Category Archives: Politics

USA Not NRA

Here is another collection of images from that snowy day around the Iowa Capitol during the March for Our Lives Rally. I thought I would share the words from a pamphlet that a guy was handing out:

“The Second Amendment

A Sacred Covenant of Ethnic Cleansing and Slavery Between the Nation State and Settler Militias

There is a myth that has infiltrated the core of the American imagination. It is the belief that the Second Amendment is a result of the Revolutionary War, thus, a right to self-defense and to protect the country from any enemies that rise. It is also believed that if the government fails to protect its citizens, the citizens have the right to revolt. However, the historical context that led to the creation of the Second Amendment is actually based on the process of land annexation and the mitigation of local populations through assimilation, genocide or slavery–much of which took place at the point of a gun. The colonists that built this country ousted the British for many reasons, but fundamentally, ‘what colonists considered oppressive was any restriction that British authorities put on them in regard to obtaining land.’

The Second Amendment is actually a sacred religiopolitical covenant between the Nation State and the settlers of this continent that recognizes the fundamental ideology of land expansion through ethnic cleansing and slavery. It is nothing more than recognition that this cleansing and slavery. It is nothing more than recognition that this country was founded on the actions of generations of Europeans with a maniacal lust for Indian killing and the control of Black people. Men were expected to bear arms (at one point it was the law) in order to protect themselves, their families, the State and process of westward expansion. In essence, extreme violence was a god given right and an obligation of the average “citizen” that took on the singular role of a vigilante and that formed into small groups that cleared the way for the rise of the American government. The average citizen was a raider, a ranger, a frontiersmen, a marauder, a pirate and the average colony was a settler militia, an armed household, and a slave patrol.

The nation state did not create the Second Amendment to protect its citizens from invasion but to allow its citizens to invade. It is written permission to continue on with the doctrine of discovery, manifest destiny, westward expansion, i.e., the work of the white supremacist. As Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz writes, ‘The astronomical number of firearms owned by US civilians, with the Second Amendment considered a sacred mandate, is also intricately related to militaristic culture and white nationalism. The militias referred to in the second amendment were intended as a means for white people to eliminated Indigenous communities in order to take their land, and for slave patrols to control black people.’

The violent approach to Indigenous and Black populations is still practiced in current day American society. For instance, Native Americans have the highest police murder rate per ethnic group in the county and vast majority of these deaths are through the use of a firearm. According to the Center for Disease Control, ‘for every 1 million Native Americans, an average of 2.9 of them died annually from 1999 to 2015 as a result of legal intervention’. For the Black population the number is 2.6, for the Latinx it is 1.7, for Whites it is .9 and for Asians it is .6. This is a startling statistic because Native Americans only make up .9% of the population. However, these deaths are probably under reported just like the other epidemics that Native Americans face, such as missing and murdered women, abuse, rape, stalking, runaway children and violence committed by non-tribal members. According to Matthew Fletcher, director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center, ‘The data available likely does not capture all Native American deaths in police encounters due to people of mixed race and relatively large homeless population that is not on the grid.’

The notion that there is a rise in gun violence in this country is actually a misunderstanding of history. There was just a period of time in the late 19th and early 20th century where guns were not essential for the coercive control of brown people as the government had created reservation internment camps and implemented Jim Crow laws to segregate ‘problem populations’. However, the rise of the NRA, gun lobbying and the mass production of automatic weapons tied to a long held gun fetish in the American imagination has given white supremacists updated permission to dust off their ancestors weapon of choice and reenact the violence that this country was founded upon. America is a young country and lacks a distinct culture of its own, but one thing is certain–Americans covet their sacred right to free real estate, cheap labor and the gun, thus, the Second Amendment is but permission to steal, kill and dominate in order to fulfill this expectation.”

If nothing else, it is an interesting piece of reading and you can think it over while you are looking at this collection of pictures from the March for Our Lives rally:


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This guy spoke about losing his son to gun violence and the miracle of forgiving the person that killed his son.

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Remember these activists.

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Late birthday present ideas for me: A resist fist

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The gentleman that spoke about losing his son to gun violence had an incredible story. I wish I would’ve caught his name. He spoke about forgiving and then helping raise the kid that killed his son. He concluded his speech about how his son’s murderer (who was also his son’s friend) recently had a son of his own. That baby has a birthmark in the shape, size, and on the same part as his murdered son.

“Don’t let anybody ever tell you that miracles don’t exist.”

He concluded his speech.

The two high school girls I told you to remember, they gave the last speech before the marching started. Their speech was also very impressive. They talked about the fear and horror they felt when their school was thought to have an active shooter on campus. While it ended up being a false alarm, something clicked in them on that day and they decided to be more active in the political process.

