Monthly Archives: February 2022

Spring Is Coming – Then Summer

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When we moved to DC in December 2020, it was a drab time. Few cars, fewer pedestrians, no commercial activity to speak of, no night life, no entertainment. Compared to New York City whence we came, DC was a ghost town. To a large extent it still is.

One surprise, however, was the extent to which DC was a city of flowers. They seemed to be everywhere, even in the dark winter months. Naturally, I began to take pictures of them. It was easy in Georgetown, a comparative oasis, but there were flower boxes on some of the main commercial streets and in other surprising locations. Whenever I had the camera, I took the shots. Passersby often seemed to think it was strange, but for us, the flowers were life renewed, not just the promise but the reality right then. We were particularly grateful for the colors and for the effort to which so many people had gone to plant and care for them even in our darkest hours.

I have turned to these photos for sustenance more than once during this past winter as we coped with omicron and the lingering dangers of COVID. As hints of spring begin to appear, I want to share these beautiful examples of what is to come. DC truly is a city of flowers. We should be sure to take time to appreciate them in light of the horrors that are visiting the world.

Meme Time Again

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These photos and memes were captured from Twitter and Facebook. They present in images and a few words the essence of important messages for these times.

In closing, I want to note that Ukraine was never a threat to Russia. Putin’s claims otherwise are pretextual. His rationale of needing a bulwark against NATO likewise fails because, if he takes Ukraine, his new border will line up against multiple other current  NATO members. Then what? Will he stop there or is Ukraine Putin’s Sudetenland? If you’re not familiar with Sudetenland’s place in history, read this: https://bit.ly/3sqaddo 

We must not make that mistake again.

The Triumph of Hope Over Experience?

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Once again, the rush is on to drop mask mandates and “get back to normal.” Because, Freedumb. This past Presidents Day weekend we visited Wilmington and places along the way. Masks were already the marked exception, even for restaurant staff. Signs referring to masks were mostly gone or disregarded. In our 10-story hotel, one of the two elevators was out of service, many people were perfectly content to, maskless, get on the elevator with you.

As a society we have asked, nay, demanded of our health care workers in hospitals and elsewhere an extraordinary degree of commitment and sacrifice, not to mention life-threatening risk. Small wonder that so many have quit in exhaustion & despair. For a while we made celebrated their sacrifice as we would have for soldiers in time of war (Vietnam excepted)., but that time has passed, it seems.

There are other phrases for what we’re doing now. “Whistling by the graveyard” comes to mind. Dr. Chris Beyrer, professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, summed it up nicely: “… this does look like the beginning of a next phase and let’s hope it lasts.” https://bit.ly/3smMxqk  Indeed, let’s hope. Experience suggests otherwise but we’ll see. I will be quite happy to be wrong about my skepticism.

The over-privileged whiny babies seem to have carried the day with their relentless complaining, arrogant ignorance about the science of the virus and violence. Their hatred and fear of the federal government, their obeisance to the Liar King Trump and other factors have led them to a degree of self-indulgence and dangerous behavior to themselves and others that defies understanding. They must have their seat at the bar, their time at the gym, whatever, and many will simply not accept anything else. Freedumb.

Now, we are on the verge of a shooting war with Russia, a nuclear-equipped country dominated by a former and ruthless KGB operative now essentially Russia’s president for life. Republicans around the country and in Congress have now progressed from the Big Lie of Donald Trump to overt support for a country with which the United States may be at war soon. Their traitorous conduct in supporting, perhaps even planning and certainly defending, the January 6 coup attempt has moved on to more adventurous treasons. Here are their names:

Rep. Elise Stefanik

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene

Rep. Lauren Boebert

Rep. Paul Gosar

Rep. Matt Gaetz

Rep. Andy Biggs

Rep. Jim Jordan

Rep. Greg Steube

Rep. Byron Donalds

Rep. Jody Hice

Rep. Thomas Massie

Rep. Kat Cammack

Rep. Jim Banks

Rep. Lee Zeldin

Rep. Bill Johnson

Rep. Dan Crenshaw

Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Tom Cotton

Sen. Ron Johnson

Sen. Marsha Blackburn

Sen. Tim Scott

Sen. Rick Scott

Sen. Marco Rubio

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith

Sen. Cynthia Lummis

Sen. Lindsey Graham

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy

GOP Candidate Ronny Jackson

All Republicans.

There was a time when American politicians would not criticize an American president when we was conducting the nation’s business overseas. And while they reserve the right to oppose U.S. engagement in armed conflict or declarations of war/authorization for the use of force, it was rare that they would overtly side with the enemy in an armed conflict.

No so, today’s Republicans. Given their statements and conduct, it does not challenge the imagination to think they would support Russia’s declaring that all of Europe was Russian territory. Recall Hitler. “The troops massing on your border are just a military exercise. Don’t be alarmed. Our territorial ambitions are quite limited. Believe me.”

But that is a subject for another day. In this post, I want to remind everyone, and hope they share it with others I can’t reach, how Donald Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States, deliberately and repeatedly lied to the American people for over two years about the COVID-19 virus. In his constant lying, he persuaded his gullible followers that the virus was no threat, that masks were evil, that even the vaccine he claimed to have inspired was not to be trusted, and more. He admitted to having deliberately downplayed the threat in his interview with Bob Woodward. Of course, to deny that he downplayed it would have been another blatant lie because the record of his lies is clear and unflinching.

