It was sobering to write this novel and have so many themes in the storyline pop up in the national news during the writing of the manuscript. Some storyline touch points were indirect, others were spot on. Most themes were already typed up, and then a news story would appear that mirrored the theme in part or in whole. It was uncanny and unnerving at the same time. Some of the articles below came out before I typed the first words, but the theme was already in my mind to include them. It was only as an afterthought that I provided the below list for the reader to explore. The list below is by no means exhaustive. There are new stories almost every week that in small or large ways touch upon themes in the novel.
04/11/2024 Seattle dance squad says they were told American flag shirts made audience members feel ‘triggered and unsafe’ https://nypost.com/2024/04/11/us-news/seattle-dance-squad-says-they-were-told-american-flag-shirts-made-audience-members-feel-triggered-and-unsafe/
04/10/2024 University of Wisconsin students call for removal of Abraham Lincoln statue on Madison-campus. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/30/university-of-wisconsin-students-call-for-removal-of-abraham-lincoln-statue-on-madison-campus/
04/08/2024 ‘Death to America’ chants in Dearborn echo across social media, draw local condemnation. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/08/death-to-america-chant-dearborn-jihad-rally-al-quds-day-draws-condemnation/73247053007/
03/13/2024 College Park, Maryland DEI Officer Kayla Aliese Carter “Already planning (BEEN PLANNING) for how we will eat and live and grow after we burn it all down.” https://mynbc15.com/news/nation-world/maryland-racial-equity-officer-pledged-to-burn-it-all-down-in-name-of-black-liberation
03/10/2024 Pentagon Developing Combat AI Drone Aircraft. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2024/04/09/ai-operated-fighter-jet-will-fly-air-force-secretary-on-test-run/
03/04/2024 Former MSNBC on-air personality Keith Obermann calls to dissolve the United State Supreme Court.
https://thehill.com/homenews/4507380-keith-olbermann-rips-supreme-court/
02/07/2024 ‘Woke Kindergarten’ founder Aliea ‘Ki’ Gross calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel.
https://nypost.com/2024/02/07/news/woke-kindergarten-teacher-wants-us-israel-destroyed-weve-been-trying-to-end-yall/
01/11/2024 Texas Governor Abbot wields ‘Commander in Chief’ pen in ordering Texas National Guard to secure the border at Eagle Pass, TX.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/texas-governor-seizes-public-park-border-counter-illegal-immigration-rcna133554
01/08/2024 National Park Service to remove William Penn statue, (Founder of Pennsylvania), from Philadelphia Park. (After a huge outcry, they rescinded the order.) https://apnews.com/article/william-penn-statue-native-american-philadelphia-3ce31afc1db53ec55f7afbe50348cd86
12/15/2023 Minnesota edges closer to picking new state flag to replace design offensive to Native Americans.
(Another news organization showed some of the early submitted entries included the hammer and sickle.) Thankfully the final redesign has been narrowed down and does NOT include the Hammer and Sickle.
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-state-flag-native-americans-d0d8b430cd9006f1cbafd26d5a6298ba
11/15/2023 Texas secessionists feel more emboldened than ever. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/texas-secession-texit/
10/20/2023 University of Virginia Center for Politics poll shows alarming findings mentioning surrendering certain Constitutional rights, support for secession, and violence. https://news.virginia.edu/content/americans-say-meet-political-agendas-rights-may-be-left-behind
10/11/2023 US House of Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan) renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America over the DSA support for the International Terrorist Organization Hamas. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-shri-thanedar-cuts-ties-democratic-socialists-america-rcna120029
10/06/2023 Hillary Clinton’s Cult ‘Deprogramming’ Comments Spark MAGA Outrage https://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clintons-cult-deprogramming-comments-spark-maga-outrage-1832676
08/07/2023 American Library Association Leader Surprised by Pushback after Publicly Identifying as ‘Marxist.’ https://www.nationalreview.com/news/american-library-association-leader-surprised-by-pushback-after-publicly-identifying-as-marxist/
06/19/2023 Former NFL star Colin Kaepernick Says, ‘Black Liberation Isn’t Possible Under Capitalism.’ https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/06/colin-kaepernick-says-black-liberation-isnt-possible-under-capitalism/
