Jonathan Turley:
In yesterday’s massive defamation award to actor Johnny Depp, his
ex-wife Amber Heard was left holding a bill for $15,000,000. Even after a
reduction for her own award and a statutory reduction of the punitive
damage portion, Heard is still looking at $8,350,000 in damages. Many
view that amount (which is $1.35 million more than her divorce
settlement) to be justified in light of the damage caused to Depp’s
reputation and career. However, the stain of this verdict should be
shared with others, even if they avoided the sting of actual damages.
That includes many in the media (including the Washington Post staff)
who rushed to paint Heard as a victim and Depp as an abuser. Yet, the
greatest condemnation should be reserved for the organization that not
only pushed that narrative but actually helped draft the defamatory
column: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
The ACLU’s role in this scandal emerged during the trial.
While Heard was accused of reneging on her public pledge to give the
divorce settlement to charity, she did give a large donation to the
ACLU. The organization then made her “Ambassador for women’s rights,
with a focus on gender-based violence.”
During the trial, evidence was introduced on how the ACLU staff
helped Heard crafted the defamatory column. ACLU staffer Robin Shulman
said in an email to Heard
that she tried to capture Heard’s “fire and rage” in a draft. It was
also reported that the ACLU’s executive director, Anthony Romero, and
legal director, David Cole, also made contributions.
ACLU staffer Jessica Weitz acknowledged in an email that she was
aware that there was the chance of litigation and told Heard “I want to
make sure nothing was said in here that puts you in jeopardy with your
[non-disclosure agreement].”
It is not uncommon for celebrities to use ghost writers and editors.
However, many of us questioned what Romero and the ACLU were doing in
the middle of this celebrity scandal. The answer is that the ACLU long
ago abandoned its celebrated legacy as a fearless organization fighting
for civil liberties and individual rights.
Under Romero, the ACLU has become openly political and increasingly
scandal-prone. The political agenda has corrupted the organization in
the sense of cutting it adrift from the strong principles that once held
it firmly to its original mission.
Please read his column in full. He then ties in a number of troubling developments that have taken place. The ACLU was supposed to stand for soemthing.
It doesn't anymore.
Do any of them?
I respected the Center for Constitutional Rights for years. Then Vince Warren is put in charge and the organization that railed against government secrecy? Vinnie's meeting with Barack for off the record discussions that we still aren't supposed to note about. That's not the role of the president of CCR.
It stood for something once upon a time. There's an ad Mike loved about that organization.
I couldn't find it on Google Image search. I really try not to bother C.I. -- I'll come back to that -- but I really wanted to put it in here so I asked her and she closed her eyes, "Try around June 15th, 2006." That was the exact date that she posted this:
This is an ad for the Center for Constitutional Rights that Mike enjoys and blogged about tonight. It's from the back of The Nation's March 22, 2004 issue.
We counted on strong ethics. But we look around and where are the organizations that have ethics and standards. A real question at a time when certain YOUTUBE personalities claim to want to be 'female friendly' while at that same time bringing on a three time arrested pedophile who was convicted while Barack was president and sent to prison and is now a registered sex offender.They bring this pedophile on and praise him through the roof -- Jimmy Dore, Jackson Hinkle, Richard Medhurst, THE CONVO COUCH, etc -- and never tell their audience, "Oh, by the way, this 'author' and "UN expert' is actually a convicted pedophile." Now those of us who remember him before his third arrest remember him lying and saying he was innocent and this was all a plot by Bully Boy Bush to silence him. Then he got his third arrest but Bush was out of the White House. Then he went to trial and got convicted.
So, no, I don't really see a lot of ethics on the left right now. The ACLU was supposed to be about free speech and I have no idea what it thinks it is standing for today.
Okay, I'm done with the big topic.
Now, asking C.I. She has a wonderful and incredible memory. But when I ask something like that, I always feel like she's the father in FIRESTARTER and each time she does this, she's going to end up bleeding from her eyes. That's a fear, that's not me making a joke. (She's about to have eye surgery again, so I want to be clear there.) But I really enjoyed the original FIRESTARTER with David Keith and Heather Locklear as Drew Barrymore's parents.
They remade FIRESTARTER. My daughter wanted to watch. She hadn't seen the original. She asked if it was okay and I told her only if Mike or I watched with her because it is a scary movie and, if we watched, we would discuss it after.
So we watched it on PARAMOUNT+. It's gotten very bad reviews. I actually liked it and I especially liked the way they expanded the relationship between the father and daughter. I also thought Zac Efron did a great job as the dad. I think part of the negative reaction was about people wanting the same movie as the original. As I understood it, this was about trying to set up a series of films.
