Put Away The Flags, by Howard Zinn

Lies

Image by tq2cute via Flickr

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 3, 2010
July 4, 2023

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

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I’m Sick and Tired of This Thing Called “Patriotism,” by William Blum

Patriotism

Image by rstrawser via Flickr

by William Blum
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 5, 2010
July 3, 2023

Some thoughts on “patriotism” written on July 4

Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”.

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Lee Camp and David Cobb: Imagining A World Beyond Capitalism

Capitalism Is Over!

Image by Steve Rotman via Flickr

Dandelion Salad
April 8, 2023

“We have to come to terms with the fact that these transnational corporations globally and the empire for which the U.S is the capital of corporate Empire—they’re literally going to destroy the planet if we do not stop, interrupt, and transition. And to be clear, the window to do that is literally closing before our very eyes.” — David Cobb

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Beyond Razor Wire: A Connected Planet, by Robert C. Koehler + American Scar: The Environmental Tragedy of the Border Wall

U.S.-Mexico Border — Nogales, Arizona

Image by Ignatian Solidarity Network via Flickr

by Robert C. Koehler
Guest Writer, Dandelion Salad
December 17, 2022

“Ducey insists Arizona holds sole or shared jurisdiction over the 60-foot strip the containers rest on and has a constitutional right to protect residents from ‘imminent danger of criminal and humanitarian crises.’”

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The American Nightmare, by Kenn Orphan

2022 March For Our Lives 19

Image by Stephen Melkisethian via Flickr

by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 5, 2022

A father hid his young son in a dumpster as he searched for the rest of his family amid rapid gun fire…

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Put Away The Flags, by Howard Zinn

American Exceptionalism Exceptions

Image by Jagz Mario via Flickr

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 3, 2010
July 4, 2022

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Continue reading

I’m Sick and Tired of This Thing Called “Patriotism,” by William Blum

Patriotism

Image by rstrawser via Flickr

by William Blum
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 5, 2010
July 3, 2022

Some thoughts on “patriotism” written on July 4

Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”.

Continue reading

The Falseness of Declaring the United States to be the Richest Nation, by David Swanson

Ways of Thinking - Feudalism is very much alive

Image by Judite B via Flickr

by David Swanson
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Let’s Try Democracy, May 13, 2022
May 16, 2022

“In the richest country in the world, it’s an injustice that millions of people lack basic health care,” said Sen. Ed Markey.

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Introduction to Gaither Stewart’s Trails of Memory: A Century of Nazism, by Rowan Wolf

Charlottesville "Unite the Right" Rally

Image by Anthony Crider via Flickr

Sent to Dandelion Salad by Gaither Stewart

by Rowan Wolf
November 30, 2021

I did not realize until I read Trails of Memory – A Century of Nazism how much that time and political movement has harmonics in this time. I am in the U.S., where decades of effort on the part of one of the major political parties – Republicans – moved them, and perhaps the nation, deeper and deeper to the right. At the same time, the efforts of capitalists continued to break the bonds of community and the treads of continuity, while the broader efforts of Republicans created a more jaded and less informed public. I did know from my studies of white nationalism that it was an ideology that actively spanned continents and was not just contained to North America. Likewise, this movement towards right-wing populism is not confined to the United States, and it is not the only nation experiencing the awful allure of strongman leaders with dreams of dictatorial rule.

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Chris Hedges: Undercurrents of American Fascism

Scene on the Stairs of the Capitol, Jan. 6, 2021

Image by Brett Davis via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

with Chris Hedges

Originally on RT America on Sep 16, 2021

The Chris Hedges YouTube Channel on Jul 5, 2022

On January 6, 2021, a mob incited by outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump, stormed the U.S. capital in an attempt to halt the congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results. Within the mob, as the scholar Gabriel Rockhill points out, were many current members of the military and police. Some of the leaders of the organizations involved, such as Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, had direct ties to U.S. intelligence agencies, having served as FBI informants. Only one fifth of Capitol Police were on duty that day, and they were unprepared and under-equipped, even though the U.S. national security state had advance knowledge of the plot. Capitol Police were seen opening barricades and fraternizing with the mob.

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9/11: A Personal Reflection After Twenty Years, by Kenn Orphan

9-11: Lies!

Image by Hayley Constantine via Flickr

by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
September 11, 2021

For 20 years I resisted making any personal remarks about the attacks September the 11th, particularly regarding the World Trade Center in NYC. I thought it was inappropriate and inconsequential because I did not suffer personal loss like so many that day. But I have been reflecting a lot on that historic event lately. And given that the US war against Afghanistan is now over, at least officially if not covertly, I think there is good reason for that.

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From Iowa Nice to Iowa Nazi: A Report from the Friendly Fascist Heartland, by Paul Street

smash fascism

Image by tobika via Flickr

by Paul Street
Writer, Dandelion Salad
The Official Website of Paul Street, July 10, 2021
July 13, 2021

The sloppy fascist Donald Trump may no longer reside in the White House but he’s back on the hate rally campaign trail selling his big Hitlerian Stolen Election Lie. Meanwhile, Trumpist white nationalism is booming in the “red states,” where Amerikaner Republicans hold the reins.

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The Fourth is an Annual Day of Collective Amnesia, by Kenn Orphan

Lies

Image by tq2cute via Flickr

by Kenn Orphan
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Halifax, Nova Scotia
July 5, 2021

“​Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind.” — Albert Einstein

“Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people’s brains and then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead.” — Arundhati Roy

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Put Away The Flags, by Howard Zinn

American Exceptionalism Exceptions

Image by Jagz Mario via Flickr

by Howard Zinn
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Originally published July 3, 2010
July 4, 2021

On this July 4, we would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols: its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Continue reading