Now is the time for the U.S. Senate to do the right thing and call a vote on crucial voting rights legislation. Future generations are counting on us to protect our democracy. I wrote out some thoughts about why this is so important. https://t.co/hjab4Ejxox
The filibuster has no basis in the Constitution, and in recent years, it has become a routine way for the Senate minority to block important progress on issues supported by the majority of voters. But we can’t allow it to be used to block efforts to protect our democracy.
That’s why I fully support @POTUS’s call to modify Senate rules as necessary to make sure pending voting rights legislation gets called for a vote. And every American who cares about the survival of our most cherished institutions should support the President’s call as well.
The House just passed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Now the Senate needs to do the same. It's the best way to protect the right to vote, end partisan gerrymandering, and restore crucial parts of the Voting Rights Act.
This is urgent! I loathe Sinema and Manchin as well as every craven GOP MOC and conservative on SCOTUS who seems to prefer autocracy to democracy. People in AZ and WV, please call your Senators and plead for a change of heart to get these necessary bills passed.
I remember seeing Sinema do a dramatic thumb signal much like McCain did in some bill this last year. She had strategically positioned herself in a crucial voting position that would claim herself to be a maverick like McCain. At that point plus noticing she consistently ducks journalists trying to get her take on an issue I became convinced that she is in politics for attention not ideology. Joe Manchin is compromised with his donors, family’s holdings and coal affiliations. I believe he is a DINO and will not represent our Democratic ideals. Sad!
Former President Barack Obama:
We need to follow John Lewis’ example and fight for our democracy
“The world, and future generations, will be watching,” Obama writes as he calls on Senate to “do the right thing” and pass legislation to protect voting rights.”
President Biden:
“I make a special appeal to social media companies and media outlets, please deal with misinformation and disinformation that is shown. It has to stop.”
The man who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy was denied parole by California’s governor.
The parole board said two of RFK’s children advocated for Sirhan Sirhan’s release. But when news broke, six other Kennedy children slammed the move.https://t.co/TXWJdanBCK
Don’t get how the filibuster has been carved up 160 times used for tax cuts for the wealthy, voting on supreme court nominations. We’re talking about a carve out for voting rights…and not ‘throwing out the filibuster’.
Seems to me that the GOP getting back in power means they would immediately go back to 50+ to pass anything. They would not respect the idea of giving the minority political party more power. So I believe both Sinema and Manchin are both DINOs that may switch to GOP party soon. I have read of people that want to have Primary opposition against them, but they are both Senators with six year terms so I do not think that would not leverage fear towards compliance as it seems to in the GOP party.
“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
Is GOPQKoch also trying to re-write this amendment via S & M who claim to support democracy
whlle imposing their will on the will of their party and the majority of American people as they set the stage for another permanent would-be dictator who will pollute and gouge and get richer in the name of freedom.
Thanks for posting. I clicked on the photo of PBO giving the Medal of Freedom to Biden. Still brings tears. It was so beautifully emotional. Such wonderful memories.
VIDEO: Late Poet and activist Maya Angelou has become the first Black woman to appear on the US quarter, in a new version of the coin unveiled by the US Mint pic.twitter.com/VoZDDygzH1
The portraits have arrived! ✈️ Now is your chance to see the #ObamaPortraitsTour at the High Museum of Art. From the moment of their unveiling at the @smithsoniannpg in 2018, the official portraits of President Barack Obama and Mrs. Michelle Obama have become iconic. pic.twitter.com/BEz16hyHnF
Remarks by President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
“And that brings me to the announcement I want to make today that’s just part of the infrastructure bill.
My Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes the largest investment in our nation’s bridges since the creation of the Interstate Highway System. Bridges to connect us. Bridges to make America work.
Across our country right now, there are 45,000 bridges — 45,000 — that are in poor condition.
We’re seeing photos of some of them behind me in all 50 states.”
Michigan attorney general refers probe of fake electors to federal prosecutors
“Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel talks with Rachel Maddow about why she believes the Republican scheme to submit a fake slate of electors for the 2020 election to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate not only warrants criminal investigation but should be handed by federal investigators.”
