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TIDBITS – FEB.22, 2024 – READER COMMENTS: DEMOCRATS’
IMMIGRATION POLICY; PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY; ALEKSEI NAVALNY; ALABAMA
DECISION WEAPONIZES RELIGION; MORE GUN SHOOTINGS, DEATHS; ARTISTS CALL
FOR CEASEFIRE NOW; PAUL ROBESON NEW DOCUMENTARY; MORE  
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February 22, 2024
xxxxxx
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_ Reader Comments: Democrats' Immigration Policy; Presidential
Immunity !?!; Aleksei Navalny; Alabama Decision Weaponizes Religion;
More Gun Shootings, Deaths; Artists Call for Ceasefire Now; Paul
Robeson New Documentary; Cartoons; more..... _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, Announcements, AND cartoons -
Feb.22, 2024, xxxxxx

 

* PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY  --  CARTOON BY LALO ALCARAZ
* RE: DEMOCRATS EYE NEW IMMIGRATION STRATEGY AFTER SUOZZI WIN
 (DAVID BACON)
* SUFFER THE CHILDREN  --  CARTOON BY PAT BAGLEY
* RE: NAVALNY DIES IN PRISON, AUTHORITIES SAY − BUT HIS BLUEPRINT
FOR ANTI-PUTIN ACTIVISM WILL LIVE ON  (JOHN CASE)
* RE: THE DOCUMENTARY ALEKSEI NAVALNY KNEW WE’D WATCH AFTER HIS
DEATH  (DIMITRI DEVYATKIN)
* RE: THE GOP’S NEXT TARGET? PRENATAL TESTS  (VELVA SPRIGGS)
* ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING  --  CARTOON BY DREW SHENEMAN
* TRUMP NEEDS OUR HELP  --  CARTOON BY CLAY JONES
* DAMAGES  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS
* RE: CHARLES V. HAMILTON, AN APOSTLE OF ‘BLACK POWER,’ DIES AT
94  (NATALIE J. SOKOLOFF)
* RE: GEORGE GERSHWIN’S ‘RHAPSODY IN BLUE’ IS A STORY OF JAZZ,
RACE AND THE FRAUGHT NOTION OF AMERICA’S MELTING POT  (ELEANOR
ROOSEVELT; MARCY HORNER)
* REPUBLICAN TRADITION  --  CARTOON BY MIKE STANFILL

* COURT DECISION WEAPONIZES RELIGION TO TAKE AWAY RIGHTS  (NATIONAL
COUNCIL OF JEWISH WOMEN)

RESOURCES:

* ARTISTS CALL FOR CEASEFIRE NOW  (ARTISTS4CEASEFIRE)

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

* PAUL ROBESON: “I’M A NEGRO. I’M AN AMERICAN.”  --  FREE
STREAM | FEBRUARY 18-25  (DEFA FILM LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST)

* VIRTUAL BOOK TALK: PUBLIC WORKERS IN SERVICE OF AMERICA  --
 FEBRUARY 28  (THE KALMANOVITZ INITIATIVE FOR LABOR AND THE WORKING
POOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY)

 

* BOOK LAUNCH FOR LAWRENCE HAMM: A LIFE IN THE STRUGGLE  --
 NEWARK  -- MARCH 9  (NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY)

..
 

PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY  --  CARTOON BY LALO ALCARAZ

 

Lalo Alcaraz
February 20, 2024
pocho.com
[[link removed]]

 

RE: DEMOCRATS EYE NEW IMMIGRATION STRATEGY AFTER SUOZZI WIN
 

This piece, and much of what xxxxxx has been posting lately, is
giving the centrists in the Democratic Party too much of a pass on
immigrant rights, rather than being the voice of the movement, which
is what we need much more.

