The Rule of Tyrannies

The world will never know peace as long as war is profitable. The world will never know health as long as sickness is profitable. The ecosystem will never thrive as long as ecocide is profitable. We will remain ruled by tyrants for as long as our systems elevate tyranny. --Caitlin Johnstone,  All Our Systems Are Built To Elevate Viciousness

The Rule of Tyrannies

by C.A. Matthews

There is no water left on Earth that hasn't been tainted with micro-plastic particles.
 
There are mass die-offs of trees, plants, and animals due to rising temperatures and the subsequent droughts and fires that ensue.
 
The sea levels are rising because of melting ice sheets at the poles, causing flooding and drowning entire island chains.
 
There are many who shout racist-elitist taunts at the migrants fleeing from natural disasters and violent conflicts caused by our rapidly warming planet and our economic system's insatiable need to overthrow any leaders who don't do business on our country's terms.

There is another pandemic on the horizon with the emergence of the monkeypox virus in the US. With no universal health care, possibly another million plus Americans will suffer and die from a preventable illness. (The current rate is 400+ COVID-19 deaths per day and an untold number of people suffering permanent disability from Long COVID.)
 
There are politicians spouting nonsense about "winnable nuclear war" as if radiation faded away mere hours after dropping a nuke bomb. These same politicians continue to militarize the police, an unspoken threat against the working classes to stay in their designated place. The politicians' military industrial complex donors are happy with this outcome.
 
There are those who still think nuclear power is "clean energy" even after the disasters of Chernobyl, Fukushima, and others. They are doing their best to prevent cleaner sources of energy such as solar, wind and geothermal from ever becoming a part of our power grid, as a recent bill  passed in Congress and praised by the fossil fuel industry demonstrates.

What is the key element winding its way through all these seemingly unrelated abuses of our planet, its peoples, and all its creatures? If you said "money" or more accurately "the love of money" then you win today's prize. The prize is that you get to die knowing how these man-made insults to Mother Earth were entirely preventable.

 (Watch the documentary 2040 to learn how current technology can address all the above challenges. They're not unsolvable problems. We are capable of affecting positive changes to save the planet, but we have to be willing to do so and we need to start today.)
 
The love of money, or profits, if you will, is selling humankind's destiny down the river of greed in order to make a few more billionaires even richer. Why any person needs incalculable wealth to survive when the rest of us get by on mere pittances is a mystery to me. I don't know about you, but this obsession billionaires have with accruing more and more digits in their bank account ledgers just makes me angrier and angrier.
 
Time is running out for our dear Mother Earth. We've seen the effects of climate catastrophe speeding up this summer in heatwave after sweltering heatwave. Some say we've gone beyond the point of no return. And all because these billionaire tyrants can't make enough money to satisfy their lusts. They are obsessed with "growing the economy" while gouging workers for basic necessities like food, medicine, and shelter. These greedy tyrants can't get enough until they destroy all the beautiful diversity of life on this planet.
 
Will somebody--anybody--make it stop? Please.

If our dying world and our empty bellies can't motivate us lowly workers to stand up for ourselves and the planet, then what will? We've been terrorized by tyrants using a sadistic economic system called capitalism for far too long. To save Earth and humanity, capitalism must die. It must die and be replaced with a kinder, gentler system that treats everyone and every living thing with the respect and dignity he/she/they/it deserves.
 
Will taking the reins away from the tyrants now in control be easy? No. Will it possibly cost us some of our lives in the struggle? Yes. But we have no choice--our planet is being destroyed by sadistic psychopaths. Psychopaths who can't see the forest for the trees since they've chopped all the trees down to print more useless currency!
 
It would be wonderful if the tyrants of the 1% came down off their thrones and gave the 99% the keys to the kingdom, but don't count on it. If they've convinced their politician-puppets to spout nonsense about the benefits of nuclear warfare, and how justice can be found in increasing policing and military agencies to take up arms against us, then we must be prepared to deal swiftly and strongly with shutting these monsters down.
 
We can't wait, hoping and praying these tyrannical psychopaths will come to their senses and learn to be empathetic. Odds are they never will. We can't risk what is left of our Earth still able to harbor life.

