Your first two paragraphs had my blood pressure rise. Just the mere mention of Kushner and Navarro bring furor.
Grifters grift. If we have learned nothing else these horrid people wanted government out of their pockets but they helped themselves to money made off of our PPE equipment. The snide comment by Kushner, telling states that they were in their own, was so inhumane and cruel. I pray after the DOJ’s office finishes with going through the millions of papers they discovered, Kushner and Navarro will be held over a flame until they cry “uncle”. That really is my vision for any of the seditionists.
Biden is our guide. He has appointed competent people. We have to be grateful for that.
I'm afraid twe have no such luck! NZ is 2 islands. she shut it down and off from the world very early and caught the bug napping. She has done the same every time she has faced a rare imported case since. No messing with the lady.
Britain is an island but dithered and France refused to shut borders and test and quarantine any arrivals. We got what we deserved.
Come on Stuart. Who deserves death by disease? Death because of ignorance? Death because of poor judgement? No one, but it does happen and there is no dithering about that.
Will we do better next time and there will be a next time? Maybe is the only answer I can see. In fact, I can still see the past, my past. I admit to having had the following diseases: measles, mumps, chicken pox, scarlet fever, pnuemonia, whooping cough and an assortment of broken bones. All of these were when I was a child.
My children had none of these, except for the broken bones. That is an improvement over my generation and those before me.
We are on the edge of medical miracles. They have happened and are happening now.
These things are what we deserve. The comes and goes. Eventually, we will defeat those other things that come our way in the form of diseases.
Perfection, no, but better, yes.
You are so right that diseases caught us napping. Some of us are still asleep, but more of us are awakening. With awareness comes knowledge. With knowledge comes understanding. With understanding come wisdom.
The goal is to be wise enough to use our awareness, knowledge and understanding to do what will benefit us, our families and neighbors as well as people we have never met, nor will meet.
I was in NZ last year, returning to the US on March 12, just as everything was shutting down. Jacinda (as my NZ relatives refer to her) gave online updates during their initial shutdown to reassure citizens and explain the rationale behind the decisions being made. She was an inspiring example of calm, confident, science-driven leadership.
I didn’t say anyone was, especially at this point since the election is over. It is obnoxious though on this site that you can’t say anything negative about Biden without getting raked over the coals. I know everyone here thinks he is some kind of second coming of FDR but sorry to say that is just not the case. FDR would have pushed for Medicare for all and a much larger jobs guarantee.
FDR came to the Presidency after the shock of the ‘29 Crash in the bottom of the depression, crippled, with a brilliant wife, comparisons always break down, but FDRs following was a higher percentage of the population. Bidens only been in office a few months. Let’s see what he does next.
It is a good thing to remember how incompetent the previous administration really was. (Paul Krugman has an essay in a similar vein about the 2017 tax cuts in the OpEd page of today's NY Times.)
There really are things, very necessary things, only government can do. Dealing with a national pandemic probably tops the list.
Not just a cruel and stupid policy, but also underlying desperation that the chaotic, ineffective, destructive (and sometimes completely absent) “government” under the previous occupant of the WH would be discovered. And eventually it was.
More to come, no doubt, re incompetence and cruelty of the last administration. I consoled two children along the way imploring them to stay the course at Dept of State and DOJ. As I explained, we need good people in place to recover from the atrocities committed.
I imagine that as a difficult challenge. Thank you! Without good and effective worker bees holding up Justice and Diplomacy how can we ever hold the crooks accountable or right the ship? 🙏
Well, my prosecutor son is 40 and my FSO daughter 37. Does that make them "young" adults? Some would say yes. I would say they are in the prime of their career!
This is why I keep rattling the cage re Floriduh's 2022 Governor's race. Ron DeSantis is an iDJT sycophant if there ever was one. He must be defeated and replaced with Democrat to turn Florida around. We'll need much support from around the country to make this happen.
We need to do everything we can to get rid of DeSantis, Rubio and Rick Scott. DeSantis has screwed up this state even more than when he assumed office. And he recently received his COVID shot without any publicity. It would have gone a long way to encourage his followers to do so as well, but instead he covers his eyes and says everything is fine. And, while we are at it, we have to somehow get rid of the Republican state legislators. They are about to pass that hideous bill which makes protesting in public (group more than 3) subject to arrest.
