From the Second Decade to the Third Decade of the Second Millennium C.E.

We are ending a year and starting a year with the transfer of all unresolved problems.  I truly do hope that everyone takes time to be happy and expectant about the potential of a New Year to support personal progress.  And to that end I hope we will all continue to make time to better understand the unresolved political dilemmas at all levels of government - from on the block to international - which need our clarity of understanding.  Resolving political issues and making personal progress are not mutually exclusive.  They are far more intertwined than many seem to realize.

So I am posting these four videos to remind and encourage folks of the need to better understand and clarify opinions about the Israel-Palestine issues.  Our U.S. government policies are way off base about them, so too is main stream media content.  Very clearly both ignore the facts of history and instead choose to parrot and support what has become twisted truth propaganda, that has spiraled our nation into unending armed conflict in a region our nation has no business trying to manage for itself or at the behest of any other nation.  Is not the current impeachment dilemma about the undue influence of other nations in our own nation's political processes?  Yet one of the most long-term damaging of outside dictates from another nation remains unspoken - avoided like the elephant in the living room, the bull in the china-closet - making a caricatured clichés of our nation in the process.
 
I have chosen three videos of civilized outrage from 2011 which actual teach peaceful resistance - being outraged peaceful resistance, personified; plus one video of an interview from two years ago. 

Do not bother imagining I am not in my own lane. This interest and the knowledge I have gained from my research IS my lane - and your lane too -  precisely because of the "moral support" for immoral illegal crimes my nation provides, and the financial support it provides for the wrong reasons it states.  It should not be providing support of criminal violations of international law - all at unjust cost to we, the people, and those who are harmed because of our nation's  unholy support.  It is everyone's lane in a convey lead by an illegally occupied people.  And if you aren't driving too then it is past time to decide if you are on the bus or off the bus.

Note that the dates of the first three are 2011 and the fourth is 2016.  It is unfortunate, due to lack of needed progress, that the content of all four remains very current. 

The Content

Norman Finkelstein, as a consummate professor of history,  has perfected his method of clearly and honestly conveying the crux of every issue he touches on with his characteristic brevity, humility, and wit - though neither of the videos here provide much opportunity for wit.

Norman Finkelstein refusing to entertain nonsensical propaganda of a questioner.

"Rafeef Ziadah is a Canadian-Palestinian spoken word artist and activist. Her debut CD Hadeel is dedicated to Palestinian youth, who still fly kites in the face of F16 bombers, who still remember the names of their villages in Palestine and still hear the sound of Hadeel (cooing of doves) over Gaza."

Rafeef Ziadah - 'We teach life, sir'

Rafeef Ziadah - 'Shades of anger'

And last, from 2016, Norman Finkelstein being interviewed by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!  The “Big Lie” About Gaza is That the Palestinians Have Been the Aggressors

Still Impeachment Proceedings . . .

I am listening to the closing arguments of the last hearing before the vote on impeachment - or "roman circus"* proceedings as it has become to some of us.

Anyone putting on the news has no choice, anyway, since all other news is not being reported. I consider the "news blackout" to be threatening actually. However, the most immediate problem is that all three of the o.t.a. channels I receive - ABC, NBC, CBS - include a very high pitched squeal that could drive anyone crazy, or at least cause an insufferable headache.

So, I have had to turn off the t.v. and am watching CNN on the computer - without the high pitched squeal - at least without it being so evident. Perhaps it is at a higher frequency on the computer - and/or perhaps somewhat neutralized by other EMF interference of which there is way too much surrounding my immediate environment.

Whatever else is being discussed, I have to doubt the suitability of those serving in our legislative branch if they are not all able to be on the same sheet of music in their understanding of what actually constitutes "a point of order".  Those of us who are not familiar with the rules associated with procedure, particularly "point of order" in the House during an impeachment hearing (which likely constitutes most of the public), are being asked to "believe" one or the other when it comes to who is "correct" about point of order.  Clearly, point of order requests can be valid, and/or they can be intended to be delays and rabble rousing interference with the proceedings.  Both intentions result in the proceedings having a "roman circus" atmosphere.

As I put on the t.v. as Jerry Nadler was speaking.  I thought Nadler's statement about the "common ground" facts that all agree on, was on point.  However, part of what he said set-up what the opposition to impeachment is wanting to focus on as double standard hypocrisy of the impeachment -  trying to use it as an opportunity to try to present credible excuses for President Trumps words and actions that are considered to be violating behavior from a  president - by pointing out corruption of the Democratic party (i.e. made so public during the most recent presidential election). 

The Judiciary person who responded after what appeared to be Nadler's opening statement was true to what has become the bad habit defamation nature and tactic used by the far-left when marginalizing individuals with the intent of preventing their participation in the subject being discussed.  He immediately started attacking the impeachment committee, and leveling many of the accusations onto it that have been leveled at the President as part of the need for impeachment.  In that performance was  an example of what is known as a "Southern Republican" - which is as much of an oxymoron caricature as any I have ever witnessed.

Point is that it is not the impeachment committee which is on trial.  And undermining professional proper impeachment procedures, in an effort to "get-back" at the democratic party for its  corruption in the most recent presidential election, is the wrong time and place for such an effort.  Yes, absolutely I am in favor of putting individuals in the democratic party on trial for that corruption - but an impeachment hearing is not the time and place to discuss the need to do so.

