I just reposted it, along with a LONG explanation and apolgia in the comments.

I've also now posted my own snap comments to the SOTU speech, so go check that out as well.

Sorry for all the gremlins, but we are now 100% FINALLY over with the server migration... so that's the good news.

-CW

http://www.chrisweigant.com/2019/02/05/my-snap-reactions-to-the-state-of-the-union/

And I see that Monday's column seems to have disappeared...

Give me a moment, I'll fix it...

And let's hope this is the last of the server-upgrade gremlins...

-CW

All hail Stacy Abrams!

The TV pundits are dissecting this pile of fertilizer as I hunt and peck, but noboby is going to remember any of it 72 hrs from now.

Why do we bother with this cheesy TV ritual? Just phone it in.

That's it... bottle's empty. :)

"It's the Americans!"

#Sad

Where is my Roy Cohn? ;)

great argument, donald - everywhere that needed a wall already has one!

I know, right! He keeps framing the issue saying "Democrats are against the wall because they want open borders," but then he reminds everyone they already voted for building one, and then it got built... except it's called a fence. :)

have to get another beer... might run out berfore this is done.

So I guess more tariffs and higher prices.

yes, where walls go up, illegal crossings do go down, way, way, down... one might say even underground.

Don't look now Mike Pence has his this is serious frown on.

and again he misses the fact that MS 13 is and American creation and still creates more in our penal system than come across the border.

and again he misses the fact that MS 13 is and American creation and still creates more in our penal system than come across the border.

There is still no crisis on the southern border.

*finishes laughing* *drinks*

Seems like trump didn't let Miller write this speech... so far.

Still a low bar.

Ok... It's time for the SOTU drinking game.

For every time he lies, finish laughing and then finish your drink!

I like this drinking game of yours despite the fact that it would likely kill me. ;)

Chapeaux! Excellente utilisation d'un pluriel en français.

Looks like it's going to become a circus requiring multiple rings too. :)

For every time trump says "I" take a drink.

For every time trump says "national emergency" take a drink.

For every time trump says "wall" finish the drink.

For every time trump says " ....best ever" take a drink.

For every time Trump promises to work with democrats finish the drink.

For every time trump blames the democrats (directly or indirectly) for the problems one of his guests he mentions tonight take a drink.

If trump says "god bless America" at the end of the speech finish the drink.

I have some others but my liver and kidneys insist I stop.Besides it is time for Kubuki theater.

So we're officially out of the woods. Woo hoo!

From this point forward, no comments (or even articles) should be "lost." If anyone sees any page with a PHP error, let me know about it, but from what I can see things seem to be running smoothly.

Sorry for all the hassles, but we were facing the deadline of the old server being decommissioned on the first of March, so it had to happen. But we seem to have survived the move...

-CW

OK, I'm going to do some last checking before declaring us out of the woods, and then I'll have some time to get to answering some comments (while sitting around waiting for the big speech).

Fingers crossed, let's hope we're all done with the upgrade gremlins...

I'll let everyone know the progress report in a bit.

-CW

Never heard of "vitiligo", but if such exists, I can't believe somebody isn't bottling and selling it!!

"Re the Governor doing blackface while "portraying Michael Jackson". By the time he died, MJ was whiter than I am!!"

I believe the reference was to much earlier in Jackson's career. Michael by all accounts had developed the disease vitiligo, a condition in which the skin loses all pigmentation. He first mentioned it in public on Oprah in 1993, saying it began after the release of Thriller which was in 1982. He also first started wearing his single white glove in 1983. It was also around this time that he started have extensive cosmetic procedures, which would all make sense given his skin disease.

arrested for what, abuse of audio equipment?

heh.

JL

Re the Governor doing blackface while "portraying Michael Jackson". By the time he died, MJ was whiter than I am!!

i wonder if she has the nerve to pull off that sort of stunt. it would be horribly rude, but nothing donald hasn't done to everyone else in the room. plus the ratings would be through the roof...

JL

[52] nypoet:"...just that there ought to be a pause for air between indictment, verdict and sentencing.
Yep.

[47] Liz: This is about a loss of trust that would be difficult to overcome should he decide against resignation.
Yep.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/watch/watch-virginia-governor-ralph-northam-s-full-press-conference-1436483651935

Although now that I think about it, and I think there were another couple movies from the 1980's, Trading Places and Soul Man. I wonder if they could have influenced now Gov. Northam as a young man at the time into still thnking it was funny or acceptable.

[41] Elizabeth Miller

Exactly right and spot on.

