03 February 20
Amanda Marcotte | Voting to Acquit This Noxious Criminal Is the Point of No Return for the Republican Party
Amanda Marcotte, Salon
Marcotte writes: "Today Republicans make it official: Out of sheer lust for power, they've rejected democracy and basic decency."
EXCERPTS:
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., all but admitted as much Thursday, in a series of tweets acknowledging that the accusation against Trump — that he withheld military aid and political support for Ukraine in order to force that struggling nation's president to help him cheat in the election — "has already been proven." But Trump's behavior, Alexander claimed, was merely "inappropriate" but "does not meet the U.S. Constitution's high bar for an impeachable offense."
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Amanda Marcotte, Salon
Marcotte writes: "Today Republicans make it official: Out of sheer lust for power, they've rejected democracy and basic decency."
EXCERPTS:
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., all but admitted as much Thursday, in a series of tweets acknowledging that the accusation against Trump — that he withheld military aid and political support for Ukraine in order to force that struggling nation's president to help him cheat in the election — "has already been proven." But Trump's behavior, Alexander claimed, was merely "inappropriate" but "does not meet the U.S. Constitution's high bar for an impeachable offense."
This will be the final note of a long process in which the Republicans allowed arguments in the Congressional Record, most notably from fabled defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz, defending a president's "right" to cheat in elections, and then affirmed this belief with a formal vote.
Dershowitz is now running around, making incoherent claims that he wasn't arguing what he said he was arguing, but that hardly matters. His case for presidential tyranny was made on the Senate floor, and his attempts to claw it back in the media don't carry anywhere near the same weight.
For those of us who have watched Republicans closely throughout this process, what has been striking is the shamelessness and bad faith on display, as they have competed to be the biggest lickspittle to the wannabe fascist smearing his fake tan all over the White House.
Was it Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, openly bragging about how he was coordinating with the Trump defense team to rig this sham of a trial?
Was it Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas starting a podcast about impeachment dedicated to licking Trump's shoes, despite the fact that Trump spent the election calling Cruz's wife ugly and accusing Cruz's dad of murdering JFK?
Was it Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky using the trial as an excuse to air the name of the whistleblower who first reported Trump's bribery scheme, a move clearly meant to suggest to intimidate other federal employees out of stepping forward with information about Trump's crimes and corruption?
Was it Sen. Susan Collins of Maine working herself into an outrage over Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., accusing Republicans of being a bunch of quislings who let Trump control them, even though the upcoming miscarriage of justice proves Schiff correct?
Republicans have structural and geographic advantages that allow them to stave off the threat of actual democracy, but they fear that this won't last forever. As never-Trumper Evan McMullin noted on Twitter:
Republican leaders in Congress believe—and privately say—that they fear the country is quickly changing in ways that may soon deprive them of power, and that they must use the power they have now to delay it as long as possible, even by harming the Republic if necessary.
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Emmanuel Smith, who has brittle bone disease, said their caucuses had to travel over an hour each way to caucus in 2016. (photo: Nick Rohlman/Nick Rohlman/Guardian UK)
'You Basically Are Nothing': The Americans Shut Out of the Iowa Caucuses
Sam Levine, Guardian UK
Excerpt: "Hundreds of thousands of Iowans are barred from the Iowa caucus because of physical and legal barriers."
Sam Levine, Guardian UK
Excerpt: "Hundreds of thousands of Iowans are barred from the Iowa caucus because of physical and legal barriers."
EXCERPTS:
They were part of one of the largest groups shut out of Monday’s caucus: people with felony convictions. Iowans are barred from voting for life once they commit a felony, and people can’t vote even if they committed a crime decades ago. The state’s policy, one of the strictest in the country, means more than 42,000 Iowans out of prison won’t have a say in choosing a presidential candidate. Almost 10% of the black voting-age population can’t vote because of a felony conviction.
