On Saturday, in Indianapolis, a man killed four people with a firearm in a dispute with his girlfriend over sharing her Covid relief check.
Last night, in the small town of Acworth and later in another town outside of Atlanta, a young man shot and killed a total of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
“Jacob Kimmons, an employee at AutoZone [in Acworth], said this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” “You never see it in a decent area like this. Just to see something like that happen is crazy,” he said. “I just thank the good lord he didn’t come over here and do anything.””
I have a bone to pick with Mr. Kimmons – particularly his characterization that “this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” This kind of violence – killing each other and ourselves with guns – is all too common in every corner of the country – and the good Lord (with respect) has nothing to do with it.
But the lion’s share of my ire this morning, and frankly, my sorrow, stems from the leadership of the Republican party and its twin pillars of pain and prevarication – Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
Kevin went to the border this week to lend his support to our government’s efforts to safely and humanely process children trying to enter the country. Wait – sorry, Kevin was there to shine a bright light on anything other than the President’s success in providing real assistance to Americans struggling to survive the pandemic.
Don’t pay attention to the old guy who just cleaned my clock, pay attention to the mess at the southern border. Damn – if we had only finished building that wall, we wouldn’t have this problem and by the way, Biden is letting terrorists into the country! I know it’s true because the orange guy told me and I think I heard someone say something that sounded like terrorist watch list – could have been “Ted washed last” but that’s not important – what is important is that I have nothing constructive to propose on any subject of concern to the American public and the weather was awful in Washington, so here I am – pay attention!
This while MM thrashes through the Senate rotunda waving threats of open-carry legislation if he ever gains the majority again. That’s right – he will ram through this important piece of legislation that will help so many Americans realize their dreams and true potential.
Legislation as Revenge! Finally, the Republican party has found a purpose that suits its nature. And who better to lead them than the man whose moral compass has the stability of mercury on horseback heading for the barn.
Food for sorrow:
Cause of Death - All races and origins, both sexes, ages 15–34 years
1. Accidents (unintentional injuries)
2. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
3. Assault (homicide)
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 68, No. 6, June 24, 2019
In 2017, the states with the highest rates of gun-related deaths – counting murders, suicides and all other categories tracked by the CDC – were Alaska (24.5 per 100,000 people), Alabama (22.9), Montana (22.5), Louisiana (21.7), Missouri and Mississippi (both 21.5), and Arkansas (20.3), followed by South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and West Virginia.
The states with the lowest rates were New Jersey (5.3 per 100,000 people), Connecticut (5.1), Rhode Island (3.9), New York and Massachusetts (both 3.7), and Hawaii (2.5).
States with least restrictive gun laws: Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Maine, Texas, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona, and Kentucky.
So, Senator McConnell threatens more guns, ready at the hip, in more hands if the Democrats dare to disable the filibuster to pass S-1 (For the People Voting Rights Act), because that is what this is all about. He would rather people die, in larger numbers than they already do, in order to deny the right to vote to people who may disagree with him on lowering taxes for the already wealthy.
It saddens me, truly, that this is the state of the loyal opposition. While President Biden is doing all he can to move the country forward toward a more equitable future, the Republican party is hunkering down for a fight to reassert its strangle-hold on government. A philosophy of revenge, racism and avarice guiding their every move.
R Dooley--great post! My one thing to add: Malevolent Mitch has always been happy to kill people in order to prevent good things from happening to people who don't occupy the echelons of privilege he considers most important. He has actively sought to prevent the "bottom" 60% of Americans (and we are ALL Americans if we reside here, no matter our country of origin) from gaining any economic relief or access to education, jobs (and the training necessary to get them), healthcare, safe housing . . . the beat goes on. His enthusiasm for killing Americans is matched only by his willingness to cheat, lie, and steal in order to enrich himself and his besties.
I will be tremendously disappointed if someone drops pursuit of his wife since I feel pretty sure that would help use up some of his vile attention and also pretty sure most of her activities were with his complete knowledge and agreement. Being his spouse should not confer any increased safety from investigation on her though I fear it does.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that once her "story" came to light, there are people who are fleshing it out, and perhaps will go public at an opportune time.
And don’t forget that you can’t believe a word he says. His hypocrisy with not letting Garland get a hearing, saying it was too late in an election year, then ramming through Amy Coney Barrett is one example.
R Dooley, thanks for the great post, and for the idea of adding our state behind our name! (Done!). A couple of observations from my business travels through many states. This is not meant to defend open or concealed carry, it is just an observation. In the farther western states; Wyoming, Idaho, Montana; there are vast distances through which one must travel, and there are just as vast ranches where people live and work, encountering things many of us only read about in books (like my friend in Montana who was hunting with friends, on horseback, discovering they were being stalked by a mountain lion...fortunately, they all managed to go their separate ways with no issue). There are reasons many working Westerners would have to constantly carry, but for most of the rest of us, living nearer cities and in more suburban than true rural areas, not so much. I can't tell you how many times I have been to a place for breakfast and seen someone walk in with his or her hip sporting a pistol. For what reason? 90+% of the time, it is for show only. There is absolutely no reason for someone other than law enforcement to walk into a suburban/urban restaurant/diner with a pistol...none...and as we have all read, it can cause more problems than solutions. Again, thanks for the research...I'm going to look all this up for more detail. Have a good day!
So many of these "carry" advocates are "ammosexuals" who equate firepower with their identity. So many of these people would not know what to do when confronted with an actual deadly force usage.
Exactly! Lacking a strong self-image and having low self-esteem somehow leads to 'ammosexulaity'. I'll leave the snarky comments about the inverse correlation between caliber and libido for later.
I cannot accept the logic behind these kinds of abstract potential dangers. The major lethal threats to Americans are not rattlesnakes, wolves and definitely not mountain lions; a single instance carries little weight. It is other Americans armed with guns. A gun in a household is more likely to be used against a member of that household than a stranger, even one invading the home.
Sure, there's a case for being armed in remote areas or on sprawling properties. (A counter-anecdote: My cousins almost never go armed on their Wyoming ranch -- a real working ranch since the 1880s, not a dude operation or rural second home -- despite occasional predators and countless rattlesnakes.) But leave the darn things safe at home when socializing, going into businesses or towns.
Very few people have a legitimate need for a gun, let alone multiple ones or carrying them openly in public. The rest is ego, ideology or intimidation, the sinister side of American individualism.
Wouldn't it be awesome if the people that needed to carry went through a healthy couple of classes where they are taught real respect for the deadly responsibility they so flippantly disregard.
I had any number of burglary victims ask me what kind of gun they should get to “protect themselves”. I would always give my best “shotgun is best for home defense” line, and they’d say they wanted a handgun. I’d ask if they really thought they could kill someone. Almost inevitably, they’d say “no, I’d wound them” or “I just want to scare them”.
I’d explain that those beliefs would only get them disarmed and possibly killed; that the only reason to have a gun for self defense is to kill someone who put you in danger of death/serious physical injury.
Our family friends had a handgun for home protection and shot and killed his son when he came home from college unexpectedly in the middle of the night. I understand the reason people want protection in their home but there has to be a better way.
A childhood friend of mine had her leg blown off, literally, when her father used his shotgun in the middle of the night to ward off barking dogs. Another high school friend lost his mother in the same way; his father, a well respected coach, killed her with a shotgun that went off by accident as he was attempting to shoot at barking dogs in the middle of the night. A dear cousin took his own life when his mother denied something he really wanted; he shot himself on a Saturday morning while she was in the next room vacuuming. For those reasons, I have never had a gun. Those tragedies destroyed families as well as lives; they made a lasting impression on me.
The only purpose for guns, any kind of gun, is for killing. The cost of killing another living thing is a burden that many of us carry; hunters (at least those I am familiar with) honor the animal they take in some fashion.
I cannot fathom the horror of having killed someone you love because you "made a mistake" or wanted to silence an inconvenience (like barking dogs, for pete's sake) or to have your firearm used to commit suicide.
The NRA used to focus on teaching gun safety; it was major reason for its founding. In the last c.20 years it morphed into a lobbying group for the firearms industry, and outlet for pro-gun hysterics. Then there's the money laundering they do for Russians donating to the GQP. Are any prominent pro-gun advocates decent, honest or sane? Any?
I took a hunting safety class when I was 12 years old. Definitely remember being taught respect, and going over how it could go wrong in the worse way. It's definitely a different issue now because of the lack of education and the politicization of it.
All gun purchasers should also be shown the scene from the film of "The last of the Mohicans" in which Daniel Day Lewis kills a deer and thanks it for its sacrifice.
My thought for some time has been that we should codify the NRA Range Safety Rules, and put them into the same structure and form that exist around vehicle ownership and operation. License, registration, and insurance required before operation. Responsibility for every bullet that is fired from every gun you own. There are no "accidents", there is conduct ranging from negligence to reckless to intentional to knowing. The penalties should mirror the traffic code: levels of violations, levels of misdemeanors, levels of felonies that match jurisdictional homicide definitions.
Alexander, thank you for your thoughtful observations. I agree, and wouldn't it be a good thing if we could have policies that made sense, with respect to local needs, as opposed to the nonsense we currently endure.
If one accepts this need as legitamate, why would one not just have a rifle as it is more accurate and can defend life at greater distance<. I see no justification for hand guns ......other than to threaten other humans!
R Dooley, thank you for a great post. But I’m not sure we can call the Rs the loyal opposition anymore. Their disloyalty was on full display on January 6 and its aftermath.
Well said R. Dooley! Pass universal background checks. Raise the legal age to purchase guns to at least 21, but I think 25 years old would be better, as that's when most mental health diseases manifest in people. McConnell's threats are part of a playbook of power preservation, not common sense, research, nor decency, Threatening more guns and easy access to guns is a false salve to people with real pain. It is his "fall back plan" claiming more guns will "restore order" when we already all know more guns are the root cause of disorder, as you have clearly and logically have articulated. McConnell only wants to maintain the status quo by manipulating his base's insecurities.
If Mitch McConnell's "scorched earth" threat does not result in IMMEDIATE revocation of the filibuster by Democrats, followed by cramming every conceivable piece of progressive legislation down his lying, conniving throat and and if humanly possible through his disgusting quadruple chin) ... if that doesn't happen (and let me repeat IMMEDIATELY), then there is absolutely no hope for decent Americans. Unfortunately, chickening out would be par for the course. Talk about a line in the sand. If that insulting POS gets away with this, OMG ... SURELY this will be the hormone injection that enables even our neutered and spayed disgraces to figuratively grow a pair.
Yes, it seems so obvious that just as he would not allow Obama to place his supreme court nominee "so close" to an election and then pushed Trump's nominee through so much closer, no capitulation on the Democrat's part would buy any amount of cooperation from him that he wasn't inclined or forced to provide the very second he had the opportunity no matter how hypocritical and underhanded the circumstances. Unfortunately it is intimately tied to the core nature of honorable humans to expect some minimum level of honor within others and thus the vulnerability and thus the weakness.
Emily, I wholly agree with your statement: “it is intimately tied to the core nature of honorable humans to expect some minimum level of honor within others and thus the vulnerability and thus the weakness.” Our governmental system, like all governmental systems, depend on people of honor doing the governing. We no longer can assume that honorable people have the power and authority in our governments - not at the federal or state levels. It is not that honor has been lost - it has been consciously abandoned, dismissed in favor of power and, I’m guessing, money. You captured that very well.
There is a way to reform the filibuster by changing it from 60 needed to stop the debate to having it be 41 to keep the debate going. That puts the pressure on the minority where it belongs. Then the filibuster would go back to being an unusual occurrence but still available.
This would be better than nothing, but why complicate matters? If the Dems are unable to eliminate the filibuster, what makes them think they will be able to vote cloture? Why save this undemocratic rule if any future simple majority, GOP or DEM, can ditch it at a moment's notice anyway? The whole point - in addition to passing essential legislation - is to make it impossible for the GOP minority party to continue exploiting weaknesses in our Constitution. As long as the GOP is the party of privilege, racism and insurrection, it should never govern. The GOP needs to change dramatically or disappear.
While I agree with you, the GOP has planned this for decades and are just about to accomplish minority undemocratic rule where the Constitution will be rewritten like Orwell's Animal Farm. Except Pigs. The immediate issue is to stop them gutting voting rights. A couple of Democrats have been adamant about not getting rid of the filibuster. The only way to get them on board in the short term is to reform the filibuster. "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." -- George Orwell.
Can't Joe Biden - personally - convince Manchin and Sinema to vote to eliminate the filibuster? Has he tried this yet? What is the matter with those two?
David, in yesterday's WaPo interview, Senator Whitehouse pointed out that Manchin and Sinema were not the only Democrats opposed to eliminating the filibuster. They just got the public's attention to this debate. I posted the 30+ minute interview where he addresses your question. Here it is again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3fJBhalEgs
Could they just change it back to requiring someone to actually physically stand and talk? It seems like at the very least it should require some effort so that various parties are more circumspect about it's use.
Basically that's the effect of requiring 41 to keep the debate going. If people don't stay on the floor, the debate is easily stopped putting the burden on those that are trying to stop the bill.
That by itself is probably not enough, since the current GQP would be just fine with grinding the senate to a complete halt for a long time. There also needs to be a limit on how long even those tactics can work. Maybe the votes needed to keep the filibuster going increase by 10% every 5 days, which effectively puts a 3 week limit on the total delay.