[48] C. R. Stucki

"Excuse my ignoirance, ain't no black folks where I live, but I gotta wonder, do no black folks ever do "whiteface" at a party??"

The short answer to that is no, never. I have never ever either heard of it it or seen it being done. It seems to be an entirely white people fetish of dressing up in black face.

The one and only time I know of it being done was an Eddie Murphy sketch on Saturday Night Live also way back in 1984, where Murphy dressed up in white face for a sketch that was used to point out white privilege.

Totally different concept from white people dressing up in black face to poke fun at and denigrate black people.

"I grew up (in the 50's- 60's) in a town of 25k inhabitants without a single black resident. The only blacks I ever saw were some CA imports who played on the local university football and basketball teams. We referred to unshelled Brazil nuts as "niggertoes", "eenie meenie minie moed'"

I too grew up in the same time period, but in Baltimore, and remember being taught the same rhyme and using the exact same language for Brazil nuts as a child when I was 5 to 7 years old. I think I was about 8 to 10 years old when I realized what it was I was actually saying and finally stopped using the term completely on my own. I think if you have even some sense of intelligence and empathy, you know when things are inherently wrong and hurtful, no matter at what age.

I also remember going to the department store in downtown Baltimore with my mother and seeing it surrounded by the national guard with rifles drawn and burned out buildings after Dr. King's assassination.

"If Ted Danson can have a successful career after appearing in blackface, why can't an elected governor serve until he again faces 'the will of the people'?"

A couple of things. Everyone seems to forget that it was a big controversy at the time. In fact, it did almost end Ted Danson's career.

What saved Ted Danson was Whoopi Goldberg. She and Danson were dating at the time. Whoppi came out and defended him and took the blame, saying it was her idea for Ted to dress up in black face. If not for Whoppi shielding him, Ted's career would have been over.

Northam cannot face the voters again. Virgina governors are limited to one term only.

What's made his position worse was:

1) His retraction of his initial apology. Switching to "it's not me" after originally admitting it was him.

2) His bizarre news conference offering to do a moon walk and admitting he had in fact dressed up in black face, just not that particular time but in another instance when he portrayed Michael Jackson.

3) His almost offhand comment about how hard it is to get shoe polish off your face. Which made so many people wonder and speculate that you would only know this if you had engaged in this practice more than one and had multiple experience with it.

Then there is the real sense of deep hurt and betrayal among so many people of color who supported and worked so hard on his campaign to get him elected, only to find out the person they thought they knew was not in fact who they knew at all.

"Rep King does everything EXCEPT appear in a photo wearing a KKK robe, so let's demand that Gov Northam resign."

King is the Republicans problem.

"By panicking to show that the Democratic Party is holier than thou, the Democratic Party weakens itself and the nation."
Why is an apology - and perhaps a sanction or the Democrats grabbing this as an 'educational moment' - not a sufficient mea culpa?"

Democrats and the base that now constitutes the Democratic party, have now drawn a clear distinction between them and the Republicans even in the broad public's mind. That is why you see this universal condemnation now among Democrats across the spectrum, and everyone knows it. It's not panic. It's an inevitable result of an historic alignment shift taking place:

Republicans have openly become the party of white nationalists, period, full stop. The remainder are also mostly mostly white Americans over 60, mostly male or the non college educated.

Democrats have become the party of the college educated, young people under 30, moderate suburban women and all people of color, almost exclusively, whether African American, Asian, Hispanic or Native American.

agree completely. i'm not saying the guy should stay on as governor, just that there ought to be a pause for air between indictment, verdict and sentencing.

JL

"Executive Time" was what killed Nelson Rockefeller in "The Marshack." Rocky should have restricted himself to the much less taxing "Happy Time."

Trouble is, the same right-wing website that brought us this one, is saying that it has dirt on the Lt. Governor too..

And so it goes...

The thing with Northam is that he himself has made it impossible to remain in office. And, so the concerns about a rush to judgement don't really apply here, at least in my analysis.

And, he doesn't seem to understand the depth of why blackface is offensive - now or in 1884, I mean 1984 ...

If he isn't in the photo, then he mishandled this entire episode. I am right about the governor saying it was him in the photo and apologizing for it while not saying which one before he said it definitely wasn't him.

This is about a loss of trust that would be difficult to overcome should he decide against resignation.

Monday is the second half of our recent server migration. What this means is that I could post an article sometime Monday afternoon, you could see it, post a comment to it, and then the whole thing could disappear altogether at some point.

I'm going to try (absent any crises) to post something, but I warn everyone in advance... things could get hinky and both post and comments could disappear.

