Thank you, thank you, thank you. The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, day of atonement, asks atonement of individuals. We need a day of atonement as a nation.
Unfortunately we as a nation, like Donald Trump, never ever admit wrongdoing. And unfortunately because of that inability, that unwillingness, we can never be whole.
It is time to put a woman in charge! Harris would have been a great president. She understood the government needs.
On Substack I’ve read Harris actually won. Philadelphia had voting machines checked by the company that made them. There were also many lost votes, such as in Nevada.
I agree she won. I was awake early when Elon announced the win. I was surprised because this was the first Presidential election I can remember that didn’t do a recount. However, they have been recounting and. Philadelphia, Nevada claim she won.
IMO. Kamala felt it wasn't worth another insurrection, possibly, along with her life being at risk. The MAGATTs are crazy. Maybe she will tell us one day. But, if they can prove it, then they should FIX it. :)
Hmm—Harris would have been another rendition of all the worst policy-makers…because she has shown herself to be cut from the same shallow, arrogant, hypocritical cloth—corporate-dependent politicians with a giant imperialistic streak.
“ Teach our children this truth about us. About our history. Give them this knowledge and with it comes the opportunity for us to change and make different choices for our future. To be a different people. A peaceful people. The Germans did it. The Japanese, too.”
Thank you, This is a wise and very powerful post. As countries go we are a very young country, hopefully we are about to grow out of our gullible adolescence, and grow into a more mature, wiser country capable of exhibiting the courage to see our mistakes, learn from our mistakes, as horrific as they have been, and become that multiracial pluralistic peace loving democracy thst our forefathers dreamed of for this country,
Thank you for telling it like it is. The USA pretends to 'care' about freedom, justice and humanity, when the truth is the USA only cares about money, money and more money.
there are so many truths thst we need to teach our children, trumps DEI attacks are a desire to return to an era not so long ago, still within my life time when being gay was illegal, being disabled often ended you up in a “home” out of site of the public, being black was dealt with JimCrow Laws and segregation, being Indigenous got your children kidnapped and placed in government and Catholic sanctioned/run boarding schools where your hair was cut, you could not speak your language or participate in your cultural rituals, and were often starved, beaten, raped, and killed, being born female you could not open a checking account or get a loan without a father’s or husband’s signature,
The idea of paying women to deliver pregnancies makes my skin crawl.” This is a normal response of anyone with an ounce of decency, When we recount the history of slavery, we often omit the enslaved status of women, “ They couldn't own property, enter contracts, or retain their earnings, and were legally subordinate to their husbands. Their legal existence was often suspended upon marriage, and they were expected to be domestic figures, focused on raising families. This legal status, known as coverture, significantly limited their autonomy and control over their own lives.” “Coverture was largely abolished in the US by 1880, although some aspects lingered into the 20th century. Most states enacted married women's property laws that allowed women to own property and enter contracts independently of their husbands by this time.” However, “ The requirement for a husband or father's signature for a woman to open a bank account or get a loan ended in the US primarily in 1974 with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). While some banks allowed women to open accounts independently in the 1960s, the ECOA made it illegal for banks to discriminate in lending based on sex or marital status” “ Prior to the 1970s, marital rape was legal in every US state and only first became partially outlawed in Michigan and Delaware in 1974, then wholly outlawed in South Dakota and Nebraska in 1975.[1][2] The court case Oregon v. Rideout in 1978 was the first in which someone stood trial for raping their spouse while they lived together. By 1993, marital rape was a crime nationwide.[3] Still, in the 1990s, most states continued to differentiate between the way marital rape and non-marital rape were viewed and treated. The laws surrounding marital rape in the US continue to change and evolve, with most states reforming their laws far into the 21st century. However, there are still states where marital rape and non-marital rape are treated quite differently under the law with the definition of what is "marital rape" or non-marital rape being disputed in some states.” This still maintains the status of woman basically as property of her husband, he has control, That is enslavement, Women still don’t have equal pay for equal work. “ In the U.S., the gender pay gap remains a significant issue, with women typically earning around 83 cents for every dollar earned by men. While the gap has narrowed slightly over the past two decades, it persists across various occupations