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I practically did a double-take yesterday afternoon when Jovaun and I got sent out (after half a day of training) to Stone Mountain, twenty miles northeast of Atlanta. Yes, this suburb of 5000 is also the site of America’s LARGEST Confederate Memorial – the three “heroes” of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, on horseback, hewn out of the solid granite of this unusual monadnock.
A “monadnock” is an isolated mountain, created millions of years ago by a pocket of magma trapped underground and finally coming to the surface by uplift and erosion. As long ago as 4000 BC this Stone Mountain was both sacred and useful to the indigenous people of the Southeast; in the 19th century a lot of profitable granite mining was done there. Then in the early and mid 20th century Stone Mountain became a point of pride for Southerners nostalgic for the Confederacy – the KKK held massive rallies atop the eminence.
Nowadays millions of people a year visit and picnic at Stone Mountain Park, as politicians and activists debate keeping the Confederate sculpture, erasing it, or possibly adding better things to it. Just this past August the park was the site of protests and counterprotests over the monument, at which people came to blows.
But Stone Mountain Village, the suburb at the foot of this mountain, is about 3/4 African-American, and that’s where we canvassed yesterday, the last day of November, trying our hardest to reach out to all the voters who came out in droves last month and mailed in their ballots in record numbers to make sure Biden won Georgia – a victory attributed largely to the black community. And now, what a Biden administration will or will not be able to do for the nation depends on whether Georgia voters come out in force once again to vote for John Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock. Until then, we’ll be talking to them – one voter at a time.
Stone Mountain Village
The high point for us today was meeting a young female voter named Ave, a 21-year old senior in college. She actually told us that she felt we were “God-sent,” because she was in the middle of writing a paper for a project regarding the runoff elections, and she needed more information. Ave asked if she could record me and also take a picture of us.
Besides talking to voters about the importance of voting for Reverand Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff for US Senate, we’re also asking them to let us text them a link where they can request a mail in ballot so they can vote as early as possible. Ave was more than happy for me to text her that link.
After we left her house she immediately texted me to thank me for stopping by and she also mentioned that she starting a virtual voting party on social media soon after we left, in order to share the information we had just provided her, with her friends – image to right! And she sent me the picture she took of my son and me – below. (I only took off my face shield for the picture and I was ten feet away from the voter, bosses!)
That might have been just one household, but talking to that one voter generated more than just one vote. It was absolutely awesome and inspiring. Thank you, Ave!
*This is going to be a fun narrative “after election report”. Yes Virginia, maybe Santa will bring us TWO Dem Senators in Georgia. Who knows for sure? Here are a couple of things however which are very true: (1) Donald J Trump cannot lie his way into a 2nd term as President of the United States. As much as he will try. (2) The mean spirited attacks on the incoming Administration are designed. The intention is to cause armed insurrection. The intention are to debase anyone that is not a Jack Booted American Nazi Boon Member. Well, maybe just mislead Fox News Watchers? Who knows? And certainly…who really cares? Our job as American Citizens is to remain calm, relaxed and certain that “Happy Days are Here Again – the Sky above is clear again. Let’s a song of cheer again….Happy Days are here again!”
The fact that you consider the days of an Obama/Biden administration “happy days” is only indicative of your privilege. Pointing out the facts is not a conspiracy, it’s just something you clearly haven’t had to live through. You neoliberals are almost worse than Republicans & this is exactly why.
I think that you’re aiming your comment at Ron rather than at the authors of this excellent piece. Ron isn’t a “neoliberal”; he *IS* a Republican. He’s just not a *Trumpublican*.
I interpret “happy days” as meaning “happier days.” If you don’t agree that, for all their flaws, they were *that*, then congratulations on being so far to the left that you’ve circled around to the right.
