What Value Human Life?

What a time to be alive! What a time to have a government that cherishes you so much that it's willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe and well! What a time to be sold a line of complete and utter bull hockey!

That's our guest blogger's take on recent events. What value human life? And if human life has no intrinsic value, what then?

https://youtu.be/4IrZbcwRLKM 

What Value Human Life?

by Redd Phlagg

Before I go into my usual rant mode, I just want to say one thing: If you think it's a good idea to share your coronavirus germs with others because you believe something invisible couldn't possibly be lethal or it simply doesn't exist in your reality, then get the hell off this page right now. This blog piece is for intelligent individuals who understand the basics of germ theory and know how to come in out of the rain during a thunderstorm. 

Are the anti-masker "covidiots" all gone now? Good. Now let's talk freely, we the intelligent adults left in the room.

How much is a human life worth? After I read an article or watch something put out by the mainstream media lately, my best guess is "not a whole helluva lot." Human life is cheap. And plentiful. Obviously it is, or else our government would be taking this pandemic business a whole lot more seriously than they have since the start of it in the US.

I'll be honest here--if you've been labeled an "essential worker" in the US, then that means you're essentially screwed because you work a job that puts you at risk for catching the coronavirus and for spreading it to others. Your life only has "value" in so far as it helps your bosses make profits. And don't kid yourself--if the bosses could replace you with a robot or an android they probably would, but we're not quite there yet in 2020.

Flesh and blood is still cheap and easy to get, but who knows if that'll be the case in the next few years. With fewer human beings on the planet due to COVID-19, the value of human life might go up. The bodies of the working classes might just become the spare parts supplier for the rich and comfortable who are in need of a new kidney or liver or heart or lungs. And lung transplants will become even more commonplace in the future since coronavirus causes severe damage to the lungs. And hearts. And kidneys. And livers.

I think you understand what I'm saying here. We have about the same value as livestock does. Today's cow is tomorrow's hamburger.

Surely our children's lives have worth you say, right? We would never put our babies in harm's way. No, never! You think not? Let's take a look at what's happening in a place where apparently the devil loves to fiddle and steal souls according to the popular Charlie Daniels' song.

Simply reporting unsafe conditions in your very own high school has become a hot topic in the state of Georgia (and probably elsewhere--particularly in the south and west, a.k.a. "Trumpistan"). Georgia State House Representative Beth Moore's recent Twitter feed attests to this uproar after brave high schoolers took photos documenting conditions in their school.

Beth Moore, GA House Rep HD-95

@MooreForGeorgia

I've set up a whistleblower email - reportmyschool@gmail.com - for #Georgia students, teachers & admins to share photos, videos & testimonials of unsafe conditions at school. I'll give you the anonymous cover you need if you've been threatened w/ "consequences." #gapol #paulding

I'm going to start sharing copies of the emails I'm receiving from verified teachers who wish to remain anonymous. This teacher adds, "My principal is wonderful and I feel she is being pushed to do things that she knows aren’t right or feasible either."

Worst testimony so far - from a verified teacher in a North #Georgia School District: "I am planning for 27 students in my tiny classroom. They are not making masks mandatory. My principal is joking to people that this is 'god's cleansing plan'."

Excuse me? Did a principal say "god's cleansing plan" in regards to the life and health of their students and teachers/staff? I think it might be part of  "god's cleansing plan" to kick this heartless principal to the curb and make sure they  are never allowed to be responsible for the health, safety and education of children ever again.

Here's Rep. Moore tweeting again after a parent went on a rant about wanting to send their children to school in person and labeling those advocating coronavirus safety measures as extremists:
https://twitter.com/MooreForGeorgia/status/1292321503057518598?s=2

Ok let's try this again: Those who want to keep their kids in face-to-face instruction should be *the most furious* about schools not following safety protocol. Why shame and silence the very people trying to keep your kids safe & our classrooms open? I don't get it. #Hypocrisy 

https://twitter.com/MooreForGeorgia/status/1292321503057518598?s=20
https://twitter.com/MooreForGeorgia/status/1292321503057518598?s=20

See what I mean about only conversing with intelligent adults on this topic? The parents who want to put their children at the most risk of contracting this virus are the ones yelling the loudest for the relaxing of rules implemented to prevent the virus from spreading.
 
