I wrote that message in a private channel. I did not expect it to be published. But it was still a mistake. I apologize. It was arrogant and idiotic. A swarm of Russian trolls was accusing me of failure, and I responded in a most unprofessional way. Explanation, not excuse. https://t.co/OGxdGrcaed
"Still a mistake;" "arrogant and idiotic;" "responded in a most unprofessional way;" "explanation, not excuse." That has all the elements of a genuine apology- I made a mistake, I was wrong to do it and there was no excuse. That's the way it's done.
Matthew Yglesias comments on SARS-CoV-19 and Hayes Brown on
voter suppression. Can you guess the two things the messages have in common?
(One is very obvious.).
Yes except for his vocal anti-vaccine posturing, DeSantis has been pro-vaccination.
Had he stuck to pro-vaccination rather than done the vocal anti-vaccine posturing, lives could have been saved.
Until we get rid of that or find a way to really shame these
Republican senators who are so against the idea of expanding voting rights into
voting for such a bill, then I don't see how you can out-organize the other two
parts. You can't out-organize gerrymandering; you can't out-organize someone
who can say "nope, we just tipped the results of the vote.
There’s no way to out-organize an assault on voting rights. “The Democrats are looking at this too narrowly,” says @HayesBrown. Time to remove the filibuster or “find a way to really shame” the opposition.😖 #Velshipic.twitter.com/azpTiXW9tU
They're both right. Yglesias recognizes that
DeSantis would have saved lives if he had stayed the course on vaccination. And
Brown realizes that eliminating the filibuster is crucial to protecting the
right to vote. Simply ginning up the Democratic vote to try to compensate for voter suppression (which may have saved Joe Biden's presidential bid) is
insufficient.
But they both make the same, understandable and common,
error of Democrats/liberals and centrists.
Brown states "... or find a way to really shame these
Republican senators...." Similarly, Yglesias remarks "hope it was
worth it to him."
Does Yglesias really hope it is "worth it" to DeSantis? Of course not. He wants the Florida governor to feel bad about it.
That's not going to happen- or at least it won't happen
unless the anti-vaccination posture backfires politically on DeSantis. He will not feel guilt or shame and those GOP
senators will not be shamed into expanding voting rights.
Once and probably future Virginia governor about his opponent:
Glenn Youngkin sees no issue attending an “election integrity” rally that even some Republicans are calling a “conspiracy-palooza.”
By attending this event, he is helping conspiracy theorists attack our democracy. He has no shame.
Shame and guilt or feeling bad is not how they roll. Republican members of Congress
enthusiastically followed Donald Trump throughout the latter's presidency. They
saw him in Helsinki siding with a former KGB agent against our nation's
intelligence services, try to pressure a foreign government to dig up dirt on
an American politician, work hand-in-hand with a deadly coronavirus, and
encourage insurrectionists intending to murder the Vice-President and possibly
themselves.
It was all fine with them, the end game the establishment of
one-party rule and evisceration of democracy. Democrats or liberals can plead
"you should be ashamed" or "I hope you're happy with
yourselves" and they will not change. It's who they are.
On Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, the host read- and
condemned- several tweets from conservatives vehemently criticizing Simon Biles
for backing away from the Olympics. (We mustn't say "quit.")
Enthusiastically agreeing, Virgin Islands Delegate for the House of
Representatives, Democrat Stacey Plaskett, remarked (at 1:48 of the video) "my response to that is they can kiss my overworked black woman ass."
It's unclear what the Biles overblown controversy has to do
specifically with Piskett's ass, but
some individuals cannot resist the temptation to be vulgar on national
television. It's unclear also what this
has to do with race, given that there has been no indication that the
overheated reaction to Biles' decision is related to race.
More interesting, however, is that the audience,
understandably supportive of Biles, lustily applauded, probably (and hopefully) in the
belief that Plaskett at that moment was supporting Biles.
Note that Biles, a House manager in the second impeachment
of President Trump, did not say that the gymnast should have said "they
can kiss my overworked black woman ass." Instead, she admonished "they can
kiss my overworked black woman ass."
The delegate was not referring to the Olympian, but to herself as possessing an "overworked
black ass."
Perhaps Plaskett was not suggesting that she's overworked
because she's black or female. She certainly wasn't lamenting the plight of blue collar
workers in the Virgin Islands who have to retire early because of the enormous
strain of their labor. Nor was she thinking of the mother holding down two jobs
while raising young children. Nor was she speaking of the retail employee in a tedious job, maybe working evenings and weekends earning minimum wage, nor
the college student holding down a job while accumulating debt it may take a
lifetime to pay back.
