[ Reader Comments: Trump-Haley-MAGA GOP Embrace Slavery-Fascism;
Israeli War Crimes; Migrants and Immigration; Reader Response to
Police Reform; Maestro Does Disservice; March on Washington for
Gaza-Jan 13; more Announcements; Cartoons;]
[[link removed]]

TIDBITS – DEC. 28, 2023 – READER COMMENTS: TRUMP-HALEY-MAGA GOP
EMBRACE SLAVERY-FASCISM; ISRAELI WAR CRIMES; MIGRANTS AND IMMIGRATION;
READER RESPONSE TO POLICE REFORM; MAESTRO DOES DISSERVICE; MARCH ON
WASHINGTON FOR GAZA-JAN 13; MORE…  
[[link removed]]


 

December 28, 2023
xxxxxx
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Reader Comments: Trump-Haley-MAGA GOP Embrace Slavery-Fascism;
Israeli War Crimes; Migrants and Immigration; Reader Response to
Police Reform; Maestro Does Disservice; March on Washington for
Gaza-Jan 13; more Announcements; Cartoons; _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Announcements AND cartoons - Dec. 28,
2023, xxxxxx

 

* RE: FASCISM 101: WHY WE NEED TO SPELL IT OUT  (LAWRENCE WINANS)
* RE: HOW MUCH CAN TRUMP 2.0 GET AWAY WITH?  (NORM LITTLEJOHN)
* BOOKS ON TAPE  --  CARTOON BY CLAY BENNETT
* RE: HALEY DECLINES TO SAY SLAVERY WAS CAUSE OF CIVIL WAR
 (ELEANOR ROOSEVELT)
* RE: SOME FACTS FOR THE UNCONVINCED: WHY WE NEED A GAZA CEASEFIRE
NOW  (ROGER BYBEE)
* RE: ISRAELI TEEN JAILED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE PART IN ARMY’S
‘CRIMINAL ATTACK’ ON GAZA  (MIKE LISTON)
* A BUTTON FOR TODAY  --  BEING AGAINST ISRAEL'S WAR CRIMES IS NOT
ANTI-SEMITISM
* IN AMERICA, ARE SOME FAMILIES ARE HOLIER THAN OTHERS?  --
 CARTOON BY LALO ALCARAZ
* BLOODSUCKER  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS
* RE: SURPRISE! POLICE REFORMS DIDN’T WORK  (JACK RADEY)
* IN WITH THE NEW ...  --  CARTOON BY MIKE LUCKOVICH
* RE: HOLLYWOOD’S MAESTRO DOES DISSERVICE TO A GREAT MUSICIAN AND
EDUCATOR  (SUSANNE SCHOLZ)
* RE: LET BRADLEY COOPER’S MAESTRO BE THE DEATH OF THE BIOPIC
 (PAUL BUHLE; NORA LAPIN; AVRAM BARLOWE; FELICIA KORNBLUH; DARREN
JURMÉ ALLUMIÉR; GARY VANDEN BERGH; JOEL SUCHER)
* YEAR 2023, YEAR 2024  --  CARTOON BY JEFF DANZIGER

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

* WEBINAR: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS - JOURNALISTS + FREE SPEECH AT WORK  -
 JANUARY 4  (NATIONAL WRITERS UNION)

* MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR GAZA  --  JANUARY 13  (AMERICAN MUSLIM
TASKFORCE FOR PALESTINE)

* GLOBALIZING LABOR MOVEMENTS IN DIALOGUE: STRIKES AND POLITICAL
STRATEGIES IN THE US AND ASIA  -  NEW YORK - JANUARY 18  (THE CUNY
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND URBAN STUDIES)

 

* FREEDOM NOW SUITE: CELEBRATING MAX ROACH'S CENTENNIAL - NEWARK, NJ
- JANUARY 26  (NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER)

.......

 

RE: FASCISM 101: WHY WE NEED TO SPELL IT OUT
 

Well said ! I thank the moderator for sharing Walden Bello's essay.

I now know what thinking Germans were feeling in 1931-32 before Hitler
attained the Chancellorship on January 30, 1933.

Contemplating the end of American Democracy and the dismantling of the
rule of law is heart-rending. I grieve more so for my kids and
grandkids, I've enjoyed living in one of the most free nations that
has ever existed, they have not had such an advantage.

Nevertheless, we must do what we can. Gotterdammerung may yet be
avoided. Keep the faith, things seemed bad at Valley Forge too but we
overcame and prevailed. God bless America and give us the strength to
save her.

