Sunday, 3 January 2021

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In the House, Stupidity Reigns

Posted: 03 Jan 2021 04:16 PM PST

(John Hinderaker)

When the House of Representatives opened its session today, the invocation was delivered by Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who I take it has been ordained as a minister. This is his conclusion, in which he invokes “the monotheistic God Brahma,” if I am hearing it right. (I know it makes no sense, but that is not the point for now.) Cleaver concludes–I kid you not!–with “Amen and Awomen.” I guess this is part of Nancy Pelosi’s new, gender-free House rules:


I have been wondering for a while whether Americans are simply too dumb to sustain a democracy. Consider this a small data point bearing on that question.

On Crime and Policing, Delusion Reigns

Posted: 03 Jan 2021 03:57 PM PST

(John Hinderaker)

I wrote here about the latest “police shooting” in Minneapolis, which took place on Wednesday night. Multiple police vehicles pulled over a young man named Dolal Idd, who was on probation for firearms violations, and officers told him to get out of his car. Instead, he tried to drive away. When blocked, he opened fire on the police and, it appears from video footage, narrowly missed one of them. The police returned fire and Idd was killed. You can see the whole thing at the link on a body cam video that has already been released.

Demonstrators gathered on the night of the incident and blocked off a street for several blocks while building a bonfire in the middle of the road. I am not aware of any riots over the last few nights, which most likely reflects the weather rather than any sensible evaluation of the incident by potential rioters.

On Friday, the Somali newspaper in the Twin Cities, Sahan Journal, published an article on Idd’s death that can fairly be described as delusional. It began with an incendiary account of the fact that some hours after the shooting, police officers executed a search warrant at the home of Idd’s parents. Presumably this had something to do with the cause of Idd’s apprehension, which has not yet been made public, although there have been references to a weapons investigation.

But that isn’t the worst of it. The Sahan account is willfully vague, if not misleading, on what happened Wednesday night:

The incident began when officers with the Minneapolis Police Department's Community Engagement Team conducted a traffic stop involving Dolal at a Holiday gas station on E. 36th Street and Cedar Avenue S. in south Minneapolis. The police characterized the stop as part of a weapon's [sic] investigation.

Dolal had some run-ins with the law, including traffic offenses, possession of a pistol without permit, and firing a gun in the basement of the his parent's home.

The last paragraph amends the original version of the Sahan Journal article, which quoted Idd’s father to the fact that in the past, Dolal had only minor legal issues involving traffic violations. In fact, he was on probation for his 2018 weapons violations. At that time, his mother said that he was barred from their home because “he scares the children.”

Late Thursday afternoon, police released a 27-second clip of body cam footage captured at the scene. The officer wearing the body cam (who has yet to be named) identifies himself as a police officer and yells "hands up."

With gun raised, he approached the white car Dolal was driving with a female passenger. The officer curses as what may be a gunshot goes off, and then starts firing. Other officers join in, sending a barrage of bullets into the car.

It was obviously a gunshot. Idd fired first, and the officers had no choice but to return fire. But if you are a Somali living in the Twin Cities, this basic fact is obscured. The Journal then quotes multiple sources who are critical of the police, including City Councilman Jeremiah Ellison:

"I'm frustrated that the police don't seem to have any strategy to preserve life during a tense situation," Ellison told Sahan Journal. "I'm concerned that any Black person with a gun seems especially vulnerable to being killed by police. And I'm troubled by the knee-jerk escalations our police have to any and all demonstrations against them."

This is downright sinister. Ellison doesn’t offer a “strategy to preserve life” when a criminal suspect opens fire on police officers. I don’t think there is one. And Ellison’s observation that “any Black person with a gun seems especially vulnerable to being killed by police” is bizarre. That observation is true when the black person not only has a gun, but, as in this case, uses it to try to kill police officers. If a suspect does that, he can expect “knee-jerk escalation,” which evidently means he will be shot at by officers who probably are more skilled with firearms than he is.

Of course, we hear from the usual community activists, including unindicted co-conspirator CAIR:

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) has called for an investigation of the fatal police shooting of Dolal.

"We must see all the videos and we demand justice for Dolal Idd," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN. "We also are outraged after learning [of] the terrifying home raid that could have resulted in tragedy."

I have no idea what “justice for Dolal Idd” might mean. Something other than police officers defending themselves, evidently.

Abdirahman Warsame, the co-founder of Generation Hope, a nonprofit organization formed by youth who've lost friends to drug overdoses, said he knew Dolal and was saddened by the loss of his friend. He acknowledged Dolal's previous run-ins with the law, but noted that he was trying to change his life.