It's life or death for our world. I vote for the death of the tyrants and their capitalist system so that the vast majority of us may live. Live in peace and harmony together with nature--not constantly fighting against Our Mother Earth in order to acquire huge sums of meaningless money.
 
We've only got one planet. Let's do what needs to be done. Let's take good care of her so she will continue to take care of our children and grandchildren in the future. Don't allow the tyrants--bent on destruction to slake their thirst for blood money--stand in our way.

Things you can make money out of:

• War

• Ecocide

• Sickness

• Finite commodities

Things you can't make money out of:

• Peace

• A thriving biosphere

• Health

• Energy sources you can't control

While we use money to value things, we will never be free. --Caitlin Johnstone, China Threatens the US Empire, Not the US Itself

Related Articles:

Solving Plastic Crisis Through Community Empowerment https://popularresistance.org/solving-the-plastic-crisis-through-community-empowerment/

US Houses Passes Pro-Corporate Climate Bill
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/08/13/zxah-a13.html

Trailer for the documentary 2040: https://vimeo.com/429859999

Monkeypox is Yet Another Health Crisis Fueled by Governmental Neglect https://truthout.org/articles/monkeypox-is-yet-another-global-health-crisis-fueled-by-governmental-neglect/

Land of the Dying: Alarming Study Shows US Killing Its Own Population
https://scheerpost.com/2022/08/09/america-land-of-the-dying-alarming-study-shows-us-killing-its-own-population/

Capitalism is Making Us Sick and Sucking Us Dry
https://truthout.org/audio/capitalism-is-making-us-sick-and-sucking-us-dry/

The U.N. Just Declared a Universal Human Right to a Healthy Sustainable Environment https://popularresistance.org/the-un-just-declared-a-universal-human-right-to-a-healthy-sustainable-environment/

High Profile Paper on Catastrophic Climate Impact...
https://popularresistance.org/high-profile-paper-on-catastrophic-climate-impacts-echoes-our-what-lies-beneath-analysis-on-fat-tail-existential-risks-and-ipcc-reticence-published-four-years-ago/

Climate Reality Is Hitting Us Like a Breakaway Glacier https://truthout.org/articles/climate-reality-is-hitting-us-like-a-breakaway-glacier/

Big Oil and Gas Reap Record Profits as the World Burns https://scheerpost.com/2022/08/02/big-oil-and-gas-reap-record-profits-as-the-world-burns/

Why Is There More Media Talk About Using Nuclear Weapons Than About Banning Them https://scheerpost.com/2022/08/09/why-is-there-more-media-talk-about-using-nuclear-weapons-than-about-banning-them/  

Modern US Warmongerng Is Scaring Henry Kissinger https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/modern-us-warmongering-is-scaring 

Why Can't They Say It? (video--Lee says "it" at approx. 17 min.) https://rumble.com/v1g38yp-why-cant-they-say-it-with-lee-camp.html

All Our Systems Are Built To Elevate Viciousness https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/all-our-systems-are-built-to-elevate

China Threatens the US Empire, Not The US Itself https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/china-threatens-the-us-empire-not

Seen on Twitter:

Giving Big Oil 600 million acres of public land and water to drill on over the next 10 years is nothing to celebrate. https://t.co/ik6xHgx7Xu

— Ryan Knight ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) August 12, 2022

This observation is SO much more scary coming from Kissinger than from a peace advocate speaking from outside the belly of the empire. If the empire's warmongering is so crazy and reckless that it's frightening a 99 year-old Henry Kissinger, it's REALLY crazy and reckless. https://t.co/WUGP3mvEJs

— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) August 13, 2022

United States Gov't bipartisan has let over a million Americans die to protect their profits.

Do you actually believe that they would spend billions of dollars on Ukrainians and Taiwanese without it being in their financial interest?

— Solidarity (@1WhiteRabbitt) August 14, 2022

Capitalists just made up the idea that a low minimum wage is there for young people to get work experience and Americans just swallowed that propaganda without thinking about it for even a second and then vomited it back up onto the rest of us for decades.

