A Revolutionary Spirit … Once Upon a Time

Its principles held fast for some years before the militarists and mercenaries—their creed of all things purchasable, all life cheap—took root their tentacles of corruption spreading far and wide: across many countries and cultures and nations including the United States of America

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN

We took to heart, manifest solidly in policies and practice

1776 “We hold these truths to be self-evident— that all … are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.… [W]henever any Form of Government becomes destructive …, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to (effectuate) their Safety and Happiness. …

    “When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty to throw off such Government; and to provide new Guards for their future security.… “The history of the present (regime) is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny ….” The facts are evident “to a candid world.” [Minor edits, excerpt from the American Declaration of Independence: A Transcription, in Congress, July 4, 1776, document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript]

Before every milestone became a Day of Gluttony, Celebrations of Violence

1777 “Resolved: that the flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation”— John Adams June 14, 1777, speaking before the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. 1818: the Fifteenth Congress stipulated that the thirteen original stripes would be retained and as each new state entered the Union, a new star would be added. 1949: the Eighty-First Congress of the United States of America designated “National Flag Day.”

Three Cheers for the Red White and Blue!

Before the Mercenaries, Reflective Gratitude
“America the Beautiful”

1893 originating from the original New England and Middle Colonies
A poem (lyrics revised in 1904 and 1911) by poet and author Katharine Lee Bates, music by organist and composer Samuel Augustus Ward

First published on July 4, 1895

America the Beautiful … God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea… America! America! God mend (your) every flaw. Confirm (your) soul in self-control, (your) liberty within law… (your character refined) until all success be nobleness, every gain divine!

Poet and composer never met: Katharine Lee Bates of Falmouth, Massachusetts (August 12, 1859 – March 28, 1929) and Samuel Augustus Ward of Newark, New Jersey (December 28, 1848 – September 28, 1903).

Library of Congress Notes: On July 4, 1895, the poem by Katharine Lee Bates made its first appearance in a weekly newspaper (The Congregationalist). Bates amended and added to her lyrics in 1902 (published in November of that year in the Buffalo Illustrated Times) and in 1913. (America the Beautiful, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 2002, https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200000001/)

 

Happy Independence Day USA

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Composition and images Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

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Two Profiles Hitting US Elections era Headlines: Term limits Champion vs. Accused Money Launderer

Land of Anybody’s “Patriot,” Everybody's Grand “Exceptionalism” Illusion

Perhaps the Presumption of ALL being Created Equal is off the mark.

    A Ten-term Member of the US Congress—holder of Texas and Georgetown baccalaureate, law, and doctoral degrees, who has enjoyed the enthusiastic support of top-tier, super influential Members of the US Congress—has furthered the besmirchment of US public office by being indicted on several federal crimes: 

“Money laundering, conspiracy, and bribery” (“accepting money from foreign entities … in exchange for ‘influencing the Treasury Department to work around an anti-money laundering policy that threatened the interests of the (foreign entities).”

In an early May 2024 press release, the US Department of Justice reported:

“According to court documents, beginning in at least December 2014 and continuing through at least November 2021,” this US Congressman and his wife “allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities….”

    This ten-termer, Mr. ENRIQUE ROBERTO (HENRY (no doubt a member with considerable standing in the US exceptionalism club), is positioned strategically on the US House Appropriations Committee, the (ranking member) House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and the Defense Subcommittee and Subcommittee on Military Construction, and related agencies, current Congress’ Chief Deputy Whip. 

    He is a man who had dabbled in private law practice and public law enforcement the latter as Texas' Attorney General; and spent fourteen years (1987-2001) ensconced in the Texas House of Representatives, before offering his presence to the Congress of the United States of America.

    Perhaps it is long past time for this Texan to return to Texas. 

FOURTEEN HUNDRED MILES northward of Cuellar’s Texas
A candidate for public office who is championing term limits.

In her words: 

“I am a proud supporter of Congressional term limits.” “I am a supporter of term limits because our founding fathers wanted people to serve in office for a short time and then go home.… It is time to end the stranglehold of career politicians who put politics ahead of people.… This philosophy (term limits) brings people (into public service) with a wide variety of experiences.”

“Ninety percent (90%) of PAC money goes to incumbents which makes them beholden to the PACs, not to the people. The core responsibility (of elected officials) is to be the voice of the people. … [T]his is why I support term limits. By implementing term limits, we can help ensure that (elected officials) are voting for the people not their campaign accounts.”

“By implementing term limits, we will be restoring accountability to the people.” “I serve as Michigan’s Chairwoman for U.S. Term Limits.”

    In 2022 and 2024 Physician Sherry O’Donnell completed Ballotpedia’s “Candidate Connection Survey.” 

    Ballotpedia is a digital encyclopedia of American politics, a 501(c)3 charitable nonprofit organization unaffiliated with campaigns, candidacies and candidates for office. “All gifts to Ballotpedia are tax deductible to the extent of the law and help to provide voters with information about their ballots.” The organization provides “unbiased information on elections, politics, and policy.” (https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia:About) (https://ballotpedia.org/Sherry_O%27Donnell)]

    This was some of O'Donnell's answer to Ballotpedia’s survey question “who are you.” This candidate for US Senate (and physician) representing Michigan is a Fellow with the American College of Osteopathic Internists, and an adjunct professor at Seton Hall and Western Michigan universities. She is a pastor, author, mission leader, speaker, and Michigan State Chair for U.S. Term Limits.” In 2008, she “launched Herbie Medical Clinic providing care to (people who were) underserved and uninsured;” and during the pandemic, she spent “weekends (in 2020) caring for patients on the front lines in New York City.” She has led medical missions and disaster relief in many countries.

