American Hero Jesse Jackson Has Left Us

 

Jesse Jackson was a true American hero. He was a vital part of the Civil Rights movement and a national politician who changed our country for the better. 

He ran for president as a Democrat in 1984 and 1988. I am proud to say I was a Jackson delegate in both those campaigns to the Texas State Democratic Convention. He did not win the nomination, but he helped open the door for others (like Barack Obama).

The United States is a better country because of the life and courage of Jesse Jackson.

Another Poem For The Citizen Heroes Of Minnesota

 

Norman Lear Is Gone - Here's His Last Message To Americans

 

The great Norman Lear has died at the age of 101. He used television to make our country a better place. In honor of his legacy, here is the op-ed he wrote for The New York Times when he turned 100 years old:

Well, I made it. I am 100 years old today. I wake up every morning grateful to be alive.

Reaching my own personal centennial is cause for a bit of reflection on my first century — and on what the next century will bring for the people and country I love. To be honest, I’m a bit worried that I may be in better shape than our democracy is.

I was deeply troubled by the attack on Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 — by supporters of former President Donald Trump attempting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Those concerns have only grown with every revelation about just how far Mr. Trump was willing to go to stay in office after being rejected by voters — and about his ongoing efforts to install loyalists in positions with the power to sway future elections.

I don’t take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. As a young man, I dropped out of college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. I flew more than 50 missions in a B-17 bomber to defeat fascism consuming Europe. I am a flag-waving believer in truth, justice and the American way, and I don’t understand how so many people who call themselves patriots can support efforts to undermine our democracy and our Constitution. It is alarming.

At the same time, I have been moved by the courage of the handful of conservative Republican lawmakers, lawyers and former White House staffers who resisted Mr. Trump’s bullying. They give me hope that Americans can find unexpected common ground with friends and family whose politics differ but who are not willing to sacrifice core democratic principles.

Encouraging that kind of conversation was a goal of mine when we began broadcasting “All in the Family” in 1971. The kinds of topics Archie Bunker and his family argued about — issues that were dividing Americans from one another, such as racism, feminism, homosexuality, the Vietnam War and Watergate — were certainly being talked about in homes and families. They just weren’t being acknowledged on television.

For all his faults, Archie loved his country and he loved his family, even when they called him out on his ignorance and bigotries. If Archie had been around 50 years later, he probably would have watched Fox News. He probably would have been a Trump voter. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. I hope that the resolve shown by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and their commitment to exposing the truth, would have won his respect.

It is remarkable to consider that television — the medium for which I am most well-known — did not even exist when I was born, in 1922. The internet came along decades later, and then social media. We have seen that each of these technologies can be put to destructive use — spreading lies, sowing hatred and creating the conditions for authoritarianism to take root. But that is not the whole story. Innovative technologies create new ways for us to express ourselves, and, I hope, will allow humanity to learn more about itself and better understand one another’s ideas, failures and achievements. These technologies have also been used to create connection, community and platforms for the kind of ideological sparring that might have drawn Archie to a keyboard. I can only imagine the creative and constructive possibilities that technological innovation might offer us in solving some of our most intractable problems.

I often feel disheartened by the direction that our politics, courts and culture are taking. But I do not lose faith in our country or its future. I remind myself how far we have come. I think of the brilliantly creative people I have had the pleasure to work with in entertainment and politics, and at People for the American Way, a progressive group I co-founded to defend our freedoms and build a country in which all people benefit from the blessings of liberty. Those encounters renew my belief that Americans will find ways to build solidarity on behalf of our values, our country and our fragile planet.

Those closest to me know that I try to stay forward-focused. Two of my favorite words are “over” and “next.” It’s an attitude that has served me well through a long life of ups and downs, along with a deeply felt appreciation for the absurdity of the human condition.

Reaching this birthday with my health and wits mostly intact is a privilege. Approaching it with loving family, friends and creative collaborators to share my days has filled me with a gratitude I can hardly express.

