Sunday School 7/24/22

The winning classroom for your Sunday School and Extra Credit this week? ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos (well, with Jon Karl).

His first guest was Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator. After talking about President Biden's health and treatment, and White House protocols (yes, they follow CDC guidelines, Jha said), Karl got down to the important stuff: why aren't they hearing from Dr. O'Connor, Biden's physician? Jha explained that they are hearing from O'Connor, and Fauci, and Jha and Biden himself, but Karl's complaint was 

we're not able to ask him questions. We don't -- we see a written statement, we're not actually able to question the president's doctor. 

I'd be willing to bet a dollar that Karl and the rest of the media really want to know what Biden's health is going to be in 2024, not what his health is now. And, I'd bet a second dollar they're wishing that Dr. O'Connor was more like Dr. Ronny Jackson, who recently declared former president Trump "is in the pink of health," and who said previously that if Trump had only eaten healthier, "he might live to be 200 years old."

Next up was Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Not Pulling Any Punches), who talked about the January 6th investigation. Here are some highlights.

Of his House Republican colleagues, he said he's "ceased to be amazed at how much they're willing to accept" and not push back on. He also said the hearings might not be having "a ton of impact" on regular Rs, and that "Trumpism isn't dying even though Trump is becoming irrelevant," but that in the long term 

in like five years I still believe that it's going to be hard to find somebody that will admit they were ever a Trump supporter. And I think that's where this impact comes in, as future history.

Karl mentioned the "quite emphatic" AG Merrick Garland saying that no one is above the law, and asked Kinzinger if he thinks "it is more likely now that we'll actually see something, again, we've never seen in American history, a former president, maybe a president candidate again, under -- being prosecuted by the Justice Department?" 

Kinzinger said it does, and he was clear to say they've got "no special indication" of anything the DOJ is doing, but said "it does feel like" there's been a lot of movement on things on the DOJ side since the Committee hearings started. He said he's "not going to complain," saying

we never want to get in a position as a country, what you see in failed democracies, where every last administration is prosecuted. But there is a massive difference between 'I'm going to prosecute the last administration for political vengeance' and not prosecuting an administration that literally attempted a failed coup. That is a -- that is a precedent I'm way more concerned about, is, if there is evidence that this happened from a judicial perspective, if there's the ability to move forward on prosecuting, and you don't, you have basically set the floor for future behavior of any president. And I don't think a democracy can survive that. So, I certainly hope they’re moving forward. I certainly think there’s evidence of crimes. And I think it goes all the way up to Donald Trump.

Karl's response? 

So, you -- you hope that there will be a prosecution of Trump himself. Even -- I mean, this is -- I mean, you just have to take a step back here. This is a guy who is sounding like he’s going to run again, so he would be being prosecuted by the president that he is potentially running against.

Kinzinger was clear when he answered

Look, I worry about everything that has happened for the last few years. And really, I worry about everything that could happen in the future, and that includes things like, you know, what happens if a president’s running for office and he’s indicted, how does that feel? But, the converse of that is, what happens if we don’t do anything? What happens if we look and say, well, he’s running again, we’re concerned how it’s going to look, so that, like, whole coup attempt thing, let’s just up that behind us and hope it never happens again? Because it will happen again.

And then there's Kevin McCarthy. Karl said "McCarthy clearly didn't believe this stuff" - Trump's Big Lie - and he wondered if things would have been different if McCarthy had stood up and said so. Kinzinger's answer was spot on. Here's how he started out.

But the question is, what are you going to stand for in your life, you know? Are you going to go out being known as the guy that enabled a failed coup, or are you going to be the guy that goes out standing up, right? Goes out saying, I'm going to do what’s right?

He said McCarthy "very likely could have survived this" - but he made the wrong choice. After January 6th, Kinzinger said, Republicans were stuck in a "what do we do? Where do we go from here?" situation. And then, McCarthy went to Florida, and single-handedly resurrected Trump, "like an ambulance driver that took those paddles and brought Donald Trump back to life." At that time, "the fear that went through the Republican ranks" was palpable. 

And he had a message for everyone.

... ladies and gentlemen, and particularly my Republican friends, your leaders by and large have been lying to you. They know stuff that’s very different than what they’re telling you. They know the election wasn’t stolen, but they’re going to send out fundraising requests, they’re going to take your money from you and they’re going to use you to stay in power. You’re being abused. You can be mad at Liz Cheney and I. That’s fine. We’ve been taking this for a while. We’re not the ones lying to you. It’s the people you think are telling you what you want to hear. They’re the liars. And Kevin McCarthy is among them.

Two final points. First, the "door is wide open" for Secret Service folks - Trump's driver and head of detail among them - to come and testify; it's not the Committee's decision that they haven't done so yet. He said anonymous sources - "some of which may actually be the people of interest themselves" who are unwilling to testify under oath don't take away from Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.

Cassidy Hutchinson will go down in history as a hero, and she never sought to. She’s just a young woman telling the truth with more courage than the vast majority of men in politics today.

He also said there's more information that we haven't heard yet from the Secret Service, and they can "explore more in depth all of that" in their report, future hearings, or both.

And, about Steve Bannon being found guilty?

It’s good. I mean justice, right... come in. you can plead the Fifth if you want in front of our committee, but you can’t ignore a congressional subpoena, or you’ll pay the price. That’s to any future witnesses too.

I figure there are a few people who will do that voluntarily, without waiting for a subpoena. 

See you around campus. 

