Former Socialist, Former Republican, Former Contributor to The American Spectator, Former Resident of Canada, Back in Boston Area After Stints in New York City & Atlanta, Current Mustache Wearer & Aficionado of Baseball, Bowling in All Its Forms, Cats, Music & Healthy Living
It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold. In which case, British PM Boris Johnson received an ample serving from his predecessor Theresa May following the release of a report by Sue Gray, the UK's top civil servant, concerning parties held at Number 10 Downing and at Whitehall despite such gatherings being unlawful due to COVID restrictions imposed by Johnson's Tory government and restrictions far more severe than have been ever been imposed in the United States.
But the sharpest question came from May. This is not a surprise as there is no love lost between the two. Needless to say she has been waiting for this moment since resigning in the summer of 2019:
The COVID regulations imposed significant restrictions on the freedoms of members of the public. They had a right to expect their prime minister to have read the rules, to understand the meaning of the rules — and, indeed, those around him to have done so, too — and to set an example in following those rules.
What the Gray report does show is that No. 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public. So either my right honorable friend [Johnson] had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant — and others around him — or they didn't think the rules applied to No. 10.
Which was it?
Johnson, true to form, dismissed her question claiming that was not what was in the report and to wait for the police to conclude their investigation and from there for Gray to release her full report.
At this point, Johnson is buying every bit of time that he can and is counting on his cabinet and the 1922 Committee to pay for that time. The next British general election is due to be held more than two years from now in May 2024. The question very much remains if Johnson will still be leading the Tories much less living at Number 10 Downing by that time.
Senator Ted Cruz is continuing the conservative talking point about objecting to President Biden selecting a black woman to sit on The Supreme Court calling the idea "offensive." In his weekly podcast, Cruz stated:
The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I got to say, that’s offensive. Black women are, what, six per cent of the US population? He’s saying to 94 per cent of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you’.
It’s actually an insult to Black women – if he came and he said ‘I’m going to put the best jurist on the court’ and he looked at a number of people and he ended up nominating a Black woman – he could credibly say ‘I’m nominating the person who’s most qualified’. He’s not even pretending to say that, he’s saying ‘if you’re a white guy – tough luck, if you’re a white woman – tough luck, if you’re Merrick Garland – how much does it suck to be Merrick Garland?”
He literally has to sit there and be told at the outset he is ineligible, because sorry – wrong skin pigment and wrong y chromosome. It’s an example [of] how Democrats, and in particular the far left – everything is race, they will discriminate based on race, they will pigeonhole you, they don’t care about the ... individual.
As always where does one begin?
For starters, that Cruz would claim to be offended that President Biden would pledge to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court says not only a great deal about the junior Texas Senator, but it also says a great deal about the conservative mindset. This mindset assumes mediocrity rather than excellence when it comes to black women.
Of course, Cruz's claim that Biden is telling 94% of Americans that he doesn't give a damn about them is rubbish. As Cruz well knows there is a very small pool which is eligible to sit on the Supreme Court and up until now black females haven't been part of that very small pool.
All of which makes Cruz's reference to Merrick Garland so interesting. The last person selected to sit on the Supreme Court by a Democratic President was the aforementioned Merrick Garland (by President Obama no less) and he didn't even get a damn vote. Cruz and his GOP colleagues made sure of it. And when Garland did get a full vote after President Biden appointed him Attorney General, Cruz voted against his appointment.
Try as Cruz might to throw a pity party for Garland, being Attorney General of the United States does not suck. Though it could suck for Cruz if he should be held criminally responsible for his role in preventing the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2021. No wonder he voted against Garland.
The long and the short of it is that Ted Cruz isn't going to vote for any Supreme Court justice appointed by President Biden. The fact he is dealing the race card is what is truly offensive here.
I stayed inside almost all of Saturday much of spent looking out the window where I saw people shoveling and skiing. At a little past 10 p.m. on Saturday, after the snow had stopped, I look outside and saw that our steps and sidewalk had already been shoveled as had the path to our garbage and recycling bins. Early this afternoon, I dug out the garbage and recycling bins a bit further as I will have to bring them out on Tuesday night.
This storm dwarfed the amount we received a little over three weeks ago. But I'm glad we had it because without it would have been much more challenging going from no snowfall to two feet. I think we were also fortunate that this storm took place on a weekend. There would have been significantly more disruption had it taken place during the week.
Nevertheless, after having experienced this I think we're ready for anything that comes our way although I hope we don't get storm after storm like we did during the winter of 2014-2015.
While I am no fan of Justin Trudeau, he cannot remain in an undisclosed location indefinitely nor can he give in to this foolishness. Unless the organizers decide to retreat in an orderly fashion, the Trudeau government will have to put an end to this nonsense sooner rather than later.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will face off in Super Bowl LVI after coming back from behind their AFC and NFC title games.
