… Should we name it after Medgar Evers?
on this day in 1963, Medgar Evers, Mississippi’s first field secretary for the NAACP, was gunned down in his Jackson driveway. & just as he proclaimed, “you can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.” pic.twitter.com/9Xp8uQFqqu
— Maze (@MaisieBrownJxn) June 12, 2020
Today, we honor the life of Medgar Evers, WWII veteran and civil rights icon, on the anniversary of his murder, June 12, 1963. Evers fought for freedom in Europe, but it was his work as a civil rights leader in Mississippi that cost him his life. He is laid to rest in Section 36. pic.twitter.com/ZSXasY4bLE
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) June 12, 2020
Today, on the 57th anniversary of the assassination of #MedgarEvers, we find ourselves in a moment where it is increasingly important to make our voices heard. In the fight for justice and equity, Medgar Wiley Evers knew that “our only hope is to control the vote.” pic.twitter.com/5M7AaMu6p2
— Medgar Evers College (@NewsatMedgar) June 12, 2020
On the night of Medgar Evers' death, he invited my dad with him to watch JFK's speech. My dad had just been cornered by cops for driving Evers' car. So my dad joked "nah, I'll get killed riding around with you."
Those were the last words my dad spoke to him. #TheMovementMadeUs https://t.co/V74JOP57be
— David Dennis Jr. (@DavidDTSS) June 12, 2020
Civil rights hero Medgar Evers fought to end segregation in Mississippi and secure our right to vote up until his assassination in 1963. Before his death, he said, “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.”
Let's honor his life by continuing his fight for voting rights. pic.twitter.com/cqPtBwJfOP
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 12, 2020
Kent
Medgar Evers is certainly a good candidate.
Although I’d be inclined to honor one of the many black suffragettes like say Sojourner Truth who had to fight both racism and sexism in their campaign for universal suffrage.
rikyrah
He is a true hero.
dmsilev
I second the “holy shit”.
MomSense
@dmsilev:
That’ll leave a mark
Another Scott
That’s James Baldwin reading the paper with Evers in the first picture. Another giant of the times.
Cheers,
Scott.
mrmoshpotato
@dmsilev: Totally right. Why are there American military bases named for men who committed treason against the United States of America?
Skepticat
I remember that awful day, and despite the pain, thank you for reminding me of a great man.
debbie
@mrmoshpotato:
I say we rename Fort Gordon as Fort Sherman.
MomSense
Elections have consequences. Now that my state is back to blue, everything works better. Unemployment benefits have been working with speed and efficiency. Voting is a breeze here. We have early vote, motor voter, same day voter registration and vote by mail without condition. Democrats want people to vote. They believe in good governance as a value. It’s really that simple. Republicans are assholes. They do not want everyone to vote and they do not want voting to be easy. They lose when elections are free and fair.
I think Medgar Evers would be a wonderful namesake for a vote by mail law – but I don’t see Moscow Mitch or the Apricot Asshole allowing it to happen before November.
Republicans are anti democracy. One in office is too many.
On other voting news, I’m not sure if the GA election was discussed here or not. I’m wondering what exactly Fair Fight did before the election. I know they have registered a lot of voters, but did they not address the actual machines, ballots, polling places, etc before the election?
WaterGirl
@MomSense: There was a good interview with Stacey Abrams on Pod Save America last night
And here’s a clip of her talking about Georgia on Colbert a couple of days ago.
Maybe she will answer your questions there.
Patricia Kayden
Roger Moore
@mrmoshpotato:
PR. They were named at a time when people were worried about Southerners’ willingness to sign up for the Army. Somebody had the idea of naming them after prominent Confederates to make them more acceptable.
Uncle Cosmo
@dmsilev: I would send good hard ca$h toward running that VoteVets ad on DC’s Faux affiliate during prime Chickenshitler viewing hours.
dmsilev
@Uncle Cosmo: I hope they’re planning on trying to do that. The Lincoln Project did exactly that with one of their ads, he saw it and had a meltdown, and the number of people who subsequently viewed the ad spiked into the millions.
Martin
@dmsilev: Trumps own campaign is doing that too – running some of his ads only in DC to appease him when he sees them on TV.
hitchhiker
Open thread, you say?
