Yesterday, I had some computer-internet issues. I got things done, just very s – l – o – w – l – y. I’m very glad this didn’t turn up a few days ago.
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Short Takes
Letters from an American – January 2, 2022
Quote – The New York Times editorial board—which consists of opinion journalists who weigh in on important issues—warned that the attack on democracy we witnessed so traumatically on January 6 has not ended. It persists in ongoing threats to election officials, threats to murder opponents, and new state laws skewing elections toward Republicans. “In short,” they wrote, “the Republic faces an existential threat from a movement that is openly contemptuous of democracy and has shown that it is willing to use violence to achieve its ends.” Click through for full essay. This might be worth hanging on to for reference.
Crooks and Liars – Media Matters Prez: Talk Radio As GOP Disinformation Engine
Quote – “And they continue to run with that story that vaccines were part of a plot and a conspiracy by Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates in order to put microchips in people, or there is a very, very prominent conspiracy theory that it’s actually – the vaccine is designed to open up an interdimensional portal.” Click through – Carusone is a hero, listening to right wing talk radio so that we don’t have to. We need to take him seriously.
Wonkette – Kevin McCarthy Furious Democrats Doing So Little To Protect Capitol From Republican Trump Insurgents
Quote – “Unfortunately, one year later, the majority party seems no closer to answering the central question of how the Capitol was left so unprepared and what must be done to ensure it never happens again.” Wait, was THAT the “central question”? Why the Capitol was so unprepared and vulnerable? Was the Capitol walking by itself very late at night? Was it wearing a short skirt? And why, praytell, is the Capitol hitting itself? Tell us more, Kevin McCarthy, about how the “central question” of what happened that day was how the Capitol was so unprepared to be attacked by hordes of Donald Trump’s terrorists. Click through. I swear you cannot make this stuff up.
Yesterday, I kind of piddled around, pulled out the next sweater I intend to wear to visit Virg and Jewelry to go with (I may wear one weddig or wedding-type ring and one religious pendant inside, and I like to take earringd along to put into my ears when I leave to keep the piercing open) – took out some recyclables (There is room now, it got picked up), found where all the old comments are and figured out how to get to a particular page – checked what os low in the kitchen freezer and moved things from the porch freezer to re-stock – glued some cord ends onto cords – did a little knitting – downloaded some free patterns (with no clear projects in mind, I just liked some ideas) – did a little gaming – just small stuff.
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Short Takes
Politico – FDIC’s GOP chair to resign after partisan brawl
Quote – Earlier this month, the Democratic majority on the FDIC’s board voted to take public feedback on potential changes to the agency’s bank merger approval process. McWilliams did not participate in the vote, and the FDIC in an official statement said the action was not valid. A legal debate ensued over whether a majority of the board can put items up for a vote without the consent of the chair, with Democrats maintaining they had clear authority. Click through for details. So, now we’ll have a Democratic chair (at least for a while). In what universe canthe top dog invalidate a vote by simply not voting when everyone else does vote? If that isn’t autocracy, I don’t know what is. Even BBM couldn’t get away with that.
Daily Kos – Adhara Pérez, 10, has a higher IQ than Einstein and Hawking. She has her sights set on NASA
Quote – When she was just 5, Pérez finished elementary school. At 6 she finished middle school, and at 8 she finished high school. Today, she’s studying two careers online—Industrial engineering in mathematics at UNITEC and systems engineering at CNCI. The University of Arizona has offered her a scholarship. Click through for story. Of course it’s a story not without bullying in it. But there seem to be enough people in her corner now to provide her some protection. I hope.
The Guardian – Capitol attack: Cheney says Republicans must choose between Trump and truth
Quote – Cheney told CBS the blame lay squarely with her own party. “Far too many Republicans are trying to enable the former president, embrace the former president or look the other way and hope that the former president goes away, or trying to obstruct the activities of this committee, but we won’t be deterred. At the end of the day, the facts matter, the truth matters.” Click through. I really do hope they don’t kill her.
