Displaying 1,381 To 1,410 Of 3,237 Comments Please Sign the NAACP Petition for Peace and for Justice Very much appreciated. Solidarity! » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 11:39 am I will do as you suggest and ask that everyone in my group do the same. Are women’s groups all over this? » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 10:38 am I have seen a similar letter on line. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 10:37 am I do not trust the prosecutor. I think she set things up with her reelection in mind (and I think the jurors did the same, taking the way out provided by the law and the jury instructions). » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 10:36 am Ah….hope to “see you” on Friday. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 10:34 am Thanks for this. I have copied and pasted it into my archive. Frankly I find its tone very encouraging. Your read on my experience is one with which I agree- if one can hate, without impunity, the President and First Lady, then no one is off limits. A couple of people have asked about the safety of myself and my fellow progressive living here in the wilds….well, that is where our being known as practitioners of the 2nd Amendment comes in handy. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 10:34 am Meant to say yesterday that we have missed you at Vox of late. All ok? » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:02 am CHOICE—- I really appreciate the good news you forwarded. Am I free to share that? It means that the issue is being named for what it is and that the federal government is claiming its place in this. Well done. I hope something comes of it. Did you read my comment to Ad Lib about race at another story thread? I will reprint it here as I think it says a lot to those who cannot believe how near the surface this stuff is. A few days ago I reported how the reaction to the Martin Verdict (because that is what it really was) in my little piece of rural America was gunshots and fireworks. The next day I overhead a group of my neighbors talking about how it was “open season on c**ns”. Today “a friend” told me that he was hoping Grubville (real name of a small town in my region) would reopen its main business now that it was clear who was in charge. That business is as the local center for KKK activity (squashed by persistent police surveillance). Missouri is a castle doctrine state with a “stand-your-ground” law. The state enacted a castle law in 2007 that removed the duty to retreat for persons who are attacked within their home or vehicle. The law justifies the use of deadly force when victims reasonably believe their lives to be in danger, and provides them immunity from civil and criminal action. However, the police and prosecutors here counseled by the state’s Attorney General have been very conservative in representing this law. As one officer I know well says that he tells people regularly that they should be very cautious in the use of their firearms. The best rule is still the one that says that force which is most justifiable is that which is a reasonable response to the force being directed at the firearms owner. Now, the state legislature is moving to direct that all police officers and prosecutors represent and enforce the law as it has been done in Florida- the widest possible interpretation. An attorney here in Missouri was interviewed by a local station. He is a civil rights advocate. He said that he has been approached by a number of black leaders who have expressed their fear that this is step one in a process that will create a new Jim Crowism. I have to say that my impression is that many of my white neighbors feel far freer today to talk about how “they” are out to rob, rape, and kill us and that “we” have a right to arm ourselves and use those arms before “they” get a “drop on us.” And now the law is on “our” side for the first time in a long time. The stories about Holder’s, and Obama’s reaction are paired with stories of Jackson and Sharpton. Today, at a store I have supported and defended from a Wal Mart challenge, the owner showed me a “Missouri is a C**n Hunting State” shirt that some of his customers want him to sell. He asked what I thought. I asked if he planned to have a full line of hoods and white sheets as well. He nodded his head and threw it in the trash. He is a good guy but others are not. I expect to see those shirts on the street. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:01 am I would welcome the address. Perhaps through Ad Lib? » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 9:25 pm Moving is really all about letting go- even if it is only next door. Good luck with it all. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 8:33 pm Glad you hung in there. The site has been overwhelmed with responses…a good sign. I have signed the Alexander petition and contributed to her appeals fund. Did not know about the absurdity of her case until it got connected to Trayvon- I hope some good comes from this. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 8:32 pm Moving….how exciting….from what to what? if you do not mind sharing. Thanks for the signature and the lead. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 7:05 pm Welcome. My pleasure. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:56 pm Hey there Kalima, Sorry about the NAACP limitation. But your alternative is a good one. I just signed it. Thanks. The more voices raised on as many platforms as can be launched the better. Hope all is as well as it can be. Murph » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:56 pm It is our duty to assign greater purpose to this tragically wasted life and action like this takes us down that road. I thank for joining in doing this. Your good words are also very encouraging. I have gotten some push back from some on my mailing list but I have pushed right back. It is amazing how even those who pride themselves on being informed have gotten so much of this wrong. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:08 pm I like your comment very much. Thanks for acting and thanks for putting your sensible thoughts into the mix. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:05 pm Ad Lib took the blame for my bad link. So gracious. Thanks for acting on this. Yes, the Move On petition is different. I signed that one too. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:04 pm Appreciate your acting on this. Thanks. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:03 pm Very welcome. I appreciate your action. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:03 pm Most welcome. Thanks for adding your name. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 5:02 pm It’ the period at the end. This does it. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 9:36 am Debating the Existence of Racism (and Gravity if We Have Time) I can’t add much to this. Your analysis is spot on. For someone like this grocer, the person whose family has fed my small town for three generations, standing in opposition to a cultural norm is scary stuff. So that support, even it it is from an outsider like me, is both necessary and welcome. I had forgotten the term “race traitor” until you included it…it is a powerful way of naming what others might call an ethical awakening. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:48 pm I think you are reading the situation and him well. Remember that this is the guy who came to understand the role the GOP plays in Wal Mart’s success- a success that is undermining his family business. AND this is the guy who is now embracing the Affordable Care Act after standing in opposition to it. So…he needs the support and he needs to check out his thinking. I was glad he did it. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:45 pm The store owner is struggling with his own roots and experiences that have taken him beyond the world in which he grew up, was schooled, and then worked. I have written of him before. I think he was asking me if the shirt was as objectionable as he thought it was. My allusion to the KKK confirmed his worst fears. So he tossed it out. As you point out the real villains hide in plain site and it is a wonder that they have not been the subject of the kind of threats that they support toward others. The trigger- the election of a black president – the declaration that the world was changing in ways they never thought possible and what we have seen is their push back on that at every twist and turn. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:42 pm I find the efforts to shroud this behavior in the law- to make it an expression of the law- so reminiscent of the enshrining of Jim Crow legislation. Just as the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s challenged those laws so this newest civil rights movement must do the same with these laws, with those crafted to limit access to health care for women, with those designed to limit who can vote, with those that further enrich the already wealthy while declaring that food stamps are an extravagance. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:35 pm Thanks for this. I have followed your posts in the past few days and hope you will become a regular here. You have much to say. I spoke with a sheriff’s deputy I know very well tonight and he says that his department is very concerned about what they are hearing on the streets. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 18, 2013 @ 7:28 pm A few days ago I reported how the reaction to the Martin Verdict (because that is what it really was) in my little piece of rural America was gunshots and fireworks. The next day I overhead a group of my neighbors talking about how it was “open season on c**ns”. Today “a friend” told me that he was hoping Grubville (real name of a small town in my region) would reopen its main business now that it was clear who was in charge. That business is as the local center for KKK activity (squashed by persistent police surveillance). Missouri is a castle doctrine state with a “stand-your-ground” law. The state enacted a castle law in 2007 that removed the duty to retreat for persons who are attacked within their home or vehicle. The law justifies the use of deadly force when victims reasonably believe their lives to be in danger, and provides them immunity from civil and criminal action. However, the police and prosecutors here counseled by the state’s Attorney General have been very conservative in representing this law. As one officer I know well says that he tells people regularly that they should be very cautious in the use of their firearms. The best rule is still the one that says that force which is most justifiable is that which is a reasonable response to the force being directed at the firearms owner. Now, the state legislature is moving to direct that all police officers and prosecutors represent and enforce the law as it has been done in Florida- the widest possible interpretation. An attorney here in Missouri was interviewed by a local station. He is a civil rights advocate. He said that he has been approached by a number of black leaders who have expressed their fear that this is step one in a process that will create a new Jim Crowism. I have to say that my impression is that many of my white neighbors feel far freer today to talk about how “they” are out to rob, rape, and kill us and that “we” have a right to arm ourselves and use those arms before “they” get a “drop on us.” And now the law is on “our” side for the first time in a long time. The stories about Holder’s, and Obama’s reaction are paired with stories of Jackson and Sharpton. Today, at a store I have supported and defended from a Wal Mart challenge, the owner showed me a “Missouri is a C**n Hunting State” shirt that some of his customers want him to sell. He asked what I thought. I asked if he planned to have a full line of hoods and white sheets as well. He nodded his head and threw it in the trash. He is a good guy but others are not. I expect to see those shirts on the street. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 17, 2013 @ 7:28 pm Justice, Politics and Other Multiplayer Games Ad Lib…thoughtful piece. I will respond further a bit later but I do want to note that among the casualties of the ZImmerman trial coverage is that it shoved other stories of far greater scope from the front pages on line, and in print and on the airwaves. Egypt, the VRA, corruption in the Va governor’s mansion, immigration, the jobs picture and so much more. Both sides are using the trial as distraction and it is more than annoying. MSNBC coverage is clearly about ratings. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On July 10, 2013 @ 5:37 pm Let the battle for a new voting rights movement begin I think this very political court made no such assumption. They used that event as cover in their cynical effort to turn back the clock, to defeat demographic shifts, and to keep their people in power for just a little while longer. And the base that they feed with this nonsense is as badly served as those who are disenfranchised because the ruling pretends that there is an America which is not the real America – the oligarchs have won a short term victory..I want to make it a very short term victory. 2014…take ’em down. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 6:52 pm YOu nailed it. » Posted By MurphTheSurf3 On June 26, 2013 @ 5:35 pmComments Posted By MurphTheSurf3
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