Are We Repeating Ourselves?

Are We Repeating Ourselves?

by C.A. Matthews

Some days I experience an overwhelming sense of déjà vu whenever I read the headlines. I'm not talking about inconsequential things such as the impeachment hearing, as most realize that it is nothing but glorified political street theater offered as entertainment for the masses. I'm talking about reading eerily similar horrific news items day after day--another senseless mass shooting in everyday America, another immigrant family torn apart by our government's racist policies, another round of deaths from entirely preventable causes due to a lack of universal health care in the US...  

It's almost like I've traveled in back in time and arrived in 1930s Italy or Germany. However, this time around the disintegration of society's morals has a distinctly American flavor to it. You can almost taste the apple pie and hot dogs mixed in with the bitter tears of those who are suffering.

https://youtu.be/6dQW4X6oC-c

Independent journalist Abby Martin's excellent video interview of Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges summarizes the fear and dread that I--and many others--currently share whenever we scan the headlines. Anyone who has even a passing interest in history can readily see the pattern of fascism developing in the US and elsewhere. Is it just a coincidence that Brazil is under the control of strongman Jair Bolsonaro at the same time Trump is anointed king on Wall Street's throne (a.k.a. the Oval Office)? 

Is it a coincidence that "Liberal Saviour" Justin Trudeau of Canada turned out to be as big (if not bigger) a supporter of dirty tar sands oil pipelines than either Obama or Trump? Is it any coincidence that whistleblowers such as Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden are hounded, imprisoned and tortured for simply telling the truth about what's really happening in the world? Is it coincidental that recently revealed reports prove Big Oil giant Exxon kept its global warming fears to itself? Just another coincidence that chemical companies like Monsanto and opioid manufacturers like Purdue Pharma kept knowledge of severe cancer risks and addiction potential of their products to themselves?

I think not. Those who are truly in control don't believe in coincidence--they believe in taking opportunities and in the power of accumulating massive amounts of wealth. They believe in exercising the power of the militarized police state to get whatever resources they want and locking up any dissenters and shutting them up for good. We might not be invading Poland, but we are annexing the Sudetenland--or at least the modern day version of it in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Bolivia, Venezuela...

The pattern once seen cannot be unseen. Every headline, every news story--national, international or local--seen through the blood-tinted glasses of fascism screams at us. They point the finger back at us and ask, "Why are you allowing this evil to grow? What steps are you taking to stop it?" 

How can a local news story demonstrate fascism you ask? From my own experience, one story instantly comes to mind, the fight to pass the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. It's a story about saving the environment by passing a bill to stop the polluting of  the drinking water supply not just for one city, but for upward of 11 million souls. With very little money or power, the people fought hard to get the measure on the ballot, and they finally did. And it passed! 

But those with unlimited funds and access to both state and federal legislators and agencies have used a corrupt judiciary to thwart this citizens' initiative at every possible turn. Both state and federal Environmental Protection Agencies refuse to outlaw the indiscriminate dumping of animal factory farm (CAFO) manure and fertilizers, along with other toxic industrial wastes, into Lake Erie's watershed because it might cut into the vast profits of Big Ag/Big Oil corporations. 

Our government's objectives are quite clear. Money is everything. Human health and safety are not. The ruin of the local environment or the entire planet doesn't matter. Mussolini labeled fascism "corporatism" for very good reasons.

The almighty petro-dollar is placed on a pedestal to be worshiped and glorified by all. Is it any wonder we lock up little children stolen from their families seeking asylum without a thought?  Private adoption agencies, such as the one Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has an interest in, see a huge money-making potential here. Is it any wonder we create for-profit prisons? Locking up our poor neighbors of color on overblown charges of marijuana use guarantees jails full of free slave labor. Is it any wonder we are chipping away at the civil rights of LGBTQ persons and forcing women into back alleys for abortion care? And what about the Patriot Act that was recently and quietly extended again? Protecting the people's civil rights just gets in the way of the profit machine, don't you know...

I've stated more questions than answers, but the pattern of the questions will reveal the answer to you. Fascism explains it all. So, now that I've opened your eyes to this malevolent pattern of behavior rampaging throughout our society, what will you do? Will you continue to ignore it and cooperate with it?

Remember, slavery was legal in the USA until 1865. Native Americans weren't considered full citizens until 1924 with the right to vote not guaranteed in all states until 1962. Germans in the 1930s-40s didn't break any laws when they called their "undesirable" neighbors "non-citizens" and marched them off to the gas chambers. 

