DOTS DAY TO DAY

I couldn't be more grateful for President Biden's leadership in response to his son, Hunger's conviction on felony gun charges. President Biden has said he respects the jury's decision and the judicial process. Good for him. I call that leading by example. Former President Trump could take many lessons from President Biden, in my view. Trump is angry about every single thing he and his ilk have been convicted of. The response is always the same. He calls everything either a disgrace or a conspiracy by Democrats. I don't recall that he's ever owned up to the outcome. Conversely, President Biden and the Biden family are not flooding the media with justifications and/or excuses. That response, accepting responsibility, is leadership at its finest, I believe.

Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier is again seeking parole after serving nearly 50 years in federal prison, following his conviction for killing two FBI agents in the 1970s. I remember the incident and the ensuing news coverage. I'm glad not to have to be a decision maker in this case. I can see both sides of the issue and empathize with both Leonard Peltier and the victim's families. Leonard Peltier was active in AIM, American Indian Movement, an organization founded to deal with issues of police brutality and discrimination against Indigenous people. AIM repeatedly made national news when it took over the village of Wounded Knee, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. On June 26, 1975, federal agents came to serve arrest warrants concerning treaty violations and self-determination, and two federal agents were killed. Leonard Peltier is now 79 years old and in poor health and is seeking parole. It is difficult for me not to take his side in this effort. There has been

The first time I recall beginning to formulate a basic understanding of D-Day, June 6, 1944, and the enormity and meaning of the undertaking was on June 5 or 6, 1966, watching a movie on television with my dad. I cannot say what the movie was. It may have been The Longest Day, based on the novel of the same name, but I cannot find information as to whether that movie was yet available as a TV broadcast. I think that is doubtful. Nevertheless, whatever movie Dad and I watched, caused me to ask serious questions about D-Day, specifically. I knew about WWII, of course, but as a soon-to-be 3rd grader, I had little understanding about the reasons for the D-Day landings, and the tremendous effort involved, not to mention the loss of life. Whenever my parents spoke of WWII, the strongest impression I always came away with was the idea that the purpose of the allied mission was to rid the world of dictators trying to dominate and take away freedom from people whom they either felt were inferio

Senate Republicans block bill to protect Americans' access to contraception. These GOPERS are on a roll, don't ya know? In my opinion, they really want to throw women back into the 19th century, or even further back than that, if possible. The Senate vote on the Right To Contraception Act was 51-39, falling short of the 60 votes needed to defeat a filibuster. Republicans said the bill is unnecessary as the use of birth control is already protected under Supreme Court precedent. I believe this to be a lie. Many felt the right to abortion was also protected by SCOTUS precedent, and we all know what happened there, and what has happened in many red states, due to overzealous actions of Republican controlled state Legislatures seeking to control a woman's right to choose, and also allowing insurance companies to decline to pay for contraceptives. People who fail to see this trend in red states, I feel, are complicit in this effort, and should quickly turn their consciences back

Though I shouldn't be, I'm continually astounded by my state's lack of support for migrants, especially families and children of undocumented individuals. I'm sure the same goes for most red states. These are human beings, people, but many in law enforcement and Legislators disregard this, and look upon them more as locusts or swarms of mosquitos to be swatted away without a care, in my opinion. I think it is unconscionable to "round up" and deport undocumented individuals without regard to the conditions they will be returned to, as a result of oppressive governments which deny their own citizens basic human rights. In my view, returning these people to such environments is often a deliberate and voluntary contribution to their death, or the death or imprisonment of family members, all because those individuals seek a better life in the United States. The argument, offered by most conservative politicians, is always state's rights, state's choice. Tha

I am currently rereading  Jane Addams: Pioneer of Social Justice by Cornelia Meigs .  I first read this fabulous biography in junior high school, likely for a book report. Even then, social justice and activism interested me keenly. Ms. Adams grew up in Illinois, in a small village. Her father owned property, including a lumber mill and a grist mill, and she was brought up in comfortable financial circumstances. Her father was a Quaker, and taught her to think for herself. Born in 1860, one of her first memories was her father's overwhelming sadness, following the assassination of President Lincoln in April, 1865. Even then, as young as she was, she wanted very much to make a difference in the world, and to help those less fortunate than she. She went on to do just that, and as her biographer so aptly reminds the reader, Ms. Addams' influence is still felt today.