President Trump posted a blatantly racist video clip portraying former President Barack Obama and the former first lady Michelle Obama as apes, then deleted it after an unusually strong outcry from members of his own party.
“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement, before the clip was deleted. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”
“It’s his same old con,” [Michelle Obama] added, “doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.”
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, said that the video was “just hard-boiled racism using the oldest trope against Black people imaginable.”
Over and over again I hear people say this feller in office ‘speaks for me’.
Over and over again I hear people say this feller in office ‘fights for me.’
If this feller is saying what you want to say and this is the fight you want to be in I can tell you YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE.
If this post made in the name of that feller, at long last, doesn’t offend you and you don’t find it impossible to defend or excuse, YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE.
And I say that with complete confidence THAT I AM RIGHT on this question.
This cannot be defended.
This cannot be excused.
You better take a look in the mirror and ask your self what you think of this and decide now if hard boiled racism is something that actually matters.
You better take a look in the mirror and ask your self what you think of this and decide now if hard boiled racism is something you are okay with.
I feel sorry for you if you come away from this and your conscience is clear.
And I feel sorry for this country and how willingly folks have followed this path.
I even feel sorry for that feller in office that he thinks this way.
At long last, has he no decency?
Not sure why I would even wonder that.
I am reminded of the movie, Citizen Kane when Charles Foster Kane is caught in scandal during his campaign for Governor.
Kane’s arch enemy, Jim Getty, tells Kane to drop out of the race or the scandal gets exposed.
Kane will not admit defeat or even that he has a problem.
Getty’s shakes his head and says:
Anybody else, I’d say what’s gonna happen to you would be a lesson to you.
Only you’re gonna need more than one lesson.
… And you’re gonna get more than one lesson.
And I am not thinking of that man in office only.
As Rex Huppke wrote in USA Today … You don’t get to express allegiance to Trump and then casually step aside when something like this happens. You own it. It is what you are supporting.
Anybody else, I’d say what’s gonna happen to you would be a lesson to you.
Only you’re gonna need more than one lesson.
And you’re gonna get more than one lesson.
And don’t think for one second that its me you will have to deal with.
BTW – a check online says Actually can be said with three syllables. The three-syllable pronunciation of “actually” is commonly used in natural, rapid speech, particularly in American English, and sounds like “AK-chuh-lee
ethical demand must resonate in our hearts revealed in our lives
These issues are fundamental to the disciple of Jesus Christ.
“What we do to the least among us, we do to Him” is an ethical demand that must resonate in our hearts and be revealed in our lives.
I ask the faithful to join with people of good will everywhere and to stand with those who are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to go to the hospital, afraid to take their children to school, afraid to buy groceries — those who are forced to live in fear every moment of every day.
These are the ways we stand with Jesus Christ.
And between our voices and our always respectful, nonviolent witness, we might just reveal that the soul of our great nation is alive and well in us.
Read that line again, “What we do to the least among us, we do to Him” is an ethical demand that must resonate in our hearts and be revealed in our lives.
How can any Christian any where read that and not feel called upon to act, to do something.
Anything but support what is happening and if not openly support, say nothing.
Again, “What we do to the least among us, we do to Him” is an ethical demand that must resonate in our hearts and be revealed in our lives.
It might also be good to remember the warning.
What warning?
I point you back to Bible to the Book of Matthew, Chapter 7.
I’ll quote the verse in the King James English as it seems to resonate in my heart.
Chapter 7, verse 21 says, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
And in verse 23 …
Verse 23 reads, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.”
These issues are fundamental to the disciple of Jesus Christ.
Who willingly runs that risk?
Read the complete essay below the photo.
In the light of recent and tragic immigration enforcement incidents, a great many individuals have asked my opinion of our nation’s immigration procedures.
Actually, they are among the issues that keep me awake at night.
Before I address the question, please allow me to recount a portion of my personal history which — along with the Gospel and Catholic teachings — has profoundly affected my understanding of the situation.
‘What you do to the least among you, you do to me’
When I served as the Bishop of Tucson, Arizona, my diocese contained the entire Arizona-Mexico border. Working with government entities, Tucson’s Catholic Charities coordinated the reception of thousands of immigrants during my tenure.
While it was usually a far lesser number, at its peak our Catholic Charities processed 1,400 asylum-seekers and immigrants per day. While Catholic theology makes no distinction between assisting immigrations with or without documents, I would note that every person we assisted was brought to us by the U.S. Border Patrol or other federal agents, and each was in possession of valid immigration documents.
In my own interactions with these immigrants, I knew I was on holy ground as I would hear their stories. I would also witness the traumatic wounds of those who had seen relatives killed or did all they could to find food for starving children. I am forever changed by that experience, and when I couple it with Our Lord’s teaching, “What you do to the least among you, you do to me,” I am compelled to speak on their behalf.
Fatal and toxic
In the last few weeks, we have witnessed a 5-year-old child, Liam Conejo Ramos, separated from his mother and quickly sent with his father from Minnesota to a detention center in Texas. This fast relocation of detainees seems to be a policy that seeks to separate the detained from family, community or any local legal assistance.
