Wondering on Wednesday 5/8/24

Ready... Set... Wonder!

I wonder what would happen if former president Donald Trump showed up to entertain the media before his trial in NYC, and there weren't any reporters to greet him? Would he just keep on walking into the courtroom? Would he get a minion to find a reporter who could stick a microphone in his face? Would the world come to an end, I wonder? 

There is no duty for the media to stand behind the fences waiting for him. After all, he won't say anything that he hasn't already pushed out as an alleged 'Truth' sometime in the wee hours of the morning. And I find myself wondering whether any assignment editors are willing to 'forget' to assign someone to wait for him. And of course, I wonder about the job security of anyone who did that.

I've long wondered what my sleep number is, and what it says about me... or about my husband, who would have a very different sleep number, I'm sure.

I posted recaps of interviews with three possible Trump VP candidates: Gov. Doug Burgum, Senator Tim Scott, and Gov. Kristi Noem.  There's so much wondering about the interviews, the subjects, and the hosts it's hard to get my thoughts in order. But this much is clear: I have to wonder why any network would bring on any of these folks, or any of the others in the VP mix if these interviews are indicative of what we can expect. I'll have more on this tomorrow.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Burning Down the House) has been meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson this week; the two have spent hours together, I guess talking about Greene's demands, which included Johnson agreeing to consider defunding the DOJ's special prosecutors, and maybe even the DOJ itself. 

Earlier today, she posted on X that Trump was happy she'd gotten Johnson to consider her defunding proposal.  And Fox News was happy about that, too. And then, to show how happy she was, she submitted her motion to vacate the chair. 

And it was quickly shot down by the House, with only 11 MAGATs voting to boot Johnson. So, you might be wondering, what am I wondering about here?  Only this: has she now done enough to have her constituents vote her out? I sure hope so. 

Finally, in case you've been wondering, there truly are two systems of justice in America: one for slugs like you and me, and one for slugs like the former president. Why do I say this? Well, today in court, Judge Juan Merchan said Trump was "cursing audibly" and "shaking his head visibly," calling those behaviors contemptuous. 

I don't wonder for even a second that if I acted out like that, after having already been fined $10,000 for multiple contemptuous violations of a gag order, I'd be watching my own trial from a different room. But when you're the former president and presumptive nominee of the MAGA Campers, I guess the rules just don't apply. 

That's it for me - what's on your wondering minds tonight? Drop a comment if you like.

Sunday School 5/5/24: Scott's VP Interview

I can't believe I'm doing this again - trying to recap a Sen. Tim Scott interview - but here I am. Scott was in the Meet the Press classroom with Kristen Welker.  

Welker started by asking if Scott respects people's right to peacefully protest; the question came in reaction to increased police involvement on campuses. His response, all 279 words of it, started out with

Well, we certainly respect the right to peaceful protest. What we're seeing on college campuses, however, is too often not peaceful protest. 

He went on to talk about the violence that's occurring, and the 2000 arrests that have been made, and continued

What we have to understand is the antisemitism that we're seeing on college campuses today is akin to what we saw in the 1960s. What we should be saying as a nation, the American people, they're saying it loud and clear. They support eliminating antisemitism from college campuses. They're being very clear. There's no space for hate in America.

He then accused President Biden of pandering by not speaking out sooner, and spoke of the 'privilege' that is federal funding for education, a favorite refrain of the Rs. Welker noted that Scott himself has acknowledged the anti-Semitism in his own party, but I guess because it's not happening on campuses as much as it is at 'conservative' gatherings, it's not as urgent. 

Kristen, let me just say this though, Kristen. Once of the things we should make sure we do is continue to focus on the issues that we are seeing faced by those students today... This is the kind of scourge on our nation, the thing that scars the soul of a country as in we don't stand up for the vulnerable. We should make sure we do that today, tomorrow, and every day going forward.

And ignore the stuff 'we' did in the past.  

Her next question was whether or not he talked with Trump over the weekend - they were together at Mar-a-Lago - about being his running mate.

No, ma'am. What we talked about this weekend was how bad the economy is for single parents like the one that raised me. We had a lot of conversations around the room about the importance of eliminating Bidenomics, about the importance of getting inflation back down to 2%. We were just better off under President Trump. Inflation, Kristen, was at 2% and we had the lowest unemployment rates for African Americans, for Hispanics, for Asians, a 70-year low for women. We had the highest funding for historically Black colleges and universities in the history of the country under President Trump. So we were excited to have a conversation. We had no conversations about the VP pick, to be honest with you, to be clear. But we had a lot of conversations about the failures of Joe Biden and the success of Donald Trump.