and industries. Compared to other countries, the U.S. faces challenges in achieving pay equity, with some nations exhibiting significantly narrower gaps or even instances where women earn slightly more than men. International.” “ Countries with smaller gender pay gaps: Luxembourg and Belgium in the European Union have very small gender pay gaps, with some data even showing women earning slightly more than men in Luxembourg. Countries with larger gender pay gaps: South Korea, Estonia, and Japan have notably larger gender pay gaps compared to the U.S. “ Women, having to be the ones that bear children, still are not supported with good medical care . “In 2022, the United States had a maternal mortality rate of 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, significantly higher than most other high-income countries, including Sweden (2.7), Switzerland (1), and Norway (0). This means that in the US, about 22 women die for every 100,000 live births due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, compared to much lower rates in other developed nations”) Do not have supportive, adequate maternity leave for their recovery and for the needs of a baby’s first year of life, “ Other Countries: Many countries offer paid maternity leave, some with durations exceeding a year and pay percentages ranging from 60% to 100% of the employee's salary. Examples: Norway: Offers 343 days at 100% pay. Bulgaria: Provides 410 days at 90% pay. Sweden: Offers 390 days at 80% pay. Canada: Offers 16 weeks at 49% pay. Germany: Offers 14 weeks at 100% pay. Mexico: Offers 12 weeks at 100% pay. “ trump/vance/heritage foundation want to go back to what they consider was when we were great, when white supremacy ruled, when the rich ruled, when people of color and WOMEN were property, baby ma king machines with no rights, Or do we want to be a country that believes in “equality for all men” Oh yeah we need to reword thst to say all people so all those who are not cis men are no longer invisible and told “just assume you are included” everyone has to pick a side, there are no false equivalents, “ The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance. Thomas Paine”
Trump wants to go backwards
The Trump administration is considering a $5,000 "baby bonus" for every American mother after she gives birth. This proposal, alongside other measures like a "National Medal of Motherhood" for mothers with six or more children, is being evaluated as part of efforts to address declining birth rates in the U.S. The White House is exploring these incentives to encourage people to marry and have children.
My brother married a woman from California, we are Canadian. I went with my future sister in law to California. I was a teenager and met some of her friends who had served in Vietnam. I was shocked by the behaviour of these young men. I watched as they angrily told us that they were not treated well when they returned and that they felt they’d been lied to by America. I didn’t understand how a country could lie. ( it wasn’t a person). I didn’t understand fear and anger but I did feel the aggression. It’s been many decades obviously, I didn’t forget about that .
My friend told me they were snuck out back door due to their mistreatment. It's sad. They were drafted to a police act, as it was never officially a war, I believe. I was really young during it.
Thank you. It is very painful but beautiful to see an American man courageous enough to show all the skeletons the U.S. has in the closet. Loving a country is a lot about facing its reality and working on improving it, as opposed to loving a fantasy of it. The U.S. has so many great things we can be proud of. Interfering and desestabilizing dozens of foreign countries' sociopolitical structure is definitely not one of them.
It is much like waking up one day and discovering your spouse/father/mother/brother/sister/child is Jeffrey Dahmer.
That actually happened to someone/s. But in our case, we would have been assisting him in various way/s, perhaps simply denial of the facts, too busy elsewhere, career's on the line, or thinking it's a duty.
Powerful ~ I watched Hearts & Minds when it first came out and was devastated. I grew up in a military family throughout that war. My father was sent there for a year when I was a sophomore in high school. We lived on a Strategic Air Command Air Force Base (B-52 Bombers) in Puerto Rico. When we went to the base airport to say farewell to friends being transferred to another base, I was always struck by the waiting room full of young Puerto Rican men in full uniform, waiting for their transport planes to take off on the long journey to Vietnam. No family members were present to send them off to fight with people they didn't know in a country they probably couldn't find on a map. We drafted forty-eight thousand Puerto Ricans to fight that "war." We'll never ask for forgiveness...makes me sad and has motivated me to side with progressives ever since...
I agree. We are uncomfortable with the truth. This was compounded by the fact that the war was so unpopular and Americans took it out on the traumatized soldiers when they returned. There was no appetite for self reflection or contrition, regardless of how culpable we were. I point to the media as equally to blame as the government on Gaza. Zero balanced reporting.
