“Alternative Facts” Live On

Once upon a time, there were fairy tales told to children. Some were allegorical, others were based on folklore. Frequently the tales conveyed messages to children to teach them to be safe, much as parents today might say “don’t talk to strangers” or “cross the street at the crosswalk”. Many might remember Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and Hansel and Gretel. Some might also remember The Boy Who Called Wolf (attributed to Aesop’s Fables around 600 BCE) or The Pied Piper (folklore around the 14^th Century). In the first a young shepherd often tricked the townspeople and called “wolf” when there was no danger; when the wolf finally appeared and killed the sheep, his cries were no longer heeded because of his many falsehoods. In the latter, a rat catcher was hired to drive the rats from the town with his magical music; when the townspeople refused to pay him, he then lured away the children of the town. Here, failure to pay a debt triggered a severe penalty. Lies and failures to meet contractual obligations were considered unacceptable behaviors even centuries ago.

Today we are seeing the Republican Party engaging in these same types of behaviors, long condemned by society, by repeating lies and more lies each day, by engaging in false audits of elections, and breaking the contracts election officials have long held with the general population of the voting public. Some GOP Members of Congress falsely claim that there was no insurrection at the US Capitol when we all saw it happening and noted that any misdeeds were because of members of Antifa. Now that over 500 arrests have been made, many in the right-wing media have joined members of Congress in attacking the FBI as being organizers and participants in the riot. Polls have shown that most Republicans are now buying these lies, even as most of the country does not. But, what needs to be emphasized is that those elected officials who were there that day, know they are lying even as they keep on repeating those statements about friendly tourists. They heard the rioters; they saw the destruction; they smelled the tear gas; they knew they were hustled to safety by Capitol Police. Their lies need to be called out loudly and often.

The Washington Post had a lengthy article recently about the wealthy conspiracy theorists and others who are continuing to fund the “Stop the Steal” movement. The right-wing media outlet One America Network (OAN) is the one network allowed to cover the Arizona audit, its chief reporter is also helping to fund the efforts. (So much for journalistic objectivity!) The Cyber Ninjas group that is running this effort has been shown by most in the mainstream media to be a shady group that already supported the Stop the Steal efforts, had questionable experience, no actual corporate offices nor expertise in audits, yet the State Senate of Arizona has allowed this charade to continue. Even some other Republicans in the state are questioning these actions; the Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned against these counts, saying they violate federal law, so it will be seen if the DOJ steps in at some point. It still puzzles me that all of those who contest the validity of the votes being counted do not contest the votes that elected other officials, such as those for Congress or state offices. If the ballots for President were incorrect, wouldn’t those for the other offices also be suspect?  Makes no sense to me.  I guess that is real compartmentalized thinking!

This weekend I read two disturbing articles in the Washington Post and the New York Times. The one in the Post is Called “A war on Truth is raging. Not everyone recognizes we’re in it,” and is written by Lee McIntyre and Jonathan Rauch. It refers back to a conspiracy theory started in 2015 that President Obama was planning to impose martial law and seize all guns and, according to General Hayden of the CIA, was in part a message spread by Russian propagandists and conservative bloggers. This was, of course, untrue and had incorrectly characterized a military exercise in the southwest. But, they claim, once it was seen how easy it was to engage people in believing such outrageous plots it was also easy to continue such messaging.  It then becomes easier to turn Americans against believing the media, both TV and print, distrust academic institutions and scientists, and believe whatever anonymous messages they can find on the Internet that reinforce these views, once they are established. That is what allows groups such as QANON to flourish, the leaders are not only anonymous, they are also not accountable to anyone. The article claims that “Putin could only dream of creating so much cynicism, doubt, and distrust”. The authors conclude their writing with the warning that “the first step towards winning the war on truth is to accept that we are in one.”

The article in the Times is written by Adam Serwer of the Atlantic and is called “The Cruel Logic of the GOP”. He claims that current Republicans have adopted the logic that “victories of the rival party are illegitimate, wrought by fraud, coercion or by the support of ignorant voters who are not truly American.” He continues discussing the efforts to demonize any who could be identified as the “other”, by virtue of religion, race, or ethnicity. He states further that Senator Cruz is attacking the voter rights legislation as a measure that will register millions of illegal aliens to vote. Again, this is brazenly lying with no concern for the truth. He also discusses the efforts of the former president to attack votes from major eastern cities such as Philadelphia and Detroit which have large Black populations. The author decries this effort on white identity politics but indicates that it can be defeated by coalitions and a diverse constituency. However, he also notes that the Democrats had no choice but to turn to this diversity as a winning opportunity. He concludes that: “Americans will always have strong disagreements about matters such as the role of the state, the correct approach to immigration, and the place of religion in public life. But the only way to diminish the politics of cruelty is to make them less rewarding.”

