Flap your Lips Friday
Posted by Michelle Moquin on September 16th, 2016
Happy Friday, Everyone!
Being that it’s Friday, I thought this write would get your lips flapping.
From The Guardian:
9/11 tapes reveal raw and emotional Hillary Clinton
We partnered with WNYC to look back at Clinton’s time at Ground Zero – a far cry from the controlled figure now a step away from the presidency
Hillary Clinton listens to firefighters during a tour of the World Trade Center disaster site in September 2001. Photograph: Reuters
Andrea Bernstein, senior editor politics and policy for WNYC, listens back to Hillary Clinton’s comments in the wake of 9/11. If you are experiencing audio issues in Safari please try an alternative browser.
The Clinton who emerges from the WNYC tapes is passionate, raw and unrestrained. Above all, she is livid. She had just learned that the Bush administration instructed officials of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reassure New Yorkers after 9/11 that the air over Ground Zero was safe. In fact, they had a pretty good idea that it was a toxic pall of asbestos, cement, glass dust, heavy metals, fuels and PCBs.
“I am outraged,” Clinton went on. “In the immediate aftermath, the first couple of days, nobody could know. But a week later? Two weeks later? Two months later? Six months later? Give me a break!”
Of all the varied chapters of Clinton’s tumultuous 30 years in public life, the story of her response to the attacks on the twin towers is one of the richest in terms of the clues it provides as to what to expect from a Clinton presidency. It reveals elements of her character, of her domestic policy strengths, as well as her tendency to lean towards the hawkish side in international affairs.
As the 15th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the memories of those days, and her role in them, remain fresh for many who stood by her side. Richard Alles was on the smoldering pile on 12 September, the day after the attacks, when Clinton turned up and proclaimed: “This attack on New York is an attack on America, it’s an attack on every American.”
Hillary Clinton greets New York City firefighters at the funeral for department chaplain the Rev Mychal Judge, who died at the World Trade Center. Photograph: Dave Hogan/Getty Images
Then a uniformed firefighter with battalion 58 in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Alles arrived at Ground Zero 20 minutes after the second tower collapsed. He stayed there for two days and nights, seeking survivors amid the ruins. What struck him most about Clinton that day, he said, was what he called her “compassion”.
“She really went out of her way to speak to the first responders on the site to reassure them,” he said. “I never forgot it.”
Alles was also struck by how Clinton quickly grasped the potential health risks of Ground Zero, and how doggedly she pursued treatment for those who suffered. “We all knew from the get-go that the air was contaminated,” he said, “but we had a job to do so we kept on working. Senator Clinton was at the forefront over dealing with it, she showed herself to be a fighter.”
On 9/11, Peter Gorman was president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association of New York City, a union that represents largely white, blue-collar workers of the sort who today might back Donald Trump. The union had pointedly put its weight behind Clinton’s opponent in the 2000 senatorial race, Republican Rick Lazio.
Yet Gorman recalls being pleasantly surprised by Clinton’s commitment, both in terms of her mastery of policy detail and on a personal level. “She would call me on my cellphone to ask how I was doing, how my members were doing,” he said. “One time I was pumping gas at a Texaco station, it was Christmas Eve, and she wanted to know how things were going. When a senator calls someone on my level, that’s impressive.”
That same personal care made a profound impression on Lauren Manning, one of very few people who survived severe injuries from the planes crashing into the towers. She was engulfed by a fireball of jet fuel as she was entering the elevators in the north tower to go up to work at Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 105th floor.
She was burned on 83% of her body; 658 of her colleagues died.
A few months later, Manning was in treatment at the Burke rehabilitation hospital in White Plains, New York, when she had a visitor. Clinton walked into her small hospital room and “embraced me as best she could”, she said. “She was kind and gentle, and she very specifically said to me that she was here for me and that she would remain at my side.”
Manning, who gave a keynote speech on behalf of Clinton at the Democratic national convention in July, said that her most vivid memory was of the senator’s eyes.
Hillary Clinton attends a memorial event at Ground Zero. Photograph: Jennifer S. Altman/WireImage
“I was covered and swathed in bandages,” she said, “dealing with a great deal of pain, but she captured me with her eyes. They were wide open and expressive, and they remained on mine. She didn’t lose sight of what I was saying to her. To me, that was the mark of somebody who is sincere, who you want on your side.”
