Views from the Commons - HalWrightNewtown.info

As Israelis and Gazans fall in line with their violent and incompetent leaders, a framework which could yield lasting peace becomes impossible to imagine, yet alone build.

I haven't blogged about Gaza since my broad characterization of the politics of the war a few months ago. The reason is simple. When something is falling, the next noteworthy event is when it crashes to the ground.

The horror in Gaza has worsened by an order of magnitude or more without tangible change to the fundamentals. Hamas and Netanyahu are doing what they promised, without regard for their standing in the world. Both have grown more popular within their own populations, as they have expanded, in word and deed, their dehumanization of the humans on the other side. And as Gazan civilians starve or are blown to bits, genocide moves closer to an apt description of the reality on the ground. Apologists on both sides make arguments hobbled by outright lies, and by glaring omissions: either that 10/7 happened (on the Hamas side) or that the Nakba happened (on the Israeli side). By not articulating a post-war plan for Gaza, Netanyahu has signaled his intention to turn Gaza into an open-air prison, deprived of resources and isolated as never before, for anyone who survives his onslaught.

Rafah is about to become the white hot center of Gaza. Barring an unlikely change in the momentum of the conflict, Netanyahu will set in motion one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history. By the numbers, Rafah already has the same population as Philadelphia, 1.5 million, crammed into 1/6 of the area, and with a small fraction of Philadelphia's life-sustaining resources. An invasion would result in mass civilian casualties and obliteration of those resources.

There is an element of desperation in Netanyahu's latest public statements and actions. Despite having predicted that the war in Gaza would extend for many months, perhaps into 2025, Netanyahu now claims total victory will be achieved within a few weeks of his invasion of Rafah. There is no longer much talk about bringing the hostages home, and no plan to do so. Thumbing his nose at international pressure and especially at the Biden administration, Netanyahu has continued to expand West Bank settlements. While his defiant posture is not sustainable for the long term, Netanyahu seems more interested in extending his time in power for the short term.

The details of the impending crash in Gaza, and the broad scatter of debris from that crash into the Middle East and elsewhere, remain to be seen. What seems certain, and it's horrible to contemplate, is that the body count of the crash will dwarf that we have experienced so far. Demolishing Gaza may prevent Hamas terrorists from using their tunnels to invade Israel from the west. But as we have seen this week in Russia, nowhere in the world is safe from terrorism, and Israel's enemies must be doubly motivated to continue the emerging cycle of vengeance.

March 12, 2024
The Danger of Turning Katie Britt into a Punchline
by Hal Wright

Once again a new, highly successful right-wing politician is speaking a language only those on the right understand. And once again those on the left have fallen into the trap of holding this person up for public ridicule. It's the "basket of deplorables" 2.0.

Senator Katie Britt (left), and Scarlett Johansson portraying Ms. Britt on SNL (right). Ms. Johansson struggled to replicate Ms. Britt's "fundie baby voice," having never been formally trained.

Eight years ago, as the country got to know Donald Trump the candidate, Democrats were by turns disgusted, appalled, amused, and confused: how could he be vanquishing one serious Republican challenger after another? The spectacle seemed surreal to all but a few observers, most notably Michael Moore, who sounded a DEFCON 1 alert almost everyone ignored. "Wow, there's the bubble right there," said Moore, referring to insular, clueless left-wing pols and liberal media figures, who did not recognize Trump's appeal to the heartland until it was too late.

In Moore's view, the violent divisiveness of the last seven years sprang out of the decades-long failure of two American demographics to understand each other, mostly because they rarely experienced each other. Residents of large cities and their suburbs came to regard those in less populated regions of the country as regressive and irrelevant, while to those rural and small-town Americans, large cities were distant, dirty, lawless places dragging America downward into sin and bankruptcy.

In 2024, it's the same, but worse. Trump and his sycophants continue to whip up fear and resentment within their base, while Democrats reactively offer refuge to theirs. Both sides claw at an increasingly concerned independent middle underwhelmed by what they see in every direction they look.

Into this maelstrom dropped Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), broadcasting from her kitchen, speaking in a childlike whisper about Democrats bringing an end to civilization in the United States. The left greeted her as they had greeted Trump in 2016, with derision, mockery and a satirical turn on SNL. And a new albeit faint alarm could be heard, this time in the form of an article by Jess Piper, a former English teacher and "Dirt Road Democrat" candidate from Missouri:

I was about to head to bed after the State of the Union last night, when I heard a voice coming from my television that stopped me in my tracks. ... It was Senator Katie Britt using her well-practiced fundie baby voice (italics mine). ... It was engrained in every woman I knew from church and every time I speak about it, folks will point out that I sound that way myself. Yes, friends. That’s the point. Be sweet. Obey. Prove it by speaking in muted tones.

Piper's detailed account of what's really going on here is necessary reading in its entirety.

