In August 1870 a U.S. exploring expedition headed out from Montana toward the Yellowstone River into land the U.S. government had recognized as belonging to different Indigenous tribes. By October the men had reached the Yellowstone, where they reported they had “found abundance of game and trout, hot springs of five or six different kinds…basaltic columns of enormous size” and a waterfall that must, they wrote, “be in form, color and surroundings one of the most glorious objects on the American Continent.” On the strength of their widely reprinted reports, the secretary of the interior sent out an official surveying team under geologist Ferdinand V. Hayden. With it went photographer William Henry Jackson and fine artist Thomas Moran.
Speaking of Project 2025, a group called Stop the Coup 2025 has analyzed the nearly 900 page Project 2025, and in a scathing 15 page report, shows how the Project uses rhetoric as a "hidden in plain sight" propaganda tool to serve the next Conservative President.
The over-arching principle the authors forewarn is an "Us vs. Them" mindset. A must-read, specially if you're one of "Them." (Are you CERTAIN you're not??)
David, I am going to send this link to everyone I know. I have read parts of the Project 2025 and it enraged me. I feel they wrote this manifesto because it id they who are fearful. They saw the writing on the wall when Obama was elected and then reelected. The R’s had to manufacture hate and fear towards us for our choices of sexuality, the partners we want to be with which meant stepping out from our white race and engaging with other races. They saw the statistics that the decline of births was a real thing. They saw that we despise big business, big oil, and big pharma, which is their lifeblood. These pages are written by mostly white men who feel threatened. I am happy to see Stop The Coup fight back.
No, Swbv & Jeri, we risk missing much more ubiquitous forces at work if we think it is simply racism. It is about the same issues we have seen operate in America since its founding which HCR so ably maps out with her LFAA, especially those issues regarding protecting the lands, forests, sea and very air we breathe. It is about protecting us and our natural assets from the entrepreneurs of Capitalism. They are useful, but only if we have strong enough laws to bind what seems their ever-insatiable grasping for more.
Racism and greed go hand in hand, do they not. After all, it's less for me if you get a smattering. And if I can make a buck from, well anything, what's wrong with that. It lacks any hint of humanity, that's what.
I agree, Jeri. It's part of being able to turn especially poorer whites against their own economic well being. I may be poor, but I have status merely by being white.
John, this ubiquitous force is founded on and in racism. Yeah, the more more more for me and none for anyone else is at its absolute foundation racist in nature and intent; viewing the Indigenous population as "savages" is the start of it all.
Good morning, Ally. I've been enjoying the Smeckle-free comments for awhile now. However, I was thinking, I've not seen anything from Mike S in upper NY for a very long time, and nothing from Sandy Lewis either. Do you recall seeing anything from either of them recently? I miss their comments.
Racism, like religious zealotry, is only a tool to divide people who have more in common economically than they realize. They get too busy hating each other over nothing to think about the substantial power they could wield united. It's a strategy founded maybe in greed, but I think it's greed for power more than money, although money tags along.
100 percent agree John. I have repeated and repeated in this space and others, that we are up against a coalition that finds unity in the old glue of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" , funded by leaders - big money leaders of the U.S. chamber of commerce crowd and religious fanatics.
And Mitch McConnell, betraying his Alabama and Kentucky roots, proudly waived the Stars and Bars when he opined that he wanted to make Obama a one term president and denied him a Justice nomination in direct violation of his "rules" about proximity to elections.
Seriously, though, IMHO, it has always seemed to be about more than race. Race was right up there, of course, but perhaps it serves as one of several unifying red flags with which to feed the base today. Billionaires, adhering to a Koch-infused agenda, are circling their horses. Back in 1980 David Koch ran as VP on the Clark ticket as a Libertarian:
"The Clark–Koch ticket proposed to abolish Social Security, the Federal Reserve Board, welfare, minimum-wage laws, corporate taxes, all price supports and subsidies for agriculture and business, and U.S. Federal agencies including the SEC, EPA, ICC, FTC, OSHA, FBI, CIA, and DOE.[1][15] Their platform proposed privatizing all transportation and inland waterways. The ticket received 921,128 votes, 1% of the total nationwide vote,. (Courtesy of WIKI. )
This once extreme platform appears to have been spit polished and made more attractive to the republicans with each election. Sadly, support is no longer at a mere 1%! "Wealth protective" ideas are neatly imbedded today's Republican Party.
I've read that the Libertarian platform was viewed as ridiculously extreme even for the Republican Party at the time. Today the overarching goal (as awful as the red meat of racism is, was and always will be) appears to be the attainment of unfettered financial and political power with the free exercise that power both at home and internationally.
Mind you, I was infuriated at the breakdown of decorum and respect with Obama's inauguration and presidency. But as awful as the racism was (and is) it sure looks (to me) to be only one part of the plan. Money and power is at the top of the pyramid. Everything IMHO speaks to a drive for unfettered freedom for the privileged few, along with "shut up and put up" for the many. Do I sound too simplistic or too extreme in my thinking?? To me, it seems that their idea of "democracy" is that it is merely the window dressing for Fourth of July Parades.
Professor Richardson has suggested that the kernel of these ideas can be traced to the Civil War. Deep hatred of the intrusion of government on the means of production, coupled with a conviction about their right to retain that wealth (and power) across generations, has germinated in today's republican platform and, clearly, in Project 2025. Racism was a tool, their tool. Money, their money, was at the core of the impulse. I cant help but wonder if an autocrat today would, in the end, actually give these republicans what they seek, especially a particular NYC cunning, opportunistic and dangerous autocrat.
But perhaps I am merely splitting hairs. Houston, we have a problem!! In the end, the summary analysis of Project 25 is a critical and welcome document which we should all read carefully and share. Best to you!
I don't know anything about McConnell's racism, although his marriage to an Asian woman would seem to mitigate against it. Either way, I believe his comment about Obama and blockage of Garland had much more to do with his lust for conservative power than anything else. Probably didn't hurt that Obama is half black and Garland is all Jewish.
People can speak out against things like racism, yet practice it. There is a Senator? Congressman? who was anti LBGT, yet he went to his gay son's wedding. Caitlin Jenner has come out against trans people. What?
I don't think this is specifically about racism, though racism is certainly a big part of the unholy stew.
The drive behind this is Big Money (i.e. oligarchy and the endless accumulation of wealth). To get that, they need to get rid of the "nonsense" about the "rights" of the poor, and that applies to every last one of us apart from the wealth-elites (or wannabes). It's like cream (fat) rising to the top. The top layer of trillionaires looks down on the billionaires as "milky," and those in turn look down on the "millionaires" as "watery." Anyone below that is "dirty water." Any "rights" that the lower classes think they should have are of no consequence, and apply only if those rights don't get in the way.
Racism factors in because it represents voting factions that can be influenced through their tribal hatred/contempt for black people, and that represents power to legislate for increased oligarchy. I don't think the oligarchs generally buy into racism -- some may -- but they do buy into the power to swing elections. And right now, the Republican Party is fully aligned with oligarchy, and a large block of Republican voters are racist, so they exploit racism.
Racism won't win elections on its own. So there are other dead and disgusting things floating in the stew. Sexism. Rape culture. Anti-government militia movements. Big-money Evangelicalism, and other religious blocs, like the ultra-conservative single-issue Catholic vote.
David, I came across them awhile back and have forwarded their site to friends & family. My latest thought is to print one of their downloads https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/downloads and print copies to put on local bulletin boards—my little town has a community BB, as do several of the local markets in nearby towns—might catch someone’s eye and prompt them to learn more. Hopefully folks here will spread the info about them!!
Agree Gayle. We wrote to CBS that after being long-time viewers of 60M we were done after they gave an entire platform to MTG (and other RW nut-jobs). If they ever hope to regain viewers this would be the way to do it.
Having now studied David Seas' post link to "StoptheCoup2025" it is an amazing piece of work exposing Leo Leo's wicked web. Very detailed and organized, highly worthy of involvement and media coverage. Write CBS!
It is a threat like they haven’t felt in decades. They don’t realize that it’s not a threat but a promise to their progeny and to their country. Sad that hatred for their fellow humans and greed for their prosperity “colors” their hearts. Maybe it doesn’t color them; maybe it just shows the rot.
And so they destroyed Hillary Clinton, who they hated even more than Obama. She was a woman. Now they're working to end voting rights for women, along with their health care. The Nazis at least gave their women health care and lots of food for producing Aryan babies. So Republicans are even worse. Coming soon: your local concentration camp. Built just for you.
Remembering those "debates", it still seems impossible. It WAS impossible, if there hadn't been subterranean currents at work that we didn't yet know about. What a dreadful moment that was.
And the memory is indelible. Do you remember their behaviour afterwards? She sprang down from the stage and mingled with the happy crowd. All smiles and chatter. He loitered for a few minutes near the offstage exit, and then left.
Please take your party back. I am a JFK Democrat - Peace Corps and all that - and firmly believe we need a balance. Ike would hate what his party has become, starting with Nixon. Rational, caring conservatives, unite!
I read somewhere that he knew Nixon had a black heart and didn’t want him for VP in ‘56. Rational, caring conservatives- oxymoron?? The ones I would have staked my life on, not so much. Such a heart breaker…
Amazing since Liz was raised by the cretin from hell, I wonder if he has any regrets about his role in our horror. In the 80's, I read several conservative oped writers . No more.
You're missing the forest for the trees. A few scattered fair-minded Republicans are powerless against the forces that run the conservative (an oxymoron if there ever was one) movement. Those who have the power, and those who do their bidding in congress and in the courts, are fascists. Always have been.
Yup, "Get the most for yourself you can then run!" is their motto. See HCR's reports of Texas AG Paxton! Sadly, it's probably also true of "our own" Senator Menendez.
I say I am a conservative and a former Republican. That is say: I am conservative by temperament and used to be Republican. I am not what one would call a "conservative Republican" with all of the ideological baggage that entails. By Republican standards these days, I am a moderate and essentially pragmatic (i.e., a R.I.N.O.). Now it is 1:05 p.m. here in Annapolis, and, according the N.A.S.A. Administrator Nelson, R.I.N.O.s will be going nuts in the next two hours. 😉
You must be proud of her. My Dad really wanted me to go and had one or two Representatives ready to nominate me. I would have none of it. Even though I wish I had attended, my teens were such that I would not have lasted a year. Great school and I found most U.S. Naval Academy graduates to be interesting and not arrogant.
Right on D4N! Whatever the orange menace is, however racist he may be, he is at the core a narcissist decked out as money-grubbing grifter which he has been his whole life. All the rest of the venom you see him spew is based on that foundation.
