CNN Special on Qanon

 According to a special on Qanon on CNN tonight, the followers of the Qanon conspiracy theory think of Donald Trump as a savior.  Donald Trump?  As a savior?

I don’t know where these people got what they are smoking, but that is some righteous weed.

They take care of their own

Former Democratic leader Frank Dermody, who served 15 terms in office before he was defeated last November , has been appointed to serve on the seven-member Gaming Control Board by House Democratic leader Joanna McClinton.  

Dermody was paid around $131,000 when he was in the state House of Representatives.  As a member of the Gaming Control Board he will receive $145,000 a year.  

He will receive that.  He won’t earn it.   

 

Pennsylvania Republicans: Profiles in Cowardice

 In Arizona, when Trump supporters challenged the results of a free and democratic election, Arizona Republican state officials stood up to the attacks and defended the electoral process.  In Georgia, when Trump himself called upon Republican officials to “find more votes,” those officials withstood his threats and defended the results of the votes of the citizens of Georgia.  In Michigan, when Trump called Republican legislators into the White House to pressure them to overturn the vote, they stood strong.

In Pennsylvania, Republican legislators both at the state and federal level, were willing to overturn the results of the election.  In fact, they were not only willing; they attempted to do that.  My own legislator, Doyle Heffley, was in that group.  

Not exactly Amanda Gorman

 Amanda Gorman was the 22-year-old who read that wonderful poem at Biden's inauguration.  She has now been asked to deliver a poem at the Super Bowl.  Not to be outdone, I decided to write my own poem for the Super Bowl which I will  now share with you.

Tom Brady chucks

for the Tampa Bay Bucs,

while Mahomes roams

behind his fine defensive line.

America at its best,

putting skill and muscle to the test.

But while they are out there

with their helmets and their pads,

what we wait for and anticipate

are the ads.

Trying Trump the second time

It’s not good optics for the Democrats.  The question being asked makes some sense and gives Republican Senators cover.  Why go after Trump when he is no longer in office?  He’s down in Florida running nothing but a golf cart.

He will not be found guilty.  Very few Republicans in the U.S. Senate have much courage.  We should salute the ones who do.

The sad thing is that these clowns, idiots, and fanatics who broke into the Capitol, stole stuff, broke stuff, crapped on the floor, and killed a cop will go to jail.  The man who encouraged them, goaded them on, lied and said he’d be there with them–he will live in luxury, unpunished.  

Helping Trump supporters

 The political polarization in this country is unhealthy, and that is an understatement.  It is downright dangerous.  I have been thinking about how I could engage the Trumpists and show them some kindness.

Today a friend came up with a suggestion that has merit.  In my area there are quite a few Trumpists who continue to display their “Trump/Pence” yard signs.  My friend said it would be nice if we went up to the door, rang the bell, and offered to paint out the Pence.  She thought they would be grateful for that.

Biden's first mistake

 It isn’t a mistake yet, but it might be.  He should not have promised one hundred million shots in the first 100 days.  The vaccine supplies are iffy.  Glitches might develop.  Bad things happen.  Imagine what Fox “News” will say if only 98,000,000 have been given.

He should have promised a much smaller number, like 50,000,000.  That way he could claim success by going way over the goal.

I am both a very cautious person and a devious person, but I’m right about this one.

Republican and Democratic Beer

 The book Prius or Pickup? by Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler discusses why the country is so polarized and gives examples of how the right and the left not only have different political opinions but seem to live in different universes.  We don’t even drink the same beer.

A 2012 study of the purchasing patterns of 200,000 beer drinkers found that there were difference between Dems and Republicans in foreign vs. domestic beers, micro breweries vs. big companies, and dark vs. light beers.

Microbrews appeal to Dems, who often like to try new tastes.  Republicans tend to like established companies.  As for light and dark, Republicans like light beer with fewer calories.  Coors, a beer that hardly tastes like beer, is a favorite among Reeps along with Miller Lite.  Light beer is not only light in calories, but it is light in taste.  

If you are someone who tries hoppy beers, Pilsners, lagers, IPAs, porters, imported beers, and stouts, you are probably a Dem.  If you like beer that doesn’t really have a taste, you are probably a Republican.

