Surviving the Storms Together

This article was written, like most of the others here, for Veer Magazine but will not appear in it. Due to the crippling economic difficulties affecting that local paper, editorials like this are not welcome for now but may again be used in the indefinite future, should they or I survive.

These are certainly the darkest and most ominous of times I've lived through. Like many, I have been locked down, living on tinned fish, rice and beans and noodles and drinking more than usual. When I go out, I am masked, gloved and wary of others, It seems everything has changed. As a close friend pointed out, this is as much a plague of the spirit as it is of the body. At the same time, we are seeing an outpouring of generosity as people check on each other, sew masks and give away food. There are tables set up in places like Graydon Avenue, near Colley where neighbors put out cans of food for those that need it. Some even share rolls of that now rare and valuable commodity -- toilet paper!

We understand why we as a nation are less able to deal with this crisis than any other modern country on earth. We do not have a public healthcare system. Many of us lack health care coverage. Even if we have it, deductibles and copays aside, our corporatized medical approach treats symptoms rather than causes and relies on over-priced, often toxic medicines and expensive procedures. It is a commodified disease maintenance model designed to rake in profits. And now so many more of us are without basic coverage.

This viral pandemic is only one of the deadly plagues that has infected our country. We continue to suffer the plague of cultivated partisan division. We suffer from a much longer-term disease of racism and the violent suppression of minorities; especially Black people.

I have written many essays in Veer on racism, on racist police violence and on the dangerous rise of armed proto-terrorist hate groups. The attention brought has helped push reforms in local policing policy though much more needs to be done. We still lack a community-based civilian police review board. It is still more likely for Black people to be shot by police than it is for wild animals who would be subdued with drug darts.

The racism and divisions that are tearing our country apart were here long before Trump was appointed president but he has, through steady provocations and ineptitude made our situation far, far worse. From his stubborn resistance to science in handling the spread of COVID 19 to his rolling back of public safety protections and of the CDC defenses against pandemics, to his constant incitement, support and promotion of neo-faschist hate groups, he has been and continues to be a toxic danger and the number one threat to our national security. And I'm no loyal democrat! This is all a trial run for worse disasters to come, from the horrific destruction made inevitable by the expanding climate catastrophe and the storms we will experience locally to other waves of disease and of possible societal breakdown and civil war.

Given the reality of this moment, we are either witnessing the economic and social collapse of civilization and the rise of brutal fascism inherent in disaster capitalism or the beginning of a new era of progressive fightback as so many find ourselves with no other realistic choice.

So how do we get through this? The protests we are seeing are a beginning. The rising up and standing together of citizens, even amid the dangers of the pandemic and increasingly violent acts of suppression by militarized police at the direct instruction of the president and his attorney general, demonstrate our solidarity against racist violence and against Trump's destructive actions.

With the exceptions of Richmond and aggressive police in Virginia Beach, our local area has avoided violence and riots. We have, so far also avoided massive deaths by COVID seen elsewhere, though the numbers of sick continue to grow locally. We have responsible state leadership and that saves lives.

I expect the numbers to rise as we "open up" and due to the number of people in the streets protesting police violence and institutional racism.

As I wrote in the editorial of a recent Blue Collar Review, it is increasingly obvious that we are now in undeniable need of Medicare for All, a minimum income and the job-creation and climate sanity of a Green New Deal. The time for the Jonestown rule of corporations and billionaires has been unmasked by the multiple pandemics we face and must be swept away by united citizen action to restore the Republic.

Only the committed solidarity of love and community can save us as a nation from rising dictatorship and destruction. The protests around the country and in our area are examples of that. Hate and well earned mistrust can be overcome. Together, as history repeatedly demonstrates, even brutal dictatorships can be overcome when we as citizens stand together in opposition.

Though the situation is too dynamic to make any predictions, this promises to be a long, hot and bloody summer. Let's do everything we can to be safe, to avoid the worst, to take care of each other and, more importantly, to demand leadership with integrity that puts people first.

Instant Karma

As the corona virus tears across the globe leaving medical systems overwhelmed, in civilized countries that have them, and mass death in its wake, our country continues its economic terrorism against affected countries including Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, denying them food and medical equipment. In fact, there is hardly a country on earth we have not done filthy murderous things to from instigating civil wars and violent coups to orchestrating genocides.

In our own country there are calls from politicians and the corporate media for bailouts of the usual suspects; banks, big oil, finance, airlines, ect. along with emergency crumbs in the way of checks to “taxpaying' citizens. Even that appreciated but inadequate assistance – coming from the corrupt and inept G.O.P leadership – is being stymied by Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Cuomo with calls for stringent means testing. Layoffs and unemployment are skyrocketing by the day with evictions likely soon to follow.

