Embedded Files
A dirty deal in the making - January 5
It's hard to imagine a stranger deal than the one being cooked up between Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats. In return for sending more military aid to Israel (currently on a genocidal rampage in Gaza) and Ukraine (currently mired in a stalemated war with Russia), Senate Democrats are compromising on "border security"...what international law says about immigration, what immigrant rights advocates say about what constitutes a humane immigration policy
ICYMI: What's actually happening in Gaza - January 8
Some stories you may have missed on Israel's assault on Gaza. Death toll surpasses 23,000 including nearly 10,000 children. UNICEF: “Children in Gaza are caught in a nightmare that worsens with every passing day.” The health care system is barely functioning and a public health catastrophe looms as Israel continues its attacks on Gaza's medical facilities. UN: people in Gaza face the “highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded." Associated Press: the rate of devastation is among the most destructive in recent history. Biden again sends military aid to Israel without Congressional approval. International Court of Justice begins hearings on the genocide case brought against Israel by South Africa.
Ten months to the "zombie election" - January 11
It's been 56 years since I've been as disappointed with both parties' candidates for President. Biden v Trump is as poor a choice as was Humphrey v Nixon in 1968. A doubly-impeached former President vs an incumbent aiding and abetting a genocide. I am not alone in this lack of enthusiasm. Latest polls show Trump with 1% popular vote lead over Biden and 17% of voters choosing "Other" as their preferred candidate...Trump's absurd "absolute immunity" plea, Biden's near total failure to reverse Trump-era foreign policy disasters.
Not just democracy...our humanity dies in darkness - January 19
"Democracy Dies in Darkness" was the first slogan to be officially adopted by The Washington Post in its 140-year history. Enshrined in our Bill of Rights, freedom of the press and freedom of speech are two of America's basic values. Over the past few months, several stories coming out of Israel's US-supported war on Gaza illuminate how not just democracy, but our principles and our very humanity die in darkness...the Palestinian Exception to Free Speech, Israel's War on Journalists, the Senate's Shame
The voting rights battle: 2024 - January 21
Fourteen years ago today, on January 21, 2010, the John Roberts Supreme Court issued the first of a series of decisions that have undermined the most basic right of a democracy, the right to vote in a free and fair election. Three years ago, a violent mob took the attack on voting rights to the next level by trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election. A few thoughts on the 2024 elections and the state of voting rights...the roles of money and turnout, voter suppression laws and tactics, and state-enacted "election interference" laws.
Abolishing capital punishment - Feb 1
The execution of 58-year-old Kenneth Smith last week by the State of Alabama was the latest reminder of the continued application of the death penalty in the United States. We live in the only country in the Americas, Europe, and Australasia that continues to execute people. Most Western democracies abolished it many decades ago. The arguments for abolition are overwhelming. Also, Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip's case goes to the Supreme Court, state abolition groups, the change of heart of three Supreme Court Justices who voted to end the 1972 moratorium
Ceasefire now to end "one of the worst human catastrophes of this century" - February 2
In defiance of orders by the International Court of Justice that Israel take action to prevent genocidal violence by its armed forces; “prevent and punish” the incitement to genocide; and ensure that humanitarian aid to Gaza is increased, Israel's siege of Gaza and interference in aid shipments continue unabated. This week a mass grave was discovered with at least 30 civilians killed "execution-style", the Israeli defense minister pledged to attack an area in Rafah "the last refuge" for Gaza's displaced, Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals ran out of food as the Israeli siege of the Khan Younis medical centers continued, and the US suspended aid to UNRWA.
All eyes on Rafah - February 14
Israel continues to defy the orders of the International Court of Justice. Its bombardment of Rafah in preparation for an announced ground assault crystallizes the ongoing nature of the genocide in Gaza, the meaninglessness of the "too little, too late" admonitions from the Biden Administration, and, on a larger scale, what American and Western support and complicity in Gaza mean for the future of human rights and international law.
