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A National Day Of Mourning

[ Posted Thursday, July 30th, 2020 – 14:20 UTC ]

This is going to be a very short column, because today is a national day of mourning the loss of a civil rights giant, John Lewis -- and I do not wish to detract from this at all.

I watched some of the funeral service, and was impressed with the oratory, especially from former presidents (our current president was nowhere to be seen, of course).

But here's the thing I have been reflecting upon since his death:

Martin Luther King Jr.'s memory has been mostly stripped of all his righteous outrage and radical positions, to be sanitized and boiled down to one soaring line from one speech he gave. This allows people to look back with hazy fondness, while completely ignoring 99.9 percent of what the man actually stood for and fought for. I have written about this phenomenon many times before, usually on his birthday.

John Lewis can't be reduced to one line like that. His claim to fame -- the clip that has been running over and over again since he died -- was to get viciously beaten within an inch of his life by police officers. It's pretty hard to sweep that under the rug, making it into some sort of gauzy "let's remember the things that don't make us uncomfortable about him" collective memory.

He got beaten. By cops. For non-violently demanding the right to vote.

This is incredibly pertinent today, of course. There have been multiple videos of similar things happening all year long. The one where an old man is knocked to the ground by cops for no reason at all and starts bleeding from his ears -- while they walk around his unconscious body in callous indifference. The video of the Navy vet who asked the cops why they weren't honoring their oath to the Constitution. He calmly stands -- offering no resistance and no threat whatsoever -- and he is sprayed in his face with caustic chemicals by the police and beaten severely with a nightstick (which resulted in broken bones). All while he stands and does nothing in response.

John Lewis was indeed a giant of the movement of his day -- and far beyond, once he was elected to Congress. But for all his humanity and righteousness in the legislative chamber, the first memory we all have of him was getting his head beat in by the police because he dared to demand his constitutional rights. Never forget that years down the road history crowns its own moral winners of such conflicts.

That's all I have to say, because like I said it is a day of national mourning.

Requiescat In Pace.

-- Chris Weigant

 

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

 

77 Comments on “A National Day Of Mourning”

  1. [1] 
    Michale wrote:

    I'll check in, in the morning to see if I have an account in the morning...

    As far as the subject of the column...

    John Lewis was a racist..

    He refused to accept Dr Martin Luther King's concept that people should be judged by their character and NOT by the color of their skin..

    Lewis failed that concept in oh so many ways...

    These are the FACTS... And they are indisputable...

    "See you tomorrow.. MAYBE"
    -Bill Murray, GROUNDHOG DAY

  2. [2] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    FPC

    [197]

    Michale wrote:


    OH well, Dominoes delivered early... :D

    So, I'll check in the morning...

    Hey, Michale! You forget to accept the wagers. How convenient that "Domino's delivered early."

    All talk and no walk troll.

  3. [3] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    It's a day of international mourning.

    Thank-you, congressman Lewis, for showing us the right path. May many others follow in your footsteps.

  4. [4] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Now that I've run Michale for the evening (or maybe forever -- he sounds pretty butt hurt) let's take a look at this latest from Lord Weigant.

  5. [5] 
    Michale wrote:

    Now that I've run Michale for the evening (or maybe forever -- he sounds pretty butt hurt) let's take a look at this latest from Lord Weigant.

    What a wimp you are.... :D

    I was right in the first place..

    You NEVER served in the US Military...

  6. [6] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Yes, Rep. Lewis was a giant among us.

    Requiescat In Pace, indeed.

  7. [7] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    CW-

    Excellent job on focusing in on the day. Especially given the distraction rich environment that the clown show managed to provide.

    Boy the FTP is going to be difficult this week given all of the things that have happened.

    The time dilation effect known as " 'rona blur" makes me wonder if all of a sudden cats and dogs have mastered the mysteries of time manipulation, 'cause sometimes it feels like we are living in cat and dog years.

