Las Vegas carnage. Racial justice marches. General Silveria speaks out. Art of the knee. Woman aging. God & Adam as black & female. Sublime in the subway. Angela Buchdahl's sermon.
LETTY COTTIN POGREBIN NEWSLETTER #53 OCT 3, 2017
No political cartoons this week. Life has become too grim for laughter.
LAS VEGAS SLAUGHTER

*The shooter had 23 guns in his hotel room and another 19 at his home. In her article for The Nation," Joan Walsh writes: "On Monday morning, Trump again repaid the NRA’s $30 million investment with a pathetically passive statement that described the Las Vegas massacre as though it were a natural disaster, never once mentioning the weapons of hell that caused it." Also read "Ten Things the Gun Industry Won't Tell You."
*Gun violence prevention. Call your Senators and Member of Congress to demand gun safety laws. Support Community Justice Reform Coalition, which works "at the nexus of gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform," and follow their advice for effective action.
VIDEOS
* Unedited video of Saturday's Washington March for Racial Justice. Just dip into this to get a sense of the diversity of the crowd, their chants, signs, and demands for respect for women of color and an end to discrimination, violence and white supremacy.

* Heartfelt harangue by U.S. Air Force Academy Lt. General Jay Silveria (above) goes viral. After racist grafftti was found on the doors of five black students at the Academy's prep school, Silveria summoned everyone under his command to a meeting. Nearly 5000 cadets, faculty, staff and others heard him say, "If you can't treat someone with dignity and respect then you need to get out." He ordered everyone in the room to take out their phones and record his message condemning racism, sexism, etc. which he repeated loud and forcefully. His mention of Charlottesville, Ferguson and the NFL protests, made it clear that he was not just addressing his cadets but his President.

* Trevor Noah (above) deconstructs Trump's twisted rhetoric. Stick with this 8-minute video and learn the origin of "take a knee." Turns out it's patriotic after all. Also see 97-year-old WWII vet takes a knee.

* A woman's face ages from infancy to old age in speeded up painting. This mesmerizing video is entitled "A woman's life." But a face is not a life. What's more,"a woman" is not always white. Women of color (above) would no doubt appreciate seeing a comparable video that shows their facial aging process (which may differ from that of a Caucasian. My African--American friends often say, "Black don't crack!" )
TRUMP WATCH
* No surprise. Bottom line on POTUS' tax cut: top 1% reaps the rewards.
* A 3rd grade geography teacher would be FIRED for a sentence like this: "Puerto Rico is an Island sitting in the middle of an ocean and it's a very big ocean."
* POTUS politicizes P.R. tragedy. First *Trump lashes out at Mayor of San Juan. Finally, nearly two weeks after the storm, he visited the island today and congratulated himself on helping the recovery. But, here's how he comforted the ravaged population. 'I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack.'" And while “every death is a horror,” he told P.R. officials, “you can be very proud” that it wasn't "a real catastrophe like Hurricane Katrina."
WOMEN

* A leader to keep an eye on. Click here to learn more about Carmen Yulin Cruz, (above right) the Mayor of San Juan, who called out Trump for his tepid response to Hurricane Maria's impact on the island..
* Chicago artist's painting causes a firestorm. Harmonia Rosales imagines "The Creation of Adam" as if God and Adam were black and female. The bible says every human being is created "in the image of God," so why should Rosales' version of creation any less plausible than Michelangelo's?
*Thank heaven for small reprieves. U.S. Federal court strikes down abortion ultrasound law in Kentucky.
HERSTORY
* Let's pause for some unsung feminist history --a timely reminder that the rights our daughters take for granted were fought for and won by women with the guts and grit to buck the status quo.

2017 Orlando, FL
Today, a woman can have a drink in any public establishment. But it wasn't always thus. Last week a group of activists, among them former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder (far right, talking to bartender in photo above) took over the Waldorf bar in Orlando, FL, to commemorate their feisty foremothers who stormed the Roosevelt Bar in New Orleans in 1949. (below)

1949 New Orleans, LA
For decades, the landmark Manhattan pub, McSorley's Old Ale House, famously refused to serve women. Photo below shows the National Organization for Women's pioneering lawyers, Karen DeCrow (l) and Faith Seidenberg, who filed a federal lawsuit against the ale house in 1969 and won.

Below, a picket line in front of New York's Plaza Hotel whose Oak Room banned women at lunchtime for 60 years until feminists demanded an end to sex discrimination in 1970.

FILM

* Gotta see! Click trailer for Battle of the Sexes, then go see the movie about the 1973 grudge match between Billie Jean King and Bobbie Riggs (above)-- the game that helped King change tennis for women. Here Lynn Sherr probes the meaning and legacy of King's historic victory over Riggs, the quintessential male chauvinist pig of the Seventies.
EVENTS NYC AREA
* Planned Parenthood Empower Gala in Westchester, October 19, 6:30 PM @ Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook. Guest speaker: Dr. Willie Parker, former Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington,DC. A hero of the pro-choice movement, Dr. Parker currently provides abortion care for women in underserved areas in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Illinois. Event Info here.

* Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill faces the race of her life. Broadway VIPs Debby & Rocco Landesman, Fran & Barry Weissler, James Earl Jones, and others are co-hosting a NYC fundraiser for her in a lovely apartment on Central Park West, Sen. McCaskill, who's been a crucial check on Trump's extreme far-right agenda, can't defend this seat without help from Democrats everywhere. Oct 27 from 5-7. For info on this private event, contact Kevin at sobkoviak@fkandcompany.com,
ISRAEL/PALESTINE
* In a Yom Kippur sermon entitled, Shamor v' Zachor (Remember and Protect),: Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of the ‘67 War, Central Synagogue's Senior Rabbi Angela Buchdahl -- the first Asian-American rabbi and cantor -- challenged her congregants to acknowledge two truths about Israel at the same time: its miracles and its mistakes; P.S. If you love hearing Kol Nidre chanted as much as I do, here's a video of Buchdahl singing it four years ago. Incredible!

* Because Saturday was Yom Kippur ( a scheduling conflict for which the March for Racial Justice organizers apologized.) many Jews participated instead in local marches on Sunday. At the Brooklyn Bridge, Jewish women who belong to the "Zioness" group were reportedly shunned by some pro-Palestine marchers who suggested that any reference to Israel made them feel "unsafe." According to its Facebook page, a Zioness "is progressive, Zionist, and proud. Rooted in Jewish values, she stands for justice and fights against all forms of oppression."
I strongly support Palestinian civil and human rights. I similarly deplore the behavior and policies of the current Israeli government. But I also believe in the Jewish people's right to self-determination.The anti-racism movement weakens itself by excluding and excoriating a self-declared ally whose full agenda may not be entirely to their liking. When we progressives can't find a way to march together for racial justice and against white supremacy we do the racists' divide-and-conquer work for them.
Palestine just joined Interpol, the international police organization. Contrary to some naysayers, this does not pose a unique threat to the people or security of Israel. (Most of Israel's enemies are already in Interpol, i.e. Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia.) It does, however, threaten with extradition those Israeli officials who violate international law vis-a-vis the IDF's treatment of Palestinians under Israeli control. For instance, this sort of treatment of Palestinian children (photo below):

* Israel’s Message to U.S. Jews: If You’re Against the Occupation, You’re Not Welcome. "With the Jewish Agency now surrendering to the extremist right-wing witchhunt, more and more of Israel’s institutions are closing their doors to U.S. Jewish progressives. We must refuse to be excluded."writes Libby Lenkinski, VP at New Israel Fund and Board Chair of Hashomer Hatzair North America. I plan to go to Israel with Americans for Peace Now in February. APN has always opposed the Occupation. Will we be barred from entry?
* David Friedman, U.S. Ambassador to Israel, is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. In a recent interview, he falsely claimed that Israel occupies "only 2 percent of the West Bank." In fact,"Israel maintains full military and civilian control of 60% of the West Bank in addition to military control over another 22% of the area and full control of its borders." (Map on left shows Mandatory Palestine pre-partition.)

* Update on ongoing "Journey to Peace" in Israel. This Haaretz report notwithstanding, there's been a disappointing paucity of media coverage of this important nationwide protest but the turnout seems terrific. Today, the marchers arrived in Nazareth. Tomorrow, on to Fureidis. U.S. psychologist, Carol Gilligan, speaks next Monday, Oct 9th. Full schedule available from Journey's sponsor, Women Wage Peace.
ACTIVISM
* Choose your hurricane relief fund, but write a check.
Hurricane Irma Relief and Recovery (Virgin Islands)
* Planned Parenthood Empower Gala in Westchester, October 19, 6:30 PM @ Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook. Guest speaker: Dr. Willie Parker, former Medical Director of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington,DC. A hero of the pro-choice movement, Dr. Parker currently provides abortion care for women in underserved areas in Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Illinois. Event Info here.

* Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill faces the race of her life. So Broadway VIPs Debby & Rocco Landesman, Fran & Barry Weissler, James Earl Jones, and others are co-hosting a NYC fundraiser for her in an apartment on Central Park West, Oct 27 from 5-7. Sen. McCaskill, who's been a crucial check on Trump's extreme far-right agenda, can't defend this seat without help from Democrats everywhere. For info on this private event, contact Kevin at sobkoviak@fkandcompany.com,
"She Should Run." Sign up for the group's National Conversation Nov 6th. at which "a community of strong, smart, talented women" will discuss how they can work together to move the needle on women's representation at all levels of government.
Twitter Ads info and privacyTRUMP WATCH * Petitions usually don't accomplish much besides making signers feel good. But this one from MoveOn.com is too intriguing to ignore. It asks Twitter to cut off Trump's account since he routinely violates the company's Terms of Use which ban tweets containing threats, harassment, and incitement to violence. Click here to shut down POTUS' access to Twitter.
*Climate change. If you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the science and politics of global warming, you'll be grateful for the NY Times feature: "Your Questions About Climate Change, Answered," (especially Part 3, "What Can We Do?") Informative journalism at its best.
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No better way to close than with this remarkable video. Tellingly, it's the children who stop and listen to the violinist. The grown-ups quickly hustle past without noticing who's playing or how magnificent his performance. Here's wishing you a week of beautiful music and mindfulness.