Would you like to know how many people have visited this page? Or how reputable the author is? Simply
sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.
I have 49 fans: Become a Fan. You'll get emails whenever I post articles on OpEd News
John Rachel has a B.A. in Philosophy, and has written eight novels and three political non-fiction books. His political articles have appeared at OpEdNews, Russia Insider, The Greanville Post, and other alternative media outlets.
Since leaving the U.S. in 2006, he has lived in and explored 33 countries. He is now somewhat rooted in a traditional, rural Japanese community about an hour from Osaka, where he lives with his wife of five years. Daily he rides his bicycle through the soybean fields and rice paddies which sprawl across the surrounding landscape. As of the date of the release of his most recent book, "The Peace Dividend: The Most Controversial Proposal in the History of the World", he has a small but promising organic vegetable garden which begs his attention.
You can follow his writing and the evolution of his world view at: http://jdrachel.com
"Scribo ergo sum."
(134 comments) SHARE Saturday, November 17, 2018 Be Afraid ... Be Very Afraid!
The sales pitch for military expansion and more astronomical defense spending has just reached a whole new level of hysteria. Washington DC is flabbergasted! Someone figured out we can't win a war against Russia or China. (Like we've won any wars since WWII but let's not be negative.) But there's a small detail left entirely out of this discussion. What kind of war are these peddlers of paranoia talking about?
(28 comments) SHARE Sunday, March 29, 2015 Obama Surrounds Himself With Neocons and Other Hawkish Lunatics
Obama's foreign policy is a box of chocolates, except you always know what you're going to get __ more war, more bombing, more drone assassinations, more illegal regime change, more chaos and destruction. It's the company he keeps. He is surrounded by bloodthirsty, arguably mad, imperialist warmongers, megalomaniacs who see themselves as saviors of the Universe, chosen by destiny and blessed with infallibility.
(41 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 15, 2017 Trump's Gone Too Far This Time!
Things just keep getting weirder with the current administration. In a surprising and highly controversial move, President Donald Trump by executive order today made Russian the official language of the United States of America.
(20 comments) SHARE Friday, April 3, 2015 Isn't it Time to Stop America's Ugly Game of Thrones Business?
The U.S. has become the most prolific sponsor of coups in history but I see that soon coming to an end with one last epic regime change. This one will be the ouster of the imperial lunatics in the current administration, an epic game-changer that will be the mother of all coups and will put the rest of the world at ease, at least for the foreseeable future.
(23 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 9, 2015 Freedom of the Press
There is indeed freedom of the press in America. But it's not quite what I understood it to be. Now it's the freedom to keep Americans in the dark. It's the freedom cherry-pick from the vast array of newsworthy items and only publish those consistent with the preferred narrative of our government. It's the freedom to suppress anything which our government would find inconvenient or untimely.
(28 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 2, 2014 Ten Commandments For A New American Century
These arrived without my consulting a burning bush, or even having to leave the comfort of my home. People like rules. So here is a fresh set of commandments, a divine path for putting America on the straight and true.
(189 comments) SHARE Friday, September 15, 2017 CFAR Candidates: The Real Deal
Yes, there's hope in the midst of the mass of toxic sludge clogging our electoral machinery. Along comes the grass-roots voter-based initiative called CFAR, Contract For American Renewal. It takes the guesswork out of voting by exposing the phonies and frauds. The CFAR is a populist uprising targeting the November 2018 election, introducing honesty, integrity, transparency, and accountability back into the electoral process.
(139 comments) SHARE Monday, August 28, 2017 A Cure For Mad Trump Disease
Mad Trump Disease has not just infected the Oval Office. It's running rampant through the media and most of the political establishment. Insanity is the new normal. I don't want to blow the ending of this article, so I'll just say this: When the inmates have taken over the institution, it's still the person with the keys who decides who locks the doors at night.
(22 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Politics is a Rock Concert, Not a Seminar.
All we have now is war, morning, noon and night . . . 24/7/365. We need a new "anthem" that rocks this nation back to its senses. War and fear and militarization and national bankruptcy are over . . . if you want it.
(45 comments) SHARE Friday, October 28, 2016 Why Donald Trump is not as horrible as Hillary Clinton ... and why you should vote for Jill Stein.
Vote for Jill Stein! If that ends up electing Donald Trump, so be it. He's a buffoon and will accomplish nothing. He doesn't know his way around Washington DC and will be totally isolated. If Hillary gets elected, we will end up in a major war. She is backed by Wall Street, big banks, the multinational corporations, the MIC, the neocon-infested government and media organizations. She'll deliver them their desired destruction!
(66 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 20, 2018 The Richest Sociopath in the World
Jeff Bezos is referred to as 'The Richest Man in the World' and his personal fortune, while growing by $191,000 each minute, is currently estimated at $168 billion. We need to correct that labeling. He should henceforth be called 'The Richest Sociopath in the World.'
(4 comments) SHARE Monday, March 11, 2013 Going Postal
We can deliver enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world 25 times over with 12,000 active ICBMs, and fleets of nuclear submarines and long range bombers. BUT WE CAN'T DELIVER THE MAIL ON SATURDAY!
(91 comments) SHARE Wednesday, June 6, 2018 U.S. Blames Northern Lights on Russia, Imposes Sanctions
The State Department has accused Russia of hacking into the ionosphere causing excessive and annoying levels of Northern Lights activity, and is calling on the international community to impose a brutal new round of sanctions.
(56 comments) SHARE Thursday, February 20, 2020 ASD: A Pandemic for an Empire in Decline
Who is to stop our sociopathic leaders from destroying everything? After all, it would be such an awesome selfie!