Again, Welker tried to argue with him, talking economic numbers, and how some were better under Biden than Trump, but are creeping back up, he said (he's right) and then, using her favorite interview tactic, she asked him again (and again) about the VP role, saying "But just to be very clear. It didn't come up at all? Do you think you're on the short list?"

TS:  No – no, ma'am. It did not come up. African American unemployment rate is 6.4% today –

KW: But what about being – what about being VP–

TS: There's no doubt that it would be –

KW: What about being President Trump's VP? Did it come up at all? Do you think you're on the –

TS: Yes –

KW: – short list?

TS: I hope that the president will choose a person who helps the country unite and heal. I certainly expect to have a decision from President Trump in the next 60 days or so. But he did not bring it up. I certainly didn't bring it up. I'm excited that in this nation a poor kid from South Carolina can rise to the level of being a United States senator. It just tells me that all things are possible for kids growing up in poverty today. Listen to this show and know that all things are possible for your future.

Instead of talking about policy stuff, Welker decided to talk about "some of the headlines this week," and I groaned. At least she didn't mention the criminal election interference trial in New York. Instead, it was Trump's failure to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election if he weren't the winner. 

Her question for Scott, who voted to certify the 2020 results? "Why would you join a ticket with someone who believes the exact opposite on this critical point? 

Well, I think we have to listen to what President Trump said and not what the reporters said that he actually said. Here's one of the things that he's been very clear, and even talking about the situation in Wisconsin, what he said was he expects there to be an honest election. He expects the results will be clear and for him to be successful. I expect him to be successful as well. There's no doubt that when you look at the polls across our country the one thing that is crystal clear, that the American people now having a contrast between four years of Joe Biden versus four years of Donald Trump. They're really excited to get back to the Trump years. And so I expect the election to be fair, and I expect Donald Trump to be our next president.

She pushed back, quoting Trump's own words, and also mentioned Wisconsin, noting that Trump again this week said he won the state, which he lost. And after that, she asked her question again. 

So again, to the point, you voted to certify the election results of 2020. It's the exact opposite of what you said and did after 2020. Why would you want to be on a ticket with someone where there's such a fundamental difference?

Because he's all about today, tomorrow and the future, he blew off the entire concern. Basically, no worries, we don't have to fret about losing and having to make any kind of decision. Why is that not a problem? 

There is clear facts here. President Trump himself said he expects this election to be fair, he expects it to be honest, and he expects to win. That's what the presidential candidate should expect, and I expect the exact same thing. And frankly the American people agree with him. This is an issue that is not an issue, so I'm not going to make it an issue.

And then it became the Sunday School classroom equivalent of a pissing match, and I can't stand either one of them, I really can't.  

KW: Well, senator, will you commit to accepting the election results of 2024, bottom line?

TS: At the end of the day, the 47th president of the United States will be President Donald Trump, and I'm excited to get back to low inflation, low unemployment –

KS: Wait – wait, senator, yes or no? Yes or no? Will you accept the election results of 2024 no matter who wins?

TS: That is my statement.

KS: But is it – just yes or no? Will you accept the election results of 2024?

TS: I look forward to President Trump being the 47th president and Kristen, you can ask them multiple times –

KS: – Senator, just a yes or no answer.

TS: – but at the end of the day – so the American people, the American people will make the decision. And the decision will be –

KW: But I don't hear you committing – 

TS: – for President Trump. That's clear.

KW: I don't hear you coming to the election results. S

TS: – Here's the deal. This is why so many –

KW: Will you commit to accepting the election results?

TS: This is why so many – this is why so many Americans believe that NBC is an extension of the Democrat party. At the end of the day, I said what I said. I know that the American people, their voices will be heard. And I believe that President Trump will be our next president. It's that simple.

KW: But senator, as you know, the hallmark of our democracy is that both candidates agree to a peaceful transfer of power. So I'm asking you as a potential VP nominee, will you accept to commit to the election results in this election cycle, no matter who wins? Just simply yes or no.

TS: I expect President Trump to win the next election and listen I'm not going to answer your hypothetical question when in fact I believe the American people are speaking today on the results of the election and if it continues – if it continues for the next six months, we find ourselves in a great position where we get back to another degree of American prosperity. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm not going to bore you with the part of the interview about abortion, because again, she asked a question, he gave a non-answer, she pushed back, she asked again, he non-answered again, declared his non-answer to be his answer, and so on. 

