Horse Race To The Bottom…

Op ED Commentary –                                

Forget the upcoming Kentucky Derby. We now have the beginning of the premier horse race in Amerika: The 2016 Presidential Race. Yes, it is fast approaching, this one of many fabulous four year events that consume most Americans… helped along by our’ bought and paid for ‘ mainstream media overselling us on it. No need to remember how the Two Party ‘ Too big to fail’ Bailout has left more and more homes still underwater or in foreclosure… while profits for the big banks and Wall Street  firms mount.  Who cares that hedge fund and junk fund (isn’t that the same thing?) top execs earn tens and hundreds of millions a year while many 9 to 5 working stiffs struggle to earn a measly $10 or even $15 an hour? Who cares that over 50% or our tax dollars goes to subsidize the Military Industrial Complex with our phony wars and occupations, replete with over 1000 US bases worldwide… while our state and city governments are running on deficits? Guess what? Miss Hillary could not care less. Marco ‘the new blood Republican’ Rubio doesn’t. How about Mr. Libertarian Less Government Rand Paul stating when he announced his candidacy that he plans to increase the military spending to fight the good fight against those crazy A-Rabs. His dad sat on stage in support of him, the same Ron Paul who railed for decades against big military budgets and foreign interventions. Go figure.

Just wait ’till the rest of the so called ‘field’ of hypocrites and lackeys for this empire throw their hats into the ring. Sadly, many folks we all know will still support a ‘lesser of two evils’ candidate when the smoke clears. I love how supporters of Miss Hillary from those so called ‘progressive’ women’s groups think that she is the one to help women. Duh, when she triumphantly supported the NATO (translated: U.S.) carpet bombing campaign in Libya, how many women were slaughtered by those ‘smart bombs’? Or, her advocacy for the thousands of drone missiles that once again destroyed the lives of  mothers and their little children. Then we have the little punk Rubio, too chicken himself to sign up and serve when we illegally attacked and occupied Iraq and Afghanistan, yet loves to talk tough on using poor Latino, black and white kids in uniform to patrol, occupy, kill or be killed in the Middle East. Or his love of ‘family values’, the Republican calling card, while the majority of his constituents  have no government safety net due to the cuts he supported. He, along with Miss Hillary and all the Two Party con men and women, cares not that the credit card companies screw us with outrageous interest rates, or that millions of working stiff homeowners are still underwater in their home equity. What a joke!

So, dear friends, the time has come to say NO to the two party sponsored horserace. Support independent candidates or simply leave the space blank when you go into the voting booth (and you should never give up your right to vote). Please get out there in town squares, street corners or anywhere in public, and let your voice be heard.  It was Ben Franklin who instructed folks who cared about their nation that “Dissent is the lifeblood of democracy.” And remember the words of the great scholar Frederick Douglass: “Power concedes nothing without demand. It never has. It never will!”

Philip A Farruggio is son and grandson of Brooklyn, NYC longshoremen. He is a free lance columnist (found on World News Trust, Nation of Change Blog, Truthout.org, TheSleuthJournal.com, The Intrepid Report , The Peoples Voice, Information Clearing house, Dandelion Salad, Activist Post, Dissident Voice and many other sites worldwide). Philip works as an environmental products sales rep and has been an activist leader since 2000. In 2010 he became a local spokesperson for the 25% Solution Movement to Save Our Cities by cutting military spending 25%. Philip can be reached at [email protected]