This just in: Democracy in America is officially dead--unless we work to save it!
The lawyer responsible for presenting the protest to the Board hid behind a pillar throughout the fifteen minute proceedings. The chair promptly gaveled the meeting closed after that, giving the public no opportunity to comment or ask questions. Two individuals were allowed to file a protest 30 minutes before the B. of E. meeting, delaying a decision on LEBOR until a "special hearing" called for December 20.
Never mind the fact over ten thousand individuals signed the petition calling for a Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Never mind the entire metropolitan Toledo area's water supply was shut off for three days in 2014 due to unacceptable levels of blue-green algae pollution. Never mind the Supreme Court of Ohio was ambivalent about their decision earlier and united only once Big Money came into play. An attempt to shut down the whole movement to protect Lake Erie has been instigated by two individuals acting on behalf of Big Business.
Toledoans for Safe Water are not giving up. They will campaign for the February 26 special election as planned, as it's possible the measure will be allowed on the ballot at the very last minute (a tactic that's been used to kill similar citizens initiatives in the area). TSW is now accepting donations via Paypal and used clothing locally to sell on as a fundraiser to purchase signage and ads.
Help these valiant activists raise money to promote the Lake Erie Bill of Rights to the public against the deep pockets of Big Ag, Big Oil, and other lobby groups. Power to the People--not the Polluters! Please donate today to help get LEBOR on the ballot. Together we'll set a Rights of Nature precedent in North America!
And now on to our regularly scheduled rant.
The best thing about being on the censors' "shit list" is that you can pretty much say anything you like without fear of getting on said list since you're already there! It's never been a big concern for us here at The Revolution Continues in the past, but now with the outright blocking of this site, it's a challenge to see what other ways we can get on the corrupt establishment's nerves and drive them over the edge. So without further adieu...
Away in a babe-jail, no crib for a bed--
The migrant babe Jesús lays down his sweet head.
ICE and border guards gassed Maria as she ran
And step-dad José was locked up in the can.
The racists are crowing--the poor baby wakes.
It's migrant babe Jesús Betsy DeVos takes!
A torrent of rich whites want "abandoned" brown kids--
To use them as slaves like their ancestors did.
This is America, freedom is a sham.
We've turned on our principles as sure as we stand.
We hate the poor and natives--genocide is the plan.
We've lost all our honor. Sieg heil orange man!
Disgusted? I meant at our current situation, not just the bad poetry. If I made you angry at both, then I've succeeded in my purpose.
Closing our eyes and pretending what the US is doing to asylum-seekers isn't happening won't make things right. Watching endless holiday bowl games and spending a million bucks in the mall shopping won't erase the harm and evil that has been perpetrated in our names.
"My name?" you cry. "I don't have anything to do with those ICE thugs tear gassing women and children!" Sorry to break this to you, but you pay taxes, correct? Your US tax dollars are going toward building a border wall and more baby jails and paying private adoption agencies like the one Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owns. Your hard earn money even goes to paying the salaries of the twenty-first century American S.S. equivalent, ICE agents. There is blood on all of our hands and guilt cast upon our names a-plenty.
Stop lying to yourself. Denial is the name of a river in Egypt. Egypt--you know the place. It's the land that Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled to because of the wrath of King Herod, a tyrannical despot who makes even Mr. Trump look benign.
What can we do about this horrible situation? Stop paying taxes? Possibly, if we all did it, all at once. That just might get the establishment's attention. But you could be locked up for not paying your taxes--and then how would you fight back against injustice from behind bars? Could that be the reason why the elites throw people into prison on the flimsiest excuses, such as the color of their skin or their socioeconomic status? They know we can't affect change if we're locked up?
Let's not give them the satisfaction. We need everyone in the fight. We need to speak out and make a lot of noise. Our voices need to be heard by the powers-that-be. The establishment needs to know how angry and disgusted we are. Our silence is killing human beings. We can no longer remain silent and simply wish this awful reality away.
This holiday season don't forget to speak out, demonstrate, protest, write letters to the editor, Tweet at your representatives, etc. Make the reason for your anger clear. Tell them to stop ICE and the Border Patrol from tear gassing and locking up of families and the separating of children from their parents simply because they're poor and running away from violence our government has helped to create in their countries over the years. Let's follow our own laws and render due process for those who seek asylum.
Then take your righteous anger and channel it into doing as many compassionate acts as you can for those who are hurting in your community. Feed the poor. Pay someone's heating bill who can't afford it this month. Watch a friend's kids so she can go to the doctor's or attend an important appointment, such as a job interview. Every act of kindness will make you stronger and ready to take on the evil establishment when the time comes.
