I have yet to see a good explanation for Trump‘s unlawful attempt to abolish the 14th Amendment via executive order by the MAGA-faction. It is also bit rich to complain about Two Tier Keir on the one hand, while endorsing Trump, who on the other hand just gave carte blanche to ‚his‘ very own militias.
So Claire, you don’t like the pardons Trump issued. Does your outrage extend to the pardon Biden issued to Tony Fauci?
Take a look at that particular pardon. Why do you think it provides Fauci with immunity that extends all the way back to 2014? After all, Covid didn’t make its appearance until at least five years later. What could Fauci possibly need to be protected from for behavior that goes back so far before Covid reared its ugly head?
The answer is that it was in 2014 that Fauci’s Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, first began funding gain of function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The grant was renewed annually with Fauci’s blessing in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. For this entire period there was a presidential ordered moratorium on NIH funding of gain of function research. Either Fauci criminally ignored the moratorium or was given special dispensation to ignore it in light of his role as the American bioterrorism Czar.
Given the overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Covid was created through gain of function research that took place in Wuhan and given the fact that the NIH was complicit in supporting the Wuhan Institute’s gain of function research, do you believe Fauci should have been pardoned?
On more than one occasion, Fauci testified under oath before the United States Senate that his institute never funded gain of function research in Wuhan. That was a lie and Fauci’s attempt to explain it away by obfuscating what gain of function actually means doesn’t pass the smell test. His defense smacks of Bill Clinton’s testimony in the Monica Lewinsky case where Clinton famously said, “it depends what the definition of is is.”
The one good thing about the Fauci pardon is that because he’s no longer subject to prosecution, he can no longer invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination. When he is subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury or a congressional committee as he surely will be thanks to Trump, he will have to testify truthfully or the pardon he received from Biden won’t protect him from prosecution.
Given the plausible possibility that the gain of function research he approved in Wuhan might be at least be at least tangentially related to the deaths of seven million people around the world, Biden’s pardon of Fauci seems a bit questionable, don’t you think?
So what can we do now to keep our sanity and at least slow the rot?
My sister and I are old farts, I'm 78, she's 87. We're still fine, but seeing what's coming we think maybe we were lucky to live in good times. I worry about my four grandkids though.
We're in Canada, but we are still impacted by Trump's decisions. And we have our own growing right wing, full of slogans and misinformation.
For sanity it helps me to be a creator, not just a consumer. SubStack is a great new platform for me to record my podcasts of classic stories, post a Sunday collection of sparkly things, and start a daily post of political articles that catch my eye, while adding in some commentary. I'm learning how to play a keyboard (again) and doing some urban sketching - badly. And always adding new technologies to my knowledge. And foster friendships.
To slow or remove the rot - the above modest attempt at some political monitoring and commentary, to maybe educate, maybe encourage discussion. I support a local politician (NDP) that is not nearly as bad as the others - he tries to do what he can within the system. I support good journalists and the few media outlets that still count. I vote and encourage others to do so. And I raised one politically active child, they work with Elections Canada coordinating voter education programs in schools and remote communities.
All we really can do in this span is to grow ourselves, be kind to others, and try to leave our corner of the world a little better for us occupying it.
"...now the insurrectionists have been pardoned—the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the “Camp Auschwitz” guy, all of them."
Actually, not a single insurrectionist has even been arrested, much less brought to trial and convicted. The insurrections that occurred were in Zuccotti Park, Minneapolis-St Paul, Seattle, Portland in 2020 and in the case of Zuccotti Park in 2011. The Capitol rioters were en masse swept up in an operation that would have done Hitler's goons (another of your favorite shibboleths) proud, heavily overcharged, and heavily oversentenced. During their pretrial lockups, they were too often kept in cold, unsanitary conditions, too often further in isolation. Many of the ones Trump pardoned haven't even had their trials, yet, four years later. Apparently, the 6th Amendment is only a suggestion for the Left and Progressive-Democratic Party politicians. The Biden administration's treatment of these rioters has been as un-American as it gets, as has been the blanket look-the-other-way behavior regarding the insurrectionists of the State and local administrations.
