This is a running commentary on contemporary social, political and religious issues. From the Introduction of James Comey's book "A Higher Loyalty -- Truth, Lies and Leadership" "Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary" Reinhold Niebuhr
Conor
Lamb's win of a House seat in the Pennsylvania 18th District, a
heretofore completely Republican blood red district, was thrilling! He
was a perfect candidate for that deeply conservative district reminding
me of Gene McCarthy for whom I stumped in the NH primary in the late
60's. The anti Vietnam War student movement of that era propelling Gene
McCarthy to come in a strong second in the NH Democratic primary sent a
message that the government could not play with and send young lives to
their deaths by the thousands in a futile foreign policy never ending
adventure without being held accountable. To my chagrin, the protest
movement that birthed Gene McCarthy turned violent presenting a ruffian
image the electorate hated. It saw, as Connecticut Sen. Abraham
Ribicoff said from the Chicago Democratic presidential convention
podium, "Gestapo
tactics in the streets of Chicago" to put it down.
Those in our
student movement protested the
wrong candidate as Vice-President Humphrey may have stopped the Vietnam
war he hated. Instead, Richard Nixon capitalized on the
cultural divide that ensued. He won the presidency and prolonged the
war even expanding it into Cambodia. Before he was through thousands
more died handing a defeat to this nation from which it has never
recovered. The Vietnam War took 50,000 American lives and a million
Vietnamese lives. Worse it lead to the formation of the so called
"Moral Majority" allowing the Republican Richard Nixon the presidential
win. The modern day Republican Party with its Tea Party sidecar, has
morphed from it into a mostly white supremacist, gun-loving group with a
penchant for right wing extremist violence egged on by a mendacious,
conflict-of-interest ridden, treasonous Russian Manchurian president who
encourages the madness.
The student movement gathering
blistering steam today following a brutal high school assault rifle
killing of 17 innocent students in Parkland, Florida presents, unlike
its late 1960's forebears, a gentle, non-violent but strong, articulate
and well groomed image appealing to many in its attempt to gain
political power to change policy and ultimately dethrone a con man clown
from a presidency he won with Russian assistance and support of his
Republican Congressional lackeys blinded by Citizens United
boundless coffers of cash. Trump is using the presidency as a cash cow
and Republicans do not have the fortitude to reject the money and take
their
Party back from crackpot crazies. We will lend an assist.
Most
of America rejects crass, crude, mendacious and violent politics as they
rejected the same in the 1960's. Conor Lamb's victory gave the
Democratic Party a kind, smart, articulate, impeccably dressed and
nicely coiffed candidate with a sterling Marine Corps and federal
prosecutorial history. Democrats should take note from Lamb and from
the new non-violent and articulate student protest of 2018 over insane
gun NRA owned policy to wrest Republican seats in the House and perhaps
even the Senate from their flypaper grip on gerrymandered seats that
should be earmarked for Democrats.
We as Democrats bide our time
until we take Congressional power to impeach this
embarrassing excuse for a president and neuter his administration. Eric
Schneiderman Attorney General of NY
is waiting in the wings to prosecute them in New York state with no
chance of presidential pardons to negate their horrific crimes. They
will face prison. Huge congrats
to Conor Lamb for his impressive Democratic victory and for giving
Trump with his hair netted son a reminder that they are not kings!
Conor Lamb came in as a lamb and left as a lion. May we all benefit
from the example his win taught.
I
am the least supportive of Trump and most in his administration. Today,
however, Secretary Tillerson showed me that a few have dignity,
humanity and compassion. Too bad Trump did not show Secretary Tillerson
the same but rather, in classless form, Secretary Tillerson had to find
out that he was fired through the most classless way -- in a tweet. Shame
on you Mr. Trump for being the nastiest, classless, most inhumane
person that ever held the presidency and graced the oval office. You are
an embarrassment to your Party, your people and most importantly to
your country. May you suffer the embarrassment you have caused so many
others through your incessant lying, profane speech and ugly behavior.
Stormy, your porn star alleged sex liaison, is a Dickensian name that tells the truth behind who you are.
