What Would the Red Ponchos Do?

by C. A. Matthews

A few years ago, there was a fad to wear a bracelet with the letters “WWJD?” inscribed on it. In times of doubt and uncertainty, one was to contemplate what the person whose name in English begins with “J” would do in that particular situation. The “What Would J Do?” method helped a person to confidently take action and not become paralyzed with fear or indecision.

It worked. It was an effective means to an end, because if J wouldn’t be afraid to take action, then you shouldn’t be afraid, either. So, you followed J’s example and carried on boldly without hesitation, trusting that things would work out for the best. The WWJD bracelet wasn’t a magic amulet, but it could indeed work wonders.

The time has come again for a useful aid to help activists who are being overwhelmed with self-doubt and self-recrimination. I’ve read one too many comments online recently that go along the lines of “Why don’t you do something? I don’t know what to do. Nobody seems to know what to do, but somebody has got to do something to make things better, right?”

This sentiment could also be phrased as “We need a revolution to end this corrupt system, but apparently no one is going to lead us, so we might as well stay home.”

The paralysis of not knowing what to do is what the oligarchy depends upon to keep us working class peons in our place. They’ve kept us overwhelmed with one distressing event after another on purpose from the start of the year...

We haven’t been given a moment’s rest from the sensory overload. It’s just too much. We long for a respite from the capitalists’ constant nastiness and relentless stress. Why can’t our side celebrate a victory now and then? If only we had someone fighting against the system to look up to, somebody to emulate, then we’d get off our backsides and start fighting back.

But why are we waiting on a “hero” to lead us into battle? History is full of examples—Gandhi, MLK Jr., Malcolm X—that we could follow. Recent history is providing us with even more.

My suggestion is to pick a person or group with experience you admire and follow their example. Do what they’re doing/have done with maybe a few tweaks for your particular situation and culture. If “plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery,” then why not flatter those we look up to by copying their tactics and methods until we come up with some of our own?

 

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This article is the 572nd blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another eleven years. Thanks! 

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Finding the Good in the Bad

by C. A. Matthews

After a very painful week—personally painful because an old injury decided to play up and our senior cat passed away from a terminal illness—I didn’t feel like writing a weekly post. I just wanted to whine, cry, and complain, “Why me?” It’s understandable why I’m so sad and grouchy, but it doesn’t do much good for my overall attitude or help my readers. I want to enlighten and uplift others, and that doesn’t work if I don’t at least attempt to write a piece.

I searched for inspiration and found nothing until I opened up a daily email meditation. The short essay said there’s a little good in everything. Yeah, it said everything—meaning every situation and every person (and cat). You just have to look for it. Scanning my daily X and UpScrolled feeds didn’t reveal a heck of a lot of good in the world, but I decided to give it a go. I would look for the good behind some of the negative headlines this week.

So, here goes nothing—and everything at the same time.

On the US domestic front, several stories concerning the building of massive AI data centers caught my eye. There’s actually nothing new about data centers in the US. The US by far has more data centers than any other country on Earth. The thing about this topic that grabbed my attention was that the people of Utah, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and New Jersey have taken notice of how data centers are growing ever larger and demanding more and more electricity, land, and water at the local community’s expense.

Data centers pollute the local water table and fill the surrounding air with light pollution (no stars, messes with bird/insect migrations), heat pollution (global warming anyone?), and destructive sound pollution. Yeah, data centers actually produce constant vibrations right below the sound threshold that can injure and kill both humans and animals. Data centers after they’re built don’t employ all that many local workers, either. Too many bad things about them just ain’t right...

So, what’s the good in this very bad situation? The good I find in it isn’t in the data centers themselves but in the reaction of ordinary people against the data centers. For the most part, they aren’t having them...

 

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Rest in Power, Elsie girl.

A lot of good can be found in a little senior kitty

 

This article is the 571st blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another eleven years. Thanks! 

Feel free to make a donation at our Paypal or Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi. Every little bit helps. Thank you.   

