The Wars Against Women & the Pushback!

The following is from the trailer for a new movie starring Viola Davis called the Woman King, which is based on true events from the 19^th Century:

“The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar®-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. Some things are worth fighting for…”

(An all-female African fighting force defended what they held dear. Cheers!)

I have not seen the movie, but I agree with the premise here. Now, there are many things worth fighting for to maintain the way of life that many women have long held dear. Even today, our very democracy is under threat from would-be American autocrats! Where do I even enumerate the issues at hand today? The United States, the home of the free and the brave, has not been brave enough to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in over fifty years. And, no, the need for it has not been outgrown by the bits and pieces of change that we have seen!

We are seeing marchers protesting in the streets today in Iran and beyond because an Iranian morality police contingent arrested and beat a young Kurdish woman, fracturing her skull because she did not cover her hair sufficiently. She died because of this arrest and beating. Women in Iran are risking arrest as they protest; some are discarding their head coverings or hijab and cutting their hair. The religious authorities require strict adherence to their interpretations of religious law and demand that women wear head coverings and long knee-length wraps and long garments or pants to their ankles. Women may show only their hands, feet, and faces; they expect men to wear long-sleeved shirts and full trousers. If visiting religious sites, women are expected to wear full body coverings called chador. As also seen in Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, where women are frequently even more restricted by a burqa with a face covering and required to be accompanied by a male when leaving their homes, women are increasingly being restrained from having a public presence.

Education has liberated women in both countries and others, such as Saudi Arabia, yet even as they are no longer hidden in harems, or uneducated, they seldom have voices under today’s regimes. The regime of Mohammed bin Salman, (MBS) gave two women in Saudi Arabia who protested and used Twitter accounts, sentences of many years for “fomenting treason or lies against the state.” Once the dictatorships fell in Afghanistan and Iraq, they elected women to serve in seats in the government; many returned from exile to serve in ministries. But, now, as leadership changes again, these gains are lost and women and girls are again constrained. Despite promises, the Taliban are refusing to educate girls or women above middle school ages.

In India, once called the world’s largest democracy, educated women are a major part of the workforce of scientists, IT, and medical professionals. But, as we have seen, even these women are not safe on the streets alone and the government does not arrest or punish rapists appropriately. But, in the greater rural populations, women who are uneducated or poor are at the mercy of their husbands and seldom have any protection if they lose their husbands or if they are abusers.

However, movements in Afghanistan help women by holding secret schools in homes within homes and with the hopes that, soon if girls can return to school, they will be ready. The micro bank loan (Women's Microfinance Initiative, WMI) movements are helping women in several East African countries (for example, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania), many of whom are widows, to earn some cash. The profit from small industries such as making charcoal, growing small gardens or financing a simple home helps create stable communities.

Back home in the United States, by comparison, women have it pretty well; they do not jail us for legal protests nor for driving a car alone. However, we have other issues. If you do not believe that the actions against abortion access and contraception choices are part of the wars against women, you need to review recent news. They are part of the continued attempts to control women’s bodies. Read on. 

The right to equal pay for equal work is still a dream for many women. Conservative leaders are fighting subsidies for daycare because they want women to stay home - hello! That should be my choice as a mother, not some guy somewhere counting beans! The pandemic showed us that as daycare options disappeared, so did many women from the workforce, because often the jobs they held rarely allowed remote work. Even when teachers could teach remotely, they could not care for small children at the same time. Nurses who worked in hospitals also could not do their jobs off-site; many quit because they did not wish to endanger their families at the height of the pandemic before COVID vaccines were an option. Studies have shown that professional women who could work from home, more often kept their jobs, while service workers, often minorities, lost theirs. When jobs returned, day cares often did not or their fees were so high, working women could not afford them, so they left the workforce, and frequently, their families suffered.

And, more recently, the right has won on the issue of restricting a woman’s right to choose what to do with her body. The conservatives claim that the state has a right to protect an unborn child, as they define it, sometimes, from conception onward. In some states, the authorities are criminalizing abortion both for the patient and the provider. Some states have already jailed women for miscarriages if they were abusing drugs during their pregnancy. Since the Supreme Court formalized the Dobbs decision in June, several states have adopted trigger laws that had been waiting for this result. Clinics closed in many of these states, while pro-choice states are rushing to provide access. Some students who accepted placements at colleges in the deep south stated they may revisit their school choices and select more abortion-friendly states.

In the meantime, there have been tales of horror, as women with ectopic pregnancies or bleeding miscarriages have had to wait for legal opinions before they could have surgery. Some conservatives have testified on their beliefs that ectopic pregnancies can survive to term in the abdomen. According to the Mayo Clinic, an ectopic or tubal pregnancy cannot survive and must be treated as an emergency. There have been rare reports of implantations elsewhere in the abdomen that survived, but one in the tube will rupture if not surgically treated. The State of Texas has refused to allow any medical reports showing pregnancy abnormalities or deaths occasioned by its anti-abortion 6-week law to be released until after the next legislative session – and well after the mid-terms! Women will note this absence.

538 polled on this issue and even did a special column on abortion and minority voters. It found that this issue crossed party lines and was not a partisan issue. Black voters favored abortion rights more (78%) so than other groups, but all minorities were in favor, while whites came in at only 49% favorable. In July polling, they reported that most Americans favored abortion rights and contraceptive access. Among the 1500 adults surveyed, the topic was fourth, with 19% reporting it was their highest concern. They did not state the male/female breakdown on this issue, but I think women are more supportive than men. As reported by Gallup, 68% of women support abortion rights, while only 48% of men do in polling across the years. I think Democrats believe this is a strong issue for them for the mid-terms; I certainly hope that women will stand up, speak out, and vote!

Democrats have won some special elections that they were not expected to win, primarily on the issue of the right to choose. Most recently, they elected a Democrat in red-state Alaska, over former VP candidate, Sarah Palin, in an instant run-off race. She will have to face the same opponents in the regular election in November. Mary Peltola made history as the first Alaskan Indigenous native to be elected to serve in Congress. (Currently, according to NPR, six Indigenous natives are serving in Congress, one from Hawaii, one from Alaska, and four Native Americans, for the highest number ever in that body.)

So, where do women go from here? Thirty years ago, 1992 was considered the Year of the Woman as many women achieved elected office for the first time. Eleven women were elected to the Senate and 108 were seated in the House that year. Today there are 24 women in the Senate (16 Dems, 8 Rep) and 123 serving in the House, of which 91 are Democrats and 32 are Republicans. With those numbers, 147 women serving out of 535 total seats, one can see that we have quite a way to go to achieve parity. It is time for women to step up and vote for women who support women and their issues. We do not need stupid persons serving such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Marcia Blackburn, or Lauren Bobert; they do women's issues no good. Blackburn, especially, should not serve because of her treatment of Judge Jackson at her hearing. And Greene, with her support of the MAGA, white supremacists, and QAnon groups, does no woman any favors. And then we have Senator Sinema – who knows where she will go?

