This blog appreciates all forms of art.
Content on this blog may not be suitable for all readers. Most entries are for 18+ audience and some post are NSFW.
I was about 11 years old when I first watched Aerosmith's Rag Doll music video on MTV. And it couldn't have come at a better time for me--puberty.
Rag Doll, which is from the 1987 album Permanent Vacation, was released in 1988. The song peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music video was directed by Marty Callner and features the band performing at the Freedom Hall Civic Center concert and the Sigma Nu Fraternity house in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Released August 23, 1988, Jane Says by Jane's Addiction peaked the Alternative Songs chart at #6. The song appeared in the group's 1987's debut album, Jane's Addiction then re-recorded in the Nothing's Shocking album.
The title of the song refers to Perry Farrell's ex-housemate, Jane Bainter, who is the muse and inspiration for the most of his songs and the band's namesake.
The music video was directed by Carter B. Smith, and features the band playing the song during their tour.
I bought my 13 year old a music CD. I was excited to see his response as he opened the package it came in. He took it out from the package and looked at it with amazement, "Wow! The movie?"
"No," I responded. "It's the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy 2."
After a second or two, he asked, "How do you play it?"
I became perplexed. He was right. I didn't think past the music CD.
"HOW THE FUCK IS HE GOING TO PLAY THIS CD?" I thought.
My hamster wheel started turning. "The laptop," I proclaimed as a solution. My son rushed to his laptop as I went for mine. But no luck. Our laptops has no CD/DVD reader.
He then resolved the issue, "The XBox, dad." He inserted the disc and it played, but the audio was not the sound I expected. I was unsatisfied.
"I'll be right back," I told him as I rushed to find my shoes and car keys.
"Where are you going," he asked.
"I think I have a CD player in my storage unit," I responded.
Sure enough. I found my old CD player which was tangled and connected to portable speakers. Excitedly, I rushed back to my apartment.
My son and I untangled the wires to the speakers and connected it to the CD player.
When I was a kid, this was probably one of my favorite films featuring John Candy. I remember having my parents rent Uncle Buck for me from the video store.
The comedy film, directed by John Hughes and released on August 16, 1989, stars John Candy as Uncle Buck, the uncle who is called in to help look after three kids. One of the kids is played by future Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin.
What has occurred in Charlottesville is absolutely disgusting. How is it that we've gone back 100 years in 205 days?
Saturday morning, August 12, 2017, white nationalist protested the removal of the Confederate General Robert E. Lee's statue in Charlottesville, Virginia--the night before, white nationalists marched with torches chatting hate across the University of Virginia.
At Emancipation Park, David Duke, the former leader of the KKK, was asked by a reporter to describe what the White Supremacy march, represented. He responded, "This represents the turning point for the people of this country, we are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That's what we believed in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back. That's what we are going to do."
The first altercations occurred around 10:30 AM. Governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency.
First Lady Melania Trump tweeted the following:
Our country encourages freedom of speech, but let's communicate w/o hate in our hearts. No good comes from violence. #Charlottesville
At around 1:40 PM, James Alex Fields plowed through a crowd of protesters with his Dodge Challenger killing Heather D. Heyer and injuring at least 19 others. When interviewed, Fields' mother, Samantha Bloom, thought her son went to a Trump rally, "I just knew he was going to a rally. I mean, I try to stay out of his political views. You know, we don't, you know, I don't really get too involved, I moved him out to his own apartment, so we -- I'm watching his cat. I thought it had something to do with Trump. Trump's not a white supremacist."
President Trump held a press conference, which was scheduled to discuss the Veterans Administration: "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence that's on many sides. On many sides... I just go off the phone with the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, and we agreed that the hate and the division must stop. And must stop right now. We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation and true affection — and really I say this so strongly — true affection for each other... Above all else we must remember this truth: no matter our color, creed, religion, or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country, we love our God, we love our flag, we're proud of our country, we're proud of who we are. So we want to get the situation straightened out in Charlottesville, and we want to study it. And we want to see what we are doing wrong as a country where things like this can happen."
Andrew Anglin, founder of Daily Stormer, commended the President for not denouncing White Nationalism: "He outright refused to disavow.
People saying he cucked are shills and kikes.
