Shortly after noon today, President Biden announced to reporters, “We have a deal.” After weeks of negotiations, a bipartisan group of 5 Democratic and 5 Republican senators have agreed to a blueprint for an infrastructure bill with $973 billion in spending, $579 billion of it new.
Morning all! I admit that I was quite cheered up by the suspension of Giuliani's law license. Now he needs to be permanently disbarred. His son--who is even more of an ass than he is, because he started his idiocy earlier--wants to be governor. Even the Repugnicans in NY can't abide him.
I know that this is a forum for discussing the ways in which current events and history collide, even when HCR doesn't talk about a particular topic, so I want to add something to everyone's thoughts today: Britney Spears. Yeah, I know: why do I want to clutter your brains with thoughts of Britney Spears? Because her situation, pleading at the age of 39 to be released from the draconian clutches of a court-demanded and father-dominated conservatorship made up of grifters and exploiters, is one of the most transparent examples of the social and legal culture's systemic war on women's autonomy--akin to the systemic racism outlined and revealed in CRT. Yes, she is white and (if she had control over her money) wealthy but I want to contrast her situation with some other people who have also demonstrated pretty extreme levels of mental illness but did not find themselves reduced to perpetual legal childhood: Michael Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Robert Downey Jr., Dennis Rodman--I could go on. There are numerous examples of men whose behavior has been bizarre, demonstrably troubling, and dangerous yet they are not subject to legal conservatorship and forced under the control of a grifting parent.
If we want to address the systemic oppressions embedded in our legal, social, economic, and cultural systems we have to address the oppression of women. This is what the anti-choice people do not want to admit: they are seeking to control women's bodies and women's legal status. If they really wanted to help women, they would not criminalize the fact that women can become pregnant and instead demand legal controls over men who impregnate them.
I'll probably be writing about the Catholic Church tomorrow--because the contrast between the appalling attempt by the US bishops to deny communion to people whose ideas are different from theirs (see above about controlling women's bodies) and their silence on the over 1000 and counting mass graves mostly of children found on the sites of Catholic-run so-called boarding schools for First Nations children stolen from their parents in Canada is making me nauseous.
Linda, I very much agree with you. Since Britney Spears is competent enough to continue an active and income-generating public career, surely she is competent enough to make her own decisions - including to choose her manager and her financial advisors. This is cut from the same cloth as the self-righteous goons calling themselves governor and ministers who confined and banished Anne Hutchinson from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 for the crime of being a woman with her own mind; and as the 20th century creeps who rounded up, confined, and abused thousands of woman for the alleged sin of being suspected of having venereal disease. Somehow men, especially WW I soldiers, were innocent victims with no role in sexual transmission of disease.
source books
American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante, 2004
The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison "Promiscuous" Women by Scott W Stern, 2018
As Jimmy Kimmel observed recently, "Trump's inner circle is almost as small as his hands right now — even Jared and Ivanka are said to be distancing themselves from presi-daddy," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "Trump has reportedly become so distant from Ivanka, he's started calling her Eric, which is really sad. And they say that Trump is now, without his family at his side, he's become increasingly surrounded by shady groupies and enablers who take advantage of him to advance their own agendas. He's like a monkey and three giraffes away from being Michael Jackson in 2008."
Systemic control over her. She has been tortured by the system, her father --- and her lawyer, the courts. Wounded and clubbed, Britney Spears came forward by herself. Who is at her side? May Women stand with her. Thank you for this important comment, Linda
And you are correct to bring this up. Women have long been taken advantage of by men in their lives and held down by a patriarchal system. Equality means equal, ALL of us deserve that basic right - equality. Thank you.
I was appalled to learn that BS must financially support both sets of lawyers -- those who defend her and those who oppose her. What a scam!
(And if you didn't catch Stephen Colbert's monologue last night, find it on YouTube. He masterfully crafts sentences about her predicament using her songs' titles.)
If the Catholic Church was consistent in their punishment of those they thought “ faithless,” they would simply move them to another parish but not tell anyone why it was done.
I witnessed this at Hope-Haven/Madonna Manor a large boys home in Louisiana under the Archdiocese of New Orleans where I worked in the 1980s. Brother Harold was caught molesting the boys and they shipped him off to Texas. IDK where or if he still had access to boys. BTW, that institution was shut down after millions of dollars in lawsuits from ppl who were there before my time being abused by nuns, priests in brothers.
The Fitzgerald Institute of Real Estate at Notre Dame identifies the Catholic Church as the largest, non-governmental owner of real estate in the world owning roughly 177 million acres of land, most of which is untaxed.
So true Rob. I recently found out the main priest running our parish was a 'conductor' on the underground railroad of abusive clergy replacement. Makes me sick and explains the behavior of boys who were altar servers.
Excellent description of the horrific treatment of this woman by the legal system. How this continued for so long is beyond me. And, yes, the hypocrisy and arrogance of the Catholic Church is on full display for all to see. Despicable.
And don't forget the Catholic bishops failed to deny communion to their predator priests who raped children and vulnerable adults in their care! Such hypocracy!
If Brittany wasn't so talented and adored by fans contributing to her wealth, this would not have happened to her despite her mental illness struggles. The fact that it has continued for so long what she has had successful treatments, is appalling.
I was glad to see Pramilla Jayapal explain to Rachel tonight how she got a secret vote in the House progressive caucus that showed overwhelming opposition to the bipartisan bill - enough to sink it - if there was not actual action on the reconciliation bill at the same time. Seeing that poll gave Pelosi the power to make the demand she did about how the bills would be voted on, and all of that is why Biden and Shumer, who are to "go along to get along" they might well have sold things out for the opportunity to say hosannas to "bipartisanship," had to come around as they did. I have to say I didn't think the progressive caucus could hold themselves together that way - it's a big win for our side to force that.
Saw the interview, too. Fascinating. My question is whether the Republican support will hold. Hard not to be skeptical, given the past. Some of them are complaining about Biden's linkage with the much bigger bill. If the Democrats pull this off, it will be a tremendous accomplishment for Biden, others, and of course the country.
Agree. Republicans reject from the compromise infrastructure bill the provisions that are to be passed via reconciliation. If reconciliation passes first, I fully expect Republicans to vote against the compromise bill.
It appears to me that those of us who had high hopes for this administration will have to readjust our expectations. I think it is safe to say no Republicans, not even this "bipartisan five", will vote to pass any legislation that will not -- in their estimation -- improve GOP election prospects in 2022. This is their bottom line and has been since the days of Reagan and Newt.
That said, there is so much under-maintained and crumbling infrastructure that even some Republicans believe it is in the national interest to spend a few hundred billion to shore things up. I mean we can't drive our huge SUV/Pick-ups to buy groceries on pot-holey super highways, can we? But trying to put a dent in our outsized contribution to global warming is another story, and unless the parliamentarian has developed a real soft spot for Biden, Schumer et al, "reconciliation" to pass the more important part of the original bill is just a pipe dream.
In other words, nibbling away at our urgent problems is just not enough, as the Earth -- at least our presence here -- is running out of time. If it takes losing some crucial votes to wake people up, so be it. IMHO, of course.
Actually, the reconciliation bill they intend to pass is that Big Bill you want to see, and the parliamentarian not only gave them the green light for that, she gave them the green light for more than one reconciliation bill in a fiscal year, which is how it's getting done. The fact it is the Big Bill that's needed for climate change et al is why progressives are fighting so hard for it.
Agree TC. That is a big “wam bam thank you ma’am.” I think the Dems use of some carefully placed and orchestrated restraint which a majority can pull off; not patience or a sigh or resigned acquiescence or frustrated aggression….can be strategic and cunning. Especially faced with the brand of reckless abandonment of principle and truth that the leadership of the Repubs has demonstrated.
Agree. The Repubs are boxed in. The downside for them of not doing anything, or stopping everything is greater than the upside of 'owning the libs' to the increasingly organized suburban base. People are getting very tired of a dysfunctional Congress. "Do your job dammit and quit whining all the time." Any parent who has suffered through adolescences growing up has been to this rodeo.
I am so tired today..and when I first read your remark I thought you said '...I believe the vast vomiting Americans are not...'! I though that was a funny remark!
Sit back and watch the Democrats fight among themselves while the Republicans , by and large, remain united towards a common goal; take back the Congress.
Reconciliation requires that Manchin and Sinema go along with the Progressive caucus ideas. Not going to happen.
