They want someone to say the loud part even louder

Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported the Conservative Political Action Conference is in session (well, maybe it finished today). Sumner wrote:

It’s time to retire the phrase “saying the quiet part out loud.” Because Republicans have canned the whole idea of a quiet part. Whether it’s throwing in their lot with Vladimir Putin or treating “The Handmaid’s Tale” as a guidebook for life, They are saying all the parts loudly. At this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, the loud parts include an open disdain for the whole idea of democracy.

There is open support of Putin and other dictators, which are apparently cool now. Democracy isn’t.

Nothing made that clearer than right-wing activist Jack Posobiec, who spoke on a panel hosted by conservative strategist Steve Bannon. "Welcome to the end of democracy," said Posobiec. "We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn't get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here."

Do we cheer there are plenty of empty seats? Or cringe that Posobiec got thunderous applause?

This is what CPAC attendees are there for now. They don’t want to hear anything about policy. They’re not even that enthused about Donald Trump. What they want now is redder meat, for someone to say the loud part even louder. They want another swing at a violent government overthrow, and they’ll cheer anyone who offers to give them that chance.

Aldous Pennyfarthing of the Kos community wrote that Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of the nasty guy and his nomination to co-chair the Republican National Committee, said RNC funds should be used to pay the nasty guy’s legal bills. That was quickly squelched by the campaign. Lara then said that she “will make sure that every penny is used properly. It should be going to fight for Nov. 5 for the causes that we care about.” That sounds a lot like Lara thinks all of RNC’s money should go to her father-in-law’s campaign. Never mind the needs of candidates for House, Senate, and state legislatures. Which, for Democrats, is probably a good thing. Kos of Kos also reported on what Lara said. He quoted a phrase Pennyfarthing didn’t: the “number one and only job” of the committee is to elect the nasty guy, including paying his legal bills (donors would be delighted to do that! Wouldn’t they?). It’s doubtful the RNC’s current cash on hand of $8 million would do much for the nasty guy’s half billion legal debt. Kos pointed out another place the RNC help could go – the state Republican parties with legal expenses from the 2021 coup attempt. But the nasty guy is well known for not helping his minions. Yesterday I wrote about the rise of Christian Nationalism in the Republican Party. Greg Dworkin, in a pundit roundup for Kos, quoted Ryan Burge, who writes “Graphs About Religion” on Substack.

I think it's fair to say that the results point to the fact that Christian Nationalism is fading in the general population. That's evident in a number of these statements. For instance, in 2007, 55% of folks said that the government should advocate Christian values. In 2021, that share had dropped to just 38%. That's substantial.

Malcontent News posted a cartoon, saying he got it from the President of Latvia. I can’t make out the author’s signature. The cartoon shows an upset Ukrainian soldier looking at boxes of ammo from the West. One has shells, another has guns, and four more have word balloons with the words, “Bla. Bla. Bla.” In a Ukraine update Sumner marked two years since the invasion began. At the moment things are at a stalemate, though with Ukraine short of ammo Russia has made small gains (with big losses of men and equipment). Sumner noted back on the first day of the invasion Mark Hertling, the former commander of US forces in Europe wrote down what he thought were Putin’s immediate goals: * Execute Regime Change in Kyiv * Destroy Ukraine’s Army * Subjugate Ukraine’s population * Control All Black/Azov Sea Ports, Establish Land Bridge to Crimea. * Weaken the West: Further Divide NATO/US Pundits thought the first four would happen quickly. They didn’t – well that land bridge to Crimea is still being fought over. Zelenskyy is still firmly in control.

But on that last one—to weaken the West and divide NATO and the U.S.—Putin has scored a major victory. Week by week, day by day, Russia has gained more control over the Republican Party in the United States. Assistance to Ukraine passed overwhelmingly in the early days of the conflict, but since then, creeping Russian influence over Republicans has grown in both the House and Senate, reaching the point where positions that seemed outrageous two years ago now dominate the Republican Party. At the heart of this issue is an idolization of Putin as an authoritarian strongman who holds all the wealth and power imaginable, doling out slices of each to his friends based on their loyalty. It’s precisely this model that has made Donald Trump such a fan. Putin has helped cement his spot at the top of the GOP pantheon with large doses of racism, misogyny, and hatred for the LGBTQ+ community, not to mention a solid dose of cold-hearted death to his enemies. That’s the kind of leader that makes Ted Cruz swoon.

Achieving one goal in five might be all Putin needs. At the moment this is a drone war. Both sides are deploying them effectively and neither side has a way to thwart the drones of the other. Walter Einenkel of Kos reported Rep. Jim Jordan talked to reporters and pretended (as Einenkel wrote) “it’s no big deal that an FBI informant has been charged with lying about Joe and Hunter Biden’s Ukrainian business ties.” To explain his position Jordan said three facts. Two of them are very much true. The third is a lie.

Unfortunately for Republicans trying their best to target Joe Biden and his family, there is no there there— and there never has been. At every stage of this political theater production, Reps. James Comer and Jim Jordan have had to admit they have no actionable evidence.

Joan McCarter of Kos reported that Justice Samuel Alito still hates same-sex couples. A case was brought by an employee of the Missouri Department of Corrections (I’ll leave the details to McCarter). It was appealed to the Supremes. For technical reasons the high court refused the case. Even Alito agreed with that. But because the case involves a conflict between LGBTQ people and religious beliefs Alito felt the need to write a five-page screed against same-sex marriage. He’s upset that those with religious beliefs against LGBTQ people would be, in his words, “labeled as bigots and treated as such.” Yup, they would be and deservedly so. Wrote McCarter:

Alito and Thomas are using their opinions and statements to invite future challenges. Just how determined they are to do that shows in the fact that while Alito agreed with the rest of the court in turning this one case down, he made sure that this statement exists to invite future challenges.

And how is that invitation going? D’Anne Witkowski, in her Creep of the Week column for Pridesource, wrote first about Greece approved marriage equality, the first Christian Orthodox country to do so. Then she wrote about a new Tennessee law that allows individuals to refuse to officiate marriages based on personal beliefs. But that’s already in Tennessee law. So why a duplicate law?

“There’s nothing in the law right now that says anybody has to do any kind of marriage at all, so there’s no clarification that this bill provides,” Eric Patton, a minister in Tennessee told WKRN. “This bill does nothing, essentially, except open the opportunity for a lawsuit.” Ding, ding, ding! It’s all about the suit, baby. Drunk on their power after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, conservatives are going after marriage equality, just as so many predicted.

I may not post much this coming week. Brother is coming for a visit.

The old biblical idea that women are supposed to “submit” to men

In an opinion piece in last Sunday’s Detroit Free Press Jeff Wattrick discussed America’s immigration policy. That policy is currently built around keeping “bad” people out by treating everyone at the border as “bad.” The discussion and action around immigration is all about how scary they are, how they are “invading” America, and how they are taking things from those already here. Texas is trying to usurp federal policy at the border. At the same time there is a labor shortage with people saying “no one wants to work anymore.” In response to that politicians push a higher retirement age and less restrictions on child labor. Wattrick wrote: “Instead of approaching immigration as a security problem, we need to treat it as a labor issue.” Immigrants grow the economy. They’re more likely to open their own business. They want to work, to provide for themselves and their families.

What if we threw out this system and just made it easy for people to move to the U.S.? Replace paramilitary border patrols with clerks who process migrants’ entry and hand out green cards. Make it legal, rather than illegal, to come here and find work or a better life. Make it easier for immigrants to pay taxes and participate in American life without the fear of deportation.

Communities like NYC that receive buses of immigrants from Texas say their social service programs are stretched. But if we let immigrants immediately work, that won’t be as big of a problem. We won’t worry about worker status and visa distinctions. There won’t be illegal immigrants. For those worried about security this would improve it. Border patrols could focus on people who are actual threats. No need to scour the border area for those who snuck across and are now in danger in the desert. There would be no need to sneak.

With every wave of immigration, nativists have made fear-based arguments against allowing immigrants in their backyards. Every time, those arguments have been proven unfounded, and our nation benefited from the immigration waves feared by so many. Greg Abbot’s border stunt is no different. Our response should finally learn from previous hysteria, and just say yes in my back yard to immigration.    Otherwise, this “crisis at the border” will never end.

I add that what’s going on at the border is not a security issue, it’s a white supremacy issue. People like Abbott don’t want more non-white residents. But they’re quite eager to welcome more white Europeans. I heard recently (don’t have a link) that a good chunk of the economic growth since the pandemic is because of the immigrants we welcomed in that time. Dartagnan of the Daily Kos community wrote about the recent ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that says embryos shall be considered children under the Wrongful Death to Minors law from 1872. Dartagnan, with the help of Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post, went through the decision to show how much the language is of Christian Nationalists, the people who want to force America to become their version of country under the rule of their god. Marcus wrote:

The longer-term danger—indeed the apparent longer-term goal—is to raise and expand the definition of unborn personhood, to go after birth control methods and reproductive technologies that involve fertilized eggs. Will fertility clinics be permitted to dispose of unused frozen embryos? Could states prohibit in vitro fertilization altogether? Will IUDs, birth control pills or the morning-after pill be banned?