As a result, Donald Trump is personally responsible for the avoidable deaths of, most likely, hundreds of thousands of Americans. If you think that number is too large, remember that, as of February 22, 2022, the U.S. death total attributable to COVID is 932,894. It seems clear we will come near to or exceed a million dead before this is “over,” if it ever is.

Trump is responsible for many of those that could have been, and still could be, avoided if public health advice had been fully respected. Instead, acts of violence are perpetrated every week in airports and on aircraft, in restaurants and elsewhere – all in the name of Freedumb, encouraged by Trump and his cabal of traitors and incompetents.

It’s tempting, of course, to point fingers at the tens of thousands, or millions, of Americans who have fallen prey to Trump’s siren song. And they are worthy of profound disdain, particularly those who followed his call to storm the Capitol on January 6 and steal the election. Many Americans have proved themselves unworthy of the designation, “American.” They are soft, entitled, and unbending in their disrespect of the needs of others.

And, yet, here we are again, making political decisions about medical issues in our rush to deflect the anger of the self-absorbed cry babies who refuse to wear masks, reject vaccines, and generally behave in a way that assures the pandemic will remain with us longer, perhaps forever. Mostly, if not entirely, in the service of the lies told by Donald Trump and the sycophants who continue to surround him and do his bidding to unlawfully reinstall him as president. It’s a pathetic display of ignorance, arrogance, and insolence. It will not end well.

Here is a chronology of Trump’s lies and deflections about COVID-19. I don’t expect you to read all of the detail, but it may be useful in the coming elections. You may want to just skim through it to get the gist of just how many lies and deflections Trump said just in 2020.

The Year 2020 [italics & bolding added]

January 22:  “We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine,”

January 30: World Health Organization declares a public health emergency of international concern.

January 30: “We think we have it very well under control. We have very little problem in this country at this moment — five — and those people are all recuperating successfully. But we’re working very closely with China and other countries, and we think it’s going to have a very good ending for us … that I can assure you.”

January 31: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares a public health emergency for the U.S.

January 31: HHS Secretary Alex Azar announces travel restrictions, effective February 2, prohibiting non-U.S. citizens, other than permanent residents and the immediate family of both citizens and permanent residents, who have traveled to China within the prior two weeks from entering the U.S. No consideration is apparently given to people coming to the U.S. from Europe who had been in China or in contact with Chinese people.

February 7: Trump Interview with Woodward: “It goes through air, Bob. That’s always tougher than the touch … You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And, so that’s a very tricky one. … It’s also more deadly than your – you know, your, even your strenuous flus. … This is more deadly. This is 5, you know, this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. You know, so, this is deadly stuff.

February 10: You know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat — as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April.

February 24: Trump in a tweet: The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. We are in contact with everyone and all relevant countries. CDC & World Health have been working hard and very smart. Stock Market starting to look very good to me!

February 25: China is working very, very hard. I have spoken to President Xi, and they’re working very hard. And if you know anything about him, I think he’ll be in pretty good shape. They’re — they’ve had a rough patch, and I think right now they have it — it looks like they’re getting it under control more and more. They’re getting it more and more under control. So I think that’s a problem that’s going to go away. 

February 26: …when you have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero, that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.

February 27: It’s going to disappear. One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear. And from our shores, we — you know, it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens. Nobody really knows.

March 2 — 5 average daily new cases

March 6 — 32 average daily new cases – increase of 5.4 x over 4 days

I don’t think people are panicking. I said last night — we did an interview on Fox last night, a town hall. I think it was very good. And I said, ‘Calm. You have to be calm.’ It’ll go away. 

March 10 — 102 average daily new cases – increase of 2.2 x over 4 days

We’re prepared, and we’re doing a great job with it. And it will go away. Just stay calm. It will go away.  

March 12 — 201 average daily new cases – increase of 2x over 2 days

You know, we need a little a separation until such time as this goes away. It’s going to go away. It’s going to go away. 

March 29 — 15,514 average daily new cases – increase of 76 x over 17 days prior

March 3O: Stay calm. It will go away. You know it — you know it is going away, and it will go away. And we’re going to have a great victory

March 31 — 19,337   average daily new cases – increase of 24 % over two days

It’s going to go away, hopefully at the end of the month. And, if not, hopefully it will be soon after that.

April 3 — 26,081   average daily new cases – increase of 35 % in 3 days

It is going to go away. It is going away. 

April 7 — 31,238 average daily new cases – increase of 20 % over 4 days

It did go — it will go away.

April 28 — 28,568 average daily new cases – decrease of 8 % over 21 days

But a lot of movement and a lot of progress has been made in a vaccine. But I think what happens is it’s going to go away. This is going to go away. And whether it comes back in a modified form in the fall, we’ll be able to handle it.

April 29 — 28,171 average daily new cases – decrease of 1 % over 1 day

It’s going to go. It’s going to leave. It’s going to be gone. It’s going to be eradicated. And it might take longer. It might be in smaller sections. It’ll be — it won’t be what we had. And we also learned a lot.

May 5 — 27,134 average daily new cases – decrease of 4 % over 7 days

And I think we’re doing very well on the vaccines but, with or without a vaccine, it’s going to pass, and we’re going to be back to normal.

May 6 — 26.830 average daily new cases – decrease of 1 % over 1 day

Because, you know, this virus is going to disappear. It’s a question of when. Will it come back in a small way? Will it come back in a fairly large way? But we know how to deal with it now much better. You know, nobody knew anything about it, initially. Now we know we can put out fires.

