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Heartbreaking indeed. It could have been a better outcome had it not been bungled from the beginning.

So many spineless grifters in the Republican Party. Actually, it’s not the RP anymore is it? I’m not sure, but I think it’s past the tipping point. I hope I’m wrong. I’d like to be wrong about this.

That answer by Mr. Garland reminded me of another hearing where LT. Colonel Vindman said, “here, right matters.”

Thank you Professor.

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I'm at a loss to write anything that touches on the deaths of half a million unfinished lives. My dear cousin Johnny was one of the first, last April. The words of Shakespeare, Keats, Auden surprisingly don't capture the full mourning and grief of the survivors; his widow, father, sister, sons. Maybe Joan Didion comes the closest. And any of the many war writings (Robert Graves; Gallipoli) describe the horror of a death and the needless avoidable waste of humans.

Half a million.

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When Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) asked him to explain why he wanted to give up a lifetime appointment as a judge to take the job of attorney general to fight “hate and discrimination in American history,” Garland answered:

“I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti-Semitism and persecution. The country took us in and protected us. And I feel an obligation to the country to pay back. And this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back. And so, I want very much to be the kind of attorney general that you’re saying I could become. I’ll do my best to try to be that kind of attorney general.”

Silently choking back tears...

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The negativity now is becoming like spit in the wind. I even think tRump’s CPAC appearance might taste like milk starting to turn. I hope that many Republicans are tired of it now, too.

Merrick Garland, like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, is hard-working and just.

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Boy, am I grateful that you're still writing these!

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How is it that 65% of Republicans disapprove of the current handling of the corona virus crisis? The only thing to be upset about is “my team lost because America won.” It seems clear to me that Biden is fighting for Americans and Republicans are fighting for the red team.

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Listening to Judge Garland answer questions honestly, with humility and capably was a breath of fresh air!

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So heart wrenching yet somehow reassuring to listen to President Biden speak last night about the terrible losses our country has suffered from this virus. Leadership in action after such a long absence is comforting.

Yet only 34% of republicans ‘approve’ of President Biden’s handling of the virus. It makes one wonder what they would prefer? More unchecked rampant illness and death? Mind boggling. This, added to the utter ridiculousness of the continued republican insistence on their litany of lies, serves to dim what hope I have tried to nurture since the inauguration. The prospect of djt being their “presumptive 2024 nominee” and having control of the party, as Heather states, is terrifying. He is openly stating that he wants revenge. If he does manage to get elected we are in for horrors that none could imagine. Yet, it could happen. We must remember this and act accordingly, each to their own ability, or we will truly be lost.

I am currently reading The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells. Not even halfway through it yet but I can see the seriousness of this climate change crisis in ways I had not previously understood it - and I thought I understood it fairly well. This is a must read. In the context of climate change, all of this drama with djt is just that, drama. But becomes much more terrifyingly clear that he must. not. be. re-elected. We are already in serious trouble. If we don’t keep democrats in control we are doomed. That is not hyperbole. Read the book and you will understand that. I really don’t want to be a doomsayer but, here I am. Sorry to rain on anyone’s parade but I feel I must speak the truth that I see.

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This post is a bit long – and odd, I know. But HR-1 has been much on my mind of late and I decided to see what the other side was up to. And they are quite busy. What follows below is from the American Conservative Union (minus a photo of Nancy Pelosi tearing up DT’s State of Union speech).

The ACU is also the sponsor of the annual CPAC meeting that starts later this week. As I was looking at the website, I came across the list of speakers. It read like a Who’s Who of the “Let’s screw over the voters caucus” – a related, but separate wing of the “Let’s riot in the Capitol, assault the police, and hang elected officials who disagree with DT’s lies about the 2020 election knitting circle”.

This CPAC distinguishes itself as the first and hopefully last congress of its sort that has assembled such a collection of anti-democratic, current & former elected and appointment officials. CPAC is always a riotous display of demagoguery, but this time the riotous aspect is a bit more pronounced. That they would invite DJT is beyond my admittedly limited comprehension. I know there are reasons – but it is difficult even at this late date, to believe we, as a species, have sunk so very low.

That said, I’ve included below their pitch to defeat HR-1 (The “For the People” voting rights act) as well as a partial list of CPAC 2021 speakers.

