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David A Ross's avatar

What a perfect time to hear this great performance! Yes Laurie, we will rise tigether.

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Scott Cleveland's avatar

If the peaceful protests continue to swell in size from their initially impressive beginnings (estimated five million nationwide on April 12), the political reality must become unavoidable even to cynical poll watching Republicans in congress

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Andy @Revkin's avatar

Hear hear… Hoping more hear.

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Nick Anxgrs's avatar

The media foments this violence.

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George Mokray's avatar

I believe that the failure of any nonviolent movement since Gandhi to understand and use the concept of swadeshi, local production, "the heart of satyagraha," has reduced Gandhian nonviolence to performative protest, a play to the media as a way to reach the politicians and the masses.

Renewable energy, by definition, is local production and could be used to resurrect swadeshi as a tool of nonviolence, as in Solar IS Civil Defense (and entry level electricity for the nearly one billion who don't now have access) but my promotion of that idea for decades has resulted in nothing but silence. Renewables also could be a formidable tool in a campaign of non-compliance, another form of nonviolent protest as seen in the 1860s in Hungary's campaign for more independence from the Austrian Empire and in the successful action of Norwegian teachers opposing a Nazi curriculum in WWII.

We think of protest as being against something but there is also positive protest where people build the alternatives they want to live with. I've experienced it in the wake of student riots when the citizens of Isla Vista, CA formed their own government, built food coops and community gardens and seen that process again in the larger local agriculture movement that, for me, began in Boston and MA in the late 1979s with an urban/rural coalition spearheaded by State Rep Mel King, the originater of the Rainbow Coalition. I've also seen it in the solar barnraisings we did around Boston in the late 1970s and the weatherization parties of the early 2000s that HEET, now a potent force in thermal microgrids, began. Positive protest efforts can become the communitarian mutual aid and voluntary association that Kropotkin advocated and that Rebecca Solnit and other disasterologists see in the wake of catastrophe, the paradise built in hell.

Of course, in these days the tactic of resilience targetting makes all of this more difficult but that is no reason not to make the attempt.

See my notes on The Power of Nonviolence at https://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-power-of-nonviolence-by-richard.html

and all my notes on Gandhian economics, nonviolent economics, which I believe to be the ultimate goal of Gandhi's political nonviolence can be accessed at https://hubeventsnotes.blogspot.com/2014/04/sarvodaya-swaraj-and-swadeshi.html

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William Harlan's avatar

Someone changed the definition of peaceful protests. It now includes shutting down interstates which jeopardizes everyone’s safety, torching vehicles, and assaulting police officers. I propose we stick with the actual definition with an emphasis on in the word peaceful!

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Scott McKie's avatar

This is a good question - and the answer a resounding "yes" - if everyone else in the US uses the tactic that Laywer Joseph Welsh used to bring down US Senator "Tail-Gunner" Joe McCarthy -- during the US Senate investigation of McCarthy.

This was beautifully demonstrated yesterday's in CNN's world-wide live stage presentation of George Clooney's Broadway stage play "Good Night, Good Luck".

"Personal Integrity", "Personal Morality", "Personal Respect for oneself and for others", and "Always telling the Factual Truth", were taught, and still are taught in some places to be:

--- personal attributes that people back then, and some in the US now- strive to achieve and keep --- as these are some of the basic parts of being an American Citizen.

But History, especially WW II; demonstrated to the World that there are people who will gladly; personally; conscientiously; decide to destroy themselves as human beings, by shedding these human qualities:

--- in order to join and be a part of White Supremacist Nazis ideologies driven "strong-man" Dictatorships.

What Lawyer Joseph Welsh did in the real piece of tape / video shown during the play -- was to "...call a spade a spade..." when dealing with "Tail Gunner" Joe McCarthy -- by describing McCarthy as what everyone knew McCarthy was - throwing the question at McCarthy:

--- "...have you no shame..."?

