Instead of going to Jared, Jared Kushner went south of the border to meet with the Mexican president; seems his father-in-law is barely able to have a phone conversation with the Mexicans, so hopefully Jared will be able to work his magic and get things back on track. It may not be as hard as, you know, Middle East peace or anything, but if they're talking about who's going to pay for the wall, things could get ugly.
Speaking of the great, big, beautiful wall, I can't help wondering whether Kushner is supposed to stay in Mexico until all of the issues are resolved, or until the wall gets built, whichever comes first? Given his loss of clearance, and all the unpleasant news about the family business, he could be on the president's short list for clearing bad vibes out of the West Wing.
Sticking with the White House for another moment, did you hear about the lawsuit against the president for blocking people on Twitter? A Seattle woman was blocked by the @realdonaldtrump verified Twitter account, which is the one the president uses several times a day to bully his opponents (and appointees), brag about how much size matters, and let the world know when he'll be making call-ins to various Fox News shows -- and, at times, to announce policy decisions.
The offending tweet that led to her being blocked was a video clip of Pope Francis dropping his smile when he looked at Trump. And it kind of makes sense that it would be something so trivial that caused the blockage; after all, he probably thinks this post is about him...
The case is being watched closely not only for its curiosity value, but also as a test of how courts will apply the first amendment in the context of public officials' use of social media accounts, at a time when the role of social networks in politics has generated intense controversy.
Can elected officials block their constituents? Or are social media accounts essential avenues for citizens to petition leaders? Is it the constitutional right of all Americans to start an online flame war with the politician of their choice, as the founders surely intended?Somehow, the Justice Department is trying to make the case that the @realdonaldtrump account is a personal one, not a political one - which is truly laughable. I wonder, have they even read any of the president's tweets?
On the wonderful front, legislators in Florida have passed new rules on guns - and more - less than a month after the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, which just happened on Valentine's Day. Among the proposals:
- raising the age to purchase all firearms;
- banning the purchase and possession of bump stocks;
- setting a three-day waiting period to buy any gun - shotguns and rifles included
But that wasn't all - there are provisions to address mental health (mobile crisis teams included) and school safety too, by adding metal detectors, bulletproof glass, and resource officers. There's also a provision that allows for allowing some school personnel to carry firearms.
People who have been calling for a comprehensive approach might want to take a look at this one - it brings consistency to existing laws, actually provides funding for mental health issues (instead of just hand-wringing), and it addresses the 'hardening' of schools.
I wonder if folks, seeing something like this get from point A to the governor's desk in less than a month, will still maintain that thoughts and prayers are all we can do? Certainly there will be people who are not happy with some or all of the provisions -- on both sides of the aisle - but this shows what can be done when people listen, and learn and come together.
And finally tonight, circling back to government officials using Twitter, Betsy DeVos got a taste of people paying attention when the posted a couple of stock photos - one old, one really old - as representative of public school classrooms.
The reaction was swift, as teachers from across the country posted pictures of actual public school classrooms, which look nothing like the pictures DeVos posted.
Many commenters pointed out that what she posted looked more like charter schools than public schools, or that she might actually want to go in a public school classroom to see for herself what actually happens in one. What was nice was that, for the most part, the comments were polite, if firm, and there were not all that much snark.
I wonder whether she's read the comments? And whether she'll actually take up the offer from any number of teachers who invited her, politely, to visit them? And then I wondered, what on earth am I thinking?
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