If you do not believe that free speech is a necessity of life: please leave this blog now officially and legally as of reading this, your obligation to this statement is formally required.
Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that comprise the Bill of Rights.
The author of the Constitutional Rights Blog does not affiliate with any other organization or people on the internet or the world for that matter. I have been saying this since I first logged on to the internet. Just because I like organizations like the ACLU; does not mean I believe in everything they believe in or stand for. Just like in our great country when we vote; we will never believe in everything the candidate we vote for; believes in or stands for. That does not mean we should not vote.
I make typos allot. I do not get paid to do this. I do not have a editor or anyone working for me at all. Sometimes it may take me more than one day to finish a article.
I posted this on my art blog on October 11, 2015 on my art blog. Since I have decided to post Normal petitions and articles here; I will post it here. I donate to Normal; once a year. Normal is American earned freedom and INDEPENDENCE; in action.
Although I have not used Marijuana since high school and shortly after high school. Since I have mentioned it here on my blog yesterday; I have decided to support the legalization of Marijuana online. I signed up with these folks : http://marijuanamajority.com/
Growing up as a police officer's son in the 1970's I had my life threatened many times just for being a police officer's son; hence I hate all crime and have avoided it all my life. I definitely do not support the breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with Marijuana. In fact any mention of Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if Marijuana is illegal where you are.
Posted here on February 17 2021. It is unconstitutional to let police arrest people for marijuana; since it is legal in so many states in our country. I see it all the time in the news; presented as a celebration by the police; posing so proudly next to the marijuana. Mean while just a few miles away; marijuana can be purchased completely legally. It reminds me of the lynching's of the old south. When the slaves were freed; they thought all of their problems were over. What they did not anticipate was; white men lynching them with no legal or rationale reason at all. I am behind any federal legislation to make marijuana legal for all of America; to keep these heinous crimes of arresting people for marijuana, from being committed in the name of the law. Release them all in the USA; arrested for marijuana and expunge their records.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 17 2022
Since part of the theme of this blog is against sexual assaults; I am going to post these stories I have found on Google News. Since they are just plain too disgusting to post in detail I am going to present them just how you you find them in Google News. Click here
A woman sued after a cop forcibly baptized her. Now she’s dead.
Marie Riley said that Deputy Daniel Wilkey told her he'd let her off with a citation if he could baptize her. Her lawsuit was finally getting underway when she was found dead.
April 15, 2022
Former deputy Daniel Wilkey: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/04/woman-sued-cop-forcibly-baptized-now-shes-dead/
Far-right activists make thinly veiled death threats at Disney “anti-groomer” protest
The protesters' signs read, "Disney: Stop Mousing Around With Our Kids” and “Boycott Disney and Their Attack On Our Kids: It’s a Satanic Agenda.”: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/04/far-right-activists-make-thinly-veiled-death-threats-disney-anti-groomer-protest/
Fascist Emails Rake in Millions, the Future of Choice
The David Pakman Show - April 15, 2022:
Republican Says Hitler Made Something of Himself After Being Homeless
In a really strange speech by Tennessee State Senator Frank Niceley, the Republican lawmaker said that being homeless isn’t so bad as evidenced by Adolf Hitler being able to use his time being homeless to hone in on his people skills. Niceley said, “for two years, Hitler lived on the streets and practiced his oratory and his body language and how to connect with [unintelligible] and then went on to live a life that got him in the history books.” Niceley wanted people currently experiencing homelessness to take Hitler’s experience as inspiration to “live a productive life.” He also used the example to argue the state government shouldn’t do anything to assist the unhoused. Of course, the Tennessee state senator wasn’t directly commending the atrocities Hitler committed but he probably would have been better served to pick an example that didn’t involve one of history’s most evil figures to make the case for his policy agenda.
Trump Raking in MILLIONS with Fascist Fundraising Emails
Donald Trump and Republicans are raking in millions of dollars scamming their supporters with fundraising emails for the 2022 midterms. Trump was able to generate $378 million from these email blasts in 2022 and $110 million remains in the former president’s coffers for future campaigns. The emails are particularly aggressive and conspiratorial. As TruthOut reports, “if you are a supporter subscribed to Trump’s coveted email list, you are told that ‘sinister forces’ are destroying a nation that rightfully belongs to ‘loyal patriots like you.’” The emails invoke specific QAnon talking points and fascist rhetoric to give the reader a sense of urgency to donate to his super PACs. While this type of messaging largely wouldn’t work on Joe Biden supporters and folks who are generally left of center, the emails are getting right wingers to donate handsomely to the ex-president’s war chest.: https://davidpakman.com/2022/4/april-15-2022/
No sinister forces are destroying our country. God made us the most prosperous country in the world and only God can take all of that away. The republicans need to stop pointing their fingers at everyone else and anything else and start pointing their fingers at themselves for their lack of coherence for the constitution in other words human rights of their own citizens.
This Easter, Remember Hershey's, Mars, and Nestlé Still Use Child Slavery to Produce Their Chocolate!
If you knew the chocolate in your Easter basket was created with child labor, would you still buy it? Of course not, but that is the unfortunate reality for a lot of chocolate products. Chocolate production has notoriously been linked to child labor for decades — but companies like Hershey's, Mars, and Nestlé don't want you to know that. According to a lawsuit, seven of the world's largest cocoa companies allegedly use child labor so they can "continue to benefit from cheap cocoa. Meanwhile, these same corporations rake in millions of dollars in profits every year.
The lawsuit started when eight Malian citizens spoke out in 2021, revealing they had been trafficked as children to the Cote D'Ivoire to work on cocoa plantations. Legal documents describe the workers being constantly bitten by insects, wounded from machete accidents, and some working for years without being paid. But this issue is unfortunately nothing new. In fact, in 2001, under pressure from Congress, Hershey, Mars, Nestlé USA, and five other chocolate companies signed a deal to eradicate child labor from their supply chains by 2005. Then, the corporations missed that deadline — as well as multiple other deadlines in 2008, 2010, and 2020.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a majority of the 1.56 million child laborers in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana produce nearly 60% of the world's cocoa each year. These children must swing machetes, carry heavy loads, and spray pesticides. The root of this problem lies in poverty, so the solution is simple: pay farmers more for their cocoa. Hersey's, Mars, and Nestlé can afford to pay workers more for their back-breaking, dangerous labor. It is up to us to put pressure on these companies and tell them: we will not buy chocolate made by child slaves! Sign to demand these companies end the inhumane use of child labor now!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/710/818/882/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 18 2022
Republicans' "groomer" attacks BACKFIRE spectacularly | No Lie podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w0R04KdG5Q
Comment on the above mentioned video page:
Thank you for pointing out the homophobic notion they have that being gay automatically makes you interested in children. Not enough people in the media have pointed out that hateful and false narrative.
The last paragraph from a great email I got yesterday:
Violence starts with taking or winning without caring about the loser. The use of power without love is destroying us, and taking down the powerful won’t save us. Mediation is the antidote to the endless power struggle currently failing to solve our problems. Mediation is the loving way to manage power, but to do what we need done, mediators must have the power to bring everyone to the table.
Steve Leeper
Another great email from the https://NAACP.org:
The celebration of Easter has been a longstanding tradition for many in our community.
We are encouraged by the lessons of the season —hope, courage and faith. It is with hope that we persevere in our advocacy to make this country a better place for people of color. It is with courage, that we overcame all the obstacles thrown our way as we persist in this fight. And it is with faith, that we believe against all odds, that our mission is within reach.
As we celebrate today, we keep these virtues close to our minds, our hearts and our fight.
On behalf of the entire NAACP family, we wish you good health in this season. May our prayers bring forth healing and a transformative rebirth unto our nation.
In Power,
NAACP
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 19 2022
Back in February, the House of Representatives approved a massive economic package called the America COMPETES Act, which contained an amendment from Rep. Ed Perlmutter to include the SAFE Banking Act in the legislation. This is the sixth time that the House has approved this popular reform.
Unfortunately, the Senate continued to punt on this incremental but important issue by passing a companion bill that removed the SAFE Banking language. The legislation now moves to conference committee where the House and Senate versions will be reconciled, and the Senate is the biggest hurdle to keeping cannabis banking reform in the final compromise bill.
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TODAY AND URGE THEM TO KEEP SAFE BANKING IN THIS BILL.
Currently, small marijuana-related businesses are suffering from a lack of traditional lending and simple banking services. Because of this, they are increasingly the targets of robberies, some of which have resulted in fatalities in recent months. Inaction on SAFE Banking is limiting opportunities and literally costing lives.
If these state-licensed businesses are to have a chance at success and keep their employees and customers safe, and to be competitive with the growing legal international market when prohibition finally ends, we need to act NOW to provide them with relief and treat them like businesses in any other industry. This measure is just one step, but an important one towards creating a regulated cannabis market that benefits consumers and entrepreneurs.: https://norml.org/act/keep-safe-banking-in-the-america-competes-act/
Tax filing could be free right now. The IRS already has the authority to create a free, easy-to-use online tax filing tool.
Instead, Americans will spend approximately $31 billion this year for the privilege of paying services like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block to file for them.
Sign if you agree: Tax prep should be easy and free.
SIGN THE PETITION
The government likely already knows how much you make before you file your taxes — your employer has provided the IRS with a copy of your W-2s and 1099s. The agency could just send you a pre-filled out tax form based on information they already have.
However, tax prep corporations, like Intuit and H&R Block, have lobbied to stop the IRS from providing an easy way for millions of taxpayers to file online for free — a service many other countries provide. Billion dollar corporations brokered a sweetheart deal, promising to offer low-income taxpayers free software in exchange for the IRS not making a free filing program of its own.
These corporations then made the "free" options difficult to use by deploying deceptive design and misleading tactics to steer low-income filers to paid versions of their service when they are eligible to file for free.
There is no reason to spend money on stressful activity when the government already knows what they need to know — we should just be able to confirm (or amend) it. Both the Biden administration and Congress have the ability to change this. Previous outcries have led to federal and state investigations, lawsuits, and small reforms. We still have a long way to go, and with tax season coming to an end, and the ultra-rich and wealthy corporations still not paying their fair share, it's time to increase the pressure once more.
Sign if you agree: Tax prep should be easy and free.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-if-you-agree-tax-prep-should-be-easy-and-free
This upcoming Wednesday is 4/20 and it couldn't be a more critical time to take action for marijuana legalization that is equitable for all of us.
As a quick reminder:
→ The failed War on Drugs has deepened racial injustice, shattered neighborhoods, and decimated communities for over 50 years. In sum: It's bullshit.
→ While marijuana use is roughly equal among Black and white people, Black people are 3.73 times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession.
→ Eighteen states and D.C. have already legalized marijuana, yet these extreme racial disparities persist – and communities of color have not benefited from legalization.
But legislation – like the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act that just passed in the House – can tackle these racial disparities head-on. And now, it's time for the Senate to follow suit. Join us by sending a message to your senators in support of justice-oriented marijuana legalization that includes similar racial and social justice measures now.
TAKE ACTION
We need to use the momentum we have from the House to ensure our senators act as quickly as possible.
I'll be clear: Equitable legalization measures like the MORE Act will have a positive impact on millions of people whose lives have been upended by the failed and racist War on Drugs. That means legislation that not only decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level – but also redresses the disparate harm caused by criminalization by expunging federal marijuana convictions, investing in communities harmed by the War on Drugs, and prohibiting immigration penalties and other federal penalties based on marijuana.
For 4/20, let's make just marijuana legalization happen once and for all: Send your message today.: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/support-just-marijuana-legalization
Life without parole equals death by incarceration
Lawsuit challenging “Death by Incarceration” goes before Pennsylvania Supreme Court
On Wednesday, a lawsuit brought by people serving Death-By-Incarceration sentences, commonly known as Life Without Parole, took their case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Represented by the Abolitionist Law Center, Amistad Law Project, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, they seek an end to the ban on parole for those serving life sentences for participating in a felony that led to a death, even if they played no direct role in the death and did not intend or anticipate it.
“People change. After decades of incarceration, society should allow people the opportunity to demonstrate that they are not the same person who harmed their community so many years ago,” said Kris Henderson of Amistad Law Project. “Pennsylvania is uniquely cruel in denying a second chance to people who neither took a life or intended to. We urge the court to fix this injustice.”
Scott v. Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, filed in July 2020, is the first case of its kind in the country. It argues that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole for those who did not kill or intend to kill serve no legitimate governmental interest and are illegally cruel under the Pennsylvania constitution.
For more information, visit our website.: https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/lawsuit-challenging-death-incarceration-goes-pennsylvania-supreme
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 21 2022
Sexual Assault is a War Crime. The ICC Must Investigate Russian Soldiers Who Are Allegedly Committing it.
Sign Now
War is brutal for all involved: the images coming out of Ukraine make that abundantly clear. But women are often some of the unseen victims of war, experiencing predatory behavior from invading soldiers -- from street harassment to violent sexual assault. And new reports coming from Ukraine suggest that these atrocities are on the rise, with Russian soldiers as perpetrators and Ukrainian civilians as victims. We must put a stop to this patriarchal violence!
Sign now to demand that the International Criminal Court investigate these instances of sexual violence and charge the perpetrators with war crimes!
There are many ripple effects of the violence of war, and right now, Ukranian officials are witnessing an increase in reports of sexual violence involving Russian soldiers. Rape is a war crime, plain and simple. And Russia is no stranger to war crimes -- images from on the ground have shown civilians killed execution style, with their hands tied behind their back and bullets indicating close-range gunshots. Reports of sexual assault in Ukraine are just another example of the way Putin's deranged invasion plans have wreaked havoc on the eastern European country. Sign the petition now to put pressure on the ICC! Russian soldiers should be investigated for war crimes NOW and the perpetrators must be charged!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/797/642/202/
Lawmaker’s epic clapback to getting called a “groomer” goes viral
"I am the biggest threat to your hollow, hateful scheme. Because you can't claim that you are targeting marginalized kids in the name of 'parental rights' if another parent is standing up to say 'no.'"
Wednesday, April 20, 2022: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/04/lawmakers-epic-clapback-getting-called-groomer-goes-viral/
We’ve increased the pressure to win new protections for airline travelers, and we need your help,
NBC Nightly News just covered our call for a Passenger Bill of Rights to give air travelers fair, consistent rights when facing flight delays, cancellations, and baggage problems. Check out the video, then sign our petition to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg demanding real protections for airline passengers.: https://action.consumerreports.org/20220420_finance
Please sign now! New petition by Bill Ferguson: Investigate Mike Boyd for Kent Heitholt murder.
Bill Ferguson
APR 20, 2022 —
Please take a couple of minutes to read and sign this important new petition. Your support for Ryan Ferguson has been deeply appreciated. We are now on a mission to correct the wrongs that cost Ryan so many precious years of freedom. This is a call to action to properly investigate the Kent Heitholt murder. We need your help!
On November 12, 2013 Ryan Ferguson walked free from prison after spending nearly a decade behind bars wrongfully convicted for the murder of Columbia, MO sports editor Kent Heitholt.
The murder of Kent Heitholt remains unsolved. This is unacceptable. Please sign this petition asking the Missouri Attorney General’s Office to officially open an investigation into Mike Boyd as a suspect in the murder of Kent Heitholt.
Petition · Investigate Mike Boyd For The Murder of Kent Heitholt · Change.org: https://www.change.org/p/investigate-mike-boyd-for-the-murder-of-kent-heitholt-ab35bf3a-4fdb-45dd-8f86-d944ff9f3aa8
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to legalize marijuana nationwide and eliminate criminal penalties for possession or distribution! But the fight isn't over -- the House has passed similar legislation before, only for it to fail in the Senate. Now is our opportunity to put pressure on the Senate and urge them to support long overdue reforms to federal drug laws and legalize marijuana!
The War on Drugs has failed spectacularly at stopping drug use, but succeeded in locking up millions of Americans for years, decades, or life. Not only would this bill slash marijuana arrests, it would impose a federal tax on marijuana sales to fund programs helping communities recover from the lingering impacts of the devastating War on Drugs.
Legalizing marijuana and creating reparations for those who felt the worst consequences of its criminalization are essential pieces of criminal justice reform! This bill wouldn't just help give access to the medically-useful drug to millions of Americans, it would also begin to reverse a century of injustice. Sign the petition now to urge all legislators in the Senate to stand on the right side of history and pass long overdue marijuana legalization and reform!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/184/442/592/
It turns out that marijuana is a gateway drug—a gateway to governmental oppression.
For too long now, a nonviolent substance has been putting nonviolent people, especially nonviolent Black people, behind bars. Join us in ending this violent war on the American public by immediately: call upon the Senate to act.
Public opinion and state laws have moved rapidly over the past decade because of your organizing. In fact, just last month it was YOU who pushed Congress to vote on The MORE Act! And that’s exactly what they did!
The House of Representatives has held a vote, now it’s the Senate’s turn. Call upon the Senate to do its part for the American people, and legalize a substance which does little harm to the physical body and tremendous harm when it's criminalized.
Within the coming weeks, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is presenting the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA) to do just that. Sign now to tell the Senate: Take action to address marijuana policy reform!: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/petition-tell-the-senate-to-address-marijuana-policy-reform/
For millions of Americans, April 20th is a day for celebration. And we certainly have plenty to celebrate.
In just the past few weeks, we achieved several important victories in the battle for cannabis freedom. Members of the House of Representatives, for only the second time in history, have advanced legislation repealing the federal prohibition of marijuana. At the state level, New Mexico retailers began engaging in adult-use marijuana sales on April 1st, and New Jersey regulators just announced that adult-use sales would begin in the Garden State on April 21st.
But as hundreds of thousands of Americans enjoy their 4/20 by engaging in the state-legal use of cannabis, many more still risk the threat of arrest, prosecution, and incarceration for doing the very same thing.
Take a few minutes out of your 4/20 to send a message to your elected officials calling on them to end our failed and racist prohibition.
In 2020, police made over 350,000 marijuana-related arrests. The year before, police made over one-half million arrests.
In short, this 4/20, while many of you embrace your cannabis freedom, over 1,000 others will be arrested and handcuffed – victims of geography, systemic racism, and failed, archaic public policies.
NORML launched the battle for cannabis liberation and it is up to us to finish the fight. With your continued support, we can. And we will.
As you celebrate 4/20, do not forget that there still remains much work to be done. Please make a contribution to NORML today so that we can bring about a day where no Americans face the threat of arrest for the responsible use of marijuana.: https://norml.org/act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 22 2022
The wealth gap in our nation continues to rise rapidly. Working people are left behind while executives and CEOs make an average of 351 times more than the typical worker's salary.
CEO compensation has grown 940% since 1978, while worker compensation has grown 12%. This level of inequality was never part of the American Dream. And the increasing imbalance will only lead to economic instability and stunted growth.
Through executive actions, President Biden can act now to enable and protect workers.
We’re calling on the Biden administration to expand pro-labor policies that would help millions of working families. It's time to lower costs and raise wages for working people to provide urgently needed economic relief.
Sign the petition to President Biden: Expand worker power.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-this-petition-to-president-biden-expand-worker-power
Barack Obama Warns Social Media Disinformation Is Hurting Democracy
The former president urged regulation for social media companies.
Apr. 22, 2022, 08:38 AM EDT
Former President Barack Obama said Thursday that disinformation on social media is hurting democracy, and that social media companies should be subject to regulation.
“One of the biggest reasons for democracy’s weakening is the profound change that’s taken place in how we communicate and consume information,” Obama said in a speech at Stanford University.
Obama noted that most people rely on search tools and social media as main sources for news and information, but warned a constant feed of unmoderated content carries dangers.
“Over time, we lose our capacity to distinguish between fact, opinion and wholesale fiction,” he said.
Obama repeated a call he has raised before for social media companies to be more transparent in sharing how their algorithms determine news feeds.
“So much of the conversation around disinformation is focused on what people post,” Obama said, according to The New York Times. “The bigger issue is what content these platforms promote,”
Obama said social media companies should be subject to regulation to curb the flow of disinformation.
“With that power comes accountability and in democracies like ours, at least, the need for some democratic oversight,” he said.
He also mentioned Russian President Vladimir Putin as someone who knows how to exploit social media to advance his personal interests and undermine democratic institutions.
Full article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/barack-obama-disinformation-threat-social-media-regulation_n_62627e86e4b0dc52f49541a9
Obama says social media must be fixed: ‘People are dying because of misinformation’
Last Updated: April 22, 2022 at 7:21 a.m. ET
First Published: April 21, 2022 at 8:03 p.m. ET: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-says-social-media-must-be-fixed-people-are-dying-because-of-misinformation-11650585809
Opioids More Likely To Kill Than Car Crashes Or Suicide
Apr 22, 2022,01:07pm EDT
Somewhat overshadowed by the pandemic, overdose deaths have once again spiked in the United States, making the lifetimes odds to die from an opioid overdose now more likely than dying from a car crash or from suicide.
To a person born in 2020 in the U.S., the probability of dying of an opioid overdose over their lifetime is one in 67 if the number of overdose deaths remained constant in the future. This is the biggest likelihood of any cause of death that is not a disease. In 2017, these odds were still 1 in 96 - behind death by suicide which has since affected a smaller share of the population. A common fear - dying by gun assault - is actually much less common at lifetime odds of 1 in 221 as of 2020. Full article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/katharinabuchholz/2022/04/22/opioids-more-likely-to-kill-than-car-crashes-or-suicide-infographic/?sh=6db791ab48c1
Here is a up to date example of what Barack Obama said and what I have been saying for years online; social media kills people.:
Two Wisconsin residents electrocuted after trying TikTok trend
Posted: Apr 22, 2022 / 10:29 AM CDT
Updated: Apr 22, 2022 / 11:13 AM CDT
DAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Two people from central Wisconsin were found dead and believed to have been electrocuted when doing an art form that is popular on TikTok.: https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/local-news/two-wisconsin-residents-electrocuted-after-trying-tiktok-trend/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 24 2022
April 23, 2022
2:40 PM CDT
Last Updated a day ago
Missing girl found dead, fueling outrage over gender violence in Mexico
MONTERREY, Mexico, April 22 (Reuters) - The body of a Mexican teenager who went missing this month in the northern state of Nuevo Leon has been found submerged in a cistern inside the grounds of a motel near where she was last seen alive, authorities said on Friday.read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/missing-girl-found-dead-fueling-outrage-over-gender-violence-mexico-2022-04-22/
Debanhi Escobar, an 18-year-old law student, vanished on April 9 amid a spate of disappearances of women in Nuevo Leon's capital Monterrey that has sparked protests and intensified international scrutiny of gender violence in Mexico. read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/northern-mexico-authorities-search-missing-women-amid-spate-disappearances-2022-04-20/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 25 2022
SIGN THE PETITION: DEMAND ACTION ON POLICE REFORM
An end to the horrors of police brutality and a criminal justice system that fails to properly hold law enforcement officials accountable is long overdue.