Your administration and all you represent are the tornadic forces that
god forbid could sink a nation. May you leave in disgrace as you
have disgraced the office. You are a mean, mendacious, crude, rude, profane
and disgusting human being!
Beto, so happy to
hear of your primary win for the Democratic national Senate seat of
Texas!! Now it's on to the general and let's win there against Ted
Cruz!! I am a strong Democrat from Massachusetts who is committed to
ensuring Democrats win across the board -- in state senates, in state
houses, in the governorships and with special wishes for a win in the
Congressional Senate wrenching Ted Cruz's ruinous extremist right hand
from its ugly grip on power; ruining policy for most especially the
middle class.
After what Trump called Cruz's wife Cruz has the
immoral gall to keep supporting this Henry Hill charlatan, womanizer and
alleged woman abuser, not to mention adulterer mendacious evil man many
times over. It is a shame for the world, a shame for your state, a
shame for those in our country who want desperately to support ethical
government dedicated not to the 2% billionaires but to us, the middle
class. Who was Trump/Cruz kidding? Tax cuts sound so good but they
really meant permanent tax cuts for his billionaires and smaller
temporary ones for everyone else.
He and those who give him
support are con men and the fact that Cruz with his holier-than-thou
Christianity is still a supporter of our liar and thief-in-chief, Trump,
is an immoral outrage. Both Trump and Cruz are vile, Trump's
"presidency" is vile, and the Republican Party who could have, if they
wanted to, stopped him cold but chose rather to support him giving him
ebullient praise. Some may have even known of an alleged $130,000 payoff
to a porn star to keep her quiet -- immoral and unethical by anyone's
standards. Republicans knew and gave Trump the penultimate praise even
though there is more than a hint of treasonous collusion with an
adversarial power Russia and its immoral authoritarian leader, Putin, to
swing the 2016 election to Manchurian candidate Trump. He has defiled
the Constitutional Emoluments Clause with business conflicts in
Washington and around the world subjecting Trump and his merry men to
blackmail.
Trump has spat on our Constitutional balance of
power, has kicked dirt in the fact of the Fourth Amendment due process
clause and paid homage to cruel and abusive treatment, a Constitutional
prohibition. He has paid deference to Nazi nationalists calling some of
them "very fine people" after they killed an opposition supporter.
American Nazis are not ever "very fine people".
Your
victory in November will be one of the most joyful I could watch almost
as joyful as watching Barack Obama taking the presidency in 2008. You
have a supporter in me and I will to the best of my ability offer
support to you and ask my friends to do so as well if they can as so
many of us try with all our heart to change this nation from red to blue
to work for the people and not the 2% richest. Good luck!!
The question Joe presented is
why did liberals in 1996 support Bill Clinton in view of his sexual
improprieties. If you and Mika would think about it one should not
make general statements indicting an entire group like that. It is not
true that all liberals supported Clinton's indiscretions. I did not
support his behavior then even though his policies for the most part
with some exceptions I did support. I thought his misdeeds were unfortunate because he would have a Republican Party that would pounce on it and they did.
Beyond that is the important issue that Republicans base their very
politics, courting religion, courting Evangelicals, being the strict
moral -- especially sexually moral -- Party that was supposed to bring
that social culture into the political realm. They caught Dixicrats in
their political net for among other things of a racial nature, their
hatred of libertine sexual mores that the late 60's generation they
thought provoked. If you and Mika gave two substantive thoughts
about the issue you would realize that Democrats do not run on a strict
platform of sexual mandates. They do run on a strict platform of not
abusing women sexually or otherwise. Liberal Democrats, of which I am
proudly one, emerged from the late 1960's culture that threw much
(not all) sexual morality over for a
culturally freer milieu. That is the difference. Democrats did not
demand Clinton fess up because many did not think his behavior then an
egregious sin. Republicans are all about religion, sin, sexual sin and Trump surely
is the antithesis of that! That makes him and them hypocrites! Give things some thought why doncha
instead of simply reading from a teleprompter where Mika says thank you
more times than a ticket taker and more than she certainly emotes well thought out ideological
analysis. I could read from a teleprompter and make the
millions I assume you make.
Use your big brains for analysis of issues, analyze them and think!
