Their cruelty toward immigrants is truly astonishing

FIFA, the international soccer (what the rest of the world calls football) federation, has started a tournament of 32 teams to be played in a dozen US locations over the next month. This is a team World Cup, separate from the country World Cup to be played in the US, Canada, and Mexico next year. Lisa Needham of Daily Kos wrote Thursday a week ago:

On Tuesday, Customs and Border Patrol posted on social media that CPB agents would be acting as security for Saturday’s opening match in Miami at the Hard Rock Stadium. “Let the games begin! The first FIFA Club World Cup games start on June 14th in Miami,” the post read. “CBP will be suited and booted and ready to provide security for the first round of games.” What a nice, breezy way to make sure immigrants know that not only are they not welcome, but they will also be actively targeted! Of course, because everything this administration does is a shambolic mess, CBP later deleted the post. At the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told an NBC Miami affiliate that ICE would be there and that non-Americans need to bring proof of their legal status. So maybe agents will be there, or maybe they won’t. Either way, the Trump administration has already sown the fear it intended.

Football is a game loved by lots of people around the world, including the countries in Central and South America. So a stadium with 64,000 in a city (Miami) that is 70% Latino sounds like an easy way for ICE to make its daily quota of detaining 3,000 people. ICE has a problem in that there aren’t enough undocumented murderers and rapists to fill that quota, though that’s who the nasty guy said was his target. And if they’re going after soft targets like people showing up at scheduled immigration hearings, why not a stadium full of football fans? As for the big tournament next year the vice nasty has already issued a threat: Please come. Then go home – or have a chat with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. And what about the Olympics in 2028, which the US is hosting? A week ago Friday Needham talked of other ways the nasty guy is making life hard for immigrants. He ended a program that allowed a half million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to legally remain in the country. Though the case involving 350,000 Venezuelans on Temporary Protected Status is still in the courts the Supreme Court says the nasty guy can start deporting anyway. Another dozen immigrants were detained at Guantanamo Bay, which means their lawyers aren’t nearby. The nasty guy has declared a strip of land along the border to be a “national defense zone” so when a migrant crosses, they can be accused of trespassing on a military installation. Already a New Mexico judge has thrown out over 100 of these cases. ICE raided a meatpacking plant in Omaha and half of the 140 workers were detained and others didn’t show up out of fear. Would Sen. Ted Cruz, or any member of Congress, want their children to work in such a plant?

The Trump administration’s capacity for cruelty toward immigrants is truly astonishing—not just in terms of the government resources it is deploying, but in terms of how it acts from a space of bottomless hate, an infinite ability to revel in the harm they can cause. It’s the only work that Trump and his minions actually want to do.

Also on Thursday a week ago Emily Singer of Kos reported the nasty guy tweeted an exemption to deportation raids. He realized that farming and hospitality need lots of immigrant labor, so those places won’t be raided. I’ve heard since that the tweet had no effect on the actions of ICE agents and the White House has said there has been no actual change in policy. Kos of Kos wrote last Saturday:

Donald Trump doesn’t want to lead. He wants to rule. There’s a distinction. This week, we’ve crossed the line from authoritarian flirtation to autocratic overreach. The events of this past week—the illegal deployment of the National Guard in California, the arrest of California Sen. Alex Padilla, the ignoring of yet more judicial orders, and the chilling preparations for Trump’s grotesque birthday parade—undeniably show that Trump and his acolytes have abandoned all pretense of adhering to democratic norms. We knew this would happen, we warned people this would happen, and now we’re watching in horror as Trump shreds our norms, laws, and institutions. All the while, the Republican Party kowtows to him when it isn’t outright cheering him on.

Kos wrote that while he’s all in favor of Democrats following the law there is no need for them to follow norms the nasty guy and Republicans have thrown out. The nasty guy is vulnerable in one way – he’s concerned about public opinion. And polls show he and his policies are not supported by Americans. On Monday Singer reported:

GOP lawmakers are lining up to support President Donald Trump’s declaration of war against Democratic-controlled cities, after he ordered Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers to specifically target undocumented immigrants in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York by spreading the insane and false conspiracy theory that Democrats use undocumented immigrants in those cities to hold on to political power. "We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside. These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens," Trump wrote in a disturbing Truth Social post on Sunday night. Of course, undocumented immigrants cannot vote, so Trump’s claim is a bald-faced lie. Undocumented immigrants are also not taking jobs from American citizens, as Americans do not want to work the low-wage, back-breaking jobs immigrants are filling in meatpacking plants, restaurant kitchens, and farm fields.