"For them to take him is just evil," Abdirahman said of the Minneapolis police. "Who are you to take somebody else's life, [when] they are trying to do better for themselves, to do better for their family?"

When a criminal suspects shoots at you, it is “evil” to shoot back? That actually is the narrative that the Left peddles. Maybe someone out there believes it. We live in strange times.

The killing of Dolal "makes me feel unsafe," Abdirahman added. "It makes me feel confused. The same people that are here to serve and protect are the same people that are killing your own people."

“Activists” would prefer that criminals run rampant in their own communities, committing crimes and perpetrating violence with no effort by law enforcement to combat them. This is why “activists” speak for few minority residents of the Twin Cities, or anywhere else.

The Dolal Idd case is a clear-cut instance of police acting in self-defense, protecting themselves against an armed criminal suspect who has opened fire on them. No sensible person, having watched the body cam video, would disagree. And yet, members of the local Somali community are being misled by outlets like the Sahan Journal, which pretends that the most significant aspect of the Idd case is the fact that police officers executed a search warrant, and pretends further that law enforcement is somehow to blame in Idd’s death.

Meanwhile, Branco drew this cartoon for Alpha News:

The Drama in Congress Right Now [Updated]

Posted: 03 Jan 2021 09:39 AM PST

(Steven Hayward)

As I write, the House of Representatives has started a quorum call to assemble the new Congress for 2021. As has been remarked, there is some unpredictability this year because of COVID and the slim margin of the Democratic House majority. It is not a certainty that Nancy Pelosi will be the next Speaker.

Chad Pergram of Fox News has a terrific Twitter thread on the scene up right now, called his “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the New Congress,” that I have unrolled for easier reading:

Starting the new Congress is inherently messy in a pandemic. The House of Representatives implemented "remote voting" in the spring. That's where the House permitted members who were at high risk, quarantining, tested positive or caring for someone who is ill could "phone in" their vote.

The House will vote on Monday on a new "rules package" to begin the new Congress which will include a remote voting option But in the House, you can't carry over rules from the 116th Congress to the 117th Congress.

That's why everyone has to show up at noon today.

This poses an interesting, ethical question: Is it appropriate for members who have tested positive, have been in quarantine or been exposed, be present today?

Here's what to expect in the House today. First, the House must take care of old business. The House meets, for the last time at 10 am et and adjourns the 116th Congress. The new, 117th Congress starts at noon et, per the Constitution. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), an ordained United Methodist pastor, will lead the opening prayer to begin the new session.

Nothing has constituted the House at that point. There is no Speaker. Clerk of the House Cheryl Johnson presides. The first order of business is a quorum call to get everyone there – pandemic style.

Under normal circumstances, all 435 House members-elect would crowd into the chamber to vote electronically and record their presence. But during coronavirus, the House will summon members to the chambers in seven groups of about 72 persons.

The first tranche starts with Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) and runs through Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX). The seventh and final group stretches from Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) through Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY).

Members are instructed to report to the chamber, record their presence and depart. We expect it will take until a little after 2 pm et to get the quorum there. Watch to see exactly how many members show up for the quorum. This will be crucial because it will dictate the size of the House to begin and how many votes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) needs to return to the Speaker's suite.

Watch to see exactly how many members show up for the quorum. This will be crucial because it will dictate the size of the House to begin and how many votes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) needs to return to the Speaker's suite. The House will entertain nominations for Speaker around 2:30 pm et. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will nominate Pelosi.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) will nominate House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). The House will then begin a manual roll call with members filing into the chamber, again, in groups, and verbally announcing their vote. This will take until 5:30 pm et or later.

We expect the election of the Speaker sometime between 5:30 and 6 pm et. Presumably, Pelosi wins and will be sworn-in by the Dean of the House (the longest-serving member), Rep. Don Young (R-AK). Pelosi in turn swears-in Young and begins swearing in members in groups of 72 members. The House will observe a moment of silence to note the death of the late Rep.-elect Luke Letlow (R-LA).

The House should start at 432 members and three vacancies: 222 Democrats and 210 Republicans. The vacancies are from New York's 22nd District, Louisiana's 5th District and Florida's 27th District – but the latter will be filled soon.

There is still no race call in the contest between current Rep. Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) and former Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY). Letlow died from complications related to coronavirus. Rep.-elect Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) indicates she will not be present to take the oath office.

So that's how we get to at least three vacancies to begin the new Congress. Possibly more. Salazar could be sworn-in as soon as her health allows. And, the House could approve a resolution later this week allowing Salazar to be sworn-in outside of the Capitol.

That's happened before. Pelosi indicated she will seat Rep.-elect Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) after her six-vote victory over Democrat Rita Hart. But Hart has asked the House Administration to probe the outcome in that contest.

