The January 6 Committee

The House Select Committee investigating the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2022, has little time left.  The new Republican House has no interest in pursuing that line of inquiry.  In fact, many Republicans opposed the Committee’s work from day one.  On Dec. 27, 2021, the New Yorker magazine ran some comments on the work of the committee from various House Republicans.

Mary Miller of Illinois said the committee was “evil and unAmerican.”

Yvette Herrell of New Mexico said the committee was setting the country “on its way to tyranny.”

Jim Jordan of Ohio said the committee was an example of the Democrats’ “lust for power.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said the committee proved that communists were in charge of the House. 

What is the matter with Yale University?

The leader of the “Proud Boys” (why not “Men,” or is that too obvious?) was found guilty of a number of crimes for his actions before and during the insurrection against the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  At one time he was a student at Yale University.

Ted Cruz, the U.S. Senator from Texas, also attended Yale.  

San José State, where I taught political science and American studies, doesn’t have any former students in Congress or, as far as I know, leading anti-democratic groups bent on overthrowing the government.  

San José State was the college of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, the track stars who gave the black power salute at the ’68 Olympics.  There is a statue of them on campus.  I doubt if Yale will put up statues to that jerk who leads the Proud Boys or, for that matter, to Sen. Cruz.

Republican Committee Chairs

They won’t be the best and the brightest.  Here are five.

Appropriations:  Kay Granger of Texas.  Opposes spending that Biden asked for, but lobbied for money for F-35 fighter jets.  (They are built in her district.)

Armed Services:  Mike Rogers of Alabama.  Pushed for the “Space Force.”  

Energy and Commerce:  Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington.  Plans to have her committee interrogate Dr. Fauci.  

Foreign Affairs:  Michael T. McCaul of Texas.  Will look into the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which could actually use some looking into.  Is a big supporter of aid to Ukraine, so we have one who might be ok.

Judiciary:  Jim Jordan of Ohio.  Plans to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of Homeland Security.  Also plans to look into the “politicization” of the Justice Department.  Chairman of the “Freedom Caucus.”  Trumpist.

I’ll get to the rest some other time.  Some committee chairs are still in contention.

Escaping Thanksgiving

Every Thanksgiving we leave town, avoiding the whole holiday.  Last year we drove to Albany, N.Y., for the weekend; this year to Salisbury, MD.  We visited the beach at Ocean City, MD, ate lunch at an old tavern in the town of Princess Anne (not making that up), and walked around a National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern shore, although we only saw one great heron.

I also saw three movies.  “The Glass Onion” with Daniel Craig is a mystery, and reasonably fun.  “Devotion,” about the first African American navy pilot, is somewhat of a tear jerker, so you can probably figure out how that ends.  Finally, I caught “The Menu,” billed as a horror movie, but with some funny bits, although that may be more my warped sense of humor than the movie itself.

Now I’ll have to get back to reading the paper.  Has Trump done anything stupid in the last four days?

The Treaty of New Echota

The Treaty of New Echota between the U.S. and the Cherokee Nation, was ratified by the Senate and signed by President Jackson.  It was a terrible treaty forced upon the Cherokees.  It led to the “Trail of Tears,” ordering 16,000 Cherokees to walk to Oklahoma in winter, resulting in the deaths of approximately 4000 Indians, many of them children and the elderly.

One of the provisions of the treaty declared that the Cherokees would be “entitled to a delegate in the House of Representatives of the United States whenever Congress shall make provision for the same.”  Now the House Rules Committee is examining whether the U.S. should honor that provision.  

The delegate, if approved, would be Kim Teehee, a Cherokee Nation official.  Given the history of treaties between the U.S. and Indian nations, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Note:  I’m taking a Thanksgiving break from blogging.  I’ll be watching some football and eating too much.  See you Sunday.

12 Republicans

What do Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Roy Blunt, Richard Burr, Shelley Moore Capito, Cynthia Lummis, Rob Portman, Dan Sullivan, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski, Joni Ernst, and Todd Young have in common besides being Republican Senators?  All 12 voted to support a bill in the Senate to protect same sex marriage.  Two of those senators were from North Carolina (Burr and Tillis) and two were from Alaska (Murkowski and Sullivan).  Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Missouri were also represented.

Marco Rubio, who didn’t vote for the bill, said “I don’t know why we’re doing that bill; there’s no threat to its status in America.”  John Cornyn of Texas said the Democrats were trying to scare people into thinking “that somehow that decision by the Supreme Court is in jeopardy.  I don’t believe it is.”

Last year I might have agreed with Rubio and Cornyn.  That was before the Dobbs decision.  Who knows what precedents the Court will overrule? 

