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"I Am Pol Pot" is the book for those who want to know what it was like INSIDE the leadership of the Khmer Rouge

April 1, 2016, 7:26 pm
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By SJ Otto
It was in August of 2011 that I finished writing and published my book I Am Pol Pot. We all know that Pol Pot is not considered a hero by many people in the world today. According to most Marxists he is discredited and accused of miss-rule. Still, for years I have found this man interesting and his short lived government was known for its many strange attempts to rule.
Unlike most governments in Asia, he originally avoided building a personality cult. For the fist two years of his rule, most of his subjects didn't know his name. It was after those years that some of his allies, such as Kim Il Sung, of North (Democratic People's Republic of) Korea, finally convinced him to create a leadership cult of personality. He did too little too late. His popularity never went that far up.
Few government had ever tried to do what he did. He ran the country through the nameless, faceless Angkar Padévoat, usually just referred to as the Angkar. The country had no mass newspaper for the people. They communicated through radio. The Communist Party of Kampuchea had newspaper that only went to the upper party members. The writings of Pol Pot were mixed in with other party members most of the time. So there were no official books by the countries leadership, as is usually the case in such countries as North Korea or China.
We all have heard about the millions of people killed during that government, but my book is designed to take a look inside the leadership of Democratic Kampuchea (the official Khmer Rouge name for the country). The Khmer Rouge were officially known as the Communist Party of Kampuchea, until they were overthrown in 1979. They were called the Party of Democratic Kampuchea after they fell from power.  
My book is based on several historical accounts, from various sources and a look at Democratic Kampuchea's own documents. There are also excerpts from the regimes official "sayings of Kampuchea." This book is a fiction reenactment of events leading up to the Kampuchean revolution and reenactments of events during the reign of Democratic Kampuchea.
Plenty of books have been written about WHAT THEY DID. My book lets the reader know WHY THEY DID WHAT THEY DID.  


This book, I Am Pol Pot is available at Barns and Noble. It can be purchased as an e-book.It can also be bought as a paperback at Amazon.

This is your opportunity to learn about the internal workings of the Khmer Rouge and Democratic Kampuchea. 
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New endorsements for Donald Trump for president

April 1, 2016, 8:49 pm
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Here is an unusual article about an endorsement from The Daily Beast:

FromThe Daily Beast;
“TRUMP MUST BE PREZ!” the endorsement reads on the cover of this week’s issue (which you can pick up for an easy $4.99). “INSIDE: VOTE FOR HIS VICE PRESIDENT!”
Your options are Palin, Christie, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Ted Cruz, and Rudy Giuliani. You can vote by using your smart phone to text in your answer. The full endorsement (which quotes  a Daily Beast articleexplaining why delegate math makes Trump nearly unbeatable in the 2016 GOP field) includes a list of “10 reasons The Donald is the ONLY choice for the White House.”

For the rest click here.
For the real article click here.

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April First Trump endorsement— is the joke on us?

April 2, 2016, 6:17 am
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By SJ Otto
For those who want to see the actual article hyperlink for the article below, click on The Daily Beast. That article reported on an endorsement from the National Enquirer, and it endorsed Donald Trump—for real. But after posting that I had to wonder: "how serious do we take such endorsements."
All night long I wondered how seriously we are to take the Trump campaign? It almost doesn't seem real. There were comments about Marco Rubio's "small hands." (Or maybe he really means penis.) Then there are the arguments over who has a better looking wife. Who really cares? And do we really expect a presidential candidate to argue about such non-sense.
And then there is Cruz. He's just as bad as Trump, but he presents himself in a slick manner. No one suspects he is a racist, but what if he really is?
When I post articles designed to be a joke, it helps when the reality around them is not already a joke.

In many ways the joke has been on us.


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Trump supporters really muck it up at rallies

April 4, 2016, 12:45 pm
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We continue to hear a lot of reports that Donald Trump’s supporters get into fights with protesters. None of that sounds good for Trump. Some news pundits are alreadytrying to sound the death knells for Trump. He is probably the candidate Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders want to run against. But it is too late to know if this will really hurt him or not. -SJ Otto

FromDaily Kos:

It is another day. With it comes another entry in the category "ugly things that the horrible people at Donald Trump rallies do to people who dare to dissent against the American Il Duce.”
At a rally in Janesville, Wisconsin, earlier this week, two of Donald Trump's minions attacked a 15-year-old white girl named Alex Drake. One of the Trumpeteers allegedly sexually assaulted her. When she fought back, the second Trump enforcer then pepper sprayed the teenager.
Drake's offense was a protest sign that said “Damn, Donald, back at it again with the white supremacy." One of her compatriots also had a "Black Lives Matter" sign.
Donald Trump's racist goon squad then, as if on cue, shouted the de facto white supremacist slogan "All Lives Matter," three words that are the new "White Power!" and "Sieg Heil" in America’s Age of Obama. Other Trumpeteers then called the teenager a "nigger lover," a "bitch," and a "commie."