The other thing is this one:
"He signed an executive action delaying the enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days. (He has no authority to do this.)"
Actually, he has the authority to delay enforcement for 90 days if there are serious discussions for the sale of TikTok in progress. There are a number of offers on the table, and Xi has indicated a willingness to talk. Whether these can be taken to be serious is a separate matter, but Trump's delay is much less than the delay allowed.
Bonus: "That hat [Melania's] was strange and sinister. It was something a woman with an unwholesome interest in Dalmatian puppies might wear."
This is just petty and I would have thought beneath you. The First Lady's hat reminded me of Hannie Caulder, another self-made, successful, strong, intelligent woman.
It really was quite a day 1 for the new President. My favorite part was Trump’s speech during the inugaratuon; especially the moment where he repudiated everything that his miserable predecessors stood for with them sitting only a few feet away. The horrified looks on the faces of Clinton, Bush and Obama were unforgettable. Whether Trump can restore the American vitality that those poseurs sapped remains to be seen.
It’s no wonder that sore losers abound. So much of what they hold dear has been repudiated by the American people. Respect for global institutions; toppled. Globalism itself; in retreat. An abiding passion for permanent war; defenestrated. Neoconservatism; demolished. Neoliberalism; eviscerated. The racism of DEI; down for the count. Open borders; a thing of the past.
During his speech, Trump didn’t have much to say about foreign policy. Maybe he felt he didn’t need to. We learned all we needed to know by scrutinizing the foreign leaders invited to the festivities. Meloni was there. Meili was there. Orban was invited but couldn’t make it. Starmer, Macron and Scholz were nowhere in sight though Scholz did make an appearance at the World Economic forum which is a perfect venue for a leader of his ilk. As for Starmer, one has to wonder whether Trump will ever lower himself by agreeing to meet with the Prime Minister Two-Tier.
And yes, it was quite a day for pardons. Fauci was pardoned and so were all of the inquisitors on the January 6th Committee. Most notably, the Torquemada look alike, Liz Cheney, got her “get-out of jail free” card.
The rambunctious rioters from January 6th were reprieved. Despite the best efforts of the lame-stream media to label their obnoxious behavior as an insurrection, the American people weren’t buying it. During the campaign, Trump promised pardons; as soon as he could, he delivered pardons. To balance things off, there were big smiles on the faces of the leadership of the Biden crime family; they happily accepted pardons too.
There’s one thing you can say for Joe Biden. He spent four long years screwing Americans but at least at the end, he came through for his mishpocha.
" I fault Biden for many things. Everything, really. But not for keeping his family out of Trump’s clutches. It is about the only thing he’s done, recently, that I have liked." Liked? Really?
I knew it was coming, but it's still shocking to see.
My friend has finally gone over the edge. Trump has himself to blame, by being just enough of a Lincoln admirer to provide ammo for anyone who looks to see things in the worst light possible for himself, or his "followers". It's astounding that "people I listen to", and "I have heard" does so much work here. Where have you been the last 4 years? Everything you saw was filtered through the "I hate Trump more" filter. You deride TDS, but use Dictator more than the MAGA loonies use Treason, for every little thing.
You think you know about the J6 "Insurrection", but in reality, none of us really do, because the whole thing wasn't shown, as evidenced by your choice of clips. Missing are the citizens who spent time in jail for just walking in a building.
The right does the same thing with the killing of Ashley Babbitt, which was a sad, but lawful shooting. Good people refuse to accept that, the same way good people refuse to accept that Trump, or Biden are dictators. How exactly does that work? How exactly would the "insurrection" have worked?
Biden pardoned anyone who might have been subjected to criminal charges, and it's framed as protecting them from Trump. Why? These people committed crimes, and were given cover. Gen Milley admitted he would warn our enemy if we decided to attack. How did such an honorable man descend to this low? If not treason, then what is it?