In the rest of the article Singer documented Republican praise for the statement and the Democratic rebuttal. An Associated Press article from Thursday a week ago and posted on Kos reported that a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order directing the nasty guy to return control of the National Guard to California. The nasty guy had overstepped his bounds in ordering their deployment. Doubtful this will prompt him to obey. Andrew Mangan of Kos reported that before Musk broke up with the nasty guy he declared, “A new political party is needed in America to represent the 80% in the middle!” Musk is no centrist, so hard to tell what he means. But the idea of a centrist party that appeals to a broad middle has been the wish for quite a while, including the political group No Labels. A dream of the 80% middle is a naive dream. 80% of Americans will agree on only a handful of policies, such as the Food and Drug Administration inspecting food or requiring car companies to submit accident data on self-driving vehicles. Yeah, Musk hates that last one. But what if we built a party around ideas that have 60% approval? That’s still a sizable majority. What are policies such a party could run on, policies supported by 60% of voters?

A party of the 60% would increase taxes on billionaires and large corporations, raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and pour more federal funding into affordable housing. Its economic agenda would also expand antitrust enforcement against Big Tech and advocate for stricter environmental regulations, even if they cost jobs and dent the economy. This hypothetical party would prioritize expanding wind and solar power over fossil fuels, and it would want to tax corporations based on how much carbon they release. Hell, this party would even favor making power plants completely eliminate carbon emissions by 2040. A party of the 60% would support abortion being legal in most or all cases. It would see the government as responsible for ensuring all Americans have health insurance. It would strongly support Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. It would want to pour billions into research for women’s health and cap yearly out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs on all insurance plans. It would support creating a public option for health insurance and lowering the enrollment age for Medicare from 65 to 60, though it wouldn’t be sold on Medicare for all. Nonetheless, this party would increase benefits for Social Security and Medicare.

Mangan provides links to surveys supporting what he wrote. Also with 60% popularity are support for legal abortion, access to contraception, and support for all Americans having paid family and medical leave. There would be support for banning assault rifles, implementing universal background checks and red-flag laws. There would be support for free college tuition of middle income families and below, vaccine requirements, and increased funding for public schools. Plus, support for legal recreational marijuana, increased food assistance, term limits for the Supreme Court, and many types of foreign aid.

Sound familiar? All of these policies are supported by at least 60% of respondents, and virtually all of them are parts of the Democratic Party’s platform—and reviled by the Republican Party.

I’m puzzled what exactly is meant by “parts of the Democratic Party’s platform.” Parts of each idea are in the platform? Various states have some of the ideas in their platforms? So what about immigration? Yeah, 55% want a decrease in the number of immigrants (note it is less than 60%). But over 60% oppose deporting undocumented immigrants who came as kids, are married to a citizen, or have children who are citizens. And majorities oppose raids at churches and schools. A very strong majority do want to deport immigrants who committed violent crimes. The nasty guy is doing the last – and all the others. But back to that praise for the Democratic Party. If the party agrees with 60% of the country – why didn’t they implement all those things when they had the chance? They had majorities during Biden’s first two years. I ventured into the comments for this one. A couple of the ideas: tuma: They’re popular only as long as they’re not labeled as Democratic policies. Anything Dems support is taken to mean benefiting black people. Teacherbill: Democratic policy is popular. Democratic politicians are not. In last Saturday’s pundit roundup for Kos Greg Dworkin quoted a couple interesting tweets. Kareem Carr, Statistics Person tweeted:

The great irony is that “White America” itself is already a case study in multiculturalism: a near seamless fusion of ethnicities who spent centuries at war.