    Ballotpedia and other sources report Sherrell Anne O’Donnell's (Sherry O'Donnell's) birthplace as Watertown, Minnesota, a small city situated on the outskirts of the Twin Cities Metropolitan area, population estimate 4,842.  Dr. Sherrell Anne O’Donnell is a graduate of Oklahoma College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (1995), Internal Medicine Osteopathic Physicians

    The Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports registration of O’DONNELL, SHERRELL ANNE: CANDIDATE FOR SENATE MICHIGAN ID: S4MI00561 REPUBLICAN PARTY. Data included from these committees: DR. SHERRY FOR SENATE (C00847657); Coverage dates: 07/01/2023 to 03/31/2024 https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S4MI00561/

    Health line lists Dr. Sherrell O’Donnell, DO, as an Internal Medicine Specialist in Saint Joseph, Michigan specializing in Internal Medicine; with experience at the time of the article 29 years. She is board certified in Internal Medicine; a graduate of University of Oklahoma / Health Sciences Center; and affiliated with Spectrum Health Lakeland Medical Center and Lakeland Hospital Watervliet. Patients rated Dr. O’Donnell an average 4.0-star rating. Dr. Sherrell O'Donnell, DO; Practice, 3911 STONEGATE PARK, Saint Joseph, Michigan 49085 https://care.healthline.com/find-care/provider/dr-sherrell-odonnell-1699771725

Ensure choice. 

    Do not block difference or stand in the way of variety that has demonstrated work ethic, sound mental, emotional, physical, moral, intellectual wellbeing, experiential diligence; substantive and relevant qualifications: all-round fitness for purpose. 

    Once the citizenry is given real choice, stand aside and let them make independent choices about who will hold public office, who will represent them. In a March 25, 2024, article in the Michigan Advance, Kyle Davidson quotes US Senate Candidate Sherry O’Donnell saying this. 

“I believe the public needs to hear directly from the candidates, not just through 30-second sound bites and paid media. We are seeking a very important job in Michigan and the voters deserve us going through an interview process…. Let the people decide who is the best candidate to be their next senator, who has the experience, who has the right plans, and who has the courage to put people ahead of politics.” https://michiganadvance.com/2024/03/25/republican-sherry-odonnell-files-signatures-in-u-s-senate-bid/

Sources
US Department of Justice
Friday, May 3, 2024

“An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Texas charging U.S. Congressman Enrique Roberto “Henry” Cuellar, 68, and his wife, Imelda Cuellar, 67, both of Laredo, Texas, with participating in two schemes involving bribery, unlawful foreign influence, and money laundering. Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar made their initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Palermo in Houston.”

US Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs
Press Release: U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar Charged with Bribery and Acting as a Foreign Agent
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-congressman-henry-cuellar-and-his-wife-charged-bribery-unlawful-foreign-influence-and

“According to court documents, beginning in at least December 2014 and continuing through at least November 2021, Congressman Cuellar and Imelda Cuellar allegedly accepted approximately $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: An oil and gas company wholly owned and controlled by the Government of Azerbaijan, and a bank headquartered in Mexico City. The bribe payments were allegedly laundered, pursuant to sham consulting contracts, through a series of front companies and middlemen into shell companies owned by Imelda Cuellar, who performed little to no legitimate work under the contracts. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Azerbaijani oil and gas company, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to use his office to influence U.S. foreign policy in favor of Azerbaijan. In exchange for the bribes paid by the Mexican bank, Congressman Cuellar allegedly agreed to influence legislative activity and to advise and pressure high-ranking U.S. Executive Branch officials regarding measures beneficial to the bank.”

Other sources

https://cuellar.house.gov/biography/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cuellar
https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/C001063
https://www.docsherry2024.com/meet-dr-sherry-odonnell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watertown,_Minnesota

US Term Limits press Release January 9, 2023 “Dr. Sherry O’Donnell Tapped as Michigan State Chair for U.S. Term Limits, Sees the Need for Congressional Term Limits”: Lansing, MI – U.S. Term Limits announces that Dr. Sherry O’Donnell has accepted a position as U.S. Term Limits’ Michigan State Chair. Dr. O’Donnell brings a depth of public service to this role.” https://www.termlimits.com/sherry-odonnell-tapped-as-michigan-state-chair-for-u-s-term-limits/

https://health.usnews.com/doctors/sherrell-odonnell-1057735
https://doctor.webmd.com/doctor/sherrell-odonnell-bec84b6b-9828-4727-b41a-dd6a1532d35d-overview
https://www.healthcare6.com/physician/saint-joseph-mi/sherrell-anne-odonnell-749177.html

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Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

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nolandanisland@hotmail.com

Spreading Angst, Defaming Immigrants

America's On-air Talkers are deepening the breach in US relations at home and abroad

BECK-QUINN airing via privately-owned WYSL

Avowed substance abuser and drug addict, job hopper, businessman, dabbler in broadcasting self-righteous proselytizing talker Glenn Lee Beck late mornings; former disc jockey turned foul-mouthed half-truths and slanderous falsehoods-spreading talker Jim Quinn early mornings both permitted by WYSL (founding president and owner a dabbler in US radio markets with a university law degree Robert C. Savage) marketed under the words “Radio Livingston” originating in Avon, New York, reaching Rochester metropolitan-Genesee River Valley.

