Are you a sheep?
Please excuse me, but a rant that has been building within me during the last several days- with all the terrible news of both presidential candidates. This essay is my therapeutic efforts to share something with you and I hope help you reflect on our current state of this historic and sad state of affairs for the 2016 presidential election. Moreover, I am just calling things as I see them, so if you get mad at me that is fine, but do something about it.
First, let me ask you a question- how is possible that we have the two worse presidential candidates in the history? The answer is simple the system is fixed. With only 2 parties both of which are the same except for minor differences- guns, abortion, climate (worse or terrible), and some minor taxes philosophies. Therefore, they do not care for your wishes they nominate a member of their class that represents what is best for them. We have a multimillionaire vs a billionaire running for president.
The elite and establishment have fixed the freaking system! The media tells us lies, half-truths and misleading/influencing stories. The entertainment industry is setup to distract us from our lives. The wealthy sit back and bleed us while laughing all the way to the bank. They feed us cheap and unhealthy food. They destroy the environment for their gain. Of course our political class just let them to pillage and take advantage of us- how is it all of our politicians are all wealthy? This system is built to keep all the fat cats fed and happy at our expense. We are sheep- they herd us, give us the minimal amount of attention, let us graze and shear/slaughter us at their convenience.
Therefore, my question to you- are you one of the sheep? Mindless wandering, grazing, herded, and being looked over by the shepherd. Unlike other sheep/shepherd parables, being one of sheep in this herd is not a good thing- there are too many wolves and the shepherds just keeping you alive to take advantage of you. So I ask you again are you one the sheep?
I know you think about this question, and say well I am not one or do not want to be one of the sheep- what can I do? First, continue to understand the truth, do not take things on face value- figure out the source of the message and do some homework. Secondly, get involved with causes or groups that are not part of the herd- you can find them they are usually outcast groups- little or no glory is given to them. Thirdly, stop freaking voting for terrible candidates or straight ticket- nothing good can come from doing the same thing repeatedly and expect different results. Fourthly, speak out, do not “baa” like the sheep, but find your voice and speak to others about the truth. Fifthly, stop supporting the establishment, meaning quit visiting or watching media sites that relay on making or influencing the news instead of reporting it. If you see a “breaking news” message all the time from a media site and it is not a truly news worthy item then stop supporting that organization. Do not give to politicians unless you understand their positions and behaviors. Talk to family and friends about the truth and educate them. Support organizations (services or product companies) that are not as evil- a lot times they are in your own community.
Finally, and the most important thing you can do is not to vote for either of these two douchebags- Trump and Clinton- they are terrible people! Quit being an enabler and help break the cycle of abuse. Please vote in the general election let your voice be heard loud and clear, but I beg you not to vote for either one of these fools, if you do then I will consider you as a fool. Do not give me the line or crap- the country will be destroyed if we do not vote for the less of two evils because it will not! They will achieve nothing during their presidency- think about it. Our system is built on them vs us- so neither ones of these hated people will get anything done. They are both in it for themselves and the establishment supports it. Remember they do not give a crap for you unless they want something from you to enrich themselves- so stop the madness.
Please do not be a sheep, break from the herd and be true to yourself, family, friends, community and country. Therefore, vote but not for these fools.
Comments
I haven't decided who to vote for yet, and neither Clinton
nor you are going to herd me into a commitment. Uprated your essay, but I will wait to see what happens at the convention and beyond.
If we're going to vote third party, I want to see a viable candidate. That means a real commitment to the work required to get the message out widely. Bern or someone like him could succeed, he had about 45% of the Dems and a majority of the Indies. But it takes a lot of hard work.
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The way I see it
Clinton is going to get herself elected by going for Republican votes. That's a natural fit for her: her appeal to progressives is not.
So let her get elected without my vote. That way I won't be morally responsible for the havoc she will undoubtedly create in the world.
If more people who reject the corruption of our political system were willing to break free of automatically voting for the Democrat to stop the Republican, then the third party would be viable!