The short answer to all of those questions is yes. Dartagnan wrote:

Their ultimate goal is, and has always been, a nation in which all women and anyone who might become pregnant is forced to carry their fetus to term, no matter what stage of pregnancy. A nation in which any person who assists them in preventing or terminating that pregnancy will find themselves targeted by the crosshairs of the law.

This decision should not be considered an outlier. Many people want the nasty guy in for a second term because he will fulfill their Christian Nationalist goals. Kerry Eleveld of Kos wrote that shortly after that ruling major Alabama hospitals declared they would pause in-vitro fertilization. Shortly after that candidate Nikki Haley said she agreed with it, then backpedaled a bit. Yes, a lot of Americans use IVF – and a lot more who would want to keep the procedure legal. This is enough of a problem for Republicans that former nasty guy aide Kellyanne Conway warned Republicans a few months ago there is massive support for IVF. So candidates shouldn’t talk about it. But the Alabama Supremes made sure they will have to talk about it. Mark Sumner of Kos discussed what else Republicans want to do to make things worse. The national Supremes are deciding the fate of the abortion drug mifepristone. The end of abortion rights means up next is a war on birth control – groups are already launching propaganda campaigns saying the pill is far more dangerous than decades of experience demonstrate. That’s the same lie they’re using against mifepristone. The Heritage Foundation isn’t whispering their goal. I don’t know who is being quoted.

“It seems to me that a good place to start would be a feminist movement against the pill, and for rewilding sex, returning the danger to sex, returning the intimacy and, really, the consequentiality to sex.” Conservatives have to lead the way in restoring sex to its true purpose, & ending recreational sex & senseless use of birth control pills.

Sumner translated:

If that sounds at all confusing, what she’s saying is that women shouldn’t be able to have sex without being concerned about becoming pregnant. That’s the “rewilding,” the “danger,” and the “consequentiality” she wants. The goal of the Heritage Foundation, the Republican politicians it empowers, and the judges it selects is to end the option of sex for any purpose other than reproduction. They’re not hiding this. They are proud of it. And if that means women surrender every ounce of agency in their lives … well, that’s the goal, after all.

And all of that is to go back to the old biblical idea that women are supposed to “submit” to men. In the comments of a pundit roundup exlrrp shared a meme showing a carton of 2½ dozen eggs on a car seat and the caption, “Using the car pool lane in Alabama today.” Kos of Kos wrote Speaker Mike Johnson, faced with a tiny majority and few accomplishment his caucus can run on, tried to rally them – with a sermon. He talked about the moral decline in America.

It is a sign of Johnson’s myopic fundamentalism that he thought a Biblical sermon would rally a group of politicians sweating their endangered majority. ... If Johnson were so concerned about society’s diminishing religiosity and its effect on conservatism, what exactly has he done as speaker to arrest that decline? In fact, his merry band of cruel nihilists might be a major reason that evangelicals are abandoning their faith! One researcher methodically tracked the increasing dissatisfaction that younger, more liberal evangelicals feel toward rigid bigotry of their faith’s orthodoxy. The plain hypocrisy of self-identified Christians like Reps. Matt Gaetz and Lauren Boebert (as well as former Rep. George Santos) makes further mockery of their supposed faith. Their eagerness to use falsified information in their witch hunt against Hunter Biden is beyond absurd. And their crass worship of Trump, perhaps the most morally bankrupt human in the country, is the final nail in that coffin.

The sermon fell flat. One Republican said, “I’m not at church.” Another said it was “horrible.” Joan McCarter of Kos wrote the reaction was more than just grumbling. Republicans appear to be turning on their leader. A big part of their dissatisfaction with his leadership is the looming partial government shutdown on March 1. Getting spending bills passed is hampered by poison pill riders – “guns, abortion, equity programs, stripping Mayorkas’ salary.” Johnson can’t pass spending bills with Republican votes without them and with them the bills will fail in the Senate. So he’ll have to turn to Democrats to get spending bills passed. And that will have to be on Democrats’ terms. Which is what led to the ouster of McCarthy. With all that I need a laugh. Thankfully Bill in Portland, Maine, in his Cheers and Jeers column for Kos, quoted some late night commentary. A sampling:

Clip of network news reporter: Alexander Smirnov was arrested Wednesday, charged with lying about financial ties between the president, his son Hunter, and the Ukrainian energy company Burisma…allegations that have been central to the Republicans' impeachment push. Guest host Desi Lydic: Not only was this guy lying about Joe Biden getting bribes, the FBI says he was also working with Russian intelligence. Yeah—Russia again! Can we please get a new storyline? Just once I want to hear that Bhutan is meddling in our elections, just to mix things up. I mean, didn’t we just find out that aliens are real? Maybe they want to get in on this. —The Daily Show "The attorney general of New York Letitia James…said that if he doesn’t come up with the money, she might seize Trump Tower. Turns out one of the downsides to putting your name on everything you own is everyone knows who owns it. It would be refreshing to see a woman grabbing his assets for a change. When you're attorney general they let you do it. You don’t even ask, you just seize. You grab 'em by the property." —Jimmy Kimmel

Serving as stooges of the Kremlin

Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported that Biden has asked his campaign staff to increase the attention of the crazy stuff the nasty guy says in public. He requested that because media is so willing to give the nasty guy a pass, no matter how dangerous his words. Sumner wrote: “If the media won’t do its job, Biden will have to do it for them.” Another aspect of the media not doing its job:

There’s a frequent refrain, even in comments on Daily Kos, that people don’t want to hear about Trump. They’re tired of seeing his face. Tired of hearing his threats. The New York Times insists that there is an “anti-Trump burnout” with progressive voters all crisised out. It’s a perfect excuse to go even harder on … going softer on Trump.

But we can’t do that and can’t let that happen because the nasty guy is “planning to end democracy, abandon America’s allies, and create a fascist regime that draws from the worst of North Korea meets ‘Handmaid’s Tale.’ ” So Biden is correct in asking his campaign staff to keep the nasty guy’s worst statements before the public, whether or not the media catches on. Sumner asks us to do the same. A few days before the South Carolina primary former SC governor Nikki Haley gave a press conference on the “state of the race.” Just before a big defeat is a good time to drop out of the race for president. Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported Haley didn’t do that. Instead, she spent most of the press conference taking shots at the nasty guy.

In any normal presidential primary contest in any normal party, Haley would have been forced to drop out shortly after New Hampshire because she can't show donors any reasonable path to victory. But Haley continues to defy political gravity because her virulently anti-Trump donors can't get enough of her shredding Trump. Forget the delegate math: The money keeps rolling in. Haley started 2024 with roughly $14.5 million cash on hand and, earlier this month, her campaign reported bringing in another $16.5 million despite a lackluster third-place finish in the first-in-the-nation caucus in Iowa. Haley's fundraising strength is yet another data point demonstrating the electorate's visceral hate for Trump, even among voters who lean conservative.

Another round of highlighting the horrible things Republicans are doing. Joan McCarter of Kos reported shortly after the news of the death of Russian dissident Alexi Navalny American Republicans started their condemnation of Putin.

But so far it’s only Democrats who are talking about actually opposing Putin through assistance to Ukraine in fighting off his invasion. They’re pointing out that Republicans are doing Putin’s dirty work. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was characteristically blunt: “House members blocking critical aid to Ukraine can revel in another high-five for Putin who just murdered his most vocal and visible critic.”

Put up or shut up. Walter Einenkel of Kos reported that 13 Republican senators released a letter demanding that when they get back from their holiday next week they want the Senate to promptly take up the trial of impeached Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. That’s even though a few federal departments run out of money on March 1. Also, it’s all political theater. Sumner wrote that much of the Republican platform is act on every whim of the nasty guy, as in short of ideas. But they do have a few ideas. A few terrible ideas. There’s book banning that even DeathSantis is beginning to realize is a disaster. They want to make a stink about pronouns, pride flags, and transgender people. And all that nonsense over being anti-“woke.” Sumner reported one problem: The 2022 and 2023 elections showed voters, even many conservative voters, don’t like those ideas. Voters were interested in the economy and national security, not in anti-“woke.” But since “woke” can be defined as anything they want it to be some Republicans will keep trying. A state rep. in Idaho is against federal funds for rural internet because it is woke.

If they can't win on woke, Republicans can always go back to their sure winners, like the 14 states that refused money to feed hungry school children, the 26 states that refused additional federal unemployment benefits during the pandemic, a push to raise drug prices, and the brilliant idea to eliminate not student loan debt, but student loans. Join Republicans in keeping Americans broke, hungry, uneducated, and unable to buy the medications they need! That’s a little long to fit on a yard sign, but they can workshop it. If that’s not too woke.