Updates:

Jess Piper has created a video on social media to accompany her article.

A comparison of Katie Britt's actual voice vs. that in the SOTU response. Note that she lies about the southern border in all cadences and intonations. Biden motivated the bipartisan negotiations which led to a border bill which passed the Senate; he is still trying to get Congress to pass it. The horrible incident of sex trafficking Britt described last Thursday occurred in Mexico during the George W. Bush administration, and did not involve someone seeking to cross into the United States.

To millions of American women and their husbands, there was nothing fringe or bizarre about the setting of Britt's speech, nor about her manner of speaking. She was making a targeted plea. You may not like Donald Trump. But he and his fellow Republicans will protect the cultural order to which you are accustomed against a mean-spirited liberal mob, which cannot resist ridiculing what you are.

While an abundant number of evangelicals may be counted among Trump's supporters, not all evangelicals are reflexive Trump voters. And millions more non-evangelical American women believe in the primacy of their role as mother, and fear an influx of "the other," those different from them, into their communities.

In an election with razor-thin margins, Democrats can scarcely afford to lose support from any voting bloc, nor to further energize the opposition. The left may someday learn to reign in its own smugness so as not to alienate significant chunks of the American public. Alas, today is not that day.

February 29, 2024
Fitzpatrick's Lie about the Border and Fentanyl
by Hal Wright

It's counterintuitive but true: Securing the southern border won't affect the flow of fentanyl into the US. Brian Fitzpatrick must know this. So why does he keep claiming it will?

Photo by Randy Laybourne on Unsplash

In his press release of February 6, Brian Fitzpatrick had this to say about fentanyl and the southern border: "The price of inaction is just too high, as fentanyl continues to flow across the border killing our fellow Americans and cartels exploit the porous border for criminal activity." Fitzpatrick amplified this claim in the media last weekend.

Trouble is, the claim is false. Fitzpatrick has access to the same government data as we, and must know he is lying.

Let's look at a 2022 evidence-based investigation by the Cato Institute (hardly a bastion of progressivism). They concluded that "just 0.02 percent of the people arrested by Border Patrol for crossing illegally possessed any fentanyl whatsoever." Where fentanyl is concerned, we have met the enemy, and they are us. US citizens are 99% of fentanyl consumers and 86% minimum (likely as much as 97%) of fentanyl traffickers.

Almost all of the fentanyl flowing into the US crosses the border at legal points of entry. Why? Those entering the country legally face less scrutiny and a will almost certainly successfully cross the border. It's Economics of Smuggling 101.

Further, as the Cato Institute says, "aggressive drug interdiction exacerbates fentanyl smuggling." Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, so smuggling one pound of fentanyl into the US is the equivalent of smuggling 50 pounds of heroin. The Cato Institute refers to the "iron law of prohibition," in which enhanced enforcement incentivizes smuggling of the most potent form of the contraband.

Like Donald Trump, the presidential candidate he voted for in 2020, Rep. Fitzpatrick lies as easily as he breathes. Granted, Trump's lies about the border are more extravagant. In at least one respect though, Fitzpatrick's lies are worse than Trump's, because unlike Trump, Fitzpatrick has crafted an "aw shucks," Boy Scout-like persona which motivates Democrat-leaning voters to split the ticket and vote (against their own interests) for him.

Fitzpatrick's lie about fentanyl is especially heinous, because it feeds into the xenophobia and bigotry which are Trump's stock in trade. The Cato Institute says this about people who blame immigrants for the fentanyl crisis: "Instead of attacking immigrants, policymakers should focus on effective solutions that help people at risk of a fentanyl overdose." I agree. The fentanyl crisis will be solved only by working the demand side of the opioid economy.

Why does our so-called moderate congressman engage in stealth support for extreme right-wing politics and politicians, again and again? Who knows? We the people of PA-01 can render such questions moot by voting Fitzpatrick out of office in November and initiating the next phase of Fitzpatrick's professional career, in which he will be someone else's problem.

February 23, 2024
Mr. Fitzpatrick Goes To Ukraine
by Hal Wright

In which our performative Congressman attempts to paper over the foreign policy and security disaster created by his party's dysfunction.

After failing to produce any tangible results for our allies and our border security, Rep. Fitzpatrick spent our tax money to obtain a photo-op with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Here's the sordid timeline.

October 24, 2023: Brian Fitzpatrick votes for election denier Mike Johnson, whom he describes as "spiritual and humble," as Speaker of the House.

February 5, 2024: In a demonstration of fealty to Donald Trump, Mike Johnson preemptively kills a Senate bipartisan bill which supported Ukraine, Israel, and southern border security, declaring it dead on arrival in the House.

February 6, 2024: House Republicans fail in an attempt to pass an Israel-only aid bill. Fitzpatrick votes in favor of the bill, throwing Ukraine under the bus.

