All 3 Westport selectmen — Jim Marpe, Avi Kaner and Helen Garten — have signed an Anti-Defamation League petition. It requests that President Trump “publicly and unequivocally disavow white supremacy.”
The statement reads:
The White House’s repeated failure to stand up to white supremacy and other forms of domestic extremism emboldens and allows its perpetrators to increase their visibility.
Now is the time for President Trump to name the hate and acknowledge that this is not a matter of equivalence between two sides with similar gripes.
The White House’s refusal to disavow white supremacist ideology as a growing source of extremist violence empowers and abets its perpetrators.
President Trump must personally and unequivocally disavow white supremacy and end the White House’s enabling and tolerating its rise.
To truly take a stand, we urge President Trump to also terminate all staff with any ties to these extremists. There is no rationale for employing people who excuse hateful rhetoric and ugly incitement.
He did…….yesterday.
And just why did it take him so long to wake up ?
ADW Staples 1956
Seems to me, 2 or 3 days isn’t so bad compared to the 160 years its taken for the government to not solve anything.
Nothing satisfies you people. What did you expect. The week before?
We expect better initial impulses than he displayed. We have reasonable standards.
We expected it the next day ’cause, you know, he’s the president. What was he doing, mulling it over whether or when to condemn Nazis on the streets of America? Is that too difficult for him!
He should have condemned his father for marching with the KKK. Yes, he should have condemned white supremacy the day he announced his candidacy.
And JFK should have denounced his father for being a Nazi sympathizer. And every one who took money from Soros should return it and condemn his criminal activity and Nazi sympathies. Once again, selective outrage based on political affiliation. Hard to see your comment as anything but a rant based on political affiliation.
I was gonna respond pretty much in kind Mike, but have learned the best way to deal with the nonsense that comes out of some of these people is to ignore them.
Conversely, a well reasoned response from someone who happens to hold an opinion and view different from my own is worthy of a response in kind.
That eliminates this chick.
Funny that you and Mike haven’t received a “Please do not comment further on this thread”. Double standard.
Once again, Nancy, I’ve been out all day. Please stop. Thank you.
Another round of “whataboutism”.
But there’s no getting around it, no matter how hard you try to divert attention: Trump failed to immediately and unequivocally condemn nazis, the Kkk, white supremacists and their supporters because he is a sympathizer with their rancid beliefs.
Regarding Soros, once again you failed to mention he was convicted in France. The stories regarding his “nazi sympathies” have been debunked and are based on his actions when he was…14 years old.
Here you go. Soros interview on 60 Minutes. Soros explains what fun it was to work for the Nazis. Enjoy !
So your view is that 14 year old children must be held to the same standards adults are held to. Wow.
Really? I thought Bannon was still on the payroll, Bruce. (“To truly take a stand, we urge President Trump to also terminate all staff with any ties to these extremists. There is no rationale for employing people who excuse hateful rhetoric and ugly incitement.”) ~K. Hamlin, RTM #4
Andy Borowitz of the New Yorker said he looked like a hostage being forced to read words that were not his own.
If there’s anything that’s been obvious about the guy, ever since he crawled out from under his rock 40+ years ago, its that nobody can force him to do anything. When you look at some of the really serious faux pas he’s made, I don’t understand why everybody is getting so worked up over this one. Despite being part of the 1%, he has no class. Surprise, surprise!!! Let’s keep the focus on the wounded/killed in Charlotte and not avoid coming to grips with the really bad guys that did it and the fact that 152 years after Appomattox, we are still where we are. You can’t blame Trump for that.
The New Yorker ? Really! No kidding. The demonstration of selective outrage is very revealing
Newsmax must be more to your liking
No. You are wrong; once again. It seems to be a habit with you.
Yeah, Michael. My apologies for reading a well-written, award-winning magazine that’s been around for 80 years. My supermarket was out of the National Enquirer yesterday.
Apology accepted. A magazine known best for its fiction.
We’re glad you like fiction Michael. You must have loved Trump’s “birther” campaign against Obama. There’s some fiction for you.
Yes, the national inquirer is well known for it’s fiction.
http://wwd.com/business-news/media/the-new-yorker-clarifies-the-borowitz-report-is-not-the-news-fake-news-10726721/
Women’s wear daily, published by Penske Media. Here’s a little detail about Mr. Jay Penske from his wiki page:
“Penske was arrested along with his brother Mark on August 9, 2012 after two women claimed they were assaulted by the pair. It was also claimed that Jay Penske urinated on one of the women. The brothers were placed on probation following the incident.”
Did the New Yorker say that it was not news or not? Only relevant issue. Borowtz is not news according to his employer. Simple enough.
I’m sure you’ve heard the line about playing chess with a pigeon Michael…..
No one ever claimed Borowitz was news, and people who read him regularly do not pretend he is news. This is not even an issue.
Typical smarmy response one would expect from little Andy. If nothing else you people are predictable.
That’s your second straight “you people” reference. Care to go for three?
Rhetorical question perhaps?
Sure. “You people” never get tired of snotty, smarmy, and snarky remarks about anything that doesn’t happen agree with your own views. Do you? (You People)
Mr. Kent, it is you that have inserted the snotty, smart, snarky, little Andy, you people remarks into the discussion. Want to elevate the dialogue? Keep it to yourself. ( apologies to 06880 for exceeding the entry limit on this thread).
I’m not making any “snooty, smarmy remarks.” You, on the other hand, are digging yourself a deeper hole.
That’s SNOTTY Petey……. please quote me correctly. i’ll leave the feigned snootiness to you and your crowd.
Yikes Westport, step back an act as the smart, talented and leading minds that we profess to be.