He did the opposite of cuck.
He refused to even mention anything to do with us.
When reporters were screaming at him about White Nationalism he just walked out of the room." [Responses to his comments is unpalatable.]
The phrase "On many sides," didn't sit well to Democrats or Republicans. Many feel the President should be strong and denounce the actions of the White Supremacy and Neo-Nazis.
Senator Orin Hatch tweeted the following:
We should call evil by its name. My brother didn't give his life fighting Hitler for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home. -OGH
Senator John McCain released the following statement regarding the President's failure to call out the White Supremacy attack: "Our Founders fought a revolution for the idea that all men are created equal. The heirs of that revolution fought a Civil War to save our nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to that revolutionary proposition. Nothing less is at stake on the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, where a violent attack has taken at least one American life and injured many others in a confrontation between our better angels and our worst demons. White supremacists and neo-Nazis are, by definition, opposed to American patriotism and the ideals that define us as a people and make our nation special. As we mourn the tragedy that has occurred in Charlottesville, American patriots of all colors and creeds must come together to defy those who raise the flag of hatred and bigotry."
House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted:
Our hearts are with today's victims. White supremacy is a scourge. This hate and its terrorism must be confronted and defeated.
The "hate and it's terrorism" came from the radical Left. Everyone knows this. We've been watching their violence since the Trump campaign. https://t.co/lFKpxBzeLe
The Mayor of Charlottesville is a domestic terrorist - he approves of violence directed toward 🇺🇸 patriots in fear for their life - SICK! https://t.co/6fgVvnoHY1
Alex Jones argued, "Donald Trump is being criticized for criticizing both sides saying both sides came looking for trouble and hate is dumb, and we should love each other and come together and take care of our veterans and take care of our old people and make America great again..."
Arnold Schwarzenegger commented, "I have been horrified by the images of Nazis and white supremacists marching in Charlottesville and I was heartbroken that a domestic terrorist took an innocent life. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of Heather Heyer, Lt. Cullen, and Trooper-Pilot Bates.
While these so-called "white nationalists" are lucky to live in a country that defends their right to voice their awful, incorrect, hateful opinions, the rest of us must use our voices and resources to condemn hate and teach tolerance at every opportunity.
My message to them is simple: you will not win. Our voices are louder and stronger. There is no white America - there is only the United States of America. You were not born with these hateful views - you can change, grow, and evolve, and I suggest you start immediately."
I have been horrified by the images of Nazis and white supremacists marching in Charlottesville. My full statement: https://t.co/wzsc8c8v5W
On Monday, Kenneth C. Frazier, Merck chairman and CEO, resigned from the President's American Manufacturing Council after the President failed to object "bigotry and group supremacy."
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the President's comments in an interview with ABC this morning (August 14, 2017) stating, "I think the President talked about the problems in America in that first statement. It had been going on a long time, he said before Donald Trump before Barack Obama...He explicitly condemned the ideology behind these movements of Nazism, White Supremacy, the KKK. That is his unequivocal position. He totally opposes those kind of values. His statement yesterday again affirmed that, and I think you will hear that again today."
When asked if he would agree that the actions fit "domestic terrorism," Sessions responded, "Well, it does meet the definition of domestic terrorism, in our statute. We're perusing it when the Department of Justice, in every way that we can make a case. You can be sure we will charge in advance the investigation toward the most serious charges that can be brought, because this is an unequivocally unacceptable and evil attack that cannot be accepted in America..."
Monday afternoon, President Trump addressed the white nationalists attack stating: "Just met with FBI director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the deadly car attack that killed one innocent American and wounded 20 others. To anyone who acted criminally in this weekend racist violence, you will be held fully accountable. Justice will be delivered. As I said on Saturday, we condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in America. And as I have said many times before, no matter the color of our skin, we all live under the same laws, we all salute the same great flag, and we are all made by the same All-Mighty God... Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, Neo-Nazis, White Supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans." The late night talk show hosts addressed the horrific events which occurred in Charlottesville as well as the President's initial response and Monday's elaboration.
