Thank Dan Quayle?

 

From the National Archives:

Congress meets in joint session in the House of Representatives on January 6 to count the electoral votes. The Vice President, as President of the Senate, is the presiding officer. Tellers open, present, and record the votes of the States in alphabetical order. The President of the Senate announces the results of the State vote and then calls for any objections. To be recognized, an objection must be submitted in writing and be signed by at least one member of the House and one Senator. If an objection is recognized, the House and Senate withdraw to their respective chambers to consider the merits of any objections, following the process set out in 3 U.S.C. §15. After all the votes are recorded and counted, the President of the Senate declares which persons, if any, have been elected President and Vice President of the United States.

The statement above describes the process which is to be followed for the official counting by the Congress of the United States of the votes by the state electors of the Electoral College. It was this process that was interrupted when the rioters entered the Capitol in an attempt to prevent its completion. Later in the day, after the rioters were repelled, and the building was put back in some semblance of order, Congress completed its constitutional mission and the election of Joe Biden was certified officially.

The release of the newest book by Bob Woodward and Bob Costa called “Peril” examined the final days of the last president. One area the book reviews are the actions taken by members of the White House staff after the election results were certified by the Electors from the Electoral College in December. Plans were made to circumvent the ceremonial acceptance of the electoral college results from each state by the Congress on the date specified–January 6^th. As the book describes, Vice-President Pence was being pressured to disallow votes from certain states and remove some of the votes won by Biden, replacing them with so-called alternative electors, thus allowing the “President” an eventual win. These moves are described in a memo obtained and spelled out in “Peril” and were written by a well-known Republican lawyer, John Eastman. Aside from the fact that these moves are against the constitution and improbable at best, they explain a framework for stealing an election that was well underway. This same attorney spoke at the rally before the assault on the Capitol and encouraged the insurrection. Why has he not been charged with trying to take action against the US Government?

The president was even heard telling Pence to act like a man and follow these plans. VP Pence checked with the Senate Parliamentarian, who told him that this plan could not be carried through, while others were telling him that he should go along. Eventually, according to Woodward and Costa, Pence turned to a trusted advisor from Indiana, former Republican VP Dan Quayle, for his advice and was told that he could not take these actions. Quayle reportedly said that the VP role had no authority and was expected to only be ceremonial. Ultimately, Pence followed his guidance and started the session, only to later find himself under threats of “Hang Mike Pence” from the mob and finally being rushed into hiding by the Secret Service. It was under his authority that the Pentagon finally released the DC National Guard to assist at the Capitol, since no one at the White House would do so. Finally, he presided, as required, over the certification of the votes which came in the hours past midnight after the body addressed and overrode objections by several Republicans.

We now have a Republican Party which, under the former president, has come to view its mission as only staying in power, regardless of what the Constitution or the Rule of Law might state. They have shown that there are no steps beneath them, even the possibility of negating elections should local officials so decide. They have led campaigns to harass local election officials and in some cases run them out of office. They have decided in some cases to remove the authority of the Secretary of State to certify election results. And in Arizona, even though the absurd Cyber Ninjas long-drawn-out recount showed that Biden won even more votes than originally attributed to him, the MAGA team asserted that he still won the state. The former disgraced president continued to lie about these results in speeches this weekend. After the results were announced, he called for a recount in Texas–a state he won–and Texas complied with recounts in urban areas primarily. So we have a national party that is silent and complicit in these lies and continues to act irresponsibly in these matters. Such actions are meant to destroy public belief in election results and could lead to years of litigation after future elections. Many believe that grounds are being laid to contest elections in 2022 and 2024 when the ex-president expects to again be the candidate of his party. (Tell me that this cannot be so!)

Two editorials this weekend sounded alarms about these concerns.  The first is an opinion piece by Robert Kagan and covers almost 3 pages in the Washington Post. He sets out the possibility of a dismal scenario for our near future: “The United States is heading into its greatest political and constitutional crisis since the Civil War, with a reasonable chance over the next three to four years of incidents of mass violence, a breakdown of federal authority, and the division of the country into warring red and blue enclaves. The warning signs may be obscured by the distractions of politics, the pandemic, the economy, and global crises, and by wishful thinking and denial.” 

He further describes the country as already being in a Constitutional crisis as the amateurish “Stop the Steal” efforts have become a national organized effort to control local election boards which are expected to regulate future elections. He criticizes the leaders of the “Republican Party as being a Zombie party with leaders going through the motions of governing even as the power in the party has leached away to Trump.”

He noted that a handful of responsible election officials in states such as Georgia kept the election results honest; he indicated that the party will not allow that mistake in the future if given their way with local officials.

As others, including General Milley, have written, he writes that the charismatic fascist leader always starts with a modest agenda which is eventually increased as well-meaning leaders appease it. Kagan further indicates: “For many Americans, Trump is the answer to their fears and resentments….his egomania is part of his appeal…his victimization claims against the media and the elites echo their own sense of victimization…..they believe that the US government has been taken over, [as he claims], by socialists, minority groups and sexual deviants.”

He further states: “It would be foolish to imagine that the violence of Jan. 6 was an aberration that will not be repeated. Because Trump supporters see those events as a patriotic defense of the nation, there is every reason to expect more such episodes.”

He issues a call to action for whatever reasonable Republicans there might be out there, such as those who voted for Impeachment, to exercise some leadership, to join with Democrats in crafting a responsible Voting Rights Law that can override the excesses in local elections being crated in some states. The elder statesmen of the party, even when out of office, have shown no such courage to date with the possible modest exception of George Bush. Kagan issues a challenge for bold actions which might lose them an election but might save the country.

The second article I found on this topic was in the New York Times and was written by Jamelle Bouie: Titled: “Trump had a mob, he also had a plan”,–he discusses further his incredulity at the Eastman memo and the machinations the White House undertook to override the election results. After reviewing the facts of January 6^th and the failure of those efforts, he states: “None of this should make you feel good or cause you to breathe a sigh of relief. Consider what we know. A prominent, respected member in good standing of the conservative legal establishment — Eastman is enrolled in the Federalist Society and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — schemed with the president and his allies in the Republican Party to overturn the election and overthrow American democracy under the Constitution. Yes, they failed to keep Trump in office, but they successfully turned the pro forma electoral counting process into an occasion for real political struggle.”

He concludes: On Jan. 20, Joe Biden became president and Donald Trump slunk off to Mar-a-Lago to lick his wounds. But the country did not actually return to normalcy. Jan. 6 closed the door on one era of American politics and opened the door to another, where constitutional democracy itself is at stake. There are things we can do to protect ourselves — legal experts have urged Congress to revise the Electoral Count Act to close off any Eastman-esque shenanigans — but it is clear, for now at least, that the main threat to the security and stability of the United States is coming from inside the house.”

