Open Thread - 03-03-23 - Unalienable Rights

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Remember that? I had to memorize the Declaration of Independence back in grade school. Then I had to recite it in full in front of the class. We all did, I bet you did too. I wonder if that is still taught in school today? Or has the Declaration of Independence been censored too.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were meant to be unalienable rights, I used the word "were" because I don't know if they are still tenable or not. As far as that goes I'm not sure that "rights" are a thing anymore either. Unalienable rights are kind of a quaint notion in light of how quickly the world has changed in just a few short years don't you think?

Unalienable rights are rights that, no matter what happens, may never be taken away from an individual. As long as you toe the line, an arbitrary line at that.

life-liberty-pursuit-of-happiness.png

I've believed in the notion of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness all of my life. Yeah, I know, some people may call me a dreamer. Maybe my whole life has been a dream, it feels like it sometimes, even more today with all that has happened.

That Thomas Jefferson guy, I wonder what he would think about the world today? About how the ideals that he and his contemporaries fought and died for have faded. Back then the tyranny came from across an ocean, it seems like it's everywhere nowadays.

This nation was built upon the idea of freedom from tyranny, and human rights. What a noble notion.

Scratch that thought about that Thomas Jefferson guy, Mr. Jefferson has already told us what he would think of our present situation. I bet he'd be even more pissed off than he was back then. He'd probably be more pissed off at us for letting it slip away.

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TheOtherMaven's picture

On leaving the Congressional Convention, he was asked what form of government had been created, He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

As for Tom Paine, he would just sigh and say "Here we go again" (or words to that effect).

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13 users have voted.

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

thanatokephaloides's picture

@TheOtherMaven

Ben Franklin would be disappointed, but not surprised

On leaving the Congressional Convention, he was asked what form of government had been created, He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

As for Tom Paine, he would just sigh and say "Here we go again" (or words to that effect).

And the Preacher (Qoheleth) from the Jewish book of Ecclesiastes would answer:

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

Jewish Scriptures, Ecclesiastes 1 source

As long as humans hold authority over other humans, and greedheads yet exist, said greedheads will buy their way into the authority power. There is no new thing under the sun.

And yes, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. Sad

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

I'm running on empty this morning.

As is the the country I used to know.

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usefewersyllables's picture

@JtC

with you. It is hard to stay positive on *any* aspect of life, right now.

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10 users have voted.

Twice bitten, permanently shy.

They are still there. What I think we lost is the basic premise behind that declaration:

All men are created equal.

At this point it's the equality part that we've lost. Some men (and corporations) are more equal than others.

I think that it's the common law we lost. Oh, and manners and respect for the dignity of others.

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12 users have voted.

@exindy indirectly causes a diminution of rights.
If laws are enforced to favor a group or class, and nobody but that group or class, then all non-members have suffered a loss of guaranteed rights. This is common today. sentence
Banksters and Big Pharma commit crimes, such as fraud, theft, and pay fines. They are run by CEOS who never suffer a day in jail, or a personal fine. The corporation pays.
As an individual, don't try it. Not only will you face a prison sentence, you stand to have everything you own seized and forfeited to government. Don't expect Pfizer's assets to be seized. It has been found guilty and paid record fines several times, and it is still going strong.
Smart Cities will curtail our freedom and guaranteed rights in so many ways, they strike me as pogroms.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

I'll catch up this afternoon.

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karl pearson's picture

As bad as things look today, I feel we will fly again. Other countries will see to it. We are all interconnected, regardless of artificial blocks, borders, or divisions.

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@karl pearson

Another one at ya'

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dystopian's picture

from Texas with love...

tryin' to see if I am capable of following our fearless leaders instructions... I gotta get to work and can't hang as usual... but maybe this is a picker-upper... Wink

I've Been Everywhere Man (in Texas) - Brian Burns

I love the asides he throws in, like after Bridge City 'what a pity'! ROFLMAO! I have been just about everywhere mentioned. Spent much of 85-89 as a traveling salesman (you'd never guess I have awesome bird ties, in the closet for 30 years) just in Texas, probably did at least 150 of Texas' 250+ counties. I've been everywhere man, drove my tires bare man...

The Beer Song - (I drank lots of beer man) - Doug Moreland

I drank most of these beers too, but why put Keystone in a song? Great how he mentions Wicked Ale, which is a Shiner IPA and awesome, and after he says the name, he says 'wicked'. Yeah man, wicked.

