Before Trump, I did not fully appreciate what "white privilege" meant. I hadn't read about Wilmington, NC in 1898 when whites overthrew the elected city government of blacks, Republicans and Democrats to replace every public office holder with white supremacists with military weapons. I hadn't read about the Tulsa burning of Greenwood a prosperous community of 10,000 blacks by a mob of whites, men and boys with guns and machine guns in 1921. Though I had observed the George Zimmerman gun murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin where Zimmerman was set free on a "stand your ground" defense. A defense that Everytown USA, Bloomberg's gun safety organization calls a license to kill. Every state that has "stand your ground" laws have a much greater number of unarmed blacks shot and killed by armed whites than states without this law.
We now have two nationally reported cases in court of armed whites shooting and killing unarmed people. The Rittenhouse case in Wisconsin and the Marbury case in Georgia where self defense is being used by the gun owners who killed unarmed people.
Daily, we hear of more evidence and new examples of white Republicans threatening the lives of other Americans. This seemed to start with Trump's 2015 campaign "lock her up" and now includes "hang" VP Pence and videos of a House Republican killing House Leader Nancy Pelosi and attacking President Biden.
White privilege has risen to getting away with murder, threats of murder, plans to over throw the US government, laws to restrict non-Republican voters, intimidate poll workers and give Republican state legislators the ability to overturn elections.
All of this was historically practiced by Southern whites from the early 1800s to preserve slavery and then to secure white supremacy in the south expanding into the north, practiced by white Aryan German Nazis from the 1930s until 1945, and by Russian Communists from the early 1900s through the end of the Soviet Union. And now with Putin's Russia, a repressive backward nation that Trump Republicans admire.
My sister has a history degree and didn't learn about Tulsa so how could any of us know about it. I got to be 70 without knowing the truth of what people of color have had to endure. I'm embarrassed to be white! As far as I can remember, I never did anything to contribute to it but I also didn't do anything to help. Ignorance is bliss but it's also no excuse.
History and our place in it advances by degrees. The concept of “white privilege” and such a succinct expression of it is a very recent and welcome leap in our consciousness.
Some ideas are faddish and soon disappear. This one will be enduring, I am very confident. For those of us over a certain age, it’s more than a fact. It’s an entirely new lens through which we can look through our past life and be guided in future actions. An awakening.
We have gone through such touchstones in Canada where, a few decades ago, the ultimate privilege was to be white, male, and English. Francophones fought so fiercely to be recognized as a nation within a nation that we came within a hair of having the province secede in 1995. (50.58% No - 49.42% Yes).
Our attitudes and behavior towards our indigenous people has been historically horrific. It is only beginning to improve.
And women in Canada are fighting as hard for total equality as in the United States.
Having said all that, I do not find it productive nor enlightened to be embarrassed by the good fortune of my birth. It is negative and unhelpful, just as it is unhelpful to be overly proud of my ancestry. It’s just a fact, similar to the fact that I was born in Canada, not, say, New Zealand.
What is important to me is what I do with my life in relation to others - to continue the never-ending process of self growth.
It’s not clear to me that had the twists and turns of history been different and Africa had long been the dominant nation, or China had a deep imperial past (just two examples) that their use of their ascendancy would have been more enlightened than that of Britain or the United States.
We share a common humanity and thus there is a little germ of Heinrich Himmler in all of us, just as we all have a little of the spark of Johann Sebastian Bach.
That is why we need to, in this and succeeding generations, eradicate the reality of white privilege. In such fashion we shall raise children who strive toward the light and have their rightful opportunity to come as close to reaching it as their talent, intelligence and goodness will take them.
As an White Earth (tribal) Nation citizen, I appreciate your statement on not being productive to be enlightened or embarrassed about your birth status. In the process of developing indigenous land acknowledgement statements, which I am involved with an organization in our community, the first step is self reflection - to ask one’s self why you are interested and want to be involved. Those in our group offer that they feel badly about the treatment of Native Americans and their privilege has been recognized.
The next step is to learn the history of the land and about the people who inhabited the land. The process should be led by those who have benefited from the ceded lands. It is not enough to have a statement but must also include your actions of redemption. I especially treasure your comment that what is important is your relations with others and to continue your process of self-growth. This action in privilege is just as important as it is when acknowledging the land one lives on and original people of that land.
Thank you Eric for words resonating with a lot of my experiences and thoughts. Particularly "What is important to me is what I do with my life in relation to others - to continue the never-ending process of self growth." Born into old Swedish nobility I have recently been thinking of it as the seeking for a relevant maleness in our times.
In 1963-64 I was offered a scholarship at Montana State University; the major part being board and lodging with a fraternity. As a gesture of gratitude to my generous hosts I was a pledge and intended to be a member of the fraternity; until I realized that they had racist statutes. I just wanted it should never be said of me that I had been a member of a racist organization; particularly not on a program for international understanding.
That was an act of remarkable maturity on your part. You must already have had a keen conscience. I hope your hosts were understanding.
I’m interested in a general sense in your term “relevant maleness”. I was raised in a house where my mother, an upper class Scot, was by far the dominant figure, although my father, born of factory workers, had a quiet strength.
My profession was teaching and the pay in that job was always equal, although the administrative positions all went to men for the first decade or so of my career.
In a peculiar way, I went through decades before seriously thinking of “maleness” as a construct. I saw women making progress in many fields and was quietly grateful when the first (legitimately) angry phase of women’s liberation was over. I had several female principals. Some were excellent. Some were not. I had long since chosen not to aspire to administration, so the gender of the person who gave the orders, so to speak, was a matter of complete indifference to me.
My real eye opener came when I got a post at an elite girls’ school in Toronto. In what I now refer to as my “indoctrination” before the year began, I was given a long and earnest talk as to why schools like the one where I was to teach, were desperately needed. Girls, I was told, were treated as inferiors to boys in education and were constantly being discriminated against in small and not so small systemic ways. They benefited from being among only those of their own gender where they would not be “shut down” by boys. Their outcomes, I was told, were imperiled by the ignorance of the public schools.
This was complete bullshit. As I was just starting there, I refrained from commenting, but inwardly I seethed.
I knew from my last fifteen years of experience that boys were going off the cliff in education and girls were succeeding at a much higher rate. I was puzzled that statistics about this had not yet come to my attention.
Those statistics have since come, tsunami-style. They show that an alarmingly large number of boys are failing to go the distance in education, while girls are faring far better. Even this year, after the worst of the pandemic, reports have come out of a “missing” million and a half entrants into American schools and universities. Of these, approximately a million are male.
There are many, many reasons for this. Probably the predominant one is a change in the economic structure which has caused a huge decrease in the number of jobs males have traditionally done. In shifting to a post-industrial society, millions of jobs have disappeared through irrelevance or automation. Women too have rightfully pushed open doors to previously male bastions (firefighting, police, construction), where they have of course been equally successful.
It is a huge struggle to be young and male now, although I do not think the world has recognized this. And, in a sadly ironic way, it imperils females. The rise in misogyny amongst teenage males correlates quite closely with the failure of males in the education system. I can’t claim causation, but I wonder.
I’ll stop there and apologize for such a long post. I do thank you for your most interesting thoughts.
Thank you very much Eric for a very interesting comment. I was going to answer right away, but was on my way for a two week working trip from Sweden to Greece, as an architect and craftsman to "the Swedish House" in Kavala, northern Greece. Now I am there, and have Sunday off.
I found the words 'relevant maleness' preparing for a speech on 'The Matriarch and The Patriarch' in a Hopin session with ISCA (https://isca-network.org). The speech was no success, and I am not in a position to cover this vast subject, but have come across it in books and experiences the last 20 years. The first book I was referring to was The Makings of Maleness by Jungian analyst Peter Tateim. It is based on the stories about the Athenian Daedalus in Minoan Crete. It was an eye-opener to me that once there might not have been 'maleness'. Tateim is pointing out, and making credible, 'well-craftedness' as essential to the emergence of maleness; things man-made covered by Greek 'techné'. Today, when I have read The Fabric of Civilisation by Virginia Postrel, with references to techné originating from indoeuropean 'tex' and textile technology, much older and mostly female dominated, I am less convinced. Anyhow, it struck me since I had taken up building crafts as newly educated architect. At first this was a matter of Swedish labor market, but has proven deeply satisfying to my professional and personal life for 50 years.
After talking about Matriarch and Patriarch I realized it might have been better to talk about how societies organize that some have power over others. Originally I imagine reproduction, and the position of women, must have been crucial, with an expected life time of 40-50 years. Now, with an expected life time of 80-100 years, I think it is a major evolutionary challenge to find new patterns for both male and female, when we have few archetypal patterns to fall back on; from private relations to policies in society. Unless of course we really fall back, on warfare.
One successful (for 500 years, until India built a road for tourists) matriarch society, Ladakh in the Himalayas, was sending men deselected as husbands, for training in Tibetan monasteries, to return as teachers and doctors in their villages. For The appearance of pirates in ancient Crete, as well as Incels in the US today, I think it is a key issue for the advancement of women in society, what to do with some deselected men.
My hosts at the fraternity were well understanding, and i did not confront them or their generosity, but the statutes of the national chapter.
I have very good memories from my year in the US, among them the joy of studies with wonderful teachers.
Thank you Eric O'Donnell. I wish I was as articulate as you. I agree with everyting you said and strive toward those goals every day. It is amazing to me how many of my assumptions about me and my country were totally wrong. I am perceived white and not male. My 70+ has taught me to accept ALL people for who they are. I try to undersand, not always successfully. I love getting into conversations with people who see the world differently from me. I find some people distasteful may choose to not associate with them. But I never try to change them... it seems to be a fruitless task. I am very disheartened with all the hate, meaness and lies floating around today and am at a loss as how to deal with it.
Nobody (other than nefarious people trying to stir up white resentment) is asking white people to be embarrassed about the circumstances of their birth. Fair-minded people are calling for elimination of systemic advantages (legal, political, and economic) that white Americans have always held over the rest of the population. You seem inclined to contribute to that goal. Good for you. That is enough, but of course the more you can contribute, the better. The majority of white Americans don’t want their children even to be exposed to accurate American history, and they certainly don’t want to elect politicians who aren’t committed to preserving their advantages. That is the crux of the problem.
Please do not assume it is the “majority” of whites who resist an honest accounting of our history for our kids. It IS however darned close and we must work hard, teacher, parents and legislators to convey the critical nature of moving forward in truth.
I’m reluctant to make a big deal out of this, and if I under you correctly, we’re pretty much in agreement (“darn close” to a majority is close enough, given uncertain data), but my assertions are based on exit poll data and the effectiveness of various GOP campaign strategies.
You’re right. Nobody is asking people to assume guilt.
Taking on guilt is the default position of humanity. Most people in our culture live in the certain belief that they are not as good as others. The theory of white privilege, where it sinks in, becomes merely another stick to beat oneself with.
This, by the by, is what I hate most about social media. They allow us to present a curated view of our life to the world. Follow enough of those sites and you’ll feel like shit.
I agree with your last proposition with the caveat that I hope it’s not “the majority of white Americans”. Those people are incredibly destructive to education (not to mention self-destructive).
I think that it’s the moral obligation of teachers to refuse to teach in such a way. Yes, they have mouths to feed and bills to pay. But if teaching is to retain honour, then its practitioners cannot be propagandizing shills. As a teacher I feel shame to be associated with those who collect their paycheque and don’t rock the boat.
You may tell me it’s more complex than that. I disagree. It astounds and crushes me that so many American teachers are so pliant. Where is the collective power of the profession?
It is definitely a majority of white Americans. Close to 60% nationwide, more like 80% in red states. Whether they admit it or not (even to themselves), 99% of white votes cast for Republicans are motivated primarily by the GOP’s pledge to do everything it can to preserve white advantages and the Dem inclination to treat Americans with non-European ancestors fairly. The other 1% of Republican votes are motivated by unbridled greed.
I’m with you on supporting teachers with backbone, but it’s a lot to ask a person to risk a livelihood by disobeying direct orders.
In this we must count on educational leadership from unions perhaps to universities to loudly and successfully articulate the issues at stake for our generations of students ahead. This sounds as ominous to the quest for truth in teaching as the McCarthy red scare days.
Rex, I’d sure like to see a coupla reliable sources on your contention that “the majority of white Americans don’t want their children even to be exposed to accurate American history.”
When I realized you’d included the qualifier WHITE, my heart sank. But I’d still be interested in the data. Not just from exit polls. I do agree that the Republiqan party is white supremacist. And the Christian Nationalists. But, but — I just hope there’s a missing qualifier.
I have a history degree and spent three and half years in Sierra Leone. Ironically, I knew more about African history than these incidents in the US, some of which I am just recently aware. When I was in grad school, I took a class in 19th century US history and addition to the four or five books assigned for the class, as a grad student I had to read five more and write book reviews. I chose to focus on books about slavery, so I had a pretty good idea of how writing about that changed over the years. I have continued to read voraciously including Saving Savannah, which gives excellent info on how whites keep blacks in their place after the Civil War. (The War of Northern Aggression or The Late Unpleasantness) When we were in Savannah we ran into one docent who acted like the Civil War was last week. I also have read The New Jim Crow, but given recent info, I have a long way to go. My spouse has Sioux ancestry, so we both have been learning about the treatment of Indigenous Peoples as well. We have one of the infamous Indian schools here in Salem here in Chemawa which is still going. We will be interested in seeing what comes out about it. Meanwhile as I reported here yesterday, we had a white putz at the Veteran's Day event at the capitol giving the white power salute behind his back as he held an American flag.
John, I too have a history degree—Providence Coillege, 1976. In all my history courses in high school and college, I never learned about Tulsa in a course. Worse yet, I taught history in public and private school for 40 years or so, mostly in public school, and in no history book that I was required to use in class was Tulsa ever mentioned. It was not until the 1990's when digital sources became more available that I came across these buried stories. Thank God for resources such as the Zinn Education Project, Rethinking Schools, Facing Hisory and the Equal Justice Initiative of Bryan Stevenson. In fact, after going to EJI myself with students just before I left teaching a few years ago, I think it should be required of every student taking high school and college American History to visit the museum in Montgomery, AL.
To echo Mr. O'Donnell's sentiments below, but shorter and more crudely, don't be embarrassed to be white. Be embarrassed that the assholes are white, they give the rest of us a bad name.
Pam, I feel the same. I had no clue about Tulsa and other events until I started reading Heathers daily letters. I am shocked. I am reading more informative books now that I have ever in my 78 years.
It is wonderful to see so many now making efforts to be better informed about history and both past and present bias and discrimination against people of color and indigenous people. However, I urge all not just to be informed but to actively do something to make a difference and effect real change.
I frequently find myself explaining the difference between advocacy and activism. Advocacy is supporting a cause or change. Activism is doing something to bring about change. Both are good, but activism is what is required to bring about change.