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The System Deserves To Collapse

by C. A. Matthews

Teddy R. said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Donald T. says, “Shout loudly ‘cuz I have a small prick!”

Not one of my better attempts at writing poetry, but it came to me late at night. I just couldn’t forget it.

There’s so much truth in my short poem. It gives the real reason behind why the US is trying to start a war with Iran. It’s all because “Donald T. and his Board of Perverts and Genocidal Maniacs” are doing their best to cover up their heinous crimes, only a few of which have been exposed in this latest Epstein file dump.

What better way for the “Epstein class” to make the public forget all about their peccadilloes than by starting a war and risking nuclear Armageddon? You gotta admit it would create a gigantic smokescreen…

What child trafficking? What rape and torture parties? What genocide of the Palestinian people? What stolen oil and kidnapped president from Venezuela? Who’s blockading Cuba? Warehouses are being turned into ICE mega-prisons? What are you talking about? We’re at war with Iran now—that’s what’s important. That’s all that matters now.

It’s that easy. Besides, nobody of any real consequence will be at risk of being hurt or killed when we go to war with Iran alongside our “closest ally” in order to help them create Greater Israel. Nobody of consequence. Sure, some poor kids suckered into serving in the US armed forces and masses of Iranian civilians could be hurt or killed, but they’re of no consequence whatsoever when compared to superior individuals like Donald, Bibi, and their friends of the Epstein class...

 

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This article is the 559th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another eleven years. Thanks! 

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Codependent Conspirators

Codependent Conspirators

Or 

“Any Excuse To Bomb, Starve, Maim, Torture, or Rape Will Do”

by C. A. Matthews

Once upon a time there was a violent and spoiled brat named Benji. Benji lusted after his neighbor’s things. He wanted to play in his neighbor’s yard any time he wanted to without asking permission. He longed to beat up and terrorize his neighbors any time he felt like it, particularly one neighbor. Benji held a long held grudge against this neighbor because he coveted this neighbor’s yard and things the most. But he couldn’t go it alone—he needed help in doing so with minimum injury to himself.

So Benji went to his mother, Usa, to ask for her help.

Benji: I need more bombs to blow up the neighbors. Give them to me!

Usa: Okay, just give me a moment to gather them up. Now, don’t do anything foolish with those bombs that could reflect badly on either me or you.

Benji: I will do whatever I want. I’m special. Anything I want, I get.

Usa: Yes, I know, but you have to give a little in return. You have to let me have access to your room from time to time for my purposes and—

Benji: Yeah, yeah, whatever! Where are the bombs? I need them now.

Usa: Hold on, hold on… [The phone rings. She answers it.] Hello. What’s that, Mrs. Icici? Benji has a what out on his head? A warrant for genocide? He’s been allowing his gang to do what to the neighbor’s kids? Rape? Torture? Maiming? Stealing their pocket money and bombing their lunch boxes?

Benji: Hurry up! These people don’t just kill themselves! You’re cramping my style.

Usa: (Still on the phone.) All right, Mrs. Icici. I’ll let him know. But I’ll have you know that I don’t appreciate your tone. Benji and I have a perfectly respectful relationship. I can’t believe all the lies you’re saying about him. You’re just trying to blame him for everything that goes wrong in the world. It’s all the other kids’ fault anyway. They’re all terrorists and monsters. Good-bye!

Benji: Finally! Give me the bombs and then get back to doing what you do best.

Usa: (Handing the armaments to him.) What’s that, dear?

 

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 Great Americans?

by C.A. Matthews

 

"The Great Man" theory of history says that history is made by certain charismatic individuals. They inspire and lead others into creating a better country, world, and/or universe. Or not.

It got me to thinking... Who are the "Great Americans" who have shaped our recent history? Surely they'd be mentioned quite a bit in the media. So I thought I'd take a stab at it by scanning the headlines of my Facebook and Twitter feeds this past week. These are the names of "Great Americans" I came across.

