Dear Commons community,

Maureen Dowd has a scathing column this morning taking down Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and elevating Volodymyr Zelensky. She comments:

“Donald Trump, who called Putin’s barbaric strategy “genius” and “savvy” after spending four years legitimizing that malefactor,  comes out a loser. Trump is stuck on the fringe of his party, sharing the wrong side of a moral divide with Tucker Carlson, J.D. Vance, Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Trump and Putin, what a pair, shrinking in stature in the eyes of the world. Tiny, tiny Trump and cruel fool Putin. The corrupt, paranoid germophobes love surrounding themselves with sycophants, conjuring delusional worlds and giving unhinged rants.”

She concludes:  “Underlining his role as David to Putin’s Goliath, Zelensky has said, “Strong doesn’t mean big.” Strong means supporting human rights and freedom and demanding the right to die when “your time comes and not when it’s wanted by someone else, by your neighbor.”

An extended excerpt from the column is below.

Tony

———————————————-

“Putin let loose on those who question his misbegotten war: “Any people, and even more so the Russian people, will be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths. Spit out on the pavement.”

He even went after his pals, the oligarchs, “who can’t do without foie gras, oysters or the so-called gender freedoms” in Miami or the French Riviera.

Trump and Putin sowed the seeds of their own destruction. They wanted all of the attention and credit. Now they deserve all of the blame.

Putin has always had a Napoleon complex, puffing out his bare chest on horseback; fishing shirtless in Siberia; winning staged judo and hockey displays.

But Zelensky understands that stature is not about phony macho photo shoots. Stature is a physical quality, but, more important, it is a human and moral quality. Keats was barely over five feet, but look at his spiritual size.

Our military leaders have lately been quoting Napoleon, who said, “The moral is to the physical as three to one.” We have seen this with the Ukrainians, who are not only courageously resisting the Russians, but also launching counteroffensives.

As The Times reported, the number of Russian casualties has hurt morale; our intelligence reports have described Russian soldiers simply parking their tanks and wandering into the woods.

Putin doesn’t realize what the world knows: You don’t show your muscularity by razing cities, by bombing a maternity hospital, a boarding school for the visually impaired, a bread line, a community center and a shelter painted with a message in Russian pleading that children are inside. What kind of monster treats the word “CHILDREN” as an invitation to kill? This just proves that the Russian dictator is, as President Biden and his secretary of state contended, a war criminal.

You don’t show your power by starting a war that reveals how weak and mediocre your army is and strengthens European bonds when your goal is to divide and weaken Europe.

No matter what happens in Ukraine, Putin will be a loser with no moral stature and Zelensky will have towering moral stature.

Donald Trump, who called Putin’s barbaric strategy “genius” and “savvy” after spending four years legitimizing that malefactor, also comes out a loser. Trump is stuck on the fringe of his party, sharing the wrong side of a moral divide with Tucker Carlson, J.D. Vance, Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Trump and Putin, what a pair, shrinking in stature in the eyes of the world. Tiny, tiny Trump and cruel fool Putin. The corrupt, paranoid germophobes love surrounding themselves with sycophants, conjuring delusional worlds and giving unhinged rants.

Putin let loose on those who question his misbegotten war: “Any people, and even more so the Russian people, will be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and simply spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths. Spit out on the pavement.”

He even went after his pals, the oligarchs, “who can’t do without foie gras, oysters or the so-called gender freedoms” in Miami or the French Riviera.

Trump and Putin sowed the seeds of their own destruction. They wanted all of the attention and credit. Now they deserve all of the blame.

Grandiosity and fantasy worlds will trip up these poisonous authoritarians. Neither man has a democratic bone in his body. And both think they know better than anyone else.

“When you have an autocrat who’s been in power for too long, they don’t listen to people anymore, and this war was afflicted by very bad decision making,” Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian who teaches at New York University, said on MSNBC. This has left Putin vulnerable and humiliated before Russian elites and the world, she said. But it has also, parlously, left him without an offramp “because autocrats don’t negotiate.”