The authors also discuss cats and dogs, but I’ll summarize that in some other post.

Election reform by Pennsylvania Republican legislators

 Don’t believe it.  These are many of the same legislators who refused to back a nonpartisan commission to draw fair district lines.  These are many of the same legislators who refused to allow mail-in ballots to be counted before election day.  These are the people who wanted to limit the number of drop boxes.  These are many of the same people who claimed the election was stolen from Trump even while the Republicans were winning more seats in the Pennsylvania House and Senate.

Some legislators want to make voting easier, increase participation, and believe that engagement with the political system strengthens democracy.

Then there are legislators who want to make voting harder, impose conditions, claim widespread fraud, and hope they can win by limiting the suffrage.  

Pennsylvania Republican legislators fall into that second group.

Pipeline news, and it's all good

I’ve written letters about the Keystone XL pipeline, demonstrated against it, and signed petitions against it.  And now it is no more.  On the first full day of the Biden administration, the plug was pulled.

As they say on those TV ads, BUT WAIT!  THERE’S MORE!

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the agency that regulates pipelines, including the proposed PennEast pipeline that would bisect our farm.  It has five members; three Republicans and two Democrats.  Biden gets to appoint a new member this summer, but in the meantime his administration controls who is the Chair.  Today the very pro-pipeline Republican chair was replaced by one of the Democrats who in the past has looked at pipelines with a very critical eye.

Am I happy with the new administration?  You better believe it.  I just wish Biden would sign his executive orders with a Sharpie and hold them up afterwards for a photo op. 

Jan. 20, 2021, finally

I feel so much better already.  I'm almost giddy.  I have more energy.  When I drive past Trump signs now I just smile.  What a day.  Listen to Annette Hanshaw from 1930 singing "Happy Days Are Here Again," the theme song of Dems in 1932.   It's on You Tube.  While you are listening, dance around the room.

Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Biden

 All presidents come to office facing problems.  Washington had no model to follow, so everything he did was precedent-setting.  He could have easily been president for life, but our country was fortunate to have an honest man who believed in republican principles.

The president with the hardest task was Lincoln.  Winning only about 38% of the popular vote, he faced a civil war before he was even inaugurated.  The opponents were not some idiots in “militias” who believed in conspiracy theories, but entire states with an army that numbered in the millions.

FDR came to office with a quarter of the country out of work.  Remember this was before Social Security or federally-insured banks or unemployment compensation.  The week before he took office thousands of banks shut down and the far right and far left were both attacking democracy.

That brings us to Biden.  The country is polarized.  We have race problems, unemployment problems, and a climate crisis.  400,000 people have died in the last year from Covid.  One-third of the population thinks the election was illegitimate.

What the Biden administration has going for it is competence, good intentions, and a president who is a normal rational human being.  I think we will be ok.

Rep. Tim Twardzik of Schuylkill County

 Twardzik was elected in November to represent eastern Schuylkill County and Summit Hill in Carbon.  While I don’t know the man personally, he is obviously a Trumpist and not very bright.  Or is that redundant?

Anyway, I thought I needed to take him to task for some remarks he made recently.  Here is a copy of the letter I sent him:

Dear Rep. Twardzik:

In the Friday, January 15, issue of The Morning Call, you were quoted as saying that your main priority was to reopen virus-triggered shutdowns.  This comes after one of your own colleagues died from Covid 19 and thousands of Pennsylvanias, including my cousin, succumbed to the disease.  I’d have to say your priorities are messed up.

You also said that many people expressed “distrust” with the election.  Of course they did.  Approximately half of the Pennsylvania Republican legislators questioned that election, the same election in which the Republicans increased their margin in both the state House and Senate.  Those people who are expressing distrust are following dishonest leaders like you.

Finally, in the same article you say, “I am not paying attention to the national press because it is just incendiary.”  What press?  The Washington Post?  The New York Times?  NBC nightly news?  I wonder where you get your information.  Perhaps from Facebook posts or Q-Anon tweets.

I feel sorry for the people of Summit Hill.