February 11, 2024: Trump says he’d let Russia do "whatever the hell they want" to NATO countries that don’t pay enough.

February 13, 2024: The Senate passes the bipartisan bill 70-29, prompting President Biden to call for a vote in the House and to condemn Trump for his comments.

February 15, 2024: Congress recesses without approving any aid for Ukraine, Israel, and border security. President Biden asks, "What are they thinking?"

February 15, 2024: Brian Fitzpatrick touts a watered-down House bill to fund Ukraine, Israel, and the southern border, which faces a steep uphill path to becoming law in both the House and Senate.

February 22, 2024: Brian Fitzpatrick spends taxpayer money on a useless junket to Ukraine and Israel.

In the bizarre quantum mechanics of Fitzpatrick's Republican party, the situation at the southern border is both an existential crisis and so unimportant that addressing it can be delayed until after the November election, to prevent President Biden from claiming he did something about it.

Meantime, Ukraine faces a genuine existential crisis as it runs out of ammunition in its fight with Putin's Russia. Republicans shrug (at best) or oppose any support for Ukraine (at worst).

Fitzpatrick has built his political career in no small part by pledging support for Ukraine, Israel, and strong border security. Due to his party's dysfunction, distraction, and fealty to Donald Trump, he has been ineffective at delivering on these promises. A junket abroad will not clear the Republican logjam here at home, nor will Fitzpatrick's long record of supporting the most extreme elements in his party.

The remedy is a Democratic majority in both the House and Senate.

December 23, 2023
Talking About Gaza and Finding Out
by Hal Wright

As a citizen of the United States and a compassionate human, and thus a stakeholder in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, my goal has been to draw evidence-based conclusions amidst an emotionally-charged, trauma-inducing crisis. It's not a surprise that some people are very unhappy with me.

Since October 7, I've been called both an ignorant Zionist and an unkind antisemite on social media. Having taught teenagers for 30 years, I've been called worse. And as is the case for teenagers, most of the name-calling boils down to fear and panic, the companions of war. Either friends (and former friends) needed that I be in lockstep with their partisan views, or they needed a punching bag, or both. My empathy for them has not diminished. But their rhetoric is counterproductive and must be addressed.

I was called a Zionist for stating that Israel has a right to exist, that Hamas is a terrorist organization, and that it was necessary for Israel to go to war after October 7. I was called an antisemite for stating that Netanyahu supported Hamas before he began trying to destroy it. The first statement is an opinion, the second, a fact. The statements require context which I am attempting to provide here and in social media posts. Because whenever I criticize Hamas or Israel, the listener assumes I’m fully aligned with the opposite side, which could not be further from the truth.

The Rhetoric

I have been accused of not knowing what it’s like to be Jewish or to be Palestinian in this moment, and that much is true. I do know how to take apart an argument, though. When an argument uses (or implies) the phrases “our people” and “their people,” invariably “our people” will be portrayed as innocent victims worthy of total security and “their people” will be dehumanized such that slaughtering them is morally acceptable. When an argument starts the clock at October 7 or fast-forwards through October 7 it is cherry-picking facts. When an argument contains the phrase “from the river to the sea” or rejects a two-state solution it will go on to rationalize ethnic cleansing or murder. When an argument delineates all the abuses one side committed against the other it is using the past to justify violence, not looking forward to find peace. When a person “hates Hamas” or “hates Netanyahu,” without condemning their respective atrocities, the “hate” is performative.

Both sides attempt to wrest the mantle of victimhood from the other and both decry the silence of ordinary people in the middle. The Nakba was prompted either by Israeli ethnic cleansing or by invading Arabs. (The Nakba was prompted by both.) Israel has been exceedingly patient while under constant bombardment or it has ruthlessly expanded its borders. (Israel has by turns been both compassionate and exceedingly callous and greedy.) Israel is committing genocide, or it is minimizing civilian casualties as it obliterates Hamas. (Israel hasn't committed genocide, yet.)

Perhaps the silence of people in the middle stems less from antisemitism or Islamophobia and more from not wanting to set foot into a propagandistic morass. Perhaps the only people motivated to remain engaged are thick-skinned policy wonks like me who want to end the violence, avoid an expansion of the war, and protect United States interests in an increasingly incendiary environment.

The Conflict

Hamas has bluntly and viciously left no doubt about who they are. Believe them. Their attacks are personal, eye-to-eye. They rape and mutilate Israeli women, take civilian hostages, and kill people one at a time in front of their family members, with no viable military objective. It's the very definition of terrorism.

Israeli attacks, mechanized and impersonal, are much more deadly. Israel is the 500-pound gorilla in this conflict. And Israel has committed war crimes. It would take a wiser man than I to parse out a moral hierarchy regarding the killing of children in front of their parents with a knife or by demolishing an entire neighborhood in the faint hope that a single high-level terrorist might be killed. The difference in the body count, now 20-1 but heading to 100-1 or more, cannot be excused. Call it what you will, the carnage is just the same.