As the opener of a potential new franchise, I thought it was a very strong film. (My daughter did get scared during the movie. We did discuss that and laugh about it after the movie.)
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Thursday, June 2, 2022. As the US economy continues to suffer, Joe /Biden wants to again give more money to Ukrainel
The website BREAKING DEFENSE asks, "
Iraq says its spending big on artillery and jets. Can it afford them?"
With so few jobs to be found that protests have already started this
time of the year, with so many Iraqis living in poverty, even more
living in poverty conditions because of the lack of basic public
services (potable water especially this time of year), there are many
reasons to ask that question.
Sadly, BREAKING DEFENSE's only concern is whether or not the US defense industry is going to get paid on time.
Rest
assured, provided the crooked politicians don't steal everything --
the way they usually do -- payment should not be an issue.
The Iraqi Ministry of Oil revealed on Wednesday the initial statistics of its exports of crude oil and the revenues of May 2022.
In a statement issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, the State
Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO) which is the Iraqi national
company responsible for marketing Iraq’s oil, exported more than 102.3
million barrels of crude oil with revenues exceeded 11.43 billion US
dollars.
The statistics indicated that the exported quantities of crude oil
for May from oil fields in central and southern Iraq exceeded 98.9
million barrels. Moreover, the quantities produced from Kirkuk oil
fields and exported through Ceyhan Port exceeded three million barrels.
So
excited about $100 barrel oil, they're gearing up for two new wells as
well as speculation that they might overtake Saudi Arabia as the world's
largest oil producer.
An yet the people live
in poverty. The month of May saw oil revenues of $11 billion in US
dollars and yet the government cannot take care of its own people. The
World Bank estimates that there are 40 million people in Iraq. There is
no reason, when you factor in the oil revenues, that every Iraqi
shouldn't be living high on the hog. But that is not the case.
Iraq has failed to pay $1.6 billion owed to neighbouring Iran for gas imports, which is needed to guarantee further supplies and prevent worsening power cuts, Baghdad authorities said on Wednesday.
Payment
of the debt was a vital requirement to ensure energy supplies were
available for Iraq's power plants during the intense heat of the summer
months, when electricity demand surges as people seek to keep cool.
The
failure to pay comes as Iraq’s oil revenue imports reached another
record high. Iraq's revenue reached $11.436 billion in May and has
surpassed $10bn every month since March.
Let's stay with oil for a moment because record prices impact not just the seller but also the buyer.
Nick Beams (WSWS) reports:
Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of America’s largest bank, JPMorgan
Chase, has warned that an economic “hurricane” is about to hit the US
because of the war in Ukraine and the tightening of monetary policy by
the US Federal Reserve.
Two weeks ago, Dimon warned of “storm
clouds” gathering over the US economy. He escalated that assessment at a
financial services conference yesterday.
“I said they’re storm
clouds, they’re big storm clouds here. It’s a hurricane. That hurricane
is right out there down the road coming our way,” he said.
“We
just don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy [the devastating
hurricane of 2012] … And you better brace yourself,” he told investors
at the conference.
He warned the Ukraine war would continue to put upward pressure on
oil prices, which could go to as high as $150 or $175 per barrel. At
present oil is over $120 after a spike following the decision by the
European Union to ban seaborne oil imports from Russia as part of its
tightening sanctions regime.
Dimon warned that oil prices would continue to rise over the longer term.
“We’re
not taking the proper actions to protect Europe from what’s going to
happen to oil in the short run. And we’re not taking the proper actions
to protect you all from what’s going to happen to oil in the next five
years, which means it almost has to go up in price.”
On avocados -- a super food. Thanks, Joe Biden. That's sarcasm. Have
you seen how much the price of an avocado has sky rocketed.
Joe sent all our money to Ukraine and now we suffer. You know what,
Joe, you pay your own bills first before you dig into the family funds
for charity.
What an idiot.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics says we are now paying 7.6% more food than this time last year. Thanks, Joe.
For
months, as Americans have suffered, US President Joe Biden has been
giving money to Ukraine. He just did a forty million dollar package.
But it's another month and it's time for Joe to give away more American
tax dollars while the American people continue to suffer.
From the US Defense Dept:
Attributed to Pentagon Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Media) Todd Breasseale:
Today, June 1, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced the
authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued
at up to $700 million, tailored to meet critical Ukrainian needs for
today’s fight. This authorization is the eleventh drawdown of equipment
from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.
