Indeed, It Is.

But whatever we can do is still needed.

Peace & Justice History for 1/30

Longest. January. Ever. But it’s also Fred Korematsu Day-Woot!

January 30, 1948
Mohandas K. Gandhi was killed in Delhi by an assassin, a fellow Hindu, who fired three shots from a pistol at a range of three feet.
An American reporter who saw it happen
January 30, 1956
As Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the pulpit, leading a mass meeting during the Montgomery, Alab
ama, bus boycott, his home was bombed. King’s wife and 10-week-old baby escaped unharmed. Later in the evening, as thousands of angry African Americans assembled on King’s lawn, he appeared on his front porch, and told them:
“If you have weapons, take them home . . . We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence . . . We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. and wife Coretta Scott, 1960
January 30, 1968
The Tet (lunar new year) Offensive began as North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces launched surprise attacks against major cities, provincial and district capitals in South Vietnam.
Though an attack had been anticipated, half of the Southโ€™s ARVN troops (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) were on leave because of the holiday. There were attacks in Saigon (the Southโ€™s capital) on the Independence Palace (the residence of the president), the radio station, the ARVN’s joint General Staff Compound, Tan Son Nhut airfield, and the United States embassy, causing considerable damage and throwing the city into turmoil.
January 30, 1972
In Londonderry (aka Derry), Northern Ireland, unarmed civil rights demonstrators were shot dead by British Army paratroopers in an event that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” The protesters, all Catholics, had been marching in protest of the British policy of internment without trial of suspected Irish nationalists.
British authorities had ordered the march banned, and sent troops to confront the demonstrators when it went ahead. The soldiers fired indiscriminately into the crowd of protesters, ultimately killing 14 and wounding 17. By the end of the year 323 civilians and 144 military and paramilitary personnel would be dead.


Mural: Bloody Sunday martyrs
Eyewitness accountsย 
January 30, 2010

Thousands of protesters from across Japan marched in central Tokyo to protest the U.S. military presence on Okinawa.
Some 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, with more than half on the southern island of Okinawa. Residents have complained for years about noise, pollution and crime around the bases.

News about the protestย (This link is to the 2016 protest; P&J’s link for the 2010 protest links to Not Found.)
January 30, since 2011 Fred Korematsu Day

Fred Korematsu
Fred Korematsu, was born in Oakland, California, to a Japanese-American family. When World War II broke out Japanese-American citizens were subject to curfews and, following an executive order from Pres. Roosevelt,
were sent to internment camps. Fred Korematsu refused to go and was convicted and sent to a camp.

He challenged the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066 all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944 the Supreme court ruled against him. Finally in 1983, a Federal court in San Francisco overturned the original conviction. In 1988 Congress passed legislation apologizing for the internments and awarded each survivor $20,000.
The “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” is observed every January 30th and in an increasing number of states.

“Protest, but not with violence. Don’t be afraid to speak up. One person can make a difference, even if it takes 40 years…” – Fred Korematsuย 
More about Fred Korematsuย 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january30

Some News Stories About FL’s Legislators Fighting the Gov. We’ll See If The Law Wins…

Florida lawmakers rebuke DeSantis, convene own immigration special session

Gray Rohrer Ana Goรฑi-Lessan USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida


Florida Republicans defy DeSantis to push their own immigration bill

Byย ย STEPHANY MATATย andย KATE PAYNE Updated 5:28 PM CST, January 27, 2025


A ‘blatant lie’: Fight escalates between DeSantis, Florida Legislature over immigration

Republican legislative leaders on Monday accused DeSantis of lying about their bill to beef up enforcement of immigration laws.

Gray Rohrer USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida

Republican legislative leaders on Monday accused Gov. Ron DeSantis of โ€œnot readingโ€ and lying about their bill to beef up enforcement of immigration laws.

After Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez rejected his immigration proposals earlier in the day and put forward one of their own, DeSantisย slammed their planย as โ€œweakโ€ and claimed they were โ€œguttingโ€ his proposal to require all law enforcement officials in the state to work with federal immigration enforcement officials. (snip-this was the newest update at 8 PM when I set this up. There could be more by now!)