Facebook has its problems of that there can be no doubt but the purpose
for which it was born few I think would say better that Facebook never
existed.
I search every now and then for names of youth who may have
meant something to me for good or not-so-good. I found an old boyfriend
of mine from 1970. I had some regrets as to how I treated a very
intelligent and nice man who ended up being a philosophy professor. We
met on the MBTA when I was reading the NYT. I think he was
impressed at the time for a woman to be reading that paper. He came
over to me and we chatted.
He was a lefty of that era as I was but I
suppose as time went on I was not interested in him and was less than my
usual sweet (I jest) self. I regret that now as Facebook told me of his death.
Damn! The moral of the story I suppose is life is shorter than one
thinks and yes, to treat others as you would want to be treated yourself
even if you do not want to marry them.
My comment: What does it take to employ one's empathy gene if one
has an empathy gene? Walk in the other guy's shoes, try them on and see
how they feel. Please read the pertinent quotes from wise men and then
sign the petition below.
“Centuries ago, Rabbi Hillel allegedly was asked
by a skeptic if he could succinctly define his religion, all while
standing on one foot.
His answer was: ‘What is evil unto you, do not to unto others. The rest is commentary."
Kennedy quoted an American proverb:
Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.
Presidential candidate John Mahoney -- Congressman John Delaney was elected in 2012 to serve Maryland’s Sixth District: "DACA Expired today: When President Trump mistakenly
endangered the DACA program in September, he set up an artificial
six-month deadline. Well, it’s now six months later, and DACA expired
today with no indication from the White House that they actually want to
restore the program. It is important to note that despite this deadline
passing, DREAMers will NOT be deported starting today. Several federal
judges have ruled that the Trump administration’s legal justification
for ending DACA was shaky at best, and the Supreme Court has said that
it will not get involved. For the time being, DREAMers will be allowed
to renew their status. Despite this good news, DREAMers are still in
limbo and deserve a permanent fix that provides them with stability and a
path to citizenship.
The
most frustrating part of this process is that 90 percent of Americans
support a legislative solution on this topic, yet a clean DACA bill has
not come to the floor for a vote. The GOP and Trump have demanded that
any solution for DACA be tied to funding for a border wall. DREAMers
should not be a bargaining chip and held hostage over a pointless wall.
We have a real opportunity to change the course of immigration policy
for the better, yet are letting it pass us by. DREAMers embody what it
means to be American, and it’s time they are treated as such. DREAMers
deserve better, let’s find a permanent solution for them." Sign my petition and tell Trump that we demand a DACA fix now!
When the Voyager 1 probe was 3.7 billion miles from Earth, Carl Sagan made a request.
He asked NASA to turn it around to
snap a quick photograph. The result was a faint image of Earth
surrounded by the vastness of space. The late astronomer would then use
this picture to share his own reflections on what it meant and why it
was important for us to capture.
“Look again at that dot. That’s
here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you
know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived
out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of
confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter
and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of
civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every
mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher
of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme
leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived
there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. The Earth is a very small stage in
a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those
generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become
the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless
cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the
scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent
their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how
fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined
self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in
the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a
lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in
all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere
to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known
so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near
future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet.
Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is
a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no
better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant
image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to
deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale
blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”1
The Scales of Perspective
There isn’t much that needs to be
added to that. It beautifully captures a delicate part of reality that
is neglected by the majority of us as we go about our day to day
concerns.
It puts into context many of the
things that we see and do and their relative importance in the scheme of
things. It’s a reminder that there is a very distinct world that exists
beyond the daily lens through which we impose our own agenda and
centrality on our surroundings.
The human ego is a survival
mechanism. If we didn’t see the world around us as if we were at its
center, very soon, we’d lose the incentive to do things that would allow
us to endure. At the same time, however, this ego is also programmed to prefer conflict over cooperation.
It competes even when there is no
reason to compete, it shields itself from feedback even if feedback is
necessary for growth, and it closes itself off even if opening up is the
answer. There are different scales of
perspective that we are all capable of applying if we are aware enough
to do so. Sometimes, the scale that matters is the one that gives you
confidence about your place in the world and whatever it is you need to
do to get by in your daily routine.