Donald Rumsfeld

A lot has been written about the late Secretary of Defense--some of it flattering and some of it quite disturbing. Here's a typical summary of this civil servant's life:

Donald Rumsfeld just died at the age of eighty-eight. Obituaries at outlets like the New York Times and CNN consistently mention the same memorable but pointless bits of trivia. He was America’s youngest secretary of defense (in the Ford administration) and the oldest (in the George W. Bush administration). He wrote so many memos about so many subjects that they came to be known as “snowflakes.” Arriving at the Pentagon in the 1970s, the Times tells us, he became famous for “his one-handed push-ups and his prowess on a squash court.”

To see the full absurdity of this, imagine an obituary of Slobodan Milosevic that lingered on innocuous details of his office management style and fondness for soccer, or an obituary of Saddam Hussein that focused on how young he was when he formally became president of Iraq in 1979 and his favorite dessert in his Baghdad palace.  -- Ben Burgis, from Donald Rumsfeld, Rot in Hell https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70238-donald-rumsfeld-rot-in-hell

Here are some other articles reminiscing about Mr. Rumsfeld:

Donald Rumsfeld's Legacy Is Defined by the Disastrous Iraq War and America's Disgraceful Use of Torture  https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70199-donald-rumsfelds-legacy-is-defined-by-the-disastrous-iraq-war-and-americas-disgraceful-use-of-torture

Rumsfeld Was Not “Controversial.” He Played a Leading Role in Mass Murder  https://truthout.org/articles/rumsfeld-was-not-controversial-he-played-a-leading-role-in-mass-murder

Rumsfeld's Much-Vaunted 'Courage' Was a Smokescreen for Lies, Crime and Death
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70219-rumsfelds-much-vaunted-courage-was-a-smokescreen-for-lies-crime-and-death

What do you think? Is Donald Rumsfeld a "Great American"?

Mike Gravel

The late senator from Alaska made a name for himself when he boldly read the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional Record. Straight-talking and peace-promoting, Gravel's most recent run for the presidency was actually started by his "fans" on Reddit.

There are many stories and videos detailing the life and times of Senator Gravel, and last week's blog featured one of them. Here's another:  Courageous Anti-War Truth Teller --Mike Gravel RIP  https://youtu.be/nmahus6SSfc 

What do you think? Is Mike Gravel a "Great American"?
 
The next one causes me great personal distress, but it's a name that came up repeatedly.

Bill Cosby

Mr. Cosby made the news again recently when his sentence for rape was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Apparently openly admitting in a civil case to drugging and sexually assaulting 60+ women can be easily dismissed on a technicality.

I grew up watching Bill Cosby on television most days. I loved his Cosby Kids cartoon series and especially enjoyed his "Fat Albert" character. Later on, he became even more famous as a doctor and family man on another long running TV series. That this "bastion of family values" could get away with rape--not once but dozens of times--makes me furious and sick to my stomach.

Cosby's release is more than a slap in the face to his victims--it sets a dangerous precedence that famous men of wealth can expect to receive a different form of justice.

Bill Cosby's Release Is Exactly Why Rape Survivors Don't Come Forward https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70200-bill-cosbys-release-is-exactly-why-rape-survivors-dont-come-forward

There's One Man to Blame for Bill Cosby's Release https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70207-theres-one-man-to-blame-for-bill-cosbys-release

Bill Cosby, Britney, and a Tale of Two American Justice Systems https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70254-bill-cosby-britney-and-a-tale-of-two-american-justice-systems

 What do you think? Is Bill Cosby a "Great American"?

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden periodically makes the news with his writings, podcasts and video interviews. Of course he's most famous for spilling the beans on how the US government spies on its own citizens.

Exiled to Russia, if Mr. Snowden ever steps a foot again on American soil they'll lock him up the same as they have other whistleblowers. Our government wants to protect us from nasty truths about itself, after all. It's for our own good that we remain in the dark, don't you know.