Lawrence Winans

 

RE: HOW MUCH CAN TRUMP 2.0 GET AWAY WITH?
 

“I am your warrior, I am your justice,” Donald Trump told the
crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National
Harbor, MD., on March 4. “And for those who have been wronged and
betrayed, I am your retribution.”

The Heritage Foundation has organized Project 2025, a coalition of 84
state and national conservative groups, to pave “the way for an
effective conservative administration based on four pillars: a policy
agenda, Presidential Personnel Database, Presidential Administration
Academy and playbook for the first 180 days of the next
administration.”

The project has already published an 887-page document, “Mandate for
Leadership 2025: The Conservative Promise,” with the goal of arming
“an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to
go to work on Day 1 to deconstruct the Administrative State.”

The first Trump term was both deeply alarming and a comedy of errors;
a second Trump administration will be far more alarming, with many
fewer errors.

Norm Littlejohn
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

BOOKS ON TAPE  --  CARTOON BY CLAY BENNETT

 

 

Clay Bennett
December 22, 2023
Chattanooga Times Free Press
[[link removed]]

 

RE: HALEY DECLINES TO SAY SLAVERY WAS CAUSE OF CIVIL WAR
 

She's the "reasonable alternative" = she's the smiling fascist.

Eleanor Roosevelt
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: SOME FACTS FOR THE UNCONVINCED: WHY WE NEED A GAZA CEASEFIRE NOW
 

An outstanding summary of the increasingly dire humanitarian crisis.
An important contribution.

Roger Bybee

 

RE: ISRAELI TEEN JAILED FOR REFUSING TO TAKE PART IN ARMY’S
‘CRIMINAL ATTACK’ ON GAZA
 

These brave kids are a great example of why I am pro-Jewish and
extremely anti-Zionist

Mike Liston

 

A BUTTON FOR TODAY  --  BEING AGAINST ISRAEL'S WAR CRIMES IS NOT
ANTI-SEMITISM

 

 

IN AMERICA, ARE SOME FAMILIES ARE HOLIER THAN OTHERS?  --  CARTOON
BY LALO ALCARAZ

 

 

Lalo Alcaraz
December 24, 2023
pocho.com
[[link removed]]

 

BLOODSUCKER  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS

 

Rob Rogers
December 21, 2023
robrogers.com [[link removed]]

 

RE: SURPRISE! POLICE REFORMS DIDN’T WORK
 

Since the advent of the cell phone video camera, the entire nation has
become aware of the pattern of police violence that had previously
only been well known in communities where it was practiced.  This
produced mass demonstrations, and not only some reforms in places,
including more transparency, some accountability, (you may recall that
before Ferguson, you could count the cops ever charged for killing or
beating someone on the fingers of one hand, today it happens
regularly), and it did something else.  It brought the issue of
police violence directly to the law enforcement community.  Two
documents should open your eyes to this.  Both were produced by
gatherings of several hundred mostly police chiefs, sheriffs, some
police union leaders, DAs, and  few human rights activists.  They
were Obama's President's Commission on 21st Century Policing and a
similar gathering organized by the Police Executive Research Forum.
Called, "Re-engineering Training" (but in fact about rethinking use of
force by police.)  I read them, and was gobsmacked.  I heard police
chiefs talking about the issue in language we would use.  It became
very clear, there is a significant section of the law enforcement
community who believe the old ways, the Blue Wall (no cop ever
testifies against any other cop, us against the world), keep yourself
safe and anyone who looks at you funny is a threat, your job is to
punish those parts of the population who are looked down on by the
powers that be - the poor, the communities of color.  A significant
amount of police understand that their ability to do their job is
directly related to the trust the community has in them, and if 100
cops act right and 1 acts like an animal, all people will see is the
animal who wears the uniform, so they're all like that, don't talk to
them.

There is a legitimate role for police in society, sorry my anarchist
comrades, but it is a fact.  No, for the most part they do not
prevent crime.  To do so they would have to be on site as a crime is
being attempted.  Not only can't they be everywhere, but criminals
(there are such, remember?) generally are patient enough to wait until
there isn't a cop around to go to work.

