Laura Gemser in Emanuelle in America (1977)

Laura Gemser in "Emanuelle in America" (dir. Joe D'Amato - 1977).

not to brag but my boyfriend has these two laura gemser posters in gigantic size and they make his (our) room quite sleazy-sexy !

Biden condemns white Supremacy at site of church shooting in South Carolina

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Courting Black voters he needs to win reelection, President Joe Biden on Monday denounced the “poison” of white supremacy in America, declaring at the site of a deadly racist church shooting in South Carolina that such ideology has no place in America, “not today, tomorrow or ever.”

Biden spoke from the pulpit of Mother Emanuel AME Church, where in 2015 nine Black parishioners were shot to death by the white stranger they had invited to join their Bible study. The Democratic president’s speech followed his blunt remarks last Friday on the eve of the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, in which he excoriated former President Donald Trump for “glorifying” rather than condemning political violence.

At Mother Emanuel, Biden said “the word of God was pierced by bullets of hate, of rage, propelled not just by gunpowder, but by a poison, a poison that has for too long haunted this nation.”

That’s “white supremacy,” he said, the view by some whites that they are superior to other races. “It is a poison, throughout our history, that’s ripped this nation apart. This has no place in America. Not today, tomorrow or ever.”

It was a grim way to kick off a presidential campaign, particularly for someone known for his unfailing optimism and belief that American achievements are limitless. But it’s a reflection of the emphasis Biden and his campaign are placing on energizing Black voters amid deepening concerns among Democrats that the president could lose support from this critical constituency heading into the election.

Biden’s campaign advisers and aides hope the visit lays out the stakes of the race in unequivocal terms three years after the cultural saturation of Trump’s words and actions while he was president. It’s a contrast they hope will be paramount to voters in 2024.

AP AUDIO: Biden condemns white supremacy in a campaign speech at a SC church where Black people were killed.

AP correspondent Jennifer King reports.

Biden also used his second major campaign event of the year to thank the state’s Black voters. After an endorsement by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, one of the highest-ranking African Americans in the U.S. House, the state made Biden the winner of its Democratic presidential primary in 2020. That, in turn, set him on a path to become the party’s nominee and defeat Trump to win the presidency.

“I owe you,” he said.

Biden was briefly interrupted when several people upset over by his staunch support for Israel in its war against Hamas called out that if he really cared about lives lost he would call for a cease-fire in Gaza to help innocent Palestinians who are being killed under Israel’s bombardment. The chants of “cease-fire now” were drowned out by audience members chanting “four more years.”

The president also swiped at Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, and Trump, without naming either one.

Haley was governor at the time of the shooting and gained national attention for her response, which included signing legislation into law removing the Confederate flag from the state Capitol. But she has been on the defensive recently for not explicitly naming slavery as the root cause of the Civil War when the question was posed at a campaign event. Her campaign responded Monday with a list of comments attributed to Biden that it said showed he’s racially insensitive.

Biden called it a “lie” that the war was about states’ rights. “So let me be clear, for those who don’t seem to know: Slavery was the cause of the Civil War. There’s no negotiation about that.”

Haley, speaking at a Fox News Channel town hall on Monday, pushed back that it was “offensive” for Biden to give a political speech at the church. She also raised Biden’s ties to Democratic segregationist senators early in his career.

During his successful 2020 run for the White House, Biden faced criticism from fellow Democratic contenders for alluding to his work with Sens. James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia while trying to make a point about lost civility in national politics.

“I don’t need someone who palled around with segregationists in the ‘70s and has said racist comments all the way through his career lecturing me or anyone in South Carolina about what it means to have racism, slavery, or anything related to the Civil War,” Haley said.

On more current events, Biden noted the scores of failed attempts by Trump in the courts to overturn the 2020 election in an attempt to hold onto power, as well as the former president’s embrace of the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

“Let me say what others cannot: We must reject political violence in America. Always, not sometimes. Always. It’s never appropriate,” Biden said. He said “losers are taught to concede when they lose. And he’s a loser,” meaning Trump.

It was June 17, 2015, when a 21-year-old white man walked into the church and, intending to ignite a race war, shot and killed nine Black parishioners and wounded one more. Biden was vice president when he attended the memorial service in Charleston.

