Trump Tells US Allies Pay Up or We Hand You to Russia & Should Celebrities Be Fired for Voicing Opinions?
GOP Lawmakers Want to Force-Feed Students Anti-Abortion Video, Heart Disease is Number One Killer of Women in US, Michigan GOP Lawmaker's Racist 'Great Replacement' Post, Dusty Springfield Sings
What I’m Discussing Today:
Kareem’s Daily Quote: This quote from The Threepenny Opera nails the difference between the moral posturing of the haves over the have-nots.
NATO chief says Trump’s comments on abandoning alliance endangers US and European troops: When a presidential candidate openly threatens our country’s allies with Russian invasions, we need to wonder whose side he’s really on.
From The Mandalorian to The White Lotus: TV stars are getting sacked for their politics: Should actors get fired or blacklisted for public political stances?
Controversial fetal development video inflames debate over Baby Olivia bills: Republicans complain that students are getting brainwashed by liberals’ use of science and facts. They counter by mandating an anti-abortion video that disregards both.
Women say they’re stressed, misunderstood, and alone: Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Yet, we ignore their healthcare needs and contribute to the stress that kills them.
Michigan GOP Lawmaker Disciplined for Racist ‘Great Replacement’ Post: I’m less irritated by his racism than his inability to understand why he’s a racist.
Kareem’s Video Break: I’ve returned to the startling starling formations that will leave you aghast and muttering, “How?”
Dusty Springfield Performs “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me”: She sang jazz, soul, country, and pop in an unforgettable voice that was part of the soundtrack of the sixties.
Kareem’s Daily Quote
First feed the face, and then talk right and wrong For even honest folk may act like sinners Unless they've had their customary dinners
The ThreePenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
It’s nice to pontificate about morality, especially its abundance in oneself and the lack thereof in others. To sit in superior moral judgment is a favorite, though dangerous, pastime. It can lead us to rationalize our lack of responsibility in the corroding social structure, which only hurries the process along. I’ve often heard rich people philosophize on TV about how they deserve all they have because of their hard work while those who have less deserve what they have because of their lack of drive. This simplistic and self-serving view is what perpetuates the inequities in society. Self-made successful people with humility know that luck plays as much a part as hard work.
Society is a lot like city aquariums where you watch a diver swim among a bunch of sharks. “Don’t worry,” the tour guide assures everyone with a confident smile, “the sharks are well fed so they have no interest in our Jimmy there.” If the sharks ever figure out that Jimmy is part of the power structure that keeps them imprisoned for others to gawk at, being well-fed might not be enough to protect him.
I’m thinking about this because I see what used to be a War on Poverty started by President Lyndon Johnson in 1964 has become a War on the Poor by Republicans in 2024. What a difference 60 years makes. Over the past two years, I’ve detailed in my Substack various states that have deliberately refused federal money that would help feed families in need, that have made extraordinary efforts to make sure the poor have more obstacles to vote, have tightened state aid, and have gutted education so their children are less competitive. They do all this in the name of conservative values that promote hard work over handouts. Hand-ups are not handouts. Despite our fetishizing the myth of the Rugged Individualist, no one makes it in society on their own.
Conservatives often wonder why there’s so much protest about our culture and politics. Why 20 million people marched in 2020 during Black Lives Matter/police brutality demonstrations. People who don’t have a fair share of a country’s bounty or equality in pursuing its benefits don’t have a stake in conserving the status quo’s “values.” If the game is rigged, change the game. Either everyone playing acknowledges the rules are unfair and agrees to rewrite them, or the people destined to always lose will flip the game board and send the pieces flying.
Brecht’s social satire The Threepenny Opera has always made me remember how fragile society can be when it celebrates achievement through hard work but blocks various people from even joining the race. The “Let them eat cake” strategy has been the downfall of more than one country. Being fair is not being weak.
NATO chief says Trump’s comments on abandoning alliance endangers US and European troops (CNN)
SUMMARY: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has hit back against “any suggestion” countries within the alliance would not defend one another after former US President Donald Trump said he would not abide by the collective defense clause at the heart of the alliance if reelected.
In what would be a stunning abandonment of a decades-long core US commitment, Trump, who is running for re-election in November, said during a campaign event Saturday he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines and would not offer such a country US protection.
In a statement Sunday, Stoltenberg said such comments put European and American soldiers at an increased risk.
“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the US, and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” Stoltenberg said.
“I expect that regardless of who wins the presidential election the US will remain a strong and committed NATO Ally,” he said, while also stressing that any attack on a NATO country would be “met with a united and forceful response.”
Trump’s comments — which come amid an on-going war in Europe and rising concerns about Chinese activity in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan — will likely raise fresh questions among allies in Europe and Asia over the strength of US commitments.