Much of the time, however, we would
all be better off if we learned how to zoom out. This may not solve
every internal conflict in our mind or external battle that plagues the
world, but it can give us the tools to treat ourselves and the people
around us just a little bit better.
To some degree, the world adapts to the perspective you employ in seeing it. Choose wisely.
The Wealth of Connection
There is a partial melancholy in the
recognition of our insignificance. To some, it reinforces feelings of
inferiority. It takes away from the pride they take in their identity
and sacrifices. If the universe is so large, and if
we aren’t at its center, and if nothing we do matters in some objective
sense, then what is the point? Why go on concerning ourselves with small
matters? Carl Sagan would likely tell you that
the shared reality we all live in with each other still matters. In
fact, it’s the only thing that matters, and all that the vastness of the
universe does is remind us to keep this shared reality organized in a
way that makes it more bearable.
If there’s anything we have learned
studying the sciences, it’s not just that everything around us is deeply
connected, but it’s that these connections are why things work in the
first place.
The networks and ideologies we have
created are responsible for allowing us to leapfrog beyond our
individual genetic potential to shape and influence the world as we
have.
The underlying chemical elements that
create planets, stars, and solar systems are precisely the same ones
that have created our bodies, brains, and everything else that we
observe.
For you to feel threatened by the
size of the universe, you have to treat it as if it’s something that
exists independently of yourself. As far as we know, that’s just not the
case. It may be vast, uncertain, and contain parts that we may not
understand, but it isn’t at all separate.
There is something fundamentally
sublime about the fact that we are essentially a dance of molecules in
an ever-expanding line of molecules. That there is more going on around
us. You can either choose to contribute to this process or just let it take the pressure off.
All You Need to Know
Few people have added more to the scientific education of the public than Carl Sagan.
Outside of his own research, he
brought us a list of books and television series that spoke a language
that we actually understood. In many ways, he was science’s very own
poet.
The Pale Blue Dot
was captured on February 14th in 1990. Since then, along with Sagan’s
moving tribute, it’s inspired generations of people to look differently
at their place in the universe. It gave an illustration of something we
had all suspected, but never fully verbalized.
It was a reminder to view our
seemingly large and complex planet on a scale that showed a different
side of things. It gave us the courage to accept and utilize our
insignificance.
While not all aspects of our lives
demand that we see the world through this lens, it is critical to have
it be a part of our mental toolkit. The human ego may be a mechanism to
ensure survival, but it isn’t what pushes progress, and nor is it what
drives prosperity. What really makes the world move
forward is interconnectedness. It’s the ability to interact with our
shared reality in a way that ensures our individual efforts add rather
than detract.
There is a far larger process going
on out there, and we are all a part of it. The degree of responsibility
we want to take in that process is up to us, but the beauty of it can’t
be denied. That faint speck of dust we live on is all we have ever known. Let’s start treating it that way.
What a global climate change n'oreaster we endured that stretched from Maine to Virginia! I had been saying the northeast was lucky. I changed my mind. Everything was out.
Dependent on electricity much? Yes, we depend on it for everything and fossil fuels are necessary for it. One takes it for granted power will be there but when it isn't one sees how much we are at the mercy of nature and the forces beyond anyone's control that will not be tamed if human beings do not change our energy ways.
Climate change is here and the window is closing as to how much we can roll it back especially if there is in the American presidency a crackpot who refuses to understand the science of it even though 98% of scientists agree it is upon us. Trump astoundingly pulls out of the Paris climate change agreement. Maybe he and Congressional Republicans know its truth as weather-related events like fire and drought become more fierce but they do not care because gas and oil profits mean more to their campaigns than their children's well being!
Trump and the Republicans would rather take the path tobacco of old did and deny its murderous effects because the 1 or 2% of scientists who questioned it worked for big tobacco and the 1 or 2% of scientists who question climate change work for the oil and gas companies that have a vested interest in keeping the electorate dumb! This is not hard to do in a part of the nation that voted for Trump who thinks it is wonderful to be ignorant.
Deny science at everyone's peril. Science will have the last word.
What do I know about tariffs? Not much. The drop in the market today of
530 points so far seems to be a reaction to the latest Trump not
thought out well policy of stiff tariffs on aluminum and steel.