This is our century, dear reader, yours and mine. Let us encourage one another with visions of a shared future. And let us bring all the grit and openheartedness and creative spirit we can muster to gather together and build that future.

This Happened 60 Years Ago But Must Not Be Forgotten!

This article was written a nd post a couple of days ago by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner: 

September 15, 1963 — 60 years ago today. An act of murderous cowardice in Birmingham, Alabama, shocked a nation. A bomb at the 16th Street Baptist Church placed by Klansmen killed four girls as they attended Sunday school. Many others were wounded. 

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would say in eulogy, “These children — unoffending, innocent, and beautiful — were the victims of one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”

Let us pause in remembrance. Please say their names aloud. They deserve our recognition:

Denise McNair, age 11.

Carole Robertson, 14.

Addie Mae Collins, 14.

Cynthia Wesley, 14.

This horrific act is not ancient history. Some of you were of memory age at the time it happened. And it was not an isolated act of violence. Rather, it was part of a bloody, tragic, and unjust campaign of terror that stretches from before our country’s birth into our present age. It is a story of murder, torture, rape, lynching, and the tearing apart of families. It is a story of Jim Crow, redlining, and voter suppression. And now it is a story that powerful forces in our country would like us to forget, or at least sanitize from the unadulterated truth. 

And yet, throughout our history, bigotry has not gone unanswered. Women and men of courage and fortitude have reminded us that we should walk a path toward equality and justice. Many have sacrificed greatly in service to our nation’s highest ideals. 

This bombing was an act of domestic terrorism meant to stifle a growing Civil Rights Movement. It had the opposite effect. Less than a year later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act. 

Progress has been made. However, we are reminded in our current age that the forces of white supremacy will never give up their privilege without a fight. We see more acts of racist violence, more denying of reality, more attempts to rewrite history. It is a cynically destructive ploy for power at the expense of our national unity and the truth.

 

All this was on the mind of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson this morning, when the first Black woman to serve on the court went to the 16th Street Baptist Church to commemorate the bombing’s anniversary. It was the justice’s first trip to Alabama, but she told those in the pews, “I felt in my spirit that I had to come.”

What she subsequently shared was an acknowledgement of the past and an admonition for our present and our future. We were moved by her words and want to include some of them here, as well as a video of the entire speech, should you wish to watch. 

Justice Jackson began by contrasting the story of the Birmingham bombing and her own personal journey.

I come with the understanding that I didn’t reach these professional heights on my own, that people of all races and faiths, people of courage and conviction, cleared the path for me in the wake of the horrible tragedy that snuffed out the too-brief lives of those four little girls inside this sacred space. 

I’ve come to Alabama with a heart filled with gratitude, for unlike those four little girls, I have lived and have been entrusted with the solemn responsibility of serving our great nation, a service that I hope will inspire people. And especially young people to think about what is possible.

Justice Jackson later entered what she called the “warning part of my message.”

What is needed is for all of us to pay careful attention to what we know. Oppressors of every stripe, from the slavemaster to the dictator, have recognized for centuries that knowledge is a powerful tool. They have seen that, once acquired, it can be wielded. And once wielded, it is transformative. Knowledge emboldens people, and it frees them. The work of our time is maintaining that hard-won freedom. And to do that, we are going to need the truth, the whole truth about our past. 

We must teach it to our children and preserve it for theirs. In other words, my parents were right all along. As I explained at the outset, during my time as a youngster, my parents taught me lots of uplifting things about places like Birmingham, and Montgomery, and Selma. The marches and the meetings, the sense of empowerment from belonging to a community in action...

But my parents also taught me about the darker moments of the times — the dogs, the fire hoses, the bombs. There was a reason my parents felt it was important to introduce me to those uncomfortable topics. It was not to make me feel like a victim or crush my spirits. To the contrary, my parents understood that I had to know those hard truths in order to expand my horizons. 

They understood that we can only know where we are, and where we’re going, if we realize where we’ve been. 

