Book Reviews – new review, Kristin Contino, A House Full of Windsor. The following have been moved to Book Reviews: Archives – Part 2, Sections on women in the 1930s novels and class in the novels: Racism, Sexism and Classism in Agatha Christie’s novels.
Covid Notes
A reduction in mixed messages one of the factors in the reduction of Covid Numbers – Chris Hayes, MSNBC, interviewing Dr Jaime Slaughter-Acey, School of public Health, University of Minnesota.
10am brunch, 1pm Kmart: when the media pokes fun at someone’s lifestyle, it’s harder for the next person to get COVID tested was published in The Conversation, February 15, 2021 3.12pm AEDT. Quotes from the article are in bold and italic.
The main point of the article is that contact tracing is an essential element of dealing with Covid 19, and that the media has at times played a negative role in ensuring the success of contact tracing.
But it’s important to distinguish between informing and shaming when it comes to sharing details of where people who have tested positive have been.
The article notes that the daily itineraries of positive cases are listed publicly – after all, we all need to know if we have been in a location of possible contact. Indeed, I had been to two coffee shops and the local IGA, before receiving the message from ACT Health that I must self isolate, and that the only time I could leave my home was to be tested for Covid. Probably these places are innocuous enough not to excite much attention or glee. But what if I’d been off to a fast food place for a ‘private’ binge? To a fashion store that is on the Oxfam ‘shame’ list? Spent hours drinking and eating? Could record no exercise over a couple of days?
Recent studies on people who had COVID-19 have found many felt stigmatised, and particularly felt shame at the prospect of infecting others with the virus.
When people infected with COVID are ridiculed or made an example of in the media and on social media, everyone suffers. People may be reluctant to get tested and subsequently to cooperate with contact tracers if they think their every movement is going to be subject to scrutiny and ridicule.
It’s important to note that many people identified in these news articles are frontline workers — such as hotel quarantine staff — with bills to pay and who have little choice but to put themselves at risk. The entire quarantine system relies on these workers, and this public shaming only makes an already tough job much harder.
The article contends that the risk to everyone through public shaming is dangerous. It suggests that the following will improve the situation for those affected (and consequently all of us):
focusing on venues and key information rather than describing the person
being careful about judgemental language. Even if it seems neutral, remember emotions are running high
emphasising a call to action: what do people need to do to protect themselves and to comply with public health advice? For example, media coverage could remind people where and when a face mask is required.
Interesting comment on Angela Merkel’s lifestyle in office.
Facebook comment from Pauline McKenna, posted by the Perth Labor Women (Labor WA)
Germany bid farewell to Merkel with six minutes of warm applause. The Germans elected her to lead them, and she led 80 million Germans for 18 years with competence, skill, dedication and sincerity.
During these eighteen years of her leadership of the authority in her country, no transgressions were recorded against her .. She did not assign any of her relatives to a government post .. She did not claim that she was the maker of glories .. She did not get millions in payment, nor did anyone cheer her performance, she did not receive charters and pledges, she did not fight those who preceded her and did not dissolve her. She did not utter nonsense .. She did not appear in the alleys of Berlin to be photographed. It is (Angelica Merkel) the woman who was dubbed “The Lady of the World” and who was described as the equivalent of six million men.
Yesterday, Merkel left the party leadership position and handed it over to those after her, and Germany and its German people are in the best condition ever. The reaction of the Germans was unprecedented in the history of the country …The entire population went out to their balconies of their houses and clapped for her spontaneously for 6 continuous minutes. A standing ovation nationwide. Germany stood as one body bidding farewell to their leader, a chemical physicist who was not tempted by the fashion or the lights and did not buy real estate, cars, yachts and private planes, knowing that she is from former East Germany …She left her post after leaving Germany at the top … She left and her relatives did not claim advantage… Eighteen years and she never changed her wardrobe…God be upon this silent leader.
At a press conference, a female journalist asked Merkel: We notice that you’re wearing the same suit, don’t you have any other? She replied: “I am a government employee and not a model.” At another press conference, they asked her: Do you have housemaids who clean your house, prepare your meals and so on? Her answer was: “No, I do not have servants and I do not need them. My husband and I do this work at home every day.” Then another journalist asked: Who is washing the clothes, you or your husband? Her answer: “I arrange the clothes, and my husband is the one who operates the washing machine, and it is usually at night, because electricity is available and there is no pressure on it, and the most important thing is to take into the account the possible inconvenience for the neighbours, thankfully the wall separating our apartment from the neighbours is thick.