So
I went to the NYT blogger comments section to wade through the plethora
of reaction to Trump's latest idiocy of the imposition of tariffs on
aluminum and steel. My intuitive sense says that this blogger (opinion
indented) had the most cogent explanation and evaluation of Trump's
moronic tariff imposition:
Obviously Washington still has its fingers in its ears and looking down
at the ground. Trade is globalizing around us. Tariffs used to work
when we were the economic powerhouse of the world and could produce all
the steel and hard goods the developing world needed. We had the
resources, manpower, and the technology that made us the most creative
producers and best market for the world. We were the biggest
agricultural producer for a century. Times change.
The rest of
the world grew their industries and is catching up and surpassing us in
capacity to produce. If the other nations of the world are forced by
tariffs and elimination of trade agreements with us to work around our
production and marketplace, we will become less relevant . Within a
decade or two import tariffs will mean nothing because we will not be a
part of the global economy.
Auto manufacturers will simply
relocate out of the U.S., selling to other markets because the cost of a
vehicle in the U.S. will be too expensive for most of the population.
The same will go for tech and all other industries. Those that cannot
simply relocate their facilities will not survive when their
products/services are priced too high for most Americans.
There
need be no tariff retaliation or reprisals by other nations. We will
simply have nothing to offer that they cannot obtain, at a better rate,
elsewhere.
Make America Great again? No, MAD. Make America Depressed Again!
Again it does not matter to our survival as a species whether
some religious fanatics and others believe in climate change or not. 98
or 99% of climate scientists do. Science does what science does
whether one believes in science or not.
People are dying from drought,
fires, tornadoes galore, strong than normal hurricanes and ad infinitum floods. It
is enough to convince me that there can be no doubt climate change is
real and so is man's fossil fuel contribution the major cause of it.
Man with his big brain must acquiesce to science or die swallowing
mythological tripe denying it.
RESIST. BELIEVE THE TRUTH THAT YOUR EYES SEE AND SCIENCE CONFIRMS. VOTE DEMOCRATIC IN 2018 AND 2020 AND
Feast your eyes upon
the video below and think on the famous statement of H.L. Mencken:
"You'll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American
Public."
A good book on the subject by Charles Pierce is "Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free."
To think a nation of over 300 million people should be governed by the
least intellectually adept among us, who know little and are not curious
about much when the issues confronting us whether in foreign or domestic
policy require the highest knowledge and expertise. Being governed by
an idiot allows other nations which encourage advancement know they can
rise above a nation that was once among the most advanced nations in the
world. Now the US lags behind some First World nations and even behind
some nations in the developing world. It is imperative we have the
most intelligent, rational and
intellectually accomplished govern!
The larger law of nature -- survival of the
fittest -- rules our planet whether we choose to accept it or not. It
will prevail. Man's big brain puts him
at the top of the evolutionary chain and has made him so adept at
survival because he has the ability to adapt to a variety of
environmental conditions. We are a
species that cannot survive most especially in harsh climates but
really in any climate without the ability of man to think rationally,
work together and use his cerebral abilities to successfully accommodate
his environment. It makes it possible for him to survive conditions
that would otherwise kill him if he did not.
Each generation builds
upon the knowledge of the one before it allowing homo sapiens
(Latin for wise man) to reach the
startling number of a population of 6 billion. It is easier for those
in power to control those who are
not educationally adept to get what those in power want. Republicans
are wonderful at duping and
screwing everyone else to allow policies that will make them rich at the
expense of everyone else. The intellect education develops is the gift
that erases ignorance and allows man to compete with others. When
government directs the inclusion of diversity into policy we all
benefit. Each has his own talent to give to the whole.
Government
should be for all and not simply for the few. Maybe some day this
nation will figure out that it is better to be educated and smart than
it is to be an unquestioning fool.
RESIST
THE ASSAULT OF REPUBLICANS ON RATIONAL AND ACADEMIC THOUGHT. VOTE
DEMOCRAT IN 2018 AND 2020 AS IF YOUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON IT BECAUSE IT
DOES!