Front and center among tyranny’s trademark tactics is instilling hatred to divide citizens and destroy civic unity. Thanks to you for the link and to HCR for adding our national parks and monuments - symbols of unity all - on the list of what’s at stake. As for Chief Justice Roberts, he was rewarded with the role for his many appearances before our highest court representing corporate interests, not the People, not civic unity and definitely not the environmental well-being of the Nation.
David, thank you so much for this link. The paper does such a masterful job of pulling back the curtain to show the people operating the bells and whistles.
Hi David--many thanks for this. I've heard of Project 2025 and this response but this is the first time I've really stopped to pay close attention to both. I've made a copy of the response and am sending it to friends who will use it in their various ways to confront the mess we're in. I just wanted you to know that your message here has extended itself to reach a far wider good, and for that I thank you. Regards.
just a more detailed and expanded Lewis Powell Memo and the aim of the Convention of the States to remove constitutional protections we enjoy today in favor of what the might is right crew wants.
Thank You! We need to help people realize what is happening with groups like the Project 2025 and the now disabled No Labels Party.
We cannot rely on the media to give the facts. The media insisted on calling the No Labels Party "centrist" when in fact it was a dark money trojan horse designed to help trump get elected. Thank goodness enough people (The Lincoln Project) fought to expose No Labels. We can do this with Project 2025.
Ive read Project 2025. Nothing less than the fate of our nation is at stake.
If you haven't got the time (or stomach) to read its 900 pages, I've started a series of posts covering it. Each post covers a chapter and is comprised of excerpts taken from the plan. No comments form me. The excerpts speak for themselves. Find them at Polytricks.
Here in California, we carried the impulse of the Progressive Era Republicans' (TR being chief among them) even further in the later part of the 20th Century, when we passed legislation creating the California Coastal Commission and other related legislation, so as to protect one of the World's most beautiful and inspiring coastlands from overdevelopment. Due to many people, not the least including Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown during his first gubernatorial administration, and over the bleating and wailing of the usual, mostly Republican suspects, one can now drive from San Diego to the Oregon border on the Pacific Coast Highway without undue perpetual development and commercial crassness overwhelming one's soul and senses.
Also, before he became a Cabinet Secretary for both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Leon Panetta was a longtime Democratic congressman from Monterey, the original capitol of the Golden State. In that capacity, back when House and Senate members actually spoke to each other somewhat civilly and sought in good faith to work out the People's issues and actually (heaven forfend!) legislate, he was instrumental in preserving the gorgeous geography, topography, horticulture and marine life of the California Central Coast from the forces of development north of Los Angeles yet south of San Francisco that saw rapacity right before them.
Today, one can walk in the shadow of Henry Miller at Big Sur, commune with the sea lions near San Simeon, and bask in the backdrop of the West Coast's first boardwalk at Santa Cruz, all on California's publicly owned beaches, due to his efforts and those of similar good faith.
John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, etc., would be proud.
And, the Napa Valley had prescient leaders in the 60's when they created the Ag Preserve which restricted development in Valley floor land outside the city limits so they couldn't be subdivided into less than 40 acre parcels. A couple of decades later our leaders made the hillside watershed 160 acre minimums. That's why you can still drive through the Valley and see hundreds of acres of green instead of a northern San Jose.
Good call, Dotty! I haven't been up to San Jose in a dozen years or so, and I can only imagine how much further the sprawl has spread. I have been closer to Napa in the Suisun area more recently, and that seems to be lovely still
My husband and I regularly drive “over the hill” to the Coastside San Mateo County and marvel at the beauty- the rugged beaches on the west, the mountains to the east and the palisades and agriculture in between. People travel to this part of our state from all over the world. We just have to drive, through redwood forests no less, for about 45 minutes. How lucky are we?
Just visited Central CA in spring, a wonderful trip from the coast, through the valleys to Yosemite and back. In a protected area on the coast looked down on harbor seals far below at the start of birthing season, strolled walkways where we observed hundreds of cormorants, enjoyed more than two dozen protected otters (some with pups) sleeping and playing in a huge kelp bed, and saw deer, elk, various raptors and pelicans. We will be returning. Kudos to CA.
We, in CA, are very grateful for the preservation of lands and for the beauty that we have. I was in Yosemite about 8 months ago and it is simply breathtaking. What the parks have done to allow so many tourists there without letting them destroy the area is herculean.
We all know, from her occasional interruptions here, that Heather is often off gallivanting.
In our national parks.
She loves them. Gets strength and renewed vitality from them.
I began doing the same myself as a teen, hitch-hiking all over America many decades ago.
Any of us who so love our land also well know the organized schemes by our billionaire classes to enrich themselves further also in part by stealing rights to these lands for profits to themselves.
Project 2025? Yes, Heather duly notes their quasi-public plans by that for their depredations. Combine that with the case of the Chevron Precedent, currently before the rapacious, feudal, and corrupt Clarence court, for ending any national role for environmental protections, worker safety, or health programs.
But if the billionaires want to get at the national parks (and they do), it's just more of their demented need to de-nature, dehumanize all life. Can't help it. The urge to be an entitled, regulation-free, and largely tax-exempt class doubles down on their need that all else be their property or their serfs -- that no American schools see individual people or fruited plains or ever spacious skies. Just part of the worsening corruptions of our rich.
National (and other) parks and monuments held a profound influence on my life from very early on to the present. Twice in my life I experienced a consuming altered state of extraordinary awareness I believe I can call genuine awe. Once was my first glimpse of the for-real Grand Canyon, and the other was when my newly born just toweled off and wrapped up daughter was placed in my arms.
Good to see you and D4N (currently, just below here) well of accord with each other.
When my son was born, I'd spent the preceding months apprehensive. Not sure I was really up to being a dad (even if I was then 30 years old).
After a labor of some six hours, he emerged -- and no sooner had the doctor cut the cord, and checked him out, and an attending nurse swabbed him down, when the doctor asked would I like to hold him.
I always thought moms got that first. But his mom smiled at me for the honor -- and, cradling the new tyke, I instantly felt relaxed, joyous, amazingly at peace, happy.
That was just after midnight. I went home, leaving mom and boy for the night -- and at three in the morning I'd gotten out the bourbon and was phoning everyone, all friends and family.
Getting home with mom and boy that afternoon, I took him on a tour of our garden (it was mid-summer), telling him of all the good food there growing.
Boy went on to become a chef -- rather well-known, well liked, respected. And won James Beard award.
And the ugly former party of Lincoln now does not care what kind of a world our precious children and grandchildren will inherit. Short term, if the budget is not passed, national parks will be open to destruction, as they were during Reagan’s shutdowns. Long term, living under a dictatorship of craven greedy maniacs thanks to voter suppression and a mordibund judicial system.
D4N, how is your treatment going? Has the crushing fatigue set in? I think about you often, and send good wishes for your outcome flying through the ether.
How thoughtful and kind of you KR; Thank you. Yes, it has set in - with a vengeance, along with an unhealthy multitude of other issues, heaped on issues I was surviving through; I survived an antibiotic resistant staph infection that wasn't discovered until I went into septic shock, landing in a hospital about 7 years ago - no complete recovery, yet. During covid, I must have liked it (not !) so much that I caught it twice in 2022 and it left me with long haul covid. Now this; it would seem the long covid and / or all the above has manifested into 'the big c'. So yes, the crushing fatigue is not new to me; just surprising to me is the new depth levels I'm tolerating without seeking the relief of "EnditAll," a product not made by the makers of Tylenol (weak lol there). You may, or may not have noticed that I've been a bit absent in commenting the past several weeks; that is a reveal about my increased fatigue. I'm now pushing myself to get back to it, as I find so much value here. Again, thanks for asking; pardon the length. I seek to be completely understood. Cheers KR !
I figured that was the case. And the chemo brain makes commenting intelligently so much harder.
Please try to remember that this is temporary and it too shall pass. It takes a long time to recover physical fitness - I’m three years out and just now feeling like my old self again - but the mental fitness came back a lot faster. I’m in my 60s, maybe you’re younger or having different treatment from mine, with different side effects, and will recover more quickly. I had concurrent chemo and radiation, followed by lymph node dissection (Stage 3 gynecological cancer with rectal and lymph metastases).
For me, having cancer made me really examine my feelings around death and dying (I had a poor prognosis). I realized I’m not afraid of being dead, but boy am I afraid of suffering to get there. I got to a place of peace with any outcome, but if my treatment had failed, I might have availed myself of EndItAll™️ to avoid that, but not until that point of hopelessness. I did everything I could to avoid that - did what they told me, slogged through treatment, did all the post-treatment things. It sucks, doesn’t it? Cancer treatment is all toxic, basically it’s a race to kill the disease before you kill the patient. If you’re in pain, get the good drugs. Gummies help many people, sadly I wasn’t one of them.
All that to say I sympathize with where you are now, and have you in my thoughts often with wishes for a gentle path. Come when you’re able, and rest when you aren’t. Hugs to you, my friend.
No Phil, they're not demented! They just want all our money and resources to trickle up to them at the top. It is the ever-present contest between the capitalists and the more socialist elements of our country wanting to preserve at least SOME resources (and money) for the pubic good. It is a pendulum which has swung back and forth in our country since it's founding.
I would say, JohnM, not demented, evil in their gaslighting and narcissism.
I am hopeful that the majority will see through this....but the destruction of schools, natural resources (causing shortages) and unsupported and unplanned pregnancy (increase of crime through children growing up in resource limited environments. We all know where crime and illegal drugs thrive...in poverty), may create an environment and population that will reinforce and double down on the underlying intentions of Project 2025.
And once again, as with so many issues, the Project 2025 folks are going against the grain of the American people. They want to desecrate our national parks and monuments, those places that we all love.
Could not help but think of Churchill’s stirring call to combat when I read today’s letter:
“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
The threat of Trump and his odious henchmen is every bit as real and dangerous to the New World as Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin were to the Old!
So, who is organizing the resistance? Just saying it does not make it so. What is the sense that unit commanders in the US military will balk at supporting the fascism that follows the Orange Flatulism? Who will stand in opposition, prepared to sacrifice their lives? Under what aegis? Don't think that it can be done without serious preparation.
Can we do more than talk about it among ourselves?
Here is a way to take action, and connect for further options we can exercise to make a difference:
*****
"Currently the Antiquities Act allows the US President to proclaim lands or waters under federal jurisdiction as national monuments to maintain the integrity of natural and cultural resources. Since its inception, this landmark legislation has safeguarded countless landscapes and historical sites, ensuring that the beauty and history of our nation remain intact for future generations.
"However, the legacy of protection is now at risk due to the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act which undermines the Antiquities Act. It would mandate that any site designated by the Antiquities Act would require Congressional approval within six months or the end of the current congress, or else the designation would be nullified. If Congress chose to do nothing, a newly designated site would be stripped of its protections.