Biden constantly pushed for things that he admitted are unconstitutional, and his various agencies constantly infringed on the rights of people all over the country. There are people in jail for things he pardoned his son for. A 10 year, blanket pardon.
Trump shouldn't have pardoned EVERYONE, but what the hell, it seems like the thing now.
For anyone to be surprised by all this, and pretending like it's a first, is just delusional. Look around, look at Obama's time, look at Biden's (or whoever was in charge) time. Look at the DEI Marxist bullshit that permeates our society, and ask yourself who brought it on? We all know it wasn't MAGA.
Biden nominated a SCOTUS justice because she was black. That and her leftist ideology. Remember when she said she wasn't a biologist, so she couldn't tell what a woman was? She's not a gunsmith, an accountant, or anything else, but will rule on those issues in a heartbeat.
Trump certainly has his sycophants, but don't think for a minute that the right is so in love with him that they will willingly give up their right to him.
Forgive me for the rant, and somewhat disjointed nature of it, but I was trying to multi-task with my demanding cat.
"You think you know about the J6 "Insurrection", but in reality, none of us really do, because *the whole thing wasn't shown*, as evidenced by your choice of clips. "
So it's only a revolution if it *is* televised after all?!
>"Yet, that drunken rabble reached Paris in 1814 and Berlin in 1945."
OK, but that was only after the armies of France and Germany, respectively, had had their asses handed to them by the Russian winters.
I spent most of my adult life in elite combat arms branches of the U.S. military, and I've been watching the Ukraine war closely. There is little doubt in my mind that if the U.S. had properly supported Ukraine, Ukraine would have cleaned slate months ago. Everybody wants to quantify war, and so few people really understand the qualitative intangibles, such as distributed command vs centralized command, and what a force multiplier it is. Or Napoleon's observation that the moral is the the physical as 3 is to 1. In the absence of nukes or other WMDs, Russia wouldn't stand a chance going up against a full NATO effort. Not a chance in hell.
As far as Trump goes, in my view this is the culmination of a decades-long effort that probably began with Lewis Powell's 1971 memorandum to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We now have the centralization and alignment of the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial branches, not to mention corporate interests and more. It will definitely be a rough few years, but there's no use whining about it. In many ways the Democrats brought this on themselves. I find solace—and an outlet for my money and energy—in Movement Labs' Contest Every Race effort: https://www.contesteveryrace.com/. That's where I will be spending my time and efforts.
I agree with your military analysis. The US missed the opportunity to step in to fully support Ukraine; we could have been rebuilding by now. And yes, Russia would not stand a chance against a full NATO effort. What worries me most is that there may not *be* a full NATO effort.
Unfortunately there are plenty of precedents for elements of all this, starting with John Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, echoes of which were again put into place during WWI.
The most egregious act of any similar nature was, of course, the Japanese Interments of WWII.
Another example was the exclusion of almost all women from the franchise until 1920.
Trump himself would have been right at home as a member of the southern slavocracy which ruled Congress virtually until Abraham Lincoln’s election, at which point they committed political and military suicide beginning with the shelling of Fort Sumpter.
The violent labor disputes of the last quarter of the nineteenth century when the Robber Barons coopted the US military in putting down workers’ strikes was yet another moment of near oligarchic rule, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court.
Joe McCarthy and his cohorts (including Richard Nixon) presided over a mass purge of Americans with the willing help of HUAC (House on un-American Activites, which group had more than a little in common with the current House Oversight Committee(and revenge) Committee under James Comer.
And of course Nixon’s later use of the FBI and CIA to monitor in-country dissidents during the final years of the Vietnam War was yet another example of such things.
No, we are not fighting a new battle here, only echoes of one that has been going on nearly ever since our beginnings. Anyone who thinks that Lincoln was speaking only of his own time when he referred to ‘a Great Civil War testing whether that nation or any nation so concieved and so dedicated can long endure”.