Join us and call on President Biden to sign an executive order to:
- End qualified immunity, which protects government officials from lawsuits seeking monetary damages
- Collect data on police encounters that will provide transparency and safety for our communities
Sign the petition below to amplify the need for these critical reforms. : https://support.naacp.org/a/em_pet_b1_042422_ac_30d
A New Bill Would Limit the Usually Inflated Cost of Insulin to $35. Do Republicans Care Enough About Human Life to Pass It?
Over 35 million Americans live with diabetes, and yet price-gouging has made their life-saving daily drug - insulin -- skyrocket in cost in recent years. In fact, stories abound of people having to ration their medicine or discontinue it altogether, quite literally risking their lives because they can't afford the treatment they need. But a bill that was just passed by the House of Representatives aims to mend that.: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/633/165/703/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 25 2022
Patrick Lyoya, a 26 year old refugee from the Congo, had a full, bright future ahead of him. But like so many other victims of police brutality in the United States, his life was tragically cut short. Despite efforts by the Grand Rapids Police Department to reframe this incident as a tragic accident, Lyoya was killed execution style, with a gun placed directly on the back of his head. We cannot let Patrick's story simply fall out of the news cycle and fade into history, and we must call this death what it is: a violent murder. The officer responsible must be held accountable!
Sign now to demand the officer who committed this atrocity is fired and charged with murder!
Despite widespread calls for reform, police killings have not declined in the past few years. Between April 2021 and April 2022, over 1,000 people in the U.S. were shot and killed by police officers. Data has shown for decades that Black men are disproportionately likely to be stopped, brutalized, and killed by police officers compared to their white counterparts. If America is supposed to be the "land of the free," why are cops allowed to kill Black people without facing consequences?
Grand Rapids is no stranger to police brutality. Just five years ago, officers held innocent teenagers at gunpoint. A few months later, officers looking for a middle-aged woman handcuffed an 11-year old girl and held her at gunpoint. In the midst of the police brutality protests in the summer of 2020, an officer even shot a protester in the face with a gas canister. It is time the police in this community faced consequences for their actions, which can have deadly consequences.
Traffic stops should never end in the murder of a civilian. There is no excuse for this incident and we must not be silent while Lyoya's killer walks free! Black lives matter, and we must prove that they matter by holding this officer accountable for murder. Sign the petition now if you agree!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/322/046/177/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 29 2022
Senator Mitt Romney has a reputation for being a moderate Republican, but it’s not actually true.
Sure he was once the Governor of Massachusetts, before he lost his run for president and became a Senator from Utah. Yes, he stood up to other Republicans against the violent overthrow of the 2020 election. He even remained in the room, when almost every other Republican walked out during the standing ovation when Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was officially confirmed.
We can not set the bar this low. Romney remains committed to the same radical, anti-good government ideology that drives the rest of the Republican Party.
This week, Romney published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that revived his scheme -- called the TRUST Act -- that sets up an undemocratic closed-door, fast-tracked process to cut the two most successful and popular government programs: Social Security and Medicare.
It’s his answer to fighting inflation and it’s exactly the kind of bill that could gain momentum with corporate Democrats in bed with Wall Street.
That’s why we need to make sure this idea is dead on arrival by pushing back immediately. Please send a message to Congress now: To fight the impact of inflation and help seniors, expand Social Security and Medicare, don’t cut them.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/protect-social-security-and-medicare-stop-the-trust-act-now/
I'm a pediatrician — and this is why using your child on social media is wrong
Dr Niamh Lynch says digital child labor must stop. We must consider the children's rights and their safety
FRI, 29 APR, 2022 - 12:00
We have the Metaverse. Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are abuzz every day with families sharing information, jokes, memes, and photos of their children. For the most part, these snippets of everyday life stay where they are meant to, in the confines of the phones and computers of friends and families.
The primary concerns are the rights and the safety of the children involved. In the context of the rights of the child there are two main issues. First is the ability of the child to consent. It simply isn’t there. The concept of social media means absolutely nothing to them now. But what about when they get older?
The second issue is the right of the child to privacy. With tantrums and potty training amongst the popular content shared online, it is clear that making all aspects of a child’s life available for public viewing is a breach of their privacy. Once it is shared, the ‘parent influencers’ have created an indelible digital footprint of their child. One which in years to come may cause that child embarrassment or distress.
The other major concern is of course, safety. When a child becomes recognizable in public, in the absence of a parent, there is potential for them to become a target. Furthermore, there is a real risk that images posted online can be screenshotted, shared, and manipulated to look like something very sinister.: https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandwellbeing/arid-40861739.html
If this guy really wanted to say the right thing; he would say it is time to end all social media. Is that so hard to imagine? This world would be way better off without social media. Leave real news to the unbiased professionals. What good is social media? A honest person must see social media is a scourge of the internet and is truly useless and unproductive. Social media is simply mob mentality. The the old lynch mobs that plagued America is social media today, (that is not exactly a fact, to me; it sure looks like it could end up like that). Social media is anti democracy and anti peace.
One thing I am sure is a fact that the so called social media has hurt many people and will continue to do so, if not stopped. All I can do is post about it.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated April 30 2022
Pastor said “God wanted” underage girl to be his spouse. So the church approved.
The victims' family pressured church leaders to approve of the sexual abuse, saying that it was like Joseph and Mary, because Mary was also a child bride.
Thursday, April 28, 2022: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/04/pastor-said-god-wanted-underage-girl-spouse-church-approved/
The last time I asked people to demand marijuana reform, I got some angry emails asking me why I was bothering with a “trivial” issue (to quote one email) when “there is a war on.” It’s because we must keep fighting for justice on multiple fronts at once.
Look, I’m not asking this for myself. I’ve been in recovery from drugs and alcohol for many years. With luck (and what some would call grace), I hope to stay that way for a long time. Here’s why I’m asking for your help on this issue, simply put:
Marijuana policy in the US is racist and archaic. Change is desperately needed.
But there is good news. The House recently passed the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. The MORE Act would legalize marijuana and identify the specific harms inflicted on communities of color by marijuana policing.
Now, we need the Senate to act and address this crisis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker and Ron Wyden introduced the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (CAOA) to do just that.
Please join me in calling on the Senate to pass marijuana reform!
Just how widespread is this crisis? There were an estimated 350,150 arrests for marijuana-related violations in 2020 alone. That’s an average of one American being placed in handcuffs every 90 seconds.
And from data analyzed by the ACLU, the racial disparity in those arrests amounts to Black Americans being 3.6 times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, despite similar consumption rates of marijuana. The racist policing is horrendous.
Simply put, legalizing marijuana and making an affirmative commitment to a justice-centered path forward must be a priority for the Senate.
Add your name to tell the Senate to pass needed marijuana reform now.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/petition-tell-the-senate-to-address-marijuana-policy-reform/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 03 2022
I once worked as a caregiver for a male employer, and on my very first night on the job, he asked me to get into bed with him.
This sexual harassment is LEGAL, because I am a domestic worker.
Caregivers, housecleaners, and other domestic workers like me are EXCLUDED from the most basic workplace protections like sexual harrasment, overtime pay, and paid sick leave.
It means millions of Black, Latinx, and Asian immigrant women like me are often in the position of praying employers do the right thing every time we enter a home.
That’s why this month, we’re ramping up our campaign to pass a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to correct these injustices, and I’m asking if you can join us to launch with unstoppable momentum.
Will you join us and call on your representatives to support the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights?
TAKE ACTION →
Care work is on track to be one the fastest growing sectors in the next decade. But care workers like me are still governed by the laws of the slavery-era past.
In the 1930s when most workers were given basic workplace rights by Congress, farm workers and domestic workers, the majority of whom were Black, were deliberately left out.
Now thanks to the relentless leadership of the incredible domestic workers who are part of the National Domestic Workers Alliance around the country, we’ve pushed ten states and two major cities to pass domestic workers bills of rights or protections. But we won’t stop until all domestic workers are protected.
Will you join us as we push tirelessly to pass a National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights by adding your name to our petition calling on Congress to act at last?
TAKE ACTION → : https://act.domesticworkers.org/a/bill-of-rights-shlb
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 04 2022
People accused of crimes in the United States are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise. However, with our cash bail system, people with enough money and resources to buy their way out get to experience pre-trial freedom, while low-income people languish in jail.
One particularly heinous example is Rikers Island. Among the 15,000 people incarcerated at Rikers Island, 80% have not been convicted, nor have they even faced trial.
Incarcerating people who have not been convicted is the very antithesis of "presumed innocent until proven guilty."
As far back as 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke to the need to treat defendants as people rather than dollar signs. However, the backlash to his bail reform efforts was so intense that by 1984, 34 states increased judicial power to jail defendants before trial.
"Tough on crime" advocates have long feigned concern about releasing hardened criminals back into the community, but bail is not a determinant of a person's threat to public safety, merely a measure of how much money and resources are available to them.
Between 2011 and 2019, in jurisdictions that significantly reduced usage of cash bail, crime rates either remained flat or decreased. The insistence on pre-trial incarceration is, then, about something other than public safety.
Since these communities are over-policed, over-surveilled, and more often targeted for pretextual traffic stops and arrest, Black folks are more likely to be charged with crimes. Because Black communities systemically face more economic oppression–suffering higher rates of wage theft and underemployment–Black defendants are far less likely to have the means to pay bail.
A clear picture emerges of a cash bail system that is meant to incarcerate Black people, regardless of whether or not they are found guilty of a crime.
Furthermore, people detained for long periods before trial are convicted more often and receive harsher sentences. Cash bail serves as a heavy thumb on the scale against justice for Black people.
Sign the petition: Cash bail is a racist tool used to incarcerate more Black people. It's time to abolish bail now.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-cash-bail-is-classist-and-racist-and-must-be-abolished
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 05 2022
With the timeline for the Senate introduction of comprehensive legislation to end federal marijuana prohibition getting pushed back by several months, the options for getting any cannabis policy reform approved in Congress before the mid-term elections are dwindling. However, we have an opportunity to get incremental but necessary legislation passed NOW.
Please take a moment to call Sen. John Cornyn's office at (202) 224-2934 and respectfully request that he keep SAFE Banking in the America COMPETES Act.
Back in February, the House of Representatives approved a massive economic package called the America COMPETES Act, which contained an amendment from Rep. Ed Perlmutter to include the SAFE Banking Act in the legislation. This is the sixth time that the House has approved this popular reform. The Senate, however, approved companion legislation that does not contain cannabis banking reform. https://norml.org/blog/2022/04/08/poll-majority-of-americans-support-legalizing-marijuana-expunging-past-convictions-and-allowing-banks-to-work-with-cannabis-businesses/
Now the House and Senate must reconcile these bills, and your senator is on the committee that can keep SAFE Banking in the final legislation.
Please take a moment to call Sen. John Cornyn's office at (202) 224-2934 and respectfully request that he keep SAFE Banking in the America COMPETES Act.
We need to flood Senate offices with voices of support for SAFE Banking if we hope to keep up the momentum towards legalization in Congress. If you can't make a call, send them an email ASAP. https://norml.org/act/keep-safe-banking-in-the-america-competes-act/
Sign U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce’s petition and support marijuana legalization.
I’m Lucas Kunce. I’m a 13-year Marine veteran and economic justice advocate running for Missouri’s open U.S. Senate seat – and today I want to visit with you about weed.
For years, the massive corporations behind private prisons, the insurance industry, and pharmaceutical cartels have pressured our government to keep up the “War on Drugs” – costing taxpayers billions and landing millions of Americans in jail for non-violent offenses.
When I’m in the U.S. Senate, I’ll fight to legalize cannabis in all 50 states and reassess + expunge convictions for non-violent offenses. But I can’t do it without our help, so please:
Will you add your name to our call to legalize weed nationwide?
Please take a moment to call Sen. John Cornyn's office at (202) 224-2934 and respectfully request that he keep SAFE Banking in the America COMPETES Act.
TRANSPARENCY INDEX
Police officers are the most visible manifestation of the criminal legal system and have a profound impact on the lives of millions of people every year. For communities of color, that impact can be deadly.
After the summer 2020 uprisings following the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others, many struggled to redefine the role of police. But little information is made public about what police do.
Our new Police Data Transparency Index provides a community-informed vision of police data transparency for accountability. Explore the new tool for access to national police data and what information cities and counties currently make available—as well as what they don't. : https://policetransparency.vera.org/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 08 2022
Delusional Paranoid Campaign Ads & Fake Bankruptcies
The David Pakman Show - May 6, 2022
May 6
GA Republican Has Most Disturbing Ad in History
Kandiss Taylor is a Republican running for Georgia governor, and she has a new campaign ad that’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The concept is that there’s a satanic regime running the Peach State and that her administration would be the one to end it. Taylor says in the ad, “back in biblical times, human sacrifice was a form of demonic worship.” Kandiss compared this human sacrifice to abortions and COVID vaccinations. She went on to reference the New World Order and to complain about people taking down Confederate monuments and statues. Taylor is in a distant third in the polls at this point with 3.7% support. The RealClearPolitics average has incumbent Governor Brian Kemp leading the race with 54% followed by former Senator David Perdue with 32%.: https://davidpakman.com/2022/5/may-6-2022/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 13 2022
I listen to this station every morning and will be sad if goes off the air.:
The future of WRR, Dallas’ classical radio station, hangs in the balance
The Dallas City Council can hand over management to KERA, or vote to sell the station.
11:00 AM on May 13, 2022 — Updated 15 minutes ago
The City Council could alternatively choose to sell WRR. The station is valued at more than $13 million and the city would use $5.6 million from the sale proceeds to pay off station debt. If the station is sold, there’s no guarantee it would remain classical.: https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/performing-arts/2022/05/13/kera-to-take-over-management-of-wrr-dallas-classical-music-radio-station/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 15 2022
Hochul saying social media company CEO’s must be held accountable
05/15/22 11:51 AM ET
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said on Sunday that CEOs of social media companies should be held accountable in cases where hate speech is not monitored online after a manifesto was posted by a suspected shooter who killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket the day before.: https://thehill.com/news/sunday-talk-shows/3489008-hochul-saying-social-media-company-ceos-must-be-held-accountable/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 18 2022
Sign the petition to the U.S. Senate: Stop the discrimination – pass the Equality Act now!
We are in the midst of an unprecedented number of anti-LGBTQ+ measures – direct, discriminatory attacks – sweeping through state legislatures across the country. This year, more than 300 anti-LGBTQ bills are pending across state legislatures. Last year was labeled the “worst year in recent history for LGBTQ state legislative attacks'' as 191 bills were proposed. 2022 has almost doubled that amount in just four months.
This isn’t just regressive and wrong, it’s terrifying. There is a clear and undeniable push to strip LGBTQ+ individuals of their rights.
There are currently no federal laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. This permits states to enact heinous legislation that outright discriminates. A few Supreme Court cases have granted protections for marriage and against discrimination in the workplace. Yet, fundamental parts of life are not sheltered from discriminatory practices including education, housing, transportation, medical care, public goods and services, and family planning.
This can, and must, change – the U.S. Senate must act now to protect all Americans’ inalienable right to EXIST. The Equality Act, the only piece of federal legislation to explicitly affirm LGBTQ+ civil rights, can rectify and protect LGBTQ+ individuals from these attacks at the state level.
This is an issue of basic, constitutionally protected freedoms and protection from direct, discriminatory attacks against those freedoms. We elected our congressional leaders to ensure those basic rights were protected. Join us in demanding the Senate pass the Equality Act and stop the denial of our freedoms.
Sign the petition to the U.S. Senate: Guarantee freedoms to all RIGHT NOW – pass the Equality Act.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-the-us-senate-stop-the-discrimination-pass-the-equality-act-now
I will sign this because something needs to be done. I do not believe this will solve the problem. The only way to stop this; is to ban all, so called social media, that is nothing more than mob mentality. Social media is a lynch mob waiting to happen 24/7 and must be done away with. Social media is a imaginary world to it's addicted users and is run like online gambling advertisement. Social media promotes extreme overly judgmental behavior with no regard to true social justice. Only a complete and total ban of all social media is the only solution. It would be like shutting down a website and nothing more. I believe and have said many times online that stopping social media could save our country. Shutting off social media will help promote peace, democracy and human rights; in my opinion.:
Sign the petition to demand that these social media companies pledge to stop white supremacists from using their platforms!
On Saturday, May 14, a gunman violently murdered 10 people, ranging from 32 to 86 years old, while they were shopping at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. Their lives were cut short, their families left behind, and their loved ones left reeling all because an 18-year-old white supremacist felt empowered to go on a racist killing spree "in the name of a repugnant white nationalist ideology," as the president put it.
The shooter avidly used online platforms such as Twitch and Discord to communicate and plan his assault. As a result, we know a great deal about why he did what he did, for how long he premeditated the murders, and how he went about committing such a heinous action.
The shooter posted his racist, violent intentions in advance, even publishing his list of pre-shooting "to-do" items on Discord. Because of this advance notice, his followers on the chat platform were ready and able to download the shocking footage as he streamed it live on Twitch – prompting the deluge of horrific video clips that appeared later on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. The shooter also re-posted another white supremacists's 180-page statement before his hateful attack. The document focused on a racist conspiracy theory called "replacement theory," which alleges that people of color supposedly have a plan to systematically replace white people.
The shooter has been arrested and authorities are already investigating the targeted shooting as the hate crime it clearly is. But how did the situation get to this point?: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/438/449/009/justice-for-the-10-victims-that-died-in-the-buffalo-shooting-a-violent-attack-by-a-white-supremacist/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 19 2022
I have voted 2 times in the past 2 months. This last time I voted for Mike who I have been touting for years online. He is good guy and has a great attitude.
Whether it’s Presidential votes, down-ballot votes, getting candidates on the ballot, raising money, or implementing leading edge strategies, by nearly every metric
THE COLLIN COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BECOME ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMING COUNTY PARTIES IN THE STATE!
It’s taken a lot of people, doing a lot of hard work, over many years. And it has taken the right kind of leader.
MIKE IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE BEST COUNTY CHAIRS IN THE STATE.: Whether it’s Presidential votes, down-ballot votes, getting candidates on the ballot, raising money, or implementing leading edge strategies, by nearly every metric
THE COLLIN COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS BECOME ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMING COUNTY PARTIES IN THE STATE!
It’s taken a lot of people, doing a lot of hard work, over many years. And it has taken the right kind of leader.
MIKE IS WIDELY REGARDED AS ONE OF THE BEST COUNTY CHAIRS IN THE STATE.: https://www.electrawlins.com/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 21 2022
A police officer shot an unarmed 13-year-old in Chicago's West Side as he was running away from them. Thankfully, the boy survived, but he was hospitalized and is in serious but stable condition. The shooting occurred when police stopped a car they suspected was involved in a carjacking. As officers walked up to the car, the boy got out and ran away. As the boy ran away, officers chased the boy -- and shot him. At a news conference, the superintendent of police refused to give any information about the officer who shot the boy.
Sign the petition to demand that Mayor Lori Lightfoot name and fire the officer who shot the boy!
This shooting comes about a year after a Chicago police officer fatally shot another 13-year-old, Adam Toledo. Sadly, not much has changed. West Side community members said the shooting highlights major problems with how police act in Black and Brown neighborhoods. An employee at a restaurant across the street from the shooting, commented on the brutal incident: "Police go for the kill too fast. What was the point of you shooting? They need to be fired.": https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/517/276/249/
No privatizers on the Social Security Board!
A man that the New York Times Editorial Board has called “a zealous advocate of privatizing Social Security” was nominated to the Social Security Advisory Board!
The Board advises the President, Congress, and the commissioner of Social Security on policy. But Andrew Biggs has a dangerous history of seeking to dismantle the program. Andre... read more AND SIGN HERE: https://civicshout.com/p/no-privatizers-on-the-social-security-board
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 22 2022
When three women of Korean descent were shot by a gunman at a Dallas hair salon last week, it was a stark reminder of the violence that has targeted the Asian community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The attack, which the women survived, came almost one year after President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, an effort to address hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) fueled by escalating anti-Asian rhetoric – including the words of former President Donald Trump – since the virus emerged from China.: https://support.splcenter.org/site/R?i=hnkZUanGopsGZPb7JEYEaNfZWJCSvUajZZRfG1k1GkInQLeZ8VEA8A
Sign the petition: Big Oil rakes historic profits while gas prices surge. Pass a windfall profits tax.
Sign the petition: Big Oil cannot use the Ukraine invasion to gouge customers at home. It is unpatriotic. They must pay a windfall profits tax. : https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-big-oil-rakes-historic-profits-while-gas-prices-surge-pass-a-windfall-profits-tax
While investors make billions from marijuana legalization, 40,000 non-violent people remain violently imprisoned. Legalize cannabis and put an immediate stop to this brutal miscarriage of justice. Sign petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-now-legalize-marijuana-2/
America puts more people in prison than any other country in the world. An outsized number of those individuals are people of color. So long as marijuana is illegal it will be used as a tool for white supremacy.
Though of course criminalizing cannabis use doesn’t just hurt people of color. It hurts everybody. On Wednesday I spoke with Mitzi Wall1, mother of Jonathan Wall2, about her quest to free her son from federal prison.
Jonathan’s story is a tragic example of what happens when laws are not consistent, for his quest to start a LEGAL California cannabis company led to him being federally prosecuted in Maryland.
While Jonathan fights for his freedom elites make millions of dollars using his exact business model.
Stop this disgusting assault on the American public. Legalize marijuana now.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 24 2022
Sign the petition: Demand that Fox News stop promoting the “white replacement theory.”