Edward Snowden: Why Do Conspiracy Theories Flourish? Because the Truth Is Too Hard to Handle https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/70229-why-do-conspiracy-theories-flourish-because-the-truth-is-too-hard-to-handle

What do you think? Is Edward Snowden a "Great American"?

I realize that those who make the headlines aren't always worthy of the praise--or the slurs--they incur. Americans really need to start thinking hard about how they want our nation to be remembered by future generations of Americans (if there are any). Do we want to be remembered for Rumsfeld or Gravel? Cosby or Snowden?

Or perhaps the real question is, "Will we be remembered at all?"

***

The 26th United Nations "Conference of the Parties" (COP) conference -- of parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change -- is scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, November 1-12, 2021. Click here to tell participants to stop excluding military pollution from climate agreements.
Here's the text of our petition: As a result of final-hour demands made by the U.S. government during negotiation of the 1997 Kyoto treaty, military greenhouse gas emissions were exempted from climate negotiations. That tradition has continued. The 2015 Paris Agreement left cutting military greenhouse gas emissions to the discretion of individual nations. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change obliges signatories to publish annual greenhouse gas emissions, but military emissions reporting is voluntary and often not included. NATO has acknowledged the problem but not created any specific requirements to address it. There is no reasonable basis for this gaping loophole. War and war preparations are major greenhouse gas emitters. All greenhouse gas emissions need to be included in mandatory greenhouse gas emission reduction standards. There must be no more exception for military pollution. We ask COP26 to set strict greenhouse gas emissions limits that make no exception for militarism, include transparent reporting requirements and independent verification, and do not rely on schemes to "offset" emissions. Click here to add your name. -- The RootsAction.org Team www.RootsAction.org

***
The fate of the open internet is in the hands of two Trump appointees -- unless Joe Biden acts now. Ajit Pai, who as Federal Communications Commission chair under Donald Trump led the repeal of net neutrality, resigned from the FCC when Joe Biden became president. Nearly half a year later and the fifth FCC seat remains empty. Meanwhile, two of Trump's appointees are still on the FCC. With a 2-2 deadlock, they can continue to block key priorities until the vacancy is filled. In order to reinstate net neutrality and protect internet users from corporate control, we need President Biden to fill the fifth seat.1 Sign the petition: appoint a fifth FCC member and restore net neutrality! ADD YOUR NAME The FCC has a long list of initiatives that can help ensure an open internet for everyone.2 It includes reviving the long-neglected Lifeline program, which helps ensure internet access for low-income customers. As the pandemic made clear, this is a critical priority.3 It also includes guiding federal funds for building broadband infrastructure in an equitable, effective manner. And it includes restoring net neutrality rules dismantled by the Trump administration. But the commission can't move any of these efforts forward without a fifth member appointed by the president. Congress has a limited number of days in session left this year, which means the Senate needs to get that member confirmed and the FCC up and running immediately. Tell President Biden: Help restore a free and open internet by appointing a 5th commissioner to the FCC! Thank you for speaking out, Tal and the team at Watchdog -- a project of Demand Progress DONATE Sources: 1. The Hill, "50 groups urge Biden to fill FCC opening to reinstate net neutrality rules," June 16, 2021. 2. Demand Progress Education Fund, "57 groups call for fifth FCC commissioner," June 14, 2021. 3. FCC, Lifeline program for low-income consumers, June 17, 2021.
***

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"Nice People"

"Nice People"

by Redd Phlagg

In a country run by a small circle of pedophilic billionaires, there is literally not a single moral justification for not engaging in class war. -- Quinn Albright

They call them "nice people" because they're apparently decent, hard-working, law-abiding types. How could anyone who looks as sharp as these folks and acts as charming as they do on occasion be all that bad? You'll realize how that line of logic is nothing but a stinking pile of horse manure after reading the following:

This poor boy worked hard to develop a social movement to rebuild his war-torn country, eventually becoming its beloved leader by being elected in a landslide. It was reported that he loved his dog and acted kindly to his secretaries and his fiancée. He was a devout vegetarian and enjoyed entertaining all types of guests at his dinner parties.

