Category: Human Rights

45 Reasons To Invoke 14th Amendment On “45”

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OPINION:

45 Reasons To Invoke The 14th Amendment On “45”

OPINION:

45 Reasons To Invoke The 14th Amendment on “45”

 

By Anna Hessel

 History In The Breaking

There is much talk about invoking the 14th Amendment on “The Donald” to prevent him from ever holding public office again.  Senator Amy Klobocher has been instrumental in this fight, as well as Liz Cheney.  Just as a reminder, we must never forget Trump’s disastrous time in office.  Here are forty-five reasons why we must stand firm on stopping the “orange monster” from seeking office again:

The Beginning Of The End…

  1. Trump is responsible for the insurrection on January 6th, 2021 – this is the action that will allow the 14th Amendment to be invoked. He watched the violence unfold on television, doing nothing to stop it, despite being told to end the riot by more than one person close to him.
  2. He caged children at the Mexican border, ripping them from the arms of their parents.
  3. Trump only did one positive thing during his time in office, passing legislation making animal cruelty a felony but he also laughed about pet ownership during a speech and encouraged trophy hunting.
  4. None of us ladies want to be grabbed by the “pussy”.
  5. Trump openly made fun of a disabled journalist, giving license to mock the disabled.

Truth Is Relative

  1. He claims the election was stolen, when in fact Joe Biden received a record number of votes. He claimed victory well before millions of votes were tallied.
  2. He held a Bible he does not read in front of a church he does not attend for a photo op.
  3. Trump is a racist against any non-Caucasian race and encourages white supremacy and “white nationalism”.
  4. He wants to gut Social Security and Medicare; programs that many seniors and disabled Americans rely upon.
  5. Do we really want to see his orange hair, hear his annoying voice, or look at his unpleasant mug day after day, ever again?

Great Waste

  1. His campaign for the White House consisted of a waste of police force hours and foolish grandstanding. He was scheduled to have a rally in Chicago – extra officers were out in place and “The Donald” was a no-show.  He insults Chicago with comments about the number of murders in the Windy City.  His rallies have played the American people for fools.
  2. Trump lies and insults someone nearly every time he opens his mouth – our nation cannot tolerate another four years of this.
  3. He wanted to spend taxpayers money on a dictator’s military parade.
  4. He brought us a “men’s magazine” model as a “first lady”.
  5. His first lady literally stole a speech from a movie character; Elle Woods, in Legally Blonde.

More Highlights

  1. He is a sexist that encourages violence against women. He has taken women’s rights back decades and another four years of the Trumpster would undo all the progress President Biden has made for women’s rights.
  2. He wanted to fist fight President Biden, choosing violence as a way to bully the man who beat him in the election
  3. He refuses to tax wealthy billionaires, wanting middle-class and lower income individuals to foot the bill.
  4. Donald Trump dismantled the pandemic response team that was put in place by the Obama Biden administration. Instead of trusting science, he downplayed the severity of COVID-19, and then encouraged people to drink toxic bleach.  He refused a mask mandate to save lives.
  5. He removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Which Way Is Up?

  1. He considers global warming to be a joke, again refusing to listen to science, preferring to rely on fossil fuel companies, dictators and Russian oligarchs for his information.
  2. Trump has encouraged antisemitism in our nation. Millions of Jewish people have been victims of his racism.
  3. He thinks all Muslims are terrorists and spreads this lie.
  4. Donald Trump is ignorant regarding American history. In a 4th of July speech he said Revolutionary soldiers “took over the airports”, then jumped to a War of 1812 reference of “rockets’ red glare” and Fort McHenry.
  5. Cancer causing windmills, need I say any more about this?

Agenda Schme-enda

  1. He is responsible for Postmaster General DeJoy. “The Donald” wants to see the Postal Service privatized.  Please see my article on Louis DeJoy and the reasons our mail is late.
  2. The disgraced ex-president wants to privatize prisons.
  3. His Supreme Court nominees clearly have a right-wing agenda. The appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson will finally balance and counteract this far right mentality in our nation’s highest court.
  4. Donald Trump is a reality television personality, not an attorney. He bankrupted his own businesses and is unfit to run a country.
  5. He is supported strongly by the NRA and will not even consider common sense gun control.