Of course, the reason McC is screaming at the idea of any change, is that if the first changes don't result in actual debate and progress, the Dems will make further changes until the senate actually participates in governing.
Absolutely Stephen. MM has thrown down the gauntlet. Either we take him on now or forfeit our advantage. He has proved he’s willing to destroy everything to retain power. The soul of our nation is at stake.
I remember a winter vacation during an especially cold January when my husband a Yalie was reading the book about Dark Money. I’m thinking it was 2016. He kept wanting to tell me about it and I did pick it up to see what he meant but frankly it was so disgusting and I needed rest. The Kavanaugh hearing was a dark circus. Now we’re apparently coming full circle with an investigation that links SCOTUS with the Koch led fossil fuel money. We all need more outrage to support the efforts that HCR has illuminated.
I’m not running out of outrage, Liz, another dear friend this one from Boston North Shore. If it weren’t intemperate and socially objectionable for me to do so, I would have no problem loading up these pages with profanity and insults that come out of my mouth when I read about things like, for example, dear Mr. Ron Johnson’s racist musings. In the privacy of my tractor trailer I’m not short on words of outrage for that so and so. And it doesn’t look anything like what I just posted here. Same goes with Putin‘s pet mule from Kentucky, Cancun Sewage Tank, Missouri Slick, and the horse’s rear end from Georgia’s first district.
I’m just gonna make one more comment about Mr. Ron Johnson, poster boy for all racists in denial and in the closet. If our dear Senator Johnson were talking about any other event, ANY OTHER EVENT, than January 6, I would not waste ink on it. The fact that this loser is part of the group taking money from Russia, including Giuliani and Devin Nunes and Moscow Mitch and the other loser members of Congress that visited Moscow last July 4, should come as no surprise to anybody. Another recipient of funding by the Russia for American Leadership PAC.
The good news is that I am still feeling a lot of joy, I seem to have broken into a new zone there. But joy or no joy, dirt and corruption are offensive. I don’t like dirty officials.
Thank you Roland for bringing up those traitors who went to Russia on the 4th of July. I've been brining it up in conversations and I always ask, why were they there and why hasn't that been spoken about more? And so far, no answers have been heard. Wish I knew a D.C. reporter because I would ask them to ask those people themselves.
#WeNeedAnswers
I think they went there to get their marching orders from ole putie.
Hello Beth. Today it is March 17, 2021. It has taken until now for Sheldon Whitehouse‘s story, his investigation into SC corruption, to make it into the headlines. Now tell me Beth, what do you think about the relative importance of corruption of members of Congress? How does the corruption of members of Congress compare to the corruption of Supreme Court justices? Hmmm?
Greg Olear has at least a dozen articles on Putin’s influence in America to Trump, Nunes, Manafort, and plenty of others, but this article covers the July 4 Squad of Traitors
It is an excellent post about Leonard Leo, someone who is a dark and very potent force behind much of the R's long term malfeasance in our judicial system, esp the SC.
This link was the last straw today. The deeper I dive the more discouraged I become. Just how many Leonard Leos are out there plying their dark arts behind the scenes? Time to clear my head with a walk.
Sounds like Olear is "go to" reading for many of us! Need I say more? It makes the time pass more quickly while I'm on the stationary bike! Shocking, at times, to read but great for my physical well-being! Emotionally, not so!
A large part of the problem is that we are also experiencing a news desert - to coin a phrase. Dark Money - in this case, in plain view, by law - also owns the media. See this May 22, 2017 report by webfx.com. Included in this are graphics literally showing the media assets under control, and the CEOs associated with those 'dynasties.'
THE 6 COMPANIES THAT OWN (ALMOST) ALL MEDIA [INFOGRAPHIC]
"...While independent media outlets still exist (and there are a lot of them), the major outlets are almost all owned by these six conglomerates. To be clear, “media” in this context does not refer just to news outlets - it refers to any medium that controls the distribution of information. So here, “media” includes 24-hour news stations, newspapers, publishing houses, Internet utilities, and even video game developers."
Roland I didn’t mean to imply that any of us are running out of outrage. Actually I think we just need to channel the outrage effectively and while we’re at it to have as much joy as possible. Personally I’ve renewed my League of Women Voters membership and made a donation to them. I do everything I can to back various requests I get to support a host of other issues. We who are fighting to get our democracy back on a stronger footing need to continue doing all the other stuff we do like taking care of our families and ourselves. Unfortunately the years we spent under our wannabe dictator resulted in serious damage that will take time to repair. So we all need extraordinary patience too.
We all know about patience, slow and steady wins the race, but, imho, we are out of time, or at least getting extremely close! We NEED courageous, moral leadership and we NEED to clean our house.
Of course! (to patience, to all of us having outrage, to repairing damage, to joy, to taking care of ourselves and our families, . . . ). When you said “outrage” I was just reminded of my own.
Good stuff, Roland. Another word for rear end, at least in these parts, is patoot, as in a horse's patoot. The etymology of the word? Here's what I found: [1960s+; origin unknown; perhaps fr dialect tout, ''buttocks,'' fr Middle English, pronounced toot, and altered to conform with sweet patootie by folk etymology]. There are many, many on the Republican side of the coin who could accurately be termed patoots. The biggest of all lost the presidential election in November.
For the sake of accuracy, the 4thh of July Field Trip to Moscow happened in 2018. These were the participants:
Seven senators — John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — and one House member, Kay Granger (R-TX),
I've checked pretty thoroughly for a more recent 4th of July Field Trip to Moscow and can't find one.
Thank you very much for the correction Daria. 🙏 Middle of the night, tiny iPhone screen, working somewhere out there on I-5, I’m never at my best. I love being part of this team, I can always rely on somebody else to augment or to complete or to correct.
I wouldn’t lie to you Daria. ❤️ I say exactly what I am thinking. I am completely honest here, with the occasional exception of holding back on the venom. There is quite a lot of outrage available, as I mention here today.
Roland, I couldn’t agree more! Although I’m a product of 16 years of Catholic school, my “colorful” language comes from my Sicilian relatives. But now, my husband says he’s never heard me curse as much as I do now.
And our taxes will usher him into his comfortable retirement for life, with not a worry or a care and a hefty health insurance to ease his woes, all while he feels perfectly free to make these kinds of destructive, ill considered and poorly reflected statements. Does he really have the right to free speech or can this be viewed as incendiary, destructive and/or dangerously fallacious speech and must be closely monitored? And, if monitored, are we then, ourselves, leaning towards a police state? These "misrepresenters" or ignoramuses or Machiavellians challenge my every dedication to the principle of free speech...so, if that is the case, then, who am I?
Here is a good starting point for outrage: Bureau of Land Management employees have been threatened with violence, rape, death and are no match for Kochs cowboy mobsters:
Jan 17, 2021
Dwight and Steven Hammond
When Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson for burning more than 100 acres of federal land, their case became a flashpoint in the fight for control over public lands. (Witnesses testified the fire was intended to cover up evidence of illegal hunting; the Hammonds said they started the fire on their own property to burn off invasive species and it accidentally spread.) “They have become symbols of the way many rural Americans feel they’ve been wronged by federal overreach,” BuzzFeed News reported. Their case sparked a 41-day standoff with federal agents at a wildlife refuge in Oregon, led by Ryan and Ammon Bundy. Many people joining the protest were members of unofficial militias, armed with long guns and pistols and dressed in full tactical gear. One Arizona rancher was killed by police.
The Trump connection: The Hammonds had support both from right-wing extremists willing to take up arms against government regulation and from a multimillionaire oil magnate.
Yes I’m aware of this — there are so many entry points to outrage but the good news about our collective outrage is that the Biden team is actually governing and they only about halfway through the first 100 days.
What those <insert profanity/blasphemy/vulgarity here, this is one time when it is appropriate> did to the Refuge was unconscionable, as unconscionable as their initial "protest" was, and as horrible as their backers are.
Great, "beefy" interview with substantial comments. It's encouraging to listen to politicians who discuss their points of view without pitching sound bites and meaningless flim-flam. Thank you!
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of that sham of a ¨trial¨. Last week I shared a horrific experience with my husband while in college. San name the city and the university. But. Can´t tell you where it happened. Can't describe him. Or them. But it happened. Corporate money is the rape of democracy. There must be a way to stop the monsters.
Sorry to hear that Gailee. Thank you for sharing with us. It chills me to think how common sexual predation is in our world. I just cannot fathom how a human being will allow himself to violate another person. It goes against everything in my being. It’s a violation of all that is right and true. How does a man (boy) live with himself after that? I would never get over the stain on my soul.
TPJ you are so much more courteous and nuanced than I am. Stone blind and black-out drunk, sexual predator, and all-around dirtbag frat boy is more like it.
No SC justice has ever been impeached and convicted. No former president has ever been convicted of a felony, I’m guessing. The Trump administration has an opportunity to make some real history here. McConnell. All the people associated with the 2016 Trump campaign. The Trump staff who organized or hijacked the rally for the US Capitol attack and riot. The January 6 Congress members who voted the wrong way after their lives were in danger, even if like Ron Johnson they thought they were safe as if they were in church. I could go on, but you get the idea. Trump saying he was going to drain the swamp is like Hitler saying he was going to be the worlds greatest leader for human rights.
Here is something that has bothered me. People keep saying that all of the Senators' lives were in danger but when I hear one of the R Senators say as he did that he didn't feel in danger (the bit about how he would have if they had been antifa or BLM was just signalling), then I think to myself "he's probably right about not personally having been in danger since if there was a chamber breach while the Senators remained inside, almost all the Republican Senators needed to do would have been to stand up, identify themselves, and announce "I'm here to vote against the steal" (as they in fact later did) and they would have been embraced as heroes. I doubt that even under mob conditions the R Senators (other than the few known to have voted to impeach for instance) would have been in any danger. The mob was not turning on themselves for instance. He's right - they would not have hurt a hair on his head, which is why several of them were seen smiling and joking during the breach.
Thanks Emily. I politely dissent from part of your remarks. Back in January I commented on the Jan 6 insurrection. (I'll never find it again so here it is, briefly.)
You are correct about Ron Johnson's while male privilege. Yet he's either an idiot, liar, hypocrite, or some combination. No one can ever count on safety, reasoning with or deterring a mob; that is what differentiates mobs from crowds. Mobs do not think; they act, usually degenerating toward worse behavior. They can blindly ignore reality right in front of them. Any grey-haired senator, any greying person, could have been mistaken for Mike Pence and been in mortal danger -- especially masked. Also for Nancy Pelosi and other women.
Jan 6 fits into well-documented patterns of crowd behavior, mobs and riots. Crowds can be controlled; mobs cannot, they are crowds out of control. When completely out of control, mobs become riotous. Jan 6 saw all three phases, though the latter two were not inevitable (that's where the deplorable GQP leadership matters). Mobs only stop when confronted with superior force, or when their energy dissipates and they disperse, which is what happened on Jan 6 in the absence of counter-force.
I've been in countless crowds, never seen a riot, and luckily had only a couple of slight brushes with mobs when living in Zambia. But all my study and experience says that mobs must be avoided whenever possible. A peabrained, privileged Repug senator simply has no credibility claiming otherwise.
Thank you for reading.
D Horowitz, The Deadly Ethnic Riot
EP Thompson, "Moral Economy of the English Crowd," Past & Present 1971
C Weatherford, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Oh he's all of that but also a traitor, and I'm uncertain about the intellectual ability of some of these Republicans since it's so difficult to tease apart from craftiness. I understand the mob mentality idea is behind the assertion all the Senators were in danger, but again, while packed mobs do run over each other as in sports situations (that's the type out there crushing the the poor officer in the door for instance), looser mobs, while they do stop thinking for themselves do surge in a body as indicated by some accepted head or leader rather than break up into interior pub brawls and I do suspect this mob would have accepted a declared Republican Senator shouting "I'm with you". Of course I agree any woman dressed like a Senator would have to have acted quickly, but I can't imagine Greene would have failed to successfully "join" the mob... plus I think those who entered the Chamber first didn't look like that kind of a mob. They had body armor and cuffs and patches, with more calm intent than "mob mentality" or "heat of the moment" or confusion (which I'm cautious with since some of those arrested seem to be using that as a partial defense). So, I can look through more mob psychology literature (thank you for providing a selection) but I guess I'd have to say you feel convinced of the Republican Senator's peril, I am at least dubious, and we both have lost the chance to test the theories by tossing a few of them to this particular pro-T mob. While we can hardly wish for another, I'm a bit sad over the lost opportunity.
A priest, a minister, and a rabbit walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rabbit, What'll you have? Beats me, says the rabbit, I'm only here because of autocorrect.
You've probably read this also, Roland! I find this very troubling - our politics are truly corrupted! I'm sure President Biden is well aware of this as well! I hope Garland and the DOJ have enough evidence (and guts) to really clean "house" (and Senate), literally! Talk about the "fox guarding the hen house" - Yikes!!
Thank you so much brining forth the name of a grand patriot, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse! I remember his insightful and courageous analysis of the corporate ownership of the courts, and our democratic process, through conservative financing from patriarchs of the right, such as Scaife, Coors, Olin.
I didn't go to the network: it was an online post, linked to in another post. And then I checked some of their other posts, just to see how angry Whitehouse is making them. And he's doing an excellent job. I can't watch their programming. Makes me want to start throwing things.
