War Letters
In the winter of 2003, it was obvious that America was going to war. Congress had voted approval, the modern version of a declaration of war. The troops. and supplies, were on the borders of Iraq, waiting for the order to go in.
PG felt the need to make a statement. There was no illusion that it would affect the overall decision to invade Iraq. However, PG wanted to go on record as being opposed to the folly to come.
It was a low risk act. In America, we have freedom of expression. This does not mean that the powers that be listen to the people. The only expression that matters is by people who pay the authorities. The people can say anything, but nobody in charge listens.
There were three representatives in Congress to contact. The two Senators were Saxby Chambliss and Zell Miller. The 4th district was represented in the House of Representatives by Denise Majette. She was new to Congress, having defeated Cynthia McKinney in the 2002 election.
The area that PG lives in is gerrymandered into different districts every ten years by the Georgia legislature. Today, PG is in the 6th district, represented by Democrat Lucy McBath.
The letters are lost in hard drive crash fog. It started out with the phrase “you were elected to represent me.” Apparently, this left Zell Miller out. He has been appointed to finish the term of Paul Coverdell. Democrat Zell Miller was appointed by Democrat Governor Roy Barnes to complete the term of Republican Paul Coverdell. After this, Zell Miller gave the keynote address at the 2004 Republican Convention. This is what Georgia has come to expect from Zig Zag Zell.
The anti war letter was not great writing. It basically said that the invasion of Iraq was not a good idea. The letter did not address the tax cut. In a bizarre move, Congress approved a tax cut, with an economically ruinous war on the horizon.
The responses to the letter are attached here. Denise Majette gave a thoughtful reply. She did not say “I agree with you” in so many words, but it is clear she is not gung ho about killing Iraqis. Miss Majette said, and PG agrees, that once the war begins, the debate should cease.
Saxby Chambliss sent two replies. Both talked about how well the war was going, and how wonderful it was to be killing people in Iraq. It is a good question whether his staff read the original letter from PG, which opposed the war.
In the 2004 election, Denise Majette ran for the Senate. Zell Miller chose to retire, and his seat was up for grabs. Republican Johnny Isakson won the Senate seat. Cynthia McKinney made a comeback, and won the fourth district House seat.
Saxby Chambliss was re-elected in 2008, and retired in 2014. The conflict in Iraq continues to this day. It is a disaster. The withdrawal of American combat troops did not end the civil war. Currently, Iraq is the scene for combat operations from the Islamic State military force.
The financial burden of the war has been immense. The military depends on contractors for many basic services, at increased cost to the Asian war financiers. The National debt has been increasing by a trillion dollars a year. Revenge for nine eleven, directed at a marginally responsible country, has been horribly expensive. Pictures for today’s entertainment message are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. This is a repost.
Racist Romance Writer Smackdown
In twitterland, there is a list of trending topics. The other day, the top trend was #IStandWithCourtney The trend topping #ISWC tweet: Jingle Elle Maruska (they/them) @ellle_em “#IStandWithCourtney Calling out racism is not being racist Pointing out someone’s unethical behavior is not being unethical I stand with Courtney because white feelings are in no way more important than fighting for marginalized people’s right to exist in any & all spaces” If you think you know where this is headed, you are probably correct.
Perez Hilton puts it all in a nutshell. “What’s it all about? It’s about racism, injustice, and of course erotic tales of ribald fantasy. Yep, it’s drama in the world of romance novelists! This month the Romance Writers of America suspended author Courtney Milan (presumably asking her to turn in her badge and her quill) over what they called a violation of their code of ethics.”
“So what had Milan, the author of such historical Harlequins as A Kiss For Midwinter … done to deserve this literary excommunication? Apparently fellow novelists Suzan Tisdale (Secrets of the Heart) and Kathryn Lynn Davis (Too Deep For Tears) filed a formal complaint over a twitter thread … in which Milan — a Chinese American author — called out one of Davis’ books for being racist.”
Smart Bitches Trashy Books, LLC has more on this bodice-ripping badass, with documentation galore. (Davis complaint, Tisdale complaint I, Tisdale complaint II) “… whether it’s a publishing house deciding that a contract with a white supremacist is a good idea, or a writer’s organization deciding that white supremacy is the right decision ethically … “
The twitter thread is can’t-miss reading. @courtneymilan read a sample of Somewhere lies the moon. There was a twitter reaction, that will live in infamy. @courtneymilan “And we’ve been talking about Sue Grimshaw? Someone sent me a link to a book written by the other editor, Kathryn Lynn Davis, and is a fucking racist mess.”
The Davis complaint notes that the Milan opinion is based on reading a sample of SLTM. By her own admission, @courtneymilan did not finish the sample, much less read the book. @courtneymilan “Here’s the book. I didn’t finish the sample. I didn’t need to.”
Racism smackdown fans are probably asking, what was so fucking racist messy about SLTM? The accuser is Chinese-American, as is the racially besmirched character. No forbidden words, beginning with N, were used. It is not that type of racism.
The damning nanoagressions are documented in a series of tweets. Here are a few. The part following a link is by @courtneymilan. Transcribed screen shots are identified as (SS). If you click on the link, you can see the entire screen shot. This might help you understand the situation better.
@courtneymilan “This book is like a bingo card of OH GOD DID YOU REALLY. Start out with the heroine, who is the obligatory blue-eyed half-Chinese woman.” (SS) “Lian was twenty-five, tall and lithe, with the thick black hair and bronze skin of the Chinese”@courtneymilan “I mean…. that doesn’t really happen. (Genevra is half-Indian and also blue-eyed.) But also… like. Of course. This is like such a standard racist trope. WHY.”
