Elect a convicted felon, expect a crime spree

The traumatic nonsense from the nasty guy is coming thick and fast. I’m not going to be able to keep up. There are things I won’t have time to write about and things I will mention only briefly. Please don’t rely on me to be a news service. I intend to have a life outside this blog. In addition to the news there is commentary I want to share. So sometimes I’d rather share the commentary than the news. So I’ll start with some thing I’ll mention briefly. Walter Einenkel of Daily Kos reported the nasty guy has overturned some of Biden’s “sensitive locations” where Immigration and Customs Enforcement is not allowed to arrest people. So immigrants are no longer safe in “domestic violence shelters, food banks, counseling facilities, and disaster response centers” and now also “places of worship, hospitals, and schools.” So there will be no more stories of churches hosting an immigrant who cannot leave a church building while waiting for a change in their status.

While Trump might not be able to deport tens of millions of people as he promised, he is certainly keeping true to his promise to terrorize Americans and their families.

Oliver Willis of Kos reported in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed an executive order that reinforced the requirement that federal contractors not discriminate in who they employed. The nasty guy has now rescinded that order. He called the order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” If you don’t understand how that wording by itself is actually discriminatory you need to read up on race relations. And Johnson’s order wasn’t illegal. Kash Patel is nominated to lead the FBI. The New York Times reported Patel benefited from a DEI program in 2003 as part of a judicial Intern Opportunity Program. Yeah, Patel rose to prominence through a program the nasty guy is undermining. Emily Singer of Kos reported:

Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday ordered federal health agencies to cease all public-facing communication, The Washington Post reported, a move that will leave Americans in the dark about everything from viral outbreaks to the spread of possible food-borne illnesses.

This comes as bird flu has mutated, causing a big outbreak, which is causing an egg shortage and a spike in egg prices. So far the current variety of bird flu hasn’t jumped human to human, but the larger the outbreak the more likely that will happen. My friend and debate partner had lunch together yesterday. We both had egg dishes. The price for them in that restaurant hadn’t gone up – yet. We briefly discussed the likelihood of a pandemic while the nasty guy is in office and agreed that is likely. That pandemic could be based around bird flu – it is in the news a lot – though a pandemic could be based on something else – COVID was in the news less than six months before shutdowns hit America. Singer reported that the nasty guy stated his plan to end the war on Ukraine. He said if Russia doesn’t make a deal soon the US will impose tariffs on Russia. Tiny problem with that plan. Because of Russia’s invasion the US imports from Russia has already dropped by 90% and in 2024 was only $2.9 billion. Threatening tariffs will have no impact on Russia. Yesterday I quoted a tweet by Jack Jenkins and wondered what prompted it. The quote:

Kinda seems like a whole lotta people found out for the first time today that there's a very large, very vibrant progressive wing of Christianity (and religion in general).

Today I was reminded of something in the news and immediately though, oh yes of course, that. That something was mentioned in today’s Cheers and Jeers column by Bill in Portland, Maine for Kos. It was words from Bishop Marann Edgar Budde at the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral.

“In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” said Budde, who was looking directly at the president. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families. Some who fear for their lives.” "They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues."

I think the nasty guy declared she was mean to him and demanded an apology. Just after I wrote that my friend and debate partner sent me an email making the same connection to yesterday’s quote. He added, “Rather than any apology, she will likely send him a renewed invitation to be counseled.” In today’s pundit roundup for Kos Chitown Kev included several photos and discussion of the snow in New Orleans, a Sneauxpocalypse. Yeah, early this week (likely when we in the northern states were looking at thermometers that said 0F or lower) New Orleans – well, Houston to Pensacola – got 8-11 inches (20-28 cm) of snow. They got in one storm about what we in the north have gotten so far this entire season. Minneapolis has seen 9.8 inches. One of the photos is a video of a guy playing ice hockey on Canal St. Between the photos of snow are: A quote discussing the nasty guy’s executive order banning birthright citizenship as an attempt to rewrite the Constitution, which will be a test of the federal judiciary. They have also been rewriting the Constitution through eliminating the ban on insurrectionists running for office and inventing presidential immunity. A discussion of bird flu and egg prices. A discussion of Bishop Budde’s words. In the comments are several memes and cartoons worth mentioning, starting with one by Rev. Benjamin Cremer referring to Budde’s speech:

If your Christianity causes you to be offended by someone asking the most powerful person in the country to be merciful towards the powerless, they have profoundly misunderstood the teachings of Jesus Christ.

A meme posted by exlrrp:

How can it be legal for a president to launch a cryptocurrency days before he moves into the White House? This is a lifelong career criminal that stole America’s secrets last time. The entire presidency was a fraud. The presidency in America is now a criminal enterprise. Elect a convicted felon, expect a crime spree.

Another meme posted by exlrrp:

16 of the 26 executive orders Trump signed on Day One were ripped straight from the pages of Project 2025. Project 2025 was always the MAGA agenda!” – Robert Reich, Economist.

A cartoon by John Auchter posted by Michigan Public shows two men at a bar with the barman nearby.

Man 1: Can you believe how bad the government in California screwed up the wildfires?! Man 2: Idiots! Incompetent morons – all of ‘em! Barman: Well, the the obvious question is – What would you guys suggest we do right now in Michigan to prevent future disasters here? [The men look at each other] Man 1: Um... Cut taxes? Man 2: Invade Greenland? Barman: Uh-huh...

A cartoon by Paul Noth shows a bald eagle saying, “Lately I just don’t seem much point in symbolizing anything.” And much further down The Geogre posting an excerpt from Will Weissert of AP titled, “Trump Canceled Biden’s Ethics Rules.” Hunter of the Kos community wrote that the nasty guy has already committed an impeachable act – the pardoning of those who committed violent crimes during the Capitol attack coup attempt. He also told the Department of Justice they must drop investigations into anyone else who did violence inside the Capitol that day.

Donald Trump is a criminal who orchestrated a violent insurrection rather than allow his monumental ego to be dented by the same election loss that every other political figure experiences as a matter of course. He is a seditionist. He is a traitor to his country, to democracy, and to the rule of law. And he remains so, whether a coordinated effort by media companies and billionaires to memory-hole his indictments, convictions, and laundry list of crimes returns him to power or not.

Republicans in Congress may condemn the nasty guy, though likely not. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is whether they remove him from office. Or not. They are against terrorism or for it. There is nothing between. There is no debate here, like there might be of a president accepting foreign bribes. Those who commit terrorism will be immunized from justice, a Get Out Of Jail Free card. He has sanctioned domestic terrorism in the future and is making sure it will happen.

We know what will happen. It will not be a surprise; from historians to political theorists to Trump's own former inner circle, there is no longer any doubt that The Criminal intends to dismantle the rule of law so that he and anyone who bows deeply enough to be considered his temporary ally can do crimes with impunity. We know that almost to a person, every Republican official will fall over themselves to justify and celebrate those crimes. It has already begun; Trump has freed those who tried to kill lawmakers and end our democracy.

His actions prove he was the head conspirator of the Capitol attack. That makes his action a high crime, an insult to the Constitution so bad it should not be tolerated, and worthy of impeachment. Hunter says drawing up articles of impeachment is highly likely. More articles would be drawn up when the military is sent into US cities to shoot protesters. Once those articles of impeachment are drawn up, any member of Congress who votes against them or votes against convicting has shown they are also a terrorist.

There are those who believe that violence enacted for the sake of keeping or expanding political power is so unforgivable and anti-American an act that its perpetrators must be removed from power regardless of intent or party. All others amount solely to accomplices.

In the comments Hunter makes a distinction between illegal – issuing the pardons was legal – and impeachable. The second is using legal powers corruptly. Both of his previous impeachment trials was about that.

Far more serious than even the gravest legal language can convey

Yesterday I took a night off from blogging. My church had an ice cream social and I enjoyed hanging out with friends. Though since I last wrote the nasty guy was indicted again, this time for his role in the events that resulted in the Jan 6 Capitol attack. An Associated Press article posted on Daily Kos lays out the charges.

Trump is charged with four counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and conspiracy to prevent others from carrying out their constitutional rights.

The obstruction charge, which was about obstructing the Electoral College vote, is the same one that has been brought against 1,000 Jan 6 rioters, including members of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. More than 100 have plead guilty or been convicted at trial. The conspiracy to defraud the US means he’s accused of using “dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat” the certifying of the election results. The one about constitutional rights is about the right to vote and have one’s vote counted. “The conspiracy doesn't have to be successful, meaning the fraud doesn't have to actually affect the election.” Kos of Kos wrote about the nasty guy’s response to the indictment. It seems “Sleepy Joe” has become the “Biden Crime Family.” Now if they could only find a crime. It takes a truly nasty guy to cry about “weaponizing the Department of Justice” when his first campaign was all about “Lock her up” and he has promised to weaponize the Department of Justice to go after his enemies.

