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Tuesday, October 01, 2013

Jack Burgess: “Neoconfederates” Try Again to Shut Down Democracy: Fort Sumter Back in the News

"...If they win, these Rebels, they crank back the universe..."

burgessbytes October, 2013

“Neoconfederates” Try Again to Shut Down Democracy: Fort Sumter Back in the News

“Neoconfederate”? It’s not my term…it was coined by a Republican—writer and former G.O.P. staffer, Michael Lofgren, whose book The Party is Over, tells about the takeover of the Republican Party by right-wing “insurrectionists” based in the South.

He’s not alone in that view…Bruce Bartlett, former senior policy analyst for President Reagan, says that there has been a takeover of the Republican Party by “the South.” For those of us who remember our history, it was Nixon and then Reagan who followed a “Southern strategy” to victory, exploiting discontent over the Civil Rights acts of the 1960’s, authored by Democratic Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.

And of course, a little further back, there was a walkout of Southern delegates at the Democratic National Convention of 1948 over a strong civil rights platform authored by Hubert Humphrey. The walkout was led by Strom Thurmond, who then led many segregationist Democrats into the Republican Party. He and his “Dixiecrats” managed to keep the President of the United States, Harry Truman of Missouri, off the fall ballot in the eleven states of the old Confederacy! Truman, who was hated as much or more than Clinton and Obama by the Old Guard, managed to win the election anyway.

Now, we have a Federal government shutdown emanating mostly from the South, aimed at our first Black President and at what they perceive as progressive Federal legislation in the Affordable Health Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Ft. Sumter Back in the News:

In an ironic twist, businessmen in the Charleston, S.C. area, were complaining today that Ft. Sumter was closed as a result of the Republican shutdown of the Federal Government and they were losing business because they couldn’t take tourists to visit the old fort in the bay—where the Civil War began when the original Confederates fired the first shots of the Civil War, angry because President Lincoln refused to recognize their government and refused to turn over Federal property to them. That war, of course, was fought because the Federal government, led by Lincoln, refused to agree to the expansion of slavery into other states, and the Confederates refused to agree to restrict that “peculiar institution” to the slave states of the South.

And if you’re feeling squeamish about comparing today’s Republicans to the slavers of old, remember, it’s Republicans who have used the term “Neoconfederates.” It’s also reactionary Republicans such as Rush Limbaugh who have compared forcing people to have health care—Obamacare—to slavery, or the Fugitive Slave Act. Of course, most Republicans of today are not as uncaring and repressive as the Tea Party leadership—just as most white folks in the Old South didn’t own slaves---but they tolerate the inherent racism of the current actions aimed at destroying much-needed health care law and at tearing down the President and our national government.

For the South wants the North, and though

Marse Robert was driven back

and driven down, still they come

forevermore. “Vengeance!” they shout,

pouring up through the green meadows

of Maryland, ghosts, powered by their revenge.

But this is not a mere romance.

If they win, these Rebels,

They crank back the universe

to their time, the time of the lash.

Get out your long skirts, women,

to hide your shame, and my brown brothers,

stay where you are, this is the end of the line.

…

It’s always Gettysburg.

Jack Burgess

Jack Burgess: Food Stamps, Yes!

“It always amazes me how rich men, given so much by their families and their circumstances, believe assistance will hurt other people.”

a burgess bulletin – september, 2013

Food Stamps, Yes!

A column appearing in Ohio newspapers

by Jack Burgess

If you’re reading this column, you probably don’t participate in a government program such as SNAP, to help provide food for your family. If you can afford to have a newspaper delivered to your home, or if you have a computer and an internet connection so you can read online, you may have more than enough money for food. But millions of good Americans, many in Ohio, don’t have enough to feed their families, and without the assistance of folks like us, they’d starve, or turn to looting for food.

Unfortunately, some of us don’t want to help those who need it. We believe—or say we believe—folks who are poor brought it on themselves. Say they’re lazy, or substance addicted, or don’t handle their money wisely. Mostly, that’s not true. Some of that thinking is based on the old survival of the fittest mentality, which says if you can’t make it, tough. It’s your own fault. Some of it is convoluted Christianity, that those who are successful are God’s chosen, that they’re being rewarded in this life, that the poor are being punished. Far be it from me to tell anyone what to believe, but Jesus was about “feeding the multitudes,” and caring for children--half of the people on food assistance programs are children. They can’t work. They go to bed hungry, wake up hungry, and go to school hungry. Thankfully, we still have school breakfast and lunch programs, or some of these kids would rarely get a good meal.

This is the United States of America we’re talking about—the richest nation in the history of the world. We can afford to feed the children, and the disabled and the aged who make up most of the rest of the recipients of government assistance. And let’s not forget that many of those receiving assistance are working, but their jobs don’t pay enough to feed a family.

Some in the Congress, and in Ohio’s government, want to end food assistance, or cut it way back. Of course, none of them need assistance. We pay them well and most of them come from privileged homes. Many of them got more from government than they will own up to. Republican Congressional leader Ryan, for instance, received Social Security assistance as a young man, which helped him toward his own prosperity. Some of the political rhetoric on this harks back to President Reagan’s words, “Government is the problem.” But even Reagan, who benefited from government in many ways, spoke about the need to maintain “a social safety net.” He didn’t really believe in starving people or eliminating government. And he raised taxes when needed.

