tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6808423084523678662024-02-08T10:21:22.039-08:00Justice, Peace, LoveA collection of essays and columnsTedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-58889913018946822442023-12-29T18:48:00.000-08:002023-12-29T18:48:38.379-08:00At what cost?<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">At what cost?</span></h2><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Ted Miller<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird January 2024)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">On October 7<sup>th</sup>, Hamas terrorists launched more than 3000 rockets into southern Israel from Gaza and coordinated multiple cross border attacks, brutally murdering 1200 innocent people and taking 240 hostages. It was a criminal act of war that shocked the world. There is no way to justify the violent attack morally, ethically, or legally. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Israel wasted no time in responding with devastating air attacks. Implementing a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, supplies of food, electricity, fuel, and water were cut off. Days later, a ground attack was launched, with tanks and soldiers entering cities and towns to continue the military response. With the exception of a short ceasefire to exchange hostages, the air and ground assault have been relentless. The Israeli War Council’s stated goal has been to “eradicate Hamas.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After just over two months, more than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/19/palestinian-casualties-in-gaza-near-20000-with-nearly-2m-people-displaced"><span style="color: #0563c1;">20,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed</span></a>, and more than 50,000 injured. Most of those killed have been women and children. Homes, hospitals, and entire towns have been destroyed. Two million of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza, nearly 90 percent, have been displaced. People are told to evacuate from one location, only to find themselves under attack after they flee to a designated ‘safe’ place. Few have been allowed to leave Gaza. There is insufficient food and clean water, little shelter, and no functioning hospitals. The sick and the injured are dying because care is impossible to provide and humanitarian supplies are practically nonexistent. Very little international aid has been allowed into Gaza.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The October 7<sup>th</sup> attack on innocent civilians in Israel was horrifying and devastating to the victims and their families. The devastation of the Palestinian people suffering from the response is no less heartbreaking.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There is a philosophy in war called proportional response, meaning the response to a military assault should be proportionate to the violence of the attack, and limited to that necessary for self-defense or to eliminate a threat. Legal pundits have weighed in on the war in Gaza, debating the finer points of international law and the rules of war. I’ve read a number of articles making the case that Israel’s actions in Gaza are legal under international law. Perhaps they are legal, but are they justified?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A few weeks after the Hamas attack, Lucian K Truscott wrote an essay called “<a href="https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/what-is-a-war-crime"><span style="color: #0563c1;">What is a War Crime?</span></a>” Truscott went through a lengthy explanation to say that what Hamas did was a war crime, but that Israel’s response was within the international rules of war, even though thousands of civilians were being killed in the process. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I commented that, “Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is either moral or ethical.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">“But a line has to be drawn somewhere, don't you think?” Truscott replied directly to me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I said, “There are no easy solutions and no clear lines. But there are always choices. Some choices result in innocent deaths, some choices spare those suffering people.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Proportional response and the rules of war don’t tell us where to draw that line. Who decides what is proportional? When does a defensive military response cross the line of proportionality and become revenge? Or when does that response take on a broader goal beyond self-defense? Whose lives are expendable for the sake of security? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Lost in all this legal debate are those who really pay the price for this war. It isn’t Hamas, or the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), or the American taxpayer funding the Israeli war machine who pay the consequences. The price for this war is being paid with the deaths of thousands — and the disrupted lives of millions — of innocents who didn’t start the violence, and who only want to live their lives in peace, just like you and me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But do we think about Palestinians being like you and me, or do we consider them all terrorists by association? Do we really think every human life has equal worth? In war, do all civilian lives matter equally? How many civilian deaths are justified as the necessary cost of battle?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/06/israel-gaza-civilians-protection/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">interview with the </span></a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/06/israel-gaza-civilians-protection/"><i><span style="color: #0563c1;">Washington Post</span></i></a><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/06/israel-gaza-civilians-protection/"><span style="color: #0563c1;"> in early December</span></a>, an IDF official explained how, in spite of the number of civilian casualties, they were complying with the law. He said that of the 15,000 people that had been killed, an estimated 5000 of those were Hamas militants. By that count, the cost was two civilians for every militant. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">“That proportion is more than acceptable compared to other armies facing similar challenges in urban battlefields,” the official said. “It’s not that we are okay with any loss of civilians. But in the end, we have no choice. We didn’t start this war.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ah, but there is a choice in how to respond. There is always a choice when it comes to violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As I was researching how to frame my thoughts on this, I found an article by Jessica Wolfendale of Case Western Reserve University that put into perspective what I have been trying to articulate. In her essay <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-all-civilian-lives-matter-equally-according-to-a-military-ethicist-218686"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Why all civilian lives matter equally, according to a military ethicist</span></a>, she provides a way to think about whether an action considers all civilian lives as equal. She used the November 15<sup>th</sup> Israeli attack on the Shifa hospital as an example. Israel justified the Shifa hospital attack as acceptable in spite of civilian losses because, they claimed, Hamas had a command center and weapons hidden under the hospital.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">At the time of the attack, the hospital was low on supplies and was housing civilians seeking refuge along with patients, including premature babies. In asking whether the attack was proportionate to the military need, and whether civilian lives were being considered equally, Wolfendale phrased the question this way: “If Hamas was hiding a control base under an Israeli hospital and it was Israeli civilians at risk, would Israel think that attacking the hospital would be justified? If the answer is <i>no</i>, then the attack against Shifa hospital is also not justified.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">War is a choice. Violence is a choice. And if we truly value all human life, we will choose an alternative to violence rather than accept civilian casualties as just an unfortunate price to pay.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If those Palestinian civilians were your family, perhaps you wouldn’t be so willing to accept the cost.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-64206551490146771472023-09-28T18:42:00.000-07:002023-12-29T18:45:30.662-08:00The dangerous politics of woke<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The dangerous politics of woke</span></span></h2><p class="MsoTitle" style="break-after: avoid; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 24pt 0in 6pt;"><a name="_heading=h.s9owe4iqej3r"></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><i>Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/the-dangerous-politics-of-woke/" target="_blank">(originally published in Tumbleweird October 2023)</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t remember hearing the word ‘woke’ used to describe antiracism before the summer of 2020, but it’s not a new term. I just wasn’t paying attention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many other Black Americans, many white Americans began to grapple with understanding the role racism has played in our history, and how each of us plays a role in perpetuating systems that continue to privilege some more than others. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Books on racism topped the best seller lists in 2020 and sold out. Corporations and nonprofit organizations quickly adopted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statements. Antiracist educators and writers dominated talk shows and editorials. White-centered privilege was being challenged everywhere. White America, it seemed, was once again waking up to the realities of systemic racism. Something Black America has always known.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And the term <i>woke</i> started appearing everywhere. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The idea of staying awake in the face of oppression has been around for at least a hundred years. In 1923, Jamaican social activist Marcus Garvey wrote “Wake up, Ethiopia! Wake up Africa!” In a 1938 song about the Scottsboro Boys, Lead Belly sang “stay woke” in response to Black teenagers falsely accused of raping white women. In 1940, when a Black union leader discovered Black miners were being paid much less than white miners, he said, “We were asleep. But we will stay woke from now on.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">By the 2010s, the term was being used more broadly to describe social justice. But like other terms that were coined within a marginalized community, the word ‘woke’ has been transformed into a pejorative. Like CRT and Black Lives Matter, woke has been weaponized as a cudgel against progressive ideas conservatives work so hard to oppose.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Acknowledging our racist history is woke. Support for trans kids is woke. Access to abortion, gay rights, climate action, police and prison reform — anything that challenges conservative ideology — all are woke. And, to the extreme right, woke is somehow anti-American. But what is more American than our commitment to the ideals of equality and humanity set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Anti-wokeness is more than a political slogan. In the name of stopping wokeness, our long march towards a more just and inclusive America is being set back. Real people are getting hurt. People who look or believe differently from those who think they are the ‘true Americans’ are being pushed further to the margins.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Injustice continues to exist in the United States. Millions of Americans live in poverty while the wealth gap continues to get worse. The United States has, by<i> far</i>, the highest rate of gun violence and the highest rate of incarceration of any other developed nation. Millions of Americans lack access to basic health care. Too many children go to bed hungry. But instead of blaming this growing injustice on the policies and systems responsible, anti-wokeness blames injustice on the “woke mob.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Feeding into the fear of change, wokeness is the new scapegoat for the perceived difficulties felt by the average American. If those in power can convince enough of us that our problems will be solved by returning to a mythical American greatness that never existed, they can hold on to their wealth and power while the rest of us turn against each other instead of demanding change for the better.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Garrett Bucks wrote an excellent piece on Substack a few months ago called “<a href="https://thewhitepages.substack.com/p/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about"><span style="color: #0563c1;">What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Woke’</span></a>” (you should read it). He warns that it would be a trap to dismiss anti-wokeness as silly or cartoonish. Railing against M&Ms, Black mermaids, and Bud Light seems ridiculous, but we need to remember that those attacks resonate with a large number of Americans who are afraid of the rapid changes in our society, and they are listening. We can’t allow the anti-woke grifters an unchallenged platform to whitewash our history, demonize drag queens, and restrict the rights of anyone who is not white and Christian.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Bucks closes his piece by reminding us that our anger shouldn’t be directed at those who fall into the trap of believing the anti-woke rhetoric. To understand their fear is to take the first step towards overcoming it. He differentiates between those who truly hate, and those who fear. He writes:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“Hatred is nearly impossible to transform. Fear isn’t, though. Fear is an ellipsis. Fear is an invitation. Fear is a desire to be heard. And hearing that fear, in turn, is a first step towards transforming it into empathy.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Those of us who want a more just world must continue to pay attention to the rhetoric used to turn back progress. The words used may change, but the intent is the same. Words that divide us keep us from working together. We need to call that out when we see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We need to continue to stay woke. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-45418189938470906342023-08-24T18:37:00.000-07:002023-12-29T18:40:46.220-08:00Democracy needs a free press to survive<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Democracy needs a free press to survive</span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/democracy-needs-free-press-to-survive/" target="_blank">(originally published in Tumbleweird September 2023)</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The freedom to report on the government and its leaders without censorship is a fundamental principle of a functioning democracy. When governments and those in power have the ability to censor the media and suppress the voice of the people, despotism takes root and chokes out the democratic rule of law.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The First Amendment guarantees the right of a free press in order to hold government accountable through investigating and reporting on the actions (and inactions) of government officials and organizations. The press is so important in this role that it has often been referred to as the fourth branch of government, a necessary check on the powers of those we elect and those who are appointed to uphold the law.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And because both the constitution and the law recognize the importance of the press, journalists and media organizations are protected from revealing sources and sharing details of ongoing investigations except in the most extreme cases, or when there is probable cause that a journalist has committed a crime.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">On August 11, 2023, in Marion, Kansas, city and county law enforcement officers raided the <i>Marion County Record</i> offices, confiscating computers, cell phones, notes, essentially everything needed to publish the paper. In addition to the raid on the newspaper offices, the homes of the Marion Vice Mayor and the home of publisher Eric Meyer, who lived with his 98-year-old mother, Joan Meyer, was also searched and similar items were seized. Joan Meyer died the next day and Eric Meyer believes the stress of the raid contributed to her death.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The warrant for the search and seizure was issued following a complaint by a local restaurant owner who was upset about the paper’s reporting. Additionally, the paper had been investigating information they had received legally from a source about the restaurant owner’s driving record, but the paper had chosen not to publish that information. Following the raid, it was also learned that the paper had been actively investigating the Marion Chief of Police over allegations of sexual misconduct at his previous job, but that investigation was still in progress and there was not yet a plan to publish anything related to that investigation. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Following the seizure of their equipment, with help from others and an all-nighter, the <i>Record</i> was able to publish their weekly issue on time. You can read their lead story about the incident “SEIZED: But Not Silenced” at <a href="http://marionrecord.com/direct/seized_but_not_silenced_kbi_takes_over+5448kbi+5345495a45442e2e2e425554204e4f542053494c454e4345443a204b42492074616b6573206f7665723c212d2d2d2d3e?" style="color: #954f72;">marionrecord.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The<i> Marion County Record</i> is a relatively small weekly paper with a circulation of about 4000. With a reputation for hard-nosed reporting and unflinching editorials about local officials, it appears that a local business owner, county sheriff, and a willing magistrate overstepped their legal authority to attack a newspaper they didn’t like.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Vilifying the press is nothing new. For the last four decades, right-wing personalities and politicians have sowed a deep mistrust of the so-called mainstream media in consumers of conservative media. Many of my friends and family refuse to believe anything in traditional media. Long gone are the days when the vast majority of Americans trusted the voices of Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Sowing distrust in the media with claims of fake news and liberal bias is one thing (which, as much as I think it undermines our democracy, is largely protected speech under the First Amendment). But using an agency of the government to raid a media company reporting on something you don’t like is unconstitutional. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Local newspapers in the United States continue to close at a rate of about two each week. And with that, local communities lose the kind of reporting Eric Meyer and the <i>Marion County Record</i> do to hold their local businesses, school boards, county officials, and city council members accountable. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I hear complaints about our local paper, <i>The Tri-City Herald</i>, all the time. People either repeat the same misguided talking points you hear about national media or complain that they can’t access a paywall restricted article online without paying for it. But without the <i>Herald</i>, who would be reporting on our local issues? We’ve certainly had plenty to write about recently, and I’m thankful that I can read about issues as they happen and have an opportunity to follow up on my own. I don’t have the time or ability to go to every board and council meeting, but local journalists can cover at least some of the issues. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Local reporters dig into the facts and report them so that we, the members of the community, can stay informed. I don’t want our local council members, school board members, and the sheriff’s office deciding to raid the offices or homes of writers for <i>The Tri-City Herald</i>, <i>Tumbleweird</i>, or the <i>Tri-Cities Observer</i> if they feel threatened by the media.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We should all be alarmed at what happened in Marion, Kansas. And we should all be deeply concerned over the loss of local journalism across the country.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Maris Kabas interviewed Eric Meyer shortly after the raid in her <a href="https://thehandbasket.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-the-newspaper" style="color: #954f72;">Substack column</a> <i>The Handbasket</i>. Mr. Meyer, the publisher of the <i>Marion County Record</i>, takes no salary from the paper (he lives on his pension from his career at the University of Illinois and the Milwaukee Journal). He believes journalism is fundamental to a working democracy. In the interview, he expressed concern about how attacks on the local press by government officials affect everyone in the community. Mr. Meyer said: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">I talked to one person [in Marion] who said, “Oh, are you sure It's ok that I can talk to you because they might come and seize my computer?” They're afraid. They're really afraid that the police power is unchecked, and that they can be punished like this. And I think that's why I think it's important for us to fight this as much as we can, because it is destroying everything we're trying to do with democracy. … It’s a way to dispirit people from becoming involved in government by making them think that if you do, there's gonna be consequences and they're going to be negative. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A week after the raid, the warrant was withdrawn, and the paper’s equipment was returned. The <i>Record</i> has hired a digital forensic company to determine whether any of their sensitive records were accessed after the equipment was seized. But the <i>Marion County Record</i> will continue to do the work for the people of Marion County.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Support local journalism, support the media companies that can do deep investigative reporting at a regional and national level, and continue to support a free press. Without it, democracy will die.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-33939157015187349262023-06-22T18:23:00.000-07:002023-12-29T18:31:38.767-08:00Organize to save democracy <h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Organize to save democracy</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/organizing-to-save-democracy/" target="_blank">(originally published in Tumbleweird July 2023)</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I learned a new word this month while researching how democracies fail. <i>Autogolpe</i> is a ‘self-coup’, or a type of government takeover by a leader who came to power through legal means, but then stays in power (or attempts to do so) through illegal means. This seizure of government power happened so frequently in Latin America that it led to our use of Spanish for the term. But it has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-coup"><span style="color: #0563c1;">happened in countries around the world</span></a>. Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, and Vladimir Putin all consolidated their power through an <i>autogolpe</i>. Asia and Africa have also experienced government takeover from within.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">An <i>autogolpe</i> was something many of us thought could never happen in the United States… until January 6, 2021. We shouldn’t have been surprised.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Donald Trump and his supporters attempted to seize power following a lawful election he lost. So far, this attempted <i>autogolpe</i> has been unsuccessful because enough Republican officials upheld the law and refused to violate their oath to the Constitution. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As I wrote in <a href="https://millerted.blogspot.com/2021/10/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Can we save our democracy (Nov 2021)</span></a> and <a href="https://tumbleweird.org/a-republic-if-you-can-keep-it/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">A republic if you can keep it (Nov 2022)</span></a>, efforts to suppress and disenfranchise voters through voter suppression, disinformation, empowering legislatures to override elections, and extreme gerrymandering are continuing. But there is some hope. Last month’s Supreme Court ruling in <i>Allen v. Milligan</i> decided that Alabama had limited Black voter representation in Congress through extreme gerrymandering. Although this surprise ruling is encouraging, there is no guarantee that the right to vote will continue to be protected by the courts. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">One of the biggest threats to our democracy is that too many of us don’t realize that the threat even exists. Most Americans don’t realize how fragile our government is, or how close we are to a single party autocracy. Most of us don’t pay attention to politics. We are so busy trying to take care of ourselves, our families, and our jobs that we don’t have the time to follow what’s happening in our local, state, and federal government. We are so comfortable with the status quo that we don’t recognize the danger we are in by allowing our political norms to erode. We vote on hot button issues and soundbites. And the guardrails of political norms that have protected our democracy in the past are in jeopardy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><i><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Our political norms are eroding. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">An <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/09/january-6-trump-political-violence-survey"><span style="color: #0563c1;">April 2023 survey</span></a> by the University of Chicago Project on Security & Threats (CPOST) showed that one in five Americans still believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. One in twenty still think the use of force is justified to return him to the presidency. Professor Robert Pape, director of CPOST, said that “political violence is going from the fringe to the mainstream…. What you’re seeing is really disturbing levels of distrust in American democracy, support for dangerous conspiracy theories, and support for political violence itself.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It is not surprising that the poll showed an extreme level of polarization in the United States, but more concerning is that a majority of Americans don’t believe elections will solve our most pressing political and social problems. What this indicates to me is a loss of confidence in our system of government which can lead directly to a loss of that system altogether.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In a recent <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/11/where-are-we-going-america/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">interview with three Harvard political scholars</span></a>, Erica Chenoweth said: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“I think it’s not an issue of polarization because it’s totally asymmetrical. What we have is radicalization on the right and fragmentation on the center and left. What is needed in that type of environment is unprecedented levels of civic cooperation among those that have up until now been pretty fragmented. We’re talking about much more sophisticated and deliberate modes of community organizing and cooperation across the pro-democratic civil society that we do have in the country but that [haven't] had to work those muscles in a really long time.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the same interview, Archon Fung said:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="background: white; font-family: Nocturno; font-size: 13.5pt;">“</span>It’s pretty hard to identify whose job it is to fight for democracy. Everybody’s fighting for their values, for their issues, whether it’s social justice, or health care, or environment, or pro-life or pro-choice. For a long time, we’ve taken the democratic structure for granted. I think the silver lining is a lot more people are not taking that structure for granted.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Chenoweth followed with:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“Nobody’s going to ride in on a white horse, but it also is up to all of us to do what we can — organizing one’s neighborhood block to find out how people are doing, recommitting to caring for one another, developing those thick ties of social connection. That really is where democracy lives. One of the things that has been too easy for the Democratic Party in this country, and the people who vote Democratic, is to think that it’s all about the White House, it’s all about the national level. We’re going to come to a time when what we’re doing at home and in our communities and within the states is going to be really important in determining the type of lives that people are able to lead.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And I think that is the key. It really must start locally. We’ve seen how national politics has infected our local politics here in Eastern Washington. Instead of focusing on improving our communities and providing basic services, partisanship has divided us and prevented us from working on all the non-partisan issues we all have in common.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Every major step towards a better government has come through community organizing. Abolition, suffrage, civil rights, and a more just and equitable nation were achieved by the people working against those who wanted to maintain a system benefitting the few at the expense of the many.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Let’s work on restoring local connections in our communities. Support local organizers working together to make our communities a better place. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Don’t let those who are pushing hot button social issues divide us when we really should be paying attention to restoring faith in our elections and support for our system of government. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We are the government. We have the power. Let’s organize and use it. <o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-20703573516691242652023-05-25T18:19:00.000-07:002023-12-29T18:22:39.676-08:00White supremacy in the ranks<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">White supremacy in the ranks</span></h2><p class="MsoTitle" style="break-after: avoid; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; margin: 24pt 0in 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><i>Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/white-supremacy-in-the-ranks/" target="_blank">(published in Tumbleweird June 2023)</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I heard about the arrest of Jack Teixeira for leaking classified information which has significantly damaged our national security — documents he had access to as part of his work as an IT professional in the Air National Guard — I wondered how he was able to obtain and keep his security clearance. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Teixeira has been charged with posting hundreds of pages of highly classified documents on a Discord chat server, which was then shared widely. His posts included secrets that undermine the war in Ukraine and other intelligence on U.S. allies and adversaries. To say this leak undermines our national security is an understatement. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I held a top-secret security clearance for much of my life, both as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy and in support of my work with the Department of Energy. I know how background investigations are conducted. I have been interviewed as part of security background investigations for friends, colleagues, and neighbors. And the interviews always include questions about the candidate’s behavior, background, financial security, and whether there is any reason to question their loyalty to the United States.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why didn’t anyone speak up about Teixeira?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Prosecutors in the Teixeira case have said he has a history of disturbing behavior, including a suspension in high school for violent and racist threats. He recently made a post about his conspiracy theories related to (and his interest in carrying out) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/06/us/politics/jack-teixeira-leaks-discord-messages.html#:~:text=In%20messages%20posted%20on%20Discord,people%20vote%20for%E2%80%9D%20gun%20control."><span style="color: #1155cc;">mass shootings</span></a>, and has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/13/jack-teixeira-discord-leaked-documents/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">posted</span></a> numerous violent, racist, and anti-government <a href="https://www.masslive.com/news/2023/04/jack-teixeira-social-media-post-if-i-had-my-way-id-kill-a-f-ing-ton-of-people.html"><span style="color: #1155cc;">statements</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">His repeated mishandling of classified information was known by his military supervisors. He had been written up numerous times for not following the rules for classified material access, but records show he was allowed continued access even after ignoring instructions to stop accessing information he had no need to know.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">So, how was he able to obtain and keep his security clearance? How was he even allowed to serve in the military with such violent, racist, anti-government views?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Because, like so many others, his views weren’t acknowledged as the threat they truly are. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">FBI Director Christopher Wray <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fbi-chris-wray-testify-capitol-riot-9a5539af34b15338bb5c4923907eeb67"><span style="color: #0563c1;">testified before Congress</span></a> following the attack on the U.S. Capitol that “January 6 was not an isolated event. The problem of domestic terrorism has been metastasizing across the country for a long time now, and it’s not going away anytime soon. At the FBI, we’ve been sounding the alarm on it for a number of years now.” Wray went on to say, “The amount of angry, hateful, unspeakable, combative — violent, even — rhetoric on social media exceeds what anybody in their worst imagination (thinks) is out there.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Should we really be that surprised?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As a society, we have always looked the other way when our friends, neighbors, colleagues, and family members express their racist and anti-government views. We don’t consider those views as harmful until it’s too late.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">White supremacy is a deeply embedded problem in both the military and police forces. Leaders and peers are either complicit or complacent about the threat and are too often unwilling to call out the problem or to take action. Passing off white nationalist rhetoric as locker room talk allows that incendiary language to smolder until the flames of hate result in violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We blame the police violence against unarmed Black Americans on rogue ‘bad apple’ police officers rather than recognizing it as a systemic problem. But studies show that racist views are endemic in police departments across the country. In April, the <i>San Jose Mercury News</i> <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/04/11/exclusive-inside-the-antioch-police-departments-secret-racist-texting-group/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">reported</span></a> that police officers in the city of Antioch routinely expressed racist, violent views in a private text messaging group — and openly used such language in front of their fellow officers and superiors — without fear of reprisal. Not only did they refer to Black citizens in the most vile racist terms, they openly celebrated violence against community members and called for violence against Mayor Lamar Thorpe, who is Black.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why did it take an FBI investigation to uncover this? How many other police departments have a similar culture? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In Oklahoma, McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy and three other county officials <a href="https://apnews.com/article/mccurtain-oklahoma-racist-killing-journalists-recording-8e445b2359b67622d5f6c1f75554c750"><span style="color: #0563c1;">were heard on a recording</span></a> discussing the murder of local journalists they didn’t like, lamenting that they are no longer allowed to hang Black people, and that “they [Black people] got more rights than we got.” Following the news release of those recordings, Governor Kevin Stitt released a statement saying, “I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County. There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why should the governor have been surprised? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why are <i>any of us</i> surprised? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, when questioned about white nationalists in the military, told a reporter in <a href="https://wbhm.org/2023/tuberville-defends-hold-on-defense-nominations-says-pentagon-wrong-to-screen-out-white-nationalists/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">an interview this month</span></a>, “They call them that [white nationalists]. I call them Americans.” Tuberville has blocked over 200 Department of Defense nominations in the Senate to protest ‘woke’ military policies he doesn’t like. He claims that current efforts of the military to combat extremism and white supremacy are hurting military recruitment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">People like those in the Antioch Police Department — along with others like Jack Teixeira, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, and Senator Tommy Tuberville — seem to think that only white Christians can be ‘true’ Americans. They believe that progressive policies towards equality are a threat to their place of privilege, and therefore a threat to the United States of America.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">They fail to recognize the real threat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">White nationalists have no place in the military or our police force. We must call out white supremacy in the ranks. We must recognize the threat when we see it. We can’t wait for an FBI investigation or a journalist’s report, and we can no longer act surprised when the extremists among us are exposed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">White supremacy is not just a threat to anyone who is not a white Christian, but a threat to the very existence of our constitutional democratic republic.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-84527861604382968332023-04-22T21:46:00.001-07:002023-04-22T21:46:29.353-07:00 Deadly Fear<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold;">Deadly Fear</span></p><p class="MsoTitle" style="break-after: avoid; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 24pt 0in 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird May 2023)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I read about an 84 year old white man in a Kansas City suburb shooting unarmed Black teenager Ralph Yarl through his front door, saying he was “scared to death,” I remembered a similar incident I <a href="https://millerted.blogspot.com/2018/05/imagine-world-without-irrational-fear.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">wrote about five years ago</span></a>, when a 14-year-old Black teenager, lost on his way to school, was fired upon when he knocked on a white neighbor’s door to ask for directions. In both cases, the perceived threat was only in the mind of the homeowner, stoked by the relentless fearmongering of politicians, conservative news media, and organizations like the NRA who want to capitalize on that fear.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Fearful and angry men shooting first and asking questions later is becoming an epidemic. Within a week, several examples of innocent people being shot by a trigger-happy ‘good guy with a gun’ have made the national news. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In upstate New York, Kaylin Gillis was killed when the car she was riding in turned in to the wrong driveway. As the car was turning around and leaving, the homeowner fired on the vehicle, killing the 20-year-old honor student who hoped to become a marine biologist. Near Austin, Texas, a cheerleader who got into a car she thought belonged to her friend was shot after she got out of the car but before she could apologize. And in North Carolina, a man shot a 6-year-old and her parents when they tried to retrieve a basketball that had bounced into the man’s yard.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In each of these cases, and likely many others around the country, the victims were just doing something every one of us has done. But rather than trying to understand the mistake and respond with reason, the shooters reacted with fearful violence and deadly consequences.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">None of this should be a surprise. The gun industry used to market their products as something for responsible sportsmen, emphasizing safety and citizenship. But as former gun industry insider Ryan Busse wrote in <i>The Atlantic</i> — “<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/firearms-industry-marketing-mass-shooter/670621/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">The Gun Industry Created a New Consumer. Now It’s Killing Us.</span></a>” July 25, 2022 — advertising began a shift in the 1990s towards marketing guns as a means for young men to get their ‘man card’. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire in the mid 2000s, marketing took an even darker turn. As manufacturers saw the opportunity to sell ever more deadly weapons, they began creating their own market by instilling fear of Antifa, Black Lives Matter protesters, and many of the other right-wing ‘bogeymen’ that are statistically <i>much</i> less likely to commit violence than the fearful white man.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">This same rhetoric is used by politicians and right-wing news media to hold the attention of their audience and supporters. Those who consume the 24-hour barrage of fear from the likes of Tucker Carlson are afraid to leave their own homes without carrying a weapon. Republican-led states are eliminating gun regulations, claiming that individual citizens need unlimited access to weapons to defend their homes and families. So-called ‘stand your ground’ laws encourage the use of firearms as a first response rather than a last resort.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But more access to guns does not reduce gun violence. To the contrary, <a href="https://everytownresearch.org/rankings/"><span style="color: #1155cc;">statistics compiled by Everytown</span></a>shows a direct correlation between states with fewer gun restrictions and higher rates of gun violence. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“True Americans must be prepared! Get a gun to protect yourselves, because the government and the liberals aren’t going to do it! <i>They</i> are coming for your guns, your wives, your children! Don’t trust them. Don’t trust the media. <i>Those</i> people (Mexicans, Blacks, immigrants, democrats) are coming for you. <i>Those</i> people are going to replace you! Liberals want to defund the police and let all the violent criminals out on the street! Vote for me and I’ll protect you! Buy more guns to protect yourself! Stand your ground. Shoot first and ask questions later!”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With such inescapable rhetoric, It's no wonder so many live with an irrational fear of the <i>other</i>, which leads to irrational behavior. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Shooting a lost teenager through your front door out of fear is irrational. Shooting a 6-year-old retrieving a basketball from your front yard is irrational. Shooting someone in the back as they try to escape from you is irrational.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Fear is a primal human emotion. Our natural response to fear is not rational; it is inherent in our biology to respond to danger. When that irrational fear has a lethal weapon readily available, innocent people are injured and killed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As Yoda is famous for saying in another galaxy: “Fear is the path to the dark side… fear leads to anger… anger leads to hate… hate leads to suffering."<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We are a nation divided by fear — fear that is fed by those who want our vote or our money. And we are all suffering with too much violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Franklin Delano Roosevelt was right when he said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And I’m afraid.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-32580579062352717002023-02-23T21:38:00.001-08:002023-04-22T21:40:15.222-07:00 Правда (Pravda) <p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold;">Правда (Pravda)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold;"> </span></p><p class="MsoTitle" style="break-after: avoid; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 36pt; font-weight: bold; margin: 24pt 0in 6pt;"><a name="_heading=h.9f4jajyqog9l"></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird March 2023)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">During the height of the Cold War against the Soviet Union, I always thought the title of the Soviet newspaper, <i>Pravda</i>, was the epitome of irony. <i>Pravda</i> — or ‘truth’ in English — was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. I often wondered how many Russian citizens actually believed what they read in <i>Pravda</i>, and whether they were aware that what they read was only what the leaders in power wanted them to believe. Even today, Russian propaganda has a completely different ‘truth’ about the Russian invasion of Ukraine than what we see in the Western free press.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But what is the truth? In a free society, does the truth always win?