The administration’s response is summarized in this paragraph from the New York Times:
The intelligence finding was briefed to President Trump, and the White House’s National Security Council discussed the problem at an interagency meeting in late March, the officials said. Officials developed a menu of potential options — starting with making a diplomatic complaint to Moscow and a demand that it stop, along with an escalating series of sanctions and other possible responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step, the officials said.
Over the next couple of days, you’ll hear attempts to reframe the Tulsa rally as a success. When you do, and should you start believing the propaganda, come back here. Watch the video and see the truth about how it really went, as evidenced by the body language of utter defeat (and let’s face it, a complete lack of grit).
It tells you everything you need to know without a single word from Team Trump or “Vanilla ISIS” — and hence, without a single lie.
Juneteenth — the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States — dates back to this day in 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
For those of you who were reading closely, June 19, 1865 is a full two and half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on New Year’s Day in 1863, and a couple of months after the end of the Civil War in the U.S. and Lincoln’s assassination. Juneteenth marks the official end of slavery.
The reactions to this profound news ranged from pure shock to immediate jubilation. While many lingered to learn of this new employer to employee relationship, many left before these offers were completely off the lips of their former ‘masters’ – attesting to the varying conditions on the plantations and the realization of freedom. Even with nowhere to go, many felt that leaving the plantation would be their first grasp of freedom. North was a logical destination and for many it represented true freedom, while the desire to reach family members in neighboring states drove some into Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Settling into these new areas as free men and women brought on new realities and the challenges of establishing a heretofore non-existent status for black people in America. Recounting the memories of that great day in June of 1865 and its festivities would serve as motivation as well as a release from the growing pressures encountered in their new territories. The celebration of June 19th was coined “Juneteenth” and grew with more participation from descendants. The Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassuring each other, for praying and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date.