Sounds like a great guy, huh? His name? Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, a.k.a. the Third Reich. You might have heard of him. He's credited with at least 6 million plus deaths.

Please don't tell me now that all "nice people" are worthy of praise and adoration. You know they're not. Their slick outward appearances can hide a rotten core. Money, authority, good-looks, and plentiful media attention does not an admirable human being make. So why does our culture put these a**holes on a pedestal more often than not? What makes the following morally bankrupt capitalists any better than the rest of us?

Martin Shkreli-- the ever-smirking "pharma bro," wannabe mass murderer and investment fraudster. He instituted a 5,000% price increase of Daraprim, a previously cheap drug used to treat HIV, condemning those who couldn't pay it to death.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-martin-shkreli-sentencing-20180309-story.html

The Koch Brothers--don't get me started on these demon-spawned siblings that exude noxious evil! Just about anything that is going wrong in our country and around the world can be traced back to them. The Kochs are the most egregious example of how capitalism eats itself alive--along with the rest of the planet--and somehow can't stop its self-destructive behavior no matter how hard you try to convince its sadistic purveyors to stop.

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/koch-brothers

Jeff Bezos--the world's richest individual who won't even allow his lowly warehouse workers to take a leak on company time. Why? Because he doesn't think being valued a measly $168 billion is enough. And this lovely excuse for a human being is helping ICE build facial recognition software to deport even more asylum-seekers (see second blurb below). What a  freakin' "nice" person Jeff is!  Employers like Amazon are true enemies of the workers (see third blurb below).

https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17243026/amazon-warehouse-jobs-worker-conditions-bathroom-breaks

Jeffrey Epstein--billionaire pedophile owner of the "Lolita Express" private jet, currently charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking once again. He's planning on getting another light sentence this time similar to his first conviction where he spent most of his "jail time" actually working in his office. (He's probably got pictures of all the judges on his private island of sexual escapades, so they know they can't throw the book at him without their dirty little secrets being exposed.) But We the People are fighting back and exposing those who enable this serial rapist (see first blurb below).

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/08/jeffrey-epstein-court-sex-trafficking-charges/1671254001/

Donald Trump--pseudo-president, serial philanderer, failed real estate tycoon, boring TV star, and resident p*ssy-grabber, and, along with former President Bill Clinton, a guest on Epstein's Lolita Express. This MAGA-hat-wearing, all-around xenophobic, racist, lying sack of sh*t is in the running for worst human being ever. He can't even claim to be a vegetarian dog lover like his concentration-camp-building idol Adolf Hitler!

https://thinkprogress.org/jeffrey-epstein-sex-offender-lawsuit-donald-trump-bill-clinton-lolita-express-98886e15c076/

Face it--the planet would be a lot better off without these criminals.

The common thread that links these names together is greed. They worship money and the power that it gives them over life itself. Filthy lucre is their idol. They'll do anything to anyone to get it and keep it and lord it over others. Damn you if you ever get in their way!

We've got to stop being so squeamish and face facts: It's us or it's them. I vote us. We should be the survivors in the climate catastrophe that's already on our doorsteps, not these pedophilic billionaires. We need to take out this elitist class of holier-than-thou-acting-while-we're-screwing-your-underage-daughter-and-robbing-you-blind types. Tomorrow isn't soon enough. We need to take action today.

It's time to eliminate the not-so-nice one-percenters and use their hoarded wealth to create a society where all people have access to health care when they need it along with food and clean water and shelter and equal justice under the law no matter how poor or what color they are. We are the majority. We don't need these rotten apples spoiling the rest of us in the barrel.

In other words: "Nice people do boycott immoral businesses…and protest loudly and frequently against illegal activities such as running concentration camps…and build guillotines if and when they have to."   

History doesn't need repeating if it's a repeat of Hitler's Germany, does it?