For years, right-wingers have been clamoring for a Constitutional Convention. Just a few more states need to sign on, and then this can take place. The U.S. Constitution allows for just such an event to alter the document. Liberals, progressives and even centrists are concerned, and rightfully so, that a Constitutional Convention dominated by conservatives could pervert the law of the land and undo decades of progress. They could return the U.S. to the days when only wealthy white men could vote. They could shove in a “Human Life Amendment” that would declare life to begin at the moment of conception – which would open a serious can of worms that deserves its own essay. They could turn the USA into the worst fascist regime ever, and considering that this country not only has the world’s mightiest military but would be nearly impossible to invade (and thus liberate), woe unto freedom-lovers worldwide. Mexico just might pay for that border wall – to keep us out.
However, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
So, why can’t liberals/progressives/left-wingers support a Constitutional Convention, causing it to backfire against right-wing extremists in the worst way possible? What if the ultimate attempt to “own the libs” turned into the liberals eating the conservatives’ dinner in the conservatives’ tent?
Let’s face it: The U.S. Constitution is an imperfect document. The Founding Fathers knew that, which is why they made provisions to amend it as time went by. So far we have added amendments to abolish slavery, give women the right to vote, limit the number of terms a President can serve, and lower the voting age to 18, among other things. Activists have been pushing for the addition of the Equal Rights Amendment since the early 1970s; we may yet see it get ratified.
The only people who worked on the original document were white, male, and (at least on the surface) straight, in addition to being landowners. No women, people of color, or poor got to participate in its creation. Also, the Constitution was conceived and written in a time when slavery was widely accepted. Abolitionist movements had been around for centuries, but eliminating the “peculiar institution” from the U.S. entailed the destructive and bloody convulsions of a civil war.
The Second Amendment needs modification because, when the Founding Fathers wrote it, firearms were limited to muzzle-loaded muskets and breech-loading rifles, which had low rates of fire – the former could get 2 or 3 shots a minute, the latter 12. Those men had no way of anticipating modern assault rifles, machine guns, bazookas, etc. Gun nuts are big on parroting the second half of the 2nd Amendment, while conveniently forgetting the first half. The real purpose for the 2nd was to create a citizen’s militia as an alternative to a standing army. So, Mr. Gunfreak, what part of “well-regulated militia” don’t you understand? A bunch of poorly organized and scarcely disciplined yahoos is not a well-regulated militia.
When the U.S. Constitution was first ratified, there were only thirteen states, whose populations did not vary much. Today US states vary in population from around 578,000 (Wyoming) to over 39.2 million (California). In other words, a Senator from Wyoming represents far fewer people than one from California, yet he/she has as much of a voice in Congress. When a few small states have a lot more power than one large state, even if their combined populations are less than the big state, something ain’t right.
Every state except for Nebraska has a bicameral legislatures, and the districts for the State Senators, are drawn in a way to make the populations of districts more or less equal. Why can’t we make the national Senate work the same way? We’d need to change the Constitution, of course – and adding an amendment can take years, if not decades. Residents of small states will, of course, oppose such a measure since they don’t want to give up their power.
The Constitution is a vital part of our country, but not all of it is supposed to be carved in stone. That is why we have a process to amend it – that is, improve it. Since healthy societies progress morally and ethically over the years, laws need to be rewritten or even replaced from time to time. Lawmakers also need to take into account changing technology, such as telephones and social media, which the Founding Fathers could never have foreseen.
Perhaps a Constitutional Convention would actually be a good thing. The document that is the heart and soul of our country needs a lot of updating to put it in line with 21st century ethics and technology, as well as the current structure of the United States. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, et al would understand.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
This article is several months old, but I missed it when it was new. It deals with something I have literally opposed since I was nine – forcing religion into government. I have never grasped why more people don’t recognixe the horrors of losing the separation of church and state – horrors which are even worse for the church than they are for the state (when the church beomoes about nothing but temporal power, it becomes the worst kind of cult.) Of course, now, after seeing the lengths of insanity to which “conservatives” have gove (the latest is that norses are now witches -seriously) – I still don’t understand it, but a least I have a clue why I don’t understand it.
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How ‘In God We Trust’ bills are helping advance a Christian nationalist agenda
City vehicles in Chesapeake, Virginia, will soon be getting religion.
At a meeting on July 13, 2021, city councilors unanimously voted in favor of a proposal that would see the official motto of the U.S., “In God We Trust,” emblazoned on every city-owned car and truck, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of US$87,000.