Proposition 27 defeated in CA

California has a form of direct democracy whereby anyone can propose a law and then circulate petitions to put the proposal on the ballot for a vote.  The whole idea has been subverted by special interests who hire people to collect the signatures and then launch misleading and expensive campaigns to pass the legislation.

FanDuel, DraftKings and other gambling companies tried this by proposing legislation that would give the sports betting market to internet gambling giants.  The initiative would have increased gambling with its attendant problems as well as undermining the Native American casinos.  The proposal also threw in some bogus stuff about helping the homeless. 

The voters of CA saw through the lies.  Prop 27 was defeated in every one of the state’s 58 counties.  It was defeated even though the gambling companies spent $150 million to pass it, about $100 for every yes vote.  It was historic loss.  

I want to thank my friend Tom from Grass Valley for drawing my attention to this historic vote.

Ohio Man Gets 3 Years

The full headline in today’s Times was “Ohio Man Gets 3 Years For Storming Of Capitol.”  The man, Dustin Thompson, 38, took a bottle of bourbon and a coat rack during the insurrection.  He said he went to the Capitol because he believed the election was stolen.

In the meantime the man who claimed the election was stolen and egged on people like the Ohio man struts around in his Florida mansion and announces he is running for president.  

That pretty much sums up the legal system in this country.

Should President Biden run for a second term?

Yesterday was my 80th birthday.  Biden’s 80th birthday is tomorrow.  I can demonstrate my mental acuity, I can still type my posts (usually pearls of wisdom), and I can still spell “acuity.”  Physically, I did literature drops for the Shapiro, Fetterman, and Wild campaigns in Summit Hill, Palmerton, Nesquehoning, and Jim Thorpe, on some days walking over two miles, often up and down steps.  I also take pills for high blood pressure and have a pacemaker, two artificial hips, and an artificial knee.  Right now I could serve as President and do a far better job than Trump did, although that’s an extremely low bar.

The problem is that if I were president, ran in 2024, and served four more years, I would be 86 in my last year in office.  Given the blood pressure issues, other aches and pains, the occasional MCI (mild cognitive impairment), I don’t think I would make a good president by the end of my second term, provided I’d still be alive.

Remember the notorious RBG?  Had she resigned when Obama wanted her to, he could have replaced her with a competent Supreme Court Justice.  Instead she hung on, died during the Trump administration, and was replaced by Amy Comey Barrett, she of the Dobbs decision.

You ought to know when it’s time to quit, to bow out gracefully, to move aside.  Nancy Pelosi can give lessons.  Biden should announce his decision fairly soon, giving his potential Democratic replacements time to prepare and plan their campaigns.

Dems Control PA House

One of the reasons Republicans do so well in Congressional races is because most state legislatures are controlled by Republicans, and they draw the district lines.  One of the reasons extreme Republicans win seats is because many of the gerrymandered districts are not competitive.

In New York, where the courts drew the boundaries after the Dems ignored state law mandating fair districts, Republicans were elected to Congress, but those Republicans are mostly moderates.  They had to be in order to win Democratic voters.

In Pennsylvania where the courts also drew the Congressional district lines, we have moderate Dems and Republicans.  Brian Fitzpatrick, Susan Wild, and Matt Cartwright all represent districts which could go either way.  None of them are extremists.  On the other hand, Congressman Meuser happens to represent a very Red district, and he is an election denier and a hard right ideological fanatic.  (Also not very bright, but you don’t have to be when you are rich and can buy a seat.)

All of this is leading up to the encouraging news that the Dems now control the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.  True, it is only by one vote, but it is a significant move up for the Dems.  No more will the Republican-dominated legislature ram though proposed Constitutional amendments to bypass the governor. 

Democrats in the past have not paid much attention to state legislative races.  The party has finally realized just how important those races are.  It’s about time.

A correction:  in a post on the 14th about the attempt of Trump to sic the IRS on his enemies, I said the IRS didn't go along, just as it didn't when Nixon tried that.  My friend Bill pointed out that James Comey and Andrew McCabe were extensively audited.  That was no coincidence.  It depresses me that even the IRS could be corrupted and evidently went along with Trump's wishes instead of telling him to go to hell.

Doctors and lawyers

Does rural Pennsylvania have more medical doctors or more lawyers?  The answer, according to “Rural Perspectives,” a publication by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania (Nov./Dec./ 2022) is doctors.  In 2019 there were 6308 active doctors in rural PA (M.D.s and D.O.s).  In 2022 rural PA had 4286 active attorneys. 

In urban PA (19 out of the 67 counties are considered urban) lawyers (43,954) outnumbered doctors (42,080).  Carbon, my home county, had 62 doctors and 68 attorneys, but the doctors were counted before St. Lukes and Lehigh Valley opened two large hospitals here.  I’m sure that the number of doctors has surged in the last two years.

I’m not sure what all of that even means.  

Too Damn Many People

The remains of one of our ancestors, Lucy of Africa, date back about 3.2 million years.  Slowly the earth’s population grew until it reached a billion in 1804.  Obviously we can’t date it exactly, but close enough.  By 1927 we reached two billion.  .When I was born in 1942 the world’s population had not yet reached three billion.  

In my lifetime the population has jumped by five billion people.  The U.N. says it has just reached eight billion, and most of that growth is occurring in the world’s poorest countries.  Given those statistics combined with global warming, I’m getting out just in time.  

I do worry about our grandson, however.

B.S. in Arizona

When Kari Lake lost the election for Governor of Arizona, she claimed that the vote was rigged and said that “Arizonans know B.S.”

I think she’s right.  It’s why she lost the election.

Auditing enemies

One of the Articles of Impeachment against Richard Nixon charged that he misused federal agencies to harass his “enemies.”  One of the agencies mentioned was the I.R.S.

Now we find out that Trump also tried to use the I.R.S. to audit his political enemies.  Evidently the I.R.S. refused, as it had done during the Nixon administration. 

Of course, after an attempt to overthrow a free and fair election, misusing the I.R.S. seems almost trivial.  

Ignoring the Magna Carta

In 1215 a group of barons in England forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.  That document recognizes the doctrine of habeas corpus.  It says that you cannot be detained by the government without being charged with a crime.  It prevents the government of England from arresting you and then holding you behind bars indefinitely.  Habeas corpus is also enshrined in the United States Constitution.

Late last month the U.S. government freed Saifullah Paracha from Guantanamo.  Mr. Paracha was 75.  He was captured in July 2003 in Thailand in a “sting” operation.  He was originally held in Afghanistan, then moved to Guantanamo after 14 months.  He maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration.

He was never changed with a crime.

See Carol Rosenberg, "Guantanamo's Oldest Prisoner, Never Charged, Is Released and Returns to Pakistan, New York Times (Oct. 30, 2022), p. 27.

Democrats win U.S. Senate

If Warnock wins next month, they won't need  Manchin's vote.

Nepal shows the way

Forests now cover 45% of Nepal.  Local communities are responsible for forests that citizens plant and help to protect.  Between 1992 and 2016 the tree cover in Nepal doubled.  Nepal is getting aid from developed nations for the tree planting program, but the Nepalese population is making the program work.  Rainfall has increased, wildlife has increased, and the army of Nepal helps to protect the forests and the wildlife.  What an amazing country.

See Karan Deep Singh and Bhadra Sharma, “Strategy for Reforestation, Starting From the Ground Up,” New York Times, (11 Nov. 2022), p. A8.

The kids are all right

I heard today that exit polls found that while white people as a group gave a majority of their votes to Republican candidates, white people under 30 tilted to the Democrats.  I don’t like their music and their tattoos and their gender reveal parties and their constant preoccupation with their phones, but I do like the way they vote.  Thanks.  You are wonderful.

Could have been better, could have been worse

The anti-Semite and Jan. 6 insurrectionist Mastriano lost big to Shapiro in the PA Governor’s race.  Fetterman beat the bogus pill pusher Oz for the U.S. Senate.  Susan Wild defeated her opponent who closed down a manufacturing plant in Lansford and moved the operation to China..  The bond issue for farmland preservation passed in Carbon with 81% of the vote.

On the other hand, Reeps now control the House and likely will control the Senate.  That’s a bitter pill.  No good will come of that.  

Carbon County Referendum

My Susan Wild shirt–in the wash.  Fetterman hat–hung on the chair.  Shapiro button–on the dresser.  Today I was non-partisan, working the polls at the Towamensing Firehouse, telling people about the badly named “Carbon County Water Quality, Working Farms, and Wildlife Habitat Referendum” on our ballot.  

Linda worked the early morning shift; I was there mid-day, came home for lunch and a nap, and was back at it until evening.  I stressed how six farms had applied for the farmland preservation program in Carbon, but the County didn’t even have the funds to accept one.  

I also explained that the question was on the back page of the ballot; many people didn’t know it was there.  I got positive responses from a guy with a MAGA hat, from Republicans, from Democrats, from new residents, and from old-timers.  In a few cases I had to explain how the farmland preservation program worked, and I stressed that our farm had been preserved.  It was fun to push a measure that had no organized opposition.  

I’ll bet that Linda and I were responsible for at least 100 yes votes.  Unfortunately, the supporters were able to place workers at relatively few polling locations.  I am hoping for positive results.

