Holiday Spirits

The ghosts of Christmas Past were roaming the Capitol this past week. Rumors persisted that the House Republicans did not want to pass the massive 1.7 trillion dollar omnibus spending bill and wished to let the government run out of money or pass only short-term funding instead. They wanted to let this Congress expire and start anew when they were in charge of the House and could have better luck killing measures they did not support. There have been other Christmases where they succeeded with this maneuver, but not this year.

Since 1976 in the modern budget era, there have been 21 times when Congress did not enact a budget, or lift the debt ceiling because of disagreements, and shut the Federal government down. The most recent holiday shutdown occurred in 2018 as Congress would not fund the border wall wanted by then-President Trump, so he shut down the government for 35 days furloughing almost half a million federal employees for the longest ever shut-down. (This pause was for about one-quarter of the federal workforce as portions of the budget were passed previously.) Congress was then, as it is now, in a lame-duck session. The new Congress would usher in a Democratically controlled House after massive wins in the mid-terms for Democrats that year.

In 1995 there was also a Christmas shut-down where Democratic President Clinton and Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich could not get a consensus on domestic spending and other issues, so Gingrich refused to pass a budget. That shutdown lasted for 21 days. When President Obama was in office in 2013, there was a 16-day shut-down at the beginning of the fiscal year over issues with the Affordable Care Act with a divided Congress. (Most times when furloughs happened of any length, the employees retroactively were paid, although it sometimes took a while.)

So, we can all be thankful that this year, despite protestations from the right, the Senate passed the appropriations bill and extended the debt ceiling with a bipartisan vote. It is important to note that electoral count certification was strengthened, so schemes such as the former president tried can no longer have any effect. Since the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi are still in charge of the House side, the House agreed and also passed these necessary measures with bipartisan support. Federal employees can then enjoy their holidays without worrying about losing a paycheck. So, we too, as members of the general voting public, can applaud our Congress for actually stepping forward and getting this important job done. We can now relax a bit and be confident that our country will continue to function as it should. But as we head into a divided Congress in the new year, such unanimity will be a rare thing if Kevin McCarthy is to be believed. But, then, he still hasn’t nailed down the job as speaker, so who knows who will be in charge? Sadly, it could be someone worse.

One major portion of the spending bill was military spending, up ten percent this year. A portion of the spending was to support the efforts in Ukraine militarily and financially for infrastructure. Not only has the country been fighting a war with exchanges of warfare, but they have also targeted the civilian infrastructure as the Russians continue to use missiles and armed drones to damage or destroy power plants, apartment buildings, and hospitals. Many civilians who have remained in the cities and towns were tolerating the loss of services, but now as the country heads into winter, families face continued losses of heat and safe water. Commercial enterprises have been diminished, and people have lost jobs or left them to fight in the war, so families are living with minimal resources.

Stressing the need for continued support for his country, President Zelensky came in person to Washington to meet with President Biden and speak to a joint meeting of Congress. The trip out of his country and his return were extraordinarily risky, as they had to be conducted in total secrecy to ensure his safety. A bipartisan group of senators and House leaders escorted Zelensky onto the House floor before his speech. Mostly, his remarks were graciously received, and many lines received warm applause and standing ovations. However, some Republican members, mostly from the House, boycotted the speech, as others who attended, sat on their hands, so to speak, or perused their phones in postures of studied boredom.

Zelensky, who seldom gives major speeches in English, read his remarks in accented, but understandable, English. He reminded the American audience of major battles in their country’s history when it was fighting the British during the revolution or during pivotal battles in World War ll when their troops were victorious. While thanking the Americans for all they have done for his country, he again asked for more weapons and armaments. He wants planes and missiles which might not be supplied. America is concerned that too many offensive weapons could widen the war and take it into Russia, which could then vastly expand the conflict. He continued, noting that Putin attacked his country without provocation; his people have died from war crimes, but the citizens remaining have not capitulated. He asserted that money given to support his country was not a bad loan but was an investment, critical to the survival of this beleaguered nation. He told the assembly that Ukraine was alive and kicking and that their support would speed up his victory.

The timing of his visit was critical. The funding and spending bills had not yet been passed; Republicans in the House were less supportive of continued aid and weapons support. Yet, he stressed this lifeline was not only for Ukraine, if Putin was not stopped in Ukraine, other areas in Europe would also be vulnerable as well. At the end of his speech, he presented to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and VP Kamala Harris, serving as President of the Senate, a flag that flew over a battlefield in Ukraine that day and was signed by all the members of the battalion in service there. As I write, little has changed. I hope that his brave countrymen and women can survive this winter and defeat the Russians with our continued financial and moral support.

Finally, also in the news this week, was the report from the January 6th Committee. There were few surprises in the release; they faulted the former president as expected. Instead of three areas for DOJ criminal referrals, there were four. According to the Washington Post, the referrals were for:

“Members of the committee urged federal prosecutors to charge Trump with four crimes: inciting or assisting an insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to make a false statement.”

“The panel also referred conservative lawyer John Eastman and “certain other Trump associates" to the Justice Department. Eastman has been cited as the legal architect for Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election.”

They referred four Republican Congressmen who did not respond to the committee subpoenas to the House Ethics committee. According to CBS News,  “Those four members are House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Andy Biggs, Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Scott Perry, all close allies of Trump.”

Once the final report was issued, it comprised over 800 pages plus several appendices. As always happens, the devil is in the details. Concerns about the security of the Capitol, faulty interagency communications about right-wing militias, the lack of faith in some secret service testimony, the staff with poor memories, or those who took the fifth in their depositions were all mentioned as issues to be further investigated. All the depositions are being shared with the Department of Justice. Many expect the new Special Counsel, Jack Smith, to take an intense look at the information as he receives it. Many have voiced concerns about MAGA-supplied attorneys to White House staff testifying. Cassidy Hutchinson reported being told to have a faulty memory for activities in the Oval Office that she overheard or took part in. She testified they promised her a good job if she testified properly. Eventually, she got another attorney, one not supplied by the former White House, and corrected some of her earlier remarks. I wonder how many of the former White House employees had the same situation. It also appears that few were as brave as Ms. Hutchinson.

Issues relating to the classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and about the calls to the Georgia election officials remain. The house committee released some of the former Presidents’ tax returns this week. The records received by the House Finance Committee seemed to indicate that very little in taxes were paid by the former president or his wife, even though they had earnings; several offset losses were carried across many years that made it difficult to clarify the legality of the losses. The tax returns provided by the IRS included no supporting documentation for deductions claimed to the committee. Some said that there were over 400 allied businesses associated with the finances in the returns. Surprisingly, the committee also learned that the IRS did not audit the presidents’ returns annually as required by law. The returns of Presidents Biden and Obama were duly audited by the IRS while they were in office. Did this man corrupt every governmental department? I assume someday we will learn the truth. There must be some reason he lied about his taxes for years and spent thousands in legal fees trying to keep even these few years from being released. The saga continues.