  8. [8] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    [5]


    Afraid to put his money where his mouth is
    trying to distract from the FACT of his Cowardice. Keep ducking me -- I don't blame you...

    BUT the more you duck the more obvious it is that you don't believe your own spew.

  9. [9] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    Ok. I hate to do this, but...It has been scratching my bung and not in a good way.

    Can we stop with this FPC monkey business already?

    Yesterdays battles belong in yesterdays comments. Upon the release of a new column and the ensuing overnight period the wounded have been removed from the field of battle, wounds licked, magical elixirs administered, the bomb craters filled, and the surface prepared for a new set of battles.

    The only thing this FPC taurus excretum accomplishes is the strangulation of comment on the topic dujour before it even gets a chance to live.

    I can't tell you the countless times I have wanted to comment but the thread has been killed by FPC fights and is now 200 plus comments long, thus ensuring CW will not see it buried amongst all the "strum und drang".

    It is way past old.

    Before anyone breaks out the old saw of we don't comment on old columns, I will point out that there is a reason they are left open for a couple of weeks and NOWHERE in the comments policy as is evidenced here, is a mention of the "we don't post on old comments" declaration.

    It is not my problem that you cannot manage your arguments across multiple comment threads and thus suffer a need to keep yesterdays boring battles alive in today's new battle space. All for what? so a forceful declaration statement of victory can be made? Come on folks GTFU and learn to multi-task.

    Come on people do your part, just say no to FPC; the life of a comment thread depends on it.

    Only you can prevent FPC.

    Aplogies CW, but I needed to get that off my chest

  10. [10] 
    Kick wrote:

    CW: He got beaten. By cops. For non-violently demanding the right to vote.

    They're going to name that bridge after him some day so no one will ever forget. Maybe they'll even erect a statute to him somewhere in Washington, DC... as it should be.

    Godspeed, Mr. Lewis. I will certainly never forget you.

  11. [11] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Somebody's always causing trouble.

  12. [12] 
    Kick wrote:

    John From Censornati
    11

    "Good trouble." ~ John Lewis

  13. [13] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    [9]

    You have a point. I'll just hafta wait for troll to spew his "40% black support" fantasy and then I'll make him back his mouth with his money. Not holding my breath, though.

    Note to troll: I won't put you on the spot so long as you don't post that 40% madness. I mean, you're smart enough to realize that Trump won't even get 8% black support so I won't blame you. Kinda like you quit mentioning "12,000 dead under Obama" the moment the Trump virus deaths surpassed 12,000 deaths.

    If over 144,000 Americans have now died due to presidential incompetence, does that mean that Trump is 12 times more incompetent than Obama?

    $200 still says, Trump won't be re elected.

  14. [14] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Moving right along,

    I stumbled across
    Reaganomics killed America's middle class
    in Salon.

    Like, for decades I've been saying that Reaganism has been terrible for all but the greedy rich. This article says it better than I can.

  15. [15] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Pathetic black hole Donald Dump actually called reporters to the White House during BHO's eulogy. It really is hard to imagine insecurity and jealousy on a sicker scale.

  16. [16] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    [14]

    The article concludes, And if we want to go down the road to letting working people back into the middle class, it all starts with taxing the rich.

    The time is long past due for us to roll back the Reagan tax cuts.

  17. [17] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Angela Stanton-King, insane reality TV death cult zombie criminal pardoned by Dear Leader is running for Lewis' seat. She tweeted All the celebrities and Democrats catch COVID and magically heal. But Herman Cain is dead! I swear I hate it here. I was right there with him. We were perfectly fine!!! This is WAR!!!

    Now that is a word salad! Give that woman an orange.

  18. [18] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    goode trickle [9] -

    I must not have been paying close attention... what is FPC?

    Nice use of "taurus excretum," by the way. Just had to say that.

    :-)

    -CW

  19. [19] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    from previous column

  20. [20] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    MtnCaddy [13] -

    He could switch it to "40% of the Latino vote"... that might be remotely believable or possible. But I agree with you -- I just about fell out of my chair the first time I saw Michale predict 40% of the Black vote will go to Trump...

