Wondering on Wednesday 9/29/21

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Is it just me, or is there a lot to wonder about today?

I'm wondering whether any of the Rs in the House and Senate who are demanding the resignation of President Biden and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Milley ever demanded the resignation of president Trump, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Milley, any of Trump's other generals, or any other members of his Cabinet?  I'm sure someone knows this off the top of their head, but I'm not that person today.

And I'm wondering how health care workers - like these women in my neck of the woods - justify not getting the vaccine  because they shouldn't have to put something in their body that God didn't put there, while at the same time they're putting who knows what in their patients that God didn't put there? 

What, exactly, was Gen. Milley thinking when he spoke with Bob Woodward and others on books about Former Guy and his administration, I wonder? Did he forget that he still had the same job today as he had then, even though he has a different boss?

I wonder what the people who think we should have maintained a few hundred or more troops in Afghanistan have to say about the deal the US made with the Taliban? If Former Guy agreed to get everyone out by May, what were our options to ignore that, and what would the Taliban have done if we had? Or was he just kidding about that?

Other Republican states - Florida is one - are looking to implement Texas-style abortion bills. But I have to wonder, if the states that are trying to prevent essentially all abortions are also against sex education and contraception, what are they for?

Is there a reason we're seeing so much news about the Britney Spears conservatorship, or a reason we should care? I don't say that meanly - I just don't worry so much about what's happening in the lives of celebrities. And am I the only one who feels this way?

If the House is unable to pass the multi-trillion-dollar 'human infrastructure' package, and that leads them to defeat the bipartisan $1.9T traditional infrastructure bill, I wonder how proud the progressives will be?

There was more, but this is enough. What are you wondering about?

Quick Takes (v63): Git Along, Little Dogies

I have to apologize for feeling so pessimistic about the Texas abortion law. I didn't give the Lone Star State a fair shake.

The law absolves the government from having to do their own dirty work, and instead encourages people to spy on, follow, snoop in the trash for sanitary products, and do who knows what else to identify women who might be trying to obtain an abortion more than six weeks after their last menstrual period, and to identify their 'abettors' - friends, family, doctors, clinics, people who give them a ride, and so on.

One of the many complaints about the law is that it has no exceptions for rape and incest. But today, we have reason to rejoice: Gregg Abbott, the governor of Texas, has promised to eliminate rape in the Lone Star State!

While saying that no woman will be forced to carry a rapist's child, because of course they have six weeks to figure out if they're pregnant, and can act at any point during that time (yes, he said that), he also was adamant about rape in general.

Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets. So, goal no. 1 in the state of Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.

Well, alrighty then - the problem is solved!! Rejoice, women of Texas!

Oh, wait.... crappydoodlefart. In order to arrest someone for rape, and prosecute them, there must be a victim, otherwise how would we know a rape has occurred? So, won't women have to continue to be victimized?

Assuming we have a victim, we can maybe, if we're lucky and you know, rape kits don't get thrown out, or sit around for decades while the statute of limitation runs out, AND if police start believing women, particularly on date rape, spousal rape, clergy rape, father-daughter rape, uncle-niece rape, brother-sister rape, teacher-student rape, boss-employee rape, rape where alcohol is involved, sex-worker rape, all the other kinds of rape the Rs have defined, and my favorite, rape where "she was clearly asking for it because of her fashion choices" - we can get a prosecution.

Assuming they prosecute and find a rapist guilty, we can sentence him appropriately and keep that *one* rapist from committing any more rapes. Unless of course he's a politician, or maybe a good athlete and shouldn't have his life thrown away for, you know, 20 minutes of action behind a dumpster or anything... or he's an otherwise upstanding member of the community, church, school, company, family and made "just this one mistake..." or other such drivel.

Per the article, in 2019, 14,656 rapes were reported in Texas, according to the state's Department of Public Safety. About 2,200 people were arrested for rape that same year. And, earlier this year, there were over 6,100 rape kits sitting on the shelves in Texas, according to US Senate Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), talking about his home state back in February.

