An authoritarian-style government might not be the best campaign theme

My Sunday movie (even after a Friday movie) was American Symphony on Netflix, a documentary about Jon Batiste. He’s a big deal pop star (which isn’t my musical world) and band leader for Stephen Colbert’s show. I’m pretty sure he started allowing a camera to follow him around because he was developing a symphony to be played at Carnegie Hall. The cameras caught a lot more than that. The previous time I was on Netflix this was proposed as a new movie I might be interested in. It has “Symphony” in the title, which was intriguing. So I found a Batiste video online. It was good, very pop, which isn’t my thing. But if this is about a modern symphony, maybe I’ll give it a try. Batiste grew up in New Orleans and trained in their jazz and popular music environment. He was good enough he spent time at Julliard. They were annoyed that he played a melodica (amongst other instruments), which most of them thought of as a child’s toy, though there is now a mural at Julliard with him playing his melodica. His time in Julliard, also before and after, included training in classical music. So, yeah, his symphony could be classical. Close to the start of the movie is Colbert announcing that Batiste had been nominated for 11 Grammy awards (announced in 2021, awarded in 2022). That same day his wife Suleika had her first chemotherapy for leukemia that had come back after being in remission for 10 years. So the movie was about him caring for his wife while working as a touring musician, being on Colbert’s show, preparing this symphony, and keeping up with his self care. When plans for the symphony were announced there was pushback that a pop star (particularly a black pop star) shouldn’t be attempting to write classical music. But Batiste is all about defying genre boundaries. He wanted his symphony to be a blend of all the different strands of American music, to be inclusive, to celebrate it all. We see his performance at the Grammys. We hear him talk about dealing with fame, which he doesn’t want much of because it draws him away from what is important – his wife and his music. And then we get to the symphony performance. Alas, we only get to hear about 12 minutes of a 40 minute work. I would like to hear it all. And, yes, it draws on all strands of American music. There are, of course, orchestra performers. There are also pop singers, guitarists, bass players, and a Hammond organ. There are Native drummers and singers. There are synthesizers. I think they got into the second movement when the power on stage went out. The lights were still on but the microphones, synthesizers, and electric guitars went silent. For a while they all look at each other, then Batiste improvises on the piano until there is word the power is back. I was pleased to see the credits say included in the producers were Barack and Michelle Obama. I enjoyed this one. I want to listen to the whole symphony. Alas, a search does not show it available online, even as a recording I might buy. I finished the book Wolfsong by TJ Klune. There were stacks of the book at my local bookstore and rave reader reviews online. They said it has a gay love story at its core. So I bought and read. Oxnard – Ox – is the narrator. He lives in the town of Green Creek, Oregon. At age 10 his father leaves and says Ox won’t amount to much. He works at the local auto body garage for Gordo, who makes sure the mortgage is paid. Ox and his mother live on a lane and the only other house on the lane is empty. When Ox is 16 people move into that house. Walking home from work he meets ten year old Joe who thinks Ox smells amazing and says he is the one. A few months later Ox finds out the neighbors are werewolves. Thankfully, they’re not the kind who prey on humans. Ox and his mother are welcomed as human members of the pack. When Ox is 23 he realizes that 17 year old Joe has matured and is now quite the hunk. It doesn’t take Joe long to notice Ox has noticed him and Joe begins to court Ox as his mate. Joe is to be the next pack Alpha, though why Joe and not his two older brothers is not explained. Before Joe turns 18 and the mating can be completed the pack is attacked by renegade werewolves. Joe becomes Alpha, and the pack is split. Much of the rest of the story is about the two parts finding their way back together. Along the way Ox does a great deal of maturing. Of course, there is one final attack. As that last attack begins I saw the attacker is doing things the same way he did before. Why didn’t Ox and Joe get training in how to avoid, or at least properly handle, this kind of attack? Thinking that way might be a bit of a stretch for a couple guys in their 20s. Beyond that quibble, this is a story of a family, a pack, caring for each other, celebrating their happy times and helping each other through the hard times. It is that part of the story I appreciated most. There are three more books in the series, at least 1500 more pages. There are also three novellas that can be downloaded from the author’s website. The sequels focus on other characters in the pack and each features a gay love story – yeah, it seems all the wolves in the pack are gay. I very much enjoyed this one. I’m not running out to buy the other three just yet because another 1500 pages feels daunting, especially if the pack might be facing similar types of attacks in each one. I haven’t been doing many Ukraine updates because there hasn’t been much change in the front lines. But there are a few things of importance not on the battlefront. Two weeks ago (a sign of how little I’ve been writing about Ukraine) Kos of Daily Kos wrote about General Storm – a winter storm with 20 foot waves (the strongest in 100 years) hit Crimea and the Ukraine port city of Odesa. In Crimea, all of the defenses Russia built against a coastal invasion are now all gone. We’ll revel in that as we note the chances of a Ukrainian amphibious landing are close to zero. Though sweeping those defenses away will make things easier for raiding parties. Last Friday Mark Sumner of Kos wrote about the use of drones in Ukraine. They’re so inexpensive (what’s $1K each when fighter jets are tens of millions?) and now so ever present they have changed the way war is fought. They’re like nightmare hornets and a reason why many sections of the front are frozen. The victor might be who figures out how to deal with the drones aimed at them from the other side. An Associated Press article posted on Kos reported that Putin has announced he will run for another six year term as president of Russia. He has an 80% approval rating and he can jail any opposition. So, yeah, there will be a formality of an election, though it will make little difference. On to the big news on Ukraine, which isn’t happening in Ukraine or Russia. A week ago Joan McCarter of Kos wrote Republicans stormed out of a classified briefing on Ukraine, in what was the first incident in their trying to tie aid to Ukraine to immigration policies on the US southern border.

