;)
The Commentariat -- Sept. 26, 2020
Afternoon Update:
~~~~~~~~~~
** Trump Picks Handmaid to Succeed Feminist Icon. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump has selected Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the favorite candidate of conservatives, to succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and will try to force Senate confirmation before Election Day in a move that would significantly alter the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court for years.... As they often do, aides cautioned that Mr. Trump sometimes upends his own plans. But he is not known to have interviewed any other candidates for the post." The Hill's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
The New York Times publishes highlights of the final day of public honors for Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mrs. McC: My favorite: "Bryant Johnson, an Army veteran who served as her longtime trainer..., dropped to the floor before her coffin and did three full push-ups.
Susan Dominus & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "When Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined President Barack Obama for lunch in his private dining room in July 2013, the White House sought to keep the event quiet -- the meeting called for discretion. Mr. Obama had asked his White House counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, to set up the lunch so he could build a closer rapport with the justice, according to two people briefed on the conversation. Treading cautiously, he did not directly bring up the subject of retirement to Justice Ginsburg, at 80 the Supreme Court's oldest member and a two-time cancer patient. He did, however, raise the looming 2014 midterm elections and how Democrats might lose control of the Senate. Implicit in that conversation was the concern motivating his lunch invitation -- the possibility that if the Senate flipped, he would lose a chance to appoint a younger, liberal judge who could hold on to the seat for decades. But the effort did not work, just as an earlier attempt by Senator Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who was then Judiciary Committee chairman, had failed." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The fatal flaw in placing trust in your own immortality -- especially when you've already suffered life-threatening illnesses at an advanced age -- is obvious. The cosmic joke on Ginsburg, and therefore on all of us, is that her bad bet is likely to undo her most important life's work and also could be fatal to young women, most of them poor, who may succumb to unsafe abortions.
New York Times: "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg broke one final barrier on Friday, becoming the first woman and the first Jewish American to lie in state in the United States Capitol. The honor, arranged by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as a private ceremony at the Capitol, brought to a close a week of public memorials for Justice Ginsburg, the liberal jurist and trailblazer for women who died last Friday at 87. Her family plans to hold a private burial next week at Arlington National Cemetery." From the Times' Ginsburg live updates. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Presidential Race, Etc.
Tory Newmyer of the Washington Post: "A Democratic sweep that puts Joe Biden in the White House and the party back in the Senate majority would produce 7.4 million more jobs and a faster economic recovery than if President Trump retains power. That's the conclusion Moody's Analytics economists Mark Zandi and Bernard Yaros reach in a new analysis sizing up the two presidential candidates' economic proposals. And they are not alone in finding a Biden win translating into brisker growth: Economists at Goldman Sachs and Oxford Economics conclude that even a version of Biden's program that would have to shrink to pass the Senate would mean a faster rally back to prepandemic conditions." (Also linked yesterday.)
Zoe Richards of TPM: "Two former Republican lawmakers have joined the ranks of Republicans endorsing Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president. Former Reps. Mickey Edwards (R-OK), a former chair of the American Conservative Union who served in Congress for 16 years until vacating his seat in 1993 and Charles Djou (R-HI), an Afghanistan war veteran, who won a three-way special election in 2010 and served until 2011, have become the latest GOP supporters of Biden. 'Joe Biden is not a perfect man, but he is a man of humble decency,' the former GOP lawmakers penned in an op-ed published by Roll Call on Friday. 'America needs a restored sense of national unity, basic civility and true character in our president. After four years of reckless Trumpian chaos and division, we believe it is time for a new president and ask that you join us.'"
Trump's Plan to Lie & Bully His Way Through the First Presidential "Debate." Sean Sullivan & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "President Trump is gearing up to launch blistering personal attacks on Joe Biden and his family in the first presidential debate on Tuesday, while Biden is bracing for an onslaught and worried allies are warning the Democratic nominee not to lose his temper and lash out, according to people with knowledge of the strategies in both camps. Trump has told associates he wants to talk specifically about his opponent's son Hunter Biden and mused that the debates are when 'people will finally realize Biden is just not there,' according to one adviser. The president is so eager to lay into his rival that he has called aides to test out various attacks, focusing on broadsides.... Biden and his advisers are anticipating a venomous barrage, according to a person with knowledge of their thinking, and they are preparing to counter with an affirmative case for a Biden presidency."
Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President Trump said Friday night that he would welcome 'a smooth, beautiful transition' of power after the election in November but that he would lose only if Democrats cheated -- and that 'we're not going to stand for it' if they did. Mr. Trump's comments to cheering supporters at an outdoor rally in Newport News, Va., were his latest intimation that he might mount an unprecedented effort to stay in power after an electoral defeat and lead the nation into uncharted waters at a moment marked by civil strife.... In an apparent stab at humor on Friday night, the president at one point even joked about canceling the election altogether."
Part of the Long Con? Trump's Sick Idea of Funny. Asawin Suebsaeng & Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: "To horrified voters, onlookers, and the Democratic opposition, [Trump's refusal to commit to an orderly transfer of the presidency] was another clear instance of the sitting president openly telegraphing his plans to seize power, something some administration officials fear will soon take form within the federal government and among major party organs. But to Trump, it was ... funny as hell. According to two people..., hours after the president stepped away from the cameras, Trump continued following the fallout in the press, including on cable news, and began privately remarking how amusing it was that his answer was making media and liberal heads explode, and also predictably dominating TV coverage. 'He seemed to get a real kick out of it,' one of the sources said, adding that the president seemed to relish making the press, in Trump's words, 'go crazy' over his non-commitment to democratic norms and procedure. '[The president] wasn't going to be playing by their rules on this just to make them feel comfortable.'... But in some corners of the administration, various officials and law enforcement personnel have indeed begun to view the threat of a constitutional crisis with alarm."
Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "A Justice Department official told ABC News Friday that Attorney General William Barr personally briefed ... Donald Trump about the DOJ's investigation into a small number of ballots in Pennsylvania that were found to be discarded, prior to the information being made public by a U.S. attorney's office Thursday afternoon. President Trump went on to first reveal the investigation in an interview with Fox News Radio, where he, without evidence, argued that it bolsters his baseless claims of widespread fraud in mail-in voting.... 'This is an ongoing investigation where there is no public interest reason to override the usual policy of not commenting -- and especially not to say for whom the ballots were cast. An unprecedented in kind contribution to the president's campaign,' Matthew Miller, the former director of the Justice Department's public affairs office, said on Twitter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Everything about this stunt is improper. Trump, his political appointees & his campaign appear to have conspired to blow up into a national scandal what was a small, localized, unwitting mistake made by a temporary employee. That is not to say the 7 or 9 votes that may have been discarded are not important, but it appears that the mistake was timely discovered & efforts made to correct or mitigate the error. A Politico story, by Zach Montellaro & Holly Otterbein, explains some of what may have happened. ~~~
~~~ Michael Schmidt & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "In the effort led by President Trump to create a misleading impression of widespread voter fraud, administration and campaign officials have seized on nine mail-in military ballots in a Pennsylvania county that Mr. Trump won by 20 points in 2016.... The county, which is primarily controlled by Republicans, said on Friday that it had been unaware of whom the ballots were cast for until the Justice Department released the information.... 'There is a battle here about the narrative in fraud and voting, and it looks like there's a continued effort to gather as much evidence as possible to give them any little scraps for that narrative,' said Samuel W. Buell, a criminal law professor at Duke University School of Law." Mrs. McC: If the county "is primarily controlled by Republicans," why are they conspiring against their own party's presidential candidate?
