ICE announces a new policy of opening mega, soft-sided detention centers across the country. Work begins in a month with these six states as the focus: UT, KS, PA, IN, GA, and LA.
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Category Archives: Political
Good Trouble
Registration is required for the June 14th military parade in DC. Maximum of 2 tickets per cellphone # (you will be required to verify the phone # with a code they send). Easy process, it took me less than 2 minutes. It would be interesting to know what happens, if say people in large numbers requested tickets and then didn’t show up. His orange majesty might rage- or huff and puff….
Filed under Political
A Stitch in Time
Life in this Mad World
I’m one of those people who believe that forewarned is forearmed. That anxiety and worry is often set aside if we have a plan. In fact, the mere act of planning involves us in a positive process that assures that we are not frozen in a time of crisis. But I’ve also come to understand that my way of seeing the world is not necessarily the only way. There are some of us right now who are already tuning out, going to ground. Some can’t stand to think about next steps. For those of you of that ilk, we part ways here. Reading on is not for the faint-hearted.
OK, let’s talk about what happens if Trump enacts the Insurrection Act.
Last weekend the Hands Off! protests brought an estimated 5 million Americans (approximately 2% of the population) flooding into the streets protesting a whole host of violations to fundamental rights, the destruction of the government, infrastructure, the obliteration of the economy, and many other things. These were peaceful protests and remarkable feats.
A looming deadline of April 20th is approaching when a joint report from the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security is due concerning the safety on the southern border. They are tasked to specifically address whether the Insurrection Act of 1807 should be invoked. Note that April 20th is Easter AND Hitler’s birthday. The next nationwide day of protest is the day before (April 19th). Some think that if Trump gets the recommendation to invoke this act, he will likely do it either on or about this date. This would allow him to use the military at the border and potentially in blue “sanctuary” cities. While the Insurrection Act has been used at times by Presidents, its use is reviewed by the courts only in retrospect.
photo: AramiFeraxa
THE FALSE FLAG EVENT:
What may be even more concerning is that with mass demonstrations becoming more and more popular, Trump may choose to create a false flag crisis that conveniently leads to martial law. This could be easily done if he calls up groups like the Alt-Right, Neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, right wing militias, and others. Some believe that Trump is just waiting to deploy these troops against peaceful demonstrators in order to provoke a violent clash that would lead to a call for martial law to reestablish order. After Charlottesville and January 6th, it’s hard to dismiss the idea. Many people seem to think Trump has waited this long to invoke the act because he needed to have his people in key positions to get the job done. His cabinet was seated, and his minions are now in place.
THE PLAYBOOK:
Of course, causing the violence that requires the full use of martial law ultimately is how democracy falls. It doesn’t happen in one day, but it does happen quickly. There is a playbook by which totalitarian rulers have historically accomplished this goal and if we are going to stop America falling, we have to recognize the pattern.
CREATE THE SITUATION & MANIPULATE THE POPULACE:
As the initial violence kicks off, it’s likely that we will see other escalations to follow. Simple crowd control at an event or two would hardly get Americans behind the idea of giving up freedoms (and that’s what this administration is after). So, we should expect things like “terrorist” bombings, targeted assassinations, and other high-profile acts of violence that shock us. All of these events would be used to manipulate the public to call for law and order. The media will then be flooded with images of rioting, cities burning, all kinds of out-of-control behavior, much- if not all of this, will be orchestrated by the right. If done correctly by the playbook, Trump will appear to be a hero answering the growing cries of citizens to reestablish order. Trump will be only too happy to step in and assume total control. He has no plan to ever cede that control back.
photo: Martin Falbisoner
At this point, Trump can now mobilize and order troops into major American cities where his opposition is the greatest. These people are vilified as the enemy and are rebranded seditionists, traitors, and the woke mob. Good Americans are now asked to grab their guns and defend ‘Merica. Trump uses the militias that have been reformed after being freed from the Jan. 6th incarcerations. That way any military professionals who balk at using force against their own people can be sidestepped. Now citizens (largely from the right) have been cast into roles of helping the police or keeping order.
