Fandango’s Who Won the Week

Posted on June 28, 2020 by amoralegria · 3 Comments

WWTW: Whistleblowers – Barr is a Crook

Two career Justice Department whistleblowers testified in before the House Judiciary Committee last week about Attorney General William Barr’s attempts to corrupt the department in favor of his boss, Donald Trump. Barr has made no secret of his belief that a president should not be indicted or implicated in crimes while occupying the office of president.

Aaron Zelinsky served as a prosecutor on the special counsel team led by Robert Mueller and later worked on the case against Trump’s friend and associate Roger Stone. He told the committee led by Jerry Nadler that there was clear interference on the part of A.G. Barr in Stone’s sentencing process.

Donald Ayer, who preceded Barr as deputy attorney general in the administration of George H.W. Bush, called Barr “the greatest threat in my lifetime to our rule of law” as he testified before the committee that Barr had misused his powers as attorney general to advance the president’s personal and political interests. He further told the committee members that Barr has given every reason to “mistrust everything he says” and called for Barr to resign.

A third whistleblower, John Elias, a prosecutor in the antitrust division of the Justice Department, testified that Barr had directed baseless investigations into the cannabis industry because of Barr’s personal distaste for the rising legal marijuana market.

Nadler told the witnesses that they were brave to come forward to give testimony implicating Barr, especially since the Trump administration has a history of witness intimidation. “I have no doubt that they will try to exact a price for your testimony,” Nadler said.

Typically career Justice Department employees do not testify before Congress and it is unclear how the House Democrats can hold Barr and the Trump administration accountable for these corrupt influences. Barr has reportedly agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on July 28, but he has bailed out at the last minute in the past. The Justice Department is already pushing back on the whistleblowers’ testimony.

Even so, the press surrounding the testimony of these witnesses against Barr have added to recent allegations that he has given cover for Trump’s corrupt impulses. These three men have put their careers at the Justice Department on the line to come forward. Therefore, Zelinsky, Ayer and Elias get my vote for Fandango’s Who Won the Week.

Information obtained from the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC and DOJ Whistleblowers Testify That William Barr Has Politicized Justice by Ryan J. Reilly in Huffpost.

Posted on April 12, 2020 by amoralegria · 1 Comment

Who Won the Week?

Fandango asks this question every Sunday, to reflect on the previous week. I could have voted for the same people for several weeks in a row now. So today I will:

OUR FIRST RESPONDERS – HEALTH CARE WORKERS who have sacrificed so much in time and energy, and possibly, their own health, to treat and care for the patients that are overflowing their hospital beds during this pandemic. With little help from the federal government, they have had to do their job caring for people with a highly contagious virus sometimes using masks that should have already been thrown away, finding a way to use a ventilator for more than one patient, and finding room for those in need. Under tremendous pressure and disorganization, they are the heroes on the front lines every day and night, doing their best to keep COVID patients alive. And when they fail, they cry. They are truly grieved for the ones who don’t make it.

20200411_120645d — Sign in a Chicago home

Also, all other ESSENTIAL WORKERS – delivery people, mail carriers, supermarket and pharmacy workers, and those behind the scenes like teachers trying to help their students progress without a classroom, the staff at senior living facilities, apartment managers, and others who go to work to provide services to the rest of us during this pandemic.

Posted on April 6, 2020 by amoralegria · 2 Comments

Who Won the Week?

Fandango has a Sunday challenge called Who Won the Week?

My vote goes to Andrew Cuomo, governor of New York. He has been a tireless advocate for the people of his state suffering or dying from the coronavirus. He has asked for test kits, personal protective equipment, masks, ventilators, and medical personnel, and keeps us updated on what’s happening in New York, which has by far the most cases of Covid-19 in the U.S. He has coordinated the building of makeshift hospitals and has welcomed the hospital ship that arrived last week in New York harbor – but alas! It is not taking Covid-19 patients! So it has been nearly empty.

