Reverend Barber has been involved with human rights for as long as I can remember.

Poor and low wage workers (click here) gather in Washington, DC to make their voices heard at The Mass Poor People's & Low Wage Workers' Assembly & Moral March on Washington, DC and to the Polls. Originally broadcast on June 29th, 2024.

William Barber II (click here) is president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, which builds and supports moral movements for social change, and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call For Moral Revival. He’s a bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church and executive board member of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ. Barber is a professor in the practice of public theology and public policy at Yale Divinity School, where he’s founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy. Previously, he was president of the North Carolina NAACP and served on the national NAACP board. His most recent book is “White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy.”

"For whom the Bell Tolls" (click here)

There is a different approach to interpreting the USA Constitution as a living document rather than parchment and words.

The terms "strict constructionist" is always on the lips of the six Neanderthals' of the Supreme Court. Welcome, instead to "loose constructionism." It protects the interests of the individual which is the focus the founding fathers as they moved into the Revolutionary War.

Strict Constructionism is an afront to the founding fathers principles in leaving behind a king. Loose constructionism is the real world.

Loose constructionism (click here) is a legal and political philosophy that advocates for a broad interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, allowing for flexibility and adaptability to changing social and political contexts. This approach emphasizes the "living document" nature of the Constitution, suggesting it should be interpreted in light of current circumstances, not just the original intent of the framers. Loose constructionists believe the federal government has powers beyond those explicitly listed in the Constitution, especially when those powers are deemed necessary and proper for the nation's well-being.

Rucho vs, Common Cause

This is the decision that turned gerrymandering loose. This is what the court said that provided the spring board to call everything that comes before the Supreme Court politics. Of course, politics is the game that everyone in the USA plays, so why make sincere legal decisions when it is a game. So what if only the wealthy get what is needed. 

Rucho v. Common Cause, No. 18-422, 588 U.S. 684 (2019) is a landmark case of the United States Supreme Court concerning partisan gerrymandering. The Court ruled that while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles", the federal courts cannot review such allegations, as they present nonjusticiable political questions outside the jurisdiction of these courts.

...while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles"...

...while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles"...

...while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles"...

...while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles"...

In 2016, (click here) Common Cause filed a lawsuit in response to congressional districts drawn by the North Carolina legislature, calling the map a partisan gerrymander that violated the U.S. Constitution.

Partisan gerrymandering, or the act of creating electoral districts that favor one party over another, silences voters and robs them of the ability to elect the candidates of their choice.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled in 2019 that partisan gerrymanders cannot be challenged in federal court, Common Cause’s extensive work using the case to educate the public resulted in unprecedented nationwide attention on the need for redistricting reform.

In the wake of the decision, Common Cause is turning its attention to winning reforms in the states.

Trump is valued at $5.1 billion.

A New York appeals court said Trump’s civil liability for crimes he committed against others is too high at half a trillion US. The actual judgement is in the neighborhood of $350 million, but, because demands to finance it rather than pay it, the interest has increased that liability to over a half a billion U.S.

So, here again appears the racketeering and it worked with this court. He CHOOSE to finance the liability and not pay it. He knows full well he is using the Eighth Amendment of the USA to blind side an appeals court and the majority fell for it.

The actual cost of the liability is ONLY $350 million, not 30 percent more in interest rates. Trump is worth PLENTY and could pay the liability and go about life as usual ESPECIALLY considering he now lives in PUBLIC HOUSING with an enormous expense account, including OCO (Overseas Contingency Operations) funds.

Now, who is kidding who when it comes to the PROTECTION of the VICTIMS of Trump crimes? Even Trump’s legal costs are paid for by the people of the USA and other political allies and NOT his own funds. 

So, does the 8th Amendment to the USA constitution apply to a man valued at $5.1 billion?

HELL NO!

Where are the payments to victims AND that of the expenses of “the people” in his prosecution? 

What were Republicans thinking,

What are they thinking to move our democracy so very far right?

