1984 Was Not Supposed To Be An Instruction Manual
TL;DR You should probably vote for Jill Stein. She isn’t a psychopath. Continue reading for a more comprehensive reasoning. This is worth your time to read, I promise you. A topic like this just can’t be properly vetted out in 140 characters on Twitter or via a social media post. So this is my answer to all the Hillary and Trump supporters out there.
To say that the current political climate for the United States elections is a heated situation would be a total underestimation.
The lesser of two evils no longer serves as a valid choice when those choices have reached a point of diminishing returns whereby the difference between two choices has become increasingly inconsequential, and therefore, indistinguishable from one another in effectively being a better option over the other.
What does one do when both options are equally bad?
Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t?
In the United States political system there are multiple options which can be utilized in order to break the cycle of irrational thinking. Outside of the Republican and Democratic parties, there are Third Party Candidates.
But what happens when the two major parties of a country have become so corrupted that they have absolutely no interest in losing the control and power which they have? In this instance, we see the implementation of corruption, lying, and deliberate doublethink mentality barraged upon the population who (apparently) are easily manipulated into believing it.
In this post, I will be exploring the candidates in a way that explains why they are or or not a good choice for this country. Before we do, it would serve us best to first define what our problems actually are as a country (and planet) so we can identify if these candidates are actually in a position to fix those problems.
Identifying the Problems
Climate Change
This isn’t up for debate. If you think Climate Change is some kind of hoax, then you must know a lot more than the scientists at NOAA and NASA. Climate Change is a number one priority for the human race and this planet as a whole. By systematically ignoring the wanton damage we do to this planet, we are on a path to human extinction.
Human extinction, if the concept hasn’t sunk in, is where humanity as a whole ceases to exist forever. That’s the death of about 8 billion people or more.
In short, our own actions and inactions are going to cause the complete and total genocide of humanity, and every living thing on this planet, unless we change our ways (and quickly).
With our usage of Fossil Fuels, we continue driving our planet into oblivion. Our dependency on these fossil fuels will be our undoing. It would be safe to say, then, that we have a priority to reverse this trend to extinction and to find better alternatives to fossil fuels, and I would go so far as to say nuclear reactors. Both are a danger to the environment for the long haul.
During 2016, literally every single month was the hottest month on record. In India, a heat wave hit that was so harsh it literally melted roads.
In the worst case, temperatures hit a ridiculous 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
I don’t know about you, but I’d call this a priority.
Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, and so on…
With the inclusion of Fracking into the equation, and the wastewater disposal from these sites, we’re blatantly destroying the environment with the full blessing of the agency that should be completely against it (the EPA). This cannot be explained as anything other that completely asinine.
More so when you realize that oil and gas companies refuse to disclose 10 percent of the hundreds of chemicals they use during hydraulic fracturing, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency. The revelation comes in a major installment of the EPA's study of the potential risks of fracking on drinking water.
Let us not forget the contamination of our drinking water and flaming tap water problem in towns near fracking locations.
And while we’re on the subject of water contamination, let us not forget the story of Flint, Michigan.
To make matters worse in a situation like this, Nestle was allowed to pump the clean water while the residents were left with lead poisoned brown sludge. Nestle, unsurprisingly, filtered and bottled that water and sold it back to the residents of Flint, Michigan.
I think it’s safe to say that this sort of behavior cannot be tolerated anymore and any candidate (or constituent) that is willing to defend these behaviors should be labelled a threat to humanity.
Obvious Solution
The obvious solution to all of this environmental catastrophe we are wreaking is to make a concerted and unified effort to switch our energy to renewables and to enforce much stricter regulations on polluting entities. By incentivizing renewable energy over subsidizing Oil, Gas and Coal we create new jobs to take the place of the old jobs while eliminating our dependency on fossil fuels.
It’s good for humanity, good for the environment, and likely will put a stop to needless wars – since that’s what we’re constantly going to war over (oil).
I will side with a candidate who promotes these ideals because it’s common sense. It doesn’t require more than three seconds worth of thought to understand it is the best option.
War (What Is It Good For?)
