A Halloween horror story: the Roberson case

 The right-wing blood lust in Texas is strong and no better illustrated in the fight to save Robert Roberson from execution. On one hand, Ken Paxton, Greg Abbott and other far right Republicans continue to push for Roberson’s lethal injection. On the other side are those who assert that Roberson is the victim of “junk science” — the now discredited “shaken baby syndrome.” Further, Texas’ 2013 so-called junk science law” in and of itself should provide Roberson with a new trial. The Texas Tribune has a comprehensive review of the Roberson case.

Non-critical thinkers may be puzzled. Why, in the face of overwhelming evidence that the case needs a full review if not a new trial, are GOP stalwarts so bent on killing Roberson? What all of us must understand is that this case is another form of intimidation from the far right. The advocates for executing Roberson want to send the message that the far right Republicans in charge of the state can find a legal way to kill anyone it chooses. Remember that old saw: “With the right prosecutor, a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich?”

Take note that those leading the stampede into the death chamber include Paxton, the clearly corrupt Texas attorney general, and Abbott, the governor who touts his devotion to Roman Catholicism except when the church talks of justice and the death penalty. But it’s also the Texas judiciary and the Abbott-appointed Pardons and Parole Board turning deaf ears to modern science and the facts of the case.

The Innocence Project, a leader in exonerating condemned inmates, is among those calling for restraint and revisiting the case in full. Allies in this quest include a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers on the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence who succeeded in forcing a stay for Roberson’s scheduled October 17 execution.

What is important at this moment is to understand this part of the Texas political ecosystem is up for election on Nov. 5. To keep the far right officials in power is to risk the lives of those who would disagree with their dystopian and violence-fueled agenda. To vote to replace them with officials who are Democrats can turn the tide and redirect Texas to a more compassionate and rational place to live.

There! I've fixed it while the VA circles the drain

 As The Victoria Advocate circles the drain, I wanted to show you what the paper's new managing editor does as a reporter. Yes, I am picking on him. Why?

 Because he is turning what was once a fine newspaper into a Trumper religious rag; he is shutting down blogs that don't reflect his personal Christo-fascist view; he is mentoring a scant newsroom of green reporters who don't know how to write a tight story using AP style or how to do real reporting like making pubic records requests; he has ignored suggestions on how to drill deeper by filing public records requests; and, he has attacked me by asserting his 40-some years in journalism is superior to my master's in hospital administration, 25 years in the health care industry and 22 years as an award-wining journalist.

Decent people thwarted fascist-backed state-sponsored murder

There is no shortage of reprehensible behavior from Fuhrer Greg Abbott and his fascist henchmen, Reich-fuhrers Ken Paxton and Dan Patrick.

Those of us passionate about putting justice back into the justice system watched the maneuvering around Robert Roberson’s execution. We saw the Texas Pardons and Parole Board and Paxton willing to kill an innocent man who was condemned based on junk science. Roberson’s death penalty was based on using the fully debunked “shaken baby syndrome” as the reason for Nikki Curtis’ death. Complicating the case at the time of Roberson’s arrest and trial was his flat affect, now known as a symptom of his autism and not his indifference to his daughter’s passing.

But even the prosecutor and detective who handled the case originally repudiated their belief that Roberson was a killer. So did a bipartisan group of Texas legislators and the Innocence Project. And so does a Texas law passed in 2013 designed to protect people from being convicted based on junk science. All of these clear-minded people called for the execution be halted. When the blood-thirsty and ignorant members of the Pardons and Parole Board and Paxton pushed for the execution, the lawmakers, in a unique move, subpoenaed Roberson to testify before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today, Monday October 21. Decency at the Texas Supreme Court showed itself when the justices backed the lawmakers’ request thereby halting the execution.

Fascist-in-chief Abbott remained silent until today, spewing his cowardly play as Monday morning quarterback in the form of an amicus brief filed by James P. Sullivan, the governor's general counsel. In it, Abbott argued the legislators usurped the governor’s constitutional power to issue a 30-day clemency for the state-sponsored murder. Using the inelegant language, Abbott’s lawyer claimed the lege “stepped out of line,” according to a report from the Texas Tribune. Of course, in this way, we don’t know what the psychopath fuhrer would have done; but, those of us watching Abbott and his rise to power would bet that the blood of an innocent on his hands would not bother this monster not one whit.Meanwhile, Paxton, the corrupt Texas attorney general, thwarted the House committee. “But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is representing the state’s prison system, said Roberson would only testify via video,” according to the Texas Tribune, also reporting that the committee’s chairman found that restriction unacceptable due to Roberson’s autism. The legal wrangling will continue for some time and Roberson can’t, according to law, be faced with another death warrant for 90 days.

