Sunday School 1/31/21

Who's making the rounds in the classrooms today?  

Let's start with a couple of Senators - Rob Portman (R-OH) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), both of whom were in the CNN State of the Union classroom with Dana Bash. 

Sen. Portman was first up.  He's one of ten senators who sent a two-thirds smaller COVID package to the White House today. He says it's "more targeted and more appropriate for the times we're in," and hopes they can meet with President Biden and hammer out a deal.

He wants more targeted direct payments; I agree. And he's concerned about "unprecedented deficits and debts," and about enhanced unemployment benefits. He says the Biden plan extends protections through September, but that

Most economists believe next year will be significant growth, over 4% growth. So, let's target that a little bit more and make sure that it ties somewhat to the economic conditions.

He also said the Dems using reconciliation to get the COVID bill taken care of is different than the Rs using reconciliation on tax cuts and repealing the Affordable Care Act. The Dems are trying to use it wrong, and without even trying to reach across the aisle to get a deal. Or something. 

Bash asked if he considered Trump's actions before and on January 6th amount to "impeachable conduct, yes or no." Portman's response took more words, but in a nutshell, Trump's behavior can be both inexcusable and not subject to conviction.

I have said with regard to the president's comments that day that they were partly responsible for what happened, for the horrible violence that occurred on Capitol Hill. I have also said that what he did was wrong and inexcusable.

He has concerns about the constitutionality of "convicting a private citizen," though, and how that might impact all former presidents, alive or dead. 

Sen. Warren was up next, talking about Wall Street, GameStop, Reddit, and hedge funds. Bash asked what she meant by saying it was time for regulators to "wake up and do their jobs."  Among the concerns is that "we actually don't know who all the players are in this." And, she hit on her favorite theme - the rigged system, where the stock market is more like a casino now. 

They have been doing all kinds of market manipulation, pump and dump, companies that buy back shares of their own stock, so that they can inflate stock prices. We need a market that is transparent, that's level, and that is open to individual investors. It is time for the SEC to get off their duffs and do their jobs.

Warren says we need more regulation around manipulation. The SEC's got some rules pending, but needs to take a "broader look" at how companies and hedge funds manipulate the market, "grow a backbone," and enforce the rules they put into place. We need more market transparency, a more level playing field that "helps individual investors come into that market and, frankly, helps make that market more efficient," and that big corporations and hedge fund love an inefficient market - they get better returns, she said, and individual investors lose out. 

The decision by Robinhood and others to prevent small investors from trading, while allowing the hedge funds to continue, is a prime example and "that's why we're going to have an investigation. That's why there's going to be a hearing in the Banking Committee. And I'm looking forward to it."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (That Guy from Vermont) was in the This Week classroom, with  Martha Raddatz hosting. She was interested in bipartisanship and COVID, and wondered if there was an over-estimation on the part of the new administration on that.

TGFV's confident we'll see it down the road, but "we have got to act and we have got to act now" to get relief to folks who can't feed their families, who are facing eviction. 

Raddatz asked about the new bill from the ten GOP senators, and whether the Dems made a mistake thinking about "abandoning bipartisan negotiations so soon?" Again, TGFV said the issue is about addressing the crises we face, ticking off the list of issues: producing the vaccines we need, and getting them into arms; children going hungry; evictions; schools not open. Asking about bipartisanship is the wrong question, the right question is how will we go about

addressing the unprecedented crisis that we face right now. If Republicans want to work with us, they have better ideas on how to address those crises, that's great. But, to be honest with you, I have not yet heard that.

He said he's confident the Dems have the votes to pass the package via reconciliation, and that the polling shows overwhelming support by Rs, Ds, and Is. And he doesn't seem concerned about Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), who's the most conservative Dem in the Senate and, according to some, the most powerful. Manchin complained that no one reached out to him about the bill, saying "that's not a way of working together."

Democrats have majority because of the fact that we won two seats with great candidates in Georgia. And, obviously, those candidates won the support of the people of Georgia, but that campaign, in many ways, was a national campaign. And what those candidates said is, yes, we are going to provide checks of $2,000, $1,400 on top of the $600. Yes, we're going to extend unemployment benefits. Yes, we are going to address the needs of working families. The entire Democratic Party came together behind the candidates in Georgia. We made promises to the American people. And if politics means anything, if you're going to have any degree of creditability, you know what? You can't campaign on a series of issues, and then, after the election, when you get power, say, oh well, you know what, changing our mind. That's not the way it works. We made promises to the American people. We're going to keep those promises.

See you around campus. Wear a mask or two, please - and thank you.

In Case You Missed it (v71)

Baby, it's cold outside, but nowhere near as cold as the experts said it was going to be. Which reminds me of this 2014 post about weather reporting and accuracy and translating that to the business environment - especially how the meteorologists use models to do their forecasts. Here' what that might have looked like, with me approaching my boss.

Hi -- got a sec? The auditors have asked us to provide ten years' worth of records related to the Doomaflatchey case, and they've given us five business days to provide the information.  I've reviewed the most reliable model on this and my forecast is that we don't have a snowball's chance in hell of producing the information in that time frame.  

See, that's the kind of thing that comes to mind when the forecasted low temp is off - by 16 degrees. But I digress. 

Here's your recap of last week's posts, starting with Sunday School, where Chuck Todd talked with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) about the election, among other things. The senator thinks a bipartisan investigation into the election is a good idea.

Let's point out that -- if there's misinformation out there, which I believe there was, then let's put that out and lay it out so the people can see it... Republicans and Democrats alike should support that... the best way to do it is to work our way through it and... show them publicly how well it was actually run.

I appreciate his stating that the election was well run and that there was misinformation out there, and agree we need to investigate, but only if the investigation is an overarching look  that includes the participation of members of Congress in the misinformation and interference. If we ignore that, we're idiots. 

For your Extra Credit, we heard from Dr. Deborah Birx's lengthy interview with Margaret Brennan for Face the Nation. This was an eye-opener for some people, I'm sure, who perhaps still don't believe that there was an active campaign within the White House to downplay the pandemic. Many of us felt that all along, and Birx makes it clear that's exactly what was happening. 