A few words about the extraordinary weather the US has experienced this week. It is related to global climate change. As I understand it, the arctic is warming and air currents change. When that happens, things such as the polar vortex (usually content to stay far north) that drove these extreme temperatures dropped lower to the continental states and blasted heavy snows and severe frigid temperatures across much of the country. Records for snowfall, high winds, and low temperatures were set across the country. Maybe now people might believe that global climate change is a thing and modify behaviors. We don’t have much time left to fix this, folks!

Just a word – COVID hasn’t left and cases are rising – stay safe out there!

Happy New Year!

“Til next week-Peace!

This Congress Winds Down–then what?

As I write tonight, we await the report from the January 6^th House Committee on the Insurrection.

News reports indicate the committee will make three referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges against the former president (DJT) as it releases its final report. The criminal charges will be for:

obstructing an official proceeding,

conspiracy to defraud the government and

inciting or assisting an insurrection. (Conviction would preclude ever holding any elected office.)

Of course, since Congress can only refer, but not inflict any penalties for offenses, the DOJ will have to look at the evidence and decide. The committee will release to everyone copies of the documentation collection on Wednesday. Since there are more than one million pieces of evidence to date, I guess we will have to rely on the experts in the press to do the deep dives into these documents to learn from them.

It is also said that of the five Republican Congressmen who were subpoenaed to appear before the committee but refused to do so, they will refer four to the Ethics Committee of the House. Some expect the attorney John Eastman, who advised DJT on several schemes, will also receive a referral. In civil court proceedings where Eastman tried to claim attorney-client privilege to protest the release of his emails with the former president and others, a California judge (David Carter) called the actions of both Eastman and DJT criminal.

The report will have eight chapters echoing the public hearings and the issues they investigated and reportedly will define the extent of the former president’s involvement in the Stop the Steal movements that led to the insurrection. His tweets inviting followers to come to the Capitol on January sixth–“it will be wild,” he said. (January 6^th was the date defined by the Constitution to count the legal ballots from the various state electors in a joint session of Congress chaired by the Vice-President of the country.) The Republicans, under DJT loyalist, Rep. Jim Jordan, will prepare their counter report addressing the claims of lax security and poor intelligence that failed the Capitol defensive position. His remarks faulted Speaker Pelosi for this ‘lapse’ in judgment.

Ultimately, the committee will disband as the new Congress starts in January with the Republicans in the majority. Minority Leader McCarthy spent most of the time during the Committees’ existence trying to discredit it and its findings. Of course, he tried to undermine it from the beginning, by choosing Republican members such as Jordan, who were loyal to the former president.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are giving McCarthy a hard time as he tries to find enough votes to become Speaker. So far, some say that he does not yet have enough votes to win on the first ballot. Some on the right demand that to get their vote, he invoke a rule that would allow him to be replaced on a simple majority vote; so far he has resisted that, but is jockeying around committee assignments. The outspoken Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose outrageous behavior during this current Congress caused her to lose all committee assignments on a party-line vote, is demanding a seat on the powerful House Oversight committee where she plans to draw up impeachment articles against President Biden. We expect Congressman Jordan to chair the Judicial Committee. Could they find two less competent people? Probably they could! Former Speaker Boehner was so disgusted by the posturing of many on the right when he was in charge that he quit, paving the way for Paul Ryan to become Speaker.

Boehner was on Capitol Hill this week giving positive remarks at the unveiling of a portrait for current Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is stepping down from her leadership position, but remaining in Congress. It was good to see some camaraderie between the two former rival leaders, who showed that civility can still be possible when there is mutual respect. Many expect this next term will be her last for Pelosi, as the attack on her husband was traumatic to her and her family. Stepping into the role of Minority Leader will be Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who is a generation younger than the 82-year-old Pelosi, and will be the first African American to serve in that position.

The new Congress will have 222 Republican members and 213 Democrats in the House. while the Senate will have 51 Democrats and 49 Republicans. (Senator Sinemas' defection to Independent status, notwithstanding!). The majority (one more than half) is 218, so McCarthy will have to control all of his caucus consistently to get much of anything done and can afford few defectors on any legislation or resolutions. Already a conservative group of five Congressmen stated they will not vote for McCarthy unless he meets their demands, so he will have a tough job, should he win. Some have called the minority leader spineless for his flip-flopping to get votes or to stay in the good graces of the MAGA crowd and DJT. He is not known for his legislative prowess, or vote counting, but has been a good fundraiser for Republicans who echo the MAGA crowd.

Currently, the country is awaiting the end of the lame-duck session of Congress and authorization of the spending bill, that will allow the government to borrow and spend, currently, the spending is on a one-week extension which was approved on a party-line vote. McCarthy does not want a full authorization as he says his party should have the opportunity to make changes or demands in the next session. The Democrats want the funding to cover the next fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2023. Of course, there is also the Omnibus Spending bill into which everything but the kitchen sink is tossed, in a last-minute attempt to fund all the favorites for each party and keep the government and the military running. Republicans, always running on a “starve the government platform”, want to stall and do a redo once they are in charge and the Democrats are trying to protect their favorite programs.

Roll Call reports that a joint committee has come to a basic agreement and is now working on compromises to get an appropriations bill ready for a vote by December 23^rd before they adjourn for the holidays.

Meanwhile, the House finance committee, controlled by Democrats for a few more days, now has the tax returns from the former president after he lost conclusively after years of appeals in a final argument before the Supreme Court. We expect the committee to make some or perhaps most of these documents public this week. Don’t you wonder what he fought so hard to keep private with all of his claims that he was under constant audits? To whom does he owe money? With whom has he done shady deals? What if he isn’t as rich as he claims to be? An inquiring public wants to know! Now that the Manhattan jury convicted the Trump Company of tax fraud and other charges, who knows what charges will follow?

The DOJ special prosecutor is already busy, winning courts battles over the classified documents (more of which were found in a storage area outside Mar-a-Lago), the Special Master is dismissed, so that delay is over now, and more White House insiders are being called in for testimony before the grand jury. Oh, and now more of the emails from former White House chief of Staff Mark Meadows have been released, letting us see just how many Republican Congressmen were in contact with Meadows about plans on and about January 6^th- and who asked for pardons afterward. No wonder he did not want to testify!

Meanwhile, DJT has a new scheme or as Alicia Menendez on MSNBC put it-he has a new grift, selling NFT playing cards. (Non-Fungible Tokens-you own a picture image with a number on it that you receive digitally!)

 “So folks, for only 99 dollars each, you too can own a digital image of your favorite president in one or all of these art cards picturing him as an astronaut, or Superman, or sports figure!”

He also offered prizes, such as dinner with him or other special objects. (Gee, maybe you too can dine with white supremacists or get your own copy of a classified document!)

The Post article also includes a link to the Lincoln Project spoof of this project. According to reports, he sold 45,000 of these right away, netting a cool $4.5 million!

As the saying goes, grifters gotta grift!

Well, it is the holiday season, and one gift I would love to see is these schemers who plotted Jan 6th and their hangers on-get their day in court. I have faith that the American jurors will see the light and convict. Of the nearly 1000 who were arrested from the insurrection activities at the Capitol or afterward, almost half have so far either pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury.

My other wish is for peace in Ukraine. That poor country has suffered so much at the hands of a megalomaniacal Russian.

Best wishes for the holidays to all readers!

“Til next week-Peace!

What Does Warnock’s’ Win Mean?

After several long and hard-fought campaigns and five elections in two years, Senator Raphael Warnock is now finally a full-fledged Senator for a term of six years. To refresh memories, first, he had to win the Democratic primary in 2020, then he had to win in the general election. However, he failed to get over 50% of the vote in that race, which forced him into a run-off election. On January 5, 2021, he won that election to fill the remaining two years left after the previous Senator resigned because of ill health. So, now in 2022, Warnock was running for his first try for a full six-year Senate seat from Georgia. His win will make the Senate 51-49 - Democrat/Republican and give the Democrats the upper hand in committees and the agenda.

The former president selected a University of Georgia football star and Georgia native, (Herschel Walker) who once played for his football team, and later the Dallas Cowboys. He was a handsome candidate who still looked like the athletic football player he once was. With MAGA support, he won the Republican primary, despite rumbling from other Republican candidates that there were some skeletons in his closet. Once on the campaign trail, where he often went off script, he soon showed that many of his claims were fabrications or exaggerations. He said he graduated from the University of Georgia; he did not. He said he had been an FBI agent and worked in law enforcement; nope. He said he was a major employer in the state; he had six employees. He said he lived in Georgia; his primary home was in Texas, according to tax records.

Those comments don’t even come close to the issues of domestic violence, claims that he paid for former girlfriends to have abortions, even though he ran on an anti-choice ticket and the revelation about several children he previously had not acknowledged. He never adequately addressed the abortion claims, nor the claims about children or his residences. These behaviors were behind him, according to the accounts in his book. He wrote a book about his illness, recovery and religious conversion that he said made him a new man. (Well, at least he was better than Dr. Oz; he seemed to know where his houses were, although, like Dr. Oz, wasn’t always certain where he really lived.)

Then there was the concern that he had little understanding of the issues. Some claimed that he was tackled too many times as a player and had signs of traumatic brain injury and just made-up stuff because he did not remember. He even said on the campaign trail he was not so smart. But then one day he went way off script and started discussing the difference between werewolves and vampires! (These comments made for great ads from his opponent.)

Although the former president was advised to not come to Georgia and campaign for Walker, many others did. Republican Senators and congressmen came to Georgia and went on the campaign trail with Walker. They emphasized his vote would be a faithful Republican vote and that he would stand with Mitch McConnell and help keep the Senate in play with a 50/50 split. In the general election, Walker trailed Republican Governor Kemp by approximately 200,000 votes in the General election, leading pundits to assume there was a lot of ticket-splitting or lost voters then, that they hoped to avoid in the run-off, by bringing Republican voters back home.

Now I’d like to compare the two candidates here for a bit. Senator Raphael Warnock is also a son of Georgia. He is one of twelve children and grew up in Savannah with a father who was also a preacher on the weekends but held another job to care for his family. Warnock graduated from Morehouse College in Georgia, where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and Union Theological Seminary in New York, where he received a Master of Divinity degree and finally a Doctorate in Philosophy in 2006. For several years, he was the head pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church home for Dr. Martin Luther King.

In his campaign, he tried to emphasize positive themes and spoke of what he had done for Georgia; how he worked across the aisle with Senator Cruz on a vital highway and with Senator Rubio on issues for maternal health. (Despite that, Cruz campaigned with Walker.) He ran as a candidate for All Georgians. In the general election, he fell just shy of the necessary 50% of the vote required in Georgia. (Many believe that officials put this requirement in place to ensure that black candidates could not win in close races across the south.) He won 49.4% of the vote and Walker won 48.5% of the vote with a third-party candidate winning about 2% of the total votes.

In the Run-off Warnock prevailed–finally coming in victoriously with 51,4% of the vote to his opponent’s 48.6% total. He gave a gracious and grand acceptance speech where his rhetoric soared to the oratorical spheres common to the clergy. In his speech, Warnock spoke of his mother who had once picked other peoples’ cotton but who today could pick her son for Senator. Speaking of the racial history of his state, even recently still troubled, he praised Georgians for coming out to vote, standing in long lines, and through bad weather to cast their votes. He won with black voters, independents, and a diverse group of supporters. Democrats are concentrated in Georgia’s urban centers but live throughout the state. Maps of voters show most counties skewed red, while the cities were blue. Blacks account for only one-third of the voters in the state, so both candidates had to reach out to all voters. Metro areas in Georgia are becoming increasingly diverse and young and hold most of the AAPI and Hispanic voters in the state.

Why was the race so close? One candidate was so clearly qualified; the other is so obviously unqualified. Was Walker another of DJT’s jokes on the country? Republicans chose Walker because the MAGA folks wanted him and they thought it would be more of a contest between two Black candidates. However, they did Walker no favors and could ultimately only point to choosing him because he would support their side in the Senate. Although they refrained from saying so, their candidate was almost a figurehead who would ultimately be without free choice.

Caroline Randall Williams, (a poet and writer in residence at Vanderbilt University) writing in the Atlantic about the contest, called Herschel Walker an American tragedy. Consider her remarks seriously. I have and with her, I condemn the Republican Party for its cynical misuse of an American life. I have copied a few of her comments below, but read the entire article if you can.