MY TAKE: If anyone had any qualms before, that Trump was Putin’s puppet, this should remove all doubt. I was staggered by his announcement that failure to meet dues deadlines meant handing countries over to Russia. This is a Mafia-style protection racket on an international level: “You pay up and nuthin’ will happen to yer little country. Ya know, like a kitchen fire. Or a Russian invasion.” Yet, Republicans still draft behind him without any will of their own.
That statement should scare Americans to the core. The man who would be president has been shown many times to be a Putinista and now openly admits he’ll abandon our allies. A basic rule in life is you don’t threaten your friends. Who will be our allies when we need them—and we always need them. Trump is counting on his supporters to be so ignorant of international affairs that they’ll buy his isolationist vision of a cartoon turtle who, when faced with danger, pulls everything inside his shell where he watches TV and sips wine while chaos ensues outside. In the real world, raccoons and opossums chomp the turtle to death.
There is already fear that Russia is moving troops in preparation for invading other countries (“Intel Warns Putin Is Prepping for a Military Clash with NATO”):
European governments have been warning about the possibility that Russia could expand its war beyond the borders of Ukraine for months. “The Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade,” the report states. “For Estonia, Russia’s military reform entails a significant increase in Russian forces near the Estonian border in the coming years.”
The Russian threat is real and it is now. Pretending otherwise usually means having to pay for it later—with the lives of our sons and daughters.
As a child, I believed that the people we elected were of the highest intelligence and moral character. Sure, they disagreed and argued but respectfully, and always with the best interests of our country in mind. They actually believed in the Constitution. I accept that those views were naive, yet I still get up every day with the hope that those kinds of people will step forward and run for office, and that the American people will vote for candidates based on logic and facts, and not personal bias or greed. Maybe I’ve imbibed too much Aaron Sorkin, but I’m still holding out hope.
From The Mandalorian to The White Lotus: the TV stars getting sacked for their politics (The Guardian)
SUMMARY: Gina Carano used to have a reputable acting career, maintaining a comfortable level of fame as someone who occasionally appeared in The Mandalorian. Given the fan reaction to the role – and Disney’s fixation with awarding a spin-off to every character who has appeared in a Star Wars property – it seemed that she would go far. But then … the tweeting started.
Carano began posting messages on Twitter (now X) taking in Covid denialism, her mistrust of the 2020 election results and, most egregiously, how being a Republican was a bit like being a Jew in Nazi Germany. The outcry was loud and immediate: her character was cut from The Mandalorian in 2021, with Lucasfilm calling the tweets “abhorrent and unacceptable.” She was later dropped by her talent agency.
Now she’s back in the news again, suing Disney and Lucasfilm for wrongful termination and sexual discrimination. If she wins, she will receive $75,000 (£59,000) and a court order to get her back on The Mandalorian, at which point we can presume that everything will be peachy and not awkward at all.
You suspect that Hollywood will be watching Carano’s lawsuit very closely indeed; she’s far from the only actor to be removed from a show for their beliefs. This, for example, should have been the happiest time of Miloš Biković’s life. The Serbian-Russian actor was recently hired to star in the third season of The White Lotus, a juggernaut of a show that’s earned a reputation for catapulting lesser-known performers into the stratosphere. Last weekend, he was publicly un-hired, after Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused him of supporting the Russian invasion. The ministry made a video, shared on X and addressed to HBO, outlining Biković’s history of filming in annexed Crimea, allegedly defending Russia’s war with Ukraine and being granted Russian citizenship by Vladimir Putin. Biković called his firing a “disturbing precedent”.
And then there’s Sara Ramírez, who was dropped last month from the Sex and the City spin-off, And Just Like That. This one’s a little more complicated. On 16 January, Ramirez published an Instagram post that claimed “casting directors and agents are making black lists of actors and workers who post anything in support of Palestinians and Gaza to ensure they will not work again”, insinuating that Ramírez was let go for being vocally pro-Palestinian.
MY TAKE: For me, the question isn’t whether or not companies have the legal right to fire someone for expressing certain political views that the executives believe will harm their image—and cost them money. Certainly, the nutso campaign against Bud Light was effective in costing the company millions of dollars. The courts will figure it out based on legalese and whimsy.
The rest of us should be wondering about whether or not firing someone for posting their opinion is a moral thing. Companies react to pop culture pressure because corporate political stances are usually built on how it affects their bottom line. So, what do we, members of the pop culture masses, want them to do? We need to decide what is the right thing, not just the expedient or popular thing.
Like most issues dealing with free speech, there are few absolutes. We simply draw a line in the sand and say this far and no farther. Sometimes, as we learn more, we move the line. But there is always a line. In the cases of celebrities trying to influence the public with their politics, we scrutinize more closely because of their vast influence.