For the rest click here.

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Ted Cruz not as popular with his party as he needs to be

April 7, 2016, 7:42 am
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The following stories show that Ted Cruz has other problems besides being behind Donald Trump. It seems there are people in his own party that don't like him. And from these two articles he has his work cut out for him.
That is good news for those of us who really hate the idea of a Cruz presidency. I just assumed that the majority of Republicans would be tickled pink to vote for this guy. But maybe not. -SJ Otto

From Politico: 

Ted Cruz can’t even get a protest vote in the Senate anymore.
On Monday night, Cruz’s colleagues ignored his attempt to disrupt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood. In an unusual rebuke, even fellow Republicans denied him a “sufficient second” that would have allowed him a roll call vote.
Story Continued Below
Then, his Republican colleagues loudly bellowed “no” when Cruz sought a voice vote, a second repudiation that showed how little support Cruz has: Just one other GOP senator — Utah’s Mike Lee — joined with Cruz as he was overruled by McConnell and his deputies.
It was the second time that Cruz had been denied a procedural courtesy that’s routinely granted to senators in both parties. The first came after he called McConnell a liar this summer.

For more click here.


From The Washington Post:

Conventional wisdom says vulnerable Senate Republicans would like to share the ticket in November with anyone but Donald Trump. But the apparent replacement choice, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), might not be much better for them.
It's hard to imagine a more far-right presidential candidate than Cruz, who has shown little to no willingness to appeal to the broader electorate that Republicans arguably need to win the White House and maintain control of the Senate. Some political analysts even think Republicans' majority in the House could be in play with not just a Trump nomination, but also a Cruz nomination.
But as Cruz celebrates a big win Tuesday in Wisconsin, a Cruz-Trump battle for a majority of delegates at July's Republican National Convention looks more and more likely. That means it's not out of the realm of possibility that Cruz could be the next GOP nominee.

For more click here.


After winning the April 5 Wisconsin primary, Ted Cruz appeared to reach out to the GOP establishment – and ask for its trust. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

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Anti-Islamic vigilantes a problem in Wichita KS

April 12, 2016, 1:02 pm
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By SJ Otto
A number of important issues have surfaced since the Islamic Society of Wichita first planned to have Monzer Taleb, a spokesperson for Hamas, speak at their Mosque during the Easter weekend. Hamas is a democratically elected party in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. Hamas was elected back in 2007.
Hamas has been designated a terrorist group by the US government. But in reality it is nothing like ISIS (Islamic State) or al-Qaida. Hama does not carry our or even suggest terrorist actions against the US. It is a military group of resistance to Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and it does use violence. But that is nothing like ISISor al-Qaida. The US constantly uses the terrorist label to dismiss organizations or political groupings whose ideology is at odds with that of the US. This cheapens the label of terrorism for groups that actually do commit acts of terrorism, especially if those groups attack the US. ISIS and al-Qaida have not only attacked the US, but they have attacked civilians and non-military targets. They are much different from Hamas and many of the groups that are labelled terrorist by the US government for purely political reasons. This cheapens the whole terrorism label to nothing more than a political insult.
Here in Kansas our very own US Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Wichita, accused Taleb of supporting terrorism and called for the speech to be cancelled. According to KWCH12;  

"It was poor judgement, in my view, on the part of the Islamic Society of Wichita," said Rep. Mike Pompeo. "I'm glad that they have now changed their minds."

Congressman Pompeo, a member of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee says Sheikh Taleb pledged his allegiance to a terrorist organization. "Sheikh Taleb has been very clear personally in the things that he has said that he was a part of Hamas," said Pompeo. "That the destruction of Israelis something that he would like to see happen and he has made no bones about it."

Those of us who have followed the career of Pompeo already know he is one of the most pro-imperialist and pro-military members of congress. He is also pro-Israel, anti-Palestinian and he does not believe in honouring his own countries constitution and fist amendment.
The next issues is that armed groups protested the event and that got the Islamic Society to drop the proposed speaker. There is no reason for anyone in Wichita to protest at a place of worship carrying guns. That makes the more than just a protest. They were there to intimidate those who had planned on listening to Taleb. How is this any different from the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses in front of black churches? Should this society tolerate such actions? It seems really wrong that any group of protesters can come to a church and intimidate its members out of having speakers come.
Another issues are the people who have taken on an anti-Muslim cause. These people promote an agenda of hate against all Muslims. They don't differentiate between the Muslims who are just practicing religion and those involved in terrorist crimes. These anti-Islamic groups are not much difference from the Ku Klux Klan. They are practicing a form of discrimination and intolerance of those who are not Christian Americans.
According to our local The Wichita Eagle;

"It involves the world of home-grown militias or “security forces” and a Facebook message that sounds to him like a domestic terrorist threat against Muslims in Kansas.
“WE need to keep an eye on muslim buildings. and ready to strike,” part of the message, posted on the Kansas Patriots Network, says.
The reaction against the Wichita mosque speaker appears to be part of a new trend by anti-government militia groups of targeting Muslims, (Daryl) Johnson said. He is a former senior domestic terrorism analyst with the Department of Homeland Security who has testified to Congress."

