" Now that we have the GOP, let us enjoy it ". I'm paraphrasing Cardinal Richeliu, I think.
The GOP is devolving / has devolved into a group that values the party over the state of the nation. & we were mostly guilty of letting it happen. I have almost ZERO RESPECT for the GOP OR the Evangelicals who embraced Trump & the Republicans who told JC to go play in traffic.
I wonder how many of us around the US don't want to say what's on our minds about guns because we feel intimidated by all those people who insist on turning our nation into an armed camp.
And I wonder how many of those who insist on banning abortion, while tolerating children being murdered in school on a regular basis, see any logical inconsistency between those two policy positions.
They don't see logical inconsistency. I posted something in reply to a post by a male who labeled himself as responsible had posted a photo of a female carrying a full term baby with something like ┬иyour body your choice does not include this baby's body,┬и as though this full term baby was independent from the woman's body. I congratulated this male, saying that I was assuming his responsibility meant that he had had an irreversible vasectomy, knows the number of children in foster care in America, knows what happens to those foster children after they are forced out of care at ages 18 - 21 into a world they are not prepared for, and that most end up on the streets prostituting themselves or turning to drugs. Many end up in prison. I asked how many foster children he has adopted. What his community and the churches in the community are doing to provide for, nurture, and educate those children as his political party denies government aid to those struggling - which will include more and more women who are forced to give birth to children they cannot support. One response was from a male asking how would I feel if I had been aborted. Another a female who called my reply red herrings. These people have no interest in what happens to children who are born. I worked with foster youth. I taught children who were adopted from foster care. Their stories are blood curdling nightmares. But these narrow minded, hypocrites don't bother to think beyond the murder of a fetus. That children are slaughtered doesn't bother them. That is just a red herring.
Thank you, Galilee. IтАЩm an adoptee who has been told I should be grateful I wasnтАЩt aborted. My response is тАж.тАЬ same soul, different bodyтАЭ.
Members of my local Republican Executive Committee believe adoption is the тАЬhumane compromiseтАЭ for a woman or child who becomes pregnant as the result of rape or incest. My response тмЗя╕П
A woman or child who faces such a traumatic, forced pregnancy may have the option to: 1)carry the pregnancy to term, or,2) have a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy. Some may have absolutely no say in the decision,including those who have been human-trafficked.
Fetuses cannot be adopted.Adoption is an option only once there is a living child. If a person carries a pregnancy to term, even if this decision was not freely chosen, the decision is to :1)parent the child, or,2) relinquish the child for adoption.
Many birth mothers who suffer the life-long trauma of relinquishment,as well as adoptees, should not be used as political pawns.
And please stop telling adoptees they should be grateful they werenтАЩt aborted. This тАЬpro-lifeтАЭ gaslighting only serves to promote a false equivalence.
If the woman who is carrying an unwanted fetus is black, she knows the chance that that baby will be adopted is close to zero and thus will chose to "just keep it".
Actually, their support is for a zygote. My friend is an NNP who recently had to intubate a set of twins reportedly at 26 weeks. When the babies were delivered, they were obviously nearer to 21 weeks. She told me how difficult it was; тАЬ it was like intubating jelloтАЭ she said. Of course and thankfully they passed within hours. I used to work in a NICU once upon a time. A preterm delivery at that gestation was considered a тАЬ spontaneous abortionтАЭ. ItтАЩs disgusting what the repugs are doing and making healthcare providers do.
Thanks to all of you who responded with personal horrifying experiences. Last night I listened to some male pontificate about his role in passing some anti abortion law. Pffft. Then there are the self-righteous women who are should know there's not one word in the NT about abortion. These people are at the least pro-misery and at the worst, pro-death. And just this week we had a report from Maryland about some 80 years of hiding sexual exploitation by priests. Hypocrites, all.
Women should collect DNA and ID from every sex partner and then take them to court to support and raise (or keep!) the human she was forced through involuntary servitude to bring into the world. Why aren't law firms taking up this challenge?
I never considered the child being a zygote & yet I took biology classes in college. This is quite enlightening on several levels. I LEARNED. Kudos, Mary Ann.
They also don't consider the women who already have children, and another will drag the family under. Do you tell the kids, "Sorry, we're gonna have to give this one away. You might be next."
These God spouting Republicans don't care about anyone but themeslves and feel it's their "right " to inflict their beliefs on anyone that they don't like.
Any woman who is forced to continue her pregnancy because of regressive laws in her state need only find the home address of her nearest GOP legislator and drop the baby off on that doorstep. If thousands of babies kept showing up on Repub doorsteps, I wonder how they would respond.
Living in this country is indeed become difficult. As a protester during the Vietnam war and for equal rights for woman 50 years ago was different. Today we live in a country where our government supports gun violence and we watch as our children getting killed. We send prayers and do nothing to protect them. In fact we loosen the laws so everyone has the right to gun ownership. That right is more important than childrenтАЩs lives ??? Yet we woman struggle to have say over our body. Can you imagine women having a say over menтАЩs reproductive rights? Maybe time for every man who impregnates a women he is financially responsible for that childтАЩs life. Yes the number of assault weapons and shootings in this country certainly is a way to control protests because of the fear of being shot. Kind of how fascists countries control their citizens. No one should have the right to assault weapons. The exposure of how our Democracy is not working with people in power able to gerrymander is frightening. Thomas being paid off. Such corruption is disheartening for the future of our country. Having a President that incites violence every chance he gets to gain power is despicable. No wonder he and Putin were such buddies. A salute to those legislators who were brave enough to speak out to protect our children. There are a few good men /women left but much of our attention is focused on the ones who intention is to destroy our democracy.
The Church has long frowned on masturbation.....wasting one's seed. We know how well that has worked out. I recommend an older book, Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven for a detailed account of all the screwball antics around sexuality promoted by the Church as well as some the crazy ideas of what women do.
Zella I wonder how evangelical тАШChristiansтАЩ relate the тАШimmaculate conceptionтАЩ to the тАШimmaculate emasculation.тАЩ I hope that this would prick their consciences.
Hi Keith, I get your point and totally agree with it! One little niggling issue that is more about theological accuracy ......"immaculate conception" actually refers to Mary herself being conceived without sin ( presumably to be a worthy "God-bearer [Theotokos].)
"Virgin birth" is what you want here. Even evangelical Catholics get these confused!...... Sorry, don't want to come across like the theology police ( do have a PhD in it for whatever that is worth) but your point is a good one and you may as well have the most potent terms at hand. Thank you. All the best!
Carol Congrats on obtaining your PhD! When I was at UPenn, my book NASSERтАЩS NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (1960, NEW YORK, LONDON) was accepted as my dissertation and I would be given credit for teaching several courses together with a тАШcustomizedтАЩ book program for my PhD, but I chose the Foreign Service and the tranquility of Congo (1960-1966).
As history professor (1992-2013) for many years I taught SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EARLY JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM. On the New Testament, I relied heavily on Bart Ehrman, a true authority at the U. Of NC. Recently, I watched his new DVD on Jesus becoming тАШgod.тАЩ He skipped over the тАШimmaculate conception.тАЩ
He made a strong historical presentation on why the body of Jesus could not have been placed in a tomb and, thus, the story of his resurrection was not historically accurate.
In my comments on LFAA I have a tendency to be cavalier rather than scholarly. Regarding the тАШimmaculate conception,тАЩ several of my students had professed a similar experience.
At the last church I joined, I first told the minister that I was puzzled by the тАЬFather, Son, and Holy Ghost.тАЭ Happily, he stated that he would not pursue this issue. So what about the Holy Ghost (who subsequently became the Holy Spirit)? My historical impression was that this was declared at Nicaea in 325 as part of a series of resolutions that, in part, were intended to kill a distinct тАШChristianтАЩ movement.
I find that faith is often distinct from historical assessment, since faith requires no factual proof.
Some of my family are now celebrating Passover. I find the story of Moses fascinating, even if it was written about 400 years after his presumed existence.
David, to answer your question: None of them see that in anything at all similar. Nor do they see any conflict with their anti-abortion stance and their horrible infatuation with the death penalty. They have no iota of support for support programs for poor families whose children are malnourished, abused, or raised in "housing" that would curl your toes. It. Isn't. About. Babies. It is about controlling women. Period.
Reminds me of the interview on Amanpour with Christianne and V (formerly Eve Ensler) about global controlling of women everywhere, from the US to Afghanistan to Iran to Africa, everywhere needing a united global response, a worthwhile 13 minutes discussion on the continuing "paradigm of patriarchy" in her book, Reckoning, https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2023/01/30/amanpour-v-reckoning.cnn
Most American women had, and still have no idea, just what a big deal it has been in the recent decades to be able to get out of the condition of pregnant and barefooted. They thought it was a right but in the history of the human race, it's an anomaly. Welcome to the real world, girls.
Yes, I agree, which was the point I was hoping to make. If logical consistency were important to them, they would either drop their insistence on banning abortion in favor of Guns For All -- or they would decide it's a good idea to lock up ALL OF THE GUNS for the sake of the children.
Logic, to them, is like Kryptonite to Superman or holy water, garlic & sunlight to Dracula. They have their own crackhead logic that only they understand.