It goes back to that old mantra: Every Republican accusation is an admission. No one does projection better than a Republican.

He also complains the indictment is coming during a campaign (which he claims makes it political – a candidate removing a rival). But amassing the supporting evidence, strong enough to indict a president and presidential contender, takes times and one must get it right. Kos has a bit more, but that’s enough for me. An article by Laura Clawson of Kos explains the charges in more detail here and here. Dartagnan of the Kos community explained the gravity of the indictments in a manner easily grasped:

Under the scheme Trump is now charged with, 81 million Americans would have had their votes for the highest elected office in this land rendered meaningless, effectively erased, as if they’d never existed. That’s 81 million Biden voters instantly disenfranchised; their judgments, motives, hopes, and everything that shaped them, abruptly negated. Their trips to the local voting precinct during a pandemic, their careful consideration and concern in filling out mail-in ballots, their discussions with spouses and family about which presidential candidate they should vote for, all crudely and unilaterally disregarded and trashed. Had Trump succeeded in this plan, half the voting nation would have experienced the absolute foundation of their own citizenship snatched away from them in one single, tyrannical power grab, making them—for all intents and purposes—noncitizens. That would have led to massive protests in the street, the likes of which this nation has never seen. Work for millions would have come to a complete standstill. There would have been riots, property destruction, and violence on a national scale as voters vented their fury. And, as special counsel Jack Smith’s Tuesday indictment shows, Trump was prepared to respond to those anticipated protests by calling out the military to quell them. ... It was nothing short of dictatorial rule, using the nation’s armed forces against over half of the nation’s electorate, whom he would have already effectively disenfranchised. It would have been a profound, unspeakable crime against this nation and its people, one far more serious than even the gravest legal language can convey.

The nasty guy’s lawyer was on NPR saying his defense would be that the nasty guy was acting out his free speech rights. Republicans have taken up the cry this is a free speech issue. Joan McCarter of Kos explained, quoting the indictment.

Special counsel Jack Smith knew this would be a key argument from Trump, and quickly debunked it on page 2 of the indictment. “The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he had won,” the indictment says. “He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means …. [I]n many cases, the Defendant did pursue these methods of contesting the election results. His efforts … were uniformly unsuccessful. “Shortly after Election Day, the Defendant also pursued unlawful means of discounting legitimate votes and subverting the election results.” That’s what Trump is being indicted for: his actions.

McCarter included a quote from Rep. Jamie Raskin explaining this on MSNBC. McCarter included the whole quote. Here’s part of it:

It’s like you can say, “I think the currency is phony and everybody should be allowed to make up their own money.” You can say that, but the minute that you start printing your own money, now you run afoul of the counterfeit laws, and it’s the exact same thing with the Electoral College.

Clawson reported that “The media has embraced the claim that free speech means freedom to commit crimes.” McCarter explained that a tax cut package for rich people was stopped in the House by Republicans. Yeah, that’s right. The 2017 Tax Scam capped the federal deduction for state and local taxes down to $10K. It was to punish people in blue states where state and local property taxes are higher. Getting taxes above that amount only happens to rich people. Republicans in blue state districts want that cap removed. Republican leadership want to keep the cap for the same reason they added it in 2017.

So the one thing that Republicans could long be counted on to accomplish—tax cuts for the rich—is out of their reach because the cuts wouldn’t go to the right rich people. Those supposed moderates are blocking it, but not because they want more help for more people, and not because they want to use the real leverage they have in this closely divided Congress for good. They aren’t bucking leadership on the stuff that is so damaging and polarizing: the abortion bans, the LGBTQ persecution, the book bans.

They also voted for all the poison culture war pills in the defense authorization. So don’t think of them as the good guys. Stephen Wolf of Kos Elections reminded us of the six swing states in the 2020 election. They were ripe for election subversion (and we certainly saw attempts in Michigan). As Wolf explains, with the official swearing in of Janet Protaseiwicz onto the Wisconsin Supreme Court, four of the six – Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – now have Democrat or progressive majorities in their high courts. And they will be able to protect elections. Jeff Sharlet wrote the book The Undertow about our current Slow Civil War. Before I wrote about it I lost access to his original thread describing the book and haven’t yet found it in the Thread Reader. I did find other threads he’s also tagged with Undertow and here are excerpts from one discussing trans kids.

Childhood—the freedom to discover who you are—is under attack. Parents & kids usually go together. So if you’re speaking of “parents’ rights,” whose rights are you *not* mentioning? Yeah. Kids. “Parents’ rights” replaces kids’ right to figure out who they are w/ parents’ “rights” to tell them who they must be. Kids don’t always understand when adults are being passive aggressive. But they feel it. That’s the gaslighting. Adults taking advantage of kids’ limited experience to attack them & then tell them it’s for their own good & if they feel bad they’re defective. This is worst—potentially deadly—for trans kids. But even cishet kids are being gaslighted by “parents’ rights.” The policing of their bodies, always too much, has escalated. They’re being taught to look at other kids with suspicion. They’re being made complicit in hate.

A couple cartoons from the comments of a pundit roundup for Kos. I had written about Justice Alito’s latest pronouncements.. Drew Sheneman drew Alito saying:

Congress has no authority over the court. Who do they think they are, billionaires?

Randy Bish posted a cartoon with a guy saying:

Throughout history, whenever anyone thought of a traitor, my name was always the first to come up. And now, it appears that I’m being replaced by some orange charlatan.”

That guy is labeled “Benedict Arnold.”

Getting around school bans and educational arson

The weather forecast earlier in the week said it would snow from Wednesday morning to Thursday evening, dumping eight to twelve inches (though I forget the exact numbers). When I got up this morning snow was not falling and I think there was maybe two to three inches of new snow. Late morning I went out to shovel. That’s when I was reminded that before snow fell yesterday there was a lot of rain. The sidewalk in front of my house had flooded and, of course, froze. On the driveway was a layer of frozen slush under the snow. I got a little ways into the task when my neighbor brought over his snow blower and did the rest. Then he got his steel shovel to see what we could do about the ice on the sidewalk. He was able to brake it up and I scooped pieces out of the way. Turns out we weren’t able to clear as much as we would have liked. So we stopped and he suggested he would try again later in the day when the temperature was a bit higher. I looked at the dirty ice that had been scooped out of the sidewalk and was now alongside and looking rather dirty. I thought this needed a covering of snow to look better. Yep, shortly after I went back inside snow started falling again and continued to fall into the evening. This afternoon the neighbor on the other side ran his snow blower over that sidewalk. I don’t think that brought up any of the ice but probably made it less slippery. And my exercise for tomorrow will be another round of shoveling. No, I don’t have a snow blower of my own. I decided when I moved into this place 30 years ago that (1) I’m still capable of shoveling snow and the exercise is good for me, (2) my driveway is short, especially compared to the houses around me, and (3) shoveling isn’t powered by a gasoline engine releasing greenhouse gases. Though I won’t turn down a neighbor pushing his snow blower. Joan McCarter of Daily Kos reported that the Congressional Progressive Caucus hasn’t given up on Biden’s Build Back Better bill. They’ve been doing a lot of pushing since Joe Manchin declared the bill dead by saying he wouldn’t vote for it. Manchin said on Monday that he was still interested in passing something. On Tuesday he again declared the bill dead. McCarter offered one interpretation: His corporate overlords reminded him of the $300,000 they gave to his campaign when he made a big show of killing the bill the first time. April Siese of Kos reported on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s list of donors for the last quarter of 2021. It’s a list of executives and managers of the energy giant NextEra plus mega donors from other energy companies. She received $51K from just NextEra. All of this in thanks for obstructing the BBB bill. Aldous Pennyfarthing of the Kos community quoted a tweet from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responding to Manchin saying the BBB bill is dead.

Seniors, kids, & people with disabilities in my community have been sleeping with bubble jackets on in 18 degree nights, despite paying rent, bc the NYCHA funding to fix their heating and capital needs is in BBB. Where should I direct them to wait out the cold? Manchin’s yacht?