Eleanor Klibanoff and William Melhado, in an article for the Texas Tribune posted on Kos, reported that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants to test the legal principle of “extraterritoriality — when and whether a state can impose its laws beyond its borders.” There is also the well-established right to travel. The laws against it are enforced through private lawsuits. That’s a legal loophole the Supremes have allowed to stand. What Paxton is doing is demanding medical records from at least two clinics in other states that provide gender-affirming care to minors. Even if the demands are refused – and they are – it is a way to intimidate those clinics and the Texas families seeking their services. A big attempt at extraterritoriality was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which demanded free states return escaped slaves. That pushed the nation to the Civil War, and didn’t end well. There are differences in state laws. Most of the time states work together for a common solution. Or, as in the case of casino’s across the state line, they ignore it. There are also laws common to all states – all prohibit murder and child abuse. But only recently have states disagreed so sharply. Some states say abortion is murder. Others don’t. Some states say gender-affirming care is a life-saving way to help a person be who they are. Other states call it a “social contagion.” States do not have to help other states with investigations. And some, like Washington state, now have “shield laws” that say health care workers (for abortions or gender care) do not have to help with investigations from other states and are prohibited from sharing patient info even when given a subpoena. An issue is that freedom to travel and extraterritoriality are well established principles, but they haven’t been before courts very often, so there isn’t a lot of precedent. Hard to tell what a conservative court will do. Sumner reported the attempt to dig up enough dirt on Biden to enable impeaching him continues. Yesterday, the president’s brother James sat for a closed door hearing (did he learn nothing from his nephew Hunter?). The reason for the hearing is Joe loaned $200K to James. Two months later James paid Joe back. That’s it. I haven’t heard what lies Republicans are spinning from that. Sumner reviews the whole history of this impeachment attempt, including the latest developments. I’ll give just the highlights. Back in 2019 Giuliani went to Ukraine to dig up dirt. He did but only the New York Times would publish it. Bloomberg dispatched a reporter and quickly saw it was all lies. The FBI had an FD-1023 form that supposedly validated Giuliani’s story. Except an FD-1023 is not evidence and was contradicted by public records. Last week Alexander Smirnov, the guy behind the FD-1023, was charged with lying and creating false records. He also admitting to having recent contacts with Russian spies.

So, Republicans have not only spent the last year pressing an investigation of the president’s son largely instigated by a document that turns out to have been tailor-made for them by Russian intelligence, they opened an impeachment inquiry with a Russian agent as the “heart” of their investigation.

But Republicans claim finding their source is a liar doesn’t alter the “fundamental facts.” Lev Parnas, a Giuliani buddy, is saying that Republicans knew way back in 2020 the FD-1023 was a lie. An old question has come back: What did they know and when did they know it? Another part of this investigation has to do with Hunter and claims of cocaine. But the photo shows sawdust near a table saw.

A Russian agent. A fake document. A pile of sawdust. That’s what Republicans have to show for their big investigation.

Eleveld added a summary. First is a tweet by Asha Rangappa:

For real, can we recap: Sitting members of Congress initiated IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS against a U.S. President based on information passed to them by an agent of Russian intelligence. Same members refuse to pass aid to Ukraine. Same members defend Trump.

Then Eleveld:

It's not just that congressional Republicans like House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer and veteran GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa spouted disinformation from a Russian mole: It's that the claim made by the Russian mole was laughable on its face. ... But now that Smirnov has been indicted and revealed as a Russian agent, Republicans are trying to triage their impeachment inquiry instead of backing away from their disgraced probe of an American president whom they are smearing for political gain. ... Totally absent from this Republican debacle is any sense of contrition for their roles serving as stooges of the Kremlin in spreading a mountain of lies about a sitting U.S. president. Comer, Grassley, and others should be fighting off calls for their resignations after betraying the country. Instead, the impeachment show must go on for Republicans. Otherwise they will have no means by which to uncover and spread more Russian disinformation about their political rival, Joe Biden.

In a pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo. That whole Hunter Biden laptop story was absurd and obviously a Russian influence operation. So why did everyone fall for it? So they’re now shocked that yes, it was from Russian intelligence services. Kev also quoted Aidan Quigley of Roll Call who shows us how little time there is to avoid a government shutdown. Kev quoted Elizabeth Wellington of The Philadelphia Inquirer about the nasty guy and his golden sneakers. It seems he’s trying to cash in on black sneaker culture. And, since the first batch sold out, perhaps it’s working (though that does not imply black people bought them). Down in the comments there are several cartoons about the nasty guy and his golden sneakers. There’s also a tweet by BMB Empower Network with a Fox News clip with white people declaring how smart the nasty guy is in coming out with sneakers and thus getting black people to vote for him. Black people responded, saying to think we’ll fall for that is pretty dumb. Mike Luckovich posted a cartoon showing a boy in bed with a green monster labeled “GOP” under it. The boy says, “You used to protect me from monsters under my bed...”

A secret library of 600 books

I’ve known of Andrea Chalupa for several years now. She’s a co-host of Gaslit Nation, which I’ve discussed frequently here, though I haven’t listened to or read it in several months. Through the episodes I have read or listened to Chalupa talked about having written and helped produce the movie Mr. Jones. Her ancestors are from Ukraine. She wrote the movie, well before the war there, as a way to feel she was doing something to counter the nasty guy’s regime. I finally watched it as my Sunday movie. A note at the end of the movie says that while the basic outline of the story is true individual scenes were created to dramatize the story and should not be considered as having actually happened. The time is 1933. Mr. Gareth Jones is an analyst for Lloyd George in London. Jones gives a report of Hitler and Lloyd George and his cronies don’t believe it. Though Jones is one of the better analysts he is fired. I later found out this is David Lloyd George, who was Prime Minister of Britain during and just after WWI. Jones has a question he wants to research. Where is Stalin getting his money? Stalin is bragging about industries the Soviets didn’t have and now do. So he’s off to Moscow to try to talk to Stalin. There he meets Walter Duranty of the Hearst newspaper empire. Duranty has a Pulitzer for his reporting and we later realize Duranty is a Stalin propagandist. After hearing the phrase “grain is gold” a couple times Jones is off to Ukraine to understand more. There he encounters and experiences the Holodomor. This is the central truth to the story – Stalin stole so much of Ukraine’s wheat the locals experienced a famine and millions died. Once back in London Jones faces disbelief and pressure by the Soviets on London to not print the story. A frame of the story is George Orwell writing his novel Animal Farm. The story Jones tells influences the novel Orwell writes. Perhaps a few years ago Chalupa wrote about how Orwell fits into the wider story, so this is more than a simple plot device. I found Chalupa’s explanation fascinating but don’t remember any of it. In a pundit roundup for Daily Kos Greg Dworkin quoted a tweet from Mark Elliott:

Almost every journalist covering Trump has gotten this wrong. He owes a total of $542 million and counting: - $355 million in fines for fraud - $99 million in interest on that fraud (increasing by the day) - $83 million to E. Jean Carroll - $5 million to E. Jean Carroll

Aldous Pennyfarthing of Kos poses an important question: How will the nasty guy pay more than a half billion? Yes, it will be appealed, but before it can be the money has to be put in escrow, or he has to provide some sort of proof that if the appeal fails he will pay up (and knowing how much this guy likes to stiff those he owes money to...). There’s cash reserves, but that’s reported to not be enough. Refinance? What bank would give him anything? He could sell assets, but he’s reluctant to sell anything except when he can get a price way above the value. To sell now means at well below value. Pennyfarthing quoted Dan Alexander, senior editor of Forbes:

He can’t even apply for a loan with many of these banks. But there are, for example, plenty of rich guys who might be interested in lending him $100 million, $200 million and may have good interest in wanting to do that for somebody who might become the president of the United States here in about a year.

Pennyfarthing added:

It’s actually rather astounding how matter-of-factly Alexander mentioned the “rich guys” loan option, considering that those rich guys could very well want something in return for their help—like, say, all of Ukraine. But you just know Trump would sell out his country before he’d ever consider selling one of his golf courses, so that’s almost certainly the option he’ll go with.

Then he quoted a tweet by Simon Rosenberg:

Trump is now broke. His party is broke. He has stolen America’s secrets and shared them with others - already. He’s sided w/Russia. The country is now looking at a grave national security risk as Trump will look abroad for financial and political help.