I gotta fly to work, have a great day all!

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

soryang's picture

@dystopian Thanks for posting this tune. I had never heard it, except for once some years ago when a good friend sang the refrain to me. Brought back some good memories.

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語必忠信 行必正直

@dystopian in Tanzania, but can't remember the name. Guess if I go back, I will remember the label on the bottle...
Great music! Thanks for posting them!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

@dystopian And thanks for the Brian Burns tune. I've heard that song a few times but never in a setting that I could pay attention to all the places. I've been to a lot of those places. And, unfortunately, and not surprisingly, he left out Peachcreek, TX. Wink

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ggersh's picture

it's coming this way, the fascists at this point in time
can't be stopped.

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14 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

soryang's picture

@ggersh

Florida bill would require bloggers who write about governor to register with the state
by: Sam Sachs Mar 2

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines.

Brodeur’s proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.

In the bill, Brodeur wrote that those who write “an article, a story, or a series of stories,” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and receives or will receive payment for doing so, must register with state offices within five days after the publication of an article that mentions an elected state official.

https://www.wfla.com/news/politics/florida-bill-would-require-bloggers-w...

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語必忠信 行必正直

@soryang

If you write about an elected official, and you get 5 cents, if you don't apply for a
permit, you are breaking a 'new' law.

Freedom of speech has found a monetizing dimension.
Rates right up there with corporations have peoples' rights.

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ggersh's picture

@soryang @soryang but here we are. Can we the public fine them for
sending out fund raising letters?

Does blogging include Twitter?

https://www.azerbaycan24.com/en/twitter-received-state-sponsored-blackli...

EDIT: Adding this twitter link, america is the biggest perpetrator of misinformation

https://www.reddit.com/r/WayOfTheBern/comments/11h41e8/medical_science_e...

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11 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

I've seen it mentioned that a right exists only if it can be enforced.

Do people have a right to clean water, clean air, housing, food and medical care? Can they enforce those rights? If not, it may be like that apochryphal story where some officer is telling Hitler something about the Pope objecting to some recent German action. The reply was "how many tank divisions does the Pope have?"

Did Occupy Wall Street have a "right" to peaceful assembly? It looks like someone decided they didn't, no matter what the protesters might have thought.

It seems like when talking about what rights you have, you need to ask yourself the Dirty Harry question: "Do ya feel lucky, punk?" If you don't feel too lucky, you may want to cross that right off the ever shrinking list of "things that I have a right to do/have".

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13 users have voted.

reclaiming some of our basic rights by putting a firm check on the power of Scotus to decide on vital policy issues where their decision making is driven so clearly by RW ideology. Take away that power, leave them with only the very narrow group of matters to resolve (interstate conflicts, ambassadors) enumerated in the Con. Congress can act on its own to make these reforms reality; no Con amendment needed. This radical change would at least put the people more in charge of important policy matters, rather than an unelected, unaccountable group enjoying lifetime positions, and the range of possible policy issues enacted, rights expanded, would be considerably broader (legislation re free speech/campaign contributions for instance) with the power of Scotus to review being eliminated or severely curtailed.

Obviously this would be too bold a stroke for most of the timid Ds in Congress who would worry about a majority in Congress taking away rights, and most Rs would oppose it as they currently like the outcomes produced by the conservative majority on Scotus. But the voters would have a chance to keep Congress honest; whereas they have no power over lifetime Scotus justices who just make things up to arrive at preordained conclusions. A serious grassroots campaign is needed to encourage Congress to support such reform.

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@wokkamile

Like POTUS. Every 4 years, but balloting and appointing offset 2 years from presidential
elections. Level the bench.

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8 users have voted.

@QMS for Scotus is one approach, a more modest one compared to my radical idea, yet it would be one small step in the right direction. But you would still have the major problem of Scotus stepping in egregiously to make major policy decisions for the country, making things up in constitutional jurisprudence, putting a slick gloss on the process all of which really is nothing more than a purely politically-driven process by politically motivated, unaccountable justices.

Term limits for Scotus usually involve the idea of limiting justices to a 14-18 yr term on the high Court, then they have the option to serve as Senior Justice on a lower federal circuit court. Term limits would also involve a process that eventually results in a vacancy occurring every 2 yrs, so in a single presidential term there would regularly be two seats on the Court to fill, taking a lot of the politics out of the process.

