Steve Scalise Calls Out Donald Trump
Some things age well, like fine wine, George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Robin Wright. Some things do not, like Steve Scalise’s words on January 6, 2021.
Author Archive for: Peterr
About Peterr
I'm a Lutheran pastor with a bachelors degree in math and economics to go with a masters and Ph.D. in religion. Like Marcy and others here at Emptywheel, I've got a lot of experience in the close reading of various texts, whether religious texts, legal opinions, political speeches, or governmental regulations. Years ago, before it was a dirty word, I was an intern at the State Department. While my career path took me into the ministry rather than the Foreign Service, I continue to follow the ins and outs of international affairs. For several years, I also regularly blogged at Firedoglake on religion and politics, foreign affairs, and just about anything else that caught my attention, and am delighted to return to blogging here at Emptywheel.
Entries by Peterr
Trump’s DC Trial Strategies, Helsinki, and Dumb and Dumber
/106 Comments/in 2016 Election, 2020 Election, 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection/by PeterrFrom his 2018 presser in Helsinki to prepping for upcoming trials, there’s a pattern to who Trump listens to: Trump lives by the words of Lloyd Christmas.
Jack Smith Knows his Justice Robert Jackson
/86 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, 2020 Presidential Election, 2024 Presidential Election, Department of Justice, January 6 Insurrection, Leak Investigations/by PeterrAs a former prosecutor at The Hague, Jack Smith learned from Justice Robert Jackson at Nuremberg how to prosecute the crimes of national leaders, and the indictment of Trump reflects those lessons well.
Daylight Come, and He Got to Go Home
/46 Comments/in Civil Rights, emptywheel, Racism/by PeterrThe jam session in heaven is going to be epic tonight, because daylight came and Harry Belafonte has gone home.
When Your Lawyer is Acting Like H.R. Haldeman, It’s Time to Get a New Lawyer
/25 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, January 6 Insurrection, Trump Administration/by PeterrCassidy Hutchinson is too young to have lived through Watergate, but she clearly recognized how the Nixon lawyers worked.
Supporting Those Who Make Good Trouble
/40 Comments/in Civil Rights, Disaster Relief, Education, Food, Making Good Trouble, Press and Media, Racism/by PeterrThere are lots of folks who work to fight injustice, making the kind of “Good Trouble” that John Lewis embraced, who need our support. Here are a few, and you can add your own in the comments.
Greg Abbott, King Herod, and December 28th
/34 Comments/in Immigration, Republicans/by PeterrWith Greg Abbott’s latest bus caravan for asylum seekers, you have to wonder if Abbott knows about a certain refugee family in the Bible.
Zelenskyy wasn’t the First Ukrainian President to Address a Joint Meeting of Congress
/18 Comments/in Foreign Policy, Global Protest Movements, Russo-Ukrainian War, Terrorism/by PeterrPresident Zelenskyy wasn’t the first Ukrainian president to address a joint meeting of Congress, but he sounded a lot like President Yushchenko did in 2005. Slava Ukraini, indeed.
Three Questions at the Start of an Intelligence Review
/145 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Biden Administration, Department of Justice, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Trump Administration/by PeterrThe intelligence review of of the Mar-a-Lago documents begins with three questions: Why did Trump take documents in the first place? Why these documents? Why not those?
What Family Rifts at Funerals can Teach Us About Pardoning Presidents
/71 Comments/in 2020 Presidential Election, Department of Justice, January 6 Insurrection, Mueller Probe, Press and Media, Racism, Trump Administration/by PeterrThe House of Windsor is learning that healing a broken family takes honesty and hard work. We could learn from them in dealing with Trump.