The Bengals were down 21-3 late in the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs who were seeking their third consecutive AFC title, but the Bengals came back to tie the game and won in OT. Despite losing the coin toss, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw a critical interception and moments later Evan McPherson kicked a field goal to give the Bengals their first AFC championship in 33 years.
The Rams last won the Super Bowl 22 years ago when the team was based in St. Louis and Kurt Warner was their QB and Marshall Faulk ran roughshod in the Greatest Show on Truf. Having since returned to Los Angeles, the team is only three years removed from their last Super Bowl appearance when they fell to the New England Patriots.
But the Rams have an entirely new look. In the off-season, the Rams traded QB Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions for their longtime QB Matthew Stafford. The Lions also received three draft picks including two number one draft picks for this year and next year. Stafford is in his 13th NFL season and will turn 34 six days before the Super Bowl. Conversely, Ohio born Bengals QB Joe Burrow is only in his second NFL season.
The Rams will be heavy favorites against the Bengals as the game will take place in SoFi Stadium, a facility they share with the Los Angeles Chargers.
However, I am inclined to root for the Bengals as they have never won a Super Bowl and Cincinnati hasn't had a championship parade since the Reds won the World Series in 1990. Since 1990, the Lakers have won 6 NBA titles, the Kings have won two Stanley Cups while the Dodgers won a World Series. On the other hand, Los Angeles hasn't had a Super Bowl winner in 38 years when the Raiders bested Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII and the Rams never won a title during their first tenure in L.A. Still, I believe Cincinnati is overdue for a celebration.
The game takes place two weeks from now on February 13th.
STEPHANOPOULOS: The events in the aftermath of the 2020 election show how important that is. As you're working on this reform, former President Trump is out on the campaign trail. He was out in Texas last night suggesting he may pardon those -- if he were elected in 2024 -- those who were part of the January 6th riots. Given that, can you imagine any circumstances where you could support his election in 2024?
COLLINS: Well, we're a long ways from 2024. But let me say this, I do not think the president should have made -- that President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons. We should let the judicial process proceed.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You say we're a long way away from --
COLLINS: January 6th was a dark day in our history.
STEPHANOPOULOS: It was. And you voted to convict President Trump as well. Why can't you rule out supporting him in 2024?
COLLINS: Well, certainly it's not likely given the many other qualified candidates that we have that have expressed interest in running. So it's very unlikely.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Senator Collins, thanks for your time this morning.
COLLINS: Thank you.
Collins' answer is wholly inadequate. Stephanopoulos also missed an opportunity to ask a follow up question.
Let's start with Collins. Given that Collins acknowledges January 6th was a dark day in our history, voted to impeach Trump for his role in the events of January 6th and further acknowledges that it was wrong for Trump to offer pardons to January 6th rioters as he did last night at a campaign rally in Texas, it would behoove Collins to tell us why she cannot unequivocally rule out supporting Trump.
Now this is where Stephanopoulos comes in. Only yesterday, Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson, who is also Chairman of the National Governors Association, said, "I do not believe Trump is the one to lead our party and our country again, as president." Stephanopoulos could have simply asked Collins if she agreed with Hutchinson's statement.
Naturally, even if Stephanopoulos did pose that question there's a good chance that Collins wouldn't unequivocally endorse Hutchinson's statement. In which case, this would tell us that Susan Collins has not learned her lesson when it comes to defeated former President Donald Trump.
Best known for his long association with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band as its lead guitarist, Lofgren also has a long association with Neil Young as a member of his band Crazy Horse. Lofgren was part of Crazy Horse in the early 1970's before forming his own band Grin. In 2018, Lofgren rejoined Crazy Horse having appeared on Young's last two albums Colorado and Barn.
Of course, while Lofgren is well respected in the musician community and well known among fans of Springsteen and Young, he is far from a household name. But solidarity encompasses a large number of people and the more musicians who back Young the better.
For those who aren't familiar with Lofgren's work I would encourage you to listen to his work with Grin. I'll get you started with "Moon Tears". You can see why both Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen wanted him to be their lead guitarist.
Actor and improv comedian Howard Hesseman, best known for his portrayal Dr. Johnny Fever in the CBS sitcome WKRP in Cincinnati as well as the starring role in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class, passed away yesterday of complications of colon surgery. He was 81.
Hesseman's career spanned 50 years cutting his teeth in improv comedy as a member of The Committee. He would later utilize some of those improv skills in small roles in movies like The Trial of Billy Jack and in a recurring role on The Bob Newhart Show as Mr. Plager as part of Dr. Hartley's group therapy sessions who later became one of the first openly gay men on TV.
Of course, Hesseman's big break came on WKRP in Cincinnati in 1978. His experience as an actual DJ would prove crucial in getting him this role. After WKRP went off the air in 1982, Hesseman appeared in films like This is Spinal Tap, Clue and Police Academy II: Their First Assignment as well as a recurring role in One Day at a Time before being tapped to play Charlie Moore in Head of the Class in 1986. Hesseman would leave the show after four seasons to embark upon a movie career but apart from indie film Rubin & Ed with Crispin Glover, Hesseman did not enjoy the same success on the big screen as he did on the small screen. Hesseman would reprise his role as Johnny Fever in The New WKRP in Cincinnati in the early 1990's. He would continue to appear on TV over the next quarter century in shows like Boston Legal, House, Psych, ER and Fresh Off The Boat before retiring in 2018.
