dailykos--2020-12-11--Disinformation Is Fraud, Not a First Amendment Right

To Stymie a ‘ Trump 2.0 ’ and Restore Our Democracy , Joe Biden ’ s Administration Must Enforce Consequences for Disinformation .
Remember Nipplegate — that infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime-show scandal back in 2004 involving pop superstars Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ?
In the show ’ s daring finale , Timberlake ripped away Jackson ’ s costume , exposing her pierced nipple — inadvertently , according to Jackson ’ s camp — to 143.6 million viewers on live T.V.
, courtesy of CBS .
Not everyone bought their “ wardrobe malfunction ” story .
Certainly not Les @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO of CBS .
He became obsessed with destroying Jackson ’ s career .
She had not been “ sufficiently repentant , ” or subservient enough , was the inside story .
She didn ’ t grovel before Moonves as Timberlake had allegedly done .
Ultimately , Timberlake portrayed himself as an unwilling participant in the poorly executed stunt , leaving Jackson to burn at the stake of the ensuing witch trial .
Spurred on by the “ morality police ” that comprises conservative America , the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violation .
Indeed , as the outrage grew , the fine got larger , increasing to $ 325,000 , and then to $ 550,000 , until , finally , it was voided by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011 .
A dogged attempt to reinstate the fine was refused in 2012 .
But by then , CBS parent company Viacom and its co-owned subsidiaries , MTV and Infinity Broadcasting — undoubtedly at Moonves ’ direction — had long blacklisted Jackson ’ s music on radio stations and music channels worldwide .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Four years into the Trump presidency , such folly seemingly hails from some quaint , bygone era .
Albeit , the FCC issues and regulates the licenses of broadcast networks only — they have no jurisdiction over cable networks or the Internet — and monitor largely for obscenity , profanity and indecency violations .
But in the era of Trump , after two presidential election cycles , public clamor to regulate disinformation across all media platforms can not be ignored .
If elections can be monitored and certified through bipartisan scrutiny , why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Indeed , it is incumbent that Joe Biden ’ s new Department of Justice or some statutory body similar to the FCC be given a clear mandate to enforce consequences for disinformation with as much fervency as the FCC went after Jackson .
Eric Trump defends his Daddy Trump from getting bullied in the media , on Fox News to Trump-loving Hannity , while the video clearly shows who the bully really is !
Make no mistake , disinformation is criminal behavior .
It is not simply misinformation — false information that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ technology .
Disinformation is misinformation that has been weaponized .
Therefore , if fraud is defined as “ wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain , ” then disinformation is intellectual fraud — a con game — in which the mind is psychologically victimized to effect personal , financial and political gain .
We have laws against fraud .
What we lack is the enforcement of such laws that address disinformation with consequences that withstand impartial judicial scrutiny .
“ Fraud has many roots , ” writes Nigel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the University of Victoria in Canada , “ but one of them stems from weakened minds nurtured by the fraudulent use of information .
Just as high levels of lead can damage the intellectual development of children , a consumptive diet of propaganda , distraction , and inconsistent information can damage public intellect and erode a nation ’ s democracy .
Buying-in to fraudulent facts , data , and reason at any level has dire consequences.
” What ’ s more , disinformation is not “ free speech ” covered by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ruled in Schenck v. United States that “ the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting ‘ fire ’ in a theater and causing a panic….The question in every case is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.
” Accordingly , the Court ruled , if there was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then the state would be justified in limiting that speech .
Since his 2016 presidential campaign , Donald Trump has proactively and routinely deployed disinformation to promote financial and personal benefit to a political class — the oligarchy of kleptocrats that comprised his administration , whose allegiance has clearly and demonstrably aligned more closely with Russia than the Constitution they each swore an oath to uphold and defend .
The English word “ disinformation ” derives from the Russian word dezinformatsiya , coined deliberately by Joseph Stalin to mislead and connote a French @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understand that disinformation is fascist propaganda strategy , the usage of which began in 1923 with a KGB “ special disinformation office ” — and continues through Russian operatives to promote their interests abroad .
The entire point of propagating disinformation in a free society such as the United States is not to promote free thought , or to persuade .
It is to sow confusion and illusion , deliberately to deceive , so that a true democracy based on informed consent is no longer viable .
Donald Trump ’ s 23,000 lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as usual.
” No .
He is , arguably , the most documented pathological liar in American history .
But more importantly , the disinformation promoted by his administration and propaganda specialists — Kellyanne Conway , Sean Spicer , Sarah Huckabee Sanders , Kayleigh McEnany , et al .
— whether in conjunction with a foreign adversary or not , has destabilized our democracy in unprecedented terms .
Undeniable fraud , undergirded by disinformation , has become “ policy ” for an American administration .
Stealing mailboxes and sabotaging the capacity of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots , while willfully propagating proven disinformation about electoral fraud and the validity of mail-in ballots in order to effect voter suppression of Black and brown people , constitute “ substantive evil ” posing a “ clear and present danger ” to our constitutional rights to a free and fair election .
As does the “ fantasy parade of false voter fraud claims ” being perpetuated by Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani , Kory Langhofer , Jenna Ellis , et al .
in courts of law across the country .
That they are being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Vanquishing Trumpism Requires More than an Election Defeat When more than 1,100 lawyers are moved to pen an open letter seeking accountability from their peers , including Giuliani , for their role in spreading disinformation by way of frivolous , vexatious litigation intended to undermine the Constitution they swore to uphold and defend , it becomes clear that consequences must be enforced — including disbarment .
Moreover , this was not Giuliani ’ s only immersion in Trump ’ s swampy quagmire .
His attempt to collude with a foreign government to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son , Hunter — even as Putin threw Trump under the bus , rejecting claims of impropriety in the Bidens ’ business dealings in Ukraine and Russia — must be prosecuted .
So , too , should the attempts by Trump and his Lindsey Graham-type sycophants to execute a post-election self-coup in which direct interference to discard ballots and disinformation have been systematically deployed to effect a continuation of what would be an illegal Trump regime .
Deliberate disinformation spawns illegal behaviors , such as when armed Trump minions descend on the home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan ’ s top election official , with threats of violence , intimidation and bullying for certifying Joe Biden as the bona fide winner of the presidential election in her state .
Indeed , even after a resounding election defeat , Trump is being urged publicly not to concede the election even after President-elect Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week — effectively enabling him to continue to use disinformation to defraud his own supporters .
Trump ’ s post-election cash grab to fight imaginary election fraud that deprived him of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars .
The fine print discloses that the money being raised to “ investigate , litigate , and expose suspected illegal balloting and fraud in the 2020 general election ” will likely end up in Trump ’ s pocket .
And as the ultimate con unravels , some like Fredric Eshelman , a businessman from North Carolina , are suing to demand their money back .
Eshelman is out $ 2.5 million .
These are “ substantive evils ” that Congress has a right — no , an obligation — to prevent .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Senate — has colluded to protect the most lawless , corrupt president in the history of the United States in his treasonous attempts to deconstruct constitutional institutions and steal an election can not be understated .
The world has watched in horror , aghast that such shenanigans could happen in a country that touted exceptionalism and boasted about the superiority of its democratic processes over “ banana republics ” abroad .
Indeed , let it be known that America ’ s democracy was not saved by the checks and balances built into our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adjudicate the executive branch .
No .
The institution that functioned as a proper check and balance these last four years is the fifth estate , particularly The Washington Post and The New York Times .
They saved our democracy — as Donald Trump suspected they could .
Which is why his disinformation campaign about the media — that they are the “ enemy of the American people ” — began mere days after his inauguration .
Unfortunately , the media have not been able to save us from disinformation about Covid-19 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Americans a day — epitomized by Jodi Doering , an emergency room nurse in South Dakota , who reported that , even as people lay dying in ICUs across this country , many remain unconvinced that coronavirus is real .
The magnitude of this tragedy , which has already claimed 290,000 American lives , is already a hundred times greater than 9/11 , for which we vow every year , “ Never Forget !
” .
Trump knew the danger of Covid-19 from as early as January — that it was dangerous , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deadly than even your strenuous flus.
” Yet , he denounced the science and played the ass with people ’ s lives in ways that can only be classified as malevolent criminal negligence .

To Stymie a ‘Trump 2.0’ and Restore Our Democracy, Joe Biden’s Administration Must Enforce Consequences for Disinformation.
Remember Nipplegate — that infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime-show scandal back in 2004 involving pop superstars Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake? In the show’s daring finale, Timberlake ripped away Jackson’s costume, exposing her pierced nipple — inadvertently, according to Jackson’s camp — to 143.6 million viewers on live T.V., courtesy of CBS. Not everyone bought their “wardrobe malfunction” story. Certainly not Les Moonves, the famously vengeful chairman and CEO of CBS. He became obsessed with destroying Jackson’s career. She had not been “sufficiently repentant,” or subservient enough, was the inside story. She didn’t grovel before Moonves as Timberlake had allegedly done. Ultimately, Timberlake portrayed himself as an unwilling participant in the poorly executed stunt, leaving Jackson to burn at the stake of the ensuing witch trial.
Spurred on by the “morality police” that comprises conservative America, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) slapped CBS with a $27,500 indecency violation. Indeed, as the outrage grew, the fine got larger, increasing to $325,000, and then to $550,000, until, finally, it was voided by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in 2011. A dogged attempt to reinstate the fine was refused in 2012. But by then, CBS parent company Viacom and its co-owned subsidiaries, MTV and Infinity Broadcasting — undoubtedly at Moonves’ direction — had long blacklisted Jackson’s music on radio stations and music channels worldwide.
All that for half-a-second of misadventure.
