In other words, the Trump presidency was not the product of immaculate conception. His promise to make America great again
appealed to a large minority whose sense of itself and its place in the
world was shaken to its core. First, by the September 11 attacks.
Second, by the majority electing the first black president.
The first demonstrated to generations born since Vietnam that their
country is not untouchable. The second forced a white population
previously able to ignore shifting demographics to reckon with the fact
that it would eventually have to share power with people it considers
inferiors. Too many Americans need people to look down on to feel better
about themselves. They’re terrified of losing that. #BLM means “black
lives matter too. They hear “… more than mine.” Nonwhite
demands for equality feel like oppression. They are having none of it.
They want their Great White Hope.
ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: Coronavirus Vaccine EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 7 a.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Unpersuaded by more than 100,000 pandemic deaths in the United States, 45 percent of strong conservatives, four in 10 Republicans and nearly as many evangelical Christians say they’d be unlikely to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, even for free.
Overall, 27 percent of adults in an ABC News/Washington Post poll say they definitely (15 percent) or probably (12 percent) would not get the vaccine. Among them, half say they don’t trust vaccines in general, while nearly a quarter don’t think it’s needed in this case.
National Archives
Here's what it says:
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a
satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to
attack at this time and place was based upon the best information
available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and
devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt
it is mine alone."
“These THUGS are dishonoring the
memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to
Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the
way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting
starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” Trump tweeted in the early hours of Friday morning.
On
May 1, Trump praised a group of protesters in Michigan who were armed
with assault rifles and carrying signs with violent and anti-Semitic
rhetoric.
“The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire,” Trump tweeted of
the protesters, who were demanding a reopening of the state economy
amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “These are very good people, but they are
angry. They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them,
make a deal.”
The rhetoric from those protesters was so violent
that Facebook removed a group organizing a similar protest, as they were
calling for violence against Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer, including calls to “hang, behead, shoot, and beat” her, according to the MetroTimes, a Detroit news outlet.
In
fact, Trump has egged on similar protests calling on governors to
reopen the government in the wake of the coronavirus, even though those
protests have gotten increasingly violent and ugly.
Trump also seemed to condone a protester who got in the face of a journalist who was simply reporting on the protest, retweeting a video of the incident with the comment, “people can’t get enough of this. Great people!”
Trump
also infamously praised the white supremacist protesters in
Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, who were protesting the removal of
Confederate monuments.
He said there were “very fine people” among the crowd of white supremacists, who chanted “blood and soil” and “you will not replace us” — which are white supremacist and anti-Semitic statements.
“If you look at what I said, you will see that that question was answered perfectly,” Trump said in
April 2019 of his “very fine people” comment. “And I was talking about
people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to
Robert E. Lee, a great general.”
I have privilege as a white person because I can do all of these things without thinking twice:
I can go birding in the Park (#ChristianCooper)
I can go jogging (#AmaudArbery)
I can relax in the comfort of my own home (#BothemSean and #AtatianaJefferson)
I can ask for help after being in a car crash (#JonathanFerrell and #RenishaMcBride)
I can have a cellphone (#StephonClark)
I can leave a party to get to safety (#JordanEdwards)
I can play loud music (#JordanDavis)
I can sell CDs (#AltonSterling)
I can sleep (#AiyanaJones)
I can walk from the corner store (#MikeBrown)
I can play cops and robbers (#TamirRice)
I can go to church (#Charleston9)
I can walk home with Skittles (#TrayvonMartin)
I can hold a hair brush while leaving my own bachelor party (#SeanBell)
I can party on New Years (#OscarGrant)
I can get a normal traffic ticket (#SandraBland)
I can lawfully carry a weapon (#PhilandoCastile)
I can break down on a public road with car problems (#CoreyJones)
I can shop at Walmart (#JohnCrawford)
I can have a disabled vehicle (#TerrenceCrutcher)
I can read a book in my own car (#KeithScott)
I can be a 10yr old walking with our grandfather (#CliffordGlover)
I can decorate for a party (#ClaudeReese)
I can ask a cop a question (#RandyEvans)
I can cash a check in peace (#YvonneSmallwood)
I can take out my wallet (#AmadouDiallo)
I can run (#WalterScott)
I can breathe (#EricGarner)
I can live (#FreddieGray)
I CAN BE ARRESTED WITHOUT THE FEAR OF BEING MURDERED (#GeorgeFloyd)
White privilege is real. Take a minute to consider a Black person’s experience today.
