Why There Was No People’s Rebellion Against a Fascist U.S. President: Nine Reasons
Counterpunch – January 15, 2021 – Paul Street
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/15/why-there-was-no-peoples-rebellion-against-a-fascist-u-s-president-nine-reasons/
All of which raises a disturbing question: how did this fascist president never once face anything close to a mass popular rebellion properly demanding his immediate overthrow? This failure is about nine overlapping and interrelated obstacles to the understanding and action that was required.
The Capitol Insurrection Was as Christian Nationalist as It Gets
The New York Times – January 28, 2021 – Thomas B. Edsall
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/opinion/christian-nationalists-capitol-attack.html
It’s impossible to understand the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol without addressing the movement that has come to be known as Christian nationalism. Andrew L. Whitehead and Samuel L. Perry, professors of sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the University of Oklahoma, describe Christian Nationalism in their book “Taking America Back for God”…. Robert Jones, the founder and C.E.O. of P.R.R.I., a nonprofit organization that conducts research on religion and politics, argues in his book “White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity,” that Christianity in America has a long history of serving as a cloak for a racist political agenda. “The norms of white supremacy have become deeply and broadly integrated into white Christian identity, operating far below the level of consciousness,” Jones writes. “The story of just how intractably white supremacy has become embedded in the DNA of American Christianity.”
To Counter Climate Change, We Need to Stop Burning Things
The New Yorker – January 22, 2021 – Bill McKibben
https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-a-warming-planet/to-counter-climate-change-we-need-to-stop-burning-things
Human beings have made use of combustion for a very long time, ever since the first campfires cooked the first animals for dinner, allowing our brains to get larger. Now those large brains have come to understand that burning stuff is destroying the stable climate on which civilization depends. By this point, it’s pretty clear to almost everyone that we’d be better off not burning coal, the first fossil fuel that we learned to set on fire in a big way.
A ‘Disasterologist’ Discusses Climate Change
EcoWatch – January 25, 2021 – Tara Lohan
https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-disaster-management-2650129326.html
To stave off the worst outcomes, scientists say we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which will require steadfast effort from elected officials, policymakers and businesses. But since there are no quick fixes for the climate changes already underway, there’s one group of experts we’ll also need to call on: emergency managers. Unfortunately, although they’re tasked with making sure communities are prepared to respond to disasters, they’re often left out of conversations about climate change. Samantha Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and a “disasterlogist,” has been working to change that. She’s also been calling for emergency management professionals, including government agencies like FEMA, to put the climate crisis and environmental justice at the forefront of their work.
Doomsday Clock Says World Remains ‘100 Seconds’ From Disaster
The New York Times – January 27, 2021 – Maria Cramer
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/us/doomsday-clock-midnight.html
This year, scientists pointed to the woeful response of world leaders to the coronavirus pandemic, the erosion of the public’s faith in science and government institutions, the acceleration of nuclear weapons programs, and the persistent threat of climate change.
The time has been inching closer to midnight since 2018, when the clock was set at two minutes to 12. The last time it was that close was in 1953, after the United States and the Soviet Union tested their first thermonuclear weapons. “Next year, as always, we hope to move the hands of the Doomsday Clock away from midnight,” Dr. Bronson said… The clock is “a relic of a bygone era, an artifact of an Armageddon-any-minute-now mind-set,” Dr. Latham said. Still, he added, that is no reason to ignore it. “Once a year, it reminds us that there are some big dangers out there,” he said. “They’re all man-made, and that means maybe they can be man-unmade.”
The Biden Administration’s Landmark Day in the Climate Fight
The New Yorker – January 28, 2021 – Bill McKibben
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-biden-administrations-landmark-day-in-the-fight-for-the-climate
On Wednesday, in the course of a few hours, the Biden Administration took a series of coördinated actions that, considered together, may well mark the official beginning of the end of the fossil-fuel era. The Biden Administration temporarily paused the new leasing of federal lands and waters for fossil-fuel production, while speeding up the process of permitting renewables. The President pledged that the federal government would start buying electric cars in volume. His order sets up or strengthens offices in the Justice Department, the Energy Department, and the Environmental Protection Agency to focus on what he called “environmental justice.” He announced that climate change would become a national-security priority for the Pentagon. And all of this came after his earlier pledges to rejoin the Paris climate accord and to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline. There’s a shock-and-awe feel to the barrage of actions, and that is the point: taken together, they send a decisive signal about the end of one epoch and the beginning of another. And that signal, most of all, is aimed at investors: fossil fuel, Biden is making clear, is not a safe bet, or even a good bet, for making real money. Coal, oil, and gas are the past, not the future. They’re the present, too, of course—but you don’t make big-money bets on the present.
