Drones in Yemen, Hunger Games In America, and Corporate Espionage, Maine Moves to Amend

Originally posted at AcronymTV



On this episode of The Resistance Report:

1. Dennis Trainor, Jr. talks about the 15 innocent people in Yemen who were killed Thursday by a U.S. Drone attack. The 15 homicide victims will be called collateral damage, and yet we are not at war with Yemen. It is a country that, like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia pose no threat to us and certainly have not declared war on us and yet, who contain within their borders members of an organization- Al-Qaeda- whose ranks will surely swell with each innocent victim whose bodies are pulverized at the click of a button from an Air Force pilot half a world away. 

2. We hear the haunting yet absurd steps taken by the NSA to monitor citizens. Unfortunately for activists, revolutionaries, and other agents of social change, that’s only the “state” prong of surveillance. The corporate arm is much more damning. Joel Northam reports. 

3. Donald Sutherland, who stars in the Hunger Games Franchise, wants to see a revolution that brings about the end of the American Empire, and he wants the Hunger Games movies to be a spark for that flame. Speaking to Rory Carroll of the Guardian UK, Sutherlandsays: "You know the young people of this society have not moved in the last 30 years." With the exception of Occupy, a minority movement, passivity reigns.” Whether Sutherland is engaging in a very clever marketing ploy or he sincerely wants to see a revolution is a question for another day. For now, Carl Gibson gives us this report that shows just how close we are to the dystopian futuristic landscape of the Hunger games. 

4. A group called We the People Maine went to the State House on Wednesday to deliver a formal request for the Legislature to apply for a Constitutional Convention of States to overturn Citizens United and establish that “corporations are not people and money is not speech.” Asher Platts was there, and files a report. 

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The State of the Unions

In order for this ad to become more than sentiment, Unions are going to have to decouple themselves from the Democratic Party-- especially in light of the fact that Chicago Mayor, and former White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, is looking to throw the Teachers Union under the (school) bus by laying off thousands of teachers, closing schools, and bringing in privately run charter schools.

It's a GOP wet dream, and yet it's a Democrat who is going to get it done. Just another example of how it's always the Democratic Party that advances the GOP agenda.

Jeremy Scahill takes down MSNBC panel on Drone Strikes

So Jeremy Scahill wrote this weird article in The Nation, in which he asks, "Can we trust Romney with the Kill List?" -- rather than asking "Why do we let the president have a Kill List?"

He makes up for it in this panel discussion.

DNC protesters not allowed into "Free Speech Zone"

What is the crazy bullshit?

Also friendly fascist Vermin Supreme talks about his PONYTOPIA, in which everything is so beautiful, he can't wait to bring his vision about through force.

Dylan Ratigan tears the DNC and GOP both a new a**hole

Sweetness.

We must build the Non-Partisan Progressive Movement

The Citizen's Filibuster by Peaceful Uprising

YES.

There's something magical about this. The idea that the simple act of a few people singing could bring things to a screeching halt. More proof that you don't need bombs or guns.

Art is the most effective tool in our arsenal.

9 young activists interrupted the proceedings in the US House by singing one at a time. As each activist was detained and taken out, another began and Congress was forced to pause their proceedings. They sang the following words to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner:

"Oh why can't you see
It's my life that's at stake
When you sell out our world
You are stealing my future
Can you look in my eyes
As you gamble our lives
When will you stop the lies
So that we can survive?
If you represent me
Not the fossil fuel industry
You must stop wasting time
Chasing your dollar signs
Oh, say will you listen to
Our generation
If you refuse to hear us now
Then we have to shut you down"

Dennis Kucinich running for President in 2007

So Google Video is shutting down, and I've moved the videos over from my Google Video account to my YouTube account. I had the opportunity to re-watch them, and one that stood out was this video that I uploaded (but did not shoot) while I was working for Dennis Kucinich's presidential campaign back in 2007.

Listening to this speech, and seeing how Obama has courted Wall Street at the expense of working people, courted big energy companies at the expense of working people, and continued with the policies of spying on the American Public, and created a new policy of claiming the extra-judicial right to assassinate US citizens deemed to be terrorists, I just have to ask-- WHAT THE FUCK?

