Saturday, February 04, 2017

Fwd: Faux news, Endless War and Unstoppable Climate Change

--------- Forwarded message
From: John Hemington


Trump aside (I know that's really not possible) there are soooo many issues left over from the Obama, Bush and Clinton administrations which have not been addressed – and are not likely to be in the Bannon administration.  However, these are clearly far too important for us to forget, shrug our shoulders and say "Oh well, maybe another day."  Three of the most important are endless war, climate change and the  almost unregulated financialization of the world by the neoliberal elite.  And, while we may worry about having to fight through the Trump administration to address these issues, keep in mind that they were never on the radar of the neoliberal New Democrats in the previous administration.  Ergo, a big part of the battle will have to be not letting those self-same New Democrat elitists take over any progressive movement that is organized to address these issues.  It will be a long, difficult dangerous and dirty fight to bring these to the fore, but it is one we cannot abandon just because Trump/Bannon would like to distract us 'alternative facts' and monstrous appointments. 

Attached are three interesting and somewhat related articles; and, for those of you not terrified of clicking on links, an excellent interview with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder with Glen Greenwald of The Intercept


John



  1. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpUHVtMDBEQnF3NlNGWGlnelNzSTNyRmZLZzFV



  2. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpeG4zUkxrSjdMdHdBSTFJcDJTc184VHJ5cHlJ


  3. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpTjRiMWJUOVVLMkFHZlFIVVF3aURDbEYtR2hr


    Friday, February 03, 2017

    Fwd: [Art-All-Night] Call for Volunteers


    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: Art All Night <info@artallnight.org>


    Greetings Art All Nighters,

    Art All Night is embarking on it's 20th year of celebrating art, music, and performance in a free, non-juried, non-censored show!

    It will be held at the end of April in a location to be determined. Art All Night needs one thing in order to be successful: a planning team of dedicated people to take on the responsibilities required for show preparation.

    Art All Night Planning Members:
    • meet Wednesdays from now until the end of April.
    • meet Saturdays in April to prepare a warehouse.
    • take on decision-making roles for certain aspects of the show.
    • are not alone-- members support one another and each have a voice.
    • work outside of meetings to fulfill responsibilities.
    Being part of the team takes work, but it is also genuinely rewarding and fun. If you are curious about learning more, come to the kick-off meeting:

    First Planning Meeting
    when: 7 pm on Wednesday, February 8
    where: Stephen Foster Community Center
    286 Main Street, Pittsburgh 15201

    If the planning team is not for you, know that you are still needed! Over 250 volunteers help out during the event. Volunteer sign up information will be sent out in early April.

    Any questions or comments? We would like to hear from you. Please email
    info@artallnight.org or visit www.artallnight.org.

    Twitter: http://twitter.com/ArtAllNight
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/artallnight

    Fwd: TAKE ACTION: Protect Clean Water


    Tell Legislators: Increase Budget for Safe Drinking Water

    StateImpact Reports: "The EPA says Pennsylvania's drinking water program failed to meet the federal requirements for conducting inspections of water systems, and that DEP's lack of staffing has caused the number of unaddressed Safe Drinking Water Act violations to nearly double in the past five years, from 4,298 to 7,922."

    Now is the time to increase funding for water pollution programs in the 2017-18 budget. For too long, Pennsylvania has under-invested in the Commonwealth's water systems, infrastructure and personnel to enforce clean water laws. Lead remains a persistent and dangerous problem in many of our water systems. Many of our streams can't support fish. Culm piles leach pollution into our waterways. The Susquehanna River is still polluted from runoff. Poison has leached into our drinking water from military bases. And Pennsylvania is only one of two states that don't build water wells to national standards.

    This is a bipartisan issue. We all want, need and have a right to clean drinking water, whether we live in a city or on a farm.

    Contact your legislator and urge them to start the long process of cleaning up Pennsylvania's waterways and securing clean drinking water for all by increasing investment in DEP's water programs.

    CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

    #StandWithPennFuture

    Contact Us

    PennFuture
    610 North Third Street
    Harrisburg, PA 17101
    717.214.2970

    www.pennfuture.org


    Thursday, February 02, 2017

    Fwd: Really worth reading - parts 1 and 2 (updated)


    ---------- Forwarded message
    From: John Hemington

    Attached are a pair of posts in single document by Ian Welsh.  They are, in my opinion, excellent and really worth reading for anyone who is interested in see real and meaningful change in this system.  Trump is clearly the problem of the moment, but he is not the only problem.  The Democratic Party, as now constructed and ruled by the neoliberal New Democrats in the DNC, is, in many ways, almost worse since they tend to disarm and coop committed liberals into believing that they stand for change – they don't, except on the fringes.  On the issues of concern to the elites and the plutocrats and the neocon militants, they are deeply in bed with them.  Do read these pieces, they are important.

    John

     Link

    --

    Update


    In some ways the two attached articles are a direct follow-up from the Ian Welsh posts above – the first directly references that post. If you haven’t taken the time to read the Welsh posts I urge you to do so, and then read these. The times upcoming are going to be tremendously difficult for most of us and we’ll need clear and effective strategies for determining how to best proceed.

    John

    Links



    Wednesday, February 01, 2017

    Fwd: NDPA 2017 Conf - Gateway Clipper Opening Reception

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: "National Drowning Prevention Alliance" <noreply@ndpa.org>
    Date: Feb 1, 2017 10:34 AM
    Subject: NDPA 2017 Conf - Gateway Clipper Opening Reception
    To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
    Cc:

    NDPA Opening Night 
    Networking Reception 
    Tuesday, April 11, 2017 | 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
     Join the NDPA for our Educational Conference's Opening Night Reception. This year our opening night networking reception will be a 2-hour cruise through Pittsburgh's three rivers (the Ohio, the Monongahela, and the Allegheny). This very unique cruise will take our networking to the water. Take in Pittsburgh's beautiful city skyline at night, see local sites and landmarks, all while meeting other professionals, reconnecting with friends, making new connections, and extending your network. Lifejackets will be available or you can bring your own!
     
    *No additional cost (Included in Registration Price).
    *Not included in Student Registration
    NDPA Safe Debate Series  

    Join the NDPA as we launch a new collaborative debate series. The NDPA "Safe Debate Series" is a forum where participants can discuss controversial topics in the drowning prevention community. We deal with the death of children and adults by drowning. As such, this subject matter is emotionally charged and incites passionate advocates. Often, this passion has polarized our community which ultimately harms the cause overall. The NDPA conference is place for all of these advocates to meet, collaborate and unite to stop drowning. The "Safe Debate" will be hosted by a moderator and all questions will be vetted prior to the debate. Participating parties will have ample opportunity to prepare. The moderator will take questions from the audience, allow time for each opinion to be heard. Attendees will leave the debate feeling fully educated and informed on all facets of the topic discussed. There are no "winners or losers" in the "Safe Debate." The goal is to foster collaboration and to further discussion surrounding the topic in a formal and safe environment where all opinions are encouraged. Ground rules will be detailed to participants prior to the session and explained by the moderator at the beginning of the session. This year's topic will be Infant and Toddler Swimming and Rescue Training.
    Breakout Session: 
    ABC's to Water Safety Event Planning
    Michelle Long and Lela Hinds-Peterson, Mesa Fire and Medical Department
    This program is for new and existing 
    program coordinators who are looking to improve their 
    drowning prevention events. Skills taught include A-Awareness of community resources; B-Budgetary restraints and how to work around them; C-Challenges when planning and executing events and D- development to continue positive outcomes with your programs.

