Scratch The Surface

 

Scratch The Surface

by C.A. Matthews

We watched a mystery program recently where the antique dealer sleuth was asked to solve the puzzle of what happened to an older woman’s inheritance that supposedly was “right in front of her.” As the old woman sat leaning on her cane, the sleuth asked if she could see the cane. The sleuth took a nail file and scratched the head of the cane, flaking off some of the paint covering it. Hidden under several layers of paint was a solid gold ornament—the woman’s inheritance. The sleuth had cracked the puzzle. Scratching the surface revealed a treasure.

If only everything was as golden underneath its surface!

If you scratch the surface of the current crop of duopoly candidates for the White House, you probably won’t like what you find underneath. It’s about as far from gold as you can get!

There’s no secret to the shallowness of Donald Trump. The whole world experienced his narcissism in his first time in office, so is there any need to rehash it? After his recent experiences in court, nobody—and I mean nobody—really wants to see what’s underneath the Trumpster Fire’s surface. We’re all agreed: It ain’t pretty.

The same could be said of Kamala “The Cackler” Harris. Harris has been compared to former president Barack Obama who in a recent biography was described as being “hollow at its core” or an empty vessel. That means there’s essentially nothing underneath those insane giggles and grins of Harris. There’s no guiding principles or firmly held beliefs. She’s held together by a willingness to do whatever the oligarchs want her to do. Mark my words, what billionaires want Harris to do for them isn’t going to be of help to any of us ordinary folks...

 

To read the rest of this article, click on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see the related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. Subscribe today! Power to the people! 

Accountable to the Citizens (Democracy Day 2023)

 

If you're lucky, one day you might receive an opportunity to speak your mind to your local elected officials in city hall. I've been fortunate enough to have been asked to address our local city council on Democracy Day. 

Democracy Day is an event celebrated by several cities, and it's sponsored here in Toledo by Move to Amend and Ohio Single-Payer Action Network. This year, unfortunately, I came down with COVID at the last minute and was unable to attend in person, but my testimony was added to the record. Here's what I have to say about how corporations aren't people, people have human rights, and our government has the power to protect our health and safety from the abuses of corporations such as Norfolk Southern.

Accountable to the Citizens 

(Democracy Day 2023)

by C. A. Matthews

“Accountable to the citizens, not Wall Street.”
 
This is a bullet point I read on an Ohio Single-Payer Action Network (SPAN) leaflet. It begins by stating “Realizing the right to health care,” and follows with the idea that health care should be, “Universal,” and “Have high quality standards of care for all.” Health care should also be “Publicly financed” and emphasizes that it “Is not tied to employment.” All of these are excellent points to make, but the one I want to focus on today, Democracy Day 2023, is this: “Accountable to the citizens, not Wall Street.”

To put it bluntly, our health, our safety, and our lives should never be made subservient to the whims and the profits of corporations. Even simpler yet—no one should be making money off of anyone’s illness or need for medical treatment. But time and time again we read headlines such as: “Big Pharmaceutical makes billions off of new vaccine whose research was publicly funded.” We read headlines about how the US is the only so-called developed nation where families go bankrupt trying to pay for their health care—health care that is provided freely, as a public service, in most other developed countries.

“Accountable to the citizens, not Wall Street.” So, why aren’t we holding Wall Street accountable for the thousands of preventable deaths each year in the US, deaths caused by the lack of access to health care? What are we afraid of really by not holding Wall Street accountable? Not being bullied to death by billionaires?

Wall Street not only rules our access to health care, it also rules our ability to remain safe in our homes and communities. One recent example drives this point home more than ever: The toxic chemical burn instigated after the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. This prescribed burn of derailed tanker cars full of vinyl chloride released phosgene gas into the air and extremely poisonous dioxins into the environment.

If you’re old enough to remember the EPA Super Fund site of the village of Times Beach, Missouri, you’ll remember just how teratogenic and carcinogenic dioxins are to human life. If you’re old enough to remember learning about the First World War, you’ll recall that phosgene gas was a colorless gas that killed thousands of soldiers in the trenches.

Scarier still, this type of event probably won’t be the last time a train-full of toxic chemicals derails in the Buckeye State. That same Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine passed through Toledo earlier. What if that train had derailed in Toledo? Would we be standing here sharing our thoughts today at Democracy Day, or would we have been evacuated to a safer locale instead? Would we be discussing the rights of corporations to have the same rights as persons or the fact that we all had just been poisoned by a for-profit venture that couldn’t care less about our health and safety?

Our state attorney general has recently started a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, to sue for damages from the derailment, but can money alone repay the harm caused to our neighbors in East Palestine? Can money alone bring the thousands of heads of livestock, fish, birds, deer, and other wildlife back from the dead? Can money alone relieve fears, rejuvenate the town’s ruined reputation, or realize a perfectly reborn environment in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania?

Money can’t buy love, and it certainly can’t bring back the dead. Not even corporate persons with deep pockets like Norfolk Southern have that kind of godlike power. The best option in this case is to never let something like the derailment and toxin burn that happened in East Palestine ever happen again.

Money can’t buy everything. We the People shouldn’t accept it alone as redress for these incalculable losses. I think we as citizens of Toledo, subject to three days without drinkable water in 2014, can empathize with the plight of the people of East Palestine, as we also suffered—and still suffer—from corporations’ rights taking precedence over human beings’ rights when it comes to our water.

The Lake Erie Billof Rights, better known as LEBOR, is the first "Rights of Nature" law that citizens passed by a definite majority in the US. It demonstrates that concerned citizens have caught on to the specious argument that “corporations are people.” Our rights to clean water were abridged by factory farm corporations that continually dump untreated animal wastes into our drinking water supply. A factory farm, Drewes Farms, claimed in their lawsuit against LEBOR that they had the right of “free speech,” and that their “rights” would be abridged if they had to clean up their animals’ effluence before it entered into the Maumee River watershed. If I hadn’t been sitting in the courtroom that day the verdict was read, I would have never believed such a specious argument could have convinced a federal district judge, but heck—they won, didn’t they?