SIGN THE PETITION
Although this far-right theory has existed for decades, it has remained in the fringes until conservative commentators like Fox News’ Tucker Carlson began advocating for it. He alone has mentioned the replacement theory in over 400 episodes of his show. By bringing hateful conspiracies into the mainstream and using dangerous rhetoric that fans the flames of division, Fox News is just as responsible for the ensuing violence.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-that-fox-news-stop-promoting-white-replacement-theory
Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, and Fort Lee among the bases a commission wants to rename
May 24, 2022 03:55 PM
The congressional commission tasked with removing Confederate-related names from military bases has recommended nine bases change their name.
The Naming Commission announced its findings on Tuesday, which include renaming the following bases: Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, Fort Gordon, Fort A.P. Hill, Fort Hood, Fort Lee, Fort Pickett, Fort Polk, and Fort Rucker. The commission also provided suggestions for alternative names.: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/fort-bragg-fort-hood-and-fort-lee-among-the-bases-a-commission-wants-to-rename.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 29 2022
My wife showed me her favorite YouTube video about cats. I liked it so much I wanted to post it here.
When my wife first read about the shooting; the first thing she said is they should raise the age to buy a gun to 21. My first reaction is the same as it always is: they should outlaw Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and everything like that in America and the world. I am fortunate enough, to have not gotten caught up in all the social media craze when it started and to this day. I found it to be fake and a complete waist of time. People want to be your friend? Really? Fake friend is more like it. Having not been involved in all that, all this time; gives me a unique perspective on it all. The only way so called social media could work is if it was strictly controlled by the government.
When a teenager wants a semiautomatic rifle, that’s enough of a red flag
Teenagers and young adults are the most likely to commit gun violence. And they are too young for background checks to work.
May 28, 2022 at 11:46 a.m. EDT
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 30 2022
I put up my flag today. I took a video of it. I had to open a YouTube channel to upload it to this blog. See it here: https://youtu.be/MkyblvpUL94
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated May 31 2022
I really like this guy. He thinks like me; mostly. Lucas Kunce for president.
A message from Team Lucas Kunce:
Memorial Day always makes me think about the people I served with in Iraq and Afghanistan — some of America's best — and how we can honor them. Will you please give me a few moments to explain?
For the last two decades, political elites wasted $6.4 trillion and an entire generation of America’s best on pointless forever wars — sending soldiers like me and my buddies on doomed missions to build up countries like Iraq and Afghanistan while our communities back home crumbled.
While we fought and died to keep terrorism out of our own country, our politicians let domestic terrorists run rampant — plaguing our country with gun violence and turning elementary schools and grocery stores into war zones.
And now, those same war-hungry crooks who dumped trillions into nation-building abroad, lined the pockets of their defense contractor donors, and let us fight and die in these pointless wars are telling us we can’t “afford” to invest in our people and communities here at home.
We can’t let these lying elites continue calling the shots in Congress. That’s why I’m running for Missouri’s U.S. Senate seat.
Everyday people — folks who know how to take care of each other — should be calling the shots in our country, not ultra-wealthy elites who rarely send their kids to die in war.
Together, we can end the war-hungry defense lobby hellbent on sending our troops back to the battlefield and make war profiteering a federal crime. We can stand up for every veteran and family who paid the ultimate sacrifice. And we can finally make investments and build up our communities back home.
Thanks for hearing me out and for being on this team.
Hope you’re having a good Memorial Day,
Lucas
Got this great email from: https://www.newsfromthestates.com/ See it here: https://statesnewsroom.salsalabs.org/eveningwrap_copy12
Although Memorial Day has become synonymous with barbecues, festivals, and great deals on new cars, don’t forget what it’s really all about: the sacrifice of those who made this possible.: https://www.usmemorialday.org/history-of-memorial-day
From NAACP: https://naacp.org/
Members of America’s armed forces understand one truth better than most: The greatest sacrifice any person can make is to give up their life in service to something greater than themselves.
And on Memorial Day, our country joins together to honor our service members who made that ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country and its highest ideals.
Generations of Black people have given their lives while wearing one of America’s uniforms, many in hopes that their service would cause others to see their humanity and that their commitment would lead to real freedom and equality for them and their loved ones.
Their hope has not yet been fully realized, and it’s on those of us who want a more just and equal nation to keep pushing until it is.
Today, as we remember the heroes we’ve lost, let us all be inspired by their extraordinary courage, and pledge to do what we can in our time to ensure that America lives up to the values they fought to defend.
In Power,
Derrick Johnson
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 04 2022
When I was working at the Blockbuster warehouse I was ripped from my own department where I trained people to ad new UPC labels to DVDs that had unreadable or none existing UPC codes. The sorter could not read them and the rework department (that I practically invented) made the DVDs readable so the sorter could sort them. Just before I was kicked out of the rework department I found out that one of the pregnant workers was forced to injure herself by a big offish department head. I reported this again and again until the worker was safe. I was transferred (as punishment for standing up for the pregnant worker) to shipping where the offish pregnant woman hater, was also transferred as my boss. He got his way eventually and cause me to leave Blockbuster. I have always been a wholesome admirer of pregnant woman; the way they glow and have a bubbling inner joy all the time. To me they are the epidemy of old fashioned feminine beauty. Since then I have always done what I can for pregnant workers.:
I'll repeat this for as long as it takes: It's 2022 and pregnant workers can still be fired by their employers instead of being given temporary and reasonable accommodations, like a chair to sit on.
People are being forced to choose between losing income for their family or putting their pregnancy at risk – and it's hurting low-wage workers, those in physically demanding jobs, and workers of color the most.
But here's something else worth repeating: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) would address these injustices – and it's never been so close to becoming law.
It passed the House, it cleared the Senate's HELP committee, it has support from both sides of the aisle – now all that's left is a vote on the Senate floor and that's where we need your help.
Please, pregnant workers can't wait anymore – so let's make sure our senators know exactly what we expect of them: Send a message today urging them to pass PWFA once and for all.: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/protect-pregnant-workers-rights
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 05 2022
Come on Alabama! Let this guy out ASAP!
Freedom Denied: 21-year marijuana sentence leaves man stuck in prison, denied parole
June 03, 2022
When he was a young boy, Jeremiah loved to fish. His father taught him the sport, and Jeremiah would catch bass weighing over 10 pounds and sell his catch for top dollar to the people in his hometown.
He was a street-smart kid who “knew how to hustle” — something his father taught him.
In high school, Jeremiah — whose name has been changed in this story to protect his identity — found another passion: football. He attended college on a football scholarship and played on the defensive line.
But for the past eight years, Jeremiah hasn’t fished, played football or watched as his brothers and sisters have grown up without him. He’s been in the custody of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) since being sentenced to 21 years for trafficking 5 pounds of marijuana.
Jeremiah was up for parole a little over a year ago. But he was denied.
The reason? Insufficient time served, the parole board said.
Such denials are not uncommon from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (ABPP), which has a notorious record of denying parole to people in state custody, especially those who are Black. Despite vastly overcrowded prison conditions in Alabama and a national trend toward easing the harsh sentencing practices of previous decades, the board has slowed its parole grant rate in recent years – and the existing racial disparities have only accelerated.:
I have seen this art and it commands your respect. This should be called icon painting. I consider myself a icon painter. I could draw or paint the American flag all day with expert skills.:
Fallen Warrior Portrait Project at Russell A. Steindam Courts Building By Jun 5, 2022 McKinney, Texas -- The North Texas Fallen Warrior Portrait Project will present six portraits of Collin County young men who died while in the service of our country, in a ceremony, Monday, June 6, at 11:00 am, at the Russell A. Steindam Courts Building, 2100 Bloomdale Road, McKinney. The portraits will be added to the 82 already on display in the “Hall of Heroes” in the courthouse. There are 431 names engraved on the “Wall of Honor” at the Collin County Veterans Memorial Park in McKinney, and the goal of the project is to put as many faces as possible with those names. The five heroes to be honored are: http://www.ntxe-news.com/artman/publish/article_129355.shtml
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 07 2022
The VCMCRMVA would create a Survivors’ fund to provide much needed trauma informed services, access to financial resources for families to hire independent legal and investigative support to pursue justice, a seat at the table when memorials or lasting legacies for victims are being designed and built, and development funds to generate resources to support the efforts and initiatives of those families operating non-profit organizations or entities that are working in social change/justice and activism.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-and-demand-that-congress-pass-the-victims-of-racially-motivated-civil-rights-era-murders-and-violence-act-immediately
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 09 2022
Before massacring 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Parkland murderer posted on YouTube vowing "to be a professional school shooter."
But without a red flag law, law enforcement was powerless to take his assault rifles away. Children paid the price.
After Parkland, Florida and other states have passed life-saving "red flag" laws that allow courts to use Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to take guns away from dangerous individuals.
The House is voting this week on a national red flag law. The Senate needs enormous public pressure to stand up to the NRA and act swiftly. Tell your Senators: pass a national "red flag law."
Shootings rarely happen without warning.
Friends, family, and law enforcement often know when loved ones are suicidal, or threatening violence.
Red flag laws provide a vital tool to ensure individuals in crisis are kept away from weapons of war.
As a deadly wave of mass shooting grips our nation’s attention, we must act NOW before momentum for gun sense laws is lost. Your Senators need to hear from you now.
Tell your Senators: pass a national “red flag” law NOW!:
In the coming weeks, the SPLC will provide commentary and analysis to help explain this complicated and far-reaching investigation, what it means for our democracy, and what you can do to help prevent future attacks on our elections and our democracy. In the meantime, here are some questions we hope these hearings will answer:
What was the role of President Trump, his close advisers and supportive members of Congress in inspiring or encouraging the violent attack and intimidation of members of Congress attempting to fulfill their constitutional duty to certify the election results and transfer power peacefully?
Did President Trump and high-ranking government officials intentionally promote misinformation in an attempt to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election results and sabotage future elections by intimidating election officials and prompting changes to state laws to make it harder for people to vote?
What was the role of white supremacist and violent extremist groups – like “Stop the Steal” leader Nick Fuentes, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers – in the planning and execution of the attack, and who financed their travel to Washington, D.C.?
Was there criminal coordination between these domestic extremist groups and government officials to cast doubt on the presidential election through an organized disinformation campaign?
The events of Jan. 6 and the concerted efforts to overturn the election are still very much with us today. According to just-released SPLC polling: https://support.splcenter.org/site/R
Many major financial institutions have come under fire for their lack of diversity in their ranks. Wells Fargo is particularly egregious in its lack of representation, and has repeatedly engaged in racist practices, against its own employees, Black families applying for mortgage loans, and women and people of color applying for jobs. But the newest claims against the Wall Street giant are some of the most horrifically racist and sexist yet.
Sign now to demand the Department of Labor investigate Wells Fargo's discriminatory practices!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/565/440/437/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 10 2022
Let me be as clear as possible here:
I believe that weed should be legal, safe, and pure for medicinal and recreational use by adults across the country. Legal weed is good for farmers, small businesses, veterans, and people suffering from chronic pain.
Along with legalizing weed for recreational and medicinal use, it is urgent that we expunge all marijuana records and release all those incarcerated for using the plant. I cannot emphasize enough that marijuana prohibition in America is a grave racial injustice.
The data is stark: Black people are arrested for violating marijuana possession laws at nearly four times the rates of white people. It's time to elect leaders who know that's beyond unacceptable – and who have the courage to speak up and do something to right this wrong.
As I have always said, fighting for legal weed in Pennsylvania and across the country is the right choice. Most importantly, from a social justice and equality standpoint, when we legalize weed we can stop over 20,000 unjust arrests across Pennsylvania each year and work toward ending the War on Drugs.
Look, I’ve always supported legal weed. Always will. Most Senate candidates don’t make legal weed a central part of their campaign platform, but I am.
And with your support, I’ll be the LOUDEST (and tbh, probably the tallest) champion for legal weed and marijuana justice in the U.S. Senate.
I am asking for you to join me by adding your name to my petition to legalize weed and end the racist War on Drugs. By adding your name, you are joining the nearly 70% of Americans who support legalizing weed.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/join-nearly-70-of-americans-in-supporting-legal-weed
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 11 2022
As we get closer and closer to this year’s midterm elections, it is critical that everyone’s votes are counted freely and fairly. Unsurprisingly, Republicans are already planning to do everything they can to thwart democracy and the will of the people.
Michigan Republicans are recruiting right-wing conspiracy theorists to work the polls, putting actual, physical ballots into their hands. It’s not overreacting to imagine what could happen here—especially after the insurrection.
Election administrators must keep an eye out for any potential attempts to actually carry out these thinly veiled acts of voter suppression. We must urge them to stay vigilant.
Sign the petition: Stop Republican sabotage of the election process.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-stop-republican-sabotage-of-the-election-process
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 12 2022
The Register
Meta slammed with lawsuits claiming social media hurts kids
In brief Facebook and Instagram's parent biz, Meta, was hit with not one, not two, but eight different lawsuits accusing its social media algorithm of...: https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/12/in-brief-ai/
Donald Trump's Truth Social is SUSPENDING users who post about the January 6 hearings on the 'free speech alternative' social media platform
A user claimed Thursday his account on Trump's media platform Truth Social was 'permanently suspended' for posting about the January 6 hearings
He pointed to hypocrisy in Trump's supporters defending the ban after claiming the former president's ban from Twitter was against 'freedom of speech'
A Democratic digital strategist also claimed Friday that his account was suspended 'for posting about the January 6th hearings'
Cmms director for Dem congressional candidate Yuh-Line Niou said he saw 'a lot of folks getting banned' from Truth 'for posting updates' on the hearing Thursday
Trump said his social media site would be a 'free speech' alternative to Twitter and Facebook, which saw censorship of right-leaning voices and perspectives
Published: 09:45 EDT, 12 June 2022 | Updated: 14:58 EDT, 12 June 2022: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10908817/Donald-Trumps-Truth-Social-SUSPENDING-users-post-January-6-hearings.html
June 11, 2022
January 6 and Collin County
With the January 6 hearings starting last Thursday it’s important to understand not only the national implications but also the implications right down to the county level here at home.
Congressman Van Taylor was targeted in his primary because he voted to establish the bi-partisan
January 6 commission. Former County Judge Keith Self, now the Republican nominee to replace
Taylor, is running on “election integrity” – in other words “stop the steal”.
The mess with mail-in ballots and applications for them in this year’s party primaries, resulting in many voters being disenfranchised or severely inconvenienced, was a direct result of the legislation our
Republican state legislature passed in response to “stop the steal.”
Several north Texas residents, including many who live in Collin County, participated in the insurrection. Many have been prosecuted.
Way too many of our Republican neighbors believe the lies that the former President told that fueled the insurrection.
It’s vital that we all watch these hearings if possible, and be able to speak about them and the implications with everyone we know. Our democracy is in peril, and bringing to light the facts about the threat is one of our best defenses.
Moving On
Regular readers of The Rally will know that someone else was elected to serve as County Chair in the May 24 runoff, and will be assuming the office I currently hold on June 13.
It’s been a memorable eight years – at times incredibly rewarding, incredibly frustrating, energizing, draining, inspirational, depressing, and always an education. Building on the work of those who came before us, in the last eight years the efforts of dedicated Democrats in Collin County have taken a party that was ineffective and turned it into one of the top performing county parties in the state. Just a few of our accomplishments:
The best improvement in Democratic Presidential performance of any county in the state
Helped flip 5th Court of Appeals from all thirteen Justices being Republican to eight Democrats as Justices in 2018, and added three more in 2020
Improvement in down ballot races that consistently beat statewide averages
Having barely over 10% of the local and regional races on the ballot filled to over 75%
Being in debt to building one of the most effective fundraising programs in the state by 2019, and ending last year with $100,000 in the bank
I have had the rare opportunity to get to know an uncountable number of great people in the county and across the state. I’ve also seen some bad behavior at nearly every level in the Democratic community that I would not have thought Democrats capable of, but that’s politics. The main thing to remember is that in the end we all want the same thing, and if we’re going to get it, we have to learn to work together.
With last year’s extreme partisan redistricting, an increasingly and alarmingly radicalized Republican party, and at present Democratic energy not being what it should be nationwide, we face some severe challenges. I remain committed to Democratic candidates and ideals, and will continue to help in whatever ways I can. Among other things, I am running for State Democratic Executive Committee in the new Senate District 2, and will face election at the Senate District caucuses at the Texas Democratic Convention on July 15.
Finally, most of all it has been an honor and a privilege to be entrusted with this office. Thank you.
A last note – if you have appreciated these occasional commentaries and would like to continue to receive them in the future, please sign up here.
Sincerely,
Mike Rawlins, County Chair
June 9, 2022 at 11:21 p.m. EDT
Meanwhile, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) quoted from the opinion of a federal judge warning that if the coup plotters were not investigated and held responsible, an attack on U.S. democracy would happen again. The message was profound and clear: We came frightfully close to losing our democracy — and will again unless we hold Trump accountable.: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/09/house-committee-january-6-hearing-insurrection-laying-out-case-against-donald-trump-powerfully/
Let me be as clear as possible here:
I believe that weed should be legal, safe, and pure for medicinal and recreational use by adults across the country. Legal weed is good for farmers, small businesses, veterans, and people suffering from chronic pain.
Along with legalizing weed for recreational and medicinal use, it is urgent that we expunge all marijuana records and release all those incarcerated for using the plant. I cannot emphasize enough that marijuana prohibition in America is a grave racial injustice.
The data is stark: Black people are arrested for violating marijuana possession laws at nearly four times the rates of white people. It's time to elect leaders who know that's beyond unacceptable — and who have the courage to speak up and do something to right this wrong.
As I have always said, fighting for legal weed in Pennsylvania and across the country is the right choice. Most importantly, from a social justice and equality standpoint, when we legalize weed we can stop over 20,000 unjust arrests across Pennsylvania each year and work toward ending the War on Drugs.
I’ve always supported legal weed. Always will. Most Senate candidates don’t make legal weed a central part of their campaign platform, but I am.
And with your support, I’ll be the LOUDEST (and tbh, probably the tallest) champion for legal weed and marijuana justice in the U.S. Senate.
I am asking for you to join me by adding your name to my petition to legalize weed and end the racist War on Drugs. By adding your name, you are joining the nearly 70% of Americans who support legalizing weed.: https://act.johnfetterman.com/sign/jf-ads-ea-progam-q2-general-legal-june2022/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 14 2022
So called social media must be stopped before it multiplies into programs like WhatsApp.
Mexican Political Advisor Is Beaten, Burned Alive by Angry Mob of More Than 200 Villagers in Mexico
Posted: Jun 14, 2022 03:27 AM EDT
The villagers falsely accused the 31-year-old former advisor of the National Action Party of child trafficking. Mexican network TV Azteca reported that Picazo, a lawyer and an adviser to a lawmaker in the State of Mexico, was accused of kidnapping a child after false rumors spread in chat rooms on WhatsApp.: https://www.latinpost.com/articles/155543/20220614/mexican-political-advisor-burned-alive-angry-mob-mexico.htm
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 15 2022
After yesterday’s second in a series of hearings by the bipartisan House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, I am more optimistic that the compelling evidence documented by the committee over the past 11 months will break through and capture the public’s attention.
These hearings are an essential step toward transparency, accountability and real consequences for the planners and perpetrators of the Capitol assault – and those who inspired and funded their activities. But we must complement the committee’s crucial work with our own.
Here’s what we know.
First, the violent insurrection at the Capitol was not the beginning. Former President Trump and his allies declared their intent to deny the results well before Election Day and carried out that intention with full knowledge that they had lost. The lies of a stolen election, the extremist ideologies and the conspiracy theories that fueled the attack were the culmination of a months-long, coordinated strategy by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election and steal the presidency.
Second, the attack on the Capitol was not the end. The events of Jan. 6 and the concerted efforts to overturn the 2020 election were a prelude to efforts to undermine the 2024 elections. Trump and his allies continue to wage a disinformation campaign designed to sabotage future elections.
Trump’s allies in state legislatures have enacted dozens of racially discriminatory voter suppression laws. And across the country, right-wing lawyers have been working to gerrymander state redistricting maps to reduce representation for Black and Brown communities and allow partisan politicians – not voters – to control election outcomes.
Dozens of election deniers are running for state offices that have direct authority to supervise elections and certify final election results. Subverting free and fair elections by sowing distrust and expanding partisan poll watchers’ ability to harass and intimidate voters is undemocratic.
Third, we know that far-right extremist groups played a significant role in the violence.
The SPLC has met with committee staff and submitted written testimony documenting the involvement of extremists in the planning and preparation for the insurrection. The committee spent its first night focusing on the violence at the Capitol, conspiracy theories about electoral fraud and alleged coordination between Trump, his allies and two extremist groups the SPLC has tracked for years.
The committee presented testimony regarding the participation and cooperation of the Proud Boys – one of the most violent extremist groups in the U.S. at the time of the insurrection – and the antigovernment extremist Oath Keepers. According to the committee, their goal was to stop the peaceful transfer of power through violence and intimidation, allowing Trump to remain in power despite losing the election.
SPLC Intelligence Project Senior Research Analyst Cassie Miller provided the committee with testimony regarding the Proud Boys’ violent history. The Department of Justice has charged Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes and 10 other Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy. The DOJ also charged Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio and four of his lieutenants with sedition.
Fourth, we know the threat of political violence has increased. According to a poll jointly conducted by the SPLC and Tulchin Research, the mainstreaming of hate and antigovernment thought and the willingness to engage in political violence is now widely accepted on the right.
The survey found that:
Over three-quarters of those who believe the 2020 presidential election was “fraudulent, rigged and illegitimate” also at least somewhat agree with the racist and antisemitic “great replacement” conspiracy theory that liberals are intentionally replacing conservative white voters with people of color – the same conspiracy theory cited by the man who killed 10 Black people in Buffalo, New York, last month.
Forty-one percent of Republicans agreed with the statement that “some violence might be necessary to protect the country from radical extremists.” Over half of Republicans also said they believed the country is headed toward a civil war.
The poll also found 70% of Republicans believe the government has become “tyrannical.” Partisanship is also high. Republicans ranked the Democratic Party as the “most pressing” threat to U.S. democracy, while Democrats ranked Trump and the Republicans as second and third after Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What we must do together
The ongoing threat to our democracy and democratic institutions is clear. The Capitol attack underscores the urgent need to pass legislation to protect our democratic election procedures and to combat hate, extremism and misinformation.
Here’s what has to happen:
We must support and help elevate the vital work of the select committee.
