Philip A. Farruggio -- World News Trust
Aug. 23, 2017
This writer is adding an ending to an old adage. "Ignorance is bliss... but deadly to those who know better."
We have two recent instances that prove my point: one from the so-called "populist right" and one from the so so-called "populist left."
In Charlottesville less than two weeks ago, and in Atlanta about the same time, we had two events sponsored by the aforementioned groups. We all saw on our boob tubes the group of young white men marching and carrying torches reminiscent of the Nazi era in Germany.
Matter of fact, they were even shouting anti-Jewish statements as they marched. All this anger at what they perceived comes from the Jews who (they believe) run things financially. After all, they have been informed that many of the Wall Street banksters have Jewish names. Thus, they have been lectured by certain far rightwing ideologues and authors that "it is the Jews who run things internationally." I guess no one informed them that, as other "alt-right" and "alt-left" authors and researchers have reported for generations, it has always been the WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) Fat Cats who have been in control of "Their Jews" in the financial communities internationally!
We who "know better" realize that this misplaced anger goes much deeper than that. Yes, these young white men have been getting **** by our Military Industrial Empire way before they were even conceived! Those amongst them who are in college or recently graduated feel the frustration of their never-ending college debt, lack of any viable future, terrible health coverage and basically too many holes in what was once a powerful "safety net." They see their parents and grandparents getting old and infirm, with a real lack of that "safety net" for themselves as well. Then, the "alt-right"' comes along and tells them how the illegals and the blacks are getting nourished on the government teat. Not fair!
In Atlanta the (so-called) progressives held their Net Roots Nation conference Aug. 10-13. Watching a tape of it last night on C-Span almost caused this writer to literally throw my shoe at the screen! This was another of the many, and more to come, Democratic Party influenced events. The purpose, not of the attendees and a few of the panelists, was to basically recruit or influence good intentioned progressives to stay within the party. Of course, many of the attendees and panelists dreamed of heroically reforming the Democratic Party, or as Michael Moore (please stick to your great filmmaking Michael ) "Take over the party and make it truly progressive!"
Oh my goodness, here we go again. This writer had to hear this dribble from most of my former peace activist friends when "Feel the Bern" ran. What did he accomplish? He and Elizabeth Warren and Keith Ellison (both at the conference as speakers and panelists) are working so hard to keep those fine young minds and fine young activists in the fold. For what purpose, one should ask? To support another Obama to highest office, to then continue to serve the empire?
Here is the skinny on this all: For those young white torchbearers in Charlottesville and those young progressives in Atlanta, when are you all going to GET IT? The 500-pound gorilla in the room folks is the obscene military spending (more than HALF of YOUR tax dollars) and this crazy Military Industrial Empire, with the phony wars and occupations and 1,000 bases worldwide... while our economy is on the verge of crashing once again, and next time maybe shades of 1929! Yet, all these (so-called) populist groups, alt-left and alt-right, keep following these phony populist leaders like lemmings.
Guys and gals: It's the Empire... Stupid and it has always owned and operated The Two-Party "One-Party" system!!
PA Farruggio
August 23, 2017
Philip A Farruggio is a son and grandson of Brooklyn, New York, longshoremen. H has been a free lance columnist since 2001, with more than 300 of his essays posted on sites like Information Clearing House, Nation of Change, World News Trust, Op Ed News, Dissident Voice, Counterpunch, Activist Post, Sleuth Journal, Truthout and many others. His blog can be read in full on World News Trust, whereupon he writes a great deal on the need to cut military spending drastically and send the savings back to save our cities. Philip has a internet interview show, It's the Empire... Stupid with producer Chuck Gregory, and can be reached at