I suppose Norfolk Southern will argue their rights to “free speech” could be abridged, just like Drewes Farms, if they were forbidden to burn toxic chemicals from their derailed train cars in East Palestine and elsewhere. I’m not that optimistic the state of Ohio will ever see any meaningful recompense for the victims of the burn from the dream team of lawyers that Norfolk Southern is lining up even as I speak. As I sat in that courtroom as the fate of LEBOR hung in the balance, I experienced up close what corporate money and lobbying does in the state of Ohio and in this country. It doesn’t protect the right of the people, that’s for sure.

Without possessing massive amounts of money like corporations, we mere human beings are defenseless. This means that We the People must take direct action to protect ourselves from these corporate-caused harms to our health, safety and environment.

On this Democracy Day, I propose that the city of Toledo resurrect its bravery that it displayed defending LEBOR and pass resolutions to protect its citizens from potential harms caused by toxic chemicals transported through our city. Trains, trucks, barges, boats, and planes can all carry toxic substances that, if leaked into our environment, can kill, injure, and maim our people, pets, livestock and wildlife. We can’t afford to let that happen. If what happened in East Palestine happened here in Toledo, a city with at least 60 times the population, it would have made the national news in less than three days and possibly even enticed Mayor Pete or President Biden to visit us in less then a week rather than a month later (or not at all).

Toledoans must put human rights above corporate profits and institute rules, regulations and safety procedures to prevent derailments or spills of toxins into our city’s environment. To ignore this potential threat or to think that only higher levels of government can or will handle this kind of emergency is to ignore the reality of the corporate owned and operated political system Americans are currently trapped in. Our neighbors in East Palestine discovered that ordinary Americans can’t depend on the federal or the state EPA to test for toxins or even to give us the truth about our health and safety in a timely manner. We the People must fend for ourselves as a community. We can do it.

Last year, Toledo instituted a program to pay off the outstanding medical debts of its citizens. This compassionate act has been duplicated in numerous cities across the US since then. Clearly, we have the smarts and the empathy to take care of our own. Toledo doesn’t have to bow down and kiss corporations’ backsides and put up with so-called “corporate persons” polluting our water, land, and air. We can fight back, and we should fight back.

It’s time for Toledo to become known as a city where human rights reign supreme and corporate profits take a back seat to our community’s health and safety. Toledo can make a difference and should make a difference in the world—a positive, human-centric difference. Our children and grandchildren will thank us for our insight and bravery.

Related Resources:

The State of East Palestine Ohio From the Eyes of a Local https://popularresistance.org/the-state-of-east-palestine-ohio-from-the-eyes-of-a-local/

How Corporate Greed Destroyed East Palestine (Documentary film by Second Thought) https://youtu.be/TcSLlveDu6k

Rail Workers Demand Immediate Action from Lawmakers to Rein in Rail Industry https://truthout.org/articles/rail-workers-demand-immediate-action-from-lawmakers-to-rein-in-rail-industry/

Exposure to Chevron's Climate Friendly Fuel May Pose Severe Risk of Cancer https://truthout.org/articles/exposure-to-chevrons-climate-friendly-fuel-may-pose-severe-risk-of-cancer/

Poison and Private Police: Norfolk Southern Destroys East Palestine https://odysee.com/@TheGrayzone:c/poison-and-private-police-norfolk:a

The Toxic Rail Disaster in Ohio: The Homicidal Indifference of the Ruling Class Laid Bare https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/15/zbrv-f15.html

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits https://www.levernews.com/bidens-doj-backing-norfolk-southern-case-to-block-lawsuits/

Rail Company Claims East Palestine Water Is Safe After Funding Sloppy Testing https://truthout.org/articles/rail-company-claims-east-palestine-water-is-safe-after-funding-sloppy-testing

A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews To Ignore Safety Alerts https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/23/a-norfolk-southern-policy-lets-officials-order-crews-to-ignore-safety-alerts/ 

The Value American Capitalism Places on Workers’ Lives: BP fined $156,250 for the deaths of two refinery operators in Ohio explosion https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/24/pers-m24.html

White House to Shut Down COVID Response Task Force https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/24/pned-m24.html

From Move to Amend:

The Norfolk Southern Corporation train derailment and subsequent hazardous chemical release in and beyond East Palestine, Ohio are the inevitable result of multiple anti-democratic realities. 

Many are interconnected and are the same for the roughly 1000 train derailments per year.

Private ownership of railroads

Norfolk Southern Corporation’s record earnings in 2022 benefited its top managers, speculators and investors. Maximizing profits have been prioritized over necessary investments in technology upgrades and worker safety. The Railroad Workers United in response is calling for public ownership of railroads, as they once were in WWI.

Lack of worker power

Strikes are powerful tactics of workers to exert leverage against management on safety issues and fair treatment. Unions representing rail workers have been virtually unable to strike since passage of the Railway Labor Act in 1926, which gives the government, specifically the President and Congress, vast powers to force workers to accept alternative means of resolving disputes.

No community rights

Communities have little authority to control material coming into or even passing through their jurisdictions by trains or trucks if that material can be defined as “commerce,” based on the Constitution’s Commerce Clause. Ohio state and E. Palestine officials weren’t even notified the Norfolk Southern train that derailed was carrying vinyl chloride, ethylhexyl acrylate and other highly toxic chemicals.

Corporate campaign contributions

The Railroad industry has poured $85 million into federal candidate campaigns, political parties and outside spending groups since 2002. Norfolk Southern’s political investments have been $17 million since 1990. At the state level, the corporation invested $98,000 into Ohio political races since 2018, with Gov. Mike DeWine (who at first didn’t call for federal assistance following the E. Palestine disaster since he didn’t see a problem) being the largest recipient. At the very least, political campaign contributions buy access to public officials; at worst, buys favors. 