Scott has walked away from what he has said believes in, and supports whatever Trump believes in. I believe everyone in the universe knows this, and there really is no reason to interview folks like Scott unless it's to get information on what Trump plans on doing if he's elected.

There is no other reason to invite him to a classroom - any classroom, unless maybe there's an open seat in a kindergarten classroom somewhere. And Welker? With her repetitive badgering of guests, and her asking only the obvious questions, she belongs there most of the time, too. 

See you around campus - Noem's up next. 

Sunday School 1/21/24: Extra Credit

In yesterday's Sunday School, I recapped three classroom visits, all with Republican governors. 

Today, the focus is on Sen. Tim Scott's Trump endorsement. As I noted last week, most of the media is falling all over themselves over how big a deal it is. Now, you can read it for yourself. My comments are interspersed throughout the post.

Scott sat down with Dana Bash in the State of the Union classroom, where the first question was why Trump, why not Haley?

It comes right down to, what does America need for the next president? It would be four more years of Donald Trump. And why do I say that? I say that because I worked with President Trump on really important issues impacting American voters and American families. We worked together. I helped write the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, the largest tax decrease in American history.

I hope Scott remembers that many of the most impactful provisions of the bill he wrote are set to expire next year.  

Think about uniting this country. He gave the highest level of funding for historically black colleges and universities in the history of the country. We had the most inclusive economy, seven million new jobs, the lowest unemployment rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, a 70-year low for women, and a 50-year low for the majority of the population,... during the Trump years.

A couple things: in some GOP circles, providing historic HBCUs funding is likely considered "woke," not a sign of unity; unemployment rates dipped even lower during Biden's term, and are fairly consistent with Trump's pre-COVID numbers; and while we know that presidents don't 'create' jobs, Biden has 'created' nearly twice as many as Trump.

We had a stronger economy, a healthy military, and a safer world. When I compare and contrast, the only, the only conclusion is Donald Trump.

Scott said he and Haley exchanged texts "several times" since he got out of the race, and he expanded upon his thinking in endorsing Trump. 

I'm not asking a question about who's from my home state. I'm not asking a question who would be -- is a good person or a better person. I think President Donald Trump is a strong president, will be a strong president again, and will have the kind of accomplishments that will unite this nation around economic opportunity.

If he's not looking for a "good person," he's found his man.

Bash talked about Scott's "a very positive, very hopeful campaign." She played a video clip of Scott asking a crowd, "Victimhood or victory? Grievance or greatness?" and said it sounded like he was talking about Trump.

No, listen, I -- we absolutely, positively, unequivocally need an America that's not filled with victims.

Trump is the victim-in-chief, for Pete's sake. So, if not Trump, who was Scott talking about? 

I'm actually talking about how Joe Biden has destroyed our economy and made victims out of people waiting for the government to show up. I'm talking about having a president who's weaponizing the DOJ against political adversaries. We need Lady Justice wearing a blindfold. I want America, every single American in every corridor of this nation to have confidence in their DOJ, not a Biden-led DOJ.

Has he not been paying attention? Has he never heard of Bill Barr? 

I want every child growing up in poverty, like I did, to have access to quality education. Unfortunately, the Democrats have sold their souls to the teachers' unions, trapping poor black kids in inner cities into failing schools and out of their best future. I want a nation where every child looks into the future and says, the American dream works for me. I was that kid.

And so when I think about bringing this country together, not under grievance, but over greatness, not being victims, but being victorious, I am talking about the future of this nation... and politicians who get in the way of that.

 Bash asked if he doesn't "see any grievance in Donald Trump's campaign for president?"

Well, here's what I can tell you. And for a person who's seen the DOJ weaponized against him, for a person who, before he was ever sworn into office, "The Washington Post" said they were going to make sure that he is a one-term president, when you look at the challenges he faced, there's no doubt that he has been aggrieved. 

I think Scott's confused; back in 2010, Sen. Mitch McConnell said “The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." Maybe that's what he remembered hearing?

The question is, what are the American voters looking for? Here's what they're looking for. They're looking for a president who represents their best future, and not his. That president is not Joe Biden. It's Donald Trump. 

I have concerns about a second Joe Biden term, as do many people I know, but I don't think Donald Trump represents anyone's best future, other than his own.

Bash then turned to Scott's belief that Trump will "restore law and order," which is interesting. She pointed to Trump's recent experiences with the law, including trying to overturn the 2020 election, promising to pardon his rioters (he calls them hostages), the stolen documents case, and his latest call for total presidential immunity, and asked how that equated to law and order. 

Well, he has a legal team that can answer the questions of the legal challenges that he faces.