Thanks for all the likes and restacks. I just launched my newsletter yesterday, so please consider subscribing. It is all about citizen power in this age of uncertainty and frustration. Today’s issue: https://shalyn8.substack.com/p/why-were-here?r=tq7xo
Nothing is going to change until you wake up and realize both parties are corrupt and we collectively demand an end to the system of legalized bribery that is the cause of all the problems in the world.
My name is Ted Martin. I have finished writing a book about my first hand encounters with a morbidly corrupt federal judicial system. The book is titled: The Illusion of Justice and contains documented, incontrovertible proof of widespread systemic corruption in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of United States Courts, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. Department of Justice. (There is a link for a free digital copy of my book in this post.)
The corruption is undeniable. The judges in both of my cases incorporated the defendant’s fraudulent defenses into their opinions even after I pointed out the fraud in every brief that I filed. These “judges” are clearly taking dictation from corporate defense counsel without even reading the plaintiff’s briefs.
These black robed grifters obviously fixed both of my cases. But, by far, the worst part was knowing that they were systematically violating everyone’s constitutional rights—they just got caught violating mine.
The Supreme Court not only ignored two of the most egregious cases of judicial misconduct imaginable (my cases) but also an amicus brief by former Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner in which he blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Posner’s amicus brief can be found on the Supreme Court’s website at www.supremecourt.gov (Go to CASE DOCUMENTS at the bottom of the web page and click Docket Search. Enter 17-8352 in the box and click SEARCH. When Docket for 17-8352 appears, click it to find Judge Posner’s amicus brief.)
It will be painfully obvious to anyone who reads my book (or Judges Posner’s amicus brief) that the Supreme Court denies certiorari without even bothering to read the petitions submitted by the citizens of the United States. This obscene betrayal of the public trust is a clear-cut violation of every Justice’s judicial oath and a crime under federal law that is commonly referred to as honest services fraud.
In short, my book proves that the leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt corporate judges who will never side with the American people. This was abundantly clear when Senator Chuck Schumer and the other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee repeatedly refused to use irrefutable evidence of judicial misconduct by Amy Coney Barrett (a Republican nominee) at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
This bipartisan band of seditious conspirators also refused to address the underlying corruption in clear violation of their oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
The only difference between the two major political parties is the rhetoric. The special interest groups running this country don’t give a damn which bribe taking stooge you vote for or even if you vote at all. They have already successfully rigged every election by controlling “our” choices.
The leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have been caught red-handed conspiring to pack the courts with corrupt judges who will never side with you. If there was ever a reason to be a one issue voter, this is it. Besides, any politician caught lying about their fidelity to the Constitution and laws of the United States is obviously lying about everything—particularly their agenda.
Republicans push the corrupt corporate agenda. Democrats pretend to be opposed. Together, they sell their offices to the highest bidders. They foment war for the military industrial complex, promote racism for the prison industrial complex, refuse to restrict access to assault weapons for the gun manufactures, permit large quantities of toxic cancer causing chemicals to be dumped into our air, land, and water for the chemical manufactures, deny needed medical care to our country’s citizens for the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and turn a willful blind eye to the catastrophic effects of global warming for the fossil fuel industries. The list of their greed fueled crimes against humanity goes on and on.
Voting your current elected representatives out of office should be a no brainer. But, to make sure that they are not replaced with another batch of equally corrupt corporate stooges, we’re also going to have to take back both the Republican and Democratic parties and get the money out of politics.
While this may appear to be a daunting task, all we really need is a sound plan. After giving this matter some careful consideration, I have the following proposal: We agree to put aside all of our ideological differences and unite as Americans in support of the Constitution of the United States.
If you read my book, it really won’t be that difficult. You will know who the real enemy is and it certainly isn’t your fellow citizens. We just need to become one issue voters. Ignore their contrived wedge issues, bullshit talking points, and cringe worthy campaign ads. If they are not fighting tooth and nail to get the money out of politics—don’t legitimize them with your vote.
Seriously, if in doubt—throw them out. Besides, any government official who is not forcefully calling for the resignations of the corrupt leaders of their own political party is, by definition, violating their oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Whether Republican or Democrat, a treasonous corporate criminal is a treasonous corporate criminal, they serve the same master and nothing is going to change until we get the money out of politics.
