A fundamentalist Christian church from Hebron (Ohio) with a history of stirring up trouble and worshiping Trump converged on Serpent Mound over the weekend to protest its annual Winter Solstice celebration, seeking to “pray down” the “demon” pagans who gather at the effigy mound.

Hard to fathom it could get any more embarrassing for the state of Ohio, but the church group ended up confronting several Native Americans in attendance, telling them “this land will be taken in the name of Jesus.”

In a video circulated by the evangelicals, American Indian Movement of Ohio director Phillip Yenyo responded, saying, “This land was already taken a long time ago. You people keep taking it.”

Yenyo tried to block them from getting close to Serpent Mound, but the large church group forced their way to North America’s most recognizable effigy mound where they walked on the mound – a terrible insult to Native Americans, akin to someone stomping on your relatives’ graves.

Serpent Mound was built by Native Americans anywhere from 15,000 to 2,000 years ago say experts who still differ on what culture built it and for what purpose.

Following Donald Trump’s triumph in the 2016 election, Ohio writer Jef Benedetti asked a disturbing but not impossible question: What if the two major political parties were colluding to keep power at the top while keeping the rest of the country divided? What if the divisive Trump administration was intentionally manufactured?

Benedetti captures all of this in a political thriller called The Exercise. You might want to read the non-fiction book Disloyal by Michael Cohen at the same time.

The story is set in Philadelphia, with intrigue, sex, murder, and power struggles aplenty. Part of The Exercise outlines how the two major parties select highly emotional so-called “wedge issues” to control the voting masses.

When the book was released a few years back, Benedetti stated: “The press in general is the only reliable conduit of information about our government for the citizenry and others living in the U.S. Benedetti points out that it is no coincidence “a story like The Exercise therefore could have had only one hero: a reporter.”

December 8 came and went as if it was an ordinary day. For Palestinian political groups, it was another anniversary to be commemorated, however hastily. It was on this day, thirty-three years ago, that the First Palestinian Intifada (uprising) broke out, and there was nothing ordinary about this historic event.

Today, the uprising is merely viewed from a historic point of view, another opportunity to reflect and, perhaps, learn from a seemingly distant past. Whatever political context to the Intifada, it has evaporated over time. 

The simple explanation of the Intifada goes as follows: Ordinary Palestinians at the time were fed up with the status quo and they wished to ‘shake off’ Israel’s military occupation and make their voices heard. 

How is it that the New York Times reported that, “In the moment before Casey Goodson Jr. was shot dead by a sheriff’s deputy at the entrance of his home, his lifelong neighbor heard a man shouting, as if he were arguing, and then a burst of gunfire.”

“The neighbor, Andrew Weeks, rushed to a window and saw three men outside, at least one holding a rifle. He called the police, unaware that the three men — all in plain clothes — were law enforcement officers.” “Before long, the block was lined with emergency vehicles, and Mr. Goodson was carried out on a stretcher, fatally wounded from several gunshot wounds.” I have never heard any of this from our local media.

Being a careful proofreader, I provided some volunteer assistance to Mayor Pete:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Pete Buttigieg <info@wintheera.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 16, 2020
Subject: Thank you