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pamphletstoinspire · 3 years

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Proclamation on 850th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket

Issued on: December 28, 2020

Today is the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket on December 29, 1170. Thomas Becket was a statesman, a scholar, a chancellor, a priest, an archbishop, and a lion of religious liberty.

Before the Magna Carta was drafted, before the right to free exercise of religion was enshrined as America’s first freedom in our glorious Constitution, Thomas gave his life so that, as he said, “the Church will attain liberty and peace.”

The son of a London sheriff and once described as “a low‑born clerk” by the King who had him killed, Thomas Becket rose to become the leader of the church in England. When the crown attempted to encroach upon the affairs of the house of God through the Constitutions of Clarendon, Thomas refused to sign the offending document. When the furious King Henry II threatened to hold him in contempt of royal authority and questioned why this “poor and humble” priest would dare defy him, Archbishop Becket responded “God is the supreme ruler, above Kings” and “we ought to obey God rather than men.”

Because Thomas would not assent to rendering the church subservient to the state, he was forced to forfeit all his property and flee his own country. Years later, after the intervention of the Pope, Becket was allowed to return — and continued to resist the King’s oppressive interferences into the life of the church. Finally, the King had enough of Thomas Becket’s stalwart defense of religious faith and reportedly exclaimed in consternation: “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”

The King’s knights responded and rode to Canterbury Cathedral to deliver Thomas Becket an ultimatum: give in to the King’s demands or die. Thomas’s reply echoes around the world and across the ages. His last words on this earth were these: “For the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.” Dressed in holy robes, Thomas was cut down where he stood inside the walls of his own church.

Thomas Becket’s martyrdom changed the course of history. It eventually brought about numerous constitutional limitations on the power of the state over the Church across the West. In England, Becket’s murder led to the Magna Carta’s declaration 45 years later that: “[T]he English church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished and its liberties unimpaired.”

When the Archbishop refused to allow the King to interfere in the affairs of the Church, Thomas Becket stood at the intersection of church and state. That stand, after centuries of state-sponsored religious oppression and religious wars throughout Europe, eventually led to the establishment of religious liberty in the New World. It is because of great men like Thomas Becket that the first American President George Washington could proclaim more than 600 years later that, in the United States, “All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship” and that “it is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.”

Thomas Becket’s death serves as a powerful and timeless reminder to every American that our freedom from religious persecution is not a mere luxury or accident of history, but rather an essential element of our liberty. It is our priceless treasure and inheritance. And it was bought with the blood of martyrs.

As Americans, we were first united by our belief that “rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God” and that defending liberty is more important than life itself. If we are to continue to be the land of the free, no government official, no governor, no bureaucrat, no judge, and no legislator must be allowed to decree what is orthodox in matters of religion or to require religious believers to violate their consciences. No right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous, and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions. As I declared in Krasiński Square in Warsaw, Poland on July 6, 2017, the people of America and the people of the world still cry out: “We want God.”

On this day, we celebrate and revere Thomas Becket’s courageous stand for religious liberty and we reaffirm our call to end religious persecution worldwide. In my historic address to the United Nations last year, I made clear that America stands with believers in every country who ask only for the freedom to live according to the faith that is within their own hearts. I also stated that global bureaucrats have absolutely no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that wish to protect innocent life, reflecting the belief held by the United States and many other countries that every child — born and unborn — is a sacred gift from God. Earlier this year, I signed an Executive Order to prioritize religious freedom as a core dimension of United States foreign policy. We have directed every Ambassador — and the over 13,000 United States Foreign Service officers and specialists — in more than 195 countries to promote, defend, and support religious freedom as a central pillar of American diplomacy.

We pray for religious believers everywhere who suffer persecution for their faith. We especially pray for their brave and inspiring shepherds — like Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong and Pastor Wang Yi of Chengdu — who are tireless witnesses to hope.

To honor Thomas Becket’s memory, the crimes against people of faith must stop, prisoners of conscience must be released, laws restricting freedom of religion and belief must be repealed, and the vulnerable, the defenseless, and the oppressed must be protected. The tyranny and murder that shocked the conscience of the Middle Ages must never be allowed to happen again. As long as America stands, we will always defend religious liberty.

A society without religion cannot prosper. A nation without faith cannot endure — because justice, goodness, and peace cannot prevail without the grace of God.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 29, 2020, as the 850th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket. I invite the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches and customary places of meeting with appropriate ceremonies in commemoration of the life and legacy of Thomas Becket.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

DONALD J. TRUMP

#st thomas beckett

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creepingsharia · 4 years

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540 Local Elected Officials From All 50 States Urge Prez Trump to Import More Refugees to U.S.

Joe Biden has promised to make this happen, including taking in foreigners from terrorist hotspots around the world. In fact, Joe Biden was one of the original architects of the fraud-ridden refugee program that has destroyed neighborhoods across the U.S.

by Ann Corcoran

I told you here that the refugee industry was working on a letter to the President urging him to get the refugee flow into America moving again.

Yesterday they sent the letter with 540 signatories.

Says Amnesty International:

By signing this letter, these elected officials have joined together to voice their commitment to welcoming refugees in their communities and reviving the United States’ legacy as a leader in refugee resettlement.

I notice something missing from the letter. It avoids giving the President a number, but the industry has made it very clear!

They want 95,000 refugees to begin arriving on October first.

The President could make a decision this month on how many refugees might be invited to live in the US in FY2021. He could also legally set the ceiling at zero.

All of my posts on the topic are tagged FY2021.

Here are the signatories from yesterday. The list is handy for identifying those local elected officials who are changing America by changing the people.

I don’t know why the organizers think that these open borders advocates will hold any sway with the President, but they sure make it handy for you to identify the other side where you live. Target them for retirement when they come up for re-election!

(For a little additional fun, see last year’s list here.)

They say the list is bipartisan, but there is no indication of party affiliation. You will need to look through those listed in your state to see if Republicans are among those looking to import more poverty to your city.

[Find your state in the list below the fold]

Alabama

Gary Palmer, State Representative, Birmingham Neil Rafferty, State Representative, Birmingham

Alaska Elvi Gray-Jackson, State Senator, Anchorage Andrew Josephson, State Representative, Juneau

Arizona Ylenia Aguilar, School Board Member, Phoenix Lela Alston, State Senator, Phoenix Richard Andrade, State Representative, Phoenix Andres Cano, State Representative, Tucson Steven Chapman, Governing Board Member, Phoenix Cesar Chavez, State Representative, Phoenix Paul Cunningham, Vice Mayor, Tucson Andrea Dalessandro, State Senator, Green Valley Devin Del Palacio, School Board Member, Tolleson Elora Diaz, School Governing Board Member, Phoenix Paul Durham, Councilmember, Tucson Diego Espinoza, State Representative, Avondale Charlene Fernandez, State Representative, Phoenix Kristel Ann Foster, School Board President, Tucson Randall Friese, State Representative, Tucson Rosanna Gabaldon, State Representative, Sahuarita Kate Gallego, Mayor, Phoenix Carlos Garcia, Councilmember, Phoenix Betty Guardado, Vice Mayor, Phoenix Daniel Hernandez, State Representative, Tucson Berdetta Hodge, Tempe Union Governing Board President, Tempe Steve Kozachik, Councilmember, Tucson Lauren Kuby, Councilmember, Tempe Pedro Lopez, Governing Board Member, Phoenix Adam Lopez-Falk, School Board Member, Phoenix Lindsay Love, Chandler Unified School District Governing Board Member, Chandler Juan Mendez, State Senator, Tempe Patrick Morales, Vice President of the Tempe School Elementary Board and Governing Board Member, Tempe The Honorable Channel Powe, Governing Board President, Phoenix Stanford Prescott, Governing Board Member, Phoenix Union High School District, Phoenix Martín Quezada, State Senator, Phoenix Rebecca Rios, State Senator, Phoenix Diego Rodriguez, State Representative, Laveen Regina Romero, Mayor, Tucson Athena Salman, State Representative, Tempe Lane Santa Cruz, Councilmember, Tucson Raquel Teran, State Representative, Phoenix Monica Trejo, School Board Member, Tempe Corey D. Woods, Mayor, Tempe

Arkansas Andrew Collins, State Representative, Little Rock Megan Godfrey, State Representative, Springdale Sonia Gutierrez, Councilmember, Fayetteville Lioneld Jordan, Mayor, Fayetteville Matthew Petty, Councilmember, Fayetteville Joy Springer, State Representative, Little Rock

California Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Assemblymember, Sacramento John J. Bauters, Councilmember, Emeryville Bob Blumenfield, Councilmember, Los Angeles Maya Esparza, Councilmember, San Jose Kevin Faulconer, Mayor, San Diego Eric Garcetti, Mayor, Los Angeles Sam Hindi, Councilmember, Foster City Johnny Khamis, Councilmember, San Jose Paul Koretz, Councilmember, Los Angeles Sheila Kuehl, County Supervisor, Los Angeles Gordon Mar, City and County Supervisor, San Francisco Peggy McQuaid, Vice Mayor, Albany Lisa Middleton, Councilmember, Palm Springs Hillary Ronen, Supervisor, San Francisco Philip Y. Ting, Assemblymember, San Francisco Norman Yee, President, Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco

Colorado KC Becker, State Representative, Boulder Yadira Caraveo, State Representative, Thornton Lisa Cutter, State Representative, Littleton Stephen Fenberg, State Senate Majority Leader, Boulder Stacie Gilmore, Councilmember, Denver Julie Gonzales, State Senator, Denver Michael Hancock, Mayor, Denver Eva Henry, County Commissioner, Thornton John Kefalas, County Commissioner, Fort Collins Chris Kennedy, State Representative, Lakewood Cathy Kipp, State Representative, Fort Collins Robin Kniech, Councilwoman At-Large, Denver Jacob LaBure, Councilman, Lakewood Pete Lee, State Senator, Colorado Springs Susan Lontine, State Representative, Denver Dominick Moreno, State Senator, Commerce City Crystal Murillo, Councilmember, Aurora Deborah Ortega, Councilmember At-Large, Denver Dylan Roberts, State Representative, Avon Amanda P. Sandoval, Councilwoman, Denver Lauren Simpson, Councilmember, Arvada Sam Weaver, Mayor, Boulder Steven Woodrow, State Representative, Denver

Connecticut Roland Lemar, State Representative, New Haven Matthew Lesser, State Senator, Middletown Edwin Vargas, State Representative, Hartford