Corporate lobbying

The railroad industry invested $24.6 million to employ 265 reported lobbyists to influence the federal government in 2022 – Norfolk Southern’s portion was $1.8 million.  Rail lobbyists and $6 million from the rail industry to GOP campaigns in 2017 effectively reversed requirements that rail cars carrying hazardous flammable materials have modern electronic braking systems. Lobbyists have sought for fewer workers on trains, trains to be longer and heavier, and reduced fines for penalties – as well as against installing modern electronic braking systems, paid sick leave for workers and having to define trains carrying hazardous chemicals like the Norfolk Southern that derailed in E. Palestine as “high hazard,” which would increase additional safety requirements, costs and public notification. 

Supreme Court decisions

The High Court decided that corporate entities have the constitutional right to contribute to political campaigns. This has permitted corporations like Norfolk Southern to corrupt the political process favorable to their interests, such as the previously mentioned laws and regulations profitable to railroads, Supreme Court-granted corporate Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights prevent surprise inspections of corporate property like trains meant to protect workers and communities.

Ineffective and/or captured regulatory agencies

Public safety inspections are not only limited by constitutional rights, but by regulatory agency funding. The Federal Railroad Administration, the major railroad regulatory agency, has only 400 inspectors. This has forced the FHA to increasingly allow railroad corporations to inspect their own trains, tracks and signals. The EPA recently announced that its requiring Norfolk Southern to directly test for dioxins in East Palestine. Where’s the public accountability when, in effect, an entity guilty of crime gets to be the prosecutor, judge and jury? 

Criminalization of protest 

Forty-five states have considered 265 “anti-protest” bills, 39 of which have already passed in 20 states since 2017. Penalties of felonies serve as a deterrent to individuals to attend public events and send the message that those who protest must be extremists. This mindset is reflected in the reaction by federal and Ohio “law enforcement” agencies to the recent visit of whistleblower Erin Brockovich to E. Palestine. A report by the agencies "assesses that special interest extremist groups will continue to call for changes in governmental policy, which may lead to protests in/around East Palestine and/or at the Statehouse in Columbus.”

The East Palestine tragedy is sadly just a symptom of current political realities and calls for fundamental systemic change.

Enacting the We the People Amendment, HJR48 that would abolish all corporate constitutional rights and political money defined as free speech, is urgent. But fundamental self-governance goes beyond the amendment. 

Independent people's movements led by individuals who’ve been historically treated unjustly is a prerequisite for how to get real democracy on track – for the very first time.

* * *

More on Democracy Day from Move to Amend:

Citizens Testify at Local Public Hearings in Ohio to End Corrupt Elections and Corporate Rule

Twelve public hearings are taking place in Ohio this year on the corruption resulting from the explosion of money spent in political elections and multiple harms due to increasing corporate power to influence elections and public policies.

The hearings are a result of citizen-driven ballot initiatives organized by supporters of the national Move to Amend Coalition working to pass the We the People Amendment (HJR48), introduced again this year in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D, WA).

The ballot initiatives called for municipalities to inform federal and state officials representing their municipalities that citizens support an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishing that a corporation is not a person and political money spent in elections is not equivalent to First Amendment-protected free speech. The ballot initiatives also mandated municipalities to send to those same representatives a summary of testimony presented at an annual or biennial municipal-sponsored “Democracy Day” public hearings. All 12 communities that organized successful ballot initiatives have hearings this year, 11 sponsored by municipalities. 

The 12 communities with public hearings from February to September are Defiance, Mentor, Chagrin Falls, Painesville, Toledo, Brecksville, South Euclid, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, Newburgh Heights and Kent. 

Seven hundred communities and eight states across the country have passed municipal resolutions and ballot initiatives since the 2010 Supreme Court Citizens United decision calling on Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment to abolish corporate constitutional rights and money defined as free speech. In addition to the 12 Ohio communities that organized ballot initiatives beginning in 2012, 14 Ohio localities have passed municipal resolutions. These include Athens, Oberlin, Barberton, Fremont, Lakewood, South Euclid, Dayton, Canton, Oxford, Lorain, Bedford Heights, Oakwood Village, Tallmadge, University Heights.

“People across our state and nation are increasingly aware of and working to resist the corruption of big money in politics and unaccountable power of corporations over literally every aspect of our lives,” said Greg Coleridge, Move to Amend National Co-Director and Cleveland Heights resident. “These public hearings are opportunities to not only oppose these developments, but to advocate for a fundamental solution to increase people power: enactment of the We the People Amendment that affirms the rights protected by the Constitution are rights intended only for human persons, not corporations, and that money spent in elections is not free speech and can be publicly regulated.” 

"In Ohio we are directly witnessing catastrophic malfeasance by corporate profit interests:  animal factory farm waste into lake Erie, toxic train wreck in East Palestine, massive corrupted buyout of Ohio elected officials in Energy policy with HR 6 and First Energy corrupting the Ohio House leadership. It’s time to end this with one single constitutional amendment,” stated Dennis Slotnick, coordinator of the Toledo Democracy Day hearing. "This year, presentations will include, but are not limited to: The climate crisis, healthcare as a human right, voter suppression, a clean and healthy Lake Erie, statewide energy policy, CAFOs & watershed management, jobs with Justice and labor interests as each relates to  a corporation is not a person and money is not the same as free speech."

“We urgently need the We the People amendment to take back the power and ‘rights’ our government have bestowed on corporations. Most Americans simply don't realize the power corporations now wield over our health, safety, and public welfare. Nor do we understand the severe consequences of corporations having the Constitutional rights of citizens. The We the People amendment will return Constitutional power and ‘rights’ to the American people not just to the moneyed interests,” stated South Euclid Democracy Day public hearing organizer Madelon Watts. 