(Click here)

If one goes by Chuck Grassley, it seems as though even a string constitutionalist is brainwashed into the ideology Trump is determined to carry out.

Basically, Republicans are waiting for their oligarchies to be delivered. Americans are upset and getting more so as Trump is dismantling a long standing and strong democracy.

These effected Americans are from all political leanings, but, primarily Middle Class. Well, I tell you this, there are two classes within a communist country; the elite/ruling class and the abject poor. Now. Where does anyone think this democracy is heading given the fact the Republicans are attempting to rig the election of 2026? 

See, Trump has plans for his kingship. Literally, he is working for himself while using the power of the USA government. Our democracy is providing him the power to kill it, run the Middle Class into oblivion and rule by force as King. When I heard Grassley state someone was insulting Trump and therefore undesirable, it screamed brainwashing. I am serious.

How can any elected official to any government office simply turn their back on the people that elected him or her WHILE plotting against those very people? That is ruthlessness with an understanding there is a payoff to them personally.

That paradigm is racketeering and Trump has plotted against the people of this country since his first term. Racketeering was glamorized by the right wing press and a savior of the people was born. 

Trump does not want to leave the presidency. That is a fact. He is creating a King-dum everyday. He is making decisions and forcing loopholes to work for him in favor of his King-dum. He has a kingly aircraft as a gift from Arabia that CONGRESS has agreed to make Air Force One and PAY FOR IT as they tack on $4 Trillion in our national debt.

What does Trump’s King-dum look like? The all powerful Trump will use the power established by our democratic principles and Constitution to CREATE a group of countries, once at war, now growing in numbers to worship Trump. His peacemaking is possible because of the USA economy. Yet, he will cast the Middle Class into poverty to live high and mighty. The ALL POWERFUL Trump.

Well, Putin is giving him a taste of Russian medicine when he bombed a USA electronics factory in Ukraine. 

This is it. It is the American people vs. the Trump Oligarchy. What side are you on? 

(Click here)

NATO…

…may consider speaking to all the countries Trump has and is talking with as he builds an independent alliance. NATO may strengthen Trump’s burgeoning alliance by offering membership and trade relations.

There is a reason why weapon purchases from the USA is being offered. It makes each country stronger and able to stand on its own in a conventional war. Alliances are always a good idea, except, when it is Trump building his own.

This is a hopeful step forward, but,...

...there is another agenda behind this. The return of the Yanukovych regime. Better said, elections within Ukraine that will result in the return of corruption and a Russian regime as before the deaths at the Euromaidan or Maidan Uprising of November 21, 2013.

There are two consistent statements made about Ukraine within the Putin paradigm.

Trump, "How can there be this length of time without elections? You mean to tell me if I declare war there will be no elections in the USA?"

Putin, (paraphrase) "The devil is in the details." Basically, every time there is a ceasefire mentioned Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov states all the details need to be worked out before any consent for a ceasefire can occur. 

I know nothing more the entire Free World seeks than a global understanding that war is a fools errand. It creates more problems than it ever solves and in the Middle East it creates martyr brigades that pledge their lives for revenge. But, as to Ukraine, who would not want in their hearts of hearts an end to the carnage and disruption of global peace? The reason Ukraine disarmed in the first place was to end any chance of assault from powers on both of the governance divide. It wanted peace and prosperity that included trade with both sides. For that Ukraine received an occupation of Crimea and an invasion into Donbas and Russian support for rebels nurtured by communism. 

August 17, 2025
By Jill Covin

Russian leader Vladimir Putin (click here) agreed at his summit with President Donald Trump that the United States and its European allies could offer Ukraine a security guarantee resembling NATO’s collective defense mandate as part of an eventual deal to end the war, a U.S. official said Sunday.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, who took part in the talks Friday at a military base in Alaska, said it “was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that” and called it “game-changing.”

