Tag: Politics

A Scholars Conference

Just a short stroll down memory lane….

In the 80s I was invited to give my paper, The Shortcomings In The Theory Of Non-Violence, I wish I could repost my paper but unfortunately it was destroyed when Katrina attacked my home, The conference was held at the Univ of Louisville over a 4 day period.

To say that I made an impression would be an understatement….after the presentation I was not going to make many friends.

My premise of the paper was that non-violence while is a good tactic did not hold up over time…..I used India s an example…..Gandhi wanted to end the occupation of the UK, end the ‘untouchable’ thing and bring unity to the sub-continent….

Sorry but he failed.  India got independence basically because it was a drain on the UK treasury, the untouchables are still part of the country and the unity did not last….Pakistan split off after the independence….and then I pointed to civil rights here in this country….yes equality and voting rights were granted but after that all eyes moved on and in the long run the rights were crapped on by the government… and now the fight is on again to retain those hard won rights that were mostly through non-violent means.  The same happened to women’s rights…..the eyes moved on and the forces of ‘evil’ took hold once again.

After my talk there was a guy with a cane sitting and listening and I could tell he was getting angry as I went on…..I finally asked him if he disagreed and he said yes and then I said since you are so angry would you consider hitting me with your cane…he nodded yes….and then I said thank you and you have proven my point.

I then told the audience that the problem with all these examples is that they were focused on the wrong thing….they should be a continuing to make sure to retain any hard fought wins.

I said the problem with conferences like this was that the participants were talking to each other when they should be talking to the people that these wins effected.

This country needs a strong working class party to keep the focus where it belongs….what we have now is what Gompers wanted many years ago….a fight for money when they should have been fighting for political power which would have almost guaranteed that hard won rights remained in force.

I know that this maybe an unpopular stance but look what has happened in the last couple of decades….workers are losing all those hard won rights in favor of corporate profits….and the attacks are coming from both parties….the workers are just tools for the next election….their livelihood means very little to the bastards in the parties.

Of all the participants in the conference most we academics and thought that all people could follow their obfuscation of different trends in political thought.  Every presentation, as I looked around, had the audience all nodding with the presentation…..that is until I took the floor and brought some reality into the room.

I do not condemn non-violence just that it cannot be the only tactic used to win rights…I know someone will dispute that well that is okay because I will accept any optional technique as long as the eyes are kept on the prize and never look away….even for an instant…..look what has happened today….rights are being shaved away until we are back where we were in the 1950s.

Democratic, political leadership role of the working class is indispensable for raising consciousness beyond economic struggles to socialist consciousness, which means recognising the irreconcilable antagonism between the working class and the entire capitalist system. The most politically conscious section of the working class must lead the oppressed peoples as a whole to overthrow capitalism and build a socialist society based on equality and justice.

Keep in mind that those two words strike terror into the hearts of capitalists….equality and justice.

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito

We, The People….

I have always liked the term…..but is it truly all about the people?  The government that is.

Our tortured country is floundering and it is in dire need of assistance.

But who will save this nation?

The elected politicians?  No for they are not in it to save this nation but rather to further their personal ambitions.

If not the politicians then who can save this country from itself?

The Founders believe that the people would do what is right for the nation.

“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation to do something.”John Lewis’s words echo across this moment in American life because the responsibility he described no longer rests with parties or politicians. It rests with the people themselves.

Recently, a nurse shared a choice no family should have to make: pay for a needed surgery or replace the failing roof over their heads. That is not just a personal crisis. It is a civic one— a sign of what happens when institutions stop working for the people they were built to serve.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, the framers made a wager— not on presidents or parties, but on the people. They argued fiercely, yet built a Constitution rooted in one idea: power must remain with the people, and government exists only by their consent. That principle carried the nation through war, depression, corruption, and conflict because, in every crisis, the people stepped in to correct what institutions alone could not.

The framers believed the people would be the final safeguard when institutions failed. History proves they were right. From colonists resisting British overreach to Frederick Douglass demanding that the nation honor its ideals to the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King Jr., change came not from the top down, but from people who acted when government would not. This is why only the people can save the Republic: every safeguard the framers built ultimately depends on them.