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The First Amendment was written as a check against an overreaching government that would use its power to limit speech, control the press, or infringe on the right to peaceably protest. The Constitution guarantees those rights in order to limit the ability of the government to use its power against the people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Having a free press is essential to hold accountable those who would use the government for their own gain. Freedom of the press is so important that it has sometimes been called the fourth estate or the fourth branch of government. The right to criticize government policy and public officials, even with the use of inflammatory language, is a fundamental right that has been repeatedly affirmed by the Supreme Court, most notably in the 1964 decision <i>New York Times v. Sullivan</i>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But what if the press isn’t working to protect the interests of the people, of our democratic principles? What if the press is more interested in their profitability than they are in reporting the truth? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The recent legal filing in Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News Corporation (FNC), portions of which were released on February 16, provides explicit details of how the corporate leadership and top personalities at Fox knew what they were telling their viewers wasn’t true. But they continued to spread lies and disinformation, telling their audience what they wanted to hear instead of the truth. Why? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Profit. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Texts between top FNC personalities and corporate leadership show that they knew claims of election fraud were false, that Dominion voting machines were not to blame, and that Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When reporter Jacqui Heinrich fact checked a Trump tweet, correcting him with statements that election officials had found no evidence of fraud and that there was no evidence that voting systems had deleted, lost, or changed votes, Tucker Carlson sent this text to Sean Hannity: “Please get her fired… Seriously… What the f*ck? I’m actually shocked… It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Example after example of messages like these show that Fox was more concerned with the bottom line than with telling the truth and protecting our democracy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Republican leadership, afraid of the same demographic to which Fox News panders, refuses to acknowledge the truth more than two years after the 2020 election. Indeed, dozens of Republican candidates ran on a claim that the 2020 election was rigged or fraudulent. That repeated claim, that our elections cannot be trusted, is undermining the foundation of faith in our democracy. A <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/40-americans-think-2020-election-stolen-days-before-midterms-1756218"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Newsweek poll</span></a> in November 2022 found that 40% of Americans still believe Trump’s Big Lie.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There’s an old joke that goes: “How can you tell a politician is lying? His lips are moving.” But there’s a difference between political spin and outright lies. And when the media not only repeats those lies, but amplifies them to the point of creating doubt in our electoral system, they are attacking our country from within. When profit is more important than the truth, the free press becomes an accomplice of our enemies instead of an essential protector of the people’s government.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Fox News is just an extreme example. All media includes spin. Selection of what to report, how to report it, which perspectives to promote and which perspectives to avoid — all are influenced by corporate media owners, editors, and reporters. Journalists can’t avoid their own biases and opinions, even those that work hard to be objective. (And opinion pieces aren’t news, although the line between them is often intentionally muddled.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The so-called mainstream media has become increasingly sensational. To grab more market share, they use click-bait headlines and divisive rhetoric. Americans think we are more polarized because we are told that we are. At the heart of the loss of a common truth is corporate media repeating false equivalencies and using both sides-isms, with social media providing an amplifying feedback loop of noise. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Time and time again the media — and that’s across the political spectrum — focuses more on the politics and division than on the issues. They are echoing what they think their readers and viewers want to hear. They obfuscate the truth to maintain the status quo. And while most of us are looking in the wrong direction for someone to blame, the corporate politicians continue to get elected, the rich keep getting richer, the problems in this country continue to fester, and the truth gets harder to find. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Carl Sagan, in his book <i>The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark</i>, wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Let’s not allow ourselves to be bamboozled. Look through the noise and spin for the actual truth, not the “alternative facts” someone else is trying to sell us.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-36125237329002930602022-12-20T22:02:00.000-08:002022-12-20T22:02:16.238-08:00Gay students aren’t controversial<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Gay students aren’t controversial</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird January 2023)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I heard the devastating news that five people were murdered and many others injured in a mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs on November 19, I immediately thought of other recent shootings targeting the LGBTQ+ community, and the constant threat to my own friends and loved ones. Even before anything was known about the shooter, it was obvious that Club Q was targeted because it was a place where queer and transgender people gathered.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Mass shootings like the one at Club Q and at Pulse nightclub in Orlando six years ago make national news, but violence against LGBTQ+ people, and particularly against Black transgender women, is often underreported or not reported at all. Yet, at a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/12/14/lgbtq-club-q-pulse-shooting/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Congressional House Oversight Committee hearing on December 14</span></a>, survivors of the Club Q and Pulse nightclub shootings and other experts testified that in the last year, almost 150 LGBTQ+ events have been attacked. <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/press-releases/fbi-releases-updated-2020-hate-crime-statistics" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">FBI hate crime statistics</span></a> show that 1 in 5 hate crimes target individuals based on perceived sexual orientation of gender identity. Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people have increased by 40% since 2015.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With the steady stream of hateful rhetoric and misinformation coming from right wing political leaders, media personalities, school boards, and judges, this increased violence is not surprising. As Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of New York said during the committee hearing, “These actions are the culmination of years of anti-LGBTQ extremism that began in statehouses across the country and spread to social media platforms before boiling over into the communities where we reside.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We want to believe that kind of hate and violence couldn’t happen here, but Colorado Springs is not so different from the Tri-Cities. The same anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric can be heard from our local politicians… and at our local school board meetings. Parroting language being presented in school districts across the country, Kennewick and Richland school board members are proposing policy changes to ban teachers from displaying flags representing “controversial issues.” With a lack of any clear or objective criteria, the purpose of these bans is to leave “controversial issues” open to interpretation, letting policy makers target the rainbow pride flags which some teachers display as a sign of a safe and inclusive classroom for LGTBQ+ students. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Not only are the proposed policies unnecessary, but they are also potentially illegal. In a November 21, 2022 <w:sdt id="-1259051678" sdttag="goog_rdk_0"></w:sdt><w:sdt id="-1013301179" sdttag="goog_rdk_1"></w:sdt><w:sdt id="-382558306" sdttag="goog_rdk_2"></w:sdt><w:sdt id="-829669254" sdttag="goog_rdk_3"></w:sdt><a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23316538/aclu-wa-letter-to-rsd-directors.pdf" style="color: #954f72;">advisory letter</a> to the Richland School District, the ACLU said: “Without any definite, objective standards, this policy invites erratic and arbitrary application, potential for abuse, squelching of the constitutional guarantee of free speech, and runs the risk of censorship and viewpoint discrimination.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In addition to harming students through a misguided attempt to prohibit acknowledging their existence, the proposed “controversial issues” policies could lead to expensive legal costs, diverting funds that should be spent on educating our students, not defending ill-advised and harmful policies. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Who are the so-called “controversial issues” policies proposed by the Kennewick and Richland school boards supposed to protect? They certainly aren’t going to protect our LGBTQ+ students. Our school districts already have policies in place to address curricula and classroom discussions of topics that some parents may find controversial, and there are mechanisms for students and parents to address those issues with school administrators.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Although a number of local teachers have long displayed rainbow flags and symbols in their classrooms, some of those teachers have recently been attacked on social media and during school board meetings for their displays of support for their students. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Symbols that let LGBTQ+ students know they are safe and welcome shouldn’t be controversial. Banning pride flags tells those students they are not welcome to be themselves in school. Creating a policy that tells our LGBTQ+ students they are controversial is harmful to our most vulnerable children. Such a policy attempts to erase their existence and leads to dehumanizing language, bullying, and violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">According to <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/bullying-and-suicide-risk-among-lgbtq-youth/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">the Trevor Project</span></a>, bullying and negative treatment is a significant risk factor for youth suicide. LGBTQ+ youth experience significantly more bullying and are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Data reported by the Trevor Project indicates that affirming schools not only provide a more inclusive environment for their LGBTQ+ students, but that LGBTQ+ students in those schools are less likely to experience bullying.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And the attitude towards LGBTQ+ students impacts the broader community. The disinformation and lies about gay and transgender people spread by local leaders marginalizes the adult LGBTQ+ members of our community, as well. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The people are listening. Too many in our community believe harmful lies about our LGBTQ+ citizens, and those lies could push someone to violence. Violence against LGBTQ+ people is happening all across the country, and it could happen here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Being gay isn’t controversial. Policies targeting people because of their gender or sexual orientation leads to the spread of dangerous misinformation, and puts our students and other community members at risk. And that risk all too often leads directly to violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">These aren’t harmless differences of opinion. They aren’t intended to protect religious liberty or freedom of speech (unless your religion and speech deny the existence of LGBTQ+ people). No, these policies uphold bigotry in the name of ‘protection’ and parental rights. And when we target one another, we put the entire community at risk. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We must recognize the danger to our community. Protecting our LGBTQ+ neighbors and children is not a controversial issue. It is <i>imperative</i>. </p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-57844160641246856602022-11-30T22:25:00.001-08:002022-12-16T22:27:56.880-08:00Money talks<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Money talks</span></h3><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird December 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">A parable.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>Imagine a village that has established a form of democratic self-government. All decisions for the common good are made through simple democracy – one person, one vote. <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>In the center of the village is a town square where every citizen has an equal right to debate ideas for the common good of the village. When an issue or a matter is to be decided, every villager is allowed to speak for or against the decision. To ensure everyone has an equal say on a matter, there are a few simple rules: <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 38.95pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Everyone wishing to speak is allotted an equal amount of time<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 38.95pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>Only one person may speak at a time<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 38.95pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><i>All speakers must speak from a designated area in the center of the town square<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>After everyone has had an opportunity to speak, the villagers mark a ballot and place it in a box in the town square. Votes are counted and the villagers respect the majority rule, agreeing to abide by the decision of their fellow citizens.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>One day, a minority group of villagers who own several of the businesses in the village market secretly conspire to put their competitors out of business. The secret plans are highly effective, and the minority group begins to concentrate the wealth of the village in the hands of the few. <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>Some of the villagers realize what is happening and call for a decision to address the unfair business practices. As speeches in the town square begin to expose the corruption, the minority group realizes their scheme is in jeopardy. They begin to secretly pay villagers to spread misinformation among the crowd, saying that those wanting to regulate businesses are just lazy and don’t want to work. <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>Claiming the rules allowing everyone to speak are unfair, the wealthy business owners build platforms around the square to elevate their speakers above the designated speaking area. The business owners and their supporters begin shouting over the speakers in the designated area following the rules. With their ability to build platforms and pay speakers, the business owners create such a loud opposition to those trying to expose the business corruption that voices of truth and reason can no longer be heard.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><i>Soon, the rules for the simple democracy established by the village are overturned and the business owners are able to guarantee their power and influence over the village decisions, disregarding the will of the villagers and continuing to concentrate the power and wealth in the hands of the few. <o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">This simple parable illustrates what has been happening in the United States for several decades. Although the wealthy have always had more influence on our government – the founders only allowed white male landowners to vote or hold office – constitutional amendments and laws over the years have sought to level the playing field and minimize the impact of electioneering and unfair voter influence. Following Watergate, laws like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Election_Campaign_Act_Amendments_of_1974" title="Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974"><i>Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974</i></a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipartisan_Campaign_Reform_Act"><i>Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002</i></a> sought to limit campaign spending by corporations, unions, and other special interest groups. But in 2010, the <i><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2008/08-205">Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission</a></i> decision overturned those laws, stating that the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting campaign spending. In the twelve years since Citizens United, campaign spending by secretive Political Action Committees, funded by anonymous corporations and wealthy donors, has exploded.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">In the 2022 midterm election held last month, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/top-election-donors-2022/">Washington Post reported</a> that billionaires poured over $1.1 billion dollars into political races. The amount of money spent on political campaigns is staggering. Money has become such an integral part of U.S. politics that we judge the effectiveness of a political leader by the amount of money they are able to raise. Campaign literature in emails, texts, and other advertising is constantly asking for more money, breathlessly claiming that opponents are raising more money and the future of the nation depends solely on donating to a political campaign.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">As money has become more important to winning elections, the influence of wealthy individuals and corporations has grown, particularly in Congress. And as corporate media becomes more consolidated, owned by the same wealthy class that funds political campaigns, the influence of that money pushes us ever closer to oligarchy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">In a system where voters receive their information from campaigns and media sources funded by those who want to influence government to ensure their ever-growing profitability, even at the expense of the middle and lower class, the idea of a government of the people is severely eroded. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">In his dissenting opinion in <i>Citizens United</i>, Associate Justice John Paul Stevens said corporations were not part of the “We the people” in the Constitution, and that corporations did not have the same motivations as individual citizens since their only interest was the corporate bottom line, not the interests of the people of the United States. Stevens said that the majority opinion in <i>Citizens United</i> was "a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self-government."<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">In the current American political system, money indeed talks. The question all of us should be asking is whether that money is being spent for the good of the many, or for the good of the few.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">In the parable of the village, the power of the villagers is only limited by what they allow the business owners to take. As long as the shouting continues unchallenged, the average villager won’t be able to hear the truth. But if they can work together to restore the fairness of the town square, the business owners won’t be able to shout with their money, and the simple democracy in the village can be restored.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-38430809177774122092022-10-23T10:55:00.000-07:002022-10-23T10:55:05.304-07:00 A republic, if you can keep it<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">A republic, if you can keep it</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird November 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I have been concerned about the future of our country for some time now. I, like many Americans, feel a sense of dread that the United States as we know it is on the brink of collapse. That our system of government, a constitutional democratic republic as established in the Constitution, is heading towards autocracy. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The most significant indicator of this threat is the sustained and growing effort to undermine confidence in our elections. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our founders worked together to agree upon something that was at the time a radical idea: that a government should only exist with the consent of the governed. And so, the system of checks and balances, of rights and authorities, and of liberties and limitations were written into the United States Constitution, giving the ultimate authority of government to the people of the United States. “We the people” are the first words of the Constitution for a reason. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The authority of the Constitution is derived from we the people, as long as we continue to support it. We do so by recognizing the authority and legitimacy of the rule of law. And, most importantly, we recognize the authority of the law by trusting in and accepting the legitimacy of our elections.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There have been attempts to undermine our elections throughout our history, but there has never been such a widespread, concerted effort to both delegitimize the electoral process and refuse to accept the results of an election. With the unprecedented refusal of Donald Trump to concede that he lost to Joe Biden, the violent insurrection on January 6, and the extensive and ongoing efforts at voter suppression by Republicans across the country, our electoral process has never been in this much jeopardy. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The Republican Party no longer believes in the principles of a shared government of all the people. A common theme among Republican candidates is that they will refuse to accept the results of any election unless they win. Repeating Trump’s falsehoods has become a central part of the Republican Party’s message. A recent <i>New York Times</i> article, ‘<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/17/us/american-democracy-threats.html"><span style="color: blue;">A Crisis Coming</span></a>’, states that about two-thirds of Republican voters say Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election. Among Republican candidates running for statewide office this year, 47 percent have refused to accept the 2020 result. That’s nearly <i>half</i> of all Republican candidates. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Election deniers are not only running for Congress and state legislatures, but for secretaries of state and other offices that oversee state elections. Many Republican led states have proposed or passed laws that give authority to either the legislature or the secretary of state to overturn the results of elections they don’t agree with.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The extreme right is so fearful and hateful towards those they consider un-American that they are willing to destroy the country rather than accept election results they don’t like. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Writing in <a href="https://thefederalist.com/2022/10/20/we-need-to-stop-calling-ourselves-conservatives/"><i><span style="color: blue;">The Federalist</span></i></a>, senior editor John Daniel Davidson has called for conservatives to abandon their long-standing principles and instead wield government power as a “blunt instrument.” He claims that “accommodation or compromise with the left is impossible.” He demands an end to no-fault divorce and subsidizing families with children. He claims all abortion is murder and should be prosecuted as such. He wants to defund public universities to keep them from “spreading poisonous ideologies.” He calls for arresting parents and educators who teach their children that LGBT people should be treated equally and with respect. He thinks that doctors performing gender-affirming medicine should be thrown into prison. He thinks same-sex marriage should be outlawed. In effect, he wants to overturn one hundred years of social progress. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If Mr. Davidson and those who think like him have their way, our form of government will be abolished and replaced with fascism. The vast popularity of his ideas indicates that this is not an idle threat, but a very real possibility. This isn’t a differing opinion about how best to achieve our collective goals, but a call to completely abandon the principles upon which this country was founded.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And how could this come about? If we the people allow it — by ignoring the signs of what is happening and abdicating our authority to hold our elected officials accountable through free and fair elections.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If your vote didn't matter, those who don't want you to vote wouldn't work so hard to disenfranchise you or discourage you from engaging in the elections. But there is something even better at suppressing your vote than legal disenfranchisement and the power to overrule election results: voter apathy.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We are told by much of the media, and certainly by those who don’t want us to vote, that our vote doesn’t matter. Voter turnout, particularly in non-presidential elections, is abysmal. As a long-time advocate for voting, I have talked to many people over the years about the importance of their vote. I can’t tell you the number of non-voters who have told me they didn’t bother because they were convinced it didn’t matter. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Some people fail to vote because they think voting is too hard. Some are just too busy and too complacent to bother, believing that no matter the outcome of an election, their lives will continue much the same as they always have. And then there are those who believe their vote won’t make a difference because those in power have rigged the system so they will win regardless of the vote. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">With the barrage of campaign ads, breathlessly begging for money with fearmongering about how dire the stakes are, it’s no wonder that many of us just want to tune out of politics. And while the campaign rhetoric may be hyperbole, the choices we make really are significant.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In his first inaugural address, March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln said:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;">“We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There is a growing effort to make us enemies. If we abandon our principles of unity, of equality, of liberty, and of our commitment to the Constitution, we will abandon everything good about the United States of America.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our progress has not always been steady. Our history is filled with violence and inequity. But the beauty of what the founders established is that we can continue to make things better for everyone. Giving in to a minority who believe their narrow view of the world is the only way, and that all other beliefs and opinions must be stamped out, will be the end of progress.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">After the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when asked what form of government we had, Benjamin Franklin is said to have replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I believe in this constitutional democratic republic. I hope we keep it.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-62287314297688069482022-09-28T21:42:00.000-07:002022-09-28T21:42:21.296-07:00Violence is not the way<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Violence is not the way</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird October 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Earlier this year, an <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/seven-ten-americans-say-country-crisis-risk-failing"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Ipsos poll</span></a> found that “more than one-fifth of the American public agrees that it is sometimes okay to engage in violence, either to protect American democracy or our culture and values.” That same poll found that seven in ten Americans think that our democracy is at risk of failing.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But is violence really the only way to hold our democracy together? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The history we teach and the stories we tell often portray those who use violence against the oppressor as heroes. We are taught that sometimes violence is necessary for self-defense, as individuals and as a nation. And we tend to believe the myth that violence is more effective than nonviolence in creating political change.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t have to remind you how polarizing our politics are today. That elected leaders and party politicians openly use the threat of violence for political influence is a sign that our democracy really is in crisis.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a wake-up call. Too many Americans believe the Big Lie that has eroded confidence in our elections, and too many of us are willing to use violence to overthrow the government. Threats and intimidation of election workers and public officials have become commonplace. Many long-serving public officials who have dedicated their lives to public service are resigning in the face of these threats. I can’t imagine what it is like for a long-time volunteer election worker to suddenly be subjected to threats of violence just for doing their job to ensure our elections are free, fair, and secure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And now, in response to a lawful investigation of citizen Donald Trump’s mishandling of highly classified information, Senator Lindsey Graham said there would be “riots in the streets” if Trump were indicted. This week, Donald Trump said that if an indictment were handed down, “I think you’d have problems the likes of which perhaps we’ve never seen before.” This mob-boss language is clear; it is a threat of violence if he should be held accountable (as any other citizen who committed the crimes he is being investigated for would be). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The rhetoric has gone from divisive to dangerous.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">“This is not who we are” has become the refrain of those speaking out against political violence and the efforts to co-opt violence to achieve political gain. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b>But this <i>is</i> who we are.</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our history is filled with examples of political violence. This country was founded on violence, not only violence against the King of England, but violence against Indigenous and enslaved people in our own country. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Progress towards a more just, inclusive, equitable nation has often been countered with violence. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan was a direct response to the constitutional amendments that gave Black Americans the same rights as whites. Political violence kept Jim Crow laws in place for at least a century. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When citizens began organizing and demanding an end to racist policies during the Civil Rights Movement, political violence by government officials and white supremacist mobs was used to suppress the movement. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In too many ways, violence is who we are.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But violence isn’t the only way. We don’t have to accept violence as necessary or acceptable. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Inspired by Mahatma Ghandi’s philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience (which led directly to India’s independence from the British Empire), Martin Luther King, Jr. and those who organized with him were committed to nonviolent political activism. However, being nonviolent didn’t mean that these activists weren’t involved in <a href="https://www.history.com/news/for-martin-luther-king-jr-nonviolent-protest-never-meant-wait-and-see"><span style="color: #1155cc;">multiple direct action campaigns</span></a> that put them at risk of physical violence. Over many years, nonviolent protests and civil disobedience — like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, lunch counter sit-ins, the March on Washington, and the Selma to Montgomery march that led to the confrontation on the Edmund Pettis Bridge — began to get the attention of the public. The violence committed by state troopers and local police in Selma, severely beating peaceful protesters and injuring hundreds (including John Lewis), made national news and showed the glaring inequality in how Black citizens were treated. The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. showed the world the extent of violence being used to suppress dissenting political opinion. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Years of peaceful civil disobedience and the unprovoked violent response by those in power got the public’s attention and changed minds in Washington, leading directly to passage of the Civil Rights Act. A century of legal segregation, disenfranchisement, and racist policy was overturned through nonviolence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But does nonviolent protest always work? Most of us think of nonviolence as a philosophy that seems righteous in principle, but ineffective in the face of violence. Ghandi and MLK may have been successful, but does a philosophy of nonviolence really work consistently?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As I was researching this essay, I discovered the research of <a href="https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/how-to-change-the-world/"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Erica Chenoweth</span></a>. A student of military history and political science at Harvard University, Chenoweth was challenged with that very question — whether nonviolent civil disobedience is more effective than violent revolution.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Chenoweth completed an exhaustive study of violent and nonviolent movements throughout the twentieth century and found that nonviolent political activism was twice as likely to result in change than violence. Moreover, nonviolence was more effective in creating lasting change than violence. And this is true even against repressive, violent, totalitarian regimes. The reasons for this are complex and counterintuitive, but the research shows that nonviolent resistance works. Ghandi and MLK were right.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I still wonder whether violence is sometimes unavoidable. Dr. King himself recognized that sometimes a “riot is the language of the unheard.” But there are always alternatives.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As Chenoweth’s research shows, to achieve political change, violence is not only unethical and immoral, violence is less effective in the long run. Calls for violence by elected officials are irresponsible and antidemocratic. We, as responsible citizens, should call out violent rhetoric and refuse to support officials who use threats and intimidation against their political opponents.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Violence may be an integral part of the history of the United States, but violence does not have to be part of our future. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">This doesn’t have to be who we are.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-27246871418397764632022-08-30T21:37:00.001-07:002022-09-28T21:39:20.450-07:00Progress requires participation<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Progress requires participation</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in <i>Tumbleweird</i> September 2022)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><i><span lang="EN" style="color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">“Let me give you a word of the philosophy of reform. The whole history of the progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. … It must do this or it does nothing. If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.75in; text-align: right;"><span lang="EN"><a href="https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1857-frederick-douglass-if-there-no-struggle-there-no-progress/"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Frederick Douglass, 1857</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">As a young man, I had a naïve belief in the infallibility of our system of government. The history of the United States seems to have shown that the checks and balances contained in the U.S. Constitution ensure that our government of the people can endure anything. If our nation could survive the Civil War, it would seem our democracy could survive anything.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Today, I’m not so sure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I have always taken my duty to vote seriously. I believed that, as a conscientious voter, if I voted for politicians who shared my values, the leaders I helped elect would continue to work towards a more perfect union. I believed that, over time, the arc of history would indeed bend towards justice because our system inherently made progress toward the better.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">But as I have become a student of both history and politics, I have come to realize that progress doesn’t happen because an elected leader suddenly decides that social justice is important. We the people must demand progress.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Many of the rights and freedoms we enjoy today are a result of court decisions and not the legislature. As Congress has become more polarized and dysfunctional, we have depended more on the courts for progress. But as we have seen from this year’s Supreme Court decisions, unless those rights and freedoms are enacted into law, those rights and freedoms can be just as easily taken away.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">I recently saw a Twitter thread reflecting on how we have shifted over the last seven decades from activism, organizing, and legislating to relying on the courts for progress. Niko Bowie (</span><span lang="EN"><a href="https://twitter.com/nikobowie/status/1541410198736314369"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">@nikobowie</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">) wrote, in part:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #0f1419; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 17.633333px;">For decades, liberals have confidently responded to injustice with “see you in court.” But the same voices are famished for alternatives when courts are the problem.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #0f1419; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 17.633333px;">Rather than look for leadership from dissents or Capitol poetry, we need to learn from people who have spent these same decades building power in *spite* of a hostile legal system. … To enact national laws we need political power. To build political power we need to collectively commit not just to the biannual ritual of voting, but also to the day-to-day grit of organizing the people around us.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #0f1419; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 17.633333px;">… Organizing is a theory of change that doesn’t trust people atop hierarchies to share our values.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">The Civil Rights Act of 1964 didn’t happen because President Lyndon Johnson suddenly realized that the promise of Civil War Reconstruction hadn’t been met.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Since long before the Civil War, Black voices like Frederick Douglass demanded justice. And although Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a towering force in the civil rights movement, he didn’t achieve civil rights alone. Thousands of Black activists and organizers have suffered unspeakable violence and oppression for each step of progress over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Although the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments abolished slavery and granted voting rights to all men (but not women) after the Civil War, racial discrimination, inequality, and voter suppression continued in earnest for at least another hundred years, and in many ways continue today. The Civil Rights acts of the 1960s happened only after decades of organizing and demands from Black people for equality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Granting women the right to vote didn’t happen because President Woodrow Wilson suddenly thought women’s suffrage was the right thing to do.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Women didn’t gain the right to participate in our democracy for almost 150 years from the founding of this nation. Women organizers, led not just by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, but by many others — including Black women like Mary Church Terrell and Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin — organized and lobbied for decades for women’s rights. They used both marches and civil disobedience to demand action until the Nineteenth Amendment was finally ratified in 1920, giving women the right to vote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Corporations and political leaders didn’t grant protections to workers because they suddenly thought the labor force deserved them.</span></b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Workers today have the labor movement to thank for many of the labor laws that protect them in the workplace. Unions and labor organizers demanded better working conditions through organizing, strikes, and protests. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It is those who are denied their rights, those who suffer from inequality and injustice, who have organized and demanded change.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">And the fight continues. As the wealthy and politically connected continue to try to maintain power, they work against fair labor practices, against universal voting rights, against racial equality, and against the freedoms too many of us take for granted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">Voting and participation in the democratic process is essential. We must pay attention to what our elected leaders are doing in our name. We must listen to the voices of the marginalized and those most impacted by our local, state, and federal governments. And those of us with the means to make our voices heard must use them to demand justice and equality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It’s not enough to cast a vote and hope for the best. We must also participate in the decision making, organize with others when we can, hold our leaders accountable, and support those working hard to make the world a better place.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866667px; margin: 0in;"><b><span lang="EN" style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.4px;">It is we who grant the power to our government. And it is we who must work together to demand the change in the world we want to see.</span></b><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-10297038082410156602022-07-26T21:44:00.001-07:002022-09-28T21:45:53.550-07:00Election Day is August 2, - VOTE!<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Election Day is August 2</span><sup style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">, </sup><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">- VOTE!</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird August 2022)</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Registered voters have already received their ballots for the August 2<sup>nd</sup> Washington State primary election. On the ballot are the legislative candidates for state and federal offices, including those who will represent us in Congress. In Washington, the top two candidates move on to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">With the divisiveness of today’s politics, it’s tempting to just avoid the entire process, mistakenly believing that our vote doesn’t matter anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">But that’s the point of the negative rhetoric: to play on our emotions and make us feel like politics is so broken that the average voter no longer matters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Your vote is more important than ever. Politicians who don’t care about the truth, who will say anything to stir up the electorate, are counting on our apathy to put themselves in positions of power.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">There is little regulation on what a politician can say in campaign speech, and even less on what others can say about the candidates. Reports of disinformation and outright lies in campaign materials are already being reported in local media. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Don’t believe everything you read. If you are able, research the candidates and make sure those you vote for align with your values and have a history to show they are more than just talk. To me, a candidate that spends all their time bashing their opponent tells me they aren’t focused on how to create a better community.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Do you want a representative who is working for all of us, or one who only wants to work against policies and programs that make our communities safer, more inclusive, and better for everyone?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Here’s what you need to know to make sure your vote counts:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">If you aren’t registered yet, you can do so online at </span><a href="https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;">votewa.gov</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> (before July 25) or in person up until election day, August 2, at your county voting location (Benton County: 2618 N Columbia Center Blvd, Kennewick; Franklin County 1016 N. 4<sup>th</sup> Ave, Pasco).