“Commodity. Chattel. Contraband. Capital. What is a Black body in the South? What is a Black southern man, carted out to work a white-owned field?.....It’s impossible today to talk about Black men and white agendas without talking about Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for Senate in the runoff election in Georgia. …..Walker’s candidacy is a fundamental assault by the Republican Party on the dignity of Black Americans. How dare they so cynically use this buffoon as a shield for their obvious failings to meet the needs and expectations of Black voters? They hold him up and say, “See, our voters don’t mind his race. We’re not a racist party. We have Black people on our side too.” Parading Walker at rallies like some kind of blue-ribbon livestock does not mean you have Black people on your side. What it means is that you are promoting a charlatan—a man morally and intellectually bereft enough, blithely egomaniacal enough, to sing and dance on the world stage against his own best interest. Is he in on the joke? Does he know they picked him to save money on boot black and burnt cork, this man who made his name by bringing the master glory on the master’s field, who got comfortable eating from the master’s table?

I’ll ask again: What does it mean to be a Black man in the South, working a white-owned field?.....I don’t particularly care that Herschel Walker doesn’t seem to know he’s being used. I care that America let it get this far, that this country has been wildly careless with Black bodies, Black stories, Black truths. I care that I’m watching the news every day with the foot of bigotry on my back and the noose of regression tightening around my throat.

Whoever wins today, Walker’s candidacy is an American tragedy.”

‘Til next week, Peace!

Oath Keepers Convicted of Seditious Conspiracy; DJT Disavows Constitution

A Washington DC jury convicted the Oath Keepers’ leader, Elmer Stuart Rhodes, and one associate of seditious conspiracy. The jury also convicted three other associates of interfering with an official proceeding (the certifying of the election from the state electors). Rhodes, a veteran, and attorney, formed the Oath Keepers in 2009, after the election of Barack Obama as President. He claimed he expected Obama to seize legally held weapons and the nation would need militias to fight back.

He organized his militia forces to come to the city to be a force against the Antifa forces he expected to find in control of the city. According to the report in the New York Times, he also believed the Chinese were in control of the incoming Biden administration and that Antifa would overrun the White House and kidnap the sitting president. It seems that he was becoming a victim of his own propaganda and that of other right-wing extremists. There were no organized forces of Antifa in DC that week; in fact, a facet of the so-called Antifa is the lack of organization. (Antifa is an abbreviation for ‘anti-fascists’.) Antifa was involved in demonstrations in Portland, probably some BLM protests and other protests against extremist groups.

Although he was not in the Capitol on January sixth, Rhodes was in the city and directed his militias to advance into the building in a military formation. The fatigue-clad forces, complete with body armor, are visible in separate columns on multiple TV feeds from that day. He further admitted banking weapons outside the city as he expected to have the President call for the military occupation of the city to keep his administration in power. He believed in the Stop the Steal movement over the “stolen election” and he wanted his guys to answer the expected call. With emails, other internet posts, and voice mails, he widely broadcast his ideas. He also claimed the police knew of his plans. All of his public protest and a detailed prosecution from the Department of Justice brought about this conviction.

To date, as reported by The Insider, 950 people were arrested for activities at the Capitol; 458 have pleaded guilty so far.

The US Code defines Seditious Conspiracy, Rebellion, and Treason as:

§    2384. Seditious conspiracy.

“If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.”

§    2383. Rebellion or insurrection.

“Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.” 

§      2382. Misprision of treason.

“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States and having knowledge of the commission of any treason against them, conceals and does not, as soon as may be, disclose and make known the same to the President or to some judge of the United States, or to the governor or to some judge or justice of a particular State, is guilty of misprision of treason and shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than seven years, or both.”

 

  As described by the Washington Post, white men are seldom charged with seditious conspiracy, and even less frequently, convicted. The Puerto Rican separatists who fired shots in the Capitol in the 1950s were convicted, as were some Muslim radicals in the 1990s. However, some white supremacists charged in Arkansas were acquitted, as were some right-wing militia members who were charged with plotting against the government in Michigan.

During the Second World War, one argument in favor of the Japanese internment camps was that they were as a “foreign ethnic group” more likely to rise against the government than were the many millions of descendants of Germans and Italians living here, who were believed to be better assimilated. Not surprisingly, the Hitler government, long before the war involved American troops, tried to enlist white Americans in its fascist movements. I should note here that minority troops, such as the African Americans, whether foot soldiers or Tuskeekee Airmen, fought fiercely in the war; the Japanese troops, used in the European theater, also were known for their bravery. One, a resident of Hawaii, Daniel Inouye, lost an arm and later became a US Congressman and then a Senator after Hawaii became a state. His unit, the 442^nd, was one of the most decorated units in the war.

In other news, the former president, after getting enormous pushback about his dinner with the two white supremacists/anti-semites mentioned last week, continues on.

The White House, in a powerful statement, said, according to Politico:

“I just want to make a few things clear: The Holocaust happened. Hitler was a demonic figure,” Biden said in a tweet. “And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Silence is complicity.’

Of course, the pushback from Republicans has been tepid at best, although Pence, McConnell, and Pompeo issued statements. Kevin McCarthy dithered, as usual, but then he is trying to keep his unruly caucus in line and not doing well. Two Congressmen died this week, one Republican and one Democrat. While those deaths are regrettable, they will not affect the power balance in the House. However, more deaths might cause changes.

Now, it seems, the former president is showing his true colors. In a rambling statement this week, he demanded that the Constitution be suspended so that the authorities could rightfully reinstate him as president.

According to Politico:

“On his own social media platform Saturday morning, Trump said falsely that there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election and argued that unprecedented measures were, therefore, called for to return him to office. “A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump posted.”

Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republican members of the Jan 6^th Committee, called him out for not supporting the Constitution. Some have said that these remarks show he wants an autocracy or even a dictatorship. However, few Republicans would say that they would not support him if he truly becomes the nominee. Certainly, a nightmare scenario, to be sure!

The White House responded, according to Politico:

“The White House on Saturday responded to Donald Trump calling for the suspension of the Constitution to overturn the 2020 election, saying in a statement, “You cannot only love America when you win.”

“The Constitution brings the American people together—regardless of party—and elected leaders swear to uphold it,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “Attacking the Constitution and all it stands for is anathema to the soul of our nation, and should be universally condemned.”

Are these all attention-getting tactics to divert the public from realizing that many prosecutions are closing in on the MAGA world? In New York, the trial of tax fraud for his company is nearing an end. Even though he attempted to move his businesses out of New York, the courts said no. The House of Representatives now has six years of his tax returns; many are wondering what these documents hold. The 11^th Circuit Appeals Court has dismissed the Special Master in the Mar-a-Lago documents case and reprimanded the lower court judge who was hand-picked by DJT’s team. The courts also ordered his former Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, to testify in the Georgia elections interference inquiry. The Special Counselor appointed to oversee the two major issues (Documents and the Insurrection) is already on the job and has filed against some of his attorneys’ motions. More White House staff, specifically his White House attorneys, have testified before the Federal grand jury. It certainly seems as if the real world, where most people live, is closing in on him and his rampant disregard for the Rule of Law. I so hope they convict him of every one of these transgressions so that the country can move onward and away from this seven-year nightmare.

