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William Allison kept this sign for 50 years. In 1963, he was 42 and participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice. Now he’s 92 and did it again. With the same sign.

On the one hand, it’s depressing that such marches are still necessary, and the sign is still 100% relevant, a half century later. On the other, it’s uplifting to see someone with that much courage and determination.

Either way, it is a lesson to us all: when we feel like giving up on a cause, a task or a dream, look at Mr. Allison and realize that it is possible to keep fighting for what you believe in. Even when the struggle started long before you were born, and will continue after you will pass away. If we truly believe in something, we have to give it that kind of consistent devotion and unwavering commitment – and it can be done. He is living proof.

Let’s all take a breath, nut up, and keep working for what we believe in, love, and cherish. The only way to win is to keep showing up. And the only guaranteed way to lose is to give up.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/when-you-feel-like-giving-up/

http://mobile.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/war_stories/2013/08/barack_obama_s_logic_for_bombing_syria_the_united_states_will_seek_to_put.html

A good read, and worth the click.

Snips:

"It seems likely that President Obama will bomb Syria sometime in the coming weeks.

His top civilian and military advisers are meeting in the White House on Saturday to discuss options. American warships are heading toward the area; those already there, at least one of which had been scheduled for a port call, are standing by. Most telling perhaps is a story in the New York Times, noting that Obama’s national-security aides are studying the 1999 air war in Kosovo as a possible blueprint for action in Syria.

In that conflict 14 years ago, ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, an autonomous province of Serbia, were being massacred by Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic. President Bill Clinton, after much reluctance, decided to intervene, but couldn’t get authorization from the U.N. Security Council, where Russia—Serbia’s main ally—was certain to veto any resolution on the use of force. So Clinton turned to NATO, an appropriate instrument to deal with a crisis in the middle of Europe."

Much more at the link.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/jobs-and-freedom-we-need-both/

Snips:

"The March on Washington was actually called the Great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lots of people forget this and go with the short name, and that is a mistake. A big mistake.

What the organizers understood (and that too many of us have forgotten) is that civil rights and economic rights are two halves of the same whole: you cannot have one without the other. If you have all sorts of civil rights, but are living in a box under a bridge, are you really free? Of course not. You are trapped."

"When we think about the speeches, the images, and the stories of the marchers during the anniversary of the March, let us also remember that Jobs and Freedom were the purpose of the event. And that both are always at risk, and must always be defended against those who would take them away."

More at the link.

A rant against Putin, those he supports, and those who support him. Fuck that KGB butcher with a Sawzall: http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/22/vlad-the-destroyer-up-yours-putin/

Snips:

"Yesterday, the Russian-backed Syrian government used chemical weapons on its own people. Russia (meaning Vladimir Putin) is blocking UN action to investigate this war crime. Vlad the Destroyer is OK with crimes against humanity.

Recently, Russia passed some truly regressive anti-LGBT laws, and announced that foreign visitors (such as Olympic athletes) would be jailed, harassed, and so on. Vlad the Destroyer is OK with persecuting gay people for being gay."

More at the link.

Then I broke the law. Never mind that I believe pot should be legal, or that medical marihuana is a beneficial and moral societal imperative. I am busted.

If I carry a gun through an airport, same deal. If I carried stolen documents exposing Jamie Dimon as the looting scum ball that he is, same deal.

And if I carry stolen NSA documents through an airport, same deal.

Regardless of how we personally view the motivations behind a criminal act, the cops are gonna treat it as a crime. And we should be smart enough to know it.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/21/it-appears-to-be-legal-to-bribe-an-ohio-governor/

"Some Democrats at the Ohio Statehouse are introducing a new bill that they say will make sure Governors can’t receive money from private companies while they are in office.

JobsOhio, the state’s private job creation company recently gave Worthington Industries incentives worth a half million dollars. But questions were raised when reports surfaced that Governor Kasich was taking deferred compensation payments from that company while he was in office."

So, if the Dems have to make it illegal, that means it's legal now. Christ on a trampoline.

More at the link.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/republicans-the-anti-education-party/

Snips:

"For one thing, they are kicking tens of thousands of kids out of Head Start. Yes, because of the Sequester, over 57,000 mostly poor kids are now losing education, shelter, and meals. So, the “Republicans” are against pre-school education. (Unless you are rich, white and Right, of course.)

Across the country, they are pushing “school choice” programs: these are designed to steal taxpayer money and enrich private businesses. However, they often result in such s**** education, some parents are suing to stop the practice. Mostly, it’s poor kids who get the shaft. So now we see that the “Republicans” are against K-12 education. (Unless you are rich, white and Right, of course.)"

"Mind, “Republicans" despise anything based on actual facts, so their antipathy towards education (which is all about facts) is understandable, if idiotic. But then, if you’re rich, white and Right, you likely think you already know everything, so why would you need an education?"

More at the link.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/19/some-steubenville-scumbucket-rape-freaks-may-escape-justice/

The grand jury has recessed again, and is sending different signals than before:

"A key issue before the grand jury is whether adults who are required to report crimes knew early on about the rape last August but didn’t say anything.”

Past releases have spoken about the need for more investigation, or have given a return date. This one does neither. Instead, it sounds like a note that a deliberating jury sends out to a judge, a day or so before returning with an acquittal."

More at the link.

Perfectly put.

http://bluntandcranky.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/lying-sack-of-s-of-the-week-reince-priebus/

Most DUers already know about his flip-flop on self-deportation. For those who don't:

"The man must think we don’t have an Internet. “Republican” National Committee chair Reince Priebus would have you believe that he is appalled, just appalled with the notion of self-deportation, oh yes, how very appalled indeed. Click the link to see how appalled he claims to be. There is just one little problem: he signed off on the concept in the latest “Republican” party platform. Whoops.

He can call self-deportation all kinds of nasty names, but he himself blessed this plank:

“”We will create humane procedures to encourage illegal aliens to return home voluntarily, while enforcing the law against those who overstay their visas.”

That is to say, have people choose to deport themselves. Or, put another way, self-deportation.

Hey, RNC Reince: I’d be appalled to tell you to “wear s*** on your head”; so here is a Crown O’ Polished Turds for you. See, totally different, right?"

Not much more at the link.