I’ve got a turkey in the frig and a pie to bake for a Thanksgiving dinner. But this blog has asked the question before about whether or not Thanksgiving is a day for “celebrating” given its historical context. One of my cousins will say, it’s a “celebration of the harvest.” In these times having food on the table is certainly something to to be thankful for. “Ask a Slave”
In this post, eclectique916 will “Ask a Slave.” “Slavery” has gotten traction in becoming its own genre in narrative film, literature, etc. Why not satire. This is not new, but its definitely become the main course.
“Ask a Slave” is a [now popular] web series created by actress Azie Mira Dungey, a real-life historical interpreter who is using her credentials and experiences at Mount Vernon (just down the road from me) to create a video Q&A with the slave Lizzie Mae. The questions are scripted from and inspired by Dungey’s real-life interactions with tourists.
George Washington would issue a proclamation in 1789 making November 26 “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God” nationwide. George Washington also owned over 300 slaves on his Mount Vernon plantation estate. Letter to George: “Ask a Slave” What are you thankful for?
I don’t know how long “sugar-coated Satan sandwich” will stick. This phrase was coined by Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. The debt ceiling skirmish resulted in heart burn all around. Lots of finger-pointing by Republicans at the Democrats and the President; Democrats right back at the Republicans. Was the S&P bedeviled by the political bickering all the way down to the designated wire with no revenue producing plan? Will anyone admit to a Faustian bargain?
Take away the sugar on this stack and things get spicy. Made me think of one of my old childhood treats.
If the National Mall is considered the “prime time” for rallies, then Comedy Central was not ready. I can’t say what happened, what was funny, or what was what on the stage where Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert MC’d because I couldn’t SEE or HEAR anything.
Since there was no way to get past the wall of people heading towards the Mall area, I had to go to the back of the stage, where it was pretty quiet near the production trailers and the limos parked in back. Note the word “quiet.” All the noise was on the Mall. Fortunately, I did hear the strains of the national anthem which was sung quite well by….I have no idea, because I couldn’t see anything. I did sneak a peek of the teleprompter facing the stage. Gee, it sounds funnier than it reads I guess.
There were only two Trinitrons on each side of the stage. Were they expecting 500 people and not tens of thousands? A television monitor was set up in a tent behind the stage and limos to handle “overflow.” If you weren’t within 100 yards of a giant Trinitron, you probably saw very little. I eventually squeezed my way to the south west side of the Mall. By then I could see a little bit of Ozzy Osbourne and Jon Stewart on one of the monitors, and the O’Jay’s singing “Love Train.” And I heard it too.
Overall, considering the size of the crowd and the lack of community organizing to move people around, there was a sanity to the madness. I’m sure the yelling behind closed doors will start next week when the city unpacks its figures for crowd control, transportation rerouting, street closings, and the four people who fell to the bottom of the Metro entrance because the escalator couldn’t sustain that many passengers.
Wish I had more glowing reflections of the event. A few interesting signs were carried around. Some people showed up in Halloween costumes, or maybe not. For me, the crowd provided most of the entertainment. Comedians do better on small stages. Rallies do better with more community organizing.
The President’s Weekly
The President did have his one-on-one with Jon Stewart in a smaller venue, but also had his weekly closeup to in anticipation for the day after November 2nd…and after the recounts.
Whatever the outcome on Tuesday, we need to come together to help put people who are still looking for jobs back to work. And there are some practical steps we can take right away to promote growth and encourage businesses to hire and expand. These are steps we all should be able to agree on – not Democratic or Republican ideas, but proposals that have traditionally been supported by both parties.
And for readers in the U.S., eclectique916.com asks you to
Earlier I mentioned my widening enthusiasm gap for Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” October 30th. But now that the location has been revealed (between 3rd and 7th Streets, NW – west of the U.S. Capitol I’m guessing); and the benefactor announced, I’m feeling perky again. No pun on the final punch line in this clip. Keeping up the symbolic sacred grounds of free speech is also included in the price of the freedom ticket.
