NBC Washington: Spotsylvania superintendent shows his degrees, passport after challenge by board member
One by one, Superintendent Clint Mitchell showed documents and degrees that told his story of coming to the U.S. at age 14, becoming a citizen and earning at doctorate at Virginia Tech. The crowd applauded.
"...A school board member recently demanded to see the credentials and qualifications of Superintendent Clint Mitchell, who has been on the job for nearly 18 months. He’s the school district’s first Black school superintendent. He’s also an immigrant and now a U.S. citizen..."
Today in Labor History November 26, 1970: Indigenous activists from the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied Plymouth Rock in a National Day of Mourning. The protest was sparked when officials from the state of Massachusetts censored a speech to be given by Frank James (Wamsutta), an Aquinnah Wampanoag, on the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. Their rationale was that “anything inflammatory would have been out of place” on this “celebration of brotherhood.” In his speech, James talked about atrocities like the loss of native languages, culture, land, and life.
“Our spirit refuses to die. . . We stand tall and proud, and before too many moons pass we’ll right the wrongs we have allowed to happen to us. We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has …
Today in Labor History November 26, 1970: Indigenous activists from the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied Plymouth Rock in a National Day of Mourning. The protest was sparked when officials from the state of Massachusetts censored a speech to be given by Frank James (Wamsutta), an Aquinnah Wampanoag, on the 350th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. Their rationale was that “anything inflammatory would have been out of place” on this “celebration of brotherhood.” In his speech, James talked about atrocities like the loss of native languages, culture, land, and life.
“Our spirit refuses to die. . . We stand tall and proud, and before too many moons pass we’ll right the wrongs we have allowed to happen to us. We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail. You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We, the Wampanoags, will help you celebrate in the concept of a beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.”
Indigenous people have continued to commemorate the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth every year since 1970. In 1997, police attacked the peaceful demonstration with pepper spray and arrested 25 protestors.
This is obscene. The vile Shabana Mahmood has confirmed the new immigration rules will be retrospective.
"Under the incoming rules they will have to wait 20 years after they arrived before they can apply for settlement. It means more than 10,000 refugees who were set to qualify for settlement next year will now have to wait a further 15 years before they can settle"
In the face of systemic racism and state-sanctioned violence, how can we metabolize our anger …
Creative, Radical, Challenging
3 stars
It's hard to know what to write about this one.
On the one hand, I experience much of Lama Rod's teaching in this book as brilliantly creative. The meditation instructions are well-systematized and I found the guidance helpful, especially for the #7homecomings, #tonglen, and #EarthTouching / #bhūmisparśa practices. I also deeply appreciated his acknowledgement of the issues present in the #Tibetan#Buddhist tradition and his way of relating to flawed teachers in a system vulnerable to abuse of power was valuable for me. The way he addresses #racism, #whitesupremacy, #queerphobia, #patriarchy and other forms of #discrimination or #opression reminded me favorably of Sebene Selassie'sYou Belong.
On the other, having now listened to it in its entirety, it seems like the book might have put together in a piecemeal sort of way. I get the impression that this might have …
It's hard to know what to write about this one.
On the one hand, I experience much of Lama Rod's teaching in this book as brilliantly creative. The meditation instructions are well-systematized and I found the guidance helpful, especially for the #7homecomings, #tonglen, and #EarthTouching / #bhūmisparśa practices. I also deeply appreciated his acknowledgement of the issues present in the #Tibetan#Buddhist tradition and his way of relating to flawed teachers in a system vulnerable to abuse of power was valuable for me. The way he addresses #racism, #whitesupremacy, #queerphobia, #patriarchy and other forms of #discrimination or #opression reminded me favorably of Sebene Selassie'sYou Belong.
On the other, having now listened to it in its entirety, it seems like the book might have put together in a piecemeal sort of way. I get the impression that this might have been intentional or seen as unproblematic as a way to enhance the sense of authenticity. I listened to the audio version, and while the inclusion of the original audio for the interviews was a nice touch, it felt a lot like recycling content to me—I think I would have preferred a more edited final version with links to the originals for anyone who wanted to dig deeper.
On the whole, it was well worth the time I spent with it. I feel like I've learned quite a bit. If anyone is reading this and trying to decide between the print & audio versions, I would guess that the print version might be a bit easier to use, especially if one intends to refer frequently to the instructions for #meditation and #reflection.
