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  16. <title>Tuesday’s Forum</title>
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  20. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  21. <pubDate>Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  22. <category><![CDATA[Open Forum]]></category>
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  34. <title>Columbia Israel Divestment Protests Turn Ugly [UPDATED]</title>
  35. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/columbia-israel-divestment-protests-turn-ugly/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=columbia-israel-divestment-protests-turn-ugly</link>
  36. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/columbia-israel-divestment-protests-turn-ugly/#comments</comments>
  38. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  39. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 13:35:14 +0000</pubDate>
  40. <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category>
  41. <category><![CDATA[World Politics]]></category>
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  63. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270918</guid>
  64.  
  65. <description><![CDATA[On-campus classes have been suspended and Jewish students told to find safety.]]></description>
  66. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  67. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="980" height="551" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/columbia-any-means-necessary.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-270919" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/columbia-any-means-necessary.webp 980w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/columbia-any-means-necessary-768x432.webp 768w" sizes="(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px" /></figure>
  68.  
  69.  
  70.  
  71. <p class="has-drop-cap">I didn&#8217;t think all that much of it when Columbia University&#8217;s president called in police to break up a small sit-in a few days back. But the situation has since turned into a full-blown crisis, with even the White House forced to issue statements.</p>
  72.  
  73.  
  74.  
  75. <p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/21/us/columbia-university-jewish-students-protests/">CNN</a> (&#8220;<strong>Columbia University faces full-blown crisis as rabbi calls for Jewish students to ‘return home’</strong>&#8220;):</p>
  76.  
  77.  
  78.  
  79. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  80. <p>Columbia University is facing a full-blown crisis heading into Passover as a rabbi linked to the Ivy League school urged Jewish students to stay home and tense confrontations on campus sparked condemnation from the White House and New York officials.</p>
  81.  
  82.  
  83.  
  84. <p>The atmosphere is so charged that Columbia officials announced students can attend classes and even possibly take exams virtually starting Monday – the first day of Passover, a major Jewish holiday set to begin in the evening.</p>
  85.  
  86.  
  87.  
  88. <p>Tensions at Columbia, and many universities, have been high ever since the October 7 terror attack on Israel by Hamas. However, the situation at Columbia escalated in recent days after university officials testified before Congress last week about antisemitism on campus and pro-Palestinian protests on and near campus surged.</p>
  89.  
  90.  
  91.  
  92. <p>The latest crisis has opened Columbia President Minouche Shafik up to new attacks from her critics, with Republican US Rep. Elise Stefanik demanding she step down immediately because school leadership has “clearly lost control of its campus.”</p>
  93.  
  94.  
  95.  
  96. <p>Rep. Virginia Foxx, the Republican chair of the House Education Committee, sent a letter on Sunday to university leaders warning them of consequences if they do not rein in protests on campus.</p>
  97.  
  98.  
  99.  
  100. <p>“Columbia’s continued failure to restore order and safety promptly to campus constitutes a major breach of the University’s Title VI obligations, upon which federal financial assistance is contingent, and which must immediately be rectified,” Foxx wrote.</p>
  101.  
  102.  
  103.  
  104. <p>Underscoring concerns about student safety, Rabbi Elie Buechler, a rabbi associated with Columbia University’s Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, confirmed to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that he sent a WhatsApp message to a group of about 300 mostly Orthodox Jewish students “strongly” recommending they return home and remain there.</p>
  105.  
  106.  
  107.  
  108. <p>In his message, Buechler wrote that recent events at the university “have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety.”</p>
  109.  
  110.  
  111.  
  112. <p>“It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved,” the message reads.</p>
  113.  
  114.  
  115.  
  116. <p>The situation at Columbia has even drawn the attention of the White House, joining local leaders in urging calm.</p>
  117.  
  118.  
  119.  
  120. <p>“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement shared with CNN on Sunday. The statement did not include examples of those incidents.</p>
  121.  
  122.  
  123.  
  124. <p>President Joe Biden similarly said Sunday, “Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country.”</p>
  125.  
  126.  
  127.  
  128. <p>In response, organizers of the protest —&nbsp;Columbia University Apartheid Divest and Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine — said in a statement, “We have been peaceful,” and distanced themselves from non-student protestors who have gathered outside the campus, calling them “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us.”</p>
  129.  
  130.  
  131.  
  132. <p>“We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solidarity being forged among students – Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black and pro-Palestinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of our country,” the activists’ statement continued.<strong></strong></p>
  133.  
  134.  
  135.  
  136. <p>New York Gov. Kathy&nbsp;Hochul&nbsp;said&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/GovKathyHochul/status/1782160482146668924" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on X</a>&nbsp;that threatening Jewish students with violence is antisemitism. “The First Amendment protects the right to protest but students also have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence,”&nbsp;the Democratic governor&nbsp;said.</p>
  137.  
  138.  
  139.  
  140. <p>In a statement, New York Mayor Eric Adams said the city’s police department has an “increased presence of officers” in the area around Columbia’s campus “to protect students and all New Yorkers on nearby public streets.”</p>
  141.  
  142.  
  143.  
  144. <p>The Democratic mayor said he was “horrified and disgusted with the antisemitism being spewed at and around the Columbia University campus.”</p>
  145. </blockquote>
  146.  
  147.  
  148.  
  149. <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/22/us/columbia-university-protests-classes.html">NYT</a> (&#8220;<strong>Columbia University to Hold Classes Remotely After Weekend Protests</strong>&#8220;) adds:</p>
  150.  
  151.  
  152.  
  153. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  154. <p>Columbia University announced early Monday that it would hold classes remotely after a wave of agitated protests on campus over the weekend that drew widespread attention from city and national officials and raised safety concerns for some Jewish students.</p>
  155.  
  156.  
  157.  
  158. <p>The university’s president, Minouche Shafik, said in a letter to the Columbia community, “We need a reset,” adding that she felt sadness about how the university’s bonds had been severely tested in recent weeks. She urged students who do not live on campus not to travel there.</p>
  159.  
  160.  
  161.  
  162. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  163.  
  164.  
  165.  
  166. <p>In the coming days, a working group of deans, university administrators and faculty members will work to bring the crisis to a resolution, Dr. Shafik said.</p>
  167.  
  168.  
  169.  
  170. <p>“That includes continuing discussions with the student protesters and identifying actions we can take as a community to enable us to peacefully complete the term and return to respectful engagement with each other,” she said.</p>
  171. </blockquote>
  172.  
  173.  
  174.  
  175. <p>There are competing claims here, with leaders of the pro-Palestine student protests claiming that the calls for violence against Jews are coming from other pro-Palestine activists unaffiliated with the university. And there are Jewish students who are part of the former.</p>
  176.  
  177.  
  178.  
  179. <p>It&#8217;s possible, likely even, that Buechler sees highlighting the dangers here as politically advantageous, as association with antisemitism serves to delegitimize the protests. But it&#8217;s clear that a significant number of Columbia&#8217;s Jewish student population (which reportedly numbers 5000, roughly 23% of the undergraduate population and 16% of the graduate student body) feel unsafe. </p>
  180.  
  181.  
  182.  
  183. <p>Granted that, almost by definition, student protestors are young and immature, the whole thing is just bizarre. I understand why people who would be outraged at the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza, where noncombatants are dying and suffering at an alarming rate. I even understand why they would be angry at the Biden administration for backing the Israeli war effort. But, surely, Jewish students at Columbia are not responsible for either set of policies. </p>
  184.  
  185.  
  186.  
  187. <p>Calls for divestiture of whatever investments the Columbia endowment has in Israel is, I suppose, a reasonable demand and grounds for protest. But that would be a hell of a lot more sympathetic without antisemitic rhetoric.</p>
  188.  
  189.  
  190.  
  191. <p><strong>UPDATE:</strong> There is some skepticism in the comments about the nature of the threats to Jewish students. An article in the <a href="https://www.columbiaspectator.com/news/2024/04/21/rabbi-advises-jewish-students-to-return-home-as-soon-as-possible-following-reports-of-extreme-antisemitism-on-and-around-campus/">Columbia Spectator</a> (&#8220;<strong>Rabbi advises Jewish students to ‘return home as soon as possible’ following reports of ‘extreme antisemitism’ on and around campus</strong>&#8220;) provides additional context.</p>
  192.  
  193.  
  194.  
  195. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  196. <p>Pro-Israel counterprotesters stood on the Sundial on Saturday evening waving Israeli and U.S. flags and playing Israeli and Jewish music and the U.S. national anthem from a loudspeaker. In front of the Sundial, an individual held a sign reading “Al-Qasam’s Next Targets” with an arrow pointing at the protesters. Al-Qassam is the military wing of Hamas.</p>
  197.  
  198.  
  199.  
  200. <p>Other individuals at the Sundial referred to the Israeli flags as “Nazi flags,” according to another video.</p>
  201.  
  202.  
  203.  
  204. <p>“What’s funny about Hamas killing Jews? What’s funny about it?” Rachel Freilich, CC ’27, one of the students on the Sundial, asked a student who was laughing and taking pictures or recording on his phone, according to another video.</p>
  205.  
  206.  
  207.  
  208. <p>“It had me wondering if someone on my campus not only is just going to glorify and justify Hamas’ terror attacks, call on them to come and kill me next, and then laugh about it, like why should I stay here, at a place that seems to be failing to protect me and calling on terrorists to come into the University and kill me?” Freilich told Spectator.</p>
  209.  
  210.  
  211.  
  212. <p>In another video from Saturday night, individuals at the Sundial shouted at the pro-Israel protesters, “Go back to Europe” and “All you do is colonize.”</p>
  213.  
  214.  
  215.  
  216. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  217.  
  218.  
  219.  
  220. <p>According to a video taken Saturday reviewed by Spectator, a pro-Palestinian protester on campus near the 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue gates tried to burn an Israeli flag, and another individual appeared to throw an object at the head of Jonathan Lederer, CC ’26, who was part of a group of counterprotesters.</p>
  221.  
  222.  
  223.  
  224. <p>“You have blood on your hands,” one person shouted. “You’re a genocidal maniac,” another said.</p>
  225.  
  226.  
  227.  
  228. <p>Lederer said in an interview with Spectator that “there was no Public Safety to be seen while I was absolutely assaulted.”</p>
  229.  
  230.  
  231.  
  232. <p>“Two people threw some heavy-weighted bag at my face, and I felt totally vulnerable in that moment,” Lederer said. “I assumed that at a protest like that there would be Public Safety standing around, NYPD standing around. No one could be seen.”</p>
  233.  
  234.  
  235.  
  236. <p>As the students were exiting campus from the 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue gates on Saturday night, there were calls from individuals outside of campus of “Yehudim [Jews], yehudi [Jew], fuck you,” “Stop killing children,” and “Go back to Poland, go back to Belarus,” according to a video reviewed by Spectator.</p>
  237.  
  238.  
  239.  
  240. <p>David Lederer, SEAS ’26, told Spectator he felt “unsafe.”</p>
  241.  
  242.  
  243.  
  244. <p>“For the last six months, they’ve been chanting, ‘We don’t want no Zionists here.’ Now they’re openly saying, ‘Go back to the gas chambers,’” Lederer said.</p>
  245.  
  246.  
  247.  
  248. <p>He said that when the group left campus, they asked both Public Safety to escort them back to their dorms and the New York Police Department to check on their safety, but that neither did.</p>
  249.  
  250.  
  251.  
  252. <p>On Broadway near the 116th Street subway station, protesters chanted, “We say justice, you say how? Burn Tel Aviv to the ground,” according to a video posted by Students Supporting Israel President Eden Yadegar, GS/JTS ’25, on Instagram on Saturday night.</p>
  253.  
  254.  
  255.  
  256. <p>One Columbia College senior, who spoke on condition of anonymity citing safety concerns, said that while she was walking with a friend while wearing a Star of David necklace on Saturday evening on campus near Earl Hall, someone turned to them and said, “Fuck you.”</p>
  257.  
  258.  
  259.  
  260. <p>The student said she left campus “as soon as I could” because of the experience.</p>
  261.  
  262.  
  263.  
  264. <p>Parker De Dekér, CC ’27, told Spectator that on Wednesday night, when he was walking by Lerner Hall wearing a yarmulke, someone sitting at the tables outside of Lerner shouted, “You keep on testifying, you fucking Jew.” When he exited campus, he removed his yarmulke.</p>
  265.  
  266.  
  267.  
  268. <p>“That was an emotional thing because I never would consider having to take off my religious symbolism as a means of safety,” De Dekér said.</p>
  269.  
  270.  
  271.  
  272. <p>De Dekér continued that as he was helping a friend move his luggage through Lerner Hall on Thursday evening while wearing a yarmulke, one individual said, “We are so happy that you Zionists are finally leaving campus,” and another said, “You wouldn’t have to leave if you weren’t a supporter of genocide.”</p>
  273.  
  274.  
  275.  
  276. <p>On Friday afternoon, De Dekér said that while leaving campus and getting into an Uber, an individual on Amsterdam Avenue shouted an antisemitic slur at him, telling him to “Keep on walking.” De Dekér has since decided to leave campus for the time being and is staying with a friend outside of New York state.</p>
  277.  
  278.  
  279.  
  280. <p>De Dekér said that he does not classify the encampment itself as antisemitism.</p>
  281.  
  282.  
  283.  
  284. <p>“Them sitting there and sharing their rights to free speech and advocating for peace in the Middle East is not antisemitism. I want to make that very clear,” he said. “What is antisemitism, though, is the numerous experiences of which I have had experience.”</p>
  285.  