Having declared 9/11 to be an attack on all Americans, Clinton soon discovered that the national response was not entirely united or favorable to struggling New Yorkers. The head of the EPA at the time, Christine Todd Whitman, repeatedly insisted the air at Ground Zero was safe even as early as three days after the towers collapsed, as did Mayor Rudy Giuliani despite worries within City Hall that they were facing thousands of liability claims.
Confronted by this wall of denial, Clinton was one of the most powerful voices warning of an impending health crisis. Ben Chevat, chief of staff to congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York on 9/11, recalls the impact.
“The Bush administration was saying, ‘There’s no problem, move along’,” he said, “and so it was hard work getting any traction in the media. Yet we knew there was a problem because people were getting sick with respiratory diseases and cancers.”
Chevat, now executive director of 9/11 Health Watch, said: “It took Clinton to put a spotlight on the issue and change the frame.”
‘She was a sponge for knowledge’
Clinton and her allies started small but over time succeeded in dramatically expanding the health program for those who became ill after
9/11. Within weeks of the attacks she had helped secure $12m for a pilot project at Mount Sinai hospital, screening some 9,000 workers with suspected Ground Zero illnesses.
By April 2004 the program had grown to a $90m fund offering three free medical exams a year to 50,000 first responders and residents of lower Manhattan. In 2010, Clinton having passed on the baton to her successor in the US senate, Kirsten Gillibrand, reluctant Republicans in Congress were cajoled into passing the $4bn Zadroga Act, covering the health costs of those impaired by the toxic fumes. Last year the program was extended for 75 years, and now serves 65,000 emergency responders and almost 10,000 9/11 resident survivors.
Philip Landrigan, who hosted the first World Trade Center medical program at Mount Sinai, puts this success story in no small part down to Clinton’s relentless pursuit of the subject coupled with her attention to detail.
“She was angry at the Washington political leaders who would come to Ground Zero, have photos taken and then go back to DC and do nothing,” he said.
Hillary Clinton tours the site of the World Trade Center the day after 9/11 with Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Governor George Pataki, left. Photograph: Robert F Bukaty/AFP/Getty Images
“She became deeply knowledgable on the subject, not just fiscal and administrative details, but also about medical and mental health problems. She was a sponge for knowledge.”
Clinton’s powerful engagement in the 9/11 health cause makes for a strong contrast with how her presidential rival, Donald Trump, spent his time in the wake of the terrorist attacks. He used a loophole in federal funding to help small businesses hurt by the disaster to claim $150,000 in subsidies for a Wall Street real estate project.
Yet when it comes to this year’s presidential race, several of the people who worked closely with Clinton after 9/11 said they were puzzled by her struggle to win over voters. As a senator operating on the ground, and one to one, she came across as an effective and empathetic leader, they said. Writ large across the nation, her persona struggled to come across.
“She may not be the most natural politician,” said former firefighters union president Peter Gorman. “I regret that sometimes she doesn’t come across well in front of a crowd as people don’t know her as so many of us do.”
Alles, the firefighter, put her troubles with popularity in 2016 – she has anunfavorable rating of 55%, according to the RealClearPolitics.com average of polls – down to the criticism she has endured from political opponents and enemies over decades, from Whitewater in the 1990s to Benghazi and the email controversy today. He doubted many of his fellow firefighters would back her in November, as the good work she did after 9/11 has faded from view.
“Younger fire officers aren’t aware of what she did as senator,” he said. “While they were growing up all they heard was this bad stuff about Clinton – the damage has been done.”
What hasn’t faded from view is something else that has frequently bugged Clinton: her vote in October 2002 to authorize the use of military force in Iraq, a resolution that paved the way for the invasion the following year. The controversial decision – the hardest of her political life, she has said – was predicated on her response to the collapse of the twin towers.
As she told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, the 9/11 attacks “marked me, and made me feel [fighting terrorism] was my No1 obligation as a senator”.
Micah Zenko, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who has studied Clinton’s changing approach to Iraq, suggested her views were more nuanced and thoughtful than she has been credited for. He pointed to her speech to the Senate floor before casting her war vote.
Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer bow their heads during a moment of silence at Ground Zero. Photograph: Ruth Fremson/AP
“She emphasizes the UN and sanctions route, and doesn’t emphasise neo-conservative nation building,” he said. “She was very conscious that this was not a blank check.”