Robert Cardillo in a Denver Post op-ed: "I had the privilege of serving under six presidents -- four Republican and two Democrat.... Broadly speaking, I can personally attest that Americans were very well served by those they elected to fill critical national security positions. There is one important exception to that statement -- our current president. I have briefed him up close -- and I have seen and felt the effect of his faults on our nation's security. Out of respect for the confidential nature of Oval Office conversations, I will not provide details. Suffice to say that the person you see presiding over COVID-19 press conferences is the same one in the privacy of his office. He has little patience for facts or data that do not comport with his personal world view. Thus, the conversations are erratic and less than fully thoughtful.... Donald Trump's decision to rely upon the word of dictators like Vladimir Putin is an unprecedented betrayal of his oath to the Constitution. Our current president bases his decisions on his instincts, and his instincts are based upon a personal value proposition -- what's in it for me? As a Commander in Chief, President Trump comes up tragically short." Mrs. McC: As I recall, the Denver Post is subscriber-firewalled. I was able to read Cardillo's op-ed for about 5 minutes before it went dark. So if you click on the link, speed-read! Josh Feldman of Mediaite has a summary report here that includes video of Wolf Blitzer's interview of Cardillo.
South Carolina Senate Race. "Help Me!" Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "In a pair of interviews on the network on Thursday, [Sen. Lindsey] Graham [R-Trump] pleaded with Fox viewers for campaign cash, in an emotional appeal almost as weepy as Jerry Lewis in one of the later hours of his old charity telethons. 'I'm getting overwhelmed,' he told prime-time host Sean Hannity. Then, he turned to Hannity's viewers, adding: 'Help me. They're killing me moneywise. Help me. You did last week. Help me again.'... Fox 'had no knowledge that he would solicit donations on air,' the network said in a statement." Politico's story is here.
New York Congressional Races. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: Donald "Trump likened a peaceful march in Rochester to the clashes in Portland, Ore., saying earlier this month on Twitter that the two cities had 'bad nights.' The next day, the president incorrectly asserted that 'most of the police in Rochester, N.Y., have resigned,' blaming 'the Democrat Mayor and, of courses, Governor Cuomo.' The president's incursions in Rochester have divided Republicans in Western New York, as candidates vying for Congress and local office weigh whether to embrace Mr. Trump or distance themselves from his characterization of the Black Lives Matter movement as 'a symbol of hate.' [For instance,] George Mitris, a Republican facing an uphill battle to unseat Representative Joseph D. Morelle, a Democratic fixture in the region, has openly disagreed with the president's comments on Twitter, and embraced the Black Lives Matter movement in his platform."
Chutzpah, Corruption & Lies, Ctd.
Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Judges on a federal appeals panel expressed skepticism at a hearing on Friday about President Trump's arguments that a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney seeking eight years of the president's tax returns was overbroad and issued in bad faith. The three judges challenged a central argument from Mr. Trump, who has been fighting the subpoena for more than a year. Lawyers for the president have argued that the demand was a politically motivated 'fishing expedition,' looking to vacuum up documents related to business dealings far beyond the authority of the Manhattan prosecutor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr. Pointedly questioning a lawyer for the president, the judges suggested that the subpoena could be justified because -- even though the president has extensive financial dealings and real estate projects around the world -- his company is based in New York and his tax returns have been filed there." (Also linked yesterday.)
John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration rescinded an award recognizing the work of a journalist from Finland last year after discovering she had criticized President Trump in social media posts, then gave a false explanation for withdrawing the honor, according to a report by the State Department's internal watchdog. The report tracks how the discovery of the journalist's remarks worried senior U.S. officials and prompted a decision to withdraw the honor to avoid a possible public relations debacle. The report's release is likely to worsen tensions between the department's leadership and the inspector general's office, which has undergone several shake-ups following the firing of Inspector General Steve Linick in the spring at the request of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
DOJ, "A Satellite Office of the Trump Campaign." Katie Benner of the New York Times: Here's William "Barr's approach to running the Justice Department under President Trump: an agenda that is squarely in line not only with the White House but also with the Trump campaign's law-and-order platform and assertions that Democrats have made the United States less safe.... Mr. Barr has threatened legal action against Democratic leaders who sparred with the president over stay-at-home orders during the pandemic and echoed Mr. Trump's accusation that they were not tough enough on protesters during nationwide unrest over race and policing. He led federal agents who patrolled the streets of Washington against the wishes of the mayor. And this week, the Justice Department seemed to play into the president's efforts to undermine voting by mail.... In public comments, Mr. Barr has expounded on topics outside of what recent attorneys general publicly discussed during an election, particularly his sharp critiques of Democrats and his grim pronouncements that they could destroy democracy.... Mr. Barr declared that the country would 'go down a socialist path' if it elects former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Under Mr. Barr, the Justice Department is as close as it has been to the White House in a half-century, historians said."
