Abraham Lincoln Died 150 Years Ago Today

Image from source, Mother Jones

The fact that Abraham Lincoln's death by assassination happened 150 years ago today is a little stunning when you think about it. In the scheme of things, that really isn't that long ago. I'll be 50 next year, and it's hard for me to believe that just three of my life-spans separate the here and now from Civil War America.

It's also roughly the same amount of time that it took to go from basically no modern conveniences to the world of today. There were some important inventions in use at the time of course, from photography to locomotives to telegraphs, but if you plunked a Millennial kid into 1865, he'd pretty much find it to be a dystopian nightmare. Similarly, if you plucked Lincoln out of Ford's Theater, and into 2015, he'd be mortified by the modern Republican Party.

In many of the discussions about civil rights (spurred by either a gay rights issue or Ferguson and the other racially charged controversies with police), I've seen countless conservative Republicans go on about how it's the Republican Party that blazed the civil rights trail. They'll start with Lincoln, and go all the way up to the Civil Rights Era. They'll point to George Wallace and other Democrats as proof. They're not wrong. . .but they're not right either. They disregard the massive shift both parties went through over the issue, and the fact that the "Dixiecrats" jumped ship and effectively overtook the Republican Party.

Look at a map sometime of the red and blue states, particularly in the 2008 and 2012 elections. Look at a map of the progression of same-sex marriage states. They echo closely the map of Confederate States vs. United States of Lincoln's time. I don't think that's a coincidence.

[Excerpt]

Lincoln Died 150 Years Ago Today and If He Were Still Alive He Wouldn’t Have Been a Republican

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. Lincoln died the following morning, just six days after General Robert E. Lee had surrendered and the Civil War, which lasted four years and killed an estimated 750,000 soldiers, officially ended. . .

Read more at: Mother Jones

John Stewart Blasts FOX "News" Hypocrisy on Ferguson vs. Benghazi

They'd really better get someone of the caliber of say, John Fugelsang or Hal Sparks to replace Jon Stewart. Whomever it is, it has got to be someone with teeth, willing to skewer where it is necessary. Here's an example why: holding Right Wing World accountable when they are being blatantly hypocritical.


[Excerpt]

Stewart Uses Fox's Own Clips Against It To Slam 'Benghazi Rage-gasm'

The Daily Show
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Jon Stewart on Thursday made good use of "The Daily Show"'s famous warehouse of archived news footage to turn Fox News against itself. Stewart ran plenty of footage showing Fox hosts declaring that the Department of Justice's recent report on the shooting of Michael Brown debunked the "narrative" of protestors across the country. Some Fox hosts even demanded an apology from the media who "peddled that narrative. . ."

Read more at: Talking Points Memo

Blogging, White Guy, Racial Tension Blues

White vs. Black
(Seriously, don't google these terms)

Being a blogger has been challenging lately. I've got a lot going on in my life, big changes afoot. Lots to do, and lots to ponder. So, it puts blogging--a hobby, after all--kind of in the background of my brain. But there's a lot going on, so I want to come on here and opine, share and participate.

But dammit, can it get frustrating and depressing. The racial tension which has been stirred up by Ferguson and other similar cases has been hard to talk about. I'm a white guy, and though I'm gay and an atheist and thus something of an outsider, I'm aware that "white privilege" is a thing. Particularly since I fit the visual mold well enough to read as: non-threatening WASP male. I do not have to deal with the kind of crap other minorities do, and I'm aware of it. Plus, the cases are murky in places, with the victim generally less than a pillar of society, and the facts on the ground less than clear.

But beyond the deaths, and the looting and rioting, and the general feeling of tension, it's the angry white guy response that gets me down. I'm amazed how quick people are to call the victim a "thug." To imply that any bad behavior, petty crime, or even just less-than-respectful response to authority means the guy deserved to die. There's a desire to blame the victims for their own deaths. And the veiled (and unveiled) racially-tinged language just turns my stomach.

Seriously, my images may not be a terrific fit,
but if you search for it, put your filters on!



I believe that--as they say--everyone's a little bit racist. But, we should try not to be. We recognize irrational prejudice, do our best to tamp it down and/or hold it up to the light and get past it. It's the element that seems eager to drop all pretense and plunge straight ahead into full-on racism that is just depressing to me. Go read the comments section in virtually any newspaper or blog on the Ferguson or Staten Island cases (or any of a series of others), and read the Us vs. Them commentary. It stuff I thought we got past long ago, and it's not helpful in any way.

