Scratch The Surface
You might not like what you find underneath, but you do have a choice as to what to do once the dirt is exposed.
Scratch The Surface
by C.A. Matthews
We watched a mystery program recently where the antique dealer sleuth was asked to solve the puzzle of what happened to an older woman’s inheritance that supposedly was “right in front of her.” As the old woman sat leaning on her cane, the sleuth asked if she could see the cane. The sleuth took a nail file and scratched the head of the cane, flaking off some of the paint covering it. Hidden under several layers of paint was a solid gold ornament—the woman’s inheritance. The sleuth had cracked the puzzle. Scratching the surface revealed a treasure.
If only everything was as golden underneath its surface!
If you scratch the surface of the current crop of duopoly candidates for the White House, you probably won’t like what you find underneath. It’s about as far from gold as you can get!
There’s no secret to the shallowness of Donald Trump. The whole world experienced his narcissism his first time in office, so is there any need to rehash it? After his recent experiences in court, nobody—and I mean nobody—really wants to see what’s underneath the Trumpster Fire’s surface. We’re all agreed: It ain’t pretty.
The same could be said of Kamala “The Cackler” Harris. Harris has been compared to former president Barack Obama who in a recent biography was described as being “hollow at its core” or an empty vessel. That means there’s essentially nothing underneath those insane giggles and grins of Harris. There’s no guiding principles or firmly held beliefs. She’s held together by a willingness to do whatever the oligarchs want her to do. Mark my words, what billionaires want Harris to do for them isn’t going to be of help to any of us ordinary folks.
Will she keep arming the genocidal Israelis and keep the highly profitable military-industrial complex CEOS and stockholders rolling in dough? Yes, ma’am! That’s fine by Harris. She’s already accepted well over $5 million from AIPAC alone. She’s even telling outright lies that she and Biden are both for a ceasefire in Gaza while releasing another $3.5 billion to Israel to spend buying US arms. Less than 24 hours after handing over the billions to the Israelis, another Gazan school full of civilians was bombed by the IOF with 2,000 pound bombs provided by the US.
UPDATE: The Biden-Harris administration has provided another $20 billion in arms sales to Israel with “plans to deliver over 50 F-15 fighter jets, advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, 120mm tank ammunition, high explosive mortars and tactical vehicles. The delivery of the full fleet of jets is anticipated to take five years to complete.” I guess that means the plan is for the Harris administration to pass out the fighter jets and bombs. Sorry, Harris appears to want to see the genocide continue for the foreseeable future so the mega-profits of the American military-industrial complex can continue.
Will Harris continue to ignore the pleas of protesters begging her to stop the genocide in Gaza? “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking!” the Veep scolded pro-Palestine protesters recently in Detroit. I think we can take that to mean that she isn’t really interested in ending the genocide, no matter how much some Blue MAGA Cultists hope she will.
Harris’ reply indicates to me that she’s concentrating first and foremost on winning the much coveted presidency and besting her fellow duopolist, Trump. With so much at stake for Harris’ political career, she feels that she doesn’t time to be concerned about children and innocent civilians being massacred. She needs to convince rich, anti-Palestinian people to vote for her. There’s a political race to win, right?
Green New Deal? The Democrats stole this idea from the Green Party US and watered it down. The result? The Biden-Harris administration approved almost 50% more oil and gas drilling permits on federal land in its first three years than the Trump administration did in its first three years. There has been much talk in Washington DC about how there’s “little space between the vice president and the president” on policy issues. So, no, Harris isn’t going to save the environment and stop the drilling.
And her VP pick? According to the Green Party EcoAction Committee, Governor Walz’s administration approved a state permit for the controversial tar sands crude oil Line 3 Pipeline in 2020, after he had campaigned against it in his 2017 run. A coalition of sixteen environmental groups recently criticized Walz’s lax enforcement of environmental regulations, reliance on voluntary compliance by farmers on nitrate pollution limits instead of legal enforcement, failure to adequately police air quality violations from a foundry in a low-income neighborhood, and a flawed permitting process for a crude oil pipeline built through wetlands.