Immorality is easily enshrined in legality. Don't ever confuse the word "moral" with "legal."

Be moral. Act justly. Fight back. After all, it could be you or your loved one who is marched off to the gas chambers some day. Don't think history doesn't repeat itself. It can and it is.

 
Articles to think on: 
If we can save the banks, we can save the world." https://truthout.org/articles/greta-thunberg-on-climate-if-we-can-save-the-banks-we-can-save-the-world/
Most Veterans Say America's Wars Are A Waste. No One's Listening to Them. https://newrepublic.com/article/154471/veterans-say-americas-wars-waste-no-ones-listening-them
A 1970 Law Led to the Mass Sterilization of Native American Women. That History Still Matters. https://time.com/5737080/native-american-sterilization-history
Patriot Act Extension Covered in Funding Bill Passed by House Democrats. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/11/21/fund-n21.htm
Monsanto Colluded with EPA to Stifle Cancer Research. https://www.mintpressnews.com/unsealed-court-docs-reveal-monsanto-colluded-with-epa-to-stifle-cancer-research/225914/
AOC: "Health care is not an iPhone." (video) https://youtu.be/m1GHqkemn8U
In Bolsonaro's Burning Brazilian Amazon, All Our Futures Are Being Consumed. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/23/amazon-rainforest-fires-deforestation-jair-bolsonaro

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Apache Leader begins spiritual journey home to protect Sacred Land from Extraction 

On Thanksgiving Day (and National Day of Mourning,) former chair of the San Carlos Apache, Wendsler Nosie Sr, left their reservation and began his return to the Apache holy site of Oak Flat (Chi'chil Bildagoteel) in Arizona.

Oak Flat is under threat of destruction by Resolution Copper, a joint venture owned in part by Rio Tinto, one of the largest metal and mining companies in the world. Wendsler, with the blessings of the Apache Stronghold, has decided that he will not leave the sacred site until it is protected, and his tribe's Constitutional and moral rights to religious freedom are respected, even if it means losing his life. National Co-Chair and President of Repairers of the Breach, Rev. Dr. Barber, along with Rev. John Mendez, Rev. Dr. Robin Tanner, and Ms. Yara Allen were present as he started this journey home.


Sign the petition today to protect this sacred land.

In the Apache tradition, the waters at Oak Flat are the source of all life. Generations of Apache have come to pray for thousands of years at this most holy site. After years of unsuccessful negotiations and a corruption scandal that landed an Arizona Congressman in prison, Resolution Copper was given the rights to mine Oak Flat as part of a last-minute rider that then-Senator John McCain added to the 2014 Defense Spending Bill. To process the copper ore, the proposed extraction would use 6.5 billion gallons of water annually - as much water as a small city - which would then be polluted with sulfuric acid. These operations would replace the holy ground with a gaping crater, two miles wide and one thousand feet deep. 

The only thing standing between Resolution Copper and the mining rights they have already been granted is an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS must be certified by the federal government before private companies can begin mining public lands. During the required public comment period on the EIS, Wendsler argued that, while the environmental impact of this proposed project would be devastating, the bigger issue is in fact religious liberty. 

In a joint statement with the current San Carlos Apache Chairman Terry Rambler, Wendsler wrote, “the Oak Flat Draft Environmental Impact Statement does not address the current religious significance and the value given to Oak Flat by the Apache people, Yavapai people, Aravaipa and many others...Native American Religion has been excluded from the areas of concern and value.” However, the U.S. Forest Service has refused to consider the Apache's religious freedom claim in its EIS.

Two weeks ago, Wendsler and a delegation from the Apache Stronghold went to Washington D.C. to meet with the U.S. Forest Service and deliver the statement of his intent to return to Oak Flat. They were joined by Rev. Barber, Rev. Theoharis and a delegation of multi-faith clergy.

Rev. Dr. Barber, Wendsler Nosie Sr. and Rev. Mendez on the day of Wendsler's departure.

Rev. Dr. Barber was introduced to Wendsler seven years ago by Rev. Mendez, who has been engaged with the Apache Stronghold for over twenty years. Since then, they have built a relationship across faith, race, issues, and geography, to find common ground in this sacred and moral struggle. 