McCarter reported that Sen. Ben Ray Luján, Democrat from New Mexico suffered a stroke last Thursday. Though he is expected to make a full recovery it may be a while before he returns to the Senate. Which puts a big delay in everything that faces a close vote, such as confirming Biden’s appointees, including the one for the Supreme Court. In the meantime Moscow Mitch said the new Supreme appointee won’t change the balance on the court so Republicans shouldn’t fight it and not make a big deal of it. But since Biden has said he will appoint a black woman a lot of Republicans are spouting off their racism. And Mitch can do little about that. Chitown Kev, in a pundit roundup for Kos quoted Thomas Zimmer of the Guardian:

A Black woman replacing Justice Breyer won’t change the court’s arithmetic. And yet, conservatives still feel threatened by Biden’s announcement because they understand it symbolizes the recognition that having white men dominate the powerful institutions of American life is a problem – and that rectifying this imbalance is an urgent task. They reject the notion that the country’s institutions should reflect the composition of the people; they know representation matters, and that a Black woman ascending to a position like this is also an acknowledgment of past injustice.

Kev also quoted Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post who discussed ways to get around school bans and educational arson. Buy a copy of a banned book for every child in the district. Bring in pop culture icons to lead public discussions on race. Challenge lies put out by politicians and boosted by media. Social medial platforms and universities should make sure their standards are clear – not every utterance deserves a firing, but repeated bigotry should be called out. Marissa Higgins of Kos reported a recent poll by the NEA showed more than half of teachers want to retire early or leave teaching. Reasons include working through whether in-class or virtual, being assaulted by parents over masks, not being paid enough, being overworked when covering extra classes, not having enough resources to help students with mental health issues, and in general feeling burned out. Remember that Republicans want to destroy public education. Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that politicians targeted by the nasty guy are doing much better in fundraising than those endorsed by the nasty guy. At the top of the fundraising success is Liz Cheney. There is an image floating around the internet that has been adapted to a wide variety of memes. It shows a shapely woman in a red dress facing the camera. Behind her is a man walking away from the camera with his head turned over his shoulder getting a good look at the back of that red dress. Beside him is another woman who is much more plain with a disgusted look that says how dare you pay attention to her and not me. I’ve seen several variations of labels (including one with math terms) put on the man and two women. The current one has the woman in the red dress labeled “Dictatorship,” the man labeled “Republicans,” and the plain woman labeled, “America.” That image is part of today’s Cheers and Jeers column by Bill in Portland, Maine on Kos. He also included all the things fascists have going for themselves in America these days (it looks like a quote but I don’t know who is being quoted).

» Widespread fascist voter suppression laws » Slaps on the wrist for fascists who stormed the Capitol last year » Fascists dominating the Republican party (and just enough fascism-loving Democrats to thwart anti-fascist legislation) » An ex-president promising to pardon convicted fascists » A fascist media empire promoting fascism 24/7 » External fascist governments committing fascist cyberwarfare on us » And price-gouging corporations, who benefit from fascism, sitting idly by watching it all happen with a grin matched in size only by the length of their stogies.

There should be 100 votes

Kerry Eleveld of Daily Kos sees signs that Biden might be a very progressive president in spite of his reputation of being a centrist. There is an important difference between Biden and his former boss Obama. Obama was irritated by criticism on the left. The loudest voices tended to be frozen out of the White House. In contrast, Biden seems to be welcoming them in. Also, those mentored by Elizabeth Warren (who is quite far left) are being given jobs that have an impact on policy. In such things as filibuster reform Biden has shown to be willing to evolve his position. This could be very good and very progressive. Sen. Rafael Warnock tweeted:

The last time the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized, George W. Bush was president and it passed the Senate 98-0. Now it can’t even get a vote. We have our differences, but there should be 100 votes to make it easier for Americans to make their voices heard in our democracy.

That last reauthorization was in 2006 and provisions were to last for 25 years. Some were overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013, leading to blatant efforts by the GOP to suppress the vote since then, including the big push to enact suppression laws this year. In the seven years the GOP in Congress went from fully on board with voting rights to fully on board with voter suppression. Yeah, Republicans in many state legislatures were never on board with voting rights, which led to that Supreme Court decision in 2013. The Daily Show tweeted a 42 second video on: Want to be a journalist? It’s easy! Ask your dad. The video shows Chris Wallace, son of Mike Wallace; Luke and Tim Russert; Peter and Steve Doocy; Tucker Carlson and Dick Carlson; Anderson Cooper, son of Gloria Vanderbilt; and several more. This is one of the problems of journalism. The major players are concerned about preserving the family empire. They’re not open to minority voices. An example of that, to gain experience those starting out must take an unpaid internship. But only kids of rich families can afford to do that. Sarah Kendzior quoted a tweet from NBC News:

Prospects dim for Jan. 6 riot commission amid partisan disputes; Republican and Democratic leaders can't agree on who will be on the commission and what exactly it will study.

Then Kendzior responded:

Unbelievably dangerous — and suspicious — dereliction of duty.

Then she quoted her own tweets about episodes of Gaslit Nation discussing the terrorist attack on the Capitol and how little is being done to document what happened and to bring the perpetrators to justice. In another tweet Kendzior added:

Refusal to enforce accountability for brazen crimes is as ominous as the crimes themselves. Criminal elites cannot succeed without complicity and cowardice. This is why officials feign shock to avoid accountability — both for the crimes and for their own failure to stop them.

luispunchy responded to Kendzior:

As others have said, Republicans are scuttling any earnest attempt at a fact-finding commission about Jan 6 insurrection bc they want to keep the facts concealed. Investigate themselves? Complicity runs deep into the GOP.

Justin Hendrix added:

The indications are that the idea of a national commission is on life support. We need to demand this of our lawmakers- even if the GOP refuses to participate.

Promised to investigate

Bree Newsome tweeted:

The left actually does decent job of mobilizing around talking points & challenging false narratives, just doesn’t have same access to major media outlets as right wing. That’s why platforms like Twitter become the primary medium & also why Twitter sparks such consternation. The right wing is able to spew BS unfiltered on networks they control but aren’t able to do it on platforms like this one without sparking an equal pushback from the left that then influences the way things are reported in the news.

Dominique Mosbergen of HuffPost reported that the Equality Act has passed the House. This is the second time the House has passed it, the first time two years ago. The act bans discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity by extending the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also overrides the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (which conservatives have been using to claim religious freedom (to discriminate) is more important than LGBTQ rights. Because the Equality Act is not part of budget reconciliation it can be subjected to a Senate filibuster. So far Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has given support – she was a co-sponsor in 2019 – so we need another nine Republicans. And, alas, we know how likely that is. Sarah Kendzior has lamented that Democrats promised to investigate the nasty guy administration as part of the 2018 campaign. Kendzior has also said the failure to do that (the first impeachment trial could have been about so much more) was a big reason why Democrats lost seats last November. To make her case Kendzior reposted a tweet from December 2019 linking to a HuffPost article of August 2018 listing the 52 things Democrats said they would investigate. The HuffPost article groups the items into broad categories: The nasty guy’s corruption. The pandemic prince’s conflicts of interest. Government business done through private email accounts (the thing they kept nagging Hillary Clinton about). Michael Flynn’s contacts with foreign governments. The 2016 campaign. The failure to produce requested documents. The citizenship question in the 2020 census (thankfully kept off). Issuing security clearances to questionable people (such as the pandemic prince). Plans to gut government agencies. And a general category of waste, fraud, and abuse, which included the botched response to hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. The Muslim ban. Politicized hiring of immigrant judges. Loyalty tests in the State Department. And much more. By Kendzior’s reposting that tweet I suspect this was a campaign promise that was not at all met. The list is longer now and still isn’t being met. Which leads to an important question: Why?

Asking us to become numb to mass death

Mark Sumner of Daily Kos discussed a couple articles from the Washington Post and one from the Los Angeles Times to discuss some first-person accounts of police battling the Capitol insurrectionists. The Capitol and DC police felt they were the last barrier between the attackers and mass murder of members of Congress. They saw many of their opponents were other police and former military. They also saw their opponents had planned for weeks and had trained. The DC and Capitol police had problems communicating with each other and saw the attackers communicate very well, able to call for reinforcements in one area or another. Their opponents had their own shields and batons and used them. They were beaten and outnumbered several hundred to one. And it was obvious their opponent’s intent was to assault members of Congress. Some perpetrators are now, through their lawyers, trying to claim it was a peaceful protest. No, it was not peaceful. It was horrific. David Neiwert of Kos says some state capitols, like Lansing, are prepared for the possibly violent mobs expected to show up in all 50 states starting on Sunday. But most capitols are not. There is a tool all states have that should be used. That tool is that private armies and paramilitary activities are banned by state constitutions or laws. Those who show up to protest or attack could be arrested for being in the militia. Alas, these bans are not enforced and haven’t been for a long time. One reason to back away is thinking the state might violate Second Amendment rights, even though in 2008 the Supreme Court decided that the Second Amendment is separate from banning paramilitary organizations. States are also stymied by “constitutional sheriffs” who refuse to enforce laws against militias. Alexander Sammon of The American Prospect noted a difference between the Squad and establishment Democrats. The Squad’s members are quite progressive and the membership doubled in the last election. The members are Marie Newman, Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, and Cori Bush who joined Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Ayanna Pressley. As the attack on the Capitol was winding down Bush tweeted:

I believe the Republican members of Congress who have incited this domestic terror attack through their attempts to overturn the election must face consequences. They have broken their sacred Oath of Office. I will be introducing a resolution calling for their expulsion.