But I can't be morally responsible for the actions of others, only for my own. That's why I cannot in good conscience vote for Clinton.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future
Bernie can cut into those votes significantly if he runs as an
independent. For the anti-establishment Repubs who don't want to vote for bigotry, he would be a Godsend.
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That was obviously her plan
but they hate her. As much or more than we do.
25 years of attacking her don't go away just because the RW head honchos say: It's OK guys, we like her now.
She can get Jeb Bush's donors. She may or may not be able to get his voters.
No. The party is going to shrink in numbers, and those numbers won't be replaced by Republican voters.
But as with our economy, Hillary has discovered that you can replace real live voters with automated, robotic ones that do the job much more efficiently.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Good point- I like the feedback
I do not agree, but glad you have your beliefs and will follow them- we can agree to disagree. Just do not be like the mindless sheep
By the way, respect your voice.
THIS!
Every "mainstream message" you get should be viewed as suspect. Period.
Every mainstream message
..... false unless and until evidenced true. Period.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence"
and the number one and number two sources of "extraordinary claims" nowadays are government authorities and mainstream media.
This is the Achilles heel of Wikipedia's "reputable / reliable sources" rule. When it comes to any topic that has a political dimension, there's no such thing as an a priori reliable source.
True dat
I cannot agree more with you on your statement. We need to wake up.
A perfect example
is "The People's Summit". I'm not sure why it tripped my BS meter before I even heard that Jill Stein was allegedly "excluded", but it did. Was it the sudden-ness of its appearance, and how it got widespread play on the Facebooks and Twitters. maybe? I don't know, but to me, it helped to start thinking of all of this stuff--blogs, social media and the like--as so much NOISE. And it's your job, it's my job, it's all our jobs to sift through it and find the most valid bits of music without getting caught up in every single damned song, and getting sidetracked.
This is not easy--we're at every disadvantage--but we have to try harder. Somehow.
At first, I thought the People's Summit was A-OK
coming from the grassroots, from the more Occupy side of the movement.
Then suddenly it was full of famous people. Still I thought it might be OK.
Then I heard that people were going to discuss the Robin Hood tax at the people's summit. Policy.
Uh-oh.
Don't get me wrong. I believe in a policy-centered politics--as long as you have a functioning system which has its corruptions at least somewhat checked. We don't and it doesn't. So it's not useful to talk about what is good policy when you have absolutely no way of ever getting good policy in place--unless you're doing it simply as a visibility exercise. Bernie's one speech was an example of doing this right: repeating the same policy points that rectify the same injustices that you also repeat the tale of; making sure to tell the story of those injustices and those remedies over and over to as many people as you can. That pushes the Overton window and redefines the nature of the possible: very important. But it doesn't make any sense to do it at a conference, where the visibility is generally limited to those who already believe.
In 2011, at the Campaign For America's Future's annual do, I noticed that the vast majority of workshops were on policy, not politics, and not activism; in other words, we were spending a whole lot of time talking about what wonderful things we would do if.....if what wasn't clear. If only other people would listen to our wonderful, rational presentations and get enlightened and convinced and share our views. Then we would all come together and institute these policies. Right?
Wrong. This isn't about educating or convincing anyone--at least not anyone in power. Our problem is not the lunatic fringe Republicans who don't agree (climate deniers are a good example). Our problem is the large number of RW Democrats who understand exactly that these are good policies--for the 99%--and that it really ought to be their duty to implement them. But implementing them would piss off their donors and might get them thrown out of the power structure.
The problem is power. I thought the People's Summit was going to focus on that. Now, maybe they did--you guys could fill me in on that. Because I confess that once I saw that folks were going to Chicago to talk policy with famous people, I stopped paying attention. Maybe the whole thing turned into a modern-day Saul Alinsky funfest, for all I know.
But all this happened at about the same time that platform planks and downballot races became the objects of repeated emphasis and that did not incline me to think that anything real was going to be done.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Thou shall not talk sheeply of the sheeps...
