American Mind–Civics Class–Part Two

This is my little classroom to try and help or maybe even explain what the American Mind is all about…..

To help Part One can be accessed here…..https://gulfsouthfreepress.wordpress.com/2020/07/13/american-mind-civics-class-part-one/

Part Two is about a Moral Society and the thoughts of Pres. Lincoln…..during his tenure as president he had to face something that would have destroyed lesser men….the American Civil War…..

Abraham Lincoln was the most thoughtful and eloquent of American presidents, in some ways the philosopher-poet of the American political order. His prudent and principled leadership allowed for both the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery. As Lucas Morel capably shows, Lincoln drew on the wisdom of the American Founding in opposing slavery and working for its gradual abolition. He stated his political Golden Rule in a note he wrote to himself in 1858: “As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.” This remarkable affirmation transforms the equality clause of the Declaration of Independence into a positive moral obligation. In doing so, as Morel writes, Lincoln “avoided not only the moral neutrality (and white supremacy) of [Stephen] Douglas’s popular sovereignty,” which proclaimed that each new state and territory was free to vote slavery up or down, “but also the moral absolutism of abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison” who would tear down the Constitution itself in a fevered effort to abolish slavery overnight. Lincoln, in contrast, was a constitutionalist who knew that the Constitution’s valuable “frame of silver” must ultimately be informed by the “apple of gold” which is the Declaration of Independence’s recognition that “all men are created equal.” Without this affirmation of a common humanity bequeathed to us by God and nature, the moral foundations of a free society are sure to wither.

https://www.realclearpublicaffairs.com/articles/2020/02/14/lincoln_the_american_founding_and_the_moral_foundations_of_a_free_society_484127.html

A Moral Society…..include truthfulness, patience, obedience, honesty, integrity, hard work, responsibility, respect, tolerance, loyalty, public spiritedness, freedom, respect for human life and dignity of persons. Others include justice, fairness and equality.

Now look at the list of moral values and tell me that this country has not fallen from the ideals of the Founders.

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Define Palestine!

Years ago I was asked to contribute to his sight, Legationes, and since then he has closed down his site and my hard work has been lost…..but that aside I had written a piece awhile back about how Palestine should go about defining itself.

I shall try to re-create the post that was lost. But first…….It seems that the debate has been should this be a two state solution or a one state solution?

These are the two broad ways the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might end.

The “two-state solution” would create an independent Israel and Palestine, and is the mainstream approach to resolving the conflict. The idea is that Israelis and Palestinians want to run their countries differently; Israelis want a Jewish state, and Palestinians want a Palestinian one. Because neither side can get what it wants in a joined state, the only possible solution that satisfies everyone involves separating Palestinians and Israelis.

The “one-state solution” would merge Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip into one big country. It comes in two versions. One, favored by some leftists and Palestinians, would create a single democratic country. Arab Muslims would outnumber Jews, thus ending Israel as a Jewish state. The other version, favored by some rightists and Israelis, would involve Israel annexing the West Bank and either forcing outPalestinians or denying them the right to vote. Virtually the entire world, including most Zionists, rejects this option as an unacceptable human rights violation.

https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18080094/what-are-the-two-state-solution-and-the-one-state-solution

The one state solution is losing its luster for Israel has based many laws to make Arabs living in Israel into 2nd class  citizens…..so nay hope of the demcracy thing is dwindling in Israel. And now…..the news has been leaked that the Trump admin has a plan for the region…..

Israel’s Channel 13 has leaked what it says are the contents of President Trump’s “deal of the century” peace plan for Israel and Palestine. The report would grant the Palestinians a state that encompasses 85%-90% of the occupied West Bank. The plan would be for Israel to keep its settlements, though no longer expanding isolated outposts. Moreover, the plan would mandate Israel evacuate any outposts which are illegal under Israeli law. That’s a big deal, because Israel has recently changed its own laws to facilitate retroactively legalizing a lot of these outposts. The Palestinian capital would be in East Jerusalem, and the Palestinians would be given “most of the Arab neighborhoods” there. Some areas would also be jointly run by Jordan and Palestine. (antiwar.com)

This is just a rehash of the 1968 Accords I believe….. Let’s look at today…..