Other squad member jumped in to be cosponsors. Just a bit later Omar tweeted:

I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment. Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate. We can’t allow him to remain in office, it’s a matter of preserving our Republic and we need to fulfill our oath.

Again, others declared support. Now contrast that with what establishment Democrats tweeted. First Joaquin Castro:

Senators @TedCruz and @HawleyMO should immediately resign.

Senator Mazie Hirono isn’t any better.

To Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and everyone who’s joined them in their stunt to try and overthrow a free and fair election: it’s past time for you to stand down too.

And from Speaker Pelosi

Sen. Schumer and I are calling on President Trump to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol grounds immediately.

I’m glad the Squad is there for actual action. Joan McCarter of Kos thinks Moscow Mitch will try to slow down the impeachment trial. And he may have a way to do it – the Senate also has to confirm Biden’s cabinet and to pass the $1.9 trillion virus relief he just proposed. McCarter wrote about the possible benefit of delay:

The problem McConnell and those Republicans face is that every day that passes reveals more horrific details of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and more implications that there was a level of Republican institutional support for it, from members of Congress who might have been complicit to the Republican Attorneys General Association. There's a whole lot of smoke right now obscuring just how deep the plotting for the insurrection went, and when it's cleared it could be exceedingly bad news for Republicans. That's where the delay—allowing for a lot more discovery—could help seal Trump's fate with Republicans.

Kerry Eleveld of Kos reported that after the second impeachment the nasty guy released a five minute video (on the White House Twitter account because his own has been turned off). The sequence of events is important, like he’s trying to polish his image just a bit. Here’s some of what he said:

“I want to be very clear: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week. Violence and vandalism have absolutely no place in our country. And no place in our movement. Making America great again has always been about defending the rule of law, supporting the men and women of law enforcement, and upholding our nation’s most sacred traditions and values. Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for. No true supporter of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could ever disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans.

It is amazing to hear him say that. It’s quite a flip from what he’s been saying. He must really feel his future is in jeopardy and that whatever violence has already been planned will be blamed on him, worsening his future. However, there are a few things he didn’t say, as others have pointed out (though I didn’t save the links). The important one: He did not say he lost the election. Ben Franklin tweeted a reminder:

The more extreme they become (like the capitol invasion), the more incentive there is to go for broke since they are digging themselves into more and more trouble if they lose power. … Now tie in a strike on Iran and maybe a little infrastructure failure and we’ve got ourselves a recipe for a full on coup attempt in the twilight days of the trump administration.

Sarah Kendzior tweeted:

Trump is asking Americans to become numb to mass death because that's his default mode. By tomorrow, over 400,000 Americans will be dead of covid. For decades, Trump confessed his apathy toward mass death, interrupted only at times by his glee over mass death. Officials ignored the profound danger of having and leaving him in office. None of this had to happen. It should go without saying, but apparently everything needs to be spelled out these days: Trump and his backers want people to be numb to mass death so that they are also numb to mass murder.

Mark Sumner of Kos reported that the political ads for 2022 have already started. They’re running against the GOP members who helped the insurrection. The post had a photo of a billboard with the words “Josh Hawley is a traitor.” It’s been a while since I had on an opera from the Met’s free streaming service. Today it was Capriccio by Richard Strauss. It was his last opera, premiered in 1942. Strangely for the time, it is set in Paris, though the words are German. It is an opera about opera and wrestles with the question: Which is more important, poetry or music? I personally wouldn’t have bothered with the question. But I write music, not poetry. The question is personified by a countess in love with two men, a poet and a composer. Both are trying to woo her. It is her birthday and in the background is a theater director trying to turn the poet’s latest work into play. The countess comes across a solution: combine the words and the music and create … an opera. About themselves and the events of that day. Some of the discussion seems a bit tedious. But as part of the festivities the director brings in a ballet couple to the drawing room and that was humorous. The ballerina flirted with all the men and annoyed the women in the room and her male partner showed his annoyance as she strayed from the choreography. Then there was the ensemble of butlers commenting as they clean up while the others leave and the countess prepares for dinner. They’re writing an opera? Next thing you know they’ll want to put butlers in it. Then the prompter appears, declaring nothing would happen without him. The last 20 minutes is the countess alone on stage trying to decide whether to marry the poet or the musician, as she sings beautiful music. For an idea of Strauss’ style listen to the tone poem Don Juan or the opera Der Rosenkavalier or his Four Last Songs. For something more challenging there are the operas Elektra and Salome.

Don’t traumatize your people

A little dark humor to start – click to see what cartoonist Nick Anderson of Daily Kos has to say about the presidential transition. Today the Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court threw out five challenges to the election in one decision. The nasty guy’s team has now lost 35 of these cases. Shortly after that Pennsylvania certified Joe Biden’s win. Nevada will certify soon. Biden has enough Electoral College votes. And that’s before Arizona and Wisconsin certify next week. I had mentioned that Carl Bernstein has identified 21 GOP senators who are contemptuous of the nasty guy. Investigative journalist Marcus Baram tweeted in response:

Every congressional reporter needs to track down these senators and persist in asking them a simple question: “Why are you so scared of President Trump that you can’t go public with your thoughts?” And the key thing is to keep asking that question, even after they bob and weave and avoid answering it. Follow up until they answer it.

Karla Monterroso tweeted about what it’s like to be sick with COVID. Her fever cycled up and down several times. She was hopeful every time it fell, then her hopes were crushed when the fever rose yet again. The disease also crushed her family. The rising fever broke her mother’s heart each time. Her mother argued to come take care of her, but doing so would be deadly. Her brother wanted a text when she awoke every day and when she slept extra hours he would worry whether she was still alive. When the fever finally left and didn’t come back she was too weak to care for herself.

You traumatize your people. And you hate it. The project of keeping you alive consumes you and them. And they can’t even be with you. Because the act of being with you could put them in the same position. It is maddening. So that’s my pitch. Do everything you can to keep from traumatizing your people. From breaking them and yourself so continuously that it gives you PTSD to just watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Do everything you can to keep them from traumatizing you. Stay home. Be safe.

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas tweeted another reason why I’ll be alone at Thanksgiving:

Another thing people don't realize is that even if you and your loved ones don't get COVID-19, even if no one you know does... even if you're that lucky… ...the surge will mean that once again *all other health care services will be overtaxed & many will be inaccessible.* More than 25 million people in this country have asthma. I'm one of them. Access to an ER can mean the difference between living and breathing, or a different outcome. But ERs are full. What about heart attacks? Strokes? Aneurysms? Gunshot wounds? Hell, even acute appendicitis? It's not just COVID-19. It will be the horror atop horror when you and your loved ones can't access any kind of health care. Please stay home.

A lot of the virus relief programs Congress enacted last May expire the day after Christmas. Have a happy holiday! As for another relief package, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted:

If you want to know why COVID relief is tied up in Congress, one key reason is that Republicans are demanding legal immunity for corporations so they can expose their workers to COVID without repercussions. Dems don’t want you to die for a check. That’s what we’re fighting over.

Joe Biden tweeted:

The election is over. It’s time to put aside the partisanship and the rhetoric designed to demonize one another. We have to come together.

Sarah Kendzior responded:

You know what would actually unite this country? An end to elite criminal impunity. I'm serious. This is a unifying issue. (Except for, of course, the criminal elites.) We're not only seeing the same crimes, we're seeing the *exact same criminals and enablers* getting away with them again and again due to our failed and corrupt institutions. Elite criminal impunity is truly a non-partisan crisis. No one wanted to see child rape traffickers Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell roam free; or the mass murdering Sackler family get a slap on the wrist. People want to be protected from their crimes. And we want the truth. Trump is a symptom of the broader disease of elite criminal impunity. The lines between corporate crime, organized crime, and state crime have blurred -- and ordinary Americans suffer as a result. There must be a gutting of endemic corruption for the US to truly move forward.

