Heather Cox Richardson summed up the vote in the Senate impeachment trial and Trump’s and his administration’s immediate efforts to further divide the country and shore up Trump’s dictatorial power. It has been an exhausting week. I am taking off from writing today. Instead, I’ve reproduced Heather Cox Richardson’s email below. I encourage you to sign up for them (to do so click on her name on the line below the date).

It is all well worth the time to read, but here is the piece I thought was the kernel of it, offering some hope for the future–if we keep working at it:

“The Republican Party is now the Trump Party, and there is a reason that, for all their bullying, its leaders are nervous. The 48 Senators who voted to convict Trump represent 18 million more Americans than the 52 Republicans who voted to acquit. It is increasingly obvious a minority is gaming the system against a majority, and their only hope for retaining power is to repress that majority.”

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

February 5, 2020 Heather Cox Richardson Feb 6 As expected, today the Senate voted to acquit President Trump of the charges of which he was accused in the articles of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives. The Senate rejected the first article, abuse of power, by a vote of 48 to 52, as Utah Senator Mitt Romney crossed the aisle to vote with the Democratic minority. On the second article, obstruction of Congress, the vote was 47 to 53. “The president did in fact pressure a foreign government to corrupt our election process,” Romney told reporter McKay Coppins. “And really, corrupting an election process in a democratic republic is about as abusive and egregious an act against the Constitution—and one’s oath—that I can imagine. It’s what autocrats do.” “The grave question the Constitution tasks senators to answer is whether the president committed an act so extreme and egregious that it rises to the level of a ‘high crime and misdemeanor,’” Romney said. “Yes, he did.” The fact that Romney voted yes on one of the articles was really the only surprising news of the day. And it was significant. It robbed Trump of a pure party-line vote, thus enabling him to argue that impeachment was a partisan “witch hunt.” Trump surrogates found a way around that problem quickly: they simply said that Romney wasn’t a Republican. Donald Trump Jr. called Romney a “pussy” and tweeted that Romney is “now officially a member of the resistance & should be expelled from the GOP.” On her show on the Fox News Channel, Laura Ingraham said Romney should resign because he “committed a fraud on the people of Utah, on the Republican Party, on the Constitution.” The Republican Party is now the Trump Party, and there is a reason that, for all their bullying, its leaders are nervous. The 48 Senators who voted to convict Trump represent 18 million more Americans than the 52 Republicans who voted to acquit. It is increasingly obvious a minority is gaming the system against a majority, and their only hope for retaining power is to repress that majority. They redoubled their efforts to do that as soon as the Senate voted. Maine Senator Susan Collins tried to argue that Trump had learned his lesson and would “be much more cautious in the future,” but Trump insisted to reporters on Tuesday that there was nothing to learn because he had done nothing wrong. “It was a perfect call.” Privately, according to Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, Republican senators “agree that the president is reckless and unfit. They admit his lies. And they acknowledge what he did was wrong. They know this president has done things Richard Nixon never did. And they know that more damning evidence is likely to come out. But they are afraid to stand up to him. They have no answer for how they will stop him from getting worse in the wake of acquittal.” It is something to which they should have given some thought. After the vote, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, asked about Adam Schiff, who led the impeachment effort: “Will there be no retribution?” And, after former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia called on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be censured for ripping up Trump’s speech, tonight Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) announced that he is filing an ethics complaint against Pelosi. He claims she might have violated the law against mutilating a government record. “Nobody is above the law,” he tweeted. “She must be held accountable.” This afternoon, Republican Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI) began an investigation into Hunter Biden. And, in retaliation for the fact that New York has refused to turn DMV records over to ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Homeland Security today suspended the ability for residents of New York to enroll or renew their status in the Global Entry or Trusted Traveler programs, something that will hobble New Yorkers who often travel internationally. Today, Attorney General William Barr gave the Trump campaign cover for 2020. He issued an order that the FBI cannot investigate any political candidate or that candidate’s senior advisors before the 2020 election