If ever there was a time to organize support for a piece of legislation, this is that time. Call your Senators, Representatives, friends & neighbors and tell them to get behind this bill. I spoke with my Representative’s office yesterday. I will reach out to my Senators today. This is worth employing the nuclear option because without fundamental change, we could be looking at red ties in the halls of Congress for a long, long time.

“TELL CONGRESS: OPPOSE H.R. 1!

Right now, Radical Leftists in Congress are pushing a bill to demolish the foundations of our democracy, and it’s time for everyone to speak out!

In the ironically named “For the People Act”, essential state safeguards that protect the electoral process would be stripped away through federal mandate. The bill would nationalize and make permanent the very Left-wing schemes that sabotaged the 2020 presidential election. To name some of the worst provisions in the bill:

• Same day voter registration would become mandatory.

• The controversial vote by mail system, which is highly susceptible to massive fraud, would be expanded.

• Ineligible voters would not be prosecuted for being illegally registered in voter rolls.

• Certain citizens would be automatically registered to vote if they provide certain information to state and federal agencies including being enrolled in food stamps or interacting with the DMV.

• Washington, D.C. would be put on the path to statehood.

• Donor privacy would be eradicated, welcoming intimidation of anyone who wants to participate in our democracy.

These policies would essentially open the floodgates to even more election fraud and would solidify the Radical Left’s hold on power. Malpractice would no longer be occurring in a handful of states: It would be common practice from coast to coast. The repercussions would be catastrophic for decades, and we as Americans cannot allow these blanket attacks on our democratic values to pass. Tell your Representative in Congress to oppose H.R. 1!”

(Source: American Conservative Union)

2021 CPAC February 25 – 28

Partial List of Speakers

Donald J. Trump

Michael R. Pompeo

Ben Carson

KT McFarland - Former Trump Deputy National Security Advisor

Gov. Ron DeSantis

Andrew Wheeler - Former Administrator of EPA

Gov. Scott Walker - President, Young America's Foundation

Sarah Huckabee Sanders - Former White House Press Secretary

Russell Vought - Former Director of OMB

Larry Kudlow - Assistant to the President for Economic Policy

Amb. David Friedman - Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel

Amb. Richard Grenell -Former U.S. Ambassador to Germany

Donald Trump Jr. - Executive Vice President, The Trump Organization

Matthew Whitaker - Former U.S. Acting Attorney General

Pam Bondi - Former Florida Attorney General

Sen. Marsha Blackburn

Sen. Tom Cotton

Sen. Ted Cruz

Sen. Bill Hagerty

Sen. Josh Hawley

Sen. James Lankford

Sen. Mike Lee

Sen. Cynthia Lummis

Sen. Rick Scott

Rep. Jodey Arrington

Rep. Andy Biggs

Rep. Lauren Boebert

Rep. Ken Buck*

Rep. Ted Budd

Rep. Michael Burgess

Rep. Jim Banks

Rep. Mo Brooks

Rep. Kat Cammack

Rep. Madison Cawthorn

Rep. Ben Cline

Rep. Warren Davidson

Rep. Byron Donalds

Rep. Michelle Fischbach

Rep. Virginia Foxx

Rep. Russ Fulcher

Rep. Matt Gaetz

Rep. Mark Green

Rep. Paul Gosar

Rep. Yvette Herrell

Rep. Jody Hice

Rep. Darrell Issa

Rep. Ronny Jackson

Rep. Mike Kelly

Rep. Mike Johnson

Rep. Jim Jordan

Leader Kevin McCarthy

Rep. Tom McClintock*

Rep. Ralph Norman

Rep. Devin Nunes

Rep. Burgess Owens

Rep. Chip Roy*

Rep. Scott Perry

Rep. Greg Steube

Rep. Roger Williams

Bernard Kerik Former Police Commissioner, New York City

Ken Paxton Attorney General of Texas

Michael Whatley Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party

Rep. Fiona McFarland Florida House of Representatives

*Denotes Members of the House of Representatives who did not vote to reject 2020 Electoral College Votes.

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While the news shows that the adults are back behind the wheel of the car, your letters peel back the layers to show that for all intents and purposes, the Republican party continues to drift to the extreme, and it's love affair with the former president continues with little evidence of waning.