  286.  
  287.  
  288. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  289.  
  290.  
  291.  
  292. <p>On Thursday afternoon, during a protest of the NYPD encampment sweep at South Lawn, one onlooker outside Butler Library held up a sign that read, “Google ‘Dancing Israelis,’” which refers to a conspiracy theory that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad orchestrated the attacks on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.</p>
  293.  
  294.  
  295.  
  296. <p>“‘Dancing Israelis?’ That’s antisemitic,” someone said, according to a video. “I support Palestine. That’s antisemitic. Get that shit out of here.”</p>
  297.  
  298.  
  299.  
  300. <p>“I speak for myself,” the protester later said. “So fuck yourself. The fact that someone gets offended by something doesn’t make it not true.”</p>
  301.  
  302.  
  303.  
  304. <p>Elisha Baker, CC ’26, said in an interview with Spectator that the poster “falls into a pattern, an age-old pattern of antisemitism being manifested as Jew haters blaming the Jews for the world’s problems.”</p>
  305.  
  306.  
  307.  
  308. <p>As three Jewish students were speaking to the NYPD outside the campus gates at 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue on Thursday night, someone shouted, “Remember the seventh of October,” according to a video reviewed by Spectator. Another added, “Never forget the seventh of October.”</p>
  309.  
  310.  
  311.  
  312. <p>“That will happen not one more time, not five more times, not 10 more times, not 100 more times, not 1,000 more times, but 10,000 times,” someone shouted.</p>
  313.  
  314.  
  315.  
  316. <p>“The seventh of October is about to be every day,” another person shouted.</p>
  317.  
  318.  
  319.  
  320. <p>Protesters then chanted, “Nazi bitches.”</p>
  321. </blockquote>
  322. ]]></content:encoded>
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  325. <slash:comments>59</slash:comments>
  328. </item>
  329. <item>
  330. <title>The Two Speakers</title>
  331. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-two-speakers/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=the-two-speakers</link>
  332. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-two-speakers/#comments</comments>
  334. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  335. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 11:24:59 +0000</pubDate>
  336. <category><![CDATA[Congress]]></category>
  337. <category><![CDATA[US Politics]]></category>
  338. <category><![CDATA[Axios]]></category>
  339. <category><![CDATA[Bill Clinton]]></category>
  340. <category><![CDATA[Legislation]]></category>
  341. <category><![CDATA[MAGA]]></category>
  342. <category><![CDATA[NAFTA]]></category>
  343. <category><![CDATA[Nancy Pelosi]]></category>
  344. <category><![CDATA[Ukraine]]></category>
  345. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270913</guid>
  346.  
  347. <description><![CDATA[MAGA Republicans have owned themselves whilst trying to own the libs.]]></description>
  348. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  349. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="780" height="520" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hakeem-jeffries-mike-johnson.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-270915" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hakeem-jeffries-mike-johnson.jpeg 780w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/hakeem-jeffries-mike-johnson-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px" /></figure>
  350.  
  351.  
  352.  
  353. <p class="has-drop-cap">In &#8220;<strong>Hakeem Jeffries emerges as Congress&#8217; shadow speaker</strong>,&#8221; Axios&#8217; <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/21/hakeem-jeffries-speaker-mike-johnson-israel-ukraine">Andre Solender</a> sheds light on a situation that many of us have noticed.</p>
  354.  
  355.  
  356.  
  357. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  358. <p>Rep.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/02/mike-johnson-hakeem-jeffries-motion-to-vacate">Hakeem Jeffries</a>&nbsp;(D-N.Y.) found himself in an unusual position for a minority leader last week: It was he, not the House speaker, who had the ultimate power to decide whether legislation came to the floor.</p>
  359.  
  360.  
  361.  
  362. <p><strong>Why it matters:&nbsp;</strong>Democrats got everything they wanted –&nbsp;a<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/20/house-foreign-aid-israel-ukraine-taiwan-pass">&nbsp;$95 billion foreign aid bill</a>, the credit for passing it, and adversaries more divided than ever. In their telling, that total victory wasn&#8217;t a sure thing.</p>
  363.  
  364.  
  365.  
  366. <ul>
  367. <li>Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a master legislative tactician, heaped praise on her successor: &#8220;He is fabulous. We&#8217;re so proud of him.&#8221;</li>
  368.  
  369.  
  370.  
  371. <li>One senior House Democrat told Axios: &#8220;It easily could have fallen apart &#8230; He played the cards the way you&#8217;d want to play them.&#8221;</li>
  372.  
  373.  
  374.  
  375. <li>&#8220;I would not want to play blackjack against him,&#8221; the lawmaker added.</li>
  376. </ul>
  377.  
  378.  
  379.  
  380. <p><strong>What happened:&nbsp;</strong>Democrats did something&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/19/democrats-take-unprecedented-step-to-save-gops-foreign-aid-bills">virtually unheard of in modern politics</a>&nbsp;on Thursday, crossing the aisle on the House Rules Committee to save the foreign aid package. They&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/19/johnson-bailout-democrats-on-foreign-aid">did it again</a>&nbsp;the next day on the House floor.</p>
  381.  
  382.  
  383.  
  384. <ul>
  385. <li>This was all Jeffries&#8217; call, as was Democrats&#8217; decision to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/19/house-democrats-mike-johnson-hakeem-jeffries">wait until it was clear</a> House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) didn&#8217;t have the votes on his own before saving the package on the floor.</li>
  386.  
  387.  
  388.  
  389. <li>&#8220;We wouldn&#8217;t be voting on this right now if it weren&#8217;t for Hakeem &#8230; He&#8217;s the one who created the system that Johnson could follow and get this done,&#8221; said a House Democrat.</li>
  390. </ul>
  391.  
  392.  
  393.  
  394. <p><strong>Zoom in:&nbsp;</strong>Jeffries&#8217; message to his members leading up to the foreign aid fight was to stay unified behind him and not commit themselves to positions on saving Johnson that might box the party in.</p>
  395.  
  396.  
  397.  
  398. <ul>
  399. <li>In other words: To give him all the power and maneuverability that Johnson lacks.</li>
  400.  
  401.  
  402.  
  403. <li>The senior House Democrat told Axios: &#8220;If he hadn&#8217;t taken the approach he had, he could have had members going rogue.&#8221;</li>
  404.  
  405.  
  406.  
  407. <li>&#8220;He gave us so many options,&#8221; said Pelosi.</li>
  408. </ul>
  409.  
  410.  
  411.  
  412. <p><strong>Between the lines:&nbsp;</strong>Democratic leadership had already been forging the unified front that would be Jeffries&#8217; strongest weapon for weeks with a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/04/12/israel-gaza-aid-democrats-ukraine-taiwan-progressives">push to get as many signatures as possible</a>&nbsp;on their foreign aid discharge petition.</p>
  413. </blockquote>
  414.  
  415.  
  416.  
  417. <p>That Jeffries is being a shrewd leader and playing his cards masterfully is absolutely worth noting. But it obscures the larger story: the dysfunction in the Republican caucus caused by the nihilism of the MAGA wing has the ironic effect of giving more power to the enemy. Instead of &#8220;owning the libs,&#8221; they&#8217;re being owned by them.</p>
  418.  
  419.  
  420.  
  421. <p>It&#8217;s not all that unusual for leaders to need when from the other party to pass controversial bills. Bill Clinton, for example, needed massive support from Republicans to pass NAFTA. But that was a matter of legitimate ideological disagreement. That was rather common when the parties weren&#8217;t highly sorted. Northeastern Republicans often voted with Democrats and Southern Democrats often voted with Republicans to serve the interests of their constituents. </p>
  422.  
  423.  
  424.  
  425. <p>But this isn&#8217;t a case of a faction of &#8220;hard-line&#8221; Republicans opposed to, say, Ukraine aid because it&#8217;s breaking the budget. In that scenario, Johnson and Jeffries would quietly work together, freeing members of their caucus to vote their conscience/district and getting bills that have majority support in the body passed. Instead, Johnson has to put his job on the line to pass bills with overwhelming support.</p>
  426. ]]></content:encoded>
  428. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-two-speakers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  429. <slash:comments>30</slash:comments>
  432. </item>
  433. <item>
  434. <title>Terry Anderson, 1947-2024</title>
  435. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/terry-anderson-1947-2024/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=terry-anderson-1947-2024</link>
  436. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/terry-anderson-1947-2024/#comments</comments>
  438. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  439. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 10:51:15 +0000</pubDate>
  440. <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category>
  441. <category><![CDATA[Obituaries]]></category>
  442. <category><![CDATA[Associated Press]]></category>
  443. <category><![CDATA[bankruptcy]]></category>
  444. <category><![CDATA[Germany]]></category>
  445. <category><![CDATA[Hezbollah]]></category>
  446. <category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
  447. <category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
  448. <category><![CDATA[journalism]]></category>
  449. <category><![CDATA[Lebanon]]></category>
  450. <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
  451. <category><![CDATA[solitary confinement]]></category>
  452. <category><![CDATA[teaching]]></category>
  453. <category><![CDATA[Virginia]]></category>
  454. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270910</guid>
  455.  
  456. <description><![CDATA[The AP journalist taken hostage for almost seven years has died. ]]></description>
  457. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  458. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="800" height="540" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/terry-anderson-freed.webp" alt="Terry Anderson, center, accompanied by his sister Peggy Say, left, and Madeleine Bassil, right, in Germany, Dec. 5, 1991. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)" class="wp-image-270911" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/terry-anderson-freed.webp 800w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/terry-anderson-freed-768x518.webp 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Terry Anderson, center, accompanied by his sister Peggy Say, left, and Madeleine Bassil, right, in Germany, Dec. 5, 1991. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)</figcaption></figure>
  459.  
  460.  
  461.  
  462. <p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/terry-anderson-dies-associated-press-c266353298c04dbf874ab4d94536f2b3">Associated Press</a>, &#8220;<strong>Terry Anderson, AP reporter abducted in Lebanon and held captive for years, has died at 76</strong>&#8220;</p>
  463.  
  464.  
  465.  
  466. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  467. <p>Terry Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years, has died at 76.</p>
  468.  
  469.  
  470.  
  471. <p>Anderson, who chronicled his abduction and torturous imprisonment by Islamic militants in his best-selling 1993 memoir “Den of Lions,” died on Sunday at his home in Greenwood Lake, New York, said his daughter, Sulome Anderson.</p>
  472.  
  473.  
  474.  
  475. <p>Anderson died of complications from recent heart surgery, his daughter said.</p>
  476.  
  477.  
  478.  
  479. <p></p>
  480.  
  481.  
  482.  
  483. <p>“Terry was deeply committed to on-the-ground eyewitness reporting and demonstrated great bravery and resolve, both in his journalism and during his years held hostage. We are so appreciative of the sacrifices he and his family made as the result of his work,” said Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of the AP.</p>
  484.  
  485.  
  486.  
  487. <p>“He never liked to be called a hero, but that’s what everyone persisted in calling him,” said Sulome Anderson. “I saw him a week ago and my partner asked him if he had anything on his bucket list, anything that he wanted to do. He said, ‘I’ve lived so much and I’ve done so much. I’m content.’”</p>
  488.  
  489.  
  490.  
  491. <p>After returning to the United States in 1991, Anderson led a peripatetic life, giving public speeches, teaching journalism at several prominent universities and, at various times, operating a blues bar, Cajun restaurant, horse ranch and gourmet restaurant.</p>
  492.  
  493.  
  494.  
  495. <p>He also struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder, won millions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets after a federal court concluded that country played a role in his capture, then lost most of it to bad investments. He filed for bankruptcy in 2009.</p>
  496.  
  497.  
  498.  
  499. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  500.  
  501.  
  502.  
  503. <p>In 1985, Anderson became one of several Westerners abducted by members of the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah during a time of war that had plunged Lebanon into chaos.</p>
  504.  
  505.  
  506.  
  507. <p>After his release, he returned to a hero’s welcome at AP’s New York headquarters.</p>
  508.  
  509.  
  510.  
  511. <p>Louis D. Boccardi, the president and chief executive officer of the AP at the time, recalled Sunday that Anderson’s plight was never far from his AP colleagues’ minds.</p>
  512.  
  513.  
  514.  
  515. <p>“The word ‘hero’ gets tossed around a lot but applying it to Terry Anderson just enhances it,” Boccardi said. “His six-and-a-half-year ordeal as a hostage of terrorists was as unimaginable as it was real — chains, being transported from hiding place to hiding place strapped to the chassis of a truck, given often inedible food, cut off from the world he reported on with such skill and caring.”</p>
  516.  
  517.  
  518.  
  519. <p>As the AP’s chief Middle East correspondent, Anderson had been reporting for several years on the rising violence gripping Lebanon as the country fought a war with Israel, while Iran funded militant groups trying to topple its government.</p>
  520.  
  521.  
  522.  
  523. <p>On March 16, 1985, a day off, he had taken a break to play tennis with former AP photographer Don Mell and was dropping Mell off at his home when gun-toting kidnappers dragged him from his car.</p>
  524.  
  525.  
  526.  
  527. <p>He was likely targeted, he said, because he was one of the few Westerners still in Lebanon and because his role as a journalist aroused suspicion among members of Hezbollah.</p>
  528.  
  529.  
  530.  
  531. <p>“Because in their terms, people who go around asking questions in awkward and dangerous places have to be spies,“ he told the Virginia newspaper The Review of Orange County in 2018.</p>
  532.  
