Yesterday, I received an email from Right to the City announcing an online course (8 sessions) in “Fascism 101.” It is being streamed, in English, with translations in Spanish and Ameslan. They don’t mention closed captions, but it is on Zoom, which is pretty good with CC, so they may be available. Ir appears to be free. They do want you to have a Zoom account, but that is also free. The link for registration and some information about the presenters is here. In other news, a special election in Pennsylvania allowed Democrats to remain in control in the state House. News like that is always good. Also, I finally figured out how to make a picture here link to another site. If you clisk on today’s FFT it will take you (in a new tab!) to the video the quote is from.
Cartoon – 19 0519OilFraud.jpg
Short Takes –
Civil Discourse – A Little Optimism in the Middle of a Lot of Mess
Quote – A First Amendment lawsuit got filed in Florida [Wednesday]. It’s not a First Amendment lawsuit over the new Florida law we discussed earlier this week—the one where Governor Ron DeSantis stripped academic freedom out of the classroom in Florida’s public colleges and universities and banished consideration of diversity. But it’s still a First Amendment lawsuit. Likely not the last one a unit of government in Florida will see this year. The lawsuit was brought against the Escambia County School Board by the publisher Penguin Random House, PEN America, five authors, and two parents after the school district removed books about race and LGBTQ people from shelves. The lawsuit alleges that banning books in school libraries violates the First Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause.
Click through for full article. It includes a couple of other developments. I needed a little optimism today. In fact, I could have used more, but it is what it is.
The 19th – ‘They came for blood’: Protesters and witnesses win settlement 7 years after violent clash with police
Quote – The scene looked like a combat zone. It was July 10, 2016. A wall of police officers dressed in riot gear lined East Boulevard at the corner of France Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Blair Imani and at least 100 other protesters stood opposite the officers in the front yard of Lisa Batiste, a resident who had invited the demonstrators onto her property for their safety…. Nadia Salazar Sandi, another protester in Batiste’s yard, had seen her fair share of protests working as a grassroots organizer; however, she did not expect the level of aggression she saw from police that day. “I was a police liaison in my work,” Sandi told The 19th. “I could have talked to cops all day and all night because I was trained to help de-escalate situations. But I remember seeing the look in their eyes. They were not willing to negotiate.”
Click through for story. No, this won’t bring anyone back to life, nor will it magicallly erase all the PTSD. It probably won’t even deter future fascists from similar actions. But it is something.
Food For Thought