These groups are extremely right-wing and propose violence against all kinds of people such as those who desecrate a flag, and those they see as anti-American. That includes anti-Islam rants and proposals of violence. A person calling himself The Pissed off American has a whole page dedicated to his hatred of Islam.  


Then there is the issue of anti-Palestinian sentiments here in Wichita. There are people who refuse to listen to anything other than the Israeli point of view. Besides such bigots as Pompeo we have other-wise progressive people who are so pro-Israel that they also supported protesting the Mosque.
The Wichita Eagle article mentioned Stuart Elliott, a Wichita resident and retired postal worker, as one of those who believed that Taleb has raised funds for terrorists and is an enemy of Israel.
The important thing about all of this is the rising hate against all Muslims. The Wichita Eagle article also reported that the FBI is reporting an increase in hate crimes against Muslims. It is not surprising that there are those irrational people who want to lump everyone of a certain religion as enemies out of fear. Such irrational fears raise their ugly heads from  time and time. Whether it be race, religion or politics, as in the various "red scares" in our history, this is about intolerance and we need to oppose it at every turn.

Such intolerance must be opposed at every opportunity.
ماس‎ 

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Sam Brownback declares war on Kansas: This is how extremists gut a state — and democracy

April 13, 2016, 5:26 pm
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This is a great article about the destruction of Kansas' Public Education by Governor Sam Brownback and his minions of hateful right-wing libertarians. He is out to destroy the entire public sector and all the important things it does for us, especially educating our young. He points out this is being done by  the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Americans For Prosperity (AFP) and other libertarian / ultraconservative organizations, some of which are nothing more than front groups for the politics of the Koch Brothers, David and Charles. We need to act against these destructive forces and beat them back. The future of Kansasand a place many of us can actually live is at steak. - SJ Otto 

From Salon:

By MARCEL HARMON
It’s not uncommon to see developments named after what they displace or sometimes destroy. Subdivisions with names like Wild Creek Placelikely contain neither a trace of the “wild” nor the remains of a creek. I guess more descriptive names such as Flat Asphalt Junction simply lack the same level of appeal.
I’ve come to see the names of Kansaslegislative committees in the same manner. Under the legislature’s ultraconservative leadership, committees such as Education (House and Senate), Education Budget (House), Commerce, Labor and Economic Development (House) and Local Government (Senate), to name but a few, seem cruelly named after what the ultraconservatives have marked for displacement or destruction.


Gov. Sam Brownback’s march to zero income taxes, combined with legislation designed to weaken public services and wrest control away from local government, are hollowing out the very aspects of government these committees focus on. Public education certainly seems targeted to be greatly supplemented by, if not outright replaced by, private education.


For the rest click here.
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Bernie Sanders- In solidarity with the Verizon workers

April 14, 2016, 6:56 pm
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From the Bernie Sanders campaign;
Yesterday the CEO of Verizon said that I was "contemptible." He doesn't like that yesterday I walked the picket line with striking Verizon workers, or that I think Verizon needs to pay its fair share in taxes.
Verizon's attack reminded me of what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said in New York City in 1936:
"We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
"They had begun to consider the Government of the United Statesas a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
"Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me — and I welcome their hatred."
Like FDR, I welcome the contempt of Verizon's CEO. I welcome the hatred and contempt of every Wall Street banker, hedge fund manager, pharmaceutical lobbyist and fracking executive trying to stop our campaign.
They know how powerful we are when we stand together. That's why I need to ask you directly.
I visited FDR's gravesite this week while I was campaigning in New York. I took the time to reflect on his presidency, and how he stood up to the powerful interests on Wall Street who wrecked the nation's economy and sent our country spiraling into the Great Depression.
FDR thought big. When people said that Social Security was impossible, he defied them and created the safety net we have today. When people told him that he couldn't rein in Wall Street greed, he signed the Glass-Steagall Act into law.
Today we are thinking big, and the billionaire class is telling us what we're doing is impossible. People keep underestimating us, and we keep proving them wrong. Let's show them again on Tuesday in New York's primary.
I'm going to be on stage for tonight's Democratic debate in a few hours, and I know that with your support, we can win.
Nothing is impossible.
In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders
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Donald Trump is learning that the presidential nominating system is not really all that democratic

April 15, 2016, 7:19 pm
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By SJ Otto
This may be a good time to focus on the US political system and the extremely phony elections we have all gotten used to here. That is especially important since Donald Trump is learning the hard way that wining the presidency is not really about the popular support of the people.
Trump tweeted:

"Donald J. Trump 
✔‎@realDonaldTrump
The people of Coloradohad their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed!"