@courtneymilan “Here is our half-Chinese woman remembering her past, where she is explicitly told that the future is the West, and that for Chinese women, compliance is the rule. SIGH.” (SS)”I am a captive of my own history, but I have raised you to be free, to move forward toward the future – and the future is the West.” “I was no’ askin’ what your parents wanted, but what ye want for yourself” “It is not important. It is not a question I ask myself. In China Shun, compliance, is the rule for women”
@courtneymilan “Here she is, meeting another Chinese family in London. I’m gonna be honest: I don’t know how I feel about “bronze” as the “standard” for Chinese skin (prior tweets), but I *do* know how I feel about “yellow.” And about almond eyes.” (SS) “…their thick blue-black hair and bronze faces, turned slightly yellow by the London climate, were unmistakably Chinese, as were their slanted almond eyes” @courtneymilan “Note that this in Lian’s point of view. She was raised in China. She only describes the Chinese people by skin color/eye slant, not the white people. She’s literally describing absolutely normal people to her as if she were a white woman talking about a foreigner.”
@courtneymilan “Oh, I was searching for something else and found this: In China, women didn’t learn anything.” (SS) “In China, no woman was taught much more than cooking and sewing and the graceful art of pleasing her husband.”
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Tulsi Clickbait
Tulsi Gabbard and the Return of the Anti-Anti-Trump Left This link turned up on facebook, with a comment. “I’ve read assertions from credible sources (Clinton et al) that Gabbard is a Russian asset. That and her anti-gay past that she suddenly disavowed are causes for concern.”
The “anti gay past” was news to PG. A quick trip to google turned up an article, Gabbard says deploying to the Middle East changed her views on LGBT rights PG replied, “Whatever her shortcomings, Ms. Gabbard has made opposition to regime change wars the focus of her campaign. I can see where this would be disturbing to “credible sources (Clinton et al)”. Remember who is financed by the military industrial complex.” The rest of the thread was facebook back and forth. It ended before anyone made a Hitler comparison.
@NYMag “The stage is set for Tulsi Gabbard to play the role of 2020’s Jill Stein. @jonathanchait writes” This turned up on twitter a bit later. PG decided to take the plunge, and read the article.
1163 words later, PG had a headache. The pastel prose went off on unfathomable tangents, like “Some anti-anti-Trump leftists see impeachment not merely as a distraction from the Sanders revolution but a deliberate effort to marginalize it.”
PG began to wonder. Where was the Gabbard anti-gay rhetoric? For that matter, where was Tulsi, period. PG copied the article into a word document. He replaced “Gabbard” with “GABBARD.” Out of 1163 words, Gabbard appears three times. The last Gabbard sighting was in the third paragraph.
The article is not about Tulsi Gabbard. It is a barely comprehensible @jonathanchait rant about the evils of the incorrect resistance. Tulsi Gabbard has become clickbait. Her candidacy struggles to stay afloat. She has become a renegade who must be shamed. At the same time, Ms. Gabbard is well known enough for her picture to harvest eyeballs.
Tulsi Gabbard preaches opposition to regime change wars. These wars have killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims, while enriching the Hillary military-industrial complex. The merchants of death can easily afford to pay pundits to slime incinvenient candidates. And to use this candidate as the attention magnet, for some half witted rambling on the 2020 election.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
About That Ta-Nehisi Coates Video
So there is this video, Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don’t belong to everyone It is being praised to high heaven. PG has some issues with this entertainment. The transcript is from vox, Ta-Nehisi Coates has an incredibly clear explanation for why white people shouldn’t use the n-word. This is a repost, with pictures from The Library of Congress.
TNC gave an interview once, The Playboy Interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates. (The link no longer works.) “The n$$$$$ thing? I understand if you’re black and you say, “Man, I had white people call me this shit all my life. They called me this shit when they hit me upside the head, and I don’t want to hear it.” I understand that. But that ain’t everybody’s experience. I’ve never had a white person call me a n$$$$$. I had somebody call me le négre here in France, but I was 38 years old and I couldn’t have cared less. It didn’t mean anything. So not all of us come out of that experience.”
The monolog starts off with a discussion about how some words are appropriate for some people to use, but others should not say them. “My wife, with her girl friend, will use the word bitch. I do not join in. You know what I’m saying? I don’t do that. I don’t do that. And perhaps more importantly, I don’t have a desire to do it.” The question arises: is his wife a four legged dog? Unless she is, then the b-word does not apply to her.
“Coates pointed to another example — of a white friend who used to have a cabin in upstate New York that he called “the white trash cabin.” “I would never refer to that cabin” in that way. I would never tell him, ‘I’m coming to your white trash cabin.’” Of course, a person with an upstate cabin is likely to be far removed from the trailer park. He is using *white trash* with irony, and would not be the least offended if TNC called it “the white trash cabin.”
“The question one must ask is why so many white people have difficulty extending things that are basic laws of how human beings interact to black people.” (Is TNC saying that black people are not human beings?) … “When you’re white in this country, you’re taught that everything belongs to you. You think you have a right to everything. … You’re conditioned this way. It’s not because your hair is a texture or your skin is light. It’s the fact that the laws and the culture tell you this. You have a right to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be however — and people just got to accommodate themselves to you.”