Matthew Brown of the AP: "A federal judge ruled Friday that ... Donald Trump's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully, blocking him from continuing in the position in the latest pushback against the administration's practice of filling key positions without U.S. Senate approval. U.S. Interior Department Bureau of Land Management acting director William Perry Pendley served unlawfully for 424 days without being confirmed to the post by the Senate as required under the Constitution, U.S. District Judge Brian Morris determined. The ruling came after Montana's Democratic governor in July sued to remove Pendley, saying the former oil industry attorney was illegally overseeing an agency that manages almost a quarter-billion acres of land, primarily in the U.S. West. 'Today's ruling is a win for the Constitution, the rule of law, and our public lands,' Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday. Environmental groups and Democratic lawmakers from Western states also cheered the judge's move after urging for months that Pendley be removed. The ruling will be immediately appealed, according to Interior Department spokesman Conner Swanson."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The Washington Post's live updates of coronavirus developments Friday are here: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife, Pamela, were notified Wednesday evening that a staff member in the governor's residence had tested positive for covid-19. They both subsequently tested positive, the governor's office announced Friday. A statement from the office said Northam is experiencing no symptoms, while his wife has 'mild symptoms.' Northam is continuing his duties as governor, his office said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Laurie McGinley, et al., of the Washington Post: "On the same day President Trump blasted the Food and Drug Administration’s plan for tougher standards for a coronavirus vaccine as a 'political move,' a top White House aide [-- Chief-of-Staff Mark Meadows --] demanded detailed justifications from the agency in what some fear is an attempt to thwart or block the standards designed to boost public trust in a vaccine. The White House's involvement appears to go beyond the perfunctory review that agency officials had expected, and is likely to reinforce public concerns that a vaccine may be rushed to benefit the president's reelection campaign.... 'I don't know of any precedent where the White House asked to adjudicate scientific and clinical guidances, even in past public health emergencies,' said Scott Gottlieb, Trump's first FDA commissioner.... Robert Califf, commissioner under President Barack Obama, said White House officials lack the expertise to assess the FDA's safety protocols." Mrs. McC: Would you get an inoculation because Mark Meadows recommended it?
Your Taxpayer Dollars at Work -- Telling Lies to Help Trump. Dan Diamond of Politico: "The health department is moving quickly on a highly unusual advertising campaign to 'defeat despair' about the coronavirus, a $300 million-plus effort that was shaped by a political appointee close to ... Donald Trump and executed in part by close allies of the official, using taxpayer funds. The ad blitz, described in some budget documents as the 'Covid-19 immediate surge public advertising and awareness campaign,' is expected to lean heavily on video interviews between administration officials and celebrities, who will discuss aspects of the coronavirus outbreak and address the Trump administration's response to the crisis, according to six individuals with knowledge of the campaign.... Senior administration officials have already recorded interviews with celebrities like actor Dennis Quaid and singer CeCe Winans, and the Health and Human Services Department also has pursued television host Dr. Mehmet Oz and musician Garth Brooks for roles in the campaign. The public awareness campaign, which HHS is seeking to start airing before Election Day on Nov. 3, was largely conceived and organized by Michael Caputo, the health department's top spokesperson who took medical leave last week and announced on Thursday that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Caputo, who has no medical or scientific background, claimed in a Facebook video ... that the campaign was 'demanded of me by the president of the United States. Personally.'"
Florida. Drink, Eat & Be Merry, for Tomorrow Ye May Die. Gray Rohrer, et al., of the Orlando Sentinel: "Florida will no longer require bars and restaurants to operate at less than full capacity, as Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Friday removing all remaining restrictions on those businesses because of the coronavirus pandemic. The order, which takes effect immediately, also prohibits local governments from closing businesses or collecting fines related to pandemic-related mandates, such as mask requirements -- leading to at least one Central Florida county being inundated with calls asking if people no longer have to wear one. But it does allow local authorities to limit restaurant and bar capacity to 50% if they can justify it.... Democratic state Sen. Linda Stewart called the move politically motivated and questioned whether the timing was right because Florida continues to have a relatively high death and positivity rates compared with the rest of the country."
