Human Rights – Page 26 – Glen's Parallax Perspectives

Fascinating info: How UW research convinced our state’s highest court to toss out the death penalty

March 28, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Some of my previous posts to my blog have provided information about the Washington State Supreme Court’s UNANIMOUS decision in October 2018 that the death penalty is UNCONSTITUTIONAL because of its long pattern of racial bias. I followed this case after having heard the main defense lawyer speak to an audience in Tacoma in May 2016. We expected a decision that autumn, but the prosecution delayed the case by getting their own “expert witness.” In the end, the U.W. professors’ research convinced the Washington State Supreme Court to rule our state’s death penalty unconstitutional based on their research proving a […]

Trump wants HUGE INCREASE for Pentagon budget and SERIOUS CUTS in programs that help people.

March 28, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The federal budget hurts people locally in order to divert money from social programs into more military violence that hurts people worldwide. Let’s mobilize a “people-power” movement to reverse federal budget priorities! We need diplomacy, not war. We need to SLASH the Pentagon budget and FULLY FUND programs to meet human needs. See information from the National Priorities Project (www.nationalpriorities.org). See information from them and from the Institute for Policy Studies (www.ips-dc.org), including this: http://nationalpriorities.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=5b8add2a5d98b1a652ea7fd72d942dac.410&s=5d8539df492ecae31f82493446c9564b and this: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/blog/2019/03/25/trump-budget-trade-offs-2020/ Trump’s budget proposal calls for a HUGE INCREASE in the Pentagon’s budget, which is already BLOATED and funds massive violence. […]

INCREASED BOMBING of Afghanistan is causing civilian deaths to reach RECORD HIGH NUMBERS

March 26, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The U.S.’s war in Afghanistan is the longest-running war in U.S. history. It has no real purpose — no goal — and no real plan for “winning” — whatever “winning” might mean. It just goes on and on. Trump is increasing the bombing. Trump’s bombing is causing civilian deaths to reach RECORD HIGH NUMBERS. Congress and mainstream media ignore this. This article provides important information: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/25/us-dropping-more-and-more-bombs-afghan-civilian-deaths-hit-record-high-2018?cd-origin=rss&utm_term=With%20US%20Dropping%20%27More%20and%20More%20Bombs%2C%27%20Afghan%20Civilian%20Deaths%20Hit%20Record%20High%20in%202018&utm_campaign=Daily%20Newsletter%20-%20During%20Fundraiser%20-%20WITH%20Fundraising%20Message&utm_content=email&utm_source=Act-On+Software&utm_medium=email&cm_mmc=Act-On%20Software-_-email-_-%27A%20World%20Without%20Clouds.%20Think%20About%20That%20a%20Minute%27%20%7C%20News%20%2526%20Views-_-With%20US%20Dropping%20%27More%20and%20More%20Bombs%2C%27%20Afghan%20Civilian%20Deaths%20Hit%20Record%20High%20in%202018

17 Years, 41 Military Operations, 19 Countries. It’s Time to Repeal the 2001 AUMF

March 26, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The people who founded the U.S. knew that Europe’s top leaders kept starting wars that hurt their nation, so when they wrote the U.S. Constitution they specified that the president could NOT unilaterally start a war. A war could start ONLY IF Congress EXPLICITLY DECLARED war. After the 9-11-2001 attacks, the Bush-Cheney regime steamrollered many bad things through Congress (including the PATRIOT Act). They also pushed Congress into ABDICATING ITS CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY to make decisions about going to war. Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) law, which UNCONSTITUTIONALLY empowered the President to start any wars he […]

In December 2018 Congress passed the “FIRST STEP ACT” to reform prison sentencing.

March 24, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

For several decades the U.S.’s criminal “justice” system — at federal, state and local levels — was dominated by harsh, vindictive laws and policies. Politicians were elected on platforms promising to “lock them up and throw away the key.” Of course, those cruelties were especially biased against people who were already victimized by political and cultural systems. People of color, people with mental disabilities, people suffering from poverty and substance abuse were especially victimized. They were “collateral damage” in this “war on crime” and “war on drugs.” Science has always refuted that cruelty. Bit by bit the reality has been […]

Conservatism is fatally flawed. Now is the time to debunk conservatism.

March 24, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Decades ago the U.S. had “liberals” who supported FDR’s New Deal and who tended to support labor and civil rights. Our nation also had “conservatives” who accepted the New Deal and who tended toward business interests instead of labor. They were “conservative,” not cruel. But now the “conservatives” have run off the rails into extreme right-wing cruelty. Many are blatantly sexist and racist (with Trump campaigning and governing without the “dog whistle” subtlety). The Republican Party has effectively merged with the Religious Right, and some of those people want to impose right-wing Christianity as the U.S.’s national religion. Nearly all […]

