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“We are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come.”
Commentary by Black Kos Editor Denise Oliver-Velez
It is hard for me to believe that 40 years have passed since I watched, with members of my family, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan deliver her powerful keynote address to the Democratic National Convention being held in New York City at Madison Square Garden. We were watching her make history.
She was the first woman to deliver the keynote. She was the first black American to deliver the keynote. She was the first black woman to deliver the keynote. She was the first Texan to deliver the keynote.I’ve written about her recently — Barbara Jordan: 'She always did sound like God'
As we approach the 2016 Democratic Convention, July 25th-28th, in Philly “we the people” of the Big Tent Party will come together again, to make more history.
Join me in listening to and reading her words.
x YouTube VideoThank you ladies and gentlemen for a very warm reception.
It was one hundred and forty-four years ago that members of the Democratic Party first met in convention to select a Presidential candidate. Since that time, Democrats have continued to convene once every four years and draft a party platform and nominate a Presidential candidate. And our meeting this week is a continuation of that tradition. But there is something different about tonight. There is something special about tonight. What is different? What is special?
I, Barbara Jordan, am a keynote speaker.
When -- A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time it would have been most unusual for any national political party to ask a Barbara Jordan to deliver a keynote address. But tonight, here I am. And I feel -- I feel that notwithstanding the past that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream need not forever be deferred.
Now -- Now that I have this grand distinction, what in the world am I supposed to say? I could easily spend this time praising the accomplishments of this party and attacking the Republicans -- but I don't choose to do that. I could list the many problems which Americans have. I could list the problems which cause people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated: problems which include lack of integrity in government; the feeling that the individual no longer counts; the reality of material and spiritual poverty; the feeling that the grand American experiment is failing or has failed. I could recite these problems, and then I could sit down and offer no solutions. But I don't choose to do that either. The citizens of America expect more. They deserve and they want more than a recital of problems.
We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. We are a people in search of a national community. We are a people trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of America. We are attempting to fulfill our national purpose, to create and sustain a society in which all of us are equal.
Throughout -- Throughout our history, when people have looked for new ways to solve their problems and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times they have turned to political parties. They have often turned to the Democratic Party. What is it? What is it about the Democratic Party that makes it the instrument the people use when they search for ways to shape their future? Well I believe the answer to that question lies in our concept of governing. Our concept of governing is derived from our view of people. It is a concept deeply rooted in a set of beliefs firmly etched in the national conscience of all of us.
Now what are these beliefs? First, we believe in equality for all and privileges for none. This is a belief -- This is a belief that each American, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public forum -- all of us. Because -- Because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come.
I think it no accident that most of those immigrating to America in the 19th century identified with the Democratic Party. We are a heterogeneous party made up of Americans of diverse backgrounds. We believe that the people are the source of all governmental power; that the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted.
This -- This can be accomplished only by providing each citizen with every opportunity to participate in the management of the government. They must have that, we believe. We believe that the government which represents the authority of all the people, not just one interest group, but all the people, has an obligation to actively -- underscore actively -- seek to remove those obstacles which would block individual achievement -- obstacles emanating from race, sex, economic condition. The government must remove them, seek to remove them. We.
We are a party -- We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better future. We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of America can one day be finally closed. We believe that.
This, my friends is the bedrock of our concept of governing. This is a part of the reason why Americans have turned to the Democratic Party. These are the foundations upon which a national community can be built. Let all understand that these guiding principles cannot be discarded for short-term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the American idea. And these are principles which are not negotiable.
In other times -- In other times, I could stand here and give this kind of exposition on the beliefs of the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today that is not enough. People want more. That is not sufficient reason for the majority of the people of this country to decide to vote Democratic. We have made mistakes. We realize that. We admit our mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.
Even as I stand here and admit that we have made mistakes, I still believe that as the people of America sit in judgment on each party, they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They'll recognize that.
And now -- now we must look to the future. Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. If we do not, we not only blaspheme our political heritage, we ignore the common ties that bind all Americans. Many fear the future. Many are distrustful of their leaders, and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private work -- wants; to satisfy their private interests. But this is the great danger America faces -- that we will cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups: city against suburb, region against region, individual against individual; each seeking to satisfy private wants. If that happens, who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?
