Category: Justice

Jefferson’s Democracy

.Reading time 2 minutes.

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Democracy before decency…
Jefferson’s greatest deed
Sealed in the American creed that
“All men are created equal”
Too often holds these truths to be self-evident:
That “men” exclusively means “male”
And “equal” is only painted from the palette of white skin
And being “created” is synonymous with
an individual right to material wealth.

Democracy before decency…
Jefferson’s “gradual abolition”
Evolved into the prolapse of civil rights
Where what is most basic became most rare
A moral inversion secured in place by law
An ethical hesitation justified by greed
An excuse later celebrated under the blazing lynching tree
Where assumptions of dominance
Were seared into the genetic memories
Of both the “dis” and the “en” franchised class.

Democracy before decency…
Jefferson’s assumptions are
Captured today in words that
Dribble off the lips of those
Who see “both sides” of racial hatred
And try to “defend” free speech and First Amendment rights
To maintain the same status quo that birthed the horrors of
Slavery, genocide, colonial sexual servitude
And the posture that denies its paternity to the progeny called
Holocaust.

Democracy before decency,
Pride before dignity,
Profit before prophetic,
“We” before “all”,
Process before people…
This is history repeating
And failing over and over
and over.

There is no democracy
If the truth of decency makes a mockery of humanity;
There is no democracy
When civil rights are based on moral wrongs;
There is no democracy
In free speech that secures the end of a noose;
There is no democracy that un-sees, un-hears…
That too easily forgets.
There is no democracy in rape.

Mr. Jefferson,
We have learned the hard way
That there can be no democracy
Without truly common human decency first.

– ALD

A message for @SenateDems & @HouseDemocrats

.Reading time 6 minutes.

I hope y’all read this because its 4:30am and frankly, I’d rather be asleep right now…

I woke up in the middle of the night burning with the following thought: Donald Trump is personally violating my constitutional rights. It came to me as I thought back to his petulant, bratty and terrifying (see the rise of Nazi Germany) performance in Phoenix this week. Call me biased, but start with looking at this list CNN put together of the 57 most outrageous quotes from that speech: Donald Trump’s 57 Most Outrageous Quotes…

Here’s another bit worth considering. Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution where the office of President of the United States is defined and outlined in its scope of power and obligations reads:

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:-“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” [1]

My sleepless night comes from how this oath, as sworn to by the 45th president and when considered alongside at least 50 of those 57 most outrageous quotes from CNN, doesn’t quite match up with this little gem from the most talked about element of the Constitution today (see bold):

AMENDMENT I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [2]

The first thing to note here is that the First Amendment is entirely the jurisdiction of Congress. It is Congress’ obligation to protect and define the laws established in the Constitution and that includes the First Amendment. In fact, any casual student of the Constitution (I would qualify as one) can see that the founding fathers gave most of the power to Congress because the House and Senate actually represent the people. The Executive, cannot and DOES not function without the power of Congress…that was the whole point of the legislative structure. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have failed the American people in maintaining this essential balance of power in our government as the majority party leaders of both houses…but that’s another blog post.

My primary point is that Donald Trump has leveraged his “celebrity” and his power as president to completely undermine our constitutional right to freedom of the press. Every time he speaks of “fake news” or “fake media” he takes his office and actively uses it to damage the integrity of something that is very clearly protected in the US Constitution.

We do not live in a dictatorship, where the government controls our access to information. Despite the influence of wealthy individuals and power hungry corporations, one of the basic premises of US government is the free flow of information and even Rupert Murdoch understands that. Donald Trump, overriding the power of Congress, is actively and intentionally blockading that flow of information from the press by creating an atmosphere of doubt and suspicion and he has managed to master the art of curtailing, perverting and twisting the information generated by the free press into a sickening, poisonous and judging by Charlottesville, lethal brew.

If we are to have any hope at all of eradicating this disastrous virus of lies from our highest elected office, I say we need to look at and actually use the Constitution that is meant to serve as both his job description and his watchdog. I am calling on you, our elected officials to demand that Trump either end his war on the press (which, if it could be defined as a war would be full on treason…see Article III section 3) or to seek his removal from office for not adhering to his sworn oath. If you who we have put in office are not willing to do so, than folks, the People of the United States must to bring suit against Donald J. Trump for being denied free speech and access to a free press, and yes, we have the tools in the Constitution to do that as well.

See you in court.

Ways to Sue if Your Constutional Rights are Violated

[1] – http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2014/09/3-potential-ways-to-sue-if-your-constitutional-rights-are-violated.html

[2] – Ibid.