GOP fake elector scheme shows new level of disrespect for U.S. voters: election official
“Jocelyn Benson, Michigan secretary of state, confirms that the Republican scheme to send fake slates of electors to the National Archives and the Senate is unprecedented in Michigan elections.”
Groups try to block laws that hurt Native voters
Western Native Voice and Montana Native Vote say the laws would harm their efforts to ensure Native Americans can vote #NativeVote22
HELENA, Mont. —
“Organizations that participate in get-out-the-vote efforts on Montana’s Native American reservations are asking a judge to temporarily block two laws they say are part of an effort to disenfranchise Native voters.”
The ‘incorrigible’ Thunder Before the Storm
AIM co-founder Clyde Bellecourt spent a lifetime challenging authority
by Mark Trahant
“Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun introduced himself. He said he was from the Three Fire Society, Gathering of the Sacred Pipes, a Sun Dancer, and the American Indian Movement.
“My spirit name is Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun,” he said. “The translation of that is Thunder Before the Storm.”
Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun said he was only 11-years-old when a Becker County judge gave him another name, “Incorrigible.”
Clyde Bellecourt died Tuesday at 85.
There is a story here. Or a story layered on another story. Make that stories.
On this Friday some things we know:
ARP passed and cut childhood poverty by 40%. Record low unemployment. 15,000 bridges will be repaired.
200 million Americans are vaccinated. The President Is here for us no matter what, thx Joe.
…………….
A mind seeing beings as equal,
Not creating discrimination,
Entering the realm of real truth:
This is what work should be done.
(Awakening by Light, The Flower Ornament)
Pundits will spin, but it is not the fault of the President that Sinema and Manchin are bought off.
Rather it is
KOCH’s wish to flush the Federal Government down the drain,
O & G and Coal globally doing everything they can to prevent climate action,
Libertarianism…fascism…
potato-potàto.
A tangent, I know, but I’d like to politely point out that the prior INCUMBENT was a scumbag, life-long criminal, cruel, disgusting psychopath and conman. Drives me insane to see and hear President Biden (Joe!) getting undercut from every direction when he’s 100000X better than what we had. No question, Americans have amnesia, a 10 second attention span and expect instant gratification. OK, I’ll stop. DAMMIT.
hi all, Saturday! Pres Biden pulled us out of dire straits on all counts. And better to have inflation which will fade, than starvation and millions unemployed. Incredible work. (Doom instead performed a million crimes.)
A nine-foot Harriet Tubman statue will be featured in front of Philadelphia City Hall through the end of March to celebrate the abolitionist’s 200th birthday and Philly connections. https://t.co/uIrHMfJjH9
If the show “Ain’t Too Proud, the life & times of The Temptations” comes to your area, go see it! It’s brilliantly done. We went & at finale, the entire theater was up, our collective feet moving in our few sq inches! Amazing cast, outstanding orchestra! Yes! 💞💃🎼🎶
How Decades of Halting Breakthroughs led to mRNA Vaccines
The stunning Covid vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna drew upon long-buried discoveries made in the hopes of ending past epidemics.
“The vaccines were possible only because of efforts in three areas.
The first began more than 60 years ago with the discovery of mRNA, the genetic molecule that helps cells make proteins. A few decades later, two scientists in Pennsylvania decided to pursue what seemed like a pipe dream: using the molecule to command cells to make tiny pieces of viruses that would strengthen the immune system.
The second effort took place in the private sector, as biotechnology companies in Canada in the budding field of gene therapy — the modification or repair of genes to treat diseases — searched for a way to protect fragile genetic molecules so they could be safely delivered to human cells.
The third crucial line of inquiry began in the 1990s, when the U.S. government embarked on a multibillion-dollar quest to find a vaccine to prevent AIDS. That effort funded a group of scientists who tried to target the all-important “spikes” on H.I.V. viruses that allow them to invade cells. The work has not resulted in a successful H.I.V. vaccine. But some of these researchers, including Dr. Graham, veered from the mission and eventually unlocked secrets that allowed the spikes on coronaviruses to be mapped instead.
In early 2020, these different strands of research came together.