Biden’s aides and allies say the shootings are among the critical moments when the nation’s political divide started to sharpen and crack. Though Trump, the current Republican presidential front-runner, was not in office at the time and has called the shooting “horrible,” Biden is seeking to tie Trump’s current rhetoric to such violence.

Two years after the attack, as the “Unite The Right” gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, erupted in violent clashes with counterprotesters. Trump said merely that “there is blame on both sides.”

Biden and his aides argue it’s all part of the same problem: Trump refused to condemn the actions of the white nationalists at that gathering. He’s repeatedly used rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue that immigrants entering the U.S. illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country,” yet insisted he had no idea that one of the world’s most reviled and infamous figures had used similar words.

And Trump continues to repeat his false claims that he won the 2020 election, as well as his assertion that the Capitol rioters were patriotic and those serving prison time are “hostages.”

At Mother Emanuel, Biden revisited themes from the Jan. 6 anniversary speech he delivered Friday.

Biden has repeatedly suggested that democracy itself is on the ballot, asking whether it is still “America’s sacred cause.”

Trump, who faces 91 criminal charges stemming from his efforts to overturn his loss to Biden and three other felony cases, argues that Biden and other top Democrats are themselves seeking to undermine democracy by using the legal system to thwart the campaign of Biden’s chief rival.

South Carolina is the first official Democratic nominating contest where Biden wants another strong showing.

In an interview with The Associated Press before Biden’s appearance, Malcolm Graham, a brother of Charleston church victim Cynthia Graham-Hurd, said the threat of racism and hate-fueled violence is part of a needed national conversation about race and American democracy.

“Racism, hatred and discrimination continue to be the Achilles’ heel of America, of our nation,” said Graham, a city councilman in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Certainly, what happened to the Emanual Nine years ago is a visible example of that. What happened in Buffalo, years later, where people were killed under similar circumstances, shows that racism and discrimination are still real and it’s even in our politics.”

After the speech, Biden met privately with religious leaders and family members and survivors of the church shooting. He also dropped in at Hannibal’s Kitchen, a soul food restaurant, to shake hands.

Later Monday, Biden flew to Dallas to make a brief stop at a memorial service for Eddie Bernice Johnson, the influential former Texas congresswoman who died on New Year’s Eve. Johnson was 89.

Biden said in a statement last week that he and Johnson had worked together during her 30 years in Congress and he was grateful for her friendship and partnership.

New Post has been published on MotocrossAddiction.com

SM Action GasGas Racing Team Yuasa Battery – 2022 MXoN, Red Bud (USA): Press Release

Nel prestigioso appuntamento con il Trofeo delle Nazioni di Red Bud, Adamo si dimostra ancora una volta pilota da ‘top 5’. Nella manche di qualifica, il siciliano centra il quinto posto della MX2; in gara, due solide manche concluse nella ‘top 20’ regalano al Team Italia il quarto posto assoluto.

Carnevali sarà riconosciuto all’interno della generazione degli americani espatriati ed anticonformisti

Carnevali sarà riconosciuto all’interno della generazione degli americani espatriati ed anticonformisti

Se Prezzolini si era limitato a registrare, di Carnevali, l’eccezionalità, mantenendolo però nel solco stretto della poesia italo-americana (“italiano americana”, direbbe Valesio) e non trovando per lui che una definizione da outsider, fuori dal coro, Valesio ne fa la base generativa di una nuova categoria, quella tribù che si definisce sulla base della propria doppia appartenenza: «La ragione…