— Brutal Regime Apocalyptic Dreams (@brutal_regime) August 15, 2022

Why is health care even a debate?
Why is housing ppl even a debate?
Why is clean water even a debate?
Why is saving our planet even a debate?
Why is protecting our most vulnerable even a debate?
Why are human rights even a debate?
Why is social responsibility a fn debate?!

— Thia is with … 😏✌️💋🔥 (@ThiaBallerina) August 14, 2022

Stupid humans pic.twitter.com/5OLt4UtW57

— Amazon Piss Jugs 🇾🇪🇵🇸 (@JeremyWard33) August 15, 2022

Eat The Rich, Feed The Poor (And Other Revolutionary Recipes)

 

"When the people shall have no more to eat, they will eat the rich." —Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1793

Eat The Rich, Feed The Poor (And Other Revolutionary Recipes)

by Redd Phlagg

So many depressing headlines hit my inbox this past week that they not only made my head spin, they made my entire worldview spin. It became ever more apparent to me that we can no longer afford to wait for the bought-off ruling establishment to take action to save our planet and its peoples. It's time. We the Workers, the little people, the 99% must get off our backsides and grab the reigns of our runaway climate catastrophe and social collapse before it's too late.

Americans need to feed our poor, tax our rich, and make certain that the narcissistic behavior that got us in these desperate straits in the first place doesn't ever return. We need to stop allowing ourselves to become distracted by the silly antics of the duopolists in DC who do only as they're told by their corporate masters. And we need to start yesterday.

A recent study found that 338,000 Americans died due to COVID-19 because our government couldn't take steps to implement Medicare For All or a similar universal single-payer system to provide them needed health care. That's one in every three of the one million plus Americans who contracted and died from the coronavirus and its variants. That's roughly the population of many medium-sized US metropolitan areas, including the one where I live, all gone. Needlessly.

COVID-19 has caused a million and counting deaths in the US. Since these deaths are spread across the country, you might not have noticed so many missing persons yourself but future generations most definitely will. American children will ask what happened to their parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, teachers, friends, babysitters, and even siblings as they grow up. What will we tell them?

Out of the one million plus Americans who have died since 2020 because of the pandemic, what percentage of them could have been saved? If the public's health and safety were the main priority of the ruling establishment rather than making profits for shareholders in the health insurance industry, Big Pharma, and the like how many could have lived? I feel that almost every American who caught COVID could have been saved if they could have received immediate treatment, free of charge, and weren't forced into situations that put their health at risk. There was no scientific reason to stop the lockdowns and force workers back out into low-paying service industry jobs (such as restaurant workers and hotel maids) so soon. In doing so, the politician-puppets of the oligarchy also forced these struggling workers' children back into daycares and public schools where the virus is extremely transmissible and proven deadly for teachers and students alike.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) could have been given to all American families to stay home and stay safe with their children until the virus died out. In countries that implemented such policies, the spread of COVID and its variants was much less, and their death tolls practically non-existent. Putting people over profits means that people win at least another day to live.

But, once again, the establishment duopoly sat on their backsides in Washington DC and moaned about how keeping people safe at home was hurting "the economy." They said this with a straight face while spending billions on the most bloated military budget ever passed in the history of humankind. They continued saying this while starting a proxy war to flush even more money down the drain so they could get rid of a natural gas competitor in Europe (i.e., Russia). No matter what label they give themselves--Republican, Democrat, "The Squad", Bernie Sanders even--these politician-puppets demonstrate by their actions that the profits of the military-industrial complex are infinitely more important than the lives of the vast majority of Americans.

Insult upon insult is dumped upon the poor and working classes' shoulders. We're forced to suffer the consequences of the duopolists' bad decisions to take on a fellow nuclear power with oil reserves and resources the Western powers envy. We're paying for it every day at the gasoline pump, grocery store, and pharmacy. But to "red and blue" alike it's okay if the working classes grow poorer trying to survive because… well, "democracy" is at stake. Democracy in an already corrupt corner of the world ruled by fascists who took over in a coup in 2014 with the help of our CIA? What larks!

Why do We The People, the working classes continue putting up with this disgusting behavior? Why are these millionaire-idiots still in office wearing smug smiles on their faces? Could it be they've militarized our local police departments to such an extent that they know they can keep us poor folks in our place if we rise up?