*You get the money out of politics by publicly funding elections, banning all campaign contributions, and, in exchange for their broadcasting/operating licenses, requiring news organizations to give every candidate for public office an equal amount of free advertising space.
In the future, I may write a book titled: The Illusion of Journalism. But for now, I’m just going to say that the media is not going to help anyone blow the whistle on their partners in crime. In the past four years, I couldn’t find a single news organization that hadn’t sold us out.
All an honest journalist would have to do is read Judge Posner’s amicus brief to know that the courts are irretrievably corrupt. Reading my book will conclusively show that the courts are corrupt by design.
P.S. I blame the Federalist Society for the corruption in the federal judicial system. The six so-called conservative justices on the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell, and all the Republican Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee are members of the Federalist Society. Donald Trump picked “his” judicial nominees from lists provided by the Federalist Society.
I didn’t know that the Democrats were in on it until I tried to give them proof of judicial misconduct by Amy Coney Barrett at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. If you would like to read about their disgraceful conduct, you can skip ahead to the Postscript on page 221 of my book. But, by all means, read the rest of the book. The federal government is more corrupt than you can possibly imagine!
Thank you for your comment. The corruption is blatant, documented, and plain for all to see. The problem is that word of mouth is the only way the American people are ever going to find out that "their" representatives have sold them out. When you put proof of treason though the corporate owned media filter--it comes out dedicated public servants.
For those of us living them those years were a watershed. And it was so ugly, so inconceivable, that a few years later Reaganism snaked in to deny the experience and renew the Empire and all its bloody bullshit. Americans wreck the world for short-term profit, as they wreck themselves. We never learn.
If you want to stop the corruption, read my post today or go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It proves that the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt judges who have nothing but contempt for the Constitution of the United States. If this is not reason enough to throw these bastards out of office, what the hell would be?
Boy I wish this was not quite so close to the edge of the precipice. My older brother is 78 presently on disability from severe hearing loss during his tour in Vietnam circa 1968. I'm gonna have lunch with him sometime next week and we'll chat but I gotta say the idea of bringing up politics or anything even remotely involving those horrors? I have to leave it to him. It's such a touchy thing that me and my little brother we always leave it to him. If he wants to bring it up then we're fine. In fact funny thing he just came back from spending six weeks in Vietnam first time since 68. And he found such peace. He stayed in a place called Dalat, fairly high elevation very poor folk, friendly after you get to know them and he made full use of the Google translator app otherwise both sides would be at sea. But he had to tear himself away. Came back with this sense of how bad it is here not how poor they are there. In fact they kept trying to find him a wife LOL. Anyway in his unguarded moments he admits that he still has nightmares he is haunted and it has affected every aspect of his life.
I'm nearing 78. Bring it up, if you can. If he's like me, he's been laboring under an unspeakable guilt most of his life. I'm only now coming to grips with it. I'm glad your brother found some peace.
My Dad was a "Desert Rat" in North Africa for 6 years from 1939 - 45. Tragically, he never was at peace with his memories. It is humanity's greatest TRAGEDY and may be one of the root causes of some modern chronic illnesses. They pumped those soldiers and airmen with all kinds of chemicals.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. The Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, day of atonement, asks atonement of individuals. We need a day of atonement as a nation.
Unfortunately we as a nation, like Donald Trump, never ever admit wrongdoing. And unfortunately because of that inability, that unwillingness, we can never be whole.
This is a powerful piece, Mr. Moore. Thank you.
It is time to put a woman in charge! Harris would have been a great president. She understood the government needs.
On Substack I’ve read Harris actually won. Philadelphia had voting machines checked by the company that made them. There were also many lost votes, such as in Nevada.
Why were there no recounts?
I believe it's because Harris didn't challenge the vote. I believe she won. :)
I agree she won. I was awake early when Elon announced the win. I was surprised because this was the first Presidential election I can remember that didn’t do a recount. However, they have been recounting and. Philadelphia, Nevada claim she won.
It’s on Substack.
I'm so upset by that! Why wouldn't they challenge? It's impossible that she lost.