Obama: Worse than Bush?

With Bush, at least liberals and DNC apologists knew that the person in the White House was trying to fuck us over.

So today, February 13th, it’s been reported in the AP, that an administration official says that Barack Obama is proposing to cut $100 billion over ten years from Pell Grants.

What happened to the state of the union?  What happened to “investing in our future?”  How is it that Barack Obama is still being supported by Democrats, liberals, and progressives? 

Well, here’s how this is all going to go down:

First, actual progressives are going to raise a red flag and say, “WHAT THE FUCK?!  THIS IS BULLSHIT!”

Second, the conservatives with step in and say, “OBAMA ISN”T GOING FAR ENOUGH! WE need to cut pell grants entirely.  Let the free market decide who needs an education and who doesn’t.”

Third, with this new conservative foil to play against, mindless DNC apologists are going to step into the fray and defend Obama and thus defend these massive cuts to college education. They’ll try to tell you that it’s not as bad as it seems, or that it would be worse if Palin was president, so we should just shut up and be happy with what we have, and that actual progressives are just a fringe minority who don’t know what we’re talking about.

This dialogue will play out in the media so that the national dialogue becomes whether we should cut Pell Grants by $100 billion over ten years, or cut them entirely.  The progressive position of “why the fuck aren’t we raising taxes on the rich, and cutting military spending?” Doesn’t fit into the dichotomous narrative of liberal vs conservative, and so it doesn’t get heard.   Because it’s a position that’s only advocated for by “fringe wackos who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

When it ends up being “only $100 billion” that's cut, the DNC apologists will say, "phew! It was a tough battle, but we won!  Let’s pat ourselves on the back for this victory!"

And the rich will continue to to get richer, just like under the Republican.
And the middle class will become working poor, just like under the Republican.
And the number of the poor will continue to grow, just like under the Republican.

Time to say hello to the cool people! A big thank you to:
James Sullivan
Sophia Batchelor
Brian Bergman
Gina Dennis
Stephen Totten
Patricia Pool
Maike Both
Jason Dawson
Michelle Duffy
Patti Ellis
Billie Rae Lucoff

These are people who make my videos possible. If I can get to 60 subscribers, I will be able to afford to do these videos on a weekly basis. If you would like to become a regular supporter, please go to my blog at PunkPatriot.blogspot.com and subscribe. thank you.

The Punk Patriot Performs an Experiment

Hi there. It’s been a while.
I’m a little fuzzier than last time we talked. I know you might have liked me better clean-shaven, but it’s cold outside, so I ask that you just put up with it.

So a little housekeeping to start. I want to point out that in a past video, I said that congress would never pass a repeal of DADT. Some of you asked that I make a retraction. So here it is: I was wrong about that, and I’m glad to be wrong about that. Now I can say things like “Shouldn’t all our soldiers be allowed to marry whomever they want?”

However, I don’t feel I’m wrong that both parties use wedge issues to fire up their base, and that neither party actually cares about these wedge issues. When Republicans rail against illegal immigration, and then it turns out that they have illegal immigrants working at their mansions as full time staff, that’s not hypocrisy. That’s just flat contempt for the stupidity of the voting population. When Democrats say that they care about poor people, but refuse to talk about Single Payer healthcare, or a living wage, that’s not their playing to the middle. They just don’t care. They’ve got corporate dollars to chase after so that they can fight the next election battle. Which brings me to another point I would like to develop more in a later video-- the real power center of the USA isn’t in Washington, DC. Those familiar with the term, “Soft Power” will recognize that the place where the bulk of the nation’s decisions are actually made is on Wall Street, in New York City. Protesting in Washington DC to be heard by congress or the President, is like yelling at a McDonald’s cashier about the rain forests being cleared for cattle in Brazil. It might make you feel better, but the kid behind the counter isn’t the person making the decisions for the company. He’s only there because that’s where he gets his paycheck. His job is to sell you on the idea of buying the apple pie... which isn’t even really an apple pie, but some sort of strudel in a cardboard box. and Ain’t that America?

