Silence – Seduction – Sedition

 

Poison kills, that is its’ purpose.  Some poisons, such as potassium cyanide – a favorite of spy novels - kill rapidly.  Other substances kill gradually as they are stored in the body, such as with constant exposure to radiation as seen in uranium mine workers or with Marie Curie, the Nobel scientist.  She discovered radium, but was not wary of it and even carried a sample of it in her pocket.  She died of anemia caused by radiation poisoning. Her personal effects are still radio-active and are stored in lead containers as radium has a long half-life.

Poisons of the intellect are not so easily measured. I posit that American Democracy has just narrowly escaped succumbing to the effects of years of poisonous verbal excesses from our former president. Initially, as he rode the golden escalator and spoke out against Mexicans and other immigrants, he was covered by the media for entertainment value, rather than his political pronouncements.  People said, ‘oh, that is just Donald, he isn’t serious’.  They said the same words years earlier when he harassed President Obama about the birther issue. It was not seen by most as the racist issue it was. But in the wake of his kick-off, he was supported by corporate America because he promised to lower taxes. As he spoke on the campaign trail with racist and misogynistic remarks, the Republican Party appreciated his nod to conservatism and evangelicals applauded his claims to protect the unborn and said little. Each group was told what they wanted to hear, but the words were a slow emitting poison because the underlying basis was a cult of personality and not beliefs in moral philosophy.  Anne Appelbaum, writing in the Atlantic last summer, indicated the problem by this quote:

“If there is no such thing as moral and immoral, then everyone is implicitly released from the need to obey any rules.” 

The Democrats who derided the lack of a party platform in 2020 for Republicans missed this point – there was no need for a platform – the president was running on issues of division. He wanted to divide blacks against whites, red states against blue states, native-born Americans against immigrants, rural residents versus urban dwellers and suburban moms. 

But still, the Republicans remained silent as they had been, even throughout the impeachment, with only Senator Romney speaking up. The few voices of concern early on during the 2016 primary process were drowned out as this non-traditional candidate broke debate rules, personally attacked opponents, their families, and blew up party traditions.  We should have seen this coming when the release of the Hollywood tapes in 2016 caused a few ripples, but no tidal waves of dismay, about the moral failings of this candidate. When presented with the reality that these words and actions were not presidential, Republicans indicated that they believed that his behaviors would improve and measure up to the office, were he to be elected. As with stocks, perhaps they believed that past performances were no guarantee of future results?

American audiences had seen “the Donald” for years on the Apprentice and some appreciated his TV antics; he changed little on the campaign trails, not in 2016 nor 2020.  He sold his merchandise, touted his MAGA theme and red hats, and, early on, settled on the press as his main opponent. He played to the audience feelings of victimhood, spouting a populist theme, indicating that he was the real friend of everyman. (Interesting posturing from a billionaire, to my way of thinking, but it sold.) He created a “Them vs. Us” theme, voicing this as a deficiency that only he could fix. By confining the press to penned areas at his rallies he presented his audiences with an easy and visible target. He encouraged taunts against the press and violence against any protesters who might appear at his events. Right-wing media played his speeches frequently, without critical evaluations, thus giving his antics greater exposure. 

The seduction of his voters was non-stop; he appeared to care about little else as he assumed the role of the presidency. He filed for re-election shortly after his inauguration, so he could continue to campaign, and reinforce his messages. He spent little effort in actually governing, preferring to communicate by tweets instead of cabinet meetings and press conferences.  Seduction relies on the acceptance of the big lie. This started the day after he was inaugurated with claims about his inauguration crowds and was followed by Kelly-Anne Conway’s use of the phrase “alternative facts”. Continued false statements about 3 million illegal immigrants voting, and derision of Hillary Clinton’s plurality of 3 million votes as fraudulent added to the tallies of lies which never ceased. When he left office, the Washington Post fact-checker noted that he had made more than 30,000 false statements during his term. As Appelbaum pointed out in her article, continued reinforcement of the falsities is necessary to keep the followers on the team. Rallies became more erratic, profanity proliferated, his use of false claims increased and election warnings became stranger such as when he told voters to vote twice and see if their votes were counted.,

Elected officials who could see this happening did not object because they were cowed: “They are scared not of prison, the official said, but of being attacked by Trump on Twitter. They are scared he will make up a nickname for them. They are scared that they will be mocked or embarrassed [as} Mitt Romney has been. They are scared of losing their social circles, of being disinvited to parties.” Anne Appelbaum.