They arranged a meeting and spoke with their U.S. Representative David Young.

Representative Young in a condescending tone, explained to them that while gun ownership was a right (a horrible misunderstanding of what is a “right”) and that voting was a privilege. Dismissing them because they were not old enough to vote.

They concluded with saying:

“Well David Young, we will be able to vote in November and it will be our PRIVILEGE to vote against you.”

Then they lead the marching.

Don’t worry, there are still plenty more March for Our Lives Rally photos in the hopper. Get pumped, or remain pumped.

Policy & Change

It is time for yet another rousing collection of photos from the March for Our Lives Rally that was in Des Moines on March 24.


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The last picture is of a kid pwning a NRA puppet. He was recording himself misrepresenting the positions and views of the people at the rally. Typical straw man stuff.

You know the NRA, right? The traitors that Russia used to funnel money into our election. From the Senate Judiciary Committee:


The Committee has obtained a number of documents that suggest the Kremlin used the National Rifle Association as a means of accessing and assisting Mr. Trump and his campaign. Two individuals involved in this effort appear to be Russian nationals Alexander Torshin and Maria Butina. Mr. Torshin is a Putin ally and the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia,125 and Ms. Butina served as his assistant. She also founded Right to Bear Arms, the Russian equivalent of the NRA, and started a business with former Trump supporter and adviser Paul Erickson. Both Mr. Torshin and Ms. Butina have longstanding ties to ex-NRA president, David Keene, and in 2013, hosted him in Russia for a pro-gun conference.


During the campaign, Mr. Torshin, Ms. Butina, and their intermediaries repeatedly offered the campaign back channels to Russia and relayed requests from President Putin to meet with Mr. Trump. The Kremlin may also have used the NRA to secretly fund Mr. Trump’s campaign. 128 The extent of Russia’s use of the NRA as an avenue for connecting with and potentially supporting the Trump campaign needs examination. Requests for documents and staff interviews have been sent to Ms. Butina, Mr. Erickson, and Mr. Keene, but they have refused to cooperate.

The NRA is under investigation for accepting illegal contributions from Russia by the Federal Election Commission, cause it is illegal to accept campaign contributions from a foreign government.

There are plenty more pictures from the rally coming your way in the coming weeks. Get pumped!

Skinhead Lesbian for Gun Control

In case you don’t follow politics closely, one of the leaders of the March for Our Lives Movement is Emma Gonzalez. She is a survivor of the Parkland shooting in February. She has a very short haircut. Her sexual orientation is none of our business.

You may remember her from her March for Our Lives Speech for its 6 Minutes of Silence. You can watch it by clicking on the link below:

Emma Gonzales March for Our Lives Speech

A Republican (surprise) candidate for the Maine State house named Leslie Gibson called her a skinhead lesbian because he doesn’t know what the terms “skinhead” or “lesbian” mean.

He also called David Hogg, another Parkland shooting survivor and leader of the March for Our Lives Movement, a “moron” and a “baldfaced liar”, because this is how he thinks adults should treat children who had 17 of their classmates murdered in front of them.

These comments (made on Twitter) by Leslie Gibson created a quick backlash against him. He had to end his candidacy. There is justice in this world, at times. Or as Martin Luther King Jr. put it much better than I*:

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

Amen.

You will see this unfortunate phrase tweeted by a bigoted politician in an attempt to demean a school shooting survivor in one of the pictures below. I want you to have it in the proper context.

Back on March 24, I went to the March for Our Lives Rally in Des Moines. Here is the beginning of what will become a wave of pictures from that event. Don’t worry, I will spread them out over the next few weeks.


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If you aren’t familiar with March for Our Lives, here is a copy of their Mission Statement:

Not one more. We cannot allow one more child to be shot at school. We cannot allow one more teacher to make a choice to jump in front of an assault rifle to save the lives of students. We cannot allow one more family to wait for a call or text that never comes. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives.

This is not just schools, though. This is churches, nightclubs, concerts, movie theaters, airports, and more. A child should not fear a bullet on their walk home. We may be children, but we are not fighting for just children. All lives are precious, and our country must make the safety of its citizens a number one priority.

March For Our Lives is created by, inspired by, and led by students of all ethnicities, religions, and sexualities across the country. We will no longer sit and wait for someone else to take action to stop the epidemic of mass shootings.
The mission and focus of March For Our Lives is assure that no special interest group or political agenda is more critical than timely passage of legislation to effectively address the gun violence issues that are rampant in our country. We demand morally-just leaders to rise up from both parties in order to ensure public safety.

