The Shame of Wytheville, VA

93 years ago, the "good citizens" of Wytheville, Virginia, lynched a black man. The white folk there have been living with the shame of it, while the black folk feel the fear of the past and the present.

Some people still had mementos from the murder.

Things like this will never be in the past until people confront the past.

News for Morons

No shocker that "Fox and Friends" is Cheetolini's favorite news show.

Your Sunday Morning Jet Noise

As of the day I'm writing this, you can only see 737 MAXs flying on YouTube.

Don't Worry About Closing the Border, Deadbeat Donnie Doesn't Have the Balls to Carry Out His Threat

Threatening drastic action against Mexico, President Donald Trump declared he is likely to shut down America’s southern border next week unless Mexican authorities immediately halt all illegal immigration. Such a severe move could hit the economies of both countries, but the president emphasized, “I am not kidding around.”

“It could mean all trade” with Mexico, Trump said when questioned Friday by reporters in Florida. “We will close it for a long time.”

I'm not worried about it. Trump is blowing hot air in the hope of scaring the Mexicans to do what he wants. That is Trump's forte. He's not going to carry it out.

But if he does, it'll likely cause economic turmoil. That'll effect a lot of industry, which will then result in layoffs, which will hit states hard that voted for him.

That would be bad. But this is the president we have; an impulsive man-toddler who will do anything to ensure that his name is the number one story in the news cycle. he doesn't give a shit about anything else.

There is no point worry about it. Trump will do it or not do it, depending on what the low-wattage talking heads on Fox say to him. They are the only people he cares about.

Caturday

Chip is slow to awaken.

Cadet Bone Spurs Has No Shame

It takes a lot of damned gall for a draft dodger to celebrate the "brave veterans" of a conflict that he did his utmost to avoid having to serve in. But then again, Trump inherited his draft-dodging tendencies. For generations, the Trump family has regarded military service as something that chumps and losers do.

What Does the World Do With the Human Detritus of ISIS?

The announcement a week ago that the Islamic State had lost its final patch of territory in Syria was a milestone in the battle against the world’s most fearsome terrorist network. But it also raised urgent questions about what to do with the tens of thousands of people who had flocked to join the jihadists from around the world and now have nowhere else to go

It's an interesting question. It's a pretty safe bet that the countries where they came from, especially those in Europe, eastern Asia and North America, don't want them back. The same is probably true for the governments of most Arab nations.

Killing them all is not an option. That's what ISIS would have done.

So I guess they'll stay in fenced camps as stateless people until maybe into the next century.

Because It's Friday

UP's steam update for March:

May 4th is when they expect to steam this puppy.

We'll see.

Apollo 11

The documentary does not suck. There is a shitload of footage that I had never seen, including the liftoff. Lots of shots of flight control.

It's hard to fathom, sometimes, that barely fifty years after the end of World War I, in which all of the airplanes were pretty much all fixed-gear fabric-covered, open-cockpit craft, men were on the Moon.

Highly recommended. It must be stunning in IMAX.

Shorter DeVois: Those Tax Cuts for the Rich Aren't Going to Pay For Themselves!

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday defended a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, pushing back against a storm of criticism from athletes, celebrities and politicians who rallied to support the organization.

DeVos became a target on social media after Democrats slammed her plan to remove the group’s funding as part of $7 billion in budget cuts for next year. The Special Olympics received $17.6 million from the Education Department this year, roughly 10 percent of its overall revenue.

Investing in education for future generations isn't in the cards for the Party of Hoover. You don't see the Koch Brothers and the rest stepping up to shoulder the weight.