The Weekly Watch

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Lines Written In Early Spring
William Wordsworth

I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.

The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:---
But the least motion which they made,
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.

If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature's holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?

Spring has come early here on the mountain and valley. Flowers are blooming a month or so early. I've been focusing on enjoying the moment rather than fearing the future (and what summer may bring)...although there may be much to fear. The T-rump hysteria remains full blast while they quietly install the corporate will and ratchet up hate against the first nations, immigrants, Muslims, and Jews. And add a few more nukes to the recipe while we're at it.

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But are we seeing an American Spring? All the blow back is pretty amazing...from congress critters town hall meetings to DAPL to divesting to marches. People are standing up against the corporate monster (or at least that's what I hope they are standing against). Check out all these efforts... https://www.resistancecalendar.org/

This is fun...Angry Town Halls from the Real News (8 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTOTrsE5A8

Marco Rubio cancels his town hall meeting and Jimmy Dore takes him to task (11 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5vABnQeIhk

Marco wasn't the only one to cancel his town hall, but don't worry they're managing to get together with their donors
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/town-hall-meeting/

Son of a Mitch McConnell gets an ear full too (8 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuW_K2TVI-0

Nice interview with Ralph Nader by Tavis on building a resistance (25 min)
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/consumer-advocate-ralph-n...

A public City Council meeting in Portland was disrupted by activists demanding the resignation of Mayor Ted Wheeler, Wednesday. (2 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAvi5_P6tsk

The so-called protesters prove to be real
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/22/sorry-mr-president-theres-no...

Are T-rump supporters waking up? Strikers at Momentive, a New York chemical plant partially owned by Donald Trump’s billionaire ‘jobs czar’ Stephen Schwarzman, had been hoping for a better deal under Trump. (5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpnrB3cy2gw

Monday was “not my president” day marches (6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcwtQVnDfWM

A town hall held by Democrats Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52) and Rep. Susan Davis (CA-53), were asked tough questions by constituents about the Democrats' failures. (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYMA9UTmq2Q

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And speaking of failures by Democraps...
Newly elected DNC chair Tom Perez and Deputy Chair Keith Ellison discuss their plans for the DNC. (8 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4CDBgZlzEA

It appears that the underlying reason some Democrats prefer Perez over Ellison has nothing to do with ideology, but rather his loyalty to the Obama wing.
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/key-question-about-dnc-race-why-did-...

And a real hero
W.E.B. Dubois Pioneer of Civil Rights and Anti-Colonialist Struggle (1 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbgmCMyNSNE

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What does Standing Rock show the world? (1.5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOrgD2OhyLM

An emotional closing prayer in front of the sacred fire at Oceti Sakowin camp (4 min)
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/25/video-a-closing-prayer-for-standing-...

LaDonna Brave Bull Allard and Linda Black Elk discuss Standing Rock (15 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQuH5Zlq8bs

Chase Iron Eyes Dispels FALSE DAPL Media Narratives with jordan on TYT politics (13 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuByG3AHUg
Democrats silent about DAPL. Jordan and Chase Iron Eyes (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oqQPIGw63c

Jordan reports drilling is complete (and was probably done illegaly) – 20 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6ny98Oyo_o

Independent journalist Jihan Hafiz says Standing Rock Faces Media Blackout During Militarized Operation to Clear Camps (2 parts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaczZkHK6rs (7 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfQcaULra0Q (10 min)

Even if oil ultimately begins to flow through the pipeline, the movement has learned how to resist corporations’ endless money and political influence, says journalist Desiree Kane (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSWwXBdyuCs

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So what about T-rump?
The liar in chief falsely accuses Sweden of problems – What problems? (14 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFr62qf3TLI

Bill Moyers on how Scott Pruitt will destroy the EPA (8 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouBH-kjUsQ8

Newly Released Emails Reveal Pruitt’s Connections with Koch Brothers (19 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suqLgsZdR7E

White House strategist Steve Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus sat down at CPAC for what appeared to viewers as a kind of victory rally for Donald Trump and his administration. (6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMbG0t_jtuM

Steve Bannon said the Trump cabinet was working for the "deconstruction of the administrative state"
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/02/23/bannon-heralds-deconstructio...

What is a tax credit program for education, and why is it just another name for vouchers?
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/trump-and-devos-have-a-deceptive-...

Deep state hiding in plain sight. Good interview with Bill Moyers and Mike Lofgren, a congressional staff member for 28 years. (16 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYS647HTgks

Spread the Hate
Immigrant deportations on steriods...University of Michigan Law School professor Margo Schlanger, who served as the head of civil rights and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security, and Cesar Vargas, co-director of DREAM Action Coalition and New York state’s first openly undocumented attorney discuss the situation (17 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooph2IW1QYo

A friend's daughter has kids that go to the Jewish community school in Birmingham. It was one of the ones that received a bomb threat this week. She asked, “what have we become?” I liked the answer in the second clip below....America is the Muslim community that raised $60000 to restore the vandalized Jewish cemetery in Missouri and the Jewish Synagogue in Texas that offered the use of their temple to the Muslim community that had their Mosque burnt down. That's the real America not T-rumps vision of division and hatred.

Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect and Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty law Center discuss the T-rump hate message
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oYL-OtvYMs (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIBHwqwjiMk (3 min)

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Controlling the media
Assault the arts – keeping people ignorant helps maintain power. Chris Hedges and theater director and writer JoAnne Akalaitis. (27 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQnmNJqMH6Q

A man interviewed by Bill O’Reilly of Fox News this week, who was identified in an on-screen caption as a “Swedish Defense and National Security Advisor,” turns out to be entirely unknown in his native country, with no connections to either the nation’s defense or security services.
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/25/fox-news-interview-fake-expert-swede...

CBS Moonves is back as he celebrated the appointment of Trump’s new FCC chairman, former Verizon attorney Ajit Pai, calling him “very beneficial to our business.”
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/24/cbs-fcc-trump/

Media continues to misrepresent and ignore the news (4.3 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gW8Ls4ziFc

Glenn's article on lessons from Izzie Stone
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/23/the-increasingly-unhinged-russia-rhe...

Matt Kennard reviews the state of investigative journalism at a time when technology is shifting the traditional journalistic landscape (12 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqht8LBjYCQ

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Charity Oxfam International reports that 750 thousand civilians are still trapped in the western part of Mosul in dire conditions.Human rights groups have long been warning that civilians require more help than they are receiving. (6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFoH0lwDE4U

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Heiner Flassbeck tells Paul Jay that neither a high tariffs wall or neo-liberal free-trade will provide jobs and higher wages - but there are policies that will (17 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzDe-ZzfNek

Six white men own as much as half the world
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2017/02/20/morbid-inequality-now-just-...

No one can own the planet. Watch Earth live from the ISS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzMQza8xZCc

There is so much more. There will be marches across the country March 10th for the water protectors and noDAPL. http://grist.org/briefly/the-standing-rock-sioux-will-soon-march-on-wash... The science march is a month later https://www.marchforscience.com/, and a week later a climate and anti-war march https://peoplesclimate.org/

Perhaps it is the American spring, and that might very well be the silver lining to the T-rump administration. It's an open thread. Please chime in with your thoughts and stories below.

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