"Democracy Day is important as we need to call attention to the solution to the problem of powerful unaccountable for profit interests, dominating our public discourse by polluting our politics and airwaves with destructive disinformation designed to divide and confuse our citizens,” said Painesville Democracy Day co-coordinator Brad Deane. “Their power is fueled by unchecked, unlimited, and unknown donations to an increasingly disconnected political class. We will only overcome this oppressive  power by declaring corporations are not people and money is not speech. Thus, removing the shield and fuel from those who seek to unjustly dominate our democracy.”

"Brecksville voters enacted an ordinance to create a Democracy day in 2012.  The ordinance provides for public hearings for citizens to express their thoughts on the influence of money in politics," stated Brecksville Democracy Day coordinator Robert S. Belovich. "This year the City administration refused to  sponsor Democracy Day. Nevertheless  Brecksville Citizens for Transparent Politics have picked up the ball and are providing a public hearing. All are welcome."

Ohio Move to Amend State Network
http://www.movetoamend.org/

The New Title 42

The New Title 42

info gathered by C.A. Matthews

Editor's note: From the "Just when you hoped things would get better for ordinary people" department comes news of what the Biden Administration wants to replace Trump's infamous "Title 42" deportation program with, and yes, it's fairly horrendous. 

In my day job as an immigration advocate, I have to explain what this new "Asylum/Transit Ban" is to a group of college students in a Powerpoint presentation. Here are my notes--along with a call for action. Everyone who reads this should send in a comment by the March 27th deadline and pass the link along. Lives are at stake.

 

The Biden Asylum/Transit Ban (“The New Title 42”)

What is/was Title 42?  

Title 42 is a public health and welfare statute enacted in 1944 which gives the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the authority to determine whether a communicable disease in a foreign country poses a danger of spreading in the US. If the CDC finds that a disease does pose a threat, it can, with approval from the president, temporarily prohibit people or property from entering the country to avert danger. It was enacted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Title 42 is set to expire on May 11, 2023, when the Biden administration states it will declare the pandemic officially over within the United States.  

What’s the big controversy over Title 42? 

Title 42 has been used to prevent immigrants from entering the US and claiming asylum, even though all persons entering the country must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Throwing up policy roadblocks to prevent people from entering the country and claiming asylum goes against current US asylum law. There have been 2.5 million expulsions under Title 42. A pattern of discrimination against asylum seekers of certain nationalities, ethnicities, races, indigenous peoples, and LGBTQ+ persons has been noted. 

Expelled migrants from the US southern border have been sent to wait in the northern region of Mexico under the January 2019 MPP (Migrant Protection Protocols) or “Remain in Mexico”. Mexico will take only Department of Homeland Security expulsions of nationals of Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela. All others are either sent back to their country of origin or allowed to proceed through a “normal asylum procedure” in the US. 

(Editor's note: Notice that the more melanin in your skin, the more likely your right to claim asylum in the US will be thwarted. And where these folks are being told to wait in northern Mexico is far from safe and pleasant. Read the latest travel advisory from the US Department of State on how very dangerous that part of the world is. Many Mexican states are labeled by the US government as "Do not travel because of crime and kidnapping." This recent story about kidnapped and slain American medical tourists proves it. Photo above: US Customs and Border Patrol agent whipping a Haitian asylum seeker at the southern border last year.)

What is asylum? 

An asylum seeker meets the same legal standard as a refugee. An individual can claim asylum because of past persecution or fear of future persecution because of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. 

Congress passed the Refugee Act (1980) to bring the US into compliance with its international obligations under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibits returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. 

On a ruling on Title 42, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the act’s “safe third country” provision this scenario can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. 

Asylum seekers are supposed to be given a “credible fear interview” by a DHS officer at their port of entry to determine if their asylum claim has validity. If the officer says the claim of asylum is valid, the person can remain in the US while they await their court appearance to present their case before an immigration judge. The Biden administration’s proposed rule will narrow this procedure down to a “reasonable fear interview,” which has a much higher denial rate. If the officer denies the asylum claim, the migrant will be deported. They can appeal this denial, but most do not understand the appeal process and have no access to legal assistance. 

The importance of winning an asylum claim is that it is often the only path most immigrants can take to obtain a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR or “Green Card”) status and eventually become a US citizen. Temporary Protective Status (TPS) or similar statuses are not permanent and do not lead to LPR status or citizenship. 

What is the new “Biden Asylum/Transit Ban” going to do that’s different from Title 42? 

The Biden Administration on February 21, 2023, announced a crackdown on those seeking asylum in the US. The proposed rule would see the rapid deportation of anyone who has not first applied for asylum en route to the US southern border through the use of a smartphone app called “CBP One.” CBP One has been plagued with significant technical problems, preventing many from making “asylum appointments” (two weeks or more out) and has raised serious equity and privacy concerns. The app takes a very long time to fill out and has been known to crash, and the main text is currently available only in Spanish and Haitian Creole, with English only error messages. It cannot be accessed from a computer, and the user must first use an all-English web site, “Log-In.gov,” to set up an account and have their identity verified before accessing and applying for a an asylum appointment via CBP One. 

This proposed rule has been condemned by immigration rights groups, which claim it runs counter to the “humane immigration system” that Biden promised while campaigning for the White House. Some have called it a “hybrid of the Trump transit bans.” It clearly discriminates against those asylum seekers who are too poor to own a smartphone, have no stable internet accessibility, lack computer device skills, or are illiterate. 

The Trump Administration proposed prohibiting asylum for migrants who didn’t first apply for asylum (and been denied) in a country of transit before reaching the US southern border and entering through a port of entry. The court struck down this policy for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the US to apply for asylum. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border—not just ports of entry—and it does not require appointments to be made in advance on a smartphone only app to request asylum. 