He could raid the Republican National Committee, now that he’s installing his daughter-in-law as co-director. But it doesn’t look like they have a half-billion. He’d be lucky to get a few million. Or he could declare bankruptcy. He’s done that many times for a long list of companies. But never personal bankruptcy, which rather spoils the billionaire vibe. Walter Einenkel of Kos reported the nasty guy has come up with a line of sneakers. If you think that’s weird you’re forgetting nasty guy vodka and nasty guy steaks. Yeah, former president reduced to selling shoes. While the initial run of sneakers sold out he’ll have to sell about 3 million pairs to cover what he owes. Or he could offer to autograph them for $9K each. Then he’d need to sell only 60K pairs. Einenkel lists ten of the nasty guy company bankruptcies. Mark Sumner of Kos linked to the latest ranking of US presidents. After noting the score and ranking for the nasty guy Sumner spent much of his post describing how wife Melania would be similarly ranked, though a First Lady survey hasn’t been done in a few years. Back to the presidents. I downloaded a PDF of the survey. Brandon Rottinghaus of University of Houston and Justin Vaughn of Coastal Carolina University sent a survey to 154 experts in presidential politics. They asked each expert to rate each president on a 0-100 scale for overall greatness. Then the ratings were averaged for a score and the scores ranked. The first few would not be a surprise. 1. Lincoln, 93.9 2. FD Roosevelt, 90.8 3. Washington, 90.3 4. T. Roosevelt, 78.6 5. Jefferson, 77.5 6. Truman, 75.3 7. Obama 73.8, up 9 positions from the 2015 ranking. Biden is at 14 with a score of 62.7, tied with J Adams at 13. Biden, along with Obama, Carter, and a dozen others are included in the “Most Under-Rated Presidents.” And at the bottom: 44. Buchanan, 16.7 45. Trump, 10.9 Yeah, in last place. By a lot. Einenkel reported Fox News is upset with the survey. Neda Ulaby of NPR talked to a teacher and students in a high school in Houston. Their names were not included in the report because this is Texas and the teacher has a secret library of about 600 books. She loans the books to the students she thinks need them – the ones who are both minority and queer. The students are delighted to read books that feature characters like themselves. The teacher got a list of 850 books to be banned. She gave a student the list and said tell me the books you think we should have, and go buy them (and it sounds like the teacher paid for them all). This is in a part of Houston where residents don’t have a lot of money. Many of their parents are immigrants and didn’t have much schooling. The teacher hopes her private library doesn’t have to stay secret.

I do believe that book banning is going to go away. I think it's kind of the last grasp of people trying to maintain control because they know it's slipping. That's what I tell myself anyway.

Orion Rummler, in an article for The 19th posted on Kos, wrote about the internal conflict of black gay Christians. So many black churches stigmatize their gay members, yet the black church is the center of their community and culture.

The Black church is a cultural and social hub that, throughout the country’s past, has been a singular source of protection and dignity for Black Americans. The community within the church isn’t just centered on religion; family life, school life and everyday support are intrinsically tied together.

Yet that center of their community rejects them. A new study by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law and Utah State University looked into this. Tyler Lefevor of USU and a lead researcher said religions do a bad job of affirming queer folk. At the Reconciling Ministries Convocation last October I heard a black gay preacher talk about this issue. The black church is so central to black culture that a black gay man won’t go to an LGBTQ affirming white church. Rummler wrote that a black gay man may tough it out, attend even with the ostracization. Or he might leave the church. Or, if he learns about it, he might find a church through the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. Elisabeth Rosenthal, in an article for KFF Health News posted on Kos, wrote that GoFundMe started for a way for friends to donate for honeymoon trips, church mission trips, or perhaps a fledgling musician wanting to record that first demo. It has become the go-to platform for patients with billing nightmares. The number of GoFundMe campaigns for medical bills is 25 times what it was in 2011.

Perhaps the most damning aspect of this is that paying for expensive care with crowdfunding is no longer seen as unusual; instead, it is being normalized as part of the health system, like getting bloodwork done or waiting on hold for an appointment. Need a heart transplant? Start a GoFundMe to get on the waiting list. Resorting to GoFundMe when faced with bills has become so accepted that, in some cases, patient advocates and hospital financial aid officers recommend crowdfunding as an alternative to being sent to collections. My inbox and the “Bill of the Month” project (a collaboration by KFF Health News and NPR) have become a kind of complaint desk for people who can’t afford their medical bills, and I’m gobsmacked every time a patient tells me they’ve been advised that GoFundMe is their best option. ... In many respects, research shows, GoFundMe tends to perpetuate socioeconomic disparities that already affect medical bills and debt. If you are famous or part of a circle of friends who have money, your crowdfunding campaign is much more likely to succeed than if you are middle-class or poor.

And if you are middle-class or poor you’re much more likely to have medical debt you can’t pay.

Despite the site’s hopeful vibe, most campaigns generate only a small fraction of the money owed. Most medical-expense campaigns in the U.S. fell short of their goal, and some raised little or no money, a 2017 study from the University of Washington found. Campaigns made an average of about 40% of the target amount, and there is evidence that yields — measured as a percentage of their targets — have worsened over time.

Sumner reported:

On Sunday’s edition of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver made a direct offer to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. After showcasing a new, luxury RV valued at $2.4 million, Oliver offered to give the RV to Thomas, along with $1 million a year in cash, if the justice would sign a contract promising “to get the f--- off the Supreme Court.”

Sumner said it isn’t the first such offer. Sam Bankman-Fried, before he was arrested for crimes committed while the head of a crypto corporation, offered the nasty guy $5 billion to keep him from running in 2024.

Both of these offers seem like they should be illegal. Because they should be illegal. But they’re just the flip side of what’s already happening—wealthy patrons buying figureheads who will do exactly what they want in office. ... In the meantime … Dear Clarence, that motorhome looks really sweet. Take it. Please take it.

Bill in Portland, Maine, in a Cheers and Jeers column for Kos, included a short video of three seesaws installed through the border wall.

It’s martyrdom in a box, always ready for instant deployment

Meteor Blades of Daily Kos reported a bill is advancing through the Florida Legislature would change the state energy policy. In doing so it would remove most references to climate change. Blades quoted Emily Mahoney at the Tampa Bay Times who gave an example:

“The Legislature finds that … the impacts of global climate change can be reduced through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” the existing law reads, in part. “The Legislature further finds that the state is positioned at the front line against potential impacts of global climate change.” The bill would replace those sentences with a shorter statement of purpose, focusing on “an adequate, reliable, and cost-effective supply of energy for the state in a manner that promotes the health and welfare of the public and economic growth.”

Blades discussed the climate deniers, then adds:

But these people aren’t the only obstacle blockading serious action. So are the delayers. And delay is just another form of denial. These delayers include a bunch of politicians and corporate leaders who say they accept the global warming verdict of the vast majority of climate scientists but drag their feet when it comes to supporting actual policies—not to mention initiating policies—that address climate change in an aggressive way. While all kinds of excuses are given for why we should tip-toe slowly in dealing with climate policies, their willingness to delay suggests these people don’t really believe the scientists. Or maybe they do, but they’re worried it will cost them their jobs and corporate donations if they back policies pushing for rapid changes in how we heat and cool ourselves, how we produce our food, how we transport everything, and how we make electricity. What should get them fired is if they don’t support such policies.

James Bruggers, in an article for Inside Climate News posted on Kos, discussed two reports published in mid January that document microplastics in the environment, in our food, and in us. Here’s a couple of the alarming things from those reports:

A liter of bottled water may contain nearly a quarter million pieces of the smallest particles of plastic. These nanoplastic particles are so small, scientists have found, that some pass through intestines and lungs or make their way into human blood and placental fluid. The bottled water study, done by researchers at Columbia and Rutgers Universities, was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Also published Monday, in the journal Environmental Pollution, was a paper from scientists at the University of Toronto and the Ocean Conservancy, which found that nearly 90 percent of 16 different kinds of protein commonly eaten by people, including seafood, chicken and beef—and even plant-based meat alternatives such as tofu and veggie burgers—contain microplastics. The scientists estimated that Americans are consuming up to 3.8 million particles of microplastics per year from protein alone.

Very little research is being done to determine how much microplastic is in various foods, how food processing affects that, and what happens to the environment and to us with that quantity of plastic. And we need to use a lot less plastic. Jessica Kutz, in an article published by The 19th and posted on Kos, celebrates the “climate grannies.” People 65 and older are the second largest climate voter group, Gen Z being the largest. These are people who list climate, environment, or clean air and water as their top reason for voting. They are three times as likely to list those concerns as middle-aged people. In all age groups women are more likely to care about climate than men. For many of these women that they are grandmothers is a reason to get involved (though some have been climate warriors since they were young). Hazel Chandler is one of those lifelong climate champions. She said:

When I look my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, my children, in the eye, I have to be able to say, ‘I did everything I could to protect you.’ I have to be able to tell them that I've done everything possible within my ability to help move us forward.

Kutz wrote:

The most prominent example perhaps, is the actor Jane Fonda. The octogenarian grandmother has been arrested during climate protests a number of times and has her own PAC that funds the campaigns of “climate champions” in local and state elections.