I enjoy science fiction, and speculative fiction. This current version of "adult consensus reality" reads like sci-fi. I think we could spin it into a pretty good yarn. No time travel, though. When we treat these bizzaro characters -- eg mtg -- as characters in a fictional tale, it makes it much easier to talk about it. Implausibility doesn't matter anymore because it's fiction. In a fictional tale we could actually talk about locking up all of the guns. And we could rewrite District of Columbia v. Heller for Justice Scalia, and bring the first clause back into contention, "...A well-regulated militia..." Then we could say "Want to own a gun? Join the National Guard -- if they'll have you."
Well-regulated militiaтАжBoy, IтАЩve been screaming that from the rooftops! If there are no gun regulations to cramp gun ownersтАЩ style, where does the тАЬWell-regulatedтАЭ part fit in?
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;" - US Constitution, Section 8
Back in the day, the militias were formed by men who brought their own firearms. Nowadays I'm pretty sure anything like the National Guard provides the actual firepower.
I sure hope one day we'll have a SCOTUS that can correct the travesty of the current 2nd Amendment interpretation.
There's nothing wrong with these types of people that lots of drugs, ECT & perhaps a lobotomy wouldn't remedy, possibly. These are the same people who said that " The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat ". Hate is a VIRTUE to them.
I'm sure you don't mean people whose politics we disagree with should be involuntarily drugged or lobotmized. If so, there's a sizable dose of virtuous hate in your comment
We are quite close to the old tradition of human sacrifice to please and appease the gods. We just have to institutionalize it: provide тАЬundesirableтАЭ humans including, of course, children, to the shooters who worship the Second Amendment. Become a country that stands up for its rights without all the unpredictable chaos.
That scenario isnтАЩt fiction. It just happened in the same Tennessee legislature highlighted in todayтАЩs letter. White officials expelling two elected legislators from the legislature. And a third, who is white, is not expelled, merely censured. For disorderly behavior and bringing dishonor to the house. The Tennessee Three. Having a voice. All in plain site. What was the purpose of the protest? Gun control laws, children, banning military weapons. And after a judge loosened Tennessee gun laws. After six people In Nashville, including three nine year olds, were killed in a Christian school. A Christian School. Dishonor and protest on the floor. Sounds like next is a duel. Backwards Time Machines for sale in red states.
Yes. And I left out in this late post, the critical factor: the expelled legislators are Black. We might have known even without that detail. We are two countries. Not united.
AKA: Lies. The plutocrats, who despise "the little people" may flatter themselves a la Trump, but I think they know when they are lying. It may be "alternate facts", doublethink. and word-Greene-salad, but there is method to the madness, and its all about power; the power of money, the power of position, and the power of violence.
Rational people usually don't shoot other people or smash their craniums, etc., about differences or suspected differences. I read about Pol Pot's " Killing Fields " where the Khmer Rouge would shoot people wearing glasses on the mistaken belief that they were intellectuals that Pol Pot was trying to eliminate.
But that's all posturing. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has asked for the federal government to pay for all hurricane relief in her state. A state that already gets $2.17 in federal $ for every $1.00 they send to the federal government. These crazies can count and they know they can't survive without the blue states. We should secede.
Build it deep as well as tall, just in case they're relatively smart enough to figure out that they can DIG UNDER such a thing. Most of them aren't much for IQ's above the single digits.
I think these comments about the lack of logic and reason in Republican behavior miss the point. The Rs are engaging in a power play, no more, no less. Their illogical and unreasonable statements and positions are merely theater for their "base" (debased base, if I may say so). So forget about "reasoning" them to more sensible behavior. This is war that should be settled by overwhelming force at the ballot box, working through and around any voting restrictions that have been put into place.
Yes, locking up all guns would help. Banning the sale assault style firearms would also be simple and effective. If someone has an assault style weapon and wants to sell it, the state will buy it, then destroy it.
An NRA spokeman once proclaimed that "an armed society is a polite society." Meaning, the gun-worshippers can easily intimidate and threaten everyone who doesn't agree with them. Chilling, frightening, and they are very close to creating their "utopia" where few dare to oppose their madness.
Not to mention that NRA quote is total BS. An armed society is NUTS. Our own is proof!
Back in the so-called Wild West, towns often made gunmen relinquish their weapons prior to entering the town proper. And even now, the shameless hypocritical Rs and their lunatic supporters often have to keep firearms out of their own gatherings.
Knowing that there are millions of orphans in this overpopulated world, I ask that people who really want children to adopt and hope that some social system that works will be devised. I have known two adoptions well. The first an Indian baby taken off a table (where she was left to die) by an American social worker. She brightened our lives as she learned French horn, growing up happy and accomplished.The second a very traumatized black child, now flourishing as the little sister and much protected child of parents with whom she has become the first black citizen of Iceland!
Realizing that it takes exceptional people to adopt as these friends did, recognizing that few in America can any longer afford children, I still have hope that we can put together a system that will allow US to reach out with generosity to orphans everywhere.
Talk about speaking out in an open carry state (even 17 yr olds) is easily said. We have billboards on freeway - with тАШlets go BrandonтАЩ. Thats free speech here.
Well, don't be intimidated. I've been overtly threatened online and my standard reply is "bring it bitch, and don't bring it weak." I'm not being glib either.
And IтАЩm paraphrasing the witness in тАЬBananasтАЭ:
тАЬI think Mr. Pearson is a traitor to this country because his views are different from the views of the Tennessee GOP and others of its kind. Differences of opinion should be tolerated but not when they are too different. Then he becomes a subversive mother."
They need to be punished in the 2024 election. In 2022, unfortunately the GOP won the House of Reps. ( just barely) The voters need to reject this extremism or Tennessee will be a role model for other states.
Unfortunately, it is entirely believable. Expected, even, for any state in the Confederacy and several outside the Confederacy. Republicans will exert every lever of power they have to preserve white domination of government at all levels.
Look at parts of the north in terms of violence agains Black people. Minnesota really shocked me. All the killings of young Black men and women in all corners of the country. Shameful.
Yes, there is plenty of racism in the north, no doubt about it. I live in Connecticut and there is racism here but we aren't electing racists as our leaders. We aren't passing laws that enforce racism. That' the difference.
Nobody said the North is free of systemic racism, but the South is worse, far worse. In the North, тАЬonlyтАЭ 60% of white people favor systemic racism. In the South, itтАЩs 70% to 80%.
The South is low - hanging fruit, yes, but they're painting targets on themselves. Despite not having much of a Southern accent, some guy called me Goober or Gomer on a previous job.
Psst! New York State is RED in ideology. Now itтАЩs becoming Red politically. As a matter of fact, most of the Governors & Representatives past & present have been Democrats in name only. Few if any of them have been truly Liberal. Mostly Conservative-leaning Centrists. (I posted in yesterday Letter that Centrists are mostly people who want to keep the Establishment alive and itтАЩs hierarchy system going so they donтАЩt lose their place it it).
Yes. Instead, factories and businesses had to make do with labor abuses instead of true slavery while the owners whistled Dixie all the way to the bank. Many sadly had to change their tune for a little while after the Wall Street Crash and Depression that followed.
Let's not get too carried away with our South-bashing and try to remember that some truly fine people live there alongside the bigoted haters and they are working hard to effect positive change. Check out Kyle Whitmire and J.D. Crowe at AL.com if you don't believe me. Also Patrick Skinner (Skinnerpm) on Twitter. The South has many problems as does the rest of our poor benighted land but at least the weather is generally warm and so are the people.
During the Civil War my great-great granddaddy lived in an area in SE Texas called the Big Thicket, a large very dense forest just north of where my family and I live. He did not believe in the cause of the South, and did not want to fight in the war, so he and the men hid out in the thicket while the women would sneak in food and supplies at the edge of the forest. I am a proud TexanтАжareformed Republican, now Democrat. I cannot allow them control over me! Like my grandfather, I will stay in Texas and work hard to turn it Blue! There are many others like meтАжplease donтАЩt judge all of Texans by the divisive, hate filled, bigoted comments you hear or read in the тАЬnewsтАЭ!
Keep fining like-minded people and work for change. A lot of people are moving in to Texas. That's why they got 2 more electoral votes after the 2020 census and California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost one vote.
What she said. Also note, South-bashers, that you seem to be erasing the millions upon millions of southerners who are Black, brown, and otherwise not white.
I donтАЩt think anyone blames systemic racism on black or brown voters. If Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi made it easy for black people to vote, instead of throwing every possible roadblock in the way, no Republican would hold an office elected by statewide voting in those states. Republicans would still control the legislatures and US House contingents, however, because the districts are gerrymandered to nullify the votes of the black people who manage, through persistent determination, to cast votes, having overcome the obstacles that the white power structure puts in their way.
Yes, there are many fine people there, just as there were fine people in the Confederacy, but as long as they keep electing bigots for their government, those fine people aren't accomplishing much. They aren't making reasonable laws, so should we accept the bigotry of the leaders because there are fine people living there?
William, I for one would love for you to tell me how to elect dems in a severely gerrymandered state. You read above, I presume, about repubs тАЬcrackingтАЭ Nashville. ThatтАЩs just one instance, but this is the way it is all over the state. Please, I look forward to your suggestions.