Abbott's emphatic declaration that the state's Number 1 goal is to eliminate rape is laughable; so is his cavalier toss-off line that rape victims can have an abortion at any time during the six weeks after they're raped. I'm guessing he thinks they'll just sit around every day, eating bonbons and taking pregnancy tests, and putting a bunch of Uber or Lyft drivers on speed dial? Not working, going to school, trying to find a safe place to sleep in their own home, trying to avoid the clawing hands of a respected elder, and so on. Just hanging out, taking pregnancy tests.

Nah, I was right to feel so pessimistic. I can almost hear him and the rest of the Republicans singing as they left their press conference, can't you?

Whoopee ti yi yo, git along little dogies. It's your misfortune and none of my own...

Sunday School 9/5/21: Extra Credit

For your Extra Credit this week, we're talking COVID. 

Why? As schools here in my neck of the woods prepare to open this week, schools in the early-opening states are already in the thick of the COVID quagmire, with at least 1,000 from 31 states reportedly having stopped in-person learning, and over 10,000 students and staff across 14 states exposed to the virus - and that was as of mid-August. School board meetings are becoming battlegrounds as parents fight mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and 'fascism' being perpetrated on them by their neighbors on the boards.

Here are some highlights from the Meet the Press classroom, where Mr. Both Sides Now, Chuck Todd, talked with governors Andy Beshear (D-KY) and Larry Hogan (R-MD). They've both got veto-proof legislatures - of the opposite party - in their states, which makes things interesting, to say the least.

Beshear said if he had the ability to do it, there'd be a mask mandate in his state, where they're setting case records and hospitalization records, but he's been limited by the legislature on that. What he has done, though, is send the National Guard to help hard-hit hospitals with logistics, and they've taken over testing in those hospitals, so staff can be freed up to do patient care. And, they've got FEMA teams, and are deploying nursing students to help with staffing.

We are hit very, very hard. But we are going to continue to fight. When you're at war, you don't get to cry about what you can or can't do. You've got to do your very best every day because this is a battle of life versus death.

Meanwhile, Maryland has one of the highest vaccine rates in the country, something Hogan is very proud of; 81% of all eligible folks, and 95% of seniors, are vaccinated. In response to Chuck playing the 'if yours was a red state, that wouldn't have happened' card, Hogan noted there have been "tremendous disinformation campaigns, and people are believing things that are simply not true,"

but it's not just in the red areas where we're having difficulties. We're one of the states with the highest percentage of minority populations. And in some of our urban areas, we have similar challenges. But we're doing really well. And I'm pleased with the results of where we are. It's convincing those last, you know, 19 percent of our people that they've got to take action. That's where we're focused on.

Chuck asked Beshear if there are just some people that won't listen to him, and if he's looking to get others involved in trying to convince folks to get the vaccine. Beshear pointed out that misinformation isn't a red or blue issue, it's a "fact versus fiction, or a sometimes sane versus insane issue."

We are well past, I think ... across America, the populations that are going to listen to a government official and take the vaccine because of it. We're probably past even the point where a local official, a pastor or others. Where I think we're at is where people are going to have to break that Thanksgiving dinner rule. They're going to have to call or go see that person they love and care about that is unvaccinated, and they're going to have to put their relationship with that person on the line because they've never been at greater risk. And I think it's that type of caring, and the person who is willing to do that and to make that sacrifice that will finally get through to those that are not vaccinated. That's what we're seeing here in Kentucky. And we need all Americans to do it. Yes, you might lose a friend because of that conversation.

Next, Chuck said that "it's clear the Biden administration can't speak to those folks that need to be spoken to," referring to supporters of Former Guy, and asked Hogan who should speak to them, and for his advice for the COVID task force on "how to talk to the Trump folks."  Hogan said he's been critical of both the Trump and Biden administrations when he "thought they were bad on messaging" and otherwise not being helpful. 

I mean, we're getting some mixed messaging out of the administration, out of the CDC, the FDA, and the White House. And, you know, we need clear guidance on these booster shots because it undermines, you know, the credibility of it. And so, they came out with -- I guess they slipped and pre-leaked an announcement about booster shots with all three vaccines and then had to backtrack it and say you can only use Pfizer. What about the people that took J&J? What about the people that took Moderna? They haven't messaged properly about how to take care of these breakthrough infections. Like, look, it does prevent hospitalizations and death, or greatly reduce it. But it's not stopping, you know, people from getting breakthrough infections. So, I think the messaging was not clear with either administration. And I think that's one of the ways we've been successful in our state is a clear, direct messaging that people can believe in and listen to. And that's been a problem all over the map.