*Appreciate your comments Dr. D., the truth is that the Heavy Blast Against the Following issues is all the Trumpsters have left: “Evil Media”, “Worst Media in American History” -(we would like some names and some facts – that might be helpful. Then we have the “Stolen Election of 2020”. (We might remind those that think that…..that they need to grasp the fact that they lost by well over 6 million popular votes!) “Pelosi-Schumer-AOC Crew – Black Lives Matter and Antifa” (Yeah, just name their replacements…..we can’t wait.) “Socialists – Commies – Pink Panty Bedwetters – LGBQT Apologists” (Of course we could add American Nazi Party Members – Jack Booted Thugs-White Power Brokers and Members-non-reading Bible Carriers)….but then that would not be fair to everyone that does know how to read and write the English language. “Baby Killer – Abortionists on Demand” – (Of course we won’t mention your daughter, wife, aunt or niece that might need such a procedure due to cause.) That then leaves “Open Borders” – Bringing in Syrians and Africans and Central Americans that are going to take our jobs! (Of course we will not mention that because of those folks we have kept the prices of everything down for the last 25 years or more!) Then we have “The Ghost of Christmas Past” – The Obama Administration and Hillary Clinton and Bengazi and Fast and Furious! (Good grief, we can’t believe they will be bringing back Darrell Issa to run those hearings again over the next four years!) OK, if we missed anything, we are pretty sure that Revolution or one of his cronies will light up the Pin Ball Machine in a heartbeat. We of course look forward to your comments.
Just 45 days away from Reality 101! No more Tariff’s, the cost of goods will go down
DACA Kids given Nationalization Papers – Peace in the Hispanic Communities, Global
Trade will rise in China, Mexico, Canada and Europe……the price of tires and vehicle
parts will come down to 2019 levels perhaps. Food prices will go down again, because our engagement with the rest of the world will rise. But then, that is just for starters as our dear Republicants know. National Background Checks and Drug Testing for all NEW Firearm Purchases and Transfers – (So that only Law Abiding Citizens can buy a firearm legally!) And yes Virginia, we are still loyal Conservative Republicans….like those olden days before 2016! Remember those days?
Today is December 7th….Tora, Tora, Tora……..occurred back in 1941…… This event was the defining moment that would kill millions, but save the United States from the throws of the Depression. The population of the United State then….was about 133 million people. Our diverse culture included both Germans and Japanese folks who we promptly put into Concentration Camps…..like Manzanar in NO CAL. The attack on Pearl Harbor was quickly followed by attacks in the Philippines, like Bataan and Corregidor…..Japanese Mini Subs attempted to torpedo our oil fields in San Pedro. Californians put up Black Out Windows at night, in case the Japanese planned on bombing Los Angeles. All things soon became “rationed”, including: Butter, Cheese, Sugar and Gasoline. The “dastardly attack” followed our embargo of oil and gasoline and other products to Japan – in their war on China and Asia in general… This is the event that brought the United States into World War II….
Your comment gives the impression that German-American civilians were promptly moved into American concentration camps. I don’t think that that is true — certainly not to any major degree.
Anyway, let’s get back on track and the topic of the Georgia recall….
List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States …en.wikipedia.org › wiki › List_of_World_War_II_priso…
In the United States at the end of World War II, there were prisoner-of-war camps, including 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German).
*Dr. D., lots of 5th Columnist both of Japanese and German heritage. Some Germans were caught landing in Virginia and incarcerated in Arizona and Texas.
Prisoner-of-war camps are distinct from concentration camps. They detained prisoners of war, generally citizens of other countries, who were detained on the basis that they had made war against the U.S. rather than their ethnic of racial background. Concentration camps were used to detain people on the basis of their own racial or ethnic (or sometimes other demographic or ideological) background.
Japanese-Americans, for example, were detained based on their ethnic/racial background, not on their having made war on the United States. This was justified based on the (frankly racist) belief that they were inclined to make war on the United States — representing a “fifth column” — and we know that it was racist precisely because it did not apply to Germans, Italians, Austrians, and those with a background from other countries at war with the United States.
This is a really important distinction, which is why I’m belaboring it here.
*Dr. D, OK back to the Georgia Senate Race – Biden just offered a Master Stroke by designating General Austin as his choice for the Department of Defense. This will pick up major votes for the two Dem Candidates in Georgia. Very Smart, whether Austin is Confirmed or not.
I’m not comfortable with retired military brass running the Pentagon, but you’re right that is was a deft move politically. He does need a waiver to serve as Defense Secretary (as he’s been retired fewer than seven years), and McConnell — ever the hypocrite, given that he allowed a Trump appointee to get such a waiver — may not allow him to get one.
*Dr. Dr., look at it this way……if Lloyd Austin is not confirmed Flournoy is waiting in the wings…..and is the Insider Choice for that spot.