So, are you scared yet? Can you believe it took Dan Quayle to convince the VP to act lawfully? I think that many people, now some nine months later, are finally realizing the extremes which the former president tried to keep himself in power. Why is that? Does he really believe his lies? Is he afraid of jail for all of his unlawful activities over the years, now that he no longer has immunity from prosecution? Would he overthrow the Rule of Law to suit his own needs, no matter the costs? This is so not the American Way of governing. 

Have we, as a country, lost sight of the values of our forefathers? Are our elected representatives so caught up in their own election cycles that they cannot see the greater need to protect this country from despots and fascist wannabees? Where are the statesmen/women who value the country above their own office? Why have Romney, Sass, and Cassidy gone silent? Are Reps. Cheney and Kinzinger the only Republicans with backbone? Contrast them with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who has made herself into a mockery of who she used to be with her sycophancy. Where are the Governors and other leaders who will tell Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy to put their country first and not put the country into a shutdown or force a deficit for purely partisan gain? What has happened to our functional democracy? What will happen in the future?  Where are the Americans who will stand up and speak out and say enough of this? I see no happy endings here unless they do; what about you?

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Some brief words about the virus and vaccines. The Director of the CDC overrode the conclusions of her advisors and widened the population eligible for booster shots. Pfizer indicated that they have applied for emergency use approval for a low dose vaccine for 5-11-year-olds and should hear within a few weeks. Maryland case numbers continue to be high with a 16% increase in cases, although vaccinations have also increased in the state to reach 64%. Montgomery, Howard, and Frederick Counties have vaccination levels of 75%, 73%, and 66% respectively.

COVID stats – NY Times:

US Totals: Total Cases: 42,905,619. New Cases: 119,883.

                  Total Deaths:    688,157. New Deaths: 2,031.

Maryland Totals: 9/24/21–Total Cases: 525,123. New cases: 1,363.

                                            Total Deaths: 10,362. New Deaths: 14.

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I haven’t visited the panda for a while – check out this link for some splashing smiles:

“Til next week – Peace!

The Case for Justice

 

Back in 2000, when Bush v Gore was decided by a 5-4 Supreme Court decision, many felt that the Court had acted hastily and did not adequately weigh the matters at hand. Others believed strongly that the Court decision was partisan with Justice Sandra Day O’Connor casting the swing vote in favor. A cartoon of that day showed the justices in robes with elephant legs–as they say, a picture is worth 1000 words. Pro Publica reviewed that decision recently here. The Republican Justices at that time were: Chief Justice Rehnquist, and Justices Thomas, Scalia, Alito, and O’Connor. As noted above, O’Connor has later indicated that she regretted that decision. (Too late now!) Answering in dissent were Ginsberg, Kennedy, Breyer, and Stevens.

For the Court to work, it needs to be considered impartial and fair. Many recent decisions were not viewed that way by many and have been discussed in this column previously. So just what is “justice” anyway? As I was curious about descriptions for justice, I looked up some quotes and found these:

· “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” Benjamin Franklin.

· “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Reinhold Niebuhr.

· “If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected-those precisely who need the law’s protection most!-and listens to their testimony.” James Baldwin.

· “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The public usually sees the Supreme Court by virtue of the decisions it produces and weighs them by the balance it shows. The upcoming session which, starts in October, has already accepted issues concerning abortion and gun rights, both of which are controversial. However, in recent years, the Court has accepted fewer and fewer cases for review, often sending them back to a lower court or not accepting particular petitions. The former president often tried to bypass the lower courts and go directly to the Supreme Court in his elections and immigration issues; sometimes they allowed this, other times the court refused to hear his case. Cases addressed on the “shadow docket” never get a full hearing and often are decided with unsigned opinions. According to this article in the American Bar Association death penalty review, knowing how and why decisions are made is integral to the public’s understanding and trust in the court. A single justice often heard appeals against former Attorney General Barr’s rush to execute many federal prisoners on death row before he left office and they could go forward without public notices or review. The court receives between 7-8000 petitions per year and usually hears fewer than 60.

Recently Justices Thomas and Barrett have blamed the press for comments about partisan decisions about the court. Both indicated that the court was nonpartisan. Barrett pointed to the many unanimous decisions, but others have noted that many of those did not apply to the issues of concern by the country at large, but instead addressed points of law that needed limited clarification. Writing in the Guardian in opposition to her remarks, David Sirota notes she is trying to say ‘war is peace’ and trying to convince the public with absolute hypocrisy, (or as others have said, she is trolling us!). Noting that three justices (Barrett, Kavanaugh, and Roberts) worked in the years before their appointments for the Republicans trying to get George Bush declared President in the 2000 Supreme Court case noted above, Sirota showed they were partisan before they were ever nominated. Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, writing in Bloomberg Law, noted that Justice Thomas also commented on the impartiality of the Court and indicated he thought the media missed the nuances in many of the decisions of the court. He insisted the decisions were not being written for personal preference. 

Even Justice Breyer weighed in from the pages of his new book, claiming that I based his decisions on the law. He believes that the court should not be manipulated, as some have suggested, by adding more members and states that the court needs to explain its processes better so that it can continue to have the confidence of the people. He also stated that he was not yet ready to retire which gave many Democrats headaches and heartburn as they are concerned that they may lose the Senate in the mid-terms and Senator McConnell could stop any Biden nominees, should Breyer die or have to step down. The Senator has already indicated that he would not allow any Biden nominee to proceed to confirmation, much as he did with President Obama’s nomination of Judge Garland. A belief in Republican absolute power is the only belief McConnell seems to have.

Writing in the Washington Post, Jacqui Calmes notes that Justice Kavanaugh lied to Senators in multiple hearings both for his Court appointment and for lower court positions. She further reports that during the hearings where Christine Blasey Ford made her accusations about his conduct, the FBI received over 4,500 tips against his early behaviors, which were subsequently buried by the White House. Other lawyers, citizens, and judges considered his credibility suspect and claimed they could prove he knew about stolen Democratic emails, which he claimed to be unaware of during his hearings for the Appeals Court position. Their protests went to the Judicial Court Review but were eventually declared moot once he was on the Court. (Whew, he missed that one by a hair!) Calmes reports he also went from the Starr investigation of Clinton to the Florida Bush contest to the Bush White House and cannot be considered impartial. Many also thought him to be still angry about the damage to his reputation from the recent Senate hearings and ready to exact payback. Still, Ruth Marcus, also in the Post, notes that protesters who showed up at his home to weigh in against his Texas abortion decision crossed a line, which should not happen. I agree they should not intimidate families.

So, it seems that the Court is yet another institution that the former president has tainted. Perhaps some of this publicity will help to push the pendulum of justice back toward the center where it belongs. I guess that readers here would like to trust the Court; it has always been an institution we value. But recently, with the stakes so high in a divided nation, we need to believe that we can trust in the impartiality of the Justices’ decisions. Lately, their actions have made us wonder.