Wendsler is a member of the National Steering Committee of the Poor People’s Campaign. Along with a delegation from the San Carlos Apache, he joined the December 4th, 2017, official launch of the Campaign in Washington D.C. And in June 2018, following a sacred journey connecting with indigenous people across the country, the San Carlos Apache joined the Campaign in Washington D.C. for the 40 Days of Action. There on Capitol Hill, Vanessa Nosie, Wendsler's daughter, spoke to the conditions they had witnessed on their journey.

The Poor People’s Campaign now calls on all of the people in our movement to support the Apache Stronghold in their struggle for religious freedom and the right to their sacred lands at Oak Flat. 

In Rev. Barber’s and Rev. Theoharis’ words, “As Christian ministers who are committed to the freedom of religion for all people, we call on all people of faith to stand with Wendsler Nosie and the Apache Stronghold before it is too late. To preach the resurrection of Jesus is to proclaim that no one and no one’s tradition must be crucified for the greater good. We can protect the waters, protect Oak Flat, and still have enough resources for every family in this land to flourish. The history of terrible violence this nation has committed against indigenous people from the Trail of Tears to Standing Rock is a reminder that the apocalypse Nosie goes home to face is a real possibility. But it is not a necessity. We pray Americans will act to show genuine gratitude for the original stewards of this land and their religious freedom. We join our brother, Wendsler Nosie, in the call to save Oak Flat.”

Support this critical struggle by signing the petition and please consider making a donation to the Apache Stronghold at this pivotal moment.


Forward together, not one step back!
Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

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The petition to Congress reads: "Stop the Trump administration's gutting of the Endangered Species Act. Pass the PAW and FIN Conservation Act of 2019." Add your name:

The bald eagle, beluga whale, whooping crane and American grey wolf. All could be a distant memory if the Trump administration's heartless and greedy extinction plan remains in effect. Earlier this year, despite massive public opposition – including by CREDO members and our progressive allies – Trump and his minions pushed through dangerous regulations to gut the Endangered Species Act, open up protected areas to fossil fuel development and line the pockets of big polluters. Progressive champion Rep. Raul Grijalva recently introduced critical legislation called the PAW and FIN Conservation Act of 2019 that would repeal these rule changes.1 We must demand that Congress immediately pass this bill to stop Trump's handout to the oil and gas industry and protect and recover precious, threatened wildlife. Tell Congress: Save the Endangered Species Act. Click here to sign the petition. Since it was enacted in the 1970s, the ESA has been wildly successful in protecting endangered species on the brink of extinction.2 More than 99% of all species listed on the ESA have been saved, including the iconic bald eagle, American alligator, Florida manatee and grizzly bear. Yet, under Trump's extinction plan, decades of hard-fought victories to protect hundreds of endangered and threatened species could be completely wiped out. Despite the overwhelming success and support for the Endangered Species Act – more than 90% in one recent poll and more than 800,000 public comments in opposition to these rollbacks – the Trump administration is again ignoring science and public opinion to enrich its friends in the fossil fuel and extractive industries.3,4 At a time when climate change and other threats are wiping out species across the globe at an alarming rate, now is the time to strengthen the ESA, not weaken our ability to protect vulnerable wildlife and allow Big Oil to continue to exacerbate the climate crisis. It's clear that the Trump administration won't stop until the Endangered Species Act is completely eviscerated. Please join us now urging Congress to pass this crucial legislation before it's too late. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/save-esa-2019?t=9&akid=35170%2E9999572%2E3L6MYP Thank you for speaking out. Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: House Committee on Natural Resources, "Chair Grijalva, Senator Udall Introduce Bill to Protect Endangered Species, Reverse Trump’s Changes That Will Add to Extinction Crisis," Sept. 17, 2019. Center for Biological Diversity, "A Wild Success: A Systematic Review of Bird Recovery Under the Endangered Species Act," June 2016. The Humane Society of the United States, "Broad coalition submitted more than 800,000 comments opposing Trump's plan to weaken the Endangered Species Act regulations," Sept. 24, 2018. Endangered Species Coalition, "Statement on Bills to Block Trump ESA Rollback," Sept. 17, 2019.

The Way of Life/The Way of Death

Editor's note: This is a British board. Whitechapel is the cheapest property.

The Way of Life/The Way of Death

by Coast Watcher

It’s pretty much evident that capitalism is destroying our world. This parasitical philosophy treats everything as a commodity to be exploited for the maximum amount of money possible. People—ordinary human beings—are an endless source of wealth. We are lied to, coerced, bribed, blackmailed and outright threatened to make us continue working for the System. No matter where we turn in life, a capitalist is there, ready and willing to screw us over.

