Seventy-five years ago today, on April 4, 1949, representatives from twelve countries in Europe and North America—Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States—signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO. This defensive security alliance has been a key institution for world stability since World War II.
It is an important reminder that a highly collaborative world can yield peace and security, while the destructive vision of Putin, Orban, Trump, and behind the scenes criminals like Steve Bannon prefer nationalistic isolation. This is because tension and insecurity creates populations that are far easier to manipulate and control.
It's ironic and maddening that so many of the willfully ignorant who blindly yell "freedom" would usher in closed, authoritarian societies always under the threat of war and conflict -a dystopian hell for the majority of people while a handful at the top control most of the wealth and resources. In 2016 too many in the United States bought into the fraud that led to both Trump and Brexit.
I can only hope that more people are catching on to Trump and Putin as crime bosses stealing peace and security from the rest of the world.
George, Regrettably, those, largely white, who earn under $50,000 substantially comprise the swath of the population who, quoting you, “blindly yell ‘freedom’” in reaction to regulations meant to contain capitalism’s excesses. Paradoxically, I fear we increasingly are experiencing a linkage between those who so often are the victims of modernity’s unevenly distributed benefits, which look to them like brute indifference to their welfare and their claims of justice, and political lethargy. Moreover, I fret over whether any democracy can survive with a sizable segment of its population so aggrieved that it is willing to accept any authoritarian option in order to provide some sense of normalcy and security in their lives. Sadly, this relative erosion also opens the door for significant segments of this group to scapegoat those who are most vulnerable.
Mine don't approve of the bully celebrity but disapprove of "liberals" more so they shield their eyes and pretend otherwise. Oh and tax cuts! They want another one.
Some just like the "rebel" status. I could have predicted when many were young who would fall for the bull schitt. Same with the jr high kids i worked with in the 80's. The anti-authority ones are the magats today. The anti-liberals come from the Rush fans, as a rule.
Learned a lot. A kid that I didn’t remember posted on my daughter’s FB that I seemed to have a soft spot for the kids who struggled so much. My best review…
I agree, Marj. I remember handling a call involving two twelve-year-old boys at the middle school. Their birthdates were 6 months apart (October to April, IIRC). The slightly younger one looked about 10 years old, was 4'10" and looked like he played with matchbox cars. The slightly older one was 5'9", shaving, and dating. I remember asking the principal how they did it. She replied "very carefully".
The combination inherent in Middle School kids of almost embarrassing honesty and affection, not infrequent capacity for wonder, innocent and sometimes frightening capacity for making one face one's own contradictions as an adult, sheer stubbornness, open excitement in learning, eagerness to discuss all sorts of issues (no matter how naively), innocent, open joy in doing well are part and parcel of the age.I taught history to kids that age for over 40 years, and I can promise you that for all the difficulties inherent in teaching, maintaining discipline, educational bureaucracy, some parental craziness, I never went into a classroom without a feeling akin to wonder, sometimes verging on awe at the pleasure of being in the midst of this place of constant discovery.
I admit to having been being primed for it - my family has been in some branch of education since 1894, nearly half the history of the US itself - but if one is looking for a profession that is never, ever dull, it would be hard to top teaching. Two thoughts help. One should always teach what one would love even apart from the classroom, and having the humility to understand that the profession is not about selling a point of view, no matter how fervently one may hold that point, but rather about teaching one's students how to discover whatever truth there is rather than deciding one is the font of that truth.
Many of my government students who were not college prep were indifferent and I wondered how many of them would actually vote. This was a small rural school in a community where now MAGAs abound. I have friends out there who are still amazed by how awful people have become with the advent of death star.
Some are so susceptible to the local pressures. West of where I live, there is a large bill board with the cretin’s smirking, ugly face. I lived there for 20 years and am mortified to the max.
Jeri, kids learn from their parents. Our hair person showed us a picture yesterday of a couple children of one of his Virginia relatives. The 11 year old girl was surreptitiously giving the white power sign with a big smirk on her face.
I was surprised that in 9th many of the kids were embarrassed by things their parents did. By 11th, they had adopted the same things. Don’t know if it was just my experience, but I felt like there was a window when light could get in. BTW. A great psychologist and I had groups with jr and high school for years. I felt for their struggles. One year, when asking how their Thanksgiving holiday was, one kid said “I bailed my dad out of jail.” Even with my flawed parents, I never had to do that.
It is indeed. Maybe they feel an affinity with chump for defying our rules, laws, and traditions. I can see some really admiring that. When I followed a couple on FB, it was depressing.
Tracy, oh yes, got to own the libs and stay away from woke. People around here want government to do all sorts of things including solving the housing, the homeless, the fentanyl crisis, but no more taxes and let's get rid of the ones we have. Story on the news yesterday about a murder in a homeless camp here in a Salem park where one of the dog walkers wanted more police. Voters here recently defeated a payroll tax which I agree was poorly done. The one that really got me was the tax for our local fire district which is a rural fire district, covering part of an urban area in Salem, but not part of Salem, with the rural area nearby. It took three votes to have a fire district available 24/7. I was appalled at the arguments against it. None of those people, I guess, will ever have an emergency where time matters.
Jeri, I would consider the junk food of propaganda a “defining factor,” particularly seeing we are speaking of different segments of the population that comprise the MAGA base.
Jeri, I write to reaffirm, that while the influence wielded by media is a significant factor in shaping what counts as fact, it is not the only factor. Hence, my original comment amplifying the impact of institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond the control of a substantial swath of the population.
There are grievances that extend beyond the divisiveness of the unequal distribution of wealth and many have to do with increased bureaucratic demands that seemingly take away valuable time and sometimes impose one size fits all absurdities. Some of these are based on outmoded or wrongly imposed rules. This can be “un-freedom” and create the sense of a weaponized state. Then such evil as Bannon proposes gets soul traction. Yet without a populace willing to stand for and implement moral and socially & environmentally healthy practices, in comes the state. So often it seems like an autocrat who destroys the system versus a system that can seem soul destructive. But have one East Palestine train wreck, or one environmental disaster, and people long for commonwealth help and preventive measures. Bringing in an autocrat bent on enriching himself (or herself for that matter) can only make all lives worse. Whatever one’s relationship to the Bible, seeing that the love of money is the root of all evil, or that we need (and are yet to learn) to love our neighbors, enemies & our world — makes a lot of sense. In the realm of production and consumption, the healthiest would be to meet our diverse needs in a way that can provide a satisfactory basis for ongoing human development.
Good points. sort of like walking a tight rope. With any "preventive" measures, there are restraints that chafe. I ran across a bunch of bureaucratic rules when my husband died. Stayed pissed for awhile, so I see Bill Maher's blather about Dem's ridiculous rules that delay and complicate. Still, I prefer a caring stance rather than a "free for all." Middle ground would be nice...
The bureaucratic rules for earthlings like you and me can be totally mind numbing. I could not continue to fight for what was mine at one point. The bureaucratics gave it to me and then yanked it away.
I have to laugh. A letter from the SSA said that if they could give me something it would be $641. We had been getting $132. But sorry, I could get nothing. Lordy
Mine watch Fox, Newsmax, and the like; their local papers--if there are any--either don't cover national and world news or just regurgitate wire service items that feature tfg at every opportunity.
The Epoch Times is big in Texas. I complained to a grocery store manager about them allowing propaganda in their store. Of course, that was their intention. My BFF's husband had Fox on 24-7 (no exaggeration) in their house. I spent a lot of time there in late 90's. It was horrid with the "fair and balanced" bull schitt. But they lapped it up. All were educated and smart. About half are current magats. Some resisted. Propaganda is powerful and snares much more than stupid.
Epoch Times has billboards in this area. And in this most-red-county in Michigan, we are pushing back against a county commission that has a majority who are anti-mask, anti-health department, anti-DEI, pro "constitutional county," overtly Christian, etc, etc. They have run up huge legal bills, hired obviously unqualified administrators, and are generally making a mess of a county that was previously well run by a majority of sane Republicans (yes, there are some on the local level).
It’s deeply offensive to me that red county commissioners have and are anti public health, anti election integrity, anti democracy. These are fools at a very critical level of government. Erghhh. I share your frustration and disappointment in their failure to be leaders.
Isn’t Michigan DeVos country? I’m from down South so eaten up with problems of our own. But isn’t DeVos money the root of a lot of the red menace there?
Epoch Times is where I look for “opinions from the other side”. Dear gawd, the comments are jaw dropping in the complete lack of understanding of the current world, the preferred language being bumper sticker.
Jeri, it seems to me that 45’s cunning snares the educated by whispering that they are smarter than the other followers and that he’s depending on their seeing “the big picture” of what he’s trying to accomplish—fewer wars, better healthcare and a return to their “innocent childhoods”. It’s always someone else’s fault that he hasn’t achieved the great plan.
As for their “innocent childhoods”, look at how many memes there circulating that celebrate “riding bikes until the street lights come on, drinking out of a hose, swinging so high that the legs of the swing set leave the ground” etc. The reminiscing ignores the truth of the permanently scarred bodies of kids who attempted stunts that any rational adult would have stopped.
He blathers bull Schitt, and always blames somebody else. In my innocent childhood, my mother would have tanned our hide if we were bullies and blamed others for our wrongs.
Epoch Times must have received a large cash infusion lately, because they also have multiple billboards in the Los Angeles metropolitan area claiming they're a "#1 Trusted News Source." I keep wondering on whose authority they make such a claim. Their own, perhaps?
An interesting article here on the reason(s) for the demise of our media. Written by one of their own it pulls back the curtain on things I didn't know myself. From the fact that "6 companies own 90% of what we see, read and hear" to Reagan having begun the process of media consolidation it's worth the read
Yes, he did, along with so many other things whose negative effects are still "trickling down". And the author didn't even mention his veto of the Fairness Doctrine that paved the way for Murdoch's exploitation of it with "Faux" news media.
No. Not propaganda, but racism. If the white working class could be sure no benefits would accrue to black Americans, they’d be all in on government-supported healthcare, childcare, and many other programs to make capitalism work better … even guaranteed minimum income (for white Americans).
My parents would never have put up with that. When I worked at a jr high, the principal wouldn’t tolerate such. He made the bully responsible for the victim being treated with respect in the lunch room. He knew how to stop such, I was impressed
In times of economic retrenchment history is littered with the rise of authoritarianism. The same people who were quick to embrace Reagan didn’t realize that they were diminishing the quality and opportunity of the next and future generations paving a road leading to Trump.
George, While I can’t speak to what Reagan voters did or did not recognize about that era’s impact on future generations, I unequivocally would trace much of the country’s grotesque inequalities of wealth and income to that era.
Justice is the opposite of Poverty. Can you imagine if DJT had to rely on court appointed attorneys working pro bono. He would already be serving multiple life sentences in the hoosegow.
Gary, I believe preserving and expanding democracy in the States largely is linked to enacting substantial reform of the judiciary, which at present largely has been absorbed by Trump.
You raise good points! The Republican base is made up mostly of Republicans poor dissatisfied people and the extremely wealthy who want to amass even more $$$$$ from the poor that they are purposely suffocating.
I think that it is time to drop the word Republican when defining these folks. It is now MAGA, or, in other words, 21st century KKK. Those folks back in the 20th century (grab a copy of Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's) were all about white Protestantism. And the marchers at Charlottesville in 2017 shouting "Jews will not replace us" were spewing Klan talk.
Daniel, I completely concur. The MAGAs are Fascists, it is Fascism. If Trump had a brain, he'd shut his mouth and quit announcing what his intentions are. The Chinese have an old saying: "The height of cleverness is the ability to conceal it." TFFG's mouth is simply motivating and mobilizing us to resist.
Well then, the rest of the AFP must be very clever, because the vast majority of them are absolutely silent! But me thinks what they are concealing is their collective cowardice.
Maybe if we can brutally smash them this November, they will go back into their caves, re-invent themselves into something more American, and re-join us on Earth 1.
No. That lets Republicans off the hook. All of them, every last one since Reagan, is guilty of contributing to the descent to MAGAtism. Call them Republicans, and solidify the association of that name with kleptocratic autocracy.
Paul, Though your comment is not addressed to me, I would note the data show, contrary to those, largely white, who are paid less than $50,000 and currently mostly vote Republican, those paid between $50,000 and $100,000 mostly vote Democratic. Accordingly, Dems largely are focused on how to win back the former group.
It's not just the lower income lot who vote for Drumpf. My retired pilot across the street, my multimillionaire inherited wealth ex husband, my doctor, all buy into this crap, bellowing "lower taxes". They, who already have plenty.
Drumpf speaks to greed and self-righteous misogyny.
Jen, I would note my original comment was a reply to George’s reference to “the willfully ignorant who blindly yell ‘freedom’” My intent was to portray that part of the MAGA base to which I understood he was referring.
A lot to unpack there, Barbara! Did you know that besides being white, religiously conservative, a majority of these folk are family-centric? A bit over half of all white families vote Republican. A majority of the rest of voters vote Democrat-ish. A major reason Republicans make a big deal about "family values". Dems get where they do because it's a multi-ethnic coalition which also embraces racial ethnic and sexual minorities. A long-burning firestorm which has ignited a huge incendiary backlash as epitomized in the Republicans, or a substantial fraction thereof, alas, now dominated by Trump, who is literally adored and worshipped by "the base".
Frank, Admittedly I chose to focus on income due to the marked distinction in voting patterns between those, mostly white, paid under $50,000 and those paid between $50,000 and $100,000.
The very people who cry “freedom” are endorsing the rights of Oligarchs to continue to freely exploit them, their labor, and their loyalty.
Our long and asinine Cold War {at first a bulwark against the spread of a Soviet police state, but devolving into plain old school-yard competition} created the entity that is still used to cow the Trumpists into submission…. All you need to do is say “socialism” to them, and they are ready to enable any oligarch to eke away at their real rights in favor of things like “the right to work” [for abysmally low wages], eviscerating regulations that are meant to help us maintain safe work environments where we turn out safe and functional products.
It’s Upside-Down World with Trumpers mouthing support for freedoms while giving them all up to a Dissipated Orange Blowhard!!|
We’re in the Twilight Zone.
I hope we get out of it … Look! Up ahead! I see a patch of BLUE!!!
Pat, I appreciate you explaining how elites motivated by greedy and self-serving impulses effectively have manipulated working families throughout the country to cast votes that run counter to their interests and concerns.
George and Barbara, thank you for your insights. This is another problem aided and abetted by death star who has cranked up the anger and incivility and made it nearly impossible to find common ground. I also agree with Jeri below about being people being impressed by "bully celebrity". This aspect reminds me of those who went along with the class clown while the rest of the students wanted to get things done. This speaks to their basic immaturity where it's funny to make fun of others and have no respect for the elements of authority that keep us from chaos.
Michele, Thank you for writing. In my view, the outcome of the November election largely could land on how effectively Biden and fellow Democrats manage the hate and division, the anger and despair that Trump/ Trumpism persists in stoking.
I am still not happy with the 2016 election which, for all her faults, HRC should have won. What a difference that would have made in terms of foreign affairs, COVID response and not giving carte blanche to the haters and dividers, for starters. My husband and I and many of our friends are in our so-called golden years, and I think none of us really expected them to be this fraught. Creaky bodies yes, but not the sickness of the body politic with a former president having an "envoy" and calling the shots in Congress to the detriment of all of us and not just in the US. I confess to not being comfortable wishing ill on other people, but he and his minions are an exception.
Michele, In retrospect, I don’t believe HRC was well-served by advisors who didn’t send her either to rural or to ex-urban parts of the country. Consequently, she didn’t bank enough votes to overcome, for example, the harm perpetrated by Comey.
As for everyday life, the one piece of advice I pass whenever the opportunity presents itself is that all of us, regardless of how intently we work for justice, must also find joy in our personal lives. I wish that for you and your family and friends.