Capabilities in this package include:
- High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and ammunition;
- Five counter-artillery radars;
- Two air surveillance radars;
- 1,000 Javelins and 50 Command Launch Units;
- 6,000 anti-armor weapons;
- 15,000 155mm artillery rounds;
- Four Mi-17 helicopters;
- 15 tactical vehicles;
- Spare parts and equipment.
The United States has now committed approximately $5.3 billion in
security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden
Administration, including approximately $4.6 billion since the beginning
of Russia’s unprovoked invasion on February 24. Since 2014, the United
States has committed more than $7.3 billion in security assistance to
Ukraine.
The United States also continues to work with its Allies and partners
to identify and provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its evolving
battlefield requirements.
Barack,
Joe, Victoria Nuland and others overthrew the duly elected leader of
Ukraine in 2014 and they've been stealing US tax dollars to keep the
Nazis they backed in place.
Alexander Rubinstein (MP) notes:
As the United States undergoes a national mourning process over a
spate of mass shootings, American white nationalists with documented
histories of violence are attaining combat experience with advanced
US-made weapons in a foreign proxy war.
That’s according to the Department of Homeland Security, which has
been gathering intelligence on Americans who have joined the ranks of
the more than 20,000 foreign volunteers in Ukraine.
The FBI has indicted
several American white nationalists associated with the Rise Above
Movement after they trained with the neo-Nazi Azov Battaliion and its
civilian wing, the National Corps, in Kiev. But that was almost four
years ago. Today, federal law enforcement has no idea how many US
neo-Nazis are participating in the war in Ukraine, or what they are
doing there.
But one thing is for certain: the Biden administration is allowing the Ukrainian government to recruit Americans
– including violent extremists – at its embassy in Washington DC and at
consulates across the country. As this report will show, at least one
notorious extremist fighting in Ukraine has received extensive promotion
from mainstream media, while another who is currently wanted for
violent crimes committed in the US was mysteriously able to evade FBI
investigators looking into war crimes he previously committed in Eastern
Ukraine.
According to a Customs and Border Patrol document released thanks to a
May 2022 Freedom of Information Act request by a nonprofit called
Property of the People, federal authorities are concerned about
RMVE-WS’s, or “racially-motivated violent extremists – white supremacy”
returning to the US armed with new tactics learned on the Ukrainian
battlefield.
“Ukrainian nationalist groups including the Azov Movement are
actively recruiting racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist
white supremacists to join various neo-Nazi volunteer battalions in the
war against Russia,” the document states.
“RMVE-WS individuals in the United States and Europe announced
intentions to join the conflict and are organizing entry to Ukraine via
the Polish border.”
The document, which was drafted by Customs and Border Protections,
the Office of Intelligence, and other Homeland Security sub-agencies,
contains write-ups of interviews conducted by law enforcement with
Americans en route to Ukraine to fight Russia.
On May 24, 2022 a gunman entered a school in Uvalde, Texas and killed
19 children and 2 teachers. The cycle of thoughts, prayers and pretend
action continued but was even worse because of the short span of time
between the two events and revelations about police action, or rather
inaction, in Uvalde.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy
of Connecticut won kudos for his particular act of pretense on the
senate floor. Murphy’s performance was a bit over the top but that is
probably why it garnered so much attention. The senator seemed to be on
the verge of tears as he made an impassioned plea to his colleagues.
“What are we doing? … Why are we here? …This only happens in this
country and nowhere else. … Nowhere else do kids go to school thinking
they might be shot that day. … I’m here on this floor to beg - to
literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues. Find a
path forward here.”
Those are fine words from Murphy until one considers that on a
regular basis he advocates U.S. violence all over the world. In December
2013 he joined his colleague John McCain in Ukraine. They attended a rally
hosted by the neo-Nazi Svoboda party which was dedicated to
overthrowing the elected president. The ensuing violence after the coup
killed 14,000 people in the region that opposed the U.S. backed
government.
Murphy has been particularly vicious in his efforts to undermine the elected government of Venezuela .
“Maduro is evil, and the U.S. should pursue a strategy to undermine him
and prompt new elections. No one can defend what he has done to
Venezuela. But it’s quite a different thing for the U.S. to incite a
civil war with no real plan for how it ends.” Sound(Ssound familiar?).”
Murphy supports the sanctions that have killed thousands of Venezuelans
and very publicly defended overthrowing that government too, just as he
did in Ukraine. The overly dramatic senator should be asked hard
questions about the violence he espouses.
Let's wind down with this from The Green Party of Michigan:
THE OFFICIAL GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGAN NEWSLETTER!
|
Welcome
to EARTHFLOWER, the official newsletter of the Green Party of Michigan!