Instead of this name calling and trivial exercise in “what he said, when he said it, and what does it mean…” Why are we not discussing what really matters and what can change the status quo of this hate and violence display that occurs more often than just one weekend in Virginia. What can we do locally that can prepare us and others from such an outrage and tragedy here in 06880 ?, Wallingford nearby has been a hot bed for these wing nut nazi, and supremacy idiots.
Ask Chief of Police: Are we ready for such a protest and do we have a plan to avoid it as we can not stop “freedom of speech” Tactically do we have a plan?
Ask School Leaders: Are we doing our job in schools teaching tolerance and public display that encourages peaceful freedom of speech, it used to be called Civics.
Ask our Religious Leaders: To pray and preach for all, ALL LIVES MATTER, Forgiveness for those who have such hate, and Mercy for those effected by hate and violence..
Ask yourself: Do I care so much only when I am confronted with terrible incidents like Virginia, mass killings, and overt consistent baiting by news outlets who throw gas on the fear and hate fire created by these sad and horrific stories.
We make a difference when we treat the disease and not just the symptoms and are prepared to avoid rather than react.
JMHO
Here is the complete statement:
First Selectman Jim Marpe, Selectman Avi Kaner and Selectwoman Helen Garten have signed the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) petition imploring the President to publicly and unequivocally disavow white supremacy.
Responding to the white supremacist “Unite the Right” demonstration and violence this past Saturday in Charlottesville, VA, Mr. Marpe stated that there is no place for hatred and bigotry in our country and expressed our community’s prayers for the victims of the senseless violence.
Steve Ginsburg, Director of ADL’s Connecticut region stated that “we are deeply concerned about the spread of this ideology and the violence which can accompany it. We are encouraged, however, by the denunciation of hate from elected officials across the country – including all three of Westport’s Selectmen. Leaders speaking clearly against bigotry help set the standard for our community’s response.”
Westport’s three Selectmen also support ADL’s recommended three pronged approach to combat white supremacy and extremism: 1) ensure our local law enforcement is trained on how to deal with hate and extremism; 2) task the Board of Education and Superintendent Colleen Palmer to prioritize anti-bias and anti-hate education in our schools; and 3) support broader national efforts to fund anti-extremism programs.
###
While the polarization that has our country in a death grip continues unabated regardless of what any public figure may say.
I detect a double standard in this thread.
President Trump critized Obama and Vlinton about not calling it Islamic Terrorists.
President Trump–this is DOMESTIC TERROSTS. President Trump-this is HATRED. President Trump this is Nazism-extreme Nazism. President Trump this is White Supremacy-Extreme White Supremacy.
President Trump-step down and then LET AMERICA BECOME GREAT AGAIN!
First and foremost, I want to thank our Selectmen/Woman for signing the ADL pledge – I would expect no less from each and every one of them.
And while I wholeheartedly agree with the ADL Pledge, let’s remember that not only did Trump appoint these individuals (Bannon, Gorka, Miller) for his advisors, sadly Trump himself possesses an unequivocal history of racist beliefs and practices… or as The Mooch put it succinctly: “Da fish stinks from da head.”
(Consider the ‘70’s suit for housing discrimination, his reticence at denouncing David Duke’s support during the Presidential campaign, his remarks about “bad hombres,” taco bowls and Judge Curiel… the list goes on and on.) http://fortune.com/2016/06/07/donald-trump-racism-quotes/
So while I, for one, would like to see these individuals with Nazi and White Supremacist ties removed from Trump’s sphere of influence, I believe the only real solution to “ending the White House’s enabling and tolerating the rise of white supremacy” is to “throw this baby out with his dirty bathwater.”
I call our MoC’s every day and ask them to work with their fellow MoC’s to find a way to remove Trump. If you agree, I suggest you do the same.*
*As a footnote: out of respect for Dan’s request that no one of us hijack the Comments section, I will not engage with anyone wishing to attack me for my views.
However, I would like to point out that, just as the Nazis sans-white-hoods this past weekend are finding out, everything that each of us say and do online now has virtual eternal life.
Leaving y’all with that thought !
#Charlottesville #RememberHeatherHeyer
Namaste,
Lisa Marie Alter
It seems there has already been a hijacking, but somehow these guys always get away with it. Hence, a double standard. Sigh.
In the 9 years I’ve been publishing “06880,” there have been 81,174 comments posted. Nancy, you have commented 2,944 times — more than 3% of all posts. You have posted nearly 3 times as many times as the #2 person (1,174). I have been working on other things today, and did not have time to fully moderate this thread. “06880” is not my full-time job, believe it or not. Checking comments is quite time-consuming, and I do the best I can.
Dan, yes I used to get carried away in heated “conversations” (as I did yesterday, when you shut me down), but have respected your new comment limit, which sometimes means not responding to a question. I wonder how many of my 2,944 posts where answers to questions put to me.
You recently apologized for assuming I had gone over the limit, when I had only commented once or twice.
Anyway, while I understand that you cannot always monitor your own blog, it seems odd that the number of insults hurled above by those who often over-comment go unnoticed. It also seems odd that opinions that differ from yours are not welcome. Then again, it is your blog.
Nancy, if I did not welcome opinions that differ from mine, certain folks in the “hijacked” thread above would have been gone long ago.
Yeah, thanks.
I’m trying to remember where “old Westporters” used to go to blow off steam before Dan’s blog came along. Anybody know?
Touche! and thanks for the smile.
So, why is it that you get away with this crap?
Lady, what the F are you talking about?
Hypocrisy..
It always shocks me when I hear
Trump supporters speak in his defense. Especially here!