    My initial reaction: "Wooo doggie... whatever he's been smoking must be pretty powerful stuff"

    Heh.

    -CW

  21. [21] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Since we're all getting our Michale gripes off our chest, here's one more for the pile.

    Michale -

    I could be wrong (I'd have to look it up) but didn't you predict a while back that Barack Obama was going to declare martial law and suspend or cancel the upcoming election? I distinctly recall that (could have been from someone else, but I bet it was from you).

    You based this accusation on... (checks notes)... absolutely nothing. Obama never said that, never hinted at it, and never even remotely considered it.

    Back then, you were horrified at such a prospect. So what do you have to say now that Trump is openly tweeting he'd like the election to be postponed?

    -CW

  22. [22] 
    Kick wrote:

    Mike
    1

    John Lewis was a racist..

    He refused to accept Dr Martin Luther King's concept that people should be judged by their character and NOT by the color of their skin..

    Well then, thank you very much for that nugget that proves without doubt and once and for all that Donald Trump is a racist.

    Allow me to demonstrate:

    1991: A book by John O’Donnell, former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, quoted Trump’s criticism of a Black accountant: “Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys that wear yarmulkes every day. … I think that the guy is lazy. And it’s probably not his fault, because laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that. It’s not anything they can control.” Trump later said in a 1997 Playboy interview that “the stuff O’Donnell wrote about me is probably true.”

    Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2020 / Trump has repeatedly claimed he’s “the least racist person.” His history suggests otherwise.

    *
    Lewis failed that concept in oh so many ways...

    If "Lewis failed" in "so many ways," then it'll be easy for you to list a few and provide proof to support your claim. I'll wait.

    ___________

    For the rest of Weigantia, the Vox article quoted above was updated June 24, 2020, and is a quite definitive list and comes in handy when needed. It covers the 1970s to the present and is chock full of hyperlinks.

    I've quoted from this before, of course, when asked to prove Donald Trump is a racist, but every time I would try to post it, *bam* the filter would eat it right up. I always wondered why whenever I attempted to provide proof this would happen, and now we know, of course, because my posts regarding the subject always contained the word "cas_ino." The things we learn on music night! :)

  23. [23] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Yeah, CW, I don't see 40% of Latino voters supporting Trump either. It seems a safe bet that he'll do better among Latinos, what with all those Cubanos en Florida.

  24. [24] 
    Kick wrote:

    Why can I never post about Donald Trump being a racist without the filter eating my posts!

    Another one bites the dust! Every time I try to prove Donald Trump is a racist, my post gets eaten by the filter. I even discuss this phenomenon in the post that just got eaten by the filter!

    One of these days, I'll get one posted. Help me, CW... you are my only hope! :)

  25. [25] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    I have to say that I love love love the new Weigantia. It's everything I always hoped for. Rule violations don't concern me much, but walls of repetitive cut and paste dreck makes the place really dreary. I tend to agree with goode trickle about FPC. It mostly adds to the dreariness.

  26. [26] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Kick -

    There you go. Restored it.

    You posted two links in a single comment, that's why the filter ate it...

    -CW

  27. [27] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Michale, pal of mine,

    I'll check in, in the morning to see if I have an account in the morning...

    If you don't have an account in the morning, then be sure to check back in the afternoon! :)

  28. [28] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    [21]

    I remember that. Obama's storm troopers would come in and take everybody's guns away. And their gold. I think the next step was to declare America a "Muslim Socialist Republic."**

    ** I shamelessly stole this from This Modern World,
    written by "Tom Tomorrow." It's on dailykos.com Here's the latest one.

  29. [29] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Think "Doonesbury" on steroids and magic mushrooms.

  30. [30] 
    Kick wrote:

    Well, moose poop! I sure did.

