In the final segment of the show, I will discuss the book They Thought They Were Free, by Milton Mayer, a 1955 study of a small German community where people had to come to terms with the terrible things that were done by them, by their neighbors, and by their government during the Third Reich. It's a book full of historical interest, but also with implications for any society trying to come to terms with its past to build a better and more honorable future.
Schumer, who has led the Democratic caucus in the Senate since 2017, voted against the resolution. However, the group of Senate Democrats who voted for the deal had conferred with Schumer through the negotiation process, and thus had his tacit approval. The deal, which many other Democrats have denounced as "terrible" and a betrayal, was advanced in a vote on Sunday evening, in one of the first steps to reopen the government after a historic shutdown.
Senators in the United States have voted to move forward with a stopgap funding package aimed at ending the longest government shutdown in the country's history. In a procedural vote on Sunday, some eight Democrats broke rank and voted in favour of advancing a Republican measure that will keep the government reopen into January 30. The measure would also fund some parts of the government, including food aid and the legislative branch, for the next year.
"It doesn't matter what we do in the House," GOP Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a press conference this week. While it's tempting to give the MAGA leader grudging points for candor, that churlish admission speaks volumes about a once-robust legislative branch now relegated to inert duty as a satellite Trumpian messaging complex: a glorified Fox News set with gavels.