Seth Meyers stated, "Donald Trump did not immediately denounce the White Supremacists movement when given the chance. And now, whether he knows it or not, many of those people see him as leading that movement. The leader of our country is called the 'President' because he is supposed to preside over our society. His job is to lead, to cajole, to scold, to correct our path, to lift up what is good about us, and to absolutely and unequivocally and immediately condemn what is evil in us. And if he does not do that, and if he does not preside over our society, then he's not a president. you can stand for a nation or you can stand for a hateful movement. You can't do both."
Jimmy Fallon stated, "The fact that it took the President two days to come out and clearly denounce racist and white supremacists is shameful. And I think he finally spoke out because people everywhere stood up and said something."
Jimmy Kimmel added, "Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, called this rally 'evil' and 'disgusting.' And you do understand what that means. That means Germany is taking a stronger stance against Nazis than we are... After much prayer and reflection, the President this morning decided to take the difficult step of condemning Nazis and the Klan, which was big for him because this is the sort of thing that can alienate his base..."
Stephen Colbert argued, "Here's the problem. This is the nut of what's most disturbing about this, is that the President came out after a tragedy and after he made this statement, reasonable people could not tell if he was condemning Nazis. And it's not like Trump is a shrinking violet. He's known for criticizing things. If only the President was as mad about Neo-Nazis murdering people in the streets as he's been about Hilary Clinton, the New York Times, CNN, Joe Scarborough, Kristen Stewart, the cast of Hamilton, Diet Coke, Nordstroms not selling his daughter's clothes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, me, the State of New Hampshire, Gold Star families, Penn Jillette's Las Vegas Show, the movie Django unChained, Meryl Streep, and Lady ghostbusters."
TONIGHT: It took the President two days to denounce white supremacism, but Stephen gets it done rather quickly. #LSSCpic.twitter.com/fUbuqAUSrL
Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, stepped down from the President's Manufacturing Council on August 14, 2017. In his statement, he explains why he is stepping down, "I love our country and our company and will continue to focus my efforts on inspiring every person that they can do anything through the power of sport which promotes unity, diversity and inclusion."
I love our country & company. I am stepping down from the council to focus on inspiring & uniting through power of sport. - CEO Kevin Plank pic.twitter.com/8YvndJMjj1
Intel CEO, Brian Krzanich, also stepped down of the President's Manufacturing Council on August 14, 2017. He stated, "I resigned to call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues, including the serious need to address the decline of American manufacturing. Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America’s manufacturing base."
I stand with others for equality and improving US competitiveness. Both require
improving in todays environment. https://t.co/RcjpGaFXBQ
In regard to those stepping down from the advisory council, the President tweeted, "For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!"
For every CEO that drops out of the Manufacturing Council, I have many to take their place. Grandstanders should not have gone on. JOBS!
Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, resigned from the President's council. In a tweet, he stated, "I'm resigning from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative because it's the right thing for me to do."
I'm resigning from the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative because it's the right thing for me to do.
David Duke provided a message to his followers calling the Charlottesville rally a victory. In that message, regarding the President, he said, "Poor Donald Trump, he is absolutely under siege by the media. I mean, he's facing possible indictment... I mean, look at this investigation he's facing. He's absolutely viciously attacked. He always talks about the 'false news' the 'fake news' media, CNN, and the New York Times, and the Washington Post, and these other medium... Donald Trump shouldn't worry about what the media says. I mean, Donald Trump himself say this is 'fake news' media, and he says the 'lying news media' and they've attacked him relentlessly. Viciously. His family. His wife. His children. Everything. It's unbelievable. It's really sad to think that he did this, I felt, it seems like he had to. The first statement was kinda general..."
Anonymous posted a video press release in response to the events that occurred in Charlottesville on August 15, 2017.
The President of our United States surprised the American public this afternoon, August 15, 2017, by countering or revising the statement he made the day before by stating the following when pressed about whether the actions were considered terrorism and whether the White Supremacy groups should be denounced, "I will tell you something. I watched those very closely, much more closely than you people watched it, and you have -- You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that... What I'm saying is this: You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other and they came at each other with clubs and it was vicious and it was horrible thing to watch, but there is another side. There was a group on this side -- you can call them the left, you've just called them the left -- that came violently attacking the other group, so you can say what you want but that's the way it is... You have some very bad people in that group [Neo-Nazis], but you also had people that were very fine people on both sides. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name. [When asked if he supported white nationalists] ...Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington? How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? ...Are we going to take down the statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now, are we going to take down his statue? So, you know what? It's fine. You're changing history. You're changing culture and you had people, and I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists because they should be condemned, totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, OK? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also, you had some fine people, but you also had troublemakers and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats. You got a lot of bad people in the other group, too... The following day it looked like they had some rough, bad people: neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But you had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest -- and very legally protest... The other group didn't have a permit..."