тАЬMany fine peopleтАЭ doesnтАЩt cut it. What matters is the percentage of fine people, and that percentage is not high enough in the South (and many states in the North, too) to effectively combat systemic racism. The incident that prompted this discussion occurred in Tennessee, and only the na├пve are surprised by this latest example of injustice perpetrated by the legislatiors that the white people In Tennessee put in office.
Carolyn, I absolutely agree with you. I loved living in Florida and loved the people. I hate the politicians, north and south, for allowing this violence to sweep through the land.
J.D. Crowe!! and so many great musicians...Bill Monroe himself broke the color barrier in the '20s. The South is not a monolith of bigots.The majority of African Americans in the US live there. Jimmy Carter and others like him defy white southern stereotypes. Let's don't let fear and prejudice dehumanize any region of the country.
But those non dissenting voices sure run off fast to hospitals in Portland, Oregon when they have covid, need critical or trauma care. Not any different here in western North Carolina, they go to Atlanta or Asheville and are happy to be taken care of by black and brown nurses and staff.
But, walk around any Northern state and you will find that all of them also are practicing apartheid. In some ways more than the south. Honestly.
When I was growing up in East Texas, after 1966 or 1967, I went to a fully integrated public school. And? Nobody thought that was a big deal AND, even though nobody in the north believes me when I say this, there was no racial issue within the school. All folks treated each other reasonably well, outside of a few normal fistfights in middle and early high school (almost exclusively between the white boys and that all that stopped later when those boys could really hurt each other).
Fast forward to my old man status (63), where I live in mid sized northern town where it used to be cold in the winter.
The public school in my suburban town is essentially all white. Has been since all of the white folks in the city migrated to the burbs in the late 60's and 70's.
All of the all white, suburban schools do bus in 10 or so blacks into the school from the city. Mostly, this is an effort to put together a good basketball team for sports.
At any rate, AMERICA is still practicing Apartheid Elizabeth. In some ways, more so in the north than the south, because, in the north, rural schools are all white. Down south they are fully integrated, black, Mexican and white.
Lastly, the most racist President of my lifetime? Yep. From NY City. Trump.
I know you guys get tired of reading this perspective, but, honestly, it is true (for me and my life data anyway).
Mike, my dadтАЩs best friend was from East Texas. I agree. You missed my other comment about the apartheid in the north. I grew up in New York City and my life was completely integrated with all races, all ethnicities and all income groups. I always went to public school and public university. Our country was founded on apartheid and has continued to practice it, in spite of many areas of тАЬprogressтАЭ. We have to work on change wherever we can. тАЬGood work done anywhere is good work done everywhereтАж.тАЭ Maya Angelou.
тАЬLook at parts of the north in terms of violence agains Black people. Minnesota really shocked me. All the killings of young Black men and women in all corners of the country. Shameful.тАЬ
For years I helped run/support a recruiting gala for Hispanics and Latinos in this town. It was well attended. I think it helped. I met others dedicated to the same goals. A good part of my life for sure.
Now, I tutor at a local place where Puerto Rican kids come for help in math (and I work on the English too).
I did volunteer in the Black Community for a few years as a tutor, but, I was not very effective. I have my hypotheses about why (my own limitations) but.....
Sometimes I'm not overly proud of being Southern. I don't even have much of an accent. Maybe my subconscious is making me more Northern. This cousin manages to use " Y'all " as if she's channeling Paula Deen. She even put it in a speech.
I beg to differ. Infuriating and disheartening as the events in Tennessee yesterday may have been, I predict that they will mark the beginning of the end for the Racist Republican Party in that state and, ultimately, across this nation. Most of the young people who have protested in Nashville and across the state cannot vote. Yet. But they will be able to vote soon, and that will lead to a change In Tennessee that no amount of gerrymandering can prevent. It is up to us older (and in my case old) folks to help the process along.
He is a hypocrite. HeтАЩs been gaming the system for decades and, once he felt unleashed, has demonstrated his high-minded disdain for everyone, except those who can benefit him. He once went to seminary to study for the priesthood but left bc he felt racial bias. He doesnтАЩt seem to see his own glaring biases.
It may truly be up to their generation. These are young Black men who were expelled and their ability to speak before the crowd puts any old white male to shame.
Tennessean here: this legislature displays boundless arrogance and self-righteousness. They have since the beginning. The governor looks up, sees TX or FL, and says тАЬhey, letтАЩs do that too.тАЭ One of the adults killed in Nashville was a friend of his wifeтАЩs. Do you think that mattered to anyone? Listen to the demeaning way Andrew Farmer, rep from Sevierville, spoke to Pearson yesterdayтАФas if Pearson was a naughty child.
Professor Cox Richardson has just laid bare a litany of truth regarding the corrupt and disgusting Repugnant Party. Old Dixicrats live on with new names, but the same disgusting behavior. All of the principals in this group of terror are vile and degrading human flotsam and jetsam backed by power and money. This is the reason decent people must stand and PROTEST with the Tennessee Three. This is a group portrait of evil personified. We know the truth about them all, and it is appalling.
'TennesseeтАЩs House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest'
Yesterday, Americans and the world got to see and hear for themselves what White supremacy looks like as practiced by legislators in state of Tennessee. That is hardly all we got to see and hear.
'In interviews, all three lawmakers spoke of how gun violence тАФ and in some instances, their personal experiences of it тАФ had helped shape their paths to politics. Mr. Pearson recounted the pain of losing family members and a mentor to gun violence, and said the push for tighter restrictions on firearms тАЬis personal when you lose your friends, when you lose loved ones.тАЭ
'Mr. Jones recalled attending his first protests after Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teenager, was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. тАЬThis issue is something that has been a part of our generation,тАЭ he said. тАЬThis is a very personal issue.тАЭ
'Ms. Johnson recalled a shooting at Central High School in Knoxville that took place while she was still working as a teacher, and тАЬthe terror on the kidsтАЩ faces as they were running down that hill into my classroom.тАЭ (NYTimes)
'In the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three Democratic lawmakers took to the floor of the Republican-controlled Tennessee House chamber last week to rally for stricter gun control.'(ManisteeNews)
'The Republicans who control state government, led by Gov. Bill Lee, have rejected the calls for tighter gun laws and have largely focused instead on toughening school security. The Tennessee House passed a bill on Thursday that would require schools to conduct annual drills, keep all entrance doors locked and install a mobile panic-alert system.' (NYTimes)
'The three Democratic lawmakers spoke out against the measure on Thursday, with Mr. Jones calling it a тАЬwhite flag of surrenderтАЭ that does not address the root causes of gun violence.' (NYTimes)
тАШThousands of people flocked to the Capitol to support Jones, Pearson and Johnson on Thursday, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber loudly enough to drown out the proceedings.тАЩ
тАШThe trio held hands as they walked onto the floor, and Pearson raised a fist during the Pledge of Allegiance.тАЩ
тАШOffered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.тАЩ
тАЬWe called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,тАЭ he said.
тАШThe two expelled lawmakers may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled, and they could opt to choose Jones and Pearson. The two also would be eligible to run in those races.тАЩ
тАШUnder the Tennessee Constitution, lawmakers cannot be expelled for the same offense twice.тАЩ
тАШJones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. тАЬIтАЩm not here to make friends. IтАЩm here to make a change for my community,тАЭ he replied.тАЩ
тАЬIтАЩll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act, тАж' (ManisteeNews)
You are a blessing Ron. I will have gifting option for the Times again on the 17th of this month. So grateful for your generosity and recognition of the importance of spreading the work of journalists in the USA and beyond. The 'free-press': Democracy dies without it.
Fern I came here to look for your comment, synthesis- thank you. Do you you happen to have your own blog/newsletter I could follow as well? We need your insight in its own right, please consider.
Barbara, Thank you for your kind words. I lean heavily on the excellent journalists here and around the world. Democracy dies without the FREE PRESS (I'm sure I borrowed that line from another source), and I will post ways we can support it here in the US. Many newspapers that served local communities, cities and states were forced to fold has a result of high costs. Fox News and outlets on social media have infected the populace with propaganda and conspiracy theories. There are good news outlets online, such as Politico, Vox and Axios. As for blogs and newsletters, you can click on my pic to learn which I subscribe to. I know there are other very good ones as well. I don't have the ability you praise me for and believe that in addition to this excellent newsletter you will find others to enrich your eagerness to learn and spread the word. Cheers!
Gobsmacked at yesterday's proceedings, including revelations of Clarence Thomas' outrageous self-entitlement. Just when you think that hypocrisy cannot be bested in broad daylight...WHAM! The Tennessee legislation's injustices beats it all leaving me with a kick in the gut. This indeed looks like we are turning into a different country. Silver lining: Somehow, our America seems to behave like a Phoenix, rising up and righting herself. Republicans act without any vision, as if nothing exists beyond the tip of their noses. Well guess what? A storm of our youth's rejection of their demagoguery is swelling.
Easter is upon us. As a little kid, I was aghast when I learned that the Jewish populace chose to release Barrabas. an imprisoned murderer, from prison and allow Jesus' crucifixion. Two 27-year-old Black men were crucified yesterday. But do I have to remind you how famous Jesus got after his? The Tennessee legislative body just unleashed two untethered socio-political forces. And this is how America keeps on rising....
Sophia Demas--I don't understand the purpose of this statement: "I was aghast when I learned that the Jewish populace chose to release Barrabas. an imprisoned murderer, from prison and allow Jesus' crucifixion."