This is the question which must be answered in 1976: Are we to be one people bound together by common spirit, sharing in a common endeavor; or will we become a divided nation? For all of its uncertainty, we cannot flee the future. We must not become the "New Puritans" and reject our society. We must address and master the future together. It can be done if we restore the belief that we share a sense of national community, that we share a common national endeavor. It can be done.
There is no executive order; there is no law that can require the American people to form a national community. This we must do as individuals, and if we do it as individuals, there is no President of the United States who can veto that decision.
As a first step -- As a first step, we must restore our belief in ourselves. We are a generous people, so why can't we be generous with each other? We need to take to heart the words spoken by Thomas Jefferson:
Let us restore the social intercourse -- "Let us restore to social intercourse that harmony and that affection without which liberty and even life are but dreary things."
A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good. A government is invigorated when each one of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation. In this election year, we must define the "common good" and begin again to shape a common future. Let each person do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling to participate, all of us are going to suffer. For the American idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each one of us.
And now, what are those of us who are elected public officials supposed to do? We call ourselves "public servants" but I'll tell you this: We as public servants must set an example for the rest of the nation. It is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and exhort the people to uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. More is required -- More is required of public officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future.
If we promise as public officials, we must deliver. If -- If we as public officials propose, we must produce. If we say to the American people, "It is time for you to be sacrificial" -- sacrifice. If the public official says that, we [public officials] must be the first to give. We must be. And again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. We have to do that. What we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government should do everything and the idea, the belief, that government ought to do nothing. Strike a balance.
Let there be no illusions about the difficulty of forming this kind of a national community. It's tough, difficult, not easy. But a spirit of harmony will survive in America only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny; if each of us remembers, when self-interest and bitterness seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny.
I have confidence that we can form this kind of national community.
I have confidence that the Democratic Party can lead the way.
I have that confidence.
We cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the founders of the Republic. There is no way to improve upon that. But what we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize our destiny.
Now I began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well I am going to close my speech by quoting a Republican President and I ask you that as you listen to these words of Abraham Lincoln, relate them to the concept of a national community in which every last one of us participates:
"As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master." This -- This -- "This expresses my idea of Democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no Democracy."
Thank you.
Throughout her keynote, Ms. Jordan stressed the word “we”.
This black woman is proud that “me” is a part of that “we”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #FreeDeray trended on Twitter Saturday when activist Deray Mckesson was arrested in Baton Rouge, among hundreds others in protests seeking justice for Alton Sterling & Philando Castile.The Root: Thousands of Protesters Take to the Streets Across U.S.; Hundreds Arrested.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite the fact that five police officers were killed in Dallas on Thursday, protests over the deaths of 37-year-old Alton Sterling, and 32-year-old Philando Castile, two black men killed by police in the last week, continued across the nation throughout the weekend.
From London and New York to Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, La., where Sterling was killed, and in St. Paul, Minn., where Castile was murdered in a suburb, many exercised their constitutional rights to peaceful protest as well as civil disobedience, snarling traffic in major cities.
On Saturday, especially, some of the protests got heated, and resulted in arrests, especially after protesters shut down major highways. In New York City, forty were arrested; in Baltimore, 4 were jailed; in Atlanta, at least 11 went to jail; and hundreds more were booked in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Paul, Minn., where Sterling and Castile died, according to ABC News.
On Saturday, in Baton Rouge, La., scuffles between riot police and Black Panther activists, some of whom carried shotguns, resulted in mass arrests. Louisiana law allows for weapons to be carried openly. After a short standoff later in the evening, riot police arrested as many as 30 demonstrators and recovered weapons, reports AOL News. Prominent black activist and former Baltimore mayoral candidate DeRay Mckesson was among those arrested.
DERAY MCKESSON~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a good example of what strong local leadership can bring to the table. Bloomberg: Some Want a Race War, But Dallas Won't Deliver.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first e-mail, with the subject line "Race War," arrived in my inbox, from a regular, unbidden correspondent, at 7:31 this morning. The term was already floating in the ether. The Drudge Report headline was "Black Lives Kill," painting tens of thousands of peaceful protesters in cities across the country as murderers. The New York Post went with the always provocative "Civil War" for its cover. A former congressman skipped the "civil" part, declaring on Twitter "This is now war" and telling the president to "watch out." (He deleted the tweet, thus immortalizing it.)