Agreed, Barbara. And yes, Comey who later death star threw under the bus. I told my doctor I was upset by his victory and she told me I was not alone. We tried to warn people about the Supreme Court, for example, but met up with a lot of know-it-all far lefts, most of whom joined my blocked list.
I do try to enjoy my personal life. We are just home from the Saturday Market, where we know many of the venders, and are now having a cup of coffee and a pecan roll while listening to the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. I bought a few things for my veggie garden and we have some smoked black cod($$$). Then we did our grocery shopping and they know us too. It's cold today, more like winter. Thank you for your warm wishes and I send the same to you. Michele
I suspect the vast majority of MAGAs know almost nothing about NATO, including what the acronym stands for and, most importantly, the security it provides to all member nations. All the Trump cults needs to know is that Putin's puppet wants to kill it. Beyond shameful.
I agree, but with our two party system, the democrats, by plan, neglect or ignorance abandoned many citizens. Generations feeling left out are now visible as almost half of those that might be allowed to vote. I am skeptical that corporate democrats will acknowledge their contribution to our decayed society. So called “progressivism” is still marginalized in corporate media. Repairs will take much more that four years, and the pendulum swings slowly…
Abryhan, I share your concerns regarding corporate Democrats, and would add that I view prescribed forms of public accountability for institutions that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence as an issue of democratic survival.
Abryhan, yes, Democrats did not hold the line against the Republican juggernaut that was set on the country around the Nixon years, but especially during Reagan and HW Bush. Deregulating investment and banking, and cutting taxes on “investment” gains … wow. It was a goldmine for the already-rich.
Clinton, following on the heels of HW Bush, was too much in the pocket of the Wall Street machine, too … Even Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, talks about that. I can’t believe Slick Willy didn’t fight for Glass Steagall to stay in force.
How anyone who feels “left behind” and “forgotten” can turn to a Republican administration to make that better is beyond me. They are the architects of the problem, migrating wealth out of labor’s pockets into oligarchs’, hollowing out workplace rules and regs to keep people well-paid and safe, and convincing “Middle America” that it’s the “eggheads” they should resent.
It wasn’t the eggheads that stole their money ….It was the guys like the one who sits at the head of the table and hollers, ‘You’re fired!”
The demise of the middle class is accurately dated to 1980 when Reagan’s ascent marked the beginning of the dismantling of the New Deal. His abrupt dilution of fair progressive taxation with particularly asymmetrical benefit to those in the top 1% plus active deregulation set the stage for the steady loss of industrial jobs and economic security for those who largely undergird trump’s ‘base.’
Having typed that — the full picture of today’s (worldwide) rightward and (yes) fascist direction is not just economic. An example is illustrated in What’s Wrong With Kansas.
A large proportion of trump supporters are in the sub $50K demographic. Those fully embracing trumpism fear loss of white privilege, demographic trends inexorably reducing their majority, ‘brown immigration’ (clearly helping to fuel our economic lead without deserved recognition), a cultural divide in values — singularly well documented by Heather Cox Richardson to aggressive pre antebellum southern attempts oppose equal rights, promote white supremacy, and plutocratic/authoritarian control.
But so blinded is this constituency by decades of well organized propaganda (such as The ‘Heritage’ Foundation), conspiracy mongering, lies, racist whistle calls, christian nationalist delusions — that the base totally ignores the complete disregard the gQp political apparatus has for its more economically challenged members. They are unable to vote in their best economic interests.
The last very critical element in this twisted world view is the recrudescence of the ‘America First’ ideas from the mid 1930s. trump’s plans to thwart Ukraine, withdraw from NATO, and hand putin’s
Gordon, Admittedly, your portrayal of the MAGA constituency is far more fulsome than the one projected in my original comment. Ultimately, I believe the challenge for America today is whether it will continue to deny, evade and avoid its, at times, deeply tragic history.
In South/Gulf Texas I never earned up to $50,000 even with a master's degree and 35 years of professional experience, so please take into account that salaries and cost of living vary across our country. I did not like being lumped into such a category. Otherwise, I generally agree with your comments.
Pat, Please note my intent was not to portray those earning less than $50,000 as monolithic. Rather, I wanted to point to the systemic erosion that not only has perpetuated increasing grotesque inequalities of wealth and income but also is a threat to our democratic survival.
I've wondered if modern capitalistic societies will inevitably widen the wealth divide, increasing the number of people who fall to the bottom. It seems to be happening even in countries that lean more socialistic, as segments of their population gain wealth. Of course government can be used to try to flatten the effect, but still there are many people who because of their culture. family trends and/or ability or lack thereof can't access the path towards greater financial stability in an economic system that demands technical knowledge and the ability to pivot quickly.
Many of the 1/6 rioters were middle to upper middle class and business owners.
This is an ideological debate and racial bias at a fever pitch. One group wants to dig trenches and kill anything that comes over the hill. The other wants to go and shake hands and negotiate. I'm going to stay with the group that is trying to guarantee there will even be a future for us .
Scott, Among your expansive portrayal of the 1/6 rioters, I would say the part driven by greed and self-serving impulses effectively have manipulated everyday workers to cast votes that run counter to their interests and concerns.
"I fret over whether any democracy can survive with a sizable segment of its population so aggrieved that it is willing to accept any authoritarian option in order to provide some sense of normalcy and security in their lives."
Although Trump’s embrace of Putin is deplorable, examination of the Dulles brothers’ support of the Cold War and rejection of any attempt at rapprochement with Russia after WWII is long overdue . Also overdue is an examination of U.S. policy toward Russia after its economic collapse which resulted in the collapse of any nascent democratic experiment and a takeover by a Russian mafia headed by Putin.
The Repub party in the 90’s had a lot to do with that, the “House” of that era was only slightly less bonkers than the one today. Newt, Delay and fellow cretins were as incalcitrant as Mitch and the tea party, or the bomb throwers we have today. Any Dem idea was to be rejected out of hand. I remember…
Most repubs that I know anything about are intolerant of any who stand up to any repub position. I saw this when Mitch ruled. Chump outdoes Mitch on this, it seems. Poor Mitch
"Our foreign policy has not been consistent or coherent"
I agree, but in a justifiable search for those inconsistencies and their varied and sometimes horrendous results, we should not forget that as a democracy, however inconsistent, we still have the power of self-correction. And despite the close calls we've had, the alliance represented by NATO has had a significant hand preventing a major war for over a century. Before that, no such record of relative peace has existed for two millennia.
One of our primary jobs now is to continue that run. The end of it would be a level of destruction so unimaginable as to make any such effort not only worthwhile but absolutely essential. This is where men like Trump and his myrmidons, out of ignorance and folly, go so wrong, This is a man so ignorant of the forces of history as to beggar the imagination, especially given that he, like me, lived through the closest known call we've had, Cuba in 1961.
From what little I've retained of history, it seems like we vacillate between leaders who see the world as a complex of nuances and other leaders who see the world in terms of black & white, of pure evil vs. godliness.
Tom, Since so many Confederate statues were taken down we should add taking the “Dulles brother’s” names off our airport in Va. They deserve nothing to honor them.
Yes, I think we get this very clearly and will do what we can and must to make certain that our country keeps moving forward as a beacon of democracy for the world and all Americans. Happy Birthday NATO.
Yes. Who can forget that great Democrat George W. Bush attacking and invading two countries having little to do with 9/11.
I am not a huge fan of American foreign policy in my lifetime. But Kissinger’s assassination of Allende, Nixon’s continuation of the horror we visited upon the Vietnamese, Reagan’s decimation of El Salvador (and Iran Contra) and “Dubya” -all GOP.
Dont forget, Kennedy then Johnson escalated America's military involvement in Vietnam, taking over from the French as its Asian colonial empire finally collapsed in the 50s. US remains the world's largest military superpower, by far, projecting itself across the oceans. Nothing else like it on the planet. I think we're talking about a little thing called global Capitalism. At least by and large the US has never embarked on an outright world conquest, something the Nazis and imperial Japanese embarked on. Of course, they were only trying to do "catchup" on the Imperial hegemonies of France and England and what was left of Spain and Portugal, just way too ruthless in how they went about it.
True Anthony, although these days I suspect you merely need to post about your favorite color or lucky number and you’ll get some of Putin’s GRU pointed your way.
No. It’s one who consistently comes on Dr. Richardson’s posts and makes personal & negative remarks about her! It appears she is targeted by him! If he doesn’t agree with her, he’s not required to read her posts!
There is disagreement (often healthy) and there is attack (often personal). You and I agree on a lot - and we disagree sometimes.
Here's the difference, I attempt to learn something from those I might disagree with at first. I have learned from you. You have influenced my thinking. Along with many others.
A troll like this demonizes and finds joy in "sticking it to us". He doesn't want to learn or influence. He just looks for places to stir the pot. To vent his anger. Too bad. Because if he used another approach, he could be an "influencer" - which is trending, I hear.
Since Reagan's time, with the interruption of the New Deal era (1933-1981) the American oligarchs have had their way, plundering the American treasury, virtually eliminating the Middle Class here, and with Trump in power they'll effect a complete kleptocratic system. The line in the sand is clearly drawn. Only the blind can't see it.
I've concluded that however it's presented, in the end it's always a battle to depose the rule of law and return to the time tested Feudal system.
It's about not economics or religion. The veneer of what type of economic system or faith a nation claims to follow never fully prevents the intrusion of totalitarianism and a fascist system. It's insidious, and the desired result is always the same - strongman rule and Might over Right.
The extra trappings are always present as well, i.e., rigid class divisions, sexual inequality, functional if not actual slavery, "funny money", political assasinations, party purges, religious inquisitions, and our old familiar friends Ignorance, Superstition and Disease (for the poor).
It's a wonderful system if you're on top. It's hell if you aren't.
Gary, I would say that the tension between capital and labor is always present. Karl Marx was among the first to identify the problem: the ownership of the means of production. And right now, in this country, capital has taken on a new form in the advent of private equity firms. For one example, they're buying up housing, turning much of the country into a rental class, paying high rents and unable to buy a home. They need to be regulated. We need another "trust buster" to come onto the scene.
What you said, plus the fact that climate change is racking up billions each year in catastrophic events. Florida now has the highest home owners insurance rates pus their property taxes are high as well. If your roof is over 15 years old, the insurance companies will not cover your home unless you replace the roof. This happened to my daughter. Her 17 year old roof had to be replaced even though it had been through 2 hurricanes and never lost a shingle.
The rent on a home or apartment includes insurance and property taxes plus you have to pay utilities and the otters costs included in the rent.
Do we ever. The 20th Century seemed to be striking a better balance between the public sector and private enterprise, pre-Reagan. There seem to me to be social functions that the public sector is a far wiser choice to handle, and others better suited to private enterprise. In either case, We the People are supposed to get to set the ground rules. No less than a "free country", a true "free market" no less than a "free country" is protected by rule of law (both the buyer and the seller, both the owner and the worker) and monopolies of either politician power or economic power are the real enemies of democracy.
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves---in their separate, and individual capacities.
In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere." - Lincoln
"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits." - Lincoln
I'm not even so sure that it's so wonderful for the people on top. They get their egos pumped yet seem insecure, like Trump. Back when kings were kings you were likely to fear the members of your own family, who were plotting your demise. The hyper-wealthy building Bond-villain-like underground gilded prisons for themselves in an apocalypse they are creating don't seem enviable. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff
The quest for absolute money and power just seems monomaniacal.
I agree with you George!! I also hope people start catching on to what these two creatures-Putin and Trumpie are up to !!Orban as well!!Our democracy is at stake!!
This morning I listened to Jill Stein both feint and brag on performing for Vladimir Putin at a Moscow conference and gala dinner celebrating Russia Today's tenth anniversary. (RT widely promoted Stein's 2016 campaign for president. A fact she's used to chastise American media.) Stein was seated at the head table with Putin and Michael Flynn. (RT famously paid Michael Flynn $45,000 to speak.) On CSpan Stein claimed it was a journalism conference. That she just happened to attend the evening event. And that her presentation was a plea to Putin not to let Russia become an "international bully like the United States." It wasn't a journalism conference. Sitting with Putin doesn't just happen. But Stein's always on autopilot with USA bashing boilerplate. Just imagine if Jill Stein were an independent Russian politician criticizing Russia. Oh wait, we don't have to imagine. We already know. Putin may buy what Stein is selling. American voters shouldn't.
Thank you for your comments. I get so frustrated with how so many of us complain about government interference. Hey I’d be richer, more successful and happier if that damn government just got out of my way. Yep, and I would be handsome and taller and thinner too. And often the people complaining about this government taking their taxes to give handouts to the disadvantaged and vulnerable and those just down on their luck never seem to punch up at those who are at the top of the fill in the blank industrial complex profiting off those under them who are working dangerous jobs at terrible hours for pathetic wages.
So very true. Nor do they think how societal funding of infrastructure and first responders help them in ways they forget to consider. And as you say, they are far more likely to complain about someone on food stamps without considering massive subsidies for Big Oil, or corporate externalities that are effectively hidden taxes we all pay.
What motivates wannabe dictators is the absolute power and wealth afforded them. On the other hand what motivates people to hand over their wealth and freedom? Of course, the most wealthy tend not to fear dictators as long as they stay in their good graces. But what about the people in general? How do wannabe dictators get their support to take power in the first place? If not too simplistic my sense is FEAR/HATE. Fear/hate who and what? In. most cases it is the OTHER. People who are different than the indigenous majority. And who are they? Usually either new arrivals, different religions, and people who are in general different, often people of a different sexuality. As for the masses living under dictatorships, their lives often are not terrible except for any grievances they may have with the government, in which case being vocal can cost them and their families their lives. Being free to express oneself, may not be so important to the average Joe other than it can stifle innovation and creativity. Being different in an authoritarian state is living in fear.
Funny that you use the term "the indigenous majority" - white people with European roots aren't indigenous at all, though they seem to believe that they are. I would add that the "othering" is motivated not only by fear and hate, but overt racism. MAGAs aren't concerned about people from France or Scandinavian countries immigrating to the U.S.!
Fear, hate, and ‘othering’ for sure Harvey. Control of the media and messaging. John Powell at Berkeley/Haas and his team continue to educate and inform about “Othering & Belonging”.
From my point of view, it is not the ordinary people who want to fight (although there are some who enjoy the killing-mercenaries?). It is the men who crave power and the wealth which comes with it, but mostly power. They are the ones who order the generals to win the war. And who are the people who are killed because of their lust? Young men, teenagers, middle aged men (if the supply runs low). The power hungry ones are far from the trenches, the death, the disease. It is not their houses and towns which are blown up. They are not the ones who are shot.
In an interview, one American vet said when the war was over, he and a German were sharing cigarettes, and thought he wouldn't mind going fishing with him. Another told of how a German soldier was ordered to shoot him. They went into the woods and the soldier walked away without firing a shot.
Indeed, at the end of the day we all share the same sky. WWII may have been different in some horrific ways. It seems the isolated nationalism and societal-level lies, propaganda, and disinformation (not unlike the rise of MAGA) fed a near fanaticism. It is a vast disappointment that humanity hasn’t evolved in spite of history.
Russian under Putin started with oligarchies. Economic inequity is the key factor for destruction of democracy and peace based on it. The wealthy people can become enemies of democracy. Note that many wealthy people who first denied Trump are not in support of him facing Biden's tax policies.
Great reference to Steve Bannon. I just read the Washington Post article from April 4th, How Steve Bannon Guided the MAGA Movement... It's truly scary how much behind the scenes influence he has had and will continue to have.
Wasn't he convicted of embezzlement of funds supposedly to be used for the wall? I am beginning to believe you have to be a crook or immoral to be a republican.
you are welcome, George … sometimes HCR’s posts inspire a rush of comments that are hugely perceptive and eye-opening in their own right … this IMO is one of those times … so many useful threads below … HOW to twirl them into a fabric of understanding?