    Michele holds a B.S. in Public Relations/Marketing from Northern Arizona University. Her background with corporate marketing has been successfully adapted in to developing numerous volunteer and educational programs that have received national recognition for the Department. She is the Mesa Fire and Medical Department's division director for the Fire and Life Safety Education division. She serves on advisory boards for the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and Vice President of the Drowning Prevention Coalition of Arizona.

    Lela Hinds Peterson is from San Diego, California and moved to Mesa, Arizona after being recruited to do research for Phoenix Children's Hospital's Neurology department. She completed her Masters Degree in Business Leadership/Disaster Preparedness and Crisis Management from Grand Canyon University. Lela has been working for the Mesa Fire and Medical Department since April 2014, coordinating the Drowning Prevention Programs and School Program that reaches over 35,000 students in K-6th grades.
    UNITED, we can PREVENT
    the Tragedy of Drowning!
    Conference Registration
    Questions
    Please send conference questions or comments to: conference@ndpa.org

    Please send NDPA Membership questions to:
    membership@ndpa.org

    **Do Not Respond to this E-Mail**
    Host Hotel
    Airport Information
    Rental Car Information



    National Drowning Prevention Alliance, 114 Zink Hall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1190 Maple Street, Indiana, PA 15705
    Sent by noreply@ndpa.org in collaboration with
    Constant Contact

    Shock Event -- via Facebook and sourced to BC Prof

    This was sent to be my one of my most thoughtful friends (of long standing)

    Heather Richardson, professor of History at Boston College:

    "I don't like to talk about politics on Facebook-- political history is my job, after all, and you are my friends-- but there is an important non-partisan point to make today.
    What Bannon is doing, most dramatically with last night's ban on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries-- is creating what is known as a "shock event."
    Such an event is unexpected and confusing and throws a society into chaos. People scramble to react to the event, usually along some fault line that those responsible for the event can widen by claiming that they alone know how to restore order.

    When opponents speak out, the authors of the shock event call them enemies. As society reels and tempers run high, those responsible for the shock event perform a sleight of hand to achieve their real goal, a goal they know to be hugely unpopular, but from which everyone has been distracted as they fight over the initial event. There is no longer concerted opposition to the real goal; opposition divides along the partisan lines established by the shock event.

    Last night's Executive Order has all the hallmarks of a shock event. It was not reviewed by any governmental agencies or lawyers before it was released, and counterterrorism experts insist they did not ask for it. People charged with enforcing it got no instructions about how to do so. Courts immediately have declared parts of it unconstitutional, but border police in some airports are refusing to stop enforcing it.

    Predictably, chaos has followed and tempers are hot.

    My point today is this: unless you are the person setting it up, it is in no one's interest to play the shock event game. It is designed explicitly to divide people who might otherwise come together so they cannot stand against something its authors think they won't like.
    I don't know what Bannon is up to-- although I have some guesses-- but because I know Bannon's ideas well, I am positive that there is not a single person whom I consider a friend on either side of the aisle-- and my friends range pretty widely-- who will benefit from whatever it is.

    If the shock event strategy works, though, many of you will blame each other, rather than Bannon, for the fallout. And the country will have been tricked into accepting their real goal.

    But because shock events destabilize a society, they can also be used positively. We do not have to respond along old fault lines. We could just as easily reorganize into a different pattern that threatens the people who sparked the event.

    A successful shock event depends on speed and chaos because it requires knee-jerk reactions so that people divide along established lines. This, for example, is how Confederate leaders railroaded the initial southern states out of the Union.

    If people realize they are being played, though, they can reach across old lines and reorganize to challenge the leaders who are pulling the strings. This was Lincoln's strategy when he joined together Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, anti-Nebraska voters, and nativists into the new Republican Party to stand against the Slave Power.

    Five years before, such a coalition would have been unimaginable. Members of those groups agreed on very little other than that they wanted all Americans to have equal economic opportunity. Once they began to work together to promote a fair economic system, though, they found much common ground. They ended up rededicating the nation to a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people."

