Sunday School 4/25/21

Our trip through the Sunday classrooms begins with highlights from Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), who talked with Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday.

On police reform, "the intent of this is we have to find a way to hold officers accountable so this type of behavior ends." In that regard, she's not yet convinced that Sen. Tim Scott's plan that immunity be lifted for individual officers and assigned to police departments is a good idea. 

And she doesn't agree with Wallace that "if there's a bad cop, the department will get rid of them anyway," pointing out that disgraced officer and convicted murdered Derek Chauvin "had multiple complaints against him." She said the immunity issue wasn't a deal breaker, but "if Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott can show us some other way to hold officers accountable" she's willing to talk. She also noted that, had Chauvin not been convicted, it's possible the department could have been forced to take him back. That's not accountability.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-Floundering for Relevance) was on the show before Bass; here's his asinine and childish response to Wallace's question on whether there is systemic racism in policing and in other institutions. 

No, not in my opinion. We just elected a two-term African-American president. The vice president is of African-American-Indian descent. So, our systems are not racist. 

Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't mention having black friends - it's about as relevant as what he did say. In response, Bass said "we have got to figure out a way to talk about race where we can talk about it objectively and people don't feel individual guilt. 

You can look back at our history's laws and over time there were many laws that were put in place that were absolutely racist and over time those laws might have changed, but the conditions haven't changed. You can look at each of our institutions. Why is there such massive inequality when it comes to education, when it comes to health care? Why does that exist? And so, we have to figure out a way to talk about it. Right now, to say it doesn't exist does not help anyone.

And on policing, Wallace wondered if we needed to distinguish between police killing armed suspects moving to attack people and people who are killed by police in other circumstances.

We absolutely need to distinguish but we also need to look at policing overall. And one of the things that I hope we really address is, maybe the focus needs to be on de-escalation. I know police officers are taught to shoot to kill. A lot of people raise, well, why couldn't he have shot her in the leg, why couldn't he have done all these different things? The point is we have got to come up with a way to stop -- there are so many people being killed in this country. 

Because yes, Sen. Graham, there are problems, and they are systemic, and they do need to be addressed. And us white folks will be better off, too, when they are. 

Down the hall in the Face the Nation classroom, John Dickerson talked with Sherrilyn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. He wondered if what's changed since the murder of George Floyd when it comes to protests. She mentioned our history throughout the 20th century of cases where unrest led to change (the Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act and Fair Housing Act were three notable examples). Still, no police reform changes came out of all of that. People are fed up now, she thinks, and "that's a good thing," - it's been seven since Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, after all.

And there's been some tinkering around the edges. There's been some movement. The most powerful movement has been that the conversation has shifted away from talking about tinkering around the edges and modest reforms to radical changes and a radical envisioning of what public safety needs to become in this country.

In response to his ask for examples of change, not just 'tinkering,' among the examples she cited is one from my neck of the woods - the city of Ithaca, NY,

where the entire police department is being set down for a new community solution and public safety core. It will include some armed law enforcement officers, but it's focusing on the root causes of crime. It's shifting resources to mental health, to homelessness services, to youth services. And then it's focusing on what is it that you actually need armed police officers to do to deal with the most violent of circumstances.

She said that's a "re-envisioning" of public safety and what it needs to be; it addresses questions of whether "an armed constabulary" is needed to address things like a bad check, or a homeless person on your porch. We've been moving at a snail's pace, but that that's changing now, she added. 

On the sentiment of police officers saying that they're dealing with communities that have been failed "by education, by the jobs system. There are guns everywhere..." and how that requires "a broader lens" when it comes to change, she agreed, saying having good relations with police, "it's not about having a pancake breakfast or playing basketball. It's about some real, honest talk."

That means police talking honestly about things like gun laws that make them nervous and that "endanger" them - but we don't hear about that, that's 'behind closed doors" stuff. And, she said, we haven't solved the community problems - education, and poverty, homelessness, and the rest - "we have just shifted all of the resources to deal with those problems into our criminal justice system." That's what we need to be talking about now, and what we need to be addressing now.

We need to be putting our resources and attention to those problems and not shunting them off to the criminal justice system and asking police officers, armed officers, to address issues that we have been too cowardly to address as a democracy.

That's a mic drop, as they say. 