Maybe these anti-mask parents don't give a rat's ass about their children's health and safety? Maybe they'd rather take less tax deductions next year? I don't know--and I don't get it. Surely if there's any chance of their child becoming ill or bringing home a virus that could cause another family member to contract a potentially lethal or debilitating illness they'd want to prevent it from happening in the first place, and they'd be okay with their kids doing online schooling for another few months.

But I guess not, if the covidiots are to be believed. "Masks kill! You'll die of carbon dioxide poisoning! It's child abuse to make my student wear a mask!" they shout in all caps on their Tweeter feeds. Their actions betray their beliefs. Human life has no value to them, whether it's an elder in a nursing home, a working person in a factory or hospital or school, or a young adult attending college or high school or children and toddlers in grade school and daycare.
 
We know there are lots of Americans out there who don't love their neighbors, but I just wished the current administration wasn't salivating at the thought of burying so many of us so early as well.

The only solution to this problem is to demonstrate to the cretins in power how much we value ourselves--even if they don't value us in return. We value our lives so much that we're willing to risk them in order to restore some semblance of democracy to our beleaguered nation.  And if we don't get justice in the form of universal health care, UBI for the millions of unemployed, and safe schooling for our students and teachers, then we show the oligarchs just how little we value their lives by giving them a close shave with a guillotine. 

It's a now or never moment. If we don't value human life, we will lose it. We can't afford those who don't value human life to have the upper hand anymore. It's killing us. It has needlessly killed so very many of us in these past five months. What more can I say to convince you?

Related articles:

School That Suspended Student Documenting Lack of Social Distancing Goes Virtual
https://truthout.org/articles/school-that-suspended-student-documenting-lack-of-social-distancing-goes-virtual/

Nearly 100,000 Children Test Positive for Coronavirus in the Past Two Weeks https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8609847/Nearly-100-000-children-test-positive-coronavirus-past-two-weeks.html

New Zealand Marks 100th Day With No Reported Cases of Coronavirus
https://abc13.com/6362502/

BIO: Self-described "Rant Master" Redd Phlagg has come to the conclusion that our government exists only to enrich the lackeys of the corporations. Redd isn't taking it lying down anymore, either: "Fight back. Your life does have worth. The rich bastards' lives are forfeit. Don't let them forget it at the voting booth, in the streets, or at their front doors."

 

***

Sen. Nina Turner and Dr. Cornel West to Keynote The People’s Convention

Contact:
media@peoplesparty.org

Detroit, MI — One week after the Democratic and Republican national conventions, Bernie 2020 National Co-Chair Sen. Nina Turner and Bernie 2020 surrogate Dr. Cornel West will join the Movement for a People’s Party to headline The People’s Convention. Turner will deliver a speech titled: Choice, Challenge and Change: The Necessity of a People’s Movement.

On Sunday, August 30, from 4-6 pm EST, thousands of Americans from all walks of life will gather to discuss the state of the nation at The People’s Convention. At the conclusion, participants will vote on forming a major new political party free of corporate money and influence.

The Convention will be digital and broadcast live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages with well over a million followers, including The Jimmy Dore Show which will carry the convention to its nearly 800,000 subscribers on YouTube.

The convention will ask: “What kind of world do we want to build from the devastation of the pandemic and economic depression?”

It will feature speakers and a regional breakout session. There will be montages of the short, heartfelt videos recorded by hundreds of MPP’s 80,000 members across the country. Speakers will discuss plans to become the largest party in America in four years, including building local hubs and state parties, sending representatives to Congress in 2022, and winning the presidency in 2024.

Sen. Turner is the host of the Hello Somebody Podcast and former president of Our Revolution. She is a former Ohio State Senator and professor of African American history. Dr. Cornel West is the Professor of the Practice of Public Philosophy at Harvard University. He is the author of 20 books, a frequent commentator on CNN, and co-host of the Tight Rope Podcast.

“It looks as if the system cannot reform itself,” said West of the American political and economic system on CNN in May. “Yes we must vote the neofascist catastrophe out of the White House but the neoliberal disaster who enters the White House must be fought with a people’s movement and party,” he said, accepting the invitation to The People’s Convention.