    Confederate leaders and Lincoln both knew about the political potential of a shock event. As we are in the midst of one, it seems worth noting that Lincoln seemed to have the better idea about how to use it."

    COPY AND PASTE. DON"T "SHARE"

    Saturday, January 28, 2017

    Fwd: Defanged by Privilege

    ---------- Forwarded message
    From: John Hemington

    I have held off sending these pieces for a bit in order to rethink my own prejudices.  I held off because I believe that some of the comments contained therein will likely offend some of you reading them.  However, on reflection, I believe that they are correct and must be considered if we are to be honest with ourselves.  It particularly concerns the Women's March in Washington as a demonstration organized by and focused on privileged whites frightened by Donald Trump but not terribly concerned with those not similarly privileged.
    I have to say at the outset that I was personally thrilled and impressed by the turnout of millions of people in hundreds of sister marches throughout the country and the world.  It was an impressive show of unity and strength when really needed.  But I was also concerned that it might end up being nothing more than a "feel-good" event out of which little or nothing comes.  Behind this concern lies my fear that it was really orchestrated and controlled by operatives of the elitist side of the Democratic Party – the New Democrats – in order to galvanize support for their continued domination of the Party.  Given the list of official speakers this certainly appears to be the case.  Each one I saw was a long-term Clintonista New Democrat.
    If this is correct it is highly likely that most of the energy will be diverted from change into focusing on further demonizing Donald Trump and, down the road, re-electing the same old crowd of New Democrats that brought us Donald Trump in the first place by failing to fight for policies to end the economic starvation of poor, middle and working class Americans while serving up trillions for international corporatists, Wall Street financial gangs and the military-intelligence elite and their corporate suppliers ensuring that endless illegal and self-defeating wars of choice will continue without pause.
    Yes, the Trump administration will be awful and millions will suffer as a result.  Things worldwide will certainly get worse, but the solution is not simply to return the Democrats who created the conditions which led to Trump's victory back to power.  If the recent marches cannot be used as a springboard to overthrow the power structure now controlling the Democratic Party – that is, if we allow those same people to control and direct the outrage – we will see Trump succeed into a second term.  Or should the Republican oligarchy tire of as they may well do, a second term of Mike Pence and company.
    As one of the articles suggests, the New Democrats despise and fear the progressive left and will do just about anything to prevent them from making inroads into control of the Party.  We cannot, we must not allow this to happen by aligning with the New Democrats to shift the focus away from the failure of their neoliberal/neocon fantasies which have brought us to this terrible time in history.  We cannot allow them to divert our attention to whether Russia might have hacked the election and inciting anger at those who supported Trump instead of to those New Democrats who created the conditions which encouraged former Democrats in the "flyover" regions of the country to vote for Trump.
    In short, we must do everything within our power to retake control of the Democratic Party from those who serve only the financial and corporate elite while pretending to work for all Americans by pushing "identity politics" while ignoring the very real and serious needs of most of us.  Be assured that the New Democrats and their privileged spokes people will speak words which sound as if they care – as did Barak Obama – but most will be lies and distortions.  Their policies over the past forty years are what define them and they have almost uniformly awful for most Americans who were not among the privileged.
    And I speak as one who is privileged.  I do not have to worry about where my next meal will come from.  I do not worry about whether I can afford to pay the rent to keep myself housed.  I am not struggling with unpayable student debt.  I don't have to worry about being shot and killed while "driving as black."  I don't have to be particularly concerned that any illness will bankrupt me or my family.  I don't have to worry that my job will be eliminated and my family will lose everything.  I don't have to worry about living in desperation in a slum where the laws are enforced only against those who live there and not against the slum lords who fail to maintain their properties.  I do not have to worry about being deported because I lack citizenship papers.
    But I am not without cares and concerns.  I care that our government has chosen to ignore the plight of those who do find themselves in these plights.  I am concerned that our government has for forty or so years continually cut back on the social safety-net programs instituted in the New Deal to protect those who, through no fault of their own, fall through the cracks of an increasingly neoliberalized market economy which glamorizes success and demonizes failure.  I am concerned that we have bought into the myth that the government doesn't have enough money to provide the necessary social and medical services which every other advanced economy provides its citizens; but always has a magic pot from which to pull dollars to bail out billionaire financial titans and fight endless costly wars as well as provide arms to the rest of the world.  And I care that we remain, as a society, as racist today as almost at any time in the past – we simply disguise it from ourselves more effectively.
    Please read the attached articles and give some thought to your own privilege.  Think about what might have been had the New Democrats not commandeered the Democratic Party during the Clinton presidency; and consider how we might work to take the Party back.  Otherwise, there may not be much hope for the future.  There is a class war being waged and it is being waged against all Americans who are not among the privileged elite.  The goal of this class war is to insure that we, its victims, continue to blame one another and never look to the real source of our problems.
    I'm sorry for the length of this but not for the content.