Birx said she wasn't doing national press, and wasn't going to ask to do it, either,

because there was so much leaking and so many parallel stories being leaked to the press that did not have grounding in truth that I didn't want to ever be part of that slippery slope. I know people started it with good intentions of trying to inform the American people, but then it became a way that they could silence those who didn't agree with them. And so, I knew that every time I had a significant disagreement in the White House that within days a story would be planted... I think a lot of people were doing that.

Some blame her for not quitting, and she does get into that in the interview as well. 

I had a séance of sorts, and called upon my inner conspiracy theorist Republican personality to drop a rant about unity and impeachment and Biden and Trump and yadda yadda yadda... obviously these are not my thoughts, they're the collected mashed up thoughts of a number of Rs - including elected officials - who are riding the whiny train right now, and complaining that the drinks are watered down and there aren't enough of them, or something.

He's gone! He's out of office! He's banned from Twitter! You stole the election from him! How much punishment do you think he deserves, for doing NOTHING wrong? How much is one man supposed to take?  What did he say that was so wrong?  NOTHING, that's what he said that was so wrong. Do you think people actually listened to him? Do you think the people who were arrested blame him?  Hell, NO - they blame ANTIFA and the DemoRATS and the Libtards and the socialists, that's who they blame! 

We know that's not true, but in a world of alternative facts, who cares about the truth? Seems lots of people don't.

And then it was time for Wondering on Wednesday, and I found myself scratching my head at how when Donald Trump promoted Buy American, it was the greatest thing since the Muslim Ban and the Border Wall that Mexico is Going to Pay For, but when Joe Biden strengthens the requirements to buy American, well, that's completely different.

"Now by putting these more restrictive 'Buy American' policies in place, we are further exacerbating some of the trade problems that we've had," (Brandon Arnold) opined. "It's annoying people to the north, it's annoying other countries."

"We have to tread lightly here," ((host Ainsley) Earhardt agreed. "Because we want companies in America to do well but, also, we need [personal protective equipment] from other countries. Then we don't want to do anything to upset that relationship, maybe with China or someone else -- even though China is such a big threat."

Only on Fox News...

On Thursday, I dropped a Meanwhile Back in Albany post from last January, in part to jump-start my focus on what my Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo has in mind for New York this year. In addition to his pet projects, he also announced in his State of the State that we have to "end the 'American cancer' " of hatred.

Racism and discrimination are not new... It is this country consuming itself from within. And if we do not confront it, and if we do not defeat it, it will defeat us — there is no nation on this globe that can beat this nation, but this nation can defeat itself. 

New York must be the antidote. 

NY has a long way to go, as does the country. FYI, Cuomo's 2021 State of the State was delivered over four days - I've got my work cut out for me, I think.

And before I knew it, it was Friday and TGIF time, and I was still in a New York  state of mind, after AG Tish James dropped her report on nursing homes and COVID deaths and honestly, I think people are focused on the wrong thing.

COVID-related nursing home deaths were under-reported, perhaps by as much as 50%. That's an eye-catching number, for sure, but those 'excess deaths' were reported as hospital deaths, because that's where the patients died. The bigger issue, to me, that the report found fault with a number of nursing homes for how they were handling patients, infection control, and so on. Hitting the Sonofa Gov is great fun, for sure, but is he the real issue, or is patient care the real issue? Hopefully, people will understand it's the latter - that would be good news, for sure.

Which is more important to you - trying to damage the future prospects of the governor, or ensuring that our loved ones in nursing homes are getting the kind of treatment they deserve, and we pay for?

 And that's it - you're all caught up!  I'll be back later with your Sunday School. 

TGIF 1/29/21

What do you think - should we focus on some good news tonight?

First, there's news on the case involving the most recent former president's taxes. A judge in New York has ordered more data to be turned over to the NY AG, Tish James, saying that "many of the communications (Trump's attorney) marked as privileged" weren't, and so the specific documents need to be turned over. If you're that former president, and you're confident there's nothing wrong with your taxes, you probably want to clear your name as soon as possible. If you're a detractor of him, you want the most information possible to be available in hopes it will do him harm. And if you're just a person who's looking to have all the crazy tax rules exposed (and perhaps changed, in the interest of fairness), you're probably happy, too. So, I guess this is good news all around - unless, of course, you're him and your taxes are not squeaky clean.

Sticking in the Empire State and with our AG, lots of people are talking about her report on nursing homes and COVID. Most folks are all gaga over the statement that COVID-related nursing home deaths were under-reported, perhaps by as much as 50%. That's an eye-catching number, for sure, but those 'excess deaths' were reported as hospital deaths, because that's where the patients died. The bigger issue, to me, that the report found fault with a number of nursing homes for how they were handling patients, infection control, and so on. Hitting the Sonofa Gov is great fun, for sure, but is he the real issue, or is patient care the real issue? Hopefully, people will understand it's the latter - that would be good news, for sure.

Sticking with COVID-related items, there were three other stories this week related to vaccines that had happy endings. In the first, vaccines were given to motorists stranded in a snowstorm in Oregon. There were only six doses available, but rather than let them expire while stuck on the highway, the health care workers went car to car to find folks who wanted one.  Said one recipient, "It is important for people to know how dedicated health professionals are to getting every single dose into people. My community should be so proud - I am."

The second COVID story also comes from the Pacific Northwest. It took only about two hours after a freezer alarm went off in a Seattle hospital signaling that vials of the Moderna vaccine needed to be used before they got too warm to get a vaccine clinic set up and get word out that folks could come on down. When all was said and done, over 1600 doses were administered, starting at 11PM. According to some reports, folks showed up in their PJs and bathrobes, they were that interested in getting the vaccine. Kudos to all involved in putting the plan together and saving the doses, and to the folks who made the trip and stood in line to get their jab. Some folks suggested that the same sense of urgency should be on display every day, and it should - but we should at least be happy that this worked as well as it did.

