Stepping Into Our Power
by C.A. Matthews
A headline
screams: "Racists' Rally Cry: Send Them Home!" Embolden by a
xenophobic leader, those who grasp tightly their hate-filled agendas fear no
shame or ridicule. It becomes stylish to be narrow-minded. As like attracts
like, so does hate attract hate.
There's got to
be a better way dealing with the problems of dispossessed people than labeling
them "animals" and locking them in cages. There's got to be a better
way of conversing with others who hold a different worldview than yelling at them
"Go home!" in a thinly disguised racist taunt. But nowadays it's all
the rage--blind rage--to act like a Klansman. It's an eye for an eye making the
whole world blind with hatred. There's nothing "great" about this
behavior, so why bother to embroider it onto a red cap?
Rep. Ilhan Omar
is correct in saying it's time we step into our power. We the People have
always had the power to speak and act out against the injustices visited upon
others because of their skin color or country of origin, but we seldom use it.
We wait until things become so unsustainable, so unimaginably horrible that we
can no longer put off considering change. Concentration camps along our border
and Nazi-styled rallies are beyond horror. We must seize and wield our power now.
We can't afford
to hold back until some perfect time occurs or a charismatic leader in the
manner of Martin Luther King Jr. arrives on the scene. The time will never be
right. He's not coming. Armageddon is coming if we don't act decisively and
soon. We must face facts and lead ourselves.
Fifty years
ago, Americans came together and worked toward the common goal of putting a man
on the moon before the end of the decade. If we had the knowledge, skills and ability
to cooperate to bring a dream to life then, what's holding us back now?
Fighting to end
the irrational hatred of others with all our hearts and souls and minds… That's
one small step for man--one giant leap for mankind.
Related Articles:
https://theintercept.com/2019/06/29/concentration-camps-border-detention/
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/57742-in-trumps-vision-of-a-white-america-immigrants-should-be-grateful-and-servile
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/shanephipps/2019/07/19/7-signs-donald-trump-and-his-supporters-hate-america/
Earthrise
by Joe DeMare
July 20 is the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Even though I was only seven at the time, that experience deeply moved me, as it did everyone living on Earth. I knew all the acronyms that NASA used, like LEM (Lunar Excursion Module). I also knew all the complicated steps and stages of the flight, and was able to follow along through the whole journey.
It's difficult to convey to this generation just what a miraculous and
wonderful experience the moon landing was for the entire human race.
Yes, it was a product of the Cold War. There was an ideological battle
being played out all over the globe to prove that elected democracy was a
better way of governing ourselves than communist dictatorship. But,
when we actually won the race, when we actually got to the moon, it was
the entire human race that shared in that success. Everyone, everywhere
was transfixed by the sight of two men matter-of-factly achieving what
had only been the most outlandish fantasy for tens of thousands of
years.
From the Apollo missions came the "Earthrise" photos. These were the photos that showed us that we are all living together on a beautiful, tiny little sphere, spinning all alone together in an unimaginably large universe. From the moon the Earth looks incredibly fragile and delicate with its wispy cloud systems and precarious mix of land and sea. We now know that it is. Traveling to the moon taught us how difficult it is to create and maintain the narrow range of conditions humans need to survive. Temperature, the mixture gasses in the air, water, food--having to create the systems that provided these things to the astronauts, even for a few days, required the combined expertise of tens of thousands of people and incredible amounts of resources. It's no coincidence that the Environmental Protection Agency was created a few years later.
The moon landing brought us together in a way nothing ever had before. The United States did not claim the moon as its territory. It was incredibly important that Neil Armstrong stated that we had come in peace, "for mankind," and not for the benefit of any one group of us. Even though we were then, as now, embroiled in wars and many other kinds of conflicts, for that moment we realized that we were all one race. That awareness was reinforced during the Apollo 13 mission when we were united again in praying for the safe return of the astronauts in danger of dying in space.
So, I grew up blessed and cursed with the knowledge that we, as a race, can do almost anything we set our minds to. We can provide food, shelter, and education to everyone on Earth. We can prevent the destruction of the planet and the death of our beautiful biosphere. Humans can colonize the Moon and Mars. We have the intelligence, technology, and determination. Let's do it.
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Rep. Rashida Tlaib has a bold and uncompromising anti-poverty plan that respects the ability of low-income people to make their own choices.
Her BOOST Act would give $3,000 in cash annually to every low-income adult and $6,000 to low-income families.1 But the right wing is already on the attack, with conservative leaders and pundits declaring her plan "deeply immoral" and "disastrous."2,3
The radical right never misses an opportunity to criticize progressive women of color. We need to show just how many people stand alongside Rep. Tlaib.
Stand with Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Create a cash-based safety net. Click here to sign the petition.