IMO. Kamala felt it wasn't worth another insurrection, possibly, along with her life being at risk. The MAGATTs are crazy. Maybe she will tell us one day. But, if they can prove it, then they should FIX it. :)
Hmm—Harris would have been another rendition of all the worst policy-makers…because she has shown herself to be cut from the same shallow, arrogant, hypocritical cloth—corporate-dependent politicians with a giant imperialistic streak.
Thank you for saying this. She may have been better than Thatcher -- we'll never know, and so what?
“ Teach our children this truth about us. About our history. Give them this knowledge and with it comes the opportunity for us to change and make different choices for our future. To be a different people. A peaceful people. The Germans did it. The Japanese, too.”
Thank you, This is a wise and very powerful post. As countries go we are a very young country, hopefully we are about to grow out of our gullible adolescence, and grow into a more mature, wiser country capable of exhibiting the courage to see our mistakes, learn from our mistakes, as horrific as they have been, and become that multiracial pluralistic peace loving democracy thst our forefathers dreamed of for this country,
MOST of the most positive replies coming from women...come on, fellas! Wake up to reality! Thankyou Michael...you are a man with a HUGE heart!
Thank you for telling it like it is. The USA pretends to 'care' about freedom, justice and humanity, when the truth is the USA only cares about money, money and more money.
One of the signs in last week's protest: "My arms are tired from holding this sign since the 60s"
I've been carrying those signs since there, and I'm not tired. But one can do their sign-holding online, so to speak.
there are so many truths thst we need to teach our children, trumps DEI attacks are a desire to return to an era not so long ago, still within my life time when being gay was illegal, being disabled often ended you up in a “home” out of site of the public, being black was dealt with JimCrow Laws and segregation, being Indigenous got your children kidnapped and placed in government and Catholic sanctioned/run boarding schools where your hair was cut, you could not speak your language or participate in your cultural rituals, and were often starved, beaten, raped, and killed, being born female you could not open a checking account or get a loan without a father’s or husband’s signature,
The idea of paying women to deliver pregnancies makes my skin crawl.” This is a normal response of anyone with an ounce of decency, When we recount the history of slavery, we often omit the enslaved status of women, “ They couldn't own property, enter contracts, or retain their earnings, and were legally subordinate to their husbands. Their legal existence was often suspended upon marriage, and they were expected to be domestic figures, focused on raising families. This legal status, known as coverture, significantly limited their autonomy and control over their own lives.” “Coverture was largely abolished in the US by 1880, although some aspects lingered into the 20th century. Most states enacted married women's property laws that allowed women to own property and enter contracts independently of their husbands by this time.” However, “ The requirement for a husband or father's signature for a woman to open a bank account or get a loan ended in the US primarily in 1974 with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). While some banks allowed women to open accounts independently in the 1960s, the ECOA made it illegal for banks to discriminate in lending based on sex or marital status” “ Prior to the 1970s, marital rape was legal in every US state and only first became partially outlawed in Michigan and Delaware in 1974, then wholly outlawed in South Dakota and Nebraska in 1975.[1][2] The court case Oregon v. Rideout in 1978 was the first in which someone stood trial for raping their spouse while they lived together. By 1993, marital rape was a crime nationwide.[3] Still, in the 1990s, most states continued to differentiate between the way marital rape and non-marital rape were viewed and treated. The laws surrounding marital rape in the US continue to change and evolve, with most states reforming their laws far into the 21st century. However, there are still states where marital rape and non-marital rape are treated quite differently under the law with the definition of what is "marital rape" or non-marital rape being disputed in some states.” This still maintains the status of woman basically as property of her husband, he has control, That is enslavement, Women still don’t have equal pay for equal work. “ In the U.S., the gender pay gap remains a significant issue, with women typically earning around 83 cents for every dollar earned by men. While the gap has narrowed slightly over the past two decades, it persists across various occupations and industries. Compared to other countries, the U.S. faces challenges in achieving pay equity, with some nations exhibiting significantly narrower gaps or even instances where women earn slightly more than men. International.” “ Countries with smaller gender pay gaps: Luxembourg and Belgium in the European Union have very small gender pay gaps, with some data even showing women earning slightly more than men in Luxembourg. Countries with larger gender pay gaps: South Korea, Estonia, and Japan have notably larger gender pay gaps compared to the U.S. “ Women, having to be the ones that bear children, still are not supported with good medical care . “In 2022, the United States had a maternal mortality rate of 22.