I don't know which reality you're living in, but it's not here on Earth I, where Manchin and Sinema stated yesterday that they are on board with the reconciliation bill, and so far as "Dems in Disarray" is concerned, you'll only find that over on your favored "news" channel, Faux Znooze. So, back to the troll farm, comradski - no borscht for you tonight.
A Russian troll! And I thought he was just a mildly confused Republican. Pretty clever, same initials as the late, jolly and beloved former Vice President. These folks must be psychology whizzes.
However, it goes up for vote and it is up to those who cosponsor the bill and support it to sell it to their caucus members. It is true, there is a possibility it won't pass but at the same time, the Senate is a deliberative body and having it on the floor to debate, offer amendment and vote on it is the job, the point. Not everything is a guarantee to pass, and honestly, not everything should pass. They should make it the best version of the bill that can pass.
@cheerio Where Democrats fall woefully short is they do not make the Republicans pay a political price for their obstruction. By any measure, this country is sliding toward mediocrity. Our society is morally crumbling, becoming more dangerous and violent by the day. The wealthy have an iron grip on the politicians to the great detriment of the vast majority. There's a dearth of leadership and no one to guide us as the result of decades of selfish pay-to-play politicians. Our standing in the world has slipped as the result of our failure to uphold democratic values. Each year, we become less competitive, seemingly resting on our laurels of we're number one. Many Americans take umbrage with anyone who points out our failings, but maybe our greatest weakness is, we lack the humility to admit that America is truly on the decline.
Don Mead. Please offer some suggestions on ways the Democrats can make the Republicans pay other than the DNC & affiliates buying lots of air time to make clear what the people's elected Republicans are blocking to the detriment of the American people. The only other solution I see is to fight hard to get Democrats elected to a good majority in both houses of Congress.
I have to add, though, that I agree that our country is sliding toward mediocrity.
Yes. the point, for the Democrats - and it's an important one! - is, that like Caesar's Wife, they "must not only be virtuous, but be seen to be virtuous." They're the ones who compromised, who went the extra ten kilometers with the GOP, and if the deal blows up, it will be covered only with GOP fingerprints. If that happened, the entire thing would pass as reconciliation, with the votes of Manchin and Sinema, since they got the recognition they wanted for bipartisanship.
So, HHH, what do you suggest? I detect admiration for McConnell in your comment. Things might be simpler and clearer if the GOP takes back Congress in 2022, at least for the GOP. And what good is a goal if it isn't common?
I imagine that Manchin and Sinema will be allowed to enjoy a week or two of accolades before they're deep sixed by the Trumpets. I hope they have at least figured that out.
Well, I can herd cats too, with a garden hose (I don't like them crapping in my freshly seeded beds). McConnell's proper due might be 10 years or so sporting orange in stir. Should just about complete his lifespan.
I'm glad you're having a relatively early night, Heather, and equally glad I have the opportunity to speak for your multitude of admirers and express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for your daily gifts. Don't know what I'd do without your letters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I think there is enough evidence that the talking head on OAN has already crossed the line by making an implied threat that people he deems to be 'traitors' should be 'executed'. We already have a real-world example of what happened when President Trump exhorted a screaming mob to walk to the Capitol and "fight like hell" to preserve his presidency. This particular moron is trying to pull off the same sort of performance. He belongs in jail. There is nothing in the First Amendment that excuses is incendiary language and invitation to mayhem on grounds of free speech. Congressman Ted Lieu's pleading with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the dogs is essentially a waste of breath. McCarthy is completely complicit with Trump and his hotheads because he thinks that in two years he will be Speaker of the House, and third in line of succession to the presidency. What a disgusting performance he and his cohort have engaged in in this over-the-top power play. There is nothing in the so-called 'safe harbor' legislation for Internet providers that allows any one of them to make not-so-veiled threats of killing political opponents for opposing their rolling coup d'état. If it were up to me, I would have that guy frog-marched into jail before breakfast tomorrow morning
The person vomiting such hideous stupidities probably did so anonymously....name of the game when playing such games on internet. Time to end pseudonyms etc on social media and time to make the site and its server responsible for content....like any other media.
I hope they know that if they start violence, they’re subject to experiencing violent consequences. I’m sure they’re now on someone’s hit list. They need to be taken off the air ASAP for everyone’s safety, including their own.
I think so too, but public health officials, politicians, poll workers. elections officials and now teachers and school board members (due to the CRT issue) receive death threats daily. Elections officials, poll workers, teachers and school board members are quitting or being removed in droves because of all of this.
It’s Black and white, it’s Cult, Fascist, agnd Sir Rudy is going to jail. As are Trump, Barr, and others of their cult. The GOP is not the Grand Old Party. It’s the Grifters Oligarch Party.
In order for the temporary suspension to NOT become permanent, Rudy has to prove that his lies aren't lies, so it's pretty much permanent.
The decision gives him 20 days to ask for a hearing where he can provide evidence that he was telling the truth. If he can't prove that his lies were truthful facts, the temporary suspension becomes a permanent disbarment.
I am again traveling, so at least a half dozen comments on other folks’ comments are not being made.
In the motorcycling world, I learned a helpful phrase: You can be right, or you can be dead right. This was sometimes also called the “lug nuts rule”. Briefly, if you have the right of way, and a vehicle with more than your four lug nuts decides to violate your right of way you have essentially two options: give way and continue the ride, or be right and get crunched. I hope to heck that the progressive caucus chooses to not be dead right.
I wish a good morning to all those here before my 0600 PDT arrival. The “Strawberry Moon” appears to have exercised its influence in spectacular fashion today.
My lesson from my motorcycle days after dumping my bike on a country road where I was really riding well: "You don't know your limits until you exceed them." You can't ride a motorcycle while patting yourself on the back. :)
Oh yes that little phrase applies to so so many different issues right now. And I agree regarding the progressives - Pushing for perfection (or close to it) just might completely stop some small headway being made. This has been mentioned here many times, but why is it so impossible for the Democrats to work together? Somehow the Repubs manage it, dont they? Why if WE are aware of that difference - why the heck arent our D politicians? Its certainly been pointed out enough times.
Describing these people as (political) "extremists" is somewhat misleading and it's resulting in relatively restrained reactions. These people are terrorists, albeit homegrown terrorists, they should be pursued and prosecuted expeditiously. The longer this festers, the greater the risk of lives being lost and damage that cannot be undone. Yes, some of the terrorists are anonymous and will evade prosecution. But, they are supported and encouraged by people who are well-known and in powerful places.
The Republican party has morphed from an irresponsible and reckless political party to a state-endorsed terrorist group determined to overthrow the government and forcibly install their brand of authority and justice. These are the same tactics Hitler and the Nazis used to gain power. They believed that they were the chosen ones who would save Germany and lead the world.
If I was a Democratic politician, I would, first and foremost, publically reaffirm my oath of office declaring in no uncertain terms that I will do everything in my power to defend the Constitution. I would then quickly act to root out all the Republican politicians who have disavowed their oath of office, and openly defied the Constitution. Most in the Republican Party should not be anywhere close to a position in government because they do not support democratic governance, the Constitution, nor the rule of law. Their failure to hold Trump responsible for high crimes and misdemeanors speaks volumes about their guilt. Their unwillingness to investigate the insurrection exposes their complicity in the insurrection.
I believe we are rapidly facing the dissolution of democracy. If I was a Democratic politician, I would not be acting like this is partisan politics as usual. The Democrats should assume they have one chance left to save the country before Republicans regain power. It's a slim chance and time is not on their side. The path they are pursuing now is wasting time and the odds of bearing fruit are slim. Their entire focus must be on exposing and eliminating the right-wing terrorists starting with Republican members of Congress who have refused to accept the 2020 election results based on the "Big Lie."
If Democrats want to save the country and preserve democracy, they need to act now with a single-minded purpose to crush the Republican terrorists! They must assume they won't get another chance. Urgency is required!
Yes, urgency is required. So long as the Republican Party depends on extremists, it cannot be trusted. I hope the President realizes this. History proves the worthlessness of a handshake: Munich, Yalta, even Appomattox! We must not delay in getting the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and the members of the last administration who committed crimes, indicted, tried and, if found guilty, sentenced. Can undeserved pardons and commutations of sentences be reversed? Extremists have been allowed to wait around too long spouting lies. URGENCY IS REQUIRED. The problem is the very significant minority of Americans who believe extremists' lies and even worse, their fantasies. How do we remove these seeds of its demise from our democracy, without killing it? It's like treating a malignancy while trying to avoid having the chemotherapy killing the patient.
