Trump framing election as a referendum on white people
If you are a regular here, you may have heard this story before. But it bears repeating. In 1958, George Wallace ran for governor of Alabama against John Patterson, a fire-breathing segregationist. Wallace, though also a segregationist, was considered enough of a racial moderate to be endorsed by the NAACP. So naturally, he was trounced. Sometime afterward, as recounted by biographer Marshall Frady, a rueful Wallace made a defining declaration to a room full of politicos: “John Patterson out-nigguhed me. And boys, I’m not goin’ to be out-nigguhed again.” As history shows, he ...
Stay or follow
Dear Annie: My boyfriend and I are coming up on our sixth anniversary. A few years ago, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His parents live on the opposite side of the country from us. Their eldest son lives near them and can help them out. However, my boyfriend doesn’t think his brother is doing enough. Ever since he went home for Christmas and saw how much his mom’s health had deteriorated, he’s been talking about moving back to live with his parents so he can take care of his mother and help out around the house. I support him 100%. I know he’s incredibly sad ...
Donald Trump’s rhetorical race war
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The idea of a race war has long animated white supremacists, who seem to think that such a conflict would result in a white victory, whatever that would mean. Dylann Roof — the white man-boy who murdered nine black parishioners during Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church here four summers ago — entertained such an idea and told his roommate that he wanted to start a race war. Alas, Roof failed in his mission. Instead of a war, he launched a massive, community- and state-wide demonstration of love, charity and forgiveness, as well as a deepened commitment to ...
Mail thief
Dear Annie: I live in a large apartment building in a very safe part of town. It’s an older building, and all of the mail for the complex is in one room. Large packages are placed by the mailbox in that room rather than brought up the four flights of stairs. A few weeks ago, I purchased a couple of expensive kitchen gadgets online and was waiting excitedly for them to arrive. As the order said five to seven business days, the more than two weeks I’d been waiting seemed wrong. I work from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so I knew that the package would arrive while I was at work. However, I ...
Congressional impeachment show needs to be canceled
The impeachment show needs to be suspended and sent back for major rewrites — or, better yet, canceled entirely. I use the word “show” deliberately, because that is what it has become. In the most recent episode of House Democrats versus President Trump, pro-impeachment members were hoping special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony would provide the boost the show needed. “Nobody reads the book,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a widely repeated line, referring to the Mueller report, “but everybody will watch the movie.” The problem ...