Four years into the Trump presidency, such folly seemingly hails from some quaint, bygone era. Albeit, the FCC issues and regulates the licenses of broadcast networks only — they have no jurisdiction over cable networks or the Internet — and monitor largely for obscenity, profanity and indecency violations. But in the era of Trump, after two presidential election cycles, public clamor to regulate disinformation across all media platforms cannot be ignored.
If elections can be monitored and certified through bipartisan scrutiny, why can’t disinformation be similarly regulated? Indeed, it is incumbent that Joe Biden’s new Department of Justice or some statutory body similar to the FCC be given a clear mandate to enforce consequences for disinformation with as much fervency as the FCC went after Jackson.
Eric Trump defends his Daddy Trump from getting bullied in the media, on Fox News to Trump-loving Hannity, while the video clearly shows who the bully really is!
Make no mistake, disinformation is criminal behavior. It is not simply misinformation — false information that can be spread very easily thanks to technology. Disinformation is misinformation that has been weaponized. Therefore, if fraud is defined as “wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain,” then disinformation is intellectual fraud — a con game — in which the mind is psychologically victimized to effect personal, financial and political gain. We have laws against fraud. What we lack is the enforcement of such laws that address disinformation with consequences that withstand impartial judicial scrutiny.
“Fraud has many roots,” writes Nigel Atkin, a professor in continuing studies at the University of Victoria in Canada, “but one of them stems from weakened minds nurtured by the fraudulent use of information. Just as high levels of lead can damage the intellectual development of children, a consumptive diet of propaganda, distraction, and inconsistent information can damage public intellect and erode a nation’s democracy. Buying-in to fraudulent facts, data, and reason at any level has dire consequences.”
What’s more, disinformation is not “free speech” covered by a First Amendment right.
In 1919, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ruled in Schenck v. United States that “the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting ‘fire’ in a theater and causing a panic….The question in every case is whether the words are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.” Accordingly, the Court ruled, if there was a “clear and present danger,” then the state would be justified in limiting that speech.
Disinformation is precisely that.
Since his 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump has proactively and routinely deployed disinformation to promote financial and personal benefit to a political class — the oligarchy of kleptocrats that comprised his administration, whose allegiance clearly and demonstrably aligned more closely with Russia than the Constitution they each swore an oath to uphold and defend. The English word “disinformation” derives from the Russian word dezinformatsiya, coined deliberately by Joseph Stalin to mislead and connote a French — Western — origin. Understand, then, that disinformation is fascist propaganda strategy, the usage of which began in 1923 with a KGB “special disinformation office” — and continues through Russian operatives to promote their interests abroad.
The entire point of propagating disinformation in a free society such as the United States is not to promote free thought, or to persuade. It is to sow confusion and illusion, deliberately to deceive, so that a true democracy based on informed consent is no longer viable.
Donald Trump’s 23,000 lies and misleading statements are not “politics as usual.” No. He is, arguably, the most documented pathological liar in American history. But more importantly, the disinformation promoted by his administration and propaganda specialists — Kellyanne Conway, Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Kayleigh McEnany, et al. — whether in conjunction with a foreign adversary or not, has destabilized our democracy in unprecedented terms.
Undeniable fraud, undergirded by disinformation, has become “policy” for an American administration. Stealing mailboxes and sabotaging the capacity of the United States Postal Service to deliver electoral ballots, while willfully propagating proven disinformation about electoral fraud and the validity of mail-in ballots in order to effect voter suppression of Black and brown people, constitute “substantive evil” posing a “clear and present danger” to our constitutional rights to a free and fair election. As does the “fantasy parade of false voter fraud claims” being perpetuated by Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Kory Langhofer, Jenna Ellis, et al. in courts of law across the country. That they are being embarrassingly knocked down is beside the point.
Vanquishing Trumpism Requires More than an Election Defeat
When more than 1,100 lawyers are moved to pen an open letter seeking accountability from their peers, including Giuliani, for their role in spreading disinformation by way of frivolous, vexatious litigation intended to undermine the Constitution they swore to uphold and defend, it becomes clear that consequences must be enforced — including disbarment. Moreover, this was not Giuliani’s only immersion in Trump’s swampy quagmire. His attempt to collude with a foreign government to spread disinformation about Joe Biden and his son, Hunter — even as Putin threw Trump under the bus, rejecting claims of impropriety in the Bidens’ business dealings in Ukraine and Russia — must be prosecuted.
So, too, should the attempts by Trump and his Lindsey Graham-type sycophants to execute a post-election self-coup in which direct interference to discard ballots and disinformation have been systematically deployed to effect a continuation of what would be an illegal Trump regime. Deliberate disinformation spawns illegal behaviors, such as when armed Trump minions descend on the home of election officials like Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s top election official, with threats of violence, intimidation and bullying for certifying Joe Biden as the bona fide winner of the presidential election in her state. Indeed, even after a resounding election defeat, Trump is being urged publicly not to concede the election even after President-elect Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week — effectively enabling him to continue to use disinformation to defraud his own supporters.
Trump’s post-election cash grab to fight imaginary election fraud that deprived him of a second term already exceeds $200 million dollars. The fine print discloses that the money being raised to “investigate, litigate, and expose suspected illegal balloting and fraud in the 2020 general election” will likely end up in Trump’s pocket. And as the ultimate con unravels, some like Fredric Eshelman, a businessman from North Carolina, are suing to demand their money back. Eshelman is out $2.5 million.
These are “substantive evils” that Congress has a right — no, an obligation — to prevent.
That Congress — specifically, the Republican-controlled Senate — has colluded to protect the most lawless, corrupt president in the history of the United States in his treasonous attempts to deconstruct constitutional institutions and steal an election cannot be understated. The world has watched in horror, aghast that such shenanigans could happen in a country that touted exceptionalism and boasted about the superiority of its democratic processes over “banana republics” abroad.
Indeed, let it be known that America’s democracy was not saved by the checks and balances built into our Constitution that enable our legislative branch to adjudicate the executive branch. No. The institution that functioned as a proper check and balance these last four years is the fifth estate, particularly The Washington Post and The New York Times. They saved our democracy — as Donald Trump suspected they could. Which is why his disinformation campaign about the media — that they are the “enemy of the American people” — began mere days after his inauguration.
Unfortunately, the media have not been able to save us from disinformation about Covid-19. Currently, the virus is killing 2,000 Americans a day — epitomized by Jodi Doering, an emergency room nurse in South Dakota, who reported that, even as people lay dying in ICUs across this country, many remain unconvinced that coronavirus is real. The magnitude of this tragedy, which has already claimed 290,000 American lives, is already a hundred times greater than 9/11, for which we vow every year, “Never Forget!”. Trump knew the danger of Covid-19 from as early as January — that it was dangerous, airborne, highly contagious and “more deadly than even your strenuous flus.” Yet, he denounced the science and played the ass with people’s lives in ways that can only be classified as malevolent criminal negligence.


dailykos--2020-12-12--A short explanation and warning regarding Republicans' efforts to undermine the election.

The myriad investigations and impeachment of President Bill Clinton could be explained as direct power politics , but there was always a larger motivation that explained events .
Bill Clinton broke through the Republicans ’ wall of the Solid South .
Over his two campaigns , Clinton won ( once or twice ) Georgia , Florida , Tennessee , Arkansas , Louisiana , and Kentucky , as well as Missouri , Arizona and Montana .
Simply .
.
.
.
Bill Clinton had to be discredited and destroyed .
The possibility that Democrats going forward could compete , and win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a mortal threat to the Republicans ’ electoral structure and their “ Southern Strategy.
” Now we see Republicans engaged in shocking and treasonous attacks against the Biden presidency .
Sure , that involves their new politics , and the relatively new opportunity to fleece their base for millions of dollars .
But should this be viewed generally as anti-Biden or anti-Democratic Party animus ?
What probably is the larger explanation here , and why does it matter ?
I propose that the motivation here is less about winning a second Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and specifically much more about what Republicans ’ see as an existential fight — that has to occur right now — to stop the spread of mail-in voting and other expanded voting practices .
Voter suppression is the Republicans ’ core tenet , and what they just witnessed has to terrify them to their bones — and not just for presidential elections , but for down-ballot , state and local elections .
( Don ’ t tell me that Republicans did well in the latter races .
One election is not their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that victory for Democrats and patriotic Americans does not mean Biden becoming President ( he will ) , “ shaming ” Republicans , fining their lawyers , or condemning complicit Republicans in op-eds or from the Congressional floor .
No — for the rest of us victory requires defeating the inevitable wave of Republican efforts to end this expansion of voting rights , and entrenching and expanding such progress in our laws ( federal and state ) .

The myriad investigations and impeachment of President Bill Clinton could be explained as direct power politics, but there was always a larger motivation that explained events. Bill Clinton broke through the Republicans’ wall of the Solid South. Over his two campaigns, Clinton won (once or twice) Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kentucky, as well as Missouri, Arizona and Montana. Simply . . . . Bill Clinton had to be discredited and destroyed. The possibility that Democrats going forward could compete, and win(!), in these states was a mortal threat to the Republicans’ electoral structure and their “Southern Strategy.”
Now we see Republicans engaged in shocking and treasonous attacks against the Biden presidency. Sure, that involves their new politics, and the relatively new opportunity to fleece their base for millions of dollars. But should this be viewed generally as anti-Biden or anti-Democratic Party animus? What probably is the larger explanation here, and why does it matter?
I propose that the motivation here is less about winning a second Trump term, or discrediting a President Biden, and specifically much more about what Republicans see as an existential fight — that has to occur right now — to stop the spread of mail-in voting and other expanded voting practices.
