Saving us from ourselves

         The Secretary of State of Maine has removed tRump from the ballot in that state's Republican primary, pending a decision by the Supreme Court on the merits of the case.   Arguing Section 3 of the 14th amendment bars an insurrectionist from running for president seems a lot like wondering how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.  You can always get the answer you are looking for.

        Without a doubt, the conservative majority on the Court will get to the holding that enables Cheeto Jesus to run on all state ballots.   That a different Court would find the opposite to be true is self evident.  The history of the court is littered with bad faith decisions which have arguably led to worse outcomes than a second tRump presidency.   Regardless of anything the court does, lovers of democracy should ignore the courtroom drama and work to defeat tRump at the ballot box by such a margin he will be consigned to history's dustbin.

What comes next

          The death toll has exceeded 20,000 Palestinians since the Israeli war on Gaza began in the wake of the horrific Hamas attack which caused over 1,000 deaths.   What happens next?   

         The IDF has managed to create a new generation of haters of Israel.  The government has squandered most if not all of the international sympathy the Hamas attack generated.   It's stated goal of destroying Hamas is manifestly impossible to achieve.  A humanitarian catastrophe is happening as I write this and Netenyahu continues what is looking more and more like ethnic cleansing as he desperately clings to power.  This cannot end well...

The clown car loses an occupant

      It's certainly looks like Meatball Ron's presidential aspiration in 2024 will be history after the Iowa caucuses in January.

       According to some accounts, DeSantis' campaign has spent more on private jet travel for the candidate than it did on television ads.  After all, nothing says insurgent campaign more than the candidate getting off a private jet plane.   

     The media deserves a dose of contempt for running endless, breathless stories about how DeSantis was going to take down tRump.   That he was tRump without the baggage.   Now they are moving on to Nikki Haley and how she is the unlikely hero who has a chance to take down the frontrunner.   Meanwhile, she is running for the nomination of a misogynistic, racist party, so, good luck with that.   In reality, she is running for VP on the Cheeto Jesus ticket, so any criticism of the Dear Leader will be muted.

     The other occupants of the clown car, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy are dead men walking.  Both will soon pull the plug, leaving Haley as the only alternative to catastrophe.  That doesn't leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

That is the question

       Should Clarence Thomas recuse himself from any cases involving his wife and or the insurrection of January 6th, 2021?  Yes, of course he would says anyone who has, Rip van Winkle like, been out of touch with American politics for the last 30 years.  Or anyone with a tiny sliver of integrity.  Unfortunately, most of the electorate has not had the luxury of isolation and many do not have even a tiny sliver of integrity, so, Hell no is probably Thomas' reply.  No Hamlet he!

A few Christmas thoughts

        Christmas is a difficult holiday for me in several ways.  The rational part of my adult brain says there is no way we should be celebrating the birth of an out of wedlock child as the incarnation of god on earth.  The elementary school part of the same brain finds this an irresistible story which I desperately want to be true.  So, I sing the carols and participate in the hoopla surrounding Christmas, but always with the caveat that the holiday we "christians" celebrate originates as the joyful welcome of the lengthening of days in the northern hemisphere.  So, let's sing another yuletide carol and bring on the wassail bowl.  A Merry Christmas to all!

time to put on the curmudgeon hat

        The Divine Mrs. M. and I escort a couple of our grandchildren to their school which is across the street from our house.  Today was "pajama day" at school, so the kids came decked out in their best seasonal sleepwear.  Today's schedule includes minimal learning and a  holiday movie.

      I contrasted this in my mind with my own experience as a 4th grader in 1960 or 61.  Christmas was not nearly the deal it is today, especially at St. John the Evangelist school.   Sister Redempta had no use for the commercial aspect of the holiday and she certainly did not let it interrupt the learning process.  We had an assembly and sang a few Christmas carols, but that was the extent of our holiday celebration.  

     Every generation is doomed to this sort of introspection on various aspects of growing up in America.  Our own children probably will pontificate on the excesses of the next generation when they reach their 70's.   Dog only knows what their grandchildren will be doing to celebrate Christmas.

The first domino?

       The Colorado Supreme court has ruled an insurrectionist by the name of Donald tRump is ineligible to appear on the primary ballot in that state due to Section 3 of the 14th amendment.   This clause forbids anyone who attempts the overthrow of a legitimately elected US government from running for any office in the nation, including president.