Point of personal privilege, then, because for the next few weeks I’m honoring my daughter’s wishes that this family secret is kept close.
BUT I CAN TELL YOU GUYS, RIGHT?
She’s pregnant. She’s pregnant with twins. Next January, if all goes well and we’re all still here, I’m going to be a grandmother of twins.
And now I’m gonna go somewhere and howl with unholy joy.
Roger Moore
@debbie:
IMO, the goal is to erase the names of traitors, and I think that’s going to be a bitter enough pill for a lot of people to swallow. Naming them for generals who laid waste to the area those bases are now built on is too big a swing in the opposite direction. It would be more politic to name them for Southerners who fought with honor and distinction in the wars since the Civil War. It would obviously be good to pick some people of color, but it would be hard to pick worse names than the ones they have now.
debbie
@hitchhiker:
Double the fun! Congratulations!
debbie
@Roger Moore:
I don’t know. I still lean toward karmic justice.
Baud
As a compromise, they can name all the bases after me.
Miss Bianca
@hitchhiker: awww!! How lovely!
Barbara
@hitchhiker: Best wishes for a safe pregnancy! Congratulations!
Gravenstone
@MomSense:
I’m curious how what amounts to a group of private citizens can be expected to affect the responsibilities of the state government in terms of providing those items? It’s not like they could set up their own polling places, with their own machines and ballots.
Baud
@hitchhiker: Congrats.
Yutsano
@hitchhiker: AAAAAAAAACK!!! DOUBLE THE MAZEL TOV!!!
gwangung
@hitchhiker:
Howl away!
Leto
@dmsilev: Direct hit; repeat!
@hitchhiker: CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Dorothy A. Winsor
@hitchhiker:
That’s terrific! And we won’t tell anyone.
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
They seemed to be very late to advise voters what to do. Did they go to the courts to deal with some of the obvious problems in advance. I guess I’ll look into it more, but this doesn’t seem like a good showing on their part.
WaterGirl
@hitchhiker: That’s really wonderful! Twins! Oh my gosh, do twins run in your family?
scav
@hitchhiker: Clear the decks! All hands on board! But do have twice the requisite — ahh, go for multiples of gratuitous — number of parties.
J R in WV
@hitchhiker:
We won’t tell anyone, no one at all, ever~!!!~ Your secret is safe with us.
So glad for your happiness, as well, also too! Best wishes for your kids and soon to be grandkids. So swell for you! And January, that’s when Joe Biden gets inaugurated. So multiple parties for you all…
MomSense
@Gravenstone:
It’s not a group of private citizens. It is a very well funded, well publicized organization.
dexwood
@hitchhiker: Congratulations to all. You know this place can keep a secret.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: That’s how I felt until I heard her last night on Pod Save America. I felt much better afterwards.
I mean, it’s impossible to know ahead of time that they are going to give you machines that don’t fucking work.
I’m kind of optimistic that this total fuckign disaster in Georgia this week will give them a leg to stand on in court – for preparations for November.
Emma from FL
@dmsilev: I third it. Holy crap!
Delk
Not sure if it was mentioned earlier, but today is the 4th anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub massacre. 49 people killed and 53 people wounded, mostly lgbt. The second most deadliest terrorist act after 9/11, the deadliest mass killing by a single person until Las Vegas, and the deadliest incident in the history of violence against LGBT.
Of course trump picked today to wipe out LGBT protections.
Emma from FL
@hitchhiker: Wonderful!
Baud
@Delk:
Someone in the White House has a calendar for trolling purposes.
J R in WV
@MomSense:
Are you… wait. All well funded, well publicized organizations are in fact GROUPS OF PRIVATE CITIZENS~!!~ That’s the difference between political parties and the governments of all the states and the federal government. Everything is private citizens, except the FUCKING GOVERNMENT… Which in Georgia, like all the other states, actually runs elections.
Private citizens, even in a well funded group, do not run elections. They can sue about how elections are actually run, and in GA that might not mean anything, but that’s about all they can do.
The Secretary of State (in most states that’s the name of the election branch) runs elections, according to the laws of the state.