And Noah Smith added:

This is an incredibly important and underrated point. The reason people think "white" is this homogeneous bloc today is that America did such a good job erasing the distinctions between European ethnicities.

In the comments LJ Slater countered the claim that riots are raging through LA by posting a map of the city with one small red circle in a corner of the area marked Downtown. I hadn’t realized Los Angeles loops in and around other cities (such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica) with a long slim corridor down to the neighborhood of San Pedro. In today’s pundit roundup Chitown Kev had some good quotes. Jazmyne Owens of the New America blog wrote about Juneteenth, which is today.

False distortions of history, especially to serve a political agenda, are not new. During the Civil War, propagandists across the South referred to the war as one “of Northern Aggression,” or “the War Between the States,” ignoring the role that slavery played in the Confederacy’s secession from the Union. While wholly untrue, that version of history, now known as “the Lost Cause of the Confederacy”—or simply “the Lost Cause”—took deep root in the South. [...] Reframing history to erase acts of violence against African Americans and other groups is seeing a resurgence today. In President Trump’s first term, his administration created the 1776 Commission to promote politicized narratives that historians have called inaccurate. In his second term, the administration is committed to weakening the public education system by dismantling the functionality of the Department of Education in an attempt to close it, and slashing funding for vital public education programs. It is also worth mentioning that the administration is currently receiving a lot of legal pushback against their actions, including over several executive orders that embody alarming government overreach by undermining civil rights enforcement and asserting federal oversight in schools and classrooms.

Alex Hinton of The Conversation:

After decades of research on numerous attacks that have left scores dead, we have learned that extremists are almost always part of a pack, not lone wolves. But the myth of the lone wolf shooter remains tenacious, reappearing in media coverage after almost every mass shooting or act of far-right extremist violence. Because this myth misdirects people from the actual causes of extremist violence, it impedes society’s ability to prevent attacks. [...] This was true long before the social media age. Take Timothy McVeigh. He is often depicted as the archetypal lone wolf madman who blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. In fact, McVeigh was part of a pack. He had accomplices and was connected across the far-right extremist landscape.[...] How did the lone-wolf metaphor come to misinform the public’s view of extremists, and why is it so tenacious? Part of the answer is linked to white supremacist Louis Beam, who wrote the essay “Leaderless Resistance” in 1983. In it, he called for far-right extremists to act individually or in small groups that couldn’t be traced up a chain of command. According to his lawyer, McVeigh was one of those influenced by Beam’s call.

It isn’t just Beam’s call. It is a lot of conservative leaders using the “lone wolf” myth to shield themselves and their ideas from being held responsible for the lone wolf’s mayhem. Will Pattiz and More Than Just Parks of the “More Than Just Parks” Substack writing about a provision in the Big Brutal Bill that isn’t getting any discussion by mainstream media:

The Senate budget bill includes two provisions that would trigger the largest loss of public land in modern history. First, it mandates the sale of 3 million acres of federal land. This land will be sold, full stop. There is no requirement for public input, environmental review, tribal consultation, or resource assessment. It will be auctioned off whether the public wants it or not. Second, it grants the Secretary of the Interior authority to sell an additional 253 million acres at their discretion. That amounts to 40 percent of all federal public land. There are no rules on how much land can be sold, how fast it can be moved, or who can buy it. There is no guarantee of public review. There is no conservation filter. There is nothing in the bill that protects ecologically sensitive areas, sacred sites, or places used for hunting, fishing, or recreation. The language sounds sterile. “Disposal.” “Divestment.” “Asset management.” But make no mistake. This is a plan to break apart the public estate and transfer it to private hands.

In the comments are several cartoons and memes about Juneteenth and immigration, such as this one posted by exlrrrp and from Films for Action. It shows a Mexican man sitting on a white bucket with the caption:

Schrödinger’s Immigrant Lazily collecting all the welfare but somehow taking all the jobs.

And a meme posted by Liberal Jane showing a young woman with buttons showing all the minorities she supports and holding a sign that says:

I’d rather be hated for who I include that loved for who I exclude.

Loves his country while hating 93% of the people

Mark Sumner of Daily Kos discussed the nasty guy’s implied promise.

