Extra

The Right to Vote Should Not Be a Partisan Issue

Public Citizen notes that the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which was initially passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement, was successfully reauthorized in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1985, and 2006. Each vote in support of protecting the ballot received overwhelming bipartisan support. Each extension of the VRA was signed into law by a Republican president. Furthermore, 16 Republican senators and congressmembers who supported the VRA in the past are still serving in the US Senate—where they are now refusing to reaffirm their support of a healthy democracy.

Here are their names: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), Sen. Roy Blunt (Missouri), Sen. John Boozman (Arkansas), Sen. Richard Burr (North Carolina), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia), Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho), Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Sen. Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma), Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas), Sen. Richard Shelby (Alabama), Sen. John Thune (South Dakota).

Click here to remind these senators that they once recognized the importance of voting rights and it's time to put "democracy before party."

How to Improve Political Dialog

One of the biggest political/legal issues in the country today involves protecting the freedom to vote. But you wouldn't know it by visiting Sen. Dianne Feinstein's online comments page.

Because there is no standard guideline for submitting comments to our elected reps, senators and congressmembers are free to create their own list of "fave" topic options. In Feinstein's case, there are 29 topics—including "animals," "trade," and "housing"—but there is no option for "voting." The closest topic I could find was "Homeland Security." 

By contrast, Sen. Alex Padilla's checklist includes more than 40 options, including many areas overlooked by Feinstein, including "chemical safety," "natural disasters," "public lands/forestry," "veterans," and (thank you, Alex) "voting rights." 

Maybe Feinstein needs to hear from constituents who have growing concerns about the "survival of democracy." In my next email to the senator's "Homeland Security" option, I'm going to suggest she add "voting rights" to her short-list of basic concerns. 

Another suggestion for every member of the Senate and Congress: add a new option to the bottom of your personal, pre-selected action categories: an empty box labeled "OTHER." 

Raskin's Warning: "Democracy Is in Peril" 

During a recent Progressive Change Campaign Committee online interview, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin (who is chairing the House January 6 Insurrection hearings) informed 800 Zoomers and a Facebook audience of nearly 50,000 that the committee has firmly established that Donald Trump is "a walking crime wave, and he has committed crimes all over the country… there will be a reckoning there." 

Raskin offered other pronouncements as well, including: 

On the Jan 6 hearings in Congress: "We are going to do everything we can to subpoena all the information we need and to enforce our subpoenas. But even if we don't get every last person in there, we are going to have hearings that I believe will be compared to the Watergate hearings, because they are going to blow the roof off the House." 

On the fight for our democracy: "Democracy is in peril in the United States of America…we're in the fight of our lives to defend democratic institutions and values with everything we've got." 

On the filibuster: "The filibuster is not in the Constitution. In fact, it's completely antithetical to constitutional values...Could the Supreme Court say we're changing the rules and now you need seven votes in order to render a decision, or eight votes?" 

You can watch Raskin's Zoomcast on Facebook. 

Weird Words Abound 

A new word appeared before my eyes in a recent Chronicle op-ed that criticized "those who can afford it to seclude themselves… incognizant of the essential labor that goes into their consumption." [Emphasis added.] Apparently. "incognizant" is a Harvard graduate's way of saying "ignorant," "unaware," or just plain "stupid." And isn't "seclude" just a fancy way of saying "hide"? 

In the same opinion piece, I found another example of the Chron's occaisional lapse into Missing Word Syndrome. In this case, a sentence that begins: "Instead of being split obvious dividing lines…." To quote Rodney King's resonant plea: "Can't we all just learn to get along?" 

Nuclear Weapons Are Now Illegal 

On January 22, 2021, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force, with the United Nations declaring nuclear weapons illegal. On this first anniversary of the treaty's ratification (ratified by 59 nations to date), people across the US will be demonstrating at hundreds of nuclear weapons sites and outside the corporate offices of the Atomic Warlords—Bechtel, Boeing, General Dynamics, Honeywell International, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. Click here https://vimeo.com/515883787 for an inspirational video of the last year's events. 

As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. told Liberation magazine in 1959, his position on nuclear weapons was clear: "I have unequivocally declared my hatred of this most colossal of all evils." 

The Pentagon's "Pink Tax" 

Here's a surprise: When it comes to America's military uniforms, some gender situations are not uniform. 

In a New Year message praising her role in passing the bloated Pentagon budget, Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) spoke of "five key priorities that will help strengthen our country’s defenses and the security of Granite Staters and people across the country." These included "Addressing Gender Inequities in the Military:" 

But Hassan was not addressing gender discrimination or sexual assault. Nope, she was addressing dressing—as spelled out in the Pentagon dress code. To quote Hassan: "Right now, women who serve our country often pay more for their uniforms than their male counterparts. This is a 'pink tax' — and it has no place in our country. I worked with Senator Joni Ernst [R-Iowa] again to right this wrong and address out-of-pocket expenses service members pay for uniforms." 

And what's the deal with Pentagon employees having to buy their own work clothes? Is there any other nation that hands its military $768 billion in tax-dollars and then tells its soldiers to pay for their own uniforms? 

What next? Requiring soldiers to buy their own guns and bullets? 

Going Dutch 

Maybe US grunts have it easy. According to reports in the Associated Press, conscripts in Norway's military ranks have been told they will have to return their underwear, bras and socks after finishing their military service "so that the next group of recruits can use them." 