(157 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 5, 2022 A Radical Assessment of January 6
Joe Biden calls January 6 "The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War." The Congressional resolution which established the investigation of January 6 called the mob assault "one of the darkest days of our democracy."The Democratic Party elites are calling January 6 the domestic equivalent of the 911 attacks. Did all of these people get their education watching Saturday morning cartoons?
(36 comments) SHARE Monday, May 29, 2017 Bird Dogging
Bird dogging has nothing to do with dogs hunting birds or birds hunting dogs. It's basically in-person harassment, pursuit of an individual "with dogged determination", and is commonly used against politicians who are being outed by their opponents or the media, for dramatic effect. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(62 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 16, 2020 COVID-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto
We can no longer fool ourselves, as we have done so often before, into believing that the current regime of capitalism is sustainable or tolerable. Capitalism is a failed system. It's time to replace it and oust those from power who continue to prop up this exploitative and ruinous corpse. The Covid-19 Global Solidarity Coalition is leading the charge with a new manifesto that is gaining huge support.
(42 comments) SHARE Wednesday, July 20, 2016 The "I'll vote for Jill if you will" Pledge Campaign
No more "lesser evil" voting or concerns about "throwing your vote away"! There's a way to establish a plurality victory for Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for president. Why hold your nose and vote for either a sociopathic egomaniac or a psychopathic war criminal, when you can put a brilliant woman in the White House who will serve the needs of all Americans, not just the billionaire class?
(2 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 17, 2020 Il Manifesto (Italy): Movement For Democratizing The Work Place
Putting all decisions related to the functioning of the majority of businesses democratically into the hands of their workers would at the level of the fundamental building blocks of our economy completely reconfigure that economy and create a replacement for capitalism as we know it.
(65 comments) SHARE Monday, June 5, 2017 Whack A Mole Activism
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 by the sheer number of crises being created, we're never able to mount a unified, coherent counterattack. We work hard but our energies are scattered. We end up with what I call Whack A Mole activism. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(67 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 30, 2015 Oratory as a Weapon of Mass Deception
You can pretty much tape a copy of Obama's speech at the U.N. this week to the wall, throw darts at it, and end up 9 times out of 10 hitting a half-truth, outright lie, or manipulative mangling of reality. I won't even try to cover everything which puts this in the all-time Top 10 for gross misuse of oratorical gifts and abuse of the powerful platform he is accorded as president.
(44 comments) SHARE Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Julian Assange: Could 50,000 People Provide a Human Corridor?
Julian Assange should be getting a Nobel Prize, not being persecuted.
What can we do to save this courageous, heroic man?
Can we get 50,000 people to show up at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to provide him a "human corridor" to escape to another embassy? They can't arrest or kill 50,000 people.
(186 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 21, 2017 Public Shaming
If our current congressman can't step up to the plate and play their very best game for the home team, they should be shamed, booed, reviled, scorned, humiliated, burned in effigy! Let them stew in the cauldron of the bad publicity they heap on themselves, then rot in a big foul steaming pile of their own wickedness, after we haul the garbage to the dump! They have no shame of their own, so we'll to bring it to them ourselves. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(84 comments) SHARE Monday, June 12, 2017 No Candidate Contract No Vote
Our democracy is in the middle of an existential crisis. That hardly suggests we should turn to those who have been participating in, often instrumental in engineering the mess, to see what their latest bright ideas are. In fact, it demands some fresh blood, some fresh thinking, some fresh ideas! Thus we need to clean house in Washington DC. That's what the candidate contract is intended to do. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(10 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 12, 2015 The Horror and the Shame
The ongoing campaign of Russia hating and demonizing of Vladimir Putin is a product of grotesque callousness, double standards, horrifying miscalculations, ignorance of history, and delusions of world conquest by psychopaths embedded in our foreign policy institutions, including many highly respected Beltway think tanks. This idiocy has the potential to terminate human life on the planet.
(65 comments) SHARE Friday, October 22, 2021 What is the Peace Dividend strategy?
The Peace Dividend strategy is a practical plan for achieving a very specific goal. That goal is regime change in Washington DC, i.e. replacing the pro-war, pro-Wall Street, anti-democratic, power-drunk megalomaniacs now in control, with individuals who reflect the real values and priorities of real people living real lives. It's getting rid of the lapdogs and liars and electing honest individuals who will serve the people.
(9 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 26, 2015 Give Peace A Chance
America thinks it can bluster and bluff and use color revolutions to nudge Putin out of office and install some bloated puppet in his place like they did with Poroshenko in Ukraine. Russia is not Zimbabwe, Iraq, or Yemen. It's not Grenada or Haiti. Russia is not going to be intimidated by a schoolyard bully. America's aggression and infantile games can only end badly. Time for it to reverse course and cut its losses.
(11 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 7, 2015 Billionaire Club
How much is a billion dollars? If you were to spend $10,000 a day, it would take 274 years to go through a billion dollars. There are more than 43 million Americans living below the poverty line. Wealth inequality as a vital issue seems to be being crowded out of the national conversation by the latest catastrophes du jour. Since it undermines the entire premise of our democracy, we must keep it in the forefront of public deba
(11 comments) SHARE Tuesday, July 23, 2019 Book Review: "The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil" by Dan Kovalik
The thought-provoking Plot to Overthrow Venezuela by Ron Kovalik is extremely well-written, with a clarity, accessibility, and erudition which puts it in a class with the best works of Noam Chomsky. The Foreword by Oliver Stone is a worthy and deserving way to get things started. It's a must-read to fully understand the crisis in Venezuela as one component of the U.S. strategy of creating chaos and division across the globe.