The spike of the Covid virus was encoded in mRNA molecules. Those molecules were wrapped in a protective layer of fat and poured into small glass vials. When the shots went in arms less than a year later, recipients’ cells responded by producing proteins that resembled the spikes — and that trained the body to attack the coronavirus.
The extraordinary tale proved the promise of basic scientific research:
that once in a great while, old discoveries can be plucked from obscurity to make history.”
Colorado has online and Election Day registration. We have early voting and mail voting. We're adding drop boxes. We have evidence-based audits. You know what else we have? No fraud.
Every American should have the election security & access we have in Colorado. #FreedomToVoteAct
BREAKING: At least four hostages are being held at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, an official says. Follow live updates. https://t.co/la04js2mvu
.@POTUS has been briefed about the developing hostage situation in the Dallas area. He will continue to receive updates from his senior team as the situation develops. Senior members of the national security team are also in touch with federal law enforcement leadership.
"Though insurrection can also be a criminal offense, the Constitutional disability against serving in Congress does not require a criminal conviction."https://t.co/8sYiR9TnD5
The great attorney should distinguish Treason, Sedition, and Insurrection. Most ppl don't know. Treason is fighting for a foreign country against your own. Insurrection is govt overthrow with no foreign help. Sedition is conduct or speech inciting govt overthrow or rebellion.
To be clear the Republicans will never vote to protect the voting rights of the sons and daughters of former enslaved people…#FullStop…
it seems that the press and others are tone death to this…you have Republicans in the states doing everything they can to nullify the votes of black folks…do they really expect the GOPCongress to pass laws to protect those rights..
Wrote this (sorry it’s so long!) about 5 years ago, on the MLK birthday. Still makes me want to cry.
***
The boy from Troy
It was more as though
He were recounting a dream
And I cried like a little child does
After experiencing a bad dream
When I heard John Lewis
Speak to those assembled
At the My Brother’s Keeper event
In Miami on Dr. King’s birthday.
He spoke of his youth
Working the family farm
In rural Alabama
When he prayed with his Bible
When he preached
” … to the chickens …
who listened to me better than
some of my colleagues in the
House of Representatives, today”
And everyone in the room laughed.
He spoke of his journey
Through school
And about the teacher who admonished,
“Read! Read!”
And how eventually he met
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And introduced himself as
John Robert Lewis
And how Dr. King called him
“The boy from Troy.”
I cried when he spoke
Almost as though it were a dream
Of his journey
Working with civil rights activists
Sitting in the “White Waiting Room”
When the Klan attacked them
In my lifetime
How one of the men who had beaten him
That day
Came to his office at the Capitol Building
Decades later, to apologize
And the former Klansman started crying.
And Congressman Lewis repeated
“Hate is too heavy a burden to bear”
As Dr. King had said.
“Never give up
Never give in
Stand up
Speak up
You have a moral obligation
To do something and
Not be quiet,”
He said.
John Robert Lewis said A. Philip Randolph
Had told them, speaking of the slaves
And the slaveholders,
“We’re all in the same boat, now.”
We are one people, one family,
We all live in the same house
The American house.
“Stay in school
Study
Read! Read, my child!
Use your education
Thank your teachers
Register to vote,”
He said.
And then John Lewis told
Those who heard him at the
My Brother’s Keeper event
And reminded me, while I was crying
That when he was 23 years old
In my lifetime
He joined Dr. King
At the March in Washington in 1963
And President Kennedy had invited them
To the White House
And it was only
Months before Kennedy was assassinated.
And he talked about Selma
And how he had brought
Something to read
In case he went to jail.
And something to eat
In case he went to jail.
And how they had asked
The State Troopers
If they could kneel in prayer
Before the State Troopers
Took them to jail
After they had beaten them.
“I wish you well
Go for it, just go for it
People are praying for you
Stay away from violence
Never hate,”
He said.
Today when we heard him
It was like a dream
And all we could do was cry
With tears of
Incredible and
Unexplained longing
For the days when
So much was won
By “the boy from Troy”
And those who taught him what
Good trouble
Meant.