Sincerely,

Roy Christman

Rural red and urban blue

 Biden only won a single precinct in Carbon, and that was the one along Broadway in Jim Thorpe.  Interestingly, Biden did better in the towns (Lehighton, Palmerton, Lansford, Summit Hill) than he did in the rural townships (Mahoning, Franklin, Towamensing).  This echoes the national trend, where cities went for Biden and rural areas and rural states supported Trump.

In Prius or Pickup?, a book by Marc Hetherington and Jonathan Weiler (2018), this is explained.  In 2014 in a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, respondents were given two options about places they would choose to reside if they had a choice.  “They could live in communities with larger houses, but in which schools, stores, and restaurants were miles away.  Or they could live in smaller houses, but in neighborhoods in which schools, stores, and restaurants were within walking distance.”

By 77 to 21% the people the researchers defined as “consistent liberals” preferred the smaller houses with nearby amenities.  By 75 to 22%, “consistent conservatives” preferred the big houses.

This means that counties are more and more homogenous, although if they have both rural and urban areas, they become competitive.  Thus Northampton County, rural except for Easton and part of Bethlehem, is blue in the cities and red in the countryside.

It also means that I am stuck out here in the country with a bunch of Trumpists, complaining that I have to drive all the way to Allentown for Mexican and Jamaican restaurants, and I can’t get the New York Times.

What we learned in school

 Bill from North Carolina forwarded a tweet labeled an indictment of every aspect of American life in the last 20 years:  "Pelosi said her young staffers knew to barricade the door, turn out the lights, and be silent because they learned it in school."

Think about that.

Northern Spotted Owls

 United States Fish and Wildlife Service made a deal with a lumber association to allow timber harvest on 200,000 acres of Northern Spotted Owl habitat.  It was a compromise that had been approved by both sides.

This week the Trump administration yesterday increased that to three million acres.  No hearings were held, no testimony was taken.

I cannot wait for January 20.  This is excruciating.

Idiots getting arrested

 I love it that these people who stormed the Capitol and beat police (one to death) and crapped in offices and stole objects and then proudly posted pictures of themselves doing this are now getting rounded up.  Did they really think that that was ok and that the authorities wouldn’t look at the posts on their Facebook pages.  Not only are they criminals, but they are idiots. 

In the last ten days

Trump appointees continue to do their best to mess up our country.  Here are a few of their goals they hope to get through in the last ten days:

–rolling back the rule that would phase out incandescent bulbs. 

–narrowing regulatory authority over airlines.

–overhauling rules on banks to allow them to escape provisions to make redlining more difficult.

–defining gig workers as contractors.

–limiting banks’ ability to deny loans to fossil fuel industries.

That’s just a sample.  

See “Business Rules the Trump Administration Is Racing to Finish, “New York Times, (Jan. 11, 2021), p. B4.

I get vaccinated against Covid 19

 Finally, an advantage to being old.  I was able to get the Covid vaccine at Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest.  No, it didn’t hurt.  It was being offered to people 75 and older.

The event, however, had some aspects of a “super spreader.”  Hundreds of us were in a line that snaked through the building.  We were supposed to keep six feet apart, but it wasn’t happening.  When the staff member told me that 1:30 p.m. was open, I assumed I’d walk in and get the shot.  I got there at 1:10 and received my shot at 2:30.  I heard that 1800 people were vaccinated this afternoon.

I’m not complaining.  The shot was free, and I already have my appointment for the second round.  I had also taken a book along.  It’s a rule of mine–always take a book.

I feel a huge sense of relief, but I’ll still be wearing my mask.

When your side riots

 When people on your side get out of line, destroy property, and engage in violent acts, it makes you both angry and ashamed.  It puts your cause in a bad light and costs you both support and credibility.

During the Black Lives Matter protests, there were hundreds of peaceful demonstrations in hundreds of towns and cities and every state in the union, yet the few demonstrations that were violent or destroyed property were emphasized, especially by people whose aim was to discredit the movement.

