Month: January 2019

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Remove Washington State’s death penalty law altogether.

January 31, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

In October 2018, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled our state’s death penalty unconstitutional because of pervasive, systemic racial bias.  Now in February 2019 the State Senate is considering Senate Bill 5339 to remove the law altogether. I will testify to the State Senate’s Committee on Law and Justice at 10:00 a.m. February 5, 2019. Here is a longer version of what I will say.  The time for each person’s testimony is short, so I will mention only the main points, but the document at this link includes supporting information.  I hope you will find it useful. TESTIMONY 2019.02.05   […]

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The mass-murderer at Parkland, Florida, was trained by Junior ROTC at that school

January 30, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The Establishment keeps telling us that militarism and military training will make us safe. The gun lobby and some politicians keep telling us that more guns in schools will make us safe. Those are lies! Here is the truth: The February 2018 a mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, was a former student who had been enrolled in the school’s Junior ROTC (JROTC) program, including its marksmanship program. The military-school partnership trained him to shoot and to be an expert marksman. The JROTC’s curriculum teaches that military violence solves problems. The mass-murderer was wearing his JROTC shirt […]

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Urge Congress to pass “No First Use” legislation to restrict nuclear war

January 30, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

SUPPORT the “No First Use” bills. S.200 and H.R. 669 are companions. Senator Markey and Rep. Lieu introduced Senate and House legislation that would limit Trump’s (or any subsequent president’s) ability to launch nuclear weapons. Their legislation would prohibit any U.S. President from launching a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress. The U.S. Constitution explicitly states that only Congress can declare war, but since 1945 presidents have claimed the de facto power to start the most horribly destructive war possible without any congressional approval, and Congress has allowed that unconstitutional power to persist. We must restore […]

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Insights and strategies for opposing right-wing extremists, fascists, etc.

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

We know that NONVIOLENCE is MORE POWERFUL than violence. We know that DIPLOMACY WORKS BETTER than war. These truths are very well documented.  See the “Nonviolence” and “Peace” parts of my blog, www.parallaxperspectives.org   Here are some insights and strategies for opposing right-wing extremists, fascists, etc.: The “white nationalism” that has become popular lately really is a form of racism:  https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/15/1826385/-Why-White-Nationalism-is-Bigoted-A-Primer-for-Congressional-Representatives-from-Iowa-Others?detail=emaildkre Nazis design their rallies and rhetoric to fool mainstream journalists into thinking Nazis are reasonable folks:  https://truthout.org/articles/those-nazi-rallies-are-not-for-the-left-theyre-for-centrist-journalists/ George Lakey wrote this article, “How to take on fascism without getting played” — https://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/how-to-take-on-fascism-without-getting-played/ Use these eight lessons of history to help […]

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Why the U.S. House must push for VERY BOLD changes, not merely bi-partisan deals

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Moderates want House Democrats to settle for bi-partisan deals with the Republican-dominated Senate. If the House Democrats do that, they will be rebuffing the voters who gave them a mandate for VERY BOLD changes. They also will FAIL TO IDENTIFY how progressive Democrats are much better than conservative Republicans. Even if the Senate fails to pass VERY BOLD House legislation, the points will be made, and 2020’s voters will see who is really on their side, vs. who is on the side of the oppressors. https://www.thenation.com/article/democrats-congress-fundamental-reforms/?link_id=7&can_id=1d662460c0abb8939c5044c82927552b&source=email-pledge-update-for-bold-reforms-naacp-protest-yemen-vote-populism-wins-roma&email_referrer=email_468235&email_subject=pledge-update-for-bold-reforms-naacp-protest-yemen-vote-populism-wins-roma

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Read George Lakey’s books and articles about nonviolence and grassroots organizing

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Recently I heard George Lakey speak in Olympia, and I bought his latest book.  I’ve known George for decades, heard him speak many times, and took a weekend of nonviolence training from him several decades ago.  He is one of the whole world’s most highly respected organizers and writers about very savvy grassroots organizing. I encourage you to read the articles George Lakey writes about nonviolent grassroots organizing, strategizing, movement-building, social justice, and more.  He writes articles for www.wagingnonviolence.org, which posts many other people’s articles, too. You can subscribe at that link and have new articles sent to you. You […]

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Insights into fundamentalist Christians’ support for Trump

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Many people don’t understand why a large majority of evangelical Christians support Trump.  Several persons have written articles that provide smart answers to that question. I already posted to my blog a very thorough article about the worldview that currently dominates the U.S.  Part of that article explains the merger between the Religious Right and the Republican Party that occurred in the 1970s-1980s and has persisted since then.  OPEN THIS LINK — http://parallaxperspectives.org/tv-programs-part-2-of-choose-a-better-worldview-to-build-a-better-world — and see the thorough summary I wrote for NOVEMBER 2018 and also DECEMBER 2018.  Look at the table of contents for each, and then read the religion-related […]

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Most Americans want to raise taxes on the very rich people

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Although the “conventional wisdom” and both political parties assume that the voters want to cut taxes, MOST AMERICANS WANT TO INCREASE TAXES ON THE RICHEST AMERICANS. Ordinary people know that our tax system is grossly unjust, that the richest people are ripping us off, and that our nation and our states have huge needs that the “conventional wisdom” says we cannot afford to fund. BALONEY! Public opinion polls show ORDINARY PEOPLE ARE MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE POLITICIANS!  This means that ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN ORGANIZE FROM THE GRASSROOTS to push for very progressive solutions to our public policy problems.   […]

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Trump is trying to overthrow Venezuela’s democracy!