Man talking at a sheep political rally -
credit: John Owen from New Zealand
[video:https://youtu.be/QcE5aDTszrY]
All your sheeps are belong to us.
I feel like a poor sheep now.
https://www.euronews.com/live
Someone mentioned this before
But look at how bad it getting
First the media was spouting Trump's messages of racism, bigotry and the other things he spoke about and no news agency said that the things he was saying were unacceptable.
Now every morning when I open my homepage, there's a bunch of negative stuff being written about him.
And Warren is attacking him daily as is Hillary and others in her camp, but Hillary's camp isn't talking about her issues.
I hope this makes sense. High pain day and drugs can interfere with thoughts sounding logical.
Over at LOF, there's a diary about the email Warren sent to Hillary's supporters about her progressive agenda and how she will break up the banks, keep social security safe and other bullshit.
Then there's another diary about Stein saying that Hillary is a warmonger and is in bed with Wall Street. Boy did they tear into her.
I agreed with what she wrote, but then I'm not a sheep
There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?
Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.
It appears to be playing out just as they wanted it to
Trumpsky makes Hillary look sane. And as long as she has him to kick around, she gets away with it AND she
Exactly why we need to keep talking about them. Because she's a crook and she's not worthy of anyone's vote.
Hillary
Disappointment.
Re: In Bed With Wall Street
That's what you get with the Clintons. They're always in bed with someone.
Bedbugs
Ubiquitous, ineradicable bloodsucking insects.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
If the polls are right, it appears that people are waking up.
Americans don't like where this country is headed. They haven't for more than a decade now, and it appears that they're finally willing to express that fact loudly at the ballot box. In most of the recent polls I've seen between Hillary, Trump, Johnson, and Stein, both Hillary and Trump struggle to reach 40% in a four-way race. Usually they end up between 37-39%. When respondents are only given a choice between the two of them, it's usually in the low 40s with a good number of people refusing to vote for either candidate, up to 10-15% in some cases. I have never seen numbers like that during a presidential election.
What does it say that the major parties, whose voters equal up to 29% of the population at most, can't even get enough independent and bipartisan support to push their presidential nominees past 40%? Gary Johnson is getting 8-11% in most polls, which is unprecedented, and it's possible that people don't even know who he is and are just saying they'd vote for him instead of Hillary and Trump.
Hillary could easily lose the independent vote to Johnson and fail to secure key swing states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, even if Donald Trump becomes the nominee. Her numbers in Florida look better, but are far from secure. Voters know her and they don't like her. Nothing will change that. If she becomes the nominee, election night will be equal parts joyous and tragic, in that while the Clinton dynasty will finally be relegated to the dustbin of history with her loss, we'll end up with 4-8 years of Republican crap and inaction that could easily have been prevented by nominating Bernie.
Bernie Green Party or FBI Democrat nominee???
I would be happy to see either one!
Bernie's always been indie
our insistence in having "political parties" is what put him in a place where he could only get noticed if he ran as a "Democrat".
If you'd be happy to see Hillary, I'm really sorry to hear that, but we all have our reasons. To me, she only looks sane and honest next to Trump, and she's really not. That's why she had to cheat during the primaries.
I listened to a recent Joe Rogan podcast that had Johnson on
and while I disagree with him completely on many issues I don't get the same visceral level of disgust that I do for the other two candidates.
If he looks like he may at all be able to pull it off I would consider him the least evil of the 3 that is for sure. (At the end of 2 hours I didn't want to stab myself in the ears, I can barely stand Clinton for 2 minutes, lol!)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQIuHGbKckY]
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Johnson is intelligent and reasonable.
I disagree with the whole Libertarian stance because it would lead to dominion of the strong over the weak and constant civil war between competing warlords.
But Johnson himself is fairly impressive.
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
That sums him up... Reasonable.
He seems like the kind of person I could have a disagreement with, discuss it deeply and even if we still disagreed it would be in an agreeable fashion...