This year Donald Trump has discovered that the system of gaining delegates and the convention system can easily usurp the need to be elected by the majority of the voters. He has realized that he can win primary after primary but it his winning of the nomination that is actually in the hands of the delegates and party flunkies. Many pundits are telling Trump that he should have checked the rules out before he started his presidential campaign. For example, from WWLP:

"(Donald Trump (R) Presidential Candidate) “And because of all his shenanigans that goes on and this is…”
(AndersonCooper, CNN) “But you call them shenanigans. Those are the rules.”
(Donald Trump (R) Presidential Candidate) “I do. I do.”
(AndersonCooper, CNN) “Didn’t you know those rules?”
(Donald Trump (R) Presidential Candidate) “You know why the rules — I know the rules very well, but I know that it’s stacked against me by the establishment. I fully understand it.”

Most of the pundits are not willing to state the obvious: "The delegate system and the conventions are actually undemocratic."
The Democratic Party has also adopted undemocratic rules. They have superdelegates, people who are not elected by anyone, but they can help defeat a candidate who has won elections, but is considered unelectable by the party leadership.
 According to the Wikipedia version of the history of the Democratic Party superdelegates:

"After the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party made changes in its delegate selection process, based on the work of the McGovern-Fraser Commission. The purpose of the changes was to make the composition of the convention less subject to control by party leaders and more responsive to the votes cast during the campaign for the nomination. Some Democrats believed that these changes had unduly diminished the role of party leaders and elected officials, weakening the Democratic tickets of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter. The party appointed a commission chaired by Jim Hunt, the then-Governor of North Carolina, to address this issue. In 1982, the Hunt Commission recommended and the Democratic National Committee adopted a rule that set aside some delegate slots for Democratic members of Congress and for state party chairs and vice chairs. Under the original Hunt plan, superdelegates were 30% of all delegates, but when it was finally implemented for the 1984 election, they were 14%. The number has steadily increased, and today they are approximately 20%."

 It is not hard to see that this process could effectively prevent a popular candidate from being chosen for the presidential race based on rejection by party leaders who don't like what he/she stand for, or they just don't like them for any reason. In other words there may be situations where the "common voter just isn't smart enough" to elect the right person and neither party really wants to chance that.
After all, if the primaries and caucuses are not designed to let the public vote on who they want as president, they  are being left out of a major part of the democratic process. In the early part of the primary and caucus system, there are several candidates to choose from. By the general election there is only two choices.
This country is supposed to be democracy at its best. But at its best it is not really democracy at all. It should be called an oligarchy. That is a system from Ancient Greece where a democracy was set up that favored older people and people with wealth. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has said recently that this country is an oligarchy. In response to the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision:

"It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it's just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or being elected president. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. Senators and congress members. So, now we've just seen a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over. ... At the present time the incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody that is already in Congress has a great deal more to sell."

Of course it has been a messed up system for a long time. For most of its existence USdemocracy has been about rich people using bribes to get what they want. The irony here is that Trump is just like one of the modern day "robber Baron." He is wealthy. But this year he decided to take out the middle man and run himself rather than sit in the background and pump money into someone else's campaign as we see by such modern robber barons as the Koch Brothers, Charles and David. The  Koch brothers have a budget of $889 Million to spend on this year's 2016 campaign.

The name "robber barons" was a name given to industrial barons of the late 1800s and early 1900s.   Both political parties had a cosy relationship with them and not much has really changed since then. 

Continued- More on this later.-->
Pix by www.globaltruth.net.

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Bernie Sanders smashes the Israel status quo

April 16, 2016, 12:17 pm
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It has been a long time since anyone disturbed the pro-Israel status quo as to the rights of the Palestinians. In the last 15 years, Israel has lunged towards the right and stayed there. Their present government has no intention of trying to make peace with the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Finally we have a presidential candidate who has the guts to stand up to the Israeli lobbyists.-SJ Otto
From CNN:
Bernie Sanders is taking a sledgehammer to the political status quo on Israel.
Sanders refused to back down Thursday night from his claim that Israel in 2014 used “disproportionate” force to respond to Hamas rocket fire from Gaza while calling for the United States to stop being “one-sided” in the conflict there. In doing so, he upended a long-standing tenet of American politics: that unflinching support for Israelis non-negotiable.
Sanders’ unorthodox remarks at CNN’s Democratic debate came just days before voters head to the polls in New York, where Sanders is fighting to narrow the significant, but not insurmountable, deficit he faces against former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.
For the rest click here.

