All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[InvincibleDom]

At the expense of African slaves.

EXACTLY what I was thinking. Bravo.

[skyvolt2000]

Only if you want to read it that way, it is admittedly vague but it should have been clear if you weren't trying to GOTCHA! with what you obviously considered a clever trick question. Anyway at least 3 have responded to you in the past on this board alone if you want to go back and look. That should be proof enough that they exist even for you, and it required as much thought to remember that as it did to realize your question's answer is 'Yes' even if one single person disagrees with you.

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/544266...emacist-future

James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, says that the increase in statues and monuments was clearly meant to send a message.

"These statues were meant to create legitimate garb for white supremacy," Grossman said. "Why would you put a statue of Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson in 1948 in Baltimore?"

Thousands of Marylanders fought in the Civil War, as NPR's Bill Chappell noted, but nearly three times as many fought for the Union as for the Confederacy.

In an interview with NPR, Dailey said it's impossible to separate symbols of the Confederacy from the values of white supremacy. In comparing Robert E. Lee to Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson on Tuesday, President Trump doesn't seem to feel the same.

Dailey pointed to an 1861 speech by Alexander Stephens, who would go on to become vice president of the Confederacy.

"[Our new government's] foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man," Stevens said, in Savannah, Ga. "That slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact...ce-civil-righ/

"Organizations like the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans came into being," said Charles S. Bullock, III, a professor of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia. "Civil War veterans were honored in parades. There is a Confederate Memorial Day which pre-dates the National Memorial Day."

But as a victorious North fixed its gaze on a prosperous future, the American South was mired in poverty that would persist for generations. The monuments were a way to look back to an idealized past.

"Tributes to the Confederacy — placing statues, naming streets and other public facilities — were part of the Lost Cause ideology that focused on an idyllic era of stately mansions, beautiful women and gallant Confederate officers," Bullock said.

But the monuments also implicitly symbolized slavery and white violence, the experts said.

https://www.artnome.com/news/2017/8/...atues-of-women

Of the 5,193 public statues of historical figures in the United States, over 700 (13.5%) are of Confederate soldiers.

https://www.splcenter.org/sites/defa...itage_splc.pdf

[InvincibleDom]

considering a lot of them were put up from 1900 on....again, I wouldn't consider it reprisal, but a continued campaign of intimidation of black people

because if there is one thing rednecks love more than shooting things, its making sure us black folk "know our place"

I am also curious what people who think it coincidence would imagine the "smoking gun" would look like. Certain things just don't call for the type of causation necessary to point to an issue definitively. Do you really think the politicians at the time would actually write a letter and say, "we put this monument up to intimidate the minorities"? I understand the problems associated with correlation versus causation but I also understand Occam's Razor... less we be inundated with more and more abstract hypotheses about the reason for their prevalence during these time periods.

[InvincibleDom]

... [ALL DEM FACTS]...

Bravo! Thanks for pointing to the most logical conclusion for what such things are about.

[Kal-El Summers]

considering a lot of them were put up from 1900 on....again, I wouldn't consider it reprisal, but a continued campaign of intimidation of black people

because if there is one thing rednecks love more than shooting things, its making sure us black folk "know our place"

There's nothing quite like riding through a hillbilly town deep in the heart of Alabama, stopping at one of the few traffic lights, and hearing the sound of a shotgun being cocked while the bastard leans against a post on his porch staring with a very obvious murderous intent.

[Dalak]

http://www.npr.org/2017/08/20/544266...emacist-future

http://www.politifact.com/punditfact...ce-civil-righ/

https://www.artnome.com/news/2017/8/...atues-of-women

https://www.splcenter.org/sites/defa...itage_splc.pdf

Thanks for the links, not that I think the poster who needs to be convinced here will actually accept any of it. When you use the phrase 'Anti-Confederate Narrative' in anything close to a serious sense, you've pretty much made it clear where you stand.

[Malvolio]

Implied in my next phrase, "regardless of (one) source of that prosperity."

But that one source is kind of important, isn't it?

But listen. It's one thing to offend someone unintentionally. But when you're made aware that you've offended, but continue to do so because it wasn't your original intention? You're kind of being a dick.

[BeastieRunner]

Collins said Hell no to the zombie vote.

Bill is dead again.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Have we cracked 80 repeal attempts yet? I feel like we've stopped counting around 60.

It sure feels like we've reached at least 70 in terms of attempts. Look for that number to grow. Meanwhile....

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‘We Are Outraged’: Thousands Of Faith Leaders Oppose GOP Health Care Bill

The religious leaders’ open letter said the bill would force “America’s most vulnerable people to face unnecessary and immoral obstacles.”

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The NFL Has Always Been Political

Those who decry the “politicization of sports” are only mad that it’s black athletes now. Exactly. Those whiners and complainers clearly want black athletes to keep quiet, stay in their place and not rock the boat. Meanwhile....