I realize now that not every American realizes who is putting them through each and every fresh hell because our freedom of the press has been seriously curtailed. Revealing the dirty secrets of American war crimes put one Australian journalist, Julian Assange, into jail with a threatened 170 year sentence for treason. Yes, it's treasonous to publish news stories that reveal American politicians and officials for the war criminals they are. And if the war criminals in DC can slap an insane charge of treason on a journalist doing his job, you can imagine the charges they've cooked up to slap on us if we dare take our pitchforks to the streets in protest.

 When the French rose up at the end of the 18th century to protest numerous injustices inflicted upon them, they didn't let the fear of the militarized police stop them from punishing the aristocracy who had created the hell they were living in. Marie Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake!" while the French people couldn't even afford to buy a loaf of bread. (Sound familiar?) The commoners responded with the right idea--they built the guillotine and deployed it. Yes, it's bloody and violent, but the detached head of a obscenely wealthy sociopath made their point quite well, don't you think?

Should struggling Americans do likewise? The guillotine dispatched quite a few members of the French establishment along with Marie Antoinette, but it saved many more who saw it as a symbol of how the workers wouldn't take any more shit from those who thought themselves "superior" to the working classes. These smart aristocrats buckled down and cooperated with the common folks, and France was changed. So the guillotine doesn't have to be used indiscriminately and widely to make its point. Just the thought that the abused people have no problems getting rid of their abusers can bring about change.

It's time for Americans to let the money-grubbing, duopolistic puppet-politicians know that our patience is wearing thin. It's time to stop wasting time arguing over "the lesser evil" and being distracted by their idle rich antics that have nothing to do with us and our lives. Whatever symbol We The People choose--the guillotine, the pitchfork, tar and feathers (our founders' favorite means of singling out sociopaths)--we need to post it everywhere. We need to post it along with the message that we are not inferior to those who hoard wealth and play God with our health and safety--and the health and safety of the planet and everyone else on it.

We The People, the workers, the commoners, the 99% are, in fact, their bosses. They need to do what we say or else. And we let them know in no uncertain terms they're going to be a head shorter if they don't.

Related Articles:

UN Food Chief Says Hell on Earth Looms From Hunger Crisis Triggered By Ukraine War  https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/18/un-food-chief-says-hell-on-earth-looms-from-hunger-crisis-triggered-by-ukraine-war/

"A Chilling Message to Journalists": UK Approves Assange Extradition to US https://truthout.org/articles/a-chilling-message-to-journalists-uk-approves-assange-extradition-to-us/

Medicare For All Could Have Prevented 338,000 Deaths in the US https://truthout.org/articles/medicare-for-all-could-have-prevented-338000-covid-deaths-in-the-us/

100 Million People In America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt https://popularresistance.org/100-million-people-in-america-are-saddled-with-health-care-debt/

"No Place For A Child" (The horrors child immigrants experience when they cross the southern border.) https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/18/no-place-for-a-child/

  "Revolting": Senate Panel Raises Biden's Bloated Military Budget By 45 Billion https://truthout.org/articles/revolting-senate-panel-raises-bidens-bloated-military-budget-by-45-billion/

US Secretly Reviews and Approves Israeli Airstrikes in Syria https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/17/report-us-secretly-reviews-and-approves-many-israeli-airstrikes-in-syria 

Chris Hedges: American Empire Is Finished (video) https://youtu.be/OW52qqlQiJQ 

The State of Politics From An Anti-Establishment Perspective (Direct Left Callin podcast) https://www.callin.com/episode/the-state-of-politics-from-an-anti-gQcWTfYQHQ

The Smear Campaign Against Independent Journalism (video) https://youtu.be/nkoIfWt4Z2k

New Global Movement Against Capitalism For Socialism https://popularresistance.org/international-peoples-assembly-new-global-movement-against-capitalism-for-socialism/

Seen on Twitter:

Trump didn't save shit. Biden isn't going to save shit. Wake up already.

— Brutal Regime Apocalyptic Dreams (@brutal_regime) June 18, 2022

Capitalism's instability hits us. Over centuries, crashes and inflations follow each other. No reforms, monetary or fiscal policies ever ended them. System change: now we need it more than ever.