With Clinton? Well, lets just say I wouldn't be surprised to learn I was suddenly a misogynistic frat boy at the first sign of disagreement.
I can handle an honest opponent that I disagree with on intangibles such as policy opinion, but not one that won't acknowledge facts.
Certainly a more palatable choice than the other 2 current candidates (besides Bernie). I wouldn't be as upset with him winning as the other two because at least he and I do share some common ground at least.
The other 2? I resent even having to share the same air as them....
"I used to vote Republican & Democrat, I also used to shit my pants. Eventually I got smart enough to stop doing both things." -Me
Many in New Mexico will vote Johnson.
I'm already hearing it. He was governor here for 8 years and not bad. I voted for his reelection because I didn't like his dem opponent. It happens. Kinda like Kassich in Ohio. My dem sister-in-law voted for his reelection for the same reason. It continues to happen.
I will never vote hrc or Herr Drumpf
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
There has to be a viable third party.
The Greens are in 21 states, if they do not get on the ballot in more states they will not be viable. Voting for Hillary is totally out of the question, not going to happen. The strategy then turns to splitting the two parties. A Clinton loss will split the Democrats since the party elites went all in with the Clinton strategy of forcing out all other Democrats in the primary. A Trump win will force the Republican elite to own the results of a Trump Presidency and their strategy of hate baiting for past 12 -15 years. This scenario could lead to the changes in electoral politics in the country.
Re: Green Party 21 States
There was a recent article in Politico about her.
Think You’ve Got It Locked, Hillary? Meet Jill Stein. The Green Party candidate insists it’s her year to get noticed—and she may make it onto 47 state ballots.
If the Green Party could get 40 states
it would be great!
Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.
I see no problems with Greens that we couldn't fix ourselves.
We're not just the former left wing of the Democratic Party, we are the activist wing. If we choose to go that route, we can deliver to the Greens the organizational skills that they appear to lack. I'm doubtful that many can top my wife's bad Green experience and even she is willing to give them another look.
I'm not advocating for any particular direction at this point, but I'm in favor of taking a fresh look at everything and deconstructing our existing assumptions and attitudes--Especially those which were shaped during our participation in a toxic environment. Sometimes I think we're just mad at the Greens because they figured out this bullshit before we did. That's not a very good reason to be mad.
Call your local BOE and ask if your state allows and counts
write-ins and what the procedure is.
We should make a list of every alternative choice,
some may be state-dependent (if we still believe that they actually, like count votes). Write-ins if allowed and counted have to have the candidate registered for write-ins. Why my dog won't be elected to anything.
I have talked to the upstate director of WFP in NY, although not since the primary. They had endorsed Sanders, do not know if they will stay the course so we could vote WFP line in Nov.
Greens, possible. Alternative nth party?
I have little interest in downballot voting, even my CD has a Dem running against the incumbent TP who is a carpetbagging MIC person. Bleah.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I think it's really important that the vote counts
and goes on the record. That's the only way you get any attention. Not voting just doesn't do it. They like it when people don't vote, that way they can focus their attention on conning just the small sliver of people who do vote.
I already looked up write in candidates in my state (Texas). The candidate has to have already filed and qualified to be placed on the ballot in order for the vote to count. So if Bernie doesn't do that (and it's unlikely he would) then I can't write him in and have the vote be counted.
I've decided to vote Green this time. First time in my life I've ever voted for a candidate other than a Democrat.
Even the smallest person can change the course of the future
I think they've written bright red TX off and not even trying
to get on ballot as a write in there.
Serious rant I know
And one I approve of, even if every time I try to educate my friends I get blown off as kooky, conspiracy theorist, unrealistic, you know the drill. Gets far far too frustrating at times.
But I also have to add a little levity. No matter how many times I watch this, it doesn't get old.
See, their morals, their code... it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be.
-The Joker-
We should take over the judiciary nationwide at every level...
...and then, its like Chris Floyd said:
Every kid, every teenager everywhere needs paper books by Zinn and Chomsky and John Pilger and other friends as gifts, all the time. They need magazine subscriptions and a little help. We can do this and so much more. Electoral politics is just a blip on the screen.