Voter suppression is the Republicans’ core tenet, and what they just witnessed has to terrify them to their bones — and not just for presidential elections, but for down-ballot, state and local elections. (Don’t tell me that Republicans did well in the latter races. One election is not their concern.)


dailykos--2020-12-12--No need to secede: Welcome to Florumpia!

It ’ s almost official : tonight the Supreme Court turned down a Texas lawsuit to overthrow the results of the presidential election in four swing states .
On Monday the electors of the Electoral College will—barring an act of God or outright sedition—certify Joe Biden as the next president of the United States and Kamala Harris as vice president .
But facts go down hard in Southwest Florida .
According to a recent poll by the firm Victory Insights of Naples , Fla. , 53 percent of Southwest Florida Republicans are open to the idea of Florida seceding from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
Why ?
Because they think the results of the presidential election were fraudulent .
“ Figuring out how many Republicans are open to secession is really saying how many Republicans will stick with President Trump until the end through thick and thin no matter what , ” Ben Galbraith , the firm ’ s senior pollster , told Dave Elias , political reporter for NBC-2 News in Fort Myers , in a report that aired on Dec. 10 .
First , let it be said that Florida secession is a really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state where a sitting governor committed suicide when secession didn ’ t succeed the first time in 1865 .
There have been all sorts of secession ideas since the Civil War and none of them have come to fruition .
There ’ s no reason to expect that a second Florida secession would have any better success .
Moreover , as glad as the rest of the United States would be to get rid of Florida , independence is improbable , to say the least .
However , if Southwest Florida Republicans really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no need to secede at all .
While President Donald Trump seems firmly on his way out of the presidency—unless he incites an armed rebellion to overturn the 2020 election results—the kind of autocratic , self-centered government he dreamed of creating nationally is being premiered in the great state of Florida even while it ’ s still part of the Union .
It ’ s a government that indulges Trump ’ s delusions , overlooks uncomfortable realities , ignores science and the health of its people , twists the facts and crushes dissent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dictatorship .
It ’ s something new .
Let ’ s call it “ Florumpia.
” And speaking seriously , unless opponents effectively mobilize , Trumpism may dominate the state government for a long time to come .
Florumpia is possible because Gov .
Ron DeSantis ( R ) and his handpicked administration has chosen to entirely follow the Trump playbook and adopt the Trump mindset on all things related to Florida .
DeSantis is governing in true Trumpist fashion .
The signs are everywhere .
When it comes to COVID , DeSantis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its threat and not only refusing a statewide mask mandate to protect Floridians but making it impossible for localities to establish their own mandates .
As for respecting facts , reality and truth : dissident data scientist Rebekah Jones charged that the state Department of Health was fudging infection numbers to fit DeSantis ’ policy goals .
Her house has now been raided and searched in an act clearly intended not just to find the perpetrator of an internal e-mail urging state employees to speak out but to intimidate her into silence as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the DeSantis doctrine .
When it comes to Trump ’ s delusional denial of the results of the election , Florida joined the absurd Texas effort to completely overturn the vote of the American people .
To this day , only two of the state ’ s Republican officeholders ( Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Francis Rooney ) have publicly accepted the election results .
When it comes to free and independent coverage of these developments DeSantis has adopted the Trump tactic of trying to discredit the media , blaming bad press on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media.
” All of this might seem like temporary insanity that will pass when President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20 , but there are structural factors that point to Trumpanoia going deeper and lasting longer in this state than anywhere else in the country .
1 .
Trump will be in the house : Florida is now the official residence of Donald Trump and where he is likely to come to live after leaving the White House .
The baleful influence of his physical presence in the state is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Allen once said , “ Eighty percent of life is showing up.
” Just by showing up in Florida , Trump will be able to have meetings , hold rallies and stay in the local media spotlight , if not the national one .
He will be able to call on Trumpers in the state to hold protests , demonstrations and issue threats if there ’ s something he doesn ’ t like .
Instead of having to pick up the phone to call DeSantis , he ’ ll be able to stroll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s going to keep him out ?
2 .
A Republican state government : The 2020 election resulted in 78 Republican seats to 42 Democratic ones in the Florida state House and 24 Republican to 16 Democratic seats in the state Senate .
With the one exception of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried , all state executive offices are held by Republicans .
The state ’ s judges have been appointed by Republican governors since Jeb Bush took office in 1999 .
What is more , in Florida this is not Abraham Lincoln ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s .
With only the feeblest checks and virtually no balances , Florumpia is a one-party state just as surely as North Korea—but with beaches and palm trees .
3 .
Gerrymandering : As if existing political forces didn ’ t weigh on the state enough , the fact of a totally Republican state government means that all legislative districts will be gerrymandered to favor Republicans based on the 2020 Census—ensuring Republican control for the next decade at least .
4 .
Florida Men : As Benito Mussolini could call on his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on his Brown Shirts , Trump can call on his MAGA red hats to sway the state to his will with the pliant complicity of the DeSantis administration .
Around the country Trumpers have issued death threats against officials that Trump doesn ’ t like , most notably against election officials in Georgia and Michigan .
As the Southwest Florida polls have demonstrated , he retains a mesmerized horde in the Sunshine State , which can be deployed now and in the future to obey his whims and orders .
All it takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Parlay .
5 .
Dark money—and lots of it : In the month after Election Day , Nov. 3 , Trump raised $ 207.5 million—on top of $ 288 million he ’ d raised since Oct. 15 , according to The Washington Post .
The total has likely gone up in the days since ; between Oct. 15 and Nov. 23 he was bringing in $ 13 million per day thanks to relentless fundraising appeals , which have not slackened .
Some of the money is going to his lawsuits and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sums are going to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee , the Republican Party and his political action committee , Save America .
This being Trump , vast amounts are likely pouring into his own pocket .
But a proportion of that money and other dark money will probably be turned into buying political power in Florida .
Dark money from Trumpist contributors already affected local races in 2020 , including one state senate race where a $ 1 million dark money contribution helped the Republican candidate win by only 32 votes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is a very high likelihood that a good chunk of those dollars are going to be spent making sure that Florida and its officials don ’ t stray too far from Trumpist orthodoxy .
6 .
The launch pad : Just as Florida ’ s Cape Canaveral is the launch pad for American space missions , Florumpia will probably serve as the launch pad for Trump ’ s 2024 presidential bid .
Assuming he stays alive and doesn ’ t have another bout of COVID or some other unforeseen obstacle , he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought , resources and personnel in the state to his election .
It will not make for a lively or diverse political dialogue and Trump is unlikely to tolerate any dissent , disagreement or anyone else ’ s political ambitions .
Florida ’ s Democrats already have a hard row to hoe to simply stay viable and in the next two years that row is going to get rockier and steeper .
The kind of political atmosphere that once applied largely in Southwest Florida is now going to be seen statewide .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican and consultant has said , “ Florida , north of I-4 , is basically Alabama with more guns ” and Democrats “ don ’ t understand this is not a blue state , it is a red state with a blue tip on the south end.
” But one-party polities have their own weaknesses .
They tend to be personality-driven , riven by factions and end up with purges and internal battles like Hitler ’ s “ Night of the Long Knives ” or Stalin ’ s show trials .
The state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from its own internal stresses .
On top of this are Trump ’ s own pathologies , his impulsiveness and his tendency to turn on former allies and supporters .
DeSantis would do well to study the experience of his neighbor to the north , Georgia ’ s Gov .
Brian Kemp ( R ) , once a Trump darling and now the focus of his wrath for daring to carry out the dictates of the law .
Some day when Trump awakens in Mar-a-Lago with indigestion he may decide that DeSantis was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price .
Additionally , the devoted followers of the Great God Trump may find that their aversion to science , masking and anti-COVID precautions causes a significant thinning of their ranks before the next round of elections in 2022 .
They may hope for herd immunity but get herd culling instead .
So those who don ’ t believe Donald Trump lost the 2020 election , who are so fervent in their belief that not even the Electoral College can shake their faith and who are ready to bend a knee to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the United States .
They have Florumpia , the land of sunshine and delusion .
It is , however , worth remembering the words of Fisher Ames , a congressman in the early years of the American republic .
He once observed that “ Monarchy is like a sleek craft , it sails along well until some bumbling captain runs it into the rocks .
Democracy , on the other hand , is like a raft .
It never goes down but , dammit , your feet are always wet.
” And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s a raft that saves your life .

The Paradise Progressive Analysis and commentary December 11, 2020 7 Minutes
Dec. 11, 2020 by David Silverberg
It’s almost official: tonight the Supreme Court turned down a Texas lawsuit to overthrow the results of the presidential election in four swing states. On Monday the electors of the Electoral College will—barring an act of God or outright sedition—certify Joe Biden as the next president of the United States and Kamala Harris as vice president.
But facts go down hard in Southwest Florida.
According to a recent poll by the firm Victory Insights of Naples, Fla., 53 percent of Southwest Florida Republicans are open to the idea of Florida seceding from the United States and forming its own country. Why? Because they think the results of the presidential election were fraudulent.
“Figuring out how many Republicans are open to secession is really saying how many Republicans will stick with President Trump until the end through thick and thin no matter what,” Ben Galbraith, the firm’s senior pollster, told Dave Elias, political reporter for NBC-2 News in Fort Myers, in a report that aired on Dec. 10.
First, let it be said that Florida secession is a really stupid idea. This is the only state where a sitting governor committed suicide when secession didn’t succeed the first time in 1865. There have been all sorts of secession ideas since the Civil War and none of them have come to fruition. There’s no reason to expect that a second Florida secession would have any better success.
Moreover, as glad as the rest of the United States would be to get rid of Florida, independence is improbable, to say the least.