David Bacon

 

SUFFER THE CHILDREN  --  CARTOON BY PAT BAGLEY

 

 

Pat Bagley
February 15, 2024
The Salt Lake Tribune
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RE: NAVALNY DIES IN PRISON, AUTHORITIES SAY − BUT HIS BLUEPRINT FOR
ANTI-PUTIN ACTIVISM WILL LIVE ON
 

Gee. After reading this and Navalny's/ Meduza visionary testimony, Why
would ANYONE not join Blinken, Biden, what's left of Reagan, the
Clintons, JPMorgan, Rishi Sunak, and raise the military budgets by the
amount truly needed to remove the fascist criminal Putin from Russia
and return it to the path laid out by Clinton and the Washington
Consensus where, as the lights of paradise approach, the fruits of
having US style democratic and republican parties will be manifest.

The US military and state department are indeed looking for people
willing to not just talk, but do the deed. Sign up NOW. Agents, spies,
advocates, writers, artists, rockers, freedom soldiers are needed.
Russia needs our help. Who best to teach and lead them than the US
liberals and leftists? We would NEVER start a war! Or seek Domination
of a country! But first, the little matter of liberating Ukraine for
safe business development, and overthrowing the criminal Putin. Why
can't we empty our prisons for anyone willing to join the mission.

(Then we would not have a higher prison pop/citizen than Russia. Tsk
Tsk)

Like Navalny says: "You got two legs. Stand up".

Right?

Great article.

John Case

 

RE: THE DOCUMENTARY ALEKSEI NAVALNY KNEW WE’D WATCH AFTER HIS DEATH

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

I am disappointed that such a wonderfully progressive, working class
media portal would put out such a biased, one-sided analysis of an
important issue as Navalny and his death. It comes straight from the
NY Times even. Just a minimum of research would reveal that Navalny
was likely in the pay of the CIA and Britain's MI6. There are video
recordings of his assistant Volkov negotiating with the MI6
representative in Moscow for money to finance them. Listen to this
interview with Scott Ritter for some balance. You can be sure that
very few Russian people respect Navalny. Most regard him as a traitor.
Putin had little reason to worry about him as a rival, since he had
less than 1% support among the Russian voters. It seems much more
valuable to the West to have Navalny killed during the Munich security
conference, where his wife just happened to be in attendance. Please
issue a rebuttal of your very one sided report.

Dimitri Devyatkin

 

RE: THE GOP’S NEXT TARGET? PRENATAL TESTS
 

This is a mental illness among these anti-abortion freaks.
 Strangely, they're probably supporting the killing of children in
Gaza.  Hateful, mean, mostly white men

Velva Spriggs

 

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING  --  CARTOON BY DREW SHENEMAN

 

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 4,994 people have died from gun
violence this year, 3,351 more were injured. There have been 49 mass
shootings in 2024. It’s February.

If history is any judge, the mass shooting at the Chiefs victory
parade, where 1 is confirmed dead and more than 20 injured (more than
half of them children), nothing is going to happen to curb the
epidemic of gun violence in America. Nothing of substance happened
after Columbine, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas or any of the myriad other
instances where people were just going about their day learning,
shopping, celebrating and were struck down by a bullet.

The reasons are pretty clear. One political party absolutely refuses
to consider even common-sense gun reform. Despite the current state of
the NRA, decades of lobbying by gun manufacturers and advocates has
done its job. Unquestioned fealty to the sanctity of the 2nd
Amendment, and an extremely vague interpretation of the term “well
regulated,” are a litmus test for any Republican trying to hold
elected office.

The Republican Party is perfectly willing to tell you how to live your
life, except when it comes to guns. They’re willing to regulate your
reproductive healthcare, your child’s school curriculum and even
your social media use, but not guns. Any political party that sees
books as a bigger threat to children than an assault rifle lost its
way long ago, and fosters very little hope of ever finding its way
back.

Drew Sheneman
February 16, 2024
The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)
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TRUMP NEEDS OUR HELP  --  CARTOON BY CLAY JONES

 

 

Clay Jones
February 18, 2024
@CNNOpinion  newsletter
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DAMAGES  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS

 

Rob Rogers
February 20, 2024
robrogers.com [[link removed]]

 

RE: CHARLES V. HAMILTON, AN APOSTLE OF ‘BLACK POWER,’ DIES AT 94
 

Did you knw he coined the term Black Power? It is so fascinating to
see the origins of movements from many different perspectives.