Knowledge of the past is what enables us to mark our forward progress. If we are going to continue to move forward as a nation, we cannot allow concerns about discomfort to displace knowledge, truth, or history. It is certainly the case that parts of this country’s story can be hard to think about. I know that atrocities like the one we are memorializing today are difficult to remember and relive. But I also know that it is dangerous to forget them. 

We cannot forget, because the uncomfortable lessons are often the ones that teach us the most about ourselves. We cannot forget, because we cannot learn from past mistakes we do not know exist... 

So yes, learning about our country’s history can be painful. But history is also our best teacher. Yes, our past is filled with too much violence, too much hatred, too much prejudice, but can we really say that we are not confronting those same evils now? 

We have to own even the darkest parts of our past, understand them, and vow never to repeat them. We must not shield our eyes. We must not shrink away, lest we lose it all. The path we need to take, one of remembrance, knowledge, and understanding, is certainly not the easy road, but it is the only one that can guarantee our democracy’s ultimate survival.

And I am confident that, just like generations of Americans before us, we are up to the challenge. Armed with our history, well-prepared by our past, and secure in the knowledge of what we have been through and where we’re headed, we will triumph in the valiant struggle to promote constitutional values and to obtain freedom and justice for all.

Another Civil Rights Hero Has Passed Away

The picture above shows Bob Moses counseling civil rights volunteers in Ohio in 1964.

On Sunday, Mr. Moses died at his home in Hollywood, Florida. He was 86 years old.

Moses was the Mississippi director of SNCC. And he risked his life and freedom many times to make this a better country for all of us. He was shot at, beaten repeatedly, and jailed many times in his quest.

Barack Obama said, “Bob Moses was a hero of mine. His quiet confidence helped shape the civil rights movement, and he inspired generations of young people looking to make a difference.” 

Robert Parris Moses was true American Hero!

Be Thankful For The Unrecognized Heroes Of 2020

2020 has not been a good year for the United States (and the world). Many millions have been struck down by the Coronavirus and many have died -- and sadly, it looks like that will not end until sometime next year. 

But there is a brighter side in the midst of all the suffering. Millions of our fellow citizens have stepped up and, putting themselves in danger, done the essential work to keep the rest of us safe and supplied with the necessities that we needed. They are heroes, and we should be thankful for them.

Megan McArdle writes about these heroes in The Washington Post, including some you may not have considered. Here is much of her excellent article:

Some of those folks are pretty obvious. Health-care workers. Nursing home staff. Delivery drivers. Warehouse stockers. Clerks and cashiers. Line workers at food processing plants. Biomedical researchers who identified the virus, found us better treatments and, eventually, delivered us three potential vaccines with unprecedented speed. Without those folks giving their all for Team Humanity, we’d be in pretty bad shape right now.

People like me, who have been able to work from home, should count the blessings those people have bestowed on us every day — multiple times. More than that, we should be asking what we can do to make life better for them.

But you know all that, so how about a less obvious hero, like — did anyone have “supply-chain managers and operations chiefs” on their list? No? Well I did! Because these individuals have, without much praise and completely invisibly, been making sure that the rest of us had what we needed.

Remember last spring, when toilet paper disappeared from the shelves and flour was suddenly worth almost its weight in gold? That’s because supply chains had been optimized for people leaving their homes a lot — using public restrooms, eating in restaurants, working in large offices. The people who made and distributed that stuff found that suddenly half their customers didn’t need any supplies, and the other half needed twice as much, but not in pallet-sized lots. . . .

Yet somehow they coped. We had shortages of various things throughout the spring, but there was still plenty to eat and drink.

That’s because essential distribution companies such as Walmart and Target and Amazon rejiggered systems to prioritize basic products over “nice but not necessary”; because logistics companies such as UPS and Fedex reorganized their operations to cope with an unprecedented surge in demand for deliveries; and because General Mills and other manufacturers figured out how to fill those trucks and warehouses by squeezing more production out of their existing lines while ramping up new capacity.