May 8 — 25.475 average daily new cases – decrease of 5 % over 2 days

Well, I feel about vaccines like I feel about tests. This is going to go away without a vaccine. It’s going to go away, and it’s — we’re not going to see it again, hopefully, after a period of time. You may have some — some flare-ups and I guess, you know, I would expect that. Sometime in the fall, you’ll have flare-ups maybe. Maybe not. But according to what a lot of people say, you probably will. We’ll be able to put them out. You may have some flare-ups next year, but eventually, it’s going to be gone. I mean, it’s going to be gone. 

 May 15 — 22.337 average daily new cases – decrease of 12 % over 7 days

We think we’re going to have a vaccine in the pretty near future. And if we do, we’re going to you had a problem come in, it’ll go away — at some point, it’ll go away. It may flare up, and it may not flare up. We’ll have to see what happens.

May 19: “When we have a lot of cases, I don’t look at that as a bad thing,” the president said. “I look at that in a certain respect as being a good thing, because it means our testing is much better. So, if we were testing a million people instead of 14 million people, we would have far few cases, right?

“So, I view it as a badge of honor. Really, it’s a badge of honor,” he added. “It’s a great tribute to the testing and all of the work that a lot of professionals have done.”

Days later, the U.S. recorded 100,000 known deaths from COVID-19. 

June 15 — 21.987 average daily new cases – decrease of 2 % over 31 days

So I think that’s — but even without that [a vaccine or therapeutics], you know, at some point this stuff goes away and it’s going away. 

 June 16 — 22,613 average daily new cases – increase of 3 % over 1 day

I always say, even without it [a vaccine], it goes away. 

June 17 — 23,380 average daily new cases – increase of 3 % over 1 day

…if you look, the numbers are very minuscule compared to what it was. It’s dying out.

But I will tell you, we’re very close to a vaccine, and we’re very close to therapeutics, really good therapeutics. And — but even without that — I don’t even like to talk about that, because it’s fading away. It’s going to fade away. 

June 18 — 24,195 average daily new cases – increase of 3 % in over 1 day

And it is dying out. The numbers are starting to get very good.

July 1 — 44,875 average daily new cases – increase of 85 % over 13 days

And I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that, at some point, that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.

July 19 — 64,754 average daily new cases – increase of 44 % over 18 days

I’ll be right eventually. I will be right eventually. You know I said, ‘It’s going to disappear.’ I’ll say it again. It’s going to disappear, and I’ll be right. 

NPR: July 19: Trump Interview:   “Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day,” “They have the sniffles, and we put it down as a test.” He added that many of those sick “are going to get better very quickly.”

At the time of Trump’s interview, more than 3.7 million coronavirus cases had been confirmed in the United States, and more than 140,000 Americans had died.

July 21 — 65,073 average daily new cases – increase of .5 % over 2 days

Well, the virus will disappear. It will disappear.

July 22 — 65,321 average daily new cases – increase of .4 % over 1 day

We’re gonna beat it, yeah. We’re going to beat it. And with time, you’re going to be it — time. You know, I say, it’s going to disappear. And they say, ‘Oh, that’s terrible.’ He said — well, it’s true. I mean, it’s going to disappear. Before it disappears, I think we can knock it out before it disappears. 

August 5 — 56,585 average daily new cases – decrease of 13 % over 14 days

This thing’s going away. It will go away like things go away… 

 It’s going away. No, it’ll go away like things go away. Absolutely. No question in my mind. It will go away. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

August 7 — 54,756 average daily new cases – decrease of 3 % over 2 days

And we’re getting them [manufacturing jobs] even in a pandemic — which is disappearing; it’s going to disappear.

August 13 — 56,371 average daily new cases – increase of 3 % over 6 days

Think of it, we’re almost back to where we were [stock market], and we’re still in the pandemic, which will be going away, as I say, it’ll be going away. And they scream, how you can you say that? I said, because it’s gonna be going away.

August 17 — 51,244 average daily new cases – decrease of 9 % over 4 days

And as soon as the plague is gone — we have vaccines coming, we have therapeutics coming, and it’s going to be gone. And it’s gonna be gone soon.

And the China Plague will fade.

August 24 — 42,123 average daily new cases – decrease of 18 % over 7 days

It’s all coming back so fast and you’ll see it, and the pandemic goes away. The vaccines are going to be, I believe, announced very soon.

August 31 — 41,719 average daily new cases – decrease of 1 % over 7 days

Well, once you get to a certain number — you know, we use the word herd, right. Once you get to a certain number, it’s going to go away. 

September 15 — 38,922   average daily new cases – decrease of 7 % over 16 days

It is gonna disappear. It’s gonna disappear. I still say it.

NPR: September 21: Interview:   “It affects elderly people, elderly people with heart problems, if they have other problems, that’s what it really affects, that’s it. In some states thousands of people — nobody young — below the age of 18, like nobody — they have a strong immune system — who knows?” Trump said.

“Take your hat off to the young because they have a hell of an immune system. It affects virtually nobody,” he added. “It’s an amazing thing — by the way, open your schools!”

October 10 — 47,466 average daily new cases – increase of 22 % over 25 days

But it’s going to disappear. It is disappearing. And vaccines are going to help, and the therapeutics are going to help a lot.

October 15 — 53,152 average daily new cases – increase of 12 % over 5 days

The vaccine will end the pandemic. But it’s ending anyway. I mean, they go crazy when I say it. It’s going to peter out and it’s going to end. But we’re going to help the end and we’re gonna make it a lot faster with the vaccine and with the therapeutics and frankly with the cures.