#BlackLivesMatter
What a
pleasant story to read! We’re all familiar with the entirely fictional story of
Lord of the Flies, in which
ship-wrecked boys revert to the natural savagery of all humans and set up a
brutal regime and start oppressing and killing each other. It makes for a good
story, I guess. Except that similar events happened for real in 1965, with a
half-dozen 13-16 year old boys ‘borrowing’ a fishing boat, a storm disabling
the boat, and then the boys were stranded on a rocky island in the Pacific for over
a year. It all turned out differently.
Then, on the
eighth day, they spied a miracle on the horizon. A small island, to be precise.
Not a tropical paradise with waving palm trees and sandy beaches, but a hulking
mass of rock, jutting up more than a thousand feet out of the ocean. These days,
‘Ata is considered uninhabitable. But “by the time we arrived,” Captain Warner
wrote in his memoirs, “the boys had set up a small commune with food garden,
hollowed-out tree trunks to store rainwater, a gymnasium with curious weights,
a badminton court, chicken pens and a permanent fire, all from handiwork, an
old knife blade and much determination.” While the boys in Lord of the Flies
come to blows over the fire, those in this real-life version tended their flame
so it never went out, for more than a year.
The kids
agreed to work in teams of two, drawing up a strict roster for garden, kitchen
and guard duty. Sometimes they quarrelled, but whenever that happened they
solved it by imposing a time-out. Their days began and ended with song and
prayer. Kolo fashioned a makeshift guitar from a piece of driftwood, half a
coconut shell and six steel wires salvaged from their wrecked boat – an
instrument Peter has kept all these years – and played it to help lift their
spirits. And their spirits needed lifting. All summer long it hardly rained,
driving the boys frantic with thirst. They tried constructing a raft in order
to leave the island, but it fell apart in the crashing surf.
Worst of all,
Stephen slipped one day, fell off a cliff and broke his leg. The other boys
picked their way down after him and then helped him back up to the top. They
set his leg using sticks and leaves. “Don’t worry,” Sione joked. “We’ll do your
work, while you lie there like King Taufa‘ahau Tupou himself!”
They survived
initially on fish, coconuts, tame birds (they drank the blood as well as eating
the meat); seabird eggs were sucked dry. Later, when they got to the top of the
island, they found an ancient volcanic crater, where people had lived a century
before. There the boys discovered wild taro, bananas and chickens (which had
been reproducing for the 100 years since the last Tongans had left).
I imagine it could
have gone badly if there’d been even one psychopath in the group, but then
there would have been a year of chaos and self-destruction instead, and the
fishing boat that eventually rescued them would have found nothing but bones
and maybe some starving kids. Instead, we see that natural selection favored
the population that cooperated, shared labor, and protected the weak and injured.
It’s curious that
this optimistic true story of survival fell into obscurity, while the more
pessimistic, cynical, and fictional story by William Golding sold 10s of
millions of copies.
What
a nice start I had to my day! I was on my way home from my daily hike
to and through the Schmeekle Reserve (ninth day of my new routine of
getting up earlier and going straight out to hike first thing-but who-s
counting?!})There was a woman walking on the other side of Michigan as I
headed back to my house. I planned to take the “students’ path” through
on Fourth Avenue and come in my back door. To my surprise, the woman
turned on to the student path as well, so I spoke up to ask if she is my
neighbor! She was surprised-we all are these days if anyone speaks, and
said that she lives up by SPASH. Then she told me she’s a teacher in
the District. I was amazed and told her that I am a retired teacher and
very active in our Retired Teachers’ Group, and she was delighted. What
do you suppose was the first thing she mentioned? “Oh, you’re the ones
who have those terrific book sales!” We continued to visit-from a safe
distance, of course) and I found out she is a first year teacher
teaching second grade at Roosevelt. No wonder she knows all the student
paths toward the UW. I loved having the friendly contact, especially
with a Roosevelt teacher, as that is where I volunteered with the United
Way’s Learn for Life program this semester, so she is someone I can
hopefully keep in touch with! She feels that the on-;ine instruction is
particularly hard for the high school teachers. I shared the reports
from my daughter and granddaughter who are working from home and trying
to supervise their kids’ school work, how much their appreciation for
teachers increases by the day! So I’m smiling and feeling blessed to
have such a positive start to my day. I wanted to share it with you!