Here is Hesseman as part of The Committee making an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in a scene with Mel Stewart in which their respective characters change their race. R.I.P.
In a radio interview yesterday, Mississippi Republican Senator Roger Wicker said the presence of an African-American woman on The Supreme Court would be "a beneficiary" of affirmative action:
The irony is that the Supreme Court is at the very time hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota.
Wicker's reasoning could also be applied to Clarence Thomas. The first President Bush nominated Thomas to replace Thurgood Marshall in 1991. President Biden's appointment to the SCOTUS will be only the third African-American and only the fifth female ever to serve on that body. Yet Wicker is essentially echoing Ilya Shapiro when he declared Biden's selection would be "lesser black woman" "who would always have an asterisk attached".
If Biden appoints either Cunningham or Wright then the Republican Senators who previously voted for them will have some explaining to do if they don't see fit to vote for them again.
As for Senator Wicker, he has explained himself very clearly.
I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify. Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.
It is fitting that they would do this given that both Young and Mitchell were afflicted with polio during their childhoods. They were part of a generation which understood the value of vaccines.
The question remains is will musicians who have never had polio be prepared to follow suit. Or will this be the last waltz against vaccine misinformation?
The reason I put quotes around the word "apology" is because of Shapiro's use of the word "inartful". The late William Safire defined inartful in part as "awkwardly expressed but not necessarily untrue". By this definition, it can be construed that Shapiro believes what he says about a black woman being name to the Highest Court in the Land, but that he could have said it another way.
But from where I sit, Shapiro's tweet was inartful, it was racist and sexist. Of course, conservatives like Dan McLaughlin of National Review Online are aghast at this suggestion and is quick to make excuses for the use of the phrase "lesser black woman":
Now, Ilya’s use of the words “lesser black woman” in this context was not the ideal way of phrasing this critique, but then, Twitter is fast-moving, space-constrained, and has no edit function, so it is hardly unusual to see things phrased there awkwardly (the tweets were written on his iPhone, and he has since deleted them).
What incredible nonsense!!!
McLaughlin makes reference to "tweets". It wasn't just one tweet, it was three and McLaughlin and makes a point of showing screenshots of the deleted tweets and in the process unwittingly hangs Shapiro by his own petard. Whether those tweets were composed on an iPhone or on a desktop is completely irrelevant. What the tweets demonstrate is Shapiro's bias and hostility towards African-American women.
Not only did Shapiro speak of a "lesser black woman" in his first tweet but in his second tweet he added, "Because Biden said he's (sic) only consider a black woman for SCOTUS, his nominee will always have an asterisk attached." Well, good to know that Shapiro judges people by the color of their skin and their genitalia.
If that weren't enough, in his third tweet on the subject, Shapiro creates a poll asking if President Biden is racist and sexist for saying he will nominate a black woman to the SC. Talk about a classic case of projection.
Shapiro didn't compose these tweets in the heat of the moment. By describing black women justices as "lesser" and by claiming any black woman appointed to the top court would have an "asterisk" next to her name, Shapiro put his prejudice on full display and in so doing said a great deal more about himself than he did about any black woman jurist President Biden sees fit to succeed Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.
On Thursday night, I saw Fanny: The Right to Rockfor the fifth time. It was also the third time I saw Bobbi Jo Hart's documentary in the presence of Fanny's lead guitarist June Millington.
Back in October, I met June along with her longtime partner Ann Hackler at the New England premiere of Fanny: The Right to Rock at the Brattle Theatre here in Cambridge as part of the Boston Women's Film Festival where I had the honor of carrying June's guitar case following a short acoustic set. A little over five weeks later, I briefly renewed acquaintances with June and Ann in New York during the DOC NYC Festival as June shared the stage with latter day Fanny members Brie Howard Darling and Patti Quatro.
This time around, Fanny: The Right to Rock was being shown at the Emerson Paramount Center in downtown Boston as part of Emerson College's free Bright Lights Film Series. It was the first in person screening of a film at the Emerson Paramount Center since March 2020. Audience members also received a free copy of the 2018 Fanny Walked The Earth CD the making of which was documented in the film.
What made this viewing different was the use of subtitles. I must admit I was a bit distracted by their presence and thought it inhibited some of the spontaneous reactions I've witnessed during the two aforementioned public viewings. Some of the subtitling was just outright incorrect as Mott the Hoople was referred to as Martha Hoople. However, there was a gentleman in attendance who was hearing impaired and expressed great appreciation for their use. What might have been a minor inconvenience for me was a major lifeline for that gentleman. It is also worth noting that June is also deaf in her left ear. It was a reminder that one must always be mindful to the needs of others.