Following this case will be important. If the blood thirsty fascists on the Pardons and Parole Board and blood-lust Abbott and Paxton continue to push this ultimate punishment, Texans will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that their interest isn’t justice — it’s power. Any clear-mined people following Abbott over the years would agree that he is mentally ill. Not only does that make Abbott in particular a hypocrite to his Catholic so-called faith but it also makes him dangerous.

And now for something completely different

Those of us, perhaps mainly guys, of a certain era will fondly remember the Hardy Boys mysteries and the Tom Swift sci-fi adventure series. And maybe we’ll remember the word game call Tom Swifty or Tom Swifties. The word game used the heavy use of adverbs modifying dialogue, incorporating puns and humor. In the Wikipedia entry on the Tom Swift books, an example is: ‘“I lost my crutches,’ said Tom lamely."

Today we have new Swifties, followers of arguably the most famous pop artist of our day, Taylor Swift. Now, as some of you know, I have lamented the cult of celebrity for emphasizing values and behavior of which I disapproved. But for Taylor Swift, I have made an exception. It’s not that I find her music great. I enjoy some of her songs and some snippets of her Eras tour. Whether it’s real or imagined (after all, perception is reality), Swift presents as kind, generous, down-to-earth, feminist and misogynist hater; she’s not only talented but she’s a hard worker. She is, truly, the girl next door. She lived life bathed in the spotlight beam of an A-plus-list celebrity.

Then, a little more than a year ago, the world learned she is dating an NFL star, Kansas City Chief’s tight end, Travis Kelce, who was really unknown outside of football circles. Then the scrutiny of both celebrities was not only in the hottest of spotlights but it was also under the public relations equivalent of an electron microscope. Everything and anything was fair game for the pop culture media; and, then the phenomenon crossed into the mainstream media. These two 30-somethings couldn’t twitch without some speculation about their love life, relationship and careers. Will they or won’t they (fill in the blank)? Are they or aren’t they (fill in the blank)?

If Kelce didn’t make a Eras tour concert event or event, speculation was rife that there was, as so many have phrased it, “trouble in paradise.” If Swift missed a Chief’s game or Kelce event, again, was there a relationship problem. Paparazzi and other media types followed them almost everywhere they could — on dates, to parties, on vacation and even professionally related events. The lack of privacy was, in my opinion, beyond the pale. And that evasiveness extended to the Swift and Kelce families. I frankly don’t know how they stand the pressure although I do know that their wealth forms somewhat of a bulwark for them.

I also remember my mid-thirties and being in love and lust and admit to nostalgia about it. And I think that’s why I find their situation so interesting. I can’t fathom how they hold onto the strong sense of self and character under the unrelenting pressure. I wonder how they don’t push back on some of the invasive speculation about their relationship. So far, it’s clear to me that they are independent people with professional obligations. They must have a healthy respect for one another and are grounded in understanding their commitments.

I admit I am pulling for them to stay together. I know why. I don’t feel this way about other celebrity couples. Maybe this is a good thing, a bright spot during stressful and perilous times.

Victoria Advocate sells out to the radical right

Jim Graff, the senior shaman at Faith Family Church in Victoria, penned a column that The Victoria Advocate published Sept. 29 in which he asserts the following: “Read history, and you’ll find all thirteen of our original colonies required political candidates to pass a religious test before holding public office. Visit our nation’s capitol, and you’ll see scriptures engraved on federal buildings. Read our Constitution, and you’ll notice God mentioned four times.”

And while that may have been true before the United States adopted its Constitution, the Joel Osteen-related “leader” did what many, if not most, of the right-wing evangelical fake-Christian churches do: Graff left out the rest of the story to lie to people. Because when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788, the founders disavowed religious requirements to hold public office in this nation. In fact, a religious test is expressly forbidden in the United States Constitution. Article VI - Clause 3 states, “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”

These kinds of lies are the exact propaganda Christian nationalists spew. Katherine Stewart laid this bare in her book, “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.” And it’s what Kristin Kobes Du Mez writes about in “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.”

Why is this important?

Well, I’ve been in an email “discussion” with the Victoria Advocate’s new Managing Editor Shawn Akers, who has rejected this blog post as an op-ed column. He rejected the submission, first, because he wrote he would never call anyone a Nazi. Then he rejected my suggestion of changing “Nazi” to “fascist.” Finally, he rejected the content because he didn’t think it was factual.