As Emily’s list says, when women vote, women win! Please vote in the midterms! In many places, women have no voices – we have the right to vote, let’s use it! Election Day is November 8^th, just around the corner!

‘Til next week-Peace!

DeSantis’ Miscalculation

As you might have heard by now, Ron DeSantis, the Republican Governor of Florida, flew some Venezuelan Asylum-seekers from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. The victims of his stunt (and that is what it was) were told they were being sent to Boston where they would find jobs. Unknown to these desperate passengers, instead he directed the plane to a small island off the mainland of this northeastern state, with no advance warnings to the social services there. He was sending these people to what he described as a playground for the rich liberals of the northeast to thumb his nose at Biden’s immigration policies. As usual, DeSantis is a “wannabe big player”, so he was following in the footsteps of fellow Republican Governors Abbott of Texas and Dacey of Arizona who actually have border crossings in their states (unlike Florida which may occasionally get some Haitians arriving by boats), but does not have an actual border with Mexico.

So, since those governors in recent weeks have been sending thousands of immigrants in busloads to northern cities, he wanted to get in on the action, it seems, so he borrowed some immigrants from Texas. Somehow, he does not understand that “borrowing people-even refugees or migrants” and taking them somewhere against their will can be called human trafficking or even kidnapping in any other circumstance, and might be called illegal in this one as well. But, this weekend, Governor Abbott dropped “his immigrants” at the gates to the residence of the Vice-President; one arrival was a newly born infant. Showing real class, there guv! They took this busload to a nearby church for food and shelter.

I read recently that herds of elk were resettled from their normal haunts in the western states to Virginia, where they are now doing well. However, although it should not be necessary, it must be pointed out that people are not herds of wild animals and should not be moved around in the same manner, that is taken from one state where there are many to another state where there are few.

But as pundits recently mentioned, it is getting close to election day, and the right is floundering for an issue to demagogue. Remember the caravans who were said to be coming ‘by the thousands’ back just before the 2018 midterms and which vanished in the days following the blue wave that swept the country then? Hey Fox, it did not work then, why are you guys promoting this stuff again? You know they seem to think that they are “sticking it to the Libs”, but it is so backfiring.

Michelle Norris, writing in the Washington Post today, described the welcome the Spanish- speaking planeload of arrivals received on the island. The islanders rushed to provide meals and clothing, tracked down students in island schools who were studying Spanish to use as translators, and welcomed their unexpected arrivals. She acknowledged the wealth on the island but noted the permanent residents were working people, as their home was a land of farmers and fishermen. There is little employment after the summer season ends each year on Labor Day, so the leaders there had few jobs or housing to share. But the state moved in and took the visitors to an Air Force base on nearby Cape Cod where it could supply housing and social services could step in. That is what Americans should do for refugees in their midst, not move people around like cattle herds or wild animals.

Although these despicable actions may get approval from the ever-shrinking base of MAGA supporters, editorials, and articles widely noted the disapproval of most Americans on newspaper pages across the country. From the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, and USA Today, to mention only a few, all the papers decried these actions, some accusing the Florida Governor of using people as props, and all mentioning the immigration and asylum systems as being broken. The President has been criticized, but he alone cannot fix the system. It will take a willing Congress, and for the last twenty years, there has not been a willing Congress, efforts in the border states to create a system for arrivals that differs from the last administration policy of asylum in Mexico, and a way to stop the flow by stabilizing the home countries of the refugees and immigrants. But, as we have seen, the President cannot even get the situation for Dreamers settled; President Obama tried this during his term and we thought then that this was on the way to a deal, but it is still not there yet.

However, right now, we are not doing so well at stabilizing our own country, are we?

There are still MAGA candidates around the country spouting the “Big Lie” and DJT recently claimed that he won, so he is not relenting, even though reality should have intruded upon his fantasies by now; but then he couldn’t raise money if he admitted the truth, right? Rolling Stone reported on the rally in Ohio where DJT candidate JD Vance is struggling. Some claims made by the former president were outlandish, as usual, such as saying that the authorities jailed some insurrectionists for supporting him, when in actuality they were jailed for the crimes they committed on January 6^th. At the rally, QAnon theme music blasted, its symbols shone, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who claimed he was the “one true leader” introduced the former president. Shades of fascism, anyone? The Department of Justice labeled QAnon as a domestic conspiracy group some time ago. In a hearing last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke of the difficulties with a conspiracy group that has no formally identified leadership and constantly changing shapes and players. They arrested several QAnon members with the January 6^th conspiracists. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) claims that QAnon is a wide-ranging right-wing conspiracy group by its definitions. An in-depth explanation of this group and its activities is on their website here:

One of the most striking beliefs is a distrust of government, with anti-Semitism, wild conspiracy theories about satanic cults, weird claims about child predators, and fervent adherence to proclamations from an unknown leader, yet it coincides with a significant membership that sat in Dallas for weeks expecting the return of President Kennedy and his son John, both of whom died tragically. I will not try to say I understand much of this; I also do not understand why these theories attract so many followers. Is it a distrust of what one knows so that subsequently allegiance is given to things that cannot be proven or defined? Are these groups a haven for those who believe that the governmental system does not work for them or has passed them by? That could explain the MAGA attraction as DJT has reached out to those on the fringes before. But what is now disturbing, while previously he flirted with QAnon saying “they seem to like him, even though he knew little about them”, now he is actively courting their approval and stoking their conspiracies. This is dangerous and I think he knows that.

In an opinion column today in the New York Times, authors Sean Illig and Zak Gershberg discuss free speech as a feature of our democracy that is being misused and note that this is not the first time this has happened. There were disruptions in the 1930s when groups and radio programs supported the Nazis during those unsettled times. They note the lies being spouted by the MAGA supporters and leaders and contrast that with the facts produced by the January 6^th Congressional hearings. These authors also state that the deluge, now of social media, collapsed the norms that established communication in the 20^th century and the population has not yet learned how to deal with this overflow of information, not all of which is true. They claim that to fortify democracy, our leaders will have to stand up for the Rule of Law, even as they must push back against those such as the MAGA crowd that would destroy it. The case in front of the Florida judge who expressed favoritism for the former president defies those standards and must be opposed. I hope that the eleventh Circuit Court will reverse her incoherent rulings in the concerns over the classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago. The authors believe that if there are indictments and the issues warrant a conviction, the former president should be convicted and thus prevented from further office. They conclude by saying: “The good news is that our system has shown itself to be resilient: Mr. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were repulsed on Jan. 6, 2021. That’s a victory for American democracy. But like every democratic victory, it was provisional. As long as there is democracy, there will be demagogy. And the ability to check power remains just that: an opportunity.”