Omar El Akkad: Western hypocrisy over Israel's genocide in Gaza
Author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This interviewed by Peter Greste, 26 Oct, 2025
"Rules, conventions, morals, reality exist, all exist so long as their existence is convenient to the preservation of power, otherwise they, like all else, are expendable." ~Chris Hedges
Omar El Akkad: Western hypocrisy over Israel's genocide in Gaza
Author of One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This interviewed by Peter Greste, 26 Oct, 2025
"Rules, conventions, morals, reality exist, all exist so long as their existence is convenient to the preservation of power, otherwise they, like all else, are expendable." ~Chris Hedges
Crossing from Switzerland to Germany in Basel by train, two different sets of police officers only checked the only brown person in my car. To be clear, he got checked twice, and he was the only one who got checked. How is this legal? #racism
I am #Covid and #LongCOVID aware, continuing to #WearAMask and avoid most public places. All the info on Covid has continued to show that ignoring it is dangerous, to myself and to others. Most of my posts are about Covid, and I boost a lot of Covid information.
I am #ActuallyAutistic through self-diagnosis, many years of struggling, and dealing with #PTSD and #cPTSD for various reasons. I am grateful to have this brain structure, even though in our ableist society it is a #disability . #Disabled people of all kinds should be recognized and properly supported.
I am a #Cancer survivor of an aggressive thyroid cancer, and still beating the odds.
The #ClimateCrisis is happening and also should not be ignored. I also frequently boost climate and weather information.
I …
New introduction post to pin.
I am #Covid and #LongCOVID aware, continuing to #WearAMask and avoid most public places. All the info on Covid has continued to show that ignoring it is dangerous, to myself and to others. Most of my posts are about Covid, and I boost a lot of Covid information.
I am #ActuallyAutistic through self-diagnosis, many years of struggling, and dealing with #PTSD and #cPTSD for various reasons. I am grateful to have this brain structure, even though in our ableist society it is a #disability . #Disabled people of all kinds should be recognized and properly supported.
I am a #Cancer survivor of an aggressive thyroid cancer, and still beating the odds.
The #ClimateCrisis is happening and also should not be ignored. I also frequently boost climate and weather information.
I believe #Trans people are real, and honestly it's ridiculous that so many people have gaslighted themselves and others into believing otherwise. C'mon now.
As a white person, I am constantly working to overcome the #racism that I know is within me and that I was raised with.
Despite the attempts by some to pronounce "antifa" in a way to make it sound foreign to certain USA people, it stands for Anti-Fascist. It stands for the people having the power through proper representation.
I am #GenX and happily married, owned by 2 cats. I work in healthcare tech as a manager, and I despise AI.
"On Friday, Fox News published an article with the headline 'SNAP Beneficiaries Threaten to Ransack Stores Over Government Shutdown.' The piece, written by Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi and filed under the site’s 'cultural trends' section, featured quotes from several Black women complaining about losing their food stamp benefits."
"On Friday, Fox News published an article with the headline 'SNAP Beneficiaries Threaten to Ransack Stores Over Government Shutdown.' The piece, written by Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi and filed under the site’s 'cultural trends' section, featured quotes from several Black women complaining about losing their food stamp benefits."
Wired: No, SNAP Benefits Aren’t Mostly Used by Immigrants SNAP benefits are set to run out on Saturday. Far-right influencers and extremists are incorrectly claiming that immigrants are the main recipients of food stamps.
"...A number of conspiracy theorists and right-wing influencers are claiming that immigrants are the main recipients of food stamps, while AI-generated videos on TikTok push racist stereotypes of Black people demanding more benefits...."
"Mitchell Esajas, creator of The Black Archives: ‘The far-right is trying to develop mythical historical narratives’
The co-founder of an archive on the history of the Dutch colonies speaks about the importance of memory and anti-racism, amid the rise of the far-right in the Netherlands"
Much of that depends whether you think it has moved forward in anything more than superficial terms in recent years.
And to be frank it doesn't much matter what I think, if, the victims of racism think things are getting worse, then whatever the claims of our political class, they are!
Certainly, the recent call for the deportation of settled migrants suggests a normalisation of racism that is highly worrying.
Much of that depends whether you think it has moved forward in anything more than superficial terms in recent years.
And to be frank it doesn't much matter what I think, if, the victims of racism think things are getting worse, then whatever the claims of our political class, they are!
Certainly, the recent call for the deportation of settled migrants suggests a normalisation of racism that is highly worrying.
“The Supreme Court appeared poised on Wednesday to upend a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a move that could gut a pillar of landmark civil rights legislation and prohibit lawmakers from using race as a factor in drawing voting maps.”