Find out what Greens are doing all across the state and in your
community! Here's your chance to participate! National, State and Local
meetings and events, press releases and official statements on relevant
issues, fun games, Green Party trivia and more! Look for this
informative newsletter on the first day of each month! From
solid policies like the Green New Deal and single-payer improved
Medicare for All, if you're reading this, you probably realize that the GOP and the Democratic Party are
either unwilling or unable to bring about the positive change necessary
to turn things around in our communities. Either way, when they win, we
continue to lose. The
purpose of this newsletter is to keep you abreast of the efforts of the
Green Party of Michigan, and inform you on how you can help our Green
Movement grow. If you haven't already, take a few minutes to join our
organization and help us continue to build a better choice for the
people of Michigan. |
Registration NOW OPEN
The
2022 Green Party Annual National Meeting (ANM) will be held virtually,
as the world's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was not yet ready to
guarantee a safe, in-person meeting during the planning process. We
will miss the opportunity to share space with Greens from across the
country but we can take this virtual gathering as an opportunity for
national work on some of the most pressing challenges for this party. We
hope you will join us from July 22-24. Important information for ANM Participants
All
ANM Participants MUST REGISTER to receive instructions on how to
convene with us online. Please register by Friday, July 15th. Registration
fees will include admission to all workshops and plenary sessions. Your
fees also provide for the infrastructure and staff necessary to produce
an online national meeting from multiple locations, plus online
workshops, news conferences and more. We
will also dedicate resources to accessibility assistance, such as for
the vision-impaired, hearing-impaired, and lack of access to a computer
or Internet connection. If you have other registration questions, email office@gp.org. |
* Co-Chairs: Robin Laurain and John Anthony La Pietra: chair@migreenparty.org * Treasurer: Charlotte Aikens: treasurer@migreenparty.org * Elections Co-ordinator/Training and Development: Sherry A. Wells: elections@migreenparty.org * Membership manager/Locals Liaison: Darryl Gibson: membership@migreenparty.org * Meetings manager/Merchandise manager: Monika Dittmann Schwab meetings@migreenparty.org * Communications: Destiny Clayton communications@migreenparty.org * Web Stewards: Charlotte Aikens webstewmigp@gmail.com * Phone: (313) 815-2025 WANT TO PITCH IN? CONTACT THE OFFICE(R) OF YOUR CHOOSING AND ASK HOW YOU CAN HELP! |
ACTIVE LOCAL GROUPS IN THE GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGAN!
|
1. Capitol Area Greens
(Clinton/Eaton/Ingham/Shiawassee counties)
2. CLaM greens [Launch in two weeks}
(Mason/Manistee/Wexford counties)
3. Detroit Greens
(City of Detroit/Hamtramck/Highland Park)
4. Central Michigan Greens
(Isabella/Mecosta/Midland/Gratiot/Clare counties)
5. South Central Greens
(Branch/Calhoun/Hillsdale/Jackson counties)
6. Washtenaw Greens
(Washtenaw County)
7. Southwest Michigan Greens
(Berrien/Cass/Kalamazoo/St.Joseph/Van Buren counties)
8. Genesee valley greens
(Genesee/Lapeer/Livingston counties)
9. Wayne County greens
(Wayne County)
10. Macomb County greens
(Macomb County)
11. Oakland County greens
(Oakland County)
12. U.P. North Country greens
(Baraga/Dickinson/Iron/Marquette)
13. Muskegon Greens
(Muskegon/Newaygo/Oceana/Ottawa counties)
14. Kent/Allegan Greens
(Kent/Allegan counties)
15. Middle of the Mitten Greens
(Ingham/Eaton/Barry/Ionia/Montcalm counties)
16. St.Clair Greens
(St.Clair County)
17. Lenawee County Greens
(Lenawee/Monroe counties) |
THE GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGAN IS GROWING! DUE DATE, TWO WEEKS!
|
The
Cadillac, Ludington and Manistee Green Party (CLaM) will be launching,
June 14, 2022 @ 2pm! This event will be Zoom accessible. For more
details, contact Co-Chair Tabbi Krause. Look for them on social media here! Make sure to comment, like and share their content. Let's spread the word! |
(Clinton/Eaton/Ingham counties)
Monthly meeting: Third Monday of each month
Contact person: Jim Becklund [white_dog_man@yahoo.com]
Website: None
Social media: Facebook |
Co-chair/Contact,
Jim Becklund announced, with a unanimous vote, the Capitol Area Greens
have officially brought Shiawassee County into their fold! Adding
Shiawassee County will help increase numbers and strengthen their Local.