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Happy Fossil Day. Happy Fossil Day! Brontosaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic period some 156 to 146 million years ago. The first remains consisted of a fairly complete skeleton was recovered from Como Bluff Wyoming in 1879 by William Harlow Reed who named its Brontosaurus excelsus,  meaning "thunder lizard", from the Greek brontē meaning "thunder" and sauros meaning "lizard", and from the Latin excelsus, meaning "noble" or "high". Despite being one of the most complete sauropod skeletons known at the time, the brontosaurus type specimen along with another found in 1880 lacked skulls. In 1903 Elmer S. Riggs argued that Brontosaurus was so similar to Apatosaurus that it should become a synonym. However, when the first skeleton of Apatosaurus was mounted in the American Museum of Natural History in 1905, it bore the name Brontosaurus, in additional confusion because no skulls where known from these animals a faximilally was constructed based off of other sauropod skull remains now know to be Camarasaurus and brachiosaurs which gave the mount a truly bizarre head. This one mounted skeleton is the reason why so much controversy would exist for this dinosaur over the next hundred years. It was not until a 1975 study by John Stanton McIntosh and David Berman re-describing the skull and jaws of Apatosaurus and Diplodocus was published that things would really get moving for more accurate reconstructions. In 1995 the original Brontosaurus mount from 1905 finally got a skull revision to be like that of Apatosaurus, and was also now named as Apatosaurus excelsus. It took the best part of a century to reveal the true shape and form of Apatosaurus, and for most of this time the majority of paleontologists agreed with the opinion of Elmer S, Riggs from 1903 that Brontosaurus should be a synonym to Apatosaurus. One notable exception however was Robert T. Bakker, who in 1998 argued that Apatosaurus and Brontosaurus were distinct. Bakker would be proven right in 2015 when an extremely in-depth sauropod study conducted by Emanuel Tschopp, Octavio Mateus and Roger Benson found that the Brontosaurus type species B. excelsus was infact a valid genus. Reaching 62 to 72 (19 -22m) in length and 30,000 to 38,000 (13,600 -17,250kgs) in weight, brontosaurus was large, long-necked, and quadrupedal with a long tail terminating in a whip-like structure. The cervical vertebrae are notably extremely robust and heavily-built, in contrast to its lightly built relatives Diplodocus and Barosaurus. The forelimbs were short and stout whereas the hindlimbs were elongated and thick, all signs that brontosaurs was remarkably strong and muscular. Brontosaurus would have likely lived in loose herds  acting as a nonselective browser feeding upon ferns, cycads, ginkgos, and horsetails, as it coexisted with with a menagerie of other morrison taxa such as the Diplodocus, Barosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Dryosaurus, Camptosaurus, Allosaurus, Torvosaurus, and Ceratosaurus.

Art Used in this video belongs to the following creators

Brontosaurus excelsus: Paleoguy https://www.deviantart.com/paleoguy/art/Brontosaurus-excelsus-526754288 https://www.deviantart.com/paleoguy/art/Brontosaurus-780543420 https://www.deviantart.com/paleoguy/art/Brontosaurus-Allosaurus-570575957

Brontosaurus is Back: tuomaskoivurinne https://www.deviantart.com/tuomaskoivurinne/art/Brontosaurus-is-back-526656913

Brontosaurus through the ages: Nix Draws Stuff https://nixillustration.com/tag/brontosaurus/

Emanuelle in America (1977)

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Wednesday declined to say slavery was a cause of the Civil War, arguing instead that it came down to “the role of government.”

At a New Hampshire town hall, a voter bluntly asked Haley, “What was the cause of the Civil War?”

Haley, the former South Carolina Governor and former U.N. ambassador who is aiming to present herself as the top Republican alternative to former President Donald Trump, gave a lengthy answer but did not mention slavery — the primary cause of the war.

“I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” Haley said at the beginning of her response.

She went on to say: “I think it always comes down to the role of government and what the rights of the people are. And I will always stand by the fact that I think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. It was never meant to be all things to all people.”

“Government doesn’t need to tell you how to live your life. They don’t need to tell you what you can and can’t do. They don’t need to be a part of your life. They need to make sure that you have freedom,” she said.

“We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.”

After the voter responded by saying he found it “astonishing” that Haley had not used the word “slavery” at any point in her answer, she asked, “What do you want me to say about slavery?”

Haley then moved on to the next question.

The exchange drew a swift response from Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison. “This isn’t hard: condemning slavery is the baseline for anyone who wants to be President of the United States,” he said in a statement.

President Joe Biden also responded with a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "It was about slavery."

Haley’s campaign responded by citing remarks she made addressing the issue during a New Hampshire interview Thursday morning.

“Yes, we know the civil war was about slavery,” Haley said in the interview. “But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.”

The response to Haley’s town hall comments follows similar criticism that a GOP rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, faced over his remarks about state standards that teach about the “personal benefit” Black people derived from slavery.