I guess it's too much to hope for that something in this country not boil down to right vs. left, black vs. white.

[Excerpt]

Police Killings Reveal Chasms Between Races

In the decade that Ashley Bernaugh, who is white, has been with her black husband, her family in Indiana has been so smitten with him that she teases them that they love him more than her. . .

Read more at: The New York Times



 

Jon Stewart Returns, Addresses FOX "News" Response to Ferguson

Image from source, Raw Story

It's interesting how often an impactful event happens during a hiatus of The Daily Show, but it sure does. Fortunately, Jon Stewart is back, and he's in fine form.

[Excerpt]

Jon Stewart skewers Fox News for dismissing anger over Ferguson as ‘race arson’

Daily Show host Jon Stewart returned on Monday night by dissecting Fox News’ insistence that protests against police violence in Ferguson, Missouri were incited by liberal “race arsonists.” “I don’t know if I’m supposed to overthrow the government or get one of those panic rooms,” Stewart said. “It almost makes you think that the crime that they’re really upset about over there isn’t race-pimping or race arson — it’s race plagiarism. . .”

Read more at: Raw Story

Ferguson Decision Fallout

At war with the citizenry? Image from source, MSN

I don't have a lot to say about the Ferguson story. I don't know what happened. I understand why people are frustrated and angry, even if the facts of this particular case are murky. Cops are increasingly militarized, and there have been a number of high profile shootings, often of unarmed (or not lethally armed) men. Very often the decedent is black, but not always. "Always" is reserved for "cop walks." Or FBI agent walks. These cases have a higher rate of  "not culpable" decisions than Congress has a retention rate. Police and law agency agents just tend to get the benefit of the doubt, to the point of (sometimes) absurdity.

Now, in this case, as I said, things are a bit murky. Michael Brown seems like he wasn't necessarily a good guy, but then again it's arguable whether or not he deserved to die. The number of times he was shot seems to have been notably excessive, whether or not the first shot was justified. But this long ago became yet another left/right issue, and I don't have this particular fight in me. I hope violence and strife generated from it quickly gives way to substantive discussion and constructive work to fix any real problems in the system. And I think every once in a while, it would be nice if one of these cases could acknowledge that cops are capable of making a mistake, or even being culpable in going further than that.

[Excerpt]

Grand jury won't indict Ferguson cop in shooting

A grand jury declined Monday to indict white police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed, black 18-year-old whose fatal shooting sparked weeks of sometimes-violent protests and inflamed deep racial tensions between many African-Americans and police. . .

Read more at: MSN

Jon Stewart Returns from Vacation to Discuss Ferguson: Race/Off

Brilliant, as usual.

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Rachel Maddow Discusses ISIS and Ferguson on The Late Show with David Letterman

G.I. Cop (A Rocky Mountain Mike Ad Parody)

Leave it to Rocky Mountain Mike to find a nugget of humor in the ongoing crisis in Ferguson, Missouri. Though, hopefully we're getting a consensus that the militarization of the police is at the very least disturbing.

If you want more Rocky Mountain Mike, go here.
 

So, Ferguson, Missouri. What's Up With That?

Is this the new normal in small town USA? Creepy.
Image from source, New York Times.

If you're a regular visitor to this blog, you may have noticed that it's been rather thin around here, of late. Though I do tend to post less in the summer, there's more to it than that. I just can't wrap my hands around some of the horrible news going on in the world. You know? I mean, when it comes to the problems in Ukraine, Israel and Iraq, what can be said? These are long-running, war-prone regions, and I'm not going to pretend I have the answer. And shoot, most of the people who are paid to be experts don't seem to know what they're talking about either, most of the time.

Now, the news out of Ferguson, Missouri is a little closer to home. And my instinct in this case would be to reserve judgment until all the facts are in. I'm not one to immediately jump to the defense of the police or the accused. But I have to say, the cops are coming off badly here. Very, very badly. And I agree with the meme that is ricocheting around the internet: what does a small town police force need with all of this military gear? They look like an army invading a country. Is this what we want American towns to look like, occupied territory?

So, here's a little more on that. I'm going to try to get my brain in the game, but summer's not over yet. I still have that excuse.

[Excerpt]

Amid Protests in Missouri, Officer’s Name Is Still Withheld
 
In the five days since an unarmed young black man was fatally shot by a police officer here, the selective release of information about the shooting, and especially the anonymity granted to the officer, has stoked frustrations in this largely African-American community north of St. Louis, where residents describe increasingly tense relations with the police. . .

Read more at: New York Times