However, if Southwest Florida Republicans really want a Trumpist government, they have no need to secede at all. While President Donald Trump seems firmly on his way out of the presidency—unless he incites an armed rebellion to overturn the 2020 election results—the kind of autocratic, self-centered government he dreamed of creating nationally is being premiered in the great state of Florida even while it’s still part of the Union.
It’s a government that indulges Trump’s delusions, overlooks uncomfortable realities, ignores science and the health of its people, twists the facts and crushes dissent. It has the hallmarks of a dictatorship.
It’s something new. Let’s call it “Florumpia.”
And speaking seriously, unless opponents effectively mobilize, Trumpism may dominate the state government for a long time to come.
Florumpia is possible because Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his handpicked administration has chosen to entirely follow the Trump playbook and adopt the Trump mindset on all things related to Florida. DeSantis is governing in true Trumpist fashion.
The signs are everywhere. When it comes to COVID, DeSantis is ignoring the pandemic, playing down its threat and not only refusing a statewide mask mandate to protect Floridians but making it impossible for localities to establish their own mandates.
As for respecting facts, reality and truth: dissident data scientist Rebekah Jones charged that the state Department of Health was fudging infection numbers to fit DeSantis’ policy goals. Her house has now been raided and searched in an act clearly intended not just to find the perpetrator of an internal e-mail urging state employees to speak out but to intimidate her into silence as well as anyone else who might challenge the DeSantis doctrine.
When it comes to Trump’s delusional denial of the results of the election, Florida joined the absurd Texas effort to completely overturn the vote of the American people. To this day, only two of the state’s Republican officeholders (Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Francis Rooney) have publicly accepted the election results.
When it comes to free and independent coverage of these developments DeSantis has adopted the Trump tactic of trying to discredit the media, blaming bad press on politicized, “agenda-driven” “corporate media.”
All of this might seem like temporary insanity that will pass when President-Elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, but there are structural factors that point to Trumpanoia going deeper and lasting longer in this state than anywhere else in the country.
1. Trump will be in the house: Florida is now the official residence of Donald Trump and where he is likely to come to live after leaving the White House. The baleful influence of his physical presence in the state is not to be underestimated. As comedian Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of life is showing up.” Just by showing up in Florida, Trump will be able to have meetings, hold rallies and stay in the local media spotlight, if not the national one. He will be able to call on Trumpers in the state to hold protests, demonstrations and issue threats if there’s something he doesn’t like. Instead of having to pick up the phone to call DeSantis, he’ll be able to stroll into his office. And who’s going to keep him out?
2. A Republican state government: The 2020 election resulted in 78 Republican seats to 42 Democratic ones in the Florida state House and 24 Republican to 16 Democratic seats in the state Senate. With the one exception of Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, all state executive offices are held by Republicans. The state’s judges have been appointed by Republican governors since Jeb Bush took office in 1999. What is more, in Florida this is not Abraham Lincoln’s Republicanism, it’s Trump’s.
With only the feeblest checks and virtually no balances, Florumpia is a one-party state just as surely as North Korea—but with beaches and palm trees.
3. Gerrymandering: As if existing political forces didn’t weigh on the state enough, the fact of a totally Republican state government means that all legislative districts will be gerrymandered to favor Republicans based on the 2020 Census—ensuring Republican control for the next decade at least.
4. Florida Men: As Benito Mussolini could call on his Black Shirts and Adolf Hitler could call on his Brown Shirts, Trump can call on his MAGA red hats to sway the state to his will with the pliant complicity of the DeSantis administration. Around the country Trumpers have issued death threats against officials that Trump doesn’t like, most notably against election officials in Georgia and Michigan. As the Southwest Florida polls have demonstrated, he retains a mesmerized horde in the Sunshine State, which can be deployed now and in the future to obey his whims and orders. All it takes is a tweet—or, after Jan. 20, a Parlay.
5. Dark money—and lots of it: In the month after Election Day, Nov. 3, Trump raised $207.5 million—on top of $288 million he’d raised since Oct. 15, according to The Washington Post. The total has likely gone up in the days since; between Oct. 15 and Nov. 23 he was bringing in $13 million per day thanks to relentless fundraising appeals, which have not slackened.
Some of the money is going to his lawsuits and efforts to overturn the election. Other sums are going to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, the Republican Party and his political action committee, Save America. This being Trump, vast amounts are likely pouring into his own pocket.
But a proportion of that money and other dark money will probably be turned into buying political power in Florida. Dark money from Trumpist contributors already affected local races in 2020, including one state senate race where a $1 million dark money contribution helped the Republican candidate win by only 32 votes. After Trump is out of office there is a very high likelihood that a good chunk of those dollars are going to be spent making sure that Florida and its officials don’t stray too far from Trumpist orthodoxy.
6. The launch pad: Just as Florida’s Cape Canaveral is the launch pad for American space missions, Florumpia will probably serve as the launch pad for Trump’s 2024 presidential bid. Assuming he stays alive and doesn’t have another bout of COVID or some other unforeseen obstacle, he will no doubt be bending all Republican thought, resources and personnel in the state to his election. It will not make for a lively or diverse political dialogue and Trump is unlikely to tolerate any dissent, disagreement or anyone else’s political ambitions.
The one-party record
Florida’s Democrats already have a hard row to hoe to simply stay viable and in the next two years that row is going to get rockier and steeper. The kind of political atmosphere that once applied largely in Southwest Florida is now going to be seen statewide. As Rick Wilson, the wise Lincoln Project Republican and consultant has said, “Florida, north of I-4, is basically Alabama with more guns” and Democrats “don’t understand this is not a blue state, it is a red state with a blue tip on the south end.”
But one-party polities have their own weaknesses. They tend to be personality-driven, riven by factions and end up with purges and internal battles like Hitler’s “Night of the Long Knives” or Stalin’s show trials. The state’s Grand Old Party could fracture from its own internal stresses.
On top of this are Trump’s own pathologies, his impulsiveness and his tendency to turn on former allies and supporters. DeSantis would do well to study the experience of his neighbor to the north, Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp (R), once a Trump darling and now the focus of his wrath for daring to carry out the dictates of the law. Some day when Trump awakens in Mar-a-Lago with indigestion he may decide that DeSantis was the cause and DeSantis will pay the price.
Additionally, the devoted followers of the Great God Trump may find that their aversion to science, masking and anti-COVID precautions causes a significant thinning of their ranks before the next round of elections in 2022. They may hope for herd immunity but get herd culling instead.
So those who don’t believe Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, who are so fervent in their belief that not even the Electoral College can shake their faith and who are ready to bend a knee to a mad king have no need to secede from the United States. They have Florumpia, the land of sunshine and delusion.
It is, however, worth remembering the words of Fisher Ames, a congressman in the early years of the American republic. He once observed that “Monarchy is like a sleek craft, it sails along well until some bumbling captain runs it into the rocks. Democracy, on the other hand, is like a raft. It never goes down but, dammit, your feet are always wet.”
And remember this: when your ship sinks, it’s a raft that saves your life.
Liberty lives in light
© 2020 by David Silverberg


dailykos--2020-12-12--Southwest Florida and the Rooney Record, Part 4: The Legacy

Did Francis Rooney , representative of the 19th Congressional District and Southwest Florida in the United States Congress , make a difference during his four years in elected office ?
Based on Rooney ’ s own evaluation , he did what he set out to do : increase funding for Everglades restoration and promote the purity of the region ’ s waters .
But when he ran in 2016 he hardly campaigned on such a narrow platform .
He proclaimed that he was battling socialism and promoting conservative values .
He characterized Donald Trump as possibly the nation ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ victory .
So Rooney ’ s tenure should be evaluated on a broader spectrum than his own criteria .
What changes that Rooney made or promoted are most likely to live on after him ?
Will these be beneficial to Southwest Florida and the nation ?
Did he do any damage and can it be repaired ?
And lastly : what needs to be done in the future to build on what he did ?
In the future , if the planet doesn ’ t burn to a cinder , if objective history @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bother to look at Southwest Florida , they will be amazed that as late as 2019 denial of climate change was still firmly entrenched in many Southwest Floridians ’ heads .
It will seem as though a primitive tribe living in the region was cut off from civilization and still believed the earth was flat .
Francis Rooney acknowledged climate change as a fact and broke the Republican , conservative taboo against admitting its reality—and by admitting that reality made realistic measures to cope with it possible .
This may not seem like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ magnitude , a review of the intellectual landscape before his groundbreaking Sept. 11 , 2019 Politico article , “ I ’ m a conservative Republican .
Climate change is real , ” is in order .
For a region where human habitation and what is known as the “ built environment ” is a thin and fragile layer imposed on a primeval wilderness , climate change is a huge threat .
This flat , coastal area is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes , erosion and sea-level rise .
The fresh water that makes human @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while abundant during its wet season , is constantly threatened by pollution , algal toxicity and salt water intrusion .
The habitability of this tropical environment and the health of its plants , animals and people is completely dependent on the wet and dry seasons coming predictably in their turns , at their expected times and with anticipated intensity .
As scientists detailed the data and warned of the dangers of unpredictable climatic changes driven by human activity , the response in Florida , and especially Southwest Florida , was simply denial .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in local media .
As the local television meteorologists reported ever higher temperatures and worsening storms they never discussed climate change as a possible cause .
To this day they still steer clear of it no matter how dramatic and compelling the weather they ’ re reporting .
Politically , discussing climate change was taboo because of the fear that conservative Republican voters would potentially react to the subject with vehement denials and retaliate at the polls .
The most extreme manifestation of this came under Republican Gov .
Rick Scott ( 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with scientists to hear about the data for as long as he could and informally banned state employees from using the words “ climate change.
