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Rolla Peace News December 22, 2015 |
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================================= Dear Friends:In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THIS WEEK, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015 2. BERNIE BREAKS A RECORD 3. WHY IT'S ALL ABOUT BERNIE SANDERS 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Paris Climate Deal Dissected b) Outrageous and Totalitarian c) I Think Bernie Is Finally Getting It d) Stuff Happens
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We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office THIS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015, (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 50s. 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. BERNIE BREAKS A RECORD As of Sunday, Bernie Sanders' campaign has received over 2.3 million contributions, breaking President Obama's record from 2011. Note that these are nearly all from the 99% of citizens who don't have more money than they know what to do with. During the debate, Sanders' website was overrun with donations, averaging less than $25 each. Thus his campaign isn't breaking any records for total amount received, but as Bernie says, “You can't level the playing field with Wall Street banks and billionaires by taking their money.” 3. WHY IT'S ALL ABOUT BERNIE SANDERS Some may think that we give Bernie Sanders too much space in this newsletter, and it's true that we do talk about him often. Bernie is newsworthy — he's doing what no presidential candidate has done in a long, long time, if ever: He is running a campaign without the backing of any of the power brokers, big corporations, or billionaires, and he is making a big impact. He is the first politician to run for President as an avowed Socialist since Eugene V. Debs ran for the 5th time in 1920. Paul Buchheit's article enumerates 9 other reasons why Bernie is unique, and why his candidacy matters. In a nutshell: “Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to show genuine empathy with the middle and lower classes, and to demand changes in the tradition of Wall Street greed that has ripped our nation apart. And he's the only one to understand the true meaning of ‘terror’ for destitute and homeless Americans.” America could use a President like that. 4. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Paris Climate Deal Dissected b) Outrageous and Totalitarian c) I Think Bernie Is Finally Getting It d) Stuff Happens PARIS CLIMATE DEAL DISSECTED Avi Lewis and Rajiv Sicora discuss the Paris climate deal point by point and conclude that it is 99% hype and spin. To cop a line from Shakespeare, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing.” So if governments won't act, that leaves it up to us — we, the people. If not us, then who? OUTRAGEOUS AND TOTALITARIAN Maul of America [misspelling intentional] has sued Black Lives Matter to halt Wednesday's planned demonstration. Organizers say they have “no plans to halt the demonstration unless authorities release the tapes related to Jamar Clark's case, prosecute police without a grand jury by special prosecutor, and bring federal terrorism charges against white supremacists who shot five protesters during the occupation.” Now I'm wondering: suppose the organizers of the climate demonstrations in Paris had shown such courage and refused to honor the French government's ban on demonstrations. Maybe we would have come out of the Paris conference with a real deal to save the Earth. I THINK BERNIE IS FINALLY GETTING IT I think Bernie is finally coming around and realizing that unless we come to terms with the destruction we have wrought through our militarism, his domestic program, as admirable as it may be, can never be realized. In particular, he calls out Hillary Clinton for her role in fomenting civil war, regime change and chaos in Libya. That's a good start, Bernie. The next step is to point out that war does not solve problems, it creates them. We don't need an international coalition against the Islamic State. We need an international coalition including the Islamic State and ALL other actors. You're a bright guy, Bernie. You care about people; and I have faith in you. I just dropped another donation to your campaign in the mail. STUFF HAPPENS Well, we just shot and killed some more “allies” in Iraq. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between our friends and enemies. Maybe there is no difference. With friends like us, who needs enemies. ================== 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 ### |