05/22/2023 Colorado teachers’ union adopts anti-capitalist polemic. https://denvergazette.com/news/government/colorado-teachers-union-anti-capitalism-polemic/article_f31b3b7c-f810-11ed-a540-1f1adeb0fd84.html
02/15/2023 Idaho State House passes nonbinding measure calling for formal ‘Greater Idaho’ talks. https://idahocapitalsun.com/briefs/idaho-house-passes-nonbinding-measure-calling-for-formal-greater-idaho-talks/
11/14/2022 Movement to create a new state in southern Illinois gaining momentum. https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_29cb5e8c-6463-11ed-803f-0f759c201fb1.html
11/07/2022 The American Flag: A Symbol for Some or All? https://harvardpolitics.com/the-american-flag-a-symbol-for-some-or-all/
08/19/2022 Law Professors Dr. Ryan D. Doerfler of Harvard Law School and Dr. Samuel Moyn of Yale Law School, in a “Guest Essay” in the New York Times write that “The Constitution Is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/opinion/liberals-constitution.html
07/07/2022 Creating a Socialist Vision for Public Libraries: A Conversation with Emily Drabinski. (Authors note: Emily was elected in 2023 as the President of the American Library Association. Their policies and advocacy reach Public Library’s in every state in the Union. https://redfault.com/creating-a-socialist-vision-for-public-libraries-a-conversation-with-emily-drabinski/\
06/20/2022 Student activists seek to remove Lincoln statue at University Wisconsin – Madison. https://www.thecollegefix.com/student-activists-seek-to-remove-lincoln-statue-at-uw-madison/
07/21/2021 KGW8 Portland (NBC News Affiliate) Protesters tore down 3 statues of US presidents in Portland last year. What happened to them? (Washington, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt) https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protesters-tore-down-3-statues-of-us-presidents-in-portland-last-year/283-c7dca7bd-ed38-47e1-a492-f0cccd6b9c2e
01/19/2021 Most Americans don’t know what’s in the Constitution: “A crisis of Civic education” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/constitution-americans-civics-test/
07/03/2020 The LANDBACK Organization fights to permanently close Mt. Rushmore and have the entire Black Hills region returned to the Lakota Sioux. https://landback.org/hesapa/ 06/26/2020 Black leader wants Lincoln statue at UW-Madison removed. https://apnews.com/80de388a66f72880fca78b44e7f15c3e
06/19/2020 Protesters tore down a George Washington statue and set a fire on its head. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/
04/11/2024 Seattle dance squad says they were told American flag shirts made audience members feel ‘triggered and unsafe’ https://nypost.com/2024/04/11/us-news/seattle-dance-squad-says-they-were-told-american-flag-shirts-made-audience-members-feel-triggered-and-unsafe/
04/10/2024 University of Wisconsin students call for removal of Abraham Lincoln statue on Madison-campus. https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/30/university-of-wisconsin-students-call-for-removal-of-abraham-lincoln-statue-on-madison-campus/
04/08/2024 ‘Death to America’ chants in Dearborn echo across social media, draw local condemnation. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2024/04/08/death-to-america-chant-dearborn-jihad-rally-al-quds-day-draws-condemnation/73247053007/
03/13/2024 College Park, Maryland DEI Officer Kayla Aliese Carter “Already planning (BEEN PLANNING) for how we will eat and live and grow after we burn it all down.” https://mynbc15.com/news/nation-world/maryland-racial-equity-officer-pledged-to-burn-it-all-down-in-name-of-black-liberation
03/10/2024 Pentagon Developing Combat AI Drone Aircraft. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2024/04/09/ai-operated-fighter-jet-will-fly-air-force-secretary-on-test-run/
03/04/2024 Former MSNBC on-air personality Keith Obermann calls to dissolve the United State Supreme Court.
https://thehill.com/homenews/4507380-keith-olbermann-rips-supreme-court/
02/07/2024 ‘Woke Kindergarten’ founder Aliea ‘Ki’ Gross calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel.
https://nypost.com/2024/02/07/news/woke-kindergarten-teacher-wants-us-israel-destroyed-weve-been-trying-to-end-yall/
01/11/2024 Texas Governor Abbot wields ‘Commander in Chief’ pen in ordering Texas National Guard to secure the border at Eagle Pass, TX.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/texas-governor-seizes-public-park-border-counter-illegal-immigration-rcna133554
01/08/2024 National Park Service to remove William Penn statue, (Founder of Pennsylvania), from Philadelphia Park. (After a huge outcry, they rescinded the order.) https://apnews.com/article/william-penn-statue-native-american-philadelphia-3ce31afc1db53ec55f7afbe50348cd86
12/15/2023 Minnesota edges closer to picking new state flag to replace design offensive to Native Americans.