Frederick, thanks for bringing up profiles in courage. Kennedy's original book included courageous people, but many were reprehensible beyond their courageous moment. It was written as a campaign book, covering both sides of the political spectrum to appeal to a broad swathe of voters. The contents of any new edition would be sharply contested. There have been several successors, including one by Caroline Kennedy, but none like that written by a charismatic, martyred young president.
In prepping this comment I stumbled on an interesting title: C Fehrman, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote. I hope to take a look soon. My choice for Best President's Book Ever is Personal Memoirs of US Grant. Let the debates commence.
Marcy, I think you need a personal retreat home ... in Rhode Island, near the sea and a long wide beach. Spend enough time there, and you will be HIS constituent 😁
I have to admit Lynell, I certainly agree with your sentiment, but just can NOT wrap mind around the adjective “handsome” w dynamic women leaders! So, I guess I'll wrap my mind around something else now, like breakfast
OK Frederick, I was gonna say "beautiful" re women but was trying to be gender nonspecific. I obviously failed! I'll go with your excellent use of "dynamic" for each gender.
I’ve read a huge number of comments this morning and, perhaps more than any other day, I feel the rage being poured out.
Between the Whitehouse/Kavanaugh imbroglio and the threats issued by McConnell yesterday, there is certainly a lot of vitriol being poured out. Again I must apologize for not *feeling* what all you are feeling today. There are days when it’s very weird being a part of this site.
It’s also deeply humbling. We in Canada have nothing, nothing whatsoever to compare to the level of venality in government and the role of big money in producing that venality. What we consider dirty pool in government is usually exposed by the Globe and Mail and in any case would not rise to the level of corruption your country endures. It’s not that we are better people of course. We have our own share of terrible scoundrels.
My conclusion is that America has a bad system of government which has been given bucketloads of positive reinforcement over time. The Founding Fathers are revered as men among gods. The Constitution is a sacred document whose words are parsed to the bone when a situation arises that your Founding Fathers could not possibly have predicted.
In reality, the Constitution seems to me to have been a brilliantly written document - *for the times during which it was written*. Sadly, those times have long passed.
It is overly specific as its architects tried to envision every possibility that could arise. Way, way too specific. Franklin, when asked by a woman at the close of their deliberations and writing, “What kind of government do we have?”, to which he replied, “A Republic - if you can keep it”.
Well, to these eyes, it is getting harder and harder to “keep it”. Your two party system leads to the (what I consider idle) threats of a Senator, expert in all the arcane measures of that body for all the wrong games.
The elaborate system of checks and balances leads either to paralysis or unseemly tricks to thwart the opposition and get something through. Any government which has to depend upon such a feeble rule as Reconciliation to pass legislation of monumental importance is a government wrapped in chains.
The filibuster is an absurdity, born out of a desire of one race to constitutionally continue to subjugate another race. Ironically, it has now led to a point where it can be used as a weapon to protect the legislative “right” to cancel out perfectly legitimate votes.
And then there is the Second Amendment. There are more guns than people now in America because of your right to “a well-regulated militia”. Is this what was intended?
And now your rules have allowed those cloaked in patriotism to create massive openings for vast amounts of money to slosh around the system, utterly corrupting it in the process. McConnell and Kavanaugh are two sides of the same coin in this regard. There is a wonderful kind of felicity in how they are linked at the hip. Both paid for. Both bought. Both exploiting a hidebound system to their own ends.
There is no way out of this except incrementally. The Democrats must at least narrow the filibuster and then pass HR1 and various other bills to palliate America. They must (and will, I think) win a series of elections. The Constitution at some point must be tackled in order to modernize and simplify it.
This is a deep, deep hole. You gotta get to the bottom of it. I do not want to be part of a world order where the dominant countries have totalitarian rule - and China seems to be creeping up. Any rational outsider feverishly hopes for America to regain its greatness and be “the” force for good in the world.
I can't "Like" your comments enough! Even though I'm as American as they come, I spent almost a third of my life living outside the US in Europe. Your informed perspectives resonate with me "as someone from the outside looking in", and it is a skill I think I developed to varying degrees myself. I had several Canadian friends and colleagues in my time in Europe (Canadians were part of our English-speaking "underground network" that also had Brits, Aussies, South Africans, etc. as well as us Yanks) and I always valued hearing from them. I always loved the meme I saw some time ago that said for Canadians living just to our north was comparable to "having a flat over a meth lab", especially over the past 4-5 years. Good one, eh? You pointed out several things, pro & con, about this "experiment" in governance we're having down here that I have always thought myself. Thank you for spelling them out so clearly and eloquently! Money REALLY is the root of all evil when it comes to governing, and our system, even with all the flaws in the 18th century document it is based on, has ended up inviting this kind of corruption. Eradicating it will always be a tall order, but trying to cleanse ourselves of it will always be a worthy goal. We simply MUST get voting rights passed here, or we will end up in really dangerous waters. It is of vital importance. Believe me, if totalitarianism becomes the price we pay down here, I might be knocking on your door, dude...
My fear is that as long as our politicians are captive to the largess of big corporate and private donors, our "democracy" will wither. We need campaign finance reform. If SB1/HR1 does not pass (and let me say, it's only a modest proposal) our democratic system will be dead for the foreseeable future.
I don’t know the details of SB1/HR1. Is it really modest only in scope?
That’s a disappointment.
From that springs another facet that seems awry in America - the gigantic power of the states vis-a-vis the Federal government. I’ve read a fair bit about this and understand the deal making required to create and sustain a Union.
But the results are at times ludicrously cumbersome, even dangerous. 50 sets of rules for running an election?? Women having to cross state lines to get a medical procedure? Rules regarding marijuana use varying from state to state such that one would need to be stoned to understand them??
Nothing, but nothing, drives me crazier than the totem of states’ rights. The balance is miles out of whack.
And one last point. The Constitution cleverly danced its way around the whole concept of slavery, shackling it with a fatal flaw from its outset. I realize that confronting it directly would have been an insuperable obstacle to union. But maybe it would have been better *not* go unite at that point if that was the price to pay.
The Constitution is like a marriage between a devout Catholic and an equally strong atheist. The partners hammer out a nuptial agreement so that every possible area of disagreement has a written solution, while tacitly agreeing to avoid all discussion of how the children will be raised in terms of religion, for if they do the marriage might never take place.
Ostrich, meet sand.
I really apologize for sounding hyper-critical. I know what an incredibly bold experiment it was and how much deep thought went into a model of government which would keep England at bay. We in Canada simply badgered the British until we were more of a nuisance than otherwise, and then cribbed the British system.
True. It got pretty unruly in the ‘30s with not one, but two rebellions - Upper and Lower Canada.
In point of fact, Canada’s move to limited independence was caused in part b/c of the U.S. England was determinedly backing the South in order to continue the cotton trade. They were less than pleased with Northern blockades.
As a result, there was serious talk in the North of turning their armies around once the South was defeated and invading Canada. McDonald successfully argued that the project might be somewhat more formidable if the provinces united. Lo and behold. Confederation took place in 1867 with 4 provinces forming the new country Canada - Ontario, Quebec (they had to be granted special allowances), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Another factor was the continuing Fenian raids during this time - Irish militia (loaded word! Based in the States) pouncing on Canadian villages in surprise raids, causing considerable distress.
So we kind of backed into independence from Britain in 1867. We thereafter spent several decades looking uneasily south. The Monroe Doctrine and the concept of Manifest Destiny did not sound entirely like pipe dreams to nervous Canadians.
We knew we were gold once we introduced hockey to US north and admitted teams to the fledgling NHL. 😀
So many great points! You write "there is no way out of this except incrementally" and I agree. Of course it would be better if the whole constitution could be rebuilt "clean" for the tasks required by the modern world, by wise well intentioned people using the lessons of past experience as well as the imagination and foresight our originators had to use, rather than being patched and repaired layer upon potentially contradictory or misinterpretable layer. Even a patchy system can be used for good however if used by people with the right intentions. The real trouble is the people currently misusing our system would also be the ones rewriting constitution version 2.0 and I shudder to think on it. The incremental approach we need is the one where we replace the operators before the machinery, which in this case requires we replace the hand tools controlling the vote. I don't revere the founders like gods, but can hardly blame them for the bad patches applied by subsequent generations - for instance it was not intended we have a two party system. In fact I believe I read there were fervent hopes we would not go that path. What I do blame them for is the faith they put in the honor of whoever should aspire to and attain our highest position. In that case I think the fault was naivety and suspect there was a social caste bias. They were men of their time of course. In that case I would have preferred more specificity and less reliance upon a President's honor to set boundaries. In their defense, the limits of expectation, honor and precedence did hold for a long time, no? Now that we have had an example of where more limits would do some good, I hope we do add some patches. The precedence of open defiance of norms has been set.
I so wish you could address our Congress with your observances. We are in very bad shape...out of control. Mc Connell had 500 bills on his desk from the House that he refused to enact upon. If the Dems get rid of the filibuster, he has promised to unleash his fury like a mad dragon. He sold his soul and has instructed his posse to do the same. It is upsetting and maddening that he wields that power when he is no longer a majority leader!
Our Constitution must be amended to reflect the current times. I agree with you and have mentioned that several times.
Well said, Eric. In the U.S., we need a leader with immense integrity, but that type of person doesn't survive in our political system. I'm reminded of Field Marshall Sir Harold Alexander, the last governor general of Canada (1946-1952) appointed by the British Sovereign. I've read that Alexander was extremely popular in that role. My father was on Field Marshall Alexander's staff for two years during WWII. Dad said there was no one like him. Alexander had immense integrity, leadership skills, and humility. He was in a class by himself. We desperately need someone of that caliber.
Must feel satisfying to over generalize problems. However your analysis is not wrong, just not helpful. This is the first time I have read the U.S. constitution is overly specific especially since it is the shortest constitution in the free world. It is however as outdated as Democracy.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Exactly which parts of this statement are outdated? The correct answer is NONE. They are timeless words and eternal principles.
Democracy is being strangled by dark money. I explained what I meant by Democracy being outdated when I answered Ted Keyes 9 hours ago. Democracy takes TIME. The institutions concerned with economics, science, technology and militarism have sped up. Democracy takes time to protect privacy, civil rights and the environment. Listen to Hartmut Rosa explain how society has become addicted to speed and efficiency. Those two "values" are deadly to Democracy, civil rights and sustainably.
Democracy should not attempt to speed up in a race called "time is money". Government regulation must slow down development in order to protect the environment and civil rights against the self-interests of Oligarchs who believe they can create a better world without the bother of Democracy. The world they would create would only be better for them. They have no interest in the environment because they control their indoor environment. The only 3 rights they believe in is the right to make as much money as they can, to make anything that can result in a profit for them, and the right to sell anything they own to anyone who will buy it.
Thank you for these daily summaries, and for your afternoon video chats. I expected a picture this evening... instead, here is yet another informative letter. Your devotion to and passion for teaching is obvious! I hope your student's Ph.D. defense was a joyful moment in your day. Here's to a much-deserved restful evening and night.
Also, during Amy Coney Barrett's hearings, instead of just questioning the nominee, Senator Whitehouse gave a thorough presentation about dark money in the judiciary, and the Federalist Society agenda to take over the courts in order to overturn Roe, the ACA and Obergefell. I'm sure you've seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcXVKg43qY
I was outraged when Clarence Thomas was approved for Supreme Court as I watched Anita Hill. Then we are treated to Mitch forcing Brett Kavanaugh down our throat. The honorable justices??? The Supreme Court has lost its status. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the Supreme Court Justice who brought honor to the Supreme Court. Thanks to Mitch he has added his touch to destroy the sacredness of the Supreme Court evidently with the help of big Republican money.
Clarence Thomas is not the towering intellect that Thurgood Marshall was. The only thing those two men had in common was being Black men. Amy Coney Barrett is not the thinker that RBG was. Amy Coney Barret and RBG have in common being women. Both replacement justices were selected for their most obvious commonality with the previous justices.
Thank you. I was outraged by the Senate committee's refusal to credit Anita Hill's testimony and their refusal to hear other women who wanted to testify, but I was over the top that they would think this pedestrian justice was a replacement for Thurgood Marshall. McConnell's and the Federalist Society's goal to put their judges in place has removed what used to be the standard for approval: approval by the ABA. They have approved many judges who are rated "not qualified" over the past 12 years.
Lest we forget, Joe Biden chaired the Judiciary Committee that Anita Hill appeared before and that fast-tracked the Clarence Thomas nomination. It is one of the disgraceful acts of his past.
I'm sorry but you just cannot work with these people. If Dems don't reform voting rights, they will not win ever, even 2042+. Our state legislature today, hostage to gerrymandered Republicans, insisted on passing a bill honoring Rush Limbaugh after refusing to pass a bill honoring Black History Month. Their crisis event recently was emergency legislation insisting that "hunters" be allowed to slaughter about 20% of our state's wolf population during breeding season before they are relisted as endangered. Their main Coronavirus response over the part year has been to block and rescind our (thank the gods) Dem governor's mask and distancing rules. Other states' Republican parties are censuring their own R senators for lack of fealty to Trump. If Congressional Dems don't act on voting rights, whatever it takes, the states' Rs, much more rabid than those in Washington, will royally have their way with democratic elections far into the future. My opinion.