Big Business owns governments. The United States government, founded on such principles as liberty and justice for all is a wholly-owned concern of capitalism, but this should not come as too much of a surprise when you consider the Founding Fathers were all rich white guys—in other words, the very stuff of capitalism. Many of them owned slaves. After the successful revolution against British rule it took decades and a bloody war to abolish slavery, yet even that abolition didn’t stick.  

Although slavery and involuntary servitude were outlawed by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, an exception was made as a punishment for crime. Capitalists seized upon this exception and set up for-profit prisons in which those incarcerated are forced to work for Big Business. To ensure a ready supply of labor, the capitalists persuaded lawmakers to introduce the "three strikes and you’re out" laws for petty infringements, such as possession of marijuana. It’s a matter of record that African-Americans are the section of society most afflicted with these laws and the ones least likely to afford a competent legal counsel.

In California, volunteer convict firefighters are instrumental in fighting the terrible wildfires afflicting the state. They’ve helped save countless lives and property—including homes belonging to the rich—yet once they leave prison they are not allowed to parlay their hard-won experience into a permanent firefighting job. How is it just that a person who risked his or her life to help others is not allowed to benefit from it? What is even more infuriating is the fact that most of the recent wildfires were caused by PC&G electric company’s lack of maintenance on their power lines. Maintenance is given zero priority because it gets in the way of yet greater profits—at the cost of serious damage to the environment.

Of course, the sale and purchase of people is still illegal—just—but the capitalists have found a way to circumvent such things. Take the trade in children forcibly separated from parents who entered the US, either illegally or in search of asylum. (No, Mr. Trump, under the UN charter which the United States signed, seeking asylum is not illegal). Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has shares in companiesthat trade in adoptions, and a ready supply of children is essential to her healthy profit margin. Those kids, over ten thousand of themand mostly of Hispanic ethnicity, will likely go to affluent white people to be brought up as white, losing their heritage along with their true parents. And some of those poor children end up in the hands of pedophiles, adding sexual abuse to their woes."

The destruction of the environment in pursuit of profit is a major goal of Big Business. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) pour hundreds of thousands of tons of animal effluent into water courses each and every day all year round. Agribusinesses spray pesticides,herbicides, and fertilizers onfields in similar amounts, the run-off from which also finds its way into water courses. The net result of this is a massive increase in algae blooms as the cyanobacteria present feeds on the nitrogen in fertilizer and effluent. 

Cyanobacteria excretes toxins into water and the air. It has been linked to a variety of medical conditions including ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s Disease, and has killed animals that come into contact with it. The gene that allows genetically altered "Roundup Ready" plants to tolerate the carcinogenic herbicide was extracted from cyanobacteria.

Big Business knows that the public would close down CAFOs in a heartbeat for this, let alone the horrible mistreatment of animals that occurs in such places. To protect its vast profits the companies that own and run CAFOs succeeded in getting a law pass that forbids the public from taking photographs of their operations. They also succeeded in persuading a number of state to exempt CAFOs from most regulations regarding animal welfare.

Nuclear power plants in North America are aging and increasingly dangerous. Three Mile Island is the most notorious example, but there have been other incidents involving pressurized water reactors that the public was not made aware of. The Davis-Besse plant, located between Toledo and Cleveland, is a decrepit facility, yet First Energy, the owner, has rammed a bill through the Ohio state house giving them a heavy subsidy for keepingthe plant open. This in spite of a near meltdown in 2006 which only came to light in 2011. A mere sixteenth of an inch of metal—that’s the width of a slice of processed cheese—stood between the nuclear core and the total devastation of the western Lake Erie basin. 

If you think the public will be warned if such a meltdown should ever happen, think again. The power industry decided long ago it wouldn’t be feasible to evacuate major cities, so they won’t bother. Oh, and you can’t sue them if you are displaced by a nuclear incident. Yep, Big Business ensured that law got passed long ago.

We can also look at the way oil pipelines are forced through rural areas of America in spite of vehement opposition from residents, usually Native Americans. Back in the 1930s Big Oil got the government to give them the right to claim eminent domain when building pipelines.  

 
Recently it got the government to rate such pipelines as "infrastructure," which means anyone protesting or damaging them are liable for trial under terrorism charges. If convicted it would mean several years to life imprisonment. People have gone to jail for obstructing pipelines crossing their own land. Big Oil gets around local objections by promising jobs, without mentioning that the jobs involved amount to local security and minor construction. The big ticket jobs like engineering and specialist construction come from out of state. Numerous cases of murder and rape have been leveled at construction workers while oil pipelines are being built, but few convictions come from them.

