Charlottesville

[Guinevere]

Anybody but Trump? Was it not "Anybody but Hillary" that helped give us Trump?

And please note that Baltimore, with no fanfare or crowd action, removed the city's Civil War memorial statures. Four of them last night. Just do the right thing.

snailgate

I posted about Baltimore, two pages back. But there was more to it. The City Council has been considering the question for the past year, and on Sunday there was a rally at the Lee and Jackson statues (of supposedly 1000 people) demanding the removal. On Monday night the City Council voted to undergo the removal ASAP and the Mayor executed her mission immediately.

[BoSoxGal]

Anybody but Trump? Was it not "Anybody but Hillary" that helped give us Trump?

And please note that Baltimore, with no fanfare or crowd action, removed the city's Civil War memorial statures. Four of them last night. Just do the right thing.

snailgate

I just learned today that in the past couple of years - possibly in response to the removal of Confederate flags following the massacre in Charleston - a number of states have passed laws making it criminal to remove Confederate monuments, memorials, etc. except in very specific circumstances. It's apparently a law such as that in Virginia that is holding up the removal of the statue of the Traitor Lee in Charlottesville - the city is fighting it in court.

Hopefully cities and towns without the burden of such legislation will remove these relics of racism with all due haste, but in some places it's going to take organizing, lobbying and new legislation to make it possible.

[MajGenl.Meade]

All American monuments and statues should be torn down, including Mt. Rushmore - they're all traitors
- George III

[Jarlaxle]

How much more so is that true of "demonstrators" who tool up for violence from the get-go?

I don't have a problem with that at all, if it's applied as a, "we don't allow anyone participating in any demonstration to carry these items into the demonstration area" way. (I believe some municipalities are already doing this.)

I'm uncomfortable not with the concept of prohibiting weapons or logically implied potential weapons from demonstrations in general...

Just with the concept of having the government pick and choose which "kinds of events" trigger these prohibitions....

Which would, of course, be a back-door ban on carrying most protest SIGNS!

[Jarlaxle]

A whole bunch of those Nazis were packing serious firearm weaponry Friday and Saturday, so I'd say it's a blessing the violence was only as horrific as it was - the Nazi in the Vice report flat out asserts that a lot more people are going to die before they achieve their goals.

I'm very glad I live in a liberal state with strict gun control laws so I don't have to worry that the Nazis on the Common Saturday are packing firearms.

I'm in Chelsea and Somerville tomorrow...what caliber do you want? Gimme three hundred bucks cash and I can get anything you ask for, on my lunch break. (Up to and including FA.)

[MajGenl.Meade]

Which would, of course, be a back-door ban on carrying most protest SIGNS!

So write 'em on cardboard and carry them in the bare hands.

[Lord Jim]

US military service chiefs condemn racism, stand up for military values after Charlottesville

The heads of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have weighed in on Twitter in the wake of last weekend's violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia, condemning racism and standing up for military values.

It is rare for the nation's top military leaders to weigh in on political events because of the Department of Defense's tradition of remaining apolitical.

Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, first posted on Saturday night, calling the events in Charlottesville "unacceptable" and saying the U.S. Navy "stands against intolerance and hatred."

Gen. Mark Milley, the Army's chief of staff, tweeted Wednesday morning, "The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775."

Also weighing in was Gen. Robert Neller, commandant of the Marine Corps, who posted on social media Tuesday, shortly after it was reported that a leader of a white supremacist group -- whose members marched in Charlottesville over the weekend -- was a former Marine recruiter.

Neller tweeted that there is "no place for racial hatred or extremism" in the Marines.

Former Staff Sgt. Dillon Hopper, the reported leader of the neo-Nazi group "Vanguard America," served in the Marine Corps for 11 years and completed two deployments, later becoming a recruiter.

The Marines issued a statement in response to Hopper's service, condemning hate and extremist groups.

"We are proud of the fact that Marines come from every race, creed, cultural background and walk of life," the statement said, adding, "The guidance to Marines is clear: participation in supremacist or extremist organizations or activities is a violation of Department of Defense/Marine Corps orders and will lead to mandatory processing for separation."