I was attempting to compare the unjust treatment given Jesus with the injustice done to these two Black men, both due to prejudice (maybe it wasn't a great comparison). I also tried to express that I had the same emotional reaction to yesterday's votes as I had finding out the about the voting re: Jesus when I was a child....
Sophia Gemas--Thank you for your clarification and good intentions. With all due respect to your religious beliefs, your comment --though unintentional-- perpetuates an insidious, historically unprovable, and catastrophic antisemitic myth (currently undergoing an often deadly world-wide resurgence). The use of this pernicious myth is in direct opposition to your goal of protecting the unjustly accused. The myth of Jewish culpability in the crucifixion--which justified and encouraged the Church's antisemitism, was discounted by the church 68 years ago (see: Nostra Aetate 10/28/65). While you may see what you learned in elementary school as the absolute Biblical truth, others may see it as a dangerous, often deadly, myth. The nature of myths is their widespread acceptance and availability for multiple interpretations. For example, another view of the myth of Jewish "culpability" in the Crucifixion is that it evolved from a strategically shallow interpretation of the Barabbas "story" that served the Romans' antisemitism at that time. This view suggests that Barabbas had been branded by the Roman authorities as a criminal and incarcerated as a result of his heroic fight against the brutal invading Romans. To the degree that any of these stories can be proven true, it's conceivable that Barabbas might have been widely known then and lauded as a warrior, a hero--an unjustly accused savior. The mob calling for his freeing him could have been rewarding him for his valor rather than a desire to crucify Jesus, who at that time might not have yet been as widely known as a hero. Plus, as we've seen, a crazed mob is hardly representative of a people. Another view asserts that God needed "his son" to be crucified as part of his overall plan for human redemption, therefore since the crucifixion was going to happen anyway, can it be characterized as "unjust"? The Jews were a handy and unjustly accused scapegoat, victimized and murdered for the ensuing centuries. According to your intention to protect the unjustly accused, please consider the possibility that the Jewish People were unjustly accused then and still deserve justice.
WOW, thank you...I'm taking this up with my priest! This was discounted 68 years ago and Christians believe this story to be true? I didn't know...not that ignorance should excuse me from offending people. This brings up another emotional reaction from my youth--the anger I felt when I realized that I was bamboozled into believing that Native Americans were savages. I apologize....
Thank you Sophia, for your understanding, and willingness to consider varying perspectives, no matter how painful, that differ from your own. No apology is needed--instead you have my admiration for challenging yourself and broadening your views and commitment to justice. Onward!
Just waking up over here - and you said exactly what I was going to say. This country has been overrun by oligarchs and criminals - I mean the ones in the House and Senate.
Am I the only one who noticed nobody in the streets protesting these outrages (and so many more)? Is it my imagination that in Israel and France people actually get upset enough to march? Are Americans asleep? When is the Supreme Court going to be surrounded by protesters? When are Thomas and his traitor wife going to be hounded every time they step out into the public eye?
We are like sheep or cattle or lemmings. Oh wait, some kids had the guts to make some noise. I guess they are more frightened than us. They certainly have good reasons. They have bulls eyes on their bodies. And their planet is under attack. Both issues - same villains.
In America, our children and their future are disposable. Inconveniences. Collateral damage.
You may appreciate the voices of commentators who came before you to praise the extraordinary three legislators, two of whom were expelled, for extolling the need for gun control and the rights for all, while condemning the White Supremacists who have rejected the calls for tighter gun laws and make it more difficult for 'some' of us to vote.
Yes, Mark Proulx, and it is getting worse and worse nationwide and worldwide. The trend accelerated following two transformational terms of President Obama and now charged felon and twice impeached Donald J. Trump - who is denigrating and threatening the very Court, jurist and DA charged by the people with his prosecution ... again threatening violence. BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL seems to offend white supremacists... much of white America and the world would like to return to the Nazi way, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, to mention a few.
With that said, there are some questions I'd like to ask.
-Are Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow really close friends?
-If so, is the bond that they share related to a particular view of constitutional interpretation?
-If so, what is that interpretation?
-To what extent do Clarence Thomas's judicial opinions dovetail with Harlan Crow's ideological agenda?
-What, precisely, IS Crow's ideological agenda? Is there anything in it that is pernicious to "republican" government (as guaranteed by the Constitution)?
Mark Fasten your seat belt. This is simply the prologue to the Republican 2023-2024 s++t show of тАШdeath and destruction.тАЩ I shall take some joy watching vipers eating one another.
I am at a loss for words that adequately describe how vile and nauseating all of this is.
" Now that we have the GOP, let us enjoy it ". I'm paraphrasing Cardinal Richeliu, I think.
The GOP is devolving / has devolved into a group that values the party over the state of the nation. & we were mostly guilty of letting it happen. I have almost ZERO RESPECT for the GOP OR the Evangelicals who embraced Trump & the Republicans who told JC to go play in traffic.
I wonder how many of us around the US don't want to say what's on our minds about guns because we feel intimidated by all those people who insist on turning our nation into an armed camp.
And I wonder how many of those who insist on banning abortion, while tolerating children being murdered in school on a regular basis, see any logical inconsistency between those two policy positions.
They don't see logical inconsistency. I posted something in reply to a post by a male who labeled himself as responsible had posted a photo of a female carrying a full term baby with something like ┬иyour body your choice does not include this baby's body,┬и as though this full term baby was independent from the woman's body. I congratulated this male, saying that I was assuming his responsibility meant that he had had an irreversible vasectomy, knows the number of children in foster care in America, knows what happens to those foster children after they are forced out of care at ages 18 - 21 into a world they are not prepared for, and that most end up on the streets prostituting themselves or turning to drugs. Many end up in prison. I asked how many foster children he has adopted. What his community and the churches in the community are doing to provide for, nurture, and educate those children as his political party denies government aid to those struggling - which will include more and more women who are forced to give birth to children they cannot support. One response was from a male asking how would I feel if I had been aborted. Another a female who called my reply red herrings. These people have no interest in what happens to children who are born. I worked with foster youth. I taught children who were adopted from foster care. Their stories are blood curdling nightmares. But these narrow minded, hypocrites don't bother to think beyond the murder of a fetus. That children are slaughtered doesn't bother them. That is just a red herring.
Thank you, Galilee. IтАЩm an adoptee who has been told I should be grateful I wasnтАЩt aborted. My response is тАж.тАЬ same soul, different bodyтАЭ.
Members of my local Republican Executive Committee believe adoption is the тАЬhumane compromiseтАЭ for a woman or child who becomes pregnant as the result of rape or incest. My response тмЗя╕П
A woman or child who faces such a traumatic, forced pregnancy may have the option to: 1)carry the pregnancy to term, or,2) have a medical procedure to terminate the pregnancy. Some may have absolutely no say in the decision,including those who have been human-trafficked.
Fetuses cannot be adopted.Adoption is an option only once there is a living child. If a person carries a pregnancy to term, even if this decision was not freely chosen, the decision is to :1)parent the child, or,2) relinquish the child for adoption.
Many birth mothers who suffer the life-long trauma of relinquishment,as well as adoptees, should not be used as political pawns.
And please stop telling adoptees they should be grateful they werenтАЩt aborted. This тАЬpro-lifeтАЭ gaslighting only serves to promote a false equivalence.
If the woman who is carrying an unwanted fetus is black, she knows the chance that that baby will be adopted is close to zero and thus will chose to "just keep it".
Thank you for your post, Kathy.
Thank you for your share. Abrazos тЭдя╕ПЁЯМ║
Actually, their support is for a zygote. My friend is an NNP who recently had to intubate a set of twins reportedly at 26 weeks. When the babies were delivered, they were obviously nearer to 21 weeks. She told me how difficult it was; тАЬ it was like intubating jelloтАЭ she said. Of course and thankfully they passed within hours. I used to work in a NICU once upon a time. A preterm delivery at that gestation was considered a тАЬ spontaneous abortionтАЭ. ItтАЩs disgusting what the repugs are doing and making healthcare providers do.
Thanks to all of you who responded with personal horrifying experiences. Last night I listened to some male pontificate about his role in passing some anti abortion law. Pffft. Then there are the self-righteous women who are should know there's not one word in the NT about abortion. These people are at the least pro-misery and at the worst, pro-death. And just this week we had a report from Maryland about some 80 years of hiding sexual exploitation by priests. Hypocrites, all.
Women should collect DNA and ID from every sex partner and then take them to court to support and raise (or keep!) the human she was forced through involuntary servitude to bring into the world. Why aren't law firms taking up this challenge?
I never considered the child being a zygote & yet I took biology classes in college. This is quite enlightening on several levels. I LEARNED. Kudos, Mary Ann.
Unfortunately, most of the ┬иtheys┬и don't get that. They truly believe it is a full term baby. They use the words ┬иbaby murderer┬и.
They also don't consider the women who already have children, and another will drag the family under. Do you tell the kids, "Sorry, we're gonna have to give this one away. You might be next."
Or puts the momтАЩs life at significant risk
These God spouting Republicans don't care about anyone but themeslves and feel it's their "right " to inflict their beliefs on anyone that they don't like.