A few quick words about the Arizona elections. Despite some counties claiming fraud and refusing to certify the results, the Republicans in charge have moved forward and certified the results. Despite Kelli Lake rushing off to Mar-a-Lago and threatening lawsuits, she lost. I briefly saw some protests at the hearings about the certifications; some of those people were deranged and babbling. Too much sun in Arizona this year?

Finally, the Georgia Senate run-off election is on Tuesday. Already 1.8 million voters showed up during the early voting period. There are 7 million registered voters in Georgia. In the November election, neither candidate Warnock nor Walker got over 50% of the vote, but they each came close with Warnock at 49,4% and Walker at 48.5%. (About 36,000 votes separated the two among the approximately 3.8 million primary votes cast.) I, along with most Democrats, am rooting for Senator Warnock, as Walker is clearly unqualified. We shall soon know. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

“Til next week-Peace!

A Week of Turmoil

This week has seen continued gun violence across this country. In a year that has already tallied over 600 incidents with multiple (over 4 deaths) firearm deaths, this week tallied several more.

In Colorado Springs, Colorado, a shooter armed with an AR-15, carrying a handgun and wearing full body armor, entered a gay nightclub and started firing. After patrons subdued him, five people were dead and over twenty others were injured. There had been no warnings about an attack. The club held drag shows that were enjoyed by many in the community, gay or not. Many survivors called the club their safe space. The shooter had been in a hostage/bomb threat type incident months earlier, but law enforcement in that area chose to not enforce the Red Flag law that could have removed firearms from his home. He is now jailed and charged with five homicides plus hate crimes, among other charges.

The city of Boulder, not far away, endured a mass shooting at a grocery store earlier this year. Again, the shooter was a young man, considered a loner by many.

At the University of Virginia, a disgruntled student killed three members of the football team and wounded two others; he and the others were all on a bus and returning from a school-sponsored field trip. Earlier warnings that the killer possessed a gun were not addressed as an urgent issue by the crisis team at the university. His family said he felt he was being bullied by some at the university. This would not even qualify as a mass shooting-too few were killed!

Nearby, in Chesapeake, Virginia, a Walmart employee bought a gun before he came to work; subsequently, he killed five employees and then himself. If he had had a mandated five-day waiting period, maybe those co-workers would still be alive. Although several employees had problems with his management style, no one believed he gave any prior warning signs of these actions. Even as this was happening, elsewhere in Virginia, in a domestic dispute, a mother and her three children were gunned down. Previously, the mother, who had been in a relationship with her killer that grew violent, secured protective orders against her killer. If a law was in place that prohibited domestic abusers from legal gun purchases, perhaps these people would still be alive.

Children in Uvalde, Texas, returned to school in September, just months after 21 of their friends and teachers had been gunned down in their classrooms by a young man who once attended their elementary school. Many survivors are still traumatized and undergoing therapy for their experiences. Texas allowed weapons purchase, even military-style weapons, as soon as someone turned 18, with no background checks, although a handgun purchase required one to be 21. The shooter planned his attacks for soon after his 18^th birthday, and gun purchases. (I think that the law has now been changed to require an age of 21 for both.)

In 2019, a recently resigned city employee in Virginia Beach, VA, came to the Municipal Building and killed twelve workers there, and wounded others.

Few in this area can forget the horrific shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. In that incident, a student stalked those in classrooms on the campus, killing 32 and then himself. He also injured 17 others. He, too, was being treated by student health, but not considered an urgent threat. The state settled several claims by families regarding this incident.

According to research by Every town for Gun Safety, 16% of mass shootings involved an assault weapon, and over half of those used high-capacity magazines, meaning the shooter could fire many shots without reloading.

World Population Review stated these are the top ten states for mass killings, using the definition given above, for 2022. So far, 2022 is close to recording the second-highest annual totals ever in the US.

1. California - 257
2. Illinois - 209
3. Florida - 147
4. Texas - 129
5. New York - 96
6. Pennsylvania - 92
7. Georgia - 89
8. Louisiana - 87
9. Tennessee - 84
10. Ohio – 80

 

This violence has to stop. Only if each of us speaks out against gun violence will politicians have the political will to reject the arguments of the NRA and ban assault-style weapons.

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To segue, Republicans are flexing their political muscles now that they have gained the legislative majority in the House by a two-vote margin as I write. Rep. Comer has promised some 30 investigations of the Biden administration and his family members.

I wonder if these folks plan to pass any legislation or investigate the cryptocurrency crash, or look at Elon Musk and his Twitter dealings?

Current Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is telling everyone yes to their committee requests and promising to throw Democrats such as Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell off the Intelligence committees. Jim Jordan is already flexing his shirtsleeves with anticipation of becoming the head of the Judiciary Committee. I fear very much that the next two years will showcase the worst of American governance or lack of it.

McCarthy did not win a majority of the votes in his caucus when they took a straw vote, as over 30 members voted no. If he cannot get his far-right members to agree on his leadership, then he would need Democrat support to win the Majority position. Kicking Democrats off Committees is not the way to go, Kevin! Who has the support were a compromise to be offered, I do not know. McCarthy has wanted this position for so long but has not developed a way to control his members and instead, seems at their mercy. He has no platform, no legislation, just a plan to undo most of what this current Congress has passed. Of course, with the Senate under Democrat control, that is not likely.

Speaking of Senate Democrats-the runoff election in Georgia is in about ten days and early voting has started, thanks to a court ruling allowing voting on Saturday. Georgia Republicans shortened the run-off preparation times and decreased early voting days and registration options, all to depress voter turnout. Some Georgia Republicans are trying to keep DJT out of the state, so he does not keep Republicans home as he did in 2021.

Meanwhile, Democrats are trying to beat the bushes and get every voter to the poll for Senator Warnock. Stacey Abrams conceded the Governor's race to Brian Kemp, who decidedly beat her this time; although the 2018 race was close. Her GOTV troops are still in place, so maybe they can get voters out again. Voting results showed that there was a fall-off of voters between those who voted for Kemp and did not choose Walker. Current polls still show the race close, but favoring Warnock. If he wins, then the Democrats would not have to share power in the Senate as is done when the Senate is 50-50. This so-called gentlemen's agreement can only work if both sides are gentlemen, however. (This refers to you, Mitch McConnell.)