Stacey Plaskett was thinking of herself, probably claiming
that she is working so hard as a member of the House of Representatives.
Ethics official, who himself sympathizes with Simone Biles, sees the
Washington, D.C. job differently:
Hey Congress, enjoy the vacay. Work is for jerks. Who cares if you failed to do your job for American familes by extending the eviction moratorum before skipping town. What matters is that you've got your shades and your sunblock. You're ready for Hot Congressional Rep. Summer.
They all begin vacation in a different location, for Plaskett at Studio 33 at Television City in Los Angeles. However, upon
further review: maybe I'm wrong and the V.I. cannot do better than Stacey
Plaskett. If she is only half as impressive and virtuous as she thinks she
is, the Virgin Islands is very well represented, indeed
Not comedian Noel Casler, who maintains Jared Kushner is
starting an investment firm because he intends to attract funds for another run
at the presidency by his father-in-law. Casler warns (beginning at 1:56 of his
"rant")
So if you think these guys are getting stopped, they're not.
I guarantee you they threw Tom Barrack to the wolves as a distraction just like
you'd throw a body off the back of a truck when you're being chased by the cops
or something. You know?
These guys are using human shields, they're continuing their
grift, and they're continuing to keep the channels open that allowed them to
become so powerful in the first place, and you gotta stop them.
Having worked on the set of The Apprentice, Casler
recognizes Trump's insatiable desire for wealth and power and willingness to use virtually any means to achieve unsavory ends. He is not joking about the deadly significance
of this moment in time. Similarly
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) became the third member of
Congress to be arrested during nonviolent protests aimed at rallying support
for federal voting legislation that activists say are necessary to push back
against new restrictive state laws.
“We pass the Voting Rights Act because my people in Texas
are suffering, my people in Mississippi are suffering, my people in Georgia are
suffering,” Jackson Lee said shortly before Capitol Police officers prepared to
arrest her and six others who blocked the entrance to the Hart Senate Office
Building. “We are here to say that voting rights is a fundamental
constitutional right. … We will not be moved.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) was arrested at the Hart Senate
Office Building last week. The week before, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio),
chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was cuffed with zip ties and
briefly detained.
This realism and seriousness does not extend
to the Democratic street. In a poll from
The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, "53% of Democrats say they are
pessimistic about U.S. politics generally " However, 60% were
"optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party" and only 14%
were pessimistic.
Yet, Democrats were optimistic because of passage of the pandemic response
package and widespread distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Additionally, they
cited "displacing Trump's bombastic leadership style."
Unless he dies, Donald Trump isn't going anywhere. His Party will still be defending, supporting, and following the man who describes
himself as "the chosen one." His bombastic leadership style got him
elected once and Republicans appear poised to retake both chambers of Congress next year,
whereupon the GOP would be in a stronger position to reinforce those efforts to
rig elections in decisive states.
Joe Biden was able to take down Donald Trump- temporarily-
because of high turnout by a Democratic electorate motivated by the clear
and present danger it didn't recognize in 2016. The likes of Noel Casler and Representative Lee have a difficult task in rousing the left from its
stupor. If Democrats wait until the next presidential election year to
recognize the GOP's determination to tear down democracy, it may be too late.
I've no problem with a gymnast who owes us nothing walking away from a sporting event that doesn't affect us. I have a problem with a President, who owes us everything, walking away from voting rights without even trying because the fight seemed hard and he cares about potholes.
I had intended to say nothing about Simone Biles other than
roughly what Shaub did. She is not a villain and she is not a hero. She is
merely a great young athlete who did what she believed she had to do. The end.
But unlike Shaub, who understands Biles should not consume
our thoughts, some people cannot let go. Naveed Jamali, though possessing an admirable professional biography, fails to understand that Simone Biles' world is sports, not real life, and that
her actions affect only her teammates, her family, and herself.
I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: All of this is based on the fear that brown and black people will take white entitlement away. From 1/6 to Simone Biles, it’s all about race.
It must be comforting neither to think hard not to evaluate
news events in the context of their circumstances. Reducing all of them to race would save us the effort of considering anything objectively and allow us to stereotype and stigmatize individuals critical of Biles.
Sincere feelings and beliefs need not be suppressed in a misguided effort to avoid further alienating individuals we're convinced are insufficiently tolerant of blacks or other minorities. Canceling ourselves is not a worthy option.
It's simply that Jamali is flat-out wrong. It's not
"all about race." Some people form their opinions of other people or issues based upon race, an affliction affecting right, left, and center. Thankfully, they constitute a minority.