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, significantly higher than most other high-income countries, including Sweden (2.7), Switzerland (1), and Norway (0). This means that in the US, about 22 women die for every 100,000 live births due to complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, compared to much lower rates in other developed nations”) Do not have supportive, adequate maternity leave for their recovery and for the needs of a baby’s first year of life, “ Other Countries: Many countries offer paid maternity leave, some with durations exceeding a year and pay percentages ranging from 60% to 100% of the employee's salary. Examples: Norway: Offers 343 days at 100% pay. Bulgaria: Provides 410 days at 90% pay. Sweden: Offers 390 days at 80% pay. Canada: Offers 16 weeks at 49% pay. Germany: Offers 14 weeks at 100% pay. Mexico: Offers 12 weeks at 100% pay. “ trump/vance/heritage foundation want to go back to what they consider was when we were great, when white supremacy ruled, when the rich ruled, when people of color and WOMEN were property, baby ma king machines with no rights, Or do we want to be a country that believes in “equality for all men” Oh yeah we need to reword thst to say all people so all those who are not cis men are no longer invisible and told “just assume you are included” everyone has to pick a side, there are no false equivalents, “ The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance. Thomas Paine”
Trump wants to go backwards
The Trump administration is considering a $5,000 "baby bonus" for every American mother after she gives birth. This proposal, alongside other measures like a "National Medal of Motherhood" for mothers with six or more children, is being evaluated as part of efforts to address declining birth rates in the U.S. The White House is exploring these incentives to encourage people to marry and have children.
My brother married a woman from California, we are Canadian. I went with my future sister in law to California. I was a teenager and met some of her friends who had served in Vietnam. I was shocked by the behaviour of these young men. I watched as they angrily told us that they were not treated well when they returned and that they felt they’d been lied to by America. I didn’t understand how a country could lie. ( it wasn’t a person). I didn’t understand fear and anger but I did feel the aggression. It’s been many decades obviously, I didn’t forget about that .
My friend told me they were snuck out back door due to their mistreatment. It's sad. They were drafted to a police act, as it was never officially a war, I believe. I was really young during it.
Thank you. It is very painful but beautiful to see an American man courageous enough to show all the skeletons the U.S. has in the closet. Loving a country is a lot about facing its reality and working on improving it, as opposed to loving a fantasy of it. The U.S. has so many great things we can be proud of. Interfering and desestabilizing dozens of foreign countries' sociopolitical structure is definitely not one of them.
It is much like waking up one day and discovering your spouse/father/mother/brother/sister/child is Jeffrey Dahmer.
That actually happened to someone/s. But in our case, we would have been assisting him in various way/s, perhaps simply denial of the facts, too busy elsewhere, career's on the line, or thinking it's a duty.
Where does one/they/ you/me/we/ go from there?
Powerful ~ I watched Hearts & Minds when it first came out and was devastated. I grew up in a military family throughout that war. My father was sent there for a year when I was a sophomore in high school. We lived on a Strategic Air Command Air Force Base (B-52 Bombers) in Puerto Rico. When we went to the base airport to say farewell to friends being transferred to another base, I was always struck by the waiting room full of young Puerto Rican men in full uniform, waiting for their transport planes to take off on the long journey to Vietnam. No family members were present to send them off to fight with people they didn't know in a country they probably couldn't find on a map. We drafted forty-eight thousand Puerto Ricans to fight that "war." We'll never ask for forgiveness...makes me sad and has motivated me to side with progressives ever since...
I agree. We are uncomfortable with the truth. This was compounded by the fact that the war was so unpopular and Americans took it out on the traumatized soldiers when they returned. There was no appetite for self reflection or contrition, regardless of how culpable we were. I point to the media as equally to blame as the government on Gaza. Zero balanced reporting.
Thanks for all the likes and restacks. I just launched my newsletter yesterday, so please consider subscribing. It is all about citizen power in this age of uncertainty and frustration. Today’s issue: https://shalyn8.substack.com/p/why-were-here?r=tq7xo
My fellow Americans,
Nothing is going to change until you wake up and realize both parties are corrupt and we collectively demand an end to the system of legalized bribery that is the cause of all the problems in the world.
