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TIDBITS- JUNE 26-READERS COMMENTS: ZOHRAN MAMDANI WINS!; BEFORE
ZOHRAN, THERE WAS COMRADE LA GUARDIA; TRUMP SHAMES AMERICA, NUCLEAR
OPTIONS, NEGOTIATION, NETANYAHU; WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: CALL TO
END APARTHEID, OCCUPATION; MORE;  
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June 26, 2025
xxxxxx

*
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_ Readers Comments: Zohran Mamdani Wins!; Before Zohran, There Was
Comrade La Guardia; Trump Shames America, Nuclear Options,
Negotiation, Netanyahu; Path to Pushing MAGA out of Power; World
Council of Churches: Call to End Apartheid, Occupation; more; _

Tidbits - Reader Comments, Resources, AND cartoons - June 26, 2025,
xxxxxx

 

* TRUMP SHAMES AMERICA  (PETER PHILLIPS)
* RE: NUCLEAR OPTIONS  (MARCOSA SANTIAGO)
* NEGOTIATION  --  CARTOON AND COMMENTARY BY ROB ROGERS
* RE: BEFORE ZOHRAN MAMDANI, THERE WAS COMRADE LA GUARDIA  (MIRIAM
BENSMAN; PAUL BUHLE)
* RE: A PATH TO PUSHING MAGA OUT OF POWER  (MARILYN ALBERT;
JENNIFER NOURI)
* RE: “NO KINGS” WAS A REBELLION IN TRUMP COUNTRY  (JENIKA)
* THE ASS DOCTOR  --  CARTOON BY MR. FISH
* SUPREME LEADER  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS
* RE: THE REAL DEMOCRATIC CIVIL WAR  (E.KRELL)
* RE: AIPAC DEMANDS DEMOCRATS ‘STAND WITH ISRAEL’  (FELICE
SAGE;  SONIA COBBINS)
* RE: EUROPEAN DOCKWORKERS REFUSE TO LOAD WEAPONS AIMED AT PALESTINE
 (ELLEN DAVID FRIEDMAN)
* WHAT'S OUR MISSION  --  CARTOON BY MICHAEL RAMIREZ
* RE: SMARTPHONES AGAIN SET THE AGENDA FOR JUSTICE  (BILL AUDETTE)
* GAS PRICES  --  CARTOON BY DR. JAMES MACLEOD
* GIVE ALL THE NATIONAL PARKS LEGAL STANDING AS PERSONS  --
 CARTOON BY TIM SHEARD AND ILLUSTRATED BY RYN GARGULINSKI

RESOURCES:

* BUILDING UNIONS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE BY PETER KELLMAN
(AUTHOR), MATT WUERKER (ILLUSTRATOR) - HARD BALL PRESS

 

* STATEMENT ON PALESTINE AND ISRAEL: A CALL TO END APARTHEID,
OCCUPATION, AND IMPUNITY IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL  (WORLD COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES)

...

.
 

TRUMP SHAMES AMERICA
 

By unilaterally bombing Iran, Donald Trump shames the honor US
Veterans, and the moral values of American religious institutions.

US Vets for Peace know that the American military should never
deliberately start wars. Vets hold a common belief in peace before
surprise, Trump's fake efforts to negotiate with Iran allowed Israel
to affect a surprise attack leading to a number of Iranian's leaders
being assassinated in their homes

America's main religious institutions morally support the idea of a
peace first efforts before initiating acts of war. Unilateral war is
morally wrong especially when the justifications given are
unsubstantiated. Trump pretended to agonize over entering the war, but
clearly all along intended to use bunker buster bombs in support of
Israel. Trump has been saying as late as two days ago that he wanted
at least two weeks to decide about supporting a Israel war on Iraq. He
decision to bomb Iran today belies his earlier statements as nothing
more than strategic military actions against Iran

Trump's decision to go to war with Iran is morally wrong, and a slap
in the face to Veterans and all major US religions.

Peter Phillips
June 21, 2025

_[Peter Phillips is a professor Emeritus of Political Sociology at
Sonoma State University and a member of Veterans for Peace Chapter
122, Placer County, CA.]_

 

RE: NUCLEAR OPTIONS
 

The Tariq Ali article
[[link removed]]
is long and thorough, but doesn't answer a question of mine.  The
objective of Israel and the US to destroy Iran's ability to construct
a nuclear bomb in the indefinite future does not solve their problem.
 It may increase the motivation of Iran to try obtaining nuclear
capability in a more direct way than DIY - by acquiring such bombs
from another nuclear-capable country willing to sell or lend them,
perhaps DPRK or Pakistan.  In the 20th century, we all feared that
the policy of MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction) may lead to Armageddon
through misjudgment or accident, but instead it did hold the peace
between the principal antagonists.  Would Israel and the US dare
attack if Iran already had a nuclear bomb?  In the current situation,
depending on MAD may actually be a better bet than allowing an almost
certain drift into a larger Mideast war, quite possibly leading to
World War III.

