Not its fake official elected government: its real government. The oligarchs and government agencies which actually run the thing.
C.I.A. lobby, Langley, Virginia. (Central Intelligence Agency, Released into the public domain/Wikimedia Commons/Global Panorama)
By Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter
Reading by Tim Foley
I support regime change in the United States.
The real kind, not the “new face at the front desk every few years” kind.
I’m all for overthrowing tyrannical power structures, I just think we should start with the worst one.
Why should I support the violent overthrow of the U.S. empire’s enemies while the U.S. empire itself remains standing?
Why should I want to help the one power structure that’s terrorizing and destroying nations around the world with the goal of total planetary domination?
Why should I facilitate the propaganda campaign of the latest imperial regime change operation by talking about the tyranny and oppressiveness of the Official Bad Guy of the Day when it will do nothing but help the empire expand its global hegemony?
In all these years no one has ever been able to give me a satisfactory answer to these questions. And I have asked them many times, in many different ways.
If I’m at a crowded pub and there’s one guy going around beating people up and taking their wallets, I’m not going to be focused on the character of his victims, I’m going to be paying attention to the most glaring and urgent abuse dynamic in the room.
Nobody else is mass murdering, starving and robbing populations around the world like the U.S. and its allies are doing. No other power structure comes anywhere close.
The U.S. power alliance is unquestionably the most destructive and abusive entity in our world, and it also happens to be the power structure under which I live. This gives me a special responsibility to oppose its abuses.
The only reason everything I just said isn’t completely obvious to everyone is because we live in a mind-controlled dystopia where people are aggressively propagandized from birth into believing our rulers are more or less the Good Guys and the nations they target are more or less the Bad Guys.
That’s the only reason anyone thinks it makes sense to watch my tirades against U.S. warmongering and go “Hmm and yet you have nothing bad to say about Iran and Russia? You must be getting PAID by them!”
Over the years I’ve been accused of being a paid propagandist or secret agent for Russia, China, Iran, Qatar, Hamas, Hezbollah, Venezuela, Syria, Cuba, North Korea, and probably some others I’ve forgotten.
People who live in the western empire make these assumptions whenever they see me opposing the latest imperial power grab because they’re so propaganda-addled that they cannot conceive of the possibility of someone standing against the empire’s abuses on principle.
Their minds flail around searching for reasons for my behavior, and all they can come up with is that I’m some kind of state operative.
People act like my focusing my criticisms on the western empire is a sign of something malignant and suspicious, but it isn’t. It’s not strange that I focus my criticisms on the western empire, it’s strange that everyone else does not.
If we didn’t live in a civilization where our psyches are continually assaulted by a deluge of empire propaganda from every direction, nothing I’m saying here would even need to be explained.
Regime change the United States.
Not its fake official elected government: its real government. The oligarchs and government agencies which actually run the thing.
Replace its empire managers and empire management institutions with real democracy which gives the American people real authority over the actions of their own government, rather than the fake decoy elections they have now.
Regime change the United States, and regime change all its imperial member states. Australia. The U.K. Israel. Canada. The E.U. The entire imperial core.
If you have done this and you still want to talk about how mean and bad the Iranian government is, THEN I might listen to you. THEN I might take some interest in what you have to say.
Until then, you’re just one more mindless imperial bootlicker trying to advance the interests of the power structure under which you live.
Caitlin Johnstone’s work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following her on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, YouTube, or throwing some money into her tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy her books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff she publishes is to subscribe to the mailing list at her website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything she publishes. For more info on who she is, where she stands and what she’s trying to do with her platform, click here. All works are co-authored with her American husband Tim Foley.
This article is from Caitlin’s Newsletter and re-published with permission.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
“The only reason everything I just said isn’t completely obvious to everyone is because we live in a mind-controlled dystopia where people are aggressively propagandized from birth into believing our rulers are more or less the Good Guys and the nations they target are more or less the Bad Guys.“ Caitlin Johnstone.
AGREED! “We”, the people have been “aggressively propagandized from birth into believing” what happened in the Garden of Eden, is “gospel.” That the “Good Guy” was Adam, the aggressor; And, Eve, was pure complicity i.e., “a Chef in the Kitchen, a Hostess in the Salon, a Mistress in the boudoir.”