 What problems could this “New Title 42” (Biden Asylum/Transit Ban) cause? 

The proposed Biden Asylum/Transit Ban would create a new asylum restriction for adults and families who present themselves unannounced to US border officials at the southern border. If they have traveled through another country or countries on their way to the US, they would have to provide proof that they applied for asylum in one of the transit countries and been denied first. (One lawyer on a webinar noted that a denial of an asylum application in another country could be used against the person applying for asylum in the US, possibly in violation of the Fifth Amendment.) The Biden administration insists that every asylum seeker has the power to avoid the ban by sticking to what it calls “lawful pathways,” implying that it’s unlawful to seek asylum if you enter the United States between ports of entry (enter without inspection), which goes against the Refugee Act. 

The rule also creates a whole new convoluted procedure to determine whether and how the ban applies. For instance, if you fly into the US, this proposed rule will not apply to you. If you come across the border from Canada, this rule does not apply. Those who have received an advanced parole (and have a US sponsor) or come into the US under a work, student, or tourist visa will not be subject to this rule. The rule only applies to persons who have physically crossed into the United States at the southern border.

The biggest problems arise from the so-called “lawful pathways” that don’t really exist for many people. The process migrants could be shunted into instead is tantamount to a near-complete asylum ban when one considers how the process is intended to work and how it interacts with systems on the ground. And the rule doesn’t even attempt to explain these discrepancies! 

To get a feel for the absurdity of the proposed regulation, read How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps. https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

What can we do to express our concerns about this proposed asylum/transit ban rule?   

Go to https://immigrationjustice.quorum.us/campaign/44910/ or https://noasylumban.us     

Individuals can make a comment to the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Service) about the proposed regulation. Only 30 days were given for public comments to be made (as compared to the usual 60 day comment period). The comment deadline is March 27, so write your comment soon and share the link with others. 

Learn more about the Biden Asylum/Transit Ban at 

https://humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Biden_asylum_ban_factsheet_Feb2023_1.pdf

Last but not least editor's note: If you like to know more about what it's like to be an asylum seeker trying to navigate the complex US immigration system, watch the documentary Seeking Asylum. The filmmakers met a mother and her children fleeing a violent situation and trying to reunite with her husband who was working in the United States. More on how you can view it at its web site https://www.seekingasylumfilm.com/

Quote of the Week: 

 “We have spent the past decade pouring money into the border-security apparatus in an effort to deter asylum seekers. It hasn’t worked because we’ve spent all of that money on border security and we’ve spent almost none on actually building a functional and working humanitarian-protection system on the back end.  

And now we’ve got a two-million-case backlog, more than six hundred thousand asylum applications with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and three million people on ICE’s non-detained docket. This is not something that you’re going to be able to fix overnight. About the only thing the Biden Administration and Congress could do right now is just declare immigration bankruptcy and start all over again, and have amnesty, but there isn’t the political will for that right now, unfortunately.”

– Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, Policy Director at the American Immigration Council

Related Articles:

CBP One Is Riddled With Flaws That Make the App Inaccessible to Many Asylum Seekers https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/28/cbp-one-app-flaws-asylum-seekers/ 

 

Critics Decry New Biden Rule as "Trump's Asylum Ban Under a Different Name  https://truthout.org/articles/critics-decry-new-biden-rule-as-trumps-asylum-ban-under-a-different-name/

  

How to Seek Asylum In the United States (Under the Biden Administration’s Proposed Asylum Transit Ban), In 12 Not-At-All-Easy Steps  https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/22/steps-to-seek-asylum-biden-transit-ban 

 

Biden Wants to End Exploitation of Migrant Children, But His New Asylum Policy Could Make It Worse https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/27/labor-exploitation-migrant-children-biden-asylum-policy/ 

 

White House Struggles to Explain the Fate of Title 42 https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/06/public-health-emerdency-title-42-00081390

From Still Awaiting Court Dates, Migrants Suffer the Effects of ‘Band-Aid’ Fixes to Our Broken Immigration System https://immigrationimpact.com/2023/02/08/awaiting-court-dates-notice-to-appear

 

A Pennsylvania Hospital is Attempting to Deport an Undocumented Woman in a Coma https://truthout.org/articles/a-pennsylvania-hospital-is-attempting-to-deport-an-undocumented-woman-in-a-coma/

Other interesting articles I've read this week about the Ohio train derailments (there's now two of them!) and the quest for peace in the world:

Norfolk Southern Cargo Train Derailed Near Springfield (Ohio) https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2023/03/04/cargo-train-derails-springfield-clark-county-ohio/69972311007/

East Palestine, Ohio And The Oligarchy https://popularresistance.org/east-palestine-ohio-and-the-oligarchy/

Angry residents confront EPA and railroad officials at East Palestine, Ohio town hall https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/03/04/rail-m04.html

Norfolk Southern Used Sick Leave as a Bargaining Chip to Erode Safety, Union Says https://truthout.org/articles/norfolk-southern-used-sick-leave-as-bargaining-chip-to-erode-safety-union-says/

"Too Many Holes": Rail Workers Say Buttigieg Plan of Action is Not Enough https://popularresistance.org/too-many-holes-rail-workers-say-buttigieg-plan-of-action-is-not-enough/

East Palestine Residents Confront Norfolk Southern at Town Hall Meeting https://truthout.org/articles/east-palestine-residents-confront-norfolk-southern-at-town-hall-meeting/

Rail Workers Demand Immediate Action from Lawmakers to Rein in Rail Industry https://truthout.org/articles/rail-workers-demand-immediate-action-from-lawmakers-to-rein-in-rail-industry/

Exposure to Chevron's Climate Friendly Fuel May Pose Severe Risk of Cancer https://truthout.org/articles/exposure-to-chevrons-climate-friendly-fuel-may-pose-severe-risk-of-cancer/ 

