Letters From An American video feed with Sec. Buttigieg

Conversation with Secretary Buttigieg by Heather Cox Richardson

A recording from Heather Cox Richardson’s live video Read on Substack

(There is also a transcript, available on the page.)

Peace & Justice History for 6/7

June 7, 1712
The Pennsylvania Assembly banned the importation of slaves into the colony.
June 7, 1892
Homer Plessy, a Creole of European and African descent, was arrested and jailed for sitting in a Louisiana railroad car designated for white people only. Plessy had violated an 1890 state law, the Louisiana Separate Car Act, that called for racially segregated rail facilities. He then went to court, claiming the law violated the 13th and 14th amendments, but Judge John Howard Ferguson found him guilty anyhow.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Plessy’s guilty verdict to stand by an 8-1 majority. The decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, established the doctrine of “separate but equal” [separate facilities for white and black people,] institutionalizing and legalizing segregation in the United States public transportation until 1946 in Morgan v. Virginia [see June 3, 1946].
More about Homer Plessy  
Read the decision 
June 7, 1893

a young Gandhi
 In his first act of civil disobedience, Mohandas Gandhi refused to comply with racial segregation rules on a South African train and was forcibly ejected at Pietermaritzburg.
“Pietermaritzburg: The Beginning of Gandhi’s Odyssey” 
The birthplace of Gandhi’s peaceful protest
June 7, 1997
Seven activists are arrested for distributing copies of the Bill of Rights outside the Bradbury Science Museum, part of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the primary nuclear research facility in the U.S.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjune.htm#june7

Peace & Justice History For 6/2

June 2, 1783
At the urging of General George Washington, the United States Congress agreed to gradually disband the Revolutionary army following the end of the war. Subject only to the signing of a final peace treaty with Great Britain, all soldiers and non-commissioned officers were discharged; additionally, a full pardon was granted to privates and non-coms in confinement.
June 2, 1863
Abolitionist and former slave James Montgomery led 300 African-American troops of the Union Army’s 2nd South Carolina Volunteers on a raid of plantations along the Combahee River. Meanwhile, backed by three gunboats, Harriet Tubman’s forces set fire to the plantations and freed 750 slaves.

Harriet Tubman
More on General Tubman 
June 2, 1936
General Anastasio Somoza, head of the U.S. Marine-trained National Guard, forced the resignation of Nicaragua’s elected President, Juan Bautista Sacasa. This followed a seven-year U.S. occupation of the country and was followed by Somoza family control of the country for the next four decades.

More about Somoza and other U.S.-friendly Central American dictators
June 2, 1952
The U.S. Supreme court ruled illegal President Truman’s order two months earlier for the Army to seize the nation’s steel mills in order to avert a strike during the Korean war.
The decision 

Open Windows and Clay Jones

Bribe Bros by Clay Jones

Trump pardons a fellow briber Read on Substack

This cartoon was drawn for the FXBG Advance.

Last December, a Culpeper Jury (Trump country) found former Sheriff Scott Jenkins guilty of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery. Fortunately for the corrupt sheriff, he’s a MAGAt.

In fact, Shurf Jenkins is a minor MAGAt celebrity, as he has pro-MAGA views that got him featured on Breitbart multiple times, was a guest on the Daily Signal podcast, and even got him an appearance on Fox & Friends after vowing to “deputize thousands of our law-abiding citizens to protect their constitutional right to own firearms.” This is kinda what got him into trouble.

By the way, nobody’s gun rights are in danger. Republicans use it as a fear tactic to win public office.

Jenkins accepted $75,000 worth of bribes. He took cash and campaign contributions from eight people, including two undercover FBI agents. In return, he gave them badges and made them auxiliary deputy sheriffs, despite not having any training for the position (it’s kind of an honorary position, but it gives them a lot of cop powers). He also pushed officials to restore one bribe-payer’s right to possess a gun as a convicted felon. He was also able to give some of his bribers the right to carry concealed weapons without permits.

What’s fucked up about that last part is it’s extremely easy to get a concealed-carry permit in Virginia. About the only thing that could stop a person from getting a concealed-carry permit in Virginia would be if they were a convicted felon or something. For example, Donald Trump would NOT be allowed to carry a concealed weapon in Virginia. (snip-click through to read on, it’s quite good!)

Elon Musk, drugged up by Ann Telnaes

The New York Times has an extensive piece on his drug use while campaigning for Trump Read on Substack

Trump, in his brilliant ability to read people (like Putin) gave Musk the power to indiscriminately cut federal programs and workers, destroying careers and affecting millions of Americans’ lives. Read the NYT article by investigative reporter Kirsten Grind and Megan Twohey, who was part of the team that broke the Harvey Weinstein story in 2017.

And Another Young Candidate

Presuming we have elections, we’re gonna be rich in good people to elect. Here’s another one I’ve been watching and donating to for a couple of months. I may have posted about her here before, but I’m not certain.

Another Young Person Running For Office

I’m skipping down to the part about the candidate. We’ve all seen the clip of Sen. Ernst. But I remember the statements of Zach Wahls; I bet we all do! -A.