Congress must protect the right to vote. With essential voting rights legislation now blocked due to Senate Republican obstruction, the Department of Justice must use its authority to challenge discriminatory anti-voting laws. And activists and grassroots organizations must engage in the fight to protect and advance voting rights through every tool we have in our communities.
We must protect frontline election workers, the key to the administration of free and fair elections. Congress must address this rise in the fear of political violence against voters and poll workers by sharply increasing state funding for election administration to advance a safe and secure electoral process.
Congress must enact legislation to raise the threshold for challenging Electoral College votes and clarify the vice president’s role in the process as exclusively ministerial, with no authority to overturn election results. Congress must also pass legislation to address the erosion of the Voting Rights Act and other reforms to strengthen our democracy.
We must step up our advocacy urging the Biden administration to fulfill the promise of its June 2021 National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism – especially Pillar 4 of the blueprint, which describes the need to address long-term contributors to extremism by “rooting out racism and bigotry and advancing equity for all Americans.”
We must fund prevention initiatives to steer individuals away from hate and ideologically motivated violence. Stopping extremism in our country must be a holistic effort involving not just law enforcement, but also parents, caregivers and educators. In partnership with American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL), we are developing new approaches to countering radicalization that start from a public health perspective, instead of a national security lens.
We must ensure that everyone – and especially young people – are taught critical thinking skills and digital literacy so they can fend off misinformation, disinformation and online radicalization.
We must promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable. Tech companies must develop – and enforce – terms of service and policies to ensure that social media platforms, payment service providers and other internet-based services do not enable the funding or amplifying of white supremacist ideas or provide a safe haven for extremists promoting disinformation or planning political violence.
No one is above the law in a democracy. The committee’s hearings provide an essential opportunity to prove that the Jan. 6 attack on American democracy and the ongoing effort to sabotage future elections will not succeed – and that the right of the people to choose their own leaders will prevail.
Sincerely,
SPLC President and CEO
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 15 2022
Just found a string of Snapchat damming evidence on Google.
Man used Snapchat to sell drugs laced with fentanyl: Police
A man is accused of selling drugs, some laced with fentanyl, via Snapchat in Port St. Lucie. Police arrested Andrew Fick, 18, on Tuesday night.
.9 hours ago: https://cw34.com/news/local/gallery/snapchat-drug-dealer-andrew-fick-port-st-lucie-cocaine-oxycodone-fentanyl-st-lucie-county
Blue Springs man, 19, charged after making threats of mass murder through Snapchat
Prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old Blue Springs man who allegedly made threats of mass murder on Snapchat, which prompted the closures of seven Kansas...
.18 hours ago: https://www.kshb.com/news/crime/blue-springs-man-19-charged-after-making-threats-of-mass-murder-through-snapchat
Mass shooting threat on Snapchat shuts down Kansas City-area schools, suspect in custody
Multiple school districts in the Kansas City, Missouri, area closed their doors on Wednesday in the wake of a mass shooting threat.
.20 hours ago
Woman assaulted elderly relative, recorded it on Snapchat, Kirby police say
A San Antonio-area woman was arrested for assaulting a relative in her 70s and restraining her during an ordeal that lasted several hours last week,...
.22 hours ago
YouTube
Teen in custody for concerning snapchat threat that closed schools
Teen in custody for concerning snapchat threat that closed schools Subscribe to KMBC on YouTube now for more: http://bit.ly/1fXGVrhGet more Kansas City news:...
.23 hours ago
Teen Charged in Beating of Westfield 15-year-old Posted to Snapchat, Authorities Say (UPDATED)
One of the approximately five young men who assaulted and robbed a 15-year-old boy in downtown Westfield Saturday has been charged, the mayor said.
.1 day ago:
More articles I found in my effort to refute all so called social media.:
What is a street takeover and how is social media fueling the illegal activity?
Posted: Jun 16, 2022 / 07:12 AM PDT
Updated: Jun 15, 2022 / 04:11 PM PDT
Conservative Anti-LGBTQ+ Trolls Cause Threats of School Violence JUNE 16 2022 1:53 PM EDT: https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/6/16/conservative-anti-lgbtq-trolls-cause-threats-school-violence
Japan's Cyberbullying Law Could Throw Internet Trolls In Jail
Japan this week passed amended legislation that could land a person in jail for up to a year for posting online insults.
.2 hours ago
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 17 2022
PETITION
We are calling on the FDA to set a new limit of 1 part per billion for lead in fruit juices. The agency’s current proposal of 10 ppb for apple juice, and 20 ppb for other fruit juices, falls well short of the limits needed to protect our children from exposure to this toxin, which has been linked to lowered IQ, behavioral problems, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Many juice manufacturers have already achieved lead levels well below the FDA’s proposed limits – it’s time the agency set strict limits to ensure our kids’ health is protected.
Heavy metals like lead shouldn’t be in the fruit juices our children drink. But the FDA apparently thinks otherwise – its proposed limit on lead in fruit juices is up to 20 times higher than the limit Consumer Reports supports to protect public health.
Join us in calling on the FDA to stand up for our childrens’ health, and set strong limits on lead in fruit juice. Baby steps are not enough to protect our kids.: https://action.consumerreports.org/20220512_safety
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 19 2022
My favorite parts of email I just got from: NAACP.org
Fighting these existential battles is exactly why the NAACP was founded — and why we persist today.
Our teams across the country are hard at work tearing down unjust laws and discriminatory policies while fighting to ensure Black communities enjoy essential freedoms.
Housing freedom from aggressive redlining policies;
Civic freedom from targeted voter suppression laws; and
Physical and systemic freedom from mass incarceration.: NAACP.org
Sign the petition: Demand Congress regulate chemicals that contaminate our food and drinking water and jeopardize our health
PFAS, also called “forever chemicals” because they can take thousands of years to degrade in nature, continue to contaminate our drinking water, food, and soil. These toxic chemicals have been linked to high blood pressure, cancer and harm to reproductive and immune systems.
Found in a range of household items including cooking spray and Teflon pans, companies that produce these household items have known about these health risks for decades and have brushed reports under the rug in order to avoid regulation. The companies behind PFAS, including DuPont and 3M, knew as early as the 1960s that these chemicals were toxic to humans. DuPont even tested the blood of employees for PFAS, while 3M circulated an internal memo in 1978 underscoring the toxicity of its products.
Due to the dire impacts on our health, several state governments are considering or have passed legislation around PFAS. PFAS contamination has been found in more than 700 communities, and more than 100 million Americans may have PFAS in their drinking water, and about 5 percent of all U.S. farm fields, or 20 million acres, could be contaminated by PFAS.
This is a major national health issue that requires federal protections – especially while departments within our federal government continue to be part of the problem.
Companies responsible for PFAS are spending billions to lobby against regulations. But our health is not something to be brushed under the rug in favor of corporate money – we refuse to jeopardize ourselves for the sake of business interests. Congress must regulate PFAS and prioritize our health.
Sign the petition: Congress must regulate PFAS and hold polluting companies responsible.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-regulate-chemicals-that-contaminate-our-food-and-drinking-water-and-jeopardize-our-health
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 21 2022
--A themed show on Joe Biden's biggest accomplishments so far
--Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania, pushing him over 270 electoral college and making him the President-elect
--Joe Biden has done more good in a week than Donald Trump did in four years
--Joe Biden launches air strikes against Syria, reportedly in response to attacks against American troops in Iraq, and at roughly the same time, it appears the $15 minimum wage will be removed from the COVID relief bill
--Right wing media and Republicans are absolutely furious at the fast and increasing pace of vaccinations under President Joe Biden, including Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and many other
--President Joe Biden announces full vaccine eligibility starting on April 19, and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asks Biden about golf
--Joe Biden will announce a full withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan to be completed no later than September 11, 2021
--The House of Representatives finally passes a bipartisan, albeit much smaller, $1.2 trillion infrastructure package:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated June 24 2022
Sign the petition to corporate America: Stop funding insurrectionists!
This past April, as the Jan. 6 select committee prepared for public hearings, UPS, FedEx, Visa, Home Depot, General Motors, ExxonMobil and other Fortune 500 companies and corporate trade associations donated more than $1.4 million to members of Congress that voted against certifying the 2020 election.
In the wake of the January 6 insurrection, many corporations pledged to stop donations to the Sedition Caucus — the 147 Republican members of Congress who voted not to certify the 2020 election and helped fuel the lies that led to the attack.
However, pledging to defend democracy and actually defending democracy are different things. As of this writing, Fortune 500 companies and corporate trade groups have donated more than $16 million to Sedition Caucus members since the insurrection.
Moreover, these companies have given nearly $1 million to Republican members of Congress being investigated by the Jan. 6 select committee, including U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, Barry Loudermilk, and Ronny Jackson.
The Jan. 6 select committee is skillfully presenting evidence of how Trump and MAGA Republicans planned, promoted, and paid for a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. These same bad actors haven't slowed down in the time since. If anything, their commitment to sabotaging future elections — and their ability to do so — has only grown. They are a threat to our freedoms and way of life.
Some corporations chose our democracy over amassing political power. As of March 2022, a reported 85 corporations, including PepsiCo, Nike, Zillow, Marriott, Target and others, have kept their vow to withhold funding from insurrectionists. If they can do it, so can everyone else.
Help hold corporations and election deniers accountable. Demand companies stop funding insurrectionists.: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-the-petition-to-corporate-america-stop-funding-insurrectionists-2
Masked Proud Boys terrorize kids at library Pride event as cops gave them fist bumps
15 men wearing masks were escorted inside the building by deputies who stood by as the thugs shouted "Bring out the drag queens!" and hurled slurs at children.: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/masked-proud-boys-terrorize-kids-library-pride-event-cops-gave-fist-bumps/
Fascism – it’s a term we don’t use lightly. But when the overwhelming power of corporations over Congress and the courts combines with the authoritarian social measures of right-wing legislatures around the country, it’s time to call it what it is – and rise up to stop it. This Thursday, 6/23, at 7 pm ET, Hightower sit will down with Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones, and Baratunde Thurston, host of PBS’ forthcoming America Outdoors, to pop some cold ones and dig into what we can do. (Warning: This show will include some laughs -- because we need ‘em!): https://hightowerlowdown.org/chatnchew/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 01 2022
The death penalty is a cruel, inhumane punishment that violates the right to life.
Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all cases, and without exception — regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence, or method of execution. People can spend years on death row, not knowing when their time is up, or whether they will see their families one last time.
President Biden promised to work to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level — but it’s been over a year, and it still hasn’t gotten done.
Join us in demanding the United States abolish the death penalty, for good.: https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/106775/petition/1
Chicken may be part of your July 4th barbecue menu, but take note: Consumer Reports found that nearly a third of the ground chicken we sampled from across the country tested positive for salmonella, a potentially deadly bacteria.
While our results are disturbing, what might shock you more is that our government actually allows salmonella to be in up to 25 percent of the ground chicken tested by producers!
With more than 250,000 people sickened every year by poultry contaminated with salmonella, it’s time the U.S Department of Agriculture expedite reform of these outdated, risky food safety standards. We’re petitioning the USDA to make chicken as safe as possible to eat – join us by adding your name now!: https://action.consumerreports.org/20220630usdasalmonella
Congratulations Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is now, officially, JUSTICE Ketanji Brown Jackson.
After 115 justices and over 200 years of the Court's existence, a Black woman is finally serving on the U.S. Supreme Court. Congratulations, Justice Brown Jackson. You are an inspiration to Black women in America and all over the world.
In Power,
Derrick Johnson
President and CEO
NAACP
U.S. Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer told Marijuana Moment that it would be up to President Joe Biden to issue a directive granting mass clemency to people with cannabis convictions—if he wanted to, and as he suggested he would during the campaign.: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/its-up-to-biden-to-direct-mass-clemency-for-marijuana-cases-u-s-pardon-attorney-says/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 02 2022
Climate change has caused scorching-hot days around the world, and the most vulnerable people are feeling the worst impacts. Even though we've known about the threat posed by climate change for four decades, many states are completely unprepared to handle this heat. Florida is one of them, where the majority of incarcerated people do not have air conditioning. There are even cases of people dying from the heat!
Sign now to demand the state of Florida commit to installing air conditioning in all of its prisons!
Heat waves are dangerous for everyone, but those stuck behind bars are at especially high risk. Florida cannot continue to pretend the planet isn't warming and fail to appropriately update state infrastructure. We must defend the human rights of incarcerated people and put pressure on the Florida state legislature to commit to installing air conditioning in all of their prisons. It could mean life or death for some people living behind bars. Sign the petition now if you agree!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/636/469/382/
If nothing else, this Independence Day should be an occasion to remember that our liberty, our independence, isn’t something to be take for granted, left up on the shelf, and dusted off to be celebrated once a year. It’s something to be always on center stage, continuously nurtured and protected, lest we lose it. Ben Franklin is famously quoted as saying “We have given you a Republic, if you can keep it.” We’re now closer to not keeping it than at any time in my life. It’s time to fight – not by taking up arms but by organizing, persuading, informing, motivating, voting, and making sure everyone of a like mind does the same.
We must use the tools of democracy to defend democracy, or we shall not keep it. November is coming. You know what to do. Do it. From: https://www.electrawlins.com/
Are LGBTQ Republicans similar to Jews for Hitler?
As history has clearly shown, LGBTQ people who support the far-right Republican agenda are on a one-way path to self-destruction.
Thursday, June 30, 2022: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/lgbtq-republicans-similar-jews-hitler/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 04 2022
Cuba: social media platforms report four femicides in one week
From their official profiles, the feminist platforms YoSíTeCreo (YSTCC) in Cuba and the Observatory of the magazine Alas Tensas documented the death of four women in different regions of the country.
by EFE July 4, 2022 in Cuba: https://oncubanews.com/en/cuba/cuba-social-media-platforms-report-four-femicides-in-one-week/
Dictionary
Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more
Search for a word
fem·i·cide
/ˈfeməˌsīd/
Learn to pronounce
noun
the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender.
"we are very concerned with the high level of femicide in our country"
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 06 2022
Campaign Action
Sign now and tell Fox News: Stop peddling white supremacist hate
Join Free Press and Free Press Action in fighting the hate and disinformation flooding our airwaves and destroying our communities.
Add your name with Free Press to demand that Fox News stop promoting the “white replacement theory” lie and fire Tucker Carlson.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-now-and-tell-fox-news-stop-peddling-white-supremacist-hate
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 07 2022
Sign the petition and demand President Biden work to bring Brittney Griner home!
In February of this year WNBA super star Brittney Griner was detained at a Russian airport. She was allegedly found with cannabis oil in her luggage. Charged with drug smuggling, she faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion is being held as a political pawn as Vladmir Putin attempts to overthrow the Ukrainian government.
As a black, queer woman, this has absolutely nothing to do with cannabis oil. United States federal officials have even acknowledged that she is being used as leverage in response to sanctions imposed against Russia for their invasion of Ukraine, with officials speaking out and stating unequivocally that she had been wrongfully detained.
She recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden asking not to be forgotten and appealing for her freedom during the celebration of Independence Day this past weekend. In her handwritten letter, she describes how she is terrified and alone, and ready to come home.
We must work hard to ensure that Brittney returns home safe and quickly. She is experiencing cruel and unusual punishment that does not fit the crime that she is accused of.
Sign the petition and demand President Biden bring Brittney Griner home!: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-the-petition-and-demand-president-biden-work-to-bring-brittney-griner-home
Police Fired More Than 90 Rounds at Jayland Walker. Demand Accountability and Name the Murderers.
Thirteen police officers in Akron, Ohio, chased and killed a 25-year-old Black man, Jayland Walker after a minor traffic violation. As Walker ran away in fear, two officers fired tasers, and eight fired more than 90 rounds with over 60 bullets entering his body. According to video footage, "several officers emptied their clips into Walker as he laid on an asphalt parking lot." No traffic stop should end with someone losing their life. Join Walker's family in demanding justice and accountability for his murder.
Sign the petition to demand the Akron Police Department release the names of the eight officers involved in Walker's murder and fire them immediately. We must also demand the U.S. Department of Justice investigate!
According to the Walker family's attorney, Bobby DiCello, Walker was handcuffed after police had already sprayed him with bullets and killed him. When medical help arrived, Jayland's hands were still cuffed behind his back. "We'd like to know why he was shot down like a dog. Simple as that." said Lajuana Dawkins, Walker's aunt. "Why was that necessary?"
Sign the petition to urge the release of the names of the eight officers involved in Walker's murder, fire them, and demand the U.S. Department of Justice investigate!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/813/009/884/
There is a growing number of animals being teased and tortured on video on social media, according to a new report by the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC).
SMACC is a section of Asia for Animals organization and the new report revealed that between February and May 2022, 200 videos depicting animals being tortured by teasing were shared on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animals/animals-are-increasingly-being-teased-and-tortured-on-social-media-according-to-new-report/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 10 2022
Center Street in New Iberia, Louisiana, has seen better days. Once the main highway into town from neighboring Abbeville, it begins at Main Street near the Shadows-on-the-Teche plantation and stretches west, forming the edge of the city’s business district before passing in front of the former New Iberia High School, which now serves as senior living apartments and an after-school program site.
Tucked away behind the Classic Revival-style brick school is Lloyd G. Porter Memorial Stadium. Decommissioned in 2014, it still stands ready, the grass and building maintained for occasional use in case newer facilities become flooded or otherwise unavailable. Built in 1939, the stadium is named after the longtime Iberia Parish Schools superintendent during whose tenure it was built.
But the fact that the facility still bears Porter’s name is a problem for many in the Black community because of the role Porter played in the expulsion of Black physicians and leaders from the city in 1944.
As with many memorials, such as those honoring Confederate generals, politicians and others known for their role in the “Lost Cause,” the actions of people memorialized in towns such as New Iberia sometimes tarnish quickly in the light of history.
“I’m not as concerned about former plantation owners as I am about the 20th century segregationists of this community who terrorized New Iberia’s Black citizens for demanding the same opportunities as white citizens,” said Phebe Hayes, a retired professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and founder of the Iberia African American Historical Society. “Black men were actually beaten and murdered in Iberia Parish for exercising the right to vote and demanding access to better jobs and education. In so many former Jim Crow towns like ours, the perpetrators of such violence are honored to this day with streets and public buildings bearing their names.”
“This shouldn’t be a complicated process,” said Tafeni English, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama. “Buildings, streets, schools or other public spaces should not be named after people who had a role in perpetuating violence on communities of color. The work we do at the Civil Rights Memorial Center is not only to educate and deepen the understanding of the past civil rights movement, but it also aims to connect that history to today’s progressive social movements to advance economic and racial justice.”
Fighting for knowledge
During one week in May 1944, a dozen Black citizens were forced to leave New Iberia. Among them were four doctors and four civil rights leaders — physicians Eddie L. Dorsey, Howard C. Scoggins and Luins Williams; dentist Ima A. Pierson; and community leaders Herman Faulk, J. Leo Hardy, Octave Lilly Jr. and Franzella Volter. Several of them were severely beaten before being dumped at the city limits. Hardy would die within months from his wounds, while Pierson would go through life with a metal plate in his skull because of his beating at the hands of Iberia Parish deputies.
The impetus for those attacks came after a chapter of the NAACP was established in the summer of 1943. It was at the height of World War II, and skilled welders were at a premium. The NAACP chapter, led by Hardy as its president, supported the idea of establishing a school where Black students could learn to weld, creating the first conflict with Porter, the school superintendent. Read more and see photo here: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/07/08/stadium-name-honors-man-who-expelled-black-people-louisiana-city
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 11 2022
To show support for President Biden’s most recent slate of Presidential Medal of Freedom honorees, we’re gathering signatures from across the country.
Add your digital signature to congratulate the recipients on this high honor >>: https://dlcc.org/act/2022-07-medal-of-freedom
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 12 2022
Tell the Biden Administration: Take Action to free Brittney Griner from Russia!
As the world waits breathlessly as Brittney Griner is held captive in a Russian prison for a small amount of hash oil, we must demand President Biden take action to free her. However, as we reflect on this horrendous injustice abroad, we must recognize that this inequity occurs in our own country every day– where hundreds of people in America are arrested for cannabis daily.
To be clear, there is no place in this world where people should be imprisoned for possession of a plant like marijuana. For this reason, and many others, we must join hands in demanding the Biden administration take action to free Brittney Griner and set an example for upending prohibitionists’: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-the-biden-administration-take-action-to-free-brittney-griner-from-russia
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 13 2022
I got to tell you I do not like posting stuff like that email I got from Mark but he sounds aright to me. I will leave a small portion of the email and if you want more your going to have to ask Mark for his email list. I really like the analogy of Indiana Jones. I have made that statement myself online, a few times. I like when the dad say's; something like, Indie you just killed those men and Indiana says; but dad, their Nazis. In the context of WWII it is very expectable and feasible even in cinema to portray Indiana's blind American heroism.
Email I got from: https://www.kelly.senate.gov/
Nazis - I hate these guys
"Famous movie hero Indiana Jones spoke for all of us--or at least I thought--when he uttered those words in the movie Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. But that was in 1989, when Republicans were conservative and wrong, but still a functioning party in a two-party democratic political system, not the deranged fascistic cult they've become."
I do not agree with the general view, that all republicans are deranged. I still am puzzled why politicians believe in conspiracy theory's and lies or will not come out against such thinking publicly; for the good of their fellow man.
Sign the petition to Dollar General: End low pay and unsafe working conditions!
Dollar General (DG) is one of the worst retail employers in the country - and now workers are fighting back against the corporate giant.
Dollar General staff are joining the organizing wave hitting major U.S. companies. Workers have come forward describing their horrendous working conditions: moldy workplaces, lack of proper air conditioning and heating, unsafe conditions, and more. Stores are often in violation of basic fire codes, purposely understaffed, and frequently located in underserved communities with limited job or food options.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-dollar-general-end-low-pay-and-unsafe-working-conditions/
We unknowingly digest toxic chemicals in our food and water – chemicals that have been linked to high blood pressure, cancer, and harm to reproductive and immune systems. Congress can step in and protect us, and we’re calling on them to take action immediately.