And finally, what does one do when the announcement of a presidential run brings a big Ho-Hum from most voters? Well, one has lunch with Ye, (the former entertainer and erstwhile presidential candidate, once known as Kanye) also known for his anti-Semitic views, and his pal Rick Fuentes, a white supremacist, anti-Semite, and pal for Margery Taylor Greene. Fuentes was a marcher in Charlottesville and appeared at the Capitol during the insurrection. Of course, Greene, who spoke at Fuentes’ conference, denied knowing him after she was criticized for her presence.

Hey, I am not making this stuff up!

DJT lost in court twice this week as the Supreme Court denied his claim to withhold his tax returns from Congress and the Circuit Court said that a Special Master should never have been appointed in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Despite his protestations, The Special Prosecutor has already started work on the referral from DOJ.

And, finally, after ten days of counting, local elections have been called in Frederick County. Democrat, Jessica Fitzwater, won the position of County Executive by just over 900 votes. Democrats won five seats on the County Council and the teacher-endorsed candidates won 3 of the 4 seats on the School Board. Whew!

https://youtu.be/ZrFm-Vxrj3o Time to check out the pandas!

“Til next week-Peace!

Thank You, Nancy!

Have you ever heard the phrase:

“the hand that rocks the cradle?”

In case you are unfamiliar with the words, they come from a poem by William Ross Wallace:

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Is the Hand That Rules the World

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world. -first verse only

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived at the podium on the House floor, the other day, she made a speech where she recalled her first visit to that remarkable building. This took place when she was six years old as she watched her father, Thomas D’Alesandro Jr., sworn in as a Congressman from Baltimore, MD. She described her journey to that building. First, she raised five children. Then she got into politics and, as she described it, she went from housewife to House Speaker. (Very much the hand that rocked the cradle.) She mentioned the fact that there were six women house members when she came to town as a congresswoman; now there are 90 and counting!

First chosen for Congress to fill a vacancy, she took office as a representative from San Francisco, California, in 1987 and has served her constituents ever since. This week, she notified her members that she would step down from a leadership position, but remain in Congress. Pelosi indicated she would mentor those younger House members who would become leaders. In doing so, she also took her deputies Steny Hoyer of MD and Jim Clyburn of SC with her out of the leadership roles they had also served in for several years. All were over 80 years of age.

What a remarkable journey it has been; what an outstanding speaker she became! She was the first female speaker when she took the gavel in 2007. Just think of it-she was the first woman in that office and followed 52 men over more than 200 years who had served there. His peers elected the first speaker, Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, in April 1789 as the First Federal Congress began. Of course, there were no women in Congress then, nor would there be for well over a century as women could not even vote, so how could they get elected?

After serving as the Democratic whip, Pelosi moved into the position of Democratic Minority Leader before becoming the Majority Leader. She is the first person to serve in that position in two separate terms and has been the Democratic caucus leader for 19 years. Historian Michael Beschloss described her as one of the top three speakers since our Republic began. President Obama credited her as being the most significant person in the ultimate passage of the Affordable Care Act and President Biden has her to thank because Congress passed much of his agenda in his first two years. She famously does not bring a bill to the House floor until she is sure she has the votes to pass it; sometimes she even gets republican votes if she needs them. But as the members retreated into warring camps, this became more difficult.

Nancy is known to leaders across the world. She met in Kyiv with the Ukrainian President, Vodolymyr Zelensky, earlier this year even as rockets were flying. Chinese President Xi, loudly objected to her going to Taiwan. If she were insignificant, he would not have cared. She met with the Pope. This is a powerful woman. Not only is she second in line to the Presidency after the Vice President, but world leaders want to hear from her.

In her farewell speech, she mentioned working well with three presidents. She avoided mentioning the most recent one. He must have listened to too many RNC television ads that used her as a foil for everything they felt was wrong with the opposition party, for he never gave her the respect due to her or her office. She returned the favor, once famously, in a White House meeting, standing up and pointing her finger at the president, over something he said. After he neglected to shake her hand as he came to the House floor for the State of the Union address, she tore up his speech as he finished. She was great at using symbolism. On the 100^th year anniversary of women’s suffrage, she asked the women in Congress to wear white when the president spoke, as it is the symbol of that movement. Women now have power, she seemed to say as he gazed out at a sea of white-clad representatives.

She selected the Congressional leaders and personnel who successfully presided over two impeachments. Pelosi resisted efforts by Minority Leader McCarthy to sabotage her January 6^th Committee as he tried to appoint known disrupters. Instead, she added two quite effective Republicans to the Committee and refused his choices.

Film taken during the Insurrection showed her angry, but unrattled, calling officials, trying to determine how soon the House could get back in session and do its duty by certifying the last election. As she said, she wanted the poo-poo cleaned up before they returned. I think Nancy has dealt with a lot of such stuff over the years, figuratively and literally; this was just another obstacle to overcome. And, of course, she did do just that.

I can only conclude – Bravo!

What Red Wave?

Last week I asked which road voters would take, the one toward fear and autocracy or the one toward hope and saving our democracy. It seems, tonight, that the latter choice, the one for hope and democracy, was chosen. That certainly makes me hopeful for the future of our nation. Many of the “stop the steal,” election deniers lost their bid for office. One of the loudest, Kari Lake, in Arizona, seems to be close to defeat tonight as Katie Hobbs has opened up a narrow, but not unsurmountable, lead, with thousands of votes still outstanding in that state governor's race. I think it would be quite nice if she lost, but according to the Washington Post, it is still too early to call this one.

In Ohio, JD Vance, the vacillating MAGA-endorsed candidate, won over Tim Ryan. I think if the Democrats had put more resources in Ohio, Ryan might have won. He ran a good campaign.

In Pennsylvania, the MAGA candidates all went down to defeat! John Fetterman won the Senate seat over Dr. Oz from New Jersey. The Democratic candidate for Governor, Josh Shapiro, beat the racist, right-wing Christian nationalist, and anti-Semitic candidate, Mastriano. (Where do they find these guys?)

In Maryland, the entire Republican state-wide ticket-with autocrats, election deniers, Qanon supporters, and white Christian nationalists-went down to defeat as Maryland elected the most diverse state-wide ticket ever. Democrat Wes Moore is only the third African American elected to a governorship in the nation. His Lt. Governor is the first female South Asian ever elected to a statewide office, his AG is also African American and the Comptroller’s office will see its’ first female office holder. Way to go, Free-staters!

Massachusetts elected its first female governor, openly gay former AG, Maura Healey.

Unfortunately, insurrection-denier, Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, beat Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who, in my opinion, was the better candidate.

However, in Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer won reelection and flipped both chambers of the legislature from Republican-dominated to Democratic control. That was quite a feat.

Sadly, in Texas, Beto O’Rourke lost to Governor Abbott in the campaign for the governor’s seat. Sad, because Beto might somehow have gotten some gun legislation passed in this gun-toting state. Sad, also because Texas voters supported the governor who signed the abortion ban that drove women to other states to find necessary services.