I would think reversal of a pardon would be off the table. My layman's thought is that it would amount to double-jeopardy: being tried twice for the same crime. Though one of the irregularities of this last presidency was the broad use of pre-emptive blanket pardons, based on the similar irregularity of Nixon's pardon -- in principle, one must be convicted (or at the very least, accused in a court of law) of a crime before being pardoned for that crime. These unspecified pre-emptive pardons are themselves dangerous, and it would make sense to me to have them retroactively invalidated in toto as being over-broad, allowing prosecution, conviction, and then (perhaps) a specific pardon granted. But what happens to Paul Manafort if he goes out and robs a bank tomorrow? Is his blanket pardon good for future crimes as well as any and all past crimes? It flies in the face of reason and decency, but as recent history has shown, that counts for spit.
To pick up on your point Joseph, very few blanket (non-specific) pardons have been granted in the last 200++ years, and I don't think any have been challenged to the Supreme Court. Republicans though are always thinking one step ahead which is why they packed the Supreme Court with right-wing constructionists. Biden and the Democrats probably won't get another chance to expand the Supreme Court - they should try to do so now. They also should investigate Kavanaugh and invoke the McConnell rule on Barrett. Maybe the Democrats won't be successful, but at least history will record that they did everything they could to save the Republic. There's no excuse.
Thank you, Jack! I agree and, like you, have used the metaphor of deadly cancer. If not immediately treated, it will spread, and it will destruct the body. This homegrown terrorism is the direct result of a Republican Party that has gone completely off the rails in its quest to gain power at any cost.
The repeatedly failed strategy by Democrats to reason/negotiate with Republicans has never born fruit. The way Democrats are approaching the infrastructure legislation is similar to how they pursued the ACA. The Affordable Care Act did not ensure everyone in America received affordable health care. The way it was written, it was doomed to be attacked and weakened. This infrastructure deal (if it is consummated) will be repeatedly attacked and weakened by Republicans, and in the end, very little will be accomplished relative to the huge amount of work that needs to be done on infrastructure. Republicans are united on one thing - deny Democrats a success!!
Ellie, my take is that Don using 'they' is referencing the Democratic politicians that DO NOT seem to be standing up in their position of power to do all the can to confront the crisis at hand. We all need to be in this fight.
And I want to thank you Ellie for all of the assistance and guidance and inspiration and support you give to to this community. I know I certainly appreciate and act on it.
The police have been criticized for not apprehending someone making threats on social media, after the person has committed a mass shooting. At what point should those now making threats under the cover of political free speech be brought in and their weapons taken away? In other democratic countries I think law enforcement would be on the move; France, Germany, Norway, the UK. We know from Jan 6 what the Trump Thugs will do. Why wait until innocent people are dead to act?
Again, when in every forum, including this one, will we stop buying into the DJT hoax of calling themselves "Republicans", and call them what they are, "Trumpers", while asking the "Real" Republicans to stand out and be counted? Example: I was walking our dog in a retirement/extended care community where we are members. In front of a cottage was a tall man with his small dog. I introduced myself; he did the same. I asked him from whence he had come. He named the state, then said he had worked in a law firm for years, then severed as a judge for 7 years. Hmm; I asked, "what are your politics?" He looked me straight on, " Staunch Republican, have been all my life!" Okay your honor, I asked, "Do you believe, or support those who claim, that DJT won the 2020 election?" He turned his head almost 90 degrees, almost as if I had touched his face with a wet fish. After a long pause he turned not quite square on, and said in a very quiet voice, "No, I do not". We agreed to have coffee after we both return after the summer.
Thanks for some good Moos! We do need a channel dedicated to Good News. I also liked the story of the NRA guys tricked into speaking to over 3000 empty chairs. While the underlying message is tragic, the fact that a family who lost their son to gun violence was able to cook up this fabulous scheme was uplifting, and hopefully this video will go viral. Rachel Maddow show Thursday.
I saw the Macdo thing...never made the French national media. I often have to go to the British or other European papers to find out about "politically inconvenient" things that happen here.
Some comments tonight seem a bit higher than usual on gibberish vs content, and on a hunch I checked and discovered that there is indeed a full moon!
"The first full moon of summer 2021, also known as the Strawberry Moon, rises tonight (June 24), marking the last supermoon of the year. June's full moon arrives Thursday (June 24) at 2:40 p.m. EDT."
Furthermore, (non sequitur warning):
"Krispy Kreme released a new strawberry-themed doughnut today (June 24). The doughnut is filled with strawberry Kreme, dipped in strawberries and Kreme icing, and topped with graham crackers representing “moon dust.""
And with that, I'm off to sleep (way late) but HCR has become part of my evening routine and I am eternally grateful for her Letters. 💜
Thank you, HCR for a cogent summation of what is, always, a "busy day" of news.
I think, at some point, all of Congress wants to produce "something" to provide a proof-of-concept and justification for their job/position. The "compromise" announced today may be the best deal that can be made, but it is still just in the "ingredient" stage to me. Nonetheless: how a significant investment in the infrastructure of the Country isn't an easy vote is beyond me. UNLESS you THINK that it may benefit BIPOC...then it is a stretch....For the GOP. And so we are stuck, again, in the Senate. Hate to hand anything to the, "colored," folk...says the good Senator from Kentucky...
In terms of the events of 1/6/21, it is clear that there are certain people that don't want the truth to be exposed in any official way. I get that. If my kid shit the bed at a sleepover I'd like to define history in such a way that the sleepover did not happen. However, this was not your kid shitting the sheets: this was a wholesale attack on the Capitol with the goal of taking over the place to declare their "person" president. What, exactly, would the GOP consider enough of an attack to justify an inquiry, if not this? I just don't get it...unless your kid actually shit
Ask yourself this: If the "assault" on the Capitol was perpetrated by a large group of BLACK people and BLACK people were assaulting police and smashing in the doors to the Capitol, would the then-President have been as tame in his response? Remember, Reverend Ossof was ARRESTED for holding a peaceful vigil in the rotunda... I think, if several hundred BLACK people perpetrated the insurrection, we would have had a much more heavy response, and dead BLACK people.
Mr. McCarthy wants to add to the 'inquiry' the "source" of all "these" insurrections, thereby trying to tie the 1/6/21 insurrection to the larger BLM movement and (seemingly) tie one to the other, but I hope that this effort will be shutdown. How a straight-minded person can equate the assault on the Capitol with the struggle for racial equality is beyond me. Nancy (Pelosi) is now forced to going this inquiry alone, but the facts are really not in question. We have the video and more importantly we have the statements of the people involved. They have, unequivocally, stated that the were there and did what they did to support the former president. This will be what any "inquiry" produces. With or without GOP participation.
And the GOP/trumpeters who committed the seditious-terrorist activity in our Capital on January 6, literally did to America what your metaphorical kid did at the sleepover.
Linda On Okinawa FRIDAY 6/ 25 How does this site keep going a place for everyone with funds generated to pay for all the staff needed to support Letters from an American , and who else could keep this site going? President Biden could appoint Dr. Heather Cox Richardson as an advisor and then which one of anyone writing emails on these sites would be willing to work 12 or 14 hours a day and also teach her classes at Boston University and direct all her other projects, pod casts, interviews and keep your existence so warm and hopeful to others, There is only one earth and we all have the same red blood no matter if we came from fertility goddesses , other planets, or Sky Gods or the pelvic tundra. Freedom of expression is what Dr, Richardson has ignited with her gift in writing about historical events and reflecting on the conflicts all Americans face. I enjoy reading all your emails even if I do not agree with all I read however I am so impressed by eveyone's ideas on this site. Linda 5pm Okinawa -1000 miles from Tokyo and very near Taiwan and Fujian PRC
I kept looking for a post from Linda On Okinawa to see who and what you were responding to. I had to read your post a couple times before I understood that you are Linda On Okinawa! It's early or late, depending on where one is in the world!
You are spot on. HCR devotes an enormous amount of time, energy and scholarship to the Letters while juggling a dozen other commitments and projects. That we can comment freely is icing on the cake.
'“What are the consequences for traitors who meddled with our sacred democratic process and tried to steal power by taking away the voices of the American people?” he asked.
