The Mason Missile, December 28, 2023

Greetings, Americans! We are in the midst of the holiday season, and I notice that old Christmas tradition isn’t happening so much—Fundamentalist Christian Rightists howling about how they can’t say “Merry Christmas” anymore. Actually you can, but they feel oppressed by the fact that there are other religions in this country, and other holidays this season, like Hanukah (my jam!) and Kwanza, the secular African-American celebration. Here is a link to learn about Kwanzaa and its principals: (https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/kwanzaa) The Republican march to nowhere goes on. Kevin McCarthy, who sold what was left of his soul to Donald whatshisface and the MAGAs in their caucus, is finally out. He went through fifteen votes and made concession after concession to the “Freedom Caucus”, thus weakening his authority as Speaker, and he still got ejected from the Speaker’s Chair. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/us/politics/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker.html) (https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/matt-gaetz-kevin-mccarthy-house-speakership-10-03-23/index.html) McCarthy, after the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden after the January 6 riot, announced how the attempt to destroy the democratic process by trump’s disciples was trump’s responsibility; then later, McCarthy went to Mar-A-Lago to kiss trump’s ring (and other things), thus proclaiming trump as the leader of the party. (https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/donald-trump-kevin-mccarthy-meeting/index.html) It’s a pattern: Ted Cruz called trump a “sniveling coward” after trump slandered Cruz’s wife and father in 2016, then later endorsed him and afterwards hailed him (https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/28/politics/donald-trump-kevin-mccarthy-meeting/index.html); Lindsey Graham called him “a race-baiting xenophobic religious bigot” who “doesn’t represent my party” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bkDykGhM8c), then became one of trump’s golf buddies. They must have seen the voters for trump, how jazzed up they were for him, and how he kept winning primaries and the nomination; do they this these trump-loving maniacs think THESE are the real American people, how Americans are like—racist, ignorant, violent, gun-loving? As interim Speaker was Patrick McHenry of Louisiana, from North Carolina. (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/17/patrick-mchenry-tries-to-calm-svb-crisis-00087456) One of McHenry’s first acts was to evict former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) from their House offices—for what? Because they led the opposition? (https://www.npr.org/2023/10/04/1203566052/pelosi-office-patrick-mchenry-speaker) Now we have Mike Johnson, from Louisiana, as Speaker. Johnson is a product of the evangelical political movement that attached itself to trump. He spoke about the software Covenant Eyes, which he shares with his son to monitor each other, to see if they’re watching porn; he learned about this software from attending a meeting of the Promise Keepers, a ministry for men that teaches them to rule over women. (https://www.alternet.org/Frontpage-videos/mike-johnson-2666165894/) He has also called the concept of the separation of called the separation of Church and State “a misnomer”, insisting that the writers of the Constitution really did want religion to influence governmental acts. (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-mike-johnson-says-separation-church-state-misnomer-rcna125181) Plus, a video found by a German news agency had Johnson with his daughter at a “purity ball,” a phenomenon of the early 2000s, which has the father attending a ball which looks like a wedding, but it’s to symbolize the supervision of the father over the daughter, who vows to maintain sexual “purity,” and the father is in effect her “boyfriend,” and he keeps her from any sexual “promiscuity,” vetting any men who would marry her. (https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2014/03/daughters-pledge-to-preserve-their-virginity-at-purity-balls) (https://abcnews.go.com/US/speaker-mike-johnson-daughter-profiled-attending-purity-ball/story?id=105785626) Along the way, Johnson has been a passionate enemy of LGBTQ+ rights, equating them to “pedophilia,” and fighting against same-sex marriage and calling for the criminalization of gay sex. (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/new-house-speaker-mike-johnson-spent-years-fighting/story?id=104312903) This is the person, once a back-benching extremist, who is second in line to be President, and we have to work hard in 2024 to make sure he gets back there, and the way to do that is for us to vote in massive numbers; that’s what the Republicans fear, and that’s why the voter restriction laws going through Republican controlled state legislatures. However, I’m having some schadenfreude over the latest Republican-evangelical scandal. Bridget Ziegler is a member of the Sarasota County School Board and one of the co-founders of “Moms For Liberty,” an Astroturf group that raids school-boards to demand the removal of books dealing intelligently with LGBTQ+ issues and African-American history, and has terrorized transgender kids about bathrooms and lockers, and harassed drag shows. (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty); Christian Ziegler was the Chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and they were both close to trump and Governor Ron DeSantis, so they were a serious power couple. Christian has been accused of raping a woman who—hang on—has had a three-way sexual relationship with BOTH of the Zieglers. Since then, another video has surfaced showing Bridget having sex with—another woman! These are people prominent in the movement to police and dictate other people’s consensual lifestyle choices. For me, another person’s private life is their business, and I’m not monogamous myself, but the hypocrisy from these two is appalling. (https://www.vanityfair.com/news/christian-ziegler-bridget-ziegler-rape-accusation-scandal) (https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/02/rape-accusation-florida-republican-party-chair-ziegler-00129753) (https://www.advocate.com/news/bridget-ziegler-sex-woman) (https://flcga.org/police-have-recovered-second-ziegler-sex-video-sources-say/) That, Americans, is what we’re up against. It’s not about being moral, it’s about control on other people, from a formerly dominant group who project their desire to rule over them over the formerly subservient group, and, alas, the Republican Party is their vehicle to run the rest of us over. SO, upon this New Year, let’s resolve to educate ourselves, communicate with each other, and VOTE when voting time comes. We can do it, as we have in the past. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael Chai! America will be free! Happy New Year!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason

I speak about the danger of White "Christain" Nationalism, and of the Texas woman leaving the state to attain an abortion.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, December 11, 2023