"Imagine no Avi Kwa Ame, no Bears Ears, no Gold Butte, no Denali, and no Grand Teton… we can’t let this come to pass.
🖊️ "We need your signature! Will you sign on and tell your members of Congress to protect the Antiquities Act and vote NO on HR5499 the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act? 🖊️
"The Antiquities Act has long empowered presidents to designate national monuments, a critical tool in preserving areas of cultural, historical, and scientific importance. However, the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, while it sounds practical, will impose restrictive measures that would severely limit this ability, jeopardizing the protection of invaluable landscapes and cultural resources and opening them up for exploitation by oil, gas, and mineral companies.
"Such oversight not only undermines the Act’s fundamental principles but also opens the door for potentially irreversible damage to our nations’ heritage.
"The preservation of monuments is not a partisan issue, but rather a commitment to honor and protect our shared history and environment.
"We owe it to ourselves and future generations to ensure that the Antiquities Act remains a robust tool for conservation. Sign on to tell your Congress members to vote NO on the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act."
"Many Indigenous peoples hold deep traditional and cultural connections to the lands and waters that make up the Bears Ears National Monument.
"The first National Monument proposed by Tribal Nations, Bears Ears gained protections under the Obama administration but lost protections under the Trump administration. Native Organizers Alliance helped win the reinstatement and restoration of protections for Bears Ears under President Biden, and we supported local Tribes’ efforts to develop a federal-Tribal co-management agreement for these sacred lands and waters.
"The five Tribal Nations of the Bears Ears Commission -- Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Zuni Tribe -- are among many Tribes with deep cultural connections to the entire Bears Ears landscape. They see the health of themselves, their communities, and the natural world as interconnected.
"In 2022, the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission entered an unprecedented cooperative agreement with federal agencies, formalizing collaborative management and ensuring that Traditional Indigenous Knowledge informs the management plan for the Bears Ears National Monument.
"Now the Bears Ears Commission, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service have released a draft resource management plan.
"Tribes are calling for implementation of Alternative E, as outlined in this newly released plan. Alternative E would set a new standard for sustainable management of public lands, but we need to advocate for its adoption before the final decision is made -- and the deadline is fast approaching.
"Alternative E was created from the input from over 90 community meetings which gathered input and concerns.
"Join us in submitting an official comment to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service in support of Alternative E, the plan preferred by Tribal Nations who collaborated on this proposed plan for co-managing the sacred lands, waters, and resources of Bears Ears National Monument."
"Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribe and Co-Chair of the Bears Ears Commission Craig Andrews said: “Bears Ears is integral to our ceremonies, traditions, and our identity as Hopi people. Supporting the Preferred Alternative ensures that we can continue to pass down our cultures and ways of knowing.”
"Specifically, Alternative E, the preferred alternative of the Commission and the federal agencies, incorporates the most Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which are needed to balance public access with protecting the area’s cultural and natural resources. It upholds Tribal sovereignty and reflects time-tested best practices that are essential for managing these ancestral lands and waters for generations to come.
"As Navajo Nation Council member and Bears Ears Commissioner Curtis Yanito explained: “The Shash Jaa’ (Bears Ears) area isn’t just a geographical space; it’s the heart of our cultural identity, a sanctuary for prayer, offerings, communal gatherings, and the sustenance of our resources…Our ancestors have faithfully safeguarded this land for centuries, and as collaborative stewards, we pledge to uphold this sacred duty into the boundless future.”
"We must back-up this unprecedented community-driven federal-Tribal co-management plan for Bears Ears National Monument. Please add your name now to show strong public support during the official comment period."
"Hawwih (thank you) for supporting grassroots community-powered Tribal sovereignty. Your voice will make a difference in our movement to re-Indigenize national parks and protect sacred places."
Thank you, Kathleen, for this excellent practical advice which I shall study and share with my American contacts.
For what it is worth, I have seen many wonderful things in the United States but only in New Mexico did I find another, deeper connection with Earth and enter holy ground.
The kind of thing which, unfortunately, means nothing to most people nowadays.
"Handed down from ancient times, the Hopi Prophesy delineates the path of peace, and harmony with nature. Where we have deviated from that path, the prophecy has correctly predicted the results. Which path lies before us? What does the future hold? Hear a message of tribal elders for our modern world."
"Thomas Banyacya: The Hopi Prophecy was first produced as a video letter to the United Nations Environmental Programme, at the request of the Hopi elders of Hotevilla.
"Thomas Banyacya, a Hopi leader and spokesman for the Hopi high religious leaders was in his 80s in 1989 when this important meeting took place and was recorded on film. In a traditional circle, Banyacya and the elders meet with visiting Lummi, Lacandone, and American and Mexican environmentalists. They discuss the Hopi Prophecy that foretold, “Koyaanisqatsi”, meaning “life in turmoil, life out of balance,” as a result of increasing materialism and environmental destruction.
"Thomas carries the Hopi message which calls for universal peace and spiritual unity and how the only hope for humankind to survive is to return to connectedness with Mother Earth. Humanity must use its knowledge and technology to clean up the water, the air, and the contaminated land. At the same time, we must conserve the remaining natural resources. The individual greed of both people and nations must be replaced with global concern for the balance of life on this planet."
*****
Also, see added response to post above from Chase Iron Eyes of the Lakota People's Law Project - same old story ... what can we do to turn the page ...?!
"By now, you’ve no doubt become familiar with ongoing legal battles over the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). You may recall that I, myself, was targeted and faced years in prison. Fortunately, all serious charges against me were dropped as I prepared to present a comprehensive necessity defense outlining why I had no choice but to resist the pipeline and its threat to my homelands, our people, and Unci Maka, our Grandmother Earth. You might remember the Standing Rock Nation’s lawsuits to prevent the pipeline, and you also recently heard from me about my testimony in the trial between North Dakota and the federal government regarding who will split the costs of over-policing our peaceful protest camps.
"Did you know that Energy Transfer, which operates the pipeline, has also targeted nonprofit organizations in the courts of law? Specifically — and preposterously — the oil company has gone after Greenpeace USA with a pair of lawsuits. Energy Transfer’s tactic is, unfortunately, increasingly popular. Extractive industry corporations seeking to suppress opposition to their exploitative projects file what’s known as a Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). To give you another example, the lithium mine company operating at Thacker Pass is using SLAPP in an attempt to silence tribal activists, elders, and allies resisting the company’s destruction of Unci Maka and sacred sites on Paiute and Shoshone homelands.
"Frankly, the latest lawsuit against Greenpeace is of a different magnitude — both in terms of the exorbitant amount of damages Energy Transfer is seeking and the specifics of the case. Greenpeace (and other entities resisting DAPL, including Standing Rock and other tribal nations) have evidence of clear legal violations committed by Energy Transfer in its rush to complete DAPL. Aware of the gravity of those violations and wanting to cast doubt on their veracity and rewrite the narrative, Energy Transfer has attacked Greenpeace with false allegations of defamation.
"As Greenpeace has highlighted in this piece — which I strongly encourage you to read — none of the nine statements Energy Transfer claims as defamatory were originally made by Greenpeace. Rather, they were circulated publicly (and endorsed widely)."
*****
6 REASONS WHY ENERGY TRANSFER'S LAWSUIT AGAINST GREENPEACE IS OUTRAGEOUS
The company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. Here are six things you should know.
"I commend Greenpeace for hearing the call to join Native nations on the frontline of this fight and for accurately summarizing the problems with Energy Transfer’s SLAPP effort. Honestly, from our perspective, if you’re being sued for defamation by a major extractive industry corporation, you’re probably doing something right!
"Of course, Native water protectors and land defenders are all too familiar with the oil company’s modus operandi. Our ancestors witnessed similar tactics when Indian agents exerted control over their lives in the wake of the Dawes Allotment Act. More recently, my parents, aunties, and uncles remember well the FBI’s attempt to infiltrate and destroy the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. Native Peoples understand deeply that a commitment to truth telling and justice invites backlash from wealthy and powerful interests — government, corporate, or both.
"It’s extra important for us to have our allies’ backs now, as all of this is occurring against a stark backdrop: not only has DAPL already leaked many times, but it continues to operate without a valid Environmental Impact Study or easement to cross under the Missouri River upstream of Standing Rock. Furthermore, in 2022, Energy Transfer was convicted of criminal charges in connection to its disastrous operation of pipelines in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In other words, it’s essentially a criminal corporation committed to shifting blame onto activists fighting for environmental justice and tribal sovereignty. That’s why we’ll keep battling and shining the light of truth. We hope that despite all spurious and costly legal attacks, Greenpeace will, too. We are all in this fight together."
Wopila tanka —
Thank you for protecting water and advancing environmental justice!
"Politically-motivated, back-stabbing, race-baiting, dog-whistling, anti-Native attacks from South Dakota Kristi Noem continue unabated, and South Dakota tribal nations are striking back.
On Thursday, we received word from the government office of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that it has joined the Oglala and Cheyenne River Nations in banishing Governor Noem from their reservations in the wake of her comments connecting tribal leaders to Mexican drug cartels, throwing Native parents and education under the bus, and requesting a federal audit of tribes.
"There’s no way to overstate how wrong all of this is. Please watch our new video, in which you can see some of what Noem said and hear a more detailed response from me. I can bottom line it for you like this: Kristie Noem thinks that by positioning herself as an old-school Indian hunter, she’ll appeal to our region’s far-right ultra-MAGA base and possibly set herself up for a seat at the national table as Donald Trump’s running mate in November. But at what cost?
"These kinds of statements have real effects on how we, as Indigenous People, are seen by the outside world and how we view ourselves. Sadly, Noem appears to care so little for the original inhabitants of this land — who comprise nearly one tenth of her state’s population — that she’s willing to sacrifice our reputations and put our children and families in real danger simply to advance her own political agenda and ambitions. It’s disgusting.
"Of course, Noem has endangered tribes before — and it’s not the first time she’s been banished by a tribal council. She famously challenged tribal safety checkpoints during the height of the pandemic. And the Oglalas previously banished her when she targeted tribes and attempted to thwart legal First Amendment protests against the failed Keystone XL pipeline by passing a pair of so-called “riot-boosting” bills in 2019.
"Enough is enough! It’s not acceptable for Kristi Noem to lie repeatedly, stoke further division, and endanger the people of the sovereign nations which pre-exist the United States and South Dakota, which have illegally annexed and occupied sovereign territory of the Oceti Sakowin. Noem is now prohibited from entering sovereign territory of Sioux bands and is subject to detention and/or removal if she violates banishment orders, meaning the state’s governor is barred from entering more than 10 percent of all land her state claims is within its “borders.”