Trump is an unrepentant bully. That alone is enough to make him appealing to many, for the same reason third-grade bullies have henchmen. But it’s not the big pull. The big pull, the thing that turned Trump from a clown on a gaudy yellow staircase into a nightmare in the White House, is that he holds out the same offer to his followers that he enjoys: the promise of cruelty without consequence.

Sumner lists many of the people the nasty guy pardoned. The crimes of those pardoned included fraud, contempt of court, illegal campaign contributions, lying to investigators, securities fraud, money laundering, and murder. The nasty guy has already announced categories of people he will pardon if he ever gets back to the White House.

It’s been said many times that in the modern Republican Party, cruelty is the point, But Donald Trump’s real promise is that those who follow his path get to be cruel—and never pay for it. ... Trump himself keeps complaining that if the government can come after him, they can come after anyone, and in a way that's true: If Trump has to pay, then his promise to his supporters falls apart. Only by seeing that Trump receives punishment on the scale of anyone else charged with the same crimes can his supporters be convinced that their bully can’t protect them. That the next pardon won’t have their name on it. That eventually, everyone has to pay for their actions. That lesson had better be taught. It had better be clear. And it had better be soon.

Sumner also reported the nasty guy did an interview on Fox News, though this time, anchor Bret Baier didn’t lob softball questions to make his subject look good. Baier actually asked substantial questions about the “best people” the nasty guy hired that are now considered by the boss as being actually quite bad, about the results of the 2020 election, and about the stolen documents and the multitude of excuses. Alas, Baier couldn’t keep up with the lies. Sumner wrote the discussion of those documents is a confession of the crime. The nasty guy didn’t hand over the boxes because they also contained golf shirts? If a viewer happened to catch the interview live they may have heard the questions and spew of lies (though they may not have recognized them as such). But replays or streaming of the interview are now buried under many layers of spin. Mike Luckovich tweeted a cartoon of the nasty guy standing in front of several opened boxes of the Monopoly game with the contents strewn about and the shop security telling him, “Hand over the ‘Get Out of Jail Free’ cards.” Joel Pett tweeted a cartoon of a woman standing in a library with a protest sign. She says:

I’m here to exercise my parental rights to control, judge, frighten and intimidate other people’s kids.

In a Ukraine update Kos of Kos discussed the difference between strategy, the overall goal of an operation, and tactics, the steps to get there. Kos says Ukraine understands this and Russia clearly does not. The big example over the last few months is Russia’s grinding take of Bakhmut. Early in the war Russia had the strategy of a pincer movement, one side coming through Bakhmut, the other coming from Izyum. It could have surrounded perhaps up to 50% of Ukraine’s army. But Izyum was liberated back in September and that strategy was moot. Russia didn’t develop another. But the tactic of conquering Bakhmut, now with no military value, continued another eight months with a considerable cost in lives. And with Bakhmut conquered those holding the city are sitting ducks to Ukrainian bombardment. Kos described another example of a lack of strategy that’s happening now as Ukraine’s counteroffensive is underway. Russia seems to be holding onto a particular village. But that left Kos screaming – why would Russia send multiple waves to fight in the open when they have perfectly good prepared defenses just a few kilometers south? Ukraine doesn’t need to advance to the trenches as long as the Russians are coming towards them. Easy pickings. Kos included a video of what appears to be a high school graduation that continued during an air raid. Kos wrote:

Life goes on, but it doesn’t. Those boys will all go into the Ukrainian military. A good percentage of them won’t be with us in one year.

There was speculation that one reason Russia blew the dam upstream from Kherson was that the flooding would prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing from that direction. But, as Kos reported, the reservoir behind the dam is emptying out. Soon the Dnipro River will be a normal size river and the mud left behind will dry. And Ukrainian troops could cross what had been a strong barrier. Of course, Russia hasn’t put up defenses on the far shore. If they do now it only takes resources from elsewhere. Wrote Kos:

Would be ironic if Russia’s bizarre decision to blow the damn doesn’t just cost their precious Crimea its water supply, but also allows Ukraine to bypass many of their defenses.