  533.  
  534.  
  535. <p>What followed was nearly seven years of brutality during which he was beaten, chained to a wall, threatened with death, often had guns held to his head and was kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time.</p>
  536.  
  537.  
  538.  
  539. <p>Anderson was the longest held of several Western hostages Hezbollah abducted over the years, including Terry Waite, the former envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had arrived to try to negotiate Anderson’s release.</p>
  540.  
  541.  
  542.  
  543. <p>By Anderson’s and other hostages’ accounts, he was also their most hostile prisoner, constantly demanding better food and treatment, arguing religion and politics with his captors, and teaching other hostages sign language and where to hide messages so they could communicate privately.</p>
  544. </blockquote>
  545.  
  546.  
  547.  
  548. <p>He lived a rather remarkable life, having already risen to bureau chief at the time of his capture, but is known to most people&#8212;and only to those of us of a certain age&#8212;because of his capture. As with most people who become famous for some particular incident, it has been a very long time since I paid much attention to him. </p>
  549.  
  550.  
  551.  
  552. <p>It sounds like he led a reasonably content life in the three decades since his release but was, as one would imagine, never truly free of the specter of what he&#8217;d endured in Lebanon. It&#8217;s a hell of a toll to pay for reporting the news.</p>
  553. ]]></content:encoded>
  555. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/terry-anderson-1947-2024/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  556. <slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
  559. </item>
  560. <item>
  561. <title>Monday’s Forum</title>
  562. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/mondays-forum-170/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=mondays-forum-170</link>
  563. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/mondays-forum-170/#comments</comments>
  565. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  566. <pubDate>Mon, 22 Apr 2024 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  567. <category><![CDATA[Open Forum]]></category>
  568. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270907</guid>
  569.  
  570. <description/>
  571. <content:encoded/>
  573. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/mondays-forum-170/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  574. <slash:comments>47</slash:comments>
  577. </item>
  578. <item>
  579. <title>In Honor of Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi</title>
  580. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/in-honor-of-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=in-honor-of-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi</link>
  581. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/in-honor-of-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi/#comments</comments>
  583. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt Bernius]]></dc:creator>
  584. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 16:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
  585. <category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
  586. <category><![CDATA[Race and Politics]]></category>
  587. <category><![CDATA[US Constitution]]></category>
  588. <category><![CDATA[US Politics]]></category>
  589. <category><![CDATA[agriculture]]></category>
  590. <category><![CDATA[Confederacy]]></category>
  591. <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
  592. <category><![CDATA[France]]></category>
  593. <category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>
  594. <category><![CDATA[Mississippi]]></category>
  595. <category><![CDATA[Slavery]]></category>
  596. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  597. <category><![CDATA[Yale]]></category>
  598. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270893</guid>
  599.  
  600. <description><![CDATA[If only we knew why Mississippi chose to join the Confederacy...]]></description>
  601. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  602. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mississippi-flag-confederate-statue-edited.jpg" alt="The State of Mississippi's previous state flag. " class="wp-image-270896" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mississippi-flag-confederate-statue-edited.jpg 1024w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/mississippi-flag-confederate-statue-edited-768x432.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">&#8220;Flags Flying&#8221; by DM is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 &#8212; Note: this photo features Mississippi&#8217;s former State Flag, which flew over the state from 1894 to 2020.</figcaption></figure>
  603.  
  604.  
  605.  
  606. <p>In the last two days, news began to circulate that on Friday, April 12 Mississippi Governor Tate Reed declared April 2024 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi. My immediate reaction was that doing so, in the year of our lord 2024, was a pretty bold decision. Then I began to research and discovered that Reed is actually following a three-decade-old tradition:</p>
  607.  
  608.  
  609.  
  610. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  611. <p>Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves declared April 2024 as Confederate Heritage Month in Mississippi, keeping alive a 31-year-old tradition that began in 1993. <a href="https://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2015/sep/09/mississippi-flag-symbol-hate-or-reconciliation/?templates=desktop">Beauvoir</a>, the Biloxi, Miss., the museum and historic home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=814699110692786&amp;id=100064581138318&amp;rdid=9g1vw4oaFBxUpDPP">announced the proclamation in a Facebook post</a> on Friday, April 12.</p>
  612.  
  613.  
  614.  
  615. <p>“Whereas, as we honor all who lost their lives in this war, it is important for all Americans to reflect upon our nation’s past, to gain insight from our mistakes and successes, and to come to a full understanding that the lessons learned yesterday and today will carry us through tomorrow if we carefully and earnestly strive to understand and appreciate our heritage and our opportunities which lie before us,” says the governor’s proclamation, which is dated April 12. “Now, therefore, I, Tate Reeves, Governor of the State of Mississippi, hereby proclaim the month of April 2024 as Confederate Heritage Month in the State of Mississippi.”</p>
  616. <cite><a href="https://www.mississippifreepress.org/41270/governor-reeves-proclaims-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi">https://www.mississippifreepress.org/41270/governor-reeves-proclaims-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi</a></cite></blockquote>
  617.  
  618.  
  619.  
  620. <p>While I am admittedly a child of the North (though the majority of my kin came to this country decades after the Civil War was fought) and find this type of celebration a rather peculiar thing to institute (especially in 1993) or to continue to celebrate to this day, Governor Reeves&#8217; words about striving to understand the past have moved me. And so I choose to celebrate Mississippi&#8217;s honoring of the Confederacy by reproducing, word-for-word, the state&#8217;s Declaration of Secession from the Union. </p>
  621.  
  622.  
  623.  
  624. <p>I encourage everyone to read it&#8211;if possible aloud to friends and family. To help with said oration, I&#8217;ve chosen to emphasize certain points so you can be sure to deliver them with the appropriate gravitas they deserve.</p>
  625.  
  626.  
  627.  
  628. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  629. <p><strong>A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union.</strong></p>
  630.  
  631.  
  632.  
  633. <p>In the momentous step which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.</p>
  634.  
  635.  
  636.  
  637. <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery&#8211; the greatest material interest of the world. </em>Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, <em>none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun.</em> These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.</strong></p>
  638.  
  639.  
  640.  
  641. <p>That we do not overstate the dangers to our institution, a reference to a few facts will sufficiently prove.</p>
  642.  
  643.  
  644.  
  645. <ul>
  646. <li>The hostility to this institution commenced before the adoption of the <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/usconst.asp">Constitution</a>, and was manifested in the well-known <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/nworder.asp">Ordinance of 1787</a>, in regard to the Northwestern Territory.</li>
  647.  
  648.  
  649.  
  650. <li>The feeling increased, until, in 1819-20, it deprived the South of more than half the vast territory acquired from France.</li>
  651.  
  652.  
  653.  
  654. <li>The same hostility dismembered Texas and seized upon all the territory acquired from Mexico.</li>
  655.  
  656.  
  657.  
  658. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong><em>It has grown until it denies the right of property in slaves,</em> and refuses protection to that right on the high seas, in the Territories, and wherever the government of the United States had jurisdiction.</strong></li>
  659.  
  660.  
  661.  
  662. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>It refuses the admission of new slave States into the Union, and seeks to extinguish it by confining it within its present limits, denying the power of expansion.</strong></li>
  663.  
  664.  
  665.  
  666. <li>It tramples the original equality of the South under foot.</li>
  667.  
  668.  
  669.  
  670. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>It has nullified the <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/fugitive.asp">Fugitive Slave Law</a> in almost every free State in the Union</strong>, and has utterly broken the compact which our fathers pledged their faith to maintain.</li>
  671.  
  672.  
  673.  
  674. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>It advocates negro equality, socially and politically,</strong> and promotes insurrection and incendiarism in our midst.</li>
  675.  
  676.  
  677.  
  678. <li>It has enlisted its press, its pulpit and its schools against us, until the whole popular mind of the North is excited and inflamed with prejudice.</li>
  679.  
  680.  
  681.  
  682. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>It has made combinations and formed associations to carry out its schemes of emancipation</strong> in the States and wherever else slavery exists.</li>
  683.  
  684.  
  685.  
  686. <li class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>It seeks not to elevate or to support the slave, but to destroy his present condition without providing a better.</strong></li>
  687.  
  688.  
  689.  
  690. <li>It has invaded a State, and invested with the honors of martyrdom the wretch whose purpose was to apply flames to our dwellings, and the weapons of destruction to our lives.</li>
  691.  
  692.  
  693.  
  694. <li>It has broken every compact into which it has entered for our security.</li>
  695.  
  696.  
  697.  
  698. <li>It has given indubitable evidence of its design to ruin our agriculture, to prostrate our industrial pursuits and to destroy our social system.</li>
  699.  
  700.  
  701.  
  702. <li>It knows no relenting or hesitation in its purposes; it stops not in its march of aggression, and leaves us no room to hope for cessation or for pause.</li>
  703.  
  704.  
  705.  
  706. <li>It has recently obtained control of the Government, by the prosecution of its unhallowed schemes, and destroyed the last expectation of living together in friendship and brotherhood.</li>
  707. </ul>
  708.  
  709.  
  710.  
  711. <p>Utter subjugation awaits us in the Union, if we should consent longer to remain in it. It is not a matter of choice, but of necessity. We must either submit to degradation, and to the loss of property worth four billions of money, or we must secede from the Union framed by our fathers, to secure this as well as every other species of property. For far less cause than this, our fathers separated from the Crown of England.</p>
  712.  
  713.  
  714.  
  715. <p>Our decision is made. We follow their footsteps. We embrace the alternative of separation; and for the reasons here stated, we resolve to maintain our rights with the full consciousness of the justice of our course, and the undoubting belief of our ability to maintain it.</p>
  716. <cite><a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp">https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_missec.asp</a></cite></blockquote>
  717.  
  718.  
  719.  
  720. <p>Well, I definitely learned something from reading that. How about you dear readers? I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts about this in the comments. </p>
  721.  
  722.  
  723.  
  724. <p>Be sure to share how you plan to honor Mississippi&#8217;s Confederate Heritage Month.</p>
  725. ]]></content:encoded>
  727. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/in-honor-of-confederate-heritage-month-in-mississippi/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  728. <slash:comments>13</slash:comments>
  731. </item>
  732. <item>
  733. <title>The Toll of Abortion Politics</title>
  734. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-toll-of-abortion-politics/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=the-toll-of-abortion-politics</link>
  735. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-toll-of-abortion-politics/#comments</comments>
  737. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  738. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 15:58:18 +0000</pubDate>
  739. <category><![CDATA[Healthcare Policy]]></category>
  740. <category><![CDATA[US Politics]]></category>
  741. <category><![CDATA[abortion]]></category>
  742. <category><![CDATA[Florida]]></category>
  743. <category><![CDATA[George Washington University]]></category>
  744. <category><![CDATA[North Carolina]]></category>
  745. <category><![CDATA[Texas]]></category>
  746. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270889</guid>
  747.  
  748. <description><![CDATA[Simplistic solutions to complex problems lead to human suffering.]]></description>
  749. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="wp-block-image">
  750. <figure class="aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Abortion-Law-Gavel-1024x576.png" alt="" class="wp-image-201867" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Abortion-Law-Gavel.png 1024w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Abortion-Law-Gavel-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div>
  751.  
  752.  
  753. <p class="has-drop-cap">I remember back in the 1980s when pro-choice advocates would talk about what would happen if <em>Roe</em> was ever overturned.  One of the dominant images was that of the coathanger alongside the specter of the &#8220;back alley abortion.&#8221;  I will confess that at the time it seemed perhaps a bit over the top. I know that it was certainly portrayed in right-wing media and from the pulpit as just a bunch of hyperbole.</p>
  754.  
  755.  
  756.  
  757. <p>Reality, it turns out, is far worse than the alleged hyperbole.</p>
  758.  
  759.  
  760.  
  761. <p>The AP reports: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pregnancy-emergency-care-abortion-supreme-court-roe-9ce6c87c8fc653c840654de1ae5f7a1c">Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom</a>.</p>
  762.  
  763.  
  764.  
  765. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  766. <p>One woman miscarried in the restroom lobby of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to admit her. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn’t offer an ultrasound. The baby later died.</p>
  767. </blockquote>
  768.  
  769.  
  770.  
  771. <p>These are all heart-breakingly awful stories that should be unacceptable, regardless of one&#8217;s position on abortion. The notion that the legal regimes in these states have become so draconian that healthcare professionals are unable/unwilling to render proper aid is inhumane.</p>
  772.  
  773.  
  774.  
  775. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  776. <p>Pregnant patients have “become radioactive to emergency departments” in states with extreme abortion restrictions, said Sara Rosenbaum, a George Washington University health law and policy professor.&nbsp;</p>
  777.  
  778.  
  779.  
  780. <p>“They are so scared of a pregnant patient, that the emergency medicine staff won’t even look. They just want these people gone,” Rosenbaum said.</p>
  781. </blockquote>
  782.  
  783.  
  784.  
  785. <p>This is not &#8220;protecting babies&#8221; nor is it &#8220;respecting the sanctity of life.&#8221;  It isn&#8217;t incentivizing people to abstain from sexual activity that certain moral codes might object to. This is cruelty, plain and simple, and it is impossible to conceive that this is a just outcome of judicial and legislative processes.</p>
  786.  
  787.  
  788.  