The Verge created a website (with cool graphics) that explains why a lot of websites look very similar. If a site is way low on Google’s search results, the site isn’t going to be seen. In response to that many sites optimize for Google’s algorithm, or Search Engine Optimization. There are some things site authors can do, such as tagging images and reducing load times, that are beneficial for both SEO and humans. There are tools, supplied by Google and other companies, that help authors optimize a site for searching. This Verge site explains a lot of the optimization these tools recommend. Soon (as in announcements have been made) search results may be generated by AI. What is optimal for SEO may not be what is optimal for AI generated results. There are two big problems with all this. First, a site optimized for SEO or for AI tends to look like all the other sites on the web. Second, a site optimized for SEO and AI is not optimized for the human reading the site for its content. Site developers face a dilemma. Create a distinctive site easy for humans to use and not get seen because it is so low in search results or create a site optimized for SEO that can be found but isn’t so useful to humans. In an article posted in the middle of January Mark Sumner of Kos wrote:

Where Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” Trump declares, “I am your retribution.” How can anyone who claims to follow one of these men support the other? The answer, according to The New York Times, is simple: Trump supporters have redefined Christianity. For them, it has little to do with religion, and even less to do with Christ. Christianity is now just another synonym for MAGA.

Sumner includes a bit of history. The 1956 Republican Party platform opened with a “declaration of faith.” The Democratic Party platform did not. In 1980 Ronald Reagan and supporters created the religious right with the implication that their party was more “godly” than the other. A big shift in the last 30 years is the rise of those unaffiliated with religion.

In 1992, America didn’t look much different than it did in 1972 (or 1952) when it came to religion. But by 2022, the number of Americans who called themselves Christian was just over two-thirds of what it had been when Clinton and George H. W. Bush faced off, according to polling from the Pew Research Center and the General Social Survey. ... The one growing category (in addition to those unaffiliated with any religion, which is way up) is people who report themselves as “Christian (nonspecific).” This was just 2% of the population in 1999. It’s 11% today. And “nonspecific” seems to match well with The New York Times’ description of Trump’s followers.

So when news reports say that Christians support the nasty guy so such a person may conclude “I must be a Christian.” Politics is the master identity and these Christians don’t have any interest in Christian theology. That allows pastors to substitute the nasty guy for Jesus.

The “Christian” label serves another purpose for Trump supporters: It allows them to play the victim. It gives them the right to be racist, misogynist, antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBTQ+ … then retreat behind religion if anyone points it out. It’s martyrdom in a box, always ready for instant deployment. And if that means they have to trade a message of love, acceptance, and forgiveness for one of spite, anger, and violence … hey, does it matter? They’re Christians. You wouldn’t understand.

Last week Sumner reported that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy officially replaced his commander-in-chief Gen. Zaluzhnyi. This is a bit risky because Zaluzhnyi is well loved by the troops. But the counteroffensive he designed is now a stalemate. And Zaluzhnyi admitted the stalemate, which is something the president does not want the people or soldiers to hear. Sumner quoted a tweet by Mark Hertling that suggests that while Zaluzhnyi has matured considerably over the course of the war, “he likely is physically, emotionally, and intellectually exhausted.” The new guy is Col.-Gen. Syrskyi. Earlier this week Sumner reported:

Russia has lost an entire Russian army’s worth of men and machines. But that still may not be enough to keep them from capturing Ukraine if Western aid falters.

One estimate is Russia has lost more than 3,000 tanks, about its entire pre-war active inventory. Of course, there are other estimates, some twice as high. Russia has lost thousands of other military vehicles and loses dozens a day. As of December Russia has lost 87% of the forces it started with. Even so, Russia has lower quality tanks in storage to last years. Thanks to Western aid Ukrainian tanks have improved and are better than Russian tanks. But that aid can’t falter.

Russia has lost one army. They’re willing to lose another because Putin believes that between the thousands of moldering hulks on Russia’s storage field and the millions of men that can still be dragged in from the countryside, there is always another army to be found. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is unwilling to destroy his army. In part because unlike Putin, he seems to care about the lives of his soldiers. In part because, unlike Putin, he doesn’t have a spare. That difference plays a role in why a second report from Rusi.org says that Russia “now believes that is winning.”

That means Russia has hardened its demands in any negotiated peace effort, hardened to the point they’re now calling them “surrender terms.”

What happens from here is more likely to be determined in Washington, D.C., than on the muddy front lines south of Bakhmut.

Following the nasty guy inviting Russia to invade NATO if certain countries didn’t improve their defense spending, The Spectator published its 17 February 2024 issue with a cover showing a snow covered tank with a soldier popping out of the turret ready to throw a snowball.

I just hope he has the time to finish growing up

An Associated Press article posted on Daily Kos reports that judge Arthur Engoron issued his decision in the penalty part of the case of the nasty guy defrauding banks and others with inflated wealth statements. The ruling imposes a penalty of $364 million. Also the nasty guy cannot serve as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. The dollar penalty is high, but not as high as the prosecutors requested. The part about not serving as a corporate officer is much less harsh than expected. Some thought he and his family would be barred from doing business in New York for life and his companies dissolved. The nasty guy gave up his position as the company director when he took the Oval Office and did not formally resume the title when he left office. His sons say he has been involved in some decision making. The nasty guy’s lawyers said it was a “manifest injustice” and “politically fueled witch hunt.” They claimed the verdict would damage the business environment (the business environment for grifters?). They will appeal. Of course they said that and of course they will appeal. Charles Jay of the Kos community reported the US Marshall Service, the officers that protect federal judges, prosecutors, and court workers, have seen serious threats more than double since 2021. Until recently such threats had been made by people angry about a judge’s ruling in their case. Now many more threats are coming from people angry because of politics. Joan McCarter of Kos reported that one Wednesday Speaker Johnson was asked about the Ukraine aid package passed by the Senate. He replied, “We have to address this seriously, to actually solve the problems and not just take political posturing as has happened in some of these other corners.” Political posturing? He said that after his House impeached Alejandro Mayorkas to stick it to the Democrats? Then Johnson complained the Ukraine aid bill “has not one word about the border” after he killed the bipartisan border bill. And he’s too busy working on avoiding a partial government shutdown on March 1. Not that there are any, you know, funding bills on the House calendar. The Senate is out until Feb. 26 for their Presidents Day holiday (nice to get two weeks off rather than just a day the rest of the government gets). And on return their first order of business is the Mayorkas trial (I had said it might die in committee, guess not). Which means they won’t have time to do much shutdown avoidance. McCarter reported that also on Wednesday Johnson held a meeting and was handed the choice of saving the government or saving himself. Yeah, we saw how well that worked for Kevin McCarthy. Johnson was told a government shutdown is “idiotic and would only hurt House Republicans.” So another short term continuing spending bill? Full spending bills should have passed back in September. But the Freedom Caucus had said no more short term bills. A long term bill – just say continue the 2023 spending levels and skip trying to negotiate spending for 2024? But the debt ceiling agreement Biden negotiated with McCarthy means everything gets a 10% cut on May 1. That would be about as unpopular as a shutdown. Or Johnson could be grownup and pass bipartisan funding bills with Democrat help that would also get through the Senate. If he does the Freedom Caucus is likely to boot him. In a third post McCarter reported also on Wednesday Johnson again pulled a vote to overhaul FISA because he hasn’t unified the conference.

Wednesday hadn’t even ended before the headlines like “Republicans admit it. Kevin McCarthy has never looked so good” started appearing.

That headline was in Politico. Those Republicans admitting it:

“Watching Speaker Johnson, who I have great respect for, grow up has been really fascinating. I just hope he has the time to finish growing up,” Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma told Punchbowl News. One senior Republican said that Johnson’s leadership “feels like chaos. Rudderless.”

So what does a rudderless leader do when his followers won’t follow?

So Johnson’s House is packing up and leaving midday Thursday, a day earlier than scheduled, for a nearly two-week Presidents’ Day break. They’ll return on Feb. 28, just two days before the first government shutdown deadline, on March 1. Wheeeee!

In a fourth post McCarter reported:

House Republicans aren’t even waiting for the Justice Department to respond to their demand for the transcripts of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. They are already planning the hearing with Hur probing into how old Biden really is. Hur has been preparing for his starring role. Hur found no evidence against Biden in the documents-handling case he was investigating, which rose to a prosecutable level. But the former Trump official needed to do a solid for Republicans, so he added in a lot of gratuitous hits on Biden’s age in his report, which legal experts have called “a partisan hit job.”

That “preparing for his starring role” includes such things as being given lessons on how to “navigate a congressional hearing” by Sarah Isgur, a nasty guy DoJ PR flak. She’s now making the rounds of the Sunday shows and lying about Hur’s findings.

The honed and smart team of Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin will continue to make a mockery of the Republicans. Their “Truth Squad,” which includes Reps. Greg Casar, Jasmine Crockett, Maxwell Frost, Daniel Goldman, and Jared Moskowitz, has perfected their tactics to derail hearings and flummox Republicans. On these hearings, it’ll be a piece of cake.

Another AP article on Kos reports the FBI informant who had the dirt on Biden and son Hunter receiving payments from Ukrainian energy company Burisma had been lying to his handler. He has been indicted for “making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record.” If convicted, he could get up to 25 years. Dictinary.com just added the term “greedflation” defined as a rise in prices caused by corporate executives to increase profits already healthy or excessive. That’s been a big contributor to the inflation America has been dealing with. Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported a poll done by Navigator Research has found 85% of voters now see corporate greed as a cause of inflation. And that’s something Democrats can run on.