At this point, PG turned off the video in anger. He has never been taught that everything belongs to him. Nobody that PG knows has been taught that. PG does not know anyone who teaches that message. This is a lie. It makes PG not want to believe anything else that TNC says. Maybe there is some privilege/culture mumbo-jumbo that explains this concept.
Lets go back a minute to the white trash cabin. TNC does not want to use this phrase. And yet, he feels entitled to make a sweeping generalization like “When you’re white in this country, you’re taught that everything belongs to you.” It is wrong to say white trash, but ok to slander white people.
“So here comes this word that you feel like you invented, And now somebody will tell you how to use the word that you invented. ‘Why can’t I use it? Everyone else gets to use it. You know what? That’s racism that I don’t get to use it. You know, that’s racist against me. You know, I have to inconvenience myself and hear this song and I can’t sing along. How come I can’t sing along?’”
“The experience of being a hip-hop fan and not being able to use the word ‘ni**er’ is actually very, very insightful.” To begin with, why do you assume that PG is a hip hop fan? Many white people think hip hop is garbage. And so, if you are forced to listen to music that you don’t like, how does that make you want to use a word that degrades the user? The logic of TNC is falling apart faster than the Falcons pass defense in the Super Bowl.
“It will give you just a little peek into the world of what it means to be black. Because to be black is to walk through the world and watch people doing things that you cannot do, that you can’t join in and do. So I think there’s actually a lot to be learned from refraining.”
If you are in the mood to get yelled at for a half hour, you can ask someone about “things that you cannot do, that you can’t join in and do.” There might be some. If you go along with the rhetoric so far, you will probably believe what you hear. You might even understand why not using a nasty word will give you “a little peek into the world of what it means to be black.” As for PG, he seriously doubts this. He is not someone who says that this video is “an incredibly clear explanation for why white people shouldn’t use the n-word.”
Once upon a time, cigarettes were advertised on television. One new brand was a cigarette for women, Virginia Slims. The ability to kill yourself with tobacco was presented as being a privilege. Some wondered why women would want to take up this filthy habit. Today, African Americans have the privilege of using the n-word. What a deal. A nasty word, which degrades both the speaker, and the spoken of. Why would anyone want to use that word?
If you don’t have anything good to say, you can talk about the n-word. This *trigger* word is an aphrodisiac for the american body politic. Recently Ta-Nehisi Coates performed in a video, Ta-Nehisi Coates on words that don’t belong to everyone There is much praise for this entertainment, like this: @SneakerWonk “#TaNehisiCoates has an incredibly clear #explanation for why #whitepeople shouldnt use the #nword.” PG has a few paragraphs, about this video, in the text above.
PG has written about racism, anti-racism, and racial attitudes on many occasions. People get angry, and call PG rude names. He must be doing something right. Later, there was a double feature about James Baldwin. In the first half, Mr. Baldwin expresses a few opinions about that word. In the second half, PG substituted racist for the magic word, with interesting results.
One item that keeps coming up is speculation about who invented the n-word. Negro means black in Spanish, and is derived from a latin word. The Oxford English Dictionary has some usages going back to 1577. “1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. (new ed.) 389 The Massagetes bordering vpon the Indians, and the Nigers of Aethiop [Sp. los negros en Ethiopia], bearing witnesse. ~ 1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft vii. xv. 153 A skin like a Niger. ~ 1608 A. Marlowe Let. 22 June in E. India Co. Factory Rec. (1896) I. 10 The King and People [of ‘Serro Leona’] N$$$$$$, simple and harmless.
The TNC video is based on the concept that white people want to use the magic word, but should not. This assumes a great deal. Chamblee54 published a piece about the n-word, that spelled out why he does not like to use this noun/verb/adjective/adverb/interjection. Here are four reasons for a white person to refrain from saying america’s favorite dirty word.
1- The n-word hurts people’s feelings. PG has known many fine Black people. He does not want to say anything that will hurt these people.
2- Being heard saying the n-word can cause all sorts of problems. This can include physical retribution, loss of employment, lawsuits, and having to listen to enough loud angry words to make you wish you had never learned how to talk.
3- It is not a fair fight. There is no equivalent phrase for a Black Person to say to a White person. Why give that power to another group of people … to turn you into a mass of incoherent rage, just for hearing a six letter word. The closest thing is “Cracker”, which PG only recently found out was an insult. There used to be a minor league baseball team, the Atlanta Crackers.
4- The use of the n-word demeans the user. When you say an insulting word about another human being, you make yourself look bad. For a Black person, using the n-word degrades them as the object, as well as the speaker. Why would a person would want to do that?
Fifty Six Years
Fifty six years ago, John Kennedy went to the oval office in the sky. The bullets hit Mr.Kennedy at 12:30 pm, CST. He arrived at the hospital at 12:37. He had a faint heartbeat on arrival, but quickly succumbed to his wounds.
In Georgia, PG was nine years old. He was in Miss Mckenzie’s fourth grade class. There was going to be an assembly soon, and the class was going to perform. There was a rehearsal in the cafetorium, and some of the kids were acting up. They went back to the class, and PG thought they were going to be chewed out about the misbehavior in the cafetorium. Instead, Miss Mckenzie came into the room, and told the kids that President Kennedy had been shot during a parade in Dallas Texas. She did not say anything about his condition. One kid cheered the news.
School let out at the regular time, and PG walked home. His mother and brother were crying. He was told that the president had died. The cub scouts meeting that afternoon was canceled.