I have to disagree with you about Trump being with the South. It was a different time, of course, but were Trump a Republican, he would have sided with our 1st dictator, Abraham Lincoln. NOTHING since the Civil War compares to what the North did to the South. The destruction of the South is incomparable. Not to mean the South was without sin, of course. The Lincoln quote is rich, considering he was doing the destroying.
I think people like you (and me and probably most of Cosmo readers) keep being shocked by the actions coming from Trump and his ilk because, despite them being predictable and announced, they are so alien to our moral frameworks that we can never *emotionally* convince ourselves that someone would actually carry them out.
When reading about history or rationally considering what might happen, there's always a level of disconnect that we can never eliminate, no matter how hard we try, and so we are never truly ready for how it feels seeing it in reality. Call it some fundamental aspect of human psyche (I'd love if an specialist gave their thoughts on this).
We saw this during the Biden years. Who would have thought that we couldn't tell men and women apart, men would use women's bathrooms, men would wear dresses in the military, gas stoves would be banned, the cars we drive would be mandated, NY prosecutors would campaign on getting a particular private citizen, NY would change the statute of limitations law to go after that particular citizen, drag queens would have shows for kids, in public libraries, a president would unlawfully "forgive" student debt, would force people into an unwanted healthcare plan, and on and on.
I have yet to see a good explanation for Trump‘s unlawful attempt to abolish the 14th Amendment via executive order by the MAGA-faction. It is also bit rich to complain about Two Tier Keir on the one hand, while endorsing Trump, who on the other hand just gave carte blanche to ‚his‘ very own militias.
So Claire, you don’t like the pardons Trump issued. Does your outrage extend to the pardon Biden issued to Tony Fauci?
Take a look at that particular pardon. Why do you think it provides Fauci with immunity that extends all the way back to 2014? After all, Covid didn’t make its appearance until at least five years later. What could Fauci possibly need to be protected from for behavior that goes back so far before Covid reared its ugly head?
The answer is that it was in 2014 that Fauci’s Institute, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, first began funding gain of function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The grant was renewed annually with Fauci’s blessing in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. For this entire period there was a presidential ordered moratorium on NIH funding of gain of function research. Either Fauci criminally ignored the moratorium or was given special dispensation to ignore it in light of his role as the American bioterrorism Czar.
Given the overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Covid was created through gain of function research that took place in Wuhan and given the fact that the NIH was complicit in supporting the Wuhan Institute’s gain of function research, do you believe Fauci should have been pardoned?
On more than one occasion, Fauci testified under oath before the United States Senate that his institute never funded gain of function research in Wuhan. That was a lie and Fauci’s attempt to explain it away by obfuscating what gain of function actually means doesn’t pass the smell test. His defense smacks of Bill Clinton’s testimony in the Monica Lewinsky case where Clinton famously said, “it depends what the definition of is is.”
The one good thing about the Fauci pardon is that because he’s no longer subject to prosecution, he can no longer invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination. When he is subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury or a congressional committee as he surely will be thanks to Trump, he will have to testify truthfully or the pardon he received from Biden won’t protect him from prosecution.
Given the plausible possibility that the gain of function research he approved in Wuhan might be at least be at least tangentially related to the deaths of seven million people around the world, Biden’s pardon of Fauci seems a bit questionable, don’t you think?
So what can we do now to keep our sanity and at least slow the rot?
My sister and I are old farts, I'm 78, she's 87. We're still fine, but seeing what's coming we think maybe we were lucky to live in good times. I worry about my four grandkids though.
We're in Canada, but we are still impacted by Trump's decisions. And we have our own growing right wing, full of slogans and misinformation.
For sanity it helps me to be a creator, not just a consumer. SubStack is a great new platform for me to record my podcasts of classic stories, post a Sunday collection of sparkly things, and start a daily post of political articles that catch my eye, while adding in some commentary. I'm learning how to play a keyboard (again) and doing some urban sketching - badly. And always adding new technologies to my knowledge. And foster friendships.
