GOP senator to introduce bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday

[mystery-ak]

GOP senator to introduce bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
By Zack Budryk - 06/18/20 07:37 PM EDT

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday he will introduce legislation making Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of formerly enslaved African Americans, a federal holiday.

The June 19 holiday is “an opportunity to reflect on our history, the mistakes we have made, but yet how far we’ve come in the fight for equality, and a reminder of just how far we still have to go,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Juneteenth has its roots in Cornyn’s home state, where in 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation to former slaves, the final state where it was read after first being issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Texas is one of 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia, that recognize the holiday. Both Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called for their respective legislatures to make it a state holiday this week.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/503497-gop-senator-to-introduce-bill-to-make-juneteenth-a-federal-holiday

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

GOP senator to introduce bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
By Zack Budryk - 06/18/20 07:37 PM EDT

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday he will introduce legislation making Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of formerly enslaved African Americans, a federal holiday.

The June 19 holiday is “an opportunity to reflect on our history, the mistakes we have made, but yet how far we’ve come in the fight for equality, and a reminder of just how far we still have to go,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Juneteenth has its roots in Cornyn’s home state, where in 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation to former slaves, the final state where it was read after first being issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Texas is one of 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia, that recognize the holiday. Both Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called for their respective legislatures to make it a state holiday this week.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/503497-gop-senator-to-introduce-bill-to-make-juneteenth-a-federal-holiday

THe GOP is making a tremendous mistake with all this pandering. IMO they have greatly misread the crowd.

[Fishrrman]

No.
Absolutely NO.

[corbe]

   Next up from Cornyn will be the gay pandering, he saw what almost happen to Cruz 2 years ago and he knows intellectually he wouldn't make a pimple on Ted's butt. 

[jafo2010]

Juneteenth recognized in 47 states?  BULLSH*T!!!  Until two weeks ago, I never heard of it, and I have spent years in Texas on consulting gigs, and not a peep about Juneteenth.

Now, this fits in the nice to have, but we have to be smart as a nation.  We have enough national holidays!  Last thing we need in the competitive world we operate in is more holidays.  Take Puerto Rico, they have 24 holidays.  They have all the holidays we have in the USA, and many more for their own events.  24 holidays, no joke.  And what does that mean?  It means corporations are not willing to invest money in a workforce that have two days off every month on average.  Pure idiocy, and I oppose any more holidays....PERIOD!!!

And these jack*sses that are tearing down statues, have torn down statues of Abe Lincoln, and destroyed the memorial of a regiment of black Union soldiers in Massachusetts, are worthy of zero respect.  So, I say screw this notion and to hell with all that think we should destroy our history.

[Chosen Daughter]

GOP senator to introduce bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
By Zack Budryk - 06/18/20 07:37 PM EDT

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday he will introduce legislation making Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the emancipation of formerly enslaved African Americans, a federal holiday.

The June 19 holiday is “an opportunity to reflect on our history, the mistakes we have made, but yet how far we’ve come in the fight for equality, and a reminder of just how far we still have to go,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Juneteenth has its roots in Cornyn’s home state, where in 1865, Gen. Gordon Granger read the Emancipation Proclamation to former slaves, the final state where it was read after first being issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Texas is one of 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia, that recognize the holiday. Both Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) called for their respective legislatures to make it a state holiday this week.

more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/503497-gop-senator-to-introduce-bill-to-make-juneteenth-a-federal-holiday

Seems that would only piss them off to celebrate on Juneteenth.  To recognize the Emancipation instead of making it about the massacre.

[jmyrlefuller]

Trade it for MLK Day. It'll balance things out a little more.

[Smokin Joe]

Heck, I recall celebrating Stonewall....Jackson, that is.

[aligncare]

Great, another patronizing move. Then anyone not voting for it can be attacked by BLM forces for not being sympathetic enough to the plight of poor little African Americans. Can there ever be enough pandering? Apparently not.

[GrouchoTex]

Juneteenth recognized in 47 states?  BULLSH*T!!!  Until two weeks ago, I never heard of it, and I have spent years in Texas on consulting gigs, and not a peep about Juneteenth.

Now, this fits in the nice to have, but we have to be smart as a nation.  We have enough national holidays!  Last thing we need in the competitive world we operate in is more holidays.  Take Puerto Rico, they have 24 holidays.  They have all the holidays we have in the USA, and many more for their own events.  24 holidays, no joke.  And what does that mean?  It means corporations are not willing to invest money in a workforce that have two days off every month on average.  Pure idiocy, and I oppose any more holidays....PERIOD!!!

And these jack*sses that are tearing down statues, have torn down statues of Abe Lincoln, and destroyed the memorial of a regiment of black Union soldiers in Massachusetts, are worthy of zero respect.  So, I say screw this notion and to hell with all that think we should destroy our history.