Drippity-Drip-Drop. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has released a pair of documents casting fresh doubt on the judgment of senior law enforcement officials who investigated possible links between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016, showing that one of the FBI case agents thought prosecutors were out to 'get Trump' and that a key source of allegations against the president had been previously investigated as a possible Russian asset. The disclosures come as President Trump and his allies await the results of an investigation by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham into how U.S. intelligence agencies examined Russian election interference four years ago. Instead, Thursday night saw one disclosure made to Congress and another made to the courts. It's still uncertain whether Durham will issue any findings before Election Day.... In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), Attorney General William P. Barr said [Igor Danchenko,] the individual whose information was used to assemble much of a dossier of allegations against the Trump campaign, had been the subject of a national security investigation between 2009 and 2011, because FBI agents suspected he might be working for Russia." ~~~
~~~ Matt Zapotosky & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Three career supervisors in the D.C. U.S. attorney's office have disputed the sworn congressional testimony given by a former prosecutor on Robert S. Mueller III's team, telling Justice Department officials they believe he mischaracterized communications with them about undue political pressure in the criminal case against President Trump&'s longtime friend Roger Stone, according to people familiar with the matter. The prosecutor, Aaron Zelinsky, told the House Judiciary Committee in June that he felt politics influenced the prison sentence that was recommended for Stone, who was convicted of lying to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. After Zelinsky and other career prosecutors recommended that Stone face seven to nine years in prison, and Trump angrily tweeted about the case, Attorney General William P. Barr intervened and had the Justice Department propose a lighter punishment.... Robert Litt, a lawyer for Zelinsky, said in an email, 'He stands by his testimony and the Mueller report.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Maria Sacchetti, et al., of the Washington Post: "Breonna Taylor's family on Friday assailed the decision not to prosecute any Louisville police officers for shooting her, while their attorneys demanded that grand jury details be made public to reveal more about how this conclusion was reached. Their remarks came in an emotional news conference in Jefferson Square Park, which has become a hub of protest activity since police killed Taylor while serving a warrant at her apartment in March. Taylor's family spoke near a mural dedicated to the emergency room technician, who was 26 when she died.... Taylor's family on Friday encouraged people to continue to demonstrate to keep up pressure on officials. Speaker after speaker pilloried not only [Kentucky's attorney general Daniel] Cameron [R] but also the police, the media and the country's justice system, which Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, described as fundamentally not set up to protect people of color in the United States."
Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "As the only Black female representative in the Kentucky Capitol, state Rep. Attica Scott (D) took action after the death of Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by police raiding her home in March. In August, Scott proposed Breonna's Law, a bill that would end no-knock warrants statewide. And when a grand jury decided not to indict the officers in Taylor's death, Scott joined hundreds of protesters in the streets of Louisville. On Thursday night, Louisville police arrested Scott along with a handful of other protesters near First Unitarian Church and the Louisville Free Public Library, which had allegedly been set on fire, according to a police report reviewed by WAVE. The state representative received a felony charge of first-degree rioting and two misdemeanors for failure to disperse and unlawful assembly, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. The paper reported Scott was released from jail Friday morning." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Joe Sonka of the Louisville Courier Journal: Rep. Attica "Scott was livestreaming video as she was arrested outside of a church in downtown Louisville that was offering sanctuary to protesters Thursday evening, saying 'we were trying to go inside.'... She was arrested along with her daughter, Ashanti Scott, and Shameka Parrish-Wright, one of the most prominent racial justice activists in the city, who both face the same changes as Attica Scott. They were all released from jail Friday morning. Scott was on York Street between the First Unitarian Church -- which was offering sanctuary to numerous protesters that night -- and the Louisville Free Public Library's downtown branch, which had a window broken and a flare thrown inside shortly before the arrests.... Ted Shouse, the attorney for Scott and Parrish-Wright, said Thursday night the allegations 'are outrageous on their face' and his clients had nothing to do with damage at the library.... Her livestreamed video shows no evidence of her or those around her vandalizing the library as the walk past the building.... Scott [said] that she was detained before the curfew went into effect, as officers prevented her from entering the church sanctuary." Mrs. McC: Sure seems like police abuse of power & intimidation to me.