In Case You Missed It (v99)

What was shaking at veritable pastiche last week? Here's your recap. 

The week started with It Happened Again, a post referencing the Amadou Diallo murder from the 90s, American Skin (41 Shots), the Bruce Springsteen song inspired by it, and the Jayland Walker murder from last month. 

There were 46 entrance wounds on his 25-year-old body: 

• 17 on his pelvis and upper legs, injuring major arteries to his leg and bladder; his pelvis and both femurs were broken.
• 15 on his torso, injuring his heart, lungs, liver, spleen, left kidney, intestines, and multiple ribs.
• 8 on his arms and right hand.
• 5 on his knees, his leg, and his foot
• 1 on his face, breaking his jaw.

Adding insult to those injuries? He was handcuffed after he was murdered. 

Is it a gun, is it a knife

Is it a wallet, this is your life

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

No secret my friend

You can get killed just for living in your American skin.

It happened again - and I don't know that I will ever understand why. 

In your Sunday School lesson, we were back in CNN's State of the Union classroom. Host Dana Bash talked with outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) about the Republican Governors Association.

Ducey talked about how the RGA works and how it works to "keep our states red ...but we don't support lost causes." Bash honed in Doug Mastriano in PA, wondering if he was a "lost cause."  Ducey said no decisions have been made yet given it's still early. 

When Bash asked if someone like Mastriano "should be in such an important swing state in the governor's mansion," Ducey said 

I also think this election should be about the future. I don't think we should think for one more moment about 2020. This is about the 2022 election cycle. And, as I said, the job of the RGA is to elect Republican governors, and that's what we're going to do in this cycle.

For your Extra Credit, it was Bash's conversation with Jared Bernstein, a long-time Biden economic advisor, that had left me scratching my head. Bernstein had to explain a couple of things to Bash that, in my opinion, should have been obvious.

...if we're going to talk about the damage that these high energy prices are having on family budgets, I think we have to talk about the benefits for when those prices come down a little.

And, he also had to explain, 

...the president is unequivocal by not calling 'mission accomplished' on any of this. We're talking about a decline that's completely insufficient when it comes to delivering the relief to family budgets that they need. So, that's why he continues to push on every aspect he can of this issue in terms of increasing the supply of global energy to help mitigate that price increase.

And then, a lightbulb: Bash said, "And you're right. The prices have come down, which is a good thing. It's better than them going the other way." BINGO! 

Compared to others in the administration, Bernstein is a breath of fresh air.

Also on Tuesday, I posted Part Three of our Future Tale. Parts One and Two were recapped, which explained why our narrator was in a really weird alley, and found

A revolving door. 

A revolving door? It was so completely out of place, I almost laughed out loud, but caught myself at the last second. Laughing seemed as out of place as the door, after what I had just been through, what I had yet to fully process. Heck, who am I kidding? I hadn't even begun to process what had happened behind me in the alley; I didn't even know where to start, but I knew laughing wasn't it.

I stopped a few feet away from the door, all glass and brass, ornate like the doors you find in classy old hotels, and simultaneously filthy like you find in abandoned ones. I half expected there to be a bellman in the vestibule, but this wasn't a hotel, there wasn't a vestibule. I'm in an alley for Pete's sake, I told myself, not in some old movie. 

My husband, trying to piece things together, said it made more sense when I explained it was part nightmare, part dream, part The Thoughts That Fly Around My Head When I Should Be Sleeping. I'll have more of the story for you later. 

For your Wondering on Wednesday, I was musing about another of those things I'll never understand: the stupidity of the Democrats.

Speaking of listening, I can't help wondering who on earth the Dems are listening to, that they think the answer to winning elections this year is to prop up Trumpers in their GOP primaries? The most recent example comes from yesterday's gubernatorial primary in Maryland, where Trump-endorsed Dan Cox beat actual Republican Kelly Schulz, who was endorsed by her former boss, Gov. Larry Hogan. 

The Democratic Governors Association - a bunch of goofballs, it would seem - spent over a million bucks propping up Cox, thinking he'd be easier to beat in the general election. 

And, of course, Cox is not the only one. They're also propping up Kari Lake, the goofball running to replace Ducey in Arizona. I swear you can't make this stuff up. 

For #tbt, I revisited this one: Ronald Reagan for President? It started when I, a lifelong registered Democrat (at that time, I was - not anymore) got a call from a survey asking "loyal conservatives" who they wanted for president. Deciding to play along, at least for a while, I asked who the choices were, and the caller told me it was an open question but gave me several of the leading responses, including Ronald Reagan, who passed away in 1989.

Excited that I had such great options, I responded emphatically "Ronald Reagan!" The woman answered, with a chuckle, "Yes, he seems to be a popular choice."  

A dead man is a popular choice to lead the Conservatives forward in their mission to take back America? Really? A dead man? 

I pointed out that it seemed that a dead man (even a dead former president) being a top mention as a 'leader' of the Conservative movement said either quite a bit about their message, quite a bit about loyal local Conservatives, or both. 

Mostly I think it says a lot about the state of affairs in America today. 

I had fun with this one, and so did the caller - and yes, I did confess my Dem status to her.

Friday brought a Quick Take on the bizarre doings at the Federal Election Commission, in particular a hissy fit about a question Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) asked. The FEC is a mess -for one thing, it's equally divided between Ds and Rs, on purpose. For another, there seems to be a commissioner who's a bit judgmental, which led to a Twitter spat.

