Gratitude to Bill Huston for reminding that the delicate topic of Home Rule has been incidental to CELDF, which offers a democracy school.  In other words, this group reminds We The People that human rights are relevant, and how best to secure them. 

https://celdf.org/?s=Home+Rule   –

Clara Township Home Rule Commission Meets After Residents Vote To Consider New Government

PennLive: Opinion: The limits of home rule

The Bradford Era: Highland Township Home Rule case headed to court

The Bradford Era: Highland Home Rule Charter moves forward, for now, after ruling

–end of celdf info–

https://celdf.org/2023/07/wouldnt-you-say-the-law-did-not-save-grant-townships-water-the-people-of-grant-did/  –

It took ten years of bold resistance against legalized tyranny for the people of Grant Township to prevail. PGE corporation has thrown in the towel. They’ve permanently capped the methane well they’d intended to use to pipe millions of gallons of carcinogenic, radioactive, toxic frack waste into the same ground from which the community draws and consumes life-sustaining water. It is a victory for common sense over the balderdash of precedent-protected legalized injustice that masquerades as American Law. Oh, and happy Independence Day. Ten years in the state and federal courts resisting invasion and occupation by a poison-pushing corporation – and this is what the people of Grant Township learned: the courts serve corporations, not people. The country’s first vice president, John Adams, grandiosely called the new United States a nation of laws, not men, But it was men, white propertied men like him who made the laws that mere mortals like you, me, and the good people of Grant Township are compelled to obey. In Grant Township they found out just how biased the law is in favor of the powerful.

The judges sanctioned attorneys who dared plainly call PGE’s plans to poison a township of less than a thousand human souls an affront to the rights of the community, and their attack on the municipality’s home rule charter an assault on democracy.

–end of celdf info–

Ten years may seem like a long time, but it goes by in a flash when you work toward justice.  In NYS the anti-fracking advocacy was at least a decade long of near-desperation hope and concern from responsible citizens, for local-community autonomy.  Hat’s off to those involved such as Bill Huston and CELDF.

Local citizens retain rights to the extent said citizens will protect their own rights.  —  https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-right-and-responsibility-individuals-groups-and    – Stressing that all members of the international community shall fulfil, jointly and separately, their solemn obligation to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of any kind, including distinctions based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, and reaffirming the particular importance of achieving international cooperation to fulfil this obligation according to the Charter,

–end of ohchr info–

https://steadystate.org/cracking-the-code-finding-economic-growth-in-federal-law/?blm_aid=123113   – This directive is only one of the more than 73 binding references to the term “economic growth” found within the U.S. Code, the official compilation and codification of permanent federal laws passed by Congress. Such directives can be found in bills pertaining to fisheries and global trade, highways and banking, conservation and space commerce. They can take the form of vague exhortations or firm requirements. And all of them entrench “economic growth” as an overriding goal of federal policy.

To compile substantive references to economic growth in the U.S. Code, we must first understand what the Code is. The Code is organized by subject matter into 54 titles, each of which is further divided into chapters and sections. For example, the establishment of the National Highway System can be found in Section 103 (National Highway System) of Chapter 1 (Federal-Aid Highways) of Title 23 (Highways).

A quick search for “economic growth” in the Code pulls up 323 hits. But finding substantive references to economic growth—the references that commit the government to pursue growth—requires more digging. This is because most references to “economic growth” in the code—about 133, by my count—don’t create binding and enforceable law by themselves What sticks out, however, is how often references to “economic growth” are used to restrict democratic policymaking in order to accomplish this narrow—and increasingly destructive—goal. Nowhere is this clearer than in Title 48, entitled “Territories and Insular Possessions.” Section 2141 requires any fiscal plan developed by The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (otherwise known as “La Junta”) to “provide for capital expenditures and investments necessary to promote economic growth.” Not expenditures for health, or wellbeing, or sustainability, but growth. This diktat is nothing less than an environmental death-sentence for Puerto Rico. But it is only formalizing the growth obsession that already drives our economy.