— Richard D. Wolff (@profwolff) June 18, 2022

Some of the most dangerous and corrupt organizations in the world, like the DOD, the CDC, the IMF, the World Bank, the CIA and the FBI are hailed as pillars of safety and justice.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

— Just.A.Thought 💭 (@e_galv) June 18, 2022

Governments will do anything to preserve themselves in power.

— Just a communist who lives in Outer Space (@LizzieCosmos) June 18, 2022

We're cutting school lunches while expanding the military budget.

Make it make sense. https://t.co/VrKNEhBW2e

— Peter Daou (@peterdaou) June 18, 2022

This is the United States without any embargoes or sanctions. pic.twitter.com/7PaBEM9fQK

— 🅹🅾️🅴🆈աrecκ ☭ (@joeywreck) June 16, 2022

Poverty wages are violence.

— Communist Special Agent Dana Scully (@CommunistScully) June 19, 2022

*** 

In a near-future dystopian world, hope blossoms where mutual aid and democracy begins...

Zonta’s world is turned upside down when Jake arrives at the commune to investigate the disappearance of agents of the Authority. Can she persuade him to switch sides before the Protectors (antifascist fighters) take action?

Available now from Extasy Books: https://www.extasybooks.com/Where-the-Bodies-Lie 

Please buy direct from the small publisher and not via Amazon. Why? Amazon takes a huge percentage of the book's price and leaves very little for the publisher and author to share. Thanks.

 

There and Back Again: A Pandemic Journey

 

There and Back Again: A Pandemic Journey

by C. A. Matthews

There is another world beyond the county line.

It has been two years since we dared set foot outside of our immediate vicinity due to COVID-19 concerns and lack of funds. Finally, we broke down and realized how much we needed a change of scenery. That, and we also had to admit how much we missed seeing friends we enjoy chatting with at an annual convention we've attended for years  in a nearby state. (It was cancelled in 2020 for obvious reasons.) Once we acknowledged our unaddressed needs, we made plans to go on a road trip.

Or at least we attempted to. Our plans required fine-tuning. It's amazing how out of practice one can get, particularly after two years of staying put. We felt physically and psychologically out of sorts and even a bit fearful. Not that there's anything to worry about when there's a worldwide pandemic going on, is there?

We hit the road a half hour later than planned. (That's a record for us. We usually start out an hour or more late.) The journey proceeded smoothly until we got closer to the state line. There I began to notice a disturbing trend:

Where the hell did all these semi-trucks and double trailers come from? Sure, it's a highway, but why is 80-90% of the vehicular traffic we're seeing commercial rigs--many owned by uber-billionaire Jeff Bezos? What's happened to all the "regular people"?

Oh, yeah. There's a pandemic going on. People who are sensible have curtailed their travels. Most are cash-strapped. Only the wealthy "golden bubble" dwellers can travel without fear because they can buy out whole hotel floors and rent entire campgrounds. Those who state they're not afraid of a "pretend virus" because it's part of a "liberal conspiracy" don't stay at home. This mainstream media viewpoint was reinforced when we stopped at a rural gas station for a comfort break. We couldn't find the restrooms and were about to ask the clerk when I spotted the hand-scrawled sign in the window: Trump flags available--$19.99 plus tax. 

We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Onward we traveled, experiencing some minor discomforts due to road conditions, weather, and endless construction zones. We've now decided to modify the state slogan of Indiana to The Construction Crossroads of America. It's more accurate. Folks will thank us.

Coming to a standstill twice on the interstate due to construction, and  possibly an accident caused by said construction, caused us to lose an hour. (Funny, we saw plenty of orange barrels but mostly invisible construction workers. The barrels must do the actual roadwork?) However, when we crossed a time zone line we magically gained the wasted hour back. Hurrah! Travel can be like that at times.

Brief stops at rest areas revealed that those of us wearing masks in public are in the minority in Middle America. A lady came up to me in the parking lot of a large interstate highway rest area and said she noticed our masks and wondered if we were vaccinated. I said yes, and she said she was vaccinated too, but she had suffered through two bouts of COVID-19 already, as she worked as a nurse. We commiserated about how not everyone was taking the virus seriously.

