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04 November 2012 By Stephen
Lendman Voting for Obama or Romney is
like choosing between death by hanging or firing
squad. Either way you're dead. The same goes for choosing
Republicans or Democrats. Each party replicates the
other. On issues mattering most, not a dime's worth of
difference separates them. They're
pro-corporate, pro-war,
pro-Israel, anti-populist, anti-civil and human
rights, and anti all values real democratic societies
cherish. Post-November 6, nothing will
change. Duopoly power assures harsher times ahead.
Expect direct and proxy imperial wars to continue. New
ones will be launched. War on terror/existential
threat deception will justify them. Waging war on freedom rages
domestically. Hypocrisy, not democracy, is policy.
Dissent is endangered. Big Brother spying is endemic.
Democratic values are fast eroding en route to
disappearing altogether. Torture is official policy. It's
institutionalized at home and abroad. America's gulag
is the world's largest. Anyone can be arrested,
detained, and held uncharged indefinitely for any
reason or none at all. Obama appointed himself judge,
jury and executioner. His kill list decides who lives
or dies. No one is safe anywhere including US
citizens. State-sponsored murder is policy. Death
stalks anyone threatening Washington's imperium. On November 27, 1941, Franklin
Roosevelt issued Proclamation 2524. He declared
December 15 Bill of Rights Day. It was done to
commemorate its 150th 1791 ratification. At the time, he hailed "America('s)
charter of personal liberty and human dignity." He
said it includes "freedom of religion, freedom of
speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and
the free right to petition the Government for redress
of grievances." American freedom always was far
less than he claimed. Today it's vanishing in plain
sight. Tyranny is replacing it. Constitutional,
statute and international laws don't apply.
Presidential diktats replaced them. Obama governs that way. Romney
won't change a thing. Due process, civil protections,
and judicial fairness are null and void. Police state
laws destroyed them. Expect harsher ones to quash
freedom entirely. Third worldizing America is
planned. Bipartisan complicity assures it. Poverty,
unemployment, homelessness, hunger, inequality, and
overall human deprivation are at unprecedented levels
or close to them. At the same time, $4 trillion or
more in domestic spending cuts are planned. When help
is badly needed, ordinary people will be hurt most.
Medicare, Medicaid, and other vital programs are
targeted. Ahead they're on the chopping block for
elimination along with Social Security. Job creation remains moribund.
Policies aren't in place or planned to stimulate them.
Layoffs will increase. The greatest divide between
rich and poor in US history will widen. Military spending and generous
corporate handouts will rise. Corporate taxes will be
cut. No matter who wins, policies Obama's
(Simpson-Bowles) deficit cutting team proposed will be
instituted. They include: ending or capping middle class
tax breaks; home mortgage interest deductions and
tax-free employer provided medical insurance will be
affected; billions of dollars in Medicare
cuts; substantial Medicaid co-pay
increases and steep cuts overall; millions will be
denied vital healthcare when they most need it;
raising the Social Security
retirement age and cutting benefits by reducing or
eliminating cost-of-living increases; cutting or eliminating welfare
benefits; food stamps and other vital programs will
be affected; and other socially destructive
policies. At issue is destroying social
America. Corporate bosses and privileged elites demand
it. They want it all for themselves. Obama and Romney agree. So do
congressional leaders. It has to go. Eliminating it is
planned to further Washington's imperium, increase
corporate empowerment and profits, and benefit
super-rich elites already with too much. America's ruling class wants
everything its own way. Social justice isn't in its
vocabulary. It's in the way so kill it. In the 1970s, America began
shifting right. Since the 1980s, neoliberalism
dominated US politics under both parties. Bush I
continued Reagan policies. Clinton hardened them. Bush
II went further. Obama outdid him. He did what
supporters thought impossible. He matched Star Trek.
He went where no administration went before. Imagine
what he'll do in a second term. Expect Romney to match
or exceed him blow for blow. Congressional Republicans
and Democrats assure it. Money power runs America.
Corporate bosses demand it. Whatever they want they
get. Ordinary people suffer most. Social justice are
four-letter words. So is prosperity for millions
losing out entirely. Bad as things are now, expect
worse. Expect America's great divide between rich and
poor to widen. Neoliberal/imperial priorities
let essential public needs go begging. It's baked in
the cake. Party leaders are on board. Rhetoric alone
differentiates one side of the isle from the other. America's democracy is fake. Back
room deals decide who rules. Free, fair and open
elections don't exist. They don't rise to the level of
bad fiction. They mock legitimate governance. No wonder so many people opt out.
Maybe one day an election will be held and no one will
show up. Something has to give to change things. America's duopoly offers no
choice. Vote independent or stay home. Support people
oriented candidates committed to real democracy of,
by, and for everyone fairly and equitably. Back peacemakers, not rogues
wanting to ravage one country after another. Choose
wisely for a society worth living in. Do it because it
matters. Throwing out bums for new ones never solved a
thing and won't now. Real change more than ever is
needed. Great struggles are won in small steps. Take
one on November 6. Boycott America's duopoly. Oppose the corporate driven
pestilence. It's destroying personal freedoms and
social justice. Have your say. Do it wisely. Stephen Lendman lives in
Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces
America: Privatized Banking, Government Collusion and
Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html Visit his
blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to
cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on
the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive
Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and
Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are
archived for easy listening. http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour |
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