A Seat at the Table

Are you familiar with the musical Hamilton? Do you remember the scene where important decisions were made about the financial futures of the new country and the choice of a city for its capital? The song was titled:  “The Room Where it Happened” It is vitally important that those in the rooms where important decisions are being made reflect the voices of the disparate groups which make up our United States of America. Representation matters, whether it is on a school board, in Congress, the White House staff, or on the Supreme Court. You think not? Just look at the current campaigns by Republicans to place people on school boards to fight against critical race theory and ban books. Ballotpedia reported almost 150 recalls attempted between 2019 and 2022; these campaigns were often being mounted against duly elected school boards and or members of color when previous years averaged around 29 each year. Fortunately, few of the attempts were successful, but that does not mean that they will cease.

This week Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced he would retire at the end of this Court session in June, pending the appointment of his replacement. Breyer, who was appointed by President Clinton in 1994, is the second-longest sitting Justice on the court. Although the court is supposed to be apolitical, Justice Breyer sided with the liberal justices most often and was frequently then in the minority, on divided decisions. Most recently, with the addition of Justice Barrett, there are only three liberals left to oppose the six conservatives. Any replacement for Breyer would not change this alignment, as President Biden is expected to nominate a person of moderate to liberal legal thinking. There was a not-so stealthy campaign to urge Breyer to step down while the Democrats have control of the Senate. What might happen after the mid-terms is a big question, although if tradition is followed, the mid-terms are usually bad for an incumbent President. Justice Ginsburg, although ill, thought that Hillary Clinton would win in 2016, so she did not choose to retire before the election. Senator McConnell, in an unprecedented move, refused to allow President Biden’s nominee to get a hearing after Justice Scalia died early in 2016, claiming it was an election year, yet rushed through Justice Barrett even after voting had already started in 2020. (As I have mentioned earlier, hypocrisy knows no boundaries with Republicans.)

However, President Biden said he would nominate an African American woman to the court when he had an opening, thus keeping a campaign promise. This has caused fury on the right, with senators and media commentators claiming he is being unfair to other qualified candidates, somehow implying that African Americans (AA) females could not be among the most qualified candidates. Currently, there are at least a dozen such talented women, judges and professors among them, who have been so identified as on the first list. Previous presidents have noted in advance that they would name a woman to the court with only white candidates in mind, never broadening the field to look elsewhere. Why does it matter if an AA woman is chosen? Many have said that this is also a matter of representation; it means something when those making serious judgments about issues, fairness, perhaps questions of life and death, or freedom and justice, understand what it might be to be deprived of such options. The court has not always shown such understanding. Certainly, the privileged prep school life of Justice Kavanaugh differed from that of Justice Sotomayor, who lived in public housing as a child, or Justice Ginsburg, who was denied employment by top New York law firms because she was a woman. Justice Barrett, who grew up in a sheltered religious environment, recently showed that she did not understand the plight of a teenager pregnant after being raped, who did not want to continue her pregnancy. She suggested that after the baby was delivered, they could drop it off at a fire station for eventual adoption under a Good Samaritan waiver. In what universe is this girl supposed to live until she delivers?

Reverend William Barber, of the Poor People’s campaign and the Moral Mondays marches, suggested on MSNBC that someone who had been a public defender might make a good justice because she would have a better understanding of the needs of poor people caught up in the justice system. His group will lead a national march to Washington in June to rally for the passage of voting rights laws. He also claimed that the court is overly vested in protecting the rights of businesses and decried the striking down by the Roberts Court of the previously effective voting rights laws.

To those who would say that there is African American representation on the Court because Justice Thomas is there, I would disagree. Thomas is quite conservative and opposes many of the issues championed by mainstream black organizations, such as affirmative action. Some have noted that his wife, Ginni Thomas, is involved in groups that have filed “friend of the court” briefs in cases the court was hearing. Thomas and his wife dined privately at the DJT White House in 2019, yet he did not recuse himself from cases involving the former president. Ginni was profiled by Jean Mayer in the New Yorker recently and is described as giving awards to those she favored, such as Mark Meadows, and going after those she opposed, such as Colonel Vindman, who spoke out about the Ukraine call by DJT that led to the first impeachment. She openly supported the marchers on January 6^th opposed the House Committee investigation and has helped sponsor a symposium where the leader of the Oath Keepers (now arrested and charged with sedition) was a speaker. She did not publicly support the rioters.

Although many say the Court is not political, what does it mean when three of the current Justices were among the horde of Republican lawyers that descended on Florida to review ballots in the 2000 election issue that came before the Rehnquist Court, regarding Bush vs Gore? As CNN reported, Roberts and Kavanaugh, both in private practice, and Barrett, a member of a participating firm, were all in Florida at various times for the recount reviews. A recent report by CNN claims the Court is now at its most political point in generations, choosing cases more on ideology than merit. For example, the New York gun case recently heard had been turned down when presented previously, but after the loss of Ginsburg, it was accepted. Precedent (known as stare decisis), usually accepted by the nominees as allowing established decisions to stand when testifying before the Senate, now also seems to be under fire as cases involving affirmative action and the Clean Water Act, previously thought to have been decisively settled, are now back before the court and, given the conservative majority, most likely will be overturned.