     Until now, most pundits have pooh poohed the idea of using a little known section of the Constitution originally meant to prevent anyone who supported treason in defense of slavery from holding any office in the US after the Civil War to prevent tRump from running.  Their argument was he has not been convicted of a crime.  As the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs in the case argued,  conviction is irrelevant.  The vast majority of confederate soldiers were never tried, but their support of insurrection disqualified them.  They showed abundant evidence tRump planned, led and exhorted his followers to interfere with the orderly transfer of power to the winner of a legitimate election.

      It will be interesting if courts in other swing states agree with Colorado.

The rights of Kings

        In the opinion section of today's NYT, we are told by Michelle Goldberg our hair should be on fire at the prospect of another tRump presidency.  Meanwhile, in another essay, Matthew Schmitz, an avowed conservative tells us the disgraced, indicted former president is not an authoritarian.  He is merely a pragmatic centrist who seeks consensus.

       My brain is virtually exploding at the disingenuousness of Schmitz' premise.   The only thing which prevented Orange Julius from going full on dictator was the majority of his cabinet and advisors still at least professed to believe in small d democracy.  They thwarted tRump's worst power plays.  The next time around, Cheeto Jesus will stock the executive branch with enablers who will cater to his every whim.

      So, yes, our hair should be on fire and we should be doing everything in our power to elect Biden and as many Democrats as possible.   

The nostalgia high

       Personally, if I never see another cassette or VHS tape again it won't bother me.   However, I hear there is a movement afoot to revive both formats.  Anyone who had a cassette tape unwind in a player or had  VHS tape break knows what I'm talking about..

     The same goes for more historical events.  Some idiots are protesting the removal of a confederate monument from Arlington National Cemetary.  Celebrating treason in defense of slavery has become a cottage industry on the right.   Likewise, there is a mini groundswell of support for rehabilitating ''Tricky Dick" Nixon's reputation.  No comments necessary on that score.

    Why do humans pine for obsolete technology and obnoxious historical eras and personalities?  I guess I better start collecting tRump campaign buttons...

An imperfect world

       We live in an imperfect world .  The trouble is many believe a perfect world is possible and in so doing, they reject the world as it is, adopting an ideology they would normally find offensive.  That is the reason many on the extreme left have migrated to the political right wing.  They are searching and the right offers the rosy view of a past that never was. 

       This is the thesis of Michelle Goldberg's column in the NYT today.   I agree with part of her take on the subject, but I think she is missing part of the allure the right exerts on people.  In a word, it's money that powers the right wing today, whether in politics or lifestyle.   Why be a voice, crying in the wilderness, when you can have a lifestyle off the rich and famous.   All you have to do is embrace the theology of 1950's era nostalgia and the cash spigot will open.

Mr. Bad Example

      The title for this blog post is the eponymous song by Warren Zevon.   He chronicled the exploits of a man who consistently made bad choices when it came to good and evil, starting out as a thieving alter boy and going downhill from there.

     Among nation states, America was Mr. Bad Example following 9/11.  After the fall of the Twin Towers we had all the good will in the world.  Instead of leading the world in a Christian direction, we succumbed to an old testament desire for revenge for over 3 thousand American lives.  It led to 20 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq and hundreds of thousands of lost lives.

     Israel seems set in following our bad example.   It is now in the process of squandering all the good will the horrific attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 had generated.   By indiscriminately targeting civilians in Gaza and killing thousands, Israel is well on its way to becoming a pariah state.   The leaders need to declare victory and start the process of rebuilding Gaza before a humanitarian disaster further besmirches Israel's reputation.

Supreme suspense

        It looks like the Supreme Court will hear arguments regarding presidential immunity in the coming weeks.   Special Prosecutor Jack Smith short circuited the appeals process tRump and his lawyers were counting on to delay his trial in DC until after the election.  

      The crux of tRump's case is the assertion that Presidents, like Kings in the 14th century could not be held liable for crimes committed during their reign.   A cursory acquaintance with the Constitution would tell you the Founders would have thought it beyond belief for someone to assert royal privilege in such a case.   The twice impeached, disgraced former president needs to be held accountable for fomenting the plot to overturn the 2020 election and it must be done in a timely manner.   Aside from Alito and Thomas, I'm reasonably certain the Supremes will vote for the rule of law as opposed to the Divine right of Kings.