Looks like Moscow Mitch is back in the saddle, putting Putin—and by extension Donald Trump—first again. This is, after all, about the ability of Russia to trample over a western neighbor. And while Republicans are fighting over an imagined U.S. border war, Russia is bombing Ukrainian civilians.

I’m pleased I’m not the only one who refers to him as Moscow Mitch. On Friday the Senate attempted to advance a bill for more funding for Ukraine. Every Republican blocked it. Democrats accused them of not negotiating in good faith over immigration issues. Russian state TV propagandists were delighted. Yesterday Charles Jay of the Kos community reported that the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank deep into plans for a possible nasty guy dictatorship, invited several Republican members of Congress to a private meeting featuring allies of Hungary’s autocratic Prime Minister Victor Orbán. He’s one of the few Putin allies in Europe. The purpose of the meeting is to push for an end to US military support for Ukraine. This leads to a question. Has Putin’s influence on Republicans so complete that they now turn their backs on Ukraine? Campaign dollars can do amazing things. Or are Republicans so deep into fascism that they naturally celebrate and support despots, no matter who they are? McCarter reported that aid to Ukraine is in so much trouble Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to Washington to explain to Republican members of Congress what US aid means for his country. Moscow Mitch, once the staunchest of supporters, wasn’t moved. Neither was Speaker Mike Johnson. Other Republicans asked Zelenskyy questions about the US southern border – which he would know nothing about. Those Republican demands for the southern border will, of course, be cruel and something Democrats would not approve. So are Republicans throwing up bogus reasons to explain their refusal to support Ukraine? Or do they expect Democrats – or Biden – will cave to their cruel demands? In some good news from that European neighborhood, Sumner reported that Poland’s Law and Justice Party had been making authoritarian moves over the last several years. They had turned away from EU policies, including freedom of the press, resulting in tens of billions in EU funds being put on hold. A recent election gave Law and Justice more seats than any other party, though not a majority. But none (or not enough) of the other parties would agree to form a coalition government with them and name a prime minister. On Monday the Civic Coalition put its leader, Donald Tusk, forward as PM. Tusk had been PM from 2007 to 2014. Tusk won the job and will quickly assemble a government and start the tasks of undoing all the mess his predecessor had created. It will be hard, partly because of the judges his predecessor installed. Poland’s move back into the European community seems assured. Zelenskyy is delighted. Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that Liz Cheney was on ABC’s This Week as part of her book tour and talked to Jonathan Karl. He said that because of the possibility of several third-party candidates there is a higher chance that no candidate gets the 270 electoral votes. That tosses the election to the House. Liz Cheney responded:

I expressed my view that having Mike Johnson as speaker, and having this Republican majority in charge, you can't count on them to defend the Constitution at this moment.

