This is what July 4, 2018, means to me.
Not hot dogs, mustard, and potato chips, but our obligation to fight for our democracy.
At the present time, we are losing it day by day.
The U.S. Supreme Court has recently approved state laws that purge voters from the voting rolls because they have not consistently voted. It is not difficult to determine whether voters have died or moved out of state. Meanwhile, a basic right is whittled away because it was not exercised.
The high court recently approved racial gerrymandering.
The high court approved a Muslim Ban disguised as a national security issue.
The high court in Janus struck a blow at labor unions, allowing free riders to collect benefits without paying any dues.
The high court will soon be dominated by five justices determined to overturn Roe V. Wade and gay rights.
The administration wants to destroy the healthcare on which millions of Americans rely.
The administration denies climate change and is repealing regulations that protect the environment, Our air, our water, our national parks.
Our president and attorney general callously initiated a policy of separating children from their parents at the Southern border, some as young as three months, and cruelly shipped them far away. More than 2,000 have not been returned to their parents. Children and families languish in cages. We have become a pariah among nations, known for our cruelty, belligerence, and stupidity.
The administration daily insults our allies and courts the friendship of dictators.
Now is the time to resist.
Now is the time to recall the brave history of dissent and protest.
The best way to demonstrate your love of country is to resist, protest, demonstrate, join with others who are committed to democracy, equal rights, and the rule of law.
We must together stop the precipitous descent into fascism and plutocracy.
We must pledge ourselves to fight for the America we love, the America put at risk by venal, malevolent, unethical, and greedy leaders.
I will post today a few of my favorite examples of patriotic resistance. You are invited to add your own.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
In this cartoon a Republican grown Jesus says it’s ok to put children and babies in cages and take them from parents. It’s sarcasm against the GOP policies that are making us an abomination in the eyes of the world.
Marian Anderson Sings at Lincoln Memorial…Happy 4th of July!!!
Marian Anderson Sings at Lincoln Memorial
RobertHJacksonCenter
Published on Mar 26, 2010
Marian Anderson, contralto, was denied the right to perform at Constitution Hall by the DAR because of her color. Instead, and at the urging of Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes permitted her to perform at the Lincoln Memorial on April 9, 1939.
The country was struggling through the Great Depression and the world descended into war, but some 75 thousand people turned out to hear her sing. This shows the strength of America in the right direction.
Good one!
Trump’s comment on Frederick Douglass, “… Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice…”
Democracy Now: In a Fourth of July holiday special, we begin with the words of Frederick Douglass. Born into slavery around 1818, Douglass became a key leader of the abolitionist movement. On July 5, 1852, in Rochester, New York, he gave one of his most famous speeches, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.” He was addressing the Rochester Ladies Antislavery Society. This is actor James Earl Jones reading the speech during a performance of historian Howard Zinn’s acclaimed book, “Voices of a People’s History of the United States.” He was introduced by Zinn.
https://www.democracynow.org/2018/7/4/what_to_the_slave_is_4th
Vote the GOP out!
And in the celebratory spirit of Independence Day, Jeff Sessions rescinded a 2011 Justice Department guidance mandating that asylum seekers and refugees have a “right” to work in the U.S. The guidance also barred employers from demanding Department of Homeland Security-issued immigration documents from refugees and asylum seekers as long as they could present Social Security cards or American driver’s licenses.Sessions also axed a 2009 guidance that urged employers to “avoid ‘citizens only’ hiring policies,” such as demanding a “particular immigration status” from job applicants.
There will be a reckoning when farmers and multiple industries realize they have no workers for jobs that Americans shun. And they will be hit with a double whammy when they learn about the tariffs imposed on products that once had a foreign market.
and either no health care or tripled-cost health care coming in the next annual round
Only if their GOP elected officials are called on the carpet to support or deny their position – – – and if Dem elected officials called on carpet to fight back. Silence is endorsement.
We call legislators. We march (it was hot but we march). We resist. We vote.
Our elected folks need to scream, yell, confront, challenge, call out every cheat and lie.
President doesn’t care about issues.
President cares about the President.
Going after affirmative action and taxes and Supreme Court hypocrisy is nice – – who’s going after him and congress? Calling out his tactics. His base doesn’t care about lies if they’re little white ones pun intendended to get what they want. DO THEY KNOW THEY ARE BEING CHEATED? They DO care about that
Just a few days ago, Ray Davies of the Kinks released “Our Country: Americana Act II.” It’s a wonderful collection of songs by Davies, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen. If you’ve got Apple Music or Spotify, give it a listen. Beautiful.
We know that The PVL (Popular-Vote Loser) is both incapable of and indisposed to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Keeping the republic democratic is up to us. Thank you, Diane, for doing more than your share.
Atlanta lemonade stand raises $13K for separated immigrant families
When an Atlanta mother told her two young children about families being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, her 6-year-old son suggested starting a lemonade stand to help. Shannon Cofrin Gaggero set a goal of $1,000, an amount she considered ambitious. A week later, the online and in-person campaign has raised nearly 13 times that amount. The family and other volunteers hosted the lemonade stand…
https://www.ajc.com/news/local/atlanta-lemonade-stand-raises-13k-for-separated-immigrant-families/1Dpfpg9B1RPp6kdNxhi7AN/