We need a strong Congress to pass laws that are not ambiguous about voting rights to overturn the Selby County decision. Some say we need a constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United; I would rather see Congress pass legislation that clarifies the errors in the ‘corporations are people's decisions and allows dark money. The delays in passing voting legislation which could affect redistricting and gerrymandering almost seem too late if something is not enacted soon. Senator Manchin keeps talking about getting a bipartisan decision and has rewritten the Senate Bill, which differs from the one already passed by the House. Something needs to pass now. It is time to remove the filibuster from non-financial laws. More delays, it appears, are not productive. Manchin is now making noises about delaying the presidents’ major infrastructure bill until next year. Who gave him this much power? Leader Schumer should organize his Democratic caucus, but many fear that Manchin will give into entreaties from McConnell and change parties which would then make McConnell the Majority leader, so everyone is walking on eggs.

More on 9-11:

Last week I mentioned I did not have time to discuss an alternative column about 9-11, so I will do so now. Laila Lalami, (who is a Muslim author) writing in the New York Times, noted that American Muslims remember those days differently from most other Americans. For some, they became days of detention, surveillance, special registrations, and restrictions. Others were subjected to unwarranted attacks because of their physical appearance or attire. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and its threat levels heightened tensions among many immigrant populations. Provisions of the Patriot Act threatened the freedom and privacy of all of us. Still, once the former president came into office, others were trapped outside the country and not allowed to return to America to see their families or go to a Muslim country for a relative’s funeral. His Muslim ban caused much hardship among Muslim-American citizens. I can understand parts of her arguments as I worry that sometimes we glorify war when war is a failure of people to communicate and comprehend. Some do not wish to avoid war. Many Americans initially believed that going into Afghanistan was justified; few people I know agreed that invading Iraq was necessary, despite the PR campaigns of Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Economist, lessened American standing in the world as our troops and others were allowed to torture, and our military no longer accounted for civilian deaths. According to Lalami, Americans fighting in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq led to the deaths of thousands of civilians. Unlike in Vietnam, the military no longer gave out daily ‘body counts’; (many of those were inaccurate, anyway then.) {She states, without validation, that additional bombings killed over 800,000 people, including 335,000 civilians in countries such as Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and Syria, and led to the displacement of over 38 million people. Pretty terrible, if true.} 

According to United Nations tallies in Afghanistan alone in the last twelve years, there have been over 50,000 civilian casualties, which include about 20,000 deaths. (We should also note that the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, the Kurds, Syrian troops, and others also contributed to uncounted numbers of civilian deaths across that area; almost 5,000 American and additional allied forces were also killed in the two decades of war.) The military term ‘collateral damage’ somehow does not cover this situation well.

This week, the American military apologized for a remotely targeted bombing of a car in Kabul, which killed several adults and children of an innocent Afghan family that the military had mistakenly claimed was affiliated with ISIS. Investigative reporting on the ground led to the reversal of previous claims by the Americans.

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Some brief notes on the COVID pandemic–cases and death totals continue. This week we reached over 42 million cases in the United States! On Friday, an FDA panel advised booster shots for those over 65 and others who are immunocompromised. The President had hoped to open up the third shot to all vaccinated people, but the experts do not advise that. About a million people a day are getting vaccinated, but we still have quite a ways to go to be considered fully vaccinated. Maryland is now 63% fully vaccinated. Tennessee, West Virginia, and Alaska lead the country with the highest numbers of cases per 100,000 population.

COVID Stats- NY Times:

US totals: Total Cases: 42, 015,351. New Cases: 148,202

     Total Deaths: 673,929.  New Deaths: 2,011.

Maryland Totals: as of 9/17/21: Total cases: 516,784. New Cases:1,525 (highest in months!)

                                                    Total Deaths:10,250. New Deaths: 12.

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Guess I ran long this week; so much happening! Latest news from the Washington Zoo–some big cats i.e., Lions and Tigers–oh my! tested positive for COVID and have been vaccinated.

“Til next week-Peace!

Lessons from 911?

As I was becoming an adult in the turbulent sixties, several events had outside influences on our generation. Of course, major events were the Vietnam War, the anti-war movement, and the division in the country about this war. This decade saw the rise of the civil rights, women’s rights, and black power movements. It also saw the killings of many men who were important to this age. We saw the deaths of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Muslim leader Malcolm X, President Kennedy, Dr. King, and Senator Robert Kennedy all in that brief period. Citizens later learned that our government spied on the anti-war movement and that Hoover’s FBI moved slowly to support civil rights demonstrations and wire-tapped Dr. King. Many believed their world was in turmoil.

This week we saw the twentieth anniversary of the 911 terrorist attacks. For those who saw the attacks on TV or were there in person, these memories will never fade and will remain sealed in their brains. It was the first time our nation was attacked on our soil since Pearl Harbor. The range of attacks in multiple places increased fear and disruption. Cell phones and other communications functioned poorly or not at all, so people trying to find loved ones were often unsuccessful. All airplanes were grounded, and no planes flew in or out of the country. At first, they thought that up to ten thousand people were killed there since over twenty thousand worked among the two buildings; later the numbers were found to be fewer than 3000. Sadly, that number included over 300 firefighters and police officers in New York City alone. Friends and relatives covered the areas around the devastation in Manhattan with photos of missing loved ones in a heartbreaking search for many who would never be found. Hospitals geared up for mass casualties which never appeared and blood banks collected blood for victims who would never be rescued as the remains were often pulverized. I cried when I saw the firefighters going into buildings from which they would never return.

Scenes at the Pentagon included many burned people as jet fuel spilled across the impact area, but construction had moved many offices at the time of the attack so that area was almost empty; this ultimately saved many. 184 people died there (including 59 people from the American Airlines plane) and many others were severely injured.

In Shanksville, PA, all 40 passengers, and 4 hijackers were killed when the crew and passengers of United Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and flew the plane into the ground.

For today’s generation, these terrible events connected them to my era, where everyone knew where they were when they learned that President Kennedy or Dr. King were assassinated. I would venture to say that today all can tell you what they were doing when they saw the towers fall. Around Maryland, DC, and Virginia, offices closed, some people left their cars and took Metro home since traffic snarled. Many parents recounted their need to get home or to the school where their children were being sheltered, just to bring their families together. That evening, local streets were almost deserted. I remember trying all day to reach my college-age son in North Carolina, but calls were not going through. He, at the same time, was trying to reach me, as he had heard that bombs were going off across the city (they were not, but rumors reigned for a while) and he knew that I sometimes had clients downtown. Families wanted to connect and in this nation of people who move around a lot, it meant many people were trying to reach out.

Time seems to stop and events move almost in slow motion when sudden tragedy impacts our days. At first, the brain cannot process what is happening. Scenes from the World Trade Center, broadcast again this week, showed people running in confusion, losing shoes and purses along the way; pausing only to breathe, even as the air was full of toxic fumes.

