Wonderful post, Allyn. I share your joy of watching these protests unfold over the past few weeks and it has lifted my heart to see people protesting against police brutality and racial injustice around the world. Being_ahem_older, I lived through the civil rights protests of the sixties, the antiwar protests of the sixties, assassinations of a president, a politician, a great civil rights leader and all the social unrest of that era. What we are seeing now is indeed something altogether new. Despite all the propaganda and racism of Faux News, the vast majority (74%) of the country supports the protesters. Change is in the air!
Also, isn't it interesting that as these protests have unfolded and been recorded by cell phone cameras, there has been an unending procession of outrageous and unjustified acts of violence against protesters by police? No wonder the majority of the Americans support the protesters. The police have made the case against themselves. Everyone can see the need for reform. Hopefully, a new administration and justice department will end the militarization of the police as well.
As for SADS Day, count me in!
Maybe June 20. That way, Trump can claim that that the date for his sponsored event (SADS day) is the longest day of the year (because it the Summer Solstice). Considering there is absolutely nothing that Trump can claim as being "big" or "long," it is the least we can do for him! ;)
Someone predicted that it will be found out that McConnell works for Russia and he will be gone. I'll try to find it.
McGrath will be so good for Kentucky.
More bad news for Barr and company regarding Flynn
The retired judge appointed to act as a friend of the court in the Michael Flynn case strongly urged the court Wednesday not to let the Justice Department abandon the prosecution.
In a scorching 83-page submission, John Gleesonsaid the government's move to drop the case was "riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact," which were contradicted by the positions it has taken in other false statement cases and by its own previous court filings about Flynn's conduct as well as his decisions to plead guilty twice.
Even recognizing that the Government is entitled to deference in assessing the strength of its case, these claims are not credible," the retired judge wrote. "Indeed, they are preposterous. For starters — and most unusually — they are directly and decisively disproven by the Government's own briefs filed just months ago in this very proceeding."
Gleeson said judges must ordinarily defer to the wishes of the Justice Department about whether to pursue a prosecution, but not when the motives of the government are suspect. In Flynn's case, the government's move to dismiss the case "is based solely on the fact that Flynn is an ally of President Trump."
@polarberry A friend texted me that McGrath is being challenged in the primary. Does anyone have information on that?
Sanders-backed Charles Booker, state rep.
@dhyanaji It challenges every Christian cell in my body not to think negative, destructive thoughts when I see them clustered together like that, when I hear that Trump wants the RNC Convention to be held with hundreds clustered together in one big room, and when I hear he's planning another rally soon.
Does anyone really believe that TheMango Moron gives abig fart about the Southern history? The only reason he says these things is too insite his base. Do we really believe he knows a thing about history? I was shocked when I saw NASCAR banned the stars and bars. There have been a lot of negative comments on twitter by "fans" . Ryan McGee, a sportswriter who covers auto racing, wrote a really great peice for ESPN on the ban. He is a decendent of Slave owners and is 100% behind banning the flag from anywhere but museums. He also says that if fans really love the sport they will stand under the US flag and enjoy the races as they always have. the mango one and his minions are going all out to really spread conpiracy theories of left wing terorist. Some idiots are taking up arms because they were told buses of them were coming to the small rural towns. a group honestly saw a family inacamper and followed them guns drawn and were going to kill them. Luckily someone called the sheriff and he ran the idiots back home. This is goingto explode. All it isgoing to take is one idiot killing someone and all hell will brake loose. The Lyin King and his henchman Billy Barr are not even trying to hide the fact that they are trying to start a war on the citizens of this country.
Someone earlier ask about the KY Dem primary. There are ten Democrats on the ballet for the Senate seat. Amy McGrath is the one that the DNC is supporting. Charles Booker is a state Rep who is running as a progressive. Bernie endorced him and since then the Bernie Bots have been attacking Amy all over facebook and twitter. The other also ran is Mike Broihier. He is a retired military and aschool teacher. His supporters are also going after Amy with everything they have. This is why, and I hate to say this, Mitch has a good chance of winning. Nothing against the other two gentleman. MikeI have never heard of until last month. His supporters say he has been all over the state but noone has advertised his appearences. Booker is a good guy BUT and again I hate to say this a black man from Louisville is not going to get the votes of the folks in Western Ky where Mitch is king. Look the majority of the state is under educated and low income bible thumpers. As a nativeI think i have the rightto say this. It is very frustrating to sit here year after year and hang my head everytime MoscowMitch opens his mouth. Amy has been working really hard all over the state especially meeting with the coal miners in Eastern Ky. Mitch is running awful attack ads against her but she is hitting back at each one with the true facts. I just hope it helps and she can beat him. But I'm afraid if Bernie and his Bots have their way we will lose again.
