Most folks thought Trump had no chance for victory in 2016. It was common knowledge. After he won, people started looking at what he had tapped into. Basically people have said variations of this: He tapped into white, particularly male, fear that they were losing their power in the US and that they wanted the lost respect they deserved as people.
And now that Bernie is winning, pundits and party leaders are echoing the mainstream Republicans and Democrats of 2016 as well as pundits then: Bernie has no chance of winning.
But I would suggest that he's appealing to the same sort of despair that Trump tapped into. He too is talking about the problems of government (similar to Trump's swamp). He too is talking about making America great again - but by reestablishing the values of democracy and human dignity for all humans, not just one subgroup. He's talking about the excesses of capitalism and how the price of things in dollars has been applied to every part of our life to the detriment of all other values. He wants to realign the structure that allows Wall Street bankers and brokers to earn significantly more money per hour than most other people. And all the other structures that mean minimum wage people are blocked from what used to be thought of as the American Way of Life. (However, exclusive that ideal was in terms of race.)
Sanders is tapping into the same vein of despair that Trump found. But he's doing it with a message of love rather than one of hate.
Can the Sanders campaign overcome the forces that are working to disinform people, to purge voters and to make voting more difficult for those who can't be purged, and to find ways to hijack voting technology (from computer based registration lists, to voter registrar computers, and to voting machines? I don't know.
But I'm with Anand on this.
Part of the campaign to discredit Sanders involves smearing him with the label socialist. Socialism is also a key basis for people's belief that he can't win. Americans will never accept a socialist president they argue. As if socialism wasn't already well embedded in our nation and in our most cherished government programs.
There's a meme on socialism that quotes President Harry S Truman. Tomorrow I will look at the authenticity of the meme.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
Thoughts After an Elizabeth Warren Rally At the Seattle Center [Repaired]
My daughter asked if I would go with her to an Elizabeth Warren rally tonight in the Seattle Center (where the 1962 Worlds Fair was held and where the Space Needle is.) When we were in Anchorage back in December I'd thought that going south I should try to find some campaign rallies, since we aren't going to get any presidential candidate rallies in Anchorage. So I scored right after we got to LA - there was a Bernie Sanders rally at Venice Beach.
[I was tired last night Sanders - Warren] was just a ferry and bus ride away. So with my knee wrapped in a compression sleeve and a fold up cane, just in case, off we went.
I mention where we were sitting (well there was one seat available and my daughter stood, though we switched a couple times when I wanted to take pictures from a different angle) because one of my first reactions was that the audience was a LOT older than the Bernie crowd at Venice Beach. And a lot less diverse. My daughter pointed out that maybe it had something to do with sitting in the ADA section. But I had my telephoto lens and was looking all around. It was a much older crowd.
And the music reflected that too. There was one 60s song after another - These Boots Are Made for Walking, Sweet Caroline, the Supremes, Good Vibrations, a Beatles song, and on and on.
Bernie's team had surely had a staffer pick the play list and it was MUCH more contemporary and matched the audience. He also had live music including Young the Giant, who I didn't know, but the folks around me were all excited about.
The Bernie rally also included everyone going through security. Every back pack and purse and bag was checked, pockets were emptied. TSA would have been proud. Just no scanners to walk through.
Tonight there was NO checking at all.
I suspect some of this is due to money. Sanders has more.
And another local woman. All were articulate.
In contrast, the Sanders rally started with canned music and then had live music starting about 45 minutes before things were supposed to start. Then at noonish, a series of city and state elected officials spoke, a local Congress member or two, then Cornell West, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and finally Bernie came on at 2:30.
If there were any local dignitaries sitting behind the stage tonight, they weren't given a chance to speak and they weren't acknowledged.
Warren did get on stage at 7pm which was closer to the start of the rally than in Bernie's rally, and she talked about 45 minutes, including answering questions.
And she was good - articulate, passionate, and she knows the issues. I'd be more than happy with a President Sanders or a President Warren. These candidates, aren't as way out there as much of the media is telling us. They are on top of the issues that matter now if the US and the world are going to have a fighting chance - including Climate Change, but also the economic imbalance between the very rich and the vast majority. I have some video and I'll try to get it up soon. This is NOT the time to hesitate, to play it save, because that's not the answer either. It's time, she told us to make bold plans, have big dreams, and fight hard. The same pundits that said Trump didn't have a chance are saying the same about Sanders. I just think they're wrong. No candidate is going to achieve everything they promise. They've got to deal with Congress. But the higher they aim, the higher they'll end up.