"In the past, ...“Execution.”' Well, for the one who instigated that attemped coup on January 6, Trump, I totally agree. And, what a shame he didn't die last fall of Covid. Then there wouldn't have been a January 6th.
I looks like the Dems' leaders have been taking lessons in "Spock's" 3-dimensional chess. A little slight of hand, a little hardball, a little diplomatic cuddling and a wholesale wracking up of the pressure that they are putting on Manchin to stay on side to agree and reduce effectiveness of filibuster, Progressives to accept half a loaf in each of 2 bills rather than a blatant full-scale political win, Republicans to share a little of the glory while distancing themselves ever so slightly from their "drivers" and "overseers" before Pelosi's committee spills all the stinking beans..... and for them all to give the people what they want and need. Let's hope that this is not just an accident created by "special circumstances" and that the Dems have discovered the true meaning and hardship of leadership.
Excellent analysis Stuart. Repubs really messed up with letting Pelosi do the 'select committee' thing. It's going to be 'drip, drip, drip' for the next 15 months. They have been "Bengazi'd". Karma is a real bitch.
Thank you Heather for your synopsis of yet another dynamic day with causes for celebration (a Biden led bipartisan blueprint for the infrastructure bill and Rudy Giuliani’s fall) and alarm (QAnon sowing the seeds of extreme violence). Wiser minds and cooler heads must define and defend the line between insurgent speech and protected speech.
After scrolling through the comments, many of which are right on the mark, with where we are now with QANON and whatever else is out there is this: it is relatively easy to flummox people who are scared out of their minds. And we have a whole bunch of people scared out of their minds. They can be found in all population and economic and education groups, but more of them seem to be white. Educationally and economically it is more a mixed bag. Some have more than enough and many have not enough. The education they have received has been woefully inadequate to the task of learning to think critically or think at all. The white supremacy model that has been around for centuries of northern European colonialism and economic hegemony means each group is fearful of others even if there are those in each group working for a recognition of what ails us in the United States. What ails us is the product of a strange conjunction between enlightenment thinkers who were also enslavers and who believed in a hierarchy of value as promulgated by the thinkers and religious elites of their own times. All the books Sandy Lewis refers to I have read. Right now I am reading Clint Smith's new book How the Word is Passed. And it is a book that converses with Wilmington's Lie in a very powerful way. What that conversation reveals is today's present situation in which the threat of white supremacy violence is real and not going away. It has always been present. The former "president" (do you know how much money the public spent for him to be 'cured' of Covid?) gave permission for the worst in the American psyche to be unleashed. The Founders were wrong, morally and ethically, to base the nation's economy and their own personal economy on enslavement. The implications of that willful decision will be with us until we face up to the reality of those decisions and the traumatic impacts still rippling throughout the nation today. Attempts to go backwards with gop efforts in statehouses around the nation reflect the power of an ideology to blind and maim all who hang on to it. That's THE reason there was a Civil War. There was no high minded fight for freedom. It was a fight for an economic system aka a business model. If you want to see that spelled out in print read Annette Gordon Reeds book, On Juneteenth, to see exactly what Texas was founded on. Ever since then this business model has prevailed (globally as well) for the most part through organizations like The Heritage Foundation and the A.L.E.C. which use all their tactics including the IRS code (and remember these 2 organizations were birthed during Reagan's era) to push the white supremacy model, calling it everything except white supremacy. I predict a really rocky road ahead. I hope people who know will keep working to bring others alongside so they might understand just how a few are playing all of us off against each other in order to protect their own access to the pie to the detriment of the nation.
Another place where white supremacy Is frequently preached but often ignored as a conduit for racism is the Christian pulpit and not just the evangelical pulpit. The white Jesus, white God, white Mary all with flowing, silky hair and northern European features are the predominant images of those figures in Christianity. This has an age old tradition in European Christianity as wealthy patrons of the Roman church had themselves depicted as saints or martyrs by the prominent (and not so prominent) artists of their day. These traditions in art still strongly influence the perceptions of most people who are Christians. Those types of images coupled with oft barely hidden racist messages embedded in sermons or bible interpretation have done significant damage to millions and millions of people around the world for centuries. It will take monumental effort by millions of people to set things on the right path.
I think your analysis is correct but do not think there is any hope of convincing a majority of white people to share, voluntarily, political power (and, as a result, some of their systemic advantages) with people who have non-European ancestors. If we are to avoid continuing the government by white people for white people that the United States has always had, those who oppose it will have to outvote those who prefer it and force them to accept a fairer system. They have made it clear that if they cannot have a white-controlled “democracy,” they are willing to accept an autocracy, even if it is an outright dictatorship. Because of the advantages in the Senate and Electoral College that the Constitution gives them and the advantages in the House and state governments that they have established through gerrymandering, there are just barely enough voters to outvote them, but it will take a monumental effort to overcome voter suppression and get enough of those voters to the polls to do the job.
Linda, Rex, I agree with most of your analysis of our “racial” dilemma. But I think there is a different approach to a solution that just might yield more “fruit” in a shorter time span.
There is only one race, and that is the HUMAN race. If we can arrive at that conclusion and rally around its reality, we can speed up the “weaning” process and more easily accept our true relationship, one to [each other?] another.
This scientific fact, expounded upon by Darwin in his Theory, was finally confirmed in March 2020, in the UK!
So, the human species is the ONLY species WITHOUT a subspecies. The notion of different races, of whatever color, is a chimera without substance.
Based on this new certainty, we must move forward with a campaign to build a new society and an invigorated civilization, with a fresh perspective on our human family.
Yes, and admirable longterm project. In the meantime we have to outvote the deplorables or continue to live under a government by white Americans for white Americans (“white” in the sense of having no non-European ancestors in the past, say, hundred generations, or identifying as such a person).
Morning all! I admit that I was quite cheered up by the suspension of Giuliani's law license. Now he needs to be permanently disbarred. His son--who is even more of an ass than he is, because he started his idiocy earlier--wants to be governor. Even the Repugnicans in NY can't abide him.
I know that this is a forum for discussing the ways in which current events and history collide, even when HCR doesn't talk about a particular topic, so I want to add something to everyone's thoughts today: Britney Spears. Yeah, I know: why do I want to clutter your brains with thoughts of Britney Spears? Because her situation, pleading at the age of 39 to be released from the draconian clutches of a court-demanded and father-dominated conservatorship made up of grifters and exploiters, is one of the most transparent examples of the social and legal culture's systemic war on women's autonomy--akin to the systemic racism outlined and revealed in CRT. Yes, she is white and (if she had control over her money) wealthy but I want to contrast her situation with some other people who have also demonstrated pretty extreme levels of mental illness but did not find themselves reduced to perpetual legal childhood: Michael Jackson, Alec Baldwin, Robert Downey Jr., Dennis Rodman--I could go on. There are numerous examples of men whose behavior has been bizarre, demonstrably troubling, and dangerous yet they are not subject to legal conservatorship and forced under the control of a grifting parent.
If we want to address the systemic oppressions embedded in our legal, social, economic, and cultural systems we have to address the oppression of women. This is what the anti-choice people do not want to admit: they are seeking to control women's bodies and women's legal status. If they really wanted to help women, they would not criminalize the fact that women can become pregnant and instead demand legal controls over men who impregnate them.
I'll probably be writing about the Catholic Church tomorrow--because the contrast between the appalling attempt by the US bishops to deny communion to people whose ideas are different from theirs (see above about controlling women's bodies) and their silence on the over 1000 and counting mass graves mostly of children found on the sites of Catholic-run so-called boarding schools for First Nations children stolen from their parents in Canada is making me nauseous.
Linda, I very much agree with you. Since Britney Spears is competent enough to continue an active and income-generating public career, surely she is competent enough to make her own decisions - including to choose her manager and her financial advisors. This is cut from the same cloth as the self-righteous goons calling themselves governor and ministers who confined and banished Anne Hutchinson from Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637 for the crime of being a woman with her own mind; and as the 20th century creeps who rounded up, confined, and abused thousands of woman for the alleged sin of being suspected of having venereal disease. Somehow men, especially WW I soldiers, were innocent victims with no role in sexual transmission of disease.
source books
American Jezebel: The Uncommon Life of Anne Hutchinson, the Woman Who Defied the Puritans by Eve LaPlante, 2004
The Trials of Nina McCall: Sex, Surveillance, and the Decades-Long Government Plan to Imprison "Promiscuous" Women by Scott W Stern, 2018
More books for my list!
Thank you for this.