BELLAVIA airing via WBEN (parent publicly traded on NY Stock Exchange through 2023)

Failed candidate for public office, dabbler in radio, wedge-issue monger, off-and-on talker David Bellavia at Audacy Inc (Buffalo, NY, Western New York broadcast area), formerly Entercom Communications Corporation founded by Joseph M. Field, current CEO/former Goldman Sachs investment banker David Field (January 2024 announced filing "for a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy")

COSBY airing via privately-owned WABC

Avowed daughter of Polish native Ryszard Kossobudzki (Richard Cosby), television personality turned radio talker Rita Cosby at New York City- New Jersey-Connecticut News Talk Radio WABC part of the Red Apple Media Group empire (owner, board chairman and CEO foreign national (nation of Greece) billionaire John A Catsimatidis) which also incorporates Oil and Gas Operations; Gristede’s Supermarkets; and sundry divisions and subsidiaries such as United Refining, Red Apple Food Marts, and Kwik Fill gas stations and convenience stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio)

Where we live and who visits and Serves our Shores

    Comprising the designated “Global South”: Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands, Asia’s “developing countries” (including Near Eastern countries); generally including “Brazil, India and China” together with “Indonesia and Mexico” are the “largest Southern states in terms of land area and population.”

    The Global South as designated by ideologically driven United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) encompasses “Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,” “Asia excluding Israel, Japan, and South Korea,” and “Oceania excluding Australia and New Zealand.” UNCTAD is a Geneva, Switzerland, based agency having a separate membership, leadership, and budget; and offering its reports to the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

    Comprising the Northern Hemisphere is 68 percent of Earth’s landmass (90 percent of the global population) (both approximates): Continents: North America, Europe, Asia, most of Africa.

Global South Populations on Rosters of America’s Pastime 
US Major League Baseball

Caribbean: 149

South America: 64

Mexico: 12 (North America – Global South)

Central America: 7

South Africa: 1

USA Private Household (et.al.) Industry Immigrants

    Statista estimates that of the Private Household sector’s 947,000 workers, 45 percent come from countries other than the United States of America; and “22 percent of all immigrant workers in United States households are unauthorized.”

    The textile, apparel and leather manufacturing industries come in second with 36 percent; and the agricultural industry comes in third with a 33 percent proportion of immigrants.

Quoting Pew Research studies, in “no major American industries (did) immigrants outnumber United States born workers.” (emphasis added)

    In 2023 Pew reported that although “immigrants” were still “more likely than U.S.-born workers to work in lower-skill occupations,” a significant shift had occurred.

In recent decades, “the numbers of immigrants in high-skill, non-mechanical jobs have risen,” most notably “in jobs that prioritize analytical skills such as science and math or fundamental skills such as writing and speaking;” and “in jobs in which social skills like negotiation and persuasion are important.”

As immigrant workers have transitioned into employment sectors requiring more highly skilled work, it follows that their numbers have decreased in industries “where social or fundamental skills” such as in hospitality or homemaking “are least important.”

    This month The Washington Times National Weekly is reporting large deficits in hotel income and workers. The American Hotel and Lodging Association cites a shortage of “190,000 jobs” compared with pre-pandemic levels. One analyst told the Times affirmed that “immigrants have better job options” than the usually designated housekeeping jobs. Just because immigrants are coming over the border doesn’t mean that they’re coming for these jobs, he said.

“Traditionally the hotel industry has used a lot of immigrant labor for drudgery because (immigrants) were more willing to put up with longer hours and more unpleasant working conditions.” Now, “they have more options….” 

 

Talkers on American radio should mind professionalism and their humanity. 

    These individuals and their owners and handlers and lackeys should study more carefully, become better prepared before going on air. Practice due diligence and proper oversight. Put forth far more effort than reading a teleprompter’s script or ripping and reading the day’s prepackaged points. Have some honest to goodness respect for fellow human beings.

    Remember men on a Bridge (I find them hard to forget) suffering the consequences of carelessness in high places: in the press and in the halls of elective and appointive government. Not long after midnight, early one Tuesday morning in late March six construction workers from the world’s Global South lost their lives because of public officials’ (and the news press’s) negligence. These men, ages 25 through 49, died.

Guatemala-Born Dorlian Castillo Cabrera

Guatemala- Born José Mynor López

Honduras-Born Maynor Suazo Sandoval

Mexico-Born Carlos Hernandez

Mexico-Born Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes

El Salvador-Born Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez

    US media emperors and their talkers, the news press along with officials in public office and their partnering emperors of privately private enterprises are a collective of bad influences. Despite their 24/7 pageantry of propaganda and curious utterances—these entities are practitioners and peddlers of a callous and unconscionable disregard for peaceful relations; and, more generally, a reckless disregard for all life within and beyond our borders. 

Sources

Statista. March 20, 2017. “The Industries with the Most Immigrant Workers” by Niall McCarthy, with Infographic by Niall McCarthy Data Journalist IMMIGRATION https://www.statista.com/chart/8566/the-industries-with-the-most-immigrant-workers 

Pew Research February 24, 2020, “The share of immigrant workers in high-skill jobs is rising in the U.S.” by Jesse Bennett https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/02/24/the-share-of-immigrant-workers-in-high-skill-jobs-is-rising-in-the-u-s/

Washington Times National Weekly. “More than 75% of hotels report staffing shortages despite raising wages: Half cited need for more housekeepers.” Print edition Monday June 17, 2024.