No argument with Hogan from me on this - messaging has been an issue from the very beginning of the pandemic, both on the side of "let's minimize this so we don't crush the economy" side and on the "OH. EM. GEE. The sky is LITERALLY falling and it going to hit us in the head!" side. And on all the other sides of the pentacontagon. 

The final portion of the interview touched on the Texas abortion bill, which I covered in yesterday's Sunday School post, and on "the larger challenge of polarization," as Chuck described it. I should note that this was the part of the conversation Todd said he was "lifting up" and "going to play political analyst" for, both of which I thought were mildly amusing. 

Both of you have benefited when the other party went too far, right? I could argue that's why you're both governor today. Certainly why you may have a second term, Governor Hogan, and why, Governor Beshear, you're there. Is that the only way to cut through polarization, Governor Hogan? Is when the other party goes too far and then the voters create a check? Is that about it? Because it doesn't seem as if the middle ground gets represented unless one party goes too far.

Hogan said Todd had an "interesting idea, and that it was possible" that's what happened in Maryland. He referenced the 43 consecutive tax increases implemented by his Democratic predecessor), saying "even the Democrats go frustrated" about that.

...but I think right now in America, there are certainly people on both ends of the extremes, on the left and the right, who get all of the attention. The ones that are making the most noise. And that's what we hear about when we're watching television. But about 70% of the people actually just are somewhere in the middle. They're moderate or right of center, left of center. They really want their elected officials to try to figure out a way to do something about this toxic politics. And they want us to work together to come up with real bipartisan, common-sense solutions. Turns out that's the most popular thing in America with most voters.

Regular readers may recall that I've previously referred to Gov. Hogan as my favorite Republican. I don't always agree with him, but I never argue with his understanding of what us purple folks in the middle want: common sense, collaborative efforts from the people we elect. 

Is that where you are on this stuff? Or are you out there in the noisy wings? Let's talk.

See you around campus. 

Sunday School 9/5/21

Today's Sunday School focuses solely on the Texas abortion law. We'll start in the State of the Union classroom, where host Dana Bash talked with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Hot Dish).

Bash wondered if the SCOTUS "is about to overturn" the decision. Klobuchar said she hoped not, but said the decision to let the law stand (for now, anyway) was "unbelievable." In the past, she said,

when they had cases that were so blatantly against Roe v Wade, they would stay those cases when such requests came up. They did it with another Texas law. They did it in 2015. They did it in 2019. And so here you have them, this year, this week, basically telling women in Texas that 85% of them seeking abortion services cannot exercise their constitutional rights... They did at midnight with just less than 72 hours of debate, in Justice Kagan's words, and basically green-lighted a law that is blatantly against Roe v Wade.

Klobuchar believes that a Congressional solution is an answer, and she's glad that the House is going to codify Roe. In the Senate, they can't get to 60 votes, though. So, the senator said,

I believe we should abolish the filibuster. I do not believe an archaic rule should be used to allow us... to use Justice Sotomayor's words, to put our heads in the sand, and not take action on the important issues, the challenges that are facing our country right now.... We just will get nowhere if we keep this filibuster in place.

Klobuchar s in favor of requiring a standing filibuster, so the Rs must at least work to fight things that are unpopular with most Americans. She's also in favor of carveouts for constitutional issues (e.g., abortion and voting). And, 

I think, "what is the best way to get to a result that's the right policy, that's consistent with where the American people are, that will not wreak havoc in this country?" And, to me, the best thing is to get rid of the filibuster. But (expanding the Court) is an option, and President Biden has a commission in place right now that is considering it.

Finally, on the potential retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer, Bash wondered where Klobuchar stood.

I believe, if he is seriously considering retirement -- and he has said he would do it based on not only his own health, but also the future of the court -- if this decision doesn't cry out for that, I don't know what does. 