She continued that these actions (and the failure to convict at impeachment) led directly to the coronovirus fiasco and the subsequent claims against absentee voting; I would add also, the disruption of the post office and post-election violence. His Stop the Steal rallies promoted violence and encouraged supporters to protest at local vote counting centers.

The killing of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter (BLM) marches led to his programs to promote Law and Order. The Brookings Institute wrote last summer about this disruption as reinforcing the alt-right/white supremacist's idea of “accelerationism” and as a preface to a wider spread of civil unrest. The Lafayette Square incident and the stormtroopers in Portland were definite expansions of perceived presidential license and the last steps toward the approval of domestic terrorists who eventually stormed the US Capitol. Presidential tweets favoring support of armed protesters in state Capitols which were locked down in the early days of the COVID infections continued his lack of leadership in this area. These moves started with the nod to the white power movement after Charlottesville and continued as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers started showing up at his rallies and some BLM marches. The eventually defeated candidates’ call out to ’stand down and stand by’ during the debates sent a message to the armed insurrectionists who eventually gathered in DC on January 6^th at his invitation and later led to the death of five people and injuries to many area police officers. His rally promoted physical prevention of the count of the electoral college ballots or sedition. Both he and Rudy Giuliani have been recorded calling members of the Senate in an attempt to further stall that vote.

According to the New York Times, The Department of Justice and Homeland Security focused on the rise of a shadowy Antifa as opposition forces, at the urging of Attorney General Barr, the president, and others, instead of the armed Alt-right and other militaristic forces which they knew to be problematic.

So where do we go from here?  Unfortunately, Congress is not ready to depart from Trumpism.  Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who a few days ago criticized the president for the mob actions, retreated from those remarks and flew down to Mar-A-Lago to make nice with the ex-president. The Senate, at the urging of Senator Rand Paul, counted 45 Republican Senators against conviction in the upcoming impeachment trial before any evidence has been heard. Nevertheless, the House has voted for Impeachment and presented the Article to the Senate in a ceremony this week. The former president has fired his first batch of defense attorneys and just hired another legal team. The trial is to start on February 9^th, even as some are arguing that the issue is moot.  However, Democrats want to prevent the ex-president from ever running for office again - which can happen if he is convicted and Congress approves. So, we will see what happens.

Silence, seduction, and sedition all are linked. Can we prevent these events from happening in the future?

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The latest concerns about COVID focus on aberrant variants that continue to be identified and appear to be less susceptible to the vaccines which we have. Case numbers are improving and hospitalizations are decreasing, both of which are good news.  However, we wait to see what will happen with the increasing numbers of variants as the South African variant has now been discovered in Maryland.

COVID stats – NY Times 1/30/21

Total US cases: 26,210,700. Total new cases: 113,914.

Total Deaths: 441,257.  Total new deaths: 2,641.

Maryland Stats: Total cases 352,726. Total new cases: 2,097.

Total deaths: 7,107.  New deaths: 31.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday about 25.2 million people have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, including about 5.7 million people who have been fully vaccinated.

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That is about it for this week.  I will leave you with the panda cam which looks at the adult pandas playing in the snow

‘Til next week – peace.

Breathe in, Breathe Out!

 

 

Did you watch the inauguration or festivities this week? I did and thoroughly enjoyed seeing just how normal it all appeared. On Facebook, many of my friends were saying, “I can finally breathe again” or “I slept through the night last night!”. It seems that a good part of America had been figuratively holding its breath for most of the last five years. But the event showed pomp and circumstance with marching bands, singing entertainers, and an amazing young poet (read the poem here). Even though the ex-president broke the precedent and did not appear, the vice-president did show up to represent the former administration. The Capitol Building had been cleaned and polished up; flags and buntings still festooned its West Front, even as some broken windows had not yet been replaced. 

 

The new President spoke of unity and stopping this uncivil war in his remarks; he spoke out against racism and white supremacists and for democracy. He remarked that we have seen how fragile our democracy can be. He spoke of how important it is to repair the damages which have been done by the insurrectionists but also to move forward to solve some big problems, such as the coronovirus, the economy, and climate change. He noted also injustices and inequities which need to be corrected and the importance of working together as one nation. He stated that democracy did not die but will thrive and move forward on his watch and asked all to join him in repairing this nation. He pledged to be truthful and to leave this a better country for our children. It was a speech quite different from that of his predecessor.

 

The scars from the insurrection are still not healed as troops continue to stand in the streets of Washington DC and the FBI is still arresting and charging as many of the domestic terrorists as they can identify. They are working to clean up the ‘carnage’ which came about at the urging of the former president who had promised to do away with ‘carnage facing this nation while puzzling many in his audience. However, the miles and miles of seven foot fences with razor wire are coming down and traffic is again starting to flow on DC streets.

