the countless confederate and nazi flags on display today in charlottesville should serve as a clear reminder that white supremacists hate this country and they would willingly destroy it, so that they could declare themselves masters in the ashes.
america was founded on, and built by, the brutality of slavery and native genocide. racist violence is deeply ingrained into our society and our systems, and it continues to poison the well of our democracy.
but. america, as an idea, still has a central promise: the equality of humankind. the right of individuals to live freely and with dignity. a dream of uplift for the downtrodden. this is the dream at the heart of this country, one that we have never yet attained, but one that we’ve continued to strive for, struggle for, march and vote and die for, in hope. white supremacists hate this dream. they hate america’s soul. they worship the shell, but hate the heart of this country. they hate our hope.
and the truth is, white supremacy will kill us all if we don’t fight it here, now, constantly, on every field there is. it will destroy us, body and soul, and steal our futures. it’s what built our school-to-prison “pipeline” and runs the war on drugs for profit. it’s what decides to strip-mine foreign soil and leave the ground poisoned, or deny life-saving drugs to overseas markets, or levy a “global gag rule” that kills women. white supremacists want to sit at the top of a mountain, alone; they don’t care what it’s like at the bottom. they don’t care if there is anything left.
we can’t be too afraid to act. and us white folks absolutely cannot think of this as someone else’s fight. we own this. it is our duty to fight white supremacists; our duty to protect each other against them. if we want justice, if we believe in america, then it is our responsibility to keep reaching out, together, towards our unfulfilled dream. we have no time to waste.
I, for one, welcome our new ice cream cephalopod overlords. What better way to beat the summer heat than with this tentacular treat, the Colossal Squid Ice Cream Cone from Giapo, a gelato shop in Aukland, NZ.
Still
true (for now): American government is divided into two systems, the federal
system and the individual states. The federal and state governments
are each divided into three branches. The legislature (Congress)
makes the laws, the judicial branch interprets the laws, and the
executive branch (the president and governors) enforces the laws. To
wildly oversimplify, the separation of powers into those three
branches is supposed to work like rock-paper-scissors: every game
eventually has a winner, but there’s no one option that’s
always the winner. The thing is, the game depends on people
actually playing by and enforcing the rules. If one player is a
spoiled brat who won’t throw on “shoot” or always has a
screaming tantrum about how he won because he has the best rock,
the biggest, most beautiful rock, and the other player just caves
every time, it’s no good.
The Disability Integration Act (DIA) is civil rights legislation, introduced by Senator Schumer in the Senate and Representative Sensenbrenner in the House, to address the fundamental issue that people who need Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) are forced into institutions and losing their basic civil rights.
Twenty-five years after the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, unwanted institutionalization remains a serious problem for people with disabilities and seniors.
When disabled people are impeded from living in the community and instead housed in institutions, their civil rights are negatively impacted and they are placed in isolation and segregation. Passing the DIA is an essential protection and affirmation of the rights of persons with disabilities to choose independent living and to be provided the home and community-based services that make it possible.
What is Required Under The Disability Integration Act (S.910, H.R.2472), introduced by Senator Schumer (D-NY)?:
clarifying that every individual who is eligible for LTSS has a federally protected right to a real choice in how they receive services and supports;
assuring that states and other LTSS insurance providers deliver services in a manner
that allows disabled individuals to live in the most integrated setting, have maximum
control over their services and supports, and lead an independent life;
requiring public entities to address the need for affordable, accessible, integrated
housing that is independent of service delivery; and establishing stronger,
targeted enforcement mechanisms.
Hearseeno 