Harris/Walz is definitely all for Big Oil. Underneath their smiling surfaces is one big oil slick. For comparison, here’s a meme from the Green Party’s Jill Stein and where she stands on the environment:
Will Harris support workers and unions? Remember how Biden wouldn’t allow the railroad workers to strike for safer working conditions, and just two months later the train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, happened? A year and a half later, the people of East Palestine have yet to receive any federal disaster aid or health care under the Stafford Act. Many are suffering illness brought on by the fumes and particulates that were generated by unnecessary burning of toxic chemicals from the derailed cars. The administration has continually sided with the perpetrator of the disaster, Norfolk Southern, and bowed to their pressure.
The Biden-Harris admin has even given away $8.5 billion in tax payer money to corporations, which has resulted in the lost of 15,000 jobs at Intel alone. I wouldn’t hold my breath that “Ms. Giggles and Grins” is going to stand up for the working class. She will proudly represent the CEOs and stockholders like she and her boss Biden have these past three years.
What about Medicare for All? Crickets. Student loan forgiveness? There have been vague hints, but essentially nothing of consequence has occurred to help the vast majority of former students, and there’s no indication Harris would do any differently.
If you don’t believe me, check out Harris’ web site. You’ll notice there’s no platform explaining her positions—if indeed she holds any positions—on any topic. She’s “Kamala Chameleon,” willing to do and say anything you want her to do or say in order to gain the throne.
Before you start thinking that candidates don’t publish their platforms online, you can read a very thorough platform at Green Party presumptive nominee Jill Stein’s website. Dr. Stein isn’t afraid to make concrete statements on a wide variety of issues that affect the American people. She’s more than willing to discuss and debate these issues whenever and wherever she’s been asked. She doesn’t cut off protesters’ voices, either.
Are you seeing a pattern here?
Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are all show and no substance. The duopolists don’t want anyone with any common sense or originality running for the White House. They don’t want their figurehead puppet-president to actually demonstrate empathy or compassion for the suffering of the world—or even those simply struggling to survive in the US. When you’re elected to represent the oligarchs, a.k.a. the billionaires, a.k.a. the true power behind the throne, you have to be a heartless sociopath willing to throw the “little people” under the bus whenever your corporate bosses tell you to do so. It’s what the oligarchs expect from “their president.”
If you still feel there’s some hope to a Harris presidency ending genocide and helping those who are suffering—that she’s got some gold underneath her surface of narcissism—here’s an example from Harris’ past that shows how little compassion she has shown to others. From an article entitled Victims of clergy sex abuse in San Francisco rebuke Kamala Harris for not fighting for them:
Ms. Harris, who began her seven-year tenure as a San Francisco DA in 2004, refused to turn over personnel files of Catholic priests accused of sexual abuse within the San Francisco Archdiocese, according to her critics, which include San Francisco news outlets. (…)
Dan McNevins, 65, who says he was molested by a priest when he was an altar boy, said that when Ms. Harris talks about her record fighting sex offenders, he gets angry.
“She didn’t do anything for survivors of Catholic priests,” he told The Times. “I hope that in the last 20 years, Vice President Harris has reflected that she may have been on the wrong end of that equation and can change. I would like her to actually address the issue. She hasn’t ever addressed what went on.
As the old adage says: “When somebody shows you who they really are—believe them.”
If Harris hasn’t already been forthcoming with support for the innocents suffering and dying in Gaza or even for Americans suffering in East Palestine without federal aid after an epic man-made environmental disaster, what makes you think she would give a sh*t about anyone in the future other than the mega-wealthy oligarchs who control her now?