Jonathan Smucker wrote a book about political organizing on the left. He tweeted:

FDR famously said to the labor movement, "Make me do it." That's the job of our movements right now in relation to Biden and Dems in Congress. When you say, "They'll never do anything for us," what you're really saying is, "Our movements are too weak to make them deliver." Focus on our part of the equation, which is to build & wield the power of working people to push for change. How do we build collective power? - Join a people's organization - Contribute time & money - Learn organizing & campaigning skills that add to our collective capacity The Dem Establishment has more money and resources than us, but that's only part of why our movements aren't winning more. Another important part is that we're at the end of a 40-year period of decline of left infrastructure (e.g., unions & organizations). We have to rebuild.

And 70 million people voted for him

The latest episode of the podcast Gaslit Nation, titled Klown Kar Koup appeared last Wednesday. I waited until the transcript was available before I discussed it. The hosts are Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa. Both have studied authoritarian regimes. In the first part of the episode Chalupa reminded us that control of the Senate depends on two Georgia races that went to runoff to be held on January 5. If we help the two Democratic candidates – Jon Ossof and Rafael Warnock, we can sideline Palpatine Mitch McConnell. Then Chalupa gave an introduction to the two candidates. I’ll let you read that part. Both of them would be great additions to the Senate. Then Chalupa reminded us of the work of Stacey Adams, who lost being governor of Georgia because she ran against the guy who controlled the voting process. Adams has been hard at work against voter suppression and for voter turnout. Chalupa said to keep two things in mind:

Number one, play the long game. Fight like hell to plant seeds and fight like hell to make those seeds grow, and know that every failure is just fertilizer. You keep going. You keep marching. Number two, stop trying to win over white moderate voters. Expand your voting base by showing voters of color that the system does work for them, and that good things do happen when they vote and they get involved, okay?

Abrams’ efforts – and her book Lead From The Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change – provide a blueprint for how other Democrats can win in red states shifting towards blue. Her efforts were not about building the Abrams brand, but building democracy. Kendzior talked about two days of calm last weekend which included watching Joe Biden’s acceptance speech and not have to fact check for her kids every few seconds. Savor the win and the work we put into it. Enjoy the dancing in the streets. Enjoy that we did it in the face of historic levels of voter suppression (including lots that hasn’t been made public yet) and in the face of the pandemic. Let the sense of possibility uphold you for what comes next. One reason why I write these posts is to prepare myself and you for what might come. Hold on to that sense of possibility …

because you're going to need that strength and that vision of the future to propel you forward for the next two months, because we have said from the very first episode of Gaslit Nation that this time period between November 2020 and January 2021 is going to be one of the worst time periods of American history, full of violence on the ground, protracted court battles, authoritarian maneuvers. And we didn't even know about the pandemic.

Even without the nasty guy the forces, predominantly white supremacy, that put him in the White House will still be there, ready for a backlash in 2022 or 2024. That’s unless we pull it out by the root and confront it. The nasty guy did a lot of damage in four years. Chalupa said he would have done more if we hadn’t slowed him down. Chalupa then reviewed some of those actions: demanding a recount of 2016; the Women’s March and many more marches; protests against the Muslim ban, against kids in cages, for impeachment; building the Big Blue Wave of 2018; people showing up for each other; building independent media; and working to make sure Biden’s win was overwhelming. Those institutions that protected us were protected from the bottom up. Chalupa said that people were dancing because they felt relieved for their own safety and the safety of their children. The violent people were becoming emboldened.

Genocides begin with propaganda, and Trump is a propaganda machine. It starts with people emboldened to discriminate, to bully others, and the temperature turns up as the government passes more and more discriminatory laws and rolls back protections. We will not survive four more years of Trump, not this Trump or any Trump. So I want to make clear to everybody listening in other countries, this fuse of genocide exists everywhere, waiting for a leader to come along and light that fuse. No country is immune. You have laws, norms, a culture of accountability to keep the fuse out of reach. But in America, with Rupert Murdoch and the consolidation of far-right media–Rupert Murdoch, who is the son of eugenicist–the fuse has been lit for a while, and now we have a proud white supremacist refusing to leave the White House, and 70 million Americans voted for him. He's openly murdering hundreds of thousands with his greed and corruption and 70 million people voted for him. He let Putin–mass murderer Putin–put a bounty on the heads of US troops in Afghanistan leading to their deaths and 70 million people voted for him. Donald Trump is a mass murderer, and 70 million people voted for him and they repeat his propaganda back to you, calling his list of crimes fake news. We have to do everything we can now to be self-reliant and organize to get this fuse of genocide extinguished and out of reach through accountability and norms and just building a culture of tolerance and fairness for everyone.

Kendzior reviewed how dangerous Bill Barr, the head of the Department of Overturning Justice, is and what he has been doing on behalf of the nasty guy and the GOP over the years. Beyond Barr’s giving federal prosecutors approval to pursue voting irregularities we haven’t heard much from him. What is he planning? Kendzior said:

None of this should surprise you, the fact that Trump refuses to concede, the fact that he's trying to monetize his refusal to concede (constantly demanding money from his supporters), the fact that he is trying to cause as much destruction whether he stays in or doesn't. The next two months are about that. The process itself is its own goal. It's not just about the outcome. The process is destruction, theft, violence between Americans. If he manages to stay in power, all the better. … Biden is the president-elect, he should act like the president-elect. We should act like Biden is the president-elect. But we also need to be very aware and talk in plain terms that this is an attempted coup. This is the Republicans, backed by a transnational crime syndicate, trying to create a one-party autocratic state. This has been their goal the entire time and it was completely predictable that they would take it to this level.

The nasty guy has been trying to stir up his supporters, getting them out on the streets and fighting people who voted for Biden. Kendzior is also worried about foreign countries, like Russia, who will try to take advantage of the chaos. The worries are greater because of a series of firings and resignations of key people in national security. Chalupa mentioned the book How Fascism Works by Jason Stanley. Chalupa said one part of the book is, “The fascist needs to always be the victim.” Kendzior again:

I was thinking about all the parties–these spontaneous street celebrations that happen over the weekend–those are as effective as protests in communicating the disgust and the rejection of Trump and his administration. That is the people expressing their will in a way that is rarely covered in the media, where they would always try to seek out the downtrodden Trump supporter and make them into victims to accompany Trump's own sense of victimhood, his own sense of martyrhood.

And a bit later:

Trump has made a number of bureaucratic changes. This is a strange thing for any lame duck president to do. The most significant among this is that the Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, either resigned or was fired. There's some debate as to what happened. As for himself, he said he was not willing to be Trump's yes man.

Which means yet another “acting” Secretary of Defense (and periods where there was no SoD at all), and that means no oversight or accountability. That can mean all sorts of weapons deals and take all sorts of actions without public knowledge. There is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issuing cryptic and aggressive comments about Iran and jetting off to Israel to meet with Netanyahu, also the target of protests. Netanyahu is vulnerable, the nasty guy is vulnerable and they seem to be talking about a war with Iran. Kendzior reviewed that the nasty guy has dealt in arms trading and is now a part of the Russian Mafia. What are they going to do to protect their asset? Kendzior said:

One thing that has just terrified me from the moment he took office, is that Trump has had a 40-year fascination with nuclear weapons and with using them. And he is a fatalist. He believes that the world is going to end in nuclear war. He has said this for decades. He's also said, if we have nuclear weapons, why don't we use them? For Trump, it's like... You know how most old people have some sort of bucket list wish, like, I want to go skydiving or I want to travel to Europe? I am worried that Trump's bucket list is like, “I want to be the guy who launches a nuke. I want to be the president who does that. I want to be the person who pushes that button.” Let me remind you that Trump has unilateral power over launching nukes.

Chalupa discussed the election from the Democratic view. The party is divided between centrists and progressives. The centrists are blaming the progressives for the loss of Democratic seats in the house. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded that every Democrat in a swing district who co sponsored Medicare for All won their reelection. So don’t reduce the conversation to “anything progressive is toxic.” Chalupa said voters approved police reform measures in six states and police oversight boards in a dozen cities, and not all in blue states. The Green New Deal helped retain seats. Chalupa added:

According to a World Bank report, climate change could force over 140 million to migrate within countries by 2050. That's just 30 years away, and the US is held hostage by a climate change denying fascist party and the Democrats are wringing their hands over being too bold in a time of crisis. Democrats are out there now telling people to trust the science, because of the coronavirus. Now is the time to build on that and urge them to also trust the science on climate change and all the compounding crises of climate change.

Chalupa reviewed how wimpy the Democrats have been since the Bill Clinton years, then said:

Again and again, Democratic leadership have let Republicans set the narrative and jumped through the hoops Republicans held up like little show poodles. Meanwhile, the big changes have come from outside the system, like the Indivisible guide moveon.org, the Stacey Abrams Movement, all built by people outside the system because official Democratic Party leadership eats its own and lets Republicans dominate discourse in our country. You can set the narrative by saying, “hey, we're in a time of crisis, and we have to do something about it,” just like you have to say that right now about the pandemic.

