Steve Kelman on Politics, Culture, and Life, 11.12.2021
Steve Kelman, Harvard Kennedy School prof, moderate Dem, pro free speech/anti cancel culture, pro tax rich, pro-Israel. Research improving gov performance, China interest. Blog reprints Facebook posts
Death threats for infrastructure vote
Congressman Upton reported receiving "multiple death threats" after being one of the 13 Republicans to vote for the infrastructure bill. Marjorie Taylor Green posted the phone numbers of the 13 on her social media accounts. Over INFRASTRUCTURE?..
Origin of the phrase “rednecks”
Much of the Evan Osnos book I am reading takes place in West Virginia. He tells about West Virginia railroad workers who undertook the first nationwide strike in the 1800’s. They wore red bandannas and were called “red necks.” This is the origin of the phrase.
The ”great migration” of blacks from the South
I am starting The Warmth of other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, her award award-winning account of the Great Migration of blacks from the South, which has been recommended to me. It's a long book, so maybe a whole bunch of posts as I read it. My starter for tonight is that is that the 1st laws called Jim-Crow laws were actually passed passed in Massachusetts, to separate a railroad car for black passengers.
Although street cars originally allowed blacks and whites to sit next to each other, by 1915, the book reports, segregation was so extreme that in South Carolina blacks and whites were not allowed to go up-and-down the same stairs at one time. If cars driven by blacks on the roads could not pass those driven by whites.
Food price inflation?
For whatever this is worth, I am not really noticing that prices of the food items I buy have gone up particularly for me. For fruits/veggies, items I frequently buy (grape tomatoes, cauliflower, asparagus, oranges) all same as a year ago.