(69 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 22, 2021 The Never Ending Cycle of Nuclear Insanity
Amidst all of the sensible and sane cries to eliminate nuclear weapons, we are caught in a self-sustaining, self-reinforcing feedback loop. Call it the Death Spiral of Human Annihilation. It's up to us to end this madness! Both the U.S. as a nation and the U.S. as citizens. There's no passing the buck here, not when the survival of life on Earth is at stake.
(10 comments) SHARE Thursday, May 28, 2015 Joe Biden Authorizes Russian Military Bases in Cuba
Vice-President Joe Biden established a new global foreign policy precedent. He announced st the Brookings Institute that the U.S. would not recognize any nation having a sphere of influence. This has some interesting implications, to be sure.
(23 comments) SHARE Thursday, June 6, 2019 The Hands-Down Ultimate Super-Bowl of Showdowns!
You know how on the last page of a book it says, 'The End'. Then you put the book down and life pretty much goes on like normal, except either you need to return the book to the library or take it down to a used book store and get a couple bucks for it. Well, this time we really mean it. So pay attention!
(10 comments) SHARE Saturday, December 31, 2016 The Red White and Blue Color Revolution
Let's install democracy in a country now truly desperate for real citizen empowerment and the vast saving graces of representative government, transparency, freedom of the press, respect for human rights -- you know the list, since its trumpeted 24/7 by our propaganda machinery, whether these inspiring and noble ideals have any basis in reality or not. Call it the Red White and Blue Color Revolution!
(18 comments) SHARE Saturday, February 22, 2014 "Throw the bums out!"
Ultimately, the choice is ours. Either we rise up now in a bloodless coup at the polls or we rise up later in the streets. Revolution in the streets will not be bloodless and I suspect it won't end well. Kicking this can down the road is cowardly at best and suicidal at worst.
(55 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 7, 2017 Dealing With A Serial Liar
Serial killers and career politicians are very similar. They both have us at their mercy. They both have the power of life and death over us. They don't play by the same rules as you and I. They are ruthlessly amoral. There is only one way to deal with a serial killer. There is only one way to deal with lying politicians. They must be taken out of circulation, so they can never inflict abuse and suffering on others ever again. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(35 comments) SHARE Monday, January 30, 2017 A Nation of Relentless Savagery
We kill efficiently. We kill without remorse. We kill without hesitation. In 2016, the final year in office for our Nobel Peace Prize president, the U.S. dropped 26,171 bombs on seven countries, none of which have attacked America, none of which we are officially at war with. We as citizens pay for this killing. When you file your return on April 15th, recall that this is where a nice chunk of your tax dollars went last year.
(87 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 16, 2021 Paul Craig Roberts Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Paul Craig Roberts is a widely-renowned political analyst and a familiar contributor here at OEN. He was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy under President Ronald Reagan, associate editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal, and columnist for Business Week and the Scripps Howard News Service. We are extremely honored that he took the time to talk to us and share his views. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(69 comments) SHARE Monday, September 6, 2021 Trust Our Brilliant Leaders? Are You Joking?
There's only one important lesson to learn from Afghanistan. That is that Afghanistan is not an anomaly. It's 100% representative of the incompetence, the malice, the complete idiocy of those in power. The reality is, our record going back seven decades is abysmal! Just countries and battlefields strewn with dead bodies, refugees, depleted uranium, land mines, and rubble. We can't trust these people to get anything right.
(66 comments) SHARE Saturday, January 15, 2022 US State Department Checklist: Starting A War With Russia
The U.S. is making great headway at starting a war with Russia. This excellent work is the product of solid planning, making sure the public has no idea what's really going on, sparing no expense or resource in demonizing Russia and slandering Putin, keeping the propaganda machine running in high gear. This effort is the finest example of American ingenuity. We got access to the State Department's action plan and here it is!
(35 comments) SHARE Wednesday, April 21, 2021 Useful Idiots Are Still Useful
Political activists are always asking: how can we get people involved, how can we get them engaged, how can we get them to vote, be a part of the solution instead of a part of the problem? That means everyone! Even the sheeple deserve to have a voice, right? Power to the sheeple, RIGHT ON!
(48 comments) SHARE Sunday, June 9, 2019 Global Warming Solved!
Scientists have concluded that a modest nuclear war would most likely reverse the threat of global warming. What are we waiting for?
(10 comments) SHARE Monday, December 23, 2019 A Song for the New Year
Here is my holiday greeting card to the world, a song I wrote five years ago, performed by my wife and me here in my home studio. May I wish the best year ever for you and those you love!
(93 comments) SHARE Saturday, February 26, 2022 A Few Things Left Out of the Russia-Bashing Narrative
Mind you, I'm categorically opposed to war and unprovoked aggression. But Putin and Lavrov respectfully requested that US/NATO imperial powers grant Russia some basic courtesy and understanding. US/NATO refused. Russia did and is doing what she had to do to protect itself from further intimidation and inevitable military assault.
(60 comments) SHARE Friday, April 9, 2021 BREAKING NEWS! Horrifying New Strain of Coronavirus Discovered
Scientists have just announced the discovery of the worst, scariest new strain of coronavirus. It's called Covid-1984, a new invisible variant that can't be detected by any known test. We may have been doomed before but now even our doom is doomed.
(28 comments) SHARE Monday, June 8, 2020 Protest . . . But Make This Clear Reasonable Demand
Here's an idea. A clear, unambiguous, non-negotiable demand should be put front and center from this point forward by the protesters.
1) Any cop abusing his position should be immediately taken out of circulation, ultimately replaced. 2) That officer's position on the police force would be turned over to a new type of law enforcement official called a Community Facilitator, an individual drawn right from the community.