Stephen Kotkin, a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton, told The New Yorker’s David Remnick that the Russians have a fractured identity. Culturally and scientifically, they are a world-class power. But economically and politically, they have a hard time matching the West, so “they resort to coercion.”

“The worst part of this dynamic in Russian history is the conflation of the Russian state with some personal ruler,” Kotkin said. “Instead of getting the strong state that they want to manage the gulf with the West, they instead get a personalist regime. They get a dictatorship, which usually becomes a despotism.”

Zelensky spoke to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, comparing the terror in Ukrainian skies to the death hailed down from the skies on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and on New York and Washington on 9/11. He also showed a devastating video that brought tears to lawmakers’ eyes.

Underlining his role as David to Putin’s Goliath, Zelensky said, “Strong doesn’t mean big.” Strong means supporting human rights and freedom and demanding the right to die when “your time comes and not when it’s wanted by someone else, by your neighbor.”

Dear Commons Community,

Dear Commons Community,

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over.  The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has compiled data for countries around the world illustrating the spread of infections.  The fact is that the number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing.  Below is an excerpt from data published yesterday by the ECDC on this subject.

Tony

Case numbers spreading in a number of countries.

 

How has the COVID-19 trend evolved over the past weeks?

The situation deteriorated: 44 countries have reported more cases in the past two weeks compared with 14 days earlier.

What is the current COVID-19 trend by country? 

Based on the newly reported case numbers — which can reflect local outbreaks as well as nationwide spread — in the past 28 days, countries and territories classify as follows:

Dear Commons Community,

On a call on Thursday, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona spoke with LGBTQ students in Florida to say the federal government supports them even if their governor does not.

Cardona’s call with students, parents and teachers was a response to Florida legislation opponents call the “don’t say gay” bill, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The Legislature passed the bill and DeSantis is expected to sign it.  As reported by the Associated Press.

“The goal here is not to create division. We just want these kids to be able go to school, learn, get the support that they need. All parents want that for their children,” Cardona said in a phone interview yesterday. “We want to support all students, including our gay and transgender students, and they needed to hear that directly from me.”

The “don’t say gay” bill was one of several DeSantis pushed during the legislative session that many saw as a culture war he was creating to galvanize a conservative base as he considers running for president in 2024.

The bill states: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” Parents would be able to sue districts over violations.

DeSantis has been outspoken in his support, saying that as a father of three young children, he doesn’t want them to be “sexualized” in kindergarten.

“We would say to Secretary Cardona the same thing we would say to anyone else with concerns about the bill — they should read it carefully in its final form, and not be misled by false media narratives,” DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw said in an email. “Developmentally appropriate education, which means no sex and gender theory instruction in grades K-3, promotes kids’ emotional well being.”

DeSantis has clashed with the Biden administration on a number of issues, from the coronavirus pandemic to immigration.

People on the call with Cardona said DeSantis is pushing backwards acceptance of LGBTQ people. They described the legislation as unnecessary and divisive.

“I wish our governor was as supportive as our secretary of education,” said Jennifer Solomon, a Miami-Dade County parent of a lesbian and a non-gender conforming 11-year-old son. “He has our back. He’s going to do everything he can from the federal level to make sure that our kids are still going to be protected and respected.”

Madeline Kopka, an 18-year-old high school student from Tallahassee, also was on the call.

“He told us about how he hates the bill that passed this past session and he will fight with us,” she said. “It’s going to kill children.”

She said for many LGBTQ children, trusted teachers can be a source of comfort to discuss their feelings.

“A lot of them can’t go home to their family and express who they really are. I think it’s a big problem and we’re just going back in time and it’s horrible,” she said. “I really don’t understand why (DeSantis) is doing this.”

Cardona declined to speculate on DeSantis’ motives, but did say the bill would have a negative effect on students.

“I had one parent tell me he’s using students as political pawns,” Cardona said. “I don’t know the motive; I will tell you the impact is creating a sense of fear and despair at a time when they need the most support.”