Absolutely nothing. Say it again, now.
The United States spends 54% of it’s entire budget on the military, which is the highest in the world. So much higher is this spending that it beats the next six countries on the list and they are our allies.
But we don’t have the money to put into the actual country itself for Education, Social Security, Science, Medicare & Health, and so on?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Look at that graph. Look at it.
Over half a trillion dollars just for the military alone?
I would support a candidate that wanted peace and to effectively reduce the military requirement of this country in order to put that money toward actually making this country a better place.
Education
It is no secret that our students are at a major disadvantage in today’s situation. Grade school through High School is continually and systematically cut in funding, while getting a College Education has left us a nation full of graduates who can never pay back the ridiculous and absolutely predatory debts required to afford attendance.
Total student loan debt in the United States has tripled over the past decade to a whopping $1.232 trillion.
If we can afford over a half a trillion dollars for our military, we sure as hell can afford to educate our kids properly (and freely).
There is no reason whatsoever (other than greed) that people must enter into crippling debt just to get an education that is required in a job market that is all but drying up to begin with.
Unless we’re counting the possibility that corporate interests want it all. So maybe we should stop those corporate interests and the representatives of that system from running the country?
Obviously, being educated is a threat to that establishment – so is it a wonder that actually getting a good education has become increasingly something that only wealthy people can afford?
We should probably put an end to that corruption and collective dumbing down of our nation.
In the bigger picture, then, it makes sense to support initiatives (and a candidate) that wants to fund public education and cancel student debts which have gotten out of control. It would make sense to support a candidate that would enact measures to ensure that undergraduate college is free to the public.
Bernie Sanders wanted to do this, but as we already know… Hillary Clinton completely and utterly screwed him out of the nomination. This isn’t even something you can debate on – it was flatly in the Wikileaks disclosure of Hillary Clinton’s and her campaign’s emails.
So, a candidate that wants to find ways to continue those policies to make America better for everyone is probably a candidate you and I should support.
Health Care
Did you know that pharmaceutical advertising to the general public is actually illegal in most of the world, except curiously the United States. In most of the developed world, they also have Single Payer Healthcare which has drastically lowered the price gouging of insurance companies and drug companies on the average citizen.
It’s a simple premise really… you pay your taxes? Congratulations, you’re fully covered. Just go to the doctor when you need to.
Why aren’t we doing this already?
Well… the answer is effectively greed. There is simply too much money being made by ripping off the American people to warrant any change. I mean, why would the crooks want to change the system that benefits them most? Why would lawmakers want to hurt the interests of their biggest supporters?
(see also: Congress, United States Government, et al)
It’s not like The United States can justify the inflated and exorbitant healthcare costs with better quality of healthcare, either. As a matter of fact, while we routinely pay the most for healthcare, we actually rank last in quality.
I hate to burst your bubble, but we’re getting royally screwed.
$15 Per Hour Minimum Wage
Also: Universal Basic Income Transition
The current Federal Minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. While many sates have minimum wages that are marginally higher than this, and some states have recently enacted laws to raise their own minimum wages to $15 within the next 2-6 years, those marginal increases just aren’t enough to live on when taken into account the actual cost of living.
When we take into account the actual cost of living index per state, the minimum wage in those states is a poverty wage at best by comparison.
Include the absolutely crap-tastic jobs market where the norm seems to be part-time at minimum wage and we have a serious problem. See, “part-time” also means “under 40 hours per week” which is to say 36 hours a week is just fine. Part-time also often omits things like comprehensive healthcare coverage, so what little these people are making gets cut even further just to pay for that too.
But it gets worse – Companies like Wal-Mart intentionally pay their workers as close to minimum wage as they can get away with, thus forcing those workers to rely on government subsidies (welfare, food stamps, medicare, etc) just to make ends meet.
And since you’re working “part-time”, at near minimum wage, you have to juggle at least two part-time jobs to make ends meet. Good luck working the 80 hour work week, kids.
But that’s not even the crux of the problem.
The more we enact $15 minimum wages in the United States, the more those companies are going to get rid of those jobs as a result, either by outsourcing to a foreign country (slave labor) or by implementing various automation methods to get rid of those jobs.