How Not To Do It…

  1. Donald Trump is the first and only “president” or presidential candidate that blatantly refuses to show the American people his tax returns.
  2. He also is the only outgoing “president” to not attend the inauguration of his successor.
  3. He used the Oval Office for his own selfish wants, not for the betterment of the American people.
  4. He refused to allow his private quarters in the White House to be cleaned. There are rumors that there were mice in parts of the presidential residence.
  5. He discourages healthy lifestyles with a diet of fast food and lack of exercise.

Achievements And Accomplishments

  1. Trump’s bill count ranks last. He claimed to have broken President Harry Truman’s legislative record but according to statistics from the Truman library, “The Donald” has not even come close.  He signed less bills than the six administrations before him.
  2. He was removed from Twitter for his abusive tweet storms.
  3. Trump vetoed $741 billion in military spending as well as a three percent pay raise for our military troops.
  4. He insulted the memory of John McCain and made a horrific comment about “shithole countries”.
  5. “The Donald” proudly compared his press briefings to a Mike Tyson boxing match.

More Greatest Hits…

  1. Trump pardoned Blackwater contractors that massacred Iraqi civilians. This war criminals got away with murdering innocent people that included children and women.
  2. He told impressionable young boys at a Boy Scout Jamboree about a hot and wild party he was invited to.
  3. He is homophobic and had trounced the rights of the LBGTQ community repeatedly.
  4. His buddy “Moscow Mitch” McConnell fights the Democrats on every issue, swearing to stop all President Biden’s appointees if he comes back to leadership.
  5. He praises Putin, the man responsible for the war in the Ukraine. Showing himself as “Putin’s Puppet.”

The Answer Is Clear

We must never forget the atrocious behavior of Donald Trump and we must rally to invoke the 14th Amendment to stop him from another reign of terror.  Please support all efforts to see our Constitution used to curtail the Trumpster from seeking office ever again.  The “legacy” of agonistic torment that Donald Trump has left behind must never be repeated.

 

Black Sabbath “War Pigs”

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Black Sabbath “War Pigs”

Black Sabbath “War Pigs”

The Calamity News and Politics Jukebox Choice of the Day is from the premier metal band (my opinion) BLACK SABBATH doing their powerful anti war song, “War Pigs”.  Support Ukraine. Donate to UNICEF Ukraine Relief.

Black History Is Everyone’s History

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Black History Is Everyone’s History

The contribution of black Americans to this country is huge, and undeniable and deserves to be taught in American schools, north or south.

Black History Is Everyone’s History

Editor: As 2022 Black History Month ends it is important to acknowledge the contribution of black Americans to the arts, sports, science, technology, and innovation. Let’s celebrate their amazing contribution to our country and support the rights of all citizens to participate in the American Dream in all its promised dimensions.

By Wes & Anna Hessel

 A Black Mark Not On Our History

As Black History Month comes to a close, let us acknowledge those African Americans that have made a positive impact on the United States and the world.  We all recall as children eating peanut butter spread on crackers as we learned about George Washington Carver, but little other significant Black history has been taught in our schools.  African-American contributions to our society remain mostly hidden; not celebrated, or taught in schools.  Black history has little representation in curriculums, what a shame; it should be an integral part of  our education, just as it has been an integral part of life and history. History and culture of African-Americans needs to be taught, alongside other cultures, including the typical Western European WASP and Greco-Roman past. Nothing is done in isolation, certainly not improving the world.

Black History Is More Than A Month…

Founded by historian Carter G. Woodson to honor the attainments of black men and women, it originally began as a week-long celebration known as “Negro History Week” in February of 1926, a week in which the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass occurred.  Dr. Woodson was himself the son of a slave and although he did not begin his high school education until the age of 20, delayed by his need to earn a living in West Virginia coal mines, he went on to study at Berea College, the Sorbonne, and the University of Chicago.  He eventually earned his PhD at Harvard, only  the second African American to achieve this, his predecessor being none other than W. E. B. Du Bois.