Before I close tonight, I want to pay respects to the long life and stable reign of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain. I am not a monarchist and am happy that we parted ways with the Crown centuries ago, but I recognize that our country and, even my heritage, have many commonalities with the British, so I say, rest now good lady, 96 years is a long time. Best wishes to your son, King Charles.

‘Til next week-Peace!

An Eventful Week

September eleven, 2001, was 21 years ago. Many of those events are still fresh in my mind and in the minds of many others. I saw a documentary a while ago about members of one of the NYFD companies involved in trying to rescue people from the towers. The losses by the rescuers that day were striking and their sacrifices should not be forgotten. The nearly 3000 deaths and the costs to families also should not be forgotten. The unity shown by our country then should not be forgotten even though we have moved so far away from being a unified nation. This shows us that in times of turmoil, such as now, we can again seek common ground for the greater good of all. Do you remember the motto of those days- United we stand!

Recent polls showed that the further we get away from that date, the more we find that younger people seem to have moved on. Younger people are also more likely to speak out against the unfair challenges to residents of Mislim backgrounds from that day forward, which culminated in the unfair Muslim travel ban of 2017 imposed by the former president. Do you remember the disarray at airports and the American lawyers and others who volunteered for the confused people caught up in these sudden draconian restrictions? I was proud of Americans then.

This week saw the United Kingdom choose a new Prime Minister-a woman; their third female leader, Liz Truss. She presented her credentials to a very frail-looking queen, who did her duty until the end.

It saw the long-time Queen (Elizabeth ll) who had reigned for 70 years pass away at her summer home, Balmoral Castle, in Scotland and her eldest son declared King Charles ll. From what I see on TV, the networks have gone bonkers over this and are running saga after saga and discussing everything from Elizabeth's clothing, her tiaras, her diet, and her dogs. I respect her as a woman ruler and the steadfast attention to duty that kept her country intact even as the British Empire was crumbling. I understood the public fascination with Diana, who was a beautiful young woman, treated badly by circumstances, and who died tragically before she ever had a chance to drive her own destiny. The anniversary of her death was also recent. I do not understand the discord between her two sons and their spouses, especially since the older, William, will one day become king, like his father. But who can understand the family dynamics of other families?

Meanwhile, the United States, which has yet to elect a female leader, found itself still dealing with the debris left by its former leader. The overly solicitous judge, hand-picked by the former president, ruled that the court should appoint a Special Master to review the documents seized recently from Mar-a-Largo. This was appealed promptly by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which claimed the classified documents should be carved out and not seen by those who do not have the proper security clearances. As of now, these issues are still being litigated. The judge seems to believe that somehow the former president has executive privilege over the documents he stole and secreted away at his beach resort. She did not seem to understand that she could allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to look at documents, but could not prohibit the FBI from investigating their use, since the CIA cannot investigate domestic issues. So far, there is a standstill with neither side accepting the Special Masters selected by the other. (One of the selections by the DJT team is a lawyer whose wife is a judge on the Appeals Court; how is that not a conflict?) The DOJ wants a ruling by midweek or it states it will go to the Court of Appeals.

News reports from the Washington Post this week claimed some documents found by the FBI addressed the assessment of another country’s nuclear capabilities. That information should only be reviewed in a secure setting without copying or phone access and otherwise kept under lock and key, secured in a safe place. It should not be lying around a resort, unguarded.

Meanwhile, the Grand Juries in Washington, DC, and Atlanta, Georgia keep requesting testimony from those closer and closer to the former president. His attorneys and some former members of the White House (WH) staff have been called in to testify before the Department of Justice Grand Jury. There are also reports that the January 6^th committee is looking at the “Election Defense Fund” created after the election when lies were rampant, but no funds ever went to election defense; the money went instead to the Save America PAC controlled by the former president. According to a committee member, Zoe Lofgren, this was a grift worth millions. In Georgia, Senator Graham lost his appeal to not testify, and the judge commanded him to appear before the Grand Jury. Governor Kemp could delay his testimony until after the election; a judge ruled in answer to his appeal to not have to testify. Former Mayor Giuliani tried to delay his testimony and travel for medical reasons, but was denied and had to appear. Surprisingly, after the raid on Mar-a-largo, former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, suddenly found that he had some documents that needed to go to the National Archives and facilitated their transfer. Quite interesting!

New York State just indicted former WH advisor, Steve Bannon, for the “Build the Wall” scheme where he promised donors that their contributions would go to facilitate the building of the MAGA Wall, but, instead, they kept the money. The Federal authorities had indicted, but not yet tried him when DJT pardoned him on the last day of his term, so this indictment is not double jeopardy. In his trademark fashion, he arrived for the court hearing looking like an unmade bed and shouting about persecution and witch hunts. This is another example of members of that outlaw gang that almost destroyed our country, not respecting any authority or the Rule of Law on which the founding fathers built our nation.

The new Washington football team, (The Commanders-dumb name!) won its opening game today. Way to start the season, guys! Maybe a new name signifies a new beginning. Despite missed catches and interceptions, they still pulled off a win in the last two minutes!

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COVID is still with us, folks. The U.S. has seen over 95 million reported cases and over one million deaths. It continues to count over 60,000 fresh cases each day and reports around 400 deaths daily according to the NY Times stats. Numbers are going down as vaccinations rise. The country as a whole is only 68% vaccinated, although many states are above 80% now and no state is below 50% so the numbers are looking better. Maryland is now 77% vaccinated. This week the government announced the availability of yet another booster. Dr. Ashish Jha, a WH advisor, described this vaccine as more like an annual flu shot. He indicated he hoped that this vaccine, a combination of several of the latest variants, would become an annual vaccine, barring any new variants. Both Pfizer and Moderna have released this type of vaccine, which should be easy to obtain. But, don’t forget the regular flu shot either.