MEET the OPPOSITION, “The Bad Guys,” LILITH, “The Brightness of Black Moon—-The Wise Woman.” IMO, Caitlin, Johnstone w/Tim Foley, Francesca Albanese, Greta Thunberg, Clare Daly, Mary Kostakidis, Farah El Sharif, Kshama Sawant, Dr. Jill Stein, Edie Lloyd, Cathy Vogan, Arundhati Roy, the list is long; AND,
…. “The black Moon Lilith corresponds with a divine intuition. She is your 6th sense, your paranormal gift. The black Moon is your contact with the beyond, a higher level of wisdom. She is endowed with clairvoyance, clairknowing, clairsentience, clairaudience and even clairsmelling. THE black moon LILITH is YOUR HIGHER SELF, an almost unbearable lightness of being which works out differently for everybody. She has predicting and healing qualities.
….. [EVERYBODY] is born with this ready-made antenna.” by Sebastian van Wingerden @ hxxps://lillalith.com/black_moon.htm
AGREED! 1) Wanted, NOW! A Regime change in AUKUS, NATO, Israel, Canada, the ICC; 2) IMO, “Replace the empire’s managers,” [the US CONGRESS] “and empire management institutions” [the WH, US Trea$ury, DoJ, DHS, DJT’s Dept of War, etc.] “the entire imperial core;” 3) IMO, Replace “the entire imperial core w/Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS),; 4) Never f/Ever Forget: “It’s got to be EXTREMELY Organized & Swift; OR It Will Be Crushed!” Ralph Nader’s advice on rock’n a REVOLUTION! TY, Caitlin Johnstone, Tim Foley, CN, et al. “Keep It Lit!”
The status quo argues that your dreaming of utopia ?
Is it , can it even be closer to the middle .
It seems there is no in-between .
If the question is , if all else fails .
The ends of the rope pullled tight .
And there you have it.
The only problem is how to effect such regime change. The people who own and run the US have decades of experience in propaganda and population control, both here and abroad. They’ve got the might and the media. I don’t see how they can be defeated.
We certainly can’t vote them out.
Am I despairing?–maybe just a little. But, for now at least, we still have each other and forums that allow us to voice our dissatisfaction.
I tell myself that it could be worse. And by all appearances, it’s going to be.
“Nobody else is mass murdering, starving and robbing populations around the world like the U.S. and its allies are doing. No other power structure comes anywhere close.”
Thank you for calling a spade a spade, which so many seem not to dare.
And also thank you about the reminder, regarding those root causing “elites” behind the scenes pulling the puppet strings.
What a fantastic way to analytically zero-in on the fundamental problem afflicting First World societies in general and the US set-up in particular by the highly responsible and ethically anchored Caitlin. It succinctly grabs the political bottomline of the USA without being shallowly ensnared just in the Elephant’s rear ! I don’t wish to diminish the adequate wholesomeness of her wonderful write-up by nit-picking on anything therein. God bless you Caitlin and also the many other equally sharp commentators here !
Current western regimes are merely ugly facades fronting the even more hideous obscenity that runs it all, the international Krony Kapitalist Kleptocracy, the root of all global problems leading us towards omnicide.
You cannot restore the integrity of a thoroughly rotten building by replacing the facade.
You need to demolish and rebuild, extremely painful and difficult and expensive to do but there is no alternative.
Short of revolution and/or the total collapse of the Fascist States of America, nothing will change.
If you haven’t read the Powell Memorandum, now would be a good time. It was instrumental in getting us here.
So it’s not a regime change we need, it’s a regimen change.
Worldwide
Let me join the choir and say, “AMEN!” to all these comments.
Thank you Caitlin Johnstone for your modest proposal of US regime change.
I have been a years long reader of CJ’s Consortium posts, and have admired her analyses, but she really nailed this one with exceptional accuracy, courage, and insight. I’m now a grandparent, and am asking myself, what kind of USA am I leaving to my ten grandchildren?
What would my WWII combat veteran uncles say about our aggression in Venezuela?
I am a registered Independent.
I agree that we need to overthrow the tyrannical power structures.
When Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his farewell address in January of 1960, warning against the military-industrial complex, I listened and believed him. The shit is so deep and putrid here now as to be erasing human life everywhere. Thank you, Caitlin, for once again pointing out the obvious. If only people would listen and act according to such truth and defend the interests of the average people instead of the rich, powerful and greedy we would have long since made short work of righting the ship of state and killing the beast. Follow the money, follow the money, follow the money.
Your last line here is a real ‘KILLER’. Now where are those bootlicking NEOCON /Zionist when our gallows need to be tested.
Yes I know how distasteful! The Truth works that way.
To Wit: Mine is a most peaceable disposition. My wishes are: a humble cottage with a thatched roof, bit a good bed, good food, the freshest milk and butter, flowers before my window, and a few fine trees before my door; and if God wants to make my happiness complete, he will grant me the joy of seeing some six or seven of my enemies hanging from those trees. Before their death I shall ,moved in my heart, forgive them all the wrong they did me in their lifetime. One must, it is true forgive one’s enemies-but not before they have been hanged.
-poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) – – Gedanken und Einfalle [Thoughts and Ideas] Section 12 dedicated here to Caitlin Johnstone.
I happen to have a very strong ideal when it comes to right – wrong. Which is something I feel you possess also. Nicely done.
Now if there is anyone, anywhere who can write a better summary than this work from Caitlin, let them speak.
The major point being that one US paid for President is the same as the next…..owned and controlled by dirty Zionist money, well subscribed by the Jewish disloyalists, fellow travellers, military beneficiaries, Christian Zionists, industrialists, bankers and politicians.
The American people should try and find one, just one decent uncorruptible Senator to conduct an Un-American Activities Investigation with some teeth, unlike the 1950’s McCarthy circus and its search for Communism, a distincly harmless philosophy compared to Zionism.
That’s the starting point for all infections. Removing the rot from within.
Excellent summary Rex. Most Americans don’t realise they are being duped by their phony ‘democracy ‘, and in fact are being corrupted by the ever more powerful Zionist lobbies and cia//military/mossad complex. I’ve watched a once great nation decline since the 60s when they removed all their great liberal leaders. Not helped by the notorious 1947 cia Act giving them unlimited, unaccountable powers.
And when they find this brave person, they will need an Army to defend him or her 24/7 from the Deep State that will try as hard as it can to ‘disappear’ them, violently or otherwise.
This person will need better security than the president gets – much, much better! They removed the Kennedy brothers, and they will do it again. For them, a lot is at stake – vast amounts of profit and power.
Personally, I think the regime needs to implode upon itself first, and for the rot to be surgically removed from the corpse. Like a cancer, the US body is riddled with a stage 4 terminal cancer that is beyond treatment.
“The American people should try and find one, just one decent uncorruptible Senator to conduct an Un-American Activities Investigation with some teeth”
A person of integrity? Like JFK or RFK or MLK or even a person who started out as a racist Zionist then reconsidered their position like Charlie Kirk?
Easily counteracted by a cheap bullet to the brain. Sploosh.
Caitlin. I think I’m in love. Thanks for saying what I’ve know since I was 13.
Caitlin, in so many ways you are absolutely on target. May I, with great respect, note a basic fallacy in the application of Democracy: majority rule. Two glaring fallacies: whatever the majority decides, the minority is subject to. Whether just, wise, destructive, immoral. There is an alternative: Sociocracy. Among other strengths: decisions are arrived at via consent. Consent is not achieved until every single reasoned concern is fully, satisfactorily addressed. Much, as in any form of governance, depends upon those in power. Thus, the governing structure must be broader than Democracy permits. I can refer you to a Handbook about Sociocracy as an introduction.
Sociocracy, in principle, certainly would be far better than the feeble diluted form of democracy that we know – that really doesn’t work because it is applied so badly. Consensus politics is much slower, for better or worse – but isn’t always practical when decisions need to be made quickly.
No system, unless it has genuine transparency, accountability and built-in integrity checking, can work well. The system must be impossible for bad actors to corrupt, hijack and bend to their purposes, and it must empower the people to intervene if necessary.
Socialism.
The “majority rules” critique of social decision making only applies with a voting method that enforces dichotomous decision making. It also relies on a deeply ahistorical piece of political science propaganda that asserts that democracies can’t have constitutions to protect the rights of citizens. But what if I were to tell you there are other voting methods that aren’t interested in establishing a majority opinion at all, and in fact they generally produce superior results to majority (abstract or real)-seeking voting methods? The debate between majority-seeking decisions and consensus-seeking decisions is a false dichotomy rooted in people attached to the extremely dysfunctional plurality voting method. There is a third option: decision-making based on comparative approval through options such as Approval Voting or Score Voting. By relaxing our requirement of establishing a “majority” to make decisions, we can simultaneously achieve a far greater degree of consensus agreement without aspiring to the unrealistic goal of absolute consensus.
“From bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from great courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to dependency, from dependency back into bondage.”
-Alexander Fraser Tyler
I don’t so much mind the richest and most powerful individuals, families, nations, states ruling the world. I just wish they wpuld do a better job. It’s gettong embaressing what a transparent cpcl up it all is.
your comment reminded me of one of my favorite authors, Jack London. A paragraph from his essay Revolution addresses you well.