USA Facts 2023 “Which industries employ the most immigrant workers? About 5 million foreign-born workers — nearly a fifth of the immigrant workforce — work in education and health services.” USAFacts Team November 10, 2023. https://usafacts.org/articles/which-industries-employ-the-most-immigrant-workers/ 

Baltimore Sun https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/03/27/what-we-know-key-bridge-collapse/ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Scott_Key_Bridge_collapse March 26, 2024 (1:28 a.m. Eastern Time): 

Situated in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area was the Francis Scott Key Bridge. On that morning its main spans and three nearest northeast approach spans over the Patapsco River collapsed when a container ship struck a support structure of the bridge extending into navigable waters. Six members of a maintenance crew working on the roadway lost their lives. Two more were rescued from the river.

MLB Advanced Media 2024. “Fourth-most internationally born players featured on Opening Day rosters” Michael Clair. March 29, 2024. MLB.com.

Travel Republic https://www.travelrepublic.co.uk/blog/26-countries-of-the-caribbean 

World Data https://www.worlddata.info/developing-countries.php 

Insider Radio https://www.insideradio.com/free/entercom-s-david-and-joe-field-take-giants-of-broadcasting-

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Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

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Disruption, Destabilization, Mind Capture, Chaos

A Disturbing Pattern: US Classrooms Crossing the World

    There are reasons to be deeply concerned about the raging “DEI” or Identity Industrial Complexes just as there are good reasons to be deeply concerned about War Industrial Complexes and NGO Industrial Complexes and the victimhood-sickness-dependency Industrial Complexes, and Propaganda mills.

    Timothy P. Carney then a fellow at the American Enterprise Institutes wrote in an article posted online several years ago: In a few moments, 

“social media can create… an insatiable mob that deputizes itself to enforce the ever-shifting orthodoxy of elite identity politics. This mob brooks no dissent or nuance.…” Standard tactics of all ideological types include misrepresentation, omission, oversimplification.

    This author observed that “progressive identity politics … ignores reason, shouts down questioning, (and) requires rejection of plain facts and obvious truths.” American Enterprise Institute (AEI) “Progressive Identity Politics Can Dumb down Anyone” August 8, 2017   https://www.aei.org/articles/progressive-identity-politics-can-dumb-down-anyone/

The Carney article is interesting as far as it goes. But it does not probe deeply enough.

    The destructive complexes I refer to are created, enabled and sustained not only by insidious media entities of traditional and nontraditional varieties; but also, by a deeply ingrained, too-easily accepted preexisting condition: the tyrannical hijacking and control of language and meaning, definition of terms, concepts, and existence itself.

    Among Americans in particular (I am American and thus most familiar with Americans, and I am uninterested in excusing “us” with a torrent of blame against “them”)—and across ideological bents, preferences and penchants—there seems to be a calculated and careless abuse, misuse and misrepresentation of language. My observation is that people who self-identify as liberals and those self-identify as conservatives or variations of these often select a pattern of behavior that is similar to or identical with the pattern they criticize in others. Seeming opposites choose to abuse language as it suits their individual purposes or perceived ends.

    One particularly egregious offense is the use of “progressive.” And to some lesser extent, the curious uses of left and right, marginable and non-marginable. Such terms are dependent on the prism through which the center is perceived together with the perceived proximity to that center. But sticking with the term “progress” (and its derivatives “progressive,” “progressives”, “progressivism”), the coinage is erroneous (deliberate or not)—whether it is used as a self-description or in criticism of other persons, entities or actions. The observable image, actions, effect does not pass muster. It doesn’t ring true.

    Progress signifies forward movement, movement onward or upward; advancement, growth; betterment: becoming better, improving, adding true value, merit, goodness. However, what Americans term progress manifests breakdown, chaos, destruction. Its upshot: regress, backwardness.

    The prevailing chaos perpetrated by self-described “progressives” and critics who persist in this abuse of language collude in denying that which they claim to support: such niceties as free thought and thoughtfulness, self-reflection, open-mindedness; and the quest for the understanding of any subject, cause, culture or issue. We seem to be living not in a progressive era; but, rather, in a modernity of chaos (or chaotic modernity). But the pattern is an old one.

    The old pattern masterminded by US (and UK) powers has played out for many decades in scores of countries across the world. Name any tribe or tribal variation, and US entities will be found exploiting whatever the difference, nuance, jealousy or discontent (even disrupting longstanding good relations) — (e.g., Sunni-Shia, Yemen's Shiite Houthis North vs Sunnis South, similarly in Iraq)—to exploit, create chaos, raze and ruin nations and peoples. 

Documented Conflicts across the world today (estimated)

• · “more than 45 armed conflicts” (in the Middle East and North Africa: Cyprus, Egypt-Muslim, Iraq-Muslim, Israel, Libya-Muslim, Morocco-Muslim, Palestine, Syria, Turkey-Muslim, Yemen and Western Sahara-Muslim

• · 34 in Europe-Eurasia (Black Sea and Balkan Peninsula regions)

• · 21 in Asia (Afghanistan-Muslim, India-Hindu, Myanmar-Buddhist, Pakistan-Muslim and Federally administered areas and autonomous areas including Kashmir-Muslim) and The Philippines, Latin America

• · 35 on the African continent (excluding Libya, Egypt Morocco previously mentioned): Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia-Muslim, Mali-Muslim, Mozambique, Nigeria-Muslim, Senegal-Muslim, Somalia-Muslim, South Sudan and Sudan (Muslim).

United States and United Kingdom entities will be found among the leading instigators of chaos, conflict, crises; and generally, in the thick of unspeakable destabilization and destruction.