If everything goes well and no problems emerge, then by Tuesday night (SOTU) everything will be back to normal here. Beyond that point, all the DNS servers in the world should have updated, and everything should be hunky-dory with no fear of lost comments.

Anyway, before-the-fact, that's the schedule.

I'll keep everyone posted as to how things go, promise!

-CW

you're probably right, but what if you're not? i just don't like how the 24-hour news cycle and everyone in it immediately rushes to a conclusion before any of the hard facts are in. implausible or not, a politician ought to be entitled to a thorough investigation before being required to offer his head on a spit. otherwise it gives credence to the defense strategy of people like kavanaugh who deny everything from the get-go and express outrage that anyone would dare to fabricate such a thing just to deny him his birthright.

Well, there was at least one other person who was in the picture who knows. And I'm sure this pair didn't dress up just for each other - it looks like it was some sort of party attire.

A lot of people know who these two are, especially now the picture has jogged a lot of memories.

Some (especially the other person in the picture) probably want this to go away, but I'm sure some gossip will get out and we'll hear.

I really can't improve on EM-41's response.

How does someone not know whether they dressed up in complete blackface costume or in KKK robe and hood/hat?

He said it was him in the photo but wouldn't say which one. Later he said it wasn't him.

I think it was him. And his explanation/apology/reversal is what will force him to resign.

A better and less confusing apology minus the reversal might have resulted in a different outcome.

with all the modern technology we have, it shouldn't be so hard to determine factually whether or not northam was lying about being in the picture. if he was, that's reason enough for him to step down. if not, i'm not so sure. assuming nobody was seriously harmed, i don't think it's fair for anyone to be held accountable for remembering what they were recorded saying or photographed doing 34 years prior.

JL

Casual racial bigotry among most Whites was the norm in Virginia until fairly recently...just look at all the Confederate Monuments to The Lost Cause scattered around VA. I have family there, and I witnessed it up close during visits during the 60's, 70's and well into the 80's. People can change. Everybody benefits if there is a legitimate process of truth and reconciliation. That said, only the first attempt at truth telling (confession) carries a lot of freight. This especially so when you are at the top of the social food chain.

Nice try Northam, but you have to step down. As a conciliation prize, you are a high profile teachable moment. Also fodder for Republican hypocrites who have never recanted their racist views and policies. Very sad.

What is missing here is the all important context of the state of Virginia and its history - past and fairly recent - with regard to race relations, or lack thereof.

Yes, you're right … it isn't up to the people of Virginia at this point. But, I would wager (and hope) that the people of Virginia would mirror the rest of the country on this issue.

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/02/02/us/politics/02northam-print/02northam-articleLarge-v3.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale

The calls from Democratic Presidential candidates, the VA Democratic Party, etc are exactly the OPPOSITE of leaving this 'up to the people of Virginia.' Running Northam out of town on a rail is hardly democratic, is it?

I can't help but picture The Red Queen in 'Alice in Wonderland'. Why was she so absurd: "Off with his head" was her punishment for at any perceived offense.

If Ted Danson can have a successful career after appearing in blackface, why can't an elected governor serve until he again faces 'the will of the people'?

No one has seen the original yearbook yet.

If I'm wrong about that, let me know.

Can't say that I disagree with anything you wrote there.

But, the situation with the Governor of Virginia is not about evolving and learning or making amends for prior actions.

He said it was him in his initial statement about it. Then, during his presser, he said it was not him and appeared to need reassurances from friends, family and classmates as definitive proof that it was not him. That sounded crazy to me.

But, I guess it's up to the people of Virginia and whether they still have confidence and trust in their governor.

Neil,

Did you ever dress up as a racist?

Elizabeth:

Not that I can remember. But I grew up in Scotland, where the "Eenie Meanie Minie Mo" rhyme did not use the word "tiger" - and none of us young kids knew what we were referring to - these words and actions were part of the larger World we lived in and the true meanings were as oblivious as the work "Eenie" is to me now.

I also was brought up watching one of the most popular shows on TV, the "Black and White Minstrel Show" - which was even worse than it sounds - follow this link if you want to be amazed at how far we have come since the 1970s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_and_White_Minstrel_Show

(Oh yes, that picture on Wikipedia is entirely representative of the show!)

I'm not condoning anything, and I'm glad I'm not the person I was in 1975, or even 1985, but if I can't be given credit for growing up, becoming less ignorant, and working to make amends for prior ignorance and stupidity, then I may as well not try - and that isn't what anybody wants.

I respect people who fail, then work to get better.