without him signing off on it. So, if Trump does receive help from a foreign country as he did in 2016 and tried to do in 2020, the FBI cannot investigate it unless Barr says it’s okay. Barr, you will remember, is deeply implicated in the Ukraine Scandal. I read today an exchange between a historian and one of his friends, who was taking him to task for blowing Trump’s actions out of proportion and acting like the sky is falling when, he said, every administration upsets its opponents and Trump’s is no different. A second historian chimed in to note that this might be a really good time to listen to historians, since we’re the ones who study the rise of authoritarians. So here’s my two cents. This is not normal political behavior. This is not normal partisanship. While, as you must know by now, I believe that the future always remains unwritten, and we can always change the outcome until it is, the steps Trump takes are consistent with the rise of a dictator. And now with him freed from the cloud of impeachment, we appear to be entering a new phase of escalation. It looks like he is beginning to single out his opponents for punishment, justifying it with the argument that those opponents are hurting America. While it is not time to panic, it is definitely time to keep up pressure on your senators and representatives, to take up oxygen defending the rule of law, to demand hand marked paper ballots in the 2020 election, and to work for candidates of your choice not only for the presidency but also for the House and Senate, candidates who will defend our democracy. And if you find it all too much to face, remember that refusing to let this administration throw you off track and instead going about your day is an act of resistance. And so, in this era, is simply being kind and honest, when so many people are trading on hatred and lies. Trump will make an announcement about his acquittal Thursday at noon. Gingrich: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/481620-gingrich-calls-on-pelosi-to-be-censured-disgusted-by-viciously-partisan-action Barr: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/us/politics/barr-2020-investigations.html Ingraham: Jason Campbell@JasonSCampbell Laura Ingraham says Mitt Romney should resign: “You committed a fraud on the people of Utah, on the Republican Party, on the Constitution” February 6th 2020 15 Retweets51 LikesBiden investigation: https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/republican-senators-hunter-biden-secret-service/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNN&utm_term=link&utm_content=2020-02-06T06%3A42%3A16 ICE: Eric Lipton@EricLiptonNYT DHS suspends ability of NYS residents to enroll or renew status in Global Entry or Trusted Traveler programs, which also can provide access to TSA Pre February 6th 2020 154 Retweets149 LikesGovernment record law: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2071 Gaetz tweet: Rep. Matt Gaetz@RepMattGaetz BREAKING: I’m filing an ethics complaint against @SpeakerPelosi for destroying @realDonaldTrump’s State of the Union speech. Her conduct was beneath the dignity of the House, and a potential violation of law (18 USC 2071). Nobody is above the law. She must be held accountable. February 6th 2020 13,154 Retweets40,849 LikesGrisham: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/481723-trump-to-make-statement-on-impeachment-victory-on-thursday Sherrod Brown: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/05/opinion/trump-senate-acquittal-impeachment.html?fbclid=IwAR2bJjUmNpIxeqgC33nlbh0qTwKT-BONVxRz7aooPLfvP779KSdeADVslCM Relative numbers represented by the senators: Ari Berman@AriBerman Mind-blowing stat: 48 Senators who voted to convict Trump represent 18 million more Americans than 52 Republicans who voted to acquitFebruary 5th 2020 32,924 Retweets101,741 LikesCoppins: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/romney-impeach-trump/606127/ Don Jr: https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-jr-calls-sen-mitt-romney-a-pussy-for-announcing-vote-to-convict-trump Trump cautious: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/481569-trump-dismissed-collins-comment-that-he-would-learn-from-impeachment-report If you liked this post from Letters from an American, why not share it? Share © 2020 Heather Cox Richardson Unsubscribe PO Box 720263, San Francisco, CA 94172

“The crowd answered, ‘I curse you in the name of Jesus!‘”

That vile eruption from the crowd at The Church at Planned Parenthood, a subsidiary of the Covenant Church, was led by a visiting activist last August. It was quoted in Shawn Vestal’s Sunday, February 2 column in the Spokesman entitled “Noisy nights at Planned Parenthood lead to year of conflict between clinic, police,” a piece everyone ought to read for the awareness it brings.

“I curse you in the name of Jesus.” is just plain wrong, wrong by any measure of Christianity and certainly wrong by any measure of the Christianity in which I was brought up. Romans 12:14, “Bless and curse not.” is what I was taught. I can find no justification cursing in His name. These people are off the rails.

It is time to pay attention to what these people represent and the people and local politicians that adhere to them.