    Within America’s classroom and far beyond the classroom, there are reasons to be deeply concerned about the Identity Industrial Complexes, War Industrial Complexes, NGO Industrial Complexes, victimhood-sickness-dependency Industrial Complexes, and Propaganda mills.

    In an article critiquing a pseudo-academic program at the University of Arizona, Timothy K. Minella touches on harmful pattern of manipulating meaning to promote ignorance and misunderstanding, anger, chaos and conflict—backwardness and regress.

    In “The Academically Unserious DEI Mandates of University of Arizona, Minella reports that subjectivist notions inserted into the General Education curriculum are promoting “politically activist ideologies to a captive audience of students (who are required to) complete the programs in order to receive a degree.”  

The purpose of studying diverse cultures is not to understand them on their own terms, but rather to prepare (students) for action against supposed inequities. … Many of these courses … urge students to advance activist political causes while engaging in academically unserious exercises.

Anti-intellectualism insinuated into the academy and imposed on impressionable minds would

replace scientific observation … with subjective ‘identities’: … hijacking serious scientific course content; (and inserting) politically activist efforts … (copied from) dogmatically progressive institutions (reported to have lost) both membership and public confidence.… The goal (of these courses) is activism, not understanding.”

    University leaders seem to “believe it is more important for students to receive lectures in progressive activism than to gain basic knowledge of American history and civics. 

Students could graduate … without learning about the US Constitution, the Civil War, or landmark Supreme Court cases”; but “having ‘lived like a bug.’” The goal is activism, not understanding. Minella, Timothy K. 2024 “Anti-Bug Bigotry? The Academically Unserious DEI Mandates of University of Arizona.” June 4, 2024, The Goldwater Institute https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/policy-report/anti-bug-bigotry/ Timothy Minella is a senior constitutionalism fellow at the Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy

 

Check and Recheck 

Lived reality flies in the face of self-righteousness—

No matter who or what practices self-righteousness.    

 

References

National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/indias-untouchables-face-violence-discrimination

World Atlas https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/yemen-s-tribes-and-tribal-confederations.html
https://www.worldatlas.com/geography/yemen-crisis.html

Nations Online https://www.nationsonline.org/index.html

Geneva Academy https://geneva-academy.ch/galleries/today-s-armed-conflicts 

###

Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

nolandanisland@hotmail.com

“Liberal” “Progressive” Assassin takes aim at a Peacemaker

Profile of a Peacemaker committed to Diplomacy, Sovereignty

One the few leaders of an EU or a NATO country who takes a position that is different from the prevailing Collective Western view.

“I will support zero military aid to Ukraine…. An immediate halt to military operations is the best solution we have for Ukraine. The EU should change from an arms supplier to a peacemaker.”

“As long as I am the head of the Slovak government, I will never agree that a country should be punished for fighting for its sovereignty. I will never agree with such an attack on Hungary.”

“Ukraine is not a sovereign, independent country. Ukraine is under the absolute influence of the United States of America…. [T]he EU is making a huge mistake, not wanting to keep a sovereign view of Ukraine, and only agreeing to what the US says.”

“[T]here are countries that are ready to send troops to Ukraine. There also are countries that say ‘never’ to that; Slovakia is one of them; [a]nd there are some countries that say such ideas deserve consideration.”

The Slovak Republic is a mountainous country (sloping into fertile lowlands of the Danube River plain); a landlocked country in Central Europe bordering Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Austria, and the Czech Republic; with a population of (circa) 5,445,040 people: 80 percent Slovak, 20 percent Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Pole, German, et.al. 

    In the latter half of the twentieth century: the Slovak Socialist Republic within the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic changes the unitary Czechoslovak state into a federation in January 1969; the Slovak Republic changes name within established Czech and Slovak Federative Republic in March 1990; then came the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January1993. The Slovak Republic has been a member of the military alliance NATO since 2004. (World Atlas, latest update February 24, 2021, https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/slovakia and other reference sources)

Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic 

Robert Fico

Google translation of text entered at official government website, some news reporting

“I say it loud and clear …: The war in Ukraine didn’t start yesterday or last year. It began in 2014 when the Ukrainian Nazis and fascists started to murder Russian citizens in Donbass and Lugansk”— Robert Fico

After becoming prime minister for a third time in October 2023, Robert Fico “reversed the previous government’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine.” Fico argued also “that the conflict between Ukraine and Russia should be resolved through diplomacy.”

The Leader’s Work Record

Education

1982 – 1986: Law Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava; degree JUDr. [JUDr: Juris Utriusque Doctor (Doctor of Both Laws, i.e., Civil [secular] and Church [Canon] laws), a degree within the tradition of several centuries, originally the highest possible degree.]

1987 – 1988: judicial practice and completion of judicial exams, professional qualification for performing the function of a judge

1988 – 1992: Postgraduate studies at the Institute of State and Law of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in the field of “Criminal Law,” degree CSc. (“The death penalty in Czechoslovakia”)

2002: habilitation, title Doc. (“Necessary Defence”)

Professional Practice

1986 - 1987 basic military service, assistant to the military investigator

1986 - 1995 Legal Institute of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic

1992 (Since 1992) member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

1992 - 1995 deputy director of the Legal Institute of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic

1992 - 2002 member of the Constitutional Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

1994 - 2000 agent for the representation of the Slovak Republic in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission for Human Rights

1994 - 2005 member of the permanent delegation of the National Council of the Slovak Republic to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (in 1999, head of this delegation)

1995 - 2003 Chairman of the Prison Commission at the Constitutional Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

