You'd think by my age I would have made a tart before. But no, never until this past week.
It was a big hit!
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| Photo from Pampered Chef website |
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Tuesday night was unlike any other State of the Union — and not solely because a decomposing president lied for hours, smeared entire groups of citizens (e.g., Somali Americans) and crabbed that Democrats would not applaud. It will be most remembered as the night when the response(s) outdid the president’s speech — and it was not close.
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The official response from Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger was a succinct tour de force. (I will have much more to say about her tomorrow…watch this space!) But the multiplicity of alternative events featuring Democratic elected officials, whistleblowers, victims of the Trump regime, and activists turned the evening into a marathon of truth-telling and effective political communication.
It was a brilliant idea: give people a contrast between, on one hand, a feeble, rambling, low energy narcissist (whose hair looked more bizarre than usual and whose speech was longer than ever) making up ridiculous “facts” and, on the other, a wide assortment of energetic, dynamic House Democrats (e.g., Reps. Greg Cesar of Texas, Robert Garcia of California, Dan Goldman of New York) and some senators ideally equipped to lead Democrats into the future (e.g. Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Chris Murphy of Connecticut).
If anyone doubted the appropriateness of boycotting Trump’s harangue, the split screen highlighted the contrast between a party grounded in reality and one in delusion. Cogent arguments from Democrats made Trump’s incoherence (e.g., bragging about the enormous tariffs he illegally snatched; keeping home prices high and making housing more affordable!) even more noticeable. Democrats’ dedication to inclusion and empathy made Trump appear even smaller and meaner as he gloated over the spoils of oligarchy (2.4 million “taken off” SNAP) and celebrated his campaign of terror.
In the face of absurd demands that they treat Trump like a normal president and accord him undeserved deference (the Oval Office occupant who called them “crazy”), Democrats and the event sponsors (MoveOn.org, Defiance.org) used the evening to reinforce their denunciation of a regime engaged on a pedophile coverup, massive self-dealing, the largest transfer of wealth from working people to the uber-rich, and the worst deprivation of civil liberties in a century.
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Most evident, Democrats took every opportunity to blast Donald Trump for covering up a pedophile ring that apparently extended to elites across industries and oceans. “The single most powerful moment tonight is going to be when Donald Trump has to look up at the gallery of the U.S. House and see the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein looking straight back at him — demanding justice, demanding truth, and demanding accountability,” Garcia declared, hours after we learned that a batch of critical documents concerning a minor’s complaint against Trump was allegedly withheld from Congress.
Second, we heard more about corruption in all its forms than Americans would have picked up from legacy coverage over weeks, if not months. One of the premier alternative events, “State of the Swamp,” put the issue front and center. Speaking at the event, Rep. Goldman hit the regime for Trump’s effort to “extort foreign governments, take money from pardon seekers, line his own pockets, and make sure his billionaire buddies are getting record profits and tax cuts.” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) slammed the “Epstein class” that dominates government and escapes responsibility. He vowed to finish his 4 year investigation into Epstein’s finances and to “follow the money.”
Third, with Trump lying up a storm about the economy (e.g., No, inflation is not at 1.7 percent; No, you won’t find gas for $1.85 per gallon; No, tariffs were not paid by foreign governments; No, drug prices are not going down), Democrats could blast Trump for being utterly out of touch with ordinary Americans who have lost healthcare, lost SNAP benefits, lost student aid relief, and lost roughly $1700 per person on his tariffs (taxes). As Cesar put it, “He steals from working Americans to give to the rich. Donald Trump doesn’t owe us a two-hour rambling speech. He owes the American people their money back.”
Finally, whatever inhabitations Democrats used to harbor about speaking out on immigration have vanished — along with Trump’s advantage in the polls on that issue. Democrats repeatedly hit Trump for killing Americans, intimidating and terrorizing cities, bursting into homes, and lying about its victims. Americans understand what is happening and do not accept that this is the cost to be paid for secure borders.
Democrats put out the best possible argument for the DHS shutdown. “Donald Trump won’t talk tonight about how ICE is tear-gassing elementary schools, murdering American citizens, and disappearing legal immigrants,” Murphy said. “Democrats position is clear: no more funding for ICE until they stop their lawlessness and abuse.”
As he invariably does, Trump’s disordered mind, delusional thinking (Ended 8 wars?! Well, except for the one he started in Venezuela and the one he appears to be planning against Iran, one might counter), and decrepit condition provided all the evidence ad makers could hope for to make the case for Democratic majorities to check the unhinged autocrat. And by forcing Republicans to applaud every spasm, Trump made clear that Republicans are too cowardly to do anything but enable his tyranny while approving and encouraging his lies.