In general, I’m not in favor of firing actors or other artists for their political comments. I certainly disagree with some of the celebrities’ positions and the way they have worded their ideas, but they should have the right to make those statements without corporate reprisals. At the same time, if you know your bosses have a policy against making public political statements that might hurt their business and you do so anyway, you’re engaging in civil disobedience for your beliefs and should be proud to defiantly take the punishment you knew was coming. Protesting despite knowing the consequences is brave—doing so and whining about the consequences is entitlement.
I draw the line between enduring and firing when someone veers from political endorsements to hate speech. If you want to be pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, then say so. That should not be a fireable offense. But if you encourage violence against any group, you’re fired.
I have heard Kelsey Grammer spout some sophomoric right-wing opinions that make me cringe. Yet, I recently rewatched the old Frasier series as well as the first season of his new one. He’s a brilliant comedic master and a delight to watch. Gina Carano was very good on The Mandalorian. Her comments are also cringe-worthy—ill-informed and simplistic. Sadly, she still doesn’t think she did anything wrong, which she would probably say shows moral character but I would say shows the inability to learn. Still, I wouldn’t fire her for her insensitive but innocuous tweets.
Yes, I get angry at the stupid, hurtful, and harmful things celebrities say that are often inarticulate, self-righteous, and worse, not well thought out. However, the level of my anger or disappointment is not a measurement of punishment. They are probably equally outraged by my opinions. What’s the point in producing TV shows and movies about tolerance only to be intolerant toward the people making them? It’s the difference between virtue signaling and being virtuous.
Controversial fetal development video inflames debate over Baby Olivia bills (13 KRCG)
SUMMARY: Students in Kentucky, and other states, may be compelled to watch a controversial video on fetal development thanks to a series of similar bills.
Kentucky House Bill 346 is also called the Baby Olivia Act, because the video that's being pushed to be shown to the students is called, "Meet Baby Olivia."
The pro-life and anti-abortion group Live Action, noted for its proliferation of found footage from Planned Parenthood, produced the video, which shows the development of a fertilized egg just up until birth.
…However, critics of Live Action say that the information presented in the "Meet Baby Olivia" video is inaccurate.
"It shows really deceitful information about the development of life stages and this would be something that would be shown to students across the commonwealth that isn't accurate or medically grounded. So, this is really harmful," said Tamarra Wieder, Kentucky state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates.
MY TAKE: Similar bills are being introduced in many Republican-run states. Last week Iowa Republicans recommended the same legislation as Kentucky: “The legislation requires that teachers show students an ultrasound video and video showing the development of the brain, heart and other organs in fetal development, as well as a rendering or animation showing the process of fertilization and fetal development during a pregnancy until birth.”
For all the blustering about protecting students from being brainwashed, Republicans are unapologetic when they do it themselves. No, this is not providing a fair and balanced opposing voice so that students can make up their own minds. In health classes, a school is supposed to provide all rational and scientific sides of an argument, not sentimental and gut-feeling sides. If the class were social studies, in which they should discuss all arguments that are used in the general population, then such a video might be relevant. But by putting it in a health class, they are stating that the information has equal scientific weight, which it doesn’t.
Once again, parents allowing this deterioration of educational standards are hurting their children’s education by making them less informed and weak critical thinkers. The evidence of being ill-informed and weak critical thinkers is in the GOP legislators pushing this agenda. If they are the best those states have to offer, the standards in those states have been dangerously lowered. Isn’t there a video of that to show in classes?
Kareem’s Video Break
Once before I showed an example of murmurations, in which enormous masses of starlings fly in ever-changing shapes without colliding with one another. In Rome, 10 million starlings will put on such displays. This film from the Netherlands is mesmerizing. But as it goes on, it gets a bit Hitchcockian.
My readers and I are birds of a feather flocking together on this Substack. Let’s invite a few more who like to fly.
Women say they’re stressed, misunderstood, and alone (American Psychological Association)
SUMMARY: APA’s 2023 Stress in America survey finds women continue to report higher stress levels than men and could have used more support.
Women in America are stressed—and psychologists aren’t surprised.
In fact, over the decades that clinical psychologist Rosalind S. Dorlen, PsyD, ABPP, has been chronicling women’s stress, women have almost always reported feeling more burdened than men.
“While the causes of stress have certainly changed, women seem to experience it more clearly or acknowledge it more readily,” said Dorlen, a private practitioner who’s also on staff at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, New Jersey.
Specifically, in APA’s October 2023 Stress in America survey, which included a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 adults, women reported a higher average level of stress than men (5.3 versus 4.8 out of 10) and were more likely to rate their stress levels between an 8 and a 10 than men (27% versus 21%).
What’s more, women were more likely to say they “strongly agree” that no one understands how stressed they are and were less likely to report that they can quickly get over stress.
MY TAKE: The Gender Social Norms Index released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) found that almost 90% of men and women globally are biased against women. This bias is especially manifested in health care where women are treated with much less regard than men are:
Women are less likely to receive CPR from bystanders for fear of hurting them or touching them inappropriately.