People sometimes ask me what they can do. They say they do not know how to make a difference. Or, I’m too old or too young. I’m doing what I can but I don’t have the time. They tell me they feel powerless to make a difference.
OK, here is a start. First be a voter for candidates who exhibit values that show compassion and care for all. Vote for candidates committed to making a difference. Be an informed voter first. Then actively support those campaigns in anyway you are able.
Next find local organizations of people working for making a difference in your own community and volunteer, join with them. There is strength in numbers and connection. These organizations are everywhere and in every community.
Encourage our youth to be informed and engaged. This is a multi-generational initiative and their engagement and energy is essential. Be a role model and example for them. The power of your example cannot be over emphasized.
Be informed. Be an advocate. But above all, be an activist and commit to making a difference.
Bruce, this was SUCH a helpful post. I took the liberty of copying it onto my FB page with attribution to "a friend" (no name used) because I know many of my friends are feeling powerless and in need of practical and DOABLE ways to make a difference.
Thank you, Bruce, for these concrete suggestions. I’d like to encourage all of us to support the young people in our communities. They might be concerned about the climate crisis, or maybe they’re fundraising for food pantry efforts, or to better support people of color and people in poverty in our communities. As Bruce has pointed out, the young people have tremendous energy. Ask your local high schools what causes are students fired up about, and support them as best you can.
Seems like it is the other way around...Power decides what can be considered knowledge. Why are the 3 appeal judges not letting the Trump files see the light of day?
As far as I know the Court will hear argument. There has been no decision. The lower courts ruling is just on hold (enjoined) till they hear arguments and read the briefs thoroughly.
David, just a minor correction to your otherwise excellent comment. It was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that was "killed" by Gosar in his horrific anime' cartoon released earlier this week. That matters as AOC is, of course, a woman of color, a group traditionally at much greater risk of being murdered and "disappeared" by white supremacists.
Which raises an interesting point. When Lin-Manuel Miranda did his film, "On the Heights," last year, there were some complaints that his casting of the Dominicans who lived there wasn't "Black enough." He apologized. I don't think AOC would satisfy those who look for more than just being "a woman of color," which AOC certainly is, to be considered "Black." That extremist viewpoint turns off many who would otherwise support BLM, which I do.
Yup ... and are you willing to risk your life to change these things? Even as Abraham Lincoln tried to change such things, there were bloody riots in the streets of New York City. I hope not, but that is what it may come down to. When the stakes are raised by movement conservatives, will we fold our cards and retreat into academia and sympathetic media?
This is why Black Lives Matter was successful in taking to the streets. Blacks have 400 years of experience with white Americans, the get up and do it again, knowing their lives have always been at risk, that there will never be peace and prosperity with white supremacists getting away with murder. Young white Americans see older white Americans giving away the planet, allowing white terror and inviting vigilante injustice. Let's support them with all we have.
"All we have" describes what the three 'Freedom Riders' who were murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, gave up. Will today's young white Americans go that far?
Three were shot, two were killed, at a police violence protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin by 17 year old white supremacist sympathizer Rittenhouse. Heather Heyer was run down by a white supremacist in Charlottesville. It seems its happening now. They were all white. We seem to overlook what's happening today, the sacrifices made, the perseverance of current freedom workers in praise of what happened in the past. What has always been missing is the moral conviction of the many when that position could have stood against the violent oppression by the few.
Rittenhouse was not the only white man with an assault rifle there. He's just the sole teenager with the immature brain who pulled his trigger. There were many more roaming the streets. The intimidation factor should not be ignored.
I don't know about today's white young Americans would do. I DO know what a white Keene NH seminarian student doing civil rights work in 1965 did. He gave his life to protect Ruby Sales, a teenage Black girl in Alabama. His name was Jonathan Daniels and a shotgun-wielding special county deputy murdered him. (Of course he was acquitted of manslaughter by an all white male jury,) In 1991, the Episcopal Church designated Jonathan Myrick Daniels as a martyr. Jonathan is a hometown hero hero for us in the Keene NH area. Ruby went on to attend Episcopal Theological School and works as a human rights advocate in Washington, DC, and founded an inner-city mission dedicated to Daniels.
Accurate synopsis. I have the worst time trying to get my Republiqan friends to conceive that their gender and color of their skin has given them advantages that BIPoC or women do not have. They will have none of it. At. All.
p.s. I usually use the "white, male, cisgendered, heterosexual" word salad to tell them all the advantages they have. They disagree that any of those give them any special privilege. Sheesh.
Part of their advantage is that they are not disadvantaged in anyway and they expect this and think it is true for everyone else not white/male/cicgendered/heterosexual. They are afraid of a level playing field because it will remove their privilege. I also think people are afraid of losing their "privilege" when instead we want everyone to have the same privilege - I don't want my male coworker to get paid less, I want to get paid the same as him and be valued at the same level.
Sheesh indeed. All of those give them privilege. White women have some white privilege as well, but they are still women, so that means that they are still second class in many ways. Yes, yes, they have the vote, but...
I don't even try any more at my age. It is not worth my time to spend on the closed minded individuals. It is heartbreaking we have such ignorance in our country. There is still so much at 78 that I do not know...but I want to learn before I take my last breath!
It is occasionally amusing to ask one of them, "How much money would I have to pay you to undergo a procedure that permanently made you, to all appearances, Black?" The usual answer, although not usually phased that way, is that their whiteness is a privilege beyond price!
All Americans have the ability to be awakened to American history. It is not a "privilege" to be "woke" to its facts. To say there is no white privilege today is denying those facts, which include recognition that all of us do not have the ability to achieve equality, and perhaps success, without assistance from those who do manage to climb the ladder, and while government might be the vehicle to do that, that is not "socialism."
Thank you for this, Rowshan. With all the negativity about the rule of law moving so slowly, it makes me wonder what folks believe our options are: Disband the committee? Remove Merrick Garland and install who? Install our own brown shirts to administer justice? Declare victory for the coup collaborators?
Prof. Richardson has consistently said in her FB talks that the speed at which AG Garland is working is not a problem. He has to be thorough and that takes time! I certainly hope that, this time, we can hold these creepy people accountable for even some of their misdeeds.
Good questions Lynell but the glacial pace of the proceedings in the face of what appears to be overwhelming public evidence makes the lack of alternatives even more frustrating. Add to that the fact that these people are all free to be about their business and the idea of an equally applied 'rule of law' looks a bit shaky.
Let’s take heart with this possibility: The real devastating, juicy, scandalous tidbits about the whole traitorous 1/6 business will likely be breaking during the campaigns leading up to the midterm elections (as suggested by Justin King). These tidbits could tank a lot of illustrious careers — justin time.
From your mouth to God's ears, but Jeri raises an altogether too possible alternative. I'm sending a letter to my very Republican Congresswoman suggesting that she support the Speier resolution of censure for Mr. Gosar in the hope that his craziness will generate a response that might break some of the rational party members away from the lunatic fringe.
Unfortunately, after the last administration, people have been conditioned to perceive our leaders as corrupt or cowardly. I always felt that Garland would do the right thing. His ruling was written for the lay people - it was clear and concise, and was not cloaked in legalese.
Well it’s about time! Now, Mr. AG Garland, let’s get a move on! Bannon and the former president are going to do everything they can to stall hoping the 2022 elections bring a Republican majority to the House, and an end to the Jan. 6 investigation.
Some news from the SDNY and the NY AG would be most welcome as well.
How much of their personal evidence will still be available @ approx a yr later ? This is fodder. Not one of us could get away with anything even close to this. What exactly were the 22 Gov. Intel Agency’s doing while all this was being planned ? If there ever was an “Inside job “ 1/6 was it.
Kim! Yes! You have just nailed it: “Timeliness” requires instinct to recognize and requires courage to act without a guaranteed outcome. Reason has to step aside for Instinct. Courage has to take the place of Safety. Good cannot wait for Better or Best. You have to seize the moment and risk to reach a goal. These are developed patterns of behavior that a skilled prosecutor probably has, but a skilled judge probably doesn’t. Attorney General Garland doesn’t appear to let instinct temper reason. In the crucible of politics, Judge Garland is not a leader-much less A CRUSADER, which is the type of prosecutor we need now. RIGHT NOW. I hope I’m wrong…but, I don’t think I am. ❤️🤍💙
Garland is operating as a judge, who must wait until all the evidence has been presented. He needs to operate more as a prosecutor who is presenting the evidence that he has of misconduct. Two completely different roles; it is the office of "Attorney General" rather than "Judge General".
Ally, I think you have a great point. Never heard anyone else come close! So, Garland should be one of the nine in SCOTUS, where president Obama wanted him to be. But thanks to Mitch, he isn't....
Another nugget of good news: Today Ciattelli conceded to Murphy in NJ. In a class act he said he hated to lose but could find no reason for a recount; he lost the election for governor fair and square. A very gutsy class act for a republican during times like these, but just the usual way of doing politics in better times forever ago. I'm sure he'll run again if he is not blackmailed by his party for conceding. Let's hope he is still the mensch he appeared to be today. Let's hope a few more Republicans can find some courage and statecraft in 2022.....
Have a great Fall weekend Dr. Richardson, and everybody!
Wow, how refreshing and unique: a republican accepting an election where they didn't win. Sorry for the sarcasm, I really should be thankful in this day and age!
Saw that clip on TV and was thinking how far democracy has fallen that I am buoyed by this Republican politician’s “courage.” Locally, in the last election in my county, if you were a Republican, it was seldom announced on your literature or website. Only on the ballot. Just saying…let’s have more stand-up courage, please. ❤️🤍💙
What he did was correct, but I'll want to see how he governs. I'm just cynical enough to wonder whether he sees the blush fading on TFG's rose, and is betting on the extremists falling out of favor, and he wants to be on the crest of the new wave.
"Bannon is facing a fine of up to $1000 and a year in jail on each count. But a conviction will not mean he will be forced to testify before the committee.
This indictment’s significance may well lie less in getting Bannon to cooperate than in warning others what is at stake if they do not." –HCR from LFAA
Sadly, I don't think the threat of Jail time and a fine of $1000 USD is going to have any of Trump's former staff members and advisors quaking in their boots. They'll simply shrug it off. And, if by some miracle, they are thrown in jail for Contempt of Congress they will milk it for everything it's worth, including being persecuted for the cause of Republican righteousness. These people have no morals, they play dirty, they are irredeemable.
Seriously, we probably all use that word here. I think it more properly applies to lying politicians, but it has become more than that since Hillary buried herself with it. At least she brought 'em out in the open....
“Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts,” said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. “It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.”
A slow walk through the legal system all the way to the newly conservative Supreme Court.
The conservative composition of the Supreme Court is the result of the unbalanced and undemocratic way we elect senators and our president. Fixing that permanently will take amending the Constitution. Voting Republican for even a part-time dog catcher in a local village creates the grass roots which grow and allow movement conservatism to thrive and eat away at democracy.
And McConnell has made it clear that when he, once again, becomes Majority Leader after midterms, Biden will not get a Supreme Court appointment. Hearings for anyone he might nominate will simply not be scheduled.
Because, don’t you see, it will be too close to the presidential election. 🤦🏼♂️
The problem, the really big, almost insurmountable problem, is that the current divide in the country is roughly 50/50, with maybe a swing of 10% either way given the specific issue at the moment.
Obtaining what amounts to huge Constitutional revisions and changes will be well-nigh impossible with that kind of electorate, where you need at least 2/3s to agree.
Daria, I agree that $1000 fines (big deal), and jail time may not easily move some staff members. But, I heard yesterday that the 1/6 committee has already interviewed over 150 people o are holding out may want to think twice as they have no idea what info leading up to/about that day. Those staff members who have recently been subpoenaed have no idea what info the committee already has. As Joyce Vance suggested....“You always put the folks you’re most interested in at the end so you can learn as much information about them as possible before you speak to them.” Some of them may think twice before stonewalling.
"Some of them may think twice before stonewalling." Given that the Committee has already spoken to 150 people the former guy inner circle might want to think twice about lying to the Committee. (which is a crime isn't it?)
They have proved that over and over, yet, rank and file repubs continue to support the cretins. Are there any decent republicans left? Not where I live…
There must be some. Jennifer Rubin had an opinion in WaPo describing 8 categories of Republicans. Two Republican groups can be influenced with the right approach by Democrats to maybe vote with Democrats.
Nealy all Republicans who might, potentially, vote Democratic will convince themselves without our help. Our focus must be on getting Democrats registered and getting them to the polls on election day. Looking for voters among Republicans is a much less productive investment of effort and money.
Why aren’t the Feds arresting them like 10 months ago ? You and I would get a break like they have. Talk about an inside job. I heard this last night that Bannon says” Even though TFG isn’t in the White House he really was elected president and he’s in control of everything. He’s the real president not Biden .” Isn’t there a law against that ?
Isn’t that covered by “treason” and “sedition”? There should be a law for condemnation and removal of government officials who fail to carry out the duties and responsibilities they swore to uphold when taking office.
The basic question I have is if Bannon were black and he belonged to the “Black Panthers Party”, would these exhortations be so consistently tolerated as what? Free speech? Protected political speech? Would the insurrection of predominantly black individuals, erecting a noose for the VP, storming the Capitol, smashing windows and doors, assaulting and maiming police, desecrating our historical halls, terrorizing our legislators….would our wheels of justice have moved as slowly? Despite the credible points made throughout these threads, defending the deliberate nature of the investigations, I can’t shake the conviction that even Bannon’s “little shop of horrors” would have been shut down with little delay following the 1/6 fiasco. Just sayin…
K Barnes that’s why I say this was and maybe even still is an “Inside job “. I saw watching it on TV with my own eyes Police way up above in protective gear holding big guns. I also saw a Capital Police Officer holding a door open in the front and making a motion with his arm directing them to come in. I know I saw it because Lebron James saw it and he Tweeted out” Looks like a wink and a nod to me. “ I could see Black SUV’s parked at the curb.I honestly don’t know if there is a parking lot in the front. If there is it was obviously cleared .I saw the scaffolding. Wondered why it was up so early ? I saw Ambulances off to the side ? The Shawman guy , we get a peek of at the Rally, shirtless right ? Then again in the Capital. It was 41* that day. Trump in his Mob coat and gloves. Probably a big heater behind the podium. Remember how Trump wanted Tanks down Penn. Ave ?They said no cus of messing up the road ? The real reason is there is miles of underground running threw D.C. They travel in golf carts.It’s like a little city having everything they need incase of a “ Worst case scenario”. Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather both took tours and cameras and showed us.Those in the Chamber we’re very safe. There’s an old saying. “ Don’t believe anything they say and only half of what you hear .” I more than agree with you a 100%. I’ve been saying for months that of the 22 Security Intel Agencies we fund , first of all ‘ No one knew ?’ Please ! And if say even Color didn’t matter I’m positive there would have been blood , bodies, Swarms of all the “ Good guys to the Rescue “. People didn’t wait for an Invitation on 9/11 did they. Why does the Congress take control of this in the first place. Shouldn’t it be those Feds who sat there watching it ? And did Not a Damn Thing ! I’ll go a step further. Do we know for 100% surety anyone really has been charged ? No. There’s companies , let’s call them ‘Black OP’s. There’s about 15 of them. They employ about 30K or more each.Professional Mercenaries if you will. 1/6 would have been a “ Day at the Beach for them. “ Sound crazy ? Name something that wasn’t in Trumps 4 yrs ? I do believe they knew Trump wasn’t going to win. And a somewhat controlled Riot in one place was better than all over the U.S. You know “ We showed them didn’t we ! “. Yeah, quite the Show. If the Feds had even a thought I had anything to do with organizing a Riot on/ in a Gov. Building my front door would have been busted in months ago. That I know for sure . Call me crazy.