In repeated viewings of Fanny: The Right to Rock, I was struck by the inclusion of Super 8 footage of June, her sister Jean Millington and Brie Howard Darling (then known as Brie Berry) as part The Svelts - the forerunner to Fanny. I asked Bobbi Jo Hart about the footage after the showing in New York and she suggested I speak with June. So I brought it up and June informed the audience that it was promotional footage The Svelts did for the Stanford Ski Club and that unbeknownst to her, she had the footage after all these years. Even without sound those snippets are remarkable for the sight of seeing an all-female, multi-racial band playing rock 'n roll in front of a live audience during the 1960's.
Following the Q&A, June played some music. For the most part, she did snippets of Fanny songs such as "Hey Bulldog" and "Soul Child" as well as "Storm-Crossed" from Fanny Walked The Earth and "Play Like a Girl", a song recorded a decade ago by June and Jean Millington which has become something of an unofficial theme of the Institute of Musical Arts, the non-profit co-founded by June and Ann to support girls and women in music and the music business. The only song June played in its entirety was "Long Road Home" from the 1973 Fanny album Mother's Pride which June described as "the song that saved her life."
Shortly after adjournment of the proceedings, I was approached by a gentleman from Somerville named Bill who recognized me for my participation on the Facebook groups Fanny and Induct Fanny Into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Bill told me that he had been a fan of Fanny since he was 10-years old when their eponymous debut album was released in 1970. He had not been aware that Fanny: The Right to Rock had played at The Brattle in October and was quite perturbed to have missed it, but was delighted to when he learned of the Boston show. After talking to Bill for about 10 minutes, I could see that he was eager to meet June so I gave him leave to meet someone he had admired longer than I've been alive.
For the second time, I ended the evening by carrying June's guitar as we waited for Ann to bring the car around. I hope this won't be the last time I have this honor. May another Fannytastic evening with June Millington be on the order paper.
For its part, the school board claims that it does not object to teaching about The Holocaust but rather because of the use of words like "goddamn" and depictions of nudity.
From where I sit banning such a book a greater obscenity than the use of certain words or pictures.
In a time where people are now routinely comparing vaccine mandates to The Holocaust, it is readily apparent that teaching our children about The Holocaust is essential and imperative.
Unfortunately, the conservative school boards which see fit to ban books like Maus are predisposed to believe such things about vaccines.
Given how lucrative The Joe Rogan Experience is for Spotify, it is no surprise to me the platform bid Young adieu. Spotify didn't seem overly concerned about Young's departure with a spokesman quipping, "We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon.”
In other words, Spotify doesn't think Young will be gone long due to the loss of streaming income and will make his way back. I suspect Spotify is underestimating Young's stubbornness.
In a letter released today by Young, he wrote, “I sincerely hope that other artists and record companies will move off the Spotify platform and stop supporting Spotify’s deadly misinformation about COVID.” As I argued yesterday, pretty much the only way Spotify would pay attention is if collective action were taken and that action affected Spotify's bottom line. But there is no indication and that any other recording artist or record company will take Young's stand.
So for the moment, misinformation equals money. Which means more resistance to COVID vaccines. There's no needle but the damage done.
After taking 15 days to go from 825,000 to 850,000 deaths, it has only taken 11 days to go from 850,000 to 875,000 deaths. This is, of course, a consequence of deaths catching up to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. At this present pace, the United States would top 1 million COVID deaths by March 21st - the first day of spring. A season which represents renewal, should we surpass the 1 million mark on that day it would be a reminder that our long winter has not ended and is far from over.
This, is, um, not going to happen. For a few reasons.
First, Harris has chosen a life in elected office; she's served continuously in office since 2004, when she was elected district attorney of San Francisco.
Second, she is next in line to be the president of the United States. Whenever Biden decides to call it quits (or loses reelection), she is, without question, the early favorite to replace or follow him.
Third, while the Biden team has said they want to look for SCOTUS candidates with different resumes from the people currently on the court, there areplenty of credible candidatescurrently in the judiciary.
I agree with Cilizza on reasons one and three. If Biden going to appoint an African-American woman to the High Court it will be someone already serving on the federal bench. However, I disagree with his characterization that Harris is "the early favorite to replace or follow him."
If Biden were to appoint Harris to the Supreme Court it would be a tacit admission that her critics were right and that he made the wrong choice for his running mate. It would also open questions as to whom Biden would pick as Harris' successor. This would escalate Democratic Party infighting and open new wounds in what is already shaping to be a tough election year. I just can't see this scenario coming to pass.
For better or for worse, Joe Biden is going to stick with Kamala Harris
While Omicron cases are falling in some parts of the country and hospitalization rates have fallen below 150,000, the number of Americans getting booster shots has declined even more sharply. In early December, more than a million Americans were getting boosted every day. As of last week, that number has fallen below 500,000. Yet 86 million fully vaccinated Americans eligible for a booster have not yet received one. Unfortunately, it would seem that some even the among the fully vaccinated have now decided to "do their own research" and now refuse to take the booster.
