John Lewis passes

[BmorePat87]

John Lewis has passed at the age of 80. He had been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer since December.

[GMDino]

(07-18-2020, 01:29 AM)BmorePat87 Wrote: John Lewis has passed at the age of 80. He had been battling stage IV pancreatic cancer since December.

Good man based on what I read.  Folks like me are at an age where we are seeing the people who fought for the good things fade away.  It saddens me.

[GMDino]

Marco Rubio’s tribute to John Lewis obliviously features a photo of him and Elijah Cummings. He even made it his avatar. pic.twitter.com/Go0OtgdvRm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 18, 2020

 

[CJD]

(07-18-2020, 04:15 PM)GMDino Wrote:

Marco Rubio’s tribute to John Lewis obliviously features a photo of him and Elijah Cummings. He even made it his avatar. pic.twitter.com/Go0OtgdvRm

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 18, 2020

 

Jesus Christ, that's embarrassing...

[BmorePat87]

(07-18-2020, 10:40 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Jesus Christ, that's embarrassing...

Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan did the same exact things a few hours later.


But, really, what all of these Senators can do to honor his legacy is to demand that the Senate vote on the numerous election security and voting rights bills passed by the House but ignored by McConnell. 

You can't praise a man's legacy and then spit on it on the Hill.

[BmorePat87]

45 arrests for his activism, including 5 while in Congress. As he put it, getting into “good trouble”.

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble."

[samhain]

He was an icon and a perfect example of what dignity is in practice. RIP.

[Dill]

(07-19-2020, 12:58 AM)samhain Wrote: He was an icon and a perfect example of what dignity is in practice.  RIP.

Ditto.  Birmingham, 1963. 

[GMDino]

[GMDino]

I guess he got out of the basement for awhile? 



https://www.facebook.com/TheOther98/posts/4916900341654238

[BmorePat87]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html

He wrote this oped as he was dying, knowing he would not around much longer.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, though decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

[BmorePat87]

Trump responded to Obama's eulogy

"I thought it was a terrible speech. It was an angry speech. It showed his anger there that people don't see. He lost control and he's been really hit very hard by both sides for that speech. That speech was ridiculous,"

Trump, of course, could not say whether or not John Lewis would be remembered well in history or if he had done extraordinary acts because John Lewis never attended Trump's inauguration or state of the union speeches...

[Dill]

(08-05-2020, 12:47 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: Trump responded to Obama's eulogy

"I thought it was a terrible speech. It was an angry speech. It showed his anger there that people don't see. He lost control and he's been really hit very hard by both sides for that speech. That speech was ridiculous,"

Trump, of course, could not say whether or not John Lewis would be remembered well in history or if he had done extraordinary acts because John Lewis never attended Trump's inauguration or state of the union speeches...

People say Obama was the most divisive president in history.

One of Trump's greatest accomplishments has been to heal the division after Obama.

[BmorePat87]

(08-05-2020, 02:24 PM)Dill Wrote: People say Obama was the most divisive president in history.

One of Trump's greatest accomplishments has been to heal the division after Obama.

I like seeing commentators like Dan Bongino say with a straight face on Obama's birthday "Obama was the most corrupt president ever". 

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(08-05-2020, 02:52 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I like seeing commentators like Dan Bongino say with a straight face on Obama's birthday "Obama was the most corrupt president* ever". 

Illegitimate president.

Trump tweeted, “An 'extremely credible source' has called my office and told me that @BarackObama's birth certificate is a fraud."

[Dill]

(08-05-2020, 02:52 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I like seeing commentators like Dan Bongino say with a straight face on Obama's birthday "Obama was the most corrupt president ever". 

LOL Michelle Malkin even wrote a book about all that corruption, which turned out to be a lot of "what everyone knows but can't prove" or the usual corruption among the corporate elite tied to Obama through through campaign contributions followed by "favors" of the sort which accrued equally to Republicans and Dems.

This was right after the Lott and Abramov scandals, which turned out to be proveable.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

Must be nice to be powerful and be able to ignore pandemic rules to go to a crowded church while ignoring social distancing....




...and be able to travel to hotspots and then ignore pandemic self-quarantine guidelines upon returning.
https://wtop.com/dc/2020/07/bowser-orders-self-quarantine-for-travelers-to-dc-from-27-states/

[BmorePat87]

(08-05-2020, 09:34 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Must be nice to be powerful and be able to ignore pandemic rules to go to a crowded church while ignoring social distancing....




...and be able to travel to hotspots and then ignore pandemic self-quarantine guidelines upon returning.
https://wtop.com/dc/2020/07/bowser-orders-self-quarantine-for-travelers-to-dc-from-27-states/

The church was like half full




Which people in particular are you criticizing for going there and coming back to DC? If it's anyone in Congress, the link you provided says that the quarantine is only for people visiting for non-essential purposes and that those with essential business are exempt. 

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(08-05-2020, 09:54 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: The church was like half full




Which people in particular are you criticizing for going there and coming back to DC? If it's anyone in Congress, the link you provided says that the quarantine is only for people visiting for non-essential purposes and that those with essential business are exempt. 

Except in Georgia, gatherings of over 50 people are banned last I knew.

Also, are funerals considered essential purposes for vising hot spots for everyone else? Or just if you're powerful?


- - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile....

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/08/05/continued-limits-on-va-burial-service-attendance-draw-criticism/

...for those who aren't able to ignore the rules as they please.

[*jason*]

(08-05-2020, 10:27 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Except in Georgia, gatherings of over 50 people are banned last I knew.

Also, are funerals considered essential purposes for vising hot spots for everyone else? Or just if you're powerful?


- - - - - - - - - -

Meanwhile....

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/08/05/continued-limits-on-va-burial-service-attendance-draw-criticism/

...for those who aren't able to ignore the rules as they please.

Oh we're worrying about the rules now for the funeral of a civil rights activist and congressman? As far as I can tell, any rule is a recommendation. Very little heeding, and even less enforcement... Outside of the military I suppose. I'm not sure when they became so strict.