Think of Tuesday as a preview of the November election, when Democrats will run on the arguments they made Tuesday night and MAGA Republicans will have to defend that mess of a regime. Democracy may not yet be kaput. And Democrats may not be as feckless as their critics have made them out to be.
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was arrested last week for his conduct in connection with child rapist Jeffrey Epstein. (“Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act revealed that Andrew leaked details he learned from meeting with bank executives in the wake of a $45 billion bailout,” wrote Julie K. Brown, who revived the coverage of the Epstein story she began for the Miami Herald roughly 10 years ago. “Andrew also allegedly passed on other sensitive information he learned to a banker friend, according to the Telegraph.”)
Other members of the Epstein class have faced punishment. Thorbjørn Jagland, a former prime minister of Norway, was charged with “gross corruption.” Former British Ambassador Peter Mandelson was fired, and Morgan McSweeney, the former chief of staff to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, was forced out. French, Slovak, and Latvian officials are under investigation and/or have been forced to resign. Academics and businesspeople have been cut loose after their ties with Epstein were revealed.
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And yet in the United States, Donald Trump remains in office, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick appears secure in his job, and cover-up stooges Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have faced no consequences for failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act (or their preferential treatment of convicted child sexual abuser Ghislaine Maxwell). Longevity guru Peter Attia remains employed by the Trump-subservient CBS News, which purports to cover the Epstein story.
This disgraceful lack of accountability underscores the rise of a malignant oligarchy that has attained far too much wealth and power in the United States. The New York Times reported:
In unsparing detail, the documents lay bare the once-furtive activities of an unaccountable elite, largely made up of rich and powerful men from business, politics, academia and show business. The pages tell a story of a heinous criminal given a free ride by the ruling class in which he dwelled, all because he had things to offer them: money, connections, sumptuous dinner parties, a private plane, a secluded island and, in some cases, sex.
The chasm is vast between how functional democratic societies (even ones with a monarch) are responding and how the United States is coddling the Epstein elite. As Brown put it, “It’s astonishing how much accountability seems to be possible once you cross the Atlantic.” She observed, “Meanwhile, neither the U.S. Justice Department or the Treasury Department seems to have made an effort to ‘follow the money’ involving some of Epstein’s friends and associates.”
At least two factors may account for the abhorrent lack of consequences for MAGA political elite. Most critically, the entire Republican Party, which controls all three branches of government (yes, the Supreme Court, too) has been captured by a corrupt, authoritarian movement in which loyalty to Trump supersedes any legal or moral obligations. Every Republican who continues to support Trump and Lutnick — e.g., refuses to call for independent legal investigation and for their resignation (at the very least for dissembling to voters about the extent of their Epstein ties) or countenances Bondi and Blanche — is an Epstein enabler. Only when the MAGA Republican Party is forced from power and compelled to reconstitute as a normal, pro-democracy party embracing the rule of law and simple decency can we hope for accountability for the Epstein elite.
Second, the legacy media has utterly failed to hold the MAGA political elite accountable, insisting on maintaining a pose of “objectivity” even in the face of a pedophile coverup, authoritarian repression, and abject corruption. So long as they refuse to confront Trump, other MAGA officials, and Epstein-connected characters at every opportunity on Epstein, the patina of business as usual will continue.
This phenomenon need not persist. Democrats, responsible media outlets, civil institutions, and all decent Americans need to lay down some markers. First, there should be broad-based, bipartisan agreement that Lutnick, Bondi, and Blanche must resign, be fired, or face impeachment (the need for the latter alone would justify booting out MAGA GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress). Second, a fully independent and credible investigation (e.g., a bipartisan committee of Congress or state or local prosecutors) must investigate Trump’s relationship with Epstein, find out what he knew and when he knew it, and determine whether he lied about his association. If, as some documentation suggests, Trump knew or should have known about Epstein’s pedophilia ring and/or misled Americans about the extent of his relationship or knowledge, Americans should demand that Trump — like so many other world leaders — leave office in disgrace. (Will that happen? Don’t count on it, but then consider what that says about our broken legal and political system.)
In sum, the persistence of the untouchable political Epstein elite is the most vivid evidence of the decrepit state of our democracy. If we want the rich and powerful to be held to account (i.e. everyone is treated equally under the law), then we need to replace a system dominated by authoritarian-minded oligarchs with one responsible to the voters.
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