But The Joe Rogan Experience is Spotify's most lucrative and most popular podcast. It doesn't matter how many lies Joe Rogan and his guests tell about the vaccines. So long as Spotify is making money they will be more than happy to stop playing Neil Young's music.
The only way I see Young's stand working is if other artists join him in solidarity. If The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, Lady Gaga and the estates of Elvis Presley and David Bowie and others in turn demanded Spotify stop playing their music so long as they broadcast Rogan's lies then Spotify just might pay attention. I mean all one would be left with would be Eric Clapton, Van Morrison and Kid Rock.
But I don't see this coming to pass. Neil Young is a loner who does things his own way. Loners seldom find recruits to join their cause no matter how worthy it might be.
After taking heat for invoking Anne Frank when discussing vaccine mandates at a rally in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. issued an apology though I don't believe it is worth very much:
I apologize for my reference to Anne Frank, especially to families that suffered the Holocaust horrors. My intention was to use examples of past barbarism to show the perils from new technologies of control. To the extent my remarks caused hurt, I am truly and deeply sorry.
To the extents my remarks caused hurt? That's a very lawyerly statement and certainly not an unequivocal apology nor was it sincere.
RFK, Jr. made a point of saying that Anne Frank had a place to hide. Well, when she and her family were found they were sent to death camps. There is nothing in refusing to get the COVID vaccines or any other vaccines which even remotely resembles what Jews who perished in the Holocaust and those who survived it endured.
The long and the short of it is that RFK, Jr. had no point to make. His argument is worthless.
As expected, "Big Papi" David Ortiz got into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first attempt earning 77.9% of the BBWAA vote.
No other player was elected by the BBWAA. "Big Papi" will be inducted along with Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, Buck O'Neil and Bud Fowler in Cooperstown, New York on July 24th.
Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, all in their last year of eligibility, garnering 66%, 65.2% and 58.6% of the vote, respectively. While Bonds and Clemens actually gained in their share of their vote, Schilling went down dramatically after gaining 71.1% of the BBWAA vote last year. Of course, after last year's result Schilling demanded to be removed from the BBWAA ballot. While I have long championed Schilling as a Hall of Famer, had he for once in his life kept his damn mouth shut he would have been sharing the stage with his former Boston Red Sox teammate.
Another of Schilling's former teammates Scott Rolen stands a very good chance of being elected to Cooperstown next year as he garnered 63.2% of the vote, an 11% jump from last year.
But the man of the hour is Big Papi. His Hall of Fame career is a remarkable one when you consider he spent four seasons in the Seattle Mariners minor league system when he was known as David Arias before being traded to the Minnesota Twins prior to the 1997 season as a player to be named later in a deal for Dave Hollins. When he joined the Twins organization, he was called Ortiz but was not yet Big Papi. After six unspectacular seasons in the Twin Cities, he was released.
The Boston Red Sox signed Ortiz as a favor to fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez prior to the 2003 season. At first, Ortiz was a backup to Jeremy Giambi. But Ortiz found his way into the lineup and would never leave for the next 14 seasons. While in a Red Sox uniform, Ortiz earned three World Series rings including a World Series MVP, was named to 10 AL All-Star Teams, won 7 Silver Sluggers, drove in 100 or more runs 10 times while leading the AL in RBIs thrice. While never winning the AL MVP he finished in the top five in balloting five times. When he hung up his spikes after the 2016 season, Ortiz finished his career with 2,472 hits, a lifetime .286 batting average 541 HR and 1768 RBI.
There is a case to be made that David Ortiz is the greatest player to put on a Boston Red Sox uniform. That includes Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski. Without Ortiz, the Red Sox do not come back from an 0-3 deficit in the ALCS and break the Curse of the Bambino. Even if one disagrees that Ortiz is the greatest player to put on a Red Sox uniform, he is part of the team's Mount Rushmore. Induction into the Hall of Fame is a well deserved honor. Congratulations, Big Papi!!!
Tomorrow, the BBWAA will announce the results of its vote. In 2021, no player reached the 75% threshold required for induction. If I were a BBWAA member this would be my ballot:
Dr. Anthony Fauci has predicted that Omicron will reach its peak in mid-February. Cases have begun to decline in the Northeast and in the Midwest although are still rising in the South and out West. However, by mid-February, we will have very likely surpassed 100 million COVID cases and will be nearing 900,000 deaths. Even as cases decline it will be a long time before we add fewer than 100,000 cases a day. Ideally, we should be at 10,000 cases or fewer and we got close last June which now seems so long ago. I'm not sure we'll ever get near there again.
I think when you have a Republican Congress, this is all going to come crashing down. And the wolves are going to find out that they’re now sheep and they’re the ones who are in fact, I think, face a real risk of jail for the kinds of laws they’re breaking.