I speak about the failure of certain university leaders to address anti-Semitism on their campuses, and to stand up against racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and other forms of discrimination in this country.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, December 4, 2023

I speak about the sex scandal in the Florida Republican Party, the accommodation of anti-Semitism in the Texas Republican Party, and the need to organize and vote against a second trump term.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, November 27, 2023

I speak about the possible expulsion of George Santos from the House, and of the rot within the Republican Party.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason

I speak about the Black Founders exhibit currently at the Museum of the American Revolution.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, November 13, 2023

I speak about the need to support veterans, and of the misuse of the Israel-Hamas war as a political football for some politician’s agenda.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, November 6, 2023

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, October 30, 2023

I speak about the new Speaker of the House, and the need to vote out the Republican Party.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, October 23, 2023

I speak about my distress over events in the Middle East and of the craziness of the House Republican Caucus.

The Mason Missile, October 22, 2023

Greetings, Americans! Let us note (not mourn) the passing of Kevin Phillips, whose book of 1969, The Emerging Republican Majority, laid out the path of electoral victory for Republicans, which they have followed to this day. Phillips urged the party to appeal to working-class white voters angry at African-Americans for asserting their Civil Rights, which the Nixon campaign called their “Southern Strategy,” utilizing the phrases “law and order,” “crime in the streets,” “drug dealers,” and “welfare cheats,” instead of up-front spouting racial slurs; white voters would hear these phrases, and let their racially-stereotyped thinking do the rest, ginning up anger and resentment against uppity minorities. (https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/the-gops-southern-strategy-mastermind-just-died-heres-his-legacy/article_4abdb10b-af22-5bb1-aa60-2d3b06c3e2d1.html) This has proven to be a recipe for social disaster; instead of bringing people together to solve mutual problems, and bringing people of all races together, Phillip’s formula has fostered racial anxiety and division, keeping Americans at odds with each other. And the news media, as far as I can see, has acted like it’s been a stroke of political genius, guaranteed to continually keep Republicans in the White House and other offices—but what about the real business of governing? What about public safety, schools, water/sewer, defense, housing? Public policy from such elections has produced ideas that shift the blame on the afflicted minorities, talking about them being oversexed, drugged up, lazy and ignorant, which is built on the stereotypes the Southern Strategy promotes. The Republicans who bewail what t---p has done to their precious party aren’t innocent of this; some variation or another of the Southern Strategy, like Ronald Reagan, in 1980, proclaiming “I believe in states’ rights” in the Mississippi community where the Civil Rights workers—Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney (glory to their names!) were killed by the Ku Klux Klan (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-kkk-kills-three-civil-rights-activists); the 1988 campaign of George HW Bush, which featured photos of Willy Horton, “the scary Black rapist” supposedly out on the loose; and the constant promoting of the “birther” movement, which harped the idea that Barrack Obama was really born in Kenya, and they demanded his birth certificate but where never satisfied; and now we have this alleged capitalist business whiz of a real-estate developer, who cheated on his contractors, his taxes, his wives, and his golf, but has been so adored by evangelical Christian voters. I advocate public policies what would uplift and unite the people, ALL of them, and do not look down on anybody, be it the homeless, drug addicted, unemployed, or in some way or another marginalized. Ain’t this a trip? At this writing, the House members of the Republican Party, the “law and order” party currently infested with authoritarian ideas, can’t pull themselves together to elect a new speaker, after Kevin McCarthy resigned. Jim Jordan of Ohio, has failed three times to be elected Speaker, and the Republican caucus has been throwing up names of their members crazy enough to take the job, and crazy enough to attain support from the MAGA base, where the Republican Party is at now. The race-baiting and racially-charged innuendos have come to this. Traditionally, when the Republican Party, like during Ronald Reagan, put out a propaganda slogan not fit for a bumper sticker, all the party, and their allied media outlets, run with it, and the regular commercial media tags along. I remember the 1984 presidential campaign, where the republican media machine kept up the line about Walter Mondale, that he was beholden to “special interests,” and these so-called “special interests” were never identified; Republican voters collectively had their own idea of who these “special interests” were, like gays, Labor, feminists, or anybody they didn’t like. The putrid legacy of Kevin Phillips continues. This is what we’re up against, and I’m pleased with all the pushback against it, in the courts and in the neighborhoods. Workers have been winning victories in organizing and attaining good contracts, like the Teamsters against UPS, the slow-motion strike by UAW against the big four auto makers, and organizing drives at Starbucks, Amazon, and Trader Joe’s. Often the news media (and I say this with all respect, as I’m in the news media myself) doesn’t pay attention to this, they seldom do; but we’re paying attention, workers are paying attention, and communities are paying attention. So let’s keep it up! Let’s bury Phillip’s tactics of hate and division, and connect with fellow workers and neighbors in our worksites and blocks, see who the real enemy is, and band together—and VOTE every time an election arises, from President all the way down to town council and township supervisor; and Phillip’s toxic legacy will finally end in our politics. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, September 26, 2023

I speak about Yom Kippur, the whine about Critical Race Theory and “Woke”-ness, and the need to support all workers organizing.