    John

     Links

    Fwd: Did you know today is Data Privacy Day?

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: "Mozilla" <Mozilla@e.mozilla.org>
    Date: Jan 28, 2017 9:20 AM
    Subject: Did you know today is Data Privacy Day?
    To: <mark@rauterkus.com>
    Cc:

    Here's something you can do
     
     
    Hello Mark,
     
    Happy Data Privacy Day!
     
    What? You didn't know today was Data Privacy Day? Or maybe you did. The thing is, I have no way of knowing how important online privacy is to you. But I would like to.
     
    In honor of Data Privacy Day, I'd like to ask you to tell me what online privacy means to you.
     
    Take our 3 Minute Survey
     
    I've tried to make it simple for you to do that. Just three minutes of your time to answer a few questions. Don't worry, they're mostly multiple choice. And there are no wrong answers.
     
    Our goal is to provide you with ways you can have the most impact on issues that you care the most about - we can only do that with your help. Will you take a few minutes to fill out the survey?
     
    TAKE THE SURVEY
     
    Happy Data Privacy Day,
    Jen Caltrider
    Mozilla Foundation
     
    PS - To learn more about how we're thinking about online privacy, check out our new Internet Health Report.
     
    Connect with us
    Facebook Twitter
    Thanks for reading!
    You're receiving this email because you subscribed to receive email newsletters and information from Mozilla. If you do not wish to receive these newsletters, please unsubscribe or modify your preferences.

    Mozilla
    331 E. Evelyn Avenue Mountain View CA 94041
    Read the Mozilla Privacy Policy.

    Friday, January 27, 2017

    Fwd: No effort will be spared . . .

    ---------- Forwarded message
    From: John Hemington

    It is now clear with the Trump administration and efforts in other states, particularly New York, that no effort will be spared to insure that any criticism of Israel or support for Palestinian rights will be permitted – up to and including the rights of free speech and association granted by the constitution.  It is true that Fordham University is not a public university and therefore not subject to same Constitutional requirements that would limit government actions, but certainly New York City and New York State are.  It is clear that the State of Israel has a protected status in the United States that no other nation or even U.S. citizens have.  And so it goes . . .


    John


    Thursday, January 26, 2017

    Great swim video

    Strong Swimmers, Confident Kids from J Saunders on Vimeo.

    This is the time to plan for spring swim lessons. In summer, it is sorta too late. Let's get our kids strong, and strong in the water.

    In Pittsburgh, we're blessed as we have the pools. Next, we need to keep up demand and get time in our week to use them.

    See you Saturday.

    Fwd: Life and Death

    ---------- Forwarded message

    From: John Hemington

    Attached are two, again eclectic, articles.  The first from Scientific American, unfortunately, was not read by a sufficient number of folks prior to the election as it is perhaps the best and most frightening description of our 45th president I have yet encountered (h/t Paula Lim).  If this doesn't make you even more nervous and chilled than you already are, you must have anti-freeze running through your veins.  