 

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives is sending the Article of Impeachment to the Senate for a trial, now scheduled to start on February 8th. Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-8th) will lead the team from the House in the presentation of the issues in the article which deals primarily with the insurrection.

 

Additional causes for concern have been trickling out in the news this week. The New York Times and Washington Post both reported on an attempted coup at the Department of Justice (DOJ) by the former president after the failed call to the Georgia election officials mentioned in previous posts. An attorney in the civil division (Jeffrey Clarke), known to a Pennsylvania Congressman (Scott Perry – R- PA- 8th ), supported the “stop the steal” efforts and met with the president after the introduction by the Congressman. Together they came up with a letter intended to force the Georgia officials to reopen the election results with a possible impending DOJ investigation. When the acting Attorney General (Jeffrey Rosen) refused to agree and sign this letter, the president planned to fire him and replace him with Attorney Clarke. All of the senior attorneys in the Justice Department subsequently met on a conference call and agreed to resign if this coup succeeded. (Remember that this was all taking place right after the time the former Attorney General Barr had resigned.) In the end, both Clarke and Rosen met with the president and tried to sell their point of view, much like the Apprentice TV show, it was reported. Finally, the president backed down.  

 

Also coming to light is the sudden resignation of the US Attorney in Atlanta - again right after the Georgia phone call. Byung “B-Jay” Pak resigned without comment, but it has been reported that he refused to call for an investigation into the Georgia results as urged by the White House. It appears that there were no limits which the president would not explore in an attempt to change the Georgia results. 

 

But I still do not understand why – since even if he succeeded in overturning the Georgia results, he would still not have enough Electoral College votes to get to the critical number of 270. Perhaps he thought that if he could turn one state, others would follow; perhaps he was trying the same elsewhere, it is still not clear. It seems to me to be an insane effort for little gain. Maybe this is why he incited the insurrection; it is as if he truly thought that he could interrupt what everyone else thinks of as an inevitable and pro forma vote.

 

Meanwhile, Democrats in Pennsylvania are now calling for the Freedom Caucus member Scott Perry, just re-elected in November, to resign for his participation with the attempted coup. Perry has a military background and served in the National Guard in Iraq and carries the rank of Brigadier General, (ret.). Perry had previously voted against a resolution in Congress that condemned QAnon as a terrorist group. The FBI has labeled the group potential domestic terrorists, but the former president accepted their support, claiming that they liked him, although he said he knew little about them. QAnon members were active in the insurrection against the Capitol.

 

Meanwhile, back at the White House, President Biden is signing Executive Orders undoing several of the previous administration policies. He has canceled the Keystone pipeline, re-joined the Paris Climate Accords, and again became a nation-member in the World Health Organization. He has canceled the Moslem nation travel bans and started a query for the missing separated immigrant children, among other issues. He has also mandated the wearing of masks in all Federal buildings and on all transportation venues. The White House Pressroom is again having briefings and taking press questions. Administration officials are meeting with the press and Dr. Fauci is no longer banned from appearing on certain Television shows. He seemed happy and liberated when he appeared in the briefing room on Thursday to discuss the efforts against Covid by the new administration.

 

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I was moved that the incoming President held a memorial service on the evening before his inauguration for the more than 400,000 people who have succumbed to this virus. Finally, a national mourning to recognize the sacrifice of so many and the sorrow which has spread across the country! The Service was held at the Lincoln Memorial and marked by short speeches from President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris, inspirational songs, and the illumination of 400 lights along the reflecting pool. At the same time, the National Cathedral Bell tolled 400 times – one peal for every 1000 deaths. Case numbers passed the 25 million figure, even as the virus was said to be showing a slight plateau. Hospitals, which lag those numbers, are still being overcome with admissions for COVID. Long time ‘King of Talk’ – Larry King, was said to have died of Covid this week at the age of 87. This week marks one year since the city of Wuhan, China was locked done due to the Coronovirus.  What a year we have now experienced!

 

COVID stats – New York Times 1/24/21

Total US cases: 25,166,500. New cases: 167,954.  

Total deaths: 419,077. New deaths: 3,322.

Maryland total cases: 339,307. New cases: 2,392. Total deaths: 6,837. New deaths: 45.