Soon after, David Duke tweeted appreciation to the President, "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the left terrorists in BLM/Antifa."
Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa https://t.co/tTESdV4LP0
Richard Spencer, American white supremacist and president of the National Policy Institute, thanked the President bunted the issue to the Charlottesville Police Department, "Trump's statement was fair and down to earth. #Charlottesville could have been peaceful, if police did its job."
AFL-CIO President, Richard Trumka, resigned his position with the President's Manufacturing Council, and tweeted, "I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism."
I cannot sit on a council for a President that tolerates bigotry and domestic terrorism; I resign, effective immediately. pic.twitter.com/ip6F2nsoog
Senator McCain tweeted, "There's no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate& bigotry. The President of the United States should say so."
There's no moral equivalency between racists & Americans standing up to defy hate& bigotry. The President of the United States should say so
Stephen Colbert took to his late show, "...It kept coming back to Charlottesville, and once again, Donald Trump wasn't fully sure whether the Nazis should get all the blame."
TONIGHT: It took two days for Trump to condemn the racist hate groups in Charlottesville... and one press conference to empower them. #LSSCpic.twitter.com/GCFVNE3SYo
Heather Heyer's memorial service took place Wednesday morning (August 16, 2017). At the service, her grieving mother stated the following: "Although Heather was a caring, compassionate, person, so are a lot of you. A lot of you go that extra mile. And I think the reason that what happened to Heather has struck a chord is because we know that what she did is achievable. We do not all have to die. We do not all have to scarifies our lives. They tried to kill my child to shut her up. Well, guess what? You just magnified her... I want this to spread. I don't want this to die. This is just the beginning of Heather's legacy. This is not the end of Heather's legacy. You need to find in your heart that small spark of accountability--what is there that I can do to make the world a better place... So remember in your heart, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. And I want you to pay attention. Find what's wrong. Don't ignore it. Don't look the other way. You make a point to look at it and say to yourself, 'what can I do to make a difference.' And that's how you're gonna make my child's death worthwhile. I'd rather have my child, but by golly if I got to give her up, where gonna make it count."
President Trump tweeted, "Memorial service today for beautiful and incredible Heather Heyer, a truly special young woman. She will be long remembered by all!"
Memorial service today for beautiful and incredible Heather Heyer, a truly special young woman. She will be long remembered by all!
Presidents George W. Bush and George HW Bush condemned "racial bigotry" in a joint statement, which read, "American must always reject racial bigotry, anti-Semitism, and hatred in all forms. As we pray for Charlottesville, we are reminded of the fundamental truths recorded by that city's most prominent citizen in the Declaration of Independence: we are all created equal and endowed by our Creator with unalienable rights. We know these truths to be everlasting because we have seen the decency and greatness of our country.
Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and others decided to disband the President's Strategic and Policy Forum, Wednesday morning, following the comments made by the President the day before.
The President put an end of both Strategic and Policy Forum and Manufacturing Council in a tweet:
Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both. Thank you all!
President Donald Trump promoted a campaign rally on twitter, "Join me at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, August 22nd in Phoenix, Arizona at the Phoenix Convention Center!..."
The Mayor of Phoenix, Greg Stanton, responded to the President's scheduled campaign rally, "I am disappointed that President Trump has chosen to hold a campaign rally as our nation is still healing from the tragic events in Charlottesville. If President Trump is coming to Phoenix to announce a pardon for former Sheriff Joe Arpario, then it will be clear that his true intent is to enflame emotions and further divide our nation. It is my hope that more sound judgment prevails and that he delays his visit. With regard to use of the Phoenix Convention Center for the rally: This is a public facility and open to anyone to rent -- and that includes the Trump campaign. Our Constitution protects the right to free speech, even for those we disagree with or those who don't represent the values we hold dear as a community. In preparation for this event, my focus and that of the Phoenix Police Department is on keeping everyone -- those attending the rally, those expressing their First Amendment rights outside and the general public -- safe."