We tried to make you all see the coming danger in 2015. It’s obvious now. Ask why so many experts couldn’t or refused to see then? https://t.co/74cCcyHol8
They saw…but it wasn't important because like the MAGA folks they thought it would not impact on them…just "those folks" over there…#SURPRISE…even Cheney and Kinzinger vote against protecting the voting rights of black people…
— PrettyFoot💃🏾 is vaxed-boostered-wears a mask😷 (@PrettyFootWoman) January 16, 2022
Thank you Sheila! So many personal things happening it has been vry easy for me to get depressed and feel doom and gloom. But just listening so some of John Lewis’s talks fils me with resolve. We can never give up!
"I take great umbrage when members of this body use old, trite states' rights arguments…that were used against Dr. King back then to push against reasonable access to the ballot right now. You cannot remember Dr. King and dismember his legacy at the same time." –@SenatorWarnockpic.twitter.com/lB1UtmJfXT
According to Forbes, the four highest-paid female athletes in 2021 were all Black women: Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Simone Biles. https://t.co/dqv3Y4yPMI
Today, we lost an American hero, Brigadier General Charles McGee. A member of the Tuskegee Airmen, he completed over 400 missions during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. I had the honor of calling him last month on his 102nd birthday to thank him for his service to our nation. pic.twitter.com/p8MfrR1hQ3
1. This will be a thread of Republicans shamelessly exploiting King's legacy by pretending to honor King with a tweet while using their power to oppose everything that King stood for
I hope you’ll tune in tonight at 7pm ET on @BET to see Yara Shahidi and I speak with some talented young people who are owning their stories and becoming who they want to be. #BecomingOnBET 💕 pic.twitter.com/0TtKF0PYwP
The Obama Diary 
This is urgent! I loathe Sinema and Manchin as well as every craven GOP MOC and conservative on SCOTUS who seems to prefer autocracy to democracy. People in AZ and WV, please call your Senators and plead for a change of heart to get these necessary bills passed.
I remember seeing Sinema do a dramatic thumb signal much like McCain did in some bill this last year. She had strategically positioned herself in a crucial voting position that would claim herself to be a maverick like McCain. At that point plus noticing she consistently ducks journalists trying to get her take on an issue I became convinced that she is in politics for attention not ideology. Joe Manchin is compromised with his donors, family’s holdings and coal affiliations. I believe he is a DINO and will not represent our Democratic ideals. Sad!
It was the vote for $15 minimum wage.
Former President Barack Obama:
We need to follow John Lewis’ example and fight for our democracy
“The world, and future generations, will be watching,” Obama writes as he calls on Senate to “do the right thing” and pass legislation to protect voting rights.”
(https://www.usatoday.com/opinion/)
President Biden:
“I make a special appeal to social media companies and media outlets, please deal with misinformation and disinformation that is shown. It has to stop.”
(https://www.politicususa.com/2022/01/13/biden-tells-media-fox-news-to-stop-the-covid-misinformation.html)
Stop Covid misinformation and disinformation!
Don’t get how the filibuster has been carved up 160 times used for tax cuts for the wealthy, voting on supreme court nominations. We’re talking about a carve out for voting rights…and not ‘throwing out the filibuster’.
Seems to me that the GOP getting back in power means they would immediately go back to 50+ to pass anything. They would not respect the idea of giving the minority political party more power. So I believe both Sinema and Manchin are both DINOs that may switch to GOP party soon. I have read of people that want to have Primary opposition against them, but they are both Senators with six year terms so I do not think that would not leverage fear towards compliance as it seems to in the GOP party.
https://mobile.twitter.com/seditiontrack/status/1481707973751840769
Trying to post this too, but, well….
https://t.co/6HgdxUsdB0
Justice
Is
Coming
https://t.co/Uqi1FNhEtx
Here is Glenn’s overview
Nite nite
🕊🕯🪔🕯🕊
Thanks for posting
💙
LIVE NOW:
Sec. Buttigieg On Details Of Infrastructure Law – https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/
TGIF, TOD Fam! 🎶Everything is Everything🎶 Have a blessed weekend! 💞
LIVE: President Joe Biden Delivers Remarks on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
test
Good news…the 15th Amendment is still there:
“Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
Is GOPQKoch also trying to re-write this amendment via S & M who claim to support democracy
whlle imposing their will on the will of their party and the majority of American people as they set the stage for another permanent would-be dictator who will pollute and gouge and get richer in the name of freedom.