Rape, targeting and murdering civilians, using phosphorus, attacking and disabling hospitals, intentionally cutting off utilities and supplies needed by civilians to sustain life — I know these are war crimes. I have eyes to see and a heart to break.

Hamas must be weakened to where it can never attack Israel again. But methodology, given the deadly consequences, matters. I stand with the Biden administration, which wants Israel to proceed more deliberately and surgically and to begin imagining a humane political and rebuilding process after conflict ceases; in short, to acknowledge the basic civil and economic rights of Palestinians. I wish Biden and Congress would give this message teeth by linking aid to Israel's strategic plan.

The Politics

The Israeli-Hamas war represents a spectacular, horrific failure of politics on both sides. Hamas and Netanyahu rely on rage and hate to stay in power. And so far, ordinary people on both sides are giving them more than enough rage and hate to fuel a catastrophic war. At the same time, Hamas was unpopular prior to October 7 (though it's popularity has increased during Israel's invasion), while Netanyahu was unpopular prior to 10/7 and has remained so. Hamas is a brutal authoritarian regime which cares very little about popularity. Israel is a democracy, albeit not quite democratic enough to rid itself of its flawed, authoritarian leader.

The lack of a post-war plan where Palestinian civil rights are respected further unnerves (and radicalizes) a forsaken Gazan population under unprecedented siege. Given abuses by Israeli settlers on the West Bank, it's disingenuous to claim that all would be well in Gaza if Hamas simply laid down their weapons. All wasn't well before and, things being equal, it will be worse after.

The full spectrum of Netanyahu's incompetence boggles the mind. He has given settlers free rein to loot, vandalize, and brutalize Palestinians on the West Bank. Simultaneously he has propped up Hamas in order to thwart a two-state solution. Where 10/7 is concerned, he was asleep at the switch in spite of one full year of warnings that Hamas was preparing to attack. A cynic would say he welcomed an attack as pretext to demolish Gaza (and to attack Hezbollah); a less conspiratorial view is that he is the most stupid person ever to lead a modern democracy.

On the other side, turning the entirety of an unincorporated, densely populated territory into a rocket-firing military fortification disqualifies Hamas from claiming they have any regard at all for lives of ordinary Palestinians. And their continued refusal to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist and indeed Jewish people to stay alive made devastation in Gaza of some form or another inevitable.

The History and the Way Forward

After World War II, something had to be done to protect the Jewish diaspora. Any solution was bound to be messy and probably deadly. In this forum, I neither condemn nor endorse the actual process by which Israel was created. It's not that I don't have opinions. It's that, after 75 years, it is what it is. I understand why many Palestinians regard the formation of Israel as a type of euro-centric colonialism. I understand why many Jewish people defend Israel with the intensity of a population facing existential crisis.

I have angered both sides by focusing mostly on the present and only a little on this history. I have been accused of not knowing anything about the history of Palestine because I haven't mentioned it much. For me though, an obsession with the past is why Hamas felt obligated to attack on October 7. An obsession with the past is why Israeli leaders feels obligated to level most of Gaza and to place Gaza's entire population in mortal jeopardy. Such obsessions are predictable human reactions to ongoing trauma. Tormented by their memories, people between the river and the sea and their allies experience perpetual, heartbreaking misery.

Israel isn't going anywhere. Palestinians will remain aggrieved, oppressed and scattered until they have a homeland. The answer, a two-state solution with economically-connected enclaves, is staring us all in the face. Until ordinary Palestinians and Israelis see themselves as members of the same group — victims of dysfunctional governments and the bloodthirsty minorities which support them — there will be no peace. While a coalition of the peaceful seems now, as it did in 1948, over the horizon and out of reach, such a coalition is the only hope.

October 5, 2023
Talk Is Cheap. Running a Township Is Hard.
by Hal Wright

Newtown Township's current Board of Supervisors has cleaned up messes left by their predecessors at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.

I like living in Newtown Township. I've been here since 2006, after moving from neighboring Northampton Township, where I lived for 21 years.

Things have changed here over the years. There are more houses, more businesses, more people, more cars. We've become less rural and more suburban, it's true. Some of us mourn the loss of open space and uncrowded roads. Some of us wish our municipal government could take control and turn back the clock.

Our conservative neighbors who claim to believe in a free, private economy and in limited government interference are often the first to complain that municipal governments aren't bringing private developers to heel. Apparently, their faith in laissez-faire capitalism applies only to territory outside their township or borough's border. For such folks, NIMBY-ism carries with it a measure of cognitive dissonance.