    The second discusses one of America's many recent failures both from the standpoints of the neocons running the State and Defense Departments and from the rational believers in freedom and justice – the U.S.'s funding of terrorist mobsters to overthrow the Assad regime in Syria.  For all of politicians' rants about fighting terrorism in the world, there is no question, in my mind at least, that United States has incubated, funded and supplied 99% of the terrorists in the world, either directly or through proxies such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.  This will be the lasting memorial of all U.S. administrations from Regan through Obama – and almost all of it done at the behest of Israel in a successful effort to destabilize or destroy all of the independent nationalist nations in the Mideast and Africa.

    John

     Links




    Fwd: Something eclectic this evening

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: John Hemington

    So much is happening and so little time to digest it all.  Attached are three distinctly different articles with no common theme whatsoever.  The first is a typically excellent post by Jim Kavanagh of The Polemicist discussing the situation in Syria as it relates to Russia, the U.S. and our fervent financial support of al Qaeda and al Nusra terrorists in that country – and how it has thus far backfired on us.  The second is an interesting article dealing with political parties as team sports and why, to quote the author, "It is important that we see through the charismatic character, that we analyze the practices rather than embrace the platitudes.  Americans tend to become so fixated on their particular "team" that we cannot root out the negative elements imposed by "our" political players.  This is an important point if we are to make any real progress moving forward.  The third article exposes a critical real-time right now crisis which we will all be facing before we realize it – the crisis of "clean" water availability.

    John

     Links




  4. Syria article in PDF



  5. Team Sport and Politics article in PDF



  6. Clean Water Crisis
  7. Wednesday, January 25, 2017

    Zing!

    Jim R. Forsythe posted on Facebook's South Side Secrets page:

    Top ten Bruceisms!!

    1. We now have more Parking Enforcement Officers than pedestrians on East Carson Street.(ask the Pretzel shop).
    2. South Side hospital has closed for business.
    3. Zone 3 police station has closed for business, and soon to be up for sale.
    4. Vacancy on East Carson climbed from 5% to 35% in 7 years. 
    5. Beltzhoover and Knoxville havent seen the councilman in years, while the councilman is busy measuring sidewalk cafes on East Carson. 
    6. South Side Slopes and Hilltop infrastructure continues to crumble while Bruce eyes removing the Shriners Circus. 
    7. Residential parking plan that Bruce said cant be amended is now being amended. 
    8. While the East End and Lawernceville continue to grow and expand, Bruce opposes the 25 million dollar apartment complex on 23rd and Wharton. 
    9. Bruces staff turnover is more than hamburgers be flipped on East Carson. 
    10. Bruce shelves 300k hospitality study that he initiated because " he always knows better". 
    Stay tuned for the sequel because he just cant help himself! Can you believe we are paying Bruce Kraus with hard earned tax dollar money for his lack of council.
    Note: We will trade him for any other councilperson or a warm six pack!!

    Tuesday, January 24, 2017

    Political Songs are Fun.

    Really?

    Women at a big march are holding signs saying they hoped for the day when they'd have as many rights as a gun? You mean, they wish they could be banned from schools and other public places, closely monitored by the government, and scapegoated for the problems of society?
    From Tom Woods.

    New EdD at Pitt for OUT OF SCHOOL TIME study

    New Doctoral Degree in Out-of-School Learning

    University of Pittsburgh

    Responding to the needs of professionals looking to advance their careers, the
    University of Pittsburgh offers a Doctor of Education (EdD) in out-of-school learning.
    The part-time EdD is a three-year cohort-based degree program designed around
    the needs of working professionals with very clear timelines and an on-line course
    delivery model.

    The program is intended for experienced professionals who aspire to be
    transformational leaders in out-of-school learning. Prospective applicants might
    currently work in museums, out-of-school time (OST) settings, libraries, digital
    media/technology, university outreach/extension, policy groups and think tanks, life-long
    learning programs, parks, environmental centers, arts-based organizations, community
    settings, youth development, or the many other areas where we explore learning
    environments that exist outside of classrooms. Program faculty are expert in connecting
    research and practice and have experience across a wide range of out-of-school
    settings, audiences, and learning arrangements.