I see the mid-term propaganda wars starting on several fronts.  In a replay of the earlier culture wars of the Tea Party, several themes are already emerging. In nearby Loudon County, some School Board meetings ended in disruption as issues regarding Critical Race Theory(CRT) and the rights of Trans Teens were under discussion. The Republican candidate for Governor has also engaged the discussion on CRT in his campaign, even as his TV ads try to downplay political parties and he never has an R after his name. Of course, trans teens are easy to attack as they lack a strong power structure with which to fight back. (I wish that the teacher who testified that his Christian religion does not recognize gender change would find more Christian charity.) 

As for CRT, aside from the fact that it is a course usually found in graduate schools, not elementary schools, I think this is a false issue being used to inflame racial animus. I applaud schools for trying to teach that America is not and has not been perfect, but has goals of justice and unity that we struggle together to reach.  They should teach that racism against any group is wrong. Even as I see our world changing, I appreciate our diversity; I embrace it, for we are truly closer to becoming that international mosaic than we have ever been. Montgomery County MD is now racially a majority-minority county with no single race over 50%. In 2016, one-third of the county population indicated they were born outside of the United States.

I expect that the anti-immigrant bias of the previous elections is now going to also have an anti-Black bias in the upcoming mid-terms, so be ready for lots of false propaganda, but don’t buy it. Remember, the swift-boating of John Kerry, the Benghazi hearings against Hillary Clinton, and the birther campaign against President Obama, all issues meant to inflame and all based on false premises. Do not allow these to happen again. If something sounds suspicious, check it out.

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The US is now seeing the Delta variant of the COVID virus, which was so devastating in India, spreading rapidly.  The way to stop it is to get vaccinated. New cases and deaths are continuing to be low in the US, but about 10% of the American population has already had a COVID infection, a number that is far too high already.

COVID Stats—NY Times

Total US cases: 33,592,325. New cases: 11,881. Total Deaths: 603,597. New Deaths: 308.

Total Maryland Cases: 4662,078. New Cases: 61. Total Deaths: 9,734. New Deaths: 4.

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In conclusion, Congressman Matt Gaetz (yeah him) tried to attack Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Millay on CRT. It kinda backfired – I love how this is discussed in The Roots. Millay indicated that this should be taught, racism and white rage should be understood by the military. Subsequently, the General was attacked on Fox News and called a pig; commentators called for defunding the military. Is this getting absurd or what?

No pandas today–just a link to an article about the 300 migrating elephants in China–what has the loss of their habitat done to alter their lifestyle? What does it tell us about protecting fragile environments and the animals that live there?

Remember, “alternative facts” are still lies!

‘Til next week–Peace!

Obamacare (ACA) Lives On!

Today brings the summer solstice! 2021 is almost one-half over. While the days during the pandemic seemed to drag on, now as we emerge like butterflies from our lockdown cocoons, slowly removing our masks and unfurling our tentative wings, we can begin to grasp onto the wonder of the seasons and watch the days fly by. And, although the West is undergoing record-breaking heatwaves, and the South is being drenched by a tropical depression, we in Maryland have enjoyed a couple of beautiful days this week. So much so that I reached into my memories and pulled out a poem that seemed to mirror this beauty well. Here is a verse to enjoy as you read this blog today:

And what is so rare as a day in June?
Then, if ever, come perfect days;
Then Heaven tries earth if it be in tune,
And over it softly her warm ear lays;
Whether we look, or whether we listen,
We hear life murmur, or see it glisten …
―James Russell Lowell

This excerpt is from an epic poem written by the poet James Russell Lowell who lived from 1819-1891.