Delaware Bruce C. Ennis, State Senator, Dover

District of Columbia Brianne K. Nadeau, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Councilmember Elissa Silverman, Councilmember

Florida Trish Becker, Special District County Commissioner, St. Augustine Christopher Benjamin, State Representative, Miami Gardens Lori Berman, State Senator, Delray Beach Mack Bernard, County Commissioner, West Palm Beach Marlon Bolton, Mayor, Tamarac Emma Collum, Supervisor, Fort Lauderdale Fentrice Driskell, State Representative, Tampa Bobby DuBose, State Representative, Fort Lauderdale Nicholas Duran, State Representative, Miami Buddy Dyer, Mayor, Orlando Anna Eskamani, State Representative, Orlando Jelani Harvey, Supervisor, Plantation Sabrina Javellana, Vice Mayor, Hallandale Beach Evan Jenne, State Representative, Hollywood Shevrin Jones, State Representative, West Park Dotie Joseph, State Representative, Miami Vanessa Joseph, City Clerk, North Miami Sarah Leonardi, Broward School Board Member-Elect, Pompano Beach Amy Mercado, State Representative, Orlando Cindy Polo, State Representative, Hialeah Tina Polsky, State Representative, Boca Raton Harold Pryor, Broward County State Attorney-Elect, Broward County Chelsea Reed, Councilmember, Palm Beach Gardens Alissa Schafer, Supervisor, Soil & Water Conservation District, Pembroke Pines Joshua Simmons, Commissioner, Coral Springs Nick Sortal, Councilmember, Plantation Carlos Guillermo Smith, State Representative, Orlando Linda Stewart, State Senator, Orlando Annette Taddeo, State Senator, Miami Victor Torres, State Senator, Orlando/Kissimmee

Georgia Becky Evans, State Representative, Atlanta Anthony Ford, Mayor, Stockbridge Steve Henson, State Senator, Stone Mountain Zulms Lopez, State Representative-Elect, Atlanta Pedro Marin, State Representative, Duluth

Hawaii Stanley Chang, State Representative, Honolulu Roy Takumi, State Representative, Honolulu Tina Wildberger, State Representative, Kihei

Idaho Shawn Barigar, Councilmember ember, Twin Falls Jimmy Hallyburton, Councilmember, Boise Kendra Kenyon, County Commissioner, Boise Diana Lachiondo, County Commissioner, Boise Lauren McLean, Mayor, Boise Lauren Necochea, State Representative, Boise Melissa Wintrow, State Representative, Boise

Illinois Alma Anaya, County Commissioner, Chicago Scott Britton, County Commissioner, Glenview James Cappleman, Alderman, Chicago Melissa Conyears-Ervin, City Treasurer, Chicago Daniel Didech, State Representative, Buffalo Grove Laura Fine, State Senator, Glenview Robyn Gabel, State Representative, Evanston Edgar Gonzalez, Jr., State Representative, Chicago Will Guzzardi, State Representative, Chicago Lindsey LaPointe, State Representative, Chicago Daniel La Spata, Alderman, Chicago Lori E. Lightfoot, Mayor, Chicago Raymond Lopez, Alderman, Chicago Matthew Martin, Alderman, Chicago Kevin Morrison, County Commissioner, Schaumburg Jonathan “Yoni” Pizer, State Representative, Chicago Ann Rainey, Alderman, Evanston George Van Dusen, Mayor, Skokie Andre Vasquez, Alderman, Chicago

Indiana Zach Adamson, City Councilor, Indianapolis John Hamilton, Mayor, Bloomington Blake Johnson, State Representative, Indianapolis

Iowa Marti Anderson, State Representative, Des Moines Tracy Ehlert, State Representative, Cedar Rapids Lindsay James, State Representative, Dubuque Mary Mascher, State Representative, Iowa City Andy McKean, State Representative, Anamosa Brent Oleson, County Commissioner, Marion Art Staed, State Representative, Cedar Rapids Zacharia Wahls, State Senator, Coralville Stacey Walker, County Supervisor, Cedar Rapids

Kansas Lacey Cruse, County Commissioner, Wichita Joyce Warshaw, Mayor, Dodge City Rui Xu, State Representative, Westwood

Kentucky Nima Kulkarni, State Representative, Louisville Susan Westrom, State Representative, Lexington

Louisiana Cyndi Nguyen, Councilmember, New Orleans

Maine Pious Ali, City Councilor At-Large, Portland Brownie Carson, State Senator, Harpswell Kristen S. Cloutier, State Representative, Lewiston Jim Handy, State Representative, Lewiston Thom Harnett, State Representative, Gardiner Deane Rykerson State Representative, Kittery Point Denise Tepler, State Representative, Topsham

Maryland Malcolm Augustine, State Senator, Annapolis Colin Byrd, Mayor, Greenbelt Julie Palakovich Carr, Delegate, District 17 Kathleen Dumais, State Representative, Annapolis Cindy Dyballa, Councilmember, Takoma Park Brian Feldman, State Senator, Annapolis Jessica Feldmark, Delegate, Columbia David Fraser-Hidalgo, Delegate, Annapolis Dannielle Glaros, County Councilmember, Upper Marlboro Evan Glass, County Councilmember, Montgomery County Edouard Haba, Councilmember, Hyattsville Tom Hucker, Montgomery County Councilmember, Silver Spring Julian Ivey, Delegate, Cheverly Anne Kaiser, Delegate, Silver Spring Kacy Kostiuk, Councilmember, Takoma Park Clarence Lam, State Senator, Columbia Susan Lee, State Senator, Annapolis Mary Lehman, State Representative, Laurel Sara Love, Delegate, Annapolis David Moon, Delegate, Takoma Park Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Delegate, Annapolis Paul Pinsky, State Senator, Hyattsville Sheila Ruth, Delegate, Baltimore Emily Shetty, Delegate, Kensington Jeffrey Zane Slavin, Mayor, Somerset Kate Stewart, Mayor, Takoma Park Deni Taveras, County Councilmember, Adelphi Jeff Waldstreicher, State Senator, Kensington Jheanelle Wilkins, Delegate, Silver Spring Patrick Wojahn, Mayor, College Park

Massachusetts Kenzie Bok, Councilor, Boston Candy Mero Carlson, City Councilor, Worcester Harriette Chandler, State Senator, Worcester Jo Comerford, State Senator, Florence Natalie Higgins, State Representative, Leominster Adam Hinds, State Senator, Pittsfield Kay Khan, State Representative, Newton Daniel Koh, Selectboard Member, Andover Jack Patrick Lewis, State Representative, Framingham Michael Moore, State Senator, Worcester David J. Narkewicz, Mayor, Northampton Tram Nguyen, State Representative, Andover William Reichelt, Mayor , West Springfield Lindsay Sabadosa, State Representative, Northampton Jeffrey Thielman, Arlington School Committee Member, Arlington Martin J. Walsh, Mayor, Boston

Michigan Rosalynn Bliss, Mayor, Grand Rapids Brandon Haskell, County Commissioner, Lansing Steve Maas, Mayor, City of Grandville Gwen Markham, County Commissioner, Novi William Miller, County Commissioner, Pontiac Kurt Reppart, City Commissioner, Grand Rapids Monica Sparks, County Commissioner, Kentwood Robert Wittenberg, State Representative, Huntington Woods Milinda Ysasi, City Commissioner, Grand Rapids Doug Zylstra, County Commissioner, Holland

Minnesota Peter Fischer, State Representative, Maplewood Jacob Frey, Mayor, Minneapolis Cam Gordon, Councilmember, Minneapolis Alice Hausman, State Representative, Saint Paul Kaohly Her, State Representative, Saint Paul Melissa Hortman, State Representative, Brooklyn Park Mitra Jalali, Councilmember, Saint Paul Frank Jewell, County Commissioner, Duluth Andrew Johnson, Councilmember, Minneapolis Sydney Jordan, State Representative, Minneapolis Fue Lee, State Representative, Saint Paul Jamie Long, State Representative, Minneapolis John Marty, State Senator, Roseville Rena Moran, State Representative, Saint Paul Beth Olson, County Commissioner, Duluth Rafael E. Ortega, County Commissioner, Saint Paul Sandy Pappas, State Senator, Saint Paul Dave Pinto, State Representative, Saint Paul Victoria Reinhardt, County Commissioner, White Bear Lake Cory Springhorn, Councilmember, Shoreview Jay Xiong, State Representative, Saint Paul

Mississippi Christopher Bell, State Representative, Jackson Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Mayor, Jackson

Missouri LaDonna Appelbaum, State Representative, St. Louis Shane Cohn, Alderman, St. Louis Marlene Davis, Alderwoman, St. Louis Christine Ingrassia, Alderwoman, St. Louis Kip Kendrick, State Representative, Columbia Lyda Krewson, Mayor, St. Louis Heather Navarro, Alderwoman, St. Louis Lewis Reed, President, Board of Aldermen, St. Louis Annie Rice, Alderwoman, St. Louis

Montana Dick Barrett, State Senator, Missoula Mary Ann Dunwell, State Representative, Helena John Engen, Mayor, Missoula Moffie Funk, State Representative, Helena Katharin Kelker, State Representative, Billings Marilyn Marler, State Representative, Missoula Penny Ronning, Councilwoman, Billings David Strohmaier, County Commissioner, Missoula Juanita Vero, County Commissioner, Missoula Tom Winter, State Representative, Missoula

Nebraska Leirion Gaylor Baird, Mayor, Lincoln Sue Crawford, State Senator, Bellevue Machaela Cavanaugh, State Senator, Lincoln

Nevada Yvanna Cancela, State Senator, Las Vegas Howard Watts, Assemblymember, Las Vegas

New Hampshire Amanda Bouldin, State Representative, Manchester Andrew Bouldin, State Representative, Manchester Lisa Bunker, State Representative, Exeter Joyce Craig, Mayor, Manchester David Doherty, State Representative, Pembroke Nicole Klein Knight, State Representative, Manchester Patrick Long, State Representative & Alderman, Manchester Dr. Peter Somssich, State Representative, Portsmouth George Sykes, State Representative, Lebanon Suzanne Vail, State Representative, Nashua Mary Beth Walz, State Representative, Bow Safiya Wazir, State Representative, Concord Matthew B. Wilhelm, State Representative, Manchester