Today is a day to celebrate. Celebrate the success of democracies to contain aggressive intents of authoritarian governments. Hail NATO. Long will you continue to give international law and treaties true protection.
Thank you for such a detailed, yet concise, essay on the history of NATO. What the isolationists don’t seem to realize is that supporting Ukraine to stop Putin’s march before his armies invade a NATO country is cheap. If he invades a NATO country and we honor the treaty, we will have at least the amount of armaments to supply that we do now along with other supplies, we will have boots on the ground. If we don’t honor the treaty, then we will be vulnerable because Moscow and China don’t want NATO armies attacking them in our defense. Unfortunately, far too many elected officials do not appear to have studied history and are unaware of what happened to US elected officials in the 1930’s who sympathized with Germany.
Yes, Mary. They not only conspired, but actively attempted a coup in 1939, supported by and funded by Hitler himself. I am sure you are referencing the research of Rachel Maddow, in her series, "Ultra". It lays it all down, of the efforts of our Republican Party to overthrow our Constitution, in favor of a Nazi controlled oligarchy. US Congressmen and Senators were at the core of this effort. Republican Senator Robert Taft was central to this conspiracy. This is all documented in the National Archive. Read the documents yourself.
Rachel put it out, and POOF!! Everybody went back to footbal and the Super Bowl. La de Fukin DA!
Yes, but you are up WAY TOO LATE TOO!! USMC General Smedley Butler caught that one. The 1939 one went to trial and they Trumped it with loud shouting over and over into a misstrial and Truman put the cabosh on it for unity after the WWII trauma. They all were let off the hook, and like the Confederates pardoned by Pres Johnson, they lived to fight another day and here we are fighting them again, AGAIN!! the GODMOTHERFUCKINGDAMNEDREPUGNICANT PARTY ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!!
Those motherfucking Republicans never give up. They have wanted a Nazi/Fascist dictatorship for the last motherfucking ninety years!!! When will the Democrats ever WAKE UP!!
WOW, you have been reading my mind. Yep, the perps really don't like being called to account. Whining, shouting and playing the victim has been a long-time reaction to their crimes. And they were and are crimes.
Ken...it is a terrific podcast series put out by Rachel Maddow. As usual she does her homework AND proves that she is one terrific story teller. Find it under the podcast app or just google it. Worth every second, IMHO.
Studied history, Mary? You jest. They make up their own history as they go along, And if they have their way, the children won't know anything about history, civics, or science. Keep the little things - including their little women ignorant - makes life easier for "pure, white men"
It really says something, doesn’t it, about White men who need to have every non White or male person be weaker, poorer, and more ignorant than themselves. Some of them even tout about survival of the fittest, and of not wearing masks so they don’t weaken their immune systems, without ever recognizing the irony.
LBJ said the truth of it “if you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.” Explains a lot.
Jeri, this is one of my favorite quotes because of its truth. The plan of the oligarchs (yes, we have them) seems to be to keep the 90% angry at “the others” and out of unions so that they can scare them with false threats (migrant horde coming for your jobs) while they systematically keep wages low and working conditions abysmal.
Tried and true, for all decades of my long life. My mom walked a picket line in her youth because the hosiery mill owners (from up North) treated the workers like crap. For her long life too.
Yes, you are right about white men. It seems that they are predators. A lot of the bellicose men of the past century were white and male.Think Hitler, Mussolini,Stalin etc.And now it seems mostly white, mostly male people want to disenfranchise women.More Handmaid's Tale, I guess.smh
Victoria...don't forget that the anti ERA (anti abortion)movement was spearheaded by Phyllis Schlafley and her many earnest female followers. It seems to me that we are still paying for their opposition work under her hypocritical (?) leadership. They managed to lead the way to the slow death of the ERA in a period of strong feminist activism. Certainly.....not just the work of white males.
It's a bit long, so I can't post it here, but Mike Royko's take on Phyllis Schlafly's view of sexual harassment laws was priceless. She testified before a congressional committee that laws against sexual harassment weren't needed: "When a woman walks across the room, she speaks with a universal body language that most men intuitively understand. Men hardly ever ask sexual favors of women from whom the certain answer is no." Royko, of course, disagreed. He ended his column with the lyrics from Supertramp's "Goodbye, Stranger":
"Now some they do,
and some they don't,
and some you just can't tell,
and some they will,
and some they won't,
with some it's just as well"
I only wish her influence (stopping the ERA) had been buried with her.
The "more ignorant than themselves", sheesh! Always hiding something...how do we see each other? If you choose to see the Christ, he will confirm in some way that what you are trying to see is correct...Christ seeing himself, 1st commandment kind of stuff...you do not need to say to anyone that that is what you are doing, once you have made that connection, your whole world will change. Just try it.
Reminds me, must read Rachel Maddow's Prequel. But there was widespread sympathy for fascist Germany. The Nazis finally ended, for the time being, the internal threat of Russian style Communism, also an authoritarian regime. All kinds of people applauded this in Europe and America. It was truly a matter of be careful what you wish for.
Yes, in "Prequel" Rachel Maddow expands on her excellent podcast "Ultra." It is a much deeper dive into the history and I highly recommend it. It is a very hopeful book, because she focuses on how ordinary Americans fought back against the authoritarian-loving Americans doing Hitler's dirty work.
Hopefully I'll get to Rachel before long. Apparently $ were run through the German Embassy as an effort to "keep America out of the war"... ie prolong the anti-war in Europe movement. It would have been interesting for Rachel to have looked farther afield, maybe there are references when i read it. Europe was swamped with fascist tendencies or outright: Franco's fascists overthrew the republican gov in spain, Italy of course under Mussolini with his own imperial ambitions, Britain's ex Edward 7 was very sympathetic to the Nazis, as were some other members of the British aristocracy, then there was Mosley who headed up the British fascist party til it was shut down in 1942. On and on. Vichy France was full of Nazi sympathizers, not that it did them much good under occupation. Did i forget the autocratic regimes in Poland, Austria, liberal democracies were not exactly in favour in 30s Europe were they!.... don't forget South America.
And then there's those who are actively plotting against America, against NATO, against democracy:
"“There are many aspects to what Grenell is doing,” said Joe Cirincione, a veteran Washington foreign policy and arms control specialist. “One is grift, looking for business deals, particularly in Serbia, where Trump has longstanding business interests and Trump seems to be helping him pursue this.
“Another is more sinister. It looks as though Grenell is trying to build up a developing authoritarian network of rightwing leaders to form this authoritarian axis that Trump might govern by – ranging from Putin to [Viktor] Orbán [prime minister of Hungary] to Erdoğan.
“All these are anti-democratic forces and use the simple playbook of using democracy to overthrow democracy.”"
At some point (Budapest Memorandum?) we gave Ukraine assurance (not guarantee) that we would help them if they were threatened. Russia said they would respect Ukrainian sovereignty and boundaries and no violence. In return Ukraine got rid of (or returned to Russia) all of their nuclear weapons. Ukraine had the third largest stock pile of nuclear weapons. Then Russia in 2014 attacked and took over part of Ukraine. Now Russia has attacked Ukraine again, and in my opinion, wants the entire country under Soviet domination. And where are we in upholding our end of the bargain?
How much influence on the White House is exerted successfully from MAGAfascists who will beat into the ground any attempt to increase military aid to Ukraine?
“ far too many elected officials do not appear to have studied history and are unaware of what happened to US elected officials in the 1930’s who sympathized with Germany.”
Or they are aware but share tffg’s malignant narcissism and believe they are the “Chosen One” and they can’t possibly lose!
Christy, I refer to this as “remora syndrome”. The remora fish fastens itself onto a shark, cleaning its skin, and getting the scraps, obviously believing that access to the scraps is paramount and that, since it offers a service to the shark “surely he won’t attack me!” As many former acolytes of 45 have found, as soon as 45 finds you to be insufficiently loyal, you become supper and “are dead” to him.
I believe that NATO, the Marshall Plan, and the GI Bill provided the foundation for 75 years of post-war peace and prosperity for America and Western Europe. They are the reasons for what we now call “The American Century “.
The world cannot afford to squander this by allowing those who would dismantle those principles and institutions to succeed!
Resolving that indiscriminate killing of civilians, torture, and mass punishments like starvation during war reduces the "good guys" to being just as evil as the "bad guys", and provides the enemy a justification to continue practicing those crimes was a major step towards humanity becoming civilized.
Every time we forget history and fail in those aspirations (and Lord knows we've done that) we see the situation get worse instead of better, and afterwards once the bullets stop flying, it's harder to achieve a just peace. Israel is re-discovering this.
Yes, true enough all Heather says on the plus side of Atlantic-bordering democracies uniting.
The dark side, however, needn't be forgotten, as it has enabled the U.S.'s dark money elites, and they have enabled the oligarchs, dictators, and fossil fuel murderers who hold contempt for the democracies, more contempt for the humanities which used to buoy those same democracies.
Overthrowing Iran's democratically-elected Mossadegh, 1953. Same thing to Arbenz, the next year in Guatemala. A revolving set of former French stooges in Vietnam. Mobutu in Zaire. Egypt. Saudi Arabia. The Philippines. Honduras. Always it's the C.I.A. setting up new sets of cruel leaders, arming and training militia and secret police thugs. Blowback. Blowback. Many years of blowback.
Yes to Heather's positives today. But a shameful ruing not only of the U.S. evils underneath that cold war history, but the more sinister ways they've propped up the U.S. dark money billionaires (and their evangelical racist, nationalist brethren) who now pose as great a threat to democracy (and humanities in our public schools, our public spaces) as ever any external threat.
But there has been a concerted effort by big and dark money to go against the pluses. The U.S. has always had it’s “evils” mostly kept in check (not always as you pointed out), but the invitation to Rupert Murdoch as a tipping point to give the cretins the upper hand. It’s an extra challenge since, as you point out, our youth have been deprived of the critical thinking skills necessary for combatting the onslaught of propaganda.
Thank you for a much appreciated lesson on NATO’s history. We are currently on a river cruise in the Netherlands and spent yesterday in and around Nijmegen in the north, learning about, and seeing, what WWII had been like here. It was very sobering. A guest lecturer spoke about what the Marshall Plan had meant to the people here. Very apropos to the NATO anniversary. And as always I was once again struck by how little so many of our younger generation know about history. Or care. We must continue to do better.
My parents took me to Europe in 1953 and I saw first hand what WWII had done to Germany at least as there were still parts of cities completely destroyed. Row after row of tall buildings where only the outer walls remained as the bombs had obliterated the insides. I was 10 so remember it well.
As in Gaza today, the innocent German citizens suffered the worst of the war because of what their leaders did. Just like the innocent among us will suffer and be blamed for what chump can visit on the world if he gets the chance.
We can’t ‘care’ if we don’t ‘know’. EDUCATION in our United States has been undone by numerous (generations now) dismantling of public school funding divided up for Charter Schools…. Not serving and supporting Public Education in its broadest sense.
Further proof that, regardless of the electoral outcome, our Constitution is not a "suicide pact" and there is no part of the Constitution that forces acceptance of a man publicly dedicated to ending the democratic constitutional republic and replacing it with his personal dictatorship. By so doing, he takes himself outside the laws (he is an outlaw). If there's going to be the civil war the worthless MAGAts claim to want, letting be over the preservation of our system is the best reason of all.
There is a dinosaur in the room. It is called nukes. Why nearly 80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world not banned and eliminated nuclear weapons? They are an even more immediate threat to human existence than global warming. Putin regularly threatens to use them if he cannot have his way in Ukraine. Any discussion of NATO's usefulness must include the nuclear danger. If Russia nukes Ukraine or Poland, all bets are off. Does the US nuke Russia in reponse? Or not?
A more immediate threat and a very real one, but one we seem to be trying harder to prevent than climate destruction. The power of nature unbalanced is indifferent to human lives. The very rare set of conditions for which we are sometimes called the "Goldilocks Planet" are the reason we exist.
There are many slow ways to die from a nuclear war. Environmental disasters related to warming, fires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, disease, famine, general panic could seem "Biblical" in scale, but we lay that largely on posterity.
To answer the question you have posed, it's the same reason one does not attempt to put toothpaste back into the tube. It's as simultaneously simple and horrible as that.
No, the "genie", which is to say "knowledge of how to build a nuclear device", is not going back into the bottle. However, eliminating the nukes we have is by far the most reliable way to keep from nuking ourselves back into the Stone Age. Or even the Precambrian. Won't be easy, needs to happen..
I agree. But what's the plan? With people like Putin, etc. at the helm we would have to ask:
1. What path to negotiation? Without nukes, NATO could have rescued Ukraine. Putin is weak without nukes.
2. If we got Putin to sit down and discuss nukes, what would our negotiating tactics be? What would we offer?
3. If there was an agreement to eliminate the nukes, who would inspect and enforce?
4. And if Putin were to say that he had eliminated X amount of nukes, why on this green Earth would we believe it? Russia has a huge land mass.
Negotiating with someone like Putin or Trump is purely transactional. And after the agreement is made, one should EXPECT it to be violated.
Eliminating nukes is probably the smartest thing (unless you want to include addressing the Climate Catastrophe) this species could accomplish. But I think we are proving ourselves to be just an ever evolving group of warring tribes. Not really a smart species.
David, I fear there are TWO dinosaurs in the room not present in earlier epochs: yes, 1) certainly nuclear weapons but we now also have 2) the end product of all those "products" of modern capitalism in the reality of global climate change, a vastly more insidious "weapon of mass destruction" which is and will continue to be more difficult to control in large part because it is produced by both sides of this contest between great powers to survive and triumph.
Perhaps the most threatening tyrannosaurus in the room is our human, more primitive survival-oriented "reptile* brain". We so need to get to know that one better.
*OK, dinosaurs are not technically reptiles, but you get the picture.
Yes. Thank you dear professor. This is a day of rememberance. A day to consider the forces antagonistic to our commitments to freedom and democraticaly established governments. It has become the basis of our peaceful existance.
There are, however, masses of people within our nation and the world, through ignorance, uneducated youth and those overcome by lies and distortortions and ideologies, that threaten us to our core.
Celebrate and acknowledge, we must. but never, lest we allow complacency to distract us, forge onward to maintaintain vigilance in the face of those within our nation who strive to destroy us.
Valuable as NATO has, and always will be, it will never protect us from those among us who are allied with those whose purpose is to to do us grave harm and destroy the nation that we cherish and pledge our lives to protect.
Over the past fifty years, those of us progressives have basked in the laurels of our progress since the 1960s, while the forces we thought we had vanquishes have organized and plotted to do us in, night and day, continually.
Thank you, Dr Richardson. We are so fortunate to have NATO. Without it, we might be in WWIII. I hope sincerely that Ukraine is admitted. If the real Hungarians want to join Russia that is their right, but I expect it is their dictator not the people. Since trump so loves putin maybe he should consider living there and taking his three eldest, their spouses and children with him.
You have a point about taking the serial immigrants Jr, Eric and Ivanka with DJT when he leaves, but Melania and Barron need to go with them. She defrauded the US by claiming an Einstein exemption when she is just the ordinary daughter of a communist.