YEP!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYreqtzl9te/
Hysterical!
Thanks for posting. I clicked on the photo of PBO giving the Medal of Freedom to Biden. Still brings tears. It was so beautifully emotional. Such wonderful memories.
Maya has been one of my favorite poets for decades. So glad to see this fine tribute.
Lookie what we got! ❤️😁
Saw them on the last day of the tour here at the Los Angeles County Museum on Jan 2. Pictures don’t do their portraits justice. Must See. ❤ ❤
Jojothecat & I saw them when they were here in Los Angeles. They take your breath away. 💖😘💖
is there a place that lists the tour cities…i wanted to know if they are coming to Philadelphia
Looks like its Atlanta and then Houston as the last stop.
https://npg.si.edu/obamaportraitstour
Good question. I don’t know.
Saw these when I was in DC at the National Portrait Gallery. They.are.stunning!!!
Remarks by President Biden on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
“And that brings me to the announcement I want to make today that’s just part of the infrastructure bill.
My Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes the largest investment in our nation’s bridges since the creation of the Interstate Highway System. Bridges to connect us. Bridges to make America work.
Across our country right now, there are 45,000 bridges — 45,000 — that are in poor condition.
We’re seeing photos of some of them behind me in all 50 states.”
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/01/14/remarks-by-president-biden-on-the-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-4/)
Here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wyb9b7mOSNs)
Michigan attorney general refers probe of fake electors to federal prosecutors
“Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel talks with Rachel Maddow about why she believes the Republican scheme to submit a fake slate of electors for the 2020 election to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate not only warrants criminal investigation but should be handed by federal investigators.”
GOP fake elector scheme shows new level of disrespect for U.S. voters: election official
“Jocelyn Benson, Michigan secretary of state, confirms that the Republican scheme to send fake slates of electors to the National Archives and the Senate is unprecedented in Michigan elections.”
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4j8U8CJRg)
The Blood Will Be On Their Hands As Conservative SCOTUS Majority Blocks Biden Vaccine Mandate
“In a 6-3 ruling, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled that President Biden’s employer vaccine or test mandate was unconstitutional.”
(https://www.politicususa.com/2022/01/13/the-blood-will-be-on-their-hands-as-conservative-scotus-majority-blocks-biden-vaccine-mandate.html)
—-their argument was more pathetic than Sinema’s. Try again.
Groups try to block laws that hurt Native voters
Western Native Voice and Montana Native Vote say the laws would harm their efforts to ensure Native Americans can vote #NativeVote22
HELENA, Mont. —
“Organizations that participate in get-out-the-vote efforts on Montana’s Native American reservations are asking a judge to temporarily block two laws they say are part of an effort to disenfranchise Native voters.”
(https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/groups-try-to-block-laws-that-hurt-native-voters)
The ‘incorrigible’ Thunder Before the Storm
AIM co-founder Clyde Bellecourt spent a lifetime challenging authority
by Mark Trahant
“Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun introduced himself. He said he was from the Three Fire Society, Gathering of the Sacred Pipes, a Sun Dancer, and the American Indian Movement.
“My spirit name is Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun,” he said. “The translation of that is Thunder Before the Storm.”
Nee-gon-we-way-we-dun said he was only 11-years-old when a Becker County judge gave him another name, “Incorrigible.”
Clyde Bellecourt died Tuesday at 85.
There is a story here. Or a story layered on another story. Make that stories.
(https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/the-incorrigible-thunder-before-the-storm)
—truly incredible lifestory, thank you.
On this Friday some things we know:
ARP passed and cut childhood poverty by 40%. Record low unemployment. 15,000 bridges will be repaired.
200 million Americans are vaccinated. The President Is here for us no matter what, thx Joe.
…………….
A mind seeing beings as equal,
Not creating discrimination,
Entering the realm of real truth:
This is what work should be done.
(Awakening by Light, The Flower Ornament)
Superb.
Pundits will spin, but it is not the fault of the President that Sinema and Manchin are bought off.