    Thanks for fixing it, CW. I cannot tell you how many times I posted the proof of Donald Trump's racism only to have it eaten by the filter because "cas_ino." The minute we figured out the filter didn't like that word, I instantly knew what had happened to all those posts.

    Thanks again! I'm over on the other page answering your post "FPC." :)

  31. [31] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    OK, I looked back over yesterday, and still couldn't find FPC. I googled it and came up with:

    Firearms Policy Coalition
    Fundamental Payroll Certification
    Federal Power Commission
    Federal Privacy Council
    Fish Passage Center

    but somehow I don't think you mean any of that. Except maybe that last one, somehow?

    Heh.

    Please will someone just post what the acronym means?

    Thanks in advance.

    -CW

  32. [32] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    MtnCaddy -

    I met Tom Tomorrow at a Netroots Nation and got a book signed by him.

    :-)

    I like that "Doonesbury on mushrooms and steroids" line, though, that's pretty spot on. The penguin's my favorite...

    -CW

  33. [33] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    CW,
    see [19] FPC

  34. [34] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    CW-

    While Fish Passage Center could be applicable, it means From Previous Column.

    Usually invoked after someones morning dump of FACTS.

    And we did establish sometime back that FACTS = copy paste opinions that flow faster than ones fingers can type and facts = empirical evidence free of opinion based translation.

    Facts can be turned into FACTS by cherry picking the data set but FACTS cannot be turned into facts due to thier opinion based nature.

    facts will always be facts no matter how true or inconvenient one might find them and that's fact.

  35. [35] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    Lest it seems like I am trying to pile on one person...

    There are multiple culprits.

  36. [36] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    I will say that I thought there were too many people in that church today.

  37. [37] 
    MyVoice wrote:

    The first "career" I ever wanted was to be a civil rights worker. My parents were horrified. No, they said, by the time you are grown, we won't need them any more. Oh, how I wish they'd been correct.

    Let us keep John Robert Lewis' memory fresh and shining for all time. One of my earliest heroes and forever an inspiration.

    Rename the bridge, too.

  38. [38] 
    MyVoice wrote:

    Just ran across this: Full Appeals Court To Rehear Dispute Over Flynn Judge’s Handling Of His Case

    The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will reconsider an order from a panel of its judges that sought to block Michael Flynn’s judge from probing the reasons the Justice Department wants Flynn’s case dropped.

    The announcement of the so-called en banc hearing means that the remarkable dispute over the DOJ’s dismissal request will rage on for at least a few more weeks. And it will allow the full D.C. Circuit — often dubbed the second most powerful court in the country — to wade into the thorny issue of what judges can and can’t do in the face of evidence that the Department of Justice has suspect motivations for its prosecutorial decisions.

    The D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments on the matter on August 11. In the meantime, the order from a three-judge appellate panel that Flynn’s case immediately be dismissed has been reversed.

  39. [39] 
    John M from Ct. wrote:

    I agree that Lewis' immortal "claim to fame" was his beating by the police during that march on the bridge in the 1960s. That always gets mentioned.

    But what has struck me about his life, and what is why I admire him so, is that he ended up ... in the f***ing House of Representatives! OK: young Black protester, protege of Dr. King, hero of the Civil Rights era in the 60s, took the blows and wounds of segregation's police. Yes. But, all respect given, that could describe dozens or hundreds or thousands of young, eager, radical men and women from the 1960s.

    How many of them ended up in elective office? How many took on the system, from the heart of the system, while maintaining their integrity and honor? How many still embodied the idealism, and grit, and meaning of the Civil Rights struggle - in public view, in one of the highest offices in the land - in the 2010s?

    John Lewis is an American hero not so much for what he did in the 1960s, as for what he did with that credential for the rest of his life.

    RIP, Mr. Congressman.

  40. [40] 
    Kick wrote:

    [19] John From Censornati

    I thought it was "from previous commentary."
    Oh well, it works either way. :)

  41. [41] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Chris,

    Please will someone just post what the acronym means?

    This is what happens when you're such a stranger in the comments sections. Heh.