What else do we have?  Well, if you don't mind rampant, aggressive cursing, this Georgia resident going off on his fellow Georgians to get them to rise up against Marjorie Taylor Greene is encouraging. I repeat, this is NSFW and NSFC (children) and NSFP (parents) and maybe NSFHP (houseplants) but he's got a point. I hope people not only feel the same way as he does, but are going to act on their anger and rage and demand they get better representation. I also hope it doesn't take until the next election to get rid of her.

Oh, that third COVID story? It's a flat-out good news story, no question about that, and it comes to us from Minneapolis. Take a look. 

When COVID arrived last March, neighbors in the 4100 block of S. Colfax Avenue in Minneapolis stepped outside to sing together as a way to boost morale. Nearly 300 nights later, they're still singing. Every night at 6 p.m., "rain, shine or meteor shower, ..." they tackle Prince and Elvis, "Baby Shark" and "Let It Snow," "God Bless, America" and "This Land is Your Land." 

They've got a repertoire of over 200 songs, now. Back in the beginning, we saw lots of stories of this kind of thing, the clapping for health care workers, the solo musicians, the opera singers, even the balcony marathoner - but it's been a while since I've seen anything that shows this kind of dedication. 

Got some good news to share? Drop a comment. 

TGIF, everyone.

Wondering on Wednesday 1/27/21

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Where to start the wondering tonight? 

Well, there's that happy little domestic terrorism bulletin today, from the Department of Homeland Security. 

The Acting Secretary of Homeland Security has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin due to a heightened threat environment across the United States, which DHS believes will persist in the weeks following the successful Presidential Inauguration. Information suggests that some ideologically-motivated violent extremists with objections to the exercise of governmental authority and the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence.

Now, DHS goes on to say that a 'bulletin' only "describes current developments or general trends," so there's no new credible threat - but if anyone doesn't believe there is a general trend here,  I wonder where they've been for the past several months, or if they were paying attention today when one of the guys charged in the plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer turned on his co-conspirators and will testify against them.

Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states

I wonder how many more of these we'll learn about, through the investigations into the insurrection in DC?

And speaking of the insurrection, yesterday members of the Senate were sworn in to do "impartial justice" as jurors in the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. One of them, Kentucky's Sen. Rand Paul, led a failed procedural vote, which is alternately described as a vote to immediately debate the constitutionality of impeaching a president that's already out of office, or declaring that the impeachment is unconstitutional. Either way, 45 Republicans voted with Paul, who declared victory even though his vote failed.  

Also wonder-full was that Mitch McConnell voted with the other Rs on Paul's motion. And, of course, that McConnell was the one who set the schedule for the Senate that precluded them from doing anything with the impeachment until after President Biden's inauguration. I wonder how seriously he wants us to take him for his comments the day before the inauguration. Let's reminisce, shall we? 

The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like. But we pressed on.

"We pressed on." So, let's move on? I guess that what his vote means?

I wonder what House Minority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy and the #IMPOTUS are going to chat about tomorrow at Mar-a-Lago? Trump is not a Bakersfield, CA resident and so is not one of McCarthy's constituents. And, of course, the former president is just a regular private citizen now, according to Republicans, so what's the need to go and hang with him? 

McCarthy made the news for something else, let's see.  Oh - I remember - an appearance on Fox News - shocking, I know - in which he said that Biden's first week in office (that would be three days, but who's counting) he had done more to benefit Russia and China than the United States. And that 'unity' is what the Rs are working on. Now, there's really nothing there to wonder about - he's being true to form, and Judge Jeannine is also being true to form. 

But the next day, also on Fox, we learn that Biden might be 'upsetting China.'

"Now by putting these more restrictive 'Buy American' policies in place, we are further exacerbating some of the trade problems that we've had," (Brandon Arnold) opined. "It's annoying people to the north, it's annoying other countries."

"We have to tread lightly here," ((host Ainsley) Earhardt agreed. "Because we want companies in America to do well but, also, we need [personal protective equipment] from other countries. Then we don't want to do anything to upset that relationship, maybe with China or someone else -- even though China is such a big threat."

I wonder which one of the shows I should believe? I'm so confused.

Ranting and Raving (v8): We Don't Need No Stinking Unity!

You know, I'm SO sick of the Democrats already! How on earth am I supposed to make it through the next two years???  

No, I'm not stupid - I said two years on purpose, because we are going to take over the House and take back the Senate in the midterms - I promise you that! And then things will go back to normal!

First of all, the Dems cheated their way into office, with those supposed millions of ballots that picked Sleepy Joe Biden over our beloved savior of the GOP, Donald John Trump. As if!!!

Does anyone really believe that someone wouldn't want Donald Trump to continue being our president? I mean, how stupid would you have to be to not want him?? He saved our Country! He loves America! He hugs the flag!

They cheated, they CHEATED, in Pennsylvania and Georgia and Arizona and Nevada and Wisconsin and Michigan. And they had help, from China and Iran, and Venezuela, and a bunch of RINOs, those fake Republicans who said they supported our beloved President, but wouldn't help him when it mattered - when it mattered SO MUCH for our Country!!!

And then, after all of our efforts failed to keep the cheaters out, even when we tried to capture the no-good RINOs and liberals in Congress, and to hang that bastard Mike Pence for allowing the Electoral College vote to be certified, they're calling for UNITY? For Country over Party? Who the hell do they think they are??? We are all about Country over Party! We call our own people RINOs for Pete's sake! We - US, not the Dems - WE are the party that's all about country over party! Are they kidding???

They say they're fighting for the SOUL of the NATION?? What the hell is wrong with them?  Countries don't have souls - corporations and good people do! Not commies and socialists and liberals! Countries don't have souls - Republicans do! 

Our souls are fine - just fine, thank you very much for asking. We know where we're going when WE die - do they? Do they even believe in Heaven?  I bet they don't. Come on, man - how can anyone who believes in giving illegal ALIENS a pathway to citizenship believe in heaven?? That's a lie! And we're sick of the fake religious people, too!