Gloomy Doom

      Democrats are rattled and dismayed by recent polls showing Cheeto Jesus beating Joe Biden in a head to head matchup in 2024.   Unfortunately, they have good reasons to be nervous.  The biggest single issue voters tell pollsters they are concerned about is the economy.   People just don't believe the economic statistics generated by the government and private economists saying things are better today than they were at the height of the tRump administration

    Part of people's dissatisfaction is Democrats showed people the government could make people's lives better with program's like the Child Care tax credit.   This program had an immediate good effect on parents' lives.  Money may not solve every problem, but relieving parents of the expense of day care solved a lot of them.   The strategic error was to not make the program permanent (thank you, Joe Manchin).   It is like Lucy and the football.  Instead of giving us the message that government can help people live better, the good program was snatched away just as it was starting to make a difference.  

    There is no way Republicans will cooperate with Democrats to enact more social safety net legislation.  Biden will have to use executive orders to help people between now and next November or we are in for the ultimate fiasco of another tRump interregnum.

our very own facts

       Recent polling on the economy shows a majority of Americans have a poor opinion of the economy at this point in the Biden administration's first term.  More than 70% of Republicans feel the economy is bad, despite the fact most of them view their own situation as good.  

     As Paul Krugman points out in today's NYT, you can show people the actual fall of inflation and the continued strength of the job market and you will be called an elitist snob who knows nothing about the lives of ordinary folks.  Studies have shown it takes two years of non inflationary growth before many  people feel comfortable with the economic situation.  In the case of Fox news viewers it may take a generation of good news to change their minds.   The relentless narrative at Rupert Murdoch's shop is any bad news is automatically Democrats' fault.  They are informing an entire generation of low information citizens to attribute any problem to the Dems.  As Rudy Giuliani has said, We have theories, we just don't have the evidence.

5

The day the sitcom died

        Norman Lear, the creator of Archie Bunker and a host of other sitcom staples of the 1970's died yesterday at 101.   He hung on long enough to outlive Henry Kissinger, so good on him.  It's hard to say which of them had a greater impact on American history.   Kissinger was ubiquitous in the halls of power in the 70's while Lear was a fixture in the country's living rooms.  Most of us invited Archie and Edith into our homes every week and came away with a mirror eye view of our national identity.

      Virtually everyone knows one or more of the archetypes Lear created.   The prototypical bigot, the newly minted feminist, the angry young man and a host of other middle Americans struggling  for recognition each week on our televisions came from the mind of man who embodied many of their traits.  His father called him the laziest white kid he had ever seen.  

      Lear's influence on popular culture continued long after his most famous shows went into syndication.  Series like the Sopranos show that even criminals have a life outside their pursuit of ill gotten gains.  Even Ted Lasso with its stereotypes poking fun at each other is a spiritual descendant of Lear's work.

    In later years, Lear became a social activist who invested in democracy, unlike Kissinger who did his best to subvert it.  On balance, Norman Lear lived a life far closer to the American ideal and I honor him for his example.

An El Nino winter

       Depending on which meteorologist you listen to, it will either be dry and cold or wet and warm this winter in the North Country of New York.  Our little corner of the world is affected in different ways than much of the rest of the country.  The melting glaciers in Greenland are chilling the waters north of us which in turn counteracts the effects of global warming.  So, while winters are generally getting warmer, it's not as drastic a change as in many other areas.   No matter what they say, the snow shovels and snow blower will see action before too long.

Will they even care

       With the release of a new book, Liz Cheney has re-emerged as a rallying point in  the anti-tRump movement which is gaining ground across the country as the seeming inevitability of his march to the Republican presidential nomination becomes apparent.  Cheney and others have repeatedly pointed to Cheeto Jesus' authoritarian tendencies as the prelude to a dictatorship for life. I wonder how many people would care if it happened.

       Millions of  Germans and Italians did not demonstrate in the streets during the rise of Hitler and Mussolini.  Many millions welcomed the fascist dictators as harbingers of stability.  In more recent times, Hungarians are not agitating to topple Victor Orban.  

      To the many millions of Americans whose sole source of news is right wing media, a dictatorship which includes the persecution of immigrants, brown and black skinned people, women and the younger generation is an unalloyed good.  As long as the 2nd amendment is observed, the rest of the Constitution is superfluous.   I'm betting if tRump called for his election as president for life, he would lose a handful of votes, but possibly gain a few of the authoritarian curious.  So much for the American experiment with democracy.    

When the news isn't news

       The latest government statistics show inflation is nearing the 2%/year target of the Federal Reserve.   After all the sturm and drang the media subjected us to since inflation became a thing in 2022 you would think they would be singing glad hosannas.  Instead, crickets.  Or the story is buried on some inside page or mentioned in passing.   It seems the only thing the media really cares about is bad news, especially if it relates to a Democratic administration.