(12 comments) SHARE Thursday, December 29, 2016 What? Are You Crazy?
What was crazy last year sometimes becomes the new normal this year. That prospect is the source for hope that the citizens of the U.S. can get their country back on track to serve the interests of all Americans, not just the rich and powerful. Failure is guaranteed if we don't keep our minds open to new ideas and fresh narratives.
(103 comments) SHARE Monday, October 4, 2021 Coleen Rowley Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Coleen Rowley is an attorney, peace activist and whistleblower. She's a retired FBI Special Agent and former FBI Minneapolis Division Legal Counsel. For her exposure of the FBI's pre-911 failures, she was named one of Time Magazine's "Persons of the Year" in 2002. We are extremely honored that she took the time to talk to us and share her thought-provoking insights.
.
(71 comments) SHARE Monday, March 20, 2017 What's wrong with this picture?
Want to make America safe? Want to make America loved and respected throughout the world? Halt the famine that is now developing in Africa and put a permanent end to world hunger. Our nation will no longer be looked at as the propagators of death and destruction but be heralded as saviors and saints.
(2 comments) SHARE Friday, April 3, 2015 Moonwalking
Now that Michael Jackson is sadly no longer with us, his phenomenal mastery and performance of the moonwalk has been replaced by the U.S. economy. While it looks like it's going forward, it's actually going backwards.
(21 comments) SHARE Sunday, July 9, 2017 Candidate Contracts: Why Populist Candidates Will Want to Sign the Contract
This article is meant to clear any misconceptions and dispel related fears about the candidate contract strategy. I am addressing the populist-progressive candidates themselves -- the only ones worthy of the strategy, the only ones worthy in my opinion of holding public office. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(64 comments) SHARE Thursday, December 9, 2021 Largest Defense Budget in U.S. History
Well, when it comes to war and expanding the military footprint so that it can crush anyone anywhere on the planet, we can always count on our enlightened leaders throwing more money at the Pentagon. But people are fed up with the excessive defense spending, the colossal waste, the endless wars. To show how disgusted they are, THEY'RE SIGNING PETITIONS! I can't begin to describe how exciting this is.
(26 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 4, 2017 Making AMERICANS Great Again!
America will become great again when Americans are great again. Americans will be great again when the impediments to individual potential are removed, and each person has the opportunity and resources available to them to participate and contribute as full and active citizens in an open, receptive, and appreciative society.
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 4, 2015 The Real Debt Ceiling
THEY OWN! WE OWE! And that's how you get the worst wealth inequality in our history. Other than a handful of legislators __ Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren certainly are talking about it __ there is no one in public life who is serious about addressing this threat to our existence as a nation. No one! Just about everyone in elected office __ to a man, to a woman __ needs to be replaced. Target date November 2016!
(50 comments) SHARE Monday, May 1, 2017 Dealing With A Serial Killer
There's a serial killer on the loose. Eight to ten people a month have been murdered over the past several years. This has to stop! So we take out full-page ads in the newspaper, have street demonstrations. We sell t-shirts, have lots of expert discussion on TV, we send emails, mount a huge telephone campaign, have a town hall meeting, even organize a successful petition drive. The killing doesn't stop. Where did we go wrong? Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(3 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 30, 2015 Bulging Waste Line
What follows here is not an argument for reducing government. It is evidence that we need: Good government. Smart government. Honest government. Visionary government. Representative government. I am focusing here on profligate defense spending and pursuit of unnecessary war.
(40 comments) SHARE Monday, April 12, 2021 The Numbers Don't Lie!
As if the coronavirus pandemic were not bad enough, the latest report will truly frighten every single human being on the planet, signaling the need for drastic action. Fortunately, leadership at the highest levels are on top of this new crisis.
(66 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 2, 2016 Choose A Symptom, Ignore The Disease
America is very, very sick. The disease which is destroying our nation feeds on: 1) Unchecked imperial ambitions. 2) Exceptionalist hubris and arrogance. 3) The crushing power of corporations. 4) The militarization of everything. 5) Plutocratic tyranny and greed. None of the presidential candidates will talk about the disease. Because none of them has a cure.
(4 comments) SHARE Sunday, April 29, 2012 CANDIDATE PLEDGES: RESTORING REAL DEMOCRACY TO NATIONAL ELECTIONS or NAILING THE S.O.B.s ONE-AT-A-TIME
This outlines a hard-ball offensive against incumbents who ignore the American public and their constituents to either get them back on track or remove them from office. It employs a deft combination of petitions and pledges to force the hand of legislators who have become the puppets of the rich and powerful.
(29 comments) SHARE Thursday, July 5, 2018 Book Review: "The Russian Peace Threat: Pentagon on Alert" by Ron Ridenour
Ron Ridenour's masterfully-written indictment of U.S. militarism and its take-all-prisoners imperial project is of such breathtaking scope and astonishing depth, it would be hard to exaggerate its value and timeliness,as the foreign policy of the Empire of Chaos now as never before in recorded history, steers the world toward apocalyptic confrontation and puts the survival of the entire human race at risk.
(50 comments) SHARE Monday, October 11, 2021 Usable Madness
There are now several "low yield" and "variable yield" nuclear weapons in our arsenal, most notably the W80, B83, and the truly awesome B61-12. These can be dropped from a stealth aircraft like the B-2 advanced technology bomber or F-35A, or mounted on a number of highly advanced cruise missiles. It is "usability" of these weapons which makes them actually more of a threat to human survival than their mega-ton big brothers.
(16 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 15, 2019 United?