Cuomo has suggested that the supplies mentioned above should go to the area of most need, and then shared with other places as the need arises. He has not been afraid to stand up to Trump. He has held daily press briefings in which he has spoken with conviction, firmness and intelligence; he is well informed and he doesn’t b.s. – he tells the truth of what is happening. The contrast of this intelligent, hard-working man with our supposed “leader” in chief, could not be sharper.

Posted on January 5, 2020January 5, 2020 by amoralegria · 2 Comments

Fires continue to rage out of control in various parts of Australia, a direct cause of excessive heat and drought due to climate change. The annual bushfire season has greatly increased in intensity since September as the above 40ºC heatwave continues. The fires have been spreading and burning everything in their wake for months. Californians know about the devastation that climate-change-induced fires can cause – the fires in Australia are bigger than that. Environmental groups in the Amazon are trying to get the fires raging in the Amazon extinguished to save this important region that provides 2/3 of the world’s oxygen – the fires in Australia are bigger than that. While I don’t minimize the damage and suffering caused by any of these fires, the Australian fires cover at least 16 million acres (6,300,00 hectares), making this fire disaster the worst in the world in the last two years. It is estimated that half a BILLION animals have died in these raging fires. Koalas, who have had their natural habitat destroyed for years by deforestation, are now suffering destruction at an accelerated rate.

My vote for Fandango’s Who Won the Week, therefore, is the Australian firefighters who are battling the blazes day and night, risking their lives to save people and animals caught between the flames, and trying to get the fires under control for nearly two months. These firefighters are the true heroes right now in Australia!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by amoralegria · 1 Comment

WWTW: Speaker of the House

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi gets my vote for Who Won The Week? this week. First, by following protocol and the rules for impeachment, (created by the Republicans, by the way) she led the House through the impeachment proceedings and a vote to impeach, which was approved on almost straight party lines. However, this was not a partisan procedure. Only two articles of impeachment were approved, narrowing the focus to address Trump’s obstruction of Congress and abuse of his office, while many other articles could have been put forward addressing many other concerns about the president. Pelosi and the other leaders of the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judicial Committee conducted a fair and unbiased investigation, with many credible fact witnesses and convincing testimony, while the Republicans whined and complained that it was just a “partisan and unfair” impeachment. They could not dispute the facts of the case, so they relied on criticizing Democrats for disliking Trump since he was elected and calling for impeachment from the beginning. While those facts were true (the Dems disliked Trump – but so did many Republicans back in 2016 – and there were early calls for impeachment for what people saw as improper and suspicious corrupt behavior), the Democrats were not just “waiting for their chance” to get Trump. Pelosi held off on impeachment for several months as the calls for impeachment grew louder as evidence of Trump’s corruption, lies and erratic behavior mounted.

Further, the Republicans claimed that the Democrats wanted to “undo the will of the people” by nullifying the election, which has not been the case at all. If Trump were removed from office, his chosen vice-president, Mike Pence, would become president and all the appointed cabinet members, judges and Supreme Court justices chosen by Trump would remain in office. Hardly a Democratic annulment of the election!

Finally, after Mitch McConnell had the audacity to declare that he had no intention of conducting a fair trial in the Senate, that he would cooperate totally with the president, Pelosi decided to withhold the articles of impeachment until the Senate comes up with a plan for a fair trial so that the House can appoint managers for the proceeding. If McConnell doesn’t back down (which probably wouldn’t change the Senate’s vote to acquit the president of the impeachment charges anyway), she may continue to hang on to the articles, delaying a conclusion to exonerate Trump. This will cause Trump further anxiety because he wants to be able to boast that he was totally exonerated from all charges by the Senate, confirming his opinion that the impeachment was a “witch hunt.” The longer McConnell stalls, the longer Pelosi can refuse to transmit the articles of impeachment, denying the Senate a chance to resolve the case. Her action has echoes of McConnell’s own refusal to even question President Obama’s choice for Supreme Court justice to replace Scalia for nearly a year, on the chance that a Republican would win the election. McConnell won that gamble. Hopefully, Pelosi’s recalcitrance will push the Senate to at least pretend they are conducting a fair trial.