The West Bank has the perfect barrier to set itself up as an independent state….Israel’s wall of separation. (I know this wall is representing something that no self-respecting Palestinian likes) But if they make the wall their own then a positive image will be created…..

Let’s look at the Wall……

Now the Trump guys have a plan….will the US and the world guarantee the legitimacy of this Palestinian state?  This is the rub and the point that Palestinians are not down with…for the US has not been a good player in this saga at all. Now back to Israel’s Wall of Separation…… Once completed the wall could be used as a security barrier for Palestine (I know I know not something that most will accept) but think about it….what better way to keep Israel from encroaching on Palestinian land than a wall…..set up a few security points to keep others out….any settlements behind the wall are Palestine and if the illegal residents want to be Palestinian then they can stay if not let them leave in peace.  (I know did not work out so well in Pakistan in the past) Let any supplies need come in from Jordan….with US and NATO and UN protection.  Jordan will gain a good reliable trading partner and Palestine will get the need materials and food stuffs. Let’s not forget Gaza…… US should guarantee material and food stuff entry through Egypt, the Rafah crossing that Israel tries to keep closed. US military protection for convoys, both air support and convoy protection on the ground…..of course there will be a need to get a truce from Hamas…..but using the population could be a good start…..Israel needs to stand down from attacking people with rocks with rockets and bombs…..they are looking more and more pathetic on the world stage. What would the state of Palestine look like?

Israel and its Western and Arab allies have for decades been claiming that, one day, the Palestinians will have a state of their own. The premise is based on Israel withdrawing from the land it has occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the proposed state. What would such a “State of Palestine” actually look like?

When the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), dominated by the secular Fatah movement, recognised Israel’s “right to exist” on 78 per cent of historic Palestine, the resulting Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority to have nominal control of the remainder of the land ahead of the creation of the State of Palestine. There is major opposition among Palestinians to such a deal, not least due to doubt about whether it would meet the internationally-recognised elements needed for a sovereign state to exist.

…..read on….https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190107-what-would-a-palestinian-state-look-like/

Those who are still hoping that the new American agenda on Palestine and Israel is temporary, or reversible, should abandon this false hope. Washington’s complete adoption of Israel’s messianic, extremist policies regarding Occupied Palestine has been a long time in the making. And it is here to stay. Despite the unmistakable clarity in the American political discourse regarding Palestine, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is still trapped in a 25-year long, ineffectual political paradigm. Unable to move past their disproportionate reliance on American validation, and lacking any real strategic vision of their own, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his men are operating within a clichés-centered trajectory of a ‘negotiated peace’ – a discourse that was, itself, invented and championed by Washington and its allies.https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/07/10/the-book-of-palestine-national-liberation-vs-endless-negotiations/

In closing a list of companies that profit from the theft of Palestinian land……

After years of unexplained delays, the United Nations this week released a list of over 100 companies with ties to illegal Israeli settler colonies in the occupied West Bank of Palestine.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the UN Human Rights Office identified 112 businesses profiting from the Jews-only settlements. Of those, 94 are based in Israel, while 18 are headquartered in countries including the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Thailand. The UN report is a response to a 2016 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) resolution calling for a “database for all businesses engaged in specific activities related to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

https://original.antiwar.com/Brett_Wilkins/2020/02/14/un-publishes-list-of-companies-profiting-from-israels-illegal-settlements-in-palestine/

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Impeachment–Do Not Look To Nixon Or Clinton

These days the impeachment drama is on everybody’s lips…why?  Because it is all the MSM wants to report.

They, the media, like to use the Nixon impeachment process and at times the Clinton process to help explain what is going on….but this is wrong…they should be looking a bit further back in the history books to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson…..

This week, the fact-finding phase of the Trump impeachment inquiry officially ended. Reports were released, hearings were held, articles of impeachment are being drafted. Andrew Prokop helps us break it all down on this week’s episode of Impeachment, Explained.

