-Candace Owens, mistaking J.K. Rowling for George Orwell
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While Republicans in Congress continue to support Donald Trump and cover up his 2019 attempt to extort Volodymyr Zelensky, the Democratic speaker of the House took a secret trip to war-torn Ukraine to demonstrate solidarity with Zelensky and underscore how badly Russia has failed in its effort to take over his country.
- Nancy Pelosi arrived in Kyiv this weekend, along with Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Jim McGovern (D-MA), where among other things Zelensky’s team shot this very cool video of him greeting the lawmakers outdoors, in the bright light of day, nary a 20-foot-long table in sight. As the second in the line of succession to the presidency, Pelosi becomes the highest-ranking U.S. official to travel into Ukraine since Russia invaded.
- The purpose of the meeting was also to firm up U.S. promises to provide Ukraine with more U.S. military assistance. “Our delegation proudly delivered the message that additional American support is on the way, as we work to transform President Biden’s strong funding request into a legislative package,” Pelosi said in a statement after the meeting.
- Pelosi’s visit fell against a backdrop not just of Ukraine having largely pacified Kyiv, but of its forces having grown more confident in their own capabilities. Russia has suffered a number of serious setbacks within its own territory recently, most of which Ukraine has declined to disclaim. Within its borders, Ukraine has also targeted, wounded, and killed several senior Russian officers, including during an overnight April 30-May 1 bombardment of Russia’s military headquarters.
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Needless to say Vladimir Putin et al are super P.O.’d about all this.
- The most repulsive of their responses came from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who compared Zelensky to Hitler by dint of their shared Naziism and Jewishness. “So what if Zelensky is Jewish?” he said. “The fact does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine. I believe that Hitler also had Jewish blood. It means absolutely nothing. The wise Jewish people said that the most ardent antisemites are usually Jews." Apropos of absolutely nothing, here’s a picture of Trump and Lavrov yukking it up in the Oval Office at Trump’s invitation almost exactly five years ago.
- Lavrov also denied the plain truth that Putin has been openly contemplating the use of nuclear weapons, advancing the trollish lie that western countries, not Russia, are “starting the conversation about this.” This erratic behavior may have something to do with the U.K.’s assessment that a quarter of Russia’s battalion tactical groups have been “rendered combat ineffective” including elite units, which will take “years for Russia to reconstitute.”
As we and the overwhelming majority of Americans cheer for Ukraine and a swift end to the war, we should be forthright about the uncertainty that a Russian unraveling would create. As Ed Luce writes, “The question is what [Putin] would do if he thought Russian defeat was inescapable. Putin keeps implying he knows exactly what steps he would take. Is he bluffing? It is plausible even he does not know the answer.”
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If Republicans make you want to pull your hair out—you’re not alone! Take some time to de-stress this mental health awareness month with episodes that are good for your peace of mind. On America Dissected, Abdul talks about youth mental health and climate change with Varshini Prakash from the Sunrise Movement, on Offline Dr. Anna Lembke discusses dopamine and finding peace, and this week on Stuck with Damon Young tune in for a conversation with author Kiese Laymon and Dr. Joy Harden-Bradford on why we all need therapy. You can listen to these episodes and more wherever you get your podcasts!
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With just over one-month until public hearings begin, the House January 6 committee has requested testimony and evidence from three more elected Republicans: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ronny Jackson (R-TX), and Mo Brooks (R-AL). All three men are known to have had different kinds of involvement in the insurrection. Biggs was involved in January 6 planning, and, according to the committee, may have sought a pardon for himself after January 6. Jackson has been asked to explain why militia members accused of seditious conspiracy tried to coordinate a security detail for Jackson, and why they thought he had “critical data” to share. Brooks (whom Donald Trump recently turned on) has spoken publicly about the things Trump tried to get him to do to overturn the election. Jackson has already rejected the invitation, which raises the question of what steps, if any, the committee might take to compel testimony, or punish contemptuous witnesses who happen to be elected members of Congress. Meanwhile a federal judge—a Trump appointee, no less—has thrown out and eviscerated a Republican National Committee lawsuit seeking to void the committee’s subpoena for data about the money the committee raised off the Big Lie.
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For all the political capital Republicans have thrown into their culture war against schools and teachers, with bigoted smears about “grooming” and race pedagogy, it turns out most parents like their children’s schools and their teachers, and don’t believe Republican propaganda matches their real world experiences. A new survey from NPR and Ipsos found that less than percent of parents say their children learned about gender and sexuality, race and racism, or U.S. history in a manner that conflicts with their household values. The finding is a cause for both hope and concern: The hope is that Republican legislative assault on teachers and the texts they use can backfire, if Democrats choose to go on the offensive against the GOP censorship juggernaut; the concern is that Republicans seem to have been able to make huge ideological strides in this culture war despite little organic frustration with teachers, perhaps by convincing parents who like their children’s schools and teachers that imaginary phenomena like mass “grooming” in schools is a big problem elsewhere.
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