Great FTP. I was kinda surprised that you didn't involve Ronny "the Ambien Man" Jackson in some your wonderful drive by snark.

Naming an officer under investigation for improper conduct to receive a second star is certainly worth some snark.

Breaking today he has been renamed trumps medical advisor right in time for his physical on the 8th. I guess not mentioning no bone spurs found and writing a clean bill of health means you get a promotion.

on another note it really needs to be pointed out that restarting the nuclear race is f-ing stupid and can only be the product of a draft dodging president and his draft dodging SOS.

I have to admit that I had a similar reaction when the yearbook picture went public. But, then I listened to how many Afican Americans felt about it and I quickly changed my mind and started to look at this from a whole other perspective.

Why would a medical school in the year 1984 even publish such a picture!? That alone tells you how deep racism runs.

I think at this stage of the game, African Americans are just sick and tired of seeing blackface and KKK gear and wish they wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. So, when something like this pops up - AGAIN - it needs to be condemned by all of us.

Besides, one day the Gov said it was him - but wouldn't say which one - and now, after some thought, it isn't him!? This is not the picture of trustworthiness.

Maybe Schultz should go that route instead of an Independent run.

Did you ever dress up as a racist?

Exactly. Being a bloody idiot at Medical School should not define who you are - I certainly hope so, there was that time I sat on the top of a chimney at a Medical School party, but we won't go into that any further, or the time, dressed as the front end of a Pantomime Horse I went into a bar and demanded in a loud voice "Your best pint of hay, my good man". And these are the bits I remember.

Anyway, back to the point, in the last 30 years has this man shown any attitudes, actions, or political statements that indicate if he is a racist?

An abject apology, explaining that he understands why this behavior was juvenile and hurtful, should suffice.

Sadly, it probably won't.

Yeah, because he was in the service by the time this came out. He says now that the other three pics are of him, but the blackface picture is not.

They're still trying to track down a copy of the actual yearbook for the Governor.

You are right -- good editing eye!

It has been corrected. Mea culpa and thanks for pointing it out...

:-)

-CW

Are we to believe that this is the first time Governor Northam saw his med school yearbook page?

I'd like to suggest a new verb for the political lexicon. 'Gillibranding' = receiving a career-ending volley of friendly fire from your own party based on one photo, quote, or other action from the distant past. I am in no way defending the photo of Gov Northam.

I take issue with your point and suggest that you are, in fact, defending the racist photo.

If the Governor had really wanted to apologize for such overt racism on his part, then he would have found the courage to say which of the two racist characters he was dressed up as. For starters.

Not all photos have the same import or value. It's important not to confuse this issue. Because it's an issue that America has yet to adequately deal with in all of its parts.

"Honey, where's my Willie Horton?"

"Where you last put it dear."

you could pretty much make that the title of his entire presidency...

heh.

I'd put my bet on intelligence, personally...

:-)

-CW

The caucus was also grappling with revelations in another yearbook, from Northam’s time at Virginia Military Institute. That book listed one of his nicknames as “Coonman,” which some members interpreted as a racial slur.

From:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-gov-northams-medical-school-yearbook-page-shows-men-in-blackface-kkk-robe/2019/02/01/517a43ee-265f-11e9-90cd-dedb0c92dc17_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6db08e882684

Sigh.

-CW

which will win?

I still say he's toast... as the condemnations roll in...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/shocked-saddened-and-offended-swift-reaction-to-va-gov-ralph-northams-racist-photo/2019/02/01/ee319196-269c-11e9-ad53-824486280311_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.98f6c86403e5

If he lasts until Monday morning, I'd be surprised, at this point...

-CW

:-)

-CW

I'm interested, why did you label the new phenomenon "Gillibranding"? For the Al Franken thing? Just curious...

I mean, you've got a solid point to make, I just wanted to clear up the nomenclature...

-CW

And of course this goes... doubly? triply? ten-fold? for wealthy businessmen who assume this is an automatic qualification for office. Even if they are actually good at business, not just at self-publicity.

There was NO WAY that the intelligence chiefs said that to him!

Trump flat out lied about the sworn testimony of those that lead our country’s intelligence agencies!

How can this be acceptable behavior for any elected official?

At what point do our intelligence agencies tell the Justice Dept. that it must rethink it’s stance that a sitting president cannot be indicted? Congress has refused to hold this Russian tool accountable for ANYTHING that he has done since he was handed the White House.

While it would be best to impeach a president for committing criminal acts and remove them from office before actually indicting them on criminal charges, an indictment might be the only way to force Congress to do their jobs!