The Space Needle was lit up as we went out to catch the bus back to the ferry.
[UPDATE Feb 23, 2020: Thanks to BB - who emailed me - and BC - who commented below - who pointed out I wrote Sanders instead of Warren in a couple of places. I always wonder about how the brain works in such situations. Both names have the letters a, r, and n, both have two syllables. One is seven letters longhand one six. Would I have made the same kind of mistake if I was comparing to Buttigieg or Klobuchar? The House of Names says this about Sanders:
"The Anglo-Norman surname Sanders is derived from the name Saunder, which is a pet form of the personal name Alexander. This name was originally derived from the Greek personal name Alexandros which literally means defender of men."
And for Warren, they say this:
"The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 added many new elements to an already vibrant culture. Among these were thousands of new names. The Warren family lived in Sussex. Their name, however, is a reference to Varrenne, Normandy, the family's place of residence prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. [1] Despite this name's resemblance to the Germanic Guarin, often translated as Warin, the names are not thought to be related.]
Friday, February 21, 2020
Stephen Miller - Trump's Fanatic Racist Aide
I thought I had put up a post on Stephen Miller long ago, but I couldn't find it. Eventually, I looked in my drafts - started posts I never posted and there was one just after Trump's inauguration that offered links to background on Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Roger Stone. I eventually covered Stone in one post, and Bannon.
The link on that page for Miller looked at his high school days and beyond. He was clearly troubled already then.
I was reminded of that by this new piece from the New Yorker which looks at how he leads the extreme and cruel immigration policies.
While many of Trump's appointees have either seen themselves as people who could hold Trump back, or people just happy to be able to put their Trump service on their resumes, Miller is one who clearly has Trump's ear and pushes Trump towards his worst decisions on immigration.
The link on that page for Miller looked at his high school days and beyond. He was clearly troubled already then.
I was reminded of that by this new piece from the New Yorker which looks at how he leads the extreme and cruel immigration policies.
"One participant in the November meeting pointed out that El Salvador didn’t have a functioning asylum system. “They don’t need a system,” Miller interrupted. He began speaking over people, asking questions, then cutting off the answers.
As the meeting ended, Miller held up his hand to make a final comment. “I didn’t mean to come across as harsh,” he said. His voice dropped. “It’s just that this is all I care about. I don’t have a family. I don’t have anything else. This is my life.”
Miller, who is thirty-four, with thinning hair and a sharp, narrow face, is an anomaly in Washington: an adviser with total authority over a single issue that has come to define an entire Administration. “We have never had a President who ran, and won, on immigration,” Muzaffar Chishti, of the Migration Policy Institute, told me. “And he’s kept his promise on immigration.” Miller, who was a speechwriter during the campaign, is now Trump’s longest-serving senior aide. He is also an Internet meme, a public scourge, and a catch-all symbol of the racism and malice of the current government. In a cast of exceptionally polarizing officials, he has embraced the role of archvillain."
"He asked to head the Domestic Policy Council, an influential but amorphous group inside the White House. The position gave him proximity to the President and insulation from congressional scrutiny; he would issue, rather than implement, orders. “The rest of us have to testify before Congress. That’s a check. If you’re going to have your ass hauled before Congress, you’re not going to feel comfortable breaking the law,” a former top Administration official told me. 'Miller will never have to testify for anything.'”
"In the days leading up to Trump’s Inauguration, Miller and a close associate named Gene Hamilton, another former Sessions staffer in his mid-thirties, drafted an executive order called “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States”—the travel ban.