The Covenant Church (and Covenant Christian School) is not off in the back woods. It is at 3506 W Princeton Ave, on the near north side, just south of Wellesley Ave. It looks like a pretty standard brick church from the outside. However, unlike most christian churches, many Christians I know would not be welcome. Pastor Peters, at a Friday night gathering at Covenant Church in early January, a gathering entitled “Exposing leftism… push-back night!” preached, “Leftism is a poison, it destroys homes, it destroys church, in fact, it destroys entire denominations.” (07:20 in the video). Much later (at 02:15:00) he declared, “I don’t want Democrats in my church, unless they repent. We’ll give ’em six months. You can be in our church for six months, then you need to repent.” He is not joking.

Everyone who is Christian or feels they have Christian values or religious roots of any kind ought to spend a little time watching this video and then decide for themselves who these people are. Pick out a few choice sentences. Share them with friends.

Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/ccspokane/videos/558229091429169/

The roughly two hour twenty minute program can be divided into segments.

The first half hour (up to 32 minutes in) sets the tone, with singing by Gabe Blomgren and a female vocalist, followed by the preaching of Pastor Peters and guest Pastor John Schrock (Airway Heights).

The second half hour (32 to 58 minutes) is a performance by former Spokane Valley Councilman Caleb Collier and Gabe Blomgren (the latter says, “I work for the John Birch Society.”) of “Church and State,” a far right local Facebook broadcast that often hosts Matt Shea.

From 0:58 to 1:25 is Bill Jasper, resident of Coeur d’Alene and “Senior Writer” of New American Magazine (internet and print) speaks.

The last hour (from 1:30) is a “sermon” by Rep Matt Shea himself.

The entire program is about division, not about any Christian value I was taught. It is about not listening to anyone who stands outside the their little fold. It is a cult, a Fundamentalist political cult that is Christian only by self-acclamation. If the vast majority of people who call themselves Christian actually can watch this video and not feel ill, then we are, as a country, in real trouble.

Take note that frequent fliers in this group, Mike Fagan (former City of Spokane Councilperson), Caleb Collier (former City of Spokane Valley Councilperson), and Matt Shea (still Legislative District 4 WA State Rep) have served or still serve in public office. Voters need to pay better attention to the underpinnings of those they vote into office. I do not like the message of these people but in this country they are free to voice it. I just don’t want one of them representing me in public office.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

Come to the Census 2020 Public Forum at Shadle Park High School (4327 N Ash St, Spokane, WA 99205) this Thursday, February 6th from 5:30-7:30PM.

The Basis of the U.S. Decennial Census

The Framers understood the Census (they called it an “Enumeration”) as the foundation of our representative government. The Enumeration appears very near the beginning of the U.S. Constitution, in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3. Article I overall sets the rules for the composition and function of the Congress, the first branch of the three branches of our government. The House of Representatives, the first governing body described in the Constitution, most closely represents the people in this federation of states. The Enumeration, the counting of all the people in each state, determines the distribution of Representatives sent by each state to the U.S. House. (Many subsequent acts of Congress determine the total number of Representatives, but that’s a topic for another day.) Of course, the Framers immediately hit a snag: for the purpose of determining representation in the House, do you or do you not count slaves, people considered by some as property, not real people? The Three-Fifths Compromise they struck at the writing of the Constitution required the American Civil War and the 14th Amendment to un-do. (Click the blue for more explanation of this sad chapter in our history of “self” government.)

The people to be Enumerated according to Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3 were men, women, and children, all the way from recently arrived immigrants to descendants of folks who had come over on the Mayflower to everything in between (“citizenship” was an ill-defined concept back then). The Enumerated were NOT just those authorized to cast votes in elections. The modern day Census works the same way, it counts people, not “citizens” or voters. (Rules for voting for Representatives are determined by states and Congress together as set out in Article I, Section 4.) The more people counted by the Census the more proportional power (via re-apportionment seats in the House) is granted to the subgroup who get to vote (and actually do so). Representatives are charged with representing all those counted in their district–but the temptation is to pay attention only to their voters. It’s a complicated calculus.

