Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Prediction: the GOP will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

“But what about the lurkers?”

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

It’s time for the GOP to dust off that post-2012 autopsy, completely ignore it, and light the party on fire again.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

T R E 4 5 O N

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

You are here: Home / Absent Friends / Rest in Power, Rep. Elijah Cummings

Rest in Power, Rep. Elijah Cummings

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38Comments

  3. 3.

    Jake

    That photo is of John Lewis, so I’d caption it: “This has nothing to do with Elijah Cummings, but it’s nice anyway.”

  4. 4.

    Tony Jay

    He was the kind of man the rest of us wish we had the courage to be.

    And that picture is lovely.

    “You gonna get this done without me, yeah?”

    “We’ll get it done, Elijah. You rest now.”

  7. 7.

    Heidi Mom

    I think the man in the photo being embraced by President Obama is John Lewis, not Elijah Cummings. I’ve often thought that the faces of Lewis and Cummings are very similar–showing the weight of their struggles, but still powerful.

  8. 8.

    Ruckus

    @Tony Jay:
    Very well said.

    Normally when you only see someone from afar you don’t really know them. But with Mr Cummings you see someone that has that steadfast direction about being human, being all that we can be, being better. A person of great character, of great humanity, selfless, an aspiration for all of us to be, to work together to raise all of us rather than the few.

  10. 10.

    germy

    "Fella who came down here and got in trouble — overstepped his bounds to a degree some folks thought. And they cured him of his problems." John Whitten, a former Tallahatchie county PROSECUTOR said this about Emmett Till ON THE RECORD to @npr in 2019. https://t.co/6dgl9oHFoe— John Hodgman (@hodgman) October 20, 2019

  16. 16.

    Betty Cracker

    It would be sad at any time to lose a man like Elijah Cummings, but the loss is especially acute now. We need him, and he deserved to see justice done on Trump.

  17. 17.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Jake: Lol! That’s exactly what I was going to say. All Black men do not look alike, dang it!!

    In any case, farewell and enjoy your well-deserved rest, Rep Cummings.

  20. 20.

    JWR

    Good news for Michigan. Elijah Cummings might be smiling right now.

    The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a challenge to maps drawn by Republicans for state legislative and congressional district boundaries in Michigan.

    The decision was expected because the court declared in June that such challenges involve an issue that is essentially political, beyond the authority of federal courts to resolve on legal grounds.

  23. 23.

    laura

    @columbusqueen: yes, it loud and proud. That’s institutional racism in action and its fellow traveller, power without accountability.
    May the family, friends and decent people everywhere remember Congressman Elijah Cummings for his deep devotion to our Constitution, our Nation and our common humanity.

  25. 25.

    J R in WV

    Mr Cummings was 3 weeks younger than I, give or take a couple of days. What a shock to my system.

    And the photo only needs a one word caption: “Heros”

    We will miss him.

  27. 27.

    Marcopolo

    @JWR:

    Good news for Michigan. Elijah Cummings might be smiling right now.

    Did you read the article? It says the challenge to the Republican gerrymander of MI’s state & congressional districts was thrown out by the SC due to the SC’s ruling earlier this year that federal courts should play no role in gerrymandering debates–which they deemed a problem that had to be resolved at the state level and/or via the political process.

    So not a victory. Though I will add the article also states:

    After the 2020 census, the job of drawing new political maps will be in the hands of a bipartisan commission, a system approved by voters in a statewide referendum in 2018.

    So the gerrymandered districts will be used in 2020 and then hopefully will be replaced with more equitable maps in 2022.

  28. 28.

    Msb

    We say that the good die young because we cannot spare them, no matter their age at death. 68 is too young, but so will be the age at which Jimmy Carter, for example, dies. The gaping hole in American life left by Rep Cummings’ death is a fine measure of the man and his service to his country. We must mourn his loss and the pain felt by his friends and family, but the central question is, who will step up to supply (not take) his place?

