January 6th Committee

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While I doubt it will result in important indictments or change the minds of many Trump supporters, we should all pay attention to the January 6th committee hearings. They’re laying out all the ways in which Trump and his people knew they were undermining American democracy.

Yesterday’s testimony included retired Judge J. Michael Luttig. Luttig served as counsel in the Reagan White House, Assistant Attorney General under George HW Bush, and was appointed by Bush 1 as a Judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. I’ll let his words speak for themselves:

“A stake was driven through the heart of American democracy on January 6, 2021, and our democracy today is on a knife’s edge… Knowing full well that he had lost the 2020 presidential election, the former president and his allies and supporters falsely claimed and proclaimed to the nation that he had won the election, and then he and they set about to overturn the election that he and they knew the former president had lost… The treacherous plan was no less ambitious than to steal America’s democracy.”

“Donald Trump and his allies are a clear and present danger to American democracy. To this very day, the former president, his allies and supporters, pledge that in the presidential election of 2024, if the former president or his anointed successor ... were to lose that election, that they would attempt to overturn that 2024 election in the same way that they attempted to overturn the 2020 election. I don't speak those words lightly. I would have never uttered one single one of those words unless the former president and his allies were candidly and proudly speaking those exact words to America.”

But Trumps supporters will just blow it off. After all, it’s not as bad as Hillary’s emails, right?

Pardon List

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In the January 6 Committee hearings, it was revealed that John Eastman, Trump’s lawyer who worked alongside Trump to champion the theory that VP Pence could unilaterally reject electors, sought a presidential pardon in the aftermath of Jan. 6.

Eastman sent an email to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani "a few days after" Jan. 6 seeking a pardon. "I've decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works," Eastman wrote.

More evidence that Trump and those around him were aware of the illegality of their plans to subvert American democracy.

Allowing for a quick repurposing of an old cartoon.

Empathy

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America is severely lacking in empathy. The ability to feel a situation from another’s viewpoint. The ability to care about the impact on others.

A pandemic that killed over a million Americans (and counting), exacerbated by people who won’t take simple steps to slow the spread.

Legislators who are so fearful of whom others love that they push to remove LGBTQ representation from available books and punish families who live that way.

People who want to control a woman’s right to choose.

Voters clinging so tightly to their dollars they can’t see that the crumbling infrastructure around them needs more funding.

People who accept the level of gun violence far out of line with any other rich, developed nation in the world because they can’t imagine any limitations on their toys designed only for killing people quickly.

People who demonize immigrants trying to find a better life, and cast them as hordes coming to replace white people.

Those who want to be “tough on criminals” and increase policies that don’t seem to be working and have led to America having 5% of the global population yet 20% of the globally incarcerated people.

People dismissing the effects of the climate catastrophe on communities all around us, trying to defend a status quo.

America needs a shot of empathy. To think beyond only ourselves. Remember, we’re in this together.

It’s an addiction

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Since Uvalde, there have been 33 mass shootings in the US, with a mass shooting defined as 4 or more shooting victims.

157 days into 2022, the US has seen 246 mass shootings; more than one per day.

There were almost 20 million guns sold legally in America in 2021.

America clearly has a problem, and this addiction to guns and violence is not going away any time soon.

Leaked Republican memos tell the GOP party members and pundits to, “ignore guns, talk inflation.” They offer no solutions. Just telling people to buy more guns and more hardened doors. Apparently that’s their only answer to protect schools, churches, grocery stores, hospitals, medical clinics, parties, private homes, etc., where these mass shootings keep happening and happening. They expect the furor to die down and people to move on.

Let’s not let them ignore the problem.

Public Schools

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Public education is the greatest tool for social mobility we have as a country. An educated populace benefits all of us, both in ways material and immaterial.

Yet public education in the US has been under attack for decades, by criticism and mistrust, crippling budget cuts at the K-12 levels, and unduly soaring costs at college levels.

So it’s unsurprising to see hot button issues used against it to tear down public education. In the wake of Uvalde, I’ve seen several commentators saying this is why homeschooling is better than public schools, this is why schools should be privatized, and questioning public schools’ ability to keep kids safe. It starts to sound like the calls for privatization of education, like we heard when Betsy DeVos was Secretary of Education under Trump.

According to statistics online, 10% of US K-12 students attend private school, yet 6% of school shootings 2000-2018 occurred at private schools. Clearly there are many reasons, some correlated and not a cause.

The conservative/ libertarian Cato Institute (founded by one of the Koch brothers) said in 2018, “Anytime you write about a tragedy and point to your favorite policy reform as the solution, it can seem opportunistic and, frankly, a little callous. But it is not groundless to think that school type could matter, and nothing should be off‐ limits for discussion to end these sorts of tragedies.”

I might actually believe they were honest about nothing being off-limits if they honestly considered and tried popular aspects of gun control. Instead, we just get more attacks on public education.

Pride Merch

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June is Pride month! And it’s becoming more commonly accepted and celebrated across America. Which, of course, means that many companies are looking to cash in via their special Pride merchandise.

Of course, these companies also donate huge amounts of money (thanks, Citizens United) to politicians of all stripes. Including those who promote and vote for anti-LGBTQ legislation.

So, while I applaud those who wear their Pride publicly, when you buy that merch, try to check on where your money is really going.

Fund the Moms, Instead

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As the horror unfolded in Uvalde, a mother was handcuffed outside the school for “interfering,” as she pleaded with law enforcement officers to enter the building and save the children. Her children.

As a parent I can imagine the frustration, fear, and anger as the seconds and minutes ticked by, knowing a gunman was in that school with her kids.

So she did what the law enforcement officers hadn’t done. She went in and saved her kids. Alone. Unarmed. Brought her children to safety.

