The war against truth continues: thismodernworld.com/SPARKYSLIST/...

YouTube video by The Oregonian Federal agent sprays nonviolent Portland protesters at ICE facility

"I used to get arrested for sh*t like this. Now I get a $50,000 signing bonus". www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e4N...

...Or maybe 3 or 4: archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes....

Cat Stevens postpones tour, set to begin this week in Philly, over visa issues The British singer, also known as Yusuf, was scheduled to play shows in seven U.S. and Canadian cities in support of his memoir.

He appears to have taken a step or two off the peace train since his conversion: www.phillyvoice.com/cat-stevens-.... I hope he's found his way firmly back on it.

Someone quoted this song and I had to find the whole lyric: celebratingphilochs.com/heres-to-the.... Remind you of any modern figure, only more so?

Now you just might think that I’m thinking too much,
That I’m off in my head that I’ve grown out of touch,
Because sometimes a word keeps me up at night,
Like it’s giving a test, like it’s starting a fight.

Is “woke” just a tower from which I can fire?
Is it bringing us down? Is it taking us higher?
Is ”love” just a word I’m reciting to you?
How does it show in the things that I do?

“History”’s a word that I heard in my youth.
Is it tainted by lies? Is it seeking the truth?
Is “peace” something sweet on the tip of my tongue?
Is it something I live, makes it worth getting hung?

Sometimes a word keeps me up at night,
Like it’s giving a test, like it’s starting a fight.

My uncles served in WWII. One on the front lines in some of the worst battles, the other patching up soldiers at field hospitals. I honor their sacrifice and decency as human beings. Right wing American politics with its hypocritical praise, does nothing but dishonor them and all they fought for.

The "Big Budget Bomb" will destroy a lot in it's path. If just 4 Republicans vote "no" it fails. If you live in a State listed below, or can reach out someone who does, let's call these Senators!
Wisconsin
Kentucky
Alaska
Maine
Missouri
Arkansas
North Dakota
North Carolina
Utah
Kansas

How did George Floyd's murder change policing and criminal justice? Three leaders reflect Five years after George Floyd's death, NPR's Michel Martin took a trip to Minneapolis and spoke to the city's mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison and national civil rights attor...

Reflections on George Floyd from Minneapolis: www.npr.org/2025/05/23/n...

It is important “to maintain a fair and just society with a strong rule of law at a time when many are more concerned with safety and a measure of vengeance.” --Reagan appointed Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show The Emergency Is Here | The Ezra Klein Show

Take 12 minutes of your time to hear this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JN1o..., then do whatever you can to resist.

There's a "home-grown criminal" in the White House!

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials One town's strange journey from paranoia to pardon

When they use the word "witchhunt", keep in mind that fundamentalist Christians brought us the real ones. www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-br...

The University President Willing to Fight Trump Podcast Episode · The Daily · 04/09/2025 · 39m

If you believe in free speech and the global leadership of our universities this is a fight worth having: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

...And Putin has probably made it profitable for him personally!

Thousands in PNW march in anti-Trump ‘Hands Off’ rally Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk plan to rally across the U.S. on Saturday to protest the administration’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights a…

Portland showed up! www.koin.com/news/protest...

Coming TOMORROW to a town near you! Really! Get it off your chest! HANDS OFF! protest. Details: thehill.com/homenews/adm...

Twenty Lessons, read by John Lithgow Key selections from On Tyranny, for viewing and sharing

To review: snyder.substack.com/p/twenty-les...

A quote by Thurgood Marshall We cannot play ostrich. Democracy just cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to...

In her victory speech new Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Susan Crawford included this choice quotation: www.goodreads.com/quotes/81770...

YouTube video by Sony Pictures Classics THE PENGUIN LESSONS | Official Trailer (2025)

A movie for the times and my favorite of the year during our epidemic of indifference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdjE.... Great art triggers emotions. What does what you're afraid to feel cost you? You'll laugh and cry. See how animals cultivate our empathy and the power and limitations of words.

Just in case you're still in "wait and see" mode: thismodernworld.com/SPARKYSLIST/...

How empathy came to be seen as a weakness in conservative circles There's a growing movement, among some conservatives, pushing back against traditional notions of empathy. What's behind it, and what might it mean, especially for Christian conservatives?

Claiming the moral high ground for indifference: www.npr.org/2025/03/22/n...

Good time to follow Erica Chenoweth

YouTube video by Phrank Trappa Zappa on Pat Robertson, religion and the Right Wing

Frank the Prophet: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBW...

Totally. A "yes" vote makes Dems look weak. They don't need to accept blame. A great argument for a "no" vote on "The Last Word" tonight from Sens. Merkley and Smith. The vote is tomorrow! Call your senators to support or rebuke them, as applies!

Sens. Schumer (NY) and Fetterman (PA) are going to vote "yes". Call to give 'em hell!

Sens. Warner (VA) and Hickenlooper (CO) are showing courage in voting "no", though they're up for re-election. Call to support them or call your friends who live in those states to do so.