Sunday School 2/25/24

Your Sunday School for this week starts with Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) who talked with Martha Raddatz in the This Week classroom. 

Their conversation started with the activist Alabama court ruling that frozen embryos are people, too. That ruling has caused some IVF facilities in the state to suspend services as they try to figure out what the risks are, and whether they can continue offering services. 

We've seen this before, of course, when abortion clinics closed in many states as providers simply aren't willing to take the chance of facing criminal charges for treating their patients.

Duckworth wasn't surprised by the ruling - it's more than that. She's been afraid of this - and talking about it - since 2018.

I said if Neil Gorsuch gets put on the Supreme Court, if Amy Coney Barrett gets put on the Supreme Court, we're going to have an erosion of Roe v. Wade, and even back in 2018, I said, IVF is next. They said they're coming for IVF. So, unfortunately, I wasn’t surprised. I’m devastated for those families that are trying to start families, but I was not at all surprised.

Raddatz noted the decision doesn't overtly ban IVF, but Duckworth, speaking from experience, said that by ruling a fertilized egg is a child, it puts the treatment in jeopardy. Both of her daughters were conceived via IVF; three of the five fertilized eggs were nonviable. With her consent, her doctor destroyed them, and under the Alabama ruling, 

that would be considered potentially manslaughter or murder. Basically, Republicans have put the rights of a fertilized egg over the rights of the woman, and that is not something that I think the American people agree with.

Duckworth has introduced a bill "multiple times and in multiple congresses", most recently last month, that would protect access to IVF nationwide. Raddatz noted that the Republican Senate campaign team "is instructing their candidates to, quote, clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF," and wondered if there'd be enough support now to pass the bill.

It's been crickets since the Alabama ruling. And let's make it clear. Republicans will say whatever they need to say to try to cover themselves on this, but they have been clear and Donald Trump has been the guy leading this effort to eliminate women's reproductive rights and reproductive choice...not a single Republican has reached out to me on the bill... let's see if they vote for it when we bring it to the floor.

She said the Dems will run on this. And speaking of running, Raddatz brought up Trump's 20-point win in the South Carolina primary. Duckworth, who's a co-chair of the Biden/Harris campaign, said it doesn't really change things.

I think what we talk about, again, is that Donald Trump has been very clear about what he's doing. He's not running for president for the American people. He's not running for president to take care of working families. He's running for president for himself. That's all he cares about every single day. President Biden, in contrast, gets up every day and works hard to protect the American people and works hard to make sure he delivers for working families across this country. The choice is very clear and we just need to continue to hammer home that message.

She agreed with Raddatz that exit polls do give them pause (veterans voting for Trump, for example, after his ridiculously insulting "where's her husband?" stuff), but then, Duckworth said, that's not new. And she reiterated that Trump has

shown us over time who he is, and he's a guy who cares about no one but himself. You know, I have often thought when I go into work with my colleagues, and I assumed they loved America as much as I love America, that we just look at the problem from different perspectives, but we can come to a compromise. Donald Trump cares about one thing, Donald Trump. 

I think most of them think that - or, maybe they used to think that, pre-MAGA. 

Down the hall in the Face the Nation classroom, Margaret Brennan talked with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI); their first topic was this Tuesday's primary and how the state's large Arab/Muslim population might impact the voting.

Brennan said there's a "protest effort underway to vote uncommitted" to let President Biden know they're unhappy about what's happening in Gaza, and she asked if this could damage Biden. Dingell explained there are actually two protests.

One is an 'abandon Biden' campaign, but the other, the major campaign that has made over 100,000 calls – we'll see how many people vote on Tuesday – (is) trying to make sure the president hears them.

Their concerns? Family in Gaza; family members they have lost (20 or more, in some families); the lack of food, medicine, and water (the salt water they're drinking is almost gone); and more.

I don't sleep at night... The sanitary conditions on the ground, there's – I mean, one woman, the aunt of somebody, goes to the bathroom once a day. There – a month ago, there was one toilet for every 220 people, one shower for every 15,000 people. It's a nightmare. And they're scared for their families and they're worried.

A cease-fire is needed, and "when we get a cease-fire...then we sit down... and talk." Until then it's personal, not political. Brennan said she understood that, but at the same time, she noted that Benjamin Netanyahu said "that he is going into Southern Gaza whether President Biden likes it or not," and she wondered if Dingell thinks we're "doing enough to get Americans or families of Americans out of harm's way."

