Month: November 2018

From the moment Trump first denied in capital letters on Twitter at the beginning of 2016, and subsequently on numerous campaign stops after, that he had no  dealings with Russia, Putin had Trump compromised.  This one fact alone made Trump a national security risk then and explains why Trump refused to take a strong stand against any of the dark work of Putin since then.. 

In Russia, to have leverage over a person with  embarrassing information is called kompromat. Once Putin got wind that Trump was campaigning on the claims that he had no dealings with the Russians or even attempts at deals, Putin knew that Trump had ensnared himself in kompromat.  And Trump knew it as well.

Trump, in accordance with this new status began behaving like he was being blackmailed. He engaged in endless, gratuitous flattery of Putin, and refused to accept the intelligence agencies report that it was Russia that had done the hacking and interference in the 2016 election. Trump said at the Helsinki Summit that “Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial of Russian involvement.” Like that was evidence that the Russians were not the perpetrators. 

Trump offered another lame excuse about Putin’s perceived leverage by saying  IF the Russians had any dirt on him “they would have used it a long time ago”. Now that statement flies in the face of how blackmail works. As long  as Trump kept jumping through the hoops for the Russians, showing deference and refusing to hold them accountable for their dirty deeds. why should they bring down the hammer and expose him?  

Just last Sunday, the Russians took Ukrainian naval officers prisoner in a blatantly aggressive international incident. Trump had planned to go ahead and meet with Putin regardless until the Cohen news forced him to cancel the meeting. He and his aides decided it would look too suspicious and Trump would look too compromised  if he cozied up to Putin at this particular time.

So our President, still operating under the weight of Russian kompromat is finding himself in more grim circumstances  than ever before. To show strength against Putin might bring out Putin’s dirt on him. To NOT stand up to Putin looks more and more like his obvious guilt to a majority of the  American people. 

Here’s is Michele Goldberg terrific assessment of the situation today in the New York Times. If one relishes the idea of Trump getting caught in a squeeze play (baseball term for players coming at a base runner with the ball from both sides)  you will enjoy her article.

Hang on, now.. Trump will not go down without a fight and our Constitution will keep being tested.. But surely more GOP Senators will start to see that the walls are closing in on their guy. Trump has been tap dancing on a treasonous stage for the past two and a half years. For these Senators to stick with Trump is to do it at their own and the country’s peril.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/opinion/cohen-trump-putin-russia-mueller.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront

Fragile masculinity is a term  which comprises the main point in an  intriguing article in The Washington Post today.  Authors of the article theorize that men who have strong insecurities related to their masculinity would likely be attracted to a candidate like Trump. Trump, after all exudes the type of hyper domineering, attacking style connected with notions of manhood. 

Their conclusion is that yes there is a connection – insecure men seem to cling to Trump like barnacles on a ship. And this fact really will not be viewed as much of a surprise.  But what readers may find fascinating is the manner in which the authors went about their research. 

They outlined a research study which would attempt to correlate fragile masculinity and voting for Trump by using people’s internet searches. They did this by looking at where in the country people were searching for topics such as “hair loss”, “testosterone” and “erectile dysfunction”. These words were chosen as markers for people worrying about possible manhood issues. Then they looked at voting trends for Trump in the 2016 election.  And voila, these two separate behaviors appear to show a definite link.

The authors point out  that people’s most guarded and secret personal concerns do have a way of showing up overtly in some of the topics they  search for on google. People often dwell on their perceived weaknesses. If they worry about  excess weight, they search for diet  methods. If they fear  they somehow annoy people,  they look up ways to become more popular. These are such deeply held insecurities that they would not want anyone, even a loved to know. Search activities on the internet then can provide a window into some of these deep seated concerns individuals carry around with them. (No one’s individual searches were breached in this study, just large scale trends.)

And so the revelation that a great deal of Trump’s appeal derives from his intense bullying, hyper attacking style seems particularly apt. All authoritarian leaders know how to brand their style and message to the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of their constituents. Trump is no exception. The more he rails against his enemies, uses vulgar and crude attacks against women, the more he strengthens the bonds with many males in his base.  

When one looks at the oppressive weight placed on boys to conform to the notions of manhood, one can certainly understand how they can grow up to be insecure men. The same could be said of women and the standard of physical attractiveness. That men  are out there secretly searching for solutions to their perceived  inadequacies as men and simultaneously liking Trump is proof that they are simply human. All humans, to varying degrees,  can compare themselves to impossibly high cultural standards and find themselves wanting. It is remarkable that the authors are able to show that there is a correlation between two separate behaviors, internet searches and voting choices.