As an aside it’s interesting to note that when a proposed pipeline was scheduled to pass through a large country estate belonging to a billionaire in Pennsylvania, the proposal was dropped when said billionaire threatened a lawsuit against the oil company. The same thing happened when a fracking operation was to be set up next to a stud farm owned by another billionaire. The proposal was dropped like a hot potato the moment he threatened to sue.

The way of life will be to curb the activities of Big Business, forcing them to clean up their mess and enforce the laws and regulations preventing them from polluting our planet ever again. The way of death will be to allow these rich individuals and their corporations to continue as they’re done for far too long. 

Which is it to be? It’s past time we decided once and for all.

BIO: Coast Watcher is keeping score. The crimes of the capitalists will not be forgotten--or ignored much longer. The people are awake and watching. Now is the winter of our discontent--and our political revolution!

Related articles:

Top 26 Billionaires Worth $1.4 Trillion--As Much As 3.8 Billion Other People
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/20/business/oxfam-billionaires-davos/index.html

Stop Drinking the Kool-Aid
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/socialjesus/2019/11/stop-drinking-kool-aid/

In a Step Towards Justice, US Senate Passes Bill with Funds for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 
https://www.nationofchange.org/2019/11/06/in-a-step-towards-justice-us-senate-passes-bill-with-funds-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women/
https://www.ecowatch.com/us-pesticide-usage-bans-2638789192.html

US Annually Uses 388 Million Pounds of Potentially Fatal Pesticides Banned in EU, China and Brazil
https://www.ecowatch.com/us-pesticide-usage-bans-2638789192.html

Over 10,000 Migrant Children Are In US Government Custody
https://www.businessinsider.com/children-in-custody-trump-administration-immigration-zero-tolerance-policy-2018-5
 

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Communities of color on the frontlines of the climate crisis have been battling environmental injustice for decades. Landfills, dirty industrial plants, and warehouse / truck depots all are located, by design, in lower income, black and brown communities.

That means the people who live, work, and raise their kids in these areas face greater health risks from pollution. It means their kids cannot comfortably play outside without breathing dirty air or drink water from their tap. It means that these frontline communities will continue to bear the brunt of the climate crisis as politicians kick the can further and further down the road. Meanwhile, the rest of society lives a comfortable distance from the consequences.

Tell Congress: it’s time to pass the Climate Equity Act.

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) have drafted the Climate Equity Act, a legislative proposal to achieve the key principle of justice for frontline communities. This legislation focuses on communities most affected by the crisis and the transition to renewable energy. It will require environmental and climate-related legislation receive an equity score that will transparently estimate the impact on frontline communities, require environmental and climate-related rules and regulations have significant impact on frontline communities, and ensure that representatives of frontline communities are at the table during the review of rules and regulations of a newly established Office of Climate and Environmental Justice Accountability.

If brought into fruition, the Climate Equity Act will help rebuild communities affected by environmental injustice, ensuring they receive adequate attention from Congress looking forward.

Join our national grassroots network mobilizing for climate equity.

DEMAND CONGRESS ADDRESS CLIMATE EQUITY

Your fellow climate hawk,
RL Miller

Reference:

“Harris and Ocasio-Cortez Announce Landmark Legislation to Ensure Green New Deal Lifts Up Every Community,” Office of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris
https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/harris-ocasio-cortez-announce-landmark-legislation-to-ensure-green-new-deal-lifts-up-every-community

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From Roots Action:

Julian Assange is being held in prison in the United Kingdom, convicted of and charged with no crime there. He is in danger of being extradited to the United States to be prosecuted for publishing accurate information in the public interest. This is a threat to journalism and to democracy, not just to WikiLeaks and Assange.

Click here to sign a petition to the government of the United Kingdom.



Click here to sign the following petition.

To the Government of the United Kingdom:

We the undersigned respectfully call on the appropriate authorities of the United Kingdom to immediately release Julian Assange, citizen of Australia, from Belmarsh prison where he is being unjustly and cruelly incarcerated.

Acting as a publisher through WikiLeaks, Mr. Assange has done the world a service in documenting the war crimes and other abuses of the United States and other governments, organizations, and corporations.

He is not charged with any crime or even misdemeanor in the United Kingdom, and has fully served his sentence for his single offense: jumping bail to avoid extradition to the United States via Sweden. He was not and is not charged with any crime in Sweden.

