Hospitalizations and deaths are rising at an alarming rate in Texas, but not fast enough for Abbott and Paxton, who have been losing in lower state courts to school districts and counties desperately trying to protect their citizens and students from Abbott’s death plan.  In true Trumpian fashion, Abbott has been sowing chaos all over the state by banning all safety protocols that only morons and religious nuts oppose.  The chaos has overrun the hospitals, and now threatens to overrun the courts.  Yesterday, Abbott was handed two losses in quick succession, one in Dallas and the other in San Antonio, and concerned that the courts might be daring to protect Texans, Abbott instructed indicted felon Ken Paxton to run to the 100% GOP controlled Supreme Court to stop local governments from doing the right thing.  Said court generally follows the party line, backing business and corrupt politicians rather than protecting Texans, but this one really counts.  This is the test – will the judicial system of Texas once again rule against common sense and the common good, or will they surprise us?  I’m not holding my breath.

Today the DOJ ordered the IRS to release Trump’s tax returns to the House Ways & Means Committee, reversing one more Trump corruption of the department.  I’m not celebrating, but grateful we’re gradually taking back our government from the Orange Fascist.  I won’t be happy, though, until a jury reads a verdict of “guilty”.

Donald Rumsfeld is dead. That’s the major news item of the day. That is until the indictments come down on the Trump organization. Oddly enough, those two stories are related. Oddly enough, Rumsfeld’s death is an uneasy reminder that I was wrong. I know. Everyone is shocked.

One of the things I was taught growing up was that almost everyone in our politics was operating from an understanding that everyone in our politics wanted what was best for America. So, even poor decisions were done with the best interest of America in mind. Occasionally, the lines of legality get blurred or outright erased. Even then, it is done with the best interest of America in mind.

When that happens you are given a choice. You can accept that as a part of politics. You can use it to defeat your opponent, defeat them, and then move on. You can also use political capital to punish them for their crimes. However, if you go with the second option you run the very real risk that the court system becomes a weapon in politics. It’s not an easy decision.

I grew up believing that the pardon of Nixon was on balance a good thing. I grew up believing that moving on from Iran-Contra was a good thing. I then came to believe that moving on from the possible crimes of the second Bush administration was a good thing. I’m a big believer in history and I figured history would treat them harshly enough. I figured people would remember. I figured a lot of things.

I was wrong. The Bush administration isn’t remembered as crooks. History has taught us something else entirely. The Nixon administration did what it did because administrations before had literally gotten away with murder. The Reagan administration did more because Nixon went unpunished. The Bush administration did more because the Reagan administration went unpunished.

Now, we get to the point where the people in power were no longer in it for the best interests of the United States. They were in it for themselves. Suddenly, Bush didn’t look so bad. Suddenly, Rumsfeld doesn’t look so bad. You could even catch the occasional progressive longing for the dark days of the Bush administration before Biden took over. At least you had a patriotic American possibly breaking the law to achieve his view of American interests. It sure beat a narcissistic jackass out to line his own pockets.

Now, I understand the lay of the land. There are two distinct historical trends at work here. First, Republicans tend to be corrupt. At least the ones in the White House tend to be that way. Secondly, when you don’t punish bad behavior it gets worse. Basic parenting should have taught me that, but I thought politicizing justice was wrong. It’s still distasteful, but it’s necessary. The humanization of Donald Rumsfeld should teach us that much.

NPR has just published a very good explanation of our problem in America, which is the cementing in of minority rule, and how its unsustainablity threatens democracy.  Over the years, especially since 2010, Republican gerrymandering has unfairly locked in Republic seats that are almost impossible to defeat by a Democrat.  Here’s the chart that shows the problem in the US House (click on the little one to get the big one):

This chart shows that since 2000, Republicans have controlled more seats than votes for them support and Dems much fewer.  Beginning in 2002 when states like Texas started mid-decade redistricting and using computers to do it, you can see the effect of the disenfranchisement of millions of voters all over the country by giving disproportionate representation to those who received less votes.  Only in 2008 when the Obama election turned out so many voters did the House come anywhere near parity between number of votes and seats won.  The problem WILL get worse with this year’s continued gerrymandering which the Supreme Court has condoned by turning a blind eye to the corrosion of partisan gerrymandering.  That’s how you get permanent majorities in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina where Republicans get over 70% of the seats no matter what the vote.

The Senate is worse.  You now have a situation where the majority of Americans are ruled by a minority of voters because each state gets two Senators no matter the population.  As population continues to move, you’ll have 30% of Americans controlling 70% of the representation in the Senate.

The system is broken and getting worse, and the US can no longer call itself a republic governed by democratic principles.  This is why electing autocrats, especially to the WH, is so incredibly dangerous.  Many state legislatures are broken, the Congress is most certainly broken, and the Supreme Court is broken if not outright corrupt.  The only tool that remains to keep us from sliding into the abyss of autocracy is the presidency.  That’s why keeping Republicans out of the WH is so critical and reform of our Democracy mandatory.

We had a quiet holiday weekend at home this year, similar to last year’s, but most certainly not as fearful as that one.  We binge watched television series, cooked, and went on walks with our dogs, even sans masks since we’ve both been vaccinated and continue social distancing from people we don’t know are vaccinated.  Ignoring the nonsense going on in Austin, we had a relaxing and less stress-filled holiday and I realized yesterday the main reason – no Trump Show.  One of the most infuriating intrusions Trump made into our lives for the last 4 years was his constant co-opting of holidays to draw attention to himself.  Besides his incessant tweeting, childish insults, and rambling press gaggles, he LOVED the self aggrandizing rallies he organized at every opportunity, especially national holidays.  For those 4 years, I couldn’t watch Memorial Day, 4 of July, and other national events because Trump turned them all into rallies for himself.  Not during a holiday, but he even turned the White House into a 3 ring circus during the GOP national convention which was an assault on everything from the senses to federal laws to common decency.  He was a one man shit show.

The pain of watching Trump turn the entire government apparatus into his own personal plaything has now been replaced by Biden’s quiet and steady leadership.  He has returned us to our traditions of wreath laying and serious speeches about public service, the courage of our armed forces, and the keystone of our country, democracy.  He never talks about himself, his personal grievances, or his political enemies.  He restarted the WH daily brief with a competent press secretary who answers all questions truthfully without the personal attacks on the press that were commonplace under Trump.  He’s played golf one time since becoming President as compared to Trump who had played at least 25 times at this point in his term.

What this weekend really drove home for me is that we must make goddam sure that Trump, or any of his Mini-Trumps, get anywhere near the Oval Office, ever again.  The toxic waste of the Trump presidency came within inches of actually destroying our government and our way of life and continues to corrode our institutions, even from his lair at Mar a Lago.  We must never let that happen again.

Opposition leaders in Israel finally got together in a power sharing agreement that ousts Netanyahu after a decade of corruption, destruction, and death.  Back your bags, Bibi; next stop, the courtroom.  Maybe this is the year both Trump and Bibi get theirs.  Fingers crossed.