On the other hand, Clinton continued to support the military escapade in Iraq until 2005 and only fully disavowed her vote a couple of years ago, when she wrote in her memoir Hard Choices that she “got it wrong”. That she continues to wrestle with this vexed subject, and her record on it, was shown on Wednesday night when she used a foreign policy town hall in New York City to state bluntlythat she would not put US ground troops into Iraq “ever again”.
That has not assuaged anti-war campaigners who were active in 2002 and 2003. They are still angry about Clinton’s pro-war vote, given the warnings they raised at the time.
“There were many concerns raised, and one of the biggest was that little wars lead to big wars and big wars lead to bigger wars and this is going to be a quagmire,” said Leslie Cagan, co-chair of the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice. “There is no endgame here … and of course that’s what happened.”
As early as 2004, Clinton was back on the Brian Lehrer show slamming the Bush administration again, this time for having misled the American people over weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein’s purported links to al-Qaida. “There wouldn’t have been a vote … if everything we knew now had been known then,” she said.
But that further peeves the anti-war campaigners because it ignores the fact that before the invasion happened they were sounding the alarm about precisely those issues.
As Cagan put it: “There were many warnings: don’t do this, don’t go into Iraq, don’t start a war that doesn’t need to be started. It wasn’t like you couldn’t hear that, if you were listening.”
- Andrea Bernstein is the senior editor, politics and policy, for WNYC
❤️♀💪🏽
Readers: Hillary is a true public servant. She’s done a thousand times more for the American people than what’s his face. (I’m tired of writing his name.) While she was helping those injured in 9/11, that traitor was busy milking the system to get a kickback setup by the federal government to help small business hurt by 9/11.
Why anyone would think he would be good for the economy…good for small business…good for anything is not thinking. Amazing how many people will vote against their best interest in the interest of keeping the country white and in control. Sigh…thank god Hillary’s got lots of supporters. And we won’t let that man bring this country to hell in the proverbial handbasket.
What’s your take? Blog me.
Peace out.
CORRECTION: I made a mistake a few days ago when I posted the naked photos of Trump. I noted that Trump claimed that Mark Rubio’s father was involved with the assassination of President Kennedy. It should have read: “Trump also claimed Ted Cruz’s father was involved with the assassination of President Kennedy.” My apologies.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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September 16th, 2016 at 10:40 am
Correction accepted. Love this blog. You are my favorite blog host.
I like you style and the way you handle yourself.
September 16th, 2016 at 10:59 am
Hafa adai, OOG – A foreign species of aggressive wasp recently found on island is likely to stick around for a while, according to scientists at the University of Guam.
Eradicating the class of predator called vespa tropica, or more commonly known as the greater banded hornet, is an unlikely endeavor, given the financial resources and manpower available on island, University of Guam entomologist Aubrey Moore said during a presentation Thursday at the university.
The hornets are aggressive, especially to those who come near their colony or hive. A safe distance from the hive is about 10 meters, or roughly 30 feet.
Although there have been fatalities in other places, caused by the wasp’s venom from multiple stings, those with bee and wasp allergies are more susceptible to life-threatening danger near the wasps, Moore said.
Some of the first colonies of the banded wasps were found in Upper Tumon and near the LeoPalace Resort Guam, but there have been at least a dozen sightings within recent months, all within the central part of the island.
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
GovGuam develops plan to combat new hornet
Based on a delineating survey, which is meant to determine whether or not the species needs to be eradicated, Moore said it’s possible to eradicate the wasps, but not with currently available resources.
“Eradication is sometimes cheap if you find it soon enough,” Moore said during the planning meeting with several government agency heads. “I think eradication is possible, but not with the available resources.”
According to Ross Miller, another entomologist with the university, the cost to begin eradicating the wasps could range from $2 million to $5 million.
“I don’t think you can eradicate it. Insects are almost impossible to eradicate once they’re established,” he said, adding: “I’m guessing the cost is $2 to $5 million to even get started. We just don’t have those resources.”
The banded hornet prey on boonie bees — the local term for the paper wasp — and other wasp species by raiding nests and taking the other wasps’ larvae back to its own nests.
Moore explained that since the wasps feed on the boonie bees, the recent influx of wasps on island is expected to balance out. But once the population of boonie bees decreases, the number of wasps on island should decline as well.
“There will be a large population of hornets, and bees will start reducing,” Moore said. “We predict that this hornet is going to become quite common over the next few years and then it will crash.”