Individuals should be permitted their views about Biles
without a strong inference that they are racist. An individual who is racially
biased or hostile should be called out with the action or statement cited. However, people should be permitted their views about Simone Biles without an assumption that it is determined by race. Condemning as biased, prejudiced, or racist everyone on one side of an issue
is, well, plainly ignorant.
I am boycotting Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Given a small bowl at a
friend's house decades ago, I realized the product it was overpriced and have been
able to avoid it ever since. So I will never eat it again.
But only for that reason. Philadelphia Inquirer foreign
affairs columnist Trudy Rubin notes
The ice cream maker, famous for social consciousness and
iconic flavors like Chubby Hubby, announced Monday it was ending sales in
“Occupied Palestinian Territory,” meaning Jewish settlements in the West Bank
and East Jerusalem. But the announcement stipulated it would still sell ice
cream inside Israel (meaning within the pre-1967 borders before Israel captured
the West Bank and Gaza in the Six Days War)...
Critics have linked it to the Palestinian-led Boycott,
Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for countries, businesses,
and universities to sever all ties with Israel, unless it withdraws from all
land captured in 1967. The movement is based on the boycott of South Africa
under apartheid. But its demands, if fulfilled, would rule out a Jewish
homeland....
Ben & Jerry’s wasn’t calling for a boycott of Israel
proper. It was focused on Jewish settlements in the mostly Palestinian West
Bank, which the U.S. State Department regards as “occupied” territory. U.S.
policy for decades, before the Trump administration, sought to curb growth of
settlements lest they rule out any future political accord between Israel and
the Palestinians.
Ironically
by insisting that a boycott of West Bank settlements is the
same as one of Israel – in other words that settlements are an official part of
Israel -- Israeli officials only strengthen the BDS line.
West Bank settlements have not yet been formally annexed to
Israel (although former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was willing).
However, the continued expansion of Jewish settlements and special settler
roads on the West Bank leaves the Palestinians divided into unconnected chunks
of territory that make any future Palestinian statelet unviable....
By equating West Bank settlers with citizens in Tel Aviv, the
Israeli attack on Ben & Jerry’s effectively concedes there is only one
Israeli state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. This brings
international attention back to BDS demands for rights for disenfranchised West
Bank Palestinians in such a binational state.
In a case of irony+
If Israel treats West Bank settlers as part of the Jewish
state, then it must confront the question of Palestinian rights within a
“one-state reality.” Unless it distinguishes between the West Bank and Israel
proper, and regenerates some kind of Israel-Palestinian negotiations, it will
encourage the claim it is an apartheid state.
Rubin notes that Israeli officials across the political
spectrum are united in decrying the Ben and Jerry decision, with Israeli president Herzog even labeling it "a new form of terrorism."
This is not terrorism, which (along with "terror"
and "terrorist") is a word (similar to "racist") in recent
years stretched far beyond its original meaning. There are many officials at
the United Nations eager to minimize terrorism; it's disquieting to see an Israeli politician doing so.
Rubin acknowledges, as we all should, that
the angst stems from fear that the Ben & Jerry move
marks the beginning of a slippery slope, a prelude to adoption by major
international companies of the BDS call to boycott Israel entirely because it
maintains an apartheid system over Palestinians.
The move by Ben and Jerry's, a division of Unilever, is
not the end of the world, though if it does
slip into approval of BDS, hostility to a loyal American ally and most
democratic state in the Middle East will be on full display. (Closing the plant in Jerusalem is slimy, but whatever.) Unfortunately, Israeli overreaction to
cessation of sales in the West Bank and East Jerusalem makes that a little more
likely.
Imagine not being charged with a crime yet receiving a
letter (beginning "Greetings" and continuing
We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to
participate in a Prolific Offender Program run by the Pasco Sheriff's Office in
cooperation with the Department of Justice Strategies for Policing Innovation
Initiative. This program provides you with an opportunity to receive assistance
from the Pasco Sheriff's Office and several community partners who will work
with you to identify and overcome barriers that have hindered you in your
life's journey. Ultimately, the goal of this program is to empower you to live
a lawful, productive and fulfilled life.
Research indicates that barriers to successful living may
involve struggles with mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence,
homelessness, finding a job, or several other challenges many people face on a
daily basis. It is possible you have struggled with some of these issues. If
so, please know the Pasco Sheriff's Office is committed to support you in
overcoming these challenges through this program.
You may wonder why you were enrolled in this program. You
were selected as a result of an evaluation of your recent criminal behavior
using an unbiased, evidence-based risk assessment designed to identify prolific
offenders in our community. As a result of this designation, we will go to
great efforts to encourage change in your life through enhanced support and
increased accountability.
