At noon yesterday, Rebecca Solnit convened a live online event entitled “The Way We Get Through This Is Together: Celebrating Community.” It was much more uplifting than watching the inauguration. You can view it here.
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During World War II, mail between service members and their loved ones was crucial for morale but delivery mechanisms broke down in Europe, resulting in millions of pieces of mail being stuffed into airplane hangars in Scotland.
Meanwhile, the 6888th Women’s Army Corps (WAC) battalion has been trained to an exemplary level but, despite their level of excellence, has not been assigned because it is comprised of Black and mixed-race women.
Finally, they are assigned the seemingly impossible task to go to Scotland and clear the backlog within six months. Under the command of Major Charity Adams, they use their training, skills, creativity, experience, and intelligence to complete the task in under three months. They then are deployed to France, where they clear a similar backlog.
This amazing history has now been brought to the screen, thanks to Tyler Perry, who directed and co-produced the film and wrote the script, based on an article by Kevin Hymel. Kerry Washington delivers a strong performance as the formidable Major Adams, with Ebony Obsidian touchingly portraying Lena Derriecott King, a servicemember of the 6888th who is grieving the loss of a friend who was killed in action.
While the film was released in theaters in December, most people are probably going to view it now via Netflix.
I wanted to lift up this film today in particular because the United States is commemorating the 95th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. A major figure in the area of civil rights, especially for Black Americans, King was assassinated at the age of 39.
I appreciated that the film includes the later history of the women of the Six Triple Eighth. Given the racism and sexism they faced, recognition of their work was long delayed.
In 2023, a military base in Virginia was re-named Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of Lt. Col. Charity Adams and Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, the first time Black Americans had been so honored. This was part of an initiative to finally remove the names of Confederate officers from United States military bases.
I am appalled that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, wants to undo the re-naming. Some other Republicans have agreed.
No.
We need to recognize, lift up, and celebrate leaders like Charity Adams.
Thank you to Tyler Perry, Kerry Washington, and all who were involved with The Six Triple Eight for bringing this inspiring story to the public.
*****
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Vote for Democracy #28
The Equal Rights Amendment
There is always a flurry of activity in the last few weeks that a president is in office, with various declarations, awards, pardons/commutations, executive orders, rules, and other summations being offered and Joe Biden has been actively engaged in this.
On his last full day in office, I’d like to highlight one in particular, the declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
I’ve been waiting for this for my entire adult life.
When Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972, it put a time limit on its ratification by the states, 38 of which had to vote in their legislatures to reach the constitutionally required three-fourths of the states. However, this limit was not part of the amendment itself. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA, so it should have been recognized and added to the Constitution at that time. Lawrence Tribe and Kathleen Sullivan explain all the legalities in this piece in The Contrarian.
Many legal scholars and organizations have been working on this issue. In particular, I would like to raise up Carrie Baker, a distinguished faculty member at my alma mater, Smith College, for her legal and journalistic skill in advocating for the ERA.
I have no doubt that there will be a flood of lawsuits, claiming that the Equal Rights Amendment is not in effect, either because of the original Congressional advisory deadline or because several states have said they want to rescind their ratification. However, states have never been allowed to rescind ratification and amendments remain open for ratification in perpetuity. For example, Mississippi did not ratify the 1865 13th Amendment abolishing slavery until 1995 and their vote wasn’t certified until 2013.
I hope that having the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States Constitution will help protect the rights of everyone, especially women and girls. This is especially important now when some states are denying health care to women and even trying to restrict their ability to travel.
When new democracies form around the world and the United States is assisting in writing constitutions, the US insists that equal rights for women be included. It’s fundamental to civil and human rights. I’m glad that it is now part of our Constitution, which should strike down discriminatory state laws. It will also align with many of our state constitutions that already include equal rights in regards to gender.
With so much else going on in the United States and the world right now, this momentous news has flown a bit under the radar. I’m hoping that it will be embraced and followed by all the people.
Its text is very simple. The 28th Amendment states:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Yes!
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So, yikes! Going to try to post for Stream of Consciousness Saturday with a political post…
Linda’s prompt this week is “pack/peck/pick/pock/puck” and the first thing that popped into my head was the hearings in the US Senate over the past week for President-elect Trump’s Cabinet picks.
The scariest hearing so far has been for DT’s pick for Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth. While he is a military veteran, he is best known for being a host on Fox News. Unfortunately, he is also known for public drunkenness, misogyny, and mismanagement of charitable organizations. His defense against this evidence was that the accusations against him were “anonymous smears” even though many of them are on public record and that he has now found Jesus and is happy with his third wife and won’t drink if he becomes Defense Secretary.
