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Barbara Baldwin's avatar

If only it were that easy. We are far down the road of everything sold to the highest bidder. Trump is beholden to the broligarchs. He’s manufacturing crises to make them richer at the expense of the farmers and other average Americans. He has such disdain for regular folk. Clearly we are beneath him, as he so clearly demonstrated with his tasteless AI video dumping shit on us all, the mouth breathers who elected him and gave him the power he’s now abusing so blatantly. All he cares about is using his position to enrich himself; rules, laws and common decency be damned.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

You nailed it, Barbara.

That’s the quiet part no one in Washington wants spoken out loud...the system’s been auctioned off...and we’re footing the bill.

You’re right: this isn’t incompetence..it’s intent. Manufactured chaos keeps the money moving upward and the public too exhausted to fight back. The disdain you described...that “dump on the people” moment...wasn’t a joke. It was a confession.

But here’s the truth buried inside the outrage: they still need us to believe we’re powerless. Because the moment we stop...they lose control of the narrative...and their leverage collapses overnight.

That’s why I keep writing these pieces. To strip away the hypnotic fog and remind people that even the biggest bullies in power can’t operate without consent...silence...or compliance.

Stay alert. Stay loud. We’ve already seen how far they’ll go to test us...now it’s our turn to test them.

-Jack

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Karen Scofield's avatar

Not to mention that they've gutted the Food and Drug administration, and wants these plants to use Inspection's and Oversight on themselves ⁉️no good can come of this regime, Jack, great article today, and will reStack ASAP 💯👍

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Exactly right, Karen.

When the watchdogs are fired and the foxes start writing their own inspection reports, you don’t get “efficiency”...you get rot.

They’ve hollowed out the very agencies...meant to keep our food...medicine...and families safe. And they’re betting...the public’s too numb to notice.

But you and I do.

And the louder we get...the faster that bet backfires.

Appreciate the reStack...and the fire.

-Jack

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Teri Gelini's avatar

Great piece now if this article can somehow get to the farmers and ranchers so they understand how to fight back with their vote, change will occur

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Thank you, Teri.

That’s the goal...get truth into the barns...kitchens...and coffee shops where real change starts.

Most farmers don’t need convincing… they need clarity. Once they see who’s cutting their margins and selling them slogans instead of support...they’ll fight back the only way that counts...by refusing to be played again.

Change doesn’t begin in Washington.

It begins in the places that feed it.

-Jack

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Teri Gelini's avatar

Don’t know if you have ever read any of Jess Piper from the View from Rural Missouri. She travels all through those areas meeting with those folks in Missouri and surrounding states talking about the issues they have and trying to reach out and get them to vote . She’s a former teacher and still lives where she always has in a small town. If you have not read her stuff you might want to reach out to her and see if the two of you could work together.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

I do, Teri! She’s great. I had her on my podcast about a year ago. She is like the Energizer Bunny…always engaging with no signs of slowing down.

-Jack

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Elizabeth George's avatar

The problem with your column today is not it's clarity. It is indeed perfectly clear. The real problem is who is going to read it and who is not. I don't know any farmers to send this column to. I've seen the TRUMP signs posted along their fields when I drive by on interstate 5 between Washington State and the Bay Area. But I don't know them and the truth is, I doubt they have read or will read your fine writing. I know that we the people hold the power. You know that we the people hold the power. The power is in our willingness to withhold our money, our votes, and our cooperation. But right now we're shouting into a void of indifference, and until that changes, we are lost.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

You’re right, Elizabeth...clarity isn’t the problem anymore. Awareness is.

The people who need to read this rarely do...because the machinery that feeds them information was built to keep them comfortable, not conscious.

But here’s what I keep reminding myself: history’s tipping points never start with the majority. They start with the infected few...the ones who can’t unsee what they’ve seen.

You don’t have to know a farmer personally to reach one.

You just keep pushing truth into circulation until it finds a crack in the wall.

Because indifference is only silence that hasn’t yet been pierced.

And I believe we’re getting closer to the moment that sound finally breaks.

You are, and your thoughts are valued, Elizabeth.

-Jack

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Wende Wylie's avatar

Yes!! And tell them to Ask the rest of us to ONLY buy from local providers! We can turn this back into a country instead of a war zone.

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Randy S. Eisenberg's avatar

And as Kinky Friedman sang long ago, “and every thing has been/ Sold American”.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

That’s exactly it, Randy.

“Sold American.” The anthem nobody wanted to sing, but everyone’s living now.

What once meant pride of craftsmanship...has turned into a sales tag on everything sacred...our land...our labor...even our loyalty.

The fight now isn’t to buy it back…it’s to remind them it was never theirs to sell.

-Jack

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Laurel's avatar

It’s tough to stomach being conned. Especially with so much at stake. I don’t care who you voted for. This Democrat has your back, doesn’t want anyone to lose their farm or livelihood to corporations or investment groups. I want your independence. I want you to have healthcare and to afford the luxuries of life whatever they are.

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Jack Hopkins's avatar

Beautifully said, Laurel.

That’s the heartbeat of it, isn’t it? This isn’t about red or blue...it’s about who gets to keep what they’ve worked their whole damn lives for.

Being conned hurts because it insults our intelligence and our effort. But the cure isn’t revenge...it’s solidarity. When people who’ve been divided...start realizing they want the same basic dignity...independence...healthcare...a fair shot...that’s when the power...shifts back to us.

You said it perfectly: I’ve got your back.

That’s the real America talking.

-Jack

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Laurel's avatar

So nice to hear. Thank you!

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MLL's avatar

It will definitely be another family legacy lost, and another family impoverished but it won’t be another “field of weeds.” It will be another family farm absorbed by Bill Gates or Equity firm.

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Buck O'Kelly's avatar

FDA, USDA have long been foxes guarding the hen house. Shamefully corrupt governmental protection rackets bought and paid for by the medical/pharmaceutical/agribuisness cartels and by the very taxpayers who pay them for pregulate I'll leave other agencies out of this indictment for the sake of brevity.

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