I won’t try to mention all the wins and losses here, but thought these few were significant.

In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis, who won 4 years ago by a tiny margin, romped to victory this time with a 20-point lead over former governor Charlie Crist. Of course, everyone is now saying Florida has turned from purple to red. Just shows you what partisan redistricting, voter intimidation and felon disenfranchisement can do for a guy! His claim to fame includes bashing trans kids, silencing teachers, promoting a Christian state, banning books, and having the highest percentage of COVID deaths for any state. What a gov he might be! Perceived as his potential rival in 2024, DJT has nicknamed him Ron Desanctimonious.

Since many of his candidates went down to defeat, his right-wing buddies and other Republicans have distanced themselves from the former president. Will that dash his plans about announcing his 2024 candidacy this week? Well, he has never been well-based in reality, so I expect he will soldier on regardless of the facts. He has some idea that this will protect him from prosecution, but only official candidates might get a pass, and that is not guaranteed.

The GOP is in turmoil since their red wave has been, at best, a slightly pinkish beach foam. House and Senate members on the Republican side are calling for both Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy to step aside and let new ideas and different people come in to lead the party. Who knows where this will lead?

Young people showed up in fairly strong numbers and may have made a difference in several races. Abortion, climate change, and gun control were the issues most important to young voters. Women voters also mentioned the abortion issue as important. A few states had abortion measures on the ballot; in each case, the voters made or kept these options available.

As I write this on Sunday evening, final election returns are still trickling in across the country.

We know a few things:

The Democrats will control the Senate with 50 senators and do not need to wait until the Georgia election run-off on December 6^th to see if they are in control. However, if Warnock wins and the Democrats have 51 votes in the Senate, there will be no power-sharing as there was with a 50-50 Senate, so committees will not have to have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, for example. Majority Leader Schumer would have the same powers that Senator McConnell exhibited in the past.

The Democrats can continue to appoint judges and, if they give a majority of the spots to their members on the Judiciary Committee, they can report out President Bidens’ selections for judges for floor votes.

We can consider the same results for cabinet members or other nominees requiring Senate confirmation, as only a simple majority is required.

The Democrats get to fully set the agenda.

They still cannot unilaterally do away with the filibuster.

They will still need to rein in the two Senators who caused disruptions last year and would not allow the voting rights bill and other important measures to pass-Senators Sinema and Manchin.

Alaskan Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who sometimes favored Democrats’ initiatives and voted for impeachment, has a MAGA-endorsed opponent and is in a close race with the winner not yet determined. She will face a ranked choice run-off in a few weeks.

In a speech acknowledging the Democratic control of the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted the Democrats had outstanding candidates and a good agenda. He remarked that the American people rejected the divisive anti-democratic MAGA agenda of the other party.

Republican Senators Cruz and Paul will have to put aside their plans to exact revenge on Democrats who investigated their criminally inclined president; if they had listened to the evidence with an open mind, they would have also convicted him.

The House of Representatives remains in play. Several races, especially in California, are yet to be decided. Gun-toting Congresswoman Bobert from Colorado is in an unexpectedly tight race with a Democratic opponent. I would not mind it a bit if she lost!

They redistricted Katie Porter from California into a more conservative district, so she is now in a very close and undecided contest with her Republican opponent. Certainly, I would hate to see a woman with such a clear perspective on financial matters lose her seat in Congress. She could really put corporate obfuscators in the hot seat.

New York state had a close race for Governor after the Republican candidate had one supporter pour over $9 million into his race and a PAC associated with another millionaire dump hundreds of thousands of dollars into ads and other support at the last minute. Interim Governor Kathy Hochul, in the end, prevailed with 52.7 percent of the vote. Her opponent pushed the crime message, which succeeded with some voters.

Congressman Shawn Patrick Mahoney, an eight-term member and the leader of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, lost his election bid by over 3,700 votes. He lost his original district from redistricting and moved into a district with a lot of law enforcement officers. Even though he supported the police and they returned the favor in previous years, this time his opponent won the law enforcement nod and pushed the Democrats “defund the police campaign” even though it was not one of Mahoney’s issues.

Although the “defund the police” issue was not widespread, it has had legs, especially as it was publicized by media on the right long after the death of George Floyd. That incident precipitated the calls for defunding when so many were horrified by the cold-blooded murder. Conservatives have linked this cry with increasing claims of crime in the streets, making all unsafe; a claim that has been proven to be false. They continue to beat this drum, even as Democrats have proven that they believe the opposite by continually funding law enforcement.

I believe we need good, effective policing by well-trained officers. We also need accountability and for departments to make certain that the officers follow established protocols. I support the use of body cameras and know that they can protect officers from untrue accusations. However, there are still incidents when rogue officers behave badly and turn off their cameras. There are still too many mentally ill people being shot when what they need is medical care. So, while I agree we need adequate numbers of excellent officers to maintain law and order, I also believe the departments must also weed out those who are extremists and might be members of white supremacist groups or militias such as those law enforcement members who took part in the January 6^th insurrection.

There are projections by MSNBC that the Republicans will win 219 seats in the House, and for Democrats 216, with a margin of error of +/- 4 seats. 538 is projecting 221 seats for the Republicans. The Associated Press has so far called 203 seats for the Democrats and 212 for the Republicans. Americans do not wish for Republicans to conduct scorched earth investigations, but expect them to be leaders and legislators. Will they take this high road if they win? Currently, the Democrats hold 222 seats in Congress. 218 is the magic number for control of the 435-member body.

As an optimist, I am happy that democracy prevailed, and we kept the crazies at bay for a while. I still hope the Democrats might win the House. Ahh, wishes keep things alive; where is that Magic Dragon?

Anyway, ‘til next week-peace!

Will Voters Select Hope or Fear?

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me.” He said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.” (From a post by Kathleen Allen.)

 

That is what I am thinking about today. Which wolf will win? Will the American voters be swayed by the drumbeats of crime and fear being repeated nightly by the Republicans or will Americans hear the president’s message that the right is attempting to undermine our democracy and convince voters that fewer liberties but less crime are the way to go? The right is trying to convince voters we should challenge elections if the minority does not win, that lies are all right, and that cheating is permitted if the goal is to win at all costs. For the record–it isn’t!

 

The noises are so loud on the right that the voices of decent people, quiet, thoughtful people who care about the right for personal choices in selecting books or movies, in a mate to marry or with bodily autonomy, such as President Biden, VP Harris, and former President Obama are difficult to hear over the din and shouting. To them, democracy also means the right to vote without restraint, (well, it seems, not so in Republican-controlled states such as Florida, Texas, or Georgia) to speak freely and peaceably assemble, and to enjoy a free and unintimidated press. Democracy also is supposed to promote justice for all regardless of status in life, race, religion, or creed. (I know we are still working on that one!)