Who will be nominated by the President? I have no inside information here, but I am confident that it will be an African American woman who is highly qualified, most likely far more qualified than Justice Barrett, and one who will serve the interests of all Americans well. Why do I believe that? Well, possibly as was said of Ginger Rogers–“she did everything that Fred Astaire did, only backward and in high heels.” African American women have been doing those symbolic dances for many years and going higher up the ladder each time!

Earlier I had mentioned book banning which is now being revived in yet another social seizure of right-wing convictions. Pulitzer-prize-winning author and Vietnamese immigrant Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote about this topic in the New York Times on Sunday and said in part: “If our society isn’t strong enough to withstand the weight of difficult or challenging–and even hateful or problematic ideas-then something must be fixed in our society.” Do read the entire article, it is worth your time.

What are your ideas on how this ‘something’ should be fixed? Tell me in the comments.

*********************************************************************************

The numbers of Omicron variant cases in the east have dropped precipitously over the last week, although deaths are continuing to rise. There is a new offshoot called the Omicron stealth, or BA2, which is spreading rapidly, but it is not seen as more virulent. It has been identified in Europe and India. The highest percentages of illness are now seen in Alaska, Washington state, and Kentucky. Maryland has the lowest rates of fresh cases and is now 72% vaccinated. The states with the lowest vaccination rates-all around 50%, are Mississippi, Alabama, Wyoming, and Idaho.

COVID stats- NY Times:

US Totals: Total Cases: 74,328,530. New Cases: 519,421.

                  Total Deaths: 883,370. New Deaths: 2,524.

Maryland totals: Total Cases: 954,469. New Cases: 2,656.

                           Total Deaths: 13,465. New Deaths: 49.

**********************************************************************************

I send wishes for warmer temperatures to my friends in the northeast who are digging out from up to 30 inches of snow and frigid temperatures. I hesitate to think what that kind of snow would have done to this Metro area. This storm also affected the Eastern Shore, but not as bad as those further north. Think Spring, folks!

‘Til next week–Peace!

January is a Dreary Month

As I look outside, I see snow and ice, remnants of recent storms. The days have been cold and cloudy, with temperatures below freezing and wind chills in the single digits; dreary-that’s January for you!

Christina Rossetti sums this up nicely in her poem: (only one verse copied here)

“In the Bleak Mid-winter:

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter long ago.”

This week marked the one-year anniversary of Joe Bidens' Presidency. It has not been a great week for him. Despite his entreaties, two Democratic Senators would not vote to break the filibuster so that Voting Rights legislation could be passed. Senators Manchin and Sinema each gave speeches showing that while they approved of the bill, but believed that it needed to be passed in a bipartisan manner, so they would not ask for a waiver on the filibuster. Since Minority leader McConnell told his Republican Senators that they could not vote in favor of this bill, the question of passage was moot. No matter how much Manchin rambled on about getting ten Republicans to say yea, that would not happen, especially on a cold winter's day. He seemed to care little about the importance of rights in November for minority voters in states where their rights are already being trampled. Instead, he tossed arguments aside, claiming that Marc Elias and the Department of Justice would right any wrongs, seemingly oblivious to the reality that pursuing these cases through the courts takes time that Dems do not have.

The President held a marathon press conference that I thought went pretty well, although I did not see all of it. He had a few of the trademark Biden gaffes when he over-explained as he is sometimes wont to do. The Ukrainians did not appreciate his attempt to differentiate between an “allowed minor incursion" by the Russians as compared to a “discouraged major invasion”; the State Department tried to clear that up the next day. He admitted to being dismayed that his former colleagues, his so-called Republican Senatorial friends, would no longer work with him. Apparently, he is the only person in Washington who thought that this was still possible. He did note that being President is different; the discussions and the persuasive options are different. So, as some pundits have stated, he needs to be less of a former Senator and more of a President with a bully pulpit. He admitted he needs to get out and go one on one with the American public and sell his Build Back Better (BBB) plan even if it is eventually broken up. In my opinion, the administration has accomplished some significant things, such as the number of vaccinations, the decrease in unemployment, the increase in jobs numbers, and the stimulus bill. I should also mention the infrastructure improvements which will soon show up in various states and neighborhoods. A recent article in the Washington Post mentioned how many Republicans were touting the improvements coming to their districts, even though only a few of them actually voted for the bill. Others, including the President, noted that 16 sitting Senators voted for the passage of the voting rights bill the last time it was renewed

Breaking up is hard to do, “they say” and no one hears that more strongly than the progressives who delayed, but finally voted for infrastructure, on the promise that BBB would be passed in some form. As of now, Manchin has not come through with a viable compromise, although he has mumbled about passing parts of the bill. However, since the package was going to be put through as a catch-all bill under the reconciliation clause, wouldn’t breaking it up in pieces negate that strategy? Sadly, the child tax credit, which would have been renewed had this passed, has now ended and may not be in a revised bill. But what else will be dropped? I understand that free community college will not be there and reduced drug prices may be less than once thought. We shall soon see if the Democrats can get their act together and pass something. However, the members have little time, especially with the mid-terms looming around the corner.