For a short while, America and the world stood together against these acts of terror and condemned the terrorists, many of whom were from Saudi Arabia, and followed a millionaire Islamic terrorist called Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden apparently wanted Americans out of the Middle East, wanted them to stop supporting leaders he deemed insufficiently devout and wanted Russia out of Afghanistan. He wanted to establish more fundamental Islamic rulers in the Middle East. The US government also considered him responsible for the bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, as well as the suicide bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. It seems amazing that he was not being tracked by our CIA, since he was in charge of Al Qaeda. Later, the 911 commission would bring out the important fact that much of our intelligence was siloed in separate entities, and vital information was not shared.

Americans united against this threat from outside our shores. Almost immediately, sadly, in this country, hate crimes against Muslims started happening; many Americans who were Muslim were arrested without cause or held on suspicion. Few Americans understood Muslim fundamentalists then, any more than now. Many asked why America was hated by the fundamentalist groups. Obviously, there were conflicts of cultures prominent here. Bin Laden was enormously rich; he was from a wealthy Saudi family and was one of 54 children from a father who had many wives. He also had several wives. His life could not be more different from most Americans. But, as he became radicalized, he disdained his wealth except as it could be used to buy arms and allow him to travel and find places to hide. America responded to these attacks by bombing and invading Afghanistan, as that was his most recent home and where the Taliban had sheltered him. Later he was found in Pakistan, which sheltered him, almost in the open, after he left Afghanistan. It was there, in 2011, that American Special Forces captured and killed him, thus ending a sad chapter.

Peter Bergen, writing for CNN, claims that Bin Laden has changed history and, in many ways, he has. America has spent trillions of dollars and used a generation of our military fighters to wage wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have both been deemed failures. Thousands of our young men and women were injured severely or were killed. We did not even tally the numbers of civilians killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it is said to be in the hundreds of thousands. Our daily lives here at home were changed by security measures at airports and rules about carrying liquids on airplanes and removing our shoes before boarding planes. The Patriot Act took away some of our rights. Our country, which certainly had divisions before 911, saw the period of unity as brief, then returned to widen the existing fissures. (Another author writing in the Times was Laila Lalami, who wrote from the perspective of a Muslim–I will review her comments next week.)

Heather Cox Richardson, writing her column “Letters from An American”, mentioned former President Bush’s words after he spoke at Shanksville yesterday and decried extremists from within, for which he has received praise. “There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home, he said and added, both must be confronted.”

However, she found a direct connection from his actions, which divided the country when he was President, and a president who denied the election results, to the insurrectionists of January 6^th.

“The 9/11 attacks enabled Republicans to tar those who questioned the administration’s economic or foreign policies as un-American: either socialists or traitors making the nation vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Surely, such people should not have a voice at the polls. Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression began to shut Democratic voices out of our government, aided by a series of Supreme Court decisions. In 2010, the court opened the floodgates of corporate money into our elections to sway voters; in 2013, it gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act; in 2021, it said that election laws that affected different groups of voters unevenly were not unconstitutional.”

Dan Balz, writing in the Washington Post today, said that although the attacks of 911 united the country for a short time, by 2002 many of the divisions had returned. Although the war in Afghanistan was started immediately, the gear up to the War in Iraq was mired in lies and controversy. He quoted the late Senator McCain in 2006, who called the country more divided and partisan than he had ever seen it. According to Balz, Republicans, beginning with Reagan, started the efforts to limit votes by Democrats and started claiming fraud. Before the election in 2000, Republicans in Florida culled over 100,000 voters from the rolls; most were African Americans who frequently voted for Democrats. (Remember, Bush won Florida by only slightly over 500 contested votes and his brother was the Governor of Florida then.) So, what we are seeing in Texas and Georgia today are only different plays from the same playbooks. According to some Republicans, if the Democrats win an election, it must be fraudulent. Balz also faulted the government for lack of imagination by never expecting that we would be attacked on our shores, even though signs were seen from attacks across the globe.

Today also Spencer Ackerman, writing an op-ed for the New York Times, indicated that September 11^th gave us January 6^th. He wrote that 911 allowed Americans to think of themselves as counter-terrorists and excused the rise of local militias. He said many white extremists applauded the MAGA crowds who wanted the Muslim ban, cheered when President Obama was denounced as a Muslim, and supported white supremacy.

He concludes with this statement: “But the most durable terrorism in this country is white people’s terrorism. A war cannot defeat it. Persistent political struggle can. We need organized grass-roots action to unseat insurrectionist allies from office, to overturn the structural works of white supremacy like voter-suppression laws, and to abolish the institutional architecture of the war on terror before it threatens even more American lives and freedoms. That, not empty declarations of finality, is the only way to truly end the Sept. 11 era.”

So, what have we learned? Perhaps, as the cartoon character POGO once said: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” No one can destroy our democracy but we, ourselves, by letting measures pass which we know are anti-democratic. By following the liars who claim voter fraud in order to restrict legal voters, by allowing demagogues to be elected, we defeat ourselves and our democracy. 911 has allowed us to distrust our more honorable instincts and go with the flow of the liars and haters. We need to turn back and find, as is said, our better angels.

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Brief COVID news: President Biden announced sweeping mandates for federal employees and employers of over 100 persons in an attempt to quell the spread of the Delta virus. This was met with frenzied cries against mandates by many of the Republican governors who are part of the problem. More next week.

COVID stats NY Times: 9-12-21

US Totals: Total Cases: 41,025,335. New Cases: 145,724.

                   Total Deaths: 659,806.  New Deaths: 1,648.

Maryland totals continue to rise: 9-10-21

Total Cases: 508,017. New Cases: 1,553. Total Deaths: 10,139. New Deaths: 15.

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I will close with a quote from President Lincoln: “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”

‘Til next week – Peace!

Vigilantes Empowered in Texas

 

 

The Supreme Court (SCOTUS) 7-2  decision 1973 Roe vs. Wade:

“The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state action the right to privacy, and a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion falls within that right to privacy. A state law that broadly prohibits abortion without respect to the stage of pregnancy or other interests violates that right. Although the state has legitimate interests in protecting the health of pregnant women and the “potentiality of human life,” the relative weight of each of these interests varies over the course of pregnancy, and the law must account for this variability.

In the first trimester of pregnancy, the state may not regulate the abortion decision; only the pregnant woman and her attending physician can make that decision. In the second trimester, the state may impose regulations on abortion that are reasonably related to maternal health. In the third trimester, once the fetus reaches the point of “viability,” a state may regulate abortions or prohibit them entirely, so long as the laws contain exceptions for cases when abortion is necessary to save the life or health of the mother.”

(An all-male Supreme Court decided this case as there were no women justices at that time.)