The Justice Department's Justice Strategies for Policing
Innovation Initiative is a grant-based program begun in 2009 (great job,
Barack!).. An investigative report in the Tampa Bay Times, which recently
published the letter above, found last September that
First the Sheriff's Office generates lists of people it
considers likely to break the law, based on arrest histories, unspecified
intelligence and arbitrary decisions by police analysts.
Then it sends deputies to find and interrogate anyone whose
name appears, often without probable cause, a search warrant or evidence of a
specific crime.
They swarm homes in the middle of the night, waking families
and embarrassing people in front of their neighbors. They write tickets for
missing mailbox numbers and overgrown grass, saddling residents with court
dates and fines. They come again and again, making arrests for any reason they
can.
The list of problems with this program is a long one,
including use of police officers as enforcers of the zoning code, tying up
courts for minor infractions, violation of due process, and beyond. But, hey,
that's a local jurisdiction (county) in Florida perverting a program intended
by the Justice Department in Washington to encourage innovation. Surely nothing
untoward is currently happening in that department, now headed by former President
Obama's nominee for the US Supreme Court. It was no doubt in error that The
Washington Post reported n late May that lawyers for the Department had asked
a federal judge
to dismiss lawsuits against former president Donald Trump,
former attorney general William P. Barr and other officials for last June’s violent
clearing of demonstrators from Lafayette Square by U.S. military and police.
Trump and other U.S. officials are immune from civil
lawsuits over police actions taken to protect a president and to secure his
movements, government lawyers said of the actions taken ahead of a photo op of
Trump holding a Bible in front of the historic St. John’s Church. A crowd of
more than 1,000 largely peaceful demonstrators were protesting the police
killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis before the park was cleared.
A year to the week after Floyd’s death, Justice Department
lawyers argued that the lawsuits should also be tossed because last November’s
presidential election made future violations unlikely. The government said the
square has been reopened, and President Biden’s administration does not share
Trump’s stated hostility toward Floyd and the racial justice movement.
Evidently, we can let bygones be bygones as long as we decry
"white privilege" long and hard enough. The Post continued
The American Civil Liberties Union of D.C., Black Lives
Matter, other civil liberties groups and individual protesters accuse Trump and
senior officials of driving the June 1 events. Military, federal and local
police forcibly cleared the square using batons, clubs, horses, pepper spray,
smoke and fired projectiles 30 minutes before a citywide curfew began. Images
of violence drew a national backlash against Trump’s calls for “overwhelming
force” to put down those he called “THUGS” and domestic terrorists. The
nation’s top military official later apologized for walking with Trump before
television cameras that day.
Lawyers for the ACLU said that despite legal precedents, the
government’s defense would “authorize brutality with impunity” in the heart of
Washington at one of the most symbolic spaces within the seat of the federal
government.
If their defense was upheld, U.S. authorities “could have
used live ammunition to clear the park, and nobody would have a claim against
that as an assault on their constitutional rights,” said Scott Michelman, legal
director for ACLU-D.C.
Of course the authorities could have done so. As that famous
civil libertarian Richard M. Nixon remarked a few years after leaving office,
"Well, when the president does it … that means that it is not
illegal."
That spirit still prevails as
In response, Justice Department attorneys for current and
former U.S. officials and Park Police officers in their official and individual
capacities, called presidential security a “paramount” government interest.
Police acted lawfully to protect the president while he
moved a block from the White House through an unscreened crowd at a time of
civil unrest, Justice Department trial attorney David G. Cutler said....
U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of Washington held
nearly three hours of joint oral arguments over several motions to dismiss four
overlapping lawsuits on behalf of more than 100 U.S., D.C. and Arlington County
defendants. She promised rulings “in the near future.”
In questioning, Friedrich appeared open to the government’s
request.
“How do I get over the clear national security concern over
the president’s safety?” the judge asked the plaintiffs at one point. Earlier
she asked, “It seems to me you have to clear the square before he [Trump] walks
to the church. Why is that not reasonable?”
Common sense would suggest a) clearing the park was unnecessary to protect the President; b) the
President's stroll was taken entirely as a photo-op and obviously served no
policy purpose but only a political one; c) even as a political event, the
President's act, including awkwardly holding and ostentatiously displaying a
Bible outside a church whose leaders were unaware of his plans, was
particularly egregious.
Lafayette Park was cleared not to prevent violence, but to
provoke violence. With abuses by Pasco County Sheriff's Department, other local
police agencies, and the federal Department of Justice, this country clearly
needs massive demonstrations protesting overreaction by police departments and
policies abusive of civil liberties. Maybe thousands, even millions of protestors
should pack the streets.
Oh, yea. That was done already.... truly a rousing success.