Add donald trump to the list of men demonstrating erratic behavior without being confined.
As Jimmy Kimmel observed recently, "Trump's inner circle is almost as small as his hands right now — even Jared and Ivanka are said to be distancing themselves from presi-daddy," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "Trump has reportedly become so distant from Ivanka, he's started calling her Eric, which is really sad. And they say that Trump is now, without his family at his side, he's become increasingly surrounded by shady groupies and enablers who take advantage of him to advance their own agendas. He's like a monkey and three giraffes away from being Michael Jackson in 2008."
Systemic control over her. She has been tortured by the system, her father --- and her lawyer, the courts. Wounded and clubbed, Britney Spears came forward by herself. Who is at her side? May Women stand with her. Thank you for this important comment, Linda
And you are correct to bring this up. Women have long been taken advantage of by men in their lives and held down by a patriarchal system. Equality means equal, ALL of us deserve that basic right - equality. Thank you.
I was appalled to learn that BS must financially support both sets of lawyers -- those who defend her and those who oppose her. What a scam!
(And if you didn't catch Stephen Colbert's monologue last night, find it on YouTube. He masterfully crafts sentences about her predicament using her songs' titles.)
Thank you, here is a smile (about 7:20 in) https://youtu.be/XbZOmg80MQw
Thank you! That was awesome. I pray Brittany is able to get rid of her father's insanity.
I think 'greed' is probably more apt than 'insanity'.
Stephen Colbert is a genius.
If the Catholic Church was consistent in their punishment of those they thought “ faithless,” they would simply move them to another parish but not tell anyone why it was done.
I witnessed this at Hope-Haven/Madonna Manor a large boys home in Louisiana under the Archdiocese of New Orleans where I worked in the 1980s. Brother Harold was caught molesting the boys and they shipped him off to Texas. IDK where or if he still had access to boys. BTW, that institution was shut down after millions of dollars in lawsuits from ppl who were there before my time being abused by nuns, priests in brothers.
The Fitzgerald Institute of Real Estate at Notre Dame identifies the Catholic Church as the largest, non-governmental owner of real estate in the world owning roughly 177 million acres of land, most of which is untaxed.
You can find the details here - https://realestate.nd.edu/research/church-properties/
Just an interesting factoid to remember about them
So true Rob. I recently found out the main priest running our parish was a 'conductor' on the underground railroad of abusive clergy replacement. Makes me sick and explains the behavior of boys who were altar servers.
Good one Bruce! ThE American Catholic Church’s logic is totally inconsistent.
Excellent description of the horrific treatment of this woman by the legal system. How this continued for so long is beyond me. And, yes, the hypocrisy and arrogance of the Catholic Church is on full display for all to see. Despicable.
Yes, Spears sure has been exploited. I've seen the Free Britney Movement, but, I prefer this, much better:
"BS Matters"
which could (and should) include combatting all forms of institutional misogyny.
And don't forget the Catholic bishops failed to deny communion to their predator priests who raped children and vulnerable adults in their care! Such hypocracy!
Bingo!
If Brittany wasn't so talented and adored by fans contributing to her wealth, this would not have happened to her despite her mental illness struggles. The fact that it has continued for so long what she has had successful treatments, is appalling.
Brilliant, Linda!
I was glad to see Pramilla Jayapal explain to Rachel tonight how she got a secret vote in the House progressive caucus that showed overwhelming opposition to the bipartisan bill - enough to sink it - if there was not actual action on the reconciliation bill at the same time. Seeing that poll gave Pelosi the power to make the demand she did about how the bills would be voted on, and all of that is why Biden and Shumer, who are to "go along to get along" they might well have sold things out for the opportunity to say hosannas to "bipartisanship," had to come around as they did. I have to say I didn't think the progressive caucus could hold themselves together that way - it's a big win for our side to force that.
Saw the interview, too. Fascinating. My question is whether the Republican support will hold. Hard not to be skeptical, given the past. Some of them are complaining about Biden's linkage with the much bigger bill. If the Democrats pull this off, it will be a tremendous accomplishment for Biden, others, and of course the country.
Agree. Republicans reject from the compromise infrastructure bill the provisions that are to be passed via reconciliation. If reconciliation passes first, I fully expect Republicans to vote against the compromise bill.
It appears to me that those of us who had high hopes for this administration will have to readjust our expectations. I think it is safe to say no Republicans, not even this "bipartisan five", will vote to pass any legislation that will not -- in their estimation -- improve GOP election prospects in 2022. This is their bottom line and has been since the days of Reagan and Newt.
That said, there is so much under-maintained and crumbling infrastructure that even some Republicans believe it is in the national interest to spend a few hundred billion to shore things up. I mean we can't drive our huge SUV/Pick-ups to buy groceries on pot-holey super highways, can we? But trying to put a dent in our outsized contribution to global warming is another story, and unless the parliamentarian has developed a real soft spot for Biden, Schumer et al, "reconciliation" to pass the more important part of the original bill is just a pipe dream.
In other words, nibbling away at our urgent problems is just not enough, as the Earth -- at least our presence here -- is running out of time. If it takes losing some crucial votes to wake people up, so be it. IMHO, of course.
Actually, the reconciliation bill they intend to pass is that Big Bill you want to see, and the parliamentarian not only gave them the green light for that, she gave them the green light for more than one reconciliation bill in a fiscal year, which is how it's getting done. The fact it is the Big Bill that's needed for climate change et al is why progressives are fighting so hard for it.
Well that's great news TC, now were just back to needing Manchin and Sinema to actually be Democrats.
Both of them have indicated they are on board with the reconciliation bill.
Then it's a done deal? I don't have to be pessimistic?
With the state of the Republican party and those conservative Democrats, you always have to be pessimistic, David.
Agree TC. That is a big “wam bam thank you ma’am.” I think the Dems use of some carefully placed and orchestrated restraint which a majority can pull off; not patience or a sigh or resigned acquiescence or frustrated aggression….can be strategic and cunning. Especially faced with the brand of reckless abandonment of principle and truth that the leadership of the Repubs has demonstrated.
I like our playbook. It’s smart.
Agree. The Repubs are boxed in. The downside for them of not doing anything, or stopping everything is greater than the upside of 'owning the libs' to the increasingly organized suburban base. People are getting very tired of a dysfunctional Congress. "Do your job dammit and quit whining all the time." Any parent who has suffered through adolescences growing up has been to this rodeo.
"People are getting very tired of a dysfunctional Congress."
Frustratingly, people is defined as those paying attention. I believe the vast voting-age Americans are NOT paying attention at all.
I am so tired today..and when I first read your remark I thought you said '...I believe the vast vomiting Americans are not...'! I though that was a funny remark!
🤣 😂
🤣 I live in a suburb. And am a parent. Thanks for the laugh!
I agree. Turnabout is fair play. Hope Qevin is shaking in his boots. If not, he should be.
As HCR correctly said, a “balancing act”.
Another win for McConnell.
Sit back and watch the Democrats fight among themselves while the Republicans , by and large, remain united towards a common goal; take back the Congress.
Reconciliation requires that Manchin and Sinema go along with the Progressive caucus ideas. Not going to happen.
I don't know which reality you're living in, but it's not here on Earth I, where Manchin and Sinema stated yesterday that they are on board with the reconciliation bill, and so far as "Dems in Disarray" is concerned, you'll only find that over on your favored "news" channel, Faux Znooze. So, back to the troll farm, comradski - no borscht for you tonight.
A Russian troll! And I thought he was just a mildly confused Republican. Pretty clever, same initials as the late, jolly and beloved former Vice President. These folks must be psychology whizzes.
However, it goes up for vote and it is up to those who cosponsor the bill and support it to sell it to their caucus members. It is true, there is a possibility it won't pass but at the same time, the Senate is a deliberative body and having it on the floor to debate, offer amendment and vote on it is the job, the point. Not everything is a guarantee to pass, and honestly, not everything should pass. They should make it the best version of the bill that can pass.
@cheerio Where Democrats fall woefully short is they do not make the Republicans pay a political price for their obstruction. By any measure, this country is sliding toward mediocrity. Our society is morally crumbling, becoming more dangerous and violent by the day. The wealthy have an iron grip on the politicians to the great detriment of the vast majority. There's a dearth of leadership and no one to guide us as the result of decades of selfish pay-to-play politicians. Our standing in the world has slipped as the result of our failure to uphold democratic values. Each year, we become less competitive, seemingly resting on our laurels of we're number one. Many Americans take umbrage with anyone who points out our failings, but maybe our greatest weakness is, we lack the humility to admit that America is truly on the decline.