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, the question is not what the Constitution says. The question is whether the people will still enforce it— and whether they will use their vote, judgment, and voice to preserve the Republic.

https://thefulcrum.us/civic-engagement-education/only-the-people-can-save-the-republic-not-parties-politicians

The premise may be accurate but if we vote we must vote party….so how does that give us any power?

Those same Founders that gave us the way to heal this country also made it possible for politics to destroy the very thing that helped create.

The men who gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 were students of history, and it taught them a singular lesson: power corrupts, and unchecked power can destroy a republic.

They designed our experiment with overlapping safeguards to ensure that no single faction, branch, or man could hold the nation hostage. What remained unresolved was agency: who, exactly, can determine when to trigger those safeguards? History has since exposed this as the system’s deepest vulnerability.

The Constitution assigns Congress the power of impeachment but says nothing about the political will required to use it. It grants the cabinet the authority to remove an incapacitated president but assumes that cabinet members will prioritize constitutional duty over personal loyalty. It tasks Congress with checking executive overreach, yet it cannot compel a partisan legislature to act.

In each case, accountability mechanisms exist. The decision about when to use it was delegated to individuals in a political system. The Founders hoped this system would produce honorable leaders, though they could not guarantee it. Nearly two and a half centuries later, we are forced to confront the consequences when it fails to do so.

https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/founders-safeguards-politics-useless

There has got to be a return to sanity if this nation is to survive….but how and when are the only questions that need an answer.

Any thoughts?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

cogito ergo agito

Political Parties, Why?

This is a sore spot for me….I do not see what good they have done for this country.

From the very beginning of this nation’s new government the need for political parties became inevitable….during the debate on the new Constitution there were the Federalist and the anti-Federalist….and so it began…..political camps that morphed into what we now have the political parties.

Let’s be honest there are some advantages….a quick look at thgose advantages….

Increase voter turnout…maybe in the beginning but today all is being done to limit the turnout.

Political Parties Improve the quality of candidates….have you seen this quality lately?

Encourage more candidates to run for office….but only if you are a member of a the two parties….all others are discouraged.

Political Parties encourage party loyalty….and that is where the biggest problem lies….no opposition is allowed.

There you have what I think of those so-called advantages.

Now let’s look at the disadvantages….

Disenfranchisement

One of the major drawbacks of political parties is Disenfranchisement, which indicates that some people feel like their vote doesn’t count. This can be because they aren’t inquisitive about any of the candidates or platforms suggested by the various parties and therefore determine not to participate.

Decreased voter turnout

Decreased voter turnout is even among the problematic weaknesses of political parties. Fewer individuals want to get concerned with the procedure or participate; even if they do, their votes separate us more and more parties are made.

Corruption

It is one of the common drawbacks of Political Parties not every political group follows transparency while operating governments. The former US president’s involvement with the Watergate scandal left individuals asking how corruption can seep into the greatest Political systems.

Encourage Disunity and divisiveness within the governing body

Political Parties can also guide to Disunity and Divisiveness, particularly when it comes to succeeding or losing an election. When someone from one party fails out to a candidate from another, there exists often some degree of personal animosity concerned because they feel like their opponent defrauded or made the race unfair in some way.

Encourage negative campaigning and mudslinging

Negative Campaigning and Mudslinging exist another issue of political parties as they promote the worst types of behavior and characters to come out during an election. The issues set an excellent example for politicians as crabs inside a bucket.

I cannot disagree with anything there….we are witnessing most of the disadvantages today and have been witness to the total collapse of the system.

But there is so much more that has turned this system into an ugly POS….

Parties may prioritize their own interests and agendas over the welfare of the nation, sometimes neglecting important issues that do not align with their platform.  (and they do)

Members of political parties may feel pressured to conform to party policies and decisions, restricting their ability to express independent opinions or vote according to personal beliefs.

Rivalry between parties can lead to gridlock in government, making it difficult to pass laws or implement policies, which can hinder effective governance and development.

It has been ten years since I ranted about political parties and in that time my views have not changed….but read it for yourself….

Why Political Parties Are Unnecessary

As you can see I am an opinionated SOB and I do not change with the times….

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Educate, Agitate

cogito ergo agito

Perverts, Tramps And Thieves

WE all know just how screwed up the Donny group is and just how much of a pack of idiots but the requirements to be an FBI agent use to be strict and above board….that has changed….