See Venezuela’s Crisis in the Context of the U.S.’s Foreign Policy

March 22, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

U.S. Foreign Policy Has Serious Implications for Us. Venezuela: Trump and the U.S. government have escalated economic sanctions and military threats against Venezuela, a sovereign democracy. Trump is continuing the bi-partisan U.S. belligerence that has occurred ever since Venezuela elected Hugo Chavez president in 1998. He was re-elected twice and invested Venezuela’s oil wealth to improve nutrition, health, education, and housing before he died in 2013. A few rich people have been hurting the majority poor population. Chavez’s “socialism” angered economic elites, who did not want to lose their economic and political privileges. The U.S. supported the 2002 coup that […]

U.S. gov’t punishes immigrant workers but lets nasty employers break labor laws

March 22, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The U.S. government and conservatives make a big deal about clamping down on undocumented immigrants who get jobs in the U.S., but the U.S. government and conservatives fail to enforce the laws that should be holding unscrupulous employers accountable for breaking the law. Page 28 of an article in the April 2019 issue of “In These Times” magazine reports: “ICE’s 2018 budget for its enforcement and removal department was $4.8 billion, while the Department of Labor’s 2018 budget for its wage and hour department was $280 million. We spent 20 times the amount chasing unauthorized immigrants than we did chasing […]

California’s governor imposes moratorium on executions

March 16, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

California has by far the most people on death row (737) of any state in the U.S. Legal problems with lethal injection have prevented executions for a while. Unfortunately, California’s voters recently passed an initiative that intends to move ahead with more executions. But on March 13, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium that will prevent any executions from occurring while he is California’s Governor. The death penalty law remains in place — and prosecutors may continue to bring more death penalty cases forward — but executions will be prevented during his term of office. He said, “Our death […]

Nuclear Weapons and Patriarchy Are Closely Interrelated!

March 7, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

This 9-minute video speech “connects the dots” between nuclear weapons and patriarchy. Without blaming any individuals, this smart, insightful woman clearly exposes the systemic links. Let’s reach out to people who care about feminism and help them connect with the peace movement. Likewise, this short video can help the peace movement connect with feminism. Truly, we are all in this together. I encourage watching this smart short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rXpp10uS7I

Interesting information — and some satire — about Trump’s “Wall”

March 7, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Watch this brilliant, funny, VERY SHORT video about “walls” : https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/2/6/1832784/-New-Mexico-s-new-governor-releases-hilariously-quirky-video-literally-busting-thru-Trump-s-wall?detail=emaildkre Here is another great 1-minute satirical video about Trump’s “wall emergency” : http://www.markfiore.com/january-march-2019/2019/2/20/its-a-wall-emergency?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=5c78396f17d9610001979274&ss_email_id=5c784314b6eaa40001713af4&ss_campaign_name=New+Animation%3A+Stormy+Summit+and+A+Wall+Emergency&ss_campaign_sent_date=2019-02-28T20%3A24%3A42Z Beto O’Rourke’s good video about immigrants and Trump’s insane border wall: Although Beto O’Rourke (from Texas) is not very progressive about some things (e.g., he is very subservient to big business), he has good values related to protecting human rights, and he is eager to reach out to the public on behalf of minorities, immigrants, and other folks whose human rights are in danger. This 7-minute video is good: https://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/the-border-has-never-been-as-safe-and-secure-as-it-is-now-1442974787669 Trump’s thinking is […]

NEWS — DANGER — OPPORTUNITY re: Military Draft

March 1, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

A federal judge rules it’s unconstitutional to register ONLY men for the military draft. For a long time before that decision, the federal government had been studying what to do about the draft: — Register women too — Require mandatory “national service” in military or civilian jobs — Abolish the draft altogether. I’ve been following this closely, and there is no indication yet what decision the federal inquiry will propose. Now that a federal judge has ruled it unconstitutional to register only men, this forces the issue into one of the options listed above. See this article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/24/military-draft-judge-rules-male-only-registration-unconstitutional/2968872002/ MORE […]

Anti-abortion laws oppress women. Now put the shoe on the other foot?

February 6, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

In recent years the U.S. government has restricted abortion rights, especially related to our international aid programs. Within the U.S., states have passed more than 400 restrictions to reduce abortion access and rights since 2010. (Source: Page 56 of The American Prospect’s Winter 2019 issue.) See www.prospect.org for a very informative article on pages 56-60. Some states that severely restrict abortion are inadvertently CAUSING UNWANTED PREGNANCIES by failing to provide accurate sex education courses in schools. Then when pregnancies occur, the women are denied a reasonable remedy. This seems counter-productive. Why don’t we REQUIRE that EVERY school provide ACCURATE sex […]

“Spiritual and Conscientious Groundings for Doing Good Work”

February 3, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The February 2019 interview on “Glen’s Parallax Perspectives” TV series (see below for info about watching it through your computer or TCTV channel 22) provides insights and examples for different spiritual and conscientious paths people can take throughout their lives that inspire and motivate them to do good work for peace, social justice, and other meaningful purposes. We can make our world a better place – and improve our local communities too – by drawing upon intangible motivations to inspire and guide our efforts. Many people do good work because they are moved by motivations grounded far below the merely […]

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 […]