There is a virulent quarter of America that seems disappointed that we haven't had a race war. They're the people who listen to President Barack Obama's thoughtful, restrained and measured concern for black victims of hair-trigger police officers and swear they hear the president say it's time to kill whitey. They insist that Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter are somehow mutually exclusive.
They jump at these moments of tension and tragedy not merely because they are haunted by their own churning racial aggression. They jump because they are impatient. After all, we've had seven years of a black man in the nation's most powerful office. Yet still no mass roundup of white patriots, no greenlight for black-on-white crime, no comic-book clash worthy of their juvenile imaginations.
Dallas will disappoint them again. The city of 1.3 million people should be as ripe as any for racial strife. Almost a third of the population is white. One quarter is black. More than 40 percent is Hispanic and about 3 percent is Asian. One quarter of Dallas, once an insular enclave, is foreign-born.
Yet the city's white mayor and black police chief seem to be on the same page. "This must stop, this divisiveness between our police and our citizens," Chief David Brown said. Mayor Mike Rawlings urged the city and the nation to "come together and lock arms and heal the wounds we all feel."
THE POLICE CHIEF AND THE MAYOR ARE NOT IN WARRING FACTIONS. PHOTOGRAPHER: STEWART F. HOUSE/GETTY IMAGES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The case of a lawyer, his last known client and a taxi driver, all last seen in police custody but later found dead in a river, has exploded like few others in Kenya. New York Times: ‘This Has Pushed a Button’: Killings in Kenya Ignite National Outcry.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The bodies were found in horrible shape.
The skull of Willie Kimani, the lawyer, had been fractured in many places. Blunt force trauma, the coroners said.
Josphat Mwenda, the client, had blood in his chest cavity, suggesting that he had been repeatedly hit by something very heavy and very hard.
Joseph Muiruri, the taxi driver, who had the bad luck of driving the two after they left court two weeks ago, had been badly beaten as well, finished off with a length of rope.
The lawyer and the client had been working on a police abuse case, and all three were last seen in police custody. Human rights groups say it is a sign of how cheap life has become on Nairobi’s streets that police officers apparently thought the best solution to accusations against them was to kidnap and kill three people, including a well-known lawyer and a taxi driver who had nothing to do with the case.
But if so, the police miscalculated. Four officers have been arrested and the case has exploded like few others in Kenya, provoking marches, protests, the involvement of the F.B.I. and outrage that has turned into violence.
Hordes of young men stormed a police station this week and burned the metal container where the victims had been secretly held. Lawyers vowed to boycott the courts for a week, out of solidarity for their fallen colleague, and their absence has paralyzed Kenya’s justice system.
Kenya’s police service is widely known for corruption, abuse and extrajudicial killings, an unchecked power that gets away with murder and whose brutality goes back to colonial days, when the British authorities engaged in torture, concentration camps and forced disappearances. Islamic sheikhs have been recently assassinated in suspicious circumstances, along with members of Nairobi’s street gangs.
A priest spread incense on Friday during a funeral Mass in Nairobi for Willie Kimani, a human rights lawyer, and Joseph Muiruri, a taxi driver, who were abducted and killed along with Josphat Mwenda, a client of Mr. Kimani’s. CreditThomas Mukoya/Reuters~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A new way round an old problem. The Economist: Medical drones in Africa, Help from above.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“LAND of a thousand hills” is an apt nickname for Rwanda. The tiny, landlocked country ripples with steep, terraced hillsides. Under its single-minded president, Paul Kagame, it is also determined to become a technology hub for Africa. It is not, therefore, surprising that Rwanda will soon be a laboratory for one of the most hyped technologies around.
Zipline, a Silicon Valley startup, will start testing delivery drones (otherwise known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) at a site 40 minutes drive south-west of the capital, Kigali, in August. If deemed safe by the government, a month or two later the fixed-wing “Zips” will be dropping off blood for transfusions in small boxes with parachutes at 21 hospitals and health centres within a 75km (40 mile) radius. The aim is to open a second hub in the east to cover the rest of the country within a year, and to start delivering vaccines and other medicines as well as blood.
If all goes well, drones could cut a 3.5-hour trip by car to and from one of the country’s five blood banks to less than 45 minutes, a potentially life-saving difference for a mother haemorrhaging after giving birth. Even more time could be saved during the rainy season, when many of Rwanda’s roads become impassable, says Zipline’s co-founder, Will Hetzler.