For decades, the Iowa caucuses have marked the beginning of the presidential primary, and often set the tone for the election year. But the event has come under increasing scrutiny for giving some voters – namely white and wealthy Iowans – outsized power in choosing the president in a state that’s already more than 90% white. Meanwhile, the physical and legal barriers built into the structure of the caucuses leave out large swaths of the population, whether they are disabled, work long hours, or were once convicted of a crime.
A few miles north, Gretchen Brown-Waech was getting ready for a historic caucus designed to serve another community often sidelined in the political dialogue: the 300,000 voting-age Iowans with disabilities.
For decades the population has struggled to take part in the caucuses, which requires Iowans to physically show up at a location and spend hours choosing a candidate. Brown-Waech, who is deaf, first tried to caucus in the 1990s, but when people started talking over each other, she found it overwhelming and left early. She didn’t try again until 2016 with the help of a friend because she felt the choice was so important.
Now, on Monday, after pressing state Democratic party officials, Brown-Waech is leading the first ever Iowa caucus in American Sign Language. She expects about 20 people to come to the event on Monday, some from hours away, including a deaf couple in their 60s that has never voted. “Anytime anyone who is not part of the mainstream is shut out of the political process, our country loses,” said Brown-Waech. “If we don’t design something for people on the margins, someone will always be left out.”
Since 2016, advocates have been pushing the Iowa Democratic party to address obstacles like transportation, navigating crowded spaces and seating that people with disabilities face to caucusing. The party has introduced some solutions – like allowing some groups to hold satellite caucuses in their homes or accessible locales.
Immigrant detainees gather in a common area at one of the housing units at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. (photo: Chris Carlson/AP)
The Ex-Leader of an Anti-Immigration Group Is Creating the Office in Charge of Fielding Civil Rights Complaints From Detainees
Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed
Aleaziz writes: "The Trump administration has named a hardline former leader of an anti-immigration group to help set up a new role created by Congress to oversee complaints of civil rights violations in detention centers and help those affected by misconduct."
Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed
Aleaziz writes: "The Trump administration has named a hardline former leader of an anti-immigration group to help set up a new role created by Congress to oversee complaints of civil rights violations in detention centers and help those affected by misconduct."
“That’s like letting the fox watch the hens,” one congressional staffer told BuzzFeed News.
he Trump administration has named a hardline former leader of an anti-immigration group to help set up a new role created by Congress to oversee complaints of civil rights violations in detention centers and help those affected by misconduct, according to an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman was created in the most recent appropriations bill to “address issues that arise in DHS detention facilities” and remain independent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or US Customs and Border Protection. The office will report directly to the secretary of Homeland Security.
Ken Cuccinelli, the controversial second-in-command at the Department of Homeland Security, appointed Julie Kirchner, former leader of FAIR, a group that advocated for policies that restrict immigration, to help set up the office, according to the memo. Cuccinelli also tapped Tracy Short — a former top ICE official who signed memos during the Trump administration to stop the agency from granting reprieves for certain immigrants facing deportation — to also help figure out the plans for the office.
“To spearhead this effort, I have asked Julie Kirchner, outgoing Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman, and Tracy Short, Senior Advisor at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to work with senior leadership and staff within the Department to lay the proper foundation for the [office],” according to the memo, which was dated Jan. 28.
Congress provided $10 million for the office to address issues of misconduct by DHS officials in detention centers, establish a process to oversee complaints made against immigration officials, inspect facilities, provide recommendations for improvement, and potentially help those whose rights have been violated while in custody.
“In the immediate days and weeks Julie and Tracy will be contacting a variety of individuals across the Department to solicit their input and request information regarding the formation of this new office,” Cuccinelli wrote.
Kirchner was initially picked as the ombudsman at USCIS in 2017, before her departure in the role was announced late last year.
When her appointment was originally announced in 2017, advocacy groups were outraged, due to her background at FAIR, which the Southern Poverty Law Center had labeled a hate group and "America’s most influential anti-immigrant organization."
"Kirchner’s new position is a very powerful one, which it makes it all the more disturbing considering her past work," the SPLC said at the time.
The move to appoint Kirchner and Short to help “lay the proper foundation” for the office will likely spur criticism from Congressional officials.