The FBI has quietly stripped prostitution, bestiality and employer theft from the list of offenses that once ended a job application on the spot.

The revised standards reached the personnel who run background checks through a June 16 internal memo known as an electronic communication, according to CBS News. A candidate who paid for sex can now stay in contention as long as the conduct happened fewer than three times and fell outside the previous decade.

Theft from an employer no longer triggers automatic rejection once three years have passed, CBS News reported. Acts of bestiality or animal cruelty may be excused if they occurred before the applicant turned 18.

One carve-out survived the loosening. Applicants who solicited sex while holding a position of trust still face automatic disqualification, a category that covers public safety, education, health, social work, finance and law, according to CBS News.

The bureau rejected any suggestion that it had opened its doors to criminals. “It is false to suggest criminal behavior like this is no longer disqualifying at the FBI. Any applicant who has engaged in criminal sexual acts like those referenced would of course not be eligible for employment, and it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise,” the FBI said in a statement reported by the Associated Press (AP). The bureau tied the change to service members and others who may have paid for sex where it was legal.

The relaxed rules arrived as the bureau bled personnel. Former FBI analyst Philip Fields counted 1,139 special agents gone in 2025, according to CBS News. The agency employs roughly 13,700 agents.

Critics read the move as evidence of a thin recruiting field. “If they’re moving the bar for sexual encounters to include prostitution, what is that saying about the applicant pool,” said Daniel Brunner, a retired agent of two decades, in comments reported by the AP.

The changes follow a run of eased requirements under FBI Director Kash Patel. Reuters reported in February that Patel planned to drop a panel interview and a writing test for staff seeking agent roles. A 2015 memo from then-Attorney General Eric Holder barring the solicitation of prostitution remains in force, according to the AP.

(dailycaller.com)

So now the nation’s top law enforcement agency can be staffed with perverts and sexual deviants….go figure.

I mean the admin is full with like personnel so why not the FBI?

So if for some reason the FBI shows up at your home….hide your pets.

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito

“lego ergo scribo”

The Long Con

I make no secret of my extreme dislike (some may call it hatred) for the Supreme Court and the political hacks that sit on it…..none more disliked than chief justice Roberts….

This judge has done more damage to this country than most are unaware of because it is not reported as it should be….

I recently read an excellent article on his long con….

There is no bigger con man in the United States than Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Not even President Donald J. Trump.

The con began in September 2005, during Roberts’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Articulate, handsome, and energetic at fifty years old, Roberts seemed to have been culled “straight from central casting,” as Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama actually remarked on the first day of the hearings. Roberts was also convincing—he famously promised that if confirmed, he would serve in the fashion of a baseball umpire, calling only “balls and strikes, and not to pitch or bat.” Seventy-eight Senators, including twenty-two Democrats, fell for the ploy and voted to give him the lifetime assignment.

The biggest yarn Roberts told during his hearing concerned his views on the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), a cornerstone of American democracy, which the Supreme Court gutted this past April in a redistricting case from the state of Louisiana (Louisiana v. Callais).

As is his prerogative as Chief Justice, Roberts assigned the task of drafting the Callais majority opinion to fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who responded with a 6 to 3 ruling that held that, henceforth, Section 2 of the landmark legislation would require VRA plaintiffs to meet the nearly impossible burden of proving that redistricting maps challenged as “racial gerrymanders” were created with discriminatory intent rather than for permissible political purposes. The opinion allowed Louisiana to eliminate one majority Black Congressional district. It also effectively negated legislation passed in 1982 that had amended Section 2 to permit the Justice Department and private citizens to challenge election laws that have the effect of diluting minority voting power without proving intent.

Flash back to 2005 and it is apparent that, at best, Roberts misled the judiciary committee. In response to a question from Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy about the VRA’s constitutionality, Roberts replied, “[T]he existing Voting Rights Act—the constitutionality has been upheld. And I don’t have any issue with that.”

https://progressive.org/magazine/the-long-con-of-john-roberts-blum-20260821

The voters have had long cons played on them by politicians and we could have changed that….but we chose not to do so…..but with the Supreme Court we do not have that option and once seated they are there for life….even if they live to past one hundred…..we cannot rid ourselves of their devastating rulings.

We hear promises that reform is high on the agenda during elections and so far I have not seen shit once the elections are Over with…..have you?