It always amazes me that rich men, given so much by their families and their circumstances, believe assistance will hurt other people. The evidence is mostly to the contrary. Millions who have had help in dealing with poverty have turned their lives around. And it’s good economics, as every $1spent on food assistance generates $1.80 in economic activity, benefiting everyone.

If we really wanted to get people off food assistance, we’d start by raising the minimum wage to a point where people could earn enough by working to feed a family. We’d give more honest counseling to young people regarding birth control---as sex is here to stay and today’s young people, like our generations, will mostly not practice abstinence. We’d also strengthen our schools by cutting back on the massive waste of the standardized testing nonsense and invest in counseling, after school programs, and school to work programs. We’d ask our corporations to do more, as they do in some other countries, to train workers on the job. Sending every young person to college will not solve the problem. Income levels, adjusted for inflation, have mostly been falling since the 1970’s, and more college degrees might mean more underpaid or unemployed college graduates.

Where will the money come from? It will have to come from where it’s gone. The super wealthy of this nation have seen their wealth expand by leaps and bounds, and it’s time for them to give back in small measure to the nation that has rewarded them so well.

Jack Burgess is a retired teacher of American & Global Studies. He’s also served as board president of the Godman Guild Settlement House in Columbus.

MAKE IT VIRAL: "R2C2H2 Tha Artivist Speaks!!! @ Delta State University" 9/19/2013

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: "R2C2H2 Tha Artivist Speaks!!! @ Delta State University" 9/19/2013

Bro. Ron aka r2c2h2 tha artivist with Delta State University President William 'Bill' LaForge

Delta State University

(Cleveland, MS) 9/19/2013

WATCH NOW:

***

AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!

***

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Memphis,TN 38175

MAKE IT VIRAL: Sis. Margaret Block: If You Don't Vote Don't Cry...

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: "Sis. Margaret Block: If You Don't Vote Don't Cry..."

Delta State University
(Cleveland, MS) 9/19/2013

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http://youtu.be/db09hFYxho4

***

AND THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!

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My Thoughts On Our Re-Union & Some Pics

My Thoughts On Our Re-Union & Some Pics

By Bro. Ron aka r2c2h2 tha artivist, Overton High Class of '98, Memphis, TN

10/1/2013

"Every parting gives a foretaste of death, every reunion a hint of the resurrection."

~Arthur Schopenhauer

I truly had a ball this past Labor Day weekend…The mini-15 Year High School Reunion was actually one of epic proportions for me…It was such a great way to already top off a great summer for me…I think sometimes we all tend to make the simple complex…There should have been more folks at our reunion…Reunions are really about the following: Checking in and seeing if you and everyone else is alive…Sometimes success in life simply means if you’re ass Is still breathing…In the end it doesn’t matter if you are bald, fine as wine or uglier than sin, rich, middle class, poor, have a worse than bad credit rating, filed for bankruptcy multiple times, house foreclosed, car repossessed, student loans defaulted, suspended driver’s license, got a gang of kids or no progeny at all, crazy, fat, un or underemployed, was a guy in high school but now a girl and vice versa, famous, infamous, unknown, happily married, bitterly divorced or chronically single…What matters is that we know you are still around getting back up and hanging in there when LIFE knocks you on your ass every now and then…Life is not fair but it is yours to make what you want of it!!!

We all should be about the business of turning life’s lemons into lemonade and shit into cuisine…Also we should all be treating every moment of life, the good, the bad, the ugly and the indifferent for the precious jewel that it is…We are the true alchemists of our individual and collective destines so make your life golden and worth it…I was hesitant about making a cameo appearance myself but I thank the Creator that my fears did not get the best of me…We must all always remember that our presence is what makes the present such a present…It was great seeing old friends as well as making new acquaintances with folks from high school who I never really ever gotten a chance to know or for them to know me…It may have taken us 15 years to have a meaningful conversation but it was worth the wait!!! You never know what life has in store and I look forward to writing the next chapter on these old and new relationships…

Also I was recently inspired by my dear cousin who went to her 55th High School Class Reunion the week before…She is 73 but looks like she is in her early 50s and she got her health and plenty of friends and fam who adore her which is true wealth…She was so happy to have been connecting with her classmates 55 years later it was as if she had only been out of high school for 10 years!!! I hope I am just as happy if not more so to connect with you all like that 45 years later too!!! Here are more documented evidence of the good times that were had and the new memories that were made…This is not the complete narrative just a sample and feel free to ‘tag’ or ‘untag’ yourself if you want in these pics…I Ain’t Mad @ Cha…My only regrets are that I wish I could have taken more pics and engaged more folks, I made myself available for such possibilities this past weekend and shall continue to do so and I hope everyone will do the same….I hope we don’t wait another 5 years to do this again…Life can be short and painful but also joyful too…So let’s all try to continue to make a joyous noise till the end…We Heart You All Madly!!! #RonHerdSays

Click On Link To View Pics Of The Reunion:

***Update***

Below one of our classmates, Sis. Rita Le'on Washington, decided to do a vote on which of our fellow classmates embodied the following superlatives via our FB Group Page...Surprisingly I garner two superlatives, one short of a Triple Crown...Read For Yourself...The Best Is Yet To Come!!!