Evidence of this is the insistence of people like Governor Ron DeSantis, who will not even acknowledge the memories of 30,000 Floridians and 500,000 Americans whose lives have been taken by Covid, but wants to lower the flags to honor the arrogant and pompous Rush Limbaugh, a man who built a fortune peddling hate and lies.

The dichotomy cannot be clearer. Thanks for your daily illuminations. Keep up the good work!

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When we ask, as many people have today, how could our loss in the pandemic be so huge and growing, A clear answer could be found in the questioning by Retrumplicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee of Merrick Garland. They may be competing as possible candidates for president in 2024, but may as likely be be competing to qualify as the best Donald Trump clone. More than 500,000 gone! Recalled by the president tonight in the ceremony meant to focus us and offer comfort to the families of those who died.

Judge Garland offered a wonderful response to a question today: "When Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) asked him to explain why he wanted to give up a lifetime appointment as a judge to take the job of attorney general to fight “hate and discrimination in American history,” Garland answered:

“I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti-Semitism and persecution. The country took us in and protected us. And I feel an obligation to the country to pay back. And this is the highest, best use of my own set of skills to pay back. And so, I want very much to be the kind of attorney general that you’re saying I could become. I’ll do my best to try to be that kind of attorney general.”"

He gave this answer haltingly, choking back tears as he responded.

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Trump made $1.6 billion on his business - all of which lost business all four years, and *really* lost business the past year with the pandemic when nobody was golfing or staying in hotels - and the moon is made of English Cheddar Cheese.

He'll really look like the "presumptive nominee" in 2024 as a convicted felon for major tax, insurance and banking fraud. Not to mention voting fraud. It's hard to run a political campaign from an 8x10 at Sing-Sing.

And he knows it's coming - you can smell the stink of the panther sweat of terror on that "statement." But the Evolutionary U-turns at CPAC will applaud him for defrauding them.

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Sad day for America, I have a hard time imagining that number and the problem is, so do a lot of people.

That is why it's so easy for so many to not care about wearing a mask or social distance because it's just a number. How can we make these people "real" to those who don't care? I don't have the answer to that, but I feel we need to.

I want to point out that my foster mother passed last year from cancer and we really haven't been able to mourn her passing as a family. My foster sister is having a really hard time dealing with that and it keeps her from being able to move on like she normally would.

That is another aspect of the whole botched response to covid. Lots of people who have lost someone who also didn't get to say goodbye to loved ones or have a funeral.

Or people like my friend whose mother is in a nursing home due to a stroke but can't see her, can't help her in her recovery and has to worry about her all the time.

There is a lot of heartbreak going on in our country (world) right now so I'm trying to be more understanding with people because I don't know what they are going through or the burdens they are carrying.

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Again, thank you for tonight’s calm reporting of really important moments in this, Our Democracy. It’s wonderful to go to bed and believe our country can overcome the most disheartening four years of my 76.

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You know that the CPAC meeting will be maskless and become the next super spreader. Can't imagine those present will acknowledge the 500,00 deaths along with the countless families and friends left to mourn. And you can be sure some of the number dead are Rethuglicans. And, it's being held in FL so all those folks will be enjoying dinner out...maskless and no social distancing. Makes me sick when I think about all those currently struggling with the virus, or struggling with the impact of the virus. And we need to remember that the impact is not just those family and friends who continue to mourn, but all the millions who are economically impacted....lost jobs, closed businesses, etc. Even when we can assume that we're heading towards "herd immunity" with the vaccines, there's still a long road for us all to heal from the overall trauma of Covid-19.

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I take a moment to turn my head to take in our President’s acknowledgment of the deaths from the pandemic and all those who have been affected. I remember In October doing a video for S Gideon reflecting on the deaths of almost 200,000 people in the US and the huge losses for so many. Now 500,000! I realize how my denial and feeling numb is part of how I make it through this horrific time. It will take a long time to heal from this trauma. I am so thankful we have a President who is willing to acknowledge the loss.

To hear Merrick Garland ‘s reason why he wants to be Attorney General is another moment which allows me to breathe. There are people who are honorable and take seriously their role of leadership in this country. Thank you Heather to help me put in context what is happening.

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