Ralph Northam backtracks, admits to being in blackface a different time but not in the yearbook
Yesterday Virginia Governor Ralph Northam apologized after a picture of him in his medical school yearbook surfaced in which he was either in blackface or in a KKK outfit. He admitted he was one of the people in the picture but would not say which racist was actually him.
Calls for his resignation have been swift and abundant; even Democrats who always supported an actual KKK member, Robert Byrd, are calling for his resignation but at least for now Ralph Northam has no intention of stepping down.
In fact he has now backtracked and is claiming it is not even him in the picture and that somebody else must have submitted that picture to his page in the yearbook. (Of course he submitted all the other pictures, just not the offending picture.)
Here is more:
“Yesterday, I took responsibility for content that appeared on my page in the Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook that was clearly racist and offensive,” Northam began his statement. “I am not and will not excuse the content of the photo. It was offensive, racist, and despicable.”
Northam recalled his staff showing him the photo on Friday and claimed this was the first time he had seen the photo on his page of the yearbook. He stated that he did not purchase that yearbook.
“I was unaware of what was on my page” in the yearbook, Northam claimed. “When I was confronted with the images yesterday, I was appalled that they appeared on my page, but I believe then and now that I am not either of the people in that photo.”
“I recognize many people will find this difficult to believe. The photo appears with others I submitted on a page with my name on it,” Northam admitted. “Even in my own statement yesterday I conceded that based on the evidence presented to me at the time. The most likely explanation that it was indeed me in the photo.”
“In the hours since I made my statement yesterday, I reflected with my family and classmates from the time and affirmed my conclusion that I am not the person in that photo,” Northam claimed. “While I did not appear in the photo, I am not surprised by its appearance in the EVMS yearbook in the place and time where I grew up, many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhorrent today, were commonplace.”
So basically he is saying all Virginians were racists back then so it is not surprising a picture like this would make it into his yearbook–he was just one of many racist faces in the crowd.
But this is the part that I find interesting, if I had ever appeared in either blackface or a KKK outfit I would remember it. If somebody showed me a picture and claimed it was me in blackface I certainly would not think it could possibly be me if indeed there was no chance it was me. So how could Ralph Northam mistake somebody in blackface as being himself?
Here is how:
“My belief that I did not wear that costume or attend that party stems in part from my clear memory of other mistakes I make in this same period of my life,” Northam relented. “That same year I did participate in a dance contest in San Antonio in which I darkened my face as part of a Michael Jackson costume. I look back now and regret that I did not understand the harmful legacy of an action like that. It is because my memory of that episode is so vivid, that I truly did not believe that I am in the picture in my yearbook. You remember these things.”
So now his defense is that he did indeed dress up in blackface before, just not this time. That is not much of a defense is it? And notice the word “mistakes” is pluralized, which would indicate he probably dressed in blackface more than once. If you ask me this new defense is more damning than his original admission. Perhaps Ralph Northam should stop talking now…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Democratic Virginia Governor Ralph Northam admits appearing in yearbook in racist photo
During his 2017 campaign for Governor of Virginia Ralph Northam decried his opponent’s “racist rhetoric and fearmongering” and now it turns out that he knows a little bit about being a racist after all because his yearbook has surfaced and in it he appears either in blackface or in a KKK outfit. I am reminded here of an old saying about glass houses and rocks…
The Democratic Governor has admitted he is in the picture and he has apologized, but he will not say which racist he is. Here is more:
Northam released a statement on Friday admitting to having the photo included in his medical school yearbook. The Virginia Democrat Gov. also admitted to appearing in the photo; however, he did not say whether he was the man in blackface or in Klu Klux Klan attire.
“Earlier today, a website published a photograph of me from my 1984 medical school yearbook in a costume that is clearly racist and offensive,” Northam’s statement read.
“I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to appear as I did in this photo and for the hurt that decision caused then and now,” the Gov added.
“This behavior is not in keeping with who I am today and the values I have fought for throughout my career in the military, in medicine, and in public service,” Northam continued. “But I want to be clear, I understand how this decision shakes Virginians’ faith in that commitment.”