If you haven't read this recent Kristof essay, may I recommend you do? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/23/opinion/america-security-competitiveness.html?campaign_id=45&emc=edit_nk_20210624&instance_id=33745&nl=nicholas-kristof®i_id=64396271&segment_id=61574&te=1&user_id=256078ffe1651f8f1ffbacdea650435a
If the GOP blows this up, they will pay a price. The ads are already written and need only to be produced.
Don Mead. Please offer some suggestions on ways the Democrats can make the Republicans pay other than the DNC & affiliates buying lots of air time to make clear what the people's elected Republicans are blocking to the detriment of the American people. The only other solution I see is to fight hard to get Democrats elected to a good majority in both houses of Congress.
I have to add, though, that I agree that our country is sliding toward mediocrity.
Not so fast, Don Mead. Its not over ‘til its over.
Yes. the point, for the Democrats - and it's an important one! - is, that like Caesar's Wife, they "must not only be virtuous, but be seen to be virtuous." They're the ones who compromised, who went the extra ten kilometers with the GOP, and if the deal blows up, it will be covered only with GOP fingerprints. If that happened, the entire thing would pass as reconciliation, with the votes of Manchin and Sinema, since they got the recognition they wanted for bipartisanship.
So, HHH, what do you suggest? I detect admiration for McConnell in your comment. Things might be simpler and clearer if the GOP takes back Congress in 2022, at least for the GOP. And what good is a goal if it isn't common?
I imagine that Manchin and Sinema will be allowed to enjoy a week or two of accolades before they're deep sixed by the Trumpets. I hope they have at least figured that out.
.
McConnell?
Give the devil his due. He knows how to herd cats.
Schumer is struggling with his.
Biden realizes that half a loaf is better than none.
Go to hell, you goddamned piece of shit fucking Russian Putin-sucking troll. We should have turned you into a desert of green glass back in 1951.
My goodness, TC found another one...
Love you TConLA
I have up name calling when I graduated from kindergarten.
Seems to your fallback position.
Oh no! No!
Well, I can herd cats too, with a garden hose (I don't like them crapping in my freshly seeded beds). McConnell's proper due might be 10 years or so sporting orange in stir. Should just about complete his lifespan.
He knows how to herd the sycophants. You know the word well, HH?
Hmmm… are blackmail and extortion “herding” tactics?
I'm glad you're having a relatively early night, Heather, and equally glad I have the opportunity to speak for your multitude of admirers and express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for your daily gifts. Don't know what I'd do without your letters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I’m in tears of joy.
Yay!
I wish…
I think there is enough evidence that the talking head on OAN has already crossed the line by making an implied threat that people he deems to be 'traitors' should be 'executed'. We already have a real-world example of what happened when President Trump exhorted a screaming mob to walk to the Capitol and "fight like hell" to preserve his presidency. This particular moron is trying to pull off the same sort of performance. He belongs in jail. There is nothing in the First Amendment that excuses is incendiary language and invitation to mayhem on grounds of free speech. Congressman Ted Lieu's pleading with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to call off the dogs is essentially a waste of breath. McCarthy is completely complicit with Trump and his hotheads because he thinks that in two years he will be Speaker of the House, and third in line of succession to the presidency. What a disgusting performance he and his cohort have engaged in in this over-the-top power play. There is nothing in the so-called 'safe harbor' legislation for Internet providers that allows any one of them to make not-so-veiled threats of killing political opponents for opposing their rolling coup d'état. If it were up to me, I would have that guy frog-marched into jail before breakfast tomorrow morning
The person vomiting such hideous stupidities probably did so anonymously....name of the game when playing such games on internet. Time to end pseudonyms etc on social media and time to make the site and its server responsible for content....like any other media.
Using votee ID
I hope they know that if they start violence, they’re subject to experiencing violent consequences. I’m sure they’re now on someone’s hit list. They need to be taken off the air ASAP for everyone’s safety, including their own.
Yes, like yesterday. I'm afraid this won't stop until someone actually gets killed. And without restraint, it will probably happen before Labor Day.
I think so too, but public health officials, politicians, poll workers. elections officials and now teachers and school board members (due to the CRT issue) receive death threats daily. Elections officials, poll workers, teachers and school board members are quitting or being removed in droves because of all of this.
😔
I agree completely.
Ditto
It’s Black and white, it’s Cult, Fascist, agnd Sir Rudy is going to jail. As are Trump, Barr, and others of their cult. The GOP is not the Grand Old Party. It’s the Grifters Oligarch Party.
Loved the suspension of Guilliani from the NY Bar....as a present danger.
I read the ruling yesterday morning with a smile on my face!
Ha! Same!
Andy Borowitz had a great comment. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#trash/WhctKKWxVFHmMxBZvbKFGtNqjdHbqjgdpMGzkSnPcxxjtnkxgpcwqZZMrrclHtNgsVtXBnq
Made me laugh and laugh.
Made My Day, Pam!!!
Me too.
My smile, Daria, bordered on a slightly rapacious grin.
Now they need to go further and have him disbarred.
https://youtu.be/IUZEtVbJT5c
Do you think it will be temporary?
In order for the temporary suspension to NOT become permanent, Rudy has to prove that his lies aren't lies, so it's pretty much permanent.
The decision gives him 20 days to ask for a hearing where he can provide evidence that he was telling the truth. If he can't prove that his lies were truthful facts, the temporary suspension becomes a permanent disbarment.
Thank goodness! Whew! Thanks
It will no doubt lead to criminal charges and a complete ban.
I hit ‘like’ but I would like to hit ‘Praise all things good and wonderful!’
Agreed.
I am again traveling, so at least a half dozen comments on other folks’ comments are not being made.
In the motorcycling world, I learned a helpful phrase: You can be right, or you can be dead right. This was sometimes also called the “lug nuts rule”. Briefly, if you have the right of way, and a vehicle with more than your four lug nuts decides to violate your right of way you have essentially two options: give way and continue the ride, or be right and get crunched. I hope to heck that the progressive caucus chooses to not be dead right.
I wish a good morning to all those here before my 0600 PDT arrival. The “Strawberry Moon” appears to have exercised its influence in spectacular fashion today.
Morning Ally. Safe and venturesome travels!
My lesson from my motorcycle days after dumping my bike on a country road where I was really riding well: "You don't know your limits until you exceed them." You can't ride a motorcycle while patting yourself on the back. :)
Oh yes that little phrase applies to so so many different issues right now. And I agree regarding the progressives - Pushing for perfection (or close to it) just might completely stop some small headway being made. This has been mentioned here many times, but why is it so impossible for the Democrats to work together? Somehow the Repubs manage it, dont they? Why if WE are aware of that difference - why the heck arent our D politicians? Its certainly been pointed out enough times.
Describing these people as (political) "extremists" is somewhat misleading and it's resulting in relatively restrained reactions. These people are terrorists, albeit homegrown terrorists, they should be pursued and prosecuted expeditiously. The longer this festers, the greater the risk of lives being lost and damage that cannot be undone. Yes, some of the terrorists are anonymous and will evade prosecution. But, they are supported and encouraged by people who are well-known and in powerful places.
The Republican party has morphed from an irresponsible and reckless political party to a state-endorsed terrorist group determined to overthrow the government and forcibly install their brand of authority and justice. These are the same tactics Hitler and the Nazis used to gain power. They believed that they were the chosen ones who would save Germany and lead the world.
If I was a Democratic politician, I would, first and foremost, publically reaffirm my oath of office declaring in no uncertain terms that I will do everything in my power to defend the Constitution. I would then quickly act to root out all the Republican politicians who have disavowed their oath of office, and openly defied the Constitution. Most in the Republican Party should not be anywhere close to a position in government because they do not support democratic governance, the Constitution, nor the rule of law. Their failure to hold Trump responsible for high crimes and misdemeanors speaks volumes about their guilt. Their unwillingness to investigate the insurrection exposes their complicity in the insurrection.
I believe we are rapidly facing the dissolution of democracy. If I was a Democratic politician, I would not be acting like this is partisan politics as usual. The Democrats should assume they have one chance left to save the country before Republicans regain power. It's a slim chance and time is not on their side. The path they are pursuing now is wasting time and the odds of bearing fruit are slim. Their entire focus must be on exposing and eliminating the right-wing terrorists starting with Republican members of Congress who have refused to accept the 2020 election results based on the "Big Lie."