Natalie J. Sokoloff, Professor Emerita of Sociology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
City University of New York

 

RE: GEORGE GERSHWIN’S ‘RHAPSODY IN BLUE’ IS A STORY OF JAZZ,
RACE AND THE FRAUGHT NOTION OF AMERICA’S MELTING POT
 

A lot of Eastern European Jewish influences in that piece as well.
That opening clarinet, for example.

Eleanor Roosevelt
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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When my husband and I heard this black composers Afro-American
symphony #1, we thought it was a tribute to Gershwin. Turns out
Gershwin had "unconsciously" borrowed from William Still
[link removed] "I Got Rhythm"
melody is very clear in the second movement.

Marcy Horner
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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REPUBLICAN TRADITION  --  CARTOON BY MIKE STANFILL

 

Mike Stanfill
February 16, 2024
Raging Pencils
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COURT DECISION WEAPONIZES RELIGION TO TAKE AWAY RIGHTS

 

National Council of Jewish Women Calls Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF
Ruling an Affront to Religious Freedom

Court Decision Weaponizes Religion to Take Away Rights

February 20, 2024
National Council of Jewish Women
[[link removed]]

National Council of Jewish Women CEO Sheila Katz released the
following statement in response to the Alabama Supreme Court ruling
that declared frozen embryos to be children and that the discarding of
frozen embryos constitutes the wrongful death of a minor:

“This weekend’s decision from Alabama’s highest court
classifying frozen embryos as children is wildly outrageous and sets a
harmful precedent that violates separation of church and state and
will make it nearly impossible for families in Alabama to access
fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

“The court didn’t even try to hide the Christian theology behind
their reasoning by referencing God 41 times and repeatedly quoting the
Bible in their decision. Make no mistake, this is a clear violation of
religious freedom as the Alabama Supreme Court — indeed the Chief
Justice — has made clear that it seeks to impose a narrow Christian
interpretation of theology on all people in Alabama. Religious freedom
exists as a shield to protect religious minorities, and should never
be used as a sword to discriminate. Weaponizing a personal religious
belief to create law for millions is not just unconscionable, but
unconstitutional.

“Jewish tradition does not consider an embryo as having the same
legal status as a person, and the most common Jewish interpretation is
that life begins at birth. Jews in the United States
disproportionately rely on IVF, with 17% of Jewish women utilizing
fertility treatments to get pregnant, as compared to 12.5% of the
general population. This ruling will cause major pain as it strips
away access to crucial scientific advances for Jews, LGBTQ couples,
and so many who rely on IVF to start a family.

“Further, this decision creates legal chaos with far reaching
consequences on medical providers — leaving fertility clinics unsure
if they can provide services in Alabama and those who already have
embryos frozen in clinics wondering if they will go to jail if they
discard them.

“The people of Alabama deserve better. One-in-six people are
affected by infertility.  Barriers to accessing IVF would only
compound the lack of health coverage in Alabama, a state with the
third highest maternal death rate in the nation. National Council of
Jewish Women affirms that people should have full reproductive freedom
to decide when and how to build their families — including through
IVF. We will pursue all legal options available to our organization
and will not stop fighting until everyone can access the health care
they need according to their own religious beliefs.”

 

ARTISTS CALL FOR CEASEFIRE NOW

 

Dear President Biden,

We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as
human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding
horrors in Israel and Palestine.

We ask that, as President of the United States, you and the US
Congress call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and
Israel before another life is lost. More than 29,000 people have been
killed over the last 4 months, and over 60,000 injured* – numbers
that any person of conscience knows are catastrophic. We believe all
life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the
killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

We urge your administration, Congress, and all world leaders, to honor
all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a
ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the
safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are
children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants
being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to
reach them.