Heather writes: “ The experience of the United States “in creating one nation out of…the peoples of many lands” proved that this idea could work, Truman said. “This method of organizing diverse peoples and cultures is in direct contrast to the method of the police state, which attempts to achieve unity by imposing the same beliefs and the same rule of force on everyone.” Reading this and pondering it, particularly since the prior presidential admin & what followed, I wondered at how “one nation” we really are—seems so many are at odds with a vision of what “our country” means. Many years ago, sometime in the 80’s I think, I attended a conference of college/Univ administrations/staff where a keynote speaker said that the population of California would be changing radically over the coming decades & that the Anglo population would likely become a minority. Listening to this I was in no way alarmed, just remember thinking that it was interesting, even exciting, and let’s see how we stir our “melting pot” to make a society work-for-all (and provide educational opportunities) moving forward. The polarization of our country distresses me, particularly those who would welcome a “despot” leader who would rule by fiat rather than consensus. Sometime ago I found this work done by the Nationhood Lab, part of the Pell Center of the Salve Regina Univ (had to look them up: https://www.salve.edu/)…it kinda explained a lot about the cultural divisions that exist in our ginormous nation…home to many cultures and ethnicities (which, btw, I think is way cool to have such diversity): Anyway, check out their research…I find it interesting….”the more you know”……
How I wish that Truman ‘s description of this country were our current reality. I loved the idea of diverse cultures coming together. It could be our strength and we could lead the world proving it. If the tribal jealousies and power grabs could take a break, instead the Repub cretins do battle with the acronyms that are easy to hate and pass on. CRT became a target, now replaced by DEI, what next. Just anything that tries to enlighten and unite.
Barbara, are you actually suggesting that America is still evolving from its original waves of immigration? That we are still products of those who arrived here from other cultures?
Yeow! /s
Wonderful article!
I read "American Nations" a few years ago. It has powerfully influenced my thinking. It helps us get how so many of our thought patterns are embedded in our DNA. The question is for all Americans, do we want to face that? Cherish the good stuff and eschew the nasty inherited bigotries? Do we really believe in equality?
Thank you for posting this. It should be required reading - for everyone.
I think the wave of creativity that made American product respected throughout the world was enabled in large part by combining ideas and skills from all over the world as never before. Diversity fuels creativity, and is essential to liberty.
What an inspirational historical place-mark, Heather! Truman's words bear frequent repetition, whatever else he may have said about Mr. Oppenheimer. As we know, Harry did not mince words.
That's definitely not what the Maga Putin bots tell me.
They say NATO wants to invade Russia.... and they say Russia had to invade the Ukraine to stop NATO getting too close to their border. They say NATO provoked them so it's NATO's fault they are killing all those people.
How about considering the idea that the madness and insecurity of Putin wanted Ukraine to continue as an ally and that the US influenced 2014 revolution resulted in his responses . How would the US respond if a perhaps hostile government close to our borders.. let’s seek an example, Cuba? How might we respond? Hum… need I continue? Our Big Stick policy in central and South America? Suppressing independistas of Puerto Rico? Need I find more examples? I suggest that Ukraine is/was culturally close to Russia. It borders Russia. All dominant nations behave similarly; they dominate.
All ever so Chomsky Bill, but in this case it's total BS.
Ukraine was not an ally, they were subjugated by the Soviet Union, never part of.
They are the only country in history to unilaterally relinquish their nuclear arsenal, and we promised to protect them.
I know a lot of people there
They want to be European, they will die rather than lose their freedom again. Putin doesn't want an ally, he wants control. He has said that Ukraine doesn't exist, he says it is part of Russia.
The correct analogy would be if the UK announced that Ireland is and always has been part of England.... and invades.
Bill, your argument holds some truths about Americans meddling around the globe. We have a lot to be ashamed of. But supporting Ukraine is not one of them. Your analogy is faulty. First, "all dominant nations" are not led by KGB trained murdering election engineering oligarch feeding ruthless monsters with the goal of being another Alexander the Great.
The only threat to Russia from Ukraine was its aspirational democracy. Oh and let's not forget all that wheat and sundry other breadbasket resources. And, the Russian system has so demoralized and excised so much young talent that Putin wanted the Ukrainian talent pool as well.
Your excuses for Putin's plunder are weak and show little understanding of the desires of the Ukrainian people.
But yes, America has been bad. Really bad for centuries. Should Ukraine suffer for that?
I’m a scholar of Russian history. I studied under Dr. Deci, who was a Hungarian general in the uprising of 1956. (Ok that was a partial joke I took one course in collage but it was a well-taught course.) Dr Deci was able to speak from experience dealing with the Russians.
Enough with the "whataboutism". None of your examples invaded the US, though they might have threatened it. And Cuba? Nothing but a puppet of the Soviet Union (now known as Russia). Independentistas in Puerto Rico? I lived there for two years: those fomenting for independence were simply traitors, and very much a small minority that was mainly despised.
Ukraine was not an ally, they were subjugated by the Soviet Union, never part of it.
They are the only country in history to unilaterally relinquish their nuclear arsenal, and we promised to protect them.
I know a lot of people there
They want to be European, they will die rather than lose their freedom again. Putin doesn't want an ally, he wants control. He has said that Ukraine doesn't exist, he says it is part of Russia.
The correct analogy would be if the UK announced that Ireland is and always has been part of England.... and invades.
Listen up and listen well. Most of the time in my life, I have witness the US ignorantly engaging in wars since at least Vietnam. We alway create anew and irresistible reason to engage in a new war. We are the most war-like country on earth bar none. So let’s examine the other missives you stated. I am in no way a Putin apologist. He is a mad man who suffers under delusions of Peter the Great greatness. That doesn’t mean we need to go to war. For many reasons, Ukraine was is close culturally to Russia. And btw, why didn’t you have the same desires to fight Russia when it destroyed Chechnya? Why? I never read how we in the West needed to send arms to the fighters resisting the Russians.
Give it a break. Pragmatism is a far better approach than constant warfare. All the signs were evident that the West encouraged the Ukrainian revolution. NATO drove east. Having said this, and btw, we only needed to tell Putin no NATO that’s mostly all he wanted to hear. So couldn’t we have simply waited? Now that there is all out war, we in the West need to aid Ukraine with everything short of nukes. And nukes as a last resort in case Russia uses them. In that case, prepare your root cellar to run to at a moment’s notice. There is no doubt that this war needs a settlement in favor of Ukraine. I sense that Crimea will be the sacrificial lamb. It belongs to Russia in 1953 so let tmegave it back in exchange of ceasing hostilities. And yes, then Ukraine can apply to be a member of NATO. But first, Russia needs to bleed big time from them to accept anything.
"NATO drove east"? Countries from the East saw Putin for what he was, and asked to join a defensive alliance.
"all [Putin] wanted to hear"? That is at best wild speculation and at worst an obvious lie.
If by pragmatism you means saying screw you to a long standing alliance and that commitments be damned, then I have issues. But I don't think you are saying that, if you are open to Ukraine joining NATO. Which seems a contradiction, because that's Putin's main beef (or so he says, though there is no way of telling what he means because lying is his signature).
Crimea did belong to Russia and was given as a gift to Ukraine by, was it Stalin? A dictator's decision. And now another dictator wants it back. Same guy decides to take all of Ukraine while he's at it. And we are supposed to say go ahead? We can't be bothered and don't want to be involved? If he decides Poland is next, we'll have another pragmatic excuse for looking the other way?
I do think Crimea may end up being sacrificed. But that's a nearly best-case scenario only if Ukraine gets some help. A vast majority of US citizens agree to help. Others actively want to help Putin. And some others wring their hands about warmongering, even if by assisting Ukraine we hope to avoid war for ourselves. I'd call it insurance at a bargain price, if you want me to be pragmatic. I'd call it a small contribution to justice, if you'll let me aspire to ideals.
"first, Russia needs to bleed big time" I think I agree with this, but I'm still a bit confused: how you expect that to happen more than it already has without some help from the West? It's a pity, though, that Russia has to bleed for Putin's egomaniacal folly.
"Why didn’t you have the same desires to fight Russia when it destroyed Chechnya?" The same could be said for when Russia invaded Donbas. We shook our heads and clucked our tongues. And when a full invasion of Ukraine began, most of us figured (https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2022/02/cowardice-of-power.html) it would be over soon and we would be shaking our heads some more. But then Ukraine surprised the world. And we said if anyone deserves our help, these guys do. More power to them. That's what this is about. If abandoning them to slaughter is the price of pragmatism, maybe pragmatism is just another word for selfish or for gross negligence.
Sorry I missed this Neville Chamberlain-style paean of appeasement nonsense. Putin would have done what he did no matter what NATO offered. His ego needs the rebuilding of the USSR. And he's not going to get it. No way, no how. Slava Ukraini!
Good discussion sparked by HCR’s history of NATO. I’ve been reading a book Rachel Maddow recommended, “The Anatomy of Fascism” by a Columbia U. Historian, Robert O. Paxton. He’s very knowledgeable and early on makes the point that proto-fascist movements arose between the world wars in almost every country in Europe, as strongmen learned to want political power. We needn’t expect our country to be immune from these same forces, since obviously as Rachel’s latest book, “Prequel”, details, we haven’t been. What we must do instead is to recognize that democracy is a metastable state that needs constant nurturing and support, and courage from those of us who appreciate its advantages to fight back appropriately when American fascists try to cement political power. Donald Trump’s takeover of the complete apparatus of the Republican political party, his elevation by our evangelicals to near biblical status, and his mobilization of right-wing militaristic groups, plus his seeming ability to delay legal actions against him in our courts of law, has created for us a danger that most of the U.S. of A does not yet recognize or credit. After all, how many Americans watch MSNBC? And how many, FOX and OAN? That, it seems to me, is our job. To make Americans understand their choice in November, 2024 - democracy or fascism.
And like our predecessors, we must ask ourselves what can we do—what must we do—to create a more peaceful future.” Blessed are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:9) "May their tribe increase."
The quote by Mr. Krasnov in the penultimate paragraph is stupefying in its arrogance, particularly given the underwhelming recent performance of Russian military forces. If he is accurately representing the views of the current Russian leadership, however, the importance of a vital, energized NATO is glaringly evident -- as is the necessity of the defeat of the pro-Russian political party in the November U.S. election.
(Style note to self: It is possible there are coherent thoughts in the preceding statement that might be revealed by removing the majority of the modifiers.) :-)
Note, James, on "the underwhelming recent performance of Russian military forces."
It happens, especially when thieves take over a country and make robbery from the top routine.
So many oligarchs and enablers of oligarchs there stole wholesale from funds technically allotted to those Russian military forces.
But they also stole from all the public assets there. Ruined a perfectly good health care system. Turned schools into (also-robbed-from) factories of the dumb. Stashed wives, girlfriends, and children in all the capital cities and spa resorts of western Europe.
See Oliver Bullough, "Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals." Also Frank Vogl, "The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption -- Endangering our Democracy."
Thank you for the references. I think you're right. Still, it just astonishes me that the Russian army is pressing its attack on the Ukraine with no strategy apparent other than to bludgeon the defenders with mass infantry assaults and massive artillery barrages. It's sorta working at the moment, but the incremental gains they are making are enormously costly. They will have to replace the losses of the minority volunteers from distant provinces, most of whom are not surviving to enjoy their bonuses. Once that source dries up, the ranks may be filled with Russian conscripts. Perhaps the leadership thinks the Ukranians, with so much of their Western aid on hold, will crack under the pressure. Perhaps they simply lack imagination, or the actual means to do anything other than what they're doing.
Thank you Professor Richardson.
It is an important reminder that a highly collaborative world can yield peace and security, while the destructive vision of Putin, Orban, Trump, and behind the scenes criminals like Steve Bannon prefer nationalistic isolation. This is because tension and insecurity creates populations that are far easier to manipulate and control.
It's ironic and maddening that so many of the willfully ignorant who blindly yell "freedom" would usher in closed, authoritarian societies always under the threat of war and conflict -a dystopian hell for the majority of people while a handful at the top control most of the wealth and resources. In 2016 too many in the United States bought into the fraud that led to both Trump and Brexit.
I can only hope that more people are catching on to Trump and Putin as crime bosses stealing peace and security from the rest of the world.
George, Regrettably, those, largely white, who earn under $50,000 substantially comprise the swath of the population who, quoting you, “blindly yell ‘freedom’” in reaction to regulations meant to contain capitalism’s excesses. Paradoxically, I fear we increasingly are experiencing a linkage between those who so often are the victims of modernity’s unevenly distributed benefits, which look to them like brute indifference to their welfare and their claims of justice, and political lethargy. Moreover, I fret over whether any democracy can survive with a sizable segment of its population so aggrieved that it is willing to accept any authoritarian option in order to provide some sense of normalcy and security in their lives. Sadly, this relative erosion also opens the door for significant segments of this group to scapegoat those who are most vulnerable.
Propaganda may be the defining factor in so much division. My MAGAt relatives are not needy, just impressed with bully celebrity. Damned embarrassing.
Mine don't approve of the bully celebrity but disapprove of "liberals" more so they shield their eyes and pretend otherwise. Oh and tax cuts! They want another one.
Some just like the "rebel" status. I could have predicted when many were young who would fall for the bull schitt. Same with the jr high kids i worked with in the 80's. The anti-authority ones are the magats today. The anti-liberals come from the Rush fans, as a rule.
How on earth did you survive working with jr high kids! Hats off to you!
Learned a lot. A kid that I didn’t remember posted on my daughter’s FB that I seemed to have a soft spot for the kids who struggled so much. My best review…
I agree, Marj. I remember handling a call involving two twelve-year-old boys at the middle school. Their birthdates were 6 months apart (October to April, IIRC). The slightly younger one looked about 10 years old, was 4'10" and looked like he played with matchbox cars. The slightly older one was 5'9", shaving, and dating. I remember asking the principal how they did it. She replied "very carefully".
The combination inherent in Middle School kids of almost embarrassing honesty and affection, not infrequent capacity for wonder, innocent and sometimes frightening capacity for making one face one's own contradictions as an adult, sheer stubbornness, open excitement in learning, eagerness to discuss all sorts of issues (no matter how naively), innocent, open joy in doing well are part and parcel of the age.I taught history to kids that age for over 40 years, and I can promise you that for all the difficulties inherent in teaching, maintaining discipline, educational bureaucracy, some parental craziness, I never went into a classroom without a feeling akin to wonder, sometimes verging on awe at the pleasure of being in the midst of this place of constant discovery.
I admit to having been being primed for it - my family has been in some branch of education since 1894, nearly half the history of the US itself - but if one is looking for a profession that is never, ever dull, it would be hard to top teaching. Two thoughts help. One should always teach what one would love even apart from the classroom, and having the humility to understand that the profession is not about selling a point of view, no matter how fervently one may hold that point, but rather about teaching one's students how to discover whatever truth there is rather than deciding one is the font of that truth.
My first year teaching was in junior high. They ate me alive. I learned and it was a very good lesson!
Many of my government students who were not college prep were indifferent and I wondered how many of them would actually vote. This was a small rural school in a community where now MAGAs abound. I have friends out there who are still amazed by how awful people have become with the advent of death star.
Some are so susceptible to the local pressures. West of where I live, there is a large bill board with the cretin’s smirking, ugly face. I lived there for 20 years and am mortified to the max.
Jeri, kids learn from their parents. Our hair person showed us a picture yesterday of a couple children of one of his Virginia relatives. The 11 year old girl was surreptitiously giving the white power sign with a big smirk on her face.
I was surprised that in 9th many of the kids were embarrassed by things their parents did. By 11th, they had adopted the same things. Don’t know if it was just my experience, but I felt like there was a window when light could get in. BTW. A great psychologist and I had groups with jr and high school for years. I felt for their struggles. One year, when asking how their Thanksgiving holiday was, one kid said “I bailed my dad out of jail.” Even with my flawed parents, I never had to do that.
“They have to be carefully taught…”
How can ani-authoritarians champion authoritarians? Oxymoron.
It is indeed. Maybe they feel an affinity with chump for defying our rules, laws, and traditions. I can see some really admiring that. When I followed a couple on FB, it was depressing.
Tracy, oh yes, got to own the libs and stay away from woke. People around here want government to do all sorts of things including solving the housing, the homeless, the fentanyl crisis, but no more taxes and let's get rid of the ones we have. Story on the news yesterday about a murder in a homeless camp here in a Salem park where one of the dog walkers wanted more police. Voters here recently defeated a payroll tax which I agree was poorly done. The one that really got me was the tax for our local fire district which is a rural fire district, covering part of an urban area in Salem, but not part of Salem, with the rural area nearby. It took three votes to have a fire district available 24/7. I was appalled at the arguments against it. None of those people, I guess, will ever have an emergency where time matters.
