Get the Memo

Memo to everyone in the United States of America:

The constitution of this great country, which is also the main thing that makes this such a great country, is about equal civil rights for all American citizens. The Supreme Court took up the issue of same-sex marriage and ruled that, constitutionally, no matter what one's sexual orientation, every American citizen has the right to marry.

Apparently, the above memo I just issued is necessary, as there are some who are just NOT understanding and/or accepting this reality. If you don't like the constitution, go move to another country which isn't ruled by it. And by "ruled by", I also mean "protected by". See ya later, Chief Justice Roy S. Moore of Alabama. And don't worry: you can always come back to America for a visit, as I'm guessing you are not Muslim.

Click this link to see the NPR article that prompted me to write the above memo/blog.

Why won't the media call white, Christian, American-born TERRORISTS what they are?

Question: why, when an armed group of white, Christian, American-born wackadoos take over federal property and say they will stay there for months unless and until they get their way, are they called "a militia" by the media, as opposed to "TERRORISTS" which is what they are?

You don't just stage an armed takeover of federal land and make a set of demands without being TERRORISTS. They aren't a "militia", so why are we letting them call themselves whatever they want? Why not let them go by "freedom fighters"? NO, call them what they are: a band of terrorists that have taken over federal property because they are mad at the government.

Interesting who the media will call terrorists and who it won't. I'm WAY more scared of these wackadoos than I am am of Syrian refugees who are FLEEING FROM terrorism. While Trump is busy talking of building walls around the country and the others in the GOP field are busy stopping terriFIED refugees from getting safe asylum here, we have a bunch of homegrown, heavily armed nuts staging a domestic coup in Oregon. Is anyone paying attention?

Let Freedom Ring

"It’s the kind of demagoguery that often precedes fascism, and we all have a responsibility to speak out against it.”
- quote by Martin O’Malley on Donald Trump’s call to stop all Muslims from entering the country -

"We can stop wondering if we would have protested the anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust. This is exactly how it begins. Now's the time to speak up and to act."
- quote by Rachel Held Evans, in response to Donald Trump's statements re banning Muslims from entering the United States -

I have been thinking and feeling the exact same thing that Martin O'Malley and Rachel Held Evans express in their respective quotes above: now is the time for each of us individually, and for our great country, to find out what we are made of. Speak up now or it may be too late. So let me begin:

I think what is great about America is our constitution, our pluralism, our tolerance, our democracy, our diversity, and our rule of law. Terrorism is not as great a threat to any of that as is us turning our back on all of that due to our own fear. If we were to ban all Muslims from entering this country, including--apparently, according to the one who has put this idea forward--all American citizens who are Muslim, we would be throwing out our civil rights, our rule of law, our constitution, everything that makes us great and is worth fighting for.

We cannot win "The War on Terror" by giving up everything voluntarily that makes us great. We cannot win by being ruled by fear and ruling with a fascist fist. We win by staring the terrorists in their eye and not blinking. We win by standing by our constitution and pluralism and rule of law, and by keeping our heads and our civil rights intact. We can't fight terrorism and fascism by becoming what we fear. We can't protect the United States of America by making her unrecognizable and not worth fighting for. We are about freedom and tolerance. That's worth fighting for.  And to keep that, to fight for it, we must trust in the strength of it.

The Planned Parenthood Shooting, Post 5: Where is the National Outrage Against this Act of Terrorism?

If it had been a Muslim person who had shot an officer and two other people dead at a Planned Parenthood clinic, and injured nine others, it would be wall-to-wall coverage not only on the cable news networks today but on the broadcast TV networks. We would be calling it what it is: terrorism.

Instead, it is only being covered on cable and even then, just as one of many news stories today. THIS WAS AN ACT OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM! Against a health care provider! AND, making it even more awful and news-coverage-worthy, is the fact that this was directly incited by Republican presidential candidates and by Republican congressional leaders--they have been engaged in systematically attacking, spreading misinformation about, and inciting violence against, Planned Parenthood for months and months and months. THIS IS THE RESULT!
Why is the whole country not outraged today?

‪#‎IstandwithPlannedParenthood‬

The Planned Parenthood Shooting, Post 4: Words Have Consequences

AND *no one* in the media is making the connection between the violence-inciting, misinformation-spreading rhetoric of the Republican presidential candidates and congressional leaders against Planned Parenthood and this Planned Parenthood shooting, which is a DIRECT result of that!

‪#‎IstandwithPlannedParenthood‬

The Planned Parenthood Shooting, Post 3: This was a Terrorist Act

This (the Planned Parenthood shooting) was a TERRORIST act that should be getting wall-to-wall coverage. WHY is the news media acting like everything is business as usual today?

I guess terrorism on women's health care providers doesn't count. Nevermind that an officer and two civilians are dead and nine injured. The media is covering this as just another news story. This is infuriating!

This is NOT just another news story. This is domestic terrorism. More than that, this is domestic terrorism that was directly incited by Republican candidates for president of the United States and by Republican congressional leaders.

‪#‎IstandwithPlannedParenthood‬

The Planned Parenthood Shooting, Post 2: The Media

CNN is just giving this (the Planned Parenthood mass shooting) cursory coverage. Nothing like the wall-to-wall coverage for MONTHS they gave to Ferguson. I guess they don't care when a GOOD officer is shot to death in the line of duty by a gunman incited by people serving in Congress and by candidates running for president of the United States, or that two other people are dead, and four officers and five people injured. Nope. If it's just the War on Women, why cover it? It won't generate RATINGS.

Also, if it shows police in a good light, why cover it, either, as that would take away from the violence that they (CNN) themselves seem to me to always be trying to incite in the streets of America against police, so that they then can go out and cover the violence and protesters that THEY themselves whipped up, and get RATINGS. To that end, they are back to their wall-to-wall coverage of the cop who was charged with first-degree murder in Chicago, and that constant coverage is contributing to protesters in the street, even though that bad cop has already been rightly charged with 1st degree murder, so what is there to be covering right now or be out in the streets about--WHY NOT COVER THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTING?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why not be out in the streets about congressional leaders and presidential candidates inciting violence against a health care provider?

I'm not happy today.

‪#‎IstandwithPlannedParenthood‬