The House's "Horrors of Socialism" Resolution Spurred by the Capitalist Class's Greatest Fear https://indypendent.org/2023/02/the-houses-horrors-of-socialism-resolution-spurred-by-the-capitalist-classs-greatest-fear/

China's Peace Plan for Ukraine https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/03/chinas-peace-plan-for-ukraine/

Major US Outlets Found Hersh's Nord Stream Scoop Too Hot to Handle https://scheerpost.com/2023/03/04/major-us-outlets-found-hershs-nord-stream-scoop-too-hot-to-handle/

Abnormal for West to Dodge Nord Stream Explosive Revelations https://enapp.globaltimes.cn/article/1286480

 

American Chernobyl

 

American Chernobyl

by C. A. Matthews

"A society that prohibits the capacity to speak in truth extinguishes the capacity to live in justice." --Chris Hedges

I didn’t hear about the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, until the day after it occurred. Little was mentioned on our local news stations, located on the opposite side of the same state. Even then, there was just a brief account: “A train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed in a small town near the Pennsylvania state line.” My husband and I watched  the mainstream TV news story and didn’t think it could be too bad since no deaths or injuries were reported. Ohio has thousands of small towns. It has thousands of miles of railroad tracks crisscrossing it. We used to live in a small Ohio town with a “triangle” of railroad crossings. These things happen.

Three days later, the railroad owners, Norfolk Southern, decided to burn off the hazardous chemicals that had leaked from some of the derailed cars. These cars carried vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl acrylate, and ethylene glycol monobutyl. When vinyl chloride burns, it attaches itself to the water molecules in the air and creates hydrochloric acid. It then rains down on everything and everyone in its path. You might be familiar with its common name, acid rain. Burning vinyl chloride also creates phosgene, a toxic colorless gas that killed many soldiers in World War I.

Mainstream media didn't tell us about how the townspeople were harmed by the chemicals burning, but independent journalists on the ground told  a grim story. They paint a very frightening picture of how toxic chemicals are affecting the air, water, and soil. They inform us of wildlife, fish, pets, and livestock that are sick or dead. Townspeople describe on camera how their lungs felt like they were on fire, how they became nauseous and vomited or suffered from diarrhea, headaches, severe nose bleeds, difficulty breathing, and skin rashes after authorities told them there was nothing to fear from the chemicals being burned, their drinking water supply was fine, and they all could safely return to their homes. 

Some have described what they’ve seen in East Palestine, Ohio as an “American Chernobyl.” Nuclear radiation lasts for millennia, but hazardous wastes pollution can last just as long through many human lifetimes in the forms of cancers and gene mutations passed on from one generation to another. “They chemically nuked East Palestine,” said one observer. Yes, they really did.

The most important thing mainstream media didn’t tell us is that the derailed chemical cars set on fire weren’t a “controlled burn.” There’s no such term as a “controlled burn” according to a hazmat worker interviewed on a Youngstown area TV news station. They’re called “prescribed burns” by professionals because they know fire can never be totally controlled. No government official or agency gave Norfolk Southern permission to do a prescribed burn of the chemicals anyway.  

The railroad CEOs should have hired tanker trucks to siphon off the remaining chemicals, none of which had caught on fire after the derailment. But that would have taken time and no small amount of money hiring enough tanker trucks and hazmat workers to do the job. Norfolk Southern chose the burning method because it was the cheapest and fastest way to clean up the mess and get the train cars out of the way so the rail line could open again and generate profits.

In other words, the railroad went with the quickest, least expensive, most environmentally unfriendly to all living things method possible. Why? Because it could.

US Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigeig kept quiet about the derailment incident for over a week, but told reporters, “Derailments happen every day.” He still won’t answer questions as to why the Biden Administration hasn’t reinstated air braking safety procedures that were deregulated under the Trump Administration. Two years on and the safety precautions rail workers have demanded still haven't been put into place. These are the same rail workers who where denied the right to strike and have paid sick days by Congress this past December.

Also, a very hush-hush upcoming court case could have very well played into the federal government's non-response to the train derailment:  

In the case against Norfolk Southern, the Biden administration is siding with the railroad in its conflict with a cancer-stricken former rail worker. A high court ruling for Norfolk Southern could create a national precedent limiting where workers and consumers can bring cases against corporations. From Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits

With the Biden Administration's backing of this case to block lawsuits, the people harmed in East Palestine and elsewhere might not even be able to sue Norfolk Southern for damages. It seems like the federal government was expecting a disaster like this one to occur and wanted to protect corporations like Norfolk Southern more than seek justice for injured working class people. Never forget that.

At the end of the day, who pays the price for this unfortunate derailment and consequent “prescribed burn” of hazardous chemicals? Not the CEO of Norfolk Southern, a corporation that made record profits last year and even boosted shareholder payouts of 4,500%. Norfolk Southern also cut their rail employees by 33%, and smaller crews and less maintenance could have led to this train being derailed. But we’re supposed to feel sympathy for poor ol' Norfolk Southern, a corporation that pledged to give the entire town of East Palestine a measly $25,000, or $5 a person, for the “inconvenience” of breathing in toxic chemicals and having their water supply tainted with even more hazardous wastes from the burn.

Railroad lines are owned by private corporations in the US. That concept is difficult for people in many other countries to understand. Even in the United States, highways and bridges are generally considered public infrastructure paid for and maintained with our tax dollars, but railroad tracks are privately owned and operated. What the railroads do with the freight they haul and how they maintain their tracks are their business. It’s all a private concern of Norfolk Southern even if their preferred clean up method has put the health and safety of all life in the Ohio River watershed at risk. 

Cincinnati-area water intake has been shut off, exposing the less than truthful statement made by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that Ohio River water is safe to drink:

The presence of chemicals from the spill in the Ohio River at any level is a worrying development. The Ohio River basin drains an area where approximately 25 million people live, and several cities lie along its course, including Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, with metro populations of 2.3 million and 1.4 million, respectively.  