Moving on now –

This week, answering what was thought to be the final challenge to Obamacare, the Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision ruled against the state plaintiffs (Texas and 17 other Republican states), noting that they could not demonstrate that they had ‘standing’ or were harmed by this law. President Biden has extended enrollment (SEP-Special Enrollment Period) into August due to the uncertainties of the pandemic, so sign-ups should increase over the next few months, Even though it has not been able to deliver all that was hoped for, this healthcare act has changed the lives of many Americans. The mere fact that Insurance companies can no longer deny healthcare coverage for reasons of pre-existing conditions is, to me, a significant factor. This regulation now needs to be extended to Medicare secondary insurances which are not part of the advantage plan; underwriting and denial of coverage are still allowed in this marketplace. Allowing insurance coverage for students and other young people until age 26 through their parents' plans is another huge plus in my mind. 

Extending coverage to the state Medicaid programs has also helped many. Although many Southern GOP-led states refused to join in the program, some (AR and LA) did. Often the eligibility for these programs is well under the level of the federal poverty programs so few can qualify. In some states coverage is only for mothers and children; seniors or solo males are not covered. The main argument seems to be that even though the Federal government would cover most of the costs in the early years, the states did not want the burden of proving the coverage down the road, calling such things unfunded mandates as they knew how hard it was to remove such programs, once established. For seniors under the poverty line, Medicaid often supplemented the 20% of medical costs that Medicare did not cover; for those without Medicare, drug costs were frequently covered.

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) noted in 2019 that there were still millions outside the healthcare system, some were immigrants who could not qualify for the ACA due to lack of legal status or eligibility issues, others could not afford the coverage or high deductibles, while others were unaware of proper enrollment issues. Immigrants or those on student visas could purchase insurance through the exchanges, as were newly minted citizens. Legal immigrants were barred for 5 years from participation in Medicaid, however. According to HHS.Gov, there are currently 31 million enrolled in the ACA or Medicaid expansion programs. That number is up from the over 20 million reported to be enrolled in 2019. In 2010, before Obamacare was enacted, there were an estimated 46-50 million uninsured individuals in this country. Today about 8% of those living in the US are uninsured (about 26 million).

I find fault with the costs of insurance in the ACA Marketplace. I do believe that the surrender to the Insurance industry unnecessarily complicated the program and I would rather have seen a government-run program of some type. The failure to offer a public option - that was killed by Democratic Senators in an attempt to get Republican approval (which was never coming) - was a tactical error on the part of Democrats. The choices for many families today are either reduced benefits or high deductibles, which are not adequate choices. I wish that there could have also been a mandate to reduce the high costs of pharmaceutical drugs. (I know the industry will point out the numbers of generic drugs whose costs are reduced, but costs for new drugs remain out of reach for those who do not have prescription drug plans.) So, until we can reach the goal of Medicare for All, I will support President Bidens’ proposal to reduce the Medicare eligibility age to 60. Medicare does not cover dental issues, eyeglasses, or hearing aids, so those programs should be included. And, of course, since dementia and Alzheimers are not covered and psychiatric illnesses get reduced benefits, that area needs reevaluation. We should stop penalizing mental illness.

The pandemic has vividly demonstrated the gaps in healthcare coverage. Weeks on ventilators brought huge hospital costs, some of which were covered by Federal programs. In the early days of the pandemic, KFF attempted to estimate the costs for the hospital care for COVID patients and just how many could be covered by current programs and how much additional funding was needed. What was the cost for uninsured patients who were hospitalized?   Even though coverage may not have been available to some patients, by law when an ambulance or other carrier brings a seriously ill patient to a hospital ER they cannot be turned away, regardless of status.

I doubt that we can ever truly know the costs of the pandemic. How does one estimate the costs for the loss of 600,000 people? What was the loss of talent and knowledge to our society? According to Statistica, slightly more than half of those who died were 74 or older, another 200,000 were between 50 and 74 which leaves about 100,000 deaths for those under 55. Additional information breaks the COVID deaths by race and is shown below. We have lost the collective wisdom of a generation of grandparents and great grandparents. What was the economic cost to our country as many small businesses closed their doors forever, taking with them the opportunities they had given workers in many cities and towns? What was the cost to families who lost the breadwinner or daycare services and had to rework their lives?  What is the cost t,o our children who spent a year mostly in virtual classes?  I doubt that they will regain the education they lost by virtual learning.

Most middle-class white-collar jobs could transition to a home office, but many service workers could not, so they continued to be out in the public and exposed to the virus. Those jobs are more often held by Black and Brown people and the death statistics bear that out. Covid deaths tracked by race demonstrate that Blacks had 178 deaths per 100,00 people, Native Americans or Alaskans had 172 deaths per 100,000, Hispanic or Latino 154/100,000, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 144/100,000, Whites 124/100,000, other and Asian at 97 and 95/100,000 respectively.

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Today Maryland announced that there were no COVID deaths in the state yesterday; that is a major milestone in the state’s recovery. The state full vaccination rate is only 53% however although partial rates are higher. CDC and other authorities this week warned about the increasing virulence of the Delta variant for the virus (the variant that devastated India recently). Although it currently is only 10% of the US caseload, it is expected to be the dominant variant within 6 weeks. Younger patients are highly susceptible to this version and have been hospitalized at higher rates than before. Although the President had hoped to reach 70% vaccination across the country, resistance in parts of the South and Western states remain, so that goal may fall short.

COVID stats – NY Times:

Total US Cases: 33,509,001. New cases: 11,138. Total deaths: 601,442. New deaths: 300.

Maryland Totals: Cases: 461,697. New cases 62.  Total deaths: 9,707. New deaths 4.

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This week saw the arrival of a new Federal Holiday. Juneteenth is now to be observed across the nation. I first heard of this holiday several years ago when it began to be observed in Montgomery County. This year marks the county’s 24th observation of this day. When I initially heard about it, I thought that the remote area of Texas which was the last to hear of emancipation was just far away and communications were poor. I was shocked to learn that slaveholders in Galveston and other parts of Texas just refused to admit the South had lost the war, did not recognize emancipation, and knowingly kept people in bondage for two more years after President Lincoln’s proclamation. So when a Union officer read the proclamation to the enslaved people in that part of Texas, there was great joy among that population. Today this holiday gave notice to the country that we should celebrate the day that slavery was finally ended. We have an opportunity to use this holiday to learn from the past and to rework our future to form a better more unified nation. Let’s not blow this chance!

‘Til next week – Peace.

Department of Injustice?

The New York Times this week reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under both Attorney General  (AG) Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr secretly subpoenaed metadata from Apple and Microsoft for members of the House Intelligence Committee and their staff in 2017 and 2018. Records supplied included phone numbers and email contacts, as I understand it, but no actual emails, texts, or voice correspondence. Ranking Member, Congressman Adam Schiff (now Intelligence Committee Chair) and committee member, Congressman Eric Swalwell, both of California were among those recently notified by Apple that their records had been supplied to the Department. Apple had been under a gag order that was renewed every year until this year, so could not have informed them earlier.

The reasons for the records requests were supposedly a result of an investigation into leaks about the Russian interference in the 2016 election which the administration assumed were coming from Congress. At the time, the president was said to be furious concerning public comments about the Mueller probe, the Comey firing, and investigations of his election staff and demanded  that the DOJ provide him with information. He made many statements indicating that he knew that Congressman Schiff was the leaker and he wanted this proven. The Congressman, of course, denied that this was true. However, there were major concerns about the Republican Chair of the Committee, Devin Nunes, who was said to be secretly sharing Intelligence Committee documents with the White House. Nunes was temporarily removed as Chair after these revelations, so many wondered what leaks he might have been responsible for. The Intelligence Committee has the highest security clearances for top-secret government documents and is expected to be nonpartisan in its’ reviews of such matters.

The Mueller Probe, which was not released until 2019, indicated that Russia did interfere on behalf of the Trump (DJT) campaign in the 2016 election. Attorney General Barr worked hard to obfuscate the final report, issued his own misleading summary, and redacted a good portion of the report, which can be found here (part 1) and here (part 2). In part 2 we find this statement as the conclusion: "CONCLUSION - Because we determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment, we did not draw ultimate conclusions about the President’s conduct. The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent present difficult issues that would need to be resolved if we were making a traditional prosecutorial judgment. At the same time, if we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment. Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him"

These are the comments that the White House did not want to be publicized and probably the reason Barr delayed the release until after his report exonerating the former president was released. So, this background gives context for the issue about the DOJ, however, it does not excuse the conduct. From what I can discern, the investigation into communication records for members of Congress and their staff and families, (including a child) is totally a breach of the concept of separation of powers–remember the three divisions are each an equal entity–Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines this separation as: "Separation of powers, division of the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government among separate and independent bodies. Such a separation, it has been argued, limits the possibility of arbitrary excesses by government, since the sanction of all three branches is required for the making, executing, and administering of laws."

