intheflow
intheflow's JournalInteresting, but misleading that she mentions Enfield, MA.
Yes, it was flooded in the 1930s. However, it was only one of six towns that were flooded - and not to build a park, but to build a drinking water reservoir for Boston (Quabbin). Today the area is used for recreation, but its primary purpose was not to build a recreation area. I (a librarian) also can't find any credible information about Enfield, or any of the towns, being Black. This isn't to say there weren't Black folks living in the area that were displaced, but to claim that displacing Enfield & building Quabbin was done due to racism is misleading.
Haiti was founded out of the *only* successful revolt by enslaved Black people
in the Americas. They drove the French out in 1804, declared themselves independent, and founded the country. This, in turn, inspired many anti-slavery revolutionaries, including Nat Turner and John Brown. Jefferson worried of Haiti's uprising because they were the second successful revolution against European powers, following the US, and refused to recognize their statehood. Not hard to imagine he, knowing the glaring omission of his own revolution, feared successful slave revolts in the US, starting with his own plantation.
Redistricting is based on population demographics.
Bobert lives near the I-70 corridor, which has seen significant growth since the last time the districts were defined, and generally leans Democratic as has Colorado as a whole for the last 10-15 years. Also, the committee is made up of four Dems, four Repugs, and four Independents, none of whom can have a career in politics or lobbying. So the Independents probably balance it out.
Old map:
New map:
Sourced from:
https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeboard/congressional_district_map
https://www.5280.com/2021/04/what-you-need-to-know-about-colorados-redistricting-process/
https://www.cpr.org/2021/09/03/colorado-redistricting-map-proposal/
This brought home to me the magnitude of relief
and wonder I feel seeing this war end. I started my activism as an antiwar activist and went to grad school where I basically majored in Peace Studies. 9/11 occurred on my orientation day. It was spring break 2003 when Dubya invaded Iraq. It seems so long ago, and any dream that our never-ending wars might actually end had long since been trampled under TFG's immigration bans and deportations, inhumane treatment of refugee and asylum seekers - families especially, stirring up the KKK-types, etc. It's been a lot to endure, these last 20 years.
Anyway. This brought a tear to my eye and a little peace to my heart. Thanks for posting.
While I support the spirit of this post unequivically,
I need to point out Jesus never said diddly-squat about "sword to plowshares." That phase is strictly from the Jewish Tanakh, or Old Testament. It appears in Isaiah and Micah. The reverse, "plowshares into swords," appears in Joel.
Cheers! 
ITF
former minister, amateur etymologist, and general pain in the ass.
According to WaPo, he is remorseful and has been eligible for release since 1975.
The original case was badly handled and there are valid concerns that he wasn't the one who shot Kennedy, that there were multiple gunmen; the coroner reported at the trial that RFK was shot through the back while multiple witnesses said Sirhan approach from the front.
Excerpts:
“'Over half a century has passed,' Sirhan told the two parole commissioners, 'and that young, impulsive kid I was does not exist anymore. … Senator Kennedy was the hope of the world and I injured, and I harmed all of them, and it pains me to experience that, the knowledge for such a horrible deed.'”
...
"Famed coroner Thomas Noguchi found that Kennedy had been shot three times at point-blank range from the back, with a fourth shot passing through his jacket without striking him, though witnesses said Sirhan was in front of Kennedy. Noguchi determined that the shots were fired from a distance of three inches."
...
"Paul Schrade was one of five people who were wounded in the shooting as they walked behind Kennedy, and Schrade has long believed that Sirhan shot him but did not shoot Kennedy. After the ruling, Schrade said, 'I’m pleased that we’ve done this for Sirhan because he didn’t deserve all of the very bad behavior from the prison system,' meaning repeated parole denials, 'and prosecutors and police. He was innocent and didn’t deserve this for 53 years.'”
...
"Only one journalist, Julie Watson of the Associated Press, was permitted to observe the hearing and distributed an account of what happened. She reported that Commissioner Robert Barton pointed out that Sirhan qualified as a youthful offender for purposes of parole consideration — he was 24 in 1968 — and the board is required to give that 'great weight' under the law. Sirhan also qualified for 'elderly parole' for being 77 and having served more than 20 years."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/08/27/sirhan-parole-hearing/
Our justice system is supposed to be reformative, not punitive. If no one is above the law (i.e., lock up TFG), then no one should be below the law (i.e., people who murder famous people should not be punished more severely than people who murder regular people). Plus, both the prosecution and the defense agreed during the trial that he was mentally ill at the time of the shooting. I usually think MAGA types are authoritarians who think mentally ill people should be locked away for life, but I guess I'm just a naive dreamer.
Wow, this is a bad take.
If you're a Palestinian living in terror of being bombed, I don't think you're comparing whether your fear is really that big of a deal because at least the Israelis aren't beheading you. 
Doubtful.
Expensive leases are just seen as a part of doing business. Being able to micromanage your employees is also seen as a part of doing business. There are a LOT of workplaces stuck in "We've always done it this way" mode.
For example: I'm a librarian. 50% of my job is interacting with patrons. The other 50% is off-desk work, like book-buying, program planning, and meetings (which have all moved to Zoom going forward). I could be on site 2.5 day and home 2.5 days and get the same work done. But no. 
I'm confused.
Romeo and Juliet were rich kids from political families (i.e., "nobility" ). Neither family had social status over the other; to wit, from the prologue: "Two households, both alike in dignity." Romeo and Juliet is in no way a story of classism. Maybe like if Barron Trump and Sasha Obama inexplicably fell in love. (Not that the Trumps and the Obamas hold the same societal base, but it could be argued both families are theoretically wealthy, high social profile, and "warring." )
Lynching Black men for talking to white women is because of racism, not classism. When we hear the word "lynching," we don't think of Latino or Asian bodies, nor Native Americans. Lynching is so associated with Black Americans, there's even a famous song about strange fruit hanging from trees.
Yes, except for #2.
Assuming a start date of 1619 and an end date of 1865, Black Lives were enslaved for 246 years, not 400. Say Black Lives have been subjugated, say they've been subject to generational trauma and disruption. But that one point will nullify the whole thing for racists looking to argue with this. I love the idea of this all around, but enslavement is not the same as being disenfranchised, and I am pro-not giving racists any fodder to argue with. I mean, they'll argue with the truth, but their arguments can be disproved by the truth. And the history of Black lives in America is horrific enough without embellishment.
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