Turner and West will be joined by political commentator Jimmy Dore, host of The Jimmy Dore Show and Comedy Central specials, and Ryan Knight, activist, Medicare for all advocate and host of the podcast “Amped Up.” 

Also in attendance will be fellow Bernie 2020 leaders, including climate scientist and campaign surrogate Dr. Peter Kalmus. “Climate and ecological breakdown is a planetary emergency, but corporate influence over both parties has blocked action for decades. We need a party free from corporate corruption – a people’s party,” said Kalmus.

Former Bernie 2020 volunteer national high school director, and national coordinator with Students for a People’s Party, Amaya Wangeshi, will speak. “There is no more compromise, there is no more reform, we have to stop waiting. People are dying right now, people are facing injustice right now; I don’t believe in sacrificing millions of lives just so you can play politics,” said Wangeshi of the corporate parties. The 16-year old daughter of Kenyan immigrants is also the founder of Beyond Bernie and founding director of Our Time, Our Revolution’s student organization. “The world better get ready, change is coming, and it’s coming like you’ve never seen it before.”

Omar Fernandez, President of the American Postal Workers Union of Vermont, which has endorsed MPP, will speak about the labor movement’s need for a party for working people. Jerry Perez, field director with Our Revolution Los Angeles and a U.S. Marine who was deployed to the Iraq and Afghan wars will speak on behalf of Veterans for a People’s Party. Cuban-American Eynelys Vinson, the vice-chair of Our Revolution Los Angeles, will share how Democrats block progress even when they have full control of government, and why Latinos need a party that speaks for them.

The People’s Convention comes as more than 700 National Sanders Delegates have drawn the line with the Democratic Party, stating that they will vote against the party platform unless it includes Medicare for all. It also arrives as the DNC Rules Committee overwhelmingly voted to allow the party to accept corporate PAC money and permit corporate lobbyists to sit on the DNC.

The Convention also takes place in the middle of a raging pandemic and unprecedented cascading economic collapse. Two avoidable catastrophes that the Democrats and Republicans knowingly chose when they spent trillions of dollars bailing out Wall Street while giving insufficient relief to the tens of millions who lost their jobs.

As a result, child hunger is at record levels, breadlines are overwhelmed, five million people have lost their employer-based health insurance, and up to 28 million people face eviction. Forty percent of small businesses may close forever and 42 percent of jobs may never return. Conditions that were just made dramatically worse because Congress let expanded unemployment insurance benefits and an evictions moratorium on federally-backed properties expire.

MPP partnered with Andrew Yang’s Humanity Forward, the Humanity First Movement, the Income Movement, Move to Amend, and other groups to lead more than 50 marches and car caravans to the homes of members of Congress across the country and demand a People’s Stimulus on July 11, 18, and 25.

“Four years from now, at the People’s Convention of 2024, when The People’s Party stands poised to win Congress and the White House, we will look back and celebrate this gathering as the moment that our nation turned the page on the Second Gilded Age. The moment that we took fate into our own hands. The moment that we gave rise to a new progressive era,” said Nick Brana, national coordinator with the Movement for a People’s Party. Brana was the national political outreach coordinator with Bernie 2016, and a founding staffer and former electoral manager with Our Revolution.

***

From MoveOn:

The new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, is disrupting the mission of the U.S. Postal Service, which is to deliver mail to Americans in a timely fashion.¹

In the last month, mail delivery has dramatically slowed down at the hands of Postmaster General DeJoy.² This right-wing conservative and Trump megadonor, who has no prior expertise pertaining to the Postal Service, was appointed by Donald Trump to the position of postmaster general in May, and his actions are hurting Americans across the country—and pose a threat to our election.^3,4

Tell the board of governors to remove Louis DeJoy as postmaster general.

The board of governors of the United States Postal Service must remove Louis DeJoy from the position of postmaster general because he is undermining the mission of the U.S. Postal Service.

On Friday, there was a major shake-up at the Postal Service, and twenty-three executives were reassigned or displaced. As The Washington Post reports, "The reshuffling threatens to heighten tensions between postal officials and lawmakers, who are troubled by delivery delays — the Postal Service banned employees from working overtime and making extra trips to deliver mail — and wary of the Trump administration's influence on the Postal Service as the coronavirus pandemic rages and November's election draws near."⁵

With a federal election less than three months away, and in the midst of a global pandemic, it is imperative that the timely delivery of mail be made a priority.

