Chicago Tribune should applaud Mayor Johnson’s call for ceasefire in Gaza, not belittle it

 Chicago Tribune should applaud Mayor Johnson’s call for ceasefire in Gaza, not belittle it

Kudos to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for supporting ceasefire in Israel’s genocidal ethnic cleansing of 2,300,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Raspberries to the Chicago Tribune’s Editorial Board for calling it “posturing” on an attempted genocide occurring before our eyes, and further demeaning that grotesque slaughter as a “Middle East conflict.”


Johnson was not “speaking only to his base. He was speaking on behalf of two thirds of Americans polled and virtually the entire world outside the leaders of Israel, the US and UK. To claim he considers those not in line with his ceasefire proposal “sworn enemy or chopped liver” is a gratuitous insult to Johnson not worthy of the Tribune. We should all honor an important public figure wading in on possibly the most important moral issue, an ongoing attempted genocide, we will be faced with in our lifetime. His stand may inspire more city and state government leaders to follow his call for ceasefire.


The Trib’s concern how his call for ceasefire will negatively affect Chicagoland’s 300,000 Jews is preposterous. Johnson, like we in the peace community, knows that a large segment of American Jews are horrified by the collective devastation by Israel making Gaza’s 139 square miles uninhabitable, and support ceasefire. Many are beginning to understand that Israel’s disproportionate response is destroying Israel’s moral standing in the world and may lead to an uncontrollable regional war.


If the Chicago Tribune was truly concerned about Israel’s future as well as the 2,300,000 Palestinians being killed and displaced, it would applaud Mayor Johnson’s call for ceasefire and add their fervent support.

Illinois should follow New Hampshire’s lead

 Illinois should follow New Hampshire’s lead

No, not voting for a traitor to be the presidential nominee in the IL GOP Primary.

Something Illinois could be proud of: seeking to pass a bill that would require the governor to stop unconstitutional foreign combat deployments of the state’s National Guard troops.

Three weeks ago the NH House passed HB229, the Defend The Guard Act. The legislation would prohibit the governor from releasing any unit or member of the New Hampshire National Guard into “active duty combat” unless one of these specific constitutional requirements is met:

The United States Congress has passed an official declaration of war or has taken an official action pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 of the United States Constitution to explicitly call forth the New Hampshire national guard and any member thereof for the enumerated purposes to 1.Expressly execute the laws of the union; 2. Repel an invasion; 3. Suppress an insurrection.

Why is this necessary? Since 2001, over 650,000 Guard troops have been deployed in undeclared wars. Guard and Reserve units made up about 45 percent of the total force sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, and received nearly a fifth of all casualties. Since none of these missions have been accompanied by a Constitutional declaration of war, an Illinois Defend the Guard Act would have prohibited those deployments of Illinois Guard members.

The US Congress has abrogated its duty to authorize military action conducted unilaterally by the Imperial Presidency. During state conventions ratifying the Constitution, proponents James Madison, Edmund Randolph and Thomas Jefferson repeatedly assured the people that the president would not have the power to drag the Guard’s predecessors, state militias, into endless, undeclared wars.

That ended 74 years ago when Harry Truman launched a major war against North Korea without a declaration of war. Since then state National Guard members have been repeatedly called up to serve in undeclared military conflicts.

Time for Illinois to join New Hampshire in proposing a Defend The Guard Act.

All r

Biden gearing up for US deaths in Syria and Iraq; war with Iran

 Biden gearing up for US deaths in Syria and Iraq; war with Iran

Apparently, Joe Biden seeks to become the all-time champ at destroying countries during his presidency. Not satisfied at degrading Ukraine, Gaza and Yemen, he’s turned his gun sight on Iran.

His road to war with Iran is based on the premise they are behind the 140 missile attacks that have wounded over 70 US soldiers in Iraq and Syria. Of course, Biden has made those 3,400 soldiers there sitting ducks since they illegally occupy countries that for some strange reason, want them out.

Shi’ite militias there have been targeting US troops there for years, but the attacks have become relentless since Biden began supporting and arming Israel’s ongoing genocidal ethnic cleansing of Gaza 108 days ago.

Biden and his war team warn that if a single US soldier is killed, he may have no choice but to attack Iran, even tho the Pentagon said it has no direct evidence Iran is directing the attacks by the Iraqi and Syrian militias.

One US official said a single US death could be the red line that results in US retaliation against Iran. So far, “That is a red line that has not been crossed, but if the Iranian-backed militias ever have a day of better aim or better luck, it easily could be.”

Better aim or better luck….all that’s required for Joe Biden to ravage his fourth country in 3 years.

IL Senators Duckworth, Durbin vote to continue weaponizing Israel’s genocide in Gaza

 IL Senators Duckworth, Durbin vote to continue weaponizing Israel’s genocide in Gaza

My Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin had their chance to make a dent in Israel’s ongoing 102 day genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. They voted to continue it.

Senator Bernie Sanders offered a mild resolution calling on the State Department to determine if the billions in US 2,000 lb. bombs and other weapons Israel uses to make Gaza uninhabitable are committing human rights violations there. Under the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act, US weapons aid would be frozen if such violations are found occurring.

Tragically for the 2.3 million Palestinians being systematically bombed, starved, denied medicine and functioning hospitals, neither Duckworth nor Durbin saw the need to even investigate cutting off US support for the worst people-made humanitarian catastrophe this century. There attitude is: 'Nothing here folks, move on.' 

Both are in lockstep support of President Biden’s mad descent into cruelty, death and destruction of the most neglected and marginalized people on earth. Their support of US enabling genocide is a contemptible stain on their governmental resume. If not corrected, it will forever haunt their moral legacy as well.

Another hundred billion for war weapons; buy defense stocks now

 Another hundred billion for war weapons; buy defense stocks now

Last October, President Biden requested Congress spend another $106 billion to fund his endless war in Ukraine and his enabling genocide in Gaza. As a sop to normal humanitarian folks, he earmarked a measly $9 billion for humanitarian relief spread worldwide. To gain GOP support, $14 billion goes to beef up the southern border.

But just this week Biden is seeking billions more to replace the weapons he’s using in his third war in three years, this one against the pathetically weak country of Yemen. The Houthis governing most of Yemen are disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea in their quest to end Israeli genocide in Gaza.

While incurring longer transit times and higher cost to move goods bound for Israel, the Houthi activity impacts US national security interest not one iota. Truth is, US support and enabling of Israeli genocide in Gaza inspired the Houthi retaliation.

Should Biden cease endless weapons for his Ukraine, Gaza and now Yemen wars, everyone will do better. Ukraine can negotiate peace with Russia, genocide in Gaza will dissipate, and we won’t have to fire million dollar missiles to knock down Houthi bottle rockets in Yemen.

But as long as engineer Joe Biden powers the US War Train, war weapons stocks remain a ‘Buy’.

Biden bombs Yemen for 7th time…says ‘No war here’

 Biden bombs Yemen for 7th time…says ‘No war here’

If President Joe Biden wasn’t supporting, enabling, starting wars in Europe and the Middle East, he could score a gig as a cowboy actor.

After a week of daily bombings of the Houthis controlling Yemen, Biden sheepishly admitted, regarding Houthis attacks disrupting commerce in the Red Sea, ‘They’re not working‘.

When asked whether the bombings will continue, Biden donned his 10-gallon Gary Cooper hat and replied 'Yup'. When asked if his bombings, executed without congressional approval as required by the Constitution, constituted war, Biden muttered 'Nope.’