"If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny" ::: Examining "The Handmaid’s Tale". . .the fictional story that explores the real potential of the U.S. as a failed state.
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Last summer @BostonGlobe produced a six-part series recommended by @maddow of @MSNBC on protecting Americans from corrupt and tyrannical leaders. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Resisting the march to Gilead requires we structure in specific ways, the institutions we rely upon to promote, protect and preserve America’s democracy, among other things. This includes the U.S. Presidency, Supreme Court and Congress. It’s not clear what steps our leaders are taking along these lines, but to clarify our own thoughts – to develop ideas on what we think needs to be done, Rachel Maddow recommends we read “Future-Proofing the Presidency,” by The Boston Globe.
Maddow described the six-part editorial series as basically a way “to tyrant proof the presidency in the wake of Trump,” so that corrupt and tyrannical leaders aren’t positioned to hurt the country.
Here are the six parts of “Future-Proofing the Presidency” by The Editorial Board of The Boston Globe, published in June, 2021:
Here are a few comments from Maddow’s recommendation:
The “basic idea,” said Maddow, “is that before we had somebody that bad and that destructive in office as president, as a country, we sort of thought that norms and rules and policies and strong recommendations and firm precedent would be enough to constrain the worst behavior by a potential president. We thought that stuff coming to light would bring about such shame and political opprobrium that a president wouldn`t do the worst stuff, not if there were norms against it.
“We learned the hard way over a very hard four-year period that those norms didn`t hold. They weren`t effective. He pardoned people for their crimes after praising them for not ratting on him. He installed his unqualified family members in higher level government jobs, and then directed millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to himself and his family`s private business, because he didn`t divest from his family`s private business.
“He took in payments from foreign governments, privately, while he was serving as president and making U.S. policy that served those foreign interests. I mean, even without all of obstruction of justice stuff, we`re not even scratching the surface here.
“The point of what The Globe is doing is they say, without reforms, the modern U.S. presidency under Trump was exposed as what they are calling a treasure map for an American tyrant…they have done a six-part series that sort of methodically lays out six major reforms and actions that the U.S. government could enact now. Things that the Trump experience shows we need before somebody else like that gets back into the presidency in order to make sure this doesn`t happen to us again or worse.
“…After the [precedent] busting, law breaking presidency of Trump, Congress needs to pass new laws to constrain future officeholders. That`s the case The Globe has made in this series.
“Curbs on the pardon power. Safeguards against nepotism. Broadening the power of Congress to investigate the president. Protections for whistleblowers. Requirements the presidents make financial disclosures to root out conflicts of interest…all of that is crucial to protect Americans against repeat [of the] last four years. But imposing stricter rules on future presidents by itself is clearly insufficient. Those presidents also need a clear message. One that will echo through history, that breaking the law in the Oval Office will actually be punished.
“…Trump`s presidency did not just expose glaring legal [weaknesses]. It also made clear that our institutions are incapable of holding presidents accountable for breaking even our existing laws.
“If Congress had played the role the founders envisioned, by removing Trump from the presidency after his criminality became clear in the Ukraine affair, that might have been enough of a deterrent to scare future presidents. But lawmakers didn`t do that.
“So now, there is only one way left to restore deterrence and convey to future presidents that the rule of law applies to them. The U.S. Justice Department must abandon two centuries of tradition by [indicting] and prosecuting Donald Trump for his conduct in office.” — Rachel Maddow
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @MMFlint hosted @Indiawaltonbflo on Rumble with Michael Moore on the important race she was running for mayor of Buffalo, NY. Her loss is our loss, but she remains a beacon of hope. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Democratic Socialist India Walton may have been defeated in the recent election in her bid to become mayor of Buffalo, NY, but the issues she represents remain. Unfortunately, she did not have sufficient support from the Democratic Party, and I wonder if the Democrats truly grasp the depth of the fascistic threat we face in this country.
Strong, clear, committed leaders like Walton are desperately needed at the local level and throughout the system to hold the line on the forces threatening to upend American democracy. If we continue to discard the very few people with the vision and courage to fight for a humane way of life, there will be none to blame but the man in the mirror when the coffin on democracy in America is closed.
Here Michael Moore uses his platform to show support for Walton’s candidacy, and as always, encourage good people to run for political office. From this vantage, it is a reminder of what we all lost when Walton was defeated.
Walton shares the issues and events, like the murder of George Floyd and local response to the global pandemic that motivated her to take on the incumbent; as well as the encouragement and support she found for her candidacy outside her community in a Clubhouse chatroom.