As many of you know, I am a Registered Nurse. I have been one for almost 60 years, although I am now retired from active work. But I was a hospital-based nurse in Washington, DC, before the decision quoted above. I did not count how many patients I saw who were treated for botched, so-called back-alley abortions, but there were more than a few. Those were the days before easily obtained oral birth control medications. For many years, there were no easy options for legal abortions in the United States; although anyone who could afford to leave the country could receive care at Swiss clinics. In 1971, New York allowed legal abortions for pregnancies up to the gestational age of 24 weeks. A few other states also then allowed the procedure, but some made it allowable for state residents only. Five-Thirty-Eight wrote an analysis of the time and the difficulties when poor women had to find the money not only for the medical procedure but also for bus or plane tickets and lodging after they traveled to a distant site.

Sadly, I have not only seen women severely ill from infections after illegal abortions; I have also seen teenagers die. One I remember to this day was only 15 and had a generalized abdominal infection because the instrument used had perforated her uterus and bowel. Unfortunately, she died from the infection. The effects of the law just passed in Texas sets the stage for many more women to die this way. Most women do not know that they are pregnant at six weeks of gestation, so the law is difficult to obey. However, the net effect is that all legal abortion providers in Texas have shut down. Poor women in Texas with unwanted pregnancies, even those from rape or incest, can no longer end a pregnancy in a safe medical clinic in the Lone Star State. While medications can end pregnancies at certain stages, even those medications ordered from mail-order pharmacies will be off-limits under the restricted law (SB4). According to the Texas Tribune: Alexis McGill Johnson, president, and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America,….. said her organization would exhaust every avenue to fight the law from coming into effect. “The harm this law will cause will be insurmountable for far too many Texans, particularly Black, Latino, Indigenous people, those with low incomes, and Texans in rural areas who already face significant barriers to care,” Johnson said in a statement.

I am not pro-abortion but I am “pro-choice”. A woman needs to be able to make healthcare decisions affecting her body and her life. As a mother of two children who were wanted and loved, I understand how hard decisions to end a pregnancy must be. I personally could not have made that choice, but I understand my circumstances differ from many others. When I had children, I was educated, married, employed, and had access to medical care. Often, women have none of these options, already have a large family, or have no choice about becoming pregnant. Why should some nosy zealot be able to interfere in what has been declared a woman’s right to privacy? Why should these vigilantes be allowed to intrude on personal and difficult decisions?

According to CDC, the abortion rate in 2018 was 11.3 abortions per 1000 women aged 15-44. Nearly all abortions (91.5%) were performed at a level under 13 weeks of pregnancy. Although reporting is incomplete, in 2018 at least 50% of all abortions were medical abortions (meaning that pills were taken to end the pregnancy). Abortions for teenagers have decreased in numbers, so education may have helped limit pregnancies around those ages.

So, where do we go from here? Many abortion foes are counting on a positive decision by the Supreme Court regarding a Mississippi law that was planned to challenge Roe v Wade and outlawed abortions after 15 weeks-this has been followed by a six-week heartbeat law, also in Mississippi. Despite all Justices having said that Roe vs. Wade is settled law, the several justices appointed during the previous 4 years (Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett) are all known as conservatives who have not decided on an issue of this magnitude, but who joined the older conservatives in not staying the Texas law. Chief Justice Roberts joined the liberal faction in calling this law unconstitutional. Texas tried to get cute with this law and used a provision under civil law which allows citizens to report a crime. The justices may have deferred because no cases have yet occurred as the law just went into effect. The law not only allows but encourages citizens to report abortion providers, their staff, even the taxi driver who drives a woman to a clinic where it is suspected that she might receive an ultrasound and be declared pregnant and schedule further care. Although the pregnant woman cannot be fined, everyone in that clinic could be. In short, this puts women on the doorstep of their healthcare providers under the watchful eyes of vigilantes-who in Texas, no longer need a permit to open carry a weapon-who can harass them. In fact, one need not be a Texas resident to challenge this law as they extended the privilege to any US citizen. If prosecuted successfully in civil court, it carries a $10,000 bounty to the finder, with legal fees if they uphold the court challenge. The Wild Wild West rides again!

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COVID and the Delta variant are still with us. There are new reports about a new variant called MU which has already been found in several states and other countries. It follows the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Eta, Iota, and Lambda variants that preceded it. Each has gained a footing in countries where large numbers of people have not yet been vaccinated. That is why it is so important to increase worldwide vaccinations. The MU variant is currently being watched closely as some scientists from the World Health Organization are concerned that it may be more resistant to the vaccines than other variants. Currently, over 102, 734 patients are hospitalized across the country. Some numbers in the south are finally declining, but numbers in the Mid-Atlantic are increasing. The leader is South Carolina, which is only 44% vaccinated and is reporting a 50% increase in cases with 5.445 fresh cases. Tennessee and Kentucky round out the top three with the highest case counts. US cases are now topping 40 million.

Maryland, which is 62% vaccinated, is showing a 14% increase in recent cases. Maryland students are returning to school with a statewide mask mandate. Authorities expect that Hurricane Ida and the flooding and disruption it has caused from Louisiana to New England might also increase case numbers in future weeks.

COVID stats NY Times:

US totals: Total Cases: 40,004,444. New Cases: 161,210.

                  Total Deaths: 648,264.     New Deaths: 1,558.

Maryland Totals: Total Cases: (as of 9/3/21) 501,035. New Cases: 1387.

                               Total deaths: 10,051. New Deaths: 11.

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Many residents in the New Orleans area are still without power or water after the devastation from Ida. The storm severely affected the power grid as the strength of the winds, over 150 mph, toppled all the towers which carry transmission lines. Water cannot be pumped and they cannot distribute gasoline without power. Some areas remain underwater. FEMA is on-site, but it cannot be as effective when mobility is so constricted. The storm caused tornadoes up the East coast as it dumped torrents of rain and flooded streets, subways, and basement apartments. Meanwhile, the West continues to fight massive fires, one of which caused South Lake Tahoe to be evacuated. There are few words to ease the pain of any of those tragic survivors.

Climate change deniers must find it harder to make their case these days as extreme weather has caused turmoil from north to south and coast to coast.

The Labor Day Holiday is tomorrow-no room to say more at this time, except to applaud all of those city workers, union nurses, high wire linesmen, and FEMA employees who are working over this weekend to help keep all of us safe. Cheers!

“Til next week – Peace!

The Furies of August

 

We usually think of August as a sleepy month. Europe goes on vacation, as does Congress and much of the Federal government. Trips to beaches, mountains, and national parks are planned in the last gasp to enjoy summer before schools, colleges and the government get back to business as usual.

Some famous poets have described August:

August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time.– Sylvia Plath

Breathe the sweetness that hovers in August.– Denise Levertov.

This morning, the sun endures past dawn. I realize that it is August: the summer’s last stand.– Sara Baume

The month of August had turned into a griddle where the days just lay there and sizzled.–Sue Monk Kidd

And finally:

August is that last flicker of fun and heat before everything fades and dies. The final moments of fun before the freeze. In the winter, everything changes.– Rasmenia Massoud.