Meanwhile, the only platform and leadership that could limit the damage and save the country, and I refer of course to Bernie Sanders's calls for universal medical coverage via Medicare for All, relief from student dept, a job-creating Green New Deal focused on adaptive infrastructure renewal, green agriculture and moving away from fossil fuels from the power grid to transportation has been soundly defeated by corporate media efforts and voters driven by fear and misinformation. A majority of said voters stated in exit polls that they support these things but were informed that Joe Biden, a senile conservative democrat was more electable in spite of polls showing the very opposite.

So here we are, sheltering in place with the most inept and crooked government in the history of our republic in charge even as we continue raining death and destruction in every part of the world. This includes the deadly embargo on Cuba which has been successful in assisting China with the development of Interferon Alpha 2b which has proven effective for viruses with characteristics similar to those of COVID-19. But hey, let's not let common sense or the curbing of unnecessary deaths get in the way of our renewed cold-war fervor!

Music, the tunes that rise out of the inky bitumen of our subconscious can sometimes be an oracle trying to tell us something or helping us see situations in perspective. The other day the voice of Doris Day rose from my inner swamp singing Que Sera Sera. As I consider the larger reality the tune that has been playing in my head is Instant Karma.

An Opportunity for 2020 Foresight

There are many issues that should motivate us to public action as responsible citizens. Issues like human rights abuses, access to needed healthcare, confronting ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to roll back regulations on environmental safety, deregulating the dumping of industrial toxins into our lakes and rivers, threats to cut back healthcare access, vital support for disabled recipients of Social Security, the spread of nuclear weapons, war, and support for oppressive regimes. Such actions can take many forms from visiting or writing letters to our elected representatives, writing editorial letters to the local paper or participating in public demonstrations.

In the last month we witnessed a day of protest by people who do not seem to object to or protest any of these things. Instead, in response to long overdue and very moderate legislation seeking mandatory background checks and monthly caps on gun purchases, militias and gun-right activists spouting unfounded fears and misinformation gathered in Richmond. None of the legislation proposed or thus passed in any way prevents anyone from purchasing a firearm.

Demonstrations around issues serve not only as a way of pressuring elected leaders but as education and outreach around things we feel are important. The Richmond gun rally succeeded in illustrating a real problem.

Photos of heavily armed zealots with over-sized military-grade weapons should concern us all. Do you really want your unstable neighbor to be that heavily armed? The other big issue made evident was the presence of highly armed extremist militia groups. As reported in the Virginia Mercury, six men were arrested in Georgia, Maryland and Delaware, all allegedly involved with a neo-fascist white supremacist group known as The Base. Authorities reported that the men were suspected of planning an attack against counter protesters at the rally. While thankfully there was no violence reported in Richmond, unlike the Charlottesville rally, there were only a few overt signs of racist nationalism or Nazi propaganda. Racist groups attending were more subtle, waving flags and wearing patches with the symbols of far-right groups like the Proud Boys and various white nationalist militias such as the III Percenters and Oath Keepers. Coincidentally, the Richmond Rally was being covered at the same time as another public shooting incident – the kind we have become too used to seeing on the news.

Recently some of the same fearful gun activists have attempted to pressure our city councils to endorse “Second Amendment cities” which Chesapeake City Council supported. As a long-time activist myself, I think many need to realize the empty symbolism of this and to read up on the “Dillon Law” which in Virginia states that “local governments are limited to the powers expressly granted to them by their state” meaning the State Legislature makes the rules and cities cannot choose to defy them or to do otherwise. The Dillon Law is problematic for local democracy on many issues. Virginia is one of 39 states in which it applies.

Four years ago at the close of the last electoral debacle I wrote of my deep concern about the ugly rise and empowerment of hate-groups and the neo-fascist right. It remains obvious that we as a nation still have a serious problem. It was on display in Richmond and has more to do with the danger, beyond partisan division, of proto-terrorist groups than it does with our continuing right to buy reasonable firearms for hunting or self defense. Public access to high-capacity military grade weaponry and armed hate-groups continue to pose a grave threat to public safety.

Another key issue, made evident by the growing Coronavirus epidemic, is the necessity of universal access to health care. Without everyone being covered, the poverty of some poses a health risk to all. The most important issue of the day remains the rapidly expanding climate catastrophe which threatens our future – especially in our low-lying, increasingly flood-prone, hurricane-vulnerable Tidewater area.