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Ballots are mailed to each registered voter automatically.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Verify your voter registration early at </span><a href="https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;">votewa.gov</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Remember to sign your ballot. Take out your driver’s license and sign it the same way since that is likely the signature your ballot will be compared with.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Include your phone number on the ballot. The auditor’s office will contact you by mail and/or by phone to try to resolve any problem with accepting your ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Return your ballot in a place that is secure, either in one of the many ballot dropboxes located around the county (locations are at </span><a href="https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/research/drop-box-and-voting-center-locations.aspx"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;">sos.wa.</span></a><a href="https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/research/drop-box-and-voting-center-locations.aspx"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;">gov</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">) before 8pm on election day or in a secure (with lock or slot) U.S. mailbox.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">If you are mailing your ballot, mail it at least a week in advance. Remember that locally our mail goes to Spokane for processing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; margin-left: .5in; mso-border-shadow: yes; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-padding-alt: 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt 31.0pt; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="background: white; color: #181818; font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Noto Sans Symbols"; mso-highlight: white;">●<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Check the status of your ballot at </span><a href="https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc;">votewa.gov</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"> after you have voted and make sure it has been received and then accepted. You have until the election is certified to resolve any issues with your ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Make your voice heard. Don’t let others decide what’s best for our future.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Exercise your right to vote!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">(For more on how elections work in Washington State, see my October 2020 Tumbleweird column </span><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/our-right-to-vote/"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #0563c1;">Our Right to Vote</span></i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-74075064486576407972022-06-25T12:05:00.000-07:002022-06-25T12:05:22.674-07:00 Where’s the Good Guy with a Gun?<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Where’s the Good Guy with a Gun?</span></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally posted in Tumbleweird July 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman walked into the school and killed 19 children and two adults with an AR-15 style weapon while nearly two dozen armed police officers waited over an hour before engaging the shooter. (May 24, 2020)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, a white gunman was welcomed to a bible study before taking out his weapons and killing nine Black churchgoers. (June 17, 2015)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At a music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, a gunman opened fire from his 32<sup>nd</sup> floor hotel room, killing 60 people and wounding many more. (October 1, 2017)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, a gunman killed six adults and twenty children between six and seven years old. (December 14, 2012)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53 others before police killed him after a three-hour standoff. (June 11, 2016)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">At Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a gunman killed fourteen students and three staff members, and injured 17 others. (February 14, 2018)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Every month, seventy women are shot and killed by an intimate partner.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Every year, 22,000 people die by suicide with a gun.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Last year, 45,026 people died from gun violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">So far this year, there have been 270 mass shootings in just 167 days.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">The good guy with a gun failed to stop any of these bad guys before someone was killed.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">One week after those twenty school children were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association at the time, repeated a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-good-guy-with-a-gun-became-a-deadly-american-fantasy-117367">long held American myth</a> that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">The reality is that it is exceedingly rare for an armed so-called ‘good guy’ to prevent an active shooter from killing or injuring someone. To the contrary, an armed civilian creates more chaos and often results in more death and injury, sometimes to himself and sometimes with his own weapon. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">So how can a good guy with a gun make a difference?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">More guns with fewer restrictions will never reduce the pandemic of gun violence. Eliminating or severely restricting civilian gun ownership would be neither practical nor constitutional. Few Americans want to repeal the Second Amendment. But the vast majority do want limits on guns that will reduce the appalling number of gun violence victims. And that includes a majority of gun owners. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Research reported by <a href="https://www.97percent.us/">97Percent</a>, a bipartisan group of gun owners and non-gun owners working to reduce gun violence, shows that among gun owners:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->87% support background checks for concealed carry permits<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->81% support red flag laws<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->79% support prohibiting a person from having a gun who is the subject of a current temporary restraining order for domestic violence<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->79% support prohibiting a person convicted of serious crimes as a juvenile from having a gun for 10 years<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]-->75% support universal background checks<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Other commonsense gun laws that have been proposed include: increasing the minimum age for gun ownership, enacting enforceable gun storage laws, limiting ammunition purchases and magazine sizes, requiring training and licensing for gun owners, and banning assault weapons. But these proposals have less public support, and many are considered ‘non-starters’ for gun owners. So, we should start with demanding laws that do have broad support among all Americans.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Good guys with guns can speak up. Good guys with guns can lobby their legislatures for the laws that they support, laws that can reduce the rate of gun violence. Good guys with guns can support organizations like <a href="https://www.97percent.us/">97Percent</a> and <a href="http://responsibleownership.org/">Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">As horrific as mass shootings are, they are a small percentage of the 45,000 gun deaths every year. Laws that limit access to weapons that may be used by individuals with a history of domestic violence or by those contemplating suicide can help reduce the overall rate of gun violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Statistics show that it is extremely unlikely that a good guy with a gun can prevent imminent gun violence with his weapon. But a good guy with a gun can make a difference by demanding our political leaders enact laws that will reduce gun violence in America. We can prevent thousands of needless deaths and injuries every year.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Where’s the good guy with a gun? He’s doing all he can to support change in our culture and our laws to reduce gun violence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Be the good guy with a gun. Demand change.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;">Sources: <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.everytown.org/">everytown.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.97percent.us/">97percent.us</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://marchforourlives.com/">marchforourlives.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/">gunviolencearchive.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-5569273468513104622022-05-01T11:59:00.001-07:002022-06-25T12:01:01.618-07:00 Ignorance isn’t bliss<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Ignorance isn’t bliss</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird May 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There’s an old <i>Twilight Zone</i> episode in which a man is suddenly able to hear other people’s thoughts. In “Penny for Your Thoughts,” Hector B. Poole is at first confused, but then uses his new ability to try to prevent crimes he thinks his coworkers are planning, blackmail his boss for a new position, and end up with the girl of his dreams. In a typical <i>Twilight Zone</i> twist, what seems like a great advantage has unintended consequences. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t think I would really want to know what other people are thinking. I certainly wouldn’t want anyone reading my innermost thoughts. Although I believe strongly in the importance of honesty and integrity, some things are better left unsaid. My mother taught me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. And there is an old saying that one should never discuss politics or religion in polite company.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I was serving on active duty in the Navy, we were strongly encouraged to vote (for me, it was always through an absentee ballot) but discouraged from discussing politics. In fact, political activity for anyone serving in the military is <a href="https://www.military.com/benefits/military-legal-matters/active-duty-military-participate-protests-make-political-statements.html" style="color: #954f72;">severely limited</a>. Consequently, my perspective was that we didn’t have to talk about politics. A good citizen researched the candidates and the issues on their own and voted according to what they felt was best for their community and the nation. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our democracy depends upon participation by the people. And I always believed that through the ballot box, our system would, in the end, result in a better world. I felt that political differences were just varying takes on how to achieve what was best for the country and its citizens — that collectively, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the electorate would help bend the arc of the moral universe towards justice.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Like those of us in the military, elected officials all take an oath to support and defend the Constitution. To me, political speech was all about hearing competing ideas to find a balance of when the government should regulate something and when government should get out of the way. But I was a bit naïve in my belief that the system of checks and balances would always protect our form of government. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There have always been those who use the government for their own personal gain. Corporations and the wealthy have worked for decades to dismantle the programs put in place after the Great Depression that regulated business, provided a social safety net, and built the infrastructure that improved the lives of the average American. Since the early 1950s, there has been a concerted effort to convince people that, as Ronald Reagan put it, “government is not a solution to our problem; government is the problem.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the 1990s, Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch’s media companies demonized mainstream news as leftist, socialist, and anti-American. And those sustained efforts to undermine the trust in media have been effective. Attacks on objective truth have become so common that in many respects, we are a nation divided into alternate realities of alternative facts. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Politicians — far-right Republicans in particular — have become so effective at disinformation and bending the truth that, despite the lack of any credible evidence, a majority of Republicans still believe the Big Lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. The concerted effort to overturn the election that led to the insurrection on January 6, 2021, and the attempts since then to hide the truth of what happened, are a direct attack on our constitutional form of government. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The echo chamber of social media has shown me that the veneer of polite conversation which avoids talk of politics and religion masked the depth and extent of our political divide. Although it is certainly more complex than just Republicans versus Democrats, the growing belief of so many that the other side is the enemy means that we can no longer work together for the common good. It is no wonder that Congress is so dysfunctional, and that any significant legislation is nearly impossible to achieve.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The pledge of allegiance describes our nation as indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. But the battle for truth and power shows that we are not as indivisible as we think. The rise of authoritarianism, the push for a single party autocracy, the attack on fair elections, and restrictions on the right to vote are all direct threats to our democratic republic.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">So, what can be done to counter this threat? I recognize the dangers of demagoguery and disinformation, but I still believe in the power of free speech and open debate. Our First Amendment protections can be used to restore objective truth. We can fight disinformation with fact checks, use tools to evaluate media bias, and call out hateful and divisive rhetoric when we see it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But the power of confirmation bias, echo chamber media, and click-bait algorithms will continue to push us apart. The monetization of social media has created some of the wealthiest companies in America by driving a social wedge through America. Perhaps the power of social media could also be used to counter the spread of disinformation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A coordinated effort of both private sector and government actions to disincentivize the spread of conspiracy theories and disinformation could turn around this trend. Some work has already been done to de-platform the worst offenders that spread lies and promote anti-government violence. Disinformation can be flagged. Action can be taken against disinformation similar to the way we hold companies accountable for lying about the products they sell. Sources of disinformation can be identified and foreign influence through social media can be regulated. And all of this can be done without compromising our freedoms under the first amendment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Some of my friends have abandoned social media because of the toxic environment it can become. I respect that. I have tried to limit my own use of social media. But I appreciate that I can also see what others are thinking and posting, and I can see first-hand how divisive the comments can become. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t have to read minds to understand how people are thinking and I can see the effects of the polarizing rhetoric on our nation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I don’t want to suppress the speech of those who see the world differently. I want to listen to those who may have a better idea of the role government should play in our lives. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I want to live in a world where our political speech and debate are based on facts and objective truth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Is that still possible?<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-10764078734639376222022-02-28T18:24:00.000-08:002022-03-10T18:25:44.479-08:00 Collateral Killing<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Collateral Killing</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">(originally published in </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://tumbleweird.org/" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Tumbleweird</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">March 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When is it acceptable to kill innocent people during a law enforcement action? What crimes are so egregious that the price of enforcement is the death of someone not even involved in the crime?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Imagine this: You are in bed asleep, your significant other at your side. You are suddenly jolted awake by what sounds like someone breaking down your front door, lots of indecipherable yelling, and the sound of several men in plain clothes screaming as they forcibly enter your home. You grab your gun, which you keep near you just in case something like this happens. You see shadows and weapons pointed at you and your significant other. Fearing for your life, you fire a warning shot. A rain of bullets erupts. Your significant other falls to your side and dies in your arms.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">In the midst of your grief and confusion, a man claiming to be a police officer violently grabs you, handcuffs you, and drags you outside.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Later, you will be accused of resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer, and blamed for the death of your significant other.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Neither you nor your significant other was the person the police were looking for.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And all of this was completely legal. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The scenario I just described was what Kenneth Walker experienced on the morning of March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. His girlfriend, who died in his arms, was Breonna Taylor, an EMT and Emergency Room technician. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The police were executing what is known as a no-knock warrant in search of evidence related to a drug crime Taylor and Walker were not connected to. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><b><i>Breonna Taylor was killed in a search for evidence of a crime for which neither she nor her boyfriend was a suspect.<o:p></o:p></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">No-knock warrants are inherently dangerous for both the police and the occupants of the residence being raided. They are designed to create confusion and chaos. And in that confusion and chaos, innocent people too often get hurt.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">No physical evidence is worth risking someone’s life to obtain. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">On February 2, 2022 in Minneapolis, Amir Locke was asleep on the couch when police officers executed a no-knock entry. In the confusion and chaos, Locke jumped up with his legally owned gun in his hand. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Seven seconds after entering the apartment, Amir Locke was shot dead by police. <i>Seven seconds. </i>Not enough time to even say his name or understand what was happening. The officer that killed him made a snap decision and opened fire without asking questions.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Again, Locke was not the target of the raid. The police were looking for Locke’s cousin in connection with a recent homicide. The cousin was not present with Locke.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Was the killing of Amir Locke justified because his cousin was suspected of murder? Was his killing justified because he had a legally owned gun in his hand? Possessing a legally owned weapon in your own home is not a capital offense. Defending yourself from an intruder is often lauded in our country, but not if the intrusion is an unexpected violent entry by the police.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">How could Amir Locke or Kenneth Walker have possibly known what was happening?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It’s past time to reassess police tactics that put both the police and innocent civilians at risk. In these two cases, and in hundreds of others around the country, intentionally creating a dangerous situation to serve a warrant was not worth the risk. These were not hostage situations, or cases where a violent individual was threatening to harm themselves or others.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There are other ways to execute a warrant, to find evidence, or to locate a suspect. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">St. Paul, sister city to Minneapolis, hasn’t executed a no-knock warrant since 2016. The mayor of Minneapolis promised to reform the practice after the Breonna Taylor case and the murder of George Floyd by police. But that promise didn’t save Amir Locke.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Four states have banned the practice of no-knock warrants: Florida, Oregon, Connecticut, and Virginia. (Peter Nickeas, CNN, “There's a growing consensus in law enforcement over no-knock warrants: The risks outweigh the rewards,” February 12, 2022.) Other states have severely limited the practice to very narrow circumstances.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Too many people are killed at the hands of police, and many of them are not involved in a crime. Even one innocent life taken is unacceptable. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Data compiled by the Washington Post shows that police in the United States kill 1000 people every year. And, like Breonna Taylor and Amir Locke, those killed are disproportionately Black or Hispanic. (Washington Post, “Fatal Force” database, as of February 9, 2022.) Too many are innocent people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The relationship between the police and the communities they serve needs to improve. There are ways to enforce the law and support the justice system with less risk and fewer collateral deaths. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We must demand police reforms that will reduce or eliminate collateral killings. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Let’s start by banning no-knock warrants.