Yes - including a lawyer who said presidential immunity would apply if the president ordered SEAL Team 6 to murder a political rival. That's kind of hard to ignore, I think.

But what I can tell you is that, when you look around the cities, when you grow up in poor communities, like I did, and you watch the crime ravishing your communities, you ask yourself what president has allowed that to happen. It's Joe Biden.

Bash didn't interrupt to ask, "What is the president's role in dealing with crime in cities and poor communities?" but I would have. 

When you have DAs around the country that say it's no longer a crime to steal $1,000 worth of goods, and those stores start closing in San Francisco and across the country, you ask yourself what president allowed that lawless behavior to continue. That's Joe Biden.

I'm not denying there are serious issues facing retail stores - we've seen the video, right? But again, "What is the president's role in telling elected DAs how to do their jobs?" And, "What is the president's role in making sure that businesses don't lie about crime in the press and in Congressional hearings?"  And, "What is the president's role in making sure politicians don't spread the same lies?"

You ask yourself, who can restore the kind of law and order in our nation to allow it to go forward... that would be Donald Trump.

Bash tried again, focusing on the 'hostage' language, noting Scott was at the Capitol on January 6th, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, ready to defend himself "presumably until I died."  Would he now refer to the folks facing prosecution as hostages?

I would say that every single person facing our justice system should have justice done. The facts and the evidence in each individual case matters. I have confidence that that process will play out. Here's what I said also in the book that I wrote. I talked about January the 6th, because I'm one of the few people who was actually there with the people outside; 99 percent of the people who showed up were there to exercise their First Amendment rights. What I said then is what I will say now. I don't hold those people at harm. I don't hold them responsible for the actions of a few. I do hold the few responsible, no one else.  People have to be responsible for themselves.

Bash tried two more times to get a specific agreement that 'hostages' was the wrong term, but Scott only said, "We should have confidence in restoring the blindfold to Lady Justice." I'm not sure dressing Lady Justice as a blindfold-wearing hostage helps. 

Scott was asked if he was comfortable with Trump 'birthering' Nikki Haley, as he did Barack Obama, Ted Cruz, and who knows how many others. His answer is laughable. 

Well, I'm watching rhetoric on all sides of the issues facing becoming president. What I mean by that is, the rhetoric from Joe Biden is terrible, but it is -- and it's salacious.

Salacious? Really? I must have bigly missed something! Has Biden campaigned making comments that are "arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination?" That sounds a whole lot more like the House GOP (remember Hunter Biden's photos?) or Trump to me.

Nikki Haley questions whether 70-year-olds should be allowed to run for president. I think there is so much negativity and toxicity in this aim to becoming president again or for the first time that we should be very clear and look at both sides of the comments made. What I can tell you, the average voter is more interested in their future and their kids than they are the comments being thrown around by political candidates.

And, whether it's the man he sold his soul to endorsed or anyone else, 

Well, I would like for all politicians to comport themselves in a way that is consistent with the highest office.

But I'm happy to endorse the rudest, meanest, most belligerent, most violent, most openly dictatorial, most impressively indicted, most unlike me candidate I could find, instead of gracefully serving out my term and spending time with my bride-to-be. 

The last word on this goes to CNN's Amanda Carpenter, who was in the classroom for the interview.

I mean, I've just got to comment a bit on how Tim Scott has closed his race. That interview he conducted with you made me really sad. It was really hard to watch. I think you rarely see a person with his reputation, as an optimistic, charismatic leader, sully it in the way that he did in that interview...

See you around campus. 

Quick Takes (v71): Meaningless "Major Endorsements"

Last night on ABC's World News Tonight, we were urged to the edge of our seats with the news that Donald Trump received a "major endorsement." 

Who could it be, I wondered... Meghan McCain? Jeb Bush? Rachel Maddow? Or wait... maybe it was Carly "Look at that Face" Fiorina, who ran against him in 2016? 

Oh, silly me... it was Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). You remember him, right? The only Black Republican in the Senate? Former presidential candidate? The guy forced by the press into declaring he had a girlfriend?  Yeah, that guy. 

Can you imagine how this must have been "a big boost" for Donald Trump,  and "a major snub" for Nikki Haley, who appointed Scott to the Senate back in 2012?  That's how ABC's Rachel Scott described it about ten minutes into the broadcast. 

My guess? It's neither of those things. 

Sure, all the candidates in the race hope for the endorsements of those who drop out, and one might expect there'd be a bit of loyalty from Scott to Haley, but she's behind both Trump and DeSantis coming out of Iowa, and likely has little chance of winning regardless of who endorses her. 