No abortions, no exceptions

On Thursday evening on a way to a meeting in Lehighton, I noticed that someone had put a homemade sign that said “No abortions, no exceptions” next to an array of Mastriano, Oz, and Scheller signs.  Two days later it was gone.  If there is one thing Republicans want you to forget, it is that they would deny women the right to control their bodies, even if this means they would die from medical complications of pregnancy.  

If you don’t believe me, believe Mastriano, the candidate for governor of Pennsylvania.  He has said “no abortions, no exceptions.”  

Dogs vs. chickens

Today’s Morning Call featured a letter from a person concerned about the Bethlehem City Council’s discussion of backyard chickens.  She claimed that chickens caused epidemics like bird flu and other health problems.  (Rabies was not mentioned.)  What caught my eye was this statement:  “Many of us have dogs and chickens would prompt the dogs to bark or attack the chickens.”

First of all, why are your dogs running loose?  Second, barking is far more annoying than chickens clucking.  Take care of any noise problem simply by banning roosters.  

I have been bitten by large dogs and pecked by hens on the nest.  Dog bites are worse.  

 

Campaigning in Carbon County

First we had to stuff small plastic sleeves.  Approximately 15 people put three separate pieces of material in 5000 sleeves–a slate card for Shapiro, Fetterman, Susan Wild, and Richard Kost along with a stand-alone flyer for Susan Wild and a small insert on the Carbon County Democratic Party.  

We then obtained lists of Democrats in Carbon County boroughs.  Next we went out hanging the plastic bags on people’s door knobs.  The “we” in that includes an operative from California who flew here to help out.  Just today we completed Nesquehoning and Summit Hill; we also covered most of Palmerton and Upper Jim Thorpe.  Tomorrow we will blitz Weissport.  

The other towns are covered by teams who canvass.  Canvassing involves actually talking to people.  It is more effective, but it also takes longer and covers fewer voters, since many residents are not home or refuse to answer their doorbells.

Incidentally, remember when you were a kid and flipped a coin and said, “Heads I win, tails you lose.”  That seems to have become the mantra of the Republican candidates.  If they get the most votes, Democrats lost.  If Democrats come out on top, somehow the Democrats cheated and Republicans have won anyway. 

In praise of Summit Hill, PA

Four of us did another lit drop in Summit Hill today.  We had material for Shapiro, Fetterman, and Susan Wild in little plastic bags.  The bags have holes in the top to slip them over door knobs.  It is inevitable that you meet people on their porches or on the street.  Everyone we met was pleasant.  Some thanked us, some discussed the election, some told us we had their votes or said they had already voted.  

If I had to pick one trait that distinguishes most Democrats from most Republicans, I think it would be the lack of anger among Democrats.  An example is the literature we distributed.  All of it was upbeat, explaining what our candidates were hoping to accomplish.  Republican opponents were not mentioned.  We came across literature on some doors left by supporters of Oz and Lisa Scheller.  The pieces were full of vitriol, stoking fear and attacking the Democrats as being soft on crime and acting as socialists.

Summit Hill, by the way, has a lot of Democrats.  Maybe that’s one of the reasons I like it so much. 

Stealing Democratic Signs

Many Republicans don’t understand how democracy works.  I have delivered Fetterman, Shapiro, and Wild yard signs for people’s yards, then delivered a second set after the first set was stolen, then delivered a third set after the second set was stolen. Democratic signs in the right-of-way have been stolen; Republican signs are untouched.  Today I found Democratic signs in the creek that flows though the Palmerton park.  

So listen up, you sign-stealing jerks.  It is one thing to take the signs, but please don’t throw them into creeks or woods.  Show some respect for nature even if you don’t understand fair play.

Susan Wild rally featuring Jill Biden

Tonight we drove to Muhlenberg College in Allentown to attend a rally for our Congressional candidate Susan Wild.  The rally, crowded and standing room only, heard Congress member Wild detail her fight to lower drug prices.  Jill Biden then spoke about the importance of electing Democrats, not only to help pass the Biden agenda, but also to preserve American democratic values.

Political rallies are supposed to energize supporters.  We were out doing a lit drop for Shapiro, Fetterman, and Wild today in Jim Thorpe, and I was thinking of slacking off tomorrow.  I can’t slack off.  We will be back out there tomorrow.

2000 Mules

This is a movie put out by election deniers that claims that operatives have been stuffing ballot boxes for mail-in ballots.  The movie is a total lie, but millions believe it.  

There is an article in today’s Times about the lies sweeping Pennsylvania. Those lies are used in an effort to discredit not only candidates, but also the whole electoral process.  Anyone with a lick of sense would see through this crap, but people believe it.  When did the citizens of this country become so stupid? 

Trump voters claim liberals look on them with contempt.  It is hard not to.