 Another Inspector General's head on a plate! Trump has fired four oversight officials of major government departments in the past six weeks. (Here, Danny Kaye comes up against government corruption in The Inspector General, 1949)  I Sense a Pattern Here... On April 3, President Donald Trump fired Michael Atkinson, the intelligence committee watchdog who handled the whistleblower complaint about Trump's pressure campaign against the Ukraine that triggered his impeachment. A few days later, on April 6, the president removed Glenn A. Fine as acting inspector general for the Defense Department, and also as head of the new Pandemic Response Oversight Committee. Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi A. Grimm, of the Department of Health and Human Services, released a report outlining hospital equipment shortages. She was fired on May 1. Finally, State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was ousted Friday evening, seemingly in retaliation for his investigation of Sec. of State Mike Pompeo. Nearly a year ago the House passed legislation (HR 1847) intended to strengthen the roles of Inspectors General and protect them in their work. Demand that your Senators and Representatives denounce Trump’s dangerous pattern of retaliation against the public officials charged with conducting oversight on behalf of the American people. Write this week! —Kathy Sherretts Postage Paid: ProPublica: Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail by Jessica Huseman and Mike Spies Many Republican secretaries of state reject mail fraud concerns and see no alternative to absentee voting if the pandemic persists. NPR: How Will the Pandemic Affect Voting? (Podcast, 44 min, + transcript) The U.S. prides itself on its democracy in theory, but this year, not necessarily in practice. Run for Your Life: The Atlantic: Who Gets to Be Afraid in America? by Ibram X. Kendi Self-defense, like the Second Amendment, like stand-your-ground laws, has been colonized by white men. Swamp Thing: Slate: This Is Still Happening: David Bernhardt by Jeremy Stahl As Secretary of the Interior (replacing Ryan Zinke), Bernhardt’s abuses of office are typical of Trump administration corruption, in which regulators are appointed specifically for their willingness to destroy the things they’re officially supposed to protect. Rationalization Nation: With Friends Like These: Why (Most) People Don’t Convert (Podcast, 34 min) When we make bad choices we must, unconsciously, create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right—a belief that can keep us on a course that is dumb, immoral, and wrong.  Voting in a Pandemic Year Help make the 2020 election free, fair, accessible, and secure, from the Brennan Center for Justice Learn More About Candidates and Issues! 
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Yes, You Can Compost in City Apartments My husband once bought me a compost tumbler for Christmas, and my appalled sisters asked, “Is this marriage on the rocks?” But my Ohio neighbors were envious, knowing I’d no longer have to trudge out to the old compost pile in the woods but could toss kitchen scraps into the tumbler beside the back door. It never occurred to me I could compost indoors. “Our compost box sits in the corner of our living room,” explains New Yorker Hiroko Tabuchi. “We do keep a cover on it to prevent flies, and, in seven years, we’ve never had a problem with insects.” All it takes is a cardboard box, coco peat (available online) and wood ash. —Karen McCann PS. Don’t tell my husband; he has a birthday coming up.  Arthur Lien captures the Supreme Court's first remote sessions for SCOTUSblog. That's Not What I Heard There are lots of conspiracy theories out there about the Covid19 virus: it escaped from a Chinese lab. It was deliberately released by the US military. 5G, Bill Gates, GMOs, deep state. Check out this browser extension to help screen out false news sources, and this publication from George Mason University to combat the spread of conspiracy theories of all kinds. (Meanwhile, let's spread this theory.) —Kathy Sherretts Show Me the Money: • Axios: Trump's tax returns fight reaches the Supreme Court by Sam Baker Is the president of the United States immune from congressional—and criminal—investigation? Oral arguments (Live broadcast remotely from the justices' and lawyers' homes and offices) is scheduled this week involving efforts by congressional committees and New York prosecutors to obtain Trump’s financial records. Tune in Tuesday on C-SPAN. • WNYC/ProPublica: Trump, Inc: The Accountants (Podcast/transcript, 38 min) Voting Counts: • Verified Voting Foundation: COVID-19 election security recommendations Alert Resister Christy Smith sent us the Verified Voting Foundation's news roundup for updated information on changing voting policies and primary election dates in the US. She also recommends VoterParticipation.org, which works with election officials to help people register to vote and cast their ballots by mail. Conservative Character: • The Lincoln Project: We Are Republicans, and We Want Trump Defeated by George T. Conway III, Steve Schmidt, John Weaver and Rick Wilson This political action committee was formed in 2019 by several prominent Republicans to prevent Trump's reelection. Last month they announced their endorsement of Joe Biden. Just for fun: Somewhere, there's baseball...  Voting in a Pandemic Year
Help make the 2020 election free, fair, accessible, and secure, from the Brennan Center for Justice Learn More About Candidates and Issues!   One Potato, Two Potato I love to cook and have spent much of the quarantine in my kitchen trying out new recipes. So it was dismaying to learn food distribution is ravaged by the pandemic. With restaurants, schools, and hotels closed, American dairies are tossing out 3.7 million gallons of milk a day, and smashed eggs, euthanized livestock, and ploughed-under crops are commonplace. When a microbrewery dumped 900 pounds of beer, Trevor Noah said, “All over America, fraternity houses’ flags are flying at half-mast.” I got to thinking about what we can do at home to be more responsible consumers. Mashable’s 6 ways to reduce food waste, even during a pandemic suggests simple solutions involving inventories, lists, and placing perishables at the back of refrigerators where temperatures are slightly cooler. One of the wackier ideas was turning unused food into art. Before you laugh, check out the potato sculptures created by my sister-in-law Deb and her sister Cyndie. Yes, quarantine does inspire masterpieces! —Karen McCann   You thought it was a joke, didn't you? Maybe this will get the mask skeptics on board. We're Done Here Congratulations, all you Resisters in Spain, on getting out of the house a bit this week! Here in the US, where we are taking a more Wild West approach to public health, many states are lifting restrictions and encouraging citizens to get back to work. I felt that I was being reasonably cautious while I was confident that everyone else was being cautious too. I'm getting jumpy, though, as safety measures are increasingly seen as a partisan issue, and people leave off their masks to demonstrate their confidence in the president. —Kathy Sherretts How It's Done: NPR/Fresh Air: Compared With China, U.S. Stay-At-Home Has Been 'Giant Garden Party,' Journalist Says (Podcast, 37 min; text highlights) Science reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr. says China showed how to stop a fast-moving pandemic, using widespread testing and a strict quarantine. "We're reluctant to follow China, but they did it...They did it brutally, but brilliantly." In the Mail: The Guardian: Vote safely by mail in November? Not so fast, say Republicans by Sam Levine Even as state-level Republican officials are seeking to scale up their vote-by-mail operations, congressional Republicans have staunchly opposed efforts that would make it easier to vote. Should They Stay or Should They Go? Politico: Mitch McConnell's coronavirus gamble by Burgess Everett and Marianne Levine The Capitol’s attending physician released guidelines Friday for the Senate’s return, recommending but not requiring that staffers wear face coverings. Says Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, “… there’s no reason to bring the Senate back to make conservative radio hosts happy. That’s a dereliction of duty.” The House decided to delay its return by one more week. Sad Anniversary: Can it be 50 years?  Voting in a Pandemic Year Help make the 2020 election free, fair, accessible, and secure, from the Brennan Center for Justice Learn More About Candidates and Issues! |
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November 2020
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