This says a lot about us as a people, doesn't it?

We arrived at our convention hotel and were relieved to see that the state of Illinois doesn't mess around when it comes to COVID-19 precautions. Masks must be worn by all persons age 2 and older inside buildings open to the public. Our fellow conventioneers complied with the regulations without fail. Another plus was that at registration all attendees had to offer proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within the past 72 hours. It gave us a feeling of security that others actually cared about their neighbors' health and were willing to be slightly inconvenienced by wearing a mask in public for three days.

Not that wearing a mask doesn't have its downside when attempting to verbally communicate with your fellow humans...  It was often difficult to impossible to hear what panelists and questioners were saying through layers of cloth or paper. But no one complained or insisted their "rights" were being abridged. We simply asked folks to repeat their comments, laughed at any unintentional misunderstandings, and continued the conversation. (And the variety of the novelty masks worn was phenomenal! I've definitely got to order myself some. Maybe the Joker's mouth one or the vampire fangs. Or both.)

The high point of the weekend for us was seeing friends we hadn't seen in 3-D in two years. The lowest point was not seeing a lot of friends because they couldn't attend the convention for whatever reason. Attendance was way, way down--by about 50% when compared to the previous 2019 convention. The traditional big group activities had been cancelled  due to COVID precautions. These events are usually huge draws, and it explained some of the regulars missing in action. Is the state Illinois being too restrictive in keeping hundreds from sitting or standing in close proximity to each other for a few hours in an enclosed area? Or was this a decision of our convention planners to forego these crowded activities in order to prevent a super spreader event from occurring that could bring about the demise of our annual get-together? We don't know.

We were sad to leave and head home, but it was also a relief. Getting out of our rut and venturing forth into the pandemic-riddled world took courage and effort on our parts--especially on the drive home through a climate change-fueled monsoon-like thunderstorm. We felt exhausted when we pulled into our driveway. We hadn't been sure we were up to the trip, but now that we've done it… Will we do it again?

It remains to be seen. Delta variant case numbers are on the rise, and our bank account balance is plunging in the opposite direction. Until both crises are met and vanquished, you'll be finding us at home, wearing our masks, scraping to get by.

 ***

Check out Lee's latest story on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. See what they're really up to in Africa and why Bill Gates owns the most farmland in the US today. (We're still in the dark about why Bill liked to hang out with child rapist Jeffrey Epstein, however.  Creepy.)

   https://www.portable.tv/series/redactedtonight  and

https://scheerpost.com/2021/10/04/lee-camp-exposes-bill-gates-and-the-hidden-side-of-his-capitalist-projects/

***

Right now, as the U.S. escalates its war on China, the U.S. military is actively violating the human rights of Indigenous peoples in Guam, Hawai’i, the Marianas, Okinawa, and other pristine islands in the Asia-Pacific. The U.S.’s militarization of these regions is causing mass environmental devastation of sacred ancestral coral reefs and carbon-sequestering forests, while oppressing and harming Indigenous Pacific Islanders through military exercises and accidents, military crime, and the poisoning of drinking water. All of these issues can be traced back to the bloated pentagon budget. It is more evident than ever that the military and fossil fuel industry cannot be trusted with billions of tax-payer dollars each year. We must #CutThePentagon to save the planet! From Minnesota to Okinawa, the people, planet, peace and our future are under attack! The U.S. military is the largest consumer of fossil fuels, and we must demand an end to its pollution and displacement of Indigenous, Black, brown and low-income people around the world. Tell the Biden administration to stop building the environmentally destructive Marine base in Henoko, Okinawa against the will of the Indigenous Luchuan (Okinawan) people! #WarIsNotGreen Water and land protectors are once again leading the charge against the fossil fuel industry, join with us and our #CutThePentagon message in the streets of DC. From October 11-15th, frontline leaders are calling for a mass mobilization in DC to ask Biden: will it be People or Fossil Fuels? CODEPINK will host a demonstration Wednesday, October 13th - sign up to act with us, and join our affinity group here. We would love to see you for one, two or more days during this important week of action!  Contact Olivia - olivia@codepink.org - if you have any questions!  Onward to Peace & Justice, The CODEPINK Team P.S. Make sure you’re ready for Cut The Pentagon events in your town with the proper CODEPINK gear! Get your masks, tees and accessories to make the message stand out! SHOP HERE! P.P.S. CODEPINK is co-sponsoring the free, virtual War on Terror Film Festival for the month of October - view the schedule and featured films here!