    As to Mr Whitten, I hope he is spared for many years in which to grow as a human being. And repent.

  29. 29.

    Martin

    “I can set a world record for somebody without a guitar.”

    Someone is still butthurt Obama’s inauguration (among other things) was like 10x the size of his.

  30. 30.

    Marcopolo

    Now this is good news:

    Red Flags All Over for Senate Republicans

    Buried in the Washington drama of impeachment, corruption, and foreign policy chaos this past week was a ground-shaking bit of news: New polling and fundraising figures show that Mitch McConnell’s hold on the Senate majority is looking awfully precarious. Indeed, the pathway for a narrow Democratic takeover of the upper chamber is looking clearer than ever.

    Four Republican senators were outraised by their Democratic challengers in the third fundraising quarter, with three of them representing battleground states (Iowa, Maine, and Arizona) that Republicans will need to win to maintain power. And in North Carolina, Sen. Thom Tillis raised only $1.2 million, an underwhelming sum for a senator facing a credible primary threat and an expensive general election ahead. All four swing-state senators also are viewed unfavorably by their constituents according to new quarterly Morning Consult polling, underscoring the sudden shift in support away from Republicans.

    You know what they say, “When your opponent is drowning, throw them an anvil.” Here’s an anvil if you have a few bucks:

    GET MITCH OR DIE TRYING

    This is our chance to Get Mitch or Die Trying. If Democrats take the majority away from him, we might actually see the day when Congress passes laws that protect voting rights, combat climate change, guarantee health care, and protect a woman’s right to choose. And maybe, just maybe, we can send Mitch back to Kentucky for good.

    What? Crazier things have happened! Help do your part by donating to the eventual Democratic nominee in all 10 seats we need to flip (and one we’re protecting, i.e. Alabama).

    Last but not least, RIP Elijah Cummings. I think I only first started paying attention to him during the Benghazi hearings. But what a first impression! Definitely a hero & role model.

  31. 31.

    zhena gogolia

    @Marcopolo:

    I’m on a monthly to Amy McGrath.

    Just sent a contribution to Chris Murphy and Sara Gideon today.

    I guess I have to get onto that Hawaiian guy’s list now too.

  32. 32.

    JWR

    @Patricia Kayden:
    @Marcopolo:

    Yep, you guys are right. I misread the opening graf and read the rest of the story from that basis. (Plus, I haven’t slept in well over 24 hours, which alone should remind not to post. Oh well.)

  33. 33.

    Marcopolo

    @zhena gogolia:Yay! I am giving a monthly contribution to that ActBlue fund I put in my post. That is the way I am going to help out D Senate candidates from now at least until the actual general election candidates are chosen. It is probably silly but I like having my finger in a bunch of different contests. You never know what is going to happen between now and Nov 2020 so hedging my Senate bets by spreading them out appeals to me.

    The same folks (Crooked Media) who do this Senate list also currently have a list for contributing to VA state legislative candidates, the “F*ck Gerrymandering Fund” that I’m participating in–one final donate there on Nov 1. At some point they will put one out for the 2020 Congressional races. I hope i also has a catchy name.

  35. 35.

    bemused senior

    Shared by a friend on FB:
    This poem is stunning. Just wanted to share it. It is used in the Reform Jewish liturgy, as an optional reading, before Kaddish

    ”Every once in a while, a poem or song is so well constructed, so clearly conveys the authors meaning and is so precisely expressive that it becomes something of an anthem. The poem below, Epitaph, was written by Merrit Malloy and as one of those poems, has become a staple of funeral and memorial services…for good reason.”

    Epitaph – By Merrit Malloy

    When I die
    Give what’s left of me away
    To children
    And old men that wait to die.

    And if you need to cry,
    Cry for your brother
    Walking the street beside you.
    And when you need me,
    Put your arms
    Around anyone
    And give them
    What you need to give to me.

    I want to leave you something,
    Something better
    Than words
    Or sounds.