I am assuming your state is Wisconsin, Cate? If so, it is a blueprint for all other Red States and Republican Congress critters who wish to permanently hamstring and hobble democracy for the foreseeable future. I’m spitting mad about the wolves...
My husband grew up on a small dairy farm in north central Wisconsin. He left there in 1959 to go to grad school. He is furious at the way the right wingers seem to have taken over the state. He keeps saying that the people he grew up with were not like that and he doesn't understand how things could have changed so much. We too were surprised by the wolf hunting. We hunt for the freezer, not for trophy mounts.
One of the reasons I feel so pessimistic about the direction of the country is that II suspect the Republicans have so rigged this political game through dark money that the Deocratic efforts at reform will prove to be a case of “heads you win, tails I lose”. The truth of the matter is that the Republicans and their financial masters believed they could get away with it and they have invested in a mulsti-front effort; the courts, voter suppression, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a proposed constitutional convention which has already passed in many states. As the November 17, 2017 article in the online Democracy Guardian says in an article entitled “Republicans Move States Forward In rewriting The Constitution”,
"A constitutional convention, something thought impossible not long ago, is looking increasingly likely. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if 34 state legislatures “issue a call” for a constitutional convention, Congress must convene one. By some counts, the right-wing only needs six more states. Once called, delegates can propose and vote on changes and new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if approved, are currently required to be ratified by 38 states.
"There are two major legislative pushes for a convention at the state level. One would attempt to engineer a convention for a balanced budget amendment only, and the other tries to secure an open convention for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. But once a convention is underway, all bets are off. The convention can write its own rules, resulting in a wide-open or “runaway” convention that can make major changes to the constitution and, some argue, even change the number of states required to ratify those changes.”
It’s worth remembering that under Trump, the GOP held 33 state legislatures. It only takes 34 states to call a convention under Article V. This is scary stuff. It’s where the real conspiracy in the United States is taking place: In the parlors of Billionaires obsessed with claiming the freedom to do whatever they want. Despite our use of the euphemistic term “Dark money”, the odds are that we all know from whence much of it flows: from the Koch family, the Mercer family and others of the 1 % who despise being subject to government regulation. Which is to say they despise muscular democracy. They want the same power Putin’s oligarchs have in Russia.
For further insight, see Nancy MacLean’s 2017 eye-opener of a book, "Democracy in Chains,” a well-documented account of the relationship between the Kochs and their hired intellectual guns.
While it takes 34 states to call a Convention, it requires 38 states to ratify any amendments proposed. All the more reason we need the For the People Act!!
Especially interesting are the links she gets into through Koch's funding of legal training centres at key Universities already associated with his other "economic and political subversion" initiatives. The courses emphasized the need for "cost-benefit" analysis in any new regulatory initiative or congressional action opening the door to prevention of limits on the oligarchy's freedom of action and potential gains by defining the info inputs necessary for such evaluations. They also instituted annual get togethers for new and existing judges which, through luxury venues and "pasha" treatment, insidiously inculcated in the ideas of the whole bench elements of Koch's propaganda, a favourable impression of their new "academic legal "institutions and a camaradia amongst judges based upon meetings at these sessions.
A couple of years ago, I asked a friend who is a District Court Judge if we still had a democracy. He replied as long as the Rule of Law is intact we'll be all right. Next time I see him I'll ask where he thinks we are today. Not good! It is imperative that HR 1/S1 For the People Act become law. This is the pivotal year for saving democracy between the control of redistricting and drawing of Congressional Districts for the next ten years mostly by partisan legislatures and the number of voter suppression "integrity" laws being passed in 43 states. That will make it very difficult for the Democrats to hold the House and Senate in the 2022 election. America will clearly and truly be an oligarchic kleptocracy with the last election to be held in 2024 to install a Republican president. As Tim Synder warns in his book Tyranny, vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote in because it well be. Brett Kavanaugh was such a joke in his Senate hearing crying over his beer. If he had been a woman her nomination would have been withdrawn within 24 hours as too emotional. You can certainly see the impact of Citizens United amendment to the Constitution legalizing corruption and dark including foreign money in campaign financing. I belong to Wolf-PAC which is proposing a Convention of States to override Citizens United and reform campaign finance. A resolution on this has passed in 5 out of the 38 states needed so this is too long a process. The only hope is HR1/S1. What I learned this week was that the Constitution anticipated what is happening now and not trusting the state legislatures. Article I Section 4 of the Constitution states: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators." Notice the but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter the states election laws. Write both your state representatives and your US Representatives and Senators that you support HR1/S1. Put pressure on corporations and businesses to support HR1/S1. Here's an annotated guide to the For the People Act from the Brennan Center: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/annotated-guide-people-act-2021
Please make this a priority in any way you can. If this doesn't pass we won't get moving on the Climate Crisis making this existential.
Corrupt judiciary? Anybody want to bet Kansas Shawnee county District Judge Penny Moylan (Kansas) who just excused the recent dui of Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop (drunk and driving the wrong way on I-70 outside of Wichita) is part of the Federalist Society? Think she’s gonna get a fat appointment someday? Moving on up...
Yeah! And in the middle of the night. He fled when police tried to pull him over, but went the wrong way on the interstate. State police closed the highway to catch and arrest him at a road block. They had to test his BAL? Right? I was just scrolling the news and caught it last night. Then reading this newsletter, HCR mentions the judiciary. So I thought it pertinent.
Crazy! And by the Highway Patrol too, not by the city cops! ( i bet those guys are pissed off!) I looked up the Judge. She was appointed by the Democratic Governor, so I doubt she is a Federalist Society member, but I don't know for sure. How can a judge who is supposed to be impartial to justice be part of a pre determined justice faction? That is what the Federalist Society is, no? Who funds the Federalist Society btw? hmmm.
I have learned these last 4 years, that overwhelming us is a malicious strategy. It is a modern strategy of oppression. "Concentration giving way to distraction"-Tim Snyder. Many friends my age are apathetic towards politics. They have been worn down and given up. When a majority are apathetic, that is when its over for democracy, its when "the politics of inevitability give way to the politics of eternity".
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
If it is determined that big money was indeed involved in our justice system, I see no reason why it should not lead to judicial reform like "court packing." This will be an interesting story to watch!
Another thoughtful letter, Heather, for which many thanks.
The observations re: McConnell are striking. I think it's high time we reveal that empty bag of bones and skin for the blustering bogeyman he is. HR1 is absolutely worth going to the mat for and the filibuster must not be allowed to stand in its way.
Scorched earth Senate? We've already seen the worst he can do, had four years of it under 45 following eight years obstructing Obama. We remember he led Republickers to vote against measures they'd formerly supported just because a Democrat had the temerity to put them on the table. Call his bluff.
I can't wait to watch him wither and melt away, screaming like the wicked witch he is.
Why are the Democrats so worried about "playing nice" with McConnell? When has he EVER played nice with them????? Potentially, they have two years (less now, actually) to get things done. Well, do it. You can be sure that if the Republicans take control of either the House or the Senate, Republican leaders won't give a you-know-what about what the Democrats want or think.
While bipartisan legislation has worked in the past, it is important to recognize that you cannot reason with unreasonable people. In another life, when I was a hostage negotiator, one of the cardinal rules was "you cannot negotiate with terrorists". Following the insurrection of 6 January and the subsequent Republican "response"*, I am convinced that the latter of my two homilies is the most accurate description of what the Republican party has become. Exhibit One is McConnell's "scorched earth Senate" rant.
Guns & Money
On Saturday, in Indianapolis, a man killed four people with a firearm in a dispute with his girlfriend over sharing her Covid relief check.
Last night, in the small town of Acworth and later in another town outside of Atlanta, a young man shot and killed a total of eight people, six of whom were Asian women.
“Jacob Kimmons, an employee at AutoZone [in Acworth], said this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” “You never see it in a decent area like this. Just to see something like that happen is crazy,” he said. “I just thank the good lord he didn’t come over here and do anything.””
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/16/atlanta-spa-shootings/
I have a bone to pick with Mr. Kimmons – particularly his characterization that “this kind of violence rarely happens in their neighborhood.” This kind of violence – killing each other and ourselves with guns – is all too common in every corner of the country – and the good Lord (with respect) has nothing to do with it.
But the lion’s share of my ire this morning, and frankly, my sorrow, stems from the leadership of the Republican party and its twin pillars of pain and prevarication – Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
Kevin went to the border this week to lend his support to our government’s efforts to safely and humanely process children trying to enter the country. Wait – sorry, Kevin was there to shine a bright light on anything other than the President’s success in providing real assistance to Americans struggling to survive the pandemic.
Don’t pay attention to the old guy who just cleaned my clock, pay attention to the mess at the southern border. Damn – if we had only finished building that wall, we wouldn’t have this problem and by the way, Biden is letting terrorists into the country! I know it’s true because the orange guy told me and I think I heard someone say something that sounded like terrorist watch list – could have been “Ted washed last” but that’s not important – what is important is that I have nothing constructive to propose on any subject of concern to the American public and the weather was awful in Washington, so here I am – pay attention!
This while MM thrashes through the Senate rotunda waving threats of open-carry legislation if he ever gains the majority again. That’s right – he will ram through this important piece of legislation that will help so many Americans realize their dreams and true potential.
Legislation as Revenge! Finally, the Republican party has found a purpose that suits its nature. And who better to lead them than the man whose moral compass has the stability of mercury on horseback heading for the barn.
Food for sorrow:
Cause of Death - All races and origins, both sexes, ages 15–34 years
1. Accidents (unintentional injuries)
2. Intentional self-harm (suicide)
3. Assault (homicide)
Source: National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 68, No. 6, June 24, 2019
In 2017, the states with the highest rates of gun-related deaths – counting murders, suicides and all other categories tracked by the CDC – were Alaska (24.5 per 100,000 people), Alabama (22.9), Montana (22.5), Louisiana (21.7), Missouri and Mississippi (both 21.5), and Arkansas (20.3), followed by South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, and West Virginia.
The states with the lowest rates were New Jersey (5.3 per 100,000 people), Connecticut (5.1), Rhode Island (3.9), New York and Massachusetts (both 3.7), and Hawaii (2.5).
Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/16/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
States with least restrictive gun laws: Alaska, Alabama, Montana, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Maine, Texas, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arizona, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona, and Kentucky.
Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/strictest-gun-laws-by-state
So, Senator McConnell threatens more guns, ready at the hip, in more hands if the Democrats dare to disable the filibuster to pass S-1 (For the People Voting Rights Act), because that is what this is all about. He would rather people die, in larger numbers than they already do, in order to deny the right to vote to people who may disagree with him on lowering taxes for the already wealthy.
It saddens me, truly, that this is the state of the loyal opposition. While President Biden is doing all he can to move the country forward toward a more equitable future, the Republican party is hunkering down for a fight to reassert its strangle-hold on government. A philosophy of revenge, racism and avarice guiding their every move.
Part of the problem is that the opposition is not loyal to the country, just to money.
That's right.
R Dooley--great post! My one thing to add: Malevolent Mitch has always been happy to kill people in order to prevent good things from happening to people who don't occupy the echelons of privilege he considers most important. He has actively sought to prevent the "bottom" 60% of Americans (and we are ALL Americans if we reside here, no matter our country of origin) from gaining any economic relief or access to education, jobs (and the training necessary to get them), healthcare, safe housing . . . the beat goes on. His enthusiasm for killing Americans is matched only by his willingness to cheat, lie, and steal in order to enrich himself and his besties.
I will be tremendously disappointed if someone drops pursuit of his wife since I feel pretty sure that would help use up some of his vile attention and also pretty sure most of her activities were with his complete knowledge and agreement. Being his spouse should not confer any increased safety from investigation on her though I fear it does.
When 50 million (between Mitch and Elaine) is just not enough...
As the title of Mary Trump's book on Uncle D says, "Too Much and Never Enough." Seems to be epidemic in the GOP.
I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that once her "story" came to light, there are people who are fleshing it out, and perhaps will go public at an opportune time.
One can only hope...
And don’t forget that you can’t believe a word he says. His hypocrisy with not letting Garland get a hearing, saying it was too late in an election year, then ramming through Amy Coney Barrett is one example.
R Dooley, thanks for the great post, and for the idea of adding our state behind our name! (Done!). A couple of observations from my business travels through many states. This is not meant to defend open or concealed carry, it is just an observation. In the farther western states; Wyoming, Idaho, Montana; there are vast distances through which one must travel, and there are just as vast ranches where people live and work, encountering things many of us only read about in books (like my friend in Montana who was hunting with friends, on horseback, discovering they were being stalked by a mountain lion...fortunately, they all managed to go their separate ways with no issue). There are reasons many working Westerners would have to constantly carry, but for most of the rest of us, living nearer cities and in more suburban than true rural areas, not so much. I can't tell you how many times I have been to a place for breakfast and seen someone walk in with his or her hip sporting a pistol. For what reason? 90+% of the time, it is for show only. There is absolutely no reason for someone other than law enforcement to walk into a suburban/urban restaurant/diner with a pistol...none...and as we have all read, it can cause more problems than solutions. Again, thanks for the research...I'm going to look all this up for more detail. Have a good day!
So many of these "carry" advocates are "ammosexuals" who equate firepower with their identity. So many of these people would not know what to do when confronted with an actual deadly force usage.
"ammosexuals" - someone give that to Randy Rainbow!
