SSR- Denmark Vessey NYT article "Abolitionist or Terrorist?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/opinion/abolitionist-or-terrorist.html

 We've no shortage of Americans readily throw around the word "terrorist" any time a person or group takes actions to escape any of our society's forms of bondage.

Imagine it was the time of the American Revolution when the British occupied Charleston. Imagine Denmark Vesey and his family being white and being enslaved by the British and the remainder of the story playing out as it did, including the hanging.

Would Denmark Vesey be criticized as a "terrorist?" Of course not. He'd be proclaimed a great American freedom fighter.

But he was black, slaves outnumbered the whites in South Carolina, and whites lived in fear of a slave up-rising. But that doesn't attract many tourists. Racist critics call him a terrorist because they still want to portray black Americans as a threat, as outsiders, and to dismiss the truth that black-Americans are also equal Americans.

Feb 8, 1968, nine South Carolina highway patrolmen fired into a crowd of black protesters seeking admission to a bowling alley near the campus of South Carolina State University. Three teens, 17, 18, and 19 years old, were killed. 28 others were injured. Most were shot in the back. We'll know this place is changing when we have a re-enactment of that for terrorist.

 Even today, to study the Columbian Orator, the book Frederick Douglas took with him on his escape to freedom, and master the techniques of forcefully speeaking up to preserve your own freedom from lies and exploitation.

Professor Egerton writes that there is "no doubt" that Denmark Vesey was a violent man who planned to kill Charleston whites. While Professor Egerton may be correct in his view that Vesey was a violent conspirator, it should be noted that there is indeed doubt on this point.

Professor Michael Johnson of Johns Hopkins has put forth the theory that the story of the plot was fabricated or  exaggerated, and that testimony against Vesey was coerced to bolster the political fortunes of a Charleston politician who opposed the moderate positions on slavery held by the then-governor of South Carolina.

It is also worthy of mention that Vesey, when charged and executed, was a man of substance who had owned his carpentry business for over 20 years. He is said to have acquired property worth $8,000 at the time of his death, a substantial sum at the time. Vesey is also reported to have spoken three languages. Vesey's life story and his success are notable in the slave economy of the antebellum South.

While Professor Egerton's view of Vesey's trial and conviction may well be correct, there is an alternative theory that is worthy of mention. As well, Vesey's achievements are themselves worthy of praise in my hometown Charleston, SC.

PB- A daily dose of America's Politics

Fifty-four  bills were blocked in Congress by the Republican/Tea Party-controlled House of Representatives, this include the American Jobs Act, 2010 that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate would create 3 million new jobs in the country; the highway and bridge construction bill, high-speed rail bill, Immigration Reform, the Farm bill that would also provide disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers. The 2013 federal minimum-wage salary increase provision was blocked, five (5) Veteran-related bills, and the extended unemployment insurance benefits for 1.6 million Americans that expired on December 28, 2013; another 4.5 million unemployed Americans will lose benefits on June 15. The national credit rating was lowered because of the gridlock in Congress over the debt limit. U.S.-based rating agency S&P issued a "negative" outlook on the U.S.'s "AAA" (highest quality) sovereign-debt rating for the first time since the rating agency began in 1860 on April 18, 2011. The nation's "coveted" top-notch "AAA" (highest quality) credit rating was lowered to AA+ on August 5, 2011. The U.S. enjoyed the "gold standard" of triple-A ratings from all three agencies (Fitch, Moody's and S&P) from the time of their recognition as standards by the SEC until the downgrade. You might be wondering how this lowered credit rating and continuing gridlock for the U.S. affects you, personally.(Wall Street Journal)



The fact is that it would affect all United States citizens. None of us will be untouched by a poor credit rating for the country. It would cost the United States government and businesses more to borrow money. If it costs them more, then it stands to reason that it will cost you more, too. Those higher costs of borrowing money will be by necessity passed on to you; the consumer. The 16-day government shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion dollars and 800,000 + furloughed without any shame. The first $4 billion dollars cut to SNAP (food stamps) went into effect on November 1, 2013. 16 million poor kids, 17 million elderly seniors, food pantries across the country, former Veterans (900,000) and some active-duty (6,000 est.) military families were affected. A mess was finally passed on 01/29/'14 that cut another $4.7 billion dollars from the SNAP program (total cuts=$8.7 billion dollars). The House SNAP bill is harsh. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates it would deny SNAP to approximately 3.8 million low-income people in 2014, and to an average of nearly 3 million people each year over the coming decade. Those who would be thrown off the program include some of the nation’s most destitute adults, as well as many low-income children, seniors, and families that work for low minimum wages. $39 billion dollars will be cut over 10 years, because of the 2013 budget sequestration.









The only positive thing that came out of the Congress during the 16-day shutdown was a provision that Congress will no longer receive an automatic annual pay increase after 2013. It is also important to mention that big corporations, some that earned record profits in 2013 like Exxon Mobil (second-highest annual profit in U.S. history) received $4 billion dollars in 'taxpayer' subsidies. Instead of having an American resurgence; we are in a "race to the bottom" in some areas with third world countries. Since Congress members are elected every two years (Senate: six years), we vote for all members of the House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Can you or the nation afford two more years of "crazy talk" (nonsense) and "do-nothing?"
Yes I do a lot of reading!!