  42. [42] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    For a laugh... Lincoln Project has some good writers working with them!

    https://youtu.be/4TogbPPyQQM

  43. [43] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    JFC -

    Aha! Thanks! Sometimes I'm a bit slow on the uptake...

    :-)

    -CW

  44. [44] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    LizM -

    Yeah, yeah... I deserved that...

    :-)

    -CW

  45. [45] 
    Kick wrote:

    MtnCaddy
    13

    You have a point. I'll just hafta wait for troll to spew his "40% black support" fantasy and then I'll make him back his mouth with his money. Not holding my breath, though.

    He was saying the same thing for quite awhile during the run up to the election of 2016. I told him many times that there is no way on Earth Trump was going to ever garner a large amount of "black American" support.

    Fast forward to this election, and I cannot fathom why he continues to insist this when he already knows (or ought to already know, anyway), that it's not likely going to happen.

    Michale quoting CW in bold, November 2016:

    [63] Michale wrote:

    Kick,

    Even with his tough talk about Mexican immigrants, Trump held on to roughly the same share of Hispanic voters as Romney had claimed four years ago. Likewise, he was drawing about the same levels of support from black voters as Romney won.

    Looks like you called that one, Kick.... I totally blew that call....

    [Wednesday, November 9th, 2016 at 02:10 UTC]

    *
    Has he forgotten about that? Anyone who's read one or two of his posts knows he hasn't forgotten the election of 2016. :)

    Note to troll: I won't put you on the spot so long as you don't post that 40% madness.

    It makes no sense under the circumstances.

    $200 still says, Trump won't be re elected.

    Oh, I quite agree... unless he manages to successfully disenfranchise enough voters in key states. Trump has already filed litigation in Pennsylvania attempting to keep voters from being able to turn in their ballot in person. Why on Earth would you do that unless you were trying to steal ballots out of the United States mail system? Trump is looking to suppress the vote; no question about it.

  46. [46] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    Kick [40],

    Could be either I suppose. I claim no ownership.

  47. [47] 
    Kick wrote:

    John From Censornati
    17

    Angela Stanton-King, insane reality TV death cult zombie criminal pardoned by Dear Leader is running for Lewis' seat.

    You know she is the goddaughter of Alveda King, the niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King, right JFC?

    She tweeted All the celebrities and Democrats catch COVID and magically heal. But Herman Cain is dead! I swear I hate it here. I was right there with him. We were perfectly fine!!! This is WAR!!!

    Not that she had a chance to win the seat, of course, but that right there won't help her. Is she seriously suggesting that COVID-19 discriminates based on political ideology and no Democrats have died from the disease? That's crazy. Maybe she thinks there was a conspiracy to kill him after a month of him being in the hospital? Either way, she definitely fits right in with the right-wingnut conspiracy theory crowd. Nuts!

    I can just hear the Q nuts now, Herman Cain is not really gone, he is just working with John F. Kennedy, Jr. behind the scenes to help Dear Leader Donald shut down the Democrat pedophile ring. Any day now, arrest are being made: Hillary, Obama, Biden, Podesta, the guy that runs the pizza joint...

    Nuts, I tell you, nuts!

  48. [48] 
    John From Censornati wrote:

    You know she is the goddaughter of Alveda King, the niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King, right JFC?

    I didn't. I already knew too much and I posted it all. I don't even know what he pardoned her for.

  49. [49] 
    Kick wrote:

    Chris Weigant
    21

    Since we're all getting our Michale gripes off our chest, here's one more for the pile.

    Michale -

    I could be wrong (I'd have to look it up) but didn't you predict a while back that Barack Obama was going to declare martial law and suspend or cancel the upcoming election? I distinctly recall that (could have been from someone else, but I bet it was from you).

    It certainly sounds like something he would say. *be right back*
    *

    [79] Michale wrote:

    All this back and forth is really a lot of fun..