How frustrating. There seems to be a sense of selfishness out there. Not much generosity of spirit.
Did the4y know their tax cut has expired while the corporations keep theirs? probably not.
Jeri, I would consider the junk food of propaganda a “defining factor,” particularly seeing we are speaking of different segments of the population that comprise the MAGA base.
Rupert has done a bang up job, just what Reagan wanted, and what I watched
become reality, even with people I thought were like me. Based in Walter Cronkite's reality
Jeri, it is a shock to find out how many people were just waiting to come out of the woodwork.
Indeed, it was like aliens within my balliwick…
Jeri, I write to reaffirm, that while the influence wielded by media is a significant factor in shaping what counts as fact, it is not the only factor. Hence, my original comment amplifying the impact of institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond the control of a substantial swath of the population.
There are grievances that extend beyond the divisiveness of the unequal distribution of wealth and many have to do with increased bureaucratic demands that seemingly take away valuable time and sometimes impose one size fits all absurdities. Some of these are based on outmoded or wrongly imposed rules. This can be “un-freedom” and create the sense of a weaponized state. Then such evil as Bannon proposes gets soul traction. Yet without a populace willing to stand for and implement moral and socially & environmentally healthy practices, in comes the state. So often it seems like an autocrat who destroys the system versus a system that can seem soul destructive. But have one East Palestine train wreck, or one environmental disaster, and people long for commonwealth help and preventive measures. Bringing in an autocrat bent on enriching himself (or herself for that matter) can only make all lives worse. Whatever one’s relationship to the Bible, seeing that the love of money is the root of all evil, or that we need (and are yet to learn) to love our neighbors, enemies & our world — makes a lot of sense. In the realm of production and consumption, the healthiest would be to meet our diverse needs in a way that can provide a satisfactory basis for ongoing human development.
Good points. sort of like walking a tight rope. With any "preventive" measures, there are restraints that chafe. I ran across a bunch of bureaucratic rules when my husband died. Stayed pissed for awhile, so I see Bill Maher's blather about Dem's ridiculous rules that delay and complicate. Still, I prefer a caring stance rather than a "free for all." Middle ground would be nice...
The bureaucratic rules for earthlings like you and me can be totally mind numbing. I could not continue to fight for what was mine at one point. The bureaucratics gave it to me and then yanked it away.
I have to laugh. A letter from the SSA said that if they could give me something it would be $641. We had been getting $132. But sorry, I could get nothing. Lordy
Mine watch Fox, Newsmax, and the like; their local papers--if there are any--either don't cover national and world news or just regurgitate wire service items that feature tfg at every opportunity.
The Epoch Times is big in Texas. I complained to a grocery store manager about them allowing propaganda in their store. Of course, that was their intention. My BFF's husband had Fox on 24-7 (no exaggeration) in their house. I spent a lot of time there in late 90's. It was horrid with the "fair and balanced" bull schitt. But they lapped it up. All were educated and smart. About half are current magats. Some resisted. Propaganda is powerful and snares much more than stupid.
Epoch Times has billboards in this area. And in this most-red-county in Michigan, we are pushing back against a county commission that has a majority who are anti-mask, anti-health department, anti-DEI, pro "constitutional county," overtly Christian, etc, etc. They have run up huge legal bills, hired obviously unqualified administrators, and are generally making a mess of a county that was previously well run by a majority of sane Republicans (yes, there are some on the local level).
It’s deeply offensive to me that red county commissioners have and are anti public health, anti election integrity, anti democracy. These are fools at a very critical level of government. Erghhh. I share your frustration and disappointment in their failure to be leaders.
There used to be. In fact, Everett Dirksen was a fave of mine.
Isn’t Michigan DeVos country? I’m from down South so eaten up with problems of our own. But isn’t DeVos money the root of a lot of the red menace there?
Epoch Times is where I look for “opinions from the other side”. Dear gawd, the comments are jaw dropping in the complete lack of understanding of the current world, the preferred language being bumper sticker.
I was shocked at the insanity. My complaint fell on deaf ears.
Is Epoch Times China backed miss and did info?
Jeri, it seems to me that 45’s cunning snares the educated by whispering that they are smarter than the other followers and that he’s depending on their seeing “the big picture” of what he’s trying to accomplish—fewer wars, better healthcare and a return to their “innocent childhoods”. It’s always someone else’s fault that he hasn’t achieved the great plan.
As for their “innocent childhoods”, look at how many memes there circulating that celebrate “riding bikes until the street lights come on, drinking out of a hose, swinging so high that the legs of the swing set leave the ground” etc. The reminiscing ignores the truth of the permanently scarred bodies of kids who attempted stunts that any rational adult would have stopped.
He blathers bull Schitt, and always blames somebody else. In my innocent childhood, my mother would have tanned our hide if we were bullies and blamed others for our wrongs.
Epoch Times must have received a large cash infusion lately, because they also have multiple billboards in the Los Angeles metropolitan area claiming they're a "#1 Trusted News Source." I keep wondering on whose authority they make such a claim. Their own, perhaps?
Trusted my arse. When I looked at the one in the grocery store, it looked just like Fox in print.
Final sentence is very true…and disheartening.
I still love them, from a distance.
There's stupid and there's ignorant. The combination can be deadly.
Often they go hand in hand.
An interesting article here on the reason(s) for the demise of our media. Written by one of their own it pulls back the curtain on things I didn't know myself. From the fact that "6 companies own 90% of what we see, read and hear" to Reagan having begun the process of media consolidation it's worth the read
https://www.salon.com/2024/04/04/they-decided-to-get-even-with-him-revenge-against-julian-assange-broke-the-media/
Reagan started this
Yes, he did, along with so many other things whose negative effects are still "trickling down". And the author didn't even mention his veto of the Fairness Doctrine that paved the way for Murdoch's exploitation of it with "Faux" news media.
And frankly scary. No movement at all among these believers.
A case of brain freeze, happens with cults.
No. Not propaganda, but racism. If the white working class could be sure no benefits would accrue to black Americans, they’d be all in on government-supported healthcare, childcare, and many other programs to make capitalism work better … even guaranteed minimum income (for white Americans).
Agree, Hasn’t that been the driver for so much of our turmoil. But the spewing of propaganda exacerbates the tribal nonsense
I second that
It’s almost like the door has slammed shut for any new information
Why anyone is impressed by bullies is beyond me. That must be frustrating for you. All the more reason to support one another. Good luck.
My parents would never have put up with that. When I worked at a jr high, the principal wouldn’t tolerate such. He made the bully responsible for the victim being treated with respect in the lunch room. He knew how to stop such, I was impressed
Ally, she grew up in the creme de la creme town of Carmel. One of my most favorite cities! Your mom sounded like she was certainly revered.
In times of economic retrenchment history is littered with the rise of authoritarianism. The same people who were quick to embrace Reagan didn’t realize that they were diminishing the quality and opportunity of the next and future generations paving a road leading to Trump.
George, While I can’t speak to what Reagan voters did or did not recognize about that era’s impact on future generations, I unequivocally would trace much of the country’s grotesque inequalities of wealth and income to that era.
I didn't recognize the long-term implications, but the junk bond fiasco gave me a clue
Justice is the opposite of Poverty. Can you imagine if DJT had to rely on court appointed attorneys working pro bono. He would already be serving multiple life sentences in the hoosegow.
Gary, I believe preserving and expanding democracy in the States largely is linked to enacting substantial reform of the judiciary, which at present largely has been absorbed by Trump.
Gary, a consummation devoutly to be wished.
You raise good points! The Republican base is made up mostly of Republicans poor dissatisfied people and the extremely wealthy who want to amass even more $$$$$ from the poor that they are purposely suffocating.
I think that it is time to drop the word Republican when defining these folks. It is now MAGA, or, in other words, 21st century KKK. Those folks back in the 20th century (grab a copy of Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," about the rise of the KKK in the Midwest in the 1920's) were all about white Protestantism. And the marchers at Charlottesville in 2017 shouting "Jews will not replace us" were spewing Klan talk.
I refer to them as the AFP - the American Fascist Party. There is no more Republican party in America.
Daniel, I completely concur. The MAGAs are Fascists, it is Fascism. If Trump had a brain, he'd shut his mouth and quit announcing what his intentions are. The Chinese have an old saying: "The height of cleverness is the ability to conceal it." TFFG's mouth is simply motivating and mobilizing us to resist.
Well then, the rest of the AFP must be very clever, because the vast majority of them are absolutely silent! But me thinks what they are concealing is their collective cowardice.
It is why I spell RepubliKan the way I do; with a nod to the Klan as their "guiding light".
Maybe if we can brutally smash them this November, they will go back into their caves, re-invent themselves into something more American, and re-join us on Earth 1.
Stephanie McKurry's Masters of Small Worlds is another good source for understanding the motives.
thank you for this reference, Gary. I will look into Stephanie McCurry's "Masters of Small Worlds." Wow, the Kindle edition is $42.
No. That lets Republicans off the hook. All of them, every last one since Reagan, is guilty of contributing to the descent to MAGAtism. Call them Republicans, and solidify the association of that name with kleptocratic autocracy.
Mary Kay, Aside from my wanting to replace the word “suffocating” with “exploiting,” we very much agree.
Both
You seem to be saying there are few republicans in the middle class. What’s your source for the polling or data that supports your comment?
Paul, Though your comment is not addressed to me, I would note the data show, contrary to those, largely white, who are paid less than $50,000 and currently mostly vote Republican, those paid between $50,000 and $100,000 mostly vote Democratic. Accordingly, Dems largely are focused on how to win back the former group.
My family nuts are not poor, but well off. No excuse
Jeri, My comment is not intended as justifying excuses. I merely am recounting voting trends that strategists are urging Democrats to note.
The ones I know have become cult nuts, not a sane sliver of DNA
It's not just the lower income lot who vote for Drumpf. My retired pilot across the street, my multimillionaire inherited wealth ex husband, my doctor, all buy into this crap, bellowing "lower taxes". They, who already have plenty.
Drumpf speaks to greed and self-righteous misogyny.
Don't forget racism and xenophobia!
There needs to be a sad emoji.
White people with peni seem to do a lot of damage. Followed by many of the similarly equipped.
Jen, I would note my original comment was a reply to George’s reference to “the willfully ignorant who blindly yell ‘freedom’” My intent was to portray that part of the MAGA base to which I understood he was referring.
A lot to unpack there, Barbara! Did you know that besides being white, religiously conservative, a majority of these folk are family-centric? A bit over half of all white families vote Republican. A majority of the rest of voters vote Democrat-ish. A major reason Republicans make a big deal about "family values". Dems get where they do because it's a multi-ethnic coalition which also embraces racial ethnic and sexual minorities. A long-burning firestorm which has ignited a huge incendiary backlash as epitomized in the Republicans, or a substantial fraction thereof, alas, now dominated by Trump, who is literally adored and worshipped by "the base".
Frank, Admittedly I chose to focus on income due to the marked distinction in voting patterns between those, mostly white, paid under $50,000 and those paid between $50,000 and $100,000.
The very people who cry “freedom” are endorsing the rights of Oligarchs to continue to freely exploit them, their labor, and their loyalty.
Our long and asinine Cold War {at first a bulwark against the spread of a Soviet police state, but devolving into plain old school-yard competition} created the entity that is still used to cow the Trumpists into submission…. All you need to do is say “socialism” to them, and they are ready to enable any oligarch to eke away at their real rights in favor of things like “the right to work” [for abysmally low wages], eviscerating regulations that are meant to help us maintain safe work environments where we turn out safe and functional products.
It’s Upside-Down World with Trumpers mouthing support for freedoms while giving them all up to a Dissipated Orange Blowhard!!|
We’re in the Twilight Zone.
I hope we get out of it … Look! Up ahead! I see a patch of BLUE!!!
Vote Blue.
Pat, I appreciate you explaining how elites motivated by greedy and self-serving impulses effectively have manipulated working families throughout the country to cast votes that run counter to their interests and concerns.
George and Barbara, thank you for your insights. This is another problem aided and abetted by death star who has cranked up the anger and incivility and made it nearly impossible to find common ground. I also agree with Jeri below about being people being impressed by "bully celebrity". This aspect reminds me of those who went along with the class clown while the rest of the students wanted to get things done. This speaks to their basic immaturity where it's funny to make fun of others and have no respect for the elements of authority that keep us from chaos.
Michele, Thank you for writing. In my view, the outcome of the November election largely could land on how effectively Biden and fellow Democrats manage the hate and division, the anger and despair that Trump/ Trumpism persists in stoking.
I am still not happy with the 2016 election which, for all her faults, HRC should have won. What a difference that would have made in terms of foreign affairs, COVID response and not giving carte blanche to the haters and dividers, for starters. My husband and I and many of our friends are in our so-called golden years, and I think none of us really expected them to be this fraught. Creaky bodies yes, but not the sickness of the body politic with a former president having an "envoy" and calling the shots in Congress to the detriment of all of us and not just in the US. I confess to not being comfortable wishing ill on other people, but he and his minions are an exception.
Michele, In retrospect, I don’t believe HRC was well-served by advisors who didn’t send her either to rural or to ex-urban parts of the country. Consequently, she didn’t bank enough votes to overcome, for example, the harm perpetrated by Comey.
As for everyday life, the one piece of advice I pass whenever the opportunity presents itself is that all of us, regardless of how intently we work for justice, must also find joy in our personal lives. I wish that for you and your family and friends.
Warmly,
Barbara
Agreed, Barbara. And yes, Comey who later death star threw under the bus. I told my doctor I was upset by his victory and she told me I was not alone. We tried to warn people about the Supreme Court, for example, but met up with a lot of know-it-all far lefts, most of whom joined my blocked list.
I do try to enjoy my personal life. We are just home from the Saturday Market, where we know many of the venders, and are now having a cup of coffee and a pecan roll while listening to the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. I bought a few things for my veggie garden and we have some smoked black cod($$$). Then we did our grocery shopping and they know us too. It's cold today, more like winter. Thank you for your warm wishes and I send the same to you. Michele
I suspect the vast majority of MAGAs know almost nothing about NATO, including what the acronym stands for and, most importantly, the security it provides to all member nations. All the Trump cults needs to know is that Putin's puppet wants to kill it. Beyond shameful.
Michael, Considering the only folks, right or wrong, who are thoughtfully critical of NATO are not MAGA, I’m inclined to agree with you.
I agree, but with our two party system, the democrats, by plan, neglect or ignorance abandoned many citizens. Generations feeling left out are now visible as almost half of those that might be allowed to vote. I am skeptical that corporate democrats will acknowledge their contribution to our decayed society. So called “progressivism” is still marginalized in corporate media. Repairs will take much more that four years, and the pendulum swings slowly…
Abryhan, I share your concerns regarding corporate Democrats, and would add that I view prescribed forms of public accountability for institutions that have a disproportionate amount of wealth, power, and influence as an issue of democratic survival.
Abryhan, yes, Democrats did not hold the line against the Republican juggernaut that was set on the country around the Nixon years, but especially during Reagan and HW Bush. Deregulating investment and banking, and cutting taxes on “investment” gains … wow. It was a goldmine for the already-rich.
Clinton, following on the heels of HW Bush, was too much in the pocket of the Wall Street machine, too … Even Clinton’s Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, talks about that. I can’t believe Slick Willy didn’t fight for Glass Steagall to stay in force.
How anyone who feels “left behind” and “forgotten” can turn to a Republican administration to make that better is beyond me. They are the architects of the problem, migrating wealth out of labor’s pockets into oligarchs’, hollowing out workplace rules and regs to keep people well-paid and safe, and convincing “Middle America” that it’s the “eggheads” they should resent.