Chump did all the cheating he could, master class in fact, probably thought it would be enough. But he is not one to leave any Stone unturned. Betcha Roger got the stop the steal crap going way back there. Cult fools who support him (except pols and billionaires) have no clue what is still in his box of evils.
I think Bannon's victim card might backfire. Comments I read in newspapers and what I hear people saying is that there is a sense of "what's the use" concerning even trying to bring the people responsible for the coup d'état attempt on January 6. It is no secret that McConnell and friends have done a very good job of putting Republican judges all over the judicial system so this is a hard slog indeed.
This Bannon indictment might wake people up.
Kinda like at a football game when your team has been getting the snot beat out of them and the fans are just slumped in their seats, or even heading for the exits and then the quarterback catches a hail Mary pass and the game begins to turn around.
And the crowd surges to it's feet and begins to chant "Go Democracy Go!"
Quite concerning that Bannon will be looked at as the martyr and he is probably willing to do that and let more chaos ensure....his desire. It will be more difficult for this country...another platform for the cult Republicans. However, there is no alternative. The law matters. Accountability matters. Truth matters. The pressure that must have been on Garland to act must have been extreme, countered by his need and desire to do it right, as this is the first time isn't it that someone has been held in contempt and indicted by Congress?
Those who believe Bannon is a martyr do not believe in the Rule of Law. They support the authoritarian rule of Trump. Trump is not exactly the philosopher king Plato had in mind. Trump does not even read.
No. The fine for Contempt if Congress is up to $1000 USD.
Currently, actions for which individuals can be held in contempt of Congress are largely a matter of statutory law and focus mostly on when individuals refuse to appear or give testimony for a Congressional investigation or hearing. The U.S. Supreme Court in Watkins v. United States confirmed Congressional power to issue subpoenas, stating that all citizens have a duty to “cooperate with the Congress in its efforts to obtain the facts needed for intelligent legislative action,” and that they must “respond to subpoenas [and] testify.” Federal law penalizes individuals who refuse to respond to Congressional inquiries, as 2 U.S.C. § 192 states that any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 months’ imprisonment.
Hi Tim. This may be (I have only googled "contempt of Congress penalties", and the first entry said $100,000), but several pretty serious-looking sites associated with law firms and the like say $ 1,000. Are your sources better than mine?
"any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 months’ imprisonment."
"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
Equal justice under the law is not possible in America because the Trump-led GOP has politicized the courts. Moreover, members of the Trump cult can not be trusted to seek the truth, & should be disqualified from jury duty. Don't trust me, watch the judges & juries in the Rittenhouse & Arbery trials.
The Rittenhouse judge should be disbarred. His behavior and rulings are a disgrace. In the McMichael/Bryan trial, the judge is marginal, at best. While he resisted the defense's demand to disallow any "Black pastors" from admission to the courtroom, he commented that the seated jury members appeared to have been chosen based on race, but allowed the trial to proceed with only one Black juror. If the verdict is a fair one, perhaps we can take comfort that, at least in this instance, some progress has been made in a mostly white jury's willingness to see beyond the color barrier.
We live in an era where many people not only have a vote but also convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others. People like trump and bannon use their “grievances” to stir up others for their own cynical purposes. Lying becomes so routine for them, and seems to work so well with their supporters, that they seem to create a separate reality together that most often bears little resemblance to the real world of facts, truth and the rule of law. trump’s “Stop the Steal” fabulism is a prime example of this kind of thing. Ultimately, in a well established society and nation like the United States their fantastical ways of thinking and behaving create problems…mostly for themselves and their very willing supporters eager to embrace their lies for their own reasons. Now the House Special Committee is showing the American people, and the world, that their efforts to discover “who did what” to foment, incite and support the January 6 Insurrection, have the power of the rule of law behind them that won’t be denied by lies and fabrications of a former president and his sorry gang. It’s good to see this happening. Many have voiced their impatience with the seemingly slow progress of the DoJ during this time wondering out loud “what is taking Merrick Garland so long to act?” Judge Garland understands the significance of his words and actions when it comes to doing his job as it involves enforcing the rule of law on any number of maters before the DoJ. So now we are witnessing him and his department acting on this vital matter. This is how a great democracy should work and most often does work. trump and his gang are being held to account and most assuredly will face many legal actions in the days ahead that will ultimately bring them to justice as our rule of law is appropriately asserted. Keep going and thank you to all who are doing their jobs to protect and preserve our democracy.
I know you're going to think I'm a wet blanket but I'm going to say this anyway. You say:
"We live in an era where many people ...[have] convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others."
This statement is true up to a point and that point is the place where those who support Trump and others who embrace authoritarianism cannot and will not listen to those of us who embrace democracy. We are not convincing them. They are not listening. They don't care to hear the truth no matter how many times or how emphatically we say it. That is the problem, that is the challenge we have to overcome.
Look, those folks don't read WaPo, the NYT, Reuters. They don't watch or listen to news from sources that present or discuss information and analysis that goes against their very narrow set of beliefs. They hear the words of Trump et al., as the truth with a capital T. That is the issue. How do we overcome it?
I'd like to believe that we will change their minds but we won't. They exist in an echo chamber just as we do – theirs supports racism, bigotry and violence, ours does not. Their beliefs are the result of generations of reinforced white supremacist thought. Expecting them to have an en masse light bulb moment is unrealistic. Do we shut up? No. But we need to be aware of the fact that they are not listening to us and they never will. I appreciate your optimism, Keith, I'm not convinced, however, those working to shut down the hate machine will prevail.
I'm going to offer up a small vignette which I think will provide proof to the statement that Daria is making here. There were two things: one was my flying a thin blue line flag (hereafter tbl flag) at my house along side the National Colors. I flew it to honor a fallen officer (a friend who was murdered in the line of duty on 4/22/11.) The second was a story I would tell about a training class I had been in on suicide prevention. I (as a crisis negotiator) was paired with our local medical examiner (a good friend whose interest in suicide was specifically the high number of domestic partner murder/suicides that we have in our county; it is statistically significant). Our intervention role play was that we were neighbors, shared a strip of grass between our properties, and mowed it in alternate months. "Frank" had neglected his turn two cycles in a row. I was to knock on his door, discover that he was suicidal and had a shotgun next to his dining table. I played out the scenario by sitting next to him so we were both looking the same direction (and not face to face) and drew out of him that he was suicidal and thinking of killing himself with the shotgun. In the course of that role play, and in the statement which really ended the scenario in a positive manner, I told him "Well, you're free, white, and 21. You can ultimately make that choice and no one can really stop you. I would be sad, because you are a good guy going through a bad time." When the scenario was debriefed, the class (mostly social workers and juvenile workers) was shocked that I had used "free, white, etc." and had not made eye contact with him while talking with him. I explained the latter by saying that men, particularly of a certain generation, do NOT like women making eye contact with them during emotional events. I explained my use of the former by saying that it was based on some beliefs that are still strong in that generation of men.
I have a dear friend who, over the course of several months, pointed out to me (firstly) that the use of the language may have been appropriate in that setting, to others who could hear that retelling could find it offensive (and had to explain to me the roots of that statement of "free, white, and 21"). She also acknowledged that while my flying the tbl flag meant one thing to me, it has come to mean a very different thing to other people. I researched the tbl flag, discovered its origins (following Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, MO) and took it down. I have since obtained the original fallen officer flag (black field, centered blue horizontal stripe.) This is a very long way to get here:
I listened. I disagreed initially, researched, and acknowledged that there were things in my conduct and language that other people could find offensive.
Sidebar: NONE of my cop friends agree with what is now true about the tbl flag. They say it shows support of law enforcement and does not mean anything else, especially since law enforcement is (in their words) under attack for being held responsible for their conduct.
While reading this, have to say the "free, white & 21" jolted me. Not the offensiveness of it in modern time, but coming from segregation times it was considered quite normal but I haven't heard the expression in half a century.
Sometimes things we take for granted in our clique (cops, white ppl, black ppl, hippies etc.) is not understood by ourselves as to how others see it. I've never been racist, BUT, I had a large Rebel Star & Bars hanging on my wall in New Orleans. (This was the time of "Dukes of Hazard" on TV). It took Charles Toussaint a black fellow patrolman visiting me to point out it didn't seem to fit me. He was right the flag came down and one of the last things of contention with my brother in MS before I cut off all ties, was him trying to defend that symbol of racial hatred.
Thanks, Ally for this reminder that sometimes people do listen long enough to figure out what's being said. Unfortunately, it's listening long enough that matters.
You, Daria, and Christy, among many strong, encouraging voices here, speak “my language,” rather the language I yearn to speak!
As a communicator, professionally and beyond, it’s my goal to deliver succinct, potent messaging.
While the KISS principle chafes me in name — Keep It Simple Stupid — simple is usually a wise approach.
Pam points out rightly that many don’t listen, not long or intently enough to really “get it.” In this world of myriad distractions, messaging that packs a punch is critical, especially on issues impacting the masses.
How? From whom?
PoliticsGirl is a winner in my book. Let’s dare to dream…
The Lincoln Project teaming up with a Jen Psaki/PoliticsGirl to deliver such concise, powerful words that we, a reasonable majority (I want to believe that exists) will easily absorb and carry the message into action — voting, marching, etc. 💙
Ashley, I wish the messages sent out from PoliticsGirl, Psaki and the Lincoln Project could reach some of the unreachables. Yes, we can try to carry the messages forward, but we need leaders to blast the messages from the rooftops, over, and over, and over.
Thanks, Ally. We have all had to make changes in our behaviors, attitudes and language over the years. You are remarkable in that you worked in a field where bucking the trend could be problematic for you. I deeply respect your willingness to listen and learn. I wish I had your grace. You are a remarkable.
Voting rights legislation, enacting Build Back Better, getting out the vote for more “liberals”, supporting “liberals” who are running, Warren type policies for regulating monopolies and social media giants, Renaming Fox News to Fox Lies, getting rid of Citizen’s United, pot lucks, talking with neighbors. My work has forced me to keep a Ghandi quote front and center:
“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.“
Not to be a wet blanket either, Daria, but we only need a majority and effective laws and justice. That’s still huge but possible.
Christy, yes, we need a majority. I agree with you, it should be doable. It needs to start at the local level with the dog catcher and go on up the line.
What is undoable is unseating justices (as well as judges in lower courts) who were placed on the bench (for life) as political operatives who will uphold Citizens United, among other things, and hack away at our constitution and laws.
Renaming Fox News to Fox Lies is not going to change the hearts and minds of their viewership, it's only going to piss them off and make them dig their heels in deeper. They see us as an existential threat – they believe we want to destroy them. They are not interested in the Truth they are only interested in their alternate truth.
I go back to my mantra: It's all about messaging.
At some point we need to craft a message that resonates with those who are conservative, one that is not threatening to them, one that will seep into their consciousness and make sense and initiate an aha! moment.
We are missing the boat. We do not present arguments compelling to the OTHER SIDE. We attack them. They despise and fear our attacks as much as we despise and fear their attacks on us. It's visceral for both sides of the aisle. We don't acknowledge that fact, therefore, we have no idea how to communicate with "the other side". Because of that, they are willing to destroy everything in their attempt to counter our commitment to the upholding and expanding civil and human rights.
I agree with you and most everyone else here with regards to what should be. Ghandi was a great communicator. We are lousy communicators, from the top down, when it comes to reaching out to those on the other side of the aisle. Until that changes we might as well be talking to a brick wall.
❤️❤️thank you for your response. I’m also a big supporter of the power of words and the importance of word choice. I also think there is great power in connections and relationships. I listen to psychologist and psychiatric experts when it comes to the cult and the propaganda. I am not responsible for what the brainwashed believe but I will remain firm in my efforts to put forth facts/truth. Fox News personalities have reported in court that they are entertainment and not news. It may be a small thing for some that they are allowed to call themselves News but it matters to me. Just like in a dysfunctional household, we cannot control another persons behavior but setting boundaries about unhealthy behaviors we tolerate is essential to a path towards health. For decades we have let 💩💩💩💩 slide and now we are paying a price for it.
“I'd like to believe that we will change their minds but we won't”
Agreed !!
I just had to spend the day with my twin, an electrical engineer, for our dad’s memorial. He is far, far down that rabbit hole. Conversation was extremely challenging and we were all aware he wasn’t listening. But what I saw through all that Q bravado was the fear that fuels .We were also aware that while he’s losing his #$&*, he’s probably also losing his wife. This is not sustainable.
As I looked around at my other family members who are all :stable, smart, progressive, and caring,I realized THIS is sustainable.
Do I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better ? Absolutely.
I will, Pam! And I do agree with comments that we need to listen to both sides. I like to ask…What are your fears/concerns?Although with my sibling that leads me down a deep, dark Q-worm hole !
I am sorry for your loss. I hope you were able to spend some of the day with family members who were not as challenging as your twin.
The realization that some of our family members are lost, even to themselves, is a disconcerting thing. The ones in my family, like your brother, are smart, well educated but absolutely engulfed in this weird alternative reality I can't even begin to understand.
We need to take comfort in knowing that we have family who are still grounded in love, compassion and hope. We will get through this.
Pam, I don't enjoy being a wet blanket. I know I irritate the hell out of people but I am unwilling to stick my head in the sand and ignore reality. Doing so has gotten us nowhere.
Daria, I applaud your willingness to stick your head out there. What irritates me most about the truth of your comment is that no one listens anymore, unless it's like minded folks speaking.
Sadly, our voices are often drowned out by one (collective) voice of Rupert Murdoch and his ilk. Never has one man’s propaganda machine been so successful in drowning out sane voices. Except for once in this century….
although you write hopefully here, and factually, so many others in this country don’t want to believe in the reality that Biden was decisively and honorably elected. Then, in Republican-controlled state legislatures, gerrymandering produces predetermined results, nullifying the effort to vote. This is happening in many state governments. Add to that the right-wing extremist judges on district courts and especially on the US Supreme Court, and we see the authoritarian efforts, backed by billionaire extremists, to subvert democracy and the essence of our good faith.