Conservatives want people to live at the mercy of corporate bosses. It is why they insist on strict so-called work requirements that micromanage the lives of the poorest Americans. It is an ideology rooted in often-racist assumptions that people will only work if someone threatens them with poverty. In fact, studies in Alaska ‒ where every resident receives an unconditional cash transfer every year ‒ found no effect on work. More importantly, children, students, caretakers, the elderly and the disabled, who do not work in wage labor, make up about 90% of people in poverty.4
Rep. Tlaib's plan is bolder than similar plans from many 2020 candidates. Those proposals are essentially expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit ‒ a great idea, but one that leaves out the more than 2 million Americans with no income and does little for the 10 million with less than $5,000 in annual income. Tlaib's proposal, in contrast, universally helps all low-income Americans.5
This plan is a scaled-down version of a "universal basic income": a regular cash transfer sufficient to cover basic subsistence needs. It is an idea that is growing in popularity as more Americans realize that the existing safety net leaves people with little dignity and control over their lives, at the mercy of corporate bosses and at risk of losing jobs to automation.
Just as she did on impeachment, Rep. Tlaib is showing what courageous progressive leadership looks like ‒ and once again, the far right is doing everything it can to demonize a progressive woman of color. Let's raise our voices and make it clear that Americans support bold progressive ideas and bold progressive leaders.
Stand with Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Create a cash-based safety net. Click below to sign the petition:
https://act.credoaction.com/
Thank you for speaking out,
Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets
References:
From the Apollo missions came the "Earthrise" photos. These were the photos that showed us that we are all living together on a beautiful, tiny little sphere, spinning all alone together in an unimaginably large universe. From the moon the Earth looks incredibly fragile and delicate with its wispy cloud systems and precarious mix of land and sea. We now know that it is. Traveling to the moon taught us how difficult it is to create and maintain the narrow range of conditions humans need to survive. Temperature, the mixture gasses in the air, water, food--having to create the systems that provided these things to the astronauts, even for a few days, required the combined expertise of tens of thousands of people and incredible amounts of resources. It's no coincidence that the Environmental Protection Agency was created a few years later.
The moon landing brought us together in a way nothing ever had before. The United States did not claim the moon as its territory. It was incredibly important that Neil Armstrong stated that we had come in peace, "for mankind," and not for the benefit of any one group of us. Even though we were then, as now, embroiled in wars and many other kinds of conflicts, for that moment we realized that we were all one race. That awareness was reinforced during the Apollo 13 mission when we were united again in praying for the safe return of the astronauts in danger of dying in space.
So, I grew up blessed and cursed with the knowledge that we, as a race, can do almost anything we set our minds to. We can provide food, shelter, and education to everyone on Earth. We can prevent the destruction of the planet and the death of our beautiful biosphere. Humans can colonize the Moon and Mars. We have the intelligence, technology, and determination. Let's do it.
BIO: Joe hosts the "For A Green Future" environmental activism radio show on WSPD-FM. The show is also available online at You Tube and in podcast form. Check out the For A Green Future Facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/For-A-Green-Future-640958893006838/
***
***
Ohio Legislature Attacks Rights of Nature, Protects Polluters in Budget Bill
Toledo, OH: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a 2500+ page state
budget bill which not only includes provisions attempting to abolish
Rights of Nature law in the state of Ohio, but also contains hidden
language to enhance protections for industrial agricultural operations,
including animal factories and water privatization corporations.
The Ohio legislature and Governor have opted to protect industry and
the ‘rights’ of corporate constituents to pollute while simultaneously
stripping the people of their rights to pass local laws and protect the
rights of ecosystems that sustain their community. The budget bill also
includes statutory provisions that permit and legalize the theft of a
community water supply in the interest of corporate profit.
The budget bill states:
Nature or any ecosystem does not have standing to participate in or bring an action in any court of common pleas;No person, on behalf of or representing nature or an ecosystem, shall bring an action in any court of common pleas;In a civil action for nuisances involving agricultural activities, it is a complete defense if:The agricultural activities were conducted within an (...) agricultural district or on land devoted exclusively to agricultural use (...);The agricultural activities were established within the agricultural district prior to the plaintiff’s activities or interest on which the action is based;The plaintiff was not involved in agricultural production; andThe agricultural activities were not in conflict with federal, state, and local laws and rules relating to the alleged nuisances or were conducted in accordance with generally accepted agriculture practices
Markie Miller of TSW stated, “this sneaky and seemingly innocent
language values, above everything, corporate 'rights' to destroy the
natural life sources we all depend on, for immediate profit, the
consequences be damned."
In addition, the General Assembly has
quietly installed significant new statutory powers in the Ohio Dept of
Natural Resources to issue permits legalizing the theft of aquifer
water, which when combined with the destruction of the rights of nature,
seriously cripples a community’s only avenue to exert any control or
protection over the privatization of their water source.
“Do
legislators and the governor understand what they’re doing by siding
with corporations and making it illegal for people to protect the
systems that support all life? The so-called 'right to farm' part of
this bill has nothing to do with farming and everything to do with
letting animal factories continue using Lake Erie as a free toilet. The
stakes are high and we will defend the only Earth we have” said Mike
Ferner of Advocates for a Clean Lake Erie.
These legislative
actions demonstrate the recent pattern in Ohio of revoking the
democratic rights of citizens while legalizing destructive corporate
harms.
