Poor People's Campaign

18 Jun 2022

Capitol in background
The Poor People's Campaign took place in Washington DC. An excerpt of our message:

We gather in Washington D.C. for a Mass Poor Peoples and Low-Wage Workers’ Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls in a dark summer, as our democracy is threatened by a state by state coordinated assault on the right to vote and imperiled by open violence, greed, obstruction, distortions, and denial, while more than 140 million poor and low wealth people of every race, creed, religion, in every region of this country are rising up daily against growing indignities, pain, injury, and death at the hands of immoral policies and interlocking injustices.

Message was followed by seven demands and a declaration that we need a Third Reconstruction Agenda.

The most immediate, big, headline-making news of the day is the January 6th Commission. An important background item is that it partially owes its success to the Minority Leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy. Thanks to his stubbornness, Democrats and two Republicans were free to proceed in a coherent and in a confidentail way. The Republican Party has no one working at the Commission who can keep them updated on wha's happening behind the scenes, let alone can anyone "throw sand in the gears" or engage in any other sorts of disruptions. Best of all, The Former Guy (TFG) is throwing McCarthy under the proverbial bus as someone who was foolishly stubborn. Of course, Trump has said nothing critical about McCarthy prior to this, so it must be that the hearings are having an effect on public opinion.

drummers

The testimony has inspired a documentary film maker to declare that, oh, by the way, I have film footage of the Trump family from the loss of the 2020 election covering all the way into January. And yes, Ivanka Trump was saying something very differenet to her daddy and other conspirators than she's now saying to the Commission.

The blogger here guesses:

So what does it all mean? It means Rupert Murdoch is cutting Trump loose, and that Ron DeSantis, the smarter, younger fascist, is warming up in the bullpen to be the Anointed One. After all, Trump's costing them money! And Fox voters will go along with it, because DeSantis doesn't have the same public taint as Trump does.

The January 6th Commission is geting threats, meaning their presentations are having an impact.

Big, and very good news, The January 6th Commission has so much new evidence that it's scheduled further hearings for July.

An increase in subpoenas indicates that institution seeking to hold the former president and his people accountable are completing their investigations and are getting ready to start charging people.

crowd

As far as grain exports from Ukraine via ports on the Black Sea are concerned:

Mr Lavrov denied that Russia was obstructing Ukraine's wheat exports, saying the onus was on Ukraine to de-mine the waters off Odesa and other ports.
A Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said Ukraine could not de-mine the coast because Russia would "use grain corridors to attack southern Ukraine".
Russia also blames Western sanctions for the food crisis. The West however says Russia has "weaponised" food supplies.

Turkey is trying to help the situastion:

Ukraine is one of the top global wheat suppliers, but shipments have been halted by Russia's invasion, causing global food shortages. The United Nations has appealed to both sides, as well as maritime neighbour Turkey, to agree to a corridor.
...
While Moscow wants certain Western sanctions lifted to help facilitate grain and fertiliser exports, Kyiv seeks security guarantees for its ports to agree the U.N.-led plan.

Ukraine was used to exporting grain out to the Middle East and Northern Africa by first using roads and railways to ports and then loading it onto ships. With the ships option non-workable, they're now trying to get food out via railways. Europe is also dependant on Ukrainian grain exports.


backs some
Videos of the campaign.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is very actively talking with European countries to tr and gain membership in the Europen Union. Ukraine's candidacy is looking good. Ukraine is now officially a candidate for membership in the EU!

Kamikaze drones! Ukainian drone badly damages Russian oil refinery.

It's never good news for a nation at war when their Commander in Chief has to engage in yet another shake-up of the command structure.

Russia expressing serious "hate and discontent" over Lithuania and the port of Kaliningrad.

Putin has also decided to rattle his sabre at Lithuania. Lithuania, in a move to fully enforce the EU sanctions on Russia, announced this week that it would block the shipment of goods from Russia to Kaliningrad. Putin was not amused. More from Reuters.

Russia is trying hard to influence US elections, trying to enable Republicans to take over.

sign

Is Severodonetsk strategically vital? Not really, there are more easily defensible cities further back, but Ukraine is making Russia pay a steep price to take the city. Essentially, Ukrainians are holding onto the site because the Russians, along with DPR [Donetsk People’s Republic] and LPR [Luhansk] People’s Militia are suffering from the severe attrition of an exhaustible resource. Both their people and equipment are being drained. Meanwhile, with serious Russian units tied up there, Ukrainians can make progress elsewhere on the front. Russian forces have been trying to take the city for almost six weeks at this point. The introduction of HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems) is expected to tip the balance against Russia further. HIMARS is the successor to the old Russian Katyushas, rocket artillery.

crowd

Confidence in the Supreme Court has now sunk to 25%, just as the court rules on the carrying of concealed weapons. The state of New York was requiring citizens to show that they had good reason to carry a concealed weapon. Supreme Court has nullified that requirement.

Roe vs Wade is now officially overturned. As I've said before, from 1840 to 1860, there was a steadily-growing opposition to slavery. Has there been anything like that agains abortion? Nope. If anything, there's been a growing acceptance that pregnancy is properly a woman's choice and is not a choice that she should delegate to others. Legally, the abortion decision is based on viability, the date when a fetus can survive outside the womb. It was about 23 weeks back in 1973. Where is it today? Ehh, about 23 weeks.

The abortion decision is an entirely political one.

The ruling came in a dispute over a 2018 law passed by Mississippi’s Republican-controlled Legislature that banned abortions after 15 weeks.

Note that the law cuts off access to safe, legal abortions eight weeks before Roe does.

MLK
Remembering the original Poor People's Campaign.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of course approved of the Supreme Court decision. McConnell played a major role in packing the Supreme Court, starting in early 2016. Under Trump, McConnell saw to it that three new Justices were placed onto the court, all of whom came onto the court via the Federalist Society.

Chief Justice John Roberts tried to put some daylight between himself and the more radical members of the court, but his hands are far from clean. Essentially, he wanted to get rid of the viability test for when it was permissable to have an abortion. This is a distinction without a difference, a "clever" way to overtur Roe without seeming to.

stage
The stage, which made the campaign feel like a bit of a rock concert.

chillin' & relaxin'
Chillin' & relaxin'

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