“Folks keep talking about another civil war. One side has about 8 trillion bullets, while the other side doesn’t know which bathroom to use.”

The words — actually a 2019 Facebook post — are those of then-Iowa Republican congressman Steve King, loosing a puerile smirk as he stirred the pot of violence on the American political right. The politics of stupid has intensified since then, as white supremacy and fear of the Great Replacement Theory take over the GOP.

From Amnesty International, USA
The military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay is a glaring, longstanding stain on the human rights record of the United States. Today, it continues to hold 35 Muslim men, most without facing charges or a trial. Many, like Toffiq al-Bihani, were tortured by the U.S. government. And Toffiq, along with 19 other detainees, has been cleared for transfer to other countries, yet he remains behind bars without charge or trial. 

President Biden has a critical window of opportunity to end these ongoing abuses by closing the detention center before the end of his term.  

Help us close Guantánamo and ensure the transfer of all cleared detainees to countries where their human rights will be respected.  

Act Now to tell President Biden to shut down the Guantánamo Bay detention facility!  

I love music and, like I think anyone raised in America, loves a good celebration. It’s important, though, to keep in mind that many of the celebrations we hold come from having overcome extreme adversity. It’s also important to note the complexities of the people we celebrate. 

The first official Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday was celebrated on Monday, January 20, 1986. I was five years old. The national push had hit its peak starting in late September of ‘80, when one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time, Mr. Stevie Wonder, ended his album Hotter Than July with a track that includes the lyric:

“Because it should never be

Just because some cannot see

The dream as clear as he

That they should make it become an illusion.”

Both cause and consequence of Columbus as the “plague city” is City government’s—Council and paid staff including Columbus Police Department—rudeness. In ways that once surprised me, the City’s disrespect, dismissal, and incivility mirror the literal crudeness of the failing physical city, from filth to lack of sanitation, and endless broken streets and sidewalks. (See my “The plague city: Daily life in Columbus, Ohio,” Busting Myths, Columbus Free Press, Dec. 17, 2022.)

It is stunning how little attention mayor, city council, Zoning and Neighborhoods, and the Department of Public (aka Private) Services pay to “their” city. Instead, they cannot restrain the overflow of grants without accountability, tax abatements, and other incentives to developers which directly undercut the actual city’s well-being contradicting its charter-mandated services to its publics. The contradictions are incalculable.

In this video recording of a webinar from January 14, 2023, David Swanson discussed his forthcoming book The Monroe Doctrine at 200 and What to Replace it With. See the 26:24 point in the video.

The Monroe Doctrine was and is a justification for actions, some good, some indifferent, but the overwhelming bulk reprehensible. The Monroe Doctrine remains in place, both explicitly and dressed up in novel language. Additional doctrines have been built on its foundations. This book looks at the creation, evolution, and use of the Monroe Doctrine over the years since 1823, and proposes a radically different approach for the U.S. government to take with Latin America and the world.

David is available to speak about this or other topics, as are other World BEYOND War speakers.

--