I am sure we shall hear much on this issue and once the election is over nothing will materialize.

Anybody see anything differently?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Do Americans Hate Americans?

Over the years there is been a growing hatred for our fellow Americans….why is that?

Americans are becoming increasingly distrustful of one another, with younger generations showing the lowest levels of trust, according to new polling highlighted in a recent opinion piece published by The Hill.

“There is a dramatic decline in the level of trust of people by age groupings, with people born before 1960 the most trusting and each subsequent grouping by age less trustful than the one before,” states the survey by Marquette Law School Poll.

Trust also varies depending on the relationship. Ninety-two percent of Americans said they have at least a fair amount of trust in their immediate family, while trust drops sharply when it comes to strangers and federal elected officials.

A separate Pew Research Center study found another troubling sign of social division.

In its survey of 25 countries, 53% of American adults said the average person in the United States has bad morals and ethics. Pew said Americans were particularly likely among the countries surveyed to hold negative views about the morality of their fellow citizens.

“Younger Americans (ages 18 to 39) are slightly more likely than older adults to say other Americans are morally bad (57% vs. 50%),” read the study.

The Hill contributor Ghlionn claimed that this combination of distrust and negative perceptions could make political disagreements more hostile. Instead of seeing opponents as people with different opinions, Americans may increasingly view them as fundamentally bad or dangerous.

The Marquette researchers cautioned against blaming social media alone for the decline in trust.

Their survey found that people using five or more social media platforms were generally less trusting. However, researchers found little consistent relationship between social media use and trust when comparing people within the same age group.

The findings suggest that America’s trust problem may have deeper causes, particularly across generations. While the surveys do not establish why trust has declined, they show a clear divide in how Americans view strangers, institutions and even their fellow citizens.

(knewz.com)

It is more distrust than hate….

The polls looked at several angles for this conclusion.

I blame social media ….and then there is the morally bad thing….what does that mean?

I understand the lack of trust for if you look at what the politicians have done( that should be not done) then I understand what the poll is saying.

I am not sure I can say I know of one politician that I trust…..and I have been watching since 1980 and in that time I have watched the attitudes  and decline of our elected representatives and it is getting worse instead of better.

Have you any thing to change my mind?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

cogito ergo agito

Harris? Seriously?

I recently read the polls for the 2028 election for president and was surprised at the results.

I appears , by this poll, that Harris leads the field of potential candidates.

Kamala Harris remains the best-positioned figure among Democrats in a potential 2028 presidential run.

The former vice president receives 28% support, exactly double that of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who registers 14%, according to The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll.

The survey represents just an early snapshot of a hypothetical Democratic primary, with more than two years to go before the next presidential cycle.

However, the results show significant movement behind Harris, especially among Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Harris has been hovering around 30% support for months and has remained at the forefront of The Center Square’s measurements since October 2025.

In that survey, she reached 33%; she dropped to 31% in March, registered 27% in June, and now stands at 28% in August.

One of the most relevant data points for the Latino community is how preferences are distributed within that electorate.

Harris receives 30% support among Hispanic and Latino voters, but Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appears in second place with 17%.

The result positions AOC as a figure to watch within this group, despite being behind the main candidates in the overall result.

Ocasio-Cortez also receives 13% among voters aged 18 to 29, again as the second option behind Harris.

The former vice president’s strength among young people is much greater: 47% of registered voters aged 18 to 29 prefer her over other potential candidates.

Kamala Harris’s leadership does not extend with the same intensity to all demographic groups included in the survey.

Among voters 65 years or older, Buttigieg leads the preferences with 20%, followed by Newsom with 19%. Harris drops to 13%.

She also loses ground among those with graduate degrees: Buttigieg receives 18%, compared to Harris’s 15%.

Another difference appears when observing political identification. Harris achieves 30% among Democrats, but her support drops to 20% among left-leaning independents.

AOC, on the other hand, even surpasses Newsom among the independents included in the measurement, with 10% compared to 9%.

(mundonow.com)

My thoughts on this…..first it is one poll but it does show similar results as others I have seen….second….why?  She is a proven loser why would the Dems take the chance again considering the country as a whole?

I do not think at this point in our history that the country will overwhelmingly vote for a women….so why take the chance…..and the country is divided and she will bring little to the table as far as any unification goes.