The 2020 Decennial Census: Power, Money, and Challenges

Power:

The Decennial (every ten years) Census set forth in Article I of the Constitution determines each state’s proportion of Representatives in the U.S. House as discussed above, but that’s only the beginning of its importance. The Census provides the data on which are re-drawn the in-state boundaries of all U.S. Congressional, state legislative, county, and municipal governmental districts. All these boundaries are re-drawn on the basis of total human bodies counted, NOT on the number of voters. The Census is the data set underlying the determination of these multiple layers of representative power. The numbers counted by the Census are the basis upon which the ground rules are set, the playing field upon which voting and electoral politics happen–and the playing field changes every ten years.

Money:

Besides determining our representation in government, around a quarter of our federal tax money (that’s in the neighborhood of onetrillion dollars country wide!) is distributed based on data derived from the Census, distributed through states, counties, cities, and households. (There are at least 316 census-guided federal programs.) For a graspable number, that works out to around $3000 of federal tax dollars per year for every body counted by the Census. If you want to see the details, these federal numbers come from the GW Institute of Public Policy and from the Census itself.

Handicapping the 2020 Census:

Urban areas, it turns out, tend to be harder to census. The Trump administration (think Steven Miller) was well aware of this fact when they pushed for a citizenship question on the census. They knew the fear they instilled would frighten people away, people who should be counted, people disproportionally from urban areas and from more urbanized states. They knew their effort would handicap the Census in their favor regardless whether or not they won the court battles over putting the question on Census questionnaire (they didn’t win in court, but they won the propaganda effort to encourage undercounting of critical groups). In addition, the administration underfunded the Census and introduced a new, unproven online method of gathering data.

The way to push back at this is to be aware, to learn about the Census, talk about the Census, promote the Census, consider working for the Census, and encourage others to sign up to do so. The Committee Coordinator of the Spokane County Complete Count Committee (SpokaneCensus.org) informs us that the Census is still hiring in our area. Visit: https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html  Share that with anyone who might feel civic-minded and wants to some extra money. (It pays $15.50-16.00/hr in our area.) More information:

https://2020census.gov/en/jobs/pay-and-locations.html?=undefined&state=Washington&county=Spokane%20County

Whether or not you and someone you know might work for the census make it your civic duty to learn more about it. Come to the Census 2020 Public Forum at Shadle Park High School (4327 N Ash St, Spokane, WA 99205) this Thursday, February 6th from 5:30-7:30PM.

It’s our democracy–if we can keep it–or reclaim it.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. The Enumeration of slaves covered in Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the Constitution was certainly a fraught issue, but so was not counting “Indians not taxed.” It seems that American Indians living on reservations were neither taxed nor counted. The U.S government’s legal (and census) treatment of the Native Americans is a long, complex, and ugly story. Here’s a starting source: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-14th-amendments-tortuous-relationship-with-american-indians1

P.S.S. Besides the trillion dollars of federal tax money distributed based on the Census, some of state revenue distribution also depends on the Census. In Washington State that is another 200 million that depends on the Census.

Nothing happens in government by accident. Anything worth making happen needs advocates. No representative at any level of government hatches ideas out of thin air.

The legislative process at all levels moves in a stepwise fashion and until tomorrow evening we have a chance to advance Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) by one of those steps. (If you’re wondering what Ranked-Choice Voting is and why, in the State of Washington, this step is important, check out http://jxindivisible.org/2020/01/ranked-choice-voting/ or visit https://fairvotewa.org/. RCV is definitely worth learning about as an improvement for our democracy.)

Right now, in our Washington State House of Representatives, there is a Bill, HB 1722 – 2019-20 whose one chance to get a vote this year depends on the Washington State House’s Appropriations Committee scheduling it for a committee vote (eventually that might get the bill to a vote by the whole House). The bill is a necessary for local districts in our State to even consider ranked choice voting as a better method to elect some officials. Why? Currently, by state law all Washington State voting is uniformly mandated as top-two, with each voter getting only one vote. So HB 1722 – 2019-20 would merely enable local governmental districts to consider Ranked-Choice.

And here’s the thing: Timm Ormsby, WA State Rep. from Legislative District 3 (pretty much the City of Spokane) is the Chairperson of the WA State House Appropriations Committee, and he needs a nudge to move this bill along to get it scheduled for a Committee vote. (See below for contact info.)