This is where it could get interesting. You take the field today with the players you have available. That's why, in the age of a pandemic, it's possible – possible – that if Democrats don't have the right numbers, Republicans could – could – actually have the majority. We always say it's about the math. It's about the math.

Well, the math really matters today. Whichever side has the most members present today is in the majority.

Period. The only thing which really matters as to which side has more votes is what comes next: election of the Speaker.

Nothing can happen in the House until it elects a Speaker.

Nothing. And anything can happen during a pandemic. Even Pelosi has said that her foe in the Speaker's race is COVID.

The successful Speaker candidate secures an outright majority of the entire House. Not the most votes.

So, if the House starts at 432 members and everyone is there, Pelosi needs 217 members vote for her. So if Democrats are at 222 and everyone shows up, the Speaker can only lose five votes. Pelosi lost 15 votes in the Speaker's contest in January, 2019.

Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) voted present in 2019. But Cooper now says he will vote for Pelosi. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) voted "present" in 2019. Slotkin says she can't support Pelosi. Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Jared Golden (D-ME) voted for Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) two years ago.

That's why some wonder if it could possible for the House to elect McCarthy or someone else as Speaker.

That scenario is unlikely. But it will come down to the math.

UPDATE:

FURTHER UPDATE by JOHN: Pelosi has been re-elected Speaker with 216 votes to 209 for Kevin McCarthy. Five Democrats declined to vote for Pelosi, but none of them voted for McCarthy.

Sunday morning coming down

Posted: 03 Jan 2021 05:35 AM PST

(Scott Johnson)

Putting an exclamation point on the year from hell, I want to note the death of the musician Tony Rice on Christmas day. Tony was a musician’s musician. Alison Krauss testified in some detail to his impact on her last month before he died (I quote her toward the bottom of this post). She is representative of a couple generations of our best musicians.

Rice struggled with health issues that first prevented him from singing and then impaired his playing for too many years, but his death represents an enormous loss to American music. Stacy Chandler’s No Depression obituary “Iconic Bluegrass Guitarist Tony Rice Dies at Age 69” provides biographical background. David Morris collects tributes to Rice from “his peers” (I would say he was peerless, but that’s nitpicking). When Rice was inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2014, the New York Times published a moving account that foreshadowed his death last month.

As a long-time fan I feel his loss keenly. When I discovered bluegrass and wanted to catch up on what I’d been missing, I turned to Rice's Bluegrass Album Band. In addition to his lyrical and inventive playing, he sang with a warm baritone voice that I loved. These are a fan’s notes.

Rice was a champion of what I now think of as heavy metal, the real deal. Every one of the aggregations Rice played in or formed was a supergroup. He was an incomparable guitarist and early proponent of the newgrass movement that brought elements of jazz and swing into traditional American music in the early 1970’s. It took a high level of musicianship to keep up with him.

Rice made a big splash early in his career with J.D. Crowe and the New South in 1974. Crowe's New South included Rice, Ricky Skaggs, and Jerry Douglas, all budding stars. The AllMusic review by Thom Owens puts it this way:

J.D. Crowe & the New South’s eponymous debut album is one of the most influential and pioneering records in the history of bluegrass. For the first edition of the New South, Crowe assembled a stellar group of musicians — including Ricky Skaggs (fiddle, mandolin, vocals), Tony Rice (lead vocals, guitar), and Jerry Douglas (dobro) — and gave them each equal weight. Consequently, this is vibrant collaborative music, not just a leader with some faceless studio hacks. Furthermore, Crowe pushed the music in new direction with his section of material, taking songs from contemporary singer/songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot, adding a couple of originals, as well as standards. With such an eclectic selection of songs, plus the band’s trailblazing instrumental style, The New South did indeed offer a new kind of bluegrass and its impact could still be felt years after its release.

“Ten Degree and Getting Colder” is one of the two Lightfoot songs included on that album.

Rice was searching for a combination of jazz and swing with traditional American music that he heard in his head. He found it with virtuoso mandolinist David Grisman and the David Grisman Quintet in 1975. He stuck around long enough to contribute to their debut album in 1977 along with Darol Anger on fiddle, Bill Amatneek on bass, and Todd Phillips on mandolin. This is the instrumental “E.M.D.,” composed by Grisman.

The sound Rice had heard in his head manifested itself on vinyl in Manzanita (1979). Here is the title track.

In 1980 Rice took a step back to team with Ricky Skaggs for an album of traditional music. This is “Bury Me Beneath the Willow Tree.”