Apparently, the pandemic has hobbled the supply-chain, causing a shortage of shorts. As the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization explained it, the new hand-me-down protocol “provides the Armed Forces with greater garment volumes available for new soldiers starting their initial service.” 

Previously thousands of discharged male and female soldiers dutifully surrendered their outer clothing "but were allowed to leave barracks with the underwear and socks they were issued." No longer. 

Teaching a Goldfish to Drive 

It's not clear who came up with the idea but scientists in Israel have claimed a breakthrough in automotive history. They have managed to teach a goldfish to drive. 

Research has shown the fish placed inside a motorized fishbowl can learn how to steer their way toward a distant "target" that triggers the release of a food pellet. In the video, the fish may not have tail-lights but it has no problem making it over the fin-ish line. 

Bravo Pazmaux 

A recent romp-and-rant of poetic rhetoric has been making the email rounds, courtesy of local rabble-rouser, octogenarian savant, and shoot-from-the-hip word-slinger Arnie Passman. Call it a Painful Paean to The Former Guy. Herewith and to wit: 

DON TRUMP DIDN'T DO NO DRUGS, 

NO HE DIN'T, 

NOT THAT LSD 

OR SOMEONCE A JOINT SO VERY THIN, 

DJ NO TAKE 'EM DRUGS, 

NO DIN'T. 

(OR CIGGIES OR ALCOHOL)  

AND THEY SAY DON'S LOVE OF VIOLENCE, 

IS UNSURPASSED. 

HE'S SURE BEEN KNOWN 

TO KISS EVERY VIOLENTEST ASS. 

DON CAME OF AGE AT THE VERY TIME, 

THOSE HIS AGE WERE TRIPPING FINE, 

BUT. NO, HE STUCK WITH ANGER & VIOLENCE, 

(NO DISCOVERY OF COKE, CRACK AND METHEDRINE?) 

LIKE HIS VERY FINAL NICKEL AND DIME. 

NO DOCTOR KING, FOR MAFIAMORESO DON TRUMP, 

NO BERRIGAN BOYS AND JOAN BAEZ 

(THE CHRIST?)  

OF ANY KIND, 

LET'S MAKE DON'S DAY TO BE FROZEN AND KAPUT, 

LIKE KAPUTALISM AT ITS FILTHIEST ROOT 

HEAVYWEIGHT CROSSING AT 75 DEATH'S DOOR, 

AN ONGOING ALWAYS COMING EVER SLIGHT OF MIND. 

Behind the Clash over Ukraine: NATO's Lies to Gorbachev  

In 1990, after the end of the Cold War, US Secretary of State James Baker promised Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would move “not one inch eastward” toward Russia's homeland. 

But, as so often happens, the US broke its promises. In 1999, the Clinton administration began expanding east as NATO set about absorbing former Russia-allied (Warsaw Pact) countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia. NATO has since moved weaponry (including medium-range missiles) closer to Russia and routinely stages provocative military exercises along Russia's border. 

Meanwhile, Russia's specific demands (seldom mentioned in US media reporting) seem reasonable enough. Here they are. 

Article 1: the parties should not strengthen their security at the expense of Russia’s security; 

Article 2: the parties will use multilateral consultations and the NATO-Russia Council to address points of conflict; 

Article 3: the parties reaffirm that they do not consider each other as adversaries and maintain a dialogue; 

Article 4: the parties shall not deploy military forces and weaponry on the territory of any of the other states in Europe in addition to any forces that were deployed as of May 27, 1997; 

Article 6: all member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization commit themselves to refrain from any further enlargement of NATO, including the accession of Ukraine as well as other States; 

Article 7: the parties that are member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization shall not conduct any military activity on the territory of Ukraine as well as other States in the Eastern Europe, in the South Caucasus and in Central Asia; and 

Article 8: the agreement shall not be interpreted as affecting the primary responsibility of the Security Council of the United Nations for maintaining international peace and security. 

Unfortunately, Washington seems intractable, calling Moscow's modest requests "non-starters." 

Here's a proposed solution to end this fraught stand-off: Let's agree to keep Ukraine neutral and avoid escalating confrontations that could lead to global nuclear annihilation. 

The Real Disinformation Agents: Corporate Media

The two-minute clip from NBC's Morning Joe features host Joe Scarborough and former senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri). 

Some Rad Women Gain New Currency 

A positive note from US Rep. Barbara Lee: 

"I have an exciting update on the American Women Quarters (AWQ) program — a program based on the legislation I helped introduce to honor the trailblazing women of American history. 

"The US Mint announced its first shipments of AWQ coins, beginning with the Maya Angelou coin. 

"As a leader in the civil rights movement, poet laureate, college professor, Broadway actress, dancer, and the first female African American cable car conductor in San Francisco, Maya Angelou’s brilliance and artistry inspired generations of Americans. 

From talking in her living room as sisters, to her invaluable counsel throughout the challenges I faced as a Black woman in elected office, I will forever cherish the private moments I had the privilege to share with Maya. 

"If you find yourself holding a Maya Angelou quarter, may you be reminded of her words: 'be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.' 

"The additional honorees in 2022 are Dr. Sally Ride, physicist and first woman astronaut; Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women’s rights; Nina Otero-Warren, a leader in New Mexico’s suffrage movement and the first female superintendent of Santa Fe public schools; and Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, who achieved international success despite racism and discrimination. 

"I am proud to have led this effort to honor these phenomenal women, who more often than not are overlooked in our country’s telling of history. And I’m honored to be walking in their footsteps."