As to the January 6th Committee, there would not have been a January 6th Committee had Republicans agreed to a bipartisan commission. But the last thing Republicans want to do is to anger Donald Trump even though he saw fit to prevent the peaceful transfer of power and encouraged his supporters to go down to The Capitol "fight like hell" whereupon they stormed the halls of Congress and beat up police officers.
Liz Cheney, Vice-Chair of the January 6th Committee and one of only two Republicans on said committee, did not mince words tweeting:
A former Speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6 attack on our Capitol and our Constitution.
This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels.
Nevertheless, as I wrote on the anniversary of January 6th, time is running out for the January 6th Committee so long as voters see fit to elect Republicans in November. Should this come to pass then Newt Gingrich might have the last laugh.
Even in Hitler’s Germany, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland, you could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did. I visited in 1962 East Germany with my father, and met people who had climbed the wall and escaped, so it was possible — many died doing it, but it was possible.
Today, the mechanisms are being put in place that will make it so none of us can run and none of us can hide. Within five years, we’re going to see 415,000 low-orbit satellites — Bill Gates and his 65,000 satellites alone will be able to look at every square inch of the planet 24 hours a day. They’re putting in 5G to harvest our data and control our behavior. Digital currency that will allow them to punish us from our distance and cut off our food supply. Vaccine passports.
Well, for starters Anne Frank's family hid in The Netherlands, not in Germany. Perhaps RFK, Jr. forgot the Nazis controlled nearly all of Europe. Yes, Anne Frank's family did hide. And they were found and sent to Nazi concentration camps save for her father Otto Frank. The Auschwitz Museum tweeted:
Exploiting of the tragedy of people who suffered, were humiliated, tortured & murdered by the totalitarian regime of Nazi Germany - including children like Anne Frank - in a debate about vaccines & limitations during global pandemic is a sad symptom of moral & intellectual decay.
I'll go further than that. It also accepts lies as facts thus denigrating Anne Frank along with 6 million Jews who perished in The Holocaust, a campaign whose aim and objective was to render Jews extinct.
RFK, Jr. also trivializes the brutality of Communism which kept its citizenry prisoners with most who tried to escape having their bodies riddled with bullets.
Comparing a series of life saving vaccines to Nazism and Communism by making claims about Bill Gates implanting 5G technology into our bodies from whole cloth is fertilizing the seeds of a fascist movement at home. As NBC News reporter Ben Collins tweeted:
Most people are wildly underestimating how both large and rhetorically violent this anti-vaccine movement is.
They are a gigantic, one-issue political movement that will eventually coalesce behind one candidate and make extreme demands before 2024.
Buckle up.
The question remains which candidate will they coalesce behind. Given his occasional praise for vaccines, will the anti-vaxxer crowd abandon Trump for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or some other conservative cult figure? Whoever it is will have no trouble likening vaccine mandates to Nazism and Communism.
Very, very unfair. It's a disgrace, what's going on. They're using these things to try and get people's minds off how incompetently our country is being run. And they don't care. They'll go after children.
Never mind that Ivanka is over 40 and has children of her own. She worked in the Trump White House and could have direct knowledge of the events of January 6, 2021.
It was painful to watch Biden be put on the defensive and suffer as Trump demeaned Hunter. The political animal in me was telling Biden to say, "I'll take Hunter Biden and raise you Ivanka Trump's Chinese patents." But Biden said he didn't want to make the election about Trump's family, but about American families. As noble as Biden's intent is, Trump is going to keep talking about Hunter. It would do no harm to Biden should bring up Ivanka. If Biden doesn't want to be seen as attacking a woman then he has two "adult" sons from whom to choose.
True to form, Biden stuck to his guns and didn't mention Ivanka nor any of Trump's other children and he prevailed despite Trump's claims of fraud.
As usual, Trump's statements are contemptible, self-serving and wholly without merit.
Akram's brother Gulbar claimed the assailant was suffering from "mental health issues." There may be a kernel of truth in that statement, but it has the effect of minimizing his actions. Whatever his mental condition, Akram possessed the mens rea to formulate and executed a terrorist attack by taking hostages at a synagogue. He was able to travel across the Atlantic to a specific destination, obtained weaponry, chose a specified target and found a way to gain access to it.
As it turns out, Akram publicly declared he wanted to "bomb and kill Jews" last year. From The Jewish Chronicle:
Akram’s outburst about killing Jews came at a meeting called in May last year to discuss escalating tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza. He had at that time already joined a number of pro-Palestinian protests.
Akran also told those present at the meeting, which took place near his local mosque, Masjid Irfan, that Jews needed to be punished and should be “bombed”. At least four local councillors discussed Akram’s comments and one who had attended the meeting reported his comments to the police. To his astonishment, however, he heard nothing more about it.
Not only does it appear UK authorities not take Akram's threats seriously but they let him travel to the United States. When one couples this with the FBI's initial claims that Akram wasn't motivated by anti-Semitism one can come to one of three conclusions: a) willful dishonest b) a product of a sheer lack of due diligence and c) an utter indifference to the safety of the Jewish community on both sides of the Atlantic. Perhaps a combination of all of the above. None of which inspires my confidence.