Quickly, Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), a former police chief, was also in the FTN classroom, talking police reform. Dickerson asked about progress on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House (Sen. Tim Scott is leading the Rs in the Senate). Demings said she thinks they're "closer than a lot of people realize" and said "I do believe we can meet this moment."

I am hoping that Senator Scott will lead his delegation, if you will, or the Republican members in the Senate to sit down at the table, finish the negotiations and let's get this done. George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is not perfect, but it is a major step in the right direction.

She urges her colleagues not to make this a political issue, noting historically the two parties have risen to the occasion, have met "that significant moment."

This is such a time. And so, I'm hoping that we will put politics aside and come together because we need to get this done. Our communities around the nation need it. Our good police officers need it, and quite frankly, the American people need it. We in Congress in both chambers can meet this moment as well if we have the political will to do so.

Finally, on how she'd talk to her officers if she were still a police chief, she said she has talked to some officers. She reminds them they must have the mind for the job, but also the heart for the job. And the reminds them about their training.

Utilize the training that you have, but also remember that it's human beings that you're dealing with and always have compassion for the community in which you represent. And, you know, the overwhelming majority of law enforcement officers in this nation are good people who go to work every day to protect those, protect and serve our communities. I remind them of that. Always stand on the right side, speak up, and be professional and do the job that you're paid to do.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, isn't it? 

See you around campus.

In Case You Missed it (v48)

Gather around, friends - it's time for your recap of last week's posts.

Sunday School brought us classrooms full of experts, including Dr. Deborah Birx and Admiral Giroir on the pandemic, and Neel Kashkari on the economy.

While Birx tried to convince us she's not just a stooge for the president (that's getting harder for her to do, although he did turn on her last week, so maybe there's still hope), Giroir invited the president's wrath himself, with comments about the Trump's favorite prescription.

...hydroxychloroquine needs to be prescribed by a physician. There may be circumstances, I don't know what they are, where a physician may prescribe it for an individual. But I think most physicians and prescribers are evidence-based and they're not influenced by whatever is on Twitter or anything else. And the evidence just doesn't show that hydroxychloroquine is effective right now. I think we need to move on from that and talk about what is effective.

That would be hand-washing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and the like. And some better treatment protocols, too. But not hydroxychloroquine.

My favorite prescription, other than a well-timed glass of wine?  More cowbell.

For your Sunday School Extra Credit, we checked in with three women on the Biden veepstakes short list - Stacey Abrams, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and Rep. Karen Bass.  The latter is getting a huge push from a lot of Dems and Sanders fans alike, saying she's the one who can unify the party.

She's also the one who, just four short years ago, said that the death of Fidel Castro was a "great loss to the Cuban people." Four years ago, not forty years ago when she was a teenager and first started traveling to Cuba.  She's smarter now, smart enough to recognize that her comments were not consistent with what America stands for.

Do I know an awful lot more now? Do I understand that the Castro regime did not have the same freedoms as we do in the United States, was a brutal regime? They don't have freedom of press, freedom of protest -- which was kind of ironic because when I went in my youth, the majority of us that were there were antiwar activists. We were protesting against police abuse and understood then and now that the Cuban people did not have the same freedoms.

...So my perspective has definitely developed over time. 

One can only hope. But one can also see the Trump/Pence ads writing themselves if Rep. Bass is Biden's choice.

When it was time for Wondering on Wednesday, there was more than enough head-scratching to go around. We had some nonsense from Mike Pompeo, who really could be the poster child for my Irony Board posts, and we had an interesting story about Mark Meadows, the current chief of staff for the president, and what he'd rather do than negotiate with Congressional leaders. We are seeing the fruits of that right now, of course, because #winning, or something.

And, we had this.

Republican operatives in several states are working to get Kanye West on the ballot... anyone else wondering why they're wasting their time? And do they really think that any significant number of people are going to throw their vote away and color in the little circle by his name?  And aren't the Rs the people trying to convince us they're concerned about the dreadful state of mental health care in the US? 

I'll let you wonder on that one all the way to the ballot box.

In a time when practically every day brings a reason to rant and rave about one thing or another, Thursday had me shouting into the wind about what I consider to be a ridiculous and self-serving move by my Attorney General, NY's Tish James, to sue to dissolve the NRA.