When Medicare Helped Kill Jim Crow
The Nation – January 19, 2021 – Mike Konczal
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/health-care-freedom-medicare
Our society adds a necessary condition to receiving health care, which is having money. The history of health care in the United States also shows us another reason to keep the market in check when it comes to our freedom: Markets can perpetuate segregation and other unjust forms of exclusion. That was the case with the Southern hospital system under Jim Crow. Medicare played a key role in the destruction of the Jim Crow system in the South. And to understand how that happened, we need to see how health care evolved after the New Deal.
Trump Has Left Congress No Choice
The Atlantic Magazine – January 25, 2021 – Adam Serwer
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/01/stakes-senates-impeachment-trial-couldnt-be-higher/617805/
Failing to convict him would leave open the possibility of a Trump restoration, which might offer some political advantages but would also exacerbate the ideological extremism that turned Arizona and Georgia into states with two Democratic senators. The reason to convict Trump and bar him from office forever is rather simple: No sitting president has ever incited a violent attack on Congress. Allowing Trump to do so without sanction would invite a future president with autocratic ambitions and greater competence to execute a successful overthrow of the federal government, rather than the soft echo of post-Reconstruction violence the nation endured in early January. The political incentives for the Republican Party in convicting Trump may be unclear, but the stakes for democracy are not. The Senate must make clear that attempted coups, no matter how clumsy or ineffective, are the type of crime that is answered with swift and permanent exile from American political life.
Letting Them Off the Hook Will Send the Message That Presidents Can Get Away With Anything
Reader Supported News – Robert Reich’s Facebook Page – January 26, 2021
https://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/67485-focus-letting-them-off-the-hook-will-send-the-message-that-presidents-can-get-away-with-anything
Every single person who helped spread Trump’s Big Lie about the election, and especially those who worked to help him overturn the results, needs to be held accountable for attempting to subvert our democracy. Don’t listen to anyone who claims that investigating Trump and his enablers is pointless or politically unviable. Letting them off the hook would send the message that presidents and their friends can get away with anything — and the next wannabe despot will surely take advantage.
Indirect Deaths: The Massive and Unseen Costs of America’s Post-9/11 Wars at Home and Abroad
Tom Dispatch = January 24, 2021 – Andrea Mazzarino
https://tomdispatch.com/indirect-deaths/
Most of war’s suffering doesn’t happen in the moment of combat amid the bullets, bombs, and ever-more-sophisticated IEDs on America’s foreign battlefields. Most of it, whether for soldiers or civilians, happens indirectly, thanks to the way war destroys people’s minds, its wear and tear on their bodies, and what it does to the delicate systems that uphold society’s functioning like hospitals, roads, schools, and most of all, families and communities that must survive amid so much loss… It seems that we Americans still care more about waging war in distant lands than about protecting our own people right here at home. Indirect deaths from our conflicts are a reality, however little noticed they may be. Isn’t it time to begin weaving a genuine safety net, allowing vulnerable Americans who fought in those very wars to be better supported so that, no longer committing senseless violence against others, they don’t commit it on themselves?
Biden could curb right-wing extremism with one weird trick: Ending the U.S. ‘forever war’
The Philadelphia Inquirer – January 24, 2021 – Will Bunch
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/capitol-insurrection-military-veterans-political-extremism-20210124.html
There’s a simple way to curb some of the radicalism and disillusionment that’s caused by sending so many young men and women to fight a muddled “forever war” that continues after nearly 20 years, as our reasons for sending troops into dangerous situations in Afghanistan or Iraq become less and less clear, especially to those “boots on the ground.” Our new president, Joe Biden, could show a seriousness to finally ending these wars and creating an American foreign policy that doesn’t need to be enforced with constant drone strikes and an archipelago of military bases.
Demilitarizing Our Democracy: How the National Security State Has Come to Dominate a ‘Civilian’ Government
Tom Dispatch – January 28, 2021 – Mandy Smithberger and William Hartung
https://tomdispatch.com/demilitarizing-our-democracy/
At a time of acute concern about the health of our democracy, any such rethinking must, among other things, focus on strengthening the authority of civilians and civilian institutions over the military in an American world where almost the only subject the two parties in Congress can agree on is putting up ever more money for the Pentagon. This means so many in our political system need to wean themselves from the counterproductive habit of reflexively seeking out military or retired military voices to validate them on issues ranging from public health to border security that should be quite outside the military’s purview… the Pentagon continues to be funded at staggering levels, while funding to deal with the greatest threats to our safety and “national security” — from the pandemic to climate change to white supremacy — proves woefully inadequate. In good times and bad, the U.S. military and the “industrial complex” that surrounds it, which President Dwight D. Eisenhower first warned us about in 1961, continue to maintain a central role in Washington, even though they’re remarkably irrelevant to the biggest challenges facing our democracy.