New Jersey Jim Boyes, Councilman, Westfield David Cohen, Council President, Princeton Leticia Fraga, Councilwoman, Princeton Roy Freiman, Assemblymember, Hillsborough Sadaf Jaffer, Mayor, Montgomery Township Devra Keenan, Committee Member, Montgomery Township, New Jersey Michelle Pirone Lambros, Councilwoman, Princeton Liz Lempert, Mayor, Princeton Gayle Brill Mittler, Mayor, Highland Park Eve Niedergang, Councilmember, Princeton Mia Sacks, Councilmember, Princeton Dwaine Williamson, Councilman, Princeton

New Mexico Karen Bash, State Representative, Albuquerque Timothy Keller, Mayor, Albuquerque Gerald Ortiz y Pino, State Senator, Albuquerque Bill Tallman, State Senator, Albuquerque Renee Villarreal, Councilwoman, Santa Fe

New York Alessandra Biaggi, State Senator, Bronx Karla Boyce, County Legislator, Honeoye Falls Noam Bramson, Mayor, New Rochelle Byron W. Brown, Mayor, Buffalo David Buchwald, Assemblymember, Mount Kisco Bill de Blasio, Mayor, New York City Margaret Chin, Councilmember, New York City Patricia Fahy, Assemblymember, Albany Vincent Felder, Minority Leader of the Monroe County Legislature, Rochester Andrew Gounardes, State Senator, New York City Brad Hoylman, State Senator, New York City Timothy Kennedy, State Senator, Buffalo Liz Krueger, State Senator, New York City Charles Lavine, Assemblymember, Glen Cove Donna Lupardo, Assemblymember, Binghamton Rachel May, State Senator, Syracuse Félix W. Ortiz, Assemblymember, Brooklyn Amy Paulin, Assemblymember, Scarsdale Karines Reyes, Assemblymember, Bronx Carlina Rivera, Councilmember, New York City Linda B. Rosenthal, Assemblymember, New York City Nily Rozic, Assemblymember, Queens Sean Ryan, Assemblymember, Buffalo Kathy Sheehan, Mayor, Albany MaryJane Shimsky, County Legislator, White Plains Jo Anne Simon, Assemblymember, Brooklyn Colin D. Smith, Westchester County Legislator, Peekskill Fred Thiele, Assemblymember, Sag Harbor Daniel Torres, Deputy Supervisor, New Paltz Lovely Warren, Mayor, Rochester Steven Weinberg, Mayor, Village of Thomaston David Weprin, Assemblymember, Fresh Meadows Gregory Young, County Supervisor, Gloversville

North Carolina Vickie Adamson, County Commissioner, Raleigh John Autry, State Representative, Raleigh Mary Belk, State Representative, Charlotte Natalie Beyer, School Board Member, Durham Javiera Caballero, Councilmember, Durham Heidi Carter, County Commissioner, Durham Susan Fisher, State Representative, Asheville Pam Hemminger, Mayor, Chapel Hill Wendy Jacobs, County Commissioner Chair, Durham Jillian Johnson, Mayor Pro Tempore, Durham Lydia Lavelle, Mayor, Carrboro Esther Manheimer, Mayor, Asheville Graig Meyer, State Representative, Raleigh Robert Reives, State Representative, Raleigh Susan Rodriguez-McDowell, County Commissioner, Charlotte Steve Schewel, Mayor, Durham Damon Seils, Councilmember, Carrboro Kandie Smith, State Representative, Greenville Terry Van Duyn, State Senator, Asheville Braxton Winston, Councilmember, Charlotte

North Dakota Tim Mathern, State Senator, Fargo

Ohio Elizabeth Brown, Council President Pro Tempore, Columbus Phyllis Cleveland, Councilmember, Cleveland Valerie Cumming, Vice Mayor, Westerville David Donofrio, Board of Education Member, Southwestern City School District, Columbus Rob Dorans, Councilmember, Columbus Basheer Jones, Councilman, Cleveland Wade Kapszukiewicz, Mayor, Toledo Brian Kazy, Councilman, Cleveland Leeman Kessler, Mayor, Gambier David Leland, State Representative, Columbus Dale Miller, County Councilperson, Cleveland Bhuwan Pyakurel, Councilmember, Reynoldsburg Emmanuel Remy, Councilmember, Columbus Matt Zone, Councilmember, Cleveland

Oklahoma Carrie Blumert, County Commissioner, Oklahoma City James Cooper, Councilperson, Oklahoma City Carri Hicks, State Senator, Oklahoma City

Oregon Chloe Eudaly, Commissioner, Portland Kathryn Harrington, Washington County Commission Chair, Hillsboro Susheela Jayapal, County Commissioner, Portland Alissa Keny-Guyer, State Representative, Portland Teresa Alonso Leon, State Representative, Salem Eddy Morales, Gresham City Councilor, Gresham Sharon Meieran, County Commissioner, Portland Jessica Vega Pederson, County Commissioner, Portland Carla C. Piluso, State Representative, Gresham Carmen Rubio, County Commissioner, Portland Jeff Reardon, State Representative, Portland Ricki Ruiz, Reynolds School Board Member, Gresham Deian Salazar, Precinct Committee Person, Portland Marc San Soucie, City Councilor, Beaverton Lori Stegmann, County Commissioner, Portland Stephanie Stephens, School Board Member, David Douglas School District, Portland Andrea Valderrama, Chair, David Douglas School Board, Portland Marty Wilde, State Representative, Eugene

Pennsylvania Janet Diaz, Councilmember, Lancaster Ronald Filippelli, Mayor, State College Jordan Harris, State Representative (Democratic Whip), Philadelphia Timothy Kearney, State Senator, Springfield James F. Kenney, Mayor, Philadelphia Kevin Madden, County Commissioner, Media Joanna McClinton, State Representative, Philadelphia William Peduto, Mayor, Pittsburgh Joseph Schember, Mayor, Erie Michael Schlossberg, State Representative, Allentown Judith Schwank, State Senator, Reading Brian Sims, State Representative, Philadelphia Jared Solomon, State Representative, Philadelphia Danene Sorace, Mayor, Lancaster Erika Strassburger, Councilmember, Pittsburgh

Rhode Island Jorge Elorza, Mayor, Providence Raymond Hull, State Representative, Providence

South Carolina Carol Jackson, Councilmember, Charleston

South Dakota Shawn Bordeaux, State Representative, Mission Linda Duba, State Representative, Sioux Falls Reynold Nesiba, State Senator, Sioux Falls Ray Ring, State Representative, Vermillion

Tennessee John Ray Clemmons, State Representative, Nashville Indya Kincannon, Mayor, Knoxville Seema Singh, Councilwoman, Knoxville Tangi Smith, County Commissioner, Clarksville

Texas Nicole Collier, State Representative, Fort Worth Vikki Goodwin, State Representative, Austin Donna Howard, State Representative, Austin Celia Israel, State Representative, Austin Clay Jenkins, County Judge, Dallas Ina Minjarez, State Representative, San Antonio Christin Morales, State Representative, Houston Ron Nirenberg, Mayor, San Antonio Letitia Plummer, Councilmember, Houston Edward Pollard, Councilmember, Houston Carl Sherman, State Representative, Lancaster Sylvester Turner, Mayor , Houston

Utah Patrice Arent, State Representative, Millcreek Joel Briscoe, State Representative, Salt Lake City Luz Escamilla, State Senator, Salt Lake City Ann Granato, Salt Lake County Council, Millcreek Stephen Handy, State Representative, Layton Suzanne Harrison, State Representative, Draper Timothy Hawkes, State Representative, Centerville Sandra Hollins, State Representative, Salt Lake City Jani Iwamoto, State Senator-Assistant Minority Whip, Salt Lake City Dan Johnson, State Representative, Logan Brian S. King, State Representative, Salt Lake City Erin Mendenhall, Mayor, Salt Lake City Carol Spackman Moss, State Representative, Holladay Angela Romero, State Representative, Salt Lake City Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor, Millcreek Steve Waldrip, State Representative, Eden Raymond Ward, State Representative, Bountiful Elizabeth Weight, State Representative, West Valley City Mark Wheatley, State Representative, Salt Lake City Jenny Wilson, Mayor, Salt Lake County Mike Winder, State Representative, West Valley

Vermont Thomas Chittenden, City Councilor, South Burlington Brian Cina, State Representative, Burlington Mari Cordes, State Representative, Lincoln Ali Dieng, City Councilor, Burlington Sarah Copeland Hanzas, State Representative, Bradford Kristine Lott, Mayor, Winooski Jim McCullough, State Representative, Williston Ann Pugh, State Representative, South Burlington Marybeth Redmond, State Representative, Essex Robin Scheu, State Representative, Middlebury Joan Shannon, Councilor, Burlington Maida F. Townsend, State Representative, South Burlington Theresa Wood, State Representative, Waterbury Michael Yantachka, State Representative, Charlotte

Virginia Richard Baugh, Councilmember, Harrisonburg Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Vice Mayor, Alexandria Patrick Hope, Delegate, Arlington Mark Keam, Delegate, Vienna McKinley Price, Mayor, Newport News Sam Rasoul, Delegate, Roanoke Sal Romero, Vice Mayor, Harrisonburg Ibraheem Samirah, Delegate, Herndon Shelly Anne Simonds, Delegate, Newport News Kathy Tran, Delegate, Springfield James Walkinshaw, Supervisor, Fairfax County Justin Wilson, Mayor, Alexandria

Washington Claudia Balducci, County Council Chair, Seattle Reuven Carlyle, State Senator, Seattle Jeannie Darneille, State Senator, Tacoma Mona Das, State Senator, Olympia Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor, Seattle Joe Fitzgibbon, State Representative, West Seattle Jessica Forsythe, Councilmember, Redmond M. Lorena González, City Council President, Seattle Roger Goodman, State Representative, Kirkland Mia Gregerson, State Representative, SeaTac Lisa Herbold, Councilmember, Seattle Sam Hunt, State Senator, Olympia Jay Inslee, Governor, Olympia Karen Keiser, State Senator, Des Moines Jeanne Kohl-Welles, King County Councilmember, Seattle Connie Ladenburg, County Councilmember, Tacoma Liz Lovelett, State Senator, Anacortes Jamie Pedersen, State Senator, Seattle Gerry Pollet, State Representative, Seattle Chris Roberts, Councilmember, Shoreline Cindy Ryu, State Representative, Shoreline Rebecca Saldana, State Senator, Seattle Sharon Tomiko Santos, State Representative, Olympia Tana Senn, State Representative, Mercer Island Derek Stanford, State Senator, Bothell My-Linh Thai, State Representative, Newcastle Dave Upthegrove, Councilmember, Des Moines Javier Valdez, State Representative, Seattle Derek Young, County Councilmember, Tacoma

West Virginia Rosemary Ketchum, Councilwoman, Wheeling

Wisconsin Samba Baldeh, Alder, Madison Shiva Bidar, Councilmember, Madison David Bowen, State Representative, Milwaukee Jonathan Brostoff, State Representative, Milwaukee Ryan Clancy, County Supervisor, Milwaukee Michele Doolan, Dane County Supervisor, Cross Plains Julie Gordon, County Board Supervisor, Oshkosh Michael Norton, County Commissioner, Oshkosh Shawn Rolland, County Board Supervisor, Wauwatosa Sequanna Taylor, County Supervisor, Milwaukee Michael Tierney, Alder, Madison Michael Verveer, Alderperson, Madison

Wyoming Charles Pelkey, State Representative, Laramie Mike Yin, State Representative, Jackson

#Immigration #Legal #Law #Politics #News #Media #Election #Finance #Islam #Muslim #Sharia #Jihad #Terror

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Four Million Indians in One State Risk Being Denied Citizenship. Most Are Muslims. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/world/asia/india-muslims-narendra-modi.html

Donald Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s "nativist" policies are reverberating around the the world. 😢😢😭😭

Four Million Indians Risk Being Denied Citizenship. Most Are Muslims.