The board of governors must remove Louis DeJoy as postmaster general.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!
–Patrick Chaffeur

Sources:
1. "Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery," Fortune, July 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141438?t=10&akid=270963%2E34981449%2ESuYbLU
2. "Does the mail seem slow? You're not imagining it," The Morning Call, August 1, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141833?t=12&akid=270963%2E34981449%2ESuYbLU
3. "Trump ally Louis DeJoy named next postmaster general," CNN, May 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141412?t=14&akid=270963%2E34981449%2ESuYbLU
4. "How Trump's war on the Postal Service could create an election nightmare," The Washington Post, July 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141414?t=16&akid=270963%2E34981449%2ESuYbLU
5. "Postal Service overhauls leadership as Democrats press for investigation of mail delays," The Washington Post, August 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141835?t=18&akid=270963%2E34981449%2ESuYbLU

Telling It Like It Is

Telling It Like It Is

by C.A. Matthews

Before I go any further, please watch the following short "Honest Government Ad" produced by The Juice Media:

https://youtu.be/dpIkl2QnJeI

This brilliant piece of satire is scathing, and yet it could be argued that nothing presented in its three minutes is unduly exaggerated or misrepresented. The cold hard facts are just that bleak, that bloody awful. Our friends in Australia at The Juice Media did their homework well.

The three main points of the video are summed up as follows:

1.)    The Trump administration has completely (and possibly purposefully) mishandled the COVID-19 crisis, causing (at latest count) over 158,000 unnecessary deaths in the US with a fatality rate of 3.38%. There's no end to the COVID deaths and suffering in sight, since little to no national effort has been made to enforce stricter methods to contain the virus and universal health care (such as Medicare for All) has yet to be enacted.

2.)    Any so-called "relief packages" passed by the Trump administration and the current Congress have been woefully inadequate to address the needs of the American populace. Instead, our leaders in Washington have further enriched the billionaire class and showered more tax breaks and free money on banks and corporations rather than helping out small businesses and families. Many Americans now face imminent eviction and hunger--if they're not already among the many millions unemployed.

3.)    Our rights to peaceful protest and free speech have been abridged by a federal policing force akin to Nazi Germany's SS snatch squads. Hints that our upcoming presidential election could be cancelled or delayed have been dropped in late night Tweets. Instead, blame has (once again) been leveled at minorities and protesters rather than on our corrupt system of policing and governance in the US. All this under the guise of "patriotism" and "saving democracy" while, for all intents and purposes, effectively thwarting those cherished ideals.

Not too bad for a short satirical parody video, right? It really packs a punch!

The main reason I wanted to feature this "Honest Government Ad" was to emphasize the point that those who dare "tell it like it is" are often maligned, sometimes threatened (physically, financially and psychologically), and almost always ridiculed or ignored until it becomes apparent that these prophets' vision of reality was true all along. No doubt many will try to tear down the facts presented in the video or explain how Trump and Congress couldn't possibly be so cold-hearted. Still, how do you explain the thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold suffering that could have been prevented if anyone in Washington DC had an ounce of compassion for us ordinary Americans?

Nina Turner, former Sanders campaign surrogate and Our Revolution president, is one such brave soul not afraid to speak truth to power. She recently left the Democratic Party, and it was not a decision she took lightly. The lies, corruption, manipulation and plain old-fashioned greed of the DNC finally convinced her that playing their game wasn't going to bring about Bernie Sanders' "future to believe in." She felt she could no longer spend precious energy and effort on covering for a losing cause--a party that supports it corporate backers above all else. Nina has moved on to support the Movement for a People's Party. 

They are lucky to have her.

Will Nina be maligned, ridiculed, ignored and threatened? Of course she will be! She has been treated similarly in the past, and so the future will hold no surprises for her in that area. But Nina will at last be able to tell it like it is without looking over her shoulder in fear, worrying what the party naysayers are saying and doing behind her back. Her newfound freedom may cost her dearly in her future political career, but in the end, I think it will be worth it.  Nina's voice of truth and passion will never be tainted by association with the self-aggrandizing hypocrites of the DNC.