Any woman who is forced to continue her pregnancy because of regressive laws in her state need only find the home address of her nearest GOP legislator and drop the baby off on that doorstep. If thousands of babies kept showing up on Repub doorsteps, I wonder how they would respond.
Thank you, for this post Gailee Wells.
Thank you Sharon тЭдя╕П
Living in this country is indeed become difficult. As a protester during the Vietnam war and for equal rights for woman 50 years ago was different. Today we live in a country where our government supports gun violence and we watch as our children getting killed. We send prayers and do nothing to protect them. In fact we loosen the laws so everyone has the right to gun ownership. That right is more important than childrenтАЩs lives ??? Yet we woman struggle to have say over our body. Can you imagine women having a say over menтАЩs reproductive rights? Maybe time for every man who impregnates a women he is financially responsible for that childтАЩs life. Yes the number of assault weapons and shootings in this country certainly is a way to control protests because of the fear of being shot. Kind of how fascists countries control their citizens. No one should have the right to assault weapons. The exposure of how our Democracy is not working with people in power able to gerrymander is frightening. Thomas being paid off. Such corruption is disheartening for the future of our country. Having a President that incites violence every chance he gets to gain power is despicable. No wonder he and Putin were such buddies. A salute to those legislators who were brave enough to speak out to protect our children. There are a few good men /women left but much of our attention is focused on the ones who intention is to destroy our democracy.
Gabrielle Blair, Ejaculate Responsibly
Apparently Fred Trump did not!
Too bad
The Church has long frowned on masturbation.....wasting one's seed. We know how well that has worked out. I recommend an older book, Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven for a detailed account of all the screwball antics around sexuality promoted by the Church as well as some the crazy ideas of what women do.
HA! Love it!!!
Zella I wonder how evangelical тАШChristiansтАЩ relate the тАШimmaculate conceptionтАЩ to the тАШimmaculate emasculation.тАЩ I hope that this would prick their consciences.
Hi Keith, I get your point and totally agree with it! One little niggling issue that is more about theological accuracy ......"immaculate conception" actually refers to Mary herself being conceived without sin ( presumably to be a worthy "God-bearer [Theotokos].)
"Virgin birth" is what you want here. Even evangelical Catholics get these confused!...... Sorry, don't want to come across like the theology police ( do have a PhD in it for whatever that is worth) but your point is a good one and you may as well have the most potent terms at hand. Thank you. All the best!
This is my third revision of a comment I wrote yesterday in this spot.
The children in the USA -- children of all ages -- are waiting for Congress to solve the gun problem.
Until Congress solves the gun problem, they should be held responsible for all children, of all ages, who are harmed by guns.
If Congress fails to act, they are culpable
Carol Congrats on obtaining your PhD! When I was at UPenn, my book NASSERтАЩS NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (1960, NEW YORK, LONDON) was accepted as my dissertation and I would be given credit for teaching several courses together with a тАШcustomizedтАЩ book program for my PhD, but I chose the Foreign Service and the tranquility of Congo (1960-1966).
As history professor (1992-2013) for many years I taught SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EARLY JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM. On the New Testament, I relied heavily on Bart Ehrman, a true authority at the U. Of NC. Recently, I watched his new DVD on Jesus becoming тАШgod.тАЩ He skipped over the тАШimmaculate conception.тАЩ
He made a strong historical presentation on why the body of Jesus could not have been placed in a tomb and, thus, the story of his resurrection was not historically accurate.
In my comments on LFAA I have a tendency to be cavalier rather than scholarly. Regarding the тАШimmaculate conception,тАЩ several of my students had professed a similar experience.
At the last church I joined, I first told the minister that I was puzzled by the тАЬFather, Son, and Holy Ghost.тАЭ Happily, he stated that he would not pursue this issue. So what about the Holy Ghost (who subsequently became the Holy Spirit)? My historical impression was that this was declared at Nicaea in 325 as part of a series of resolutions that, in part, were intended to kill a distinct тАШChristianтАЩ movement.
I find that faith is often distinct from historical assessment, since faith requires no factual proof.
Some of my family are now celebrating Passover. I find the story of Moses fascinating, even if it was written about 400 years after his presumed existence.
Happy Easter.
Evangelical CATHOLICS ? That's a new ( relatively ) factor, at least to me.
Oh, my Lord. Men can ejaculate anytime, any place. How can they control THAT ? Give us chemical castration ? !
I still have a button that says 59 cents.
David, to answer your question: None of them see that in anything at all similar. Nor do they see any conflict with their anti-abortion stance and their horrible infatuation with the death penalty. They have no iota of support for support programs for poor families whose children are malnourished, abused, or raised in "housing" that would curl your toes. It. Isn't. About. Babies. It is about controlling women. Period.
That's the nail on the head - control, not care.
It's about controlling women, minorities, people with whom one doesn't agree and these are folks they certainly do not care one iota about.
Reminds me of the interview on Amanpour with Christianne and V (formerly Eve Ensler) about global controlling of women everywhere, from the US to Afghanistan to Iran to Africa, everywhere needing a united global response, a worthwhile 13 minutes discussion on the continuing "paradigm of patriarchy" in her book, Reckoning, https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2023/01/30/amanpour-v-reckoning.cnn
Most American women had, and still have no idea, just what a big deal it has been in the recent decades to be able to get out of the condition of pregnant and barefooted. They thought it was a right but in the history of the human race, it's an anomaly. Welcome to the real world, girls.
Agree with every word. Recommend that everyone watch this interview. I'm forwarding it to my discussion group.
LOGIC ? These Bizarros ? Logic, rationality, reason & critical thinking are either not in their skill set or indoctrinated out of them.
Yes, I agree, which was the point I was hoping to make. If logical consistency were important to them, they would either drop their insistence on banning abortion in favor of Guns For All -- or they would decide it's a good idea to lock up ALL OF THE GUNS for the sake of the children.
Logic, to them, is like Kryptonite to Superman or holy water, garlic & sunlight to Dracula. They have their own crackhead logic that only they understand.
I enjoy science fiction, and speculative fiction. This current version of "adult consensus reality" reads like sci-fi. I think we could spin it into a pretty good yarn. No time travel, though. When we treat these bizzaro characters -- eg mtg -- as characters in a fictional tale, it makes it much easier to talk about it. Implausibility doesn't matter anymore because it's fiction. In a fictional tale we could actually talk about locking up all of the guns. And we could rewrite District of Columbia v. Heller for Justice Scalia, and bring the first clause back into contention, "...A well-regulated militia..." Then we could say "Want to own a gun? Join the National Guard -- if they'll have you."
Well-regulated militiaтАжBoy, IтАЩve been screaming that from the rooftops! If there are no gun regulations to cramp gun ownersтАЩ style, where does the тАЬWell-regulatedтАЭ part fit in?
"To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;" - US Constitution, Section 8
Thank you, JL. Makes me wonder just what Madison had in mind with the 2nd Amendment when he wrote it.
Back in the day, the militias were formed by men who brought their own firearms. Nowadays I'm pretty sure anything like the National Guard provides the actual firepower.
I sure hope one day we'll have a SCOTUS that can correct the travesty of the current 2nd Amendment interpretation.
The US government has trillions worth of weapons, including nukes. This renders the "well regulated militia" moot.
Excellent point.
There's nothing wrong with these types of people that lots of drugs, ECT & perhaps a lobotomy wouldn't remedy, possibly. These are the same people who said that " The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat ". Hate is a VIRTUE to them.
I'm sure you don't mean people whose politics we disagree with should be involuntarily drugged or lobotmized. If so, there's a sizable dose of virtuous hate in your comment
Just the David Dukes & George Wallaces & a few others like MTG, who is, let's face it, plain undiluted BS unhinged & Lauren Boebert.
Wow. So we object to Nazi-like retribution except when we can weaponize it ourselves.
Daniel, your response to me is both intellectually and morally bankrupt.
Evocative of "Animal Farm."
We are quite close to the old tradition of human sacrifice to please and appease the gods. We just have to institutionalize it: provide тАЬundesirableтАЭ humans including, of course, children, to the shooters who worship the Second Amendment. Become a country that stands up for its rights without all the unpredictable chaos.
That scenario isnтАЩt fiction. It just happened in the same Tennessee legislature highlighted in todayтАЩs letter. White officials expelling two elected legislators from the legislature. And a third, who is white, is not expelled, merely censured. For disorderly behavior and bringing dishonor to the house. The Tennessee Three. Having a voice. All in plain site. What was the purpose of the protest? Gun control laws, children, banning military weapons. And after a judge loosened Tennessee gun laws. After six people In Nashville, including three nine year olds, were killed in a Christian school. A Christian School. Dishonor and protest on the floor. Sounds like next is a duel. Backwards Time Machines for sale in red states.
those right wing nuts are digging their own graves...we just have to watch out that we don't get pulled down with them.
Yes. And I left out in this late post, the critical factor: the expelled legislators are Black. We might have known even without that detail. We are two countries. Not united.
Will we become like Sparta if we get rid of the " undesirable " humans ? This is disturbing indeed.
Anything is possible, what with over population and growing autocracy.
When has the human race proven be be "nice"?
AKA: Lies. The plutocrats, who despise "the little people" may flatter themselves a la Trump, but I think they know when they are lying. It may be "alternate facts", doublethink. and word-Greene-salad, but there is method to the madness, and its all about power; the power of money, the power of position, and the power of violence.
