Employee of the Month

 

Last week, an employee from a major pharmaceutical manufacturer and corporation had plenty to say about his employer’s intentions. (I appreciate it.)

Flashback: January 1973

Last year, I wrote and published several blog topics marking some milestone anniversaries. (Numerous occurred during the year 1972.) It turns out, here in January 2023, there are at least three which spring to mind. I mention these 50-year “Flashback: January 1973” anniversaries—and they include some videos—and this will save me from having to write and publish three separate blog topics.

New Orleans Sniper

The first event took place December 31, 1972 (also the date of death of MLB star Roberto Clemente) and covered the first few days until January 7, 1973. It was a sniper in New Orleans, Louisiana who had nothing to lose. Mark Essex (born August 12, 1949) was enlisted in the Navy. He was part of the New York branch of Black Panthers. He became a black nationalist. He targeted white people. Essex went on a rampage—as a sniper—and, over the course of those seven days, shot 21 people; injured 12; murdered 9; and he was killed. Much of this took place at a Howard Johnson’s motel. (Video coverage remembering the anniversary, which has passed, is included above. A 2020 report: See historical photos of 1973 sniper attack at the Downtown Howard Johnson's in New Orleans.)

 

The Loud Family

On January 11, 1973, PBS debuted An American Family. This was a documentary, played out over several parts and for weeks, which was filmed in 1971. It focused on the daily lives of the Loud family: father Bill (1921–2018); mother Pat (1926–2021); and children Lance (1951–2001), Kevin (1953), Grant (1954), Delilah (1955), and Michele (1957). It was a landmark production which also gave viewers a voyeuristic-like glimpse into the lives of this California family, as what would play out in their lives, was filmed for viewers to see. (Numerous viewers were able to relate.) This included the coming out of first-born Lance, at a time when this was considered shocking and upsetting, as he was not at all feeling ashamed but very free. During the course of this doc series, and with their marriage in trouble, Pat informed Bill she wanted a divorce. (I will mention that I have seen some clips from An American Family. As of this blog topic’s publishing date: I have not seen it in its entirety.) Recommended: 50 Years Ago, ‘An American Family’ Rocked the Culture — and the Business of TV.

The Death of LBJ

On January 22, 1973, 36th president of the United States Lyndon Baines Johnson died, at age 64, four years after having left the presidency. (He was born August 27, 1908. Also on this date: The U.S. Supreme Court voted for Roe v. Wade.) One year after the assassination of 35th U.S. president John Kennedy, with the Republican nominee Barry Goldwater (who was deemed too radical), LBJ carried 44 states plus first-time-voting District of Columbia for a total 486 electoral votes. This was the last time a Democrat carried 40 or more states (which is 80 percent of the nation’s states; in this case, 88 percent). While LBJ made history with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Medicare, he also delivered the nation to the losing war in Vietnam. This divided much of the U.S.’s citizens. This undid his presidency. In March 1968, LBJ announced he would not seek a possible second full term. The Republicans won a pickup of the presidency, with Richard Nixon, and ushered in a realigning period with winning seven of the next ten United States presidential election cycles which ran from 1968 to 2004. In the above video is an interview with Johnson near the end of his life. It is interesting. (Bonus “Flashback”: As described by Wikipedia, on January 27, 1973, “U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War ends with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords”.) The related video, above, was Lyndon Johnson’s last interview which occurred just days before his death.

Triple Matés

 

Two videos, above, feature three Matés—father Gabor and sons Daniel and Aaron—which will be the topic of this week’s Progressives Chat.

Recently, Gabor and Daniel spoke of trauma along with the dynamics of the parent-and-child relationship. I think it was very insightful. (The video is titled “Daniel & Gabor Maté: HELLO AGAIN [parents & adult children workshop, Rhinebeck NY, October 2022]”. Gabor also has a daughter and, as he mentions, he has been married to his wife and his children’s mother for 53 years.)

Last Friday [January 13, 2023], Aaron and his fellow Grayone colleague Max Blumenthal interviewed Matt Taibbi about some of the latest with The Twitter Files. (The video is titled “Matt Taibbi on the Twitter files.” Thank you, for having posted it in the Comments section, cathyx!)

Given that the date of this blog topic is one day after what marked 94 years since the birth of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929–April 4, 1968), I am also reminded of something that blends trauma with corrupt and oppressive forces. It has been noted that King received a suggestion from the FBI that he should commit suicide. That should be given more focus and time by people when they talk about what Martin Luther King Jr. Day means to them.

The letter FBI sent to MLK urging him to kill himself

Describing Anti-#ForceTheVote ‘Progressives’

Every person who opposed “Force the Vote” (#ForceTheVote), who makes his/her living in politics, and who also claims to be a “progressive,” is a con artist.

The regulars here at Progressives Chat are aware. 

Last week, with the commencement of the 118th Congress, and with the U.S. House having flipped with the 2022 midterm elections to the Republican Party, numerous representatives affiliated with that political party denied Kevin McCarthy election to the speakership unless he agreed to their concessions. It took fourteen failed attempts to win election, by McCarthy, until his fifteenth try did it for him this past weekend. This was possible because these Republican U.S. House members decided to…Force the Vote.

These Republican U.S. House members did what they are supposed to do: Fight. To fight for what they believe is wanted and needed. Two years ago, with same member numbers, particular Democratic U.S. House members, commonly referred to as “The Squad,” chose a different path. They pretended that such an effort—to withhold voting for re-election to the speakership for Nancy Pelosi if she would not bring to the floor of the U.S. House a bill for Medicare for All—was not feasible. So, they did nothing. Well, actually, what they did was reveal that their claims of wanting and needing Medicare for All was a lie. And, rather than fight, their approach was to: Gaslight. To gaslight the people who were instrumental in getting them into office.

I was not surprised by any of this. It may be that my closing the door on the Democratic Party—which I mentioned in the October 3, 2022 blog topic Five Years Later…—has made this not as upsetting for me as it has for many others. I find it typical. And predictable.

Since 2016, the masks have been coming off the faces of people with any connection to the Democratic Party. This is applicable not only to persons who are insiders but also to non-insiders—in whatever capacity—and, yes, this includes voters. Through 2022, this has been going on for seven consecutive years. 2023 began less than ten days prior to this blog topic’s publishing date…and, already, even more masks have come off in this eighth consecutive year.

I recognize the Democratic Party is a scam operation full of con artists. What must also be recognized, by people who are actually progressive, who want Medicare for All, and other policies which would improve the quality of life here in the United States, is that this scam operation and their con artists have been working against them. That has been, and it is, their intention. This scam operation and their con artists were never allies; they are enemies.

Happy New Year 2023!

A Happy New Year 2023 to all here at Progressives Chat!

The next blog topic, here at Progressives Chat, will be Monday, January 9, 2023, at 06:00 a.m. ET. 

Next week will be a return to normal schedule.