Consider this: A woman who can think for herself is a dangerous person to the status quo. A woman who would actually worry about the lives of children in Gaza is a woman who’d happily make the corporations pay their fair share of taxes. A woman who would shut down the war machine and not care one second about the oligarchs making profits from the death of millions. A woman who’d rather spend our tax dollars to re-train armament factory workers and coal miners to build green energy setups, such as solar panels or wind turbines, than build more bombs.
A woman like Dr. Jill Stein.
When you scratch the surface of an actual people’s candidate like Jill Stein, an amazing treasure is revealed. You find someone who will actually stand up for the people. Here’s an example written into her platform:
It’s not just “grins and giggles” and empty promises in front of TV cameras like the duopolists are so good at making:
It’s not just covering for the “other side of the coin” of the duopoly while pretending to be “different” or “radical” because you wear a different color tie:
It’s time to scratch the surface of gems like Jill Stein and consider supporting them with your vote. You don’t have to put up with the ugliness beneath the surface of the status quo sycophants. You do have a choice.
A statement by Jill Stein on recent bombings in Gaza https://twitter.com/DrJillStein/status/1822664741627773029
Yesterday, Israel dropped three 2,000-pound bombs supplied by the Biden-Harris administration on the al-Tabin school in Gaza City. The bombs dropped on the school were just three of the more than 14,000 MK-84, 2,000-pound bombs POTUS has given Netanyahu since October 7th. The bombing has not stopped – and it will not stop until we stop giving Israel bombs. We won’t accept four more years of lip service from the Democrats who talk about peace while supplying weapons that facilitate the extermination of an entire people. By supplying weapons, we are participating in their war crimes. As Gaza goes, we all go.
Related Articles and Other Interesting Links
'Heinous': Children Among 100 Killed by Israel Bombing of Gaza School Just Hours After US Weapons Approval https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-massacre-us-weapons
Another Massacre https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/another-massacre
Biden-Harris wasted $8.5 billion in taxpayer money to lose 15,000 jobs at Intel https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/biden-harris-wasted-8-5-billion-in-taxpayer-money-to-lose-15-000-jobs-at-intel/ar-AA1o9h5X
Victims of clergy sex abuse in San Francisco rebuke Kamala Harris for not fighting for them https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/aug/5/victims-of-clergy-sex-abuse-in-san-francisco-rebuk/
Jill Stein2024 Platform JillStein2024.com/platform
From Aaron Bushnell To "I'm Speaking" In Five Months https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/from-aaron-bushnell-to-im-speaking
Nobody Would Vote For Any Of This Bullshit Without Extensive Manipulation https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/nobody-would-vote-for-any-of-this
Black Left Critique of Kamala Harris https://www.blackagendareport.com/black-left-critique-kamala-harris
Kamala Harris Resource List (prior to 2020 info) https://ccinamon.wordpress.com/2019/01/22/kamala-harris-resource-list/
Kamala Kameleon 2024: Welcome to Obama 2.0 https://euroyankee.substack.com/p/kamala-kameleon-2024-welcome-to-obama
How a Boot Camp Founded by Jews Helped Tim Walz Become a Politician https://www.timesofisrael.com/how-a-progressive-boot-camp-founded-by-jews-helped-tim-walz-become-a-politician
Kshama Sawant Takes Down the Tim Walz Fantasy Love-Fest youtu.be/zDrN8DqhdiU
Tim Walz's Pro-Israel Record REVEALED youtu.be/MF8wFyhn_Wg
AIPAC Spent $9 Million to Help Oust Cori Bush https://scheerpost.com/2024/08/08/aipac-spent-9-million-to-help-oust-cori-bush/
Palestinian prisoners endure ‘Guantanamo-like’ conditions in Israeli torture camps: Report https://thecradle.co/articles/palestinian-prisoners-endure-guantanamo-like-conditions-in-israeli-torture-camps-report
Israel Accused Of Running "Torture Camps" As Video Emerges Of Soldiers Raping Palestinian Prisoner https://mark192.substack.com/p/cartoon-israel-accused-of-running