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According to several reports, Congressional members are being met with death threats when they are out and about and continue to be harassed at times. Security has been arranged for many members. The National Guard troops stay in DC has been extended into March as there are some expectations of disruptions during the Senate impeachment trial. However, MD Congressman Andy Harris (R- MD- 1st ) was stopped by the metal detectors recently installed at the House entries, when he tried to bring a gun onto the House floor last week. Harris, who voted against certification, almost came to blows with an opposing Congressman during the certification vote. Just the person who should not be carrying, it seems to me! Other members who wished to carry guns, were also seen trying to avoid the detectors recently. The detectors have been strengthened and fines will be instituted for avoiding the sensors in the future, so stay tuned, as they say.

 

Finally – in conclusion – just in case you did not get a chance to see the fireworks and hear Katy Perry sing on Inauguration evening– here is your chance. Enjoy!

 

‘Til next week – peace.

Will the Senate Convict?

 

In 1861, President-elect Lincoln set about on a month-long journey to Washington DC for his inauguration. He left Springfield, Illinois, and traveled on a meandering path through Ohio, New York state and Pennsylvania before coming to Maryland for the last leg of his journey.  As history tells us, there were plots to kill this president by many from the South so the Pinkerton detectives were called in to counter this.  Eventually, the schemers were foiled, the announced routes were changed and Lincoln arrived disguised as a routine traveler.

President Eisenhower was the last president to travel regularly by train, although some campaigns have used short train trips after conventions. (I remember many years ago, when I was an elementary school student - going to the nearby train tracks with my classmates to wave at President Eisenhower as he traveled through my Massachusetts suburb.) President-elect Joe Biden, known for his daily Amtrak travel when he was a Senator with young children at home, also planned to travel to DC for his inauguration; this now has been canceled due to safety concerns that were not detailed.

What has brought our country to this dangerous intersection of reality with truth versus lying demagoguery?  How have many years of seeing those in power just pushing aside the lies and anti-democracy moves by this president brought us to this point?  I think it began with the birtherism movement which was started by the president against then-President Barack Obama, continued by the right-wing commentators and news organizations and not decried by elected Republicans who knew the falsity of these claims. Years of these lies have deafened the general public to actual truth-telling.

The New York Times Magazine today published an article by Timothy Snyder (author of On Tyranny) which explores how we got to this point and how insidious years of unchallenged lies and attacks on the press and media as ‘false news’ have helped get us to this place in time. These lines struck me as particularly telling:

“Post-truth is pre-fascism and Trump has been our post-truth president.  When we give up on truth, we concede power to those with the wealth and charisma to create spectacle in its place. Without agreement about some basic facts, citizens cannot form the basic society that would allow them to defend themselves.”

       As George Santayana said more than 100 years ago: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   

          My question now is, will Americans remember history?  Will we look at recent events and shrug or we will learn from these past few months? Will we speak up in the future and call out mistruths and distortions of reality?  Will our elected officials have the courage to move away from a seriously flawed leader of either party? Few of us thought that this president would actually promote the carnage mentioned in his inaugural address! The insurrection he incited for months should have been foreseen, we are told.  But, for many Americans, these were actions never anticipated because they were too involved in trying to make their lives work to spend their days in the dark corners of the conspiratorial web. They went out to vote when it was time and accepted the election results because that is what Americans have always done until now.  They expected a smooth transition of power because that has been the American way of democracy – that is until now – until this president was defeated.  He then set out to break our democracy because he chose to disregard the election results and not concede his defeat.  He chose to try to break our democracy to stay in power. 

          Our democracy now appears more fragile than we ever thought, but it appears to be holding on, even though divided too much by partisanship. Washington DC is now closed down and thousands of National Guard troops are on patrol in the Federal zones.  Bridges from Virginia are closed down. The Capitol is enclosed by strategic fencing as are the Mall and White House. Still, authorities expect outsiders to try to cause problems on Inauguration Day.  News reports on Sunday indicate that the FBI is concerned about the loyalty of some of the Guard troops and commanders are attempting to vet the groups currently stationed in DC.  This is certainly unsettling.

         So where do we go from here?  Will we have a safe inauguration?  I surely hope so.  We need to move on from this administration and celebrate the arrival of a new President and Vice-President who can bring some clarity and transparency to governmental actions.  We need to hear their promises for governance that puts the American people first.  The coronovirus has necessarily reduced the public participation in the event which is mostly now scheduled to be virtual.  We will not have thousands on the Mall or watching a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue or Inaugural Balls across the city.  So, this is sad, as Americans do love occasional pomp and circumstance, but I think most can agree that we need safety, security, and sanity in these events.  President-elect Biden has announced an ambitious program for his first few days – I look forward to hearing more soon.

          On Wednesday the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president for the second time. The grounds were listed in a single article which identified the insurrection as the reason for this action.  All Democrats voted in support as did 10 Republicans, who did so despite possible recriminations. Now, the big question is, will the Senate convict?  Mitch McConnell will be the Senate leader until the new Senators from Georgia have been certified by their state and sworn in, so he holds sway for now and has indicated that he would not entertain the impeachment until Tuesday, the 19^th.  If convicted, the Senate could then vote to prohibit the president from ever running for office again.  This is one of the main reasons a conviction is a good option, but will it happen?  67 votes are needed to convict in the Senate, so 17 Republicans would have to step up.  While the leader has said he is undecided at this time, some Republicans have spoken in favor of conviction, so there is a possibility.  How remote is it?  Some are saying just get him gone and let it be.  Others are saying that there are 5 people dead as a result of his direct encouragement toward violence and that there must be some accountability and a price paid; he cannot and should not get off free from his responsibility. I certainly agree with this position.

I would guess it might depend upon how powerful the departing president is seen and how much the party is tied to his favors.  Recent polls have indicated his popularity as low as 29% and as high as 44%, so that is flexible.  538 reports that his current status is at 38.5% averaged. (Rasmussen is the outlier at 48%.)  Perhaps the public will weigh in and let their senators hear from them – it is said that 75 % of the public voices disapproval of the insurrection. So, what do you think – is there any way that the Senate will convict?  If McConnell supports, will others follow?

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The presence of the more easily transmissible coronovirus UK variant has been identified in the US, so the next few months are expected to show very dismal results. We are approaching 24 million cases. The White House task force has just announced that there is no reserve on hold as had been expected. Governors across the nation who were expecting to receive more supplies and doses as they opened up lists to wider age groups are now scrambling to meet these needs.  The incoming Biden administration hopes to have all of this in hand shortly, even as they presume that there will be 500,000 deaths by the end of February. Biden is asking for Americans to voluntarily wear masks for the next 100 days and is planning to mandate masks in all federal facilities.

COVID stats 1/17/21 New York Times

Total US Cases: 23,916,400. Total new cases: 201,732.

Total deaths: 397,566. Total new deaths: 3,353.

Maryland stats: Total cases: 324,031. New cases: 3,292. Total deaths: 6,541.  New deaths: 47.

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I would love to say:' sit back and watch the new president at his inauguration and things will look up.' However, I am a realist and I know that our country is facing many serious issues: the virus, the high unemployment, the poor economy, plus the divisiveness in our country both in politics and race relations. None of these will be resolved easily or quickly, so I hope that we all will give the new administration time to clean up the major messes they are facing. I also am hopeful that promised uprisings across the country will not happen and those bent on causing trouble will have second thoughts in light of widespread security forces. Meanwhile, as his term heads to a close, the president is said to be considering up to 100 more pardons.

On these dismal concerns, maybe it is best to look again at the panda cam: Safe and sound asleep! Recent photos have shown him clambering around his play area.

‘Til next week – peace.

Insurrection Egged on by President

  

Were you as horrified as I was by the words of the president this week as he incited a violent attack on the Capitol?  Did you share my disdain for members of his family and others such as Rudy Giuliani who echoed his remarks asking for physical combat? Can you believe that law enforcement was apparently not expecting such a response after the speech and was unprepared for a mob with weapons and pepper spray?  Was this a coup attempt as some have characterized it? I am saddened for my country and what this president has done to get us to this point.

Those who follow alternative websites, chat rooms and conspiracy theorists seemed to think that there was enough movement and comment in these areas that violence should have been expected.  Persistent tweets from the president indicating that the election had been stolen from him, multiple lawsuits (all of which he lost) and numerous retweets of conspiracy theories served to convince many of his 74 million voters that the election had been won by him in a landslide. According to news reports, both the FBI and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) sent out alerts to police departments across the country waring of intelligence about attendees at the rally who were planning violence. There was also concurrent violence against buildings that day in state capitals in Washington Colorado and Arizona. There is more violence promised locally and in DC in the near future.

The Capitol Police managed to evacuate the Members of Congress (who were in session and considering the acceptance of the votes of the members of the Electoral College) and take them to secure locations or assist with securing them in their offices. Gas masks were given out as tear gas was dispensed in an attempt to repel the marauders. Some legislators spent several hours trapped in the Visitor’s Gallery until police could secure an alternative exit. The Vice-President had been presiding and was relocated to a secure spot by the Secret Service. Earlier the president had chastised the VP at his rally for not disrupting this process even though he was told that this was a procedural event that was only a formal process. Subsequently, some of the mob chanted “hang Mike Pence” and carried nooses with them as they smashed doors and windows when they thronged into the Capitol. In some cases, members of the media and their equipment were attacked. The marauding mobs went into some offices and trashed them, taking printed materials and laptops as well as other property. Some rioters took “selfies” in the legislative chamber or sitting at the podium recently vacated by the Chair. Historic furniture, statuary, and art works were damaged. Flags with the Long Blue Line (supporting police) and the Stars and Bars (supporting the confederacy) were carried into the Capitol along with American and Stop the Steal and MAGA items. Various participating right-wing and hate groups could be identified by patches and sweatshirts. Once additional National Guard and police forces were brought in, they were able to finally secure the building and repel the invasion. By the end of the day, four people had died (one woman shot by the police as she tried to enter the House Chamber) and several dozen police were injured; one (Officer Brian Sicknick) later died of his injuries, while another just committed suicide.

It was said that the president watched the invasion on television, even though he told the crowd that he would join them, and was encouraged and pleased at what he saw until someone died, that was when he sent a tweet that it was time to go home, even though the election was stolen. Twitter suspended his account shortly afterwards and permanently the next day as did Facebook, so he has lost his public megaphone. Better later than never, I guess; to my way of thinking this should have happened a long time ago. It took several hours to repel the invaders, clear the buildings on the Hill and make them ready again for Congress to be in session, but the Members returned at 8:00 pm uninjured and ready to complete their Constitutional duties of certifying the election.

As I mentioned last week, several members indicated their intent to contest the Electoral College results, but when Congress returned after the violence the intent to do this was lessened in both houses. In the end, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the only member to insist on the ten-day delay for an audit, although several Senators agreed to challenge both Arizona and Pennsylvania but drop the other states.  Senator Cruz supported those other challenges, but was ultimately joined by only a few others. In the House there was wide support as 147 House members voted in favor of the challenges, so pointless speeches and multiple votes continued on long into the night, concluding in a decision to accept the Electoral College votes after 2:00 AM.  Hawley, Cruz and Minority Leader Mc Carthy were widely criticized for pursuing these efforts especially after the events of the day. There is appropriate widespread condemnation of these leaders and others are planning to evaluate futures for their next elections. Many Republicans count the president’s base as part of their constituency, so are afraid of offending it or him. Senator Hawley had planned to publish a book next summer; this week his publisher pulled his book, his hometown newspaper condemned his actions and several spoke out against his actions.

Now, for many, the next steps involve accountability.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi, many Democrats as well as several Republicans have all called on the president to resign, saying the actions he put in motion to stop the vote were seditious. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) speaking on CNN with Jake Tapper said the president descended into a new level of madness after the election and should resign. Pelosi has asked VP Pence to invoke the 25^th Amendment to remove the president; so far, he has not agreed to do this. Barring that, she indicated that she will institute impeachment proceedings. Were he to be convicted, he would be barred from running for any office ever again. But is that enough of a punishment? Aren’t incitement, false statements, sedition, soliciting election meddling and collecting funds under false pretenses enough to get him convicted after he leaves office? He should pay a price for disregarding all of the common principles and traditions that govern our country.

The inauguration for President Bien and VP Harris is scheduled to take place ten days from today. The president has said he will not attend, although VP Pence has agreed to be there. Biden spoke out strongly against the violence and the role of the president in inciting it. Many are concerned about the safety of his inauguration, but assurances have been made that the City of Washington will be secured. The Capitol is now surrounded by impenetrable ten-foot-high fencing and the inaugural structures are being reinstalled. The Inauguration was already planned to be scaled down due to the Coronovirus, but will be even further truncated and more virtual due to these events. One bit of great news for the President-Elect, the Georgia Senatorial election elected 2 Democrats - Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff - so the incoming President will have a tied 50-50 Senate and tie votes can be broken by VP Kamala Harris.

Many expected that there would be widespread arrests as the mobs left the Capitol, but the terrorists were, for the most part escorted from the building as the troops advanced and security increased. Some saw this as white privilege (as the overwhelming majority of the crowds were white and male) and indicated that there would have been a different and more heavy-handed response had the groups been people of color. Others countered that these disproportionate numbers would have made mass arrests difficult. To date, more than 200 rioters have been arrested with more identified to be arrested later. They pointed out the massive military presence at Lafayette Square during the Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the violence at peaceful protesters when the president wanted a photo-op at St. John’s Church.

Here is a verse I wrote at that time:                                                                                            

Peaceful Protest

Stuck inside, little Donnie fumed

As he paced and tweeted around his room

What I do, where can I hide?

