Month: March 2019

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This cartoon shows the real power that people have over politicians

March 31, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Politicians and the mainstream media want us to think that the politicians are powerful and we are merely “subjects” over whom they rule.  Actually, grassroots “people-power” is much stronger — IF WE CHOOSE TO USE OUR POWER. Thomas Jefferson and our nation’s other founders understood that “WE THE PEOPLE” are in charge.  We create governments and elect politicians to act on our behalf, but if they abuse the power we have loaned (NOT “given”) to them, we can pull our power back again and make better choices. A smart political cartoon makes a very clear point.  CLICK THIS LINK:  Cartoon […]

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Pelosi and McConnell Are Inching Us Closer to Nuclear War

March 31, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Bi-partisan enthusiasm for NATO – and NATO’s aggressive escalation of nations all the way up to Russia’s borders – increases the danger of nuclear war. At a global scale bigger than NATO, bi-partisan enthusiasm for nuclear weapons increases the danger of nuclear war. After the Berlin Wall fell, the U.S. and NATO promised that they would move “not one inch eastward.” But the U.S. and NATO quickly broke that promise. The article linked below repeats the often-overlooked hard reality that “NATO has been closing in on Russia’s borders while bringing one nation after another into full military membership. During the […]

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Gandhi’s Soul Force Vows

March 31, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Gandhi’s Soul Force Vows (Re-envisioned by Mel White) Published on page 13 of the July-August 1998 issue of Fellowship Magazine, published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation www.forusa.org 1. Vow to Truth I promise to seek the truth, to live by the truth, and to confront untruth wherever I find it. 2. Vow to Love (Nonviolence) I promise to reject violence (physical violence, spiritual violence, psychological violence) and to use only the methods of nonviolence in my search for truth and my confrontation with untruth. 3. Vow to Absorb Suffering I promise to take on myself without complaint any suffering that […]

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Register now for Olympia’s SAT APRIL 13, 2019, Climate Convention

March 31, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Thurston Climate Action Team (https://www.thurstonclimateaction.org) and Citizens’ Climate Lobby Washington (https://citizensclimatelobby.org) have partnered to bring you the 4th Annual South Sound Climate Action Convention in combination with the WA State Citizens’ Climate Lobby Conference Saturday, April 13, 2019, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Olympia High School, Olympia WA Register today for the Early-bird rate:  https://southsoundclimateconvention.org/registration-3/ Early-bird registration ($30) is OK through Monday April 1.  On Tuesday April 2, registration is $35. The organizers offer student scholarships, as well as discounted registration to those who would like to volunteer at the Convention. Visit https://southsoundclimateconvention.org/ to register today!      

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The media keep failing to hold Trump accountable. Sign this petition.

March 29, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

During 2015-2016 mainstream news media gave Trump billions of dollars of free publicity.  They treated his campaign as entertainment and utterly failed to hold him accountable. Except for some fact-checking, they still let Trump dictate what issues they will cover, and his statements always are in the lead paragraphs. Now that the Mueller Report has been completed, mainstream news media are obediently repeating the deceptive propaganda voiced by Trump’s Attorney General William Barr.  Barr has a LONG HISTORY OF COVERING UP REPUBLICAN CRIMES, going back to the Reagan era.  That’s why Trump appointed him to be A.G. Barr “summarized” more […]

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The U.S. should become a positive, responsible member of the world community. Join and respect the International Criminal Court (ICC).

March 29, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Trump keeps rebuffing the rest of the world by withdrawing the U.S. from treaties (the INF treaty limiting nuclear weapons, the Iran nuclear deal, the Paris climate deal, etc., etc., etc.)  Now he is hostile toward the International Criminal Court (ICC). On March 15, 2019, Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the U.S. will deny or revoke visas for International Criminal Court staff.  This rude rebuff is intended to impede a potential investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. More than 120 other nations have signed on to the Rome […]

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Don’t let PSE fool the public. Natural gas is NOT a “clean” bridge fuel. Download a fact sheet here.

March 28, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) keeps trying to fool people into thinking that it is a “green” electric utility.  Actually, PSE burns a lot of coal.  Public pressure is forcing them to stop burning coal eventually, but PSE wants to convert its coal-burning plant into burning natural gas for generating electricity. We need to debunk PSE’s propaganda that it is “green.” Converting coal plants to burning natural gas is NOT a “green” bridge. We need to inform ourselves so we can inform the public. The 2-page fact sheet at the following link has valid information.  It effectively debunks the propaganda that […]

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WA’s U.S. senators Murray and Cantwell were VERY RELUCTANT to support HR 1, the anti-corruption bill.

March 28, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

American voters are VERY ANGRY AT THE PERVASIVE CORRUPTION AND ABUSES that have prevented honest democracy.  Finally in 2019 the Democratic majority in the U.S. House passed H.R. 1, a major pro-democracy reform bill that would: • REDUCE the influence of big money in politics by calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. • STRENGTHEN election integrity and voting rights by improving access to the voting booth, make Election Day a federal holiday, fund more secure elections, end gerrymandering, etc. • REFORM campaign finance and ethics laws that would keep elected officials and others holding office accountable. • […]

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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 […]

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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. […]

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Four members of E.U. Parliament were arrested protesting U.S. nuclear weapons in Belgium.

March 26, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

The U.S.’s nuclear weapons stationed in Europe do NOT protect Europe.  They ENDANGER Europe. The article in this blog post is largely based on information from the Spring 2019 issue of NukeWatch Quarterly (ISSN 1942-6305) published by th Progressive Foundation, 740A Round Lake Road, Luck Wisconsin 54853.  Subscribe at nukewatchinfo.org This article reports, “The U.S. is the ONLY government in the world that places its nuclear weapons in other countries.”  It says the U.S.’s nuclear weapons are based in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.  The U.S.’s nuclear weapons in Turkey might have been removed recently.  Britain, Greece and Canada […]

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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

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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 […]

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This new, insightful article explains REALLY WHY George W. Bush started his 2003 Iraq war.

March 26, 2019 GlenAnderson 0

Soon after George W. Bush attacked Iraq in March 2003 he landed on an aircraft carrier and spoke of his triumph in front of a huge banner that proclaimed ”Mission Accomplished.” That war actually dragged on for many years, and the U.S.’s bi-partisan war against Iraq and “war against terror” actually provoked terrorism throughout the region and in many other parts of the world.  W’s war was no victory at all! Instead of the “shock and awe” against Iraq creating a decisive, powerful victory for the U.S., the long, bogged-down chaos actually showed how weak and ineffectual the U.S. is. […]