“I’ve seen the conditions in certain parts of my city deteriorate unnecessarily,” Walton said, as the political novice went on to run a successful grassroots campaign during the primary. Her opponent had money, name recognition, old school Democratic Party apparatus and Republican support, she said, so Walton knew winning the November 2nd election would be a long shot.
Still, she was motivated because “Communities do better when the people are less poor overall, and there are some truths about humanity that we’ve allowed capitalism to take away from us…” Her campaign supported “access to affordable healthcare, housing and quality education” and said “Buffalo being the third poorest city of its size in the country…should be focusing on how to tackle poverty…and not how we use police and punishment as a way to make people conform when we’re not giving them the resources necessary to keep crime down.” Walton’s campaign slogan, “A Safe and Healthy Buffalo,” focused attention on poverty reduction and social determinants of health, affordable housing, as well as support for small businesses, the environment, immigrants and a quality standard of living.
“I personally think that your success…will be a beacon of hope and inspiration to all those other nurses and teachers and people who are not big, famous political names, but are just good people, hard workers, decent, standing for all the right things…”
Michael Moore
“I personally think that your success…will be a beacon of hope and inspiration to all those other nurses and teachers and people who are not big, famous political names, but are just good people, hard workers, decent, standing for all the right things…” said Michael Moore. Walton responded: “…I hope that we will inspire someone to step out and have the courage to do it, and know that all over the country we are coming together to support one another and we don’t have to feel alone in our pursuit of justice and equity…Envision the world you want to live in and then pursue it…I think the number one way that we begin to win for people who are on this side of the fight, is by finding our people, getting our people together, and keeping them together – and then you make a really strategic plan and you execute it.”
“…I hope that we will inspire someone to step out and have the courage to do it, and know that all over the country we are coming together to support one another and we don’t have to feel alone in our pursuit of justice and equity…Envision the world you want to live in and then pursue it…”
India Walton
Moore’s conclusion: “We don’t have many large cities that have someone like India who are going to be running them with her politics, her values, and her courage, to stand up for these things…”
Despite her defeat in the General Election, India Walton’s strong, clear, compassionate voice remains a beacon of hope for us all and lights a path toward a better world. Be inspired. — LMO
“India Walton shocked the political world and upset the establishment by running against and defeating a four-term incumbent Democratic Mayor of Buffalo this past June in the Democratic primary. She’s a nurse, a union organizer, a single mother, and she will become the first socialist mayor of a major American city since 1960 if she wins the general election in November.
“The political establishment in Buffalo is not taking this lightly. So, while she should be coasting to a victory in November because Buffalo is overwhelmingly Democratic, she has a very difficult opponent, backed by Trump people – Byron Brown, the guy she just defeated in the primary.
“This is such an important race — all the issues we are facing all over the country — Covid-19, the police state, the prison industrial complex, economic inequality, climate, and sexual violence — they all play a role in this race. And India Walton’s a thoughtful and forceful candidate and leader we should get behind to take care of these issues that plague us all.” — Rumble with Michael Moore
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Insight on the chilling Season 4 ending of @HandmaidsOnHulu that devastated @OTFagbenle’s character, Luke, is offered by @looper. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
The Handmaid’s Tale premiered on Hulu in 2017 and was met with near-universal acclaim, winning eight Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. Set in a dystopian future in which fertile women are forced into child-bearing slavery, The Handmaid’s Tale is now well beyond the book it is based on, expanding author Margaret Atwood’s original vision. Season 4 of the hit series just wrapped up, and June Osborne’s journey has never been so perilous. Looking for a breakdown of how the season wrapped up? Curious about what it all means for Season 5? Here’s the ending of The Handmaid’s Tale, Season 4, explained.
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @AtwoodSociety With chilling honesty, @JYSexton & @chaunceydevega discuss current issues in America’s Democracy. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Chauncey DeVega and Jared Yates Sexton discuss current issues in America’s Democracy, beginning with the fantasy that the “bad guys” get caught and punished.
Here are a few quotes from the podcast:
“We have history. We know that white, wealthy, powerful men in this country, very, very, very rarely face the consequences of their actions.”
— Jared Yates Sexton
Sexton and DeVega observe that people want to make the events of January 6th into a joke, and how this delusion and denial is what will allow things to get worse.
“They want to create a a theocratic, white ethno state. They want to recognize fascism as a world order.” — Jared Yates Sexton
“This is a disorienting moment and that’s how fascism wins.”