This is the season of hope, peace, joy and love. Spread those positive vibes, and all the while keep both your ears and heart open to learning all you can to prevent future injustices from occurring.
Related articles/videos:
United We Dream
Federal Court Says We Have a Constitutional Right To Feed the Homeless
Church Puts Holy Family in ICE Detention (Indianapolis)
Church Sparks Backlash Over Controversial Nativity Scene (Massachusetts)
Baby Jesus In a Cage? Yes, It's Political
Nearly 100 Kids Have Been Separated From Their Families Since Trump Ended His Zero-Tolerance Policy
Church Extends Support to Deported Man
Reuters Photojournalist Talks About Photo of Children Fleeing Tear Gas at Border in Mexico
Away In A Baby Jail
by C.A. Matthews
(Can be sung to either familiar tune of Away in a Manger. Or not.)Away in a babe-jail, no crib for a bed--
The migrant babe Jesús lays down his sweet head.
ICE and border guards gassed Maria as she ran
And step-dad José was locked up in the can.
The racists are crowing--the poor baby wakes.
It's migrant babe Jesús Betsy DeVos takes!
A torrent of rich whites want "abandoned" brown kids--
To use them as slaves like their ancestors did.
This is America, freedom is a sham.
We've turned on our principles as sure as we stand.
We hate the poor and natives--genocide is the plan.
We've lost all our honor. Sieg heil orange man!
Disgusted? I meant at our current situation, not just the bad poetry. If I made you angry at both, then I've succeeded in my purpose.
Closing our eyes and pretending what the US is doing to asylum-seekers isn't happening won't make things right. Watching endless holiday bowl games and spending a million bucks in the mall shopping won't erase the harm and evil that has been perpetrated in our names.
"My name?" you cry. "I don't have anything to do with those ICE thugs tear gassing women and children!" Sorry to break this to you, but you pay taxes, correct? Your US tax dollars are going toward building a border wall and more baby jails and paying private adoption agencies like the one Education Secretary Betsy DeVos owns. Your hard earn money even goes to paying the salaries of the twenty-first century American S.S. equivalent, ICE agents. There is blood on all of our hands and guilt cast upon our names a-plenty.Stop lying to yourself. Denial is the name of a river in Egypt. Egypt--you know the place. It's the land that Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled to because of the wrath of King Herod, a tyrannical despot who makes even Mr. Trump look benign.
What can we do about this horrible situation? Stop paying taxes? Possibly, if we all did it, all at once. That just might get the establishment's attention. But you could be locked up for not paying your taxes--and then how would you fight back against injustice from behind bars? Could that be the reason why the elites throw people into prison on the flimsiest excuses, such as the color of their skin or their socioeconomic status? They know we can't affect change if we're locked up?
Let's not give them the satisfaction. We need everyone in the fight. We need to speak out and make a lot of noise. Our voices need to be heard by the powers-that-be. The establishment needs to know how angry and disgusted we are. Our silence is killing human beings. We can no longer remain silent and simply wish this awful reality away.
This holiday season don't forget to speak out, demonstrate, protest, write letters to the editor, Tweet at your representatives, etc. Make the reason for your anger clear. Tell them to stop ICE and the Border Patrol from tear gassing and locking up of families and the separating of children from their parents simply because they're poor and running away from violence our government has helped to create in their countries over the years. Let's follow our own laws and render due process for those who seek asylum.
Then take your righteous anger and channel it into doing as many compassionate acts as you can for those who are hurting in your community. Feed the poor. Pay someone's heating bill who can't afford it this month. Watch a friend's kids so she can go to the doctor's or attend an important appointment, such as a job interview. Every act of kindness will make you stronger and ready to take on the evil establishment when the time comes.
This is the season of hope, peace, joy and love. Spread those positive vibes, and all the while keep both your ears and heart open to learning all you can to prevent future injustices from occurring.
Related articles/videos:
United We Dream
Federal Court Says We Have a Constitutional Right To Feed the Homeless
Church Puts Holy Family in ICE Detention (Indianapolis)
Church Sparks Backlash Over Controversial Nativity Scene (Massachusetts)
Baby Jesus In a Cage? Yes, It's Political
Nearly 100 Kids Have Been Separated From Their Families Since Trump Ended His Zero-Tolerance Policy
Church Extends Support to Deported Man
Reuters Photojournalist Talks About Photo of Children Fleeing Tear Gas at Border in Mexico
***
From The Poor People's Campaign:
Today, the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, the Kairos Center and Repairers of the Breach answer the call from the California Poor People's Campaign and the American Friends Service Committee to join faith leaders at the U.S.-Mexico border. Together, we demand a clear and just immigration system that prioritizes family reunification and the demilitarization of our communities on the border and the interior.