When Trump signed it, none of the top officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which was in charge of enforcing the ban, had been notified in advance. Travellers with valid visas were suddenly trapped at American airports, unable to enter the country; refugees who, after years of waiting, had been vetted and approved for entry were turned back. Thousands of protesters and civil-rights attorneys began congregating at airports across the country, and Senators Graham and McCain issued a statement saying that “we should not turn our backs on those refugees who . . . pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors.” Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser, was enraged. The next day, when the President’s senior staff assembled in the Situation Room, Miller told John Kelly, the head of D.H.S.; Tom Bossert, the President’s homeland-security adviser; and officials from the State Department, “This is the new world order. You need to get on board,” according to an account in “Border Wars,” by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear."
While many of Trump's appointees have either seen themselves as people who could hold Trump back, or people just happy to be able to put their Trump service on their resumes, Miller is one who clearly has Trump's ear and pushes Trump towards his worst decisions on immigration.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
How Many Active Duty US Generals?
From Congressional Research Service Report:
Table 3 in the report shows the historical numbers of officers and the percentage of total force. (it's up from 0.048% in 1965 to 0.070% in 2018. All officers, as a percentage of total force, are up from 12.76% to 17.51% in the same time period.
I got to this report from an article by a retired US army major that focused on Smedley and hypothesized about why there are no retired generals today criticizing the US involvement in endless wars today.
This is just a reminder that there is a lot of reading material out there that has facts and in-depth looks at things. An alternative to memes and tweets, where people can actually learn something that helps fill holes in their world views. Below is just the first page of the Congressional Research Service's index of reports that start with those issued today 20/02/2020:
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| click to enlarge and focus |
Table 3 in the report shows the historical numbers of officers and the percentage of total force. (it's up from 0.048% in 1965 to 0.070% in 2018. All officers, as a percentage of total force, are up from 12.76% to 17.51% in the same time period.
I got to this report from an article by a retired US army major that focused on Smedley and hypothesized about why there are no retired generals today criticizing the US involvement in endless wars today.
This is just a reminder that there is a lot of reading material out there that has facts and in-depth looks at things. An alternative to memes and tweets, where people can actually learn something that helps fill holes in their world views. Below is just the first page of the Congressional Research Service's index of reports that start with those issued today 20/02/2020:
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 20, 2020
Feb 19, 2020
Feb 19, 2020
Feb 19, 2020
Feb 19, 2020
Feb 18, 2020
Feb 18, 2020
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
"The rule of law and the survival of our Republic demand nothing less." From Justice Department Alumni Letter
Exceprts from the letter written by 2000 Department of Justice Alumni. The whole letter is here. These are things that are worth taking the time to read in their entirety. This one isn't that long.
I
"As former DOJ officials, we each proudly took an oath to support and defend our Constitution and faithfully execute the duties of our offices. The very first of these duties is to apply the law equally to all Americans. This obligation flows directly from the Constitution, and it is embedded in countless rules and laws governing the conduct of DOJ lawyers. The Justice Manual — the DOJ’s rulebook for its lawyers — states that “the rule of law depends on the evenhanded administration of justice”; that the Department’s legal decisions “must be impartial and insulated from political influence”; and that the Department’s prosecutorial powers, in particular, must be “exercised free from partisan consideration.”It's worth sending this to your members of Congress, reminding them of the oaths they took.
All DOJ lawyers are well-versed in these rules, regulations, and constitutional commands. They stand for the proposition that political interference in the conduct of a criminal prosecution is anathema to the Department’s core mission and to its sacred obligation to ensure equal justice under the law."
"For these reasons, we support and commend the four career prosecutors who upheld their oaths and stood up for the Department’s independence by withdrawing from the Stone case and/or resigning from the Department. Our simple message to them is that we — and millions of other Americans — stand with them. And we call on every DOJ employee to follow their heroic example and be prepared to report future abuses to the Inspector General, the Office of Professional Responsibility, and Congress; to refuse to carry out directives that are inconsistent with their oaths of office; to withdraw from cases that involve such directives or other misconduct; and, if necessary, to resign and report publicly — in a manner consistent with professional ethics — to the American people the reasons for their resignation. We likewise call on the other branches of government to protect from retaliation those employees who uphold their oaths in the face of unlawful directives. The rule of law and the survival of our Republic demand nothing less."
I
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
The Knees Of Candidates
Really? Women are still expected to bare their knees and walk on stilts while men are allowed to walk on more solid shoes and cover their whole legs? They should have to compete equally. Since we call these political 'races' why don't we require all male racers to compete in the same racing uniform as the women?