So, should I feel sorry for ordinary people who voted for Trump, perhaps because they believed our economic relations with China needed improvement or felt that too many jobs were moving overseas or just got caught up in the excitement of a Trump rally?  Most Trump voters are not racists or anti-Semites, and of the 73 million who voted for him less than one half of one percent were in Washington, and only a small minority of those stormed the Capitol.  Now they are tarred with that brush.

But I don’t feel sorry for them.  Over half of Trump voters believe this election was “rigged.”  That’s why they were demonstrating on the 6th.  Few Trumpists, including legislators, spoke out against children in cages.  Few condemned the sign stealing and lies that occurred during the campaign.  Few worried about Trump misusing his position to enrich himself.  Few seemed to care about the trashing of the environment.  Many refused to wear masks.  Many said global warming was a hoax.

So, no, I don’t feel sorry that the actions in our nation’s capital have splashed mud on Trump voters.  It’s too late for that.

Welcome Graham, Sasse, and Toomey

 Many of us are angry.  With 11 days to go, DeVos and Chao quit, Sasse is talking about impeachment, and even Toomey seems open to the idea.  Lindsay Graham, one of the worst of the Republican toadies, has even broken with Trump.  

Biden supporters are understandably angry.  Where were these people when Trump was attacking vets, putting children in cages, making fun of Black Lives Matter, and destroying the environment?

Nonetheless, welcome them.  Give them a place to go.  The more Trump supporters who abandon him, the better this country will be.  Graham is already getting attacked by the Trumpists.  Give him a home to come to.  Swallow hard and remember, better wisdom come late than never come at all.

You want someone to go after, may I suggest Ted Cruz.

Dumbasses

 How long will it take the FBI to identify that guy in Nancy Pelosi’s chair?  How about the guy with the horns?  How about the guy with the podium?

They were already identified last night on the Jimmy Kimmel show.  There are selfies on Facebook, posts on Twitter, rants on TikTok, phone messages, emails.  We don’t have to wait for the security film–these knuckleheads are inviting prosecution.

By the way, if you encourage other people to commit crimes, that is incitement.  Remember Charles Manson.  He personally didn’t kill anyone, but he spent his life in prison for inciting others.

13 More Days

 In the last week the Trump administration issued new guidelines from the Justice Department that limit civil rights protections.  The Justice Department would continue to enforce the Civil Rights Act protections, but only when it could prove intentional discrimination, not where the policies had a “disparate impact” on minority groups.

The Administration also gutted protections for birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty.  It will only prosecute if the harm to birds was intentional.  So, if the PennEast Pipeline cuts trees during nesting season, that would be ok, since the company did not intentionally set out to harm birds.  An oil spill that killed thousands of birds would not be actionable, since the company did not intend to kill birds.

See Lisa Friedman, “In Parting Gift to Oil and Gas, Trump Limits Bird Protections,”  New York Times, (Jan. 6, 2021), p. A15; and Katie Benner and Erica L. Green, “Justice Dept. Quietly Moves to Severely Narrow Civil Rights Protections,” New York Times, (Jan. 6, 2021), p. A21.

Clear and present danger

In our history the Supreme Court has used a different tests in free speech cases.  One was called the “bad tendency” test, and was used in World War I to curb almost any speech the Court found might lead to illegal or seditious actions.  The second test, called the “clear and present danger” test was more lenient, allowing speech unless it posed an “imminent” threat.

In my Con Law classes I illustrated the bad tendency test this way:  Suppose I told the class that the government of the United States was corrupt and ought to be overthrown.  It is unlikely that anybody would run out and try that, but my remarks could have a “bad tendency,” influencing a member of the class to try later to overthrow the government.

My example for the “clear and present danger test went like this:   Suppose we were standing on the steps of the Capitol, I had a bullhorn, they had sticks and guns, and I shouted that the government was corrupt and should be overthrown RIGHT NOW!  That might present a “clear and present danger.”

Never in all those years did I actually think I would see people with bull horns, baseball bats, shields, chemicals to throw on guards, and probably guns actually on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, and then breaking windows to get inside, loot papers and artifacts, and attack Capitol police.

I never thought I’d see a lot of things I’ve seen in the last few weeks.