Now, to be fair, ABC is not the only outlet gushing over the endorsement - it's pretty widespread, with folks all trying to make it sound more meaningful than it is. 

I agree with NH Gov. Chris Sununu, a Haley supporter, who said

If anyone cared about Tim Scott, he'd still be running for president. 

Honestly, I think there are two issues with this: the endorsers, and those who report on the endorsements.

In my opinion, if you're Tim Scott, Doug Burgum or Vivek Ramaswamy, or even folks like Nick Ayers, one of  Mike Pence's former chiefs of staff, you're endorsing Trump because you want something from him, not because you have anything to offer him. 

According to the folks at 538, as of January 14th, Trump had picked up 185 endorsements,

including nine governors, 24 senators, and 116 U.S. representatives. By comparison, only 22 of them had endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

How many of those governors, senators, and representatives honestly believe Trump needs their endorsement, and how many of them are more interested in making sure folks who can vote for them know they support Trump? 

If you're a political reporter paid to give your best attention to these things, you should be asking yourself, "What's in it for the endorser?" instead of simply giving free publicity to the endorsee.  

And please, do us a favor: when a truly notable endorsement happens - if Mike Pence, or Nancy Pelosi, or Merrick Garland, or Liz Cheney - decides for incomprehensible reasons to support Trump, let us know. 

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 (v51)

It was VERY busy around here last week, so go grab your cuppa whatever and dive in!

Sunday School brought us interviews with Currently Acting and Maybe Soon Confirmed DHS head Chad Wolf, who was in the CNN SOTU classroom with Jake Tapper, and former FBI Director James Comey, who was in the Face the Nation classroom with Margaret Brennan.  Among other things, Wolf said that he's not authorized to send DHS law enforcement officers to police polling places, which was a good thing as far as Comey was concerned, as we learned in his 'speed round' answers.

• He trusts "state, local and federal law enforcement to honor their oath to the rule of law and to not be part of suppressing votes." so thinks LEOS and US attorneys and the like will not be present suppressing votes in November.

• He "can't imagine" that he's a target of US Attorney John Durham's investigation and he's "not worried at all about that investigation of the investigation. Next, I'm sure will be an investigation of the investigation of the investigation..."

My classroom visits sparked a Sidebar highlighting Jake Tapper's commentary at the end of his show on Sunday. He said, in part 

Now, empathy and decency are of course not the only measures by which one makes a decision about an election. There is policy and acuity, feelings of safety and security, a host of other factors. But it is pretty clear there's a profound empathy and decency gap between President Trump and Joe Biden.

And what's important to keep in mind at this point in our nation's history, a politician bereft of empathy and decency, that's someone by definition who is willing to literally do anything, to sink to any depth to win.

I also sat down at the Update Desk, after more news came out about Rev. Franklin Graham's intentions, which I discussed in an Irony Board post from the week before,

And, there is, of course, the well-known history of Biden's personal life, losing his wife and daughter in a car accident, losing his son to brain cancer, and how it was his faith that got him through those tragedies. Ignoring all of that smacks of a person who has a specific message he wants to deliver, but won't come right out and say it.

Yet. I'm sure he's saving it for next week.

Well, it seems that I was right. Rev. Graham has been announced as one of the speakers for the Republican National Convention. 

After those couple of twists and turns,  finally got to the David Muir/Robin Roberts interviews with the Democratic ticket, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for your Sunday School Extra Credit. Much of the conversation centered on the pandemic, and on the debates and comments made then, and how she was eventually picked and how she felt about being the choice.

Harris was comfortable signing on as  VP choice, pointing to a number of policies that are "about translating the pain we collectively should feel as a country" and turning that pain into action on multiple fronts, including the Green New Deal - and that setting goals and timelines would be priorities there, along with a million new jobs.

And then, it was time for the convention, and the speeches, in all of their insufferable glory. And the president, who, you know, did presidential stuff as part of the convention, because just as he can't separate his presidency from his business interests, he can't separate his candidacy from the presidency.  Raise your hand if you're shocked about that...

• From the opening night, which included a call for no birth control (Charlie Kirk), a blatant misunderstanding of our country and immigration (Most Favored Son's Girlfriend and $180,000/year campaign shill Kimberly Guilfoyle), and a complete lack of understanding of how the Republicans are not the party of free speech (Guilfoyle's boyfriend) and how they don't think cancel culture is "dangerous and wrong (Nikki Haley, who's in the battle against Ivanka to be the first woman president, it would seem). And there Sen. Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, who at least was honest.