“The bottom line is it’s here to stay,” Miller added.
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
Invasive wasp species found on island
To discuss ways of combating the wasps, the Department of Agriculture and the entomologists met with government officials from agencies including the Guam Fire Department, Parks and Recreation and Guam Customs and Quarantine at UOG’s agriculture building.
At this point, Moore said, they’re conducting pest control by killing the wasps with pesticides and focusing on certain areas, such as school yards and hotels.
“Based on what we know so far, we don’t want to do nothing … if it’s not in a dangerous area, then leave it alone,” Moore said. “Eradication is probably not possible without our current resources. It’s too far gone, so we’re in the middle with pest control.”
Vespa tropica, or the greater banded hornet, is found
Vespa tropica, or the greater banded hornet, is found in China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, and the Philippines, according to the University of Guam. It was recently discovered on island for the time. (Photo: Courtesy of Olympia Terral)
The scientists asked the department heads to let their employees and field staff know to contact the agriculture agency’s biosecurity division, which works cooperatively with the university, if a hive or colony is identified.
The banded hornet can be identified by the bright, yellow band around its abdomen. They’re about five times bigger than boonie bees. Queens can be a littler larger than an inch in size, while worker wasps average just under an inch.
When it comes to removing the hives, which are quite large, Moore and Miller stressed that it’s dangerous to do so, even with the use of pesticides. Moore said the hives are structured with layers, and then are covered, providing protection from storms.
Typical bee suits are no match for these wasps either. The banded hornet’s stinger is much longer than a bee’s and can puncture a person’s skin through multiple layers of clothing.
Just recently a group of firefighters attempting to rescue a dog trapped in a ravine were attacked by a colony after one of the firefighters accidentally disrupted a hive on his way down the ravine’s cliff.
Firefighter Brandon Sanchez, who was being roped down the ravine, stumbled upon the hive and was severely attacked, getting stung multiple times. Sanchez’s fellow firefighters, who quickly pulled him back up, also were stung.
Sanchez and GFD Lt. Vince Leon Guerrero, who also got stung, attended the meeting and noted that they had to run at least 30 to 40 yards away before the wasps stopped chasing them.
The species usually is found in China, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and the Philippines, but Miller and Moore said they’re still unsure how it migrated to Guam.
One possibility is the wasps came through the port from other countries, but Miller noted that it’s possible one fertile queen could have launched the entire local population.
Despite the aggressiveness of the wasps and the risk to human health, Moore said he doesn’t necessarily consider them an invasive species because they’re not an agricultural pest.
“Personally, I don’t see this as real invasive species. The bigger problems, in my opinion, are little fire ants and rhino beetles,” he said. “If we don’t do anything about it, it’s going to kill 50 percent or more of our coconut plants.”
====================
All this and still the wasps are kicking their asses. ONLY ON GUAM.
September 16th, 2016 at 11:11 am
Damn Peter from Guam. You seem pissed.
September 16th, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Dépêchez mon amour, viens vite, viens rapidement . Montez les vents dans ces bras aimants.
En prévision humide , je vous attends!
xoxo
September 16th, 2016 at 4:35 pm
I didn’t catch the mistake, oops, glad you did, guess I was distracted by that angry inch!
She’s hawkish, no doubt, but at the time I think it was an evolving situation and an attack in the US was unusual (& shocking on ‘our soil’ though we do it to others regularly) and it was something that teed up Bush’s proclamation of wmd (based on faulty Intel) to start a war.
This is a whole other topic, it’d take hours to dissect it and how she and others were lead to make the war decision, so I’ll leave it there…
I am surprised by some of this content about HRC, her compassionate/empathetic side is not well publicized.
Peter on Guam, how is that firefighter who was lowered down to get the dog? (And the dog? I’m afraid to hear the answer to that Q) I read that article but it didn’t address either question.
Luv, Zen Lill
September 16th, 2016 at 6:13 pm
Let’s get this election over with.
September 16th, 2016 at 6:17 pm
Hafa adai Zen Lill. They all got bitten the s**t out of. OOG(Only On Guam) but the wasps are allowed to stay. They are foreign to the island. As such they have no natural enemies.
Look for this to be the next big headache. The island won’t do anything about it until they attack some tourist, then all hell will break loose. I wouldn’t be surprised if they called out the national guard.
