I needn't tell you the adversary I spoke of in Part 1 is the unpresident, Donald Trump.
He has declared war on absentee voting, because he rightly sees it as a threat to his re-election. Between now and November 3 he will be trying every dirty trick imaginable to win the election. Trump is amoral, and will see this fight as business as usual in his twisted universe.
We are fighting for control of our government. Lincoln said the American government is Of, By, and For the American people, and Trump wants to take it away from us any way he can.
Voting is the single most important thing we do as Americans, and any attempt to tamper with any citizen's ability to vote freely must be met with extreme resistance.
Trump, his allies and his minions may have means to cause trouble with in-person voting systems, but absentee voting is beyond their filthy grasp. It must remain so. The number of absentee voters will no doubt be much higher than usual this year due to the isolation and quarantines resulting from the threat of COVID-19. And that has the Criminal-in-Chief terrified.
The man has no shame, no sense, and is willing to destroy the very fabric of the nation if it could get him re-elected. His overinflated ego could bring about the collapse of democracy, and that's not hyperbole.
Absentee voting has been around a long time, beginning during the Civil War when it was offered to soldiers stationed far away from their home states. Military personnel have continued to be major users of absentee voting. Would Trump disenfranchise those in uniform who he calls "great people?" You bet. To him they're just cannon fodder.
Who else votes by mail? The elderly and disabled and others with mobility limitations; people isolated by the pandemic, which is likely to be most of us; and potentially all 13 million voters in the states of Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington, where voting by mail is the primary means of casting ballots.
Finally, the supreme hypocrisy, the most shameless mockery, the most sickening casuistry: The Hypocrite-in-Chief and members of his family routinely vote by absentee ballot.
Donald Trump is more dangerous to this country than Russia, China and North Korea combined. He must be stopped by any means available before "Of the people, by the people, for the people" becomes an odd, empty phrase uttered by an unremembered Republican politician.
--- Diogenes, 6/26/20
Bonus link to an important defender of free elections: https://www.brennancenter.org/
U.S. Constitution
The foundation of the United States of America
26 June 2020
25 June 2020
Of, By, and For, Part 1
When Abraham Lincoln succinctly defined American democracy as "of the people, by the people, for the people," he was indirectly referring to the one great power Americans had, that no other people at the time could claim: the power freely to elect their leaders.
We the people still have that power, and there has seldom been a time in the history of this nation that we have had more need to use it confidently and wisely.
We now face a ruthless adversary who would reduce our power by denying it to as many of us as possible. He seeks to accomplish this foul act covertly and subtly by targeting communities of voters who are already marginally disenfranchised.
He believes, and there is reason to fear, that he has the means to suppress in-person voting in communities and regions known to be inimical to him.*
There are several ways such an action could be engineered. Intimidation and misinformation about voting requirements and polling places and hours are blatant examples, but voting machine tampering, system hacking, and poll worker espionage are his more likely tools.
The unexpected spread of COVID-19 threw the country into chaos, and had a dire effect on election planning. One outcome of the confusion was the reduction in polling places, which played right into the foe's hands. As an example, consider Kentucky, the home of Archdemon Mitch McConnell, which cut its number of polling places statewide by 80%. That's not a typo. 80%.
One result of such reductions is that some voters may have to travel to vote, creating a barrier to voting for those who lack transportation. Kentucky's Jefferson and Fayette counties, two of the state's most populous, and with the largest African-American populations, were reduced to one polling place each in the June 23 primary.
As if in response to the threat of suppression both counties saw record voter turnout, a sign of hope that the American people understand the importance of voting in a crisis.
Another sign of hope is the increased use of absentee voting. No ballot box, no waiting. Just fill in the ballot, put it in the provided envelope and send it via U. S. Mail to the elections department.
The adversary hates this. He fears absentee balloting because he cannot control it. We must guard it assiduously.
Continued tomorrow.
---Diogenes, 6/25/20
*Several books and articles discuss this threat. I suggest One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy, by Carol Anderson: The Bloomsbury Press, 2018.
We the people still have that power, and there has seldom been a time in the history of this nation that we have had more need to use it confidently and wisely.
We now face a ruthless adversary who would reduce our power by denying it to as many of us as possible. He seeks to accomplish this foul act covertly and subtly by targeting communities of voters who are already marginally disenfranchised.
He believes, and there is reason to fear, that he has the means to suppress in-person voting in communities and regions known to be inimical to him.*
There are several ways such an action could be engineered. Intimidation and misinformation about voting requirements and polling places and hours are blatant examples, but voting machine tampering, system hacking, and poll worker espionage are his more likely tools.
The unexpected spread of COVID-19 threw the country into chaos, and had a dire effect on election planning. One outcome of the confusion was the reduction in polling places, which played right into the foe's hands. As an example, consider Kentucky, the home of Archdemon Mitch McConnell, which cut its number of polling places statewide by 80%. That's not a typo. 80%.
One result of such reductions is that some voters may have to travel to vote, creating a barrier to voting for those who lack transportation. Kentucky's Jefferson and Fayette counties, two of the state's most populous, and with the largest African-American populations, were reduced to one polling place each in the June 23 primary.
As if in response to the threat of suppression both counties saw record voter turnout, a sign of hope that the American people understand the importance of voting in a crisis.
Another sign of hope is the increased use of absentee voting. No ballot box, no waiting. Just fill in the ballot, put it in the provided envelope and send it via U. S. Mail to the elections department.
The adversary hates this. He fears absentee balloting because he cannot control it. We must guard it assiduously.
Continued tomorrow.
---Diogenes, 6/25/20
*Several books and articles discuss this threat. I suggest One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy, by Carol Anderson: The Bloomsbury Press, 2018.
24 June 2020
The Trump Sickness
There are times when I approach writing this blog with the same sense of avoidance many of us feel when we're tired and not in the mood to work out but lace up our trainers and go to the gym anyway.
It's not that I lack for subject matter or ideas. The daunting factor that strikes me every time I sit down to write is the knowledge that I am going to have to read something that Trump, or worse, a member of his family or a follower, has said.
Just looking at their words on a screen makes me feel ill with what I have come to think of as the Trump sickness.
Trump is all the things I hate and despise, not only in politicians, but in anyone: racist, dishonest, corrupt, unethical, intolerant, xenophobic, cruel, mean, misogynist, bully, threatening, megalomaniac, demagogue, irascible, disrespectful, champion of violence and inciter of unrest, and I'll stop there; it's a very long list.
I find most of the same behaviors among many of his followers and family members, plus stupidity, moral blindness, slavish acceptance of lies, bigotry, violent urges, lack of imagination, inability to distinguish between fact and fiction, and between right and wrong.
Trump spends a lot of time insulting people by running them down and calling them names, which only means he's inviting others to do the same to him. Most of us like to think we're above such behavior, and if you are you're a better person than I, as this rant demonstrates.
The United States is a government of laws, and its society is based on that of Great Britain--arguably the most civilized nation of its time. Even before Trump became president he has been spreading hate and division, defying the laws that govern us, flouting the norms by which we live, and sending the country into a downward spiral toward third-world brutality.
This need not be a death spiral, but every one of us needs to rise up and take political action to save the nation. Be righteously angry. Be Proud. Be American.
--Diogenes, 6/24/2020
It's not that I lack for subject matter or ideas. The daunting factor that strikes me every time I sit down to write is the knowledge that I am going to have to read something that Trump, or worse, a member of his family or a follower, has said.
Just looking at their words on a screen makes me feel ill with what I have come to think of as the Trump sickness.