The Mason Missile, September 19, 2023

Greetings, Americans! September 11 has a special meaning; it is the date of some of the worst in world tragedies. On September 11, 2002, two jet liners, seized by Al Qaeda terrorists, crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York; another one was captured and crashed into the Pentagon; and another, which the terrorists planned to ram into the Capitol, was recaptured by the passengers and crashed into farmland in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Thousands of innocent people were killed; I remember I was at my job and one of my coworkers told me about the New York crash, and we all huddled around the radio for the latest news. No cause can justify or excuse these crimes. May the souls of those killed continue to rest in peace. The other tragedy was in September 11, 1973, in Chile; on that day, the Chilean military, on the encouragement of the CIA, violently overthrew the government—the duly elected government, might I add—of Salvador Allende, killing Allende and bring in the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet—whom Allende, earlier in that year, appointed Commander-In-Chief of the Chilean army. The coup ushered in one of the vicious dictatorships in the world, where dissidents were murdered by Pinochet’s secret police, DINA, with such means as throwing them into the ocean or into the Andes; crushing their bones by driving a car into them; beatings, rapes, and assassinations, such as the bombing of the car driven by Orlando Letelier, an official in the Allende administration who was a leader in the anti-Pinochet resistance. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Letelier) Another victim of the regime was Victor Jara, the radial theater producer, poet and songwriter, who was tortured and shot, then dumped into a shantytown in Santiago. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%ADctor_Jara) They were among the thousands of victims of the Pinochet regime, and their loved ones are still seeking justice for them. Documents are still being dredged out about OUR OWN government’s role in the coup. (https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2023-08-29/us-releases-chile-coup-documents) Henry Kissenger, then Nixon’s Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, was full of the fear, dominating foreign policy at that time, of COMMUNISM and the belief that any government pointing anywhere to the “left” was a client for the Soviet Union and its schemes of world domination, an enemy that had to be eliminated, no matter how popular it was to its people, no matter how peaceful and non-repressive it was. (https://www.e-ir.info/2016/02/12/us-foreign-policy-and-the-1973-coup-in-chile/) (https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/cold-war-henry-kissinger/2023-05-25/henry-kissingers-documented-legacy) (https://www.npr.org/2023/09/10/1193755188/chile-coup-50-years-pinochet-kissinger-human-rights-allende) Eventually, after the coup, the policy of the Nixon-Kissinger regime went from instigating the coup to helping Pinochet consolidate his power, and they didn’t worry their heads about human rights violations, repression of the arts and media, or torture. Pinochet and his regime has become the role model for the far-right thug element in THIS country, like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and other domestic fascist gun-slingers. (https://theintercept.com/2021/02/04/pinochet-far-right-hoppean-snake/) They want to utilize Pinochet’s tactics of repression and torture against anyone in the “left,” whether it be a Maoist or some milquetoast liberal; no one, no matter how nonviolent or pacifist, would be free from being their enemy of THEIR state. One big thing about the Pinochet regime is how the free-market loving “Libertarian” faction of economic thought fell in love with the regime, with such heavy-hitters as Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek praising Pinochet for privatizing public services, eliminating the social-welfare system, and the deregulation of business. These “Libertarians” whine and howl about any state intervention into the economy, no matter how beneficial it would be to the general public—environmental protection, protection of union-organizing drives, Social Security, public health, what have you—as “tyranny,” and to them democracy, the general public voting on the future of the country and participating in its works, would be a terrible despotism, and the only TRUE freedom is the freedom of corporations to pollute the air and water, to overcharge for shoddy products, to put contaminated food on the market, to prevent workers from organizing. Hayek and Friedman, however, were perfectly fine with a violent dictatorship, so long as its opponents were denied their “Liberty.” They would have no role in this “Libertarian” society. All of this is chronicled in Naomi Klein’s book The Shock Doctrine. Here, in all its glory, is Fascism, the repressing of dissidents for the benefit of the financial elite. This is what awaits us if trump is reelected into the Presidency. The elements for undermining our somewhat rickety democracy are as present in this country as they were in Chile, such as a violent racist-fascist element ready to slaughter its enemies, their allies placed in the state apparatus (the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives) , and its fellow-travelers caught up in a news-and-information bunker with no outside interference. (I say bunker, not bubble, purposely.) We’ve had our bouts of repression in this country, such as the Red Scares after the World Wars, and the attempts to discourage dissent during the invasion of Iraq. The most nonviolent of peace movements were under surveillance during and after the war, and opponents were treated like Neville-Chamberlin type appeasers. Plus during the length of the Civil Rights Movement, the FBI (I say this with all due respect) had a vast program to surveil and undermine the movement, treating it like “the enemy within,” as was the anti-Viet Nam-war movement. It can happen on a bigger scale if trump is reelected, and make Pinochet look like a wimp in comparison. No, we MUST NOT and WILL NOT allow this to happen! We WILL organize, and support all other organizing efforts of workers and communities; we WILL educate ourselves on the REAL issues, and it isn’t gas stoves and drag queens; and we WILL get out and vote, and help our friends and neighbors do so as well. That’s how we’ll defeat our homegrown Pinochet wannabes. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, September 18, 2023

I speak about the wave of worker organizing, and of the need for workers to organize.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, September 11, 2023

I speak about the current Labor activity and militancy in this country.