Perhaps. A lot can happen between now and 2024, most importantly HR 1 and major infrastructure legislation. To me, the mid-term 2022 election is the very big deal. If the pandemic has been tamed and the above legislation has been enacted, I think the Democrats have a better than even chance of keeping their congressional majorities. That would be immense.
Right now the public face of the Republican Party is Matt Gaetz.
With the filibuster staying in its current form, see Manchin, HR1 is going nowhere.
Six months from now it will be “Matt who?”
As this article points out, we, as a nation, are known for our short memory.
I wish I could think of solid reasons why the Dems will hold the House in midterms, but I can’t. Trump has a stranglehold on his followers.
If the House is lost, the first order of business will to impeach Biden. Not once, but twice; just like Trump was impeached twice. Revenge politics at its worst.
I know nothing of the law in your country, but in the US, no matter how serious the allegations may be, the accused is given the presumption of innocence. See the current Chauvin trial.
What is in question is a regime so constipated that seditious conspirators can continue their activities without let or hindrance.
Suchlike have gotten away with plenty in my country too... likewise because our constitutional arrangements are no longer adequate to protect us from mountebanks and worse.
All this travesty will be forgotten, and the repubs will find something more to lie about. The Dems need to keep reminding: Republicans Lying, Americans Dying (and they continue to do worse than that)...
Right now that pubic face is self destructing. Challenging Cheney on her own home turf will end up with both R’s and D’Souza burying him for his peckerdilloes.
but the day is young.... a few months from now, when the high marks for Biden will keep rolling in... 'they' will see....the economy will heal, slowly at first, but then it will become bigger and better, ...the infrastructure boom will roll out... jobs reports will look better and better...the new dawn will just keep rising, and I don't think they will have a leg to stand on...
Paul Krugman had two opinion pieces in the NYT on April 9. One dealt with the looming defeat of democracy here because of State voter repression laws and the other, a reprint from his 'newsletter' dealt with taxes. I referred to the latter. BetsyC refers to that column below.
Absolutely— if there was ever a problem that needed federal leadership it is and was this pandemic. We are most fortunate to have a president who understands this and is forging ahead.
"But what it [the 2020 pandemic] has taught us about government is important to remember."
It certainly is. When I saw Kushner's name again, I was reminded just how successful Trump's family was in looting the country during the pandemic and during Trump's entire term of office. I want to see Jarvanka (Jared + Ivanka) held to account for all the money they made during Trump's time in office. I'm sure Trump delayed telling the public about Covid in order to use the time figuring out how his family could make a fortune off of it.
I hope we do not forget Kushner’s immorality and criminal tendencies as time passes. He’s young and could re-emerge in government since he’s so arrogant.
Thinking about the loss of the vote to unionize at Amazon and President Biden’s plea to keep wearing masks, I’m wondering if the former failed 45, the iDJT, and his followers have turned into smarmy 2 year olds saying “You’re not the boss of me.” The mass murderer should be ashamed to show his face. I recently watched the outstanding Ken Burns film on Mark Twain (Amazon Prime) who was embarrassed that he had to declare bankruptcy and worked years to repay all his debts. Before his publishing company failed, General Grant’s autobiography was Clemens’ biggest moneymaker. Now our democracy is threatened by a bully who declared bankruptcy 6 times, left thousands unpaid, and said not paying taxes makes him smart. Fauci and others needed protection against threats by bullies. Biden’s election should have given him setup time and money to form a new government but he was shut out for almost three months. He has done an amazing job since January 20 righting the wrongs Republicans would like us to forget. Thank you HCR and other historians for keeping truth alive. Let’s do our part!
I'm loving "iDJT" as I struggle as many do to avoid using the former president's name. I was slow on the uptake, thinking at first it was a typo! I prefer "idgit" to "idiot" so "iDJT" fits right in with my style. Consider it adopted!
I had never noticed how the initials fit until I saw it in capitals. Apologies to the person on this list who originated it. Please show yourself and take a bow.
Alabama is a very tough nut for unions to crack. It's a right-to-work state, the hallmark of which is that no one is actually guaranteed a job. Bah.
Still, I think that soon enough there will be a breakthrough at an Amazon facility somewhere else, in a more hospitable organizing environment. A successful union drive in the heart of the global online economy could be a turning point in putting movement back in the labor movement.