After the meeting a fellow commish, Ellen Weintraub, tweeted about Trainor's comment, saying in part 

I have never seen a requestor treated so disrespectfully by a member of this Commission. We do not 'pass judgment' on the personal lives of those who come before us asking for guidance.

And, because #thisisus, Trainor responded, misspelling Swalwell's name in the process. 

I've never seen campaign donors treated so disrespectfully! The Republic will persevere even if Swallwell (sic) doesn't get all the junkets he'd like.

To help Trainor our, I was more than happy to share some egregious examples of "campaign donors treated so disrespectfully!" from right here in my own backyard. I'll have more on the FEC for you coming up this week. 

We closed things out with an all good-week  TGIF. The post included a variety of folks involved in some with with the Trump insurrection, including the January 6th Committee's vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY).

Her closing remarks at the end of last night's hearing? I don't think I'd change a single word. There were many quotable parts, certainly; here are a couple of the most meaningful. 

Here is the worst part. Donald Trump knows that millions of Americans who supported him would stand up and defend our nation were it threatened. They would put their lives and their freedom at stake to protect her. And he is preying on their patriotism. He is preying on their sense of justice. And on January 6th, Donald Trump turned their love of country into a weapon against our Capitol and our Constitution. 

Off the top of my head, I don't know if any Republican could have handled it better. Neither could more Dems, truth be told.

See you back here later for Sunday School.

TGIF 7/22/22

Let's do an all good-week list today - you up for that?

Here are just a few of the notables who made this a good week, in my opinion.

The jury in Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress trial. 

They took about two hours to reach a verdict and it was the right one.

Steve Bannon, ex-White House strategist and adviser to former President Donald Trump, was found guilty by a jury Friday of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to appear before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. 

Bannon was found guilty of two counts of criminal contempt — one for refusing to appear for a deposition before the panel and the other for refusing to produce requested documents. Each count carries a minimum potential sentence of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail, as well as a fine of $100 to $1,000.

Naturally, he plans on appealing, but I don't care. I'm going to relish his conviction for as long as I can.

The tech team for the January 6th Committee. 

Last night's hearing was very well put together, and the video clips that were shared were carefully chosen and fit the moment perfectly. Among the highlights: Trump's Rose Garden message on the sixth, and the taping of his message on the seventh; the matching up of video from the Capitol and other testimony from the same time period, and the clips from Fox News and Fox personalities. And yes, the Josh Hawley clips - the fist pump, and the running clips, in full speed and slow motion, too. 

Mallory Nees (@The_Mal_Gallery on Twitter), who was the creative user behind several Josh Hawley running-to-music clips. 

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) may have broken a Guinness World Record on Thursday — if there’s one for guest starring in the most movies and music videos in a single night...

But the footage of Hawley was all the same: two clips that aired in prime time during the most recent hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Both showed Hawley running from rioters as they poured into the building, according to the committee.

Rep. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the January 6th Committee. 

Her closing remarks at the end of last night's hearing? I don't think I'd change a single word. There were many quotable parts, certainly; here are a couple of the most meaningful. 

Here is the worst part. Donald Trump knows that millions of Americans who supported him would stand up and defend our nation were it threatened. They would put their lives and their freedom at stake to protect her. And he is preying on their patriotism. He is preying on their sense of justice. And on January 6th, Donald Trump turned their love of country into a weapon against our Capitol and our Constitution. 

And, perhaps the most important of all: the Thatcher quote. 

This room is full of history, and we on this Committee know we have a solemn obligation not to idly squander what so many Americans have fought and died for. Ronald Reagan’s great ally, Margaret Thatcher, said this: “Let it never be said that the dedication of those who love freedom is less than the determination of those who would destroy it.”  

The many Republicans who have testified including the two we met last night.

Among the Rs testifying in person? 

• State officials from Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. 
• A retired, highly respected conservative judge. 
• Multiple lawyers. 
• Former staffers for Trump and Mike Pence. 
• A disillusioned Capitol rioter.
• A former spokesperson for the Oath Keepers.

And, from taped testimony or news reports?

• The contemptuous Steve Bannon. 
• More lawyers, more staffers.
• Members of Trump's family.
• The House Minority Leader.
• The Senate Minority Leader.

The case against Trump is being shared by a mostly-Democratic committee, but it's being made by the Republicans. Nothing here is meant to relieve them of their complicity or their acquiescence. And, certainly, nothing forgives them for quickly dropping their facades, their anger or frustration, and traipsing off to Mar-A-Lago to kiss the ring of the man they all fear.

But without the Republicans - Cheney, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, of course - and all who we've heard from, we wouldn't know what we know. 

TGIF, everyone.

Quick Takes (v65): Disrespecting Campaign Donors

Most people don't pay a lot of attention to the Federal Election Commission or its members. And, it would seem, at least one of the FEC commissioners doesn't pay a lot of attention to how campaign funds are used. 

Here's the background: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) asked the FEC for a ruling on whether he can use campaign funds for childcare "when campaigning or traveling in his capacity as a member of Congress." I added the emphasis so folks don't have to spend a lot of time telling me that candidates can use campaign contributions for child care when they're running for office.

Now, before I get to the meat of this post, I'll share aa comment from the meeting to consider Swalwell's question. It's from Trey Trainor, one of the commissioners,  who thinks it's beyond the pale for a Congressman to want to, you know, do his job, even when it includes taking a foreign trip. Here's what Trainor said about that.