More Resources.

I think we need a category for “Resources.” Anyway, our friend and fellow blogger Annie Asks You gave a couple of resources for us to pass along and use to help our neighbors, earlier in a comment on another blog. I put together a Substack about it, so here it is. It’s short.

Some Useful Resources by Alison Redford

We all can do all we can, and these can help. Read on Substack

These sites have information people need so they are prepared in case authorities believe they have reason to question or detain you. The sites are run by experts, with clear advice for preparation and dealing with authorities. -A.

Know Your Rights

ICE and CBP might not respect our rights, but they cannot take away our POWER. Use these resources to learn about your rights and express them in case you have an encounter with an immigration official. (snip)

The National Immigration Law Center

Know Your Rights

Know Your Rights: What to Do if You Are Arrested or Detained by Immigration

Jan 15, 2025 This Know Your Rights resource provides general information on what to do if you are stopped, arrested, or detained by immigration or other law enforcement. Originally published in December 2015. (snip)

===================================

Thanks for doing whatever you can do!

I Bet Lots of Public Schools Are Supporting Their Classmates and Students

Peace & Justice History for 1/26

January 26, 1784
Benjamin Franklin, noting the bald eagle was “a bird of bad moral character” who lived “by sharping and robbing,” expressed regret it had been selected to be the U.S. national symbol.


Benjamin Franklin
Franklin proposed the wild turkey, “a much more respectable Bird and a true original Native of America.” He said the eastern wild turkey, known for its intelligence, cunning and boldness, was a far better symbol of the United States.
In a 1775 letter published in a magazine, Franklin made a good case for the rattlesnake as an appropriate symbol of “the temper and conduct of America.

How the bald eagle became our national bird (Interestingly, the link on the P&J History page leads to “Forbidden.” I thought I oughta make a note of it. The link here is on History.com, not forbidden when I posted.)
Frankinโ€™s letter on the rattlesnake
January 26, 1930
Mohandas Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders of the anti-colonial movement in India pledged to achieve complete independence, or Purna Swaraj, from Great Britain.
Nehru said:

โ€œThe British Government in India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India economically, politically, culturally and spiritually . . . We hold it to be a crime against men and God to submit any longer to a rule that has caused this fourfold disaster to our country.โ€
January 26, 1950
The Indian Constitution became law and India proclaimed itself a republic. The new president replaced the King of England as head of state after nearly 100 years of British colonial rule. The Republic of India considered its sovereignty derived from the people, becoming the most populous democracy in the world. The day is now celebrated as Republic Day.
The new President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, after taking the oath of office:
“Today, for the first time in our long and chequered history, we find the whole of this vast land . . . brought together under the jurisdiction of one constitution and one union which takes over responsibility for the welfare of more than 320 million men and women who inhabit it.”
More About Republic Day
January 26, 1956
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested for the first time, for driving 30 mph (48 kph) in a 25 mph (40 kph) zone in Montgomery, Alabama. This occurred shortly after the beginning of the citywide bus boycott he had helped organize. His home was bombed a few days later.
January 26, 1962

Bishop Joseph A. Burke of the Buffalo, New York, Catholic Diocese banned a new song and dance, โ€œThe Twist,โ€ by Chubby Checker.
It couldnโ€™t be danced, sung, or listened to in any Catholic school, parish, or youth event. Later in the year, the Twist was banned from community center dances in Tampa, Florida, as well. It was claimed the Twist was actually a pagan fertility dance.

โ€œThe Twistโ€ by its originator
January 26, 1969
Police wielding truncheons and firing tear gas from pressure canisters broke up a march by hundreds of demonstrators in central Prague.