We’ve seen the Uvalde SWAT team photo. Dressed up, playing soldier. We know the armored tanks that many of these police forces have. It’s been reported that Uvalde spends ~40% of its municipal budget on its police force. And those police stood by for 90 minutes as children and teachers were slaughtered. What a waste of money. And it contributed to wasted, innocent lives.

Many want us to hold up police as heroes. It’s a dangerous job, undoubtedly. But they do too many jobs for which they aren’t suited. And this one, for which they’ve been outfitted, trained, and paid, they didn’t do. It’s not a problem unique to Uvalde.

Remember that when politicians tell us they need more money for police. Instead, we need better solutions than police.

Because in this one instance, a single mother did more than most of the police there.

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Empty Promises, We Need Action

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Politicians posture and bluster, some promoting real solutions to gun violence, some suggesting it’s all a problem of doors (Ted Cruz is an idiot), some sucking up to the gun industry at the NRA convention today (addicted to that gun lobby money).

But none of them do anything. Empty promises.

When will we see real action?

Isn’t it Ironic? Don’tcha think?

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On Friday, Trump is scheduled to speak at the NRA convention in Houston, TX. In an open carry state. And no firearms will be allowed. Because that just seems sensible, right? Don’t allow a bunch of people to bring in guns to a speech from the former President. Cuz a room full of people with guns might be dangerous.

Hopefully the irony is not lost on you.

Undoubtedly the NRA will be raising tons of money from the latest shooting and calls for sane gun control. And Wayne LaPierre will keep lining his own pockets- maybe for another house or another trophy hunting safari.

Sane Gun Laws or Guns Everywhere?

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With each mass shooting there’s an outcry for more gun control. And an inevitable backlash from those who stubbornly oppose any actions. Instead, many say we need MORE guns.

Ted Cruz called for more armed guards in schools. More “hardened targets.”

Of course they won’t research the effects that might have. In fact, some research shows, “armed guards were not associated with significant reduction in rates of injuries; in fact, controlling for the aforementioned factors of location and school characteristics, the rate of deaths was 2.83 times greater in schools with an armed guard present.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2776515

Some politicians think it will hit a point there are so many shootings the people will rise up and demand gun control. But instead we get more stalling for any research or changes, and more guns in more places. Which only benefits the gun makers. And paints an awful picture of the future.

Want to do something? Contact your Senators and tell them to pass H.R. 8- Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 and H.R. 1446 - Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021.

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CPAC’s Authoritarian Hero

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CPAC, the prominent conservative political conference, was held this week in Hungary. Setting aside the irony of the “America First” crowd taking their money and convention jobs to another country, what’s most disturbing is the way they’ve cozied up to the authoritarian leader of Hungary, Viktor Orbán.

Orbán provides a template for authoritarian rule, being called a modern dictator in Europe. Several groups have looked at the ways he’s gerrymandered voting districts and limited voting rights for those who oppose him. This is on top of his control of the media, cracking down on free press, limiting religious freedom of non-Christians, removing rights for LGBTQ people, and demonizing immigrants.

Oh yeah, and he’s very cozy with Putin.

The quotes you see in the cartoon are all real from the sources noted. The alarm bells have been ringing for years about Orbán. He’s made Hungary into a country that some NGOs now dub, “partly free.” The Economist (hardly an alarmist, leftist magazine) has said Orbán has hollowed out Hungary’s democracy.

And this is the hero the conservative action committee holds up as an example.

Don’t be surprised when the conservatives and GOP try to bring these tactics to the US, undermining freedoms for anyone “different” than them and eroding democracy. They’re telling us what they value. We know what they want to do.

Oklahoma

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On Thursday, Oklahoma passed one of the strictest abortion bans in the US, which will make abortion illegal after fertilization, except for few limited cases.

The push to ban after fertilization is causing some to fear that some contraceptives - such as IUDs, which prevent implantation, not fertilization - could be next. It’s not yet in this bill, but not a stretch to see that coming.

I guess Oklahoma wants to be known for more than just a 79 year old musical.

https://apnews.com/article/abortion-us-supreme-court-politics-texas-legislature-a43f7f21c1b8e07a383b120d1bdbc695

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Dark MAGA

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Upon losing the Republican primary for re-election, NC Representative Madison Cawthorn released a rant, saying: “The time for gentile politics as usual has come to an end. It’s time for the rise of the new right, it’s time for Dark MAGA to truly take command.”

While it sounds like some awful call to assemble a team of super villains, it seems he’s just speaking to the worse nature of the movement.

Trouble is, the MAGA movement has already assembled a motley crew of some awfulness. So, I’m not sure that we’ll be able to tell the difference.

Baby Formula Shortage

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The Baby Formula shortage is terrible. Raising a baby is tough enough. Democrats want to blame unfettered capitalism. Republicans want to just blame Biden, without real criticisms beyond feeding babies in federal custody (which we must do, legally and morally.) Like most things it’s more complex and many sides are to blame.

The best explanations I’ve seen point to a lack of elasticity in the market due to over consolidation to just 3 mega corporations. One of which shut down its factory due to bacterial contamination. That took out supply, compounded further by the global supply chain issues and a lag in response to surging demand from rising births in 2021.

In modern, global markets we’d add supply from other countries. Unfortunately, Trump signed a US-Mexico-Canada trade deal that grossly limits baby formula imports from Canada (as a favor to those 3 mega corporations). Further, over regulation from the FDA limits imports of baby formula from Europe for silly issues like label requirements. Even going so far as seizing perfectly good, healthy European formula and destroying it.

So, both sides got us into this. It’s going to take both sides to get us out of it. And make sure it doesn’t happen again.