While I sincerely hope that Mr. Hegseth has mended his ways and retains his new-found maturity and sobriety – or potential sobriety, as I don’t think he said that he has stopped drinking yet – this is not a person whose history suggests he is capable of managing over 3 million employees and a $1 trillion budget. (Apologies if I’m misremembering the figures. Stream of consciousness writing does not allow for side research.)
The vote on his nomination, first on the committee before whom he testified and then, if he passes that, by the full Senate, has not yet been scheduled. I would hope that such an unqualified individual would not be confirmed but the Republicans do hold the Senate majority, so it’s entirely possible.
I’m afraid.
*****
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Vote for Democracy #27
I have decided to end my subscription to the Washington Post; I’ve cancelled but was a yearly subscriber so it will still be available to me through early April. I had been trying to stay on in support of the journalists and editorial team members that I respected, but the level of interference from owner Jeff Bezos is too much to look past.
Jennifer Rubin recently resigned from WaPo and has started a new outlet with Norman Eisen called The Contrarian on Substack. I realize that platform will pose a problem for some readers but it’s what I need to do to access their content. A number of experts whom I already trust, such as Joyce Vance and Ruth Ben-Ghiat, will be contributing. The Contrarian is dedicated to truth-telling, which is what we all need to counter the tech oligarchy, skewed social media algorithms, and government liars.
The Contrarian just started and I am currently a free subscriber. If I find it valuable, I will upgrade to a paid subscription, which will actually cost less than WaPo.
I hope interested people will check out the site and subscribe, if they are so moved.
It looks to be a great resource for those of us who are dedicated to democracy in the United States.
*****
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Vote for Democracy #26
Last night, US President Joe Biden delivered a farewell speech from the Oval Office. Among other things, it warns against the increasingly powerful tech oligarchy that threatens our democracy. You can read the address here.
The penultimate paragraph is:
My eternal thanks to you, the American people. After 50 years of public service, I give you my word, I still believe in the idea for which this nation stands — a nation where the strength of our institutions and the character of our people matter and must endure. Now it’s your turn to stand guard. May you all be the keeper of the flame. May you keep the faith. I love America. You love it, too.
Yes.
I, along with millions and millions of others, will heed the call. Each of us doing the work that is ours to do will keep our democracy intact.
Some will have a bigger, public role and others will be working in a much smaller sphere of influence, but all of us can participate.
It’s what democracy means.
*****
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Vote for Democracy #25
One of the outrageous lines of comment that Donald Trump has hammered recently is that the United States should take over various places, including Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal. He seems to think he can do this by buying them or attacking them economically, diplomatically, or militarily.
This is totally unacceptable and violates both national and international law and treaties.
Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark, one of our NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies. Both the leadership of Denmark and the mostly indigenous government and population of Greenland have made it clear that Greenland is not for sale.
Like Denmark, Canada is an original 1949 member of NATO. They are consistently one of our top five trading partners. They are a nation with a long, storied history and diverse cultural influences and heritage. Canadians do not want to be part of the United States. They value their own democracy with its own laws, freedoms, and ways of doing things.
While the Panama Canal Zone was a US territory under a 99-year lease, it was returned to Panamanian sovereignty in 1999, in accord with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, negotiated by the administration of President Carter, whose state funeral was on Thursday, which was ratified by the Senate in 1978. Panama has made it clear that they will remain in control of their sovereign territory.
So, no, Trump cannot add to the United States in violation of law and treaty. Any members of the military, Congress, or executive branch who are asked to assist in these efforts must reject those requests or orders because they violate their oaths.
If Donald Trump wants to expand the number of states, he should concentrate on granting statehood to the District of Columbia and to Puerto Rico, if their citizenry votes to change their status. He should also work toward granting House voting status for the remaining US territories and our indigenous nations. As Delegate Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands pointed out during the selection of the Speaker of the House earlier this month, 4 million Americans had no vote for Speaker because they have no votes in Congress.
I call on Donald Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress to prioritize full recognition of those living in current territories and our nation’s capital, not trying to take away the sovereignty of citizens of other nations.
*****
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Here in the US, the dominant news story this week is the horrific wildfires in Los Angeles, California. The area has had less than a quarter inch of rain since May. This should be their rainy season but nothing has fallen. The year prior had been very wet so there had been a lot of vegetative growth but it had dried out because of the drought, making it more susceptible to fire. The dry, Santa Ana winds are blowing through the mountains at near-hurricane strength.
So, widespread fires hitting populated areas in Los Angeles.
The fires are so widespread and numerous that the local firefighters, supplemented by others from as far away as Canada, plus aircraft cannot contain the fires, so entire neighborhoods have been leveled.
