AUDIO:

POSSIBLE TOPICS: VOTETEXAS.GOV—Voter Information; Sugar Land adopts stronger ethics requirements, approves changes to code of conduct; Meeting preview: Pearland City Council to discuss potential bond election, litigation; Wary of Power Outages, More Homeowners Pony Up For Generators, Solar Panels; Texas constitution may prevent same-sex marriages in the future despite landmark federal law; House advances giant Galveston ‘Ike Dike’ project in water bill; LA City Council passes state of emergency on homelessness before winter recess; Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.; J.R.O.T.C. Textbooks Offer an Alternative View of the World; Democratic lawmakers visit Havana, meet with Cuban president; Putin’s Neighbor Sends Troops Toward Ukraine Border in Menacing ‘Drill’; More.

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Wednesdays at 11AM (CT) on KPFT-HD2, Houston’s Community Station. You can also hear the show:

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Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig where we discuss local, state, national, and international stories. My co-host and show editor is Andrew Ferguson.

• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.
• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts.

1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter InformationTEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   1. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2022
      1. Fort bend County Elections/Voter Registration Machine takes you to the proper link
      2. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      3. Liberty County Elections (Liberty County, TX)
      4. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      5. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      6. Waller County (TX) Elections
      7. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      8. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
      9. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
      10. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting Centers, HARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
          1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
          2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
          3. Current utility bill
          4. Bank statement
          5. Government check
          6. Paycheck
          7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
          8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
             1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
             2. Sick or disabled;
             3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
             4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
             5. Make sure you are registered:
             6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
             7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
             8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
             9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL NEW MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2023 AFTER JANUARY 1, 2023.
   
   1. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking
3. Sugar Land adopts stronger ethics requirements, approves changes to code of conduct; By Jack Dowling | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 3:08 PM Dec 9, 2022 CST, Updated 3:08 PM Dec 9, 2022 CST
   1. With the purpose of holding themselves to a higher standard, Sugar Land City Council members approved revisions to the Sugar Land Code of Ethical Conduct during a regular City Council meeting on Dec. 6. …
   2. After a review of the code of conduct, the [ethics review] board recommended four primary changes:
      1. Create a requirement that the code of conduct is to be reviewed every five years …
      2. Define the difference between financial and personal benefit
      3. Extend the period in which former council members are forbidden from entering into significant contracts with the city from 13 months to 24 months
      4. Create a requirement that, if an official is accused of wrongdoing and requests a “name clearing hearing,” that official would be required to submit a copy of the alleged complaint without naming the accusing party.
   3. [The board also] recommended adding a paragraph [to the Code] that outlined the “principles of conduct and ethical behavior.” One line … raised some eyebrows among City Council members, as it told elected officials to “avoid any reasonable appearance of impropriety.” …
   4. “In the age of social media, I can only imagine what this means,” [Council Member William Ferguson] said during the Dec. 6 meeting.
   5. Several other council members echoed his concern.
   6. However, officials from the ethics review board provided an example, citing a case from New York in which a council member had voted on a zoning agreement for a family member that indirectly benefited him.
   7. All changes were approved by the City Council unanimously despite objections.
   8. ANDREW: The use of the word “reasonable” in that line is something of a double-edged sword. It means that council members accused of appearing ethically improper have a defense against frivolous accusations, but also that legitimate accusations could be dismissed by calling them unreasonable. It would all be up to the deciding parties’ judgment.
   9. ANDREW: It’s good that these rules exist, but rules ultimately can’t guarantee integrity from officials. That requires public attention on government, discussion of any impropriety, and action like pressure campaigns and voting officials out.
   10. MIKE: Andrew is right to pick out the word “reasonable”, because it’s a slippery character. It will guarantee a lawsuit at some point if this becomes a Sugar Land ordnance.
   11. MIKE: I’m no lawyer, but I believe that in civil law, there is something called the “reasonable person” standard. But that always needs to be defined in court when contested.
4. Meeting preview: Pearland City Council to discuss potential bond election, litigation; By Daniel Weeks | COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM | 3:27 PM Dec 9, 2022 CST, Updated 3:27 PM Dec 9, 2022 CST
   1. The Pearland City Council [met] Dec. 12 [and discussed] a potential 2023 bond election, potential litigation and a third-party audit associated with the fiscal year 2022-23 tax calculations.