October 16 — 55,144 average daily new cases – increase of 4 % over 1 day

Even without the vaccine, the pandemic’s going to end. It’s gonna run its course. It’s gonna end. They’ll go crazy. He said ‘without the vaccine’ — watch, it’ll be a headline tomorrow. These people are crazy. No, it’s running its course.

All of the foregoing occurred in 2020. Through Oct. 19, 2020 more than 220,000 people had died from Covid-19 in the US.  Well over a year after Trump’s last quoted remark above, the pandemic death toll in the U.S. is approaching 1,000,000 human beings of all ages and stages of life and health. We will never know precisely how many deaths and other long term/permanent devastating health impacts could have been avoided if Trump had not consistently and repeatedly misled his devoted followers, but it not unreasonable to believe that the pandemic would have entered the endemic stages long ago. Instead, the death and destruction continue. And Trump, well, Trump has moved on. His sole concern is with being restored to the presidency by whatever means – lying, cheating, stealing – will work.

Sources:

NPR: https://n.pr/35rwzSW

Factcheck.org: https://bit.ly/35x0SYd

Guardian: https://bit.ly/3HvJMrm

Vox.com: https://bit.ly/3t4ZJ2c

CNN: https://cnn.it/3M7wvsv

 

Trump May Skate on Obstruction of Justice

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I am very sorry to report that the statute of limitations [SoL] has run against Donald Trump’s acts of obstruction of justice when he asked FBI Director James Comey to leave Michael Flynn alone. More on that in a moment.

First, I want to call to all readers’ attention the Lawfareblog at https://www.lawfareblog.com. For readers interested in, and able to tolerate reading lawyers’ opinions, this site has some of the most serious, law-focused discussion you will find anywhere regarding many of the key issues facing the country. As in the analysis of Trump’s obstruction conduct in the earliest known case, sometimes the lawyers’ analysis does not have a happy outcome. But it is always thought provoking, written by serious and accomplished people. Lawfareblog.com is a vast resource that I hope you will visit and support.

Now, back to the bad news. The article that addresses the Statute of Limitations issue regarding Comey and Flynn is at https://bit.ly/3LJqn9q. The SoL expired on February 14 with no action by the Department of Justice to hold Trump accountable for the first of at least 10 instances of obstruction of justice identified by Mueller. The Special Counsel took no action because he believed he was bound by the DOJ position that it could not indict a sitting president. Mueller also had a very narrow understanding of the job he has been given, as detailed in the compelling and important book, Where Law Ends, by Andrew Weissmann, one of Mueller’s chief deputies. I reviewed the book at https://bit.ly/3LENvWF

It is a remarkable work, and everyone should read it.

Mueller’s failure to act left it to the Garland DOJ to pick up the case after Trump left the White House. He didn’t. The running out of the SoL means that, regarding the Comey-Flynn episode, we are SOL. As more time passes, the SoL will foreclose, one by one, any possible accountability for the other nine cases Mueller identified and several that, in my opinion, he inexplicably missed.  See, for example, my extensive discussion of the Mueller Report on the obstruction of justice issues:

https://bit.ly/33zmPFI

https://bit.ly/3LDkdYB

https://bit.ly/3JDzIhf

https://bit.ly/3oYM7o7

https://bit.ly/3I52g2I

The Lawfare blog includes a heat map that graphically illustrates the threat posed by the calendar for 14 possible charges of obstruction (4 more than Mueller identified and more in line with my analysis). In thinking about the obstruction issues, it is important to understand that there are three crucial elements to conviction on any charge:

Obstructive Act

Connection Between the Act and an Active Investigation

Corrupt Intent

By the end of July 2022, DOJ will lose the ability to charge Trump with the two instances in which even Mueller thought were the stronger cases for proving obstruction.

Meanwhile, as Lawfare notes with concern, DOJ remains mute.

At this stage, it is not clear whether a single Department of Justice attorney has reviewed the Mueller report since Trump left office. And it’s not clear either whether anyone will before the statutes of limitations run down. In the absence of a statement from Garland, the public knows virtually nothing about the status of the Justice Department’s investigation into these potential acts of obstruction by Trump. We can only speculate as to what may be happening.

The balance of the Lawfare article consists of an analysis of five scenarios regarding DOJ’s posture. Lawfare admits this is all speculation – it must be since AG Garland is not talking. Many of the five scenarios are decidedly offensive but that doesn’t mean they aren’t correct explanations of what is happening – and, not happening.

Lawfare then makes a compelling case for the Attorney General to explain to the country what is going on regarding Trump’s obstruction of justice. Silence is the least acceptable path forward. Lawfare is right about this, I believe. Read it, I urge you, and judge for yourself.

 

The Usual Suspects

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Eight Republican senators have written the Department of Justice to urge rejection of Delta Air Lines’ request for a unified no-fly list addressed to a specific cohort of passengers. The list is designed to add further deterrence against passengers who refuse to comply with government and airline policy regarding masks and who engage in violent aggressions against flight crews and other passengers. In some reported cases, these individuals have tried to open aircraft doors in flight, jeopardizing the lives of the passengers and crew as well as potentially people on the ground. They have also physically attacked air crew members.

According to Apple News, https://bit.ly/354uOLn, the story was reported in the Washington Post but seems to have been taken down. It was, however, also reported in The Hill. https://bit.ly/3rR4NYP So, as insane as this is, I am not making it up.