This is an early snapshot and is there as a PR stunt for the corporate Dems…..will it hold up?

I think not.

Do you think she has a chance?

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito

The D/Bags Are Watching

I sure most everyone has heard the statement “Big Brother Is Watching” and it is true.

As someone who was the target of the old COINTELPRO I can tell you that if you disagree with the government then they will find you and spy on you.

Since Donny took to the now destroyed White House there have been a wealth of spying on protesters and the groups that support them…..and it is getting worse…..

It’s time to familiarize yourselves with the names “Operation Puppet Master” and “Operation Keyhole.” If those nefarious phrases evoke to you the U.S. government’s domestic spying on leftist groups in the 1960s and 1970s, it’s for good reason. The terms are coinages of today’s Department of Homeland Security, and they’re associated with a massive covert surveillance effort that DHS unleashed earlier this year to track anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests in Minneapolis, where Donald Trump’s violent paramilitary invasion triggered months of intense civil conflict.

We just learned about the broad outlines of this domestic surveillance from newly released court papers related to the ongoing prosecution of a handful of protesters. As The New York Times reported, the papers show that DHS began surveilling left-leaning groups—including a union, a climate change group, and others—after ICE killed Alex Pretti in January. This has entailed seeking financial records and infiltrating protest meetings that are protected by the First Amendment.

But you can get a far more vivid picture of these undercover surveillance operations—and how brazenly they were conducted against American citizens—if you read deep into the court papers. The documents—which are attached as exhibits to a motion filed by lawyers for one of the protesters facing prosecution and are available on Pacer—include investigative reports that were transmitted by the undercover agents themselves about meetings they infiltrated.

It’s jarring, revealing stuff. The reports show that covert agents surreptitiously attended well over a dozen protest meetings organized by groups like the Sunrise Movement and various small socialist organizations. In some cases the agents secretly recorded the gatherings.

https://newrepublic.com/article/214482/trump-dhs-secret-police-spying-anti-ice-americans

Just a warning if you think about getting involved with the protests of Donny and the Gang….

Big Brother Will Be Watching!

Educate, Agitate

I Read, I Write, You Know

cogito ergo agito

The New Genocide Deniers

Those that refuse to see the horror of a genocide have been around since WW1`, the Armenians and the Turks, and it has stuck and it will always be with us….

“Genocide deniers” have been social pariahs since World War II, and rightfully so. The term was first used to describe some fringe political figures on the fascist far right who claimed the Holocaust never occurred. It was a hoax, they insisted, and a slander against the German people. No one, especially no one with liberal views, would have considered joining them as they denied the reality and horror of 20th-century genocide.

The new genocide deniers are a very different breed. They often see themselves as tolerant, open-minded, and liberal. On some issues, they often are. But their reaction to Israel’s violence against Gaza, the 21st century’s most visible genocide, is to dismiss its true nature with the wave of a hand.

The most visible of the new genocide deniers lately has been former pop star Boy George, whose song, “We Will Dance Again,” earned wide publicity for lyrics such as, “You say genocide, I say war/When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for.”

(I confess I haven’t listened to the song, nor do I intend to. That’s not based on any moral objections, but on the widely-reported fact that the music was generated with AI. My psyche has been polluted enough by AI music, which is the esthetic equivalent of microplastics in the brain. I don’t need to hear the backing track to respond to the lyrics.)

An entire essay could be written on the words “when you’re attacked,” but anybody who still doesn’t know about the 78-year brutalization of Palestine clearly doesn’t want to know. (For many years, I didn’t know either. Some of us have had to deprogram ourselves.) What caught my eye, however, was that flat declaration—“You say genocide, I say war”—that caught my eye. He’s not calling the reports from Gaza a hoax, but that’s the signature move for the new genocide deniers. They don’t deny reality; they deny the meaning of reality.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/08/18/the-new-genocide-deniers

That is truly pathetic that the idea that one is at war then all murderous intents are perfectly acceptable.

Not with me….killing innocents in the name of some stupid war should never be acceptable.

Regrettably the US has a sizeable population that will go as far as denier any genocide….as long as ‘their’ side is winning.

What say you?

I Read, I Write, You Know

Educate, Agitate

cogito ergo agito