— Chauncey DeVega
“We are at the end of the liberal democratic experiment.” — Jared Yates Sexton
“When someone tells you they’re going to kill you, shouldn’t you believe them?” — Chauncey DeVega
DeVega raised the issue of whiteness and narcissism as a public health emergency.
“Evangelicals. Radical evangelicals. White supremacist evangelicals are excited as hell about the apocalypse. We’ve been told to expect it…You are now going to personally serve the Lord…that is the other side of the coin of Al Quaeda and ISIS. It is the exact same thing as fascism in that regard. Fascism tells the followers…there is power in death…”
— Jared Yates Sexton
The men also explore how to protect your emotional health when confronting fascism as writers. Jared Yates Sexton concludes:
“Figure out what you want to save.”
“Jared Yates Sexton is the guest on this very special July 4 Independence Day episode of The Truth Report and The Chauncey DeVega Show. Jared Yates Sexton is the author of several books including The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage and American Rule: How a Nation Conquered the World But Failed Its People.
“In this wide-ranging conversation Jared and Chauncey ponder why so many rank-and-file Americans as well as the country’s ‘elites’ are in denial about the ongoing and worsening crises that may be the end of the country as they know it.
“They also highlight how America is beset by a culture of death and destruction and apocalypse as shown by gangster capitalism, Christian fascism and End Times fantasies, and the Trump-led Republican Party and fascist movement which tried to nullify democracy on Jan 6 – and are continuing to do so.
“Jared and Chauncey DeVega reflect on how they have navigated the emotionally challenging task(s) of documenting the ongoing and escalating disaster that is the Age of Trump and ascendant fascism and an American democracy that is on life support.” — The Truth Report
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @MMFlint & Rumble guests offer advice on political activism. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
The more we see democracy under threat, the more some of us wonder about how to get involved. Michael Moore asks almost every guest of his podcast, Rumble, to tell listeners what they should do to advance a particular issue, and always urges people to contact their national representatives. For more ideas, check out the podcast. — LMO
“Academy Award-winning filmmaker and political provocateur Michael Moore offers his subversive and humorous take on the issues of the day and talks to a wide range of people from comedians and politicians to the people who’ve tried to kill him. Plus various mischief with Mike’s friends, family and the neighbors who don’t work for the NSA.” — Rumble with Michael Moore
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @EverCarradine There’s a strong backlash to the @DaveChappelle special #TheCloser on @netflix by @NBJContheMove reports @JoshuaLEspinoza at @Complex, yet we need to discuss our discomfort with diversity to slow the tyranny seen in @HandmaidsOnHulu. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Gilead is beige. The world envisioned in The Handmaid’s Tale is a regime where everyone is assigned a role from a narrow set of possibilities. Anyone who questions the range or doesn’t fit neatly within the limited scope of possibilities, is eliminated…completely. This is especially true for LGBTQIA people.
It doesn’t matter that the range of roles is too small and unrealistic for the humans trapped in Gilead. The point of structuring this new society is not realism, truth or authenticity. The point is to impose a single world view and to force everyone to pretend as if they fit it. Failure to fit, to conform, to go along with the vision is cause for elimination.
This may sound far-fetched, but in our own world where transgender people face deadly consequences – not by the hand of the state, but by rogue elements who seem to feel empowered to police the gender and sexual identities of people who don’t fit their vision of acceptable options – the violence of Gilead is the reality for some Americans.
So some people had a very immediate, strong and disapproving reaction to jokes told about transgender people by comedian Dave Chappelle. I did not have that reaction. I saw The Closer as a clumsy attempt to foster dialogue on a topic at the root of much conflict in our society – difference. The U.S. may not sanction violence to the extent and with the immediacy we see in Gilead – but despite the great diversity of American people, some of us are clearly uncomfortable with difference and apparently feel empowered to eliminate people who challenge our views on acceptability. Presumably this is why both police and vigilantes routinely kill Black people. Difference. One supposes this is why Texas has empowered vigilantes to terrorize women who exercise choice. Difference. It appears, too, that the unchecked violence unleashed on transgender people is an expression of discomfort with people who don’t fit a certain pre-determined model. Difference.
Perhaps Chappelle should not have used his considerable platform to talk about a subject that makes some people uncomfortable – or to be open and honest about his own views on a complicated topic. He upset a lot of people and is dealing with the fallout of his choice to discuss a subject some consider out of bounds. He may have offered cover for those who choose to police the difference presented by transgender people, and paved the way for more violence toward a visible and vulnerable population. However, it’s not clear to me when, where and how Americans can have the conversation about difference…how it makes us feel…why we try so hard to fit everyone within a narrow range of possibilities…how much destruction we unleash when people fail to fit our own narrow confines of acceptability and respectability. And if we can never have these conversations, how on earth do we stop…the coming tyranny? — LMO
For a small taste of the reaction to Chappelle’s act, see this story.