  789. <p>The point of the rhetoric from the past was to underscore the potential horrors that American women would endure if abortion were made illegal.  I would not at all downplay the risks that people might undertake to get an abortion if they were sufficiently desperate, which is the essence of the back alley abortion rhetoric.  But I think it is worth plainly underscoring: we are repeatedly seeing women who need critical healthcare denied access because of these laws which is <em>not</em> the result of trying to transgress the law, but rather are the result of them <em>seeking needed healthcare</em>. </p>
  790.  
  791.  
  792.  
  793. <p>To be clear, I am not discounting the real harm that forcing desperate women into homemade or clandestine abortions could cause.  I am just illustrating the real consequences of these laws that are manifesting in a particularly horrible and public way.</p>
  794.  
  795.  
  796.  
  797. <p>I would further note that these types of outcomes are why <a href="https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/trump-and-the-politics-of-abortion/">simplistic assertions that this situation can be solved by appealing to &#8220;state&#8217;s rights&#8221;</a> are incorrect.</p>
  798.  
  799.  
  800.  
  801. <p>It also seems worth noting that <em>Dobbs</em> has not led to fewer abortions, but instead the opposite:  <a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023">Despite Bans, Number of Abortions in the United States Increased in 2023</a>.</p>
  802. ]]></content:encoded>
  804. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/the-toll-of-abortion-politics/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  805. <slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
  808. </item>
  809. <item>
  810. <title>Sunday Morning Tabs</title>
  811. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sunday-morning-tabs-2/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=sunday-morning-tabs-2</link>
  812. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sunday-morning-tabs-2/#comments</comments>
  814. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  815. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:45:22 +0000</pubDate>
  816. <category><![CDATA[Tab Clearing]]></category>
  817. <category><![CDATA[Alabama]]></category>
  818. <category><![CDATA[CNBC]]></category>
  819. <category><![CDATA[Jesse Ventura]]></category>
  820. <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
  821. <category><![CDATA[POLITICO]]></category>
  822. <category><![CDATA[Rolling Stone]]></category>
  823. <category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>
  824. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270876</guid>
  825.  
  826. <description/>
  827. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  828. <ul>
  829. <li>Via AL.com:  <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2024/04/uab-stealing-dead-alabama-prison-inmates-organs-after-autopsies-families-claim-in-lawsuit.html">UAB stealing dead Alabama prison inmates’ organs after autopsies, families claim in lawsuit.</a> <em> Yikes.  As if the prison situation in Alabama wasn&#8217;t already bad enough.</em></li>
  830.  
  831.  
  832.  
  833. <li>Via <em>The Hill</em>: <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4603958-jesse-ventura-claims-he-could-beat-biden-trump-in-hypothetical-matchup/">Jesse Ventura claims he could beat Biden, Trump in hypothetical match-up</a>. <em>Dear Jesse, &#8220;Hypothetical&#8221; does not mean &#8220;imaginary.&#8221;</em></li>
  834.  
  835.  
  836.  
  837. <li>Jamelle Bouie in the <em>NYT</em> on labor politics in the South: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/opinion/uaw-southern-republicans-unions.html?smid=url-share">Southern Republican Governors Are Suddenly Afraid</a>.</li>
  838.  
  839.  
  840.  
  841. <li>Via <em>Politico</em>: <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/04/19/newt-gingrich-mike-johnson-speakership-qa-00153117">‘You Can’t Govern By Shooting Yourself in the Head Every Day’.</a> <em>It takes some serious cajones for Gingrich, a key architect of our current politics, to try and act like some kind of elder statesman.</em></li>
  842.  
  843.  
  844.  
  845. <li>Via <em>Rolling Stone</em>: <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-block-credit-card-late-fees-1235006519/">Republicans Are Determined to Keep Credit Card Late Fees High</a>.</li>
  846.  
  847.  
  848.  
  849. <li>Via CNBC: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/19/new-york-ag-says-175-million-trump-fraud-bond-isnt-properly-backed-should-be-voided.html">New York AG says $175 million Trump fraud bond isn’t properly backed, should be voided</a>.</li>
  850.  
  851.  
  852.  
  853. <li><em>The phrase &#8220;useful idiot&#8221; comes to mind (although that is probably too benign sounding and she is malicious in her idiocy)</em>.</li>
  854. </ul>
  855.  
  856.  
  857.  
  858. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  859. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A brilliant response by Timothy Snyder to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s accusation of Nazis in Ukraine. As a leading scholar on the subject of nationalism, Snyder makes three points:<br>1/n <a href="https://t.co/fnbrZ9VO2Y">pic.twitter.com/fnbrZ9VO2Y</a></p>&mdash; Roman Sheremeta <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/15.0.3/72x72/1f1fa-1f1e6.png" alt="🇺🇦" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> (@rshereme) <a href="https://twitter.com/rshereme/status/1781337606808060042?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  860. </div></figure>
  861.  
  862.  
  863.  
  864. <ul>
  865. <li><em>Good grief.</em></li>
  866. </ul>
  867.  
  868.  
  869.  
  870. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
  871. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">lol wut <a href="https://t.co/eNR4px7PpM">pic.twitter.com/eNR4px7PpM</a></p>&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1782040493032923475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2024</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
  872. </div></figure>
  873. ]]></content:encoded>
  875. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sunday-morning-tabs-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  876. <slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
  879. </item>
  880. <item>
  881. <title>House Approves $61 Billion Ukraine Aid Package</title>
  882. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/house-approves-61-billion-ukraine-aid-package/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=house-approves-61-billion-ukraine-aid-package</link>
  883. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/house-approves-61-billion-ukraine-aid-package/#comments</comments>
  885. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  886. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 14:13:40 +0000</pubDate>
  887. <category><![CDATA[US Politics]]></category>
  888. <category><![CDATA[World Politics]]></category>
  889. <category><![CDATA[BBC]]></category>
  890. <category><![CDATA[CIA]]></category>
  891. <category><![CDATA[David Frum]]></category>
  892. <category><![CDATA[Donald Trump]]></category>
  893. <category><![CDATA[House of Representatives]]></category>
  894. <category><![CDATA[MAGA]]></category>
  895. <category><![CDATA[NATO]]></category>
  896. <category><![CDATA[Republican Party]]></category>
  897. <category><![CDATA[Russia]]></category>
  898. <category><![CDATA[Ukraine]]></category>
  899. <category><![CDATA[US House Of Representatives]]></category>
  900. <category><![CDATA[Vladimir Putin]]></category>
  901. <category><![CDATA[Volodymyr Zelensky]]></category>
  902. <category><![CDATA[Washington Post]]></category>
  903. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270883</guid>
  904.  
  905. <description><![CDATA[A win for the good guys and a loss for Trump and Putin. ]]></description>
  906. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  907. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="929" height="523" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/biden-standing-with-ukraine.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-260876" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/biden-standing-with-ukraine.jpeg 929w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/biden-standing-with-ukraine-768x432.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 929px) 100vw, 929px" /></figure>
  908.  
  909.  
  910.  
  911. <p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/u-s-aid-is-a-lifeline-for-ukraines-struggle-to-hold-off-defeat-176f3a4d?mod=hp_lead_pos2">WSJ</a>&#8216;s Daniel Michaels and James Marson (&#8220;<strong>U.S. Aid Is a Lifeline for Ukraine’s Struggle to Hold Off Defeat</strong>&#8220;):</p>
  912.  
  913.  
  914.  
  915. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  916. <p>The House vote to approve $60 billion in funding for Ukraine comes at a desperate moment for the country’s beleaguered defenders and holds the prospect of helping them stave off a Russian onslaught at the last possible moment.</p>
  917.  
  918.  
  919.  
  920. <p>If approved by the Senate, as is widely expected, and then signed into law by President Biden as soon as Tuesday, the bill will unleash a flood of American military equipment that U.S. forces have positioned for quick deployment.</p>
  921.  
  922.  
  923.  
  924. <p>But given Ukraine’s dire battlefield position and advances Moscow’s forces have made over recent months—during which they reinforced the roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory they held—the new help is unlikely to dramatically reverse Kyiv’s fortunes.</p>
  925.  
  926.  
  927.  
  928. <p>Ukraine faces severe manpower shortages on the front, and President Volodymyr Zelensky said this month that Russian troops are firing 10 artillery shells for every one that his soldiers fire.</p>
  929.  
  930.  
  931.  
  932. <p>At most it has the potential to help Ukraine blunt Russia’s relentless attacks and retain territory, potentially letting Kyiv pin down Russian forces until European allies can deliver more assistance next year.</p>
  933.  
  934.  
  935.  
  936. <p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said after the House vote that the move “will further enrich the United States of America and further ruin Ukraine, causing more Ukrainians to die due to the fault of the Kyiv regime,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.</p>
  937.  
  938.  
  939.  
  940. <p>CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday that without the new U.S. aid, “There is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could lose on the battlefield by the end of 2024,” or at least put Russian President Vladimir Putin in a position to dictate terms of a political settlement.</p>
  941.  
  942.  
  943.  
  944. <p>With the aid, he said, “the Ukrainians are entirely capable of holding their own” on the ground this year while continuing to hit Russian air and naval forces.</p>
  945.  
  946.  
  947.  
  948. <p></p>
  949.  
  950.  
  951.  
  952. <p>Fresh U.S. arms deliveries “should have a noticeable impact on the battlefield,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander in an interview. “We can act quickly,” she said.</p>
  953.  
  954.  
  955.  
  956. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  957.  
  958.  
  959.  
  960. <p>Zelensky on Friday told a videoconference of defense ministers from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which had convened at his request, that his country urgently needs at least seven Patriot air-defense systems and interceptors or comparable equipment, as well as artillery shells, small-arms ammunition and other battlefield basics. “This year we can’t wait for decisions to be made,” he implored them.</p>
  961.  
  962.  
  963.  
  964. <p>After the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said members had pledged to supply new air-defense systems and that the Czech Republic has delivered roughly 500,000 artillery shells as part of a program it has organized to buy up to one million shells for Kyiv. Ukraine’s Western allies supplying arms, known as the Ramstein group, plan later this month to hold a virtual meeting with the aim of expanding commitments.</p>
  965.  
  966.  
  967.  
  968. <p>Resupplying Kyiv’s forces is “already urgent,” Wallander said, citing recent congressional testimony by Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. military officer in Europe, on the dire state of Ukrainian defenses.</p>
  969. </blockquote>
  970.  
  971.  
  972.  
  973. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="705" height="666" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ukraine-aid-package-202404-wsj.png" alt="A much-needed lifeline." class="wp-image-270885"/></figure>
  974.  
  975.  
  976.  
  977. <p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68868399">BBC</a>&#8216;s James Waterhouse (&#8220;<strong>Ukraine aid package could help Kyiv slow Russia’s advance</strong>&#8220;):</p>
  978.  
  979.  
  980.  
  981. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  982. <p>President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his gratitude to the US House of Representatives for approving a new $61bn (£49bn) package of military assistance for Ukraine after months of delays. He said the aid could save thousands of lives.</p>
  983.  
  984.  
  985.  
  986. <p>While it&#8217;s not uncommon for a country&#8217;s future to be decided by politicians, a nation&#8217;s very existence hinging on a vote 5,000 miles away is as extraordinary as it sounds.</p>
  987.  
  988.  
  989.  
  990. <p>For Ukraine, the six-month wait for this military package has been as costly as it has been frustrating.</p>
  991.  
  992.  
  993.  
  994. <p>Dwindling ammunition has cost it lives and territory.</p>
  995.  
  996.  
  997.  
  998. <p>In this period of rare boosts for Kyiv, this was a biggie &#8211; the arrival of American weaponry will allow its beleaguered troops to do more than hang on. But it&#8217;s no silver bullet.</p>
  999.  
  1000.  
  1001.  
  1002. <p>So, what is the package going to do?</p>
  1003.  
  1004.  
  1005.  
  1006. <p>It is likely to include air defence systems, mid to long-range missiles and artillery shells.</p>
  1007.  
  1008.  
  1009.  
  1010. <p>Ukraine&#8217;s recent lack of them has led to Russian forces capturing hundreds more square kilometres of territory.</p>
  1011.  
  1012.  
  1013.  
  1014. <p>When the aid arrives, Ukraine can potentially challenge Russia&#8217;s air superiority, frustrate their supply lines and slow advancing troops.</p>
  1015. </blockquote>
  1016.  
  1017.  
  1018.  
  1019. <p>Whether this is too little, too late remains to be seen. The war certainly seems to have reached a standoff, with a lot of killing achieving very little in terms of territorial gain for either side. So long as Ukrainians are willing to fight to oust Russian troops from their land, though, it&#8217;s in our interest to keep enabling them to do so. </p>
  1020.  
  1021.  
  1022.  
  1023. <p>That Speaker Johnson came around to letting this come up for a vote, passing with a whole lot of help from Democrats, is an unalloyed good. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/21/ukraine-aid-mike-johnson-house-speaker/">WaPo</a> (&#8220;<strong>The evolution of Mike Johnson on Ukraine</strong>&#8220;) explains it this way:</p>
  1024.  
  1025.  
  1026.  
  1027. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1028. <p>The move marks a major victory and dramatic turnabout for the speaker who is trying to gain control of a bitterly divided Republican conference. The far-right is fiercely against Ukraine aid — 112 Republicans, just over half of the conference, opposed it on the House floor Saturday and he had to rely on unanimous Democratic backing — and Johnson’s decision to greenlight a floor vote could come at great political cost. He could very well lose his job as speaker over it.</p>
  1029.  
  1030.  
  1031.  
  1032. <p>It is also a major rebuke to former president Donald Trump, who publicly backed Johnson at a recent Mar-a-Lago event but has long criticized Ukraine while repeatedly sympathizing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
  1033.  