"I’m no fan of government leaders, right or left, who fail to prioritize our concerns, such as respecting treaty law, protecting the environment, or keeping our families together. But, clearly, the far-right — who Noem so proudly represents — is fully committed to using us as a stepping stone, no matter the collateral damage. She seems proud to continue in the tradition of government-sanctioned genocide perpetrated by the likes of George Armstrong Custer, George Yates, John Chivington, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Richard Henry Pratt.
"I’m here to tell you, just as we did when those historical figures came after us, we’re going to fight back with everything we’ve got."
... see, here's the crazy thing - I would have to go digging in a mountain of notes to find the proof of this ... S. Dakota is one of the most prominent locations for a well established network of human trafficking and sex slavery - also, children taken by the state with no warning, no just cause, and who can say where those children wind up ... while some of the local "authorities" are known to possess kiddie porn (who knows how deep this ditch is dug?!) ... so, to deflect attention away from their own activities, they target the tribes who are victimized by this "business as usual" ... oh, where are the heroes and heroines who can put this travesty to an end - once and for all ...?!
What the heck do they think so many American boys died for in two world wars?
Even if we forget the Civil War.
Even if we forget the American Revolution -- the War of Independence.
So... they want to be like Russia, occupied by an internal enemy sitting in the capital?! By no means so sure the country's future would not be as a Russian satrapy, given the way we're currently headed...
Nope, Peter, not ALL criminals but certainly all capitalists using every tool (and resource) at their disposal, which sadly now seems to include the Supreme Court and the tools thereupon.
Are those involved in a criminal enterprise ever all criminals?
Capitalists—both those with whom we’re so familiar and those practicing Soviet-style State capitalism—destroy the future, sacrificed to some present “interest”.
Intelligence and the urgent promptings of greed wedded to unwisdom.
Apparently a total absence of any sense of time—no advance on the absolute feed-me commands by which babies measure it.
And what could be more criminal than to despoil all future generations?
Thank you for opening my eyes to another possible attack on the US by a possible second Trump administration. I was curious about how many of the historic champions of environmental protection, and especially our network of national parks and other protected lands, were actually Republicans. Now it seems that environmental protection has become another partisan issue, with Democrats for it and Republicans against it. How did the Republican Party go from being a strong advocate for environmental protection to being on the side of those who would plunder our nation's natural resources?
How did they go from being pro law and order to staging a coup? How did they go from Teddy to Trump? How did they go from Nixon and the EPA to Project 2025? Heather's letters will tell you. She knows all.
Ah, yes, it's certainly not just that one component. Good point! The Republican Party has done quite a few about-face pivots. I look forward to reading more from HCR on these historic flip-flops.
One of the reasons is the John Birch Society, started by candy mogul Jack Welch in 1958. Terry Gross from NPR’ FRESH AIR had a segment on it. Her introduction said: “Today's political extremism has roots in the past. The organization that did more than any other conservative group to propel today's extremist takeover of the American right is the John Birch Society. That's according to the new book "Birchers: How The John Birch Society Radicalized The American Right." My guest is the author, historian Matthew Dallek. “.
One of the society’s tenets was that the government (federal and local) has no right to set aside any land for public use— including lakes and reservoirs. Everything must go to the highest bidder— including water rights.
Sadly, it's all about the bucks....with help from the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. And based on the Roberts quote, SCOTUS may well be the platform for the undoing of our democratic republic in the very near future.
And….a lot of the young folks who are strong environmentalists are mad at Biden (without necessarily being aware of the history of the Middle East, I might add) and may not vote for him.
Thank you, Professor, for this most critical and important continuing story of legislation, political decisions and policies. We have revisited the dismantling of environmental protections and reversals of environmental protections and preservation and national monuments and land. We must ask why it is a political issue to care and protect the present and future for our children and for posterity. Why past presidents have recognized the need to respect and protect. TFG began destroying and reversing policies and protections from the beginning of his presidency. This is a critical reason to continue electing Democrats and paying attention to policies and laws. The destruction of Bears Ears for oil was one of tfg’s first acts in his term. Greed and corruption are not necessarily hallmarks of one party or the other but there definitely is a difference in working for the people instead of for corporate and wealth. The health and future of our country and planet depend on decisions and protections made today.
This is simply horrifying. For no other reason, this plan should prompt the country to vote for Joe Biden. Allowing Trump’s crooked cronies to rape our public lands for obscene and short term profit alone is reason enough to vote for Democrats. When you add all the other chaos of lies and mean spirited race baiting, misogyny and fear mongering over immigrants and LGBTQ, just to name a few of Trump’s follies, the Democrats are the better choice. With bad actors like Bannon and Miller in the wings, we have to unite to fight the MAGA scourge definitively in November.
Chief Justice Roberts has the temerity to call the land and water preservation laws and initiatives an abuse of power? 😯 Then he has the gall to suggest that private interests push back, most likely through the courts? 😱 Gee, it seems to me that a jurist sitting on the Supreme Court, in theory committed to impartiality, should not be meddling with the prerogative of the legislative and executive branches. 🤬 Oh, I forgot you are all about textualism. 🥳 Go take a vacay to some exotic place with some billionaire, Johnny. 🤢 Then take a lap and go out for junior varsity, pallie. 🖕
Heather, you mentioned John Muir whose home is near me. His father-in-law, Dr. Strentzel , had the house built and then gave it to Muir and his wife. The story goes that the doctor had used quite a bit of wood in one room which did not sit well with Muir. He never changed it out of respect for his in-law. The property is surrounded by fruit trees and land. The house is quite large and is beautifully maintained by the state parks association. Many school children study land conservation and they come to participate in “John Muir Days” each year.
Further proof that Trump and his scum cannot be allowed under any circumstances to return to power. The Constitution is not a suicide pact and there is nothing that requires us to turn over the government to a traitor who is committed publicly to destroying our constitutional democratic republic. If it takes a civil war to defeat these scum, so be it. And this time we will not let them off so easy.
Speaking of Project 2025, a group called Stop the Coup 2025 has analyzed the nearly 900 page Project 2025, and in a scathing 15 page report, shows how the Project uses rhetoric as a "hidden in plain sight" propaganda tool to serve the next Conservative President.
The over-arching principle the authors forewarn is an "Us vs. Them" mindset. A must-read, specially if you're one of "Them." (Are you CERTAIN you're not??)
.
https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/unpacking-the-propaganda
David, I am going to send this link to everyone I know. I have read parts of the Project 2025 and it enraged me. I feel they wrote this manifesto because it id they who are fearful. They saw the writing on the wall when Obama was elected and then reelected. The R’s had to manufacture hate and fear towards us for our choices of sexuality, the partners we want to be with which meant stepping out from our white race and engaging with other races. They saw the statistics that the decline of births was a real thing. They saw that we despise big business, big oil, and big pharma, which is their lifeblood. These pages are written by mostly white men who feel threatened. I am happy to see Stop The Coup fight back.
The big thing they hated about Obama: he was a Black man. Everything else is just disguising the core racism.
True, it’s what the “tea party was all about.”
No, Swbv & Jeri, we risk missing much more ubiquitous forces at work if we think it is simply racism. It is about the same issues we have seen operate in America since its founding which HCR so ably maps out with her LFAA, especially those issues regarding protecting the lands, forests, sea and very air we breathe. It is about protecting us and our natural assets from the entrepreneurs of Capitalism. They are useful, but only if we have strong enough laws to bind what seems their ever-insatiable grasping for more.
Racism and greed go hand in hand, do they not. After all, it's less for me if you get a smattering. And if I can make a buck from, well anything, what's wrong with that. It lacks any hint of humanity, that's what.
I agree, Jeri. It's part of being able to turn especially poorer whites against their own economic well being. I may be poor, but I have status merely by being white.
John, this ubiquitous force is founded on and in racism. Yeah, the more more more for me and none for anyone else is at its absolute foundation racist in nature and intent; viewing the Indigenous population as "savages" is the start of it all.
Good morning, Ally. I've been enjoying the Smeckle-free comments for awhile now. However, I was thinking, I've not seen anything from Mike S in upper NY for a very long time, and nothing from Sandy Lewis either. Do you recall seeing anything from either of them recently? I miss their comments.
Ally, and since they were savages, then they were merely part of the fauna and could be killed or removed....a nation built on slavery and genocide.
Racism, like religious zealotry, is only a tool to divide people who have more in common economically than they realize. They get too busy hating each other over nothing to think about the substantial power they could wield united. It's a strategy founded maybe in greed, but I think it's greed for power more than money, although money tags along.
And, it is a war on females by the MAGA Taliban. Check out this article in the Washington Post: https://wapo.st/3U9fgNa
There is the certainty that the MAGA Taliban would want to implement the Comstock Act.
100 percent agree John. I have repeated and repeated in this space and others, that we are up against a coalition that finds unity in the old glue of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" , funded by leaders - big money leaders of the U.S. chamber of commerce crowd and religious fanatics.
Yes, Swbv, it was pure racism. They were so outraged that a Black man won.
And Mitch McConnell, betraying his Alabama and Kentucky roots, proudly waived the Stars and Bars when he opined that he wanted to make Obama a one term president and denied him a Justice nomination in direct violation of his "rules" about proximity to elections.
That snake! That bastard…freezes and unfreezes, just in time to promote the dicktator! I’d like to cryogenic his ass until the planet is no more!
LOL tell us how you feel Marlene!
Seriously, though, IMHO, it has always seemed to be about more than race. Race was right up there, of course, but perhaps it serves as one of several unifying red flags with which to feed the base today. Billionaires, adhering to a Koch-infused agenda, are circling their horses. Back in 1980 David Koch ran as VP on the Clark ticket as a Libertarian:
"The Clark–Koch ticket proposed to abolish Social Security, the Federal Reserve Board, welfare, minimum-wage laws, corporate taxes, all price supports and subsidies for agriculture and business, and U.S. Federal agencies including the SEC, EPA, ICC, FTC, OSHA, FBI, CIA, and DOE.[1][15] Their platform proposed privatizing all transportation and inland waterways. The ticket received 921,128 votes, 1% of the total nationwide vote,. (Courtesy of WIKI. )
This once extreme platform appears to have been spit polished and made more attractive to the republicans with each election. Sadly, support is no longer at a mere 1%! "Wealth protective" ideas are neatly imbedded today's Republican Party.
I've read that the Libertarian platform was viewed as ridiculously extreme even for the Republican Party at the time. Today the overarching goal (as awful as the red meat of racism is, was and always will be) appears to be the attainment of unfettered financial and political power with the free exercise that power both at home and internationally.
Mind you, I was infuriated at the breakdown of decorum and respect with Obama's inauguration and presidency. But as awful as the racism was (and is) it sure looks (to me) to be only one part of the plan. Money and power is at the top of the pyramid. Everything IMHO speaks to a drive for unfettered freedom for the privileged few, along with "shut up and put up" for the many. Do I sound too simplistic or too extreme in my thinking?? To me, it seems that their idea of "democracy" is that it is merely the window dressing for Fourth of July Parades.
