Speaker Marjorie Taylor Greene

March 9, 2023

          On Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene served as the Speaker pro tempore of the US House of Representatives. She sat in the Speaker’s chair as the Clerk of the House read the following proclamation:

“The Speaker’s Rooms, Washington, DC, March 8th, 2023. I hereby appoint the Honorable Marjorie Taylor Greene to act as Speaker pro tempore on this day. Signed, Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the House of Representatives.”

          The reversal of fortunes for Rep. Greene is stunning. Just two years ago, Democrats refused to seat Greene on House committees because of her career-long peddling of antisemitic memes and bizarre conspiracy theories. Remember the theory that “Jewish space lasers” were responsible for the outbreak of wildfires in California in 2021?

That was only one of Greene’s outrageous comments. She questions the reality of mass shootings in schools, suggested that planes did not crash into the World Trade Center on 9/11, and promotes QANON beliefs based on the fictitious “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” that claims a cabal of Jews secretly runs the world. There is much more. See Forward, Every antisemitic thing Marjorie Taylor Greene has said.

          It would be one thing to bestow a high honor on Greene if she had confessed error and issued a contrite apology for her multitude of offensive statements. Not so here. Just two weeks ago, she was promoting a “national divorce” between “red” states and “blue” states—something that sounds awfully like a “civil war.”

          But no statement is too traitorous or offensive for Kevin McCarthy to say, “I haven’t seen / heard / read about that yet.” For example, when asked if he regretted giving Tucker Carlson access to the January 6th Capitol Hill surveillance tapes, McCarthy responded, 'I didn't see what was aired.' An understandable omission given that McCarthy must have taken refuge in a ferret burrow to avoid seeing the devastation wrought by the fire-sale auction of his scruples, dignity, and conscience to secure the Speaker’s chair.

          But I digress. While Americans have every reason to be offended by the sight of an antisemitic proponent of a second civil war sitting in the Speaker’s chair, McCarthy’s soul-grinding debasement will come back to hurt the GOP in the next election cycle. McCarthy’s critics said (correctly) that Democrats would use the unedited video of Greene in the Speaker’s chair as a political attack ad. See The Independent,‘Beyond parody’: Outrage after Marjorie Taylor Greene briefly handed Speaker’s gavel by Kevin McCarthy.

          McCarthy’s humiliation and the GOP’s descent into Bizarro World are not limited to appointing a secessionist to preside over a legislative chamber that is a hallmark of our national unity. House Republicans began a series of hearings on Wednesday that are the anti-matter equivalent of investigations designed to learn the truth.

          For example, a subcommittee investigating the events of January 6^th is being led by the GOP Rep. Brian Loudermilk, who famously gave tours of the Capitol to “constituents” on January 5^th who photographed stairwells and tunnels in the Capitol, locations not coveted as Instagram-selfie backdrops. Loudermilk says his committee will focus on “security failures” on January 6^th.

          Hmm. If there was a security failure on January 6^th, it might be because domestic terrorists were armed with photos of stairwells and tunnels taken on January 5^th during the tour given by Rep. Loudermilk—photos that allowed insurrectionists to quickly navigate to their intended locations in the Capitol.

What are the chances that Loudermilk will explore possible connections between the illegal reconnaissance performed by members of his tour group and the attack on the Capitol? Not good. See PBS Newshour,  Jan. 6 panel releases video of Rep. Loudermilk leading a Capitol tour day before attack.

          After Marjorie Taylor Greene gaveled the House to order on Wednesday, she made a beeline to attend a GOP committee investigating the federal government’s Covid response. Greene previously compared Covid vaccination requirements to “Nazi’s forc[ing] Jewish people to wear a gold star,” demonstrating that she is ignorant about both the Holocaust and the science of vaccination.

          “Up is down, and down is up” in Kevin McCarthy’s kompromat House. I find it difficult to hear these reports and not surrender to anger. But we should recognize that House Republicans are committing a strategic blunder of epic proportions.

They are focusing their investigations on topics that highlight their weak spots and failures—January 6^th, Trump's Covid response, and media / tech bias. Those topics are lose-lose-lose for Republicans. The only thing worse they can do is to suggest cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits. Oh, wait, they are doing that, too!

          So, let’s not give in to anger or despair. The GOP investigations are self-limiting and self-defeating. And Democrats have demonstrated they have the will and ability to turn the investigations against McCarthy’s blackmailers. We should feel confident and hopeful that Republicans will embarrass themselves and accomplish nothing while Democrats distinguish themselves in the hearings. Given the GOP majority in the House, we can’t ask for much more than that.

An impending decision of immense environmental impact.