To slow or remove the rot - the above modest attempt at some political monitoring and commentary, to maybe educate, maybe encourage discussion. I support a local politician (NDP) that is not nearly as bad as the others - he tries to do what he can within the system. I support good journalists and the few media outlets that still count. I vote and encourage others to do so. And I raised one politically active child, they work with Elections Canada coordinating voter education programs in schools and remote communities.
All we really can do in this span is to grow ourselves, be kind to others, and try to leave our corner of the world a little better for us occupying it.
Oh, Claire... My heart goes out to you.
Couple of things here.
"...now the insurrectionists have been pardoned—the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the “Camp Auschwitz” guy, all of them."
Actually, not a single insurrectionist has even been arrested, much less brought to trial and convicted. The insurrections that occurred were in Zuccotti Park, Minneapolis-St Paul, Seattle, Portland in 2020 and in the case of Zuccotti Park in 2011. The Capitol rioters were en masse swept up in an operation that would have done Hitler's goons (another of your favorite shibboleths) proud, heavily overcharged, and heavily oversentenced. During their pretrial lockups, they were too often kept in cold, unsanitary conditions, too often further in isolation. Many of the ones Trump pardoned haven't even had their trials, yet, four years later. Apparently, the 6th Amendment is only a suggestion for the Left and Progressive-Democratic Party politicians. The Biden administration's treatment of these rioters has been as un-American as it gets, as has been the blanket look-the-other-way behavior regarding the insurrectionists of the State and local administrations.
The other thing is this one:
"He signed an executive action delaying the enforcement of the TikTok ban by 75 days. (He has no authority to do this.)"
Actually, he has the authority to delay enforcement for 90 days if there are serious discussions for the sale of TikTok in progress. There are a number of offers on the table, and Xi has indicated a willingness to talk. Whether these can be taken to be serious is a separate matter, but Trump's delay is much less than the delay allowed.
Bonus: "That hat [Melania's] was strange and sinister. It was something a woman with an unwholesome interest in Dalmatian puppies might wear."
This is just petty and I would have thought beneath you. The First Lady's hat reminded me of Hannie Caulder, another self-made, successful, strong, intelligent woman.
Eric Hines
I hope Canada (and other decent NATO countries) make a very public offer to take in the already-vetted Afghan refugees.
Thanks 💐💐💐
In one aspect pardoning the Capitol attackers is incredibly stupid.
It kills the inviobality of that place. He should be very scared of anyone who knows how to charme masses
Royals always united in condemning the murder of a reigning one.
Even amidst the fighting in WW1 when the Tsar was killed Churchill was aghast
It really was quite a day 1 for the new President. My favorite part was Trump’s speech during the inugaratuon; especially the moment where he repudiated everything that his miserable predecessors stood for with them sitting only a few feet away. The horrified looks on the faces of Clinton, Bush and Obama were unforgettable. Whether Trump can restore the American vitality that those poseurs sapped remains to be seen.
It’s no wonder that sore losers abound. So much of what they hold dear has been repudiated by the American people. Respect for global institutions; toppled. Globalism itself; in retreat. An abiding passion for permanent war; defenestrated. Neoconservatism; demolished. Neoliberalism; eviscerated. The racism of DEI; down for the count. Open borders; a thing of the past.
During his speech, Trump didn’t have much to say about foreign policy. Maybe he felt he didn’t need to. We learned all we needed to know by scrutinizing the foreign leaders invited to the festivities. Meloni was there. Meili was there. Orban was invited but couldn’t make it. Starmer, Macron and Scholz were nowhere in sight though Scholz did make an appearance at the World Economic forum which is a perfect venue for a leader of his ilk. As for Starmer, one has to wonder whether Trump will ever lower himself by agreeing to meet with the Prime Minister Two-Tier.