“The capitalist class has managed society, and its management has failed. And not only has it failed in its management, but it has failed deplorably, ignobly, horribly. The capitalist class had an opportunity such as was vouchsafed no previous ruling class in the history of the world. It broke away from the rule of the old feudal aristocracy and made modern society. It mastered matter, organized the machinery of life, and made possible a wonderful era for mankind, wherein no creature should cry aloud because it had not enough to eat, and wherein for every child there would be opportunity for education, for intellectual and spiritual uplift. Matter being mastered, and the machinery of life organized, all this was possible. Here was the chance, God-given, and the capitalist class failed. It was blind and greedy. It prattled sweet ideals and dear moralities, rubbed its eyes not once, nor ceased one whit in its greediness, and smashed down in a failure as tremendous only as was the opportunity it had ignored.” Jack London
Another true and valid argument by Ms. Johnstone, honest, thoughtful and impassioned; what it doesn’t include (and for its intentions, need not) is that the oligarchic power structure has so woven its threads of influence and control into all aspects of the delivery of essential needs for all the people that it is a bit like a spreading, inoperable brain malignancy. Major infrastructures, not beholding to plutocracy, would have to be in design and process to avoid wholesale societal collapse…and the terrified demand by the people to return to a servitude of some food on the table.
Just as Johnstone is flummoxed at the oh-so-obvious ‘occupation’ of our minds by fantasies and lies when the evidence of social, economic and political reality is hung all over our world like a toilet-papered house, I struggle daily with the search for the lever and point of fulcrum to might, just might, move the world. Not that I, or anyone, would be able to grab such a lever and apply it, but just to know that the possibility exists; that would be enough.
Your “lever” does exist, but it has been politically defanged and neutered: the Working Class.
1) The failure of the European working class to seize power in 1914, due to the monumental betrayal of ALL the Socialist Parties (i.e. the leaders of the industrial unions) doomed us all.
2) In the U.S. the left (i.e. all class-conscious/revolutionary/socialist thinking and potential leadership) was expunged from organized labor in 1947/8 with the enactment of the Taft-Hartley Act. Vetoed by President Truman, btw, in one of his very few good deeds! Congress overrode his veto. Sigh.
Result? We acquired such sterling labor “leaders” (ahem!) as Dave Beck, Jimmy Hoffa and in New York the incomparable Albert Shanker. And let us never forget the greatest of them all (Eugene Debs? PHOOEY!!!) …………….
I refer of course to the immortal G E O R G E M E A N Y ???.
We’re doomed, I’m afraid.
That should be G E O R G E M E A N Y ???
Sorry.
They’re certainly ripe for regime change, perhaps more so than in Iran:
… a recent Gallup poll found one in five Americans would leave the country permanently if they could — a figure that rises to 40 per cent among younger women.
hxxps://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-08/what-im-an-american-in-australia-trend-reveals-about-usa-and-us/106135242
Daily riots in the US; protesters being shot for no reason; national guard on the streets in multiple cities; Trump threatening to send in the professional military; 11% of citizens living in poverty – no wonder half the country wants out.
BRAVO to both you and Caitlin Johnstone, We need and we will pursue change. I am planning on going independently to as many doors as possible for a visit and discussion with voters in my district. It is a small plan, but one I believe I can handle.
That was a good article on Australia. However, i don’t think it’s that easy to emigrate there. But not surprised people want to leave the USA. And i certainly would never want to visit there again. Sad.
US has destroyed economies and reduced countries to rubble and chaos for the past 80 years.
Europe and countries around the world, with the exception of Israel which can do as it pleases, have obeyed it’s master and will most likely keep doing so, afraid of becoming US’ next target.
Unless the world unites, work together to sideline the US, we are doomed.
Regime Change the US That’a a tall order.
Core Principles and Their Implementation
Humanity: The fundamental principle that human suffering must be addressed wherever it is found, with a primary purpose of protecting life, health, and ensuring respect for human beings. A humanitarian government would put this at the center of all policy decisions, from healthcare access to environmental regulations and foreign policy.
Systemic and Structural Changes Required
Shift in Mindset: The fundamental purpose of governance would need to change from maintaining power, control, or national self-interest to a primary focus on human well-being and dignity.
Accountability and Transparency: Systems would need to be established to ensure accountability to both citizens and international standards. This includes transparent information sharing and independent evaluations of program effectiveness to ensure aid is not just well-intentioned but delivers actual results.
Local Empowerment: The government would need to build on local knowledge, capacities, and existing actions, and encourage the meaningful participation of beneficiaries in decisions that affect them.
Resource Management: Resources would be managed ethically and responsibly, with funding allocated based on humanitarian needs assessments rather than political motivations.