It has been a tough week for Ralph Northam between his infanticide comments and now his racist history coming to light and the Republican party of Virginia is calling for his resignation. But that is expected, what is even worse for the governor is that MoveOn is also calling for him to step aside.
MoveOn tweeted on Friday, “If
@RalphNortham is one of the two people pictured in the highly disturbing, horrific photo wearing either blackface or a KKK hood – or if he selected or approved of its use on his yearbook page — he should immediately resign. There are no excuses for such a racist display.”
And MoveOn is not alone:
Julian Castro, a former Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department, mayor of San Antonio, and 2020 presidential candidate, condemned Northam and said that he should resign.
Castro tweeted on Friday, “It doesn’t matter if he is a Republican or a Democrat. This behavior was racist and unconscionable. Governor Northam should resign.”
Personally I do not see how he can survive this after the left has made everything about race relations over the last ten years, in many cases by inventing “dogwhistles” where none exist to push an agenda and destroy an opponent.
Here we have a case of true racism and a disgusting display of bad judgement, and let us face it, a person would never think this was a good idea if he were not a racist inside. But maybe he will survive, after all it is not like he did something truly offensive like smile while wearing a MAGA hat…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
South Dakota Governor signs Constitutional carry into law
With all of the depressing news we have been subjected to this week how about a feel good story for a change?
While the Supreme Court is set to take up a challenge to a New York law which forbids people from owning handguns without a permit states like South Dakota are going in the opposite direction.
Today South Dakota became the 15th state to approve Constitutional carry when the Governor signed the legislation into law. Here is more:
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) on Thursday signed a law allowing residents to carry concealed handguns without a permit.
Noem, who just entered office earlier this month, signed the bill repealing the permit requirement that was passed by the state legislature, The Argus Leader reported.
She said she was “proud” that it was the first bill she signed as South Dakota governor.
“It’s special for me to be signing a bill into law that protects our Second Amendment rights,” Noem said.
The law, referred to by its proponents as “constitutional carry,” gives South Dakotans to choose whether to obtain a concealed carry permit.
This is great news and a step in the right direction. Between more states passing Constitutional carry and with a possible Supreme Court victory in the New York case we could finally be on the verge of actually reaffirming and setting in stone once and for all the Second Amendment protection which was written into the Constitution all those years ago.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
A funny thing happened on the way to the socialist revolution which was supposedly ushered in by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. All is not going the way the Democrats have hoped it would.
While she has become a media darling and the new face of the Democratic party, who was supposed to be a thorn in the side of the President and Republicans it has not quite worked out that way and not all Democrats are happy with the new young firebrand from New York.
She made a name for herself by beating an incumbent and entrenched Democrat in the primary but the party had hoped she would turn her sights on the Republicans when she got into office. However, upon reaching Washington DC Ocasio-Cortez’s first action was to join a protest outside of Nancy Pelosi’s office and since that time she has been encouraging people to primary Democrats in 2020. Because of this Democrats have already tried to reign her in and failed so now there is actually talk of primary opponents running against her in 2020 with the hopes of making her a one-termer.
Here is more:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has infuriated colleagues by aligning with a progressive outside group that’s threatening to primary entrenched Democrats. Now some of those lawmakers are turning the tables on her and are discussing recruiting a primary challenger to run against the social media sensation.
“What I have recommended to the New York delegation is that you find her a primary opponent and make her a one-term congressperson,” the Democratic lawmaker, who requested anonymity, told The Hill. “You’ve got numerous council people and state legislators who’ve been waiting 20 years for that seat. I’m sure they can find numerous people who want that seat in that district.”
Many New York and Congressional Black Caucus lawmakers were also furious with Ocasio-Cortez after a recent Politico report stated she and the grass-roots group aligned with her, Justice Democrats, were considering backing a primary challenge to fellow New York Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, a Black Caucus member and establishment insider who succeeded Crowley as caucus chairman.
The establishment Democrats had assumed she would either fall into line with them or that she could be persuaded to fall in line. But that has not happened and now it appears as if she might be wearing out her welcome with her fellow Democratic colleagues before she has even had the chance to do anything.