And yes, it was quite a day for pardons. Fauci was pardoned and so were all of the inquisitors on the January 6th Committee. Most notably, the Torquemada look alike, Liz Cheney, got her “get-out of jail free” card.
The rambunctious rioters from January 6th were reprieved. Despite the best efforts of the lame-stream media to label their obnoxious behavior as an insurrection, the American people weren’t buying it. During the campaign, Trump promised pardons; as soon as he could, he delivered pardons. To balance things off, there were big smiles on the faces of the leadership of the Biden crime family; they happily accepted pardons too.
There’s one thing you can say for Joe Biden. He spent four long years screwing Americans but at least at the end, he came through for his mishpocha.
" I fault Biden for many things. Everything, really. But not for keeping his family out of Trump’s clutches. It is about the only thing he’s done, recently, that I have liked." Liked? Really?
I knew it was coming, but it's still shocking to see.
My friend has finally gone over the edge. Trump has himself to blame, by being just enough of a Lincoln admirer to provide ammo for anyone who looks to see things in the worst light possible for himself, or his "followers". It's astounding that "people I listen to", and "I have heard" does so much work here. Where have you been the last 4 years? Everything you saw was filtered through the "I hate Trump more" filter. You deride TDS, but use Dictator more than the MAGA loonies use Treason, for every little thing.
You think you know about the J6 "Insurrection", but in reality, none of us really do, because the whole thing wasn't shown, as evidenced by your choice of clips. Missing are the citizens who spent time in jail for just walking in a building.
The right does the same thing with the killing of Ashley Babbitt, which was a sad, but lawful shooting. Good people refuse to accept that, the same way good people refuse to accept that Trump, or Biden are dictators. How exactly does that work? How exactly would the "insurrection" have worked?
Biden pardoned anyone who might have been subjected to criminal charges, and it's framed as protecting them from Trump. Why? These people committed crimes, and were given cover. Gen Milley admitted he would warn our enemy if we decided to attack. How did such an honorable man descend to this low? If not treason, then what is it?
Biden constantly pushed for things that he admitted are unconstitutional, and his various agencies constantly infringed on the rights of people all over the country. There are people in jail for things he pardoned his son for. A 10 year, blanket pardon.
Trump shouldn't have pardoned EVERYONE, but what the hell, it seems like the thing now.
For anyone to be surprised by all this, and pretending like it's a first, is just delusional. Look around, look at Obama's time, look at Biden's (or whoever was in charge) time. Look at the DEI Marxist bullshit that permeates our society, and ask yourself who brought it on? We all know it wasn't MAGA.
Biden nominated a SCOTUS justice because she was black. That and her leftist ideology. Remember when she said she wasn't a biologist, so she couldn't tell what a woman was? She's not a gunsmith, an accountant, or anything else, but will rule on those issues in a heartbeat.
Trump certainly has his sycophants, but don't think for a minute that the right is so in love with him that they will willingly give up their right to him.
Forgive me for the rant, and somewhat disjointed nature of it, but I was trying to multi-task with my demanding cat.
I remain your friend,
Leroy
"You think you know about the J6 "Insurrection", but in reality, none of us really do, because *the whole thing wasn't shown*, as evidenced by your choice of clips. "
So it's only a revolution if it *is* televised after all?!
See,
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vwSRqaZGsPw&pp=ygUkdGhlIHJldm9sdXRpb24gd2lsbCBub3QgYmUgdGVsZXZpc2Vk
>"Yet, that drunken rabble reached Paris in 1814 and Berlin in 1945."
OK, but that was only after the armies of France and Germany, respectively, had had their asses handed to them by the Russian winters.
I spent most of my adult life in elite combat arms branches of the U.S. military, and I've been watching the Ukraine war closely. There is little doubt in my mind that if the U.S. had properly supported Ukraine, Ukraine would have cleaned slate months ago. Everybody wants to quantify war, and so few people really understand the qualitative intangibles, such as distributed command vs centralized command, and what a force multiplier it is. Or Napoleon's observation that the moral is the the physical as 3 is to 1. In the absence of nukes or other WMDs, Russia wouldn't stand a chance going up against a full NATO effort. Not a chance in hell.