To be really honest with you, I’m actually going to pass judgment on it. I think it’s abhorrent that Congressman Swalwell would have such a young child and want to leave them in the care of someone else for a weeklong trip overseas.

Egads! In this day and age, that's the conversation Trainor wans to have?  

Well, it got worse. After the meeting a fellow commish, Ellen Weintraub, tweeted about Trainor's comment, saying in part

I have never seen a requestor treated so disrespectfully by a member of this Commission. We do not 'pass judgment' on the personal lives of those who come before us asking for guidance.

And, because #thisisus, Trainor responded, misspelling Swalwell's name in the process.

I've never seen campaign donors treated so disrespectfully! The Republic will persevere even if Swallwell (sic) doesn't get all the junkets he'd like.

Way to adult there, Mr. Trainor.

Now, I don't know what Trainor did before joining the FEC, but based solely on this exchange, I'm guessing it  didn't have much to do with campaign finance stuff. So, in the interest of furthering his (and everyone else's) knowledge,  I'm happy to share some examples of campaign donor abuse. 

Oh, wait, sorry - campaign donors "being treated so disrespectfully!" 

Below are just a few of the itemized expenditures reported by the Onondaga County District Attorney - my very own DA-for-Life - William Fitzpatrick, back in 2005 - 2013. Fitz was first elected as DA in November of 1991.

• Restaurants and bars: at least $63,000
• Golf courses, golf clubs, golf tournaments: at least $57,000
• Donations to other political campaigns or political parties: at least $53,000
• Polls, political consultants: at least $10,000
• Ads: at least $64,000

But wait - there's more!

• Over $93,000 of the expenses were paid outside of Onondaga County; of that, close to $37,000 was spent outside New York State, in places like New Mexico and Idaho and Hawaii, Virginia and Tennessee and Florida (and, oddly, in Canada).
• One restaurant - Peter Lugar's Steakhouse in Brooklyn - received over $29,000 of Fitz's campaign funds.
• Fitz reimbursed himself over $61,000 out of campaign funds.

If Trainor's got himself all tangled up in a knot over Rep. Swalwell's junkets, I wonder what he'd think of stuff like this.

  

Maybe these'd be OK with him, as long as there were no babysitters involved?

Wondering on Wednesday 7/20/22

Ready... Set... Wonder! 

CBS News is among the media outlets reporting that Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-I'm in a Boatload of Trouble) was censured by the state GOP for crimes against Trump, going along with liberals, a lack of forthrightness with Republicans, his dealings with "the liberal media," and more. 

Bowers, of course, was the guy who testified Trump tried to get him to violate his oath of office and faithfulness to the United States Constitution by offering up a fake set of electors, or some other such illegality as it the standard operating procedure in Trumpworld. 

I'm wondering tonight if Bowers thought saying he'd vote for Trump again, if he ran against Joe Biden, would be enough to save him from his own party? I'm also wondering if there's anything a wayward R can do to get back in his party's good graces?

News is also breaking that a bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-I Think Perplexed is a Good Word to Use Next Time) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-on't You Think I'd Make a Better Republican?), has dropped a bill that would prevent a conman like former president Donald Trump from throwing out presidential election results. In effect, what this bill will do, if passed, is stop the steal. I wonder why they didn't just name the bill that? 

Democratic senators are also pursuing similar legislation, and I wonder if that's necessary? Unless there's something significant missing from the bipartisan effort, let's get it done.

David Hogg was a student at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL when a hideous human being committed mass murder there on Valentine's Day, 2018. Since the shooting, Hogg has become a very vocal activist against politicians and their inaction on gun safety. He's good at it, we know, because he's frequently attacked by the right-wing pundits. 

He also frequently attacks Republican do-nothings, as he did today at a hearing on banning assault weapons, something that Rs do not want to do, under any circumstances. He posted a video of his comments, and his removal from the hearing. 

His point? Knock off the racist, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant talking points; those are what mass shooters use to justify their behavior. And, by the way? The guns used in these things aren't coming from Mexico in some immigrant invasion. They're legally purchased here in the U S of A. 

What's the wondering, you might be wondering? Simply this: who on earth will these GOP folks listen to? Is it going to take one of their own children being shot and killed, or injured, before they will listen?

Speaking of listening, I can't help wondering who on earth the Dems are listening to, that they think the answer to winning elections this year is to prop up Trumpers in their GOP primaries? The most recent example comes from yesterday's gubernatorial primary in Maryland, where Trump-endorsed Dan Cox beat actual Republican Kelly Schulz, who was endorsed by her former boss, Gov. Larry Hogan. 

The Democratic Governors Association - a bunch of goofballs, it would seem - spent over a million bucks propping up Cox, thinking he'd be easier to beat in the general election. Here's who their website says they are: 

We are Democratic Governors.

We grow economies, expand health care, 

fully fund schools, fix the damn roads, and follow the science. 

And we’re ready to build back better.

You want to build back better? Maybe try building up your own candidates, instead of supporting right-wing nut jobs...

Perhaps the best thing to come out of Maryland was this quote from a Schulz aide:

The Maryland Republican Party got together and committed ritualized mass suicide. The only thing missing was Jim Jones and a cup of Kool-Aid.

Shame on the Dems for contributing to that mess. 

What's on your wondering minds tonight?

A Future Tale (Part Three)

Our Future Tale began with a woman wandering around her small city, observing and describing the places and people she saw, and ended with her hesitantly entering an alley between two buildings, the first some 100 years older than the second. 