The sole charges against Mr. Assange originate in the United States, where he is charged with the publication of accurate information provided by informed sources, as well as with encouraging a source, and protecting a source. These are regular and necessary practices of journalism in a free and democratic society. The prosecution of a publisher for publishing accurate information that is clearly in the public interest is a threat to journalism and to democracy.

The "espionage" prosecution by the United States of a non-U.S. citizen who has not been in and is not in the United States would be an additional dangerous precedent to set.

It is quite clear that in its current treatment of Julian Assange, the United Kingdom is debasing itself as a mere instrument of political repression exercised by the United States. The current imprisonment of Mr. Assange is a blot on the United Kingdom’s judicial system, a disgrace to British decency.

There is every reason to fear an unfair trial, or cruel imprisonment without trial, in the United States. We appeal to your sense of justice to uphold the best traditions of British democracy and respect for human rights by immediately freeing, rather than extraditing, Julian Assange.



After signing the petition, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

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From Progress America:

Tell Congress:
 

"We, the undersigned, call on Congress to support legislation that would end surprise medical bills and hold down health care costs overall. We shouldn’t be left to foot the bill when health care industries disagree."

ADD YOUR NAME

Nichole Briggs woke up in the middle of the night with stomach pain and went to the local hospital for an emergency appendectomy. She double-checked that the hospital was covered by her insurance, yet she still received a bill for nearly $5,000 because the surgeon within the hospital was outside her network. She refused to pay the unfair bill. A credit agency then took her to court and put a lien on her home, all for a bill she shouldn’t owe in the first place.

This should not be the status quo, but one in five emergency department visits result in a surprise medical bill. These bills occur when a person is charged for care they receive from a health care provider or facility that is outside of their health plan’s network, even though they didn’t choose to go out of network to begin with.

No Surprises: People Against Unfair Medical Bills and Progress America are demanding that Congress enact legislation to ban these surprise medical bills immediately. Join us!

SIGN NOW: Congress must act end surprise medical bills and lower healthcare costs!

Thanks,

Progress America

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We have been closely monitoring recent developments in Bolivia as President-Elect Evo Morales was forced to resign yesterday at the hand of the Bolivian military. Despite the tepid response from major American media outlets, let us be clear that this is a coup. Bolivia has been rocked by weeks of protests challenging the validity of the October 20th election results in which Morales, the popular first president from Bolivia’s indigenous population, was elected to a third term.  Morales, who has served for 14 years, agreed to an audit of the results to be conducted by the Organization of American States (OAS). His right-wing challenger, Carlos Mesa, did not agree to any such audit. It’s important to know that the OAS has a record of overturning elections in left-leaning countries while turning a blind eye to emerging right-wing regimes backed by U.S. foreign policy and American corporate interests. The United States has backed 12 coups throughout Latin America. It is clear that these governments are targets because they are considered hostile to U.S. capital and strategic interests, not because they are undemocratic. The OAS follows a specific script of contesting the legitimacy of the elections, vowing to restore democracy with the new hand-picked leader, and downplaying U.S. involvement which translates to funding and arming the opposition, waging an economic war, and of course, blaming the target for civil unrest, corruption, and authoritarianism. But if the OAS were concerned with democratic elections, where were they when loyalists of Jair Bolsonaro, the new president of Brazil, conspired to lock up his rival, Lula da Silva, to clear Bolsonaro’s path to the presidency? And why, following a contentious election in Venezuela, did the OAS align with Tri, and rush to recognize Juan Guaidó as the rightful president over Maduro? To this day, the OAS continues their effort to legitimize Guaidó, a man who is known to be friendly to U.S. oil interests.  If the OAS were concerned with recognizing the will of the people, why didn’t they demand a proper audit of those election results? Or call for a new election with independent international oversight? Brand New Congress believes unequivocally in the right to self-determination in governance. It is a cornerstone of our 21st Century Bill of Rights.

Our founders believed that government must be of the people, by the people, and for the people. That is a human right, and these principles must be protected even when the will of the people runs counter to U.S. business interests.

No one -- not the OAS, not the United States government, not multinational corporations looking to exploit natural resources -- no one but the people of a nation has the right to dictate who will govern that nation.

We must stand in solidarity with the people of Bolivia and support a truly independent audit of the election results to ease political tensions in their deeply-divided country.

In solidarity,
Roza Calderon
Brand New Congress