Sign the petition: Demand Congress regulate chemicals that contaminate our food and drinking water and jeopardize our health.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 15 2022
These are exerts from a great email from David.:
Coup Planning, Panicked Lawyers, Major Arrest Made
The David Pakman Show - July 14, 2022
--Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton casually admits to planning coups in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper
--An arrest is made in the Ohio rape of a 10-year-old, which recently became a viral story
Disgusting Vile Republicans Rewrite History on 10-Year-Old Abortion
Republicans who took issue with the accuracy of a story about a 10-year-old girl needing an abortion are now starting to accept it as fact because there’s a detail of the story they believe they can use to their benefit. The initial story was that a young girl from Ohio was raped and due to Roe vs. Wade getting overturned, she had to travel to Indiana in order to get the procedure done. Right-wing commentator Clay Travis, for example, tweeted, “Media reports of a 10 year old being raped in Ohio and Having to leave the state for an abortion appear to be completely made up.” Well now there is a 27-year-old man who has been arrested and charged for the rape and he happens to be an undocumented immigrant. So now these same right wingers are providing updates to the story highlighting the person’s immigration status and arguing Joe Biden never should have let this person into the country in the first place.
View this email I got from David yourself here.: https://davidpakman.substack.com/p/coup-planning-panicked-lawyers-major
The House of Representatives will vote today or tomorrow on an amendment known as Veterans Equal Access, which would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients if they live in one of the 38 states that currently have a program set up.
Right now, those doctors would be fired if they filled out a state-issued medical marijuana recommendation form.
If you agree with me that it is absurd to tie the hands of doctors from helping their veteran patients improve their lives if they think cannabis should be a part of their healthcare program, join me in sending a letter to your Representative RIGHT NOW!
New Blogs Part 14 Updated July 25 2022
Hey I am not commenting on this. I told myself I was not going to post another post about weapons of war. This seems to me to be something like that. This seems like future CIA stuff and I do not want any part of it. I do not want to know about war in anyway. It seems like this type of story should be out there; if this is totally accurate. Peace is the future. The future is somewhere out there, maybe, so far, it can not be comprehended; or maybe it is next month or day. Who knows? None of us do, or will ever know, or could say we knew; about the future of this world's population.
Axios
Biological weapons could target DNA, food supply, two U.S. ...
Biological and chemical weapons have the potential to pose a national security threat to the U.S. that the country is not equipped to handle...: https://www.axios.com/2022/07/24/bio-weapons-target-us-joni-ernst-jason-crow
New York Post
Dem lawmaker Rep. Crow warns Americans enemies could use DNA tests to kill them
“That's what this is, where you can actually take someone's DNA … their medical profile, and you can target a biological weapon that will...: https://nypost.com/2022/07/24/rep-crow-warns-enemies-could-use-dna-tests-to-kill-americans/
'You can take someone's DNA and design a weapon that can kill them': House intelligence committee member warns people not to share health data with sites like 23andMe because it can be used to program new bio-weapons to target them: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11042835/House-intelligence-committee-speaks-new-DNA-bio-weapons-target-single-person.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 27 2022
If Christian nationalism were enforced it would not be of God or of Gods will and that would cause God to hate us. All of the support Christians give the republican party is not something God would approve of. Was Jesus political? Best to never mix religion and politics, ever; our forefathers knew this and that has took us to becoming the most powerful nation on earth. Christian nationalism did not make us who we are; separation of church and state has. : https://constitutionalrightsblog.blogspot.com/p/constitutional-rights-blog-separation.html
Look; again, I have no idea how I would approach the above subject.
To simplify it all just remember separation of church from state = good; no separation of church and state = bad. It seems to be the American way to be. Long live USA!
Christian Nationalism Full Force, Secret Service is MIA
The David Pakman Show - July 26, 2022: https://davidpakman.substack.com/p/christian-nationalism-full-force
Christian nationalists primarily focus on internal politics, such as passing laws that reflect their view of Christianity and its role in political and social life.
Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry summarize Christian nationalism with the following statements
The federal government should declare the United States a Christian nation.
The federal government should advocate Christian values.
The federal government should not enforce the strict separation of church and state.
The federal government should allow religious symbols in public spaces.
The success of the United States is part of God's plan.
The federal government should allow prayer in public schools.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_nationalism
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2022
Reimagining History at the Austin Police Academy
For the past year, Austin has deployed a group of community folks and city staff to analyze the curriculum at the police academy and suggest reforms: It's not going well.
The community reviews material, makes recommendations, but little gets implemented. It seems at this point like the goal is to stall until interest dies down and no one notices that nothing ever got changed.
A case in point is a section on constitutional history that Grits wrote about last year. It turned out, the instructor largely based the curriculum on a book by a John Birch Society propagandist who authored a nutball history called "The 5,000 Year Leap" which was popularized after his death by right-wing broadcaster Glen Beck.: https://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2022/07/reimagining-history-at-austin-police.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 28 2022
Tell the Senate: end blue slips and fill EVERY judicial vacancy ASAP!
Dozens of federal judgeships are vacant, and despite holding the majority, Senate Democrats are letting single Republican senators abuse “blue slips” to block President Joe Biden’s appointments.
Please add your name and comments to a letter to your Senators encouraging them to expedite judicial confirmation hearings.: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/blue-slips-ja-letter-c3c4llc
July 27, 2022
Senate leadership has finally introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), and we need your help to build support.
The bill would end federal prohibition by removing cannabis from the schedule of controlled substances, provide regulatory guidance to states, expunge federal convictions while helping states do the same, provide relief for veterans, remove barriers to research, improve opportunities in the legal cannabis industry, begin to repair the harms caused by cannabis criminalization, and much more.: https://norml.org/act/federal-support-the-cannabis-administration-and-opportunity-act-caoa
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 30 2022
Great news: Sen. Markey, Sen. Wyden and Rep. Doris Matsui have introduced the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act. This bill would undo the major damage the Trump FCC inflicted when it repealed the Net Neutrality rules and surrendered its authority to regulate broadband. The legislation would restore the FCC’s authority to ensure that internet access — essential during the pandemic — is universally available, resilient and affordable.
It will be tough to move this bill forward in the midst of a hectic midterm-election year — and that’s where you come in. Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act.: https://act.freepress.net/sign/support_nn_broadband_justice_act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated July 31 2022
Tell the Senate: protect veterans exposed to burn pits
Senate Republicans flip-flopped, blocking the Honoring our PACT Act, a bill to expand health care for sick and dying veterans who were exposed to toxic pits of burning waste in war zones. Sign the petition: respect veterans. Pass the Honoring our PACT Act today.: https://civicshout.com/p/tell-the-senate-protect-veterans-exposed-to-burn-pits
Here is a old article on this subject.:
U.S. Military Is Scrutinized Over Trash Burning in Afghanistanhttps://www.nytimes.com › 2014/07/23 › us-military-is-...
Jul 22, 2014 — Fire and smoke rise from a trash burning pit in 2011 at Forward ... The report noted that an “Afghan-run open-air burn pit burned at much ...: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/us/us-military-is-scrutinized-over-trash-burning-in-afghanistan.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 02 2022
Wednesday, July 27, Senate Republicans blocked the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, including 25 who had supported it just a month ago.
The bill itself had not changed, but the politics have—and now veterans are the casualty.
The PACT Act would expand health care coverage to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits during post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as creating similar protections for veterans of the Cold War, Vietnam, and other conflicts. It would benefit an estimated one in five living veterans.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the original legislation, 84-14, in June. A technical correction required another vote. According to Veterans of Foreign Wars, a leading veterans advocacy organization, the only part of the bill that changed was the removal of a single sentence. Otherwise, the bill is "100% dedicated to healthcare and benefits for toxic exposed veterans."
There’s no doubt this was spite: The vote reversal came immediately after news of Sens. Schumer and Manchin's reconciliation deal.
Republicans chose to rob generations of veterans across this country of desperately needed health care and benefits because they're mad Democrats are poised to deliver big for American families.
Schumer is reportedly bringing the PACT Act up for another vote this week. Demand your Republican senator(s) support it.
Sign and send to Senate GOP: Stop the tantrums. Support veterans. Pass the PACT Act.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-to-senate-gop-stop-the-tantrums-support-veterans-pass-the-pact-act
A related article from the VA.:
VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry - Public Healthhttps://www.publichealth.va.gov › oef-oif-ond › burn-p...
May 17, 2021 — ... Burn Pit Registry. Post-9/11 Vet Newsletter: Information for Veterans who served in Operations Enduring. Trash burning with open flame.: https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/publications/oef-oif-ond/post-9-11-vet-fall-2016/burn-pit-registry.asp
Is it just me or do some politicians encourage and defend trash burning.
Superstition isn’t a cure for queer people
Yoga, prayer, and "wellness treatments" don't fall under conversion therapy bans since they aren't performed by a medical professional, but they're still used to try to "cure" queer people.
July 31, 2022
A child on the floor, crying: https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/07/superstition-isnt-cure-queer-people/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 03 2022
Add your name to support boat-to-plate seafood traceability and help stop seafood fraud >>
Seafood fraud is a real problem in the United States. Oceana’s investigations into seafood fraud have found that about 1/3 of the seafood sampled in the U.S. was mislabeled. Seafood fraud deceives consumers, disguises conservation and health risks, and hurts honest fishermen and seafood businesses. That’s why seafood traceability—from boat to plate—is critical to ensure that all seafood sold in the U.S. is safe, legally caught and honestly labeled.
87% of American voters agree that the government needs to do more to ensure that consumers are purchasing properly labeled seafood, according to a poll commissioned by Oceana. Right now, we have a chance to help fight this issue. The FDA proposed a rule in 2020 to expand food traceability to stop the spread of foodborne illnesses but has yet to issue the final safeguards for seafood. The FDA must act now to release the rule and should ensure this rule includes all seafood products and traces them from the boat to your plate.
Sign Oceana's petition today to tell the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that you support boat-to-plate traceability to ensure seafood sold in the U.S. is safe, legally caught, and honestly labeled.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/add-your-name-to-support-boat-to-plate-seafood-traceability-and-help-stop-seafood-fraud
How Much Pesticide Is Used on Cannabis? In Some States, No One Knows. Demand Pesticide Testing!
Cannabis is legal in more states than ever -- and this is clearly a good thing. With legalization and decriminalization efforts happening nationwide, there are fewer people getting locked up for petty drug charges related to its use, more and more folks have medical access, and recreational access is now controlled by the state to ensure safety. But a boom in legal cannabis use has meant a boom in its production nationwide -- and with it, rampant pesticide use.
Because cannabis is regulated at the state level, there are no federal guidelines for pesticide testing. And unfortunately, in Florida and Rhode Island, there is no required testing for pesticide levels in cannabis at all. In both states, pesticide level testing is optional, leaving recreational consumers and those who require cannabis for medical reasons open to immense harm. People in the cannabis community and scientists around the world are in agreement about the risks posed by unnecessarily using too many pesticides, and those consequences will be felt in local ecosystems and by consumers. No one who is using cannabis – whether for recreational or medicinal reasons -- should be worried about coming into contact with toxic pesticides.
Sign the petition now to demand the Florida and Rhode Island Departments of Agriculture require testing for pesticides in cannabis grown in each state!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/497/584/531/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 07 2022
I have been watching this story. Is this heat wave related?:
Are heat waves caused by solar flares? Solar flares don't cause heat waves, but they do have other impacts on Earth. Consequences include pretty auroras, as well as hazards. They can rain extra radiation on satellites, and increase the drag on satellites in low-Earth orbit. Apr 12, 2012: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/do-solar-storms-cause-heat-waves-earth
Earth is Spinning Faster than Usual and Here's How it's Already Affected You
SOME THINK IT COULD BE DANGEROUS.
AUGUST 6, 2022: https://bestlifeonline.com/news-earth-spinning-faster-effects/
The gruesome effect of solar flares on Earth
The volatile surface of the Sun can unleash strong solar flares! Know how they can impact Earth.
Aug 06 2022, 21:42 IST: https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/the-gruesome-effect-of-solar-flares-on-earth-71659802179046.html
If You Love Using This Social Media App, You're Definitely A Narcissist
Written on Aug 06, 2022: https://www.yourtango.com/self/love-using-social-media-app-definitely-narcissist
Narcissism is extreme self-involvement to the degree that it makes a person ignore the needs of those around them. While everyone may show occasional narcissistic behavior, true narcissists frequently disregard others or their feelings. They also do not understand the effect that their behavior has on other people. Dec 2, 2020: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/narcissism-symptoms-signs#:~:text=Narcissism%20is%20extreme%20self%2Dinvolvement,behavior%20has%20on%20other%20people.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 08 2022
Gigantic supercharged lightning bolt jets mapped for first time - study
Researchers created a three-dimensional map of the Oklahoma jet, the most powerful gigantic jet studied yet, with 100 times more electrical charge than a regular lightning bolt.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF Published: AUGUST 8, 2022 03:20
Updated: AUGUST 8, 2022 13:02: https://www.jpost.com/science/article-714158
Earth's days mysteriously getting longer; scientists struggle to find reason
New Delhi Updated: Aug 08, 2022, 04:00 PM(IST): https://www.wionews.com/science/earths-days-mysteriously-getting-longer-scientists-struggle-to-find-reason-504790
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 09 2022
Wealthy special interests and big-money donors hold too much power, and they use political loopholes to hide their spending on lobbying, elections, and judicial confirmation hearings. Despite anonymous donors' outsized influence in our political system, the American public doesn't know who they are, where the money comes from, or how much they're spending to upend democracy.
The DISCLOSE Act (S.443) would stop anonymous spending in our elections by requiring entities trying to influence our elections to disclose their major political donors. It would also increase transparency on political advertisements by requiring disclosure of major donors who underwrite advertisements supporting or attacking judicial nominees.
Overwhelming majorities support requiring super PACs and dark money groups to make their donors public; making nearly all political contributions fully transparent; providing more transparency into lobbyist fundraising; prohibiting political candidates from benefiting from unlimited secret corporate money to boost their campaigns; and requiring organizations engaged in political activity to disclose their large donors.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and it's time to clean up our democracy. The DISCLOSE Act of 2021 would help restore transparency and accountability to our political system. Demand your U.S. senators support it today.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-the-us-senate-sunlight-is-the-best-disinfectant-pass-the-disclose-act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 11 2022
As wildfires in the West have reached unparalleled severity, they pose an existential threat to giant sequoias, some of our most iconic forests. Having thrived through countless fires over millennia, thousands of these trees have perished in today’s climate-driven fires. Thankfully, significant funding, policy, and legislative solutions are available to protect the remaining giant sequoias and adjacent communities.
Save the Redwoods League, our partners, and other giant sequoia land managers have set a goal of treating 2,000 acres in the most at-risk groves before the 2023 fire season. This is a vital first step in preserving a future for these magnificent forests that are a part of our national heritage and attract millions of visitors.
Add your name here to send your email to Congress right now. The giant sequoias need your voice.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/signature-needed-emergency-action-needed-to-save-giant-sequoias
Summer may be slowly winding down, but the fight for legalization is heating up. The next few months are going to be some of the most pivotal we have ever seen for our movement to end prohibition. If we are going to succeed, however, we really are going to need your help.
While there are only a few months left in the year, there remains a real serious chance for pushing some real, substantial cannabis reform legislation through at the federal level. There is growing consensus that Congress should pass marijuana legislation before 2022 ends, and we need to keep the pressure on to ensure they follow through. Two new bills were recently introduced, one expanding marijuana research and one to expunge federal marijuana records. We are also working hard with our allies in Congress to introduce new legislation that combines access to banks and financial institutions with other important justice-related provisions. Hearing from NORML staff is paying dividends, but we need to make sure they also hear from you, their constituents. You can easily contact them using our TAKE ACTION tool.: https://norml.org/act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 12 2022
It is no secret that domestic abuse and animal abuse go hand in hand. In fact, more than 70% of pet owners at domestic violence shelters had an abuser who also threatened or physically harmed their animal. People who will control and abuse their family are clearly willing to hurt pets, too. But an amazing, groundbreaking bill in Utah could change that. This State's Lawmakers Are Close to Passing a Landmark Animal and Victims Rights Bill!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/169/406/620/
Say NO to Discrimination and YES to Equality in Healthcare!
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just issued a proposed rule that will make discrimination in healthcare and health insurance settings illegal, including discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This is good news for the LGBTQIA+ community!: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/section-1557-submit-your-comment/
This article is a overall example of why all social media should be banned.
Tommy Lee's nude photo sparks backlash over double-standard social media censorship
August 12, 20227:22 AM ET
One user commented that Lee's penis picture "was on Instagram for 5+ hours before being pulled yet queer artists get banned all the time for art that doesn't even show genitalia."
"Girls can't post photos with cleavage on Instagram without it being taken down but Tommy Lee can post THAT. nah," another wrote.
Instagram's anti-nudity guidelines include "photos, videos, and some digitally-created content that show sexual intercourse, genitals, and close-ups of fully-nude buttocks" and "some photos of female nipples" — a topic central to the years-long "free the nipple" movement.
One Twitter user called it "ridiculous" that the Mötley Crüe rocker was able to post his penis online while "trans men can't even post pictures of their chests without Instagram taking it down.": https://www.npr.org/2022/08/12/1117019905/tommy-lee-instagram-post-nude
Another even worse; 4 example's why all social media should be banned.:
Online violent extremist rhetoric soars after Mar-a-Lago search
BY JACOB ROSEN, NICOLE SGANGA
AUGUST 12, 2022 / 6:05 AM / CBS NEWS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/online-violent-extremist-rhetoric-soars-after-mar-a-lago-search/
FBI attacker was prolific contributor to Trump’s Truth Social website
Civil war and violence in support of the former president were frequent topics on an account opened in April and bearing the gunman’s name and photo
August 12, 2022 at 12:24 p.m. EDT: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/12/shiffer-trump-truth-social-fan/
‘We have guns too’: Trump supporters flood TikTok with threats of civil war
'Yea, it's go time. Everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about.'
Posted on Aug 12, 2022 Trump supporters are flooding TikTok with videos about civil war in response to numerous political issues including the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/trump-supporters-tiktok-civil-war/
QAnon followers claim Trump used theme song in campaign video: ‘That’s not an accident’
Conspiracy theorists appear to celebrate inclusion of ‘Richard Feelgood’ song in Trump video
23 hours ago
QAnon followers claim Trump used theme song in campaign video: ‘That’s not an accident’
Conspiracy theorists appear to celebrate inclusion of ‘Richard Feelgood’ song in Trump video
Donald Trump’s recent campaign-style video that he posted to his social media platform Truth Social appears to feature a song titled after the slogan of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
The former president on 9 August posted the nearly four-minute-long video on Truth Social that featured footage of himself speaking at his rallies and criticising Joe Biden after the FBI’s raid at his Mar-a-Lago home.
The video starts with audio of rain and thunderstorms and has the former president criticising Mr Biden, accompanied with an instrumental track in the background.
Media watchdog Media Matters conducted a review of the video using Google’s voice assistant app and Apple’s Shazam music app and noted that the music used in Mr Trump’s video “is a song titled Wwg1wga, produced in 2020 by an artist using the name ‘Richard Feelgood’ on Spotify”.
The acronym “wwg1wga” is shorthand in the QAnon community for the slogan “Where we go one, we go all”.: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-2024-qanon-campaign-video-b2142787.html
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 13 2022
Sign the petition: Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act!
Petition to Congress:
President Biden’s Safer America Plan aims to spend $37 billion dollars on state and local law enforcement agencies and hire 100,000 more police officers, but in many communities police officers still lack any real accountability or oversight. That’s why we demand Congress pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
President Biden wants to hire 100,000 more police officers, and set aside $37 billion dollars for state and local police departments.1 All with little to no oversight or accountability for police officers who use excessive force, or kill unarmed people.
If President Biden wants to move ahead with granting billions of dollars to police without any strings attached, then Congress needs to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to ensure the police are held accountable for lethal use of force.
Sign the petition: Tell Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act now!: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sign-petition-pass-george-floyd-justice-policing-act/
Now this is what I call news. The images load good; so you know it is not click bate. Good old Manchester where Daphne Moon Fictional character from Frasier; is from. :
'I tried the burger from a Greater Manchester petrol station that's a hit on social media'
Don't judge a book by it's cover
08:57, 13 AUG 2022 UPDATED 10:15, 13 AUG 2022: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/i-tried-burger-greater-manchester-24742906
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 14 2022
Sign the petition to urge TikTok to remove Andrew Tate's account for violating the platform's terms!
Unfortunately, Tate has become one of the most famous people on TikTok, with his videos reaching a total of 11.6 billion views. His growing fame is thanks to his fans, who are creating accounts named after him and then flooding social media with Tate's most controversial clips. An investigation revealed that TikTok promotes misogynistic content to young people -- particularly boys. Tate claims to be turning "boys into men," but what he's actually doing is turning them into potential abusers. Sign the petition to ban Andrew Tate and copycat accounts for breaking numerous community guidelines!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/223/874/028/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 16 2022
In the wake of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there has been speculation about whether the right to birth control is also in jeopardy.
Access to birth control is already under threat.
Policymakers who oppose reproductive freedom have begun challenging the constitutional right to birth control, are purposely conflating birth control and abortion to cause confusion, and are hiding attacks on birth control in anti-abortion legislation.
Despite birth control being basic health care, some people have been emboldened to attack birth control. Pharmacists have refused to provide contraception based on their personal beliefs, employers exclude birth control from health insurance, and states restrict where you can get contraceptive care.
We believe everyone deserves the freedom to decide when or whether they want to grow a family.
Add your name now, to join the National Women's Law Center, if you believe that everyone should have access to the birth control they want and need.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-protect-contraception-access-for-all
Employer suing for “religious freedom” to drop PrEP coverage complains about bad publicity
Dentist John Kelley says contraception and PrEP “encourage homosexual behavior and intravenous drug use.” But he doesn't want his name on his case anymore.
August 14, 2022
One of the plaintiffs in what could be a landmark case denying health insurance coverage of PrEP and contraception is complaining he’s being harassed.
John Kelley, an orthodontist in Tarrant County, Texas is among four complainants in a class action lawsuit filed in the state challenging the federal government’s authority to mandate access to free vaccines, birth control, cancer screenings, and other preventative services with the Affordable Care Act (also sometimes called Obamacare).
Attorney for the plaintiffs Jonathan Mitchell claims that the name of the suit, Kelley v. Xavier Becerra et al, has resulted in Kelley being subjected to “threats and cyberbullying.”