It is also one of the largest tributaries of the Mississippi River. Major cities downriver from where the Ohio River empties into the lower Mississippi include Memphis, Tennessee (metro population of 1.3 million); Baton Rouge (870,000) and New Orleans (1.3 million), Louisiana. Cincinnati-area Water Districts Shut Off Intake from the Ohio River Due to Contamination from East Palestine Derailment

Capitalism says, “Privatize the profits and socialize the costs.” The costs will be "rare forms of liver cancer (hepatic angiosarcoma), primary liver, brain and lung cancer, which are designated as solid organ tumors. However, it can also lead to leukemia and lymphomas" for the people living in East Palestine and even further downstream as toxins drain into creeks and rivers and fall onto livestock and farm fields. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources estimates 3,500 fish have been killed so far by the contaminated runoff after the derailment. But hey! Norfolk Southern made $3.2 billion in profits this past year and are on track to make even more for its shareholders. Rich people get richer, a whole lot richer. Who really cares if millions of Rust Belters potentially have had their lives and livelihoods cut short?

If not for the dogged independent journalists, the rest of us might never have known how many of our fellow human beings have been harmed, or will be harmed, by this toxic chemical burn by Norfolk Southern. We might never have known how the chemicals traveled through the air as acid rain and then fell onto productive farmland and into the water supply for millions. We might never have known why so many cancers popped up in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Without “indie journos” interviewing the people harmed by the chemical burn, we would have never known the extent of this entirely man-made, preventable disaster, now known to be the largest of its kind in US history.

Railroad companies have one of the biggest lobbyist groups in Washington DC. Private corporations such as Norfolk Southern shouldn’t be dictating public policy to US government officials, but they do. The finger-pointing has begun and heads should roll for not changing the unsafe regulations in regard to train car maintenance, train length, and air braking, but never fear! Railroad profits will reign supreme over the public’s safety. They always do. 

Without independent journalists we’d never know why so many suffer because of capitalism’s dictate:

Privatize the profits and socialize the costs. Keep the public in the dark.

But We the People can fight back.

This story is ongoing, and here’s your assignment as a citizen journalist/activist: Keep an eye out in the mainstream media for how much (or how little) this train derailment and consequent chemical burn in East Palestine, Ohio, is mentioned. Search for stories about the environmental fallout throughout the eastern US.  If very few or only “positive” statements about how Norfolk Southern is handling the situation are made, check out who is buying commercial time on the network, program, magazine and/or website. If they’re broadcasting ads for Norfolk Southern and related concerns such as Big Oil (think diesel engines), then realize that anything these so-call news anchors are telling the public is suspect. 

Always follow the money and consider who has the most to gain or lose by the truth being told or not told. Just last night on a local TV newscast I caught a "positive" story of how "sorry" the CEO of Norfolk Southern felt about the disaster in East Palestine. Nothing mentioned about the health concerns of the public, just how sorry Mr. Moneybags felt. Mainstream media does a great job covering up for our government's lack of concern for our health and safety, doesn't it?

I encourage you to get out of your comfort zone and check out indie podcasters and blogs to see what else you can learn about unfolding events. Even now class action suits are starting to form against Norfolk Southern, so keep an ear open to how the current court case blocking such lawsuits against the railroad is going. How are the people hurt directly by the toxic chemical burn fighting back? Can you help them? Can you spread their message to others? Be creative.

After this piece I’ll list article and video links on this topic and well as a couple of others. Compare and contrast what “indie journos” are saying against what the well-paid and well-coiffed “newsreaders” of the mainstream media outlets (especially TV) say on a particular topic. Ask yourself about what is being said. More importantly, ask what is being left unsaid.

Remember: “Derailments happen every day.” The next one could happen near your home. It could involve train cars full of hazardous chemicals. Would you like it if they were burned and transformed into a dark cloud of carcinogens and acid rain that rains down on you and your neighbors?

Here’s another story that doesn't makes much sense in the mainstream media, the “UFO/Spy Balloon” fiasco: https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/what-we-know-about-the-us-air-forces Compare and contrast what you hear in the mainstream media. Have they come clean about their warmongering hype?

And last week’s TRC posting discussed how an award-winning independent journalist uncovered the who, how, what, when, where and why of the Nordstream 2 pipeline explosions: Pay For Your Own Wars, Big Oil! Compare and contrast the mainstream media coverage of the pipelines’ sabotage. What did the MSM journalists originally leave out of their stories about the NordStream? Why did they avoid investigating deeply into who had the strongest motive to take out the pipeline and lessen the competition for liquefied natural gas in Europe? Why did they continually repeat the US government’s propaganda? What was in it for them to turn a blind eye?

Citizen journalists never stop questioning!

Related Links: 

UPDATE: Poison and Private Police: Norfolk Southern Destroys East Palestine https://odysee.com/@TheGrayzone:c/poison-and-private-police-norfolk:a 

A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews To Ignore Safety Alerts https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/23/a-norfolk-southern-policy-lets-officials-order-crews-to-ignore-safety-alerts/ 

Cincinnati-area Water Districts Shut Off Intake from the Ohio River Due to Contamination from East Palestine Derailment  https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/20/eubz-f20.html

Organizations Across Ohio Mobilize to Provide Mutual Aid to Residents of East Palestine, Ohio https://popularresistance.org/organizations-across-ohio-mobilize-to-provide-mutual-aid-to-residents-of-east-palestine-ohio/

IN FULL DETAIL: They Won’t Tell You This About Ohio Train Derailment (Video) Caution: contains images of dead chickens. Richard Medhurst as a Brit gives us good insights into how American capitalism so readily puts corporate profits before people’s safety.  https://youtu.be/HDFXHYGF7T0

 

The Toxic Rail Disaster in Ohio: The Homicidal Indifference of the Ruling Class Laid Bare https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/15/zbrv-f15.html