02/28/18 01:06PM When Donald Trump's White
House was originally pressed to explain some of the more scandalous
people in the president's orbit, the original line was to pretend they
were peripheral figures whom Trump barely knew. Paul Manafort? A
volunteer who was only around for a few months. Carter Page? Never heard
of him.
This week, however, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary
Sarah Huckabee Sanders what it says about Trump's judgment that some of
his campaign staffers "turned out to be criminals." She replied, "Look, I think that those are issues that took place long before they were involved with the president."
Strictly speaking, that's not even close
to being true. Michael Flynn, for example, pleaded guilty to lying to
the FBI about his contacts with Russia during the president's transition
period. Rick Gates pleaded guilty to a crime he committed literally this month. We're not talking about misdeeds from these guys' college years; these are recent transgressions. But Sanders' obviously deceptive argument notwithstanding, let's not
miss the forest for the trees: the broader point is that during Donald
Trump's brief political career, he's surrounded himself with a fair
number of criminals.
The Atlantic's David Graham had a good piece this week on the scandal that's "already in plain sight."
Every administration ends up producing examples of corruption and
lying, but most presidents take years, and often more than one term, to
produce a ledger even half so extensive as what Trump has managed in
barely a year in office. It's an old trope to imagine how lonely the Greek philosopher
Diogenes, who famously walked around with a lamp seeking an honest man,
would feel visiting the American capital. In Trump's Washington, even
the hard-bitten cynic might despair.
The first place to start is with the number of people from the president's political operation who've already pleaded guilty to a series of crimes: Flynn, Gates, George Papadopoulos, and others.
Then there's Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who
hasn't pleaded guilty, but who's already been indicted on a lengthy list
of charges. Of course, Special Counsel Robert Mueller is hardly done, and we know
others whose actions have drawn scrutiny -- including the president
himself, who may have obstructed justice.
NBC News’ Benjy Sarlin noted
the other day that pollsters and pundits often say that explaining the
Trump-Russia scandal can be difficult, but “it’s still surprising to me
Democrats haven’t found some simple message just around having a bunch
of senior figures tied to the president indicted, full stop.”
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes had a recommendation: “The president hired a
bunch of criminals to run and staff his campaign and put one in charge
of national security.”
But there’s no need to stop there. An alarming number of members from Trump’s cabinet have faced a variety of other misdeeds,
which may not be criminal, but which involve serious allegations of
ethical lapses and possible misuse of public funds. One such cabinet
member has already resigned In disgrace.
In many administrations, there’s something known as “the second-term
curse.” The idea behind the phrase is that a White House team will cut
corners and make avoidable mistakes in their first terms, and these
misdeeds start to catch up with them in their second terms. For example,
before Trump, only two American presidents have ever been the subject
of federal criminal inquiries – Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton – and
both ran into trouble in their second terms. One was impeached, the
other resigned. Trump appears to be on an expedited schedule.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/donald-trump-and-his-bunch-criminals
My FB friend: Susie Davidson is a Boston-based contributor to the Huffington Post,
the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and other media. She has authored books on
the Holocaust and written two poetry collections. Her next book will
examine the continuing social and political influences of punk rock. read more
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.
The Real-Life Black Panthers Liberated Concentration Camps
February 27, 2018
National ArchivesNegro
Marines, attached to the Third Ammunition Company, take time out from
supplying ammunition to the front line on Saipan. Riding
captured…bicycle is Pfc. Horace Boykin; and left to right, Cpl. Willis
T. Anthony, Pfc. Emmitt Shackelford, and Pfc. Eugene Purdy.
The superhero film ‘Black Panther’ pulled in a record-breaking $192 million
on its debut weekend. It was also the highest grossing opening weekend
of any February, and one of the top 15 global debuts in history.
“Black Panther” will likely also break the box-office record for a
movie directed by a black filmmaker, currently held by Sidney Poitier’s
1980 comedy Stir Crazy.
Clearly, Disney’s mythical King of the African nation Wakanda has
charmed the public — The Black Panthers will surely once again serve as a
major point of pride for people of African descent all over the world.
Once again?
The original Black Panther story is even more heroic than its fictional counterpart.