Then, the impeachment analogue that most closely resembles what we are going through today isn’t Clinton or Nixon, it’s Andrew Johnson. Historian Brenda Wineapple, author of The Impeachers, helps us understand the trial that shaped our nation’s conception of what impeachment means.

Plus, how the GOP has become a definitively anti-Constitutional party.

You can subscribe to Impeachment, Explained on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get podcasts.

I think if a person has not looked at all sides of the process then they are not informed just regurgitating crap from the media.

That is why I call it the “VOMITORIUM”…….

In case you cannot get to the audio…the US Senate has a paper out on the Johnson process…..https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Impeachment_Johnson.htm

But in case you do not trust the Senate to be honest…..

the House voted 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson, the culmination of a showdown between Johnson and Radical Republicans in the 40th Congress (1867–1869). The President’s leniency towards the former Confederate states threatened the Radicals’ more drastic southern policy seeking immediate citizenship and enfranchisement, as well as social and economic aid for freed slaves. As a result, Johnson regularly vetoed congressional Reconstruction legislation and Congress overrode his vetoes more than any other President. After failed attempts to introduce articles of impeachment against Johnson, and in an effort to protect like-minded members of his Cabinet, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in March 1867. The legislation barred the President from removing Cabinet officials appointed during his term in office without the Senate’s consent.

Read On

https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-impeachment-of-President-Andrew-Johnson/

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Remember When?

My primary blog look at the gun debate so far……

In Saner Thought

Just One More Gun Post

Before I begin let me assure my readers that this is not some anti-gun rant…..just a short look back at history and scratch my head.

What got me thinking about this more was a photo of a guy at a coffee stand with is carbine slung over shoulder…..since I could not find the one I wanted I give you this one…..

If you need a gun to get a cup of coffee stay home and make your own.

I see these photos of people carrying guns at protests, parades and just strolling around a city to be named.  It got me thinking back to my younger days when I was a Leftist protester……

Could Not Happen In Days Gone By

I remember just what the conservatives thought in those days and they would have given themselves an irritable bowel if we had shown up with a…

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Call It “Domestic Terrorism”!

From my primary blog, In Saner Thought….

In Saner Thought

The last round of mass shootings and the media has once again gone to great lengths to try and label them as “Domestic Terrorist” acts.  (Another in the news as I ready this for post)

The media is all over this terminology…..pundits are spending countless hours making the case for it.

The problem is there is NO unified definition of what a domestic terrorist act details.

A good place to start is here…..

The number of bereaved families and friends of those massacred by white terrorists in the United States tragically continues to expand. Within the last year alone bodies riddled with the bullets of military-style weapons lay strewn on the streets of large cities like Pittsburgh and El Paso to small towns like Poway and Gilroy. Fueled by anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic rhetoric, the paranoid projections and racist rhetoric of white nationalism and white supremacy have been weaponized into white…

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Medicare For All (Cond)

I started my writings on Medicare For All on IST…..https://lobotero.com/2019/03/04/medicare-for-all/

I am writing this because I am sick of the BULLSHIT spread by the GOP and some of the Dems about the idea of Medicare For All.  Have you noticed the excuses that some Dem candidates have sound more like GOP talking points than Democratic ideas? Like the so-called front runner Joe Biden…….his plan for health care is a corporate dominant plan like Obamacare……

Joe Biden is taking an aggressive approach to defending the Affordable Care Act, challenging not just President Trump but also some of his Democratic rivals who want to replace the current insurance system with a fully government-run model, per the AP. The former vice president will spend much of the coming week talking about his approach to health care. On Monday, Biden unveiled a plan that would add a “public option” to the 2010 health care overhaul, with expanded coverage paid for by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The former vice president’s health care proposal is anchored by a “Medicare-like” plan that any American, including the 150 million-plus Americans now covered by job-based insurance, could buy on ACA exchanges. “I understand the appeal of Medicare for All,” Biden said in a video posted Monday morning. “But folks supporting it should be clear that it means getting rid of ObamaCare. And I’m not for that.” The proposal would make existing premium subsidies more generous and make more middle-income households eligible for them, lowering their out-of-pocket costs. It also would extend premium-free coverage to lower-income Americans who have been denied eligibility to Medicaid in Republican-run states that refused to participate in the Affordable Care Act. The campaign puts the taxpayer cost at $750 billion over 10 years, with the campaign saying that would be covered by returning the top marginal income tax to 39.6%, the rate before the 2017 GOP tax cuts.