    Really, I mean that. Anytime I can indulge in a Trek quote or 5, buddy I am there!! :D

    But, here are the facts...

    FACT #1
    Obama would be running on his record if he could.

    FACT #2
    Obama CAN'T run on his record because he knows it is abysmal.

    FACT #3
    The numero uno issue in the upcoming election is the economy.

    FACT #4
    Every poll that has ever been taken in the last 6 months clearly show that the majority of Americans prefer Romney over Obama to handle the economy..

    "These are the facts. And they are undisputed."
    -Captain 'Smilin' Jack Ross, A FEW GOOD MEN

    Given these *FACTS* (that you claim to cherish but never accept when they go against Obama) it's clear who our next President will be...

    Now, I'll grant you. A lot could happen in 70-odd days...

    Aliens from Neptune could land and declare Earth their domain...

    A nuclear strike by terrorists could devastate Tampa and Obama would declare martial law and postpone the election...

    A 10.8 earthquake could strike Washington DC and send it sliding into the Atlantic Ocean...

    But....

    Barring any of that or similar events of earth-shattering magnitude, the coming election is a foregone conclusion..

    By any logical or rational litmus test that mean ANYTHING to voters, this election will go to Romney...

    Remember, you heard it here first... :D

    But I truly hope we can continue our fascinating discussions up until Romney is elected..

    They really are a lot of fun... :D

    Michale.....

    [Tuesday, August 28th, 2012 at 14:19 UTC]

    http://www.chrisweigant.com/2012/08/27/embracing-bigotry/#comment-25763

    *
    Could I find where Michale said it more than once?
    I wouldn't bet against it if I were you. ;)

  50. [50] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Chris,

    Hello! It's good to be with you, again. Hello! And, everything still feels the same. Hello! Even though we only got to know you by name and what you write, it's feelin' good to know that you're here with us, again! Hello, what can I say, hello!? Hello, what can I say today? Hello! Hello!

    :-)

  51. [51] 
    Kick wrote:

    Chris Weigant
    31

    SPEW ALERT

    Fish Passage Center

    ___________

    Rum and Coke everywhere!

  52. [52] 
    Kick wrote:

    Chris Weigant
    32

    I met Tom Tomorrow at a Netroots Nation and got a book signed by him.

    Where was Hillary? <-------- Get it? WikiLeaks; we love WikiLeaks! ;)

    Heh.

  53. [53] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Chris,

    Hello! It's good to be with you, again. Hello! And, everything still feels the same. Hello! Even though we only got to know you by name and what you write, it's feelin' good to know that you're here with us, again! Hello, what can I say, hello!? Hello, what can I say today? Hello! Hello!

    :-)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZQ054xMqM

  54. [54] 
    Kick wrote:

    goode trickle
    35

    Lest it seems like I am trying to pile on one person...

    There are multiple culprits.

    I have an excuse: I was cajoled and forced on pain of death. :P

  55. [55] 
    Kick wrote:

    John M from Ct.
    39

    Great post!

    I can think of only one other who compares with Mr. Lewis: Nelson Mandela... different continent, of course.

  56. [56] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Don,

    Sadly, my speakers are on their death bed and, yes, I had a hand in their demise on account of a lot of frustration, you understand.

    I hope to have this situation rectified by the week's end. So, please post it again then.

  57. [57] 
    Kick wrote:

    ListenWhenYouHear
    42

    For a laugh... Lincoln Project has some good writers working with them!

    https://youtu.be/4TogbPPyQQM

    OMG, Russ! "especially that Mitch O'Connell." That is hysterical!

    Wake up, people, is right. :)

  58. [58] 
    Kick wrote:

    John From Censornati
    46|49

    Could be either I suppose. I claim no ownership.

    I claim ownership for getting it goobed up.

    I didn't. I already knew too much and I posted it all. I don't even know what he pardoned her for.

    For being the goddaughter of Alveda King, JFC... for being convicted on federal conspiracy charges for her role in a car theft ring.