The authors of this masterpiece of obfuscation are:

Kevin Cramer – North Dakota

Ted Cruz – Texas

John Hoeven – North Dakota

James Lankford – Oklahoma

Mike Lee – Utah

Cynthia M. Lummis – Wyoming

Marco Rubio – Florida

Rick Scott – Florida

Why do I say it’s obfuscation?

  1. The senators admit that airlines are “free to deny service to any individual over past transgressions on their flights;”

Thus, the issue is not about the list; it’s about allowing the airlines to cooperate against violence without government sanction for such cooperation; the senators want less effective management of the issue rather than more effective management. Why are Republican senators siding with people who engage in violence in the air, jeopardizing the crews, passengers, and people on the ground?

  1. The senators’ main concern is not with the safety and convenience of most air travelers but with the opprobrium that will attach to the violators who, they say, are anti-maskers;

The letter claims the government-approved list “would seemingly equate them to terrorists who seek to actively take the lives of Americans and perpetrate attacks on the homeland. Indeed, it would. Because there is no functional difference between a “terrorist” and someone who attacks the crew because he objects to mask policies. It’s not about motive. It’s about threat. What will these upstanding senators have to say if one of their anti-masker constituents succeeds in bringing down an aircraft? Or when one of them kills a flight attendant or another passenger? Here’s what  they will say: “we strongly condemn any violence towards airline workers,” the equivalent of “thoughts and prayers” when the damage has been done.

  1. The senators’ motivation is driven in large part by their continued politization of the mask mandate the efficacy of which they claim is subject to “significant uncertainty,” citing only a Congressional hearing comment by the CEO of Southwest Airlines.

It’s true that Gary Kelly testified that masks “don’t add much” to the COVID-protection armory, an observation rejected by at least one other airline executive at the same hearing. But then Kelly contracted COVID. And then Kelly took the opposite position from his Congressional testimony. As reported by Bloomberg News in late January, Kelly said: “Adding the mask is an added layer of safety, and given the fact that we’re right in the midst of this omicron surge, now’s not really the time to revisit that question, in our opinion,” ….There will come a time when the mask won’t be necessary, and I think we’ll all look forward to that, but now is not the right time.” https://bloom.bg/3GUpuXZ [emphasis mine]

Did these Republican senators deliberately mislead the Department of Justice?

  1. The senators have apparently decided that people engaged in violent acts against flight crews and passengers are “not terrorists.” They’re … something else. Why? Because they said so. In fact, they don’t even approve of the anti-terrorist TSA no-fly list, citing “lack of transparency and its due process concerns.”

It’s true that there have been issues about “transparency and due process” regarding the no-fly lists. The fact that they could have been done better, despite the hysteria-driven fear of another attack on the homeland, is no reason to reject a cooperation arrangement that prevents violent passengers from simply choosing another airline next time.

  1. The senators express greater concern for the “constitutional right to engage in interstate transportation” than they do for the protection of the vast majority of passengers who comply with the law and respect the role of air crews in applying that law.

The senators produce no authority to support the point that there is a constitutional right to air travel despite the engagement in violent acts of resistance to government and airline policy. I don’t believe such authority exists. This is just another case of Republicans claiming that “my rights are superior to your rights.”

  1. Next, the senators pull out the traditional “slippery slope” argument, suggesting that there is a real risk such a list would lead to “future unrelated uses and potential expansions of the list based on political pressures.”

Thus, the Republican senators want to put you at risk today to prevent some possible future use of the list for political purposes. Of course, they don’t address how, or why, such misuse could occur in an industry as hungry for, and competitive in seeking, business as the airlines. This is the “be afraid” of your government routine that Republicans often turn to when all else fails. It violates the well-known principle that you don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

  1. Finally, the last desperate straw: the senators want this issue turned over to Congress, where in the age of Republican obstruction, most good ideas go to die.

The senators know that no Republican senator would likely support legislation to create the list in question and that in any case it would take many months, but more likely years, for Congress to act. Meanwhile, every air passenger in the country will be exposed to greater risk because a small minority of people believe they have the right to attack flight crews and other passengers to protect “rights” they don’t have.

Is there a possibility that a no-fly list of the kind proposed by Delta could someday be abused? Maybe, but there is also at least an equal chance that as long as anti-maskers are willing to engage in violence aboard aircraft, a serious disaster may occur. Given the risks and the awful consequences, compared to the potential for misuse, the rational approach is the best one. Enable the industry to jointly respond by banning miscreants who engage in violence. Any violation of someone’s rights down the road can be addressed and no one dies. That’s the choice.

See also, https://shiningseausa.com/2022/02/09/terrorism-in-air-ban-perps/

Past the Point of No Return

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The New York Times just published a “guest opinion” piece by J. Michael Luttig, a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and an advisor to Republican senators. https://nyti.ms/3HS9cjT

The article is entitled, The Conservative Case for Avoiding a Repeat of Jan. 6. That language suggested to me that the argument would be that we should just accept the Big Lie that the last election was stolen, accept massive voter suppression legislation around the country in red states and, as a democracy, roll over and not only play dead but be dead. My second reaction was, over my dead body.

Turns out, I was overreacting. My first impression of the topic was wrong. Moral: always read the story before falling for the headline. So, I did.

Luttig, to be sure, is a learned man, shaped in the higher echelons of Republican politics and the judiciary during the halcyon days of the Reagan and G.W. Bush administrations. I say “halcyon” because this was the time when the Republican Party still purported, at least, to stand for something. Luttig eventually resigned from the Court of Appeals to become Boeing’s General Counsel with a reported pay raise of more than $2.5 million. https://bit.ly/3Jvs88e Pretty good for a boy from Tyler, Texas.