Watch the livestream of the interfaith service here.
The startling heartlessness with which our immigration system treats migrants is a rejection of human dignity. As we watch these families walking everyday closer, we see the same faces as those in our domestic refugee crisis from homeless encampments in Chico to the wildfires throughout Northern California. The haze of tear gas choking migrant children goes hand in hand with the armored cars deployed in Ferguson, Missouri.
We have a moral obligation to uphold our nation’s promise to welcome the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We cannot succumb to hateful rhetoric and conspiracy theories. Now, more than ever, we must stand for all those with whom we share a common suffering and hope.
We’re here today at the San Diego border to demand the demilitarization of our border communities and an immigration system that recognizes the shared humanity of migrants seeking safety and refuge. But we can’t do this without you: Share our petition now to support the movement, wherever you are, and demand Congress take action.
Somebody has been hurting our people and it’s gone on far too long. And we won’t be silent anymore.
Forward together, not one step back,
The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival
Help us to continue speaking out against the corrupt system!
The Revolution Continues has set up an easy way to donate in order to keep it ad-free. Three and a half years without obnoxious pop-up ads (that many news sites have to cover costs) has been great, but the editor does have to pay for internet, electricity, etc., out of her own pocket, and she would like to be able to pay her contributors in the future.
You can donate via Paypal at http://paypal.me/camatthews
And thanks to a generous reader, we have a domain name. Please share the link: http://therevolutioncontinues.com
Power to the people and not the corporations!
The Senate voted to overturn the FCC’s decision this summer after activists like you spoke out. Now, we need your help to push the House of Representatives to act before the end of the lame duck session.
This could make it harder for people like you and me to organize online to stop him. We can’t let that happen.
Take action now: Tell House Representatives the internet belongs to people, not Big Cable!
The FCC's massively unpopular decision has sparked a national movement to keep the Internet open and fair. Millions of people across the political spectrum are taking action in the streets, at their statehouses, outside the FCC, and before Congress.
Net neutrality is vital to free speech, small business, and communities that might not otherwise have a voice in the mainstream media. There’s NO EXCUSE -- every lawmaker, both Republican and Democrat, should support net neutrality.
We need to make sure your Representatives hear from grassroots voices like yours, not their wealthy donors like Comcast and Verizon lobbyists.
As of now, more than 170 representatives in the House have supported restoring net neutrality -- but we still need at least 41 more members. We’re so close to a victory, but we still need your help. If engaged Friends of the Earth Action members like you speak up again, we can push the House of Representatives to restore net neutrality during the lame duck session.
Help us reach 50,000 signatures: Demand the House of Representatives restore net neutrality NOW!
***
| Tell the United Nations to investigate U.S. human rights violations of asylum seekers. | ||
| The petition to the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights and High Commissioner on Refugees reads:
"Launch an investigation into U.S. human rights violations of asylum seekers."
Add your name:
| ||
Yet, Donald Trump's deportation force used these weapons against unarmed refugee children and families. It also recently closed a major port of entry. And now, his hateful administration is considering a new rule that would require many refugees to pay an asylum fee.1 These actions are in gross violation of international law. More than 100,000 CREDO members recently demanded that the United Nations send observers to the border. Now we need it to go one step further and immediately launch an investigation. Tell the United Nations to investigate U.S. human rights violations of asylum seekers. Click here to sign the petition. The Trump administration has treated members of the migrant caravan like enemy combatants. It has launched tear gas and rubber bullet attacks against them, extended the military occupation at the border and authorized troops to use lethal force.2 Caravan members are unarmed refugees fleeing extreme poverty, violence and oppression. We should be welcoming them, not using violence and slowdown tactics to force them to give up and turn back. The Trump regime's "metering" system is causing major delays, confusion and chaos at the border.3 It severely restricts the number of asylum seekers who enter the country every day. International law requires the United States to review every application for asylum. This system is preventing refugees from even applying. Now, the Trump administration is considering a new rule that would require many refugees to pay an asylum fee, adding yet another barrier to the process. It is also conspiring with the Mexican government to send these asylum seekers back to the countries they fled.4 These actions violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees under which the United States government has obligations. There is enough evidence for the United Nations to launch an investigation. It's up to us force it to act. Join us and our friends at Presente, Puente and Mijente to demand that the United Nations investigate human rights violations at the border immediately. Tell the United Nations to investigate U.S. human rights violations of asylum seekers. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/ Thank you for all you do, Nicole Regalado, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets
Add your name:
|
***
Help us to continue speaking out against the corrupt system!