In addition to her not turning her attention away from fellow Democrats I believe there is also a jealousy factor. I believe many of the establishment Democrats resent the fact she is getting all this attention and publicity before she has earned it. And to be fair there are plenty of Republican voters that want her to shut up and do not think she deserves the attention she is getting, but personally I believe the more she talks the better off we are and I am thoroughly enjoying this.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Hillary Clinton has not ruled out running for President in 2020
I think it is way too early to start thinking about the 2020 election (unless you are a Democrat because if so you have not stopped fantasizing about it since the 2016 election) but the field is starting to get crowded on the Democratic side already. With just under two years to go–and a year to go before the Iowa caucus–there are approximately eight Democrats who have already announced their candidacies and several who have not made an announcement yet but are most likely to jump in the race.
One of those who has not made an announcement is Hillary Clinton, and according to this story the two-time loser has not ruled out taking one more stab at running for President.
Here is more:
Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, reportedly has yet to rule out running for the Oval Office again in 2020.
CNN White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny said Sunday on CNN’s “Inside Politics” that Clinton told people “as recently as this week” that she isn’t “closing the doors to the idea of running in 2020.”
“I’m told by three people that as recently as this week, she was telling people that look, given all this news from the indictments, particularly the Roger Stone indictment, she talked to several people, saying ‘look, I’m not closing the doors to this,’ ” Zeleny said.
“It does not mean that there’s a campaign-in-waiting, or a plan in the works,” he continued.
Zeleny added that Clinton believes running “could be a possibility,” given that she won the popular vote over President Trump in 2016 and that several former Trump associates have been indicted in special counsel Robert Mueller‘s probe into Russian interference in that election.
I believe she wants to run again because she has not been able to get over the fact that the Clinton political machine was not able to defeat a man with no political experience. I believe this haunts her dreams and wakes her up at night.
To use a movie reference, she reminds me of Apollo Creed in Rocky. Apollo could not let go because he was full of pride and in the end it cost him and that is what I believe is driving Hillary Clinton at this point.
She should not run again but she cannot help but want another shot at Donald Trump, and much like Apollo she will not settle for the win on points she got with the popular vote–she wants a real win. (“Man, I won but I didn’t beat him.”) We know how this ended for Apollo Creed and I am confident the same will happen to the former Secretary of State if she does indeed run again and I for one would love to see it happen one more time.
Normally I am a person who adheres to the be careful what you wish for philosophy. I take that approach with Elizabeth Warren; while many Republican voters and Donald Trump think it would be fun and easy to run against her I believe she is a real threat to win. However I do not feel the same way about Hillary Clinton because I do not think she can make it through the primary as the nominee. She had her chance and she blew it, there is no way the Democratic voters are going to say let’s try this one more time. And this time the Democratic National Committee might not be so willing to rig it in her favor again…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, January 27th open thread: ‘Flight of Icarus’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
Here is Iron Maiden performing “Flight of Icarus” live in 1983:
Donald Trump ends the shutdown temporarily with no wall funding
Earlier today the President announced he had reached a deal with the Congress to open up the government for a few weeks while negotiations on the border wall continue. Here is more:
President Trump said Friday he had reached a deal with congressional leaders to reopen the government for three weeks while negotiations over border security funding continue, marking at least a temporary concession by the president to Democrats.
Speaking in the Rose Garden, Mr. Trump said he would sign a bill to open the government until Feb. 15 and start negotiations between the House and Senate over a full-year bill funding the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the border.
“After 36 days of spirited debate and dialogue, I have seen and heard from enough Democrats and Republicans that they are willing to put partisanship aside, I think,” Mr. Trump said.
The stopgap spending bill, which would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, provides no immediate funding for a border wall. Mr. Trump said he would continue to push for funding for such a barrier in the next three weeks, declaring: “Walls shouldn’t be controversial.”
So basically the “master negotiator” got nothing in return for reopening the government except the promise of continued negotiations and possibly a little bipartisanship. I would like to ask the President what he has seen that leads him to believe the Democrats are going to give up anything when they would not even entertain the offer of a DACA extension to reopen the government. Sure there may be a few RINO Republicans who are willing to put partisanship aside because they are soft on immigration anyway, but there will be no Democrats willing to budge so we will be right back in the same spot on February 15th.