Does that not sound like a lot to you? In a steady-but-poky business like food processing, it’s a bloody miracle. But if that doesn’t impress you, consider that everyone managed to get this done at the same time as border closures were disrupting global supply chains they depended on, as key suppliers were shuttered by covid-19 outbreaks, and as they themselves were trying to virus-proof their production lines — spacing out work stations, spraying down surfaces, checking temperatures and staggering shifts.

That feat is somewhat akin to learning to play the trombone while also performing knee surgery. Their incredible versatility is the reason that you and I can sit down on Thursday to a table that is full of food, even if it’s not as full of our loved ones as we’d like. . . .

Be thankful that you live in a time when you didn’t even have to think about it. The silent, unseen labor of people you never met, from shelf-stocker to c-suite, and a system that proved far more resilient than anyone could have dreamed, is the reason that you never even had to seriously worry that the holiday table would be bare. We shouldn’t just offer thanks in gratitude for all they’ve given us; we should bow our heads with a little bit of awe.

The Final Message To America From John Lewis

Shortly before his death, John Lewis (American hero and Civil Rights icon) wrote this essay. It was his final words to the people of the country he loved. The New York Times printed it on the day of his funeral, as he had requested. It should be read by every American. I post it below for those of you who may not have access to The New York Times.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

"Essential" Workers Deserve Better Pay And Benefits

In the face of the current pandemic crisis, we hear a lot about "essential" workers. Who are these essential workers? Are they the corporate CEO's? Are they corporate executives? or hedge fund managers and stock investors? NO! Those people are safe and secure in their gated communities. Those people are making money off the true essential workers.

The essential workers, the ones who make sure we get the items and care we need to survive, are the grocery workers, the healthcare workers, the building and cleaning service workers, the social services workers, the public transport workers, and the delivery and warehouse workers. Those are the people who risk their health (and lives) to serve us.

And those are also the workers who are least likely to earn a livable wage. And they are also the least likely to be covered with a decent health insurance plan. Most of them are people of color and women (see chart above from the AP). And a significant number are foreign born (immigrants - both documented and undocumented).

During this crisis, many have called them heroes -- and I believe they are. Why then, don't we treat them like heroes. These are not deadbeats looking for a government handout. They are hard workers who want to earn what they have. And they are not just essential during a crisis. They are also essential in normal times (when a crisis is not present).

The truth is that all people deserve decent health insurance so they can get the preventative and emergency care they need. And anyone willing to work hard at a full-time job deserves to be paid a livable wage.

That will not happen as long as the Republicans are in control. They have, and are still trying, to take health insurance away from people -- not expand it. For them, health care is not a right, but a product to be sold to those who can afford it. And they have blocked all efforts to raise the minimum wage at all (let alone raise it to a livable wage). They care only for the rich and the corporations. Workers, for them, are people to praise during a crisis, but not worthy of a livable wage or health insurance.

This is why we must vote them out of power in November. Only a Democratic White House and Congress will provide a livable wage for all workers, and provide health insurance for all citizens.

Frontline workers are heroes, because they do the actual work to provide all Americans with the things they need. It's time we treated them like the heroes they are.

The Unsung Heroes Of The Coronavirus Crisis

(The cartoon above is by John Darkow in the Columbia Missourian.)

It is not unusual to hear our media (including social media) praising nurses, doctors, and other public health workers as heroes. They undoubtably are heroes -- working long hours and at a risk to themselves to take care of the rest of us during the Coronavirus crisis.

But there are others doing their part also. I'm talking about the cashiers, stockers, delivery people, truckers, warehouse workers, and many others. These people are not able to work at home, or isolate themselves in their homes. If they did, we wouldn't have the food, medicine and other essentials necessary.

These people are providing an essential service for us -- and many of them are doing it for a very low wage (and probably few benefits). And they are putting their own health (and possibly their lives) at risk. Too often, they are treated rudely by members of the public who were unable to get some item they wanted. That needs to stop.

These people are HEROES! The next time you have contact with these essential workers, take a moment to thank them for the valuable service they are providing. They deserve it.

They also deserve a livable wage (as do all Americans who work hard at a full-time job).