Voting is among the most important things we can do as citizens. Next, we need to keep pressure on those we manage to elect to act on the issues we care about. Our Virginia mid-terms demonstrated the effectiveness of this. We have seen action to expand Medicaid access and to enact sensible fire-arm regulations. Progress is also being made to protect our state environment. Though fracking and gas pipeline projects remain an issue, we have seen a ban on fracking in the eastern part of the state to protect the Potomac Aquifer, enacting of carbon cap-and-trade legislation, expanding offshore wind energy plans, and addressing flooding in areas of the Eastern Shore and in our own area including parts of Virginia Beach. A proposal to make the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice a permanent body, put forward by Democratic Sen. Mamie Locke of Hampton, is making its way through committee. This would create a standing advisory council which would offer recommendations to the governor to protect historically vulnerable poor and minority communities from disproportionate impacts of pollution. Given the rapid warming of our seas and the increasing rate of their rise, there is much more that needs to be done to mitigate carbon emissions and to strengthen and adapt infrastructure here and throughout our country.

A vitally important opportunity for citizen action is upon us. The Virginia Democratic Presidential Primary is on March 3 with voting scheduled from 6AM – 7PM. Primaries are very different from elections. Come the election, we will likely have to vote against, rather than for a candidate, playing the old “lesser evil” game. Settling for lesser evils in questionably legitimate elections has not served our country well. Given record levels of corruption, media manipulation, voter suppression and reliance on shady technology it remains questionable whether legitimate federal elections are even possible anymore. This may be our last opportunity to make a real difference. Unlike elections, primaries are where we can and should vote our hopes by choosing the candidate we think is best on the issues. Capitulating in advance based on what corporate media tells us is possible is to surrender any chance of making a difference.

Whichever party affiliation or candidate you choose, I think what most of us have in common is a revulsion to corruption and to the continuation of resulting bad economic policies which poison our communities and impoverish us for the benefit of the well-connected. That is why many voted as they did in the last presidential election for someone perceived as an outsider who promised to “drain the swamp” but sadly continues to do just the opposite. As I've said in the past, the best criteria for judging a candidate are their actual record and who is backing them because that is who they will serve.

Given that criteria, I think Bernie Sanders remains the best and strongest candidate. Maybe it is his integrity. Beyond that rare characteristic in politicians, the vast majority support his agenda of universal access to medical care, climate action and people-first economic policies reflective of FDR's New Deal. He, unlike others, can be counted on to protect programs like public education and Social Security. His record shows him to be incorruptible. Most important is that Sanders is the only candidate who can be trusted to stand up to the enormous power wielded by corporations and to do what we must to address public health and the climate catastrophe. Sanders represents the best of our country. He will protect the civil rights and hard won gains of working people and minorities.

Beyond cultivated partisan division, the Representative Republic is on its deathbed. Citizens like those of us who are not billionaires have little if any real representation. Corporate influence has come to define public policy. Sanders and the broad citizen movement behind him are the last chance we have to revive and protect the Republic and to insure that we address the climate issue in a way that really matters. He can be counted on to actually drain the swamp of corporate lobbyists and self-serving moneyed interests. I hope we will approach this opportunity with 2020 foresight and not rue a lost chance with 2020 hindsight. We will all have to live with the consequences.

Standing For Peace at Ground Zero

Your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore
They're already overcrowded from your dirty little war
Now Jesus don't like killin', no matter what the reason's for
And your flag decal won't get you into Heaven anymore – John Prine

The new year finds our military area and families facing new dangers after the recent assassination of Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, a leading political figure close to the Iranian leadership. Some will opine that Trump did us a favor in eliminating a dangerous enemy and “terrorist.” The record does not corroborate this. A brief look at the history of our relations with Iran tells a very different story.

It was our country that decided to forcefully remove Iran's elected president in 1956 and to install one of the world's most brutal dictatorships in its place. That was the “Shah” whose bloody, torturous grip on Iran lasted over 20 years. It wasn't Iran that applied a punishing economic stranglehold on our country because it was displeased with our leadership choices or energy policies – again, the other way around. It wasn't Iran that instigated and supplied an invasion against us including chemical weapons attacks. Yep, again that was our government supplying Iraq with the deadly weapons and pushing them to attack Iran. So next time you hear about Persians calling us the “great Satan” and being our enemy, consider the real history, as well as the source.

Our use of a previous Iraqi regime to attack Iran with chemical weapons is something Iranians have not forgotten, They have a Museum of Peace dedicated to remembering this and many Iranians still bear the scars and injuries of that war. They have good reason to be involved in Iraq to prevent a recurrence and to protect their own national security. They have also been active in fighting and defeating ISIL terrorism.