As for Grant, the general and president of freedom, it was long rumored that his Memoirs were brilliant because Twain actually wrote the majority. Not so. The same brilliance also appears in Grant's letters, wartime dispatches and orders. It's unmistakably the same level of talent.
I was born & raised in Alabama, daughter of URW Local 351. We had many parades in Tuscaloosa, maybe 5 a year? Just a guess. High School Bands from all over West Alabama joined in. The Milliin Dollar Band from UA often participated. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, floats galore. The biggest parade of the year was the Labor Day Parade. It was an all day event for many. The year Gulf States Paper Corp. closed the paper mill was the beginning of the end to union strength, at least in Tuscaloosa. The owner told striking workers that he would close the plant before giving them what they wanted. The history buffs among you might enjoy this piece about it.
Thank you for your response. I was feeling that President Biden’s mention of the union vote was what turned it negative. There are so many nasty lying trolls out there, from Fox News on down, or rather, on up. I’m looking forward to reading Grant. My high school history teacher called him Useless and now I’m wondering why.
Thank you too, Gigi. Grant's "Personal Memoirs" are very detailed, and only the annotated edition released about the same time as Chernow's biography has adequate maps to ID numerous place names. It takes effort to read, but may be worth it. Chernow's "Grant" is among the great American biogs; you may prefer to start there. Happy reading.
Its pretty crazy to see "Sado Populism" at work. When people vote against their own long term interest. I agree.
There is something similar to voting not to unionize, and refusing to mask and vaccinate. I've thought that we need better communications from the CDC to pull at peoples heart strings to change their behavior. Biden needs a stronger/better PR campaign to communicate to the masses. Biden Admin needs to fund more convincing messages for public health. We needed to do this from the start and are not. I still don't think we are communicating effectively to change behavior, and until we do, this pandemic will go to extra innings.
This is how the admin could pull harder on the heart strings of all Americans, its a messaging ad of empathy from Cleveland Clinic....but it would be an easy format to adjust to promote masks and vax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8
Indeed! Maybe our pols need to be reminded of this. I keep returning to 14th century Siena and Lorenzetti’s allegory: “The Allegory of Good and Bad Government is a series of three fresco panels painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between February 1338 and May 1339. The paintings are located in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico—specifically in the Sala dei Nove ("Salon of Nine"), the council hall of the Republic of Siena's nine executive magistrates,[2] elected officials who performed executive functions (and judicial ones in secular matters). The paintings have been construed as being "designed to remind the Nine [magistrates] of just how much was at stake as they made their decisions".[3]
Considered Lorenzetti's "undisputed masterpiece",[4] the series consists of six different scenes (the titles are all modern conveniences):
Allegory of Good Government
Allegory of Bad Government
Effects of Bad Government in the City
Effects of Bad Government in the Country
Effects of Good Government in the City
Effects of Good Government in the Country“ Thanks to Wikipedia.
Mary, what a delight to find out about this. I visited Siena but did not know to look for it. I found it interesting that “ The virtues of Good Government are represented by six crowned, stately female figures: Peace, Fortitude, and Prudence on the left, Magnanimity, Temperance, and Justice on the right. On the far left of the fresco the figure of Justice is repeated as she is balancing the scales held by Wisdom. All women.
Jan, thank YOU for pointing this out. The "all women" observation somehow passed me by!I I guess it all seemed totally natural! However, I did enjoy this: https://youtu.be/NouQ7eoPFUs. Worth 2 min and 27 secs of your time!
Thank you Mary, for highlighting these famous frescos. A few years ago they were described on TV in a memorable scene from The Good Wife, to explain running for office.
Thank you TPJ. Spent the day - first in over a year - in little community 40 miles or so south of San Fran, to visit a well known goat dairy and check out the baby goats, and buy fresh goat cheese. It was wonderful to be out and about (carefully, of course), enjoy the ocean, and once again the local family-run tavern where I first ate artichoke soup, fresh fish, and their famous Olallieberry pie in 1973. I came home exhausted from walking around the goat farm and checking out the lovely creatures, and actually seeing so many people again. I am looking forward to checking out your source tomorrow, when I have recovered. It's lovely to linger over "pleasures".
