Mike Pence Needs To Finish The Job And Testify Before The 1/6 Committee
Mike Pence Needs To Finish The Job And Testify Before The 1/6 Committee
Plus, the J. Michael Luttig testimony.
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"The hour is late. God is watching us." Read the J. Michael Luttig Testimony.
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TIM MILLER: Mike Pence Needs To Finish The Job And Testify Before The 1/6 Committee
Mike Pence has the opportunity to put a stake through the heart of the man who abused him and left him for dead. That chance is right now. Before this committee.
He could testify in front of the entire world and with the eyes of history upon him that Donald Trump was a traitor to America who spurred on a mob in an illegal attempt to stay in power. It would be a moment that would reverberate for ages.
Mike Pence may no longer be working under an oath that requires such testimony, but he nevertheless has a duty to his country to speak the whole truth and let the chips fall where they may.
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Steve Bannon’s show may have a low budget Wayne’s World quality, but he is working to get Trumpists in control of state election infrastructure — so that the system that barely held together in 2020 will come undone in 2024. Jennifer Senior joins Charlie Sykes on today’s podcast.
On this week’s episode, Sonny is joined by Jason Baker of Callosum Studios, the house that helped design the sure-to-be-iconic mask from the upcoming horror film The Black Phone.
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THEODORE R. JOHNSON: The Real Story of the Politics of Juneteenth.
Donald Trump buried that five-word campaign promise in his 2020 “Platinum Plan,” a two-page laundry list of economic and social enticements to win over black voters in his bid for a second term. Trump lost, so we will never know if he would’ve honored this commitment, which was made just six weeks before the election. But we do know that he made no attempt to create the holiday during his four years as president. And, despite his administration putting out historical statements commemorating Juneteenth every year of his presidency, Trump admitted that he had only learned of the holiday’s meaning after being informed about it by a black Secret Service agent just a few weeks before it appeared in his reelection materials.
Should Trump decide to run again in 2024, this campaign promise will no longer be on the table—President Joe Biden signed legislation last year establishing Juneteenth National Independence Day as a federal holiday, after the measure received the Senate’s unanimous consent and passed the House on a 415-14 vote.
But the politics of how Juneteenth became a holiday is a lesson in the unserious ways we grapple with race in America. The unflattering fact is that Juneteenth is federally observed today primarily because there was no political penalty to be paid by congressional members who voted in its favor and insufficient political incentive for those who would block it to follow through.
As a result, the bill’s passage is a less inspiring occurrence of bipartisan consensus on a race-centric issue than it might otherwise have been.
STEPHEN PETER ROSEN: How to Counter Russia’s Artillery Advantage in Ukraine.
Public accounts make it clear that Russia intends to win the war for the control of eastern Ukraine the old-school way: superior, massed artillery fire using hundreds of thousands of unguided projectiles.
Ukrainian armed forces have limited numbers of heavier weapons, around 100 of the American 155 millimeter howitzers, and radars that can track enemy artillery rounds in flight in order to locate enemy guns. This counter-battery fire can be made more effective through the use of precision-guided artillery rounds and, over time, should reduce the effectiveness of the enemy artillery. But so far, it has not.
It’s not clear why Ukrainian counter-battery fire has not been successful in neutralizing Russian artillery fire. There may be too many Russian guns. Russians may be successfully using “shoot and scoot” tactics. Ukrainian forces may not yet have mastered the difficult task of locating and shooting accurately at enemy artillery. But whatever the reason, the bottom line is that Ukrainian howitzers cannot now match the mass artillery fire of the Russians. Which means that Ukrainian casualties have increased to a point that may not be sustainable.
DANIEL MCGRAW: Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Fantasy Ignores the Laws of Science—And Politics.
When Elon Musk first described his supersonic “Hyperloop” vacuum-tube transport system in 2013, he proposed a Los Angeles-to-San Francisco line that would replace a busy air route. The quasi-train, speeding almost friction-free through a vacuum tube underground, would hit speeds of 750 miles per hour, and transport 7.4 million people per year in each direction. Each “pod” (i.e. train car) would hold a minimum of 28 passengers and three cars, and trains would depart every two minutes. It was, if nothing else, audacious, and it seemed like Musk meant to do it, or at least to try.
His 58-page outline of the project laid out big plans and perfect comfort for passengers on the 350-mile subway ride. “The interior of the capsule is specifically designed with passenger safety and comfort in mind,” Musk wrote. “The seats conform well to the body to maintain comfort during the high speed accelerations experienced during travel. Beautiful landscape will be displayed in the cabin and each passenger will have access their own personal entertainment system.”
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