Telling it like it is can be both scary and liberating. "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house," as it says in the Bible. But, in the end, truth telling is what keeps many of us sane and capable to act and able to look ourselves in the eye in the mirror during these insane times.

And we need all the sanity we can get because...

The following are examples of activists who aren't afraid of  telling it like it is. Watch and share their videos with others who are seeking the truth.

One of the most popular podcasters in the history of You Tube most certainly tells it like it is:

https://youtu.be/8h9CTXNujN0

"If you're an employer who pays a non-living wage, then you're not a job creator--you're a poverty exploiter. ...We live in a failed state." --Jimmy Dore

Another voice crying in the wilderness--Lee Camp--points out how our government seems to have an addiction to killing people.


 https://youtu.be/Ox5rs4evx7k

An outsider who takes a closer look into what's happening in America and not afraid to share his views--The Rational National, Canadian pundit David Doel.


https://youtu.be/hpPQsn5Qaj

Jordan Chariton of "Status Coup" has made a name for himself by covering  stories the mainstream media reporters tend to forget--like how there's still lead in the water in Flint, Michigan.  https://youtu.be/q0A54XtpK0A



The Humanist Report's Mike Figueredo is an indie voice who doesn't  hold back on the truth, no matter whose toes he may step on. https://youtu.be/OUzbdO5Vpgo

***

 From NRDC:

Tell the EPA to Stop Undermining Clean Air Protections During COVID-19

At a time when we should be strengthening clean air protections, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—against the advice of its own scientists—has decided not to enhance critical safeguards to better control dangerous air pollution. This inaction means up to 12,500 more people will die prematurely every year—and Black and Latino people, as well as low-income communities, bear a disproportionate share of the air pollution burden. The continued assault on our nation’s clean air safeguards is unconscionable, especially now, in the middle of a global pandemic that directly impacts respiratory health. Tell the EPA to step up and protect people’s health.

Share       

***

 From Color of Change:

It has happened again. 

This time, in Detroit. A Black man was ruthlessly murdered by rogue cops. And the officers are still employed two weeks later. 

On July 10, Hakim Littleton’s friend was being arrested by a swarm of cops -- and in the process, Hakim drew a gun, shot at an officer, and ultimately missed.¹ After Hakim was tackled, disarmed, and lay face down on the ground, he was repeatedly shot, and one officer even shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range.

We’ll never know why Hakim drew the gun. He will never be able to tell what was going through his mind as officers swarmed them that day. But we do know that Hakim should still be alive. He did not deserve to be executed at point-blank range by the very people who “swear to protect” us.
Hakim’s murder was a public execution. We demand accountability for the officers, the police chief, and the entire Detroit Police Department for our Black brother. 

Add your name to the petition to demand #JusticeforHakim.

Despite how carelessly the cops sprayed bullets at Hakim, Detroit police chief James Craig has spewed lies to the media, misrepresented what happened the day Hakim was murdered, and continues to conspire against Hakim by referring to the officers as “heroes.” The department even tried to hide the additional video footage that clearly shows Hakim was shot multiple times from behind as he lay face down on the ground. The video wasn’t released until local activists and community members demanded the footage more than a week later. 

This callous behavior is nothing new for the Detroit Police Department. 

The Detroit police were once the most deadly and notorious police department in the country.² They lead the nation's largest cities in the rate of fatal shootings by police -- in just a five-year span from 1995-2000, they murdered 40 people. While that number has decreased, it was only due in part to the federal oversight they were placed under due to the overwhelming amount of police violence. And more recently, the city of Detroit has had to pay out tens of millions of dollars in police misconduct lawsuits, as a result of persistent police brutality. 

#JusticeforHakim: Sign the petition to hold the entire Detroit Police Department accountable for murdering Hakim Littleton.

At Color Of Change, we have run far too many campaigns against the Detroit police department -- and that’s a testament to how violent their police force is. Just a few weeks ago while protestors rallied to put an end to police violence, Detroit police drove their SUVs into the crowd of protestors, showing a blatant disregard for their lives.³ 

Even against the backdrop of a global uprising against police violence, Detroit officers won’t stop abusing and murdering people. 
We deserve to breathe and live free of persistent police violence. We deserve to have our loved ones come home at the end of the day. We are tired. Black Detroiters are tired. We demand accountability and we’re demanding it at every level. 