Therefore, while Congress has oversight over the Executive, it cannot compel him/her to take certain actions, although it may pass laws that limit actions. The Judiciary cannot make laws but can declare some laws as unconstitutional and advise Congress to revise them. The Executive can prepare a budget but is not supposed to spend money not authorized by Congress., nor can one declare war without the authority of Congress. Somehow, during the previous administration, these lines have become blurred.  When Congress requested members of the administration to appear before oversight committees, the administration refused to allow them to appear even when valid subpoenas were issued. Barr’s DOJ supported this stonewalling which went against the separation of powers concept. The Supreme Court has supported Congress’ role in this function, stating that this is necessary for Congress to carry out legitimate investigations. When subpoenas are ignored, the only authority Congress has is to issue an order of contempt of Congress. Technically, the Sargent at Arms can detain someone who ignores a contempt finding to appear, but this has been done only historically in the distant past. Also, a federal prosecutor could initiate charges, but this was unlikely in this DOJ. It was only recently, after a series of court hearings over several years that Special Counsel to DJT, Don McGahn was finally allowed to testify before Congress after a subpoena issued during the Russia probe.

This week, after the revelations about the release of the metadata described above, Democratic leaders have called these actions unprecedented and called for both Sessions and Barr to testify before Congress.  Barr, Sessions, and Ron Rosenstein (deputy AG) have all said they did not know about or remember the subpoenas. But someone’s name had to be on those orders; it should not be too difficult to learn that information. It is said that many of the Federal prosecutors who worked on these records are still employed by Justice. Why were these orders, which seem to be part of an illegal fishing expedition, not questioned? Where is the moral compass for these attorneys who, when they took the job vowed in their oath, to uphold the laws of this country? 

Now the task is up to the new AG Garland to root out these offenders. It appears that he is reluctant to investigate his predecessors, although I doubt that if the tables were turned that they would have any such reticence. I think he must clean house, learn who was involved in these lawless activities, and fire them.  I know that he has a lot on his plate, but this should be done now before they can hang around and create more mayhem. I do understand that the Inspector General has agreed to look into this entire scheme, but his investigation will be thorough and take a long time. I believe that AG Garland needs to look into his department and see really just who is employed at the department. He has important issues to deal with such as ensuring that we can have free and fair elections and redistricting in 2022. The department needs to find a way to stop the vote-recounting circus in Arizona, which is already outside Federal election guidelines before it spreads to other states. The department needs to act instead of just admonish those who are already intimidating election officials, boards of elections, and Secretary of State officials across the country.

Merrick Garland is a serious man, a judge who should have been placed on the Supreme Court.  He does not appear to be a partisan person, which should be a good thing. However, he needs to not be passive, he must be an active AG and right these wrongs in our democracy where he can. It is good that he has spoken out, but that is not enough. He needs to have actions that follow his words so that the elections excesses already in place can be addressed. If we cannot rely on Democrats to get The Voting Rights Bill and the John Lewis Bill passed, then we need an activist DOJ in the area of free elections.

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President Biden and member nations at the G7 have promised to release one billion covid vaccine doses to third world countries to try to reduce the inequities in vaccine allocations. (Half of these vaccines will come from the US alone.) The number of cases in the US continues to decline as more, but not enough, people are vaccinated. 142.1 million residents in the US are fully vaccinated with 172.8 million partially vaccinated, which averages out to slightly over 52% of the population. In Maryland this week, one day noted a new case level under 100–the first time in many months.

COVID stats: NY Times:

Total US cases: 33,429,075. New cases: 14,288. Total Deaths: 599,781. New Deaths: 363.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 461,183. New Cases: 86. Total Deaths: 9,683. New Deaths: 6.

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This week is the 40^th anniversary of the first cases of AIDS being identified mostly in the gay male community; there were many years with the diagnosis being a death sentence before any treatments could be identified. The disease was classified as a blood-borne and body fluid-based condition, which required physical contact for transmission. IV drug use with contaminated needles is also a route of transmission. The diagnosis led to discrimination against many. In those early times, this transmission was not well understood, consequently, our national blood supply was not protected from the disease. Ryan White, a hemophiliac teenager, was one of many who developed the condition from contaminated blood which he received in a transfusion as did tennis player Arthur Ashe when he underwent surgery; both died from the illness. It took years of activism against the stigma before the US under Reagan finally would begin to mount a defined effort against this virus. In the late 90s, some effective therapies were developed and now, while ongoing medications and monitoring are required, the treated disease is more chronic, quite different from those early days. This disease is also a virus that is thought to have jumped from animals to people, much as COVID might have done.