  1034.  
  1035.  
  1036. <p>Johnson appears fully aware of the consequences of his decision to send money to Ukraine in its grinding war against Russia. He made the difficult decision despite threats from an angry and vocal minority of hard-right Republicans — ironically, the ones who helped catapult him into power — who are using their conservative bully pulpit to challenge Johnson and threaten his job.</p>
  1037.  
  1038.  
  1039.  
  1040. <p>He seems to have accepted his fate.</p>
  1041.  
  1042.  
  1043.  
  1044. <p>“Look, history judges us for what we do,” said an emotional Johnson, holding back tears and with a quivering lip at a news conference this week in response to a question from The Washington Post. “This is a critical time right now, critical time in the world stage. I could make a selfish decision and do something that’s different, but I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing.”</p>
  1045.  
  1046.  
  1047.  
  1048. <p>Johnson’s son will be headed to the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall. “To put it bluntly, I would rather send bullets to Ukraine, than American boys,” he said. “This is a live-fire exercise for me and for so many American families.”</p>
  1049.  
  1050.  
  1051.  
  1052. <p>The speaker’s torturous path to embracing Ukraine aid is the result of many factors: high-level intelligence briefings as a House leader; his faith; the counsel of three committee chairs named Mike; and a realization the GOP would never unite on Ukraine.</p>
  1053. </blockquote>
  1054.  
  1055.  
  1056.  
  1057. <p>Assuming he survives this&#8212;and it looks like he will&#8212;it may start to break the stranglehold Trump and the MAGA faction have over the party. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/04/trump-republican-vote-ukraine-aid/678148/">David Frum</a> (&#8220;<strong>Trump Deflates</strong>&#8220;) is a bit more optimistic on that front than I am.</p>
  1058.  
  1059.  
  1060.  
  1061. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1062. <p>For nine years, Trump has dominated the Republican Party. Senators might have loathed him, governors might have despised him, donors might have ridiculed him, college-educated Republican voters might have turned against him—but LOL, nothing mattered. Enough of the Republican base supported him. Everybody else either fell in line, retired from politics, or quit the party.</p>
  1063.  
  1064.  
  1065.  
  1066. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1067.  
  1068.  
  1069.  
  1070. <p>On aid to Ukraine, Trump got his way for 16 months. When Democrats held the majority in the House of Representatives in 2022, they approved four separate aid requests for Ukraine, totaling $74 billion. As soon as Trump’s party took control of the House, in January 2023, the aid stopped. Every Republican officeholder understood: Those who wished to show loyalty to Trump must side against Ukraine.</p>
  1071.  
  1072.  
  1073.  
  1074. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1075.  
  1076.  
  1077.  
  1078. <p>Trump’s party in Congress has rebelled against him—and not on a personal payoff to some oddball Trump loyalist, but on one of Trump’s most cherished issues, his siding with Russia against Ukraine.</p>
  1079.  
  1080.  
  1081.  
  1082. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1083.  
  1084.  
  1085.  
  1086. <p>The Ukraine vote gives the most significant clue. Here is the issue on which traditional Republican belief in U.S. global leadership clashes most directly with Trump’s peculiar and sinister enthusiasm for Vladimir Putin’s Russia. And on this issue, the traditional Republicans have now won and Trump’s peculiar enthusiasm got beat.</p>
  1087.  
  1088.  
  1089.  
  1090. <p>To make an avalanche takes more than one tumbling rock. Still, the pro-Ukraine, anti-Trump vote in the House is a very, very big rock. On something that mattered intensely to him—that had become a badge of pro-Trump identity—Trump’s own party worked with Democrats in the House and Senate to hand him a stinging defeat. This example could become contagious.</p>
  1091. </blockquote>
  1092.  
  1093.  
  1094.  
  1095. <p>The fact that 112 Republicans voted against the bill&#8212;and, of course, the fact that he is again the GOP nominee for President&#8212;means that Trump is still the dominant force in the party. But 101 dared vote against him on a matter of principle. That&#8217;s a hopeful sign.</p>
  1096. ]]></content:encoded>
  1098. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/house-approves-61-billion-ukraine-aid-package/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1099. <slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
  1102. </item>
  1103. <item>
  1104. <title>Trump’s New York Jury</title>
  1105. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/trumps-new-york-jury/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=trumps-new-york-jury</link>
  1106. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/trumps-new-york-jury/#comments</comments>
  1108. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  1109. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 13:34:17 +0000</pubDate>
  1110. <category><![CDATA[Law and the Courts]]></category>
  1111. <category><![CDATA[BBC]]></category>
  1112. <category><![CDATA[CNBC]]></category>
  1113. <category><![CDATA[CNN]]></category>
  1114. <category><![CDATA[ethics]]></category>
  1115. <category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
  1116. <category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
  1117. <category><![CDATA[Michael Cohen]]></category>
  1118. <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
  1119. <category><![CDATA[New York Times]]></category>
  1120. <category><![CDATA[Newspapers]]></category>
  1121. <category><![CDATA[Podcasts]]></category>
  1122. <category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
  1123. <category><![CDATA[Wall Street Journal]]></category>
  1124. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270881</guid>
  1125.  
  1126. <description><![CDATA[Finding 12 impartial people in a high-profile trial is challenging.]]></description>
  1127. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1128. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="645" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Jury-Box-1024x645.png" alt="" class="wp-image-203239" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Jury-Box.png 1024w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Jury-Box-768x484.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
  1129.  
  1130.  
  1131.  
  1132. <p>Scanning the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-hush-money-jury-profiles-43f0f77a?mod=hp_lead_pos8">WSJ</a> front page, I came across the headline &#8220;<strong>Meet the 12 New Yorkers Who Will Decide Donald Trump’s Fate in Hush-Money Trial</strong>.&#8221; Thankfully, this wasn&#8217;t a doxxing but a fairly vague listing of descriptions. Alas, it did very little to assuage my <a href="https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/trumps-jury/">concern</a> that these are indeed people who wanted to be on this particular jury.</p>
  1133.  
  1134.  
  1135.  
  1136. <p>This is a direct quote with redactions of seemingly irrelevant information and some minor editing for formatting:</p>
  1137.  
  1138.  
  1139.  
  1140. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1141. <p><strong>Juror 12</strong> on Trump: “I have no opinions until I am presented with the information in the courtroom.”</p>
  1142.  
  1143.  
  1144.  
  1145. <p><strong>Gender:&nbsp;</strong>Woman</p>
  1146.  
  1147.  
  1148.  
  1149. <p><strong>Job</strong>: Physical therapist</p>
  1150.  
  1151.  
  1152.  
  1153. <p><strong>News sources:</strong>&nbsp;CNN, among others; listens to sports and faith podcasts</p>
  1154.  
  1155.  
  1156.  
  1157. <p><strong>Juror 11</strong> on Trump: “How he is in public and how he himself portrays himself in public…it is not my cup of tea.”</p>
  1158.  
  1159.  
  1160.  
  1161. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Woman</p>
  1162.  
  1163.  
  1164.  
  1165. <p><strong>Job:</strong>&nbsp;Product development at an apparel company</p>
  1166.  
  1167.  
  1168.  
  1169. <p><strong>News sources:</strong>&nbsp;Nightly news</p>
  1170.  
  1171.  
  1172.  
  1173. <p><strong>Juror 10</strong>: “I don’t have a strong opinion about Mr. Trump.”</p>
  1174.  
  1175.  
  1176.  
  1177. <p><strong>Gender</strong>: Man</p>
  1178.  
  1179.  
  1180.  
  1181. <p><strong>Employer:</strong>&nbsp;E-commerce company</p>
  1182.  
  1183.  
  1184.  
  1185. <p><strong>News sources:</strong>&nbsp;Doesn’t follow the news, “but if anything, it’s the New York Times.”</p>
  1186.  
  1187.  
  1188.  
  1189. <p><strong>Juror 9</strong> on Trump: “I do not agree with a lot of his politics and his decisions as president, but…I could leave that at the door and be a totally impartial juror.”</p>
  1190.  
  1191.  
  1192.  
  1193. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Woman</p>
  1194.  
  1195.  
  1196.  
  1197. <p><strong>Job:</strong>&nbsp;Speech therapist</p>
  1198.  
  1199.  
  1200.  
  1201. <p><strong>News sources:&nbsp;</strong>New York Times, TikTok and other social-media platforms</p>
  1202.  
  1203.  
  1204.  
  1205. <p><strong>Juror 8</strong>: “I don’t think too much about politics.”</p>
  1206.  
  1207.  
  1208.  
  1209. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Man</p>
  1210.  
  1211.  
  1212.  
  1213. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Retired, previously worked in wealth management</p>
  1214.  
  1215.  
  1216.  
  1217. <p><strong>News sources:</strong>&nbsp;BBC, CNBC, among other outlets</p>
  1218.  
  1219.  
  1220.  
  1221. <p><strong>Juror 7:</strong> “I have political views as to the Trump presidency…I don’t have any particular opinions about him personally.”&nbsp;</p>
  1222.  
  1223.  
  1224.  
  1225. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Man</p>
  1226.  
  1227.  
  1228.  
  1229. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Lawyer</p>
  1230.  
  1231.  
  1232.  
  1233. <p><strong>News sources:&nbsp;</strong>New York Times and The Wall Street Journal</p>
  1234.  
  1235.  
  1236.  
  1237. <p><strong>Juror 6</strong>: “Trump and I probably have different beliefs, but I don’t think that invalidates anything about who he is as a person.”</p>
  1238.  
  1239.  
  1240.  
  1241. <p><strong>Gender</strong>: Woman</p>
  1242.  
  1243.  
  1244.  
  1245. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Software engineer</p>
  1246.  
  1247.  
  1248.  
  1249. <p><strong>News sources:&nbsp;</strong>TikTok, Facebook and the New York Times</p>
  1250.  
  1251.  
  1252.  
  1253. <p><strong>Juror 5</strong>: “President Trump speaks his mind. I would rather that in a person than someone who’s in office and you don’t know what they’re doing behind the scenes.”</p>
  1254.  
  1255.  
  1256.  
  1257. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Woman</p>
  1258.  
  1259.  
  1260.  
  1261. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Teacher at a charter school&nbsp;</p>
  1262.  
  1263.  
  1264.  
  1265. <p><strong>News sources</strong>: Google and TikTok; “I don’t like news or newspapers.”&nbsp;</p>
  1266.  
  1267.  
  1268.  
  1269. <p>Does <strong>Juror 4</strong> have strong feelings about Trump? “No, not really.”</p>
  1270.  
  1271.  
  1272.  
  1273. <p><strong>Gender</strong>: Man&nbsp;</p>
  1274.  
  1275.  
  1276.  
  1277. <p><strong>Job:</strong>&nbsp;Security engineer for 25 years</p>
  1278.  
  1279.  
  1280.  
  1281. <p><strong>News sources:</strong>&nbsp;“Scattering of all things here and there.”</p>
  1282.  
  1283.  
  1284.  
  1285. <p><strong>Juror 3</strong>: “I don’t think I need to read someone’s mind to determine their intent or at least make a good guess as to it.”</p>
  1286.  
  1287.  
  1288.  
  1289. <p><strong>Gender:&nbsp;</strong>Man</p>
  1290.  
  1291.  
  1292.  
  1293. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Lawyer</p>
  1294.  
  1295.  
  1296.  
  1297. <p><strong>News sources:&nbsp;</strong>The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times</p>
  1298.  
  1299.  
  1300.  
  1301. <p>Has <strong>Juror 1</strong> heard of the other criminal cases against Trump? “I’ve heard of some of them.”</p>
  1302.  
  1303.  
  1304.  
  1305. <p><strong>Juror 2</strong> on Trump: “I might not like some of his policies, but there has been some good for the United States.”</p>
  1306.  
  1307.  
  1308.  
  1309. <p><strong>Gender:</strong>&nbsp;Man</p>
  1310.  
  1311.  
  1312.  
  1313. <p><strong>Job:&nbsp;</strong>Investment banker</p>
  1314.  
  1315.  
  1316.  
  1317. <p><strong>News sources:&nbsp;</strong>He reads “basically everything,” and follows&nbsp;Michael Cohen, Trump and “anyone who might affect markets” on social media</p>
  1318.  
  1319.  
  1320.  
  1321. <p>Has <strong>Juror 1</strong> heard of the other criminal cases against Trump? “I’ve heard of some of them.”</p>
  1322. </blockquote>
  1323.  
  1324.  
  1325.  
  1326. <p>So, offhand, it would appear that Jurors 2 and 5 are Trump fans.</p>
  1327.  
  1328.  
  1329.  
  1330. <p>And, frankly, a whole lot of them are almost certainly lying about not having opinions about Trump personally. I suppose that&#8217;s possible if you ignore the news entirely or get it primarily from TikTok. But for someone who regularly reads the <em>New York Times</em>? Bullshit.</p>
  1331.  
  1332.  
  1333.  
  1334. <p>And there&#8217;s just no way in hell that the two lawyers&#8212;a suspiciously high number&#8212;don&#8217;t already have strong opinions about Trump and this case. </p>
  1335.  
  1336.  
  1337.  
  1338. <p>Juror 12&#8217;s “I have no opinions until I am presented with the information in the courtroom&#8221; sounds like someone who was coached on how to be selected. Why she wants to be on the jury is unclear. Her listening to &#8220;faith podcasts&#8221; for news would seem to be a sign that she&#8217;s a Trumper. But she also claims to be a CNN viewer, so who knows?</p>
  1339.  