So again, enjoy your $15 per hour job while you can get it. There will be less of them, and just as many people out of work as a result.
In a time when we used to employ a handful of people for the “front end” of a store (cashiers), we now have closed most of the front end and replaced those jobs with self-checkout. Where we used to have associates on the floor to help you out, companies (like Lowes, Home Depot, etc) are toying with the idea of using robots on the floor instead (Pepper, etc).
If you think this is something that’s just coming in the distant future, then think again. Lowes is already deploying these robots today.
So maybe the problem isn’t $15 minimum wage, though this is a short term application, but instead maybe we need to seriously start thinking about a Universal Basic Income to offset all of this automation.
Stack Up
Out of interest of brevity (because we can write on this for thousands of pages), let me just cut to the point. I’d like to first point out that the Republican and Democratic nominee are both psychopaths.
It’s a major claim, but let’s take a look at what traits a psychopath would have before we move on.
Signs and Symptoms of Psychopathy
The signs and symptoms of psychopathy are identified most commonly in scientific studies by Hare's 20-item Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. This checklist identifies the following as the symptoms and signs of psychopathy:
- Superficial charm and glibness
- Inflated sense of self-worth
- Constant need for stimulation
- Lying pathologically
- Conning others; being manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow emotions
- Callousness; lack of empathy
- Using others (a parasitic lifestyle)
- Poor control over behavior
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Behavioral problems early in life
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Being impulsive
- Being irresponsible
- Blaming others and refusing to accept responsibility
- Having several marital relationships
- Delinquency when young
- Revocation of conditional release
- Criminal acts in several realms (criminal versatility)
Here’s the stack-up between candidates so far as I can tell.
Donald “Oompa Loompa” Trump
Known real estate con-man. Reality television and self-aggrandizing, self-entitled spoiled brat who lives in a fantasy world where he is the center of it. May also have very tiny hands.
- Superficial charm and glibness (Narcissism)
- Inflated sense of self-worth
- Constant need for stimulation
- Lying pathologically
- Conning others; being manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow emotions
- Callousness; lack of empathy
- Using others (a parasitic lifestyle)
- Poor control over behavior
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Being impulsive
- Being irresponsible
- Blaming others and refusing to accept responsibility
- Having several marital relationships
- Criminal acts in several realms (criminal versatility)
Narcissism & Inflated Sense of Self-Worth
Lying Pathologically
Conning Others; Being Manipulative
Using Others (parasitic Lifestyle)
Criminal Acts in Several Realms
Promiscuous Sexual Behavior
Poor Control Over Behavior
Being Impulsive, etc
And What About That Wall?
Might I remind you (Republicans) that it was Ronald Reagan himself that told Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” in Berlin. Walls don’t work…
There is a sense of bewilderment that in the year 2016, the Republican candidate would even suggest building a wall between our country and another, not to mention being so ego-driven that he would insist that Mexico would pay for it.
That’s not what we, as a country, are about. Have we learned nothing from the past? Japanese Internment Camps… Slavery… Genocide (Natives)… Racism… Xenophobia?
Is this what we’ve become? Count me out.
Building a wall simply wouldn’t work, and what’s worse… it would send a very bad message to the world. A message that we, ourselves, have become the very thing we opposed not so long ago.
Aside from that… would you really trust a known real estate con-man when he tells you we should build the biggest, most expensive wall in the history of our country?
Hillary “I’ll Say Anything For Your Vote” Clinton
Narcissistic, xenophobic, pathological liar. Bigoted, racist, and the embodiment of literally everything we literally just got done saying was the problem with this country during #Occupy Movement.
I’m just going to jump right into this one, because there is just way too much to cover.