If you are a Green living in Shiawassee County, make sure to let Jim know you're ready to get involved! We are super excited to see this local grow and look forward to their continued success! The
Capitol Area Greens say, "the United States Government has not done
nearly enough to combat the ongoing climate crisis." The Capitol Area
Greens and the Union of Concerned Scientists, encourage you to push for
the immediate transition to 100% renewable energy in the state of
Michigan! Contact Governor Whitmer and
state lawmakers today! Also, you can look for them among those marching
to the capital alongside the GPMIBC, on Juneteenth (June 19, 2022)! If
you see them, join em'! |
Exciting
news! The Local know as Kent County has now added the Greens in Allegan
County into their flock! With several registered Greens interested in
running for office in their local group, the Kent/Allegan Greens have
just announced an upcoming Nominating Caucus! Contact Charlotte for dates and details! |
The
Greens in Wayne County are officially in recruitment mode and have
recently restarted in-person meetings for 2022! As the weather clears,
the WC Greens have a slate of social and tabling events planned
throughout May and June! Be sure to honk your horn or stop by and say
hello when you see them! They are also looking to elect new officers
next month! If you are a Wayne County resident and a Green Party member,
you already qualify! Give Co-Chair/Contact, Lou Novak a shout and let him know you're insterested! |
(Calhoun/Hillsdale/Jackson counties)
Monthly meeting: Fourth Saturday of each month
Contact person: Monika Schwab
moni.schwab@icloud.com Social Media:Facebook |
Co-Chair/Contact
Monika Schwab has reported, the South Central Michigan Greens have a
lot on their plate! Fresh from their recent MLK Dream Speech reading by
Co-Chair John Anthony LaPietra and the second annual May Day 2022 labor
history walk, tabling events are planned at the Jackson County Fair,
along with projects with the Jackson County animal shelter, a webinar
and much more! Contact Monika for more details and join the South Central folks at their next meeting or event! |
(Macomb County)
Monthly meeting: Second Sunday of each month
Contact person: Sherry A. Wells/Jeff Sparling
[sherwells@tm.net] Social media: [Coming Soon!] |
Exciting news out of Macomb County per Contact Sherry Wells! Macomb Green Party Co-Chair, Jeff Sparling is
running for Michigan House District #14, which includes most of Warren,
Centerline and 30 precincts in Detroit--the Macomb Greens are all on
board! A joint effort of election support with other Detroit area Greens
for that campaign is sure to create a lot of buzz! So be sure to look
for Jeff, Sherry and the Macomb Greens when you're out and about. If you
live in the area and want to volunteer, contact Sherry or Jeff! And make sure you're registered to vote! |
| ▪ | Our newsletter space is limited. No updates from the local in your area in this newsletter? Let us know and we'll get em' directly for you! |
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BLACK CAUCUS*The Green Party of Michigan Black Caucus will be in our state capital for the Juneteenth Celebration! The Black Caucus next
meeting will be on Saturday, June 18, 2022 @ 12:30pm (eastern). The
agenda will include affordable housing, police reform. black voter
registration drive and a proposal to restructure our system of public
safety LATINX CAUCUS*Due to scheduling conflicts, The Latinx Caucus relaunch has been rescheduled for July 13, 2022! Let us know if you're interested or plan to attending! WOMEN'S CAUCUS*The Women's Caucus will be relaunching with a membership drive on June 25, 2022 via Zoom. Want to join? Sign up when you see the notice! YOUNG ECOSOCIALISTS*The Young EcoSocialists of
the Green Party of Michigan (YESGPMI) relaunched on May 28, 2022!
Thanks to all who attended! Expect results from representative elections
next month. We're on a mission to begin training young Green Party
candidates for office and looking for mentors! Want to join us? Contact
us at: youngecosocialistsgreenpartymi@gmail.com for more details! LAVENDER CAUCUS*We are looking for volunteers to help launch a Green Party of Michigan Lavender Caucus! What is the Lavender Caucus? NOTE: WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR AN AAPI, DISABILITY AND VETERANS CAUCUS. INTERESTED PARTIES CONTACT: membership@migreenparty.org |
What is Juneteenth and why do we celebrate? |
If you haven't already, be sure to register with us on the new website! |
Help us sustain our Green movement! Be a $5 monthly sustainer today!
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ALL REQUESTS FOR PRESS RELEASES OR OFFICIAL STATEMENTS CAN BE MADE BY CONTACTING OUR COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT: Communications@migreenparty.org |
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The following sites updated:
