Crash Course: A prayer before dying: On the Republican Party's terminal illness

I was a Republican for years. I can testify that GOP leaders know their party is doomed, and there's no escape Your daily update from [Salon](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZ2FjZjB4c2NmMi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). A prayer before dying: On the Republican Party's terminal illness The Republican Party is terminally ill, and most of its voters are oblivious to this fact.  Taking a pre-mortem liberty with the five stages of grief, from Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' "On Death and Dying" — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance — what one will notice about Republican voters and elected officials is that they currently, and confusedly, occupy numerous stages.  Yes, we will continue to see Republican candidates, who will [cite](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvejVleHZ2Y3cwZy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) heroic dead presidents (but no living ones), and will prattle on with their usual myths (which I'll get to in a moment).   But the GOP is a soon-to-be spectral political party. What rendered the party sickly beyond cure? Its illness are its politically traumatizing mythologies, as old as our country itself. [Read the rest from Rich Logis.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdXR1emJ4OTUycC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Meeting "Harry & Meghan": the Sussexes launch the next stage of their strategic charm offensive For now, perhaps not forever, the British press can be counted on to describe every move the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make in the context of war, and positioning [Meghan Markle](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdmpibXVoZ2lkeC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) as the cause of[ Prince Harry's](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdmgzbGd3Y3BnbS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) departure from royal life. The opening trio of episodes of "Harry & Meghan" intentionally play that game, only not in the way Buckingham Palace was fearing in the days leading up to its Netflix debut. In the papers, on talk shows and on gossip sites, the speculation was that the series would [take aim at King Charles III,](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvaHZ6aDc4bjVoeS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Harry's brother William and the rest of the family. But if the U.S. audience has come to understand and appreciate any single thing about the Sussexes, it is their savvy in the ways of image creation and perception, and how to control a narrative. With the public being primed to expect a hit piece on the royals, Harry and Meghan dodged that by continuing what Meghan has been doing [with her "Archetypes" podcast](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNGQ0bG11YzVhbi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Through private pictures, family-provided home video, insights from intimate friends and an extended conversation with her mother, Doria Ragland, the couple's and director Liz Garbus' primary objective was to prove yet again that Meghan and Harry are down-to-earth people devoted to doing great and good things with their singular status. [Read the rest from Melanie McFarland.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvb25wcWFjdm13by8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Courtesy of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex) - "I owe my entire life" to "Mean Girls": [Jonathan Bennett](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYnRzbzd5aDJleS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) on his famous role and "The Holiday Sitter" - Do [COVID-19 vaccines](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMWpnZ2RtdzRndC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) really have worse side effects than other vaccines? Here's what experts say - Why aren't cinephiles taking the [Oscar bait](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZHR6Y3hzbWUwbi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)? Salon conducted an unscientific survey - "[The McCartney Legacy](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOXppNHFpeGowbi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)": An in-depth study of Paul's angsty transition from Beatle to solo superstar - “Hold up. Wait!”: [Patti LaBelle](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN3QxdTB6emV0aS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) ushered off stage due to bomb threat at Milwaukee concert - The "[Christmas bombing](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdThhazJyOWljNS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)" of 1972 — and why that misremembered Vietnam War moment matters - As [Iranians](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNGRkYWs1MTIwOC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) rise up, it's time we also challenged the stereotype of the misogynist Iranian man - Chocolate, crunch and convenience meet in these decadent [4-ingredient cracker cookies](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdGhncXp6aXBleC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) If you found yourself here without subscribing, sign up for [Crash Course](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNndhdzYybm50Ni8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), so you don't miss anything! We fill queer spaces with joy and belonging. That’s why they’re under attack On Sunday, November 20, 2022 I learned that an [armed killer entered Club Q](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdGM2OXRiMTA5MS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo), a queer bar and nightlife space in Colorado Springs, and prematurely [ended the lives of five patrons and injured 22 more](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN3loZGltNHNzei8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). I knew it would happen again. This time, though, I reacted differently. I felt personally violated, passionately angered and deeply unsettled. I stood there for a long time trying to figure out why this mass shooting was different, other than the obvious reason that it had[ targeted queer people like me](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNHMwNWZzMHdwNC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). The news of the immeasurable, yet familiar, loss of life weighed heavily on my mind, but something immensely somber wrapped around my soul. [Gun violence](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMnFicm4zOXoydy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) is endemic in America; it is a strange and dangerous reality our society has made normal and seemingly immovable. Accounts of perpetrators — mostly cisgender heterosexual white men — slinging firearms and donning combat gear to enter public spaces and reap the lives of innocent people [date back decades](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvemJheHV6NW9mdC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Our country's founders revered this power one can hold and dispense with the slip of a finger so much they made it the second item within our nation's list of guaranteed rights. [Read the rest from Brandon Summers-Miller.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOXN5dTRvN2p4OS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Getty Images/HUIZENG HU) - "Amazon accused of stealing tips from delivery drivers," [CBS News](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN2RmdG85N3Y1bi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Cher's Mother Georgia Holt Dead at 96," [People](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvemI1cHZxbmI0bS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "NASA’s Orion capsule blazes home from test flight to moon," [AP News](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNTkzZTNkYmdxdS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Johnny Knoxville sued by repair man for emotional distress over prank," [Page Six](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvajh6YXpjbW5jbC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Your child's glasses may have been made with forced prison labor When Sovannarie was 3 months old, her parents noticed something unusual about their daughter: white opacities in both pupils. Without [cataract](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMnkwemM2djgzMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) surgery — and soon — doctors predicted irreversible [vision loss](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvaDZ6eGMwams3by8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Even if that procedure went perfectly, Sovannarie would need glasses to rehabilitate her eyes and prevent blindness. A decade and many operations later, Sovannarie needed new glasses again, her mother Ranny Un explains. She got them for free through the state — what on its surface seemed like a genuinely positive social program. But there is a more sinister side to these free glasses, as a recent [editorial](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNGYxbjg4eXgxcC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) in the American Journal of Public Health attests. Its authors contend that pediatric eye doctors who serve lower-income families in California — as well as those in other states — are unwitting supporters of exploitative prison labor. [Read the rest from Gail Cornwall and Michelle Wallace.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYTAybjZ6MThkOC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPXU0dGJkNjZwdGVXA3NwY0IKY5DQF5dj6fCz8VIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images) [Unsubscribe from this list](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9yZWFkLmxldHRlcmhlYWQuZW1haWwvY3Jhc2gtY291cnNlL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlP2lkPUAzNTQzOTUyVwNzcGNCCmOQ0BeXY-nws_FSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Copyright © 2022 Crash Course, All rights reserved. 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200, Wilmington, DE 19801 [Made with Letterhead [Letterhead logo]](~/AASU4wA~/RgRleZzPP0QiaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmVwbm83czh5c1cDc3BjQgpjkNAXl2Pp8LPxUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~)