Dingell noted that we don't know what's happening in the various negotiations that are going on, with involvement from the CIA, the National Security Council, and others, including the president.

People need to understand that – what is going on in Rafah right now. The population of Gaza is approximately 2.2 million people; 1.5 million of them have been forced into Rafah... you know, we can argue about the numbers. Nobody denies that 12,000 children have already died... Doctors Without Borders have talked about 1,000 children who have lost limbs, the number of children that don't have families. It would be outrageous for further innocent civilians to be killed. I know that the White House is working very closely with a number of other countries to make it clear that we cannot continue this loss of life.

She's been assured by the White House that "the president is very engaged in delivering very direct messages," and that "in private conversations...he's working towards a temporary cease-fire."

Brennan asked if it was "a mistake" for Biden to not meet with anyone from the Arab/Muslim community. Dingell believes "he is going to need to do that" and that "this community is pretty angry right now." She said she gets protested, even though she's one of the folks who has been "the most empathetic and has been working this issue very hard." Biden did send people out, and

they developed relationships or connected with people that from both sides I've heard that they've got ongoing conversations. And that's got to continue.

And Dingell explained that Michigan's a purple state, and "It's been a purple state as long as I've been doing presidential elections." The Israel-Gaza war is a "very important issue here" but there'll be other ones too. Dingell fought to have Michigan be an early primary state for things like this.

I want to be talking about this issue now, in February -because it will matter in November - and not on October 15th, which has happened too many times in previously presidential elections, that issues that matter in November aren't talked about early.

Touching on the Alabama decision, Brennan asked "Is the concern about reproductive health care access enough to cancel out these negative headwinds?" Dingell noted the state's "unprecedented turnout two years ago" when abortion was on the ballot, and said they've got work to do again this year.

We've got to get young people, we've got to get women, and we've got to go into union halls. And it's great that we've got the union presidents and the union organizations endorsing, but we've got to go in those union halls and draw the comparison, remind people about what Donald Trump did and didn't do, he talked, didn't deliver, and about what Joe Biden has delivered on.

Dingell sees this issue as similarly motivating for voters. especially women who might have thought they were safe and their rights were protected

and now we've seen what the Alabama court has done in terms of IVF... I think a lot of women are going to be very emotional about their women's health decisions should be made between them, their doctor, their faith, and their family, and the federal government's got no business in it. Or state government.

I can't argue with her on that.

See you around campus.

Highlights from the DNC: Closing Night

Here are links to highlights from nights one, two, and three, and here's the transcript for last night (other than Joe Biden's acceptance speech), the closing night of #DemsinZoomland.

Let's get right to the highlights, starting with Gov. Gavin Newsom (CA).

Climate change is real. If you are in denial about climate change, come to California. 11,000 dry lightening strikes, we had over a 72 hour period, leading to this unprecedented challenge with these wildfires.

There is so much at stake in this election, none more important than the work Joe Biden did with Barack Obama on the vehicle emissions standards, the fuel efficiency standards. It will save billions and billions of dollars taxpayers, and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. There is so much at stake in this election.

I... express my deep reverence, my admiration to Joe Biden, to Kamala Harris, California’s own, to their faith, their devotion, their constancy, to their commitment, and not just to the environment, but to the Commonwealth, to our kids, our kids’ kids, our grandkids, to our legacy. There is so much at stake in this election. And I just want to close by reminding each and every one of you. The future is not just something to experience, it’s something to manifest. It’s inside of us, not just in front of us. It’s our decision, not our conditions that will determine our fate and future. So let us resolve that after this historic night, this incredible, incredible week, this remarkable convention, that we do everything in our power to get Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in to the White House in January, 2021.

Andrew Yang.

Many of us have gotten tired of our leaders, seeming far removed from our everyday lives, and we despair that our government will ever rise to the challenges of our time. But we must give this country, our country, a chance to recover. And recovery is only possible with a change of leadership and new ideas. Bold and innovative policies that will get help into your hands in the midst of this crisis are now possible, but we need your help to turn the page for our country in 75 days. We are here tonight to celebrate Joe Biden’s nomination as the Democratic candidate for President. I have gotten to know both Joe and Kamala on the trail over the past year... They’re real people. They understand the problems we face. There are parents and patriots who want the best for us and our country. And if we give them the chance, they will fight for us and our families every single day.