If the left chooses prejudice - pre-judging - "they're all like that"-
we absent ourselves from this discussion.  If we take the position
"abolish the police" (a goal we will not achieve) we simply leave the
field to others.  Guess whom?  The Back The Blue Whatever They Do
folks.  Bottom line, police reform measures will have only minor
effects if they are not bought into at the squad car level.  Cops
generally work alone, or in pairs, without direct oversight by
supervisors (sergeants, lieutenants), just like teachers.  They do a
job that is stressful and not without risk.  They operate with a
heightened adrenaline level at all times.  If people denounce them as
all Klansmen and murderers, and demand that they be disarmed, or all
laid off, can you understand why they may not listen to the valid
points you may have?

Body cams were never advertised as a tool that would prevent police
killings.  Yes, they sometimes fail to function in a fight (get
knocked off, sound can't distinguish between shots and the camera
being banged on, don't see everything.)  But they remind every
officer that there is a record of what he does.  These have led to
disciplinary consequences and to discharges and indictments.  Many
departments opposed them, as they were resistant to accountability and
of course there was the budgetary issue.  Since their adoption most
departments strongly support them.  In any interaction between police
and public, there is a "he said/she said" situation - everyone saw a
situation differently.  Despite their limitations, body cams provide
in most cases a factual record of events, not only what happened but
what order events happened.  I had a mentally ill relative who, being
hungry, went into a store and got some food, thought paying was
unnecessary.  When located on the street by an officer, he ended up
in jail with a black eye.  He told me he wanted the ACLU, was going
to sue.  I was friends with our city's Police Auditor, an independent
office that reviews all complaints against the police.  He arranged a
showing for us of the incident from body cam of the involved officer.
 Which showed that when asked for ID, my relative responded by
kicking the officer in the face, followed by the officer punching him
out and arresting him.  Police have found that body cams have reduced
the number of bogus complaints against the police steeply.

Real reform in law enforcement is a hard goal to reach.  It takes not
only full engagement by the left, it also involves discarding
prejudice against police as a body.  There are some real pigs out
there, as we all know.  There are some cynical and corrupt old
harness bulls.  There are younger, conservative, racist individuals
on the force to kick some ass.  But there are also thinking, and
caring human beings who wear badges.  You can't tell the one from the
other when they line up in riot gear facing us.  But I strongly urge
my comrades - to be effective on this issue?  Learn something about
the police.  Talk to them.  Listen to them.  I've attended our
local PD's citizen academy (40 hours of evening classes with
presentations from the many parts of the police department.)  It
showed me clearly that the 320 or so cops in this town are each
individuals.  Different personalities, from borderline psychopath (22
years SWAT, and proud) to people who made their presentations on the
edge of tears talking about the people they serve (cops who negotiate
with people on the edge of suicide, cops who deal with the homeless
and demented and whose hearts break daily at the insane state of the
mental health system, lack of housing, etc.)  Some harden themselves,
some open themselves.  I also did a ride-along, riding with a cop for
a shift, seeing what he did, and how he did it, and being able to talk
with him about it.

Knowing what I'm talking about means I have had repeated meetings with
chief, deputy chief, and the head of the police union.  All of whom
are specifically reform minded.  Eugene Oregon is not a big city, the
city has a small population of color, it is not a typical big city.
 We pioneered CAHOOTS, a non-police response to people in mental
health, drug, or other crises on the street.  They work with the
police.  After opposing the program in its first year, they are its
most ardent supporters since, say they couldn't function without it.
 But CAHOOTS will not respond if there is a threat - the person in
crisis is armed or violent - they let the police take the lead in
making it safe for the CAHOOTS workers.

The horrors of police brutality, and the logic that has maintained it,
need to be fought with all our might.  Changing that situation will
not involve abolishing policing.  The slightest acquaintanceship with
your local departments daily log - what they do - will demonstrate
that.  But there are reforms - in terms of policy regarding use of
force, regarding accountability and transparency, in terms of how to
operate - emphasizing patience, respect, taking a de-escalatory
approach as opposed to GET THE FUCK ON THE GROUND NOW NOW NOW!!
 There are cops who favor these approaches, though they will tell
you, "You can only de-escalate if the subject is willing to do the
same."  We have to understand that it is a big ask to ask an officer
to approach a mentally ill person who has been discharging a firearm
and instead of letting your Glock talk for you, to try to talk him
down, open handed, and ask him to hand over the gun.  Fantasy
scenario?  It has happened at least 5 times I know of, one I
witnessed.  We have a department that supports and encourages this
approach.  Among younger cops there is a sort of feeling of, "15 days
since our last use of force incident, lets keep it up, team."  Of
complaints filed against officers for violation of policy?  40% are
coming from... other cops.  The attitude is, "I don't want to be
riding in the car with an officer who escalates situations, is abusive
and aggressive.  He is endangering me, and he is making life harder
for every cop on the force."  The department is very proud that they
very very seldom have cops who have been disciplined for violating
policy break the same policy again.  Some of the old harness bulls
took retirement, some were strongly urged to take retirement, some
quit and went elsewhere to cop, some were fired summarily.  The
union's attitude is they insist all procedures are done correctly, the
rights of each employee are respected, and if they're fuck ups, the
union has no interest in protecting them for being fuck ups.