2002 - 2004 observer of the National Council of the Slovak Republic in the European Parliament

2002 - 2006 member of the Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for human rights, nationalities and the status of women

2006 - 2010 Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic

2010 - 2012 vice-chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

2012 - 2016 Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic

2016 - 2018 Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic

2018 - 2023 member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic

2023 (October -): Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic

Political Activity

1994 – 1996: Chairman of the Club of Deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for the Party of the Democratic Left

1996 – 1999: vice-chairman of the Democratic Left Party

1999 (since 1999): chairman of the political party SMER - social democracy

2002 - 2006 chairman of the Club of Deputies of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for SMER - social democracy

Other activities

• · Author of professional articles
• · Author of several approved laws
• · Study stays focused on criminal law and human rights in the USA, England, Finland, Belgium and France
• · Participation in several international conferences and seminars
• · Teaching activities
• · Extensive publishing activity
• · Member of the editorial board of the Judicial Review
• · Coauthor of the project of the Slovak National Center for Human Rights
• · Founder of the Center for Victims of Crime

Languages

English

Russian

This past Wednesday (May 15, 2024), an assassin fired several shots, “at point-blank range,” against the Prime Minister of Slovakia. At the time, the minister was “greeting supporters in the small town of Handlova.”

Sources

Slovak Republic government website
https://www.vlada.gov.sk/predseda-vlady-sr/?csrt=16284562195720639909
Google Translation
General references

News sources

Berezovsky, Georgiy (Vladikavkaz-based journalist). 2024. “‘No country should be punished for its sovereignty’ – Fico in quotes… How Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who survived an assassination attempt, sees the world and what he says” RT World News Feature. May 15, 2024. https://www.rt.com/news/597672-fico-slovak-pm-quotes/

______. 2024. “‘No Country Should Be Punished For Its Sovereignty’ – Fico in Quotes.” Intel Drop Feature. May 16, 2024. https://www.theinteldrop.org/2024/05/16/no-country-should-be-punished-for-its-sovereignty-fico-in-quotes/

RT World News. 2024. “Slovak prime minister survives surgery after assassination attempt: As it happened Robert Fico was wounded when an assailant fired multiple shots outside a government meeting.” RT live updates. May 15, 2024. https://www.rt.com/news/597641-slovakia-prime-minister-shot-updates/

Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

nolandanisland@hotmail.com

Human Rights and Freedom for All People— A Call not to Isms but to Conscience

    This long-lasting humanitarian scandal …challenging the conscience of all of humanity … involves the entire Palestinian population of Gaza— Richard Falk, Board Chairman of Euro-Med Monitor

Richard Falk is an international law and international relations scholar; an author (whose books include books include A Study of Future Worlds, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, and Protecting Human Rights in Occupied Gaza (co-editor); an academic (Princeton University, University of California), board chair of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Professor Falk; and a former United Nations Special Rapporteur
https://richardfalk.org/category/global-justice/
https://www.claritypress.com/book-author/richard-falk/
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/gaza

Euro-Med Monitor

Reporting from the Ground, with Essential Context

In a thirteen-year period (2008-2021), Israeli forces launched four unprovoked attacks (in addition to sporadic air and ground attacks) on the Gaza Strip:

• Operation Cast Lead (2008-2009): three weeks of Israeli forces’ dropping “around 1 million kilograms of explosives on the strip,” destroying “nearly 4,100 houses and damaging 17,500 others”; and leaving “nearly 1,500 (1,436)” Palestinians dead and “about 5,400 others” wounded (including many children and women).

• Operation Pillar of Defense (2012): eight days of Israeli warplanes’ killing “162 Palestinians” and wounding “nearly 1,300” others; destroying “200 houses,” and damaging “another 1,500 homes.”

• Operation Protective Edge (2014): fifty-one days 60,664 Israeli land, sea and air raids’ killing “2,147 Palestinians (in many cases, involving one family) and wounding 10,870 others;” hitting “17,123 homes,” and obliterating “2,465” of them.

• Operation Guardian of the Walls (2021): eleven days of the Israeli army’s air and artillery attacks on the Gaza Strip’s infrastructure (“especially streets, water wells, and public facilities, as well as the Strip’s economic and productive capacities”) and killing “254 Palestinians” (including 66 children, 39 women, and 17 elderly people), and wounding “about 1,948 others.”

After October 2023 the Collective West (government officials and major media) openly armed and cheered the Israeli militarists’ willful and unchecked belligerence. Reported by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor in May 2024:

The Israeli Army during its forced evacuation of civilians “kills 12 members of same family for no reason” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor concluded that

The family members were killed deliberately in the context of Israeli crimes against civilians, i.e., (they) were targeted simply because they were Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during Israel’s crime of genocide, ongoing since 7 October 2023.

The Israeli army has committed hundreds of crimes, the details of which are still unknown due to the ongoing Israeli invasion and attacks. Field teams from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor are diligently and retroactively documenting war crimes, including planned killings of civilians throughout the Gaza Strip.

There remains “an urgent need … for the swift formation of an international investigation committee,” and the dispatch of “experts” … to the Strip to investigate the genocide unfolding there and to collect evidence before it is destroyed by (the belligerents).” https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6314/During-its-forced-evacuation-of-civilians,-Israeli-army-kills-12-members-of-same-family-for-no-reason

Caprice and Callousness

The Israeli government in 1971 constructed on the Israeli side a fence, border barrier or wall separating Israel from Gaza. An Oslo Agreement, signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel in 1994, permitted Palestinians to sail up to 20 nautical miles (about 37 km) off the Gaza coast. But the agreement has never been honored: “Israel has arbitrarily limited fishing to an ever-changing zone that is never farther than 12 nautical miles out.”