Our future is now, and it is daunting. But I ask you tonight to join me, to help Joe and Kamala fight for the promise of America, turn the page for our country and lead us forward to a future we’ll actually be proud to leave to our children. 

Sen. Chris Coons (DE).

People of faith have long led change from abolition and women’s suffrage, to the labor movement and the struggle for civil rights. Joe Biden will continue that progressive march towards justice, inspired by respect for the dignity of all people, people Joe believes were made in the image of God. 

...he’ll be a president for Americans of all face as well as people of conscience who practice no particular faith. Joe’s faith is really about our future, about a world with less suffering and more justice, where we’re better stewards of creation, where we have a more just immigration policy, and where we call out and confront the original sins of this nation, the sins of slavery and racism. Joe knows these are central issues in this election, and for him, they’re rooted in faith.

We need a President who brings people of all faiths together to tackle our challenges, rebuild our country and restore our humanity. Someone who knows we’re called to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. Joe Biden will be that President. Joe has always known this race is a battle for the soul of our country, and he’s right. Joe believes, he believes in both the greatness and the goodness of this country. He believes in us, and in what we can do together.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (GA).

There are those who are disgracefully using this pandemic to spread misinformation and interfere with voting, forcing many in 2020 to still risk their lives to exercise their sacred right to vote. A right that has already been paid for with the blood, sweat, tears, and lives of so many. So let’s stand up for our children, our children’s children and for this great democracy that our ancestors worked to build and let’s vote. Let’s organize to get others to vote with us. 

We know how important it is that we elect real leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, people of honor and integrity, who hold justice close to their hearts and believe that the lives of my four black children matter. In the words of womanist poet, Audre Lorde, your silence will not protect you. Congressman Lewis would not be silenced and neither can we. We cannot wait for some other time, some other place, some other heroes. We must be the heroes of our generation because we too are America. Our votes can be our voice.

Historian John Meacham.

Our faith and the things that bind us together is fraying, for our democracy is under assault from an incumbent more interested in himself than he is in the rest of us. Extremism, nativism, isolationism and a lack of economic opportunity for working people are all preventing us from realizing our nation’s promise. So we must decide whether we will continue to be prisoners of the darkest of American forces or will we free ourselves to write a brighter, better, nobler story? That’s the issue of this election. A choice that goes straight to the nature of the soul of America.

Often we’d prefer to hear the trumpets rather than face the tragedies but an honest accounting of who we’ve been, can enable us to see who we should be. A country driven by the best parts of our soul, not by the worst. A country informed by reason and candor, not by ego and lies. A country that’s big hearted, not narrow minded... our story has soared when we’ve built bridges, not walls. When we’ve lent a hand, not when we’ve pointed fingers. When we’ve hoped not feared.

From Jamestown forward, our story has become fuller and fairer because of people who share a conviction that Dr. King articulated on that Sunday half a century ago; the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Bending that arc requires all of us. It requires we, the people, and it requires a president of the United States with empathy, grace, a big heart and an open mind. Joe Biden will be such a president. With our voices and our votes, let us now write the next chapter of the American story; one of hope, of love, of justice. If we do so, we might just save our country and our souls.

Rep. Deb Haaland (NM).

I’m grateful to be with you here on indigenous land. The promise of this country is older than our constitution. Over 500 years ago, thousands of Indian tribes were vibrant democratic societies with rich cultures and traditions and communities that had sustained them for millennia on lands they loved and respected. My people, the Pueblo Indians, migrated to the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1200s to escape droughts. We were led to the great river and its tributaries, where we established an agricultural tradition that continues to this day. My people survived centuries of slavery, genocide and brutal assimilation policies. But throughout our past, tribal nations have fought for and helped build this country. There were those like my Laguna grandparents who worked on our country’s railroad and those like my mother, a Navy veteran, who served this country with honor. I stand here today, a proud 35th generation new Mexican, and one of the first native American women ever elected to Congress. I’m a symbol of our resilience as the embodiment of America’s progress as a nation.

Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

Our nation absolutely has what it takes to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic that’s claimed tens of thousands of our loved ones. We have the talent, resources and technology. What we’re missing is leadership. We need a leader who works with States to ensure that everyone who needs a test gets one, and gets results quickly. A leader who secures a safe, effective vaccine, and distributes it quickly and fairly. A leader who inspires us to practice distancing, and wear masks, not as a political statement, but as a patriotic duty, a commitment we make to one another.

.. I know Joe Biden can be that leader. I’ve worked with Joe Biden. I’ve seen who he is with no cameras around, how he sits with people in their pain, and holds them in his heart. How he pours over COVID briefings, asking smart questions, letting science guide his way, just as he did when managing the Ebola crisis. And six years ago, when Joe Biden met my family, many of them immigrants, awed to be in the nation’s Capitol, I saw how he kneeled beside my grandmother’s wheelchair, took her hands in his, and said, “Thank you for choosing us, the United States of America, as the place to trust with your family.” Tonight, as a father, son, and grandson, as the doctor who swore an oath, and as an American who loves my country, I can tell you that Joe Biden is the man I trust to look out for my family, and the leader I know will heal this nation.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (WI).

What kind of country do we want to be? Do we want to be a country where millionaires get to dodge taxes? Or one where working families get a break? Do we want to be a country where medical bills bury people in debt, or one where healthcare is affordable for all? Or where tens of thousands of people die from a virus, or where the American dream lives? I think we know the answer to that fundamental question, because most of us want the same things. Good schools in our neighborhoods, racial justice, the freedom to love who we want, dignity in our work, and an economy where small businesses and working families thrive. And over the past months, we’ve added another to that list. A nation free from COVID. That’s why Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the only answer in this election. Trust me. They are.

You see, there’s another part of my story, the part where I ran for office, the part where I served in Congress, the part where I worked with Joe Biden and Barack Obama to make sure kids, and grandkids, if they’re dependents can stay on their parents’ health insurance until they’re 26. We got that done. And yes, it was a big effing deal. That’s the America I know, that’s the America I love, and that’s the America we will be with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House. A nation that plans, a nation that builds, a nation that builds back. Say it with me there at home, a nation that builds back better. Here in Wisconsin, our state motto is just one word, forward. This November, let’s move forward and never look back. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (IL).

Joe knows the fear military families live because he’s felt that dread of never knowing if your deployed loved one is safe. He understands their bravery because he has had to muster that same strength, every hour of every day Beau was overseas. That’s the kind of leader our service members deserve.

One who understands the risks they face and who would actually protect them by doing his job as commander in chief. Instead they have a coward in chief who won’t stand up to a flatterer, a Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings, or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops' heads. As president, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet. He would never pervert our military to stroke his own ego. He would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against Americans, peacefully exercising,their constitutional rights.

Joe Biden would stand up for what’s right, stand tall for our troops, and stand strong against our enemies. Because unlike Trump, Joe Biden has common decency. He has common sense. He can command, both from experience, and from strength. Donald Trump doesn’t deserve to call himself commander in chief for another four minutes, let alone another four years. Our troops deserve better. Our country deserves better. If you agree, text more to 30330 to elect Joe Biden, a leader who actually cares enough about America to lead.

Mayor Pete.

When you put your life on the line for this country, you do it, not because it’s the country you live in, but because it’s a country you believe in. I believe in this country, because America uniquely holds the promise of a place where everyone can belong. We know that for too many, and for too long, that promise has been denied. But we also know America is at its best when we make that circle of belonging wider.

This coalition we are building this very season, gathering progressives and moderates, independents, and even what I like to call future former Republicans, standing for an America where everyone belongs. Joe Biden is right. This is a contest for the soul of the nation. And to me, that contest is not between good Americans and evil Americans. It’s the struggle to call out what is good in every American. It’s up to us. Will America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that black lives matter? Will we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors? Will we see to it that no one who works full time can live in poverty?

I trust Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to guide us toward that better future, because I’ve seen up close their empathy, and their capacity. Just as I’ve seen my fellow Americans capacity to support, and include one another in new ways and do better by the promise of America. The day I was born, the idea of an out candidate seeking any federal office at all was laughable. Yet earlier this year, I campaigned for the presidency often with my husband, Chasten at my side, winning delegates to this very convention. Now I come to this convention proudly supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Mike Bloomberg.

