Few Washington events have rivaled the spectacle and drama of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. Once thought a shoe-in for the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative judge is now embroiled in a maelstrom of accusations that include attempted sexual assault, prolific drinking, possible lying to Congress, and an insufficiently judicial temperament, all of which may eventually sink his nomination and may even threaten his standing as a sitting judge on the D.C. federal appeals court. [Read more…]
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24 Words For Equality — Adopt the ERA
Ten days ago, my wife and I attended a screening of “Iron Jawed Angels” in celebration of Women’s Equality Day. Filmed in Virginia in 2004, it tells the story of Alice Paul and her efforts to gain universal suffrage for American women in the early decades of the 20th century. Americans often see the suffragettes as privileged women in white dresses and great hats. The reality was more complex; many of these women endured considerable hardship and abuse. Women of color were involved in the fight, though the racial divisions of the day diminished their role in the historical record. The film chronicles Paul’s imprisonment and forced feeding during a hunger strike. Ultimately, Paul and her allies prevailed, and the nation added the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920, guaranteeing women the right to vote.
At the showing of “Iron Jawed Angels,” about the effort to gain universal suffrage for American women. From left to right: Megan Tracy (board member of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters), Delegate David Toscano, State Senator Creigh Deeds, and Alisa Hefner (co-chair of the local ERA Task Force).
Reflections on Immigration, Race, and the Week of the 4th of July.
Almost every year since I arrived in Charlottesville in 1981, my wife Nancy and I have attended the annual July 4th naturalization ceremony at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Last week, another 67 people born in countries as diverse as Iraq and Ghana took the oath of U.S. citizenship, pledging to protect and defend our Constitution, and also renouncing “all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty….” Over the years, we have heard thoughtful or insightful speeches discussing Jefferson and his role in the founding of the country, and celebrating countless people from foreign shores who decided to take the oath and become American citizens. It is among the most inspiring events that an American can attend, largely because it links the power of Jefferson’s words with the promise of so many seeking a better life.
This week continued with two other significant events in Charlottesville, one to memorialize and remember the horrific lynching of John Henry James in 1898 as part of the Charlottesville Pilgrimage for Justice, and the following day, the LatinX picnic and Harmonia music benefit for migrant families in our area. Placing these alongside the Monticello celebration draws attention to critical fissures in our society and the work of citizens to address them.
The Beginning of the End?
The master of cynical obfuscation and deflection is at it again. After the disaster of the G-7 meeting in Canada, the tepid response to the North Korea Summit, and faced with continuing revelations about his allies meeting with Russians during the 2016 campaign to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton, Trump has done it again. When in doubt, deflect attention, and the best way to do that is by exploiting an issue that galvanizes your base — immigration. Trump’s problem, however, is that he has massively miscalculated the public’s outrage about separating children from their parents at the border. [Read more…]
The Heaphy Report – What’s Next?
We now have had several weeks to digest the city-initiated 207-page report on the July 8 and August 11-12, 2017, demonstrations in Charlottesville. While there are many nuances in the report of Timothy Heaphy and his team, and various ways by which it may be interpreted, the conclusions are clear — the city and law enforcement failed in two critical areas. First, the city and law enforcement were unable to ensure that citizens’ First Amendment rights of free speech were protected, whether that speech involved the hateful speech of the neo-Nazis and white supremacists, or the speech of counter demonstrators. Second, the city and law enforcement failed to protect citizens from the violent confrontations that occurred on August 11 and 12. Heaphy did a thorough job of reviewing the events, and we need to pay careful attention to it. [Read more…]
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