By Jeffrey Gettleman and Hari Kumar

Aug. 17, 2019

NEW DELHI — More than four million people in India, mostly Muslims, are at risk of being declared foreign migrants as the government pushes a hard-line Hindu nationalist agenda that has challenged the country’s pluralist traditions and aims to redefine what it means to be Indian.

The hunt for migrants is unfolding in Assam, a poor, hilly state near the borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh. Many of the people whose citizenship is now being questioned were born in India and have enjoyed all the rights of citizens, such as voting in elections.

State authorities are rapidly expanding foreigner tribunals and planning to build huge new detention camps. Hundreds of people have been arrested on suspicion of being a foreign migrant — including a Muslim veteran of the Indian Army. Local activists and lawyers say the pain of being left off a preliminary list of citizens and the prospect of being thrown into jail have driven dozens to suicide.

But the governing party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not backing down.

Instead, it is vowing to bring this campaign to force people to prove they are citizens to other parts of India, part of a far-reaching Hindu nationalist program fueled by Mr. Modi’s sweeping re-election victory in May and his stratospheric popularity.

Members of India’s Muslim minority are growing more fearful by the day. Assam’s anxiously watched documentation of citizenship — a drive that began years ago and is scheduled to wrap up on Aug. 31 — coincides with another setback for Muslims, this one transpiring more than a thousand miles away.

Less than two weeks ago, Mr. Modi unilaterally wiped out the statehood of India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir, removing its special autonomy and turning it into a federal territory without any consultation with local leaders — many of whom have since been arrested.

Among Mr. Modi’s critics, events in Assam and Kashmir are Exhibits A and B in their conviction that the prime minister is using the early months of his second term to push the most forceful and divisive Hindu nationalist agenda ever attempted in India and to fundamentally reconfigure the concept of Indian identity to be synonymous with being Hindu. Many Indians, on both sides of the political divide, see Assam and Kashmir as harbingers of the direction Mr. Modi will take this nation of 1.3 billion people in the coming years.

The stated purpose of the citizenship dragnet in Assam is to find undocumented immigrants from Bangladesh — a predominantly Muslim country to its south. Amit Shah, India’s powerful home minister, has repeatedly referred to those immigrants as “termites.’’

All of the 33 million residents of Assam have had to prove, with documentary evidence, that they or their ancestors were Indian citizens before early 1971, when Bangladesh was established after breaking away from Pakistan. That is not easy. Many families are racing to get their hands on a decades-old property deed or fraying birth certificate with an ancestor’s name on it.

Beyond this, Mr. Modi’s government has tried to pass a bill in Parliament that carves out exemptions for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and people from other religions — but leaves out Muslims.

Mr. Modi’s critics say he is playing a dangerous game and pulling apart the diverse, delicate social fabric that has existed in India for centuries.

The prime minister’s political roots lie in a Hindu nationalist movement that emphasizes the religion’s supremacy. This worldview has a long history of sowing division between the country’s Hindu majority and Muslim minority, at times exploding in violence.

Assam has been hit by its own troubles and ethnic bloodshed. But the violence being reported now is self-inflicted.

Noor Begum, who lived in a small hamlet in a flood-soaked district, spiraled into depression after finding out that she and her mother had been excluded from the citizenship lists. Her father and seven siblings had made it.

It didn’t make any sense to the family: Why, if they all lived together and were born in the same place, would some be considered Indian while others illegal foreigners?

“Of course she was Indian,” said her father, Abdul Kalam, a retired laborer. “She used to sing Indian national songs at school. She felt very Indian.”

On a bright morning in June, Noor hanged herself from a rafter. She was 14.

Many Muslims in Kashmir are despondent as well. After Mr. Modi’s government erased Kashmir’s autonomy, thousands of outraged Kashmiris took to the streets, only to be locked down by a heavy deployment of security forces and a smothering communications blackout.

Kashmir has long been a flash point. Both India and Pakistan control different parts of it and several times, the tensions have driven the two nuclear armed rivals to war or dangerously close to it.

Though the Indian government has eased some of the communication restrictions in the past few days, hundreds of Kashmiri intellectuals are still under arrest and Pakistan is seething.

The tension with Pakistan tends to lift Mr. Modi’s political fortunes. His forceful stand against India’s No. 1 enemy just adds to his image as an unswerving patriot and one of the most decisive and powerful prime ministers India has produced in decades.

Many in India’s Hindu majority don’t object to Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies or even seem to think too much about them. They praise what they see as the strides he has made in fighting poverty and projecting a more muscular image of India on the world stage.

But critics say his Hindu nationalist beliefs are central to who he is and intentionally divisive, engineered to win votes from the Hindu majority. India is about 80 percent Hindu and 14 percent Muslim. (Christians, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists make up most of the rest of the population.)

A small but vocal minority of left-leaning intellectuals, Muslim leaders and opposition politicians has tried to turn public opinion against Mr. Modi’s policies without much success.

What is happening in Assam and Kashmir “is an assault on the very imagination of India, of the freedom struggle, of the Constitution, of the idea of a country in which everyone belongs equally,” said Harsh Mander, a former civil servant turned human rights activist.

“Muslims are the enemy,” he said. “It’s a war on the Indian Constitution.”

Ashutosh Varshney, the head of Brown University’s South Asia program, said that India “in all probability and unless checked is headed toward a Hindu nationalist, majoritarian state.”

With the political opposition in total disarray and all government agencies — especially the bureaucracy and the security apparatus — firmly in Mr. Modi’s hands, Mr. Varshney said the only hope for India’s secular democracy is in the courts.

But, he cautioned, “The judiciary might well surrender.”

Even a streak of alarming headlines in recent weeks, including big job losses in the auto sector, deadly flooding across the country and a new outbreak of violence by Hindu mobs against Muslims, hasn’t dented Mr. Modi’s popularity.

Outsiders may wonder how any political movement in India could question Muslims’ contribution to society. India is a thoroughly multicultural place, and Muslims have contributed for centuries, even ruling the country at times. Muslim emperors built some of India’s brightest cultural treasures, including the Taj Mahal.

But since Mr. Modi took office in 2014, government bodies have rewritten history books, lopping out sections on Muslim rulers, and changed official place names to Hindu from Muslim. Hindu mobs have lynched dozens of Muslims; participants are rarely punished.

Mr. Modi and allies in his Bharatiya Janata Party, known as the B.J.P., have denied any anti-Muslim bias and rejected criticism that the way they have handled the mass citizenship check in Assam has been harsh or discriminatory. State level officials in Assam said this was purely an administrative exercise to ferret out people who have no legal right to stay in India.

Rupam Goswami, a spokesman for the state B.J.P. party, said the registry “is only a process of documentation.”

Like much of India, Assam has reflected a tapestry of different ethnic groups and religions for as long as anyone can remember. Its beautiful tea estates have attracted flocks of migrant workers.

But many indigenous Assamese, who are mostly Hindu, have resented immigrants from Bangladesh, saying that the ethnic Bengalis were coming into their state and taking away their jobs and their land. In 1983, this locals-versus-outsider enmity blew up.

Assamese villagers slaughtered more than 1,000 ethnic Bengalis, many of them Muslim — scholars say that most ethnic Bengalis in Assam are Muslim. In 2012, another smaller wave of violence erupted.

The next year, India’s Supreme Court set in motion a process for a large-scale registration of citizens to be updated in Assam. This would determine who was an Indian and who was not. The deadline for residents to provide documentary proof that they or their ancestors have a legacy as Indian citizens, going back to March 1971 or earlier, has been extended several times.

Though this issue predates Mr. Modi’s taking India’s reins in 2014, the B.J.P. has aggressively backed the process, with Mr. Shah vowing to clear out all the “termites.’’

When a preliminary Assam citizenship list was published in 2018, leaving off four million people, scholars said the majority were Muslim but large numbers of Bengali-speaking Hindus were also excluded.

The B.J.P. then had to regroup. Its response was to push a new citizenship bill that said migrants from neighboring countries who were Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsees or Jains would be eligible for Indian citizenship. One of South Asia’s biggest religious groups was conspicuously left off: Muslims.

The government said it was trying to help religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. To critics, it looked like another anti-Muslim campaign, plain and simple.

The bill sailed through the lower house of Parliament but stalled after many Assamese politicians said they didn’t like the religious dimension the B.J.P. was injecting — or the possibility that the large number of Hindu Bengalis would be given an exception. Some B.J.P. politicians say they want to revive it.

Many of the people whose names were left off the list were born in India, lived here all their lives and were considered citizens in every right.

One of them was Mohammed Sanaullah, a retired army captain. In May, he was picked up on suspicion of being an illegal migrant and jailed for nearly two weeks.

Mr. Sanaullah said he was totally demoralized.

“I am an Indian, my father is an Indian, my grandfather was an Indian, my forefathers were Indian. They were all born in India. We will be Indian forever,” he said.

The Assam state government sends suspected foreign migrants to foreigner tribunals, a growing network of more than 100 small courts where the onus is on the suspects to provide the proof that the government is demanding. Human rights observers have complained that the proceedings often discriminate against Muslims and are the equivalent of sham trials.

The B.J.P. doesn’t want to stop at Assam.

Mr. Shah and other party leaders have promised their supporters that they will bring mass citizenship reviews across the country. Human rights activists fear these could be used to discriminate against minorities and this will be made easier because, under Supreme Court rules, individuals are allowed to legally challenge another’s citizenship.