And last week on CBS Cheney said:

We are facing a situation with respect to the 2024 election where it’s an existential crisis, and we have to ensure that we don’t have a situation where an election that might be thrown into the House of Representatives is overseen by a Republican majority.

Eleveld reviewed the nasty guy’s statement that he will be ready to be a dictator on day one. And a few days later:

The Trump campaign and some of its allies are starting to pick up on the fact that the broad and pervasive push toward an authoritarian-style government might not be the best campaign theme. While "Fascism for All" has a ring to it, it's likely not a winner in a country where people can still cast meaningful votes for their leadership.

Kurt Andersen tweeted a cartoon by Paul Noth that appeared in the New Yorker in 2016. Andersen now calls it the Cartoon of the Decade. It shows sheep on a hillside with a billboard of a wolf campaigning for office with a slogan, “I am going to eat you.” One sheep tells another, “He tells it like it is.” Sumner reported special prosecutor Jack Smith bypassed the Circuit Courts and went straight to the Supremes with an important question: Is the nasty guy entitled to immunity for crimes he committed while in office? Smith made that move because the nasty guy has been appealing cases with that claim. Since the nasty guy’s main legal tactic is delay this is a way to get the question settled while shutting down more delays. Some of the nasty guy’s friends in high places are furious that Smith won’t “follow the script.” They want the delays as much as their master does. McCarter reported the Supremes agreed to take the case. And that prompted Democrats to call for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case. They also called on John Roberts to prove his code of ethics actually means something and lean on Thomas. The reason for the recusal request is because Thomas’ wife Ginny was deeply involved in the coup effort, the crime for which the nasty guy is in court. Almost a month ago Bill in Portland, Maine quoted late night commentary in his Cheers and Jeers column for Kos. From Leslie Jones:

Are you kidding me, [Clarence Thomas]? You're gonna pretend you didn’t know the stuff you did was wrong until now? Having good judgment is the entire point of being a judge! This is so embarrassing—the Supreme Court went without needing an ethics code until these corrupt bastards came along. Here's what really pisses me off, though: the ethics code isn’t even enforceable, so it's not gonna work. If you want to hold people accountable, you gotta be able to fire them.

I had written that the House Oversight Committee had subpoenaed Hunter Biden to testify at a closed door session. Hunter said I’ll come testify – but only if the session is open to the public. That scared off chair Rep. James Comer for a while. He wanted to release a “summary” of the session showing Hunter confirmed their lies and release a transcript a few days later when the media was no longer paying attention. Sumner reported on the next steps. Comer came back with: testify before our closed door panel or we’ll accuse you of contempt of Congress. That session was scheduled for today. Hunter showed up, but not in the hearing room. Instead he stepped in front of cameras with the Capitol as backdrop and explained to the press and public why he was not inside. Some of what he said:

For six years, MAGA Republicans, including members of the House committees who are in a closed-door session right now, have impugned my character, invaded my privacy, attacked my wife, my children, my family, and my friends. ... They’ve ridiculed my struggle with addiction, they’ve belittled my recovery, and they have tried to dehumanize me—all to embarrass and damage my father, who has devoted his entire public life to service. ... They have lied, over and over, about every aspect of my personal and professional life—so much so that their lies have become the false facts believed by too many people. ... They have taken the light of my dad’s love, the light of my dad’s love for me, and presented it as darkness. They have no shame.

Of course, Republicans were not pleased. They also jumped in front of cameras and threatened Hunter with with contempt proceedings anyway.