I'm sure most of you received this, but it needs to be passed on and cached:
Email from PCDP member Wendell Nelson.
It will also appear in the April 17 edition of the PC Gazette.
=========================
I was just disenfranchised! For those who don't understand that big word,
MY VOTE WAS JUST TAKEN AWAY FROM ME!
I received my absentee ballot two weeks ago, and voted a couple of days later.
I forgot about it for a couple more days, and then, mid-week last week, put it with
other things to mail at the downtown P.O. Then I noticed, on the back of the
mail-back envelope, a place for MY signature, so I signed there. THEN I
noticed ANOTHER blank, for a WITNESS to sign. I had not realized that
absentee-voting required a witness.
So--now what to do? We were--still are, of course--in the middle of a statewide
stay-home order. Whom do I ask to witness my vote--after I've already voted
and signed my ballot? More to the point: whom do I ask to expose himself or
herself to the coronavirus (even though I don't have it--as far as I know, as far
as ANYONE knows if he or she has it), to sign my ballot.
So I phoned the Park Ridge Village Clerk, Kathy Bemowski. "How do I get a
witness in the midst of a pandemic stay-home order?" I asked.
She replied: "Just write a short letter saying that because of the pandemic, you
are unable to have your ballot witnessed, and enclose it with your ballot in the
envelope, and mail it to the Village Office." So I did.
THEN: I heard on Wisconsin Public Radio that the April 7 election would NOT be post-poned, and that absentee ballots without witness signatures would NOT be
counted. So I drove to the Park Ridge Village Hall (at 4:00 p.m., today, Tuesday,
April 7, 2020), where in-person voting was underway, and asked to vote in-person,
because my absentee ballot (with no witness-signature) was not going to be counted.
The reply: "Sorry, Wendell, we just got ANOTHER, LATER ruling: people who
voted with invalid absentee ballots may NOT later vote in-person.
SO--I was NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE IN THIS 2020 WISCONSIN PRIMARY
ELECTION, THANKS TO THE REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY, REPUBLICAN
SENATE, REPUBLICAN-MAJORITY STATE SUPREME COURT, AND REPUBLICAN-MAJORITY UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT!!!!
Thank you, Newt Gingrich; thank you, Tom DeLay; thank you, Mitch McConnell; thank
you, Scott Walker; thank you, Florida hanging-chads ballots; thank you,
U.S. Supreme Court that put George W. Bush in office; thank you U.S.
Supreme Court for the Citizens United decision; et. al., on the whole bloody trail that is destroying our democracy.
But most of all, THANK YOU, IGNORANT, APATHETIC, LAZY, PAMPERED American
voters, who care more for their fantasy movies, "reality" shows, and
texting devices than they do about the world's oldest and greatest and
most precious democracy.
You have all helped to destroy it, and you won't wake up--if you ever do--until it's too
late!
Benjamin Franklin: "Yes, we have a Republic--if we can keep it...."
Edmund Burke: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
While the whole royalty thing often seems ridiculous, this message from the Queen underscores the difference that a true leader can have. Click on the link to see the video of the Queen's address and read the Twitter responses:
This one from me:
"Canceled" (cancels, canceling) is the American English spelling, "Cancelled" is the British English spelling. Somehow the two ells look more correct to me. And, yes, I do have PGSD:
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘obliterate or delete writing by drawing or stamping lines across it’): from Old French canceller, from Latin cancellare, from cancelli ‘crossbars.’ And now you know.