And killing pipelines! Killing all of those jobs that don't even exist yet? Who does that, who erases tens of thousands of paper jobs? And what are all of those paper jobs going to do without a salary and benefits?? How are they supposed to survive? Where's THEIR stimulus, Biden?  

All because it's what Trump wanted, and what we wanted? When all of YOU were worried about the environment and animals or something silly like that? Not to mention, there goes my 401(k), and now I'm going to have to choose between putting food on the table or gas in my truck. Thanks a lot, Sleepy Joe!

And let's talk about UNITY... What does that even mean? How can you be pro-unity and allow our president, our country's savior Donald John Trump to be impeached a SECOND TIME?? Where's the unity in THAT??? What, do you want blood out of a stone or something?

He's gone! He's out of office! He's banned from Twitter! You stole the election from him! How much punishment do you think he deserves, for doing NOTHING wrong? How much is one man supposed to take?  What did he say that was so wrong?  NOTHING, that's what he said that was so wrong. Do you think people actually listened to him? Do you think the people who were arrested blame him?  Hell, NO - they blame ANTIFA and the DemoRATS and the Libtards and the socialists, that's who they blame! 

And they're RIGHT! Trump had nothing to do with it, and you're trying to kick him when he's down, when he's already gone?!

You want unity? How about you stop pushing for stuff that you know we don't like? How about not getting rid of the Trump agenda?? How about not trying to shove your left-wing socialist crap down our throats by suggesting legislative and policy changes? Where do you get off doing that, Mr. Unity???!! 

If you want unity, you'll listen to US! 74 million people voted for US, and for our COUNTRY! You have NO RIGHT to come in and start pretending you're president on day one, just because you won the Electoral College in a stolen landslide, and just because you had 7 million more votes - they were all fake! FAKE! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!! 

And who do you think you are, Mr. "Scranton" - some "every man" you are -- you wear a goddam ROLEX watch!  You own a PELOTON! Nice try, you leftist, elitist piece of crap! DONALD TRUMP was "every man" - he's the only one who understands what it's like to be in the trenches like us working people!!!  No one else EVER cared about us. And who cares if he has a gold toilet - he talked JUST LIKE US!  He was OUR president, and you're just a puppet for the coastal elites and Big Tech who want to CONTROL US!! And take away our guns! And turn us into Cuba! 

You want Unity?  Do what we say!  WE'RE right and YOU'RE wrong, totally wrong!  Trump had the election stolen from him, and we lost control of the Senate, but WE'RE STILL IN CHARGE because those Trump voters LOVE us - and if you want unity, dammit, you're going to have to go through us!! 

And as soon as we figure out what your precious 'unity' means, we'll let you know.

Sunday School 1/24/21: Extra Credit

I'm sure many of you have heard about Dr. Deborah Birx's interview with Margaret Brennan in the Face the Nation classroom. A few excerpts have been making the rounds, including this one.

I saw the President presenting graphs that I never made. So, I know that someone-- or someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the President. I know what I sent up and I know that what was in his hands was different from that. You can't do that.

What else did she have to say? Well, she knew, at the end of last February, that we were going to be facing a pandemic based on what she had seen from China. 

...when you overwhelm your hospitals, you have to know that you have broad-based community spread before that happens. Yet they weren't seeing it. And that really worried me because what we were looking for is people with symptoms. And so, when people were coming into the country, we were looking for people with symptoms...  This is exactly how we missed the HIV pandemic. If you're only looking for sick people, you miss a lot of the-- what is really happening under the surface...So, when we were questioning people who came into this country about symptoms rather than testing everybody who came into the country, that's when I started to get really worried. 

President Obama appointed her for the AIDS effort, but thinking about how she's going to be forever linked to president Trump doesn't sit well with her.

Well, you know, this is what worries me. If we start looking at technical civil servants as belonging to a political party, we will lose the ability for highly qualified civil servants to come and help. If we start saying if you come in and do this, you are then going to be part of the political apparatus, that is going to be very dangerous for this country.

She did say that "pandemics are always political," because to tackle them, you almost always have to change policies. But even with her experience working on AIDS, nothing prepared her for the politics of the coronavirus in the White House.

White Houses function in a pretty-- a pretty bureaucratic way, and most of the agencies function in a very predictable and bureaucratic way. But when you remove the infrastructure of the civil servants, then you end up with a lot more very quick right turns, left turns, right turns, left turns, and that-- that becomes less predictable and less able to manage that kind of response and change. 

When asked whether there were COVID deniers in the White House, she said in the White House and elsewhere, "there were people who definitely believed that this was a hoax." Partly because information was confusing, and because people saw others who got COVID and were fine, and 

When you have a pandemic where you're relying on every American to change their behavior communication is absolutely key. And so, every time a-- a statement was made by a political leader that wasn't consistent with public health needs, that derailed our response. It is also why I went out on the road because I wasn't censored on the road.

Birx noted she wasn't doing national press, and also that she wasn't "going to go outside the chain of command," and ask to go out and talk to the press if she wasn't asked to 

because there was so much leaking and so many parallel stories being leaked to the press that did not have grounding in truth that I didn't want to ever be part of that slippery slope. I know people started it with good intentions of trying to inform the American people, but then it became a way that they could silence those who didn't agree with them. And so I knew that every time I had a significant disagreement in the White House that within days a story would be planted... I think a lot of people were doing that.

She realized that speaking directly to the governors was the best way to get her information out, and that she, former FDA Commissioner Steve Hahn, former FDA chief Robert Redfield, and Dr. Fauci "would make sure we got the information out to the public one way or another." She considered quitting, "Always. I mean, why would you want to put yourself through that, every day?" That didn't get any better after the 'bleach' incident.

When you're a scientist who's grounded themselves in data and combating epidemics and working with communities and working with governments to change the future of people's lives for the better and then you get-- this is what-- when you talked about, was I prepared for that? No, I wasn't prepared for that. I didn't even know what to do in that moment.

That moment included becoming a character in an SNL skit. 