Exactly! Lacking a strong self-image and having low self-esteem somehow leads to 'ammosexulaity'. I'll leave the snarky comments about the inverse correlation between caliber and libido for later.
"Ammosexuals"...I like that.
Ammosexuals! A meme is born! I'm off to use the word widely!
They panic...and panic kills
I cannot accept the logic behind these kinds of abstract potential dangers. The major lethal threats to Americans are not rattlesnakes, wolves and definitely not mountain lions; a single instance carries little weight. It is other Americans armed with guns. A gun in a household is more likely to be used against a member of that household than a stranger, even one invading the home.
Sure, there's a case for being armed in remote areas or on sprawling properties. (A counter-anecdote: My cousins almost never go armed on their Wyoming ranch -- a real working ranch since the 1880s, not a dude operation or rural second home -- despite occasional predators and countless rattlesnakes.) But leave the darn things safe at home when socializing, going into businesses or towns.
Very few people have a legitimate need for a gun, let alone multiple ones or carrying them openly in public. The rest is ego, ideology or intimidation, the sinister side of American individualism.
Wouldn't it be awesome if the people that needed to carry went through a healthy couple of classes where they are taught real respect for the deadly responsibility they so flippantly disregard.
I had any number of burglary victims ask me what kind of gun they should get to “protect themselves”. I would always give my best “shotgun is best for home defense” line, and they’d say they wanted a handgun. I’d ask if they really thought they could kill someone. Almost inevitably, they’d say “no, I’d wound them” or “I just want to scare them”.
I’d explain that those beliefs would only get them disarmed and possibly killed; that the only reason to have a gun for self defense is to kill someone who put you in danger of death/serious physical injury.
Sometimes they listened...
Our family friends had a handgun for home protection and shot and killed his son when he came home from college unexpectedly in the middle of the night. I understand the reason people want protection in their home but there has to be a better way.
A childhood friend of mine had her leg blown off, literally, when her father used his shotgun in the middle of the night to ward off barking dogs. Another high school friend lost his mother in the same way; his father, a well respected coach, killed her with a shotgun that went off by accident as he was attempting to shoot at barking dogs in the middle of the night. A dear cousin took his own life when his mother denied something he really wanted; he shot himself on a Saturday morning while she was in the next room vacuuming. For those reasons, I have never had a gun. Those tragedies destroyed families as well as lives; they made a lasting impression on me.
How does anyone going living after that? Horrible.
Carrying those guns openly, provoke fear. For men, it is to show their virility, if they have any. Idiotic!
Pretty sad stuff when the long barrel has to replace the more personal equipment in such a macho display.
Their what? 🤔...🙄....😄
The main purpose of guns, as far as I can tell, is for killing. Why practice target shooting otherwise? Or am I wrong?
The only purpose for guns, any kind of gun, is for killing. The cost of killing another living thing is a burden that many of us carry; hunters (at least those I am familiar with) honor the animal they take in some fashion.
I cannot fathom the horror of having killed someone you love because you "made a mistake" or wanted to silence an inconvenience (like barking dogs, for pete's sake) or to have your firearm used to commit suicide.
Terrific advice. Tell'em to load it with birdshot too!
The NRA used to focus on teaching gun safety; it was major reason for its founding. In the last c.20 years it morphed into a lobbying group for the firearms industry, and outlet for pro-gun hysterics. Then there's the money laundering they do for Russians donating to the GQP. Are any prominent pro-gun advocates decent, honest or sane? Any?
I took a hunting safety class when I was 12 years old. Definitely remember being taught respect, and going over how it could go wrong in the worse way. It's definitely a different issue now because of the lack of education and the politicization of it.
All gun purchasers should also be shown the scene from the film of "The last of the Mohicans" in which Daniel Day Lewis kills a deer and thanks it for its sacrifice.
My thought for some time has been that we should codify the NRA Range Safety Rules, and put them into the same structure and form that exist around vehicle ownership and operation. License, registration, and insurance required before operation. Responsibility for every bullet that is fired from every gun you own. There are no "accidents", there is conduct ranging from negligence to reckless to intentional to knowing. The penalties should mirror the traffic code: levels of violations, levels of misdemeanors, levels of felonies that match jurisdictional homicide definitions.
Alexander, thank you for your thoughtful observations. I agree, and wouldn't it be a good thing if we could have policies that made sense, with respect to local needs, as opposed to the nonsense we currently endure.
If one accepts this need as legitamate, why would one not just have a rifle as it is more accurate and can defend life at greater distance<. I see no justification for hand guns ......other than to threaten other humans!
This is a terrific post and your anger and angst are clearly on display here. You speak for all of us. Bravo.
I'm glad it resonated.
I hope you are well.
R Dooley, it surprises (but heartens) me that NY and NJ are among those with the lowest rates of death by gun violence.
I had the same reaction. Hopefully, under the Biden administration we will have some more current numbers. And when we do, I hope they are all lower.
One of your best posts ever. All I can say is thank you and carry on (words, not guns).
It means a lot to know that it worked for you.
R Dooley, thank you for a great post. But I’m not sure we can call the Rs the loyal opposition anymore. Their disloyalty was on full display on January 6 and its aftermath.
I should have put "loyal opposition" in quotes. They do not deserve that title.
Thank YOU R.Dooley!!!🤔😊💓
Love the emojis ... thanks.
Well said!
Well said R. Dooley! Pass universal background checks. Raise the legal age to purchase guns to at least 21, but I think 25 years old would be better, as that's when most mental health diseases manifest in people. McConnell's threats are part of a playbook of power preservation, not common sense, research, nor decency, Threatening more guns and easy access to guns is a false salve to people with real pain. It is his "fall back plan" claiming more guns will "restore order" when we already all know more guns are the root cause of disorder, as you have clearly and logically have articulated. McConnell only wants to maintain the status quo by manipulating his base's insecurities.
If Mitch McConnell's "scorched earth" threat does not result in IMMEDIATE revocation of the filibuster by Democrats, followed by cramming every conceivable piece of progressive legislation down his lying, conniving throat and and if humanly possible through his disgusting quadruple chin) ... if that doesn't happen (and let me repeat IMMEDIATELY), then there is absolutely no hope for decent Americans. Unfortunately, chickening out would be par for the course. Talk about a line in the sand. If that insulting POS gets away with this, OMG ... SURELY this will be the hormone injection that enables even our neutered and spayed disgraces to figuratively grow a pair.
Yes, it seems so obvious that just as he would not allow Obama to place his supreme court nominee "so close" to an election and then pushed Trump's nominee through so much closer, no capitulation on the Democrat's part would buy any amount of cooperation from him that he wasn't inclined or forced to provide the very second he had the opportunity no matter how hypocritical and underhanded the circumstances. Unfortunately it is intimately tied to the core nature of honorable humans to expect some minimum level of honor within others and thus the vulnerability and thus the weakness.
Emily, I wholly agree with your statement: “it is intimately tied to the core nature of honorable humans to expect some minimum level of honor within others and thus the vulnerability and thus the weakness.” Our governmental system, like all governmental systems, depend on people of honor doing the governing. We no longer can assume that honorable people have the power and authority in our governments - not at the federal or state levels. It is not that honor has been lost - it has been consciously abandoned, dismissed in favor of power and, I’m guessing, money. You captured that very well.
McConnell has no weakness other than 💰 💰 💰.
McTurtle is an ineffectual public speaker, and probably has other flaws that aren't public knowledge.
There is a way to reform the filibuster by changing it from 60 needed to stop the debate to having it be 41 to keep the debate going. That puts the pressure on the minority where it belongs. Then the filibuster would go back to being an unusual occurrence but still available.
This would be better than nothing, but why complicate matters? If the Dems are unable to eliminate the filibuster, what makes them think they will be able to vote cloture? Why save this undemocratic rule if any future simple majority, GOP or DEM, can ditch it at a moment's notice anyway? The whole point - in addition to passing essential legislation - is to make it impossible for the GOP minority party to continue exploiting weaknesses in our Constitution. As long as the GOP is the party of privilege, racism and insurrection, it should never govern. The GOP needs to change dramatically or disappear.
While I agree with you, the GOP has planned this for decades and are just about to accomplish minority undemocratic rule where the Constitution will be rewritten like Orwell's Animal Farm. Except Pigs. The immediate issue is to stop them gutting voting rights. A couple of Democrats have been adamant about not getting rid of the filibuster. The only way to get them on board in the short term is to reform the filibuster. "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others." -- George Orwell.
Maybe, just maybe, the senators who are opposed to this will be so put off by McConnell's threats, they will see the light.
Can't Joe Biden - personally - convince Manchin and Sinema to vote to eliminate the filibuster? Has he tried this yet? What is the matter with those two?
David, in yesterday's WaPo interview, Senator Whitehouse pointed out that Manchin and Sinema were not the only Democrats opposed to eliminating the filibuster. They just got the public's attention to this debate. I posted the 30+ minute interview where he addresses your question. Here it is again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3fJBhalEgs
Can we clone this level-headed guy from Rhode Island??
Great interview, thanks Lynell
Thanks for this link, Lynell.
Could they just change it back to requiring someone to actually physically stand and talk? It seems like at the very least it should require some effort so that various parties are more circumspect about it's use.
Basically that's the effect of requiring 41 to keep the debate going. If people don't stay on the floor, the debate is easily stopped putting the burden on those that are trying to stop the bill.
That by itself is probably not enough, since the current GQP would be just fine with grinding the senate to a complete halt for a long time. There also needs to be a limit on how long even those tactics can work. Maybe the votes needed to keep the filibuster going increase by 10% every 5 days, which effectively puts a 3 week limit on the total delay.
Of course, the reason McC is screaming at the idea of any change, is that if the first changes don't result in actual debate and progress, the Dems will make further changes until the senate actually participates in governing.
Or permits governing, better yet.
I can not agree with you more. Mitch McConnel is vile to the core.
If anyone deserves to be called a POS, this is the man.
Amen, Roland! He's a walking pile of dung.
Agreed, Roland. McTurtleneck lives in the deepest, s$%t filled part of the swamp.
What they need are pairs of ovaries, my friend: the testicles tend to stick together, especially when they are white . . .
Ick, but thanks anyway, Linda.
Absolutely Stephen. MM has thrown down the gauntlet. Either we take him on now or forfeit our advantage. He has proved he’s willing to destroy everything to retain power. The soul of our nation is at stake.
It's high time we call MM's bluff. Now or never for democracy.
OMG! Give 'em hell, Stephen!
I guess you've hit the nail on the head, and with gusto!
No SC justice has ever been impeached and convicted. This may be Brute Kavanaugh's best chance to make some history. Go for it, frat boy.
I remember a winter vacation during an especially cold January when my husband a Yalie was reading the book about Dark Money. I’m thinking it was 2016. He kept wanting to tell me about it and I did pick it up to see what he meant but frankly it was so disgusting and I needed rest. The Kavanaugh hearing was a dark circus. Now we’re apparently coming full circle with an investigation that links SCOTUS with the Koch led fossil fuel money. We all need more outrage to support the efforts that HCR has illuminated.
I’m not running out of outrage, Liz, another dear friend this one from Boston North Shore. If it weren’t intemperate and socially objectionable for me to do so, I would have no problem loading up these pages with profanity and insults that come out of my mouth when I read about things like, for example, dear Mr. Ron Johnson’s racist musings. In the privacy of my tractor trailer I’m not short on words of outrage for that so and so. And it doesn’t look anything like what I just posted here. Same goes with Putin‘s pet mule from Kentucky, Cancun Sewage Tank, Missouri Slick, and the horse’s rear end from Georgia’s first district.
I’m just gonna make one more comment about Mr. Ron Johnson, poster boy for all racists in denial and in the closet. If our dear Senator Johnson were talking about any other event, ANY OTHER EVENT, than January 6, I would not waste ink on it. The fact that this loser is part of the group taking money from Russia, including Giuliani and Devin Nunes and Moscow Mitch and the other loser members of Congress that visited Moscow last July 4, should come as no surprise to anybody. Another recipient of funding by the Russia for American Leadership PAC.
The good news is that I am still feeling a lot of joy, I seem to have broken into a new zone there. But joy or no joy, dirt and corruption are offensive. I don’t like dirty officials.
Thank you Roland for bringing up those traitors who went to Russia on the 4th of July. I've been brining it up in conversations and I always ask, why were they there and why hasn't that been spoken about more? And so far, no answers have been heard. Wish I knew a D.C. reporter because I would ask them to ask those people themselves.
#WeNeedAnswers
I think they went there to get their marching orders from ole putie.
Hello Beth. Today it is March 17, 2021. It has taken until now for Sheldon Whitehouse‘s story, his investigation into SC corruption, to make it into the headlines. Now tell me Beth, what do you think about the relative importance of corruption of members of Congress? How does the corruption of members of Congress compare to the corruption of Supreme Court justices? Hmmm?
Greg Olear has at least a dozen articles on Putin’s influence in America to Trump, Nunes, Manafort, and plenty of others, but this article covers the July 4 Squad of Traitors
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/sleeper-cell-the-fourth-of-july-traitors
Thanks, Roland, for linking Greg Olear's post. I would add this one as well:
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/leo-the-cancer
It is an excellent post about Leonard Leo, someone who is a dark and very potent force behind much of the R's long term malfeasance in our judicial system, esp the SC.