At the end of Part Two, our narrator was deep in the alley, uncomfortably confronting the past - her past, and our collective past. Or, maybe she was seeing into the future? 

Here's where we left her.

Every recess in the wall, every dirty lightbulb, every door I encountered, brought more of the same.

Our real history

Medical care - no patients refused

Judgment-free zone 

All words welcomed here

Free hot meals

A bed for a night

There were a few more doors, offering only more confusion, until there was only a giant screen hanging in front of me, above my head, filled with images, wonderful and horrible, a cacophony of voices and music and noise, piercing the quiet that had surrounded me in the alley. It was my history, my lifetime, and histories and lifetimes before mine, all jumbled together. Good and evil, love and war, despots and dictators, politicians and orators, their words almost physically assaulting me, surrounding me, deafening me. 

I wanted to get away, to escape, to avoid what was playing out in front of me, but the cobblestones were damp and slimy as I tried to run, the trees were hitting me in the face and arms, and the din moved with me with me as I slipped and slid down the alley, tears and grime streaming down my face. 

Let's rejoin her now.

And then it stopped - the barrage of words, and music, and noise - it all just... stopped, as abruptly as it began. It was deathly quiet, and pitch black in the alley, and I stood there, afraid to move. Catching my breath. Slowing my heart. Trying to find my equilibrium. 

Ahead, I saw a light high up on the wall, much brighter than the lights above the doors. It cast a long beam, and I followed it. I moved slowly, cautiously, even gratefully toward the light. And there, at what must be the end of the alley, I saw a door.

A revolving door. 

A revolving door? It was so completely out of place, I almost laughed out loud, but caught myself at the last second. Laughing seemed as out of place as the door, after what I had just been through, what I had yet to fully process. Heck, who am I kidding? I hadn't even begun to process what had happened behind me in the alley; I didn't even know where to start, but I knew laughing wasn't it.

I stopped a few feet away from the door, all glass and brass, ornate like the doors you find in classy old hotels, and simultaneously filthy like you find in abandoned ones. I half expected there to be a bellman in the vestibule, but this wasn't a hotel, there wasn't a vestibule. I'm in an alley for Pete's sake, I told myself, not in some old movie. 

At the very moment that thought crossed my mind, about being in a movie, I became much more tentative about the door. I could get in, push it, and go out on the other side, like in old movies with happy endings, but I had no idea what was out there. What if it was worse than what I just went through? 

I could get in, give it a push, and have it stick, unmovable like in a horror movie, trapping me for who knows how long in a little cage, waiting for someone to find me, to help me. But I'm in an alley by myself, an alley that's nothing like anything I've ever seen before... Would anyone even think to look there? Does anyone even know I'm not home? And what kind of person would be in this alley, anyway?

The thought of stepping into the hug of that door was paralyzing.

I stood there for what seemed like an eternity; in reality, it was probably only a minute or two, as I considered my options. I had only two choices, I realized: try the door, or go back the way I came. Slowly, I turned my body slightly to the right, and took the measure of the alley.

Where there had been the giant screen, I saw nothing. Where I had seen all those dimly lit, frightening doorways, I saw only solid walls. I could barely make out the gate at the end of the alley, still shrouded in the confusing mid-day darkness.

I turned back to the left, towards the revolving door, and to the right again, in the direction of the gate, where this all started. I turned both directions again, and a third time, before making my decision.

Choking back my fear, I started walking. 

Sunday School 7/17/22: Extra Credit

For Sunday School, we were in the State of the Union classroom. Let's go back there for Extra Credit, and drop in on Dana Bash and her chat with Jared Bernstein. He's a long-time economic adviser to President Biden.

As all pundits do, Bash quoted former Obama advisor Larry Summers on the topic of inflation. Summers has said "nobody can suppose that inflation is under control." 

Bernstein first pointed out Biden "said repeatedly after the report came out that inflation is unacceptably high." On the out-of-date comment, he said that since the June report was issued, gas is down "about 50 cents a gallon...that's about the fasted decline in about a decade." It's still too high, but might give some folks some "breathing room." 

Bash said a lot of Dems "don't agree that message is working." It took a minute to figure out what message she was referring to, but she got there by playing a clip of her asking Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) if she'd tell her constituents "the data is out of date," and of course Baldwin said no, but she also said

It's great news that, in the last month, gas prices have gone down by about 40 cents per gallon. That's really not the break people are looking for.

It seems, then, that Biden and Baldwin are saying the same thing: gas prices, one of the biggest contributors to inflation, have dropped noticeably, but it's not enough. Bernstein then explained to Bash what everyone seems uninterested in talking about:

...if we're going to talk about the damage that these high energy prices are having on family budgets, I think we have to talk about the benefits for when those prices come down a little.

And, he also had to explain, 

...the president is unequivocal by not calling 'mission accomplished' on any of this. We're talking about a decline that's completely insufficient when it comes to delivering the relief to family budgets that they need. So, that's why he continues to push on every aspect he can of this issue in terms of increasing the supply of global energy to help mitigate that price increase.

And then, a lightbulb: Bash said, "And you're right. The prices have come down, which is a good thing. It's better than them going the other way." BINGO! 

Then, she talked about predictions of where the price of oil may go in the future - that it could soar 50% or more after European sanctions against Russian gas are implemented. 

Bernstein started by saying he should have mentioned that while the price of gas is down "about 8-9%, the oil price is down about 20%."