“The National Black Justice Coalition has called on Netflix to remove The Closer—Dave Chappelle’s controversial standup special that has been deemed transphobic.
“Immediately after its release on Tuesday, The Closer began receiving backlash over a series of anti-trans comments from the 48-year-old comedian. At one point during the gig, Chappelle declares himself a TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and expresses support for J.K. Rowling, the Harry Potter author who claimed trans women posed a threat to those who were assigned female at birth.
“’It is deeply disappointing that Netflix allowed Dave Chappelle’s lazy and hostile transphobia and homophobia to air on its platform,’ NBJC executive director David Johns said in a statement to Deadline. ‘With 2021 on track to be the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States — the majority of whom are Black transgender people — Netflix should know better. Perpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence. Netflix should immediately pull The Closer from its platform and directly apologize to the transgender community…’” — Joshua Espinoza | Complex
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG Gain insight on forces undermining democracy w/Reading Guide by @gaslitnation produced by @sarahkendzior & @andreachalupa. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
“Gaslit Nation, hosted by writers Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa, experts on authoritarian states who warned America about election hacking before the 2016 election. Here, they take a deep dive on the news, skipping outrage to deliver analysis, history, context, and sharp insight on global affairs.” — Gaslit
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @Ann_Dowd_ #Dopesick on @hulu w/@MichaelKeaton shows how the Sacklers tried to hook the world on opioids, betraying trust like docs in @HandmaidsOnHulu. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Beyond the mercenary Guardians who enforce the laws of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale, we see professionals in the medical field serving to enable the wicked system devised by the Sons of Jacob. It is doctors who determine which women are able to have children, and which cannot. Medical personnel monitor women’s reproductive cycles and assist in “ceremonies” to confirm the plans are being carried out in commander’s homes. Doctors perform procedures like the genital mutilation conducted on Emily. Doctors – professionals – help to make the system work, and one might argue, they have little choice about doing so. The handmaids are betrayed by the doctors – the very people they had learned to trust and rely upon in the old world. There are no heroes here.
The recent Hulu series, Dopesick, about the Sackler family, Big Pharma, and the way they set out to hook the world on opioids with lies, is a real life story of betrayal and villains. Dopesick is a good way to see how things go wrong when the people and systems we rely upon, operate in bad faith from a place of self-interest and greed. If you have Hulu, I highly recommend this mini-series, starring Michael Keaton, aka Batman. — LMO
“From Executive Producer Danny Strong and starring and executive produced by Michael Keaton, Dopesick’ examines how one company triggered the worst drug epidemic in American history. The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Big Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA. Watch Dopesick Oct 13, only on Hulu.” — Hulu
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG @itsjunebitches An early episode of @HandmaidsOnHulu shows the descent into chaos & this @60Minutes segment w/@BillWhitakerCBS @BradSmi & @ncdinglis shows how a @solarwinds #CyberAttack highlights our tech vulnerabilities. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Supply chain issues are much in the news today. However, a story we should not forget, aired on 60 Minutes last July, focuses on how truly vulnerable we are to attacks on the cyber supply chain.
We go through our daily lives, probably mostly unaware of just how interconnected, just how dependent, just how vulnerable we are to others. We expect or hope those we depend upon are holding up their end and operating in good faith. We entrust our money, our needs, our very lives, to a highly complex system that can flip the switch at any time, and plunge us deep into chaos.
We saw a bit of that in The Handmaid’s Tale. When Moira and June could not use a credit card to purchase coffee in an early episode, they were at the beginning of a descent into chaos.
We also saw a bit of that at the start of the pandemic, when suddenly, the world we knew was no more, and soon we were wondering what the “new normal” would look like.
Either we consciously or subconsciously choose to ignore all the threats that surround our daily existence, or we imagine there are ways to increase our independence and prepare for all manner of emergencies. These are not easy choices when crystal balls fail to alert us to dangers ahead. We do the best we can, accepting, at some level, that we do not control everything, and will not survive everything.
Still, the temptation to “be prepared” is great.