He called DeSantis’ push for the legislation “sad.”

“It’s an intentional effort to create division in our schools,” Cardona said. “Our country needs unity now, not division.”

Keep up the support, Secretary Cardona.  These kids need it!

Tony

The FDNY robotics team practicing with the Spot robots.

Dear Commons Community,

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) plans to use two new robot dogs for  precarious search and rescue missions.

The FDNY is the first fire agency in the country to purchase the 70-pound machines, which cost $75,000 each and are built and sold by Boston Dynamics. As reported by The New York Times.

The New York City Police Department cut short its contract with Boston Dynamics last April after critics raised concerns about privacy, data collection, aggressive police tactics and the generally dystopian vibes the robot gave off as it trotted through a public housing development during a hostage situation.

Fire officials and robotics experts say the way the FDNY plans to use the robots might help reshape the perception of their use for public safety purposes.

At the command of a human operator, the device can provide vital information in the midst of a calamitous event. It has the ability to descend deep underground after a steam leak to collect images and data about dangerous debris. It can also be deployed moments after a building collapse to gauge structural integrity or measure the concentration of toxic, flammable gasses like carbon monoxide to better inform firefighters responding to the scene.

The real-life scenarios in which the robots, known as Spot, will be used are far different from Hollywood depictions in which humanoid or animalistic machines often inflict damage and invoke fear, said Capt. Michael Leo from the Fire Department’s robotics unit.

“The TV industry and the movie industry are hurting us in some ways because they often show pictures of robots that are weaponized, and then people think that’s how all robots are,” Captain Leo said.

“Our whole mission is a lifesaving one,” he added. “That’s the core thing. These robots will save lives.”

In the Bronx, where 17 people were killed in an apartment fire earlier this year, using the robots to enter hazardous conditions could possibly have saved the lives of firefighters and others, Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said.

“I look forward to a positive and productive conversation with FDNY leaders to ensure these robotic ‘dogs’ are only being used on rare, specialized, occasions with a goal of protecting our residents and first responders,” Ms. Gibson said in a statement.

A Fire Department spokesman said the robots would only collect data on hazardous materials situations and added that department compliance officers had been trained on confidentiality rules. But Albert Fox Cahn, a lawyer who is the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, expressed concerns about what data the Fire Department robots might collect, and how that data could be used in the future.

“When agencies buy these new systems, they always point to the best case scenario for use,” Mr. Cahn said. “And I agree, if it actually is used in ways that keeps firefighters safe, that would be great. But the history has always been that even if it’s first brought in for a compelling case, you get this creep where it’s used for more and more scenarios until it’s reaching areas where it just doesn’t feel justifiable.”

The Fire Department’s robotics team has been practicing with the robots, which operate remotely with a device similar to a video game controller.Credit…Mostafa Bassim for The New York Times

Boston Dynamics said it first made its Spot robots commercially available for lease in 2019, and began selling them in 2020. The company predicts that it will have sold over 1,000 units by the end of this year, said Nikolas Noel, a company spokesman.

I think the Spot robots are a good idea especially given the way the FDNY plans to use them.

Tony

Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted against the Russia trade bill.

Dear Commons Community,

The House of Representatives passed legislation yesterday that would suspend normal trade relations with Russia, a move designed to further isolate Moscow’s economy in response to President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The measure passed 424-8, with all opposition coming from Republicans.

The bill would revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” status in the World Trade Organization and pave the way for President Joe Biden to introduce higher tariffs on Russian goods such as steel, aluminum and plywood. It’s the latest in a series of punitive actions in coordination with the European Union and the Group of Seven industrial nations after Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., praised passage of the legislation, which would also affect Belarus, a Russian ally.

“As Russia continues its horrific, unprovoked war on the Ukrainian people, the House is moving to inflict even greater economic pain on Russia and Belarus,” he said in a statement.

Opposition to the bipartisan bill came from GOP Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Dan Bishop of North Carolina, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Chip Roy of Texas, all of whom are avid Trump supporters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on lawmakers to do more to help thwart Putin’s invasion Wednesday in a virtual address to Congress.

“Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy,” Zelenskyy said from Kyiv.

The Biden administration has imposed a series of punitive measures to block imports of Russian oil and gas, among other goods, in coordination with the E.U. But Zelenskyy has said he needs allies to take military steps to protect Ukraine, such as imposing a no-fly zone over parts of the country and providing fighter jets.

The trade suspension bill now heads to the Senate. Biden is expected to sign it when it reaches his desk.

Earlier yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Senate would quickly take up the bill.

“Both parties — Democrat and Republican — remain united in sending Putin a clear message: His inhumane violence against the Ukrainian people will come at a steep price,” he said from the Senate floor. “I will work with my colleagues to move it through this chamber quickly.”

It is incredible that eight Republicans voted “No” on this bill especially after President Zelenskyy’s impassioned address to Congress earlier this week.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Students, faculty, and staff at Tennessee’s public colleges and universities may soon be able to sue if they feel that they have been punished for not accepting “divisive concepts” during discussions of topics like race and gender.  Tennessee is joining other states such as Iowa in moving forward with such a ban.

A Republican-backed bill moving through the state legislature outlines 16 divisive concepts, including someone being considered “inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive because of their sex,” and Tennessee or the United States being described as “fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist.” The legislation says it covers “public institutions,” which seems to mean all public institutions of higher education.

The bill — spearheaded by the Tennessee House speaker, Cameron Sexton — will be voted on by the state Senate next week. A top lawmaker told The Tennessee Star that he believes the legislation will pass.

Similar “divisive concepts” proposals are being considered in other states, such as Georgia and South Dakota, but Tennessee’s bill is unique in several ways.

In addition to facing potential lawsuits under the bill, Tennessee’s public institutions would have to investigate complaints by students or staff members who felt that they had been discriminated against for not “subscribing to a divisive concept,” such as in a class or training session. If the college determined that a violation had occurred, the employee deemed responsible would be disciplined. A second offense could result in termination.

Colleges would be required to report annually to state lawmakers on the aggregate number of complaints, investigative findings, and actions taken.

The amendment that mandates investigating complaints remains under discussion by the state Senate, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Mary McAlpin, a professor of French at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and president of its chapter of the American Association of University Professors, is worried that the potential for lawsuits could have a chilling effect on what professors teach.

“Would the student win the lawsuit? Probably not,” McAlpin said. “But just the threat of those lawsuits could have a very real effect on what people say in the classroom, and that’s our biggest fear.”

Another wrinkle, McAlpin said, is that if a lawsuit accused a college employee of promoting a “divisive concept,” the college would have to get the state attorney general’s permission to defend the employee in court. Without such permission, employees would have to defend themselves, at their own cost.

In a statement to The Chronicle, a spokesperson for the University of Tennessee system said the flagship campus neither mandated nor advocated the “divisive concepts” described in the bill.

We support diversity and engagement, and we do not mandate or promote any ideology.

“We support diversity and engagement, and we do not mandate or promote any ideology,” the statement said. The legislation does acknowledge academic freedom and the First Amendment, the university said. “The bill also recognizes the state and federal requirements to train students and employees on nondiscrimination, and the need to maintain compliance with academic-accreditation standards.”

The legislation also would bar public institutions from conducting mandatory training for students or employees if it included one or more of the “divisive concepts.”

The lawmakers behind the bill were inspired by the publication of a report this year by several conservative advocacy groups. The report railed against higher education’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, and seized the common right-wing idea that they indoctrinate students — a false narrative that colleges dispute.

The groups claimed that “reform” was unlikely from within colleges. “Targeted action through the state legislature can, however, force change — including through budgetary and administrative reforms,” the report said.

One Republican supporter of the bill, Ron Gant, the House’s assistant majority leader, said this week that he rejected colleges’ “promotion of concepts that attempt to cast a shadow on groups of people due to factors not in their control.” The legislation would “ensure our public universities’ credible diversity efforts aren’t undermined by initiatives that seek to drive Tennesseans further apart,” he said, according to the Times Free Press.