   2. After an executive session at the end of the meeting, the council [considered] potential litigation and an audit of the FY 2022-23 tax calculation process, according to the agenda. …
   3. The original worksheet sent to the city July 29 had incorrectly listed the city’s total taxable value … This [error] brought the city a $10.3 million deficit.
   4. Council members did not specify the target of the potential litigation. In comments provided after the meeting, Kamkar said the city was hiring legal counsel to “possibly take this to court and force the county to do something they may end up being supportive of.” …
   5. The firm selected for the audit will report directly to the council and the city’s audit committee. The audit is part of the city’s attempt to seek accountability for the worksheet error that caused the city’s deficit.
   6. MIKE: This is coverage of an ongoing story.
   7. ANDREW: I’m annoyed that there doesn’t seem to be any more recent reporting on the lawsuit; this article is from the 9th, and all the coverage I can find about the meeting focuses on other issues. I still want to know who they think they’re going to sue, because it’s not at all clear to me who could actually be held liable for this.
   8. REFERENCE: Pearland City Council considers moving forward with May 2023 bond — COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
5. Wary of Power Outages, More Homeowners Pony Up For Generators, Solar Panels; By Faith Bugenhagen | HOUSTONPRESS.COM | December 12, 2022 4:30AM
   1. … Winter Storm Uri plunged Texas into catastrophic cold weather conditions in February 2021. …
   2. With natural disasters like Uri and the inconsistencies of the grid, demands for generator and solar panel installations continue to grow as Houstonians are not only prioritizing their air-conditioning needs, but also focusing on preserving their heat sources and finding energy-producing alternatives to prepare for this winter season. …
   3. Solar panel systems are also gaining traction as Houstonians face continued power issues from the grid.
   4. Solar system companies are emerging into a new normal after dealing with supply chain issues at the height of the pandemic that made it harder to get and secure materials for projects. Though this issue has not completely resolved itself, the ability to acquire products is getting better, said Adam Miner, director of operations at [a solar power company].
   5. In lieu of putting in a [backup] generator, the solar panel system can be used during the day, while the batteries are charging to be used later in the night. “Then if there is a big storm and the grid goes down, you’ve got solar and batteries, you’re protected and you are an island independent from the grid,” said Stewart Masterson of [another solar power company].
   6. Along with energy generation, the installation of solar panels has financial benefits. The value of a residence that has solar panels installed goes up by 5 percent, and homeowners get a tax credit of 30 percent of what the system cost, said Masterson.
   7. Additionally, according to Masterson, the price of energy decreases for customers. Customers who buy power from an energy supplier are paying around 16 cents per kilowatt hour, and that rate continues to increase. When solar panels are installed the cost of energy decreases to five cents per kilowatt hour.
   8. According to Miner, as the kilowatt hour pricing continues to fluctuate over time, changes bring down the projected payoff period for a solar panel system from an average of 12 to 13 years, to around 10. …[MIKE: I think that these numbers don’t include the cost of backup batteries with the system, and the system has no energy security value without the batteries.]
   9. Though these systems can provide benefits in the long term, the length in turnaround time leaves customers weighing whether they want to make that financial commitment.
   10. Battery backups, which help solar panels continue to operate during a power outage, are the elements of the system that tack on the most expenses. “There is a really common misconception that by default people think that if they have panels on the roof, then when the grid goes down, there’ll be that one house on the block who’s got power,” Miner said. “That’s not how it works, you have to have a battery backup system or energy storage to keep your solar system producing.” …
   11. Before a residential installation can begin, solar panel systems and generators both have to go through an approval process. [Both the city and the utility have to approve the system, and various codes must be met.]
   12. [For example,] in Houston, contractors must first obtain an electrical permit and plumbing permit before they are able to be given the generator permit.
   13. The permit allocation for [residential] generators … is often done at a faster rate in Houston, than the permit process for solar panel systems, said Erin Jones, public information officer at Houston Public Works. This is because generators do not require plans in the city and the permits can often be bought on the same day, whereas solar projects require plans to be submitted with their requests. …
   14. Generators that are in residential spaces are not directly connected to CenterPoint Energy’s services, though they still need to get approval from CenterPoint that they follow National Electrical Code and CenterPoint Energy service standards. [MIKE: FYI, backup generators automatically detach from the grid when they kick in.]