According to the UN - they estimate that more than 34.7 million people across the world have died since those first diagnoses. In 2020, 37.8 million people were living with AIDS-related illnesses, of whom 1.9 million were children. Currently, about 600,000 people die each year from AIDS-related illnesses. About 73% of those diagnosed are now under treatment. The NY Times Magazine this year had a very sad article about a remote village in Pakistan where more than 1000 children have been diagnosed with AIDS, contacted mostly from the lack of needle sterilizations or clean medical instruments used for routine treatment. We can and should do better for the children of the world.

‘Til next week, Peace!

Times to Remember

 

This past week was the Thirty-second anniversary of the demonstration and subsequent massacre at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China in 1989. If you remember, up to a million students were demonstrating for more freedoms and rights in China. They even built a replica of the Statue of Liberty called the Goddess of Democracy to highlight their rally. Now, however, few Chinese know of the history of the events of that time. China has long repressed any use of the words on the internet it censors. Demonstrations that had been held annually in Hong Kong to mark the anniversary, sometimes with the Goddess Statue were prohibited this year with a massive police presence in the central city park where demonstrations were usually held. This repression was discussed this week on the PBS news hour which marked the anniversary and aired an interview with a leading Chinese dissident, now in America, who claims that the true nature of that day when hundreds, perhaps thousands were killed is not taught in Chinese universities, nor schools. You can read the transcript here.

I have a Chinese friend who was a student in Beijing in 1989 and saw the massacre. He vowed at that time that he would do all that he could do to leave his country and the place of such savagery; it took him ten years, but he eventually made it to the US and is now a citizen here. He remembers and his children and grandchildren will surely be told the story of that day. But–to a billion Chinese, the memories of that day are being erased and soon it will be as if the events at the Square never happened.  That is what autocratic regimes do–they attempt to rewrite history and erase the memories of atrocities.

During the reign of Josef Stalin in the (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) USSR, the people of Ukraine opposed his rule and wanted freedom. He ruthlessly starved the country almost to death; historians calculate that about one-quarter of the citizens of that region died in the USSR’s brutal response to their quest. Ten million citizens were uprooted and deported to Siberia to work under collective prison farms. Farm crops were seized and homes were searched for food which was removed; borders were sealed and people could no longer import food. This crackdown in 1933 led to the displacement of the ethnic Kulaks, private farms were destroyed, the country was occupied and millions, including as many as three million children, died in this harsh campaign. In that year alone, an estimated seven million Ukrainians perished. The pressure on Ukraine to follow the Soviet model of collective farming and Stalin’s five-year plans was only stopped by the beginning of the Second World War. Photos from that time can be found here. (Some are disturbing.) In 2018, the US Senate officially defined these events, sometimes called the Holodomor, as acts of genocide and named them as some of the most atrocious of the 20^th Century.

Russian citizens continued to be sent to the country to dilute the native populations, which remained during the following decades of the USSR. Once the Soviet Union dissolved and its border nations, including Ukraine, achieved their independence, they continued to exist on a tenuous tightrope. To this day, Putin continues the myth that Ukraine has always been a part of Russia and dismisses reports of the famine. Again, the ethnic Ukrainians remember, but here history is again being erased. Putin’s continued threats at the Ukrainian border and the attack on Crimea were part of this myth as he attempts to again rewrite history.

This week also saw the anniversary of D-Day–the day in 1944 the US and Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, to begin the land war that ultimately defeated the Nazi regime. That day was 77 years ago and there are few veterans of that war still alive.  Families who visit graves and cemeteries on holidays, anniversaries, and other special times keep memories because they remember. Our country makes certain that they remember as we reward our heroes with accolades. To many Americans, this day marks the memory of the “Good War”–the one where we were fighting against the evils of fascism, Nazism, antisemitism, white supremacy, racism, and other crimes against humanity. You know, as we are told good guys vs. bad guys. The world, however, is not that simple. We knocked some of those things down for a while, only to turn around and see them pop back up again and stoked by those who would-be autocrats. Returning WWll Black veterans who fought for others to have freedoms found that they were not free to move around once they returned home. In the United States, many Asians were treated as if they had been invading Japanese troops, just as other Asians are now being attacked due to the fact that the coronavirus started in China. So, holding onto our stated values is difficult. We must safeguard liberty. Memories need to be held dear.