I had written above that the nasty guy has been trying to stir up his supporters, getting them out on the streets and fighting people who voted for Biden. There was a Million MAGA March in Washington yesterday. Attendance was more like tens of thousands. David Neiwert of Daily Kos reported that after sundown it turned violent. The nasty guy tweeted his encouragement. And promoted the lie that the “violent left” incited it all.

We need truth and total honesty

Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa recorded another episode of Gaslit Nation midday on November 4th, the day after the election. It’s titled The Final Countdown. Though ballots were still being counted there were enough that were to allow Kendzior and Chalupa to discuss some results. Chalupa said that people are hurting and desperate for strong leadership. The nasty guy was not that. But neither was Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Several Democrats aligned with Pelosi, some who voted against impeachment, lost. That prompted some to claim people voted against Democrats because they were afraid of socialism. Except… it was The Squad, the progressives, that did well and added members. They didn’t gaslight their voters, they participated in tough conversations, and set aggressive goals in climate change and income inequality. They also explained how supremacy gave us the nasty guy. The big blue wave in 2018 was because people showed up to impeach the nasty guy. That’s what they wanted Democrats to do. For a long time Pelosi shrugged it off, then when she had to hobbled the process by limiting the scope. And this was taken as a betrayal. Pelosi could have had a stunning lineup of witnesses at congressional hearings that would have broken through conservative media. Kendzior pointed out that before Pelosi reclaimed the Speaker job in 2019 the Democrats were holding aggressive hearings. It doesn’t make sense, when people like DeStroy were destroying the election, to say, as Pelosi did, “Vote them out.” People wanted accountability and to know Democrats had their back. Pelosi wasn’t providing that. The Squad, which includes AOC, and other progressives, such as Katie Porter, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren, remained popular. Alas, another person who makes people feel like they are not abandoned, that he’s got their back, is the nasty guy. Though he doesn’t at all – just see what he’s done with the virus. Kendzior said that it was Pelosi, seen as out of touch, that caused the Democrats to lose seats in the House. Chalupa suggests that one reason why Michigan and Minnesota went for Biden is Squad member Rashida Tlaib is from Michigan and Squad member Ilan Omar is from Minnesota. The progressives prevented Pelosi from losing the House. Yet The Squad has to work hard against the corporate control of the Democratic Party. Why, with election hacking as a possible tool for stealing the election, did the nasty guy feel he need to destroy the Postal Service as well? The first could be done in secret, the second was out in public. That question wasn’t answered. Was there hacking in 2016? Probably. But Dems are still arguing over that. Because of that argument and the mocking that went with it election security was an issue no one wanted to touch. But they also refused a full investigation into what did happen. So, by 2022 we need to get election security, including handmarked ballots, in place. In this election there were strange things. There were dramatic changes in votes from groups in southern Texas. Lindsey Graham’s win in South Carolina seems questionable. We need a full audit of this election and do what we refused to do in 2016. There’s a lot of evidence of rigging. That doesn’t negate that millions of Americans voted for the nasty guy a second time knowing full well he’s a supremacist, is letting the pandemic spread, and is a pathological liar. There’s another round of people wondering why the polls were off in a few places. Chalupa said that pollsters, instead of trying to figure out why their algorithms got it wrong, should become election security advocates. That your numbers didn’t accurately predict the outcome is likely a sign of vote theft. They mentioned a few wins by progressive issues. One of those is Oregon that decriminalized drug possession (drug dealing is still a crime). Chalupa made the point that these “progressive” issues really aren’t progressive. That includes universal health care. Leaders should be talking about such things so they are seen as ordinary and no longer as progressive. Doing so is called leadership. Kendzior thinks Biden is more receptive to accountability, to investigating and punishing the nasty guy for his crimes. Even so, there are Republicans, and even some Democrats, who think it is common sense to sweep all that away and focus on the future. But we need truth and total honesty. We need to name the flaws in our institutions. And we need to bring to justice all who have harmed human rights. Yes, all, as in the pandemic prince, Stephen Miller, Stephen Mnuchin, and others considered untouchable. But we – the ones who have suffered – are owed the justice of investigating and prosecuting those who have caused that suffering. We will need to continue to badger Democrats to make it happen. Kendzior said:

I hope people get their values straight, because there's so much that's depressing about this election. It's depressing that so many people voted for Trump. It's depressing that our election security is still in tatters, even though it's never been more overt what the threat is. And it's depressing that the Democratic Party itself wouldn't stand up for the American people, even in the midst of a pandemic. But I am encouraged, somewhat, by Biden, by the Squad, by the more outspoken and activist members of this party, by all those people who aren't holding a particular office right now like Beto O’Rourke or honestly, even Pete Buttigieg, who's been very good on Fox News at countering this disinformation campaign. That might sound like a small thing but it's actually very important and it's difficult to do. There are a lot of good people out there and it's just a matter of those good people getting into positions of power, getting into positions of influence, and never bowing down to this corrupt corporate machine that has subsumed our politics and abandoned our people. There is a possibility for a better future–for a better country–but you're going to have to fight very hard and be vigilant not just against the obvious enemy, but against the enemies within.

Chalupa said:

Please understand, for a post Civil War country that had rampant Nazi ideology, that created a holocaust against countless people–Black and brown people–and created generations of trauma, America, given that we're born out of fascism and genocide, we're doing really damn well, okay? If you accept the fact that America is a far-right country, and that we're coming out of that–that we're trying to evolve away from that for the sake of ourselves and also the rest of the world–we have a lot to be grateful for in terms of what went on last night. So, please, maintain the long view.

Why are voters to the left of the candidate?

Earlier this week I told how I decided to vote for Joe Biden in the Michigan primary for Democratic nominee for president. I wish I had read the February 2020 issue of The Hightower Lowdown earlier.

The Lowdown is written by Jim Hightower and discusses progressive causes. In this issue he discusses the state of the Democratic Party. Some of the party establishment is saying going too far left is frightening voters. We don’t want to sound like scary socialists.

But … 81% of Democratic voters want Medicare for All (or some sort of single payer universal coverage). Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax is favored by 77% of Democratic voters and even 57% of Republican voters. And at least 70% of people (Dems and GOP combined) agree that: College tuition is too high. Pharmaceutical companies should be penalized if prices rise faster than inflation. Government should increase jobs by spending $1 trillion on infrastructure. And corporations have too much power and should be strongly regulated (about 80% of Dems, 75% of independents, and even 49% of GOP agree).

Why are we in this predicament in which the voters are much more to the left of the leading candidate? For an answer, follow the money. This isn’t a right-left issue. It’s a top-bottom issue. And nobody lives in the center. Yeah, the Democratic Party is nearly as beholden to Big Money – corporations – as is the GOP. There is a difference – the GOP is obvious in their fealty to corporate interests. The Dems still call for change, but just things that nibble around the edges.

And the message dictated by the corporate overlords is the same one behind the “electability” issue so hot in this campaign – sure, you might be fine with such a progressive program, but your neighbors aren’t. So don’t scare them off.

Well, only 30% of your neighbors might be scared.

Joe Biden is specifically mentioned as one that quietly scoffs at some of these big progressive ideas. I now have grave doubts he’ll get us out of the mess we’re in.

Interfaith religious left

The damage the nasty guy is causing and the support for that damage he is getting from the religious right has prompted the growth of the religious left as a political force. NPR reporter Tom Gjelton brought us the story a few days ago. Their primary issues are immigrant rights, universal health care, LGBTQ rights, and racial justice. One might wonder what took them so long since the religious right has been politically active for 40 years.

The right organized as a political force because they felt their deepest values were being taken from them. Those on the left are now feeling the same thing.

An early leader in the religious left is Rev. William Barber, who started the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina. Barber has since expanded that into the Poor People’s Campaign. A new leader is Rev. Jennifer Butler, who founded the group Faith in Public Life, which includes the Poor People’s Campaign.

The religious left has a much smaller base than their counterparts on the right. A big part of that is because a large number of progressives are secular. However, an advantage is that the group has an interfaith emphasis. Yeah, there are mainline Protestants, progressive Catholics, and some evangelicals. There are also Muslims, Jews, and every sort of faith group. An interfaith approach makes sense in a diverse country.

This also means a commitment to bridge building. Alliances can be formed between pro-life and pro-choice because both sides want to reduce the number of abortions (though the proposed solutions can be quite different).

Butler says, “There are over a hundred verses of Scripture that say we are to welcome immigrants and welcome strangers.” Her work is driven by moral values and not by politics.

I’m delighted the religious left is getting organized and I’m also delighted to see they have chosen an interfaith path.