The story below caught my attention because it startled me to consider how dependent we have become on computer technology – and how vulnerable this technology is to asymmetric warfare. “Russia has demonstrated that none of the software we take for granted is truly safe, including the apps on our telephones, laptops, and tablets. These days…any device can be sabotaged,” said Jon Miller in the 60 Minutes segment.
So, what’s a girl to do?
The coronavirus pandemic reminded some of us of how much we miss face-to-face contact with other human beings, the human touch, a real-life hug – things the virtual world attempts to replicate, but in current technology, still falls short. So I wonder, is it too late to find more balance between the online and off-line worlds? Would we be able to cope more effectively with old ways of being if we reduced our dependence on modern technology? Is there truly a way to decrease vulnerability and increase preparedness for the coming chaos?
The story below left me with questions like these. I wonder what it will evoke in you. — LMO
Here are a few excerpts from the 60 Minutes story on the SolarWinds cyber attack.
“Bill Whitaker reports on how Russian spies used a popular piece of software to unleash a virus that spread to 18,000 government and private computer networks.” — 60 Minutes
“Last year, in perhaps the most audacious cyber attack in history, Russian military hackers sabotaged a tiny piece of computer code buried in a popular piece of software called SolarWinds…the hidden virus spread to 18,000 government and private computer networks by way of one of those software updates we all take for granted…Russian agents went rummaging through the digital files of the U.S. departments of Justice, State, Treasury, Energy, and Commerce…for nine months, they had unfettered access to top-level communications, court documents, even nuclear secrets.”
“When Presidents Biden and Putin met in Geneva last month – it was the first time that the threat of cyber war eclipsed that of nuclear war between the two old super-powers… and ‘SolarWinds’ was one big reason why. Last year, in perhaps the most audacious cyber attack in history, Russian military hackers sabotaged a tiny piece of computer code buried in a popular piece of software called SolarWinds. As we first reported in February, the hidden virus spread to 18,000 government and private computer networks by way of one of those software updates we all take for granted. After it was installed, Russian agents went rummaging through the digital files of the U.S. departments of Justice, State, Treasury, Energy, and Commerce –among others—and for nine months, they had unfettered access to top-level communications, court documents, even nuclear secrets.” — 60 Minutes
“Brad Smith: I think from a software engineering perspective, it’s probably fair to say that this is the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.”
“Brad Smith: I think from a software engineering perspective, it’s probably fair to say that this is the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen.
“Brad Smith is president of Microsoft. He learned about the hack after the presidential election this past November. By that time, the stealthy intruders had spread throughout the tech giants’ computer network and stolen some of its proprietary source code used to build its software products. More alarming: how the hackers got in… piggy-backing on a piece of third party software used to connect, manage and monitor computer networks…
“…there’s an asymmetric advantage for somebody playing offense.”
“Brad Smith: I think that when you look at the sophistication of this attacker there’s an asymmetric advantage for somebody playing offense.
“Bill Whitaker: Is it still going on?
“Brad Smith: Almost certainly, these attacks are continuing…
“The world runs on software…But it can’t run with confidence if major governments are disrupting and attacking the software supply chain in this way.”
“Brad Smith: I do think this was an act of recklessness. The world runs on software. It runs on information technology. But it can’t run with confidence if major governments are disrupting and attacking the software supply chain in this way.
“Bill Whitaker: That almost sounds like you think that they [want] to foment chaos?
“Brad Smith: What we are seeing is the first use of this supply chain disruption tactic against the United States. But it’s not the first time we’ve witnessed it. The Russian government really developed this tactic in Ukraine…”
“Brad Smith: What we are seeing is the first use of this supply chain disruption tactic against the United States. But it’s not the first time we’ve witnessed it. The Russian government really developed this tactic in Ukraine…
“For years the Russians have tested their cyber weapons on Ukraine. NotPetya, a 2017 attack by the GRU, Russia’s military spy agency, used the same tactics as the SolarWinds attack, sabotaging a widely-used piece of software to break into thousands of Ukraine’s networks, but instead of spying – it ordered devices to self-destruct.
“Brad Smith: It literally damaged more than 10% of that nation’s computers in a single day. The television stations couldn’t produce their shows because they relied on computers. Automated teller machines stopped working. Grocery stores couldn’t take a credit card.”
“Brad Smith: It literally damaged more than 10% of that nation’s computers in a single day. The television stations couldn’t produce their shows because they relied on computers. Automated teller machines stopped working. Grocery stores couldn’t take a credit card. Now, what we saw with this attack was something that was more targeted, but it just shows how if you engage in this kind of tactic, you can unleash an enormous amount of damage and havoc…”
“Chris Inglis spent 28 years commanding the nation’s best cyber warriors at the National Security Agency – [serving] as its deputy director – and now sits on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission – created by Congress to come up with new ideas to defend our digital domain.