How new voters and Black women transformed Georgia’s politics
The Conversation – January 26, 2021 – Sharon Austin
https://theconversation.com/how-new-voters-and-black-women-transformed-georgias-politics-152741
I am a political scientist who studies American politics, with a focus on minority voters and urban politics. In my research, I have examined the peculiar mix of factors that led to Warnock’s and Ossoff’s victories, chiefly an electorate that had been diversifying for years and the effort of many hardworking Black women… Georgia’s Democratic electorate is young, Black, Latino and Asian American. It is the new South – and Black women helped create it.
Reversing Harmful Trump Policies Will Advance Housing Justice
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – January 26, 2021 – Will Fischer
https://www.cbpp.org/press/statements/fischer-reversing-harmful-trump-policies-will-advance-housing-justice
Policies that promote fair housing and access to safe, affordable housing are essential for keeping families safe during COVID-19 and beyond. The Biden Administration has already extended the national eviction moratorium, which was slated to expire at the end of January, through September. Today’s announcement — that the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) new leadership will examine the Trump Administration’s harmful regulations and reinstate policies that restore the integrity of the Fair Housing Act — will advance housing justice and support a more equitable economic recovery in the long run.
Biden to place environmental justice at center of sweeping climate plan
The Washington Post – January 27, 2021 – Juliet Eilperin, Brady Dennis and Darryl Fears
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/26/biden-environmental-justice-climate/
As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden directed agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution. “Lifting up these communities makes us all stronger as a nation and increases the health of everybody,” Biden said… Robert Bullard, a professor at Texas Southern University and longtime environmental justice advocate, praised the notion of linking the environment and health by establishing a dedicated office at HHS. And he said creating an environmental justice office at the Justice Department underscores that the problem is both important and pervasive.
Biden must not miss the urgency of the moment on criminal justice reform
The Boston Globe – January 29, 2021 – Editorial Board
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/01/29/opinion/biden-must-not-miss-urgency-moment-criminal-justice-reform/
Biden has outlined four pillars of his criminal justice platform: reducing the incarcerated population while simultaneously reducing crime; addressing systemic racism, gender bias and income disparities within the system; refocusing on rehabilitation; and ending criminal justice-related profiteering… Biden must devote more of his political capital at the start of his administration not only to act more swiftly but also to urge and motivate state governments — which are responsible for the vast majority of prisoners in the United States — to do the same… “We really think the time is right for this administration and this Congress to champion real transformative change,” said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “Ending mass incarceration could be a defining legacy of the Biden administration.”
U.S. announces restoration of relations with Palestinians
The Washington Post – January 26, 2021 – Edith M. Lederer?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/us-announces-restoration-of-relations-with-palestinians/2021/01/26/0aeb5878-6000-11eb-a177-7765f29a9524_story.html
Mills [Acting U.S. Ambassador Richard Mills] made clear the Biden administration’s more even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Under the new administration, the policy of the United States will be to support a mutually agreed two-state solution, one in which Israel lives in peace and security alongside a viable Palestinian state,” he said.
Covid-19: Why are Palestinians not getting vaccines?
BBC – January 27, 2021 – Reality Check
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55800921
Israel leads the world in terms of the number of doses per head of population. However, with the exception of those in East Jerusalem, no-one in the Palestinian areas has started receiving Covid vaccines… Some health experts have warned of the dangers of the continued spread of the virus in Israel if the vaccine programme is not extended to Palestinians, because of how the two populations often mix… The United Nations (UN) human rights body has released a statement saying it’s Israel’s responsibility to provide equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The body says differential access is “morally and legally” unacceptable under international law laid out in the Geneva Conventions on the regulation of occupied territories.
Thousands of Human Rights Activists, Scholars, and Cultural Figures Sign Open Letter Calling on Facebook to Allow Users to Hold Israeli Government Accountable
Common Dreams – January 27, 2021 – Jewish Voice for Peace
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2021/01/27/thousands-human-rights-activists-scholars-and-cultural-figures-sign-open-letter
Notable human rights activists and cultural figures such as Hanan Ashrawi, Norita Cortiñas, Wallace Shawn and Peter Gabriel have signed the petition, which notes that if Facebook restricts the usage of the word “Zionist,” it would prevent Palestinians from talking about their daily lives, shield the Israeli government from accountability for human rights violations, and do nothing to make Jewish people safer from antisemitism… Palestinians need to be able to talk about Zionism and Zionists in order to share their family stories and daily lived experience with the world. That language is essential to clearly distinguishing between Judaism and Jewish people, on the one hand, and the State actors responsible for human rights violations against Palestinians, on the other.
