Democracy on the Ballot
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- Written by Gilbert Schramm Gilbert Schramm
- Published: 23 September 2022 23 September 2022
If we are ever going to help bring justice and democracy to places like Palestine, we need to make sure it survives here in the US. Very shortly, Americans will vote in the most important election of their lives. All elections matter, but rarely is Democracy itself on the ballot. Those who know some history will know that both Mussolini and Hitler came to power through elections. Many other countries have let their freedoms slip away like this. Elections are great—if people pay attention and put aside petty grievances for the sake of the common good…
Across the nation, some 60% of Americans will have an “election-denier” on the ballot. These are either insurrectionists or their quieter, but equally dangerous supporters. They will almost all be Republicans. Across the nation, Republicans have proposed, or enacted, hundreds of new laws designed to limit the rights of all Americans to vote. The people doing this pretend to believe the “big lie” that Biden didn’t win the 2020 election. There is no evidence to support their claims. Courts have thrown out their filings time and time again. Yet almost all the laws the GOP has supported to suppress voter participation are founded on the idea of widespread voter fraud. Their efforts are themselves a fraud.
Meanwhile, for the first time in modern history, a rightwing supreme court has actually taken a long-established right away from women—the right to control their own bodies. Most of these judges testified under oath that they believed Roe v. Wade was established law--until they got into power. A few lies and democracy disappears. It is easy to see where the Maga-Republicans are headed.
As we head into the elections it is essential that voters understand what two much used terms really mean.
- To be “woke” merely means you have woken up to the historical reality of the inequality experiences by women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ communities. There is nothing sinister about waking up. It means you have learned something. The facts about inequality are facts and won’t go away even if you bury you head in the sand.
- To be a “white supremacist” means you believe that white people should have rights (like voting) that other people shouldn’t have. This is what “Maga-Republicans” apparently believe. It means that you are fundamentally racist, xenophobic, and anti-democratic. A supremacist ideology of any kind can not co-exist with a real democracy. This is also a fact that won’t go away.
Pro-Israel lobbying group Aipac secretly pouring millions into defeating progressive Democrats
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- Written by Chris McGreal Chris McGreal
- Published: 17 May 2022 17 May 2022
American Israel Public Affairs Committee has disguised its efforts to undermine pro-Palestinian candidates
The US’s most powerful pro-Israel lobby group is pouring millions of dollars into influencing Democratic congressional primary races to counter growing support for the Palestinian cause within the party, including elections today in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s money is focused on blocking female candidates who, if elected, are likely to align with “the Squad” of progressive members of Congress who have been critical of Israel.
But it is funneled through a group, the United Democracy Project (UDP), that avoids mention of its creation by Aipac and seeks to decide elections by funding campaign messages about issues other than Israel.
Read the full article on The Guardian.
What Ukraine and Palestine Have in Common (Written in honor of Shireen Abu Aqla and Nakba Day)
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- Written by Gilbert Schramm Gilbert Schramm
- Published: 15 May 2022 15 May 2022
I thought I would take some time to share my recent reflections on two continuing conflicts that trouble the world (or should). These are the ongoing aggressions in Ukraine and Palestine. The brutal, naked aggression of Russia in Ukraine has captivated the world for almost three months. The recent killing of the noted and much beloved journalist for Al-Jazeera, Shireen Abu Aqla, a 51-year-old Palestinian American, has also shocked many. She was a correspondent for Al Jazeera's Arabic news channel and had reported on the Israel-Palestinian conflict for two decades. Her killing has reignited some attention for the long-standing aggression against the Palestinian people.
It is laudable that the US and Europe have responded so promptly and vigorously to Russia’s gross violation of international laws and norms and the enormous suffering they have imposed on the people of Ukraine. Though they differ in significant ways, the situation for Ukrainians and Palestinians is much the same. In both cases, civilian populations are bearing the brunt of the struggle. In both cases the aggressors (Russia and the Zionists in Israel) began their assault with only the flimsiest of arguments and proceeded to seize territory with brutal disregard for civilians. The actions of both have displaced countless refugees.
When one views photos, there is little discernable difference between the pictures of the destruction Russia has levied in Mariupol, Kiev, and Kharkiv, and pictures of the aftermath of Israeli assaults on Gaza over the last 20 years. The level of civilian deaths compared to those of armed combatants in both cases is far out of line with most average military operations. I can only surmise that both Israel and Russia are conducting “special operations.” And after all, to the victims (if they survive) does it really matter whether their homes were destroyed by Russian artillery or by an Israeli bulldozer bought with US taxpayer dollars?
The Zionist landgrab in Palestine began around 1895, well over a hundred years ago. It has been a slow-motion deconstruction of an indigenous culture and people. The Russian adventure in Ukraine began just a few months ago—it is an application of blunt force to seize land. Yet the objectives in both cases are the same. It is also interesting that both aggressors started with the claim that their proposed victims were cultural or ethnic “cousins” and would welcome them. They were, in both cases, simply denying their identity and legitimacy as peoples, as cultures, and as nations.
The Killing of Shireen Abu Akleh
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- Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
- Published: 13 May 2022 13 May 2022
As we grieved for Shireen Abu Aqleh, Israeli police attacked us. They have no shame | Jalal Abukhater
Inside Israeli Apartheid: A video from Mondoweiss
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- Written by Peter Miller Peter Miller
- Published: 08 May 2022 08 May 2022
New video from Mondoweiss:
For decades Palestinians have accused Israel of the crime of Apartheid, imposing two different systems on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: one system that privileges Jews, and another that discriminates against Palestinians. Now, the rest of the world is catching up. In the past year, the leading global and Israeli human rights groups have joined their Palestinian counterparts in calling Israel an Apartheid state. From the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, to Palestinian communities inside Israel, this is a look Inside Israeli Apartheid.