This morning, Gen. Dave Goldfein, chief of staff for the Air Force, joined his fellow service chiefs, saying "I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we're always stronger together. it's who we are as Airmen." and espousing Air Force values of "integrity, service and excellence."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/us-military-se ... d=49250803

It would be grossly inappropriate for the heads of the uniformed armed services to publicly condemn the Commander-In-Chief by name, (even our current miserable excuse for a Commander-In-Chief) but these statements by the chiefs, issued in the current national political context, represent an extraordinary public rebuke....

On the other hand, political leaders are under no such name and shame constraints...

(I'm lookin' at you Paul and Mitch...)

[BoSoxGal]

A whole bunch of those Nazis were packing serious firearm weaponry Friday and Saturday, so I'd say it's a blessing the violence was only as horrific as it was - the Nazi in the Vice report flat out asserts that a lot more people are going to die before they achieve their goals.

I'm very glad I live in a liberal state with strict gun control laws so I don't have to worry that the Nazis on the Common Saturday are packing firearms.

I'm in Chelsea and Somerville tomorrow...what caliber do you want? Gimme three hundred bucks cash and I can get anything you ask for, on my lunch break. (Up to and including FA.)

An ounce of purple kush?

I'm ok without a gun, my stalker lives over two thousand miles away and is now under state supervision.

[Guinevere]

It would be grossly inappropriate for the heads of the uniformed armed services to publicly condemn the Commander-In-Chief by name, (even our current miserable excuse for a Commander-In-Chief) but these statements by the chiefs, issued in the current national political context, represent an extraordinary public rebuke....

On the other hand, political leaders are under no such name and shame constraints...

(I'm lookin' at you Paul and Mitch...)

They won't. As that great moral leader John Kasich said yesterday "you don't turn your back on the President."
http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch ... the-people

Sorry John, but sometime you do. This time, you must.

They are all weak bastards who care more about their own power and control than they care about this country, the rule of law, and the Constitution.

[Crackpot]

I'm ok without a gun, my stalker lives over two thousand miles away and is now under state supervision.

I thought Vermont was closer to Mass. than that.

[BoSoxGal]

Shhhhh! I'm hoping that freak has moved on by now . . .

[Lord Jim]

"you don't turn your back on the President."

Gee, when I read that I thought, "Wow, that looks like John is defending Trump. That sure doesn't sound like him."

Good thing I followed the link and read the rest of what he said, from which that one sentence was pulled:

Kasich: Trump needs to ‘listen to the people’

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Wednesday urged President Trump to listen to the American people after Trump held a defiant press conference in which he said there is "blame on both sides" for the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Va.

"President Trump needs to listen to the people before he takes this presidency in a place that is not acceptable for our country," Kasich said on NBC's "Today."

The Ohio governor said he is speaking out as aggressively as he can and hopes that he can "provide courage" to others.

"He is our president, but I want to say that he needs to correct what he has said," Kasich said.

"He's got to understand what the people of this country want, and he's got to bring us together."

But, Kasich added, you can't "turn your back" on the president.

"You're going to speak clearly and bluntly and say get your act together," Kasich said.

And here's some more of what Kasich said:

On Wednesday, Kasich said Trump needs “to understand it’s not about winning an argument.”

“The president of the United States needs to condemn these kind of hate groups,” Kasich said. “Think about what you have seen.”

“This is about the fact that now these folks are apparently going to go other places and they think that they had some sort of a victory,” he added. “There is no moral equivalency between the KKK, the neo-Nazis, and anybody else. Anybody else is not the issue. These folks went there to disrupt.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kasich-rips- ... 35832.html

[Lord Jim]

failure to disavow his Nazi and racist supporters is neither a criminal nor an impeachable offense --

No it's not, (though a Censure resolution certainly shouldn't be out of the question) but what this episode hopefully will do, is further drive down his support numbers, enhancing the chances that the things he has done that are Impeachable, (like obstruction of justice and witness intimidation) will lead to that Impeachment.

ETA:

What a difference a day makes:

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump Aug 15

For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump 16h16 hours ago

Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!