January 25, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Trump is continuing the century-long and bi-partisan attempts of the U.S. government to oppose honest democracy and human rights in Latin America.  Now Trump is trying to overthrow Venezuela’s democracy! Trump has unilaterally declared a coup to overthrow Venezuela’s democracy.  Trump is recognizing the head of Venezuela’s opposition as “interim president.”  Trump’s example means WE – or ANY NATION – could simply ignore Trump and RECOGNIZE NANCY PELOSI AS THE PRESIDENT of the U.S. READ THIS SHORT ARTICLE:  https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/23/fears-us-backed-coup-motion-trump-recognizes-venezuela-opposition-lawmaker-interim?cd-origin=rss&utm_term=Fears%20of%20US-Backed%20%27Coup%27%20in%20Motion%20as%20Trump%20Recognizes%20Venezuela%20Opposition%20Lawmaker%20as%20%27Interim%20President%27&utm_campaign=A%20US-Backed%20Coup%20in%20Venezuela%20%7C%20News%20%2526%20Views&utm_content=email&utm_source=Daily%20Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&cm_mmc=Act-On%20Software-_-email-_-A%20US-Backed%20Coup%20in%20Venezuela%20%7C%20News%20%2526%20Views-_-Fears%20of%20US-Backed%20%27Coup%27%20in%20Motion%20as%20Trump%20Recognizes%20Venezuela%20Opposition%20Lawmaker%20as%20%27Interim%20President%27 SIGN THIS PETITION – and phone your U.S. Senate and House members:  https://afgj.salsalabs.org/opposeusregimechangeeffortsinvenezuela/index.html?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e451c469-44eb-4427-8c6a-2cffd45cd00c   More than 70 scholars join Noam Chomsky […]

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Giant business corporations buy and destroy newspapers

January 21, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Thomas Jefferson once said that he would rather live in a society with newspapers but no government, rather than a society with government but no newspapers. A robust Democracy ABSOLUTELY REQUIRES a DIVERSE MIX OF VOICES.  But for a number of years an escalating crisis has been interfering with Americans’ need to be well informed.  The U.S. has been experiencing a crisis that destroys our society’s ability to inform itself through honest, diverse journalism. A few giant business corporations have been buying up newspapers, just like they’ve been buying up other businesses — and consolidating economic (and hence political) power […]

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PREVENT Trump from attacking Iran.

January 21, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

During his presidential campaign and ever since his inauguration, Trump has told malicious lies and expressed hatred toward Iran.  He has been threatening war.   Trump appointed as his National Security Advisor John Bolton, the extremely poorly informed hate-monger who has a very long history of extreme animosity toward Iran. On April 1, 2018, I posted to this blog an article about Bolton’s horribly cruel and wrong views.  See this blog post:  http://parallaxperspectives.org/john-bolton-will-push-trump-into-wars-and-more-violent-foreign-policy Here is more information about Bolton’s extreme views:  https://www.thenation.com/article/apocalypse-soon-john-bolton-set-to-replace-hr-mcmaster-as-national-security-adviser/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Weekly%2003232018&utm_term=weekly   In April 2018 I compiled this list of four articles about John Bolton: “John Bolton is a […]

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Media bias continues to support Republicans and hurt Democrats

January 20, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Decades ago, Republicans and other conservatives created the myth of the “liberal news media.”  They kept harping on alleged “liberal” bias by newspapers and broadcasters.  This was their strategy to bully journalists and news media companies and push them farther toward the conservative and Republican orientation.  And it worked!  News coverage has significantly shifted in that direction. But actually, mainstream news media are OWNED BY GIANT CAPITALISTIC BUSINESS CORPORATIONS, and even NPR and public TV get significant funding from capitalist businesses, so they reflect that bias too.  They reflect the same kinds of biases that capitalist-owned media promote. Major newspapers […]

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Stop Trump’s reckless, expensive militarization of space

January 20, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

In 1983 Edward Teller, “the father of the H-bomb,” spoke privately with President Reagan and convinced him to support a scheme to shoot down other countries’ missiles, and Reagan publicly announced that he would build such a system.  Unfortunately, the scheme was TOTALLY UNWORKABLE, and Reagan publicly committed himself to that screwy scheme WITHOUT CONSULTING WITH ANY SCIENTISTS. Critics lambasted the “Strategic Defense Initiative” (SDI) as ridiculously unrealistic and horribly expensive.  They derisively called it “Star Wars.” For all of the decades since then, presidents and Congresses of BOTH political parties have lavishly funded this scheme, which has REPEATEDLY FAILED […]

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Do NOT wait for Mueller’s report. IMPEACH Trump for MANY MORE REASONS!

January 20, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The Mueller investigation is focusing on only a very narrow range of Trump’s crimes (the Russia-related ones). Trump has committed MANY MORE crimes of MANY DIFFERENT kinds. And Trump has VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION in MANY ways. All of those are IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES. When Democrats tell us that they won’t start impeachment proceedings because they are waiting for the Mueller report, THEY ARE DELIBERATELY REFUSING TO ACT RESPONSIBLY.  Every member of Congress took an oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.  THEY ARE LEGALLY AND MORALLY RESPONSIBLE TO PROTECT CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT FROM TRUMP’S ABUSES, so THEY THEMSELVES are […]

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Several fresh insights into Trump’s shutdown

January 20, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Most Americans oppose Trump’s totally unnecessary shutdown of the federal government.  His reckless, impulsive behavior to follow through on a stupid campaign “talking point” designed to provoke fear and rally support from racists who oppose immigrants never was based on actual information and never had a thoughtful plan for implementation of the wall.  Likewise the actual shutdown was never thought through to anticipate the horrible and cruel consequences.  Like everything else Trump does, it was totally a scam intended to deceive people. Various persons have identified various problems with Trump’s shutdown, but here I’m identifying a few fresh insights that […]