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@wokkamile By enumerated in the constitution, do you imply originalism? I believe that is a RW ideology.

The next problem we face is that people are complex. On some issues they might lean toward conservatism (RW) and then on others they might lean toward WTF the opposite of RW is. At this point I have no idea. That concept of democrats being the opposite of repubs is pretty quaint at this point.

The situation we have today in this country is one that I believe was enshrined in the interpretation of the constitution in the late 1890s. That the treatment of corporations has some resemblance to human rights. And then the race was on. Hey, if somewhat is good, lots got to be better.

The next biggy is the Citizens United stuff... the dogwhistle to get the "lib" base fired up and then immediately abandoned as soon as the checks rolled in.

There is no red team, blue team. Both have been bought off. Money is speech.

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@exindy understood or practiced today by the RW, where original founder intents are divined by a group of ideologues intent on reaching a certain result. By "enumerated" I just mean what is explicitly stated in the Con. Here's the relevant info, US Con Art 3 sec 2 cl 2: In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make.

Iow, there are only TWO areas where Scotus is the only court which can hear a case -- those involving disputes between states, and cases involving ambassadors. I'm suggesting Congress limit Scotus to hearing only those cases, and nothing else. Note that the Exceptions clause explicitly allows congress to strictly limit what cases Scotus can hear beyond those 2 areas.

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7 users have voted.

liked this one;

edit to add thanks for the simplified instructions
on how to post videos easily

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6 users have voted.

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

@Tall Bald and Ugly

first time heard it
thanks!

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@QMS Annie and Dave just up the road from you at Great Woods/Tweeter Center/ whateverthefucktheyrecallingitnow back in the mid eighties

Top ten shoe in every way imaginable

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3 users have voted.

Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

enhydra lutris's picture

in the morning, or at any other time for that matter. Each human possesses an unenumerated quantity of unalienable rights of which life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are but three. A great harangue to base armed revolution on, even if not intended to apply to the real world.

Unalienable = not capable of being alienated; cannot be transferred, bought or sold, taken away, given away, donated, or even abandoned. Hence there could not ever be, in those 13 colonies at any rate, not merely slaves, but indentured servants, no captives in time of war nor prisoners in time of peace. Ah well, it sounds good, don't it?

And then the Bill of Rights enumerated some more while stipulating that the enumeration of some did not imply the lack of others. They've been whittled down to nothing, but they sound nice.

Hmmmm--

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

So, time to enumerate the original could sere as a start so long as one appropriately substitutes "The oligarchs and their minions" for stuff like "he", or perhaps not so much. Anyway, pens to paper, folks

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris

Donetsk, Luhansk, and Crimea, could have said in declaring their independence what our founding fathers said:

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
...
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: ...

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands...

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enhydra lutris's picture

@Linda Wood

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

snoopydawg's picture

.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were meant to be unalienable rights, I used the word "were" because I don't know if they are still tenable or not. As far as that goes I'm not sure that "rights" are a thing anymore either.

I read yesterday that Obama declared a national emergency after Crimea voted to rejoin Russia and Biden just reauthorized it for another year. Plus don’t forget that Obama rescinded habeas corpus and if you don’t have that right you are not free. This authorization gives Biden power that allows him to suspend any right he chooses. And one is he can freeze your bank account…

The FISA bill that allows any government agency to spy on us has been re-upped every year since. Biden is asking congress to do it again.

Executive order 13603

90B01354-708B-400D-B5B6-AA749A280023.jpeg

During Bush the idiot every government agency bought millions of rounds of ammunition and you gotta wonder what the government is planning on doing with it. IRS, SSA, and other agencies that have nothing to do with homeland security are armed to the gills. Biden said good luck with your AR-15 when they go against military jets. I’m betting that drones will be used against us one day.