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Recall Ranzau committee is expanding their agenda

April 19, 2016, 9:54 am
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Recall Ranzau committee is expanding their agenda

From the RecallRanzau:

Thank you for your continued support – there was overwhelming approval to expand our platform beyond the Recall effort to a sustained, organized effort to make fundamental changes in local and state government. We will therefore continue to speak critically, and organize on a broad range of issues facing SedgwickCounty citizens. We invite you to join us.   

As of this writing, there is no update yet on the legal proceedings to challenge District Attorney Marc Bennett’s questionable decision to block RecallRanzau in Sedgwick County District Court. But here is what everyone can do now, and even during any future court proceedings:
1.      Support the re-election of County Commissioner Tim Norton, and help defeat the re-election of Karl PeterJohn – this will dismantle the Ranzau-Peterjohn-Howell majority decisions that gave rise to our recall effort. With 100+ RecallRanzau volunteers, we can bring some people power to these campaigns.
2.      Participate in the growing grassroots response and movement to replace Republican lawmakers who too often have supported Governor Brownback’s policies to recklessly cut taxes, starve public education of funds, punish the poor, decline Medicaid expansion, threaten the independence of our judiciary, suppress our votes, and deny equal rights and protections for all – Please attend the rallies, the meetings, the events; donate time and/or money; like and share posts and announcements on Facebook, twitter and other social media to assist with publicity.
3.      We need responsible and common sense candidates so please consider running for office; talk someone else into running for office; and support the candidates who have decided to run.
In the words of former Governor Carlin, “With the entire legislature up for election—​and the voting records clearly identifying those who backed the administration’s plans openly available—​there is no excuse for the 70% plus of Kansans who are upset with the Governor not to throw out his partners in crime. Consistent with our founding and the power of We the People, it will take the support of citizens who are working hard to educate their neighbors and get them out to vote for quality candidates committed to leading us out of the wilderness…”

Again, please join us. And if you haven’t yet liked, shared or posted a comment on our Facebook page, please do so using the link below. 

https://www.facebook.com/RecallRanzau 


Committee To Recall Richard Ranzau, Inc.

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Upcoming May Day event in Wichita, KS

April 20, 2016, 8:18 pm
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The Peace and Social Justice Center will be hosting a pot luck for May Day, May 1st, 5:30pm, at the Peace and Social Justice Center, 1407 N Topeka St, Wichita, KS 67214, (316) 263-5886. 
The P and SJ Center has a lot of progressive members who are interested in labor issues, democratic socialism or just interested in the history of May Day, the international workers holiday. Come and bring a dish. Or just come and join in.

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Former 'Religious Right' Republican to Obama: 'You're going to be vindicated'

April 25, 2016, 8:17 am
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I predict that in the future historians will judge the opposition from Congress to President Barrack Obama as pure racism. There will be no other logical explanations. He has been accused of being a far-left liberal, radical, socialist and communist. None of that is true. He was a center left politician. That only leaves racism as an explanation to the stiff opposition to his rule.–SJ Otto 
From Daily Kos:
Frank Schaeffer is an American author, film director, screenwriter, public speaker and painter. He is the son of the late theologian and author Francis Schaeffer. He is also a self-proclaimed “former member of the Religious Right and Republican Party.”
On April 6, 2016, Schaeffer decided to make a video describing what made him leave the GOP and express his appreciation to Barack Obama whom Schaeffer now calls “a great president.”

In the beginning of the short video, (which would not copy to this blog. To see it, go to the original article.) Schaeffer blasts angry viscous racists... 
“...who are trying to get back at Obama who committed the faux pas of being a black man, who also brought our country back to economic health, ended two wars, kept our country stable and prosperous during a time when he inherited the worst situation possible from probably the biggest fool we’ve ever had for a president.”
The artist adds his son, a Marine, was sent to the Iraq war, which was “an unnecessary war.” Scheffer’s son made it back safe, but many of his son’s friends did not. Schaeffer says he left the party because he “couldn’t stand the hatred anymore, the anti-gay bias, the anti-black bias, the anti-women bias and the kind of bullshit Donald Trump is spouting.” Schaeffer in his tribute talks about how President Obama has forged ahead in spite of these obstacles.

For the rest click here.


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Sander’s revolution needs to drop the use of assassin drones

April 28, 2016, 7:15 am
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By SJ Otto

While Bernie Sanders is starting to realize he won’t be nominated for the Democratic candidate, it is time to seriously look at his “revolution” in American that he is pushing for. Continuing to push for change is a good thing. But his foreign policy is not so good. He has supported the “kill list,” a list of terrorism suspects that this country plans to assassinate using drones. There is not due process and no trial. If a person’s name is on the list they can be killed along with their family members.

