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Trump loves the America of his twisted imagination. He hates and fears the America that actually exists. And if he gets back to the White House - look out.
He is planning to punish his political enemies, deport millions of migrants and reshape global trade with pricey tariffs. A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land.
He plans to replace tens of thousands of career civil servants with MAGA loyalists and take control of the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute his political rivals.
He is almost certain to use The Insurrection Act — to convert the military into his personal domestic police force. A Trump victory would end democracy. The only question is whether enough people will care enough to stop it.
It is possible that our constitutional system simply cannot handle a threat like Trump. It is possible that the divisions in this country are too deep to rally against him. But we need to try.
WE MUST VOTE.
“Years from now, this moment will have passed. And our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and ask us: Where were you when the stakes were so high? What we must do is nothing less than protect democracy from Donald Trump.” - Kamala Harris
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2. |
Watch Out!
03:24
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Beware. Be vigilant and alert. Proceed with caution. Keep an eye out. And we should stop pretending.
There is a clear path to dictatorship in the United States, and it is getting shorter every day. Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
The price of opposing him becomes persecution, the loss of property and possibly the loss of freedom. We continue to drift toward dictatorship, still hoping for some intervention that will allow us to escape the consequences of our collective cowardice, our complacent, willful ignorance and our lack of any deep commitment to liberal democracy.
In just a few years, we have gone from being relatively secure in our democracy to being a few short steps, and a matter of months, away from the possibility of dictatorship.
Is our descent into dictatorship inevitable?
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3. |
TIKKUN OLAM
03:45
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TIKKUN OLAM is a concept in Judaism, which refers to various forms of action intended to repair and improve the world. We bear responsibility not only for our own moral, spiritual, and material welfare but also for the welfare of society at large. The world is broken, so human beings must repair it by committing to social justice, political activism and ethical behavior.
The Israeli government is heading towards a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. We are grieving in the wake of massacres, displacement, kidnappings and injuries to so many Palestinian and Israeli children and civilians. The United States government is backing the Israeli war machine.
We need to treat Palestinians with the same empathy and decency that we ourselves expect. We need to take the steps necessary to ensure a real and lasting peace. Peace will only come with freedom, justice and equality for Palestinians.
When we say NEVER AGAIN, it must include Palestinians.
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4. |
Blur The Lines
03:15
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What would happen if the lines between right and wrong became blurred?
Can you imagine a world in which cheating is acceptable, lying is tolerated, and stealing is a way of life? Imagine a world in which rules are ignored, laws are overlooked, and traditions are disregarded.
There is a huge difference between right and wrong. It’s our job to point out that reality to those who have forgotten.
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Alexei Navalny was a Russian opposition leader, a lawyer, an anti-corruption activist and a political prisoner. He spent a decade standing up to the Kremlin when it seemed impossible. He was jailed and released. He was poisoned and survived. He was warned to stay away from Russia and he did not.
On Friday, they murdered him. He was forty-seven years old.
All over Russia, people were laying flowers in memory of Navalny, risking their own imprisonment.
The only glimmer of hope lies in the possibility that Navalny’s death – and the bravery he exhibited – will not be in vain.
Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya called for Putin to be brought to justice:
“I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family, and with my husband.”
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6. |
The Supreme Court?
03:16
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The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. No other country gives its Supreme Court as much power. The US supreme court has hijacked American democracy.
It has vastly overextended its own power and flaunted its corruption. The freewheeling political activism of Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife is the product of a legal culture that still pretends law and politics are separate from one another.
The justices have been living in the shadows for too long, and we should find out how they fare in the light.
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7. |
Blood Poisoning
02:51
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Trump said immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” The term “blood poisoning” was used by Hitler in “Mein Kampf.” He criticized immigration and the mixing of races. Hitler said that “All great cultures of the past perished only because the original creative race died out from blood poisoning.”
They are both wrong!
Diversity makes us smarter. Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, diligent, and hard-working. It encourages the search for novel information and perspectives, leading to better decision making and problem solving.
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Steve Shapiro Oakland, California
Steve Shapiro has composed music for hundreds of radio and TV commercials, documentary films, infomercials and other TV programs. He was the music director at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, which produced hundreds of award-winning educational films and recordings. He has a BA in Music from Brown University and an MA in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. ... more
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