Rather it is
KOCH’s wish to flush the Federal Government down the drain,
O & G and Coal globally doing everything they can to prevent climate action,
Libertarianism…fascism…
potato-potàto.
TRUTH, brp. Sadly, but it is what it is.
Agree.
A tangent, I know, but I’d like to politely point out that the prior INCUMBENT was a scumbag, life-long criminal, cruel, disgusting psychopath and conman. Drives me insane to see and hear President Biden (Joe!) getting undercut from every direction when he’s 100000X better than what we had. No question, Americans have amnesia, a 10 second attention span and expect instant gratification. OK, I’ll stop. DAMMIT.
hi all, Saturday! Pres Biden pulled us out of dire straits on all counts. And better to have inflation which will fade, than starvation and millions unemployed. Incredible work. (Doom instead performed a million crimes.)
–food prices shot up around these parts after trump came in, and continued on.
If the show “Ain’t Too Proud, the life & times of The Temptations” comes to your area, go see it! It’s brilliantly done. We went & at finale, the entire theater was up, our collective feet moving in our few sq inches! Amazing cast, outstanding orchestra! Yes! 💞💃🎼🎶
P.S. you have to prove vax shots to get in & masks at all times. 💞😷 I was really impressed by the whole logistics & due diligence throughout!
What It’s Like to Leave Prison During a Pandemic
Yoon, Gonzalez: (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/31/nyregion/ny-nj-reentry-covid.html)
Have I mentioned lately how much I love President Obama?
How Decades of Halting Breakthroughs led to mRNA Vaccines
The stunning Covid vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna drew upon long-buried discoveries made in the hopes of ending past epidemics.
“The vaccines were possible only because of efforts in three areas.
The first began more than 60 years ago with the discovery of mRNA, the genetic molecule that helps cells make proteins. A few decades later, two scientists in Pennsylvania decided to pursue what seemed like a pipe dream: using the molecule to command cells to make tiny pieces of viruses that would strengthen the immune system.
The second effort took place in the private sector, as biotechnology companies in Canada in the budding field of gene therapy — the modification or repair of genes to treat diseases — searched for a way to protect fragile genetic molecules so they could be safely delivered to human cells.
The third crucial line of inquiry began in the 1990s, when the U.S. government embarked on a multibillion-dollar quest to find a vaccine to prevent AIDS. That effort funded a group of scientists who tried to target the all-important “spikes” on H.I.V. viruses that allow them to invade cells. The work has not resulted in a successful H.I.V. vaccine. But some of these researchers, including Dr. Graham, veered from the mission and eventually unlocked secrets that allowed the spikes on coronaviruses to be mapped instead.
In early 2020, these different strands of research came together.
The spike of the Covid virus was encoded in mRNA molecules. Those molecules were wrapped in a protective layer of fat and poured into small glass vials. When the shots went in arms less than a year later, recipients’ cells responded by producing proteins that resembled the spikes — and that trained the body to attack the coronavirus.
The extraordinary tale proved the promise of basic scientific research:
that once in a great while, old discoveries can be plucked from obscurity to make history.”
(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/15/health/mrna-vaccine.html)
= Decades >>>> decades >>>> pls remember.
Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on Cybersecurity
Jan 14/22
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2022/01/14/background-press-call-by-a-senior-administration-official-on-cybersecurity/)
https://mobile.twitter.com/AshaRangappa_/status/1482384084433313795
Nite nite
To be clear the Republicans will never vote to protect the voting rights of the sons and daughters of former enslaved people…#FullStop…
it seems that the press and others are tone death to this…you have Republicans in the states doing everything they can to nullify the votes of black folks…do they really expect the GOPCongress to pass laws to protect those rights..
Wrote this (sorry it’s so long!) about 5 years ago, on the MLK birthday. Still makes me want to cry.
***
The boy from Troy
It was more as though
He were recounting a dream
And I cried like a little child does
After experiencing a bad dream
When I heard John Lewis
Speak to those assembled
At the My Brother’s Keeper event
In Miami on Dr. King’s birthday.
