This past week, our nation commemorated those whose lives
we lost in our many wars over the last century, on Veterans Day. The Tomb of
the Unknown Soldier,
which first held the remains of a World War I veteran when the government built
it one hundred years ago, allowed visitors to place flowers to honor a century
of remembrances. One commentator I heard on TV–and I do not remember whom-mentioned
that this was the first Veterans Day in recent memory when our country did not
have troops in active combat in a war zone. I believe that this is a positive
occurrence.
I dislike thinking of our country as a warrior nation,
despite our many years of warring conflict. I would rather think of us as the peacekeepers,
the arbiters of dissent between warring parties, rather than those who are killing
others, too often those who are not white. I mourn those many thousands who
have died in our wars and regret even more thousands who bear the scars from
those wars, both physical and emotional. I thank the families touched by these
sacrifices for the pain they have shouldered, often silently.
But now that we have this pause in our conflicts, let’s
work even harder to keep peace at hand. I know that there are bad actors out
there; even as I write, Putin
is again threatening Ukraine, the Saudis are still fighting in Yemen, and
tribal and religious warfare continues in Africa. The dictator in Belarus is
flooding Europe with refugees
and Cubans are trying to march for democracy. Afghanistan remains unsettled. China
is menacing Taiwan and others in the South China Sea and brandishing
new weapons of warfare. The world is not a simple place.
But, as we also saw last week, representatives from more
than 200 countries met in Scotland to try to combat rising world temperatures
and sea-level encroachment on coastal lands; we all have a common enemy. Let’s try to focus our energies on reducing
carbon, replacing coal as an energy source, and working toward renewable
energies.
And, on Capitol Hill, the House Select Committee on the January
6th Insurrection, notes that hearings continue behind the scenes,
issuing subpoenas for those who did not answer their requests to provide documents
and testimony. To date, the committee has issued 35
subpoenas to individuals involved with the White House and with the
planning for the protests on January 6th. Most recently, Mark Meadows,
the chief of staff for the former president, declined to appear or provide documents.
However, the criminal indictment handed down on Friday by the Department of
Justice against former White House aide Steve Bannon might give pause to some
of those who have refused to appear and cause them to reconsider their
defiance.
A federal appeals court placed a hold on the release of
documents that the former president has tried to restrict claiming presidential
executive privilege. A lower court had ordered their release. As pointed out by
the Washington Posts’ Ruth
Marcus, the constitution does not mention executive privilege; this right belongs
only to a sitting president. Marcus further explains that according to the
Presidential Records Act, the release of the documents can proceed if the
sitting president allows their release unless a court rules otherwise. So, we shall
see what the next steps will be. The former president has said he will go to
the Supreme Court if the appeal is denied; expecting that “his justices” will
rule his way.
A Republican attorney representing Mark Meadows, George
Terwilliger III, has argued just the opposite and claims that President
Biden, by not granting this exception, is going against 200 years of history. Biden
has claimed that the extraordinary circumstances of the insurrection require
finding out the truth behind who planned, organized, financed, and perpetuated these
actions.
Congressman Jamie Raskin spoke about the committee hearings
recently to NPR
and noted some of the personnel moves that were made by the previous administration,
especially after the election. This was troubling to the committee as
experienced persons were dismissed and others with little expertise, especially
in the defense department, were placed in positions of great authority. Some
were known to be quite loyal to the then-president and would likely not
question his demands.
Others have asked who funded all the buses and made hotel
arrangements for the thousands who came to the protests in the months after the
election and for the January 6th rally. Open
Secrets described many of the layers of funding and dark money that
contributed to these events; other Trump-affiliated groups such as Women for
America First, Rule of Law Trust, and Turning Point USA, also funded many
events. Amy Kremer, a co-founder of Women for America First, and her daughter were
scheduled to testify before the committee on October 29th. Previously,
she worked as a leader with the Tea Party Express. Several others who were paid
by the former president’s political operation also helped organize the rally; the
committee has also asked many to testify.