- Superficial charm and glibness (Narcissism)
- Inflated sense of self-worth
- Constant need for stimulation
- Lying pathologically
- Conning others; being manipulative
- Lack of remorse or guilt
- Shallow emotions
- Callousness; lack of empathy
- Using others (a parasitic lifestyle)
- Poor control over behavior
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Lack of realistic, long-term goals
- Being impulsive
- Being irresponsible
- Blaming others and refusing to accept responsibility
- Having several marital relationships
- Criminal acts in several realms (criminal versatility)
Superficial Charm and Glibness
Promiscuous Sexual Behavior
What suddenly warranted re-opening the investigation into Hillary’s emails? Well, they found a bunch of emails that were supposedly “lost” just residing in Anthony Weiner’s possession. We’re talking about the guy who was busted for sexting a 15 year old girl. the content of those emails documented the involvement of the Clintons in what is known as the Lolita Express.
Callousness; lack of empathy
Criminality
It shouldn’t be any surprise whatsoever that the Clinton Foundation is essentially a front for illegal activities. This has been effectively spelled out in the Wikileaks releases of Hillary’s emails (Podesta, etc). Coupled with Anthony Weiner’s emails implicating the Clintons as active participants on the Lolita Express and sex slavery… Jesus Christ almighty. How is anyone turning a blind eye to any of this?
Pathological Liar
War with Russia
What kind of psychopath would intentionally want to incite a war with Syria and Russia? Hillary Clinton. Probably Trump as well, but that’s another story.
She is a proponent of instituting a No-Fly Zone over Syria, which on its own wouldn’t require going to war with Syria and Russia, but in order to actually enforce the airspace and restrictions (control the entire airspace), we would have to go to war with Syria and Russia. Probably China as well.
One thing I want you to notice in the response is that he’s saying essentially this:
1. In order to actually enforce a no-fly zone over Syria, we’d have to go to war with Syria and Russia. That’s the only way to actually control the entire air space.
2. When asked again (the senators are splitting hairs), he goes on to say that simply enacting a No-Fly Zone wouldn’t require war with Russia and Syria.
So essentially, he’s flatly saying: Yeah, sure… you can enact a no-fly zone but if you want to actually enforce it effectively you’re going to have to go to war with Russia and Syria.
Why is this a bad idea?
Because Russia has developed a new Nuclear ICBM called the Satan 2 that can wipe out an area the size of Texas.
We all know that Hillary Clinton has already sold a war in the Middle East as (and I quote) “a business opportunity” before. So what do you think this woman is going to do with a half a trillion dollar military and an obsession with a Syria No-Fly Zone?
Racist? No, not Hillary!
Oh, but it gets much worse…
I’m just going to stop right here because, to be honest, Hillary Clinton’s lying, corruption, racism, pandering and criminality might as well be her entire career.
Why Jill Stein?
Even in those criticisms, Hillary and Trump supporters often are citing patently false claims. For instance, Jill Stein is Anti-Vaccination. A simple search at Snopes can debunk this line.
Dr. Jill Stein is a physician. Why on earth would she be against vaccines entirely? That makes no sense at all.
How about the claim that her policies would be bad for the economy?
Well, again… I fail to actually see evidence of this from anywhere. If anything, Dr. Jill Stein has accurately explained the problem and how to go about fixing it. The only people who believe this would hurt the economy are the very people actively destroying it and benefitting at the expense of the other 90% of the country or the people who are susceptible to complete Doublethink (read: Trump and Hillary supporters).
See also: The wealthiest Americans and Corporations.
How about giving out “free education” and cancelling the debts of college students? Well, if you’ve seen Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, then you’ve heard just one of the ideas on the table for doing this – but that entire segment was entirely disingenuous. See, when Last Week Tonight reached out to the Jill Stein campaign to get those positions, they provided them with a larger list of possible methods to go about accomplishing this feat – only one of which was the possibility of using the Federal Reserve as a Quantitative Easing mechanism.
In a recent issue of Rolling Stone magazine, Jill Stein corrected the record calling the segment from Last Week Tonight “A deceptive attack”. Which is to say – They didn’t do their homework, or willingly omitted the facts just to slant the view in a negative manner. Which, in my book makes John Oliver a complete douchebag.
See, none of these solutions being proposed are really “whackadoodle” material. They were the same sorts of approaches that Senator Bernie Sanders proposed when he was running in the primaries.