I’ve supported Democrats Republicans and independents. Hell, I’ve actually been a Democrat, Republican, and independent. It’s all about people. And the two people running for president couldn’t be more different. One believes in facts, one does not. One listens to experts, the other things he knows everything. One looks forward and sees strength in America’s diversity. The other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies, and white supremacists as allies. Here’s another difference. One has proven he knows how to handle a crisis by helping to lead the economic turnaround after the 2008 recession, while the other has not only failed to lead, he has made the current crisis much worse. He has failed the American people catastrophically.

Four years ago, I came before this very convention and said New Yorkers know a con when we see one. But tonight, I’m not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he’s a bad guy. I’m urging you to vote against him because he’s done a bad job.

So I want to ask small business owners and their employees one question, and it’s a question for everyone. Would you rehire, or work for someone, who ran your business into the ground? And who always does what’s best for him or her, even when it hurts the company? And whose reckless decisions put you in danger, and who spends more time Tweeting than working? If the answer is no, why the hell would we ever rehire Donald Trump for another four years?

So when Trump says he wants to make America great again, he’s making a pretty good case for Joe Biden. Look, our goal shouldn’t be to bring back the pandemic economy. It should be as Joe says, to build it back better. Joe’s economic plan will create clean energy jobs that help fight another crisis that Trump is ignoring, climate change, and Joe will rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, something Trump has incessantly talked about doing, but in the last three and a half years, he hasn’t done anything. What a joke.

And let me tell you a little secret. Donald Trump’s economic plan was to give a huge tax cut to guys like me who didn’t need it, and then lie about it to everyone else. Well, Joe will roll back that tax cut that I got, so we can fund things our whole country needs, like training for adults who have lost jobs and making college more affordable and investing in American research and development, so that the products of tomorrow are made today by American workers.

My favorite childhood book was called Johnny Tremain, about a Boston boy who joins the Sons of Liberty at the dawn of the American Revolution. At the end of the book, Johnny stands on Lexington Commons and sees a nation that is, quote, “Green with spring, dreaming of the future.” That’s the America I know and love. And that’s the America we are in danger of losing under this President. So let’s put an end to this whole sorry chapter in American history and elect leaders who will bring integrity and stability, sanity and competence back to the White House. Joe and Kamala, go get him for all of us.

Brayden Harrington (NH).

My name is Brayden Harrington and I am 13 years old. And without Joe Biden, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. About a few months ago, I met him in New Hampshire. He told me that we were members of the same club. We stutter. It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became Vice President. He told me about a book of poems by Yeats he would read out loud to practice. He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So I did the same thing today. And now I’m here talking to you today about the future, about our future.

My family often says 'when the world feels better,' before talking about something normal, like going to the movies. We all want the world to feel better. We need the world to feel better. I’m just a regular kid. And in the short amount of time, Joe Biden made (me) more confident about something that’s bothered me my whole life. Joe Biden cared. Imagine what he could do for all of us. Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to, someone who cares, someone who will make our country and the world feel better. We’re counting on you to elect Joe Biden.

Joe and Kamala are up next, in full. 

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. 

Wondering on Wednesday (v215)

Ready... Set... Wonder!

Where to start with today's wondering, I wonder? 

How about with the retirement of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman? He was one of the people who responded to a Congressional subpoena and testified before representatives in the House impeachment hearings, compared to the lesser men who responded, well, lesser-ly. 

Here's an excerpt from a statement released by his attorney.

You'll recall that Senator Tammy Duckworth, a veteran, was holding up promotions to top positions, pending a response from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on whether it was going to go ahead or suffer at the hand of the president's interference.  We've learned that Vindman's promotion had been approved by the Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy, and by Esper, and it was set to go to the president by the end of the week. 

So, here's the wondering: Who has confidence that Trump wouldn't try again to interfere, I wonder? Not me.  And who thinks that Esper or McCarthy would leave their positions, as Vindman did, in the face of the president's interference, if it came, I wonder?  Again, not me.  

What else am I wondering about today?  How long before a business owner declares a deeply held moral belief for not requiring their employees and customers to wear a mask? Or, conversely, one declaring a deeply held moral belief that masks must be worn, no matter what, by everyone on their property?  And what happens when an anti-masker demanding their constitutional rights to spend money runs into a business with a constitutional right to have convictions?  What's that court case going to look like, I wonder? And let's have one of the aggrieved parties be LGBTQ - that'll really put a mess in the gears, don't you think? 