Trust me though, after seven years in the Senate, I know I’m not the only one in Congress who failed civics.

• From the second night, which brought us libertarian/Republicans Rand Paul, who at one point was honest about Trump and now is somehow one of the biggest fans of the self-aggrandizing fake conservative; the 'it takes one to know one' view of criminals from Pam Bondi, registered foreign lobbyist and former FL AG; the least son, who pleaded for attention from his daddy, and the ever pompous, unethical, afraid-of-strong-women SecState, speaking to us from a direct violation of his own State Department policy just issued in July; and the empathetic other daughter, who knows how it feels to not have a job, and about mental manipulation by the media.

This manipulation of what information we receive impedes our freedoms, rather than allowing Americans the right to form our own beliefs, this misinformation system keeps people mentally enslaved to the ideas they deem correct.

• From the third night, which brought us politicians, first responders, people with pre-existing conditions, political candidates, sports heroes, and more - including someone accused of insider trading, 

which I thought was pretty cool for the 'Law and Order' party, although I'm sure the arrest of the speaker earlier this month was all part of the grand deep-state hoaxspiracy to bring down the Chosen One, or something. What is it they say, W1GOTDEWAGOTDE (When One Goes Off the Deep End, We All Go Off the Deep End)?

• And then, it was Thursday, the final night. (The emphasis here is mine.) Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell spoke (those were fun), as did Ja'Ron Smith, who incomprehensibly managed to bucket together Ahmaud Arbery, (murdered for jogging while black), George Floyd (murdered while being arrested while black) and LeGend Taliferro (a four-year old child senselessly murdered in a non-racially-motivated beef between LeGend's family and a man with whom his aunt had a relationship); and of course, the penultimate speaker (who if everything she said is true, might actually be the first woman president), the first daughter. Among the things she told us about her daddy in her introduction? 

He’s so unapologetic about his beliefs that he has caused me and countless Americans to take a hard look at our own convictions and ask ourselves, (How the hell did we elect a celebrity conman as president of the greatest country in the history of the world?)  What kind of America do we want to leave for our children, (one championed by a bully who lies through his teeth on a daily basis, brings out the worst in the worst of us, and has so lowered the bar that underground limbo is now a thing)?

I must say, it was all so bigly huge and patriotic, I took an extra day to get the TGIF post out, which included word-for-word the Pence and Trump acceptance speeches, without comment.

It was a historic and truly veritable pastiche last week, I've got to say. 

I'll be back later with today's Sunday School. 

Highlights from the RNC: Opening Night

You owe me, big time. 

Here are my carefully curated highlights from the opening night of the Republican National Convention.

Charlie Kirk.

We will be a country that makes it easier to have many children, live quiet and peaceable lives, and worship your God without a tyrant getting in the way. (Young Mr. Kirk must be representing the pro-lots-of-life segment of the party?)

Rep. Jim Jordan 

President Trump has fought against each of their crazy ideas. He’s taken on the swamp, all of the swamp, the Democrats, the press, and the neverTrumpers. When you take on the swamp, the swamp fights back, they tried the Russia hoax, the Mueller investigation and the fake impeachment. (Right...Donald Trump will always be an impeached president.)

Herschel Walker, former Celebrity Apprentice Contestant

Just because someone loves and respect the flag, our national anthem and our country doesn’t mean they don’t care about social justice. (Recall video of the president respectfully mauling the flag at CPAC, and of course respectfully 'conducting' and fake singing the national anthem at his private club.)

Vernon Jones.

The Democratic party does not want black people to leave their mental plantation. We’ve been forced to be there for decades and generations, but I have news for Joe Biden. We are free. We are free people with free minds. (This is actually an interesting argument.)

 Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donny Trump's girlfriend

As a first generation American, I know how dangerous their socialist agenda is. My mother, Mercedes, was a special education teacher from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. My father, also an immigrant, came to this nation in pursuit of the American dream. Now, I consider it my duty to fight to protect that dream. (Um, Puerto Ricans have been US citizens since 1917, so I'm guessing you're at least a second-generation American...)

Sean Parnell, GOP House candidate. 

The party of Harry Truman became the party of hedge fund managers, Hollywood celebrities, tech, moguls, and university professors, all bloated with contempt for middle America. I stand here tonight, calling on all Americans to join us. It doesn’t matter what you look like, who you love, how you worship, your gender, or your job. (We do, of course, reserve the right to discriminate against you no matter what you look like, who you love, how you worship, your gender, or your job.)