(Another news organization showed some of the early submitted entries included the hammer and sickle.) Thankfully the final redesign has been narrowed down and does NOT include the Hammer and Sickle.
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-state-flag-native-americans-d0d8b430cd9006f1cbafd26d5a6298ba
11/15/2023 Texas secessionists feel more emboldened than ever. https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/15/texas-secession-texit/
10/20/2023 University of Virginia Center for Politics poll shows alarming findings mentioning surrendering certain Constitutional rights, support for secession, and violence. https://news.virginia.edu/content/americans-say-meet-political-agendas-rights-may-be-left-behind
10/11/2023 US House of Representative Shri Thanedar (D-Michigan) renounced his membership in the Democratic Socialists of America over the DSA support for the International Terrorist Organization Hamas. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-shri-thanedar-cuts-ties-democratic-socialists-america-rcna120029
10/06/2023 Hillary Clinton’s Cult ‘Deprogramming’ Comments Spark MAGA Outrage https://www.newsweek.com/hillary-clintons-cult-deprogramming-comments-spark-maga-outrage-1832676
08/07/2023 American Library Association Leader Surprised by Pushback after Publicly Identifying as ‘Marxist.’ https://www.nationalreview.com/news/american-library-association-leader-surprised-by-pushback-after-publicly-identifying-as-marxist/
06/19/2023 Former NFL star Colin Kaepernick Says, ‘Black Liberation Isn’t Possible Under Capitalism.’ https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2023/06/colin-kaepernick-says-black-liberation-isnt-possible-under-capitalism/
05/22/2023 Colorado teachers’ union adopts anti-capitalist polemic. https://denvergazette.com/news/government/colorado-teachers-union-anti-capitalism-polemic/article_f31b3b7c-f810-11ed-a540-1f1adeb0fd84.html
02/15/2023 Idaho State House passes nonbinding measure calling for formal ‘Greater Idaho’ talks. https://idahocapitalsun.com/briefs/idaho-house-passes-nonbinding-measure-calling-for-formal-greater-idaho-talks/
11/14/2022 Movement to create a new state in southern Illinois gaining momentum. https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_29cb5e8c-6463-11ed-803f-0f759c201fb1.html
11/07/2022 The American Flag: A Symbol for Some or All? https://harvardpolitics.com/the-american-flag-a-symbol-for-some-or-all/
08/19/2022 Law Professors Dr. Ryan D. Doerfler of Harvard Law School and Dr. Samuel Moyn of Yale Law School, in a “Guest Essay” in the New York Times write that “The Constitution Is Broken and Should Not Be Reclaimed.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/opinion/liberals-constitution.html
07/07/2022 Creating a Socialist Vision for Public Libraries: A Conversation with Emily Drabinski. (Authors note: Emily was elected in 2023 as the President of the American Library Association. Their policies and advocacy reach Public Library’s in every state in the Union. https://redfault.com/creating-a-socialist-vision-for-public-libraries-a-conversation-with-emily-drabinski/\
06/20/2022 Student activists seek to remove Lincoln statue at University Wisconsin – Madison. https://www.thecollegefix.com/student-activists-seek-to-remove-lincoln-statue-at-uw-madison/
07/21/2021 KGW8 Portland (NBC News Affiliate) Protesters tore down 3 statues of US presidents in Portland last year. What happened to them? (Washington, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt) https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/protesters-tore-down-3-statues-of-us-presidents-in-portland-last-year/283-c7dca7bd-ed38-47e1-a492-f0cccd6b9c2e
01/19/2021 Most Americans don’t know what’s in the Constitution: “A crisis of Civic education” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/constitution-americans-civics-test/
07/03/2020 The LANDBACK Organization fights to permanently close Mt. Rushmore and have the entire Black Hills region returned to the Lakota Sioux. https://landback.org/hesapa/ 06/26/2020 Black leader wants Lincoln statue at UW-Madison removed. https://apnews.com/80de388a66f72880fca78b44e7f15c3e
06/19/2020 Protesters tore down a George Washington statue and set a fire on its head. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/19/
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