New York state health authorities and Governor Hochul have announced a polio emergency, as they have found several warning signs in multiple counties in and around New York City. The authorities assume that there are actual cases they have just not found out about. There are several religious populations and anti-vaxers in that area that do not accept the need for vaccinations. A patient who had been traveling in Eastern Europe contracted polio, because he was not vaccinated, and returned to the U.S. before symptoms developed. Subsequently, health investigators found the polio virus in the sewage system, so it was a matter of time before known cases happened. The United States eradicated this disease a generation ago because of vigorous vaccination programs. The U.S. does not use a live virus for vaccinations, but other countries do, but with disruptions because of the Ukraine war, there may have been interruptions to some vaccination programs, allowing for disease spread. As you know, I am a nurse. I believe in vaccinations. They work for the benefit of us all and those who do not believe in vaccinations are, in my opinion, being selfish and endangering others, such as children receiving chemo or adults with transplants who are immunocompromised.

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Reminder, the mid-terms are less than two months away; make a plan to vote and VOTE!

And, finally, gas prices are really down! I paid $4.62 for regular in the spring; I paid $3.35 today! Thanks, Joe!

“Til next week, peace!

Eleven Thousand & Counting!

Information released this week by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that over 11,000 documents have been retrieved from the former president’s home in Mar-a-Lago was shocking to many. None of these papers should ever have been taken from the White House and it is increasingly clear that these delays about releases were deliberate. His attorneys signed documents in June stating that all remaining papers requested by the National Archives were returned on that visit by the FBI. These statements were not accurate and now the attorneys are in trouble.

Hundreds of these documents bore varying classified levels from Confidential to Top Secret, Special Compartmented Information. They found some in their labeled folders in personal closets, and in the personal desk of the president in his home, next to his passport. It defies belief to think that he did not know they were there. No one has answered the question regarding why he kept them. Was it pure acquisitiveness? ‘I was president, ergo, these are my documents?’ Or was it to share gathered information with his friends (here is an intercept of this leader’s conversation with some other leader) or perhaps enemies of our country? Who knows? There were also dozens of empty Red labeled “Secret” folders. What happened to the documents they were supposed to hold? Were the contents co-mingled with miscellaneous papers, destroyed, or sold/shared with enemy agents? Security staff is now trying to discern the answers to these questions and determine if the misuse of these documents has compromised foreign assets or information gathering.

DJTs’ attorneys made requests to have the judge appoint a Special Master to review the documents and pull out any that deal with attorney-client privilege. Former Attorney General Bill Barr, who supported the imperial presidency when he was in office, claimed that this special master request was a red herring and stalling measure. The FBI stated it appointed a “filter team” to look for documents that fit that description and put them aside. However, they clarified that the vast majority of the documents they retrieved belong to the American people and were required by law to be sent to the National Archives. In the over 18 months since Biden became President, DJT improperly secreted, obstructed, and even refused to comply with a subpoena for these papers.

Meanwhile, the Republican Party is in turmoil. Senator Lindsey Graham even claimed that if the Department of Justice prosecuted DJT, there would be riots in the streets, which was certainly an irresponsible statement. Of course, the echoes of right-wing media promoted these comments. Other associates tried to re-litigate the Hillary Clinton email server issues, claiming these were parallels, forgetting to mention that as soon as she realized that this was a problem, Secretary Clinton cooperated in resolving the issue. The DOJ is not issuing press statements but has addressed the concerns of the courts in Florida, from the Magistrate who issued the search warrant to the Judge in the court where lawyers are requesting the Special Master. Each new filing or answer to judicial queries is digging the hole deeper. Meanwhile, the Grand Jury in Washington DC continues to hear from insiders who were instrumental in the last administration. Attorney Pat Cipollone and his deputy Pat Philbin both appeared last week. Authorities believe that there will be no indictments before the midterm elections, so as not to influence the results. There are no guarantees that the Attorney General of New York or the District Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, will be so reticent. One can hope.

Recently, President Biden met with several historians to discuss the status of democracy in America. Among them were Michael Beschloss, Jon Meacham, and Anne Applebaum, who met and discussed the historical long view. They looked at other times of trouble just before the Civil War in comparison, and during the period before the Second World War when the authoritarianism of Hitler and Mussolini made it to the U.S. and found favor. Beschloss recently said that we are all in “existential danger of having our democracy and democracies around the world destroyed.”

Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, President Biden spoke to America. He said ‘too much of what is happening today in our country is not normal.’ He continued by saying:

“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very republic,” Biden said in a rare moment of calling out his predecessor by his name. “Democracy cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes to an election: either they win or they were cheated.”

Standing in front of Independence Hall, the cradle of American democracy, Biden told the crowd: “MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.” He continued: “For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us,” Biden said.

According to Politico: “The phrase ‘battle for the soul of the nation’ has dominated his rhetoric since, and Biden has declared that the foundation of his presidency was to prove that democracies could still deliver for their people and stand up to rising autocracies across the globe. He vowed to run to heal the wounds opened by Trump’s term and has grown deeply dismayed, aides said, by the political polarization and anger that has only deepened during his own time in the White House.”

Biden has called out MAGA Republicans and the cult they adhere to as undemocratic. He also spoke recently, asking moderate Republicans and Independents to step forward to help preserve this democracy and oppose those who would resort to violence. He asked, “How can one support democracy and the police, yet attack the police on January 6^th?

“You cannot be pro-insurrection and pro-cop!”

In a follow-up rebuttal this weekend, the former presidency also spoke in Pennsylvania, this time to support the Republican right-wing candidate for governor in PA, Doug Mastriano. However, a significant part of his speech was to present him as a victim of governmental overreach and to rail against President Biden and his administration. According to the New York Times: His speech came two days after Mr. Biden warned that democratic values were under assault by forces loyal to Mr. Trump. The former president described Mr. Biden’s address as “the most vicious, hateful, and divisive speech ever delivered by an American president.”

He also claimed that, according to Biden, all present in his audience were enemies of the state. During recent speeches, he returned to the demand that he be reinstated to his rightful place in the oval office as he won in 2020. Banned from Twitter, he communicates with the country through his private group Truth Social, where he can send out tweets. One day last week, he sent over 60 communications. Some believe that he is becoming unhinged; others think he is just stressed by all the issues he is embroiled in and is striking out because of his stressors. His remarks seem to show a total meltdown as he quoted Qanon, made outrageous statements, and flat-out lied, claiming that if he were still president, there would be no inflation and gas would be $2.00 a gallon. Childishly, he doctored photos of Biden and posted them on his page; these acts are unfit for a former president.

When our scholars and our historians, knowledgeable as they are, are sounding the alarms about dangerous trends, when we have a former president who has no moral grounding and supports terrorists and dictators, we have a combustible situation. I can only hope that average ordinary people, regardless of party, think that this country, as a whole, is more important than the desires of a single narcissistic man. Where are we as a country going to go as these battles wage forward? I do not know, but I think that somehow, we have to return to the status of supporting the concepts of democracy set forward in the U.S. Constitution:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

We need to return to efforts to create that more perfect Union, difficult as it might be; even as we acknowledge that when this document was written, it did not include all of us.