Perhaps Donald Trump believes the threat of another government shutdown, combined with his threat to use an emergency declaration will force the Congress to negotiate on a border wall but I find the chances highly unlikely. In fact I find the timing of this announcement to be suspicious and I think the President was looking for a diversion from the news that Roger Stone was arrested and indicted early this morning.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sheila Jackson Lee steps down from Judiciary Committee over allegations she covered up a sexual assault
If you get your news from the mainstream media you might not know this but Sheila Jackson Lee might be in a little bit of hot water. Last week she was accused, in a lawsuit, of firing a former female employee as retribution for that employee filing a sexual assault case against the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. (The original Buzzfeed article calls it a rape but we know how unreliable they are…)
While the mainstream media might be giving her a free pass Sheila Jackson Lee is starting to feel the pressure and today we learned she was forced to step down from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and, at least for the time being, from her precious House Judiciary Committee chairmanship.
Here is more:
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, facing fallout from a lawsuit claiming she fired an aide who said she was sexually assaulted by a supervisor at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, said on Wednesday she had decided to resign as the foundation’s chairwoman.
Ms. Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat in her 13th term, also stepped aside temporarily from an important House Judiciary subcommittee chairmanship, the committee said.
Ms. Jackson Lee made the decision to step aside from both roles as pressure was growing within her own party to account for the claims in a Jan. 11 lawsuit brought by a woman who worked in her congressional office and who said she was sexually assaulted by a Black Caucus Foundation supervisor.
Sheila Jackson Lee is denying she fired the woman as retaliation however in today’s day and age a person is no longer innocent until proven guilty but rather once a charge is made it is up to the accused to disprove it. We have seen this many times with Republicans so it is hard to feel sorry for the situation she now finds herself in. Not to mention the fact that we have learned over the last two years that whenever a woman makes a claim of sexual harassment she is always to be believed with no questions asked so it looks to me like Sheila Jackson Lee already has two strikes against her…
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Supreme Court to hear major New York Second Amendment case
It seems hard to believe but the Supreme Court has not taken up a Second Amendment case in nearly a decade. The last two cases were victories: In District of Columbia v. Heller the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment was an individual right and in McDonald v. Chicago reaffirmed the Heller decision and extended it to state and local governments.
While these were major victories they were incomplete because both cases were about keeping a handgun in your home, but that could be about to change because the Supreme Court is going to hear New York State Rifle & Pistol Associaiton v. New York.
Here is what is at stake:
New York law forbids residents from owning any handguns without a permit, and that permit allows the holder to possess guns only in their home or en route to or from one of seven shooting ranges in the city. A gun owner cannot transport a firearm outside the home for any other purpose, even if it is unloaded and locked in a case in the trunk of a car.
The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and several of its members sued in federal court, arguing that this statute is unconstitutional.
Clement argues that New York’s statute violates the Second Amendment, the Constitution’s Commerce Clause, and the Fourteenth Amendment’s right to interstate travel.
So you can see how big this decision is, this is about the right to carry outside of the home and for self-defense whereas New York law prohibits this. This is the chance to finally solidify our Second Amendment right as envisioned by the founding fathers…and only 200 some odd years late.
This is looking good and thankfully Hillary Clinton did not make the last two Supreme Court picks. Clement argued in front of the Supreme Court in both the Heller and McDonald cases and the Supreme Court should be decidedly more conservative since those cases were decided. But of Course Chief Justice John Roberts has not been a reliable conservative vote lately and Brett Kavanaugh has already sided with the liberals in favor of Planned Parenthood so we cannot take anything for granted.
malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium
Sunday, January 20th open thread: ‘Rio’
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24 KJV)
Here is this week’s open thread. Please feel free to post links to interesting articles and to discuss whatever issues arise during the course of the day. Nothing is off-topic here.
You can subscribe to America’s Watchtower to receive email updates and you can also follow America’s Watchtower on Facebook and Twitter by clicking the links on the right.
Shhh, don’t tell anybody but Duran Duran is one of my guilty pleasures so here they are performing “Rio” live in 1982:
America's Watchtower 