I am not a sheep
I am an Alligator. Thanks for the rant. I would like to invite Hillary to take a swim in my backyard lagoon and introduce her to my family. Hope she brings the hot sauce!
Do you believe that hot sauce line?
More likely she travels light except for her multiple devices and makes staff carry the rest. Why not request hot sauce at all hotel stops as part of her ladyship's demands? Hot sauce. Called Pander?
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I won't vote for either of them.
Hillary might be wearing the blue jersey but I guess I've come to realize that the Democratic party and I don't agree on where the country should be going so I couldn't give two cents for what color jersey she is disguised in. I didn't leave the Democratic party, they left me. I definitely won't vote for Trump though my wife is considering it just to spite Hillary.
There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams
"I definitely won't vote for Trump"
I thought the same for months.
Then yesterday Hillary says she wants to put troops into Syria to fight Assad. Which will lead to direct confrontation with Russia.
If she keeps that up, I will have to consider voting against World-War-Fucking-III.
Never voting for $$Hillary.
Never voting for $$Hillary.
Stein will be on the ballot in NY, so I'll vote for her.
I'm not going to start bitching about how 'Bernie let us down' because yada, yada, yada, while I do nothing but whine on the interwebs.
Berners could easily take over the green party, if they'd just get off their asses and do it.
People throw their hope toward something...
I get that. Thing is, all this talk of third party does not erase the problems that will still exist even if a viable third party becomes a tangible thing.
All this faith in a third party, this backing of a group of people who will restore 'the right way' to things, is nearly, but not quite as hopeless as putting hope in a single individual within the party system for President.
There is no savior. There is no salvation with one individual nor with any specific grouping or party yet to take power.
Any third party somehow becoming viable and taking real power will quickly be infiltrated and devoured from within.
It's a nice fantasy, but the reality is going to disappoint in short order even if some sort of viability is attained.
Then what is the answer
Seriously, not trying to be a jerk, but what do we do about it? In mind opinion we need to break this cycle of insanity, how? by not voting for either of the major parities. I would love a third party, but first thing first, stop voting for these bums. Then determine how to proceed forward.
We can not boil the ocean, but at least stop drinking the salt water.
Hi Vayle,
I can't tell you what would happen with a third party, actually haven't thought about it much, and is one of thousands things I should add to my growing list titled "WTF is This?"
Just over the last couple of days I began pondering the democrat and republican switcheroo that took place along with the 'southern strategy". I wonder if it seemed as impossible at that time as it does today. I just can't believe it yet. Maybe we start, with Bernie, from within the democratic party as we nurture the growth of a new party? It looks to me like the best route would be to move along with the independents. Right now, I only base that on the numbers. There are millions of independents, so maybe that's the way to go.
What I truly believe is that it is not right to have to proclaim ANY party preference. It seems the only thing this does is open the door to disenfranchisement.
'Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it." Elwood P. Dowd "
Within or Without - the corruption runs deep
This takes someone of extreme moral character to remain above the incentives of going along with the rest of the representatives in congress and the Senate.
Those in power will be sure to compromise whoever they must in order to keep things as they are.
We lack true representation and have for so long that we may not be able to recover that without giving back what politicians and other so-called leaders have been feeding the public for years.
Until those in power are again subject to a moral and ethical code of checks and balances, we won't experience anything but more of the same status quo decay we already have.
Until our leaders are again required to honor the law by following through with their duty to it, we will not see justice for the people in this country.
When our leaders can set aside prosecutions, and other legal measures and simply pardon the wealth and business classes by fiat, the people are nothing more than servants of an overgrown empire.
The American empire shows consistently that it is willing to feed on its own citizenry, willing to punish that citizenry, and blame its own people for the misery it inflicts upon them daily.
And the political wealth and business classes laugh, and demand respect as they defend the indefensible and pretend how honorable and worthy they are to lead and 'represent' us all.