DeSantis was asked in July about the Florida Board of Education’s wording in its guidance for teaching about slavery and said, “I didn’t do it, and I wasn’t involved in it.” He went on to say, “I think what they’re doing is, I think that they’re probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into, into doing things later in life,” referring to enslaved people.

Haley was Governor when South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its Capitol following the 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. She has previously talked about how the shooting was the most difficult time for her emotionally as Governor.

Should Black America choose sides on Israel & Palestine?

Mainstream Media has been particularly single minded in its narrative of the (latest) 'Conflict' in Gaza. Palestinian hardship is mentioned, but the focus has been on the Israeli hostages and an International rise in Anti Semitism. For some reason Zionist Groups, and more than a few Zionist individuals have been trying to persuade (guilt) Black America into fighting for their Cause. We understand how Black support for a Cause gives it legitimacy, but should We? The Voices of New Black Media have 2 general opinions, but neither is Pro- Israel.

One Opinion in New Black Media says that We should have some degree of solidarity w/ the Palestinian People. We can identify w/ their struggle, so We should speak out against it. Some opinions offer more support than others, but this is the gist of that Side of the Argument. The other Opinion expressed, is more indifferent. This Opinion says that Black America has problems at Home that require Our attention. We have In House Cleaning to do that will take Time and Energy; fighting for another's Cause diminishes Our ability to 'Do for Self'.

Black 'Personalities' in Mainstream Media are trying to create a schism w/i New Black Media, but it honestly isn't that deep. Black America is not a Monolith, so No One is going after the Other. I don't see a problem w/ 'The Family' having 2 specific mindsets. One is introverted and the Other is extroverted; together they give The Family a panoramic view- from Our perspective. Both Sides identify Jim Crow style Racism on display in Israel, so it's hard to empathize w/ a State that condones that policy. Israeli Officials go On Camera, and nonchalantly excuse War Crimes as necessary for the destruction of Hamas. Black America can't 'Rock w/ That'.

Black America's reluctance to support Israel's actions in Gaza has gotten under the skin of a few Zionists. The Usual Suspects (Ben Shapiro, Ed Blum, Ari Emanuel, Rabbi Schmuley) took their shots, but Michael Rappaport & Juliana Margulies' comments stand out. Both actually believe that Blackfolk OWE Jewishfolk something! They both offered the (early 20th Century) argument of: 'You wouldn't do it to Blackfolk, so why are you doing it to (European) Jews?' Rappaport threatened to make a List, for the 'next time' We come Hat in Hand... Michael Rappaport's family owned the #2 Black Music Radio Station in NYC (WKTU 92.3FM) during his childhood. He also brags about playing basketball in Brownsville, Bklyn as a Teen. I guess he thinks that his friendship w/ Q- Tip, his marriage to a Black Woman, and fathering her babies makes him some kind of 'Negro Whisperer'(?)

Since the Issue of Anti- Semitism & Black America rose (again) around Ye and Kyrie Irving, We have been backtracking Our relationship w/ Eastern European Jews. Professor Black Truth has mentioned on a few occasions that NAACP President Walter White is DIRECTLY responsible for convincing Afrikan Nations to support recognition of Israel in The United Nations. Later, Ralph Bunch was instrumental in Israel's survival after Al Nakba; he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his effort. When We examine the investments of Jewish American Businessmen (Legal & Illegal) in the State Of Israel; focusing on the role that Black labor, culture, and entertainment played in amassing this 'investment capital'- what exactly do We owe them?

Michael Rappaport threatened to compile a List, but Black America is already at work on Ours. It's very interesting to see so many Global Leaders and Corporate Giants concerned about Israel's 'National Security'. The World's outrage over the carnage in Gaza has revealed a soft spot in this Cabal of Governments, Multinationals, & Media. Governmental and Corporate Entities tried to threaten The Masses into compliance, but it appears that the Protesters are more emboldened. Universities that initially threatened Student Protesters are now inundated w/ them. It's South Afrika all over again! The Same Entities running interference for Israel, did the same thing in South Afrika. It took sustained Global pressure to get Corporations to divest in South Afrika, which broke the System of Apartheid.