—end of casse info–(www.steadystate.org)   An apt question is the reason a government pursues infinite growth using finite resources.

Misogyny is used in political campaigns of both branches of the Democratic/Republican duopoly.  A reason is that it is fundamentally invisible due to indoctrination as valid when misogyny is institutional and the tool of oppression.

https://mronline.org/2023/07/19/patriarchy-and-the-origins-of-womens-oppression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=patriarchy-and-the-origins-of-womens-oppression  –

Why? Because the origins of women’s oppression predate the development of class society, and the subordination of women was instrumental in the development of early forms of class societies and the directions they took.

Patriarchy–the institutionalised system of male dominance–and paternalism have developed over thousands of years and sadly cannot be wished away just because we know they are wrong and archaic. And to fight against something, we need to know where it comes from, how it developed and how it became so effective.

—end of mronline info–

A local news station reported polluted skies without mention of Climate Change, and drawing from a blogging “expert” who, it was reported, said wildfires are normal.  This bait-and-switch is typical of those on public air waves paid by advertisers who profit from selling stuff rather than journalistic integrity on the topic of Climate Change.  Eventually the news station amended the pro-business view from the blogging “expert” to say, oh, by the way, in 2023 in the Canadian wildfire “normality”, burned are millions of acres over and above those of Canadian fires over a 10 year period.  But still not relating to Climate Change.  Oh well, at least an “expert” was sited; common sense isn’t enough, one supposes.

https://popularresistance.org/as-skies-turn-orange-media-still-hesitate-to-mention-whats-changing-climate/   – Searching the Nexis news database for transcripts from June 5–9 on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and MSNBC, FAIR found 115 news segments that mentioned the forest fires and their effect on air quality. Of those 115 segments, only 44 (38%) mentioned climate change’s role.

–end of popularresistance info–

https://mronline.org/2023/07/18/catching-heat-from-big-brother/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=catching-heat-from-big-brother   —

Prominent among legislative measures that undermine climate action are so-called preemption bills, which prohibit certain actions by local governments. Until recently, such measures were narrowly targeted. For example, laws now on the books in 24 states nullify city ordinances that ban hookups for gas furnaces, stoves, and water heaters in new home construction. But now two states have escalated the preemption game with sweeping new laws that could tie city and county governments’ hands on just about any issue. One of the states (predictably, given its anti-democratic reputation of late) is Texas, where the state assembly passed and Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a bill that forbids any local regulations that aren’t explicitly authorized in the state’s labor, natural resources, agriculture, or insurance codes. The effect will be to make it much harder for cities to stop companies from discharging pollution into the air, water, or ground, including greenhouse-gas emissions. The bill, drafted in part by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), was by no means a homegrown grassroots initiative.–end of mronline info–

The wrath that comes down upon those who question America’s Proxy War with Russia is probably a censorship mechanism from The Military-Industrial Complex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bulSkHG6INI   —

Peace Activist Medea Benjamin THREATENED By Violent Protestors Over Ukraine

–end of katiehalper info–

From democracynow– https://mailchi.mp/democracynow/20180813-745539?e=1aa87a4d5a  —

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/19/ukraine_war_cia_grey_fleet  – A new investigation reveals the extent of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, where the agency operates clandestinely in what, under a formal declaration of war, would be the domain of the military. We’re joined on the show by the author of the investigation, William Arkin, a national security reporter and senior editor at Newsweek, who says that the CIA has “got its hand in a little bit of everything” in Ukraine. According to various sources, the CIA is shuttling weapons into Ukraine using a “gray fleet” of commercial aircraft that crisscrosses Central and Eastern Europe, sending personnel into Ukraine on secret missions and assisting Ukrainians with new weapons and systems, all while using Poland as its clandestine hub to coordinate its operations inside the country. At the same time, the U.S.’s nonaligned status appears to place a limit on its intelligence, keeping it in the dark on both Zelensky and Putin’s next moves.