???

I am from Texas, and I've known about Juneteenth since I was a child.

[andy58-in-nh]

Do we really need another excuse for government employees not to work?

[GrouchoTex]

I may be in a minority of opinion here, so be it.
I don't have a problem with this.
I actually think this is long overdue.

July 4th, 1776, we declared or independence, to make our country free.

June 19th, 1865, celebrated as the made all of our citizens free, living up to the promise:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

I took us 89 years to get there, but we got there.

Feel free to fire at will.

[FeelNoPain]

Great, another patronizing move. Then anyone not voting for it can be attacked by BLM forces for not being sympathetic enough to the plight of poor little African Americans. Can there ever be enough pandering? Apparently not.

All politicians pander, including President Trump.
Folks tend not to mind when they are the ones on the receiving end of the pandering.

[sneakypete]

THe GOP is making a tremendous mistake with all this pandering. IMO they have greatly misread the crowd.

@Weird Tolkienish Figure

Yup! Just look at where pandering put them before Trump showed up.

[Cyber Liberty]

All politicians pander, including President Trump.
Folks tend not to mind when they are the ones on the receiving end of the pandering.

I mind it when they pander to me, because I'm smart enough to know what an empty promise looks like.

What I wonder is this:  What holiday are they going to eliminate to create a special extra one for that segment of the population?  Veterans Day?

[FeelNoPain]

I mind it when they pander to me, because I'm smart enough to know what an empty promise looks like.

What I wonder is this:  What holiday are they going to eliminate to create a special extra one for that segment of the population?  Veterans Day?

Black Friday. 

[Cyber Liberty]

Black Friday. 

 

[bilo]

I may be in a minority of opinion here, so be it.
I don't have a problem with this.
I actually think this is long overdue.

July 4th, 1776, we declared or independence, to make our country free.

June 19th, 1865, celebrated as the made all of our citizens free, living up to the promise:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

I took us 89 years to get there, but we got there.

Feel free to fire at will.

 

I don't see a problem celebrating the end of an evil institution that treated human beings as beasts of burden. FWIW, I think those that oppose something as reasonable as this potentially fulfill bad stereotypes of conservatives. We are not talking about supporting stupid ideas like reparations.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The first time I heard of Juneteenth was last year I think, is this some recently made up thing?

[Mesaclone]

I may be in a minority of opinion here, so be it.
I don't have a problem with this.
I actually think this is long overdue.

July 4th, 1776, we declared or independence, to make our country free.

June 19th, 1865, celebrated as the made all of our citizens free, living up to the promise:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

I took us 89 years to get there, but we got there.

Feel free to fire at will.

I actually agree with you. Its harmless to make this a holiday, and it honors the constitution's promise...as you say...that all men are created equal. It also acknowledges that we were wrong to wait 89 years to make that a reality, and that we DO and have had problems with racism in society. Seems reasonable to me. Is it pandering....yes...to an extent. But you could argue that making Christmas a holiday is pandering to Christians, or Labor Day is pandering to workers....the implementation of any holiday is a bit of a "pander".

And before someone uses an absurdity like Kwanzaa as a counter-argument, Juneteenth has been around for a very long time in Texas and parts of the South. It is an "American" tradition in those places, not a transplanted imaginary holiday meant to make a cultural statement out of nothing.

[Cyber Liberty]

The first time I heard of Juneteenth was last year I think, is this some recently made up thing?

No, it's been around TX for a very, very long time.  It's only brought up now because there is an important task at hand:  Eliminate Republicans forever.  bad orange man just happens to be the King at the time.

I have but one observation to make that illustrates my feelings about Juneteenth and MLK Day in January:  "The chains of a slave weigh heavily at both ends." 

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

No, it's been around TX for a very, very long time.  It's only brought up now because there is an important task at hand:  Eliminate Republicans forever.  bad orange man just happens to be the King at the time.

I have but one observation to make that illustrates my feelings about Juneteenth and MLK Day in January:  "The chains of a slave weigh heavily at both ends."

Are there any other secret regional black holidays that we need to watch out for?

[Cyber Liberty]

Are there any other secret regional black holidays that we need to watch out for?

I don't know.  They're regional and I don't know all the regions.  Probably, the next time the Rats try to scuttle a Trump Rally, one will be found.  BTW, "Juneteenth" is not any kind of holiday in the states not named "Texas," AFAIK.  Certainly not in Oklahoma.

[catfish1957]

Travesty we couldn't get even 25% in the primary to unseat this c__ sucking SOB.

We don't need additonal federal holidays

[Bigun]

Travesty we couldn't get even 25% in the primary to unseat this c__ sucking SOB.

We don't need additonal federal holidays