The former President (DJT) was another person who felt the wintry winds of January all the way down in Mar-a-Lago as the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) denied his petition to use Presidential privilege to withhold documents housed in the Archives from the House January 6^th committee. Once these started coming out, it is obvious why he did not want them to ever be in the public eye. Politico discussed an executive order that, if enacted, would have directed the Army to seize all the ballot boxes from the 2020 election and review them over 60 days which would have been past the date of the Presidential Inauguration, so keeping him in office. Was martial law next? Some say that wiser heads prevailed and kept the then-president from putting this in place. Do we know if the military would have accepted this order?  General Millay and others have already shown that they were preparing contingency plans should he do anything untoward. I do not think that they ever expected to be ordered to do this, even though whacky General Flynn was an advocate for such moves. Do you, like me, wonder what other odd documents might be unearthed when all requested ones are reviewed?

Ivanka Trump has been asked to testify by the January 6^th Committee since she was in the oval office that day and could testify about the demeanor of her father. It is not known whether she will appear. According to news reports, the January 6^th committee has talked to former AG Barr and members of the military about the executive order which was dated December 16, 2020, before the AG left office on December 21st. It remains unclear who wrote this order, which was unsigned. Others such as Mark Meadows, the former Chief of staff, have claimed this same privilege; many think that this would also be disallowed following the SCOTUS decision.

The District Attorney for Fulton County Georgia, where Atlanta is located, has scheduled a special grand jury with special authority to investigate if criminal actions were present in the former presidents’ call to the Georgia Secretary of State asking him to find enough votes to declare him the winner of the election in Georgia. The DA also mentioned that others around the former president might also be questioned about their actions and mentioned Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and Senator Lindsey Graham, among others. Of course, DJT has said that this call was ‘even more perfect’ than the one to the Ukrainian president, which caused him to be impeached. This grand jury will have subpoena power, although it cannot hand down indictments.

In New York, the state AG investigation of the Trump company, under civil claims (which is parallel to the US Attorneys' criminal case) has uncovered evidence which she says shows it could have committed fraud. As an example, she noted they claimed his condo apartment was 30,000 sq. ft. when it was only 10,000 sq. ft. and vastly overstated the values of it and other properties for tax, loans, and insurance purposes. When Eric Trump appeared before this investigation, he reportedly used the 5^th Amendment right against incrimination over 500 times. (Which he may do, but don’t you wonder why?)

Reflecting on January 6^th, I have discussed some recent essays in the NY Times, two of which I reviewed last week. The other two are here: Scholar Francis Fukuyama on “What the World Saw That Day” and historians Jon Grinspan and Peter Manseau on “How Will History Remember?”

Fukuyama shows that, according to the Freedom House 2021 World Report on Democracy, democracy has been in decline over the last 15 years with the largest declines seen in India and the United States, the two largest democracies. The impact of January 6^th was not felt just in the US but reverberated across the world, signaling a decline in American influence and power. He notes that this decline began in the 1990s when gridlock prevented the passage of routine governmental functions such as budgets. He mentioned people living in “different factual universes” and the rise of a “shortsighted demagogue egging on a populist movement.” Never before have we not had a peaceful transfer of power and that has been a strength. He chides the Republicans for not abandoning Trump the way it abandoned Nixon after he stepped down. He concludes by saying the “single greatest weakness in America today lies in its internal divisions.”

Grinspan and Manseau, on the other hand, note that “the lens of history often distorts the past, imbuing it with nostalgia” and wonder how January 6^th will be described in 2086, for example. Will a statue of the QAnon Shaman then be displayed in Statuary Hall in the Capitol as memories fade after the Big Lies take hold or will it show us another picture? Currently, some 30% of those queried in a recent poll do not believe that Biden is a valid President. “When all is finally known about that day, we believe those responsible will live in infamy and be judged harshly by history.” However, they caution, that may not be the case as others are at work now to minimize the events of that day. The authors add that “enshrining rioters as heroes could be done rather quickly. Those living in a bubble of fake news have shown their willingness to also fake history. After the 1776 Commission (the DJT ordered study commissioned to oppose the 1619 project) and state-level bans on teaching about America's racist history, we should be ready to see whitewashing of January 6^th as well.” They conclude by saying: “The best we can do is map our moment scrupulously to preserve the signposts that will lead to a place that we will never see.”

Each of these essays gives me pause and are sobering discussions of what the truth is now and what it might be seen as in the future. This demonstrates so clearly why the investigations of those responsible for the insurrection by the January 6^th Commission are vitally important and why we all need to speak up for democracy and against the lies of the MAGA crowd. We need to establish a permanent record that cannot be distorted.