Marcosa Santiago MD (ret)

 

NEGOTIATION  --  CARTOON AND COMMENTARY BY ROB ROGERS

 

_"Trump thinks dropping bombs on a country that has NOT attacked us
will bring them, Iran, to the table so Trump can negotiate a deal like
the one Obama negotiated with Iran. Yes, the same deal Trump later
tore up. If Iran was close to developing a nuke, Trump is as much to
blame as anyone."_

Rob Rogers
June 24, 2025
TinyView [[link removed]]

 

RE: BEFORE ZOHRAN MAMDANI, THERE WAS COMRADE LA GUARDIA
 

What we’re watching
[link removed]…
[[link removed]]
isn’t a clash between pragmatism and idealism, but between
stagnation and the kind of reform that, given time, tends to look like
common sense. 

Miriam Bensman
Post on Facebook

      =====

wonderful! I like the Marcantonio/AOC link better, didn't they have
some overlap in districts?'

Paul Buhle
Post on Facebook

      =====

Paul Buhle yes. Both rep the people’s republic of Astoria. As does
Kristen Gonzalez and Tiffany Caban.

Miriam Bensman
Post on Facebook

 

RE: A PATH TO PUSHING MAGA OUT OF POWER
 

Here is an excellent analysis of the moment we are in the fight
against the extremist and anti-democracy forces by Max Elbaum.

Marilyn Albert
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

The progressive plan to build a structure for upcoming elections
includes a big lean on Labor if we're going to get anything done. They
mention that AOC is the only candidate who looks like she's up to it.
I'm not too thrilled.

Gotta call it something besides the Democratic Party. That ran its
course and died with Hillary.

Jennifer Nouri
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: “NO KINGS” WAS A REBELLION IN TRUMP COUNTRY
 

Excuse me but the count on NO KINGS DAY was 11-12 million souls out
there protesting this nincompoop.

Jenika

 

THE ASS DOCTOR  --  CARTOON BY MR. FISH

 

Mr. Fish
June 22, 2025
Mr. Fish - ClownCrack
[[link removed]]

 

SUPREME LEADER  --  CARTOON BY ROB ROGERS

 

Rob Rogers
June 20, 2025
TinyView [[link removed]]

 

RE: THE REAL DEMOCRATIC CIVIL WAR
 

Men need to get over their attitude that so-called "women's work" is
beneath them.  They should be looking at service-related jobs and/or
areas like pre-school/kindergarten and elementary school where they
can be teachers.  Home-health care workers is another one.  Get over
the ego!

E.Krell
Baltimore MD

 

RE: AIPAC DEMANDS DEMOCRATS ‘STAND WITH ISRAEL’
 

They make the most noise but the majority of Jewish Americans do NOT
support the genocidal war against the people of Gaza, the illegal
terrorist settler appropriation of the Palestinians' West Bank land or
the insane new war on Iran. And BTW, why isn't anybody concerned about
the genocidal, ethnic cleansing Netanyahu regime having plenty of
nuclear weapons, along with North Korea and other bad actors, while
Iran is nowhere near having them and Trump's own Intel agencies say
they are NOT now working to develop them. Besides, nobody has used
nuclear weapons but the US and since then mutual assured destruction
has worked just fine, even with the craziest dictators. I don't really
see why there's any more hysteria over Iran maybe someday becoming
another nuclear power than there is over Israel or North Korea already
BEING nuclear powers.

Felice Sage
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

      =====

Big money, marketing techniques and media control dominate elections.
AIPAC has tons of money from billionaires such as the Adelsons. They
are quite brazen in how they use it. Neither they nor other SUPER PACs
could be so successful at manipulation if Congress had ever bothered
to enact some rules about election finance limits and about requiring
some free and equal access to the media Because that would serve
democracy. But they didn't. So now we have to rely on our collective
efforts to raise funds and clarify issues. It's a lot of hard work. So
my first rule in deciding how to vote is to see where the candidates
get their money.

Sonia Cobbins
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
[[link removed]]

 

RE: EUROPEAN DOCKWORKERS REFUSE TO LOAD WEAPONS AIMED AT PALESTINE

(posted on xxxxxx Labor
[[link removed]])
 

I am just writing to thank you for re-posting Rafeef and Katy's
article but noting that you omitted citing it as a _Labor Notes_
article. I hope this is easily corrected. 

Thanks, 

Ellen David Friedman

 

WHAT'S OUR MISSION  --  CARTOON BY MICHAEL RAMIREZ

 

Michael Ramirez
June 22, 2025
Chattanooga Times Free Press
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RE: SMARTPHONES AGAIN SET THE AGENDA FOR JUSTICE
 

Smartphones are recording the truth as fascism tries to lie about
their actions.