The American Prospect published an interview with Steve Bannon, White House Chief Strategist and former chair of Breitbart News. When asked about white nationalism and the racist violence in Charlottesville and Trump's comments, he stated, "Ethno-nationalism -- it's losers. It's a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more... These guys are a collection of clowns... the longer they [the Democrats] talk about identity politics, I got 'em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we got with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats."
New York Magazine published a statement made by Rabbi Emeritus Haskel Lookstein, who oversaw Ivanka Trump's conversion) regarding the President's statement, "While we avoid politics, we are deeply troubled by the moral equivalency and equivocation President Trump has offered in his response to this act of violence..."
Senator Lindsey Graham stated the following statement regarding the President's comments surrounding Charlottesville: "Mr. President, I encourage you to try to bring us together as a nation after this horrific event in Charlottesville. Your words are dividing Americans, not healing them...President Trump took a step backward by again suggesting there is a moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer... I, along with many others, do not endorse this moral equivalency. Many Republicans do not agree with and will fight back against the idea that the Party of Lincoln has a welcome mat out for the David Dukes of the world..."
Thursday (August 17, 2017) morning, the President addressed Senator Lindsey Graham and Fake News, "Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists... and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing. The people of South Carolina will remember! The public is learning (even more so) how dishonest the Fake News is. They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc. Shame!"
Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists......
Senator Graham responded to each of the President's tweets stating, "Mr. President, like most I seek to move our nation, my state, and our party forward - toward the light - not back to the darkness. Your tweet honoring Miss Heyer was very nice and appropriate. Well done. However, because of the manner in which you have handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our Nation -- as our President -- please fix this. History is watching us all."
Mr. President, like most I seek to move our nation, my state, and our party forward - toward the light - not back to the darkness. (1) https://t.co/K1j4JnhCgf
The President tweeted the following: "Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee. Stonewall Jackson - who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"
Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You.....
21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, emailed friends denouncing racism and expressed concerns over President Trumps response to Charlottesville stating, "...what we watched this last week in Charlottesville and the reaction to it by the President of the United States concern all of us as Americans and free people. These events remind us all why vigilance against hate and bigotry is an eternal obligation — a necessary discipline for the preservation of our way of life and our ideals. The presence of hate in our society was appallingly laid bare as we watched swastikas brandished on the streets of Charlottesville and acts of brutal terrorism and violence perpetrated by a racist mob. I can’t even believe I have to write this: standing up to Nazis is essential; there are no good Nazis. Or Klansmen, or terrorists. Democrats, Republicans, and others must all agree on this, and it compromises nothing for them to do so..."
Arnold Schwarzenegger stated the following message to neo-Nazis in a video tweet, "...I have a message to the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists and the neo-Confederates. Let me be as blunt as possible: Your heroes are losers. You are supporting a lost cause. Believe me, I knew the original Nazis. I was born in Austria in 1947, shortly after the Second World War. Growing up, I was surrounded by broken men, men who came home from the war filled with shrapnel and guilt, men who were misled into a losing ideology. And I can tell you: these ghosts that you idolize spent the rest of their lives living in shame. And right now, they're resting in hell. I know you weren't born with these hateful views. No one is. But the truth is, it's never too late to make the choices to learn, and to evolve and to understand that all human beings have equal value. If you say, "Arnold, I was just at the march. Don't call me a Nazi. I have nothing to do with Nazis at all. Let me help you: Don't hang around people who carry Nazi flags, give Nazi salutes or shout Nazi slogans. Go home. Or better yet -- tell them they are wrong to celebrate an ideology that murdered millions of people. And then go home. You are so lucky to live in a country that gives you every right to say horrible things. But think about how you could actually use that power for something good..."
Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Summer Edition had Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers portraying former Presidents Washington and Jefferson.