But what will this plan do?  Is it truly as billed?

After spending the past week sniping at Medicare for All with insurance industry talking points, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday unveiled a healthcare plan that one analyst said could cause the deaths of around 125,000 people over the first ten years by leaving millions of Americans uninsured.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/15/not-acceptable-analysis-estimates-biden-healthcare-plan-would-kill-125000-people

I listened to a Biden senior analyst speak on Biden’s plan….she spoke so fast I thought I was bidding on a vase at Sotherby’s……do not trust people that talk so fast you cannot keep up with their BS. Corporate profits will remain with Biden and after all is that not what it is all about?

AS we approach the 2020 election cycle then the lies about Medicare For All will increase….the usual lies like it is “socialism”…or my favorite you will lose your doctor if they do away with private health insurance…..enough is enough. First I am on Medicare and I have NEVER been told which doctors I can or cannot see. Second nothing would prevent a person from getting a supplement insurance since Medicare only pays about 80% and the patient is on the hook for the other 20%. You can go to any doctor, any hospital or clinic or other provider you prefer. All networks are gone. So are all surprise medical bills. So are all out of network charges. So are all premiums, all deductibles, all co-pays for such basics as emergency care, doctor’s visits, mental health, dental, vision, long term care, and so much more.

A new survey out this week is an important step forward to demolishing one of the principle talking points against Medicare for All. No doubt, you’ve heard this one: “People love their insurance! Under Medicare for All, you’ll lose your private insurance and your doctor.” Uh, no. A Morning Consult/Politico survey conducted after the first Democratic presidential primary debates found that when people hear the real story—that under Medicare for All you can keep your preferred doctors and hospitals, support climbs to a clear majority of 55 percent. Support among Democrats gets to 78 percent. For independents it’s a big leap of 14 points, up to 56 percent support. That support eclipses the disinformation peddled by the health care industry, their lobbyists, their mouthpieces in Congress—and too many in the media—that if you lose your private insurance you will lose your preferred doctor or other provider.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/07/03/medicare-all-means-real-choice-one-health-card-good-anywhere-you-go

Keep in mind that all the negativity comes from those that get a large portion of the cash from the industry that they are protecting…..big pharma and the health industry none of whom want to see their massive profits diminished. For instance Joe Biden…….he has attacked the proposal of Medicare For All……as well as other progressive solutions…..

After former Vice President Joe Biden attacked Medicare for All, decriminalization of border crossings, and other major progressive agenda items during an interview that aired Friday morning, fellow 2020 White House contender Bernie Sanders responded that bold ideas will be necessary to “energize voters” and defeat President Donald Trump.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/05/agenda-america-needs-sanders-fires-back-after-biden-attacks-medicare-all-and-other

If you want quality health care and the people deserve such then Medicare For All is the answer…..anything else is just letting the insurance people control when and where you are ill. Read the bill that would create Medicare For All….. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/1129/text#toc-id543f8d72ce1c4b05b7d6e4c41b0d31ee

Just a little FYI……. https://theoutline.com/post/7735/health-justice-now-excerpt-single-payer

Okay Trolls may jump in now and tell me all about the benefits of private health care.

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ANTIFA: Out Of The Shadows

A few weeks ago it was reported that a few thousand neo-Nazis, KKK and other assorted fascists were going to Virginia to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee…….with that report a group known as ANTIFA decided that they would show up to protest the protest.