Professor Richardson has suggested that the kernel of these ideas can be traced to the Civil War. Deep hatred of the intrusion of government on the means of production, coupled with a conviction about their right to retain that wealth (and power) across generations, has germinated in today's republican platform and, clearly, in Project 2025. Racism was a tool, their tool. Money, their money, was at the core of the impulse. I cant help but wonder if an autocrat today would, in the end, actually give these republicans what they seek, especially a particular NYC cunning, opportunistic and dangerous autocrat.
But perhaps I am merely splitting hairs. Houston, we have a problem!! In the end, the summary analysis of Project 25 is a critical and welcome document which we should all read carefully and share. Best to you!
I don't know anything about McConnell's racism, although his marriage to an Asian woman would seem to mitigate against it. Either way, I believe his comment about Obama and blockage of Garland had much more to do with his lust for conservative power than anything else. Probably didn't hurt that Obama is half black and Garland is all Jewish.
You're absolutely right, Karen. People are deeply inconsistent.
People can speak out against things like racism, yet practice it. There is a Senator? Congressman? who was anti LBGT, yet he went to his gay son's wedding. Caitlin Jenner has come out against trans people. What?
I don't think this is specifically about racism, though racism is certainly a big part of the unholy stew.
The drive behind this is Big Money (i.e. oligarchy and the endless accumulation of wealth). To get that, they need to get rid of the "nonsense" about the "rights" of the poor, and that applies to every last one of us apart from the wealth-elites (or wannabes). It's like cream (fat) rising to the top. The top layer of trillionaires looks down on the billionaires as "milky," and those in turn look down on the "millionaires" as "watery." Anyone below that is "dirty water." Any "rights" that the lower classes think they should have are of no consequence, and apply only if those rights don't get in the way.
Racism factors in because it represents voting factions that can be influenced through their tribal hatred/contempt for black people, and that represents power to legislate for increased oligarchy. I don't think the oligarchs generally buy into racism -- some may -- but they do buy into the power to swing elections. And right now, the Republican Party is fully aligned with oligarchy, and a large block of Republican voters are racist, so they exploit racism.
Racism won't win elections on its own. So there are other dead and disgusting things floating in the stew. Sexism. Rape culture. Anti-government militia movements. Big-money Evangelicalism, and other religious blocs, like the ultra-conservative single-issue Catholic vote.
The core is oligarchy and class based on wealth.
Greed and power
Good idea. It's time groups like Stop the Coup 2025 got more press.
David, I came across them awhile back and have forwarded their site to friends & family. My latest thought is to print one of their downloads https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/downloads and print copies to put on local bulletin boards—my little town has a community BB, as do several of the local markets in nearby towns—might catch someone’s eye and prompt them to learn more. Hopefully folks here will spread the info about them!!
Better make sure they don't think the local bulletin boards are there to enshrine them.
They should air a piece about it on 60 Minutes!
Agree Gayle. We wrote to CBS that after being long-time viewers of 60M we were done after they gave an entire platform to MTG (and other RW nut-jobs). If they ever hope to regain viewers this would be the way to do it.
Having now studied David Seas' post link to "StoptheCoup2025" it is an amazing piece of work exposing Leo Leo's wicked web. Very detailed and organized, highly worthy of involvement and media coverage. Write CBS!
"Stop the Coup. Stop the Steal." Stop Project 2025.
It is a threat like they haven’t felt in decades. They don’t realize that it’s not a threat but a promise to their progeny and to their country. Sad that hatred for their fellow humans and greed for their prosperity “colors” their hearts. Maybe it doesn’t color them; maybe it just shows the rot.
Sheds light on the rot, actually.
Yes, it's the rot.
more than I ever knew
Exactly, Marlene. They've never got over Obama.
And so they destroyed Hillary Clinton, who they hated even more than Obama. She was a woman. Now they're working to end voting rights for women, along with their health care. The Nazis at least gave their women health care and lots of food for producing Aryan babies. So Republicans are even worse. Coming soon: your local concentration camp. Built just for you.
Remembering those "debates", it still seems impossible. It WAS impossible, if there hadn't been subterranean currents at work that we didn't yet know about. What a dreadful moment that was.
The memory of those debates still makes my skin crawl🤬.
And the memory is indelible. Do you remember their behaviour afterwards? She sprang down from the stage and mingled with the happy crowd. All smiles and chatter. He loitered for a few minutes near the offstage exit, and then left.
If only live and let live was the prevailing mentality things might be different.
Sounds worthy David - thanks. Some of it must be about 'revealing the grift' via facts in evidence, without being an angry belligerent scold. Folks of a certain persuasion have been hoodwinked over quite a period of time. *before I retire I highly recommended this primer > https://www.vox.com/policy/24122252/trump-sneakers-bible-truth-social-grift-scam-conservatives-history
I think the powers that rule my erstwhile Party realize that the Reaganist jig is up and are trying grab as much as they can while they can.
Please take your party back. I am a JFK Democrat - Peace Corps and all that - and firmly believe we need a balance. Ike would hate what his party has become, starting with Nixon. Rational, caring conservatives, unite!
I was the only conservative and Republican in my Peace Corps group.
I’ve met a few over the years!
Where/When?
Mexico 2010-13
I read somewhere that he knew Nixon had a black heart and didn’t want him for VP in ‘56. Rational, caring conservatives- oxymoron?? The ones I would have staked my life on, not so much. Such a heart breaker…
They could start with Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. I don’t agree wiih some of their ideas, but they are decent human beings.
Amazing since Liz was raised by the cretin from hell, I wonder if he has any regrets about his role in our horror. In the 80's, I read several conservative oped writers . No more.
Kelly, I appreciate your open-mindedness. ✌️
They have a discernable bottom anyway.
I agree with Truman. The only good Republicans are pushing up daisies.
A few years ago I made a meme that boldly said THE ONLY GOOD REPUBLICAN IS A DEAD REPUBLICAN, clarified that I referred to Dwight Eisenhower.
Very accurate, Ron!
You're missing the forest for the trees. A few scattered fair-minded Republicans are powerless against the forces that run the conservative (an oxymoron if there ever was one) movement. Those who have the power, and those who do their bidding in congress and in the courts, are fascists. Always have been.
Yup, "Get the most for yourself you can then run!" is their motto. See HCR's reports of Texas AG Paxton! Sadly, it's probably also true of "our own" Senator Menendez.
I'm rooting for Andy Kim! New Jersey deserves much better than Menendez.
I say I am a conservative and a former Republican. That is say: I am conservative by temperament and used to be Republican. I am not what one would call a "conservative Republican" with all of the ideological baggage that entails. By Republican standards these days, I am a moderate and essentially pragmatic (i.e., a R.I.N.O.). Now it is 1:05 p.m. here in Annapolis, and, according the N.A.S.A. Administrator Nelson, R.I.N.O.s will be going nuts in the next two hours. 😉
Another thing in common: Annapolis, a town I’ve spent a fair amount of time in. My older daughter is a USNA grad.
You must be proud of her. My Dad really wanted me to go and had one or two Representatives ready to nominate me. I would have none of it. Even though I wish I had attended, my teens were such that I would not have lasted a year. Great school and I found most U.S. Naval Academy graduates to be interesting and not arrogant.
We are indeed. She’s a Captain in the Reserve now and is thinking of retiring.
Right on D4N! Whatever the orange menace is, however racist he may be, he is at the core a narcissist decked out as money-grubbing grifter which he has been his whole life. All the rest of the venom you see him spew is based on that foundation.
Seems right
D4N, thanks for this link—can’t wait to dive into the book.
Thank you David.
Great link, worth sharing across many platforms.
"Stop the Coup 2025" has posted a number of worthwhile reports.
Here's their homepage.
https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/
Rhyming with Germany in the 1930s. I once thought better of the Heritage Foundation. But they've sold their souls to the devil.
I never thought better of them. A friend told me years ago what they were all about.
Front and center among tyranny’s trademark tactics is instilling hatred to divide citizens and destroy civic unity. Thanks to you for the link and to HCR for adding our national parks and monuments - symbols of unity all - on the list of what’s at stake. As for Chief Justice Roberts, he was rewarded with the role for his many appearances before our highest court representing corporate interests, not the People, not civic unity and definitely not the environmental well-being of the Nation.
Thank you David for the information on stop the coup!!I also have read Project 2025 and it’s very very frightening!!
They say it all out loud.
Thanks for providing this link.I just subscribed to their newsletter.
David, thank you so much for this link. The paper does such a masterful job of pulling back the curtain to show the people operating the bells and whistles.
Hi David--many thanks for this. I've heard of Project 2025 and this response but this is the first time I've really stopped to pay close attention to both. I've made a copy of the response and am sending it to friends who will use it in their various ways to confront the mess we're in. I just wanted you to know that your message here has extended itself to reach a far wider good, and for that I thank you. Regards.
I and many others appreciate that. Keep the messaging out there!
just a more detailed and expanded Lewis Powell Memo and the aim of the Convention of the States to remove constitutional protections we enjoy today in favor of what the might is right crew wants.
Thank You! We need to help people realize what is happening with groups like the Project 2025 and the now disabled No Labels Party.
We cannot rely on the media to give the facts. The media insisted on calling the No Labels Party "centrist" when in fact it was a dark money trojan horse designed to help trump get elected. Thank goodness enough people (The Lincoln Project) fought to expose No Labels. We can do this with Project 2025.
Since Joe Lieberman has died, the “No Labels” is now DOA, thankfully. Just little Bobby, Jr. is campaigning his bullshit rhetoric.
It might be bullshit but he could still do some damage.
He could, yes, but hopefully the damage he does will be to Trump!
What a terrific and informative website! Thank you for sharing the link.
Thanks for this, David! I actually bought a copy of Project 2025, but it weighs a ton, and is somewhat daunting. This precis will be easier to digest.
Also signed up for their newsletter.
Well, bless you, Cheryl for buying it! I would not allow that garbage in my house, much less near me!
Ive read Project 2025. Nothing less than the fate of our nation is at stake.
If you haven't got the time (or stomach) to read its 900 pages, I've started a series of posts covering it. Each post covers a chapter and is comprised of excerpts taken from the plan. No comments form me. The excerpts speak for themselves. Find them at Polytricks.
Thank you David, I am anxious to read this and I did not know how to find it.
Thanks, got it up on the computer. Good to see a number of the authors I have read over the last 6 years referenced.
Thank you Heather.
A second Trump administration…
God forbid!
May we forbid and prevail!
I can’ fathom. But I couldn’t fathom the first one either.
Evening to All!