Trump is all the things I hate and despise, not only in politicians, but in anyone: racist, dishonest, corrupt, unethical, intolerant, xenophobic, cruel, mean, misogynist, bully, threatening, megalomaniac, demagogue, irascible, disrespectful, champion of violence and inciter of unrest, and I'll stop there; it's a very long list.
I find most of the same behaviors among many of his followers and family members, plus stupidity, moral blindness, slavish acceptance of lies, bigotry, violent urges, lack of imagination, inability to distinguish between fact and fiction, and between right and wrong.
Trump spends a lot of time insulting people by running them down and calling them names, which only means he's inviting others to do the same to him. Most of us like to think we're above such behavior, and if you are you're a better person than I, as this rant demonstrates.
The United States is a government of laws, and its society is based on that of Great Britain--arguably the most civilized nation of its time. Even before Trump became president he has been spreading hate and division, defying the laws that govern us, flouting the norms by which we live, and sending the country into a downward spiral toward third-world brutality.
This need not be a death spiral, but every one of us needs to rise up and take political action to save the nation. Be righteously angry. Be Proud. Be American.
--Diogenes, 6/24/2020
23 June 2020
Words Acting Badly
Some of the biggest words in the English language actually have relatively few letters. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is undeniably a big word in terms of letters, but the "big" thing I'm talking about is meaning.
Many words in our culture are overused, misused, and misunderstood. Being something of a logophile, I thought I would attempt to rescue a couple of the more persecuted ones.
Hero: We sometimes say a person is "our hero" because they have done something nice for us, perhaps getting our broken-down car started, or finding a lost dog.
The term rightly refers to a person who displays exceptional courage, especially in a dangerous situation. Today the term is frequently, and wrongly, applied generally to police officers, firefighters, and military personnel. Anyone in any of those professions could be thrust into a situation requiring genuine heroism, but not everyone who dons a uniform is a hero.
In the United States military the highest award is the Medal of Honor, awarded for conspicuous "gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." During WWII 473 military personnel were awarded the medal out of some 16 million who served. That's how rare true heroes are.
Desecration: This is a terribly misused and misapplied word. It means "to make unsacred," and usually pops up in reference to a flag or other national symbol.
The problem is, you can't desecrate something that wasn't sacred in the first place. "Sacred" and its related words have very narrow definitions, all related to religion. Neither the flag nor any national emblem nor the Constitution is sacred because they were not created for the purpose of worship. The Founders would be horrified by the thought that someone might venerate the flag as a sacred, that is to say, holy, object.
Owing allegiance is far different from expressing reverence. This nation was created "in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty" for those who live here, whom the not-very-religious Founders believed deserved "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
We salute the flag. We do not bow to it. We pledge allegiance to it as the primary emblem of our country. We do not pray to it. It is a symbol; nothing more.
--- Diogenes, 6/23/2020
Many words in our culture are overused, misused, and misunderstood. Being something of a logophile, I thought I would attempt to rescue a couple of the more persecuted ones.
Hero: We sometimes say a person is "our hero" because they have done something nice for us, perhaps getting our broken-down car started, or finding a lost dog.
The term rightly refers to a person who displays exceptional courage, especially in a dangerous situation. Today the term is frequently, and wrongly, applied generally to police officers, firefighters, and military personnel. Anyone in any of those professions could be thrust into a situation requiring genuine heroism, but not everyone who dons a uniform is a hero.
In the United States military the highest award is the Medal of Honor, awarded for conspicuous "gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." During WWII 473 military personnel were awarded the medal out of some 16 million who served. That's how rare true heroes are.
Desecration: This is a terribly misused and misapplied word. It means "to make unsacred," and usually pops up in reference to a flag or other national symbol.
The problem is, you can't desecrate something that wasn't sacred in the first place. "Sacred" and its related words have very narrow definitions, all related to religion. Neither the flag nor any national emblem nor the Constitution is sacred because they were not created for the purpose of worship. The Founders would be horrified by the thought that someone might venerate the flag as a sacred, that is to say, holy, object.
Owing allegiance is far different from expressing reverence. This nation was created "in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty" for those who live here, whom the not-very-religious Founders believed deserved "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
We salute the flag. We do not bow to it. We pledge allegiance to it as the primary emblem of our country. We do not pray to it. It is a symbol; nothing more.
--- Diogenes, 6/23/2020
21 June 2020
A Tale Of Two Tyrants
Listed below, from the Declaration of Independence, is a handful of the 27 grievances the representatives of the 13 American colonies made in their case to dissolve the ties that held the colonies to the British Empire. The original spelling and style are retained. "He" is King George III.
"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
The 18th-century prose, vocabulary, and style of argument may seem foreign, but are applicable to our 21st-century situation if reduced to their simplest terms.
How might these grievances relate to the actions of unpresident Trump?
He has consistently vetoed Congressional resolutions that would remove American military personnel from harm's way in war zones in the Middle East; that would block the exportation of arms and military services to other nations including some potential adversaries; that would relieve closed and/or bankrupt postsecondary schools of the burden of repaying student loan debt; and that would lift his emergency declaration to provide funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
He has repeatedly sought ways to close the country off to immigrants and to deport many individuals and families who have lived in the United States for years but who have not sought naturalization.
His actions clearly show that he has no interest in the welfare of the American people--only in furthering his own agenda, which includes suppressing rights and freedom. The clearest and most-witnessed recent abridgment of rights was the arrest in violation of First Amendment rights of Sheila Buck on June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He has several times threatened to bring the U. S. military forces to bear against Americans, contravening the wishes of governors. He has urged the National Guard to ever-increasing offenses and police forces to barbaric acts.
He has divided the nation by glorifying combat and violence, setting those who believe violence to be the answer to everything against those who would seek peaceful conflict resolution. He spews hate and racism at every opportunity, vilifying people of color and those who differ with him.
And, as the Founders stated, "We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury."
King George III was a tyrant whose military forces fell to a force lesser in arms but greater in the belief of their cause. Donald Trump is of the same ilk.
We the people must demonstrate our belief in our cause: to dethrone Trump. We have the ultimate political weapon in a democracy: the vote; we need to work to be sure all our brothers and sisters whose voices could be suppressed have the opportunity to join us at the ballot box.
--- Diogenes, 6/21/2020
- "He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
- He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
- He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
- He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
- He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us.
"In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people."
The 18th-century prose, vocabulary, and style of argument may seem foreign, but are applicable to our 21st-century situation if reduced to their simplest terms.
How might these grievances relate to the actions of unpresident Trump?
He has consistently vetoed Congressional resolutions that would remove American military personnel from harm's way in war zones in the Middle East; that would block the exportation of arms and military services to other nations including some potential adversaries; that would relieve closed and/or bankrupt postsecondary schools of the burden of repaying student loan debt; and that would lift his emergency declaration to provide funding for a border wall between the United States and Mexico.
He has repeatedly sought ways to close the country off to immigrants and to deport many individuals and families who have lived in the United States for years but who have not sought naturalization.
His actions clearly show that he has no interest in the welfare of the American people--only in furthering his own agenda, which includes suppressing rights and freedom. The clearest and most-witnessed recent abridgment of rights was the arrest in violation of First Amendment rights of Sheila Buck on June 20, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He has several times threatened to bring the U. S. military forces to bear against Americans, contravening the wishes of governors. He has urged the National Guard to ever-increasing offenses and police forces to barbaric acts.
He has divided the nation by glorifying combat and violence, setting those who believe violence to be the answer to everything against those who would seek peaceful conflict resolution. He spews hate and racism at every opportunity, vilifying people of color and those who differ with him.
And, as the Founders stated, "We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury."