Who knows, maybe the authors will use their google technique to do the same kind of research on liberal women to see if there is a link between self concept concerns and how they vote. Check out the map included in the article to see if their conclusions match your perceptions  about certain sections of the country. (In Michigan, it looks like the Alpena region on the northeast side of the lower peninsula stands out as a place where masculine fragility is high.)  If nothing else, it is an intriguing way to consider emotions and voting patterns. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/29/how-donald-trump-appeals-to-men-secretly-insecure-about-their-manhood/?utm_term=.dfc8013294e5

Betsy DeVos is back in the news and  per usual she is making another mess at the Department of Ediucation. DeVos already has changed  the rules to make it more difficult for the victims of sexual harassment in schools to achieve a fair hearing. . Now DeVos  is on her high horse to do the same for educational institutions. She is all set to put in place less stringent rules covering the responsibilities of colleges and k-12 schools when overseeing  sexual claims and sexual assault charges of students in their charge. She apparently thinks that the accused and schools deserve more protections than the victims. 

Of course, it is understandable why  higher education institutions and k-12 schools are lobbying heavily (and spending lots of money) for these rules to be changed.  Strict adherence to the present rules on sexual harassment cases requires more personnel, higher costs and constant due diligence to ensure that the victims in these cases are treated fairly. Educational institutions would rather not have their feet held to the fire.  DeVos’s new measures will make life much easier for them. 

Devos’s  new rules provide huge loopholes for schools to escape jurisdiction  and to say that the case must instead be turned over to the police. It will likewise make it more difficult for victims to make a case for  institutional negligence.   In this New York Times article, the author provides a number of examples of what happens to the victims when school authorities are given an out for overseeing cases involving their students.

It would be interesting to know what DeVos thinks of the Dr. Larry Nassar case  at Michigan State University. (MSU). He was accused ultimately by one-hundred and fifty-five young women of sexual assault. Here is an unprecedented example of a huge bureaucracy looking the other way for years.. After news of the accusations became public, the spotlight turned to those at the university who had either heard from the victims themselves or heard the rumors and did not act on themm leaving Nassar free to carry on with this abuse.

The President of the University at the time,  Lou Anna Simon, resigned her position in the middle of the controversy. However she did not leave the University.  Like many bureaucratic institutions who protect the higher ups, MSU  quietly gave her another job.  (Probably very high paying as well.) Just two weeks ago, however Simon was charged with 3 counts of giving false testimony to an officer of the law re the Nassar case. Now the University has given her a leave of absence.

This case points out easy it is for a huge bureaucracy to escape necessary oversight and leave victims hanging. People who hear about an abuse and do nothing, or engage in a cover-up to protect the school should be held legally responsible.  It will be interesting to see what happens to Simon and others who abdicated their responsibilities to protect their students.

What this case at MSU should clearly point out to Betsy DeVos is all the unsavory things that can happen when schools are not held strictly accountable. Victims will suffer in silence rather than to make a report to an unsympathetic institution which is not stringently obligated to protect them.  And President Simon, along with others who   worried more about the reputation of the University and engaged in a cover-up deserve whatever penalties they are given.

As for DeVos, she is both incompetent and  malevolent – and that as one can see, is a dangerous combination. It will be a happy day for all the students in the country and those of us in the Resistance when she is no longer Secretary of Education. 

There will be a 60 day open period for public comment. Will send along the details to give you an opportunity to send in your comments when they are provided. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/betsy-devos-title-ix-schools-students.html

If your ‘re suffering from Trump fatigue, as I am today, here is an article from The Hill  and a youtube video which just might push thoughts of tear gas against toddlers out of your head for a few minutes. The article on Beto O’Rourke happens to promote the notion that he would be a great candidate for President in 2020. The election, of course, is two years from now and we are just getting our bearings from a hard fought and record setting election. (The largest winning margin ever between the two parties – over 8. 000,000..)

Still, right now, musing about Beto, irrespective of his becoming the Dem candidate helps to blot out the  latest tragic news of what is happening on our border,  Of course, there are over a dozen  people, besides Beto,  who are first rate, potential Dem contenders for the top job.You have seen the names  being bandied about – women, minorities, billionaires, former presidential contenders, former prosecutors, a whole passel of exceptional people.