The original Black Panthers were the 761st Tank Battalion, the first
all-Black armored battalion of World War II. Their logo depicting a
black panther, as well as their nickname, was later adopted by the
radical 1960s group.
The unit’s 36 officers included baseball star Jackie Robinson,
although he did not see action in Europe because he was embroiled in a
court battle stemming from his refusal to give up his seat on a military
bus. Charges against his Rosa Parks-esque action were eventually
dropped.
The unit’s 676 enlisted men, who endured racist taunting in the U.S.
as well as from some fellow GIs and officers in Europe, only got to go
overseas because of the pleading of Eleanor Roosevelt. Once there, and
in spite of this shameful start, they battled superheroically — in the
truest sense of the term.
The Black Panthers fought major battles in six European countries,
and were part of four major Allied campaigns, despite nightmarish
weather, impossibly challenging terrain for tanks, a consistently
massive enemy presence, the loss of 71 tanks, and the general horrors of
war.
Beginning on November 7, 1944, the Battalion served for over 183
consecutive days at the head of Patton’s Third Army. Most units served
for one or two weeks only at the front line, but there they fought,
suffering a 50 percent casualty rate, in the Battle of the Bulge in
Tillet, France, the Battle of the Rhine, and many other major conflicts.
The unit bored a hole in the Siegfried Line, through which Patton’s
4th Armored Division advanced into Germany. The 761st fought in France,
Belgium, and Germany, and at the River Steyr in Austria, they were one
of the first American forces to join with the Soviet Army of Ukranians
in Austria.
In May, 1945, they participated in the liberation of Gunskirchen, a subcamp of the Mauthausen concentration camp.
Sonia Weitz, who was liberated from Mauthausen, wrote about The Black Panthers’ role in her poem The Black Messiah.
The Black Panthers captured, decimated or helped to liberate
over 30 towns, as well as four airfields and three ammunition supply
sites, and took out 461 wheeled vehicles, 34 tanks, 113 large guns, and
thousands of weapons.
The State of Israel officially recognized the Battalion, as did
President Jimmy Carter, who issued a Presidential Unit Citation for
Extraordinary Heroism to the 761st.
Unit members also received four campaign ribbons (for battle in
Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe), 11
Silver Stars, 69 Bronze Stars, and approximately 300 Purple Hearts.
As for Patton, he told them that he did not care what color they
were, as long as they “went out and killed the kraut sons of b******.”
“Everyone has their eyes on you and is expecting great things from
you,” he told them. “Most of all, your race is looking forward to your
success. Don’t let them down, and, damn you, don’t let me down!” They
most certainly did not.
There
is so much that is so bad for a nation in the hands of the chief
executive schemer Trump, the biggest conman ever sold. Our nation is in
a national security nightmare, compromised beyond reason by the know
nothing in the oval office and his Republican enablers. The king of
bankruptcy president of the most powerful nation in the world no one can
stop and worse many Republicans do not want to stop him. We are
trapped and I see no way out except through the brilliant efforts of the
Republican special prosecutor. Mr. Mueller, you are in democracy's
emergency room trying desperately to save a nation on the brink of
flat-line. Trump's offenses are too gargantuan to mention here but the
stealing of the 2016 presidential election by Russian meddling is the
arrow that pierced our nation's heart attempting to fatally wound it.
The president does nothing to stop the bleeding.
If Democrats
were doing all that this know nothing president is doing with a majority
in Congress making it possible Democrats would be existentially
crushed. If a Democratic president had the plethora of business
conflicts around the globe and hired a team of self interested traitors
to captain the ship, if Democrats allowed an adversarial Russia to
attack the very heart of our democracy, they would be pilloried,
impeached at the top and convicted in a heartbeat second. Yet now we
are stymied. How can a party whose anti Russian policy was the
centrifugal force of who they were now simply fold like a wilting flower
allowing Trump-sanctioned Russian illegalities to continue? Has this
president attained that much power that all the agencies responsible for
our national security can do nothing? Does the minority in Congress
have so little power that they, too, cannot put end to this treasonous
madness?
I do not get it!
My hopes are on Special Prosecutor Mueller but I worry. Can he do it
all and worst of all will the psychotic-in-chief fire him and pardon the
treasonous?