King George III was a tyrant whose military forces fell to a force lesser in arms but greater in the belief of their cause. Donald Trump is of the same ilk.
We the people must demonstrate our belief in our cause: to dethrone Trump. We have the ultimate political weapon in a democracy: the vote; we need to work to be sure all our brothers and sisters whose voices could be suppressed have the opportunity to join us at the ballot box.
--- Diogenes, 6/21/2020
20 June 2020
Heil Trump!
If you're watching, you may have seen Sheila Buck, a Tulsa resident,
arrested for trespassing outside the Trump rally. She had a ticket, so
clearly the trespassing charge was a ruse. She was wearing an "I Can't
Breathe" T-shirt and rally staff asked the Tulsa police to remove her
from the line. At the time everything was peaceful.
What is this? A blatant violation of her right to speak her mind under the First Amendment--the first of probably many crimes that will come out of this insane rally.
Diogenes is taking today off to watch the circus and tally up the Constitutional violations. As distasteful as it is, we urge you to watch, too.
If you want to see tyranny in action, here it is.
--- Richard Brown, 6/20/2020
What is this? A blatant violation of her right to speak her mind under the First Amendment--the first of probably many crimes that will come out of this insane rally.
Diogenes is taking today off to watch the circus and tally up the Constitutional violations. As distasteful as it is, we urge you to watch, too.
If you want to see tyranny in action, here it is.
--- Richard Brown, 6/20/2020
18 June 2020
A British View Of Trump
Here is a forwarded post from another writer that a Facebook friend sent to me. This is the first and likely the last time I've used another person's work in toto, but it's so wonderfully written and so spot on that I just had to share it. I think it's valuable to have our opinions and positions validated by someone from "outside."
--- Diogenes, 6/18/20
Trump I’ve Read
A few things spring to mind. Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditionally esteem. For instance, he has no class, no charm, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom, no subtlety, no sensitivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honour and no grace – all qualities, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generously blessed. So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into embarrassingly sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty or even faintly amusing – not once, ever. I don’t say that rhetorically, I mean it quite literally: not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility – for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman. But with Trump, it’s a fact. He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is – his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers. And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults – he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There is never any under-layer of irony, complexity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface. Some Americans might see this as refreshingly upfront. Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul. And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heroes are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist. Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that. He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedy fat-cat. He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privilege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully. That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a snivelling sidekick instead. There are unspoken rules to this stuff – the Queensberry rules of basic decency – and he breaks them all. He punches downwards – which a gentleman should, would, could never do – and every blow he aims is below the belt. He particularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless – and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority – perhaps a third – of Americans look at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little distress to British people, given that:
• Americans are supposed to be nicer than us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.
This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss. After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum. God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid. He makes Nixon look trustworthy and George W look smart. In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws – he would make a Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish: ‘My God… what… have… I… created?' If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.
Here's the link to the original: https://coming42.livejournal.com/479179.html?utm_source=fbsharing&utm_medium=social
17 June 2020
Juneteenth, Part 2
The BOK (Bank of Oklahoma) Center in Tulsa is a typical indoor multievent arena with a capacity of just over 19,000 people. Its stainless steel and glass exterior wraps around its central axis in a graceful semi-spiral, contrasting with the more traditional skyline.
On Saturday it could well become the site of a mass contagion.
The coronavirus swamp will begin to bubble as soon as a hundred or so people have formed a line. This will be a festival-seating event, so that line will start long before the event, with everyone pressed tightly together, pushing forward--I can almost hear the virus smacking its lips. When the rally begins at 7 p.m. CDT, many if not all seats will be filled and hardcore fans will be on the floor in front of the stage. Let the culling begin.
At a roundtable conference June 15, Mike Pence, speaking of COVID-19, said: "The number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously"¹ in the past couple of weeks.
Don't think so. Speaking of the same time period, Reuters News reported "In Oklahoma, where President Donald Trump plans to hold an indoor campaign rally on Saturday, new cases rose 68% to 1,081 in the second week of June, while the positive test rate increased to 4%, from 2% the previous week."²
Also on June 15, CNN reported "There was a 'meaningful increase' in cases of coronavirus last week in the city, according to the statement [from the Tulsa Health Department]. As of Friday, there had been 1,443 total confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tulsa County, and 62 deaths."³
Tulsa health officials are understandably concerned about the potential danger to their citizens; the mayor is at best indifferent, but has also voiced concern. At this writing an attempt to stop the rally has been blocked by a Tulsa judge, but the case is moving through the courts.
The Trump campaign claims to expect as many as 40,000 people to attend the rally, but at present they haven't decided what to do with any overflow crowd. With the heat index forecast to reach nearly 100 on Saturday, one hopes they find someplace with air conditioning.
For an outfit that spent months denying COVID-19 even existed, the campaign is doing its best to contain it. Attendees will have to consent not to hold the campaign liable if they contract the virus, and campaign representatives have said attendees will be furnished with masks and sanitizer, but they will not be advised to wear the masks. (Just where did those masks come from? Has the campaign been sitting on thousands of masks all along? If so, why weren't they donated for medical use?)
The Moron-in-Chief won't be masked, meaning most of his followers won't be, either. And the most rabid will be right up front: beer-bellied skinhead yobs whose entire vocabulary consists of four-letter words pumping their fists and hopefully spraying the Chinaman from Oklahoma with billions of coronavirus particles.
This rally is going to be big, loud, boisterous, and protested. There will likely be a sea of COVID-19 in the air inside and right-wing berserkers with guns outside. We can only hope Tulsa survives.
--- Diogenes, 6/17/2020
Bonus article: "The Remarkable Idiocy Of Holding A Trump Rally In Tulsa: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/opinions/the-remarkable-idiocy-of-holding-a-trump-rally-in-tulsa-sepkowitz/index.html
¹ Rev Transcript Library: https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-june-15-roundtable-transcript-fighting-for-americas-seniors
² Reuters News: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic/covid-19-cases-surging-in-alabama-south-carolina-and-oklahoma-idUSKBN23N1OP
³ CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/politics/tulsa-rally-coronavirus/index.html
On Saturday it could well become the site of a mass contagion.
The coronavirus swamp will begin to bubble as soon as a hundred or so people have formed a line. This will be a festival-seating event, so that line will start long before the event, with everyone pressed tightly together, pushing forward--I can almost hear the virus smacking its lips. When the rally begins at 7 p.m. CDT, many if not all seats will be filled and hardcore fans will be on the floor in front of the stage. Let the culling begin.
At a roundtable conference June 15, Mike Pence, speaking of COVID-19, said: "The number of cases in Oklahoma has declined precipitously"¹ in the past couple of weeks.
Don't think so. Speaking of the same time period, Reuters News reported "In Oklahoma, where President Donald Trump plans to hold an indoor campaign rally on Saturday, new cases rose 68% to 1,081 in the second week of June, while the positive test rate increased to 4%, from 2% the previous week."²
Also on June 15, CNN reported "There was a 'meaningful increase' in cases of coronavirus last week in the city, according to the statement [from the Tulsa Health Department]. As of Friday, there had been 1,443 total confirmed cases of coronavirus in Tulsa County, and 62 deaths."³
Tulsa health officials are understandably concerned about the potential danger to their citizens; the mayor is at best indifferent, but has also voiced concern. At this writing an attempt to stop the rally has been blocked by a Tulsa judge, but the case is moving through the courts.
The Trump campaign claims to expect as many as 40,000 people to attend the rally, but at present they haven't decided what to do with any overflow crowd. With the heat index forecast to reach nearly 100 on Saturday, one hopes they find someplace with air conditioning.