I'm not surprised but I am assured by your history lesson. It further strengthens my belief that history repeat (more like rhymes) but through the course of human existence, it slowly improves.
The frustrating thing is human behavior severely lags behind human technology. The tech/internet/social media boom is the most recent example.
Every time we get new tools to raise the human condition, humans find a way to pound it back into the ground.
So liberals can keep aspiring to new heights and conservative can keep insisting change is bad but that takes me back to my good/bad people comment. It's the most simplest things that are often the hardest to achieve.
"Slowly improves" might slightly understate the changes to civilization in the past 500 years versus those in the previous 1000 years when little change occurred. And the rate of change (and the requirements for change) seems to still be increasing. What was true 75 years ago when I was born (such as a submissive response to overwhelming force) isn't happening anymore. Poor Third World countries are standing up to Superpowers and outlasting them (eg: Afghanistan vs USSR & US; Vietnam vs US & China) A very different result than when South America bowed before European guns and diseases.
When I think of change, I think of the Iroquois concept of "seven generations," and the lyrics to Susan Werner's song, "May I Suggest," especially this verse:
There is a hope / That's been expressed in you / The hope of seven generations, maybe more. And this is the faith / That they invest in you / It's that you'll do one better than was done before. Inside you know / Inside you understand / Inside you know what's yours to finally set right...
There are blinders on all of us ... love and loyalty render us unable to rebel against the past; unable to see the present; unable to conjure a better future. Intelligence and wisdom are no guarantee against these powerful forces which bind us together in families, clans, tribes, nations, and religious armies. Yet there are subtle forces that, like gravity, gently tug on our souls to be kind to a stranger, to hug an orphan, and to embrace a former enemy. It is these more subtle yearnings that bind all souls together, that unite humankind and earthlifekind. It may be justified for us to think ourselves special but it comes at a horrible price when it compels us to think others "evil."
Mary you gave of the place, the time, the subject matter - a perfect representations for the meaning of today's Letter. Thank you. Now I want to see the pictures.
Fern, I remember the first time I saw them, and was “blown away”! Wish I could go back and see them again! But that’s a big question mark at my age, however no harm in “dreaming” that maybe I’ll go back, and maybe our “pols” will “get it”.
Your first two paragraphs had my blood pressure rise. Just the mere mention of Kushner and Navarro bring furor.
Grifters grift. If we have learned nothing else these horrid people wanted government out of their pockets but they helped themselves to money made off of our PPE equipment. The snide comment by Kushner, telling states that they were in their own, was so inhumane and cruel. I pray after the DOJ’s office finishes with going through the millions of papers they discovered, Kushner and Navarro will be held over a flame until they cry “uncle”. That really is my vision for any of the seditionists.
Biden is our guide. He has appointed competent people. We have to be grateful for that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8j7ZeJrxqU
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand PM, has suspended travel from India.
IMHO, she is exemplary in her steadfast, intelligent leadership. Is there not one of her in France? Great Britain?
What does it take to inspire the people? To vote? To grow a country? Asking for a friend.
I'm afraid twe have no such luck! NZ is 2 islands. she shut it down and off from the world very early and caught the bug napping. She has done the same every time she has faced a rare imported case since. No messing with the lady.
Britain is an island but dithered and France refused to shut borders and test and quarantine any arrivals. We got what we deserved.
Pity, no one deserves obnoxiously poor leadership. I find this lack on the part of our politicians to be criminal.
That's what you get when people start to consider politics a career rathe than a vocation to serve.
Ah yes — a vocation. That would require a world view of “No man is an island sufficient unto himself”, right?
Truth.
We need to remember and remind often, especially as 2022 rolls around: Republicans Lying, Americans Dying:/
Agree, Karen. Please repost this regularly!
Who disagrees with that? The criminals do that is who.
Come on Stuart. Who deserves death by disease? Death because of ignorance? Death because of poor judgement? No one, but it does happen and there is no dithering about that.
Will we do better next time and there will be a next time? Maybe is the only answer I can see. In fact, I can still see the past, my past. I admit to having had the following diseases: measles, mumps, chicken pox, scarlet fever, pnuemonia, whooping cough and an assortment of broken bones. All of these were when I was a child.
My children had none of these, except for the broken bones. That is an improvement over my generation and those before me.
We are on the edge of medical miracles. They have happened and are happening now.
