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Breakfast of Champions.

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Responsibility in America is fading, and Glenn Beck’s cries of Nazism and fascism have nothing to do with the real thing, nor are they making America — or her people — better.

Yesterday

Kurt Vonnegut died three years ago yesterday. In 1973, when I was but eleven, he published “Breakfast of Champions.” It is, as Vonnegut wrote, “a tale of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.” It overwhelmed The New York Times. In “Is Kurt Vonnegut Kidding Us?,” the Times wrote,

“He makes pornography seem like any old plumbing, violence like lovemaking, innocence like evil, and guilt like child’s play.

“Mr. Vonnegut takes care of most of what is absurd and downright evil in American civilization–everything from Vietnam to sex, from war to massage parlors.”

The Times said Vonnegut “skewer[ed] everything that is absurd and evil in the rest of civilization–from Nazis to paranoia, from genocide to people bogged down in their various bad chemistries.”

It became one of his all-time best-selling books.

But in a sense, neither “Breakfast of Champions,” nor Vonnegut, have much of anything to do with this piece, except they told tales of “everything that is absurd and evil in the rest of civilization…” So, actually, in a sense, they have everything to do with this piece.

Yesterday deserves to not be forgotten. And then there’s that “those who forget the past…” cliché, too.

Today

There was a war of cognitive dissonance in my head Saturday night. I was home watching Stanley Kramer’s Oscar-winning 1961 drama, “Judgment At Nuremberg” on TCM. My boyfriend sent me a text, saying, “Glenn Beck is being utterly ridiculous on Fox!” And then, “I highly suggest you watch. He’s convincing students why liberals are bad.”

So there I was. Switching back and forth between, “Judgment At Nuremberg” and “Glenn Beck.” Consider the irony. A show about the evils of Nazis and fascism, and a show about the evils of, well, “Nazis” and “fascism.”

Judgment At Nuremberg” should be required viewing for every student, certainly the ones Beck was brain-washing, but really, every American. There are several themes repeated throughout the film: “Everyone was doing it, we had no choice,” “We did not know,” “No one will take responsibility,” and “Everyone is to blame, so no one is.”

There are many parallels between Stanley Kramer’s work of fiction based on fact, and Glenn Beck’s work of fiction based on fact. And there is this one compelling difference: Kramer may have worked in the entertainment industry, but he was trying to teach America a truthful and honest lesson. Beck (the $32 million-dollar man,) admits he is an entertainer, and Beck has never taught anyone in America anything about truth or honesty.

(Don’t believe me? Let’s put Beck’s work to the truth meter. Actually, the “Poltifact Truth-O-Meter.” Of the fourteen statements non-partisan Politifact fact-checked, only one was rated “true.” The rest were rated varying degrees of “false,” up to and including two rated “Pants on Fire.”)

It’s no coincidence “Judgment At Nuremberg” was on Saturday night. Sunday was National Holocaust Remembrance Day. Civil rights activist and author David Mixner had a few words to say yesterday:

Nor should we forget that our country was among those that turned a number of Jewish refugees away from our shores and sent them back to Europe to face certain death. Or the fact that we were aware of the camps and did nothing to stop them from being built and becoming factories of death. That our military opposed diverting resources from the war for bombing the rail lines leading to the camps. Of course, one of the great moral dilemmas of the war was the debate about the morality of bombing the camps themselves, killing those inside, in an effort to save other lives. In our remembrance of this dark horror, we should always examine the key question that is posed in the United States Holocaust Museum, “What did we know and when did we know it?”

“What did we know and when did we know it?” It sounds like the questions asked during Watergate. And after we realized there were no W.M.D.s in Iraq.

The New York Times’ Frank Rich on Sunday, in “No One Is to Blame for Anything,” was asking the same question, and coming up with the same answers we heard in “Judgment At Nuremberg.” “Everyone was doing it, we had no choice,” “We did not know,” “No one will take responsibility,” and “Everyone is to blame, so no one is.”