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 19 2022
Summer is upon us, and we're experiencing heat that, if you aren't careful, could be deadly. And not just to humans. Some pet owners don't realize how dangerous it is to leave your pet in a hot car, especially when it's not even that hot out. Did you know that if it is 75 degrees outside, the inside of a car can heat up to 94 degrees in just 10 minutes? Thankfully, some states have protections for good samaritans who rescue dogs from hot cars. But in New Jersey and West Virginia, if someone tries to save a dog locked in a hot car, they could get into hot water. In these two states, although it is a crime to leave animals in hot cars, no one is allowed to rescue them.
Sign the petition to urge New Jersey and West Virginia lawmakers to adopt good samaritan laws that make it legal to save animals in hot cars!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/300/577/004/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 22 2022
Deadly cyanide is poisoning wildlife, pets and people on our nation’s public lands—and a federal agency is responsible. Fortunately, members of the U.S. House are considering “Canyon’s Law” (H.R. 4951), a bill to remove the wildlife poison sodium cyanide from US public lands, and we need your help to ensure that it becomes law.
M-44 sodium cyanide ejectors, or “cyanide bombs,” are poison traps set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services program. Although they are intended to kill wild animals, these indiscriminate devices—often paid for by American taxpayers—have killed many family pets and have even poisoned people.
Among the animals that have fallen victim to M-44s are countless non-target animals, including family pets. Domestic dogs—including an Idaho family’s beloved pet—have been killed, devastating many families, yet Wildlife Services continues to use these deadly traps.
Just a few years ago, an Idaho boy watched his beloved dog die after the pair encountered and were poisoned by an M-44 ejector. Since that heartbreaking day, he and his family have worked tirelessly to end the use of cyanide bombs on our shared landscapes, and the U.S. House is now considering a bill named in his honor to accomplish just that.
You can help bring an end to the use of deadly cyanide bombs across our nation’s public lands by contacting your U.S. representative today. Sign to urge representatives to cosponsor “Canyon’s Law,” H.R. 4951.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-on-congress-m-44-cyanide-bombs-threaten-wildlife-and-dont-belong-on-public-lands
Recreational weed is now legal in 21 U.S. states and territories, and medical marijuana has been legalized in over a dozen more. But marijuana is still criminalized at the federal level, despite widespread support for legal marijuana by voters on all sides of the political spectrum. Luckily, Senate Majority Leader Schumer has finally introduced legislation to change that, by removing prohibitions on marijuana at the federal level.
For fifty years, cannabis has been illegal in the United States, and the consequences have been catastrophic. Tens of millions of Americans have been thrown into prisons and jails across the country for using, possessing, or selling a drug that contains medicinal properties and carries far lower risk for inciting violence than alcohol. As a result, a shocking number of American children have grown up with an incarcerated parent. The War on Drugs has been an explicitly racist project which targeted Black and Brown Americans, even though all racial groups use drugs (including cannabis) at the same rate. That makes the decriminalization — and ultimate legalization — of marijuana a racial justice issue.
On top of that, patients with chronic pain and illnesses deserve access to this natural drug that can relieve countless symptoms. Legalizing marijuana — or, at the very least, decriminalizing it — would bring relief to millions of Americans and their families. Every moment that Congress delays, more people suffer. Sign the petition to demand that Congress lift federal prohibitions on marijuana!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/568/437/549/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 23 2022
Toxic chemicals continue to contaminate our drinking water, food, and soil. PFAS chemicals, also known as “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to degrade, persist and accumulate in the environment and inside our bodies, can cause health issues and have been found in over 700 American communities.
And now, these chemicals have been traced in rainwater across the globe, making it unsafe to drink worldwide. Scientists have found the safe “planetary boundary” for PFAS chemicals has been exceeded, carrying immense consequences for environmental and human health.
Greedy chemical companies who are responsible for chemicals have been gaslighting us for years. They knew PFAS chemicals were hazardous for decades and did nothing about it. We trust that the products we buy are safe, and they took advantage of us. It’s time we fight back and stop allowing them to poison our drinking water.
We need better federal regulations in place to hold corporations accountable for poisoning our water. Congress must take bold action and pass legislation that regulates “forever chemicals” for the sake of our health and our communities.
Sign the petition: Congress must regulate PFAS chemicals and hold polluting companies responsible: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-the-ban-of-forever-chemicals
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 26 2022
Tell Facebook: Crack down on dangerous Republican lies and disinformation
We’ve seen the dangerous results of Republican lies. First, there was the Big Lie of January 6, 2021. After the recent FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort for classified documents, we saw an increase in attacks and threats against the FBI, including an attack by one Trump supporter on an FBI field office in Cincinnati, OH. Other Trump supporters were seen standing outside of a Phoenix, AZ, FBI office with semi-automatic assault rifles.
Now, congressional Republicans are inciting violence through more lies and disinformation, simply because they don’t like Democrats’ new health, climate change and tax law that gives the IRS the resources it needs to hold wealthy and corporate tax cheats accountable: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-facebook-crack-down-on-dangerous-republican-lies-and-disinformation
5-year-old dies after found in hot car in Texas
An investigation is underway after the boy was found unresponsive inside a vehicle outside an elementary school while classes were in session.
Published Aug. 26, 2022 11:04 AM MDT | Updated Aug. 26, 2022 11:05 AM MDT
According to an analysis from Kids and Car Safety, 56% of all child hot car deaths from 1990 to 2021 happened when the child was left in the vehicle unknowingly.: https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/texas-child-marks-19th-hot-car-death-nationally/1237497
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated August 27 2022
The petition to Google CEO Sundar Pichai reads:
"Gmail users do not want to receive unsolicited email from political campaigns or committees. I urge you to cancel your plan to allow political entities to send unsolicited spam and commit to protecting my inbox from ALL unsolicited emails.": https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-gmail-scrap-the-political-spam-plan
Investigate the Amazon – One Medical merger!
Petition to FTC: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/one-medical-amazon/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 01 2022
National gymnastics associations across the world have been called out for rampant mental, physical, and sexual abuse of young, vulnerable athletes in the past few years, and Gymnastics Australia is one of them. In 2020, the Human Rights Commission led an investigation that uncovered shocking, systemic abuse suffered by athletes. Now, Gymnastics Australia is claiming it wants to embark on a restorative justice journey with the survivors -- but requiring that they sign non-disclosure agreements, or NDAs, first. Gymnastics Australia cannot be allowed to muzzle young victims of abuse!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/653/354/889/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 05 2022
Man sexually assaulted 11-year-old he met on Instagram and gave her drugs
On Monday, the lorry attendant was sentenced to 20 years' jail and 24 strokes of the cane. Read more at straitstimes.com.
.10 hours ago: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/man-sexually-assaulted-11-year-old-he-met-on-instagram-and-gave-her-drugs
Instagram is long overdue for a comeuppance.:
Instagram was fined $402 million for mishandling teens' data in the EU
Ireland's Data Protection Commission fined Meta $405 million for making public the data of many young users in the EU, and violating GDPR in then process.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 07 2022
A school district in rural Missouri just decided to bring back spanking as a form of discipline for students.
That’s despite overwhelming evidence that spanking does not work to improve behavior, and can be harmful to students both physically and mentally.
Worse, according to academic research published in 2016, when spanking does happen in schools, Black children are disproportionately subjected to it.
Sadly, Missouri is far from the only state to allow spanking and corporal punishment in schools. Thanks to a 1977 Supreme Court decision leaving the issue up to states, 19 states – mostly in the south – currently allow spanking in schools.
As of the 2017-2018 school year, roughly 70,000 kids in U.S. schools were spanked or hit by a teacher at least once.
Senator Chris Murphy has introduced legislation that would ban the use of corporal punishment in all schools in the United States that receive federal funding, calling it a barbaric practice.
Tell Congress: Ban spanking in public schools now.: https://civicshout.com/p/ban-spanking-in-public-schools
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 09 2022
A Missouri school district announced that it is bringing back paddling -- the practice of beating children with a wooden paddle as punishment. While corporal punishment on children has thankfully been in decline, it remains legal in 19 states.
With all of the research we have on how physical punishment is psychologically and physically harmful to children in the short AND long term, schools are still deciding to use corporal punishment on their students! Groups like the American Psychological Association have long pointed to studies showing that paddling can cause injury and trauma and is not effective at improving behavior. Researchers have also found that Black children and disabled children are more likely to be "paddled" in school than their peers. This practice is abusive, violent, and must end.
Sign the petition to demand Congress ban the use of corporal punishment in schools in every state!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/211/390/207/
This is it. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act finally has the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate and make it to President Biden's desk to become law. All we need is a Senate vote this month. But, to our dismay, Senate leaders haven't prioritized PWFA for a vote.
And I want to be clear: PWFA safeguards the health and economic security of pregnant workers, especially women of color and low-wage workers. It also combats pregnancy discrimination and ensures no one has to choose between a job and a healthy pregnancy. We need these protections now more than ever.
That's why passing PWFA can't wait until "some later date" in the future. The fact that this bill hasn't even made it to the Senate floor for a vote yet – despite having the votes to pass – is unacceptable.
But we are so close! This is the moment our hard work can pay off – we just need to give this push everything we've got. Can you send a quick email to your senators today and tell them to pass PWFA now? They need to hear from all of us that pregnant workers and families across the country must be a priority.: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/protect-pregnant-workers-rights
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 11 2022
Telling the 9/11 story: See how The Dallas Morning News covered the historic day and the aftermath
Revisit the front pages and special editions from 2001 and 2002
An extra edition published on the day of the attack.(DMN)
This week, the nation will observe the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. From day zero, the day of the attacks, The Dallas Morning News has provided coverage of the event and its aftermath, including its effects on the city and the ensuing war.: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/from-the-archives/2021/09/09/reflecting-on-911-coverage-from-2001-and-2002/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 13 2022
Wealthy special interests and big-money donors hold too much power, and they use political loopholes to hide their spending on lobbying, elections, and judicial confirmation hearings. Despite anonymous donors' outsized influence in our political system, the American public doesn't know who they are, where the money comes from, or how much they're spending to upend democracy.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-a-petition-to-the-senate-sunlight-is-the-best-disinfectant-pass-the-disclose-act
Every year, animal welfare advocates in Canada come across the same tragic sight – beautiful, iconic birds of prey like eagles so emaciated and weak that they are unable to fly or hunt. Lead poisoning is leaving local raptor populations so sick that they rarely are able to recover, killing them and in turn disrupting entire ecosystems. Where is this lead coming from? Hunters' bullets, left behind in decaying carcasses of deer and other innocent wildlife.: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/342/810/872/
"Gmail users do not want to receive unsolicited email from political campaigns or committees. I urge you to cancel your plan to allow political entities to send unsolicited spam and commit to protecting my inbox from ALL unsolicited emails.": https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-gmail-scrap-the-political-spam-plan
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 22 2022
Sign Petition for the 2022 DISCLOSE Act in Congress!
In 2020 over $1 billion in Dark Money was spent in federal elections, deepening the flood of secret money and further corrupting our democracy.
This week, the U.S. Senate will vote on the DISCLOSE Act to require even Super PACs and 501(c)(4) dark money groups to promptly disclose donors of at least $10,000 during an election cycle. All 50 Democratic & Independent Senators are cosponsors but like the For the People Act, it's being filibustered.
Now's the time to end the filibuster at least for voting rights bills!
Sign & Send the Petition to YOUR U.S. Senators asking them to pass the DISCLOSE Act now, even if it takes making an exception in the filibuster!
Our petition generates email messages you can edit before we send them for you.: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-petition-for-the-2022-disclose-act-in-congress
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 23 2022
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has released a new proposed vessel speed rule that aims to reduce the risk of boat collisions with the 330 remaining North Atlantic right whales in existence.
The new proposal from the government contains critical changes such as including boats greater than 35 feet in length (compared to the previous 65 feet), expanding seasonal speed zones, and upgrading current voluntary speed zones to mandatory in areas where whales are found. While these improvements are promising, more is needed to prevent the extinction of this critically endangered whale.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-on-tell-us-government-officials-protect-north-atlantic-right-whales
From: splcenter.org
The 1910s and 1960s saw the biggest spike in the dedication of Confederate memorials associated with the military, substantiating evidence that these memorials went up as part of an organized propaganda campaign in in support of the Jim Crow era that followed Reconstruction and as a backlash to the civil rights movement.
As a result, taxpayer dollars are being used today to support Confederate memorials in our national parks, in our Capitol, in our military, and in veterans cemeteries. This does not include the 2,000-plus Confederate memorials that sit on public property across the U.S. that are also maintained with taxpayer dollars. These memorials are documented in the SPLC’s Whose Heritage? report, which tracks public symbols of the Confederacy across the U.S.: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-117hr4994ih
That just might be enough to hold the House and the Senate this November, but there’s one thing left he can do to guarantee it: Taking the first steps toward decriminalizing marijuana.
President Biden can initiate the process to remove marijuana from the schedule of the Controlled Substances Act with the stroke of a pen. This action would make it easier for businesses in states who have ended prohibition to flourish. Right now, cannabis businesses can’t operate across state lines and are financially insecure because they don't have full access to the banking system or the ability to write off their employees' healthcare costs.
In short, descheduling marijuana would shorten the path to full legalization.
Descheduling marijuana is incredibly popular with voters—right up there with saving the planet, fighting inflation, and fighting the student debt crisis. But more importantly, descheduling marijuana could be the issue that gets thousands of unlikely voters to the polls this year.
Sign our urgent petition to President Biden for him to answer America’s call to decriminalize marijuana.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/time-to-unleash-dank-brandon/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 25 2022
Attacking Extremist Violence: SPLC supports White House anti-hate initiatives announced during ‘United We Stand’ summit
At the United We Stand summit hosted by the Biden administration last week, the White House rolled out an impressive number of government initiatives, along with several public-private partnerships designed to foster unity and build community trust and resilience in the fight against hate and extremism.
We welcomed Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice’s August announcement of the summit to help stem the tide of the corrosive effects of increasing hate-fueled violence and extremism in the United States. As James Baldwin rightly said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
As chief policy officer, I represented the Southern Poverty Law Center at the summit, which brought together local, state and federal policymakers, civil rights groups, faith and community leaders, technology and business leaders, law enforcement officials and survivors of hate-fueled violence and their families all to combat the proliferation of hate in our country.
Of the many federal government-sponsored events I have attended over the years, none have inspired me more than the United We Stand summit.
It was an incredible moment of acknowledgment, healing, community transformation and unity. By elevating and highlighting the impact of the mass shootings in Buffalo, El Paso and Oak Creek, the hostage situation at the Colleyville synagogue, and the violent assaults on civilians in New York, Charlottesville and elsewhere, the day was a moment of reckoning and a sober reminder of the devastation that hate-fueled violence has inflicted on minority communities and families both in the past and present.
There was a recognition that the violence has deep roots in system failures as well as societal gaps in the recognition of the humanity in people who are different from us.
Most notably, the program showcased how survivors turned unimaginable tragedy into a movement to transcend hate, acknowledge the humanity of others and offer hope for a world where love wins. The genuine display of bipartisanship where the public welfare is prioritized above politics was a refreshing change from the constant barrage of hateful political rhetoric too often dominating public discourse.
The summit was transformational because there was recognition that no one person or entity alone can solve hate, the proliferation of white nationalism and extremism. It takes a village a commitment from the government, the community, faith leaders, businesses and everyday people working together.
In a letter to Rice in advance of the summit, we urged the planners to focus on survivors and their families, concentrate on forward-looking, long-term prevention initiatives not merely enforcement of existing laws and center community-based resources and best practices to address the harms of hate-fueled violence. Read full story here: https://www.splcenter.org/news/2022/09/23/splc-supports-white-house-anti-hate-initiatives
I was very impressed with the quote included in the email sent to me from SPL. I looked it up and discovered it came from a very good book worth reading. By coincidence I just finished my review of the movie The French Dispatch that portrays him in the movie. :
When did James Baldwin say Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced?
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within," Baldwin wrote in his best-selling 1963 novel The Fire Next Time. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” Baldwin wrote in a 1962 essay for The New York Times.: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/g32842156/james-baldwin-quotes/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated September 30 2022
Sample Ballots are ONLINE!
Are you ready to vote? We hope so because that is the only way we are going to be able to defend our RIGHTS and DEMOCRACY this year and every year going forward.
One great way to be ready to vote is to know what your ballot will look like. CLICK HERE -- then use the tool at the top to search for your ballot based on your Precinct Number!: https://www.collincountytx.gov/elections/election_information/Pages/sampleballots.aspx?electionID=41
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 2 2022
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 4 2022
Donald Trump held a rally in Warren, Michigan on Saturday night to support gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon and a number of other Republican candidates. Trump came up with a new 2020 election hypothesis which is that John James, a Republican who ran for Senate in Michigan, actually won his race against Democratic Senator Gary Peters. Trump said, “he did great. I think he happened to win the last election for the Senate. I happen to think he won by quite a bit.” James lost his race by about 90,000 votes and there’s no evidence that he actually got more votes or was the victim of voter fraud. Trump went on to claim, “I don’t believe we’ll ever have a fair election again.” If the ex-president really does believe this, then why should his supporters go out and vote? And of course, the truth is that if Trump had his way in 2020, America wouldn’t have fair elections because the candidate who got fewer electoral votes would be able to take power. The authoritarian slide led by people like Trump gets even steeper now only a month away from the 2022 midterm races.: https://davidpakman.com/2022/10/october-3-2022
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 7 2022
Never-before-seen images of Rikers Island released by Gothamist paint a bone-chilling picture of the conditions inside.
Incarcerated people forced to sit in soiled clothes for hours, men locked in shower stalls that have been turned into cells—these are just some of the horrific experiences documented by officials in charge of enforcing safe operations at New York City jails.
New York City has already agreed to close Rikers by 2027, but the people incarcerated there simply can’t wait any longer for conditions to improve.
We demand that the New York City Department of Correction takes the necessary steps to create a safe, humane environment, where people held at Rikers are treated with care. We also demand a city wide move toward decarceration, so that fewer people ever find themselves locked up in a jail or prison.
Will you add your name and join Vera in demanding that the Department of Correction improves conditions on Rikers Island?: https://secure.vera.org/a/take-action-rikers
Oct 6, 2022 - WASHINGTON — President Biden on Thursday pardoned all people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and said his administration would review whether marijuana should still be a Schedule 1 drug like heroin and LSD, saying that "makes no sense."
"As I often said during my campaign for President, no one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana. Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit. Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities. And while white and Black and brown people use marijuana at similar rates, Black and brown people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.
His full statement is here: https://dfwnorml.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7cf3a87269d3a61614c2dc7fc&id=4e8cf45744&e=d3eab502c8
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 13 2022
Recent horrible and stomach-turning images have revealed the level of abuse incarcerated people are experiencing on Rikers Island.
The images reveal people forced to sit in their feces for several hours, people locked in bathroom stalls as make-shift cells, and other incarcerated individuals carrying an unresponsive person in need of medical attention with no staff present to assist. Rikers is maintaining its reputation of being one of the worst prisons in the U.S., even though most people at Rikers are pre-trial defendants, meaning they have not been convicted and await hearings or are unable to afford bail.
Conditions will likely remain this way until the facility's scheduled closure in 2027. Until then, those residing in Rikers will continue to be subject to abuse, torture, and hazardous conditions unless a federal judge appoints a receiver to reform prison standards.
Sign the petition to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York: Appoint a receiver to oversee Rikers.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-to-the-us-district-court-for-the-southern-district-of-new-york-appoint-a-receiver-to-oversee-rikers
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 15 2022
When I first started this blog I had some trouble with posting things from websites that were not accurate enough. Over the years I have gotten in the grove to where I do not post disinformation. If I post something I am not sure of I look it up eventually and correct it. The best thing is to stay away from websites like Fox and the like. Not everything they say is untrue but when you mix truth and lies it is best not to pay attention to such websites all together. I feel bad for people because I understand the temptation to listen to and even post bazaar stories that are riddled with misinformation; in other words lies. If you look at it in black and white meaning it is quite simply lies and most people do not want to lie. The problem is people are not perfect in anyway. "John Connor : We're not gonna make it, are we? People, I mean. The Terminator : It's in your nature to destroy yourselves." - : Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).:
ADD YOUR NAME: Keep our online spaces safe from disinformation!
Sign United We Dream’s petition and help us end online disinformation and its harmful effects.
One of the biggest drivers of discontent in society today is the rapid spread of disinformation. From Covid to public education, we are seeing an unprecedented attack on common sense and facts.
Bad actors use disinformation to keep our communities from exercising our rights. They want to keep our communities from voting, or to vote for candidates who don’t have our best interests in mind.
We can fight back against this influence, but we need your help. At United We Dream, we are supporting the truth around the country to combat disinformation and strengthen our communities with our Web Watcher activists.
With your support, we can hold bad actors accountable, bring back fairness and accuracy, and keep out the disinformation ruining our communities.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/add-your-name-keep-our-online-spaces-safe-from-disinformation-3
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 22 2022
How Our Long Investigation Into Collin County Came to Be - From here.
Kathy spent six months interviewing people and poring over court filings and writing a lot of words.
October 19, 2022 12:32 pm
Zac Crain, D Magazine’s senior editor, has a rule that I’m about to break. Zac says writers and editors should never brag about a story’s length, on the belief that quantity doesn’t guarantee quality, that often their relationship is of the inverse variety, that a fair number of dopes don’t get that, and that someone with good sense wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a dope. Whatever. Let’s do this.
Kathy Wise, our executive editor, wrote a story for this issue that runs to 11,316 words, making it one of the longest the magazine has published in its 48 years. Read it here: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2022/october/the-most-lawless-county-in-texas/
What do I think of living here for 30 years mow? Search my blog and my art blog to find what my evolution of living here is. I am a simple man and love simple people like me. The people I have met here and come in contact with have always been good, wholesome, honest, hardworking people. These people here have touched my heart and won my heart from day one. I am one of them now and have been for so long; there is no changing me, ever. I stand with them and for them; from the start, the years that have gone by have only strengthened that. From the day I was born in a United Sates Airforce base; I have been a patriotic American with the love of country overflowing from my heart; combine that with living here and you get a comradery with my fellow citizens, with a bond that can not be broken not by anything, especially politics. We all can always do better, so looking ahead is how it is.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 23 2022
This is a example of the lies that I was talking about in my above blog entry from October 15th.:
Republicans are pushing three other bald-faced lies — on crime, inflation, and taxes — that could prove to be even more effective at fooling voters and putting the MAGA Republicans in charge of Congress.