What does the 'united' in United States of America now stand for? What exactly during these contentious, deeply divisive, tragically troubled times does it mean? Were we ever united? Or is it just more boilerplate mythology that allows us to hide from the real truth? That being the 'us' (we the conquerors) vs. 'them' (slaves, Native Americans) world view, that was and still is the historical foundation for our national unity?
(5 comments) SHARE Tuesday, May 19, 2020 BOOK REVIEW: No More War by Daniel Kovalik
In "No More War", Dan Kovalik exposes how the West violates international law by using 'humanitarian' intervention to advance economic and strategic interestes, and calls out the profound hypocrisy of the U.S. claiming to be standing up for human and political rights in other countries, as it ignores and violates within its own borders many of those same rights for its own citizens.
(72 comments) SHARE Saturday, February 5, 2022 Michael T. Klare Interview: What Are The Prospects Of Peace?
Michael T. Klare is a Five Colleges professor of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts; defense correspondent of The Nation magazine; and author of numerous books. He has a BA and MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from Union Institute & University. He's widely respected for his insights into the U.S. role in shaping the global geopolitical landscape. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(2 comments) SHARE Tuesday, April 14, 2015 The Bully Pulpit vs. American Idol
With the promotion of Hillary Brand now in full swing, maybe it's time to revisit what we are again being subjected to. Will we ever learn? When presidential elections are run as beauty pageants, or talent-contest spectacles like American Idol, we can only expect a president who struts and works the audience, plays the judges, gives crowd-pleasing performances, and soaks up the all the love he or she can get.
(23 comments) SHARE Sunday, December 19, 2021 True Colors: Red, White, Black & Blue
With a bold and completely self-sabotaging diplomatic blunder, this past Wednesday the U.S. was one of two nations to vote against a UN resolution designed to discourage the glorification and promotion of Nazi ideology. The other nation was Ukraine. The reason the U.S. supports the Jew-hating, Russia-hating thugs now in control of Ukraine is obvious. It's an effective way to intimidate Russia and initiate a proxy war.
.
(12 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 22, 2016 Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part I
A president is a lightning rod. But a president is not the lightning. We the people are the lightning. We the people are the energy, the force, the real movers-and-shakers behind fundamental change. We the people and only we the people can shape the future we want. Series: Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground (5 Articles, 6344 views)
(13 comments) SHARE Thursday, June 22, 2017 Candidate Contracts: A Democratic Renewal
Here is a video and text explaining how candidate contracts take the guesswork out of voting and set a whole, new standard for electoral integrity in our country. This will answer any questions on why this unprecedented approach is now necessary, and what the ethical and political basis is for making such a proposal. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(5 comments) SHARE Friday, June 1, 2018 Book Review: Healing the Land with Tao by Gary Lindorff
Intentionally or not, with his new book "Healing the Land with Tao",Gary Lindorff has created a loosely structured operating manual for the soul. We'll all get different messages and meanings. We will benefit to differing degrees. But if I could choose only one book to help break the chains of my mental and spiritual incarceration, it would be this book.
(16 comments) SHARE Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Abby Martin Interview: What are the prospects for peace?
Abby Martin is an American journalist, TV presenter and activist. She helped found the citizen journalism website Media Roots and serves on the board of directors for the Media Freedom Foundation which manages Project Censored. In 2019, she released the film documentary, The Empire Files: Gaza Fights for Freedom. She continues her work opposing imperialism and promoting peace, as an independent filmmaker and journalist. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(30 comments) SHARE Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Distract and Divide . . . Focus and Unite
The control of everything by a tiny, short-sighted ruling elite is now total and the consequences are apocalyptic. We helplessly watch as their pursuit of wealth and consolidation of power has resulted in a merciless war being waged against the 99.999%, the trashing of the ecosystem, and destruction of any prospects for humans ever co-existing cooperatively and constructively and living sustainably on the only planet we have.
(62 comments) SHARE Friday, January 28, 2022 Forgive them not . . .
Jesus Christ surely would not approve of what I'm saying here. Then again, these days He's basically irrelevant, just another marketing brand, an advertising gimmick for knee-jerk religiosity. Please listen, friends. Take heed. It's getting late. We have no choice. Urgency drives our mission. Common decency and timeless morality dictate our agenda.
(1 comments) SHARE Friday, August 15, 2014 Militarizing The Police
The police are not only being militarized with equipment but with a mentality that makes the average, peaceful, law-abiding citizen the enemy.
(26 comments) SHARE Monday, November 22, 2021 Lee Camp Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Lee Camp is the head writer and host of the national TV show Redacted Tonight with Lee Camp on RT America. He's toured the country and the world with his fierce brand of standup comedy and hard-hitting political commentary. His book, Bullet Points & Punch Lines has earned enormous praise. RadMediaNews is his most recent project, an alternative to the propaganda of mainstream media. He has some important insights to share. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(41 comments) SHARE Monday, May 15, 2017 Mobilizaton Without Method Is Meaningless
To mobilize people behind any cause, regardless of how worthy that cause is, regardless of how intrinsically appealing it may be to get folks marching, singing, chanting, shouting for that cause, if there is no clear outcome with a realistic, finely-tuned, effective strategy to achieve that outcome, then the mobilization is a waste of time. Disciplined, well-planned targeted activism goes much further than just making noise. Series: Effective Progressive Activism (9 Articles, 16122 views)
(16 comments) SHARE Sunday, May 12, 2019 Along Came Joe
Some criticize Vice-President Biden for his gaffs. His gaffs are trivial compared to the actual stands he has taken over the years on a wide variety of issues. Gaffs are for laughs. Sinister policies are not funny when a man is running for the highest office in the land.