We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in
ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US
Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee
of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral
imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law
— must prevail.”

Since Oct 7th, more than 45,000* bombs and missiles have been dropped
on Gaza - resulting in one child being killed every 10 minutes.

_"CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN GAZA HAVE PRACTICALLY RUN OUT OF FOOD,
WATER, ELECTRICITY, MEDICINE AND SAFE ACCESS TO HOSPITALS, FOLLOWING
DAYS OF AIR STRIKES AND CUTS TO ALL SUPPLY ROUTES. GAZA’S SOLE POWER
PLANT RAN OUT OF FUEL WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, SHUTTING DOWN ELECTRICITY,
WATER AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT. MOST RESIDENTS CAN NO LONGER GET
DRINKING WATER FROM SERVICE PROVIDERS OR HOUSEHOLD WATER THROUGH
PIPELINES.... THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION HAS REACHED LETHAL LOWS, AND
YET ALL REPORTS POINT TO FURTHER ATTACKS. COMPASSION — AND
INTERNATIONAL LAW — MUST PREVAIL.” – UNICEF SPOKESPERSON JAMES
ELDER_

Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their
loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to
stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity
and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed.

We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we
stood by and did nothing. As Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths
told UN News, “HISTORY IS WATCHING.”

Supported by Oxfam America & ActionAid USA

*Updated as of 2/20/24 - List in formation - click here
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PAUL ROBESON: “I’M A NEGRO. I’M AN AMERICAN.”  --  FREE
STREAM | FEBRUARY 18-25  (DEFA FILM LIBRARY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST)

 

In celebration of BLACK HISTORY MONTH and in anticipation of our
streaming and upcoming DVD release, we are offering a free one-week
preview stream of the documentary PAUL ROBESON: “I’M A NEGRO.
I’M AN AMERICAN.” [[link removed]] (1989,
dir. Kurt Tetzlaff).

> STREAM FREE HERE  [[link removed]]

A cinematic homage to the Black American singer, actor, civil rights
activist Paul Robeson (1898–1976), who, at the peak of his singing
career in the late 1940s, became a political activist and as a result
endured years of persecution and isolation in his own country during
the hysteria of 1950s McCarthyism. Throughout his life, he advocated
at home and abroad for freedom of the Black community and all human
beings. He had a significant impact on the 1960s US American civil
rights movement and the subsequent social changes. Paul Robeson
inspires us to use our voices and our social positions to speak up
against racism and oppression and in doing so, to strive for a better
and more just world.

***

“This film is a must-watch! It intimately portrays Paul Robeson and
allows us to experience him through the eyes of the people who loved
him, including the great Harry Belafonte.”   — Kevina King,
Howard University

“Kurt Tetzlaff's documentary simultaneously shows us twos side of
Paul Robeson. On the one hand is the mythological Robeson; the
outstanding artist and activist, whose leftist politics and solidarity
with people around the globe so perfectly fit the GDR's ideal of
crossracial alliance. On the other hand, there is Robeson the man,
someone who felt betrayed by his country after he was banned from
travel and performance due to his Communist sensibilities. Robeson
spent his lifetime proving his worth, reciting Shakespeare, singing
opera and fighting for the rights of the oppressed. But more often
than not, even his white allies saw him only as a token - someone they
wanted to perform a certain myth of Blackness they held dear. These
expectations were arguably as restraining to Robeson as the bans on
his travel and work. Tetzlaff's documentary honors Robeson, while also
giving voice to his pain, in part by allowing those who knew him well
express the hardships he didn't always share with the world. And thus,
as a documentary about the complicated entanglement of politics, art
and freedom, it offers a sorely needed perspective in our current
political climate.”   — Priscilla Layne (U of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill)

"Paul Robeson was indeed an unsurpassed legend in American music, and
Tetzlaff's film reminds us he was a legend, too, for the global left.
Thanks to extended musical sequences and exclusive interviews
with _other _legends such as Pete Seeger and Harry Belafonte,
Tetzlaff portrays Robeson as the key linchpin between the American
civil rights movement and the communist publics of the Eastern
bloc."   — Evan Torner, U of Cincinnati