Later that night, a plane arrived in Washington. The tv cameras showed a gruesome looking man walk up to a microphone. He was introduced as President Lyndon Johnson. This may have been the worst moment of that day. Photographs for this repost today are from “Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
Wrestle With A Pig
This is a repost from November 9, 2008. This was written after the 2008 election. This election saw a mixed-race man become President. It also had the passage of something called Proposition 8. This was a California ballot initiative banning same sex marriage. Prop 8 was made obsolete by a SCOTUS decision, on June 26, 2015, legalizing same sex marriage.
The fallout from Prop 8 is what this post is about. The links to much of the content here no longer work. What is still true today is the wisdom of an old saying: Never wrestle with a pig. You will get dirty, and the hog will enjoy himself. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
This blog battle started with the passage of Proposition 8 in California. PG was not surprised at the result. Nor was he surprised that an estimated 70% of black votors opposed the measure.
Some people in LA had a protest outside a Mormon facility. The Mormon church financed a large chunk of the ad campaign supporting Prop 8. At the rally, according to reports, some protesters expressed their displeasure at black people to some African Americans in attendance. The n-word was heard. (The correspondent to the linked report was not at the rally. He is depending on people telling him what they heard.)
PG first heard of this at a local blog. He left this comment: “Two wrongs do not make a right. The African American Jesus Worship Church has been spewing out hatred of Gays and Lesbians for years. They were a big factor in the passage of proposition 8. This does not justify what allegedly happened at that rally. I say allegedly because I was not there. I take what Jasmyne Cannick says with a grain of salt. While a handful of people shouting the n-word is too much, I can’t help but wonder if it was really as bad as these reports say.” PG thought he would hear more. He was correct.
Mr. Pink (not their real name) has butted heads with PG before. Mr. Pink pulled out the rhetorical artillery on this one. The rally was a “glorified klan rally” with “pink robed cross burners”. There were comments about the “Gay Mafia”, why Prop 8 lost, and a lot of other things. The conversation was on Live-Journal. It is difficult to link to in 2019.
The one comment that caught PG’s eye was “Operation: Blame The Negroes rages on as gay leaders continue to scapegoat blacks for the passing of Prop 8 in California. Among those leading the charge are columnists Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage.” PG was curious what Mr. Sullivan had said, and who Dan Savage was. The commentary by Mr. Pink did not have links back to the comments by Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Savage. PG went wading through Mr. Sullivan’s blog, which was quite a chore. Andrew Sullivan posts a lot of material. Finally, PG found a reference to a column by Dan Savage. It turns out Mr. Savage writes a sex advice column for a Seattle Gay Newspaper. PG wonders who appointed him a community leader.
PG made a comment, using the name Chamblee54. The first comment listed the links to Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Savage. He added “As for the rally in Westwood, what I am reading sets off my b.s. detector. While shouting race slurs is wrong, I was not at the rally. I have to take the word of the reports on the internet. Frankly, I don’t believe the race baiting at that rally was more than a few fringe performers. I could be wrong, and there is really no way to find out for sure. The point is, you cannot believe everything you read. You should do a bit of research, and not just paste in verbatim from other sources.”
Mr. Pink was not amused. ”First of all, what happened in Westwood has been covered extensively by everyone from Jasmyne Cannick to the Huffington Post. Those people aren’t making up what happened….Fourth of all don’t f*****g tell me about researching my sources just because you don’t want to hear the truth that the gay community is filled with some bottom-feeding bigots. It’s that blind-eye mentality which is why shit is so f****d up now. Next time you tell somebody to do more research, take your own f*****g advice.” He did not offer any more links.
PG replied “If you are going to say that “Among those leading the charge are columnists Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage,” then you should supply links so we can say what they said.” He also asked for a link to a post at the Huffington Post about the rally in Westwood. PG went looking at the HuffPo, but could not find anything about the rally in Westwood with the race baiting. PG did find a report of a rally in San Diego, where the crowd protested the passage of Prop 8 without apparent incident.
Mr. Pink replied “And once again, still full of fail. Go read Racialicious to read Savage’s bigoted comments blaming black people for the passing of Prop 8. Because we’re all homophobic and we’re all racist…I’ve got the links and I’ve done my research but since you’re so hellbent on defending these bigots regardless, you can look it up yourself as you’re going to believe what you want in spite of what the facts say.” When you lose your cool, you lose the argument.
PG replied ”I am paying you a compliment by paying attention. When you quote someone, or accuse them of “leading the charge”, it is not too much to ask to provide a link so the reader can see for themselves what was said.”
This is no longer about protesters shouting racial slurs at African Americans. He does not doubt that it is possible, while suspecting it was a tiny part of the overall crowd. To PG, the issue is basic journalism. When you say someone is “leading the charge”, you should provide a link to the original comments. The reader can judge what the person says. The reader can also decide whether to get upset, about the musings of a sex advice columnist.
The final reply was by Mr. Pink. He said “fair enough”, and listed a series of links. There was not a link to Huffington Post.
The moral of this story is that you should not believe everything you read. And, when you go telling tales on the internet, it is easy enough to show links to the source of your information. You should do it. If you give a teacher a term paper, you are expected to use footnotes to show where you got your information. When you go posting on your blog, you should use the same standard.
PG condemns the use of racial slurs, including *racist.* PG also condemns the branding of bystanders as bigots, because someone in the same crowd uses a racial slur.