(29 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 1, 2017 Candidate Contracts: Weaponizing Populist Electoral Campaigns
A short time ago, I characterized the practical intent, the rubber-hits-the-road goal of the candidate contract strategy in these words: "The purpose of the candidate contract strategy is to get the good guys elected and throw the bad guys out of office." That sums it up as succinctly as I know how. Time to put the strategy to work. This article tells how we do it.
(3 comments) SHARE Sunday, November 7, 2021 Dan Kovalik Interview: What are the prospects for peace?
Dan Kovalik is the author of critically-acclaimed "No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests", is a dedicated peace activist, and has been a labor and human rights lawyer since graduating from Columbia Law School in 1993. He received the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford Law School. He has lectured throughout the world. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(20 comments) SHARE Sunday, February 20, 2022 Scott Ritter Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Scott Ritter served as a U.S. Marine Corps Intelligence officer (1984-1991), in the Soviet Union as an inspector implementing the INF Treaty, in General Norman Schwarzkopf's staff during the Gulf War, and as a UN weapons inspector in Iraq (1991-1998). He is author of "SCORPION KING: America's Suicidal Embrace of Nuclear Weapons from FDR to Trump", "Iraq Confidential", and "Target Iran". His candor is refreshing. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(58 comments) SHARE Wednesday, December 15, 2021 It Is What It Isn't
Truth is negotiable. A man's word is worthless. Good luck trying to fix it. Because you're on your own. Seriously... who can you trust? Is there a solution to this mess? Anything we can do to reverse this descent into cognitive chaos? I want some suggestions. Some honest answers.
.
(39 comments) SHARE Tuesday, February 23, 2016 What part of "Listen to me!" didn't you understand?
It appears that there is one sane person running for president, and that person is to an impressive degree "listening" to the American public and willing to fight for a better life for all Americans, not just the privileged few. Unfortunately, Mr. Sanders doesn't understand that the policies he currently embraces on defense and international relations will sabotage his noble intentions.
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 1, 2021 Noam Chomsky Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Noam Chomsky needs no introduction. He has devoted his whole life to calling out the abuses of power and the excesses of U.S. empire. At 92, he still is actively engaged in the national conversation. We are of course honored that he took the time to talk to us and share his views. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(67 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 9, 2021 Larry Wilkerson Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Larry Wilkerson is a renowned defense analyst and a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Government & Public policy at the College of William and Mary. He is a retired United States Army colonel and was the former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. We are extremely honored that he took the time to talk to us and share his views. His responses are exactly as he provided. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(40 comments) SHARE Wednesday, September 29, 2021 MAGTE! MAGTE! We have the best leaders EVER!
This year's MAGTE (Making America Greater Than Ever) Award goes to OUR TRUSTED LEADERS, the GREATEST LEADERS our planet has ever known. It's our way of letting them know how much we appreciate them!
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, July 9, 2016 Desperate Times (Putting Birkenstocks on the Ground: Part VII)
Getting the truth out to the voting public on exactly where the candidates stand requires audacity, creativity, courage, some outside-the-box thinking. But it can be done. It should be done. It must be done! Voters don't need to see protest signs. They need to see honest and clear choices at the polls. Candidate contracts leave no room for error or misinterpretation. They are as straightforward and transparent as it gets. Series: Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground (5 Articles, 6344 views)
(29 comments) SHARE Wednesday, May 12, 2021 Looking For Change in All the Wrong Places
According to a recent report, 62% of our fine citizens judge that the $715 billion official 2022 defense budget, proposed by President Biden, is right on target. In fact, 17% of those polled think we need to spend more. I will credit the Deep State and MIC with a true victory here. The massive psyops brainwashing of the American public has been a resounding success!
(19 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 12, 2021 War Is Making Us Poor!
Lying by omission is a favorite trick of the warmongers. In the latest weepy cries for more military expansion and ever more bloated DOD budgets, we are given a textbook example of the kind of lying that's become standard procedure for our war-crazed leaders.
(42 comments) SHARE Friday, May 14, 2021 Thoughts on Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter
Black lives matter? Are you sure? I have questions. Legitimate questions about what's really going on. But to ask them is to invite attack by a mob, character assassination, being slimed and slandered by a rabid self-righteous moral militia. That itself raises questions, eh?
(24 comments) SHARE Thursday, December 30, 2021 What Goes Down Must Come Up!
Here is my holiday greeting card to the world, a song I wrote seven years ago, performed by my wife and I, here in my home recording studio. May I wish the best year ever for each of you and those you love!
(3 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 21, 2016 Regime Change in Congress (Putting Birkenstocks on the Ground: Part V)
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 are guaranteed to represent us. Series: Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground (5 Articles, 6344 views)
(34 comments) SHARE Tuesday, November 16, 2021 Whose Money Is It?
Who owns the money the government at any given time has in its coffers? We could ask a similar question about public property and infrastructure. This might offer some guidance. Who owns the roads, ramps, bridges? Yes, the obvious answer is the government. But as active participants in a system of self-government, aren't WE the government? The impact of ignoring this concept has many very severe real world consequences.
(27 comments) SHARE Friday, March 4, 2022 A Tale of the Wild West
Some of our greatest traditions come out of the Wild West, a rough-and-tumble time that forged America into the greatest country in the world. A formative time that gave Americans that hard no-nonsense edge that is universally respected far and wide. Moreover, some would say that the cowboy ethic is still alive and well and is the key to understanding ourselves, what makes us tick. You be the judge.
