MLK’s Radical Message Must Not Be Lost

Photo by Tim Simons on Pexels.com This morning, I read a Dan Rather tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that resonated with me. But when I returned to copy it, the ending seemed different. The passages immediately below, I now realize, were from Rather's column written at this time last year. "I fear that … Continue reading MLK’s Radical Message Must Not Be Lost →

A WORRIED OPTIMIST MAKES HER PLEA: WHY THESE MIDTERM ELECTIONS ARE DIFFERENT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvJSvBYcd_s As an optimist who worries a lot (a self-description I borrowed from the late, great Madeleine Albright), I am not happy about a few things occurring in this countdown to the critically important—likely democracy-at-stake—midterms. I am writing this post now because I believe that even if you’re apolitical and would rather be reading about … Continue reading A WORRIED OPTIMIST MAKES HER PLEA: WHY THESE MIDTERM ELECTIONS ARE DIFFERENT →

“I No Longer Recognize My Country…”

I have increasingly come across the sad expression: “I no longer recognize my country.” I not only understand that expression; I also share it. We are being buffeted by a series of events that are searing to live through. We used to be so proud to be Americans. How did things go so terribly wrong?

“Something Is Not Right Around the Court…”: Reblogging a 2020 Post

At the hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's ultra-conservative nominee to replace the late liberal giant Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (Dem, RI) gave a remarkably clear and extremely important tutorial on the forces that are really moving the Supreme Court's decision-making in ways large and small...I hope you will view this video, which succinctly captures so much about why our government is failing to meet the needs of the American people.

My Vote for “Best in Show”…and Welcome to Our Newest Holiday!

Some fun with our furry friends...and a brief appreciation for the recognition of Juneteenth as a national holiday.

‘This Is the Defining Moment of Our Time”

I am writing to you today with a dollop more optimism about the future of our democracy than I’ve had to date.

This President Goes Where None Has Gone Before…

Save draft Preview(opens in a new tab) Publish Add title This President Goes Where None Has Gone Before... Biden Delivers Remarks To Commemorate 100th Anniversary ... The above video is almost 43 minutes long, but it gives an extraordinary view of President Biden expanding his leadership by assuming the roles of teacher/historian—even as he accelerates his role as Healer-in-Chief. When President Biden traveled to Tulsa to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the decimation of Greenwood, a section of the city that was called “the Black Wall Street,” he described in often graphic detail the horrors that happened there... He also tied such events—and the pervasive institutional racism still existing—to the need for the programs he’s proposed to help affected communities achieve the economic stability of home ownership and entrepreneurship, which the people of Greenwood and elsewhere had created of their own volition before the 1921 massacre.

Can Fannie Lou Hamer Save Our Democracy?

Marc Elias of Democracy Docket, whom I’ve written about before, is one of the most deeply committed individuals at the forefront of our battle to combat voter suppression. He was constantly in the courtroom during the post-2020 election challenges, beating back all the phony claims, and he’s fighting the good fight once again. In the May 25th issue of Democracy Docket, he describes a precedent set by civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in the 1960s that could be employed today against anyone who is elected to office where voting discrimination has occurred.

Georgia’s Voter Suppression Law Is Only the Beginning

When President Biden stressed in his first formal press conference that our times are being marked by the battle between autocracy and democracy, he wasn't just speaking about other countries. He was stressing what's happening right here, in the US. Right now! I am reblogging this post from TokyoSand at politicalcharge.org because it contains both the sense of urgency and some valuable resources for anyone who wants to learn more and/or donate to the pro-democracy Georgia organizations who are at the forefront of the battle.

SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY, PART 4 (and the last on this subject for now)

In truth, I hadn’t planned a fourth segment. But when I turned to Friday’s New York Times editorial page, this headline called to me: “Save Democracy: Kill the Filibuster.” So even though the filibuster has been discussed in the first three parts of this series, how could I ignore this piece? It sorta felt this was the right place to rest the series—at least for now. (And a four-part series has a kind of nice symmetry to me.)

SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY, PART 1

NOTE: While we are becoming accustomed to the idea of a "normal" president doing presidential work, we must not be complacent. The battle to return the Trumpian Republican Party to power is in full swing--in both the national and state legislatures. As historian Heather Cox Richardson points out below, this is not--must not be--a partisan issue. I am printing Richardson's recent column below. I began to emphasize the passages I felt were most important by using the bold font--but found I was bolding just about every paragraph.

An Alternate View of Black History Month

There's no doubt that we Americans need to know more about Black history. There's also no doubt that even as we recognize the need to root out white supremacy and institutional racism in all its manifestations, more and more white Americans have become aware of the racial injustices that continue to mar our country as we seek to live up to our ideals. But is a "celebration of Black History Month" a meaningful contribution to that moral imperative? Ernest Owens, a journalist in Philadelphia, thinks not.

President Obama Places the Capitol Police Actions in Context

Former President Barack Obama’s denunciation of the Capitol riot and Trump’s incitement, aided by Republican elected officials, gained a great deal of press. You can read it here. But there was less coverage of one of his tweets that I felt was extremely important.

RAGE…DISGUST…COMPASSION…SADNESS…HOPE?

Last night, I finished reading Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. The author, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., is a Distinguished Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. ... Though Glaude speaks of Baldwin’s rage, and his own rage, the rage that came to mind when I started this piece is mine.

“Something Is Not Right Around the Court…”

In the Presence of John Lewis…

Last night, Georgia Congressman John Lewis, one of my personal heroes, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80.

It was four years ago that I attended a political rally in a church in a neighboring community. Congressman Lewis had come to town to try to help a younger candidate win a seat to join him in the House of Representatives.

The church was packed with a heartwarmingly diverse crowd: all variations on the color spectrum, differing faiths or no faith, young and old, men and women.