Wednesday Stuff

Boy, is this ever a great Now This commentary on rights vs. responsibilities – I don’t know who this guy is, but he absolutely nails it here…



…and I think this a good transition from the prior video, with Cenk and Ana talking about the Michigan ammo-sexuals out there threatening Dem Governor Gretchen Whitmer, now for trying to get guns out of the state capitol, which probably won’t happen because, for some utterly daffy reason, Michigan is an open carry state (and good anecdote about The Sainted Ronnie R)...



…and Thom Hartmann speaks with Dean Obeidallah about an attack on a mosque in Missouri (with Our Orange Pustule’s typically horrendous remarks to gin up more racist hatred…lip sync is off again for some reason…another reference to what Whitmer is dealing with also)…

…and speaking of racism, the “lens of history” and buildings burning to the ground, today is the 35th anniversary, believe it or not, of the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia.

And by the way, if you want to look for a clip of Ramona Africa (you can Google the name if you want) portrayed in a sympathetic light, you should look somewhere else (like the murder of Officer Daniel Faulkner by Mumia Abu-Jamal…and yeah, that’s what happened…I was growing up in Philly when MOVE happened also).

Yes, it was criminally stupid incompetence by the administration of Mayor Wilson Goode (who, at the hearing that followed, made a remark that he thought water was being sprayed on the fire, though it turned out that it was snow…as in bad reception…on his TV set), though Fire Commissioner William Richmond, as nearly as I can recall, was a notable exception, having been genuinely wrecked emotionally by what happened (Richmond passed away about two years ago). Also, I have it on very reliable information that the city’s building trades offered to rebuild the homes lost to the inferno at no cost, but were rebuffed in favor of well-connected individuals who ended up doing shoddy work and bilking the city in their “bargain.”

But make absolutely no mistake; MOVE was guilty of waging a campaign of terrorism of a sort on their neighbors (trash, loud music, all sorts of other disruptions to people living in what was a pretty prototypical blue collar neighborhood). They very definitely were not “innocent,” though they didn’t deserve what happened either (especially the children, including Michael Moses Ward, formerly known as Birdie Africa). And this historical context is important – in 1978, there was a shootout with MOVE members in which Police Officer James Ramp was killed, which also prompted the city’s heavy-handed response (again, not a justification – as I said, I’m only providing context…more is here)…



…for something a little more positive, I give you this New York Times clip about Albany, GA and the pastors in the predominantly black communities trying to reinforce shelter-in-place restrictions – I’m not going to have a hissy fit over the hairdresser who decided to reopen; I mean, I still think she’s wrong, but I get it that working people have hard decisions to make because our federal government doesn’t represent them…I mean, how many more versions of the PPP are we supposed to expect before the rest of this country is actually helped instead of the “pay no price, bear no burden” one percent crowd?...



...and to contrast once more with the troglodytes protesting Gov. Whitmer, here is a genuine Michigan story of courage and teamwork (I know National Nurse’s Week was last week, but as far as I’m concerned, their valor and sacrifice should be honored the whole year ‘round)…

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…and happy 70th birthday to Stevie Wonder…



…and here’s another favorite from Little Richard.