Category: Bob Small

Movies of the IMT (Imaginary Movie Theatre)

Movies of the IMT (Imaginary Movie Theatre)

By Bob Small

In one of my previous lives, with Delco Pledge of Resistance — part of a national group — my inclination to the arts (and my disinclination to being arrested for civil disobedience) led me to becoming a creator of Cinema Resistance.

Besides the films listed at its website, there was The Black Book (1949) aka Reign of Terror with the underappreciated Robert Cummings, about life during the French Revolution period, which applies to life under any dictatorship.

The format with begin with someone, usually myself, introducing the film. It was watched and then a thoughtful and/or rowdy discussion followed. We had plenty of popcorn and soda. The venues were usually at The Peace Center aka Springfield Friends Meeting, or other similarly minded places.

I had thoughts of re-starting the series, albeit with documentaries. Then something called Covid happened. At least we were told we should not under any circumstances meet in groups. Now that time has gone.

Imaginary Movie Theatre is my way of saying that any venue where people can meet, watch a movie, and discuss it afterwards, is a theatre.

A first Series might include

Blowout Who’s next Blow Out | The Movie

Children of the Vine Children of the Vine

Plandemic 1 Plandemic – Part 1 – Dr. Judy Mikovits

Plandemic 2 “Plandemic” Part 2 – Dr. David Martin (TV Episode 2020)

Plandemic 3 Plandemic 3: The Great Awakening (2023)

SOS The SanOnofreSyndrome SOS | The San Onofre Syndrome FILM

Vaxxed Documentary – VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe

Vaxxed II VAXXED II: The People’s Truth

Having suggested this I should add that I will be on the Swarthmore ballot April 23 so that is the only running I can do right now.

However, the idea of this is, rather than just watching these films, or others, alone or in a couple, we should try to have public events where people with divergent viewpoints can meet and discuss, agree or disagree, and think about what actions might emerge from this.

Please contact me with ideas at bobthepoet@yahoo.com.

Movies of the IMT (Imaginary Movie Theatre) By Bob Small In one of my previous lives, with Delco Pledge of Resistance -- part of a national group -- my inclination to the arts

Tik Tok And The Telegraph And Foreign Control

Tik Tok And The Telegraph And Foreign Control

By Bob Small

The venerable British newspaper The Daily Telegraph — founded June 29, 1855 — has been a Tory (conservative) mainstay but has become a source of controversy due to a proposed takeover by groups backed by the United Arab Emirates.

With Labour (liberals) attempting to stop it.

Baroness Stowall, of the House of Lords, has contacted all 170 Labor Peers, to suppport a law allowing Parliament reject any takeover of a news organization by any foreign country.

Because the UAE laws ban any direct criticism of the country’s ruler there is a rational reason not to allow this. The article states “Democracy depends on a healthy disdain for those in positions of authority”.

The Guardian, which is the left to the Telegraph’s right, also opposes the takeover. The Tory government is also considering amending existing legislation to prevent foreign takeovers.

Well, that’s only a problem they have across the pond. Surely, the US has laws to prevent this. Well, don’t we? US Senate to vote on Tik Tok ban Well, maybe our congress is finally waking up to the issue. Chinese propaganda has infiltrated our public schools, so why not our Internet.

According to an article updated in 2022, most of the top 25 companies, had US ownership. Only Rubert Murdoch (Australia) and (Axel Springer) (Germany) had roots outside the US.

Lastly, let’s move to radio giant Audacy, which is set to have the George Soros fund become the biggest shareholder.

Hungarian-born George Soros (1930) is noted for supporting what are considered progressive causes.

Among the Audacy Philadelphia market radio stations are sports Station 94.1 FM, and conservative talk radio 1210-Am. One assumes his ownership wouldn’t change the format but could we now have 1210 presenting the Larry Krasner hour, or “wake up and woke up” presented by the Philly Socialist Truth Party and…..nahh, never happen.

Tik Tok And The Telegraph And Foreign Control

Tik Tok And The Telegraph And Foreign Control

Next Steps Conference Starts March 14

Next Steps Conference Starts March 14

By Bob Small

The 3rd Annual Next Steps Conference is March 14 – 17 at Lanier Island in Georgia.

The conference was founded by journalist Tia Severino of Children’s Health Defense (CHD).

