just not sure

Can you believe it? Darn near Juneteenth again! Have you done your shopping yet? I think perhaps a copy of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments in a frame would make a great present.

By the way, if you think I dwell on the the 1960s a bit, well I do to a degree. The summer of ’63 was the time when all the pent up work and desire for civil right boiled over. With that little black and white tv, even people in rural Iowa could see what happened often shortly after it happened.

In contrast today we have a media spinning up fake outrage while real problems go untouched. A group like ALEC continues unabated in shifting America to a plutocracy.

Enough for today’s sermon, let’s get those brains out and see if you were paying attention last week.

1) Juneteenth? Just what the heck is Juneteenth and what day is it celebrated?

2) Cory Booker is running for senate and has a real good chance of winning. Can you name the 3 African Americans elected to the senate since 1900?

3) June 11th and 12th, 1963 were memorable days in the civil rights movement. What Governor infamously stood in the schoolhouse door to stop integration at his state’s university on June 11th, 1963.

4) Back to the present. Whistle blower Ed Snowden did not work for the government. What private company did he work for?

5) About how many civilians in the US have a top secret clearance?

6) In the early morning of June 12, 1963 Medgar Evers was shot and killed as he returned home. What movie recounted the final attempt to convict his assassin? It was a 1996 hit with Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg.

7) June 15th was also the day we celebrate the great granddaddy of all freedom documents. What document was celebrated Saturday?

8) A great day in herstory. June 16th, 1963 who was launched into space by the Soviet Union?

9) Who tweeted “20 brazen self professed illegal aliens have just invaded my DC office.” earlier this week when some activists came to see him at his office?

10) The SCOTUS ruled this week that no one can patent what?

11) Speaking of SCOTUS, the court is currently divided into 5 conservatives and 4 liberals. But one conservative is thought to be a swing vote, especially concerning gay discrimination  issues. Which justice is that?

12) Governor Perry had a great week for him. He vetoed a bill calling for equal pay and later in the week signed a bill giving people the freedom of speech to say what where?

13) The San Onofre nuclear generating plant in California has been marked to close ending a long battle. One of San Onofre’s biggest problems is location. It sits atop what known problem?

14) What product put out an advertisement on the internet featuring a racially mixed family and causing a huge controversy?

15) Mostly Republicans are gathering in Washington under a banner that suggests the combining of church and state. What is the name of the organization holding this meeting?

June is just busting out all over. I have scooped up about 10 pounds of gnats and am looking for a good recipe to cook them. In the meantime, here are the answers.

1) Juneteenth is the day in 1865 when slaves in Texas learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. The actual date is June 19th.

2) Edward Brooke of Massachusetts, Carol Mosley Braun and Barack Obama of Illinois. Current A-A senators Tim Scott and MoCowan and former senator Roland Burris were appointed.

3) George Wallace

4) Booz Allen Hamilton

5) The number I heard was 1.4 million on Rachel Maddow. Having a hard time confirming.

6) Ghosts Of Mississippi

7) The sealing of the Magna Carta. The 800th anniversary is coming in 2015.

8) Valentina Tereshkova

9) Steve King

10) human DNA

11) Justice Anthony Kennedy

12) The freedom to say “Merry Christmas” in public schools. Guess who will be running for president in 2016?

13) It sits in an earthquake and tsunami zone

14) Cheerios

15) It is the Faith and Freedom coalition. Where your faith must be the same as everyone else’s and you have the freedom to think like everyone else.