“We were able to win the following concession: that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO,” Witkoff told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff offered few details on how such an arrangement would work. But it appeared to be a major shift for Putin and could serve as a workaround to his deep-seated objection to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a step that Kyiv has long sought....

Putin doesn't have a choice but to seek such an agreement. Russia never stays true to it's agreements or treaties. There is a long history, especially with Ukraine, to that statement. I believe Putin needs to go forward with a peace agreement and not simply a strategic ceasefire. But, there also needs to be a great deal of detail that spells out clearly the country of Ukraine, the people of Ukraine can move against another regime like Yanukovych without any more deaths or threats to it's democracy. The details have to spell out clearly that Ukraine can not only have Article 5 protections, but, is guaranteed that Russia is getting out of Ukrainian business by allowing application to the EU and NATO (as all the other Post Soviet states) as well as a productive economic guarantee with Russia. Ukraine wanted to trade with Russia. Ukraine wanted to trade prosperity with Russia, not bullets and missiles. Ukraine was officially a neutral nation when Putin changed his mind about any and all agreements and treaties.

No more Russian corruption of elections, politics, or economic forums.

Freedom is freedom and not some sort of distorted elitist governance.

Oops. The leadership at the highest levels of USA government are rank amateurs.

The Alaskan summit was wrongly named. Is was not a summit, it was a meeting without structure to achieve a goal. It was a far lower level meeting attended by Putin and Trump. Nothing significant was going to come of it. 

I might add, this is the level of which Putin is used to in dealing with communists in his alliance. There is little detail when these meetings occur. Putin is more than happy to have men in leadership that don't have a clue about the best outcomes for the people, so much as dangling elitist priorities to ensure there is compliance with his directives. 

Trump fits the desirable Putin profile. He is an amateur and seeks to remove those from within the USA government that outranks him in knowledge of "how the world works." This is all part of the Putin paradigm he seeks. 

August 16, 2025

By Chiara Eisner

...During the summit Friday, (click here) lunch was apparently cancelled. But it was intended to be a simple, three-course meal, the documents showed. After a green salad, the world leaders would dine on filet mignon and halibut olympia. Crème brûlée would be served for dessert.

Jon Michaels, a professor of law at UCLA who lectures about national security, said that the documents found in the printer of the Alaskan hotel reveal a lapse in professional judgment in preparation for a high-stakes meeting.

"It strikes me as further evidence of the sloppiness and the incompetence of the administration," said Michaels. "You just don't leave things in printers. It's that simple."

The printed papers are the latest example of a series of security breaches by officials of the Trump administration. Earlier this week, members of a law enforcement group chat that included members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) added a random person to a conversation about an ongoing search for a convicted attempted murderer. In March, U.S. national security leaders accidentally included a journalist in a group chat about impending military strikes in Yemen.

Retired General Stanley McCrystal is calling Americans home.

I found this interaction between General McCrystal and John Stewart interesting (click here).

Maybe from a political perspective it was an error to say God did not create the USA, but, that isn't what all the documents Republican rely on to make those statements. The money of the USA states, "In God We Trust." The USA does not appear in the Bible, except perhaps Trump's edition of unreality. But, in fact this country was founded by colonist across the Atlantic Ocean that managed to survive incredible odds to arrive here. Actually, that is not accurate. The beginning of the USA didn't occur until centuries after the Mayflower landed and Jamestown was built. 

Washington Crossing the Delaware (click here)

The United States of America grew out of abuses of power from the former Kings and Queens of England. France was always our ally through history and certainly helped win the Revolutionary War. So, when Retired General McCrystal states, "God did not create the USA," he may be politically incorrect, but, factually he is spot on. Human beings that colonized this country fought against incredible odds and in harm climate to win the land that started of the USA out of 13 original colonies. They may or may not have had strong faith in God to see them through their battles for freedom, but, God did not create the USA out of nothing as he did in the Bible of Eden.

President Zelenskyy should recognize…

…the movements of National Guard in the USA. I know Vladimir Putin does.