The Mason Missile, August 28, 2023

Greetings, Americans! We are now in the month of Elul, the time of reflection and self-examination leading up to Rosh-HaShona, the Jewish New Year. It’s the time to look at how and what you did during the previous year, and to reconcile with people you’ve been having trouble with. It’s the time to understand that people are not perfect and that we can always turn away from the negative path and repair ourselves. On that note: If I have caused any harm to anyone during the year, I ask you forgiveness; and if anyone out there had done anything negative to me, I forgive them. I’m enjoying the delicious news of the indictments of Donald whatshisface and his cronies, on the charges of hoarding classified documents, of trying to undermine the Electoral College vote and encourage the coup attempt on January 6, 2021, and, in Georgia, of his interference in the voting system in that state. I’ve always hoped for t---p to get his comeuppance; on August 24, he will surrender himself at the Fulton County (Georgia) Jail, to be processed and fingerprinted, as are 18 other of his accomplices in the effort to overturn the democratic, legitimate election of Joe Biden as president in 2020. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-fulton-county-georgia-surrender-charges/) (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-fulton-county-georgia-case-co-defendants-surrendering-scott-hall/) I wonder, will any of these minions flip on trump and testify against him? I’ve seen the mugshots of trump and his crew as they were processed into the system—fingerprints, mugshots, all that. (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-arrest-fulton-county-booked-rcna101641) trump, trying as always to fleece his flock of sheep, is trying to sell merchandise with the mugshot on them, again playing the martyr. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/merchandise-with-donald-trump-s-mugshot-for-sale-online/vi-AA1fLoAu) But what was he really thinking as he was going through the process? did it realize that the game is up, that he’s finally getting caught, and can no longer get away with his crimes? Maybe not; he’s never been a deep thinker. The bail was set for trump at $200,000.00; if he really is a multibillionaire like he’s always bragged about being (one of his selling points in his presidential campaign), this would be mere pocket change; however, more than likely, he’ll call out to his disciples and fleece them out of their money, and pose as a martyr for “free speech” like the “free speech” to spout slanders and threats at the legal officials doing their jobs to bring him to justice. Trump’s bond agreement stipulates that trump is not to make any threat, direct or indirect, against anyone; who believes he‘ll abide by that rule? (https://news.yahoo.com/set-watches-experts-theres-no-130224048.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall) Neither do I; he simply HAS to run his big mouth to rally his MAGA troops. Plus, aside from the DOJ’s Special Prosecutor Jack Smith (way to go!), the officials prosecuting the cases against trump are people of color: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who has been prosecuting trump over his payments to porn star Stormy Daniels (https://www.salon.com/2023/04/04/the-case-against-trump-a-porn-star-a-conspiracy-a-payoff-a-cover-up/); Letita James, Attorney-General of New York State, for his fraud in the value of his properties, lowering them for tax purposes and raising them to attain loans from banks (https://www.reuters.com/legal/what-new-yorks-lawsuit-means-trump-his-family-company-2022-09-21/) ; and Fani Willis, the District Attorney for Fulton County, Georgia (where Atlanta is located) (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/who-is-fani-willis-the-fulton-county-da-who-has-been-investigating-trump). Plus, handling trump’s federal charges over the riot-coup attempt on January 6, 2021 is Tanya Chulkan, the US District Judge for the District of Columbia. (https://www.npr.org/2023/08/25/1195613760/trump-trial-judge-tanya-chulkan) They are African-American, and trump is infamously racist. He can’t handle that. We must continue to insist that trump and his partners-in-crime are thoroughly prosecuted, and if found guilty, sentenced appropriately. It’s an unfortunate reality that lower-income people of all backgrounds feel the full weight of the law, while rich people skate through it. To show our justice system works for ALL of us, these criminals (yes, I said it!) must get the “law and order” they’ve been crying abut for decades. The justice system must work for ALL of us, in order for us to be a true democracy. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, August 21, 2023

I speak about the multiple indictments against Donald t—p, and the need to hold him accountable for his crimes.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, August 7, 2023

I speak about the latest indictment of Donald trump, and what a blow it is to the MAGA maniacs.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, July 17, 2023

I speak abut the silly political games Tommy Tuberville and the House Republicans, the “support the troops” party, are playing with our national defense.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, July 10, 2023

I speak about the 70’s Watergate scandal, and the need to hold trump accountable for his crimes.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, July 3, 2023

I speak about standing up to the "Moms For Liberty" and related groups, and of the work to bring the fine words of the Declaration of Independence into reality.

The Mason Missile, June 26, 2023

Greetings, Americans! We celebrated Juneteenth, the new federal holiday, commemorating the day, June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger, who established his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, announced to the enslaved people there that they were free, under Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. News of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Lincoln on January 1, 1863, did not reach the enslaved people of Texas until then. That’s an old story; if you have any rights or liberties; people in power make damn sure you don’t hear about them. (https://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth) This is why so many proto-fascists, like the ones congregated inside the Republican Party, are trying to prevent people, especially school kids, from learning the real story about our nation’s history; they prefer a sanitized, propagandistic version, like something you would see in a commercial for an insurance company. Do they really think they can hide, forever, the history of race and racism in this country, along with the existence of LGBTQ+ people, or the history to the Labor movement in this country? Do they think that by not talking about, or reading about, these issues, and using the force to the state to do it, will make these problems go away? Do they even know these issues, or people affected by these issues, exist in real life? Is willful ignorance, enforced by police, the only weapon they have? Sure looks like it. All this is coming to Philadelphia: the “Moms For Liberty,” one of the many Astroturf organizations, concocted by right-wing billionaires to keep the people at war with each other, will hold its “Joyful Warriors National Summit,” June 29-July 2, at the Marriot Hotel on Market Street in Philadelphia. Among the featured speakers will be Republican presidential candidates like Donald—you know, that guy—Ron Desantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy. (https://www.momsforliberty.org/summit23-speakers/) (https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/social-justice-groups-call-for-marriott-to-cancel-alleged-extremist-group-moms-for-liberty-summit-in-downtown-philly/3582020/) One of the speakers in particular that caught my attention is James Lindsay, author of the book Race Marxism: The Truth Behind Critical Race Theory And Practice. Yes, it’s about the right-wing’s favorite big scary thing they scare their kids with at bedtime. (https://jacobin.com/2022/03/james-lindsay-race-marxism-book-review-crt-liberalism) This reminds me of the Nazis of Germany, before they attained power; they campaigned against what they called “cultural Bolshevism,” a shorthand way of attacking what they called the evil influence of Jews (MY peeps!) on the arts. Do these right-wing-dings even have any idea what this horrific thing called CRT for short? Have they read ANY damn thing by the scholars on this subject—which, as I’ve said for the millionth time, is taught to law schools, and not, NOT, in Kindergarten. I myself have risen to this challenge, and have purchased the book Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings That Formed The Movement, published by the New Press. (https://thenewpress.com/books/critical-race-theory) I’m going to read the essays of the great scholars of CRT, such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, Cornel West, Neil Gotanda, Gary Peller, and Kendall Thomas; will the maniacs who howl about it do the same? Doubt it. (By the way, I purchased this book through my favorite local bookstore, A Novel Idea On Passyunk (https://anovelideaphilly.com/); I urge you to support locally-based businesses, particularly bookstores.) Trump and Desantis continue to draw to their events all manner of neo-fascists, anti-Semetic and white-nationalist goons and thugs, and don’t doubt for a minute they’ll crawl out of the woodwork and spread their terror in Philadelphia. We must come together to stand up to these pricks, non-violently of course, and let them know they WILL NOT intimidate us. In the Second World War, our ancestors crossed an ocean and landed in foreign nations, fighting and dying to defeat fascist oppression; we mustn’t fail to do so this time, it would be an insult to their memory and sacrifice. All we have to do is go downtown to resist them. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason

I speak about the indictments of Donald t—p, and of the need to hold our officials accountable.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, June 5, 2023

I speak about Philadelphia's Pride Festival and the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, the problem with the debt ceiling deal, the scapegoating of low-income and working people in budget negotiations, and the fallacy of "trickle down" economics.

The Mason Missile, May 28, 2023

Greetings, Americans! This past primary election in Pennsylvania, on May 16, I took part in my division’s election board, and I helped people work the new computerized voting machines. People have lost their lives so that WE can have this precious weapon of working people, so affect positive change in our communities and our lives. Whatever you do, please don’t give up this right, and don’t let anyone take it from us. The Republican-led House of Representatives is hell-bent on ending the programs so many American depend on to survive—Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits— which, full disclosure, I also depend upon. The republicans, led by “Speaker” Kevin McCarthy (at the sufferance of the MAGA maniacs he depends on to say in how position), insist on “work requirements” for recipients, such as 20-or so hours of side work. How much work can you get out of a 70- year old veteran, who has mental trauma and some physical injuries; or a construction and building-trades retiree, whose body is worn out from physical demanding labor for 30-some years; or someone in a wheelchair due to a disability, or a single mother needing help with her kids? That’s the capitalists’ dream—flood the job market with millions of unemployed workers, to prevent employed workers from going out on strike for higher wages (well-deserved) and the unemployed workers are a pool of scab labor; plus the workers would be at war with themselves over attaining the jobs that are in short supply, in a playbook resembling The Hunger Games. The Republicans aren’t aware that if they have their way with this, people will lose their homes, their food supplies, and their health; or maybe they ARE aware and don’t care. If Biden DOESN’T go with their evil scheme, and the federal government defaults on its debts, the economy of the nation, and the world, will collapse; the Stock Market will crash, millions will be unemployed, for starters. But again, the GOPricks running the House doesn’t think about that, it’s just “destroy Biden and get Trump back in!” And THIS is supposedly the party of fiscal responsibility! The news is in—Biden and McCarthy have reached a tentative deal on spending, which raises the debt ceiling for two years, and has some work requirements, though it would not be as bad as the Republicans demanded. However, it still would not be enough for the MAGA caucus in the House, whose permission McCarthy needs to stay as Speaker, probably still would welcome a default and the economic catastrophe that would occur. (https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/27/politics/debt-limit-negotiations-latest/index.html?utm_term=1685278240157d92a43bbe9cf&utm_source=cnn_Five+Things+for+Sunday%2C+May+28%2C+2023&utm_medium=email&bt_ee=Dn5hHjlduTwichDHbdPqsNkn15m8EwUPDhQjxycCp5w3wdiCG770mvCaLexMLJD7&bt_ts=1685278240160) (https://www.alternet.org/crazy-cuckoo-maga-people/?utm_source=123456&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=14523) And in this discussion—or threatening if you will—of a federal default, we have to overcome the “two sides are equally bad” idea, like it’s a squabble between two kids in the playground. The long-term goal of the right, in all its forms, is to undo the advancements that have occurred in the past few decades that uplifted working, low-income, and marginalized people, since FDR. We—Labor, Civil rights, LGBTQ, Feminists, and other activists—are the decedents of those who have campaigned and fought for these things we enjoy, sometimes at the cost of their lives. SO, we’ll pick up where they left off. We’ll continue the fight for equality and justice that our ancestors fought for, and we’ll move them further. to do that requires we educate ourselves about the reality of our history and our present, organize our communities and worksites, and get out to vote whenever there is an election. We’ve done it before, we’ll do it again. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, May 8, 2023

I speak about the mall shooting in Allen, Texas, and the refusal of politicians to do anything about it, beyond the “thoughts and prayers” stuff.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, May 1, 2023

I speak about the real story behind May Day, aka International Workers Day, and of the need to support all workers' organizing efforts.