America calls Israel an Ally, but Israel has attacked and killed American Soldiers dating back to the U.S.S. Liberty. The State Of Israel has identified Black American Men as a threat to their National Security. Why would any Zionist expect Our Support? Israeli History- up to the present, is an account of unprovoked First Strikes against a weaker adversary. They are Masters of 'throwing rocks, & hiding their hands'. Israeli Officials and their Mainstream Media collaborators are quick to start the narrative on Oct. 7th 2023; but Zionist aggression against Palestinians go back to The Stern Gang & other Jewish Mobsters during the 1930s. In fact, Palestinians have been dealing w/ Zionism since Nathan Birbaum's 'pilgramages' began in the 1890s... Norm Finkelstein has been giving lessons about the History of Zionism on various platforms, and people like Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro (no relation) confirm him.

Palestinian support is easy to understand- the daily pictures of Gaza speak volumes. While We can feel for the people, We can also understand the view of those who feel indifferent. Palestinians are similar to 19th Century Irish. In Ireland, the Irish people claimed to be in solidarity w/ Indigenous (Black) Americans. In America, they were active participants in Our oppression. The Ku Klux Klan is an Irish creation. In a similar manner, Palestinians come to America, and also participate in the oppression of Indigenous Black Americans. They set up businesses in Black Communities that rarely hire locally. In the case of Bodegas and Smoke Shops, they allow Street Crews (Sets) to:

Congregate on their Premises

Make Marijuana Sales inside & outside of their Premises

Set up prostitution in Shop Basements

In this regard, 'these' Palestinians are no different from the (so called) Arabs who STILL enslave Afrikans across N. Afrika, and call Black Americans 'Abeed' (Slave). These Store Owners have more solidarity w/ Drug Dealers, than everyday Blackfolk. They tend to look at Us w/ the same expression that Israelis give them. It's ironic how Arab Americans tend to live in close proximity to Jewish American Communities. Despite the friction, Arabs & Eastern European Jews share more similarities than differences.

Both are descendants of Eurasian 'Marauder' Tribes. The Khazarians migrated West, into Europe; The Seljukian Turks migrated South, into Arabia. If we're being honest, 'Modern Day Arabs' are not indigenous to Arabia. The True Arabs are now referred to as 'Bedouins' and 'Nomads', and have been systematically removed from most of their Land, via The Arabian Slave Trade... Black America needs to get better acquainted w/ Geopolitics. We're quick to denounce injustice, but not so quick to read between The Lines. America is NOT a Democracy, it IS a White Supremacist Republic. The 'Smith- Mundt Modernization Act of 2012' ensures that EVERY IMMIGRANT understands and complies w/ the Anti Black element of American Society. We can show solidarity w/ Others, but We have to be mindful that We don't have ANY (Collective) 'friends'. We tried to be 'friendly' for decades, & were disrespected by EVERYONE. We don't have any more cheeks to turn.

-The Ball is now in their Court.

Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Curaçao, the oldest surviving synagogue in the “Americas”

The floors of sand serve to remind the congregation of how its Jewish ancestors on the Iberian peninsula covered the floors of their makeshift prayer houses so that their footsteps would be muffled and the suspicion of potential denouncers would not be aroused.

Dr Aviva Ben-Ur, “Curacao: A Journey to Jewish Curacao.” Jewish Virtual Library

Photo Sources - 1 2 3 4

The historical Spiritualism vs Modern New Ageism

The word “Spiritualist” is thrown around quite frequently on the Internet as a catch-all term for Pagans,Occultists and Folk practitioners. However, the term is not an umbrella term at all, and actually originates from the Spiritualist movement of the 1800s.

The Spiritualist movement is said to have been deeply inspired by the Theologian Emanuel Swedenborg who wrote "The Heavenly Doctrine", after supposedly receiving a vision from Jesus Christ himself, illustrating the nature of the afterlife, and that all good souls live together regardless of Faith. This universalist perspective was widely rejected by the majority of Christendom but gained traction with various groups such as the Quakers and Shakers and created the foundation of radical acceptance that spiritualism would be known for.