” ( To see a telling illustration of this , take note of the 2015 video of Brian Koon , Florida ’ s emergency management director , trying not to use the phrase during questioning by state senators . )
Then , on top of local resistance , in 2016 President Donald Trump was elected to office after calling climate change “ a Chinese hoax ” and withdrawing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agreement .
Internationally , it made the United States a global pariah as the rest of the world ’ s countries tried to deal with the crisis .
Domestically , it enshrined climate change denial as a pillar of the Trumpist credo .
Rooney ’ s evolution was reflective of these currents .
In his first term he denied and evaded acknowledging climate change .
Then , in his second term , as a member of the House Science , Space and Technology Committee , he followed a common Republican tactic of admitting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ avoiding naming their prime cause .
In this Rooney and local Republicans were actually lagging behind the thinking of the local public , which began to change after Hurricane Irma in 2017 .
This change in attitude was extensively documented in February 2019 by a carefully conducted survey commissioned by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida ( “ The Southwest Florida Climate Metrics Survey ” ) , which found that 75 percent of local respondents believed that climate change was real and 76 percent believed they had observed it themselves .
Rooney ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multifaceted significance : It declared that climate change was real and called on Republicans to acknowledge it , face it and deal with it .
Politically , it blessed realistic assessments of environmental changes and dangers , which in turn made possible real planning and countermeasures .
While die-hard deniers and ever-Trumpers will reject the notion of climate change until their bitter ends , they are now outside the mainstream dialogue on regional environmental matters .
Rooney ’ s manifesto gave Southwest Florida a real chance .
If his call is heeded by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the conservationist tradition of the Party .
Essentially , in his own District , Rooney was able to act as Galileo to Southwest Florida Republicans ’ Inquisition , although without suffering house arrest .
On this matter , with his help , science was able to succeed .
Following the Big Bloom of 2018 Rooney pulled together the disparate threads of response to harmful algal blooms ( HABs ) and established the momentum for local jurisdictions and federal agencies to work together to monitor , alert and respond .
This was no small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , HABs were not recognized as disasters and response was fragmented and uncoordinated .
As the Big Bloom showed , HABs could seriously adversely affect the livability and economy of Southwest Florida .
The momentum of this effort should be continued and nurtured ; there ’ s too much at stake not to pursue it .
A key element that Rooney began and needs to be continued was called the Protecting Local Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act ( House Resolution ( HR ) 414 ) , which consisted of a three-word amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act provides the legal framework for disaster response .
The change would add “ or algal blooms ” as major disasters subject to federal action .
If the change was made and a bloom occurred again in Southwest Florida , the region would be eligible for a disaster declaration and various forms of support and assistance from the federal government .
Rooney introduced the bill on Jan. 10 , 2019 and it never made it out of committee .
It ’ s a small , unglamorous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was unremarked and unrewarded in the District but it could be of major importance in the event of another HAB .
It needs to be reintroduced in the 117th Congress and brought to enactment .
It will have a much better chance of approval under President Joe Biden .
The shore and the Everglades None of the legislation that Rooney introduced in Congress over his four year tenure made it into law .
Actually , this is not that unusual .
There are members of Congress who go through entire , lengthy careers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rooney had only two terms .
The bill that got furthest was the Florida Coastal Protection Act , HR 205 , which made an oil drilling moratorium in the eastern Gulf permanent .
This bill made it all the way through the House—no small achievement .
Of course , it never came up in the Senate and never arrived on Trump ’ s desk .
Florida ’ s two senators never promoted it , other than in its initial introduction in that body , and it was opposed by the oil industry .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a rally in Jupiter , Fla. , that he would be issuing an executive order extending the offshore drilling moratorium for 10 years to 2032 .
The announcement was clearly intended to help Trump win the state of Florida .
Had he been re-elected there is no telling whether the order would have stayed in force .
( The Arctic was not so lucky ; there , Trump rushed through an auction of leases on federal lands to facilitate drilling . )
Southwest Florida received a double benefit because during the campaign , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil drilling .
Between the Biden pledge and the Trump executive order , Florida ’ s shores would seem to be safe .
Regardless of these statements , if the Florida Coastal Protection Act passed in the new Congress it would be enshrined in law and Southwest Florida would be that much safer from the possibility of offshore oil exploitation .
In addition to all these bills and measures , Rooney did help maintain the funding for Everglades restoration and provided momentum to get the many stalled projects of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ persuade his fellow members of Congress and the administration to advance the region ’ s interests .
Presuming that these projects and this plan will help the natural environment of Southwest Florida to recover and thrive ( and it ’ s worth remembering that past human interventions were all intended as improvements as well ) , Rooney made a significant contribution to both human habitability and the balance of nature by advancing them .
It is to be remembered , however , that he was part of a large effort that took many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to succeed .
Nonetheless , both his efforts and the bipartisanship of his second term deserve recognition and emulation in the future .
It ’ s a worthwhile legacy .
Rooney ’ s time in Congress coincided with Donald Trump ’ s time in the presidency and Trump loomed over all that Rooney said and did .
Historians will likely look back at the Trump years as a sad , sick and savage interlude , a time that , far from making America great again , began what is likely to be a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump put America on track to follow all the great empires of history toward diminution and decrepitude .
Like a toddler with a new toy , he broke America .
Francis Rooney was one of the many millions of Americans who were willingly deceived by Trump .
Especially egregious was his 2016 hailing of Trump as a “ savior ” —with that word ’ s full gravity and implications .
From the day in 2015 that Trump descended the escalator in his building and delivered his first speech he made no secret @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a racist , an ignoramus , an autocrat and a pathologically narcissistic and selfish egomaniac .
Those who supported him knew what they were getting .
Once in Congress , as a member of the governing class Rooney encouraged , enabled and emboldened Trump ’ s worst behavior .
And Rooney bears special responsibility as Trump ’ s very visible , vocal and “ brutal ” defender during some of Trump ’ s worst excesses .
As such , Rooney will forever bear his share of the responsibility for the damage Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damage that seems likely to continue after he ’ s left the White House .
It also bears mentioning that Rooney ’ s conservatism was of the harshest and most unsympathetic kind when it came to healthcare , education , labor , women ’ s choices , disaster relief and most of all , the pandemic .
That said , Rooney ultimately summoned the courage to fully break with Trump , to assert his own thinking and perceptions and to make his views public .
He opened his mind to the evidence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finally recognized Trump ’ s delusions as delusions and refused to parrot or obey them—and these delusions have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and seem set to kill hundreds of thousands , perhaps millions , more .
And when Trump lost the election , Rooney was the first Southwest Florida Republican to acknowledge it , congratulate Biden and call for a smooth and cooperative transition for the sake of the country .
It was a late awakening but it was an awakening nonetheless .
Regrettably , Rooney did not take the logical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him to take : vote to impeach Trump and formally endorse Biden .
However , he did make his conclusions public and he paid the price in ostracism and condemnation from his Party and constituents .
More importantly , though , he ultimately remained true to his oath of office to “ support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies , foreign and domestic.
” That was much more than many of his colleagues did .
During the ten years of the 19th Congressional District ’ s existence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most substantive representative .
This year marks the beginning of the post-Census redistricting process .
The Republican legislature will carve up the state ’ s congressional districts .
Whether the 19th will remain the 19th and what its boundaries will be remains to be seen .
But it is a fair bet that it will be gerrymandered to favor Republican dominance into the indefinite future .
No matter what shape their boundaries take , the people of the Southwest Florida coast will need to be represented in the Congress of the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will future representatives bring with them from Francis Rooney ?
To distil the best of what he leaves to its simplest , most basic essence , three things stand out : Environmentalism : To protect , advance and conserve the natural environment that makes human habitation in the region possible and do it in a way that maintains a balance between human needs and natural processes .
Bipartisanship : To work with others of different ideas and persuasions to meet common needs , be open to their cares and concerns and cooperate to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the hope for Conscience : To fulfill the oath of office and serve the nation , the region and the common good despite party dictates or ideology or popular delusion , according to America ’ s best values and principles .
If these are the things that future officials take away from the service of Francis Rooney , who today marks the 67th anniversary of his arrival on earth , Southwest Florida and America will be well served .
It ’ s the least that we the people should expect from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

The Paradise Progressive History, December 4, 2020 10 Minutes
Dec. 4, 2020 by David Silverberg
Did Francis Rooney, representative of the 19th Congressional District and Southwest Florida in the United States Congress, make a difference during his four years in elected office?
Based on Rooney’s own evaluation, he did what he set out to do: increase funding for Everglades restoration and promote the purity of the region’s waters.
But when he ran in 2016 he hardly campaigned on such a narrow platform. He proclaimed that he was battling socialism and promoting conservative values. He characterized Donald Trump as possibly the nation’s savior and advanced Trump’s electoral victory.
So Rooney’s tenure should be evaluated on a broader spectrum than his own criteria.
What changes that Rooney made or promoted are most likely to live on after him? Will these be beneficial to Southwest Florida and the nation? Did he do any damage and can it be repaired? And lastly: what needs to be done in the future to build on what he did?
Acknowledging the obvious
In the future, if the planet doesn’t burn to a cinder, if objective history is still written, and if historians bother to look at Southwest Florida, they will be amazed that as late as 2019 denial of climate change was still firmly entrenched in many Southwest Floridians’ heads. It will seem as though a primitive tribe living in the region was cut off from civilization and still believed the earth was flat.
Francis Rooney acknowledged climate change as a fact and broke the Republican, conservative taboo against admitting its reality—and by admitting that reality made realistic measures to cope with it possible.
This may not seem like such a revolution but to appreciate its magnitude, a review of the intellectual landscape before his groundbreaking Sept. 11, 2019 Politico article, “I’m a conservative Republican. Climate change is real,” is in order.