American Hero Katherine Johnson Dies At Age 101

(This photo of Katherine Johnson in 1962 is from NASA.)

Most Americans probably don't know who Katherine Johnson is -- but they should. She is as responsible as anyone for the success of the American space program. She was a brilliant mathematician, and NASA depended on her computations before going ahead with any launches.

Katherine Johnson passed away on Monday (February 24th) at the age of 101. She was truly an American Hero.

Here is just a small part of Harrison Smith's excellent obituary for her in The Washington Post:

When Katherine Johnson ­began working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1953, she was classified as “subprofessional,” not far outranking a secretary or janitor.

Hers was a labor not of scheduling or cleaning but rather of mathematics: using a slide rule or mechanical calculator in complex calculations to check the work of her superiors — engineers who, unlike her, were white and male.

Her title, poached by the technology that would soon make the services of many of her colleagues obsolete, was “computer.”

Mrs. Johnson, who died Feb. 24 at 101, went on to develop equations that helped the NACA and its successor, NASA, send astronauts into orbit and, later, to the moon. In 26 signed reports for the space agency, and in many more papers that bore others’ signatures on her work, she codified mathematical principles that remain at the core of human space travel.

She was not the first black woman to work as a NASA mathematician, nor the first to write a research report for the agency, but Mrs. Johnson was eventually recognized as a pathbreaker for women and African Americans in the newly created field of spaceflight.

Like most backstage members of the space program, Mrs. Johnson was overshadowed in the popular imagination by the life-risking astronauts whose flights she calculated, and to a lesser extent by the department heads under whom she served.

She did not command mainstream attention until President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s highest civilian honor — in 2015. The next year, her research was celebrated in the best-selling book “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly and the Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe.

Mrs. Johnson was “critical to the success of the early U.S. space programs,” Bill Barry, NASA’s chief historian, said in a 2017 interview for this obituary. “She had a singular intellect, curiosity and skill set in mathematics that allowed her to make many contributions, each of which might be considered worthy of a single lifetime.”

Celebrate The Suffragette Heroes In This Centennial Year

(This photo, found at truthout.org, is of a Suffragette Parade In Now York City on May 4, 1912.)

When our nation was founded in 1787, only men with property were allowed to vote. Women did not get the right to vote nationwide until 1920. This year marks the 100th year of women getting the right to vote. It's time to remember the heroes that accomplished that.

The article below was written by Linda Chapin in the Orlando Sentinel:

As we enter 2020, the 100th anniversary year of women’s suffrage, we must take time to recognize the courage and determination of those who led the long fight to achieve the right to vote for women in the United States.

With a few exceptions, notably among Native Americans and Quakers, women in early America knew their place. Sometimes they were treasured, sometimes taken for granted, but always they were second-class citizens, as Abigail Adams recognized when in 1776 she begged her husband, John, to “remember the ladies” in any new code of laws. It is reported that he laughed.

The movement that culminated a century ago began in the 1840s and, in its inception, focused primarily on the issue of slavery. The intense and principled women who would become the leaders of the effort to win the vote were first abolitionists. But when even that idealistic cause denied participation to women, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton vowed to start their own crusade.

Their small newspaper announcement of a meeting called for a gathering in Seneca Falls, New York, and the agenda set on July 19, 1848, would be one that preoccupied activist women for the next seven decades: the idea of freedom and voting rights for all.

Today, as we re-examine suffrage from a modern perspective, we also have an opportunity to correct the record with regard to the many strong and courageous women of color who played an important role.

The work of black suffragists has been little remembered and largely uncelebrated. We may know about Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman, but we need to hear much more about figures such as Ida B. Wells, an investigative reporter and suffragist who first led a crusade against lynching, and Josephine Ruffin, who created the first national newspaper for African-American women.

We also seek to dispel the popular perception that the suffragists were stern, stuffy, black-clothed matriarchs in outmoded bonnets. After all, the idea of women participating in the affairs of the nation was a truly radical one. And in the later years, when the decision was made to adopt more militant tactics than the unsuccessful lobbying and lecturing, the suffragists needed real courage to press the fight.