I mention all that because, as is often true, challenging someone of his standing and accomplishment can be … challenging. But what are they going to do? I don’t practice law anymore and I do love a challenge. So, let’s look at Luttig’s latest thoughts on the all-important subject of avoiding another violent attack on the government and the Constitution.

To his credit, Luttig recognizes that Trump and his Republican devotees represent a “clear and present danger” to our democracy. Noting issues with the language of the 1887 (yes, over 120 years ago) Electoral Count Act, he further acknowledges that the efforts of Senators Hawley and Cruz to overturn the election were based on “little more than a wish” and notes that Trump has confessed to his perfidy, both past and looking forward.

Trump’s continued promotion of the Big Lie has never been an issue. As president he stated he could do “whatever I want” and he still thinks that. Here’s where things get sticky for Judge Luttig.

Referring to the mythical remnants of the Republican Party after deducting Trump fantasists, Luttig says they are “mystifyingly stymied by Mr. Trump” and while they allegedly reject his lies about 2020,

they are confused as to exactly how to move on from the 2020 election when their putative leader remains bewilderingly intent on driving the wedge between the believers in his lies and the disbelievers.

This political fissure in the Republican Party was bound to intensify sooner or later, and now it has, presenting an existential threat to the party in 2024. If these festering divisions cost the Republicans in the midterm elections and jeopardize their chances of reclaiming the presidency in 2024, which they well could, the believers and disbelievers alike will suffer.

In moving with such facility from “clear and present danger to democracy” to concern about the “existential threat to the {Republican] party,” the Judge reveals his true goal is to right the listing Republican ship and enhance its political fortunes, notwithstanding its hypnotic devotion to Trump. If so, his argument has little or nothing to do with protecting the country from the collapse of democracy.

Luttig’s argument is another variation of “can’t we all just get along?”

the right course is for both parties to set aside their partisan interests and reform the Electoral Count Act, which ought not be a partisan undertaking.

“Ought not,” indeed. My, oh my, what a wonderful world it could be.

Luttig completes the fantasy analysis by assigning mutually reinforcing goals to the two parties. This is a standard tenet of books and courses on negotiating for “mutual gain.” Democrats, Luttig imagines should want to reform the Electoral Count Act to protect democracy which he admits is failing.  This, he speculates, would “prevent another attack like the one at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.” The logic of that premise-conclusion escapes me. As Peter Navarro has insisted, the aim of the January 6 mob was to force the election into the hands of the states, where the Republican majority would install Trump. They didn’t really care what the law said or what power Vice President Pence actually had under the law.

The mutual gain in Luttig’s conception is that “Republicans should want to reform the law for these same reasons, and more.”  Uh huh. He asserts that, while Trump and Trumpers won’t join, “there are consequential reasons of constitutional and political principle for the large remainder of Republicans to favor reform in spite of the former president’s opposition.”

“Consequential reasons of constitutional and political principle” —  got it. I am rolling on the floor LMAO. Except it’s not funny. Luttig’s thesis, right out of the old and long-ago discarded Book of Republican Orthodoxy, is that,

Republicans are proponents of limited federal government. They oppose aggregation of power in Washington and want it dispersed to the states. It should be anathema to them that Congress has the power to overturn the will of the American people in an election that, by constitutional prescription, is administered by the states, not Washington. If the Democrats are willing to divest themselves of the power to decide the presidency that the 49th Congress wrongly assumed 135 years ago, then it would be the height of political hypocrisy for the Republicans to refuse to divest theirs.

Well, now, isn’t that wonderful. Republicans favor limited federal government. Unless, of course, their state gets hit by a big hurricane or flood. Then they are more than happy to line up for federal money and manpower. Actually, I had understood that Republican orthodoxy was opposed to big government everywhere, but that idea was trashed in Texas recently. Republicans are perfectly fine with big government telling people what to do and not do, as long as it aligns with their religious or so-called freedom and family values.

Putting aside Luttig’s phantasmagorical search for coherence in Republican political doctrine (it being the party that advanced no platform in 2020), he next argues that Republicans should want reform of the Electoral Count Act because it is blatantly unconstitutional.”

Trump acolytes like Mr. Cruz and Mr. Hawley should appreciate the need to reform this unconstitutional law.

… no Republican should want to be an accessory to any successful attempt to overturn the next election — including an effort by Democrats to exploit the law.

Did you catch that unsubtle attempt to both-sides the question? He goes on to suggest that it’s the Democrats that may abuse the ECA in 2024 and thus Republicans should support a statutory redo to prevent that heinous outcome.

Someone please make him stop. Cruz and Hawley caring about the constitution? Seriously?

Luttig argues that reform should include giving federal, yes, federal, courts the power to resolve disputes over state electors and to ensure compliance. Right. Remember Gore and Bush?  And recall that the courts do not have command of the means to enforce anything. That power largely, if not entirely in practice, resides in the Executive Branch.

There are other details to Luttig’s proposals, but, frankly, madam, I don’t give a damn. The Republicans are so dug in on resisting any and every action supported by Democrats that the debate over electoral count reform could last decades. All the while Trump would be whining that he was cheated and his lunatic fringe supporters would continue attacking state capitols and Congress … unless and until the leaders of these fascist efforts are indicted, arrested, tried, and imprisoned.