Nancy Pelosi has proven to be a strong and effective Speaker and very skilled in political maneuvering. She commands the respect of House members in spite of earlier efforts to discredit her leadership. I doubt McConnell gets similar respect from many Senate members. Since he is up for re-election this year, hopefully the voters of Kentucky will let him know he doesn’t have their respect anymore either.

Posted on December 8, 2019December 8, 2019 by amoralegria

WWTW: Political and Personal

For Fandango’s challenge Who Won the Week? I picked two: one political and one personal.

First, the political: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her remarks to a right-wing reporter, who asked her if she “hated” Trump. Pelosi said she didn’t hate anyone, that her Catholic faith had taught her not to hate, and that she prays for Trump “all the time.” Hear her full reply here: Don’t Mess With Me.

My personal pick is the Show Choir and other choirs at Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Indiana. Yesterday, Dale and I and my sister & brother-in-law attended a madrigal dinner at Chesterton High School hosted by the school’s music department. It was an elaborate affair, with all the participating students in full Renaissance costumes, with singers, servers, jesters, lords and ladies, and lackeys. (My grand-nephew, Josh, was one of the lackeys!)

20191207_203857 — Josh (standing) and his older brother Jordan (below)

They all played their roles to the letter, even using British accents when possible! Not only were we served a three-course dinner but we were also treated to the most wonderful performance of Christmas songs and carols. This is an amazingly talented group of young people. The videos I made aren’t great because it was dark and no flash photography was allowed and my view was partially obstructed by a pole with an advent wreath and candle on top. But one can hear how wonderful the singing is.

Some other photos I managed to take without flash:

20191207_200442 — The Show Choir, which did most of the singing. There were also period instruments. After the show, I talked to the girl in the middle (wearing the white dress), who was the “Lady” of the “house” and sang several solos. She is an extremely talented young woman and also very nice, whose ambition is to become a professional singer.

20191207_190821 — Girls’ Choir members, dressed as servers, singing and bell ringing

20191207_191132 — Standard bearers (Josh at left)

20191207_195635 — Server with a tray of “Figgie pudding” (actually carrot cake)

20191207_210747 — They did a total of 5 of these dinners last weekend – one on Friday, 2 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday!

This is an exceptionally musically gifted group of high school students, who worked very hard to put this all together, which is why I chose them as winners of the week. We all were very impressed and loved the entire event!

A footnote: We were seated at Table 11, called “Duke of Normandy” – I noticed this coincidence, because our family had all gone to Normandy, France together last June, and pointed it out to Josh, who’d had no idea and also appreciated the coincidence!

Posted on November 24, 2019November 24, 2019 by amoralegria · 1 Comment

FWWTW: Thanks, Adam!

This is in response to Fandango’s weekly “Who Won the Week” challenge.

My vote goes to Adam Schiff, who spent the whole week exercising extreme self-control while sitting next to Devin Nunes with his ridiculous invective (and Schiff probably wanting to strangle Nunes!). Finally, in his concluding remarks, after we had heard the riveting and credible testimony of Fiona Hill and David Holmes, Adam Schiff was eloquent and spot on. He talked about the “indignation” of his Republican colleagues and the White House, but he finally allowed his own, justifiable indignation to be publicly aired! The Republicans, Schiff made clear, have no defense and have not been able to question the veracity of the witnesses’ testimony. His criticism of Trump and his lackeys was excellent as he laid bare the sham of their attempt to blame and exploit Ukraine to cover their own corrupt intent. When he finished his speech, I stood up and applauded!

If I were to choose a concept that won the week, it would be commitment to one’s patriotic duty. Schiff mentions Vindman and also praises Hill and Holmes for being unbiased and nonpartisan in their own commitment to a sense of duty.

Here’s the video link: https://youtu.be/t4ssrr2OsQ0