Specifically, we are working towards…

1. Universal, comprehensive background checks
2. Bringing the ATF into the 21st century with a digitized, searchable database
3. Funds for the Center for Disease Control to research the gun violence epidemic in America
4. High-capacity magazine ban
5. Assault weapons ban

We came together on March 24th and through continued unity, we will save lives. We will not stop our advocacy until we see the change we demand – a change that is necessary in order to save innocent lives across our nation.

More pictures from the March will trickle out in the next few weeks.

*Martin Luther King Jr. was probably referencing a sermon by 19th century Unitarian minister Theodore Parker who wrote:

Look at the facts of the world. You see a continual and progressive triumph of the right. I do not pretend to understand the moral universe, the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways. I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. But from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.

Things refuse to be mismanaged long. Jefferson trembled when he thought of slavery and remembered that God is just. Ere long all America will tremble.

I’m Not Complaining, I’m Just Being Honest, I Promise That I Will Not Beg for Respect, No!

The world was not ready for these ROAD TRIP pictures on Monday. It is highly doubtful that the world is ready for these ROAD TRIP pictures now, but I can’t hold them back any longer.


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This is not an endorsement of Rick Young for Hardin County Supervisor, although he has a sweet website.

I took a little ROAD TRIP on Saturday on the way to Marshalltown to meet some fellow miners for supper. On the way there I decided to head north a little bit before heading east and to pursue some signs for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT.

I left Boone and went through the remains of Mackey. Took a few moments in Story City before heading north and spending quite a bit of time in the fascinating town of Randall. One of the fascinating things I found in Randall was the Dodge truck. I find it fascinating that on the hood ornament was the Star of David. I wonder when they took the religious symbol out of their marketing.

I looked into this and found the following:

1. The Dodge brothers were not Jewish. It is not a Star of David.
2. But nobody seems to know what it means. It might represent the Greek letter delta or it might be a masonic symbol or it might have to do with medieval mysticism.
3. It was not done to taunt Henry Ford, who was a noted anti-Semite as has often been theorized.
4. They symbol disappeared from Dodge cars when the 1939 model was introduced. Hmmm… what was going on in the world in 1939.
5. The Dodge brothers both died in 1920 as victims of the influenza epidemic of that year. They took the truth of the symbol with them to their graves.

Here endeth the lesson.

The small world picture is of Randall. From Randall I headed north. I stopped briefly at Little Wall Lake to take a couple of self-portraits. I also took a couple lake pictures, but they did not please me.

After Little Wall Lake, I spent a few minutes cruising Jewell. Just to the east of the Jewell town signing (heading north of 69) is the fascinating remains of the animal sculptures. They’ve sadly fallen into a degree of disrepair. I could analyze this piece of of art for days.

It feels like the kind of tableau that should be in any respectable roadside curiosity book about the great Cyclone State!

There are a few more images from this ROAD TRIP in the hopper. You’re welcome America!

Women’s March Vol. 2

Here are the balance of pictures from the 2018 Women’s March in Des Moines:


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Lin-Manuel Miranda would be proud.

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She is from South Africa

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I was supposed to meet Jen up there, but she got sick. I was supposed to meet Russell up there, but he was late. I was supposed to meet Sara up there, but she was late. But no big deal, you’d be surprised how many friends you can make while wearing a Pussyhat.

I’m planning on checking out the March for Our Lives next Saturday with Suzie. I have faith that she will make it.

That Last Album Was Heavy, That Last Album Was Gritty, How You Gon’ Match That?

The world wasn’t ready for these LOW PERSPECTIVE pictures on Monday. I’m not sure the world is ready for them now. But I can’t hold them back any longer:


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Most of these pictures were taken in Memphis. Others were taken in my backyard. One was taken in my kitchen.

You’re welcome world.

#Methodists2Houston

I wanted to start today’s entry into An Artist’s Notebook by thanking Alabama for not sending a serial pedophile to the Senate.

Thank you Alabama for not sending a serial pedophile to the Senate.
Thank you Alabama for not sending a serial pedophile that thinks that homosexuality should be a crime and compared it to bestiality to the Senate.
Thank you Alabama for not sending a serial pedophile that thinks that homosexuality should be a crime and compared it to bestiality and thinks that we should get rid of the amendments that freed the slaves, gave African-Americans the right to vote, gave women the right to vote, and outlaws voter suppression via taxes.
Thank you Alabama!

Now to the meat of this entry. On Sunday night we had our annual Christmas Play at the church. Before the play the youth group hosted a soup supper as a fundraiser for the mission trip to Houston. Here are a few photos from that event:


Soup Supper Fundraiser

Soup Supper Fundraiser

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Soup Supper Fundraiser

Soup Supper Fundraiser

Thank you to everybody that came out and supported the youth group mission trip and donated the fat stacks of cash!