Of course, Sinema has previously alienated fellow Democrats for her opposition to increasing the federal minimum wage and her refusal to support President Biden's Build Back Better plan.
In view of these facts one wonders if this will prompt Sinema to formally defect from the Democrats and either sit as an Independent or formally join the Republicans to give the GOP back control of the Senate.
To do so would make Sinema a kingmaker. If the GOP retakes control of the Senate in the November mid-terms, she is just another Democrat in a minority party with far less power and even less standing within her own party. If Sinema remains a Democrat she would just bide her time until she announces she won't run for re-election knowing full well she won't be nominated again. She would do so with the hope that a Republican President (namely Donald Trump) will give her a cabinet position or a major diplomatic post. But Sinema might not necessarily be high on Trump's nice list.
I'm not saying the Arizona Democratic Party, Emily's List, NARAL and Congressman Gallego are wrong and unjustified in their actions. But their actions have potentially enormous long term political ratifications. The long and the short of it is Sinema now has enormous incentive to hand control of the Senate back to Mitch McConnell.
A group of Orthodox Jews visiting Capitol Hill on Thursday accompanied by New York Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi were accosted by Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
For her part, Boebert claims she was joking claiming she is too short to see their yarmulkes. Mind you, Boebert also claimed she looked at the group "from head to toe". Needless to say, it is clear the group did not appreciate her sense of humor since one of the purposes of their visit was to discuss the hostage taking incident at a synagogue outside Fort Worth last weekend.
It is clear that Lauren Boebert does not know how to behave like a mature adult with people especially those who look different from her. Most Congressmen would not approach a group of Orthodox Jews in that manner. As such, it is also clear that she has a specific problem with Jews.
The question now is whether Boebert will issue an apology to the Jewish community as she did with the Muslim community? Back in November 2021, Boebert issued an apology to the Muslim community after claiming Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (who is also anti-Semitic) is a terrorist following yet another encounter in an elevator.
Perhaps Lauren Boebert should take the stairs. She might be too out of breath to talk.
In light of Walsh opting to stay in Washington, the Massachusetts Governor's race is now Healey's to lose. If Healey, who is serving her second term as Attorney General, is to lose it would be in the Democratic primary rather than in the general election.
At this point, the only Republican of note who has declared is former state rep Geoff Diehl who unlike current GOP governor Charlie Baker is unabashedly pro-Trump. Back in August 2021, Diehl called for a forensic audit for "possible irregularities" in Massachusetts during the 2020 election. What does Diehl think he's going to find in a state where Joe Biden beat Donald Trump by 33 points? At best, he's whackadoodle. At worst, Diehl wants to undermine our faith in democracy. Either way, I cannot see Diehl defeating Healey nor any other Democratic gubernatorial candidate. In other words, Massachusetts is going to elect its first female governor later this year and it will most likely be Healey.
The only way I see Healey losing the Democratic primary is if she makes a gaffe or a series of them or if progressive activists find something in Healey's record as Attorney General so egregious or simply don't want someone they perceive as a centrist that they coalesce around one of her opponents.
The Massachusetts Democratic Primary takes place on September 20th while the gubernatorial election will be on November 8th.
The Minnesota native launched his comedy career in the early 1980's and would become an overnight sensation following his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in November 1984. While on the stand up comedy circuit, Anderson had small roles in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Coming to America.
Anderson would gain critical success with his Saturday morning animated series Life with Louie which aired on FOX from 1995 to 1998 earning him two Daytime Emmy Awards. From 1999 to 2002, Anderson would host Family Feud. In recent years, Anderson would earn another Emmy for playing Christine Baskets on the FX dramedy Baskets starring Zach Galifianakis which aired from 2016 to 2019.
Anderson made a career of poking fun at his weight and his childhood upbringing in Minnesota particularly with his father whom he later revealed to be a violent alcoholic although he would forgive his trespasses.
I leave you with his Tonight Show debut. Anderson's directness combined with an emphatic disposition won him over with Carson, the studio audience and the viewing public and will continue to do so even though he is no longer with us. R.I.P.
What makes his passing all the more sadder is that Meat Loaf opposed COVID safety measures. While it is unknown if Meat Loaf was vaccinated he did make a point of saying, "If I die, I die." If he came to regret those words we'll never know.
What we do know is that Meat Loaf was an extraordinary singer. His early career was spent in musical theater in shows like Hair and The Rocky Horror Show and would also appear in the feature film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meat Loaf also briefly recorded with Motown's Rare Earth label as part of Stoney and Meatloaf, a collaboration with singer Shaun Murphy whom he had befriended while performing in Hair.