So, how do we reconcile these comments with the actuality of August 2021 when we are seeing a resurgent Delta Covid outbreak across the US, Hurricanes Henri and Ida causing weather damage in both New England and in areas around New Orleans and surrounding cities.  And, of course, there is a continuing crisis in Afghanistan. Where to start?

Well, Henri did not do as much damage as predicted although it had large amounts of rain and some areas lost power; however, Ida is another story. Striking New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana on the 16^th anniversary of the arrival of Katrina, this storm is packing a powerful punch. As I am writing tonight, Ida came ashore as a Category 4 and has now been downgraded to a Category 2 storm with winds around 105 miles per hour and gusts over 140 miles per hour. In addition to the winds, large amounts of rain are falling, perhaps up to one inch per hour. New Orleans is without power and is being pelted with winds and rains. The high winds have severely damaged the power grid. Levees around the city so far are holding, but not all pumps are working, which is a concern, as the city is below sea level. Roofs are being lifted off their foundations, trees are being topped and uprooted as the storm and its furies pass through. Hospitals, which continue to be full with Covid patients, are running on backup generators. Low-lying areas along the coast are reporting storm surges and flooding with some residents stranded. They will not know the full extent of damages until the storm passes and daylight comes. Luckily, only one death has been reported so far; hopefully, deaths and injuries will remain low.

In Afghanistan, the remarkable United States Military airlift continues despite some injuries to our troops and the tragic deaths of 13 young servicemen and women due to the actions of an ISIS-affiliated suicide bomber outside the Airport gates. The bombers’ actions also killed and injured over 200 Afghan citizens.  Despite many difficulties and a less than stellar start, as of Friday, over 110,600 people – (over 5000 Americans and others) have been evacuated from the airport.  Approximately 1500 Americans remain in the country and have yet to be evacuated. Some may be unable to get to the airport, others may have dual citizenship and do not want to leave at this time. Many Afghan citizens who believe that they are on the Taliban “kill list” due to their service with US or NATO forces could not make it to Kabul or are in hiding somewhere in the city. Many could not get the special identification papers that they need to be permitted to leave.

Many in Congress have overly politicized this evacuation, criticized the inability to remove all affiliated Afghan citizens, and demanded the negotiated leave date be extended. Some such as Senator Lindsey Graham sputtered and postured, calling for impeachment. Others called for Benghazi-type hearings and claimed when they (the Republicans) regain the House, they will hold President Biden accountable. Whatever happened to rallying around the flag and the President when America was attacked?

Others claimed that the Taliban will execute women who entered professions across the nation of Afghanistan as soon as the Americans leave and claim that the US has abandoned the rights of women to a savage fate. The Taliban claims it needs the talents of all and will not act savagely. Will they allow girls to continue education in schools and universities? I certainly do not know, but I hope they will allow that in the cities where these habits have taken hold. I doubt that the remote villages will see much change as they changed little under the previous government. Only time will tell what will happen. There is one train of thought that indicates the Taliban do not know how to run a country, an airport, or an economy and need international help. Turkey and Qatar have been reported as possible countries whose forces have been asked to man an international airport. The Taliban forces have not ransacked the Presidential Palace or the abandoned US Embassy and the leaders say they want the Americans to keep a diplomatic presence in Kabul. The State Department has not indicated what the plans are for the future and indicated actions will speak louder than words, so they will wait and see.

The American military struck back at the ISIS forces responsible for the bombing at the airport with a drone strike on individuals outside the city the next day and a targeted airstrike on a vehicle said to be carrying bombs in Kabul today. A rocket attack on the airport was reported this evening but was repelled by the anti-aircraft-type defenses. President Biden announced that America will not forgive nor forget these killings.  Most of the US troops killed were in their early twenties and were just babies when this war started. Two of the dead were women, one of whom had been pictured holding an Afghan baby just a few days before. They were trying to help others and did not deserve to die this way.  My condolences go out to their friends and families.

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As students return to schools and colleges, the Delta variant continues to ravage Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, Louisiana, and South Carolina who are the top five states this week with numbers of cases per 100,000. Florida alone is averaging 246 deaths per day and is still only 52 % vaccinated. In Florida, the number of deaths per day is now higher than at any time since the pandemic started.  Governor DeSantis is pushing Regeneron clinics over mask-wearing – amazing! Since the outbreak across the south, some states are reporting increased numbers of vaccinations; the daily vaccination numbers which had been stagnant are rising across the country. Some physicians believe that the recent full FDA approval for the Pfizer vaccine might increase acceptance by some who were previously reluctant. They advised the third vaccine for immunocompromised patients and a third shot or booster for those who were vaccinated more than six months earlier.

More patients are currently hospitalized across the nation with COVID illnesses (over 100,000) than at any time since the severe winter surge before vaccines were widely available.

The Florida governor’s restriction against mandatory mask-wearing in schools has been ignored by many school districts and overturned by a court. In Maryland, the State Board of Education mandated the wearing of masks in all schools. As can be seen below, the Maryland case numbers are the highest in months; the vaccination rate is 61 % for fully vaccinated. Vermont has the highest vaccination record with 68 % vaccinated; Alabama has the lowest percentage at 37 %.

COVID STATS – NY Times:

US Totals: Total cases: 38,875,807. New Cases: 156,886.

                  Total deaths: 637,356.      New Deaths: 1296.

Maryland Totals: as of 8/27/21

                  Total Cases: 492,547.      New Cases: 1,373.

                   Total Deaths: 9,971.        New Deaths:  8.

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This week saw marches in many states advocating for the passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Last week the House of Representatives on a party-line vote passed the John Lewis Act. Neither Bill is expected to pass in the Senate unless there is some change in the filibuster rule. Meanwhile, in Texas, both houses have passed what many see as an onerous bill with voting restrictions. This is the bill, which brought many Democrats from Texas to boycott their session and come to DC to push for a national voting freedoms act.  After reworking to collate both versions the bill is expected to soon become the law in Texas. Some 18 Republican-led states have passed restrictive laws this year. I agree with many who are worried about the mid-term elections next year. Since the Republicans are a minority party, the only way they can win is with unfair laws and gerrymandering.  I, for one, will work to counter these measures as much as possible with education and getting out the vote. Please join me. Join former Attorney General Eric Holder also as he advocates for fair elections and an end to gerrymandering.

“Til next week – Peace!

Next Steps?

 

Someone once said, “There is never a wrong time to do the right thing”. I have a feeling that phrase might run through President Biden’s mind his week. Leaving Afghanistan was not supposed to be this difficult. And – it was the right step.

·         The American Embassy was supposed to have more time to process visas for those special interpreters and aides to the Americans.

·         The Afghan army was supposed to offer some opposition to the Taliban; the Taliban was not supposed to race through the provinces like General Sherman across the South.