Another firm, Mobisol, wants to use drones to deliver spare parts for its pay-as-you-go solar-power systems in Rwanda and Tanzania. The quadcopters it is developing would land on roofs, where they could be recharged using customers’ excess solar energy.
Perhaps the most ambitious idea comes from Redline, a 40-person company founded by Jonathan Ledgard, a former journalist for The Economist. Mr Ledgard envisions fixed-wing drones, manufactured for less than $3,000, carrying up to 10kg (22 pound) loads between small cities and towns that are poorly connected by road. A ‘droneport’, designed by Norman Foster, a British architect, could be built for $300,000—less, Mr Ledgard claims, than a new petrol station. Rwandan ministers are supportive, and Redline hopes to start test flights by the end of the year.
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When it comes to helping out, the people of the Diaspora may mean well, but sometimes they need to fall back and listen to those back in our homelands. Ebony: Sometimes, the Diaspora Needs to Have a Seat and Listen .~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With your blog post, you’re supporting the very regime that crushes my Afro-Cuban brothers and sisters,” came an angry response from the Cuban exile community in Miami to my blog post about my recent trip to Santiago de Cuba. The commentator went on to accuse me of being a propagandist and ignoring any facts that didn’t support her perspective about Cuba from thousands of miles away. I was taken aback by this knee-jerk reaction to dismiss a depiction of Cuba as a complex, culturally rich place rather than the romanticized utopia of most travel blogs, or the politically-expedient “dystopian society under a tyrant’s grip”.
Cuban-Americans have traditionally been the most fervent supporters of the U.S. embargo against Cuba. However, what one immediately notices upon arriving in Cuba is that the embargo has only perpetuated the classism and racism that the Cuban Revolution claimed to want to end. In a society where the average monthly wage is $18, White Cubans from Miami and elsewhere are able to send money directly to their relatives so that those relatives can climb the socioeconomic ladder and bypass the harshest impacts of the embargo by redecorating their homes to rent out rooms, updating their cars to provide taxi services to tourists, or opening restaurants and cafes.
Given the nature of migration out of Cuba, however, Afro-Cubans remain the most socially and economically marginalized by the embargo, rarely having family abroad to support them. Despite the claims of the Cuban exile community, an Amnesty International report said: “The negative impact of the embargo is pervasive in the social, economic and environmental dimensions of human development in Cuba, severely affecting the most vulnerable socioeconomic groups of the Cuban population.”
The perspective of the people in Cuba themselves—especially the Afro-Cubans—was in direct contrast with the Cuban American woman who commented on my blog as the self-appointed voice of the people. Many of the Afro-Cubans I encountered welcomed and celebrated the easing of relations between the U.S. and Cuba and fervently asked that I share my experience with others. They genuinely enjoyed the opportunity to reach out to the rest of the world. They wanted to welcome tourists into their homes and be able to open businesses in order to ascend to the middle class in a way that the embargo had always prevented them from doing. And, at the most basic level, their lives depended on the renewed ability to access the food, freedoms, and medicines that the embargo had routinely denied them.
This level of detachment from the realities on the ground and the need to hold on to a past that no longer exists, regardless of the consequences, isn’t restricted to just the Cuban exile community. An example of the consequences of a vocal, yet uninformed diaspora played out in the Haitian-American community during the Clinton Administration. After democratically-elected President Aristide was removed in a military coup, the Haitian diaspora became pawns put forth to legitimize the U.S. embargo against Haiti. If the Haitian diaspora had simply looked towards our Cuban neighbors, we would have seen the crippling socioeconomic impacts and long-term ineffectiveness of an embargo. However, like our Cuban counterparts, many Haitian-American leaders at the time operated with a single-minded political agenda that did not prioritize the needs of the people in Haiti. Thus, the relatively short-lived embargo rendered Haiti unable to trade with other countries, forced much of Haiti’s manufacturing industry to permanently shut down, agricultural production took a dive, deforestation was exacerbated, and the human rights violations perpetuated by the regime only increased. Malnutrition, famine, and high unemployment were all the inevitable end results. The impacts can still be felt today in Haiti.
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Voices and Soulby Justice Putnam Black Kos Poetry Editor
Once upon a time there was a Bower Bird and the Bower Bird built a lovely bower to attract a mate. Sparkly ribbons swayed in a sparkling wind and many colorful and fragrant flowers adorned the structure. After several days and with no mate attracted to the bower, the Bower Bird decided to kidnap a wandering suspect and kept her at the bower against her will. After many suns and several moons, she began to cry out. Her cries filled the bower and her cries filled the forest and her cries filled the sky.