These things are what we deserve. The comes and goes. Eventually, we will defeat those other things that come our way in the form of diseases.
Perfection, no, but better, yes.
You are so right that diseases caught us napping. Some of us are still asleep, but more of us are awakening. With awareness comes knowledge. With knowledge comes understanding. With understanding come wisdom.
The goal is to be wise enough to use our awareness, knowledge and understanding to do what will benefit us, our families and neighbors as well as people we have never met, nor will meet.
World's greatest leader. New Zealand, please annex us.
I was in NZ last year, returning to the US on March 12, just as everything was shutting down. Jacinda (as my NZ relatives refer to her) gave online updates during their initial shutdown to reassure citizens and explain the rationale behind the decisions being made. She was an inspiring example of calm, confident, science-driven leadership.
A common enemy.
Biden is our guide into the next decade of corporatocracy.
Consider the alternatives. Thanks but no thanks.
Yeah agreed. Still sucks though.
True
Who’s better ?
I didn’t say anyone was, especially at this point since the election is over. It is obnoxious though on this site that you can’t say anything negative about Biden without getting raked over the coals. I know everyone here thinks he is some kind of second coming of FDR but sorry to say that is just not the case. FDR would have pushed for Medicare for all and a much larger jobs guarantee.
FDR came to the Presidency after the shock of the ‘29 Crash in the bottom of the depression, crippled, with a brilliant wife, comparisons always break down, but FDRs following was a higher percentage of the population. Bidens only been in office a few months. Let’s see what he does next.
It is a good thing to remember how incompetent the previous administration really was. (Paul Krugman has an essay in a similar vein about the 2017 tax cuts in the OpEd page of today's NY Times.)
There really are things, very necessary things, only government can do. Dealing with a national pandemic probably tops the list.
Yes: and deplorable that the Biden Transition Team was blocked from information to plan, target and speed his fledgling administration's efforts.
I had forgotten about that cruel and stupid policy. There was so much about those terrible years that was cruel and stupid that details get forgotten.
Thank you for the reminder.
Not just a cruel and stupid policy, but also underlying desperation that the chaotic, ineffective, destructive (and sometimes completely absent) “government” under the previous occupant of the WH would be discovered. And eventually it was.
More to come, no doubt, re incompetence and cruelty of the last administration. I consoled two children along the way imploring them to stay the course at Dept of State and DOJ. As I explained, we need good people in place to recover from the atrocities committed.
Yes, horrific incompetence. I knew I was forgetting an adjective. I agree.
I imagine that as a difficult challenge. Thank you! Without good and effective worker bees holding up Justice and Diplomacy how can we ever hold the crooks accountable or right the ship? 🙏
They stayed and I am immensely proud of both of them!
Are you speaking of young adults? Who possibly had responsible jobs at the agencies you are bringing up?
Well, my prosecutor son is 40 and my FSO daughter 37. Does that make them "young" adults? Some would say yes. I would say they are in the prime of their career!
And yet in 2024 a Trump sycophant will make a formidable opponent for Biden. Too many states are tilting the table to favor a Republican victory.
This is why I keep rattling the cage re Floriduh's 2022 Governor's race. Ron DeSantis is an iDJT sycophant if there ever was one. He must be defeated and replaced with Democrat to turn Florida around. We'll need much support from around the country to make this happen.
We need to do everything we can to get rid of DeSantis, Rubio and Rick Scott. DeSantis has screwed up this state even more than when he assumed office. And he recently received his COVID shot without any publicity. It would have gone a long way to encourage his followers to do so as well, but instead he covers his eyes and says everything is fine. And, while we are at it, we have to somehow get rid of the Republican state legislators. They are about to pass that hideous bill which makes protesting in public (group more than 3) subject to arrest.
"That hideous bill which makes protesting in public (group more than 3) subject to arrest".
And why not reduce the group to 1 like Putin's zombie Duma? Like Lukashenko... Like Hitler, like Stalin, like Mao, come to think of it...
Then set the goons on any single human who's foolish enough to stand out of line to batter the brains out of him.
Have you no means to deal with common gangsters who've gotten themselves into positions of authority?
While there's still time...
That’s why I’m calling every day this week. STOP these FASCISTS NOW!
Yes!