Ms. Severino has made several CHD TV appearances. along with The People’s Truth.

Besides being an alternative journalist, she has worked as an actress, singer, and web designer.

The Next Steps Conference will have about 40 speakers. It will also include a film component, a wellness fair herbal medicine seminars, nature walks, prayer services and yoga.

If you graze through the community calendar section of Children’s Health Defense you could keep yourself busy throughout the year.

This conference sounds similar to the CHD conference except the lead person is Tia Severino rather than Robert F Kennedy, Jr and they don’t have quite as much of a political component. If anyone goes, let me know what you think,

Next Steps Conference Starts March 14
Tia Severino

Next Steps Conference Starts March 14

Free And Equal Presidential Debate

Free And Equal Presidential Debate

By Bob Small

The second 2024 Free and Equal Debate happened on Thursday, Feb 29.

The moderators were Christina Tobin and Jason Palmer who was a Democratic presidential candidate included in the last Forum.

The participants were the Green Party’s Jasmine Sherman and Jill Stein, the Libertarian Party’s Lap Mapstead and Chase Oliver, and the Socialist Party’s Claudia De La Cruz.

A video of the event can be seen on Rumble and You Tube.

Chase Oliver was the candidate who impressed me the most, although the others had their moments.

Oliver received 80,000 votes in the 2022 Georgia Senate race.

He is platform includes returning to an Ellis Island style of processing immigrants and ending qualified immunity for federal law enforcement. He also wants to abolish the death penalty.

He also wants to abolish the FISA amendments act of 2008, the Patriot Act, and end the TSA.

Oliver also seeks to return America to being a republic rather than an empire. He wants to close all overseas bases and immediately return active-duty personnel to domestic bases. He wants to end aid to nation currently at war.

He wants to abolish the Department of Education and supports gun rights for all.

He’s probably too smart to ever be elected President.

Both Adlai Stevenson (Princeton) and Michael Dukakis (Swarthmore) were defeated rather handily.

Because of that, he also won’t be our first Gay President.

Free And Equal Presidential Debate

For the Journey of the Never Trumpers

For the Journey of the Never Trumpers

By Bob Small

For a while my posts have included the lesser-known Democrat and Republican presidential candidates, some of whom have great ideas and some others who choose to run. Now that Donald J. Trump has almost clinched the delegates needed for the nomination.

It’s just a matter of time as he only needs approximately 150.

However, among the GOP faithful, there are a band of what can be called “Never Trumpers.” Since Nikki Haley dropped out, they have nowhere to go.

Or so they believe.

There are approximately 60 GOP candidates with internet information, either a website or Facebook, or other internet listings, listed under “Other Republicans” at Politics1.com

Only three of my six posts on GOP candidates are still relevant as the other three have dropped out.

Still running are: E.W. Jackson, a Chester native; James Meroney and John Schiess.

Eventually, the Republican Party will coalesce around Donald Trump, as the Democrats have already coalesced around Joe Biden but they probably need some time for what we call, in other contexts, “acceptance”. I’ll just point out that there are still Republicans in the race to ease them into the reality.

For the Journey of the Never Trumpers

For the Journey of the Never Trumpers

Does Cheyney University Have A Future?

Does Cheyney University Have A Future?

By Bob Small

Nicole Rayfield sued Cheyney University in September 2019 a lawsuit alleging she was fired as retaliation for being a whistleblower. She said the Pennsylvania state system university misused federal funding and awarded full scholarships to undeserving students among other things.

The case has been settled and the terms are undisclosed. Ms. Rayfield is not the only one to have won a case against Cheyney.

Cheyney, in Delaware County, was founded in 1837 by Abolitionist Quakers. It is the nation’s oldest historically Black university.

Robert Bogle, president of The Philadelphia Tribune, which carried the article linked in the first paragraph is a Cheyney graduate and chairs the university’s Council of Trustees.

The Middle States Accreditation Commission put Cheyney on probation on 2015 for numerous failures, including failure to balance it’s budget.

Though it’s accreditation was renewed in 2019, it was put on accreditation probation in November.

Enrollment, however, has increased from 470 in 2018 to 700.

Cheyney University administrators are again battling to regain accreditation.

Governor Josh Shapiro is backing them. He says that that the Middle States Commission made “a hasty decision” and showed “disregard of established procedure.”

