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ICUJP Friday Forum
Jan. 16th 7:30-9:30 am Pacific
Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights
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Event Description:
In the last twenty years the US Supreme Court has radically curtailed voting rights, undermined anti-corruption measures, encouraged extreme political gerrymandering, restricted the regulation of guns, and obliterated the constitutional right to control one’s reproductive choices. This transformation was orchestrated by a billionaire-backed reactionary political movement, whose interests Chief Justice John Roberts has been all too willing to serve.
Without Precedent explodes the falsehood that Roberts is a fair-minded institutionalist who works to blunt the worst impulses of other Republican appointees to the court when, in fact, he has led the rightward transformation of the court’s jurisprudence while presiding over the most corrupt and corrupted Supreme Court in American history.
Without Precedent not only exposes Roberts as the reactionary politician in robes he has always been but delivers a vigorous plan of judicial reform designed to overcome the divisive, discriminatory, destructive, and anti-democratic machinations of the Roberts court.
Join the conversation with our speakers:
Lisa Graves is the author of the new book, Without Precedent: How Chief Justice Roberts and His Accomplices Rewrote the Constitution and Dismantled Our Rights, available online and at bookstores and via www.withoutprecedent.info. In 2011, she launched the award-winning investigation ALECexposed.org after a whistleblower gave her all the “model” bills secretly voted by state legislators with corporate lobbyists and special interest groups through the pay-to-play activities of the American Legislative Exchange Council.
She co-hosts two Youtube channels: Legal AF with the Meidas Touch Network and the Wednesday night show The Five 8 1/2. She writes the Grave Injustice column on Substack for Courier News. She is the Executive Director of True North Research and co-founded Court Accountability/Action. She is the President of the Board of the Center for Media and Democracy and a Trustee for the Park Foundation. Her social media handle is @thelisagraves.
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7:30 - 7:35 Log in and socialize
7:35 - 7:45 Welcome and introductions
7:45 - 7:50 Reflection (5 min. maximum)
7:50 - 9:15 Program and Q&A
9:15 - 9:20 Announcements
9:20 - 9:30 Closing circle and prayer
Start your morning with us!
Facilitator: MacGregor Eddy
Reflector: Rev. Daniel Tamm
** Meetings begin promptly at 7:30 am Pacific. **
Here's how to join the online meeting:
To join by video conference, you'll need to download the Zoom app on your computer or mobile device. Click on the link to join the meeting and then enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You'll be able to see slides and video, as well as speakers and other attendees.
If you prefer to join by phone, you'll be prompted to enter the Meeting ID number and passcode. You won't be able to see the visuals or attendees, but you can view them on the meeting video recording afterward.
If you're new to Zoom and would like to use the video option, we recommend you download the app well ahead of time.
ICUJP Friday Forum 01/16/26
Time: 07:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
RSVP AT BOTTOM OF PAGE
*Meeting controls for call-in attendees:
To mute/unmute yourself: *6
To raise hand: *9
(To find a dial-in number closer to you, go here.)
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Please note: Our Friday Forums and other events are open to the public. By attending, you consent to having your voice and likeness recorded, photographed, posted on ICUJP's website and social media, and included in ICUJP materials and publications for noncommercial purposes. If you don't want to be photographed or recorded, please let the facilitator know.
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace recognizes the Gabrieliño Tongva as the past, present, and future caretakers of the land, water, and cultural resources in the unceded territory of Los Angeles.
"Close Guantanamo/End Illegal Detentions NOW!" Action Recap
On Sunday, September 11th, a group of people met at a busy corner near the Wilshire Federal Building to protest what this government has been doing almost from its inception - detaining people counter to international and federal law.
This year, we had many speakers make the connections between government abuses of years past and the current situation in many American cities - the only thing that changes are the people abused, whether it is Japanese immigrants during WWII, people still being held illegally in Guantanamo, or the current spate of illegal detentions and departations happening under this current government under I.C.E. and D.H.S.
We would like to thank Close Guantanamo for their support and constant vigilance over the last 25 years, as well as our speakers:
-- Khalid Hudson, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
-- Michael Rapkin, Guantanamo Bar
-- Rebecca Husaini, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
-- Louis Watanabe, Manzanar Committee
-- Rachel Bruhnke, Code Pink
-- Shane Que Hee, Out Against War
Our event was hosted by Jon Krampner, who did an exemplary job under some chaotic circumstances.
We would also like to thank our legal observer Cynthia Anderson-Barker of the National Lawyers Guild, and Jim Lafferty for all of his help.