@seeker4 yes thank you! I hear the thoughts in my head saying “hope you all hug each other on your way in and out”. I’m not a violent person but there are times when I’m just screaming in my head. I gotta work on that.
While I appreciate banning the Loser Flag*, NASCAR just needs to go away. It serves no purpose whatsoever. It started as a way for moonshiners to outrun police during prohibition. It's so bad for the environment and such a bad message. These macho sports from bygone eras can all go. Even golf (golf courses are SO bad for the environment and such a drain on resources all over the world it's not even funny). And while I'd love to see horse racing stop too, I'm not in favor of doing it all at once - I don't want animals killed in the backlash, I'd rather see it phased out slowly. I never was much of a sports fan anyway, but I guess if the world loves Soccer so much, I'll allow it. And maybe someone else can confirm or refute this, but I always thought the Olympics got re-started after millenia less because of brotherly love and more because of the Eugenics movement.
*Loser Flag - I may have said this before, if so excuse me, but the US is the only country on the planet that not only allows but promotes the losers of a civil war or international conflict to fly their flags. Think about it. Do you drive to work on Himmler Expressway? Is your kid attending Goebbels Middle School? Mussolini High School? Care for a stroll in Pol Pot Park? And yet here I used to go to Lee Park, drive on Lee Highway, and also on Mosby Highway (a road near me was not only named for Mosby, but dedicated to him as the "Grey Ghost" for his guerilla tactics during the Civil War), I used to have to go to our City Hall and Courthouse with a statue of a Confederate Soldier (pointing his rifle in his pose) out front, and the textbooks in the schools referred to the "War Between the States" as being about states' rights. So people who fly Confederate flags and/or Nazi symbols can go f* themselves. It's not about heritage. It's about hate.
I agree with you that the rebel flag needs to be retired. People who wave it do so because (1) they know it offends people, and they have that "I'm against the establishment" mentality, and/or (2) they are racist and aren't afraid to say it. Even for people who have heritage in the Civil War cringe at the use of the rebel flag because it has been used so long by hate groups that it has become a racist symbol.
That being said, I have a situation that I would like your imput on.
First, please know that my family has lived in the surrounding area for a long time. I have relatives who fought for both sides in the Civil War (ironically, one side who did not own slaves fought for the South, while another relative who kept slaves fought for the North. Another relative seems to have fought for both sides at different times. I guess he couldn't make up his mind?) We have Civil War Cemeteries, and people will use small flags to decorate a relative's grave (The American Flag if you were Union, the rebel flag if you were Rebel).
I bring this up because, as a descendant of Civil War veterans, I also place those flags on the graves of my ancestors on Memorial Day. Unlike the majority of people, I place both (mostly because of that relative who fought for both sides and I don't want to have to explain that, but also to show that the two sides came back together after the war.)
I was actually asked by several people why I insist on putting both flags, with comments like "don't you think your Southern relative would hate having the flag of the army that killed him over his grave?" or" how can you put a rebel flag with the American flag over your Union relative?" I told them that I do it to honor both sides of my admittedly imperfect family. Not because I agree with them, but because I want to put the flags of both sides on their graves to both acknowledge the side they fought on and to (hopefully) symbolize that my relatives became equal in death, and that the joining of the flags was symbolic of the reunification of the country after the war. Personally, my ancestors probably care less about what flag I put on their grave during Memorial Day (at least, I hope so).
But in all other instances, I feel that the rebel flag does not need to be used or displayed in any form or fashion, especially by the government.
And yes, I am against Civil War statutes and the use of the rebel flag in state flags or monuments. To have those around for people of African American heritage is akin to having a battered woman seeing a statute of her assailant every day.
I hate racists with a passion, because I believe that their desire to hate anyone because of the color of their skin and/or their country of origin is an affront to God. God created everyone, and by saying you hate someone because of something they were born with is basically insulting God's creation. But now I am torn. Do you or anyone else view the act of putting a rebel flag on the grave of a relative who died in the civil war racist?
But now, I wonder. Do you view this act of honoring graves as racist? Am I being a hypocrite because my actions might be viewed as though I am promoting the return of the South (and with it, slavery)? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Hmmm... that's a tough one.
Any act of honoring ancestors at their graves with little flags is not inherently racist because your intentions are not.
Yes, your family has a complicated history on both sides of the Civil War. There was a lot of changing back and forth - the town I used to live in in VA switched hands FOUR times during the war, and both sides used the courthouse lawn (where that damn statue still is) to execute "deserters". Lots of fine people on both sides I guess you could say...
