March 29, 2022

I am currently reading (possibly rereading) “All the President’s Men” by Woodward and Bernstein. I saw both versions of the movie. The first one with Redford and Hoffman was much better. I am not on a nostalgia trip. I was interested in seeing if Mark Twain’s quote, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes,” was true. Actually, Samuel Clemens got it wrong when it comes to Republicans, Nixon, and Trump. History does repeat itself. We have two Presidents, who left office under a cloud and in disgrace. One avoided impeachment, and the other got impeached twice. They were both surrounded by yes men, who were willing to break the law in their furtherance of power. They both relentlessly attacked the media.

Now, we have the ultimate coincidence. The Nixon hearings were highlighted by the missing 18 1/2 minutes of tape from the White House recordings. The contents of the recording remain unknown, but the gap occurred during a conversation between Nixon and his administrative chief, Bob Haldeman, three days after the Watergate break in. We just learned that there is a more than seven hour gap in the presidential phone logs during the January 6th insurrection. Were they destroyed? Was the President and others using burner phones? Is it possible that Trump did not talk to his administrative chief for seven hours during a national crisis? What did the President know, and when did he know it?

I don’t know if we will ever have the seven hour gap filled in, but I think we all know what happened, or didn’t happen.

March 25, 2022

In January, the Supreme Court rejected former President Donald Trump’s bid to block the release of some presidential records to the House committee investigating the Capitol riot. Only one of the nine justices dissented: Clarence Thomas. Now it has come to light via the WAPO that she had communicated via text with Mark Meadows about overturning the 2020 election. It was previously reported that she had attended the January 6th rally to decertify the election. Clearly, Thomas had a conflict of interest, and should have recused himself from the case. He did the wrong thing.

In a separate venue, Kentanji Brown Jackson was questioned by the Judiciary Comittee about how she would rule in a discrimination case involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Being a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she said that she would recuse herself from the case. She would do the right thing.

I think it would take a giant leap of faith to think that Clarence Thomas didn’t know what his wife was up to. At best, he would be guilty of willful ignorance. At worst, he is a co-conspirator in the plot to overthrow the election. This is clearly an impeachable offense, and it argues against lifetime appointments for Supreme Court Justices regardless of their political affiliation.

March 24, 2022

Republicans are going to make crime a major issue heading into the 2022 elections. The Republican narrative going as far back as Nixon and Agnew is that Democrats are soft on crime. The current crop of Nixon impersonators on the Judiciary Committee like Hawley, Cotton, Blackburn, and Graham are badgering Ketanji Brown Jackson with crime statistics that have little to do with her role as a judge. They are preening for the cameras, the Trump base, and their pedophile-obsessed, QAnon followers. The rising homicide rate is a legitimate issue, but they only have to look into their own backyards to see where the problem is.

The following is a list of the top ten states in per capita homicide rates for 2020 per the CDC. 2020 is the last year data is available. Also, I have noted whom the states voted for in the 2020 presidential election, and their Senator from the Judiciary Committee.

Mississippi 20.5 Trump

Louisiana 19.9 Trump

Alabama 14.2 Trump

Missouri 14 Trump Hawley

Arkansas 13 Trump Cotton

South Carolina 12.7 Trump Graham

Tennessee 11.5 Trump Blackburn

Maryland 11.4 Biden

Illinois 11.2 Biden

New Mexico 10.8 Trump

At the risk of piling on, Maryland does have a Republican governor. I guess one could say that the Republicans are soft-headed on crime.

March 23, 2022

Senator X: “Do you know how many jelly beans there are in this jar?”

KBJ: “That’s a complicated question, Senator.”

Senator X: “It’s a simple question.”

KBJ: “Unfortunately, Senator, I am not as simple as you.”

Senator Y: “Do you know what CRT stands for?”

KBJ: Yes, Senator. Cathode ray tube.”

Senator Y: “Should we be teaching science in school?”

KBJ: “It’s not my place to comment on curricula,or lack thereof, in your state.”

Senator Z: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your golf game?”

KBJ: “Senator, that kind of question deserves a two stroke penalty for questioning from a wrong place.”

Senator A: “Have you read this racist children’s book?”

KBJ: “Senator, I spend my time reading briefs and writing opinions. If you would like some book recommendations, you might want to take a look at Toni Morrison.”

Senator X: “Do you know how many angels dance on the head of a pin.”

KBJ. “No, Senator, I don’t, but I would guess that is more than the number of angels that sit in the Senate.”

Senator B: “How many pedophiles do you know?”

KBJ: “I don’t know any except the ones I read about in the newspaper like Matt Gaetz and Donald Trump’s friend, Jeffrey Epstein.

Senator B: “Why do you coddle pedophiles?”

KBJ: “I don’t tolerate disgusting behavior directed at children, and I don’t tolerate childish behavior from US Senators.”

March 21, 2022

Hearings begin today in the Senate regarding Kentanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. I am sure it will be noble affair, demonstrating what’s right about the approval process (not.) Republicans are rounding up their attack lines, and looking for revenge for the Kavanaugh hearings while they disregard the civil proceedings surrounding the Gorsuch nomination, which was stolen from Merrick Garland, and the Amy Coney Barrett hearings, which were rushed through in a record short time.