So, when we talk about the president doing all he can to provide relief at the pump, one of the things that he's doing is trying to nudge these companies to pass some of those savings along to consumers. You know, in the first quarter of this year, some of the biggest oil companies had a net profit of $35 billion. Now, these are companies we helped, to the tune of billions of dollars, during the pandemic...

Bash interrupted with "but will prices go back up?" Bernstein continued with his answer.

during the pandemic downturn. They ought to share some of that profitability with the American people right now, especially as we're supporting Ukraine's efforts in their war against Russia.

As to higher prices, he said "nobody can see reliably" a couple of quarters down the road, as there's too much volatility. He thinks prices will continue to go down this month, though.

Again, Dana, look, this is minutia. We have so much more work to do. And when it comes to prescription drugs and health care premiums, as you said in your introduction, Democrats are there. And that is essential.

But wait - there's more to talk about on oil, Bash said. And by 'oil' she meant the fist-bump picture of Biden and MSB, the Saudi Crown Prince. And the question about oil was, "Why is he fist-bumping a murderer?"

Bernstein's answer - "Well, Dana, you're talking to an economic policy adviser. And I'm much more able to give you fulsome readouts on meetings, not greetings..." Bash said "OK. So, is there a deliverable" out of the meeting? 

Bernstein pointed her to Biden's Washington Post op-ed about the meeting, and he also said that the Middle East is a critical region of the world, and the US needs to be engaged, and that we're better off economically if there's a more stable Middle East. He also noted the Saudis said they'd increase their oil production capacity. The administration has also been pressuring OPEC to do more, and some OPEC members have "talked about doing precisely that for July and August."

Moving to Biden's domestic agenda and Sen. Joe Manchin's hindrance of it, Bash noted Biden has urged the Senate to "pass the scaled-down plan" which doesn't include climate change. The question for Bernstein: Is Biden frustrated with his former colleague?  Seems that's a yes. 

At the same time, Biden's "very compelled to get Congress to work with him on his climate agenda." And, he continued, if he can't get "a legislative path to clean energy, the urgency of the problem is so significant..." that he'll continue using Executive Orders to get things done.

But the urgency of the issue, Dana, is, I think -- it is beyond me how anyone could miss it, over $100 billion per year of cost to our economy based on floods, wildfires, droughts. Look at the geopolitical pressures from this, a Russian petrocrat... who's prosecuting a war based on weaponizing fossil fuels. So, there is a great rationale to undertake what this president will do. And he will continue to press.

In my opinion, Bernstein did much better than Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council. Maybe it's his familiarity with Biden, I don't know. At least he answered what he was asked, which is more than many classroom guests think about doing.

My question for you, students, is this: what will the Dems do now?

a. Try and pass a bill before the August recess that extends the Obamacare subsidies* and allows Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Get it done, and you've got a win. If the Rs block it, Dems have a ready-made campaign message: Not only are the Rs taking away your rights to reproductive health care, but they're also forcing a health care premium increase on your Obamacare plan. And, they refuse to allow Medicare to negotiate savings on your prescriptions.

b. Don't even try to get anything done before the August recess, hope inflation goes down, and then work with Manchin to get a bill done in September, before the midterms. 

c. Do nothing, except of course go all-in on bashing Manchin in the press at every opportunity. 

d. Do something else (describe it with a comment.)

See you around campus.

*Learn more about the Obamacare subsidies here. 

Sunday School 7/17/22

I usually kick myself when I don't pay attention, but I'm kinder when the thing I'm not paying attention to is "Meet the Press." 

MTP won the draw for classroom of the week and I dutifully set off looking for the video and transcript, only to find that there was no show today. Seems there was some golf going on across the pond, and that's more important than Chuck Todd and the gang.

 CNN's State of the Union won the replacement draw. Let's dive in with Dana Bash and term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ). Ducey's supporting Karrin Taylor Robson in the GOP primary to pick his replacement; her main opponent, Kari Lake, is supported by Donald Trump. 

Ducey said Taylor Robinson "is the real conservative," citing she worked for Ronald Reagan, and "she's pro-wall, pro-gun, pro-life." He said she'll be "the best person to be a fresh new leader" for Arizona. He was less generous to her opponent, nicknamed 'Fake Lake', saying she

bears no resemblance, her campaign or even her personal interactions with me, to anything she's done over the past 30 years. This is all an act. She's been putting on a show for some time now. And we will see if the voters of Arizona buy it.

Bash wondered if the Republican Governors Association would support Lake if she wins the primary. Ducey talked about how the RGA works and how it works to '" keep our states red ...but we don't support lost causes." Bash honed in Doug Mastriano in PA, wondering if he was a "lost cause."  Ducey said no decisions have been made yet given it's still early.

When Bash asked if someone like Mastriano "should be in such an important swing state in the governor's mansion," Ducey said 

I also think this election should be about the future. I don't think we should think for one more moment about 2020. This is about the 2022 election cycle. And, as I said, the job of the RGA is to elect Republican governors, and that's what we're going to do in this cycle.

Next Bash asked if Ducey thought Trumps "actions...or inaction" on January 6th should prevent him from ever holding office again. He said he condemned what happened that day, and that "everyone that broke the law should be held accountable."

In our system, this is up to the voters on what happens next. So many people want to talk about 2024. And I want to resist that temptation to talk about hypotheticals. I think the best way for us to turn this page and to move forward as a conservative Republican Party and a country is to make sure we get the best possible people elected in 2022. And that's my focus, as well as running the state of Arizona, every single day. 

And, would he support Trump in 2024? He thinks there'll be options in 2024. Well, kind of. 

I am hopeful we will have options. And I want somebody who can win that general election, because I believe, with success in 2022, the general election is the Republican Party's for the taking. 

Speed round stuff:

• He's not fan of "gimmicks" like a gas tax holiday; Arizona's gas taxes are among the lowest in the country already. President Biden shouldn't be asking "despots" for help, he should "open up the Keystone pipeline... work with America's energy leaders and provide more supply of fossil fuels, of clean energy, and solve this crisis." 

• Earlier this year, Ducey signed a ban on abortions after 15 weeks, but there's a 1901 law that "bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother," which his AG is trying to re-instate. The law stuff will be figured out by the lawyers, but he personally stands by how he ran in 2014: he's "pro-life, with exceptions for the life of the mother, rape, and incest."

• He also signed a law allowing any student - including those from wealthy families - to use public funds to pay for private schools. He clarified kids don't get vouchers; it's "a scholarship for all 1,1oo,1oo" students in AZ. He's "not concerned about" the wealthy, he's "concerned about poor families" who are being blocked by "union-backed politicians" who won't let minorities out of "failing public schools." He thinks all governors, no matter their politics, should do the same thing he did.

• Asked why not just get public funding to the people who need the help, Ducey said "Public education is about educating our public. And I believe in equal opportunity for all of our students and all of our families." To him this is how to "renew American K-12 education" and, in doing so, "to renew America..." He said Arizona's already number one for school choice, and with the new plan, "we're going to take it to the next level."

How'd you think he did? Drop a comment if you like.

See you around campus.

It Happened Again.

On February 4, 1999, Amadou Diallo was shot and killed by four NYPD officers. 

I remember being horrified when I heard the news and as details kept coming out, including when the officers were found not guilty of murdering him.

They thought he was a rape suspect. They fired 41 shots, and hit him 19 times. He was 23 years old. He had a bullet hole in the bottom of his foot, lending credence to a witness who said "many of the shots were fired after he had already fallen to the ground." 

Bruce Springsteen wrote a song about the Diallo case, called American Skin (41 shots)*. The Boss writes songs that challenge us, that make us think, and sometimes, that get badly misinterpreted - Born in the USA, anyone? 

American Skin (41 Shots) is another one. 

Is it a gun, is it a knife

Is it a wallet, this is your life

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

No secret my friend

You can get killed just for living in your American skin.

 It's not anti-police, which is how many people interpreted it, and hoped it was, I'm sure. Springsteen said 

Though the song was critical, it was not 'anti-police' as some thought. The first voice you hear after the intro is from the policeman's point of view. I worked hard for a balanced voice. I knew a diatribe would do no good. I just wanted to help people see the other guy's point of view.

Whether he was successful is in the eye of the beholder. 

What's not in the eye of the beholder, of course, is what happened to Diallo, an innocent man; what happened to the people in his life - his family, and others; what happened to people's trust and faith in the people who are supposed to protect and serve them; and how people learned to fear the police, some as much or more as they feared the bad guys.

 

Is it a gun, is it a knife

Is it a wallet, this is your life

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

No secret my friend

You can get killed just for living in your American skin.

On June 27, 2022, Jayland Walker was shot and killed by eight Akron, OH police officers. 

I heard about this latest police shooting of a young black man, and I was in disbelief. I couldn't possibly have heard it correctly: 80 shots? 90 shots? 60 bullets hit him? 100 holes in his body? How could that possibly be true? 

I wept. 

Walker was pursued by the police for a traffic violation. He fled by car, then jumped out of the car and started to run away, for reasons we will never know. Because he can't tell us.

According to early reports, he was hit by 60 bullets, leaving 100 wounds on his body. The autopsy report has been released, and while the number of shots hitting him changed, the details of the carnage are, without a doubt, horrific. 

There were 46 entrance wounds on his 25-year-old body: 

• 17 on his pelvis and upper legs, injuring major arteries to his leg and bladder; his pelvis and both femurs were broken.
• 15 on his torso, injuring his heart, lungs, liver, spleen, left kidney, intestines, and multiple ribs.
• 8 on his arms and right hand.
• 5 on his knees, his leg, and his foot
• 1 on his face, breaking his jaw.

Adding insult to those injuries? He was handcuffed after he was murdered. 

Is it a gun, is it a knife

Is it a wallet, this is your life

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

No secret my friend

You can get killed just for living in your American skin.

It couldn't be true, but it was. It is. 

This happened. Again. 

23 years later, it happened again.

We all should be weeping. We all should be weeping, especially because we know the chances of this happening to any young white males in our lives is almost nil. 

We all should be weeping, because the bastard accused of murdering seven people at a July 4th parade was not murdered by police, but was unharmed when he was arrested while driving to another city to perhaps murder more. He was able to have his disgusting face memorialized in a mug shot.

Jayland Walker's face was memorialized at his funeral and in the hearts of those who knew and loved him, and by complete strangers who were, are, and ever will be appalled at his shocking and unnecessary death.

Is it a gun, is it a knife

Is it a wallet, this is your life

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

It ain't no secret (it ain't no secret)

No secret my friend

You can get killed just for living in your American skin.

* (You can watch a live performance of American Skin (4 Shots)  here.)

In Case You Missed It (v98)

Here's your recap of last week's posts, in case you missed anything. 