BUT
In the interests of moving forward, but respectfully, is there any other way you and your family can come up with to honor those ancestors? Maybe NO flags at all? Perhaps red white and blue ribbons or flowers? Or slips of parchment with poems written during the war (from both sides)? Or maybe even just little stars of some kind - maybe wooden? Jewish people have the tradition of leaving a small stone on a grave or headstone every time they visit, as a sign of remembrance and respect, and also, to some extent, as a reminder of the impermanence of life itself. Maybe small stones with something painted on them? How about something with a peace sign on it? Let the ancestors know that the goal remains peace.
You seem to understand the issue, if any family members don't I'd suggest asking them to reflect on how black visitors to the cemeteries feel when they see a bunch of rebel flags sticking up out of the graves. I imagine they feel the oppression is endless, even beyond the grave.
@dhyanaji
Yes and this from the Washington Post article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/11/trump-seattle-autonomous-zone-inslee/
"...Instead of “protesters,” President Trump suggested another term for the demonstrators late Wednesday: “Domestic Terrorists.” Trump blasted Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) and Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Twitter, threatening federal action if local leaders don’t “take back” the city.
“Radical Left Governor @JayInslee and the Mayor of Seattle are being taunted and played at a level that our great Country has never seen before,” Trump tweeted. “Take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will. This is not a game. These ugly Anarchists must be stooped IMMEDIATELY. MOVE FAST!”
Both Durkan and Inslee swiftly hit back at Trump.
“A man who is totally incapable of governing should stay out of Washington state’s business. ‘Stoop’ tweeting,” Inslee wrote on Twitter, mocking Trump for the misspelling in his tweet.
Inslee later said that although the zone was unauthorized and that the country still faces a pandemic, the area was mostly calm and he hoped for a peaceful resolution.
“What we will not allow are threats of military violence against Washingtonians coming from the White House,” he wrote. “The U.S. military serves to protect Americans, not the fragility of an insecure president.”...
Durkan wrote: “Make us all safe. Go back to your bunker,” referring to when Trump was rushed to a safe room in the White House last month during protests over the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Trump also took a swipe at former vice president Joe Biden on Thursday morning, taunting that he “refuses to leave his basement ‘sanctuary’ and tell his Radical Left BOSSES that they are heading in the wrong direction. Tell them to get out of Seattle now."
Biden’s presidential campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the remark."...
Jeanne's visions have all been coming true, however I myself hold out hope that he will be stopped at some point before our democracy falls and before we end up with him or another GOPer this coming election.?
@allyn Your intention seems clear. Two things predominate: historical accuracy and the feelings of others. Truthfully, looking at it from the perspective you laid out, I'm not sure what I would do so what follows are just ideas for thought. 1. What about talking with local black historians and local black leaders to get their viewpoint. 2. However, if you decide to resolve it yourself, you might consider getting a plaque that explains the facts and your reasoning for what you are doing because your family's history is your family's history and acknowledging that seems important. (Cemetery regs may be involved.) 3. Another possibility might be to use the American flag only for public consumption, but create a family book for members of your family that explains this complicated history. 4. Write a newspaper article--you certainly have the writing skills to accomplish that--describing this as a journey which includes your family history and the dilemma--because your post reveals compassion. 5. Definitely creating something for the family would be terrific. (Of course, I say that because that's one of my favorite things to do.) Finally, I hope you will share your journey and your thinking with us and your final decision. I hope this helps a little bit.
@allyn My brother-in-law is an award winning historian. I'd be glad to share your post with him in order to get his thoughts. He's not black though so I don't know how far that would get you. However, one of his scholarship areas was regarding N.C. ante-bellum politics.
I just read on Twitter that in order to attend the orange ones HUGELY rally one must promise not to sue him if you contact the corona virus. Good luck with that.
@dhyanaji I have no doubt that there's a plan in place,and I also have no doubt that he will one way or another leave the White House - if he loses. What about if voter suppression causes him to win? I want to know what the Democrats and the states are doing about this. Georgia apparently, according to what I read, worked perfectly along the lines of voter suppression.
@dhyanaji, I just saw that same interview on MSNBC. Tony Schwartz is on there frequently. He's very insightful. He was hired to ghostwrite the book, although T. claims to have written it himself. Schwartz was credited as co-author. When Schwartz was first featured on MSNBC, which I think was when T was still a candidate, he expressed deep remorse that he presented Trump in a way that brought him broader attention and made him more appealing and successful than he is. Schwartz understood who T was, but he never believed T. would get this far. Schwartz pledged all royalties from sales of the book to charities focusing on immigration and criminal justice reform, but he said that he can't right the wrong of his involvement, and will carry this until the end of his life.