More than 3.5 million people who have so far been left off the Assam citizenship list have filed challenges to their exclusion, and state-level officials are reviewing these claims.

But Assam is not waiting. The state government, which is controlled by an arm of the B.J.P., is planning to build 10 new detention camps with the capacity to hold thousands of people.

Bangladesh has not been eager to accept the ethnic Bengalis in Assam as citizens either. That could leave many languishing in a legal no-man’s land without many rights.

Critics say what is happening in both Kashmir and Assam are attempts to change the demographics in these areas in favor of Hindus. Kashmiris fear the government’s real plan in wiping out their autonomy is to pave the way to resettle large numbers of Hindu Indians in Kashmir and end its status as the one Muslim-majority territory in India.

Under the changes, Kashmiris will lose the special land rights they used to hold that made it difficult for non-Kashmiris to buy land in their state. Mr. Modi has argued that the new arrangement will bring outside investment, better governance and a “new dawn.”

But other Indian states have similar protections for local residents and Mr. Modi’s party is not trying to change those.

Critics say the difference is obvious: Those states are not Muslim.

Suhasini Raj contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Shajid Khan from Rowmari Chapari, Assam.

#politics #u.s. news #world news #international news #india pakistan latest news #india #racism #religion #human rights #humanrights #kashmir #refugees #muslim #islamophobia

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go-redgirl · 6 years

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President Donald J. Trump Proclaims Memorial Day, May 28, as a Day of Prayer for Permanent Peace The White House ^ | Issued on: May 25, 2018 | President Donald J. Trump

On Memorial Day, we pause in solemn gratitude to pay tribute to the brave patriots who laid down their lives defending peace and freedom while in military service to our great Nation. We set aside this day to honor their sacrifice and to remind all Americans of the tremendous price of our precious liberty.

Throughout the history of our Republic, courageous Americans have purchased our cherished freedom with their lives. Our 151 national cemeteries serve as the final resting place for millions of people, including veterans from every war and conflict, many of whom died while serving our country. We remain duty bound to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf and to remember them with thankfulness and unwavering pride. The fallen — our treasured loved ones, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens — deserve nothing less from a grateful Nation.

We must safeguard the legacies of our service members so that our children and our grandchildren will understand the sacrifices of our Armed Forces. As a part of this effort, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working to keep the memories of our fallen heroes from ever fading away. The National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program challenges our youth, from elementary school through college, to research and share the stories and sacrifice of their hometown veterans, who are forever honored at VA National, State, and tribal veterans cemeteries. To further ensure that our veterans’ legacies are remembered and celebrated, this program is developing an online memorialization platform that will amplify the voices of families, survivors, and Gold Star parents and spouses as they honor our beloved veterans and fallen service members.

Today, and every day, we revere those who have died in noble service to our country. I call upon all Americans to remember the selfless service members who have been laid to rest in flag-draped coffins and their families who have suffered the greatest loss. The sacrifices of our hallowed dead demand our Nation’s highest honor and deepest gratitude. On this day, let us also unite in prayer for lasting peace in our troubled world so that future generations will enjoy the blessings of liberty and independence.

In honor and recognition of all of our fallen heroes, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 11, 1950, as amended (36 U.S.C. 116), has requested the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. The Congress, by Public Law 106-579, has also designated 3:00 p.m. local time on that day as a time for all Americans to observe, in their own way, the National Moment of Remembrance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 28, 2018, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer.

I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day.

I also request the Governors of the United States and its Territories, and the appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct the flag be flown at half-staff until noon on this Memorial Day on all buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and in all areas under its jurisdiction and control. I also request the people of the United States to display the flag at half-staff from their homes for the customary forenoon period.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.

DONALD J. TRUMP

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debra2007-blog · 3 years

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The Truth About Martin Luther King, Jr. AKA Michael King January 18, 2021 In November of 2017, President Trump instructed the National Archives to release hundreds of previously-sealed documents which pertained to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Included among these documents were two FBI files which, curiously enough, have little to do with the Kennedy assassination but could have great bearing on the current struggles of the Dissident Right. In Part 1 of this series, we covered the May 1967 FBI report entitled “Racial Violence Potential in the United States This Summer.”

Now I will discuss the second document, “Martin Luther King, Jr., an Analysis,” which was dated March 12, 1968, just three weeks before King’s assassination.

It always hurts to see one’s icons destroyed. Those icons are really what link a person to a greater humanity and whatever lies beyond it. It’s as if through an icon a person can channel an identity which signifies something much greater than himself. Icons can pull people into their orbits and inspire love and awe. People derive meaning and self-worth through them. Icons can also compete. Different groups may share an icon, or their incompatible icons may prevent them from coexisting. But in all cases, serious espionage prostrate themselves before their icons. It’s sort of like kissing the ring of a mafia boss. It’s done for protection. If you’re going to get to me, first you have to get through him.

In releasing the FBI’s 20-page analysis of Martin Luther King, President Trump recently took a serious swing at one of the Left’s most precious icons. The information in it is quite damning, and it hits King’s legacy from several directions. If people on the Right take up where Trump left off by internalizing the document and by going on the offensive with it against the Left, King’s potency as an icon will be greatly reduced. It sort of reminds me of how Sean Hannity would often mention Chappaquiddick whenever the topic of Ted Kennedy came up on his show. It was his way of shaming his opponents for supporting an icon that was not only all too human, but at times even less than that.

For students of the Civil Rights Movement, the FBI’s analysis may not reveal very much new information about King (although there is some). King’s heyday is still well within living memory, and contemporaneous knowledge and rumor surrounding the man has had a way of trickling up to the present day, especially within conservative and rightist circles. The major knocks against him are that he plagiarized his doctoral thesis in systematic theology at Boston University in the mid-1950s, that he frequently engaged in extramarital sex, and that he was closely linked to the Communist Party, USA (CPUSA). The FBI file addresses these last two issues, in some cases down to niggling detail, and leads one to conclude that Martin Luther King was little more than a sex addict and a shill for the Communist Party.

The sexual indiscretions harm King’s legacy, of course, but in the near-fifty years since his death, King’s friends and admirers have successfully whitewashed a good deal of it. Have a look at this Wikipedia article, which I believe sticks to the leftist party line on King. In the section entitled “Adultery,” the article’s authors and their various sources refer blandly to King’s “affairs,” “liaisons,” “infidelities,” and (best of all) “incidental couplings.” King colleague and eventual successor at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Ralph Abernathy wrote of King’s “weakness for women,” and claimed he had a “difficult time with temptation.” Another writer describes King’s promiscuity as “a form of anxiety reduction” which caused him a great deal of “painful and at times overwhelming guilt.”

The whitewashing of King’s prodigious sexual appetites goes on to this day. For example, CNN called the document’s frank disclosures of King’s conduct as “insinuations and assertions about King’s personal life” and describes King’s behavior as “extramarital affairs and other sexual improprieties.” CNN then quotes the current director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute who accuses the authors of the document (or perhaps Trump himself) of attempting to “damage Martin Luther King’s reputation.”

So, basically, in the eyes of the Left, Martin Luther King, Jr. is a victim who is as innocent as he could possibly be and still be guilty. Given the Left’s overall tolerance of sexual promiscuity and deviancy, this means he’s not really guilty at all. At least not until the National Archives releases the FBI surveillance tapes and transcripts to the public in 2027.

So what did the FBI disclose? In the report’s final section, entitled “King’s Personal Conduct,” it states that in February 1968, while running a “workshop” on urban leadership in Miami, King hired prostitutes with funds from the Ford Foundation. He then engaged in binge drinking and group sex acts which the FBI describes as “deviating from the normal.” The FBI also relates how King participated in another “drunken sex orgy” in Washington, DC back in 1964. The sex acts were both “natural and unnatural” according to the FBI and were performed “for the entertainment of onlookers.”

In the 1960s, this was the pattern for King, who, according to the FBI, “has continued to carry on his sexual aberrations secretly while holding himself out to public view as a moral leader of religious conviction.”

As for bombshells in the sexual improprieties department, the file reveals that King may have sired a baby girl out of wedlock with the wife of a “prominent Negro dentist in Los Angeles.” He also reportedly had sexual relations with folk singer Joan Baez.

Note how King’s defenders refer to all this as King’s “personal life” or, when forced to, admit his excesses only in the most anodyne terms, such as “affairs.” No, King didn't just have “affairs.” He had sex parties.

Furthermore, the FBI analysis did not infringe upon King’s “personal life” because what King did wasn't merely personal. What one does in the bedroom with one’s spouse or significant other is “personal.” I’ll even grant that what one does during a discreet tryst in a hotel room can also be construed as “personal.” Drunken orgies, on the other hand, especially those involving prostitutes and paid for by grant money, cannot possibly be considered “personal.” No, such behavior is quite public — not to mention hypocritical — when engaged in by a public figure who dedicates his life to holding his nation up to unrealistically high moral standards.

Even more inflammatory about the FBI report — although reported on less since its release — is its assertion that King often acted at the behest of his communist puppet masters. Where the two pages covering King’s sexual misconduct challenge his high moral standing as a Civil Rights Era icon, the ten or so pages covering his communist activities bluntly call into question his intellectual capacities as a leader of men. Unsurprisingly, the name Stanley Levison appears many times in the document. Levison was a Jewish attorney and “shrewd, dedicated communist” who acted for many years as King’s “Assistant Chief” and who also served as a clandestine fund-raiser for the CPUSA. The FBI claims that King often looked to Levison for instruction and approval before acting, and that Levison used King to further the communist agenda (which by the 1960s included linking the so-called “Negro people’s freedom movement” with anti-Vietnam War effort).

Levison gravitated to Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1956. He has been as dedicated in his support of King as he has been in advancing communist goals. He has actively involved himself in fund-raising drives for King, served as his legal counsel in certain matters, suggested speech material for him, discussed with King demonstrations in which King was involved, guided him in regard to acceptance or rejection of various public appearances and speaking commitments, and helped him with matters related to articles and books King has prepared.

According to the FBI, Levison also ghostwrote a chapter in King’s book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?. Most damning, however, is the FBI’s assertion that Levison considered King a “slow thinker” and insisted that he never issue statements without first seeking approval from him (Levison) or his other advisors.

Levison also served as the SCLC’s assistant treasurer in the early 1960s.

