January 27, 2019

Some responses to 'Build a Wall and Crime will Fall':

https://twitter.com/IndivisibleNet/status/1089608090645741569

January 25, 2019

Yet another group who will have to wait to get paid. (This one made me cry)

https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/22/politics/us-soldier-death-benefits-shutdown/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2nSeuebSexeG1-Hqc5jnx24-I-QHb9ljB0BoFGyeK6vadDcgzlfq9uyV0

Mourning military families won't get government death benefits

"Washington (CNN)The first two military families who will not receive death benefits because of the government shutdown have been named.

1st Lt. Clayton R. Cullen, of Indiana, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Kevin F. Burke, of California, who were both assigned to the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, were killed on Saturday when their Apache helicopter crashed in a training accident at Fort Irwin, California.

Under a government shutdown, the Department of Defense has no authority to pay death benefits to these families," chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White told CNN on Sunday. A US defense official confirmed to CNN that the families of the Fort Irwin crash will not receive the emergency $100,000 death benefit.

As well as the payment, the benefits include funeral and burial reimbursements. It also includes a gratuity for travel to funeral or memorial services -- or to Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies of troops who die overseas are typically sent.

A charity has stepped in and has said they will provide the benefits to the families. They ware still waiting for the DoD to contact them.

January 23, 2019

Pelosi Will Not Authorize SOTU Until Government Reopens

Source: Talking Points Memo

In a new letter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Wednesday told President Donald Trump that she will not authorize him to deliver the State of the Union, despite his insistence, until the government reopens.


"When I extended an invitation on January 3rd for you to deliver the State of the Union address, it was on the mutually agreed upon date, January 29th," she wrote. "At that time, there was no thought that the government would still be shut down."

"I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President's State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has reopened," she added.
.......
"I'm not surprised," he said after smirking and shaking his head. "It's really a shame what's happening with the Democrats, they've become radicalized, they don't want to see crimes stop which we can very easily do on the southern border."


Read more: https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/pelosi-no-sotu-until-government-reopens

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January 23, 2019

The truth about racism today. Thank you, DJT

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/16/us/gm-toledo-racism-lawsuit/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1z1PlK-IQz0cvBraZcsaV7teEJGfZ1r2nxlc0GI8yUoZwiM0pykafEiRg

Inside the GM plant where nooses and 'whites-only' signs hung

Fourteen months where Marcus Boyd says he endured racist comments, slights, even threats in a hostile workplace run by General Motors.

A workplace where people declared bathrooms were for "whites only," where black supervisors were denounced as "boy" and ignored by their subordinates, where black employees were called "monkey," or told to "go back to Africa."

A workplace where black employees were warned a white colleague's "daddy" was in the Ku Klux Klan. Where white workers wore shirts with Nazi symbols underneath their coveralls.
In Ohio.

In 2018.

Much, much more in article. GM basically ignored the issue. The issue was finally referred to the Ohio Civil Rights Commission which began a nine month investigation and found the allegations were true and ranked it as one of the worst the Commission had ever investigated.

This is NOT my America. This is NOT the country I grew up in where the Civil Rights movement got Jim Crow laws struck down, where Presidents called out to military to overrule Governors who thought they were above the law, where SCOTUS struck down 'separate but equal'. Trump is an enabler and he need to be put OUT!

January 22, 2019

Found on Facebook regarding CovCath.

In the news this morning there is a statement by Nick Sandman, the kid staring down the elder Native American man in the viral videos. The statement is articulately written. Its thoroughness in depicting the young student as a budding pillar of tolerance and humility is impressive. But it is not persuasive. Not to me. Yes, there are all angles of video. Yes, the small group of African American men behaved horribly. Yes, Sandman only smiles at Phillips and is not seen or heard saying anything offensive. But here's the thing Nick Sandman can't escape. That hat.

His hat and the shirts and signs of his friends, they say an awful lot. They could have worn hats and shirts with their school name and logo. That message would've been, "We're from Covenant Christian." It was a school trip after all. They could have worn hats with WWJD instead of MAGA on them. Or the symbol of a fish or a cross. That message would have been, "We follow the teachings of Christ." It was a Christian school trip after all. They could have worn shirts that said "Life Begins at Conception" or "Abortion Stops a Beating Heart" or simply "Choose Life." That message would have been, "We want abortion to end." After all, their purpose for coming, they said, was to protest abortion. But they went into a mob of protestors as a mob themselves, not so much to protest anything, but to preen. Because the message they stood behind was not Jesus's, or Covenant Christian School's, or the Pro Life movement's. The message they chose to bring into the crowds, the one they chose to represent them, and the one the adults chaperoning them allowed them to stand proudly displaying, was Donald Trump's. "Look at us. We're young, male, white and privileged. We come from an affluent area and go to private school. We know we live in a climate of division and we know our collective presence is going to cause a stir. That's why we're here. This is what we came for. Say something. Otherwise we'll go home disappointed."