Let’s take a look at crime. While violent crime rose 28 percent between 2019 and 2020, gun homicides rose 35 percent. That’s not because Democrats are soft on crime or defunding the police, as the GOP alleges.
Nor are Democrats to blame for rising prices on everything from gasoline to milk, as Republicans claim. In fact, the most important driver of domestic inflation is corporate greed — with companies enjoying their highest profit margins since the 1950s. The GOP wants to protect its corporate donors and cut taxes for the wealthy, not rein in corporate monopolies.
Perhaps the most absurd GOP lie of all? That Democrats have hired 87,000 IRS agents to go after the middle class. In fact, those new workers, phased in over time, will restore the IRS to its staffing levels before Republicans gave it the axe. And their role is to go after the wealthy — the richest 1 percent of whom are hiding a fifth of their income from the federal government.
— Robert Reich From email dated Oct 22, 2022, 1:52 PM.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 24 2022
Conditions in Alabama state prisons are so abysmal that the prisoners just went on a three-week prison labor strike. Alabama officials tried to force an end to the strike by restricting meals, essentially starving an end to it. One person reportedly received a dead rat for lunch in retaliation for the ongoing protests.
Although the strike has ended, activists have committed to resuming if their demands are not met.
Sign the petition to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm: End the cruelty in Alabama state prisons.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-alabama-department-of-corrections-commissioner-john-hamm-end-the-cruelty-in-alabama-state-prisons
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated October 30 2022
Suspect in assault at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s California home had posted about QAnon
Man accused of severely beating her husband with a hammer appears to have made racist posts and defended Donald Trump online.
BY MICHAEL BIESECKER AND BERNARD CONDON | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Oct 29, 2022
An Aug. 24 entry titled “Q,” displayed a scatological collection of memes that included photos of the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and made reference to QAnon, the baseless pro-Trump conspiracy theory that espouses the belief that the country is run by a deep state cabal of child sex traffickers, satanic pedophiles and baby-eating cannibals.
“Big Brother has deemed doing your own research as a thought crime,” read a post that appeared to blend references to QAnon with George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.”
In an Aug. 25 entry titled “Gun Rights,” the poster wrote: “You no longer have rights. Your basic human rights hinder Big Brothers ability to enslave and control you in a complete and totalizing way.”: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2022/10/29/suspect-in-assault-at-house-speaker-nancy-pelosis-california-home-had-posted-about-qanon/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 03 2022
This summer, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made headlines for bringing charges against 20 Floridians who thought they had regained the right to vote after being convicted of a crime. It was the latest attempt at fearmongering around the myth of voter fraud—a myth that has become all too common this election cycle.
DeSantis and others are using scare tactics around election integrity to insist that people who have been released from jail or prison are committing widespread voter fraud, but it’s far from the truth.: https://www.vera.org/news/how-mass-incarceration-shapes-our-elections
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 07 2022
I voted early like always. I noticed the ballet was different this time. For years when you vote here in the center of Collin County (one of the most republican places in our country) you have to announce to the room full of people whether you are voting republican or democrats. The past couple of years they have a paper and you point to democrat or republican; it still feels uncomfortable though. I just assume that we have the standard type elections. If I had my way we would never have to choose republican or democrat to vote. To the defense of our county; the people are always nice there and I have never had a bad experience socially.
The amount of uncontested people running for office; looked to be almost 100 people. This is because; in my observation, we are all republican here and democrat's do not even bother to run; most likely because it is that hopeless.
I noticed that there was police officers in front of the narrow sidewalk on the way to my car. I stopped and said hello and was as friendly as I could be; like I always am. I felt oddly uncomfortable. Then recently I read a article the reason they were there was someone was threatening the polling places.:
Update: North Texas Schools Closed On Election Day Amid Safety Concerns Several threats have been sent to polling workers NOVEMBER 3, 2022
Schools across North Texas being used as polling locations will be closed on Election Day due to safety concerns. This will also allow educators and school staff to vote during the day.
According to Axios, the decision to close schools in Dallas, Richardson, Garland and several others was made to ensure student safety, as well as allow educators and other school personnel to vote in the midterm elections.
“RISD has scheduled a student holiday on November General Elections days for the last five years. This ongoing decision is driven by student safety. The majority of RISD schools are required to serve as polling locations, which can result in hundreds of visitors accessing a campus without being subject to the security and background check protocols otherwise required of visitors during a school day,” RISD Executive Director of Communications Tim Clark told Local Profile. Read full article here.:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 11 2022
I found a string of articles on Google News. on one of my favorite news subjects; anti social media.:
Illinois State University News
Social media disinformation
Social media disinformation.: https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2022/11/how-to-fight-social-media-disinformation/
YouTube
How Social Media Harms Democracy | Asia Society | GZERO Media
External disinformation efforts pale in comparison to the internal damage Americans can do.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31oIoSGNotw
Investigative Reporting Workshop
GOP election deniers got a free pass on social media
A Washington Post review of hundreds of posts found many with misinformation but none with social media labels. : https://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigation/gop-election-deniers-got-a-free-pass-on-social-media/
JMU Breeze
Opinion | Parents should adhere to social media age restrictions
Age restrictions on social media are not difficult to bypass and many adolescents have access to potentially harmful material. Because of this, young users...: https://www.breezejmu.org/opinion/opinion-parents-should-adhere-to-social-media-age-restrictions/article_d079a658-607b-11ed-bbe0-876c7e7af22e.html
Rolling Out
50 Cent explains how social media is impacting violence in hip-hop
Rappers have been dying at alarming rates over the years, and some can say that it may have to do with the music that is being promoted to the masses.: https://rollingout.com/2022/11/10/50-cent-explains-how-social-media-is-impacting-violence-in-hip-hop/
Bloomberg.com
Twitter Cybersecurity Chief Kissner Announces Departure From Social-Media Firm
Three of Twitter Inc.'s top privacy and security officials said they're leaving, heightening concerns about the company's ability to keep its platform...: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-10/twitter-s-cybersecurity-chief-announces-departure-from-company
The Atlantic
The Age of Social Media Is Ending
It's over. Facebook is in decline, Twitter in chaos. Mark Zuckerberg's empire has lost hundreds of billions of dollars in value and laid off 11,000 people,...: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/11/twitter-facebook-social-media-decline/672074/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 14 2022
What we know so far about the victims in the Dallas air show plane collision
All 6 men were members of the Commemorative Air Force, a Texas nonprofit group "dedicated to flying and restoring World War II aircraft" and the host of the Wings Over Dallas Airshow.
Updated Nov. 14, 2022, 2:59 PM CST
Maj. Curtis J. Rowe served for more than 30 years on the Ohio Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and "volunteered as a crew member on a vintage Boeing B–17 Flying Fortress for the Commemorative Air Force where he shared his passion for flying," according to a statement from the service.
Terry Barker was an U.S. Army veteran and a former city councilman in Keller, Texas, according to Mayor Armin Mizani.
An Oregon native who loved flying, Leonard Root, 66, got his pilot’s license when he was just 16-years-old and went on to get his aviation degree from Hesston College in Kansas, his daughter, Rebekah Lowery, told NBC News.
Read full article here.: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/know-far-victims-dallas-air-show-plane-collision-rcna57074
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 15 2022
Say goodbye to social media
Published November 14, 2022
Table of Contents:
What is a social network?: https://en.softonic.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-social-media#What_is_a_social_network
How did humanity become so addicted to social media?: https://en.softonic.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-social-media#How_did_humanity_become_so_addicted_to_social_media
The current social media climate: https://en.softonic.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-social-media#The_current_social_media_climate
The anti-social social media movement: https://en.softonic.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-social-media#The_anti-social_social_media_movement
Where does it end?: https://en.softonic.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-social-media#Where_does_it_end
Rapper Bhad Bhabie Accused of 'Blackfishing'—'What Happened to Her Face?'
11/15/22 AT 7:58 AM EST
Rapper Bhad Bhabie has been accused of "blackfishing" after sharing a brief video clip in which she appears to have significantly darker skin.: https://www.newsweek.com/rapper-bhad-bhabie-accused-blackfishing-what-happened-her-face-1759541
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 16 2022
I am thankful for Juneteenth; even though the indiscriminate murders of African Americans, continued up until the 1960's, especially in the south, because of racism. Reading this page made me sad for America and it's roots.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_abolition_of_slavery_and_serfdom
I recommend giving it a quick read.
Of course as you all must know; no matter what, my allegiance is to our great country. I do not see how you can read my posts without coming to that conclusion eventually. Just in case; I like reminding myself of that here. We can always do better. I will never stop looking for better red, white and blue ways of doing things better.
ASHQELON, ISRAEL, November 16, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The book "Cannabis Wars," the new winner of the Global Books Award (gold medal in the health category), was blocked from publication on Facebook and Instagram.: https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/601626406/the-book-cannabis-wars-which-won-the-2022-global-books-award-was-banned-from-facebook-and-instagram
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 16 2022
Confirm Sohn NOW!
Petition to the U.S. Senate:
The Senate must act now and vote to confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC. The only ones who benefit from Sohn’s nomination being delayed for a year are big telecom corporations. Consumers are hurting and we need action. It’s time to confirm the highly qualified Sohn and allow for a functioning FCC.: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/confirm_sohn_fcc_now/
A huge percentage of current inflation is a result of corporate price gouging. They’ve taken advantage of the hysteria surrounding the economy and the war in Ukraine and used it to indiscriminately jack up prices across the board. And then, instead of investing their record profits to lower costs for consumers, they’ve enriched their shareholders.
A Windfall Profits Tax would target this corrupt practice, but Biden cannot pass it alone. He needs much more support from Congress!
Sign the petition: Tell Congress to listen to President Biden and pass a Windfall Profit Tax!
Energy corporations are seeing historic profit margins right now. “Over the last two quarters, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, and Total Energy earned over $100bn more than they earned ALL of last year.” That’s insane. Instead of investing these massive profits into lowering prices, corporations have been sending it to their shareholders in the form of stock buybacks.: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/biden-calls-windfall-profit-tax-congress-should-listen/
Add your name: Thank YOU election workers!
During the last two years, Republicans parroted false claims of election fraud to pass new laws that seize power from professional, non-partisan election administrators and expose the election process to partisan influence and disruption. Their lies created conditions for delay, chaos, and uncertainty that threatened the counting of votes and certification of election results.
As a result, election workers—poll workers, managers, clerks, inspectors, and municipal, county, and state election officials—faced threats and violence from election deniers. Still, even as they were vilified and undermined, election workers protected the bedrock of our democracy—fair elections and the fundamental right of all Americans to vote and have their votes counted.
Election workers are unsung heroes of democracy. Their work ensured the integrity of our elections and proper functioning of our democracy against threats from right-wing extremists. Our victories were possible because of their service.
Add your name to amplify our gratitude for their service to our nation.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-this-thank-you-election-workers
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 22 2022
I still love the people around here no matter what. I know how they are and what they believe because I have been there. I had to realize that I live in the greatest nation on earth and it's all good. Oh but this is the generation that is the smartest right? This is the worst generation on earth in God's eyes.
Look at the pilgrims here.:
https://constitutionalrightsblog.blogspot.com/p/constitutional-rights-blog-separation.html America was founded on the simple rule of; neighbors helping neighbors, in other words the golden rule. It is amazing the stuff you find on Wikipedia these days. I did not even use Google for that; just the Wikipedia search engine.
Since I am talking about the pilgrims and the native Americans helping them as neighbors; it seems appropriate to wish anyone that reads this a happy thanksgiving. Americans have so much to be thankful for.
Nefarious Tactics of Collin County DA’s Office Reach the Highest Court
Can I now say I've argued before the Supremes?
By November 22, 2022|11:59 am
(And not to split hairs, but Wooten didn’t actually plead guilty. She was convicted by a jury and pled to the sentence not the crime. But Duke’s argument holds true: innocent people will often choose to be free rather than be right. And the bad actions of bad prosecutors can result in tragic, life-altering results.): https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2022/11/nefarious-tactics-of-collin-county-das-office-reach-the-highest-court/
Sign and send the petition to your U.S. senators: Confirm Rachel Bloomekatz to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
As the end of the 117th Congress draws closer, all eyes are on the Senate to confirm President Biden’s judicial nominees. Many have been awaiting full Senate action for months, including Rachel Bloomekatz, nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Bloomekatz is a champion for equal justice and an experienced lawyer. She founded Bloomekatz Law LLC in 2019 and has led an extraordinary career advocating for human rights. She has extensive experience advocating for voting rights, workers’ and consumers’ rights, constitutional rights, gun safety, and more.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-to-your-us-senators-confirm-rachel-bloomekatz-to-the-sixth-circuit-court
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 23 2022
The massacre at the LGBTQ bar in Colorado Springs was fueled by scapegoating of drag queens and transgender people by the political right-wing. We’ll tell you about the horror, the heroism, and how you can help.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raXObocx2zs
On the night before Transgender Day of Remembrance -- a day that "pays homage to transgender people who were killed by anti-transgender violence" -- a gunman murdered 5 people and injured 25 more in a LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs.
This violence is not an isolated event. It is merely the latest in the more than 600 mass shootings the U.S. has seen in 2022. It also comes amidst a tidal wave of hateful anti-LGBTQ legislation.
The violent resentment of a community so defined by love and acceptance is utterly gut-wrenching. As a local mother in Colorado Springs put it: "love will never hurt you. The gays are not coming for you. There is no agenda. It doesn't hurt you to let people be themselves."
This shooting is particularly devastating because law enforcement and prosecutors had significant opportunities to stop it from ever happening.
Just last year, authorities arrested the gunman after he violently threatened his own mother with a bomb and other weapons. Yet officials did not bring charges or trigger Colorado's "red flag" gun laws.
The U.S. government must investigate why this violent, hateful gunman was not held accountable before he unleashed a full-scale massacre. It must also ensure he is held properly accountable this time around.
Sign the petition to demand that the FBI investigate this shooting as the hate crime that it was.: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/697/270/227/
What we’re asking together is pretty simple: Do not allow companies that receive our tax dollars to make undisclosed political contributions. It’s such a no-brainer, that if we can call enough attention to the issue, then we can win and move on to other pressing problems.: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-president-biden-rein-in-secret-money-in-politics-2
Sign the petition: Demand Congress put an end to private prisons!: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-demand-congress-put-an-end-to-private-prisons
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 24 2022
Sign and send the petition to your U.S. senators: Confirm Dale Ho to the Southern District of New York.
For months, many of President Biden’s nominees have been waiting on full Senate action so they can be confirmed and seated on the federal bench. Now that Congress is in its lame duck session, processing those dozens of nominees must be a top priority before the end of term.
Dale Ho, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, has been stalled in the Senate for nearly a year. In January 2022, his hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee resulted in a tie vote, requiring the full Senate to vote on a discharge motion before a final confirmation vote. Neither have happened yet.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-to-your-us-senators-confirm-dale-ho-to-the-southern-district-of-new-york
Fox News stories about violent crime drop by 50% immediately after the 2022 midterm elections, mirroring 2014 with Ebola and 2018 with migrant caravans: https://davidpakman.com/2022/11/november-23-2022/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 25 2022
Thanksgiving’s Texas Roots
Nov 24, 2022
In 1541, nearly a century before the pilgrims’ first celebration, an expedition led by Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado brought him to Palo Duro Canyon under the guidance of a Pueblo Indian the Spaniards referred to as “La Turque.”
It was here, on the day of the Feast of the Ascension, alongside Teya Indians, the Catholic priest and missionary Fray Juan de Padilla celebrated Mass — and for many — the first Thanksgiving.: https://dallasexpress.com/state/thanksgivings-texas-roots/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated November 29 2022
I was making my yearly donation to Lambda Legal and noticed they had a petition that I did not post here.:
Stop Prison Rape in Texas!
The Texas prison system leads the country in rates of sexual violence, particularly against LGBT people. It is urgent and critical that Texas Governor Greg Abbott take all steps necessary to stop this abuse.
In 2003, Congress unanimously passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), a federal law designed to eliminate sexual abuse of people in custody. In passing PREA, Congress found that prison rape often goes unreported, and inmate victims often receive inadequate treatment for the severe physical and psychological effects of sexual assault—if they receive treatment at all. Congress also found that prison rape undermines the public health by contributing to the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. PREA’s purpose is to make the prevention of prison rape a top priority in each prison system.Read more and sign here.: https://www.lambdalegal.org/petition/stopprisonrapeintx
McKinney police tight-lipped about shooting that killed man who allegedly threatened mom with axe
It has been 3 days since a McKinney police officer shot and killed a man whose mother reported that he threatened her with an axe. The department still has...: https://www.fox4news.com/news/mckinney-police-tight-lipped-about-shooting-that-killed-man-who-allegedly-threatened-mom-with-axe
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 04 2022
Sign and send a petition to President Biden: Require federal contractors to disclose political spending
Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support getting big money out of politics, but Republicans in Congress have repeatedly thwarted legislative efforts to require wealthy political donors to report their spending–allowing secret, undisclosed campaign contributions to corrupt our politics and drown out our voices.
It has come at a price: The same dark money groups that “spent big” to shape the ultra-conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court also spent hundreds of millions pushing Trump’s Big Lie and funding insurrectionists, undermining trust in government and eroding our democracy. Much of this money is funneled through organizations that aren't required to divulge their donors, how much they are contributing or how they’re using these donations to influence the votes of members of Congress.
Big corporations that receive taxpayer dollars to provide essential services to the American people are also some of the biggest political spenders. They have funneled billions in secret money to sway our elections to ensure that their favorite candidates come out on top—hoping that they will, in turn, be rewarded with more major contracts.
Americans deserve to know who is trying to influence our votes, and what these corporations or individuals want from the government. We should be confident that our money is going to the most qualified to do the job, rather than those that pay-to-play in our federal contracting process. With the stroke of a pen, President Biden can shine a light on secret money in politics by requiring contractors that receive over $1 million in federal dollars to disclose their political spending.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-a-petition-to-president-biden-require-federal-contractors-to-disclose-political-spending
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 06 2022
Religious right activist suspected of sabotaging electrical grid to stop drag show
An anti-LGBTQ+ activist claimed to "know why" 45,000 people lost power during the drag show she asked people to protest. But did she?
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 07 2022
On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we honor the memories of the 2,403 service members and civilians whose lives were cut short on that tragic December morning. We reflect on the resilience of America’s Armed Forces, who withstood the attack and built the most capable fighting force the world has ever known. In the wake of tragedy, these brave women and men — the Greatest Generation — answered the call to defend freedom, justice, and democracy across the Pacific, throughout Europe, and around the globe. Today, we carry forward their spirit of unity and their enduring resolve to protect the United States against those who seek to do us harm.: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/12/06/a-proclamation-on-national-pearl-harbor-remembrance-day-2022-2022/
Organophosphates are a widely used class of pesticides commonly found in our drinking water and on our produce, including leafy greens, berries, and fruits. People living near fields where organophosphate pesticides are sprayed can become sick from just breathing the air. Workers are the most at risk from exposure on the job, plus increased contamination of their drinking water and food. The only way to protect people is to ban organophosphates as quickly as possible.
Organophosphates are acutely neurotoxic. They make people sick with symptoms like headaches, nausea, dizziness, breathing difficulties, and at very high exposures even seizures and death. Even more troubling, children are at risk of reduced IQ, autism, and attention deficit disorders at very low levels of exposure.
The EPA has a legal and moral obligation to protect farmworkers, children and communities. We are going to do everything in our power to hold them accountable. Join us in continuing the fight by telling the EPA to ban organophosphates.: https://greenamerica.salsalabs.org/pesticides-epa/index.html
Tell Your U.S. Senators to Pass Cannabis Policy Reforms Before the End of the Year
Time is quickly running out to pass substantive cannabis policy legislation into law this year. We need to act now!
With only a handful of days left in the 117th Congressional session and a new divided Congress taking over in less than a month, this is our last chance to convince lawmakers to act before the political outlook for marijuana progress on Capitol Hill becomes much more complicated.: https://norml.org/act/tell-your-u-s-senators-to-pass-cannabis-policy-reforms-before-the-end-of-the-year/
This could be a defining moment in history and if we are successful, it will be the first tangible step toward ending prohibition and providing justice for those harmed by criminalization.
But if we let McConnell win, when Republicans take over the House of Representatives next month, it could mean years before we get this close again.
So please, take action now by adding your name to our URGENT joint petition. Let’s send an unmistakable message to Congress: stop Mitch’s marijuana prohibition!: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-congress-reform-marijuana-laws-in-the-lame-duck/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 08 2022
‘It’s killing our babies’: 12-year-old from Richmond Heights dies attempting TikTok challenge, family says
Updated: Dec. 08, 2022, 3:28 p.m.|Published: Dec. 08, 2022, 3:10 p.m.
Davis called police before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when her sons FaceTimed her after finding the 12-year-old unresponsive in his bedroom.
In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report that at least 82 youths have died as a result of playing what has been called “the choking game. It involves intentionally trying to choke oneself or another in an effort to obtain a brief euphoric state.
Of those who died, 87 percent were boys or men, and most fatalities occurred among those 11 years to 16 years old, with the average age at 13, the report said. Choking game deaths were identified in 31 states.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 09 2022
Things like exposing yourself and being a peeping tom, for instance; are prequels to becoming a rapist. I imagine it is the same for bestiality.
There is no other way to look at it: bestiality is animal abuse. Yet, the horrific act is still legal in New Mexico and West Virginia. Neither state has a law prohibiting bestiality. This must change.
Sign the petition to demand New Mexico and West Virginia finally ban bestiality!
Dogs, cats, and all other creatures are capable of feeling pain and fear, and their voicelessness makes them easy targets for cruelty. It's time to change that by raising our voices for them. Sign the petition to demand New Mexico and West Virginia finally ban bestiality!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/862/417/013/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 10 2022
THE PROBLEM WE'RE FACING
Doctors, nurses, and other frontline medical workers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are being forced to ration N95 masks or turn to inadequate bandanas, paper, and cloth masks — leaving them vulnerable to infection as they interact with COVID-19 patients. There are already reports of health care workers getting sick and dying as a result of a lack of proper protective gear.:
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 12 2022
On my very first night as a live-in caretaker for a new client, I was sexually assaulted.