Also according to the FBI, Levison and other sources within the CPUSA saw King as a committed Marxist-Leninist who for obvious reasons had to keep this fact under wraps. But his ties to communism, the FBI shows, were quite clear. One of King’s closest advisors, Clarence Jones, married the communist daughter of publisher William H. Norton. Other communist colleagues of King included Hunter Pitts O’Dell, Lawrence Reddick, Bayard Rustin, Cordy Vivian, Randolph Blackwell, and Harry Wachtel.

Wachtel and Rustin in particular acted as behind-the-scenes players who attempted to leverage King’s status as a Nobel Peace Prize winner in order to “inject King into the Vietnam issue” and ultimately conceded victory the Vietcong. But King, who apparently knew little about international politics, was hardly suited for the job.

When a newspaper asked him twelve questions on his position on Vietnam, King forwarded the questions to Levison. Further, after the bombing of North Vietnam in 1966, the media was pressuring King for a response.

He had to check with Levison and Rustin before giving one. As the FBI document shows, these were not isolated incidents. Martin Luther King, Jr. frequently sought counsel and instruction from his advisors before acting, especially his Jewish ones, Wachtel and Levison. Also, in spite of denying any communist ties, his positions and statements rarely wavered far from the official platform of the CPUSA.

The fact that two of King’s most prominent advisors were Jews should come as a surprise to no one. Benjamin Ginsburg, in his indispensable work The Fatal Embrace shows exactly how Jewed-up the Civil Rights Movement really was:

Jewish organizations also worked closely with civil rights groups during the 1960s in their struggles on behalf of voting tights and for the desegregation of public facilities and accommodations. Jewish contributors provided a substantial share of the funding for such civil rights groups as the NAACP and CORE. Jewish attorneys were at the forefront of the legal offensive against the American apartheid system.

Stanley Levinson , a longtime official and fund-raiser for the American Jewish Congress, became Martin Luther King’s chief aide and advisor, having previously served as a major fund-raiser for Bayard Rustin. Harry Wachtel was a major legal advisor and fundraiser for the SCLC. Levison and Wachtel were often called King’s twin Jewish lawyers. Jack Greenberg, head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund was the most important single civil rights lawyer in the United States. Jews comprised a large segment — perhaps one-third of the Whites who participated in civil rights marches and protests in the South during the 1960s.

The information presented in “Martin Luther King, Jr., an Analysis” only supports Ginsburg’s points as well as the conviction that Martin Luther King acted often as a tool for the Communist Party.

There is one relatively minor finding in the FBI report which should be mentioned before concluding.

Apparently, on top of being a sex fiend and covert communist, Martin Luther King and his associates at the SCLC were swindling money from the US government. In a short section entitled “A Tax Dodge” the FBI states that The SCLC set up Foundations to serve as tax exempt organizations that would solicit funds for the SCLC. To this end, the American Foundation on Nonviolence of New York City, and the Southern Christian Leadership Foundation of Chicago, Illinois, were established. As money is needed by the SCLC, Harry Wachtel reportedly funnels the money from the American Foundation on Nonviolence to the SCLC.

I have no idea if this was common knowledge beforehand, but it was certainly a new one for me.

As an icon of the Left, Martin Luther King, Jr. is remembered today in two major ways: as a paragon of the egalitarian ethos championed by current Western elites, and as proof of the moral superiority of the Left over the Right. Using King, the Left can justify violence against its enemies simply by claiming that King’s nonviolent approach has been proven to fail. Any racial disparities in the years following the Civil Rights Movement can be seen as proof of this. The fact that King was assassinated offers proof as well. Because King failed to reach the Promised Land via nonviolence, the only tactic remaining for the Left is, of course, violence. This is essentially why Martin Luther King will never die in a multiracial society: as a weapon he’s too useful.

By mentioning these two FBI reports in public discourse as often as possible, people on the Right now have a handy weapon of their own. And since these reports have the imprimatur of none other than the President of the United States on them, they cannot be ignored. In the past, bringing up compromising information on King could be dismissed as racist sniping or rumor-mongering. Now, it cannot. Now it must be part of the mainstream. Now it must be used to counter the Leftist control of our nation and culture. For no other reason than because it can.

'YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE" ALWAYS SEEK THE TRUTH NO MATTER WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES MAY BE!!!

Check these videos out! Martin Luther King Jr. was a MARXIST!! https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=the+truth+about+martin+luther+king+jr+communist#id=3&vid=23eee6613ddb438768d410c2ecb02543&action

Documentary: Martin Luther King Jr. - "Marxist Lucifer King" (MLK DAY) https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=the+truth+about+martin+luther+king+jr+communist#id=11&vid=ee1c6dad45ff3c0e0dddf669994ae907&action=view

"Martin Luther King, Jr. Exposed" Baptist Preaching (independent, fundamental, KJV) https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=the+truth+about+martin+luther+king+jr+communist#id=57&vid=b3da4d780b22d228c6cb517d26b0b762&action=view

1968 FBI informant alleges that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is blackmailing the US govt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-eXeU195VY

Love, Debbie

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uprootedandrelentless · 3 years

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2020 Review - Miraya

2020 was a year we’ll always remember. At first glance it’s the year of COVID-19, a global pandemic, Trump, BLM, shelter in place, businesses closing and so much loss and sickness. Future textbooks will need many pages to cover the history of this year. Zoomed in (get it?!) at the smaller scale of my little bubble it has also been a year of lots of virtual experiences, career change, working from home, and sweatpants. Obviously there were so much bigger and more monumental issues than my own but for the sake of this year in review I’m just zooming in on my day to day life. There is so much out of our control, that this year was a reminder to be grateful for our relationships. Despite the craziness of the year, there were many joyful and happy moments that I want to remember of 2020, so I’ll focus on those.

It’s hard to think about this year pre-Pandemic/pre-March, but I am grateful that I squeezed in so much in the beginning of the year. In the first few months before lockdown, I luckily got to see so many friends and travel to all my favorite cities (London, New York and Palm Springs). Matt and I rang in the New Year in London, so we started 2020 there! I celebrated Claire’s Bachelorette party with 20 of her friends in Los Angeles, went to New York for my first Dessert Goals corporate event on Valentine’s Day, spoke at Alt Summit conference, and planned Clarissa’s bachelorette in Palm Springs. These trips feel like distant memories besides scrolling through photos on my phone. I can’t wait until we can travel again.

Since March my days have been much less glamorous, but there have still been moments I’ll treasure. Matt and I love watching movies, playing games and eating and luckily got to do a lot of these from the safety of our home. Some favorite moments of the year:

Snuggling on the couch with Matt and Rocky, watching movies and eating popcorn with Trader Joe’s ghee spray and truffle salt

Working out while playing Just Dance with Matt, our favorite song is “What Does The Fox Say”

Lots of cooking - using our air fryer, crockpot and Matt becoming a mixologist and creating a 50+ page Google Doc cocktail book

Every time we leave a grocery store with a giant cart full of food and I say “we will not starve”

Supporting small business with fun experiences at home, like Pop Up Mag in a Box and Mama’s Date Night Kit

Playing Pandemic Legacy co-op game season 1 and 2

Celebrating my 30th birthday at Claire’s house and learning a choreographed dance of Aaron Carter’s I Want Candy with Claire, Evan, Matt

Creative socially distanced activities like picnics with my parents and friends, playing croquet with Matt’s family, renting out a nail salon for Claire’s birthday

Virtual events like Six Degrees Society, monthly Pizza Party mastermind group, Dreamers & Doers, The Assembly entrepreneur group, my 30th Birthday with friends and family across the country

Solo workouts and dancing on my rooftop in the middle of the day

Home improvements like painting our bookshelf blue, getting a new coffee table and buffet table

Sleeping With Other People 5 year anniversary watch party with Rom Com Fest and IFC Zoom with Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis

Seeing Instagram Story photos of people across the country receiving Dessert of the Month boxes

Spending a week in Los Angeles in an Airbnb with a pool and hottub and going to our favorite restaurants while working from a different desk than our usual at home

Finding our wedding venue and booking a date for March 2022

Sadly the year has also included many not so great moments:

Closing of Eco Goods, my parent’s shop of over 20 years

Closing of The Assembly, my co-working space and slice of heaven in SF

Clearing out my LA storage unit of all my event supplies, many of which I just purchased in November for Dessert Goals and have sat unused since then

Getting Covid in May - luckily it was mild I just had a high fever and was achy and sick for a few days then quarantined for 10 days

Having to let my employee go because I couldn’t keep paying her

Having to cancel all of my festivals

Moments of feeling totally defeated and lost and not sure how to keep my business going

Shock at the country and that there are so many stupid and selfish people

In my little world, the hardest part about this year for me has been my struggle with my identity as an event planner when I can’t plan events. I’ve always felt such an association of what I do with who I am and when I suddenly am forced to stop doing what I love, with no end in sight, it’s been really tough, both for my identity and my business. I had my year all mapped out, three festivals, sponsors, and first I just postponed my events, and now they are cancelled until the foreseeable future. I tried some virtual events, launched a Dessert of the Month club, but nothing was enough. Dessert Goals and Rom Com Fest are so much about the IRL experience and I couldn’t figure out how to translate that at home.

With a wonderful stroke of luck I was connected with someone in August looking for help with his event hosting software platform, Mixily, and he brought me on to do customer success and marketing. It’s the first “real job” I’ve had since 2014, and first time I’ve worked at a software startup. It’s been like MBA training, sink or swim. We have a small team all across the world and it’s been exciting getting to Slack and Zoom with others all working on the same project together. I’ve transformed a corner of our bedroom into an office (with a desk from The Assembly), bought a laptop stand, keyboard and mouse, and it’s the most official work setup I’ve had in years. Considering this crazy year and not being able to plan events, I am so grateful I got this opportunity to keep working and flexing my muscles in a new industry. I’ve joined many new communities to connect with others in the software world, such as Indie Hackers, and have learned a lot of new perspectives about startups, that sometimes you’ll work on something for years and then have to call it quits. With Dessert Goals and Rom Com Fest I hope it’s not quits forever, but I’m coming to accept that they can be on the back burner for now.

This year I turned 30. The biggest milestone the year has had in my mind is the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which I never made it on. Obviously it would have been great, and I can’t say I’m not bummed that I didn’t, but I do know it’s not everything. Besides that, and wishing I could have a big party for my birthday which wasn’t totally possible, 30 hasn’t felt dramatically different yet. I know that I compare myself to others more than it is healthy, it’s hard to prevent it, especially when scrolling through Instagram. I hear from others as you get into your 30s you feel more confident in your skin, I hope this clicks for me and I quit the comparison game soon. I’ve started paying attention to my phone’s screen time and it’s pretty scary how many hours of each day I spend on Instagram. I’m juggling accounts for my personal, Rom Com Fest, Dessert Goals and Mixily, so it’s a lot. A mix of research, posting, and inspiration, but it’s not a good use of time. Over the holidays I logged out of all my accounts, so if I wanted to check I had to go through the extra step of logging in, and it’s decreasing my scroll time drastically. I know Instagram is not a good use of time and adds to my comparison feelings, so it is something I want to decrease next year.