Still, if you had the time to watch Beto in the run up to the Mid-Terms, he presented an image of such honesty and compassion that it just feels good to imagine a person with that kind of integrity sitting in the Oval Office. And what a contrast this image makes compared to the incompetent, malevolent human who occupies the position today. Beto engenders everything positive, that Trump does not. 

Beto is a masterful speaker. Devoid of notes and teleprompter, he can move around a stage in superb command of his positions. Am including his response to a question about black NFL football players taking a knee during the national anthem which appeared on youtube and had millions of views. 

Here it is: https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=Z539W4_jKMSw0PEP6ryNgAo&q=beto+o+rourke+you+tube+nfl&oq=beto&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.35i39l2j0i20i263j0l2j0i131i67j0i131j0l3.8578.10151..12826…1.0..0.155.657.0j5……0….1..gws-wiz…..6..0i67.uC-T0qplh4I

This brief  response as to why it was right that these athletes  took a kneww during the anthem to highlight the frequency of innocent black men killed by overzealous police  was like salve on an open wound.   LeBron James, the premier NBA star and one of a very few elite professional athletes who is highly regarded by millions of white Americans must have like it as well. He immediately began wearing a Beto cap, following Beto’s response.

The unsavory news spewing out of Washington about Trump’s financial ties to the Saudis, his efforts to prosecute Comey and Hilary and his persecution of the refugees in defiance of international law  is frankly sickening. I hope the switch to a good person like Bet O’Rourke brought you some warm feelings today.

https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/418275-no-its-not-a-gamble-for-dems-to-back-beto-for-president

Here is something to be extremely grateful for……that you don’t reside in Ohio. According to this article in Salon, the Ohio State House just passed a bill that would make it illegal for a woman to have an abortion after six weeks.  Of course a pregnancy  can usually only be determined by the woman herself or through medical tests at approximately six weeks. So with this bill, if signed into law by Gov. Kasich, would effectively ban all abortions in Ohio.  

This law  is evidence that the anti-choice advocates in Ohio have gone off the deep end against women. Some of the harshest aspects of the bill extends beyond their concerns about the welfare of the fetus.  For a variety of reasons, they believe that all women should be required to bear children  One Ohio stateswoman actually announced on the floor of the state house that motherhood is a necessity..  Her comment suggests that women who go childless are selfish, lazy and do a disservice to the country. 

It is exactly this kind of highly patriarchal rhetoric, that makes it easy to label most of the Ohio  anti-choice crowd as misogynists.  These people hate other women and they resent them primarily because they are choosing to retain control of their bodies. Some men, we know, can elicit hate for women- because they like to keep the notion of subjugated women alive and well.  When women use family planning, their very act of independence can be viewed by some men as a threat to the established patriarchy.

The reasoning of women who subscribe to anti-choice is far more complex than the men’s. After all they are potential child bearers themselves.  But they too, do not like to see other women showing independence. They can learn to resent childless women and women who have small families. After all, the thinking goes, they must be lazy and selfish for eschewing all the labor that goes into raising many children. And for women who bore many children, and toiled mightily as a result, they can also resent women who pass up that particular challenging lifestyle. 

Some of this embedded thinking is cultural and/or religious. Some anti-choice women for cultural reasons believe that large families are the tradition and should be aspired to.. (On small farms in the past, large families were considered an economic necessity.)  Other women have large families for religious reasons believing that the status of their wombs should be left to the micromanagement of a higher power.  And thus they can easily resent women who they think, are defying some kind of natural law that says that women must bear all the children they possibly can. 

The implications of this reprehensible bill actually passing in Ohio are profound. The pro-birth crowd (They don’t seem to care a whit about the tragedies connected to unwanted children after they are born) will go to any lengths to deprive women  of their right to choose.   Pro-choice advocates  must be on alert and willing to thwart all attempts like this one in Ohio to embroil American women’s bodies into the legal system. 

If this deluded action by the Ohio State House infuriates you, consider Planned Parenthood in your end of year giving plans. This article will raise your awareness of how women’s rights are jeopardized by this bill.

https://www.salon.com/2018/11/21/ohio-republicans-declare-motherhood-necessary-want-to-make-it-mandatory/

Voter suppression can take many forms as has been evidenced in Georgia and other states around the country in the lead up to the  2018 Mid-Terms.  ID laws, mismatched signatures, mismatching addresses or no addresses all were used to toss out legitimate votes of registered voters.. All of these actions are an indictment on how far the GOP will go to keep their side in power. 