She said to them, “I expected you to ask me about the successes and failures in our work in the government??”Mrs. Merkel lives in a normal apartment like any other citizen … She lived in this apartment before being elected Prime Minister of Germany. She did not leave it and does not own a villa, servants, swimming pools or gardens…Merkel, the now former Prime Minister of Germany, the largest economy in Europe !!
A lighthearted moment in the midst of the distress attendant upon the vote in the Senate – a White House scrunchie becomes a fashion statement as Dr Jill Biden shops. I couldn’t find mine, hoard as much as I do (although no Windsor for me, see my review of House Full of Windsor in Book Reviews), so found these:
Late news: I understand that a scrunchie was sighted in the University of Canberra carpark, so the statement is here. I’ll have to search further.
And now for the Senate vote, with a variety of opinions on the result.
This last statement, I think, needs to be placed firmly in our minds as the remainder of the fall out is discussed.
Nancy Pelosi has announced that an independent commission, similar to that investigated 9/11 will be established. Richard Haass (President of the Council on Foreign Relations) and Katty Kay (British journalist, author and broadcaster), regular contributors to Morning Joe, agreed with the value of such a commission. Richard Haass has suggested that a commission would ‘highlight ongoing threat & needed political, law enforcement responses, plus we need to tell the story so that this & future generations to come to understand that our democracy cannot be taken for granted (twitter, 13 hours ago at 11.50 Australian east coast time 17/2/2021).’
Huffpost.com: ‘At least 57 state and local Republican officials attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington that turned into a deadly insurrection’ .
Interesting discussion on The Reid Out about Mitch McConnel’s Senate vote and his later speech: Joy Reid, Senator Al Franken (D) Minnesota and Jason Johnson (academic, political analyst and writer ). Mitch McConnell and Money – the speech was for the donors who left the Republican Party after January 6th. With the return of such donors Former President Trump will no longer be the single source of funds. This was a wonderful segment of serious information, but laughter as well. A good program, Australian time MNSBC 17/2/2021.
Heather Cox Richardson’s posts to Facebook are a continuing source of clear, thoughtful responses to American political events. heathercoxrichardson@heathercoxrichardson.author is really worth following for further stories.
February 15, 2021 (Monday)Monday federal holidays generally mean that not much gets done. Today was a bit of an exception, since we are dealing with the fallout from the Senate’s refusal to convict former president Trump for the January 6 insurrection. For the Republicans, that acquittal simply makes the split in the party worse. First of all, it puts the Republicans at odds with the majority of Americans. According to a new ABC/Ipsos poll, 58% of us think Trump should have been convicted, and more than three-quarters of us—77%– think the senators’ votes reflected partisanship rather than the facts. But Republicans disagree. Trump packed state Republican positions with his supporters because he was afraid he would face primary challengers in 2020, and those loyalists are now defending him.
State Republican parties have censured a number of the House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump; of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict, Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) have already been censured, and a censure effort is underway against Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Pat Toomey (R-PA). According to a new Quinnipiac poll, 75% of Republicans want Trump to continue to lead the party. But 21% don’t, and between 24% and 28% blame him for the January 6 riot. That split means the Republican Party, which was already losing members over the insurrection, stands to lose even more of its members if it continues to defer to the former president. Already, the Democratic National Committee has prepared a video advertisement to circulate on digital platforms, highlighting Republicans leaving their party. It includes a clip from former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele saying that “when you’re losing Republican members and you’re left with QAnon and Proud Boys, you’ve got to reassess whether or not you are even close to being a viable party.” The video ends with Biden urging Americans to come together and to “help us unite America and build back better.”