 

The leaders on the right seem to not understand that the states with the fewest controls on guns have more gun crimes. Democracy should not favor corporations over the rights of ordinary citizens. Money is not speech; money is power and billions and billions are being spent by interest groups to distort the truth and make Americans afraid of each other. Voters are told to fear the Congresswoman who supports her party’s leader, “liberal” Nancy Pelosi from San Francisco! They attack her because she has been an effective leader; she stood up to DJT when he promised one thing and did another. She got the Affordable Care Act through the House, she supported the Infrastructure Bil that is helping so many communities. They are trying to tell Americans that they should fear an 80-year-old petite woman. Preposterous! They should admire her for her tenacity and political skills. But, no, they have tried to demonize her for years, even going so far in one year to slow down the tape to make it appear as if she were speaking while drunk. (Perhaps they forgot she does not drink!) But no matter, the opposition had a field day when her 82-year-old husband, Paul, had an accident and was charged with DUI recently.

 

But most distressing is the torrent of lies and made-up stories that appeared and were shared by everyone from the MAGA crowd to Elon Musk and the bot farms after an attacker invaded Paul Pelosi’s home and viciously attacked him until the arriving police stopped the attack. Some television personalities even seemed joyful that Nancy had this turmoil to deal with. The man had a fractured skull and needed surgery! The attacker planned to hold her husband until she came home and he could attack her. He echoed the haunting “where’s Nancy” that the insurrectionists shouted after they invaded the halls of Congress, the Senate Chamber, and her office.

 

So which wolf is being fed here? Most certainly, it is not the one that supports decency and civility, respect and concern for your fellow humans. I am afraid that this coarsening of society’s mores and common courtesies, if not corrected by universal disdain, will become the new norm. If so, we will all be the poorer for it. So how do we change the narrative that tries to scare seniors into believing they will be victims of crime from the criminals in their midst? How do we change the claims that Democrats are soft on crime as they try to make our criminal justice system fairer?

 

Why are Democrats letting Republicans take credit for popular legislation they refused to vote for such as infrastructure improvements? Why aren’t they publicizing the Republican intentions to attack Medicare and Social Security and repeal the reduction in prescription drug prices under Part D? Telling the truth is feeding the good wolf!

 

So this roundabout discussion finally brings me to the midterms. We are finally there; the voters who have not yet spoken out with early voting, mail-in, or drop-box votes will now have their day at the polls. According to CNN, over 34 million people have already cast ballots in 47 states. Over one million votes have been cast in the states of Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, and they have already registered over two million votes in Georgia. The Georgia tally reflects a quarter of the total electorate. Tough Senate races in each of those states may account for the heavy turnout. Democrats continue their preference for mail-in voting as seen in 2020 with the pandemic. Seniors continue to turn out in force. So far, 39% of Democrats have already voted. However, many states have numerous independents; often independents lean Republican, so that is not a reliable category for Democrats. Young people, still a small share of the electorate, are showing up, but account for only 3% of the electorate.

 

Also, according to CNN, “Except among White voters in Arizona, Democrats lead in early voting among all age and major race or ethnicity groups in all three states. However, a sizable number of pre-election voters in Arizona and Nevada are independents, which cuts into the Democratic share of the vote in those states. In Pennsylvania, more than 80% of non-White voters so far are Democrats. In Arizona and Nevada, however, roughly half of non-White voters are Democrats.”

 

Polling site 538 is still projecting that Republicans will win in the House but that Democrats will hold on in the Senate. The right is promising to impeach practically every Democratic cabinet officeholder and investigate Hunter Biden! Legislation – why bother when you can hold a three-ring circus with a bunch of right-wing nut jobs leading committees? There have been recent reports in the press that Republicans are trying to game the polls by having pro-republican pollsters get counted in the same skew as reputable non-partisan pollsters to make people think that Democrats have no chance. Again, remember that Gallup polls were way off in several recent elections; at one point, they were not calling cell phones. One cannot do that in this current atmosphere where many voters have given up their landlines.

 

The publication This Week noted some pollsters are questioning results from republican pollster The Trafalgar group which consistently shows Republicans leading on the generic ballots and their every two-week polls of key Senate races show wider margins for Republicans in races that others are calling as toss-ups or close races. In 2020, Trafalgar predicted a DJT win, even as few others were. They often featured their results in the Real Clear Politics summaries, a more respected poll. But, as the computer folks say: Garbage In, Garbage out, or GIGO. I mentioned last week that polls have become unpredictable, but as the media sources incessantly report this information like a horse race, “who is leading now, who is coming close,” then voters may get discouraged if their candidate is said to have no chance of victory and they may not vote.

 

Some say that major ethnic groups, long a Democratic block, are moving away from the Democrats as older Hispanic voters are increasingly favoring conservatives, while younger, more assimilated voters are staying with the Democrats. One pollster claims that 20% of Black voters are moving away from Democrats, while others question that conclusion. Asian voters are also being courted by Republicans who have nominated several Asian candidates in local races.

 

I am partisan and would love to see such awful candidates as JD Vance, and Dr. Oz defeated. I certainly hope that Rev. Warnock beats Herschel Walker fair and square with over 50% of the vote, so that no run-off is necessary. I wish that Ron Johnson in Wisconsin will be defeated by Mandela Barnes and that Catherine Cortez-Masto holds on in Nevada. Wouldn’t it be nice if Val Demings in Florida beats Senator Rubio? I so want a Senate with over 50 Democrats!

 

In local races-believe me, you cannot go wrong if you vote for the Democrats-every one of them! In Frederick County, please vote for Jessica Fitzwater for County Executive and support County Council Candidates Renee Knapp & Brad Young and if you live in District 4, Kavonte Duckett. Please vote for Karl Bickel for Sheriff; (We need a change there for sure!)

State Legislature: Karen Lewis-Young, Senate

Delegates- Choose Ken Kerr, Kris Fair, and Karen Simpson.

Board of Education: Ysela Bravo, Rae Gallagher, Dean Rose, and Karen Yoho.

Statewide- Wes Moore for Governor, Aruna Miller, Lt. Governor, Anthony Brown for Attorney General, and Brooke Lierman for State Comptroller.

Congress: David Trone for Representative and Chris Van Hollen for Senator!

 

And in Montgomery County, vote for all of those women running for County Council!

And support the County Executive, Marc Elrich, and the District 14 team.

 

But, please VOTE!

 

Fingers crossed-‘til next week-peace!