Monday is Labor Day. It is time to do more than give lip service to all the hard workers in our country, especially those in healthcare and others who work in service industries and helped us all get through the pandemic, many with great sacrifices to themselves and their families. Applause Applause!! Let’s celebrate the teachers, who have had huge hurdles in trying to do their jobs; Governor DeSantis and his pandering regulations are among them! No kudos to Starbucks for closing recently unionized stores, or Amazon for trying to stop unions. C’mon guys, you make enough money to afford to pay your workers' living wages and benefits. Unions are positive entities. Think of the greater good!

“Til next week-Peace!

Biden Swings for the Fence!

As the baseball season heads toward the fall series, we already know that the Washington Nationals, who traded away their best players recently, are not going anywhere near the playoffs this season. Many pundits have claimed that the Democrats will not show any gains in the upcoming midterm elections in November as the party in power traditionally loses seats. But some recent events seem to tip the balance toward Democrats a bit. President Biden’s poll numbers are creeping back up. Some close elections in the Midwest, in areas usually strongly Republican, the vote in Kansas supporting abortion rights and most recently, a special election in New York State for an empty Congressional seat, went to the Democratic candidate. Pundits try to read the tea leaves, but some other legislative wins and actions by President Biden contributed to these changed numbers. Do you think the Democrats will have an October surprise? I’m thinking I need my four-leaf clover charm, my lucky penny, and my virtual rabbit's foot to pull this off, but I am game!

Some polls show Independents are moving toward the Democrats. But moves such as the Inflation Reduction Act, the passing of the semiconductor chip manufacturing bill, and the PACT Act supporting veterans all ring true for promises the president made. This week the President, by Executive Action, reduced student debt by $10,000 for some students (income-tested) and $20,000 for those who hold Pell grants. This move is popular and was requested by many younger voters who hold a lot of college loans. Democrats need a high turnout from younger voters and Black voters to win in the Fall.

After the Dobbs' decision on abortion, women have turned out to register in high numbers, so this may be good news for Democrats. White women with college degrees supported Biden in 2020; working-class women did not, but Black women gave him overwhelming support as did suburban women.

Republicans cried foul at the tuition loan move, claiming that Democrats were trying to buy votes. Others said the move was classist as it does not benefit workers who never went to college. But, as has been proven, high student debt keeps recent graduates from entering fully into society and often keeps them from being able to buy a house or start a business. Democrats noted the Republicans gave the top 1% an enormous tax cut amounting to more than a trillion dollars at the start of the last administration; they did not pay for this in the budget and, as a result, this drove up the national debt.

And the most delicious irony is the high number of Republicans who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during COVID that were forgiven. After criticism of the student loans, the White House Twitter account posted these notices: (thanks to Heather Cox Richardson)

{Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said: “For our government just to say ok your debt is completely forgiven. it’s completely unfair.” Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said: “Biden’s reckless, unilateral student loan giveaway is unfair to the 87 percent of Americans without student loan debt and those who played by the rules.” Buchanan had more than $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said: “We do not need farmers and ranchers, small business owners, and teachers in Oklahoma paying the debts of Ivy League lawyers and doctors across the U.S.” Mullin had more than $1.4 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK) said: “To recap, in the last two weeks, the ‘Party of the People’ has supercharged the IRS to go after working-class Americans, raised their taxes, and forced them to pay for other people’s college degrees.” Hern had more than $1 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) said: “Asking plumbers and carpenters to pay off the loans of Wall Street advisors and lawyers isn’t just unfair. It’s also bad policy.” Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said: Everyone knows that in a $60 Billion+ European land war, it’s always the last $3 Billion that kicks in the door….” Gaetz had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.}

Biden appeared in Rockville MD at a National Democratic Committee rally this week for the candidates running in Maryland state and Congressional races. Wes Moore, the candidate for governor, gave an excellent speech before introducing President Biden. Appearing before a partisan crowd estimated to be around 5000, Biden was charged up. He came out swinging right from the start, took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a hand-held mike, and went into full campaign mode, pulling no punches. C-SPAN carried it live; you can view it here: C-SPAN . I also found a wonderful description in Richardson’s “Letters from an American” as noted above where she said:

“Then Biden gave a barn-burning speech to the Democratic National Committee in Rockville, Maryland, clearly dividing the Republican Party between the MAGAs and mainstream Republicans. The MAGA philosophy is “semi-fascism,” he said, and we are seeing either its beginning or death knell. 

“I want to be crystal clear about what’s on the ballot this year. Your right to choose is on the ballot this year. The Social Security you paid for from the time you had a job is on the ballot. The safety of our kids from gun violence is on the ballot…. The very survival of our planet is on the ballot. Your right to vote is on the ballot. Even…democracy.” “The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security,” he said. “They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace…political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.” “This is why in this moment, those of you who love this country—Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans—we must be stronger,” he said.”

To my knowledge, this is the first time he has spoken so strongly about the extreme claims being made by many of the MAGA followers and candidates. These remarks seemed to foreshadow the end of his attempt at reaching out to Republicans in a regular way; instead, he called for moderate Republicans, such as Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan, to join with him. He asked Independents to come along also and move to take back our country, stepping away from the extreme agendas so many on the right espouse. A recent NBC News poll showed that the number one concern on voters’ minds was the threat to our democracy. I believe that the January 6^th hearings showed just how close we came to having that democracy irreparably damaged.

Now, you may not know that I collect stamps. It is basically a solitary hobby, shared with a few of my friends. However, among those who have an interest, I sometimes discuss a new stamp or groups of stamps added to my collection. With the recent FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, some of DJT’s associates claim that he just kept these highly secret papers to occasionally peruse and perhaps share with his friends, just as I do with my stamps! Now, if you believe that, I am certain there is a bridge to nowhere in your future!