Here’s a chance to do something in the civic interest. Below I’ve pasted the calling particulars from Trenton Miller, a young man I know who is putting a lot of energy into advancing Ranked Choice Voting for our State:

Currently, the Local Options Bill that would allow jurisdictions the ability to adopt Ranked Choice Voting has untill Tuesday night to be scheduled for a vote in the House Appropriations Committee. We here in the 3rd Legislative District have a particular power to push for this vote to occur, because the chair of this Committee is none other than our own Representative Timm Ormsby. BUT, Representative Ormsby still needs some convincing from constituents that he should schedule the vote.  I ask that each of you call and email Ormsby’s office to urge him to schedule the Local Options Bill for a vote in the House Appropriations Committee? If you’ve done this before, it doesn’t hurt to do this again!  In addition, it would be even more impactful if you personally asked friends and family to do this as well! The higher the volume of calls and emails, the more likely we are to get a vote scheduled. Here is the contact information for Ormsby’s office and the link to comment directly on the bill: Timm Ormsby’s Olympia Office: (360) 786 – 7946 Link to Comment on the L.O.B.: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1722&Chamber=House&Year=2019 Points about the Local Options Bill It does not mandate Ranked Choice Voting at all, it simply gives jursidictions the ability to adopt Ranked Choice Voting Ranked Choice Voting has shown strong correlation with candidates running more civil and issue-based campaigns Ranked Choice Voting encourages more candidates and greater participation in our election process P.S. If you are not a constitent of the 3rd Legislative District that Timm represents, please still give him a call, because representatives advocate for all Washington Residents from their positions within Committees. Forward, Trenton Miller | Spokane Chapter Co-Lead

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

“Democracy Rebellion” is a 56 minute inspiration. I strongly urge you to watch it online before it expires from the KSPS/PBS website this Monday, February 3. To watch, click the blue above (the blue indicates a weblink) OR click the direct direct link (web address) here:

https://video.ksps.org/video/the-democracy-rebellion-a-reporters-notebook-with-hedrick-i8oy2s/

[If the click doesn’t work, go to the P.S. below for detailed instructions on how to copy and paste.]

Why take the time to watch this? Its main point is that anything worth achieving (or protecting) does not occur overnight. Changes we now take almost for granted, like suffrage (the right to vote in elections) for former slaves, suffrage for women, the direct election of U.S. Senators, none of these changes happened spontaneously. All occurred because of long-fought popular movements, arguments, and agitations that arose out of years of effort by dedicated volunteers. Indeed, without the concerted effort of many it would still be legal to keep slaves.

Democracy Rebellion puts in context the current municipal and state-level efforts to preserve our democratic values from the threats we face. [These efforts are all the more pertinent while a lawyer like Alan Dershowitz argues in the U.S Senate (last Wednesday) that there should be no limit whatsoever on Presidential efforts to consolidate power. (Read Heather Cox Richardson on Dershowitz, here. Then sign up for her daily analysis of the impeachment proceedings here.)]

Teaser: Who knew or remembered that Washington State passed initiative I-735 with 63% of the vote in 2016, an initiative urging passage of an Amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision? Eight hundred cities and 20 states are now on record favoring such an amendment. (Action by 34 states would force Congress to act.) On a different, but related note, who knew that the Sate of Connecticut publicly finances political campaigns?

Watch Democracy Rebellion. It offers some relief from the spectacle occurring in the U.S. Senate as Republicans close their eyes and ears and advocate for oligarchy against the will of 75% of voters.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. If clicking the blue web address (the second paragraph above), highlight the link, hit COMMAND=CMD (⌘ on many computers) and the letter “C” simultaneously, then click your cursor into the line at the top of your browser’s window (Examples of browsers are Safari, Firefox, Chrome, whatever application you use to see webpages) and press ⌘ [CMD] and “v” to paste in the link. then hit Return.)

P.P.S. One final note. Alan Dershowitz deserves our disdain. He is a lawyer and a now retired Harvard professor, but he is mostly wrong-headed currently and historically, and he’s been at it a long time. In 1974 he said, “I’m not happy seeing Richad Nixon’s gang being tried by blacks and liberals in the Disrict of Columbia.” Wow. Click the link for context and the original newspaper article offered by the fact-checking site Scopes.com.