Get real… are you really trying to hit Ms Abrams for the crimes of the GA SoS??? For Shame…
MomSense
@WaterGirl:
it sounds like there were enough issues with the early vote that they could have gone to the courts.
WaterGirl
@Delk: As always, the timing is not an accident. Fuckers.
MomSense
@J R in WV:
Oh FFS. They have raised a ton of money. Lots of us have done volunteer voter protection with no funding. I’m not blaming her for what their governor and SoS did. I’m talking about what their organization did or didn’t do to address it. Why the fuck start a voter protection organization and then just wait to see what happens on Election Day especially when you know the administration wants to suppress the vote.
hitchhiker
Some background so you know how big a day this is … both our daughters are over 30, and both have been dealing with infertility for some time. The older was born without ovaries, and has always known that she’d need to have an egg donor. The younger volunteered to be that donor about 2 years ago, only to discover that she had issues of her own (since resolved) and THEN to discover that her husband ALSO has issues.
So now, older sister and her partner now have 4 blastocysts, genetically tested, frozen, and ready to go. She’s STILL got problems that may preclude carrying a pregnancy herself. She’s got a friend willing to be a carrier for her if it comes to that, but she’s a very stubborn human being, it turns out.
And younger sister went through a first unsuccessful round of IUI in Feb, just before the shutdowns, and then another round in May after things opened up a tiny bit here in WA. That second attempt worked, and today was the day she went (alone, b/c of protocols) to have the ultrasound that would show her if there was a healthy fetus or not.
There were two.
So, yeah, it’s a day, and if you need something to smile about, feel free!
BTW, we live in downtown Seattle about half a mile from the infamous CHAZ .. when I took the doggo out an hour ago we strolled over there. It was about as I expected. Mostly earnest young white people, properly masked but not social distancing, engaging in what’s probably their first big justice event. Aside from the University of WA a couple of miles north, there’s also Seattle Community College a couple of blocks away and Seattle University (Jesuit school like Georgetown or Gonzaga) just up the street. This neighborhood is crawling with young single people — exactly the sort of place where an occupy-style event could happen.
HumboldtBlue
@hitchhiker:
That news beats the rest of the news today, congrats!
trollhattan
@debbie:
+2! (Think that makes four congratulations in sum.)
Very excited for you. We know two young ladies, both of whom babysat our kid back in the day, who gave birth to their first babies in April and May. It went smoothly and everybody is healthy and well.
Immanentize
@debbie: I say we name all 11 forts, “Fort W. T. Sherman.” Fuckers
J R in WV
@MomSense:
How about because a Democratic Primary isn’t the same as a general election? How about they want to save their money and effort to make sure the General Election is fair and square compared to a primary in which everyone running is a Democrat!?!?
How ’bout because I’m sensitive to attacks on Democrats during this crisis in our national politics! Get real, this is no time to attack Democratic organizations!
stinger
@hitchhiker: Congratulations! Congratulations!
Immanentize
@hitchhiker: Double your pleasure, Double your fun….
Congrats!
Kent
Also had to do with getting southern communities to support giving up land to build the bases in the first place. Naming the after racist confederates was an easy way to do that.
gwangung
@J R in WV: I’m a little curious, though…how much can a private group fight this chicanery before the fact? Particularly when the government is actually malevolent, and would probably have no problem lying…
James E Powell
@MomSense:
@J R in WV:
Friends! Please! How about everybody get a cold beverage and chill for a minute. We are, after all, on the same team.
VeniceRiley
@hitchhiker: That’s awesome news so early in fertility tries! And since there are two, you’ll get to hold one all the time.
Yutsano
@gwangung: Get people to assist with challenges on ballots at polling stations. Get lawyers together for possible legal challenges. Advise those who are being questioned about how to respond. There’s quite a bit that can be done.
Roger Moore
@Yutsano:
Those are valid suggestions, but they don’t help with the state providing non-functional voting machines and insufficient paper ballots as backups. IIRC, they were able to sue to force the lines at the polls to stay open longer than originally planned.