Rich takes on the big banks, Alan Greenspan, the Vatican, (as Maureen Dowd did,) Tiger Woods, the Bush administration, and, to a degree, Barack Obama.

“I was right 70 percent of the time, but I was wrong 30 percent of the time,” said Alan Greenspan as he testified last week on Capitol Hill. Greenspan — a k a the Oracle during his 18-year-plus tenure as Fed chairman — could not have more vividly illustrated how and why geniuses of his stature were out to lunch while Wall Street imploded.”

“As he has previously said in defending his inability to spot the colossal bubble, “Everybody missed it — academia, the Federal Reserve, all regulators.”

(But as I have said before, “No one could have predicted” is always false. Someone reputable, always, already has.)

Rich writes,

“Such is our current state of national fecklessness that the gold medal for prompt contrition by anyone on the public stage belongs, by default, to David Letterman.”

He continues:

“Former Bush propagandists will never lack for work in this climate. It’s remarkable how often apologists for Wall Street’s self-inflicted calamity mirror the apologists for Washington’s self-inflicted calamity of Iraq. In the case of that catastrophic war, its perpetrators and enablers almost always give the same alibi: “Everyone” was misled by the same “bad intelligence” about Saddam Hussein’s W.M.D. Hence, no one is to blame and no one could have prevented the rush to war.

“That, of course, is no more true than Greenspan’s claim that “everyone” was ignorant of the potentially catastrophic dangers in the securitization of subprime mortgages.”

“No top player in the Bush administration has taken responsibility for his or her role in selling faulty intelligence products without exerting proper due diligence. There have been few unequivocal mea culpas from those who failed in their oversight roles during the housing bubble either — whether Greenspan, the Bush Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson or Timothy Geithner in his pre-Obama incarnation leading the New York Fed.”

Indeed.

Rich chose the Titanic as a metaphor for his piece, but he got the “why” wrong.

“If the captain of the Titanic followed the Greenspan model, he could claim he was on course at least 70 percent of the time too.”

The problem the Titanic had wasn’t that they were off course. They were on course. The problem was that they weren’t reading to the messages people were sending them. Same as Greenspan and the big banks. And Bush.

Rich should have used “Judgment At Nuremberg.” For many reasons, including that the Vatican plays a role in both yesterday’s and today’s atrocities. (And lest anyone accuse me of equating the Holocaust with the problems of today, let me firmly, and unlike the Vatican, answer that in no way am I.)

Tomorrow

Rich reminds us of Obama’s Inaugural call for “a new era of responsibility.”

But responsibility is a word no one likes. It’s a word no one wants to understand. Ironically, it’s the very lack of responsibility that has led us to this disaster we call America in the twenty-first century.

I look around and all I see and hear these days is an appalling lack of responsibility. Glenn Beck’s irresponsible lies. The banking and insurance industry’s profit over people problem that has thrown this country and its people into devastation. Politicians’ greed and corruption. The past few weeks, the past few months, hell — the past decade is strewn with a total lack of accountability or responsibility.

But it’s that appalling lack of responsibility that comes in large part because we had a president who did things like tell us to go shopping after 9/11. Because we have a Church, as Maureen Dowd wrote yesterday, and as the Pope wrote decades before, that is more concerned with the “good of the universal church” than the children it should have protected. Because we have politicians who lie and cheat on their spouses and vote in the interests of corporations instead of constituents. And because we have a Supreme Court that just made that even easier.

No one, it seems, wants to act responsibly or be responsible. No one, it seems, wants to do the right thing.

Too few are willing to play by the rules. Too few are willing to take a stand. Too few are willing to open their eyes, dig for the truth, and realize that they have a responsibility that extends beyond their nose, beyond their front door, beyond their own self-interest.

Yes, perhaps I’m talking about the Republicans. But I’m also talking about the Democrats who are waiting — stalling — (until after the November elections?) to take on repealing DADT, dragging their feet on ENDA and the UAFA. Forget about even talking about repealing DOMA.

But it doesn’t end there. I’m also talking about you and me. I’m talking about playing by the rules and about taking on more responsibility that we might think is necessary — or fair. Because someone has to.