" IN THAT DAY " THEY WILL Face, The HIGHEST Power !
What purpose is logic in the absence of mercy and compassion?
Rational people usually don't shoot other people or smash their craniums, etc., about differences or suspected differences. I read about Pol Pot's " Killing Fields " where the Khmer Rouge would shoot people wearing glasses on the mistaken belief that they were intellectuals that Pol Pot was trying to eliminate.
Gregory Personally I believe that there were scads of mercy and compassion at the Nuremberg Trials. Mercy and compassion for the millions of victims.
Yes, the Acultamuricans must have their own country, religion, language, laws, and facts to be "logically consistent" (!) with their messy-iah.
Let 'em secede & form a new country. If a disaster takes place & they come slamming on the door for aid, we can tell them to eat c**p & die.
But that's all posturing. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has asked for the federal government to pay for all hurricane relief in her state. A state that already gets $2.17 in federal $ for every $1.00 they send to the federal government. These crazies can count and they know they can't survive without the blue states. We should secede.
Sarah Huckfinn Sanders is 6 cans short of a 6 - pack !
Maybe we can build a wall separating the blue & red states. Just give me time to move North or West first, please.
Then we'll really have to build a wall!
Build it deep as well as tall, just in case they're relatively smart enough to figure out that they can DIG UNDER such a thing. Most of them aren't much for IQ's above the single digits.
I think these comments about the lack of logic and reason in Republican behavior miss the point. The Rs are engaging in a power play, no more, no less. Their illogical and unreasonable statements and positions are merely theater for their "base" (debased base, if I may say so). So forget about "reasoning" them to more sensible behavior. This is war that should be settled by overwhelming force at the ballot box, working through and around any voting restrictions that have been put into place.
Exactly. "Their illogical and unreasonable statements and positions are merely theater for their "base" . . ."
Logic--consistent or inconsistent--requires an intellectual function . . .
Yes, locking up all guns would help. Banning the sale assault style firearms would also be simple and effective. If someone has an assault style weapon and wants to sell it, the state will buy it, then destroy it.
It worked to reduce deaths when the 1st Federal assault legislation was in effect from 1994 to 2004!
And I always ask myself, why didnтАЩt the democrats pass a ban while they briefly had a super majority? ( 2009)
Maybe if we point out that guns can and do kill pregnant women and therefore fetusesтАж????
For them, gun rights trump fetus rights.
Daniel, when laws donтАЩt matter, logic doesnтАЩt matter
An NRA spokeman once proclaimed that "an armed society is a polite society." Meaning, the gun-worshippers can easily intimidate and threaten everyone who doesn't agree with them. Chilling, frightening, and they are very close to creating their "utopia" where few dare to oppose their madness.
Not to mention that NRA quote is total BS. An armed society is NUTS. Our own is proof!
Back in the so-called Wild West, towns often made gunmen relinquish their weapons prior to entering the town proper. And even now, the shameless hypocritical Rs and their lunatic supporters often have to keep firearms out of their own gatherings.
North Korea is very very polite.
L
"Logical inconsistency" is not part of their cognitive domain.
Logic isn't something they use much. They " think " with their adrenals.
Knowing that there are millions of orphans in this overpopulated world, I ask that people who really want children to adopt and hope that some social system that works will be devised. I have known two adoptions well. The first an Indian baby taken off a table (where she was left to die) by an American social worker. She brightened our lives as she learned French horn, growing up happy and accomplished.The second a very traumatized black child, now flourishing as the little sister and much protected child of parents with whom she has become the first black citizen of Iceland!
Realizing that it takes exceptional people to adopt as these friends did, recognizing that few in America can any longer afford children, I still have hope that we can put together a system that will allow US to reach out with generosity to orphans everywhere.
I was behind a big personal truck (Ford 350 or something) recently with a bumper sticker that said "I carry a gun." I was careful in passing him.
Talk about speaking out in an open carry state (even 17 yr olds) is easily said. We have billboards on freeway - with тАШlets go BrandonтАЩ. Thats free speech here.
Well, don't be intimidated. I've been overtly threatened online and my standard reply is "bring it bitch, and don't bring it weak." I'm not being glib either.
Nope.
And IтАЩm paraphrasing the witness in тАЬBananasтАЭ:
тАЬI think Mr. Pearson is a traitor to this country because his views are different from the views of the Tennessee GOP and others of its kind. Differences of opinion should be tolerated but not when they are too different. Then he becomes a subversive mother."
For me, I would remove the word "almost" in your statement.
They need to be punished in the 2024 election. In 2022, unfortunately the GOP won the House of Reps. ( just barely) The voters need to reject this extremism or Tennessee will be a role model for other states.
NOW you're talking my language ! I'm sympatico, completely so.
why the qualifier "almost" ?
Force of habit & still half - awake. I keep gonzo hours.
If we took away the guns, those cowards would be just as intimidated.
"Almost"??
Mark, what you said.......just unbelievable.
Unfortunately, it is entirely believable. Expected, even, for any state in the Confederacy and several outside the Confederacy. Republicans will exert every lever of power they have to preserve white domination of government at all levels.
Rex, the south is still practicing apartheid.
The South is still the unreconstructed Confederacy.
Look at parts of the north in terms of violence agains Black people. Minnesota really shocked me. All the killings of young Black men and women in all corners of the country. Shameful.
The great American racist diaspora.
Racism was never reserved for the South nor did it originate there.
However, it makes some folks feel better about themselves to blame and accuse "the South" for the inner demons that plague the US
Yes, there is plenty of racism in the north, no doubt about it. I live in Connecticut and there is racism here but we aren't electing racists as our leaders. We aren't passing laws that enforce racism. That' the difference.
Nobody said the North is free of systemic racism, but the South is worse, far worse. In the North, тАЬonlyтАЭ 60% of white people favor systemic racism. In the South, itтАЩs 70% to 80%.
Can you provide links to verify this ? It's not that I doubt you, I just prefer verification at times.
Exit polls. Easily found by anyone with internet access.
The South is low - hanging fruit, yes, but they're painting targets on themselves. Despite not having much of a Southern accent, some guy called me Goober or Gomer on a previous job.
Psst! New York State is RED in ideology. Now itтАЩs becoming Red politically. As a matter of fact, most of the Governors & Representatives past & present have been Democrats in name only. Few if any of them have been truly Liberal. Mostly Conservative-leaning Centrists. (I posted in yesterday Letter that Centrists are mostly people who want to keep the Establishment alive and itтАЩs hierarchy system going so they donтАЩt lose their place it it).
Amen. If New York were geographically switched with Maryland, it would've joined the Confederacy.
Yes. Instead, factories and businesses had to make do with labor abuses instead of true slavery while the owners whistled Dixie all the way to the bank. Many sadly had to change their tune for a little while after the Wall Street Crash and Depression that followed.
Even the Great Emancipator Lincoln used the N - word in some of his correspondence, or so I have heard. I can Google it.
Dear Commenters,
Let's not get too carried away with our South-bashing and try to remember that some truly fine people live there alongside the bigoted haters and they are working hard to effect positive change. Check out Kyle Whitmire and J.D. Crowe at AL.com if you don't believe me. Also Patrick Skinner (Skinnerpm) on Twitter. The South has many problems as does the rest of our poor benighted land but at least the weather is generally warm and so are the people.
During the Civil War my great-great granddaddy lived in an area in SE Texas called the Big Thicket, a large very dense forest just north of where my family and I live. He did not believe in the cause of the South, and did not want to fight in the war, so he and the men hid out in the thicket while the women would sneak in food and supplies at the edge of the forest. I am a proud TexanтАжareformed Republican, now Democrat. I cannot allow them control over me! Like my grandfather, I will stay in Texas and work hard to turn it Blue! There are many others like meтАжplease donтАЩt judge all of Texans by the divisive, hate filled, bigoted comments you hear or read in the тАЬnewsтАЭ!
Keep fining like-minded people and work for change. A lot of people are moving in to Texas. That's why they got 2 more electoral votes after the 2020 census and California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost one vote.
There is power in numbers. Go for it!
What she said. Also note, South-bashers, that you seem to be erasing the millions upon millions of southerners who are Black, brown, and otherwise not white.
I donтАЩt think anyone blames systemic racism on black or brown voters. If Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi made it easy for black people to vote, instead of throwing every possible roadblock in the way, no Republican would hold an office elected by statewide voting in those states. Republicans would still control the legislatures and US House contingents, however, because the districts are gerrymandered to nullify the votes of the black people who manage, through persistent determination, to cast votes, having overcome the obstacles that the white power structure puts in their way.
Yes, there are many fine people there, just as there were fine people in the Confederacy, but as long as they keep electing bigots for their government, those fine people aren't accomplishing much. They aren't making reasonable laws, so should we accept the bigotry of the leaders because there are fine people living there?
William, I for one would love for you to tell me how to elect dems in a severely gerrymandered state. You read above, I presume, about repubs тАЬcrackingтАЭ Nashville. ThatтАЩs just one instance, but this is the way it is all over the state. Please, I look forward to your suggestions.