JAFD
Prospective congratulations to Ms. Hitchhiker, prayers that the pregnancy goes well, best wishes for babies and parents. Story of conception would have been science fiction when I was young. Can remember news that second ‘test-tube baby’ had been born, wag said that Louise Brown was no longer ‘in a glass by herself’
Meanwhile, Monday the 15th is registration deadline for New Jersey primary, and you can get your “Welcome to New Jersey – Don’t Be A Knucklehead” T-shirts at
https://nj-dems-store.myshopify.com/?emci=b64217f5-f3ab-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&emdi=94ceecd6-1aac-ea11-9b05-00155d039e74&ceid=3045421
(apologys for repeating myself, catching bottom of a couple of threads.)
Hope everyone’s staying healthy, happy and hydrated ! Have a great weekend, keep washing your hands.
M31
Let’s start calling the U.S. Army what it is — the Union Army — OK?
Baud
I’ll just leave this here.
https://g.co/kgs/7qLRN2
Fair Economist
@hitchhiker: Wonderful! Very happy for you.
SiubhanDuinne
@hitchhiker:
That is joyous news! I’m actually grinning. Congratulations to you and the parents-to-be and everyone else in the family.
Brachiator
@Another Scott:
The documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro,” in which Baldwin talks about Evers and other Civil Rights leaders, is worth a watch. May be available on various streaming services.
gwangung
@Roger Moore: That’s what I was thinking….there are certain things a private group simply cannot combat in advance (like non working and too few machines, and misprinted ballots and sabotaged envelopes). I believe a malevolent government can swamp even the best prepared private group
Aleta
A description of the 40 people whose names are inscribed on the Civil Rights Memorial
Gravenstone
@MomSense: With zero legislative power. Seeking judicial action is about all they have and if the state chooses to slow walk, or outright ignore judgments, well what is the next recourse?
CaseyL
@hitchhiker: Yee-hah! Congratulations x 2! Best wishes for an easy pregnancy (as easy as it can be, carrying two) and delivery of two magnificently healthy grandbabies.
zhena gogolia
@hitchhiker:
Wow, congratulations! I’m so happy to hear good news these days.
Jinchi
It looks like the Georgia primary was a blowout success for Democrats, despite all the problems.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
WaPo: Court appears reluctant to order judge to immediately drop criminal case against Michael Flynn
Isn’t that convenient for them? The GOP tries to rig the “political and public arena” all the fucking time to get the results they want. Oh, but I guess Wall would say I’m being “polemical” and shrill, I guess.
This is why I’m worried that, just by agreeing to hear Flynn’s argument, that the DC appeals court will rubber stamp this
Starfish
In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963, there lived a man who was brave…
Jinchi
@hitchhiker: Congratulations. January will be a time for celebrations all around.
Brachiator
@hitchhiker:
Double congratulations!
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@hitchhiker:
Congratulations!
schrodingers_cat
deleted
rk
I had really no idea what Juneteenth was. I had heard about the Tulsa riots, black wall street, but no idea about the details or all that happened. Thanks to Trump, now I know. Talked about it with my kids (my kids are completely BLM supporters). So because of Trump we got to further examine the racist history of this country and discuss it. It’s amazing to me how every instinct that Trump has is wrong. Thank you Trump for holding a rally in Tulsa so the entire nation can now be informed about the massacre. What a moron!
schrodingers_cat
@MomSense: Their leader was busy auditioning for the VP spot and being photographed like Jesus in Washington Post.
What are your thoughts on all the blue checks and liberal blogs promoting Warren for VP?
Aleta
zhena gogolia
@rk:
Truck Fump. I hate him so much.
Mary G
@hitchhiker: So glad to hear this. Congratulations. We need to leave them a better world.
Mike Pompeo has been very snotty about cooperating with Congressional oversight, and Rep. Eliot Engel fired back:
Zing! Moar like this, please.
schrodingers_cat
@Mary G: He is being primaried, his opponent was endorsed by the one true socialist and his heir apparent, AOC.
And the guy the endorsed against Amy McGrath is slinging mud on her for not being pure enough for the DSA Roses.
schrodingers_cat
@hitchhiker:
Congratulations!
Chyron HR
@schrodingers_cat:
Jesus Christ, you’re really giving Eemom a run for their money.
WaterGirl
@Mary G: Wow, it was totally worth it to read the entire letter. Most excellent! Really well done.
lamh36
@hitchhiker: CONGRATULATIONS!