  1340.  
  1341.  
  1342. <p>As noted when selection was getting away, I don&#8217;t think this is a fixable problem. Trump is as high-profile a defendant as one could imagine and almost certainly the single most polarizing figure in the country. Finding 12 people who are smart enough to process the information presented to them and who don&#8217;t have strong opinion about him is next to impossible.</p>
  1343.  
  1344.  
  1345.  
  1346. <p>To be sure, it&#8217;s possible to both have a strong opinion about Trump and to be fair-minded in the hearing of his case. I&#8217;m reasonably confident that I could do so. But, again, I would do everything within the bounds of ethics to avoid having to spend several weeks in that courtroom. These are 12 people who, for whatever reason, want to be part of this particular trial.</p>
  1347. ]]></content:encoded>
  1349. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/trumps-new-york-jury/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1350. <slash:comments>11</slash:comments>
  1353. </item>
  1354. <item>
  1355. <title>Sunday’s Forum</title>
  1356. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sundays-forum-191/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=sundays-forum-191</link>
  1357. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sundays-forum-191/#comments</comments>
  1359. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  1360. <pubDate>Sun, 21 Apr 2024 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1361. <category><![CDATA[Open Forum]]></category>
  1362. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270879</guid>
  1363.  
  1364. <description/>
  1365. <content:encoded/>
  1367. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/sundays-forum-191/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1368. <slash:comments>36</slash:comments>
  1371. </item>
  1372. <item>
  1373. <title>Argentina Applies for NATO Partnership</title>
  1374. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/argentina-applies-for-nato-partnership/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=argentina-applies-for-nato-partnership</link>
  1375. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/argentina-applies-for-nato-partnership/#comments</comments>
  1377. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  1378. <pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 2024 13:54:53 +0000</pubDate>
  1379. <category><![CDATA[World Politics]]></category>
  1380. <category><![CDATA[Afghanistan]]></category>
  1381. <category><![CDATA[Argentina]]></category>
  1382. <category><![CDATA[Australia]]></category>
  1383. <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
  1384. <category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
  1385. <category><![CDATA[Colombia]]></category>
  1386. <category><![CDATA[Denmark]]></category>
  1387. <category><![CDATA[F-16]]></category>
  1388. <category><![CDATA[Iraq]]></category>
  1389. <category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
  1390. <category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
  1391. <category><![CDATA[London]]></category>
  1392. <category><![CDATA[NATO]]></category>
  1393. <category><![CDATA[Pakistan]]></category>
  1394. <category><![CDATA[Russia]]></category>
  1395. <category><![CDATA[Turkey]]></category>
  1396. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270871</guid>
  1397.  
  1398. <description><![CDATA[The Western sphere widens.]]></description>
  1399. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1400. <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="774" height="440" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/argentinia-nato.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-270873" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/argentinia-nato.jpg 774w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/argentinia-nato-768x437.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 774px) 100vw, 774px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană meets with Luis Petri, Minister of Defence of Argentina</figcaption></figure>
  1401.  
  1402.  
  1403.  
  1404. <p><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/argentina-asks-join-nato-president-222011272.html">AP</a> (&#8220;<strong>Argentina asks to join NATO as President Milei seeks a more prominent role for his nation</strong>&#8220;):</p>
  1405.  
  1406.  
  1407.  
  1408. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1409. <p>Argentina formally requested on Thursday to join NATO as a global partner, a status that would clear the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when the right-wing government of President Javier Milei aims to boost ties with Western powers and attract investment.</p>
  1410.  
  1411.  
  1412.  
  1413. <p>The request came as NATO&#8217;s Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana held talks in Brussels on regional security challenges with visiting Argentine Defense Minister Luis Petri.</p>
  1414.  
  1415.  
  1416.  
  1417. <p>Geoana said he welcomed Argentina&#8217;s bid to become an accredited partner in the alliance — a valued role short of “ally” for nations that are not in NATO&#8217;s geographical area and not required to take part in collective military actions. NATO membership is currently limited to countries of Europe, Turkey, Canada and the United States.</p>
  1418.  
  1419.  
  1420.  
  1421. <p>The designation could allow Argentina access to advanced technology, security systems and training not previously available to it, the Argentine presidency said.</p>
  1422.  
  1423.  
  1424.  
  1425. <p>“Argentina plays an important role in Latin America,” Geoana said at the NATO headquarters. &#8220;Closer political and practical cooperation could benefit us both.”</p>
  1426.  
  1427.  
  1428.  
  1429. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1430.  
  1431.  
  1432.  
  1433. <p>Milei&#8217;s government is also seeking security benefits through warming ties with Western countries. On Thursday, the U.S. government announced it was providing Argentina with $40 million in foreign military financing for the first time in more than two decades — a grant that allows key U.S. allies like Israel to buy American weaponry.</p>
  1434.  
  1435.  
  1436.  
  1437. <p>The funds, intended to help Argentina equip and modernize its military, will help foot the bill for 24 American F-16 fighter aircraft Argentina bought from Denmark earlier this week. Defense Minister Petri hailed the acquisition of the advanced warplanes as “the most important military purchase since Argentina’s return to democracy” in 1983. The $300 million price tag has drawn criticism from Milei&#8217;s political opponents as he slashes spending across the government.</p>
  1438.  
  1439.  
  1440.  
  1441. <p>Formally partnering with NATO requires the consensus of all 32 NATO members. Argentina&#8217;s ties to key NATO ally Britain have been fraught since 1982, when the two went to war over the contested Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.</p>
  1442.  
  1443.  
  1444.  
  1445. <p>Other global partners of the Alliance include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan. Currently the only NATO partner in Latin America is Colombia.</p>
  1446.  
  1447.  
  1448.  
  1449. <p>Conferring the status of “global partner” on a country does not mean NATO allies would come to the country’s defense in the event of an attack. That commitment — laid out in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s founding treaty — is limited to full members of the alliance.</p>
  1450. </blockquote>
  1451.  
  1452.  
  1453.  
  1454. <p>Argentina isn&#8217;t exactly a major player in defense circles but increasing the scope of the Western alliance is an unalloyed good. It deepens the working relationship without any security guarantees.</p>
  1455.  
  1456.  
  1457.  
  1458. <p>I must confess to not following the ins-and-outs of UK-Argentine relations on a regular basis and have no strong opinion on whether London will object. The larger, but related, issue is the mercurial nature of Argentine politics, which can swing rather wildly from election to election. Milei is a strong departure from his predecessor and swing back in three years is always possible. Then again, it&#8217;s unlikely that any Argentine administration would prefer to be aligned with Russia or China than the West. </p>
  1459. ]]></content:encoded>
  1461. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/argentina-applies-for-nato-partnership/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1462. <slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
  1465. </item>
  1466. <item>
  1467. <title>TikTok Ban Close. Is it Constitutional?</title>
  1468. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/tiktok-ban-close-is-it-constitutional/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=tiktok-ban-close-is-it-constitutional</link>
  1469. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/tiktok-ban-close-is-it-constitutional/#comments</comments>
  1471. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  1472. <pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 2024 11:47:08 +0000</pubDate>
  1473. <category><![CDATA[Law and the Courts]]></category>
  1474. <category><![CDATA[National Security]]></category>
  1475. <category><![CDATA[Supreme Court]]></category>
  1476. <category><![CDATA[Apple]]></category>
  1477. <category><![CDATA[China]]></category>
  1478. <category><![CDATA[Chuck Schumer]]></category>
  1479. <category><![CDATA[filibuster]]></category>
  1480. <category><![CDATA[House of Representatives]]></category>
  1481. <category><![CDATA[Israel]]></category>
  1482. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  1483. <category><![CDATA[Legislation]]></category>
  1484. <category><![CDATA[POLITICO]]></category>
  1485. <category><![CDATA[privacy]]></category>
  1486. <category><![CDATA[Propaganda]]></category>
  1487. <category><![CDATA[Rand Paul]]></category>
  1488. <category><![CDATA[Regulations]]></category>
  1489. <category><![CDATA[secrecy]]></category>
  1490. <category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
  1491. <category><![CDATA[Taiwan]]></category>
  1492. <category><![CDATA[Ukraine]]></category>
  1493. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270869</guid>
  1494.  
  1495. <description><![CDATA[The courts would likely allow restricting a Chinese data mining operation popular with American teenagers.]]></description>
  1496. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1497. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="614" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tiktok-china-usa-1024x614.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-264500" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tiktok-china-usa-1024x614.webp 1024w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tiktok-china-usa-768x461.webp 768w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/tiktok-china-usa.webp 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
  1498.  
  1499.  
  1500.  
  1501. <p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/19/tiktok-ban-senate-00153220">POLITICO</a> (&#8220;<strong>An updated TikTok bill changes the game in Washington</strong>&#8220;):</p>
  1502.  
  1503.  
  1504.  
  1505. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1506. <p>A bill to potentially ban TikTok could be passed and signed into law as soon as next week, depending how quickly the Senate moves — which would mark a sharp ending to four years of attempts by two presidents to curtail the influence of the Chinese-linked app.</p>
  1507.  
  1508.  
  1509.  
  1510. <p>If President Joe Biden signs the bill as promised, it would mark an abrupt close to a frantic and high-powered pressure effort by the popular social media app to stop the bill. So far, the company’s efforts to deploy the clout of its users, including urging TikTokers to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/07/tiktok-vs-washington-its-on-00145727" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">swamp lawmakers’ phones</a> and <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/tiktok-washington-ban-00146596" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bringing creators to Capitol Hill,</a> have largely backfired.</p>
  1511.  
  1512.  
  1513.  
  1514. <p>A direct effort by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/17/china-lobbying-tiktok-congress-00152819" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese diplomats</a>&nbsp;to lobby Hill staffers, reported by POLITICO, instead only hardened the sense of Washington&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/04/18/congress/bashing-chinas-tiktok-moves-00153040" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">China hawks</a>&nbsp;that the app was a dangerous proxy for Beijing.</p>
  1515.  
  1516.  
  1517.  
  1518. <p>With the House of Representatives set to pass the TikTok bill as part of a major aid package over the weekend, the ball would be in the Senate’s court, where friction already seems much lower than it was in March, when the TikTok bill first moved through the House.</p>
  1519.  
  1520.  
  1521.  
  1522. <p>If the bill passes, TikTok is then expected to shift its fight to the courts, arguing the law is unconstitutional, unfairly targeting a single company and violating the First Amendment.</p>
  1523.  
  1524.  
  1525.  
  1526. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1527.  
  1528.  
  1529.  
  1530. <p>The House’s TikTok bill was wrapped this week into a set of large aid and national security bills to support Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, considered priority legislation for Senate Majority Leader&nbsp;Chuck Schumer. The House could approve the package and send it to the Senate as early as this weekend.</p>
  1531.  
  1532.  
  1533.  
  1534. <p>Already, Senate friction seems to be vanishing. Senate Commerce Committee Chair&nbsp;Maria Cantwell, who earlier had said the bill likely wouldn’t hold up in the courts, now says she supports the updated version. The original version had called for a forced sale within six months, and the new version extends that timeline up to a year.</p>
  1535.  
  1536.  
  1537.  
  1538. <p>“As I’ve said, extending the divestment period is necessary to ensure there is enough time for a new buyer to get a deal done,” Cantwell (D-Wash.) said this week. “I support this updated legislation.”</p>
  1539.  
  1540.  
  1541.  
  1542. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1543.  
  1544.  
  1545.  
  1546. <p>One potential sticking point: Sen.&nbsp;Rand Paul&nbsp;(R-Ky.), who has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid028RQmfBZtkhqAdLS6pXwYnvVjxBoTbnfBGMKp2mx3XVsk3bXwH7jhFUTKvpFBAB6kl&amp;id=100044348473513&amp;paipv=0&amp;eav=AfYMJA6wpjx0Sjz_celvHsF8oqZ4T8YiIfcuNTygihrYCe-KhyCDU3eGjvd-7qcNQ3Q&amp;_rdr" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">opposed the bill</a>&nbsp;from the start as government overreach, and has First Amendment concerns for the 170 million Americans who could potentially lose access to the app. He also opposes the larger foreign aid package the bill is now attached to.</p>
  1547.  
  1548.  
  1549.  
  1550. <p>He could block the bills if they were brought up for an expedited unanimous consent vote or could filibuster them. To end a filibuster, Schumer would have to make a motion to invoke cloture, requiring 60 votes, to stop debate on the bill and bring it to a roll call vote.</p>
  1551. </blockquote>
  1552.  
  1553.  
  1554.  
  1555. <p>Naturally, China is already retaliating:</p>
  1556.  
  1557.  
  1558.  
  1559. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1560. <p>In a sign of potential retaliation from a geopolitical rival, China reportedly ordered Apple to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/19/tech/china-apple-whatspp-threads-removal-hnk-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remove Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads</a> from its app store Friday. While the move was largely symbolic — since both apps are already technically illegal in China — it hints that the door could be open for a wider crackdown on American companies.</p>
  1561. </blockquote>
  1562.  
  1563.  
  1564.  
  1565. <p>I don&#8217;t have strong views on whether banning TikTok&#8212;or forcing its sale to a non-Chinese party&#8212;is good public policy. I&#8217;m skeptical of the alleged harm to national security. Still, they&#8217;re hardly without foundation. </p>
  1566.  
  1567.  
  1568.  