Attorney General Snitty Snitty Bill Barr has said he doesn't think that law enforcement is systemically racist, but he does "think it is a widespread phenomenon that African American males, in particular, are treated with extra suspicion and maybe not given the benefit of the doubt.  I have to wonder what, in practice, the difference is between the two?  Any takers? 

What else?  Mary Trump's book is coming out early - goody for us, or something like that. The race is on to get snippets of it out in the public domain, so we've "learned" that Trump had someone else take the SATs for him, unless of course he didn't; we learned that lying was the rule of thumb, and apologies and showing emotion were not.  That, I don't think we'd argue with. And why did Mary write the book?

Donald, following the lead of my grandfather and with the complicity, silence and inaction of his siblings, destroyed my father. I can’t let him destroy my country.

So. What's the wondering here?  Simply this: if anyone reads the book, I wonder if they'll believe what they've read? I'm guessing that's another no, but I could be wrong. My guess is this book will be about as exciting as learning about Trump's $130K payouts to the porn stars - 'wow' followed by 'eww' followed by 'ick, or something.  The other wondering on this? of all the folks who have written about Trump, which one will win the book sales race? 

And finally, it seems that the administration may be contemplating banning TikTok from America, even if we don't know for sure why. On the one hand, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it's to protect American data and national security.  The president said it's being considered because of the coronavirus. The real reason might be something entirely different: Kellyanne Conway's daughter is apparently a #neverTrumper and a pro #BLM TikTok activist (unless she's just being a normal teenager).  So, which is it, I wonder - national security, coronavirus, or Claudia Conway?

What are you wondering about tonight?

Sunday School 7/5/20

Let's dive right in to the heart of the discussions in today's classrooms, shall we?

First up, we've got former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Andrea Mitchell on This Week.  Mitchell's first question was on the message being sent to Vladimir Putin by president Trump calling the Afghanistan bounty intelligence a hoax. Rice didn't mince words, saying the message is

"You can kill American servicemen and women with absolute impunity." This is an extraordinary revelation. The president of the United States has demonstrated absolutely callous disregard for the safety and security of American forces in a war zone. And there's no explanation for this.

Not only that, Rice noted, but we're now 10 days since the story was published, and why

has he not come out and said to the American people, "My top priority is to protect our men and women in uniform. And I will get to the bottom of this intelligence. I will figure out why it is that Russia appears to be targeting our forces. And I will give the American people and the soldiers the appropriate response that it deserves"?

She also doesn't buy his story about not being briefed.

Well, if that's the case, then maybe these advisors in 2020, when the information came back, again failed to tell him. I wouldn't doubt that because they're scared of him, I believe. But the point is our servicemen and women are in a war zone, vulnerable. We have credible information (about Americans being killed)... and the president calls it a hoax.

She also said she "can tell the American people with certainty " that we don't wait for, and "very, very rarely have 100% certainty." That's not the goal; it's not how intelligence works, and

...what we just heard out of my successor, Mr. O'Brien, and the press secretary is a clown show... that's not how the national security advisor and the top Cabinet-level officials who are there to support the president are supposed to behave.

And to Mitchell's question on why, "if this intelligence was important enough"  for internal briefings, and for inclusion in Trump's PDB, why let him have all of those calls with Putin without raising the issue, number one, and where are the folks who should have told him to raise it on the calls?

... it makes no sense. None of this adds up. And if, in fact, the president is surrounded by such cowards and incompetents that even when he's trying to invite Putin into the G7 and has these six phone calls nobody has the guts to say to (him), "Mr. President, we still, I want to remind you, have credible intelligence that the Russians are trying to kill U.S. servicemen and women in Afghanistan. This is not the time to be handing Putin an olive branch. This is the time to be working at options to punish him."

That didn't happen. 

So, you know, this is really extraordinary. We have a president who's ...surrounded by sycophants and weaklings who aren't doing their jobs, who don't have the confidence in themselves and in the mission that they are there to carry out, to bring the president the tough messages he needs to hear.

That, she said, is "the essence of the job" of national security advisor.

Moving down the hall, Senators Joni Ernst and Tammy Duckworth chatted with Dana Bash on CNN's State of the Union; Ernst, the Iowa Republican, is up first, and the first question was whether she was comfortable with the president's comment below.

Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. No movement that seeks to dismantle these treasured American legacies can possibly have a love of America at its heart. 