Here in California, we carried the impulse of the Progressive Era Republicans' (TR being chief among them) even further in the later part of the 20th Century, when we passed legislation creating the California Coastal Commission and other related legislation, so as to protect one of the World's most beautiful and inspiring coastlands from overdevelopment. Due to many people, not the least including Gov. Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown during his first gubernatorial administration, and over the bleating and wailing of the usual, mostly Republican suspects, one can now drive from San Diego to the Oregon border on the Pacific Coast Highway without undue perpetual development and commercial crassness overwhelming one's soul and senses.
Also, before he became a Cabinet Secretary for both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Leon Panetta was a longtime Democratic congressman from Monterey, the original capitol of the Golden State. In that capacity, back when House and Senate members actually spoke to each other somewhat civilly and sought in good faith to work out the People's issues and actually (heaven forfend!) legislate, he was instrumental in preserving the gorgeous geography, topography, horticulture and marine life of the California Central Coast from the forces of development north of Los Angeles yet south of San Francisco that saw rapacity right before them.
Today, one can walk in the shadow of Henry Miller at Big Sur, commune with the sea lions near San Simeon, and bask in the backdrop of the West Coast's first boardwalk at Santa Cruz, all on California's publicly owned beaches, due to his efforts and those of similar good faith.
John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, etc., would be proud.
And, the Napa Valley had prescient leaders in the 60's when they created the Ag Preserve which restricted development in Valley floor land outside the city limits so they couldn't be subdivided into less than 40 acre parcels. A couple of decades later our leaders made the hillside watershed 160 acre minimums. That's why you can still drive through the Valley and see hundreds of acres of green instead of a northern San Jose.
Good call, Dotty! I haven't been up to San Jose in a dozen years or so, and I can only imagine how much further the sprawl has spread. I have been closer to Napa in the Suisun area more recently, and that seems to be lovely still
My husband and I regularly drive “over the hill” to the Coastside San Mateo County and marvel at the beauty- the rugged beaches on the west, the mountains to the east and the palisades and agriculture in between. People travel to this part of our state from all over the world. We just have to drive, through redwood forests no less, for about 45 minutes. How lucky are we?
That sounds wonderful, Margaret! Lucky indeed, my friend
Just visited Central CA in spring, a wonderful trip from the coast, through the valleys to Yosemite and back. In a protected area on the coast looked down on harbor seals far below at the start of birthing season, strolled walkways where we observed hundreds of cormorants, enjoyed more than two dozen protected otters (some with pups) sleeping and playing in a huge kelp bed, and saw deer, elk, various raptors and pelicans. We will be returning. Kudos to CA.
We, in CA, are very grateful for the preservation of lands and for the beauty that we have. I was in Yosemite about 8 months ago and it is simply breathtaking. What the parks have done to allow so many tourists there without letting them destroy the area is herculean.
And don't forget the North Bay and up. Beautiful coast incredible scenery wine and other stuff..
You do live in such a lovely state.
We all know, from her occasional interruptions here, that Heather is often off gallivanting.
In our national parks.
She loves them. Gets strength and renewed vitality from them.
I began doing the same myself as a teen, hitch-hiking all over America many decades ago.
Any of us who so love our land also well know the organized schemes by our billionaire classes to enrich themselves further also in part by stealing rights to these lands for profits to themselves.
Project 2025? Yes, Heather duly notes their quasi-public plans by that for their depredations. Combine that with the case of the Chevron Precedent, currently before the rapacious, feudal, and corrupt Clarence court, for ending any national role for environmental protections, worker safety, or health programs.
But if the billionaires want to get at the national parks (and they do), it's just more of their demented need to de-nature, dehumanize all life. Can't help it. The urge to be an entitled, regulation-free, and largely tax-exempt class doubles down on their need that all else be their property or their serfs -- that no American schools see individual people or fruited plains or ever spacious skies. Just part of the worsening corruptions of our rich.
National (and other) parks and monuments held a profound influence on my life from very early on to the present. Twice in my life I experienced a consuming altered state of extraordinary awareness I believe I can call genuine awe. Once was my first glimpse of the for-real Grand Canyon, and the other was when my newly born just toweled off and wrapped up daughter was placed in my arms.
Good to see you and D4N (currently, just below here) well of accord with each other.
When my son was born, I'd spent the preceding months apprehensive. Not sure I was really up to being a dad (even if I was then 30 years old).
After a labor of some six hours, he emerged -- and no sooner had the doctor cut the cord, and checked him out, and an attending nurse swabbed him down, when the doctor asked would I like to hold him.
I always thought moms got that first. But his mom smiled at me for the honor -- and, cradling the new tyke, I instantly felt relaxed, joyous, amazingly at peace, happy.
That was just after midnight. I went home, leaving mom and boy for the night -- and at three in the morning I'd gotten out the bourbon and was phoning everyone, all friends and family.
Getting home with mom and boy that afternoon, I took him on a tour of our garden (it was mid-summer), telling him of all the good food there growing.
Boy went on to become a chef -- rather well-known, well liked, respected. And won James Beard award.
Phil, what an uplifting sharing of your story. Thank you for giving it to us.
And the ugly former party of Lincoln now does not care what kind of a world our precious children and grandchildren will inherit. Short term, if the budget is not passed, national parks will be open to destruction, as they were during Reagan’s shutdowns. Long term, living under a dictatorship of craven greedy maniacs thanks to voter suppression and a mordibund judicial system.
Follow the money (and clout) in causing or worsening just about any historical mass tragedy, including war, starvation, and slavery.
I googled your son, Nick and his Bar Tartine. Very impressive, Phil! I can see and feel your pride. Thanks
One of the best feelings in the world is seeing your child grown into an adult that not only can care for themselves, but care about humanity.
What a wonderful recitation of your growth.
BRAVO you and him! ...and his Mom!
Ooh, I'm going to tell that story to my son, who after two daughters now has a six-month-old son. And a well-planted garden.
Another moment of awe, reading this personal part of your life. Thanks.
Oh, the delicious benefits of having a chef son!
Ditto JL; same experiences. *Sometime - soon I hope, I'll feel fit enough to share some of those with you, and others.
D4N-wishing you quick healing. I’ll admit to a selfish component; I very much want to read what you have to share.
D4N, how is your treatment going? Has the crushing fatigue set in? I think about you often, and send good wishes for your outcome flying through the ether.
How thoughtful and kind of you KR; Thank you. Yes, it has set in - with a vengeance, along with an unhealthy multitude of other issues, heaped on issues I was surviving through; I survived an antibiotic resistant staph infection that wasn't discovered until I went into septic shock, landing in a hospital about 7 years ago - no complete recovery, yet. During covid, I must have liked it (not !) so much that I caught it twice in 2022 and it left me with long haul covid. Now this; it would seem the long covid and / or all the above has manifested into 'the big c'. So yes, the crushing fatigue is not new to me; just surprising to me is the new depth levels I'm tolerating without seeking the relief of "EnditAll," a product not made by the makers of Tylenol (weak lol there). You may, or may not have noticed that I've been a bit absent in commenting the past several weeks; that is a reveal about my increased fatigue. I'm now pushing myself to get back to it, as I find so much value here. Again, thanks for asking; pardon the length. I seek to be completely understood. Cheers KR !
I figured that was the case. And the chemo brain makes commenting intelligently so much harder.
Please try to remember that this is temporary and it too shall pass. It takes a long time to recover physical fitness - I’m three years out and just now feeling like my old self again - but the mental fitness came back a lot faster. I’m in my 60s, maybe you’re younger or having different treatment from mine, with different side effects, and will recover more quickly. I had concurrent chemo and radiation, followed by lymph node dissection (Stage 3 gynecological cancer with rectal and lymph metastases).
For me, having cancer made me really examine my feelings around death and dying (I had a poor prognosis). I realized I’m not afraid of being dead, but boy am I afraid of suffering to get there. I got to a place of peace with any outcome, but if my treatment had failed, I might have availed myself of EndItAll™️ to avoid that, but not until that point of hopelessness. I did everything I could to avoid that - did what they told me, slogged through treatment, did all the post-treatment things. It sucks, doesn’t it? Cancer treatment is all toxic, basically it’s a race to kill the disease before you kill the patient. If you’re in pain, get the good drugs. Gummies help many people, sadly I wasn’t one of them.
All that to say I sympathize with where you are now, and have you in my thoughts often with wishes for a gentle path. Come when you’re able, and rest when you aren’t. Hugs to you, my friend.
No Phil, they're not demented! They just want all our money and resources to trickle up to them at the top. It is the ever-present contest between the capitalists and the more socialist elements of our country wanting to preserve at least SOME resources (and money) for the pubic good. It is a pendulum which has swung back and forth in our country since it's founding.
I would say, JohnM, not demented, evil in their gaslighting and narcissism.
I am hopeful that the majority will see through this....but the destruction of schools, natural resources (causing shortages) and unsupported and unplanned pregnancy (increase of crime through children growing up in resource limited environments. We all know where crime and illegal drugs thrive...in poverty), may create an environment and population that will reinforce and double down on the underlying intentions of Project 2025.
Pure evil.
". . . the public good" -- why, John, do I feel this term so charming, quaint?
Ahhh yes Phil! Methinks the same charm as "We the People," and "Of the People, By the People and For the People."
And once again, as with so many issues, the Project 2025 folks are going against the grain of the American people. They want to desecrate our national parks and monuments, those places that we all love.
Could not help but think of Churchill’s stirring call to combat when I read today’s letter:
“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
The threat of Trump and his odious henchmen is every bit as real and dangerous to the New World as Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin were to the Old!
I remember Churchill's voice speaking these words over the radio.
Yes, so do I. Vic-tor-y V. Vic-tor-y V.
Wow!
Wow!
So, who is organizing the resistance? Just saying it does not make it so. What is the sense that unit commanders in the US military will balk at supporting the fascism that follows the Orange Flatulism? Who will stand in opposition, prepared to sacrifice their lives? Under what aegis? Don't think that it can be done without serious preparation.
Best resistance? support efforts in Swing states to get out the vote.
Yes, that is imperative. The conflict will come after the Orange Sphincter has lost and stirred up his AR-15 toting "stop the steal" drones.
I love this, we are under threat every bit as much.
"Project 2025... says a second Trump Administration 'must seek repeal of the Antiquities Act of 1906'."
Criminals out to despoil and rob the entire future for the supposed benefit of a smattering of parasites.
Hi Peter, I hope and trust you are well ...,
Can we do more than talk about it among ourselves?
Here is a way to take action, and connect for further options we can exercise to make a difference:
*****
"Currently the Antiquities Act allows the US President to proclaim lands or waters under federal jurisdiction as national monuments to maintain the integrity of natural and cultural resources. Since its inception, this landmark legislation has safeguarded countless landscapes and historical sites, ensuring that the beauty and history of our nation remain intact for future generations.