Susan Bro, the mother of Heather Heyer, stated that she won't talk to President Trump, in an interview with Good Morning America. When asked if she has talked to him directly, she responded, "I have not, and now I will not. At first, I've just missed his calls. The first call it looked like it actually came during the funeral. I didn't even see that message. There were three more frantic messages from press secretaries throughout the day, and I didn't know why--that would have been on Wednesday. And I was home recovering from the exhaustion of the funeral, so I thought I would get to them later. And then I had more meetings to establish her foundation, so I really hadn't watched the news until last night. And I'm not talking to the President now. I'm sorry. After what he said about my child, and it's not that I saw somebody else's tweets about him, I saw an actual clip of him at a press conference equating the protesters like Ms. Heyer with the KKK and the White Supremacists..."
When asked how she will reflect on her daughter, Ms. Bro stated, "That tenacious, stubborn spirit that just would not let you get by with a half-ass answer. You had to get to the truth. You had to get to the bottom. You had to get to the nitty gritty of it. She was not going to let go."
Mitt Romney urged President Trump to apologize for his comments regarding Charlottesville, "Whether he intended to or not, what he communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn. His apologists strain to explain that he didn't mean what we heard. But what we heard is now the reality, and unless it is addressed by the president as such, with unprecedented candor and strength, there may commence an unraveling of our national fabric. The potential consequences are severe in the extreme. Accordingly, the president must take remedial action in the extreme. He should address the American people, acknowledge that he was wrong, apologize. State forcefully and unequivocally that racists are 100% to blame for the murder and violence in Charlottesville. Testify that there is no conceivable comparison or moral equivalency between the Nazis — who brutally murdered millions of Jews and who hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives to defeat — and the counter-protestors who were outraged to see fools parading the Nazi flag, Nazi armband and Nazi salute. And once and for all, he must definitively repudiate the support of David Duke and his ilk and call for every American to banish racists and haters from any and every association."
Having created a natl inflection point of consequence, POTUS must apologize & repudiate the racists. Full statement: https://t.co/6QXd9LWIE3
Friday morning, the members of the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities resigned their positions stating, "Reproach and censure in the strongest possible terms are necessary following your support of the hate groups and terrorists who killed and injured fellow Americans in Charlottesville. The false equivalencies you push cannot stand. The Administration’s refusal to quickly and unequivocally condemn the cancer of hatred only further emboldens those who wish America ill. We cannot sit idly by, the way that your West Wing advisors have, without speaking out against your words and actions...Elevating any group that threatens and discriminates on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, orientation, background, or identity is un-American. We have fought slavery, segregation, and internment. We must learn from our rich and often painful history. The unified fabric of America is made by patriotic individuals from backgrounds as vast as the nation is strong. In our service to the American people, we have experienced this first-hand as we traveled and built the Turnaround Arts education program, now in many urban and rural schools across the country from Florida to Wisconsin..."
At around noon, August 18, 2017, President Trump fired Steve Bannon. Supposedly, this comes after a review by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly. Bannon is a right-wing nationalist and former head of Breitbart.
NBC News posted this tweet regarding President Trump's comments regarding Steve Bannon, three days ago:
President Trump on Steve Bannon 3 days ago: "I like him, he's a good man. He is not a racist... But we'll see what happens with Mr. Bannon." pic.twitter.com/nq8CUyMRKp
Steve Bannon tweets the following in a six hour period: "I lasted 49 [Anthony] Scaramuccis. it's Black Friday. Taking some time off Twitter to write my first article for Breitbart. Drainers got swamped... They called us racists for much less than this... I'm looking into the many job offers I received, including joining trump's 2020 reelection campaign. Heys Libs, I was never a fan of slavery and the Confederacy so don't even try burning down my house. Chill bro, my last name isn't Clinton... Flashback: Mitt Romney continuously refuses to apologize for joining a whites-only racist Church. Liberals don't know what's coming their way...https://t.co/MQctMRuKsX. I'm changing my name to Steve Cannon. War is on!"
In an interview with The Weekly Standard, Steve Bannon stated, "The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over...We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It’ll be something else. And there’ll be all kinds of fights, and there’ll be good days and bad days, but that presidency is over."
Steve Bannon returns to Breitbart as Executive Chairman. White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified that new Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon reached a mutual agreement; although sources indicate John Kelly forced Bannon out, "White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve’s last day...We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."