    Look for me
    In the people I’ve known
    Or loved,
    And if you cannot give me away,
    At least let me live on in your eyes
    And not your mind.

    You can love me most
    By letting
    Hands touch hands,
    By letting bodies touch bodies,
    And by letting go
    Of children
    That need to be free.

    Love doesn’t die,
    People do.
    So, when all that’s left of me
    Is love,
    Give me away.

  36. 36.

    Aleta

    (Wa Post, by Leana S. Wen)

    …
    In 2015, after the announced retirement of longtime Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), (Congressman Cummings) tamped down calls that he run for her seat, citing his love for Baltimore. But he also noted as a reason disparities in life expectancy for black men.

    That same year, a child born in the Clifton-Berea neighborhood of Baltimore (which is 95 percent African American) could expect to live 67 years. Another child born just a few miles away in Cross-Country/Cheswolde, a neighborhood that’s 73 percent white, would live an average of 87 years.

    That’s a 20-year difference in life expectancy, based on one’s Zip code and race.

    When I gave lectures on public health in Baltimore, I’d show maps of disease incidence. I stopped when it became apparent that it was essentially the same map, just with different codes in the legend. The same areas with low life expectancy also had the highest rates of infant mortality, skyrocketing drug overdose and the worst incidence of cardiovascular disease. They were also the areas hit hardest by concentrated poverty and gun violence, with the most barriers to education, housing and transportation.

    It is these social determinants of health that affect how long and how well people live. It is these social determinants that account for the huge disparities in Baltimore.

    This is the same story we see playing out in communities across the country. People of color face more barriers to health care, as do low-income individuals and those living in underserved rural and urban areas. There has been progress removing these barriers: The Affordable Care Act has narrowed differences in health insurance coverage, and local programs have reduced some neighborhood-specific disparities. But eliminating disparities requires attention to the systemic factors that lead to ill health, including poverty and structural racism.

    The congressman urged city leaders: “Don’t talk about what you can’t do. Do what you can do — and do it efficiently and effectively.” He was distraught that as many as 10,000 public school students needed something as basic as eyeglasses but were not getting them. With his encouragement, we in the city’s health department started a program for all kids who needed glasses to get them, free of charge. He helped us to obtain federal grants that expanded mental health and trauma services in schools.

    And when the legislature was mired in a debate over a contentious needle exchange program some 25 years ago, it was Congressman Cummings who delivered the defining speech that broke the barrier of stigma. As a result, in Baltimore, the percentage of people with HIV from intravenous drug use went from 63 percent to 7 percent.

    He also used the weight of his moral authority to stand behind other controversial public health programs, including my blanket prescription for the opioid antidote, naloxone, which has since saved nearly 3,000 lives. When federal funding ended for a citywide collaboration to improve child health, he refused to take no for an answer. This program ended up reducing infant mortality by nearly 40 percent.
    …

    Leana S. Wen is an emergency physician and a visiting professor at George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She was Baltimore health commissioner from 2015 to 2018 and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from November 2018 until July.

  37. 37.

    janesays

    Ummm… the correct answer to the question posed by the 7th tweet in this post, “How would you caption this photo?” is:

    “Barack Obama and John Lewis hugging at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 24, 2016”.

    If the picture were of Obama and Lewis consoling each other in the immediate wake of Cummings’ passing, it would make sense to post it right now. But it isn’t.

    Sorry, but waaaay too many well-intentioned liberal white people have been mixing up John Lewis and Elijah Cummings in the past few days. On Stephanie Miller’s show the morning of Rep. Cummings passing, a caller was reminiscing about that courageous moment when Elijah Cummings crossed that bridge in Selma as a young man and had his head bloodied by an angry white mob. Miller didn’t bother correcting him, and even joined in the reminiscing about it, completely oblivious to the fact that Elijah Cummings was a 14 year old kid living in South Baltimore on Bloody Sunday in 1965, and never had his head bloodied on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

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