ... and regarding my tendency to test your patience, I'm not here to annoy you and you know it! ... Hedges has said and done some rally nasty things these past few years, and I will continue to call him on it as long as I continue to collect LIKES on my comments ... all of my criticisms of Hedges are based on making his followers aware of his direct verbatim quotes ... some people don't like it, others do.
Wish you well Julio ...
Oh, don't worry about my patience. After all..
"I'm a very gentle man, even-tempered and good-natured
whom you never hear complain
who has the milk or human kindness
by the quart in every vein."
Professor Higgins lyrics in My Fair Lady.
Me too. In fact, today I arrived at the conclusion that I'm such an exceptionally nice man and so extremely kind and understanding that I decided that starting today I'm giving myself a big present on mother's day.
( I wish the merchants also celebrated Goof's Day in which case I would award myself with double gifts)
Seriously, I was just wondering what would happen if you joined the substack of a Trump worshiper and told them that Trump is "a complete horse's-ass of a human being" and that the owner of the substack is a sanctimonious hypocrite who is trying to divide us (the core of your gospel). How would they react? Well, you are protected by the anonymity of a false name in the internet, so be daring and try it. Once in the gym, a Trump follower who just had told me that for him the most two important persons in the world were Jesus and Trump and I replied to him that what I didn't like of Trump was his hatred, he didn't let me finish and almost hit me.
Ha! ... excellent! ...
I will admit, your point about commenting on a pro-Trump Substack is challenging ...
And yes, I'd be hesitant to criticize the orange man in the midst of his worshipers ...
But I must tell you, Julio ... I'd still vote for Kari Lake over anybody else out there ...
I firmly believe she too knows that Trump is a horse's-ass of human being, but she has to latch on to his coattails because it's the most politically expedient thing to do right now ...
Most folk that vote 3rd party know what you blog here. Our system is so broke its not worth fixing: tear down the wall my friends.
"Under democracy, each party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule, and both easily succeed. H. L. Mencken"
“On nearly every major issue — war, trade policies, militarized police, suppression of the minimum wage, hostility towards unions, revoking of civil liberties, gouging of the public by big banks, credit card companies, big pharma and the healthcare industry — there is little or no difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.”
Oh come on! Geeze. Really? This is so, so mid-last century
Yes, there is no real organized left in the US -- no real alternatives to the two major parties that share a lot of pro-capitalist and related policies and goals. But whose fault is that? Blaming election law hurdles is a cop-out. We have a handful of academics and public intellectuals and a scattering of mostly white, privileged college-educated folks who call themselves grassroots organizers and progressives but who have no conception of what a leftist really is or what a truly oppressive state has done and can do to real, actual progressives who threaten the status quo.
Why is that? It’s not the fault of the two major parties. It’s our own fault. For the last 40+ years, both the Repub and Dem Parties subscribed to a noxious Neo-Liberal consensus around globalization and we “progressives,” did nothing much more than ride the wave of income and wealth transfer to greater heights of the comfortable and privileged peanut gallery. Except for Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaigns (which effectively showed how weak the left is), what left forces have even tried to vie for real political power? Yes, there are a few really authentic groups who do really important work, like the Working Families Party in NY, but these are the vast exception that the rest of the so-called left ignores for fear of getting their hands dirty. Our unions? Pretty much the same.
The authoritarian right is on the upsurge here in the US and in many countries around the world. And it is capturing much of the working class as once Stalin and Hitler did. And as Orban has done more recently in Hungary. This is not some disconnected coincidence. This authoritarian upsurge is part and parcel of our American history that continues to rhyme -- especially since “progressives” haven’t challenged it in decades. And it’s horrifying, as we can see from what the Trump/Putin alliance is willing to do to “win.” Putin was explicit about what he was going to do and with Trump’s apparent blessing -- despite the fact that Trump was neither re-elected nor succeeded in effecting a coup -- he went ahead and did it. Horrifying.
Trump is being very explicit about what he intends to do to our “liberal” state when he’s elected. It likely woouldn’t be as horrifying as what Putin is doing, but, if you like what Orban is doing, then you’ll love what Trump and his allies have planned.
So, sure, we all want a much transformed US and the end of capitalist exploitation, etc., etc. But, yes, there are worse things. And when those worse things rear their heads and threaten mass destruction and repression, we must come together to resist and defeat them. Right now is one of those times.
Any third party candidacy that isn’t Trump’s will help Trump win. Full stop. Cornell West is a fine fellow, but his candidacy in this moment is a pure vanity effort. Tilting at windmills when we need to be pulling together and being friends with every conceivable “enemy of my enemy” so that we might all live to fight another day -- or decade -- whenever WE do what is necessary to have a real, viable, impactful enough Left that the middle/working class is actually at the heart of it and doesn’t immediately and enthusiastically jump into the arms of America’s home-grown noe-fascists.
"Why is that? It’s not the fault of the two major parties. It’s our own fault." Quite right, in my opinion, and that is why Bernard Shaw said that democracy is the best political system to give the people the government they deserve.
West is a smart man who feels compelled to run. He just might succeed - god willing.
The Green Party supports animal-based "regenerative" agriculture, which is an erroneous and dangerous approach. Joseph Poore of Oxford University and Thomas Nemecek of the LCA Research Group in Switzerland have estimated that a general transition away from animal agriculture would free up farmland approximately equal in area to the continent of Africa or four times the contiguous United States. 31 million square kilometres of land would become available for reforestation, afforestation and rewilding. Those measures and a massive reduction in further land clearing are essential for the climate, biodiversity and retention of a habitable planet.
Biden is Hitler.
Jill Stein, West's campaign manager needs to consult with Obama's fundraising guru.
In all, no US politician has ever raised so much money for a political campaign – and this one will be the most expensive ever. Of the $942m in receipts so far for the 2008 race, Obama has raised $347m, more than double John McCain's $143.8m.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/17/barackobama.uselections2008
Same in UK I think its all part of the global corporate take over of the planet by the billionaire investor corps. They are the end of times people. They will enslave and cull workers globally imho
Cornel West is a master bloviator. Period.
Bless be the bloviators when they are right.