Megachurch Pastor A.R. Bernard resigned from the Presidential Advisory Board stating, "In a social and political climate such as ours, it often takes a gathering of unlikely individuals to shape the future of our nation on issues of faith and inner city initiatives. I was willing to be one of those unlikely individuals, and that is why I agreed to serve on the Presidential's Evangelical Advisory Board. However, it became obvious that there was a deepening conflict in values between myself and the administration. I quietly stepped away from my involvement with the Board several months ago, and submitted my letter of formal resignation as of Tues. Aug. 15, 2017. I am always grateful and honored by any opportunity to serve my country."
My statement regarding my resignation from the President's Evangelical Advisory Board. pic.twitter.com/Ocae6SQxjZ
On Saturday morning, President Trump tweeted, "I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S."
I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton - it was great! Thanks S
The President then tweeted, "Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews... maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!"
Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice at @BreitbartNews...maybe even better than ever before. Fake News needs the competition!
The President had a different tone regarding the Boston protest stating, "Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before! I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!"
Our great country has been divided for decades. Sometimes you need protest in order to heal, & we will heal, & be stronger than ever before!
During the Phoenix rally on August 22, 2017, President Trump stated the following regarding the "fake media" not reporting what he says, "So the -- and I mean truly dishonest people in the media and the fake media, they make up stories. They have no sources in many cases. They say "a source says" -- there is no such thing. But they don't report the facts. Just like they don't want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-Nazis, the White Supremacists, and the KKK."
He went on to read his statement that he delivered after the Charlottesville event, but left out two key sentences, "So here's what I said, really fast, here's what I said on Saturday: "We're closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia" -- this is me speaking. We condemn in the strongest, possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence." That's me speaking on Saturday."
The President repeated the statement again, and again leaving out the two controversial sentences, "So I'm condemning the strongest, possible terms, "egregious display," "hatred, bigotry and violence." OK, I think I can't do much better, right? OK. But they didn't want to put this on. They had it on initially, but then one day he talked (ph) -- he didn't say it fast enough. He didn't do it on time. Why did it take a day? He must be a racist. It took a day."
The following day, President Trump tweeted, "Last night in Phoenix I read the things from my statement on Charlottesville that the Fake News Media didn't cover fairly. People got it!"
Last night in Phoenix I read the things from my statements on Charlottesville that the Fake News Media didn't cover fairly. People got it!
Trevor Noah shared his thoughts on the President's omission of "On many sides," from his rally speech, "Here's the thing though, while Trump was so furiously accusing the media of selectively reporting what he said, he was selectively reporting what he said... You can't leave out 'On many sides.' That was the whole reason people were mad. That was it. Leaving out 'On many sides.' erases the context of what happened..."
On September 5, 2017, the Charlottesville's City Council voted to remove a statue of Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. A resolution to remove and relocate the confederate statue and one honoring General Robert E. Lee was the center of the deadly August 12th protest.
On Sunday, September 10, 2017, during the Miss America pageant, Miss Texas Margana Wood was asked, "Last month a demonstration of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent and a counterprotester was killed. The President said there was shared blame with quote, "very fine people on both sides." Where there? Tell me yes or no and explain."
Miss Texas responded, "I think that the white supremacist issue, it was very obvious that i was a terrorist attack. And I think that President Donald Trump should've made a statement earlier addressing the fact, and in making sure all Americans feel safe in this country. That is the number one issue right now."
On Monday, September 11, 2017, the Senate passed Senate Joint Resolution 49 that would force the President to publicly condemn white supremacist groups.
"S.J.Res.49 - A joint resolution condemning the violence and domestic terrorist attack that took place during events between August 11 and August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, recognizing the first responders who lost their lives while monitoring the events, offering deepest condolences to the families and friends of those individuals who were killed and deepest sympathies and support to those individuals who were injured by the violence, expressing support for the Charlottesville community, rejecting White nationalists, White supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups, and urging the President and the President's Cabinet to use all available resources to address the threats posed by those groups."
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet in mid-September with South Carolina's Republican Senator Tim Scott to discuss race issues following the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. The Hillreports that Senator Scott wishes the President, "become better acquainted, have personal connection to the painful history of racism and bigotry of this country."