 

Biden DOJ Backing Norfolk Southern’s Bid To Block Lawsuits https://www.levernews.com/bidens-doj-backing-norfolk-southern-case-to-block-lawsuits/

 

Rail Company Claims East Palestine Water Is Safe After Funding Sloppy Testing https://truthout.org/articles/rail-company-claims-east-palestine-water-is-safe-after-funding-sloppy-testing

 

Worried About Toxins in East Palestine Water?

https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/worried-about-toxins-in-east-palestine 

 

East Palestine: The Place You Don't Want to Be! https://www.thebrockovichreport.com/p/east-palestine-the-place-you-dont

 

The Ohio Train Disaster Is on Biden’s Hands https://www.leftvoice.org/the-ohio-train-derailment-is-on-bidens-hands/

 

The East Palestine rail disaster and the case for workers’ power https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/18/pers-f18.html

 

The Chemical Disaster in East Palestine, Ohio (Video from the indie journos of Unicorn Riot) https://youtu.be/nCqu5oMxTZg

 

Capitalism's Solution to the Toxic Ohio Train Derailment is, "Figure it out Yourselves MF'ers" (video)  https://youtu.be/uMn9n521ono

 

Ohio Train Disaster: How Corruption and Greed Created Catastrophe, w/ David Sirota | SYSTEM UPDATE (video)  https://youtu.be/WjUmg5Gn6Bk

An excerpt from The East Palestine Rail Disaster and the Case for Workers’ Power https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/18/pers-f18.html

Every year, there are more than 1,000 derailments in the United States, an average of around three per day. In only the short time since the disaster in East Palestine, a derailment occurred in Houston, Texas, which led to one death, and another in Van Buren Township, Michigan, which involved the derailment of another chemical car.

The reasons for this high rate of accidents are well-known to 120,000 railroaders in the US. The locomotives, railroads and workforce have been driven into the ground by years of cost-cutting by management. Trains have been lengthened to up to three miles long, controlled by only two people. Because of Precision Scheduled Railroading and similar attendance policies, workers are often forced to operate these massive machines with only a couple of hours of sleep.

The train involved in the derailment in East Palestine, known as 32N or “32 Nasty” among train crews, was long known to be particularly dangerous.

This has not only endangered railroad workers, but the public as a whole. But the more the railroads have been driven to the brink of collapse and the more communities along the railroads are endangered, the higher the railroads’ profits go up.

The railroad industry is the most profitable industry in America. Last year, Norfolk Southern reported profits of $3.2 billion, a record for the company. Rather than investing in infrastructure, let alone improving the conditions for workers, the company has spent $18 billion over the past five years in stock buybacks and dividends, that is, handouts to investors. The same pattern is present in all the major rail companies.

* * *

A deadly toxic spill could pollute the water supply of millions. Let’s make sure the reckless company responsible for this disaster, Norfolk Southern, foots the bill for the clean up!  Sign the petition  Last week a toxin-filled freight train slid off the rails spilling poisonous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. But the rail operator responsible, Norfolk Southern, is already trying to dodge responsibility for cleaning up this toxic mess. The derailed train was carrying five train-car loads of a cancer-causing chemical called vinyl chloride, which is linked to an increased risk of rare brain and liver cancers.  Yesterday the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed the chemical has seeped into the Ohio river basin - which supplies water to millions. Thousands of fish have been found dead. Barely anyone knows that Norfolk Southern is responsible for this terrible disaster - but if we put the public spotlight on the company and demand it covers the clean up bill, the company won’t be able to walk away scot free. Tell Norfolk Southern to foot the bill for this toxic spill Behind the scenes, panicking Norfolk Southern execs know that they could be facing eye watering fines and massive lawsuits - which is why they’re trying to buy off residents with $1000 ‘inconvenience’ checks in return for residents waiving any future claim against the company. These shady tactics are true to form for a company that for years has put profit over safety. Norfolk Southern has slashed jobs and lobbied against better safety measures on the railways, all the while paying out millions to shareholders. Railroad Workers United said last week’s tragedy was a disaster years in the making. In 2012 a train crashed in Paulsboro, New Jersey spilling tens of thousands of gallons of vinyl chloride - two years later over half the residents reported health problems. Five times that amount of vinyl chloride was spilled in East Palestine. We won’t know the true impact of this catastrophe for some time but we do know that Norfolk Southern must publicly commit to covering the full cost. Tell Norfolk Southern to foot the bill for this toxic spill We’ve taken on some of the biggest corporate criminals before and won. When Bangladeshi workers lost their lives at the Rana Plaza garment factory, the Ekō community held global fashion giant H&M to account. Now let’s do it again and force this billion-dollar company to pay up.  Sign the petition  Thanks for all that you do, Vicky and the team at Ekō More information:  Norfolk Southern is giving $25,000 to an Ohio town where it caused a life-or-death evacuation Quartz. 9th February, 2023 Rail Workers Tried to Warn Us the Ohio Train Derailment Would Happen New Republic. 8th February, 2023

Seen on Twitter:

Probably the best video about what happened in Pennsylvania/Ohio and it’s pretty mind blowing. pic.twitter.com/VbG0kzplRs

— Erin Elizabeth Health Nut News 🙌 (@unhealthytruth) February 13, 2023

Well, Joe bragged a lot about the infrastructure bill that he signed in 2021. Apparently, the bill did nothing for our rail infrastructure.

— NaPaValley (@NaPaValley32) February 19, 2023

BREAKING: The @EPA claim that water in Ohio is "safe" to drink is based on only a few tainted lab samples funded by the very rail company that caused the disaster. The EPA apparently never tested the water.

Why does the polluter get to do the testing? ⬇️https://t.co/dMn30XPGxm pic.twitter.com/QnssXOLyMK

— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) February 20, 2023