…to kill off ethics oversight, and gut democracy.

U.S. House Republicans vote to gut independent ethics office against wishes of top GOP leaders

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Monday voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison.

The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control.

Some of us suggested 2017 would be much worse than 2016, as you will recall. Didn’t think it would get this bad this fast, however.

Oh, and Trump has decided to fight North Korea’s ICBMs via Twitter.

Great. Terrific.

UPDATE: They’ve done whiplash-inducing about-face, here.  But Trump continues to ramp up against China and North Korea, here.

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Its principal, when not snorting leftover California corn flake off the floor of a Montessori somewhere in Ottawa, deeply resents happiness in others. So I offer this yet again, worried as I am that it will cause him to have a debilitating stroke, because he is so old. That would be super sad. 

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In today’s New York Times, first of 2017. A good start. 

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From Bjorn (and me) to all of you!

 

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This picture was taken in Kennebunkport, by the by. When the Unpresident takes over, this sort of gathering of Leftie foreigners will be outlawed. 

To commenters and regulars: Happy New Year revels, tonight. Don’t drink and drive, please. See you on the other side. 

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It wasn’t all bad. Daisy celebrated ten years with amazing clients and colleagues, I got a big new book deal, SFH was back with a new record on the way, the kids all achieved great things at school, everyone was healthy – and we got to work for a presidential candidate who was experienced, competent, decent, brave and principled. It was such an honour to volunteer for Hillary Clinton (who got three million more votes, by the way). 

But make no mistake: I believe the election of the Unpresident will affect everyone, and not for the good. Chaos, corruption, cruelty: all of those things (and war, and more) await us in 2017. It will be bad. It will be very bad. 

Since the first week of November, I have pinballed between horror and despair. And, for the first time in my life, I actually fear for the future that awaits my kids. That all may seem too pessimistic, but it’s what I truly feel. 

I hope I’m wrong. But I don’t think I am. 

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Given the number of Ontario Liberal fundraising requests we’ve been getting in recent months – given the advantages of incumbency, and given the fact that the rule changes were developed by the Ontario Liberals themselves – this was just a shocker:

Money was supposed to be the one problem they didn’t have! 

Now, I stress: I am not involved with the OLP in any way, shape or form, but if I were asked for advice about what to do…I wouldn’t have an answer. These fundraising numbers, plus the poll numbers, seem insurmountable. 

Herle and Co. are telling everyone not to worry, I hear. But if I were them?

I’d worry. 

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As you may recall, a neo-Nazi rag started publishing in my neighbourhood. Canada Post distributed it. 

Our local councillor, Mary Margaret McMahon, said ignore it and it’ll go away.

It didn’t. It got bigger. It started reaching more people – hundreds of thousands. My wife and other citizens started organizing against the haters. 

The federal minister responsible, Judy Foote, got involved. She didn’t stick her head in the sand like McMahon, and she took tough action against the haters. It worked. 

When a leader opposes hate, as this New York Times story shows, it matters. It has an impact. But when a “leader” is indifferent to hate, they are complicit in it. 

Here’s an important bit from the story, quoting the Sourhern Poverty Law Centre:

Elected officials at the state and city level, as well as members of the community, can help fight hate and harassment by speaking out in support of immigrants and others who are vulnerable, she said. Law enforcement needs to take hate crimes seriously and investigate them aggressively.

Ms. Beirich said that because Mr. Trump’s campaign and election have brought such a jump in hate crimes, she felt he had a duty to denounce them much more vigorously than he has. George W. Bush’s address at a mosque six days after 9/11, in which he said, “Islam is peace,” had a big effect on anti-Muslim harassment. President-elect Trump needs to do more than make a few comments in interviews, she said. “What we need is real leadership on his part to tamp this down.”

Raising your voice against hate works. 

Silence doesn’t. 

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Does Richard Schonhofer – who may or may not live in Bindloss, Alta., and works at his brother Simon’s Majestic Ranch (you can’t make this stuff up) – have some, you know, some preoccupation with gay sex? 

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Trump made these statements six hours apart on the same day. 

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