Dillard, I agree with you that it appears we could lose our democracy, but Keith’s words are a great reminder to us all, to stay focused on the powers we do have: “We live in an era where many people not only have a vote but also convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others.” “ Keep going” ❤️🙏
A relief to hear calm logic and reasoning. 🙏 I’m hoping our DOJ is equally up to the task of ensuring voting rights in the Koch owned states. Not sure Congress will get it done. But still hopeful.
I remember that when I was younger, I used to watch a lot of documentaries about Nazi Germany and I always wondered what a modern day fascist would look like. When I look at photos of the preening, smug Orange Asscactus and the odious Steve Bannon, I get my answer……..
"Those testifying will likely be interested in doing what’s best for themselves."
Those testifying. What's best for themselves.
With the entire apparatus of the Republican party at best hedging their bets on a Trump regime and at worst actively colluding with Trump, what calculus of self interest is in play?
And how does favorable treatment by the Leonard Leo / Mitch McConnell judiciary figure into their equations?
As an aside, fresh from packing the courts, Federalist Society honcho and Opus Dei acolyte, Leonard Leo is busy working to restrict if not eliminate trial by jury. Leo has a hand in every anti democratic scheme right wing religious extremists and plutocrats, kleptocrats, and oligarchs have put in play. The very busy Leo also selects admissions and appointments to the publicly funded George Mason University Scalia Law School. (By the way, publicly funded George Mason is also home to the Koch funded Mercatus Center, known as 'ground zero for deregulation'.)
What chance do democratic institutions and equality before the law have? The chance depends on all of us uniting to elect Democratic representatives to every office in every branch in every level of government.
Here we get to the root of the problem! Leo and his minions have bought George Mason and other Law Schools and have now, with the help of the Heritage Foundation and Opus Dei, so corrupted the legal profession that our judicial systems barely resembles anything written in the Constitution. Being a lawyer today has become an immoral undertaking hiding under cover of the intellectual impossibility of “originalism” and “property over people” that gave us slavery at one time and the nightmare of authoritarianism today!
Originalism pretends that one can divine author's intent. A notion entirely discredited in literary criticism or at least mitigated by reader response.
Textualism pretends that dictionaries fix the meanings of words for all time rather than tracing their trajectory over social space.
The Founders introduced scientific method to government. We come to consensus on provisional and contextual truths through reasoned debate of empirical evidence. We amend the Constitution, elect officials, institute new laws, and make and overturn judicial decisions. If they had a purpose it was to preserve the state and to make progress on civil rights. And to preclude the authoritarianism of tyrants and the irrationality of religion.
Very well said. Religious have had this same problem with the Bible for centuries. There seems to be an addiction to certainty among the right leaning population. Not usually a very effective strategy for solving problems
I know for a fact if I, the ordinary citizen were to plan and execute a take over with a few thousand of my friends, the U.S. Capital or say the FL. Capital . Most likely I would be shot. But say by some totally crazy notion I don’t even get arrested ? Wait, I have to stop laughing at that thought. Okay. I get told I need to disperse, and of course I don’t until I’m Damn good and ready to. OMG ! Laughing again. And then when I do leave I just go home. This is nuts ! The Feds ,Local police, Sheriff, Swat, would be all over me like stink on a dog where I live.I can understand the DOJ’s approach dealing with the crowd . But everyone of them , perhaps TFG being the exception should have been out and out arrested days later. Most especially those with no ties formally with the dysfunction junction administration. They have gone beyond the lie that TFG lost.You see he really is still president and in charge. They are being told this.Don’t pay attention to President Joe Biden because Trumps still in charge of “ Everything “. The Feds need to go to Bannon’s home and slap cuffs on him. Not to mention a few others. Who do you know that would get away with breaking Federal Laws ? Here, where I live it would be Swift and Severe. They would also take possession of everything I own. And just so you know, in FL. even if you’re not found guilty, you have to hire a Lawyer to get it back. But yea,TFG is in control and running the country from Mar-a-Lago.I hope those 22 Intel. Agency’s that take up so much of our budget are snooping around down south here . If there was ever just 1 of trumps lies man I hope he isn’t staying in the mix of Foreign things. Frightening ! And yes, I heard the recording of him saying he knew Pence was safe. So yes, he was well aware of the situation. I would be under a Fed lock up at just the “Plan” of what they did. Why are they doing this dance with Bannon ? This is not being treated like the Crime it is/was. People, it will be at best a yr later ? Who gets this kind of pass ? Wouldn’t be You or I.
Money and connections v. No money or connections. This has been the republican playbook since Ronnie. I remember. Permanent republican majority. How many have gone on record, Rove, Hewitt, think tanks, PACs, too many for my recall. But tfg knew
You can be damned sure if the Capitol had been stormed by BIPOC on January 6 the death toll would gave been staggering as would the arrest and incarceration rate.
"Who gets this kind of pass ? Wouldn’t be You or I."
Amen. What happened to "liberty and justice for all"? How much money and power one has in the U.S. determines the amount of "justice" one receives. Bannon, his lawyers, and puppeteer trump are making a mockery of justice in the U.S. If you or I were facing the charges Bannon is, would our court-appointed attorney keep us out of prison and keep getting delays on the charges--delays which are bound to go on and on, probably through the mid-terms and perhaps beyond. I don't think so.....
A nugget of good news on the indictment front and what a great way for Matthew Graves to start his new job! Now, if the justice department can keep the momentum rolling, maybe we'll get somewhere with actual convictions.
To me it looks like planned delays hoping to wait it out until there is a Republican majority in Congress after the 2022 election and it all goes away.
I think that time is the critical factor. There are so many intentional delays built into the adversarial legal arena that are useful to those trying to avoid confronting the issues.
The common folk would be jailed by now if we were to ignore a subpoena. The utter audacity of these scoundrels is maddening. The mere red tape the Committee must go through to indict these characters is also frustrating. At least, we have an indictment now. Let’s go get those creeps!
I am appalled at how these Insurrectionists are pleading their charges down to the equivalent of a jaywalking ticket. They broke into the Capitol with the intent to kill, why are they getting next to nothing? Is our Justice System that incredibly broken?
There is no treachery greater than trying to topple a duly elected government - None! The Big Lie persists and grows in the harm it's doing to election integrity. People are willing to break laws and cause harm to those who oppose the Big Lie. The fact that these ringleaders are not incarcerated and awaiting trial for high crimes and misdemeanors indicates to me the Department of Justice is incredibly broken. The Democrats' desire to hold toothless hearings reduces this to a political grudge match and gives Republicans an opportunity to drag this out until they are back in power. When the Republicans take over the country they will pardon all of the traitors and probably erect monuments honoring their persecution. Instrumental to effective propaganda is rewriting history.
There are tens of millions of people and an entire political party that has turned their back on the country. They are cold and cruel in their quest to do nothing to improve the quality of life in America. It is not even open to debate. The Republicans have zero respect for democracy and have openly taken steps to fix the outcome of elections making it next to impossible for Democrats to win ever.
I'm sorry but too many complacent people are going to find out too late that Republicans are willing to instigate a civil war if necessary to gain and stay in power. There is a real possibility that this young country may become mired in decades of bloody conflagrations like other authoritarian regimes in the world.
So Linda, absolutely our system of justice has been incapacitated. Not only that but the plutocrats have effectively gained control of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Office of President. Thinking that people are somehow going to come to their senses is a fantasy.
Plea bargains are a very interesting critter; for one thing, they do get cases resolved quickly and expeditiously. There may be parts of those plea agreements that will compel these convicts to testify in future legal proceedings.
I did read of one judge who was aghast at the minor crimes that these seditionists were pleading to, however.
I would assume it's the "you wash my back and I'll wash yours" situation. They are pleading for a lesser sentence by giving information. Hope it works!
Pan, I would like to think that, but is the Justice System just trying to sweep this under the carpet? I understand that "horned" fellow, who's name I've already forgotten, gets sentenced next week. This will be very telling.
Smoke and mirrors.Bannon's performance a show. The toothlessness of a conviction. Meanwhile "Authoritarian Coups are Gradual then Sudden" description of what's happening before our very eyes marches on. "For some unfathomable reason, Democrats insist on calling their Republican colleagues their “friends.” They are not friends. They are systematically destroying American democracy with the clear objective of replacing it with strongman authoritarianism, a new and American version of what Benito Mussolini called fascism.
Right now they’re moving gradually:
Infiltrating police departments and the enlisted ranks of the military
Taking over school boards and local boards of elections
Firing principals and teachers who defend multiracial, multicultural democracy while banning and burning books that contain such “dangerous” ideas
Gerrymandering states so regardless of how people vote, Republicans control the levers of power....."I urge those here to see the complete list. (Hartmann Report.com) Time for contacting Congressional Reps/Senators; local papers with letters to the editor; our back slapping bipartisan President; friends.
My father was part of the Allied forces who fought through Europe in 1945 and then witnessed the German surrender in Italy. I was raised on the lore of WWII. Then, 60 years ago, I was talking with my father as I said, "Well, at least fascism was destroyed." He replied, "Destroyed? Well, temporarily, yes. But fascism will be back. Things will get out of hand in the country, and the people will call for a strongman. Then, we'll see it again." Well, he was right, and here we are.
Yes. So we must support the light of truth wherever and whenever it appears - with fervor and determination. David Sirota’s and his team of investigative reporters’ solid journalism (see The Daily Poster.com) heartens because it aims to pull back the veil cloaking shananigans harmful to our well being - like ex Governor Cuomo’s efforts to usher in immunity from liability lawsuits for corporations and owners of nursing homes and the big payoffs Sinema has been receiving from Big Pharma. Standing strong for the truth is a powerful antidote to the energies fomented in service to fascism.
THE PLAYERS: Donald J. Trump, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Donnie Jr., Hannity, Giuliani, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, Kayleigh McEnaney, Josh Hawley, Mark Meadows, Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Michael Cohen, Kellyanne Conway, Paul Manafort, Jason Miller, Steve Cohen; Kevin McCarthy, Bill Barr, Mike Pence, Matt Gaetz, Melania....
Review: ⭐️ 0 star. Warning: you must be a bully, deranged cultist or 12 year old carefully taught racist to find anything of value in this wretched production.
If you peddled the script to potential producers, they'd laugh you out of their office as too preposterous to even read. But it is indeed being produced daily on the TV news and we all have roles as "extras."
It's a great show...Francis Ford, Kubrick, Scorsese, Hitchcock, Vincent Minnelli, Sergio Leone, Fellini, Quentin Tarantino -- think what they would've done with it !!!!! and Quentin is available. C'mon Jack... that cast has tremendous STAR POWER!
Unfortunately that is what America has done. The folks I work with do not have a clue what is happening in Politics today. They have turned their backs and just want to go about their lives.
Yes! Definitely a series - maybe on the order of GOT, but set in various trump towers, various basements, various golf courses, various ballrooms, various bathrooms with gold plated toilets?
Before Trump, I did not fully appreciate what "white privilege" meant. I hadn't read about Wilmington, NC in 1898 when whites overthrew the elected city government of blacks, Republicans and Democrats to replace every public office holder with white supremacists with military weapons. I hadn't read about the Tulsa burning of Greenwood a prosperous community of 10,000 blacks by a mob of whites, men and boys with guns and machine guns in 1921. Though I had observed the George Zimmerman gun murder of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin where Zimmerman was set free on a "stand your ground" defense. A defense that Everytown USA, Bloomberg's gun safety organization calls a license to kill. Every state that has "stand your ground" laws have a much greater number of unarmed blacks shot and killed by armed whites than states without this law.
We now have two nationally reported cases in court of armed whites shooting and killing unarmed people. The Rittenhouse case in Wisconsin and the Marbury case in Georgia where self defense is being used by the gun owners who killed unarmed people.
Daily, we hear of more evidence and new examples of white Republicans threatening the lives of other Americans. This seemed to start with Trump's 2015 campaign "lock her up" and now includes "hang" VP Pence and videos of a House Republican killing House Leader Nancy Pelosi and attacking President Biden.
White privilege has risen to getting away with murder, threats of murder, plans to over throw the US government, laws to restrict non-Republican voters, intimidate poll workers and give Republican state legislators the ability to overturn elections.
All of this was historically practiced by Southern whites from the early 1800s to preserve slavery and then to secure white supremacy in the south expanding into the north, practiced by white Aryan German Nazis from the 1930s until 1945, and by Russian Communists from the early 1900s through the end of the Soviet Union. And now with Putin's Russia, a repressive backward nation that Trump Republicans admire.
My sister has a history degree and didn't learn about Tulsa so how could any of us know about it. I got to be 70 without knowing the truth of what people of color have had to endure. I'm embarrassed to be white! As far as I can remember, I never did anything to contribute to it but I also didn't do anything to help. Ignorance is bliss but it's also no excuse.
History and our place in it advances by degrees. The concept of “white privilege” and such a succinct expression of it is a very recent and welcome leap in our consciousness.
Some ideas are faddish and soon disappear. This one will be enduring, I am very confident. For those of us over a certain age, it’s more than a fact. It’s an entirely new lens through which we can look through our past life and be guided in future actions. An awakening.
We have gone through such touchstones in Canada where, a few decades ago, the ultimate privilege was to be white, male, and English. Francophones fought so fiercely to be recognized as a nation within a nation that we came within a hair of having the province secede in 1995. (50.58% No - 49.42% Yes).
Our attitudes and behavior towards our indigenous people has been historically horrific. It is only beginning to improve.
And women in Canada are fighting as hard for total equality as in the United States.
Having said all that, I do not find it productive nor enlightened to be embarrassed by the good fortune of my birth. It is negative and unhelpful, just as it is unhelpful to be overly proud of my ancestry. It’s just a fact, similar to the fact that I was born in Canada, not, say, New Zealand.
What is important to me is what I do with my life in relation to others - to continue the never-ending process of self growth.
It’s not clear to me that had the twists and turns of history been different and Africa had long been the dominant nation, or China had a deep imperial past (just two examples) that their use of their ascendancy would have been more enlightened than that of Britain or the United States.
We share a common humanity and thus there is a little germ of Heinrich Himmler in all of us, just as we all have a little of the spark of Johann Sebastian Bach.
That is why we need to, in this and succeeding generations, eradicate the reality of white privilege. In such fashion we shall raise children who strive toward the light and have their rightful opportunity to come as close to reaching it as their talent, intelligence and goodness will take them.
As an White Earth (tribal) Nation citizen, I appreciate your statement on not being productive to be enlightened or embarrassed about your birth status. In the process of developing indigenous land acknowledgement statements, which I am involved with an organization in our community, the first step is self reflection - to ask one’s self why you are interested and want to be involved. Those in our group offer that they feel badly about the treatment of Native Americans and their privilege has been recognized.