Some people are blaming the government for not being more prepared but the truth is that the scale of these fires is beyond any hope of control.
Many of the reports are talking about how climate change has altered the conditions so much that what has always been a risk in the LA area has become an epic disaster. Insurers have been refusing to renew homeowner policies in these areas as the danger increased and there is a question if some of these neighborhoods will be able to be rebuilt or if their residents will, in effect, become climate refugees.
There are, of course, already climate refugees around the world. People on islands or low-lying areas that are facing rising seas or catastrophic flooding. People facing prolonged drought and crop failures. People who have lost access to fresh drinking water. People fleeing armed conflicts that erupted over control of scarce resources.
The uncomfortable truth is that many of the people who come to the US as refugees are doing so because of an underlying climate-related cause. For example, asylum seekers from the Northern Triangle of Central America (Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador) are most often fleeing from climate-change-induced conditions.
Will the devastation of the LA fires finally get through to climate-change deniers what humanity has done to our planet? Trump and his team are promising to ramp up fossil fuel production, despite the US already being at record-high production levels and despite the fact that people in the US and around the globe are already being devastated by climate change.
I can’t muster hope anymore.
If only the country had taken the environmental message of President Jimmy Carter, whose state funeral was yesterday, seriously, we would not be in this state now.
*****
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In late December/early January, many people look back over the year, reflect on its highs and lows, or create some kind of tally.
Sometimes, tallies are created for us, such as Words With Friends, which I have played for 13 years, helpfully telling me I made 8,875 moves in 2024. In my early years of WordPress blogging, they would send us each an annual wrap-up, which I enjoyed. Theoretically, I could put some stats together myself, but I don’t have the wherewithal to manage it.
Some of my poet/writer friends would tally their publications – and rejections – for the year. Given how 2024 went for me, the lists of both would be short, as would the list of completed poems, although I am very grateful that I managed to attend the Boiler House Poets Collective week-long residency at The Studios at MASS MoCA.
My 2024 was mostly taken up with personal and family health issues and my spouse B preparing for his retirement from IBM, which has now happened.
We begin 2025 in uncertainty. With daughter T and I still struggling to find full diagnoses and treatment, what we had imagined B’s retirement to look like is not going to be enacted, at least, not right away.
None of this is helped by the huge uncertainty about what will unfold when DT becomes US president again on Jan.20.
My father used to say “One day at a time” a lot. I am, though, by nature a planner, so I had trouble with the concept.
Now, sometimes, I feel that things are moment-to-moment or that time is somehow suspended or irrelevant.
So, yeah, 2025.
Guess I’ll strive for one day at a time…
*****
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Vote for Democracy #24
Under the United States Constitution, January 6th is the date that Congress meets in joint session to certify the electoral college votes for president and vice president that took place the prior November.
Today, this certification happened smoothly and quickly, marking the peaceful transfer of power that had been the norm in the US until it was shattered on January 6, 2021, when a mob violently stormed the Capitol after weeks of unfounded claims by Donald Trump and his team that the election had been stolen from him, even though government officials around the country had certified that the election results were fair and valid and dozens of court cases challenging the results had failed.
Members of Congress had to be evacuated to safer locations, but about 140 police officers were wounded in the assault, with five deaths being attributed to the attack and its aftermath. Donald Trump waited for hours to ask his supporters to leave the Capitol. When Congress re-convened later that night, there were still 147 Republicans who voted against certifying all the electors, which was unconscionable, given the threat that the riot had posed to them and their colleagues. (To read the most comprehensive report about the January 6th, 2021 attack, please visit this link, which has the full report from the House Select Committee plus supporting materials, such as court documents, videos, interviews, and depositions.)
Despite all of this, Donald Trump managed to convince enough voters that the attack didn’t happen at all, that it was a “day of love,” and that the people who had been convicted at trial or had pleaded guilty in the attack planning or execution were political prisoners, that he won the 2024 election which was certified today.
Trump has indicated that he may pardon all or most of the convicted after he is inaugurated on Jan. 20th. He has threatened to arrest the people in Congress and the Justice Department who investigated the attack and his role in it.
I will continue to be part of the millions of Americans who believe in the truth, the Constitution, and the rule of law. Trump and his Republican gang cannot erase the mountain of evidence against them. Bizarrely, one of the things that Trump is claiming the members of the House Select Committee did was to destroy all the evidence; the link above shows that they instead made the evidence public.
Don’t fall for Trump’s lies about January 6th, 2021 or anything else. Look at the evidence. Find the truth and proclaim it.
We are going to need to do it a lot to get through these next four years with our democracy functioning.
*****
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Joanne Corey 