   15. CenterPoint’s approval of solar panel permits often takes longer, as they are directly connected to CenterPoint Energy’s services. Ahead of installation, CenterPoint’s approval is needed as contractors must have access to the poles and wires regulated by the company. …
   16. Nearly 13,000 solar panel systems and over 13,000 generators have been approved by CenterPoint in this calendar year. According to the CenterPoint spokeswoman, they continue to see more applications submitted each year for both solar systems and generators from energy consumers. …
   17. ANDREW: I wonder if all solar systems really do have to be hooked up to the grid. I know of a guy in the DFW area who built his own solar system after Uri and documented the process, and his system doesn’t provide any power to the grid– though I’m not sure whether there’s no connection between the system and the grid at all. And then even if someone gets a system that doesn’t connect to the grid, they’d still have to draft plans, get permits, and get CenterPoint’s code approval. I wonder if there would be a safe way to streamline the solar approval process so that it’s no more complicated than the generator process. That could prompt additional installation of solar, which would theoretically reduce residences’ reliance on fossil fuels.
   18. MIKE: Solar doesn’t have to be attached to the grid. You can go “off grid”, but then you need batteries for nights and cloudy days.
   19. MIKE: The reason that CenterPoint has to be involved within its network is that if people are working on the lines, an improperly installed solar system could electrocute them. A rural system could be made completely independent. The batteries would make that costly, but possibly a lot less than running a power line to a rural property.
   20. MIKE: Some other points. A solar power system currently qualifies for one-time tax credits, and will for the next federal several years. A backup generator doesn’t. A backup generator burns natural gas. It must also burn gas to self-test periodically. A solar system doesn’t. A backup generator is a mechanical device that can wear out and break down. Solar, not so much, and will probably have at least twice the lifetime of a backup generator.
   21. MIKE: And on the federal tax credit, if you install the backup batteries at the same time as the solar panels, the batteries also qualify for the solar tax credit. If you add them later, they don’t.
   22. MIKE: My knowledge on federal tax credits is “last time I checked”, which was about a year ago. There has been new federal legislation since then that has changed some of the terms and numbers.
   23. MIKE: There are other things to know about solar power and tax credits and rebates, but I think these are the main highlights.
6. Texas constitution may prevent same-sex marriages in the future despite landmark federal law; By Bryce Newberry, KPRC 2 Reporter | CLICK2HOUSTON.COM | Published: December 13, 2022 at 10:14 PM
   1. President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act Tuesday, but the Texas constitution still only recognizes marriage between a man and a woman.
   2. If the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturns the 2015 decision that granted same-sex couples the right to marry, even with the new law, new same-sex couples may have to go out of state to be married in the future, and existing same-sex couples may not be recognized, meaning they could be forced to go out of state and get married again. …
   3. [Texas is] not the only state with a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, but the Respect for Marriage Act, which gained bipartisan support, means every state will have to treat marriage equally, regardless of what the Supreme Court decides. …
   4. [Southern Methodist University Constitutional Law Professor Dale Carpenter said,] “What this law does is provide to those Texans and millions of other people a little bit of certainty, added certainty, that their marriages are going to be protected. …”
   5. ANDREW: As I understand it, gay marriages could still be invalidated because the law requires the marriage to be valid under the laws of the state where the marriage was recorded. So if the state law doesn’t recognize gay marriages, and there’s nothing in federal law or judicial record to compel the state to recognize gay marriages, the Respect for Marriage Act can’t help you.
   6. ANDREW: It does at least require states to recognize marriages that weren’t performed in their state, whether or not that state’s law recognizes gay marriages, hence why people could get married in a state that recognizes gay marriage and then come back to Texas and still be married. But there’s room for improvement.
   7. ANDREW: And all of this is precautionary– gay marriage is still recognized by judicial decision in the entire US, so nobody needs to go out of state to get married right now.
   8. ANDREW: As an aside, I’m also disappointed that this law specifically avoids giving an avenue for legalizing polyamorous marriages– marriages between more than two people. These kinds of relationships are becoming more and more common, and I believe people in those relationships should have the same rights to marriage and recognition that couples in relationships do.
   9. MIKE: I believe that what Andrew is referring to would be defined in law “polygamy”. Utah couldn’t become a state until they were outlawed there. But as we’ve seen, things change over generations of time, so who knows?