Georgia Voter Registration
This is a repost. This time last year, the election from hell was in hyper-demagouge mode. Stacey Abrams was handed a potent issue, and worked it to death. It wasn’t until after the voting that many of us learned that the counties count the votes, and register voters. While tales of voter suppression cannot be completely ignored, it now appears obvious that we were repeatedly lied to.
@LEBassett “1.Brian Kemp is running for GA gov against Stacey Abrams (a black woman) 2. Kemp is in charge of elections & voter registration 3. Kemp made a new “exact match” rule that is holding up 53,000 voter registrations…. NEARLY 70% OF THEM BLACK 4. THIS IS ALL I WANT TO TALK ABOUT” There is nothing like getting your news from twitter.
Voting rights become a flashpoint in Georgia governor’s race The story gets attention. Georgia is holding up 53k voter registrations. 70% of these registrations are black people, according to an undocumented AP story. These registrations are in the Secretary of State’s office. The current SOS, Brian Kemp, is the Republican candidate for Governor. Mr. Kemp is white. His Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, is black. As you might imagine, the sensation-driven media is in outrage mode.
“An analysis of the records obtained by The Associated Press reveals racial disparity … the list of voter registrations on hold with Kemp’s office is nearly 70 percent black.” No link is provided for the analysis, which is likely to be true. Assuming that is factual … a dangerous proposition three weeks before an election … the next question should be How do they know.? Is the race of the voter on the voter registration application?
STATE OF GEORGIA APPLICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION is your basic government form. On line 4, after telephone number, date of birth, and gender (a two check box male/female), we have race/ethnicity: White, Hispanic/Latino, Black, American Indian, Other (with a blank space), Asian/Pacific Islander. Qualifications include: “Have not been found mentally incompetent by a judge.” Does this requirement apply to candidates?
“Why must I indicate my race or ethnic group? The federal government requires South Carolina to document race or ethnic group for voters by the National Voter Registration Act.” This is the standard answer. The documentation for Georgia can be found at Voter Registration Statistics. If you are a statistics junkie, here is your fix for today.
Georgia has an regulation requiring voter registration to have an “exact match” with information already on file with the Georgia Department of Drivers Services (DDS) or Social Security Administration (SSA). “In 2017, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law House Bill 268, which codified a voter registration database “exact match” protocol that had been already shown to disproportionately and negatively impact the ability of voting eligible African American, Latino and Asian American applicants to register to vote.” The regulation was not created by Brian Kemp.
Georgia Knew Its Voter Roll Practice Was Discriminatory. It Stuck With It Anyway. The implication of the recent stories is that applications are being targeted by race. Of course, many, if not most, of the clerks reviewing these applications are black. And how would the state know if the voters were black, if it was not on the application?
New FPCA Form Eliminates the Obnoxious Race Question takes a look from another perspective. Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) is designed to help military personnel overseas obtain absentee ballots. With regards to the *race question*, authorities here give the standard answer: “Also, many states ask that you provide your race or ethnic group in order to demonstrate that they are complying with the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act.” This sentence has a footnote. “I have reviewed both the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (“Motor Voter”), “), and I do not find any provision requiring the states to report to the Federal Government on the race of voters.” The article goes on to describe a Texas election. Absentee ballots were disputed because they were cast by non-Hispanic voters.
Pictures today are from The Library of Congress.
Ben And Jerry Social Justice Warfare
Uncle Hotep recently made a video, Ben & Jerry’s support for #BlackLivesMatter – Uncle Hotep chimes in. It seems like the fudge ice cream packers have a new flavor, Empower Mint™.
PG heard that, and remembered something he heard in church. The youth minister was preaching. America was in rebellion. Did you know that there is a car now, and one of the colors is anti establish mint? PG quit going to church soon after this.
As people familiar with AAVE (African American Vernacular English) know, white people and black people have different ways of pronouncing words. Take harassment. A white person might say huh RAS ment. A black person might say ha ras MINT. Arguably, naming a ice cream flavor Empower Mint™ is making fun of the way black people talk.
Ben and Jerry recently went on the social justice warpath. There was a tweet, and a website post, 7 Ways We Know Systemic Racism Is Real. Quotes were cited, statistics were regurgitated, and B&J boldly stated that america is not post racial. The frozen dessert consumer is encouraged to watch a video, take an implicit bias test, and talk to your kooky uncle.
The makers of Empower Mint™ are famously located in Vermont. According to the census bureau, the estimated population of Vermont is 626,042. This population is White 94.8%, Black 1.3%, Native American 0.4%, Asian 1.6%, mixed 1.9%.
Pictures for this repost are from The Library of Congress. The pictures taken in Daytona Beach, FL, were taken, in February, 1943, by Gordon Parks.
Why Did The 1956 Legislature Change The Flag?
What Stacey Abrams said about burning the Georgia flag in 1992 The New York Times decided to show a picture of a younger, slimmer Stacey Abrams burning the Georgia state flag. The year was 1992. The state flag had the Confederate battle flag embedded. People were asking the legislature to change that. Miss Abrams was a student activist. This is a repost.
The NYT article sparked a twitter dogpile, about the motives of the Georgia legislature in 1956. PG remembers 1993, when the initial proposal to change the flag was made. Changing The Flag is an account of those years. If you have a minute, you should read that post before going any further. The people who wanted to change the flag introduced an argument. They said that the legislature changed the flag, in 1956, as a protest against integration. PG never believed that. One afternoon in 1994, PG found a newspaper article that supported his point of view. After that, PG did not think much about the issue. The flag was changed in 2000 and 2003.