·         The Afghan president was not supposed to leave the country as the Taliban approached Kabul.

·         As American and NATO forces pulled out there appeared to be a vacuum that facilitated the advance of the Taliban army.

However, all of those things happened and greatly complicated the evacuation of Americans and Afghan citizens who helped American troops. It turned out that the only escape option was a single airport in Kabul, which was being guarded by hostile Taliban forces and secured by the Americans. Many advisors had predicted that it would take at least a year to eighteen months for the opposition to advance to Kabul. So, because of the failure of this planning, American military forces had to again be sent to Kabul to protect the evacuation. Over 6000 American troops are now facilitating this evacuation. Subsequently, the forces airlifted embassy personnel to the airport by helicopter.

The military troops have now flown thousands of people out of Afghanistan; thousands more are waiting, some at the airport, others in severe crushes of humanity outside the gates under a blazing sun and high temperatures. Afghan children and the elderly became dehydrated. The crush of the crowds as they surged toward the airport gate trampled some who stood in wait and took the life of a two-year-old child who fell beneath the hordes. Her mother survived but left her post to bury her child. This so should not be happening. This was not the intent of the president as he ordered troops home from a twenty-year war. Where did all of this go wrong?

In an address to the nation today, President Biden indicated that over 28,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan to date. He stated that the evacuations will continue past the August 31^st deadline if necessary. Some talks are going on with the Taliban to possibly extend the flights past the August 31^st negotiated deadline. Other reports note that the Taliban will not move into full control of the city until the Americans leave. Many residents report that the Taliban are already going door-to-door looking for weapons and following lists of former government employees. Additional reports indicate fears that reprisals will begin soon and desperation is increasing across the city, especially among women who believe they will no longer be allowed to work or attend school, despite Taliban claims to the contrary.

In the New York Times today, Adam Nossiter analyzed the Afghan war and Americas’ participation in that war. He indicated that the war the Americans thought they were fighting against the Taliban was not the one their Afghan allies were fighting. He believed this difference changed the effort into a neo-colonial adventure that was doomed from the start. The Taliban members were from the local tribes and villages and to many, their repressions were not considered out of order. Americans are horrified about the whipping of women and denial of their rights, but to many in remote villages, this was customary and supported. So, while women in Kabul made inroads against these traditional customs, those far from the capital did not agree. America could not build a society that resisted change.

Another perspective was noted today in an op-ed in the Washington Post. In this piece, a retired veteran military officer, who had been gravely wounded in Afghanistan, supported the withdrawal and the presidents’ decision. Dan Berchinski noted America could not outlast the Taliban. He indicated that once the mission changed from fighting terrorists to nation-building; we had lost whatever advantage we might have held over the Taliban. Although he is angry that he and others gave up limbs and lives for this effort, he faults the military for always predicting rosy outcomes despite realities that showed otherwise. And, although he agrees with the exit strategy, he also indicates that it should have been better managed. He also states in part: “to cite the messiness of the withdrawal as evidence that the war is worth continuing is shortsighted. Over the past several days, veterans such as myself have been asked if our service was in vain. My answer is that it won’t be if we draw the correct lesson from recent events and recognize that heartbreaking news footage, as awful as it is, is no justification for perpetuating an unwinnable war.”

Another opinion also appearing in the Post was that of Fareed Zakaria who after noting that over thirty meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) were held in recent months to plan the withdrawal, indicated that he thought the planning did not lead to an action plan, but perhaps memos about one. He felt that maybe the NSC and the Pentagon have too many layers of bureaucracy to affect a workable solution. Zakaria also cited the recent Afghanistan Papers published by the Post which reported that the military would give a sunny picture to the outsider, while to themselves, they spoke in less certain terms and voiced skepticism. He concluded that success is still possible if the administration stops meeting and starts doing.

I believe that the President made the correct decision to end a war that we were not going to ever win. I think the evacuation should have started sooner and that he should not have deferred to the wishes of the Afghan President to delay those moves. He obviously did not think that Kabul would fall to the Taliban so rapidly and thought that there was more time to move people. Reports came out this week that presidential aide Stephen Miller in the previous administration deliberately complicated the procedures which would have allowed our Afghan allies to get necessary permits to come to America. That, in addition to the hollowing out of experienced diplomats under both Secretaries of State Pompeo and Tillerson, made it difficult for a truncated staff to efficiently function. I think most Americans agree that we should try as much as possible to allow free passage to all of our allies who need to leave. However, I regret that the rapid takeover will keep many from outlying areas from navigating through dangerous checkpoints manned by the Taliban to make it safely to Kabul and the airport. That rapid collapse of the local military, which was not foreseen, was a serious miscalculation.

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Currently, the Delta variant continued its rapid swath across much of the South this past week as cases rose across the nation. The CDC is close to getting FDA approval to add a third vaccine or booster shot for many who are immunocompromised or over 65. Additionally, The World Health Organization begged developed nations to not give third shots when much of the less developed world has yet to get even one vaccine dose. In Afghanistan, it is estimated that approximately 2.4% are vaccinated, for example. That country has reported more than 7,000 deaths and over 150,000 infections, according to Reuters. Some social scientists are concerned about a wider gap between nations with vaccines and those without and the possibility of even greater social upheaval due to the lack of adequate healthcare infrastructure. Meanwhile, Governor DeSantis of Florida is threatening local school boards with loss of funding should they require masks in their schools.  He continues to rants even as his state reports a total of 3.04 million cases, with 12,636 new cases of Delta variants and an overall total of 42,252 deaths. Alabama has reported having no available ICU beds due to its overwhelming level of severe unvaccinated COVID patients. The top five states with percentages of populations afflicted are Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee. (You remember Tennessee, the state where the vaccine director was fired and they threatened health care workers in recent weeks!) Nationally vaccinations have begun to rise again with a daily average of around 1 million doses a day. Maybe some people are finally getting the message!

In Maryland, the new cases are more than ten times what they were a few short weeks ago. The state rate of being fully vaccinated is now 60%.

COVID Stats – NY Times:

US totals:  Total Cases: 37,777,607. New Cases: 149,675. 

Total Deaths: 628,288.  New deaths: 1,008.

Maryland Totals: 8/20/21 – Total Cases: 484,847. New Cases: 1,206.

Total Deaths: 9,922. New Deaths: 6.

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Fortunately, Hurricane Henri was not as devastating as it could have been to New York and New England, although it left lots of rain and some power outages along the way. Sending wishes for sunnier days!

I cannot quit today without linking to the birthday party for the panda cub Xiao Qi Ji as that cute little one turns one-year-old! Happy Birthday, little guy!

‘Til next week – peace!