"What is that beautiful music?" passersby would ask the local tribe who cared for that part of the world.
"Those are the cries of the Jail Bird," the locals replied, "she is pleading for her life and she is screaming for her freedom."
"Her pain and anguish are so beautiful," the passersby would exclaim, "it should never stop and since it should never stop, we need to honor her cries and screams so we can experience Beauty."
And some believe that was the beginning of Art.
This song is not a language, Not a thing to be remembered, The field-holler tradition of Teeth and knees Cursing wind, A concert hall of bloody hands Spilling the earth, Strangling dirt, Sledgehammer curses Of men busted open.
On Parchman Farm You could hear it coming Up through the trees, The hammering pulpit of Crooning men and sweat, The tender meat of palms Pulped like plums.
Them men gulped down the Dawn dew air, Let it catch in their throats, Broke the sunrise up and Sang hymns like hexes:
Be my woman gal, I’ll beeee your maaaaaaan...
And the killing fields of Mississippi Fizzled down to juke joints and The hothouse music of illegal clubs With thick women they loved outright and Played cards with and Gave bourbon to when their hands Didn’t hold sorrow like Pickaxes and the railroad was Just a railroad, A way to ride north if you could Get your money right.
Redbone gals with rosewater sweat, When they lifted their knees Sunflower County was a heaven They believed in.
Stick to the promise, gal, that you maaaaaade meeeeee...
Steady now, They turned back the clock on Their hard, hard hands, Let the memory of fresh linen and Ladies’ slips like gossamer Wings, a parade of plump thighs, The juju thrust of furious bones Spread like grease Across starched-white sheets, Midwife them out of ol’ Parchman Farm
And back to the cockfights and gambling, Back when they had ambition, Back when they had a sweet woman To hold, her fat wrists Soft as butter, Limp as rain.
When she walk, she reel and rock beeeeeehind Ain’t that enough to make a convict smiiiiiiiiile.
Mississippi’s where the cock crowed, A hoodwink if ever there was one, But see how a man can make a Steeple outta his hands,
See how he can break away From his hurt and be God If he wants to, How he can keep his mind Wrapped in yesterday, Drown out memory Like rain drumming Down like hornets Yeahhhhhh.
Them Parchman men, Ants in single file, Draft dodgers Digging trenches Pounding concrete Laying tracks Pretending it’s Christmas So they can keep their hands Away from the colic of axe handles, The sputtering earth Snarling under their feet. Warden says every man Gotta pay his way on Parchman Farm Same as the outside.
Yessuh. They remember what it was like to be a man, To know that didn’t mean put a gun in your hand Or go lookin’ for somebody to take down, naw. They sang ’til the hurt was just an Experiment in forgetfulness and they Were back in clean clothes makin’ plans and
Tryin’ to get a little money To buy tobacco and A pint with a little left over To get somethin’ sweet For the women who were wet Underneath them, crooning A tumorless midnight.
The moans of wild women Are specific: A whisper of hell danced pink By the rosewater sweat and mewling, Questions they ask when Their clothes are off.
When you gon’ take me to the movies? We goin’ Saturday, baby When you gon’ get you a steady job? Workin’ on it everyday, baby Why you love me anyway, man? Ain’t a man alive who could help it
The dance, you know, the dance of being a free man That never shows its fullness to you ’til It’s stripped down and gobbled up By railroad tracks and guards in high towers With rifles watching your back, Bend to question mark Under a sun that won’t mind its business,
When the only part of your living life left Is in the things you remember About a woman who hung Pantyhose off her porch to Dry and made you peach cobbler In the middle of the night If you asked nice and Danced with you to songs Written on the back of a Watermelon truck by folk who Knew something about longing, And those are the songs you give her now While you bust the earth open.
Cuz your heart is a burial plot So stony.
Can’t ask nothin’ of a grave. Everybody knows that.
So you dig and Pound and Snatch and Haul and Scrape and Lift and Tote and Hammer.
Lay it down, man! Pick it up again, man!
You’re knuckles and Dreams deferred in a place Where every stone, Every goddamn stone Is important!
I go free, lawd, I goooooooo free...
-- Dominique Christina"Chain Gang"
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WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY’S PORCH