This is a barbaric practice that no civilized country should undertake. It is ridiculous to accuse others of terrorism and then taking up a practice that actually is terrorism. This is one of the worst foreign policy ideas this country ever came up with. It is a disgrace to hear Sanders speaking in support of this, but that is exactly what happened the other day:
 

"Look. Terrorism is a very serious issue," Sanders told MSNBC's Chris Hayes. "There are people out there who want to kill Americans, who want to attack this country, and I think we have a lot of right to defend ourselves." However, the senator added, "it has to be done in a constitutional, legal way."

The New York Times revealed in 2012 that President Obama hosts a meeting every Tuesday at the White House where he decides which suspected terrorists will be added to a so-called "kill list." Those on the list can then be targeted for killing, typically with an unmanned drone.

"Do you think what's being done now is constitutional and legal?" Hayes asked Sanders, noting the existence of "a list of people that the U.S. government wants to kill."

"In general I do, yes," Sanders replied.

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We need to adopt a “no growth” economy for future survival

April 28, 2016, 7:39 am
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By SJ Otto

Our capitalist economy is like a ponzi scheme. It requires constant growth and eventually that will cause our society to collapses. One idea that could change all of this is moving away from a growth economy to a maintenance economy. Many political activists call it simply the “no growth economy.”

While intellectuals have heard of it, for many common citizens is totally over their heads. I ran as a local town councilmember and I called for a "controlled growth economy" over the traditional "growth economy." I'm sure that those who read it were scratching their heads and wondering: "WHAT!"

It is time to bring about the debate over a maintenance economy vs. growth. To most people abandoning a growth economy seems insane. Who ever heard of such a thing? How can a local economy be healthy without growth?

And yet this debate rose up during the rise of the Green Party of Germany, in the late 1970s, with discussions on “Sustainable Living.”

The reasons to abandon growth based economies are really simple. Growth requires resources that have to expand, and keep expanding in order to work. That means more power (gasoline, electricity) more land, more building of structures, more water, more sewer, more roads, vehicles and everything else we need to live. It can't remain stable, it has to grow. The problem is that all these resources will run out eventually. And that day is probably sooner than most people realize.

One thing that needs to be looked at is population growth. For many Americans putting the breaks on population is the equivalent to devil worship. Many Christians will quote the Bible;"As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it." In Kansas and other parts of the Bible Belt people take that book seriously and would never hear of challenging it. But for those people who believe that science has a place in our lives, it is time to challenge the idea of unlimited population growth. Once again, we must consider all the resources needed for a growing population, including homes, food and jobs.

We have to share the world and if we grow beyond our means we will die out as a species, or we will end up in a barbaric war over simple resources. In some ways we see that through today’s imperialism. Much of our so called “terrorism problem” stems from the lack of basic needs of people in less developed third world countries. No growth is what we need. It is a lot like blowing up a balloon. If seeing the balloon get bigger all the time is the point of having it, eventually it will pop. There is no way I can keep putting air in a balloon indefinitely. That idea defies simple scientific logic.

The debate has already begun. For example from Population Matters: 

 

"On 19 April, an audience gathered in the House of Commons for the launch event of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Limits to Growth.

Speaking first, Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion and chair of the new APPG, discussed the group’s aim of bringing discussion of limits on economic growth into the political mainstream by hosting debates, generating new policy ideas for a post-growth economy, and commissioning new secondary research.

In essence, this is meant to be an insurgent think tank within Westminster.

Ms. Lucas emphasized the political challenge of convincing other politicians, and the public, who are so accustomed to promises of growth, that we as a society have enough already.  Beyond a certain level of prosperity, economic growth does not lead to greater societal or personal wellbeing. Moreover, economic growth is becoming uneconomic on its own terms, she argued, in that the cost of repairing its social and environmental side-effects, such as climate change, is greater than the primary value growth delivers.

Ms. Lucas argued that efficiency improvements alone will not be sufficient to cope with increasing consumption alongside a growing population; the economy needs to stabilize and maybe even contract."

 

So the idea is getting around. It is still in the discussion stage. And we see resistance to this all the time. An example of that is the present day capitalist thinkers the Koch Brothers, David and Charles. They funded a massive climate denial machine to help keep them and other industrialists from having to spend their money on changing the way they do business. Surely as educated as they are they realize that climate change is real. But, as I have often heard people say; "Why worry about that? You will be dead long before that becomes a problem." And there is a clear connection between a no growth economy and cleaning up the environment. Both issues include painfully needed changes in the way the economy works. Both may lead to smaller profits in the short run. However, without changes our economy eventually implodes and humanity is doomed. And some of us do care what happens to the people who live hundreds of years into the future after we are gone.