For a region where human habitation and what is known as the “built environment” is a thin and fragile layer imposed on a primeval wilderness, climate change is a huge threat. This flat, coastal area is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, erosion and sea-level rise. The fresh water that makes human life possible in this erstwhile swamp, while abundant during its wet season, is constantly threatened by pollution, algal toxicity and salt water intrusion. The habitability of this tropical environment and the health of its plants, animals and people is completely dependent on the wet and dry seasons coming predictably in their turns, at their expected times and with anticipated intensity.
As scientists detailed the data and warned of the dangers of unpredictable climatic changes driven by human activity, the response in Florida, and especially Southwest Florida, was simply denial. Before 2019 climate change was never mentioned in local media. As the local television meteorologists reported ever higher temperatures and worsening storms they never discussed climate change as a possible cause. To this day they still steer clear of it no matter how dramatic and compelling the weather they’re reporting.
Politically, discussing climate change was taboo because of the fear that conservative Republican voters would potentially react to the subject with vehement denials and retaliate at the polls. The most extreme manifestation of this came under Republican Gov. Rick Scott (2011 to 2019), who avoided meeting with scientists to hear about the data for as long as he could and informally banned state employees from using the words “climate change.” (To see a telling illustration of this, take note of the 2015 video of Brian Koon, Florida’s emergency management director, trying not to use the phrase during questioning by state senators.)
Then, on top of local resistance, in 2016 President Donald Trump was elected to office after calling climate change “a Chinese hoax” and withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Internationally, it made the United States a global pariah as the rest of the world’s countries tried to deal with the crisis. Domestically, it enshrined climate change denial as a pillar of the Trumpist credo.
Rooney’s evolution was reflective of these currents. In his first term he denied and evaded acknowledging climate change. Then, in his second term, as a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, he followed a common Republican tactic of admitting deleterious climatic impacts like sea-level rise while avoiding naming their prime cause.
In this Rooney and local Republicans were actually lagging behind the thinking of the local public, which began to change after Hurricane Irma in 2017. This change in attitude was extensively documented in February 2019 by a carefully conducted survey commissioned by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida (“The Southwest Florida Climate Metrics Survey”), which found that 75 percent of local respondents believed that climate change was real and 76 percent believed they had observed it themselves.
Rooney’s Sept. 11, 2019 Politico article had multifaceted significance: It declared that climate change was real and called on Republicans to acknowledge it, face it and deal with it. Politically, it blessed realistic assessments of environmental changes and dangers, which in turn made possible real planning and countermeasures.
While die-hard deniers and ever-Trumpers will reject the notion of climate change until their bitter ends, they are now outside the mainstream dialogue on regional environmental matters. Rooney’s manifesto gave Southwest Florida a real chance. If his call is heeded by sensible Republicans nationally, it will advance the conservationist tradition of the Party.
Essentially, in his own District, Rooney was able to act as Galileo to Southwest Florida Republicans’ Inquisition, although without suffering house arrest. On this matter, with his help, science was able to succeed.
Handling HABs
Following the Big Bloom of 2018 Rooney pulled together the disparate threads of response to harmful algal blooms (HABs) and established the momentum for local jurisdictions and federal agencies to work together to monitor, alert and respond.
This was no small achievement. Prior to the Big Bloom, HABs were not recognized as disasters and response was fragmented and uncoordinated. As the Big Bloom showed, HABs could seriously adversely affect the livability and economy of Southwest Florida.
The momentum of this effort should be continued and nurtured; there’s too much at stake not to pursue it.
A key element that Rooney began and needs to be continued was called the Protecting Local Communities from Harmful Algal Blooms Act (House Resolution (HR) 414), which consisted of a three-word amendment to the Stafford Act.
The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act provides the legal framework for disaster response. The change would add “or algal blooms” as major disasters subject to federal action. If the change was made and a bloom occurred again in Southwest Florida, the region would be eligible for a disaster declaration and various forms of support and assistance from the federal government.
Rooney introduced the bill on Jan. 10, 2019 and it never made it out of committee. It’s a small, unglamorous, easily overlooked piece of legislation that was unremarked and unrewarded in the District but it could be of major importance in the event of another HAB. It needs to be reintroduced in the 117th Congress and brought to enactment. It will have a much better chance of approval under President Joe Biden.
The shore and the Everglades
None of the legislation that Rooney introduced in Congress over his four year tenure made it into law. Actually, this is not that unusual. There are members of Congress who go through entire, lengthy careers without passing a piece of legislation. Rooney had only two terms.
The bill that got furthest was the Florida Coastal Protection Act, HR 205, which made an oil drilling moratorium in the eastern Gulf permanent. This bill made it all the way through the House—no small achievement. Of course, it never came up in the Senate and never arrived on Trump’s desk. Florida’s two senators never promoted it, other than in its initial introduction in that body, and it was opposed by the oil industry.
On September 8, 2020 Trump told a rally in Jupiter, Fla., that he would be issuing an executive order extending the offshore drilling moratorium for 10 years to 2032. The announcement was clearly intended to help Trump win the state of Florida. Had he been re-elected there is no telling whether the order would have stayed in force. (The Arctic was not so lucky; there, Trump rushed through an auction of leases on federal lands to facilitate drilling.)
Southwest Florida received a double benefit because during the campaign, Biden pledged not to allow new offshore oil drilling. Between the Biden pledge and the Trump executive order, Florida’s shores would seem to be safe.
Regardless of these statements, if the Florida Coastal Protection Act passed in the new Congress it would be enshrined in law and Southwest Florida would be that much safer from the possibility of offshore oil exploitation.
In addition to all these bills and measures, Rooney did help maintain the funding for Everglades restoration and provided momentum to get the many stalled projects of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan moving. He worked hard to persuade his fellow members of Congress and the administration to advance the region’s interests.
Presuming that these projects and this plan will help the natural environment of Southwest Florida to recover and thrive (and it’s worth remembering that past human interventions were all intended as improvements as well), Rooney made a significant contribution to both human habitability and the balance of nature by advancing them. It is to be remembered, however, that he was part of a large effort that took many individuals and lawmakers of all political persuasions to succeed.
Nonetheless, both his efforts and the bipartisanship of his second term deserve recognition and emulation in the future. It’s a worthwhile legacy.
The Trump shadow
Rooney’s time in Congress coincided with Donald Trump’s time in the presidency and Trump loomed over all that Rooney said and did.
Historians will likely look back at the Trump years as a sad, sick and savage interlude, a time that, far from making America great again, began what is likely to be a long decline. Rather than American exceptionalism, Trump put America on track to follow all the great empires of history toward diminution and decrepitude. Like a toddler with a new toy, he broke America.
Francis Rooney was one of the many millions of Americans who were willingly deceived by Trump. Especially egregious was his 2016 hailing of Trump as a “savior”—with that word’s full gravity and implications. From the day in 2015 that Trump descended the escalator in his building and delivered his first speech he made no secret of what he was: a bigot, a racist, an ignoramus, an autocrat and a pathologically narcissistic and selfish egomaniac. Those who supported him knew what they were getting.
Once in Congress, as a member of the governing class Rooney encouraged, enabled and emboldened Trump’s worst behavior. And Rooney bears special responsibility as Trump’s very visible, vocal and “brutal” defender during some of Trump’s worst excesses.
As such, Rooney will forever bear his share of the responsibility for the damage Trump did to America and the world, damage that seems likely to continue after he’s left the White House.
It also bears mentioning that Rooney’s conservatism was of the harshest and most unsympathetic kind when it came to healthcare, education, labor, women’s choices, disaster relief and most of all, the pandemic.
That said, Rooney ultimately summoned the courage to fully break with Trump, to assert his own thinking and perceptions and to make his views public. He opened his mind to the evidence of Trump’s impeachable crimes. He finally recognized Trump’s delusions as delusions and refused to parrot or obey them—and these delusions have killed hundreds of thousands of Americans and seem set to kill hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, more. And when Trump lost the election, Rooney was the first Southwest Florida Republican to acknowledge it, congratulate Biden and call for a smooth and cooperative transition for the sake of the country.
It was a late awakening but it was an awakening nonetheless. Regrettably, Rooney did not take the logical steps that his awareness should have led him to take: vote to impeach Trump and formally endorse Biden.
However, he did make his conclusions public and he paid the price in ostracism and condemnation from his Party and constituents. More importantly, though, he ultimately remained true to his oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” That was much more than many of his colleagues did.
Takeaways
During the ten years of the 19th Congressional District’s existence, Francis Rooney was its longest serving and most substantive representative.
This year marks the beginning of the post-Census redistricting process. The Republican legislature will carve up the state’s congressional districts. Whether the 19th will remain the 19th and what its boundaries will be remains to be seen. But it is a fair bet that it will be gerrymandered to favor Republican dominance into the indefinite future.
No matter what shape their boundaries take, the people of the Southwest Florida coast will need to be represented in the Congress of the United States and their vital interests advanced.
What will future representatives bring with them from Francis Rooney? To distil the best of what he leaves to its simplest, most basic essence, three things stand out:
Environmentalism: To protect, advance and conserve the natural environment that makes human habitation in the region possible and do it in a way that maintains a balance between human needs and natural processes.
Bipartisanship: To work with others of different ideas and persuasions to meet common needs, be open to their cares and concerns and cooperate to promote the general welfare.
And there’s the hope for Conscience: To fulfill the oath of office and serve the nation, the region and the common good despite party dictates or ideology or popular delusion, according to America’s best values and principles.
If these are the things that future officials take away from the service of Francis Rooney, who today marks the 67th anniversary of his arrival on earth, Southwest Florida and America will be well served.
It’s the least that we the people should expect from those whom we entrust with public office.