For an outfit that spent months denying COVID-19 even existed, the campaign is doing its best to contain it. Attendees will have to consent not to hold the campaign liable if they contract the virus, and campaign representatives have said attendees will be furnished with masks and sanitizer, but they will not be advised to wear the masks. (Just where did those masks come from? Has the campaign been sitting on thousands of masks all along? If so, why weren't they donated for medical use?)
The Moron-in-Chief won't be masked, meaning most of his followers won't be, either. And the most rabid will be right up front: beer-bellied skinhead yobs whose entire vocabulary consists of four-letter words pumping their fists and hopefully spraying the Chinaman from Oklahoma with billions of coronavirus particles.
This rally is going to be big, loud, boisterous, and protested. There will likely be a sea of COVID-19 in the air inside and right-wing berserkers with guns outside. We can only hope Tulsa survives.
--- Diogenes, 6/17/2020
Bonus article: "The Remarkable Idiocy Of Holding A Trump Rally In Tulsa: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/opinions/the-remarkable-idiocy-of-holding-a-trump-rally-in-tulsa-sepkowitz/index.html
¹ Rev Transcript Library: https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/donald-trump-june-15-roundtable-transcript-fighting-for-americas-seniors
² Reuters News: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-trends-graphic/covid-19-cases-surging-in-alabama-south-carolina-and-oklahoma-idUSKBN23N1OP
³ CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/politics/tulsa-rally-coronavirus/index.html
16 June 2020
Juneteenth, Part 1
Juneteenth is all over the news, as well it should be. This Friday, June 19, will mark the 155th anniversary of the holiday commemorating the final emancipation of slaves in the United States. It is celebrated widely as Independence Day for African-Americans and their friends, and also as an observance of freedom from tyranny.
June also marks a great American tragedy. Over the course of two days, May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob invaded the black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, burning virtually all buildings in the area and killing an unknown number of African-Americans (estimates range as high as 300). It remains the worst example of race violence in this country's history.
The weekend of this Juneteenth is likely to be the date on which America's past and present collide disastrously. Black freedom will have been celebrated on Friday, and the Tulsa massacre anniversary will still be in many minds when the Racist-in-Chief comes to town to hold one of his Hitleresque rallies.
The original schedule had the rally on the 19th, but Trump, mirabile dictu, actually listened to someone and had it moved to the 20th. Does it really matter? There will be protests. How could there not be? An openly racist politician is coming to a city on the heels of a massive celebration for people of color, and where not quite a century ago hundreds of black people were killed by a raging mob of whites.
Everyone within driving distance who has a social conscience should turn out to protest the Unspeakable One's insensitivity and blatant racism. Be careful. Given the tendency of Trump's rallies to draw right-wing crazies of all types, including the KKK and some armed berserkers, violent clashes are all but guaranteed.
The Trump campaign is estimating as many as 40,000 could attend the rally, twice the capacity of the event venue--although it wouldn't be surprising if that's an inflated number. There has been some suggestion of going to an outdoor venue for the overflow, but if the projected forecast of 92 degrees with a 97-degree heat index and possibility of thunderstorms holds, the weather could cause a disaster of its own.
The Tulsa police are an unknown factor. Earlier this month Tulsa Police Chief Travis Yates said, "All of the research says we're shooting African-Americans about 24% less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed."¹ That might say something about what to expect.
Tomorrow: COVID-19 goes to a rally.
--- Diogenes, 6/16/2020
¹ Tulsa Public Radio: https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/tpd-major-police-shoot-black-americans-less-we-probably-ought
June also marks a great American tragedy. Over the course of two days, May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob invaded the black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma, burning virtually all buildings in the area and killing an unknown number of African-Americans (estimates range as high as 300). It remains the worst example of race violence in this country's history.
The weekend of this Juneteenth is likely to be the date on which America's past and present collide disastrously. Black freedom will have been celebrated on Friday, and the Tulsa massacre anniversary will still be in many minds when the Racist-in-Chief comes to town to hold one of his Hitleresque rallies.
The original schedule had the rally on the 19th, but Trump, mirabile dictu, actually listened to someone and had it moved to the 20th. Does it really matter? There will be protests. How could there not be? An openly racist politician is coming to a city on the heels of a massive celebration for people of color, and where not quite a century ago hundreds of black people were killed by a raging mob of whites.
Everyone within driving distance who has a social conscience should turn out to protest the Unspeakable One's insensitivity and blatant racism. Be careful. Given the tendency of Trump's rallies to draw right-wing crazies of all types, including the KKK and some armed berserkers, violent clashes are all but guaranteed.
The Trump campaign is estimating as many as 40,000 could attend the rally, twice the capacity of the event venue--although it wouldn't be surprising if that's an inflated number. There has been some suggestion of going to an outdoor venue for the overflow, but if the projected forecast of 92 degrees with a 97-degree heat index and possibility of thunderstorms holds, the weather could cause a disaster of its own.
The Tulsa police are an unknown factor. Earlier this month Tulsa Police Chief Travis Yates said, "All of the research says we're shooting African-Americans about 24% less than we probably ought to be, based on the crimes being committed."¹ That might say something about what to expect.
Tomorrow: COVID-19 goes to a rally.
--- Diogenes, 6/16/2020
¹ Tulsa Public Radio: https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/tpd-major-police-shoot-black-americans-less-we-probably-ought
15 June 2020
Finding Reality In Fiction
". . . the bellwether of a crumbling democracy is always a violation of human rights. Look at Nazi Germany. North Korea. Ghana under Kwame Nkrumah. Iraq under Saddam Hussein , , ,"
That insightful statement was spoken neither in Congress nor in a campaign address. It is a line from the CBS political drama "Madam Secretary."
From its premiere in 2014 the show took on big contemporary issues, and in early 2018 it began dealing with unpresident Trump. The Great Pretender is never mentioned by name, but issues stemming from his policies, his tyrannical views, and his actions have appeared in several episodes.
To note just a few: the president becomes unhinged, declares himself the most powerful man in the world, and threatens an attack against Russia; he is only stopped when the Cabinet invokes Article 25 of the Constitution, relieving him of duty; a narcissistic Arizona governor declares his state to be exempt from federal law, talks about building a border wall, and begins rounding up and deporting Mexican nationals, separating children from their families; and an episode denouncing nationalism features Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton and Colin Powell in cameo roles.
Watching these issues unfold in a dramatic setting away from the hateful personage of Trump is instructive. When the emotional veil is lifted it becomes possible to evaluate the event objectively and get a good sense of how it would play out in the real world. This is helpful because it provides an opportunity to compare the fiction to reality and determine if our judgment on it was deserved, or if we were just having a knee-jerk reaction to Trump.
If "Madam Secretary" is unique it is because the producers and writers always get the laws right. Watching a season can provide great insight into the Constitution and its power.
Politics and the arts have interacted for centuries, but it was only with the advent of mass entertainment--cinema and television--that an effective message could be delivered to large audiences.
One other example occurred in May of 1992 when a Republican vice-president from Indiana seeking re-election gave a speech about family values. In that speech he criticized a TV character for choosing to be an unwed mother. The veep was Dan Quayle. The character was Murphy Brown, played by Candice Bergen in the eponymous comedy.
In a response that made the front page of the New York Times, Bergen fired back, ridiculing Quayle for using a fictional character to make a policy point and defending single mothers. The feud carried on for only a very few episodes, but the story was picked up by late-night comedians, Quayle became the butt of many jokes, and George H. W. Bush was denied a second term.
I'm sure there are other shows being aired that also attack Trump indirectly. Please add a comment if you know of one.