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Russian Mercenary Drama in Mali

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Russian Mercenary Drama in Mali

Mali is a landlocked country in western Africa

Russian Mercenary Drama in Mali

By Nicholas Waithaka and D. S. Mitchell

Increasing Instability in Mali

Mali has been a hotbed of political unrest for decades, making it vulnerable to external interference from players like Russia and China. Over the past few months, reports indicate that the head of Mali’s military junta, Colonel Assimi Goita, has negotiated a deal that would bring approximately 1,000 mercenaries from the Wagner Group into the country. Mali has had escalating security and political problems, but a turn to international paramilitary actors may become the proverbial slippery slope.

A Spiderweb Of Interference

The Wagner group, first appeared in Ukraine in 2014, where it assisted the Russian military in the annexation of Crimea. Since then, a spiderweb of paramilitaries, mercenary organizations, and businesses interestingly linked to Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin have emerged under the general name; the Wagner Group.

Encouraging Instability 

In Syria the Wagner Group supported embattled President Bashar al-Assad while securing a foothold in the country’s energy sector.  In other unstable areas around the world such as Libya, Sudan, Madagascar, Mozambique and now Mali, a Russian paramilitary group is providing military support to unpopular, and undemocratic governments. The Wagner Group has become a shorthand name for a mostly opaque and extensive network of mercenary services. In fact, U.S. intelligence services caution the benign name may disrupt our ability to think about what they do and how they operate.

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David Shadrick “First They Came-2022”

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First They Came-2022

Martin Niemoller's poem "First They Came" is a comment on personal cowardice

“First They Came-2022” 

By David Shadrick

(A re-write of the Martin Niemöller poem)

First they came for the Muslims

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Muslim

Then they came for the Mexicans

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Mexican

Then they came for the Blacks

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Black

Then they came for the Native Americans

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Native American

Then they came for the queer guy

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a queer guy

Then they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out

Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me

And there was no one left

To speak for me.

 

 

Martin Niemoller “First They Came”

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Martin Niemoller “FIRST THEY CAME”

Sometimes it doesn't take a lot of words to tell the story

“First They Came” was written by anti-Nazi pastor, Martin Niemoller. The message is clear.

 

First They Came

By Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.

The Powerful Words Of Dr. King

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The Powerful Words Of Dr. King

Dr. MLK had powerful words for our society

The Powerful Words Of Dr. King

By Wes & Anna Hessel

 

The Great Doctor

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stands as the paramount leader of the civil rights movement.  There were many more alongside him, most notably the other members of the “Big Six”.  They were James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, and John Lewis.  But Dr. King, or MLK, as many refer to him, was the most visible light and lightning rod.

He Still Speaks To Us

His words continue to speak volumes today, calling us to continue the fight for what is right. Most particularly right now is the need to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.  That is the legacy that should be made to honor both these men who worked staunchly for what they believed.  Dr. King’s own family is calling for a hold on celebrating his day until these voting rights bills are made law.  In the meantime, we hear the echoes of MLK’s quotable phrases and speeches.

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Hong Kong Freedoms Under Attack

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Hong Kong Freedoms Under Attack

Unrest in Hong Kong has the world watching

Hong Kong Freedoms Under Attack

Continuing anti-democratic crackdowns in Hong Kong are alarming many in the west.

 

By Nicholas Waithaka and D. S. Mitchell

A Little History

On July 1, 1997 the UK transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region of the PRC.  At the time of the transfer, Chinese officials promised to preserve as much of Hong Kong’s unique attributes as possible. In fact, a 50-year autonomous stretch was declared. During the autonomous period Hong Kong was to keep its capitalist structures and its western freedoms. The plan was to integrate Hong Kong with motherland China while preserving the political and economic systems that had developed under the British.

The 1984 Declaration

The Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 outlined the territory’s “one country, two systems” future. That principle is enshrined in a document called the Basic Law – in effect, Hong Kong’s mini constitution. Although the Chinese central government does not have power over Hong Kong per say; the central government does have the authority to interpret the basic laws. According to the terms of Hong Kong’s constitution (it’s basic law), the autonomous period is to last until 2047. From recent events 50 years is apparently longer than Beijing intends to wait.

