"In a moment the door opened again and Ellen Macintosh came in. Maybe you don't like tall girls with honey-colored hair and skin like the first strawberry peach the grocer sneaks out of the box for himself. If you don't, I'm sorry for you."
Raymond Chandler Pearls are a Nuisance, short story
"Socialism is a scare word they've hurled at every advance the people have made. Socialism is what they called public power, social security, deposit insurance, and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for anything that helps the people."
Harry S. Truman
A broken heart is always new.
It heals, each time, complete.
Without sorrow, or pity, or guile.
I was listening on the radio while the senate voted 57 to 43 to acquit Trump. That tally seems off because, of course, the 57 voted to convict, but fell short. Afterwards, McConnell spoke, excoriating Trump in the harshest words, making the prosecution's case for them, but adding that he voted against conviction because Trump's being out of office made the impeachment unconstitutional. It wasn't. The fact had been argued and voted on, but more importantly, how dare he say that? Let's ignore McConnell's blatant disregard of constitutional requirements during Obama's administration, HOW DARE HE say that THIS was unconstitutional? McConnell engineered the the timing. He said he'd never bring up a trial before January twentieth, thereby insuring that the impeachment was "unconstitutional".
The Democrats also failed to stand up to the reepub leader when it came to calling witnesses. Mitch told them that if they called witnesses, he'd block all of Biden's agenda. So Mitch Heinous Fucker McConnell got what he wanted. Now he'll go on and do everything he can to block Biden's agenda as he did Obama's. It is past time for the Democratic leadership to start playing hardball. They need to get rid of the filibuster and accomplish OUR fucking agenda.
If we don't fight bravely and ruthlessly for democracy in congress, we'll be doing it in the streets.
"It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
Mark Twain
"Power concedes nothing without a demand."
Frederick Douglass
"The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems
that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity."
Steve Biko
I wrote the following last week. As I celebrated a socially-distanced new year due to the current plague, I woke up new year's day without my usual hangover. And, inspired by the fact that the republicans were going to challenge Biden's electoral certification today, and uncertain of the outcome of the Georgia senate races yesterday (which we won), I decided that a letter to the editor was in order. I had just posted the quote from Solzhenitsyn, and it inspired the letter, which was printed in the local paper today, the day we had a failed coup.
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." Voltaire said that way back in 1765.
The truth of that statement has been borne out countless times since then. It is being borne out, in this country, today.Without one fact to back up their specious claims of fraud, Republicans are attempting the overthrow of our election.
President Donald Trump is calling for his followers to gather in Washington as some of his acolytes in Congress question the certification of the electoral votes. News reports have said that some of these politicians know the truth but are acting cynically to please their base and maintain power.
I can't see into the souls of others, but I wish to appeal to anyone who may be supporting Trump for selfish, craven reasons to listen to the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn from his Nobel lecture: "The simple act of an ordinary brave man is not to participate in lies, not to support false actions! His rule: Let that come into the world, let it even reign supreme-- only not through me."