--- Diogenes, 6/15/2020
12 June 2020
Staying On Track
I am well aware of my tendency to slide off-message, which is why for this iteration of Vox Populi I persuaded an editor to protect me from myself.
The stated purpose of this blog, which I am downright obsessive about, is to expose, denounce, censure, and anathematize unpresident Donald Trump for lying to the American people, for flouting the Constitution, for making a mockery of the presidency, for failing to take responsibility for anything, for ignoring public health and public safety, for criminalizing victims, for violating more rules, laws and Constitutional clauses than any president in history, for excessive corruption that would make even Boss Tweed blush, and for infecting his entire administration with an attitude inimical to the American people.
Yesterday my editor politely but firmly informed me that I have recently slipped away from that mandate and that I need to get back on track. She was right.
I'm going to take a couple of days off to retool and realign my thinking. The timing is good, I think, as we enter into this unprecedented election season.
We are all going to have to be at our best throughout the next five months.
--- Diogenes, 6/12/2020
The stated purpose of this blog, which I am downright obsessive about, is to expose, denounce, censure, and anathematize unpresident Donald Trump for lying to the American people, for flouting the Constitution, for making a mockery of the presidency, for failing to take responsibility for anything, for ignoring public health and public safety, for criminalizing victims, for violating more rules, laws and Constitutional clauses than any president in history, for excessive corruption that would make even Boss Tweed blush, and for infecting his entire administration with an attitude inimical to the American people.
Yesterday my editor politely but firmly informed me that I have recently slipped away from that mandate and that I need to get back on track. She was right.
I'm going to take a couple of days off to retool and realign my thinking. The timing is good, I think, as we enter into this unprecedented election season.
We are all going to have to be at our best throughout the next five months.
--- Diogenes, 6/12/2020
11 June 2020
Revolutionaries Reading Redux
[Because we've just witnessed the first widespread civil uprising in
quite some time, I'm republishing this list as a reminder of how
important it is to stand up against tyranny] --- Diogenes, 6/11/2020
I hope that none of you have ever or ever will experience tyranny in real life,
but there are people highly placed in government who would very much like to have more power and would like the people to have less. I offer here some reading and viewing material by people who did experience tyranny in some of its worst forms that might help you recognize authoritarianism if it ever rears its ugly head.
These are standard works that will probably be in your local library. K=Kindle
Many of these works are challenging. If you start one and hate it, just grab another.
Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451 K
Dick, Philip K.: The Man In The High Castle¹ K
Frank, Anne: The Diary Of A Young Girl K
Lockhart, Robin Bruce: Reilly: Ace of Spies K
Marquis, John: Papa Doc: Portrait Of A Haitian Tyrant
Orwell, George: Animal Farm K
Orwell, George: 1984 K
Short, Philip: Pol Pot: Anatomy Of A Nightmare K
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr: One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich K
Trunk, Isaiah: Judenrat
Webb, William: The Dictator
Wiesel, Elie: Night K
Hitler, Adolf: Mein Kampf K
Mazin, Craig and Johan Renck: Chernobyl (Five-part HBO miniseries)
Powell, William: The Anarchist Cookbook K
¹Also an Amazon Prime series
If you haven't the time to read, then meditate on these quotes:
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" Thomas Charlton
"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair." H. L. Mencken
"We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words: 'We, the people.'" Ruth Bader Ginsburg
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln
--- Diogenes, 5/13/20
I hope that none of you have ever or ever will experience tyranny in real life,
but there are people highly placed in government who would very much like to have more power and would like the people to have less. I offer here some reading and viewing material by people who did experience tyranny in some of its worst forms that might help you recognize authoritarianism if it ever rears its ugly head.
These are standard works that will probably be in your local library. K=Kindle
Many of these works are challenging. If you start one and hate it, just grab another.
Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451 K
Dick, Philip K.: The Man In The High Castle¹ K
Frank, Anne: The Diary Of A Young Girl K
Lockhart, Robin Bruce: Reilly: Ace of Spies K
Marquis, John: Papa Doc: Portrait Of A Haitian Tyrant
Orwell, George: Animal Farm K
Orwell, George: 1984 K
Short, Philip: Pol Pot: Anatomy Of A Nightmare K
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr: One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich K
Trunk, Isaiah: Judenrat
Webb, William: The Dictator
Wiesel, Elie: Night K
Hitler, Adolf: Mein Kampf K
Mazin, Craig and Johan Renck: Chernobyl (Five-part HBO miniseries)
Powell, William: The Anarchist Cookbook K
¹Also an Amazon Prime series
If you haven't the time to read, then meditate on these quotes:
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" Thomas Charlton
"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair." H. L. Mencken
"We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words: 'We, the people.'" Ruth Bader Ginsburg
"We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." Abraham Lincoln
--- Diogenes, 5/13/20
09 June 2020
Cops: Defund Or Defend?
In the wake of the documented killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the subsequent protests, a number of cities across America are moving to reform their police forces. Even Congress is getting into the act.
This is generally a good thing, but it must be done carefully and reasonably. Above all, it should not be done as a knee-jerk reaction to one case, however horrific, of police brutality.
It must be done in consideration of the public's safety. All the public: black, white, Asian, Latino, straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, rich, poor, homeless, addicted--the entire panoply of this remarkably diverse nation.
Unlike several other countries, the United States does not have a paramilitary national police force. Instead, we have insanely over-armed local forces who routinely deploy battlefield weapons on the streets, including their favorite, tear gas, which was outlawed as a weapon of war by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. But it's OK to use on civilians.
Following the 1965 Watts riot, some larger police forces began increasing their armamentaria to include heavy automatic weapons and grenades, armored personnel carriers, and adopting military-style gear and tactics. This militarization increased during the 1980s drug wars, which saw the proliferation of SWAT forces. Since the late 1990s, police departments have been able to acquire excess military equipment of all kinds, bulking up their arsenals sufficiently to fight a small war. And they've been getting away with murder.
Since 2003, more than 1,000 Americans have been killed by police each year,¹ and the vast majority of them were not criminals. There is ample evidence that militarization is both ineffective and unequal. One study from 2018 showed that "militarized 'special weapons and tactics' (SWAT) teams are more often deployed in communities of color, and—contrary to claims by police administrators—provide no detectable benefits in terms of officer safety or violent crime reduction, on average."²
Not surprisingly, there are very few government programs that keep track of civilian deaths by police. There are a few in the private realm, but none of them agree exactly just how many non-criminals have been killed by police. One thing they do agree on is that people of color are disproportionately at risk, and that about 90% of such deaths are caused by gunshot.
I do not agree with any action that would abolish a police force or reduce it to ineffectiveness. That would invite chaos and vigilantism. But reform is unquestionably needed in many American police organizations.
Police officers are not soldiers, and police forces should not look at their communities as battlefields. Many police forces have adopted the "Protect and Defend" motto. They should take it seriously. They should know the people they claim to protect and defend. They should pay attention to the dynamics of their neighborhoods.
Needless to say, the Warmonger-in-Chief wants the police to go out and "dominate the streets." And of course he thinks they're all "great, great people."
Police should be our neighbors, not an occupying force. In the past couple of weeks we've seen the enmity that exists between communities and the forces who are supposed to be protecting and defending them. Too many Americans view the police as an enemy, in some cases with good reason.
Attitudes on both sides need to change. If an improvement in police-community relations can emerge from the recent strife, we will all be winners.
---Diogenes, 6/9/2020
¹ https://fatalencounters.org/
² "Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may harm police reputation," https://www.pnas.org/content/115/37/9181.