So why should the “average man or woman” take responsibility for what’s outside their front door? Why should we follow the rules, be good role models, help our neighbors, not run red lights, not lie, not cheat on our spouses — or our taxes?

Simple. Because it’s the right thing to do.

Because we’re better than our leaders.

We have to be. There’s really little choice left.

Of “Breakfast of Champions,” The Times wrote that Vonnegut,

“…wheels out all the latest fashionable complaints about America–her racism, her gift for destroying language, her technological greed and selfishness–and makes them seem fresh, funny, outrageous, hateful, and lovable, all at the same time.”

It would seem yesterday’s “fresh, funny, outrageous, hateful, and lovable” complaints about America have gotten far worse, and seem far less fresh, funny, outrageous, or lovable. Just more hateful.

It’s our responsibility to cure the causes of these complaints. And it’s our responsibility to fight those who perpetuate them, like Glenn Beck.

Responsibility. It’s the Breakfast of Champions.

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Trump Claims ‘Tremendous Power’ to Run ‘Places’ Like DC and NYC

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President Donald Trump claimed the White House has legal authority to run parts of the country including Washington, D.C. and New York City, especially should he oppose its elected leaders. His remarks were another attack on the nation’s largest city, which his Transportation Secretary also targeted earlier on Tuesday.

Trump told reporters, “we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”

“We could run D.C.” he alleged. “I mean, we’re looking at D.C. We don’t want crime in D.C. We want the city to run well.” Hey also claimed that the White House is currently “testing” running D.C.

Washington, D.C. and its 700,000 residents have an elected city council and mayor. While Congress maintains some control over the nation’s capital, a complete federal government takeover of a city would be unprecedented. Presidents have, at times, had to send in the National Guard, but never to permanently occupy and run a local government.

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Trump added that his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, “is working very closely with the mayor and they’re doing alright. I mean, in the sense that we would run it so good, it would be run so proper, we’d get the best person to run it.”

“The crime would be down to a minimal, would be much less, you know, we’re thinking about doing it, to be honest with you. We want we want a capital that’s run flawlessly and it wouldn’t be hard for us to do it.”

If attempted, a federal takeover could raise serious concerns about voter disenfranchisement and further inflame opposition from advocates of D.C. statehood.

Trump also attacked Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic nominee for mayor, as “a man who’s not very capable, in my opinion, other than he’s got a good line of b—s—.”

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“I can tell you this,” Trump continued, I used to say, ‘We will not ever be a socialist country,’ right? Well, I’ll say it again. We’re not gonna have if a communist get elected to run New York, it can never be the same, but we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to.”

Trump has previously threatened Mamdani “with arrest, denaturalization and removal from the country while repeatedly branding him a communist,” according to The Independent.

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‘Absolutely Mind Blowing’: Trump’s Ukraine Weapons Remark Draws Concern, Backlash

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President Donald Trump is claiming he does not know who ordered last week’s halt in critical U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine—a statement that immediately sparked backlash and renewed questions by critics over whether the Commander in Chief is in control of the U.S. military.

“Last week, the Pentagon paused some shipments of weapons to Ukraine,” CNN’s Kaitlan Collins told President Trump (video below) after Tuesday’s White House Cabinet meeting. “Did you approve of that pause?”

The President, appearing to deflect or misunderstand the question, replied, “We wanted to put defensive weapons,” in Ukraine, “because Putin is not treating human beings right. He’s killing too many people. So we’re sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine and I’ve approved that.”

“So who ordered the pause last week?” Collins pressed.

“I don’t know,” Trump replied. “Why don’t you tell me?”

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After Trump delivered that remark, The Washington Post reported: “President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause last week in the delivery of some critical weapons to Ukraine.”

The Post called it “a move that he felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House.”