The state has agreed to forgive taxpayer loans to Cheyney.

Democratic Vincent Hughes, who chairs the State Senate Appropriations Committee, says “There’s always something hovering around to try to get this university.”

Save the Oldest HBCU is being formed by alumni.

Among the more well-known alumni, are Ed Bradley of 60 minutes, Octavius Catto, NFL Player and college/NFL Coach (Eagles) William “Billy” Joe , and civil rights icon Bayard Rustin.

Cheyney gave up its football program in 2017, and the men’s and women’s basketball teams now play an independent schedule. The men’s team went 9-18 in 2023-4 and the women went 9-15.

The Pennsylvania state system of higher education recently merged a number of their schools, due to financial problems and Cabrini University is scheduled to close at the end of this school year, so these are hard times for many Pennsylvania colleges and universities.

Does Cheyney University Have A Future?

Does Cheyney University Have A Future?

John Schiess, A Well-Traveled GOP Candidate

John Schiess, A Well-Traveled GOP Candidate

By Bob Small

John Schiess is a fascinating GOP Presidential Candidate. Though currently in Wisconsin, he has lived in Alaska, Arizona, and Oregon, at least, and ran for the Senate two years ago in Alaska.

He believes several unsubstantiated “conspiracy theories”, the most fascinating of is what he calls “reconquista”

He goes on to connect this with the CPUSA who, he alleges, are working with the “Mexican Reconquista” movement to take over the US. This group is so clever they have removed themselves from the Internet! However, there was a historic “Reconquista”, and concerned taking the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims.

He also is concerned about “Agenda 21” which he says is a UN plan to abolish private property; base world government on public decree and not individual rights; reduce the population; subvert the principles of the Declaration of Independence; and destroy the governing authority of the United States Constitution.

Now, there’s a legend that when Leon Trotsky worked on the failed revolution of 1905, he only went door to door to gather people, not by letter or phone, etc. so that the Czar’s Secret Police wouldn’t have knowledge of this.

This cannot be verified by the internet, either.

In the “general statement section he says “If President Obama met Daniel Boone at the Cumberland Gap, he would be ticketed for not having covered wagon and horse insurance, or maybe not having a seat belt. Mr. Boone might also be in trouble for unregistered firearms, children not registered in school, and the lack of healthcare insurance. “

And in Barron Co. Sex Pollution Resolution he compares Al Capone to the Kremlin Leaders,

My thoughts were always that Al Capone was a capitalist with a big C, rather than a Socialist.

He also has a list of quotes including this one from Subversion Quotes;

“Most people don’t realize that the Kremlin has already invaded America” Archibald Roosevelt (1959) the fifth son of Theodore Roosevelt and under Virtue Quotes; “If we pamper or exhibit too much patience for the weak and degenerate, they become a cancer on the nation” -Lindsey Williams

Maybe he’s the Vermin Supreme of the GOP.

Vermin Supreme Again Seeks Presidency – BillLawrenceOnline

John Schiess, A Well-Traveled GOP Candidate

Let Us Speak Of Penn And Its Skull Collection

Let Us Speak Of Penn And Its Skull Collection

By Bob Small

Our great University of Pennsylvania was founded in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin as America’s first university. Franklin’s last public act was to send to Congress a petition on behalf of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society asking for the abolition of slavery and an end to the slave trade.

Over the years, Penn has been responsible for producing many famous people and has otherwise contributed to the betterment of our society. However, one of its darkest continuing chapters began in 1830 and may be continuing.

Samuel Morton (1799-1851) Samuel George Morton (1799-1851) variously described as an anatomist, natural historian and, most importantly, a craniologist began in 1830 the gathering of the world’s largest collection of skulls, some 1,000.

Morton believed in the now -discredited theory of polygenism which considered the Bible to be incomplete. According to this, God created numerous races, rather than one man, the commonly accepted Biblical interpretation.

His research — which declared that Europeans had bigger brains than Africans — was meant to prove that Blacks were an inferior race.

When Darwin’s Origin of Species came out in 1859 it helped to discredit Morton’s theories.

Now, what to do with a collection of 1,000 skulls, the majority of which were black and/or from the Blockley Almshouse,a Quaker sponsored poor house. This later became Philadelphia General Hospital .