When someone wears that hat, or displays that logo they say so much without ever needing to utter a word. MAGA says, "I support the division, the hateful rhetoric and the abhorrent policies of Donald Trump." Phillips, the Native American elder and marine veteran, said he heard "Build the Wall" being yelled by the kids. It isn't heard on any video as far as I know. But it doesn't matter. Anyone wearing that hat is saying, "I'm in support of the wall." Anyone wearing that hat is saying, "I'm okay with gassing people fleeing violence and poverty. I'm okay with forcibly taking children from their parents and locking them all up and keeping them separated and traumatized for undetermined months or years. I'm okay with some of them never being reunited again. If they didn't want that, they shouldn't have come here. I'm okay with that reasoning. I'm okay with giving the people in Syria a death sentence. I'm okay with mocking the disabled. I'm okay with mocking grown men's stature and women's looks. I'm okay with judging the ass of a 70 year old woman as part of a presidential debate strategy. I'm okay with taking Native American lands for gain. I'm okay with stripping protections from our country's wildlife and forests. I'm okay with blaming victims of hurricanes and fires and leaving them without support. I'm okay with blaming the victims of sexual assault and mocking their pain in televised rallies. I'm okay with making people work without pay. I'm okay with women being sexual objects and playthings. (As long as they have the baby if they get pregnant.) I'm okay with banning people from entering our country because of their religion. It doesn't matter to me if their spouse is a citizen. It doesn't matter to me if their child is being treated here because they're sick or dying. I'm okay with that. I'm okay with the person in the highest office of the land bullying and threatening people.

I'm okay with vilifying public servants and endangering the lives of the press. I'm okay with cutting health care and food assistance to the needy. I'm okay with evangelicals making excuses for everything Jesus taught against in order to erect a golden calf. I'm okay with the idolatry of a man who never shows love for his neighbor but turns the other cheek for dictators and murderers. I'm okay with a leader who has set me free from the confines of following the commandments, even as he and his party fight to have them taught in schools and engraved in marble at every capital and courthouse in the country. I'm okay with Trump and his MAGA mantra because it means I am set free from the discomfort of the old way, which is being told to love my neighbor as myself. And that is a kind of freedom that is exhilarating.

I can seek personal gain and fulfillment without the guilt that comes from having to empathize with anyone else's suffering. I can agree that needy countries are "shit hole countries" even as I go on a mission trip to save the brown people from Hell. I can embrace what Jesus himself told me to flee. And I can now be proud of it. You can see that can't you? Can't you see it on my face? It's a magnificent thing to be outwardly prideful and still be convinced of one's righteousness. It's even more magnificent to convince those around you of your righteousness." Sorry buddy. You're not convincing me of shit. I hope you regret this behavior and I hope you someday see it for what it is. I hope when you do you forgive yourself and you change and I hope this mess doesn't follow you for the rest of your days. More importantly though, I hope the voices on your side don't go even more to your head and make you worse off as a man than you are right now as a boy.

January 22, 2019

We need more police officers like this.

YELLOW LIGHT

The light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing and stopped at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman behind him was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographedand placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, giving the guy in front of you the finger and cursing at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plateholder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."

Priceless.

January 21, 2019

Homeless Vietnam Vet sweeps Vietnam Memorial every day during shutdown.

https://www.inquisitr.com/5247172/viral-photo-shows-homeless-vietnam-vet-franklin-davis-sweeping-the-vietnam-veterans-memorial-during-shutdown/

Franklin Davis has cancer and diabetes, and is kicked out of the Washington, D.C., homeless shelter where he stays at 8 a.m. each morning.

This week, the Vietnam veteran has been heading to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial park, cleaning up the trash that has accumulated during the ongoing government shutdown. The homeless veteran gained some viral fame this week after CNN published a picture of him cleaning the park on a cold and wintry day. The picture was shared on Reddit and reached the top of the front page, attracting plenty of praise for the quiet sacrifices from Davis.

Davis was spotted by photographer Stephen Voss, who saw the veteran picking up garbage and sweeping away leaves around the memorial. Davis said he wanted to honor those who lost their lives in the Vietnam War.

“He told me he knew some of the people whose names are on the wall who lost their lives in Vietnam, and I thought it was a really remarkable thing that he chose to do this,” Voss said. “Someone who has very little has chosen to do something that the U.S. government currently can’t do, which is maintain these memorials and keep them in good shape.”

More & Pic at link.

January 19, 2019

CovCath faces backlash after video of incident at Indigenous Peoples March surfaces

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/01/19/video-shows-apparent-incident-indigenous-peoples-march/2623820002/

Covington Catholic High School faced backlash on social media Saturday morning after video was posted and widely shared showing a tense incident involving indigenous marchers and a group of young men in Washington, D.C.

The video shows a young man wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap standing near and staring at a man who is drumming as other young men surrounding them cheer and chant. Some of the onlookers appear to wear clothing bearing insignia from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills.

The man with the drum was participating in an Indigenous Peoples March, according to people who posted about the incident.

Twitter users condemned the incident as an attempt by the group to intimidate the marchers and called for a response from the school.

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Covington Catholic is a private parochial school in Northern KY situated about 8 miles from where I live. Nice to know that the local dioceses is preparing its youth for a position in the Trump Administration. Pictures and video at link.

January 18, 2019

So, Democrat travel BAD, Republican travel GOOD?

https://twitter.com/trpresidency/status/1086235179230859265

So, the Speaker of the House visiting troops in Afghanistan is a waste of taxpayer money, but the First Lady flying to Florida is a good use.

And Lindsay Graham flying to Turkey to meey with a ruthless dictator and shake hands is also OK?

January 13, 2019

If you subscribe to Britbox,

check out a series called: Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs.

Currently only the first season is available, but I'm hoping that they will get more. It is a series about the Battersea Dog and Cat Home, which is a 150 year old animal shelter. Almost all of the stories have happy endings and is just a really feel good collections of animals saved, rehomed, and the like. Well worth watching for animal lovers and obviously Paul O'Grady truly is an animal lover.

(Cross-posting to Pets)