So why is it that these same platform policies are perfectly alright and garner a massive base of support among voters when Bernie Sanders says it, but when Jill Stein says it, it’s suddenly all far fetched and impossible?
At the end of the day, I’m more concerned that a very large portion of the population of the United States of America have become so blind that they are willingly and gleefully supporting one of two psychopaths to be their leader. Your support for them says less about them and more about you.
After all, they are supposed to be representing their constituents, and possibly the majority, right?
What does it say about the majority of Americans when their leaders are exhibiting all the behaviors of a psychopath and they are outright rejecting sane and progressive options that would massively benefit the entire country (and world) in the process?
Instead of comparing Jill Stein to the psychopaths (because let’s be honest, we’d be hard pressed to match any of those traits to her in the first place), how about I just give her the space here and let her platform do the talking -
You can go here for the full rundown: http://www.jill2016.com
Jill Stein’s Platform
A Green New Deal:
Create millions of jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030, and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, and conservation.
Jobs as a Right:
Create living-wage jobs for every American who needs work, replacing unemployment offices with employment offices. Advance workers rights to form unions, achieve workplace democracy, and keep a fair share of the wealth they create.
End Poverty:
Guarantee economic human rights, including access to food, water, housing, and utilities, with effective anti-poverty programs to ensure every American a life of dignity.
Health Care as a Right:
Establish an improved “Medicare For All” single-payer public health insurance program to provide everyone with quality health care, at huge savings.
Education as a Right:
Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude. Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university. End high stakes testing and public school privatization.
A Just Economy:
Set a $15/hour federal minimum wage. Break up “too-big-to-fail” banks and democratize the Federal Reserve. Reject gentrification as a model of economic development. Support development of worker and community cooperatives and small businesses. Make Wall Street, big corporations, and the rich pay their fair share of taxes. Create democratically run public banks and utilities. Replace corporate trade agreements with fair trade agreements.
Protect Mother Earth:
Lead on a global treaty to halt climate change. End destructive energy extraction: fracking, tar sands, offshore drilling, oil trains, mountaintop removal, and uranium mines. Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe. Protect the rights of future generations.
Racial Justice Now:
End police brutality and mass incarceration. Create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to understand and eliminate the legacy of slavery that lives on as pervasive racism in the economy, education, housing and health. Ensure that communities control their police rather than police controlling our communities, by establishing police review boards and full time investigators to look in to all cases of death in police custody. Demilitarize the police.
Freedom and Equality:
Expand women’s rights, protect LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination, defend indigenous rights and lands, and create a welcoming path to citizenship for immigrants. Protect the free Internet, legalize marijuana/hemp, and treat substance abuse as a public health problem, not a criminal problem.
Justice for All:
Restore our Constitutional rights, terminate unconstitutional surveillance and unwarranted spying, end persecution of government and media whistleblowers, close Guantanamo, abolish secret kill lists, and repeal indefinite detention without charge or trial.
Peace and Human Rights:
Establish a foreign policy based on diplomacy, international law, and human rights. End the wars and drone attacks, cut military spending by at least 50% and close the 700+ foreign military bases that are turning our republic into a bankrupt empire. Stop U.S. support and arms sales to human rights abusers, and lead on global nuclear disarmament.
Empower the People:
Abolish corporate personhood. Protect voters’ rights by establishing a constitutional right to vote. Enact electoral reforms that break the big money stranglehold and create truly representative democracy: public campaign financing, ranked-choice voting, proportional representation, and open debates.
I seriously struggle to think of the sane and rational person who can read through that platform and still manage to support Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump willingly.
“If you don’t vote for Hillary, you’re going to let Trump win!”
No, the people that voted for Trump or Hillary are the ones that elected them into office. We are responsible for the choices we make – not others. Stop trying to shame and blame third party supporters for bad choices the majority keep on making with gleeful abandon. That’s what you’re doing… like a bunch of lemmings running for the cliff.
I’ll leave you with this bit of a rant from Debbie at Sane Progressive explaining why people like us are simply done with the total clusterfuck of this Idiocracy.
We can do better than two psychopaths for presidential candidates
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