Seriously though, with the latest tales of a Russian-speaking Ukrainian woman and known scammer, claiming to be a Rothschild heir, roaming around the resort and golfing with the then President and Senator Graham, two failed attempts by Chinese nationals to enter with faked credentials we know about, and unscreened club members overhearing substantive discussions with foreign leaders, what other leaks were at that place? Where was the Secret Service? The FBI has listed that among the documents recovered were those with security ratings of the highest order. Initially, when the National Archives, after a year of asking for documents to be returned, received a cache of several boxes earlier this year, authorities soon realized that there were classified materials in those boxes. The tally then was 184 documents with varying levels of classified status, so they sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. Noting that more known documents were still missing, the DOJ reached out again, this time with a subpoena that DJT ignored. Agents found additional classified documents on a personal visit in June; lawyers asserted then that there were no more documents. Finally, after letters from the Archives noting still missing documents and entreaties from Justice with no adequate responses, a search warrant was requested and ordered. The result was that they found documents secreted at varied places around the residence, including the recently locked basement. Among the unsecured boxes found in this search were 11 more documents, including those identifying secret agents or assets, signals intelligence intercepts, and others not further identified. No one has been able to adequately explain why the former president felt a need to hold on to such secret documents, other than his claim that the papers were his. His claims to have declassified all such materials have been debunked by many who worked with him in the White House. Did he keep them so that he could impress resort visitors or unknown others with our nations’ secrets, such as he did in the oval office with his Russian visitors? Since there are notations by DJT on some of these papers, it would be difficult to claim that he was unaware of the nature of the clearly labeled classified papers.

We do not know where the DOJ will go with this investigation. We know there is a Grand Jury investigation. Former FBI officials discussed criminal charges that could be in play, such as obstruction of justice, destruction of official documents, and improper possession of classified materials. Any other person would probably already be in jail for such offenses. Any charges, no matter how carefully drafted, will be politically charged, so Attorney General Garland will have to move carefully.

Media outlets, and supposedly DJT, want a full release of the original warrant. The DOJ presented a heavily redacted version that was accepted by the judge. The DOJ wanted less knowledge of the content of the documents and protections for the witnesses they interviewed. Now the former president’s lawyers are asking for a special master to go over the documents to remove any private, privileged, or protected materials; he is still trying to claim executive privilege for these papers even though the courts have decided that he is no longer entitled to that status. As they say, stay tuned. I just keep on shaking my head as each week’s news tops the next!

“Til next week-Peace!

 

 

Boys in Waiting

As the former president continues to fret and fume, trying to stir up his decreasing but still rabid followers, there are many “wanna bes” waiting in the wings. Each of these characters is vying for the crown prince title, but sadly are stumbling around so much that no one really wears the mantle of the next in line to the MAGA throne. In reality, one seems worse than the next if you really look closely at their words and actions. At the top of the heap, one would find Governors Abbott of Texas and DeSantis of Florida. DeSantis has the edge because he is not up for re-election this year and Abbott is. Then one finds Senator Cruz, a poor example of a Senator (remember his trip to Cancun during the ice storm?) and one who tried to make his mark in the hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Jackson as did Senator Josh (see Josh run) Hawley, who went on and on about sex offenders. (In an egregious attempt at scoring press coverage, Senator Cruz recently mused at an event about whether Senator Elizabeth Warren had male genitalia! Poor taste indeed! Picking on women again, Ted?)

Senator Tom Cotton tried to stand out by speaking out against the 1619 project and the concept of enslaving people. Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Senator Rick Scott of Florida is floating the idea of making Medicare and Social Security subject to a renewal vote every five years. He defended this move by falsely claiming that Medicare will go bankrupt in four years, a claim debunked by Factcheck.org. He has also proposed increasing taxes on low-income Americans under the premise that all Americans need to pay taxes. Tell that to the corporations, Senator Scott. (This is from a multi-millionaire who made many of his millions by cheating on Hospital Corporation Medicare claims.)

Abbott has come increasingly under fire from the parents of the students killed in the Uvalde school massacre. First, his authorities made untrue statements about the incident, then tried to hide the truth from the families involved. Later, when it became known that scores of armed officials waited in the corridors of that school even as children were dying, the families accused his administration and others of cover-ups. Their pleas for him to enact a ban on semi-automatic rifle purchases for those under 21 fell on deaf ears even as Texas hosted the NRA convention and his administration promoted no license open-carry for weapons.

And, not the least of his transgressions was the enactment of the 6-week pregnancy restriction on abortion for Texas residents using a bizarre law that promoted vigilantism, frightened medical providers, and terrified women. Enacted before the Dobbs’ decision by the Supreme Court, the same court upheld this provision. Abbott is being challenged by Democrat Beto O’Rourke, a former Congressman, who almost took down Ted Cruz in this red state a few years ago, then ran for president in a principled, but not successful, campaign in 2020. Now is the time for Abbott to be beaten, I think. Will it happen in this super-red state? One can dream.

But probably the worst examples of the unprincipled posturing common to this group are the promotion of Christian Nationalism and pandering to the fundamentalist right wing of the Republican Party. He has referred to Democrats as devils and condemned the “wokeness of the left”. (The Cambridge online dictionary defines wokeness: as “a state of being aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality:”) Despite not having the authority to do so, he fired a duly elected states’ attorney who had criticized his moves. That attorney is now suing him. His state had high numbers of COVID cases since he refused to promote vaccines or mask mandates and even punished counties where schools kept the mandates. He threatened cruise lines and even Disney World because it criticized his proclamations against gays and promotion of the so-called “don’t say gay” law; teachers could not address LGBTQIA issues lest they be accused of “grooming”. DeSantis supported aberrant school boards that spoke out against critical race theory and ones that banned books and came up with his own list. He has created a culture of fear among educators in his state and promoted a curriculum that denies separation of church and state and promotes constitutional “originalism”.

Additionally, he even supported banning the Diary of Anne Frank, but backed down when he received significant pushback. While Florida has a significant Jewish population of about 4.6 percent, making it the fourth most populous U.S. state concentration of Jewish residents, it is not significant considering the total population of 21, 538,187 according to the 2020 census. 21% of the population is over 63 years old, while overall the racial breakdown is 52.7% white, 17% black, and 26% Hispanic or Latino, with mixed race or others making up the rest. He has done most of this in the three years he has been governor because he has a compliant legislature. Recently, he has been restricting press coverage of his events. Does this sound like America to you?

The punditry seems to think that while DeSantis is a MAGA follower; he is trying to differentiate himself as DJT goes further off the rails after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. This weekend he was stumping for the floundering MAGA-endorsed candidates in Ohio, (J.D. Vance), and in Pennsylvania (Mastriano) and trying to gain some national exposure for himself. In PA he supported Mastriano’s support of Christian Nationalism and railed against schools that were indoctrinating children, supporting “woke ideology” and addressing questions of gender identity.

These candidates, such as DeSantis, are finding audiences who listen and may or may not agree with what they are hearing. But I believe that this is so foreign to the mainstream that most do not understand how to respond to it. However, if America does not wake up, we will not have a democracy but will be subjected to the overreach of despots who will accept no rebuttals or questions in their quest for authoritarianism.