***************************************************************************************

Omicron continues to affect the entire country with over 690, 000 cases this week alone. Even as cases decline in the New England states and Mid-Atlantic, they are rising in the South and Pacific Northwest, although Wisconsin is showing a rise as well. Deaths always lag case numbers but are now reflecting a 50% rise since last week. Maryland is closing in on one million total cases, and with a population of only 6 million, that shows about 1/6^th of the state has been infected.

COVID Stats–NY Times:

US Total Cases: 70,667,782. New Cases: 690,448.

            Total Deaths: 865,687. New Deaths: 2182.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 935,878. New Cases: 5,137.

                            Total Deaths: 13,123.  New Deaths: 65.

***************************************************************************************************

A Luray Virginia mother has been charged with threats against the School Board when she testified at a mask hearing that she would not allow her child to be forced to wear a mask and would come to school with all guns loaded. She later claimed that she did not mean actual guns. Gee, thanks, Gov. Youngkin, Virginia children don’t have enough to worry about already?

That’s it for now–please drop me a comment now and then.

‘Til next week-Peace!

Do Americans Want Democracy?

 

This week the FBI arrested the leader of the Oath Keepers (a para-military group) and charged him with seditious conspiracy against the Government of the United States. Stewart Rhodes, a former Army paratrooper with a law degree, was at the January 6^th insurrection and members of his organization entered the Capitol; he claims he stayed outside and was thus safe from prosecution for any of the damages or assaults on that day. According to the charges, he led a group that entered the Capitol, planned their activities, and stored arms for a second wave should it be necessary. He wrote on an encrypted site that his followers should prepare for a civil war and even street fighting. He solicited membership from former members of the military and police forces. Some of the Oath Keepers had been arrested previously and charged with obstruction of Congress and destruction of property. Although Rhodes claimed his group was in Washington to provide security for Roger Stone and others and did not intend to storm the Capitol, facts from testimony and video footage have proved otherwise.

According to legal authorities, sedition is a hard charge to prove in court, but FBI access to encrypted communications and other remarks from Rhodes might make the case easier this time. The Oath Keepers are only one of several groups which were involved in activities at the Capitol that day. Members of the Proud Boys and QAnon have also been arrested. The so-called ‘Shaman’ has already been convicted and sentenced to 41 months in jail for his presence in the Capitol that day. The rioter who threw a fire extinguisher at police has received a sentence of five years. So far, 275 of the people arrested that day were charged with obstructing Congress in its duty to certify the election. The FBI estimates that over 2500 rioters were involved; so far over 700 have been arrested and charged for misdemeanors and felonies, but none of the charges have been as serious as the charges against Rhodes. Several have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and received minor sentences.

There is a level of anger in this country against our government that surprises me, but in retrospect, I guess I should not be quite so surprised. Some of these feelings were stoked by the Great Depression and the divide between the haves and have-nots. They continued in the McCarthy era when the educated elites were accused of succumbing to communism and plotting against the state. The John Birch Society, White Supremacists, and conservative Barry Goldwater continued to fan the flames for disruption as the Civil Rights era marches and protests erupted. That brought us to the Vietnam war era, where the poor boys went to war and the rich ones got deferments for college or fled to Canada. Then eventually we had the excesses of Nixon and Reagan came in stating ‘government is the problem’ and more and more Americans became alienated from the democracy which had kept us together either for better or for worse since the Civil War. (I know that this is an oversimplification, but I think you can understand where I am going here. Our history has never been simple and perceptions often depend upon where one is situated in our society.)

As a Democrat, I worked for President Obamas’ campaign, applauded his inauguration and the millions who celebrated. I knew it did not mean that we would now have a color-blind society, but I thought it might mean we were a few steps closer. I did not count on the haters who could not abide the idea of an African American in charge of this country. Rhodes has said that it was the election of Obama that made him start his Oath Keepers group. The Tea Party was formed by Republicans to oppose everything that Obama wanted to do. Mitch McConnell followed that line as well and vowed that he would be a one-term president. He failed in that goal but kept him from naming Merritt Garland as a justice on faulty claims. The constant drumbeat of conservative talk radio and other right-wing media outlets against his presidency, many believe, allowed the rise of the MAGA movement, which profited from hateful speech and outright lies. These movements deliberately set Americans against each other and against those who were not members of the white majority. The white majority was feeling threatened; their dominance was in danger.

Is this the democracy you learned about in school; the great melting pot which brings people from many countries to become one nation? Well, truthfully, that was not always the case as immigration was favored for northern European nations over southern Europe, and quotas were enforced for people from nations of color more strictly. And, in the years before World War Two, our government closed its ears to the pleas of Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler for asylum. Of course, we would allow laborers to come in from Mexico and Central America to pick our crops, but they, most often, could not remain.