ELIMINATE OPPOSITION:
What follows next is likely to be the arrest of high-profile opposition. We should expect that journalists, Democratic officials, activists, academics, and anyone who has publicly taken on Trump or his policies publicly to be arrested. The media will cover all aspects of this round up of those people now made criminal under this administration. Democratic governors may become a special target because removing them removes all resistance at a state level. This would allow Trump the freedom to do what he wants in each and every state. To solidify control, military and law enforcement are then made to take loyalty oaths.
As the cities are locked down, the military and National Guard might be used to establish firm control. Curfews, lockdowns, and checkpoints would be created to maintain order. Militarized presence on the streets defines a new normal. Highways to Canada and Mexico are strictly patrolled by Trumpian forces. Red states are especially enthusiastic to answer the call to man checkpoints and identify traitors, seditionists, and anyone they deem a threat to Trump. Recall the move to open Guantanamo Bay, the 106 ICE detention centers, and various for-profit prisons to retain illegals? That “system” is now used to house the thousands of American citizens deemed traitorous under the Insurrection Act. And still there isn’t enough room. Texas comes through with “open air” jails (tent cities) scattered throughout the state.
photo: Jesse Collins
CONTROL THE MESSAGING:
While all this is under way, the press comes under increasing pressure. The administration needs total control of the messaging to silence dissent. We should expect to see journalists and media heads threatened with legal action, blackmailing, and pressure to comply. The social media that Trump controls (X, Truth Social, etc.) will become increasingly loud in an attempt to drown out any contrary opinions. Some social media will go dark. Some media will cave to the pressure. We enter the police state where monitoring of everyone’s communication becomes routine. Trump exploits his friendships with tech giants to conduct surveillance on all Americans to root out dissent. Arrests are made when people express non-Trumpian ideas. Incentives are created to have Americans report on each other’s behavior.
CLOSE THE BORDERS:
Borders close. No one, especially anyone who opposes the dictator is leaving. Passports are revoked. No-fly lists are created and enforced. Apprehensions at the borders and airports are commonplace. ICE and DHS arrest political enemies. Many are lost or have disappeared.
END FREE ELECTIONS:
The 2026 election is postponed due to national security concerns. This is a pretext to do away with democratic elections forever. By 2028, the first rigged American election (similar to a Russian election) takes place. The 250-year American democratic experiment has died. Americans live under totalitarian rule.
Although I’ve laid this out as a linear plan, it’s likely that many events would be overlapping, and other parts may occur even earlier than I outline. Some steps may be invisible to us, at least for a while. Might it not happen at all? Of course! But remember, they have a plan in Project 2025 and Trump and his bunch have been making remarkable progress checking off all those tasks that he supposedly knew nothing about. Well, Ellis- this just sounds crazy! Yeah, I know!! But this is the same bunch that engineered Jan. 6th. Who thought that would happen? Who thought Trump would be elected? Who thought all the insurrectionists from Jan. 6th would be pardoned? Let’s not say- who thought they’d end democracy?
I am indebted to Angela Woodward and others for their keen insight and understanding of these times we live in.
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An article about the Insurrection Act, Wargaming a What-if, the likelihood it might happen, what we might be able to do:
The Project 2025 Tracker: https://www.project2025.observer/
Filed under Political
IMAGINE COMPASSION NOW
photo: Kopp, 2006
Back in 2008, Karen Armstrong, a religion scholar gave a TED talk. In it, she proposed a movement by multi-faith, multi-national groups which would promote compassion worldwide by activating the Golden Rule. Her idea led to the development of the Charter for Compassion. The Council of Conscience, consisting of representatives of many faiths and many national groups, together with input from thousands who responded online resulted in the current Charter for Compassion. The goal of the Charter is to highlight common ground amongst all major religions and all religious traditions. Specifically, they all share compassion and the Golden Rule.
Since that time, tens of thousands have signed the Charter online. Public events, discussions, and readings of the Charter have taken place bringing compassion more and more into public awareness. Now it’s our turn. This is a call to action to connect to the heart and manifest a bigger Truth than any one of us. How Karen’s idea takes form (or fails to take form) depends on our actions. I don’t really know what my part in this will be and I don’t know what your role is either. I’ve read and signed the Charter and brought it into my consciousness. Now it’s your turn. Here’s the Charter.
THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.
We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
To sign the Charter for Compassion: www.charterforcompassion.org/the-charter
If you do sign it, let me know in the comments below. Please feel free to reblog, FB, or tweet this.
