Texas Governor Greg Abbott knows how to suppress the vote! The infamous Greg Abbott Order. Will it Stand?
Republicans have a long history of voter suppression. It is devious and totally in Trump’s wheelhouse, the sort of horrid activity done in plain view. You remember, during the debate, how Trump encouraged his supporters to intimidate voters at the polls, right? Well, that’s one form of voter suppression. That brings us to today’s editorial cartoon: Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who recently ordered that each county in Texas be limited to only one drop-off box for mail-in ballots. This is an abrupt decision made with only three weeks before the election.
Democratic members of Congress, all chairs of prominent committees, have called Abbott’s order an apparent “last-ditch effort to suppress Texans’ ability to vote.” Consider the fact that mail-in drop-off sites are relied upon just like mail boxes and each county is suppose to have what it needs. Harris County, a county with a population of 4.7 million, which includes Houston, has relied upon a dozen drop-off sites. Harris County is around the size of Rhode Island. Abbott now has Harris County with only ONE drop-off box! This is the opposite of making voting accessible for everyone. At this writing, Abbott’s order is being challenged but it may stand as is.
Houston, and the rest of Battleground America, we have a problem. Where are you experiencing voter suppression? In about three weeks, November 3, 2020, it will be Election Day in the United States of America. What are you doing to help promote a fair and honest election? Well, it has nothing to do with suddenly showing up in MAGA gear as a self-proclaimed poll watcher. For many Americans, it will mean voting like your life depends upon it. In the end, all of us in the USA must find a way to come together. We will continue to do this one step at a time. The Abbott order is now a moment in time right up there with another infamous moment in time, George Wallace standing in front of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama on June 11, 1963, in order to stop the enrollment of African-American students. Don’t be hesitant, afraid and silent. Speak up. And vote.
The following is from the Texan Tribune, 6 October 2020. Read the entire article here.
The Democratic chairs of three high-profile congressional committees urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday to rescind his order limiting counties to one drop-off location each for absentee ballots, saying it “appears to be a last-ditch effort to suppress Texans’ ability to vote.”
In a letter to the Texas governor, U.S. House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said they are investigating Abbott’s order because it “may interfere with the administration of free, fair, and safe federal elections in Texas during the coronavirus pandemic.” The chairs also asked Abbott to provide documents regarding his decision.
Clyburn leads the U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Lofgren chairs the Committee on House Administration, and Maloney presides over the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
The Power of Cinema: A Movie Review of GIANT
AN AMERICAN DIVIDE.
“Giant” is not quite as spectacular as “Gone with the Wind,” but it certainly holds its own. Both are colossal movies in star power, production, and size. “Giant,” however, is in a class all its own as it addresses head-on the curious relationship between the United States and Mexico and beyond. It is a powerful indictment on intolerance, expressed boldly and with audacity. And in 1956!
YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE.
The whole movie can be boiled down to one scene. In fact, the movie could very well have been made simply for the sake of this one scene. You may know it, or know of it. It’s easy to do a quick search and watch the clip on YouTube. But, like most things in life, we gain from digging deeper. You simply must see the whole movie to appreciate its significance. Like I say, this movie came out in 1956. We Americans still have much to learn, as a whole country, don’t we? Some people think all we need to do is build a wall.
HOLD ON THERE!
By the time we get to that momentous confrontation in a modest roadside diner, the main character of Jordan “Bick” Benedict (played by Rock Hudson) has grown by leaps and bounds as a human being. The suggestion is that so could America, as a whole, and anywhere else there is ignorance and hatred. It was there then. It is here now. We just pretend it doesn’t exist, at least too many of us do. That’s what Bick did. He never acknowledged, let alone cared about, all the Mexican people around him. He was the patriarch of a cattle empire in Texas. That’s all that mattered. Even if Mexicans worked on his ranch and cared for his children, as far as he was concerned, they didn’t really exist. So, if any harm came to them, that wasn’t his problem.
WE HAVE US A FIGHT!
Some people assume all is well with the world as long as they are doing well. They cannot, will not, see beyond what they consider to be important. Maybe it’s a sewing circle, or collecting recipes, or a family pet. In the case of Bick, all that mattered was the family estate of Reata. In Edna Ferber’s novel, faithfully brought to the screen by George Stevens, we find in “Giant” the sweeping epic story of Texas. We follow the Benedict family from about 1930 to 1950 and see how Bick reacts to the great transition from a focus on cattle to a focus on oil. The fate of the Mexican population seems lost in the shuffle but it is always referred to, demanding some kind of answer.
THE FACE OF A NEW AMERICA.
By the time we reach that moment of truth in that diner, Bick must act instead of just react. The precision drumbeat has begun to the rousing tune of “The Yellow Rose of Texas” on the jukebox just as Bick and his family walk in. The signal is clear, we have something big that’s about to happen. Bick’s eyes have been opened to the world. He can empathize. His own son is married to a Mexican. And they have a beautiful child, Bick’s grandson. When the family arrives at the diner, the diner’s owner is prepared to throw them out but hesitates. He barks an insult and cowardly walks away. A few minutes later, a serious confrontation is inevitable.
In just a few moments, Bick witnesses the diner’s owner manhandle a Mexican family that had just arrived. Bick is now in a position, in his mind and heart, to take a stand. As the music on the jukebox swells, Bick and the owner engage in a fight. First words, then fists, and then total mayhem. It’s the most direct and honest thing that Bick has ever done in his whole life and, to think it possible, in the defense of the Mexicans. While in may seem amazingly sophisticated and enlightened for such a major motion picture to have been made at that time, it really is not too much to ask. The tide was slowly turning towards social change. The general public, whether or not they admit so in public, know right from wrong. In fact, “Giant,” is a widely acknowledged icon. Like its name implies, it is too big to ignore and too big to dismiss.
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Filed under American History, Commentary, History, Movie Reviews, movies, Race, Race Relations, Racism, Social Commentary, Social Justice
Tagged as 1950s, Edna Ferber, Elizabeth Taylor, Fiction, George Stevens, Giant, History, Hollywood, Immigration, James Dean, Mexicans, Mexico, Prejudice, Race, Race Relations, Racism, Rock Hudson, social conscience, social issues, Social Justice, Texans, Texas