The issue has a few shades of gray. The reason given in 1956 was honoring the Confederacy. In 1993, the 1956 legislature was said to be protesting integration. The emotions of honoring the Confederacy, and denouncing integration, are not entirely separate. Many of the same people, who are proud of the Confederacy, are white supremacists. To an outsider, they can seem like the same thing. PG can understand how someone not familiar with Georgia could mistake the two.
The debate, over the motive of the 1956 legislature, was never necessary. The flag, featuring the Confederate battle flag, was seen as a symbol of racism. Many people were offended by this flag. Why not just say we should change the flag for this reason, and not worry what the legislature was thinking? However, this was not good enough. People needed some more ammunition for their fight. The notion that the flag was changed as a protest against desegregation was born. PG never heard, before 1993, that the flag was changed as a protest against integration. People believed this notion without any evidence, just because somebody said so. 1994 was 38 years after 1956. Very few people in 1994 were active in 1956. The argument in favor of the changed-to-protest-integration notion had two parts: (1) Because I said so, (2) if you disagree you are a racist idiot.
@KevinMKruse No, she burned the old *Georgia* flag, which had been designed specifically by white supremacists as a show of defiance to desegregation in 1956. Let’s dig in. @chamblee54 The Flag was not changed as a protest against desegregation. Changing The Flag @KevinMKruse I literally wrote a book on this, but congratulations on finding a blog post. @chamblee54 I wrote the blog post. If you read the post, you will see I did research. Did anyone say at the time that the new flag was a protest? Do you have a link to this?
@jdtitan Luther, would you say you’re a racist idiot, or more of a stupid racist? @whoopityscoot Hahahahahahah. I just read your blog post. Sir, you are a moron. @ashleystollar That’s like saying the Civil War wasn’t fought over slavery. @Duranti “emotional pride for the traitors to America” @The_SquidProQuo You found one old newspaper article and felt compelled to argue the point huh? Stupid is a hell of a drug. @theDiff_Kenneth I read your blog post and I would like that 10 minutes of my life back. Your “evidence” was an announcement article that supported the flag change and omitted any overtly racist comments. Your writing style is close to unreadable and your investigative skills do not exist. @kingbuzz0 If you ever find yourself in the position of arguing of (insert subject) in the South had nothing to do with (insert stand in for outright racism), you have a bad argument. It’s all racism, always, every time.
@JoshCStephenso You found a single article? Maybe you would trust a paper written by the Deputy Director of the Georgia Senate Research Office – a chamber that is majority R? This tweet was helpful. The report was written in 2000, before the a new flag was driven through the legislature. If you have the time to read the complete report, it is worth your time. If not, a few quotes will be posted here, along with a few helpful comments.
The first Confederate flag looked a great deal like the Union flag. In early battles of the war, the two flags were often confused. “The commanding Confederate officer at the Battle of Bull Run, General P.T.G. Beauregard, determined that a single distinct battle flag was needed for the entire Confederate army. Confederate Congressman William Porcher Miles recommended a design incorporating St. Andrew’s Cross.”… “The St. Andrew’s Cross – the flag’s distinctive feature – had its origin in the flag of Scotland, which King James I of England combined with St. George’s Cross to form the Union Flag of Great Britain. It is believed that St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland since A.D. 750. and brother of the apostle Peter, was crucified by his persecutors upon a cross in the shape of an “X” in A.D. 60. White southerners, many of whom traced their ancestry to Scotland, very easily related to this Christian symbol.” “Other flags such as State regimental colors were used by the Confederacy on the battlefield, but the battle flag, although it was never officially recognized by the Confederate government, came to represent the Confederate army.”
At first, use of the battle flag was restricted to historic events. It wasn’t until the fifties that the flag began to be used by those who fought integration. In 1954, Brown vs. Board of Education was handed down by the Supreme Court, ordering the integration of schools. The Georgia legislature went into resistance mode, and spent a lot of time denouncing integration. The senate research office devotes page after page to these efforts. Finally, “In early 1955, John Sammons Bell, chairman of the State Democratic Party … suggested a new state flag for Georgia that would incorporate the Confederate Battle Flag. At the 1956 session of the General Assembly, state senators Jefferson Lee Davis and Willis Harden introduced Senate Bill 98 to change the state flag. Signed into law on February 13, 1956, the bill became effective the following July 1.”
“Little information exists as to why the flag was changed, there is no written record of what was said on the Senate and House floors or in committee and Georgia does not include a statement of legislative intent when a bill is introduced – SB 98 simply makes reference to the “Battle Flag of the Confederacy.” … “Many defenders of the flag, including former governor Ernest Vandiver, who served as the Lieutenant Governor in 1956, have attempted to refute the belief that the battle flag was added in defiance of the Supreme Court rulings. Vandiver, in a letter to the Atlanta Constitution, insisted that the discussion on the bill centered around the coming centennial of the Civil War and that the flag was meant to be a memorial to the bravery, fortitude and courage of the men who fought and died on the battlefield for the Confederacy.”
This is where it gets murky. It is apparent that the legislature was obsessed with integration. The circumstantial evidence, of the flag being changed as a protest of integration, is there. However, there is no smoking gun. There are no apparent statements, from 1956, saying that this change was made to protest integration. This detail seems to have sprung up in 1993, without having been widely mentioned in the 37 years since 1956. The newspaper article PG found does not mention a protest against integration, and does mention a desire to honor the Confederacy.