    Being a friend/friend of a friend of Big Orange can net you a criminal-gets-out-of-jail-free card. I see one in Misha Flynn's future, but it won't matter; there are plenty more charges where lying to the FBI came from. Just saying.

  59. [59] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    I cannot believe this was even a consideration!

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/30/prosecutor-will-not-charge-police-officer-who-shot-killed-michael-brown-ferguson/#comments-wrapper

    I thought Holder’s DOJ’s report put the question of whether Wilson had done anything wrong to rest...but apparently not. I could not believe the new DA said it saddened him to have to report that the police officer had acted appropriately and was completely justified in his actions that led to Michael Brown’s death! Was he really hoping for police brutality??? Think about that! He is upset that the evidence showed Officer Wilson acted appropriately and should not be prosecuted. I am sorry, but it just does not feel like JUSTICE is what he was hoping for.

    Brown should not be lifted up as a martyr by BLM or we risk black youth believing that nothing Brown did was wrong; resulting in more needless shooting deaths.

    If we ever hope to have a positive discussion about police reform in this country, it will require all sides being able to honestly define what is and what is not “misconduct”. In no other job in this country do we blame an entire profession for the actions of a few. Brown physically assaulted and attempted to disarm a police officer who was simply doing his job. Brown’s actions amounted to what our court system deems a “use of deadly force” and his death was ruled to be legally justified. Until BLM is able to agree with those facts and accept them as the truth, they are not honestly interested in the pursuit of justice.

  60. [60] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    @cw,

    it's a way to get people to quit spamming every new column with the previous week's arguments. sometimes it even works.

  61. [61] 
    Chris Weigant wrote:

    Kick [53] -

    I swear, it came up on google -- I couldn't make something like that up! (Sorry for the spit-take...heh)

    :-)

    -CW

  62. [62] 
    Michale wrote:

    You have a point. I'll just hafta wait for troll to spew his "40% black support" fantasy and then I'll make him back his mouth with his money. Not holding my breath, though.

    Note to troll: I won't put you on the spot so long as you don't post that 40% madness. I mean, you're smart enough to realize that Trump won't even get 8% black support so I won't blame you. Kinda like you quit mentioning "12,000 dead under Obama" the moment the Trump virus deaths surpassed 12,000 deaths.

    So.. I guess name-calling IS still allowed here...

    :(

  63. [63] 
    Michale wrote:

    $200 still says, Trump won't be re elected.

    OK, so the confessed troll says he will pay $200 to Weigantia when President Trump wins re-election...

    I officially accept that wager...

  64. [64] 
    Michale wrote:

    GT,

    Lest it seems like I am trying to pile on one person...

    There are multiple culprits.

    Thank you..

  65. [65] 
    Michale wrote:

    So.. I guess name-calling IS still allowed here...

    http://www.chrisweigant.com/2020/07/29/rampant-gop-incompetence-on-full-display/#comment-166343

    And foul language is also no longer banned..

    {{sssiiiiggghhhhhh}}

    Well, it was fun while it lasted...

  66. [66] 
    Michale wrote:

    http://sjfm.us/pics/box.jpg

    This is so factually accurate on so many levels... :D

  67. [67] 
    Kick wrote:

    Mike
    68

    So.. I guess name-calling IS still allowed here...

    :(

    Yesterday you left by calling him a name and resorting to your standard modus operandi of inventing "stuff":
    *

    What a wimp you are.... :D

    I was right in the first place..

    You NEVER served in the US Military...

    http://www.chrisweigant.com/2020/07/30/a-national-day-of-mourning/#comment-166485

    *
    Today you're back whining because he reciprocated.

    Would you like some cheese to go with this standard operational behavior? Asking for a friend.

  68. [68] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    []

    I'm pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming: Michale took "Trump gets re elected" for $200.

    Tell me, Brother Michale, was it the

    "(Jeopardy theme music plays in the background)" that helped you over the boundary that separates invertebrates from vertebrates?