During this period, Meat Loaf would meet Jim Steinman and they would spend the better part of five years collaborating Bat Out of Hell along with producer Todd Rundgren. When Bat Out of Hell was released in 1977, it put Meat Loaf into the superstar stratosphere spawning two hits with "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" with Ellen Foley and "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad".
But as quickly as Meat Loaf rose to the top he crashed to the bottom with a myriad of health problems while being unable to match the success of Bat Out of Hell. Then in 1993, Meat Loaf would release Bat Out of Hell II and to the shock of many his elusive comeback had finally been realized. The centerpiece of Bat Out of Hell II was the 12-minute opus "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" which would prove to be Meat Loaf's only number one hit and is the longest number one hit in recorded history. The song would also earn Meat Loaf his only Grammy.
Regaining his musical reputation, Meat Loaf would record six more albums over the next 20 years including Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster is Loose in 2006. He also had a notable role in the 1999 film Fight Club starring Brad Pitt.
This represents a mortality rate of 1.2% which has been dropping since the emergence of the Omicron variant nearly two months ago. Since December 4th, less than 7 weeks ago, the mortality rate has dropped from 1.6% to 1.2%. There have been more than 70,000 deaths during that period, but there have also been 20 million additional COVID cases. By using these rough figures this represents a mortality rate of 0.4%. However, hospitalizations have risen dramatically over this same period. On December 4th, there were 54,572 hospitalizations due to COVID. That number is now nearing 160,000 representing an increase of nearly threefold. If hospitalizations continue to increase I cannot help but wonder if the mortality rate will freeze or will start to climb up again.
A week ago, after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted President Biden's voting rights speech in Georgia, I took the Kentucky Republican to task for wanting to save his skin amid threats from Lindsey Graham that he better play nice with Donald Trump lest he want to lose his position.
Well, it turns out that where it comes to voting rights that McConnell wants to save white skin. After McConnell led Senate Republicans in blocking the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, he was asked about the concerns of African-American voters. To which McConnell replied, "Well the concern is misplaced, because if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans."
It will be interesting to see if McConnell blowing this dog whistle gets the attention of former President Trump and helps put McConnell back into his good graces.
Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. has been President of the United States for a year. For most of those 365 days, Biden had the goodwill of a majority of the American people. Unlike former President Trump, Biden took his oath of office seriously and mobilized the resources of the federal government to try to get people vaccinated against COVID-19 and put money in people's pockets by spearheading a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill.
But Biden's popularity began to erode in August with a chaotic withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan which was quickly followed by the Taliban returning to power. Mind you, it was former President Trump who saw fit to negotiate with the Taliban rather than Afghanistan's democratically elected government. Nevertheless, even though many Americans wanted out of Afghanistan the chaos which followed happened under Biden's watch.
Yet the fact also remains that a third of Americans refuse to get vaccinated and it isn't that Biden hasn't tried. Just under 64% of the eligible U.S. population has been fully vaccinated which puts us slightly ahead of Sri Lanka and slightly behind Iran. Where would the United States be if 75% of our eligible population was fully vaccinated? But if that third of the country could be summed up it could be summed up in this political cartoon where a Trump supporter confronts Biden and demands, "I won't wear a mask and I won't get vaccinated! And why haven't you ended the pandemic?" Biden is in a no win situation.
Case in point. The passage of the $1.9 trillion infrastructure bill despite opposition from so-called progressives like AOC. It's the biggest infrastructure bill in half a century, but this achievement is overshadowed by the failure to pass Build Back Better with Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema aligning with the GOP as well as voting rights legislation no thanks to the two alleged Democratic Senators.
Herein lies the problem. Biden is a serious person acting in good faith who is surrounded by unserious people acting in bad faith be it most Republicans, The Squad and Senators Manchin and Sinema. It is because Biden takes his job seriously and is trying to end a pandemic while improving the lives of as many Americans as possible that he has my support even if I might not agree with everything he says or does. But Biden is willing to put in the work. The GOP, The Squad nor Senators Manchin and Sinema have an alternative because they are unserious people.
Nevertheless the sad truth is that Biden has scarcely seen a positive pollsince September. So long as his approval/disapproval gap remains in the double digits by this time a year from now his party will not have a majority in either House of Congress putting his agenda further out of reach. In which case, a primary challenge is likely to loom from The Left or even from Hillary Clinton. Should this come to pass would Biden fight off Hillary like Jimmy Carter withstood Ted Kennedy or will he fold like LBJ? Either scenario would only stand to benefit Donald Trump.
Yet I am not prepared to write off Joe Biden. This happened during the 2020 campaign and, well, who now calls the White House home? COVID will eventually recede as could inflation while people forget about Afghanistan. Should this come to pass come then by 2024 Americans might find the alternatives in the Democratic Party less than desirable let alone the prospect of Trump as a President for another four years and, if he has his way, President for Life. Even if he is not beloved, most people are comfortable with Biden as President of the United States. Unlike Trump, Biden won't overstay his welcome. For now, Joe Biden is staying right where he is. With another three years in office, Joe Biden is biding his time.