"However, the legacy of protection is now at risk due to the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act which undermines the Antiquities Act. It would mandate that any site designated by the Antiquities Act would require Congressional approval within six months or the end of the current congress, or else the designation would be nullified. If Congress chose to do nothing, a newly designated site would be stripped of its protections.
"Imagine no Avi Kwa Ame, no Bears Ears, no Gold Butte, no Denali, and no Grand Teton… we can’t let this come to pass.
🖊️ "We need your signature! Will you sign on and tell your members of Congress to protect the Antiquities Act and vote NO on HR5499 the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act? 🖊️
"The Antiquities Act has long empowered presidents to designate national monuments, a critical tool in preserving areas of cultural, historical, and scientific importance. However, the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act, while it sounds practical, will impose restrictive measures that would severely limit this ability, jeopardizing the protection of invaluable landscapes and cultural resources and opening them up for exploitation by oil, gas, and mineral companies.
"Such oversight not only undermines the Act’s fundamental principles but also opens the door for potentially irreversible damage to our nations’ heritage.
"The preservation of monuments is not a partisan issue, but rather a commitment to honor and protect our shared history and environment.
"We owe it to ourselves and future generations to ensure that the Antiquities Act remains a robust tool for conservation. Sign on to tell your Congress members to vote NO on the Congressional Oversight of the Antiquities Act."
Save our sacred places,
Native Voters Alliance Nevada
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-on-to-defend-the-antiquities-act-and-protect-our-nations-heritage
*****
"Many Indigenous peoples hold deep traditional and cultural connections to the lands and waters that make up the Bears Ears National Monument.
"The first National Monument proposed by Tribal Nations, Bears Ears gained protections under the Obama administration but lost protections under the Trump administration. Native Organizers Alliance helped win the reinstatement and restoration of protections for Bears Ears under President Biden, and we supported local Tribes’ efforts to develop a federal-Tribal co-management agreement for these sacred lands and waters.
"The five Tribal Nations of the Bears Ears Commission -- Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Zuni Tribe -- are among many Tribes with deep cultural connections to the entire Bears Ears landscape. They see the health of themselves, their communities, and the natural world as interconnected.
"In 2022, the five Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission entered an unprecedented cooperative agreement with federal agencies, formalizing collaborative management and ensuring that Traditional Indigenous Knowledge informs the management plan for the Bears Ears National Monument.
"Now the Bears Ears Commission, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service have released a draft resource management plan.
"Tribes are calling for implementation of Alternative E, as outlined in this newly released plan. Alternative E would set a new standard for sustainable management of public lands, but we need to advocate for its adoption before the final decision is made -- and the deadline is fast approaching.
"Alternative E was created from the input from over 90 community meetings which gathered input and concerns.
"Join us in submitting an official comment to the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service in support of Alternative E, the plan preferred by Tribal Nations who collaborated on this proposed plan for co-managing the sacred lands, waters, and resources of Bears Ears National Monument."
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/bears-ears-c4-c3/
"Vice Chairman of the Hopi Tribe and Co-Chair of the Bears Ears Commission Craig Andrews said: “Bears Ears is integral to our ceremonies, traditions, and our identity as Hopi people. Supporting the Preferred Alternative ensures that we can continue to pass down our cultures and ways of knowing.”
"Specifically, Alternative E, the preferred alternative of the Commission and the federal agencies, incorporates the most Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which are needed to balance public access with protecting the area’s cultural and natural resources. It upholds Tribal sovereignty and reflects time-tested best practices that are essential for managing these ancestral lands and waters for generations to come.
"As Navajo Nation Council member and Bears Ears Commissioner Curtis Yanito explained: “The Shash Jaa’ (Bears Ears) area isn’t just a geographical space; it’s the heart of our cultural identity, a sanctuary for prayer, offerings, communal gatherings, and the sustenance of our resources…Our ancestors have faithfully safeguarded this land for centuries, and as collaborative stewards, we pledge to uphold this sacred duty into the boundless future.”
"We must back-up this unprecedented community-driven federal-Tribal co-management plan for Bears Ears National Monument. Please add your name now to show strong public support during the official comment period."
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/bears-ears-c4-c3/
"Hawwih (thank you) for supporting grassroots community-powered Tribal sovereignty. Your voice will make a difference in our movement to re-Indigenize national parks and protect sacred places."
Judith LeBlanc (Caddo)
Executive Director
NATIVE ORGANIZERS ALLIANCE
https://ndncollective.org/team/judith-leblanc/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-leblanc-b3ba7a3
https://nativeorganizing.org/2021/03/08/judith-le-blanc-native-organizers-alliance/
https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/judith-leblanc
Thank you, Kathleen, for this excellent practical advice which I shall study and share with my American contacts.
For what it is worth, I have seen many wonderful things in the United States but only in New Mexico did I find another, deeper connection with Earth and enter holy ground.
The kind of thing which, unfortunately, means nothing to most people nowadays.
Indeed Peter - I think you might appreciate these:
*****
COLORES | Hopi Prophecy | New Mexico PBS
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p1m0nLSOHi4
http://www.newmexicopbs.org
"Handed down from ancient times, the Hopi Prophesy delineates the path of peace, and harmony with nature. Where we have deviated from that path, the prophecy has correctly predicted the results. Which path lies before us? What does the future hold? Hear a message of tribal elders for our modern world."
*****
Thomas Banyacya: The Hopi Prophecy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BmZmvKM_ZcI
"Thomas Banyacya: The Hopi Prophecy was first produced as a video letter to the United Nations Environmental Programme, at the request of the Hopi elders of Hotevilla.
"Thomas Banyacya, a Hopi leader and spokesman for the Hopi high religious leaders was in his 80s in 1989 when this important meeting took place and was recorded on film. In a traditional circle, Banyacya and the elders meet with visiting Lummi, Lacandone, and American and Mexican environmentalists. They discuss the Hopi Prophecy that foretold, “Koyaanisqatsi”, meaning “life in turmoil, life out of balance,” as a result of increasing materialism and environmental destruction.
"Thomas carries the Hopi message which calls for universal peace and spiritual unity and how the only hope for humankind to survive is to return to connectedness with Mother Earth. Humanity must use its knowledge and technology to clean up the water, the air, and the contaminated land. At the same time, we must conserve the remaining natural resources. The individual greed of both people and nations must be replaced with global concern for the balance of life on this planet."
*****
Also, see added response to post above from Chase Iron Eyes of the Lakota People's Law Project - same old story ... what can we do to turn the page ...?!
... more ... and more of the same ...:
4/8/2024
From Chase Iron Eyes
Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
"By now, you’ve no doubt become familiar with ongoing legal battles over the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). You may recall that I, myself, was targeted and faced years in prison. Fortunately, all serious charges against me were dropped as I prepared to present a comprehensive necessity defense outlining why I had no choice but to resist the pipeline and its threat to my homelands, our people, and Unci Maka, our Grandmother Earth. You might remember the Standing Rock Nation’s lawsuits to prevent the pipeline, and you also recently heard from me about my testimony in the trial between North Dakota and the federal government regarding who will split the costs of over-policing our peaceful protest camps.
"Did you know that Energy Transfer, which operates the pipeline, has also targeted nonprofit organizations in the courts of law? Specifically — and preposterously — the oil company has gone after Greenpeace USA with a pair of lawsuits. Energy Transfer’s tactic is, unfortunately, increasingly popular. Extractive industry corporations seeking to suppress opposition to their exploitative projects file what’s known as a Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP). To give you another example, the lithium mine company operating at Thacker Pass is using SLAPP in an attempt to silence tribal activists, elders, and allies resisting the company’s destruction of Unci Maka and sacred sites on Paiute and Shoshone homelands.
"Frankly, the latest lawsuit against Greenpeace is of a different magnitude — both in terms of the exorbitant amount of damages Energy Transfer is seeking and the specifics of the case. Greenpeace (and other entities resisting DAPL, including Standing Rock and other tribal nations) have evidence of clear legal violations committed by Energy Transfer in its rush to complete DAPL. Aware of the gravity of those violations and wanting to cast doubt on their veracity and rewrite the narrative, Energy Transfer has attacked Greenpeace with false allegations of defamation.
"As Greenpeace has highlighted in this piece — which I strongly encourage you to read — none of the nine statements Energy Transfer claims as defamatory were originally made by Greenpeace. Rather, they were circulated publicly (and endorsed widely)."
*****
6 REASONS WHY ENERGY TRANSFER'S LAWSUIT AGAINST GREENPEACE IS OUTRAGEOUS
The company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. Here are six things you should know.
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/6-reasons-why-energy-transfers-lawsuit-against-greenpeace-is-outrageous/
*****
"I commend Greenpeace for hearing the call to join Native nations on the frontline of this fight and for accurately summarizing the problems with Energy Transfer’s SLAPP effort. Honestly, from our perspective, if you’re being sued for defamation by a major extractive industry corporation, you’re probably doing something right!
"Of course, Native water protectors and land defenders are all too familiar with the oil company’s modus operandi. Our ancestors witnessed similar tactics when Indian agents exerted control over their lives in the wake of the Dawes Allotment Act. More recently, my parents, aunties, and uncles remember well the FBI’s attempt to infiltrate and destroy the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. Native Peoples understand deeply that a commitment to truth telling and justice invites backlash from wealthy and powerful interests — government, corporate, or both.
"It’s extra important for us to have our allies’ backs now, as all of this is occurring against a stark backdrop: not only has DAPL already leaked many times, but it continues to operate without a valid Environmental Impact Study or easement to cross under the Missouri River upstream of Standing Rock. Furthermore, in 2022, Energy Transfer was convicted of criminal charges in connection to its disastrous operation of pipelines in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In other words, it’s essentially a criminal corporation committed to shifting blame onto activists fighting for environmental justice and tribal sovereignty. That’s why we’ll keep battling and shining the light of truth. We hope that despite all spurious and costly legal attacks, Greenpeace will, too. We are all in this fight together."
Wopila tanka —
Thank you for protecting water and advancing environmental justice!
Chase Iron Eyes
Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
https://lakotalaw.org
https://www.facebook.com/LakotaPeoplesLawProject/
https://lakotalaw.org/news/2021-09-17/icwa-sovereignty
Lakota People's Law Project
547 South 7th Street #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
The Lakota People's Law Project is part of the Romero Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.
*****
6 REASONS WHY ENERGY TRANSFER'S LAWSUIT AGAINST GREENPEACE IS OUTRAGEOUS
The company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline is suing Greenpeace for $300 million. Here are six things you should know.