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Trump Says Russians Didn’t Help Him Win. His Intelligence Agencies Say Yes They Did.

Lost in the president’s attacks on pro football are his most far-reaching denials yet about Russian involvement in his election.

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Trump Hits Puerto Rico For ‘Broken Infrastructure & Massive Debt’

President claims the island is “doing well” with food, water and medical needs. What the flying **** is this ****? Puerto Rico was wrecked and Trump slams them? Then there's this:

Trump also didn’t use his social media presence to encourage his followers to donate to Puerto Ricans in need.

That clown has GOT to go!

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Hillary Clinton Calls Kushner Email Revelations ‘The Height Of Hypocrisy’

Her comments came just hours before reports that at least six Trump officials had used private emails. Can't argue that, not in the slightest.

[TheInvisibleMan]

I am also curious what people who think it coincidence would imagine the "smoking gun" would look like. Certain things just don't call for the type of causation necessary to point to an issue definitively. Do you really think the politicians at the time would actually write a letter and say, "we put this monument up to intimidate the minorities"? I understand the problems associated with correlation versus causation but I also understand Occam's Razor... less we be inundated with more and more abstract hypotheses about the reason for their prevalence during these time periods.

of course not

its always easier to wrap racism up in "heritage" and "tradition"

its an easier sell

[TheInvisibleMan]

There's nothing quite like riding through a hillbilly town deep in the heart of Alabama, stopping at one of the few traffic lights, and hearing the sound of a shotgun being cocked while the bastard leans against a post on his porch staring with a very obvious murderous intent.

OR driving to Florida with some friends, stopping in Georgia for gas, and getting a friendly warning from a local deputy for us to fill up at this station and not stop for the next 3 counties

and he was legit nice about it, the warning was heartfelt

[Tami]

Trevor Noah Calls Out the ‘Sneaky Racism’ in Trump’s Response to NFL Players Taking a Knee

If you woke up this morning curious if the president of your country is still more concerned with athletes standing for a flag and national anthem than the welfare of the citizens both totems are meant to represent, congratulations, you might just live in America. Today continues Donald Trump’s war on the NFL, and specifically its black players who have taken a knee during the national anthem in protest of the systemic killing of black people by police, which recently turned ugly when Trump referred to these players as “sons of bitches” who should be fired. His response has left Trevor Noah wondering: When, exactly, is it convenient for white people for black people to exercise their First Amendment right?

Noah’s investigation turned up a telling pattern in white critics’ arguments — that black players are “ungrateful.” He asks, “Ungrateful to whom? This idea that black people should be grateful is some sneaky ass racism. Because when a white billionaire spends a year screaming that America is a disaster, he’s in touch with the country. But when a black man kneels quietly, he should be grateful for the successes America has allowed him to have?” Noah also pointed out the hypocrisy in Trump’s reaction to the NFL protest compared with his comments after white nationalists clashed with protesters in Charlottesville: “If Donald Trump’s greatest concern is the disrespecting of the American flag, you know what should really piss him off? The Confederate flag.”

[Tami]

[Tami]

[Tami]

Trump's State-Tax Plan Could Cause Headaches for 52 Republican Lawmakers

President Donald Trump’s promised tax overhaul may force dozens of Republican congressmen in states including New York and New Jersey into a politically damaging vote to repeal a $1.3 trillion tax break their districts use heavily.

But not if Representative Peter King of New York can help it. King, a Republican who represents Long Island, said he’ll oppose any attempt to repeal the state and local tax deduction, calling it “absolutely essential to my district.”

King is one of 52 Republicans -- more than enough to scuttle any bill that lacks Democratic support -- who hail from districts that use the state tax deduction disproportionately. He thinks enough of those Republican colleagues will band together to keep its repeal out of any comprehensive tax legislation this fall, complicating GOP plans.

“I can’t vote for a bill that would eliminate the state and local tax deduction,” King said in an interview. In New Jersey, where lawmakers say losing the break would increase taxes on the average taxpayer by $3,500 per year, Representative Leonard Lance says he’ll also work to save the so-called SALT deduction. But would Lance vote against a tax-overhaul bill that repeals it?

“Let’s just say I would have the gravest of reservations,” said Lance, whose constituents reported paying $4.9 billion in state and local taxes in 2015, the highest amount of any Republican congressional district.

If they and like-minded Republicans prevail, any tax-overhaul bill -- which Trump and Republican congressional leaders plan to preview on Wednesday -- may have to be sharply curtailed. The White House and lawmakers have avoided confirming details of their tax-bill framework, but lobbyists citing multiple leaks have said it will target a corporate tax rate of 20 percent or so, down from the current 35 percent. It would also provide middle-class tax relief and substantial rate cuts for many of the highest ear