Why Is the GOP Siding With Putin?

FROM  THE DAILY KOS 
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/7/2090598/-Why-Is-the-GOP-Siding-With-Putin?fbclid=IwAR37iCkYlR1Kz5iwwR7IDUHdMSZiFnRWwXTamB1BgsHNneL2kRGJas1Cvhc

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thomhartmann

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday April 07, 2022 · 9:35 AM CDT

The Republican Party is committed to tearing America apart by pitting us against each other. Why would they do this?

Here’s a clue: 63 Republicans voted this week against a resolution in support of NATO.

Yes, they voted for Putin’s side of the war. Seriously. Although it’s been largely ignored by American TV media, you can read all about it over at The Washington Post in an article by Aaron Blake titled: “Why 30 percent of the House GOP voted against reaffirming NATO support.”

Their unflinching support of Putin comes shortly after Koch Industries announced they would be joining Halliburton and Cargill among the handful of American companies staying in Russia.

It’s easy to understand a privately held company that’s not accountable to public shareholders choosing to defy the Biden administration and world opinion by staying in Russia to squeeze out more profits.  

It’s also arguably unsurprising that Koch subsidiaries would stay in Russia, given that the family’s patriarch, Fred Koch, made his initial fortune helping build out Stalin’s oil infrastructure back in the day.

What is surprising, though, is that 63 Republican members of Congress would vote this week against a resolution in support of NATO.  Which raises the question that America media seems to be ignoring: Why? 

Why would 63 Republican members of Congress seemingly join with Koch and Halliburton in refusing to go along with censuring Russia?

Is it possible they share a fondness for Putin’s authoritarianism, white ethno-nationalism, contempt for one-person-one-vote democracy, hatred of LGBTQ people, and contempt for both science and the rule of law?  

Or were these Republicans just moving their feet when their morbidly rich paymasters yelled, “Dance!”?  

Or both?

That Republican vote against NATO comes just a few days after a Koch-affiliated nonprofit sent out a memo filled with what some would describe as pro-Putin talking points on the war.

Judd Legum broke the story yesterday at his Popular Information site, noting the memo advised its readers that “overly-broad sanctions rarely work as intended and often strengthen the authoritarian regimes.” Its authors add, according to Legum, that it’s important for Russia to achieve a partial “victory” in their war of aggression.

It’s been 43 days since Putin declared war on an independent democratic republic that represented no military threat to Russia whatsoever. 

Ukraine did, however, represent a very real and, to Putin’s way of thinking, existential threat to his rule in Russia. And, apparently, to the ongoing rule of about a third of the Republicans in Congress.

Autocrats hate and fear functioning democracies.  A successful, non-corrupt democracy in Ukraine was as big a threat as Putin could imagine: it was showing the way to freedom for both Russians and other Russia-aligned countries in the region like Belarus where the Putin-affiliated oligarch running that country has recently imprisoned, shot, and killed pro-democracy protestors.

But does a functioning democracy like Ukraine, with its famously anti-corruption President Zelenskyy, also represent a threat to the GOP’s plans to remake America in Putin’s image?

This isn’t the first time in recent history that the Republican Party has gotten into bed with Vladimir Putin’s interests. 

Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, oversaw the installation of a Putin puppet in Ukraine in 2010. When Viktor Yanukovych was finally ousted in a people-led rebellion in 2014 that sent him packing to his hideout in Russia, Manafort hopped on a plane to America and offered to run Trump’s 2015 primary campaign for president.

For free. Honest: free. Manafort volunteered for the job and did it without a penny of pay from Trump or anybody else, at least not anybody else here in America.

This was the same Paul Manafort who’d taken over $10 million from Putin-aligned Russian oligarchs to help put Yanukovych into office in Ukraine (and thus keep Ukraine out of NATO).  The same guy who was indicted and convicted by Robert Mueller in 2018 for crimes associated with that pro-Russia effort.  And then was pardoned by Donald Trump the day before Christmas, 2020.

In his role running Trump’s campaign, Manafort oversaw changing the GOP’s 2016 platform language to eliminate negative references to Russia, and removed language calling for the US to provide “lethal defensive weapons” to Ukraine.  The Washington Post summarized the story with the headline: “Trump campaign guts GOP’s anti-Russia stance on Ukraine.”

Manafort then began sharing inside-GOP information with an alleged Russian spy, Konstantin Kilimnik, which could have aided Russia’s intelligence services and troll farms to micro-target potential Trump voters via social media in the 2016 election.

As CNBC noted at the time:

“A longtime associate of former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign chief Paul Manafort gave Russian intelligence agencies ‘sensitive information on polling and campaign strategy’ during the election that year, the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday.”

So here we are:

• Putin runs rigged elections and the GOP is openly working to rig elections in over 20 states.

• Putin trash-talks LGBTQ people and the GOP has put homophobia at the center of their 2022 electoral strategy.

• Putin embraces white nationalism in Russia, just as the GOP does here.

• Putin has “actively cultivated neo-Nazism” both in Russia and “in the United States” while the GOP lionizes Kyle Rittenhouse and embraces American neoNazi movements.  

• Putin has contempt for the rule of law while the GOP embraces people who tried to overthrow the government of the United States.

• Putin put so much money into the NRA that they’d become, as NPR described the result of the Senate investigation, a “Foreign Asset To Russia Ahead of 2016,” shoveling cash and support to Republican candidates.

• Putin frequently lies to his people about things that are easily disproven…the same as Trumpy Republicans do on an almost daily basis.

• Putin shuts down independent news media, while Trump and some Republicans call media in the US “the enemy of the people.”

• Putin attacks science in Russia as Republicans do here in the US.

• Putin promotes a muscular “Christianity” through corrupt preachers who openly defy the teachings of Jesus, as does the GOP.

• Putin’s politicians are funded by rightwing oligarchs, just like Republican politicians are here.

• Putin hates “liberals” and civil rights protestors, just like the GOP (which has gone so far as to legalize running them down with cars).

Our media seems confused by all this in ways reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s Ballad of a Thin Man:

“’Cause something is happening here, And you don't know what it is, Do you, Mister Jones?”

But Americans are starting to figure out the game. It sure ain’t calculus: this is simple one-plus-one addition.

As DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said on my program months ago about the GOP, and recently repeated on MSNBC: “It is a party built on fraud, fear and fascism.”

Republicans are increasingly voting with Putin because they hope to turn America into something that looks and works very much like Putin’s Russia. It’s very comfortable for the morbidly rich oligarchs and their wholly-owned politicians as well.

And to put the frosting on the proverbial cake, CNN is reporting this just happened in the US House of Representatives:

This move toward autocracy in the GOP is the biggest threat our democracy faces today. Spread the word.

#RepublicanSexualPredators

https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vTFikAP6MXDCJjWzgMIOvpsT1ji-HwO-rLEvNE8e-cfCGh0YHoZluIG5TEsmwFub7MzIDfh0XgvcWL8/pub

Monday Morning Smile

 

GOP vs KBJ

 

Will Smith Screwed Up (So Did Chris Rock)

SOURCE:https://kareem.substack.com/p/will-smith-did-a-bad-bad-thing?s=r&fbclid=IwAR3_C7-O5UlGHhS4bb1FbKpaJkwYOdXg8GXRmy3uR9Vw6XYJz_ffUyEl4NE

By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 23 hr ago

When Will Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife’s short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock’s face. With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community.

That’s a lot to unpack. Let’s start with the facts: Rock made a reference to Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as looking like Demi Moore in GI Jane, in which Moore had shaved her head. Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which causes hair loss. Ok, I can see where the Smiths might not have found that joke funny. But Hollywood awards shows are traditionally a venue where much worse things have been said about celebrities as a means of downplaying the fact that it’s basically a gathering of multimillionaires giving each other awards to boost business so they can make even more money.

The Smiths could have reacted by politely laughing along with the joke or by glowering angrily at Rock. Instead, Smith felt the need to get up in front of his industry peers and millions of people around the world, hit another man, then return to his seat to bellow: “Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth.” Twice.

Some have romanticized Smith’s actions as that of a loving husband defending his wife. Comedian Tiffany Haddish, who starred in the movie Girls Trip with Pinkett Smith, praised Smith’s actions: “[F]or me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”

Actually, it was the opposite. Smith’s slap was also a slap to women. If Rock had physically attacked Pinkett Smith, Smith’s intervention would have been welcome. Or if he’d remained in his seat and yelled his post-slap threat, that would have been unnecessary, but understandable. But by hitting Rock, he announced that his wife was incapable of defending herself—against words. From everything I’d seen of Pinkett Smith over the years, she’s a very capable, tough, smart woman who can single-handedly take on a lame joke at the Academy Awards show.

This patronizing, paternal attitude infantilizes women and reduces them to helpless damsels needing a Big Strong Man to defend their honor least they swoon from the vapors. If he was really doing it for his wife, and not his own need to prove himself, he might have thought about the negative attention this brought on them, much harsher than the benign joke. That would have been truly defending and respecting her. This “women need men to defend them” is the same justification currently being proclaimed by conservatives passing laws to restrict abortion and the LGBTQ+ community.

