I don’t think anyone is punished for speaking against Israel, but Holocaust
denial and Nazi sympathy is…or at least used to be...
On Sep 12, 2016, at 8:39 AM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
And yet, we blamed the German people for the Nazi atrocities. We said they
were complicit. Yes, some of them were willing and loyal Nazis. But how many
felt powerless and just kept quiet because they were trying to protect
themselves and their families? And today, the German government is eternally
apologetic for what the Nazis did and because of that, it punishes anyone
who is critical of Israel. Ironic!
Miriam
________________________________
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alice Dampman
Humel
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2016 11:02 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Attack on the Twin Towers
Of course no one blames you. And we're all in the same boat with you. And
some of us stamping our feet and saint, no, not me doesn't change that.
And that is what I call objective reality. And I do know a very few people
who have withdrawn as much as possible, who live off the grid, but you and I
and many others are in no position to do that. I've laughed at my feeble
efforts such as my completely impotent boycott of places like WalMart and
fast food giants. It makes no difference, and I know it. But I do it anyway.
What's that old saw about a journey of a thousand miles begins with one
step? On Sep 11, 2016, at 9:41 PM, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I get it. I really do. But every time I meekly comply and dutifully
pay
income tax on my dwindling income even as I watch helplessly while
the
quality of my life decreases, I feel guilty for not refusing to pay
those
taxes as a demonstration of my horror at what our government is
doing. I
want to obstruct. But I don't because I need to protect myself. So
no one
blames me for this, but I feel complicit while my money pays for our
cluster
bombs that are murdering all those poor Yemenis and Syrians and
Palestinians
etc.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl
Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, September 11, 2016 8:06 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Attack on the Twin Towers
When a distraught female acquaintance of mine told her girl friends,
"Men
are all the same. You can't trust any of them", I was not offended,
nor did
I feel the need to defend myself or any of the one or two other men
I know
who did not deserve to be included in her scorn. After all, she had
just
been trashed by a man she had believed to be, "Mister Wonderful".
But for
some strange reason I draw the line at being told that I'm part of a
Greed
Driven, vicious, ruthless Empire, bent on controlling the entire
planet, and
plundering whatever it chooses.
As I said before, I had no more choice in where I was born, than I
had over
who my parents would be. And even though I have found myself much
better
off, especially as a blind man, than I might have been had I been
born in
any of dozens of less wealthy nations, I do not give credit to the
Oligarchy
and its Greedy Ruling Class. Any prosperity on my part was not due
to their
goodness. I do credit much of my good fortune to the collective
power of a
working class that stood together in past years, fighting for better
pay and
working conditions, demanding humane treatment of our elderly and
disabled
members. But I also see the devastation brought about because of
the
uncaring nature of a Ruling Class that is consumed by Greed. The
very
program that I work in has been stripped to the bare bones, and is
providing
less and less services to a growing population of elders. I see
this same
Ruling Class sucking the marrow from the bones of working families
that
struggle with health costs. I watch our children being driven into
debt in
order to gain a worthless education.
Am I really expected to stand tall and sing the Star Spangled Banner
and
Pledge Allegiance to a Flag that represents an Oligarchy owned and
serving
uncontrolled Greed? I understand that others around the globe,
those whose
lives have been torn apart by the constant and relentless bombings,
do not
see me as anything but one more Ugly American. I cannot stop them
from
striking out, blindly, at anyone living here in this God Fearing
Land.
But I know who I am, and that is all that really matters...to me.
And to
all of those who disagree with me, I say only this, know who you are
and
whom you owe your allegiance to. What others think and say about
you does
not matter.
Carl Jarvis
On 9/11/16, Alice Dampman Humel <alicedh@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I agree with Miriam.no matter how much any of us dislikes
and protests
the actions of the US government, no matter how much any of
us
distances him/herself from actions and positions we find
repugnant, it's
still "we."
And if you don't believe Miriam or me when we say so, think
about how
an enemy would treat even the most outspoken protester among
us if
he/she were captured or if the US were invaded by an enemy
force that
blew through his/her city or neighborhood. It truly is shoot
first and
ask questions later. Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, or Bill
O'Reilly or
Rush Limbaugh, they're all the same to the "other side,"
whatever that
happens to be on any given day. And we, the US, ourselves
have done
exactly the same thing.when the government decided to
imprison all
Japanese in camps during WWII, they did not make exceptions
for those
families who had sons, husbands, fathers, who were at that
very moment
fighting in the US forces, defending the very country that
was
imprisoning their families. So, like it or not, we're all
part of the
we until someone decides to renounce his/her citizenship and
leave the
country to find one whose citizenship he/she would find more
palatable
and, I might add, a country who would accept his/her
application for
citizenship or political asylum. How many starry eyed
Communists tried
to move to the Soviet Union only to be told, we don't want
rabble rousers
like you here in the USSR?
Donne said it best: no man is an island.