That’s why we’re calling on Mayor Mike Duggan, Prosecutor Kym Worthy, and Attorney General Dana Nessel to 1)  release the officers’ names, 2) fire them, 3) launch an independent investigation, and 4) Mayor Duggan to fire Chief James for his handling of the case.

Add your name now to demand justice.

Until justice is real,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Erika, Malachi, Marybeth, Madison, Leonard, Ernie, McKayla and the rest of the Color Of Change team

---

References:

1. "Protesters gather in Detroit after police shoot and kill man who officers say shot at them first." The Washington Post. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/257704?t=9&akid=44314%2E3399430%2Efu-83T

2. "How the roots of Detroit's police department helped spawn 1967 rebellion." NPR. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/257705?t=11&akid=44314%2E3399430%2Efu-83T

3. "Detroit police SUV drives through crowd after protesters climb on hood." Detroit Free Press. https://act.colorofchange.org/go/257706?t=13&akid=44314%2E3399430%2Efu-83T

The Only Difference Is The Uniform

Portland mom being snatched by "federal agent" (photo by Tommie Sunshine)

It's been a harrowing week--at least if you follow independent media pod casts and web sites. The images of peaceful protesters being gassed, shot, beaten and abducted are the subject of horror stories. Historians and pundits alike have concluded that Trump has taken a page right out of the fascists' playbook. Most of the elected officials in Washington DC give their silent nod of approval to this sending of federal troops into American cities through inaction. When will we wake up from this nightmare? Who knows, but until then keep an eye on the men tossing the pepper spray bombs into a line of brave moms... because the only real difference between these troops and Hitler's thugs is one of fashion sense.

The Only Difference is the Uniform
by Coast Watcher


The Battle for Portland, Oregon, has lasted for over fifty days and counting. Stemming from the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis PD, the Black Lives Matter protests have rocked this liberal city in the Pacific Northwest to its foundations. Most of the protests are peaceful; however, the response by the Department of Homeland Security at President Trump’s orders has been out of all proportion.

The Department of Homeland Security Rapid Deployment Force entered Portland in response to what were termed "increasingly violent attacks" according to Federal Protective Services regional director Gabriel Russel. According to documents obtained by Portland journalists, there are currently 114 federal law enforcement officers deployed to protect federal buildings, which also includes statues and monuments according to Trump. Personnel drawn from the Federal Protective Service (FPS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, US Marshals Service and US Customs and Border Protection make up the contingent—yet knowledgeable sources have also identified mercenaries prowling the streets including some from Triple Canopy, a descendant of the infamous Erik Prince’s Blackwater mercenary corporation.

Videos and photographs are circulating showing these and other "federal" personnel using unmarked vehicles to arrest protesters without warrant or explanation and taking them to undisclosed locations. In one attack, a van used as a first aid station for protesters had its windows smashed out by troops. In another, a professor of European Studies (ironically a specialist in the rise of fascism) at Lewis and Clark University suffered a severe head wound from a baton round during a peaceful demonstration on public land.

None of the heavily-armed personnel involved in these outrages against the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments displayed identification, as is required of law enforcement agents. There is little difference between these overly militarized personnel deployed by Trump and the gray uniformed SS "snatch squads" used as an instrument of terror by Heinrich Himmler in Nazi Germany. Similar snatch tactics causing the "disappearance" of protesters were used in Chile during Augusto Pinochet's regime in the 1970s.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler suffered a tear gas attack on the streets of his own city. During this episode Wheeler called the federal intervention an abuse of power and accused the FPS of escalating the violence, which included the tear-gassing and use of baton rounds on peacefully protesting women known as "the Moms." Oregon’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the federal authorities citing its snatching of citizens from the streets and their retention under arrest without due process. Mayor Wheeler’s response has been oddly weak. Instead of ejecting the FPS, he’s making statements that fall short of telling the feds to get the hell out of his city.
 
The FPS remains unrepentant. Senior official Ken Cuccinelli stated they will remain on the streets of Portland, and other cities where required, "until the violence recedes." Trump has also threatened to deploy more so-called federal units to Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and other urban centers across the country.

