Notable US dates.
20 February 1962. John Glenn, flying in Mercury project's Friendship 7, became the first American to orbit the Earth.
22 February 1630: The Puritans in the MA Bay colony first sampled popcorn brought by an American Indian named Quadequina for their Thanksgiving celebration. 1732: George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia colony. 1955: The Salk polio vaccine was introduced.
24 February 1582: Pope Gregory XIII issued an edict for the Gregorian Calendar. 1868: The US House voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson.
25 February 1836: Samuel Colt patented his revolver. 1913: The 16th Amendment (income tax) was declared in effect by Secretary of State Knox.
26 February 1919: Grand Canyon National Park was created. 1929: Grand Tetons National Park was created.
Unknown Democrats. Columnist David Ignatius writes about the pragmatic Democratic progressives who are largely unknown, but may hold the key to their party's future. Importantly, they include veterans of America's military and intelligence services, past occupations that are not well represented in Congress.
"The Democrats installed 14 freshmen on the [House Armed Services] panel, nearly half of their party’s total membership. Sevenhave served in the military, Foreign Service or CIA, and 10 are women. If you’re looking for bright new faces in the Democratic Party, this may be the most compelling group snapshot....For a dysfunctional Congress, the rise of young veterans in both parties is a hopeful sign.Then there is Karen Tumulty's column about Pete Buttigieg, the 37 year-old mayor of South Bend, IN, who has announced his candidacy for president. "Mayor Pete" has both executive and military experience; e.g. more military experience than any president since the late George H.W. Bush; more executive experience than Vice President Pence; more government experience than President Trump. His Honor likes to talk about "freedom" in terms of "freedom to.....," not "freedom from...."
Cowboy poetry and politics. From Guardian's US edition. At the annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in Elko, NV, "friends and performers with wide-ranging views met to discuss climate change, immigration and other concerns ‘without demonizing each other.’" One participant wrote, “None of us fit easily in any box, but we all hold each other in high regard....If we can’t talk to each other about the future course of our country, who can?"
"Gail Steiger [rancher and son of a 5-term AZ congressman] was proposing a political rendezvous amongst friends – some Republicans, some Democrats, some in the wild, open range in between – who have largely avoided the subject for their more than 30-year history together." Not everyone accepted his invitation, though.
Civility in the "rough and tumble" west, how unique. The million dollar question, of course, is "Can this attitude be re-planted on the banks of the Potomac?"
VA governor Northam and others. Conservative columnist Michael Gerson: "Anyone — including any politician — can be completely forgiven by God for anything. That does not make them worthy of holding an office that depends on the respect of the governed."
The Inquisition. What's in a name? In her recent column about the Vatican's attempts to confront its continuing sex abuse scandals, Karen Liebreich notes, "The Inquisition had been renamed the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1965 in a Vatican attempt to distance the institution from its past reputation as a brutal enforcer of orthodoxy." Hence, whatever name is assigned to the upcoming Church gathering (22-24 February) in Rome, the abuses and coverups in Church's past are too well known to be buried behind a mere name change. It has too long a history of suppressing the truth: sexual (then and now), even scientific (Galileo).
Revocable citizenship? Two stories, one from Great Britain and the US. The British have stripped Shamima Begum of her British citizenship. (e is the Washington Post's take on the story. The case is eerily similar to one that is part of the ongoing discussion in the US about immigration, The Wall, etc. And the woman in question has an alleged copy of her birth certificate to prove her point. However, her father's then-status as a Yemeni diplomat may prove crucial to her attempts to return.
The End Run. Columnist George Will writes about the President's attempt to eviscerate the Constitution with his plan to finance The Wall and one man's attempt to respond: the improbable Republican governor of the deeply blue state of MD.
2019: political parties. This CSM article discusses the past, present, and future of America's political parties. The usual rhetoric has been exacerbated by the possibility that Howard Schultz, a heretofore non-political, billionaire coffee entrepreneur might enter the race. (Anyone remember Ross Perot, 1992?) On the other (working man) side of the coin, there was George Wallace, 1968.
But what if the parties are the solution, as much as the cause, for the nation’s malfunctioning political system? After all, political scientists and other experts view them as the indispensable organizers of democracy.Remembering that "[t]he Founding Fathers worried about the possibility of demagogues and the fickleness of popular choice," how, then, do parties forcefully re-enter the political system? How do they re-invent themselves? "At the same time, the parties as ideas are as strong as ever...but partisanship is strong[er].." Which calls to mind, Tennessee Ernie Ford ("Sixteen Tons"): "A mind that's a-weak and a back that's strong..."
In this view, the parties’ real problem is weakness, not strength. Electoral reforms have hurt their organizational cohesion, outside money has weakened their hold on elected officials, and partisan media has diluted their ability to define their own policies and positions....In US politics, the defining characteristic of our age is that the parties are weak, but partisanship is strong, according to Julia Azari, a political scientist at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis. That’s a dangerous combination, as it risks unmediated political combat that could burst through norms and damage the idea of legitimate opposition. [emphasis added]
Anne Applebaum writes of the situation in Europe, noting England's Brexit rumpus which has caused defections from both Conservative and Labour parties, the antisemitism sweeping France, and right movements across Europe.
Trump country? Elizabeth Catte finds that there is more to Trump Country than meets the eye and it is not all "good" for the president. She writes, "From my vantage point in West Virginia and south-west Virginia, what is old is new again: the revival of a labour movement, the fight against extractive capitalism, the struggle against corporate money in politics and the continuation of women’s grassroots leadership." As noted, not among the building blocks of Trumpism.
One of history’s most recognisable labour anthems, "Which Side Are You On?," lives on in parts of MAGA country.
Fake university. Apparently the University of Farmington was set up to attract immigrant students in the US who might then face deportation. The online university, with no faculty or classes, was set up by ICE and was meant to "catch" students who wanted to fraudulently maintain their student visa status.
Stay tuned.
The Green Book, Best Picture. A controversial choice, to be sure, with obvious reflections on "Driving Miss Daisy." Jan Miles has written The Post-Racial Negro Green Book, arguing that racism in far from dead in the US.
The New Green Deal and climate change. Senator Diane Finestein (D, CA) is catching flack for the way she very much "talked down" to a group of young Californians.
Turned away: desperately needed help. Forces loyal to Venezuelan President Maduro has turned away vehicles with humanitarian assistance supplies, setting to two vans.
Chinese tourists. Chinese travelers spent $250B abroad in 2017, providing the number one source of foreign exchange for more than a few countries. More importantly, they also provide political clout for the Chinese government. American travelers spent just under $150B in the same year.
Thank you for reading. Harper Lee: "The best way to clear the air is to have it all out in the open."
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