The next step is to learn the history of the land and about the people who inhabited the land. The process should be led by those who have benefited from the ceded lands. It is not enough to have a statement but must also include your actions of redemption. I especially treasure your comment that what is important is your relations with others and to continue your process of self-growth. This action in privilege is just as important as it is when acknowledging the land one lives on and original people of that land.
(Sweden)
Thank you Eric for words resonating with a lot of my experiences and thoughts. Particularly "What is important to me is what I do with my life in relation to others - to continue the never-ending process of self growth." Born into old Swedish nobility I have recently been thinking of it as the seeking for a relevant maleness in our times.
In 1963-64 I was offered a scholarship at Montana State University; the major part being board and lodging with a fraternity. As a gesture of gratitude to my generous hosts I was a pledge and intended to be a member of the fraternity; until I realized that they had racist statutes. I just wanted it should never be said of me that I had been a member of a racist organization; particularly not on a program for international understanding.
That was an act of remarkable maturity on your part. You must already have had a keen conscience. I hope your hosts were understanding.
I’m interested in a general sense in your term “relevant maleness”. I was raised in a house where my mother, an upper class Scot, was by far the dominant figure, although my father, born of factory workers, had a quiet strength.
My profession was teaching and the pay in that job was always equal, although the administrative positions all went to men for the first decade or so of my career.
In a peculiar way, I went through decades before seriously thinking of “maleness” as a construct. I saw women making progress in many fields and was quietly grateful when the first (legitimately) angry phase of women’s liberation was over. I had several female principals. Some were excellent. Some were not. I had long since chosen not to aspire to administration, so the gender of the person who gave the orders, so to speak, was a matter of complete indifference to me.
My real eye opener came when I got a post at an elite girls’ school in Toronto. In what I now refer to as my “indoctrination” before the year began, I was given a long and earnest talk as to why schools like the one where I was to teach, were desperately needed. Girls, I was told, were treated as inferiors to boys in education and were constantly being discriminated against in small and not so small systemic ways. They benefited from being among only those of their own gender where they would not be “shut down” by boys. Their outcomes, I was told, were imperiled by the ignorance of the public schools.
This was complete bullshit. As I was just starting there, I refrained from commenting, but inwardly I seethed.
I knew from my last fifteen years of experience that boys were going off the cliff in education and girls were succeeding at a much higher rate. I was puzzled that statistics about this had not yet come to my attention.
Those statistics have since come, tsunami-style. They show that an alarmingly large number of boys are failing to go the distance in education, while girls are faring far better. Even this year, after the worst of the pandemic, reports have come out of a “missing” million and a half entrants into American schools and universities. Of these, approximately a million are male.
There are many, many reasons for this. Probably the predominant one is a change in the economic structure which has caused a huge decrease in the number of jobs males have traditionally done. In shifting to a post-industrial society, millions of jobs have disappeared through irrelevance or automation. Women too have rightfully pushed open doors to previously male bastions (firefighting, police, construction), where they have of course been equally successful.
It is a huge struggle to be young and male now, although I do not think the world has recognized this. And, in a sadly ironic way, it imperils females. The rise in misogyny amongst teenage males correlates quite closely with the failure of males in the education system. I can’t claim causation, but I wonder.
I’ll stop there and apologize for such a long post. I do thank you for your most interesting thoughts.
Thank you very much Eric for a very interesting comment. I was going to answer right away, but was on my way for a two week working trip from Sweden to Greece, as an architect and craftsman to "the Swedish House" in Kavala, northern Greece. Now I am there, and have Sunday off.
I found the words 'relevant maleness' preparing for a speech on 'The Matriarch and The Patriarch' in a Hopin session with ISCA (https://isca-network.org). The speech was no success, and I am not in a position to cover this vast subject, but have come across it in books and experiences the last 20 years. The first book I was referring to was The Makings of Maleness by Jungian analyst Peter Tateim. It is based on the stories about the Athenian Daedalus in Minoan Crete. It was an eye-opener to me that once there might not have been 'maleness'. Tateim is pointing out, and making credible, 'well-craftedness' as essential to the emergence of maleness; things man-made covered by Greek 'techné'. Today, when I have read The Fabric of Civilisation by Virginia Postrel, with references to techné originating from indoeuropean 'tex' and textile technology, much older and mostly female dominated, I am less convinced. Anyhow, it struck me since I had taken up building crafts as newly educated architect. At first this was a matter of Swedish labor market, but has proven deeply satisfying to my professional and personal life for 50 years.
After talking about Matriarch and Patriarch I realized it might have been better to talk about how societies organize that some have power over others. Originally I imagine reproduction, and the position of women, must have been crucial, with an expected life time of 40-50 years. Now, with an expected life time of 80-100 years, I think it is a major evolutionary challenge to find new patterns for both male and female, when we have few archetypal patterns to fall back on; from private relations to policies in society. Unless of course we really fall back, on warfare.
One successful (for 500 years, until India built a road for tourists) matriarch society, Ladakh in the Himalayas, was sending men deselected as husbands, for training in Tibetan monasteries, to return as teachers and doctors in their villages. For The appearance of pirates in ancient Crete, as well as Incels in the US today, I think it is a key issue for the advancement of women in society, what to do with some deselected men.
My hosts at the fraternity were well understanding, and i did not confront them or their generosity, but the statutes of the national chapter.
I have very good memories from my year in the US, among them the joy of studies with wonderful teachers.
Thank you Eric O'Donnell. I wish I was as articulate as you. I agree with everyting you said and strive toward those goals every day. It is amazing to me how many of my assumptions about me and my country were totally wrong. I am perceived white and not male. My 70+ has taught me to accept ALL people for who they are. I try to undersand, not always successfully. I love getting into conversations with people who see the world differently from me. I find some people distasteful may choose to not associate with them. But I never try to change them... it seems to be a fruitless task. I am very disheartened with all the hate, meaness and lies floating around today and am at a loss as how to deal with it.
Nobody (other than nefarious people trying to stir up white resentment) is asking white people to be embarrassed about the circumstances of their birth. Fair-minded people are calling for elimination of systemic advantages (legal, political, and economic) that white Americans have always held over the rest of the population. You seem inclined to contribute to that goal. Good for you. That is enough, but of course the more you can contribute, the better. The majority of white Americans don’t want their children even to be exposed to accurate American history, and they certainly don’t want to elect politicians who aren’t committed to preserving their advantages. That is the crux of the problem.
Please do not assume it is the “majority” of whites who resist an honest accounting of our history for our kids. It IS however darned close and we must work hard, teacher, parents and legislators to convey the critical nature of moving forward in truth.
I’m reluctant to make a big deal out of this, and if I under you correctly, we’re pretty much in agreement (“darn close” to a majority is close enough, given uncertain data), but my assertions are based on exit poll data and the effectiveness of various GOP campaign strategies.
Sadly you are correct. I had the wrong information. I stand corrected.
You’re right. Nobody is asking people to assume guilt.
Taking on guilt is the default position of humanity. Most people in our culture live in the certain belief that they are not as good as others. The theory of white privilege, where it sinks in, becomes merely another stick to beat oneself with.
This, by the by, is what I hate most about social media. They allow us to present a curated view of our life to the world. Follow enough of those sites and you’ll feel like shit.
I agree with your last proposition with the caveat that I hope it’s not “the majority of white Americans”. Those people are incredibly destructive to education (not to mention self-destructive).
I think that it’s the moral obligation of teachers to refuse to teach in such a way. Yes, they have mouths to feed and bills to pay. But if teaching is to retain honour, then its practitioners cannot be propagandizing shills. As a teacher I feel shame to be associated with those who collect their paycheque and don’t rock the boat.
You may tell me it’s more complex than that. I disagree. It astounds and crushes me that so many American teachers are so pliant. Where is the collective power of the profession?
It is definitely a majority of white Americans. Close to 60% nationwide, more like 80% in red states. Whether they admit it or not (even to themselves), 99% of white votes cast for Republicans are motivated primarily by the GOP’s pledge to do everything it can to preserve white advantages and the Dem inclination to treat Americans with non-European ancestors fairly. The other 1% of Republican votes are motivated by unbridled greed.
I’m with you on supporting teachers with backbone, but it’s a lot to ask a person to risk a livelihood by disobeying direct orders.
In this we must count on educational leadership from unions perhaps to universities to loudly and successfully articulate the issues at stake for our generations of students ahead. This sounds as ominous to the quest for truth in teaching as the McCarthy red scare days.
Rex, I’d sure like to see a coupla reliable sources on your contention that “the majority of white Americans don’t want their children even to be exposed to accurate American history.”
When I realized you’d included the qualifier WHITE, my heart sank. But I’d still be interested in the data. Not just from exit polls. I do agree that the Republiqan party is white supremacist. And the Christian Nationalists. But, but — I just hope there’s a missing qualifier.
Eric your thoughtful comments have also resulted in even more thoughtful comments. That’s good to see. Thank you.
Jews and 'privilege', have we got a story!
I have a history degree and spent three and half years in Sierra Leone. Ironically, I knew more about African history than these incidents in the US, some of which I am just recently aware. When I was in grad school, I took a class in 19th century US history and addition to the four or five books assigned for the class, as a grad student I had to read five more and write book reviews. I chose to focus on books about slavery, so I had a pretty good idea of how writing about that changed over the years. I have continued to read voraciously including Saving Savannah, which gives excellent info on how whites keep blacks in their place after the Civil War. (The War of Northern Aggression or The Late Unpleasantness) When we were in Savannah we ran into one docent who acted like the Civil War was last week. I also have read The New Jim Crow, but given recent info, I have a long way to go. My spouse has Sioux ancestry, so we both have been learning about the treatment of Indigenous Peoples as well. We have one of the infamous Indian schools here in Salem here in Chemawa which is still going. We will be interested in seeing what comes out about it. Meanwhile as I reported here yesterday, we had a white putz at the Veteran's Day event at the capitol giving the white power salute behind his back as he held an American flag.
I have a history degree (from Boston College, '76, no less!) and I never heard about Tulsa until a few years ago.
John, I too have a history degree—Providence Coillege, 1976. In all my history courses in high school and college, I never learned about Tulsa in a course. Worse yet, I taught history in public and private school for 40 years or so, mostly in public school, and in no history book that I was required to use in class was Tulsa ever mentioned. It was not until the 1990's when digital sources became more available that I came across these buried stories. Thank God for resources such as the Zinn Education Project, Rethinking Schools, Facing Hisory and the Equal Justice Initiative of Bryan Stevenson. In fact, after going to EJI myself with students just before I left teaching a few years ago, I think it should be required of every student taking high school and college American History to visit the museum in Montgomery, AL.
To echo Mr. O'Donnell's sentiments below, but shorter and more crudely, don't be embarrassed to be white. Be embarrassed that the assholes are white, they give the rest of us a bad name.
😎
Pam, I feel the same. I had no clue about Tulsa and other events until I started reading Heathers daily letters. I am shocked. I am reading more informative books now that I have ever in my 78 years.
It is wonderful to see so many now making efforts to be better informed about history and both past and present bias and discrimination against people of color and indigenous people. However, I urge all not just to be informed but to actively do something to make a difference and effect real change.
I frequently find myself explaining the difference between advocacy and activism. Advocacy is supporting a cause or change. Activism is doing something to bring about change. Both are good, but activism is what is required to bring about change.
People sometimes ask me what they can do. They say they do not know how to make a difference. Or, I’m too old or too young. I’m doing what I can but I don’t have the time. They tell me they feel powerless to make a difference.
OK, here is a start. First be a voter for candidates who exhibit values that show compassion and care for all. Vote for candidates committed to making a difference. Be an informed voter first. Then actively support those campaigns in anyway you are able.
Next find local organizations of people working for making a difference in your own community and volunteer, join with them. There is strength in numbers and connection. These organizations are everywhere and in every community.
Encourage our youth to be informed and engaged. This is a multi-generational initiative and their engagement and energy is essential. Be a role model and example for them. The power of your example cannot be over emphasized.
Be informed. Be an advocate. But above all, be an activist and commit to making a difference.
Bruce, this was SUCH a helpful post. I took the liberty of copying it onto my FB page with attribution to "a friend" (no name used) because I know many of my friends are feeling powerless and in need of practical and DOABLE ways to make a difference.
Thank you, Bruce, for these concrete suggestions. I’d like to encourage all of us to support the young people in our communities. They might be concerned about the climate crisis, or maybe they’re fundraising for food pantry efforts, or to better support people of color and people in poverty in our communities. As Bruce has pointed out, the young people have tremendous energy. Ask your local high schools what causes are students fired up about, and support them as best you can.
Bruce, as you know knowledge is power. First you have to have knowledge and then you need to act on that knowledge, as you have put it so very well.
Seems like it is the other way around...Power decides what can be considered knowledge. Why are the 3 appeal judges not letting the Trump files see the light of day?
As far as I know the Court will hear argument. There has been no decision. The lower courts ruling is just on hold (enjoined) till they hear arguments and read the briefs thoroughly.
I bet it goes to the Supremes
David, just a minor correction to your otherwise excellent comment. It was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that was "killed" by Gosar in his horrific anime' cartoon released earlier this week. That matters as AOC is, of course, a woman of color, a group traditionally at much greater risk of being murdered and "disappeared" by white supremacists.
Which raises an interesting point. When Lin-Manuel Miranda did his film, "On the Heights," last year, there were some complaints that his casting of the Dominicans who lived there wasn't "Black enough." He apologized. I don't think AOC would satisfy those who look for more than just being "a woman of color," which AOC certainly is, to be considered "Black." That extremist viewpoint turns off many who would otherwise support BLM, which I do.
Yup ... and are you willing to risk your life to change these things? Even as Abraham Lincoln tried to change such things, there were bloody riots in the streets of New York City. I hope not, but that is what it may come down to. When the stakes are raised by movement conservatives, will we fold our cards and retreat into academia and sympathetic media?
This is why Black Lives Matter was successful in taking to the streets. Blacks have 400 years of experience with white Americans, the get up and do it again, knowing their lives have always been at risk, that there will never be peace and prosperity with white supremacists getting away with murder. Young white Americans see older white Americans giving away the planet, allowing white terror and inviting vigilante injustice. Let's support them with all we have.
I am heartened to see Black Lives back on the table today. Thanks, David (and Jack)
"All we have" describes what the three 'Freedom Riders' who were murdered in Philadelphia, Mississippi, gave up. Will today's young white Americans go that far?
Three were shot, two were killed, at a police violence protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin by 17 year old white supremacist sympathizer Rittenhouse. Heather Heyer was run down by a white supremacist in Charlottesville. It seems its happening now. They were all white. We seem to overlook what's happening today, the sacrifices made, the perseverance of current freedom workers in praise of what happened in the past. What has always been missing is the moral conviction of the many when that position could have stood against the violent oppression by the few.