I didn't report him. I needed the money too badly. So I stayed, and the abuse continued. I felt isolated and alone.
Without an HR department or a support system, my only answer was to keep quiet and pray for a way out.
So many domestic workers like me are stuck working in the shadows -- because of their immigration status or just because of how vulnerable working paycheck to paycheck leaves us.
But none of us deserve to go to work every day fearing sexual harassment, violence, and abuse, and that’s where you can help.
The National Domestic Workers Alliance is advocating tirelessly for domestic worker protections, so I’m asking: will you join our push to end sexual harassment, violence, and abuse against domestic workers?: https://act.domesticworkers.org/a/bill-of-rights-shlb-1
I do believe in Marijuana legalization but I do not think people should be aloud to smoke this in public because others could be effected by it. The restrictions should have to be strict. I think they have have strict restrictions in Colorado.
President Biden has secured the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner! Griner had been unjustly imprisoned in Russia for alleged possession of a small amount of prescribed marijuana since February. She was later tried, convicted, and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Now that she is home, Griner is free to continue the use of medical cannabis prescribed to her for pain management.
Unfortunately, here in the U.S., people in many states don't have access to medical marijuana, sentences for marijuana charges remain excessive, and enforcement of marijuana laws is so racist that Black Americans like Griner are four times more likely to be arrested, let alone tried and convicted for weed.
Black Americans are nearly 4 times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, despite similar consumption rates.
Sign the petition: Congress MUST decriminalize marijuana.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-decriminalize-marijuana-now
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 17 2022
There’s a clear pattern forming in election after election: people support expanding public health insurance and lowering the cost of health care. After this past election, red state South Dakota voters passed medicaid expansion (the program red state governors have opposed ever since the Affordable Care Act passed). Arizona voters passed Prop 209 to protect people with medical debt from high interest payments and garnished wages, with a landslide 72 percent in favor. And a rural Republican-dominated county in Wisconsin voted in support a national health insurance program.
A first step towards big progressive change in health care policy would be getting rid of Medicare Advantage—the private insurance option within Medicare. A recent New York Times report found that 9 of the top 10 private insurance companies offering Medicare Advantage plans have overbilled Medicare between $12 and $25 billion, taking money away from patients who really need resources. In order to protect Medicare, we must get private insurance companies OUT of Medicare.
Sign our petition: Congress must pass legislation to ban private insurance companies administering Medicare!: https://act.demandprogress.org/sign/get-private-insurers-out-medicare/
Knowing it's a busy time of year, we're going to be quick about this: For every person who has ever been convicted of marijuana-related offenses – who may be spending the holidays behind bars away from family or severely impacted by an unjust conviction – all because of something that is now legal or decriminalized in more than half of states, we're asking you to take action:
Send a message to your governor and ask them to use their power of clemency to pardon people with convictions for marijuana-related offenses under state laws.: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/clemency-cannabis-convictions-now
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 20 2022
An antisemitic attacker yells "Kanye 2024" during the attack, reminding us of the power of celebrity antisemitism: https://davidpakman.com/2022/12/december-19-2022/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 22 2022
The 2022 midterms saw the election of individuals to the U.S. Congress and to state legislatures who may be constitutionally disqualified from holding office.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is clear. No elected official who previously swore an oath to the Constitution may serve if they "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the U.S. government.
To that end, two members of Congress-elect and five state legislators-elect need to be investigated to determine if they meet the constitutional qualifications for office or are disqualified for engaging in insurrection. If any of them are found to have engaged in insurrection, then they are disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment, and Congress or their state legislatures must prevent them from being seated.
Insurrectionists have no business serving as elected officials, and should be barred. That’s not a matter of opinion or political preference, it’s what the Constitution says. This is a fight we have to have if we want a strong and secure democracy.
Sign the petition: January 6 insurrectionists must be investigated and banned from running for office.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-investigate-electeds-who-may-be-constitutionally-disqualified-from-holding-office
I have read some of the best emails I have ever read from Amnesty International. I should remember this and read more of their inspirational emails more often. Since it is the holiday season I thought I would read one and like always; it moved me. I did not know who wrote it till I saw the photo at the bottom of the page.
I’ve seen mindless inhumanity go unchecked, and that’s why I’m an activist with Amnesty International. If Amnesty — backed by supporters like you — isn’t there to hold powerful people accountable, our history will repeat itself, and human rights abuses will continue.
Long before my Star Trek days, when I was five years old, I was forced into a Japanese American internment camp in the U.S. I know what it feels like to hear that knock at the door… to lose everything overnight… to be shuttled from my home in California to the swamplands of Arkansas… and to be treated as less than human, forgotten for nearly four years.
So when Amnesty exposes that asylum-seekers are being denied access to safety at our country’s border, or families are being forced from their homes in Myanmar, I understand how desperately they need Amnesty to shine a light on the injustice. To make sure they are not forgotten in a grim holding cell.
Thank you,
George Takei
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 25 2022
‘Never Again’ must mean exactly that
2022 is the worst year ever for antisemitism in the United States.
(December 25, 2022 / JNS) It looks like 2022 will set the record for annual antisemitic incidents in America. With the political polarization of the United States and the lack of civil discourse, the forecast for 2023 is not much better.
Social media, which amplifies and promotes antisemitic messages, may be the main culprit. The lack of oversight and controls on various platforms has allowed antisemitic conspiracy theories to spread and had a terrible effect on society in general.
In 2012, there were 927 antisemitic incidents, according to the ADL. In 2021, there were 2,717. 2022 appears to have surpassed even this outrageous number.: https://www.jns.org/opinion/never-again-must-mean-exactly-that/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated December 27 2022
This article is funny; not that most people have never thought of buying any of this.:
5 things not to buy in 2023 Published: Dec. 27, 2022 at 12:09 p.m. ET
It’s been a year of contradictions.
The recession drum beats on, interest rates are rising, and the stock market has taken a tumble, and yet retail sales have risen 6.5% in the last 12 months, trailing a 7.1% increase in the cost of living.
There are other reasons people should consider cutting back on spending in 2023. The personal saving rate — meaning personal saving as a percentage of disposable income, or the share of income left after paying taxes and spending money — hit 2.4% in the third quarter from 3.4% in the prior quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said.: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-not-to-buy-in-2023-11672160976
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 02 2023
Bryan Kohberger was following University of Idaho murders victims on Instagram Bryan Kohberger was taken into custody as a suspect in the four homicides that occurred in Moscow, Idaho with his Instagram account now viral. .48 mins ago Screen Rant: https://thesportsgrail.com/bryan-kohberger-was-following-university-of-idaho-murders-victims-on-instagram/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 05 2023
The old inbox was buzzing today.:
According to a new report from a bipartisan congressional committee, hundreds of women in federal custody have been sexually assaulted by Federal Bureau of Prisons staff and officials.
The 8 month investigation found that such sexual abuse has taken place in at least two-thirds of all federal prisons over the past decade.
"Our findings are deeply disturbing and demonstrate, in my view, that the BOP is failing systemically to prevent, detect and address sexual abuse of prisoners by its own employees," said Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, chairman of the subcommittee.: https://civicshout.com/p/tell-congress-address-sexual-abuse-in-prisons
CA: Nearly 300 Sue Over Alleged Sexual Abuse at LA County Youth Detention Centers
December 29, 2022
Nearly 300 people are suing Los Angeles County, alleging decades-long sexual abuse in various detention centers for minors. The third complaint against the LA County Probation Department was accuses probation officers of sexually abusing boys and girls. The suit was filed thanks to a 2020 California law that gave victims three years to sue over sexual abuse that happened decades ago....: https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/nearly-300-sue-over-alleged-sexual-abuse-at-la-county-youth-detention-centers/3063409/
SIGN: HELP BAN CRUEL RODEOS IN LOS ANGELES!
PETITION TARGET: Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Karen Bass
Horses, cows, and baby animals are breaking their necks, suffering gruesome injuries, and enduring immense pain and agitation for people’s “entertainment” at rodeos in Los Angeles.
But now, an ordinance up for the city council’s consideration in January could outlaw those cruel performances. : https://ladyfreethinker.org/sign-help-ban-cruel-rodeos-in-los-angeles/
Senate majority, President Joe Biden and the Senate can (and must) confirm more judges.
For four years, Donald Trump and Senate Republicans hijacked our federal judiciary: three right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices, 54 appellate circuit court judges, and 174 district court judges.
In his first two years as president, Biden appointed and the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown-Jackson to the Supreme Court, 26 circuit court judges, and 68 judges to the federal district court. That put a dent in undoing the damage from Trump, but not enough.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petitions/sign-if-you-agree-biden-must-appoint-more-judges-than-trump
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 08 2023
Tell Congress to Prioritize Cannabis Policy Reform in 2023
We at NORML understand that passing substantive federal legislation that benefits responsible cannabis consumers and works to repair the harms caused by criminalization is important to you.
Unfortunately, most members of Congress do not realize this. Few lawmakers have been willing to champion this issue - most have not even taken a strong public position - largely because they aren't hearing from enough of their voters who think cannabis policy reform should be a top priority.
In a divided 118th Congress - with a thin Democratic majority in the Senate and narrow Republican control of the House of Representatives - we are facing a complicated political environment in which cannabis-related legislation could be sidelined or fall victim to partisan politics. Federal lawmakers across the political spectrum need to hear from their constituents that they must prioritize cannabis policy reform over the next two years and beyond.
I just posted this on the top of every page of this blog.:
I posted this on my art blog on October 11, 2015 on my art blog. Since I have decided to post Normal petitions and articles here; I will post it here. I donate to Normal; once a year. Normal is American earned freedom and INDEPENDENCE; in action.
Although I have not used Marijuana since high school and shortly after high school. Since I have mentioned it here on my blog yesterday; I have decided to support the legalization of Marijuana online. I signed up with these folks : http://marijuanamajority.com/
Growing up as a police officer's son in the 1970's I had my life threatened many times just for being a police officer's son; hence I hate all crime and have avoided it all my life. I definitely do not support the breaking of any laws; so until it is legalized; I hate even the thought of having anything to do with Marijuana. In fact any mention of Marijuana to me or any of my loved ones repulses me beyond belief; to the point of which makes me physically ill. I will always feel this way until Marijuana is legalized. I advise you take up this frame of mind also to protect yourself and the ones you love; if Marijuana is illegal where you are.
Posted here on February 17 2021. It is unconstitutional to let police arrest people for marijuana; since it is legal in so many states in our country. I see it all the time in the news; presented as a celebration by the police; posing so proudly next to the marijuana. Mean while just a few miles away; marijuana can be purchased completely legally. It reminds me of the lynching's of the old south. When the slaves were freed; they thought all of their problems were over. What they did not anticipate was; white men lynching them with no legal or rationale reason at all. I am behind any federal legislation to make marijuana legal for all of America; to keep these heinous crimes of arresting people for marijuana, from being committed in the name of the law. Release them all in the USA; arrested for marijuana and expunge their records.
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 09 2023
Schools sue social networks, claim they “exploit neurophysiology” of kids’ brains
A lawsuit filed by Seattle Public Schools alleges that social media is one of the main causes of "a youth mental health crisis" and blames social media...: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/01/schools-sue-social-networks-claim-they-exploit-neurophysiology-of-kids-brains/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 14 2023
Edit.:
Hey back off of Google. After all this time Google and Yahoo stayed out of social media. The difference to uploading a video on YouTube vs Facebook and all Social Media sites; is the whole internet can see it. You have to sign in; or in other words join Facebook to see most of it's content. In my opinion this gives way too much power to social media by being that exclusive and illusive.
A Lawsuit Targeting Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat Could Hold Them Liable for Harm
In October, more than 80 individual lawsuits combined to take on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, as well as their parent companies.: https://observer.com/2023/01/a-massive-lawsuit-could-hold-social-media-platforms-liable-for-harming-teen-girls/
According to a harrowing new report from the Death Penalty Information Center, 35 percent of all death penalty executions imposed in the United States in 2022 were "visibly problematic" as a result of "executioner incompetence, failures to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves."
"Among those executed last year were prisoners with serious mental illness, brain damage, intellectual disability, and strong claims of innocence," the report notes.
At the same time, imposition of the death penalty in the United States remains rife with racial disparities, with people of color once again overrepresented among those executed.
The death penalty is a cruel and barbaric practice – and it’s past time the United States does away with it once and for all.: https://civicshout.com/p/abolish-the-death-penalty
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 18 2023
The wildly unwarranted police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor led to a swell of protests, uprisings, and pledges from all over to finally do something about the violence and racism in police ranks.
Despite all the lip service, 2022 was the deadliest year on record for victims of police violence. No amount of trauma seems enough to rein in police abuses – not Colorado cops leaving a handcuffed woman on train tracks as a train approached, not the cowardice of Uvalde cops who let a gunman massacre children while they arrested the parents who tried to help, not the boys in blue who helped attack the Capitol on January 6.
Every identified problem with police seems to end with the same failed solution: Give them more money to fix it.
Sign the petition: Police have gotten enough of our money. No more police budget increases for police violence.: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/sign-the-petition-no-police-reforms-that-bloat-police-budgets
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 19 2023
The affordable housing crisis is impacting nearly every community, every neighborhood. Rents are going up almost everywhere, even as families struggle to make ends meet. And home prices, especially for first-time home buyers, keep climbing further out of reach.
There’s a Wall Street-driven reason for that – private hedge funds are exacerbating the crisis by buying up housing in bulk.
All across America, hedge funds and private equity are using their vast fortunes to outbid everyday Americans looking to buy homes. And because their investors demand Wall Street-style returns, they're driving up rents and cutting back on repairs.
In order to protect American home buyers from Wall Street greed, Senator Jeff Merkley has a plan to end Wall Street ownership of residential housing. While aspects of the housing crisis— including a supply shortage—will take years to remedy, others can be addressed immediately, including a ban on hedge funds and private equity firms owning and controlling large parts of the American housing market.
It's time to ban Wall Street from buying up the homes in our neighborhoods.
Sign the petition: We must take action to make housing affordable by ensuring that housing is for homes, not hedge funds.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-ban-hedge-fund-investors-from-owning-single-family-homes
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 20 2023
Utah parents support social media ban after video of child's attack posted online
Kylee and Adam Taylor said their daughter was brutally attacked at her own Utah school twice, and in one instance, video of the assault made the rounds on...: https://kutv.com/news/local/parents-support-social-media-ban-after-video-of-childs-attack-posted-online-youtube-tiktok-ban-children-under-age-16-rep-chris-stewart
To combat this, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) recently introduced the Stop Scam PACs Act, which would finally crack down on scam PACs and help protect political donors from being scammed. This legislation would "empower the Federal Election Commission to take action against fraudsters who pose as political action committees (PACs) to cheat Americans."
Join us in demanding Congress protect Americans from shady, scamming PACs.
Add your name to the petition calling on Congress to pass the Stop Scam PACs Act to protect seniors, veterans, and all Americans from shady and unethical scam PAC operators.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-congress-pass-the-stop-scam-pacs-act
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 24 2023
How Social Media Glorifies And Romanticizes Mental Illness
Last updated Jan 25, 2023
in order to advocate awareness for mental illness, many people on social media have resorted to portraying it as a beautiful tragedy of some sort.
A study by Fredrika Thelandersson, “Social media sad girls and the normalization of sad states of being” points out that adopting a persona that shows emotional and mental instability has become popular as a trend.: https://vigourtimes.com/how-social-media-glorifies-and-romanticizes-mental-illness/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 25 2023
This bill would abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and all taxes - corporate taxes, capital gains, income, estate, gifts, you name it. In their place, Republicans want to impose a 30% sales tax on every single person in the U.S.
This is an absolutely preposterous idea. It would heap hardship on America's working families, devastate the federal budget, and funnel enormous amounts of money into the pockets of the already obscenely rich oligarchs that pull the strings in the Republican Party.
We must call on Democrats and the moderate Republicans who are left to vote down this monstrous bill, and stop the radicals from raising taxes on the middle class!: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/832/342/090/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 27 2023
World marks Holocaust Remembrance Day: Auschwitz survivors lament peace shattered by war
Fight against antisemitism a key as Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, led the U.S. delegation at Auschwitz.
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
People hold on for dear life to their social media in the U.S. even though (in my opinion; it will be one of the very reasons we cease to exist as a country) people are suffering and dying because of it.:
Social Media’s Toll On Tweens And Teens Hits A Boiling Point For Educators And Legislators
Jan 27, 2023,11:46am EST: https://www.forbes.com/sites/helenleebouygues/2023/01/27/social-medias-toll-on-tweens-and-teens-hits-a-boiling-point-for-educators-and-legislators/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 28 2023
By now you may have seen or heard about the video footage released today that shows the brutal police beating that claimed the life of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. From this moment forward, it’s critical that we hold our elected officials accountable for protecting the very people who put them in office.
Sign our petition to urge Congress to take swift action by passing legislation on police reform to end police brutality.
On Thursday, Jan. 26, multiple Memphis Police officers involved in Nichols’ death were charged with second-degree murder and other offenses. This is the first step toward accountability — but Congress must act NOW to prevent another life from being lost.
Join us in letting Congress know that failing to write legislation on police brutality, means writing another obituary. By failing to pass legislation, the members of Congress are passing on their sworn duty to protect the people.
Sadly, we can name all the victims of police violence, but we can't name a single law that has been passed to address it. That’s because there aren't any.
The world is watching, and prayers won’t cut it this time. We will continue to demand action. Congress’s next move will determine how they plan to honor Nichols’ life, his family, his loving son, the country, and the many people who have lost their lives at the hands of those sworn to protect.: https://naacp.org/actions/action-alert-uniformed-police-reform
We need your help. Last year, President Biden announced a plan to pardon any individual with a federal criminal record for simple marijuana possession. While we need to see every single American with marijuana charges on their record have those records expunged, this announcement represented a great first step.
Sadly, after several months, the application for a pardon is STILL not available on the Department of Justice website and there is no indication regarding how soon it might be posted.
We need you to join us in contacting the White House and demanding they take immediate action to deliver on their promise for cannabis justice. No more delays, bring relief to the thousands who would qualify NOW.
TELL BIDEN: JUSTICE CANNOT WAIT, START ISSUING PARDONS NOW!
Together, we can hold the administration accountable and ensure they follow through on their promises. We can't let justice for those who suffered under our failed war on cannabis be deferred any longer. The time to begin repairing the damage prohibition has caused is now.: https://norml.org/act/federal-tell-the-white-house-to-open-pardon-applications-immediately/
Constitutional Rights Blog Updated January 30 2023
One of my favorite thoughts these days is; what would our forefathers think of our country now? I unusually come to the conclusion; they would be disgusted. Make no mistake about it we have been prosperous all these years by holding fast to our foundation. If you take the foundation out of a building it would just crumble to the ground; it is the same thing with our country.:
The Constitution is clear. No one who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. government may hold any office in the United States Congress or in state legislatures.
Yet not only have lawmakers who supported the January 6 insurrection continued to hold state and national office, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has now elevated several of them to powerful positions on the House Oversight committee. This committee’s mission is to ensure the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of the federal government and all its agencies. Hello!?
This position grants them amplified megaphones for their false conspiracy theories and calls for violence against their political opponents.
New Oversight members include Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, and Scott Perry -- every single one of them had direct involvement in the deadly attack on the Capitol. Scott Perry even reportedly asked for a pardon for his role.
It’s not just Congress; other state level lawmakers have strong ties to the January 6 insurrection, too. State Representatives Donnie Loftis of North Carolina, Anthony Kern of Arizona, Matt Maddock of Michigan, Mike Azinger of West Virginia, and David Eastman of Alaska each must be investigated and removed, too.
The Constitution is clear, but the politics of actually removing leaders from office is not. That’s why public pressure is critical. Please join me in this call to action by signing our petition to remove insurrectionists from office now.
To describe these lawmakers as “conservative” or “extremist” misses the essence of what they’ve done and believe.
They are authoritarians who have deep contempt for American democracy.
Kevin McCarthy put these people on the Oversight Committee because he needed their votes to become Speaker. This typifies what the Republican Party has become -- a grotesque shadow of Trump, capable of stirring resentments and lies but utterly incapable of rational governance.
These demagogues on the Oversight Committee will spearhead Trump’s war against the truth of what occurred between November 3, 2020, and January 6, 2021. They will push to impeach Biden. They will try to rewrite the history of the Trump administration. They will seek to expunge Trump’s impeachment, and negate the work and findings of the January 6 select committee.
They will be the backup band for Trump’s incendiary, grievance-filled, scorched-earth campaign for re-election in 2024. And the bottom line is they will help Trump lead the fight to advance his own warped, authoritarian vision for America.
We must reject this cynicism and political thuggery. We must demand insurrectionists are barred from office! Sign on now.
Here are the facts: Greene and Gosar were previously removed from congressional committees for advocating violence against other members of Congress. Both have appeared with Nick Fuentes, the white supremacist and Holocaust denier who recently had lunch with Trump.
Greene has said if she had led the Jan. 6 attack “we would have won” and that people would have been “armed.” Gosar intimidated election officials counting ballots in Maricopa County and has spoken at Oath Keepers events. Asked if the United States was at risk of civil war, he said “we’re already in it, we just haven’t started shooting yet.”
Perry was a key figure in Trump’s attempted coup. During the attack on the Capitol, Boebert posted Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s location inside the Capitol.
At the state level, Kern bragged of being a fake elector. Social media posts appear to show Van Orden, Kern, Maddock, and Azinger behind police lines at the insurrection. Loftis wrote in a statement that he “was gassed three times and was at the entrance when they breached the door” on January 6, and Eastman traveled to DC alongside the Oath Keepers.
And that’s just what we know about. Investigations are needed to determine exactly what roles these lawmakers played in stoking and joining in the violence on January 6. Add your name now to remove insurrections from office now.
I believe in America. I believe in the power of the people. But I know that democracy is fragile and we must do everything in our power to protect and defend it.
That requires accountability.
Thank you for taking action today.: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-investigate-electeds-who-may-be-constitutionally-disqualified-from-holding-office