In 1966, the collection was moved to The Penn Museum Morton Cranial Collection.

They were finally buried on Feb. 3.

The delay and way the remains were put to rest, however, has led to blistering criticism.

As per a scathing article in The Guardian:

 Outside researchers and activists have accused the museum of ignoring the wishes of the local Black community, which wanted a more thorough investigation into the identity of the 19 individuals, who remain unidentified before their bones were interred, and for the Penn Museum to loosen its control over the restitution process.

The interment was at Collingdale’s Eden Cemetery, which is in Delco and not West Philly, and the Finding Ceremony and were not included in the process.

None of the esteemed graduates of this “Poison Ivy League” school, such as Ed Rendell or Mary Gay Scanlon, ever thought to comment on this.

Morton, Pa. is named after Major Sketchley Morton, a Revolutionary War officer and the son of John Morton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence .

Let Us Speak Of Penn And Its Skull Collection

Let Us Speak Of Penn And Its Skull Collection

To 5G Or Not To 5G

To 5G Or Not To 5G

By Bob Small

One of the topics that followed me home from the 2023 Children’s Health Defense Conference was the rush to 5G and the results of that rush.  5 G is the fifth-generation mobile network. 

Delco is part of the whole push to 5 G but first let’s speak of the “alleged” advantages of it.  According to an article in Interesting Engineering 5Gs advantages are speed, reduced interference, reduced latency orresponses between devices, wider bandwidth, and “a revolution in how we communicate.”

Of course, there aren’t any health risks, right? 

Opinions differ.  

Just  one paragraph from the above article:  For example, citing a large body of research on the hazards of exposure to EMF, more than 240 scientists, who together have published more than 2,000 peer-reviewed papers on the effects of EMF, have appealed to the United Nations for urgent action to reduce EMF exposure emitting from wireless sources. These scientists also submitted a letter to the FCC, asking it to consider health risks and environmental issues before rapidly deploying 5th-generation wireless infrastructure.

The folks at Environmental Health Trust who attended the conference, organized because of these possible risks.  Dangers they cite include the need to build antennas closer to each other which will further an already existing impact on insect behavior, and an increased use of energy.

There are a number of federal bills that address the situation. These are HS 3557, HS 4141, HR 1338, HR 3565, HR 4510, HR 6492 and S 2855. You can review them here.

PECO has already begun their tree-cutting binge in Delaware County, including Swarthmore and Marple.

It’s especially egregious in Swarthmore, which has been designated as a “tree city” and also a “bird town”. 

Oh well, maybe we can be re-designated as a “5G Tower City.

To 5G Or Not To 5G

To 5G Or Not To 5G

The What If Question In The Presidential Race

The What If Question In The Presidential Race

By Bob Small

The question of what would happen if either of the two leading Presidential Contenders left the race keeps coming up.  This is due to Biden’s age and the continuing court dramas regarding Donald Trump.

My personal prediction is that neither of those candidates will be there in November. Of course, my prediction was that the Eagles would win the 2023 Super Bowl.  This is an article covering the various possibilities:   What if Biden or Trump suddenly leaves the 2024 race?

In the “another one bites the dust” section of the Political News, Marianne Williamson has left the Democratic race.

The 71- year old philosophized “I read a quote the other day that said sunsets are proof that endings can be beautiful, too,” the 71-year-old said. She had earlier said that the US “needed a season of repair”, but was unable to convince more than 4 percent of the Democratic voters that she was the person for the job.

In another report, she said  “As of today, we are suspending our campaign. While the level of our failure is obvious to all, a level of success is real nonetheless.”

Not sure what that means either. 

This lack of clarity may have been the story of her campaign or non-campaign.

Even as she was ending her campaign, she had a running battle with clarity

“As with every other aspect of my career over the last 40 years, I know how ideas float through the air forming ever new designs,” she said.

She finished with only 2 percent of the vote,

The only well-known Democratic candidate remaining is Dean Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, whose star may begin rising now, as it becomes clearer and clearer to the Democratic party that Jospeh Biden should not be running in 2024.  This may also help RFK, Jr, notwithstanding whether he runs as a Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, etc.  

Maybe the Dems need to review their options from among the Politics1.com Democratic Candidate list.   

The What If Question In The Presidential Race

The What If Question In The Presidential Race