(38 comments) SHARE Friday, February 19, 2016 The BS Challenge To Democratic Candidates
Cheer leading and hero-worship are the easy part. Revolution is hard work. So here's my challenge to all those people feeling the Bern. Are your hearts truly filled with the awe-inspiring message of Bernie Sanders? Are you ready to do some heavy-lifting? Or is Chris Hedges right? Is this just more BS along the historical road to disintegration and collapse? If you're serious, there's important work to be done.
(21 comments) SHARE Friday, May 16, 2014 We Know How This Will End
It's up to us to demand a true and honest commitment to peace, not the simpleminded, hollow, meaningless blather that we're being fed as the trigger-fingers of our war mongers tingle and twitch, just waiting for the right moment to churn up more carnage, destruction, and hatred in the rest of the world. We can start right now by demanding the administration start working with Russia to calm the situation in the Ukraine.
(42 comments) SHARE Tuesday, March 28, 2017 No Negotiating With Terrorists, Especially American Terrorists
U.S. terrorism expresses itself internationally as wars, regime changes, special operations missions, economic manipulation and interference, cyber and propaganda warfare, and is implemented with the forward-basing of troops and often outright military occupation of 140 countries. Much of this is the work of the CIA. We now have little choice. The CIA and all traces of it must be eradicated. "No negotiating with terrorists!"
(12 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 4, 2016 Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part III
Maybe everyday people won't talk politics. But once the floodgate is open, people will talk about what's hurting them, what's holding them back, how they are getting screwed by the system and those who run things, how they had wonderful dreams and hopes for their children which are being destroyed. So talk to them. And listen. Please! The future of our country depends on it.
(7 comments) SHARE Friday, November 2, 2018 Guillotine or Exile?
How about a new law for the 1%? Pay your taxes or you're out of here. We'll give them a Certificate of Appreciation for their mansions and vacation homes, which will be turned into homeless shelters, alternative schools, hospices to provide care for people who are lacking proper health care, centers for peace studies.
(37 comments) SHARE Monday, April 26, 2021 Killer Bees!
So what's going on with the "pandemic"? The simple truth is that a completely manageable health crisis has been willfully mishandled, the chaos and calculated social and economic disruption has been created and exploited for two obvious sinister intents: 1) bleeding more money out of our economy and its citizens; 2) more control, tyranny, and oppression, in order to silence any opposition or resistance to future plunder.
(34 comments) SHARE Monday, February 14, 2022 Regime Change: Up Close and Personal
Let me start out by openly and unequivocally stating that most of the individuals who are in the decision-making and decision-influencing positions which determine U.S. foreign policy and drive it's recklessness are a truly shameful bunch. They are morally bankrupt, ignorant, myopic, barbaric, drunk on power, and as far as I can tell, without any redeeming merit. Let's see what horrors these people are capable of.
(6 comments) SHARE Tuesday, July 15, 2014 From Bill To Hillary With Love
The NSA picked up a cell phone conversation between Bill and Hillary. It is both amusing and instructive. Let's keep our heads screwed on straight about this woman.
(19 comments) SHARE Thursday, May 6, 2021 BOOK REVIEW: Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture by Dan Kovalik
Dan Kovalik's latest is a much-needed, laudable enterprise, courageously sounding the alarm about a tyranny being perpetrated in the name of moral and social renewal. Similar to genocide, it is cultural cleansing, a systematic destruction of what its proponents singularly deem uncomfortable, unsavory, threatening to them and their adherents. Woke is turning the culture and politics of our nation into a snuff film.
(7 comments) SHARE Saturday, May 28, 2016 Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part II
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. Series: Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground (5 Articles, 6344 views)
(42 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 12, 2022 Cynthia McKinney Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Cynthia McKinney is an American politician and assistant professor at North South University, Bangladesh. As a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms in the House of Representatives, as the first African American woman ever elected to represent Georgia. She demanded an investigation of the events of 9/11 and submitted articles of impeachment against Bush II. Here she offers her unique perspective and insights. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(13 comments) SHARE Monday, December 6, 2021 Finian Cunningham Interview: What Are The Prospects Of Peace?
Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organizations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent. Second-time recipient of the Serena Shim Award for Uncompromising Integrity in Journalism (December 2020). His insights are incisive and vital to understanding today's world. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(8 comments) SHARE Monday, June 22, 2015 The Race To A Vanishing Point
The U.S. plunges the world toward World War III while Americans play on their smart phones and watch bad TV.
(11 comments) SHARE Monday, August 30, 2021 Bertrand Russell and Ban the Bomb
Six decades ago saw the largest demonstrations in history to "ban the bomb", that is, eliminate all nuclear weapons, banish them from the Earth. Now there are eight nuclear-armed nations and almost 14,000 nuclear bombs. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has the doomsday clock at 100 seconds before midnight, the closest it's ever been. Amazingly, we know what to do and no one even talks about doing it. Time to say it, folks!
(27 comments) SHARE Friday, March 19, 2021 War is the answer! But what was the question?
Without a genuine national conversation which at bare minimum focuses on reducing our military footprint and ending our wanton aggression, redefining the role of the military, promoting real peace, seeking genuine partnerships on a whole host of issues that require international cooperation, real dialogue based on mutual respect and shared values, our current trajectory will continue unabated.
(12 comments) SHARE Tuesday, September 14, 2021 Wow! Britney Spears!
WE MUST TURN TO SOMEONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY SAVE US! Someone who knows the real price of freedom. Someone with some skin in the game! After years and years of struggle and legal battles, this courageous lady has finally escaped the court-ordered lockdown which imposed on her the random tyranny of a bunch of old white men, destroying her career. We should all be very grateful that her nightmare is over. Britney Spears is free!