It is time to seriously discuss a “no growth” economy.


 

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Come and celebrate worker’s solidarity—May Day 2016—Wichita KS

April 29, 2016, 9:51 am
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May Day is the holiday that working people around the world celebrate for international worker’s solidarity. The US is one of the few countries that do not celebrate this with a legal holiday. The US government moved our Labor Day to September, many years ago, hoping to kill its meaning. Although most Americans no longer celebrate this holiday, many of us still do. We realize that Labor Day is supposed to be a day set aside to honor the struggle for worker’s rights, including the hard earned fight for an eight hour work day, an end to child labor, a five day work week and the right to organize ourselves into labor unions. The US right-wing has worked hard to reverse most of these gains and this is one day we can come together and support our rights as workers.

 This celebration will be at the Peace and Social Justice Center, May 1st, 5:30pm, at1407 N Topeka St, Wichita, KS 67214, (316) 263-5886. 
Come and bring a dish. Or just come and join in.


-SJ Otto


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May Day event held in Wichita, KS

May 2, 2016, 1:54 pm
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By SJ Otto
We had a small but enthusiastic gathering for May Day 2016. I gave a history of May Day, with the fight for an eight hour work week, in 1886. The whole world was supporting that effort. There was also the Haymarket affair, with a riot and bombing, in which four people were sentenced to death for giving speeches during the bombing.
Janice Bradley pointed out this it was struggles like this where Americans actually fight for our freedom.
"When the military says they are fighting for our freedom that is the biggest crock," she said.

Members of the group recalled a big May Day celebration with Mexican Americans, focusing on immigrant reforms, a few years ago, where the numbers were huge. 
Out May Day event was held at the Peace and Social Justice center in Wichtia.



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It’s going to be Trump or Clinton—the lesser of two evils

May 5, 2016, 9:23 am
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By SJ Otto

Now that Ted Cruz and John Kasich have dropped out of the Republican Primary race, Donald Trump is on the way to being the official candidate of his party. There are no obstacles to his way, so there is no reason to believe he won’t get the nomination at the Republican Party Convention this summer.

Even though Bernie Sanders has not thrown in the towel for the Democrats, it is looking like it will be Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump next fall. As can be expected, this site will support Clinton over Trump. This blog has never been supportive of Republicans so our  readers know what to expect. Some obvious issues will be immigration. Clinton is likely to have a more favorable policy on immigrants, especially dealing with Hispanics. Then there are women’s issues. Hillary will support abortion rights. Clinton will be the first women president in the entire history of the US. That will be a big step forward for this country, even if it is only symbolic. One really important issue will be health care. Clinton will save Obama Care (Affordable Care Act) while Trump has threatened to get rid of it all together.

However this is not the slam dunk it might appear to be to some people. Clinton is not a leftist or liberal. She is close to Wall Street, just as Bernie has said. Worst of all is that Clinton’s foreign policy might actually be worse than Trump’s. She has been a real hawk on foreign policy. Trump has hinted that he may actually scale back some of the worst of this country’s imperialist foreign policies.

"America first will be the overriding theme of my administration," Trump was quoted by CNNfor his remarks at Washington's Mayflower hotel, delivered from a prepared text.

"Under a Trump administration, no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign countries….

…..My foreign policy will always put the interests of the American people and American security first."

The phrase “America First”came originally from the isolationist organizations of the 1930s and 1940s by those who opposed getting involved in World War II. If that is what he is proposing it will mean scaling back the imperialist policy of “nation building” that has been the general foreign policy direction since the George W. Bush Regime.  


"I will never send our finest into battle unless necessary and I mean absolutely necessary, and will only do so if we have a plan for victory with a capital V,"Trump emphasized, according to CNN.

He also referred to the"legacy of the Obama-Clinton interventions" as one of "weakness, confusion and disarray."

And with all his anti-Muslim comments throughout his campaign:  

"We're going to be working very closely with our friends in the Muslim world, which are all at risk for violent attacks," he said.

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who supports Clinton, described his comments as a "simplistic" mixture of slogans and contradictions.

"He just underscored the fact that he is running the most reckless and dangerous presidential campaign in modern history,"Albright said on a Clinton campaign conference call (reported by CNN).

However Clinton’s policies are well known by all of us by now and she has embrace nation building and has backed President Barack Obama’s hawkish attempts to interfere with such nations as Syria and Saudi Arabia’s reckless meddling in such countries as Yemen.

Another problem for Clinton is that a lot of the young people who came out to vote for Bernie Sanders may not come out at all for Clinton. Between polls and conversations I’ve had with local people, there is a reluctance to vote for Clinton by young people who are clearly attracted to Sanders left-leaning anti-political establishment policies. That is going to be a real struggle for her. Sanders and Clinton are miles apart on the most basic domestic policies.