What is interesting about KBJ is her background as a public defender. She will bring a perspective about how the law actually affects real people. “No other lawyers in the system are seeing the law from the perspective of public defenders. Public defenders are the system’s check on governmental overreach, on police misconduct, on legal misconduct, on all of these different parts of the system.” What the current conservatives on the Court lack is a sense as to how their decisions reverberate in the real world.

This court rolled back protections for voting rights. Right wing legislatures immediately started putting in restrictive voting laws, and putting in administrators, who are hostile to the current systems for counting votes. This will affect millions of voters. This court looked the other way as Texas and now other states have rolled back protections for women seeking abortions. This will affect hundreds of thousands of women if not more. Women are now forced to go out of state under great emotional and financial stress. This court eliminated restrictions on campaign contributions, opening the door for millions of dollars of dark money to pollute the election process.

In all these cases, the Supreme Court ignored the real world consequences of its decisions. Hopefully, KBJ, rather than being constrained by constitutional originality or religious politics, will see that Justices shouldn’t live in ivory towers, but, rather, should be aware of what is happening on the streets of America.

March 18, 2022

I hate it when politics contaminates golf. It came to a head when the “Commander- in-Cheat” started directing official business to his golf properties, and tried to steer a G-7 meeting to Trump Doral with a hidden agenda to invite Vladimir Putin. The Trump children have publicly admitted that they rely on Russian oligarchs to finance their golf properties. I am sure the money is very clean by the time it winds up in Trump’s bank account.

Today, the Saudi-backed LIV golf tour announced its schedule for 2023. Not surprisingly, Trump Bedminster was selected as one of the locations. Trump has still not condemned the assassination of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of murderers deployed by MBS, and is apparently being rewarded for his acquiescence. What concerns me more because it is local is that the The International golf club in Bolton, MA has also signed on. This can’t go well. I will vote with my feet and my wallet and stay home, or I will attend a little event at The Country Club called the US Open. I think a lot of people will be more active and outspoken. I suspect picketers and demonstrators will create a scene that will be viewed all over the world. At least, I hope so.

March 17, 2022

What’s worse than teaching children about Critical Race Theory and threatening those teachers who do? Not having any teachers at all. Because of fake controversies, physical threats, hijacked school boards, COVID restrictions, school shootings, lack of respect, lack of resources and low pay, teachers are leaving the profession in droves. “The statistics are sobering. There has been a net loss of 600,000 educators in the U.S. since January of 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And in a recent survey by the National Education Association, the country’s largest union representing about 3 million educators, 55 percent of teachers said they are planning to leave the field,” per The Harvard Gazette. Teachers are burnt out, yet school boards, pushed by angry parents and political opportunists, mandate curricula that is antithetical to the educational process.

Why would teachers or future teachers want to teach in an environment where “Don’t Say Gay” is a thing like it is in Florida? Why would teachers want to teach in a system where books by authors like Toni Morrison are under constant scrutiny? Why would teachers want to teach students, who are being conditioned to report every infraction, real and imagined? Why would teachers want to teach where shooter drills have to take their place next to math skills?

I think parents should be careful about unintended consequences unless they are okay with home schooling.

March 16, 2022

There was a recent story in the New York Times that should make us all feel good. Republicans and Democrats in Washington were coming together in a way not seen in years in their support of Ukraine . Both sides had to give up for now on key pieces of their agendas. Democrats have had to compromise on their desire to cut back on fossil fuels, to reduce military expenditures, and to spend more money on COVID relief. Republicans have had to recalibrate their support for Vladimir Putin and their antipathy towards Ukraine.

It’s a wonderful thing when you can see our lawmakers work together, especially when most Americans believe that Congress is dysfunctional. And you certainly don’t want to criticize this kumbaya moment in the middle of an international crisis. However, I have to ask, “Is this fair and balanced?” I think it points out the bankruptcy of the Republican platform that doesn’t exist. Apparently there are no initiatives that they have to walk back. They are cutting back on is what is left of Trump’s Realpolitik.

Democrats are forced to moderate their desires to deal with real world issues. Fossil fuels need to be replaced to both control climate change and limit Russia’s influence over energy supplies. Eventually, support for the military will need to be cutback as we focus more of our resources on infrastructure and human needs. Lastly, I am sure the COVID virus didn’t get the memo about the need to cut back in a crisis.

I still feel good, but I could certainly feel a heckuva lot better.

March 11, 2020

The party of “Q” has become the party of Quislings. In the middle of what could be WW III punctuated by nuclear warfare, the Republican Party has decided that it is going to make the price of gas an issue. While President Biden is successfully holding together the western world and NATO in its fight against Russian aggression, the GOP is displaying its patriotism by ginning up anger over higher gas prices. This is the kind of divisiveness that Putin hopes to take advantage of.

Gas prices were going up before Russia invaded Ukraine and have continued to rise as we try to choke off Russia’s exports, but the Republican narrative has it all wrong. They want you to believe that stimulus checks and the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline project are the culprits. They are correct when they say that we were net energy exporters under Trump, but Trump just happened to be in the right place at the right time because we were heading in that direction anyway going back to Bush and Obama. When COVID hit, the price of a barrel of oil cratered to the mid-thirties, causing many producers to shut down production, which led to today’s shortages. Producers are still playing catch-up as demand has surged with a vengeance, leading to higher prices. OPEC and our “friends,” the Saudis, have refused to pump more oil to mitigate prices.

Republican Party Quacks should just be Quiet, and Quit carping about gas prices. There will be plenty of time for their false claims once Putin is, hopefully, Quickly defeated.