That, I thought, was an interesting irony because his introductory column to The Victoria Advocate’s readers, states, “My faith in Jesus Christ is a huge part of my life, and again, I am grateful for the opportunities He has presented me. But don’t get (me) [sic] wrong. I am uncompromising in my dedication to journalistic integrity, something that is very rarely seen these days in the media. When it comes to the news, and for the good of the community, I refuse to compromise the impartiality to everyone that I was taught in my younger years to uphold.”

In his emails to me, Akers also touted his longer stint in journalism than my 22 years. He started as a sports writer, which is real journalism. I respect those folks but also note they have a little more flexibility with their opinions and style than straight news journalists. But then he moved into working for NASCAR and then a charismatic Christian media outlet. Still, his rejection — nay, his denial — of facts, given his introductory column, mystified me.

What further mystified me was when I reached out to him as a gesture of journalistic collegiality on the Advocate’s coverage of the controversy in Bloomington over the water utilities. I suggested that the Advocate could find a Texas Attorney General’s Office ruling that nonprofits carrying out a government function on behalf of a government were subject to Texas sunshine laws. As a result, the newspaper could file a public records request because the approach by the people in Bloomington would go nowhere. The newspaper would be doing its job to report what the Bloomington utilities folks trying to hide.

Then it dawned on me. I remembered this swipe at journalism in general in that introductory column, “I am uncompromising in my dedication to journalistic integrity, something that is very rarely seen these days in the media.” That reeks of Trumpism. His response echoed that of other Trumpers with whom I have jousted.

Which brings me back to Faith Family Church, where he worships. As does Michael Cloud, the right-wing “Sedition Caucus,” a.k.a. Freedom Caucus, member of Congress from Victoria. Akers asserted to me that he knew what an editor’s job is, so I’m confused why he failed to fact-check and catch Graff's lie.

I am aware this reeks of a personal attack on Akers. It isn’t. It’s a deconstruction of the influencers’ and leadership’s approach to the local news. This is an attack on the Advocate’s betrayal of the Crossroads. Staffing its newsroom with Trumper leadership and greenhorn writers who will be guided under that leadership. It leads me to predict that the editorials, opinion columns and letters to the editor will not only lean radical-right but will also lie or be allowed to lie to make their cases. Opposing opinions need not apply, thank you very much. Second, while one would think local coverage would be immune from this type of journalism, those with favored positions and views will receive favorable coverage. Others will be ignored. Accountability will apply only to the Advocate’s enemies. (Richard Nixon, anyone?) All this despite possible assertions to the contrary. I’ve seen this elsewhere.

It looks like the Trumpers have taken over to make the second oldest newspaper in Texas a right-wing rag. Victoria and the Crossroads will be the poorer for this. Worse is that institutional and governmental behaviors will fester in the dark instead of cleansed by First Amendment sunlight. And as we know from 1930s Germany, being silent is being complicit. Finally, lest I be pilloried for this blog, remember what the UN Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjöld, wrote in 1957 in the book “Markings,” published in 1963, “The madman shouted in the marketplace and no-one stopped to answer him. Thus it was confirmed that his thesis was incontrovertible.”

Trumper editor

 What a nothingburger piece of cowardly and ill-informed clap-trap. Aside from the poor writing (“more harsh,” really? Not harsher?), this self-labeled fundamentalist must be blind, deaf and dumb — but not in the muted sense, but in the intelligence sense.

Of course, for him the debate outcomes are tougher to gauge. That’s because he admits they’re an enigma. Obviously a puzzle above his pay grade. Shawn Akers discounts expertise (“so-called” Really?) for picking the debate winner and wrote that there was no winner but the electorate was the loser. Maybe Mr. Akers can check out Karl Rove’s op-ed in the Sept. 11 Wall Street Journal (it’s behind a paywall, but The Independent covered it). Now, I am no fan of Rove. His work with the GOP in the 1990s hurt this country beyond words and Rove knows his stuff; he is an expert on politics. And he wrote, basically, that Vice President Kamala Harris beat him badly. Here is what The Independent wrote, reporting on the WSJ article:

“ ‘But there’s no putting lipstick on this pig,’ says Rove. ‘Mr Trump was crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as ‘dumb as a rock’. Which raises the question: What does that make him?’”

Akers goes on to blame the Biden-Harris administration by saying Harris dodged the issues around the military withdrawal from Afghanistan without mentioning that it was Trump’s deal with the Taliban that hamstrung the Biden administration. He also faulted Harris particularly about “the disastrous border situation.” Never mind that Trump sabotaged a bipartisan deal in Congress that would have helped the border problems — that is well spread out on the public record. And that was an example of compromise Akers called for.