Rice’s vision of newgrass came to fruition on Backwaters (1981). Rice called it spacegrass. With a hat tip to John Coltrane, here is the group’s take on “My Favorite Things.”

Rice was a mainstay in six Bluegrass Album Band albums in the 80’s. They stylishly recapitulated and updated the bluegrass canon for a new generation and for newcomers like me. “Model Church” is from their fist album (1981).

“Age” is by the late Jim Croce and his wife Ingrid. This track comes from the Bluegrass Album Band’s fourth (1984).

Rice also fronted the Tony Rice Unit while releasing albums in his own name. “John Hardy” comes from his 1984 album Cold on the Shoulder. See Alison Krauss’s comments on the album below. Among the musicians backing Rice on the album’s tracks are Sam Bush on mandolin, Vassar Clements on fiddle, J. D. Crowe on banjo, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Béla Fleck on banjo, Bobby Hicks on fiddle, Rice’s brother Larry Rice on mandolin, and Todd Phillips on bass. The album is full of highlights. The traditional song “John Hardy” is one.

“Muleskinner Blues” is another. You may want to search out the rest on YouTube.

Here is the title track (by Lightfoot) drawing on the fantastic Unit lineup for a live festival performance.

Rice followed up with Me and My Guitar in 1986. He covered Lightfoot’s “Song For a Winter’s Night” accompanied by Jerry Douglas (dobro), Mark Schatz (bass), and Jimmy Gaudreau (mandolin).

Tony was backed by the same group on Native American in 1988. I love their version of Lightfoot’s “Shadows.” Rounder Records ultimately collected 17 recordings of Lightfoot songs by Rice in 1996 on the aptly named Tony Rice Sings Gordon Lightfoot. Lightfoot provides a thread through his career.

Here we see the Tony Rice Unit’s popular take on the old Delmore Brothers number “Blue Railroad Train,” live on American Music Shop in the early 90’s. Rice’s original recording of the song goes back to Manzanita.

Rice performed live at the 1993 Merlefest accompanied by Mark O’Connor on violin, Jerry Douglas on dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Bela Fleck on banjo, and Mark Schatz on bass. That is one incredible lineup and this is one formidable version of “Freeborn Man” by Keith Allison and Mark Lindsay (of Paul Revere and the Raiders). The awestruck appreciation of this performance by Fil of Wings of Pegasus is the last video in this post.

Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen is another supergroup of which Rice was a prominent member. They released three compact discs. Their version of the Chris Hillman/Steve Hill number “Change Coming Down” comes from their second, Out of the Woodwork (1997). By this time Rice had given up singing as a result of the disorder affecting his vocal cords. Chris Hillman is on the lead vocal. Tony Rice is on lead guitar. Larry Rice adds the mandolin part. Herb Pedersen is on banjo and harmony vocal.

Alison Krauss has performed with Rice occasionally over the years. Whole concerts are preserved on YouTube. In 1990, when Alison was all of about 19, she performed a live version of “John Hardy” with Rice, Grisman, and J.D. Crowe as one of the Rounder All Stars.

In 2007 she toured with Rice for two months and stated without qualification that his music is her “favorite music ever recorded.”

Alison invited Rice to sit in with her Union Station outfit in 2011. You can’t see Tony’s solo, but you can hear it and “hear” his fingerprints all over this beautiful arrangement of Lightfoot’s “Shadows,” introduced by Sam Bush and Rice.

Both Jerry Douglas and Alison spoke about Tony’s influence in the introduction to “Sawing on the Strings” from that 2011 session.

Early last month before Rice’s death the Guardian captured Alison’s recollection of Rice’s initial impact on her:

When I was about 13, I was out of my mind for Cold on the Shoulder, an album by Tony Rice. I had it on cassette but, other than the tiny picture of him, I had nothing. So I'd imagine what he was like: the most heroic, toughest, kindest person. He'd do songs by Gordon Lightfoot, or Jimmie Rodgers's “Mule Skinner Blues,” and totally change them. I loved “Likes of Me,” about being a roamer, but the stories and poetry in all those songs was amazing. By then, I wanted to do music but I didn't know if it was possible, so I daydreamed about playing fiddle in Tony's band. I got to see him play in about 1986 or ’87 and there are pictures of me watching with my mouth open, in shock.

RIP.

NOTE: The video below provides an appropriately awestruck appreciation of the Merlefest performance of “Freeborn Man.” If you’re still with me, you may want to take this in as well.

Election Challenges, Then and Now

Posted: 02 Jan 2021 06:57 PM PST

(Steven Hayward)

So the Democrat media line is that challenging the election result is unprecedented, seditious even. Why, certainly Democrats would never do such a thing! Oh, wait:
at

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