Nikki Haley 

There’s one more important area where our president is right. He knows that political correctness and cancel culture are dangerous and just plain wrong. (Let's ask the folks at Goodyear, or Nike, or Macy's, or Harley-Davidson, the NFL, AT&T, HBO, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine, Univision, Apple, CNN...) 

Donny Jr.  

Joe Biden is basically the Loch Ness Monster of the swamp. Freedom of expression used to be a liberal value, at least before the radical left took over. Now the Republican party is the home of free speech. (See above under Parnell and Haley.)

Sen. Tim Scott.

Trust me though, after seven years in the Senate, I know I’m not the only one in Congress who failed civics. (I'll give him that one, for sure. I'm assuming he's including Mitch McConnell, who denies senators the opportunity to do their jobs and denies Americans their right to representation in the Senate, and negates the work of House members of both parties.)

If you want the rah-rah stuff, it's in the transcript.  

Sunday School 6/14/20

For Sunday School today, I dropped in on a couple of classrooms: Meet the Press (NBC), for Chuck Todd's interview with Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), and Face the Nation (CBS), to listen in on Margaret Brennan's chat with Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best, which is where we'll start, given the intense interest in what's happening in the Capital Hill area of that city, where protesters or anarchists have taken over and kicked the police out of a precinct house. 

Brennan welcomed Chief Best and started the interview with a discussion about how policing is being done in Seattle. Best, who is black, said she thinks "all the time" about how they can improve, and what they're experiencing on the job every day. She continued

I absolutely believe in accountability. But I think it's- we've moved away from using the word reform. We were under a consent decree and the Seattle Police Department for almost a decade. We followed every rule and everything that was asked of us to do, yet here we are--

The Justice Department, with the consent decree, "laid out a road map and a game plan for (the police) to follow" while a federal monitor reviewed things. But Best said what she believes, after attending one of the Black Lives Matter protests, and

looking at the 60,000 people that were there, signs saying, you know, defund the police, stop police brutality, you know, no qualified immunity. And there were thousands of people carrying those particular signs. And I just realized it was a moment, an epiphany, that this is a pivotal moment in history. We are going to move in a different direction and policing will never be the same as it was before...

And, Best noted, some of this is best left as conversation for "the politicians and the judicial people" to have, but

But I do believe that the considerations of the public need to be infused in whatever that outcome is.

Brennan introduced a discussion about the CHAZ, noting that "Republican lawmakers... they're saying it's like a war zone, that warlords are running rampant. The president himself has said domestic terrorists have taken it over." She asked Best point-blank,  "What is happening in this so-called Capital Hill Autonomous Zone?"

Best's answer, after noting the name change to CHOP, was that there are different objectives and different agendas and that

One of our real challenges there is trying to determine who is a leader or an influencer. And that seems to change daily. I know that many of our city officials and others are trying to establish some sort of communication with someone who can give us some direction about what the intent is and how we might move forward.

Brennan mentioned reports that "negotiations were underway with Black Lives Matter" and that they were looking for police funding to be cut before they'd hand back control of the area; she wondered how long it will last.  Best said she wished she had the answer, but wants things to move forward "as quickly and efficiently as possible, adding

But my concern as a police chief, besides that I want to be back in our precinct doing the work, is that we don't want... anyone there to be harmed. We don't want this to be something that devolves into a force situation. So we're really trying to take a methodical, practical approach to reach a resolution where everyone gets out of here safely.

And she said "for the time being" she believes it's peaceful.

Brennan shifted to what happened in Atlanta with the shooting of Rayshard Brooks. Noting that one of the officers was fired and the police chief has resigned, Brennan wondered, "...what is it like to be a police chief right now? Do you feel there is just zero room for any kind of error? And have you changed the way you're doing your job?"

Best talked about not being able to use pepper spray or flash-bangs or CS gas in Seattle, which changes some things. And she referred to the protests again.

...I saw many people carrying signs about defunding the police, ending police brutality and looking at resolving the qualified immunity issue. So I know standing there watching and listening that we're going to change in policing. We have to. It has to be a movement that involves everybody. And we need to reimagine and re figure out, if you will, how we're going to move forward as a country and as an organization to make things better for everybody.

 It's "incredibly difficult', but "with every challenge, there's opportunity. There's opportunity to move forward and bring people together and get positive change. I absolutely believe that." And, she said,

So some stressful situations are not going to deviate me or my organization from leading the way in trying to make things better for all of us.

Stress is not a reason for walking away - something that we all should remember. 