As this family entered the U.S. as legal asylum-seekers and committed no crimes, many are left to wonder, why focus on them? Having largely failed to detain and deport the large numbers of violent criminals as promised, is Immigrations and Customs Enforcement now rounding up legal asylum seekers for the sake of an optic of success?
We then witnessed the killing of Renee Good, whose death at the hands of ICE agents was ruled a homicide by the local medical examiner’s office. Rather than allowing for a transparent and independent investigation of the death, our federal government is uncooperative, and insisting on doing only the equivalent of an internal investigation.
More recently, we have the tragic death of Alex Pretti, a Veterans Affairs Hospital nurse. A common concern in both deaths is that they appear to have been fatal over-uses of violent force on the part of federal agents. The matter is made further toxic by leadership vilifying Good and Pretti within hours of their killings, despite having no substantial knowledge of the facts at that time.
America’s soul is at risk
I must admit that when I look at the totality of this situation, I am dumbfounded and deeply disturbed.
As a proud American, I have always lived by the belief that we are a nation of guiding values, a nation of noble virtues, a nation established on the rule of law and respectful of human rights. Increasingly, I find myself asking if our nation is losing its very soul.
For this reason, I join my voice to the growing number of those who have expressed grave concern for what is happening in our midst.
I also reject any notion of an internal investigation of these incidents, and instead call for an independent and transparent review of these actions.
Lastly, I call for a restoration of entirely innocent small children who have been separated from their mothers. Are we not better than that?
We must acknowledge that a substantial degree of responsibility for this catastrophe flows from the failure of our federal government to craft reasonable immigration reform.
Missing that federal leadership, we should not be surprised at the humanitarian and moral crisis that has resulted.
It seems that Americans can only envision two options: Either open borders with no restraint, or closed borders with no immigration of any kind.
That dichotomy is a lie. It is quite possible to acknowledge, respect and defend our borders, while also creating a path for the same kind of immigration that brought many of our ancestors to this nation.
I believe that our elected legislators are intelligent and capable. What is lacking is unified resolve to create this critical immigration reform. While admitting that it is a daunting task, I nevertheless urge our legislators to address what is truly a life-or-death issue, even if it entails braving the onslaught of criticism from those entrenched on one side or the other of this crisis.
Christ’s ethical demand
Without substantial immigration reform that balances legitimately maintained borders with the mercy that has always been at the root of our nation, I fear we will continue to see 5-year-olds separated from mothers, American citizens killed while protesting or exercising their right to free speech and documented immigrants who arrived in this nation via the correct channels rounded up for deportation.
Again, these issues are fundamental to the disciple of Jesus Christ. “What we do to the least among us, we do to Him” is an ethical demand that must resonate in our hearts and be revealed in our lives.
I ask the faithful to join with people of good will everywhere and to stand with those who are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to go to the hospital, afraid to take their children to school, afraid to buy groceries — those who are forced to live in fear every moment of every day.
These are the ways we stand with Jesus Christ. And between our voices and our always respectful, nonviolent witness, we might just reveal that the soul of our great nation is alive and well in us.
May God bless you, may God bless those at risk and may God bless our great nation.
Edward J. Weisenburger is the Archbishop of Detroit.
library closed fines accrued during closure will be forgiven
Watching the weekend weather, all the maps showed the cold and wet and snow swoop down out of the north … and come up short of our little corner of South Carolina.
That was close enough for most Government offices and businesses down here.
I got a number of emails and texts
And on Saturday afternoon some sort of visible precipitation started to fall, emergency emails and text messages poured into my phone.
As temperatures fall below freezing tonight, melt water may freeze and create icy spots on paved surfaces such as bridges and overpasses, primary and secondary roads, parking lots, sidewalks and driveways. Black ice is difficult to see and distinguish from dry surfaces. The deceptive nature of black ice can catch you unaware while you are driving or walking, causing you to lose control of your motor vehicle or to slip and fall.
And
Motorists are urged to use extreme caution, especially on roads that are less traveled, shaded areas, bridges, and overpasses, where ice may not be visible.
They talk an awful lot about ‘black ice’ down south and most locals will say that from birth they are told to stay away from the dread ‘black ice’.
I am convinced that the locals are convinced that if they drive on black ice, the car blows up.
But we got out.
The coffee shop we drove to … was closed.
Roads we wanted to use … were blocked.
We got to the library to see the building all dark and a sandwich board outside the front door saying that due to the weather, the library was closed.
We drove around back to use the drive-thru book return to see that THE BOOK RETURN was closed due to weather.
Now that was something new.
Never had I seen weather so bad that library books couldn’t be returned.
Not to worry though, as the sign said, fines accrued during closure will be forgiven.
WOW.
I was shocked.
And reminded of the time I was working with a sweet little lady name Rose at the Cascade Branch of the Kent District library.
A patron came in with an unusual hard cover red bound book and engaged Rose in a long conservation about overdue books, damaged books and late fees.
I listened but stayed out of the conversation and let Rose handle the whole thing.
The patron explained and they talked and the patron explained and Rose listened.
The patron smiled and explained and Rose listened.