This week also saw the anniversary of the Massacre in Tulsa which I discussed here two weeks ago. Again, the news of this event at the time was distorted and made to seem as if the Black residents of Greenwood started the riot, which burned up their part of town. There needed to be a responsible press, which was not available at that time; the newspapers instead promoted the forming of vigilantes and the arming of mobs. The only papers which properly reported the burnings and deaths of that day were the Black newspapers. Those events were hidden from history books; many public records were destroyed in a huge organized cover-up.  But as history showed us this week, there were still survivors who had been children at that time and who had clear memories of that day. Those memories were lived daily for these children for the horror and disruptions they caused. Many Americans noted that they had never heard of that terrible day in Tulsa; that omission was intentional. Hopefully, our history books now will carry this story forward, so that future generations can learn from that day.

Now many Republicans are also trying to rewrite history when it comes to the insurrection of January 6^th.  The vote against a bipartisan commission because ‘we do not need to know any more about that day–we need to move on,’–is another part of that attempt. Right-wing media, the propaganda machine of the former president, and many elected officials have somehow convinced a large percentage of Republicans that the perpetrators were left-wing Antifa, Black Lives Matter members, or some such groups, despite the facts shown by the more than 500 criminals charged which included Proud Boys, white supremacists, para-military groups and the Oath Keepers. Those arrested so far are 95% white and 85% male and come from 44 different states and even blue districts in those states according to reports in the Washington Post recently. Karen Tumulty, also writing in the Post in April noted that we cannot allow the “shameless revisionism about the Capitol attack to take root”. She reports on people who were holed up for hours, not knowing what was going on. Others were fearful that they would never again see their families or children–some staff children were in the daycare center there and were out of reach for a time. She notes we must demand a fair and transparent review of those events. The Associated Press shows that there was more organization to the event than many thought at first and that some members have disavowed participation by leaders. At least one Oath Keeper has entered a guilty plea so far.

But what is most important is that they investigate this insurrection and that we learn about groups that claim to be patriotic but are often in fact racist or anti-democratic. We cannot allow the happenings of that day and the bad actors who egged the rioters on to walk away or have that destruction swept away by propaganda. We must learn from this threat to our democracy so that it cannot happen again. Above all, we must remember so that history will record it properly.

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The CDC reported this week that some unvaccinated teenagers have been hospitalized with severe Covid cases recently and urged parents to get their eligible children vaccinated. Most colleges are requiring incoming Fall on-campus students to be vaccinated. The country is edging closer to the 70% vaccination rate, and it is hoped that President Biden’s goal of a July 4^th date will be realized. Maryland has reached 70% vaccination levels.

COVID Stats – NY Times:

US Cases:33,369,170. New Cases: 13,895. Total Deaths: 597,219. New Deaths: 436.

MD Total cases:460,471. New Cases: 132. Total Deaths: 9,639. New Deaths: 9.

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Today Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that he cannot support the new voting rights bill, and will not vote against the filibuster. (Say it ain’t so, Joe!)

He wants the previous Voting Rights Bill reinstated and rewritten to be applied to all 50 states. It was gutted by a decision of the Supreme Court in Shelby County vs. Holder and has allowed many states to disenfranchise voters. Manchin insists that decisions of such importance cannot be voted on by just one party and must be bi-partisan. He maintained that he was amazed that there were not 60 votes for the bipartisan insurrection commission. Apparently, he is the only Senator who still believes that.

The New York Times came out strongly today against the efforts to curtail voting in many Republican-run states. It advised that the Voting Rights Bill be revised to get it passed. The editorial also said in part:

In a statement published this week by the left-leaning think tank New America, more than 100 leading scholars of government warned that election laws in some states “no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections.” The statement warned that “our entire democracy is now at risk.”

President Biden, in remarks given on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery also stated that our democracy is in danger.  With all of these warnings, hopefully, some elected officials will take action.

“Til next week- Peace.