   10. As far as gay marriages being retroactively invalidated by state law in the event of a SCOTUS reversal, that one of the things this law protects against.
7. House advances giant Galveston ‘Ike Dike’ project in water bill. By Juan A. Lozano And Michael Phillis | ASSOCIATED PRESS via HOUSTON CHRONICLE | Dec. 10, 2022, Updated: Dec. 10, 2022 @ 12:46 p.m.
   1. Fourteen years after Hurricane Ike ripped through thousands of homes and businesses near Galveston, Texas — but mostly spared the region’s oil refineries and chemical plants — the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to authorize the most expensive project ever recommended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect against the next raging storm.
   2. Ike erased beachfront neighborhoods, causing $30 billion in damage. But with so much of the nation’s petrochemical industry in the Houston-Galveston corridor, it could have been even worse. That close call inspired marine science professor Bill Merrell to first propose a massive coastal barrier to protect against a direct hit.
   3. Now, the National Defense Authorization Act includes authorizations for a $34 billion plan that borrows from Merrell’s idea [which some call “The Ike Dike”]. …
   4. The Texas coastal protection project far outstrips any of the 24 other projects greenlit by the [Water Resources Development Act of 2022]. …
   5. Researchers at Rice University in Houston have estimated that a Category 4 storm with a 24-foot storm surge could damage storage tanks and release more than 90 million gallons of oil and hazardous substances.
   6. The most prominent feature of the coastal barrier would be floodgates, including some 650 feet wide – roughly the equivalent of a 60-story building on its side – to prevent storm surge from entering Galveston Bay and plowing up the Houston Ship Channel. An 18-mile ring barrier system would also be built along the backside of Galveston Island to protect homes and businesses from storm surge. The plan took six years of study involving roughly 200 people.
   7. There will also be beach and dune ecosystem restoration projects along the Texas coast. The Houston Audubon Society raised concerns the project would destroy some bird habitat and harm fish, shrimp and crabs populations in the Bay.
   8. The legislation authorizes the construction of the project, but funding will remain a challenge — money must still be allocated. The huge cost burden falls heaviest on the federal government, but local and state entities also will have to pitch in billions. Construction could take two decades. …
   9. ANDREW: The environmental concerns are valid and important, but the preservation of human life is more important to me. I believe the Ike Dike should be built, but that it should be done to Dr. Merrell’s satisfaction, which the Corps of Engineers’ plan seems to fall short of. If environmental experts and groups can be brought in to help minimize the ecological damage, that would be great as well.
   10. MIKE: Everything is a balance. Dr. Merrell deserves credit for the concept, but that doesn’t make him the final authority. If the barrier isn’t built, Houston will eventually become shoreline property … or Atlantis. But given the environmental realities of metro-Houston as an oil town, I imagine that all the environmental components will be radical improvements over the current regional conditions.
8. LA City Council passes state of emergency on homelessness before winter recess; By CBSLA Staff | CBSNEWS.COM | Updated on: December 13, 2022 / 10:37 PM / CBS Los Angeles
   1. … The City Council voted to ratify a state of emergency on homelessness Tuesday, confirming Karen Bass’ first official act as mayor of Los Angeles.
   2. In a statement after the ratification, Bass called Tuesday a “monumental day for the city of Los Angeles.” …
   3. MIKE: Unfortunately, the various reports out of LA discussed almost nothing about the actual effects of the declaration, focusing instead on a city hall scandal. Fortunately, the LA Times at least linked to a copy of the declaration itself.
   4. ANDREW: I don’t see anything in this declaration that concretely prevents the city from destroying houseless people’s property or arresting them for refusing city services or refusing to leave an encampment, which concerns me. I hope some binding action preserving houseless people’s rights and humanity comes from the Mayor very soon.
   5. From the LA Times: … Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness after taking office Monday, which needed a City Council vote to go into effect. The declaration will allow her to spend money on services and facilities to assist L.A.’s unhoused population without competitive bidding or council approval.