However, in Mississippi, with its long, ugly history of of hangings and torture of African Americans. voter suppression is particularly insidious because it is not always particularly overt. It relies also on the dark cloud of the states’ history of slavery, the Civil War, and the terrible aftermath which still hangs over the state as a way to keep African Americans on edge and fearful.

This article from  New York Magazine does not mince words when it comes to that history. It is horrific and terrifying. And despite the fact the Civil Rights Movement had its start in 1955, the state still has  a candidate running for the U.S. Senate who dabbles in racist commentary. 

Through her ineptitude and public gaffes we see her as she is, if not a white supremacist herself, certainly a candidate who courts their votes. And how devastating for black Mississippians to see the specter of hangings being raised by this candidate – even if it was, as she says, only an innocent remark.. 

Mississippi will always hold the record for the highest number of public hanging of black people in the country. The power of that legacy to intimidate and hold people down increases when a candidate like Hyde-Smith comes to the fore and wins. 

 We can only hope that there are enough white voters in the state who have ditched the racist remnants of the Old South and thus are able  to look at the two candidates and vote for the one most qualified. If there are enough of those enlightened whites, Mike Espy will be the new Senator from Mississippi.

(This is my second article on Hyde-Smith because the results of the election will  have implications for the country in 2020 and because the article below is so informative)i 

http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/11/mississippi-senator-cindy-hyde-smiths-racism.html

Certainly the Thanksgiving weekend is not a particularly convenient time to examine the set of theoretical voting maps included in this 538 article.  But if you have time next week, check out what the results would have looked like like if only  men could vote, only women, only nonwhite citizens, only college educated and finally only non-college educated could vote in the 2018 Mid-terms.. It is an intriguing look at the differences in voting allegiances by  the majority of voters in each of these categories.

All anyone can say who believes in the rights of all groups to be equally represented in a democracy is ‘Thank goodness  women got the right to vote!’. The Congress  today would look vastly different today if that right had not been granted to women in 1920. Of course for many women back then it was typical to vote the same as one’s spoouse. Almost one-hundred years later, that notion still lingers in a minority of households.  (Check the men only could vote  map.) 

It is also interesting to observe the differences between the college educated and non-college educated maps. It appears that at least to some extent. a college education provides an opportunity to practice higher level thinking skills and thus helps people to discern the difference between propaganda and facts when being bombarded by political ads and candidates’ speeches..

Political strategists will be pouring over these voter categories to ready their candidates for the 2020 election. It is already a given, according to this article that the GOP will focus on immigration to appeal to their constituents (non-college educated) and the Dems will emphasize health-care to appeal to suburban women.  Hope you can take the time to look the maps over – and don’t forget to check out how Michigan would look with each category.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-if-only-men-voted-only-women-only-nonwhite-voters/?src=obsidebar=sb_1

Despite the fact that today is Black Friday, the election season is not completely over. On Tuesday, Nov. 27, Mississippi will hold its Senate run-off election between Dem Mike Espy and GOP Cindy Hyde-Smith. In typical Mississippi state wide elections, the GOP has a commanding edge.  The Dems have not won a state wide race in that state since 1982.

However, this race is shaping up to be far from typical. Hyde Smith has done her level best in the last two weeks to lose her momentum, stumbling badly.  Her astoundingly racist comments which were stated softly but still caught on video has her scrambling to get her campaign back on track.  The country, however has now become focused on her blunders and Espy now appears to be gaining ground.

She apologized for saying “If he invited me to a public hanging, I would be on the front row.” That such a comment should come out of the mouth of a candidate for the U.S. Senate from any state would be reprehensible enough. But this woman is running in Mississippi where the lynchings of blacks was historically higher than any other state in the Union. She has appeared on Facebook in a Confederate hat bragging about Mississippi’s great history and has mentioned that it would be a good idea to somehow curtail the liberal vote.

In the few video clips of the recent single debate between the two, Hyde-Smith appears obviously ill prepared and inept. Her crib notes piled high on her lectern, she hardly could get through a single answer without referring to them. She couldn’t even articulate her apology about her ‘hanging statement’ without taking a peek at her notes. And this is the person Mississippi wants to represent them in the Senate?  