The country’s economic upswing, coupled with Americans increasing belief in greedflation, suggests voters are ripe for an argument that the high price of consumer goods is a product of corporate greed, not economic missteps. And Democrats have a plan for that.

In a pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin had a couple good quotes. From Paul Waldman, of “The Cross Section” on Substack writing on immigration as a campaign issue. This is after Democrat Tom Suozzi of New York just won a special election by campaigning on immigration.

Despite the GOP’s record of repeated failure to turn immigration into electoral results, the vast majority of the political class in Washington — including Republicans, Democrats, and journalists — remains convinced that the losing Republican strategy is actually brilliant, and it’s the Democrats who need to change their ways. The issue of immigration, they assume, is a kind of electoral magic weapon whose unstoppable power will slay all Democrats who stand before it. But they’re just wrong. The voters keep telling them so, and they refuse to accept it.

From Joe Perticone, writing for The Bulwark about the ongoing yet still unsuccessful attempts to impeach Biden:

What [Hunter Biden associate Tony] Bobulinski actually offered Oversight [Committee] members inside the room turned out to be more of what he’s been trying to sell lawmakers and journalists for years: more conjecture and underwhelming, questionable testimony. The result is as familiar as the process: The impeachment inquiry, though shaking and whirring loudly, remains stuck in the hyperpartisan muck.

In the comments are several cartoons and tweets about Fani Willis. She’s the lead prosecutor in the case of the nasty guy committing election fraud in Georgia. Word recently got out that she hired an assistant, Nathan Wade, then started dating him. Their dates included travel and there is now the claim that the case is so they could profit from it (you expected this to be logical?). With that claim they hope to get her and her team dismissed from the case. Getting a new team ready to take over the case would mean no trial until after the election – another delay tactic for the nasty guy. Willis has been grilled by the defense and the view of her performance depends on the viewer’s politics. First up is a cartoon by Clay Jones about slut shaming. The cartoon shows Willis in the witness stand while a befuddled judge hears a woman bellow, “The district attorney should be removed for wink-win, nudge-nudge, mreow-mreow, ruff-ruff, hubba-hubba, aroooga-aroooga, bow-chicka-wow-wow!” Victoria Brownworth reminds us Willis had to live in a safe house because of MAGA death threats. B McArthur asks “Why is Trump allowed to be represented by a white man and woman who own a law firm together, share the same bed, and whose objective is to profit from lying to Americans?” Terry McMillan noted: “She's smarter than they are and they can't stand that a black woman is not intimidated by them. I love her attitude. If she was white they wouldn't be talking to her like this. And we all know it.” Howard at Law: “It was a hit job on a successful Black woman to satisfy racists. DA Willis literally reminded him who is on trial for actual crimes.” Jennifer Cali: “Only in America can a criminal POS like trump try to overturn an election and make us put the prosecutor on trial. This is some next level white elitism.” Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali: “Roll up on Fani Willis thinking it's a game, and she'll show you Black Girl Magic ain't just a phrase, it's how she gets down. You gon’ learn today!” Prez:

This whole hearing with Fani is a complete and utter sideshow. The defense is not trying to make a case that the relationship creates a conflict of interest. They know it does not. The whole point of this charade is to put Fani and Wade’s personal life to the forefront of jurors minds. Jurors will see the two together and begin to wonder about their sex life. This hearing is nothing more than a hit job on their character and their professionalism and has nothing to do with their ability to prosecute the defendants in these cases.

Needle of Arya:

a reminder that this entire investigation into Fani Willis was brought on behalf of folks who are themselves on trial for trying to overturn a presidential election in Georgia this is revenge for daring to hold Trump accountable for trying to become a dictator

I followed the link to B McArthur’s X feed which, since I’m not a member, only shows his most popular posts. In July 2023 he posted an image of a sign a Beau’s.

Trump Sandwich - White Bread - - full of baloney - w/ Russian dressing and a small pickle

How many of your state’s legislators are women?

Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported that the nasty guy has taken over the Republican Party, well at least the Republican National Committee. At his direction the RNC will be getting two new co-chairs. One is Michael Whatley, who has his own election shenanigans – a good reason to get the job. The other is the nasty guy’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump. That means the RNC is now an extension of the nasty guy’s campaign. Also...

What this means for other Republican candidates is hard to tell. Will the RNC even remember anyone else is running? Considering that it was serious cash-flow problems and nearly empty coffers that made outgoing Chair Ronna McDaniel so vulnerable in the first place, it’s unclear whether there will be any time, attention, or money for anyone other than Trump. Trump’s ever-tighter grip on the party certainly also means that any candidate who falls out of his favor can expect the RNC to abandon them immediately. Trump's miserable track record at selecting candidates, with his selections based on their loyalty to him rather than their odds of winning and disregarding how well they fit the district or state where they were running, has made for some big Republican losses.

Good news for Democrats. Sumner also reported that last Friday the nasty guy spoke at an NRA event and said words that are quite close to the Nazi “Final Solution.”

The second most frightening thing may be that Trump has said it all before. Many times. The most frightening thing of all may be the complicit silence of the national press.

I’m not sure where in the count of frightening things this goes: the indifference of other Republicans that these words are a problem. Sumner lists some of the many times the nasty guy has said these things. Kos community member raisin bran wrote whatever Putin has on the nasty guy it must be awful. We know about the nasty guy’s numerous and well documented sex scandals and friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Given how much coordination there was between the nasty guy campaign and Russia (100 meetings?) in a previous election and how much the nasty guy has been saying against NATO and for Putin what Putin knows must be much worse than sex scandals (especially since those scandals haven’t made a dent in his base’s devotion). So what is it? I had heard (likely from Gaslit Nation) the devotion is because of the number of times Putin (and other dictators) rescued the nasty guy’s businesses. SmallTownHick of the Kos community offers a suggestion to what that might be. Perhaps Putin is holding the campaign hostage – Putin is willing to do a great deal of election dirty work if the nasty guy shows some cooperation. The nasty guy killed the border defense bill so he could use the problems at the border to attack Biden. Joan McCarter of Kos reported that Tom Suozzi’s win this week to replace George Santos says that plan won’t work. McCarter quoted Dana Bash of CNN who reported that killing the border deal prompted several voters to not vote for the Republican candidate. That was a decisive issue because during the last few days of the campaign Suozzi talked a lot about the Republicans being the ones to kill the deal. McCarter wrote that Kevin McCarthy may have been bad as speaker, but he’s pretty good at revenge. McCarthy was great at fundraising. The big donors are his friends. Those who voted against him are finding the big donors aren’t taking their calls. Michael Harriot tweeted a thread now on Threadreader about how racism created the Super Bowl. Back before the National Football League there were lots of black players. The NFL was organized in 1920 and in 1927 all the black players were kicked out. Well, they did have one or two. Not per team. In the whole league. In 1960 the rival American Football League was founded. Their big difference from the NFL was they actively recruited black players. In 1966 the NFL decided to have an annual AFL v. NFL game. The first time it was called the Super Bowl was 1968. And in 1969 the black team trounced the white team and did so on national TV. After the game the NFL merged with the AFL. Which makes the Super Bowl a DEI project. Harriot, writing for The Grio, discussed the lazy analysis of the black vote. Various pundits are saying the nasty guy is poised to get a record number of black votes.

Nearly a century has passed since a Republican presidential nominee even came close to winning a majority of the Black vote (Herbert Hoover in 1928 was the last). It is asinine, bordering on malpractice, for a journalist to publicly suggest that one of the most vociferously anti-Black candidates could achieve what no Republican has done in the last 96 years. Setting aside the media’s lazy, inexplicably stupid exercise in speculative fiction, one wonders why the mainstream media narrative seems to intentionally avoid the one topic that — when it comes to presidential elections — is more important and more mathematically relevant. What about the white voters?

White voters are 67% of the electorate. Why skip over the white voters to focus on minority voters? Because we know how white voters will vote.

Whether it is Democrat or Republican, white voters have not been as concerned with party politics as much as they have been obsessed with whiteness. Historically, the majority of white people in America always, always always vote for the opposite of what Black people want. Poor whites will vote for a party that opposes raising the minimum wage, taxing the rich and providing health care because, in white identity politics, policy does not matter. White women will support politicians who want to control their reproductive rights because whiteness matters more. Suburban moms want good schools and safe neighborhoods but vote for candidates who oppose police reform and accurate history. This is the white vote. I struggle to think of a single other issue that is discussed in such an intentionally obtuse manner.