34D40E15-8148-479F-9939-CDCA5CC2F91A.jpeg
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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

Defense Production Act of 1950; Public Law 81-774

be well and have a good one

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4 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

earthling1's picture

has alien in it, so we must build a wall and pass some laws to stop it.
S/

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

What About Me?
Song by Quicksilver Messenger Service

You poisoned my sweet water.
You cut down my green trees.
The food you fed my children
Was the cause of their disease.
My world is slowly fallin' down
And the airs not good to breathe.
And those of us who care enough,
We have to do something.......
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Your newspapers,
They just put you on.
They never tell you
The whole story.
They just put your
Young ideas down.
I was wonderin' could this be the end
Of your pride and glory?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
I work in your factory.
I study in your schools.
I fill your penitentiaries.
And your military too!
And I feel the future trembling,
As the word is passed around.
"If you stand up for what you do believe,
Be prepared to be shot down."
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
And I feel like a stranger
In the land where I was born
And I live like an outlaw.
An' I'm always on the run...
An I'm always getting busted
And I got to take a stand....
I believe the revolution
Must be mighty close at hand...
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
I smoke marijuana
But I can't get behind your wars.
And most of what I do believe
Is against most of your laws
I'm a fugitive from injustice
But I'm goin' to be free.
Cause your rules and regulations
They don't do the thing for me
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
Oh... oh What you gonna do about me?
And I feel like a stranger
In the land where I was born
And I live just like an outlaw.
An' I'm always on the run.

I was still in high school, when I saw Quicksilver perform this passionate song in concert in Dallas. It is easy to forget how the Empire conducted itself all along. I still feel like a stranger in the land where I was born,

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9 users have voted.

I cried when I wrote this song. Sue me if I play too long.

@fire with fire

when I posted this song
this should be our national anthem
played before every game and
taught to school children

thanks for the lyrics

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4 users have voted.
snoopydawg's picture

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5 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

snoopydawg's picture

This is a 2014 WHO commercial. It talks about creating a vaccine passport way back then which goes to show how long the parasites have been planning their takeover of the world.

But maybe there is hope:

In Tennessee, Rep. Bud Hulsey (R) introduced a bill (HB 726) that would involve the people, all branches of the state government, and the county governments in constitutional interpretation affecting vital policies when they believe the federal government is clearly wrong. Either the governor may issue an executive order declaring the federal policy void; any member of the legislature can trigger a floor debate and vote to nullify the policy; a state court may declare said policy unconstitutional if it arises during the course of a legitimate case or controversy; any combination of 10 local governing authorities – either through their respective executives or legislative branches – may submit a petition for nullification that triggers a vote in the legislature; and any group of 2,000 registered Tennessee voters may submit a similar petition triggering an automatic legislative vote on nullification.

SECTION 6: It is declared that federal laws, federal executive actions, and federal court opinions must comply with the jurisdictional limitations of the United States Constitution. It is further declared that any federal action outside the enumerated powers set forth in the United States Constitution are in violation of the peace and safety of the people of this state, and therefore, said acts are declared void and must be resisted.

Comment from Katherine:

Reader asked, by email, what the nullification process could look like in other states.

My response:

Uncharted waters.

The Tennessee law is based on the Tennessee state constitution, and the provisions of the US Constitution that lay out the relationships between federal and state power. Other states would need to look at their own state constitutions, and build their own bills around their state constitutions and the same parts of the US constitution cited in Tennessee.

The feds have been overstepping constitutional boundaries for a very, very, very long time. Back to the late 1700s, the bankers started chipping away.

What's different now is simply that so much unlawful power has accumulated in executive hands, and is being used for such obviously deadly purposes, that people are being directly, observably killed by the feds, through the illegitimate pseudo-laws, so states are finally starting to resist.

I should add, the last time states tried to stand up to the feds, Lincoln launched a war to suppress them.

Tennessee's action will push the feds toward having to make that decision again: whether to use overt military force (i.e. military force that isn't covert or hidden behind bioweapons and 'public health', which they've already been using since at least 1969) to try to quash what they will try to construe as rebellion, or allow the states and people to repossess usurped power.

It’s 20 years overdue and probably much longer, but if states will finally stand up to the unlawful rescission of the Constitution I’m all for this. Mike Lee runs on being an enforcer for freedom, but so far he’s been very lacking on actually doing anything about the unlawful laws that congress has been passing. Every time that the 702 bill has come up for reauthorization he should have been doing everything in his power to both bring attention to and block it from passing. Congress cannot give the government the power to abuse the constitution. I don’t think the founders stuttered! Congress shall make no law…. Just what came out of congress grilling the Twitter gurus for working with government agencies to stifle free speech! Nice show in my opinion and important information was seen and yet…..? Biden’s ministry of truth is still being formed. And how about the work around the government uses by letting foreign countries spy on us and then use their information?

JtC anyway to put a video in a certain area of the comment?