The Yanukovych regime had that same militia structure only it was the oligarchs in charge. They were put in place as Yanukovych disbanded and disarmed the federal military of Ukraine.

These National Guard deployments are bending a knee to Putin. The USA under the Trump/Hegseth regime may actually be an unreliable freedom partner.

August 18, 2025

By Babak Dehghanpisheh

...“When I look at the situation and the facts, ((click here) I don’t see President Putin very willing to get peace now,” Macron told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker in an exclusive interview Monday after a high-stakes White House meeting. “But perhaps I’m too pessimistic.”

He also said “the optimism of your president is to be taken seriously. So if he considers he can get a deal done, this is great news, and we have to do whatever we can to have a great deal.”

Macron insisted that the United States must apply pressure to Russia and Putin to find a resolution, including introducing more sanctions.

If there is no progress in the bilateral meeting President Donald Trump announced between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and if a trilateral meeting falls through, “or if the Russians don’t comply with this approach, yes, we have to increase the sanctions, secondary and primary sanctions,” Macron said.

“There is an aggressor, which is Russia. There is a country which decided to kill people, stole children and who refused a ceasefire and peace, so we cannot just create an equivalent situation between Ukraine and Russia.”...

The DC iconic area guarded currently…

…by the National Guard from armed vandals and marauding children normally have their own security guards. Did Trump remove that personnel? 

National Guard

They are there to support the emergency and enforcing immigration. Outside of that capacity they are breaking the law. My understanding is they are hanging out at iconic areas of DC. That is for propaganda purposes. Why not station them where it looks as though they are in control? 

As someone I know said, “It is a shit show.”

Trump is putting on quite a show, isn’t he?

Where is Putin? That is the missing partner. I thought perhaps Vladimir was tiring of the old paradigm. Doesn’t look like it. 

Russia is not interested in peace. Poland has been scrambling jets to its eastern board for at least the last couple of weeks. Interesting now Sweden is also alarmed and following Poland. That is not a country interested in peace. Russian artillery is limited to missiles and drones. Putin is willing to use Trump’s dislike for war as a means to find an advantage to his end. 

The concern for Trump’s sudden reversal in having a NATO like defense for Ukraine is that he doesn’t really mean it. It would be advantageous for Putin to have an ally within the borders of Ukraine to create an illusion of security only to have it dissolve when Hegseth decides there is no reason for Ukraine security forces because there are pressing issues elsewhere. 

NATO would be trustworthy, Trump alone would not. A different USA president would never side with Putin at all. The attempt at a ceasefire isn’t holding strong at all. I guess the Zelenskyy-Putin meeting is still on, but, Vladimir wasn’t expecting NATO to show up in support if Ukraine. Putin liked the idea is Trump’s Star Chamber of three, but, no more. 

Zelenskyy was to be the bad guy willing to allow more death. I think this is just Trump weaseling out of support for Ukraine. He is creating an excuse.

(Click here)

“I am not on anyone’s team.”

Bill Maher has a very valid point. This may be a time in history when a radical right president may have found a way forward to peace with several countries in conflict.

Azerbaijan and Armenia (click here) did sign a peace pact with Trump mitigating at least some of it. The fact Trump’s victory is celebrated by Iran is interesting. But, there is a lot about this that should be a good lesson to future UN and/or USA peacemakers. This peace agreement also adds to the validity of Trump’s efforts with Ukraine. 

So, as long as Maher opened the door, I am going to walk through it.

Azerbaijan is a study unto itself in its current state of affairs as it leaves behind Russian propaganda and intimidation. The fact that Trump was able to pull this together is to understand Azerbaijan was teetering on rebellion against Russia. This particular peace agreement was waiting to happen for the same reasons Ukraine is fighting it’s war; basically Russian aggression and oppression. 