The Revolution Continues has set up an easy way to donate in order to keep it ad-free. Three and a half years without obnoxious pop-up ads (that many news sites have to cover costs) has been great, but the editor does have to pay for internet, electricity, etc., out of her own pocket, and she would like to be able to pay her contributors in the future.
Please
consider donating a buck, $5, $10 or $20--any amount you can share with us to keep
this progressive site going
without those awful ads is appreciated. Help
us become a strong alternative voice protesting against the corrupt
establishment and its paid-off corporate mouthpieces. Give to TRC today. Thank you.
You can donate via Paypal at http://paypal.me/camatthews
And thanks to a generous reader, we have a domain name. Please share the link: http://therevolutioncontinues.com
Power to the people and not the corporations!
***
From Friends of the Earth Action:
Earlier this year, Trump’s FCC gutted net neutrality. It took steps to give Big Cable companies like Comcast and Verizon even more control over the Internet.
Net
neutrality is the principle of a free and open Internet. Now, thanks to
Trump’s actions, Internet providers could soon start throttling speeds
and creating fast and slow lanes online. But Congress could stop that
from happening.Earlier this year, Trump’s FCC gutted net neutrality. It took steps to give Big Cable companies like Comcast and Verizon even more control over the Internet.
The Senate voted to overturn the FCC’s decision this summer after activists like you spoke out. Now, we need your help to push the House of Representatives to act before the end of the lame duck session.
Sign the petition: Tell the House of Representatives to restore net neutrality and an open Internet!
Net
neutrality is the principle that Internet providers like Comcast and
Verizon should not control what we see and do online. In 2015, the FCC
enacted strong protections for net neutrality. They prohibited Internet
providers from blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization -- "fast
lanes" for sites that pay, and slow lanes for everyone else.
Thanks to the FCC’s recent decision, it will soon be easier for Internet providers to pick which stories you see online. It could force people to pay extra to see content that is critical of Trump or his corporate friends and Big Oil cronies. And it paves the way for fast lanes for the rich and slow lanes for the rest of us.
Those
who can pay to promote misinformation -- like the fossil fuel industry
-- will get a new fast lane. And Comcast and Verizon’s power grab would
let them decide what stories you get to see about Donald Trump’s attacks
on people and the environment.Thanks to the FCC’s recent decision, it will soon be easier for Internet providers to pick which stories you see online. It could force people to pay extra to see content that is critical of Trump or his corporate friends and Big Oil cronies. And it paves the way for fast lanes for the rich and slow lanes for the rest of us.
This could make it harder for people like you and me to organize online to stop him. We can’t let that happen.
Take action now: Tell House Representatives the internet belongs to people, not Big Cable!
The FCC's massively unpopular decision has sparked a national movement to keep the Internet open and fair. Millions of people across the political spectrum are taking action in the streets, at their statehouses, outside the FCC, and before Congress.
Net neutrality is vital to free speech, small business, and communities that might not otherwise have a voice in the mainstream media. There’s NO EXCUSE -- every lawmaker, both Republican and Democrat, should support net neutrality.
We need to make sure your Representatives hear from grassroots voices like yours, not their wealthy donors like Comcast and Verizon lobbyists.
As of now, more than 170 representatives in the House have supported restoring net neutrality -- but we still need at least 41 more members. We’re so close to a victory, but we still need your help. If engaged Friends of the Earth Action members like you speak up again, we can push the House of Representatives to restore net neutrality during the lame duck session.
Help us reach 50,000 signatures: Demand the House of Representatives restore net neutrality NOW!
Standing with you,
Liz Butler,
VP of organizing and strategic alliances,
Friends of the Earth Action
Liz Butler,
VP of organizing and strategic alliances,
Friends of the Earth Action
It sounds like the guy who filed the protest against the LEBOR bill is a corporate patsy. It's highly suspicious that the protest was filed 30 minutes before the board meeting, given the amount of time between Toledo council issuing its directive and the meeting.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty obvious that he's just a puppet of the Big Business lobbyists who are doing their best to thwart democracy. I hope they paid him well, because who'd want to hire him ever again. Who'd want such a traitor in their midst? He's got the attention he wanted, but it's not the kind he expected. Who really wants to be the idiot written about in the history books of the future as the jerk who caused harm to the drinking water of millions?
Delete