As far as Trump goes, in my view this is the culmination of a decades-long effort that probably began with Lewis Powell's 1971 memorandum to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. We now have the centralization and alignment of the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial branches, not to mention corporate interests and more. It will definitely be a rough few years, but there's no use whining about it. In many ways the Democrats brought this on themselves. I find solace—and an outlet for my money and energy—in Movement Labs' Contest Every Race effort: https://www.contesteveryrace.com/. That's where I will be spending my time and efforts.
Stacey Abrams!!!
You lost your argument when you presented Abrams as a credible testimony.
I agree with your military analysis. The US missed the opportunity to step in to fully support Ukraine; we could have been rebuilding by now. And yes, Russia would not stand a chance against a full NATO effort. What worries me most is that there may not *be* a full NATO effort.
I seriously doubt it. There is also no doubt that if EU had properly supported Ukraine, this wouldn't have happened.
been there, seen this movie before
it won't end well
Unfortunately there are plenty of precedents for elements of all this, starting with John Adams and the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, echoes of which were again put into place during WWI.
The most egregious act of any similar nature was, of course, the Japanese Interments of WWII.
Another example was the exclusion of almost all women from the franchise until 1920.
Trump himself would have been right at home as a member of the southern slavocracy which ruled Congress virtually until Abraham Lincoln’s election, at which point they committed political and military suicide beginning with the shelling of Fort Sumpter.
The violent labor disputes of the last quarter of the nineteenth century when the Robber Barons coopted the US military in putting down workers’ strikes was yet another moment of near oligarchic rule, aided and abetted by the Supreme Court.
Joe McCarthy and his cohorts (including Richard Nixon) presided over a mass purge of Americans with the willing help of HUAC (House on un-American Activites, which group had more than a little in common with the current House Oversight Committee(and revenge) Committee under James Comer.
And of course Nixon’s later use of the FBI and CIA to monitor in-country dissidents during the final years of the Vietnam War was yet another example of such things.
No, we are not fighting a new battle here, only echoes of one that has been going on nearly ever since our beginnings. Anyone who thinks that Lincoln was speaking only of his own time when he referred to ‘a Great Civil War testing whether that nation or any nation so concieved and so dedicated can long endure”.
I have to disagree with you about Trump being with the South. It was a different time, of course, but were Trump a Republican, he would have sided with our 1st dictator, Abraham Lincoln. NOTHING since the Civil War compares to what the North did to the South. The destruction of the South is incomparable. Not to mean the South was without sin, of course. The Lincoln quote is rich, considering he was doing the destroying.
You mean apart from the fact that it was the south that started the war?
I think people like you (and me and probably most of Cosmo readers) keep being shocked by the actions coming from Trump and his ilk because, despite them being predictable and announced, they are so alien to our moral frameworks that we can never *emotionally* convince ourselves that someone would actually carry them out.
When reading about history or rationally considering what might happen, there's always a level of disconnect that we can never eliminate, no matter how hard we try, and so we are never truly ready for how it feels seeing it in reality. Call it some fundamental aspect of human psyche (I'd love if an specialist gave their thoughts on this).
We saw this during the Biden years. Who would have thought that we couldn't tell men and women apart, men would use women's bathrooms, men would wear dresses in the military, gas stoves would be banned, the cars we drive would be mandated, NY prosecutors would campaign on getting a particular private citizen, NY would change the statute of limitations law to go after that particular citizen, drag queens would have shows for kids, in public libraries, a president would unlawfully "forgive" student debt, would force people into an unwanted healthcare plan, and on and on.
Wow!!
I have rarely read such an aggregation of fear.
And anger.
I am sure that this cri de coeur is real, but I remain unconvinced.
I may not agree with Claire on everything, but one thing is sure, she won't write something she doesn't believe. However wrong that may be.