“Chris Inglis: It’s hard to kind of get something like this completely out of the system. And they certainly don’t understand all the places that it’s gone to, all of the manifestations of where this virus, where this software still lives…And the only way you’ll have absolute confidence that you’ve gotten rid of it is to get rid of the hardware…”
“Chris Inglis: It’s hard to kind of get something like this completely out of the system. And they certainly don’t understand all the places that it’s gone to, all of the manifestations of where this virus, where this software still lives. And that’s gonna take some time. And the only way you’ll have absolute confidence that you’ve gotten rid of it is to get rid of the hardware, to get rid of the systems.
“Bill Whitaker: Wow. So unless you get rid of all the computers and all the computer networks, you will not be sure that you have gotten this out of the systems.
“Chris Inglis: You will not be…”
“Jon Miller:…Russia has demonstrated that none of the software we take for granted is truly safe, including the apps on our telephones, laptops, and tablets.”
“Jon Miller: I build things much more sophisticated than this. What’s impressive is the scope of it. This is a watershed style attack. I would never do something like this. It creates too much damage.
“Miller says with the SolarWinds attack, Russia has demonstrated that none of the software we take for granted is truly safe, including the apps on our telephones, laptops, and tablets. These days, he says, any device can be sabotaged.
“Jon Miller: When you buy something from a tech company, a new phone or a laptop, you trust that that is secure when they give it to you. And what they’ve shown us in this attack is that is not the case. They have the ability to compromise those supply chains and manipulate whatever they want. Whether it’s financial data, source code, the functionality of these products. They can take control.”
READ the article | SolarWinds: How Russian spies hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy and Commerce Departments | Produced by Graham Messick and Jack Weingart. Broadcast associate, Emilio Almonte. Edited by Michael Mongulla. | 7/4/21
LISTEN TO | SolarWinds: How Russian spies hacked the Justice, State, Treasury, Energy and Commerce Departments | Bill Whitaker, host | Graham Messick and Jack Weingart, producers | 60 Minutes, TV news magazine, (July 4th) | 7/5/2021
@ASoulAFire @JaniceOCG The failed coup attempt is a story @allinwithchris & @MSNBC cover extensively. This appearance by @charlie_savage unpacks Jeffrey Clark’s role in attacking democracy. Join Thursdays, 8 pm ET, from 1/13/22, “If America Fails?: The Coming Tyranny.”
Sometimes it’s good to let go, forget the past and move on. It can be healthy. There are other times, however, when letting go is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Letting go can be dangerous, unhealthy and even, deadly. I suppose there’s no easy way to tell the difference, and it comes down to a matter of personal preference, personality and beliefs. I’d like to think there are things on which all humans or American citizens agree, but we have too much evidence to the contrary. I’d like to think the January 6th coup attempt is a matter on which Americans can agree about what happened and what is to be done – but we now know that’s not the case. So this post, in essence, is for those Americans who think the coup attempt was an outrageous, illegal threat to American democracy, and those who fomented the events should be punished to the full extent of the law. That’s my crew.
One person we should not forget is Jeffrey Clark. We should not forget the role he played in attempting to overthrow democracy by partnering with the twice-impeached ex-president. We should also not forget the people who blocked his path, like Jeffrey Rosen and Richard Donahue, of the U.S. Justice Department. They remind us how fragile democracy is and how dependent we are on people in key positions to do the right thing.
The 2020 election deserves our ongoing reflection. It’s the election that just won’t quit…and as Americans, we shouldn’t let it. We should not let go. We should not leave it in the past until all those who threatened the peaceful transfer of power have been dealt with accordingly.
Chris Hayes has been doing a good job, IMHO, of holding on. He stays on the story of the 2020 election and its’ unending aftermath. The story below is an example of the kind of reporting and key questions he has raised. I have not forgotten this story. — LMO
“Jeffrey Clark schemed with Former President Trump and he drafted a document stating falsely that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia….”
“Jeffrey Clark schemed with Former President Trump and he drafted a document stating falsely that the Justice Department had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia….”
“CHRIS HAYES…Donald Trump`s coup came closer to succeeding than we ever knew. Tonight, the smoking gun document that could have upended democracy as we know it. And the DOJ official who tried to help Trump steal the election…”
“The coup came closer to succeeding than we ever knew.”