It wasn’t the eggheads that stole their money ….It was the guys like the one who sits at the head of the table and hollers, ‘You’re fired!”
The demise of the middle class is accurately dated to 1980 when Reagan’s ascent marked the beginning of the dismantling of the New Deal. His abrupt dilution of fair progressive taxation with particularly asymmetrical benefit to those in the top 1% plus active deregulation set the stage for the steady loss of industrial jobs and economic security for those who largely undergird trump’s ‘base.’
Having typed that — the full picture of today’s (worldwide) rightward and (yes) fascist direction is not just economic. An example is illustrated in What’s Wrong With Kansas.
A large proportion of trump supporters are in the sub $50K demographic. Those fully embracing trumpism fear loss of white privilege, demographic trends inexorably reducing their majority, ‘brown immigration’ (clearly helping to fuel our economic lead without deserved recognition), a cultural divide in values — singularly well documented by Heather Cox Richardson to aggressive pre antebellum southern attempts oppose equal rights, promote white supremacy, and plutocratic/authoritarian control.
But so blinded is this constituency by decades of well organized propaganda (such as The ‘Heritage’ Foundation), conspiracy mongering, lies, racist whistle calls, christian nationalist delusions — that the base totally ignores the complete disregard the gQp political apparatus has for its more economically challenged members. They are unable to vote in their best economic interests.
The last very critical element in this twisted world view is the recrudescence of the ‘America First’ ideas from the mid 1930s. trump’s plans to thwart Ukraine, withdraw from NATO, and hand putin’s
Gordon, Admittedly, your portrayal of the MAGA constituency is far more fulsome than the one projected in my original comment. Ultimately, I believe the challenge for America today is whether it will continue to deny, evade and avoid its, at times, deeply tragic history.
In South/Gulf Texas I never earned up to $50,000 even with a master's degree and 35 years of professional experience, so please take into account that salaries and cost of living vary across our country. I did not like being lumped into such a category. Otherwise, I generally agree with your comments.
Pat, Please note my intent was not to portray those earning less than $50,000 as monolithic. Rather, I wanted to point to the systemic erosion that not only has perpetuated increasing grotesque inequalities of wealth and income but also is a threat to our democratic survival.
I've wondered if modern capitalistic societies will inevitably widen the wealth divide, increasing the number of people who fall to the bottom. It seems to be happening even in countries that lean more socialistic, as segments of their population gain wealth. Of course government can be used to try to flatten the effect, but still there are many people who because of their culture. family trends and/or ability or lack thereof can't access the path towards greater financial stability in an economic system that demands technical knowledge and the ability to pivot quickly.
Many of the 1/6 rioters were middle to upper middle class and business owners.
This is an ideological debate and racial bias at a fever pitch. One group wants to dig trenches and kill anything that comes over the hill. The other wants to go and shake hands and negotiate. I'm going to stay with the group that is trying to guarantee there will even be a future for us .
Scott, Among your expansive portrayal of the 1/6 rioters, I would say the part driven by greed and self-serving impulses effectively have manipulated everyday workers to cast votes that run counter to their interests and concerns.
"I fret over whether any democracy can survive with a sizable segment of its population so aggrieved that it is willing to accept any authoritarian option in order to provide some sense of normalcy and security in their lives."
Kathy, While I note you quote me, because you don’t comment, I don’t know whether my thesis rings true.
Although Trump’s embrace of Putin is deplorable, examination of the Dulles brothers’ support of the Cold War and rejection of any attempt at rapprochement with Russia after WWII is long overdue . Also overdue is an examination of U.S. policy toward Russia after its economic collapse which resulted in the collapse of any nascent democratic experiment and a takeover by a Russian mafia headed by Putin.
The Repub party in the 90’s had a lot to do with that, the “House” of that era was only slightly less bonkers than the one today. Newt, Delay and fellow cretins were as incalcitrant as Mitch and the tea party, or the bomb throwers we have today. Any Dem idea was to be rejected out of hand. I remember…
What you say is true Jeri, but I also remember that one of his fellow congressmen stood up to him and this downfall began.
Most repubs that I know anything about are intolerant of any who stand up to any repub position. I saw this when Mitch ruled. Chump outdoes Mitch on this, it seems. Poor Mitch
Very true Tom. Our foreign policy has not been consistent or coherent.
"Our foreign policy has not been consistent or coherent"
I agree, but in a justifiable search for those inconsistencies and their varied and sometimes horrendous results, we should not forget that as a democracy, however inconsistent, we still have the power of self-correction. And despite the close calls we've had, the alliance represented by NATO has had a significant hand preventing a major war for over a century. Before that, no such record of relative peace has existed for two millennia.
One of our primary jobs now is to continue that run. The end of it would be a level of destruction so unimaginable as to make any such effort not only worthwhile but absolutely essential. This is where men like Trump and his myrmidons, out of ignorance and folly, go so wrong, This is a man so ignorant of the forces of history as to beggar the imagination, especially given that he, like me, lived through the closest known call we've had, Cuba in 1961.
Well-stated James, and completely agree.
Our leadership has not been consistent or coherent.
From what little I've retained of history, it seems like we vacillate between leaders who see the world as a complex of nuances and other leaders who see the world in terms of black & white, of pure evil vs. godliness.
Tom, thanks! On the Dulles brothers: The Devil's Chessboard, by David Talbot.
Tom, Since so many Confederate statues were taken down we should add taking the “Dulles brother’s” names off our airport in Va. They deserve nothing to honor them.
Yes, I think we get this very clearly and will do what we can and must to make certain that our country keeps moving forward as a beacon of democracy for the world and all Americans. Happy Birthday NATO.
Party of War. U
Yes. Who can forget that great Democrat George W. Bush attacking and invading two countries having little to do with 9/11.
I am not a huge fan of American foreign policy in my lifetime. But Kissinger’s assassination of Allende, Nixon’s continuation of the horror we visited upon the Vietnamese, Reagan’s decimation of El Salvador (and Iran Contra) and “Dubya” -all GOP.
But sure. Party of war.
Dont forget, Kennedy then Johnson escalated America's military involvement in Vietnam, taking over from the French as its Asian colonial empire finally collapsed in the 50s. US remains the world's largest military superpower, by far, projecting itself across the oceans. Nothing else like it on the planet. I think we're talking about a little thing called global Capitalism. At least by and large the US has never embarked on an outright world conquest, something the Nazis and imperial Japanese embarked on. Of course, they were only trying to do "catchup" on the Imperial hegemonies of France and England and what was left of Spain and Portugal, just way too ruthless in how they went about it.
Thanks Frank -definitely not forgotten.
It’s amazing how easily Dr.Richardson draws out the trolls!
True Anthony, although these days I suspect you merely need to post about your favorite color or lucky number and you’ll get some of Putin’s GRU pointed your way.
Is a troll any one you disagree with? Interesting.
No. It’s one who consistently comes on Dr. Richardson’s posts and makes personal & negative remarks about her! It appears she is targeted by him! If he doesn’t agree with her, he’s not required to read her posts!
Bill, the short answer is no.
There is disagreement (often healthy) and there is attack (often personal). You and I agree on a lot - and we disagree sometimes.
Here's the difference, I attempt to learn something from those I might disagree with at first. I have learned from you. You have influenced my thinking. Along with many others.
A troll like this demonizes and finds joy in "sticking it to us". He doesn't want to learn or influence. He just looks for places to stir the pot. To vent his anger. Too bad. Because if he used another approach, he could be an "influencer" - which is trending, I hear.
I understand but often enough, people use the term as soon as they disagree. As you can read, Lisa has another term to use for disagreeing.
No, those who disagree with us are not all trolls, mostly just imbeciles.
And brainwashed cult members!
That's not a serious question.
Certainly not intended for George!
Damn, my memory must be ok. Funny how some have big gaps that an elephant could fall through. Dems ain’t perfect, but the tally tells the tale.
Party of Authoritarianism.
Regressive Party and Regressive Party
Their desire is to
1) revoke the right to vote for women
2) revoke the right of black people and brown people to vote
3) remove the freedom of women to determine their own healthcare
4) remove all access to birth control for women. (Men can still get condoms)
5) remove the freedom of women to travel to other states for healthcare
6) slash all aid to the poor even the children of forced-brith
7) legalize rape and incest by not prosecuting these crimes
8) force one religion and one god on all of us
9) slash all regulations which provide for clean air and water
10) drill baby drill - even though we have less than 10 years of known oil reserves in the US, they want us to run out as quickly as possible
11) cut taxes for the rich and the corporations
12) create loopholes so the wealthiest Americans can achieve a marginal tax rate close to zero
13) ban immunizations
14) ban masks
15) deport anyone who has been in the US since birth or beyond
16) ban IVF
17) allow absolute immunity for the President
18) pardon white collar criminals that have stolen billions of dollars from the Federal government
19) allow on white men to vote
20) allow businesses to only serve and sell to white people
21) pass restrictive voting laws.
22) etc. etc. etc.
I guess they DO have a campaign platform! /s
Long long list. When will we ever learn?
Since Reagan's time, with the interruption of the New Deal era (1933-1981) the American oligarchs have had their way, plundering the American treasury, virtually eliminating the Middle Class here, and with Trump in power they'll effect a complete kleptocratic system. The line in the sand is clearly drawn. Only the blind can't see it.
I've concluded that however it's presented, in the end it's always a battle to depose the rule of law and return to the time tested Feudal system.
It's about not economics or religion. The veneer of what type of economic system or faith a nation claims to follow never fully prevents the intrusion of totalitarianism and a fascist system. It's insidious, and the desired result is always the same - strongman rule and Might over Right.
The extra trappings are always present as well, i.e., rigid class divisions, sexual inequality, functional if not actual slavery, "funny money", political assasinations, party purges, religious inquisitions, and our old familiar friends Ignorance, Superstition and Disease (for the poor).
It's a wonderful system if you're on top. It's hell if you aren't.
Gary, I would say that the tension between capital and labor is always present. Karl Marx was among the first to identify the problem: the ownership of the means of production. And right now, in this country, capital has taken on a new form in the advent of private equity firms. For one example, they're buying up housing, turning much of the country into a rental class, paying high rents and unable to buy a home. They need to be regulated. We need another "trust buster" to come onto the scene.
What you said, plus the fact that climate change is racking up billions each year in catastrophic events. Florida now has the highest home owners insurance rates pus their property taxes are high as well. If your roof is over 15 years old, the insurance companies will not cover your home unless you replace the roof. This happened to my daughter. Her 17 year old roof had to be replaced even though it had been through 2 hurricanes and never lost a shingle.
The rent on a home or apartment includes insurance and property taxes plus you have to pay utilities and the otters costs included in the rent.
Do we ever. The 20th Century seemed to be striking a better balance between the public sector and private enterprise, pre-Reagan. There seem to me to be social functions that the public sector is a far wiser choice to handle, and others better suited to private enterprise. In either case, We the People are supposed to get to set the ground rules. No less than a "free country", a true "free market" no less than a "free country" is protected by rule of law (both the buyer and the seller, both the owner and the worker) and monopolies of either politician power or economic power are the real enemies of democracy.
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves---in their separate, and individual capacities.
In all that the people can individually do as well for themselves, government ought not to interfere." - Lincoln
"Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. Capital has its rights, which are as worthy of protection as any other rights. Nor is it denied that there is, and probably always will be, a relation between labor and capital producing mutual benefits." - Lincoln
I'm not even so sure that it's so wonderful for the people on top. They get their egos pumped yet seem insecure, like Trump. Back when kings were kings you were likely to fear the members of your own family, who were plotting your demise. The hyper-wealthy building Bond-villain-like underground gilded prisons for themselves in an apocalypse they are creating don't seem enviable. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/sep/04/super-rich-prepper-bunkers-apocalypse-survival-richest-rushkoff
The quest for absolute money and power just seems monomaniacal.
I agree with you George!! I also hope people start catching on to what these two creatures-Putin and Trumpie are up to !!Orban as well!!Our democracy is at stake!!
George, add Mike Johnson to that list of
those with destructive vision.
This morning I listened to Jill Stein both feint and brag on performing for Vladimir Putin at a Moscow conference and gala dinner celebrating Russia Today's tenth anniversary. (RT widely promoted Stein's 2016 campaign for president. A fact she's used to chastise American media.) Stein was seated at the head table with Putin and Michael Flynn. (RT famously paid Michael Flynn $45,000 to speak.) On CSpan Stein claimed it was a journalism conference. That she just happened to attend the evening event. And that her presentation was a plea to Putin not to let Russia become an "international bully like the United States." It wasn't a journalism conference. Sitting with Putin doesn't just happen. But Stein's always on autopilot with USA bashing boilerplate. Just imagine if Jill Stein were an independent Russian politician criticizing Russia. Oh wait, we don't have to imagine. We already know. Putin may buy what Stein is selling. American voters shouldn't.
Thank you for your comments. I get so frustrated with how so many of us complain about government interference. Hey I’d be richer, more successful and happier if that damn government just got out of my way. Yep, and I would be handsome and taller and thinner too. And often the people complaining about this government taking their taxes to give handouts to the disadvantaged and vulnerable and those just down on their luck never seem to punch up at those who are at the top of the fill in the blank industrial complex profiting off those under them who are working dangerous jobs at terrible hours for pathetic wages.
So very true. Nor do they think how societal funding of infrastructure and first responders help them in ways they forget to consider. And as you say, they are far more likely to complain about someone on food stamps without considering massive subsidies for Big Oil, or corporate externalities that are effectively hidden taxes we all pay.
Gearge great comment.
What motivates wannabe dictators is the absolute power and wealth afforded them. On the other hand what motivates people to hand over their wealth and freedom? Of course, the most wealthy tend not to fear dictators as long as they stay in their good graces. But what about the people in general? How do wannabe dictators get their support to take power in the first place? If not too simplistic my sense is FEAR/HATE. Fear/hate who and what? In. most cases it is the OTHER. People who are different than the indigenous majority. And who are they? Usually either new arrivals, different religions, and people who are in general different, often people of a different sexuality. As for the masses living under dictatorships, their lives often are not terrible except for any grievances they may have with the government, in which case being vocal can cost them and their families their lives. Being free to express oneself, may not be so important to the average Joe other than it can stifle innovation and creativity. Being different in an authoritarian state is living in fear.
Ah...aren't you describing the tfg platform?
Too many, i.e. TFG's supporter don't know what they are wishing for.
Funny that you use the term "the indigenous majority" - white people with European roots aren't indigenous at all, though they seem to believe that they are. I would add that the "othering" is motivated not only by fear and hate, but overt racism. MAGAs aren't concerned about people from France or Scandinavian countries immigrating to the U.S.!
Fear, hate, and ‘othering’ for sure Harvey. Control of the media and messaging. John Powell at Berkeley/Haas and his team continue to educate and inform about “Othering & Belonging”.
From my point of view, it is not the ordinary people who want to fight (although there are some who enjoy the killing-mercenaries?). It is the men who crave power and the wealth which comes with it, but mostly power. They are the ones who order the generals to win the war. And who are the people who are killed because of their lust? Young men, teenagers, middle aged men (if the supply runs low). The power hungry ones are far from the trenches, the death, the disease. It is not their houses and towns which are blown up. They are not the ones who are shot.
In an interview, one American vet said when the war was over, he and a German were sharing cigarettes, and thought he wouldn't mind going fishing with him. Another told of how a German soldier was ordered to shoot him. They went into the woods and the soldier walked away without firing a shot.
Indeed, at the end of the day we all share the same sky. WWII may have been different in some horrific ways. It seems the isolated nationalism and societal-level lies, propaganda, and disinformation (not unlike the rise of MAGA) fed a near fanaticism. It is a vast disappointment that humanity hasn’t evolved in spite of history.