“That’s like letting the fox watch the hens,” said one congressional staffer in a message to BuzzFeed News.
John Sandweg, former acting head of ICE during the Obama administration, said the move was not surprising, but potentially indicative of how the administration sees the role.
“These are the architects of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies,” he said. “It’s not a surprise they would try to build this thing in a way that makes it as less impactful as possible and seems inconsistent with the intent of Congress when they created the office. We have to wait to see what the end product is.”
DHS did not immediately comment.
ICE has expanded the number of people it detains to record levels under President Trump. As of late January, the agency was detaining nearly 41,000 immigrants. The peak came last summer, when around 55,000 immigrants were in custody in local jails and private prisons across the country.
In December, the House Oversight and Reform Committee announced it had opened an investigation into the medical care of immigrant detainees in the wake of a BuzzFeed News story that revealed a series of allegations of substandard care from a whistleblower.
Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery told Politico about the emotional toll discussions on racism in politics can take on reporters of color. (photo: Kris Connor/Getty Images)
Washington Post Threatened Another Star Reporter Over His Tweets
Maxwell Tani, The Daily Beast
Tani writes: "The Washington Post's controversial decision to punish a reporter last week over a Kobe Bryant tweet is not the first time the newspaper's strict social-media policies have caused internal headaches and clashes between management and the paper's high-profile journalists."
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Maxwell Tani, The Daily Beast
Tani writes: "The Washington Post's controversial decision to punish a reporter last week over a Kobe Bryant tweet is not the first time the newspaper's strict social-media policies have caused internal headaches and clashes between management and the paper's high-profile journalists."
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Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign event on January 31, 2020 in Clinton, Iowa. (photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Pete Buttigieg's Elite-Friendly Politics Won't Help the Marginalized
Paul M. Renfro, Jacobin
Renfro writes: "Pete Buttigieg is this election's poster child for 'progressive neoliberalism' - offering up platitudes about diversity while leaving untouched the very structures that oppress people. It's time we left this kind of politics in the past."
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Paul M. Renfro, Jacobin
Renfro writes: "Pete Buttigieg is this election's poster child for 'progressive neoliberalism' - offering up platitudes about diversity while leaving untouched the very structures that oppress people. It's time we left this kind of politics in the past."
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Indian nationals arrive at the New Delhi airport in October after being deported from Mexico as they tried to enter the US. (photo: AFP/Getty Images)
'Scared for My Life': Why More Indians Are Joining Migrants on Risky Journey to Reach the US
Arya Sundaram, Guardian UK
Sundaram writes: "Many US immigration lawyers say the rise in undocumented Indian migration is linked to the rise of the Hindu nationalist ruling party - and the sectarian violence it has inspired."
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Arya Sundaram, Guardian UK
Sundaram writes: "Many US immigration lawyers say the rise in undocumented Indian migration is linked to the rise of the Hindu nationalist ruling party - and the sectarian violence it has inspired."
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A young farmer. (photo: SimonSkafar/Getty Images)
Climate Change Is Making It Harder to Be a Young Farmer
Leah Douglas, Grist
Douglas writes: "With this season's severe flooding, raging wildfires, and delayed planting, many of the country's farmers are struggling to adjust as climate change sets in."
Leah Douglas, Grist
Douglas writes: "With this season's severe flooding, raging wildfires, and delayed planting, many of the country's farmers are struggling to adjust as climate change sets in."
EXCERPT:
There are about 340,000 farms in the United States — 17 percent of the total — whose operators have been farming for less than 10 years, according to the Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Two-thirds of these farmers say they are already experiencing climate change, a 2017 survey by the National Young Farmers Coalition found.
“With climate change, it’s hard to put your finger on single events,” says Ben Whalen, who has farmed for three years at Bumbleroot Organic Farm near Portland, Maine. “But we’re accepting the reality that the weather is just going to get more extreme and unpredictable. That’s the mindset that we’re adopting as we start planning for the future of the farm.”
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