“HAYES…The coup came closer to succeeding than we ever knew. And we know that Donald Trump plotted with his associates to overturn American democracy. He tried everything he could to keep himself in power over the will the people. And day by day, we have been learning more and more about how comprehensive and how dangerous that effort was.
“…the document we learned about yesterday should live in infamy in American history as a truly villainous text.”
“But we did not learn the details of the single most damning piece of evidence yet until yesterday. And frankly, I have to say, it`s so damning and so unnerving, I`ve spent the last 24 hours scratching my head in disbelief that it is not a bigger story. Because the document we learned about yesterday should live in infamy in American history as a truly villainous text.
“The document was drafted by this man, a man you should know. Jeffrey Clark is his name.”
Jeffrey Clark
“And if the acting Attorney General at the time had signed that document, it would have likely thrown the United States into the worst constitutional crisis since the Civil War. It may have precipitated actual civil strife and violence. The document was drafted by this man, a man you should know. Jeffrey Clark is his name. He is in a million different ways unremarkable. The kind of functionary lawyer that exists in droves in Washington D.C.
“He went to a good law school, he worked in a big corporate firm, Kirkland and Ellis. He worked in the George W. Bush administration and back to Kirkland and Ellis, came back to the Justice Department 2018. In September of 2020, he was put in charge of the DOJ`s Civil Division.
“…acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donahue were pushing back on Trump`s attempts to use the Justice Department to undermine the election…”
“New York Times reported that in December, as acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donahue were pushing back on Trump`s attempts to use the Justice Department to undermine the election, they were unaware that Mr. Clark, Jeffrey Clark, had been introduced to President Trump by a Pennsylvania politician, and that Clark had told the president he agreed that fraud had affected the election results.
“Basically, he auditioned for the president and let him know that he would be willing to be the trigger man for Donald Trump in his attempt to kill off American democracy in its present form.”
“Basically, he auditioned for the president and let him know that he would be willing to be the trigger man for Donald Trump in his attempt to kill off American democracy in its present form. And that is not hyperbole. Clark met with Trump. He schemed with Trump and he drafted the document I talked about. This letter, it`s a letter to the Georgia governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro-Tem of the Senate, and it`s drafted for Rosen and Donahue to sign officially from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“It says in part, ‘The Department of Justice is investigating various irregularities in the 2020 election for President of the United States. At this time, we have identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple states, including the state of Georgia. While the Department of Justice believes the governor of Georgia should immediately call a special session to consider this important and urgent matter, if he declines to do so, we share with you our view that the Georgia General Assembly has implied authority under the Constitution of the United States to call itself into special session for the limited purpose of considering issues pertaining to the appointment of presidential electors.’
“…Clark and Trump teaming up, spell out what they want. They want the Acting Attorney General and his deputy to publicly state the election in Georgia was too tainted by fraud to be trusted, and that the Georgia General Assembly needed to use the power entrusted to it by the U.S. Constitution to simply come together and send their own electors to Washington.”
“Basically, Clark and Trump teaming up, spell out what they want. They want the Acting Attorney General and his deputy to publicly state the election in Georgia was too tainted by fraud to be trusted, and that the Georgia General Assembly needed to use the power entrusted to it by the U.S. Constitution to simply come together and send their own electors to Washington.
“Now, this would be a violation of Georgia law. But this letter is the Department of Justice telling them they do have the constitutional authority to do it. It would be a violation of the will of the Georgia voters and the will of the American people. It would mean the Department of Justice was literally signing on to the coup attempt in its official capacity. It would be a green light for mayhem…
“And we know from Deputy Attorney General Richard Donahue`s contemporaneous notes released last week that Trump was already pressuring Acting Attorney General Rosen and Donahue, literally telling them just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen.
“We know Trump is pressuring Republican Georgia Secretary of State famously telling him, ‘I just want to find 11,708 votes.’ But his key ally in this is this guy, Jeffrey Clark, this previously anonymous functionary, a guy that no one really knows, but who is effectively plotting a coup with the President.
“…Rosen and Donohue get this letter and they think, oh, no. They refuse to sign the letter…The New York Times reports…Clark meets with Trump on his own, and then informed Mr. Rosen, the Acting Attorney General, the president intended to replace Rosen with Clark, who could then try to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College results.”
“OK, so then Rosen and Donohue get this letter and they think, oh, no. They refuse to sign the letter. Well, get this. The New York Times reports the Clark meets with Trump on his own, and then informed Mr. Rosen, the Acting Attorney General, the president intended to replace Rosen with Clark, who could then try to stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College results.