    Out-of-School Learning students are part of a larger, multidisciplinary EdD cohort of
    students from eight different specializations in education, offering rich opportunities for
    collaboration and broad learning about education. The core EdD curriculum covers
    educational foundations and methods of practitioner inquiry, while the specialized outof-school
    learning curriculum focuses on informal learning theory, organizational
    processes, applied life-long learning, and evidence-based change and evaluation.

    In addition to on-line work, most students in the EdD program come to Pittsburgh for
    occasional Saturday sessions with the entire EdD cohort. Students in the out-of-school
    learning program can opt for this on-line/face-to-face model or could choose a
    predominately on-line model. Students who do not live in Pennsylvania can apply for
    merit-based scholarships to help offset the cost of out-of-state tuition.
    We will launch our first cohort in May 2017. Applications are due February 1, 2017.

    For more information:
    Kevin Crowley, crowleyk
    Tom Akiva, tomakiva
    Jennifer Russell, jrussel

    Fwd: Industrial-Strength Islamophobia . . . and more

    ---------- Forwarded message ----------
    From: John Hemington


    This article is, I believe, an excellent analysis of where the Trump administration is headed.  It's not and should not be a great surprise to most of us, but it presages a dramatically bleak period of world history.  It means that Trump's people in the administration and in Congress will work tirelessly to turn Americans against one another (more than even the neoliberals have managed to do) and then against the rest of the world.  It will be a most challenging period for anyone who believes in freedom, democracy and human rights.  It means that we will have to come together in strong communities in order to survive.  It means that we may well experience a more comprehensive period of totalitarian control of our lives than anyone may have thought possible – a totalitarianism which will make Orwell's 1984 seem positively mild by comparison. 

    There is no time to waste.  We must begin organizing today developing allies who will stand up to the forces of darkness likely to be unleashed by this administration.  It is not sufficient to know that oppression is happening.  Together we must develop strategies for defending ourselves and others against the coming storm; as well as programs of education for ourselves and others to learn and share from one another what is happening, why it is happening, who or what is behind it and how it can be fought.  As never before, time is of the essence.


    John

     Links



    Kickoff for Pittsburgh Mayor Candidate, John Welsh, seeking the D-Party nomination in spring 2017

    Video camera of a Saturday event at the Homewood Library featured a new candidate to challenge for the Dem Party Nomination for Mayor, City of Pittsburgh.

    Exciting event in terms of audience and messages of the need for a new movement in Pittsburgh.

    These are three segments (not complete) from the podium.







    Family photo after the speech:



    Big welcome for a movement:





    Fwd: The Trump year

    ---------- Forwarded message
    From: John Hemington


    The first attachment poses an interesting question, how long can Trump last.  This is not the only commentator to suggest this and I believe that it is a fair one.  It is pretty clear that the Republican hierarchy doesn't much like Trump, but they do like Pence a lot.  It is also clear that the intelligence community doesn't like him at all as he is the first president since John Kennedy to threaten to reduce the size of the CIA (Kennedy threatened to eliminate it) – and we know what happened to Kennedy.  On the other side of the picture, it appears to me that Trump may well be a brilliant strategist.  If you haven't noticed he has managed to get virtually the entire media talking about nothing but the size of the crowd at the inauguration and the number of "illegals" who voted for Hillary.  There is almost nothing being said about what it is that Trump is actually doing to us and this may be an accident of hubris and narcissism or it may be fully intentional.

    The second attachment dwells on just what kind of a country do we want this to be.  This is an important question and one which I'm not certain enough of us have pondered for some time.  Perhaps now we will all be forced to.

    John

    1. Impeached or two terms?
    2. What is a country for?