In reality, our economy in the United States is mostly private, and it will stay that way. Developers have a right to buy land and to do with it what they wish, within constraints imposed by local zoning ordinances and regulations. They have a right to sue municipalities when the variances they've requested are denied. For municipalities, such fights are time-consuming and expensive in their own right. Worse, the legal battle could be lost, in which case the money spent on legal fees is lost to taxpayers with no benefit accrued.

Some of our neighbors want robust legal defense of the status quo while also opposing tax increases to pay for it. More cognitive dissonance.

Add to the mix the positive aspects of development. More restaurants with good food to enjoy. More shopping right around the corner. Greater small business opportunities. More jobs. Some of our neighbors appreciate the advantages of a developed township and don't understand the fuss.

All of this is to say that municipal governance is hard. A board of supervisors serves many masters with differing opinions on what success looks like. And, we all want to have our cake and eat it too. We want a strong police presence to keep us safe without being taxed to pay for it. We want beautifully paved roads without being taxed to pay for them. And so on.

When candidates opposing an incumbent board of supervisors decry the present trajectory of change in a community while also promising to impose better fiscal discipline, improve public safety, and curb development all at once, alarms should sound. When such promises are not accompanied by specifics, the alarms should become louder.

The present Newtown Township Board of Supervisors inherited a financial crisis from the previous board. Problems requiring urgent attention were piling up without the means to resolve them. So yes, taxes were raised, to preserve the solvency of our municipality and the public services upon which we all rely. Making these hard choices, deferred for many years while the other party was in charge, is what the board members were elected to do.

Four things about our municipal taxes opponents of the current board don't want you to know:

(1) Our tax rates are still low, in the bottom 1/3 of municipalities in Bucks County,

(2) Some of the increase in taxes occurred to pay for emergency services approved in a referendum,

(3) The amount most of us pay is modest, just a few hundred dollars per year, and

(4) Among other things, the tax increase enabled us to give our police what they said they needed to keep us safe.

The bulk of our real estate tax bill consists of school taxes (79% in 2023), with county taxes (15%) and township taxes (6%) making up the remainder (source). Two-thirds of the municipalities in Bucks County pay more, in some cases five times more. In absolute dollars, anyone in a community with HOA dues is paying their HOA many times what they pay their township. It feels to me as though we are getting our money's worth in Newtown Township.

April 11, 2022
Help For Ukraine Collides with Bucks County Politics
By Hal Wright

News that Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, wealthy Trump supporter Jim Worthington, and Bucks Democratic Committee chair John Cordisco were to appear together at Worthington's Newtown Athletic Club left many Bucks Dems surprised, perplexed, and appalled. In many respects though, this was politics as usual among Bucks County's wealthy and powerful elite.

Under pressure from within his party, including from this writer, Cordisco backed out of appearing at the event, a fundraiser for Ukraine, while pledging monetary support.

The argument that Democratic leaders should have been comfortable appearing at this ostensibly bipartisan event ignores the broader context.

December 2019
Brian Fitzpatrick votes against impeaching Donald Trump in response to his attempt to extort personal favors from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
January 2021
Jim Worthington helps his People4Trump group send busloads of Trump supporters to the "Stop the Steal" rally, which morphed into an insurrection.
February 2022
Russia invades Ukraine, and it becomes evident that Bucks County residents overwhelmingly side with Ukraine in the conflict. Soon after, Brian Fitzpatrick begins a relentless attack on Joe Biden's Ukraine policy in social media. One tweet calls on Biden and NATO to give Ukraine "whatever they're asking for." At the time, Ukraine was asking for, among other things, a no-fly zone which would have brought our military into direct conflict with Russia's.
March 2022
Jim Worthington files a SLAPP lawsuit against Fitzpatrick's Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz over statements she made regarding his involvement in the January 6 rally and insurrection. Ehasz's defense team has argued that her statements were accurate. Such lawsuits are nothing new in Bucks County Congressional races.

Those of us who follow Fitzpatrick on Twitter have witnessed him defend Ukraine with a passion he has never displayed in defense of his own constituents. War on Ukraine has delivered a political windfall to Fitzpatrick. His background gives him credibility as he latches onto a broadly popular cause. His harsh criticism of Biden serves to counter claims from the right wing of his party that Fitzpatrick is a weak RINO.

All of this has the feel of performative, wind-sock politics from a member of Congress who represents Bucks County and ought to be focused on our interests. Fitzpatrick had a chance to support Ukraine by voting to impeach Donald Trump. He had countless opportunities to condemn Vladimir Putin while Trump was cozying up to him. Where was Fitzpatrick's sense of urgency around Russia and Ukraine during Trump's tenure in the White House?