Fight smart, please.

Jack Radey

 

IN WITH THE NEW ...  --  CARTOON BY MIKE LUCKOVICH

 

Mike Luckovich
December 28, 2023
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
[[link removed]]

 

RE: HOLLYWOOD’S MAESTRO DOES DISSERVICE TO A GREAT MUSICIAN AND
EDUCATOR
 

Remember violinist musician who was blind and wrote that big volume on
all these conductors under which he had played and suffered under them
in the orchestras in which he had played? I read to him the typeset
manuscript in his westside apartment....  His book was so negative
about all these famous conductors.... This movie avoids the whole
conductor personality and goes off into lala land. Bernstein would
hate that movie!!!

Susanne Scholz

 

RE: LET BRADLEY COOPER’S MAESTRO BE THE DEATH OF THE BIOPIC

(posting on xxxxxx Culture
[[link removed]])
 

Biopics will go on and on, bad, terrible and some not so terrible. We
wish Felicia's civil rights and antiwar activities had been in there,
and support of Black Power. It was a brave thing to do within Jewish
American life.

Paul Buhle
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

A very snotty review.

Nora Lapin

      =====

Some Hollywood biopics that have featured excellent performances from
the so-called leading men and women who star in them, but I have yet
to see one that didn't somehow sanitize its subject matter in ways
that reinforce the dominant ideology's view of an outstanding
individual's life.

Avram Barlowe
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

I’m worried about seeing it!! Not interested especially in a semi
straight not very political Bernstein …..

Felicia Kornbluh
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

and leaving out literally everything about AIDS was to leave out a lot
about further character-defining qualities of both Lenny & Felicia.

Darren Jurmé Allumiér
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

It was a “nice” biopic… not at all reflective of his music, his
politics, his life, IMHO…

Gary VandenBergh
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

Awful movie with disjointed narrative. Bradley was playing Bradley
and, daresay, the film was missing Tom Wolfe’s brilliant radical
chic critique…

Joel Sucher
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

YEAR 2023, YEAR 2024  --  CARTOON BY JEFF DANZIGER

 

Jeff Danziger
The Rutland Herald
[[link removed]]

 

WEBINAR: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS - JOURNALISTS + FREE SPEECH AT WORK  -
 JANUARY 4  (NATIONAL WRITERS UNION)

 

 

NWU event for all journalists concerning the attempts to intimidate
and silence US media workers who oppose the leveling of Gaza.

[link removed]

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 2024     8:00PM ET/5:00PM PT

 

MARCH ON WASHINGTON FOR GAZA  --  JANUARY 13  (AMERICAN MUSLIM
TASKFORCE FOR PALESTINE)

 

 

GLOBALIZING LABOR MOVEMENTS IN DIALOGUE: STRIKES AND POLITICAL
STRATEGIES IN THE US AND ASIA  -  NEW YORK - JANUARY 18  (THE CUNY
SCHOOL OF LABOR AND URBAN STUDIES)

 

 

GLOBAL LABOR MOVEMENTS IN DIALOGUE: STRIKES AND POLITICAL POWER IN
ASIA AND THE US

January 18, 2024
10 am - 4:15 pm

At The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
25 W. 43rd Street, 18th Floor