The Washington Post reporter, Issac Arnsdorf, compiled a list of proposals compiled recently from speeches by our former president that outline steps he will take “when re-elected”. They seem more appropriate to the world of Viktor Orban than to our country. I have summarized them below with his justifications and my comments:

1.    Execute drug dealers (his administration executed 6 people after he lost the election-here - no distinction between neighbor-to-neighbor sales or drug cartels?).

2.    Move homeless people to outlying tent cities (to reclaim our cities-breaks all kinds of laws).

3.    Deploy federal force against crime, unrest, and protests (he tried to use military forces when he was president, and wanted to nationalize the use of the National Guard, but was rebuffed by the Pentagon).

4.    Strip Federal workers of Civil Service protections (he actually put his Schedule F in place before the election and would have started this separate track, but he was defeated and President Biden overturned his actions). Claims this is part of ‘draining the swamp’.

5.    Eliminate the Education Department (issues such as CRT {which is untrue,} gender identity, etc., and prohibit teaching of ‘inappropriate’ racial, sexual and political material). Conservatives such as Betsy DeVos (a former DOE cabinet secretary) and Rick Perry have both supported this-although Perry forgot for a while!

6.    Restrict voting to a single day and require paper ballots (an impossible task to realize with over 160 million or more voters but borne out of his grievances at losing in 2020 and distrusting mail-in votes and voting machines).

Once again, I ask-is this the America you want?

Polls recently show that Democrats are favored more than earlier now that some significant legislation has passed, gas prices are coming down, inflation is no longer rising and President Biden’s numbers are moving up. We shall see. Even Mitch McConnell is no longer sure of claiming the Senate for Republicans. He sorta mumbled something about the quality of the candidates. Currently, Republicans Vance in Ohio, Oz in Pennsylvania, and Walker in Georgia are running behind their Democratic opponents. But there are 78 days until the election. Who knows what October surprises are ahead? Republicans currently hold two of those seats and a change could be huge, as it would no longer mean a 50-50 Senate. Democrats would have more committee controls and McConnell would be a full minority leader.

As the drama about the FBI seizure of incorrectly held documents at Mar-a Lago continues, the court hearings on what portions of the warrant can be released, threats on Federal offices continue, whipped up by the out of-control-former president who is now claiming that an “out-of-control, politically, motivated FBI can come after you next.” There are reports that these rants are bringing in a million dollars a day to his unrestricted fund. Others on the right are screaming out against the 87,000 IRS agents authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Meanwhile, some interesting notes in a New York Times special editorial today. The editors write about political courage being in short supply in America today and lament those legislators who voted for impeachment, that are now being defeated. They single out two courageous women who faced primaries this week. Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Liz Cheney. Murkowski advance, Chaney did not. She has been an obvious leader in the January 6^th investigations and does not apologize for her stated mission of keeping the former president forever out of office. Murkowski voted for the second presidential impeachment and for the confirmation of Judge Jackson. Her primary win was helped by the priority voting system Alaska uses. As the Times notes:

“While Ms. Cheney voted in line with Mr. Trump nearly 93 percent of the time, her commitment is to the rule of law, and her resolve to put country above party is clearly more important to her than blind loyalty. History will remember Ms. Cheney for her principles just as it will Mr. Trump for his lack of them.” And–“Ms. Cheney is not sounding any regrets. “If the cost of standing up for the Constitution is losing the House seat,” she recently told The Times, “then that’s a price I’m willing to pay.” Democracy needs more profiles in courage like that.”

While I would never vote for Liz Cheney, I certainly applaud her principled stance. I hope she can build a robust second party so that we can escape the MAGA cultism and return us to an America that appreciates differences of many types and shuns authoritarianism and religious nationalism.

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On a fresh note, the Washington Commanders football team, aka WFT, has now played and lost two pre-season games. Guess the team needs more than a name change; or am I a “Dooley doubter” too soon?

“Til next week-Peace!

Former Pres. & Minions Threaten FBI, AG, Judge, others

What will it take to make this monstrous man “go away” from our consciousness? When will he stop dominating the media for his never-ending misdeeds? Those in the media tossed the word ‘unprecedented’ around a lot these past few days. I guess they are correct. Never before have we seen a former president refuse to answer questions in a civil case and take the Fifth Amendment over 400 times. We have never seen a former president refuse to respond appropriately to a valid subpoena. Nor have we ever seen a search warrant served on a former president for misuse or improper possession of top-secret and classified documents.

The National Archives notified the FBI earlier this year that classified documents were among those records seized previously (after DJT had ignored a year-long request), from the residence at Mar-a-Largo and informed the agency, after a review, that others were still missing. According to news reports, the FBI and a special terrorism agent met with the former president and his attorneys and received some more documents; they were told that there were no others. The Archive insisted that there were others, so a Grand Jury issued a subpoena for additional documents; they ignored this request. As the last step, the FBI requested a judge approve a search warrant. They executed this warrant without notice this past Monday.

Once the search finished, in an attempt to create anger against a legitimate government search warrant, DJT falsely claimed that he had no classified documents and that the search warrant was a fishing expedition. He stirred up his followers with rants against the “out-of-control government” that set the FBI after him illegally on a “raid of his residence” when he had already given them documents. Fellow Republicans shouted outrage at these actions and called for the defunding of the FBI for an overreach of its powers. (Gee, this is from the Law-and-Order Republicans who berated the Democrats when some spoke about out-of-control police after the murder of George Floyd.) Congressman Kevin McCarthy warned Attorney General (AG) Merritt Garland that as soon as the Republicans took charge of the House that he would demand hearings on this matter and that Garland needed to get ready and clear his calendar. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (who has little to do these days) indicated that she would institute articles of impeachment against AG Garland. Senator Rand Paul suggested that the Espionage Act should be repealed.

And, of course, appeals for funds to help him fight this “out-of-control witch hunt” soon hit the airwaves and internet. Right-wing media soon took up the show of support and railed against “Biden’s overreach”. Fox has continued, even today, to beat the “president as victim” drum. President Biden and the Democrats in Congress have said little or nothing about this matter and are allowing it to play out. The President’s office stated that he had no warning about this action.

MAGA followers and others bombarded Internet sites with threats to government offices and calls to arm and prepare for war. A former military man who had been at the Capitol during the January 6^th Insurrection attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, was repelled and eventually killed in a police action. This weekend a man drove his car into barriers at the Capitol, jumped out, fired into the air, and then killed himself. Related activity, who can say? DJT lies-people die; it has happened before. Senators called for a release of the Search Warrant and a list of what was taken. However, as was later pointed out, the FBI gave copies of both to the former president and one of his attorneys, who was present at the home in Florida on the day of the search. But releasing them was not in his best interests, was it?