Recall that the Republican Party has, among other things, embraced many of the conspiracy theories of QAnon, failed to discipline members like Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, supported a president who lied and dissembled about a deadly virus that has now killed more than 915,000 Americans and maimed countless more, and twice refused to convict on impeachment in the face of overwhelming evidence of guilt. These people are not going to do anything to help the country resist the fascism they regularly promote.

If Luttig is right that “the future of our democracy depends on reform of the Electoral Count Act” that was enacted in 1887, we are in more trouble than rewriting an obscure statute can fix. It’s fine to say that “Republicans and Democrats need to put aside their partisan differences long enough to fix this law.” Fine indeed, but such proposals will have no credibility as long as the planners/leaders/major perpetrators of January 6 walk free. Senators Manchin and Sinema have put the last nail in the myth of bipartisanship.

And that’s the one point that Luttig got right:

the only members in Congress who might not want to reform this menacing law are those planning its imminent exploitation to overturn the next presidential election.

If you remain in doubt as to who they are, their names may be found here, https://bit.ly/3gPVNwM, in the updated Congressional Hall of Dishonor

In closing, let me repeat: no statutory language changes are going to protect our democracy from elected and unelected officials who have no respect for law or oaths of office. The Republican Party has made clear beyond reasonable doubt that it is committed to obtaining and keeping power permanently by whatever means are necessary. If it were otherwise, it would have formally repudiated the lying traitor Donald Trump. Instead, it has embraced him as its leader. Just ask Lindsey Graham.

People who believe in the American democracy, however flawed it may be, had better remain alert to the danger and act/vote accordingly. Don’t be distracted by appeals to bipartisanship and unity, however (or not) well-intended. We’re well past the point of no return.

It’s the Same Old South?

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Déjà vu all over again. The ink is barely dry on the conviction papers of the three men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery when two more white men repeat almost exactly the same behavior in Mississippi. White father and son charged for chasing and shooting at Black FedEx driver https://cnn.it/3BeEKO6 The only saving grace here is that the Fed Ex delivery man was not physically injured. Both he and the people in the neighborhood who were at risk of being hit by errant bullets escaped with their lives. Also, the other drivers on the interstate highway where the two white men chased their intended victim.

I acknowledge that I don’t know why Federal Express would have a rented but unmarked van in service for delivery of packages, but it doesn’t matter in the end. According to the reporting, the delivery man, D’Monterrio Gibson, was wearing a FedEx jacket, shirt and pants.

But let’s suppose he was somehow behaving in a “suspicious manner” which is one of those eye-of-the-beholder things. One man’s suspicious behavior is another’s harmless curiosity. But let’s suppose that in the process of delivering packages, Mr. Gibson was lingering a bit at some homes. Maybe his attention was caught by something or other. Let’s further suppose that Mr. Gibson’s “suspicious manner” was observed by the father-son team who shot at him and chased him.

The assailants had one and only one course of action: call the police. If it appeared that the “suspicious” delivery man was about to depart the neighborhood, the only course of action was to record the license plate, take photos is possible and await arrival of the police. In the most extreme circumstance such as an observed kidnapping, which does not appear to be true here, they might be justified in following at a safe distance and staying in touch with 911 dispatch to help the police catch up.

Given the reported circumstances, there was no basis for the assailants to chase and shoot at Mr. Gibson. And, while we’re on this, do Gregory and Brandon Case normally sit around during the day with guns at the ready?

The resemblance of this situation to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery is so obvious I am loathe to point it out.

There are other similarities too.

I wrote about some of the disturbing early developments in the handling of the Arbery case arrests and prosecutions. https://bit.ly/3HRlEAs  According to initial reports, many of the same procedures are occurring here: delays in arrests, failure to charge the most obvious and serious crimes. That said, it is entirely possible yet that the Case boys will see their charges upgraded to at least attempted murder.

It seems to me that two forces, at least, are at work here. One, certainly, is the apparent belief among some white men in the South that they are entitled to use deadly force against anyone they deem “suspicious,” serving, in effect, as self-appointed police making what are euphemistically called “citizens arrests.” The second force, all too obvious, is that white men in these places, mostly though not entirely in the South, are all too ready to take matters into their own hands, use violence against unarmed Black men on the thinnest of pretexts. On the face of it, noting here that it is early days in this case, there is little to distinguish this from lynching in old style.

According to the reports, the charges against the Case men were (1) Brandon Case: “feloniously attempting to cause bodily injury with a firearm and a deadly weapon by shooting at an occupied vehicle with Gibson inside.” Presumably a reference to Mississippi Code Title 97. Crimes § 97-3-7:

(2)(a) A person is guilty of aggravated assault if he (i) attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury purposely, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life;  (ii) attempts to cause or purposely or knowingly causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm.  [emphasis added]

Conviction under that section is “imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year or in the Penitentiary for not more than twenty (20) years.” That curious wording appears to give the sentencing judge massive discretion on where to send a convicted felon and for how long.

The father, Gregory Case, is charged with “unlawfully and feloniously conspiring with Brandon Case to commit aggravated assault by attempting to cause bodily injury.” Under the law, conspiracy can be proved by conduct and does not require proof of an overt or explicit agreement.

The assertion of “aggravation” in relation to the assault is important here because, while “simple assault” in Mississippi is defined this way,

(1)(a) A person is guilty of simple assault if he (i) attempts to cause or purposely, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another;  (ii) negligently causes bodily injury to another with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm;  or (iii) attempts by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm

It is punishable only by a fine ($500.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both.