In honor of Juneteenth Chris Britt tweeted a cartoon of a character labeled “Mitch” riding an elephant and calling out “Happy Juneteenth!” while the elephant has its foot on the back of a black man reaching for a votting booth. Dennis Draughon tweeted a cartoon of a voting booth at the far end of a maze with an elephant lableled NC GOP saying “Vote Suppression? Don’t be silly... This is designed for ‘Election Integrity’!” Mrs. Betty Bowers tweeted a cartoon from 55 years ago that originally appeared in MAD Magazine and is still relevant. It shows a man dressed in stars and stripes. I’ll include the start and end of the caption, though one can easily fill in the rest.

See the Super Patriot. Hear him preach how he loves his country. Hear him preach how he hates “Liberals”... And “Moderates”... and “Intellectuals”... ... He’s someone who loves his country While hating 93% of the people who live in it.

There is a content warning on the cartoon, but really no reason for it. Qasim Rashid tweeted a cartoon (I don’t know who created it) that shows a dialog between a child and mother:

What’s that mark on your arm, Mama? My smallpox vaccine scar! Why don’t I have one? Because it worked.

Just so you know as you continue your activism... Written by Hanna tweeted:

If you are arrested or detained, the police are legally within their right to compel you to unlock your phone if you use face recognition or finger print. However if you use a passcode or pattern you are within legal right to not give it to them.

And why might you need to continue your activism? Elon Musk tweeted “Perhaps we just need a modern day Sulla.” Helen Kennedy responded:

I didn't believe this was real but I went to look and it is. Sulla the Dictator is remembered two thousand years later as a terrifying butcher - the first man to seize power in Rome by force. Thousands died in his bloody purges - on a whim, or so he could take their property.

Simon Rosenberg added:

Every Western democracy and everyone here on Twitter needs to see this tweet, and consider what it means, who Elon has become. This is no own-the-libs s---. It's a direct call for the ending of American democracy by force, a violent coup against a sitting American President.

And... Informal Economy tweeted the Liberal Democracy index for 2022. The top ten are Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Estonia, New Zealand, Belgium, Ireland, Costa Rica, and Finland. A few others are: USA at 23rd, Brazil at 58th, Mexico at 93rd, India at 97th, Russia at 159th, and China at 172nd. Garth German tweeted a cartoon suggesting a way to significantly reduce gun sales – paint the guns in rainbow colors. Alas, our news isn’t always so fun. In a pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev quoted Charles Blow of the New York Times:

According to research by the Clark University professor Abbie Goldberg published in January by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, which surveyed 113 parents in Florida who are L.G.B.T.Q. in the wake of the passage of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay law, “56 percent of parents considered moving out of Florida and 16.5 percent have taken steps to move out of Florida.”

Some are already saving money and looking for jobs elsewhere. But others are conflicted because they love their friends and communities. Others say a move is impossible because they are caring for older family members or have jobs they can’t find elsewhere. They shouldn’t have to make the choice.