Protecting trees: Replace cut/scrape housing with village conservation communities
Saporta Report – January 24, 2021 – Greg Ramsey
https://saportareport.com/protecting-trees-replace-cut-scrape-housing-with-village-conservation-communities/columnists/david/
What we need is a different approach to real estate development. A way forward to develop land that is competitive financially with conventional development, preserves the majority of our forested areas, re-integrates urban farms and brings people together around a renewed connection to the land with nature and farm based activities. A method that clusters the development into walkable village and hamlet clusters while preserving the majority of the green space on site and connecting to adjacent preserved green spaces. We call this development approach a Village Conservation Community. It’s an age-old traditional form of development that was the norm prior to the advent of the automobile and suburb, though it was not called that at the time.
The GameStop movement shouldn’t stop there. Use that power for social good
The Washington Post – January 29, 2021 – Amber Petrovich
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gamestop-movement-shouldnt-stop-there-use-that-power-for-social-good/2021/01/29/f11a36a8-6266-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
It is no coincidence that the newly democratized finance industry has grown in tandem with something far less inspiring. The bullish stock market has only poured more riches into the laps of the 1 percent. The pandemic has been rough for the average American, but our billionaires got a lot wealthier… The uber-rich are pulling political strings to help themselves get even wealthier. The Post’s Christopher Ingraham explains that America’s extreme wealth gap is “consolidating power in the hands of the nation’s billionaires, who are increasingly using their riches to purchase political influence.”.. Could a solution exist with us, the retail investors, buying five stocks here and 50 stocks there? Collectively, millions of us could exert control with our buying power and potentially shift the balance of power… I hope my fellow retail investors will make GameStop just the start — and use our newfound power to help companies and corporate leaders find a conscience. Eventually, they’ll start listening and understanding that putting their communities and their employees first can improve business and still benefit shareholders.
Building Solidarity
Portside – The Indypendent – January 27, 2021 – Renée Feltz
https://www.portside.org/2021-01-27/building-solidarity
The anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin, writing in 1902, called Mutual Aid “the conscience — be it only at the stage of an instinct — of human solidarity.” This new book [“Mutual Aid”] offers insight into how that idea can live in today’s world… If practiced sustainably, [author Dean] Spade argues mutual aid can be an on-ramp for people who want to get to work right away on the things they feel urgent about. He devotes most of his attention to explaining how to “work together on purpose,” and perhaps even more importantly, ways to avoid common pitfalls like saviorism and cooptation, noting that mutual aid projects “have to work hard to remain oppositional” to the neoliberal status quo, and cultivate resistance to privatization and criminalization.
Biden Can’t Heal America By Himself. Here’s How to Help
Yes! Magazine – January 29, 2021 – J. Christopher Collins
https://www.yesmagazine.org/opinion/2021/01/29/biden-heal-americas-divisions-how-to-help/
We can’t outsource the work to heal America’s divisions; not to a president, nor to anyone else in the halls of power. This is our work, our responsibility. For those who want a healthy, peaceful democracy that solves seemingly intractable problems, this is our moment… This won’t always be easy. Even though I’m a proponent of these bridge-building conversations, I’m not immune to the frustration and anger that bridge-building work can evoke. Overall, I’ve learned that if we are to heal division and prevent it from degenerating into utter mayhem, then we need to muster a gritty perseverance that builds bridges even when it’s uncomfortable. I accept this work as my responsibility, a way to give back to my community and country. You and I can do this together. Our ripple effects, our joint efforts—no matter how small—will make a difference.
Gandhian Strategy: Combination of Truth, Sacrifice, Non-Violence and Solidarity
Global Research – January 30, 2021 – Prof. Sunanda Sharma
https://www.globalresearch.ca/gandhian-strategy-combination-of-truth-sacrifice-non-violence-and-solidarity/5618115
Gandhism is more about the spirit of Gandhi’s journey to discover the truth, than what he finally considered to be the truth. It is the foundation of Gandhi’s teachings, and the spirit of his whole life to examine and understand for oneself, and not take anybody or any ideology for granted. Gandhi said: “The Truth is far more powerful than any weapon of mass destruction.” Truth or ‘Satya’ was the sovereign principle of Mahatma Gandhi’s life… Gandhi pioneered the term Satyagraha which literally translates to ‘an endeavor for truth.’