Rittenhouse was not the only white man with an assault rifle there. He's just the sole teenager with the immature brain who pulled his trigger. There were many more roaming the streets. The intimidation factor should not be ignored.
Bless you David. I’m very grateful for your words and perspective. ❤️
I'm in. So how do we direct/push our moral conviction?
I don't know about today's white young Americans would do. I DO know what a white Keene NH seminarian student doing civil rights work in 1965 did. He gave his life to protect Ruby Sales, a teenage Black girl in Alabama. His name was Jonathan Daniels and a shotgun-wielding special county deputy murdered him. (Of course he was acquitted of manslaughter by an all white male jury,) In 1991, the Episcopal Church designated Jonathan Myrick Daniels as a martyr. Jonathan is a hometown hero hero for us in the Keene NH area. Ruby went on to attend Episcopal Theological School and works as a human rights advocate in Washington, DC, and founded an inner-city mission dedicated to Daniels.
Accurate synopsis. I have the worst time trying to get my Republiqan friends to conceive that their gender and color of their skin has given them advantages that BIPoC or women do not have. They will have none of it. At. All.
p.s. I usually use the "white, male, cisgendered, heterosexual" word salad to tell them all the advantages they have. They disagree that any of those give them any special privilege. Sheesh.
Part of their advantage is that they are not disadvantaged in anyway and they expect this and think it is true for everyone else not white/male/cicgendered/heterosexual. They are afraid of a level playing field because it will remove their privilege. I also think people are afraid of losing their "privilege" when instead we want everyone to have the same privilege - I don't want my male coworker to get paid less, I want to get paid the same as him and be valued at the same level.
Sheesh indeed. All of those give them privilege. White women have some white privilege as well, but they are still women, so that means that they are still second class in many ways. Yes, yes, they have the vote, but...
I don't even try any more at my age. It is not worth my time to spend on the closed minded individuals. It is heartbreaking we have such ignorance in our country. There is still so much at 78 that I do not know...but I want to learn before I take my last breath!
It is occasionally amusing to ask one of them, "How much money would I have to pay you to undergo a procedure that permanently made you, to all appearances, Black?" The usual answer, although not usually phased that way, is that their whiteness is a privilege beyond price!
Another read, “It was never about a hot dog and a coke!”, by Rodney L. Hurst, Sr.
There is no white privilege today. There is woke privilege.
All Americans have the ability to be awakened to American history. It is not a "privilege" to be "woke" to its facts. To say there is no white privilege today is denying those facts, which include recognition that all of us do not have the ability to achieve equality, and perhaps success, without assistance from those who do manage to climb the ladder, and while government might be the vehicle to do that, that is not "socialism."
David, I shared this on my FB page with attribution to "a friend" (no name.) You perfectly wrote my own state of mind. Thank you.
If Bannon can be kept off the air for a year, this indictment will have been worth it, anything less than that will render it a farce!
He is toxicity in the flesh
Thank you for this, Rowshan. With all the negativity about the rule of law moving so slowly, it makes me wonder what folks believe our options are: Disband the committee? Remove Merrick Garland and install who? Install our own brown shirts to administer justice? Declare victory for the coup collaborators?
Prof. Richardson has consistently said in her FB talks that the speed at which AG Garland is working is not a problem. He has to be thorough and that takes time! I certainly hope that, this time, we can hold these creepy people accountable for even some of their misdeeds.
The ticking clock, which MSM mentions every time it ticks, makes even the most stalwart cringe
Good questions Lynell but the glacial pace of the proceedings in the face of what appears to be overwhelming public evidence makes the lack of alternatives even more frustrating. Add to that the fact that these people are all free to be about their business and the idea of an equally applied 'rule of law' looks a bit shaky.
Let’s take heart with this possibility: The real devastating, juicy, scandalous tidbits about the whole traitorous 1/6 business will likely be breaking during the campaigns leading up to the midterm elections (as suggested by Justin King). These tidbits could tank a lot of illustrious careers — justin time.
Unless Rupert and clones grab the news cycle with made up bull Schitt. They are expert at this.
From your mouth to God's ears, but Jeri raises an altogether too possible alternative. I'm sending a letter to my very Republican Congresswoman suggesting that she support the Speier resolution of censure for Mr. Gosar in the hope that his craziness will generate a response that might break some of the rational party members away from the lunatic fringe.
And their business is to proceed with and defend their unfinished coup.
Unfortunately, after the last administration, people have been conditioned to perceive our leaders as corrupt or cowardly. I always felt that Garland would do the right thing. His ruling was written for the lay people - it was clear and concise, and was not cloaked in legalese.
Thanks for saying so, Lynell. Your questions are fitting.
Well it’s about time! Now, Mr. AG Garland, let’s get a move on! Bannon and the former president are going to do everything they can to stall hoping the 2022 elections bring a Republican majority to the House, and an end to the Jan. 6 investigation.
Some news from the SDNY and the NY AG would be most welcome as well.
Indictments are good. Convictions are better.
How much of their personal evidence will still be available @ approx a yr later ? This is fodder. Not one of us could get away with anything even close to this. What exactly were the 22 Gov. Intel Agency’s doing while all this was being planned ? If there ever was an “Inside job “ 1/6 was it.
Time! Its understood that good things take time, however, timeliness is also important. Time to convict...consequences are over due.
Kim! Yes! You have just nailed it: “Timeliness” requires instinct to recognize and requires courage to act without a guaranteed outcome. Reason has to step aside for Instinct. Courage has to take the place of Safety. Good cannot wait for Better or Best. You have to seize the moment and risk to reach a goal. These are developed patterns of behavior that a skilled prosecutor probably has, but a skilled judge probably doesn’t. Attorney General Garland doesn’t appear to let instinct temper reason. In the crucible of politics, Judge Garland is not a leader-much less A CRUSADER, which is the type of prosecutor we need now. RIGHT NOW. I hope I’m wrong…but, I don’t think I am. ❤️🤍💙
Garland is operating as a judge, who must wait until all the evidence has been presented. He needs to operate more as a prosecutor who is presenting the evidence that he has of misconduct. Two completely different roles; it is the office of "Attorney General" rather than "Judge General".
Ally, I think you have a great point. Never heard anyone else come close! So, Garland should be one of the nine in SCOTUS, where president Obama wanted him to be. But thanks to Mitch, he isn't....
Great point, Ally
Wincing at the phrase “A Crusader.”
Agree!
Another nugget of good news: Today Ciattelli conceded to Murphy in NJ. In a class act he said he hated to lose but could find no reason for a recount; he lost the election for governor fair and square. A very gutsy class act for a republican during times like these, but just the usual way of doing politics in better times forever ago. I'm sure he'll run again if he is not blackmailed by his party for conceding. Let's hope he is still the mensch he appeared to be today. Let's hope a few more Republicans can find some courage and statecraft in 2022.....
Have a great Fall weekend Dr. Richardson, and everybody!
I'm glad Ciatelli chose decency and reality over deceit.
Such a rare event, waiting to see how his supporters respond to his class act.
Wow, how refreshing and unique: a republican accepting an election where they didn't win. Sorry for the sarcasm, I really should be thankful in this day and age!
After Appreciation, Sarcasm is appropriate. ❤️🤍💙
Nobody needs to be thankful when someone does what any decent human being should do.
Just remember he is a Republican and believes in tearing down government to lower taxes for the rich, not making it work for the people.
Saw that clip on TV and was thinking how far democracy has fallen that I am buoyed by this Republican politician’s “courage.” Locally, in the last election in my county, if you were a Republican, it was seldom announced on your literature or website. Only on the ballot. Just saying…let’s have more stand-up courage, please. ❤️🤍💙
Heartening to say the least! Relieved that someone is respectful of election laws and legitimate results. Sad that it's noteworthy.
What he did was correct, but I'll want to see how he governs. I'm just cynical enough to wonder whether he sees the blush fading on TFG's rose, and is betting on the extremists falling out of favor, and he wants to be on the crest of the new wave.
"Bannon is facing a fine of up to $1000 and a year in jail on each count. But a conviction will not mean he will be forced to testify before the committee.
This indictment’s significance may well lie less in getting Bannon to cooperate than in warning others what is at stake if they do not." –HCR from LFAA
Sadly, I don't think the threat of Jail time and a fine of $1000 USD is going to have any of Trump's former staff members and advisors quaking in their boots. They'll simply shrug it off. And, if by some miracle, they are thrown in jail for Contempt of Congress they will milk it for everything it's worth, including being persecuted for the cause of Republican righteousness. These people have no morals, they play dirty, they are irredeemable.
"...they are irredeemable"
Might one also say "deplorable"?
How right she was
Way more than a basketful though!
Oh, to be sure!
Yes, you may! I wouldn't tell....
Seriously, we probably all use that word here. I think it more properly applies to lying politicians, but it has become more than that since Hillary buried herself with it. At least she brought 'em out in the open....
Hillary was right from the get-go.
From the AP.
“Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts,” said the lawyer, George Terwilliger. “It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.”
A slow walk through the legal system all the way to the newly conservative Supreme Court.
The conservative composition of the Supreme Court is the result of the unbalanced and undemocratic way we elect senators and our president. Fixing that permanently will take amending the Constitution. Voting Republican for even a part-time dog catcher in a local village creates the grass roots which grow and allow movement conservatism to thrive and eat away at democracy.
And McConnell has made it clear that when he, once again, becomes Majority Leader after midterms, Biden will not get a Supreme Court appointment. Hearings for anyone he might nominate will simply not be scheduled.
Because, don’t you see, it will be too close to the presidential election. 🤦🏼♂️
H.A., unfortunately we all see. Gotta work harder and smarter!
The problem, the really big, almost insurmountable problem, is that the current divide in the country is roughly 50/50, with maybe a swing of 10% either way given the specific issue at the moment.
Obtaining what amounts to huge Constitutional revisions and changes will be well-nigh impossible with that kind of electorate, where you need at least 2/3s to agree.
The DOJ should be indicting these lowlifes for crimes committed on and leading up to Jan. 6th.
With time, little heads will roll.
I hope you are right.
Daria, I agree that $1000 fines (big deal), and jail time may not easily move some staff members. But, I heard yesterday that the 1/6 committee has already interviewed over 150 people o are holding out may want to think twice as they have no idea what info leading up to/about that day. Those staff members who have recently been subpoenaed have no idea what info the committee already has. As Joyce Vance suggested....“You always put the folks you’re most interested in at the end so you can learn as much information about them as possible before you speak to them.” Some of them may think twice before stonewalling.
"Some of them may think twice before stonewalling." Given that the Committee has already spoken to 150 people the former guy inner circle might want to think twice about lying to the Committee. (which is a crime isn't it?)
Pam, Vance is right. Those at the tail end of the train may be getting nervous and decide stonewalling is a bad idea. One can only hope.
They have proved that over and over, yet, rank and file repubs continue to support the cretins. Are there any decent republicans left? Not where I live…
There must be some. Jennifer Rubin had an opinion in WaPo describing 8 categories of Republicans. Two Republican groups can be influenced with the right approach by Democrats to maybe vote with Democrats.
Nealy all Republicans who might, potentially, vote Democratic will convince themselves without our help. Our focus must be on getting Democrats registered and getting them to the polls on election day. Looking for voters among Republicans is a much less productive investment of effort and money.
Why aren’t the Feds arresting them like 10 months ago ? You and I would get a break like they have. Talk about an inside job. I heard this last night that Bannon says” Even though TFG isn’t in the White House he really was elected president and he’s in control of everything. He’s the real president not Biden .” Isn’t there a law against that ?
Apparently lying isn't against the law even when it's tied to something like insurrection. Go figure.
Well if that’s true, why hasn’t he stopped the committee’s work and rescued his “friends”?
He couldn’t stop the committee’s work if he was Pres. But I think they should all be invited to his house for doing him such a good job.
There should be a law against anyone who’s goal is to destroy our administrative state.
Isn’t that covered by “treason” and “sedition”? There should be a law for condemnation and removal of government officials who fail to carry out the duties and responsibilities they swore to uphold when taking office.
The basic question I have is if Bannon were black and he belonged to the “Black Panthers Party”, would these exhortations be so consistently tolerated as what? Free speech? Protected political speech? Would the insurrection of predominantly black individuals, erecting a noose for the VP, storming the Capitol, smashing windows and doors, assaulting and maiming police, desecrating our historical halls, terrorizing our legislators….would our wheels of justice have moved as slowly? Despite the credible points made throughout these threads, defending the deliberate nature of the investigations, I can’t shake the conviction that even Bannon’s “little shop of horrors” would have been shut down with little delay following the 1/6 fiasco. Just sayin…
K Barnes that’s why I say this was and maybe even still is an “Inside job “. I saw watching it on TV with my own eyes Police way up above in protective gear holding big guns. I also saw a Capital Police Officer holding a door open in the front and making a motion with his arm directing them to come in. I know I saw it because Lebron James saw it and he Tweeted out” Looks like a wink and a nod to me. “ I could see Black SUV’s parked at the curb.I honestly don’t know if there is a parking lot in the front. If there is it was obviously cleared .I saw the scaffolding. Wondered why it was up so early ? I saw Ambulances off to the side ? The Shawman guy , we get a peek of at the Rally, shirtless right ? Then again in the Capital. It was 41* that day. Trump in his Mob coat and gloves. Probably a big heater behind the podium. Remember how Trump wanted Tanks down Penn. Ave ?They said no cus of messing up the road ? The real reason is there is miles of underground running threw D.C. They travel in golf carts.It’s like a little city having everything they need incase of a “ Worst case scenario”. Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather both took tours and cameras and showed us.Those in the Chamber we’re very safe. There’s an old saying. “ Don’t believe anything they say and only half of what you hear .” I more than agree with you a 100%. I’ve been saying for months that of the 22 Security Intel Agencies we fund , first of all ‘ No one knew ?’ Please ! And if say even Color didn’t matter I’m positive there would have been blood , bodies, Swarms of all the “ Good guys to the Rescue “. People didn’t wait for an Invitation on 9/11 did they. Why does the Congress take control of this in the first place. Shouldn’t it be those Feds who sat there watching it ? And did Not a Damn Thing ! I’ll go a step further. Do we know for 100% surety anyone really has been charged ? No. There’s companies , let’s call them ‘Black OP’s. There’s about 15 of them. They employ about 30K or more each.Professional Mercenaries if you will. 1/6 would have been a “ Day at the Beach for them. “ Sound crazy ? Name something that wasn’t in Trumps 4 yrs ? I do believe they knew Trump wasn’t going to win. And a somewhat controlled Riot in one place was better than all over the U.S. You know “ We showed them didn’t we ! “. Yeah, quite the Show. If the Feds had even a thought I had anything to do with organizing a Riot on/ in a Gov. Building my front door would have been busted in months ago. That I know for sure . Call me crazy.