Trump’s “I don’t know” remark comes amid a separate controversy in which he has repeatedly insisted that farmers need reliable workers and that ICE would not raid agricultural sites. He suggested the administration was developing a program allowing farmers to effectively sponsor undocumented laborers—only to have multiple senior officials publicly contradict or appear to override his plan, as recently as just hours ago.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, also on Tuesday, told reporters there will be “no amnesty” for undocumented immigrants working on farms, and, “mass deportations continue.”

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Critics are blasting the President for not knowing who paused the critical weapons shipment to Ukraine.

“When in charge, be in charge,” remarked veteran and veterans activist Paul Rieckhoff.

“This is absolutely mind blowing,” commented Jeanne Ava Plaumann, a journalist at the German newspaper Bild.

“I don’t know is always an alarming response when asked for accountability on major national security decisions,” noted Brett Bruen, president of a global public affairs agency.

Former U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, a Democrat, wrote: “Proving every day that he is mentally failing.”

Trump’s “I don’t know” remark also follows numerous instances of similar claims, which have led critics to question if—or declare that—the President is not in charge.

In May, during an Oval Office executive order signing ceremony, Trump posed multiple questions to attendees about what was in at least one of the orders.

“Are we doing something about the regulatory in here?” was one question Trump asked.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum responded, “You are, sir.”

Earlier in May, the 79-year old president was asked if he is obligated to “uphold the Constitution.” He infamously told NBC News’ Kristen Welker, “I don’t know.”

Also in May, in an Oval Office press gaggle, reporters asked, “Mr. President, is your administration sending migrants to Libya?”

“I don’t know,” Trump replied. “You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”

That same day, a reporter told Trump, “Your Treasury Secretary just told lawmakers that a tariff exemption for certain baby items like car seats is under consideration. Will you exempt some products that families rely on?”

“I don’t know,” was the President’s response.

Back in April, Trump told reporters, “Many, many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo.”

The Atlantic’s James Surowiecki, back in March noted: “Trump also didn’t know that his administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua members, even though he had supposedly signed the executive order invoking it. ‘I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,’ he said.”

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‘Cartoon Villains’: Ag Secretary Under Fire for Medicaid-to-Farm-Work Plan

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has declared that the Trump administration’s massive deportation plans will continue without any amnesty for migrant farm workers, and insisted that “able-bodied” American adults who access Medicaid for health care insurance should be the ones to replace deported migrant farm workers. Critics have pushed back.

“I can’t underscore enough,” Secretary Rollins said at a press conference at the USDA on Tuesday, ahead of a White House Cabinet meeting. “There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue, but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation.

She added that, “with 34 million people, able-bodied adults on Medicaid, we should be able to do that fairly quickly.”

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Secretary Rollins’ remarks do not take into account that nearly two-thirds (64%) of adults under 65 accessing Medicaid are already working, according to KFF. Another 28% are exempt due to illness, school, or care-giving responsibilities.

Her statistic of 34 million able-bodied adults on Medicaid is promoted by a right-wing think tank, the Foundation for Government Accountability, which advocates for reducing work restrictions on teenagers, and opposes expanding Medicaid.

Also, there is not large-scale farm work available in every state, nor, does it appear, that would many Americans want to perform that work, especially for low wages. Farm work rarely offers employer-paid health care. And farm work is often seasonal.

Critics blasted Secretary Rollins.

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“They’re like cartoon villains,” wrote Bloomberg Opinion columnist Patricia Lopez. “So send Medicaid recipients in as field hands? Also, what is meant by strategic mass deportations? Just Blue states?”

“Lol,” exclaimed Yahoo News reporter Jordan Werissmann, “we’ve gone from ‘the USAID program analysts will make shoes’ to ‘people will pick strawberries to keep their health care’.”

“I have talked to literally thousands of MAGAs and have not found a single one who will work on a farm. Not one,” wrote New York Times bestselling author Ramit Sethi. “This is simply anti-immigrant bigotry from Republicans.”

“Ah, yes,” remarked journalist Lydia Polgreen, “those high paying farm labor jobs that include health insurance!”

“Did not think the script for 2025 would feature villains co-written by Charles Dickens and Pol Pot,” added historian Mike Cosgrave.

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