Elbert Rackow shared the sad news that Hulda, his
wife of 71 years, passed away on Sunday, March 15. Boston Funeral Home
here in Point is handling the arrangements. There will be a visitation
for her on Friday, the 20, at Boston’s from 1-2PM followed by a brief prayer service at 2 . A private burial service will be held at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
You may view her full obituary on the Boston website. Several of our members have asked for their address in Marshfield. It is 1100 East Heritage Drive, #10, Marshfield, WI 54449 The
family asks that memorials to be directed to our SPARTA Scholarship
Fund in care of the Community Foundation, 1501 Clark Street, Stevens
Point.
Elbert emphatically
stresses that in light of the current situation with the virus, the
family will understand perfectly if you choose not to attend. He does
not have email, but would appreciate cards or later phone calls, I’m
sure.
In line with the recommendations from the Governor and health officials, we are canceling the April Book Sale. There will also be no Monday take-ins for now.
We hope that the sale can be rescheduled for later this summer. We will post information as things develop.
HOW INTROVERTS MAKE FRIENDS:
10% Dogs count as friends
90% An Extrovert found them, liked them, and adopted them
CDC: To prevent coronavirus stay home, avoid physical contact and don't go into large crowds. Introverts: I've been preparing for this moment my entire life.
If
you are concerned about the Corona Virus (COVID-19), the LIFE Class is
hosting a presentation on Monday, March 16, by a doctor from the
Marshfield Clinic at 7pm in Rm 333 in the building next to the
University Center (Com Arts Bldg). You don’t have to be a member to
attend but this might interest you in signing up for other LIFE
classes.
Speaker Information Stephanie Inman, CSW, has worked in long term care since 2003 when she started her career as a social work intern at Portage County Health Care Center. After graduating from UWSP, she obtained ger social work license and worked at Portage County Health Care Center for 10 years as the Director of Social Services. In 2015 Stephanie took a job working with Ministry Home Care as a Home Care Coordinator educating on the benefits of home health and hospice services For the last 2 years she has worked specifically with hospice helping patients and families to understand the benefits of its services and how we can assist. She works with nursing homes, clinics, and facilities in the area as well as reviewing these services.
Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment
When Molly Ivins died 13 years ago this week, the
world lost one of its great wits, social commentators, and fighters for
civil rights and social justice. The void she left was huge, which is
why we’ve been posting our “Molly Ivins Moment” in C&J every
Thursday since she passed. I think now more than ever we could use a
good dose of Molly, so here's a Texas-size handful of her greatest hits…
Janice Engel’s documentary “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins,” which opened to Texas-sized rave reviews, is now available via streaming and DVD.» “Although it
is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions,
that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries,
benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a
non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that
corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their
hearts.” » “How can you not love Texas politics? You pick up the paper in the morning and it's kind of like finding Fidel Castro in the refrigerator.”
»On Pat Buchanan's culture-war speech at the 1992 Republican convention: "It probably sounded better in the original German." » “We get so scared of
something—scared of communism or crime or drugs or illegal aliens—that
we think we can make ourselves safer by sacrificing freedom. Never
works. It's still true: the only thing to fear is fear itself.” » “My friend Mercedes Pena made
me get in touch with my emotions just before I had a breast cut off.
Just as I suspected, they were awful. ‘How do you Latinas do this—all
the time in touch with your emotions?’ I asked her. ‘That's why we take
siestas,’ she replied.” » “I have been attacked by Rush
Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a
newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on
your ankle.” » “Keep fightin' for freedom and
justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let
your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats,
rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get
through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be
sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.”
(I have the DVD if anyone would like to borrow it.)
Ruth Steffen passed away in early December. Her visitation and service will be held on January 11, 2020. Use the link below to read her obituary. She was an extraordinary woman.
Mark of the Tiger: So you want to be a writer;
what would your mother say? Marc Thwaits was a general science
teacher at SPASH and Ben Franklin Jr. High, retiring in 2008.
He is a
prairie farmer, falconer, and has banded falcons in Greenland. He also has
worked with
the
Madison Geology Museum studying fossil mammals in South Dakota. Marc was a
zookeeper in the Vilas Zoo in Madison. He went to China in 2010 and taught
English.
The article gives good advice on how to minimize risks as we transition from a "Safe at Home" to a "Safer at Home" status. Check out this link: https://digbysblog.net/2020/05/know-the-risks-act-accordingly/ />