He spoke of his youth
Working the family farm
In rural Alabama
When he prayed with his Bible
When he preached
” … to the chickens …
who listened to me better than
some of my colleagues in the
House of Representatives, today”
And everyone in the room laughed.
He spoke of his journey
Through school
And about the teacher who admonished,
“Read! Read!”
And how eventually he met
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
And introduced himself as
John Robert Lewis
And how Dr. King called him
“The boy from Troy.”
I cried when he spoke
Almost as though it were a dream
Of his journey
Working with civil rights activists
Sitting in the “White Waiting Room”
When the Klan attacked them
In my lifetime
How one of the men who had beaten him
That day
Came to his office at the Capitol Building
Decades later, to apologize
And the former Klansman started crying.
And Congressman Lewis repeated
“Hate is too heavy a burden to bear”
As Dr. King had said.
“Never give up
Never give in
Stand up
Speak up
You have a moral obligation
To do something and
Not be quiet,”
He said.
John Robert Lewis said A. Philip Randolph
Had told them, speaking of the slaves
And the slaveholders,
“We’re all in the same boat, now.”
We are one people, one family,
We all live in the same house
The American house.
“Stay in school
Study
Read! Read, my child!
Use your education
Thank your teachers
Register to vote,”
He said.
And then John Lewis told
Those who heard him at the
My Brother’s Keeper event
And reminded me, while I was crying
That when he was 23 years old
In my lifetime
He joined Dr. King
At the March in Washington in 1963
And President Kennedy had invited them
To the White House
And it was only
Months before Kennedy was assassinated.
And he talked about Selma
And how he had brought
Something to read
In case he went to jail.
And something to eat
In case he went to jail.
And how they had asked
The State Troopers
If they could kneel in prayer
Before the State Troopers
Took them to jail
After they had beaten them.
“I wish you well
Go for it, just go for it
People are praying for you
Stay away from violence
Never hate,”
He said.
Today when we heard him
It was like a dream
And all we could do was cry
With tears of
Incredible and
Unexplained longing
For the days when
So much was won
By “the boy from Troy”
And those who taught him what
Good trouble
Meant.
I love you, JO’B
🕊🪔🧡🪔🕊
I love you, MP!
Awesome…
Thank you!
lovely, thx j’ob.
Thank you so much.
J’OB, this is magnificent 💝.
Thank you so very much.
Beautiful!
Thanks! ❤
Wonderful. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you!
Trump Rally
Underscores G.O.P. Tension Over How to Win in 2022
(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/15/us/politics/trump-rally-republicans.html)
–
Big money sees Doom as a conduit no matter the gross tragic crimes + untold human suffering at his hand.
—When do we take him downtown and book him?
HOW DOES THIS END
VOX
Where the crisis in American democracy might be headed.
(https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22814025/democracy-trump-january-6-capitol-riot-election-violence))
—-Scenarios for what our future could look like…settle in…worth the read.
For me…i am tired of the doom and gloom…and the woe is me crowd…all this does is depress the vote…
as JOB wrote in her poem…John Lewis …never gave up…never gave in…We can do no less…We Can Do No Less!!
America is only 246 years old, not even a teen on the world stage where growing up can be hard.
imo you have to love the unlovable, accept the unwelcome truth, look at history, possible future scenarios.
–Then stand up and do something about it.
Thank you Sheila! So many personal things happening it has been vry easy for me to get depressed and feel doom and gloom. But just listening so some of John Lewis’s talks fils me with resolve. We can never give up!
I feel the same way Sheila. Never give up, never give in…we can do no less.
That is one of the happiest photos I’ve seen. I love it!
LIVE NOW:
MLK III leads march across DC’s Frederick Douglass bridge
This should be covered live on all the “news” channels.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sadly, we know it will not be.
Great thread of MLKJr. photos
A thread of hypocrites
I think they get a kick out of the outrage that they know that their statements will invoke..
I think you’re right.
Senator Warnock Commemorates Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Jan 14 2022
“You cannot remember. Dr. King and dismember his legacy at the same time. It is a contradiction.”
Very Happy Belated Birthday Dr. King !!!
–eternal thanks.
New post.
❤️
Mrs. O! Tune in tonight!