I kept to myself and just stayed out of it.
The conversation wound down as did the Patron and Rose took the red bound book, walked over to the cash register and rang up an amount and the patron paid up and left.
At the end of the library day, we would close the doors and do some clean up, straighten chairs and wait for whoever was in charge to finish closing up.
We would all end up in the back room by the door and we would chat for a few minutes.
With everyone else in a group standing there, including Diane, the wonderful Library Director, I asked, “Rose, what was the deal with that lady’s book?”
“OH,” said Rose, “Her kids got a bird guide and then left it out on their back deck in the rain.”
“What did she say she did?” I asked (all so innocent).
“OH,” said Rose, “She said the binding fell apart so she took it to a rare book dealer to be rebound.”
Hence the bright red hardbound cover of this ordinally paper bound bird book.
“Gosh,” says I, “what did she say that cost?”
By now everyone on the staff knew I was up to something and were waiting to hear this through.
“OH,” said Rose, “She said it cost $30 to be rebound and it took a while, so it was late.”
“Wow,” I said, letting that sink in.
Then I said …
“Rose … how much of a fine did you charge her?”
“Oh,” said Rose, “$4.00.”
Rose, that poor sweet lady, looked all confused as everyone broke out laughing and Diane looked at me, shaking her head with one hand over her mouth.
“Well,” said Rose, “she maxed out. $4.00 was the most I could get.”
we should have a land of love joy wine song, not this … land where joy is wrong
Adapted from the poem, Our Land by Langston Hughes as printed in The collected poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes (Knopf: New York, 1994).
(On the 125th Birthday of Langston Hughes.)
We should have a land of sun, Of gorgeous sun, And a land of fragrant water Where the twilight is a soft bandanna handkerchief Of rose and gold, And not this land Where life is cold.
We should have a land of trees, Of tall thick trees, Bowed down with chattering parrots Brilliant as the day, And not this land where birds are gray.
Ah, we should have a land of joy, Of love and joy and wine and song, And not this land where joy is wrong.
There is a call today to make America great … again.
Funny thing, I always thought it was great.
Feet of clay to be sure.
Lots of dirt swept under both now and in the past.
But something about it, still great.
Great maybe, for the reason that there was a way things happened.
A process for the way things happened.
A process that was due to all people to be followed.
Due process.
Rules.
Simple rules.
But that isn’t how the MAGA people see it.
They see themselves as victims and as being victimized.
They tell me that the guy in office will fight for them.
Fight for them regardless of the process that was due.
I my gut feeling is that they see themselves as the Undertaker in the Godfather movie.
The undertaker who starts out the movie with the lines, “I believe in America. America has made my fortune.”
The Godfather responds, “I understand. You found paradise in America. You had a good trade, made a good living. The police protected you and there were courts of law.”
The Godfather continues, “Had you come to me in friendship … and that by chance if an honest man such as yourself should make enemies, then they would become my enemies. And then they would fear you”
And then they would fear you.
Is that not the perfect line?
And then they would fear you.
They would fear you.
Fear you.
Fear.
The thinking goes that the guy in the oval office fights for me and then they will fear me.
Make America great again by making people fear America.
As so many people are saying.
That’s not who we are.
Or at least, who we were.
For me?
I trust in God.
Let people think about that one.
For this country?
We should have a land of sun, Of gorgeous sun, And a land of fragrant water Where the twilight is a soft bandanna handkerchief Of rose and gold, And not this land Where life is cold.
We should have a land of trees, Of tall thick trees, Bowed down with chattering parrots Brilliant as the day, And not this land where birds are gray.
Ah, we should have a land of joy, Of love and joy and wine and song, And not this land where joy is wrong.
freedom, basic things speech, worship, from want, from fear any, everywhere
For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:
Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.
Jobs for those who can work.
Security for those who need it.
The ending of special privilege for the few.
The preservation of civil liberties for all.
The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.
These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want – which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants – everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear – which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor – anywhere in the world.
According to Wikipedia:
The Four Freedoms is a series of four oil paintings made in 1943 by the American artist Norman Rockwell. The paintings—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear and are now in the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The four freedoms refer to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s January 1941 Four Freedoms State of the Union address, in which he identified essential human rights that should be universally protected. The theme was incorporated into the Atlantic Charter, and became part of the Charter of the United Nations. The paintings were reproduced in The Saturday Evening Post over four consecutive weeks in 1943, alongside essays by prominent thinkers of the day. They became the highlight of a touring exhibition sponsored by The Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The exhibition and accompanying sales drives of war bonds raised over $132 million.
These are among his best-known works, and by some accounts became his most widely distributed paintings. At one time they were commonly displayed in post offices, schools, clubs, railroad stations, and a variety of public and semi-public buildings.
These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world.
The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.
They are simple, basic things.
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a country and a world founded upon these four essential human freedoms.
This a page of the draft of the speech as written by FDR speech writer, Judge Samuel I. Rosenman.
According to reports, FDR listened to a speech by Mr. Churchill and remarked that it was a great speech and he told his team something along the lines of, “Find out who writes his stuff.”
No Haiku For You 