My name is Ted Martin. I have finished writing a book about my first hand encounters with a morbidly corrupt federal judicial system. The book is titled: The Illusion of Justice and contains documented, incontrovertible proof of widespread systemic corruption in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the United States Supreme Court, the Administrative Office of United States Courts, the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the U.S. Department of Justice. (There is a link for a free digital copy of my book in this post.)
The corruption is undeniable. The judges in both of my cases incorporated the defendant’s fraudulent defenses into their opinions even after I pointed out the fraud in every brief that I filed. These “judges” are clearly taking dictation from corporate defense counsel without even reading the plaintiff’s briefs.
These black robed grifters obviously fixed both of my cases. But, by far, the worst part was knowing that they were systematically violating everyone’s constitutional rights—they just got caught violating mine.
The Supreme Court not only ignored two of the most egregious cases of judicial misconduct imaginable (my cases) but also an amicus brief by former Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner in which he blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Posner’s amicus brief can be found on the Supreme Court’s website at www.supremecourt.gov (Go to CASE DOCUMENTS at the bottom of the web page and click Docket Search. Enter 17-8352 in the box and click SEARCH. When Docket for 17-8352 appears, click it to find Judge Posner’s amicus brief.)
It will be painfully obvious to anyone who reads my book (or Judges Posner’s amicus brief) that the Supreme Court denies certiorari without even bothering to read the petitions submitted by the citizens of the United States. This obscene betrayal of the public trust is a clear-cut violation of every Justice’s judicial oath and a crime under federal law that is commonly referred to as honest services fraud.
In short, my book proves that the leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt corporate judges who will never side with the American people. This was abundantly clear when Senator Chuck Schumer and the other Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee repeatedly refused to use irrefutable evidence of judicial misconduct by Amy Coney Barrett (a Republican nominee) at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
This bipartisan band of seditious conspirators also refused to address the underlying corruption in clear violation of their oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
The only difference between the two major political parties is the rhetoric. The special interest groups running this country don’t give a damn which bribe taking stooge you vote for or even if you vote at all. They have already successfully rigged every election by controlling “our” choices.
The leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties have been caught red-handed conspiring to pack the courts with corrupt judges who will never side with you. If there was ever a reason to be a one issue voter, this is it. Besides, any politician caught lying about their fidelity to the Constitution and laws of the United States is obviously lying about everything—particularly their agenda.
Republicans push the corrupt corporate agenda. Democrats pretend to be opposed. Together, they sell their offices to the highest bidders. They foment war for the military industrial complex, promote racism for the prison industrial complex, refuse to restrict access to assault weapons for the gun manufactures, permit large quantities of toxic cancer causing chemicals to be dumped into our air, land, and water for the chemical manufactures, deny needed medical care to our country’s citizens for the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, and turn a willful blind eye to the catastrophic effects of global warming for the fossil fuel industries. The list of their greed fueled crimes against humanity goes on and on.
Voting your current elected representatives out of office should be a no brainer. But, to make sure that they are not replaced with another batch of equally corrupt corporate stooges, we’re also going to have to take back both the Republican and Democratic parties and get the money out of politics.
While this may appear to be a daunting task, all we really need is a sound plan. After giving this matter some careful consideration, I have the following proposal: We agree to put aside all of our ideological differences and unite as Americans in support of the Constitution of the United States.
If you read my book, it really won’t be that difficult. You will know who the real enemy is and it certainly isn’t your fellow citizens. We just need to become one issue voters. Ignore their contrived wedge issues, bullshit talking points, and cringe worthy campaign ads. If they are not fighting tooth and nail to get the money out of politics—don’t legitimize them with your vote.
Seriously, if in doubt—throw them out. Besides, any government official who is not forcefully calling for the resignations of the corrupt leaders of their own political party is, by definition, violating their oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Whether Republican or Democrat, a treasonous corporate criminal is a treasonous corporate criminal, they serve the same master and nothing is going to change until we get the money out of politics.
*You get the money out of politics by publicly funding elections, banning all campaign contributions, and, in exchange for their broadcasting/operating licenses, requiring news organizations to give every candidate for public office an equal amount of free advertising space.