More "Nice People" in the News:

Sex Trafficking Scandal Rocks the Government (video)
https://youtu.be/zvt7tlVBYVQ

The Fear Like The Cruelty Is The Point
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/57621-the-fear-like-the-cruelty-is-the-point

Christianity Should Not Be Cruel
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/rhetoricraceandreligion/2019/07/christianity-should-not-be-cruel.html

Private Prison Stocks Soar Under Trump Administration
https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/24/investing/private-prison-stocks-soar-trump/index.html

BIO: Redd Phlagg is a mild-mannered citizen by day and a radical revolutionary by night. Redd's goal is to stir up the masses so they're eager to take out our oppressors when the optimal time comes. Be ready!

***

From UltraViolet:


Last Friday, amid growing pressure from the public and UltraViolet members like you, Trump's Secretary of Labor and enabler of child sex-trafficking, Alexander Acosta, announced his resignation.¹

This is a HUGE win for survivors of sexual assault everywhere, but, in particular, for the more than 80 young girls--some as young as 14--who were sexually abused by wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. As U.S. attorney in Miami in 2008, Acosta showed a total disregard for these underage survivors by offering Epstein a plea deal with a mere 13-month sentence, even allowing Epstein to leave the prison six days a week, and ending an FBI probe that would have potentially found more powerful people involved in Epstein's trafficking ring.

With new charges against Epstein coming from federal prosecutors this week, and now with Acosta's resignation, survivors of Epstein's heinous sex crimes may finally see justice. This is in large part because of the tens of thousands of UltraViolet members who signed petitions, called their representatives, and donated. The pressure culminated with a light projection action calling for Acosta's resignation that UltraViolet organized with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), CREDO Action, and MoveOn. The message projected onto the Department of Labor building generated a ton of press in numerous outlets, including ABC News and influential Capitol Hill newspaper The Hill.^2,3

Acosta's resignation is great news, and it demonstrates that when we come together as a movement, we can take down sexual predators and their enablers, no matter how powerful. But this should only be the beginning. We need to hold all powerful people who engage in or enable sexual abuse accountable, including, most notably, the admitted serial sexual assaulter at the very top: President Trump.

Sign the petition to Congress demanding an immediate investigation into Trump's history of rape and sexual assault.

And--
Check out all of the amazing work that UltraViolet members like you did to secure this huge win.

As always, thank you so much for taking action.
--Shaunna, Kat, Karin, Holly, Kathy, Susan, Anathea, Emma, Natalie, Melody, Lindsay, Pam, Ryan, Sonja, and Kimberly, the UltraViolet team

P.S. If you'd like to chip in to help UltraViolet continue fighting for justice for sexual assault survivors, you can contribute here.
Sources:
1. Trump Labor Secretary Acosta resigning after criticism over Epstein plea deal in sex case, NBC News, July 12, 2019
2. Protesters call for Alex Acosta's resignation, ABC News, July 11, 2019
3. 'Acosta Enables Sex Trafficking' projected onto the Labor Department building, The Hill, July 10, 2019

***

Tell Amazon: Stop powering ICE’s deportation machine

The petition to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reads: "Stop building ICE's deportation machine to harm immigrant communities. Amazon must immediately end all contracts with ICE and DHS, including the sale of facial recognition technology to track immigrants." Add your name:

Trump is ramping up his attacks on the immigrant community – and Amazon is the technological backbone powering his xenophobic immigration policies. Trump is holding human beings in concentration camps, executing mass raids on immigrant families and communities and forcing millions of people to live in fear every single day. Amazon is choosing to be fully complicit in Trump's deportation machine by providing essential technological infrastructure to help ICE and DHS track, detain and deport immigrants.1 This "Prime Day," we are delivering hundreds of thousands of petition signatures in nine cities to tell Amazon to stop profiting off the dehumanization of immigrants and attacks on our civil liberties. Will you amplify our call by adding your name? Tell Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: Stop powering Trump's surveillance state. Prohibit all government use of Rekognition. Click here to sign the petition. Amazon's facial recognition technology, Rekognition, is frightening. It can identify people in photos of large groups, crowded events and public places. In the hands of government agencies, Rekognition would supercharge already existing racist and discriminatory policing practices and boost the Trump administration's efforts to suppress and criminalize dissent.2 Recent reports reveal that ICE uses facial recognition technology to scan state drivers' licenses databases to identify undocumented immigrants.3 This is an unacceptable violation of our civil liberties and any collaboration with ICE must be stopped. Donald Trump has already expanded government surveillance and the policing of communities resisting his fascist regime. ICE and Border Patrol are arresting and deporting immigrant activists.4 DHS is recording immigrants' social media and online activity.5 The FBI is monitoring and jailing leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement.6 And Trump Republicans have introduced legislation to restrict people's right to protest in nearly 20 states across the country.7 Since Trump took office, Bezos has been playing both sides. He publicly condemned Trump's Muslim ban, but also helped normalize and legitimize the Trump regime by serving as a Trump tech adviser.8 Amazon is enabling the tracking, detention and deportation of immigrants. In the first nine months of Trump's presidency, ICE arrests increased by 42% compared to the previous years – and that's in large part thanks to the increase in mass surveillance and targeting of immigrants.9 Tell Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: Stop powering Trump's surveillance state. Prohibit all government use of Rekognition. Click here to sign the petition. Amazon is choosing to be complicit in Trump's deportation machine. We cannot allow Amazon to profit from a mass surveillance system that gives government agencies the power to hunt, track and deport immigrants. Today, people across the country are mobilizing to fight back against Trump's racist immigration policy and attacks on our civil liberties. We need you to stand in solidarity by adding your name. Tell Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos: Stop powering Trump's surveillance state. Prohibit all government use of Rekognition. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/amazon-stop-ICE?t=10&akid=33222%2E5711904%2EWuJSoX Thanks for fighting back, Thaís Marques, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Karen Hao, "Amazon is the invisible backbone behind ICE’s immigration crackdown," MIT Technology Review, Oct. 22, 2018. Julie Carrie Wong, "'Recipe for authoritarianism': Amazon under fire for selling face-recognition software to police," The Guardian, May 22, 2018. Catie Edmondson, "ICE Used Facial Recognition to Mine State Driver’s License Databases," The New York Times, July 7, 2019. John Burnett, "See The 20+ Immigration Activists Arrested Under Trump," NPR, March 16, 2018. Willa Frej, "U.S. Quietly Announces Plan To Monitor Immigrants’ Social Media Accounts, Search Histories," HuffPost, Sept. 28, 2017. Nicole Hemmer, "The government prosecution of a “black identity extremist” fell apart. Meanwhile, white supremacists are on the march." Vox, May 19, 2018. ACLU, "Anti-protest bills around the country," June 23, 2017. CBS News, "Jeff Bezos joins chorus of CEOs challenging Trump travel ban," Jan. 31, 2017. Hao, "Amazon is the invisible backbone behind ICE’s immigration crackdown."

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Today, on Amazon Prime Day, Amazon warehouse employees in Minnesota are striking for better treatment and working conditions. Here at the AFL-CIO, we stand in support of all workers who come together to demand more for themselves and their families, and that includes the Amazon warehouse workers on strike today.  This Prime Day strike underscores why we need to strengthen protections for workers and unions across the country. And right now, there’s a bill in Congress that would do just that: the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. So I’m reaching out to ask: Will you tell your representative to support the PRO Act?  The PRO Act would provide critical support for unions and workers. Specifically, the bill would make it easier to form a union, help workers secure a first contract and even protect striking workers like those in Minnesota today. Support for unions is at a 15-year high, and yet the right to form a union is under attack—it’s time to bolster workers’ rights by passing the PRO Act.  Write your representative and tell him or her to co-sponsor the PRO Act today.  In Solidarity, Liz ------- Liz Shuler Secretary-Treasurer, AFL-CIO P.S. Want another way to support Amazon employees today? Add this frame to your profile picture in solidarity.