Susan B. Anthony was arrested and jailed after attempting to vote in 1872. And when women took to the streets in the thousands on the eve of World War I, they were attacked by mobs and hundreds were injured. In 1917, white-garbed “Sentinels of Liberty” picketed the White House and 500 women were arrested, with 168 thrown in jail, where hunger strikes were countered by feedings with tubes forced down the throats of resistant women.

Later that year came the infamous “Night of Terror.” Thirty-three women had been jailed for the crime of “obstructing sidewalk traffic.” And on Nov. 15, the warden of the prison gave tacit permission to guards to teach them a lesson. By the end of the night the women had been beaten, tortured and denied medical attention.

Ultimately, public outrage over this event was one element that led to a change in political attitudes. President Woodrow Wilson, formerly an opponent, was converted to the cause during the Great War and urged support: “We have made partners of the women in this war...Shall we admit then only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?”

The 19th Amendment, giving women full voting rights, was finally adopted by Congress on June 4, 1919. Fourteen months later, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment (by a single vote) and it became law.

If you are a woman holding a job you enjoy, or owning property or managing a retirement portfolio, you owe these women a debt of gratitude. If you are the father, son, brother or friend of a woman for whom you want these things, you should join in the celebration of this important event, which helped to advance the “more perfect union” we all seek.

This American Hero Now Has A New Foe To Defeat

Rep. John Lewis (Democrat - Georgia) is a warrior -- and a true American hero. He has spent his life fighting for equality, justice, and freedom.

Now he has a new foe to fight -- pancreatic cancer. His office announced on Sunday that Lewis (often called the "conscience of the House") was diagnosed with stage four cancer of the pancreas at his last medical check-up.

I hope he's able to defeat this new enemy. This country could use a few more years of the passion and morality of this great man.

Here's what Rep. Lewis had to say about the new battle he's facing:

"I have been in some kind of fight — for freedom, equality, basic human rights — for nearly my entire life. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now."

This month in a routine medical visit, and subsequent tests, doctors discovered Stage IV pancreatic cancer. This diagnosis has been reconfirmed.

While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors have told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases, that treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and that I have a fighting chance.

So I have decided to do what I know to do and do what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. We still have many bridges to cross.

To my constituents: being your representative in Congress is the honor of a lifetime. I will return to Washington in coming days to continue our work and begin my treatment plan, which will occur over the next several weeks. I may miss a few votes during this period, but with God’s grace I will be back on the front lines soon.

Please keep me in your prayers as I begin this journey."

Trump Exhibits A Coward's View Of Heroism

Donald Trump thinks he knows what strength and heroism is, but he doesn't have a clue (not having exhibited either at any point in his life or his term in office). He has a coward's view of both.

Here is part of how Michael Gerson puts it in his op-ed in The Washington Post:

Two recent events — one deadly serious, the other merely pathetic — raise the question: What is the true meaning of strength?

First, there was President Trump’s grant of clemency to three American servicemen accused of war crimes — two of whom Trump brought to the stage during a Florida fundraiser in a kind of presidential tribute to brutality. In Trump’s version of events, he was protecting “warriors” from the pettifogging timidity of the so-called deep state. “We train our boys to be killing machines,” tweeted the commander in chief, “then prosecute them when they kill!”

Both act and explanation are destructive and offensive. The men and women of the U.S. military are not trained to be killers, though killing combatants in war is certainly part of their job. They are marinated in a code of honorable conduct and serve a cause — the cause of freedom and human dignity — that is inconsistent with the commission of war crimes.

Trump, as we know, is not big on moral codes and is disdainful of causes that transcend nationalism. Once again, he is squandering an inheritance he does not value or understand. He also is expressing a certain view of strength — strength as the brutal application of lawless violence — that is closer to the creed of the Cosa Nostra than to the “duty, honor and country” that calls and characterizes the U.S. armed forces. Trump has adopted the weak man’s view of what strength looks like, the small man’s view of what greatness looks like, the coward’s conception of heroism.