Gee whiz, I guess there weren't that "many" lined up to "take their place" after all

[Lord Jim]

The Mad King provides more evidence for invoking the 25th Amendment...

Trump thought he aced that press conference

On Monday, President Trump held a press conference to declare racism "evil" and to directly condemn "the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists." On Tuesday, Trump held another press conference, during which he snapped at reporters as he insisted that "both sides" were to blame for the deadly violence at Saturday's white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In Trump's opinion, Tuesday's was the more successful of the two press conferences, Politico reported:

Trump, however, was in "good spirits" on Tuesday night, according to a White House adviser who spoke to him. The adviser said the president felt the news conference went much better than his statement on Monday, in which he declared that “racism is evil” and denounced certain hate groups by name. Aides had pressured Trump to deliver the statement after his initial remarks on Saturday — in which he blamed "many sides" for the fatal protests in Charlottesville — set off a firestorm.

The president was not alone in his pleasure at the news conference. Chief strategist Steve Bannon, whose nationalistic views helped shape Trump's presidential campaign, was thrilled with the remarks, according to a friend of Bannon.

To be clear: The press conference the president thought "went much better" was not the one that at which he confirmed that "hatred, bigotry, and violence" have "no place in America," but the one that former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke heartily praised.- Becca Stanek

http://theweek.com/speedreads/718818/tr ... conference

[Guinevere]

"you don't turn your back on the President."

Gee, when I read that I thought, "Wow, that looks like John is defending Trump. That sure doesn't sound like him."

Good thing I followed the link and read the rest of what he said, from which that one sentence was pulled:

Kasich: Trump needs to ‘listen to the people’

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) on Wednesday urged President Trump to listen to the American people after Trump held a defiant press conference in which he said there is "blame on both sides" for the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Va.

"President Trump needs to listen to the people before he takes this presidency in a place that is not acceptable for our country," Kasich said on NBC's "Today."

The Ohio governor said he is speaking out as aggressively as he can and hopes that he can "provide courage" to others.

"He is our president, but I want to say that he needs to correct what he has said," Kasich said.

"He's got to understand what the people of this country want, and he's got to bring us together."

But, Kasich added, you can't "turn your back" on the president.

"You're going to speak clearly and bluntly and say get your act together," Kasich said.

And here's some more of what Kasich said:

On Wednesday, Kasich said Trump needs “to understand it’s not about winning an argument.”

“The president of the United States needs to condemn these kind of hate groups,” Kasich said. “Think about what you have seen.”

“This is about the fact that now these folks are apparently going to go other places and they think that they had some sort of a victory,” he added. “There is no moral equivalency between the KKK, the neo-Nazis, and anybody else. Anybody else is not the issue. These folks went there to disrupt.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kasich-rips- ... 35832.html

Again, words not deeds. Saying "you don't turn your back on the President" is exactly the problem your party and this country has. It means they will continue along with his insanity and NOT move towards impeachment. It's a huge problem and incredibly discouraging - not sure why you can't seem to see that.

[Crackpot]

I would think that with trump the reason you don't turn your back on him is that you might find a knife in it.

[Big RR]

failure to disavow his Nazi and racist supporters is neither a criminal nor an impeachable offense --


No it's not, (though a Censure resolution certainly shouldn't be out of the question) but what this episode hopefully will do, is further drive down his support numbers, enhancing the chances that the things he has done that are Impeachable, (like obstruction of justice and witness intimidation) will lead to that Impeachment.

Of course, impeachment is solely the province of the legislature, and if Congress chose to impeach or even remove him from office on account of it, I don't think anything could stop them short of an armed coup. As I recall, the courts have no say in this regard as it is a power given exclusively to the Congress.

[Bicycle Bill]

Gen. Mark Milley, the Army's chief of staff, tweeted Wednesday morning, "The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775."

So tell me, General Milley, just when was it that the US Army became fully integrated?

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, it was a few years before the USA........

[rubato]

Truman began the process:

Executive Order 9981 was an executive order issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. It abolished racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the services.

yrs,
rubato