I’ve always viewed libraries, books, and encyclopedias with a sense of awe. I remember my parents buying us a copy of “The World Book Encyclopedia” when I was in grade school. I struggled to understand entries in “The Encyclopedia Britannica” in my early teens. I remember feeling sadness and anger reading of the burning of the great Library of Alexandria in the third century A.D. and more anger watching newsreels of the Nazis burning books. 

About twenty years ago a new, more accessible source of information appeared, an open collaboration encyclopedia called Wikipedia.org. Footnoted, up-to-date information with embedded links to related and explanatory articles and source materials was a dream come true. The physical and financial barriers of paper dictionaries, out-dated encyclopedias with appended “Year Books,” and the time barrier of weeks waiting to acquire a key book–Wikipedia lowered all those impediments to learning. 

No source standing alone is perfect. Wikipedia is a start, a jumping off point, an orientation aid for further inquiry. Wikipedia became, and remains to this day, my go-to source for basic information–and for links to other material.

A few years ago, I had an online exchange with the wife of a high school classmate of mine, a classmate who, at the time, was an Evangelical pastor in Ohio. In response to something I wrote she declared, “Wikipedia is not a reliable source.” I probed her statement. She meant it in a very basic way. She deeply distrusted Wikipedia. She found articles in wikipedia that challenged her perspective, among them, articles connecting to works in scholarly journals that discuss the Bible as an historical document, articles discussing the scientific understanding of geologic time, articles discussing evolution. From my Fundamentalist friend’s point of view, these articles all ran counter to her basic beliefs. Any source that discussed these issues openly was too liberal and too challenging to her understanding of the world. That is what she meant by unreliable.

On December 22, Redoubt News published an article in which Heather Scott (Idaho State Representative to Boise from north Idaho and a compatriot of Matt Shea) responded to the Rampart Report (the investigation of Matt Shea initiated by the Washington legislature in response to his “Biblical Basis of War”):

Reminding all “free thinking” Idahoans that the following facts and unanswered questions really do matter when drawing your own conclusions, Scott says that the unbiased integrity of the Rampart Group’s reporting is in serious question when their top four information sources relied upon include the biased Wikipedia, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Portland uber-left journalist writer Leah Sottile and The Inlander reporter Dan Walters. [the bold is mine, the ironic quotation marks are not mine.]

My friend’s wife and this comment by Heather Scott point out a growing epistemic distinction in our country (and the world?), a basic difference in attitude around knowledge and where knowledge comes from. The distinction is not absolute, but, rather, a fuzzy continuum within which individuals may, on the one hand, subscribe to science and empiricism, a world view based on evidence and experiment or, on the other, to a literal interpretation of an ancient text. Such “Fundamentalism,” a state of mind found among some adherents of most religions, categorically excludes consideration of any data or idea that challenges the received textual wisdom, excludes such suspect data or ideas as motivated by evil forces.

The next time you hear someone question whether Wikipedia is a suspicious source, engage them. Ask them what they consider their valid starting point for learning. Listen and learn. I, for one, am leery of having people represent me in government whose expectations of the future are narrowly focused on interpretation of ancient texts and exclude the broader landscape of shared human knowledge and understanding.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. Apparently, Redoubt News readers aren’t “free thinking” enough to look at the Rampart Report themselves. I downloaded a copy. A friend electronically converted the pdf into a searchable document. (Which I will send you, if you Reply to this email and ask.) There are 236 footnotes to the Rampart Report, a mere sixteen of them link to wikipedia. Heather Scott’s assertion that “biased Wikipedia” is the first of the “four top information sources” for the Report is a lie–or she never looked at the document itself and she is expounding out of ignorance. In the echo chamber of Redoubt News and the Far Right you are suspect if you consider the knowledge base that hundreds of thousands of contributors have assembled as Wikipedia. Is Scott and her movement so insular that wikipedia is considered the work of the devil?