The Spiritualist movement can be accredited to the Fox sisters in the mid-late 1840s, a group of sisters who claimed mediumistic abilities who had physical evidence that they could communicate with spirits on the other side. In fact, the day I am writing this, is considered the day Spiritualism really emerged. March 31st 1848 Hydesville New York, the three sisters established a channel with the dead, with a spirit that communicated through “rapping” or tapping on wood rhythmically and systemically.

This religious movement would grow because of the radical foundation of equality, abolitionism, and a feminism so profound, suffragettes even found them intolerable.

Catching the eyes of disenfranchised Quakers early on who felt their church had not done enough in the way of women's rights, abolitionism and genuine community care, many Quakers were smitten with the structure, ideologies and practices of the movement. Women at the time we're not permitted to speak in public, let alone lead a religious service or be spiritual community leaders of any kind, In the spiritualist church, the majority of trance speakers (working class young girls who would do public speaking on various topics possessed by the spirits of the dead), mediums and faith healers were all female.

Along with female spiritual leaders, the worship style of the Spiritualist tradition was loose, and they organized in learning circles known as Lyceums. Some Spiritualists did create active Ministry, with full churches, holidays, and baptisms and you can even find old hymnals from the churches online.

This egalitarian attitude towards women, a genuine and consistent track record with the pursuit of equality in gender relations garnered a poor reputation among the greater population.

Along with its incredibly abolitionist narrative, and an earnest pinning for racial equality and the end of slavery in the US. Spiritualism was one of the first religious institutions in the Americas to seek to make the conditions of Indigenous Americans better. Spiritualists claimed to see native American spirits at their seances who were embittered and distraught with their displacement and the poor treatment of their ancestors. The spiritualist church sought to rectify this.

Characterized by the belief in the ability to communicate with the dead, and radical equality, You can see why the religion did not take off.

The doctrine of spiritualism was formed largely through mediumship and the interrogation of various spirits and entities from the other side as the "ministry of angels" was paramount to its development. Ideas such as reincarnation, faith healing and the ability to see the future became integral aspects of the Religion.

Offshoots of the religion continue to exist to this day particularly through Spiritism or Kardecism, a branch of spiritualism that sought out to reconcile Christian dogma and belief with a spiritualist conception of reality. This form of spiritualism became especially prominent in the Caribbean and Latin America and is known as Espiritismo. Spiritualist doctrine found itself quite amenable to Latin American and Black Diasporic beliefs and was easily folded into religions and beliefs already centered in the veneration of the dead and those who came before.

Spiritualism in layman's terms is a coming home to the plurality of the divine.

Spiritualism was despised by the likes of the Theosophical Society and Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn. Helena Blavatsky in particular, a co-founder of the Theosophical Society disliked it in particular and spoke strongly against the religion.

Interestingly, the modern-day New age movement, while borrowing to a degree from spiritualism regarding especially terms such as Spirit Guide and Spirit Team, takes very little from actual Spiritualist or Spiritist dogma and lends itself more to Theosophy which is about the reappropriation of Eastern philosophy and mysticism through a western lens and New Thought Christianity.

This movement wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the Reformation taking place at the time which is where a schism between the social attitudes of culture and society were at odds with what the church could deliver at the time.

As stated earlier, remnants of the church do remain despite the brevity of practice such as the National Spiritualist Association, International Spiritualist Federation, Spiritualist National Union and Metropolitan Spiritual Churches of Christ.

So I ask again, are you really a Spiritualist?

The New Yorker

* * * * *

“Trying to steal history.”

January 9, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

On Monday, President Biden delivered a stirring and spirited speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In June 2015, members of the congregation at the church invited a stranger to join them for services. The stranger killed nine members of the church in the worst church-related shooting (to that point)—a mass killing that was racially motivated. President Obama delivered a eulogy for Pastor Clementa Pinckney of Mother Emmanuel AME Church that included his rendition of Amazing Grace a cappella.

[The video is here, Joe Biden speaks at Charleston church (start at the 26:00 minute mark), and the full text of the speech is here: Remarks by President Biden at a Political Event | Charleston, SC.]