Well, We Are All Going to Die by Charlotte Clymer

An all-timer cruel remark. Read on Substack

Snippet:

Anyway, while Sen. Ernst may not care if your loved ones don’t have the lifesaving health care they need, I do bring good news: there’s a leader in Iowa who does.

You may remember Zach Wahls; he’s the young man who went viral many years ago when he delivered a deeply moving testimony to the Iowa Legislature about growing up with two mothers, as lawmakers were considering support for marriage equality.

Well, Mr. Wahls has been serving in the Iowa State Senate since 2019—including a few years in tenure as the Minority Leader—and he’s public exploring a run against Sen. Ernst in next year’s election.

I have rarely been as impressed with an elected official as I am with Mr. Wahls. He’s exactly the kind of leader you’d hope would be dedicated to fighting the good fight and having the kind of good sense necessary to bring folks together for common sense solutions.

Sen. Ernst was already looking at a competitive fight before her “we are all going to die” honesty this morning, and I have to imagine the math ain’t looking great for her against Mr. Wahls moving forward.

If you’d like to throw a donation to Mr. Wahls in what I believe would be a successful campaign, I’d be grateful.

I’ll end this on a note of reason and empathy. When word of Sen. Ernst’s comment reached the great Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota, her response couldn’t have summed it up better:

“I thought my job as Senator was to try to keep my constituents alive.”

WTF Does It Take?

In keeping with the FAFO world we seem to be living in, just how far down the drain does this polished turd have to take our country before people call it enough. Remove the poison that is maga. Vote out these scum bags who enable him.

Remove the Enablers

Hi everyone. I found this to be a hopeful sign. We need to excise, like an infection, the poison that has taken over our country’s leadership and too many of our citizens. And, in keeping with that, since they are a bunch of juvenile delinquents, perhaps the best person for the job is a pediatrician?

The First US Witch Execution in 1647, and More in Peace & Justice History for 5/26

May 26, 1647

The first person in America was executed for the crime of witchcraft. Alse Young was arrested, tried in Windsor, Connecticut, and hanged at Meeting House Square in Hartford, the site of what is now the Old State House.
There is no further record of Young’s trial or the specifics of the charge — only that she was a woman, as 80% of those executed for witchcraft were. The Salem witch trials would not begin for another 45 years.

Some 300 years later the U.S. experienced another “witch hunt” as Senator Joe McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee pursued communists. Arthur Miller makes this comparison in his famous play “The Crucible.”
Read more about the play “The Crucible”   The Guardian
May 26, 1937
United Auto Workers organizers and Ford Service Department men clashed in a violent confrontation on the Miller Road Overpass outside Gate 4 of the Ford River Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. It became known as “The Battle of the Overpass.” Henry Ford announced: “We’ll never recognize the United Automobile Workers Union or any other union.” Though General Motors and Chrysler signed collective bargaining agreements with the UAW in 1937, Ford held out until 1942.
More background and photos 
Read more
 T
The Ford Servicemen (goons) approach Walter Reuther and Richard Frankensteen, third and second from right, and the other unionists.

UAW official Richard Frankensteen being beaten by Ford goons
May 26, 1946
A patent was filed in the U.S. for the H-Bomb, the hydrogen, or fusion-based, nuclear explosive device.
May 26, 1969

John Lennon and Yoko Ono (along with her 5-year-old daughter Kyoko) held their second Bed-in for Peace at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. A late-night rendition of “Give Peace a Chance,” recorded in the hotel room with their visitors singing and accompanying, reached No.14 on the Billboard pop music charts.
John and Yoko meet cartoonist Al Capp in their hotel room 
May 26, 1972
The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty was signed by U.S. and U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which included Russia and 15 other republics). The two countries agreed not to build defensive missile systems and thus to limit escalation of the nuclear arms race. It was reasoned that if either side deployed defensive missiles, the other would be forced to respond by increasing the number, explosive yield or effectiveness of their offensive nuclear weapons and delivery systems to maintain the balance of nuclear deterrence.
Research and development of defensive systems was allowed under the ABM treaty, the U.S. having spent about $100 billion in the 20 years before the treaty was abrogated by President George W. Bush in the first months of his presidency.
May 26, 1991
20,000 Israeli Jews and Palestinians participated in a peace rally in Israel’s capital, Tel Aviv.

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistorymay.htm#may26

Some Harvard News from God (just read it!) 😉

Trump Humiliates Himself at West Point Graduation by God

Just in time for Memorial Day. Read on Substack

Snippet:

3. God’s Final Word

Dictator Donald wants everyone afraid and confused at all times. Verily, God says fuck that.

There is a better story I want to share.

Harvard just announced free online courses for every US citizen. Topics include basic government, the Constitution, and how to recognize a dictatorship.

Now that is how you defeat tyranny. Not with fear, or panic, but with knowledge. With clarity. With truth. And with stories of hope.

The fight is far from over. But we are not alone.

We will not go quietly.
We will not forget.
We will fight like hell. And we will win.

(snip)