P.P.S. Wikipedia self corrects. I once looked up the biography of a female actor I’d just seen in a movie. I was struck by an obviously inappropriate and nasty assertion I found there. I contacted via email someone involved with Wikipedia and asked what the procedure was to correct this malicious entry. I was told that the first thing I should do was wait a day, that there were volunteer editors attuned to such malicious changes. Sure enough, the next day I checked and the malicious entry was gone–and my confidence in most of humanity restored. Of course, not all such changes are as easily detectible or correctable, but a huge number of volunteers keep watch. You can read more about the Wikipedia Community and the corrections of vandalism on wikipedia by clicking those links to articles…on wikipedia. I contribute to the Wikimedia Foundation regularly. (It is a 501(c)(3), donations are deductible.) I’m convinced it is a good cause.

By the weekend of February 22, a month from now, you should have your ballot in hand for the Washington State Democratic (and Republican) Presidential Primary (assuming your voter registration is in order). Tuesday, March 10, just seven weeks from now, is the ballot turn-in deadline. Startling fact: the ballots are already printed. That was finalized January 7. There will be candidates on the ballot who have already dropped out.  

If you choose to vote in the 2020 Democratic ticket in this Presidential Primary (as opposed to casting a ballot for Donald Trump on the reverse side of the ballot), then these are your choices: Michael Bennet, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, John Delaney, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Deval Patrick, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, “uncommitted”, or write-in. (read more detail from Jim Camden in the Spokesman). Having trouble keeping track? I am. For example, Cory Booker dropped out after the ballots were printed. Click Ballotpedia, 2020 Presidential Candidates, for an up-to-date national listing of who’s in and who’s out.

The Washington State Democratic Party process for 2020 for choosing its preferred Presidential candidate begins earlier this year than in 2016. It relies on the election results rather than caucuses, also in contrast to 2016. This should give Washington voters a bigger voice than in the past–that’s why it changed. (See the P.S. below for my review of the WA State process in 2016–it was very convoluted. Hindsight makes it a little clearer.)

The national Democratic Party will ultimately chose its Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates at the Democratic National Convention that will be held in July 13-16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The process is complex but not incomprehensible. Click the last link (repeated here) if you have the time and interest to delve into some of the details.

The take-home messages from all this for the Washington State voter are:

1) When you vote in the March 10 Presidential Primary do your homework. Don’t waste your ballot on a candidate who has already dropped out. The ballots are already printed. Inform your friends of this quirk.

2) This year Washington State voters will make their voice heard earlier in the process (by about 2 weeks) and by casting a ballot rather than attending a caucus. These are important differences (see P.S. below)

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Remember 2016? Let’s review a little history (because things have changed). My memory of 2016, it turns out, was a bit dim. There were local caucuses on Saturday, March 26th, which I remember as exciting, but confusing and chaotic. Statewide, about 230,000 enthusiastic voters (out of 3,906,000 total WA State registered voters) participated in the Democratic caucuses. On the basis of those caucus results the WA State Democratic Party eventually elected (on May 21st) 118 delegates to the Democratic National Convention–with 74 (63%) of them committed to Bernie Sanders.

But wait! Didn’t we also have a Washington State Presidential Primary election in 2016? Yes. On May 24th 802,754 (of those 3,906,000 total registered voters, those nearly 4M include both Democrats and Republicans, of course) cast votes in the WA State Democratic Primary Election for either Clinton or Sanders. With three times as many voters as participated in the caucuses bothering to participate, Clinton won with 52% of the vote.

Did this system make any sense? In a way the caucuses demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders. These people actually bothered to take time on a Saturday to participate. Was the caucus excitement and voting an accurate measure of enthusiasm that would have resulted in a higher level of voter turnout for Sanders than turned out to vote for Hillary Clinton in November?  How many potential voters were so discouraged by the process (after all, the delegates were already selected) that they didn’t even turn in a ballot in the May 24th Presidential Primary Election? How many didn’t participate at all, perhaps out of confusion over how it all worked? We cannot know; we can only speculate. Suffice to say, the 2020 process in Washington State should be an improvement.

P.P.S. Also mark your calendar for Tuesday, August 4, the ballot turn-in deadline date for the Washington State Primary (for everything but the President) and and Tuesday, November 3, the national (and state) General Election. Then (if you live in Spokane County) go to https://www.spokanecounty.org/list.aspx?Mode=Subscribe#calendar, key in your email address and click “Elections” …and whatever else might be interesting to you. I’ve found this is a great service. Stay informed.]