One study found that surgeons recommend knee replacements for men 22 times more often than for women with the same issues.
Women are taken less seriously in general healthcare appointments. A study concluded that healthcare providers thought women have less pain than they say they have, believing they exaggerate.
Although cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women, fewer women are prescribed medications to help them.
Because women are burdened with the stereotype of being the nurturer, they often don’t receive the nurturing they need. According to a recent study, “the number of women experiencing work-related stress is 50% higher than for men of the same age.” There are many reasons for this level of stress: inequities in the workplace that mean the woman has to work much harder to be recognized, the expectation that when she gets home she still has to fulfill traditional roles at home of parenting and house duties, the pressure to keep up her appearance because she is judged by that more than a man is, unwanted sexual advances, and society’s general attitude that women are somehow less than men.
Sure, there are first-aid remedies we could do to address each of these issues. And we should be doing them. At the very least, men and children in a household should make sure they’re doing all they can to alleviate the things that cause stress. Workplaces need to be aggressive in ensuring gender equity. That will help. But we also need to continue to pressure our legislators to pass laws that protect women’s rights so they know they are valued partners in our society.
This Week in Dumb Political Statements
Michigan GOP Lawmaker Disciplined for Racist ‘Great Replacement’ Post (The Daily Beast)
SUMMARY: A Michigan lawmaker was stripped of his state House budget and staff after sharing an X post about the “great replacement,” a racist conspiracy theory claiming there’s a Jewish plot to replace America’s white population with non-white immigrants. GOP Rep. Josh Schriver has faced a backlash since reposting far-right activist Jack Posobiec’s image last week depicting black figures surpassing white ones on a world map. On Monday, Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate announced Schriver would lose his committees and resources as a result: “Rep. Schriver has a history of promoting debunked theories and dangerous rhetoric that jeopardizes the safety of Michigan residents and contributes to a hostile and uncomfortable environment for others.” For his part, Schriver told the Detroit News he opposed racists and said, “What I find strange is the agenda to demoralize and reduce the white portion of our population. That's not inclusive and Christ is inclusive!”
MY TAKE: Schriver was non-apologetic: “I’m not (and never have been) a racist,” Schriver wrote. “So I cannot offer a fake political apology for views I don’t hold.” Schriver probably doesn’t think he’s a racist, which makes him shockingly lacking in insight. He’s like a guy who does all his shopping at the KKK store but doesn’t think he’s a racist because he doesn’t burn crosses or use the n-word. His definition of racism is a fossilized relic of the fifties when racists used to claim “Some of my best friends are Negroes” and “I don’t care if you’re black, white, or green—I don’t see color.” It’s the same kind of logic used when punching your child and telling them it’s for their own good. You absolve yourself of horrendous actions merely through proclamation.
The “great replacement theory” has been pushed by Republicans and Fox News for years to frighten conservative voters into supporting their oppressive agenda. The consequences have been deadly, with the theory being cited as a partial motivation for the mass shootings in Buffalo and El Paso.
Ironically, the GOP agenda to combat the non-existent replacement movement is so unAmerican, so government-intrusive, and so unconstitutional that they are making a good case for why they should be replaced—by anyone with the ability to use reason and who cherishes democracy.
As for Schriver, his term runs out in January 2025. Hopefully, Michigan voters will replace him.
Kareem’s Jukebox Playlist
Dusty Springfield: “You Don't Have To Say You Love Me”
Dusty Springfield (1939-1999) was a popular British jazz, soul, country, and pop singer during the British Invasion movement of the sixties. She was instantly recognizable for her thick, dark eye makeup and beehive hair, but she was loved for her sultry, powerful voice that starts kind of sweet then builds up energy until it blows your hair back like speeding down the highway in a convertible Mustang.
She had many hits, including “I Only Want to Be with You,” “Wishin’ And Hopin’,” “The Look of Love,” and “Son of a Preacher Man.” I picked “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” (1966) because when she sings “saaayyy” and “believe me” there’s such conviction that it resonates deep inside. I know she had a special connection to the song because when she first heard the original Italian version “lo che non vivo (senza te)” [“I, who can’t live (without you)”], she wept through the performance, even though she didn’t know what the lyrics meant.
Springfield’s friend, producer Vicki Wickham and Yardbirds manager Simon Napier-Bell volunteered to write English lyrics, even though they had no songwriting experience, nor did they consult the Italian lyrics. Unhappy with the acoustics, Springfield ended up recording the song in a stairwell. After 47 takes, it was ready. And 58 years later, so are we.
Starlings don't get enough good press. Thanks for posting the most amazing murmuration I've seen yet!
Kareem, should we send an ark to rescue you? Looks like Cali is getting crunched. Stay dry, and remember this rain during the next drought/wild fire season.