On Sep 11, 2016, at 8:29 AM, Frank Ventura
<frank.ventura@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Yes, but we keep giving them more and more power
due to some twisted
sense of idol worship or worse still cut off our
nose to spite our
face portests.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Roger
Loran Bailey
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2016 7:45 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Attack on the Twin
Towers
Just because we may benefit from some concessions
that the working
class has wrung out of the bourgeois state does not
make us a part of
their system.
On 9/10/2016 4:12 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Yes, well we can all disapprove of our
government's policies. We can
disavow them. But at the same time, we all
benefit, some of us more
than others, from being US citizens. One
simple example, we have all
received services for the blind. The quality
of those services may
vary greatly, just as our ability to use
them varies in terms of our
individual situations. All of us on this
list have computers, a
place to live, enough to eat. Those things
might not be true if we
lived in India, Bahrain, or Kenya. In the
same way that white
people don't want to admit that regardless
of whether they want it,
they have white privilege. American leftists
don't want to admit
that whether or not they approve of what our
country does, they
benefit from living here.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Roger ;
Loran Bailey (Redacted sender
"rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2016 3:12 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Attack on the
Twin Towers
I understand completely and I congratulate
Carl because he has been
prone to using the word we when he should be
saying they too. What
the U.S.
government does is what they do, not what we
do. What the
imperialists do is what they do, not what we
do. To constantly refer
to them as we shows an identification with
the enemy and that is
exactly what the enemy wants you to do. It
makes it easier to rule
over you and to exploit you if you think you
are a part of what they
are doing.
On 9/10/2016 12:10 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Carl,
I'm not sure I understand. You are a
US citizen. You pay taxes. You
vote.
It is the US government that has
declared an unending war on terror.
It is the US government that has
approximately 1,000 military posts
throughout the world. True, you're
not wealthy and you have little
to no control over what your
government does. But if you're a
citizen and the US has more military
power than any other country,
why aren't you part of the empire?
Maybe you're an unwilling part,
but the reality exists that as an
American, you cannot dissociate
yourself from the
empire, except in your heart.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From:
blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carl ;
Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2016
11:34 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re:
Attack on the Twin Towers
You'll find the information I've
included at the end of this note
to be interesting if you are wanting
to attend community college in
Tennessee.
But first I wanted to suggest that
it was not the policies of our
Country in the Mid East that has
brought about the violence and
hatred of America. It is the
policies of the American Empire that
have done so. Speaking for myself,
I do not consider myself to be
a member of the
American Empire.
I was born a citizen of the United
States of America, into the
Working Class, not the Oligarchy,
which has ruled this nation since
the writing of the Declaration of
Independence. As such, my
interests are not especially those
of the Ruling Class. Nor do
they listen to me, or want my input
into their affairs. The Ruling
Class can buy anything they wish,
which is a very difficult thing
for the Working Class to do. Of
course I understand that as far as
the World is
concerned, I am one of the hated Americans.
.
Carl Jarvis
And now for information about
Pellissippi State:
Pellissippi State is a vital
institution accustomed to
transformation and growth. Since its
founding in 1974 as State
Technical Institute at Knoxville,
the College has expanded the
teaching of technology, the use of
technology in instruction, and
the transfer of technology to local
business and industry in
support of regional economic
development.
Having enrolled only 45 students in
its first year of operation,
the institution experienced steady
growth in the '70s, adding
business technology programs to its
original core of engineering
technology
programs.
As community awareness grew, so did
expectations. In 1988, the
Tennessee Board of Regents approved
the expansion of the technical
institute's mission to include
college transfer programs.
This mission expansion was
accompanied by a name change to
Pellissippi State Technical
Community College, and enrollment grew
quickly. In 2009, the Legislature
voted to shorten the name. The
institution is now known as
Pellissippi State Community College.
The College continues to support and
develop career-path
associate's degrees, associate's
degrees for transfer,
certificates, and continuing
education opportunities for the
citizens of Knox, Blount, and
surrounding counties. Pellissippi
State offers credit courses to high
school students as well. In
partnership with the community, the
College sustains the effort
toward an ever-improving quality of
life for
residents of East Tennessee.
In fall 2012, 11,259 credit students
were enrolled at Pellissippi
State, as well as thousands of
non-credit students.
On 9/10/16, Martian.Lady
<martian.lady@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi
Where was I when the attack on the
Twin Towers happened? I was
doing my OJT at Palasippi, no idea
how to spell it, couldn't find it"
State Community college which was
just outside of Oak Ridge Tennessee.
That was a bit scary.
For the rest of this message,
please don't come down on me with
all four feet.
yes the attack was a terrible
thing to happen. Yes almost
3,000 innocent people were killed.
After the attack, the world
supported us in this tragic event.
We refused to take advantage
of this support, choosing to take
our own course.
We, as a country, refuse to mourn
the possible millions of
innocent people we have killed.
This is rambling because my mind
is going slightly crazy. I
nee a cat to sooth me.
Marsha