  1569. <p>Here&#8217;s what <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3354874/leaders-say-tiktok-is-potential-cybersecurity-risk-to-us/">General Paul M. Nakasone</a>, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency, told Congress last April:</p>
  1570.  
  1571.  
  1572.  
  1573. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1574. <p> &#8220;If you consider one-third of the adult population receives their news from this app, one-sixth of our children are saying they&#8217;re constantly on this app, if you consider that there&#8217;s 150 million people every single day that are obviously touching this app, this provides a foreign nation a platform for information operations, a platform for surveillance, and a concern we have with regards to who controls that data.&#8221; </p>
  1575. </blockquote>
  1576.  
  1577.  
  1578.  
  1579. <p>The danger is mostly theoretical but, certainly, the app has considerable reach. <a href="https://www.spiceworks.com/it-security/data-security/guest-article/theres-nothing-confusing-about-tiktoks-security-risks/">Rodman Ramezanian</a>, Global Cloud Threat Lead at Skyhigh Security, contends &#8220;<strong>There’s Nothing Confusing About TikTok’s Security Risks</strong>.&#8221;</p>
  1580.  
  1581.  
  1582.  
  1583. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1584. <p>Nation states and security professionals alike are sounding the alarm. They see TikTok as significantly more risky than other apps, not only because of the quantity and type of data that it collects but also because of where that data is stored, what it could be used for, and who can ultimately access it.</p>
  1585.  
  1586.  
  1587.  
  1588. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1589.  
  1590.  
  1591.  
  1592. <p>According to its privacy policy, TikTok collects personally identifiable information (PII) that includes the user’s name, age, email, phone number, and social media account information. Additionally, it collects digital data, such as payment methods associated with transactions, social network contacts, IP addresses, geolocation data, and device information. And it collects biometric identifiers and biometric information, including faceprints and voiceprints from uploaded user content, as well as connected metadata. </p>
  1593.  
  1594.  
  1595.  
  1596. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1597.  
  1598.  
  1599.  
  1600. <p>Though TikTok denies that it would provide U.S. user data to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), leaked audio from internal TikTok meetings show that U.S. user data has been repeatedly accessed from China, where ByteDance servers are located. Under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, TikTok, as a subsidiary of ByteDance, has a legal obligation to <a href="https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/blog/why-tiktok-is-the-latest-security-threat" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">support CCP security and intelligence initiativesOpens a new window </a> and could be compelled to exercise its access. Since the data is stored outside the U.S., American laws wouldn’t be enforceable, and TikTok would be in a position of policing itself.</p>
  1601.  
  1602.  
  1603.  
  1604. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1605.  
  1606.  
  1607.  
  1608. <p>In 2015, China announced its Digital Silk Road plan as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. The CCP sees data as a way to gain market advantage, power, and influence, as well as a way to develop machine learning models. The party went so far as to officially declare data as a national resource in 2019, on par with land, labor, capital, and technology.</p>
  1609.  
  1610.  
  1611.  
  1612. <p>It’s not a stretch to assert that the CCP could use its collected data sets for future applications and questionable purposes. A case in point is the former ByteDance executive who claimed that TikTok was being used by the CCP to spread propaganda and hateful content. He was promptly fired for misconduct and has since filed a wrongful termination complaint against ByteDance.</p>
  1613. </blockquote>
  1614.  
  1615.  
  1616.  
  1617. <p>NYT national security reporter <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/us/politics/tiktok-ban-house-bill.html">David E. Sanger</a> argues &#8220;<strong>TikTok’s Security Threats Go Beyond the Scope of House Legislation</strong>.&#8221;</p>
  1618.  
  1619.  
  1620.  
  1621. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1622. <p>In the four years this battle has gone on, it has become clear that the security threat posed by TikTok has far less to do with who owns it than it does with who writes the code and algorithms that make TikTok tick.</p>
  1623.  
  1624.  
  1625.  
  1626. <p>Those algorithms, which guide how TikTok watches its users and feeds them more of what they want, are the magic sauce of an app that 170 million Americans now have on their phones. That’s half the country.</p>
  1627.  
  1628.  
  1629.  
  1630. <p>But TikTok doesn’t own those algorithms; they are developed by engineers who work for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, which assembles the code in great secrecy in its software labs, in Beijing, Singapore and Mountain View, Calif. But China has issued regulations that appear designed to require government review before any of ByteDance’s algorithms could be licensed to outsiders. Few expect those licenses to be issued — meaning that selling TikTok to an American owner without the underlying code might be like selling a Ferrari without its famed engine.</p>
  1631.  
  1632.  
  1633.  
  1634. <p>[&#8230;]</p>
  1635.  
  1636.  
  1637.  
  1638. <p>No one was contemplating the possibility that Chinese engineers could design code that seemed to understand the mind-set of American consumers better than Americans did themselves. By the millions, Americans began to put Chinese-designed software, whose innards no one really understood, on their iPhones and Androids, first for dance videos, then for the memes and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/15/more-americans-are-getting-news-on-tiktok-bucking-the-trend-seen-on-most-other-social-media-sites/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">now for news</a>.</p>
  1639.  
  1640.  
  1641.  
  1642. <p>It was the first piece of Chinese-designed consumer software to go wildly viral across the United States. No American firm seemed capable of displacing it. And so it wasn’t long before its ubiquity raised worries about whether the Chinese government could use the data TikTok collected to track the habits and tastes of American citizens. Panicked, state governments across the United States started banning the app from state-owned phones. So did the military.</p>
  1643.  
  1644.  
  1645.  
  1646. <p>But officials know they cannot wrest it from ordinary users — which is why the threat of banning TikTok, especially in an election year, is faintly ridiculous. In a fit of remarkable candor, Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-01/chips-tiktok-make-gina-raimondo-vital-to-biden-china-policy" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;last year that if any democracy thinks it can outright ban the app, “the politician in me thinks you’re going to literally lose every voter under 35, forever.”</p>
  1647. </blockquote>
  1648.  
  1649.  
  1650.  
  1651. <p>Political impact and wisdom as public policy aside, I strongly suspect that it would survive judicial challenge. While there have only been a relative handful of big cases, the Supreme Court has recognized <a href="https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-01/11-maintenance-of-national-security-and-first-amendment.html">national security exceptions to the First Amendment</a> for more than a century. The question will mostly be whether the severity of the restriction here is reasonable to mitigate the alleged risk. I would think the courts would defer to the judgment of elected policymakers in that regard.</p>
  1652.  
  1653.  
  1654.  
  1655. <p>That&#8217;s especially true, I would think, given that TikTik is a Chinese entity (owned by a company called ByteDance) and indirectly controlled (as with any large enterprise in the country) by the Chinese Communist Party. The restriction on the freedoms of US persons here is relatively minimal: there are plenty of other platforms for sharing memes. </p>
  1656. ]]></content:encoded>
  1658. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/tiktok-ban-close-is-it-constitutional/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1659. <slash:comments>20</slash:comments>
  1662. </item>
  1663. <item>
  1664. <title>Saturday’s Forum</title>
  1665. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/saturdays-forum-195/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=saturdays-forum-195</link>
  1666. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/saturdays-forum-195/#comments</comments>
  1668. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Steven L. Taylor]]></dc:creator>
  1669. <pubDate>Sat, 20 Apr 2024 08:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
  1670. <category><![CDATA[Open Forum]]></category>
  1671. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270866</guid>
  1672.  
  1673. <description/>
  1674. <content:encoded/>
  1676. <wfw:commentRss>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/saturdays-forum-195/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
  1677. <slash:comments>33</slash:comments>
  1680. </item>
  1681. <item>
  1682. <title>Election Violence</title>
  1683. <link>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/election-violence/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=election-violence</link>
  1684. <comments>https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/election-violence/#comments</comments>
  1686. <dc:creator><![CDATA[James Joyner]]></dc:creator>
  1687. <pubDate>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 17:02:43 +0000</pubDate>
  1688. <category><![CDATA[US Politics]]></category>
  1689. <category><![CDATA[assassination]]></category>
  1690. <category><![CDATA[Bill Clinton]]></category>
  1691. <category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
  1692. <category><![CDATA[Chicago]]></category>
  1693. <category><![CDATA[conspiracy theories]]></category>
  1694. <category><![CDATA[Council on Foreign Relations]]></category>
  1695. <category><![CDATA[counterterrorism]]></category>
  1696. <category><![CDATA[Democratic National Convention]]></category>
  1697. <category><![CDATA[Department of Homeland Security]]></category>
  1698. <category><![CDATA[elections]]></category>
  1699. <category><![CDATA[electoral votes]]></category>
  1700. <category><![CDATA[FBI]]></category>
  1701. <category><![CDATA[Inauguration]]></category>
  1702. <category><![CDATA[Joe Biden]]></category>
  1703. <category><![CDATA[Liz Cheney]]></category>
  1704. <category><![CDATA[MAGA]]></category>
  1705. <category><![CDATA[Mike Pence]]></category>
  1706. <category><![CDATA[monopoly]]></category>
  1707. <category><![CDATA[Nancy Pelosi]]></category>
  1708. <category><![CDATA[Nebraska]]></category>
  1709. <category><![CDATA[New York]]></category>
  1710. <category><![CDATA[Newt Gingrich]]></category>
  1711. <category><![CDATA[Nikki Haley]]></category>
  1712. <category><![CDATA[oath]]></category>
  1713. <category><![CDATA[Philadelphia]]></category>
  1714. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.outsidethebeltway.com/?p=270864</guid>
  1715.  
  1716. <description><![CDATA[It's no longer just a Third World problem.]]></description>
  1717. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  1718. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="512" src="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/political-violence-usa-1024x512.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-261137" srcset="https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/political-violence-usa-1024x512.webp 1024w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/political-violence-usa-768x384.webp 768w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/political-violence-usa-512x256.webp 512w, https://otb.cachefly.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/political-violence-usa.webp 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>
  1719.  
  1720.  
  1721.  
  1722. <p class="has-drop-cap">A rather sobering report from Council on Foreign Relations research fellow <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/preventing-us-election-violence-2024">Jacob Ware</a> is titled &#8220;<strong>Preventing U.S. Election Violence in 2024</strong>.&#8221;</p>
  1723.  
  1724.  
  1725.  
  1726. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1727. <p>There is a serious risk of extremist violence around the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Many of the same sources of instability and grievances that precipitated the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol (along with other challenges to the outcome of the last election) remain present today. And, while the risk of far-right election-related violence is greater, the possibility of far-left extremist violence cannot be dismissed. Such violence threatens individual lives and the domestic political stability of the country.</p>
  1728.  
  1729.  
  1730.  
  1731. <p>It could also undermine the United States’ international standing and foreign policy goals, in a year where at least eighty elections will take place around the world. U.S.-based election violence has already&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cfr.org/article/america-exporter-far-right-violent-extremism-brazil-and-beyond" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inspired&nbsp;one similar incident</a>, in Brazil in January 2023, and further disruption could affect the rules-based international order in ways detrimental to U.S. interests as it embarks on a new generation in strategic competition. The United States would also benefit from serving as the standard-setter on several associated issues, such as disinformation on social media and the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on elections.</p>
  1732. </blockquote>
  1733.  
  1734.  
  1735.  
  1736. <p>Coincidentally, we just wrapped our Conflict Analysis seminars today. We&#8217;ve had the lesson in our curriculum for the last decade or so, introducing students to one of several conflict analysis (usually the <a href="https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/187786.pdf">Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework</a> or <a href="https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADY740.pdf">USAID&#8217;s Conflict Assessment Framework</a> but this year <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-04/VCA-Draft-for-External-Review.pdf">USAID&#8217;s Violence and Conflict Assessment</a> tool) and having them apply it to a regional case. In recent years, many of us have also had them apply it to the United States.</p>
  1737.  
  1738.  
  1739.  
  1740. <p>Increasingly, students have come to the conclusion that the possibility for violence here is no longer theoretical. While we&#8217;re hardly Rwanda, there are simply more drivers of conflict and fewer mitigating factors than there were just four or five years ago.</p>
  1741.  
  1742.  
  1743.  
  1744. <p>Ware continues:</p>
  1745.  
  1746.  
  1747.  
  1748. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1749. <p>The first and most urgent scenario involves assassination threats against campaigning candidates and other public officials<a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-slow-burn-threatening-our-democracy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">. According to Seamus Hughes and Pete Simi</a> of the University of Nebraska-Omaha, “over the past 10 years, more than 500 individuals have been arrested for threatening public officials. And the trendline is shooting up.” In recent years, for example, the lives of Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin were all threatened. Nikki Haley, the Republican runner-up, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nikki-haley-secret-service-2ae5b277396702248af73f89da92b4b9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">requested Secret Service protection</a> during her campaign, indicating that violent threats have already surfaced in this cycle as well. The United States has been spared a high-profile assassination for more than a half-century. However, lack of success should not be taken to suggest lack of intent. Precisely this point was underscored on June 14, 2017, when a far-left extremist opened fire at a baseball practice of congressional Republicans, gravely wounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise before being killed by the congressman’s Capitol Police detail.</p>
  1750. </blockquote>
  1751.  
  1752.  
  1753.  
  1754. <p>It&#8217;s notable that many of these threats were fomented by a certain former President&#8212;but not all of them. The Scalise shooting was certainly not MAGA-affiliated. Having treated the outcomes of our elections as existential crises, it&#8217;s not shocking that some handful is willing to use violence.</p>
  1755.  
  1756.  
  1757.  