“The argument that the flag was changed in 1956 in preparation for the approaching Civil War centennial appears to be a retrospective or after-the-fact argument. In other words, no one in 1956, including the flag’s sponsors, claimed that the change was in anticipation of the coming anniversary. Those who subscribe to this argument have adopted it long after the flag had been changed.” This is contradicted by the newspaper article, and statements by “Governor Griffin’s floor leader, Representative Denmark Groover … “anything we in Georgia can do to preserve the memory of the Confederacy is a step forward.” As for the after-the-fact argument, you could say the same thing about the notion that the flag was changed as a protest against integration.
“There was also some opposition to the change from the state’s many newspapers. The North Georgia Tribune argued that: “….There is little wisdom in a state taking an official action which would incite its people to lose patriotism in the U.S.A. or cast a doubt on that part of the Pledge of Allegiance which says ‘one nation, unto God, indivisible…’ So far as we are concerned, the old flag is good enough. We dislike the spirit which hatched out the new flag, and we don’t believe Robert E. Lee…would like it either” “The Atlanta Constitution also thought that the flag change was unnecessary for the simple fact that “there has been no recorded dissatisfaction with the present flag.” The newspaper article PG found in 1994 was from the Constitution. Even though they were opposed to the change, they did not attribute this change to a desire to protest integration.
“When the flag change was first proposed, it received resistance from groups that one would think would have highly favored the change – various Confederate organizations including the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC). “They made the change strictly against the wishes of UDC chapters from all the states that form our organization,” said Ms. Forrest E. Kibler, legislative chairwoman of the Georgia UDC. … The Executive Board of the Georgia Division of UDC had passed a resolution on January 11, 1956 opposing the proposed changes to the flag, citing that the Confederate battle flag belonged to all the Confederate States – not merely to Georgia – and placing it on the Georgia flag would cause strife. … Also opposing the new flag was the John B. Gordon Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. This group protested against all uses of the battle flag except in commemoration of the Confederacy, or by the official use of the Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of the Confederacy, and the Children of the Confederacy.” This opposition was touched on in the newspaper article. This is one of the more confusing aspects of this affair.
“While many questioned the political and philosophical motives of the flag change, there were others who considered the change to be an unnecessary expense that would burden taxpayers, since Georgia law required every public school, and all public institutions to fly the state flag. In voting “no,” Representative Mackay said that the present flag was “a symbol of sacred memory” and that “the change puts every flag owner in Georgia to unnecessary expense.” Alleviating the financial concerns of many, sponsors of the bill pointed out that those institutions required to fly the new flag will replace the old flag with the new one only as present flags wear out. Questions were also raised on whether anyone had a copyright on the flag design which would entitle them to royalties – a charge denied by John Sammons Bell and Representative Groover.”
John Sammons Bell is a name that keeps coming up. From 1954 to 1960, Mr. Bell was Chairman of the State’s Democratic Party. He was, by all accounts, an enthusiastic segregationist. One of the jaw dropping moments in the senate report was this: “Bell, a one-time supporter of Governor Ellis Arnall, once had the reputation of being a “liberal” on race issues.”
When the state senate report was issued, in 2000 (6 years after PG found the newspaper article, and dropped out of the argument,) Mr. Bell had a few comments. “He wanted to forever perpetuate the memory of the Confederate soldier who fought and died for his state and that the purpose of the change was “to honor our ancestors who fought and died and who have been so much maligned.” He has also argued that the flag was not redesigned in reaction to and in defiance of the 1954 Brown decision… “Absolutely nothing could be further from the truth … every bit of it is untrue. ”
“On March 9, 1993, (Denmark) Groover moved many Georgians when he stood in the House well to address his colleagues on the subject of the state flag. In an emotional speech, he acknowledged that the flag is offensive to some and conceded that, “I cannot say to you that I personally was in no way motivated by a desire to defy. I can say in all honesty that my willingness was in large part because … that flag symbolized a willingness of a people to sacrifice their all for their beliefs.” Mr. Groover offered a compromise, which included a smaller version of the battle flag. A flag similar to that was adopted in 2000, only to be changed again in 2003.
To sum up, the Georgia state flag was changed in 1956. The new flag contained the Confederate battle flag. Many people were offended by the 1956 flag. PG thought it was ugly. Many others saw it, with some justification, as a symbol of racism. For some reason, speculation about the motives of the 1956 legislature. 18 years after the passage of a new flag, people are still arguing over the motives of the 1956 legislature. Pictures for this gratuitous waste of bandwidth are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. .
Governors Of Death
This is a repost from 2011. Some of the links no longer work. In the last eight years, Governor Big Hair has tried to run for President, and failed with distinction. He is currently the Secretary of Energy.
Rick Perry, known by The Field Negro as Governor Big Hair, wants to be the next POTUS. Some people say he enjoys executions. As one popular story shows, this might be an asset. “Veterans of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s unsuccessful 2010 primary challenge to Perry recalled being stunned at the way attacks bounced off the governor in a strongly conservative state gripped by tea party fever. Multiple former Hutchison advisers recalled asking a focus group about the charge that Perry may have presided over the execution of an innocent man — Cameron Todd Willingham — and got this response from a primary voter: “It takes balls to execute an innocent man.” (One person thinks people are making too big a deal out of this quote. “Besides, it’s not like Texas is lacking for other perfectly good things to mock!”)