Filed under Political, Spiritual/Mysticism
ARE YOU A POST MATERIALIST?
My son’s home from university and one of our conversations turned to the economy and how hard it is to find even part-time, entry level work. He’s sent out something like 80 applications, done some interviews, and over the course of months, has just recently landed something part-time. The talk eventually wound around to the idea that my husband and I are post materialists. Now that’s not a term I know and my son delights in sharing what he has learned. As a parent, I love these times when the kids get to educate me. “So what are your girlfriend’s parents then?” I ask him. “Materialists”, he answers as if I should already know that. I actually did know that.
Anyway, further investigation on my part revealed that Ronald Inglehart developed the idea of post materialism in the 1970s as a sociological theory to explain an ongoing transformation of individual values within a society. He argued that as western nations achieved a level of economic prosperity and physical security, its members transformed their values seeking more autonomy and self-expression. Ah, this sounds a lot like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As people meet their basic survival requirements, we move up the pyramid until we are striving for self-actualization. Maslow confined his theory to how individuals are transformed and Inglehart wanted to see how societies as a whole might be transformed.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, created by J. Finkelstein, 2006
So to be a post materialist, you must first meet your basic survival needs (food, shelter, security). OK, done. Once that is accomplished you move up Maslow’s hierarchy and as you do, you start to realize you’re no happier than when you were struggling. This brings to mind Daniel Gilbert’s book, Stumbling on Happiness. I believe it was in that book that I first learned American happiness peaked in the 1950s. BEFORE I WAS BORN! Sixty plus years later, we have higher incomes, higher levels of education, better health care, bigger houses, more cars but we are less happy overall. Remember when we were told (and believed) that he (or she) who has the most toys wins? We played the game, we toed the line, we consumed and bought all the right stuff, we competed with the Joneses, and we became… less happy. Maybe we were even miserable because the promise of happiness slipped away as we had to go looking for a storage shed to rent for all the loot that was supposed to make us positively giddy.
We looked around and saw it wasn’t working. We stopped playing the game. We got rid of the excess stuff and looked inside to see what would fill the void. We began to talk about “downsizing”. The value shift from possessing things to experiencing and self- expression took hold.
Inglehart recognized that younger people (raised in economic security) were more likely to identify with the values of post materialism. But older people who were raised with the struggle of material existence may or may not shift out of that paradigm. Actually, Inglehart’s ideas remain controversial. Surprisingly, we don’t have good statistical information to measure value changes in the US. The World Value Survey of 2000 (Wikipedia) did give some indication of post materialism worldwide. The highest percentage of post materialists were found to be in Australia with 35%. Canada has 29% while the US has 25 % of the population being post materialist.
So being a minority in the US, I will be moving this year and continuing my efforts to downsize. I will continue to reject the notion that he who has the most toys wins. I will refuse to believe that my worth as an individual comes solely from consuming. I will pursue balance and harmony. And I will remember happiness is a choice for the post materialist and materialist alike. Happy 2013!
Filed under Books, Political, Spiritual/Mysticism
TIBETAN UPRISING ANNIVERSARY & MONTSEGUR 1244
I’m working on a new novel that will highlight what happened at a remote fortress in southern France in 1244. A group known today as Cathars, the most successful of the heretical sects of the Middle Ages, had spent a year under siege by Catholic forces. Eventually the Cathars surrendered and, after refusing to renounce their faith, 220 people were burned at the foot of Montsegur. Fire exterminated dissent.
The 53rd anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising is fast approaching (March 10, 1959). 2011 was witness to a transfer of power from His Holiness Dalai Lama to secular political rule. At the same time, the harsh crackdowns of 2008 continue within Tibet. Increasingly we are seeing more and more incidents of self immolation being reported. Here fire is a symbol of protest and individual sacrifice. Since 2009, 27 Tibetans have killed themselves in this manner. In a culture known for non-violence and compassion, no suicide bombers have emerged. But there is a growing sense that things are changing and the old ways aren’t working. Young Tibetans may push for more radical protests and, if Beijing continues to respond in the same old ways, things may continue to escalate. Of course, even in dire circumstances there is a chance that leaders on both sides will see the need to change direction and find a way toward compromise. Perhaps the new leadership in China will see that now is the time to embrace the Dalai Lama and use this opportunity to ensure peace.
Filed under Political
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