Putin finds himself at a very odd stance in that countries normally intimidated by Russian power are NOW moving toward freedom and trade with the Free World at a rapid pace. In this agreement Trump opened the door to Azerbaijan purchasing USA weapons. That is huge. To Azerbaijan it is also a time of profound autonomy and independence from the communist block in Asia. Basically, it now has the ability to arm itself exactly as Ukraine has since the invasion into Crimea of 2014. 

When the Free World found its backbone to stand with Ukraine in its self-determined war against Russia, it inspired the remaining countries not yet as free as the larger and wealthier Post Soviet states of NATO. This movement to freedom has existed from the time of the fall of the Soviet Union. The Free World did not have to push that hard to bring these countries to NATO’s door and alliance. They want and wanted that alliance, albeit a dream, even while under the thumb of Khrushchev. There were sign posts all along the way, primarily first in labor unions and workers’ rights.

So, today Trump is using the power of the USA to bring peace to people who have desired it for decades and generations. Russia is not the same as it was in 2014. It also has nothing to offer to these countries as their populations long for better quality of life. Putin has not been good for Russia. Alexei Navalny was hopeful he would be able to lead again when he returned to the country he loved even after being poisoned. The communist ideology is too oppressive and requires enormous sacrifices by the people to live within that ideology. But, those are my somewhat damnable perspectives. Self-centered egos would strongly disagree with all that and claim only they were the answer for those freed in the name of peace.

So be it. Navalny is still dead and assassinated in the name of Putin. The painful truth is that oppression is still very alive and powerful in Russia. We are right to not want anything that resembles it in the USA. It is currently manifested in racketeering as permitted and implemented by the Attorney General of the USA Pam Bondi. That is the flaw that Trump is hoping to cover-up as well as his other past regrets with Epstein. But, Trump may yet come away with a Nobel Peace Prize if he can continue to use the power of the USA to lean into a sincere global chilling of tensions among countries.

Do I dare dream of a nuclear free world where children live and are happy beyond their birth and short lives in war zones.

One other thing.

Azerbaijan has a court system that kneels to its president. It is an interesting model Trump is chasing!!!!!

(Click here)

29 years of great reporting.

Rebranding can be beneficial, but, there is always the side effect that viewers and listeners can be lost along the way. I consider MSNBC an important cable channel. I think it is NBC News obligation to views to promote the new name and the places where it can be found.

Good luck to the entire crew, the new CEO, and the remarkable journalists and commentators of MS NOW.

(Click here)

Putin can end the war he started, too.

President Zelenskyy and Ukrainians are victims in this war. They were invaded. Russia is the aggressor that destroyed a long honored agreement when Ukrainian nukes were dismantled. Russia and Trump should be asking what it will take for Ukraine to have their sense of national security back. 

The majority of European countries are also victims to the failure of that Ukraine agreement with Russia regarding nukes. Europe was without concern and are now faced with threats to their own national security. All because Russia aggressively rolled tanks into Ukraine after it was fully disarmed of nuclear weapons while Crimea was occupied in 2014 by Russia. 

There is a lot of ground for Russia to cover as the USA has obligations for national security of Europe through the NATO alliance. So, Russia needs to get out of its own way and allow Ukraine legal status with NATO. Any peace agreement must return Ukraine’s sovereignty over its land with guarantees it will have an alliance with other countries the Ukrainians consider friendly. Russia can be one of the friendly nations by returning to earlier agreements guaranteeing Ukraine’s safely and peaceful trading partners. War with Russia can never be a problem again.

Russia has disrupted the entirety of two continents burgeoning on three since 2014 when considering the Middle East. It has to stop and allow security and economic growth between countries. No more brutal

Interference. 

NATO has worked diligently to eliminate the Russian threat until the invasion into Crimea and years later into Donbas. There is no destruction of NATO and its benevolence. That is like throwing away nearly a century of growth and investment. 

There is no threat to Russian speaking people, only propaganda. The war could end today if Russia cooperates with a peace initiative. The tensions between Russia and the Post Soviet States ends with Ukraine’s peace.