As for Jim Worthington, the chance to host a fundraiser for Ukraine must have been irresistible. Worthington's "aw shucks" rebuttals to Democrats' concerns – he has a 20-year friendship with John Cordisco, Democrats are crazy to criticize John after all he's done, the event is bipartisan – fall flat. As Worthington well knows, an event can be more than one thing. A peaceful rally, and cover for a deadly insurrection. Or in this case: a fundraiser for a good cause, a campaign stop by his friend Brian Fitzpatrick, and a chance to push a stick in the eye of Fitzpatrick's Democratic rival with Democratic Party participation.

Ehasz Fires Back at her Accuser, Jim Worthington

We are left to marvel at the odd calculus behind Cordisco's initial decision to participate. Of the hundred ways Democratic leadership could have helped Ukraine – and Democrats should help Ukraine – they chose one seemingly purpose-built to burnish the reputation of their purported opponents, individuals actively trying to demolish Democratic influence in Bucks County and in Washington, DC. How could that possibly seem ok?

Here's one hypothesis. Whether with intent or just as a matter of habit, the wealthy and powerful in Bucks County followed the familiar pattern of scratching each other's backs, of crossing party lines to help each other maintain status against outsiders like Ashley Ehasz.

One thing is certain. The damage to Dems was done when a prominent Democrat pledged to show up at NAC in his official capacity. Backing out of the commitment once it was made did not help. The mess could easily have been avoided had Dems arranged a separate event featuring their elected officials and candidates, including Ashley Ehasz.

Fortunately, anyone wishing to send a message to Bucks County's entrenched elite can do so by voting for Ms. Ehasz in November.

March 12, 2022
Democracy Begins at Home
by Steve Cickay

As the fight against tyranny rages in Ukraine, Americans must defend their own fragile democracy against attacks from within.

Most Americans are rightly inspired by the bravery of Ukrainians fighting to preserve their democracy in the face of a military invasion initiated by a murderous fascist dictator. The horrific and senseless destruction unleashed by a power-hungry autocrat on innocent civilians is truly despicable and should not be supported or praised by any true American. The sight of ordinary Ukrainians willing to fight and die for their democracy is an inspiration to all who cherish democracy and we should stand with them in solidarity.

But we need to remember that our democracy was also attacked on Jan. 6, 2021 and continues to be besieged by voter suppression legislation, gerrymandering, and continued efforts to make it easier for partisan hacks to interfere with the vote count. We can show bravery similar to that of the Ukrainians by supporting and voting for leaders who make voting more accessible and inclusive instead of restrictive and exclusive, who believe voters should choose their leaders instead of leaders choosing their voters to guarantee gerrymandered wins, and who champion the free and fair elections of a democracy instead of the phony elections of autocracies. True Americans should wholeheartedly support bringing to justice all those who were involved in attacking our democracy on that horrific day in January.

It is time for Americans to defend their democracy at home now before it is too late and we lose what should be a shining example and inspiration to our citizens and to the world: our beloved American democracy. Yes, it is time for Americans to be as wise and brave as the Ukrainians in defense of democracy both here and abroad.

February 6, 2022
Under the Bus
by Hal Wright

Jim Worthington claims employees and family are behind controversial moves attributed to him.

In a WHYY story released last month, Worthington was all too happy to throw those in his inner circle under the Trump rally buses. Worthington, founder of the People4Trump PAC, said the buses were rented by a woman who works for him, and that he only went to the January 6 rally because his son asked him to. Worthington seems happy he went though, calling the rally the "most patriotic event I've ever heard of."

Worthington can't have it both ways. He can either decry political "blood sport," or praise a failed president's demand that his supporters "fight like hell" to overturn the results of a free and fair election. On the other hand, maybe Worthington can have it both ways. He's got Brian Fitzpatrick, master of disingenuous fence-sitting, on what we used to call speed dial. With friends like that, and a popular local business, who needs to take responsibility or to make sense?

Which brings us to the proposed gun show at Worthington's Newtown training facility. Unsurprisingly, Worthington said his managers arranged for the show, which violates local zoning ordinances, without his knowledge. One is left to wonder what exactly Worthington does control. Are the mice playing while the cat is away, as Worthington claims, or is Worthington playing us like a fiddle, and enjoying the media attention and recreational litigation?

January 19, 2022
You're On Mute
by Steve Cickay

The things Brian Fitzpatrick doesn't say speak volumes.

Congressman Fitzpatrick:

This week I was reading stories in the Philadelphia Inquirer about struggling families who were having difficulty in this cold January making ends meet because of the failure by you and Congressional Republicans to renew the Child Tax Credit. Working parents had to make difficult decisions about paying for rent, food for their children, or medical care for themselves and their family.

There was no mention in your newsletter of this pain felt by thousands across our country, including many in your congressional district.

This week I was also reading stories about the continuing attack on our planet and its diverse species by the existential threat of human-induced climate change. The year 2021 was the Earth’s sixth-hottest year on record. It was also the 45th consecutive year that saw global temperatures rising above the average. What’s more, the years 2013 through 2021 all rank among the ten warmest years since record keeping began in 1880. The United States experienced twenty extreme weather events in 2021 that cost $145 billion in damages.

