Curated Random Thoughts on Recent Events

This morning, I thanked Little Cuter for sharing her family with us last night and before I could finish she sighed and said she understood, that she walked into her house and took a deep cleansing breath,, leaving Recent Events outside.

It was easier for me to do that when FlapJilly and SIR and my daughter were there to distract me.
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Valerie Plame Wilson, one of my heroes,  posted this on Facebook, citing @CelesteHeadlee:

Want to make sure you all saw this photo.

It's the line of people in Durham waiting to turn themselves in for toppling the Confed statue.

Only 9 of them were answering warrants, the rest were channeling Bible stories... you know... I am Spartacus! ... I am Spartacus!.... I am Spartacus.

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Neither Robert E. Lee then nor Robert E. Lee V now, neither the great-great-something grandsons of Stonewall Jackson nor the direct descendants of Jefferson Davis think the statues of their relatives should remain standing in public spaces.  A museum is where these anachronistic pieces should reside; they don't represent us or our parents, said the Jackson kid on CNN.

I think family should trump anybody else when it comes to a physical representative of a relative. Drape them with weatherproof cloth tonight, and make plans to move them tomorrow.  The kids are against them, and their views are dispositive.

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Can the Republican Party expel the President?   I bet Sen. Bob Corker wishes it were so. 

USA TODAY's headline says it all: Republican Sen. Bob Corker: Trump has not shown 'competence' needed to lead.  TBG says that's not an impeachable offense; it's neither a high crime nor a misdemeanor.  There's the 25th Amendment, but President Pence makes me nauseous as I look at those pixels.  I'm heartened by the separate and equally disgusted individual statements made by each of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; they understand the character of this nation, using Sen. Corker's words.

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The Jewish Daily Forward was a staple of my Bubba and Zada's kitchen table.  They were Wobblies, Socialists, refugees, new Americans with ideals who marched and had opinions; this was their  newspaper. It was a big deal when it began to be published in English, leaving the original Yiddish behind.  

In the 21st Century, its great-great-something offspring,  Forward.com, is an interesting place to visit.  Today, Yael Reisman restored my faith in humanity.  She describes the response of the organizers of the March for Racial Justice, who did not realize that September 30 was Yom Kippur when we were factoring in these and other considerations and applying for permits.

They went on to demonstrate how to write a real apology:

Choosing this date, we now know, was a grave and hurtful oversight on our part. It was unintentional and we are sorry for this pain as well as for the time it has taken for us to respond. Our mistake highlights the need for our communities to form stronger relationships.

We made a mistake.  We didn't think.  It's on us. We should have apologized sooner.  Let's work together so this doesn't happen again.  

As she titles her post, The March For Racial Justice Just Welcomed Jews Back Into The Left.  My grandparents are smiling down on us right now.

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I'm smiling about James Murdoch's email to his friends

I can't even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen or terrorists.  

I'm giggling as I watch snippets of this week's SNL Weekend Update.  In true Second City fashion, former cast members are reappearing.  You must stream it.

I have to stop watching and typing and obsessing because I'm losing my giggle.  Anyway, I have my own personal commentator right here on Douglas the Couch.  Hours before Michael Beschloss referenced it on CNN, TBG was talking about Seven Days in May.

Feeling smug. We're done.