The Mason Missile, April 24, 2023

Greetings, Americans! As I keep repeating, and I’ll keep on repeating, May 16 is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania, and wherever you are, please get out there and vote. There are many powerful forces out there, using abusive laws and physical violence, which have for a long time, and continue to, try to steal from us this most powerful tool of democracy. So many conservative forces, mainly located around the Republican Party—and the Democratic Party has had its sellouts (I’m looking at YOU, Kyrsten Sinema!)—have given up the idea of using the democratic process to persuade voters as to why voters should vote for them, and have used such tricks as gerrymandering of legislative districts, voter ID laws, and laws for placement of drop-off boxes, to try to discourage voters from voting. It’s important to vote and be conscious about the situation in your community—that is WOKE, and it’s not a dirty word, it’s a necessity in the world—after the Republican-dominated Tennessee House of Representatives held votes to remove three Democratic members—Justin Jones, Justin Pierson, and Gloria Johnson—for their support of students in the chamber protesting the legislature’s willful inaction following the shooting and deaths at the Covenant Christian school in Nashville, where three children and three adults were killed. (https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/school-shooting-tennessee-leaves-multiple-injured-shooter-dead-officia-rcna76841) And as always, there was the usual “thoughts and prayers” business, where anything, except the availability of military-grade assault rifles on the civilian market, is the cause of the deaths. But these young people in Nashville weren’t having it; they showed greater maturity than the “adults” in the legislature, by walking out and demonstrating in the chamber galleries and hallway. (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/04/kids-are-still-in-body-bags-students-protest-tennessee-house-gop-for-refusing-to-address-gun-violence-after-nashville/) The three members of the House—Jones, Pierson, and Johnson—showed support for the young people; but the republicans ruling the House voted to expel Jones and Pierson, and Johnson escaped expulsion by one vote. (Jones and Pierson are young African-American men, and Johnson is a white woman—don’t tell ME racism had nothing to do about it!) Here’s a fact we must remember; one of the Republican members of the Tennessee House who voted to expel Jones and Pierson, Scotty Campbell, resigned after it was revealed that he sexually harassed a teenaged female intern. (https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/us/tennessee-house-rep-scotty-campbell-resigns/index.html) Campbell used the excuse that Jones and Pierson violated the “Decorum” of the House by participating in the demonstration, while Campbell violated the House’s rules on discrimination and harassment. Again, the vote against Jones and Pierson had nothing to do with “decorum” or maintaining order in the chamber, it was about repressing any discussion about firearms running rampant throughout the country. What is it with the Republicans in state legislators and Congress? Are they so isolated in their doctrinal bubble that they’re ignorant of what the people they’re purported to represent really think, about guns, LGBTQ issues, racial issues on our history, for example? Are they so damned secure in their gerrymandered seats that they could count on the suckers and rubes they see voters as to keep voting for them? So corrupted by donations from the oil lobby and the NRA? So ignorant that they believe the raving maniacs at school board meetings, transported to those meetings by “Astroturf” groups paid for by corporate cash, are the REAL America? The battle of the Federal Budget goes on. Economic experts predict severe economic disaster if the federal budget is not approved by summer—the Stock Market falling, unemployment rampant. Congress could agree to raise the debt ceiling, but the Republican-dominated House, under the “Speakership” of Kevin McCarthy, is demanding changes in Medicaid, which is aimed towards older American (like myself, full disclosure), such as greater work requirements. ( https://www.huffpost.com/entry/medicaid-work-requirement_n_6442e175e4b04997b5717a38) They also are aiming at the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, the forerunner to Food Stamps, which helped me a lot too). McCarthy’s plan would be to require recipients of Medicaid—seniors, retirees, people with physical problems—to work 20 hours a week for their benefits; Matt Gaetz, the hair-boy from Florida, is demanding it be 30 hours a week. Again, poor, working-class, and low-income people are the punching bags in discussions about the Budget, and they get lectured about their spending habits and work ethic. But they don’t dare go after the tax cuts that they have accumulated over the years, such as the ones under t----p; and I’m sorry to say, the news media needs to pay more attention to that too. But low-income and working-class people don’t have thousand-dollar an hour lobbyists schmoozing Congress-members, treating them to dinner, taking them to high-end resorts and brothels, it’s the trillion-dollar corporate entities hiring the lobbyists. As for the “work requirements” that seniors and the infirm have to do under McCarthy’s plan—it’s not about instilling a “work ethic” on “those lazy welfare leeches,” as the right-wing pundits would put it—the oil industry, plus savings and loan companies, and mortgage companies, have long been bailed out by taxpayer dollars, thus being the HUGHEST welfare queens; it’s about re-creating a pool of impoverished people who would bring down the wages of people who still have jobs (for now) and preventing them from going out on strike for better wages, since, the capitalists believe, they could grab any dude off the street and they would take whatever the company decides to throw at them. Plus, the social safety net offers a bit of independence and breathing space while the unemployed look for jobs. The conservative propaganda machine bleats about “ending people’s dependence on welfare,” while making working and low-income people dependent on the same billionaire class that traditionally controlled our government, in all its entities, and the media, including in some cases (I’m sorry to say) academia, which million–dollar donations to universities. This is where WE, the working people and ow-income people of America, come in. we must band together to educate ourselves on these issues, and realize the dark-skinned people down the road aren’t our enemies; neither are the same-sex couples, the drag queens reading to kids in the library. Division between us is their main weapon against us, having us freaked out about things other than the corporate classes grip on our government and our nation. We must organize, in the neighborhoods and the worksites, to advance our rights and our well-being. We’ve done it in the past, and we’ll do it again, in the present and on into the future. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