There was no mention in your newsletter of this attack on our life-sustaining planet and no proposals for dealing with this emergency.

This weekend we are on the verge of our national celebration of the Martin Luther King holiday. Your Republican Party is hard at work eroding the progress this great man sacrificed his life for, as you systematically make it more difficult for people of color to cast their vote. You reject the improvements and protections that federal legislation would confer on our democracy. Meanwhile, at the state level, your Party installs election officials and passes legislation which, as our President Biden says, would strike at the throat of our democracy.

There was no mention in your newsletter of this attack on voting rights.

This week charges of sedition were filed against the Oath Keepers for their conspiratorial efforts to obstruct the lawful Congressional act of the peaceful transfer of power to President Biden on January 6, 2021. Republicans refused to participate in the commemoration of the first year anniversary of this unprecedented attack on our Capitol and our democracy.

There was no mention in your newsletter about this critical development in the investigation of this violent attempt to overthrow our democracy and no denouncement of the Big Lie supported by so many Republican leaders and believed by so many Republican voters.

The eradication of poverty, the preservation of our planet, and the protection of our democracy are values which should be championed by all American citizens and by its leaders. You and your Republican leaders are fighting relentlessly against these public values. Why?

Do you honestly and sincerely believe that poverty should be met with indifference, that climate change is a hoax, and that the attack on our democracy begun on January 6, 2021 is not still underway? Or are you controlled by your Party and by powerful economic interests rewarding you for your blindness and obedience?

Either way, the citizens of Bucks County deserve better leadership.

January 18, 2022
Fitzpatrick Phone "Town Hall" Notes
by Hal Wright

Tonight at 7 pm, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick held his first telephone "town hall" of 2022. His guests were Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia; Dr. Ron Goren, infectious disease expert at Saint Mary Medical Center and Nazareth Hospital; Manesh Pathak, Executive Director of Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce.

The meeting focused on COVID-19 mitigation.

Fitzpatrick's opening comments:

Says he wants to connect with as many of us as possible.
Lists five topics to vote on with keypad: inflation, crime, border, COVID-19, mental health. No ability to vote for election misinformation, gerrymandering, voting rights, climate, universal healthcare, decriminalization of drugs, and other important topics as alternatives.
Mentions good vaccine distribution in Bucks, benefits of infrastructure package in Bucks, mental health treatment and parity, Russia and Ukraine.

Ellis-Marseglia's comments on COVID-19:

640 K eligible people in county (12 and up), 73% at least one vaccine dose, 68% 3x vaccinated.
Pushes vaccine.
Only people in the hospital for an extended time are the unvaccinated and immunocompromised.
Hospitals are in serious trouble, ERs are understaffed / over-utilized. Hospitals have called her for help for the first time ever.
Surrounding counties have hospitals with 53% absenteeism, 2 have closed.
Check county website for drive-through sites to get COVID-19 rapid tests (at Sesame Place on Wednesday).
33% positivity rate in Bucks, on par with national rate.

Goren's comments on COVID-19:

Omicron spreads via aerosols in close spaces, has short incubation period.
Omicron does not attack lungs as much, often stays in throat and mouth.
Hospitals are facing staff shortages; praises hospital staff.
Surge is due to the unvaccinated, they are getting very sick and dying, he hears awful stories.
Important for pregnant women to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their babies, they could lose their baby if they get sick from COVID-19.
Strongly emphasizes wearing your mask indoors and in crowds outdoors: decreases chance of someone getting COVID-19 from you by 50%.
Best masks: N95, KN95, KF94 are 90% effective; hospital (blue) masks are 70% effective, increase to 90% with cloth mask over top.
Get a test if symptomatic, rapid test is very good when you are contagious, otherwise may have to test over a series of days for an accurate result.
Mentions new treatment, drop in cases in the NE, some evidence curve is flattening out.
Reiterates that it is a "civic duty" to wear a mask.

Pathak's comments:

Business issues are workforce shortages, inflation, lack of opportunity to network, and slow sales.