He asked the agents who were outside;

He heard the drums and chants outside his door –

Don’t worry sir, and they led him to a room beneath the floor.

The next day on a governors’ call

He railed at them one and all!

He called them weak, deemed their actions sad.

Dominate! Dominate said my friend Vlad!                                         

Troops in the streets, that’s the way to go

I’m in charge of this new show.

I’ll look Presidential, stand behind the seal.

Meanwhile on the streets the sirens squeal.

Millions protest, their hands raised high

Freedom, peace and justice their cry.

Instead, with horses and shields, troops came

With tear gas and pellets, what a shame!

Bravely they cleared streets around Lafayette Square

Of the peaceful protesters who had been there.

So, across the park the President could lurch

And stand for a photo op at St. John’s Church.

 

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COVID statistics have been spiraling up over the last week and are out of control with more than 22 million cases. As the mask-free mobs at the Capitol return home, they risk sending another super-spreader COVID event across the country.

COVID stats NY Times: 1/10/21

Total US cases: 22,448,300. New cases: 252,142. Total Deaths: 374,389. Total new deaths: 3261.

Maryland Total Cases: 303,364. New cases: 3,758. Total Deaths: 6,246.  Total new deaths: 30.

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To conclude today, I want to share some memories: I have freely visited most of our historic buildings in the Washington DC area and been awed by the sense of history they portrayed and the beauty of these monumental sites.  I have toured the public areas of the White House, listened to oral arguments in the somber halls of the Supreme Court, and visited elected representatives as I advocated for various causes in my State House in Annapolis and in the House and Senate office buildings in DC.  I sat in the Visitors Gallery in both places and watched my government at work. I had free movement and was welcomed; I wonder if these riotous actions have ended this free access for the future. (To be sure, we had to have passes in some cases and walk-through security with bag inspection, but we had access.)

Til next week – stay safe – Peace.

 

 

 

New Year – Old Problems

 

I always thought of the New Year as a clean slate – like fresh fallen snow, unmarked, clean and true. As the poem goes “pure as the driven snow”. There were few crowds and fireworks as 2021 – the New Year started – due to virus restrictions - but we already have another presidential mess on our hands.

As reported by multiple outlets - audio and transcripts have been released - with the president berating, threating and demanding that the Secretary of State in Georgia rework the ballot counts in his state to produce a win for him. The president indicated that he had won by hundreds of thousands of votes and the win was being taken from him.  He claimed that votes were shredded, and election machines were tampered with. Georgia has counted ballots three times now including an in-depth audit and has certified the results. The 16 electoral college votes which Georgia has were already cast for President Biden and VP Harris, so overturning the vote in Georgia will not change the necessary 270 vote count threshold. So, even if the 306 – 232 final tally were changed by 16 votes, he would still lose.  There has been some public outcry about this call, but it is early days yet, so we do not know what the ultimate fallout might be.  Some in Congress have mentioned a censure; there is too little time to do a full impeachment inquiry. Obviously, these actions are anti-democratic and threaten our somewhat fragile democracy.  However, to my way of thinking, were this earlier in his term, these actions would be impeachable. These threats have to be illegal! What do you think? So, of course, the next question is – how many other state officials are or have been threatened with future punitive actions if they do not “fix the results” in their states?  How many other phone calls were not released to the public?

Senator Thune of South Dakota is one of the officials targeted in a presidential tweet, just because he acknowledged Biden’s win. The Governor of South Dakota was urged to run against Senator Thune with presidential support – the Governor, Kristi Noem declined, indicating that she considers Thune a friend and will run for re-election. (Of course, one of the reasons the president has amassed this huge “election fraud” campaign chest is so that he can take revenge upon his perceived enemies.) Others prominently targeted, all Republicans, have included Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

These threats may be the reasons behind several Republican Senators who have lined up to demand a ten day hold on certifying the election in order to review results in disputed states (won by Biden, that is). However, the rules do not appear to permit this. According to the New York Times those Senators include: Ted Cruz of Texas who is the leader, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Steve Daines of Montana, John Kennedy from Louisiana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Mike Braun of Indiana. Johnson is up for election in 2022. Four newly elected Senators who were just sworn in have said that they will also support these efforts: Hagerty Lummis, Marshall, and Tuberville. (Everyone is aware that Cruz wants to run for president in 2024 and does not want a campaign against him; meanwhile Senator Marco Rubio of Florida has similar ambitions and does not know where to stand in this issue.) The showdown, if it occurs, will happen when the Electoral College results are certified by the Congress. There is a process for challenging these results which Republicans say they will utilize. In the House, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri has indicated that he will contest the certification; any nomination from the House needs a Senator to sponsor for this to happen. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has condemned this effort. Hawley is also said to have Presidential ambitions.