And yet Clinton is still the better candidate than Trump, despite her terrible imperialist foreign policies. The need for Obama Care alone makes this election important. There are people who may literally die without the medical coverage they now get from Obama Care. We don’t need American citizens dying from neglect.

However we must acknowledge that foreign affairs will be a major struggle if Clinton is elected president. Even if Trump wins the election his foreign policy is not going to be an actual break with imperialism. His policies may be better, but he is not going to end the struggle against US imperialism.

We are once again left with the choice between the lesser of two evils. That doesn’t mean the election is meaningless. We still need to take part and prevent the Republicans from wrecking America.

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Democrats have their eyes on the Kansas House and Senate — Saturday night fundraiser

May 8, 2016, 1:51 pm
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By SJ Otto
This Saturday Night members of the Kansas Democratic Party met for a fund raiser here in Wichita. They have reason to be optimistic this time around. Sam Brownback's approval rating is as low as it has ever been, about 17%. People in Kansas know that he has the help of many Tea Party Republicans in the Kansas Senate and House. So this is a good chance to finally get rid of his "rubber stamp" minions.
Democratic Leaders at this event believe that these Brownback supporters are extremely vulnerable to being defeated by Democrats.
Several candidates addressed the crowd, such as Jim War, a Kansas House Representative in the 86th district.Elizabeth Bishop will be running for House district 88.

"I'm going to win," she said confidently. She is running against Joseph Scapa, a Tea Party Republican.  

Also running and in attendance is Dan Giroux who is running against Mike Pompeo, one of the most militaristic candidates to ever hold an office in Kansas. He is so pro-military that he has neglected his non-military constituencies. He is a major imperialist lackey and getting rid of him will be a great achievement. 
Here Dan Giraoux and Kansas Senate candidate Lynn Rogers pose at the Democratic fund raiser this last Saturday Night.
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BernieOrBust? Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky and Bill Maher Have Some Advice For You

May 12, 2016, 11:36 am
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By  Scan

Feeling the #BernieOrBust these days? Let's talk about that for a second.
I understand the enthusiasm for Bernie because I'm equally as enthusiastic about Hillary. But holding your vote hostage if your candidate doesn't win the nomination is not an option.
Certainly not this year. Probably not any year.
And rest assured that don't exclude myself from this principle: If Sanders somehow makes the most unlikely of comebacks to defeat Clinton, I will certainly vote for him in November. Because Donald Trump is not an option.
This also held true for me in 2008, when (after healing a heart broken by Hillary's defeat) I proudly supported and voted for Barack Obama. Because McCain/Palin was not an option.
But you don't have to take just my advice, because several very influential, high-profile voices on the left have been saying the same thing.
For instance, Michael Moore loudly endorsed Bernie on the eve of Iowacaucuses and continues to have plenty of differences with Hillary. But when it comes to the general election, it's a no-brainer:
Michael Moore is an avowed Bernie Sanders supporter and has been for years. But while the outspoken filmmaker and liberal activist says he’s with Sanders till the end, he quickly notes he’ll support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if she’s the nominee.
“Oh absolutely. She’s better than the alternative and she will do some good, "Moore said in an interview on Sunday.
Then there's this philosophical giant who uses the same a-word when it comes to his support in November:
Noam Chomsky would “absolutely” choose Hillary Clinton over the Republican nominee if he lived in a swing state, but her primary challenger, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, “doesn’t have much of a chance," the MIT professor and intellectual said in a recent interview...
“Oh absolutely…my vote would be against the Republican candidate,” Chomsky told Al Jazeera English’s Mehdi Hasan...
Chomsky cited “enormous differences” between the two major political parties.“Every Republican candidate is either a climate change denier or a skeptic who says we can’t do it,” Chomsky said. “What they are saying is, ‘Let’s destroy the world.’ Is that worth voting against? Yeah.”
Bill Maher has also repeatedly made clear that he supports Sanders for the nomination, but he can see the writing on the wall and used a different a-word regarding the choice in November.
Last week on Real Time with Bill Maher, the brazenly liberal host tore into Sanders supporters who claim they’d rather vote for Donald Trump than Hillary Clinton. After outlining key differences between a Trump and Clintonpresidency, Maher proclaimed, “That’s your choice. Don’t be assholes about it.”
These are just three examples, but there's plenty more where that came from and much more on the way shortly. All you have to do is listen.
Bernie or bust? Are you sure about that? Because what it really means is that you're fine with our entire country going "bust" in every way imaginable (economically, morally, judicially...you name it) for many years to come under the disastrous rule of *shudder* President Donald J. Trump.

If you care about what Bernie Sanders has stood for his whole life and what he continues to fight for to this day, "bust" is simply not an option.

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