Chump did all the cheating he could, master class in fact, probably thought it would be enough. But he is not one to leave any Stone unturned. Betcha Roger got the stop the steal crap going way back there. Cult fools who support him (except pols and billionaires) have no clue what is still in his box of evils.
There is little doubt Bannon, et. al. will pull the martyr card.
Perceptive comment, Daria, ..... "Heads, you lose, Tails, we win".
I think Bannon's victim card might backfire. Comments I read in newspapers and what I hear people saying is that there is a sense of "what's the use" concerning even trying to bring the people responsible for the coup d'état attempt on January 6. It is no secret that McConnell and friends have done a very good job of putting Republican judges all over the judicial system so this is a hard slog indeed.
This Bannon indictment might wake people up.
Kinda like at a football game when your team has been getting the snot beat out of them and the fans are just slumped in their seats, or even heading for the exits and then the quarterback catches a hail Mary pass and the game begins to turn around.
And the crowd surges to it's feet and begins to chant "Go Democracy Go!"
Barbara, Bannons's victim card backfiring: one can only hope!!!
Janet, there are no surviving martyrs I am aware of. Let's see Bannon et al play that card. Democrats' fear is not a strategy.
Yes, the rule of law must be followed, but hunker down and prepare for cult Republicans to resort to a little pushback......violence?
Quite concerning that Bannon will be looked at as the martyr and he is probably willing to do that and let more chaos ensure....his desire. It will be more difficult for this country...another platform for the cult Republicans. However, there is no alternative. The law matters. Accountability matters. Truth matters. The pressure that must have been on Garland to act must have been extreme, countered by his need and desire to do it right, as this is the first time isn't it that someone has been held in contempt and indicted by Congress?
Those who believe Bannon is a martyr do not believe in the Rule of Law. They support the authoritarian rule of Trump. Trump is not exactly the philosopher king Plato had in mind. Trump does not even read.
He barely speaks intelligibly.
What was John Mitchell's crime. Him in cuffs was my favorite pic of the time, except for Roger Stone's tattoo of Nixon on his back
Roger Stone makes me want to vomit.
Roger Stone gives me pit in my stomach when I look at him. A very very dark person.
Very dark.
As in very evil. It rolls off him.
The fine is $ actually $100,000.00
No. The fine for Contempt if Congress is up to $1000 USD.
Currently, actions for which individuals can be held in contempt of Congress are largely a matter of statutory law and focus mostly on when individuals refuse to appear or give testimony for a Congressional investigation or hearing. The U.S. Supreme Court in Watkins v. United States confirmed Congressional power to issue subpoenas, stating that all citizens have a duty to “cooperate with the Congress in its efforts to obtain the facts needed for intelligent legislative action,” and that they must “respond to subpoenas [and] testify.” Federal law penalizes individuals who refuse to respond to Congressional inquiries, as 2 U.S.C. § 192 states that any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 months’ imprisonment.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contempt_of_congress
Sorry, I neglected the quotation marks. The clarification is Cornell Law's, not mine.
Thanks again. I find it odd that Google can't decide which figure to highlight.
Thanks, Daria.
Hi Tim. This may be (I have only googled "contempt of Congress penalties", and the first entry said $100,000), but several pretty serious-looking sites associated with law firms and the like say $ 1,000. Are your sources better than mine?
You are right! MSNBC had it wrong last night apparently. Fairly toothless law in the face of all this republican corruption.
I think it’s $100,000, not $1,000. Not that that would matter either, to them.
"any person who is summoned before Congress who "willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the question under inquiry" shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a maximum $1,000 fine and 12 months’ imprisonment."
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/contempt_of_congress
Thanks, Daria. I guess what I read was wrong! The toothlessness of our ability to deal with sedition is appalling.
It is appalling. 1000 bucks to the likes of the organizers is chump change.
What is the penalty for TREASON?
"Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States."
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381
Equal justice under the law is not possible in America because the Trump-led GOP has politicized the courts. Moreover, members of the Trump cult can not be trusted to seek the truth, & should be disqualified from jury duty. Don't trust me, watch the judges & juries in the Rittenhouse & Arbery trials.
I appreciate your comment, but please remember Ahmaud Arbery is not on trial. It is the McMichaels/Bryan trial.
I agree, but as usual, the defense attorneys for these three cretins are doing their best to convince everyone that Ahmaud Arbery IS on trial.
The judge is disgusting. He is part of the defense team.
The Rittenhouse judge should be disbarred. His behavior and rulings are a disgrace. In the McMichael/Bryan trial, the judge is marginal, at best. While he resisted the defense's demand to disallow any "Black pastors" from admission to the courtroom, he commented that the seated jury members appeared to have been chosen based on race, but allowed the trial to proceed with only one Black juror. If the verdict is a fair one, perhaps we can take comfort that, at least in this instance, some progress has been made in a mostly white jury's willingness to see beyond the color barrier.
We live in an era where many people not only have a vote but also convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others. People like trump and bannon use their “grievances” to stir up others for their own cynical purposes. Lying becomes so routine for them, and seems to work so well with their supporters, that they seem to create a separate reality together that most often bears little resemblance to the real world of facts, truth and the rule of law. trump’s “Stop the Steal” fabulism is a prime example of this kind of thing. Ultimately, in a well established society and nation like the United States their fantastical ways of thinking and behaving create problems…mostly for themselves and their very willing supporters eager to embrace their lies for their own reasons. Now the House Special Committee is showing the American people, and the world, that their efforts to discover “who did what” to foment, incite and support the January 6 Insurrection, have the power of the rule of law behind them that won’t be denied by lies and fabrications of a former president and his sorry gang. It’s good to see this happening. Many have voiced their impatience with the seemingly slow progress of the DoJ during this time wondering out loud “what is taking Merrick Garland so long to act?” Judge Garland understands the significance of his words and actions when it comes to doing his job as it involves enforcing the rule of law on any number of maters before the DoJ. So now we are witnessing him and his department acting on this vital matter. This is how a great democracy should work and most often does work. trump and his gang are being held to account and most assuredly will face many legal actions in the days ahead that will ultimately bring them to justice as our rule of law is appropriately asserted. Keep going and thank you to all who are doing their jobs to protect and preserve our democracy.
I know you're going to think I'm a wet blanket but I'm going to say this anyway. You say:
"We live in an era where many people ...[have] convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others."
This statement is true up to a point and that point is the place where those who support Trump and others who embrace authoritarianism cannot and will not listen to those of us who embrace democracy. We are not convincing them. They are not listening. They don't care to hear the truth no matter how many times or how emphatically we say it. That is the problem, that is the challenge we have to overcome.
Look, those folks don't read WaPo, the NYT, Reuters. They don't watch or listen to news from sources that present or discuss information and analysis that goes against their very narrow set of beliefs. They hear the words of Trump et al., as the truth with a capital T. That is the issue. How do we overcome it?
I'd like to believe that we will change their minds but we won't. They exist in an echo chamber just as we do – theirs supports racism, bigotry and violence, ours does not. Their beliefs are the result of generations of reinforced white supremacist thought. Expecting them to have an en masse light bulb moment is unrealistic. Do we shut up? No. But we need to be aware of the fact that they are not listening to us and they never will. I appreciate your optimism, Keith, I'm not convinced, however, those working to shut down the hate machine will prevail.
I'm going to offer up a small vignette which I think will provide proof to the statement that Daria is making here. There were two things: one was my flying a thin blue line flag (hereafter tbl flag) at my house along side the National Colors. I flew it to honor a fallen officer (a friend who was murdered in the line of duty on 4/22/11.) The second was a story I would tell about a training class I had been in on suicide prevention. I (as a crisis negotiator) was paired with our local medical examiner (a good friend whose interest in suicide was specifically the high number of domestic partner murder/suicides that we have in our county; it is statistically significant). Our intervention role play was that we were neighbors, shared a strip of grass between our properties, and mowed it in alternate months. "Frank" had neglected his turn two cycles in a row. I was to knock on his door, discover that he was suicidal and had a shotgun next to his dining table. I played out the scenario by sitting next to him so we were both looking the same direction (and not face to face) and drew out of him that he was suicidal and thinking of killing himself with the shotgun. In the course of that role play, and in the statement which really ended the scenario in a positive manner, I told him "Well, you're free, white, and 21. You can ultimately make that choice and no one can really stop you. I would be sad, because you are a good guy going through a bad time." When the scenario was debriefed, the class (mostly social workers and juvenile workers) was shocked that I had used "free, white, etc." and had not made eye contact with him while talking with him. I explained the latter by saying that men, particularly of a certain generation, do NOT like women making eye contact with them during emotional events. I explained my use of the former by saying that it was based on some beliefs that are still strong in that generation of men.
I have a dear friend who, over the course of several months, pointed out to me (firstly) that the use of the language may have been appropriate in that setting, to others who could hear that retelling could find it offensive (and had to explain to me the roots of that statement of "free, white, and 21"). She also acknowledged that while my flying the tbl flag meant one thing to me, it has come to mean a very different thing to other people. I researched the tbl flag, discovered its origins (following Michael Brown's murder in Ferguson, MO) and took it down. I have since obtained the original fallen officer flag (black field, centered blue horizontal stripe.) This is a very long way to get here:
I listened. I disagreed initially, researched, and acknowledged that there were things in my conduct and language that other people could find offensive.
Sidebar: NONE of my cop friends agree with what is now true about the tbl flag. They say it shows support of law enforcement and does not mean anything else, especially since law enforcement is (in their words) under attack for being held responsible for their conduct.
While reading this, have to say the "free, white & 21" jolted me. Not the offensiveness of it in modern time, but coming from segregation times it was considered quite normal but I haven't heard the expression in half a century.
Sometimes things we take for granted in our clique (cops, white ppl, black ppl, hippies etc.) is not understood by ourselves as to how others see it. I've never been racist, BUT, I had a large Rebel Star & Bars hanging on my wall in New Orleans. (This was the time of "Dukes of Hazard" on TV). It took Charles Toussaint a black fellow patrolman visiting me to point out it didn't seem to fit me. He was right the flag came down and one of the last things of contention with my brother in MS before I cut off all ties, was him trying to defend that symbol of racial hatred.
Thanks, Ally for this reminder that sometimes people do listen long enough to figure out what's being said. Unfortunately, it's listening long enough that matters.
Ally,
You, Daria, and Christy, among many strong, encouraging voices here, speak “my language,” rather the language I yearn to speak!
As a communicator, professionally and beyond, it’s my goal to deliver succinct, potent messaging.
While the KISS principle chafes me in name — Keep It Simple Stupid — simple is usually a wise approach.
Pam points out rightly that many don’t listen, not long or intently enough to really “get it.” In this world of myriad distractions, messaging that packs a punch is critical, especially on issues impacting the masses.
How? From whom?
PoliticsGirl is a winner in my book. Let’s dare to dream…
The Lincoln Project teaming up with a Jen Psaki/PoliticsGirl to deliver such concise, powerful words that we, a reasonable majority (I want to believe that exists) will easily absorb and carry the message into action — voting, marching, etc. 💙
Ashley, I wish the messages sent out from PoliticsGirl, Psaki and the Lincoln Project could reach some of the unreachables. Yes, we can try to carry the messages forward, but we need leaders to blast the messages from the rooftops, over, and over, and over.
anything to drown out Rupert's non-stop 90 decibel slander
And sadly as Repubs already "blast" their messages!
Thanks, Ally. We have all had to make changes in our behaviors, attitudes and language over the years. You are remarkable in that you worked in a field where bucking the trend could be problematic for you. I deeply respect your willingness to listen and learn. I wish I had your grace. You are a remarkable.
Voting rights legislation, enacting Build Back Better, getting out the vote for more “liberals”, supporting “liberals” who are running, Warren type policies for regulating monopolies and social media giants, Renaming Fox News to Fox Lies, getting rid of Citizen’s United, pot lucks, talking with neighbors. My work has forced me to keep a Ghandi quote front and center:
“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.“
Not to be a wet blanket either, Daria, but we only need a majority and effective laws and justice. That’s still huge but possible.
Christy, yes, we need a majority. I agree with you, it should be doable. It needs to start at the local level with the dog catcher and go on up the line.
What is undoable is unseating justices (as well as judges in lower courts) who were placed on the bench (for life) as political operatives who will uphold Citizens United, among other things, and hack away at our constitution and laws.
Renaming Fox News to Fox Lies is not going to change the hearts and minds of their viewership, it's only going to piss them off and make them dig their heels in deeper. They see us as an existential threat – they believe we want to destroy them. They are not interested in the Truth they are only interested in their alternate truth.
I go back to my mantra: It's all about messaging.
At some point we need to craft a message that resonates with those who are conservative, one that is not threatening to them, one that will seep into their consciousness and make sense and initiate an aha! moment.
We are missing the boat. We do not present arguments compelling to the OTHER SIDE. We attack them. They despise and fear our attacks as much as we despise and fear their attacks on us. It's visceral for both sides of the aisle. We don't acknowledge that fact, therefore, we have no idea how to communicate with "the other side". Because of that, they are willing to destroy everything in their attempt to counter our commitment to the upholding and expanding civil and human rights.
I agree with you and most everyone else here with regards to what should be. Ghandi was a great communicator. We are lousy communicators, from the top down, when it comes to reaching out to those on the other side of the aisle. Until that changes we might as well be talking to a brick wall.
❤️❤️thank you for your response. I’m also a big supporter of the power of words and the importance of word choice. I also think there is great power in connections and relationships. I listen to psychologist and psychiatric experts when it comes to the cult and the propaganda. I am not responsible for what the brainwashed believe but I will remain firm in my efforts to put forth facts/truth. Fox News personalities have reported in court that they are entertainment and not news. It may be a small thing for some that they are allowed to call themselves News but it matters to me. Just like in a dysfunctional household, we cannot control another persons behavior but setting boundaries about unhealthy behaviors we tolerate is essential to a path towards health. For decades we have let 💩💩💩💩 slide and now we are paying a price for it.
Christyw, I am with you 110%!
50 years of my life, it's piled high and deep
I agree, except the cult will not deprogram themselves. We can message til the cows come home. They are emotionally and politically deaf
CULT, pure and simple. They don't deprogram themselves. Ike knew that...
Hi Daria,
“I'd like to believe that we will change their minds but we won't”
Agreed !!
I just had to spend the day with my twin, an electrical engineer, for our dad’s memorial. He is far, far down that rabbit hole. Conversation was extremely challenging and we were all aware he wasn’t listening. But what I saw through all that Q bravado was the fear that fuels .We were also aware that while he’s losing his #$&*, he’s probably also losing his wife. This is not sustainable.
As I looked around at my other family members who are all :stable, smart, progressive, and caring,I realized THIS is sustainable.
Do I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better ? Absolutely.
Maybe I’m naive but I still have hope….
Kathy, hold onto that hope. We all have it.