(2 comments) SHARE Monday, October 21, 2013 Real News
Wonder what you may have missed for the three weeks that the soap opera of the shutdown and debt ceiling crisis monopolized the news? Here are some clues. This is only a start but hopefully offers some perspective.
(13 comments) SHARE Monday, August 27, 2018 "What if?" - A Children's Story by Dr. Goose
Reading stories to children is a beautiful way to expand their horizons and develop a meaningful, lasting bond with them. Here's one of my favorites, "What if?" by the renowned Dr. Goose.
(7 comments) SHARE Monday, January 21, 2013 "The Right To Bear Nuclear Arms"
Guns don't kill people. People kill people! Since this is irrefutable logic, I began to wonder why it has been applied so narrowly. The truth is, guns are just one form of lethal entertainment. Thanks to the amazing advances in science and technology, there is a cornucopia of devices which fit the legal definition of "arms" as referred to in our Constitution.
(1 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 23, 2021 Mark Skidmore Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
Mark Skidmore is a professor at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Betty and David Morris Chair in State and Local Government Finance and Policy, at Michigan State University. In 2017 Professor Skidmore and his team of graduate students discovered $21 trillion unaccounted for in the U.S. federal budget starting in 1998, continuing until the end of fiscal year 2015. He provides some astonishing insights. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(2 comments) SHARE Thursday, September 1, 2016 Deep-State Doppelgangers
I now have proof that voting is a complete waste of time. Whoever is elected will immediately be disappeared by the Deep State security agencies and replaced with a robot which you and I will not be able to detect is a fake. Then this deep-state controlled doppelgänger will do and say what it is programmed to. You and I will never be the wiser. So November 8th, save yourself the trouble. Just stay home and watch television.
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, January 2, 2013 "Take me to your leader!"
I personally believe the President, and members of the House and Senate, both Democrat and Republican, fail on all counts to provide anything resembling strong, visionary, decisive leadership. They have proven time and time again to be weak, evasive, cowardly, unimaginative, sometimes simple-minded, at a time in our history that demands much more.
(2 comments) SHARE Saturday, June 25, 2016 People Power! (Putting Birkenstocks on the Ground: Part VI)
When we identify candidates who are on our side -- the ones who willingly sign contracts for those specific things the vast majority of us want done -- we unite behind them, a huge voting bloc of citizens who are serious about having true representative government -- real democracy -- in America. Candidate contracts are the surefire way of determining what candidates are on our side.
(9 comments) SHARE Wednesday, May 28, 2014 Why do "they" blame Nader?
There are so-called good reasons for blaming Nader for 2000. But they spell bad news for -- perhaps the destruction of -- American democracy.
(8 comments) SHARE Thursday, October 21, 2021 Woke Venus de Milo
Thanks to the determined efforts of a cadre of young woke activists, we're getting closer to a society which is not run by a bunch of lascivious old white men. This inspiring story offers just such an example and heralds the changes we can look forward to over the coming years.
(9 comments) SHARE Wednesday, December 22, 2021 Bearded Old White Man Suspected of Spreading Omicron
With the recent discovery that an old favorite around this time of year, a man whom children have always looked on with delight and expectation -- yes, THAT bearded old white man in a red suit -- has refused to be vaccinated or take a PCR test, alarm bells have gone off and warnings are being issued across the globe. SANTA CLAUS MAY BE A SUPER SPREADER!
.
(1 comments) SHARE Monday, June 13, 2016 Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part IV
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. We need to stay focused on the issues. Otherwise, clear thinking becomes difficult, constructive dialogue impossible. Series: Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground (5 Articles, 6344 views)
(4 comments) SHARE Wednesday, October 31, 2012 The Day That Changed The World
The coming election will change nothing. The wars will go on. The plundering of our national wealth will continue. The waste of our valuable talents and energies through unemployment/underemployment will march forward. Social Security and Medicare will be chipped away until sometime in the future they are hollowed out. The rich will get richer and we will be grateful for the few scraps we get. But we can change the world.
(6 comments) SHARE Saturday, March 6, 2021 Book Review of David Vine's "Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World"
The U.S. has 800+ military bases allegedly to guarantee its security and protect its vital national interests. David Vine has created a powerful must-read indictment of this charade, this might-makes-right muscle flexing, the irresponsible and criminal bullying it embraces, the homicidal misadventures made possible by the rapidly accelerating, malignant and ultimately self-sabotaging amplification of U.S. military power.
(9 comments) SHARE Tuesday, June 29, 2021 PRESS RELEASE: Rob Kall's Birthday Declared Nat'l Holiday
In a move that surprised everyone except those of us who know what a great guy Rob Kall is, the Biden administration has declared June 29th a National Holiday in celebration of Rob Kall's birthday!
(15 comments) SHARE Saturday, November 14, 2015 Revolution? Did you say revolution?
Will 'revolution' become the new 'LOL'? Will the profound need for radical transformation be trivialized and gutted of any substance by empty campaign rhetoric and fatuous sloganeering?
(4 comments) SHARE Friday, October 15, 2021 William J Astore Interview: What Are The Prospects For Peace?
William J. Astore is a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel. He has taught at the Air Force Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, and now teaches history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He is the author or co-author of three books and numerous articles focusing on military history as well as the history of science, technology, and religion. His breadth of knowledge, blunt and cogent analysis are evident here. Series: What Are The Prospects For Peace? (13 Articles, 16718 views)
(8 comments) SHARE Monday, April 1, 2019 Exploding Hockey Pucks Intercepted at Canadian Border!
Terrorism has reached new levels of sophistication. Yesterday, a huge shipment of exploding hockey pucks, some of them with the destructive capacity of nuclear weapons, was intercepted coming across the U.S.-Canadian border.