Birx agreed when Brennan asked if the "fundamental question" is whether we should leave it up to the states to handle a pandemic. They talked about some of the governors who not only had to deal with the president not wearing a mask, pushing them to keep everything open, and whatnot, but also with their own state legislators and state parties.

You needed every single level of government then to work together to ensure that, again, we're talking about behavioral change of American citizens.

About that behavior change? Birx said there were only two people at the White House who regularly wore a mask - she and the support person she had from HHS.  No one else. In trying to explain that, Birx said she thought "people believed wrongly that testing would be adequate ...that they believe that testing is a surrogate for a public health intervention." And, she said

There are multiple communications about masking. Remember when I was talking about the stream of data coming in? They were mixing data that didn't have anything to do with the relevance of masking as a public health measure to changing into masking as a personal protective measure.

Birx also said that she knew going to work at the White House to try and coordinate a pandemic response would be a "terminal event" for her career. 

I know that I wouldn't be allowed to really continue successfully within the federal government. You can't go into something that's that polarized and not believe that you won't be tainted by that experience or how people interpret you in that experience. So I knew that part of it. I didn't want that to happen.

Here's Birx's response when Brennan asked if "this will be the end of your federal career."

Yeah. I will need to retire probably within the next four to six weeks from CDC."

Her experience may keep good people from going into public service, which would be a shame.

See you around campus.

Sunday School 1/24/21

For your Sunday School today, I'm going to try and give you four classroom visits, starting with Dana Bash and her CNN State of the Union interview with That Guy from Vermont, Sen Bernie Sanders.  

On the mittens, TGFV is having a much fun as the rest of us are. He also said President Biden is off to a good start, but "what we have got to do is roll up our sleeves and fight for the agenda that working people throughout this country want." He also said they might have to use the 'reconciliation' process to pass the COVID package, and that they've "got to break through this old approach that the Senate takes years and years to do anything."

We have got a crisis right now. We can chew bubblegum and walk at the same time. The American people are hurting. And they want us to act... And we have got to reaffirm the faith of the American people... that we can respond to their pain.

Bash noted that he's criticized the Rs for using reconciliation in the past. 

... I criticized Republicans, yes, for using reconciliation to give tax breaks to billionaires, to create a situation where large profitable corporations now pay zero in federal income taxes... And if they want to criticize me for helping to feed children who are hungry or senior citizens in this country who are isolated and alone and don't have enough food, they can criticize me. 

Finally, Bash asked if the Dems will lose control in the midterms if they don't get stuff done. In a nutshell, he said yes, "that's what history shows us." 

... if we do not respond now, yes, I believe, two years from now, the Republicans will say, hey, you elected these guys, they did nothing, vote for us, and they will win.

Chris Wallace had Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the Fox News Sunday classroom; they started with impeachment, about which Rubio said "First, I think the trial is stupid."

Second, then I look back at the time, for example, Richard Nixon, who had clearly committed crimes and wrongdoing, and in hindsight I think we would all agree that President Ford's pardon was important for the country to be able to move forward and history held Richard Nixon quite accountable for what he did as a result. 

He noted that Trump "bears some responsibility for some of what happened," but the "stories are still being written." He just doesn't seem interested in helping write them. 

On whether the GOP is still Trump's party, Rubio mentioned the 50% of Trump supporters who felt like both parties had abandoned them. Hey, Hillary - there's finally an R who got your point! Rubio hopes the GOP can still be the party that "keeps the people who believe we're fighting for them" and can bring back people who couldn't stand Trump. Rubio thinks "that's the future of the Republican Party because, frankly, on that I think depends the future of the country." 

Down the hall in the Meet the Press classroom, Chuck Todd asked Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) how he defines President Biden's call for unity. Rounds said "it begins... by recognizing that there are different points of view about how we move forward with regard to the pandemic." He said everyone has the same goal on that, but "what's the right philosophy?" He said the second thing, when it comes to unity, is how they're going to move things in the Senate.

Are we prepared to actually take and to look at both sides and what's the best of both? Can we sit down and actually work together on issues? 

They've done it before, and maybe infrastructure would be a good thing to try doing it again,  "... find out whether or not we can actually come to a consensus that will last long-term."  I totally agree with him on that, even as I question his two different definitions of unity.  

Todd asked if Biden's 7-million vote margin gave him a mandate on the COVID bill. Rounds says the two sides are "not that far off," particularly on the vaccine stuff. The "real challenge" is if the Dems will give up some things, using the minimum wage increase as an example.

... if you're going to talk about an emergency operation, why would you then include and demand that that be a part of it? I think that's just looking for a way not to get some things done that might very well have to be in the next couple of weeks.

Rounds thinks whether Trump committed an impeachable offense or not is moot - he's no longer the president. He also said, "...for right now, I think there are other things that we'd rather be working on instead."

I know that the Biden administration would love to have more of their cabinet in place. There's a number of Republicans who also feel the same way. We should allow this president the opportunity to form his cabinet and to get that in place as quickly as possible.

Finally, Rounds thinks we need a bipartisan election investigation, noting "probably 50M Americans" have questions about it. Todd said that's because they were lied to, but Rounds said "if you allow for an investigation to actually look, you're going to find that the election was fair." We should show the American people, he said.

Let's point out that -- if there's misinformation out there, which I believe there was, then let's put that out and lay it out so the people can see it... Republicans and Democrats alike should support that... the best way to do it is to work our way through it and... show them publicly how well it was actually run.

Finally, there were fireworks in the This Week classroom. George Stephanopoulos asked Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) if he accepts that this election was not stolen. Paul didn't give a yes or no answer, instead saying "the debate over whether or not there was fraud should occur." And, then it all went downhill. George is normal font; Rand Paul is italic.

