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Rolla Peace News December 20, 2016 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016 2. BUEHLER PARK CITY BUYS FIVE ACRES FOR ANIMAL SHELTER 3. STAND FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Christmas In The Trenches b) On Chickens Roosting In Their Coups c) Who Started The Tennessee Fire?
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016, (and all subsequent Thursdays until peace is established) from Noon to 1:00 PM. Please try to join us. The temperature is predicted to be in the 30s. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. 2. BUEHLER PARK CITY BUYS FIVE ACRES FOR ANIMAL SHELTER At the Dec. 19 Rolla City Council meeting, Mayor Lou Magdits announced that the city had purchased five acres adjacent to the two acres that the City already owned on Lions Club Drive between the Rolla Rural Fire Dept. and Hwy 72. This land is now being considered as a location for the new Rolla Animal Shelter that was originally proposed to be built in Buehler Park. City Administrator, John Butz, pointed out that although their was room enough for both a dog-park and an animal shelter on this land, Buehler Park was still under consideration as a location for a dog-park. If you have not already done so, Please sign the petition; and ask your friends and family to sign too. Your phone calls and emails have been very helpful. Please keep them coming. Contact the City of Rolla and ask them not to build a dog-park in Buehler Park: (573)426-6948, citycouncil@rollacity.org. For more information click here. Thank you for your help in preserving Buehler Park as the lovely little park that it is for all local residents and visitors to enjoy. 3. STAND FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE Now that Donald Trump has been confirmed as president by the Electoral College, we can all stop putting our energy into keeping this from happening and start coming to terms with what is, and maybe start thinking about what we're going to do. One thing is certain: If we don't find a way to be in unity with our fellow citizens, not just the ones that think like us, the plutocracy is going to have it all their way. Divide and conquer has always been the name of their game. Kathy Kelly emphasizes the importance of building relationships with all kinds of people, including the Trump voters, Tea Partyers, etc. These are the folks who are most going to need support when they find out that Trump does not care about them, not even a little bit. If we can suspend judgment and befriend them as fellow humans, without patronizing them, perhaps they won't need to blame liberals, Jews, Blacks, Mexicans, etc., for their betrayal, as their political leaders have encouraged them to do. Kelly also mentions a manifesto called We Stand for Peace and Justice. The idea behind it seems to be to gather together the myriad groups and causes that constitute the resistance to the corporate raping of the planet and oppression of the many by the few, and unite them in cooperation and collaboration. We the people can be a powerful force if we all work together. If this appeals to you, please read, and if you agree, sign the statement. We can't just stand by and do nothing while Trump and his ilk destroy our future. The following essay is actually a book review by Nathaniel Rich. The book, by Arlie Hochschild, is called Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. If you are at all interested in what makes a Trump voter tick, this essay is a good stand-alone read, and a good synopsis of the book's contents 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Christmas In The Trenches b) On Chickens Roosting In Their Coups c) Who Started The Tennessee Fire? CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES Here is a story of War and Christmas time that I wrote for the Rolla Daily News nine years ago. It bears repeating every year, especially this year which is the 102nd anniversary of the 1914 World War I Christmas outbreak of Peace. The article is based partially on a song of the same name by John McCutcheon and partially on the events that led up to the 1890 massacre of 350 Lakotas at Wounded Knee, which in particularly important to remember this year in view of the great victory over the Dakota Access Pipeline won this winter by the Standing Rock Sioux and allies. And here's a song by and about today's Veterans Against War. ON CHICKENS ROOSTING IN THEIR COUPS A quarter century ago, the physicist, Michio Kaku, explained that in US politics, when the elite is united, the people have no real say about government policy; but when the ruling class is divided, the people can often choose which faction will rule. For a quarter century, since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the elite has been united. The official policy of the United States has been to establish hegemony as the world's sole superpower, crushing any country or faction that stands in its way (Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Honduras, etc.) Lately, with the obvious failure of this policy, cracks have appeared in the facade. A new faction has arisen. This new faction believes in forging an alliance with former arch-enemy Russia (remember the God-less communists of the Evil Empire) against China, Iran, the Islamic world, the Hispanic world and others. In this year's election, this faction, favoring an alliance with Russia, backed Donald Trump, and won. The Old Guard backed Hillary Clinton, and lost. Both factions are pro-war and pro-empire. They just don't agree on which wars are to be fought and whether to go it alone or share the spoils of war with Russia. Both factions chose terrible standard bearers — the two most unpopular presidential candidates in modern US history. In spite of their rhetoric, neither faction gives a rat's ass for the people of the United States or any other country. Neither faction gives a rat's ass for the Earth — they just ASS-U-ME that while others will die, they will survive along with their yachts and golf courses. That brings us to today. The Old Guard is fighting back. We're hearing from them how Vlad the Bad stole the election for Donald Trump and now Trump is filling his cabinet with pro-Russian sympathizers and fellow-travelers. Some say the Democratic Party is making lame excuses for its failures. Some say this is a blatant case of red-baiting. Some say Russia really did influence the election. Some say it's a tempest in a teapot. Believe as you wish; and call me a “conspiracy theorist;” but I think the Old Guard is setting the stage for a coup. What better excuse for a coup than that the government has been usurped by Russian stooges? For those who are salivating at the thought of deposing Donald Trump, consider the result of the 2013 coup in Egypt in which democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was deposed. Yes, it can happen here. As I've written before, the United States is balanced on the verge of chaos and disintegration — perhaps even unto civil war. We've fomented coups and civil wars in so many countries. Perhaps, now it's our turn. Perhaps the chickens are finally coming home to roost in their coups. Related reading: Now, America, You Know How Chileans Felt. WHO STARTED THE TENNESSEE FIRE? “The people before you were destroyed because they inflicted legal punishments on the poor and forgave the rich.” The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Two juveniles have been taken into custody for allegedly starting the recent Tennessee fire that killed 14 and injured many more. If found guilty, they could spend the rest of their lives in prison. Hey, what about folks in the fossil-fuel industry who created our warming climate and the unprecedented Fall drought that allowed a tiny wildfire to spread and eventually kill 14? Not only has Exxon CEO, Rex Tillerson not been changed with a crime, he has been appointed, and likely will be confirmed, as Secretary of State. What about all the climate deniers in Congress, like James Inhofe, who accept bribes (sorry, campaign contributions) from the fossil-fuel industry in exchange for passing fossil-fuel friendly laws, which create the conditions necessary for global warming and the devastating Tennessee fire. Why aren't they charged as accomplices and co-conspirators? Certainly, they knew, or should have known, the consequences of their actions to a far greater degree than two careless minors with matches. But this is our system of injustice: Punish the poor; reward the rich. ================== Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Grassroots Rolla: top of rightmost column).If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Helen helenm (at) fidnet.com ### |