   6. REFERENCE: From the declaration text, in part:
      1. “I … DIRECT that the City coordinate its efforts to address this declared
         emergency with the County of Los Angeles, the State of California, and the federal
      2. I FURTHER DIRECT, that the continuing state of emergency shall be regularly evaluated, in coordination with City Council, by reference to key performance indicators of progress in addressing the emergency, including, but not limited to:
      3. Decrease in the number and size of encampments;
      4. Regulatory relief from other jurisdictions and within Los Angeles City agencies to create flexibility to address the crisis;
      5. Relaxation in the restraints that limit the ability of the City’s proprietary departments to create flexibility to address the crisis;
      6. Increased housing placements;
      7. Increased starts on new affordable housing options;
      8. An increase in temporary and permanent housing units;
      9. Increased outside aid through access to mental health and substance use beds;
      10. A decrease in the number of persons being evicted from existing housing units;
      11. A decrease in the number of persons falling into homelessness.
          I FURTHER DIRECT that this Emergency Declaration sunset in six months subject to being renewed. The setting of a specific time frame allows for actions to be taken to make permanent, necessary structural changes.”
9. Thousands of Teens Are Being Pushed Into Military’s Junior R.O.T.C.; In high schools across the country, students are being placed in military classes without electing them on their own. “The only word I can think of is ‘indoctrination,’” one parent said. By Mike Baker, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Ilana Marcus| NYTIMES.COM | Dec. 11, 2022, 3:00 a.m. ET
   1. [Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or] J.R.O.T.C. programs, taught by military veterans at some 3,500 high schools across the country, are supposed to be elective, and the Pentagon has said that requiring students to take them goes against its guidelines. But The New York Times found that thousands of public school students were being funneled into the classes without ever having chosen them, either as an explicit requirement or by being automatically enrolled.
   2. A review of J.R.O.T.C. enrollment data collected from more than 200 public records requests showed that dozens of schools have made the program mandatory or steered more than 75 percent of students in a single grade into the classes, including schools in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Oklahoma City and Mobile, Ala.
   3. A vast majority of the schools with those high enrollment numbers were attended by a large proportion of nonwhite students and those from low-income households, The Times found. …
   4. While Pentagon officials have long insisted that J.R.O.T.C. is not a recruiting tool, they have openly discussed expanding the $400 million-a-year program, whose size has already tripled since the 1970s, as a way of drawing more young people into military service. The Army says 44 percent of all soldiers who entered its ranks in recent years came from a school that offered J.R.O.T.C. …
   5. [C]ritics have long contended that the program’s militaristic discipline emphasizes obedience over independence and critical thinking. The program’s textbooks, The Times found, at times falsify or downplay the failings of the U.S. government. And the program’s heavy concentration in schools with low-income and nonwhite students, some opponents said, helps propel such students into the military instead of encouraging other routes to college or jobs in the civilian economy. …
   6. Schools also have a financial incentive to push students into the program. The military subsidizes instructors’ salaries while requiring schools to maintain a certain level of enrollment in order to keep the program. In states that have allowed J.R.O.T.C. to be used as an alternative graduation credit, some schools appear to have saved money by using the course as an alternative to hiring more teachers in subjects such as physical education or wellness. …
   7. Nicole Schwegman, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon and a former J.R.O.T.C. student herself, said that, while the program helped the armed forces by introducing teenagers to the prospect of military service, it operated under the educational branch of the military, not the recruiting arm, and aimed to help teenagers become more effective students and more responsible adults. …
   8. But she expressed concern about The Times’s findings on enrollment policies, saying that the military does not ask high schools to make J.R.O.T.C. mandatory and that schools should not be requiring students to take it.
   9. “Just like we are an all-volunteer military, this should be a volunteer program,” she said. …
   10. Of the textbooks obtained and examined by The Times, one from the Navy states that a U.S. military victory in Vietnam was hindered by the restrictions political leaders had placed on the tactics the military could use. That hawkish interpretation of the war fails to account for the fundamental problem that many civilian textbooks point out: the lack of popular support among South Vietnamese for their government, which was America’s chief ally in the war. …
   11. ANDREW: I have long been opposed to military recruitment in schools, and I think JROTC is just another recruitment tool. Military officials are allowed access to campuses around the nation from junior high up to college, to students’ and their families’ personal information like phone numbers and home addresses, and to information on how students are paying for their education.
   12. ANDREW: Having been a student myself until fairly recently, I know from experience that you cannot tell a recruiter from one branch of the armed forces to prevent you from getting recruitment messages from other branches, and that refusing one branch is no discouragement to the other branches or even to other recruiters in the same branch sometimes. I think many people would call that “harassment” if it were anyone other than the military doing it.