I have to stop you there. No election is perfect. But there were 86 challenges filed by President Trump and his allies in court, all were dismissed. Every state certified the results - Chris, not for - after an investigation - Not for - but - count (ph), after investigations - of evidence. They were dismissed - counts and recounts. - for (inaudible). The Department of Justice led by William Barr said there's no widespread evidence of fraud. Can’t you just say the words, this election - No. was not stolen? Well, what I would suggest is - what I would suggest is that if we want greater confidence in our elections, and 75% of Republicans agree with me, is that we do need to look at election integrity and we need to see if we can restore confidence in the elections. Well, 75% of Republicans agree with you because they were fed a big lie by President Trump and his supporters to say the election was stolen. Why can't you say - Well, I think - President Biden won a legitimate, fair election -- I think where you make a mistake in -- hey, George. George. George, where you make a mistake is that people coming from the liberal side like you, you immediately say everything's a lie instead of saying there are two sides to everything. Historically what would happen is if said that I thought that there was fraud, you would interview someone else who said there wasn’t. But now you insert yourself in the middle and say that the absolute -Well -fact is that everything that I’m saying is a lie. Well, because - (Inaudible) fact - Senator, I said what the president said was a lie because - we’re going to - Hold on a second. He said the election was stolen. This election was not stolen.

Paul said he was going to spend "the next two years going around state to state and fixing these problems" and that he "won't be cowed by liberals in the media who say, there's no evidence here and you're a liar if you talk about election fraud." Um, isn't he supposed to be spending the next two years working for the people of Kentucky? 

See you around campus. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Do your homework and stuff.

In Case You Missed It (v70)

Got your cuppa or glassa or bowla or your whatever?  Here's your recap of last week's posts. 

The week started with a note from the Update Desk on my post about 'true followers of Trump" and Dan Scavino, the guy who had the job of riling up the base. Here's Megyn Kelly mentioning him after she was attacked by Trumpers for, you know, asking him questions in an interview. 

December 2016: After Trump bullied then-Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly for months, Kelly said that Trump’s social media director was responsible for inciting the many death threats she was receiving. “The vast majority of Donald Trump supporters are not at all this way,” Kelly said, according to the Guardian. “It’s that far corner of the internet that really enjoys nastiness and threats and unfortunately there is a man who works for Donald Trump whose job it is to stir these people up and that man needs to stop doing that. His name is Dan Scavino.”

I updated the post because Scavino, you, see, was just awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.  

In light of Scavino's role as Secretary of Offense for the president, and of keeping Trump's social media accounts unpresidential, and of attacking any and all comers, for any number of made-up reasons, it's kind of hard to swallow this line from Scavino's citation:

As a result of his tireless efforts, the United States is safer, stronger and freer. 

Safer? Ask any of the Capitol Police officers who were injured during the insurrection. Ask the Vice President, Mother, and their daughter if they felt safe at the Capitol. Ask any of the members of Congress who were trapped, or ask their staffers, barricaded in rooms with Trump supporters banging on the doors trying to get in.

Safer? Hardly.

Your Sunday School included highlights from This Week, including George's interview with Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), one of the ten Rs who voted to impeach president Trump for his acts vis a vis the insurrection. He talked about that, and offered his thoughts on what President Biden can do to help heal the divide in our country. 

Finally, on what incoming President Biden can do to help heal the divide?

I think it's incumbent on both parties to ensure that they are not promoting folks within their ranks who are engaged in a politics of deception, but rather having open, thoughtful, honest, engaged conversations. I hope that President Biden will do the same, that he will not give in to some of the more, you know, some of the lower impulses that -- that folks in the progressive wing may try to bring out, but rather say that this is a time for the country to focus on rebuilding; this is a time for the country to focus on rebuilding trust, rebuilding our institutions, rebuilding governance. You know, we need to get through the pandemic. We need to deal with the economic consequences and the fallout. But we also need to heal all of the divides that have been exposed over the past several years.

George (and everyone else who asks the 'what can Biden do' question) did not follow up on the "lower impulses" of the progressives comment, nor did he ask what the Rs are going to do to help unify the country. Apparently, the media is still not sure what their role is here.

Chris Wallace had Brian Deese, the Biden administration's chief economic advisor, in the Fox News Sunday classroom, and that was the focus of your Extra Credit last week. Here's their exchange on the filibuster. 

And if the Rs were to block it, to filibuster the bill, would Biden ask the Senate to get rid of the filibuster?  Deese pointed to recent skepticism, about Biden being able to win by calling for unity and working together, or that Congress could pass a bipartisan COVID bill in December. Both of those things happened, 

So let's see where we can get here. There is a lot of, again, a lot of elements of this plan that have support across the board, both in Washington and in state capitals and around the country. But we need to act. We need to act quickly. And that's what the economy is telling us. That's what the experts are telling us. And so that's our priority.

So, I guess that means one thing that's off the table is talking about ending the filibuster... 

On Wednesday, inauguration day, I offered up My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective on President Biden's inaugural address, and how, with eyes wide open on what's to come, it was such a refreshing change of pace. Here's a slice of that.

It did not have to come to this. It never should have come to this. And a night-and-day different president is what we need, and what we got, and who we heard from today. 

What are the common objects we as Americans love, that define us as Americans? I think we know. Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor and yes, the truth. 

Opportunity, security, liberty - not "we will make America wealthy again."  

Dignity, and respect, and honor. After four years where disrespect was encouraged, and celebrated, and retweeted ad nauseum, we now have a president who will not stand for it.  Tonight, when President Biden swore in his appointees, he told them that he would fire them on the spot if he heard they had treated others - anyone - with disrespect. 

And yes, the truth. 

 Not over 30,000 lies or false statements - the truth.

And then, almost before I knew it, it was Friday and time for a TGIF. The theme, appropriately, was goodbye and hello. 

We've said goodbye to Executive Orders in lieu of legislation (217 in four years), and hello to Executive Orders in lieu of  legislation (30 in three days).

We've said goodbye to long red ties, and we've fallen in love with a pair of mittens. 

We've said goodbye to the president who won 306 Electoral College votes in 2016, and hello to a president who won 306 Electoral College votes in 2020, one who must abandon his agenda now in order to create unity with the 74.2 million voters who are upset that 81.2 million other voters picked someone else. 