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-46975619365832685122022-01-18T21:53:00.000-08:002022-01-18T21:53:33.546-08:00 How Can We Eliminate Poverty?<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">How Can We Eliminate Poverty?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in <a href="http://tumbleweird.org" target="_blank">Tumbleweird</a> February 2022)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Have you ever responded to a charity request to support something you believed in? How about a personal request to help someone in need? Have you donated to a homeless shelter, a local food bank, or one of those Facebook requests to help pay for unexpected medical bills? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I think most of us have a natural desire to help others. According to the National Philanthropic Trust (<a href="https://www.nptrust.org/" style="color: #954f72;">nptrust.org</a>), individual Americans gave over $470 billion to charitable organizations in 2020. All that charitable giving may help, but it isn’t helping enough. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Almost 12 million children in the United States — one in six — live in poverty, more than most other developed nations. As I wrote in my January 2020 column, <a href="http://millerted.blogspot.com/2019/12/philanthropy-is-terrible-way-to-fight.html" style="color: #954f72;">philanthropy is a terrible way to fight poverty</a>. In spite of America’s generous giving, philanthropy does not do enough to feed the hungry, heal the sick, or house the homeless. Twelve percent of Americans live below the poverty line, and 18.5 million of them are in deep poverty with a household income of less than half the poverty threshold (<a href="https://www.census.gov/" style="color: #954f72;">census.gov</a>). Thirty million people still lack health insurance. One in eight Americans are food insecure. Half a million are homeless.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But it doesn’t have to be this way. What if together we could do something to end poverty in America? Something more effective and efficient than responding to a charity request or a Facebook post with a few dollars?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Last year, the American Rescue Plan Act enhanced and expanded the child tax credit program, providing monthly payments to families with children. The program reduced child poverty by more than 40%. According to studies summarized by the <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/if-congress-fails-to-act-monthly-child-tax-credit-payments-will-stop-child" style="color: #954f72;">Center on Budget and Policy Priorities</a>, low-income families overwhelmingly used that money to pay for food, utilities, housing, school supplies, and medicine. In all, 36 million families received benefits from the expanded child tax credit program.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Those payments expired in December, putting millions of children back below the poverty line. The tax credit payments would have been continued in the Build Back Better legislation passed by the House, but that bill has so far failed to pass in the Senate. The help that so many families desperately needed suddenly stopped.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat, has received most of the blame for objecting to the child tax credits. Parroting conservative talking points of the last 40 years, Senator Manchin is concerned that the poor will use that money on drugs or non-essential luxuries and that the payments will make them not want to work. Ronald Reagan’s ‘welfare queen’ tropes come to mind. This perspective blames the poor for being poor while ignoring the systems that prevent the poor from pulling themselves out of poverty by their own bootstraps. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But putting all the blame for this failure on Senator Manchin is misplaced. He is only one of one hundred senators. None of the fifty Republican senators support continuing the expanded child tax credit, much less any other social programs to help Americans in need. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Every year, Congress debates whether the poor are deserving of the help they receive. Months of arguing and negotiating leads to watered down bills that fail to get at the root cause of the problem. As a society, we seem to be afraid that somehow our tax dollars are going to be given to someone who doesn’t deserve them. Why don’t we have that same hesitancy when it comes to charity? Do you make sure that everyone who shows up to your local food bank has a job before you donate or volunteer? Before you decide to give, do you require that your local homeless shelter turn away drug addicts and the unemployed?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">This idea that the poor have to earn the help they receive hurts all of us. Children who grow up in poverty, who suffer from inadequate nutrition, who don’t get an education, are impacted for life. Eliminating this suffering is not only the right thing to do; it will also improve our society and our economy. Reducing poverty is an investment in our future.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The expanded child tax credits cost about $100 billion per year. It has been estimated that <a href="https://prospect.org/power/much-money-take-eliminate-poverty-america/" style="color: #954f72;">we could eliminate poverty in America</a> with less than $200 billion per year. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Last month Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. This so-called ‘must pass’ legislation passed in the House 316–113 and in the Senate 88–11, authorizing $768 billion dollars for fiscal year 2022, $24 billion more than the president requested. There was very little debate on whether this amount of spending was truly necessary. No argument about whether the billions given to huge defense contractors for weapons systems was a good investment. No discussion about how to pay for those systems. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’m not saying we don’t need a military or that defense spending is unnecessary. But where is the debate on balancing the needs for defense with the needs for taking care of our citizens? Why is it that we can find the money to build new weapons systems that we don’t need, but we can’t afford to lift children out of poverty?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We’ve somehow been convinced that the government is the problem, not the solution. And so, our government — those whom we elect to make these decisions about priorities and who deserves help — continue to vote in the interests of corporations and the wealthy while telling the rest of us to help ourselves. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">We can do better.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-41018612618735023992021-12-30T23:25:00.000-08:002021-12-30T23:25:30.288-08:00Taking the Law into Our Own Hands<p><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Taking the Law into Our Own Hands</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird January 2021)</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On November 1, 2021, the Spokane Police Department published a statement that a murder suspect had been arrested after the decomposing body of a 19-year-old man had been found in the trunk of a car.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">News reports gave a strong implication that the murder was somehow justified, but I wanted to read </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SpokanePD/posts/248617630634738" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the original police post</span></a><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Here are some excerpts:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On 10-22-21 SPD patrol officers responded to [a report of] an abandoned vehicle with a foul odor emanating from it. … SPD officers verified human remains were contained within the vehicle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The victim was identified as a 19-year-old male, and on 10-29-21, 60-year-old John Eisenman was arrested for 1<sup>st</sup>degree murder. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In October 2020 Eisenman learned his juvenile daughter was allegedly sold to a sex-trafficking organization in the Seattle area. Eisenman obtained information his daughter’s boyfriend (the deceased) may have been the one responsible for her sale. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In November 2020, Eisenman [learned where the victim would be and] abducted the victim, tying him up and placing him in the trunk of a vehicle. Eisenman subsequently assaulted the victim by hitting him in the head with a cinder block and then stabbed him repeatedly, causing his death. Eisenman drove the vehicle to a remote area … and abandoned the car with the body still inside. The vehicle … was moved in October 2021 … with the body still in the trunk. Individuals … rummaging through the car … made the gruesome discovery. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This story is disturbing on so many levels. I can only imagine how I would feel if I thought my daughter had been abducted and trafficked. The vast majority of the several thousand comments on that SPD post praised the dad and called him a hero. There were calls to set up a GoFundMe to pay legal fees, which quickly raised over $20,000. “He did a public service,” said one. “Justifiable homicide,” said another. Many ‘volunteered’ to serve on his jury, anxious to acquit. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But there was no evidence that the victim was actually guilty of what the father suspected.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">One commenter tried to bring reason into the conversation. Acknowledging the father’s rage, the commenter then said, “But it’s not his responsibility to take it upon himself to kill someone that hasn’t been accused of a crime much less arrested and charged. Vigilantism isn’t what a civil society is built upon.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">There were hundreds of angry replies to that comment, many reiterating that the father was a hero and that they would have done the same thing. But I noticed many of the comments also reflected a deep distrust of our justice system. “We no longer live in a civil society,” said one. “We live in the ruins of one. If you don't secure justice, no one will.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The idea behind these comments was that the woke liberals, ineffective District Attorneys, corrupt judges, and incompetent police would never hold the 19-year-old boyfriend accountable for what the father accused him of committing. So, obviously, the boy deserved to be hunted down and murdered. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The United States has a long history of vigilantism. Before there were organized police departments, private citizens and legally deputized posses made citizen arrests. Slave patrols and lynch mobs upheld white supremacy, capturing and lynching Black people for so much as a whisper of an offense against a white person. Today, so called </span><a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/self-defense-and-stand-your-ground.aspx" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">‘stand your ground’ laws</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> support the idea of vigilantism, giving private citizens — with no training on rules regarding the use of deadly force — legal authority to shoot first and ask questions later.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Popular culture celebrates vigilantism. Superheroes like Batman, serial killers like Dexter, and characters like Travis Bickle (Robert DeNiro in <i>Taxi Driver</i>) are considered heroes with the idea that the system won’t hold the bad guys accountable, and that extra-judiciary means are required to get justice. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Our justice system is indeed flawed. Guilty people do sometimes get away with murder, but innocent people are also convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, sentenced to years in prison, and in some cases executed before they can prove their innocence. The system isn’t perfect, but at least it has checks and balances to try to get it right. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackstone%27s_ratio" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">William Blackstone</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, an English jurist in the 18<sup>th</sup> century, said: “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.” This idea of innocence until proven guilty is at the foundation of our legal system. The Constitution, particularly the fourth and fifth amendments, give us the rights that uphold this principle.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A vigilante mob mentality undermines those rights and every principle of justice we have. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As I was preparing this column, I looked to see if there had been any follow-up to the Spokane arrest of the man who murdered his daughter’s boyfriend. I was curious whether any evidence of the boyfriend’s alleged sex trafficking had been found.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/dec/02/court-documents-police-dont-have-verifiable-facts-/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Spokesman Review reported</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> that “investigators say they have no ‘independent and verifiable facts’ that a 20-year-old man found dead in a car trunk in October had sex trafficked his girlfriend as her father, the confessed killer, has claimed. Furthermore, police allege John Eisenman, 60, told investigators he was high on methamphetamine when he killed Andrew Sorensen last year.” *<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Andrew Sorensen, a young man just out of high school, was murdered by a vigilante for a crime that hadn’t even been committed. And yet thousands of people across the country were ready to give his murderer a medal, pay for his legal fees, and acquit him of any crime. Because they are so cynical about our judicial system, they are ready to throw away 250 years of legal precedent designed to prevent uninformed citizens from wrongfully killing an innocent man. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This breakdown in the faith in our legal and judicial system is frightening. We are headed to anarchy and vigilante mobs ‘taking the law into their own hands’ — using violence and violating the constitutional rights of fellow citizens to enact their own misguided vision of ‘justice’. We’ve seen it recently in </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/17/kenosha-police-militia-vigilantes-jacob-blake-protests-kyle-rittenhouse" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kenosha, WI</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">; </span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/19/armaud-arbery-and-the-stench-of-vigilantism/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brunswick, GA</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">; </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_United_States_Capitol_attack" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the U.S. Capitol Building</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">; and </span><a href="https://tumbleweird.org/author/adam/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">right here in the Tri-Cities</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When a society no longer trusts that the law will be upheld, the laws no longer have any meaning. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I don’t want to live in a lawless society. Do you?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">* The Spokesman Review, Dec. 2, 2021, “Police: No Evidence that man killed by girlfriend’s father was in involved in sex trafficking; suspect high on meth.”<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-34913001471396697342021-10-23T14:56:00.000-07:002021-10-23T14:56:53.727-07:00Can We Save Our Democracy?<p><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Can We Save Our Democracy?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird November 2021)</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">On a hot July afternoon in 1975, a month after I graduated from high school, I stood at attention on the yellow bricks of Tecumseh Court at the United States Naval Academy, raised my right hand, and promised to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I have administered the same oath countless times over the years at enlistment and commissioning ceremonies as other men and women who, like me, made a promise to their fellow citizens to keep this great nation alive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We didn’t swear our loyalty to a person or to a party, but to an idea. The idea that the powers of government belong to the governed. As Abraham Lincoln put it, a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Constitution is predicated on the belief expressed in the Declaration of Independence that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We should all have the same rights and the same opportunities, and all be equal under the law. And as a democratic republic, we all have a voice in our government through the ballot. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Throughout the history of this country, the will of the people has been paramount. And the leadership of our country has had a long tradition of a peaceful transition of power in recognition of that democratic principle. Following a contentious and heated election in 1800, John Adams quietly left Washington, D.C. as his political rival Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated. Recognizing the importance of country over party, of loyalty to the Constitution and respect for elections over personal ambition, every loser of the presidential election since then has conceded and peacefully turned over the presidency to his successor. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Until now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Donald J. Trump lost the election in 2020. He lost the popular vote by over 7 million votes. He lost the electoral college vote, the process the Constitution specifies for electing a president, 306 to 232 (source: </span><a href="https://www.fec.gov/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">fec.gov</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">). Not a single court challenge has changed this result. And yet, a year later, Trump still refuses to concede. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Republicans at all levels of government avoid admitting that Trump lost. Through distraction and obfuscation, they allow the Big Lie to continue, undermining confidence in our elections and then using that lack of confidence as a basis for disenfranchising voters. And it is working. Nineteen Republican-led states have passed laws restricting the right to vote this year. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After the Civil War, following the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment which ensured that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” Southern Democrats worked to prevent Black Americans from voting through a variety of voter suppression laws and threats of violence. It would take almost a century — and the constant efforts of the civil rights movement in the 1960s — before the </span><a href="https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/voting-rights-act" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Voting Rights Act</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> would restore the right to vote. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But guaranteeing that right didn’t last. In the 1980s, Republicans began a so-called fight for ‘voter integrity’ using a pretext of unsubstantiated voter fraud to restrict voting rights. By 2013, with many of the provisions of the VRA already weakened through hyper-partisan gerrymandering and other state voter suppression efforts, the <i>Shelby v. Holder</i> Supreme Court decision gutted much of what remained of the Voting Rights Act. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Today, the 33 new laws to restrict voting rights will make it even more difficult for every citizen to equally exercise their right to vote. These laws not only limit who can vote, they make it more difficult for citizens to cast their ballots. Moreover, many of these laws shift the authority to run elections from local election officials to state-level political entities that could overturn election results they don’t like. The cumulative effect of these laws is to ensure that the party in power remains in power.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">That puts the United States at risk of becoming a single-party government. And a single-party government that no longer has to answer to the people will no longer be a democracy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In his 1796 Farewell Address as President of the United States, George Washington warned that allegiance to political parties at the expense of the nation as a cohesive unit were a significant threat and that “the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is not hyperbole to say that we are at risk of losing our government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The state of politics today is so divisive that extremists are arming themselves for civil war against their neighbors. Ideologies that were once considered fringe anti-government sentiment are now mainstream talking points on right wing media. We have a significant faction of the Republican Party that will do anything to remain in power, even if that means abandoning the principles upon which this country was founded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We need a two-party system to provide the checks and balances necessary to reflect the will of all the people. We need an election system in which every citizen can exercise their right to vote easily, safely, and with confidence that their vote will be counted and that the election results will be accurate, regardless of their party affiliation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The Fifteenth Amendment gave Congress the authority to ensure the right of every citizen to vote. The so-called voter integrity laws in Republican-led states are a threat to that right. Congress has an obligation to protect that right.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_People_Act" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For the People Act</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, the </span><a href="https://www.hrc.org/resources/voting-rights-advancement-act" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">, and the </span><a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/freedom-vote-act" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Freedom to Vote Act</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> currently before Congress would limit state laws that disenfranchise American citizens. A failure to pass voting rights legislation will allow a minority party in power to hold onto that power, regardless of the will of the people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And when the will of the people is no longer reflected in the results of our elections, the power of the people guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States will no longer exist. <span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-74904097005693858362021-09-24T11:03:00.000-07:002021-09-24T11:03:06.749-07:00 Mutually Assured Destruction<p> <span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mutually Assured Destruction</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird October 2021)</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We moved to Okinawa, Japan, when I was eleven years old. It was my second time living in Japan, my father having been previously stationed near Yokohama when I was just starting grade school. I have many fond memories of my time in Japan. I remember friendships with Japanese families, exploring the jungles and the beaches as a child, and even learning enough Japanese to be conversant and get around the island on my own. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It was during the height of the Viet Nam war. We were also in the middle of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. War was a part of our everyday lives. I remember playground jokes about A-bombs and H-bombs, duck and cover drills, and military jets and bombers flying daily on their way to Viet Nam. As a child, war was an abstract concept of heroes and enemies. We were the good guys fighting against those who wanted to destroy our country, taking the fight to the enemy to protect us from the evil of communism. I was lucky to be an American. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Shortly after my twelfth birthday, a fully loaded B-52 bomber scheduled for a bombing mission over Viet Nam crashed at the end of the runway on Kadena Air Force Base as it aborted takeoff. The explosion of its 30,000 lb. bomb load rocked the island, left a huge crater, and damaged homes and structures for miles. I remember seeing that crater every time we drove past the runway. It was very close to the fence line between the base and the local community and clearly visible from the road on the civilian side. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We didn’t know it then, but an ammunition depot with chemical, conventional, and nuclear weapons was less than a mile away. Imagine the devastation and loss of innocent lives that would have been caused if the B-52 had become airborne and crashed into that depot. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">After my father’s tour of duty in Okinawa, we moved to Morocco for a couple years and then to Homestead, Florida where I finished high school. As the son of an enlisted military man, I was eligible for a presidential nomination and appointment to a service academy — a way to pay for my college education. I attended the US Naval Academy, graduated, and received my commission as a naval officer. Having done well academically, I was selected for the nuclear power program, and after a year and a half of additional training, I joined the crew of my first submarine. As a fast attack, our mission was to protect battle groups from enemy submarines and to conduct other missions in support of national security. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For my next submarine assignment, I was the chief engineer of one of the early fleet ballistic missile submarines. Our mission throughout the Cold War and continuing today was euphemistically called strategic deterrence. More realistically, though, it is the concept of deterrence through mutually assured destruction. Our job was to prevent nuclear war by hiding in the vast ocean, ready to launch our nuclear weapons within minutes after receiving an authenticated order from the president. We trained and practiced following the secret, encoded protocol to verify that the order to launch was valid. We practiced entering the targets into the missile’s computers. We practiced maneuvering the submarine to the correct depth and position for launch. And we ran drills on how to respond if something went wrong. As the third in command, I had a significant role in ensuring we were always ready to carry out our mission.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And I knew that if the order ever came, it would mean that our mission had failed. That somewhere, our nuclear arms deterrence had turned in to nuclear war. That Armageddon had arrived. That the science fiction fantasy of a post-apocalyptic world had become a reality. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And I know that I would have carried out the order and done what I was trained to do: unleash a nuclear nightmare, ending the lives of millions of innocent people. If such an order came, it would certainly mean that millions of Americans had been targeted and our own families likely killed. I would have played my role in mutually assured destruction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But I also believed that that day would never come. I believed that the checks and balances in government would prevent the unthinkable. That strategic deterrence would be successful because the alternative was so horrible. That in both the United States and the Soviet Union, our governments would never actually start a nuclear war. So far, strategic deterrence had worked. I also knew there was no guarantee that it always would.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When I left active duty to start a civilian career, my experience in nuclear power gave me the background needed for the environmental cleanup work here at the Hanford Site in Southeast Washington. Before moving here, I rarely thought about the Manhattan Project or where the material for the nuclear weapons I deployed had come from. After that tour on a ballistic missile submarine, I didn’t think much about the possibility of nuclear war. It was abstract and unlikely.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But art has a way of reframing how we think about things.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Most of my Hanford work has been just a few miles from the B Reactor, the first large scale nuclear reactor. Built in 1944, B Reactor produced the plutonium that was used for the bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945. As a significant part of American history, B Reactor is now a part of the National Park Service, Manhattan Project National Historical Park.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As a part of the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, in 2016 I participated in the first concert held inside the B Reactor facility. As we prepared for this significant event, two of my good friends, Artistic Director Justin Raffa and composer Reginald Unterseher, carefully selected the music to reflect on the technology and legacy of this historic place. Human beings using the alchemy of science and engineering to produce the plutonium for an atomic weapon that would forever change the course of human history. We wanted to tell the story and stimulate reflection, not pass judgment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The concert included songs about time, technology, life near Hanford, and the legacy of radioactive contamination. It also included a song by Seattle composer Karen P. Thomas with lyrics from a poem called “Over the City” by Molly McGee. While living in Japan, McGee had visited both Nagasaki and Hiroshima. In poetic metaphor, she recalled the horror of the bombings, our tendency to forget the horrors and atrocities of war, and the importance of remembering. “Over the City” concludes with a refrain in Japanese:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.5in;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">wasurenai koto ga</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> the act of not forgetting <br /></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ikiba no nai shi no</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> the dead without homes</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">yuki tokoro to naru</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> can become shelter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although we had been rehearsing the music for many weeks, I was not prepared for one of the most profound experiences of my life.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Seventy-one years after the bombings that killed over 200,000 Japanese civilians, standing in front of the face of the B Reactor, singing in Japanese about the importance of not forgetting, about the homeless dead, I wept. Five years later, I still weep when I think about that experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Military strategists and historians debate whether using atomic weapons to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved lives. Clearly, the war ended sooner than it otherwise would have. But we must not forget the cost. Whether we blame the Japanese government for starting the war or the U.S. decision to use nuclear weapons, those innocent Japanese civilians did not deserve to die. We must never forget that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">War is ugly, cruel, and violent. Thinking of war as noble or heroic in the abstract belies the realities of lives lost and families destroyed. War should always be the last option — never the first.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It is much too easy for the United States to go to war. The wars in Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan cost trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives. Since World War II, we have avoided the use of nuclear weapons, but there is no guarantee they won’t be used in the next war. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Current estimates say there are 15,000 nuclear warheads in the arsenals of the nine countries known to hold nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia hold the vast majority. We each have enough weaponry to destroy the world many times over.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And yet we continue to fund the war machine. How much more effective would it be if we used those resources to address the conditions that lead to war? What if instead of so readily taking the fight to our enemies, we helped them become our allies, our friends? What if we worked together with our allies to promote human rights, eliminate human suffering, and promote peace?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I know there is no simple solution. I recognize that we need a military to ensure the common defense of our nation. I understand that there are those who would attack and destroy the United States if they could. But I think we go to war too quickly and end war too slowly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I want to live in a world of peace. I want us to eliminate the threat of nuclear war. And I want us to work together to find alternatives to violence so we never have to execute our capacity for mutually assured destruction.<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-90896408662631260742021-08-20T15:14:00.000-07:002021-08-20T15:14:15.434-07:00It's All About Love<p><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s All About Love</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird September 2021)</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In late September 2016, I was making a purchase at Adventures Underground in Richland, my favorite bookstore, when I noticed what appeared to be a pamphlet on the counter. The cover had the title “Tumbleweird” in an interesting handwritten font over a cartoon mocking our local architecture. It was Volume 1, Issue 1. The entire zine was just 3 pieces of copy paper folded in half and stapled in the middle. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I read a few of the articles and it piqued my interest right away. The tone was a bit irreverent, but good natured and fun. It was different, and weird. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tumbleweird was created by Logan and Henry, two friends who wanted to provide an alternate voice for the Tri-Cities. In Logan’s inaugural editorial he wrote, “There is power in finding community within a town that often doesn’t feel very inclusive.” A note on the back cover asked for contributors of art, culture, and writing on a variety of topics. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I had written speeches and letters to the editor of my local paper before, but I had never written essays on topics that were important to me. I thought I would give it a try. Amanda, the owner of Adventures Underground, put me in touch with Logan. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The rest, as they say, is history. I wrote my first column the next month and have been a part of the zine ever since. <i>Tumbleweird</i> has grown in both size and distribution, now a 32 page (or more) 10-inch by 14-inch full color newsprint with regular subscribers across the country and thousands of readers each month. Logan and Henry’s vision of a zine that makes a difference in the community has become a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With the 2016 election imminent, my first column was about the importance of voting. Democracy is something that can’t be taken for granted, and I wanted to encourage everyone to participate. The presidential election was one thing, I wrote, but local elections and initiatives had a much bigger impact on our daily lives. Like many, I assumed Hillary Clinton would win and didn’t want local voters to skip the election because they thought it didn’t matter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And then Donald Trump won. In disbelief, I realized that the divisiveness we had experienced during the campaign was bigger than I had imagined and that I had taken too much for granted. So, the next month I wrote about how we need to come together to find common ground and get past the divisiveness. But it has only gotten worse. As we have become even more divided in the last five years, I’ve written about disinformation, objective truth, free speech, and the importance of using our vote to make a difference. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I’ve also written about racism, LGBT rights, poverty, gun violence, capital punishment, and climate change. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Over the last five years, I have written 51 essays for <i>Tumbleweird</i>. As I was thinking about what to write this month, I wondered to myself whether there was a common thread — something that guided my opinions and perspective on the issues of the day. As I reread my columns, one common underlying philosophy comes through. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The idea of unconditional love has always resonated with me. As a teenager I remember reading and listening to the teachings of Jesus. Most religions have a similar core belief — what many call the golden rule. I wrote about this in my February 2019 column “I Believe in Love.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">My mother had a huge influence on my feelings about love. We lost her to cancer at a young age, but she is always with me. On her birthday this year I wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Happy Birthday, Mom. Today you would be 86, but I still think of you as a mother of teenagers and this young man trying to figure out his place in the world. I imagine the conversations we would have, sitting on this bench where I snap my daily running photo. We talk about the joys of family, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. You are so proud of all of us. And then we talk about life and how to make the world a better place, one day and one relationship at a time. And always, always, it comes down to love. That’s what I learned from you. To view everything through a lens of unconditional love. Love of nature, love of others, love of family, and love of self. If everyone viewed the world as you did, we could eliminate hunger, poverty, divisiveness, hatred, and war. And we could work together to save our fragile earth. Love. The greatest gift we humans have.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And so, whether I am writing about systemic racism, the politics of division, citizenship, equality, poverty, health care, or the devastating effects of climate change, how I feel about what should be done is viewed through the lens of love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We have the means to feed the world. We can eliminate poverty. We can provide basic housing and health care for all. We can resolve our differences without violence, without war. We can accept each other as we are — as unique human beings worthy of the same dignity, equality, and love we give to ourselves and our families. Love gives us the power to empathize with those who are different from us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But I’m not naïve enough to think that living in a world of peace without suffering is easily achieved. I recognize there is evil in the world. There are those who use their power for themselves, to consolidate that power no matter how it may impact others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Although love is something we humans can use for good, we also have a capacity for hate, fear, greed, and selfishness. For the whole of human history, conflict and violence has been a part of our lives. Protecting our own and demonizing others as our enemies is part of our human nature. Fighting over scarce resources ensured the survival of our group. We evolved to take care of our own at the expense of others. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But today we have the technology and the means to move beyond the worst parts of our human nature. The challenge is in overcoming the fear of others — the fear that we will not have enough, the fear that those who are different will do us harm. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I believe, collectively, we can work towards a better world. That’s why I believe in our democratic republic. I believe the framework of our Constitution and our government is a path to a better future. A government of the people… of <b>all </b>the people. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Government has a role in leveling the playing field — in ensuring equal treatment under the law, and in providing for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, and the sick. We can take care of each other with social safety nets while growing the economy. We can regulate business to protect consumers while promoting a free market. We can provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare. We can be leaders and an example for the rest of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But none of that is a given. If we allow it, we can lose our government of the people to those who believe every voice isn’t equal, who believe their truth is the only truth and that those who believe differently should not have the right to participate. The attempts to overturn our democracy this year prove just how fragile our government is. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">To save our democracy for all the people is also an act of love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I believe in the power of love to make the world a better place. And no matter what issue I’m writing about, it really is all about love.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-82090745300353062592021-07-30T16:15:00.000-07:002021-07-30T16:15:04.930-07:00Should Every Vote Count?<p><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Should Every Vote Count?</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(29, 33, 41);">originally published in Tumbleweird August 2021</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">At Gettysburg, when the nation was at war and faced the greatest threat to its existence, Abraham Lincoln called on us to honor those who had died in that great civil war so “that </span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If we are truly a government of the people, and every citizen’s participation is considered equally important, then every citizen should have equal access to the ballot, every vote should be counted, and certification of the results should be without partisan influence.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And yet, a coordinated effort in states across the country is working to undermine that very principle. And the most aggressive changes to voting rights are occurring in Republican-controlled states that saw Democratic wins in the 2020 election. The new laws in Georgia, for example, allow massive purges of voter registrations, make it much more difficult to cast a ballot, and shift power away from local election officials to allow the state legislature to make decisions on election results. Instead of making it easier to vote, these new laws are designed to suppress the votes of those most likely to vote against Republicans before, during, and after an election.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; color: #202122; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">This strategy is not new. After the Civil War, the Constitution was amended to abolish slavery (13<sup>th</sup> Amendment), guarantee citizenship and equal protection under the law (14<sup>th</sup> Amendment), and prohibit discrimination in voting rights based on “race, color, or previous conditions of servitude” (15<sup>th</sup> Amendment). This was the period of Reconstruction. By the mid-1870s, thousands of Black Americans had been elected to local, state, and federal office. The nation had its first Black senators and congress members. But following the disputed 1876 presidential election, the Compromise of 1877 allowed Southern states to enact Jim Crow laws to severely limit the ability of Black Americans to vote until the Voting Rights Act was passed almost 100 years later.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Today, voting rights are again under attack. In 2013, the Supreme Court decision <i>Shelby County v. Holder</i> gutted the Voting Rights Act, eliminating the preclearance requirement and making it easier for states to change voting laws that have a disparate impact on voters. Texas and North Carolina immediately passed restrictive voting laws. In the federal court ruling that overturned a portion of the North Carlina law, the judge said it had been designed to suppress the African American vote “with almost surgical precision.” This year, the <i>Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee </i>decision makes it even more difficult to challenge voter suppression laws. The courts have been making it easier to disenfranchise voters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To justify voter suppression laws, Republicans claim they are necessary to ensure voter integrity. They cite unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, even though investigation after investigation has failed to turn up any credible evidence of election fraud. The Associated Press reported on July 17 that Arizona election officials have identified fewer than 200 cases of potential fraud out of more than three million ballots cast, only four of which have led to charges. In other words, the claims of widespread fraud in Arizona are completely without merit. The same is true everywhere fraud has been alleged.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">And yet The Big Lie that Trump won the 2020 election continues to be used as a basis to restrict voting rights. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Some argue that the federal government shouldn’t interfere in how states run their elections. That was the basis for the <i>Shelby County v. Holder</i> decision. But Jim Crow showed us that state’s rights must be balanced with individual rights as citizens of the United States. And when any state infringes on our individual rights, the federal government must step in to protect those rights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The <i>For the People</i> <i>Act</i> and the <i>John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act</i> together would limit the power of the states to suppress the right to vote. But unless the Senate filibuster rule is altered, there is little chance either will pass. And Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema have both said they have no intent to vote to change the filibuster.