With Kevin Lin
[[link removed][0]=AZWqlUZc7ntKolWUY8kfs94O5ePTsJK6ynnILID875va6I4UQZIsr-D2XXyudZC-vRXSUuw6mIEUT-x5ySL589oNRX27tB78Mzrj5qIXdtdI8abm3x8EcOtHvd1pLYh-u3hfWovrguLSdcPKjGn66oPUvit_7oU2eVp1LWKEe86MxPBvla9wsXJwvaQnuX68vfo&__tn__=-]K-R],
Kiang Teerakowitkajorn, Zoë West, Youbin Kang, Lisa Xu, Biju Mathew,
Muhammad Ridha
[[link removed][0]=AZWqlUZc7ntKolWUY8kfs94O5ePTsJK6ynnILID875va6I4UQZIsr-D2XXyudZC-vRXSUuw6mIEUT-x5ySL589oNRX27tB78Mzrj5qIXdtdI8abm3x8EcOtHvd1pLYh-u3hfWovrguLSdcPKjGn66oPUvit_7oU2eVp1LWKEe86MxPBvla9wsXJwvaQnuX68vfo&__tn__=-]K-R]
and Alex Han
[[link removed][0]=AZWqlUZc7ntKolWUY8kfs94O5ePTsJK6ynnILID875va6I4UQZIsr-D2XXyudZC-vRXSUuw6mIEUT-x5ySL589oNRX27tB78Mzrj5qIXdtdI8abm3x8EcOtHvd1pLYh-u3hfWovrguLSdcPKjGn66oPUvit_7oU2eVp1LWKEe86MxPBvla9wsXJwvaQnuX68vfo&__tn__=-]K-R].

Participation is free but please register
[[link removed]]

 

FREEDOM NOW SUITE: CELEBRATING MAX ROACH'S CENTENNIAL - NEWARK, NJ -
JANUARY 26  (NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER)

 

 

Be part of the revolution! Experience a night of music exploring
social Justice through the lens of Max Roach’s revolutionary Freedom
Now Suite. The activism runs deep through each piece as The Last
Poets, Nasheet Waits, Cassandra Wilson, Sonia Sanchez, Mayor Raz
Baraka and more take the stage.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26 @ 8:00PM

Prudential Hall
Betty Wold Johnson Stage

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

FEATURING CASSANDRA WILSON, RAVI COLTRANE, SONIA SANCHEZ, SAUL
WILLIAMS, NASHEET WAITS & MORE.

The revolutionary 1960 album _We Insist!: Max Roach’s Freedom Now
Suite_ explored issues of social justice and racial inequality
through the lens of jazz and poetry. In celebration of the centennial
of MAX ROACH — drummer, bebop pioneer and civil rights activist
— this landmark work is reimagined for today’s world.

Musical director NASHEET WAITS (of Max’s percussion ensemble
M’Boom) is joined by vocalist CASSANDRA WILSON, poets SONIA
SANCHEZ and SAUL WILLIAMS, saxophonist RAVI COLTRANE,
pianist NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI and bassist ERIC REVIS. The HONORABLE
MAYOR RAS BARAKA will help open the program, with a special
appearance by THE LAST POETS. Experience the modern evolution of
the _Freedom Now Suite_, a piece that continues to live, expand and
inspire across generations.

“We American jazz musicians of African descent have proved beyond
all doubt that we’re master musicians of our instruments. Now what
we have to do is employ our skill to tell the dramatic story of our
people and what we’ve been through.”

–Max Roach to _DownBeat_ magazine

Purchase tickets here
[[link removed]*1i4vyrp*_gcl_au*MjExNjAyNjI1LjE3MDM1Mjk4ODA.&_ga=2.216821586.594155994.1703529880-211722397.1703529880]
 
 

* Reader Comments
[[link removed]]
* Donald Trump
[[link removed]]
* Nikki Haley
[[link removed]]
* Fascism
[[link removed]]
* GOP
[[link removed]]
* Republican Party
[[link removed]]
* MAGA
[[link removed]]
* 2024 Elections
[[link removed]]
* Right-wing politics
[[link removed]]
* Right-wing agenda
[[link removed]]
* Racism
[[link removed]]
* slavery
[[link removed]]
* Israel
[[link removed]]
* Palestine
[[link removed]]
* Gaza
[[link removed]]
* anti-Semitism
[[link removed]]
* war crimes
[[link removed]]
* Israeli bombing
[[link removed]]
* Israeli airstrikes
[[link removed]]
* refuseniks
[[link removed]]
* Ceasefire
[[link removed]]
* Police
[[link removed]]
* police reform
[[link removed]]
* police crimes
[[link removed]]
* migrants
[[link removed]]
* border
[[link removed]]
* Immigration
[[link removed]]
* Leonard Bernstein
[[link removed]]
* Music
[[link removed]]
* movies
[[link removed]]
* Journalism
[[link removed]]
* censorship
[[link removed]]
* Palestine solidarity
[[link removed]]
* Gaza solidarity
[[link removed]]
* Labor Movement
[[link removed]]
* Global Labor
[[link removed]]
* Strikes
[[link removed]]
* Max Roach
[[link removed]]
* Jazz
[[link removed]]
* Jazz music
[[link removed]]
* Cartoons
[[link removed]]
* Announcements
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]