Restrictions on Movement

    “Before Israel imposed its blockade on Gaza, individuals and goods moved in and out through six crossings: Erez, Karni, Nahal Oz, Kerem Shalom and Sufa via Israel and Rafah via Egypt. Once the blockade was enforced, all of them were closed except for Egypt’s Rafah crossing and Israel’s Erez (for people) and Kerem Abu Shalom (for goods).” And even the Egyptian authorities “impose restrictions on the number and type of people allowed to cross the border.”

    “Palestinians in Gaza are forced to pay high unofficial ‘coordination fees’ to travel through the Rafah crossing without encountering security restrictions or delays.” And Egyptian authorities assail Palestinians “frequent searches…” causing a “journey between the Rafah crossing and Cairo International Airport”—a trip that should take no more than six hours—“to take up to 72 hours.”

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor documents the Gaza Strip’s “Almost unlivable (conditions) after 17 years of blockade”

“Farming and the impact of the ‘buffer zone’”

    An Israeli government-imposed “buffer zone” —prohibiting movement of Palestinians—extends well beyond the border fence. From its 2008 assault, the Israeli government opposed “off-limits” land has represented about 35 percent of the Gaza’s land suitable for agriculture; and Israeli forces have destroyed or contaminated much of this arable land. Through the 2012 Israeli attack and since then Israeli forces have routinely targeted farmers working “in permitted areas.” “Israeli aircraft repeatedly spray herbicide on Palestinian lands along the borders, causing damage to agricultural crops, even in areas that are more than 300 meters from the fence;” thus “threatening farmers’ only source of livelihood.”

    Actual boundaries of a “security zone” separating Israel and Gaza are unclear and, like the designated sea area in which fishing is permitted, “the line always seems to be shifting.”

Strangulation

    “Over the years, Israeli authorities have worked to broaden and deepen the isolation of the Gaza Strip. One of the most draconian restrictions in its impact was Israel’s separation of Gaza from the West Bank. This separation policy restricted Palestinians’ entry into and exit out of Gaza, preventing university students in Gaza from receiving education in West Bank universities, professionals from participating in continuing education, patients from receiving healthcare, businessmen from trading, and families from staying united.”

    The Israeli blockade has driven the Gaza Strip’s economy into long-term, general recession “resulting in the near-total closure of commercial crossings and severe restrictions on the movement of traders and other businesspeople.” The years of wars (just in recent times from 2008 through 2021) have “exacerbated the crisis” in the Gaza Strip, “paralyzing all enterprise” as plants and offices and jobs were destroyed, consequences that extend “long after ceasefires (are) declared.”

    The average number of people living below the poverty line in the Gaza Strip is “twice higher than that of the West Bank.”

• Gaza Strip Unemployment rate by the beginning of 2023: 47 percent (compared to 23 percent in 2005)
• Gaza Strip citizens dependent on aid: 80 percent
• Gaza populations’ poverty rate by the beginning of 2023: 61.6 percent (compared to 40 percent in 2005)

• Land suitable for agriculture deducted by the buffer zone: 35 percent
• Gaza agriculture’s share of the total GDP: 7.1 percent
• Value of agricultural sector losses due to the Israeli blockade and military attacks (2006 - 2022): (in US dollars) $1.3 billion
• Livestock impaired that grazed in the buffer zone: 70 percent

• Area allowed for fishing: 3-6-12 nautical miles
• Number of Monthly incidents in which Israeli Navy targeted fishermen’s boats in 2022: 30
• Gaza’s fishermen living below the poverty line: 90 percent
• Number of registered fishermen in Gaza: 4,000 (fall from 10,000 since the year 2000)

In its April 2024 Report

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor recommends

• That the international community fulfill its legal and moral obligations to the people residing in the Gaza Strip, ensuring that international law and rulings of the International Court of Justice are respected and implemented; and that the genocide the Court has declared as likely to have occurred in Gaza in January (and ongoing for nearly six months) be ended

• That all nations fulfill their international obligations and halt all military, financial, and political support for Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip—particularly, the immediate halt of all arms transfers to Israel, including export permits and military assistance.

• That Appropriate Entities facilitate the entry of necessary humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip without delay in order to stop the spread of famine—stressing that, under international law, Israel, as the occupying power, bears the primary responsibility for supplying food, medical supplies, and other necessities to the Gaza Strip’s residents.

• That funding be reinstated for UNRWA immediately, as it is the main humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip—on which more than two million people depend for their survival—putting an end to collective punishment against the Palestinian people and supporting UNRWA* and all other humanitarian institutions operating in the Strip.

• That an independent investigation be opened into the killing of starving people, especially the horrifying massacres for which Israel has tried to evade responsibility.

UNRWA 

    United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established after the 1948 War by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) on December 8, 1949. Its mission is “to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees.” The Agency began operations on May 1, 1950. “The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict.”

    “The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States;” and receives “some funding from the Regular Budget of the United Nations, which is used mostly for international staffing costs.”
https://www.unrwa.org/

Genocide Convention

    The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by nations of the United Nations General Assembly (GA Resolution 260 A (III)) on December 8, 1948. 

    The Resolution entered into force in accordance with article XIII on January 12, 1951. Coming out of the Second World War and reflecting on the atrocities of that period, the contracting parties or signatories, “having considered the declaration made by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 96 (I) dated December 11, 1946, agreed that 

genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world; and

recognizing that at all periods of history, genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity, and

being convinced that, in order to liberate mankind from such an odious scourge, international co-operation is required.