Bill Audette
Posted on xxxxxx's Facebook page
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GAS PRICES  --  CARTOON BY DR. JAMES MACLEOD

 

 

Dr. James MacLeod
June 23, 2025
MacLeodCartoons
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GIVE ALL THE NATIONAL PARKS LEGAL STANDING AS PERSONS  --  CARTOON
BY TIM SHEARD AND ILLUSTRATED BY RYN GARGULINSKI

 

Tim Sheard
June 13, 2025
Work-Bites
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In case you missed ‘em, here’s weeks 1
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2 [[link removed]]of
“That’s Outrageous!”

 

BUILDING UNIONS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE BY PETER KELLMAN (AUTHOR),
MATT WUERKER (ILLUSTRATOR) - HARD BALL PRESS

 

[[link removed]]

The Founding Fathers believed in life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.

Turns out they were talking about the wealthy slave owners and sea
merchants, not the hard-working citizens, slaves or indentured
servants.

Building Unions is an illustrated 40-page pamphlet, revised and
reprinted, that describes how we must change the fundamental
relationships between labor and capital if we want to organize and
build union power. That means fighting the propertied class for a
redistribution of wealth and power. To win that fight, we need to
understand how and why the laws that are hard-wired into the
Constitution and into subsequent labor laws were crafted to suppress
union organizing.

We need to know our own history.

_“An unflinching picture of workers fighting against overwhelming
odds for justice in the workplace… workers even have to fight to
keep the knowledge of their own struggles alive. This book is a
milestone in preserving and sharing that knowledge” 
- Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States_

Building Unions: Past, Present and Future
[[link removed]] 
Author: Peter Kelman, Illustrator; Matthew Wuerker
Hard Ball Press; 37 pages
Paperback:  $10.00  -- Discount 20% for a purchase of 10-24 copies,
30% for >25.
Contact: [email protected] – 917-428-1352
[tel:917-428-1352?utm_source=xxxxxx-general&utm_medium=email]
ISBN: 979-8-9898025-7-9

 

STATEMENT ON PALESTINE AND ISRAEL: A CALL TO END APARTHEID,
OCCUPATION, AND IMPUNITY IN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL  (WORLD COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES)
 

STATEMENT ON PALESTINE AND ISRAEL BY THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, MEETING IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, ON
18-24 JUNE 2025
[[link removed]].

_"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an
ever-flowing stream."
- Amos 5:24 (NRSV)_
    

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, meeting in
Johannesburg, South Africa, on 18-24 June 2025, gathers in deep
lamentation and outrage as the crisis in Palestine and Israel
escalates to levels that flagrantly violate international humanitarian
and human rights law as well as the most basic principles of
morality. 

We recognize a clear distinction between the Jewish people, our
siblings in faith, and the acts of the Government of Israel, and we
reaffirm that the WCC stands firm against any kind of racism,
including antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, and islamophobia. However,
the unbearable suffering inflicted on the people of Gaza, and the
escalating violence and oppression in the West Bank and in Jerusalem
compel the global fellowship of churches to speak with clarity,
urgency, and commitment to the principles of justice under
international law and ethics.

The Government of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has entailed
grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention which may constitute
genocide and/or other crimes under the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC). Simultaneously, the occupied West
Bank and East Jerusalem continue to experience intensified violence,
illegal settlement expansion, and systemic human rights violations.
These actions defy international legal norms, including the United
Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international human rights
treaties, and numerous Security Council and General Assembly
resolutions.

The World Council of Churches reaffirms its long-standing commitment
to inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, and to international law
as a framework for peace, justice, and accountability. 

In this spirit, the WCC Central Committee calls for:

* NAMING the Reality of Apartheid: We recognize and denounce the
system of apartheid imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people, in
violation of international law and moral conscience.
* IMPLEMENTING Sanctions and Accountability: We call on states,
churches, and international institutions to impose consequences for
violations of international law, including targeted sanctions,
divestment, and arms embargoes. Full support must be given to the
International Criminal Court and UN mechanisms investigating potential
war crimes and crimes against humanity.
* AFFIRMING Palestinian Rights and Freedom: We uphold the
inalienable human rights of Palestinians to freedom, justice, return,
and self-determination. We demand the end of the occupation and the
lifting of the unlawful blockade on Gaza.
* SUPPORT for the resilience and witness of Palestinian Christian
churches and communities, upholding their right to remain on their
land and to freely practice their faith.

We commend the leadership of the South African government in seeking
justice and accountability to international law through the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), and urge all states to comply
with the ICJ’s rulings. Churches worldwide are called to witness, to
speak out, and to act.

_"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make
peace."_ — James 3:18

* Reader Comments
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