by John Walters
Starting Five
Yes We Klan?
President Trump:
He’s looked at crowds from BOTH SIDES now/
From inauguration day to Charlottesville/
It’s crowds’ illusions he recalls/
He really don’t know crowds at all.
Why was anyone surprised by Donald Trump‘s contentious press conference inside Trump Tower on Tuesday? His journey/odyssey/phenomenon to the White House was ALWAYS about sewing racial division and appealing to White Power. People try to say that they support him because he’s “going to bring jobs back” or because “he’s not Hillary” but Trumpwas always sending out boo-boo kisses to racists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. Even in denouncing them on Tuesday, he was just denouncing the terms and not the actors. And they know that.
It always came down to this: For many people, including the MH staff, who Donald Trump IS as a person and what he represents in terms of integrity and race-baiting, well, that trumped any consideration of him occupying the White House. For others it did not. And now we are seeing the fruits of what was sewn last November.
The fingers. So tiny.
Likewise, for many people, slavery was such an abomination that any discussion of what “southern culture” is and the need to preserve it via statues to Confederate generals or secessionists is a non-starter. For others, those who you saw carrying tiki torches in Charlottesville last Friday night, it is not. For them, preserving southern culture outweighs any problems anyone may have with slavery.
In August of ’15 it was Megyn Kelly; in August of ’17 it’s John Kelly.
Here’s a FactCheck.org look at the transcript from Tuesday afternoon’s presser, held in the same building where 26 months ago Trump kicked off his presidential campaign by informing people that Mexico was sending us their rapists and drug dealers.
2. Elliott Mess
Teammate Dak Prescott was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016, but seeing as how Ezekiel Elliott rushed for more than 300 yards more than any other back in the NFL, the latter probably deserved it.
Now the former Ohio State back has been suspended for six games due to domestic violence. But it’s not that simple. Elliott was never charged with a crime and his side claims to have texts from the alleged victim in which she appears to be blackmailing him. What’s a commissioner who only three years ago whiffed horribly on the Ray Rice situation to do? And does he really want a protracted battle with both Jerry Jones and America’s Team?
The woman’s name has been made public, but we’ll keep it off this site. The NFL is accusing the NFLPA of spreading “derogatory” information about her. The NFLPA says that is a lie.
3. Two Balls, No Strikes
Red Sox superfan Jordan Leandre‘s ceremonial first pitch was “juuuuuusssst a bit outside” at Fenway Park. And it made the segue from the announcer about former Sawx player Tony Conigliaro being struck in the face by a pitch that much more awkward.
4. Cliff Craven
Matthew Murray, 27, was wearing a Go-Pro when he exhibited an extreme example of “failure to control one’s vehicle” recently. The bike went off the road in the Santa Monica Mountains of southern California but Murray survived.
5. Judge Bomb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q636M_HI1mQ
All we can say about Aaron Judge‘s 37th home run is a a Beavis and Butthead-like, “Whoa.”
One deck. Two decks. Third deck.
Judge also struck out in the 9th to keep his consecutive games striking out streak alive at 33. We were wrong the other day: the record is 36 games. The rookie leads the American League in home runs with 37 and and is second in the majors in strikeouts, behind Minnesota’s Miguel Sano, with 159.
Music 101
Romeo’s Tune
Add Steve Forbert to your One-Hit Wonder bin. The song hit No. 11 in 1979, just prior to the advent of the MTV era. Forbert says that the song is dedicated to a woman from his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi, and that she knows who she is.
Remote Patrol
Vice: Charlottesville: Race and Terror
HBO
If you have the HBO, watch this report from last Friday and Saturday in Charlottesville. I’m pretty sure that Chris Cantwell dude desperately needs a girlfriend.
About those statues…
1st, I don’t believe the majority of those Nazi demonstrators were even FROM the South nor do they care about “southern culture”, they just want to spread HATE for all non-whites & all who do not believe as they do.
2nd, I find it odd that even though these statues have existed for at least 70-100 years, it’s only been within the past TWO that there has been a concerted effort to remove them. Why?
3rd, I understand that apparently these statues now REPRESENT (i.e. mean) various things to different people. However, 99% of these people didn’t even know these statues existed until recently so don’t think it was causing them pain & angst. Until now, when they are told they SHOULD.
I’ve spent my entire life in MD & VA. Not only have I visited multiple Civil War battlefields, saw countless plaques & monuments memorializing events, individual soldiers & officers, regiments, cementaries on an almost daily basis, I actually grew up roughly 5-6 miles from the Antietam Battlefield, where I spent countless hours on many multiple days walking/biking/driving around. The overwhelming impression upon me, from the time I was a child to now, whenever I saw one of the actual monuments, was a feeling of overwhelming sadness for the cataclysmic NATIONAL TRAGEDY that we as a people allowed to happen. And that the monuments’ main purpose these 100-150 years later was NOT to “honor” those who fought, sacrificed &/or died NOR to acknowledge some long dead “culture” or heinous practice, but as a cautionary lesson to PREVENT escalating hatred & division tear this country apart. IRONIC, no?
If the folks in the communities where these statues exist want to take them down, then by all means they should. However, I am uncomfortable with the idea of “outsiders” telling these people what they must do. Unfortunately, various groups have NOW made these statutes “symbols”, as means to their own ends. To prevent white supremacists from showing up & “rallying around”, a community will feel forced to take down their monuments. Once ALL have been removed, do we think that will stop these Nazis (etc) from demonstrating or spreading their hate? What will they move on to next as “their” symbol? Mount Vernon – home of that well-known slave owner, George Washington? I don’t mean to be snarky, I’m really asking.
If these monuments/statutes truly cause any people pain, then maybe it is time for those communities to remove them & think of other ways to mark this event in our country’s history. However, for me personally & millions like me, the monuments I’ve seen never have & never will “symbolize” slavery, racism or even the freakin mythical “southern culture”. Instead, they symbolize the dire inevitable outcome of escalating anger & division in this country. A HOUSE DIVIDED CANNOT STAND.
“A George divided against itself cannot stand” –G. Constanza
But seriously, Susie B., well said. I hope everyone reads your comments. There’s a lot of fine points in there (though I dare you to make them as I had to, before 9 a.m. and without coffee).
Thank-you, jdubs. As painful as the Civil War (& antebellum era) was to those who lived through it & on all the generations after, to the present day, I think it is imperative to remember one’s history. Both the good & the bad, the inspiring & the shameful.
“Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it”.
Wow … well said.