   13. ANDREW: I believe military recruitment of students of any age should be banned, and that would include things like JROTC.
   14. MIKE: For more than a decade, I’ve been advocating Universal National Service. Military service would still be voluntary, with other public service options available. This might not only instill greater civic-mindedness, but would also have young people to experience more of the diversity of the country, possibly leading to more domestic harmony… or at least, tolerance.
10. R.O.T.C. Textbooks Offer an Alternative View of the World; Descriptions of civic life and some key historical events differ from the way they are taught in typical public school textbooks. By Mike Baker and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | NYTIMES.COM | Dec. 11, 2022, 3:00 a.m. ET
    1. … The J.R.O.T.C. curriculum materials cover a wide range of subjects, with lessons on financial literacy and public speaking, on healthy eating and first aid, on preparing for college and life in the military. Most of them offer a presentation similar to what might be found in any public high school study materials.
    2. But a New York Times review of thousands of pages of the program’s textbooks found that some of the books also included outdated gender messages, a conservative shading of political issues and accounts of historical events that falsify or downplay the failings of the U.S. government. …
    3. A textbook produced by the U.S. Air Force informs students that the United States entered the Vietnam War after the North Vietnamese attacked a U.S. destroyer in the Gulf of Tonkin in August 1964.
    4. But the authors never mention a key part of the story: It was the report of a second, full-on attack two days later that led Congress to approve America’s escalated involvement in Vietnam — and that attack, history eventually revealed, never happened.
    5. A review of that history published by the U.S. Naval Institute concluded that the second incident did not happen and that U.S. officials, including the nation’s defense secretary, “distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.”
    6. A textbook that the Navy distributes to J.R.O.T.C. students is more forthcoming than the Air Force book but says only that “evidence gathered later seemed to indicate the alleged attack may never have occurred.” …
    7. In introducing freshmen students to the idea of leadership, a Marine Corps textbook offers the Confederate general Robert E. Lee as an example to emulate. Lee, the textbook says, “showed, in his attitude and appearance at Appomattox, that he was an officer and a gentleman.”
    8. In discussing the history of how Native Americans were forced from their lands in the southeastern United States during the 1830s, a Marine Corps textbook describes what is widely known as the “Trail of Tears” as a “march” and a “trek” to lands west of the Mississippi River that spanned several months and thousands of miles. But the text omits any mention of the brutal reality of that mass removal: Thousands of Native Americans died along the way.
    9. Military officials said they sought to regularly review and update textbooks used in J.R.O.T.C. training, relying in part on instructors and consultants to shape the curriculum. Some of the textbooks highlighted were published years ago, they said, and are coming due for the periodic reviews that are conducted “to ensure the information is updated, relevant and accurate.”
    10. In response to inquiries from The Times, some of the service branches said they planned to take a closer look at some of the highlighted passages. The Marine Corps said it was “grateful for the attention highlighting these necessary modifications.”
    11. ANDREW: This isn’t surprising. Very few militaries in history have encouraged independent thinking, moral and ethical responsibility, or anything other than “follow orders and tale the fall when told to”. The US military isn’t going to be any exception, and that’s partially because the same deference to authority is encouraged by capitalism as a whole.
    12. ANDREW: These textbooks should be changed, but there is a deeper problem here with teaching kids to grow up doing whatever anyone with more power tells them to do. It doesn’t just make them less principled and less thoughtful adults, it increases the risk of abuse, which at its core is an adult placing themselves in a position of power over a child and compelling them to do something harmful to themselves without questioning or discussing it with others.
    13. ANDREW: I believe that sounds quite a lot like the core concept of a hierarchical military, and that is another reason why I believe military recruitment has no place in schools.
    14. MIKE: I think a fundamental question is whether military textbooks distorting history are any worse than the Texas Education Agency (TEA) whitewashing history? Maybe both are bad and we need a national board approving textbooks, perhaps as a backup to state approval. I.e., a collaborative process.
11. Democratic lawmakers visit Havana, meet with Cuban president; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | December 11, 2022
    1. A delegation of at least three U.S. lawmakers visited Havana and met with Cuba’s government this week, American and Cuban officials confirmed. [They] met with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, leaders in Cuba’s congress and its foreign minister, the U.S. Embassy in Cuba told The Associated Press on Sunday. …
    2. The meeting comes following a number of visits in past months by Biden administration officials to discuss migration. The talks mark a gradual easing of tensions, which were relaxed during the Obama administration and tightened under the Trump administration.