And thus, the contracting parties agreed to the naming and defining of the crime:

    In Article 2 is the definition of genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

In Article 1 the “contracting parties” (or signatories) confirm that 

Genocide—whether committed in time of peace or in time of war—is a crime under international law which they (the contracting parties or signatories) undertake to prevent and to punish. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide




Sources

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and Europe

Euro-Med Monitor, “Almost unlivable after 17 years of blockade.” https://euromedmonitor.org/en/gaza

_____. “Gaza: Israel deliberately militarizes civilian objects, turns schools into military bases.” May 1, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6296/Gaza:-Israel-deliberately-militarizes-civilian-objects,-turns-schools-into-military-bases

“Palestinian Territory - As part of its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, ongoing for the seventh month now, the Israeli army has militarized civilian objects, including schools and educational facilities. Israel’s turning of these facilities into military bases is in flagrant violation of international law and the rules of war.”

_____. “Gaza: With its potential military operation in Rafah, Israel threatens to execute over 1.2 million Palestinians.” May 6, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6306/Gaza:-With-its-potential-military-operation-in-Rafah,-Israel-threatens-to-execute-over-1.2-million-Palestinians.

Palestinian Territory - The Israeli army issued on Monday new evacuation orders against 10s of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the far south of the Gaza Strip.

_____. “With Gaza's only lifeline cut off, humanitarian catastrophe looms in Rafah.” May 8, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6309/With-Gaza%27s-only-lifeline-cut-off,-humanitarian-catastrophe-looms-in-Rafah

Palestinian Territory - A multidimensional humanitarian catastrophe looms in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, two days after Israel’s army ordered the forced displacement of local residents and previously displaced people, the Israeli ground incursion, and the seizure of the Rafah border crossing.

_____. “During its forced evacuation of civilians, Israeli army kills 12 members of same family for no reason.” May 10, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6314/During-its-forced-evacuation-of-civilians,-Israeli-army-kills-12-members-of-same-family-for-no-reason

Palestinian Territory - Twelve civilians were killed, and three others were injured in a direct and deliberate attack by Israel on 4 December 2023, for no reason, a Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor investigation conducted over the past months has revealed.

_____. “Israeli army carries out random killings, new forced displacement campaign in Gaza City’s Zaytoun neighborhood.” May 10, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6317/Israeli-army-carries-out-random-killings,-new-forced-displacement-campaign-in-Gaza-City%E2%80%99s-Zaytoun-neighbourhood

Palestinian Territory - As part of its ongoing military operation in Gaza City, the Israeli army carried out a second day of random killings in the city’s southeastern Zaytoun neighborhood. Israel’s clear aim is to impose a new forced displacement campaign, destroying Gaza City and the Gaza Strip’s northern region, and evacuating its residents.

_____. “New Report: Killing starving Palestinians, targeting aid trucks is a deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip.” April 3, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6259/New-Report:-Killing-starving-Palestinians,-targeting-aid-trucks-is-a-deliberate-Israeli-policy-to-reinforce-famine-in-the-Gaza-Strip

Palestinian Territory - A new Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor report titled “Killing starving Palestinians and targeting aid trucks: A deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip” reveals the killing of 563 Palestinians and the injury of 1,523 more due to Israel’s targeting of people waiting for aid, distribution centers, and workers responsible for organizing, protecting, and distributing aid.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. 2024. “Killing Starving Palestinians and Targeting Aid Trucks: A Deliberate Israeli Policy to Reinforce Famine in The Gaza Strip.” Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.” April 2024. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P7yQYp7KC2eG711baOY9Ijwa5nht7a4B/view

_____. 2024 “New Report: Killing starving Palestinians, targeting aid trucks is a deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip.” April 3, 2024. https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6259/New-Report:-Killing-starving-Palestinians,-targeting-aid-trucks-is-a-deliberate-Israeli-policy-to-reinforce-famine-in-the-Gaza-Strip

Palestinian Territory - A new Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor report titled “Killing starving Palestinians and targeting aid trucks: A deliberate Israeli policy to reinforce famine in the Gaza Strip” reveals the killing of 563 Palestinians and the injury of 1,523 more due to Israel’s targeting of people waiting for aid, distribution centers, and workers responsible for organizing, protecting, and distributing aid.

Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

nolandanisland@hotmail.com

 

 

A Time to Mourn

There is “a season,” the poet writes, “a time to every purpose”: “A time to weep,” and “a time to laugh;” “a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

T

his moment is a time to mourn.

    I mourn our Motherland. I mourn for a mother (one of America’s First Ladies) and her young son. I mourn a period in time that is wasted on surround-sound vulgarity, a relentlessness in theater of distraction and depravity. 

        I mourn my country overrun by philistines and mercenaries; my country reduced so low that no nation of moral, rational, sensible human beings dares to trust or, in any way, take seriously American leaders, partners and public figures—and thus any policies or promises emanating from the United States of America. 

                I mourn our brokenness.

                No matter what team you are on, what tribal banner you are sporting—a collective end is certain. 

                Any nation or individual or tribe that is weighted down in self-righteousness (or depravity or both of these maladies), rushing pell-mell off a mountain cliff, is bent on the inevitable unhappy ending: annihilation.

Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett

Author’s links: https://www.xlibris.com/en/search?query=Carolyn+LaDelle+Bennett

https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/828689-epitaph

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

nolandanisland@hotmail.com