Art is needed because art heals the soul

I finished the book Under the Big Sky by S. Bryan Gonzales. This is the story of Cash McCollum’s senior year in high school in Miles City, Montana. When not in school Cash is an impressive performer in high school level rodeo events. When Cash was a sophomore a new kid at the school, Travis Hunter spotted Cash in a classroom and locked eyes. This year Travis, a well built football player, cornered Cash at his locker and made a big impression. Cash wondered why this big hunky football player was pursuing him when he could have anyone in the school. It didn’t take long for Cash to realize well, I guess I’m gay. Actually I thought that shift took way too little time. There was little homophobia. Cash’s mother was accepting. His older brother Clayton said a few embarrassing words and his father said little. Mom said just give them a bit of time to get used to Travis (oh, is that all it takes? – sometimes yes). It helped that Travis liked to come from town to the ranch and help with chores. Even with little homophobia Travis and Cash don’t want the strength of their relationship to be common knowledge at the school (though it sorta already is). I got annoyed with Cash because he usually looked at incomplete evidence and assumed the worst (I think that’s a teenager thing). The first big issue like that was seeing Travis with a stack of college catalogs and a lot of them were not in Montana. Then Lee showed up. He also performed in rodeos and was Cash’s nearest competitor, though from the other end of the state. Cash had a hard time saying no to Lee even though Travis made his jealousy well known. This book is over 500 pages. The last 100 set things up for the sequel, though this one did have a satisfying conclusion. The online description of the sequel (400 pages) fit nicely with the ending of the first one. There is a third book (500 pages) and the description of the second says there is a fourth, but I can’t find that one online. I was interested in the series because in the second book Cash is given custody of a young child. I’m interested in reading about gay couples as parents. But this setup sounds like Cash and Travis would spend a great deal of time arguing. So I’m not yet sure I want to buy it. As for the third... Barnes and Noble sometimes allows a shopper to read the first 20-30 pages of a book. This one has ghosts. No, thank you. One other small complaint of the book – Cash is described as having strawberry blond hair. So I was disappointed that the model whose photo was used for the front cover had brown hair. My Sunday movie was Viva Maestro! a documentary about orchestra conductor Gustavo Dudamel. He got his start in El Sistema, a music program for disadvantaged youth in Venezuela. He became an international sensation and at age 28 appointed musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has kept ties with orchestras in Venezuela and has added the Paris Opera to his duties. El Sistema (The System) was started in 1975 by José Abreu with government support. He believed “music has to be recognized as an agent of social development in the highest sense because it transmits the highest values – solidarity, harmony, mutual compassion” and it had the ability to "unite an entire community and express sublime feelings.” Students were provided musical instruments and given training in music and in life. They learned that when they work together they could produce beautiful music. By 2015 there were more than 400 music centers across Venezuela and 700,000 young musicians (I think that is through its history). There are some wonderful videos online of Dudamel conducting the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The kids definitely have the energy. An example is them doing the Mambo from Bernstein’s West Side Story at the BBC Proms (after the music much of this video is an interview with Dudamel and the BBC host). At the time the Simón Bolívar Orchestra was a youth ensemble. It looks like they matured together and became professional, so the youth ensembles had to be renamed. Here’s another video of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra after they could no longer be called a youth orchestra. This one is of Danzón No. 2, by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez. It is a style these young adults would be familiar with. I had heard of El Sistema and I’ve seen a documentary about one of the many partner organization in the US (perhaps Baltimore?). At one of the international handbell events I attended there were rumors that people from El Sistema attended to see how they might fit handbells into their program. I haven’t heard anything about that since. When the movie opens Dudamel is rehearsing the professional Simón Bolívar Orchestra ready to take all nine Beethoven symphonies on tour. A very large chunk of the group is still those who came through El Sistema. While they are on tour violence broke out in Venezuela because of an economic crisis. Huge crowds of protesters call for the fall of the government. Several people are killed, including a child in one of the youth orchestras. Dudamel’s actions and discussions with the camera show he is someone working to uplift those around him, to provide beauty for the world. From his success on the podium the world will agree he does it well. Of the violence he said the flowers could be cut off but the roots are strong and beauty will return. Art is needed because art heals the soul. Dudamel stayed out of politics considering music to be above such things. But after seeing the violence of his home country he had to speak out. He writes editorials in such papers as the New York Times. Now a spoiler alert for the rest of this section in case you want to watch it yourself. There were times the movie was a bit vague. It didn’t say whether Dudamel was barred from returning to Venezuela. However, soon we see him monitoring rehearsals of the youth orchestra from a remote location, adding comments to the young conductor on site. The youth orchestra’s international tour is canceled. The professional orchestra started losing a lot members, though again the movie was vague as to why. Some of them flee the country, such as the concertmaster who is able to get a job with an orchestra in Berlin. And their big tour is canceled. There are threats the government would end its support of El Sistema, which Dudamel decries as shutting down beauty. Others call on the government (and that should be all the governments of the world) to recognize musical training as a human right, not some elitist thing (I agree with that!). Dudamel organizes an international youth orchestra to assemble and perform in Mexico City with members from across the Americas. It includes a few from the Venezuela Youth Orchestra with their participation funded by the Dudamel Foundation. Then Dudamel’s mentor and dear friend Abreu dies. He isn’t able (allowed?) to attend the funeral. Again (because it is what conductors do) he assembles an international orchestra in Santiago, Chile for a memorial concert. This includes members of orchestras in Europe where he had conducted, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and professional and youth orchestras of Venezuela. A brief update on the war in Ukraine. Mark Sumner of Daily Kos reported that Ukraine is making progress around Kherson at the southwest end of the Russian held territory. But don’t expect the liberation of Kherson anytime soon. “At Kherson, Ukraine is working to retake a large city without doing to that city what Russia did in Mariupol or Popasna.” Let’s take a look at the progress of passing new gun restriction laws in the Senate. It’s going as well as it usually goes. Joan McCarter of Kos described the “Cornyn Con.” When something big comes up that Republicans want to make sure doesn’t pass, Moscow Mitch sends in Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. The phrase was coined by America’s Voice:

What’s the Cornyn Con? The silver-tongued, silver-haired Senator from Texas pretends he wants a breakthrough on immigration reform on his way to scuttling immigration reform. He positions himself as a conservative who wants to make common cause with Democrats, and after igniting hope and attracting positive press, he pulls the rug out on Democrats so he can blame them for failure.

In these situations the Democrats are desperate to get something passed so are willing to talk to anyone who will talk to them. In this case there were reports of “rapid progress” and “intense negotiations.” But even that signaled massive capitulation to Republican terms. Say goodbye to expanded background checks and restrictions on high capacity magazines. A couple provisions remained and there was an announcement of a framework with ten Republicans (amazing!) signing on, enough to break a filibuster. Then Cornyn moved the goalposts – he said he needed to attract 20 Republicans. And blaming the Democrats has begun. Along the way votes were scheduled and abandoned. On June 12, Lauren Sue of Kos reported the details of that framework. It includes money to help states pass red flag laws (notably not passing such laws at the federal level), money for school safety and to build community mental health clinics. It closes the “boyfriend loophole” so that guns can be taken away from an abusive boyfriend, not just an abusive spouse. There are provisions to prevent gun trafficking and enhanced background checks for purchasers under the age of 21 (though not a ban to selling to those so young – these background checks would have slowed the Uvalde shooter but not stopped him). It isn’t everything, but it is meaningful progress. At the time Mitch sounded positive. Which is worrysome. On June 13 McCarter reported that Republicans, Mitch among them, started saying, yeah, the framework is great. But we need to see the actual text of an actual bill. McCarter discussed what people outside of Congress are saying about the framework. Yeah, mental health clinics are great and needed but tying them to a shooting stigmatizes those who are mentally ill. Countries around the world have people with mental illness, but only the US has an epidemic of mass shootings. As for hardening the schools – more police in schools make black and brown students feel less safe and criminalizing kid behavior pushes them into the criminal justice system. These students see these cops arrest their friends. On June 17 McCarter explained the importance of the “boyfriend loophole.” And Republicans started arguing about the definition of “boyfriend.” One even said Democrats must use the Republican definition of the word or drop the whole provision (at this point who had which definition doesn’t matter). McCarter wrote Schumer should stop the negotiations and call a vote on the bill passed by the House plus hold votes on assault rifles, universal background checks, and high capacity magazines – everything voters want. He should get Republican votes on record. I suspect that won’t make much difference because voting no will delight a big chunk of the Republican base and the rest of them won’t vote for Democrats no matter what. Yeah, we’ve seen this theater before. Rebekah Sager of Kos reported a jump in gun sales since George Floyd’s murder in 2020. What is notable is who bought a big chunk of those guns. The National Shooting Sports Foundation reported gun sales to black Americans jumped by 58%. They feel the need to protect themselves and their families. The National African American Gun Association has gained a thousand new members a month since 2020. And there is a group called Black Guns Matter. Even so...

researchers at the Pew Research Center found that 75% of Blacks, 72% of Asians, and 65% of Latinos felt that gun laws should be stricter, compared to only 45% of white people surveyed. This is also no surprise; Black people are disproportionately affected by gun violence, especially when it comes to police brutality and homicide. According to research from Everytown USA, 68% of homicide victims in cities are Black.