One of the new communities I joined because of Mixily, Reality Bites, asked me what three things I want more and less of in 2021. Here they are, plus a few more.

More: travel, exercise, picnics, walks with friends, outdoor time

Less: stress, snacking, guilt, Instagram, comparing myself to others, sweatpants

Last year I included lists of my favorite books, movies and TV shows of the year and want to keep the tradition. I’ve been tracking books in Goodreads, movies in Letterboxd, and TV shows in Notes. Here are my top picks of the year.

Books

Last year I read 27 books and set a goal for 30 books this year. I ended up reading 32! My top 5:

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han

Not Like The Movies by by Kerry Winfrey

Body Love Every Day: Choose Your Life-Changing 21-Day Path to Food Freedom by Kelly LeVeque

The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you by Rob Fitzpatrick

Movies

Matt and I watched A LOT of movies this year! Many older movies, including many from 1999 and a ton of Tom Hanks. Matt always creates his top 10 movie list of new release films. Here’s my top 2020 movies in alphabetical order:

An American Pickle

Bad Education

How to Build A Girl

On The Rocks

Palm Springs

Save Yourselves!

Soul

The Half Of It

The One and Only Ivan

To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You

In between movie watching, and while multitasking, I was able to watch quite a lot of TV shows this year, some with Matt and some on my own. Matt and I watched all the seasons of Veronica Mars which started a marathon of all other Rob Thomas (the creator of Veronica Mars) shows including Party Down and iZombie. Of new 2020 shows, here are some of my favorites, in alphabetical order:

Dash & Lily

Dead To Me season 2

Emily in Paris

Love Life

Never Have I Ever

PEN15 season 2

Queen’s Gambit

The Bold Type season 4

The Home Edit

The Morning Show

Trinkets

At the end of my post last year I wrote of all the things I was looking forward to next year including 4 weddings and 3 festivals, all of which were cancelled. 2020 felt so planned out and yet everything was changed. I have no idea what next year will bring. It could feel exactly the same as this year, working from home and wearing a mask all year. Or we could be able to host events by summer. Every virtual event I’ve attended about the future of events seems like a similar level of uncertainty. It feels impossible to set goals or make plans for 2021. We just have to roll with the punches, be kind to one another, stay safe, wear our masks and ride this out.

Here’s to a brighter and safer 2021!

-Miraya

#oakland #eventplanner #software startup #2020 #2020 review #virtual events

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savetopnow · 6 years

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2018-03-13 19 GAME now

GAME

Attack of the Fanboy

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Already Catching Up to the Sales of the First Game

Goat Simulator Developer Announces New Game

Phil Spencer Wants Xbox/PlayStation Cross Platform Play in Fortnite

NieR:Automata’s Contentment in Purposelessness

Fortnite Going Cross-platform With Xbox and PlayStation, Separately

Brutal Gamer

Tesla takes on Lovecraft in new twin-stick shooter

One:12 Collective Deadpool (Action Figure) Review

Fresh Halo miniseries on the way from Dark Horse Comics and 343 Industries

Okami HD comes to Switch with motion control, touchscreen painting

The Walking Dead 811 “Dead or Alive, Or” Recap

Game Banshee

State of Decay 2 Preview

Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Curious Case of Saviour Schnapps

Titan Quest Console Release, Collector's Edition Details

Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition Steam Launch Date Announced, Livestream Recap

Paranoia: The Official Video Game Announced

Game Informer

Hearthstone Expansion The Witchwood Announced

Nintendo Switch Firmware 5.0 Released

Microsoft Wants Fortnite Crossplay With PS4 And So Does Epic

Mark Hamill And Rian Johnson Talk About Luke In The Last Jedi

Former Eshop Head Explains What He Feels Are Nintendo's Inconsistent Indie Policies

Game Watch

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Patch Notes - Patch 1.02 Released

The Best PC Games of 2018

Motorbike Garage Mechanic Simulator Review

Games Workshop car combat strategy Dark Future: Blood Red States reveals first gameplay

Coffee Stain Studios Teases Their New Game

Gematsu

Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1528

Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai: Library Party coming to Switch on July 26 in Japan

Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC character Broly trailer

Ys VIII for Switch launches June 28 in Japan

Lode Runner Legacy coming to Switch this spring in Japan

IGN

Don't Miss Any Secrets With Our Complete Bloodborne Walkthrough

Kingdom Come: Every Secret Treasure Location

Sims 4 Jungle Adventures Guide: Jungle Temples

Bloodborne: How to Slay Every Boss

Fortnite Snobby Shores Treasure Map

Niche Gamer

New Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Trailer Introduces Roland

State of Decay 2 Collector’s Edition Announced

New Alpha Screenshots for Insurgency: Sandstorm

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet First Paid DLC and Season Pass Detailed

Bethesda Announces New Studio in Austin

Nintendo Life

Lode Runner Legacy Dashes Onto Switch This Spring In Japan

Review: Neonwall (Switch eShop)

Atari Flashback Classics Is Due To Launch On The Switch Later This Year

Shantae And The Pirate’s Curse Comes To The Switch Next Week

Nintendo Switch System Update 5.0.0 Is Now Available

PC Invasion

Coffee Stain Studios’ new game tease is Satisfactory

Trump’s meeting with video game industry was not exactly productive

All Oculus Rifts have stopped working. Oh dear

Battalion 1944 major update lands tomorrow with new map and more

City of Titans team ready to show the avatar builder

Playstation Blog

PS4 Exclusives Guide: 14 Games to Watch

Play Time Management and Other PS4 Tips for Gaming Families

Exploring the High School Survival Skill Book in Super Daryl Deluxe, Out April 10

Control Day and Night in Vibrant Side-Scroller Planet Alpha

The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 3/13/2018

Reddit Gaming

"What game was your childhood?"

The White House uploaded a compilation of violent video games last week, so here's my favorite WH picture by contrast: a young dev at the 2016 Science Fair proudly showing her game to Obama

My best friend left for the Air Force today. We decided to play one last game together. Godspeed brother <3

Pfffff... Video games don't kill peop... GTA put that down

[Artwork] My good friend asked me to turn her family into RPG characters!

Xbox News

New Preview BETA 1804 System Update – 3/12/18

New Preview Alpha 1804 System Update – 3/12/18

Xbox Unveils World’s First Pirate Blaster in Attempt to Break Guinness World Records Title

Survive with the State of Decay 2 Collector’s Edition

Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Tips and Tricks

#game

0 notes

raymondcastleberry · 7 years

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Obama’s Last Minute Land Grab

On December 28, 2016, President Barack Obama designated over 1.5 million acres for two new national monuments — Bears Ears in Utah and Gold Butte in Nevada. The Bears Ears monument covers 1.35 million acres–a region larger than the state of Delaware, and the Gold Butte monument covers about 300,000 acres. Obama’s decision limits access and activities on vast amounts of land, reducing the ability of state lawmakers and the citizens to have a say over how these public lands are used. The federal government controls 25 percent of all land in the United States–50 percent of land west of the Rocky Mountains and 85 percent of the land in Nevada.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/with-new-monuments-in-nevada-utah-obama-adds-to-his-environmental-legacy/2016/12/28/e9833f62-c471-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar&tid=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.9a972144d421

President Obama used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to reduce access to federal lands 29 times during his presidency. Only Franklin D. Roosevelt has used this authority more frequently.

The Antiquities Act was created to allow the president to keep historical or prominent archeological sites from being immediately destroyed when such destruction might occur too quickly for Congress to prevent. Because the monument designations in Utah and Nevada do not present an emergency, they should fall under Congress’s purview rather than the President’s.

According to the Congressional Research Service, future Presidents, such as Donald Trump, have the ability to “diminish” the size of monument designations, but no President has tried to un-designate a monument.[i] Thus, an option to deal with President Obama’s land grab is to limit its scope by narrowing the Bears Ears monument to a few hundred acres, which would protect the actual site but would not take up the entire 1.35 million acres that President Obama designated. In fact, the Antiquities Act was designed to protect archaeological sites and historic landmarks that “in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.”[ii]

State Attorney Generals can also file lawsuits against the federal government, which has already been announced in the case of Utah.[iii]

For future land grabs by presidents, Congress could amend the Antiquities Act to limit the president’s power to truly extraordinary times when a national treasure must be protected immediately and to allow Congress to revisit the president’s decision at a later date.[iv]

Obama’s Environmental Legacy

President Obama has taken 554,590,000 acres of land and sea out of use for private citizens and out of the deliberative processes of government—far more than any other President, as the chart below shows.[v] Presidents from Teddy Roosevelt to Lyndon B. Johnson used the act sparingly. Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush did not use it at all. Bill Clinton used it to set aside 5.7 million acres of land in his final days in office. George W. Bush used it to set aside over 200 million acres. But, President Obama is on his way toward tripling George W. Bush’s record.

President Obama may decide to either match President Roosevelt’s record with a 30th designation, or exceed it by doing two more before leaving office on January 20. Administration officials are looking at an expansion of the California Coastal National Monument and Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument as well as the establishment of a monument in South Carolina to commemorate the Reconstruction era and two in Alabama to commemorate the civil rights era.

Conclusion

The Antiquities Act allows a politically unaccountable lame-duck president to arbitrarily make national policy as he leaves office. And, outgoing President Barack Obama is using the act to designate more land out of reach than any other president in American history. How easily it is to overturn these designations is yet to be determined.