The case of Mr.Willingham is mighty controversial. Some say the Governor of Texas has little to do with who does or does not get executed, (There is a school of thought that the Governor of Texas is weak, with little ability to do much. If this is the case, the much touted economic miracle in Texas has little to do with the Governor.) Governor Big Hair did replace the chair of the Forensic Science Commission two days before a hearing about the Willingham execution.
Playing politics with executions seems to be a recent tradition for state Governors who want to be POTUS. In 1992, Bill Clinton went home to Arkansas to make sure that Ricky Ray Rector was executed. Mr. Rector had severe brain damage, and did not know what was going on. During his last meal, he put a slice of pecan pie to the side, and said he wanted to save it for later.
In 1999, George W. Bush was the Governor of lethal injection happy Texas. A lady named Karla Faye Tucker was scheduled to be poisoned. The Governor gave an interview. In the week before [Karla Faye Tucker’s] execution, Bush says, Bianca Jagger and a number of other protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Tucker. “Did you meet with any of them?” I ask. Bush whips around and stares at me. “No, I didn’t meet with any of them,” he snaps, as though I’ve just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. “I didn’t meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with [Tucker], though. He asked her real difficult questions, like ‘What would you say to Governor Bush?’ ” “What was her answer?” I wonder.“Please,” Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, “don’t kill me.”
Mr. Bush got lots of blood on his compassionate conservative hands during eight years as POTUS. BHO (who never ordered an execution) wasted Osama Bin Ladin, and a few women and children in Stanland. Governor Big Hair will probably get a few more Texecutions before next years election.
Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. Here is one more quote: “Here in Texas we believe that juries are wise as Solomon when it comes to deciding who needs to die but dumb as posts when it comes to figuring out damage awards.”
The Revenge Of Puff
The national organization for marriage (NOM) wants to keep marriage as a man and woman type of thing. They have a right to say that, and to have rallies where they say that. This is America. You are entitled to your opinion, no matter how stupid it is.
What you are NOT entitled to is the unfettered use of copyrighted material. Someone heard a recording of Peter, Paul, and Mary singing “This land is your land” at a NOM sponsored homonomo happening. They sent a letter to Peter Yarrow, who sent a cease and desist letter to NOM. It was co-signed by Paul Stookey. Mary Travers passed away last year.
Mr. Stookey wrote “The Wedding Song”, which is as common at weddings as inedible cake. The song…written years before same sex marriage became an issue…does talk about a woman and a man. It also says “Whenever two or more of you are gathered in his name, there is love”. With royalty revenue from that song, Mr. Stookey has a selfish interest in the institution of marriage remaining healthy. Or perhaps, an increase in those revenues from gay marriages.
As it turns out, author Woody Guthrie never renewed the copyright to TLIYL, and the song is public domain. However, the recorded version by PPM is copyrighted, and belongs to the artists. If they don’t like the way it is being used, they have every right to object.
Mr. Guthrie was not a Republican. He wrote TLIYL as a response to “G-d Bless America” a radio hit of the early forties. The original title was “G-d blessed America for me”. There are lines about private property, that are not included in the popular versions. Somehow, this song is considered a patriotic standard. Grammar school chorus class would not be the same without it.
This is a repost from 2010. In the past nine years, same sex marriage has become legal, and profitable. Pictures are from The Library of Congress, a branch of federal big government.
The Gift Of Cultural Appropriation
This is a repost from 2015. There is a tasteful video on the innertubes today, WTF is Cultural Appropriation. This is not about WTF Podcast. Hopefully Marc Maron will not wear his hair in dreadlocks. The video shows a black man, jumping around in front of the camera, sharing his ideas about cultural appropriation.
Perhaps we should summarize what @the1janitor has to say. He does not give a shit what people do with their hair. (Does he gift wrap the shit when he does give it?) T1J is not concerned over whether Iggy Azalea sings rap songs. Most culture today is a mix of influences, and T1J is cool with that. This chill does not extend to a pro football team in Hyattsville MD, whose nickname rhymes with munchkins. T1J, aka Kevin Peterson, does not think that is appropriate.
T1J wears dreadlocks. Many Amerikans see this hairstyle as connected to the Rastafarians in Jamaica. T1J is not a rasta, but is not accused of any appropriative wrongdoing by wearing his hair in dreadlocks. It seems the reason for this acceptance is his African American origin.
This is similar to the situation with BHO. The half white POTUS was raised by white people in Hawaii and Indonesia. And yet, because he has dark skin, BHO is unquestioningly accepted as a black man. The POTUS uses the style of black culture that he learned as an adult. When a white fool shoots up a black church, BHO goes to a funeral, sings “Amazing Grace,” and is praised.
Many of these cultural and racial debates are very shallow. Judgements are made on outside appearances, rather than the real person under the skin. The dream of people not “judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” has turned into a nightmare of petty wrangling over white privilege and cultural appropriation.
So much for content. What caught PG’s eye was the background. There is a Crimson Tide poster on the wall, behind the speaker, that seemed familiar. PG has seen T1J before, in a video titled Why I Disagree With Morgan Freeman. T1J says we need to talk about racism, then talk some more, and then talk more after that. The word listen is not used as often.
The University of Alabama football team poster is an ironic touch. NCAA football teams are highly exploitative of young people. The young men who play work long hours for their education. Many of the football players are rushed through school, taking easy classes so they will be eligible to play. Many of these young men will suffer crippling injuries playing a contact sport. Meanwhile, these football programs are hugely profitable for the institution, especially at a football factory like the University of Alabama. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. The men in the seven photographs below were members of The Tuskegee Airmen
leave a comment