He was respectable. You’re not.

This morning I heard the last little bit of an interview of Mychal Denzel Smith on On The Media, a radio show heard on NPR. The segment was about how Martin Luther King Jr. is being subverted by modern culture. Smith has written an article in The Atlantic about other aspects that were discussed before I tuned him. I’ll start with the bit I did hear, which doesn’t appear to be in the magazine.

Back in 2013 I wrote about power and responding to it:

Charity that provides food, clothing, and shelter for the poor is good, but is of limited help. It does see an oppressed person through a period of difficulty. But there are two major drawbacks to charity.

* Charity cannot replace justice.

* Charity allows the giver to believe he or she has done enough, leaving the oppression in place.

Smith decried that Martin Luther King Day has become a day of service. The man who worked to dismantle oppression is honored with charity – which leaves the oppression in place.

I am disappointed that this day of service, this misuse of the great man’s legacy, was initiated by our black president. Alas, I didn’t catch this contradiction before now.

Now from Smith’s article:

Many people recognize King’s moral authority. But that can get misused.

King’s authority was crafted into representing the perfect black manhood. That’s something few can reach – and shouldn’t have to. Modern black men with sagging pants can’t match King’s black suit and white shirt. He was respectable. You’re not. He represented true black culture. Today’s black youth are seen as a perversion of that culture and thus can be dismissed.

If King’s philosophy, tactics, demeanor, and style are the standard, the people who fashion themselves as serious political thinkers have no reason to engage anyone who is not mimicking King. As such, they can limit the parameters of the debate to their sanitized, cuddly version of King’s politics. And without an infusion of differing viewpoints, the status quo is protected, and American institutions can continue their oppression unabated.

Progressive agenda

Richard Eskow wrote in the April 1 edition of the Washington Spectator (not yet posted online) that Democrats need to do more than not be the nasty guy. The party establishment seems to be stuck in thinking resisting the nasty guy will get them a majority in November. However, progressives don’t think this is enough, that the party doesn’t have to choose between pursuing the nasty guy’s base or energizing their own left-leaning base.

So Eskow and fellow progressives created the Agenda for Good Jobs, Sustainable Prosperity, and Economic Justice. They are asking fellow progressives to sign and urging candidates to also sign.

The 11 point agenda does not address foreign policy and national security. It does include:

* Jobs for all, mostly through infrastructure modernization.

* Invest in the green economy, which also invests in jobs and infrastructure. And these jobs can’t be outsourced.

* Support unions and curb CEO compensation policies.

* Opportunity and justice for all, which means to take historical injustices (such as Jim Crow) into consideration to achieve a fair outcome. This includes a fair and humane immigration policy.

* Guarantee women’s equality, including equal pay, preventing sexual harassment, and the right to make their own health and reproductive choices.

* High quality public education, adequate pay and support of teachers, canceling student debt.

* Medicare for all.

* Make corporations and wealthy pay their fare share.

* Global care for working people, reworking trade agreements to protect workers’ rights, consumers, and environment.

* Close the Wall Street casino. Break up big banks, levy a speculation tax, introduce affordable public banking, crack down on exploitative banks.

* Rescue democracy, regulate corporate influence of elections, add public financing so that the people’s candidates can compete with corporate backed candidates, change party rules to ease the way for outsider candidates.

Eskow reports that a few items are popular with sizable numbers of GOP voters. In general the agenda polls well across the political spectrum with a majority in favor.

Perhaps we should be asking our Democrat candidates (maybe GOP too!) to sign the pledge.

Another Washington Spectator article, looks at the nasty guy’s infrastructure plan. Since his plan is to have the federal gov’t contribute only about 13% of what is needed this is what will happen:

* Only rich regions will be able to afford to fund projects.

* If corporations contribute money, they’ll want ongoing profits. We pay forever.

* Projects that that have the most need (perhaps measured by the degree of dilapidation and people affected) won’t get funded. Neither will projects that improve congestion (such as rail) or cross several regions.

Fortunately, Democrats can hold firm so that it won’t pass.

A progressive exchange

For more than a couple decades we’ve had to deal with the success of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which writes model legislation to implement hard conservative ideas, then sends them out to GOP controlled state legislatures for enacting. An example (that I’m thinking about because I just read about it in one of Dad’s old issues of Mother Jones) is the Stand Your Ground laws that shield citizen shooters if there is even the slightest hint of firing in self-defense. Many anti-LGBT bills have also come out of ALEC, such as the various Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that are essentially a license to discriminate. Both corporations and legislators buy membership in ALEC, though the recent round of RFRAs prompted several corporations to withdraw.

And on the progressive side? Similar organizations to ALEC have sprung up, but usually fail to gain traction. Maybe not as many corporate members?

Many progressives have hopes for SIX, the State Innovation Exchange. It is now a couple years old. Though it doesn’t write model legislation it did inherit from a predecessor group a library of 2000 progressive bills enacted in various states. SIX has developed a blueprint, what it calls a 100-day project. It calls for: clean energy, equal pay for women, raising state minimum wages, crack down on wage theft, make tax systems more progressive, and more.

Cling to guns, religion, and tribe

Since the election I have withdrawn from reading most news (including gay news) blogs. I do listen to NPR, but I’m quick to turn it off when they let a Republican talk. A great deal of that withdrawal is because so much of the political news is so discouraging. A part of me wants to say you voted for him, you reap the consequences. Perhaps next time you’ll listen to what the Dems have to offer, even if it is a woman.

Blogger Dallas Taylor wants to knock that idea out of my head. In a post written just before the election (you should know by now that some things can stick in my browser tabs for a long time) he wrote (and I didn’t edit for purple language):

The problem, aside from the damage done and the many, many steps backward that will entail, is that human nature doesn’t work that way. A progressive society is contingent on prosperity. When people ain’t got shit, they start looking out for them and theirs, and fuck everybody else. They cling to their guns and their religion and their tribe harder than ever, because if there ain’t enough to go around then they’ll make damn sure they and theirs get what they need first, and the rest can go hang.
…
You know why shit’s so dysfunctional? Because the goddamned Republicans put party before country, and have sabotaged and vandalized and obstructed every fucking thing that might make things better. They have to, because their whole thing is that government can’t work and is never the solution and if you elect them they’ll prove it to you, as they fucking have for decades now.

Progressive nation

Before the last election Roger Smith wrote a special report for the January 2017 edition of The Washington Spectator (this article online eventually). Smith tackles the “big lie” peddled by conservatives that a solid majority of the country holds conservative views. He does this by looking at the poll results of respected polling organizations on a wide range of issues and over a decade or two. He then sometimes contrasts the type of legislation Democrats have passed (or been thwarted from passing) with the type the GOP has passed. He doesn’t look at election polling, but at issues polling – not who people vote for but what they believe. Smith’s conclusion: we are not a conservative nation.

The obvious question: If we aren’t a conservative nation why are conservatives in control of the federal government and the governments of 2/3 of the states? Why do our beliefs not match our votes? Alas, Smith leaves these questions for others. In addition, what he did write is 6½ pages of an 8-page newsletter. Another article for another time. Here’s a summary of what he did write about:

* Lower the cost of student loans: 82% in favor.

* Increased spending on infrastructure: 75% in favor.

* Raise the minimum wage to $12: 66% in favor. Even 60% of small business owners are in favor of increasing the minimum wage. In 2014 four solidly red states passed increases to their minimum wage rates.

* Raise Social Security retirement age to 69: 66% against.

Yet, in 2014, when the party that opposed all of the above ideas swept into Congress 53% of those polled said they were “happy” with the result.

* Limit campaign spending by Super PACs: 78% in favor.

* Limit campaign spending by individuals: 77% in favor.

* Support of same-sex marriage: this year 61% in favor, a massive swing in 20 years from 27% in favor in 1996.

* Belief that immigrants “strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents”: 59% in favor.

* There should be a way for undocumented non-criminal immigrants to stay in the country legally: 74% in favor.

* “Build a Wall”: 62% opposed with opposition growing the more Trump talked about it.

* Legalization of marijuana: 58% in favor.

* The Affordable Care Act: The GOP likes to trumpet that polls show that 58% said they oppose it. The GOP, of course, leaves out a crucial piece: 43% oppose it because it is “too liberal” while 15% oppose it for not being liberal enough. This last group is looking for Medicare for all. Smith criticizes Dems for failing to explain the ACA, allowing the GOP to define it.

* When asked about Medicare for all, meaning a government-funded single-payer health care system, 58% of those polled are in favor. Thanks Bernie!

* Equal pay for women: 84% in favor, including 77% of Republicans. This is another issue Democrats have failed to seize and adequately explain.