In the future, I may write a book titled: The Illusion of Journalism. But for now, I’m just going to say that the media is not going to help anyone blow the whistle on their partners in crime. In the past four years, I couldn’t find a single news organization that hadn’t sold us out.
All an honest journalist would have to do is read Judge Posner’s amicus brief to know that the courts are irretrievably corrupt. Reading my book will conclusively show that the courts are corrupt by design.
If you want a government that actually acts in your best interests, I urge you and everyone you know to read my book as soon as possible. You can get a digital copy of my book free of charge at the link below: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_vaMH1riLodzOfQn0kI7ow0RDrPM0NqE/view?usp=sharing
P.S. I blame the Federalist Society for the corruption in the federal judicial system. The six so-called conservative justices on the Supreme Court, Mitch McConnell, and all the Republican Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee are members of the Federalist Society. Donald Trump picked “his” judicial nominees from lists provided by the Federalist Society.
I didn’t know that the Democrats were in on it until I tried to give them proof of judicial misconduct by Amy Coney Barrett at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing. If you would like to read about their disgraceful conduct, you can skip ahead to the Postscript on page 221 of my book. But, by all means, read the rest of the book. The federal government is more corrupt than you can possibly imagine!
Thank you for your service!
Thank you for your comment. The corruption is blatant, documented, and plain for all to see. The problem is that word of mouth is the only way the American people are ever going to find out that "their" representatives have sold them out. When you put proof of treason though the corporate owned media filter--it comes out dedicated public servants.
Looks like Trump does not even KNOW what the American Constitution is ABOUT.
ABE LINCOLN must be turning in his grave!!!!
For those of us living them those years were a watershed. And it was so ugly, so inconceivable, that a few years later Reaganism snaked in to deny the experience and renew the Empire and all its bloody bullshit. Americans wreck the world for short-term profit, as they wreck themselves. We never learn.
It is an oft repeated truism: Evil thrives when GOOD people do nothing to stop it.
And how exactly do normal decent people "stop" it?
As when their livelihoods are tied to the Empire's.
As when a so-called democracy is an oligarchy controlled by the greediest, most selfish elements of society?
A revolution is not a dinner party. And it brings out the lowliest rats.
If you want to stop the corruption, read my post today or go to my Substack for a free digital copy of my book: The Illusion of Justice. It proves that the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties have been conspiring together to pack the courts with corrupt judges who have nothing but contempt for the Constitution of the United States. If this is not reason enough to throw these bastards out of office, what the hell would be?
Boy I wish this was not quite so close to the edge of the precipice. My older brother is 78 presently on disability from severe hearing loss during his tour in Vietnam circa 1968. I'm gonna have lunch with him sometime next week and we'll chat but I gotta say the idea of bringing up politics or anything even remotely involving those horrors? I have to leave it to him. It's such a touchy thing that me and my little brother we always leave it to him. If he wants to bring it up then we're fine. In fact funny thing he just came back from spending six weeks in Vietnam first time since 68. And he found such peace. He stayed in a place called Dalat, fairly high elevation very poor folk, friendly after you get to know them and he made full use of the Google translator app otherwise both sides would be at sea. But he had to tear himself away. Came back with this sense of how bad it is here not how poor they are there. In fact they kept trying to find him a wife LOL. Anyway in his unguarded moments he admits that he still has nightmares he is haunted and it has affected every aspect of his life.
I'm nearing 78. Bring it up, if you can. If he's like me, he's been laboring under an unspeakable guilt most of his life. I'm only now coming to grips with it. I'm glad your brother found some peace.
My Dad was a "Desert Rat" in North Africa for 6 years from 1939 - 45. Tragically, he never was at peace with his memories. It is humanity's greatest TRAGEDY and may be one of the root causes of some modern chronic illnesses. They pumped those soldiers and airmen with all kinds of chemicals.
Yes it should be a National Holiday. Thanks Michael
"El Salvador is Spanish for Vietnam"
-Viet Thanh Nyguen
April 30, 2025 on Democracy Now
I saw that today also. I didn't know about him before, but I do now. I'm ordering some of his books and am going to learn all I can from him.