The reality is that General Suleimani's stop in Iraq on his way home from Lebanon to pressure the Iraqi congress to demand removal of US troops was known in advance. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi stated that he was due to meet the General Suleimani for talks that had been agreed to at Trump’s request. Trump's arrogant, criminal blunder has achieved Suleimani's agenda and further isolated the U.S. in the region and world.

Though it would have been shocking to past presidents as it should shock us today, the power to assassinate people around the world is not new to the Presidency. The power of the Executive has expanded enormously since the 1980's often working in league with the CIA. There have been many US interventions over the past half century which have attempted and succeeded in removing leaders our country deemed unfavorable through highly dubious legal or ethical means, from electoral meddling and punishing economic sanctions to orchestrated coups and invasions.

Ronald Reagan launched bombing raids in 1986 targeting Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi and Obama finished the job leaving Libya a chaotic, war torn disaster. We have seen the removal and imprisonment of Panama's president Noriega for refusing to join our “contra” efforts to destabilize and reconquer Nicaragua. The military coup in Honduras, overseen by Obama, continues to include the killing of dissidents and the creation of refugees. The recent ascension of extreme-right leadership in Chile, Brazil and Peru (with our assistance) and the bloody coup in Bolivia are continuations of this pattern of meddling and regime change around the world – often with terrible consequences such as the burning of the Amazon Rainforest. Obama incorporated and ensconced the presidential power to kill with a regular weekly “kill list' and drone assassinations. He even targeted US citizens overseas. Many, if not most drone killings included innocent families and children.

Trump is continuing a policy of assassination set in place by previous administrations but he differs in carrying out an agenda devised, not by the CIA but by the Saudis, Israel and the UAE. Trump has been moving troops and weapons to the region in large number over the last few months and just sent another 3,000 military personnel to Kuwait. Though Trump has apparently been reeled in by his advisors and has backed off from an all out attack on Iran, the danger remains. Trump's march to war has been assisted by Congress (including a majority of Democrats) who recently handed an additional record $700 billion to the Pentagon. I remain disappointed that my representative, Bobby Scott, voted for this. The assassination of a high-level political operative is a way of pushing us into a disastrous new war in the mid-east in which there are no “good guys” and from which there can be no winners. The predictable media cheer-leading for war has already begun with the neocons of the last illegal and disastrous war based on lies being cited as “experts.” Most of them have deep ties to military industries that stand to profit by this even at the expense of thousands of lives including our loved ones in the military. This again makes our military-centric area a target.

I'm glad that Senators Kaine and Sanders have submitted bills demanding Congressional oversight and a stop to this disastrous and ill-thought aggression. We the People must also speak out against another devastating criminal war. The planet cannot afford another war and we who bear the costs have better priorities like addressing the expanding climate catastrophe, adapting our infrastructure to inevitable changes, funding access to healthcare and education. The push for war remains a welfare program to underwrite the weapons and military industry at an expense beyond rational comprehension or moral justification. The truth is that preventing climate change from inflicting cataclysmic damage to our ecosystem, threatening much of life on earth and civilization as we know it, cannot be accomplished unless we also demilitarize our foreign policy, end interventionist wars and break the grip that both the fossil fuel industry and the military-industrial complex have on our federal budget, foreign policy, economy and government.

I recently attended the founding meeting of a local “Coalition for Peace and Planet” which recognizes the inseparability of war and climate destruction. Their Principles of Unity state: The Hampton Roads Coalition for Peace and Planet is an alliance of peace and environmental groups in the Hampton Roads region whose mission is to educate, organize and mobilize our supporters in nonviolent opposition to war and environmental destruction.“ This is a non-partisan group whose alliance members so far include the Tidewater Democratic Socialists of America, the Norfolk Catholic Worker, the Green Party of Hampton Roads and non-affiliated citizens. We hope you join in this important effort. The Coalition for Peace and Planet can be found on facebook.

A lesson president Trump makes obvious is the need to roll back the power of the presidency, to return the power to declare war to Congress, and to re-establish a balance of power between the constitutional branches of our government. Before we begin massive bombings of cities, oilfields and nuclear reactors, can we get an ecological impact statement? We must support the cooler heads and consider actual impacts of our actions on the region and world. One has to ask -- especially of the media -- if anything at all been learned from the last 20 years, or for that matter, the last 60?

We all have a stake in this not only for the safety of our loved ones who may be sent to kill and be killed unjustifiably but as a city and region. As a major military center, we are ground zero. We bear the danger of presidential war-mongering. We need to be heard and to stop this tragedy before the already volatile middle-east explodes on all of us. Writing letters to the paper and to your congressional representatives can help, as can pubic protests and unified citizen demands for peace and ecological sanity.