What has to be done, and immediately:

--- is to speak factual truth to those that have personally, conscientiously, made the decision to vote for or participate in; any level of a city, State, or Federal Government of the publicly self-declared Dictator on Day 1.

I'm talking about every Nazi individual in that sewer:

--- every "formerly Republican Party" voter, now a Trump Nazi MAGA Party voter;

--- especially those elected to any Municipality; City; State; or Federal Government position:

--- specifically any Trump Nazi MAGA Party member in the US House of Representatives or the US Senate; -- and most specifically

--- the "Supreme Court 6" - under John Robert's control" -- who have collectively totally eviscerated any credibility they had - by their totally illegal "Law making Rulings":

--- thus shattering any semblance of them upholding their individual Oath of Office..

Demand that your representatives stop their "...my good friend or 'colleague'... " male bovine pasture pastry language when addressing these "people" - anywhere and everywhere.

These people have been, and are proving every hour:

--- that they have broken their Oath of Office:

--- that they have turned themselves into the enemy of the US;

--- that they have committed Treason against the US by decidedly bringing harm to the US - and for what:

--- money and power.

Do you find any one of them - working towards, or looking out for; anything other than money, power, or "what's good for their own "God fearin' kind"?

Do you find any one of them actively working for the total betterment of us all in this Country - legally documented or not?

The fact based truth is: -- "not only No - but Hell No!"

So say it like it is -- they are no longer American.

They are foul, soulless Nazis, who have only direction in their existence:

--- accruing as much money and power as possible:

--- and domination of the US - and the World - which Trump as publicly stated.

Say it to their face -- "we will not have any more of this "s...t.

Be totally aware - that the present makeup of the US Supreme Court, which everyone seems to be counting on to "save the day" -- is in fact - presently in the hands of the Nazi enemy.

Supreme Court Jude Alioto's wife - has been audibly recorded, saying "...I'm German, and if you cross me - I will come after you...".

"Good-ol' boy" / leg-up, hand-out Judge Thomas's wife is documented as personally pushing Trump to take illegal actions during the Jan. 6th riots.

This "set of circumstances" was portrayed in the stage play -- except the supposedly Communist / "bad person" was the ex-wife of one of the real people that worked with Edward R. Morrow - as depicted in the play.

These, and the other Supreme Court 4 Judges - are bought and sold.

They have individually broken their Oath of Office:

--- to protect and defend the US / it's Constitution / and "all of the people" in the United States:

--- from harm from 'without or within':

--- not just their own "kind".

It's time to take the verbal gloves off / and "say it like it is" - as Edward R. Murrow did in the 50s -- and George Clooney did yesterday - in the closing lines of his script.

These six "people" bare the responsibility of bringing about what is now hourly taking place, i.e., allowing Trump to have armed US National Guard in the streets of LA, an American City -- against the wishes of the Governor of California, because there are no "uncontrollable riot" anywhere in the US "right now".

These 6 "individuals" allowed themselves to be carefully groomed "for this" -- by the Heritage Foundation leadership and the Federalist Society leadership - as laid out in their Project 2025:

--- "coup from within".

These "people" also cloak themselves in "Evengelical Christian Religious Piety" -- when in fact - they are everything but.

Real Christians do not vote for anyone that says he will be a Dictator on Day 1.

Real Christians do not vote for anyone that tries to strip away all of the good things that the US Government has done for all of the peoples in the US.

Real Christians do not vote for anyone that is a Nazi -- because History has already taught them what a Nazi is -- a person who believes in dominating others 0-and favoring "his or her 'kind' ".

And to the total Democratic Party Leadership --- stuff the coom-ba-ya crap:

--- either Get Real - or Get Out.

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Karen Brooks's avatar

Crazy news today! From LA Mayor: “This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles. As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.”

And from Governor Newsom: “The federal government is creating chaos so it can have an excuse to escalate things. This is not the way any civilised country behaves”.

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