National Security Law

In recent years, Beijing has begun interfering in Hong Kong’s political governance, notably cracking down on any form of dissent; peaceful or not.  Such central government actions fueled massive protests in Hong Kong between 2019-2021. In 2020, Beijing passed a controversial national security law and arrested dozens of pro-democracy activists and lawmakers. It is becoming clear that Beijing is intent on eroding the long-held freedoms of Hong Kong citizens.

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OPINION: Joe Manchin Shows His Political Ass

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OPINION: Joe Manchin Shows His Political Ass

OPINION: Joe Manchin Show His Political Ass

I think it is time to remove the obstructionists from the Democratic Party

D. S. Mitchell

Joe’s Talking on Fox

12/19/2021. Joe Manchin (D.W.V.) is on FoxNews (sic) telling Bret Baier he “cannot vote” for the Build Back Better bill. Finally after months of dancing about, throwing up one road block after another Manchin, playing with the press and his colleagues has finally come clean and said it out loud. He, the lone Democrat,  was now going to squash the bill, that would have given assistance to 70% of his constituents.

Out of Touch

I am dumbfounded. How could this rich, fat, white, yacht sunning, coal mine owning, entitled man be so cruel, and corrupt? How can he shut his eyes to the basic needs of the most vulnerable people in his state? West Virginia is one of the poorest states in this country, it seems Joe wants to keep it that way. By standing against the BBB act Manchin is not only denying West Virginians food on the table, affordable prescriptions for life saving medicines, and dentures in their mouths, but every other person in the country. Without remorse, apparently.  Enraged, I switched to CNN where Jake Tapper was interviewing Bernie Sanders (I.Vt).

Unrestrained Passion

Bernie Sanders went after the failed senator from West Virginia with unrestrained passion. Bernie called Manchin a “coward” for not standing up to the lobbyists and special interest groups (which Manchin is part of). Bernie, is also a wealthy man, just like Joe Manchin. But, Bernie seems to have a deep well of human empathy, decency, and compassion, which apparently, Manchin cannot understand or emulate. Is Manchin capable of embarrassment?  Being the only Democratic senator that is willing to let kids go hungry, not only in West Virginia, but across the nation, should make him red faced with shame and embarrassment.

Purge the Party 

It is time to purge the Democratic party of obstructionists, like Manchin, that are willing to stop a president and his policies by their single vote. Joe Manchin you were not elected president of the United States. Get in line and support President Biden and the Democratic platform. Support voting rights. If you are a Republican, Mr. Manchin, run as one, don’t pretend to be a Democrat. Be brave. Be courageous. As I see it Mr. Manchin, is intent on his legacy being nothing more than the dark smear left by a wet fart.

Quotes on Courage

Here’s a brief collection of some pretty smart comments by some pretty smart people on the topic of courage in life and politics.

1.) “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen,” Winston Churchill

3.) “Courage conquers all things,”  Ovid

4.) “The strongest, most generous and proudest of all virtues is courage,” Michel De Montaigne

Conclusion

It is time to fight the obstructionists in the Democratic party. Joe Manchin cannot be allowed to stand in the way of progress much longer. He has ‘shown his ass.’ as they say in Texas, and a few other places; time for Mr. Manchin to vote with his party or leave the party.

Cori Bush: The Face of Perseverance

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Cori Bush: The Face of Perseverance

Tenacity, Perseverance and Determination, all in one woman, Cori Bush

On Friday 7/30/2021  First term Congresswoman Cori Bush sat down on the steps of the U.S. House of Representatives with a camping chair, a sleeping bag, and a commitment to stop the potential eviction of millions of Americans from their homes.

By William Jones and D. S. Mitchell

Those At Risk

When it became clear that neither Congress nor the White House was going to act to stop a pandemic-era federal eviction moratorium from expiring, leaving hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of low-income Americans at risk for eviction from their homes Cori Bush stepped up.  Ms. Bush — now 45 and a first-term Democratic congresswoman from St. Louis — felt a familiar flood of anxiety and a flash of purpose in the face of the pending crisis.

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