Documents show that the FPS spends $1 billion of taxpayers’ money per year on these hired security thugs. It must be noted that the FPS has a long and troubling history of failing to properly vet and adequately monitor these mercenaries or even ensure they have proper training and certifications. In other words, the taxpayers are effectively paying for their own government to oppress them and their fellow citizens. This travesty of justice is happening in a time when a virulent disease has the world and the US in its grip. The economic consequences of COVID-19 with its mass unemployment and threatened homelessness by eviction are still playing out.

Some say this is Trump’s rehearsal for when he declares himself dictator, possibly if he loses the election in November. Analogies with the Nazi  SA "Brown shirts" and Mussolini’s fascisti are clear to see. The ammosexuals--who stockpile thousands of firearms against the day they have to stand against a tyrannical government--have been strangely silent. Some side with Trump. While these gun-lovers cower, mothers and daughters stand tall with interlocking arms against the unconstitutional oppression inflicted by their own government via tear gas and rubber bullets.

Whatever happens in November, whether a second civil war begins or an outright revolution erupts, the experiment in democracy that is the United States will never be the same.

Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-portland-valor/court-documents-reveal-secretive-federal-unit-deployed-for-operation-diligent-valor-in-oregon-idUSKCN24N2SH

https://medium.com/@wkc6428/the-lead-federal-agency-responding-to-protesters-in-portland-employs-thousands-of-private-db137349f8b0

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augusto-Pinochet

BIO: Coast Watcher can't help but draw parallels between current events and Nazi Germany. It's like Trump is taking cues from Mein Kampf--supposedly a book he kept on his nightstand and read to fall asleep. Explains a lot.

Related links:

Federal Agents in Portland Tear Gas the Press (video)
https://youtu.be/wTp-Sj4bZPQ

Portland Protests Escalate! Chicago Mayor Welcomes Federal Goons! (video)
https://youtu.be/Q4YMoeOquaU 

"Wall of Veterans" Arrives in Portland to Protect BLM Protesters From Trump's DHS Troops
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wall-of-veterans-arrives-in-portland-to-protect-black-lives-matter-protesters-from-trumps-dhs-troops/ar-BB17bnpZ?ocid=sf

Navy Veteran Beaten by Feds in Portland Fears that Trump's Deployment Will Lead to Copy Cats in Combat Fatigue
https://www.businessinsider.com/christopher-david-navy-veteran-beaten-by-feds-speaks-out-2020-7

Trump Plans to Expand the Federal Invasion of American Cities
https://www.motherjones.com/anti-racism-police-protest/2020/07/trump-border-patrol-cities-portland-chicago/

America "Staring Down the Barrel of Martial Law" Oregon Senator Warns
https://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/64212-america-staring-down-the-barrel-of-martial-law-oregon-senator-warns


From Facebook:

"It dawned on me when I was in the ER, and had a chance to catch my breath (post tear gas): my government did this to me. My own government. I was not shot by a random person in the street. A federal law enforcement officer pulled a trigger that sent an impact munition into my head."

Professor Maureen Healy is the chair of the history department at Lewis and Clark College. She teaches Modern European History, with a specialization in the history of Germany and Eastern Europe (and the rise of fascism). She was shot in the head by federal agents on Monday night and is recovering from the injury and the concussion, but shared a statement of her experience, and gave permission to share this.
--
Statement by Maureen Healy, July 22, 2020
For Immediate Release 

Since June, I have been attending peaceful protests in Portland neighborhoods in support of Black Lives Matter. I have gone with family and friends. 

I am a 52-year-old mother. I am a history professor. 

I went downtown yesterday to express my opinion as a citizen of the United States, and as a resident of Portland. Of Oregon. This is my home. I was protesting peacefully. So why did federal troops shoot me in the head Monday night? 

I was in a large crowd of ordinary folks. Adults, teens, students. Moms and dads. It looked to me like a cross-section of the City. Black Lives Matter voices led the crowd on a peaceful march from the Justice Center past the murals at the Apple store. The marchers were singing songs. We were chanting. We were saying names of Black people that have been killed by police. We observed a moment of silence in front of the George Floyd mural. 

I wanted to, and will continue to, exercise my First Amendment right to speak. Federal troops have been sent to my city to extinguish these peaceful protests. I was not damaging federal property. I was in a crowd with at least a thousand other ordinary people. I was standing in a public space. 