As Promised the winners of the the following superlatives are:
1. First person to show up to any reunion: MAURICE
2. Most likely to move out the country: SHERIESSE
3. Joined at the hip award: (2 people or more) AMBER & RONEFERITI
4. Most likely to end up a youtube star: RONALD (ME)
5. So random award: JONETTA
6. Most unique award: VICTOR
7. Most eligible bachelorette: STEPHANIE
8. Most eligible bachelor: TAVIAS
9. Most likely to win the apprentice: SYREETA
10. Class Hero: tie ERICA & ARLENE
11. Biggest party animal: RONALD (ME)
12. Most likely to end up on survivor: MICHAEL
13. Most changed: COURTENAY
14. Least changed: SHENEA
15. Most likely to end up like the Hangover: TREMAINE

These were the tallied votes. Thank you all for participating. You should know that these were created with many of the answers already in mind LOL!!! I love you all for real have a good laugh and a wonderful week!!!

MAKE IT VIRAL: "It's Murder: Kendrick Johnson's 2nd Autopsy Update" & "Lowndes County Sheriff Dept. Responds To Kendrick Johnson's 2nd Autopsy Report"

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV:"It's Murder: Kendrick Johnson's 2nd Autopsy Update" (9/8/2013)
WATCH NOW:
http://youtu.be/WFX08PuTgwU

***

W.E. A.L.L. B.E. TV: "Lowndes County Sheriff Dept. Responds To Kendrick Johnson's 2nd Autopsy Report" (9/12/2013)
WATCH NOW:
http://youtu.be/INGP1l3KWkU

***

About Kendrick Johnson: His Life & Death

On Thursday, January 10, 2013, Kendrick Lamar Johnson, a 17-year-old African-
American student at Lowndes High School in Valdosta, Georgia, went missing during
school hours.... and on the following morning between 9:30 and 10 AM, he was
found dead by fellow students during a class in one of the school's two (2) gymnasiums. A day later, a local newspaper reported Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine as saying that his
investigation showed that there was "no foul play."

With little more than the discovery of a body, the authorities quickly theorized that
Kendrick was reaching for a shoe when he "fell" upside down into the center opening
of a rolled up section of a foam rubber mat that was standing upright in a corner of
the gym. According to the sheriff’s theory, when Kendrick became stuck in the mat
and was unable to free himself, his upside down position caused him to suffocate. All
of this is alleged to have taken place while more than 3,000 students were on the school's campus.

Almost immediately, questions were being raised, such as “Why didn’t Kendrick
just push over the mat to get to his shoes?” In response, Jacquelyn Johnson says her
son was physically strong and had "good sense,....so the sheriff's theory is just not possible."

Kendrick's parents immediately rejected the Sheriff’s explanation of
what occurred, If for no other reason other than the sheriff's theory was
generated from an investigation that took less than 10 hours and was
released without the benefit of an eyewitness report or surveillance
recordings showing their son in the area of the mats. Even more confusing
is that within less than 15 minutes after Kendrick went mssing, a PE class took
place in the very gymnasium where his body was found. Yet no one in the
gym saw or heard anything,....not to mention something such as a
youngster trying to free himself.

What You Can Do To Support Justice For Kendrick Johnson:

Donate:
If you would like to send check contributions:
Make check payable to "Kendrick KJ Johnson Justice Movement"
Mail: P.O. Box 5992 Valdosta, GA 31603

Get Involved:
1. CONTACT THE DEPT. OF JUSTICE TO REQUEST THAT THIS CASE BE RE-OPENED FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO BOTH CRIMINAL AND CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001
(202) 514-2001
e-mail: askdoj@usdoj.gov

2. CONTACT THE U. S. ATTORNEY FOR THE VALDOSTA AREA TO REQUEST THAT THIS CASE BE RE-OPENED FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.
U. S. Attorney's Offfice
Post Office Box 1702
Macon, Georgia 31202-1702
(478) 752-3511

3. PETITION TO HAVE THE LOWNDES COUNTY SHERIFF RESIGN:

http://www.change.org/petitions/lowndes-county-sheriff-chris-prine-resign-the-position-sheriff-of-lowndes-county

4. PETITION TO HAVE THE SHERIFF PROVIDE JUSTICE AND INFORMATION TO THE JOHNSON FAMILY:

http://www.change.org/petitions/lowndes-county-sheriff-s-department-provide-justice-to-kendrick-kj-johnson-s-family

Official Websites:
http://www.justiceforkj.org/

http://www.justiceforkendrickjohnson.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForKJ

https://www.facebook.com/RipKendrickJohnson

***

And The Best Is Yet To Come!!!

***

Support The W.E. A.L.L. B.E.
Movement!!!

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Bro. Ron aka r2c2h2 tha

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