 

Tell the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats: "We need decisive action on immigration. We urge you to eliminate ICE and detention centers and criminally charge those committing human rights violations at our border and detention centers; end Title 42; end deportations; and finally develop a pathway to citizenship for ALL, including Dreamers, farmworkers, and essential workers." ADD YOUR NAME

Did you know the Biden administration is still defending the Trump-era use of Title 42 to hold up asylum-seekers on public health grounds, a practice that has directly led to a backlog of more than 400,000 asylum applications?

Title 42 is what is being used as a rationale to deport Haitian refugees, despite tremendous political unrest and a devastating earthquake in their country of origin. That is unacceptable!

We suffered through four years of xenophobic, racist immigration policies under the Trump administration. These policies must end.

Join CHN and our coalition of national partners in demanding the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress provide permanent immigration protections and relief this year!

ADD YOUR NAME

This week, the Senate parliamentarian again rejected Democrats' plan for including immigration reform in the Build Back Better reconciliation package, handing us another setback.¹ Together, we have to ensure Democrats use every tool at their disposal to pass critical immigration protections this year.

We have a responsibility to migrants, refugees, and frontline workers to hold lawmakers to the commitments they made on the campaign trail. Sign if you agree! Dignity, respect, and nothing less! Tell Congress and President Biden they must pass permanent immigration protection and relief this year.

Thank you for all you do to demand accountability from our elected leaders and to fight for the needs of working families, the vulnerable, the sick and the poor.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/574534-senate-parliamentarian-rules-out-democrats-immigration-plan-b?rl=1

*** 

From Faithful America:

During his campaign, President Biden promised that his immigration policies would represent a clear break from the white-supremacist regime of his predecessor, who banned Muslims and refugees, demonized Spanish-speaking peoples, and mocked "s***hole countries."

Sadly, this is one promise Biden hasn't kept yet. Viral images of Border Patrol agents on horseback violently rounding up Haitian asylum-seekers tell a very different tale of how our country still treats our neighbors in need.

President Biden is demanding that courts give him the right to keep using Title 42 -- a provision originally intended to protect public health -- as a legal excuse to lock down the border and turn away Haitian nationals and others in need before they can even apply for asylum, just like Donald Trump did.

Americans have been shocked and horrified by the new administration's escalation of Haitian deportations, and by the inhumane treatment of Black asylum-seekers by the Border Patrol. Earlier this week, 177 diverse faith organizations -- including Faithful America -- released a letter demanding the Biden administration stop the deportations.

Let's send the administration 10,000 signatures to show them these faith groups are speaking for a nationwide movement that supports Black immigrants and refugees.

Add your name: Ask President Biden to keep his promises, welcome Haitians in need, and finally end Trump's cruel Title 42 policies.

The people of Haiti have been through so much in recent years. Earthquakes, tropical storms, landslides, and political turmoil have devastated the country. These children of God have turned to Americans for refuge, safety, and hope -- making it even more immoral to force them to return to such violent and unsafe conditions.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to welcome strangers with open hearts, and to never turn away those who are seeking help and safety. President Biden's Catholic Church has been particularly strong on immigration -- more than 160 Catholic organizations have called for the end of Title 42.

As Mary J. Novak, Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, said, Biden's continued abuse of the Trump-era policy is "a violation of the human dignity of immigrants and asylum-seekers. We cannot allow the continuation of this xenophobic order, which puts asylum-seekers in harm's way. We call President Biden to honor the call to love our neighbor and end the misuse of Title 42 completely."

In this spirit, let's raise our voices together and urge President Biden to take immediate action to stop the misuse of Title 42 and welcome all those who have fled Haiti.

Tell President Biden: No more Title 42 expulsions. Restore asylum protections now >>

Thank you for everything you do to love your neighbor and welcome the strangers in our midst.

In peace,
- Karli, Rev. Nathan, and the Faithful America team