Lockdown Update Day 327

[elisi]

Today we went for a walk in the park (sidebar: what it's like living in these weird times - the one question we all asked was 'Is that allowed?'). It was very grey (the snow all melted in the night) and WET and muddy, but nice to be out. :)

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For Christmas I got Obama's book and am slowly working my way through it. It's interesting to get the 'inside' story of what we saw unfold, and his opinions on everything. He is generally fair and even handed (he disagrees with Dubya on everything, but likes the man), but when it comes to Mitch McConnell... well. Here, let me quote:

Joe [Biden] told me of one run-in he'd had on the Senate floor after the Republican leader blocked a bill Joe was sponsoring; when Joe had tried to explain the bill's merits, McConnell raised his hand like a traffic cop and said, "You must be under the mistaken impression that I care."

And on that note, have a few 'American' links that I have been collecting and figure I should post before they become ancient history.



ETA: From just now:

We don’t know how many chances we will get to reverse our democracy’s near-death experience. We must not waste this one. We must go big — the future of democracy demands it. My op-ed in @washingtonpost: https://t.co/LbhJQ6WA7f

— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) February 7, 2021

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Rawstory: To 'forget' the Trump era is a toxic act of privilege — and very dangerous

Katie Porter recounts how she and AOC hid in her office during the Jan. 6 insurrectionist riot.

"I'm a mom. I'm calm. I have everything we need. We can live for like a month in this office. And she said, 'I hope I get to be a mom, I hope I don’t die today.'" pic.twitter.com/efa6ASPOGf

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) February 2, 2021

Rep. Dean Phillips: "I'm here tonight to say to my brothers & sisters in Congress & all around our country, I'm sorry. For I've never understood, really understood, what privilege really means. It took a violent mob of insurrectionists & lightning-bolt moment in this very room." pic.twitter.com/PqnoBMiQDu

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 5, 2021

This is 🔥 🔥 🔥. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) drags Utah’s new Trump-supporting Black Republican (@BurgessOwens) for coming in on his first day and lecturing Democrats about patriotism when Owens voted to overturn the November election even after the Capitol insurrection. pic.twitter.com/mJ7cUJ0RSH

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 6, 2021

What happens when the descendant of an enslaved person tours Charleston's plantations?
As the state reckons with its past, writer Michael Harriot returns to South Carolina and finds an unexpected genealogical connection

And from the same writer, this twitter thread:

This is not surprising to me. You can't teach 6th graders about "liberty and justice for all" then tell them their country started a race war

Nah, not the Civil War

The war against Black people in 1919 had MORE BATTLES than the entire Civil War

A thread: https://t.co/CdobaIPwWx

— Michael Harriot (@michaelharriot) October 3, 2020

I have a feeling I have posted this before, but:

David Tennant Does a Podcast With… Stacey Abrams



And for UK ppl:

Help Preserve Gender-Neutral Toilets <- please write a simple email!

Plus this in case you haven't heard about it (from The Mirror, sorry):

Mum fears autistic son with learning age of 6 will die alone if he's deported to Jamaica
Osime Brown, who came to the UK when he was four and has PTSD, anxiety, a heart problem and screams out in his sleep, is waiting to be deported to Jamaica by the Home Office

Just in case anyone thought racism wasn't alive and well in this country. :( Petition here:

Stop The Deportation Of Vulnerable Autistic Man Osime Brown!