[i] Congressional Research Service, National Monuments and the Antiquities Act, September 7, 2016, https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41330.pdf

[ii] Wall Street Journal, Trump Can Reverse Obama’s Last-Minute Land Grab, December 30, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-can-reverse-obamas-last-minute-land-grab-1483142922

[iii] National Review, Reversing Obama’s Last Minute Land Grab, January 2, 2017, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443462/trump-gop-aim-reverse-obamas-land-grab-utah-nevada-million-acres

[iv] The Hill, Obama’s last-minute land grabs only the tip of presidential excess, January 3, 2017, http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/312436-confiscator-in-chief-obamas-last-minute-land-grab-an

[v] Washington Post, With new monuments in Nevada, Utah, Obama adds to his environmental legacy, December 28, 2016, https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/with-new-monuments-in-nevada-utah-obama-adds-to-his-environmental-legacy/2016/12/28/e9833f62-c471-11e6-8422-eac61c0ef74d_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_no-name%3Apage%2Fbreaking-news-bar&tid=a_breakingnews&utm_term=.75bec815f63e

The post Obama’s Last Minute Land Grab appeared first on IER.

from Raymond Castleberry Blog http://raymondcastleberry.blogspot.com/2017/01/obamas-last-minute-land-grab.html via IFTTT

#Raymond Castleberry Raymond Castleberry Blog

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blog405095 · 5 months

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⛔ REVIEW TRUMP LEGACY TREASURE 2024 (IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?)

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buzzcoastin · 5 years

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Donald Trump’s Plan for the Middle East and Syria – Rolling Stone Matt Taibbi https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-syria-withdrawal-772177/?fbclid=IwAR1TgcR1XFKOCkTQtTIwRGwwT8yT-JdlrPnyXxo0tb3KnfKsLNtcbddsXXk

So we’re withdrawing troops from the Middle East.

GOOD!

What’s the War on Terror death count by now, a half-million? How much have we spent, $5 trillion? Five-and-a-half?

For that cost, we’ve destabilized the region to the point of abject chaos, inspired millions of Muslims to hate us, and torn up the Geneva Convention and half the Constitution in pursuit of policies like torture, kidnapping, assassination-by-robot and warrantless detention.

It will be difficult for each of us to even begin to part with our share of honor in those achievements. This must be why all those talking heads on TV are going crazy.

Unless Donald Trump decides to reverse his decision to begin withdrawals from Syria and Afghanistan, cable news for the next few weeks is going to be one long Scanners marathon of exploding heads.

“Today’s decision would cheer Moscow, ISIS, and Iran!” yelped Nicole Wallace, former George W. Bush communications director.

“Maybe Trump will bring Republicans and Democrats together,” said Bill Kristol, on MSNBC, that “liberal” channel that somehow seems to be populated round the clock by ex-neocons and Pentagon dropouts.

Kristol, who has rarely ever been in the ballpark of right about anything — he once told us Iraq was going to be a “two month war” — might actually be correct.

Trump’s decisions on Syria and Afghanistan will lay bare the real distinctions in American politics. Political power in this country is not divided between right and left, and not even between rich and poor.

The real line is between a war party, and everyone else.

This is why Kristol is probably right. The Democrats’ plan until now was probably to impeach Trump in the House using at minimum some material from the Michael Cohen case involving campaign-finance violations.

That plan never had a chance to succeed in the Senate, but now, who knows? Troop withdrawals may push a collection of hawkish Republicans like Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Ben Sasse and maybe even Mitch McConnell into another camp.

The departure of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — a standard-issue Pentagon toady who’s never met an unending failure of a military engagement he didn’t like and whose resignation letter is now being celebrated as inspirational literature on the order of the Gettysburg Address or a lost epic by Auden or Eliot — sounded an emergency bell for all these clowns. The letter by Mattis, Rubio said:

“Makes it abundantly clear we are headed towards a series of grave policy errors which will endanger our nation, damage our alliances & empower our adversaries.”

Talk like this is designed to give political cover to Republican fence-sitters on Trump. That wry smile on Kristol’s face is, I’d guess, connected to the knowledge that Trump put the Senate in play by even threatening to pull the plug on our Middle Eastern misadventures.

You’ll hear all sorts of arguments today about why the withdrawals are bad. You’ll hear Trump has no plan, which is true. He never does, at least not on policy.

But we don’t exactly have a plan for staying in the Middle East, either, beyond installing a permanent garrison in a dozen countries, spending assloads of money and making ourselves permanently despised in the region as civilian deaths pile up through drone-bombings and other “surgical” actions.

You’ll hear we’re abandoning allies and inviting massacres by the likes of Turkish dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If there was any evidence that our presence there would do anything but screw up the situation even more, I might consider that a real argument. At any rate, there are other solutions beyond committing American lives. We could take in more refugees, kick Turkey out of NATO, impose sanctions, etc.

As to the argument that we’re abandoning Syria to Russians — anyone who is interested in reducing Russian power should be cheering. If there’s any country in the world that equals us in its ability to botch an occupation and get run out on a bloody rail after squandering piles of treasure, it’s Russia. They may even be better at it than us. We can ask the Afghans about that on our way out of there.

The Afghan conflict became the longest military engagement in American history eight years ago. Despite myths to the contrary, Barack Obama did not enter office gung-ho to leave Afghanistan. He felt he needed to win there first, which, as anyone who’s read The Great Game knows, proved impossible. So we ended up staying throughout his presidency.

We were going to continue to stay there, and in other places, forever, because our occupations do not work, as everyone outside of Washington seems to understand.

TV talking heads will be unanimous on this subject, but the population, not so much. What polls we have suggest voters want out of the region in increasing numbers.

A Morning Consult/Politico poll from last year showed a plurality favored a troop decrease in Afghanistan, while only 5 percent wanted increases. Polls consistently show the public thinks our presence in Afghanistan has been a failure.

There’s less about how the public feels about Syria, but even there, the data doesn’t show overwhelming desire to put boots on the ground.

When Trump first ordered airstrikes in Syria over Assad’s use of chemical weapons, 70 percent favored sanctions according to Politico, while 39 percent favored sending troops. A CBS poll around that time found 45 percent wanted either no involvement period, or airstrikes and no ground troops, versus 18 percent who wanted full military involvement.

Trump is a madman, a far-right extremist and an embarrassment, but that’s not why most people in Washington hate him. It’s his foreign-policy attitudes, particularly toward NATO, that have always most offended DC burghers.

You could see the Beltway beginning to lose its mind back in the Republican primary race, when then-candidate Trump belittled America’s commitment to Middle Eastern oil states.

“Every time there’s a little ruckus, we send those ships and those planes,” he said, early in his campaign. “We get nothing. Why? They’re making a billion a day. We get nothing.”

As he got closer to the nomination, he went after neoconservative theology more explicitly.

“I don’t think we should be nation-building anymore,” he said, in March of 2016. He went on: “I watched as we built schools in Iraq and they’re blown up. We build another one, we get blown up.”

Trump was wrong about a thousand other things, but this was true. I had done a story about how military contractors spent $72 million on what was supposed to be an Iraqi police academy and delivered a pile of rubble so unusable, pedestrians made it into a toilet.

The Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction noted, “We witnessed a light fixture so full of diluted urine and feces that it would not operate.”

SIGIR found we spent over $60 billion on Iraqi reconstruction and did not significantly improve life for Iraqis. The parallel body covering Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction, concluded last year that at least $15.5 billion had been wasted in that country between 2008 and 2017, and this was likely only a “fraction” of financial leakage.

Trump, after sealing the nomination, upped the ante. In the summer of 2016 he said he wasn’t sure he’d send troops to defend NATO members that didn’t pay their bills. NATO members are supposed to kick in 2 percent of GDP for their own defense. At the time, only four NATO members (Estonia, Poland, the U.K. and the U.S.) were in compliance.

Politicians went insane. How dare he ask countries to pay for their own defense! Republican House member Adam Kinzinger, a popular guest in the last 24 hours, said in July 2016 that Trump’s comments were “utterly disastrous.”

“There’s no precedent,” said Thomas Wright, a “Europe scholar” from the Brookings Institute.

When the news came after Trump’s election that he’d only read his intelligence briefings once a week instead of every day as previous presidents had dutifully done, that was it. The gloves were off at that point.

“The open disdain Trump has shown for the agencies is unprecedented,” said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA official for both George W. Bush and Obama.

All that followed, through today, has to be understood through this prism.

Trump dumped on basically every segment of the political establishment en route to Washington, running on a classic authoritarian strategy — bash the elites, pose as a populist.

However fake he was, there were portions of the political establishment that deserved abuse, the Pentagon most of all.

The Department of Defense has been a money pit for decades. It has trillions in expenditures it can’t account for, refused an audit for nearly 30 years and then failed this year (as in failed completely, zero-point-zero, not producing any coherent numbers) when one was finally funded.

We have brave and able soldiers, but their leaders are utter tools who’ve left a legacy of massacres and botched interventions around the world.

NATO? That’s an organization whose mission stopped making sense the moment the Soviet Union collapsed. We should long ago have repurposed our defense plan to focus on terrorism, cyber-crime and cyber-attacks, commercial espionage, financial security, and other threats.

Instead, we continued after the Soviet collapse to maintain a global military alliance fattened with increasingly useless carriers and fighter jets, designed to fight archaic forms of war.

NATO persisted mainly as a PR mechanism for a) justifying continued obscene defense spending levels and b) giving a patina of internationalism to America’s essentially unilateral military adventures.

We’d go into a place like Afghanistan with no real plan for leaving, and a few member nations like Estonia and France and Turkey would send troops to get shot at with us. But it was always basically Team America: World Police with supporting actors. No wonder so few of the member countries paid their dues.

Incidentally, this isn’t exactly a secret. Long before Trump, this is what Barney Frank was saying in 2010: “I think the time has come to reexamine NATO. NATO has become an excuse for other people to get America to do things.”

This has all been a giant, bloody, expensive farce, and it’s long since time we ended it.

We’ll see a lot of hand-wringing today from people who called themselves anti-war in 2002 and 2003, but now pray that the “adults in the room” keep “boots on the ground” to preserve “credibility.”

Part of this is because it’s Trump, but a bigger part is that we’ve successfully brainwashed big chunks of the population into thinking it’s normal for a country to exist in a state of permanent war, fighting in seven countries at once, spending half of all discretionary funding on defense.

It’s not. It’s insane. And we’ll never be a healthy society, or truly respected abroad, until we stop accepting it as normal.

Incidentally, I doubt Trump really follows through on this withdrawal plan. But until he changes (what passes for) his mind, watch what happens in Washington.

We’re about to have a very graphic demonstration of the near-total uniformity of the political class when it comes to the military and its role. The war party is ready for a coming-out party.

#trump trump trump trump trump

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tommie-suber · 5 years

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Finally we have an end to a war we should never have fought in Syria!

We Know How Trump’s War Game Ends

Matt Taibbi

December 21, 2018

Rolling Stone

Nothing unites our political class like the threat of ending our never-ending war

President Donald Trump reacts to the crowd as he arrives to speak to navy and shipyard personnel aboard nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., AP/Shutterstock