South Carolina's Tim Scott, who's one of only three blacks in the senate - and the only black Republican - was tapped to lead the Republican legislative efforts on police reform. The first question from Chuck Todd? What was his reaction to what happened in Atlanta, particularly with how fast things were moving. 

Scott said he thought the mayor deciding to fire the officer and having the chief resign was to "perhaps quell the response from the community" and said that the video was "disturbing to watch" but that he was

not sure it was as clear as what we've seen around the country on some of the other issues that have driven us to the point where we're actually having a serious conversation around police reform.

He described the Atlanta situation as 'an outlier.'

Todd wondered if part of police reform should include "a federal standard on use of force" and when it is or isn't required. Scott suggested (and I agree with him) that "it's really difficult to establish a codified and law standard" for that; there are "millions of scenarios" involved. That's why they've been looking for best practices, so they can

...provide that clarity and guidance for those departments who may need to have a better, better perspective on use of force. So we're getting at it. But I'm not sure we're ever going to codify in law a use of force standard.

Chuck wondered what a best practice would look like. Scott said that they're trying to get current officers, former officers, and citizens together to talk about what effective policies and better outcomes look like in the split second situations when it's determined whether to use force. Chokeholds, he said, is more clear: it's "a policy whose time has come and gone."

Todd wondered what has momentum at the federal level, pointing to a national registry of police misconduct, ending no-knock warrants, and reducing qualified immunity for police officers - all on the Dem's wish list.. Scott said they want to understand more about no-knock warrants, when they're used, against whom, demographics, and so on. All they know is the horrible case of Breonna Taylor.

So I want to take the Breonna Taylor case and have an act that requires more data to be provided so that we can actually come out with policies that are consistent with the best use of no-knocks or the elimination of no-knocks... I know that the House bill says let's just eliminate it for drug cases. But we have no information that supports that that is the best way to go.

He wants to have the discussion, and that'll be on the table if they get to the negotiation part, as will chokeholds and even a national registry. He thinks some of the approaches are very similar yet different at the same time, but he thinks there'll be a bill, and a law. Qualified immunity is a different issue.

I would be interested in decertification of officers, the left says that's a union issue that's kind of hard to get at. Qualified immunity on the right, that's an issue that most Republicans don't like at all, to include myself. So the question is, is there a path forward that we take a look at the necessity of eliminating bad behavior within our law enforcement community?... I think we'll find that. I'm not sure that it's qualified immunity.

It might not be decertification, either, he said, but "if we're that close on making progress, I hope we don't let partisanship get in the way."

Chuck asked about the president, and whether he can play a role in getting a bill across the finish line, "without, sort of, maybe, apologizing for some of his views on race over the years?" Scott thinks yes, saying Trump "is engaging now in a way that is constructive and helpful." And, Scott said, Trump's executive order, coming on Tuesday he thinks,

really does reference a national database strengthening and national database on police misconduct, from my understanding. It also talks about the importance of co-responders from a mental health perspective that both law enforcement and communities like that approach. So I think he's weighing in at the right time in a constructive manner.

And he pointed to Trump's West Point commencement address, noting that

His approach yesterday... is what we'd like to see a whole lot more of because it was constructive, it is important that all three levers of government work together to solve what is, in fact, the original sin of this country. If we do that, I think the American people will celebrate, neither party, but the fact that we worked together as one country.

Todd wondered if Juneteenth was a national holiday, if the scheduling issue with Trump's rally wouldn't have happened.

I do think the more information we have, obviously if there was a national holiday, Chuck, you're hitting the nail on the head, we would all know about Juneteenth. We'd all have an opportunity to celebrate it. And frankly, there would be fewer mistakes on that day.

He said that one of the things he wants to do in the Republican legislation was providing resources similar to how "it's done at the Holocaust Museum," for the African American Museum for celebrating Juneteenth, and commemorating the Tulsa race riot (which was really a massacre).

We think the more education, the information that we provide the better people behave in all corridors of this nation. but specifically within the law enforcement community. So we have an opportunity to do that in our legislation, we provide some resources for that historical perspective and understanding that I think will bring us closer together.

And will there be a national holiday, Todd asked?

Well, listen, I'm open to it. I've been talking to some of my friends throughout the country, including at the White House. I think that's a brilliant idea. The conservatives in the House seem to be interested in that. So you never know what may happen.

You never know what might happen, when conservatives "seem to be interested" in adding another federal holiday...

See you around the virtual campus, in accordance with the reopening guidelines where you are. And tune in tomorrow for Extra Credit, where I'll feature two Ben Carson interviews. I'm looking forward to seeing how the classroom dictates the questions - and the answers.