In an unusual step, AG Garland subsequently held a press conference and stated that he had approved the request for the search warrant and had asked the Florida judge who issued it to release the Search Warrant and the list of documents taken if the former president did not object. He called a bluff against the former president, noting that he had the documents himself and could have released them; the FBI could not do this unless permitted by the judge who issued it. The AG also spoke up in defense of the members of the FBI across the country who serve nobly and well and were not deserving of the condemnations they have been receiving. They released the search warrant and list on Friday and the results shocked many Americans.

The list noted several layers of classified information among the 11 records found in the dozen boxes removed according to the Washington Post: Confidential, Secret and Top-Secret, and Top-Secret Sensitive-Compartmented, the highest level of documents, that are only supposed to be viewed in a secure facility from which electronic devices are banned. Such documents may contain information about secret operations or moles in other countries that would harm U.S. foreign interests if released. There have been some reports that information gleaned from electronic intercepts or about foreign leaders, including French President Macron, was in the documents. Others have reported that there was information about our nuclear defenses, but this has not been confirmed. Although these documents were said to have been found in various areas of the residence, aside from the storage facility and perhaps the safe that was opened, this remains unclear, as the agents are not talking about the incident. Amazingly, the former president followed the actions of the agents at his home by a closed-circuit TV which he followed from his northern residence. There have also been reports that someone on the inside, such as a family member, a secret service agent, or a person who worked at the resort, or for the former president, might have provided information to the FBI about the presence of protected documents they found in his bedroom.

What is so distressing about these actions is that the resort, although protected by the Secret Service, was not a closed or firmly secure facility. Staff and vendors were in and out, as well as known members and guests of the club. Previously, a Chinese spy was arrested inside the resort while claiming rights to access the pool. She had thumb drives with malware on them and other devices. Were other countries or agents attempting to gain access or eavesdrop electronically on the residence? I do not know, but I have read that the former president would not use a secured telephone and preferred his device.

Once this information was released, the former president stated that he automatically declassified any document he removed. Although the president may declassify documents, this is not automatic. However, there are processes for agency approval of declassifying any documents that were not followed. There is no paper trail showing that any of these procedures were followed. His staff has now given multiple accounts about the use of classified documents; they cannot all be true. The reality is that these documents should not have been removed from the White House.

The FBI released the search warrant without the names of the agents; the authorities redacted these. However, the copy DJT received did not redact that information. He has released this information to right-wing groups. Consequently, these agents, who were just doing their jobs, have now been threatened, their addresses have been released and they and their family members are receiving additional security. Federal offices across the country are now increasing security after a nationwide alert has been issued jointly by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security because of threats received. The Judge, who approved the warrant, is Jewish and has also been threatened with anti-Semitic rhetoric and his synagogue targeted. The congregation canceled services this weekend.

So, it seems that the MAGA forces were not content with seditious conspiracy against an act of Congress to certify the electoral count and the 2020 election, nor threats to the life of the Vice President, they are now encouraging their minions nationwide with another lie, that the government illegally conspired against the former president. I certainly hope that there are no lone wolves out there that would blow up a Federal Building somewhere. However, there are also still Proud Boys and three percenters roaming around, and who knows how many other militias are out there who could, in an ungoverned fashion, take destructive actions in some manner? How many deranged loners with stores of guns and ammunition will be encouraged to defend the president?

The former president has said that he believes that these actions have helped his presidential bid for 2024. David Brooks wrote in the New York Times, that it might help. Others are not so sure. Some Republicans have gone silent since the release of the lists of classified documents found at Mar-a-Largo even as others repeat the lies. The warrant lists three Federal laws that may have been broken: (section 793, section 1519, and section 2071) - The Espionage Act (gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information), Destruction or Hiding of Federal Documents to obstruct an Investigation, and Concealment, Removal, or theft or destruction of Federal Documents. If a Grand Jury issued the records subpoena, is there an active investigation of the former President? Could they actually indict him? What would that do to rile up his supporters? Tough questions, no good answers.

In other news this week, and there was some, the Democrats in the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act previously approved only by Democrats in the Senate. It will go to the President for his signature this week. This is a really big deal as it provides major support for the climate with reductions in fossil fuels and increased wind and solar efforts, it decreases drug costs under Medicare and allows for some negotiated prices, provides some benefits for off-shore drilling and pipelines (thanks to Manchin), and creates a minimum corporate tax of 15%, but drops the carried interest removal provision (thanks to Kyrsten Sinema). It did not carry forward the earned income credits for children, or provide more funding for child care, elder care, or college debt relief. But looking at the bottom line, it also provides for federal debt reduction, more electric cars and trucks, and more jobs, so those are all important provisions. The Democrats are feeling better about the midterms, which have long been thought to be a debacle for them; that may not be so with these several wins under their belts and the issues of abortion choice sitting front and center. The Kansas vote buoyed many Democrats, while Republicans are avoiding the issue where ever possible. Tuesday there are primaries in Wyoming and Alaska. Two Republican women who have opposed the former president are on the ballot. Senator Lisa Murkowski is expected to win against a MAGA-endorsed opponent. She is an independent voice for Alaska and one of the few Republican women who speak out for abortion and contraception rights. In Wyoming, January 6^th committee co-chair, Representative Lynne Cheney is expected to lose her primary against a former supporter now endorsed by the former president. Cheney has made clear that she hopes that DJT never gets elected again. He won her state overwhelmingly in 2020, so the only way she has a chance is if Democrats cross over to vote in the Republican primary. Guess we shall find out soon.

In other election news, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who declared victory last week, had another surprise when 102 additional provisional ballots, that had not been opened, were found. After these were reviewed, and they counted those approved, his lead dropped to 35 votes, but it was still a lead, so he again declared victory. His opponent David Blair indicated he would seek a recount. In Frederick County, it appears that some mailed ballots were counted twice. A county council race that was separated by three votes was noted to now be down to a one-vote difference. However, the loser in that race has challenged her opponent, claiming that she does not meet the residency requirement of one year in the district. Currently, the results have been decertified and a final resolution is pending. In Montgomery County, they certified the results on Saturday. Both counties showed how the checks and balances in the system have worked. When the internal audits were performed, the system allowed the errors to show up and be corrected.

Both counties hope that the delays from mail-in ballots can be alleviated before the fall elections as the restrictions put in place by Governor Hogan were obstructions in the process. Incidentally, the Governor stated in an interview that he was not running for president as an Independent and had made no decisions about 2024, even as his Lt. Governor noted, that Hogan might run as an Independent. However, he visited Iowa recently. Gotta’ get your stories straight, guys!

Long entry tonight–just so much going on, so bear with me, please.

“Til next week-Peace!