Because nobody, other than a Democrat, would attack a GOP-favorite organization, less than three months before a massively consequential election, surely setting off a backlash against Dems up and down the ballot, across the country? Who, other than a Democrat, can be so tone-deaf?

It's worse because it's New York against the country. It's the most hated blue state attacking gun owners, for Pete's sake. Even if that's not her intention, it's like attacking Santa Claus AND not saying Merry Christmas anymore AND stealing Easter eggs and Halloween candy from little children in red states, all rolled into one, and streaming it live on Disney+.

This is the stupidest thing to come out of New York since Donald Trump.

NY Strong? Uh no. NY stupid? NY Selfish? NY epitome of why people hate the Dems? Um, yep.

And finally, last week's TGIF was a really good one. No, not because I'm biased - because all of the stories were good stories. Among the examples? How people responded to the horrific explosion in Beirut, including the nurse who grabbed three newborns - after being knocked unconscious herself. The photographer who got the image we've all seen talked about his shot.

"I noticed the nurse's calm, which contrasted the surrounding atmosphere just one meter away, he explained. “However, the nurse looked like she possessed a hidden force that gave her self-control and the ability to save those children. People stand out amidst these violent and dark and evil circumstances and this nurse was up to the task," he added. 

That's all we had last week; you are now officially caught up on the full and veritable pastiche.

I'll be back later with Sunday School.

Sunday School 8/2/20: Extra Credit

In our Sunday School post, we heard from Dr Birx, Admiral Giroir, and Neel Kashkari, chair of the Minneapolis Fed. 

For your Extra Credit this week, we'll hear from three women reported to be on Papa Joe's short list for veep: Stacey Abrams, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), who was in two classrooms, and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). We'll take them in that order

Abrams talked with Dana Bash on CNN's SOTU; their conversation started with a question on what Abrams thought of the president suggesting that the election be delayed.

...he's attempting to distract us from his failed leadership. But -- invoking the notion that we cannot hold an election cuts against hundreds of years of history. We had elections during the Civil War, during the Spanish Flu. And we can have an election this time. Absentee ballots work, as he admits. And it's the exact same thing as mail-in ballots, vote by mail. It's all the same job. And the job that he has is to make certain that we have a Postal Service that can actually deliver the votes to our elections officials... 

On whether Abrams is worried the president won't accept the results:

 I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is that we will not be able to effectively count the votes of every eligible American, because he's doing his best to undermine our confidence in the process. But, worse, he's doing his best to actually steal the vote by undermining the Postal Service knowing that, at this point, more than 40 percent of Americans are likely to use some form of early voting, including vote by mail. And, as we know, we're not yet in the second wave of the pandemic. That means we have to be prepared, and that means we have to have a Postal Service that's working, but we also need the HEROES Act passed, so that cash-strapped states like Arkansas, like Georgia, like North Carolina, like Wisconsin can scale up an deliver an election that is worthy of America.

On whether she's still in the running to be veep:

I leave it to the Biden vetting team to answer questions about who's in the running. But we know that whomever Joe Biden picks will be a good partner to help us turn this country around, restore the soul of America, and build back better. That's what we need. 

On whether she'd be disappointed if it was not her and also not anther African-American:

I have said time and again I believe that Joe Biden is going to pick the right partner for himself, because he's the only person who's done this job. And while I believe that diversity is incredibly important, and I think it is an absolute good to see a continued changing of the face of what leadership looks like in America, I look to Joe Biden to pick the right partner for himself in the moment that we have before us, which is one of an economic crisis, a public health crisis, and a crisis of justice. And I think he's the person who will not take anyone for granted. And I look forward to working with him to make sure he's elected.

Rep. Bass, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, appeared on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, but his questions were poorly worded, almost as if he had never interviewed a potential vice president before. You can read the transcript if you like, but here's a sampling:

Let me ask this. I know nobody runs for the vice presidency and that, you know, people shy away from that. But let me ask you the question this way. Why'd you decide to go through this vetting process?

Is there something about the post itself that is appealing to you if you did end up as vice president of the United States? 

Let me ask you this. Why haven't you considered running for president before? And by agreeing to this, I know it doesn't mean you want to run for president in the future, -- but a lot of people certainly think you will.