In the Face the Nation classroom, guest host Weijia Jiang spoke with Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX), about the shenanigans. Jiang wondered what the Congresswoman heard from constituents; "shocked, horrified, outraged" were three words she used. She pointed to the two "very awful" consequences of the law: incentivizing "bounty hunters," noting it was "incredible that we live in a state that is willing to incentivize that." The other "real-life" and "deadly consequences" are worse.

...what this law and other laws like it will do is simply make it deadlier, more dangerous. Women are going to take their health into their own hands. It will impact young women, poor women, and women of color. And I am really afraid of the lives that will be lost as a result.

Jiang asked about the outsourcing of enforcement to private citizens. Escobar said she doesn't think we really understand the consequences, and gave an example.

If, for example, I had a young daughter who was the victim of a sexual assault, and I was taking my young daughter to a clinic. Her assault-- the person who perpetrated the assault could take me to court incentivized by that $10,000. And let's say that my young daughter was not pregnant. There was no abortion involved. But I still had to defend myself in court. I can't even recover legal fees. There are layers upon layers upon layers of injustices written into this law, intended to really send the most severe chilling effect on women and women's reproductive rights in the state of Texas.

As to Jiang's question on how she can find common ground with the 41% of Texans who oppose abortion rights. She said it's "very hard to find common ground."  We need to "do more for young women and men" - sex education, access to contraceptives, legal protections for women and the like.

Instead, what we are seeing is an elimination of those things... It's a very backward way of addressing what is a concern. But that's why I say there's no law that you can create that will eliminate abortion. All that's happening is you're eliminating safe, legal abortion, causing women significant harm.

Down the hall, George Stephanopoulos talked with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Not a Fan of Planned Parenthood) in the This Week classroom. Cassidy said he's pro-life, and he made a point that the others did not about the SCOTUS ruling

It had nothing to do with the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade. It was only on if the plaintiffs had standing. People are using it to gin up their base to distract from the disastrous policies in Afghanistan, and maybe for fundraising appeals. I wish we would focus on issues as opposed to -- as opposed to theater. It was about if they had standing, nothing to do with constitutionality. I think we should move on to other issues.

George wanted to stay on topic, particularly the part about how the law "actually tasks private citizens with enforcing this law,", which "conservatives should hate," according to the Wall Street Journal. He asked Cassidy what he thought about that.

I think the Supreme Court will swat it away once it comes to them in an appropriate manner. If it is as terrible as people say it is, it will be destroyed by the Supreme Court. But to act like this is an assault upon Roe v. Wade is, again, something the president is doing I think to distract from his other issues. And it is clearly not an assault upon the -- by the way, I'm pro-life. But just to say, the facts are this is about standing, about nothing else. And the Supreme Court will decide how to affect standing before all these other things play out.

And George then asked, "you don't think it signals the Court is prepared to undo Roe v. Wade now?" 

You know, so, we can always talk about eventualities. We can always talk theoreticals. It makes good fodder. But I’m kind of a guy who’s in the middle of a state in which 700,000 people don't have electricity, in which we’ve got a disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the administration is pushing a $3.5 trillion bill which will be to inflation what the withdrawal was to Afghanistan. Now, if you -- you know, in my mind, I don’t think about theoreticals. I think about those things that are before me and that’s what I focused on.

I'm going to give the last word on this to former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) who was on the panel today.

But what this has done is ignited a political debate for the first time because for generations after generations, since Roe v. Wade, women have accepted that this is settled law. For the first time we've seen an earthquake among the activists, among people who were concerned about reproductive rights saying this could happen. Now all of a sudden we are at a spot where this could happen. And I think the reason why you saw Senator Cassidy duck this issue it's politically very dangerous for the Republican Party to have to explain to a suburban mother why her daughter who was raped, you know, three months ago no longer has a choice. And so I think that politically the reason why you don't see the Republicans talking about this as a major pro-life victory is because politically it's extraordinarily dangerous and it has dominated the discussion in a week that should have been pretty good for the Republicans.

I hope that's not too theoretical for Cassidy and the rest of the GOP.

See you around campus.

Wondering on Wednesday 9/1/21

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Where to begin with this week's wondering? Well, how about with a time check?