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SPLITTING HARES
Here's some interesting information ( see below) on the word"coney"–-the middle name of Amy Barrett, Fatty's choice for the bench. That's all we need is another Catholic on the S. C. and it appears–--it SEEMS–-that Amy, here, has that "praise be" pretty well contained. It wouldn't surprise me if our sick, demented president didn't pick her because she is the exact opposite to Ginsburg––his finger thrust high in the air as he announces his choice.
CONEY
c.1200, from Anglo-Norm. conis, pl. of conil "long-eared rabbit" (Lepus cunicula) from L. cuniculus, the small, Sp. variant of the It. hare (L. lepus), the word perhaps from Iberian Celtic (classical writers say it is Spanish). Rabbit arose 14c. to mean the young of the species, but gradually pushed out the older word 19c., after British slang picked up coney as a synonym for "cunt" (cf. connyfogle "to deceive in order to win a woman's sexual favors"). The word was in the King James Bible [Prov. xxx.26, etc.], however, so it couldn't be entirely dropped, and the solution was to change the pronunciation of the original short vowel (rhyming with honey, money) to rhyme with boney. In the O.T., the word translates Heb. shaphan "rock-badger." Rabbits not being native to northern Europe, there was no Gmc. or Celtic word for them. Brooklyn's Coney Island so called for the rabbits once found there. ///
So––Honey Bunny it is and the lord doth bless us for our way with words.
The story about Obama meeting with RBG and gently (or maybe not so gentle) suggesting that she may want to think of retiring while he was still in office makes so much sense given, as Marie mentioned, her bouts with cancer. She obviously (or maybe not) thought she could hang on until after the election but that implied that she "believed" that Biden would be the next president. I feared this scenario as I watched her decline–-it was even an effort for her to speak at times. And here we are–-these decisions that effect monumental changes and in turn change history.
I am outraged!!!!
@PD Pepe: I read somewhere that Ginsburg had planned to retire in 2017, after Hillary was inaugurated. But, IMO, she definitely should have taken Obama, Leahy and hundreds of pundits' advice & quit while a Democrat could nominate a successor. I also read that Ginsburg had argued after the 2014 election results that Obama had warned her about that Obama would not appoint someone as liberal as she. That's likely true, but he certainly would not have appointed an Amy Barrett.
PD,
As you certainly know, having pointing out oodles yourself, one doesn't have to search far for irony in human affairs, but this Catholic thing (for this former altar boy) has to be near the top of the list for anyone who remembers the anti-Catholic slurs hurled at JFK less than a century ago.
It was the heartland evangelicals who worried that Kennedy and his Catholic mafia would impose a papacy on their precious freedom to be nuts in their own way.
Kennedy barely won and instead of interfering with their religion catered to their naive patriotism by supporting Catholics in Vietnam and Cuba who were suffering from the anti-communist virus that infected Evangelicals as well as Catholics and hence moved us down the path toward two foreign policy disasters that still roil our history.
And recently on the domestic front those same one-time anti-Catholics eagerly embrace Catholic jurists who believe it is their place to control not just everyone's beliefs but their.very bodies.
You have to start with the same gene for religious patrimony to get this same crazy place.
And here we are.
I am sure she will be wonderful: on NPR, a Stanford law prof assured Scott Whatsis (Simon?) that she was a warm, kind person. And she has 7 kids (at age 48) including two Haitian orphans. There will never be a fetus she doesn't support. For the rest of the children of the US, BOOTSTRAPS, people...if she can do it, why so can they...without help or support from the socialists. s/
I am already fried by the "news" being manufactured by the people who can't win elections unless they cheat and steal.