    Again, yer off the hook on the 40% black vote wagers. Unless you spew on the subject. But, just like that "12,000 swine flu deaths under Obama" whataboutism, I don't expect you to go there anymore. Too bad, CW deserves the extra $200 Michale dollars.

  69. [69] 
    BashiBazouk wrote:

    Most troubling of all, perhaps, was a sentiment the expert said a member of Kushner’s team expressed: that because the virus had hit blue states hardest, a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically. “The political folks believed that because it was going to be relegated to Democratic states, that they could blame those governors, and that would be an effective political strategy,” said the expert.
    https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/how-jared-kushners-secret-testing-plan-went-poof-into-thin-air

    So they actually came up with a good plan for national coronavirus testing but scrapped it for purely political reasons...

    A lot of blood on Trumps tiny hands...

    154,563 Americans dead from Coronavirus and counting...

  70. [70] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Hot Diggity!

    Here's another Lincoln Project video.

    Hey CW, if we ever have a "slow news cycle" (yeah, right) I'd like to hear your take on why the Lincoln Project folks seem more effective than run of the mill standard Democratic advertising.

  71. [71] 
    goode trickle wrote:

    That wake up ad is funny... but then again if I am correct it would be hard for it not to be with Stephen Root behind the mask.

  72. [72] 
    Kick wrote:

    BashiBazouk
    75

    So they actually came up with a good plan for national coronavirus testing but scrapped it for purely political reasons...

    Wow. So we still haven't hit rock bottom on the Trump administration stupid?

    A lot of blood on Trumps tiny hands...

    154,563 Americans dead from Coronavirus and counting...

    The GOP went ballistic and held hearings for ~4 years when 4 Americans died in Benghazi, yet here we are now with the equivalent number of ~38,640 of those right here in America with no end in sight. Let that sink in for a minute.

    So to recap: We're headed for the equivalent of 50,000+ Benghazis while the GOP dithers and shrugs.

  73. [73] 
    Kick wrote:

    MtnCaddy
    76

    Wow, another great ad from The Lincoln Project. Republicans and Democrats joining together to save the country; it's like 1864 all over again!

    "We will vote." Try and stop us.

    Hey CW, if we ever have a "slow news cycle" (yeah, right) I'd like to hear your take on why the Lincoln Project folks seem more effective than run of the mill standard Democratic advertising.

    I know, right!? All those multiple Republican strategists who definitely know their target are a wicked good thing to have on your side. :)

  74. [74] 
    Kick wrote:

    goode trickle
    77

    That wake up ad is funny... but then again if I am correct it would be hard for it not to be with Stephen Root behind the mask.

    I kept wondering to myself over and over: Who was that masked man? He seemed so familiar. Yes! That's it; you nailed it. :)

  75. [75] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    Report: Coronavirus infected scores of children and staff at Georgia sleep-away camp

    A new report suggests that children of all ages are susceptible to coronavirus infection and may also spread it to others — a finding likely to intensify an already fraught discussion about the risks of sending children back to school this fall.

    The analysis, released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, details an outbreak at a sleep-away camp in Georgia last month in which 260 children and staffers — more than three-quarters of the 344 tested — contracted the virus less than a week after spending time together in close quarters. The children had a median age of 12.

    The camp had required all 597 campers and staff members to provide documentation that they had tested negative for the virus before coming. Staff were required to wear masks, but children were not.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/31/georgia-children-covid-outbreak/

    So much for the belief that kids cannot be infected with the virus.

  76. [76] 
    Kick wrote:

    Russ

    It's getting so close, Russ! I can hardly wait for signing day of the "full and complete healthcare plan" that Donald Trump said he was signing.

    Excuse me. You heard me yesterday. We're signing a healthcare plan within two weeks, a full and complete healthcare plan.

    ~ Donald Trump, July 19, 2020

    *

    A full and complete healthcare plan in 3... 2... 1!

  77. [77] 
    Kick wrote:
Comments for this article are closed.