This is generally a good thing, but it must be done carefully and reasonably. Above all, it should not be done as a knee-jerk reaction to one case, however horrific, of police brutality.
It must be done in consideration of the public's safety. All the public: black, white, Asian, Latino, straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, rich, poor, homeless, addicted--the entire panoply of this remarkably diverse nation.
Unlike several other countries, the United States does not have a paramilitary national police force. Instead, we have insanely over-armed local forces who routinely deploy battlefield weapons on the streets, including their favorite, tear gas, which was outlawed as a weapon of war by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. But it's OK to use on civilians.
Following the 1965 Watts riot, some larger police forces began increasing their armamentaria to include heavy automatic weapons and grenades, armored personnel carriers, and adopting military-style gear and tactics. This militarization increased during the 1980s drug wars, which saw the proliferation of SWAT forces. Since the late 1990s, police departments have been able to acquire excess military equipment of all kinds, bulking up their arsenals sufficiently to fight a small war. And they've been getting away with murder.
Since 2003, more than 1,000 Americans have been killed by police each year,¹ and the vast majority of them were not criminals. There is ample evidence that militarization is both ineffective and unequal. One study from 2018 showed that "militarized 'special weapons and tactics' (SWAT) teams are more often deployed in communities of color, and—contrary to claims by police administrators—provide no detectable benefits in terms of officer safety or violent crime reduction, on average."²
Not surprisingly, there are very few government programs that keep track of civilian deaths by police. There are a few in the private realm, but none of them agree exactly just how many non-criminals have been killed by police. One thing they do agree on is that people of color are disproportionately at risk, and that about 90% of such deaths are caused by gunshot.
I do not agree with any action that would abolish a police force or reduce it to ineffectiveness. That would invite chaos and vigilantism. But reform is unquestionably needed in many American police organizations.
Police officers are not soldiers, and police forces should not look at their communities as battlefields. Many police forces have adopted the "Protect and Defend" motto. They should take it seriously. They should know the people they claim to protect and defend. They should pay attention to the dynamics of their neighborhoods.
Needless to say, the Warmonger-in-Chief wants the police to go out and "dominate the streets." And of course he thinks they're all "great, great people."
Police should be our neighbors, not an occupying force. In the past couple of weeks we've seen the enmity that exists between communities and the forces who are supposed to be protecting and defending them. Too many Americans view the police as an enemy, in some cases with good reason.
Attitudes on both sides need to change. If an improvement in police-community relations can emerge from the recent strife, we will all be winners.
---Diogenes, 6/9/2020
¹ https://fatalencounters.org/
² "Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may harm police reputation," https://www.pnas.org/content/115/37/9181.
07 June 2020
The State Of Trump
"He is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature."*
I am shamed by forgetfulness.
It had gone out of my head that the District of Columbia lacks a governor. Our seat of government has Congress for its legislature and the president as its governor. Poor DC.
So the National Guard, forced to "defend" the Bully-in-Chief's own little fiefdom, was apparently following legitimate orders to commit highly questionable, if not unlawful, acts when it cleared the way for him to waltz over to St. John's church with his posse in tow.
That neither excuses nor legitimizes anything the Guard did. The actions of helicopter pilots in battering the crowds with rotor wash are at least under investigation, but given the players I have to question the rigorousness of the inquiry.
The notion of the president using his "gubernatorial" powers to direct military action could be a dreadful precedent. I mean, think of it: an overgrown, self-absorbed child with 69 square miles of territory to play with real soldiers in.
Imagine--Bayonet charges on The Ellipse; Nighttime exercises in Rock Creek Park; Amphibious landings on Roosevelt Island. The Barbarian Duke of DC could see the first and last of these, surveying his demesne from the roof of the White House.
I suggest we urge the governors of Maryland and Virginia to build a high wall along their borders with DC, allowing only helicopter access, and let the games begin.
---Diogenes, 6/7/2020
* George Bernard Shaw: Caesar and Cleopatra.
I am shamed by forgetfulness.
It had gone out of my head that the District of Columbia lacks a governor. Our seat of government has Congress for its legislature and the president as its governor. Poor DC.
So the National Guard, forced to "defend" the Bully-in-Chief's own little fiefdom, was apparently following legitimate orders to commit highly questionable, if not unlawful, acts when it cleared the way for him to waltz over to St. John's church with his posse in tow.
That neither excuses nor legitimizes anything the Guard did. The actions of helicopter pilots in battering the crowds with rotor wash are at least under investigation, but given the players I have to question the rigorousness of the inquiry.
The notion of the president using his "gubernatorial" powers to direct military action could be a dreadful precedent. I mean, think of it: an overgrown, self-absorbed child with 69 square miles of territory to play with real soldiers in.
Imagine--Bayonet charges on The Ellipse; Nighttime exercises in Rock Creek Park; Amphibious landings on Roosevelt Island. The Barbarian Duke of DC could see the first and last of these, surveying his demesne from the roof of the White House.
I suggest we urge the governors of Maryland and Virginia to build a high wall along their borders with DC, allowing only helicopter access, and let the games begin.
---Diogenes, 6/7/2020
* George Bernard Shaw: Caesar and Cleopatra.
06 June 2020
The Power Of Power
"Power tends to corrupt," said Sir John Dalberg-Acton, "and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Power is an addictive force that some people simply cannot resist. They are drawn to it without resistance, like iron filings to a magnet. Once addicted they spend excessive amounts of time and money in a continuing attempt to get closer to the center of that power, the heart of the magnet.
For some it is a struggle. If they have religious or ethical scruples they may try to hold them up as a shield against addiction, but sooner or later the tug of that magnet will be just too strong.
Others try to limit their involvement. "I'll just go along a bit to see what it's like," they say, or "I'll only run for one term." But the magnet's power doesn't allow limits.
Power, especially political power, is a pernicious disease that has no cure, and those who become addicted are doomed to a lifetime of fear, always watching their words and looking over their shoulders to be sure there is no threat of losing the thing they value most: Power. If they put any value on their soul it is in second place.
The reason the Great Pretender's minions are stuck to him like limpets and cannot let go is that he holds the key to their existence: their power, or access to it. In Washington, that is an existential matter. The closer one is to the center of power, the more powerful one is perceived to be. Getting kicked out to a more distant orbit is a disaster and an embarrassment.
Most of them don't respect the man. They worship the power they perceive him to hold.
The fascistic Trump holds over his followers' heads the threat of removal from himself. These people have not only lost their direction; they have also lost track of their sworn purpose: to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; [and to] bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
In the government of the United States no person or office is more potent or important than the Constitution. It is the rock on which all things are established. Yet the addiction to temporary power and the concomitant fear of losing it has caused too many officials to lose sight of the only entity to which they own allegiance.
They need to pick up that Bible their boss had the insolence to hold up in front of St. John's church and turn to Matthew 6:24. You know the one. It begins, "No man can serve two masters."
--- Diogenes, 6/6/2020
Power is an addictive force that some people simply cannot resist. They are drawn to it without resistance, like iron filings to a magnet. Once addicted they spend excessive amounts of time and money in a continuing attempt to get closer to the center of that power, the heart of the magnet.
For some it is a struggle. If they have religious or ethical scruples they may try to hold them up as a shield against addiction, but sooner or later the tug of that magnet will be just too strong.
Others try to limit their involvement. "I'll just go along a bit to see what it's like," they say, or "I'll only run for one term." But the magnet's power doesn't allow limits.
Power, especially political power, is a pernicious disease that has no cure, and those who become addicted are doomed to a lifetime of fear, always watching their words and looking over their shoulders to be sure there is no threat of losing the thing they value most: Power. If they put any value on their soul it is in second place.