We'll likely learn more about just how hard breaking up with 45 will be as we go into the first full week of the Biden presidency.

See you later for Sunday School. Go Bills, and go Bucs! 

TGIF 1/22/21

What a week, eh?

We've said goodbye - sorry, we've said have a good life and we'll see you soon - to one president, and said 'hello' to another. 

We've said goodbye to OrangeVerse, and hello to "there is always light if only we're brave enough to see it, if only we're brave enough to be it."

We've said goodbye to American carnage, and hello to humanity and decency. At least, we've said the words 'humanity and decency,' even if there's not necessarily a lot of acceptance of that idea quite yet. 

We've said goodbye to hundreds of bills going to the Senate to rot on the Grim Reaper's desk, and hello to 'shared' control of the US Senate, if Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell can figure out how to make it work. The fullabluster on the filibuster is currently a huge hang-up - or, at least, it's the excuse for the delay in getting things organized.

We've said goodbye to Executive Orders in lieu of legislation (217 in four years), and hello to Executive Orders in lieu of  legislation (30 in three days).

We've said goodbye to long red ties, and we've fallen in love with a pair of mittens. 

We've said goodbye to the president who won 306 Electoral College votes in 2016, and hello to a president who won 306 Electoral College votes in 2020, one who must abandon his agenda now in order to create unity with the 74.2 million voters who are upset that 81.2 million other voters picked someone else. 

But we also had some pretty cool fireworks, from multiple locations in the nation's capital, and a pretty cool celebration leading up to those fireworks, one that looked like us and sounded like us and was shared by lots of us Americans in a way that inaugural balls never were. 

I'll close with this, which I saw on Twitter earlier today.

TGIF, everyone.

My Middle-aged White Lady Perspective: Oh, What a Difference!

I didn't watch the last inauguration. I couldn't. 

I watched this one. I had to.

I wanted to hear words of comfort and truth and reality and understanding. I wanted to hear about equality and I wanted diversity and I wanted to hear words that were meant for everyone, instead of for only some people. I wanted to hear words that hopefully will calm our allies, but not embolden our enemies. I wanted to hear from someone who doesn't think he's the center of the universe, nor God's gift to the rest of us. 

It needed to be different from the one four years ago; it had to be different from the one four years ago. The man is different from that other one, the moment is different from that other one, the world is different now than it was four years ago.  I needed it to be different, as did many other people. 

And it was different. I heard what I needed to hear, to take some of the weight off my shoulders, to ease some of the stress I have felt for more than five years. 

 ...my fellow Americans, this is America's day. This is democracy's day. A day of history and hope of renewal and resolve through a crucible for the ages. America has been tested anew and America has risen to the challenge...

For now, on this hallowed ground, where just a few days ago, violence sought to shake the Capitol's very foundation, we come together as one nation, under God, indivisible to carry out the peaceful transfer of power, as we have for more than two centuries. 

And he reminded us that "the American story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us, on we the people who seek a more perfect union." And that 

This is a great nation. We are good people. And over the centuries, through storm and strife, in peace and in war, we've come so far. But we still have far to go. We'll press forward with speed and urgency, for we have much to do in this winter of peril and significant possibilities, much to repair, much to restore, much to heal, much to build, and much to gain. 

Climate change, and the pandemic, and the economy, and racial injustice - much to do - and this, too, perhaps our biggest challenge: "... a rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront and we will defeat." 

To overcome our challenges, we need "the most elusive of all things in a democracy: unity. Biden referenced Abraham Lincoln, who famously said, "if my name ever goes down into history, it'll be for this act. And my whole soul is in it.” And then, told us, with conviction,

My whole soul was in it today. On this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause.

We need to be united to "fight the foes we face: anger, resentment, hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness. With unity, we can do great things, important things." And yet, he's a realist.

I know speaking of unity can sound to some like a foolish fantasy these days. I know the forces that divide us are deep and they are real, but I also know they are not new. Our history has been a constant struggle between the American ideal that we're all created equal and the harsh, ugly reality that racism, nativism, fear, demonization have long torn us apart.

But, he said, "In each of these moments, enough of us, enough of us have come together to carry all of us forward. And we can do that now."

We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos.  

Let's begin to listen to one another again. Hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn't have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn't have to be a cause for total war. And we must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.

It's not a cage match. It doesn't have to be a slugfest. It doesn't have to be calling for bipartisanship, and never inviting anyone from the other side to participate. It doesn't have to be proudly not speaking to leaders from the other party - for months on end. 

Those calls for unity were completely fake, and everyone knew it, including the person doing the talking. He's gone now, thankfully.  And our new president, before his swearing-in? He invited the leaders of both houses of Congress, leaders from both parties, to join him this morning. Not to stand with an upside-down Bible in front of a church, but to pray together, for our country, in a church.

My fellow Americans. We have to be different than this. America has to be better than this. And I believe America is so much better than this. Just look around. Here we stand in the shadow of the Capitol dome, as was mentioned earlier, completed amid the Civil War, when the union itself was literally hanging in the balance. Yet we endured, we prevailed... And here we stand just days after a riotous mob thought they could use violence to silence the will of the people, to stop the work of our democracy, to drive us from this sacred ground. 

It did not happen. It will never happen. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Not ever.

It did not have to come to this. It never should have come to this. And a night-and-day different president is what we need, and what we got, and who we heard from today. 

What are the common objects we as Americans love, that define us as Americans? I think we know. Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor and yes, the truth. 

Opportunity, security, liberty - not "we will make America wealthy again."  

Dignity, and respect, and honor. After four years where disrespect was encouraged, and celebrated, and retweeted ad nauseum, we now have a president who will not stand for it.  Tonight, when President Biden swore in his appointees, he told them that he would fire them on the spot if he heard they had treated others - anyone - with disrespect. 

And yes, the truth.  Not over 30,000 lies or false statements - the truth.

Recent weeks and months have taught us a painful lesson. There is truth and there are lies, lies told for power and for profit. And each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans, and especially as leaders, leaders who have pledged to honor our Constitution and protect our nation, to defend the truth and defeat the lies.

