SOCIAL HISTORY: “It’s Time We Have a Holiday to Honor Those Who Try to Stop Wars Too” / Vox ☮

Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs, who went to jail for opposing World War I. (Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day often get equated, but there is an essential distinction between the two. Veteran’s Day honors all who have served the American military in wars. Memorial Day honors those who’ve perished. It’s an annual reminder that wars have grave human costs, which must be both recognized and minimized.

Those costs are not inevitable. We ought to also set aside time to remember those throughout American history who have tried hardest to reduce them, to prevent unnecessary loss of life both American and foreign: war resisters.

Continue reading . . .

POLITICAL COMMENTARY: “Attacking Police Now a Hate Crime” / The Young Turks / Cenk Uygur, and John Iadarola ☮

In Louisiana, it will soon be considered a hate crime to attack a police officer. The “Blue Lives Matter Bill” is expected to be signed into law by the governor. Cenk Uygur and John Iadarola, hosts of The Young Turks, break it down. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.

“Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is set to sign a bill into law that would classify any violent attack on police officers, firefighters, and EMS personnel a hate crime. According to The Root, the so-called Blue Lives Matter bill is the first of its kind.

State Representative Lance Harris authored the bill after Texas sheriff’s deputy Darren Goforth was shot and killed last year. “It looked like it was strictly done because someone didn’t like police officers, like a hate crime,” Harris told CNN.”

CHRISTIAN BIGOTRY: “Transgender Bathroom Bigotry is a Civil Rights Issue” ☮

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) talks with Bill Press about the lawsuits from 12 states over President Obama’s transgender bathroom directive. He compares what LGBT people are facing today to the civil rights injustices of the 1950s and 1960s. “Right now LGBT Americans are facing the people on the other side of this bridge, in that schoolhouse door, as we march towards equality.”