Russian under Putin started with oligarchies. Economic inequity is the key factor for destruction of democracy and peace based on it. The wealthy people can become enemies of democracy. Note that many wealthy people who first denied Trump are not in support of him facing Biden's tax policies.
Thank you Hiro. It is always frustrating when those who have accumulated so much evaluate everything as a “what’s in it for me?” transaction.
Great reference to Steve Bannon. I just read the Washington Post article from April 4th, How Steve Bannon Guided the MAGA Movement... It's truly scary how much behind the scenes influence he has had and will continue to have.
Wasn't he convicted of embezzlement of funds supposedly to be used for the wall? I am beginning to believe you have to be a crook or immoral to be a republican.
I have believed for many years now that he deserves far more scrutiny than he has gotten.
very well put
Thank you John.
you are welcome, George … sometimes HCR’s posts inspire a rush of comments that are hugely perceptive and eye-opening in their own right … this IMO is one of those times … so many useful threads below … HOW to twirl them into a fabric of understanding?
Today is a day to celebrate. Celebrate the success of democracies to contain aggressive intents of authoritarian governments. Hail NATO. Long will you continue to give international law and treaties true protection.
So well said. Thank you.
Thank you Susan.
Thank you for such a detailed, yet concise, essay on the history of NATO. What the isolationists don’t seem to realize is that supporting Ukraine to stop Putin’s march before his armies invade a NATO country is cheap. If he invades a NATO country and we honor the treaty, we will have at least the amount of armaments to supply that we do now along with other supplies, we will have boots on the ground. If we don’t honor the treaty, then we will be vulnerable because Moscow and China don’t want NATO armies attacking them in our defense. Unfortunately, far too many elected officials do not appear to have studied history and are unaware of what happened to US elected officials in the 1930’s who sympathized with Germany.
Yes, Mary. They not only conspired, but actively attempted a coup in 1939, supported by and funded by Hitler himself. I am sure you are referencing the research of Rachel Maddow, in her series, "Ultra". It lays it all down, of the efforts of our Republican Party to overthrow our Constitution, in favor of a Nazi controlled oligarchy. US Congressmen and Senators were at the core of this effort. Republican Senator Robert Taft was central to this conspiracy. This is all documented in the National Archive. Read the documents yourself.
Rachel put it out, and POOF!! Everybody went back to footbal and the Super Bowl. La de Fukin DA!
Don’t forget the attempted coup of 1932.
Yes, but you are up WAY TOO LATE TOO!! USMC General Smedley Butler caught that one. The 1939 one went to trial and they Trumped it with loud shouting over and over into a misstrial and Truman put the cabosh on it for unity after the WWII trauma. They all were let off the hook, and like the Confederates pardoned by Pres Johnson, they lived to fight another day and here we are fighting them again, AGAIN!! the GODMOTHERFUCKINGDAMNEDREPUGNICANT PARTY ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!!
Those motherfucking Republicans never give up. They have wanted a Nazi/Fascist dictatorship for the last motherfucking ninety years!!! When will the Democrats ever WAKE UP!!
WOW, you have been reading my mind. Yep, the perps really don't like being called to account. Whining, shouting and playing the victim has been a long-time reaction to their crimes. And they were and are crimes.
I'm with you and I am viciously angry, but I also do not want you to have a heart attack. We would lose an ally. Breathe.
Sorry about the profanity, but a lot had been accumulating all day. It was late and I was tired. I'll do my best to behave today.
What is Ultra? On series on MSNBC, I never watched it but seem to be something we all need to view... History is repeated.
Ken...it is a terrific podcast series put out by Rachel Maddow. As usual she does her homework AND proves that she is one terrific story teller. Find it under the podcast app or just google it. Worth every second, IMHO.
I finally got to this . I would have said the same. Thanks for paying attention.
Thank you for your expansion of WWII info, the RMaddow reference.
Do watch all eight of her podcasts. You should tell you know to do the same. Invite them over.
Studied history, Mary? You jest. They make up their own history as they go along, And if they have their way, the children won't know anything about history, civics, or science. Keep the little things - including their little women ignorant - makes life easier for "pure, white men"
It really says something, doesn’t it, about White men who need to have every non White or male person be weaker, poorer, and more ignorant than themselves. Some of them even tout about survival of the fittest, and of not wearing masks so they don’t weaken their immune systems, without ever recognizing the irony.
LBJ said the truth of it “if you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket.” Explains a lot.
Jeri, this is one of my favorite quotes because of its truth. The plan of the oligarchs (yes, we have them) seems to be to keep the 90% angry at “the others” and out of unions so that they can scare them with false threats (migrant horde coming for your jobs) while they systematically keep wages low and working conditions abysmal.
Tried and true, for all decades of my long life. My mom walked a picket line in her youth because the hosiery mill owners (from up North) treated the workers like crap. For her long life too.
Yes, you are right about white men. It seems that they are predators. A lot of the bellicose men of the past century were white and male.Think Hitler, Mussolini,Stalin etc.And now it seems mostly white, mostly male people want to disenfranchise women.More Handmaid's Tale, I guess.smh
Victoria...don't forget that the anti ERA (anti abortion)movement was spearheaded by Phyllis Schlafley and her many earnest female followers. It seems to me that we are still paying for their opposition work under her hypocritical (?) leadership. They managed to lead the way to the slow death of the ERA in a period of strong feminist activism. Certainly.....not just the work of white males.
It's a bit long, so I can't post it here, but Mike Royko's take on Phyllis Schlafly's view of sexual harassment laws was priceless. She testified before a congressional committee that laws against sexual harassment weren't needed: "When a woman walks across the room, she speaks with a universal body language that most men intuitively understand. Men hardly ever ask sexual favors of women from whom the certain answer is no." Royko, of course, disagreed. He ended his column with the lyrics from Supertramp's "Goodbye, Stranger":
"Now some they do,
and some they don't,
and some you just can't tell,
and some they will,
and some they won't,
with some it's just as well"
I only wish her influence (stopping the ERA) had been buried with her.
Too much money and ego, not enough brain power - frankly the world would be better off without that type of male animal.
The "more ignorant than themselves", sheesh! Always hiding something...how do we see each other? If you choose to see the Christ, he will confirm in some way that what you are trying to see is correct...Christ seeing himself, 1st commandment kind of stuff...you do not need to say to anyone that that is what you are doing, once you have made that connection, your whole world will change. Just try it.
And they all drive the biggest pick up trucks on the road to underline their imagined strength.
Reminds me, must read Rachel Maddow's Prequel. But there was widespread sympathy for fascist Germany. The Nazis finally ended, for the time being, the internal threat of Russian style Communism, also an authoritarian regime. All kinds of people applauded this in Europe and America. It was truly a matter of be careful what you wish for.
Yes, in "Prequel" Rachel Maddow expands on her excellent podcast "Ultra." It is a much deeper dive into the history and I highly recommend it. It is a very hopeful book, because she focuses on how ordinary Americans fought back against the authoritarian-loving Americans doing Hitler's dirty work.
Hopefully I'll get to Rachel before long. Apparently $ were run through the German Embassy as an effort to "keep America out of the war"... ie prolong the anti-war in Europe movement. It would have been interesting for Rachel to have looked farther afield, maybe there are references when i read it. Europe was swamped with fascist tendencies or outright: Franco's fascists overthrew the republican gov in spain, Italy of course under Mussolini with his own imperial ambitions, Britain's ex Edward 7 was very sympathetic to the Nazis, as were some other members of the British aristocracy, then there was Mosley who headed up the British fascist party til it was shut down in 1942. On and on. Vichy France was full of Nazi sympathizers, not that it did them much good under occupation. Did i forget the autocratic regimes in Poland, Austria, liberal democracies were not exactly in favour in 30s Europe were they!.... don't forget South America.
And then there's those who are actively plotting against America, against NATO, against democracy:
"“There are many aspects to what Grenell is doing,” said Joe Cirincione, a veteran Washington foreign policy and arms control specialist. “One is grift, looking for business deals, particularly in Serbia, where Trump has longstanding business interests and Trump seems to be helping him pursue this.
“Another is more sinister. It looks as though Grenell is trying to build up a developing authoritarian network of rightwing leaders to form this authoritarian axis that Trump might govern by – ranging from Putin to [Viktor] Orbán [prime minister of Hungary] to Erdoğan.
“All these are anti-democratic forces and use the simple playbook of using democracy to overthrow democracy.”"
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/05/richard-grenell-trump-far-right-foreign-policy
But if we don't honor our commitments, why should NATO help us?
Karen, exactly. If we get out of NATO or don’t honor our commitments, we are alone and vulnerable.
At some point (Budapest Memorandum?) we gave Ukraine assurance (not guarantee) that we would help them if they were threatened. Russia said they would respect Ukrainian sovereignty and boundaries and no violence. In return Ukraine got rid of (or returned to Russia) all of their nuclear weapons. Ukraine had the third largest stock pile of nuclear weapons. Then Russia in 2014 attacked and took over part of Ukraine. Now Russia has attacked Ukraine again, and in my opinion, wants the entire country under Soviet domination. And where are we in upholding our end of the bargain?
How much influence on the White House is exerted successfully from MAGAfascists who will beat into the ground any attempt to increase military aid to Ukraine?
“ far too many elected officials do not appear to have studied history and are unaware of what happened to US elected officials in the 1930’s who sympathized with Germany.”
Or they are aware but share tffg’s malignant narcissism and believe they are the “Chosen One” and they can’t possibly lose!
Christy, I refer to this as “remora syndrome”. The remora fish fastens itself onto a shark, cleaning its skin, and getting the scraps, obviously believing that access to the scraps is paramount and that, since it offers a service to the shark “surely he won’t attack me!” As many former acolytes of 45 have found, as soon as 45 finds you to be insufficiently loyal, you become supper and “are dead” to him.
Happy Birthday NATO!
I believe that NATO, the Marshall Plan, and the GI Bill provided the foundation for 75 years of post-war peace and prosperity for America and Western Europe. They are the reasons for what we now call “The American Century “.
The world cannot afford to squander this by allowing those who would dismantle those principles and institutions to succeed!
Investments in our future.
And our children’s future
Don't forget the Geneva Conventions.
Resolving that indiscriminate killing of civilians, torture, and mass punishments like starvation during war reduces the "good guys" to being just as evil as the "bad guys", and provides the enemy a justification to continue practicing those crimes was a major step towards humanity becoming civilized.
Every time we forget history and fail in those aspirations (and Lord knows we've done that) we see the situation get worse instead of better, and afterwards once the bullets stop flying, it's harder to achieve a just peace. Israel is re-discovering this.
Yes, true enough all Heather says on the plus side of Atlantic-bordering democracies uniting.
The dark side, however, needn't be forgotten, as it has enabled the U.S.'s dark money elites, and they have enabled the oligarchs, dictators, and fossil fuel murderers who hold contempt for the democracies, more contempt for the humanities which used to buoy those same democracies.
Overthrowing Iran's democratically-elected Mossadegh, 1953. Same thing to Arbenz, the next year in Guatemala. A revolving set of former French stooges in Vietnam. Mobutu in Zaire. Egypt. Saudi Arabia. The Philippines. Honduras. Always it's the C.I.A. setting up new sets of cruel leaders, arming and training militia and secret police thugs. Blowback. Blowback. Many years of blowback.
Yes to Heather's positives today. But a shameful ruing not only of the U.S. evils underneath that cold war history, but the more sinister ways they've propped up the U.S. dark money billionaires (and their evangelical racist, nationalist brethren) who now pose as great a threat to democracy (and humanities in our public schools, our public spaces) as ever any external threat.
But there has been a concerted effort by big and dark money to go against the pluses. The U.S. has always had it’s “evils” mostly kept in check (not always as you pointed out), but the invitation to Rupert Murdoch as a tipping point to give the cretins the upper hand. It’s an extra challenge since, as you point out, our youth have been deprived of the critical thinking skills necessary for combatting the onslaught of propaganda.
Thank you for a much appreciated lesson on NATO’s history. We are currently on a river cruise in the Netherlands and spent yesterday in and around Nijmegen in the north, learning about, and seeing, what WWII had been like here. It was very sobering. A guest lecturer spoke about what the Marshall Plan had meant to the people here. Very apropos to the NATO anniversary. And as always I was once again struck by how little so many of our younger generation know about history. Or care. We must continue to do better.
My parents took me to Europe in 1953 and I saw first hand what WWII had done to Germany at least as there were still parts of cities completely destroyed. Row after row of tall buildings where only the outer walls remained as the bombs had obliterated the insides. I was 10 so remember it well.
As in Gaza today, the innocent German citizens suffered the worst of the war because of what their leaders did. Just like the innocent among us will suffer and be blamed for what chump can visit on the world if he gets the chance.
We can’t ‘care’ if we don’t ‘know’. EDUCATION in our United States has been undone by numerous (generations now) dismantling of public school funding divided up for Charter Schools…. Not serving and supporting Public Education in its broadest sense.
Further proof that, regardless of the electoral outcome, our Constitution is not a "suicide pact" and there is no part of the Constitution that forces acceptance of a man publicly dedicated to ending the democratic constitutional republic and replacing it with his personal dictatorship. By so doing, he takes himself outside the laws (he is an outlaw). If there's going to be the civil war the worthless MAGAts claim to want, letting be over the preservation of our system is the best reason of all.
Makes you wonder what the great Mr. Justice Robert Jackson would make of the Coming of Age of the Trumpublican Party.
There is a dinosaur in the room. It is called nukes. Why nearly 80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world not banned and eliminated nuclear weapons? They are an even more immediate threat to human existence than global warming. Putin regularly threatens to use them if he cannot have his way in Ukraine. Any discussion of NATO's usefulness must include the nuclear danger. If Russia nukes Ukraine or Poland, all bets are off. Does the US nuke Russia in reponse? Or not?
A more immediate threat and a very real one, but one we seem to be trying harder to prevent than climate destruction. The power of nature unbalanced is indifferent to human lives. The very rare set of conditions for which we are sometimes called the "Goldilocks Planet" are the reason we exist.
It's immediacy. We can imagine the explosion. The slow boiled pot seems like a warm bath.
There are many slow ways to die from a nuclear war. Environmental disasters related to warming, fires, droughts, floods, hurricanes, disease, famine, general panic could seem "Biblical" in scale, but we lay that largely on posterity.
To answer the question you have posed, it's the same reason one does not attempt to put toothpaste back into the tube. It's as simultaneously simple and horrible as that.
Unless the human race nukes itself back to the Stone Age “eliminating” those weapons is a fantasy. That genie is not going back in the bottle.
No, the "genie", which is to say "knowledge of how to build a nuclear device", is not going back into the bottle. However, eliminating the nukes we have is by far the most reliable way to keep from nuking ourselves back into the Stone Age. Or even the Precambrian. Won't be easy, needs to happen..
I agree. But what's the plan? With people like Putin, etc. at the helm we would have to ask:
1. What path to negotiation? Without nukes, NATO could have rescued Ukraine. Putin is weak without nukes.
2. If we got Putin to sit down and discuss nukes, what would our negotiating tactics be? What would we offer?
3. If there was an agreement to eliminate the nukes, who would inspect and enforce?
4. And if Putin were to say that he had eliminated X amount of nukes, why on this green Earth would we believe it? Russia has a huge land mass.
Negotiating with someone like Putin or Trump is purely transactional. And after the agreement is made, one should EXPECT it to be violated.
Eliminating nukes is probably the smartest thing (unless you want to include addressing the Climate Catastrophe) this species could accomplish. But I think we are proving ourselves to be just an ever evolving group of warring tribes. Not really a smart species.
I wish I had your optimism.
Nukes are not funny, but if TFG gets back into office he will need them to nuke any hurricane that comes along.
And Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove? I can see the Donald riding one down.
LOL at the image!