Last week I mentioned some opinions in the New York Times on the anniversary of January 6^th. One, by Rebecca Solnit, looks at “An Assault on the Truth”. She mentions the birther movement, the lies about Hillary Clinton and the pizza parlor, and the Sandy Hook massacre false claims that were believed by so many. She states we used to say that ‘you are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts’ but now people believe they can have their own facts. The public is being presented with false claims akin to snake oil salesmen of yore by supposedly white Christian men of good standing who would have you believe that our way of life, religion, education, whatever is endangered by the upstart other. They tout mysterious conspiracy theories that the gullible believe and buy into as they barricade their homes from the caravans of invaders. She also states:

“While Republicans assault voting rights and the integrity of our elections, what fuels their advances is the rise of a gullible sector of the public ready to follow their leaders wherever they go. What’s often described as a weakness of the Democratic Party — the existence of a variety of views and positions, freely debated or even fought over, and a restless, questioning electorate — is a strength of democracy.” She concludes: “Authoritarians don’t just want to control the government, the economy, and the military. They want to control the truth. Truth has its own authority, an authority a strongman must defeat, at least in the minds of his followers, persuading them to abandon fact, the standards of verification, critical thinking, and all the rest. Such people become a standing army awaiting their next command.”

Former President Jimmy Carter also wrote for this special edition and said in a piece titled “Americas’ Democracy is in Danger” that politicians who seek to win by any means and who are bringing others to think likewise threaten our democracy. Through the Carter Center, he worked to promote democracy and free and fair elections across the world. He noted he had hoped that the violence of the insurrection would shock Americans into addressing the toxic polarization that threatens our democracy, but has realized that those who continue to spread lies about the 2020 election have overtaken a major political party. He listed five principles he feels are necessary to preserve our democracy and our freedoms. Some paraphrasing here...

1.     “People of all political stripes must agree on fundamental constitutional principles and norms of fairness, civility, and respect for the rule of law.

2.     We must push for reforms that ensure the security and accessibility of our elections and ensure public confidence in the accuracy of results.

3.     We must resist the polarization that is reshaping our identities around politics....standing up to the forces that would divide us.

4.     Violence has no place in our politics...we must act urgently to pass laws to reverse the trends of character assassination, intimidation, and the presence of armed militias at events.

5.     Lastly, the spread of disinformation, especially on social media, must be addressed....these platforms must be reformed; we stand on the brink of an abyss and are at risk of civil conflict and the loss of our democracy.”

I will look at the additional essays next week. However, I urge everyone to consider these serious columns about what keeps us together and what can rip our country apart if we allow it. We, as a country, not just as Democrats, must resist these dark forces built on lies and conspiracies and continue to brandish the truth as it exists. We need to question authority at times, but we also need to respect the rule of law.

******************************************************************************

A brief report on COVID. Omicron continues to spread across the country unrestrained, especially among the unvaccinated, inundating hospitals, many workplaces, and schools. While deaths are not as prevalent as with Delta, people are still dying in fairly large numbers. There is hope that some downturns in the northeast may foreshadow a decrease in total case numbers, which are still horrendous at over 800,000 cases daily. Maryland is showing a slight dip, which is hopeful; its vaccination rate is now at 72%.

COVID stats: NY Times:

US Total Cases: 65,814,876. New Cases: 801,903.

      Total Deaths: 849,976. New Deaths: 1964.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 899,922. New Cases: 9,820.

                              Total Deaths:12,666. New Deaths: 65.

********************************************************************************

President Biden hit some bumps last week, with the Supreme Court striking down part of his workplace mandate for vaccinations or testing (partly because of the ignorance of the justices on viruses and covid.) Senators Sinema and Manchin think preserving the filibuster in the Senate is more important than helping the President enact his programs or maybe it is their egos, who knows? I certainly hope that Majority Leader Schumer has some rabbits to pull out of his hat. We need voting rights reform more each day.

Oh, and newly installed Governor Youngkin of Virginia made canceling the mask mandate in Virginia schools, one of his first executive orders. He also chose a former coal lobbyist to be his EPA administrator! ‘Moderate guy’ mask off pretty quick, there, Gov!

Finally, I will close with some notations from an article in the Washington Post Retropolis. It seems a newly elected Republican representative at the State House in Virginia (they know how to pick down there) submitted a bill to ensure that Virginia school children are properly educated and learn “founding principles” which he partly defines as learning about the first debate between Abraham Lincoln and former slave Frederick Douglass. UH OH, the person you might be thinking of, Representative, would be Stephen A. Douglas, a candidate for Senate whom Lincoln ran against and debated in a series of events during the Senate campaign in 1858. Oh, and the rep. also wanted to ban teaching divisive concepts,….has he ever read about the processes involved in the writing of our Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution? Enough!

 

“Til next week- Peace!

Is Our Democracy Endangered?

The snow this week covered my nearby world in white; the serene image this created was misleading. In fact, much of the political world is currently ill at ease. The United States is not exempt from this turmoil. Commemorations this week on the anniversary of January 6^th have refocused attention on the disruptions of that day and those days preceding it. Many thought that the widespread public horror felt after the actions of the insurrectionists at the Capitol would turn voters against the former president who incited it. After he lost his public platforms on Twitter and Facebook, some thought he would slink away.