Before we go any further maybe here would be a good place to define the ANTIFA for those that know mlittle of this organization……

They wear black pants and sweatshirts, with either helmets or hoods over their heads, bandanas across their faces — and dark sunglasses, goggles or gas masks over their eyes. Many carry makeshift shields and flags, whose staffs can quickly become weapons.

They call themselves “antifa,” short for anti-fascist, and they’re part of a loosely organized national network of anonymous anarchists. The movement during much of this decade has been a common sight at Bay Area protests spurred by police shootings, the Occupy Wall Street movement and Donald Trump’s election as president.

The primary goal is to stop neo-Nazis and white supremacists from gaining a platform rather than to promote a specific antifa agenda. The antifa groups are decidedly anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-homophobia, but also by and large socially leftist and anti-capitalist.  Yes, we can assume that if they are anti-fascist then they may well be anarchist, socialists, etc….the natural enemy of fascists.

Fore decades the neo-Nazis have been protesting with shield, clubs and violence and in that time only the JDL stood in their way…..so if a armed group should want to protest why not a counter-protest that is also armed?

First nit was Charlottesville and a week later Berkeley….and as was predictable….it turned violent…..

Recently, at the anti-Alt-Right rally in Berkeley, I watched groups of masked Antifa members in Black Bloc formation swarm individuals who were apparently antagonizing them, and pummel them with their fists, feet, and flagpoles. When the victims tried to escape, they were run down, and in at least one case, cut off by the Antifa mob and beaten down some more.

In the incidents I witnessed, about five or six Antifa members at a time participated in the attacks, while perhaps 50 others stood behind them, forming an impenetrable wall that blocked bystanders from intervening, or documenting the violence on camera. Those people would also help chase the victims when they fled.

Source: The Ugly Side of Antifa – LA Progressive

The neo-Nazis have been labeled a terrorist group or call it hate if like, but now will the ANTIFA be so labeled?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally classified the activities of anti-fascist groups (antifa) as “domestic terrorist violence” since early 2016, according to confidential law enforcement documents obtained by Politico and interviews.

Federal authorities have reportedly warned state and local officials the antifa has become “increasingly confrontational” in efforts to thwart white supremacist groups.

Source: Are the Antifa Terrorists?

Personally, I am glad to see a group show up that will not take the bullies gruff…..I do not believe that non-violence will counter the tactics of the neo-Nazis……and it is good to see someone that will step up to the task.

Hot Topic: Should Mississippi regulate texting-while-driving?

I vote is YES! I think that all phone task while driving should banned! PERIOD!

Mississippi PEP

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Meridian passes weapons ban.

At least there is one city with courage in Mississippi…….

Mississippi PEP

In response to the state’s new open-carry gun law, which is being challenged in the court system, the Meridian City Council unanimously passed a weapons ban on Tuesday. The ordinance prohibits openly carried weapons in City Hall, the Meridian Law Enforcement Center, all fire stations, all municipal offices, city parks, and playgrounds. It makes exceptions for public roads, streets and sidewalks.

Weapons included in the ban are handguns, pistols, rifles, shotguns, stun guns, knives and, according to the ordinance, “any other item of any kind or nature that could or may be used as a weapon …”

Police Chief James Lee said he fully supports the council’s action.

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HILL: Mississippi Can Do Better Than Common-Core

At least someone is watching out for the children of the state….but will it be enough?

Mississippi PEP

BY: Senator Angela Hill

Last week, I and my fellow Senators in the Mississippi Senate Conservative Coalition found evidence of racially discriminatory policy in testing expectations arising from the adoption and implementation of Common Core State standards in Mississippi. These standards are currently being rolled out across the state by the Mississippi Department of Education.

As a group, the coalition has begun researching public policy and potential legislation that will come to the forefront in the 2014 session of the legislature. However, when the latest evidence of racial standards arose, we could not wait until January to talk about it. It was an important enough issue to Mississippi students and their parents to be shared immediately.

The more we in the Senate Conservative Coalition learn about Common Core Standards themselves and the testing, reporting, and accountability model that Mississippi will be bound to as reported in the No Child Left…

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