* Tax supported universal child care: 59% in favor. The GOP wants to do this through tax deductions, meaning it is available only those who itemize deductions – which is rarely the working class most in need of it.

* Economy – “Are you making more than five years ago?”: 68% said yes. So maybe this past election wasn’t about the economy?

* Taxation fairness: 64% say they are “bothered a lot” that corporations “don’t pay their fare share” of taxes. 61% say that wealthy people don’t pay their fair share.

* Global warming: In 2014 59% said they felt strongly enough about climate change to support limiting carbon emissions. This year 64% said they worry about climate change “a great deal.” Dems haven’t countered the false GOP claim that we can battle climate change or we can have a healthy economy, but not both.

* Is free trade good or bad? 37% said it is good, 39% said it is bad.

* Defense spending: Those saying to cut back rose from 30% to 35% in five years. Those saying to increase rose from 13% to 35%. Even so, we’re tired of war.

* Who do you trust to handle foreign policy? In 2008 (after Bush II) Dems were favored at 48%. This year the GOP is favored by 40%.

* Abortion: 56% say abortion should be legal either “always” or “in most cases.” 59% say abortion should be legal in the case of rape or incest.

* Gun control: 85% are in favor of background checks at gun shows or for online sales. 79% are in favor of banning guns to the mentally ill. 70% are in favor of a federal database of gun sales. 50% say it is more important to control gun ownership than protect the right to own a gun. 47% say the reverse.

* Capital punishment: 49% in favor, down from 80% in favor in 1995.

A conservative country? Doesn’t look that way. Yet conservatives push that idea. And the people most receptive to that idea? Democratic politicians, led by Bill Clinton and his move towards the center in 1995.

Democrats do not have to accommodate the right. They should embrace – and adequately explain – progressive issues.

Our pain will be far less than their pain

At the end of last week and through the weekend I got a few emails inviting me to an event today. After a busy weekend I wasn’t so sure I wanted to go.

That busy weekend included the opera I saw on Saturday and a Trumpet Summit concert by Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. It featured compositions for up to 8 trumpets. On some pieces a few trumpeters sat out and we heard a brass quintet or a couple trumpets and organ. There was also a tympanist on a couple pieces. All that noise in a lofty stone church made for a glorious concert.

Back to today’s event. It was a press conference called by Michigan United. Their banners say such things as “Justice and Dignity for All” and “Put People and Planet First.” The emails I received were from my church friends because the event was held at Central United Methodist Church, at Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit. This church has a long history of civil rights activism. The welcoming pastor told us that Martin Luther King spoke from the pulpit two weeks before being murdered. In addition, Rev. Ed Rowe, Pastor Emeritus of Central and Co-Chair of the Detroit chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action, has linked up with Michigan United.

I took my notebook intending to take notes of what was said. But as we got started, Ryan Bates, head of Michigan United said democracy is not a spectator sport and called us up to the front for pictures. Well, kinda. We were to serve as backdrop for the speakers while the TV cameras rolled.

Because I didn’t take notes I don’t have a list of the organizations or individual speakers that took part. Bates was the first speaker. He said the purpose of the press conference was to show that a variety of organizations and clergy were opposed to Trump’s policies. His son, now four months old was born prematurely. Under Obamacare that is no longer considered a pre-existing condition, a reason to deny health insurance. And when Obamacare is repealed?

The next speaker, who I think is Latina, spoke of an incident at her daughter’s school in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit. Students in the cafeteria started chanting, “Build the Wall!” The chant grew in volume and participants. The daughter caught part of it on her phone and sent it to her mother. Both are scared. The daughter is now facing harassment for her part in publicizing the event. Or maybe because she is Latina.

Some of the other speakers: An undocumented gay man is the head (I think) of an organization that provides legal help to those facing deportations. A Muslim woman is part of an Arab organization providing similar services. The local vice president of the United Auto Workers said we cannot respond to hate with hate. Our response is love.

Rev. Ed Rowe, of course, spoke. He explained that we had racism all bottled up. Then Trump shook the bottle and popped the cork. Now we have an opportunity to not just bottle up racism, but to deal with it. That got me thinking that perhaps my church, which is multiracial, perhaps should study and then teach others about racism.

Rowe called for a return to offering sanctuary to those who need it. He reminded us that when we impose ourselves between those who need sanctuary and their oppressors we might get hurt in some way. But our pain will be far less than what is endured by those seeking sanctuary.

The last speaker was a local Imam. Yes, that united. The whole event was about 50 minutes with TV cameras running the whole time. There was at least Channel 7 and Channel 2 (the local Fox affiliate). I talked to another attendee who said he wondered how the stations would condense a 50 minute event into a 3 minute news spot. I said that if they cover it at all is good. Just knowing such an event happened is important.

In addition to the TV stations the event was recorded by Wayne State University (I don’t know whether students or staff). That should be publicly available in a few days. The Michigan United site included a link to a tweet that has a picture of the event. I’m not in the frame.

Shortly after I got there another social justice United Methodist asked me if I knew the new significance of the safety pin. I said I had seen a bit of it, but didn’t know what it was about. He told me that people, especially white people, are wearing safety pins as a way of saying to those who aren’t white or Christian that when you approach us you will be safe.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to go because I still feel a bit overwhelmed with taking care of Dad’s house and preparing it for sale. But the nasty guy forced the issue. If I’m to respond to him I need to do it as part of a group. And it looks like I can lend my voice to this group. I don’t yet know frequent their events will be and how many I will be able to attend.

With me in the background I feel like I’m committed. If the national situation does get really bad this is evidence I’ve attended at least one protest of the nasty guy.

Keep the vision of the society we wish to live in

Other bits of news:

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory trusted the political analysis of the state’s Christian conservatives and went all out for the state’s “bathroom bill” that targeted transgender citizens. McCrory didn’t listen to what happened to Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, where a similar license to discriminate bill essentially killed his political career (until he jumped on the nasty guy’s coattails).

At the moment McCrory is on the low side of a very close race to keep his job. He’s down by a few thousand votes and the state won’t certify the results until all provisional votes are counted.



Recreational marijuana was legalized in California, Nevada, and Mass. and lost in Arizona. In Maine the measure is too close to call. Medical marijuana was legalized in Florida, Arkansas, and North Dakota.

Gun control laws passed in California, Washington, and Nevada. Higher minimum wage laws were passed in several states, including Arizona, Colorado, Maine, and Washington.



Michael Moore has a five point plan. My summary:

1. The Democratic Party failed us. Take it over.

2. Fire all pundits who pushed a narrative rather than seeing what was really happening.

3. Any Congressional Democrat not ready to be obstructionist as possible must step aside.

4. Stop saying you were “stunned” and “shocked.” It only means you weren’t paying attention to the despair of your neighbors.

5. Hillary won the popular vote, which means a majority want action on climate change, equal pay for women, debt-free college, raising the minimum wage, universal health care, and they don’t want us invading other countries. The majority of voters agree with the “liberal” position.



George Takei also has things to say, which he did in a series of tweets:

1. We may not have prevailed, but we must not despair.

2. This does not feel like the America we love and honor.

3. We must reaffirm the values we cherish: equality, justice, and the care of our planet.

4. We must stand up to any divisive acts and look for the most vulnerable among us.

5. Keep the vision of the society we wish to live in.

6. This country has lived through slavery and grave injustices. We’ll find our way through this too.

7. In the toughest days we find our true mettle.



I didn’t know this was a thing. After women of Rochester, NY vote, many of them take their “I voted” sticker and place it on the grave of Susan B. Anthony. This year the line for doing so had hundreds in it and was an hour long. The city’s mayor kept the cemetery open until well after voting closed.



There were thousands of people many in many cities across the country protesting the nasty man’s victory. The protests in Manhattan focused on Trump Tower.



This is the second of the last five presidential elections in which the candidate with the most votes didn’t win. Time to get rid of the Electoral College – or at least make it more reflective of the country by getting rid of winner-take-all. The good news is that such a change doesn’t have to come from Congress (since the GOP benefited both times why would they want to?). The downside is what the Michigan GOP considered – assign the Electoral College votes according to which party won each highly gerrymandered congressional district.



It is not completely dark for progressives. Democrats in office are becoming more diverse, such as Catherine Cortez-Masto (Harry Reid’s replacement) who is the first Latina in the Senate, and Tammy Dickworth who is the first Thai-American there. Democrats made gains in western state legislatures, including taking back the New Mexico House. We gained a majority in the North Carolina Supreme Court and kept a couple others (including Kansas!).



Yesterday I wrote about the GOP to-do list. My comments were on the mild side. For example, I suggested the GOP would privatize Medicare. It looks like they would rather kill it. They’re not too fond of libraries either.