If Democrats want to save the country and preserve democracy, they need to act now with a single-minded purpose to crush the Republican terrorists! They must assume they won't get another chance. Urgency is required!
Yes, urgency is required. So long as the Republican Party depends on extremists, it cannot be trusted. I hope the President realizes this. History proves the worthlessness of a handshake: Munich, Yalta, even Appomattox! We must not delay in getting the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, and the members of the last administration who committed crimes, indicted, tried and, if found guilty, sentenced. Can undeserved pardons and commutations of sentences be reversed? Extremists have been allowed to wait around too long spouting lies. URGENCY IS REQUIRED. The problem is the very significant minority of Americans who believe extremists' lies and even worse, their fantasies. How do we remove these seeds of its demise from our democracy, without killing it? It's like treating a malignancy while trying to avoid having the chemotherapy killing the patient.
I would think reversal of a pardon would be off the table. My layman's thought is that it would amount to double-jeopardy: being tried twice for the same crime. Though one of the irregularities of this last presidency was the broad use of pre-emptive blanket pardons, based on the similar irregularity of Nixon's pardon -- in principle, one must be convicted (or at the very least, accused in a court of law) of a crime before being pardoned for that crime. These unspecified pre-emptive pardons are themselves dangerous, and it would make sense to me to have them retroactively invalidated in toto as being over-broad, allowing prosecution, conviction, and then (perhaps) a specific pardon granted. But what happens to Paul Manafort if he goes out and robs a bank tomorrow? Is his blanket pardon good for future crimes as well as any and all past crimes? It flies in the face of reason and decency, but as recent history has shown, that counts for spit.
To pick up on your point Joseph, very few blanket (non-specific) pardons have been granted in the last 200++ years, and I don't think any have been challenged to the Supreme Court. Republicans though are always thinking one step ahead which is why they packed the Supreme Court with right-wing constructionists. Biden and the Democrats probably won't get another chance to expand the Supreme Court - they should try to do so now. They also should investigate Kavanaugh and invoke the McConnell rule on Barrett. Maybe the Democrats won't be successful, but at least history will record that they did everything they could to save the Republic. There's no excuse.
Thank you, Jack! I agree and, like you, have used the metaphor of deadly cancer. If not immediately treated, it will spread, and it will destruct the body. This homegrown terrorism is the direct result of a Republican Party that has gone completely off the rails in its quest to gain power at any cost.
The repeatedly failed strategy by Democrats to reason/negotiate with Republicans has never born fruit. The way Democrats are approaching the infrastructure legislation is similar to how they pursued the ACA. The Affordable Care Act did not ensure everyone in America received affordable health care. The way it was written, it was doomed to be attacked and weakened. This infrastructure deal (if it is consummated) will be repeatedly attacked and weakened by Republicans, and in the end, very little will be accomplished relative to the huge amount of work that needs to be done on infrastructure. Republicans are united on one thing - deny Democrats a success!!
Why “they” instead of “we?” Be part of the solution?
Ellie, my take is that Don using 'they' is referencing the Democratic politicians that DO NOT seem to be standing up in their position of power to do all the can to confront the crisis at hand. We all need to be in this fight.
And I want to thank you Ellie for all of the assistance and guidance and inspiration and support you give to to this community. I know I certainly appreciate and act on it.
The police have been criticized for not apprehending someone making threats on social media, after the person has committed a mass shooting. At what point should those now making threats under the cover of political free speech be brought in and their weapons taken away? In other democratic countries I think law enforcement would be on the move; France, Germany, Norway, the UK. We know from Jan 6 what the Trump Thugs will do. Why wait until innocent people are dead to act?
Again, when in every forum, including this one, will we stop buying into the DJT hoax of calling themselves "Republicans", and call them what they are, "Trumpers", while asking the "Real" Republicans to stand out and be counted? Example: I was walking our dog in a retirement/extended care community where we are members. In front of a cottage was a tall man with his small dog. I introduced myself; he did the same. I asked him from whence he had come. He named the state, then said he had worked in a law firm for years, then severed as a judge for 7 years. Hmm; I asked, "what are your politics?" He looked me straight on, " Staunch Republican, have been all my life!" Okay your honor, I asked, "Do you believe, or support those who claim, that DJT won the 2020 election?" He turned his head almost 90 degrees, almost as if I had touched his face with a wet fish. After a long pause he turned not quite square on, and said in a very quiet voice, "No, I do not". We agreed to have coffee after we both return after the summer.
Go ye forth!
I love this story. Be bold, fair, and firm, and ask those questions.
Silence is complicity.
IMHO, Fascists is more fitting, Trump is more of a result than a cause.
Lift your spirit with the Marseille McDonald's and the Renegade California Cow:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/mcdonalds-marseille-food-bank/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cows-escape-slaughterhouse-la-diane-warren_n_60d50ee3e4b0600512a074a1
Thanks for some good Moos! We do need a channel dedicated to Good News. I also liked the story of the NRA guys tricked into speaking to over 3000 empty chairs. While the underlying message is tragic, the fact that a family who lost their son to gun violence was able to cook up this fabulous scheme was uplifting, and hopefully this video will go viral. Rachel Maddow show Thursday.
I can't think of a better way to repurpose a McDonald's. Brilliant photo essay. Appalled by a 40% poverty level in the one district.
I saw the Macdo thing...never made the French national media. I often have to go to the British or other European papers to find out about "politically inconvenient" things that happen here.
Really loved this, Ellie!
Oh my gosh... I think this gives me the final push to completely forgo red meat! Yes!
Thank you
Loved this! Thanks for sharing it, Ellie!
Some comments tonight seem a bit higher than usual on gibberish vs content, and on a hunch I checked and discovered that there is indeed a full moon!
"The first full moon of summer 2021, also known as the Strawberry Moon, rises tonight (June 24), marking the last supermoon of the year. June's full moon arrives Thursday (June 24) at 2:40 p.m. EDT."
Furthermore, (non sequitur warning):
"Krispy Kreme released a new strawberry-themed doughnut today (June 24). The doughnut is filled with strawberry Kreme, dipped in strawberries and Kreme icing, and topped with graham crackers representing “moon dust.""
And with that, I'm off to sleep (way late) but HCR has become part of my evening routine and I am eternally grateful for her Letters. 💜
Oy!
and indeed..Oy, oy, oy
I didn't here any wolves howling last night...but the moon was full, enormous and beautiful at 20h41. Gemini here we come....not stupid at all.
Now this is news that's fit to print...morning, JustJanice!!
Thank you, HCR for a cogent summation of what is, always, a "busy day" of news.
I think, at some point, all of Congress wants to produce "something" to provide a proof-of-concept and justification for their job/position. The "compromise" announced today may be the best deal that can be made, but it is still just in the "ingredient" stage to me. Nonetheless: how a significant investment in the infrastructure of the Country isn't an easy vote is beyond me. UNLESS you THINK that it may benefit BIPOC...then it is a stretch....For the GOP. And so we are stuck, again, in the Senate. Hate to hand anything to the, "colored," folk...says the good Senator from Kentucky...
In terms of the events of 1/6/21, it is clear that there are certain people that don't want the truth to be exposed in any official way. I get that. If my kid shit the bed at a sleepover I'd like to define history in such a way that the sleepover did not happen. However, this was not your kid shitting the sheets: this was a wholesale attack on the Capitol with the goal of taking over the place to declare their "person" president. What, exactly, would the GOP consider enough of an attack to justify an inquiry, if not this? I just don't get it...unless your kid actually shit
Ask yourself this: If the "assault" on the Capitol was perpetrated by a large group of BLACK people and BLACK people were assaulting police and smashing in the doors to the Capitol, would the then-President have been as tame in his response? Remember, Reverend Ossof was ARRESTED for holding a peaceful vigil in the rotunda... I think, if several hundred BLACK people perpetrated the insurrection, we would have had a much more heavy response, and dead BLACK people.
Mr. McCarthy wants to add to the 'inquiry' the "source" of all "these" insurrections, thereby trying to tie the 1/6/21 insurrection to the larger BLM movement and (seemingly) tie one to the other, but I hope that this effort will be shutdown. How a straight-minded person can equate the assault on the Capitol with the struggle for racial equality is beyond me. Nancy (Pelosi) is now forced to going this inquiry alone, but the facts are really not in question. We have the video and more importantly we have the statements of the people involved. They have, unequivocally, stated that the were there and did what they did to support the former president. This will be what any "inquiry" produces. With or without GOP participation.
