January 6th and the 14th Amendment
Let’s start with the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which prohibits anyone who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from running for federal office. This was essentially meant to stop Confederate soldiers and officers from holding or reclaiming office after the Civil War, but if we hold that January 6th was an insurrection (i.e. there was a goal of stopping Joe Biden from being certified as president in order to keep Trump in power), then anyone who gave “aid or comfort” to those who participated in January 6th would be barred from holding office. There’s a test case that’s currently being run on this with Marjorie Taylor Greene, presumably in part for making statements like this:
Or perhaps it’s because reporting has suggested that she along six other members of congress met with the organizers of the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally in advance of the event.
The results here will be interesting to see not just because they may prevent Greene from continuing to hold office, but also because this precedent could be used to prosecute and remove from office any number of people who have direct connections to the multiple efforts to undermine and overthrow the legitimate results of the 2020 election. This includes Trump, of course, but also potentially includes any state election officials who have taken off specifically with the intent of undermining the democratic process (which many of them are likely stating openly and indeed creating a platform based on it).
Keep an eye out for what happens here, because it could tell us a lot about what’s coming in November and beyond.
News Roundup (4.5.21)
Trump, Etc.
Trump aide seeking NH House seat voted in 2 states in 2016
He voted in two primaries in 2016 for different people (originally a Christie guy). It astonishes me that someone wrote that this might leave ‘him at odds with the Republican Party’s intense focus on “election integrity.”’
I don’t know what to do with journalists who take “election integrity” at face value from Republicans. I suppose there are scare quotes here, but it really seems like next to nothing.
Eco-Climate-World
“funding is currently three to six times lower than it needs to be to ensure that the global average temperature does not rise beyond 2 degrees Celsius.”
Honestly, I’m shocked that the funding gap is so small. I would have guessed the situation was much worse, so maybe there’s still some small measure of chance?
I do appreciate the IPCC countering doomsday scenarios and framing the problem as one of politics and resource allocation. Warnings about warning can create an air of inevitability. One can hope this inspires some small measure of action, political action.
On the other hand….
Exxon signals record quarterly profit from oil and gas prices
Rising oil prices don’t bode well for the politics of climate investment.
War Machines
Up-Close Ukraine Atrocity Photographs Touch a Global Nerve
The execution style murder of civilians is more tangible and understandable perhaps than the countless deaths due to relentless shelling. It’s easier to believe that someone who pulls a trigger in this way is evil than someone who fires a middle or drops a bomb from an unmanned drone in Nevada.
Personally, I think all war is criminal.
War crimes do take a while to prosecute though even if we can agree what they are:
200,000 Dead, One Lone Defendant as Darfur Trial Begins
His lawyers seem to be arguing that this is all a case of mistaken identity…
“the Kushayb case has underlined the limitations of the International Criminal Court’s reach. For all its ambitions, the founders gave limited powers to the permanent court, whose mandate is to try the worst crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and aggression.”
What does it say about our society that we limit the powers of those who seek to bring justice to those guilty of genocide?
Economical
“Economists, however, are notoriously terrible at predicting recessions.”
…and yet we keep listening to them, it’s baffling.