This link was the last straw today. The deeper I dive the more discouraged I become. Just how many Leonard Leos are out there plying their dark arts behind the scenes? Time to clear my head with a walk.
I agree, Heidi. Glad Roland pointed us to Olear.
Sounds like Olear is "go to" reading for many of us! Need I say more? It makes the time pass more quickly while I'm on the stationary bike! Shocking, at times, to read but great for my physical well-being! Emotionally, not so!
I read his series on Kavanaugh. It was fascinating. I also like his writing style.
Agreed!
Whitehouse's first report came out in May. May, as in 10 MONTHS AGO! Where has the media been?
Asleep at the wheel Herb
A large part of the problem is that we are also experiencing a news desert - to coin a phrase. Dark Money - in this case, in plain view, by law - also owns the media. See this May 22, 2017 report by webfx.com. Included in this are graphics literally showing the media assets under control, and the CEOs associated with those 'dynasties.'
THE 6 COMPANIES THAT OWN (ALMOST) ALL MEDIA [INFOGRAPHIC]
"...While independent media outlets still exist (and there are a lot of them), the major outlets are almost all owned by these six conglomerates. To be clear, “media” in this context does not refer just to news outlets - it refers to any medium that controls the distribution of information. So here, “media” includes 24-hour news stations, newspapers, publishing houses, Internet utilities, and even video game developers."
https://www.webfx.com/blog/internet/the-6-companies-that-own-almost-all-media-infographic/
I’ve been reading Greg Olear for a few weeks now on your recommendation. Thank you! Glad you pointed out this piece too.
🙏🙏
So glad to see that Greg Olear is getting some good PR. Also happy to find another ADKer here.
Roland I didn’t mean to imply that any of us are running out of outrage. Actually I think we just need to channel the outrage effectively and while we’re at it to have as much joy as possible. Personally I’ve renewed my League of Women Voters membership and made a donation to them. I do everything I can to back various requests I get to support a host of other issues. We who are fighting to get our democracy back on a stronger footing need to continue doing all the other stuff we do like taking care of our families and ourselves. Unfortunately the years we spent under our wannabe dictator resulted in serious damage that will take time to repair. So we all need extraordinary patience too.
No time fir patience imo. Our house is on fire.
Patience is always a part of long term efforts —one has to conserve energy to achieve the long term goals.
We all know about patience, slow and steady wins the race, but, imho, we are out of time, or at least getting extremely close! We NEED courageous, moral leadership and we NEED to clean our house.
Ongoing outrage channeled effectively, yes!
Of course! (to patience, to all of us having outrage, to repairing damage, to joy, to taking care of ourselves and our families, . . . ). When you said “outrage” I was just reminded of my own.
Good stuff, Roland. Another word for rear end, at least in these parts, is patoot, as in a horse's patoot. The etymology of the word? Here's what I found: [1960s+; origin unknown; perhaps fr dialect tout, ''buttocks,'' fr Middle English, pronounced toot, and altered to conform with sweet patootie by folk etymology]. There are many, many on the Republican side of the coin who could accurately be termed patoots. The biggest of all lost the presidential election in November.
For the sake of accuracy, the 4thh of July Field Trip to Moscow happened in 2018. These were the participants:
Seven senators — John Kennedy (R-LA), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), John Thune (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Ron Johnson (R-WI) — and one House member, Kay Granger (R-TX),
I've checked pretty thoroughly for a more recent 4th of July Field Trip to Moscow and can't find one.
They had to check-in for their 'performance reviews' and renew their compensation plans. /s
Precisely. And perhaps get newest marching orders.
Thank you very much for the correction Daria. 🙏 Middle of the night, tiny iPhone screen, working somewhere out there on I-5, I’m never at my best. I love being part of this team, I can always rely on somebody else to augment or to complete or to correct.
Roland, I truly hope you don't mind my correction. ❤
I love the respect shown by writers on these pages. Heather has inspired quite a phenomenon.
Always correct me. Please.
I wouldn’t lie to you Daria. ❤️ I say exactly what I am thinking. I am completely honest here, with the occasional exception of holding back on the venom. There is quite a lot of outrage available, as I mention here today.
Roland, I can’t help but wonder, when you describe driving a truck and joining this and other discussions on your cellphone, how you do it safely.
Roland, I couldn’t agree more! Although I’m a product of 16 years of Catholic school, my “colorful” language comes from my Sicilian relatives. But now, my husband says he’s never heard me curse as much as I do now.
12 years of Catholic school for this Irish girl, and a temper to match!
Love it ❤️
Yeah, with good reason.
And our taxes will usher him into his comfortable retirement for life, with not a worry or a care and a hefty health insurance to ease his woes, all while he feels perfectly free to make these kinds of destructive, ill considered and poorly reflected statements. Does he really have the right to free speech or can this be viewed as incendiary, destructive and/or dangerously fallacious speech and must be closely monitored? And, if monitored, are we then, ourselves, leaning towards a police state? These "misrepresenters" or ignoramuses or Machiavellians challenge my every dedication to the principle of free speech...so, if that is the case, then, who am I?
Very deep, layered perspective. Evokes deep reflection. 🏆
Here is a good starting point for outrage: Bureau of Land Management employees have been threatened with violence, rape, death and are no match for Kochs cowboy mobsters:
Jan 17, 2021
Dwight and Steven Hammond
When Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond were convicted of arson for burning more than 100 acres of federal land, their case became a flashpoint in the fight for control over public lands. (Witnesses testified the fire was intended to cover up evidence of illegal hunting; the Hammonds said they started the fire on their own property to burn off invasive species and it accidentally spread.) “They have become symbols of the way many rural Americans feel they’ve been wronged by federal overreach,” BuzzFeed News reported. Their case sparked a 41-day standoff with federal agents at a wildlife refuge in Oregon, led by Ryan and Ammon Bundy. Many people joining the protest were members of unofficial militias, armed with long guns and pistols and dressed in full tactical gear. One Arizona rancher was killed by police.
The Trump connection: The Hammonds had support both from right-wing extremists willing to take up arms against government regulation and from a multimillionaire oil magnate.
Yes I’m aware of this — there are so many entry points to outrage but the good news about our collective outrage is that the Biden team is actually governing and they only about halfway through the first 100 days.
The Biden team is such an amazing breath of fresh air. Stunning. 🌈🎉❤️
Yes I’m so grateful for the Biden’s and their team. Decency restored
What those <insert profanity/blasphemy/vulgarity here, this is one time when it is appropriate> did to the Refuge was unconscionable, as unconscionable as their initial "protest" was, and as horrible as their backers are.
Filthy insurrectionist scum. The Malheur outrage was insurrection just as much as Jan 6.
mysteriously Kennedy retires and white clan frat boy Kavanaugh ascends to a seat on the throne!
Yeah, I am waiting to see what that looks like under the light of day.
Senator Whitehouse's interview yesterday on WAPO Live indicates he has this issue squarely in his sights.
I loved the presentation that Senator Whitehouse gave during Amy Covid Barrett's hearing.
Here's the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3fJBhalEgs
Great, "beefy" interview with substantial comments. It's encouraging to listen to politicians who discuss their points of view without pitching sound bites and meaningless flim-flam. Thank you!
Thanks - I didn't have the link.
https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/159035239_4357831427565240_4855750179814908766_o.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=825194&_nc_ohc=kmh4liacWIIAX_wwGQE&_nc_ht=scontent-ort2-2.xx&oh=94bcf6686ce82b233f7a329492748d7b&oe=6076CD9B
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of that sham of a ¨trial¨. Last week I shared a horrific experience with my husband while in college. San name the city and the university. But. Can´t tell you where it happened. Can't describe him. Or them. But it happened. Corporate money is the rape of democracy. There must be a way to stop the monsters.
Sorry to say, but so far there hasn't been . . . pretty much since the rise of industrialism.
Sorry to hear that Gailee. Thank you for sharing with us. It chills me to think how common sexual predation is in our world. I just cannot fathom how a human being will allow himself to violate another person. It goes against everything in my being. It’s a violation of all that is right and true. How does a man (boy) live with himself after that? I would never get over the stain on my soul.
PREACH, sister!!
“Go for it, frat boy.”
TPJ you are so much more courteous and nuanced than I am. Stone blind and black-out drunk, sexual predator, and all-around dirtbag frat boy is more like it.
No SC justice has ever been impeached and convicted. No former president has ever been convicted of a felony, I’m guessing. The Trump administration has an opportunity to make some real history here. McConnell. All the people associated with the 2016 Trump campaign. The Trump staff who organized or hijacked the rally for the US Capitol attack and riot. The January 6 Congress members who voted the wrong way after their lives were in danger, even if like Ron Johnson they thought they were safe as if they were in church. I could go on, but you get the idea. Trump saying he was going to drain the swamp is like Hitler saying he was going to be the worlds greatest leader for human rights.
It would tickle my fancy to see Kavanaugh resign. I would know privately that
Olear’s carrot and stick proposition worked.
Right, Roland. I've got this funny feeling there is a LOT of history about to be made - and quickly.
That’s a lovely intuition.
Here is something that has bothered me. People keep saying that all of the Senators' lives were in danger but when I hear one of the R Senators say as he did that he didn't feel in danger (the bit about how he would have if they had been antifa or BLM was just signalling), then I think to myself "he's probably right about not personally having been in danger since if there was a chamber breach while the Senators remained inside, almost all the Republican Senators needed to do would have been to stand up, identify themselves, and announce "I'm here to vote against the steal" (as they in fact later did) and they would have been embraced as heroes. I doubt that even under mob conditions the R Senators (other than the few known to have voted to impeach for instance) would have been in any danger. The mob was not turning on themselves for instance. He's right - they would not have hurt a hair on his head, which is why several of them were seen smiling and joking during the breach.
Thanks Emily. I politely dissent from part of your remarks. Back in January I commented on the Jan 6 insurrection. (I'll never find it again so here it is, briefly.)
You are correct about Ron Johnson's while male privilege. Yet he's either an idiot, liar, hypocrite, or some combination. No one can ever count on safety, reasoning with or deterring a mob; that is what differentiates mobs from crowds. Mobs do not think; they act, usually degenerating toward worse behavior. They can blindly ignore reality right in front of them. Any grey-haired senator, any greying person, could have been mistaken for Mike Pence and been in mortal danger -- especially masked. Also for Nancy Pelosi and other women.
Jan 6 fits into well-documented patterns of crowd behavior, mobs and riots. Crowds can be controlled; mobs cannot, they are crowds out of control. When completely out of control, mobs become riotous. Jan 6 saw all three phases, though the latter two were not inevitable (that's where the deplorable GQP leadership matters). Mobs only stop when confronted with superior force, or when their energy dissipates and they disperse, which is what happened on Jan 6 in the absence of counter-force.
I've been in countless crowds, never seen a riot, and luckily had only a couple of slight brushes with mobs when living in Zambia. But all my study and experience says that mobs must be avoided whenever possible. A peabrained, privileged Repug senator simply has no credibility claiming otherwise.
Thank you for reading.
D Horowitz, The Deadly Ethnic Riot
EP Thompson, "Moral Economy of the English Crowd," Past & Present 1971
C Weatherford, Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre
Oh he's all of that but also a traitor, and I'm uncertain about the intellectual ability of some of these Republicans since it's so difficult to tease apart from craftiness. I understand the mob mentality idea is behind the assertion all the Senators were in danger, but again, while packed mobs do run over each other as in sports situations (that's the type out there crushing the the poor officer in the door for instance), looser mobs, while they do stop thinking for themselves do surge in a body as indicated by some accepted head or leader rather than break up into interior pub brawls and I do suspect this mob would have accepted a declared Republican Senator shouting "I'm with you". Of course I agree any woman dressed like a Senator would have to have acted quickly, but I can't imagine Greene would have failed to successfully "join" the mob... plus I think those who entered the Chamber first didn't look like that kind of a mob. They had body armor and cuffs and patches, with more calm intent than "mob mentality" or "heat of the moment" or confusion (which I'm cautious with since some of those arrested seem to be using that as a partial defense). So, I can look through more mob psychology literature (thank you for providing a selection) but I guess I'd have to say you feel convinced of the Republican Senator's peril, I am at least dubious, and we both have lost the chance to test the theories by tossing a few of them to this particular pro-T mob. While we can hardly wish for another, I'm a bit sad over the lost opportunity.
Everything you need to know about the Brett Kavanaugh scandal is in this five-part series of articles by Greg Olear.
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/who-owns-kavanaugh-index?r=7mr17&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=email
This very deep dive by Greg O’Leary is my idea of required reading.
Autocorrect has inserted that y in Olear’s last name. Y you ask? I have no idea.
A priest, a minister, and a rabbit walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rabbit, What'll you have? Beats me, says the rabbit, I'm only here because of autocorrect.
Okay, I laughed out loud. Thanks!
Well, today is St Patrick's Day. Autocorrect celebrates by Hibernicizing Greg's surname.
Autocorrect is run by Kossacks.
Timothy Leary
🙏🏆🏆🏆🏆
Morning, Roland!! This link looks promising. Think I'll check it out. Thank you!
Morning Lynell‼️(from Loudon Cty VA).
Loudoun! I misspell it all the time, too!
How do you like that, I was questioning the spelling myself. I’m a spelling Nazi as I’m sure you know. I won’t make that mistake twice.