The charges seem correct as far as they go. Time will tell on that. It is concerning, however, thatBrandon Case’s bond was $150,000 and Gregory’s Case’s bond was $75,000. Those seem very light considering that a deadly weapon was involved and that Gibson and people in surrounding homes and vehicles were put at risk by the Cases’ actions (still alleged, of course, and innocent until proven guilty). Also disturbing is Mr. Gibson’s assertion that when he visited the police station the morning after the incident, the police there did not take his claim seriously and, among other things, implied that the incident might have been caused by his own behavior.

I repeat that nothing about this story, so far, indicates or suggests that Mr. Gibson did anything that would warrant his being chased and shot at. It is hard to imagine what circumstances that could have been.

Adding to concerns about the handling of the case is the fact that the perpetrators weren’t arrested for eight days and then only after they came to the station for an interview. The Police Chief said, “investigations take time” and no doubt they do. The Gibson case was likely not the only serious problem the Brookhaven police had on the blotter for the day. However, it involved gunfire and that should have led, one would think, to bringing the suspects in immediately.

Finally, it’s more than a little disturbing that, the day after the attack, FedEx assigned Mr. Gibson the same route. Using the usual cliches that companies almost always use in such circumstances, FedEx’s statement said it “takes situations of this nature very seriously” and that it was “shocked” by the attack. Because, you know “the safety of our team members is our top priority.” Surely someone at FedEx could come up with something more original than those canned statements. And what’s with “leave without pay” in these extraordinary circumstances? FedEx has plenty of resources with which to do better for its employees.

In any case, as noted, it’s early days. The similarities to the Arbery case are stunning and reminiscent of a South many of us had, foolishly, thought was over. The “wild west” character of these incidents is a stark reminder of how far we have yet to go in creating a civilized society that treats all people as worthy of respect until proven otherwise. We will no doubt hear a lot going forward about the legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” Fine, but the question remains why the Cases did not apply that principle to Mr. Gibson. Why, indeed.

Terrorism in the Air – Ban the Perps

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This blog has twice addressed what the media and airlines continue to call “unruly” passengers who refuse to follow flight crew instructions: Time for Strong Action Against Unruly Air Travelers  https://bit.ly/3uyZn6w and An Anti-Masker Walked into a Bar …  https://bit.ly/3Jj9xMP

I have noted that the term “unruly” fails to describe the violent conduct of these, mostly, anti-maskers accurately and fully. The current of today’s post describes their behavior as terrorism. That, I submit, is closer to the truth. Bear in mind that these people are almost certainly among those who are fond of telling Black people to “just comply” with police instructions and, in effect, blaming them when they are killed. These events usually occur at traffic stops but there are many other examples. Yet, when these people board aircraft, knowing what the mask rules are, they chose not only to refuse compliance, but they physically assault flight attendants and other passengers.

I have advocated that the situation presents immediate grave dangers that should be addressed with aggressive, immediate and automatic enforcement of the law and common sense.

It is now widely reported that Delta Air Lines has written the Department of Justice to request government creation of a no-fly list for these terrorists. It’s about time.

The main reasons I believe that airlines have been hesitant to simply exchange the names and agree to ban these nuts from flying is the antitrust laws. Someone would no doubt accuse the airlines of conspiring to limit competition. While I don’t believe such a claim has merit, it would be expensive to defend and pointless in the end. The better solution is the one Delta has finally requested. It remains remarkable only that the entire industry has not joined immediately in this request.

I haven’t found the letter yet but continue to believe that a government-approved no-fly list is an excellent idea, although the same outcome could be achieved by DOJ issuing a Business Review Letter, a common technique permitting firms to propose courses of conduct that might raise issues and to ask DOJ to clear them in advance. This is not a subject on which competition is materially involved or that could possibly be jeopardized. It’s a problem of safety about which there should be no “competition.”

As for the administrative difficulties of managing such a list, remember that airlines have always been able to manage connecting flights involving not only their own flights, but also their flights in conjunction with other carriers’ operations. A no-fly list would be a piece of cake compared to that.

So, come on, DOJ, let’s not turn this into another endless investigation. Take the action Delta requests. As for the terrorists, it’s simple: just comply.

 

A Picture is Worth ….

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Are you offended by the Featured Meme above? If yes, you’re probably a Republican. Kind of a litmus test, you might say. It’s art, but it’s art with a message.

Of course, there are reasons to be offended by it. It involves a child. It’s about violence done to children. It also relates, in a manner of speaking, to religion. Yet, it’s not about religion exactly. It simply says that people who are prepared to sacrifice children to school shootings to continue having unlimited access to guns for anyone and everyone while also claiming to be a Christian following the teachings of Jesus is a **** ing hypocrite. Politest way to put it. I’m having a hard time being polite these days, what with anti-vaxxers prolonging the pandemic and Trumpers still believing in phantasmagorical conspiracy  theories. The suffering conitnues, and for the anti-vaxxers, anti-mandaters and other aggrieved haters, I have no more f***s to give.

Meanwhile, here is the latest collection of memes/photos/call-them-what-you-will. These items say much about our society and the issues we face now. I provide them for those of you wise enough to stay off Twitter and Facebook from which they have been purloined. But some are very clever and, I think, worthy of wider distribution, a picture being worth a thousand words and all.

WARNING: This is political art. Some of it is harsh. It’s art meant to convey a point of view, not merely an interesting array of shapes, colors and so on.  As such, it has jagged edges and sharp points. Our democracy and thus our country, in my opinion, are under extreme threat.  If you’re concerned about the jagged edges and sharp points, please stop now and await my next kinder, gentler post.