the Mason Missile, March 27, 2023

Greetings, Americans! I’m taking part in my ward to help and urge people to vote this primary season; in Pennsylvania, the primary election takes place on May 16. I urge everyone to get out there and vote, either by mail or in person. People have fought and died to make sure we have this right, and some reactionary politicians want to take it from us, because we, the American people, don’t accept their agenda, and they know it. If our right to vote is taken from us, how else should we select our public officials? So many politicians on the right have given up on democracy, since they know they can’t count on winning a fair election. An example of this is the event in December 2022 by the New York Young Republicans; Marjorie Taylor-Greene, fascist looney-toon from Georgia, thought it would be cute to say about the January 6 riot-coup, “If Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would have been armed.” (https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-armed-insurrection-comments/index.html) As you can see, the crowd got a big hoot out of the “joke.” In this fascist festival, “mainstream” Republican Congress-members broke bread with some of the nation’s most notorious racists; Peter and Lynda Brimelow of VDARE, the aforementioned Steve Bannon, members of the neo-Nazi Freiheitliche party in Austria, members of the neo-Nazi German party Alternativ für Deutschland, and Jack Posobiec, far-right political operative behind the “Pizzagate” lie (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/jack-posobiec)—and Josh Hammer, opinion editor for Newsweek magazine. (https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2022/12/11/white-nationalists-other-republicans-brace-total-war) SOOO, the neo-fascist right is once more contaminating the political mainstream. A couple of days before Biden’s inauguration, MTG urged trump‘s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, "In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law". (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-martial-law-mark-meadows-text-messages/) Another example of this is the Tweets from Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah); the first one said, “We’re not a democracy,” and the next one said, “Democracy isn’t the objective; liberty, peace, and prospefity (sic) are. We want the human condition to flourish. Rank democracy can thwart that.” (https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21507713/mike-lee-democracy-republic-trump-2020) The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) has come and gone at National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland; and it was a downer of an event. Over half the seats in the hall were empty, and people were napping and yawning as the speakers spoke their usual inflammatory rhetoric, which has lost its power. Founded in1974, CPAC was the go-to event for conservative activists and Republican politicians, particularly presidential candidates, to see and be seen, and connect with compatible organizations and activists. Now, such wannabe presidential candidates as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former Vice-President Mike Pence, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (California), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc Connell (Kentucky), avoided that event. (https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ron-desantis-will-skip-cpac-rcna72537) Now, it’s become a big trump rally for the MAGA crowd. It didn’t attract much of the younger generation to continue the cause into the future; the movement’s media, like Fox News, didn’t attend; activists for anti-abortion work, “free market” fanatics, and small-tax activists, didn’t hold workshops at the conference; and merchandise for sale advertising their favorite causes and bashing their favorite targets—t-shirts, books, caps, coffee mugs, etc.—were absent, and trump-MAGA stuff was on the market. (https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/03/06/cpac-vibes-trump-00085568?link_id=5&can_id=c6b214524e142a4cda41a3e4163755a6&source=email-how-not-to-predict-the-2024-election&email_referrer=email_1839369&email_subject=the-vibes-are-off-with-the-republican-party) I’m starting to think the conservatie movement is losing its steam—losing its power and influence. Matt Shlapp, head of the American Conservative Union (ACU), which organizes CPAC every year, has been charged with sexual assault; a young man who worked at Hershel Walker’s staff (for Walker’s Senate run in Georgia) charged Schlapp with groping and “excessively fondling” his sex organs. (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/01/male-staffer-sues-matt-schlapp-for-9-million-lawsuit-alleges-sexual-battery-after-aggressively-fondling-groin-area/) This is part of why the conference was so thinly attended; prominent conservatives didn’t buy tickets to the event, at event at bargain prices. (https://www.alternet.org/the-right-wing/matt-schlapp-2659479898/) It’s another case of a homophobe embedded in the closet, with incredible power in his movement, a source for political connections—and, just like an old-time Hollywood mogul, could have his way sexually with young up-and-comers, male or female. That’s what we’re up against—but we’re up to the challenge. We’ve beaten them before, and we’ll keep on beating them. But the work is in organizing our communities and our worksites, and ally with others in doing so. It also means educating yourselves on the REAL issues affecting our communities and our nation—which means preserving our libraries, so we can read the relevant books on these issues (and support our local libraries as well). And of course, VOTE for the candidates we need—maybe YOU can be a candidate? (FYI, the primary election in Pennsylvania will be May 16; thought you should know. You’re welcome.) Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 20, 2023

I speak about the upcoming arrest of Donald Trump, and the craven response by the Republican leadership.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason March 13, 2023

I speak about the new generation of Labor activists, and of the latest failures of “free-market” capitalism, such as the train derailment of the Norfolk-Southern line, and the crash of Silicon Valley Bank.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, March 6, 2023

I speak abut the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, and the continued sinking into fascism it shows.