As a “twinning” family I can tell ya it’s fantastic!
Twins run in my family, I have 3 sets of twin aunts and uncles (2 boy/girl twins, 1 boy/boy set) and my sisters right after me are twins!
Amir Khalid
@schrodingers_cat:
You seem to have already made up your mind about Elizabeth Warren. I think most jackals find her well-qualified to be VP, but there is concern about her age; and some think she might serve a Biden administration better in the cabinet, or if she stays in the Senate.
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: I think she is well qualified she is just not my choice. Yes and I do know how popular her candidacy was on Balloon Juice both among FPers and commenters. I did a little Twitter poll which she won easily. She won the BJ primary handily.
Miss Bianca
@Amir Khalid: I’m one of them. I am unsympathetic to any VP choice that potentially loses us a seat in the Senate.
(so yeah, I’d be fine with Kamala H. Not worried about losing California).
lamh36
Amir Khalid
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t understand why her popularity among jackals bothers you so.
The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
That’s freakin awesome! Congratulations!@hitchhiker:
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl:
@Delk: Nope. Timings, cities, dates – never an accident.
They wake up asking themselves, “What’s the most hateful thing we can do today?”
To hell with all of these shitstains.
Yutsano
@lamh36: They want that one reversed too.
Aleta
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: And why does my non-conformity to jackal group think bother you?
I have given my reasons at length about why she was not my first choice for President.
zhena gogolia
@Delk:
I HATE HIM
Amir Khalid
@schrodingers_cat:
I don’t care about your nonconformity to the Balloon Juice norm about Warren or anything else. I just don’t understand why you dislike her.
zhena gogolia
@Amir Khalid:
Sir, I speak S-C.
I think it’s a bit of a backlash to the wall-to-wall Warren posts that were here throughout the primary season. It didn’t bother me, but it was a bit much for anyone supporting one of the other candidates. And yes, I know that was a while ago, but the VP talk feels like an unwelcome coda.
Another Scott
@Amir Khalid:
Relatedly, she has other admirers…
Not sure I agree, but neither one of them are a slam dunk (even though they both have compelling stories and are great talents).
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Mohagan
@Another Scott: yes, thank you for pointing out JB.
Miss Bianca
@Another Scott: Not sure I’d take Richard Nixon’s advice about anything.
Even if he’s fake Richard Nixon.
Mohagan
@Another Scott: yes, thank you for pointing out JB.
@hitchhiker: Congratulations!
Mohagan
@Roger Moore: You make good, reasonable.points, but I’m with Debbie. Fort Sherman and Fort Grant. Fu*kem if they can’t take a joke. We have spent entirely too long trying to spare the feelings of racists.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: holy cow!
Another Scott
@Miss Bianca:
https://www.vox.com/2015/10/8/9464035/dick-nixon-first-person
Hehe.
Cheers,
Scott.
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: I don’t dislike her but neither am I a fan and have articulated the reasons why more than once.
They have to do both with policy and personality.
Tenar Arha
@hitchhiker: Congratulations on your wonderful news!
Geminid
I am looking forward to seeing Elizabeth Warren’s work as a Senator the next few years. She and her staff can draft good legislation. The plan for clean energy and conservation investment that she put out for the primaries was excellent and detailed, and would be a good template for legislation in the next Congress. And she is a very good advocate for her issues. I voted for Warren in the Virginia primary, but I did not mind that Biden won. I like him. But I still think Warren should have made her smart, judicious climate change proposal her signature issue, and talked about windmills instead of wine caves. The corruption issue is important, but it is negative; clean power and green jobs are positive, Warren is best when she does positive.
Amir Khalid
@schrodingers_cat:
You persist in questioning Warren’s popularity among jackals, even now when it doesn’t matter any more. You express unease with her policy positions even after Biden has begun adopting them for his own campaign. I don’t question your right to say what you think about anyone, but are you sure you don’t dislike Warren?
Ascap_scab
I’m all for renaming Fort Bragg (home of Airborne and Special Ops) for Pat Tillman, U.S. Army Airborne.
schrodingers_cat
@Amir Khalid: It matters right now because she is one of the VP candidates.