K - yeah the country used to be pretty anti-Catholic, from the founding and through the Know Nothings to the early 1960s. At the founding it was actually pretty much a carryover from the social/political fallout of the Reformation. By the mid-19th century it had become racism -- Irish, southern and central europeans and Latinos were considered genetically inferior to good Protestant stock , and most of those folks were Catholics. They were all considered future paupers and bought voters. After the Irish and Germans pushed back to learn how to dominate electoral politics in dense populations, the Irish and (southern, Bayerische) Germans "became white" in the US. It took longer for the Italians and other non-French mediterraneans, who had other traditions of local governance. But all of them stayed linked to Holy Mother Church as a political, social as well as religious power, well into the 20th century.
So, now Catholics are pretty much "white" and US racism doesn't focus so much on "religion" as on supposed deficiencies of certain groups of people. When those folks get into the voting business (talking to all you Latinos out there) they'll get to be "white" too.
Joke: (Ethnic slur trigger warning) -
Q: Why did God invent alcohol?
A: To give the rest of the world a chance against the Irish.
Sláinte!
Patrick,
"K" meant to write "patriarchy," not "patrimony," I'm sure.
Really, I am sure. Thanks to a Squarespace. blip, "K" and I are virtually identical twins, so I can say I know him very well.
And rest easy. With a name like Patrick, you're allowed
Good piece on the Handmaid and what she will encounter on the SCOTUS. Good anyway until its squishy ending.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/opinion/amy-coney-barrett-catholic-supreme-court.html?
She doesn't say, but i don't think the author believes the Handmaid will recuse herself from abortion cases, but it would be nice if she followed her own advice and did just that.
More than nice. Heads all over the Right would explode.
Quote of the day (and not a Trump lie, for a change). I had the urge to listen to Warren Zevon (“Lawyers, Guns, and Money”). I can, after all, only stomach so much reprehensible lies and treason in one 24 hour span. After the song, on YouTube, I spied this comment: “I don’t often listen to Zevon, but when I do, so do the neighbors.”
Reminds me of when we were kids. If you came around the corner, heading toward the house, and from a hundred feet away, could hear “Purple Haze” blasting through closed doors and windows, you knew exactly one thing for sure: Mum wasn’t home.
I’m hiding in Honduras, I’m a desperate man.
Send lawyers, guns, and money. The shit has hit the fan. Hey!
Ken: I can guarantee that a D senator will ask Barrett if she will recuse herself on abortion, since she says recusal is the Catholic's moral requirement for the death penalty. Since she cannot reconcile church and state re abortion, by her logic she should recuse. B.u.t...
She will say no recusal necessary, because there is no SC precedent on abortion, Rowe and the others are about things tangential to it (privacy; access; etc.) . The R strategy is not really to overturn Roe so much as to keep whittling it down. They need it as the biggest boogey man in their closet of scary stuff, to get the evangelistas and (a few) catholics to vote against the evil (i.e. for the R). Since R's stand FOR nothing, they need to have stuff to be against and abortion is the ne plus ultra.
And ... nobody is FOR abortion. There are many who are FOR a woman's right to control her body.
PS: Recently there were reports of detained migrants having their internal reproductive equipment removed by a person in the contract employ of the USG entity that detained them. I heard no outcry from any craw-thumpers about the state sterilizing women in captivity, i.e. state-sponsored meta-birth-control. Is that kind of birth control OK in God's Own Country?
Patrick,
Thanks.
Admirable parsing of both Republican politics and of what will likely be Barrett's excuse for her non-recusal on abortion issues.
Consistency may occasionally be the hobgoblin of small minds, but more often it is the archenemy of hypocrites.
@Ak, was there also a "Mary Jane" haze emanating from the same said house? Purple Haze is a great tune but it was played to death. There are others within Jimi's repertoire that are much better.
One of my favorites to crank "when mum's not home" is All Along the Watchtower on Bob Dylan's/The Band's Before the Flood album. Turn it up to 15.
Unwashed,
No wacky-tabacky back then. I was only about 14 when I bought “Are You Experienced”. The Watchtower” track on “Before the Flood” is killer. That whole album is still one of the best live rock albums. And, as you know, Jimi did a pretty wild cover of that song himself.