What’s the Deal with Israelis and Rape? https://euroyankee.substack.com/p/whats-the-deal-with-israelis-and
Nothing's changed since 1948 – except now Israel's excuses don't work https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/nothings-changed-since-1948-except
There Are Over 100,000 Cases of Hepatitis B in Gaza, Report Says https://truthout.org/articles/there-are-over-100000-cases-of-hepatitis-b-in-gaza-report-says/
Backing the Worst Aggressor https://scheerpost.com/2024/08/06/caitlin-johnstone-backing-the-worst-aggressor/
14 protestors calling on Walz to divest from Israel cited for trespassing at his residence https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/02/29/14-people-cited-for-trespassing-during-protest-at-governors-home-in-st-paul
US Tech Giants Are Storing Data for Israeli Military as It Destroys Gaza https://truthout.org/articles/us-tech-giants-are-storing-data-for-israeli-military-as-it-destroys-gaza/
US leads G7 in ambassadors’ boycott of ceremony commemorating atomic bombing of Nagasaki https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/08/09/bjog-a09.html
Western Food Brands See Profits Tank Due To Boycott For Israeli Ties https://popularresistance.org/western-food-brands-see-profits-tank-due-to-boycott-for-israeli-ties/
Consortium News Condemns FBI Raid on CN Columnist’s Home https://consortiumnews.com/2024/08/09/cn-condemns-fbi-raid-on-cn-columnists-home/
Washington Further Escalates Its War On Dissent https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/washington-further-escalates-its
Apache Stronghold Continues Journey Of Prayer To The Supreme Court https://popularresistance.org/apache-stronghold-continues-journey-of-prayer-to-the-supreme-court/
Dark Oxygen: Deep-Sea Discovery Challenges Scientific Assumptions https://popularresistance.org/uncovering-dark-oxygen-deep-sea-discovery-challenges-scientific-assumptions/
US Court Rules Google a Monopoly in ‘Biggest Antitrust Case of the 21st Century’ https://scheerpost.com/2024/08/05/us-court-rules-google-a-monopoly-in-biggest-antitrust-case-of-the-21st-century/
How a US health agency became a shield for polluters https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-pollution-atsdr-landfill/
There are some things you just can’t excuse. Of these, genocide is at the very top of the list. Literally the very top. Vote however you want to vote, but stop lying about it." --Caitlin Johnstone
US Troops Get Hurt In The Middle East Because Of The Assholes Who Put Them There https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/us-troops-get-hurt-in-the-middle
US Policy: Let Israel Escalate Against Iran, Then Tell Iran Not To Escalate Back https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/us-policy-let-israel-escalate-against
Fake Revolutions Everywhere You Look https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/fake-revolutions-everywhere-you-look
‘Leve Palestina’: The 1970s song that became an antiwar anthem in Sweden https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/8/11/leve-palestina-the-1970s-song-that-became-an-antiwar-anthem-in-swede
Kamala Harris VS Palestinian Protesters ROUND 2 youtu.be/0Jm3BZYltyo
Petition: Outlaw AIPAC: Please sign and share! https://www.change.org/outlawAIPAC
This is the best policy takedown of $kamala and the dude one letter short of a dance I've seen so far on Substack.
Good article!
It's a decade since the Obama dupe, and and half a decade since the scandal of rigging primary elections aka "Russiagate"- yet the Dems have not changed one bit. Still cheating the electorate out of any actual democratic primary selection process, and still showing up empty shells, painting them and pretending they are real people.
When they lose this election AGAIN, the Dems and their backers in the Deep State will now claim "Iran-gate". If you look closely at the Deep State propaganda mouthpieces they are already cooking up a long list of trumped up stories to manufacture a narrative attack Iran: https://www.fdd.org/?s=Iran
They will capstone it by claiming Iran "interfered" in the election.
( BTW you have a small typo or spell check glitch where you wrote "2000 bombs": you probably meant to write "2000-pound" but omitted the world "pound". )