In a segment from two weeks ago Sam Gringlas of WABE in Atlanta and NPR discussed advertising by gun companies and how that affects the policy debate. Much of this is about the company Daniel Defense, who made the gun used by the Uvalde shooter. Gringlas said Daniel Defense has been pushing the advertising envelope to stand out. They’ve been accused of targeting ads to teens and lawsuits about that have been filed. They’re also pushing fake machismo patriotism, the idea that one must own an AR-15 to be a good American. They glamorize the gun, battle style clothing, the whole tactical lifestyle. Now many times when Republican candidates for office, especially for Congress, talk to voters the top question is “What are your views on the Second Amendment?” Campaign contributions to lawmakers aren’t making the big difference in how a member of Congress votes. The big pressure comes from voters, soaked in the advertised tactical lifestyle, demanding candidates protect their gun rights or they’ll vote for someone else in the next primary. Greg Dworkin of Kos tweeted:

So officers in Uvalde didn’t want to shoot for fear of hitting a kid… but teachers are supposed to be Annie Oakley?

Hunter of Kos reported the Texas Republican Party is creating a new campaign platform at a convention attended by 5,000 delegates. Sen. Cornyn attended and was booed for pretending to be bipartisan in order to derail gun legislation. That’s how devoted this party wants to be. Hunter listed some of the provisions in this full fascist campaign platform: Biden is not a legitimate president. Texas has a right to secede from the union as it demands a rewrite of the constitution of the country it wants to secede from. It asserts homosexuality is “abnormal” and a “lifestyle choice.” It wants to punish providers of gender-affirming medical care. It bans teaching of “Critical Race Theory” as well as sex education and sexual health (no teaching what to expect during puberty or what molestation is). It requires teaching life begins at conception. It demands a provision in the state constitution that the legislature cannot enact any gun restrictions.

To you, this might sound like a document produced by child molestation advocates in conjunction with seditionists to encourage mass murders before turning full traitor, but this is just what Texas Republicans are now. Yes, even the ones that claim to be against these things while voting for the Republicans that support them. It's a party of conspiracy freaks and treason, a party in which even the most far-right members aren't safe from attack in their own convention if they dare, even for a moment, go against the militant seditionist base.

Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that Republican colleagues of Rep. Liz Cheney are puzzled by her. She’s the vice chair of the January 6 Committee and serving on that committee is damaging her re-election bid in Wyoming. Mitch said her focus on taking down the nasty guy doesn’t help anyone. Cheney has said at campaign events has said her motivation is the fear that the peaceful transfer of power (and democracy) may come to an end. She wants her sons to live in a democracy. Wrote Eleveld:

What Cheney’s GOP counterparts are really marveling at is the concept of principled leadership—of placing the good of the whole above the immediate concerns of oneself.

Today is Juneteenth, a new holiday to celebrate the end of slavery. This is the day that slaves in Galveston, Texas found out the Emancipation Proclamation was signed 2½ years before. Michael Harriot tweeted:

If Twitter was around on June 19, 1865 you know someone would have tweeteed…

Here are some of the responses: Courtney McCain: “What was the June 19th 1865 equivalent to ‘What about Chicago?’ ” WeartheMask: “... two YEARS ago?!!” Cincy Sensi Star: “These white folk betta not be playing about our 40 acres and a mule.” Tasha Mack: “We can't find enough good employees. Nobody wants to work anymore.” JMon, replying to Mack: “Black people have been stereotyped as lazy ... Ever since they stopped working for free.” Craig: “What about Hunter Lincoln's Laptop??” Tanya Callendar Moncur: “Juneteenth brisket! 20% off with the Emancipation flyer while supplies last.” Howard Frazier: “Freedom night at Club Plantation. Ladies get in free. Bucks half price till 9. Sunday Best only no Field clothing allowed.” Kyle: “They weren't slaves. They were dependent contractors.” Kedrin Bell added: “Unpaid interns.” Mitchener Howell: “Under Jefferson Davis’s administration, blacks had the lowest unemployment rates in Confederate History.” Matthew Talicska: “ ‘Really though, weren't you happier not knowing you were free?’ - Jesse Helms”