Liberty lives in light
© 2020 by David Silverberg


dailykos--2020-12-12--Community Spotlight: Finding refuge from politics on Daily Kos is absolutely possible

Among the mosaic of different groups focused on member interests are three nature-focused groups , which publish original stories daily ( Backyard Science ) or weekly ( Saturday Morning Garden Blogging and Birds and Birdwatching ) .
The Backyard Science group focuses on the patterns of nature around us , the phenology of our home areas , and publishes the Daily Bucket every morning .
The Garden Blogging group , “ a convocation of those with grimy fingernails , ” publishes a story every Saturday morning , enriched with photos of the author ’ s garden or a related activity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s edition ) The birdwatchers ’ group publishes the Dawn Chorus each Sunday .
Last week ’ s story centered on Stellar jays , near the author ’ s home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado .
If hikes in nature , even virtual ones , make you itch from imaginary insect bites or recoil from hypothetical grizzlies , there are Daily Kos groups offering other havens .
For example , the Readers and Booklovers group is represented by two rescued stories this week , and Street Prophets with one .
Even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ political distress !
A new Community member found Daily Kos as a refuge from politics that no longer fit their values and ethics .
We rescued the story describing their transformation from Republican to Democrat .
What groups have you created or joined ?
Tell us about them in a comment .
Community Spotlight ’ s Rescue Rangers read every story published by Community writers .
When we discover awesome work that isn ’ t receiving the attention it deserves , we rescue it to our group blog and publish a weekly collection—like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ actions were explained in a previous edition : Community Spotlight : Rescuing your excellent stories for over 14 years .
You also can find a link in Meteor Blades ’ “ Night Owls ” series , which publishes daily between 10-11PM EST .
Western Monarch Butterfly Count Plummets to New Low by giddy thing reports the Thanksgiving count data for monarch butterflies that overwinter along the California coast , and offers some reasons why the population is crashing .
“ So why was 2020 such a poor year for monarchs ?
Scott Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Invertebrate Conservation , thinks the western population may be suffering from ‘ death by a thousand cuts.
’ ” User giddy thing , who joined in 2011 and has written 41 stories ( with 21 rescued ) , is a wildlife biologist living in Montana ’ s Rocky Mountains .
Hey Salon , Chevy Chase Nailed the Fascist Aesthetic In Christmas Vacation 30 Years Ago by stilltilting .
The author claims that their “ brain makes weird connections , ” however they come up with a sensible understanding after connecting National Lampoon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about MAGA crowds being motivated by entertainment , not ideas .
Trump attracts his fans via emotions , takes their outrage and directs it away from the actual cause of their distress .
“ ( Trump ) found out he could give all the pissed off people a way to express their anger ; mostly at people who are their neighbors , instead of at the very rich people who live in different neighborhoods altogether.
” Stilltilting joined in 2020 and has written 21 stories ( with five rescued ) .
It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hour by Aashirs nani showcases the crocheted and knitted gift items the author makes—hats , socks , spa face cloths , and potholders .
“ With so many people to give gifts , and with the not-so-close relationships , I have found ways to make very small things that are made quickly and cost very little .
Everyone in my daughter 's family has at least one large item I 've made over the years , an afghan that will last .
But generally , I give more token gifts than big , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retired special ed teacher in Kansas , joined in 2015 and has written 42 stories ( with three rescued ) .
Dave Brubeck at 100 : Celebrating America 's Foremost Jazz Diplomat ( Part 2 ) by Charles Jay covers music , race relations , international policy and more .
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the cool jazz legend 's birth , Charles talks about Brubeck ’ s accomplishments , including the musical Brubeck and his wife wrote to lay out “ the hypocrisy of the State Department using jazz musicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they faced discrimination at home.
” Charles Jay joined in 2018 and has written 90 stories ( with three rescued ) .
His profile page says he ’ s from New York City , noting that “ during a 30-plus-year career as a writer and editor for an international news agency , I was barred from openly supporting a political candidate and posting a political opinion on social media .
I 'm retired and making up for lost time.
” The Language of the Night : Her Story , but also His-tory by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Empress of Salt and Fortune .
`` This is easily the most profound book I ’ ve read all year .
I can ’ t go much farther because anything more treads on spoiler territory .
I chose it for tonight because winter is a time for reading great books , and The Empress of Salt and Fortune is , in a symphony of seasonal reading , the single violin that cuts through all the noise and rhythm to quicken your heartbeat and make your soul sing . ''
DrLori joined in 2010 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 108 rescued ) .
She has a Ph.D. in medieval manuscripts and describes herself as a “ novelist and house restorer who is an overeducated liberal in the deep , deep red Shenandoah Valley.
” A Nation of Laws or Privilege : a Litmus Test by RJohnB answers the question `` Will the Biden Department of Justice investigate and prosecute Donald J Trump ?
” RJohnB notes that “ the fact that the question is asked is terrifying … It is not that Trump is the most vicious criminal this country has produced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been especially grave in comparison to others .
Rather , they have been transparent , brazen , and their impact magnified by the unwillingness or inability of our leaders and institutions to react in any meaningful way.
” RJohnB joined in 2015 and has written six stories .
This is their first rescue .
On Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories by RichardSproat explores “ the differences between real conspiracies , and the conspiracy theories that are threatening to choke us to death.
” The basis for this discussion is a paper about an artificial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to collections of text that relate to two conspiracies .
One , Bridgegate , an actual event from Chris Christie ’ s administration in New Jersey that involved an act of political revenge ; and Pizzagate , a conspiracy theory that has no basis in fact.
” RichardSproat joined in 2017 and has written 25 stories .
This is their first rescue .
Contemporary Fiction Views : When characters know they do n't fit in by bookgirl centers on Earthlings , a book by Sayaka Murata , which is “ one of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important than the plot .
What choices do people have when they know they do n't fit in ?
” Bookgirl joined in 2008 and has written 240 stories ( with 92 rescued ) .
They are a “ proud public school librarian and teacher who believes in reading widely and deeply.
” The history of our times will be written by its survivors by examines “ ( h ) ow history will record the leadership exhibited by Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
” The author notes that the “ most ardent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cult , ” and ponders if we will survive .
“ I think what we are now experiencing at the end of the Trump presidency is an implosion of leadership .
Like a Stephen Hawking black hole , Trump attracts all those in his orbit and draws them into his imploding star .
They , for their turn , happily attach themselves to his dying star.
” Vjr7127 , who joined in 2017 and has written 157 stories ( with 21 rescued ) , describes themself as “ a retired educator , sometime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Perhaps the Ex-Presidents Should Promote American Democracy Too by paradox wonders if the living former presidents , rumored to “ put forth a serious public relations effort for Americans to accept the new COVID-19 vaccine , ” also will unite to save the country .
“ Many voices have said when the Electoral College meets and finalizes its vote , then the election process must really , totally be over and universally accepted , ( and ) President Trump will be gone January 20th .
Well , what happens if all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ army of enablers just announce the American Electoral College is now moot , ( and claim ) it ’ s as rigged as the election was ?
” Paradox , who self-identifies as a “ Machiavellian little people liberal , ” joined in 2003 and has written 1,038 stories ( with 57 rescued ) .
The Daily Bucket : Flora & Fauna of the National Bison Range is the second story by giddy thing rescued this week .
“ This past summer , I had the privilege of roaming the Bison Range to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a scientific use permit .
My wanderings brought many encounters with wildlife and many moments of distraction admiring a fragile wildflower , a fleeting dragonfly , or a breathtaking landscape .
As we edge toward the winter solstice , I hope you ’ ll indulge me in a nostalgic look back at a warm , enchanting summer in the company of nature .
This Bucket will focus on the native plants , invertebrates , and mammals of the Bison Range.
” Crossing the party line by JakeTLogsdon5880 describes the writer ’ s evolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Democrats are terrible , to a Never Trump Republican , and then to a Democrat posting on a lefty website ( that ’ s us ) .
`` Accountability was a crucial lesson that my family tried to instill in me early on .
To take responsibility for my actions but to also call out others when they were in the wrong .
If ever there was an administration so fundamentally lacking in that trait , it would be this one .
If you can believe it , though , my slow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so much , was not totally about Donald Trump . ''
This new member , who graduated from high school in 2016 , joined Daily Kos and published this first story on Dec. 9 .
But , Consider ... by SmallTownHick rants about Trump and Republicans .
The story headline references the author ’ s repeated requests to consider different aspects of Trump ’ s domination and transformation of the Republican party .
“ In 2020 , the GOP is the party of Trump .
Period .
Koch ( brothers ) who ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ smaller party , because all the moderates and a lot of the functionaries have jumped ship .
But what ’ s left belongs to Trump .
They are his followers , his cultists.
” SmallTownHick joined in 2011 and has written 97 stories ( with two rescued ) .
The Daily Bucket : The Skagit - flowers in spring , birding in winter by Jeff Graham celebrates the Skagit Valley north of Seattle .
“ Thousands of Trumpeter swans and Snow geese gather in avian rafts .
When they take to the air @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to me , a harmonious gabbling and sky full of movement .
I will take you with me to discover what my wife and I saw at two sites in the Skagit Flats on a trip Dec. 2 .
With acres of marsh , Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the background , we watched transfixed for a time .
Here , only an hour from Seattle , was this pristine wildlife area that was open to the public.
” Jeff joined two months ago and has written five nature-related stories .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @

Writing these blurbs for the 14 rescued stories was like reliving the week’s tension over our political turmoil, plus Trump’s wacky-yet-not-amusing alternate election reality, and other conspiracy theories. Two wildlife refuge stories with gorgeous photos offered me an escape from our national drama, a peaceful time to restore my energy, and motivated me to guide others to the nature havens of Daily Kos.