I will, Pam! And I do agree with comments that we need to listen to both sides. I like to ask…What are your fears/concerns?Although with my sibling that leads me down a deep, dark Q-worm hole !
Worm hole indeed!
Hi Kathy,
I am sorry for your loss. I hope you were able to spend some of the day with family members who were not as challenging as your twin.
The realization that some of our family members are lost, even to themselves, is a disconcerting thing. The ones in my family, like your brother, are smart, well educated but absolutely engulfed in this weird alternative reality I can't even begin to understand.
We need to take comfort in knowing that we have family who are still grounded in love, compassion and hope. We will get through this.
I hope your day is filled with peace. 🌷
Thanks, Daria…and I like to think of you as a warm,fuzzy blanket :)
Kathy, thanks for the smile!
Daria, yes a wet blanket, but unfortunately true.
Pam, I don't enjoy being a wet blanket. I know I irritate the hell out of people but I am unwilling to stick my head in the sand and ignore reality. Doing so has gotten us nowhere.
Daria, I applaud your willingness to stick your head out there. What irritates me most about the truth of your comment is that no one listens anymore, unless it's like minded folks speaking.
Exactly, Pam no one listens anymore and that is what I find most troubling.
An old saying: Don't try to teach a hog how to sing. You'll just get frustrated and it annoys the hog.
Truth!! I love your way with words.
Sadly, our voices are often drowned out by one (collective) voice of Rupert Murdoch and his ilk. Never has one man’s propaganda machine been so successful in drowning out sane voices. Except for once in this century….
although you write hopefully here, and factually, so many others in this country don’t want to believe in the reality that Biden was decisively and honorably elected. Then, in Republican-controlled state legislatures, gerrymandering produces predetermined results, nullifying the effort to vote. This is happening in many state governments. Add to that the right-wing extremist judges on district courts and especially on the US Supreme Court, and we see the authoritarian efforts, backed by billionaire extremists, to subvert democracy and the essence of our good faith.
Dillard, I agree with you that it appears we could lose our democracy, but Keith’s words are a great reminder to us all, to stay focused on the powers we do have: “We live in an era where many people not only have a vote but also convenient ways to voice their thoughts and ideas to (many) other people. We can take it as a matter of fact. Our voices matter because words have power which can influence others.” “ Keep going” ❤️🙏
republicans long term plan, started by Reagan (or before), Mitch brought to finish line
Gingrich 😡
Thank you Keith. I appreciate your comment.
A relief to hear calm logic and reasoning. 🙏 I’m hoping our DOJ is equally up to the task of ensuring voting rights in the Koch owned states. Not sure Congress will get it done. But still hopeful.
Thanks, Keith. I’m unable to link but the WaPo had a great Opinion piece:” The Left Needs To Let Merrick Garland Do His Job”
Yes! Thank You Keith.
I remember that when I was younger, I used to watch a lot of documentaries about Nazi Germany and I always wondered what a modern day fascist would look like. When I look at photos of the preening, smug Orange Asscactus and the odious Steve Bannon, I get my answer……..
Or all the raging men (and a few women) in their red MAGAt hats.
"Those testifying will likely be interested in doing what’s best for themselves."
Those testifying. What's best for themselves.
With the entire apparatus of the Republican party at best hedging their bets on a Trump regime and at worst actively colluding with Trump, what calculus of self interest is in play?
And how does favorable treatment by the Leonard Leo / Mitch McConnell judiciary figure into their equations?
As an aside, fresh from packing the courts, Federalist Society honcho and Opus Dei acolyte, Leonard Leo is busy working to restrict if not eliminate trial by jury. Leo has a hand in every anti democratic scheme right wing religious extremists and plutocrats, kleptocrats, and oligarchs have put in play. The very busy Leo also selects admissions and appointments to the publicly funded George Mason University Scalia Law School. (By the way, publicly funded George Mason is also home to the Koch funded Mercatus Center, known as 'ground zero for deregulation'.)
What chance do democratic institutions and equality before the law have? The chance depends on all of us uniting to elect Democratic representatives to every office in every branch in every level of government.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-secrets-of-leonard-leo-the-man-behind-trumps-supreme-court-pick
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/80-million-dark-money-group-tied-to-trump-supreme-court-advisor-leonard-leo/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Leo
Here we get to the root of the problem! Leo and his minions have bought George Mason and other Law Schools and have now, with the help of the Heritage Foundation and Opus Dei, so corrupted the legal profession that our judicial systems barely resembles anything written in the Constitution. Being a lawyer today has become an immoral undertaking hiding under cover of the intellectual impossibility of “originalism” and “property over people” that gave us slavery at one time and the nightmare of authoritarianism today!
Yes.
Originalism pretends that one can divine author's intent. A notion entirely discredited in literary criticism or at least mitigated by reader response.
Textualism pretends that dictionaries fix the meanings of words for all time rather than tracing their trajectory over social space.
The Founders introduced scientific method to government. We come to consensus on provisional and contextual truths through reasoned debate of empirical evidence. We amend the Constitution, elect officials, institute new laws, and make and overturn judicial decisions. If they had a purpose it was to preserve the state and to make progress on civil rights. And to preclude the authoritarianism of tyrants and the irrationality of religion.
Very well said. Religious have had this same problem with the Bible for centuries. There seems to be an addiction to certainty among the right leaning population. Not usually a very effective strategy for solving problems
I know for a fact if I, the ordinary citizen were to plan and execute a take over with a few thousand of my friends, the U.S. Capital or say the FL. Capital . Most likely I would be shot. But say by some totally crazy notion I don’t even get arrested ? Wait, I have to stop laughing at that thought. Okay. I get told I need to disperse, and of course I don’t until I’m Damn good and ready to. OMG ! Laughing again. And then when I do leave I just go home. This is nuts ! The Feds ,Local police, Sheriff, Swat, would be all over me like stink on a dog where I live.I can understand the DOJ’s approach dealing with the crowd . But everyone of them , perhaps TFG being the exception should have been out and out arrested days later. Most especially those with no ties formally with the dysfunction junction administration. They have gone beyond the lie that TFG lost.You see he really is still president and in charge. They are being told this.Don’t pay attention to President Joe Biden because Trumps still in charge of “ Everything “. The Feds need to go to Bannon’s home and slap cuffs on him. Not to mention a few others. Who do you know that would get away with breaking Federal Laws ? Here, where I live it would be Swift and Severe. They would also take possession of everything I own. And just so you know, in FL. even if you’re not found guilty, you have to hire a Lawyer to get it back. But yea,TFG is in control and running the country from Mar-a-Lago.I hope those 22 Intel. Agency’s that take up so much of our budget are snooping around down south here . If there was ever just 1 of trumps lies man I hope he isn’t staying in the mix of Foreign things. Frightening ! And yes, I heard the recording of him saying he knew Pence was safe. So yes, he was well aware of the situation. I would be under a Fed lock up at just the “Plan” of what they did. Why are they doing this dance with Bannon ? This is not being treated like the Crime it is/was. People, it will be at best a yr later ? Who gets this kind of pass ? Wouldn’t be You or I.
Money and connections v. No money or connections. This has been the republican playbook since Ronnie. I remember. Permanent republican majority. How many have gone on record, Rove, Hewitt, think tanks, PACs, too many for my recall. But tfg knew
You can be damned sure if the Capitol had been stormed by BIPOC on January 6 the death toll would gave been staggering as would the arrest and incarceration rate.
with republicans leading the charge
And over ‘Done ‘ by now. See that’s my point.They told them they had to be gone by sundown. They weren’t.
"Who gets this kind of pass ? Wouldn’t be You or I."
Amen. What happened to "liberty and justice for all"? How much money and power one has in the U.S. determines the amount of "justice" one receives. Bannon, his lawyers, and puppeteer trump are making a mockery of justice in the U.S. If you or I were facing the charges Bannon is, would our court-appointed attorney keep us out of prison and keep getting delays on the charges--delays which are bound to go on and on, probably through the mid-terms and perhaps beyond. I don't think so.....
A nugget of good news on the indictment front and what a great way for Matthew Graves to start his new job! Now, if the justice department can keep the momentum rolling, maybe we'll get somewhere with actual convictions.
To me it looks like planned delays hoping to wait it out until there is a Republican majority in Congress after the 2022 election and it all goes away.
There is still a federal prosecution team waiting for these folks.
I think that time is the critical factor. There are so many intentional delays built into the adversarial legal arena that are useful to those trying to avoid confronting the issues.
Claudia, I think you are spot on.
Thank you.
The common folk would be jailed by now if we were to ignore a subpoena. The utter audacity of these scoundrels is maddening. The mere red tape the Committee must go through to indict these characters is also frustrating. At least, we have an indictment now. Let’s go get those creeps!
And another thing !
I am appalled at how these Insurrectionists are pleading their charges down to the equivalent of a jaywalking ticket. They broke into the Capitol with the intent to kill, why are they getting next to nothing? Is our Justice System that incredibly broken?
There is no treachery greater than trying to topple a duly elected government - None! The Big Lie persists and grows in the harm it's doing to election integrity. People are willing to break laws and cause harm to those who oppose the Big Lie. The fact that these ringleaders are not incarcerated and awaiting trial for high crimes and misdemeanors indicates to me the Department of Justice is incredibly broken. The Democrats' desire to hold toothless hearings reduces this to a political grudge match and gives Republicans an opportunity to drag this out until they are back in power. When the Republicans take over the country they will pardon all of the traitors and probably erect monuments honoring their persecution. Instrumental to effective propaganda is rewriting history.
There are tens of millions of people and an entire political party that has turned their back on the country. They are cold and cruel in their quest to do nothing to improve the quality of life in America. It is not even open to debate. The Republicans have zero respect for democracy and have openly taken steps to fix the outcome of elections making it next to impossible for Democrats to win ever.
I'm sorry but too many complacent people are going to find out too late that Republicans are willing to instigate a civil war if necessary to gain and stay in power. There is a real possibility that this young country may become mired in decades of bloody conflagrations like other authoritarian regimes in the world.
So Linda, absolutely our system of justice has been incapacitated. Not only that but the plutocrats have effectively gained control of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Office of President. Thinking that people are somehow going to come to their senses is a fantasy.
Don, I agree with everything you say. We are in a horrible spot right now.
Plea bargains are a very interesting critter; for one thing, they do get cases resolved quickly and expeditiously. There may be parts of those plea agreements that will compel these convicts to testify in future legal proceedings.
I did read of one judge who was aghast at the minor crimes that these seditionists were pleading to, however.
I would assume it's the "you wash my back and I'll wash yours" situation. They are pleading for a lesser sentence by giving information. Hope it works!
Pan, I would like to think that, but is the Justice System just trying to sweep this under the carpet? I understand that "horned" fellow, who's name I've already forgotten, gets sentenced next week. This will be very telling.
Pam, sorry for the auto correct.
Too bad we can't edit our posts here. Oh well.
I know.
Smoke and mirrors.Bannon's performance a show. The toothlessness of a conviction. Meanwhile "Authoritarian Coups are Gradual then Sudden" description of what's happening before our very eyes marches on. "For some unfathomable reason, Democrats insist on calling their Republican colleagues their “friends.” They are not friends. They are systematically destroying American democracy with the clear objective of replacing it with strongman authoritarianism, a new and American version of what Benito Mussolini called fascism.
Right now they’re moving gradually:
Infiltrating police departments and the enlisted ranks of the military
Taking over school boards and local boards of elections
Firing principals and teachers who defend multiracial, multicultural democracy while banning and burning books that contain such “dangerous” ideas
Gerrymandering states so regardless of how people vote, Republicans control the levers of power....."I urge those here to see the complete list. (Hartmann Report.com) Time for contacting Congressional Reps/Senators; local papers with letters to the editor; our back slapping bipartisan President; friends.
My father was part of the Allied forces who fought through Europe in 1945 and then witnessed the German surrender in Italy. I was raised on the lore of WWII. Then, 60 years ago, I was talking with my father as I said, "Well, at least fascism was destroyed." He replied, "Destroyed? Well, temporarily, yes. But fascism will be back. Things will get out of hand in the country, and the people will call for a strongman. Then, we'll see it again." Well, he was right, and here we are.
Yes. So we must support the light of truth wherever and whenever it appears - with fervor and determination. David Sirota’s and his team of investigative reporters’ solid journalism (see The Daily Poster.com) heartens because it aims to pull back the veil cloaking shananigans harmful to our well being - like ex Governor Cuomo’s efforts to usher in immunity from liability lawsuits for corporations and owners of nursing homes and the big payoffs Sinema has been receiving from Big Pharma. Standing strong for the truth is a powerful antidote to the energies fomented in service to fascism.
Yes to Hartman.
This^^^^^
Exactly so.
THE PLAYERS: Donald J. Trump, Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Donnie Jr., Hannity, Giuliani, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Tucker Carlson, Kayleigh McEnaney, Josh Hawley, Mark Meadows, Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, Michael Cohen, Kellyanne Conway, Paul Manafort, Jason Miller, Steve Cohen; Kevin McCarthy, Bill Barr, Mike Pence, Matt Gaetz, Melania....
THE MOVIE: Horror; Western; Romance; Thriller; Mystery; Film Noir; Crime; Gangster; Comedy; Spoof; Satire; Slapstick; Science Fiction; Fantasy; Musical; Religious; Legal; Courtroom; Melodrama; Docudrama; War; Disaster; Space Opera; Utopian; Dystopian; Political?
Review: ⭐️ 0 star. Warning: you must be a bully, deranged cultist or 12 year old carefully taught racist to find anything of value in this wretched production.
If you peddled the script to potential producers, they'd laugh you out of their office as too preposterous to even read. But it is indeed being produced daily on the TV news and we all have roles as "extras."
It's a great show...Francis Ford, Kubrick, Scorsese, Hitchcock, Vincent Minnelli, Sergio Leone, Fellini, Quentin Tarantino -- think what they would've done with it !!!!! and Quentin is available. C'mon Jack... that cast has tremendous STAR POWER!
Fern, I love your list of actors in whatever movie is being played at any given time. Thank you!
Perfect. But it’s so depressing that I think I will go back to sleep….
Unfortunately that is what America has done. The folks I work with do not have a clue what is happening in Politics today. They have turned their backs and just want to go about their lives.
sad but true... but it can be overwhelming.. it's like staring at the sun...I'm afraid I am going to go blind...
No, no, Don't do that, Cynthia You'll miss the Space Opera!
And FOX, Newsmax, Onan, Zuckerberg. Bezos, main stream media (Washington Post), Jake Tapper, White House Press Corp, .....
sounds like a Maxi-series on Disney.
Yes! Definitely a series - maybe on the order of GOT, but set in various trump towers, various basements, various golf courses, various ballrooms, various bathrooms with gold plated toilets?
Great locations, thank you, Ellen.. The matinee is at noon, so you better leave right away.