Inspired by a comment made by bfitzinAR and the encouragement of WYGalinCA, today's post is all about Maxine Waters (CA-43), one of the leaders of the ReSisterhood. She's 79 today, and as a self-described "strong black woman," she's been controversial, contentious, courageous, and a clarion of truth.
As mentioned in the LA Times article above, "In 1994, she was gaveled off the House floor when she refused to stop loudly criticizing a Republican member she felt had badgered a female witness during a hearing." Some things never change for the women of Congress; nevertheless, she persisted. Apparently DK5 does not enable embedding C-span videos, so I’m providing the link here: Whitewater Controversy House Floor (For the hearing-impaired, a transcript is available at the link.) For those who also visit MM, the video is embedded there.
Just watch the first 48 seconds while Rep. Waters responds to a question about what she thinks of criticism of liberal candidates by Black Lives Matters activists (after that, Roger Stone responds to a question, and it's better for one's blood pressure to skip it).
(No transcript)
At the 2016 Democratic Convention; this is bittersweet, of course, but she nails the issues that were important then and even more important now.
(No transcript)
And for many women and people of color, the phrase “reclaiming my time” felt particularly poignant, with the idea of reclamation specifically speaking to both the present and the past. Society has been wasting not only their time but also their voices, agency and potential — for years.
The pinned tweet on her Twitter page, in case there's any doubt about how she feels:
A well-deserved honor (the awards will be televised on BET on Tuesday, August 22nd at 8/7c):
She had lots to say about #Charlottesville:
Rep. Waters does have a Republican opponent declared for the 2018, but since most of the information I could find about him comes from such charming sites as InfoWars and The Gateway Pundit, I'm not going to provide any links. (In June, her potential opponent livestreamed his attendance at the San Bernardino "March Against Sharia." That should tell you plenty.)
Instead, for those who are able and inclined, here's the link to her ActBlue account: Maxine Waters, U.S. Congress
And now for your Tuesday Basset...I knew there was a reason I liked George Clooney!