(Click here)

Addressed to Vladimir Putin…

(Click here)

…our First Lady Melania makes a global appeal for a safe and peaceful world for our children.

Erin is currently plowing west.

Am I understanding this currently Cat 3 storm is not making landfall? Okay, but, its immediate course would require a stalling and abrupt turn northeast if it is going to miss land. There is also the burgeoning turbulence off the southwest Florida coast as if Erin’s energy is jumping into the Gulf. That phenomenon may be possible with the troposphere as hot as it is.

I hope Erin behaves as expected but with the manifestation of turbulence off southwest Florida there may be surprises. Just being cautious.

Cautious because if Erin’s energy jumps into the Gulf it can spin upto a Cat 5 in a matter of hours, if that long. 

I remind observers that storms currently move into Hurricane status because a couple of Tropical Storms move water vapor from the ocean surface to the air. That air is dry because of the conditions of the plant. But once that dry air becomes saturated we are off to the races. If water vapor is moving from Erin into the Gulf to cause higher concentrations of water vapor the spontaneous hurricane is possible. I have always believed there would be no Cat 6 storms because of the tensile strength of water vapor molecular bonds. There would always be an increase in the number of storms (year 2005) with bizarre behavior because of the fluidity of the troposphere. 

Best.

Please observe the straight line from Erin to the Gulf turbulence with a weakening of the air mass between them. It is a solid straight line that indicates an energy relationship between the two.

Better to be safe than sorry. Expect the unexpected. The land masses are very hot. That water vapor is sucking up that heat.

(Click here)

HEAT TRANSFER. I have been using those two words for decades. It may be the models are missing the fact the land and ocean air masses have a real relationship in heat transfer.

Trump is a blowhard.

Putin think he was going to get Covid? Or more worried about appearing to have small hands? At any rate, Trump’s shoes don’t fit. Seriously. Trump’s shoes don’t fit. Maybe comfortable shoes might help his poor disposition.

Putin does not have a military advantage. Trump has no concept of war or the strategies used in ways to advance a position. All Trump’s yaking is rude and inconsistent with diplomacy. Trump is defaming President Zelenskyy before they meet.

If I were Zelenskyy I would go home without a meeting with Trump for the insulting demeanor he already shows for a meeting guaranteed to fail.

Putin is engaging an offensive in the Donbas region of Ukraine to create an image of impending victory. The offensive is already failing. 

The assets needed by Russia to achieve what it currently holds far out weighs the assets Ukraine has used to end Russia’s advance. This is a war of ideology. It is not a rational war to end suffering and bring about peace. 

It is up to Zelenskyy to decide how much Ukraine can endure past what it already has suffered. Ukraine has no shame in this war. It is an amazing reality that all Putin can even ask for is next to nothing compared to its original ambition. 

In my very humble opinion, Zelenskyy should not settle for a ceasefire. He is the victor already in the magnificence of the Ukraine military. They have out performed and out lasted any expected initiative. Zelenskyy has the right to be proud of his country and the valiant war thus far. A ceasefire will provide a breather for an exhausted Russia, but, a peace agreement would be a treasure and the time to regroup to change the outcomes of further Russian advances against Ukraine and ultimately NATO.

The United States of America will never oppose NATO. President Zelenskyy should be reassured to that reality. Trump is simply an actor on a stage without authority. As an elected president he is supposed to reflect the values of my country, not pretend to dictate them. 

The most important man in the world.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

The Free World wonders what is possible. We knew Trump would be too weak in his resolve to stand up to strongman Putin. We are back to the old ground of brinkmanship. Back in the place where communist ideology still survives in hopes of conquer.

Trump wants to be dictator. That is his peer group. Anything outside that persona is an act. Showmanship. Why is it easier for Trump to stand up to allies than communists? Power and hate. Racism. Appearing to be a cowardly lion scares him. He rather be a racketeer and gangster than a real president.

(Click here)