Fact is the Republican party is no less corrupt than the democratic party publicly demonstrated it is.  It has traditionally been less rambunctious in its dishonest clever efforts to be corrupt.  And of course the corruption of the Republican party during the Nixon era was also spoken of, which still is not the time and place for the two parties to be pointing the finger of corruption at one another - corruption for which both are guilty and need to be accountable in appropriate time and place.

Do I think President Trump has done something right?  The fact is that all presidents are remembered for what they have done wrong.   And impeachment proceedings are also not the time and place for an accounting of what Trump is considered to have done correctly, because impeachment is about what he is considered to have done wrong.  Do I think President Trump did something wrong?  Yes, I think he has done a lot of things wrong, foreign and domestic, primarily targeting specific demographics in our nation to verbally attack; also targeting demographics internationally through  establishing foreign policy that put teeth into his verbal attacks.  Has he put teeth into his domestic verbal attacks on specific we, the people, demographics?  Given the legislation he has put an end to I can only say yes - especially because of those regulations and laws that are associated with protecting everyone from toxic pollutants in our environments.  Putting an end to regulation of, and protection from pollutants of our air, water, and soil (which also means weather patterns, and food are affected), compromises the quality of life of all demographics, some of which are being directly and specifically targeted more than others but which ultimately also results in pollutants in those environments eventually moving beyond those environment which are first being targeted.

I do not know all the president has followed through with, domestically, in support of his verbal abuse targeting of some demographics because given that I refused to vote for either presidential candidate in the election, I have been trying to not pay a lot of attention to the "roman circus" our government has publicly become.  And even though I am not an advocate of apathy which prevents people from being the responsible citizens we are all supposed to be, I do not feel guilty about maintaining my own sanity by ignoring the damage and potential damage that saturates the news reports which are associated  with someone I did not vote into office, given I also did not try to put the other candidate into office either. 

The most recent presidential election was another turning point into blatant in-your-face corruption in our nation's history, which we still may be able to turn around.  So, rather than become stressed out by the current reality, I have been putting my energy into hoping the next different administration will be an improvement, and into hoping that we, the people, are willing to be serious about providing good choice candidates of good character who are willing and able to actually do a good job of being president instead of succumbing to either the appearance of promoting self-interest or the promoting of self-interest, both of  which undermine our nation.  Not only my hope, but the hope of we, the people, for the next presidential election depends on the parties not indulging in corruption, again, to force their candidates into office through lying to and cheating we, the people.

The way I see it, private citizen Donald J. Trump - that is wheeler dealer, skating on the edge of ethical and going over the line too many times, Donald J. Trump - can not successfully use his "managing business" methods as president.  They are undoubtedly considered to be violating to many and offensive to many more, although they are not illegal in the way they are when President Donald J. Trump uses private citizen Donald J. Trump's methods to get what he wants as a president.  Doing so makes him a violator, as president, which becomes valid reason for impeachment proceedings.  The private citizen methods he uses to get what he wants, as president, are considered to be an abuse of the power of his office when he uses them as president.  It is easy to understand that is a serious problem for our nation.

The only other comment I want to make about what is considered cause for impeachment  is that we may never know if President Trump's intentions are good because of the obtuse, dictatorial, verbally abusive ways he publicly tries to force his intentions rather than to successfully use our system of government, respectably, as it is intended to be used to bring about desired results.  Yes, I do believe the legislative body, and we, the people, need to be convinced the choices and actions of our current president are well intended instead of being violations.  However, the opposition has not been able to credibly make that case. Instead our legislative body has collectively determined President Trump's intentions are questionable enough there is need for impeachment proceedings.

Dictatorial, wheeler dealer, verbally abusive, bull in a china shop, elephant in the living room tactics that are not civil, do not demonstrate good intentions - nor have they ever been considered the hallmarks of good intentions.  I consider the unacceptable situations which have come into existence in our government within that environment, to actually be easy to understand as being unacceptable enough to constitute intentional violations.  The American people do, indeed, deserve better as, by extension, do those nations of the world who are victim to what has become our nation's regressive government, in large part due to our government being enthralled with endless armed conflict.  We do deserve better in what have become the increasingly  painful efforts of we, the people, to collectively, evolve by living up to our nations stated values, principles, and ideals, absent government corruption which, when it exists, limits our ability to collectively do so.

Our system of government is intended to prevent dictatorship and domestic armed conflict through due process which was originally established as a democratic process for we, the people, within our constitutional democratic republic.  It is the system of government we are empowered and entitled to use as a collectively self-governing people.  It is the system which our legislative body is supposed to use properly in their work of representing we, the people.  They have collectively found cause to call for impeachment proceedings on behalf of we, the people.

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*In the third century BC the first roman circus appeared which eventually lead to it hosting gladiatorial combats and wild animal fights. The events became increasingly cruel and fatal to animals and those who were enslaved to provide gladiator entertainment, because of slave status, considered  to be non-persons. The same activities were later hosted in the later notorious Colosseum, commissioned before 100AD, which became so notorious (for persecution of Christians, among others) due to enslaving people to participate in gladiator fights, and be made subject to wild animal combat.