Six years after Parkland, six hours after Kansas City - February 15
Valentine's Day was the sixth anniversary of the Parkland high school shooting that left 17 dead. One of the early posts on this website was a reaction to that tragedy and laid out the case against assault weapons, the gun lobby, and the grossly misinterpreted Second Amendment. Unfortunately, nothing much has changed in six years. School shootings still happen. Assault weapons are still bought and sold freely. Gun Rights zealots have joined the lobbyists in making legislators into spineless cowards. And the Supreme Court is still in the control of constitutional originalists who continue to ignore common sense and the public good in their gun rulings.
The forgotten war in Sudan - February 19
Ten months into Sudan’s civil war between the paramilitary RSF (Rapid Support Forces) and the Sudanese army, the country is facing rising levels of hunger. Compounding the crisis levels of hunger, water-borne diseases are also causing extreme levels of malnourishment across the country, especially among children. More than 13,000 have been killed, 4,000,000 have been internally displaced, and 1,000,000 women, children, and older persons have fled Sudan and crossed into neighboring countries. The United Nations is calling for $4.1 billion in aid, the African Union has named a team to work on a peaceful end to the conflict, and the AFSC and the All-Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) are helping local groups advocate for peace and non-violent responses to conflict.
How many deaths will it take? February 29
The War on Gaza has reached a tragic milestone. The death toll in Gaza is now 30,000, twice the number of Palestinians killed during the ethnic cleansing that resulted in the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The ICJ ruling in late January has had no effect on Israeli interference in aid shipments. According to UNRWA, the aid trucks allowed to enter Gaza in February represent a nearly 50 per cent reduction compared to January. On Thursday, with over 2 million people facing famine, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting in line for emergency food aid. More than 100 were killed and 700 wounded. One must wonder: how many deaths and whar level of atrocity will it take to have President Biden admit that "too many people have died" and do something about it.
Super Tuesday Takeaways - March 7
The zombie election is on, the "uncommitted" campaign, Mark Robinson, California wake-up call
What Biden should have said in his SOTU - March 8
As the genocide continues in Gaza, President Biden parroted Israeli propaganda and ruled out conditioning aid or stopping weapon transfers to pressure Israel to allow more assistance into Gaza. Instead he announced that the US would build a temporary pier off the coast of the Palestinian territory to facilitate aid deliveries, a step critics say will be ineffective and divert attention from the cause of the encroaching famine...what a humane response to the humanitarian catastrophe could have been, context on the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the world's longest military occupation, and the effects of the seventeen-year Gaza blockade
Voter roll purges, NY redistricting, AIPAC v Justice Democrats, Project 2025 v Democracy - March 15 (The Fray) - the election deniers' mass voter purge movement, New York's disappointing redistricting, the Left fights back against AIPAC's $100 million campaign to unseat progressive Democrats, the authoritarian playbook for a Trump second term and how we might mitigate the worst of Project 2025
The past couple of weeks have seen a shift in US rhetoric. The threat of famine and the imminence of an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah appear to have crossed some red line in Washington. An Israeli delegation is meeting with the Administration about their announced ground assault on Rafah. The $14 billion question is whether Biden will greenlight a bloodbath or will he give Israel conditions so stringent and consequences so great that they will refrain from more war crimes...what Biden would do if he were serious about ending the war in Gaza, the UNRWA controversy, and what our allies are doing about aid and arms shipments
Biden appears intent on losing the election over Gaza - March 28
Trump's approval rating (44%) is now 6 points higher than Biden's (38%). A Gallup poll shows US public support for Israel's assault on Gaza has plummeted, particularly among the Democratic party base. While US decision to allow a ceasefire resolution through the Security Council was a step in right direction, we still are withholding funds from a critical aid agency, continue to arm the genocide and cover for Israeli war crimes. Biden is risking his second term and our democracy by continuing his Gaza policy. He needs to change direction now or step aside a la LBJ in 1968
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