Jan Palach
The violence erupted as officers tried to disperse the crowd gathered at the foot of the Wenceslas Statue to pay tribute to Jan Palach, the student who burned himself to death in protest at the Soviet invasion the previous summer, and their ongoing occupation of Czechoslovakia.
More about Jan Palachย 
January 26, 1991
Germans protested their countryโ€™s membership in the coalition prosecuting the first Gulf War against Saddam Husseinโ€™s Iraq after he invaded Kuwait. Rallying out in many cities, the largest turnout brought 200,000 to Bonn. The number of those claiming conscientious objector status jumped 35% in that month to 30,000.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january26

Peace & Justice History for 1/24

Also, in the early 2000’s as my Dem. county party chair, I had the great honor of representing Kansas St. Senator David Haley-a very gracious man!-at a local candidate’s forum as he was running for Secretary of State (he came close but did not prevail. I tried to take the blame, but he would not let me.) KS is a red state, but he ran against the Republicans anyway. At that time, Republicans loved the computerized voting machines with no chits, but Sen. Haley wanted verification. He is author Alex Haley’s nephew.

January 24, 1970
John Lennon & Yoko Ono cropped their hair short for the first time in years, declaring 1970 “Year One for Peace” and helped organize a Toronto Peace Festival.

John and Yoko
An interview with John later that yearย 
January 24, 1977
The TV mini-series ”Roots,” based on the Alex Haley novel, began airing on ABC.

LeVar Burton portrayed Kunta Kinte, a young man captured in Africa and shipped to America to be a slave, in “Roots.”
The story followed an African sold into slavery, and his familyโ€™s history through emancipation. It won numerous awards and drew an enormous and broad-based audience (third-highest Nielsen ratings ever for its final episode). 85 percent of all Americans watched at least some part of the series.
Listen to thoughts on Roots 30 years laterย 

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january24

OK, So There Is Bad News Within,

but the reason I’m posting it is so we can be aware, and be better able to help our own neighbors locally. It may not be ours to start writing letters and calling on ACLU or any of those things, but maybe simply keeping our eyes open for the regular people we know or interact with. So here is this, which came to me from Death Penalty Action. It’s the first 10 EO’s issued today, plus some policy info.

All of the Day 1 executive actions Trump has announced so far

Updated January 20, 20251:50 PM ETย Byย Lexie Schapitl Franco Ordoรฑez

For updates, context and analysis of Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration, check out NPR’s live blog throughout the day Monday.


President Trump is expected to sign a flurry of executive orders, memorandums and proclamations after his inauguration on Monday, reversing many of his predecessors’ policies and reinstating actions from his first term in office.

The actions are expected to address a range of issues, including campaign priorities like border security and culture war issues like DEI policies.

Here’s what we know so far:

Immigration

Trump is expected to declare a national emergency at the U.S. southern border, designate criminal cartels as terror groups and end birthright citizenship for children born to immigrant parents without legal status, according to incoming White House officials who spoke to reporters on a call on condition of background.

Trump will also reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which would require some asylum seekers at the southern border to wait in Mexico for their hearings in U.S. immigration court, the officials said.

The moves are some of 10 sweeping executive actions on border security that incoming officials say Trump plans to sign on Monday:

  1. Declare a national emergency at the border:ย The officials on the call said this action will allow U.S. armed forces to finish the border wall and allow the secretary of defense to deploy members of the armed forces and National Guard to the border.
  2. “Clarify” the military’s role in border security:ย This action “directs the military to prioritize our borders” and protect territorial integrity “by repelling forms of invasion, including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking and other criminal activities,” the officials said.
  3. End “catch and release,” continue building the wall, and end “Remain in Mexico”
  4. Designate criminal cartels as terrorists:ย This will allow the U.S. to more easily remove members of groups like Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal organization from Venezuela, and MS-13.
  5. Suspend refugee resettlement:ย The official said the U.S. would suspend refugee resettlement for at least four months.
  6. End asylum and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation:ย Officials said they are planning to end asylum entirely and close the border to those without legal status via proclamation, “which creates an immediate removal process without possibility of asylum.”
  7. End birthright citizenship:ย The officials said the White House plans toย end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14thย Amendment. They argued the amendment does not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents without legal status. This action is likely to see immediate legal challenges.
  8. Enhance vetting and screening:ย The officials said they are going to “enhance vetting and screening of illegal aliens.”
  9. “Protect American citizens against invasion”:ย Officials said this “equips agents and officers of ICE and CBP with the authorities” they need to deport people from the U.S.
  10. Restore the death penalty:ย “This action in particular, directs the Attorney General to seek capital punishment for the murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by illegal aliens. It encourages state agencies and district attorneys to bring capital state charges for these crimes,” the officials said.