It was white people who stormed the Capitol, who voted for and served as election deniers, who helped install Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe, and who banned affirmative action and American history. The black vote is only discussed because of what white voters keep doing. A month ago Jennifer Berry Hawes, in an article written for ProPublica and posted on Kos, asks the question: How many of your state’s legislators are women? Nationally it is one third. Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado have achieved parity. In the old South it is less than 20% and as low as 13% in West Virginia. That leaves large majorities of men controlling policy that most impact women. The states with legislatures most dominated by men have some of the strictest abortion bans. Men in control also means they decide which issues don’t get debated. Those issues include maternal health, children’s welfare, and education. The Old Boys Club is one reason why women aren’t elected. These states tend to be Republican and the party doesn’t recruit and support women. Another is strong paternalism. Only women get asked who will care for the children if she wins and essentially has to move to the state capital. That means younger women can’t start climbing the political ladder until their children are grown. There is also the tendency for women not to run until asked. Even then they may wait until asked several times. But once in the legislature they can stop or blunt the worst policies of the men. All that about men ignoring women’s issues is much worse for black women’s issues. Remember those Valentine candies shaped like a heart with a short saying on them? I’m sure they’re still around, though it has been decades since I’ve seen them in person, single guy that I am who had to avoid sugar. Bill in Portland, Maine, in a Cheers and Jeers column for Kos, offered some updated sayings for the candies. A few of them:

I [HEART] BASIC COMPETENCE ABOLISH MY FILIBUSTER U R MY RECHARGING STATION MELT MY HEART LIKE AN ICECAP

They absolutely will give him a microphone

My Sunday movie was Frybread Face and Me. It’s 1990. Benny is 11 and Navajo, living with his parents in San Diego. As the movie opens his parents announce he will spend the summer with his maternal grandmother at her home on the reservation in Arizona. Grandma speaks only Navajo, which Benny doesn’t know. Also living in Grandma’s house is Uncle Marvin who is quite upset with life, sometimes taking it out on Benny. Martin’s daughter Dawn, who others call Frybread Face, is Benny’s guide to life on the Rez. His mother’s other siblings, Lucy and Roger, come for visit. Lucy, a lesbian is a happy person and a help to Benny. Roger and his wife just bicker. Over the summer Benny begins to understand what it means to be Navajo and what Grandma is doing with her weaving. Though he still wonders, if life is so hard on the Rez, why don’t they move to somewhere where life is easier? It’s a quiet film and a good one. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos discussed the statement the nasty guy made last Saturday. He had railed against other NATO members about not contributing at least 2% of their GDP for defense. If they didn’t pay up and were attacked he would not come to their aid and would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want.” Sumner noted that this statement is quite a jolt to NATO, but it really didn’t get much US media coverage until Monday morning. The nasty guy is referring to the common defense clause of the NATO treaty – an attack on one is to be considered an attack on all. That clause has been invoked once – by the US after the 9/11 attacks. It drew many NATO countries into the Afghanistan war. Some were stuck there for 20 years. Sumner noted an important point, one that should have been on front pages Sunday instead of Monday:

Article VI of the Constitution declares, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States ... and all Treaties made" are the "supreme Law of the Land." Trump is not just saying that he will break treaty obligations to U.S. allies and hand them over to Russia, he is flat-out saying that he will break the law. Because treaties are law. Failure to abide by the obligations of Article 5 would be the gravest possible betrayal of our allies and a direct failure to uphold the Constitution of the United States. It seems like someone should be making a big deal about this. But that doesn’t seem to feature in the coverage. ... Meanwhile, European leaders are consigning U.S. leadership to the dustbin and preparing for a world in which America is an afterthought.

In a pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted several people discussing the nasty guy’s NATO comments. There’s also a quote discussing European leaders’ reactions. And, of course, that is the topic of a few cartoons in the comments. An Associated Press article posted on Kos reported reactions from NATO leaders. The nasty guy’s statement undermines security and puts soldiers at risk. The risk means European countries needs to invest in their own security – prompting them to do what the nasty guy accuses them of not doing. Others are confident the US will remain a strong ally, no matter who is president. This article and others I heard add a bit of explanation. Other NATO countries do not owe the money to the US, though the nasty guy’s wording makes that seem true. They do not owe the money to NATO. That 2% is a recommendation of what each country is to spend on its own defense, something the nasty guy is turning into a requirement. I’ve also heard with the Ukraine invasion in their backyard most, perhaps all, NATO countries now spend more on defense and most have probably passed the 2% recommendation. Last week I reported on the failure in the House to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Another AP article reported this week they voted again and this time Steve Scalise is back from his cancer treatment. And this time the vote was 214-213 to impeach. There is another reason why the vote was done early this week – On Tuesday there was a special election in New York to replace ejected House member Republican George Santos. And the winner is a Democrat, Tom Suozzi. So if the vote were delayed until the new guy was sworn in the tally would again be tied, this time at 214-214. The impeachment now goes to the Senate, where neither party has the desire to take on the trial. I’ve heard it will likely be referred to committee – where it will quietly die. The House doesn’t have the evidence to impeach Biden. So, as reported Joan McCarter of Kos, they’re latching on to special counsel Robert Hur’s report with the gratuitous comments that Biden is too old and has poor memory. And with that as supporting evidence they’re launching an investigation into Biden’s age and whether that means he’s unfit to lead.

They “might” ask Hur about Biden’s fitness? They “might” take this chance to exploit Biden’s age, his biggest political liability with voters, and run with it? They absolutely will give Hur a microphone and put him in front of cameras and the traditional media will absolutely eat it up.

While they’re at it they intend to investigate the Justice Department and AG Merrick Garland for why there isn’t any evidence to impeach Biden. Sumner reported:

Over the weekend, The New York Times filled every slot on its editorial page with a piece attacking Biden’s age and memory. That didn’t just include the Times’ conservative columnists calling for the president to step down, but the paper’s editorial board jumping in to tell you that Americans think Biden is too old. As for 77-year-old Donald Trump? Now there’s someone who “does not appear to be suffering the effects of time in such visible ways.” ... What’s especially convenient about this storyline for the Times is that they’ve already been doing it for decades.

Well, NYT hasn’t been constantly reporting Biden’s age for decades. Until recently it was Biden the gaffe guy.

The New York Times, along with other media outlets, has created an opinion ouroboros. The publication provides stories that emphasize how Biden is old, slipping, and gaffe-prone. Then they circulate the news that people, shockingly, believe them. Then they use those poll results as an excuse to do it all again. When it comes to Trump … don’t worry about it. He dyes his hair and wears makeup and talks for a long time. According to the Times, that means you shouldn’t be concerned about his age. In fact, they have a poll that shows you’re not concerned. And now, here’s an article about how you’re not worried about Trump’s age.

Mike Luckovich posted a cartoon on Kos. Biden says, ticking off his fingers, “Lowered prescription costs, infrastructure bill, Chips Act, Inflation Reduction Act, Gun Safety Legislation, booming economy...” And an elephant jumps in, “Ha! Forgot the 14 million jobs he created ‘cuz his memory’s shot!” When Florida bans books what happens to them? Dartagnan of the Kos community reported on one case, what happened in Duval County. The county has 128K students. It had 180 titles in their Essential Voices collection, which it sends out to schools. At least 34 titles were identified as not in compliance with new legislation. The county packed the books in a semi-trailer. They were part of a prepackaged set and could not be resold. Firestorm Books in Asheville, North Carolina calls itself a “little anarchist’s bookshop.” They agreed to take the 22,000 books, though that’s nearly three times their usual inventory. They set up a website and whoever filled out an online request form would get books free of charge. More than a third of the request have come from ... Duval County. Many of the books are going to families with community libraries in their yards. Dartagnan quoted Eesha Pendharkar of Education Week who noted that when a book is challenged interest goes up. Student use of libraries also goes up.

So if Republicans’ newfound penchant for book-banning is so counterproductive, why do they do it? The short answer: It’s way to score cheap, easy political points with ignorant or intolerant constituents. But as Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers has noted, the broader end goal of inflicting these onerous laws on school districts is to weaken and ultimately destroy the public education system. Book bans serve that purpose well, by both draining resources from schools and intimidating teachers. Republicans will almost certainly continue these efforts, as long as they can get political benefit out of it. But the books will continue to be read, whether conservatives like it or not.

Tom Huizenga of NPR did a 7 minute report on the 100th anniversary of the premier of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It was part of a concert on February 12, 1924 titled “An Experiment in Modern Music.” The experiment was pieces that combined classical and jazz music. The audience loved it. Critics didn’t. Classical music composers of the time – including Aaron Copland, Virgil Thompson, and Leonard Bernstein – didn’t think it was serious music. Adding jazz elements to classical music was “poisoning the well,” as Huizinga wrote. In the 1920s there wasn’t a distinct “American” sound in classical music. I add back in the 1890s, when Antonin Dvorak spent three years teaching in New York, he called for American composers to use their folk music, including black folk music, to create a distinct “American” sound, in the same way Dvorak was using Bohemian tunes to create Bohemian classical music (as were composers across Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Spain). The only American to actually incorporate black music was Gershwin. (More than a decade later Copland would start incorporating cowboy songs to create an American sound in classical music – see his composition Rodeo, recently used in the Beef, It’s What’s for Dinner campaign.) Following the Rhapsody Gershwin wrote An American in Paris, the Concerto in F, the Cuban Overture and the opera Porgy and Bess. There’s also a Second Rhapsody. Go ahead and take time to enjoy them all. On Monday in the 9:00 hour the Detroit classical station played the Rhapsody in Blue with its distinctive opening clarinet wail. And the Canadian station I like played it in the noon hour. Of course, I’ve heard lots of stories about the Rhapsody, usually told by radio hosts introducing the piece. Some were repeated today. The concert was set up by Paul Whiteman, who included Gershwin in the advertising – but didn’t tell Gershwin. He found out about it from a newspaper article read by his brother Ira. And even with limited time he met the deadline. As for that opening sound, Gershwin had notated every note of a rising scale. In the first rehearsal the clarinet player turned it into the glissando we know, perhaps to annoy Gershwin? But the composer loved it and asked how to properly notate it so it would forever be part of the piece.