There are lots of "bad spelling" quotes: Mark Twain – “Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination.”
Thomas Jefferson – “I have nothing but contempt for anyone who can spell a word only one way.”
Andrew Jackson – “It is a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.”
My bugbear is punctuation.
Hi, Lynell. I used to live in Herndon, VA, which is next to you!
Hey, Annette. You will always be welcomed back if the spirit moves you!
You've probably read this also, Roland! I find this very troubling - our politics are truly corrupted! I'm sure President Biden is well aware of this as well! I hope Garland and the DOJ have enough evidence (and guts) to really clean "house" (and Senate), literally! Talk about the "fox guarding the hen house" - Yikes!!
https://gregolear.substack.com/p/leo-the-cancer
“Clean House.” Thank you 🙏
Hey, Roland. Just wanted to thank you for this piece by Greg Olear. I can't be "shocked and awed" anymore.
Thanks for posting this, Roland. Glad I read this before sharing that myself. I didn't have the full link.
Thank you so much brining forth the name of a grand patriot, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse! I remember his insightful and courageous analysis of the corporate ownership of the courts, and our democratic process, through conservative financing from patriarchs of the right, such as Scaife, Coors, Olin.
https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/videos/watch/sen-whitehouse-questions-judge-amy-coney-barrett-on-the-3rd-day-of-confirmation-hearings
https://files.pfaw.org/pfaw_files/buyingamovement.pdf
Sen Whitehouse if a profile in courage, imho
I've been very impressed with Senator Whitehouse and hope he will be President some day.
Well, his surname is perfect...
Can you imagine the slogans? Whitehouse for the White House!!
"Put a Whitehouse in the White House!"
I like it!
Sen Whitehouse must be doing something right: Fox News disparages him at every turn, calling him eccentric and extremely liberal.
I’m amazed you can actually go there, to that network I mean. I simply can’t, but I can’t stomach violent movies or shows either.
I didn't go to the network: it was an online post, linked to in another post. And then I checked some of their other posts, just to see how angry Whitehouse is making them. And he's doing an excellent job. I can't watch their programming. Makes me want to start throwing things.
I have the best TV in the world. It doesn't get Fox.
TPJ ~ see (1), above
You keep Fox at a safe distance (1)
There is no Fox guarding my henhouse.
Frederick, thanks for bringing up profiles in courage. Kennedy's original book included courageous people, but many were reprehensible beyond their courageous moment. It was written as a campaign book, covering both sides of the political spectrum to appeal to a broad swathe of voters. The contents of any new edition would be sharply contested. There have been several successors, including one by Caroline Kennedy, but none like that written by a charismatic, martyred young president.
In prepping this comment I stumbled on an interesting title: C Fehrman, Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote. I hope to take a look soon. My choice for Best President's Book Ever is Personal Memoirs of US Grant. Let the debates commence.
He’s also good looking and seems to have a genial sense of humor as well. I’ve long had a crush, if you can’t tell.
Marcy, I think you need a personal retreat home ... in Rhode Island, near the sea and a long wide beach. Spend enough time there, and you will be HIS constituent 😁
Oh that would be perfect, I’m a beach girl.
Handsome women in power are in the majority these days. Time for some handsome men to "level the playing field"!
I have to admit Lynell, I certainly agree with your sentiment, but just can NOT wrap mind around the adjective “handsome” w dynamic women leaders! So, I guess I'll wrap my mind around something else now, like breakfast
Handsome women and handsome men works for me as descriptors of admiration. I just chide myself to not be superficial!
OK Frederick, I was gonna say "beautiful" re women but was trying to be gender nonspecific. I obviously failed! I'll go with your excellent use of "dynamic" for each gender.
Absolutely! He is a stellar example of what a Senator should be.
I’ve read a huge number of comments this morning and, perhaps more than any other day, I feel the rage being poured out.
Between the Whitehouse/Kavanaugh imbroglio and the threats issued by McConnell yesterday, there is certainly a lot of vitriol being poured out. Again I must apologize for not *feeling* what all you are feeling today. There are days when it’s very weird being a part of this site.
It’s also deeply humbling. We in Canada have nothing, nothing whatsoever to compare to the level of venality in government and the role of big money in producing that venality. What we consider dirty pool in government is usually exposed by the Globe and Mail and in any case would not rise to the level of corruption your country endures. It’s not that we are better people of course. We have our own share of terrible scoundrels.
My conclusion is that America has a bad system of government which has been given bucketloads of positive reinforcement over time. The Founding Fathers are revered as men among gods. The Constitution is a sacred document whose words are parsed to the bone when a situation arises that your Founding Fathers could not possibly have predicted.
In reality, the Constitution seems to me to have been a brilliantly written document - *for the times during which it was written*. Sadly, those times have long passed.
It is overly specific as its architects tried to envision every possibility that could arise. Way, way too specific. Franklin, when asked by a woman at the close of their deliberations and writing, “What kind of government do we have?”, to which he replied, “A Republic - if you can keep it”.
Well, to these eyes, it is getting harder and harder to “keep it”. Your two party system leads to the (what I consider idle) threats of a Senator, expert in all the arcane measures of that body for all the wrong games.
The elaborate system of checks and balances leads either to paralysis or unseemly tricks to thwart the opposition and get something through. Any government which has to depend upon such a feeble rule as Reconciliation to pass legislation of monumental importance is a government wrapped in chains.
The filibuster is an absurdity, born out of a desire of one race to constitutionally continue to subjugate another race. Ironically, it has now led to a point where it can be used as a weapon to protect the legislative “right” to cancel out perfectly legitimate votes.
And then there is the Second Amendment. There are more guns than people now in America because of your right to “a well-regulated militia”. Is this what was intended?
And now your rules have allowed those cloaked in patriotism to create massive openings for vast amounts of money to slosh around the system, utterly corrupting it in the process. McConnell and Kavanaugh are two sides of the same coin in this regard. There is a wonderful kind of felicity in how they are linked at the hip. Both paid for. Both bought. Both exploiting a hidebound system to their own ends.
There is no way out of this except incrementally. The Democrats must at least narrow the filibuster and then pass HR1 and various other bills to palliate America. They must (and will, I think) win a series of elections. The Constitution at some point must be tackled in order to modernize and simplify it.
This is a deep, deep hole. You gotta get to the bottom of it. I do not want to be part of a world order where the dominant countries have totalitarian rule - and China seems to be creeping up. Any rational outsider feverishly hopes for America to regain its greatness and be “the” force for good in the world.
I can't "Like" your comments enough! Even though I'm as American as they come, I spent almost a third of my life living outside the US in Europe. Your informed perspectives resonate with me "as someone from the outside looking in", and it is a skill I think I developed to varying degrees myself. I had several Canadian friends and colleagues in my time in Europe (Canadians were part of our English-speaking "underground network" that also had Brits, Aussies, South Africans, etc. as well as us Yanks) and I always valued hearing from them. I always loved the meme I saw some time ago that said for Canadians living just to our north was comparable to "having a flat over a meth lab", especially over the past 4-5 years. Good one, eh? You pointed out several things, pro & con, about this "experiment" in governance we're having down here that I have always thought myself. Thank you for spelling them out so clearly and eloquently! Money REALLY is the root of all evil when it comes to governing, and our system, even with all the flaws in the 18th century document it is based on, has ended up inviting this kind of corruption. Eradicating it will always be a tall order, but trying to cleanse ourselves of it will always be a worthy goal. We simply MUST get voting rights passed here, or we will end up in really dangerous waters. It is of vital importance. Believe me, if totalitarianism becomes the price we pay down here, I might be knocking on your door, dude...
Your meme is delightfully vivid. :)
Yep, a flat over a meth lab does have a ring of truth to it...
My fear is that as long as our politicians are captive to the largess of big corporate and private donors, our "democracy" will wither. We need campaign finance reform. If SB1/HR1 does not pass (and let me say, it's only a modest proposal) our democratic system will be dead for the foreseeable future.
Which is all the more reason to put pressure on places like Home Depot and CocaCola to stop giving their money to these PACs.
I don’t know the details of SB1/HR1. Is it really modest only in scope?
That’s a disappointment.
From that springs another facet that seems awry in America - the gigantic power of the states vis-a-vis the Federal government. I’ve read a fair bit about this and understand the deal making required to create and sustain a Union.
But the results are at times ludicrously cumbersome, even dangerous. 50 sets of rules for running an election?? Women having to cross state lines to get a medical procedure? Rules regarding marijuana use varying from state to state such that one would need to be stoned to understand them??
Nothing, but nothing, drives me crazier than the totem of states’ rights. The balance is miles out of whack.
And one last point. The Constitution cleverly danced its way around the whole concept of slavery, shackling it with a fatal flaw from its outset. I realize that confronting it directly would have been an insuperable obstacle to union. But maybe it would have been better *not* go unite at that point if that was the price to pay.
The Constitution is like a marriage between a devout Catholic and an equally strong atheist. The partners hammer out a nuptial agreement so that every possible area of disagreement has a written solution, while tacitly agreeing to avoid all discussion of how the children will be raised in terms of religion, for if they do the marriage might never take place.
Ostrich, meet sand.
I really apologize for sounding hyper-critical. I know what an incredibly bold experiment it was and how much deep thought went into a model of government which would keep England at bay. We in Canada simply badgered the British until we were more of a nuisance than otherwise, and then cribbed the British system.
Some Canadians did a little more than simply badger the Brits.
Lord Durham, Report on the Affairs of British North America
A Greer, The Patriots and the People
C Read, The Rising in Western Upper Canada 1837-38
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebellions_of_1837%E2%80%931838
True. It got pretty unruly in the ‘30s with not one, but two rebellions - Upper and Lower Canada.
In point of fact, Canada’s move to limited independence was caused in part b/c of the U.S. England was determinedly backing the South in order to continue the cotton trade. They were less than pleased with Northern blockades.
As a result, there was serious talk in the North of turning their armies around once the South was defeated and invading Canada. McDonald successfully argued that the project might be somewhat more formidable if the provinces united. Lo and behold. Confederation took place in 1867 with 4 provinces forming the new country Canada - Ontario, Quebec (they had to be granted special allowances), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Another factor was the continuing Fenian raids during this time - Irish militia (loaded word! Based in the States) pouncing on Canadian villages in surprise raids, causing considerable distress.
So we kind of backed into independence from Britain in 1867. We thereafter spent several decades looking uneasily south. The Monroe Doctrine and the concept of Manifest Destiny did not sound entirely like pipe dreams to nervous Canadians.
We knew we were gold once we introduced hockey to US north and admitted teams to the fledgling NHL. 😀
So many great points! You write "there is no way out of this except incrementally" and I agree. Of course it would be better if the whole constitution could be rebuilt "clean" for the tasks required by the modern world, by wise well intentioned people using the lessons of past experience as well as the imagination and foresight our originators had to use, rather than being patched and repaired layer upon potentially contradictory or misinterpretable layer. Even a patchy system can be used for good however if used by people with the right intentions. The real trouble is the people currently misusing our system would also be the ones rewriting constitution version 2.0 and I shudder to think on it. The incremental approach we need is the one where we replace the operators before the machinery, which in this case requires we replace the hand tools controlling the vote. I don't revere the founders like gods, but can hardly blame them for the bad patches applied by subsequent generations - for instance it was not intended we have a two party system. In fact I believe I read there were fervent hopes we would not go that path. What I do blame them for is the faith they put in the honor of whoever should aspire to and attain our highest position. In that case I think the fault was naivety and suspect there was a social caste bias. They were men of their time of course. In that case I would have preferred more specificity and less reliance upon a President's honor to set boundaries. In their defense, the limits of expectation, honor and precedence did hold for a long time, no? Now that we have had an example of where more limits would do some good, I hope we do add some patches. The precedence of open defiance of norms has been set.
I love the breadth only a well-informed American can provide. Thank you.
I so wish you could address our Congress with your observances. We are in very bad shape...out of control. Mc Connell had 500 bills on his desk from the House that he refused to enact upon. If the Dems get rid of the filibuster, he has promised to unleash his fury like a mad dragon. He sold his soul and has instructed his posse to do the same. It is upsetting and maddening that he wields that power when he is no longer a majority leader!
Our Constitution must be amended to reflect the current times. I agree with you and have mentioned that several times.
Half of Congress would listen with rapt attention. The other half would fiddle with their phones or take a powder.
Well said.
Well said, Eric. In the U.S., we need a leader with immense integrity, but that type of person doesn't survive in our political system. I'm reminded of Field Marshall Sir Harold Alexander, the last governor general of Canada (1946-1952) appointed by the British Sovereign. I've read that Alexander was extremely popular in that role. My father was on Field Marshall Alexander's staff for two years during WWII. Dad said there was no one like him. Alexander had immense integrity, leadership skills, and humility. He was in a class by himself. We desperately need someone of that caliber.
Well said! Thank you! We wrap ourselves in the flag of history, but “the times they are a-changing!”
Thank you.
Eric, thank you for sharing your perspective as a caring neighbor.
No problem. Americans have been almost universally kind to me both here and when I visited the States.
Must feel satisfying to over generalize problems. However your analysis is not wrong, just not helpful. This is the first time I have read the U.S. constitution is overly specific especially since it is the shortest constitution in the free world. It is however as outdated as Democracy.
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Exactly which parts of this statement are outdated? The correct answer is NONE. They are timeless words and eternal principles.