The most power in a democracy lies with the
electorate. Even now Democrats are flipping once deep red seats in
special elections all over the nation. Even Texas could emphasis
on could turn blue. We must continue to thwart this menace to our
democracy through the 2018 election and on to the 2020 presidential as
our crackpot president is now unashamedly preparing for his reelection.
A horrific reelection possibility must NOT happen. We will be, if not
presently we are, a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia and even of other
adversarial nations as blackmail by them is in the air. Our allies, too,
do not trust us and are deserting this nation like rats on a sinking
ship. The Titanic America is going down and only YOU can prevent it
from sinking into the abyss.
RESIST as
you have never resisted before and pass this on to anyone in any state
you wish! Vote Democrat in 2018 and 2020 to resuscitate the nation that
once had a beating heart!
Neo-Nazi Chat Logs Reveal Chilling Praise For Slaying Of Gay Jewish Student
"Members of the hate group Atomwaffen have been linked to five killings in recent months."
huffingtonpost.com
My Comment:
What
Drumpf has wrought. Once unthinkable, Neo Nazi murderers now have a
place at the right wingnut table Drumpf has set! Drumpf may not say it
in so many words but they know by the few words he has said about them
after their Charlottesville,Virginia, Tiki Torch march and ensuing
violence resulting in the death of Heather Heyer protesting against the
extremist right that he thinks at least some of the marchers are "fine
people!" Fine people my posterior!
Since I do not have
time this is a short suggestion to watch Rachel Maddow from last
evening. Her program was in two words amazing and brilliant. The swamp
Gates
and Manafort are in is the eighth wonder of the world. Rachel explains
the sickeningly corrupt nature of two of the biggest players
close
to Drumpf--Gates and Manifort. Gates plead guilty to a financial
Disneyland of illegal, complex but understandable crimes if you listen
to her. If you listen to Rachel closely she defines the issues.
Let's
put it this way if I were involved in any way in this administration
(PERISH the thought) I could kiss goodbye to sleep. Inever
would. Then again I have a moral compass as strong as a brick. My
mother would be sitting on my shoulder threatening to ruin my world. I
do notknow
how these guys end up doing such major crimes and ones against their
country. Many will end up jailed. Money that's their world and that's
all Republicans care about which is
why they can vote against the poor, against health care, against people
with disabilities and so much more. Democrats do their own share of
corrupt and greed but NOT in the same way and not as saturating their
entire world. That's the difference between Republicans and Democrats.
Turn Rachel on if you have taped her or go to her MSNBC web page if you
want to know a more detailed but intelligible explanation.
When
this is all over IF it ever is there will be libraries full of Trump
and his merry men, how they got to where they did and how the
corruptness was exposed.
There are indictments galore and guilty pleas of four including
indictments of 16 Russians. Rats will be jumping a sinking ship.
No
time to go into detail but if you want to know the hell the Drumpf
presidency has entered, simply watch Rachel. She is amazing! I thank
god she is on the progressive side.
The plot sickens!
Manifort now in a world of trouble. Now indicted in DC and Virginia. He
could spend the rest of his life in prison. No one would want to walk in his shoes. Given spending the rest of
your life in prison or giving up Drumpf ... what would you choose?
So Flynn, Pappandouplous,
Van der Zwaan worked on Ukraine report coordinated by Manafort,
and Gates,
What
about the sanctions against Russia that Congress approved? Drumpf is
not signing the bill for those sanctions. Why? It falls into the other
categories of kissing Putin but not punishing him for ANYTHING. What is
that all about? I think most know.
Oh let's not take
advantage of the thaw between North and South Korea after over 50 years
of an anxiety ridden hair trigger boundary stare off between the two.
South Korea is right in
the bullseye of a nuclear North attack. Unless Trump thinks that he
himself is threatened he does not give a damn about anyone else. What
Cretan did Drumpf's mother produce? He is evil in the flesh. If I were
a religious
Christian I would say he is the devil incarnate but I'm not so I'll
just stick to the fact that he rose from the primordial slime and is the
very swamp he mendaciously promised he would drain. Can't drain it if
your part OF it! UGLY!...