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8 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

enhydra lutris's picture

@snoopydawg

prepare column or comment up to that place: yadayadayada blah blah:
[here] if you wish, you can center the location "[here]"
paste embed code in locatiion "[here]"

To get embed code
1) right click youtube select "copy embed code" from drop down menu; done
2 below youtube, in control area select "share", in the pop-up in the youtube field, select embed at the bottom of the new popup to the right, select copy

be well and have a good one

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3 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Pluto's Republic's picture

...for US citizens or for anybody else.

Rather than moral principles, the US has a moral "Culture" — an elaborate fantasy narrative that justifies its aggressive self interest at the expense of other nations, such as the US theft of Syria's oil that is taking place right now. The US Moral Culture been consistent throughout the country's brief history. This means that International treaties and agreements are regularly betrayed by US Government deceit when a new administration is seated.

People in the US often list Human Right among the rights they believe they have, according to the Constitution. But, of course, the Constitution has no idea what a Human Right is, and the civil rights that are conveyed in the Constitution are regularly misunderstood, revised, or pointedly ignored.

The United States prides itself on being a champion of human rights. Since its founding, the United States has often identified its belief in inalienable rights as a trait that has differentiates it from other countries. The United States pioneered international human rights law when Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the precursor to many international human rights treaties. In the U.S. Department of State’s annual Human Rights Reports, it judges other countries’ human rights records. However, it is difficult to take U.S. commitment to human rights seriously when it regularly favors domestic political concerns over the international human rights community and continually demonstrates a unique reluctance to ratify international human rights treaties.

The United States is alone among other industrialized Western countries in its reluctance. It did not begin to ratify major human rights treaties until the late 1980s, taking almost 40 years to become the 98th country to ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It still has not ratified many significant human rights treaties, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights—part of the International Bill of Human Rights. The United States also has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), one of only seven countries who hasn’t including Iran, Nauru, Palau, Somalia, Sudan and Tonga. The United States and Somalia are the only countries that have not ratified Convention on the Rights of the Child.

When the United States does ratify treaties, it uses a unique process that diminishes the treaties’ intended effects. Before the treaty is voted on, Justice Department lawyers search the documents for human rights protections that are more stringent than, and therefore would add to, U.S. law. When found, the United States limits the scope of the treaty by drafting a reservation, declaration, or understanding (RUD) to combat it and sends the treaty, RUDs attached, to the Senate for ratification.

Read on to learn what drives US fear and arrogance about ratifying treaties.

— from the Global Justice Center, "U.S. Aversion to International Human Rights Treaties"
.

In the end, the US government's isolationist attitudes continue to damage the lives and deny the rights of the US population.

Refusing to ratify human rights treaties weakens U.S. international leadership and deprives American citizens of protections they deserve. The United States is willing to sign onto substantive trade agreements but not human rights agreements. The US may participate superficially with the international human rights community by posing for a "signing" photo-op. But treaties are not legally binding unless they are ratified by the Senate. Human Rights treaties are rarely sent to the senate.

Such cynical behavior reveals the longstanding priorities of the US to legally limit the human rights of its citizens, which are regularly violated in the US. Leaders and politicians in the US may point to a human rights treaty that was signed at the UN by the US Ambassador, and treat it as a symbolic affirmations of US values. Normally, these international Human Rights treaties established the legal foundation that would translate into human rights victories for the citizens of the signing countries. But this is not the case in the United States, where these treaties were never ratified by the Senate. Human Rights are not the rule of law inside the United States, and the US is not the human rights champion it has so long claimed to be.

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5 users have voted.

____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

a case from Arkansas. The Arkansas government prohibits all government contractors from supporting or in any way doing business with supporters engaging in BDS protest practices.
If state government can limit free speech on employees, then so can all businesses in the state.
Protesting is often restricted as to place of assembly.

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7 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

mimi's picture

You want rights be alienable? Yes, I would like them alienable. Who wants to live with rights you can't get rid off? Must be a bad joke.

Aliens, whom did you want to mess around with. Can't fool me. Thanks.

It is helpful to not understand the meaning of aliens and alienable. hmm ... I guess some alien has messed around with my mind. Sorry.

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smiley7's picture

The right to life is granted by the universal magic, it seems to me, and the right to be free is grounded in same magi, evolution; i wonder if the founders discussed their intent this way?

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@smiley7
good to see you are here
hope the back is better!

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outstanding commentary. This was one of those instances when it's best for me to bow out and leave it to the community to respond.

Thank you.

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