———–

https://www.democracynow.org/2023/7/19/ukraine_war_far_right_neo_nazis –

“We are sending a very dangerous message that if you’re the right type of neo-Nazis, we will not only work with you, we will celebrate you,” Golinkin notes.

We also speak with national security reporter Ben Makuch, whose investigations reveal the networks connecting Ukrainian and Russian militias and American neo-Nazis. An anti-Putin Russian militia that carried out attacks inside Russia in May was led by a neo-Nazi who has maintained links with American neo-Nazis. In a new piece, Makuch also shares the story of an American military veteran wanted for murder who is now fighting for ultranationalist groups in Ukraine. “We know there has been secretive pipelines and networks,” says Makuch. “That still exists.”

–end of democracynow info–

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEZoO8YCCR4   —

WATCH: Anderson Cooper SHAMES ‘Inappropriate’ Cornel West After He Brings Up 500K Dead Iraqis

–end of cornelwest info–

Gatekeepers work as enablers for predatory practice.  Such characters exist but we needn’t vote them into positions of power.  —  https://www.aol.com/news/convicted-con-man-pardoned-trump-085710137.html  –

A New Jersey con man with a “bad reputation” who was pardoned two years ago by former President Donald Trump has been arrested again and accused of defrauding investors out of millions of dollars.Eliyahu “Eli” Weinstein and four other men are charged with fleecing more than 150 people out of $35 million in a “Ponzi-like scheme,” according to an arrest complaint unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Trenton and a statement from the office of the U.S. attorney for New Jersey.

–end of aol info—–

Grifters gunna grift.  —-  https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/07/donald-trump-israeli-antiquities   –

Mar-a-Lago has been in the news for much of the past 11 months because back in August, the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched the Palm Beach resort and private home of Donald Trump in an attempt to recover highly classified government documents that the ex-president was trying to keep. There, the feds found that, among other things, said documents had been stored in a bathroom next to the toilet, and yada yada yada, Trump was later charged with a whole bunch of crimes in June. You know this story by now. What you may not know, however, is that classified documents weren’t the only materials that were not supposed to be at the resort, which their rightful owners have also encountered grave difficulty in retrieving.

Haaretzreports the entirely unrelated but nevertheless incredible story that antiquities belonging to Israel—including clay lamps and ancient ceramic candles, with the latter being “part of the national treasures collection”—were recently found at Mar-a-Lago, i.e. Donald Trump’s house.

—end of vanityfair info–   Those in positions of power in the nation priding itself as the global police department are giving  police a bad name.

Experts seem to be the gatekeepers of capitalistic hierarchical Establishment with the assistance of laws passed by big-money interest campaign donors enabled by Citizens United and broadcast with state/business owned MSM.  This uniquely American system of corruption should answer for the effects on humanity and nature that may extend beyond US borders.  —     https://www.aol.com/monsoon-floods-threaten-indias-iconic-160027857.html     —

—end of aol info-

Extreme weather events like this year’s monsoon rains are increasing in frequency and intensity due to climate change, experts have said, putting millions in the country of 1.42 billion at risk.Air pollution, which is a significant contributor to the warming climate, is also threatening the Taj Mahal. The city has consistently remained near the top of global charts ranking the world’s most polluted cities. In 2018, India’s toxic air turned the white marble of the monument hues of brown and green.

—end of aol info–

https://portside.org/2023-07-19/cop-city-and-escalating-war-environmental-defenders?utm_source=portside-general&utm_medium=email  – The fight in Atlanta over Cop City, a massive police training facility, has turned into ground zero for overlapping crises facing our country: the climate emergency, vast political and economic inequality, ever-militarizing police forces and systemic racism. 

–end of portside info–

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39tue4ngKsY   —

Firelight Chats: STOP COP CITY

–end of mariannewilliamson info—

From lakotalaw—-

Today, I reach out to you in gratitude. As part of the Lakota Law family, you’ve had a big hand in helping make sure Indigenous youth have a stronger chance at a brighter future. Last month’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was a tremendous victory for Native communities — and by extension for all of us who have worked together and supported the movement to keep Native children in Native care.