Important caller topics:

Caller is concerned about misinformation around election integrity and the high number of Bucks County residents involved in the January 6 invasion of the Capitol. Fitzpatrick says it was "not a proud day for us," he is a firm supporter of law enforcement and FBI, FBI is doing their job, he feels terrible for police who lose their lives, Capitol police were heroes. Fitzpatrick ignores first part of question about election misinformation.
In response to caller, Fitzpatrick says rancor is threatening our democracy but is nonspecific.
Caller advocates for decriminalization of drugs. Fitzpatrick says users are not criminals but dealers are, makes no distinction between weed and other drugs, emphasizes prescription drugs as a gateway, advocates for destigmatization; later says he does not believe in legalization of recreational marijuana and will not support it, defers to physicians and law enforcement, acknowledges differences of opinion but says the "people he trusts are hesitant," says (falsely) we do not know the long term effects.
Caller asks about public option for healthcare and the ability to negotiate drug prices, e.g. Narcan. Fitzpatrick says there are other options to negotiate prices, mentions "explosive innovation" in drug industry which private healthcare supports while acknowledging that we need to control costs, is nonspecific about solutions. Ellis-Marseglia mentions that Narcan is free for pickup in Doylestown twice per week.
Caller asks why masks have not been mandated in schools by Bucks County Department of Health. Fitzpatrick says it's not his area. Ellis-Marseglia says the County does not have the legal authority, says they recommend schools follow the CDC guidelines which includes masks. Goren says it is done at a local school board level, but he is personally in favor of mask mandates. Somewhere in the discussion Fitzpatrick drops off the call and is not heard from again.

Call ends at 8:15pm without Fitzpatrick and with others signing off.

January 9, 2022
Fitzpatrick Ignores the Facts of January 6
by Hal Wright

John Adams said, "Facts are stubborn things." Why is Brian Fitzpatrick stubbornly ignoring the facts?

A still image from an ABC News synopsis of the events of January 6.

In a recent interview, Fitzpatrick says he was frightened by the mob on January 6, and that they cannot claim to respect law enforcement while bashing officers on the head with flag poles and fire extinguishers. Fitzpatrick places the events of January 6 in no context at all, except that Americans attacking Americans is very, very bad.

Absent other information, one might conclude from Fitzpatrick's remarks that the insurrection was a random event, like a thunderstorm or a fender bender. Many other political leaders, including President Biden and Fitzpatrick's fellow Republicans Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, have highlighted the obvious nexus between Trump's Big Lie and the insurrectionist attack, and reminded us that the purpose of the Big Lie and of the attack was to prevent certification of a free and fair election — to destroy the democratic process as defined in our Constitution.

Fitzpatrick has watched Kinzinger's and Cheney's careers as Republicans spiral the bowl, and has done the math. Defending the pillars of democracy against domestic enemies would anger the fraction of Bucks County Republicans who have not already branded him a traitorous RINO, and alienate Democrats still soothed by the Fitzpatrick name. More importantly, it would shut off the flow of cash and advocacy from a Republican Party gone fully ride or die with Trump.

That Fitzpatrick joined his fellow Republicans in boycotting the January 6 memorial for Capitol officers at which Biden spoke and that he made no statement at all on the anniversary of January 6 calls into question the depth of Fitzpatrick's support for law enforcement. Such support seems to end at the doors of his wealthy donors and at Mar-a-Lago.

The thousands of Bucks County residents from both parties who understand that our Republic is in peril await some sign from our elected member of Congress that he "gets it." As Steve Cickay has so passionately expressed in a recent piece for DailyKos, we wait for you to stop being the mouse with no roar, scrounging for morsels dropped by your Republican benefactors. We wait for you to discover your purpose as a member of the most important deliberative body in the world.

January 1, 2022
Support the January 6 Committee
by Martin J. Raffel

Celebrating the birth of our country while attempting to bring about its demise is not rational.

My wife and I attended, for our first time, the Christmas Day reenactment of George Washington’s 1776 Delaware River crossing and subsequent pivotal defeat of Hessian forces in Trenton. Still in its cradle, American democracy was saved by the courage and sacrifice of Washington and his men. I couldn’t escape thinking about January 6, 2021, the first anniversary of which is fast approaching, when a much more mature American democracy came under assault, not from the British, not from Hessians, but from fellow Americans.

Credits: Washington's Crossing National Park, Shutterstock

I wanted to believe that those of us at Washington Crossing State Park on Christmas shared the outrage I felt on January 6 watching our Capitol desecrated, members of Congress and the vice president threatened with death, and the mauling of law enforcement personnel with bear spray, fire extinguishers and even American flag poles – all in the service of trying to prevent the peaceful transition of power. I wanted to believe that, like me, they wanted to get to the bottom of what took place that day and the period leading up to it, to hold accountable those responsible -- including political figures who incited, aided, and abetted the attack -- and to make sure something like that could never be allowed to happen again.

Yes, I wanted to believe. Yet, sadly, I knew that some of those at the reenactment who cherish George Washington’s heroism still believe the “Big Lie,” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. They still reject important efforts of the House select committee investigating January 6 and support obstruction of those efforts by former President Trump, some prominent members of his administration, and members of Congress, including Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry.

So, this coming January 6, to honor George Washington and all those Americans in uniform who have served over the last almost two and a half centuries to protect our democracy, contact Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick and PA's two U.S. senators to voice your support for the House select committee. It’s the least we can do.

This article first appeared as a letter to the editor in the Bucks County Courier Times.

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