I put this up because we are so accustomed to seeing women and men dressed like this that we don't even see the disparity any more. I'm hoping readers will really see this sort of thing in the future. Women are expected to dress 'like women.' They are allowed to dress dress like men to the extent they may wear pants. Male candidates would never show up a debate dressed like the female candidate in this picture. That alone tells us about male/female equality and power.
I think candidates in a debate like this should be asked about what they are wearing and how it reflects the power of men and women in our society.
And I suspect everyone responds, viscerally, a little differently. Do the bare legs enhance the woman's appeal to voters? Distract from what she says? How would the man wearing shorts affect voters? There's a lot more to unpack from this picture.
[The picture is from the LA Times and is of Jackie Lacey and George Gascón both running for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Photo by Irfan Khan]
I put this up because we are so accustomed to seeing women and men dressed like this that we don't even see the disparity any more. I'm hoping readers will really see this sort of thing in the future. Women are expected to dress 'like women.' They are allowed to dress dress like men to the extent they may wear pants. Male candidates would never show up a debate dressed like the female candidate in this picture. That alone tells us about male/female equality and power.
I think candidates in a debate like this should be asked about what they are wearing and how it reflects the power of men and women in our society.
And I suspect everyone responds, viscerally, a little differently. Do the bare legs enhance the woman's appeal to voters? Distract from what she says? How would the man wearing shorts affect voters? There's a lot more to unpack from this picture.
[The picture is from the LA Times and is of Jackie Lacey and George Gascón both running for Los Angeles County District Attorney. Photo by Irfan Khan]
Monday, February 17, 2020
Acupuncture
There's a demon living between my knee and my heel/ankle, on my right leg, moving around and causing pain in a seeming random way. With ice, ace bandages, and a knee brace, I've been able to keep walking and pretending everything is normal. Underlying this all is the damage I did to my sciatic nerve during the earthquake Nov 2018. The problems I'm having are along the path of the nerve, and the three toes on the right side of my right foot are still odd. Sort of like after your foot's been asleep and is getting better, but isn't quite normal yet. That's been pretty much how things are. Last time I saw the physical therapist, he gave me new exercises to do, and when I asked about acupuncture, said that 70% of his patients who have done acupuncture report that it helps.
So I was going to try in San Francisco where there were acupuncturists on every corner it seems. But we really weren't there long enough. But here on Bainbridge there's an acupuncture person a very short walk from where we stay. My hope is that it can clear the passage of the nerve to my toes. And all the other problems are along the same route and affected by muscles along that path. And while I have an aversion to needles used to give shots or draw blood, my head has no problem with the little acupuncture needles. So I emailed and got a response that there was a cancellation at 4:30 today. My granddaughter accompanied me.
After taking some history of the issues, she had me get up on the table and put little needles in me on both sides from chest too foot and let me lie there and relax. The goal she said, was to do general body work, not specific. The hope was to alert the body to try to recalibrate itself.
We'll see. It seems there's a slight improvement in my toes, but I don't know if I'm just imagining that or not. After a few days I'll know more. I'll go back for several more sessions before we return to Anchorage.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is a short drive from here. A friend from Anchorage who is also in Seattle visiting grandkids brought two and two dogs to visit us on Bainbridge today. So I haven't had much time to even think about posting. But here's a bit.
There's a path here with a series of panels with wooden pictures of the removal of Japanese-Americans, many, not most, American citizens, from Bainbridge Island after the US declared war on Japan after Pearl Harbor. Japanese had settled here and many raised strawberries. The book Snow Falling On Cedars is a novel about this period here on the island. This path is also the path the internees were walked down to get to ships to remove them on their way to internment camps further from the coast.
There are also quotes here and there from people who experienced this, like this one:
This echoes the sentiment of Holocaust survivors in Europe during World War II. And give the imprisonment of asylum seekers and the separation of children from their parents there, it seems that we are letting this happen again.
The LA Times today reports that California is going to officially apologize for internment of Japanese in World War II.
Then we walked along the nearby beach, where the dogs had a great time off leash.
Here, the ferry from downtown Seattle is coming into downtown Winslow.
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