If you want to see examples of the two tests, look up Schenck v. U.S. (1917) and Gitlow v. New York (1925).  Gitlow was especially significant.  Not only did it use the clear and present danger test, but it also said the 14th Amendment applied the 1st Amendment’s guarantee of free speech to state governments.  Unfortunately for Gitlow, however, the Supreme Court then upheld poor Gitlow’s conviction. 

Bad feeling about Georgia

 Here’s the thing.  Republicans tend to win special elections.  They turn out.  They vote more.  They tend to be older, and older people vote.  

And here’s another thing.  Americans like gridlock, rationalizing that it is better for the government to do nothing than maybe do something they won’t like.  

I hope I am totally wrong.  Just a bad feeling.

Paul Ryan and Dick Cheney

 It is interesting to see who has stepped up to support American democratic values.  A number of people I once thought of as irredeemably evil have shown that they support our democratic values in the face of Trump’s attempt to subvert the Constitution.

Former majority leader Paul Ryan has denounced the Republican congressional effort to deny Biden his electoral college votes, calling it an undemocratic and anti-conservative action.

Dick Cheney gathered living Secretaries of Defense to issue a joint statement calling upon the military to avoid getting drawn into a political battle.  They are worried that Trump might actually try to orchestrate a military coup.

On the other hand, many of my neighbors continue to display their Trump signs.  It is good to know who among the people in my area either hate our country or have no understanding of how our government is supposed to work.

I'm one of 81 million

 Signs are popping up on Trumpists’ lawns that say “One in 73 million.”  I don’t get it.  Are they proud that Trump only received 73 million votes”?  That’s like losing a Super Bowl and then shouting “We’re # 2. We’re #2.”  

We do have to cut them some slack.  They’re a few fries short of a Happy Meal.

Trump Rally in D.C.

You too can get on the bus.  It leaves Wednesday at 3 a.m. from Tamaqua to answer the call “from our commander-in-chief, to show our support for him, the constitution, and our way of life.”

That was the message in a half-page ad in today’s Times News.  So I called the listed phone number and asked if they would allow guns on the bus.  The guy who answered the phone had to think about that and wasn’t sure, although he thought if it were open carry, probably.

Then I asked if the rally planned to overthrow the Pennsylvania election.  He said they weren’t planning to overthrow anything, just show their support for Trump.  

After we talked awhile, he asked me if I planned to go.  I told him I was gathering info for a post for an on-line publication and told him how to find it.  He told me the election was obviously rigged, and that if I did some research I would learn that.

Both he and I were very polite.  (Which is pretty amazing, since I regard him as a person encouraging sedition and he no doubt regards me as a Commie out to undermine “American values.”) 

Letter to Sen. Hawley

As you may have heard, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri will challenge Biden's victory in the Senate, in spite of McConnell's attempt to quash this kind of stupidity.  I sent the following letter to Sen. Hawley.  I'm sure when he gets it, he will change his mind.  Right?  Anyway, here's the letter:

Senator Josh Hawley

United States Senate

212 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Hawley:

I am a resident of Pennsylvania who voted in the November election.  My precinct is overwhelmingly Republican, but I was a Biden voter.  I voted by mail because I did not want to get Covid 19; many of the voters in my precinct refuse to wear masks.  

Unlike you, I have first-hand knowledge of the voting procedure in Pennsylvania.  I have heard you referred to as a Constitutional Law expert, and you may be, but you have no clue about constitutional government.  You are attempting to deny the validity of the votes of millions of Pennsylvania residents, perhaps to gain favor with Trump supporters for your own run for the Presidency, perhaps because you hope to rake in some funds from those supporters.  

In any case, I resent your attempt to overturn my vote.  Unlike you, I believe in the democratic process.  You, sir, are not a patriot.  You lack integrity and decency.

I will be sending a copy of this letter to Senator McConnell.  I almost always disagree with Sen. McConnell on political issues, but he has an understanding of the American electoral process. 

 I did send a copy to McConnell.   (By the way, Sen Ben Sasse of Nebraska was very clear that people like Hawley were harming American democracy.  Good work, Sen,. Sasse.)