Then Akers, deep thinker that he is, suggests the country wants unity, that both sides should compromise, and in doing so, will “make America great again.” Haven’t we seen that on a red baseball cap? Isn’t that Donald Trump’s motto? You know, the convicted felon who’s run many of his businesses into the ground, stiffed his contractors and cities where he has held rallies, declared bankruptcy six times, is a serial philanderer, an adjudicated rapist, an indictee for trying to falsify voting records in Georgia and who mounted the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. Akers thinks the “Never Trumpers,” on one hand, and those who see him as a savior, on the other, represent extreme views.

If Akers has read “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America,” by award-winning Duke University historian Nancy MacLean, it’s not evident;

If Akers has read “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America,” by award-winning Duke University historian Nancy MacLean, it’s not evident;

If Akers has read “Dark Money” by Jane Mayer, it’s not evident;

If Akers has read Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right” by Anne Nelson; , it’s not evident;

If Akers has read “The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism” by Katherine Stewart, it’s not evident;

I readily acknowledge Akers’ column is an opinion piece and maybe I should have let it lie. But I’ve said it many times: I can’t. You know why.

“The madman shouted in the marketplace and no-one stopped to answer him. Thus it was confirmed that his thesis was incontrovertible,” Dag Hammarskjöld in 1957, “Markings” 1963.

But given Akers’ introductory column and seeing the sins of omission in this one, I’m going to have to watch the Advocate more closely.

Save our country by knowing the threats

 The United States is fewer than four weeks away from the most consequential election since the 19^th Century. Voters will choose between an almost-democratic constitutional democracy or a dystopian fascist future owned and run by the libertarian billionaires. The soul of our country and our freedoms are at stake. Nothing makes this more starkly clear than Project 2025, the Republican-Nazi manifesto of Trump, the Heritage Foundation and Charles Koch.

Within the past two weeks, pro-democracy alliances have hosted virtual meetings/webinars that expose the specific destructive steps in Project 2025. Their aim? To alert as many as possible on the threat Project 2025 poses to our country’s soul.

On Sept. 27, the Center for Media and Democracy, American Constitution Society and Common Cause hosted “Setting the Stacked Court in Stone?” The speakers:

Nancy MacLean (moderator) is the William H. Chafe Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy, Duke University; author of Democracy in Chains; and a Center for Media and Democracy board member.

David A. Super (panelist) is the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Economics at Georgetown Law.

Lisa Graves (panelist) is the founder and Executive Director of True North Research, a national investigative watchdog group and Managing Director at Court Accountability. She is the board president of the Center for Media and Democracy.

Stasha Rhodes (panelist) is a veteran strategist and the Executive Director of United for Democracy. She recently rejoined The Center for American Progress as a Senior Fellow.

The hour-long event exposed the origins and tactics of the oligarchs’ takeover of the US judiciary as well as capturing state legislators and Congress. If you believe preserving our real freedoms, especially the progressive improvements of the mid-20th Century, is worth your time, please watch a replay of this webinar at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edqgyJld3kY

On October 3, groups committed to honest history education, including the American Association of University Professors, the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians, the Coalition for Action in Higher Education, the Labor and Working-Class History Association, Massachusetts Peace Action, Scholars for a New Deal for Higher Education, the Zinn Education Project and Convergencemag.com hosted “MAGA and Project 2025.” The panelists were:

Carol Anderson is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of African American Studies at Emory University.

Nancy MacLean is the William H. Chafe Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University and a past president of the Labor and Working Class History Association (LAWCHA).

Paul Ortiz is Professor of Labor History at Cornel University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Bill Fletcher, Jr. moderated the “Teach-In.”

A replay of this event is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPwGWze0G3U

Project 2025 is about 900 pages; and, it’s a long read. Several speakers pointed out that the Nazis behind this document are terrified that the public will see and understand the plan to drag the country back to the 1850s. Thankfully, some pro-democracy and pro-transparency websites have summarized and highlighted this right-wing radical document. Here are the links:

https://accountable.us/expose-project-2025/

https://redwine.blue/project2025/

I’ve been following this clear and present danger to our country since 2015. Yes, almost a decade ago, I saw the threat. Five years later, I read Dr. MacLean’s “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America.” You your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go to:

https://www.thequintessentialcurmudgeon.com/

You will find additional information to help you understand the vast array of forces trying to kill our nation as we know it.

It’s not too late to save our country, but time is short. Please share this with as many voters as possible.