In the book, “I
Alone Can Fix It” by Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker of the Washington Post, report
that the first impeachment emboldened the president. When he placed
inexperienced people in the Pentagon, that lack of continuity actually delayed
the deployment of the National Guard to the Capitol. These new people at the Pentagon
did not understand the chain of command and military protocols. General Milley
worried they would use the military after the election to enact a coup since
the president could not accept his loss. The Pentagon officials finally
released the Guard to defend the Capitol after a phone call with orders from
Vice President Pence.
Just before the insurrection (on January third) a letter
signed by 10 previous Secretaries
of Defense warned the president to not involve the military to address his
grievances over the election results. They also denounced comments made earlier
by General Michael Flynn that the government should invoke martial law and demand
that the election be rerun in battleground states.
These circumstances explain why the select committee wants to hear from Bannon, Flynn, Meadows, and others such as Kash Patel who was at the Pentagon, and Johnny McEntee, a 30-year-old director of presidential personnel, whom Jonathan Karl, writing in The Atlantic, describes as the “deputy president who made January 6th possible”. According to Karl:
“The director of presidential personnel is responsible for vetting and hiring everybody, including ambassadors, Cabinet secretaries, and top intelligence officials.”
When a background check by the then chief of staff John Kelly revealed that McEntee, who in 2018 was serving as the “body man or personal aide” to the president, had many suspicious debts because of gambling, he fired him as a security risk, but after Kelly left, Johnny returned to the inner circle. According to the Atlantic, when administration officials were telling the president he had to accept the election results, McEntee was finding others who reinforced conspiracy theories. He was a true loyalist and when he became the director of presidential personnel, he forced others on the White House staff or elsewhere, whom he considered insufficiently loyal, to leave or had them fired.
The fact that this inexperienced zealot could have so much
authority and be so close to the seat of power is, to me, scary. After you read
the Atlantic article, I guess that you, like me, would feel some relief that we
dodged a genuine threat to our democracy. News reports indicate the committee
has received many of the requested documents from governmental departments and
those interviewed. Over 100 interviews have been conducted so far. I hope these
committee interviews and subpoenas will soon bring more information about some of
these situations to light in open hearings.
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David
Leonhardt writing in the New York Times this week noted that before the
vaccine, deaths in red and blue states were roughly equivalent. After the vaccine,
the statistics are starkly different:
“In October, 25
out of every 100,000 residents of heavily Trump counties died from Covid, more
than three times higher than the rate in heavily Biden counties (7.8 per
100,000)."
He further notes that this
is the fifth month in a row with such findings. Currently, 10% of Democrats are
unvaccinated while 40% of Republicans are.
Maryland has started
vaccinations for children in the elementary school age group; its total
vaccination rate has ticked up to 67%.
Minnesota, North Dakota, and
New Mexico show the highest numbers of new cases statistically this week,
although Alaska remains high as well. The Surgeon
General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, recently remarked that with still high numbers
of unvaccinated Americans, a winter surge is expected in colder areas.
COVID stats: NYTimes:
US Totals: Total Cases:
47,036,751. New Cases: 80,885.
Total
Deaths: 761,980. New Deaths: 1,133.
Maryland Totals: Total
Cases: 571,857. New Cases: 792.
Total Deaths:
11,061. New Deaths: 12.
***********************************************************************
NFL quarterback Aaron
Rodgers continues to manufacture reasons they cannot vaccinate him after the
league learned he was untruthful in claiming he was immunized by treatments his
physician gave him. His recent positive COVID test ruled him out of eligibility
to play until his quarantine was up. His team lost the game where he was
absent. So much for team spirit!
On the National Zoo news, I
just had to share a photo of twin golden-headed lion Tamarins born recently at
the zoo. They are unique and you can see them here:
Tamarins are native to Brazil and are considered endangered because of loss of
habitat. They can weigh up to 24 ounces and, excluding their tail, adults can
be about 12 inches long.
“Til next week-Peace!
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