Yeehaaah! Wahooo! Slim Pickens.
David, I fear there are TWO dinosaurs in the room not present in earlier epochs: yes, 1) certainly nuclear weapons but we now also have 2) the end product of all those "products" of modern capitalism in the reality of global climate change, a vastly more insidious "weapon of mass destruction" which is and will continue to be more difficult to control in large part because it is produced by both sides of this contest between great powers to survive and triumph.
That dinosaur should be extinct. That it’s not is a throwback to the Cold War that is exhibiting some serious temperature fluctuations.
Perhaps the most threatening tyrannosaurus in the room is our human, more primitive survival-oriented "reptile* brain". We so need to get to know that one better.
*OK, dinosaurs are not technically reptiles, but you get the picture.
true true true
Yes. Thank you dear professor. This is a day of rememberance. A day to consider the forces antagonistic to our commitments to freedom and democraticaly established governments. It has become the basis of our peaceful existance.
There are, however, masses of people within our nation and the world, through ignorance, uneducated youth and those overcome by lies and distortortions and ideologies, that threaten us to our core.
Celebrate and acknowledge, we must. but never, lest we allow complacency to distract us, forge onward to maintaintain vigilance in the face of those within our nation who strive to destroy us.
Valuable as NATO has, and always will be, it will never protect us from those among us who are allied with those whose purpose is to to do us grave harm and destroy the nation that we cherish and pledge our lives to protect.
Over the past fifty years, those of us progressives have basked in the laurels of our progress since the 1960s, while the forces we thought we had vanquishes have organized and plotted to do us in, night and day, continually.
RUST NEVER SLEEPS! WAKE UP!
Thank you, Dr Richardson. We are so fortunate to have NATO. Without it, we might be in WWIII. I hope sincerely that Ukraine is admitted. If the real Hungarians want to join Russia that is their right, but I expect it is their dictator not the people. Since trump so loves putin maybe he should consider living there and taking his three eldest, their spouses and children with him.
You have a point about taking the serial immigrants Jr, Eric and Ivanka with DJT when he leaves, but Melania and Barron need to go with them. She defrauded the US by claiming an Einstein exemption when she is just the ordinary daughter of a communist.
After a Lobotamy (sp), so that whatever he used to call a brain is empty, and he can’t reveal any more of our deepest secrets.
Don't you mean WWII Faye? /S
Heather writes: “ The experience of the United States “in creating one nation out of…the peoples of many lands” proved that this idea could work, Truman said. “This method of organizing diverse peoples and cultures is in direct contrast to the method of the police state, which attempts to achieve unity by imposing the same beliefs and the same rule of force on everyone.” Reading this and pondering it, particularly since the prior presidential admin & what followed, I wondered at how “one nation” we really are—seems so many are at odds with a vision of what “our country” means. Many years ago, sometime in the 80’s I think, I attended a conference of college/Univ administrations/staff where a keynote speaker said that the population of California would be changing radically over the coming decades & that the Anglo population would likely become a minority. Listening to this I was in no way alarmed, just remember thinking that it was interesting, even exciting, and let’s see how we stir our “melting pot” to make a society work-for-all (and provide educational opportunities) moving forward. The polarization of our country distresses me, particularly those who would welcome a “despot” leader who would rule by fiat rather than consensus. Sometime ago I found this work done by the Nationhood Lab, part of the Pell Center of the Salve Regina Univ (had to look them up: https://www.salve.edu/)…it kinda explained a lot about the cultural divisions that exist in our ginormous nation…home to many cultures and ethnicities (which, btw, I think is way cool to have such diversity): Anyway, check out their research…I find it interesting….”the more you know”……
https://nationhoodlab.org/a-balkanized-federation/
How I wish that Truman ‘s description of this country were our current reality. I loved the idea of diverse cultures coming together. It could be our strength and we could lead the world proving it. If the tribal jealousies and power grabs could take a break, instead the Repub cretins do battle with the acronyms that are easy to hate and pass on. CRT became a target, now replaced by DEI, what next. Just anything that tries to enlighten and unite.
I think such descriptions need to be publicized mush more often to penetrate to smokescreen of endlessly repeated Big Lies.
This is a strategy that has worked over and over. Time for some serious pushback.
Barbara, are you actually suggesting that America is still evolving from its original waves of immigration? That we are still products of those who arrived here from other cultures?
Yeow! /s
Wonderful article!
I read "American Nations" a few years ago. It has powerfully influenced my thinking. It helps us get how so many of our thought patterns are embedded in our DNA. The question is for all Americans, do we want to face that? Cherish the good stuff and eschew the nasty inherited bigotries? Do we really believe in equality?
Thank you for posting this. It should be required reading - for everyone.
I think the wave of creativity that made American product respected throughout the world was enabled in large part by combining ideas and skills from all over the world as never before. Diversity fuels creativity, and is essential to liberty.
I've seen that "nationhood" map before; there is a lot of it that rings very true.
I was not kidding. You put down some serius stuff.
Divide and conquer. Those who are so inclined keep doing it because it works. Solidarity is its nemesis. "All for one and one for all".
What an inspirational historical place-mark, Heather! Truman's words bear frequent repetition, whatever else he may have said about Mr. Oppenheimer. As we know, Harry did not mince words.
Aaah! So NATO is a peacekeeping organisation!!!!
That's definitely not what the Maga Putin bots tell me.
They say NATO wants to invade Russia.... and they say Russia had to invade the Ukraine to stop NATO getting too close to their border. They say NATO provoked them so it's NATO's fault they are killing all those people.
And really it's a peacekeeping organization.
Well knock me down with a feather!
How about considering the idea that the madness and insecurity of Putin wanted Ukraine to continue as an ally and that the US influenced 2014 revolution resulted in his responses . How would the US respond if a perhaps hostile government close to our borders.. let’s seek an example, Cuba? How might we respond? Hum… need I continue? Our Big Stick policy in central and South America? Suppressing independistas of Puerto Rico? Need I find more examples? I suggest that Ukraine is/was culturally close to Russia. It borders Russia. All dominant nations behave similarly; they dominate.
All ever so Chomsky Bill, but in this case it's total BS.
Ukraine was not an ally, they were subjugated by the Soviet Union, never part of.
They are the only country in history to unilaterally relinquish their nuclear arsenal, and we promised to protect them.
I know a lot of people there
They want to be European, they will die rather than lose their freedom again. Putin doesn't want an ally, he wants control. He has said that Ukraine doesn't exist, he says it is part of Russia.
The correct analogy would be if the UK announced that Ireland is and always has been part of England.... and invades.
Total BS what you said, Bill
I love a lot about Chomsky, but not his blind spot.
Some people carry a cross. Chomsky carries a pretzel.
A pretzel??
Don’t chomp on my Chompsky.
Thank you
Bill, your argument holds some truths about Americans meddling around the globe. We have a lot to be ashamed of. But supporting Ukraine is not one of them. Your analogy is faulty. First, "all dominant nations" are not led by KGB trained murdering election engineering oligarch feeding ruthless monsters with the goal of being another Alexander the Great.
The only threat to Russia from Ukraine was its aspirational democracy. Oh and let's not forget all that wheat and sundry other breadbasket resources. And, the Russian system has so demoralized and excised so much young talent that Putin wanted the Ukrainian talent pool as well.
Your excuses for Putin's plunder are weak and show little understanding of the desires of the Ukrainian people.
But yes, America has been bad. Really bad for centuries. Should Ukraine suffer for that?
I’m a scholar of Russian history. I studied under Dr. Deci, who was a Hungarian general in the uprising of 1956. (Ok that was a partial joke I took one course in collage but it was a well-taught course.) Dr Deci was able to speak from experience dealing with the Russians.
Thank you
Enough with the "whataboutism". None of your examples invaded the US, though they might have threatened it. And Cuba? Nothing but a puppet of the Soviet Union (now known as Russia). Independentistas in Puerto Rico? I lived there for two years: those fomenting for independence were simply traitors, and very much a small minority that was mainly despised.
Yes James.
Bill is very Noam Chomsky.
You are right about his examples.
Ukraine was not an ally, they were subjugated by the Soviet Union, never part of it.
They are the only country in history to unilaterally relinquish their nuclear arsenal, and we promised to protect them.
I know a lot of people there
They want to be European, they will die rather than lose their freedom again. Putin doesn't want an ally, he wants control. He has said that Ukraine doesn't exist, he says it is part of Russia.
The correct analogy would be if the UK announced that Ireland is and always has been part of England.... and invades.
Total BS what you said, Bill
Don’t chomp on my Chompsky.
You have a rather narrow view of matters. Read my full comments.
So... it was bad for the US to act this way, but OK for Putin to do it? I'm confused. And alliances like NATO are for sissies? That just seems weird.
I recommend you spend 20 Days in Mariupal.
Listen up and listen well. Most of the time in my life, I have witness the US ignorantly engaging in wars since at least Vietnam. We alway create anew and irresistible reason to engage in a new war. We are the most war-like country on earth bar none. So let’s examine the other missives you stated. I am in no way a Putin apologist. He is a mad man who suffers under delusions of Peter the Great greatness. That doesn’t mean we need to go to war. For many reasons, Ukraine was is close culturally to Russia. And btw, why didn’t you have the same desires to fight Russia when it destroyed Chechnya? Why? I never read how we in the West needed to send arms to the fighters resisting the Russians.
Give it a break. Pragmatism is a far better approach than constant warfare. All the signs were evident that the West encouraged the Ukrainian revolution. NATO drove east. Having said this, and btw, we only needed to tell Putin no NATO that’s mostly all he wanted to hear. So couldn’t we have simply waited? Now that there is all out war, we in the West need to aid Ukraine with everything short of nukes. And nukes as a last resort in case Russia uses them. In that case, prepare your root cellar to run to at a moment’s notice. There is no doubt that this war needs a settlement in favor of Ukraine. I sense that Crimea will be the sacrificial lamb. It belongs to Russia in 1953 so let tmegave it back in exchange of ceasing hostilities. And yes, then Ukraine can apply to be a member of NATO. But first, Russia needs to bleed big time from them to accept anything.
You make some good points. And some nonsense.
"NATO drove east"? Countries from the East saw Putin for what he was, and asked to join a defensive alliance.
"all [Putin] wanted to hear"? That is at best wild speculation and at worst an obvious lie.
If by pragmatism you means saying screw you to a long standing alliance and that commitments be damned, then I have issues. But I don't think you are saying that, if you are open to Ukraine joining NATO. Which seems a contradiction, because that's Putin's main beef (or so he says, though there is no way of telling what he means because lying is his signature).
Crimea did belong to Russia and was given as a gift to Ukraine by, was it Stalin? A dictator's decision. And now another dictator wants it back. Same guy decides to take all of Ukraine while he's at it. And we are supposed to say go ahead? We can't be bothered and don't want to be involved? If he decides Poland is next, we'll have another pragmatic excuse for looking the other way?
I do think Crimea may end up being sacrificed. But that's a nearly best-case scenario only if Ukraine gets some help. A vast majority of US citizens agree to help. Others actively want to help Putin. And some others wring their hands about warmongering, even if by assisting Ukraine we hope to avoid war for ourselves. I'd call it insurance at a bargain price, if you want me to be pragmatic. I'd call it a small contribution to justice, if you'll let me aspire to ideals.
"first, Russia needs to bleed big time" I think I agree with this, but I'm still a bit confused: how you expect that to happen more than it already has without some help from the West? It's a pity, though, that Russia has to bleed for Putin's egomaniacal folly.
"Why didn’t you have the same desires to fight Russia when it destroyed Chechnya?" The same could be said for when Russia invaded Donbas. We shook our heads and clucked our tongues. And when a full invasion of Ukraine began, most of us figured (https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2022/02/cowardice-of-power.html) it would be over soon and we would be shaking our heads some more. But then Ukraine surprised the world. And we said if anyone deserves our help, these guys do. More power to them. That's what this is about. If abandoning them to slaughter is the price of pragmatism, maybe pragmatism is just another word for selfish or for gross negligence.
Great response. thanks.
" The West encouraged the Ukrainian revolution"? you really have been soaking up your Putin proaganda.
The Ukrainians chose freedom and the rule of law - they threw out the Moscow guy.
Crimea belonged to Russia?
Ireland belonged to Britain until 1921. So let us have it back in exchange for not starting hostilities. Reunite it with Belfast.
Come on Bill. If you really want to support Putin... go with the corruption, that'll give you half a leg to stand on
Sorry I missed this Neville Chamberlain-style paean of appeasement nonsense. Putin would have done what he did no matter what NATO offered. His ego needs the rebuilding of the USSR. And he's not going to get it. No way, no how. Slava Ukraini!
Don’t chomp on my Chompsky.
Great historical read about NATO.
Thank you , Heather.
Good discussion sparked by HCR’s history of NATO. I’ve been reading a book Rachel Maddow recommended, “The Anatomy of Fascism” by a Columbia U. Historian, Robert O. Paxton. He’s very knowledgeable and early on makes the point that proto-fascist movements arose between the world wars in almost every country in Europe, as strongmen learned to want political power. We needn’t expect our country to be immune from these same forces, since obviously as Rachel’s latest book, “Prequel”, details, we haven’t been. What we must do instead is to recognize that democracy is a metastable state that needs constant nurturing and support, and courage from those of us who appreciate its advantages to fight back appropriately when American fascists try to cement political power. Donald Trump’s takeover of the complete apparatus of the Republican political party, his elevation by our evangelicals to near biblical status, and his mobilization of right-wing militaristic groups, plus his seeming ability to delay legal actions against him in our courts of law, has created for us a danger that most of the U.S. of A does not yet recognize or credit. After all, how many Americans watch MSNBC? And how many, FOX and OAN? That, it seems to me, is our job. To make Americans understand their choice in November, 2024 - democracy or fascism.
Well said, Joanna. Your clearly articulated the importance of the 2024 election: Democracy or Fascism.
And like our predecessors, we must ask ourselves what can we do—what must we do—to create a more peaceful future.” Blessed are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:9) "May their tribe increase."
The quote by Mr. Krasnov in the penultimate paragraph is stupefying in its arrogance, particularly given the underwhelming recent performance of Russian military forces. If he is accurately representing the views of the current Russian leadership, however, the importance of a vital, energized NATO is glaringly evident -- as is the necessity of the defeat of the pro-Russian political party in the November U.S. election.
(Style note to self: It is possible there are coherent thoughts in the preceding statement that might be revealed by removing the majority of the modifiers.) :-)
Note, James, on "the underwhelming recent performance of Russian military forces."
It happens, especially when thieves take over a country and make robbery from the top routine.
So many oligarchs and enablers of oligarchs there stole wholesale from funds technically allotted to those Russian military forces.
But they also stole from all the public assets there. Ruined a perfectly good health care system. Turned schools into (also-robbed-from) factories of the dumb. Stashed wives, girlfriends, and children in all the capital cities and spa resorts of western Europe.
See Oliver Bullough, "Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals." Also Frank Vogl, "The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption -- Endangering our Democracy."
Thank you for the references. I think you're right. Still, it just astonishes me that the Russian army is pressing its attack on the Ukraine with no strategy apparent other than to bludgeon the defenders with mass infantry assaults and massive artillery barrages. It's sorta working at the moment, but the incremental gains they are making are enormously costly. They will have to replace the losses of the minority volunteers from distant provinces, most of whom are not surviving to enjoy their bonuses. Once that source dries up, the ranks may be filled with Russian conscripts. Perhaps the leadership thinks the Ukranians, with so much of their Western aid on hold, will crack under the pressure. Perhaps they simply lack imagination, or the actual means to do anything other than what they're doing.
November can't come soon enough.
The strategy seems to be to wait for chump be in power again and hand over Ukraine.
True, imagine the US being involved in a stalemate 2+ years after invading Mexico. Authoritarian/kleptocrats make people and nations weak.