Whether or not our citizens care is the question.
And the GOP/trumpeters who committed the seditious-terrorist activity in our Capital on January 6, literally did to America what your metaphorical kid did at the sleepover.
Small correction: it was Reverend Warnock, not Ossof. Otherwise, great post. Thank you.
You are RIGHT of course…sorry my rant got in front of my facts. I thought I did well just editing the explicatives!🙃
Racist nation, racist historians.
Linda On Okinawa FRIDAY 6/ 25 How does this site keep going a place for everyone with funds generated to pay for all the staff needed to support Letters from an American , and who else could keep this site going? President Biden could appoint Dr. Heather Cox Richardson as an advisor and then which one of anyone writing emails on these sites would be willing to work 12 or 14 hours a day and also teach her classes at Boston University and direct all her other projects, pod casts, interviews and keep your existence so warm and hopeful to others, There is only one earth and we all have the same red blood no matter if we came from fertility goddesses , other planets, or Sky Gods or the pelvic tundra. Freedom of expression is what Dr, Richardson has ignited with her gift in writing about historical events and reflecting on the conflicts all Americans face. I enjoy reading all your emails even if I do not agree with all I read however I am so impressed by eveyone's ideas on this site. Linda 5pm Okinawa -1000 miles from Tokyo and very near Taiwan and Fujian PRC
I kept looking for a post from Linda On Okinawa to see who and what you were responding to. I had to read your post a couple times before I understood that you are Linda On Okinawa! It's early or late, depending on where one is in the world!
You are spot on. HCR devotes an enormous amount of time, energy and scholarship to the Letters while juggling a dozen other commitments and projects. That we can comment freely is icing on the cake.
The paying subscribers to this Substack have insured its future already. If you enjoy the letters buy a subscription.
I think if one wants to comment one has to have a subscription.
Right, that’s how it works.
Yes you are right and thank you, Linda
Clarification, Heather is a professor at Boston College.
Thanks Nancy B.C.! Appreciate knowing, Linda
'“What are the consequences for traitors who meddled with our sacred democratic process and tried to steal power by taking away the voices of the American people?” he asked.
"In the past, ...“Execution.”' Well, for the one who instigated that attemped coup on January 6, Trump, I totally agree. And, what a shame he didn't die last fall of Covid. Then there wouldn't have been a January 6th.
I looks like the Dems' leaders have been taking lessons in "Spock's" 3-dimensional chess. A little slight of hand, a little hardball, a little diplomatic cuddling and a wholesale wracking up of the pressure that they are putting on Manchin to stay on side to agree and reduce effectiveness of filibuster, Progressives to accept half a loaf in each of 2 bills rather than a blatant full-scale political win, Republicans to share a little of the glory while distancing themselves ever so slightly from their "drivers" and "overseers" before Pelosi's committee spills all the stinking beans..... and for them all to give the people what they want and need. Let's hope that this is not just an accident created by "special circumstances" and that the Dems have discovered the true meaning and hardship of leadership.
Excellent analysis Stuart. Repubs really messed up with letting Pelosi do the 'select committee' thing. It's going to be 'drip, drip, drip' for the next 15 months. They have been "Bengazi'd". Karma is a real bitch.
Exactly, Charlie.
Thank you Heather for your synopsis of yet another dynamic day with causes for celebration (a Biden led bipartisan blueprint for the infrastructure bill and Rudy Giuliani’s fall) and alarm (QAnon sowing the seeds of extreme violence). Wiser minds and cooler heads must define and defend the line between insurgent speech and protected speech.
After scrolling through the comments, many of which are right on the mark, with where we are now with QANON and whatever else is out there is this: it is relatively easy to flummox people who are scared out of their minds. And we have a whole bunch of people scared out of their minds. They can be found in all population and economic and education groups, but more of them seem to be white. Educationally and economically it is more a mixed bag. Some have more than enough and many have not enough. The education they have received has been woefully inadequate to the task of learning to think critically or think at all. The white supremacy model that has been around for centuries of northern European colonialism and economic hegemony means each group is fearful of others even if there are those in each group working for a recognition of what ails us in the United States. What ails us is the product of a strange conjunction between enlightenment thinkers who were also enslavers and who believed in a hierarchy of value as promulgated by the thinkers and religious elites of their own times. All the books Sandy Lewis refers to I have read. Right now I am reading Clint Smith's new book How the Word is Passed. And it is a book that converses with Wilmington's Lie in a very powerful way. What that conversation reveals is today's present situation in which the threat of white supremacy violence is real and not going away. It has always been present. The former "president" (do you know how much money the public spent for him to be 'cured' of Covid?) gave permission for the worst in the American psyche to be unleashed. The Founders were wrong, morally and ethically, to base the nation's economy and their own personal economy on enslavement. The implications of that willful decision will be with us until we face up to the reality of those decisions and the traumatic impacts still rippling throughout the nation today. Attempts to go backwards with gop efforts in statehouses around the nation reflect the power of an ideology to blind and maim all who hang on to it. That's THE reason there was a Civil War. There was no high minded fight for freedom. It was a fight for an economic system aka a business model. If you want to see that spelled out in print read Annette Gordon Reeds book, On Juneteenth, to see exactly what Texas was founded on. Ever since then this business model has prevailed (globally as well) for the most part through organizations like The Heritage Foundation and the A.L.E.C. which use all their tactics including the IRS code (and remember these 2 organizations were birthed during Reagan's era) to push the white supremacy model, calling it everything except white supremacy. I predict a really rocky road ahead. I hope people who know will keep working to bring others alongside so they might understand just how a few are playing all of us off against each other in order to protect their own access to the pie to the detriment of the nation.
Another place where white supremacy Is frequently preached but often ignored as a conduit for racism is the Christian pulpit and not just the evangelical pulpit. The white Jesus, white God, white Mary all with flowing, silky hair and northern European features are the predominant images of those figures in Christianity. This has an age old tradition in European Christianity as wealthy patrons of the Roman church had themselves depicted as saints or martyrs by the prominent (and not so prominent) artists of their day. These traditions in art still strongly influence the perceptions of most people who are Christians. Those types of images coupled with oft barely hidden racist messages embedded in sermons or bible interpretation have done significant damage to millions and millions of people around the world for centuries. It will take monumental effort by millions of people to set things on the right path.
Great observation.
And perversely, the majority of religious Black folk in the US totally embrace this White religion, as if it has meaning or truth.
When folks claim the US democracy was founded on christian principles, they do have a point:
It's one sham built upon the falsehoods of another!
Oh, to this conversation one must add a touch of Tom Waits, cocoa beans, and voila, "Chocolate Jesus":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5kHx1itU8c
I think your analysis is correct but do not think there is any hope of convincing a majority of white people to share, voluntarily, political power (and, as a result, some of their systemic advantages) with people who have non-European ancestors. If we are to avoid continuing the government by white people for white people that the United States has always had, those who oppose it will have to outvote those who prefer it and force them to accept a fairer system. They have made it clear that if they cannot have a white-controlled “democracy,” they are willing to accept an autocracy, even if it is an outright dictatorship. Because of the advantages in the Senate and Electoral College that the Constitution gives them and the advantages in the House and state governments that they have established through gerrymandering, there are just barely enough voters to outvote them, but it will take a monumental effort to overcome voter suppression and get enough of those voters to the polls to do the job.
Linda, Rex, I agree with most of your analysis of our “racial” dilemma. But I think there is a different approach to a solution that just might yield more “fruit” in a shorter time span.
There is only one race, and that is the HUMAN race. If we can arrive at that conclusion and rally around its reality, we can speed up the “weaning” process and more easily accept our true relationship, one to [each other?] another.
This scientific fact, expounded upon by Darwin in his Theory, was finally confirmed in March 2020, in the UK!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317215626.htm
So, the human species is the ONLY species WITHOUT a subspecies. The notion of different races, of whatever color, is a chimera without substance.
Based on this new certainty, we must move forward with a campaign to build a new society and an invigorated civilization, with a fresh perspective on our human family.
Yes, and admirable longterm project. In the meantime we have to outvote the deplorables or continue to live under a government by white Americans for white Americans (“white” in the sense of having no non-European ancestors in the past, say, hundred generations, or identifying as such a person).