A veneration of hierarchy and order

Earlier a Department of Justice special counsel issued its report on Biden (not the nasty guy) holding on to classified documents from his time as Vice President. The good news is the conclusion – there are no charges against Biden because a jury would unlikely convict. The bad news is the report throws in a gratuitous dig, saying Biden wouldn’t be convicted because he would be seen as an old man with poor memory. Greg Dworkin, in a pundit roundup for Daily Kos, quoted several people commenting on that dig. First is Dan Pfeiffer, writing “The Message Box” on Substack, with this point: Biden meets with dozens of people daily – “staffers, members of Congress, CEOs, labor officials, foreign leaders, and military and intelligence officials.” Some of them are Republicans. There are few secrets in Washington because important people love to call reporters and dish. If Biden has a memory problem it would be in the press. Even Kevin McCarthy had commented on how sharp and substantive Biden was. Dworkin added: “The main thing to keep in mind is that it’s more hit job than real problem.” I ask: Not a real problem in what sense? It sure looks like a political problem. Greg Sargent of the New Republic says this will fuel another “But her emails” nightmare. Democrats didn’t handle that well in 2016. Will they this time? Dan Froomkin of Press Watch listed a few condemning headlines about the problem, one assuming the failing memory is a given. Then Froomkin wrote:

Has there ever been a screaming front-page headline about Trump’s abundant mental deficiencies? His repeated displays of memory loss and confusion are actually among the least concerning of his mental problems, which include paranoia, fantasy proneness, narcissism, and sociopathy. There are way more important questions the political press corps should be obsessing over than how Biden presents himself, namely: How is Biden governing? How would Trump govern? And which man is more dangerous?

Dworkin included a tweet from Rex Huppke:

ANALYSIS: The people who like President Joe Biden still like him and the people who hate President Joe Biden still hate him and all the other people were probably tuned out and living their lives today and will decide who to vote for a month or so before the election. The End.

In the comments are a couple appropriate cartoons. One by Clay Bennett shows a cop with a club and a “DOJ” badge standing over Biden who has missing teeth and a black eye. The cop says, “Good News President Biden – I’m releasing you without charges.” Dave Whamond posted a cartoon with the media crowding Biden and saying “Look! Biden has a memory problem!” Behind them the nasty guy says nonsense. The caption says, “The Media’s Memory Problem.” John Patrick Leahy, in an article for Economic Hardship Reporting Project posted on Kos, discussed the meaning of “conservative.” That’s an appropriate discussion with all the talk of a “true conservative” that goes along with RINO (Republican in Name Only).

The evergreen questions raised by the label “conservative” are: conserving what and from whom?

Yup, that’s the heart of the definition. I think that the question should be asked more often. We can dispense with the popular answer, which has become a slogan, is that conservatives want a “small government” and are protecting “individual liberties” of big government. Many conservatives have sponsored big government solutions, such as War on Drugs, massive police funding, eliminating abortion rights, “Don’t Say Gay” laws, and school book bans. Few people ask why “small government” and “individual liberties” are a goal. See the question above. “Small government” is a goal because it can’t help the poor people that the rich people don’t want helped. They want “individual liberties” so no one will interfere with their making money without regard to how it affects the poor and the environment. The word “conserve” as applied to politics was first used in 1818 by the groups that wanted to restore the French Monarchy after the Revolution. Not many conservatives say want a king (yeah, many act like they do). So what is to be conserved? Tradition? Duty? Culture? But these things change over time, and in a thriving culture they should change. Economist Friedrich Hayek noted conservatism has a basic problem. It cannot offer an alternative to the general direction. It is against other political ideas, without offering a positive direction of its own. What I see as the core of conservatism:

Political scientist Corey Robin has recently argued that conservatism’s most consistent traits are 1) a veneration of hierarchy and order and 2) a fear of the lower orders. “Though it is often claimed that the left stands for equality while the right stands for freedom,” wrote Robin in his 2011 book “The Reactionary Mind,” “this notion misstates the actual disagreement between right and left. Historically, the conservative has favored liberty for the higher orders and constraint for the lower orders.” And, he goes on, it has historically defined itself against the movements it opposes.

A “veneration of hierarchy” with, of course, themselves high within it. And the only “fear” I think they have of the lower orders is that they won’t stay in their place in the hierarchy and need those higher up to apply pressure. The emphasis on conservatives to conserve means constant debates on what is conservative and what isn’t. It also means constantly seeking new enemies to define themselves against, enemies such as wokeness, critical race theory, and the “gay agenda.” An Associated Press article posted on Kos told the story of Ramona (last name withheld). At the start of the pandemic she and her boyfriend Don moved in together. He believed the conspiracy theories of the pandemic and theories of other things as well. Ramona began to believe the theories filled in the blanks. She felt she understood and that she had found her people online. Don began stockpiling supplies and running drills to get their truck packed and on the road, to be ready when the Storm came, the big moment the theories talked about. Ramona began to be more anxious. She felt if she did enough research she could have power over her fears. The power went out. Don was convinced this was part of the Storm. They packed the car and headed out. But it turned out to be a truck that hit a transformer. They returned home. Don responded with more drills. Then Ramona began to see the predictions and prophesies didn’t come true. The nasty guy was not reelected. The Storm did not come. A friend suggested a social media cleanse. Ramona tried it and felt her anxiety recede. She began to argue with Don about the theories. Then she left him. When she got the COVID vaccine she called Don. He told her she would die within a year. She’s still alive two years later. Shefali Luthra and Mel Leonor Barclay, in an article for The 19th and posted on Kos, wrote about all the ways the nasty guy could curtail access to abortion across the country – even in states that have guaranteed abortion rights and even without Congress voting for a national ban. He could force the Food and Drug Administration to remove mifepristone from the market. This is one of the two most commonly used drugs for medicated abortion. He could enforce the Comstock Act of 1873. It is an anti-obscenity law written to curtail material “intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use.” Whether it can be used to ban access to abortion is controversial. He could go after contraceptives, especially the emergency type that are seen to induce an abortion before the fertilized egg can implant in the womb, though the medical community doesn’t agree with that interpretation. He could stop enforcing the law that protects access to abortion clinics, allowing demonstrators to harass patients. He could tell the DoJ and the FDA to ignore the evidence that abortion restrictions harm people. That allows legal challenges to state abortion rights.

A second Trump administration would likely represent a meaningful shift in the federal landscape for reproductive rights.

Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported the nasty guy is attacking the Federal Reserve, the body that sets interest rates. Higher rates over the last couple years have helped cool inflation, which is close to the ideal 2% rate. The nasty guy’s objection is the Fed is now saying they may begin to lower interest rates later this year. That news is a big reason why the stock market has been doing so well, setting new highs. But he says lowering rates would help Democrats. And it’s only a tiny step to say the Fed isn’t lowering rates because the economy is in good shape and inflation is vanquished, but because the Fed wants to help Biden and the Democrats. That is part of why the nasty guy has been rooting for an economic crash. And soon please. A few days ago, when the nasty guy prompted the resignation of Ronna McDaniel from the job of chair of the Republican National Committee I said I have more of the story. She had kept the job far longer than her performance merited because she was devoted to the nasty guy. Her position seemed secure. Eleveld reported why the nasty guy turned on her. One thing she wasn’t good at was raising money. That means there isn’t enough money for his campaign and his legal expenses. He seems uninterested whether there is money for any of the other Republican races. In a pundit roundup from the end of January – as lawmakers were talking about the nasty guy’s demand to make the border bill fail – Dworkin quoted Sargent:

This has been widely seen as evidence that Trump wants border chaos to continue to use against President Biden in the election. But this whole episode reveals something else too: What Trump and the MAGA right really fear above all is a system that might function better without resorting to the maximally cruel and extreme restrictions they see as the only acceptable “solution.”

In the comments of another pundit roundup there are some good cartoons. Pat Morrison posted one by Paul Conrad of the LA Times that fits well with the nasty guy saying he is being persecuted. With that talk there have been cartoons of him nailing himself to a cross. Conrad’s cartoon is from 50 years ago and shows Nixon nailing himself to a cross. Lisa Ericsson Murphy posted a cartoon (author not shown) that shows barbed wire across the top of Heaven’s entrance. St. Peter tells a new arrival, “We had to put up razor barb wire because of all the Trump Christians thinking they were going to get in.”