The second event — Trump’s cyberbullying of 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg — had lower stakes but represents a similar view of strength. Trump — probably feeling both envy and anger at Thunberg’s selection as Time’s Person of the Year — urged her to “work on her Anger Management problem.” If pressed, Trump would surely explain that he was getting back at someone who had criticized him first. Future historians will look back with horrified confusion at the spectacle of a thin-skinned, graceless old man attempting to crush the spirit of an idealistic, teenage girl.

In Trump’s worldview, nothing is more contemptible than weakness — which he defines as vulnerability and self-restraint in the face of provocation. The elements of his code? Blessed are the powerful and pitiless. Blessed are the cruel and ruthless. Do unto others twice as bad as they do unto you.

Time Magazine "Person Of The Year" - Greta Thunberg

In my opinion, Time Magazine has made an excellent choice for their "Person of the Year" for 2019. They chose young climate activist Greta Thunberg. They write:

Meaningful change rarely happens without the galvanizing force of influential individuals, and in 2019, the earth’s existential crisis found one in Greta Thunberg. Marshaling “Fridays for Future” protests throughout Europe; thundering, “How dare you!” at the world’s most powerful leaders in her viral U.N. speech; leading some 7 million climate strikers across the world in September and tens of thousands more in Madrid in early December, Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet—and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington. . . .

For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year.

America Says Farewell To A Hero - Rep. Elijah Cummings

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings lay in rest in the Capitol Building on Thursday. It was an honor that he richly deserved.

In these troubled times, when this country is so divided, I just hope that the American people can find a way to live up to Rep. Cumming's exhortation - "We are better than this".

More Young Heroes Who Are Leading Change

With each passing day, I become prouder of the young generation. Many of them are stepping up and trying to change our world for the better -- and I think they will succeed. A few days ago, I posted about four of these young leaders (Greta Thunberg, Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Malala Yousafzai). Now i-d.vice.com brings us three more young heroes we should know about. Here is what they had to say about them:

Autumn Peltier

Autumn Peltier is an internationally recognized Canadian water activist. She is a member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, and has been been fighting for water rights since she was eight years old. The Anishinaabe teen, who is now 15, was inspired by her great aunt Josephine Mandamin, who passionately advocated for the protection of the Great Lakes until her death earlier this year. Autumn has taken over her late aunt’s role as water commissioner and now represents 40 First Nations communities across Canada.

"No one should have to worry if the water is clean or if they will run out of water," Autumn said during her speech to the UN General Assembly in 2018. "No child should grow up not knowing what clean water is, or never know what running water is.”

Mari Copeny

Mari Copeny might be better known by her nickname Little Miss Flint, because of her work bringing attention to Flint, Michigan’s ongoing water crisis. When she was just eight years old, she wrote to President Barack Obama asking if he would come to meet with her and others in her community, who were affected by the contaminated water. The meeting resulted in $100 million in grants to repair the water system.

Now, at 12 years old, Little Miss Flint continues to advocate for her community and the environment. Since 2016, Mari has worked with the nonprofit organization Pack Your Back to help over 25,000 children with donations for everything from school supplies to clean water.

Xiye Bastida

Xiye Bastida is a 17-year-old climate activist based in New York City. Raised in Mexico, Xiye saw first-hand the effects of climate change, as her hometown experienced extreme droughts and flooding. After relocating to New York four years ago and seeing the damage done by Hurricane Sandy, she knew she had to do something. Channeling her indigenous roots, Xiye hopes to inspire others to care for the Earth.

“People say the climate movement started decades ago, but I see it as indigenous people protecting Earth thousands of years ago,” she told PBS . “We need to bring [this philosophy] back and weave it into today’s society. People are here not to take over life, but to take care of it. It shouldn’t be ‘we the people.’ It should be ‘we the planet.’”

Xiye is a leader in the Fridays for Future movement and has worked alongside Greta to mobilize her peers. She continues to speak at town halls and rallies to help inspire her generation and make change happen worldwide.