The Mason Missile, February 26, 2023

Greetings, Americans! The primary elections are coming up, and I’m again urging everyone to get out and vote. Before voting, please listen to the candidates and ask them questions, since they’ll perform works in government that would affect how we live, now and for years to come. They must not be disconnected to the people. I watched parts of President Joe Biden’s State Of The Union address, and also watched the luminaries of the Republican Party, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, make damn fools of themselves; MTG particularly acted up, yelling at Biden, when he bought up the long-term Republican goal of eliminating Social Security and Medicare. (Just so you know, I’m on both of those programs, as are millions of Americans who would face financial disaster without them.) Also, Greene, along with calling Biden “liar” and howling like she was in a poorly-run strip club, wore a fur-trimmed coat inside the chamber. (That’s all she has to offer the public; hysterics, lies, conspiracy theories, and grand-mal tantrums to get the media looking at her, rather than working on the needs of the American people—to such a low has the Republican Party sunk to.) Another freaky thing Taylor-Greene did was screaming “Liar” when Biden accused “some” republicans of wanting to end, for all time, Social Security and Medicare. (https://www.mediamatters.org/social-security/mainstream-medias-extensive-reporting-gops-efforts-cut-social-security-and-medicare). (Full disclosure, I’m on both programs, and they have been a big help to me and millions of other Americans.) The Republicans in Congress have threatened to not allow the raising of the debt ceiling unless Social Security and Medicare were damaged in some way, either by raising the eligibility age or attaining less in payments. They say they want to “sunset” the programs, and to vote on them as “discretionary” spending; their long-term goal has been, since the New Deal, to eliminate them altogether. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah let the cat out of the bag when a video resurfaced of him telling a group, “It would be my objective to phase out Social Security, to pull it up by the roots, and get rid of it,” adding that, “Medicare and Medicaid are the same sort and need to be pulled up.” Here is the video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8UxMnrk8qI) https://www.mediamatters.org/social-security/mainstream-medias-extensive-reporting-gops-efforts-cut-social-security-and-medicare) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iJKpSUpltE) Of course, the republicans are insulted that they’ve been called out on this, “How DARE you accuse us of destroying Social Security and Medicare?” But the evidence is there. Another Republican Senator, Risk Allen of Georgia, said, “People come up to me, and they actually want to work longer,” which is why he calls for raising the retirement age to 70 years; Ted Cruz of Texas (when he’s not in Cancun) compared Social Security to a “Ponzi scheme.” (https://www.alternet.org/proof-republicans-social-security-medicare/) So here are the receipts on the Republican War on Social Security and Medicare. Social Security and Medicare, however, enjoy overwhelming support from Americans—so why are the MAGAists and other rightists still hell-bent to destroy them? It can only be ideological fanaticism. The Republican MAGAs and their rightist cousins have lived in a doctrinal bubble, assuming without any evidence that the American people are behind them. But so far they’ve given up on that assurance, as shown by the gerrymandering of legislative district to give them an advantage in elections, and the restricting of people’s ability to vote, particularly people of color, through repressive laws and police force. And they distract us with “culture war” (oh, how I hate that phrase!) nonsense like their scare about drag-queens and intelligent discussions about race, gender, gender identity, and sexual preference. Let’s not fall for that crap. The real issue isn’t big-government-small-government—it’s about who the government works for—ALL the people, or an uber-wealthy oligarchic class? Please keep this in mind as we study the issues, and organize for the benefit of our communities. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, February 20, 2023

I speak about Jewish views on reproductive rights, and the need to defend them.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, February 6, 2023

I speak about the Republican hypocrisy around the Chinese spy balloon, the decline into racism of the Republican Party, and the work of Bayard Rustin.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, January 31, 2023

I speak about African-American History Month, and how certain racist politicians try to repress any studies of minorities.

The Mason Missile, January 30, 2023

Greetings, Americans! The decline of the Republican Party continues—will it bring the nation down with it? They are NOT at ALL the majority of Americans, but their placement in Congress and state governments gives them power to inflict damage on our freedoms. The whole sad-ass drama around Kevin McCarthy’s election as Speaker of the House—after 15 votes!—is a case in point. McCarthy kept making one concession after another to the House Freedom Caucus (The far-right gang in the House), including making it easier for ONE whole member to demand that the House take a vote to remove the Speaker, along with placing some of their craziest members in key committees. Jim Jordan (allegedly) of Ohio is now Chair of the Judiciary Committee, as well as the Chair of this new committee tasked to investigate the “weaponization of the federal government.” Conservatives love to portray themselves as some oppressed demographic group, as the try to legislate the repression of REAL minority groups. Can you imagine these lunatics going over classified documents, along with the criminal investigations of Donald whatshisface? Abortion, one of the right-wing’s favorite targets, is again on the verge of being illegal again, after the over-turning of Roe v. Wade. (https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/23/politics/garland-gupta-abortion-state-legislation/index.html) However, that was not always the case. Up until the Civil War, according to a report by NPR, abortion was a common practice, and perfectly legal. But in 1860, a member of the American Medical Association, (then newly-formed.), Dr. Horatio Storer, began a campaign to have abortion criminalized, and sent a letter to every state governor on behalf of the AMA. Storer introduced the idea that life began at conception, and he played on the fears of the era around the decline of White Protestant babies’ births and the growth in the populations of Asian immigrants, freed African-American slaves, and Catholics. (https://www.npr.org/2023/01/19/1149924325/abortion-was-once-common-practice-in-america-a-small-group-of-doctors-changed-th). In Storer’s plan, White Protestant women would be forced to produce more babies, and every other group would be subject to sterilization programs, under the then-growing nonsensical “field” of “Eugenics,” built around the decreasing of non-white populations, so that they don’t out-populate the White Protestant population. Plus, Storer used this campaign to eliminate midwives as the ones helping the woman through birth, with propaganda calling midwives immoral and unsanitary. Storer, in his crusade against abortion and midwives utilized the words of morality, saying that killing anyone, even just before birth, was “murder;” and the language of male dominance over women, saying that women just don’t know the sensations going on in their OWN DAMN BODIES. To this say, anti-abortion activists use the same words Storer used, about the “immorality” of the “killing of babies in the mother’s womb.” But are they aware of the racist origins of their movement? Of the fears that White people would be out-populated, and f the targeting of non-white people to be depopulated, in the name of “racial improvement?” Racism is close at hand in right-wing thinking. And they throw in the “morality” about the subject, be it marijuana, abortion. LGBTQ+ rights, what have you. Let’s continue to do the research on these topics; let us learn the REAL history of these right-wing crusades. And let’s stay strong against the new power of the Republicans, with the way the trump element has taken it over and corrupted it. We can defeat them, just as we have been. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay united! Slava Ukraini! America will be free! Bye!

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, January 23, 2023

I speak about the importance of all elections and offices, and of the need to protect abortion rights and all other rights.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, January 16, 2023

I speak about the life and work of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, and of the ongoing need to continue fighting for freedom.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, January 9, 2023

I speak about the election for Speaker Of The House, on the anniversary of the January 6 riot.

The Mason Moment with John Oliver Mason, January 2, 2023

I speak about Putin's failure to defeat Ukraine, and how the news media got the 2022 elections all wrong.