For Democrats, the Senate trial put on display for the American public an impressive group. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) gave the lead impeachment manager from Trump’s first Senate trial, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) a run for his money as a model for brains and morals. But Raskin was not alone. Delegate Stacey Plaskett (D-US Virgin Islands) and Representative Joseph Neguse (D-CO), relatively unknown outside of their home districts, got significant positive national attention during the trial, suddenly becoming household names. The entire Democratic team shone and indicated that the young Democrats have quite a deep bench of talent, especially in contrast to the younger Republicans, who seem to excel in media appearances more than in policy. Democrats recognize that the Senate acquittal means there is considerable interest in an actual accounting of what happened in the insurrection. Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she will urge the House to establish an independent commission, like the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks, to study what led to the storming of the Capitol on January 6. Members of both parties have asked for such a commission. The Senate trial also gave powerful proof of just how undemocratic the Senate has become. Voting rights journalist Ari Berman noted that the “57 senators who voted to convict Trump represent 76.7 MILLION more Americans than 43 senators who voted to acquit.” Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne noted that the adherence of all but seven senators to Trump “should end the absurd talk that there is a burden on President Biden to achieve a bipartisan nirvana in Washington. If most Republicans can’t even admit that what Trump did is worthy of impeachment, how can anyone imagine that they would be willing and trustworthy governing partners?” Dionne added that the acquittal made an overwhelming case for getting rid of the filibuster, which in its current incarnation effectively means that no legislation can pass without support from 60 senators.
Thanks to the 50-50 split in the Senate, getting to 60 means getting 10 Republican votes. This is impossible, Dionne says, because clearly “There are not 10 Republican Senate votes to be had on anything that really matters.” Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is simply working around Republican lawmakers, starting with the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly stand against the bill, in part because it calls for $350 billion to provide aid to states and cities. But Republican governors and mayors are desperate for the assistance. Republican voters like it, too. Last Friday, Biden invited governors and mayors from both parties to the White House to ask them what they needed most. The Republican mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, told reporters that he had had more contact with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the first weeks of their administration “than I had spoken to the prior administration in the entirety.”
Biden is about to hit the road to try to convince Senate Republicans to support the relief package, going directly to the people to sell his ideas. The Democrats also have another trick to lay on the table to get Republican support. Today, Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced they would back the return of a new version of so-called “earmarks,” more formally known as “member-directed spending,” in legislation. These “Community-Focused Grants,” as the new lingo calls them, are funds that individual congress members can direct toward their districts. In the past, earmarks were made by lawmakers and were occasionally havens for corruption—which is what people remember—but even at their worst, they made up less than 1.1% of federal spending and tended to actually produce things that districts needed. Democrats cleaned the system up before then-House Speaker John Boehner declared a moratorium on it in 2011. After the ban, the government still targeted federal money to get votes, but the power to make those calls shifted to the executive branch rather than Congress. For much federal spending, Congress appropriates the amounts but the executive branch decides where to spend it. A 2020 congressional study established that presidents use that money “to influence policy and support their preferred projects without receiving approval from Congress.” To that, we can add that a president targeted federal money to try to buy reelection. In the past, congressional earmarks were a key feature in bipartisanship: they gave reluctant lawmakers a reason to support legislation they might otherwise hesitate about. The new rules will likely be different than the old ones in that they apparently will be targeted to public entities that ask for a grant. They will provide a challenge for Republicans—who actually like these grants, normally—because they will undercut Republicans’ stance against appropriation bills. They might also swing some Republicans behind the coronavirus bill. Biden demonstrated national unity yesterday when he issued a Federal Emergency Declaration for Texas in response to a request from Republican Governor Greg Abbott. Such a declaration frees up the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and federal funds to provide help to the region, which is suffering from bitter cold temperatures that have shut down power and left residents without electricity in unheated homes—a dangerous and potentially deadly situation.
Biden’s quick response recalls the way presidents have traditionally responded to state crises, and the governor of the state in which Trump supporters tried to run Biden’s campaign bus off the road acknowledged Biden’s response. “I thank President Biden for quickly issuing a Federal Emergency Declaration for Texas as we continue to respond to severe winter weather conditions throughout the state,” Abbott’s press release stated.
Thank you, Jocelynne Scutt who posted the following to Facebook just before I pressed ‘publish’ :
Mother Jones From Politico: On the heels of the Senate’s acquittal of Donald Trump, the NAACP, Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson and civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed a lawsuit against the former president, Rudy Giuliani and two white supremacist groups, citing their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday morning in Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, alleges that Trump and Giuliani, in collaboration with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, conspired to incite the riots to keep Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. It claims they did so in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era statute designed to protect both formerly enslaved African Americans and lawmakers in Congress from white supremacist violence. Seeing as how Trump, now a private citizen, isn’t exactly in the best financial shape, I can’t imagine he’s taking his mounting legal bills in stride. That’s not a consolation prize for acquittal. But with Trump also reportedly fearing potential criminal charges, it’s certainly something to keep in mind as the de facto leader of the feckless Republican Party squirms away in Mar-a-Lago.—Inae Oh
Robin's Room 