  1758. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1759. <p>Second, large party and voter gatherings, such as the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, as well as primary elections and caucuses, could pose attractive targets. The conventions will boast the largest collections of party members and leaders throughout the entire election cycle and could therefore attract individuals or groups with a vendetta. News headquarters will also be potential targets given extremist rhetoric depicting the media the “enemy of the people.”</p>
  1760. </blockquote>
  1761.  
  1762.  
  1763.  
  1764. <p>This strikes me as less likely, but I&#8217;m hardly an expert. Again, the increasingly hot rhetoric equating the other party as threats to the future of the Republic makes it more likely than it would have been in more normal times.</p>
  1765.  
  1766.  
  1767.  
  1768. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1769. <p>Third, dates associated with the former president’s legal troubles could also trigger violent extremists. Trump’s legal challenges have thrust the 2024 election into unprecedented territory, with the possibility of a presidential candidate running for office from the courtroom, and possibly jail. The public process and potential legal outcomes could accelerate and spur violent attacks.</p>
  1770. </blockquote>
  1771.  
  1772.  
  1773.  
  1774. <p>While I would assess the threat from the MAGA side as substantially higher than from the Democrats, the latter is certainly non-zero. Again, if Trump&#8217;s re-election is a threat to democracy itself, taking him out is not off the table. Still, I&#8217;m far more worried about the safety of judges, lawyers, and jurors than a man with 24/7 Secret Service protection.</p>
  1775.  
  1776.  
  1777.  
  1778. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1779. <p>Once voting begins, the first and most likely scenario is violence and intimidation at polling places and against election workers, or against drive-by or drop-off balloting sites and their collection points. This could include armed militia groups “observing” the election for fraud but, in reality, intimidating voters. In 2020, for example, Oath Keepers gathered at polling places to, in Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-10-10/what-happens-if-armed-right-wing-groups-polls" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">words</a>, “protect people who are voting.” Such gatherings could intimidate voters and disrupt Election Day by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/11/24/munster-incident-puts-focus-on-voter-intimidation-cases-that-can-dampen-turnout-poll-worker-participation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dampening turnout</a>. This scenario could be driven both by any candidate calls to arms as well as by grassroots voices sensitive to local issues, vulnerabilities, and voting preferences, and to individual poll workers expressing or acting upon their personal political views. Such violence provides less of a model for partners and adversaries in the international space, given that the November election will occur after most other 2024 elections have occurred.</p>
  1780.  
  1781.  
  1782.  
  1783. <p>Once voting is completed, threats could turn against those counting the ballots. During the 2020 election, some of the more vitriolic threats were delivered against election officials in swing states. The sequencing of vote counting can play a part, such as when early, mail, and absentee ballots, which tend to lean Democratic, are counted last, leading to “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/31/red-mirage-trump-election-scenario-victory" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">red mirages</a>” in which Republican candidates take early leads that fade in the final legal vote tally. In 2020, for example, federal agents&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/2-men-detained-after-police-learn-possible-threat-philadelphia-vote-n1246774" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">arrested two QAnon supporters</a>&nbsp;from Virginia who showed up with firearms at a convention center in Philadelphia where votes were still being counted three days after Election Day. Political calls to “stop the count” or “stop the steal” can make a violent response more likely.</p>
  1784. </blockquote>
  1785.  
  1786.  
  1787.  
  1788. <p>Again, the threat here would seem almost entirely to come from one side. </p>
  1789.  
  1790.  
  1791.  
  1792. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1793. <p>In the post-election era, depending on election results, attacks against government buildings and/or law enforcement officials will likely be the preferred means as violent extremists aim to take the fight directly to those they deem responsible for malfeasance. This scenario was seen at COVID protests in April 2020, sprawling anti-fascist rioting that summer, at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and the attack against the FBI in Cincinnati. Here, the main accelerant will be political rhetoric interpreted by violently inclined individuals as calls for violence. Perhaps the most significant lesson of January 6 is that even seemingly innocuous moments can provide the impetus for extremist gatherings given the right combination of messaging and momentum. Any number of constitutional milestones—when electors vote in their home states; the January 6, 2025, counting of electoral votes; or Inauguration Day itself—could thus provide the spark, particularly among far-right violent extremists. Far-left violence responding to a disappointing election result will likely be more sporadic and disorganized. Militant anarchists, in particular, could be active, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protesters-bring-shouts-skirmishes-and-shutdowns-to-inauguration-celebration/2017/01/20/00ea4c72-df11-11e6-acdf-14da832ae861_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">as seen on inauguration day in 2017</a>. Still, the bond between far-left anarchists and the political system is <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/live-updates-antifa-riots-1-21-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not as strong</a> as on the right, making it unlikely that extremists respond to any call for violence from politicians.</p>
  1794. </blockquote>
  1795.  
  1796.  
  1797.  
  1798. <p>I&#8217;m not sure I agree with that. But I do think it&#8217;s far, far less likely that a major Democratic political leader calls for violence to begin with. That seems to be almost exclusively a province of the MAGA crowd.</p>
  1799.  
  1800.  
  1801.  
  1802. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1803. <p>Should multiple, organized extremist elements take up arms in defense of their candidates or other interests, sustained violence between political factions across broad geographic spaces remains possible. This level of violence has not yet been reached during the current escalation in domestic terrorism, except at a small scale on American streets in clashes between the Proud Boys and anti-fascists. Should those skirmishes escalate, they would pose a serious threat to law and order. The gravest fear, full-scale and total civil war, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/16/opinions/us-brink-of-civil-war-hoffman-ware/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">remains unlikely</a>, in large part due to the lack of safe havens or sanctuaries for extremists in the United States. Political divides today run along urban-rural delineations, not northern-southern, which will likely stunt any budding civil war in its infancy.</p>
  1804. </blockquote>
  1805.  
  1806.  
  1807.  
  1808. <p>Thankfully, most Americans don&#8217;t care about politics enough to take up arms and risk everything to influence the outcome. I, too, judge the risk of an all-out civil war at close to nil.</p>
  1809.  
  1810.  
  1811.  
  1812. <p>There&#8217;s a whole lot more before Ware gets to the mitigation piece.</p>
  1813.  
  1814.  
  1815.  
  1816. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1817. <p>The leading reason for the rise in domestic terrorism in recent years is a heightened motive or intent toward acts of violence.&nbsp;<strong><em>Reducing motive</em></strong>, therefore, is both paramount to prevention and a daunting challenge. In the build-up to the election, mainstream politicians on both sides of the aisle can use their platforms to speak out against division and publicly praise the integrity of U.S. democracy. Although federal politicians have been reluctant to be outspoken against divisive politics (perhaps warily watching the examples of Republicans Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/loyal-trump-republican-party-moves-censure-us-reps-cheney-kinzinger-2022-02-04/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">who no longer serve in Congress</a>&nbsp;after sitting on the January 6 committee), state and local officials have been far more committed to upholding democratic norms in their constituencies. Many maintain the trust of a large swathe of the American people and can call for peace and calm. One example of this commitment is Republican Utah Governor (and Chair of the National Governors Association) Spencer Cox’s Disagree Better initiative, which aims “to model how to disagree better, setting an example and creating the permission structure and template for other public officials at every level to follow.” Such measures, critically, do not touch on political or ideological differences, but instead emphasize shared interests such as civil disagreement and trust and faith in democracy.</p>
  1818.  
  1819.  
  1820.  
  1821. <p>The Joe Biden administration has several options to lower the country’s temperature and promote a peaceful and orderly election process. For instance, President Biden could task agencies such as the Department of Education or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue nonpartisan educational tools that teach the American public about the electoral process and its resilience to manipulation. Such positive pre-bunking could prevent electoral conspiracy theories from taking root as widely as they did in 2020. The Biden administration could also push states to reverse their vote-counting timelines to count the usually Democratic early, mail, and absentee ballots ahead of the typically Republican day-of votes—or to count votes simultaneously. Although a hard mandate to count votes earlier could violate the Tenth Amendment, gentle encouragement could help reverse the red mirage that contributed to January 6 and the “stop the steal” movement—although there is, of course, the danger of a “blue mirage” instead contributing to violence by far-left extremists. Media organizations could also avoid covering vote tallying, waiting to announce results until they are confirmed and finalized.</p>
  1822.  
  1823.  
  1824.  
  1825. <p>The Biden administration, as well as law enforcement professionals, could also look abroad for best practices on reducing intent to commit electoral violence. In&nbsp;<a href="https://dppa.un.org/sites/default/files/ead_pd_preventing_mitigating_election-related_violence_20160601_e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Preventing and Mitigating Election-Related Violence</a>&nbsp;[PDF], a policy directive issued by the UN Department of Political Affairs in June 2016, the first suggestion is “Reducing high stakes in politics, promoting measures to move away from ‘zero sum’ politics and ensuring against a monopoly of power by one group.” One possible measure to reduce intent to violence, then, would be to promote democracy’s guarantee that the voices and views of the expected losing entity can still be acknowledged and advanced despite electoral defeat. In other words, politicians could employ language promising inclusivity and unity, perhaps on issues of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/12/henry-cuellar-democrats-senate-border-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bipartisan concern</a>&nbsp;such as immigration, providing assurances that all Americans would have a seat at the table in the new administration. As stated by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.undp.org/publications/elections-and-conflict-prevention-guide" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN guidance</a>, “When parties are quite certain of loss or exclusion in an electoral contest, especially when they expect to be ‘permanent minorities’ (to lose not just once, but again and again due to patterns of identity voting), the certainty of outcomes is also a strong causal driver of violence.” In addition, the United States could publicize the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/international-observers-monitor-midterm-elections-in-us-/6826269.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cadre of international election observers</a>&nbsp;to increase trust in the process.</p>
  1826. </blockquote>
  1827.  
  1828.  
  1829.  
  1830. <p>As Bill Clinton has noted, politics&#8212;and especially political campaigning&#8212;is about emphasizing differences rather than highlighting commonalities. His antagonist, Newt Gingrich, was a master at it. And yet the two managed to work together reasonably effectively in accomplishing their overlapping goals, which were considerable. </p>
  1831.  
  1832.  
  1833.  
  1834. <p>Somewhere along the way&#8212;and it predates Trump&#8217;s 2016 election&#8212;we&#8217;ve lost that. While Republicans deserve the primary blame (things like the Hastert Rule work against compromise), it&#8217;s certainly not all their fault. As our parties have sorted, there&#8217;s just less interest in compromise.</p>
  1835.  
  1836.  
  1837.  
  1838. <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
  1839. <p><strong><em>Reducing the capability</em></strong>&nbsp;to inflict violence will also be central. Indeed,&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/2023/07/19/19uscpig/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the successful application of lessons learned</a>&nbsp;after January 6 would considerably strengthen the United States’ electoral resilience. Intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local partners, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/fusion-centers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">with fusion centers</a>&nbsp;(defined by DHS as “state-owned and operated centers that serve as focal points in states and major urban areas for the receipt, analysis, gathering and sharing of threat-related information between State, Local, Tribal and Territorial (SLTT), federal, and private sector partners”), is critical. Threats issued by extremist groups and networks should be taken seriously, unlike on January 6, when preparations were not commensurate with the volume of intelligence suggesting armed actors planned to descend on the capital. Government officials across the aisle could work with legacy media to emphasize the nonpartisan mandate of the DHS, FBI, and state and local law enforcement to undermine allegations of partisanship and politicization. Leaning on local police forces would also build legitimacy, allowing more trusted law enforcement to adhere to their job of keeping the peace in their communities.</p>
  1840.  
  1841.  
  1842.  
  1843. <p>At a tactical counterterrorism level, the Department of Justice’s continued legal efforts to disrupt leading domestic extremist organizations—including the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys—builds deterrence against future acts of violence. Although the leadership of both groups is already serving jail time for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/11/1175465857/extremists-groups-were-found-guilty-of-seditious-conspiracy-for-jan-6-now-what" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">seditious conspiracy</a>&nbsp;as a result of January 6, which has undermined both groups while building a stronger deterrent against violence, such legal efforts could continue as the election cycle heats up. Government efforts to deter or defuse violence will be complicated, however, by extremist networks’ continued adherence to the leaderless resistance (“lone wolf”) strategy, which hampers the ability of law enforcement to penetrate groups and limits the intelligence value of any individual capture. Militant anarchists, for instance, will continue to operate in spontaneous “black blocs,” which similarly complicate infiltration and arrests. Efforts to reduce particularly lethal weaponry will likely fall flat, but could still be attempted.</p>
  1844.  
  1845.  
  1846.  
  1847. <p>Finally, law enforcement agencies could&nbsp;<strong><em>remove opportunities</em></strong>&nbsp;for violence by hardening soft targets and maximizing law enforcement readiness and even preparing for military intervention. The federal government’s law enforcement agencies could seek to designate important events, such as the political conventions and the election itself, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.secretservice.gov/protection/events/credentialing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Special Security Events</a>, which would open a range of new law enforcement tools to prevent and respond to violence. A streamlined electoral process, including the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act passed in response to January 6, could also limit opportunities for violent interventions.</p>
  1848. </blockquote>
  1849.  
  1850.  
  1851.  
  1852. <p>This all seems reasonable, if incredibly manpower intensive. It&#8217;s not a sustainable solution but would at least be viable on the most obvious targets for violence.</p>
  1853.  
  1854.  
  1855.  
  1856. <p>There&#8217;s considerably more to the report. That we&#8217;re seriously having to consider violence mitigation around our elections is a sad commentary, indeed.</p>
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