The Unholy Trinity
All of this stands in the backdrop of corporate America’s standoff with the Georgia GOP over their new voter suppression law. Some have dubbed the bill “Jim Crow 2.0.” Whether it is motivated purely by racism or if it is simply a sinister power grab that happens to disproportionately affect African Americans and people of color is open to debate. The impact cannot be debated. Fewer people will vote and that is exactly what the GOP wants.
We can marvel at the simplicity of it. We can marvel at the naked ambition and undemocratic principles of the notion. I choose to marvel at corporate America’s collective response. MLB has pulled it’s all-star game and MLB draft out of Georgia. The collective impact has been estimated at a loss of 100 million dollars of revenues for the city of Atlanta and the state. That kind of loss in revenue has its way of trickling down. Funny how this trickle down method could topple the Republican party as it stands.
See, Corporate America never does anything for anyone else if it doesn’t benefit themselves. MLB and those companies looked at the bottom line and discovered their customer base would be more upset if they just went along with it than if they embraced democracy and free and fair elections. NASCAR made a similar calculation when they came out in opposition to racism and in support of the aims of Black Lives Matter. The comments have been eerily similar from critics of both organizations.
Conservatives from the racism and religious wings have asserted that these companies will suffer at the box office if members of their wings boycott those companies. Businesses don’t stay in business long if they make short-term and rash decisions. Someone thought this through and someone figured out that they would come out ahead. They thought it through and determined that racism, xenophobia, and homophobia was bad for business. That might be the death knell of this entire unholy triumvirate.
Of course, this doesn’t stop the other wings from putting their foot in their mouth. Governor Greg Abbott (I’ll let you choose which wing he belongs to) not only refused to throw out the first pitch at the Rangers game. He also said that Texans didn’t want any part of hosting the all-star game. I’m sure Ray Davis and Bob Simpson were happy to hear that. The Astros aren’t likely to be in line to host the game, but the Rangers surely would have been. They just built a new stadium and MLB has a habit of rewarding cities that build new stadiums. Not all 100 million of that economic impact would have been theirs, but much of it would have been. Abbott’s big mouth just took money out of their pocket.
Nothing pisses off big business faster than stupid people that take money out of their pocket. Never in a million years would I have dreamt that it would be big business that would balk first, but it looks like that is about to happen. Big business is about to drag the Republican party kicking and screaming back into the 21st century and back into democracy. Of course, the racists and religious zealots are powerful and stubborn. Who knows where this finally ends up.
Abbott began his reign as governor as somewhat of a compromise candidate between all of the factions. He’d tip his cap to each as he walked the tightrope between all three. This is certainly true when you compare him with his lieutenant governor. You can’t walk that tightrope long. Eventually you have to choose either one or two sides to favor. Abbott has made his choice and it ultimately will be his undoing. The question comes whether that comes in 2022 or later.
I remember a conversation with my Uncle Marty in the early 1980’s. He was one of the corporatist Republicans. He asked me why I was a Democrat. My answer was that, as long as the Republican party is in bed with the religious right, I want no parts of it.
He seemed confused by my statement and insisted the party was not in bed with the religious right.
I am glad he didn’t live to see QAnon. I think it would have made his head explode.
1When I heard MLB was pulling the All-Star game from Georgia over the voter suppression politics I thought, “But where can they move it that isn’t trying for voter suppression politics? Not Texas.
I’m not surprised Abbot said “not here.” Because he doesn’t want the pressure of that 3 am Shenanigans to come under business pressure to stop it.
2The Morning Psychotic GOP Headlines:
The Minority Party refuses to relinquish its fever dream of omnipotence
*Mitch McConnell’s hypocrisy on bold display after he tells CEOs to ‘stay out of politics’
*Texas’ Greg Abbott has been quietly courting Facebook while publicly shaming them — here’s why
*’People are frustrated’: Even Louisiana voters are ditching the Republican Party after Capitol insurrection
*Manchin under fire for prioritizing business by threatening to block infrastructure bill over corporate tax hike
3Of course, mighta been helpful for some of these corporados to have made those calculations *before* the Freedom-from-Inconvenient-Voters Act passed the Ga Lege, but let’s not get carried away here…
4Trump, Abbot and Dusey. Nothing they can’t lie or buy thier way out of.
5When I was a kid there were anti-Vietnam war marches. There was always one and often more than one marcher in a cleric’s collar. The ones fighting for social justice were also priests and ministers.
Of course the majority of the religious types were also the Republican Law-n-Order types but at least the religious community had a vocal, active, and above all visible left wing.