That has not turned out to be the case. After some initial condemnation, elected Republicans across the country carried his banner as he amassed an enormous war chest supposedly gathered to fight against the stolen election. Aside from the reality that the premise was false, his fans continued to send money after his incessant appeals and repeated lies. Candidates for future elections soon realized that he might support them if they echoed his calls of “stop the steal” or called for reviews and audits of the 2020 election long after President Biden was inaugurated. Whether he intends to run again or not, he will be an influencer in many other electoral contests, if only for his endorsements or lack of them.

According to the New York Times, he had amassed over a quarter billion dollars on the pledge to fight a stolen election, but it is in a fund that does not require him to use the money for that purpose and allows him to divert it to any causes he chooses. The Republican Party continues to pay many of his legal expenses; so far, they have reportedly covered over 1.6 million dollars for him. Many corporations declared at the time of the Insurrection that they would no longer support the elected Republican members of Congress who did not vote for certification of the election. According to CREW (Citizens for Responsibility in Ethics in Washington)-  Several have since recanted those vows as 717 corporations have given over 18 million dollars to these officials.

Since the Supreme Court allowed the excesses of untraced political funding in Citizens United, the far-right has poured millions of funding into candidates and those who would limit free speech. Powerful corporations, men such as the Koch brothers, and families, such as the Mercers, have all joined with other powerful and wealthy entities to send money into races and movements they considered in their interest. Money from groups, such as the Petroleum Institute, flowed into the 2021 Georgia Senate races to try to prevent a Democratic Senate. The right-wing media, initially, was mostly Fox News, its talk hosts, and talk radio, but now has expanded to include One America News (OAN), Sinclair broadcasting, and News Max, among others. Newer talk hosts, podcasters such as Steve Bannon and Alex Jones threaten the dominance of Fox as they are far more extreme and throw out the red meat that brings in listeners and money. Together they still spread a destructive message, one that continues to chip away at what I have always considered our democracy and the idea of “E Pluribus Unum”–out of many people we can build one nation. They lie, make up rumors, promote conspiracy theories, and spread them to a population conditioned to receive such messages. In my opinion, that is why “Stop the Steal” found such a warm reception; it played into the months of messaging by the former president that absentee ballots were suspicious and the Democrats were out to steal the election. According to several pundits, his internal polling showed him he would lose, which was something he could not accept. So, well before election day, he set out to undermine our system of free and fair elections instead.

The right continues to spread a message of ‘replacement theory’ that is against immigrants and people of color and note that immigrants dilute our ‘white nation’ and that Democrats are encouraging the browning of America. In truth, America is becoming less white and is now more of a nation of many races and ethnicities. The 2020 census reported that over 60% of us identified as white, accounting for over 204 million people; more people (an additional 33 million) identified as multiracial than ever before. The total population was 334 million and showed a decrease in the white population of 8% from the 2010 census. The Hispanic population showed the greatest increases to 62 million, with African Americans at 47 million, Asian Americans at 24 million, and Alaskan and native Americans, 9.7 million followed by Hawaiian/Asia Pacific islanders at 1.7 million. My numbers here are approximated from the census tables.

Reporter Peter Osnos recently spoke on NPR about his profile of Dan Bongino, a talk show host, who is planning to build his own media empire in a parallel mock of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, so that the speech he wants to promote cannot be taken down such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have done with incendiary or misleading speech. Osnos reports, in his piece in the New Yorker, that Bongino is in the business of returning the former president to power. He tracks which of his rants receive the most press and doubles down on those inflammatory topics, not unlike many others of his ilk. Bongino, a former police officer and presidential secret service member once was part of the Republican establishment and an elected candidate. Many in Maryland will also remember that he ran for office as a Republican in Maryland a few times -for the Senate seat now held by Ben Cardin and for Congress in the seat won by John Delaney. He also ran for the House in Florida. He lost each race. A cancer survivor, he took the COVID vaccine but continued to support the ant-vax movement. The anti-vax movement is another anti-government movement that is hypocritically supported by the right while vaccinations are enforced by corporations such as Fox media.

This week saw President Biden speaking on the anniversary of the January 6^th insurrection from Statuary Hall in the Capitol. He gave his strongest condemnation yet of the former president and his actions before and since the election. According to NPR, Biden “referred repeatedly to the former president with forceful, and, at times, personal, denunciations of his actions. {The former president}, Biden said, “values power over principle.” His “bruised ego matters more to him than our democracy,” the president continued, adding, “He can’t accept that he lost.” Biden said the US is in “a battle for the soul of America. I will stand in this breach. I will defend this nation. And I will allow no one to place a dagger at the throat of democracy.”

“To me, the true patriots were the more than 150 [million] Americans who peacefully expressed their vote at the ballot box, the election workers who protected the integrity of the vote, and the heroes who defended this Capitol. You can’t love your country only when you win.” (NY Times)

Vice President Harris also spoke at the event and said, “the American spirit is being tested. The answer to whether we will meet that test resides where it has always resided, in our country, with you, the people,” she said. Harris said “the work ahead will not be easy” and called on the Senate to pass voting rights legislation-an unlikely prospect unless the Senate changes its rules to prevent a Republican-led filibuster.