One more item of housekeeping. This video is sort of an experiment. I want to see if actually want me to keep making these videos or not. If you do, please subscribe over at my blog for whatever level is right for you. We can work together on this. If I can get say, 60 people to subscribe at $10 a month (that’s $2.5 a week) I’ll be able to afford to quit my job, where I’m currently working 54hrs a week, and find part time work. I can also start making a Punk Patriot video every week.
Currently, I have 5 subscribers at the $10 a month level. They are awesome people who get it. Thank you to: Maike Both, Patti Ellis, Jason Dawson, Michelle Duffy, and Billie Rae Lucoff.

Others are saying, “Wait! Didn’t you get rich with your YouTube Partnership and your thousands of views on your last few videos?”

No. Due to a glitch, google ad-sense never linked with my YouTube channel, and I was never able to collect my massive monthly paycheck of a whopping 38 cents in ad revenue.

And now some of you kids who think everything on the internet should be free, I want to tell you something-- things in real life aren’t free. And if I’m going to work all the time so that I can afford to stay alive, then I won’t have time to make videos. So if you’re okay with that, please don’t donate, and I’ll go away.

If you care about Mountains...

Okay, so this race in WV is crazy.

The Governor of WV, Joe Manchin, is this huge pro-MTR jerkwad, totally in bed with the industry, and he’s just got this megalomaniacal drive to seek even more power. Now, when Robert Byrd died, Manchin had the power to appoint whomever he wanted. He really wanted to appoint himself, but his PR sense wouldn’t let him do that. It would be too obvious of a power grab, plus he’d only serve a partial term, and then likely get voted out for being a power-hungry monster.

So what he did instead was this: he appointed somebody else to fill Byrds spot, but then after appointing them, he wanted to hold a special election so that he could “legitimately” run for office. Now, this is costing WV a lot of money. Elections cost money for governments to hold in terms of manpower, printing ballots, running voting machines, etc, especially when they are held on the whim of the Governor. But there was a catch, he had to change the law in order to hold this special election. So he mucked around in the state congress until he had enough votes to change the law to create a special election so he could run for office. Oh yeah, and he’s a Democrat.

A Democratic Party elder in WV politics, Ken Hechler came forward to run in the primary to challenge Manchin. Ken Hechler is on hell of a dude. He served in WWII, he advised Harry Truman, marched with MLK jr, and served 9 terms as WV Sec of State.
But, Since he didn’t have the coal industry backing him (because he wasn’t a pro-MTR candidate) and Manchin DOES have the coal industry backing him, Manchin flooded the media market with adverts and won handily.

So now, there’s a Republican who is in the back pocket of the Coal Industry, there is a Democrat who is in the other backpocket of the coal industry, but there is only ONE candidate running who is against MTR coal mining-- Jesse Johnson of the Green affiliated party, the Mtn Party. Jesse Johnson makes a cameo appearance in the film “Coal Country” has run for Governor of WV, and is a tireless activist. He has been working on this issue for years.
Ken Hechler ENDORSED Jesse Johnson over Joe Manchin. It’s kind of a huge fucking deal for an institution of the DNC to throw aside party alleigance for an issue like this. It would be like Dennis Kucinich endorsing Ralph Nader after losing the DNC primary for president. (Come to think about it, why didn’t that happen?)

But that’s not enough to win. This race is still David vs Coaliath (get it? Coal-liath? Nailed it! I am hilarious!)
Now, what can you do to help out?

Well, Jesse doesn’t have a fancy website. The campaign he is running is mostly on the ground, talking to people face to face, traveling long distances through largely rural areas. If you go to the following link http://www.jesse4ussenate.org/ (link also in the vid description) you can donate to his campaign and help cover his campaign costs. You can also write a check payable to Jesse Johnson for US Senate and send it to:
Jesse 4 US Senate
PO Box 446
Pinch, WV 25156-0446

What else can you do? If you’ve got free time, head to West Virginia, and volunteer on his campaign! Send an email to info@jessejohnson.org or try calling 304-581-3005

This message was not endorsed or paid for by Jesse Johnson or Jesse Johnson for US Senate.
I am the Punk Patriot and I am on YouTube. And blip.tv. And facebook. And I have a blog. And I sell t-shirts on etsy.com But nothing to do with Jesse Johnson.