тАЬMany fine peopleтАЭ doesnтАЩt cut it. What matters is the percentage of fine people, and that percentage is not high enough in the South (and many states in the North, too) to effectively combat systemic racism. The incident that prompted this discussion occurred in Tennessee, and only the na├пve are surprised by this latest example of injustice perpetrated by the legislatiors that the white people In Tennessee put in office.
Carolyn, I absolutely agree with you. I loved living in Florida and loved the people. I hate the politicians, north and south, for allowing this violence to sweep through the land.
The politicians were elected by those people you liked so much.
J.D. Crowe!! and so many great musicians...Bill Monroe himself broke the color barrier in the '20s. The South is not a monolith of bigots.The majority of African Americans in the US live there. Jimmy Carter and others like him defy white southern stereotypes. Let's don't let fear and prejudice dehumanize any region of the country.
I live in Idaho. Not just the south. And no dissenting voices.
But those non dissenting voices sure run off fast to hospitals in Portland, Oregon when they have covid, need critical or trauma care. Not any different here in western North Carolina, they go to Atlanta or Asheville and are happy to be taken care of by black and brown nurses and staff.
Idaho is the Oklahoma of the Rockies.
And/or the "GOP" has been very busy summoning it's ghost.
Elisabeth,
"the south is still practicing apartheid"
Yes, you are right.
But, walk around any Northern state and you will find that all of them also are practicing apartheid. In some ways more than the south. Honestly.
When I was growing up in East Texas, after 1966 or 1967, I went to a fully integrated public school. And? Nobody thought that was a big deal AND, even though nobody in the north believes me when I say this, there was no racial issue within the school. All folks treated each other reasonably well, outside of a few normal fistfights in middle and early high school (almost exclusively between the white boys and that all that stopped later when those boys could really hurt each other).
Fast forward to my old man status (63), where I live in mid sized northern town where it used to be cold in the winter.
The public school in my suburban town is essentially all white. Has been since all of the white folks in the city migrated to the burbs in the late 60's and 70's.
All of the all white, suburban schools do bus in 10 or so blacks into the school from the city. Mostly, this is an effort to put together a good basketball team for sports.
At any rate, AMERICA is still practicing Apartheid Elizabeth. In some ways, more so in the north than the south, because, in the north, rural schools are all white. Down south they are fully integrated, black, Mexican and white.
Lastly, the most racist President of my lifetime? Yep. From NY City. Trump.
I know you guys get tired of reading this perspective, but, honestly, it is true (for me and my life data anyway).
Mike, my dadтАЩs best friend was from East Texas. I agree. You missed my other comment about the apartheid in the north. I grew up in New York City and my life was completely integrated with all races, all ethnicities and all income groups. I always went to public school and public university. Our country was founded on apartheid and has continued to practice it, in spite of many areas of тАЬprogressтАЭ. We have to work on change wherever we can. тАЬGood work done anywhere is good work done everywhereтАж.тАЭ Maya Angelou.
Mike, here is my comment about the north:
тАЬLook at parts of the north in terms of violence agains Black people. Minnesota really shocked me. All the killings of young Black men and women in all corners of the country. Shameful.тАЬ
Elisabeth: KKK in Minnesota.
https://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/61/v61i08p360-371.pdf
Very active.
Elisabeth,
"We have to work on change wherever we can"
Yes we can.
For years I helped run/support a recruiting gala for Hispanics and Latinos in this town. It was well attended. I think it helped. I met others dedicated to the same goals. A good part of my life for sure.
Now, I tutor at a local place where Puerto Rican kids come for help in math (and I work on the English too).
I did volunteer in the Black Community for a few years as a tutor, but, I was not very effective. I have my hypotheses about why (my own limitations) but.....
I did my best. Which, was not very good.
Mike S, my experience mirrors yours. You are spot on.
Only the south?
Come...
For right-wing treachery look no further than Wisconsin!
And as far West as ID & MT
Sometimes I'm not overly proud of being Southern. I don't even have much of an accent. Maybe my subconscious is making me more Northern. This cousin manages to use " Y'all " as if she's channeling Paula Deen. She even put it in a speech.
I beg to differ. Infuriating and disheartening as the events in Tennessee yesterday may have been, I predict that they will mark the beginning of the end for the Racist Republican Party in that state and, ultimately, across this nation. Most of the young people who have protested in Nashville and across the state cannot vote. Yet. But they will be able to vote soon, and that will lead to a change In Tennessee that no amount of gerrymandering can prevent. It is up to us older (and in my case old) folks to help the process along.
This is also what I believe is going to happen. What the GOP and their MAGA faction are doing now will be their UNDOING!
Now letтАЩs remove Clarence Thomas and clean house in the SCOTUS!!!
He is a hypocrite. HeтАЩs been gaming the system for decades and, once he felt unleashed, has demonstrated his high-minded disdain for everyone, except those who can benefit him. He once went to seminary to study for the priesthood but left bc he felt racial bias. He doesnтАЩt seem to see his own glaring biases.
It may truly be up to their generation. These are young Black men who were expelled and their ability to speak before the crowd puts any old white male to shame.
Yes, sometimes bad news events bring about good news in the end.
Remember hosing black kids in the Sixties? People were outraged. Change happened with the Civll Rights bill of 1964.
Do something! Be the change you want to see.
Tennessean here: this legislature displays boundless arrogance and self-righteousness. They have since the beginning. The governor looks up, sees TX or FL, and says тАЬhey, letтАЩs do that too.тАЭ One of the adults killed in Nashville was a friend of his wifeтАЩs. Do you think that mattered to anyone? Listen to the demeaning way Andrew Farmer, rep from Sevierville, spoke to Pearson yesterdayтАФas if Pearson was a naughty child.
Professor Cox Richardson has just laid bare a litany of truth regarding the corrupt and disgusting Repugnant Party. Old Dixicrats live on with new names, but the same disgusting behavior. All of the principals in this group of terror are vile and degrading human flotsam and jetsam backed by power and money. This is the reason decent people must stand and PROTEST with the Tennessee Three. This is a group portrait of evil personified. We know the truth about them all, and it is appalling.
'TennesseeтАЩs House expels 2 of 3 Democrats over guns protest'
Yesterday, Americans and the world got to see and hear for themselves what White supremacy looks like as practiced by legislators in state of Tennessee. That is hardly all we got to see and hear.
'In interviews, all three lawmakers spoke of how gun violence тАФ and in some instances, their personal experiences of it тАФ had helped shape their paths to politics. Mr. Pearson recounted the pain of losing family members and a mentor to gun violence, and said the push for tighter restrictions on firearms тАЬis personal when you lose your friends, when you lose loved ones.тАЭ
'Mr. Jones recalled attending his first protests after Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Black teenager, was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida. тАЬThis issue is something that has been a part of our generation,тАЭ he said. тАЬThis is a very personal issue.тАЭ
'Ms. Johnson recalled a shooting at Central High School in Knoxville that took place while she was still working as a teacher, and тАЬthe terror on the kidsтАЩ faces as they were running down that hill into my classroom.тАЭ (NYTimes)
'In the wake of a school shooting in Nashville that left six people dead, three Democratic lawmakers took to the floor of the Republican-controlled Tennessee House chamber last week to rally for stricter gun control.'(ManisteeNews)
'The Republicans who control state government, led by Gov. Bill Lee, have rejected the calls for tighter gun laws and have largely focused instead on toughening school security. The Tennessee House passed a bill on Thursday that would require schools to conduct annual drills, keep all entrance doors locked and install a mobile panic-alert system.' (NYTimes)
'The three Democratic lawmakers spoke out against the measure on Thursday, with Mr. Jones calling it a тАЬwhite flag of surrenderтАЭ that does not address the root causes of gun violence.' (NYTimes)
тАШThousands of people flocked to the Capitol to support Jones, Pearson and Johnson on Thursday, cheering and chanting outside the House chamber loudly enough to drown out the proceedings.тАЩ
тАШThe trio held hands as they walked onto the floor, and Pearson raised a fist during the Pledge of Allegiance.тАЩ
тАШOffered a chance to defend himself before the vote, Jones said the GOP responded to the shooting with a different kind of attack.тАЩ
тАЬWe called for you all to ban assault weapons, and you respond with an assault on democracy,тАЭ he said.
тАШThe two expelled lawmakers may not be gone for long. County commissions in their districts get to pick replacements to serve until a special election can be scheduled, and they could opt to choose Jones and Pearson. The two also would be eligible to run in those races.тАЩ
тАШUnder the Tennessee Constitution, lawmakers cannot be expelled for the same offense twice.тАЩ
тАШJones said he did not intend to assimilate in order to be accepted. тАЬIтАЩm not here to make friends. IтАЩm here to make a change for my community,тАЭ he replied.тАЩ
тАЬIтАЩll be out there with the people every week, demanding that you act, тАж' (ManisteeNews)
Links to newspaper reports are below.
https://www.manisteenews.com/news/politics/article/gop-lawmakers-consider-expelling-democrats-over-17882052.php
(sorry for not have gifting option for NYTimes)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/us/tennessee-house-democrats-expulsion-shooting-gun-control.html#:~:text=On%20Thursday%2C%20two%20of%20the,dramatic%20act%20of%20political%20retribution.