The reason the Great Pretender's minions are stuck to him like limpets and cannot let go is that he holds the key to their existence: their power, or access to it. In Washington, that is an existential matter. The closer one is to the center of power, the more powerful one is perceived to be. Getting kicked out to a more distant orbit is a disaster and an embarrassment.
Most of them don't respect the man. They worship the power they perceive him to hold.
The fascistic Trump holds over his followers' heads the threat of removal from himself. These people have not only lost their direction; they have also lost track of their sworn purpose: to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; [and to] bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
In the government of the United States no person or office is more potent or important than the Constitution. It is the rock on which all things are established. Yet the addiction to temporary power and the concomitant fear of losing it has caused too many officials to lose sight of the only entity to which they own allegiance.
They need to pick up that Bible their boss had the insolence to hold up in front of St. John's church and turn to Matthew 6:24. You know the one. It begins, "No man can serve two masters."
--- Diogenes, 6/6/2020
05 June 2020
Exit Strategy recap
This evening, purely by chance, I was watching the drama "Madam Secretary," season 4, episode 12, "Sound and Fury." The story is about the Cabinet removing a deranged president from office using the 25th Amendment, which Diogenes discussed in today's post.
There were moments when the character of the president said things that could have come from the Great Pretender's mouth. The likeness was downright spooky. The episode first aired on 14 January 2018, about a year after Trump assumed office, and before the public became aware of the worst of his delusions. It's almost like clairvoyance.
I urge you to watch episode 12 of season 4 of "Madam Secretary" on Netflix or whatever channel you may get it on. I guarantee you'll get a strong feeling of déjà vu.
There are no coincidences.
--- Richard Brown, 6/5/2020
There were moments when the character of the president said things that could have come from the Great Pretender's mouth. The likeness was downright spooky. The episode first aired on 14 January 2018, about a year after Trump assumed office, and before the public became aware of the worst of his delusions. It's almost like clairvoyance.
I urge you to watch episode 12 of season 4 of "Madam Secretary" on Netflix or whatever channel you may get it on. I guarantee you'll get a strong feeling of déjà vu.
There are no coincidences.
--- Richard Brown, 6/5/2020
Exit Strategy
There are three ways an American president can be removed from office other than being voted out:
Impeachment: If only we had the gift of foresight. Had we any inkling of how far off the rails the unpresident would go, this would have been the best choice. But alas, the opportunity is past.
25th Amendment: The 25th has a provision whereby a president who has become unable to perform his duties can be involuntarily relieved of them. It's tricky and complicated, but not impossible.
In order to achieve removal, the vice-president and a majority of "the principal officers of the executive departments" (the Cabinet) have to vote to remove him temporarily from office.
Even if it were possible to get eight Cabinet members to vote for ouster, Mike Pence is the fly in the ointment. He would almost certainly vote no, but there's no indication his vote would count more than others, and a simple majority is all that is required.
But wait, there's more. The language of the amendment says the Cabinet members can be replaced by a majority "of such other body as Congress may by law provide." Neither size nor makeup of that body is specified.
OK, here's the thing: I know that Congress couldn't gear up to invoke the 25th Amendment before November. But if members of Congress got a lot of mail and email and tweets and phone calls reminding them that their first allegiance is to the Constitution and not to the president, and if the notion of using the 25th were to get enough attention, it could get some of them thinking about what they can and should do.
Right now, as any number of commentators have pointed out, the unpresident seems to be at a tipping point. With several current and former members of the government denouncing Trump, more Republicans might find the courage to come out against him.
The strategy is to keep pressure on. The goal is to make Trump unelectable.
I'm not delusional. I know this little blog and its loyal but small following isn't going to make huge changes by itself. But we all have friends, and belong to Facebook groups, and all our friends have friends, and if the Six Degrees of Separation theory works, who knows what could result?
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”*
--- Diogenes, 6/5/2020
* Attributed to Edmund Burke (1729-1797).
- Assassination
- Impeachment
- 25th Amendment
Impeachment: If only we had the gift of foresight. Had we any inkling of how far off the rails the unpresident would go, this would have been the best choice. But alas, the opportunity is past.
25th Amendment: The 25th has a provision whereby a president who has become unable to perform his duties can be involuntarily relieved of them. It's tricky and complicated, but not impossible.
In order to achieve removal, the vice-president and a majority of "the principal officers of the executive departments" (the Cabinet) have to vote to remove him temporarily from office.
Even if it were possible to get eight Cabinet members to vote for ouster, Mike Pence is the fly in the ointment. He would almost certainly vote no, but there's no indication his vote would count more than others, and a simple majority is all that is required.
But wait, there's more. The language of the amendment says the Cabinet members can be replaced by a majority "of such other body as Congress may by law provide." Neither size nor makeup of that body is specified.
OK, here's the thing: I know that Congress couldn't gear up to invoke the 25th Amendment before November. But if members of Congress got a lot of mail and email and tweets and phone calls reminding them that their first allegiance is to the Constitution and not to the president, and if the notion of using the 25th were to get enough attention, it could get some of them thinking about what they can and should do.
Right now, as any number of commentators have pointed out, the unpresident seems to be at a tipping point. With several current and former members of the government denouncing Trump, more Republicans might find the courage to come out against him.
The strategy is to keep pressure on. The goal is to make Trump unelectable.
I'm not delusional. I know this little blog and its loyal but small following isn't going to make huge changes by itself. But we all have friends, and belong to Facebook groups, and all our friends have friends, and if the Six Degrees of Separation theory works, who knows what could result?
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”*
--- Diogenes, 6/5/2020
* Attributed to Edmund Burke (1729-1797).
03 June 2020
Trump the Terrorist
Terrorism: The systematic use of terror (violence or the threat of violence) as a means of intimidation or coercion.
Terrorist: One who uses terror as a means of intimidation or coercion.
Donald Trump is a terrorist.
He does not lead. He controls by instilling fear: fear of job loss or demotion, fear of loss of access, fear of public denunciation.
He has so cowed the Republican Party that even Archdemon Mitch McConnell kowtows to him.
In 2018 alone he threatened other nations with military attacks, including the use of nuclear weapons, nine times.
Even before his election he raised the specter of violence with his inflammatory comments about immigrants and his open pandering to hate groups.
He has directly threatened American citizens with military action if they don't cease and desist protesting. As we all know, "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."¹
Donald Trump is a tyrant.
He routinely ignores any law that he considers inconvenient, including elements of the Constitution.
He has tried to deny First Amendment rights to news organizations and social media platforms, even while insisting they respect his rights under the amendment.
He has threatened to stop civil disobedience by invading states with the Army, over several governors' protests.
He has acted unilaterally in cases that required approval by Congress or other oversight. Here is a link to a month-by-month list (January, 2017-April, 2019) of his violations of protocol: https://indivisible.org/resource/donald-trump-national-security-risk-here%E2%80%99s-current-trumpthreatlevel
18 U.S. Code § 2339, "Harboring or concealing terrorists," makes "Whoever harbors or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe, has committed, or is about to commit" certain acts of terrorism, is subject to a fine and up to ten years' imprisonment.
Ordering an armed military attack on unarmed American citizens in the process of exercising their rights is not one of those "certain acts," but it should certainly be taken as an act of terrorism. It should be possible to say that the Executive Branch of the U. S. Government is harboring a terrorist, who should be arrested.
Here's the dilemma: The president is, God help us, the head of the executive branch, so the harboring and acting are being done by the same person. Moreover, it is an open legal question whether a sitting president can be arrested for anything. Seriously.
"American democracy" should not become an oxymoron.