September 16th, 2016 at 8:48 pm
Hafa Adai, Peter/Guam, so he made it, good. And you’re so right, if a tourist gets bitten up you’ll have a much bigger issue on your hands.
Lucy, I hear you and we are entering a crucial 6 week period now, the time I call the ‘eleventh hour’ bc you’re going to see some crazy and shady last minute bidness go down to turn this election.
Hilary will win anyway.
~ ZL
September 17th, 2016 at 8:18 am
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement Wednesday after Monsanto agreed to a buyout offer from Bayer in a deal that would create the world’s largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals:
“The attempted takeover of Monsanto by Bayer is a threat to all Americans. These mergers boost the profits of huge corporations and leave Americans paying even higher prices. Not only should this merger be blocked, but the Department of Justice should reopen its investigation of Monsanto’s monopoly over the seed and chemical market.”
September 17th, 2016 at 8:19 am
The M-B merger is definitely a step in the WRONG direction.
September 17th, 2016 at 9:56 am
As long as the bought and paid for republican controlled Congress is in control more of these situations will continue to occur.
White america is selling out the country to ensure they continue to receive those special privileges they took at the point of a gun.
Now that gun is the candidates they send to the various political positions across the country.
Only a Demographic change will save this country.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:02 am
Robert#11, sure you are right. I remember when Obama won in November 2012, Pat Buchanan said “‘White America’ Died Last Night.”
They are hoping for a resurrection with Donald Trump.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:08 am
Robert#11, maybe not. I remember a white man Lyndon B. Johnson who made a big change when he pushed through an all white Congress the Civil Right Act of 1964.
Not all of us are racist, bigots who don’t want to share the opportunities with our fellow citizens. Granted most of us may not want to give up those special privileges we enjoy because of the color of our skins, but all it takes is a determined person has the courage to act on his/her belief of Equality for All.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:09 am
Steve#12, Buchanan is a bigot—a racist, anti-Semitic creep. He’s chronologically old, but he’s one of those people who was born a bitter, ugly, little, shrunken, mean, horrid old man.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:10 am
Cynthia#13, nteresting that you picked LBJ as one of your standard-bearers. My daughter learned the n-word from him. She was assigned to write a report on his life for elementary school and listened to some of his tapes via YouTube to see what he was like. He called black people the n-word all the time.
But hey, Buchanan’s a creep and LBJ’s a hero, so I guess I shouldn’t have mentioned it.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:15 am
It seems most of white america is trying to get “their” POTUS back, meaning a white man. I didn’t think there were supposed to be different AMERICAS for different types of people. Some co workers of mine told a Latina co worker that President Obama was HER President.
That would mean NO ONE of color has ever had a president before, the President was only for White people until now. I was very insulted by that. I always considered the White Presidents “mine” also.
But the truth is probably somewhere in between. The previous white presidents were men who for the most part strove to keep the white privileges for white males.
One or two had a conscious, so we got some progress, but they never intended for OTWs and white women to be equals alongside of white males.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:16 am
Amy#15, Yes, LBJ was indeed a product of his time and environment; so that is why I celebrate his sociological seismic shift all the more.
How profound was it that this supporter of Jim Crow found within his heart and soul the compassion to put his political capital on the line to push through Congress the Voting and Civil Rights Acts.
Courage is not fighting for your beliefs. Courage is sincerely examining your beliefs — and changing them you recognize they’re wrong.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:17 am
Amy#15, In some cases, as your daughter discovered, LBJ was a product of his time. In other cases, LBJ was ahead of his time.
His deligence on passing the Civil Right Act of 1964 was a courageous and bold act which not only affects rights of all citizens but directly impacts our political landscape today (the extinction of Southern Democrats).
September 17th, 2016 at 10:22 am
I’m a male who once lived in your country. I was a doctor in Atlanta Georgia for 23 years. I left because I didn’t like the fact that racism was a big part of the practice of medicine there.
Since I discovered your blog 3 years ago, I seldom miss an article. I especially delight in your commentary as rare as it is.
Whenever you decide to tear into the status quo, I smile and say Score one for the good guys – who incidentally may be white, black, yellow… as well as female, child, etc.
The World needs more people thinking like you do. Keep up the good work, Michelle.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:24 am
Brian#17, Well put. If you want to read a very good book, Robert Caro’s latest, The Passage of Power, covers LBJ’s life during his transition from the Senate to the Vice Presidency, then to his Presidency (after JFK was assassinated).
