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OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 8/27/16

Wag the Donkey

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Message Philip Farruggio

Democratic Donkey Down
Democratic Donkey Down
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In most cases satire reveals many hidden truths. Such was the case with the 1997 Barry Levinson film "Wag the Dog"; obviously done as a spoof on the Bill Clinton's sexual imbroglio with Ms. Lewinsky, and the damage control done to modify it. The inner meaning of the film reveals just how foolish the Amerikan public is, and how susceptible many are to well thought out propaganda.

Well, isn't that how we really are folks? Thirteen years ago a majority of Amerikans fell for the lies and half-truths that the Bush gang peddled regarding the invasion of Iraq. So much so that even now the idea of "regime change" has become respectable. The mainstream phony and embedded news media finds ways to justify the extension of our Empire for...duh, "humanitarian interventions"...yes, we care so deeply about our Arab brothers and sisters... not. Are the people in the Middle East better off now with all of our "help"? We have become too accustomed to the tactic and strategy of being against someone or something more than being for something else, like our principles, values and morals.

There is no need to focus my attention on the core Democratic and Republican conjoined twins of the two-party con-job. As the character from the great play "Twelve Angry Men" said about one of his fellow jurors, a bigot: "He doesn't hear you... and he never will!"

Similarly, I won't focus on those members of the Democratic voting public who will always vote for a Democrat no matter what. Especially after reading Michael Moore's latest piece that basically said:

1. "Trump must be stopped ", and

2. "Hillary is OK with me ".

Rather, the real conundrum is for those who really want to see clear cut progressive change, since many of us actually refer to ourselves as "Progressive Democrats ". That said, one has to place Moore in that same "h e doesn't hear us" group. "F eel the Bern" Sanders has let diehard progressive Democrats down by publically supporting " Killary."

Meanwhile, the Green Party has a platform that clearly surpasses Sanders' platform by a progressive mile! Yet, if you speak one-on-one with many of the "I don't hear you" folks they will give you a replay of the famous pragmatist argument used against the Ralph Nader campaign of 2000: "We love you Ralph and love your ideas but...YOU CAN'T WIN! Voting for you is giving a vote to Bush."

As this writer has stated before, "A pragmatist is the fellow facing a firing squad who asks for a blindfold!" How in the hell can true progressives cast a vote for a person (and party) that has so many neo-cons supporting it? Have we not learned from Obama's continued "pragmatic gift" (a.k.a. bailout) to the crooked Wall Street "banksters", Obama's pragmatic feeding of the military industrial complex that already eats 54% of our income taxes, the pragmatic illegal aggression against Libya in 2011, and now Obama's and "Killary's" pragmatic New Cold War with Russia (because we care so deeply for our Ukrainian and Crimean brothers and sisters, not...to name but a few of the many terrible Obama-Killary pragmatic non-progressive actions?

There is little hope for real change at this time in Amerika. Honestly! The rigged electoral system has finally reached the bottom of the pit of corruption with both of the terrible people, "Killary" and "Trumpery" running for president, along with their cronies Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mike Pence (R-IN). Either of these presidential candidates and their cronies will sink our republic further down in the swamp of Empire. So, if that is the case, then all good and decent citizens out there should finally make their votes count! " by voting for a 3rd party.

Those out there calling themselves "principled conservatives" would best vote Libertarian. Those who feel they are "true progressives" should vote for the Green Party. Yes, both of these two parties and their candidates "CAN'T WIN", but if they get enough votes it may signal the beginning of the end for the two party con job.

Meanwhile, as Chris Hedges has hammered home many times, theoretically voting should count for something but it really doesn't in this day and age. Yet, voting can count for something and will make a strong statement to the rest of our fellow citizens if more of us refuse to support the two parties and any of their candidates in any race. History has shown that when a mass of citizens gets out into the public square in support of one key issue...the powers that be cannot ignore them, not when the numbers are so great and the voices so loud.

For example, we had an incident in my town of 50,000 a few years ago. The city council decided to put a blockade up on a certain street, one that had a handful of Mom and Pop businesses on it. The residents of an adjoining residential street complained about delivery trucks going thru and stifling their children from playing in the street. Shoppers to the businesses on the other street were now put in harm's way, because the only new route to and from the Mom and Pop stores was through a heavily traveled and dangerous traffic intersection.

So we did something about it, we got a petition drive going and 15 of us met at the following city council meeting. Each of us signed up to speak to the council people, and one by one we did. After hearing us speak in protest to the blockade, the mayor called for an executive closed door session. Soon after that the blockade was ended.

If in a town of 50,000 a handful of protestors with a few hundred signatures got something done, imagine what hundreds of thousands of us could do if we stand out there and demand a cutback of our Military Industrial Empire Complex?

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Philip A Farruggio is an activist leader, free lance columnist and small businessman. He is blue collar from birth, as both his dad and grandad were Brooklyn , NYC longshoremen. Philip has a BA from Brooklyn College ( class of ' 74 ) in Speech (more...)
 

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