--- Diogenes, 6/3/2020
¹ Isaac Asimov, Foundation. London, Panther Books, 1960.
02 June 2020
If I Were A Conspiracy Theorist . . .
. . . I would answer "yes" or "probably" to these questions:
Is Trump insane?
Does Trump have burner phones and secret email and Twitter accounts that he uses to communicate with allies?
Do those allies include the KKK, the NRA, and other right-wing terrorists and militias?
Is Trump directing his allies to foment violence and unrest?
Were the "outside agitators" that have been mentioned sent by Trump?
Does Trump use the Dark Web to communicate with his allies?
Were lawful protests over George Floyd's death hijacked by Trump and/or his allies for political gain?
Would Trump commit violence against the American people if it helped his re-election chances?
Has Trump been brainwashed by ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin?
Was this entire catastrophe engineered by Trump so he could play the hero?
And "possibly" to this one:
Is Trump the Antichrist?
If I were a conspiracy theorist. If I were paranoid.
--- Richard Brown, 6/2/2020
Is Trump insane?
Does Trump have burner phones and secret email and Twitter accounts that he uses to communicate with allies?
Do those allies include the KKK, the NRA, and other right-wing terrorists and militias?
Is Trump directing his allies to foment violence and unrest?
Were the "outside agitators" that have been mentioned sent by Trump?
Does Trump use the Dark Web to communicate with his allies?
Were lawful protests over George Floyd's death hijacked by Trump and/or his allies for political gain?
Would Trump commit violence against the American people if it helped his re-election chances?
Has Trump been brainwashed by ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin?
Was this entire catastrophe engineered by Trump so he could play the hero?
And "possibly" to this one:
Is Trump the Antichrist?
If I were a conspiracy theorist. If I were paranoid.
--- Richard Brown, 6/2/2020
We Have The Power
". . . whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect
their Safety and Happiness… it is their right, it is their duty, to
throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security."
--- Thomas Jefferson
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
--- Abraham Lincoln
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country."
--- Franklin D. Roosevelt
These words from three presidents across three centuries affirm the American people's ownership of their government. Two of them acknowledge the people's right to overthrow an oppressive regime.
Jefferson and Lincoln wrote during times when the success of our experiment with democracy was in doubt. Both men fought forces that would have returned us to tyranny, dismantled the structure of our government and denied our rights. Yet both men understood that any government can become corrupt and rotten, and defended the right of the American people to take charge and reform it.
We do not seek Constitutional reform, but regime change. It is our responsibility. No one else will do it.
We must take charge, and we cannot wait until November. Trump has crossed the line into tyranny. If he follows through on his threat to use an antique law to set the American armed forces against the American people, the United States of America will join Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Iran, Uganda, and North Korea, who are known to have taken the same action.
We must rise up. It is our right. It is our duty.
---Diogenes, 6/2/2020
--- Thomas Jefferson
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
--- Abraham Lincoln
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country."
--- Franklin D. Roosevelt
These words from three presidents across three centuries affirm the American people's ownership of their government. Two of them acknowledge the people's right to overthrow an oppressive regime.
Jefferson and Lincoln wrote during times when the success of our experiment with democracy was in doubt. Both men fought forces that would have returned us to tyranny, dismantled the structure of our government and denied our rights. Yet both men understood that any government can become corrupt and rotten, and defended the right of the American people to take charge and reform it.
We do not seek Constitutional reform, but regime change. It is our responsibility. No one else will do it.
We must take charge, and we cannot wait until November. Trump has crossed the line into tyranny. If he follows through on his threat to use an antique law to set the American armed forces against the American people, the United States of America will join Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, Iran, Uganda, and North Korea, who are known to have taken the same action.
We must rise up. It is our right. It is our duty.
---Diogenes, 6/2/2020
01 June 2020
Genitum Non Factum
The title is borrowed from the Credo of the Roman Catholic Mass. It means "Begotten, not made," and in the context of this post it refers to leaders.
Notwithstanding the claims of military academies and universities, leaders are born, not made. Any idiot can shout orders at other people and maybe coerce them into action, but only a true leader can give orders in full confidence that they will be obeyed. Only a leader can run out ahead of a platoon and know instinctively that the group has her back.
Leadership is a gift that embodies trust, confidence, self-respect, courage, and intelligence. The genuine leader is able, in some way, to impart those qualities to the people she leads. We call it a gift because it is an inexplicable quality that some humans have and most do not.
Leaders, seemingly through the force of their personality, are able to help their followers reach mental or physical goals they once thought beyond them. Perhaps this comes from the trust followers place in leaders--trust that they will be supported and praised for doing the best they can do while being subtly encouraged to do better.
Leaders think on their feet and have the capacity to adapt to fluid situations. They remain confident that their people will follow them because they have earned the trust of their followers and have listened to their input.
Donald Trump is good at many things: shouting, denigrating, diverting blame, pointing, intimidating, hating, insulting, name-calling, belittling, whining, scorning, mocking, taunting, and generally being unpleasant.
Trump has neither the trust of his followers nor any confidence that they will follow him. CNN reports there is a "serious divide" among unpresidential advisers, some of whom urge him "to formally address the nation and call for calm, while others have said he should condemn the rioting and looting more forcefully or risk losing middle-of-the-road voters in November."¹
Doves and hawks, doves and hawks, and not a populist among them. And that's irrelevant because he hasn't the sense to listen to any of them. He will continue
shooting from the hip until he is stopped by someone with the authority to make him stand down. There are such people; they just need to grow a spine.
People who follow Trump do so out of fear. He can't lead because he is not a leader. He can make people do his bidding because he is a bully. But he will never lead.
It's not easy being the Loser-in-Chief.
--- Diogenes, 6/1/2020
¹ https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/trump-underground-bunker-white-house-protests/index.html
Notwithstanding the claims of military academies and universities, leaders are born, not made. Any idiot can shout orders at other people and maybe coerce them into action, but only a true leader can give orders in full confidence that they will be obeyed. Only a leader can run out ahead of a platoon and know instinctively that the group has her back.
Leadership is a gift that embodies trust, confidence, self-respect, courage, and intelligence. The genuine leader is able, in some way, to impart those qualities to the people she leads. We call it a gift because it is an inexplicable quality that some humans have and most do not.
Leaders, seemingly through the force of their personality, are able to help their followers reach mental or physical goals they once thought beyond them. Perhaps this comes from the trust followers place in leaders--trust that they will be supported and praised for doing the best they can do while being subtly encouraged to do better.
Leaders think on their feet and have the capacity to adapt to fluid situations. They remain confident that their people will follow them because they have earned the trust of their followers and have listened to their input.
Donald Trump is good at many things: shouting, denigrating, diverting blame, pointing, intimidating, hating, insulting, name-calling, belittling, whining, scorning, mocking, taunting, and generally being unpleasant.
Trump has neither the trust of his followers nor any confidence that they will follow him. CNN reports there is a "serious divide" among unpresidential advisers, some of whom urge him "to formally address the nation and call for calm, while others have said he should condemn the rioting and looting more forcefully or risk losing middle-of-the-road voters in November."¹
Doves and hawks, doves and hawks, and not a populist among them. And that's irrelevant because he hasn't the sense to listen to any of them. He will continue
shooting from the hip until he is stopped by someone with the authority to make him stand down. There are such people; they just need to grow a spine.
People who follow Trump do so out of fear. He can't lead because he is not a leader. He can make people do his bidding because he is a bully. But he will never lead.
It's not easy being the Loser-in-Chief.
--- Diogenes, 6/1/2020
¹ https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/31/politics/trump-underground-bunker-white-house-protests/index.html
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