Both houses must agree to any challenge; since the Democrats control the House, no challenge will be upheld; however, the process could take a long time.  Vice President Pence will be in charge of the certification and is being put on the spot by his fellow Republicans. He has said that he supports the move of the Senators as noted above.  Many others do not support these efforts including Senators Romney and McConnell. Romney is becoming the solo voice of reason against many of these fraud allegations.

In a remarkable non-partisan letter posted in the Washington Post 10 former Secretary’s of Defense spoke out for the peaceful transfer of power and indicated that no services of the military should be used to enforce an election. Noting that the military swears an oath to defend the Constitution and are not bound by a party affiliation; they indicated that an election has occurred, the Electoral College has voted and the result is not in question. They called upon the current Secretary to uphold his oath and defend our democracy. Some have voiced concerns that the president’s call for his supporters to come to Washington and “be wild” are setting the stage for him to declare martial law. Groups such as the Proud Boys and White Supremacists have vowed to cause trouble and are coming to town for the Electoral College vote. The president has indicated that he will join his supporters. Some are even threatening to stay until Inauguration Day and cause trouble then. DC Police are postering the city with notices that open and concealed carry of weapons are not allowed in the city. Large areas of the city are already blocked off and Mayor Bowser has advised residents to stay away from the downtown.  Police are urging counter protestors to stay away.

Today the House of Representatives held the election for Speaker of the 117^th Congress. It was won by Nancy Pelosi who received 216 votes over the 209 received by Kevin McCarthy, the Minority Leader. Votes were along party lines with 3 Democrats voting present and two votes for “other”. McCarthy gave a surly partisan speech in acceptance of his minority role, referencing de-funding of the police and not mentioning the coronovirus, while Pelosi spoke of caring for the country and ensuring that no one is left out and no one is left behind with a major emphasis on beating the coronovirus. She reminded the members that their emphasis should be “to have peace on earth and to let it begin with us”. She mentioned the high price paid by minority communities from the virus and celebrated the diversity of this new Congress, adding the fact that 141 women were elected, including 51 women of color. She indicated that the coronovirus had kept her children and grandchildren from celebrating her Speakership as they had done in previous years, but noted that “all we are doing in this chamber is for the children”.  She was to be nominated by the Dean of the House: Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, at 87 years old, the longest serving member. He took a moment before the formal nomination to say a few words, surprising the room with his remarks.  He said that he did not like what he was seeing in the House, that it was their job to represent the people and to govern the nation. He did not like the acrimony he was seeing and thought that there should be more conversations, getting together informally for drinks and sharing of ideas.  Pelosi agreed with him, indicating that she did not drink, but was always up for ice cream.  I am always ready for ice cream too, Nancy!

With all of this news today, there is no time to do more than mention the override of the Presidential veto on the Defense Authorization Bill, the passage of the COVID relief Bill (which the president had threatened to not sign) and the defeat of the effort for authorizations for $2000 relief checks. This has been a momentous end to the 116^th Congress; one that was not known for significant legislation. The president has yet to mention the bombing in Nashville or comment meaningfully on the major agency hacking attack which has been found to be worse by than originally defined.

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The coronovirus vaccinations have started but are vastly behind schedule.  Twenty million vaccinations were promised by the end of 2020, but this did not happen.  4.33 million doses have so far been administered, with 11 million doses supposedly already released, so the US is far behind schedule.  The Pfizer vaccine has an approximately 30-day shelf life, so there is not a lot of room for error without loss of vaccines. There have been some reports of reactions, but so far these are miniscule in comparison to the total numbers of doses. Travel over the holidays has not abated despite warnings from healthcare providers; over 3 million travelers took airline trips. Authorities still broke up many holiday gatherings of several hundred unmasked revelers each across the country. With over 20 million cases, one quarter of all cases in the world are in the US.

COVID stats NY Times (1/3/21)

Total US cases: 20,661,700. Total new cases: 291,384. Total deaths: 351,680. Total new deaths: 2,373.

Maryland cases: Total: 283,171. Total new cases: 2,952. Total deaths: 5,967. Total new deaths: 25.

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Before I close, I would like to send condolences to the family of my Congressman, Jamie Raskin (D) MD 8^th, who recently suffered the loss of their 25-year-old son, Tommy. They are in my thoughts; I wish peace to them all.

Maybe time for the panda cam as Xiao Qi Ji learns to climb.

Til next week- may we all find peace in this unsettled world.