If you’re not talking about divisive issues, you’re not talking about history, you’re not talking about literature, you’re not talking about humanity.

State lawmakers might take issue with so-called divisive topics, McAlpin said, but they are fundamental to what professors do in the humanities and arts.

“If you’re not talking about divisive issues, you’re not talking about history, you’re not talking about literature, you’re not talking about humanity and what it means to be human,” McAlpin said.

The bill, if passed, could become yet another measure that censors important conversations about the country’s longstanding history of racism and sexism, McAlpin said.

If state lawmakers can make professors believe that they could get in trouble for what they teach, she said, “then they will have already succeeded — whether or not any of these lawsuits ever even happen, let alone whether or not they’re successful.”

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invoked Pearl Harbor, Martin Luther King, Jr.  and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 yesterday as he appealed to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Livestreamed (see full address above) into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the U.S. must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports, and he showed a packed auditorium of U.S. lawmakers an emotional video of the destruction and devastation in his country has suffered in the war.

“We need you right now,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “I call on you to do more.”

In calling for more economic hit to the Russians, he said: “Peace is more important than income.”

Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his remarks.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used his campaign to implore allied leaders to “close the sky” to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It has also put Zelenskyy at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Biden delivered his own address following Zelenskyy’s speech, in which he announced an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air-defense weapon.

Appearing in his now-trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times. 

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump’s first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelensky spoke on the giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

Invoking Shakespeare’s hero last week, Zelenskyy asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is “to be or not to be.” On Tuesday, he appealed to “Dear Justin” as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine’s membership — and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

”I know he will ask for more help,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy’s relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

“Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III,” Biden has said.

U.S. defense officials say they are puzzled by Zelenskyy’s demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn’t often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

While officials are anticipating that Zelenskyy may once again call on the U.S. and the West for fighter jets or help establishing a no-fly zone, the Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine “more of what’s been working well,” according to an official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars; grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the official said.

Even though Zelenskyy and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This won’t be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelenskyy delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

“We think the United States needs to do more,” said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., returning from a weekend visit with other lawmakers to Poland.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week. It was in that call that Zelenskyy asked to address the U.S. Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to.

“The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,” said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

They said Congress “remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin’s cruel and diabolical aggression.”

And the war goes on!

Tony

Watch this. And then watch it again. Thank you @JenGriffinFNC pic.twitter.com/w5uexwdjrU

— Matt Reidy (@matthewjreidy) March 15, 2022

Dear Commons Community,

Fox News’ national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin on Tuesday delivered a poignant tribute (see video above) to colleagues who were wounded and killed while covering the war in Ukraine this week. “The loss and pain we feel is enormous. But if ever, there were a time that the world needed journalists, reporters risking their lives to tell these stories, to tell the truth, it’s now,” Griffin said:

Two journalists working with Fox News were killed and another was injured just outside Kyiv on Monday while reporting on the Russian invasion. According to the network, cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and freelancer Oleksandra Kuvshynova died in Horenka when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded and hospitalized in the same incident.

Griffin also honored her colleagues on social media in a lengthy thread that included images and details of their life and work:

In nearly three weeks of war, several other members of the press have been injured or slain. Russian forces killed award-winning American journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud outside Kyiv on Sunday. On Feb. 26, two Danish journalists on assignment for The Daily Beast were shot and hospitalized.

Griffin, who joined Fox News in 1996 and spent three years as a reporter in Moscow, has made headlines in recent weeks for her well-informed contradictions of the falsehoods promoted by her colleagues.

“I’m here to fact-check facts because I report on facts,” Griffin said earlier this month. “And my job is to try and figure out the truth as best as I know it. I share those facts internally so that our network can be more accurate. That’s what I’ve always done.”

Griffin is one of the good people at Fox News!  And God Bless our reporters who work in harm’s way!

Tony