She spoke of "a great level of frustration" across the country, and that the US is "the greatest nation on the face of the planet, but we do have "blemishes in our history," adding

... we need to come together and have some very hard discussions about our past. But the great thing about this nation is that we can learn from those blemishes, learn from those hard times in the past, and continue to evolve as a continually blessed nation. 

And did she think that the majority of the protests are "actually peaceful, and not the way the president described them? She said yes - there are many peaceful protests, and she supports them.

But what we can't allow is -- is violence and that type of disruption and destruction of whether it's personal or private property, public property. We can't allow that to happen. But, again, we all need to come together, we need to sit down, and we need to have some very real, very hard discussions. If we want to improve our country, we all need to come together.

Bash asked about the military spending bill, which includes language about renaming the bases currently named for Confederate folks - something Ernst supports - and whether Trump should sign it.

Well, I absolutely believe that we need to have a discussion on this. And, again, sometimes, those discussions are very hard. But I do believe that we should talk about these military bases that were named for generals that took up arms against the United States.  So, I welcome that discussion. I think we all should. And, again, we want to focus on the meaningful things that will move our country forward, but I don't believe in the destruction, again, of property...

Bash recognizes a non-answer when she sees one, and asked the question again.

Well, I would love that he would sign the bill and move forward. But, absolutely, we have to have the discussions. We have to do that. And if that's what will help, if we can all get together as stakeholders, then I think it's the right thing to do.

Not a whole lot better - maybe a little bit. The discussion moved to the coronavirus, and Ernst's comments about Barack Obama's "failed leadership" as shown by his handling of the Ebola outbreak which led to the deaths of two Americans, compared to the nearly 130,000 COVID-19 deaths under president Trump.  Is he also showing "failed leadership?"

Here's the failed answer.

Well, I think we all have responsibility in stopping the spread. And, certainly, I have heard some of the discussions earlier. Wearing a mask is entirely appropriate. Social distancing is entirely appropriate. We have seen, I think, one additional death in the last 24 hours here in Iowa. So, it is something that we absolutely should be paying attention to. And we all should do our part to make sure that we are protecting others as well. So, this is a virus that is not going to go away soon. We want to make sure that we are watching this and doing everything that we can as a federal government, including the research and development of therapeutics and vaccinations, to make sure that we are doing the right thing as a nation.

Bash pushed on this one as well, asking "is the president right now exhibiting failed leadership'?

Well, I -- no, I think that the president is stepping forward.

And I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.... All I can say, after watching this, is if she castrated hogs as poorly and painfully as she answers questions, she should have been brought up on animal abuse charges.

Duckworth, the Illinois Democrat and, like Ernst, a veteran, was up next, and was offered up a different Trump/Mt. Rushmore quote; take a look.

Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children. 

Bash asked her, knowing that she supports renaming the bases, if statues of leaders like Washington and Jefferson, both slave owners, should come down. She said "we should start off by having a national dialogue on it at some point," but there are more important things we have to worry about right now.

What really struck me about this speech that the president gave at Mount Rushmore was that he spent more time worried about honoring dead Confederates than he did talking about the lives of our American -- 130,000 Americans who lost their lives to COVID-19, or by warning Russia off of the bounty they're putting on Americans' heads.  I mean, his priorities are all wrong here. He should be talking about what we're going to do to overcome this pandemic. What are we going to do to push Russia back? And, instead, he had no time for that. He spent all his time talking about dead traitors.

Bash took exception to calling Washington a traitor, and pressed again on whether removing statues of him was a good idea. Duckworth said we should "listen to everybody" and reminded us that Mt. Rushmore was built on land stolen from Native Americans. And she reiterated, 

We should be talking about the fact that COVID- 19 is experiencing a resurgence, and both this president and the man he put in charge of the pandemic response team, the vice president, have both failed miserably at their jobs. I'm more worried about the 130,000 who have lost their lives recently and the thousands and thousands more Americans who are currently sick than I am about the -- our historical past. We need to talk about what we're doing now to bring this country off of the brink of chaos that it's in.

Next up? Duckworth's demand that the Defense Department confirm that no one is going to mess with Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's promotion to Colonel, if in fact that was in the works.  She hasn't heard from the DOD since she notified them of her intentions, and asked for confirmation.

Let me just make it clear. If Lieutenant Colonel Vindman is on that list, he made his way on it through his own job performance. And you can't get on the promotion list unless you were recommended to be on it by your rater, your intermediate rater and your senior rater. So, three superior officers have to agree to put you on the promotion list. And all I'm saying is, I will not support the promotion of anybody to the rank of colonel or general unless the Defense Department certify to me that, if he is on the list, they won't take him off.