    3. Cuba is facing the greatest exodus from the island in a decade, fueled by compounding economic, energy and political crises.
    4. In the past year, Cuban arrivals to the U.S.-Mexico border have skyrocketed, and a growing number of boats packed with migrants have been found off of Florida’s coast. …
    5. [The visit] also comes weeks before the U.S. plans to resume visa and consular services on the island, which had been stalled after a series of health incidents involving American diplomats in 2017.
    6. ANDREW: I’m glad to see this. The economic blockade orchestrated by the US has been causing undeserved harm to the people of Cuba for decades, and normalizing diplomatic relations is a step towards allowing Cuba to participate fully in world trade and affairs. I think lifting the blockade would do a lot to improve people’s lives in Cuba and stabilize society there.
12. Putin’s Neighbor Sends Troops Toward Ukraine Border in Menacing ‘Drill’; Russian ally Belarus has ordered snap military drills inspired by Vladimir Putin’s war, and is already moving troops and equipment towards its border with Ukraine. By Shannon Vavra, National Security Reporter | THEDAILYBEAST.COM | Published Dec. 13, 2022,  3:33PM ET
    1. Russian ally Belarus announced snap military drills Tuesday in a move that has raised concerns that Minsk could be planning to join the war on Ukraine. …
    2. The large-scale drills are unusual because they are “unexpected” for the military, said Aleksandr Volfovich, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, according to Belta. He explained that Belarus is running the drills in order to handle the war in Ukraine if the situation around the country’s borders “deteriorates.”
    3. “To put it simply, those are permanently ready forces,” he said.
    4. Some Belarusian military units are making their way towards the border with Ukraine and moving military gear with them, according to the Belarusian Hajun project. Units from the 38th separate air assault group are reportedly destined to head to Malorita, which is around 15 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, as well as to the town of Mokrany, which is about three kilometers from the border. …
    5. While at times Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has toed the line between claiming he wants peace and providing Putin with full-throttled support by allowing Russian soldiers and equipment into Belarus, these snap drills could be a signal that Putin has enveloped Belarus into its war plans more fully. …
    6. The White House has since assessed that it may have been a move aimed at helping Russia distract Ukraine from its operations in the south and east of the country.
    7. “While they claim it’s to bolster their bilateral readiness it could also be an effort to try to pin down Ukrainian forces in the north of the country,” John Kirby, a White House National Security Council Coordinator, said last month.
    8. In recent weeks Russia also deployed nuclear-capable missiles to Belarus, according to an intelligence report.
    9. Already, concerns have begun to bubble up in neighboring Ukraine and Poland over what Belarus might have up its sleeve with the military drills. Military officials from both countries have expressed worries about the snap inspections in Belarus and agreed to coordinate joint action in the coming days, according to NBC.
    10. ANDREW: I hope these forces limit themselves to being ready to defend Belarus’ borders, and that conflict between Ukrainian and Russian troops doesn’t spill over to prompt any action from Belarusian troops. I hope the US lets Ukraine and Russia negotiate before there’s a chance for that to happen. But I’m not holding my breath.
    11. MIKE: I think you are laboring under a misapprehension. It’s not a matter of the US “letting” Ukraine and Russia negotiate. Ukraine is not prepared to negotiate with Russia, and probably won’t until Russia is prepared to leave Ukrainian territories on some terms. And Russia is apparently not prepared to negotiate with Ukraine until Ukraine is prepared to cede territories to Russia. So that’s where things stand. I don’t think there will be negotiations until one party is basically defeated militarily, or both parties are totally exhausted. Given the depth of Ukraine’s current international support, as long as their people and military can stand it, the losing party will probably be Russia. Which would be historically amazing.
    12. ANDREW: I think this interview (from “Democracy Now!”) summarizes my view on the US role in obstructing negotiations– it’s not an ultimatum, but I believe the US is wielding soft power with Ukraine to avoid a negotiation that would prevent NATO expansion. I think the previous unsuccessful rounds of negotiation indicate that Ukraine would otherwise be willing to negotiate, especially as they manage to beat Russia further and further back, which would make Russia more willing to talk.

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