“That Conversation about Race” category archive
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Clearly, if we don’t talk about America’s original sin of chattel slavery, then it must not have happened.
Because that’s the way history works.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Thom is astonished. I’m not.
All pretense is off.
The racism and misogyny of today’s Republican Party are fully out of the closet.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
On Holocaust Remembrance Day, Will Bunch heard a chilling rhyme. A snippet (emphasis added):
The irony of all of this — good people cowering in their attics, praying to avoid getting cuffed and shipped thousands of miles away by camouflage-wearing soldiers — happening on Holocaust Remembrance Day is almost unbearable.
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*Mark Twain.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0
The Washington Monthly’s Bill Scher hears a rhyme in the firings this time. A snippet; follow the link for a parsing of the parallels.
Less than a week after Trump was sworn in, he fired 17 inspectors general.
Inspectors general are federal government investigators embedded in government agencies to ferret out waste, fraud, and abuse. Lofgren’s prediction came in a review of the book Watchdogs by Glenn Fine, a former inspector general fired by Trump after 20 years of exemplary service.
Last week’s pink slips violated a law enacted three years ago in response to Trump’s first-term firings, which mandated 30 days’ notice to Congress before the president could terminate an Inspector General.
Trump’s illegal assertion of executive power echoes the attempt 158 years ago by President Andrew Johnson to fire Secretary of War Edward Stanton.
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*Mark Twain.
Karen, Meet Karma 0
When someone’s actions say one thing, but their words say another, believe the actions.
(Warning: Short promo about at about the two-and-a-half minute mark.)
A Notion of Immigrants 0
At the Washington Monthly, Garrett Epps dissects the duplicity implicit in Donald Trump’s attempt to despotically single-handedly amend the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Here’s a tiny bit of his article:
Follow the link for more about a judge’s perspective.
The Party of Flaw and Disorder 0
At the Des Moines Register, Rekha Basu looks at Donald Trump’s first actions in office and decodes de code (emphasis added):
At the other end was Trump’s order to dispatch thousands of military troops to the southern border to keep out migrants.
The message: Breach boundaries for me and you’re fine. Do it because you’re fleeing violence or persecution, and we’ll set the troops on you.
Follow the link for the rest of her remarks.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but If Often Rhymes”* 0
Michael in Norfolk hears a most disturbing rhyme.
Follow the link to find out why he feels that way.
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*Mark Twain.
Twits Own Twitter X Offenders
0
SFgate’s Drew Magary explains why he deleted his account at Twitter X.
The Rule of Lawless 0
Thom comments on Trump’s pardon of his violence-prone fanboys the January 6th insurrectionists.
This topic was also discussed in somewhat more detail on Thursday’s episode of The Bob Cesca Show.
I have listened to Bob’s podcast almost since its beginning–certainly since its first year–and commend it to your attention.
Signings of the Times, Rule of Lawless Dept. 0
I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that, if Donald Trump thinks he can single-handedly amend the Constitution by executive order, the rule of law may be on shaky ground under his sewership.
Along those lines, AL.com’s Roy S. Johnson looks at Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day executive order signature spasm and finds himself less than impressed. A snippet:
I’m not sure any single signature made us better — let alone great.
He renamed a body of water and a mountain (snore); contradicted his own “efficiency” quest by ordering all federal workers into the office; poured white-out over all references to diversity, equity and inclusion in the federal government, resuscitated the government-sanctioned murder (the death penalty); did a Simone Biles-backflip with TikTok; yanked us from vital international organizations; tried to pour more white-out on the birthright constitutional amendment; and pen-swiped a lot of jargon-salad decrees declaring “protection,” “America first,” and various “emergencies” allowing him potentially to weaponize the U.S. military against, well, any of us.
Still Rising Again after All These Years 0
Donald Trump, a second-generation American citizen who benefited from Americans’ constitutional right to birthright citizenship, wants to strip away the right to birthright citizenship.
At Above the Law, Elie Mystal reprises an article laying bare the underlying intent. A snippet:
Today’s Republican Party has truly become the party of the New Secesh, as America’s original sin of chattel slavery and the doctrine of racism created to rationalize it continue to wield their curse.