She's doing this because she heard he was on the promotion list, but that the White House had said he needed to come off the list. And, she said, she's not blocking any promotions other than colonels and generals. Anyone below that is fine.

On the coronavirus, Bash was curious about women having a kid, or having a job, but not both, in the "COVID-19 Economy" (an op-ed in the NY Times), and wondered how Duckworth, the first senator to give birth while in office, was dealing with it and if she and other leaders were doing enough to address the issue. Duckworth talked about her own daughter's situation come fall: full-time home schooling, or two days in school and three at home.

I can figure out how to make things work. But what about the single mom who's got to go and work at McDonald's or the grocery store? How are they going to put this together? This is very much something that I'm talking with the Democratic leadership on. And it is part of the Democratic position that we should have child care for all Americans. 

And, on Biden's upcoming veep pick (Duckworth is rumored to be on Papa Joe's short list herself), Bash wondered if he should pick a black woman.

Well, I do think black women are a key to the victory for Democrats. Look at how Doug Jones was elected and will be reelected to the United States Senate. Listen, the Biden campaign have their own process that they're going through. And I'm sure Vice President Biden will pick the right person to be next to him as he digs this country out of the mess that Donald Trump has put us in.

Remember that we need a leader who's going to bind us back together, someone whose resilience -- who has empathy, who has seen so many of the ups and downs through his own life and can connect with the American people. And Joe Biden is that person. And I believe so strongly that we need to get him into the White House.

And, she said, she'll do whatever she has to - "it's one team, one fight."

And I -- if that means I have to go sweep floors in a VA hospital, and that's the best thing I can do to help him win, then that's what I will do.

Bash pressed for clarification, saying, "So, real quick, you do not think that his running mate has to be an African-American woman?" Biden needs to, and will, make up his own mind, she said. 

He knows best who he needs as a vice president who can help him connect with the American people, who can help him overcome the crises that we're -- that we're operating under right now, everything from rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, making sure we can face off the next pandemic, making sure our economy gets turned around, and making sure we push back our folks like the Russians, who are putting bounties on Americans' heads. There's a lot of problems that Donald Trump is leading and Joe Biden is going to have to clean up. And he will pick the right person to help him do that.

And, that's where we're going to leave it.

Masks on, keep a pool noodle's distance away from others, and if you're in one of the 37 states with cases on the rise, please be careful. Please be safe.

See you around the virtual campus.  Tomorrow's Extra Credit is going to be full of mayors - the folks in the weeds trying to keep their communities going.

Sunday School 2/17/19

Only time for one lecture this morning, as I'm in day three of a partial technological shutdown here at veritable pastiche. In advance, I thank you for your patience and for sticking around until all issues are resolved.

Today's classroom? This Week with George Stephanopoulos, with co-host Martha Raddatz handling the interviews. I chose this one primarily for William Weld, who says he will primary president Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. But first, a couple of highlights from the other guests.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra told Raddatz that his state would "definitely and imminently" be filing a lawsuit challenging the president's declaration of  a national emergency, noting it was not a surprise. Raddatz wondered about any harm being done to California, since Trump's focus was on Texas. She asked (without irony) if Becerra was

...confident your state has concrete standing to challenge this? What harm is he doing to California with this declaration?

 Becerra's response?

We're confident there are at least 8 billion ways that we can prove harm. And once... all the different states are clear, what pots of money that taxpayers sent to DC he's going to raid, which Congress dedicated to different types of services; whether it's emergency response services or whether it's fire or mudslides in California or maybe tornadoes and floods in other parts of the country, or whether it's our military men and women and their families who live on military installations that might - that might have money taken away from them, or whether it's money taken away from drug interdiction efforts in places like California, a number of states, and certainly Americans will be harmed. And we're all going to be prepared. 

Becerra talked about how strong the border is, in the words of DHS, and that entries "by those that don't have permission" are lower than in 20 years or so, therefore

...it's clear this isn't an emergency, it's clear that in the mind of Donald Trump he needs to do something to try to fulfill a campaign promise. That doesn't necessarily constitute a national emergency that would require us to essentially stand down on all sorts of federal laws and also violate the US Constitution.