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">So if Congress isn’t going to save us, what can we do to protect the right to vote? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">In Washington State, our election system process is fair, secure, and easily accessible. If you are a Washington voter, make sure our system is protected and maintained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">If you are a voter in one of the dozens of states that are making it more difficult to vote, support efforts to organize and get out the vote. Elect representatives who will protect our democracy. The Texas Democratic legislators who left the state rather than allow voter suppression laws to pass showed how it makes a difference who we elect. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Voter turnout is typically low in non-presidential election years, and even lower for local elections. Each of us has the ability to influence others to vote. A majority of voters want to protect the right to vote, but they have to exercise that right in order to preserve it. If our votes weren’t important, there wouldn’t be such a concerted effort suppress them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">It took almost 100 years to overturn Jim Crow and restore the rights guaranteed by the 14<sup>th</sup> amendment. It has taken opponents of those rights decades to undermine the protections in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And it may take years to restore equal voting rights to all citizens regardless of their race, color, or party affiliation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">I believe in democracy. I believe our country is worth fighting for. I believe that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people is worth saving. A government of all the people — not just those who look and vote like me. And I will do what I can to ensure this nation does not perish from the earth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-67574034055196905812021-06-18T17:38:00.000-07:002021-06-18T17:38:01.424-07:00History and Truth<h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">History and Truth</span></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">by Ted Miller</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">(originally published in Tumbleweird July 2021)</span></div><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1d2129; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">History was not my best subject. I thought it was boring. The homework always involved a lot of reading, and I could never stay focused. I preferred math and science, which for me were easy to get through as quickly as I could comprehend the concepts. History just seemed so irrelevant. What did something that happened so long ago have to do with what was happening today? How could history have any impact on my life? I wanted to think about the future of science, space, technology.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I grew up in a military family and attended many different schools, many of them overseas. I don’t remember a lot of the details in my textbooks, but I learned all the grade school stories about Columbus, Plymouth Rock, the struggling colonies, taxation without representation, the Declaration of Independence, and the writing of the Constitution. Great men doing great things. I remember memorizing the Gettysburg Address in the fifth grade, but the details I was taught about the Civil War were less about slavery and more about state’s rights. I don’t remember learning much at all about how indigenous people were treated, or how official government policy resulted in the deaths of millions as we ‘conquered’ the land upon which they had lived for millennia. Slavery and westward expansion were something I hardly paid attention to.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If any of the darker side of U.S. history was mentioned when I was in school, I would have thought it tragic, but irrelevant to America today. In my young mind, all the problems of the past had been resolved. I lived in the land of the free, where everyone had equal rights and equal opportunity, and anyone could achieve the American Dream through hard work and just a little bit of luck. I was lucky to be an American. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And to be honest, the biggest reason I didn’t learn more about our complicated history is because I didn’t have to. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I certainly recognized disparity in the United States. I witnessed abject poverty firsthand in many of the places I lived. I knew that white supremacy was real, and that racism existed, but in my insulated world of a military family, I didn’t have to think about it. I never considered how the systems of society and government that were explicitly racist in the past continue to have an impact today because they didn’t impact me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">But those systems do affect millions of Americans. Consider the continued racial disparity in almost every measure: wealth, income, poverty, education, health outcomes, incarceration rates. Whites, on average, are better off in every category. And the continued racial inequality is both stark and persistent. (For specific examples, visit <u>inequality.org</u>.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why is there so much inequality? To paraphrase Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, there is either something inferior about those racial groups that fare worse in our system, or the system in which we live created these disparities and has allowed them to continue for generations. The truth is, there is nothing inferior about any race. The system is to blame, not racial differences.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">History shows that systems of oppression in America existed long before John Hancock’s famous signature declared how he and his fellow Americans were being oppressed by King George. The founders were both oppressed and upholders of their own systems of oppression.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our history is complicated. The ideals set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are worth striving for. But the men who wrote the founding documents of our nation were not perfect. They were wealthy, land-owning white Europeans who believed they alone should govern the country they were establishing. They did not believe that women, the poor, Black people, or Indigenous people were their equals. Many of them owned slaves. Did they really believe that all are created equal?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The United States has a history of strength, opportunity, and achievement. But it also has a history of violence, oppression, and racism. Our nation has managed to survive, and in spite of setbacks and uneven progress, it has worked towards a more perfect union. Through amendments to our Constitution and updates to our laws, we have become more democratic, more equitable, and closer to achieving those ideals the founders wrote about but didn’t live.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">When I was younger, I believed that the strength of our democracy was unshakeable. That, no matter how messy and imperfect, the system would always work to uphold the Constitution. But history tells us that no government is perfect or permanent. We are not immune from those who wish to use our government for their own gain.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Democracies can slide into autocracy and fascism before the people realize what is happening. It happened in Germany and Italy less than one hundred years ago. It has happened countless times in history. The reasons the people don’t see it coming are complacency, ignorance of history, and not understanding how their own government works. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">The people of the United States are tired of the divisiveness. They are tired of Republicans and Democrats claiming the others are destroying the country. They are tired of the constant rhetoric and tired of hearing about politics, about racism, and about how our country is threatened from within. Like my younger self, they don’t recognize how fragile our democracy actually is. We really can fail.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Our history, in all its conflicting narratives — the good and the bad — should be taught to our children and young adults. The principles of how our government works, its strengths and its weaknesses, are essential to a well-informed electorate. If we are truly a government of the people, the people must understand and participate in their government. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Hiding the ugly side of our history so that we can feel better about our country is a disservice to our children. Not facing the truth is unpatriotic. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">History is complicated. Multiple narratives and perspectives are important to gain a better understanding. We should hear them all. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">It is only through understanding the history of our past that we can create a better future for all.<o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-61162793326327870552021-05-28T16:10:00.001-07:002021-05-29T09:49:49.504-07:00Our Transgender Friends and Family Deserve More<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;">Our Transgender Friends and Family Deserve More</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;">by Ted Miller<span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird June 2021)</span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #1d2129; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">If you had asked me twenty years ago how many transgender friends I had, I would have said I didn’t know anyone personally who identified as transgender. Actually, I’m not sure I would have even known how to answer the question. Twenty years ago, I had only a general understanding that some people express their gender differently than the sex assigned to them at birth. It was something I just didn’t think about.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Today, I have so many friends, family members, and loved ones who are transgender or non-binary that it would be impossible for me to tell you how many. I think that’s partly because my social circles have expanded over the years, but I think I just didn’t know how many transgender people there are. Until recently, gender identity was not something we read about in the news or saw portrayed in popular culture. And crimes against transgender people were never front-page news. Transgender people were not even acknowledged as an integral part of our society.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">As trans visibility has increased, attempts to marginalize and criminalize our transgender siblings have intensified. Violence against the LGBTQ community continues at an alarming rate, with violence against transgender Women of Color being particularly egregious. On November 20, the Transgender Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign reported that 2020 was the worst year on record for transgender violence and murder. This year is on track to be even worse.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Why? Why the hate? Why the violence? How does someone’s gender identity threaten anyone else? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Being transgender is as much a part of someone’s identity as any other characteristic. The American Psychiatric Association stopped referring to Gender Identity Disorder as a mental illness in 2013. Science tells us that gender identity is not a choice any more than sexual orientation or left handedness is a choice. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Several years ago, a young friend I had known since he was a child reached out to a mutual friend in an LGBTQ support group for help. Although my friend had known since his earliest memory that he was a boy, he was born in a female body. He spent his entire childhood suppressing his gender identity because his family, his church, his social circle — everyone in his life — told him that what he was feeling was wrong, was sinful, and was something to be ashamed of. When as a young adult it became clear that living at home created more stress than he was able to handle, my wife and I invited him to move in with us.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Through many deep conversations, I learned first-hand that his gender identity was not a choice. Thinking back on how we just assumed he was a girl when he was a child, we now understand many of the signs of the trauma he was dealing with. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Coming to terms with his gender identity and coming out to his family and friends wasn’t easy. Struggling for self-acceptance was difficult, and things got worse before they got better. He has learned to love himself, and is now on his own and doing well. I’m thankful that he is in a much better place today, but I know that every day of living as his authentic self is a challenge. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">My friend’s story is just one of thousands, and not every story has a happy ending. Many are ostracized or disowned by their families and have nowhere to turn. Youth suicide is highest among transgender youth. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Awareness and support for those who are transgender is improving, but gains in acceptance of the LGBTQ community are being countered with anti-LGBTQ attacks in local and state governments. HRC reports more than 120 anti-transgender bills in state legislatures across the country. These bills have no basis other than irrational fear and a lack of understanding. The reality is that transgender people aren’t a threat to society; society is a threat to the lives and well-being of transgender people.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">There are no credible reports of a man pretending to be transgender in order to assault women in a public restroom. We already have laws against sexual assault and any predator following women into a bathroom can and should be prosecuted. A law preventing people from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity will do nothing to prevent those assaults. To the contrary, such anti-transgender bathroom legislation only emboldens hate and encourages assaults against women who look ‘too masculine’ in the bigoted eyes of the ‘bathroom police’.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Similarly, there are no examples of transgender girls having an advantage in school sports. After signing West Virginia’s anti-trans youth sports ban in April, Governor Jim Justice could not name a single example of a transgender child having a competitive advantage in sports. When Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC kept pushing him, Governor Justice said, “For crying out loud, Stephanie, I sign hundreds of bills. This is not a priority to me.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Not a priority? How callous and arrogant to sign legislation that will cause harm to vulnerable children without any valid basis, thinking such consideration isn’t worthy enough of his time to make it a priority.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Every anti-transgender discriminatory law is actually a non-solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Their only purpose is to score political points with the part of our electorate that believes some members of our society deserve contempt. Like every law that treats one class of citizen as somehow less than another, they are harmful and hurtful. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Those of us who believe every human being is of equal dignity and worth should continue to speak out against these laws and discriminatory practices. Every human is unique, with their own sense of self, their own racial, sexual, and gender identity. Our government should not be dictating who is worthy of protection, and who should be marginalized just for living their lives as their authentic selves.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I love my transgender friends and family members. I want them to feel just as safe, just as loved, and just as accepted as I have always felt. Is that too much to ask?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><em><span style="color: #2c2d30;">If you or someone you know is struggling with</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/depression" style="color: #954f72;" title="Psychology Today looks at depression"><span style="color: #2c2d30;">depression</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><em><span style="color: #2c2d30;">or</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/suicide" style="color: #954f72;" title="Psychology Today looks at suicidal"><span style="color: #2c2d30;">suicidal</span></a><em><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> thoughts, call The</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><a href="http://www.thetrevorproject.org/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #477be4;">Trevor Project</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><em><span style="color: #2c2d30;">for LGBTQ youth and young adults at 866-488-7386, or</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><a href="http://www.translifeline.org/" style="color: #954f72;"><span style="color: #477be4;">Trans Lifeline</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="color: #2c2d30;"> </span></i></span><em><span style="color: #2c2d30;">at (877) 565-8860.</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-680842308452367866.post-80272526818883226492021-05-02T15:23:00.000-07:002021-05-02T15:23:00.677-07:00 Houselessness is not a Crime<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Houselessness is not a Crime</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">by Ted Miller<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(originally published in Tumbleweird May 2021)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">A few weeks ago, a local police department posted on social media that they were performing “extra patrols” to deter criminal activity<a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a>. The post said that they “frequently find people loitering or sleeping at the closed businesses” and that they usually ask the individuals to “move along.” In some cases they will cite them for trespassing. In other words, they treat them like criminals.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I found many of the comments from community members on that post to be cruel and heartbreaking. The assumptions and stereotypes of the homeless are yet another example of how we view “others” as somehow not worthy of human dignity. And we want them out of our view and out of our community.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Nicole Cardoza in Anti-Racism Daily recently wrote: “Like many issues in our society, houselessness is frequently positioned due to an individual’s actions. If you believe stereotypes depicted in media, a person’s addiction, violent tendencies, lack of academic commitment, money mismanagement, etc., led them to lose their homes. But really, the story of houselessness highlights the failings of a system, not its people.”<a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Blaming the unhoused rather than the system doesn’t provide a solution. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Although we do have a few shelters locally, lack of transportation, limited space, and restrictive requirements to be admitted make local shelters unavailable for some of our unhoused. And if a shelter isn’t an option for them, where are they to go? Telling them to move along or writing them a ticket for trespassing doesn’t address the underlying problem of poverty and houselessness.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in January 2020 nearly 23,000 Washingtonians were homeless. More than a third of those are families with children or unaccompanied youth. In Benton and Franklin Counties, there were 190 homeless individuals, with 32 of those considered chronically homeless. And these numbers were from before the pandemic. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Using law enforcement as a way to manage the houseless is expensive. A 2014 study in Central Florida found that each chronically homeless person cost the community $31,000 per year, primarily due to the cost of arresting and transporting them for nonviolent offenses, jails, emergency room visits, and hospitalization. The cost to provide permanent housing and case managers to address their chronic problems was estimated at only $10,000 per year<a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Providing a solution rather than criminalizing homelessness makes economic sense. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Recognizing the need, there are some local and state initiatives underway to help the unhoused. The Kennewick Housing Authority is building a community of tiny homes that will provide housing for families, veterans, and people with disabilities. Resources including a case manager and access to employment services will help the homeless become independent<a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">[4]</span></span></span></a>. And at least five bills have been introduced in the Washington State legislature for various initiatives to combat houselessness. That’s encouraging.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Expanding the resources to house those in need and providing access to services to allow them to find permanent housing and independence is the right thing to do, both economically and because every human being deserves adequate food and shelter. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Blaming the homeless for an inadequate system isn’t a solution.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><i>If you are struggling with houselessness in Benton or Franklin County, there are resources available to you at the Benton Franklin Health District Building, 7102 W Okanogan Place in Kennewick, 509 737 3946.<o:p></o:p></i></p><div><br clear="all" /><hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="ftn1"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[1]</span></span></span></a> https://www.facebook.com/Kennewickpolice/posts/3940895632644089<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn2"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[2]</span></span></span></a> Anti-Racism Daily, April 1, 2021, “Protect the Unhoused Community.”<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn3"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[3]</span></span></span></a> Orlando Sentinel, May 21, 2014, “Cost of homelessness in Central Florida? $31K per person.”<o:p></o:p></p></div><div id="ftn4"><p class="MsoFootnoteText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in;"><a href="applewebdata://DB34C103-A003-49BB-8EF7-3C4566836F01#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">[4]</span></span></span></a> Tri-City Herald, January 4, 2021, “3.8M tiny house project will give Tri-Cities homeless a place of their own”<o:p></o:p></p></div></div>Tedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15444695257672595126noreply@blogger.com0