Last week, the New York Times published an editorial from its entire editorial board, with some of the phrases noted below and stating that every day is now January 6^th.

“This is where looking forward comes in. Over the past year, Republican lawmakers in 41 states have been trying to advance the goals of the Jan. 6 rioters — not by breaking laws but by making them. Hundreds of bills have been proposed and nearly three dozen laws have been passed that empower state legislatures to sabotage their own elections and overturn the will of their voters, according to a running tally by a nonpartisan consortium of pro-democracy organizations. …. campaign targeted voting results in all these [battleground] states, suing for recounts or trying to intimidate officials into finding “missing” votes. The effort failed, thanks primarily to the professionalism and integrity of election officials. Many of those officials have since been stripped of their power or pushed out of office and replaced by people who openly say the last election was fraudulent. Thus, the Capitol riot continues in statehouses across the country, in a bloodless, legalized form that no police officer can arrest and that no prosecutor can try in court. A healthy, functioning political party faces its electoral losses by assessing what went wrong and redoubling its efforts to appeal to more voters the next time. The Republican Party, like authoritarian movements the world over, has shown itself recently to be incapable of doing this.

It concludes in part: “Mr. Biden and other leading Democrats should make use of what remaining power they have to end the filibuster for voting rights legislation, even if nothing else. Whatever happens in Washington, in the months and years to come, Americans of all stripes who value their self-government must mobilize at every level — not simply once every four years but today and tomorrow and the next day — to win elections and help protect the basic functions of democracy. If people who believe in conspiracy theories can win, so can those who live in the reality-based world.”

Today the Times also published editorials from historian Rebecca Solnit, former President Jimmy Carter, scholar Francis Fukuyama and academics Jon Grinspan and Peter Manseau that discuss where they think our democracy is headed. I will discuss them next week.

*********************************************************************************

Now for a brief discussion of the Omicron virus. The virus has expanded case numbers across the US rapidly, with over 500,000 cases each day and charts showing straight-up increases instead of gradual rises. January promises a repeat of these numbers each week with the hoped-for decline, maybe by March. Although more infectious than other variants, Omicron, by targeting the nose and throat, causes fewer fatalities than the others.

The debate about school openings and virtual schools continues as community spread increases. There are few simple solutions.

COVID Stats–NY Times:

Total US Cases: 60,164,525. New Cases: 677,243.

     Total Deaths: 836,236. New Deaths: 1559.

MD totals: Total cases: 831,182. New Cases:13,392.

                  Total Deaths: 12,211. New Deaths: 49.

********************************************************************************

I continue to stand by the principle that this country is a democracy and will be as long as its government is: For the people, by the people, and of the people- (not some self-styled autocracy). As long as the American public continues to actively support its rights and protects honest officials, we will maintain these values. If it instead surrenders these precious rights to the cult of personality and leadership of demagogues, our democracy will not survive. The future, sadly, remains unclear; the choice is up to each of us.

Finally, ‘gotta’ love the pandas in the snow -you can watch it here.

“Til next week – Peace!

Jan 6th-One Year Later

As a country, we celebrate anniversaries; we commemorate the births of leaders and important dates from history. (However, now that I reflect upon it, I do not recall one holiday celebrating the birthdate of a woman! There is an international Women’s Day, but that is not the same.) I do not wish to celebrate the events of January 6^th 2020, but I do not wish to forget them either. I do not want to pass over the deaths of 5 people, and the suicides of police officers, and injuries to hundreds of officers, that followed the actions of the mob that day.

I will remember the destructive forces that attacked the Capitol, an important symbol of our democracy. I will never forget that an out-of-control president egged on the rioters and refused multiple requests by staff to ask for them to stop; according to some, he reveled in this display of lawlessness in his name. Although VP Mike Pence now professes that it was no big deal, the American public remembers the chants of “Hang Mike Pence” and “Where are you, Nancy?” - threats made against two of the highest officials in our democracy. I will continue to remember that elected officials who had sworn to protect the Constitution voted against the certification of valid electors chosen by their respective states regarding ballots in a free and fair election. Some Representatives also claim that tours of the entrances and tunnels were given to the rioters in the days before January 6^th by Congressional members and staff. Of course, we also remember the grandstanding by Congressman Brooks and Senators Hawley and Cruz, among others. (Brooks, possibly expecting violence when he spoke on the presidential stage, famously wore a flak jacket under his coat on that January day.)

You do not have to believe my memory here. The Washington Post released a powerful account of the actions before, during, and after the insurrection. That extensive report can be found here in great detail: and www.wapo.st/theattack.

But what will the greater population in America remember? Already Fox commentators seldom show the events of that day and when discussing them, refer to them occasionally as tourists visiting their Capitol. Other programs on the right and the former president continue to repeat the Big Lie that the election was stolen or fraudulent, despite repeated recounts, audits, and other reviews that proved their statements false. Polls reported today in the Washington Post find that most of the voters, although divided often by party, still believe that the former president was at least partly responsible for the violence that day. The poll also revealed that a small portion (one-third) also believes that violence is justified against a government that is acting unlawfully or is becoming anti-democratic.