Caro explains how LBJ got the civil-rights (and immigration-reform) legislation through Congress.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:27 am
I agree with Aleksander#19, Michelle. When I read your commentary I say silently to myself, “Thanks Michelle, it is good to get a fresh prespective.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:32 am
Michelle, thanks for this article. The attempt to make Hilary untrustworthy is working for the most part. This election is about bigotry, racism, and white privilege. Donald Trump is the symbol for that cause.
It seems most of us whites will vote away our financial and national security in order to retain our white privileges.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:39 am
Aleksander#19, I too often read one of Michelle’s “rants” and feel. Wow! Awesome, powerful, impassioned statement. What more can we say?
September 17th, 2016 at 10:41 am
Amy#15, LBJ may have begun his political career at one phase of his cultural identity, but he decided not to remain there.
Given the era, and the decisions he made to encourage the Civil Rights Act – which was very unpopular within many white American circles, he demonstrated the moral courage to do what was right.
He elected to grow in his thinking and changed his actions. These are some of the characteristics of a leader. Actually, Cynthia#13 chose an excellent example.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:44 am
Amy#15, While it may be true that LBJ used the n-word (by the way, probably my least favorite word), one must place this in the context of history.
I’m sure he wasn’t the only one at the time who did so. Doesn’t make it right, even through our lens. And I wouldn’t say he’s a hero. But he did sign the Civil Rights act.
And Michelle, I too want to thank you so much for your eloquent statements.
September 17th, 2016 at 10:53 am
I wish that we could truthfully say that Patrick Buchanan’s way of thinking had gone the way of the dinosaur. But this election tells us different.
This powerful, angry, racist and bigoted group for whom he speaks have bided their time since the Obama victory of 2012 until an opportune moment (such as the appearance of a crude in your face racist ).
Now the worst elements of the group appear in the form of a violent, extremist movement determined to do anything to get their guy elected. If they can get him elected, they will attempt to turn the clock back to the times when white male rule was unchallenged in the hands of the police and the courts.
How do I know this? Because people in Weimar Germany were saying that anti-Semitism was old and dying out, and yet, all it took for the Nazis to rise to power was propaganda, fear of Marxism and a terrible economy.
What is America other than propaganda, fear of Marxism and a bad economy? Yes, people, it IS time to be afraid!
September 17th, 2016 at 10:57 am
This is a very powerful Article Michelle. I’m also touched by the outpouring of emotion and support for our President. It is my belief that we have the responsibility to correct our so-called friends when they spout racist comments.
Racism is a learned behavior and as long as people are tolerant of racist comments from their so-called friends, they allow racism to live in America. It is time to put people like trump in their place and stop accepting their remarks and covering for them with Statements like “that’s just trump being trump, not politically correct.”
Believe it or not, when those racist friends talk to others, they’ll mention you as a supporter of their remarks since you’ve never taken the opportunity to correct them. Think about it, then get involved.
September 17th, 2016 at 11:00 am
Whenever I read or hear trump, I remember these words that have been attributed to English Literature:
“I do not like thee Dr. Fell, the reason why I cannot tell.
But this I know and know real well, I do not like thee, Dr. Fell”.
It is sad that trump with his privileged birth and wealth is not “comfortable” in his own white skin, thus in order to feel superior, he seeks to diminish and demean those of us who are black and/or other people of color.
One day, trump’s obituary will be written. When Alfred Nobel read his own obiturary that was printed by mistake and he saw that up to that point, his greatest contribution to society was listed as a participant in the creation of dynamite, he introduced the Nobel Prizes.”Trump, and you?”
September 17th, 2016 at 11:05 am
America is neither “White” nor “Black”!
It is America, a place where we all live, work, get educated and co-exist with each other regardless of the amount of melanin in our skin.
We try not to visually reject each other any more, we now try to take a few minutes to listen to words that come out of our mouths and our compassion for our America regardless of color that we support.
We are evloving into the America that it should have been created to be, a land of the free and the brave!!
Our America is one of hope for a better future for all of our children. If the Republican Party is defining themselves as “White,” then shame on them!!
They have made this election about color. It should be about ideals! ~We are an America where everyone can Dream, Believe and Achieve.
Amen to the comments by Brain#17, who reminds us all that racism is a learned behavior.