Worse than the slap was Smith’s tearful, self-serving acceptance speech in which he rambled on about all the women in the movie King Richard that he’s protected. Those who protect don’t brag about it in front of 15 million people. They just do it and shut up. You don’t do it as a movie promotion claiming how you’re like the character you just won an award portraying. By using these women to virtue signal, he was in fact exploiting them to benefit himself. But, of course, the speech was about justifying his violence. Apparently, so many people need Smith’s protection that occasionally it gets too much and someone needs to be smacked.

What is the legacy of Smith’s violence? He’s brought back the Toxic Bro ideal of embracing Kobra Kai teachings of “might makes right” and “talk is for losers.” Let’s not forget that this macho John Wayne philosophy was expressed in two movies in which Wayne spanked grown women to teach them a lesson. Young boys—especially Black boys—watching their movie idol not just hit another man over a joke, but then justify it as him being a superhero-like protector, are now much more prone to follow in his childish footsteps. Perhaps the saddest confirmation of this is the tweet from Smith’s child Jaden: “And That’s How We Do It.”

That's How We Do It

The Black community also takes a direct hit from Smith. One of the main talking points from those supporting the systemic racism in America is characterizing Blacks as more prone to violence and less able to control their emotions. Smith just gave comfort to the enemy by providing them with the perfect optics they were dreaming of. Fox News host Jeanine Pirro wasted no time going full-metal jacket racist by declaring the Oscars are “not the hood.” What would she have said if Brad Pitt slapped Ricky Gervais? This isn’t Rodeo Drive? Many will be reinvigorated to continue their campaign to marginalize African Americans and others through voter suppression campaign.

As for the damage to show business, Smith’s violence is an implied threat to all comedians who now have to worry that an edgy or insulting joke might be met with violence. Good thing Don Rickles, Bill Burr, or Ricky Gervais weren’t there. As comedian Kathy Griffin tweeted: “Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”

The one bright note is that Chris Rock, clearly stunned, managed to handle the moment with grace and maturity. If only Smith’s acceptance speech had shown similar grace and maturity—and included, instead of self-aggrandizing excuses, a heartfelt apology to Rock.

I met Will Smith when I appeared on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air 28 years ago. And I’ve been to his house. I like him. He’s charming, sincere, and funny. I’m also a big fan of his movies. He’s an accomplished and dedicated actor who deserves the professional accolades he’s received. But it will be difficult to watch the next movie without remembering this sad performance.

I don’t want to see him punished or ostracized because of this one, albeit a big one, mistake. I just want this to be a cautionary tale for others not to romanticize or glorify bad behavior. And I want Smith to be the man who really protects others—by admitting the harm he’s done to others.

---

Update: Since this article was first published, Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock, the Academy, and the audience. In part, he posted:

“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith wrote. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Monday Morning Smile

 

RIP Madeleine Albright

Madeleine Albright, he first woman Secretary of State (1997-2001), passed away today at the age of 84.

A refugee from Czechoslovakia*, she and her family arrived in America in 1948.

She worked as an aide to Senator Edmund Muskie before taking a position under Zbigniew Brzezinski on the National Security Council. She served in that position until 1981, when President Jimmy Carter left office.

In her book, Read My Pins, she revealed that she used jewelry as a diplomatic tool during her years with the Clinton administration.

"This all started when I was ambassador at the U.N. and Saddam Hussein called me a serpent," she tells Susan Stamberg. "I had this wonderful antique snake pin. So when we were dealing with Iraq, I wore the snake pin."

After that incident, Albright decided that it might be fun to speak through her pins. She went out and bought different costume jewelry.

"As it turned out, there were just a lot of occasions to either commemorate a particular event or to signal how I felt," she says.

There were balloons, butterflies and flowers to signify optimism and, when diplomatic talks were going slowly, crabs and turtles to indicate frustration.

After the Russians were caught tapping the State Department, Albright protested by wearing a pin with a giant bug on it. On days when Albright felt she had to do "a little stinging and deliver a tough message," she wore a wasp pin.

 

At one point, Russian leader Vladimir Putin told President Clinton that he knew what the mood of a meeting would be by looking at Albright's left shoulder. (Albright's pin with three monkeys, which she wore when discussing Chechnya, was meant to draw attention to the fact that Russia took a "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" stance toward the Chechen atrocities.)

The former secretary of state says that one of her own pins — an antique eagle pin with a complicated clasp — nearly sabotaged her at her swearing-in ceremony.

"I put it on, and there I was all of the sudden with one hand on the Bible and one hand in the air, and the pin was just swinging in the breeze. I had not fastened it properly," says Albright. "I was afraid that it would fall on the Bible."

Accidents aside, Albright says she loved expressing herself with her jewels. And, she adds, making fashion statements — and commenting on each other's attire — is not completely unheard of within a diplomatic setting:

"You think that the heads of state only have serious conversations, [but] they actually often begin really with the weather or, 'I really like your tie.' "

Excerpt: 'Read My Pins'

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT

The idea of using pins as a diplomatic tool is not found in any State Department manual or in any text chronicling American foreign policy. The truth is that it would never have happened if not for Saddam Hussein.