Hilary Tore of TSW commented, “this budget bill is a
clear violation of Ohio’s single-subject law, yet the legislature
continues to cherry-pick which laws they want to follow. A government is
created by the people to protect the people and their rights. We don’t
create government to harm us, yet that is what we have.”
***
Tell evil corporation Palantir:
"Stop profiting from the suffering of migrants and asylum-seekers. Drop your contracts with ICE."
|
CIA-funded tech giant Palantir is one of the biggest cogs in ICE's deportation machine.
Their
shadowy collaboration needs to be dragged out into the light, and
Palantir needs to be shamed into dropping their contracts with ICE.
Tech
workers, immigrants and immigrant rights activists are demanding that
the company break ties with ICE. We must add our voices to their call
now before the crisis at the border and in our communities gets worse.
Exposing and putting pressure on Palantir to end its ICE contracts is
critical to blocking Donald Trump's racist agenda and protecting our
communities. Our friends at CREDO are organizing a mobilization against Palantir. Join us!
With
Congress approving funding to expand border concentration camps and ICE
set to launch mass raids as early as next week, Trump's racist
deportation and criminalization nightmare is becoming a reality right
before our eyes.
Palantir is an important target. Its
technology allows ICE to fine tune its operations by giving its agents
the data to rapidly identify, hunt down and imprison immigrants en
masse. Through Palantir contracts, ICE has access to:
- A nationwide license plate location database, which it uses to conduct surveillance and reconstruct an individual's private life, threatening the civil liberties and privacy of all drivers.
- A database where ICE agents store information and build profiles of undocumented immigrants, including their home address, work address, children’s school, finances and social media profiles.
When
ICE took unaccompanied minors crossing the border into custody last
year, agents used Palantir software to build profiles of these children
and their families, arresting undocumented people they came across in
their investigations. That included people who came forward to
claim their children. Arresting these family members significantly
increased the number of children ICE and CBP agents threw into camps.
This needs to stop now.
For
years, Palantir claimed that its contracts with immigration enforcement
did not fuel the deportation machine. We now know that the company
lied. It's up to us to bring Palantir's dangerous collaboration with ICE
out from the shadows and demand that it stop supercharging mass
deportations and mass incarceration.
Thanks for fighting with us.
Mike Phelan
Progress America
Progress America
***
From Credo: Rep. Rashida Tlaib has a bold and uncompromising anti-poverty plan that respects the ability of low-income people to make their own choices.
Her BOOST Act would give $3,000 in cash annually to every low-income adult and $6,000 to low-income families.1 But the right wing is already on the attack, with conservative leaders and pundits declaring her plan "deeply immoral" and "disastrous."2,3
The radical right never misses an opportunity to criticize progressive women of color. We need to show just how many people stand alongside Rep. Tlaib.
Stand with Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Create a cash-based safety net. Click here to sign the petition.
Conservatives want people to live at the mercy of corporate bosses. It is why they insist on strict so-called work requirements that micromanage the lives of the poorest Americans. It is an ideology rooted in often-racist assumptions that people will only work if someone threatens them with poverty. In fact, studies in Alaska ‒ where every resident receives an unconditional cash transfer every year ‒ found no effect on work. More importantly, children, students, caretakers, the elderly and the disabled, who do not work in wage labor, make up about 90% of people in poverty.4
Rep. Tlaib's plan is bolder than similar plans from many 2020 candidates. Those proposals are essentially expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit ‒ a great idea, but one that leaves out the more than 2 million Americans with no income and does little for the 10 million with less than $5,000 in annual income. Tlaib's proposal, in contrast, universally helps all low-income Americans.5
This plan is a scaled-down version of a "universal basic income": a regular cash transfer sufficient to cover basic subsistence needs. It is an idea that is growing in popularity as more Americans realize that the existing safety net leaves people with little dignity and control over their lives, at the mercy of corporate bosses and at risk of losing jobs to automation.
Just as she did on impeachment, Rep. Tlaib is showing what courageous progressive leadership looks like ‒ and once again, the far right is doing everything it can to demonize a progressive woman of color. Let's raise our voices and make it clear that Americans support bold progressive ideas and bold progressive leaders.
Stand with Rep. Rashida Tlaib: Create a cash-based safety net. Click below to sign the petition:
https://act.credoaction.com/
Thank you for speaking out,
Heidi Hess, Co-Director CREDO Action from Working Assets
Add your name:
|
- Jeff Stein, "Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduces closest plan in Congress to universal basic income," The Washington Post, June 6, 2019.
- Scott Morefield, "Dan Crenshaw says Rashida Tlaib's ‘deeply immoral’ cash giveaway plan is a basic ‘misunderstanding of economics,'" The Daily Caller, June 10, 2019.
- Justin Haskins, "Democrat Rashida Tlaib proposes disastrous cash giveaway -- guess who’s going to pay for it?" Fox News, June 9, 2019.
- Stein, "Rep. Rashida Tlaib introduces closest plan in Congress to universal basic income."
- Ibid.
