The US has become an oligarchy run by the donor class and lobbyists for Big Capital for their own profit. The opinions of the population no longer count when almost every member of Congress is bought and paid for. Votes no longer count when continuity of agenda guarantees that the same policies will be pursued no matter who takes office. Only the branding changes. The SCOTUS decision in Citizens United declared political donations to be ‘speech’, meaning that they could not be regulated because that would constitute suppression of free speech. Of course the actual speech of ordinary people is being increasingly suppressed all the time, but the big players can do as they please. This means elections are now purchased, not legitimately won. Conflicts of interest are everywhere, and are allowed to persist. Industries write their own regulatory frameworks, and there is a revolving door between industry and government, ensuring maximum freedom for industries and maximum payoffs for the individuals supposedly charged with regulating them. The concept of ethics has been completely discarded.
One of the most influential lobbies is AIPAC, which pays off most of Congress, and will dump huge amounts of money into political races to ensure that the ‘right’ person is elected, namely someone who will prioritise the interests of Israel above those of their own constituents and their own country. This is why Benjamin Netanyahu, in mid-genocide, can visit the US and receive over 50 standing ovations in Congress. Official criticism of Israel is forbidden, no matter what it does. In some states, public employees are forced to sign a declaration of support for Israel and promise not to criticise or boycott it as a condition of employment. Support for the Palestinians is not only condemned, but frequently criminalised. Strong sanctions are applied to international critics, such as the members of the International Criminal Court who brought crimes against humanity charges against Netanyahu and his defence minister, and against UN human rights spokesperson Francesca Albanese. The people who voted for America first are now sorely disappointed, as the interests of their own country are fully subordinated.
The most egregious example of Israel first is clause 219 of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA), which merges the US and Israeli militaries, enshrining the right of Israel to all US military technology. A further addition by Senator Tom Cotton, section 1217, would also grant Israel access to all American intelligence. This bill, which has just been approved by the House, legalises and institutionalises the actions of former Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who stole military secrets and passed them on to Israel, which then sold them on to the Soviet Union. Pollard had been convicted to a long prison sentence for espionage, but was pardoned by Trump and allowed to return to Israel, where he was received as a national hero and is now running for a seat in the Knesset. The Senate will now vote on the NDAA, and is expected to pass it.
The American people have become increasingly aware of Israel’s genocidal activites, and have become increasingly opposed to supporting it. This makes it politically awkward for Congress to vote every year, or more often, to send more money and weapons to Israel. Section 219 of the NDAA gets around this by removing the need for a vote and instituting a presumption that the supply will continue. It nominates an executive agent to decide all issues relating to Israel, and this person can only be overruled by the President or the Secretary of Defence, both of whom currently are arch zionists. This has been described as treason by many informed commentators. The US is handing over its sovereignty on a silver platter. Unfortunately the US is not the country is once was. It has long since morphed into an empire and now under Trump a mafia state coveting the world’s resources, practicing global extortion, and attempting to exert monopoly control over the whole world as a rentier state. It steals and kills with impunity. This kind of rampant corruption, degradation, and degeneracy is characteristic of late stage empire. Once it finally falls to overreach, as empires always do eventually, the interregnem will be violent and chaotic. Hopefully humanity will survive the period.