In addition to being a Portland resident, I am also a historian. My field is Modern European History, with specialization in the history of Germany and Eastern Europe. I teach my students about the rise of fascism in Europe. 

By professional training and long years of teaching, I am knowledgeable about the historical slide by which seemingly vibrant democracies succumbed to authoritarian rule. Militarized federal troops are shooting indiscriminately into crowds of ordinary people in our country. We are on that slide. 

It dawned on me when I was in the ER, and had a chance to catch my breath (post tear gas): my government did this to me. My own government. I was not shot by a random person in the street. A federal law enforcement officer pulled a trigger that sent an impact munition into my head. 

After being hit I was assisted greatly by several volunteer medics. At least one of them was with Rosehip Medic Collective. To take shelter from the teargas I was hustled into a nearby van. Inside they bandaged my head and drove me several blocks away. From there my family took me to the ER. I am grateful for the assistance, skill, and incredibly kind care of these volunteer medics. 

We must take this back to Black Lives Matter. Police brutality against Black people is the real subject of these peaceful protests that have been happening in my city and across the country. What happened to me is nothing. It is nothing compared to what happens to Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement, mostly local police, every day. And that is why we have been marching. That is why I will continue to march.

From the web:

First they came for the Muslims,
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Muslim.
Then they came for the immigrants,
And I did not speak out
Because I was not an immigrant.
Then they came for the Black Lives Matter protesters,
And I did not speak up,
Because I was not a BLM protester.
Then they came for me,
And there was no one left
To speak for me.
(Based on the post WWII poem by Reverend Niemoller)

Paul Rippey of Portland, Oregon, wrote two new verses to A Policeman's Lot Is Not a Happy One:

When you signed up to defend our southern border,
Detaining people mostly black and brown,
You could not anticipate that you'd get orders
To teargas folks in our beloved town.
Now you're beating up on people who speak English,
And their cell phones capture all that you have done.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.

When the kids aren't marching in a demonstration
They live their happy lives from day to day,
And they do not feel the threat of deportation
'Cause most are from the good old USA.
In fact you might see one who is your brother,
Your sister, or your daughter, or your son.
Ah, take one consideration with another,
A policeman's lot is not a happy one.

*** 

We’ve been busy all month with our Cops & Capitalism: A Summer Webinar Series along with our partners at LittleSis and we’ve gotten amazing responses from those who have joined us. If you’d like to join us for our next webinar happening this Wednesday, RSVP here!
 
On our first webinar, we explored our groundbreaking research on cities’ use of Police Brutality Bonds, the bonds issued to pay for police brutality settlements which ultimately allows Wall Street to profit from police violence. Those on the webinar learned how bonds work and how to research police budgets in their own cities. 

Then, we dove deeper into the demand to defund police and took a closer look at relationships between corporations and policing. We know that cutting the police budget is a first step towards the world we want to see but in order to fully fund our communities and invest in the things we need we must also redirect funding from the institutions that support policing. Participants on the second webinar also had a chance to follow along with our complimentary How To Guide and ask questions. (If you haven’t had a chance to join any of our previous webinars, you can watch the recordings on our website.) 

And now it's time for the third installment! Join us for our next webinar happening this Wednesday July 29th at 1pm ET.

Register Now

On this webinar, we will explore how billionaires and corporations like Wells Fargo, Amazon, and Target use police foundations to fund and prop up the police. Police foundations--nonprofits that fundraise money from wealthy donors and corporations for local police departments--help maintain the racist policing status quo. We’ll discuss how directly pressuring corporations to cut ties with police foundations can strengthen fights to defund the police and invest in Black and Brown communities, as well as ensure that police departments’ public funding is not replaced by similarly enormous private funding. 

Participants will learn how to research which corporations support their local police foundations and hear examples of demands activists are making around corporations and police foundations in local campaigns. 

For centuries, police have acted as the muscle of racial capitalism, protecting the property and interests of the wealthy, and violently reinforcing systemic and racist disinvestment in our communities. Policing and mass incarceration has made it more possible for the finance industry and corporations to build their profit off our oppression. Because they are inextricably linked, we have to defund the police and tax the rich to fully fund and sustain the communities we want to live in. 

Hope to see you on the webinar! 

In Solidarity always,
Alyx Goodwin
Senior Organizer, ACRE