"During President Bill Clinton's first term (1993 1997), I served as America's ambassador to the United Nations. This was the period following the first Persian Gulf War, when a U.S.-led coalition rolled back Iraq's invasion of neighboring Kuwait. As part of the settlement, Iraq was required to accept UN inspections and to provide full disclosure about its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs.

When Saddam Hussein refused to comply, I had the temerity to criticize him. The government-controlled Iraqi press responded by publishing a poem entitled "To Madeleine Albright, Without Greetings." The author, in the opening verse, establishes the mood: "Albright, Albright, all right, all right, you are the worst in this night." He then conjures up an arresting visual image: "Albright, no one can block the road to Jerusalem with a frigate, a ghost, or an elephant." Now thoroughly warmed up, the poet refers to me as an "unmatched clamor-maker" and an "unparalleled serpent."

In October 1994, soon after the poem was published, I was scheduled to meet with Iraqi officials. What to wear?

Years earlier, I had purchased a pin in the image of a serpent. I'm not sure why, because I loathe snakes. I shudder when I see one slithering through the grass on my farm in Virginia. Still, when I came across the serpent pin in a favorite shop in Washington, D.C., I couldn't resist. It's a small piece, showing the reptile coiled around a branch, a tiny diamond hanging from its mouth.

While preparing to meet the Iraqis, I remembered the pin and decided to wear it. I didn't consider the gesture a big deal and doubted that the Iraqis even made the connection. However, upon leaving the meeting, I encountered a member of the UN press corps who was familiar with the poem; she asked why I had chosen to wear that particular pin. As the television cameras zoomed in on the brooch, I smiled and said that it was just my way of sending a message.

A second pin, this of a blue bird, reinforced my approach. As with the snake pin, I had purchased it because of its intrinsic appeal, without any extraordinary use in mind. Until the twenty-fourth of February 1996, I wore the pin with the bird's head soaring upward. On the afternoon of that tragic day, Cuban fighter pilots shot down two unarmed civilian aircraft over international waters between Cuba and Florida. Three American citizens and one legal resident were killed. The Cubans knew they were attacking civilian planes yet gave no warning, and in the official transcripts they boasted about destroying the cojones of their victims.

At a press conference, I denounced both the crime and the perpetrators. I was especially angered by the macho celebration at the time of the killings. "This is not cojones," I said, "it is cowardice." To illustrate my feelings, I wore the bird pin with its head pointing down, in mourning for the free-spirited Cuban-American fliers.

Because my comment departed from the niceties of normal diplomatic discourse, it caused an uproar in New York and Washington; for the same reason, it was welcomed in Miami. As a rule, I prefer polite talk, but there are moments when only plain speaking will do.

This excerpt from Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright is used by permission of Harper Collins.

SOURCE: https://www.npr.org/2009/09/29/113278807/madeleine-albrights-jewelry-box-diplomacy

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_the_Czech_Republic

Red Pickup Truck vs Tornado

 

Story from: https://www.kxan.com/news/local/bastrop-county/we-found-the-red-pickup-truck-that-flipped-over-in-elgin-tornado/

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — “He was in shock; he was crying,” said Ruben Briones, who said he helped the driver of the red pickup truck seen flipping over on Highway 290 in Elgin in a widely-circulated video.

“He told me it was scary,” said Briones, who added the driver is from Manor but is leaving the truck in Elgin near where the tornado touched down for the time being.

Elgin first responders blown away by lack of severe tornado injuries

The video of the truck driving through the tornado has gone viral. Hundreds of thousands have seen it across the world.

That includes Elgin resident Keith Leschber. He also happens to drive a red pickup truck. It was parked safely at home when the tornado hit, but when his friends saw the video — they got worried.

“He sees me and runs up to me, and I’m like, ‘what’s up man?’ He said, ‘I just want to see if you’re alright. I saw that red truck, and I didn’t know if it was you,'” he said.

Below are images of what the truck looks like

 Now.

Read More »

The windows are blown out. The side panels are dented and scraped. The rear view mirrors are gone.

Commander Crim said he spoke with the driver on the side of the road shortly after the tornado hit.

“I asked if he was okay, and he shook his head and didn’t really answer me,” he said. At that point, Crim had not seen the video yet.

“Now I understand why he had a blind stare. I’m sure he was scared to death,” he said. Crim said a woman who identified herself as an off-duty EMT had wrapped the driver’s arm in a bandage.

We’re still working to track down the driver himself. Police said they believe he’s in his late teens or 20s.