The Second Bill of Rights
by John M Repp After seeing a film in Fremont that mentioned the Second Bill of Rights, Mike Yarrow organized a leafleting at the next showing to explain more about the idea. Also called the “economic bill of rights”, the idea was proposed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1944 State of the Union speech. FDR intended to put these rights into law rather than amend the Constitution. The speech, given towards the end of World War II, pointed out that the sacrifices the American people were undergoing due to the war were recognized and FDR wanted a new bill of rights to reward the people for their sacrifice. FDR said that the first bill of rights were political rights…
How Our Government Has Used Nuclear Weapons since 1945
by John M Repp The possible use of nuclear weapons is back in the news after Vladimir Putin made veiled threats that if any nation tries to stop his aggression in Ukraine, he will use nuclear weapons. Putin knows he has not done anything worse than the United States has done over the past seventy-seven years. However, he threatened publicly, while American presidents have threatened using diplomatic channels. Most people think President Truman used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force the Japanese to surrender. But Truman already knew the Japanese were ready to surrender because the U.S. government had learned to read their communications. Actually, Truman dropped the two atomic bombs the United States had constructed to show…
Could People’s Assemblies Save Democracy?
By John M Repp On Friday February 24, 2023, Alex Fryer, a Seattle Times opinion columnist, published an opinion piece describing a people’s assembly and suggesting that Seattle try to use the concept to cut through the horrible disfunction in the political life of the city. A people’s assembly gathers two-dozen or so people, selected at random, like a jury, and presents them with a thorny issue. The people are offered experts and any background materials they need, as they discuss the issue and try to come up with recommendations and reach a 70% consensus. Their recommendations would then go to the mayor or City Council. The key is: would the elected officials institute the recommendations. This idea is not…
First They Came for the Queer People
by John M Repp Many people have heard Pastor Martin Niemoller’s famous poem: “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.” Thom Hartmann in his Friday, March 3, 2023 Hartmann Report tells us that the first group that the Nazis attacked after Hitler came to power at the end of January 1933 were the trans people.…
What the Military Budget Could Provide
If we weren’t spending near a trillion dollars on the military, what could we do with that money? See some numbers on the chart provided by @PROGRESSFORTHEPEOPLE. One trillion – that’s one million million! We could have Housing, Childcare and Pre-K, University Tuition, Healthcare, Family / Medical Leave, Renewable Energy, and More. See the colorful chart by clicking here.
March 2023 Newsletter Version2
We have posted a new version of the newsletter Pacific Call with a few updates! This reflects the revised date of our Spring Assembly, now scheduled for Saturday May 6, 2023. A page with an event that has now passed has been replaced with more articles. You can see the pdf version by clicking here. Full URL for this newsletter pdf is https://wwfor.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/PacificCallMarch2023v2.pdf Contents include: WWFOR SPRING ASSEMBLY p. 1 The Second Bill of Rights introduction p. 1 The Second Bill of Rights CONTINUED p. 2 Thoughts on Ukraine by Larry Kerschner p. 2-3 Peace, Justice and Truth, on Maria Ressa p. 4 Nuclear Weapons: Opposition to Abolition p.5 How US Govt Has Used Nukes Since 1945 p.6 Could People’s…
Military Budget: Letter to the Editor, Cascadia Daily News
If the majority in Congress has its way, spending on the Pentagon and work on nuclear weapons at the Department of Energy will hit $850 billion next year. This is half of the U.S. government’s discretionary budget … think of the other plagues we could address with this money: poverty, disease, environmental devastation, housing, potholes, public health? The troubled F-35 combat aircraft budget that the Pentagon and the Project on Government Oversight say “may NEVER be ready for combat” is comparable to the entire discretionary budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One-third of the cost of a new aircraft carrier ($4.5 billion) would “ensure equitable and sustained foundational public health services for all,” according to the Center…
A Coming Civil War in the US?
by John M Repp There has been a lot of talk lately about the possibility of a second civil war coming to the United States, this time not on a regional basis, but based on the left-right split in our politics. Some of the militant right-wing groups are preparing for such a war, stockpiling military-style weapons, and ammunition. Guns are doing the talking at rightwing demonstrations around the country. I don’t remember right-wings bringing guns to intimidate us as we protested the pending invasion of Iraq. This is a new thing in the USA. Luke Mogelson has been a war correspondent in some of the world’s most unlucky places like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. He had not been in the…
No Justice for Charleena Lyles
by Carl Nakajima (reprinted from Real Change, July 13-19, 2022, p. 9) Carl is a Real Change vendor and an Advocacy Intern for Real Change. [for background information, see https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/lyles-charleena-1987-2017/ ] I am upset about Charleena Lyles’ inquest, and I have a lot of questions about our countries’ policing. I was born in Chicago, but I also lived in Japan and Hong Kong. I was able to grow up in a different culture, and I was able to know a little about other police systems. In the July 8, 2022 episode of “Democracy Now,” host Amy Goodman said, “in 2021, there were 10 shooting incidents in Japan and just one gun death. By comparison, the U.S. typically records 45,000-gun fatalities…
Covid: Will We learn from San Juan County, Washington?
by John M Repp Over one million Americans died in the years long Covid-19 pandemic. It has been a trauma for many of us and our country failed miserably with absolute death numbers higher than any other country, and a per capita percentage higher than any other wealthy country. Trump’s response was incompetent and malevolent. He “suppressed scientific data, delayed testing, mocked and blocked mask-wearing, and convened mass gatherings where social distancing was impossible”. It cost him the election. To put this whole event in context, we must say, prior to the pandemic, the population health of American citizens had deteriorated since about 1970 relative to other wealthy societies, as measured by longevity, maternal death rates, and infant mortality. We stand…