 Not by turning inward, but turning towards each other. 

We can do this if we open our souls instead of hardening our hearts. If we show a little tolerance and humility, and if we're willing to stand in the other person's shoes, as my mom would say, just for a moment, stand in their shoes. Because here's the thing about life. There's no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days, when you need a hand. There are other days when we're called to lend a hand. That's how it has to be. That's what we do for one another. And if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future. And we can still disagree. 

Not by stepping away from our allies, not by barging in front of them, not through abusive "America first" policies, but by honoring and embracing our alliances. 

So, here's my message to those beyond our borders. America has been tested and we've come out stronger for it. We will repair our alliances and engage with the world once again. Not to meet yesterday's challenges, but today's and tomorrow's challenges. And we’ll lead, not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. We'll be a strong and trusted partner for peace, progress and security.

Strong and trusted. Contrary to some opinions, we can be both. We need to be both. And I hope we will be both, again.

My fellow Americans, I close the day where I began, with a sacred oath before God and all of you. I give you my word, I will always level with you. I will defend the Constitution. I'll defend our democracy. I'll defend America and I will give all, all of you. Keep everything I do in your service, thinking not of power, but of possibilities, not of personal interest, but the public good. And together we shall write an American story of hope, not fear. Of unity, not division. Of light, not darkness. A story of decency and dignity, love and healing, greatness and goodness. May this be the story that guides us. The story that inspires us and the story that tells ages yet to come that we answered the call of history. We met the moment. Democracy and hope, truth and justice did not die on our watch, but thrived. That America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world. That is what we owe our forbearers, one another and generations to follow. 

I really needed to hear these words today. 

I was proud of us again, today. I was hopeful again, today. 

My eyes are wide open, but today, my heart was wide open, too. 

Sunday School 1/17/21: Extra Credit

For your Extra Credit today, I spent some time in the Fox News Sunday classroom, where Chris Wallace chatted with the Biden administration's top economic advisor Brian Deese, who'll be the director of the National Economic Council starting this week. 

Wallace wondered if they really need $1.9T in COVID relief, and Deese made the case for it: 30M Americans without enough food; a negative jobs report in December; dealing with the pandemic; getting schools open and parents back to work... It all adds up to "an acute economic crisis and human crisis" that require "decisive action."

Wallace outlined a number of criticisms of the bill, including not targeting direct financial aid to people who need it; $20B for public transportation; $9B for cybersecurity; raising the minimum wage to $15. He asked, "whether those last items, Brian, are a good policy idea or not, are – can you really say that they are part of emergency COVID relief?"

Deese explained how they all fit. The cybersecurity stuff? Well, we just had a major hack, and not only that, but much of what's getting done now is getting done on line because of COVID, so those resources are needed. And, all across the country, in both red and blue states, transit systems are in trouble, and the point of giving relief now is to prevent service reductions and support once we start climbing back out of the pandemic crisis. And the $15 per hour is a "concrete and direct way" to support the front-line workers, who have been providing the rest of us services throughout the pandemic.

Next, Wallace questioned whether they'd be able to get 60 votes in the Senate and avoid a filibuster, and pointed out the reticence of the Rs to go over $1T for COVID relief when they had control. Deese mentioned an analysis by Moody's suggesting that if Biden's plan was acted on quickly, it could lead to 7.5 million jobs just this year. Not only that, but there was good bipartisan support for $2K in stimulus. Expanding the child tax credit, vaccination efforts, efforts on education -- all of that, too, has bipartisan support with governors and mayors.

I think there's a lot of -- there's a lot of support for taking these actions. So we -- we're -- we see every reason why Congress should move out and should move out in a bipartisan way.

And if the Rs were to block it, to filibuster the bill, would Biden ask the Senate to get rid of the filibuster?  Deese pointed to recent skepticism, about Biden being able to win by calling for unity and working together, or that Congress could pass a bipartisan COVID bill in December. Both of those things happened, 

So let's see where we can get here. There is a lot of, again, a lot of elements of this plan that have support across the board, both in Washington and in state capitals and around the country. But we need to act. We need to act quickly. And that's what the economy is telling us. That's what the experts are telling us. And so that's our priority.

So, I guess that means one thing that's off the table is talking about ending the filibuster... 

Moving on to the upcoming-at-some-point second impeachment trial, and the hope that it could be scheduled to have the Senate do necessary work part of the day - including confirmations of Biden's cabinet - and the trial part of the day, Wallace wondered what happens if they can't get that kind of deal? Would Biden try to delay the trial until some of his stuff moves? Deese's answer?

So that's going to be our focus is trying to get an agreement and a structure that will allow that to happen. And we're able to move out on these multiple fronts and -- and make progress on these multiple priorities.

Final two questions. First, Wallace wondered if "raising taxes and increasing regulations" are the right things to do to get back the pre-pandemic economy.

Deese's answer? He pointed again to the Biden win, and suggested that wouldn't have happened if the economy was working for everyone. 

One of the things we've learned in crises is that acting decisively will put us on a path to have a stronger economic recovery coming out of this. So that's going to be our -- our focus, our immediate focus. Let's get decisive action. Let's put the economy on a stronger trajectory. That will be the best thing for American people, American workers.

And the last question was about Deese himself, not about Biden. Wallace mentioned the pushback from the left wing of the Dems because Deese was "too conservative" when he worked in the Obama administration, even going so far to call for reduced spending - the horror!  So, Wallace wondered, were the lefties wrong, or has Deese had a change of heart?

Well, look, the -- the -- the president-elect has a clear vision for making this economy work for working Americans again. That's a vision that I share and that we're going to wake up every day trying to move forward. It involves addressing some of the significant structural inequities in our economy that have left out too many Americans, including black and brown Americans around this country who have not had a fair shot, and that's going to be our focus. It's going to be my focus. That's been my animating focus across the last decade or more in public life and private life and I think that that's going to be what the president-elect expects of us and certainly that's what I and the team will carry forward.

Was that a teeny little filibuster there?

See you around campus.