“Do No Harm” Principle: A commitment to this principle would be integrated into all operations, ensuring that actions taken do not result in further loss of life or harm to recipients of aid, including environmental impacts.
Essentially, a humanitarian-based government would operate with an internal ethical framework that mirrors the one currently used by impartial, independent international aid organizations like the Red Cross or UN humanitarian agencies
Roll-up your sleeves it’s going to be an allnighter…
Brilliant! I can refer you to a Handbook that provides the basics and an introduction to Sociocracy? Among the positive aspects: decisions arrived at by Consent. Consent cannot be achieved unless, until every reasoned concern/objection has been completely and satisfactorily addressed. As you point out, we need a change in our thinking, what we value as a part of the transition. Abandoning capitalism, the demand for profit and endlessly increasing consumption, and replacing it with a reverence for all sentient beings might be worth considering.
“sentient beings”
Sentient beings are creatures capable of feeling, perceiving, and having subjective experiences like pain, pleasure, and emotions, encompassing most animals,
I’m nota vegetarian but I get your drift.
Mostly I am thinking a direct democracy.
“Direct democracy is a system where citizens vote directly on laws and policies, bypassing elected representatives, using tools like initiatives (citizens propose laws) and referendums (citizens approve or reject government-passed laws). While pure direct democracy is rare nationally, elements exist in US states (e.g., California, Massachusetts) and Switzerland, allowing public participation in major decisions, but critics worry about uninformed decisions, demagoguery, and potential instability.”
Politician don’t represent us they represent greed and lust (power, money, Marilyn Monroe)
“The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government” – MLK Jr. Beyond Vietnam — A Time To Break Silence — 4-4-67 Riverside Church.
How could this man have a national holiday in his honor with the above mentioned belief? Answer, because he is dead (snuffed), and his anti-war views are purposely concealed by establishment propaganda. Just witness this fact on Monday.
Was anybody really afraid of: Arbenz, Mossadegh, Ho Chi Min, Castro, Qaddafi, Sandinistas, Noriega, Saddam Hussein, Assad, etc, etc, etc,….? No. But we are all really afraid of “the good guys” of USA.
I have said the same thing for years now. It has become plain enough to me, and I have stated so many times here and elsewhere, that there is a U.S. government system that functions and conducts itself without regard to who is the supposed president. Whether the U.S. president is perceived by some to be a “liberal” or a “conservative”, the same imperialist crimes, lies, thievery, campaigns of falsehood, and death and destruction is executed around the world and domestically regardless. Is it not obvious to the people of the U.S., and the whole world, that the U.S. is (Just like the Nazis!) the world’s greatest threat to everyone and everything? Why this state of affairs? It is all in the service of U.S. imperialism, which is all in service of capitalism. Capitalism and U.S. imperialist hegemony must be “regime change”d, as the U.S. itself once put it. Bravo, Ms. Johnstone.
Yes! Regardless of party affiliation, public approbation … is not Saint Obama a prime example? And those who think a woman president, gender, might be the remedy? Think of the extent to which the Democratic party has gone in recent years (and likely since its founding) to prevent Kucinich and Stein from even being part of the conversation, never mind on the ballot
… and Bernie, as well.
Yes, regime change everything!
When unstranded on an island .
Everyone feels they can escape .
See that dock there tied to a boat .
Is is good to know .
If all will sink or float ,
Or will you save yourself , early , like an song bird who found a worm .
Or paddling dixie awave goodbye and whistling while oar afloat .
Once again I find myself in total agreement with Caitlin. The ignorance and rank hypocrisy in mass media discourse is sickening. The demonization of the enemies of the CIA/Mossad/MI6 is predictable and routine. Saddam has blah blah, Assad gassed his own blah blah, Gadaffi gave Viagra to blah blah, Maduro is a drug dealer, Putin shot down the blah blah… if it were not so murderous and tragic this stuff would be hilarious joke material.
I see so-called progressive outlets like Hypocrisy Now! using NED funded NGOs for sources, and uncritically repeat war propaganda against the Iranian government. They also take every opportunity to repeat lies about the US proxy war on Russia. Demonizing Vladimir Putin has become a pet-peeve of the so-called left warmonger crowd. These people are just far-right racists with a rainbow flag and BLM bumper-sticker to pose as “progressive”. AOC and Sanders are also guilty of this gross hypocrisy and they are little more than con artist cheerleaders for the empire, just like their R buddies on the hill.
For a refreshing Iranian perspective, we can consult folks like prof. Seyed Mohammed Marandi who has many interviews on YT etc.
But you gotta admit it sure works well!
Yeah. That’s the scary part. Most people believe the propaganda.