She actually has been in hiding during the last part of her campaign. She nixed having three debates (Espy wanted three) as well as the suggestion from Espy that they not be able to use notes.  She also demanded that no audience be allowed to view the debate in person and so the two debated last Thursday in an empty auditorium.  It is clear that she did not want to take the chance of hearing hoots and howls that might have erupted from that live audience in response to her debate comments.

Now that the nation has had the time to catch up with the nuances of this race, the outrage over Hyde -Smith’s racist leanings continues to grow. Big and small donors are now demanding that their donations be returned.  Hyde-Smith  has almost overnight become a national example of what an ill suited, bigoted candidate looks like. She has become a disaster of a candidate, but will it make any difference in the outcome?

Time is running out.  Mike Espy, a former Sec. of Agriculture under Obama, is seizing the moment and doing everything he can to  close the gap.  But it is still an uphill battle for a highly qualified  black Dem candidate to beat a white Republican in Mississippi – no matter how blatantly racist and incompetent the GOP candidate happens to be.

If you are moved to give Espy a boost, there is a link at the end of the article below which provides an opportunity to sign up for get out the vote calls. Because, no matter what the polls reflect –  it is all about who remembers to vote next Tuesday.  Most Americans’ thoughts have turned to the holidays – and voters in Mississippi may totally forget to go to the polls. Some Mississippians may be so embarrassed by Hyde-Smith they may just want to forget about the election altogether and go shopping instead.

So given all this, maybe Espy does have the the upper hand. Let’s hope by Tuesday night, he has become the 48th Dem U.S. Senator to win a seat in the new session.

back. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/11/23/1814786/-Another-big-donor-asks-for-money-back-after-condemning-Republican-candidate-s-lynching-joke

As I was thinking about a possible Thanksgiving post, I remembered a lovely essay  written by my friend,  Hank Bailey.  Hank is a Leelanau resident and an Anishinaabe and a Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians tribal member. His essay below is entitled “Walking the Good Way”.  When you read it, I think you will agree, that it is both an appropriate and beautiful message for one to consider during this Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

To know Hank Bailey is to appreciate how he strives to live his life in a Good Way. He steps lightly upon Mother Earth and despite his remarkable accomplishments, he remains a humble man. 

My hope is that Hank Bailey’s message will inspire you take the time to consider your own life’s journey. And also that his essay renews both your gratefulness for the beauty of the region that surrounds  you, and your commitment to protect this precious land and water for generations to come.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am grateful for having met Hank Bailey and for the opportunity to interact with you..
https://naturechange.org/2017/04/12/walking-in-a-good-way/

This article was first published in Barefoot Magazine, a publication of the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.

This New York Times opinion piece on the current brouhaha surrounding Nancy Pelosi and the House Speaker position provide an interesting perspective on how this little breather before January might best be used by the House Dems. Writer Michelle Cotter theorizes in this article that in this six week period before the legislative session begins, House Dems should reexamine old structural rules, open up positions for promising newcomers, make the old guard justify their elevated perches and truly examine the question of whether it is time for a new Speaker. She views this mini-rebellion as a good thing, a chance to insert some healthy  push-pull in the Dem dialogue  before the legislative work begins in January. And her comments have merit.

I argued a few days ago that Pelosi was the best choice, and that quibbling over the leadership would take away from this abbreviated opportunity to establish party unity. I expressed the fear that the Dems, as they have done in the past, might become too fractured too speak with one authoritative voice  and that this splintering would weaken their effectiveness when the legislative work begjns.

My position did not take into account how the House Dems may have in fact become too rigid at the top and that current structure rules might indeed be thwarting promising Dem newcomers from moving to the head of Committees. The  chance to air grievances,  question traditional leadership practices, and allow the newcomers and newer veterans  chances to suggest new reforms can be viewed as a good thing for for the party overall.

The downside to Cotter’s position is that opening up the dialogue can become a Pandora’s Box.  If the interchange becomes too aggressive, too abrasive and too nasty, it might leave long standing resentments in its wake. Such in-fighting could cost the Dems its unity at a time when they have been given a mandate to move on some important legislative issues and to ready the party for the huge promise of 2020.

And so there you have it. What is happening with the House Dems is the age old jostling for position in a large institution when newcomers come in with enthusiasm, some naivete, and fresh ideas. This is the time for the deft touch of a gifted leader to keep the guard rails for the Dems in place. I think Nancy Pelosi is up to the task.. Lets keep our fingers crossed that she is up to the job. 
Enjoy the article.