          The Biden administration will make a decision in the next week or so that could have a major environmental impact. ConocoPhillips is seeking permission to open five sites on Alaska’s North Slope to produce 600 million barrels of oil over the next 30 years. Mother Jones takes a deep dive into the proposed project here: Alaska Natives Beg Biden to Halt Massive Oil Project – Mother Jones. Per the article,

The Willow Project, proposed by ConocoPhillips, would be the largest single oil development to proceed under the Biden administration if it is approved. The project would pump more than 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years from a rapidly warming Arctic region, and environmental groups say it is wholly inconsistent with the administration’s climate goals.

          I learned of this project on my recent trip to Alaska. If approved, it will have significant negative effects on the Alaskan environment and native peoples. Moreover, it will simply prolong US dependence on oil and displace demand for green energy sources.

I highly recommend the article in Mother Jones. Although the administration may make a decision as early as next week, there are always opportunities to delay or reverse the decision. Now is a good time to educate yourself about the fight to come. Check out the article. More on this topic in future newsletters.

California announces non-renewal of contract with Walgreens.         

          California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will not renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens—a first step in California’s “exhaustive review” of its relationship with the company. See Politico, California to halt $54M Walgreens contract over company's policy on abortion drug sales.

          Walgreens has (apparently) caved to pressure from twenty-one GOP attorneys general threatening legal action against the company if it distributes mifepristone, a drug that is approved by the FDA for therapeutic abortions.

          Newsom was not subtle in announcing the purpose of the non-renewal. He said,

This is an attempt to call the question ‘Which side are you on? Whose side are you on?” Are you going to just cower in the face of bullies? Are you going to just roll over?”

          Newsom noted that California’s population is equivalent to the combined population of the twenty-one states that have threatened Walgreens with legal action if it continues to distribute a legal drug with FDA clearance.

          Although Michael Moore has called for a boycott of Walgreens, I have not yet seen a boycott effort by a national organization. If anyone is aware of such an effort, please let me know, and I will publicize.

Did a group of Ukrainian sympathizers sabotage the Nordstream gas pipeline?

          Seven months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, someone blew up the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline that ran from Russia to Germany. The pipeline was not operational at the time, and Germany had refused to allow its completion because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

          In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, Russia and the US exchanged accusations of responsibility for the attack. Others blamed Ukraine. The perpetrators have not yet been identified, but the NYTimes published a story several days ago based on anonymous US intelligence sources claiming that a group of independent Ukrainian sympathizers are responsible for the sabotage.

          What makes this mystery difficult to unravel is the question of motivation. The Nordstream pipelines were not operational at the time of the explosion and will likely not be re-started until Russia ends hostilities against Ukraine. Theories abound about the responsible party, but there is little evidence to back up the theories. Some observers believe that the leak to the NYTimes was an effort by the Biden administration to get ahead of a disclosure that Ukrainian partisans (acting independently) were responsible for the blast.

          The question of motivation is examined in detail in Univision, Were Ukrainian saboteurs behind the explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline? I am not suggesting that the analysis in the Univision article is correct. I am suggesting that approaching the question fortified with an understanding of the cross-competing motivations will help you make sense of this story as it unfolds in the coming weeks. Check it out.

More on the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

          I received a note from Sarah O. of PostCardsToVoters reminding me of an urgent need for volunteers to send postcards to help Judge Janet Protasiewicz for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. From Sarah:

To join PostcardsToVoters.org, text “join” to 484-275-2229 or email "Hello" to join@tonythedemocrat.org. If you are already a member, just text “hello” to Abby the bot at same phone number. 

Also, please ask your readers with large followings on social media to tweet or post that we only have three weeks left to write postcards to get Democrats out to vote in the most important election of the year and suggesting that their followers write postcards via PostcardsToVoters.org.

Concluding Thoughts.

          March 8, 2023, is International Women’s Day. I will say up front that I have a bias in favor of women. I am a happily married husband of 41 years, the father of three daughters, and the grandfather to three granddaughters. I have witnessed first-hand that women must work harder, longer, and better for the privilege of receiving less than their male counterparts. That is an injustice that we must eliminate as soon as possible.

This International Women’s Day is more important than ever. The US Supreme Court and red-state legislatures are doing their best to convert American women into second-class citizens. I am bewildered every day that there are not continuous mass protests regarding this assault on 50.4% of the US population.

          We must not normalize or rationalize the assault on the equal rights and personal liberties of women. Women’s rights are human rights. Women are the key to raising healthy children, lifting families out of poverty, and maintaining our democracy. Women have been the backbone of the resistance to Trump and MAGA extremism. They made the difference in 2018, 2020, and 2022—and will make the difference in 2024.

          So, on this International Women’s Day, take a moment to appreciate the women in your family and community. And while you are appreciating their positive contribution to your life, take the next step and thank them. And then go do something to help protect the rights and liberties of all women, everywhere.

          Talk to you tomorrow!