"From any perspective, the film stands as an elegant, revealing, and
powerful portrait of a towering figure in American culture, society,
and politics. Revisiting episodes in Robeson’s life, drawing
attention to his performances and writings, and confronting the
virulent racism and anti-communism he faced in the U.S., _Paul
Robeson: "I'm A Negro. I'm an American."_ documents the life of a
groundbreaking artist whose courage, tenacity, and passion remain
profoundly inspiring."   — Anthology Film Archives, New York, 2023

"A tribute to an entertainment titan."   — _The New York Times_,
2023

The DEFA Film Library at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
[[link removed]], founded by Professor Barton Byg in
1993, is the only archive and research center outside of Germany
devoted to a broad spectrum of filmmaking from and related to the
former GDR. It houses an extensive collection of 35- and 16mm prints,
DVDs, books, periodicals and articles. Students are involved in all
aspects of the Library’s research, outreach and teaching activities
and also gain valuable experience in subtitling and library,
conference and arts management.

The DEFA Film Library makes films available to a wide public in the
USA and Canada through: touring film series; the rental of 35- and
16mm films from our collection, in cooperation with a wide range of
partners; and the production and distribution of films on DVD with
English subtitles and extensive bonus materials by experts in the
field.

DEFA FILM LIBRARY [[link removed]]  
502 Herter Hall
University of Massachusetts
161 Presidents Drive
Amherst, MA 01003-9312

Tel: 413-545-6681
Fax: 413-577-3808

[email protected]

 

VIRTUAL BOOK TALK: PUBLIC WORKERS IN SERVICE OF AMERICA  --
 FEBRUARY 28  (THE KALMANOVITZ INITIATIVE FOR LABOR AND THE WORKING
POOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY)

 

Join Frederick Gooding and Eric S Yellin along with a panel of
contributors for a virtual lunchtime discussion on public workers
February 28th at 12:00 pm EST

_Moderated by The Kalmanovitz Initiative's Joseph McCartin _

"From white-collar executives to mail carriers, public workers meet
the needs of the entire nation. Frederick W. Gooding Jr. and Eric S.
Yellin edit a collection of new research on this understudied
workforce"

RSVP on Zoom [[link removed]]
Purchase from University of Illinois Press
[[link removed]]

Reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor
[[link removed]]
at Georgetown University  
209 Maguire Hall
Georgetown University 37th and O Streets NW
Washington, DC 20057

 

BOOK LAUNCH FOR LAWRENCE HAMM: A LIFE IN THE STRUGGLE  --  NEWARK
 -- MARCH 9  (NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY)

 

 

Book launch for Lawrence Hamm: A Life In The Struggle by Lawrence Hamm
with Annette Alston 

SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2024, 3:00PM

NEWARK PUBLIC LIBRARY, 5 WASHINGTON STREET IN NEWARK, NJ.

* Reader Comments
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* Immigration
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* migrants
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* border
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* Democrats
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* Biden Administration
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* Donald Trump
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* Grifter
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* GOP
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* MAGA
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* Make America Great Again
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* Presidential Immunity
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* 2024 Elections
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* Alexey Navalny
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* Navalny
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* Death of Navalny
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* abortion
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* abortion rights
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* IVF
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* religion
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* theocracy
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* Frozen embryos
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* war on women
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* Russia
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* guns
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* gun deaths
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* mass shootings
[[link removed]]
* Gaza
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* Ceasefire
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* Israel-Gaza War
[[link removed]]
* Palestine
[[link removed]]
* Genocide
[[link removed]]
* Paul Robeson
[[link removed]]
* Public Workers
[[link removed]]
* George Gershwin
[[link removed]]
* Rhapsody in Blue
[[link removed]]
* Lawrence Hamm
[[link removed]]
* Newark
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* New Jersey
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* Cartoons
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* resources
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* Announcements
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INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

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