Today we don’t have that. The only visible religion types that are left wing are the black guys, and they are much muted compared to before.
6The bigger the swelled head is, the bigger the voice of reason needs to be. Abbott, Patrick et al need to be pounded by Texas companies like AT&T, but the oil companies need to get on board – talking’ to you Exxon!
7Yeeeoooowh! A punch in the nose stings, don’t it?
Header: Senate Parliamentarian clears the way for Democrats to pass infrastructure bill without Republicans!
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Edit: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a mini-bombshell Monday night, one which dramatically impose the outlook for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plans. “The Parliamentarian has advised that a revised budget resolution may contain budget reconciliation instructions,” a spokesman for Schumer announced.
~ In plain English, that means that Schumer has that “magical parliamentary trick”.
He can use part of the 1974 Budget Act, Section 304, that allows the Senate to bring up previously passed and signed budget resolutions—like the American Rescue Plan COVID relief bill—and amend them and include new stuff.
Like infrastructure ~ ( ,@{o>
https://www.alternet.org/2021/04/senate-parliamentarian/
8McConnell lashed out at length against big business today on this topic. As megasoid noted above, he’s even quoted as saying:
“My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics,” he added.
I guess McConnell forgot to add – – except for your big business money. We want that in politics.
9I’m pleased that big businesses are calling out some states that are legislating restrictions on voting rights. Well, actually just one- Georgia. How about Texas? There are many others, too. But if the really want to send a message, they need to cut off support for politicians that are pushing the big lie and voter restrictions. Again, many businesses should recognize that the demographics of their customers and employees resemble the voters that elected Joe Biden, not supported trumpf.
10pRick Perry spoke for the entire QOP: “oops.” Not that Piyush Jindal and Barry Goldwater didn’t try to warn them. The two current faces of the QOP, demented Donnie and Moscow Mitch, are not a pretty picture.
President Biden is busy vaccinating his voters. With a major thanks to our NV National Guard, Jane & I received our first jabs this morning in quick order and are already signed up for the second shots. Can’t laminate the original yet, but we took copies to file with our other shot records and laminate. Covid passports? As $carah Palin would say: “you betcha.” Healthy voters to the polls in 2022 and 2024. Let the Quack-a-Non caucus self eliminate.
Not joking. No joining mass gatherings without your shots. That includes polling places. Let the ‘Cons line up single file at their own special entrance to wait for the one machine available to covidiots in 2022. Hey, at least their wait should be shorter in 2024 after they thin their own herd. Black is beautiful, baby. Welcome to the experience, mofos.
O/T We do not plan to enroll our boys for in person classes this fall, until the under 16 vaccines are safely available. For too many reasons to list, we think the J&J vaccine will be the best solution for kids. Hell, we would have preferred it, too because of the 3 current formulations available, it is the best suited to “booster” shots as variants are identified. The boys pediatrician is staying informed, but to date has no guidance as to when the kid shots will happen. Anyone have credible sources or links to share? Much obliged and thanks in advance.
11My wife gets pretty regular updates through NASA. They said the Pfizer version is the most promising so far for children 12 and up. Unfortunately, I don’t have any links to share as these are Zoom conferences they do weekly. We are hoping to get our daughter vaccinated in time for summer vacation. Due to my pre-existing condition (diabetes) and her job sometimes at mission control we are both fully vaccinated. I put that little index card on the fridge. It may come in handy for travel.
12Alan @6 says: “The only visible religion types that are left wing are the black guys, and they are much muted compared to before.”
I think you may be overlooking a few. Rev. Senator Warnock is a “black guy,” but I don’t think his national presence is “muted” compared to those in the 1960s. Rev. William Barber II continues to make good trouble (though he eschews left-right categorization).
Leaders who have incorporated their religious beliefs into their presence and their rhetoric include Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg. Kamala Harris, with a multi-religous background, is clearly a part of the “religious left”
“Organizations that represent various ideological trends within the Christian Left include Sojourners, founded by Jim Wallis in 1971, Bread for the World, Evangelicals for Social Action,” and at one remove, Habitat and Mercy Housing. Websites include: http://www.thechristianleft.org/ , https://networklobby.org/ ;
Then, there are the host of regional and local organizations, doing things like feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, visiting the prisoners, healing the sick, and affirming the connections of us all. In short — leftist/progressives.
Look around, you will probably find some in your community.
13Thanks, Nick. Jane and I are talking young; our boys are 4 and 2. Jack, the youngest, if we don’t enroll him in pre-pre-school this fall will be maybe missing experiences he is likely not to remember, or at least not be irreparably formative. KJ is 4, and very social, but right now his peer appropriate experiences are very much limited to his younger brother.