KPFK was at our event as well as our media sponsor - here are some of the sights and sounds from our Guantanamo action.
Michael Rapkin on Guantanamo then and now
Louis Watanabe from the Manzanar Committe on visiting the ICE detention center in Adelanto
Rebecca Husaini of the Muslim Public Affairs Council on Illegal ICE detainments
Give the gift of Justice and Peace!
This year, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace commemorates 25 years of advocacy for the disenfranchised and abused at home and around the world. In the aftermath of September 11th 2001, Los Angeles religious and secular leaders and activists came together to seek an alternative to the fearmongering and vengefulness sweeping much of our nation.
The main message of ICUJP is that “Religious Communities Must Stop Blessing War and Violence.”
We have endured and spread our message through very trying times - five Presidents, four California Governors, and numerous crises and challenges that would shake the resolve of even the most devout and dedicated group of activists. But through it all, we have held true to our mission to be the voice for "the least of these", and to our determination to create the change we want to see in the world, no matter how daunting the opposition can seem.
ICUJP operates as a largely volunteer organization with a small part-time paid staff. We have survived for over twenty years through the generosity of individuals and organizations such as yourselves.
We would be honored if you can donate $25, $50, $100 (or more) to help us keep up with the increasing costs of securing live venues, renting audio and video equipment, printing valuable information for live events, and bringing our social media tools up to date.
We have several ways for you to support our work:
You can go to the ICUJP donation page on our website to make a one-time donation, or spread your donation out monthly.
You can also visit our ICUJP Threadless Store where you can make a purchase and wear your support for our organization, or give the gift of a tote bag, a mug, or a cute little onesie so your grandkids can be fashionable!
If you make a donation using either of these options, we will also send you a personalized ICUJP membership card for yourself or as a gift to print out:
ICUJP operates as a largely volunteer organization with a small part-time paid staff. We have survived for 25 years through the generosity of individuals like yourselves and organizations such as yours.
Thank you for your ongoing support – we are honoured to be standing shoulder to shoulder with you in the struggle for universal Justice and Peace.
RESOURCES FOR PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF A PEOPLE UNDER SEIGE
ICUJP Condemns the actions of the current administration to foment unrest in Southern California and other parts of the US. We hope you will find the following information useful in keeping involved and safe.
The first single from Iranian-born singer/composer Azam Ali's newest album Synesthesia is based on Hila Sedighi’s poem “Sabz Ast Dobare”. The poem is written in the context of Iran’s political and social struggles, while capturing the ache of a nation and its people.
“Once More, All Is Green” is a musical tribute to these themes of collective strength, renewal, rebirth, and awakening. It is a wish for the healing of society, of memory, and of individual wounds. It looks toward a future where light returns and people reclaim their freedom.
Lyric translation from Farsi:
I am of the soil, yet this soil is not of my flesh and soul,
It seems this nation of wrath is no longer my own.
Here, pen, honor, and law have all been broken,
And with a colorless flag, they have settled on our home
They stole the steps from beneath the people's feet,
Took away their vote, breath, and rights by deceit
The poem we once sang, they stole with a hundred lies
Then played it everywhere with a tune of disguise.
With axe in hand, they tore open this garden’s chest,
And birds of hope fled every branch and nest.
They stole the blessings from this grief-stricken land,
This ancient home now drowned in sorrow and torment
From its majestic history, only ruin remains,
A garden full of blight and disease is all that’s left.
From the tribe of Rostam, Sohrab, and Siavash,
Alas, just a hundred grieving men are left behind.
From the land of philosophy, poetry, and faith,
Now ignorance, wrath, denial, and neglect remain.
We cried patriotic songs of homeland, but they wouldn’t hear,
And now every free soul's voice hangs from the gallows in fear.
Yesterday, they handed rifles to every mirror,
And led hundreds of unblossomed flowers to their deadly fate.
Mortar and blood, endless nights and pain,
Yet tulips, jasmine, and cypress stood firm in resistance.
Those who remained behind the caravan of the brave,
Took the spoils of war from the ruins of the grave
The axe, unaware, has no home but the wild,
Though made of the tree, it is rootless
Though the garden is worn from autumn’s deep sorrow,
From the blood of our nation’s youth, tulips have bloomed
A hundred flowers bloom with the breath of spring's breeze,
Each kissed gently by the lips of the rain with ease.
The Phoenix shall rise, with the soul of a thousand years
And spread its wings from this cage of blood and flame
With snow, the earth will melt all hatred and pain,
And tomorrow, we’ll see the land green again.
It is green once again
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