Republican National Convention
Video: Nazi Congress in Nuremberg, Germany (1936) | British Pathé on YouTube
I cannot be in Pittsburgh for this. Can not.
I am reminded that capitalists will sell you the rope to hang them with. We already have *way*, *way*, *way* too much Trumpist @GOP bullshit in and around #Pittsburgh. Keep the #RNC convention *way*, *way*, *way* far away.@gainey_ed @ACE_Fitzgerald https://t.co/0oyOgdJe82
— David Benfell, Ph.D. (@n4rky) January 9, 2022
I honestly can't imagine welcoming the #COVID19 denying, mask refusing, anti-vaccination @GOP to #Pittsburgh. To do so is to welcome death. It is madness.@gainey_ed @ACE_Fitzgerald
— David Benfell, Ph.D. (@n4rky) January 9, 2022
And if you think #COVID19 will be gone in 2024, well, you're welcoming the very party that is diligently and enthusiastically working to make damn sure it is still with us.@gainey_ed @ACE_Fitzgerald
— David Benfell, Ph.D. (@n4rky) January 9, 2022
You are welcoming the party that downplays the coup attempt, that thrives on hatred, that feeds on radical and militant right-wing extremism.
I cannot imagine a more reckless, irresponsible thing to do than welcoming the #RNC to #Pittsburgh in 2024.@gainey_ed @ACE_Fitzgerald
— David Benfell, Ph.D. (@n4rky) January 9, 2022
I think perhaps Ed Gainey, Rich Fitzgerald, Visit Pittsburgh, and the like imagine a convention whose participants are cigar-smoking old men, doing political deals in darkened rooms. They fail to imagine who the delegates will actually be, who have taken over the Republican Party.
Fig. 1. Cartoon by Michael de Adder in the Washington Post, January 5, 2022, fair use.[1]
It would be wise to view Marjorie Taylor Greene not as an exception, but rather as among the milder attendees. Gainey, Fitzgerald, and the like invite domestic terrorists, anti-vaxxers, and gun nuts to Pittsburgh. There are enough of them already here. I absolutely do not dare to be anywhere near when even more of them arrive.
Ryan Deto, “Pittsburgh named as finalist to host 2024 Republican National Convention, says report,” Pittsburgh City Paper, January 7, 2022, https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/pittsburgh-named-as-finalist-to-host-2024-republican-national-convention-says-report/Content?oid=20886008
Alex Isenstadt, “GOP picks final four in 2024 convention search,” Politico, January 7, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/07/gop-2024-convention-search-526707
Patrick Varine, “Report: Pittsburgh on short-list for potential 2024 Republican National Convention sites,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 7, 2022, https://triblive.com/local/regional/report-pittsburgh-is-on-the-short-list-for-potential-republican-national-convention-sites-in-2024/
Julian Routh, “Gainey, Fitzgerald among group making pitch for 2024 GOP convention,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 8, 2022, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2022/01/08/City-county-leaders-make-pitch-2024-GOP-convention-Ed-Gainey-Rich-Fitzgerald/stories/202201080041
Ariel Worthy, “Gainey to national Republicans: City ‘would be excited to host’ 2024 presidential convention,” WESA, January 8, 2022, https://www.wesa.fm/politics-government/2022-01-08/gainey-to-national-republicans-city-would-be-excited-to-host-2024-presidential-convention
Snow
It began raining in the wee hours this morning. The temperature has risen above freezing and much of the snow has washed away or been melted from the lawns immediately around my apartment.
The Weather Underground app on my phone says the temperature will dip to freezing at about 8:00 pm and I expect the roads to still be wet; I usually quit around 7:30 pm. I’ll probably quit a bit early tonight.
- [1]Michael de Adder, “The year of living dangerously,” Washington Post, January 5, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/01/05/year-living-dangerously/↩