Three-Point Shots, Vol. 2, No. 14: November 11, 2024

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. — Ronald Reagan

         Welcome to another edition of Three-Point Shots, a part of my Life Its Ownself Substack page. If you enjoy reading it, please 1) hit the Like button, 2) subscribe to Life Its Ownself, and 3) share it with others in the link below. Comments are welcome and encouraged.

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         But first, your moment of Zen … a deer in my Marathon yard last week.  

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Monday, November 11, 2024

Quote of the Week:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
‒ Ronald Reagan

         Today we celebrate Veterans Day, or Armistice Day as your grandparents used to call it. The Ronald Reagan quote above seems appropriate as we honor our veterans, but it is also apropos of the current national moment.

         On November 11, 1918, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The next year, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11 “Armistice Day,” to be celebrated with “solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

         In the mid-1950s, after America had fought two more terrible wars, Armistice Day was re-branded as Veterans Day to honor all the men and women who’d served in the Armed Forces.

         In 1968, four federal holidays were reconfigured to allow three-day weekends for federal employees: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. But there was so much blowback to making Veterans Day a moveable feast that the original date was reinstated. This year, Veterans Day happens to fall on a Monday.

         My parents were both veterans. I am grateful for their service and commitment to country, as I am for that of millions of other veterans.

(My father and mother, in their Army uniforms.)

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1.   The Mystery of the Vanishing Harris Voters

         The latest counts – still unofficial – show that Donald Trump received about 74.8 million votes, about 400,000 fewer than he did in 2020. Kamala Harris, on the other hand, received 71.2 million votes, about 10 million fewer than Joe Biden did in 2020. Where did those votes go?

         It’s clear Donald Trump picked up some of these voters, if not more actual votes. But where did those 10 million votes go? Is it possible that 10 million + Democrtaic voters just didn’t think this election required their votes? I certainly felt the urgency of this election, probably more than I did in 2020, since it seemed early on that Biden was going to win. But this was a nail-biter and that should have boosted turnout. Yet Trump won all seven battleground states.

         I do not have any answers to this, other than the nostrum that the electoral environment was bad for Democrats. We will be learning a lot more about this in weeks to come. (Check out this post, 10 Things We Know About the Election So Far, for some analysis.)

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2.   John Cornyn Becomes a Contortionist

         Texas Senator John Cornyn, it has been said, it the whitest white man in America, although there is considerable competition for that prize. But ever since he strolled onto the floor of the U.S. Senate in 2003, he has wanted to be the leader of his Senate caucus – preferably a majority leader, of course. And now he has his opportunity. With Turtle Impersonator Mitch McConnell stepping down from that role and a newly-won majority, Cornyn is among the three contenders for the throne (the others are John Thune of South Dakota and the odious Rick Scott of Florida).

(John Cornyn, as a healthy, vital young man and then after four years of putting up with Donald Trump.)

         But Cornyn faces a more formidable obstacle than either of them: The Orange Mad King himself. Trump posted the following on his near-bankrupt Truth Social platform yesterday afternoon:

Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!

         Background: The Constitution tasks the Senate with confirming the president’s appointments to more than 1000 federal positions, including the cabinet secretaries. However, when the Senate is not in session, the president is empowered to make recess appointments—appointments temporarily not subject to Senate approval. Senators have protected their advice-and-consent power using pro forma sessions—brief formal sessions gaveled in throughout a congressional break that ensure the Senate never technically enters recess. This was used by the GOP to block Obama’s recess appointments, and by the Democrats to block Trump’s, and again by the GOP to block Biden’s. You get the drift.

         Trump, in making his support for a Majority Leader contingent on agreeing in advance to allowing recess appointments, is asking them to short-circuit their constitutional prerogatives. And, of course, John Cornyn, that Pillar of Rectitude, immediately caved in to Trump:

It is unacceptable for Senate Ds to blockade President @realDonaldTrump‘s cabinet appointments. (Ed. Note: no one’s talking about DEMS blocking appointments.) If they do, we will stay in session, including weekends, until they relent. Additionally, the Constitution expressly confers the power on the President to make recess appointments.

         Remember, the GOP will have a straight-up majority of 53. They should be able to confirm anyone Trump appoints – unless, of course, that appointee is so corrupt, so blatantly unqualified that even a compliant GOP majority cannot stomach it. (Looking at you, Ken Paxton.)

         As you might expect, Thune and Scott capitulated as quickly. Cornyn, who has been an effective if undistinguished solon for Texas – there is not, nor will there ever be, a chapter in Profiles in Courage dedicated to him – now wants to play the big game, and is apparently willing to surrender his soul to do it.

         Trump. Corrupts. Everything.

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3.   Oh, Yeah, Right, Texas …

         In all the sturm und drang of the national election, I have pretty much taken my eyes off the Texas legislative ball upon which I once so fondly gazed.

         My inattention, it seems, was merited: the 89^th Texas Legislature which convenes in January will be more of the same, hostile to the core function of public education, eager to throw money at fake “border security” initiatives, and committed to reducing the rights of Texans – pregnant, trans, local governments – they don’t like.

         The Senate will have one more Republican (20-11), bringing Lite Guv Dan Patrick’s span of control to … everyone. The House will have two more Republican members, but the dynamic there is really about who the next Speaker will be. Dade Phelan is fighting to keep his job, and Rep. David Cook of Mansfield is the designated giant-killer. Cook’s major claim to the role is that he will not allow Democratic committee chairs, about which the 62 House Democrats are distinctly unenthused. Unless Cook can summon up 76 votes from the 88 Republicans, he does not have a path to the Speakership.

         Meanwhile, Texas continues to suffer from neglect and gamesmanship in its schools, foster care system, environmental regulations, and consumer protections, just to name a few. Our Only Governor seems dead set on imposing vouchers on our already underfunded schools, so watch for those particular fireworks this spring.