Against the backdrop of the 2015 racially motivated mass shooting, President Biden addressed Trump's use of the “lost cause” of white supremacy to bolster his hate-fueled campaign. Biden said, in part,

On June 17th, 2015, the [nine] beautiful souls and five survivors invited a stranger into this church to pray with them. The word of God was pierced by bullets in hate and rage, propelled by not just gunpowder but by a poison — a poison that’s for too long haunted this nation. What is that poison? White supremacy. Oh, it is; it’s a poison. Throughout our history, it’s ripped this nation apart. This has no place in America. Not today, tomorrow, or ever. Now — now we’re living in an era of a second lost cause. Once again, there are some in this country trying — trying to turn a loss into a lie — a lie, which if allowed to live, will once again bring terrible damage to this country. This time, the lie is about the 2020 election, the election which you made your voices heard and your power known.

Biden tied the lost cause of white supremacy to Trump's 2020 loss, identifying both of as existential threats to the nation. He then pivoted to Trump's insurrection on January 6 and Trump's threat to continue that assault on democracy if he is elected to a second term in 2024.

Biden said, Just two days ago, we marked the third anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history: January the 6th. The day in which insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol, trying for the first time in American history to stop the peaceful transfer of power in the country. We all saw with our own eyes the truth of what happened. That violent mob was whipped up by lies from a defeated former President . . . . We saw something on January 6th we’d never seen before, even during the Civil War. Insurrectionists waving Confederate flags inside the halls of Congress built by enslaved Americans. A mob attacked and called Black officers, Black veterans defending the nation those vile of racist names. And yet, an extreme movement of America, the MAGA Republicans, led by a defeated President, is trying to steal history now. They tried to steal an election. Now they’re trying to steal history, telling us that violent mob was, and I quote, “a peaceful protest.” The lies that led to January 6th are part of a broader attack on the truth America today that we all have seen before. The same movement that, throughout the mob at the United States Capitol, isn’t just trying to rewrite history of January 6th, they’re trying to determine to erase history and your future: banning books; denying your right to vote and have it counted; destroying diversity, equality, inclusion all across America; harboring hate and replacing hope with anger and resentment and a dangerous view of America.

Powerful words delivered with passion and dignity befitting the hallowed ground and the proximity to January 6. As Trump's speeches are becoming more unhinged and hateful, Biden’s are becoming more forceful and direct in challenging Trump. If you can spare twenty minutes, watch the video linked above, beginning at the 26:00-minute mark. Your confidence will be renewed.

But I can’t leave this story without commenting on the media coverage. Biden delivered a truly inspirational and important speech on race and democracy. For sixty seconds during Biden’s speech, a protestor stood up and demanded that Biden call for a cease-fire in Israel. Biden handled the protestor with skill and grace. As the protestor was escorted from the church, Biden said,

It's alright. I understand their passion. I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.

That sixty-second incident of an otherwise historic speech dominated virtually every headline describing the speech. See, e.g., NYTimes, Protesters Calling for Gaza Cease-Fire Interrupt Biden Speech; The Hill, Biden address in Charleston church interrupted by protesters; and NPR, Protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza interrupted Biden's campaign speech.

The bias against Biden is just unbelievable. I wonder if the headline writers or journalists who wrote the articles even bothered to read or listen to the substance of Biden’s speech. I doubt it. Shame on them!

Meanwhile, Trump hopes the economy crashes before he is re-elected.

As Biden continued to call for the preservation of democracy and mourned the tragedies of January 6 and the AME shootings, Trump was telling an interviewer he hoped the economy would crash during Biden’s remaining time in office. See The Hill, Trump says he hopes economy crashes in next 12 months: ‘I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover’.

Trump said,

We have an economy that’s so fragile, and the only reason it’s running now is it’s running off the fumes of what we did. It’s just running off the fumes. And when there’s a crash — I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover. The one president I just don’t want to be, Herbert Hoover.

Ha! Trump remembered as Herbert Hoover? He should be so lucky! He will be remembered as Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, Jefferson Davis, and Aldrich Ames—combined!

And, in case you think I am resorting to hyperbole, Trump refused to sign a traditional pledge in Illinois in which presidential candidates pledge not to overthrow the US government. See The Guardian, Donald Trump did not sign Illinois pledge not to overthrow government. Trump signed the pledge in 2016 and 2020, but not in 2024. Hmm . . . it’s almost like he’s planning ahead to overthrow the US government!

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]