The Taliban Takes Charge

 

Today the President of Afghanistan fled and left the country to the care of the Taliban. His troops had offered little resistance to the advances of the renegade terrorist forces. This president has long been considered corrupt and one who had little connection to the general populace. However, he was the head of the country and, until now, the head of a mostly functional government. As I see it, this is a catastrophic end to a sad war. This situation offers lots of questions but provides few answers.

Why did this happen?

Could this breakdown have been predicted and prevented?

Where were our military and CIA intelligence on these matters?

Should we have moved staff and supporters before we announced the dates of our withdrawal?

What will happen to the women who remain? How will girls have access to education? The country employed Afghan women in positions across the government for many of the last twenty years; will the civil service just dissolve? Does public service disappear? Will women meekly return to the Draconian medieval rule of the Taliban as seen before the war? Where is the moral authority that can challenge these policies? Today, there are 40 million people living in Afghanistan. What does the future hold for them?

Pundits say that western nations will have little influence over the actions of the Taliban while other countries such as China and Russia will try to get influence eventually to take minerals and other wealth. Some consider Pakistan and some other nearby Islamic countries, such as Iran, as allies, and are currently allowing some refugees to enter.

There are already tales of executions in other parts of the country and punishments for women who are seen using smartphones or being out of their homes unaccompanied by a male relative.

Others say that the Taliban has changed; that the new leaders will try to govern, but this seems doubtful. They already have control of all the millions of dollars worth of military equipment which Americans left the Afghans so that they could defend their country. Who knows if we could destroy all sensitive material as the Embassy was abandoned? What leverage do the Americans have to change anything now?

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) said that ‘this was a failure of intelligence as the US underestimated the Taliban and overestimated the ability of the Afghan forces.’ It appears that once Ben Laden was located and killed, then our anti-terrorist mission in the country was abandoned and we instead fought the Taliban. The Taliban has now opened the jails, which held many real terrorists who may again form terrorist cells across the area.

Congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted:

“The Trump/Biden calamity unfolding in Afghanistan began with the Trump administration negotiating with terrorists and pretending they were partners for peace, and is ending with American surrender as Biden abandons the country to our terrorist enemies.”

Of course, she is defending the family association with the war, as her father was one of the biggest cheerleaders for going into Afghanistan (and Iraq) over twenty years ago when he served as VP for President Bush. Generally, Republicans are ‘out tweeting’ themselves in attacks on President Biden for his troop withdrawal decision. But, what decision would they have made–endless war with no solutions? Their president had set an even earlier withdrawal date.

President Biden had expected that the Taliban would gradually take control over the next year and did not expect this rapid fall of the established government. Additional troops are currently arriving in Kabul to stabilize the airport and protect and evacuate the remaining Americans there and remove as many of the Afghans who worked for the US as they can. The US thought that there was more time to get visas for these translators, drivers, guides, and their families. We had already started bringing some to the US and nearby countries for processing, but this was a small number when compared to those who could have been moved. However, reports state that the Taliban is hunting those remaining and killing them for their work with the Americans. Although President Biden indicated such actions would bring international scorn and isolation, others had noted that international opinions mean little to the Taliban and that they prefer being outside the international norms as they create their Islamic state. They have already announced the “new country’s” name as the Islamic Emirate. Many think that the country will again become a haven for Al-Qaeda, Isis, and other terrorist groups.

How did the US get to this point in this too-long war? President Biden has long opposed this war. He was a lone voice in opposition to President Obamas’ agreement to the military surge. President Obama voted against the Iraq War when he was a Senator, but went along when the military assured him the surge in Afghanistan would provide a way to end the US involvement. In case you forgot, that was over ten years ago. The previous president went into “peace talks” with the Taliban, which excluded the Afghans and set in advance the date for withdrawal of US forces. He secured an agreement that the Taliban would not attack Americans once the agreement was in effect. This then allowed the Taliban to just bide their time and wait until the troops left Afghanistan.

I think that President Biden was correct in leaving this war. He could see that there was no way to “win” and that we could not force our will for democracy on a country that did not share our goals. The New York Times noted that the Afghan troops on remote bases relied on Americans for air cover and supplies. Once the Americans stepped back, the local military commands could not maintain supply routes or provide adequate air cover. Soldiers who were left on bases with little food or ammunition just faded into the night and left their bases, armaments and all, as the Taliban approached; often few shots were fired.

Over 600,000 American troops fought in Afghanistan over the last 20 years; there were over 2500 American troops who lost their lives in this war. Countless others returned maimed from war injuries or continue to suffer from traumatic brain injuries or traumatic stress disorder. Aside from the trillions of dollars spent, wars have a human cost that follows long after the shooting stops. But, maybe soon, we can say that the US is no longer at war anywhere.

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This weekend, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake of 7.2 strength; this was even stronger than the quake several years ago in 2010, which almost destroyed the capital of Port-au-Prince and left over 300,000 dead and thousands more injured. The country has yet to recover from that first earthquake and, years later, a subsequent hurricane. Now, this latest earthquake has already claimed over 1300 dead, and another tropical storm heads for the island, even as the search and rescue continue. Fortunately, this quake happened in a less populated portion of the country. The recent assassination of the country’s president and the reality that there is no entity in charge compounds rescue options as gangs roam the streets of the capital city. Americans are sending aid and search and rescue teams, so hopefully, help can arrive before the storm.

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Now to the other news which has us all masking up again and staying inside- the Delta variant. It is now present in every county in this country. The New York Times reports that Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida have the highest rates of cases per 100,000, with rates of 126, 110, and 101 respectively. Florida has over 15,000 residents hospitalized. Texas has over 10,000 patients currently hospitalized with COVID, mostly the Delta variant and most unvaccinated. Case rates are increasing across Maryland and the DC Metro area also, but at lower levels. As schools are getting ready to open for the fall semester, controversies about mask mandates are accelerating. The Florida Governor is continuing his anti-mask rants even as polls show, he is losing popularity over this stance. He has threatened school boards and superintendents if they do not follow his dictates. Children, too young to be vaccinated are becoming quite ill with this variant, a change from the original coronavirus population. The Delta variant spreads much more rapidly and sickens soon after exposure. Texans are also having similar problems with their governor. Isn’t it great to see that parents really want to protect their children and are ready to stand up and defy measures (such as no masks) that they believe are harmful?

Covid Stats - NYTimes:

Total US cases: 36,727,846. New Cases: 130,808. 

Total Deaths: 621,228. New Deaths: 662.

Maryland Totals: 8/13/21: Total Cases: 478,067. New Cases: 950.

Total Deaths: 9,878. New Deaths: 5.

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Could it be possible that once this present debacle is over, that this country is headed for a period of peace and we will have no wars to fight? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a generation grow up and not get battle scars as they enter adulthood? I wonder, if as someone once told me, that the only way to get promoted in the military is to have combat experience, will we find some conflict somewhere that demands our intervention? Who knows? (That said, my three brothers, my husband, my stepfather, and my uncle all served, so I know to not glorify war.)

“Til next week, Peace!