The week kicked off with Part Two of our Future Tale, with our storyteller making her way down the alley she entered at the end of Part One. Here's a bit of what happened there.

I slowly picked my way forward, letting my eyes adjust to the uncharacteristic mid-day darkness, trying not to slide on the slippery cobbles under my feet. I walked for what felt like several minutes, dodging the spindly sumacs and scrub maples that popped up randomly, as if testing my mettle. “Does she have what it takes? Can she handle the truth?” I felt the questions, and I resolved to stick it out.

Eventually, I could see faint spots of light up ahead, not way high on the buildings, but at a more human level. I stopped, and after my eyes adjusted, I recognized that I was seeing deeply shaded lights above doorways or recesses in the alley, and I understood that I was nearing what I had been called here, by someone, somehow, to see. 

Tentatively, I walked up to the first light. In the recess, there was a chair, with a dingy hand-lettered sign resting on it: safe abortions performed inside. I paused, startled by the seeming contradiction between the sign's messiness and its promise... 

 There was a lot more confusion to come. 

The Sunday School classroom spotlight turned to Face the Nation this week; Robert Costa hosted Vice President Kamala Harris via a taped interview. I was a little frustrated with her interview; we don't see all that much of her and I had hoped she'd take advantage of the opportunity. 

Here's some of their chat, touching on abortion and what some people, including prominent Dems, think has been a failure by their party. He noted anger in the party about the SCOTUS decision, 

and he played a clip of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) asking

Where is the Democratic Party? Where's the party? Why aren't we calling this out? This is a concerted, coordinated effort. And, yes, they're winning.

He asked Harris if Newsom is right, and again we got half an answer. She said "all of us share a deep sense of outrage" about the Supreme Court taking a recognized right away from women. And, she said,

You don't have to agree that you want to or would advocate that you or a loved one would have an abortion to agree that the government should not be making that decision for any individual woman.

Costa followed up, asking "Did Democrats fail, past Democratic presidents, congressional leaders, to not codify Roe v. Wade over the past five decades?"

See how she answered this one, and Costa's other questions. Did she meet your expectations?

Speaking of expectations, for your Extra Credit we had more from the Face the Nation classroom. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin - a rising star in the GOP - sat with Costa for a lengthy set of "Ignore What I'm Asking and Just Say What You Want."  Here's a bit of the interview.

• Asked if he'd codify same-sex marriage in Virginia, he said the Dobbs decision protecting the rights of lawmakers to legislate is "consistent with what we know the Constitution stands for." When pressed, he said "we actually do protect same-sex marriage... that's the law in Virginia." However, it's only protected if Obergefell stands; the state struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in 2020, but did not codify a right to have one. 

• He had "really great fun" visiting Nebraska, which had literally nothing to do with what he was asked: whether Donald Trump should stop saying the 2020 election was stolen. Nor did his "this is not a 'or' moment but an 'and' moment..." ramble. Nor did his "this is the Republicans who - that can win." Nor did his talk about 5,000 volunteers at elections. I'm sighing bigly, here, I am.

When it was time for Wondering on Wednesday, I was more than ready with thoughts on the January 6th Committee hearing on Tuesday. I missed some of the details (multi-tasking) but I got caught up. And, 

After watching replays today, I can't help wondering how much worse things would have been on January 6th if there hadn't have been any adults in the room on December 18th. 

Another thing I can't stop wondering about is if the Committee's going to do anything about the comments from Rep. Debbie Lasko (R- I Didn't Mean to Say I'd Kill My Grandkids). I don't think it was fully explained how the Committee got hold of the tape, but here's what Lasko said "on the eve of January 6th." 

I also asked leadership to come up with a safety plan for members. I'm actually very concerned about this because we have who knows how many hundreds of thousands of people coming here. We have Antifa. We also have, quite honestly, Trump supporters who actually believe that we are going to overturn the election. And when that doesn't happen, most likely will not happen, they are going to go nuts.

There was more wondering, of course. There always is.

As I've been watching political ads here in New York, where we have a second primary coming up next month, I got to thinking about an old post I had done on the collision between soundbites and facts. I nosed around in the blog's history and found what I was looking for, which became a Throwback Thursday post. 

The post compared what the pols are saying with the reported facts, which they are ignoring, in furtherance of their (fear) campaigns. The post highlighted my retiring congressman attacking my resigned-in-disgrace Sonofa Gov on crime in New York. 

The difference between then and now? Other than the passing of time and the names of the politicians, not a whole lot. The issue, and the distance between the soundbites and the facts,- are the same. And we all suffer for it.

Turning to your TGIF good week/bad week list-making, I'm now sitting quietly by while men in the GOP make fools of themselves, and do their best to criminalize people who provide reproductive health care, and scare women and children from getting it. 

I mentioned a few in my Wondering on Wednesday post, including Rep. Jim Jordan, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, and Ohio AG David Yost. 

In the post, I added an anti-abortion advocate (seriously, this guy's beyond the pale), the state of Texas, and the Indiana AG. On the good week side of this issue? A couple of lawyers and the Biden administration. Also earning mentions, on other issues? Members of the Secret Service, Congress (specifically House Dems), and Sen. Joe Manchin. 

Yep, you read that right; I put Dems on the bad week side of the ledger, too. Regular readers will not be surprised by that - they know I'm an equal opportunity list-maker.

Coming up? Part Three of our Future Tale; Sunday School, and more.