"sorry for not have gifting option for NYTimes)"
(It has come to my attention that the Gift Links are valid for two weeks.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/06/us/tennessee-house-democrats-expulsion-shooting-gun-control.html?unlocked_article_code=OfBIpd4YgR6UHlbbf0H0cr3nzNx6QJfUoEX9ON22nUY8tgMrfnsgF1YbSP-w-qPdK-8hxacZCQjD9sAmER05LrOswDWY_mn1JvAPgMOQXk0ibsY-sYKlI2tXCRiSY5ic6FR7mVrTiuWdOMTtbSq0M-7OnkXxxObxLdcqj65Z2uYNWILHjj8NdcmJeJyjdnl2DsBsbM43NVimeJ5ip9QFd1coJjth4MMuQZdlaQBzhPKJtUR2v19DFCgOXkE87jb1h39yTjTFnWOfopucVau93PYBmVRS0dlBeH831xdEpvfHudihwIZCEj_E3F9CX1t9O1v8QsCcjgtnxdrz1jUfXZ0zQpUxMvwbEdUZMbxkjA5CvSAPxcpJicNLZAU0&smid=url-share
You are a blessing Ron. I will have gifting option for the Times again on the 17th of this month. So grateful for your generosity and recognition of the importance of spreading the work of journalists in the USA and beyond. The 'free-press': Democracy dies without it.
Beat me to it, Ron. I have it all ready to go!
Fern I came here to look for your comment, synthesis- thank you. Do you you happen to have your own blog/newsletter I could follow as well? We need your insight in its own right, please consider.
Barbara, Thank you for your kind words. I lean heavily on the excellent journalists here and around the world. Democracy dies without the FREE PRESS (I'm sure I borrowed that line from another source), and I will post ways we can support it here in the US. Many newspapers that served local communities, cities and states were forced to fold has a result of high costs. Fox News and outlets on social media have infected the populace with propaganda and conspiracy theories. There are good news outlets online, such as Politico, Vox and Axios. As for blogs and newsletters, you can click on my pic to learn which I subscribe to. I know there are other very good ones as well. I don't have the ability you praise me for and believe that in addition to this excellent newsletter you will find others to enrich your eagerness to learn and spread the word. Cheers!
Gobsmacked at yesterday's proceedings, including revelations of Clarence Thomas' outrageous self-entitlement. Just when you think that hypocrisy cannot be bested in broad daylight...WHAM! The Tennessee legislation's injustices beats it all leaving me with a kick in the gut. This indeed looks like we are turning into a different country. Silver lining: Somehow, our America seems to behave like a Phoenix, rising up and righting herself. Republicans act without any vision, as if nothing exists beyond the tip of their noses. Well guess what? A storm of our youth's rejection of their demagoguery is swelling.
Easter is upon us. As a little kid, I was aghast when I learned that the Jewish populace chose to release Barrabas. an imprisoned murderer, from prison and allow Jesus' crucifixion. Two 27-year-old Black men were crucified yesterday. But do I have to remind you how famous Jesus got after his? The Tennessee legislative body just unleashed two untethered socio-political forces. And this is how America keeps on rising....
Sophia Demas--I don't understand the purpose of this statement: "I was aghast when I learned that the Jewish populace chose to release Barrabas. an imprisoned murderer, from prison and allow Jesus' crucifixion."
I was attempting to compare the unjust treatment given Jesus with the injustice done to these two Black men, both due to prejudice (maybe it wasn't a great comparison). I also tried to express that I had the same emotional reaction to yesterday's votes as I had finding out the about the voting re: Jesus when I was a child....
Sophia Gemas--Thank you for your clarification and good intentions. With all due respect to your religious beliefs, your comment --though unintentional-- perpetuates an insidious, historically unprovable, and catastrophic antisemitic myth (currently undergoing an often deadly world-wide resurgence). The use of this pernicious myth is in direct opposition to your goal of protecting the unjustly accused. The myth of Jewish culpability in the crucifixion--which justified and encouraged the Church's antisemitism, was discounted by the church 68 years ago (see: Nostra Aetate 10/28/65). While you may see what you learned in elementary school as the absolute Biblical truth, others may see it as a dangerous, often deadly, myth. The nature of myths is their widespread acceptance and availability for multiple interpretations. For example, another view of the myth of Jewish "culpability" in the Crucifixion is that it evolved from a strategically shallow interpretation of the Barabbas "story" that served the Romans' antisemitism at that time. This view suggests that Barabbas had been branded by the Roman authorities as a criminal and incarcerated as a result of his heroic fight against the brutal invading Romans. To the degree that any of these stories can be proven true, it's conceivable that Barabbas might have been widely known then and lauded as a warrior, a hero--an unjustly accused savior. The mob calling for his freeing him could have been rewarding him for his valor rather than a desire to crucify Jesus, who at that time might not have yet been as widely known as a hero. Plus, as we've seen, a crazed mob is hardly representative of a people. Another view asserts that God needed "his son" to be crucified as part of his overall plan for human redemption, therefore since the crucifixion was going to happen anyway, can it be characterized as "unjust"? The Jews were a handy and unjustly accused scapegoat, victimized and murdered for the ensuing centuries. According to your intention to protect the unjustly accused, please consider the possibility that the Jewish People were unjustly accused then and still deserve justice.
WOW, thank you...I'm taking this up with my priest! This was discounted 68 years ago and Christians believe this story to be true? I didn't know...not that ignorance should excuse me from offending people. This brings up another emotional reaction from my youth--the anger I felt when I realized that I was bamboozled into believing that Native Americans were savages. I apologize....
Thank you Sophia, for your understanding, and willingness to consider varying perspectives, no matter how painful, that differ from your own. No apology is needed--instead you have my admiration for challenging yourself and broadening your views and commitment to justice. Onward!
Thank you.
Just waking up over here - and you said exactly what I was going to say. This country has been overrun by oligarchs and criminals - I mean the ones in the House and Senate.
Rosalind, they've overrun the Judiciary branch too.
I so agree. Republicans don't even try to hide their fascism anymore. It is vile and nauseating, and for me, a bit surreal.
Am I the only one who noticed nobody in the streets protesting these outrages (and so many more)? Is it my imagination that in Israel and France people actually get upset enough to march? Are Americans asleep? When is the Supreme Court going to be surrounded by protesters? When are Thomas and his traitor wife going to be hounded every time they step out into the public eye?
We are like sheep or cattle or lemmings. Oh wait, some kids had the guts to make some noise. I guess they are more frightened than us. They certainly have good reasons. They have bulls eyes on their bodies. And their planet is under attack. Both issues - same villains.
In America, our children and their future are disposable. Inconveniences. Collateral damage.
In America, our children are important only in the womb, apparently. <eye roll>
Bill,
See my other comments. :-). No Americans are not asleep.
They are happy and contented with the present situation, as it is.
Mike S,
You may appreciate the voices of commentators who came before you to praise the extraordinary three legislators, two of whom were expelled, for extolling the need for gun control and the rights for all, while condemning the White Supremacists who have rejected the calls for tighter gun laws and make it more difficult for 'some' of us to vote.
Bill - "They are happy and contented with the present situation, as it is."
тАЬЁЭШКЁЭШйЁЭШвЁЭШпЁЭШиЁЭШж, ЁЭШ╕ЁЭШйЁЭШ║ ЁЭШдЁЭШйЁЭШвЁЭШпЁЭШиЁЭШж? ЁЭШИЁЭШ│ЁЭШжЁЭШптАЩЁЭШ╡ ЁЭШ╡ЁЭШйЁЭШкЁЭШпЁЭШиЁЭШ┤ ЁЭШгЁЭШвЁЭШе ЁЭШжЁЭШпЁЭШ░ЁЭШ╢ЁЭШиЁЭШй ЁЭШвЁЭШнЁЭШ│ЁЭШжЁЭШвЁЭШеЁЭШ║?тАЭ --Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, 1895
Yes, Mark Proulx, and it is getting worse and worse nationwide and worldwide. The trend accelerated following two transformational terms of President Obama and now charged felon and twice impeached Donald J. Trump - who is denigrating and threatening the very Court, jurist and DA charged by the people with his prosecution ... again threatening violence. BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL seems to offend white supremacists... much of white America and the world would like to return to the Nazi way, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Mussolini, to mention a few.
тАЬExpelled because they broke house rules.тАЭ
Sounds like a casino. The pit bosses have gotten upset about two players who seem to be winning too much. Throw them out!
100% with you.
Anatomy of a character assassination:
1. Wait until the federal regulations for disclosing gifts, trips, etc. change.
2. As soon as the regulations change, attack Clarence Thomas for not following the new rules, without telling readers that the rules just changed.
3. Get propaganda shills to spread this sensational muck far and wide.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/us/politics/supreme-court-trips-gifts-disclosures.html
With that said, there are some questions I'd like to ask.
-Are Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow really close friends?
-If so, is the bond that they share related to a particular view of constitutional interpretation?
-If so, what is that interpretation?
-To what extent do Clarence Thomas's judicial opinions dovetail with Harlan Crow's ideological agenda?
-What, precisely, IS Crow's ideological agenda? Is there anything in it that is pernicious to "republican" government (as guaranteed by the Constitution)?
Mark Fasten your seat belt. This is simply the prologue to the Republican 2023-2024 s++t show of тАШdeath and destruction.тАЩ I shall take some joy watching vipers eating one another.
Agree totally!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With you Mark.