This week, two Community authors take readers on tours of wildlife refuges: a Pacific Northwest wetland full of overwintering waterfowl, and a Montana bison refuge during summer flowering. These stories have no alarming messages, and give readers a chance to enjoy virtual hikes without piling on winter jackets or swatting mosquitoes. The Daily Kos Community has three such havens regularly available every week.
Among the mosaic of different groups focused on member interests are three nature-focused groups, which publish original stories daily (Backyard Science) or weekly (Saturday Morning Garden Blogging and Birds and Birdwatching). The Backyard Science group focuses on the patterns of nature around us, the phenology of our home areas, and publishes the Daily Bucket every morning. The Garden Blogging group, “a convocation of those with grimy fingernails,” publishes a story every Saturday morning, enriched with photos of the author’s garden or a related activity. Here’s this week’s edition. The birdwatchers’ group publishes the Dawn Chorus each Sunday. Last week’s story centered on Stellar jays, near the author’s home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
If hikes in nature, even virtual ones, make you itch from imaginary insect bites or recoil from hypothetical grizzlies, there are Daily Kos groups offering other havens. For example, the Readers and Booklovers group is represented by two rescued stories this week, and Street Prophets with one.
Even our politics can be a haven from political distress! A new Community member found Daily Kos as a refuge from politics that no longer fit their values and ethics. We rescued the story describing their transformation from Republican to Democrat.
What groups have you created or joined? Tell us about them in a comment.
Stories Rescued from 4PM EST Friday Dec. 4 through 4PM EST Friday Dec. 11, 2020
Community Spotlight’s Rescue Rangers read every story published by Community writers. When we discover awesome work that isn’t receiving the attention it deserves, we rescue it to our group blog and publish a weekly collection—like this one—each Saturday. Rescue priorities and actions were explained in a previous edition: Community Spotlight: Rescuing your excellent stories for over 14 years. You also can find a link in Meteor Blades’ “Night Owls” series, which publishes daily between 10-11PM EST.
Western Monarch Butterfly Count Plummets to New Low by giddy thing reports the Thanksgiving count data for monarch butterflies that overwinter along the California coast, and offers some reasons why the population is crashing. “So why was 2020 such a poor year for monarchs? Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, thinks the western population may be suffering from ‘death by a thousand cuts.’” User giddy thing, who joined in 2011 and has written 41 stories (with 21 rescued), is a wildlife biologist living in Montana’s Rocky Mountains.
Hey Salon, Chevy Chase Nailed the Fascist Aesthetic In Christmas Vacation 30 Years Ago by stilltilting. The author claims that their “brain makes weird connections,” however they come up with a sensible understanding after connecting National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation with an article about MAGA crowds being motivated by entertainment, not ideas. Trump attracts his fans via emotions, takes their outrage and directs it away from the actual cause of their distress. “(Trump) found out he could give all the pissed off people a way to express their anger; mostly at people who are their neighbors ,instead of at the very rich people who live in different neighborhoods altogether.” Stilltilting joined in 2020 and has written 21 stories (with five rescued).
It's the Little Things: Street Prophets Coffee Hour by Aashirs nani showcases the crocheted and knitted gift items the author makes—hats, socks, spa face cloths, and potholders. “With so many people to give gifts, and with the not-so-close relationships, I have found ways to make very small things that are made quickly and cost very little. Everyone in my daughter's family has at least one large item I've made over the years, an afghan that will last. But generally, I give more token gifts than big, splashy things.” Aashirs nani, a retired special ed teacher in Kansas, joined in 2015 and has written 42 stories (with three rescued).
Dave Brubeck at 100: Celebrating America's Foremost Jazz Diplomat (Part 2) by Charles Jay covers music, race relations, international policy and more. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the cool jazz legend's birth, Charles talks about Brubeck’s accomplishments, including the musical Brubeck and his wife wrote to lay out “the hypocrisy of the State Department using jazz musicians as ambassadors representing the U.S. abroad when they faced discrimination at home.” Charles Jay joined in 2018 and has written 90 stories (with three rescued). His profile page says he’s from New York City, noting that “during a 30-plus-year career as a writer and editor for an international news agency, I was barred from openly supporting a political candidate and posting a political opinion on social media. I'm retired and making up for lost time.”
The Language of the Night: Her Story, but also His-tory by DrLori reviews Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune. "This is easily the most profound book I’ve read all year. I can’t go much farther because anything more treads on spoiler territory. I chose it for tonight because winter is a time for reading great books, and The Empress of Salt and Fortune is, in a symphony of seasonal reading, the single violin that cuts through all the noise and rhythm to quicken your heartbeat and make your soul sing." DrLori joined in 2010 and has written 211 stories (with 108 rescued). She has a Ph.D. in medieval manuscripts and describes herself as a “novelist and house restorer who is an overeducated liberal in the deep, deep red Shenandoah Valley.”
A Nation of Laws or Privilege: a Litmus Test by RJohnB answers the question "Will the Biden Department of Justice investigate and prosecute Donald J Trump?” RJohnB notes that “the fact that the question is asked is terrifying … It is not that Trump is the most vicious criminal this country has produced. Arguably, his crimes have not been especially grave in comparison to others. Rather, they have been transparent, brazen, and their impact magnified by the unwillingness or inability of our leaders and institutions to react in any meaningful way.” RJohnB joined in 2015 and has written six stories. This is their first rescue.
On Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories by RichardSproat explores “the differences between real conspiracies, and the conspiracy theories that are threatening to choke us to death.” The basis for this discussion is a paper about an artificial intelligence tool that “applies network analysis to collections of text that relate to two conspiracies. One, Bridgegate, an actual event from Chris Christie’s administration in New Jersey that involved an act of political revenge; and Pizzagate, a conspiracy theory that has no basis in fact.” RichardSproat joined in 2017 and has written 25 stories. This is their first rescue.
Contemporary Fiction Views: When characters know they don't fit in by bookgirl centers on Earthlings, a book by Sayaka Murata, which is “one of those novels where the underlying ideas are more important than the plot. What choices do people have when they know they don't fit in?” Bookgirl joined in 2008 and has written 240 stories (with 92 rescued). They are a “proud public school librarian and teacher who believes in reading widely and deeply.”
The history of our times will be written by its survivors by vjr7121 examines “(h)ow history will record the leadership exhibited by Donald Trump and his Republican Party.” The author notes that the “most ardent followers rarely survive the death of a cult,” and ponders if we will survive. “I think what we are now experiencing at the end of the Trump presidency is an implosion of leadership. Like a Stephen Hawking black hole, Trump attracts all those in his orbit and draws them into his imploding star. They, for their turn, happily attach themselves to his dying star.” Vjr7127, who joined in 2017 and has written 157 stories (with 21 rescued), describes themself as “a retired educator, sometime writer, (and) full-time liberal.”
Perhaps the Ex-Presidents Should Promote American Democracy Too by paradox wonders if the living former presidents, rumored to “put forth a serious public relations effort for Americans to accept the new COVID-19 vaccine,” also will unite to save the country. “Many voices have said when the Electoral College meets and finalizes its vote, then the election process must really, totally be over and universally accepted, (and) President Trump will be gone January 20th. Well, what happens if all of a sudden President Trump and his huge army of enablers just announce the American Electoral College is now moot, (and claim) it’s as rigged as the election was?” Paradox, who self-identifies as a “Machiavellian little people liberal,” joined in 2003 and has written 1,038 stories (with 57 rescued).
The Daily Bucket: Flora & Fauna of the National Bison Range is the second story by giddy thing rescued this week. “This past summer, I had the privilege of roaming the Bison Range to survey for milkweeds and monarch butterflies under a scientific use permit. My wanderings brought many encounters with wildlife and many moments of distraction admiring a fragile wildflower, a fleeting dragonfly, or a breathtaking landscape. As we edge toward the winter solstice, I hope you’ll indulge me in a nostalgic look back at a warm, enchanting summer in the company of nature. This Bucket will focus on the native plants, invertebrates, and mammals of the Bison Range.”
Crossing the party line by JakeTLogsdon5880 describes the writer’s evolution from a proud Republican taught by family that Democrats are terrible, to a Never Trump Republican, and then to a Democrat posting on a lefty website (that’s us). "Accountability was a crucial lesson that my family tried to instill in me early on. To take responsibility for my actions but to also call out others when they were in the wrong. If ever there was an administration so fundamentally lacking in that trait, it would be this one. If you can believe it, though, my slow separation from the very party I loved so much, was not totally about Donald Trump." This new member, who graduated from high school in 2016, joined Daily Kos and published this first story on Dec. 9.
But, Consider... by SmallTownHick rants about Trump and Republicans. The story headline references the author’s repeated requests to consider different aspects of Trump’s domination and transformation of the Republican party. “In 2020, the GOP is the party of Trump. Period. Koch (brothers) who? It is a leaner party, a smaller party, because all the moderates and a lot of the functionaries have jumped ship. But what’s left belongs to Trump. They are his followers, his cultists.” SmallTownHick joined in 2011 and has written 97 stories (with two rescued).
The Daily Bucket: The Skagit - flowers in spring, birding in winter by Jeff Graham celebrates the Skagit Valley north of Seattle. “Thousands of Trumpeter swans and Snow geese gather in avian rafts. When they take to the air, the sky is filled with, to me, a harmonious gabbling and sky full of movement. I will take you with me to discover what my wife and I saw at two sites in the Skagit Flats on a trip Dec. 2. With acres of marsh, Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains in the background, we watched transfixed for a time. Here, only an hour from Seattle, was this pristine wildlife area that was open to the public.” Jeff joined two months ago and has written five nature-related stories. This is his first rescued story.