Meanwhile, the state of Mississippi is preparing to defend in court its insistence that all citizens, unless they pay a fee for an alternative, must display the same four-word phrase on their license plates. Gov. Tate Reeves vowed last month to take the issue “all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court should we have to.”
“In God We Trust” became the national motto 65 years ago this month. But over the past few years a string of bills and city ordinances has sought to expand its usage and presence. Such efforts include legislation requiring or encouraging the motto be displayed in government buildings and schools, on license plates and on police vehicles.
The rise of bills across the country at this time is no coincidence. It fits with a concerted effort by Christian nationalists who view the motto as a tool to help legitimize an agenda of passing legislation that privileges conservative Christian values.
Christian nationalism is a political ideology that fuses conservative religious beliefs with a – usually white – American identity. Christian nationalists assume that the laws of the land should be based on Christian morals.
As a scholar of religious and political rhetoric, I have observed how Christian nationalists are using what I call “theistnormative” legislation – government-endorsed policies, rituals, laws and symbols that use vague religious references, such as “God” – to encourage people to view the United States as a theistic collective – that is to say, as a nation of believers in God.
From coins to national motto
Christian nationalists played a key role in getting “In God We Trust” put on coins during the Civil War and ever since have attempted to use the motto as “proof” that the United States is a Christian nation.
Early Christian nationalists criticized the Founding Fathers for failing to recognize the United States as an explicitly Christian nation in the Constitution. An early Christian nationalist organization, The National Reform Association, pushed for a “Christian Amendment” that would correct what they called the “original sin” of not recognizing Jesus Christ in the Constitution.
Their efforts failed. But Christian nationalists had better success in getting the more ambiguous motto “In God We Trust” put on coins in 1864. It followed a report to the U.S. Treasury by the director of the U.S. Mint, James Pollock, an active member of the National Reform Association, in which he asked: “We claim to be a Christian Nation – why should we not vindicate our character by honoring the God of Nations in the exercise of our political Sovereignty as a Nation?”
Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase amends ‘In God is our Trust’ to ‘In God We Trust’ in an 1863 letter to James Pollock, director of the Philadelphia mint. National Archives and Records Administration
Amid fears of “atheistic communism” during the Cold War a century later, Christian nationalists in the U.S. again tried and failed to pass a “Christian Amendment.” But they again found success in advocating for legislation that used vague religious references, culminating in the adding of “under God” to the pledge of allegiance and making “In God We Trust” the national motto on July 30, 1956.
Two years before making ‘In God We Trust’ the national motto, President Eisenhower introduces a stamp carrying the slogan. Bettmann / Getty Images
Earlier this year, Mississippi state Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith justified legislation that would ban voter registration on Sundays by holding up a dollar bill and saying, “This says, ‘The United States of America, in God we trust.’ … In God’s word in Exodus 20:18, it says ‘remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.‘”
While most Christian nationalists claim to support religious freedom – which would seemingly apply to all faiths – most believe Christianity, specifically white conservative Christian values, should be privileged in the public sphere.
‘Project Blitz’
Christian nationalists have increasingly turned to “In God We Trust” bills as a way to further legitimize their agenda. This is particularly evident in the “Project Blitz” initiative, led by the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, which states its aim as “restoring Judeo-Christian principles to their rightful place.”
Project Blitz started in 2015 with the purpose of “blitzing” the country with legislation advancing Christian nationalism. As David Barton, a leader in the initiative, explained in a 2018 conference call with state legislators: “It’s kind of like whack-a-mole for the other side; it’ll drive ‘em crazy that they’ll have to divide their resources out in opposing this.”
After Project Blitz generated negative publicity in 2018, it was misleadingly rebranded as “Freedom for All.” During a recorded strategy meeting that was later circulated by the social justice think tank Political Research Associates, Lea Carawan of the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation explained, “As soon as we understood that they knew they were on to us, we changed the name; shifted things around a little bit […] we’ve renamed and moved on but it’s moving just as strong and just as powerfully.”
While those behind “Project Blitz” claim the bills are not about converting people to Christianity, they also argue that the U.S. should be a Christian nation whose laws and policies “reflect Judeo-Christian or biblical values and concepts.”
