Often I wonder what the rightwing, religious members of my family think about Trump’s misogynist vulgarities & the foul language his minions use. His racism would come easy to some of them. Some of them don’t allow me into their homes & won’t even associate with me on Facebook because I’m a socialist. Actually I know the answer: they would find excuses for him because he opposes abortion. Shunning can be a liberation.

The White House is looking more & more like a Godfather operation. Hopefully the ruling elite who thought a Trump presidency a good idea will live to regret that he has not only exposed & discredited the FBI, CIA, Justice Department, US Congress, & Supreme Court but also the Boy Scouts–& that may not be a bad thing.

The history of the Boy Scouts is rooted in the twisted American psychological device of “playing Indian” to bury social anxiety about genocide. Appropriated Indian symbols & traditions are part of that. That still prevails in American culture with sports teams & military terminology. If American Indian history were taught in US public schools, this would all be exposed. US history, as taught, is a progression of presidents & magnates. Working people, Blacks, Indians, Latinos play no role at all. Ignorance is not a political virtue. That’s what libraries are for if schools fail us.

Scene of a “clash” between unarmed Palestinian worshippers fleeing from Israeli troops shooting off tear gas, stun grenades, live ammo, water cannons.

“Clash” joins the lexicon where civilian deaths are “collateral damage,” secret, paramilitary warfare is “low-intensity warfare,” & orchestrated campaigns of ethnic cleansing are “communal conflict.” Soon carpet bombing, occupation, & war will be called freedom struggles as the Assad dictatorship & Hands Off Syria Coalition claim & a US-imposed No Fly Zone will be a way to enforce peace & end carpet bombing by Syria & Russia (so the US can bomb civilians all by itself).

That’s why this is the era of post-truth truthiness & Putin, Assad, & Trump are called champions of human freedom by those moving to the right under the banner of socialism.

Continued occupation of Al Aqsa mosque compound: just hours after pulling out the metal detectors & surveillance cameras, this is what Palestinians faced when they returned to the mosque for Friday prayers today. Media said “clashes broke out” within the compound after several days of civil protests & violence from Palestinians & some pointed out that the form of protest was thousands of Palestinians praying every day outside the Noble Sanctuary.

They did not discuss how police & paramilitary forces have been attacking unarmed protesters engaged in prayer with tear gas, stun grenades, & water cannons all over East Jerusalem, not just outside the compound. They did not discuss the Palestinians killed nor the hundreds injured, including from gun shot wounds.

To post this photo with a headline “clashes broke out” is a mockery of journalism but that is exactly what media did. The Al Aqsa compound is a Muslim holy site & neither Jews nor Christians have any kind of claim to it historically or archaeologically that aren’t manufactured to justify colonialism. Pointing assault weapons & using tear gas & stun grenades on Palestinians who came to gather for Friday prayers is worse than a provocation; it is a desecration of a Palestinian sacred site, a denial of religious freedom, & the violent military occupation of the Noble Sanctuary.

Emergency protests in defense of Palestinians & Al Aqsa are more imperative than ever. The crisis is by no means over. This is a call to arms for all who believe in religious freedom, not just for those who believe in Palestinian self-determination.

(Photo from Anadolu)

Trump is clearly not all there & is otherwise engaged but the US continues to conduct several wars & is even shifting its policies in Syria. This is a real Wizard of Oz situation. If Trump isn’t the one responsible for this situation, we’ll have to find those who are & take them down.