Today, invite you to dig a little deeper into the history and what this victory means by reading my new blog and an op-ed my father, Lakota Law co-director and lead counsel Chase Iron Eyes, wrote for YES! Magazine.

The op-ed analyzes the High Court’s ruling and what that means for Native nations and our movement going forward. My blog focuses more on the history that led us to that moment, with an eye on religion as a driving force behind colonization — up to and including the current state of foster care as it relates to Native child welfare.

There’s a lot to dig into in both of those writings, so I’ll leave this message right here. Happy reading, and again, thank you so much for your care and support of our young ones!

Wopila tanka — my deep gratitude for your friendship.
Tokata Iron Eyes
Organizer
The Lakota People’s Law Project

—end of lakotalaw info–
****

As one who would be perfectly contented to retain the Senate if they adhered to Oaths of Office more than to Citizens United campaign donations, one is interested in a topic raised as to the reason we maintain the US Senate——–

 This is a reminder of how much we don’t know.  This brings one around to Howie Hawkins, who continues to impress with original thought.  We also could acknowledge Hawkins often speaks to censored information.
One such topic about which one would never have even considered, is whether the USA needs The Senate.  Apparently The Senate is little other than expensive window dressing, promoting hierarchical interests, and too often placed in positions of power by big-money via Citizens United.  But the public gets to fund this curiosity of pompous supremacy.  Who knew?
The Democratic Branch of the Republican/Democratic Duopoly are especially functional in voter suppression—–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNbdkuU1edw          —#GreenSocialist Notes #76
Howie Hawkins brings up the concept of whether the USA needs the Senate.  Apparently according to some people, the Senate isn’t necessary.  This brings up the blockage from the Senate of many bills that would benefit We The People.  Combined with Citizens United that promotes big-money interest choice of Senators, in which laws are passed that benefit big-money interest rather than We The People, and that We The People support economically, the members of the Senate, this seems a good topic for discussion.
The US Constitution doesn’t seem to sanction elections run by political Parties, and to permit control of political debates by political Parties seems equally corrupt.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ7kn2-GEmM       —

Ross Perot in 1992 on NAFTA and the “Giant Sucking Sound”

Centralization is the lifeblood of the R&D duopoly.  It’s the way to enforce capitalism onto workers in 2022.———————–We can do better———-

That “we are a 2-Party system” is a fabrication of the Republican/Democratic duopoly and spread by MSM.  In FACT the majority of voters aren’t either registered Democratic or Republican.  The censorship about this info must be envied by bureaucrats of the Former USSR and their simplistic style of 1-Party elections.  

Regardless of which character sits in the Oval Office, We The People have work to do to maintain principles of our democratic (small d) Constitutional republic.  Several items to challenge—*We need the integrity of ranked-choice voting so voters won’t feel compelled to “hold your nose and vote”*Censored debates must be stopped.  The Democratic/Republican duopoly pretends to legitimate debates in what is nothing other than another campaign show.  Independent debates run by uninterested sponsors such as The League of Women Voters, must be restored.  (Access www.debates.org to understand the extent of duopoly control).  The so-called Debate Commission is a corporation to promote the Democratic corporation and Republican corporation, not to inform We The People*Challenge and stop gerrymandering that is a trick especially of the Republican branch of the duopoly.*Stop voter suppression by political Parties, and especially confront and stop Party suppression, which is the over-arching approach to voter suppression.  Party suppression seems to have been the responsibility of the Democratic corporation*Promote by law ranked-choice voting, so we won’t be told again, by D&R duopoly, to “hold your nose and vote”
If these issues are handled, our next elections can be honorable. 
*******************************************************************https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx—-Political Party affiliation of voters.
    https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-refuses-help-perpetrate-fraud–LEAGUE REFUSES TO “HELP PERPETRATE A FRAUD”