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/6-reasons-why-energy-transfers-lawsuit-against-greenpeace-is-
*******
"Politically-motivated, back-stabbing, race-baiting, dog-whistling, anti-Native attacks from South Dakota Kristi Noem continue unabated, and South Dakota tribal nations are striking back.
https://lakotalaw.org/resources/chase-responds-noem-racism
On Thursday, we received word from the government office of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe that it has joined the Oglala and Cheyenne River Nations in banishing Governor Noem from their reservations in the wake of her comments connecting tribal leaders to Mexican drug cartels, throwing Native parents and education under the bus, and requesting a federal audit of tribes.
"There’s no way to overstate how wrong all of this is. Please watch our new video, in which you can see some of what Noem said and hear a more detailed response from me. I can bottom line it for you like this: Kristie Noem thinks that by positioning herself as an old-school Indian hunter, she’ll appeal to our region’s far-right ultra-MAGA base and possibly set herself up for a seat at the national table as Donald Trump’s running mate in November. But at what cost?
"These kinds of statements have real effects on how we, as Indigenous People, are seen by the outside world and how we view ourselves. Sadly, Noem appears to care so little for the original inhabitants of this land — who comprise nearly one tenth of her state’s population — that she’s willing to sacrifice our reputations and put our children and families in real danger simply to advance her own political agenda and ambitions. It’s disgusting.
"Of course, Noem has endangered tribes before — and it’s not the first time she’s been banished by a tribal council. She famously challenged tribal safety checkpoints during the height of the pandemic. And the Oglalas previously banished her when she targeted tribes and attempted to thwart legal First Amendment protests against the failed Keystone XL pipeline by passing a pair of so-called “riot-boosting” bills in 2019.
"Enough is enough! It’s not acceptable for Kristi Noem to lie repeatedly, stoke further division, and endanger the people of the sovereign nations which pre-exist the United States and South Dakota, which have illegally annexed and occupied sovereign territory of the Oceti Sakowin. Noem is now prohibited from entering sovereign territory of Sioux bands and is subject to detention and/or removal if she violates banishment orders, meaning the state’s governor is barred from entering more than 10 percent of all land her state claims is within its “borders.”
"I’m no fan of government leaders, right or left, who fail to prioritize our concerns, such as respecting treaty law, protecting the environment, or keeping our families together. But, clearly, the far-right — who Noem so proudly represents — is fully committed to using us as a stepping stone, no matter the collateral damage. She seems proud to continue in the tradition of government-sanctioned genocide perpetrated by the likes of George Armstrong Custer, George Yates, John Chivington, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Richard Henry Pratt.
"I’m here to tell you, just as we did when those historical figures came after us, we’re going to fight back with everything we’ve got."
Wopila tanka —
Thank you for standing for justice and truth.
Chase Iron Eyes
Director and Lead Counsel
The Lakota People’s Law Project
https://lakotalaw.org
https://www.facebook.com/LakotaPeoplesLawProject/
https://lakotalaw.org/news/2021-09-17/icwa-sovereignty
Lakota People's Law Project
547 South 7th Street #149
Bismarck, ND 58504-5859
The Lakota People's Law Project is part of the Romero Institute, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) law and policy center. All donations are tax-deductible.
... see, here's the crazy thing - I would have to go digging in a mountain of notes to find the proof of this ... S. Dakota is one of the most prominent locations for a well established network of human trafficking and sex slavery - also, children taken by the state with no warning, no just cause, and who can say where those children wind up ... while some of the local "authorities" are known to possess kiddie porn (who knows how deep this ditch is dug?!) ... so, to deflect attention away from their own activities, they target the tribes who are victimized by this "business as usual" ... oh, where are the heroes and heroines who can put this travesty to an end - once and for all ...?!
... Mexican cartels ...? My arse ...!!
Perhaps if we ALL could share the gory details of Project 2025 with a few people every week...
Aside from Reproductive Rights, what better campaign tool?
Far, far too many of my MNJ friends WANT Project 2025 with all their stony hearts.
Same, Ally. “I can’t wait” as one exclaimed. Cretins.
What the heck do they think so many American boys died for in two world wars?
Even if we forget the Civil War.
Even if we forget the American Revolution -- the War of Independence.
So... they want to be like Russia, occupied by an internal enemy sitting in the capital?! By no means so sure the country's future would not be as a Russian satrapy, given the way we're currently headed...
Nope, Peter, not ALL criminals but certainly all capitalists using every tool (and resource) at their disposal, which sadly now seems to include the Supreme Court and the tools thereupon.
Are those involved in a criminal enterprise ever all criminals?
Capitalists—both those with whom we’re so familiar and those practicing Soviet-style State capitalism—destroy the future, sacrificed to some present “interest”.
Intelligence and the urgent promptings of greed wedded to unwisdom.
Apparently a total absence of any sense of time—no advance on the absolute feed-me commands by which babies measure it.
And what could be more criminal than to despoil all future generations?
When you have a man who sees profit in bibles as your president, this is what you'll get.
Thank you for opening my eyes to another possible attack on the US by a possible second Trump administration. I was curious about how many of the historic champions of environmental protection, and especially our network of national parks and other protected lands, were actually Republicans. Now it seems that environmental protection has become another partisan issue, with Democrats for it and Republicans against it. How did the Republican Party go from being a strong advocate for environmental protection to being on the side of those who would plunder our nation's natural resources?
How did they go from being pro law and order to staging a coup? How did they go from Teddy to Trump? How did they go from Nixon and the EPA to Project 2025? Heather's letters will tell you. She knows all.
Ah, yes, it's certainly not just that one component. Good point! The Republican Party has done quite a few about-face pivots. I look forward to reading more from HCR on these historic flip-flops.
John Muir believed that the wilderness should be preserved. Gifford Pinchot thought that the environment should be conserved.
In Pennsylvania, virtually all of the environmental groups were run by Republicans. E.G. https://waterlandlife.org/ https://waterlandlife.org/about-us/staff-and-board/
Gifford Pinchot served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Republican Party for most of his life, though he joined the Progressive Party for a brief period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Pinchot#:~:text=He%20served%20as%20the%20fourth,Party%20for%20a%20brief%20period.
Daniel, thank you for showing us how the Republican Party used to have a selfless, visionary component protecting the fragile aspects of nature.
They have made the initial proponents of preservation very ashamed. But they are proud, no regrets that I can see
Thank you for the historical perspective.
Daniel, I've traveled through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest many times.
One of the reasons is the John Birch Society, started by candy mogul Jack Welch in 1958. Terry Gross from NPR’ FRESH AIR had a segment on it. Her introduction said: “Today's political extremism has roots in the past. The organization that did more than any other conservative group to propel today's extremist takeover of the American right is the John Birch Society. That's according to the new book "Birchers: How The John Birch Society Radicalized The American Right." My guest is the author, historian Matthew Dallek. “.
One of the society’s tenets was that the government (federal and local) has no right to set aside any land for public use— including lakes and reservoirs. Everything must go to the highest bidder— including water rights.
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/17/1176662608/a-historian-details-how-a-secretive-extremist-group-radicalized-the-american-rig
Greed of those who have more than the rest of us can dream of.
Sadly, it's all about the bucks....with help from the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. And based on the Roberts quote, SCOTUS may well be the platform for the undoing of our democratic republic in the very near future.
And….a lot of the young folks who are strong environmentalists are mad at Biden (without necessarily being aware of the history of the Middle East, I might add) and may not vote for him.
Oil, Coal...
Is there anyone who still believes there is no difference between the two political parties?
Ralph Nader! What say you now?
The next election is choosing two very different futures for America; one dark and the other filled with light. One cynical, the other hopeful.
Woody Guthrie asked, “Which side are you on?”
Register Democrats to save democracy. https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission
Nadar’s ego gave us W; he did enough damage. Guthrie knew who the cretin’s were, even before Roosevelt.
Exactly! Can I quote you? Your first and third lines say so much!
Certainly.
Thank you, Professor, for this most critical and important continuing story of legislation, political decisions and policies. We have revisited the dismantling of environmental protections and reversals of environmental protections and preservation and national monuments and land. We must ask why it is a political issue to care and protect the present and future for our children and for posterity. Why past presidents have recognized the need to respect and protect. TFG began destroying and reversing policies and protections from the beginning of his presidency. This is a critical reason to continue electing Democrats and paying attention to policies and laws. The destruction of Bears Ears for oil was one of tfg’s first acts in his term. Greed and corruption are not necessarily hallmarks of one party or the other but there definitely is a difference in working for the people instead of for corporate and wealth. The health and future of our country and planet depend on decisions and protections made today.
Every day of chump’s horrid tenure brought one horror after another. We will not survive another go around supported by the SC
This is simply horrifying. For no other reason, this plan should prompt the country to vote for Joe Biden. Allowing Trump’s crooked cronies to rape our public lands for obscene and short term profit alone is reason enough to vote for Democrats. When you add all the other chaos of lies and mean spirited race baiting, misogyny and fear mongering over immigrants and LGBTQ, just to name a few of Trump’s follies, the Democrats are the better choice. With bad actors like Bannon and Miller in the wings, we have to unite to fight the MAGA scourge definitively in November.
Chief Justice Roberts has the temerity to call the land and water preservation laws and initiatives an abuse of power? 😯 Then he has the gall to suggest that private interests push back, most likely through the courts? 😱 Gee, it seems to me that a jurist sitting on the Supreme Court, in theory committed to impartiality, should not be meddling with the prerogative of the legislative and executive branches. 🤬 Oh, I forgot you are all about textualism. 🥳 Go take a vacay to some exotic place with some billionaire, Johnny. 🤢 Then take a lap and go out for junior varsity, pallie. 🖕
Expand and neuter the traitors, Joe
Heather, you mentioned John Muir whose home is near me. His father-in-law, Dr. Strentzel , had the house built and then gave it to Muir and his wife. The story goes that the doctor had used quite a bit of wood in one room which did not sit well with Muir. He never changed it out of respect for his in-law. The property is surrounded by fruit trees and land. The house is quite large and is beautifully maintained by the state parks association. Many school children study land conservation and they come to participate in “John Muir Days” each year.
https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=John%20Muir%20National%20Historic%20Site&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#lpg=cid:CgIgAQ==
Thank you for the link to stop the coup 2025.
Thank you, Heather.
Highlighting again that a vote for Trump is a vote for fascism and dissolution.
Further proof that Trump and his scum cannot be allowed under any circumstances to return to power. The Constitution is not a suicide pact and there is nothing that requires us to turn over the government to a traitor who is committed publicly to destroying our constitutional democratic republic. If it takes a civil war to defeat these scum, so be it. And this time we will not let them off so easy.
Sad but true
Hopefully, this civil war will be fought in the ballot box, with no votes being "taken prisoner."
Yes indeed! But continuing to think "It can't happen here" and failing to consider what must be done of the election fails, is the road to defeat.
Yup. Sure as shootin'.
With a USAF ANG son, I am terrified.