Democracy is never outdated because it’s an ongoing process.
Democracy is being strangled by dark money. I explained what I meant by Democracy being outdated when I answered Ted Keyes 9 hours ago. Democracy takes TIME. The institutions concerned with economics, science, technology and militarism have sped up. Democracy takes time to protect privacy, civil rights and the environment. Listen to Hartmut Rosa explain how society has become addicted to speed and efficiency. Those two "values" are deadly to Democracy, civil rights and sustainably.
Democracy should not attempt to speed up in a race called "time is money". Government regulation must slow down development in order to protect the environment and civil rights against the self-interests of Oligarchs who believe they can create a better world without the bother of Democracy. The world they would create would only be better for them. They have no interest in the environment because they control their indoor environment. The only 3 rights they believe in is the right to make as much money as they can, to make anything that can result in a profit for them, and the right to sell anything they own to anyone who will buy it.
Thank you for these daily summaries, and for your afternoon video chats. I expected a picture this evening... instead, here is yet another informative letter. Your devotion to and passion for teaching is obvious! I hope your student's Ph.D. defense was a joyful moment in your day. Here's to a much-deserved restful evening and night.
Also, during Amy Coney Barrett's hearings, instead of just questioning the nominee, Senator Whitehouse gave a thorough presentation about dark money in the judiciary, and the Federalist Society agenda to take over the courts in order to overturn Roe, the ACA and Obergefell. I'm sure you've seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcXVKg43qY
Yes, that was a brilliant moment! I’ve been keeping my eye on Senator Whitehouse since. So glad to have him in the Senate.
Let’s pair him with Katie Porter ... talk about scorched earth!
Excellent idea, Marcy!
He's a true statesmen, like senators of another era.
I loved watching Senator Whitehouse’s interview.
That was a great moment! I certainly admire Senator Whitehouse.
And that presentation is on the record for all to see again. And for use to go after Brett-baby.
Thank you, Ruth, for the replay. It's worth another look-see!
thank you for this reminder!!!!
Thanks, first time seeing this.
Senator Whitehouse, a good fit for the Whitehouse?
Bear's repeating!! Excellent! Brilliant! Critical!
This is my first time watching this...wow...
Could be Spooky.
😂
I was outraged when Clarence Thomas was approved for Supreme Court as I watched Anita Hill. Then we are treated to Mitch forcing Brett Kavanaugh down our throat. The honorable justices??? The Supreme Court has lost its status. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the Supreme Court Justice who brought honor to the Supreme Court. Thanks to Mitch he has added his touch to destroy the sacredness of the Supreme Court evidently with the help of big Republican money.
Clarence Thomas is not the towering intellect that Thurgood Marshall was. The only thing those two men had in common was being Black men. Amy Coney Barrett is not the thinker that RBG was. Amy Coney Barret and RBG have in common being women. Both replacement justices were selected for their most obvious commonality with the previous justices.
Thank you. I was outraged by the Senate committee's refusal to credit Anita Hill's testimony and their refusal to hear other women who wanted to testify, but I was over the top that they would think this pedestrian justice was a replacement for Thurgood Marshall. McConnell's and the Federalist Society's goal to put their judges in place has removed what used to be the standard for approval: approval by the ABA. They have approved many judges who are rated "not qualified" over the past 12 years.
Lest we forget, Joe Biden chaired the Judiciary Committee that Anita Hill appeared before and that fast-tracked the Clarence Thomas nomination. It is one of the disgraceful acts of his past.
The shabby mistreatment of Anita Hill still rankles to this day.
I'm sorry but you just cannot work with these people. If Dems don't reform voting rights, they will not win ever, even 2042+. Our state legislature today, hostage to gerrymandered Republicans, insisted on passing a bill honoring Rush Limbaugh after refusing to pass a bill honoring Black History Month. Their crisis event recently was emergency legislation insisting that "hunters" be allowed to slaughter about 20% of our state's wolf population during breeding season before they are relisted as endangered. Their main Coronavirus response over the part year has been to block and rescind our (thank the gods) Dem governor's mask and distancing rules. Other states' Republican parties are censuring their own R senators for lack of fealty to Trump. If Congressional Dems don't act on voting rights, whatever it takes, the states' Rs, much more rabid than those in Washington, will royally have their way with democratic elections far into the future. My opinion.
I am assuming your state is Wisconsin, Cate? If so, it is a blueprint for all other Red States and Republican Congress critters who wish to permanently hamstring and hobble democracy for the foreseeable future. I’m spitting mad about the wolves...
My husband grew up on a small dairy farm in north central Wisconsin. He left there in 1959 to go to grad school. He is furious at the way the right wingers seem to have taken over the state. He keeps saying that the people he grew up with were not like that and he doesn't understand how things could have changed so much. We too were surprised by the wolf hunting. We hunt for the freezer, not for trophy mounts.
One of the reasons I feel so pessimistic about the direction of the country is that II suspect the Republicans have so rigged this political game through dark money that the Deocratic efforts at reform will prove to be a case of “heads you win, tails I lose”. The truth of the matter is that the Republicans and their financial masters believed they could get away with it and they have invested in a mulsti-front effort; the courts, voter suppression, ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), a proposed constitutional convention which has already passed in many states. As the November 17, 2017 article in the online Democracy Guardian says in an article entitled “Republicans Move States Forward In rewriting The Constitution”,
"A constitutional convention, something thought impossible not long ago, is looking increasingly likely. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, if 34 state legislatures “issue a call” for a constitutional convention, Congress must convene one. By some counts, the right-wing only needs six more states. Once called, delegates can propose and vote on changes and new amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which, if approved, are currently required to be ratified by 38 states.
"There are two major legislative pushes for a convention at the state level. One would attempt to engineer a convention for a balanced budget amendment only, and the other tries to secure an open convention for the purpose of limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government. But once a convention is underway, all bets are off. The convention can write its own rules, resulting in a wide-open or “runaway” convention that can make major changes to the constitution and, some argue, even change the number of states required to ratify those changes.”
It’s worth remembering that under Trump, the GOP held 33 state legislatures. It only takes 34 states to call a convention under Article V. This is scary stuff. It’s where the real conspiracy in the United States is taking place: In the parlors of Billionaires obsessed with claiming the freedom to do whatever they want. Despite our use of the euphemistic term “Dark money”, the odds are that we all know from whence much of it flows: from the Koch family, the Mercer family and others of the 1 % who despise being subject to government regulation. Which is to say they despise muscular democracy. They want the same power Putin’s oligarchs have in Russia.
For further insight, see Nancy MacLean’s 2017 eye-opener of a book, "Democracy in Chains,” a well-documented account of the relationship between the Kochs and their hired intellectual guns.
While it takes 34 states to call a Convention, it requires 38 states to ratify any amendments proposed. All the more reason we need the For the People Act!!
Especially interesting are the links she gets into through Koch's funding of legal training centres at key Universities already associated with his other "economic and political subversion" initiatives. The courses emphasized the need for "cost-benefit" analysis in any new regulatory initiative or congressional action opening the door to prevention of limits on the oligarchy's freedom of action and potential gains by defining the info inputs necessary for such evaluations. They also instituted annual get togethers for new and existing judges which, through luxury venues and "pasha" treatment, insidiously inculcated in the ideas of the whole bench elements of Koch's propaganda, a favourable impression of their new "academic legal "institutions and a camaradia amongst judges based upon meetings at these sessions.
A couple of years ago, I asked a friend who is a District Court Judge if we still had a democracy. He replied as long as the Rule of Law is intact we'll be all right. Next time I see him I'll ask where he thinks we are today. Not good! It is imperative that HR 1/S1 For the People Act become law. This is the pivotal year for saving democracy between the control of redistricting and drawing of Congressional Districts for the next ten years mostly by partisan legislatures and the number of voter suppression "integrity" laws being passed in 43 states. That will make it very difficult for the Democrats to hold the House and Senate in the 2022 election. America will clearly and truly be an oligarchic kleptocracy with the last election to be held in 2024 to install a Republican president. As Tim Synder warns in his book Tyranny, vote as if this is the last election you'll be allowed to vote in because it well be. Brett Kavanaugh was such a joke in his Senate hearing crying over his beer. If he had been a woman her nomination would have been withdrawn within 24 hours as too emotional. You can certainly see the impact of Citizens United amendment to the Constitution legalizing corruption and dark including foreign money in campaign financing. I belong to Wolf-PAC which is proposing a Convention of States to override Citizens United and reform campaign finance. A resolution on this has passed in 5 out of the 38 states needed so this is too long a process. The only hope is HR1/S1. What I learned this week was that the Constitution anticipated what is happening now and not trusting the state legislatures. Article I Section 4 of the Constitution states: "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators." Notice the but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter the states election laws. Write both your state representatives and your US Representatives and Senators that you support HR1/S1. Put pressure on corporations and businesses to support HR1/S1. Here's an annotated guide to the For the People Act from the Brennan Center: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/annotated-guide-people-act-2021
Please make this a priority in any way you can. If this doesn't pass we won't get moving on the Climate Crisis making this existential.
Corrupt judiciary? Anybody want to bet Kansas Shawnee county District Judge Penny Moylan (Kansas) who just excused the recent dui of Kansas Senate Majority Leader Gene Suellentrop (drunk and driving the wrong way on I-70 outside of Wichita) is part of the Federalist Society? Think she’s gonna get a fat appointment someday? Moving on up...
https://apnews.com/article/kansas-wichita-arrests-topeka-driving-under-the-influence-7380a7e3e4fbe335536f78e0a5bf719d
Woah - wrong way on an interstate? Dismissed? These comments send me all over the place pursuing things I would otherwise miss.
Yeah! And in the middle of the night. He fled when police tried to pull him over, but went the wrong way on the interstate. State police closed the highway to catch and arrest him at a road block. They had to test his BAL? Right? I was just scrolling the news and caught it last night. Then reading this newsletter, HCR mentions the judiciary. So I thought it pertinent.
We should all be so favorably treated by our court system when driving the wrong way on an expressway, evading police, and DUI at 1:00 am.
Crazy! And by the Highway Patrol too, not by the city cops! ( i bet those guys are pissed off!) I looked up the Judge. She was appointed by the Democratic Governor, so I doubt she is a Federalist Society member, but I don't know for sure. How can a judge who is supposed to be impartial to justice be part of a pre determined justice faction? That is what the Federalist Society is, no? Who funds the Federalist Society btw? hmmm.
I see I have more reading to do...
Me too :)
I have learned these last 4 years, that overwhelming us is a malicious strategy. It is a modern strategy of oppression. "Concentration giving way to distraction"-Tim Snyder. Many friends my age are apathetic towards politics. They have been worn down and given up. When a majority are apathetic, that is when its over for democracy, its when "the politics of inevitability give way to the politics of eternity".
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/16/vladimir-putin-russia-politics-of-eternity-timothy-snyder
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org/
Common Cause
https://www.commoncause.org/
Indivisible
https://indivisible.org/
League of Women Voters
https://www.lwv.org/
Umbrella organizations:
Declaration for American Democracy
Reclaim the American Dream
Credit: Ellie Kona
Thanks to both you and Ellie.
Fired up about the need to pass HR1/S1? Donate money and/or do grassroots work? Check out these organizations and see which fits you best. Pass on the word:
American Civil Liberties Union
https://www.aclu.org/
Common Cause
https://www.commoncause.org/
Indivisible
https://indivisible.org/
League of Women Voters
https://www.lwv.org/
Umbrella organizations:
Declaration for American Democracy
Reclaim the American Dream
Excellent links, Ellie. Thanks!
If it is determined that big money was indeed involved in our justice system, I see no reason why it should not lead to judicial reform like "court packing." This will be an interesting story to watch!
Another thoughtful letter, Heather, for which many thanks.
The observations re: McConnell are striking. I think it's high time we reveal that empty bag of bones and skin for the blustering bogeyman he is. HR1 is absolutely worth going to the mat for and the filibuster must not be allowed to stand in its way.
Scorched earth Senate? We've already seen the worst he can do, had four years of it under 45 following eight years obstructing Obama. We remember he led Republickers to vote against measures they'd formerly supported just because a Democrat had the temerity to put them on the table. Call his bluff.
I can't wait to watch him wither and melt away, screaming like the wicked witch he is.
Someone needs to call McTurtle's bluff. He'll fold like a cheap lawn chair. To paraphrase a former President, "bring it".
Agree. It's high time we call MM's bluff.
Why are the Democrats so worried about "playing nice" with McConnell? When has he EVER played nice with them????? Potentially, they have two years (less now, actually) to get things done. Well, do it. You can be sure that if the Republicans take control of either the House or the Senate, Republican leaders won't give a you-know-what about what the Democrats want or think.
While bipartisan legislation has worked in the past, it is important to recognize that you cannot reason with unreasonable people. In another life, when I was a hostage negotiator, one of the cardinal rules was "you cannot negotiate with terrorists". Following the insurrection of 6 January and the subsequent Republican "response"*, I am convinced that the latter of my two homilies is the most accurate description of what the Republican party has become. Exhibit One is McConnell's "scorched earth Senate" rant.
Such an apt comparison! I would love to see it be spoken of among the pundits and addressed more seriously by journalists.
It's high time Dems quit playing nice and call MM's bluff. It's now or never for democracy.
Julie100%