But how is lawlessness defined? The last administration ignored valid subpoenas, gave false testimony before Congress, and lied to the public about the pandemic threat and our readiness to combat it. It obstructed justice, interfered with valid Department of Justice probes, and obfuscated others. According to the Mueller investigation, it invited foreign influence in an American election and encouraged it for future contests. Attorney General Barr seemingly saw his role as working to protect the President, not the Constitution or the American people, if one judges his actions and words. According to an article in the Atlantic, Barr only broke with the president when he continued to claim fraud after the 2020 election and he refused to concede, even after Barr assured him that there was minimal fraud and the results were valid.

Other than not reelecting the president, what were the consequences of his disregard of the principles found in The Rule of Law, supposedly treasured by our democracy?

So far, there have been rumblings from some court hearings and other grand jury proceedings, but no public results have emerged. The House January 6^th Select Committee Hearings have collected a lot of data and some of it is gradually finding its way into the daily news. Over 300 individuals have given interviews, depositions, and testimony behind closed doors; soon these findings will be discussed in open and televised hearings. I expect that this will be watched intently by the voters, even as the Republicans will try to dismiss everything as overly partisan. The two Republicans on the committee have been vocal in their criticisms of the events from that day. The former presidential chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has refused to testify after some of his text messages were made public and the MAGA crowd complained about comments he made in his book about just when the former president was diagnosed with COVID. With that crowd, telling the truth seems to get one in trouble, doesn’t it? In December, the House voted to refer Meadows to the Department of Justice for his refusal to answer their subpoena and testify. Some believe that he has some basis to claim confidentiality, because of his position, while others believe he could testify in a limited manner about events of January 6^th which were unlawful. Stay tuned, as they say. Many Republicans hope these referrals can lead to extended delays that could eventually derail the committee, especially as they expect to seize the House in the mid-terms. I believe the committee has enough information already to pursue their goals adequately, but more is always nice, just like icing on a cake.

Significant numbers of Americans are concerned that in future elections, if Republicans lose, that they will continue to claim fraud and not concede. If that becomes the norm, we shall no longer have a democratic process in place and we will succumb to the tyranny of the minority. Republican legislators are passing bills that threaten non-partisan election workers, instill partisan poll watchers who cannot be challenged, and produce confusing election protocols that might allow overturning valid election results. Some officials are considering challenging duly certified electors in future elections. Aren’t some of these actions already undemocratic? I think that most of them are.

We can no longer count on the Supreme Court to act in an unbiased manner, it seems, so legislation is our only remedy. Senator Schumer must get his Senate in order, corral the nay-sayers, get rid of the filibuster, in this instance, and pass both Voting Rights bills as soon as possible. To delay further is to cultivate destruction of our values. Please contact your Senators!

*************************************************************************************

Over the Holidays our country has seen unprecedented numbers of COVID cases, most are because of the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, even as Delta is still with us. DC and Maryland are among the hardest-hit areas even though MD vaccination rates have increased to over 70%. People are getting infected after full vaccinations and booster shots; both Governor Hogan and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich have been infected after full vaccinations. In Frederick County, where the infection rate is 23.8%, an emergency meeting of the Health Committee reinstated indoor mask mandates and considered limits on indoor groups, because this variant is so infectious. Some physicians claim this variant reduces the chance of getting the Delta infection, although the data has not been proven. There is a lot of controversy about whether this variant spread should again change schooling to virtual, although there is a lot of opposition to further distance learning. Data from South Africa seem to show that the course of the variant is several weeks, rather than several months, as Delta has been. Even if that is the case, we are still in for a very rough January with a high percentage of cases but proportionately fewer deaths.

COVID stats–NY Times

US totals: Total cases: 55,107,627. New Cases: 401,252. (Two weeks ago =133,012.)

                  Total Deaths: 824,388. New Deaths: 1,249.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: 737,437. New Cases: 10,541.

                             Total Deaths: 1,249. New Deaths: 32.

Maryland has finally recovered from the Health Dept. data hacking/ransom–or whatever it was–so it can again report numbers.

******************************************************************************

I will close with greetings to all for the New Year of 2022. (I hope you didn’t mind that I took a week away for Christmas, but I am now back!)

As always, I look at each new year as a blank slate on which are written hopes and dreams, goals and milestones. For this year, I wish the same. I want our democracy to work; I want our elections to be fair and fairly counted. I would like to see extreme partisanship decrease, but doubt that it will with MAGA folks fanning the flames daily. I want Senator Manchin to realize that not all people can drive a Maserati like him, or worry about their stock, and many do need the options found in the Build Back Better Bill, so he should come down to earth and vote for its passage. As for Senator Sinema, she should just stop being a diva with bad fashion choices and also vote for it.

Oh, and I heard that Representative Green was kicked off Twitter for tweeting false COVID information; it is about time! Now she should have the fines she incurred for refusing to wear a mask on the floor of the House deducted from her paycheck.

“Til next week–Peace!