Shaping the news.

July 14, 2022

          Let’s start today’s newsletter with opportunities to shape the news rather than merely reading about it.

Postcards to Voters working to defeat proposed constitutional amendment in Kansas

          I received the following email from Tony the Democrat at PostCardsToVoters:

Postcards to Voters has today launched a volunteer effort to mail handwritten election reminders to over 200,000 voters in Kansas to DEFEAT their August 2nd constitutional amendment.

If you, your friends, and followers would like to help, invite them to text JOIN to (484) 275-2229 or to email Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org.

          As explained by Ballotpedia, a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision ruled that the Kansas Bill of Rights includes a right to abortion. The amendment would eliminate the right to abortion protected by the Kansas Bill of Rights if adopted.

          If you have written postcards previously, you know that it is easy, gratifying, and effective. If not, why not accept Tony’s invitation and give it a try?

Activism 101 for “newbies” and “professionals”

          Jessica Craven at Chop Wood, Carry Water is running an Activism 101 course, described as follows:

Activism 101 is a free, one-hour webinar for people of varying levels of experience with activism and/or political action. It’s for folks who’ve never helped win *any* election, and for those who merely need a refresher on what actions work best. It’s a survey course with one goal: to give those who are frightened and anxious about the state of our country simple, bite-sized actions they can take to help hold the House, expand the Senate, win down-ballot races, and basically make good things happen in November and beyond.

          Jessica is a dynamic advocate for democracy. If you don’t subscribe to her Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter, you should. (I do!)

Urge Congress to pass the Youth Voting Rights Act.

          The Civics Center is an organization devoted to increasing registration and turnout among young voters. The Civics Center is promoting a petition to urge Congress to pass the Youth Voting Rights Act, described as follows:

The Youth Voting Rights Act will expand young people's access to voting by increasing voter registration opportunities at universities, requiring every state to allow preregistration beginning at age 16, and creating a grant program for youth participation in elections.

You can sign a petition asking Congress to act here: Call on Congress to pass the Youth Voting Rights Act.

The sham use of executive privilege by Trump’s advisors.

          Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone testified before the January 6th Committee and answered questions about conversations with administration officials. But Cipollone refused to testify about his conversations with Trump on the ground that such communications were protected from disclosure by the “executive privilege.”

          For many reasons, Cipollone’s assertions of privilege were a sham and made in bad faith. “Executive privilege” is a murky claim that refers to a bundle of privileges relating to the president’s ability to protect the confidentiality of communications. But whatever the privilege is, it arises from and is limited by the president’s overarching duty to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” (Article II, Section 3).

          If the president is not acting in his presidential capacity to “faithfully execute” the laws of the United States, the purposes of the privilege do not apply, and there is no basis for claiming confidentiality. For example, while Trump was president, he was also a candidate for reelection. His communications regarding political strategy are not protected. He also remained engaged in Trump Organization affairs; executive privilege does not protect any conversations relating to his business interests.

          The specific conversations as to which Cipollone invoked privilege appear to relate to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In that capacity, Trump acted as a candidate advancing his personal interests, not as a president seeking to faithfully execute the laws. And to the extent that Trump proposed measures that were plainly illegal—imposition of martial law so the military could “re-run” the 2020 election—his actions were adverse to the interests of the US and therefore not protected by executive privilege. And, as Professor Tribe has noted, the “crime-fraud” exception defeats executive privilege. See generally, The Center for American Progress, The Executive Privilege Is Far From Absolute.

          Pat Cipollone is a smart person. He knows that the communications he refuses to discuss are related to the criminal efforts by Trump to overturn the 2020 election. He knows that executive privilege does not protect those communications, but he continues to put his personal loyalty to Trump above the interests of the American people. Pat Cipollone is no hero for his tardy appearance to answer some questions while refusing to expose the criminal activity of Donald Trump.  He is yet another example of a Trump loyalist who protected a corrupt president when it mattered most.

Austin-American Statesman releases hallway video of Uvalde massacre.

          Texas officials continue to lie and conceal the facts surrounding their criminal misconduct in responding to the Uvalde school shooting. The Austin-American Statesman published the video of Texas law enforcement standing in the hallway for an hour while the gunman shot children and teachers. The video disproves dozens of statements made by law enforcement officials about the alleged “heroic” response by officers. Virtually everything Texas officials have said about the response to date has been a lie. They cannot be trusted.

          I have not watched the video, but I have read the summary published by the Austin-American Statesman. It is horrific and painful to read, but it begins to pull back the veil from the reality of the nineteen children and two teachers killed over an hour while more than a dozen officers did nothing. As many readers have noted, we need to bring forward such evidence to drive home the horror of killings by assault rifles. Sadly, we may need more disclosure, not less, about the massacre at Uvalde. It may be the only way to pierce the hardened hearts of politicians who care more about guns than the lives of children and teachers.

Trump may be turning on Mark Meadows. Good.

          In a sign that the January 6th hearings are hitting their mark, Trump has begun to deflect blame for January 6th onto his aides, including Mark Meadows. See Rolling Stone, Trump's Lawyers Think Jan. 6 Will Bring Mark Meadows Down. Trump has begun telling friends “that he didn’t always know what Meadows was doing during the months leading up to the riot.” Good. If Trump turns on them, they will turn on him. That will help ensure that Trump is brought to justice.

          Two other stories dropped regarding the foreknowledge that Trump did not plan to leave office no matter what happened. Mark Meadows reportedly told an aide not to look for a new job after election day because “we’re actually going to be staying.” And Mother Jones released an audiotape of Steve Bannon saying before Election Day,

What Trump’s gonna do is just declare victory. Right? He’s gonna declare victory. But that doesn’t mean he’s a winner. He’s just gonna say he’s a winner. [A]t 10 or 11 o’clock Trump’s gonna walk in the Oval, tweet out, ‘I’m the winner. Game over. Suck on that.”

          That is precisely what happened (although Trump didn’t make his announcement until 2:00 AM). It sure sounds like Trump’s plan was to never leave the Oval Office—even before the votes were counted. Someone should drag Steve Bannon before a grand jury.

Concluding Thoughts.

          I want to expand and amend my remarks from yesterday’s Concluding Thoughts. I did not intend to criticize anyone who does not share my radical optimism. Many readers of this newsletter are Holocaust survivors, their children, or refugees who fled Europe on the eve of WWII. Others have come to America from countries where autocrats rule with an iron fist.

          On many occasions, I have heard from readers that they fear that “tanks will soon roll down Pennsylvania Avenue” to start rounding up Jews, Muslims, or immigrants. Given the life experience of some of my readers and the resurgence of white nationalism in America, that scenario is not hypothetical; it happened to them once, and they fear it can happen again. Understandably so.

          Other people always assume the worst will happen as protection against future disappointment. That coping strategy is understandable, natural, and widespread.

          So, while not meaning to criticize anyone who doesn’t have a default setting for optimism, if you are someone who can provide comfort and strength to others by modeling optimism about the future, do so at every opportunity. In difficult times, people are often at a loss regarding how to react. They are looking for social cues and guidance on how to act in the face of bad news. A little bit of leadership and confidence can go a long way to helping others through tough times. If you can, step up to the moment and be that leader!

          Talk to you tomorrow!