We’re lucky to be naturally isolated on a ranch in northern NV, so the covid quarantine has been easy for us. The boys have plenty of fresh air and growth experiences. Lordy, Jane and I “feel” for the parents holed up in city apartments with active youngsters.
Back to Covid-19, and those younger than 12. Mostly asymptomatic until they are not. Specifically MIS-C. Jane and I are not the typical “helicopter” parents but we are not and will never be ready to offer up our sons as ‘mere’ statistics. Guess that makes us average parents.
Again. Thanks. Any and all information is appreciated. Time to press our 2 senators and governor to insist all efforts be made to tell us the truth. Please trust us about this, Nick. We totally get that vaccinated teachers have major concerns about child care for their kids, if they return to the classroom, as well bringing their students into a group setting when there are so many unknowns. It’s been a tough year, but we think we can “give” President Biden and the CDC another 3 months or whatever they say they need. They are at least doing something.
14Nick: I too put my vaccination card on the fridge. But it’s gonna be hard to get the fridge through airport security . . .
15aan @ 6 I have no use for religion but there are humanists among some of the denominations (Missouri Synod excepted of course). It was in part religious activists who organized the long-running Moral Mondays in Raleigh, for example.
16Oddly enough, I put my vaccination record in my passport before this became an ‘issue’. A BS ‘issue’ in my estimation.
17Harry Eagar @ #16:
I was raised in a Lutheran Missouri Synod church. Services (one hour) and Sunday School (another hour) every week, confirmation class (four hours) for three years every Saturday. It wasn’t until years after I stopped attending that I discovered the intolerance, the antisemitic principles listed right on their website (buried a few layers deep), and other undesirable attributes of their “faith.”
All those years, all those hours, and those doctrines were never mentioned. When I look back though, I can see how they influenced what was said out loud.
18Aannddd, possibly another way to look at things(some might even say, what came before religion): https://www.sheilakennedy.net/2021/04/i-and-we/
19I’ll keep my ear to the ground Jane and PKM and let you know what I hear. I think the vaccinations will be approved for 12-15 by the summer. I can only assume they will move onto the younger kids after that.
As for religion, a youth pastor named John Pavolvitz has written several books and has a weekly blog titled “things that need to be said.” If you Google his name it pops up. I don’t know if you can classify him as progressive but he certainly is on social issues. He doesn’t bring up specific legislation but it’s certainly uplifting.
20From your typing fingers to the eyeballs of the gods, Mr. Carraway.
21This post was a response to the last paragraph of the original post.
22Jane & PKM, Nick, and others who’ve veered into vaccinations: there’s already a universally approved vacc ‘passport’ available that you can print out blank copies of [16 pages], to take to your appointment.
You’d need to have it ready before getting your jabs though.
It’s the “International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis”, from the WHO; AKA the ‘Yellow Card’, Carte Jaune.
I just pulled one as I gear up to get stuck [the old one is ~50+ years old, sorta outdated].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Certificate_of_Vaccination_or_Prophylaxis
Download the printable PDF file doc here:
https://www.who.int/ihr/IVC200_06_26.pdf
Czech it out.
23Oh yeah, screw Abbott, the Rufous Ratbastard [& Crime Family], the MAGAots, and all the rest of the Reptiles.
24Hey y’all, busy day today so I’m coming into the shop after hours. But I’m concerned about those of you who are putting your vaccination card in the freezer. Please don’t do that!
The professional caveats first….I am not an archivist, nor a paper conservator, nor a professionally trained conservator of any kind but I do work with museum collections and a bit with archives. Books and paper are placed into cold storage only as salvage techniques when thoroughly wet to help them dry out. And only after being placed in an anaerobic wrapping or environment. (think archival plastic bags with as much oxygen removed as possible) Placing dry paper in the freezer (even in a plastic sandwich baggie) can lead to embrittlement, especially if it stays there for a while. Also anaerobic environments are hard to achieve so it’s very possible that your card in freezer, even in a plastic baggie, can accrue ice crystals. So after a while when you go to retrieve it your paper card may be fragile and brittle with ice crystals that, even if you carefully brush them off, will melt, turning the paper soggy and running/smearing the ink on it.
I’ve been looking for horizontal 3 x 4 inch polypropylene plastic badge holders at the office supply stores. No surprise, they’re sold out. But available online. A dozen aren’t terribly expensive and you can give away any extras. I’m sure y’all have already read the reasons Not to laminate. But no doubt about it, we need to protect our ‘golden tickets’!
25yet another: I put in on the fridge, not in the fridge.
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