“Clark apparently convincing Trump to make him the Attorney General so he could sign that letter. And again, that letter being issued by the Department of Justice in an act that very likely would have precipitated a crisis from which the country may not have recovered. It would have put inordinate pressure on the Republicans of the Georgia General Assembly, again dominated by Republicans, a green light from the DOJ and they may very well have gone ahead, appointed their own electors pledged Trump, sent them to Washington. Maybe the other states would have followed suit.
“Should Mr. Rosen be fired, they all agreed to resign en masse.”
“It would have thrown us into a frenzy, a suddenly contested election even though there`s nothing to contest. It was very clear electoral results, one man won and one man lost. But the Times reports that Donohue convened a late-afternoon call with the department`s remaining senior leaders laying out Mr. Clark`s efforts to replace Mr. Rosen. Should Mr. Rosen be fired, they all agreed to resign en masse.
“When presented with that ultimatum, Trump seems somewhat swayed by the idea that firing Mr. Rosen would trigger not only chaos at the Justice Department, but also congressional investigations, and possibly recommendations from other Republicans and distract attention from his efforts to overturn the election results.”
“When presented with that ultimatum, Trump seems somewhat swayed by the idea that firing Mr. Rosen would trigger not only chaos at the Justice Department, but also congressional investigations, and possibly recommendations from other Republicans and distract attention from his efforts to overturn the election results.
“And the man who came that close to doing that to committing that grievous act, Jeffrey Clark, is…just out in the world chilling…He got a new job…as the chief of litigation and director of strategy at the right-wing New Civil Liberties Alliance.”
“And so, he backed off, and the guns stayed holstered. But we were this close to a world where the Attorney General United States, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Clark publicly release that letter. And the man who came that close to doing that to committing that grievous act, Jeffrey Clark, is you know, just out in the world chilling, probably go to nice dinners, probably makes good income. He got a new job. He landed a job as the chief of litigation and director of strategy at the right-wing New Civil Liberties Alliance. Those are all his colleagues right there. They should be very proud. They work with them.
“They do things like sue universities for mandating vaccines and they try to go to court the moratorium on evictions removed. Good folks. Come to think of it, it makes you wonder what the hiring practices are at the New Civil Liberties Alliance. How they all feel in the office — well, maybe they`re not in the office about this guy who`s apparently willing to assassinate American democracy.
“And he can get a job after a lot of this had already been publicly reported. This man who plotted with the president to destroy our form of government to steal the presidency and overturn an election and to essentially install Donald Trump as a tyrant against the will of the people. That man who did that.
“The reason a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol concussing policemen and beating them with their own weapons is because the official mechanisms of power failed Trump thanks to men like Jeffrey Rosen. You got to hand it to him. And Richard Donahue, they did the right thing.”
Jeffrey Rosen
Richard Donahue
“The reason a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol concussing policemen and beating them with their own weapons is because the official mechanisms of power failed Trump thanks to men like Jeffrey Rosen. You got to hand it to him. And Richard Donahue, they did the right thing. But if the Department of Justice sends that letter, and the Georgia General Assembly calls a special session, sends a slate of electors for Donald Trump to Washington, well, then, they wouldn`t have needed the mob.
“The man who colluded with Donald Trump on this coup should be disbarred. No one should ever hire him again. He should face eternal public shaming, Jeffrey Clark…He aimed a nuclear weapon at the United States of America’s democracy. There have been little to no consequences for anyone involved in this whole disgusting and [sordid] affair. And unless there are, they’re going to try again. They came very close last time.”
“The man who colluded with Donald Trump on this coup should be disbarred. No one should ever hire him again. He should face eternal public shaming, Jeffrey Clark. It is insane to let this man, Jeffrey Clark, get anywhere near any institution in this country that matters at all. He aimed a nuclear weapon at the United States of America`s democracy. There have been little to no consequences for anyone involved in this whole disgusting and [sordid] affair. And unless there are, they`re going to try again. They came very close last time.
“Charlie Savage is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington correspondent for the New York Times. In January, he caught their piece titled Jeffrey Clark was considered on assuming, then he plotted with Trump. Charlie, maybe you could just tell us a little bit about Mr. Clark`s background because what`s striking to me here is this is not someone who comes from the world of like Trump Org as, you know, a loyalist. This is someone who comes up through essentially the mainstream channels of Republican Party lawyers…” — All In with Chris Hayes
See remainder of the interview with Charlie Savage at the link below.
If America Fails? 