As such, “In God We Trust” bills set the foundation for more explicitly conservative Christian legislation.
The playbooks suggest “In God We Trust” bills can “shore up later support for other governmental entities to support religious displays” to help America accept its “Christian heritage.” The Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation also recommends legislators push for other types of bills including, as stated in their 2018-2019 playbook, a resolution to establish policy “favoring intimate sexual relations only between married, heterosexual couples.”
The risk of opposing
What makes “In God We Trust” bills so successful is that they often receive bipartisan support. In Louisiana, for example, it was a Democratic governor who signed the 2019 bill requiring the motto be displayed in all schools. Politicians who do oppose “In God We Trust” bills run the risk of being labeled as “anti-faith.”
Despite its being the national motto for only 65 years, Christian nationalists have framed “In God We Trust” as part of the U.S.‘s founding tradition. Moreover, the motto has become an important rhetorical weapon for Christian nationalists – using it to advance their belief that governments and people are to “trust in God,” and more specifically their perception of a conservative Christian God.
================================================================ Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, a sweet little phrase like “In God We Trust” sounds so harmless, so innocent. But it isn’t. In the first place, it’s a lie – we don’t all trust in God (least of all those who so loudly claim to do so). In the second place, it’s lazy – and dangerous – to “trust in God” in lieu of doing what you should be doing. I could go on, but all of us probably could. What was the matter with “E pluribus unum“, for the sweet sake of the sweet universe? At least it was pro-diversity, as our national motto should be. “Christian Nationalism” is nothing but a way to destroy Christianity and the nation (whatever nation gets caught up oin it) simultaneously.
(P. S. I just heard Beau define “heritage” as “peer pressure from the dead.” I could not possibly have said it better.)
Yesterday, I woke up and was delighted to see that the comment system is working. Some of us who have been using it for years at other sites are going to appear with different names – I will be Underwriter505 – which may take a little getting used to. But a least it will work and we won’t have to approve evry comment manually. Thanks all for your patience and understanding. We got comments from most who normally comment, and it seemed to go smoothly. Mitch could probably comment in Disqus, except tht he still can access the site, even just to read it, so I’ll still be entering his comments (and did, for both posts). I succeeded in making both Naeless (dmhlt_66) and Lona (Lona Goudswaard) moderators and administrators for Disqus (both already were for PP) – all before sunset. Then I turned to more routine tasks, like setting out meds and preparing posts.
Cartoon – (I really hope I’m wrong about this.)
Short Takes
Crooks and Liars – Crookie’s Trend Of The Year: Alt Names For You-Know-Who
Quote – We found out this year that “The Former Guy” refuses to be referred to as “former.” This did create a problem for his legal team, who kept trying to say you can’t indict/sue/bring to court a “former” so-called “President” while never once using the term “former” because your nightmare of a client won’t let you? Click through for this article and links to some of the other Crookie awards. I particularly approve the “Mensch of the Year” award.
Politico – Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee
Quote – Bernard Kerik, the former New York City Police commissioner and ally of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, also provided a “privilege log” describing materials he declined to provide to the committee. Among the withheld documents is one titled “DRAFT LETTER FROM POTUS TO SEIZE EVIDENCE IN THE INTEREST OF NATIONAL SECURITY FOR THE 2020 ELECTIONS.” … Trump ultimately opted against that strategy, but his consideration of the option is one of the key questions the panel is probing as part of its broader investigation into attempts to overturn the election. Click through for a story you probably missed – I know I did – I don’t recall ever even hearing his name. But this may help.
Wonkette – Missouri Gov Mike Parson Vows Reporter Who Found Sh*tty Coding In State Website Will PAY
Quote – Thing is, there wasn’t any “hacking” involved, as Krebs on Security explained at the time, since the SSNs were almost right out in the open to be seen by anyone with specialized software, like a common web browser. “The newspaper said it found that teachers’ Social Security numbers were contained in the HTML source code of the pages involved. In other words, the information was available to anyone with a web browser who happened to also examine the site’s public code using Developer Tools or simply right-clicking on the page and viewing the source code.” Click through for details. I see “Kill the Messenger” is alive and well among those who want to drag us back to the Dark Ages in every possible way.