It's been reported, primarily - but not solely - on the right, that President Biden checked his watch after each of the 11 fallen Americans were transferred from the plane to waiting vehicles at Dover AFB on Monday (two of the 13 transfers were private).  There is video, that has been widely shared, showing him do that once. And, it's been 'fact-checked' by the folks at Snopes that the scene in the video was at the end of the ceremony, after all of the victims of the ISIS-K suicide bomber had been transferred.  

Now, before you go all nutso on me about how Snopes is the Wikipedia of fact-checking and can't be trusted, know that they're not the only ones who have said this isn't true. And, regardless of how you feel about the fact-checkers, don't you wonder why, if this really happened 11t times, no one has video of it?  

And coming on the heels of the false reports that "no one from the Biden administration met the plane" for the dignified transfer on Saturday, when the plane hadn't even arrived yet, how much faith are we to put into a report like this one?

Are you also wondering about the fate of the American service dogs that were left behind in Kabul? I'm sure you've seen the reports from reliable sources such as Donald Trump, Jr., about our leaving crates of dogs at the airport. Other notables also chimed in, like Medicare fraudster Sen. Rick Scott (R-I Took A Huge Golden Parachute and Named it Responsibility).

"Infuriating. Biden stranded Americans. He stranded our allies. Now, he’s stranded our loyal K-9 warriors," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter, posting American Humane's letter.

Sadly, for those who wanted to paint Biden as an animal hater, in addition to all the other stuff he's accused of being, we did not strand our service dogs. 

On Tuesday, the Pentagon denied that any dogs that had worked with the U.S. military were left behind in the country while acknowledging that a series of social media posts about nonmilitary evacuation of Kabul pets caused confusion.

"To correct erroneous reports, the US military did not leave any dogs in cages at Hamid Karzai International Airport, to include the reported 'military working dogs,'" said Eric Pahon, a spokesman for the Defense Department.

I wonder, if the real news out of Afghanistan is as bad as it is, why do people feel the need to make it worse? 

Speaking of making stuff up, there's the Big Lie, that the election was stolen from Former Guy. There was a fun little recording featuring Sen. Ron Johnson (R- Who Doesn't Love Moscow on July 4th?), who pretty much summed up the fallacy of Former Guy's theory that the election was stolen from him. Speaking about the results in his state, Johnson admitted that

There’s nothing obviously skewed about the results...If all the Republicans voted for Trump the way they voted for the Assembly candidates, he [Trump] would have won. He didn’t get 51,000 votes that other Republicans got, and that’s why he lost.

I added the emphasis for the folks in the back, and I wonder why that's so hard for the Rs to understand?

And speaking of rigged elections, the GOP's latest poster boy, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-Not the Naval Academy) has made it clear he's willing to fight over this. Speaking at a GOP event in his home state of North Carolina, he offered this.

If our election systems continue to be rigged and continue to be stolen then it's going to lead to one place and that's bloodshed.

Continue to be rigged? There's going to be bloodshed? Huh?

And I will tell you, as much as I am willing to defend our liberty at all costs, there's nothing I would dread doing more than having to pick up arms against a fellow American. 

In case you didn't know,  rising star Cawthorn lies about all kinds of things, including the accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, and about being accepted into the US Naval Academy. Given that he'll lie about those things, I wonder why we should think that he's telling the truth about taking up arms against his fellow citizens? 

And while I don't condone gratuitous violence, I wouldn't wonder at all if the bloodshed Cawthorn spoke of eventually happens when someone who finally had enough of his BS hauled off and punched him in the nose.

And speaking of bullshittery and hyperbole, let us not forget about House GOP Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-You Better Watch Out if We Take Back The House, Dammit!), who seems to be in a bit of a snit about every action taken by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection. 

The Committee issued a document preservation request to more than 30 telecom companies on Monday, a step taken in advance of a request for specific documents which is sure to follow. And McCarthy wasn't happy about that - at all. 

I'm not wondering about his response, or his threat - I mean, he's a ring-kissing #AlwaysTrumper after all - but I am wondering why he didn't include the traitorous RINOs Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney in his tweet? 

And I'm wondering if the GOP really is like an elephant. What if they don't retake the majority for a few cycles? Will they remember that they have to take out some of these great American companies that support all those great American jobs and help our great American stock market soar ever higher, making America even greater? 

What are you wondering about?