Read more from NPR’s Ximena Bustillo.

Defining ‘sex’ and ending DEI programs

Trump will sign an executive action on Monday that says it’s the policy of the United States to recognize two biologically distinct sexes โ€” male and female โ€” an incoming White House official speaking on background told reporters Monday.

“These are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality,” the official said.

The change will require government agencies to use the definitions on documents like passports, visas and employee records the official said. Taxpayer funds will not be allowed to be used for “transition services,” the official said.

A second action will end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government, the official said, giving as examples environmental justice programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as diversity training.

National energy emergency and “electric vehicle mandate”

Trump intends to declare a national energy emergency on Monday, aiming to cut red tape and regulations for the energy industry, and a second one specific to Alaskan resources, an incoming White House official told reporters on a background conference call.

“That national energy emergency will unlock a variety of different authorities that will enable our nation to quickly build again, to produce coal and natural resources, to create jobs, to create prosperity and to strengthen our nation’s national security,” the official said. The official said energy prices are too high, but declined on the call to name a lower target price.

The action will end what incoming Trump officials call the “electric vehicle mandate” and will end “efforts to curtail consumer choice on the things that consumers use every single day, whether it be showerheads, whether it be gas stoves, whether it be dishwashers and the like,” the official said.

Trump has long railed against energy efficiency standards on the campaign trail, and specifically taken aim at “electric vehicle mandates,” a term he uses to encompass all policies designed to encourage a transition to battery-powered cars. Rules actually requiring 100% of vehicles to be electric do not exist on the federal level.

Inflation

Trump will sign a presidential memorandum on inflation Monday, an official from the incoming administration said. The official did not provide additional details.

NPR correspondents Tamara Keith, Ximena Bustillo and Camila Domonoske contributed to this report.

Peace & Justice History for 1/20

ACLU will be needed like few times before now.

January 20, 1920

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was founded by Roger Baldwin, Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin, labor leaders Rose Schneiderman and Duncan McDonald, Rabbi Judah Magnes, and others.The ACLU was organized to protect the rights guaranteed in the the Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights. Prior to this the first ten amendments had not been enforced.
The ACLU has paid particular attention to
โ€ข First Amendment rights: freedom of speech, association and assembly, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion as well as a bar against establishment of a state religion.
โ€ข Oneโ€™s right to equal protection under the law โ€“ equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
โ€ข Oneโ€™s right to due process โ€“ fair treatment for citizens by the government whenever the loss of liberty or property is at stake.
โ€ข Oneโ€™s right to privacy โ€“ freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into oneโ€™s personal and private affairs.

ACLU historyย ย ย 
The ACLU todayย 
January 20, 1942
Nazi Party and German government officials arrived at what they called the “final solution to the Jewish question in Europe.”
They developed plans for the coordinated and systematic extermination of all Europe’s Jews during a meeting at a villa near Lake Wannsee in Berlin.
Notes of the meeting recorded by Adolf Eichmann used vague terms such as “transportation to the east” or “evacuation to the east” (nach dem Osten abgeshoben). But at his trial for genocide Eichmann testified of the meeting that “the discussion covered killing, elimination, and annihilation.”

The villa on Lake Wannsee, now a holocaust museum.
More on the Wannsee conferenceย 
January 20, 2001
Tens of thousands lining Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the legitimacy of the inauguration of President George W. Bush were systematically excluded from almost all media coverage of the event. They called attention to the election irregularities in Florida, the dispute over a recount, and the ultimate effective choice of the president by a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january20

MLK day

by Ann Telnaes

A quick reminder who deserves to be celebrated on Monday Read on Substack

(cartoon from 2018)