Shades of 60 years of dictator Salazar in Portugalunyil the Carnation Revolution of 1974!
Can it be done? Who is Florida's Stacey Abrams?
Kelly, we’ve got your back!
Thanks for making my day!
Yes, we do!
Perhaps. A lot can happen between now and 2024, most importantly HR 1 and major infrastructure legislation. To me, the mid-term 2022 election is the very big deal. If the pandemic has been tamed and the above legislation has been enacted, I think the Democrats have a better than even chance of keeping their congressional majorities. That would be immense.
Right now the public face of the Republican Party is Matt Gaetz.
With the filibuster staying in its current form, see Manchin, HR1 is going nowhere.
Six months from now it will be “Matt who?”
As this article points out, we, as a nation, are known for our short memory.
I wish I could think of solid reasons why the Dems will hold the House in midterms, but I can’t. Trump has a stranglehold on his followers.
If the House is lost, the first order of business will to impeach Biden. Not once, but twice; just like Trump was impeached twice. Revenge politics at its worst.
For heaven's sake, is your country so incapable of dealing with major criminals?
I know nothing of the law in your country, but in the US, no matter how serious the allegations may be, the accused is given the presumption of innocence. See the current Chauvin trial.
The presumption of innocence is not in question.
What is in question is a regime so constipated that seditious conspirators can continue their activities without let or hindrance.
Suchlike have gotten away with plenty in my country too... likewise because our constitutional arrangements are no longer adequate to protect us from mountebanks and worse.
At this point, it appears at least 40% approve of lies and thievery. I don’t see how anyone can argue with that point?
40% of who? By the way who took the poll matters.
In bad economic times, evil gets an easy foothold. Desperate people will take risks. The mafias are always there just under the surface.
I know. Don't we all? But I used the word "major" for individuals like those who've brought the "Cupola" under the cupola of the Capitol.
Those who'll bring discredit to normal "business" of that order.
No, we send them to Mar A Lago for training. The only trouble is that the trainers are incompetent who lie, cheat and steal.
Just a note: his followers are a vocal minority. They lost the Presidency, the House and the Senate. Not a good !
A minority only 74 million strong and unfortunately we haven’t yet figured out a way to feed people the truth for breakfast, lunch and dinner
All this travesty will be forgotten, and the repubs will find something more to lie about. The Dems need to keep reminding: Republicans Lying, Americans Dying (and they continue to do worse than that)...
Right now that pubic face is self destructing. Challenging Cheney on her own home turf will end up with both R’s and D’Souza burying him for his peckerdilloes.
But we will have some Josh Hawley type sycophant stepping up to take 45’s place on the podium. Might even be Marjorie Taylor Greene.
but the day is young.... a few months from now, when the high marks for Biden will keep rolling in... 'they' will see....the economy will heal, slowly at first, but then it will become bigger and better, ...the infrastructure boom will roll out... jobs reports will look better and better...the new dawn will just keep rising, and I don't think they will have a leg to stand on...
This will certainly be true so long as we continue to blame Trump for the next four years for any failure to meet the urgent needs of the poor.
Krugman's column not only aims at those tax cuts, but attacks the real problem, legal "tax avoidance."
Jacob to which column do you refer?
Paul Krugman had two opinion pieces in the NYT on April 9. One dealt with the looming defeat of democracy here because of State voter repression laws and the other, a reprint from his 'newsletter' dealt with taxes. I referred to the latter. BetsyC refers to that column below.
WaPo had a Krugman "wonkish" OP ed column yesterday.
His influence will last more than 4 years. It will eventually fade into the smoke of history.
Absolutely— if there was ever a problem that needed federal leadership it is and was this pandemic. We are most fortunate to have a president who understands this and is forging ahead.
"But what it [the 2020 pandemic] has taught us about government is important to remember."
It certainly is. When I saw Kushner's name again, I was reminded just how successful Trump's family was in looting the country during the pandemic and during Trump's entire term of office. I want to see Jarvanka (Jared + Ivanka) held to account for all the money they made during Trump's time in office. I'm sure Trump delayed telling the public about Covid in order to use the time figuring out how his family could make a fortune off of it.
Time to bring in the forensic accountants.
I hope we do not forget Kushner’s immorality and criminal tendencies as time passes. He’s young and could re-emerge in government since he’s so arrogant.
They are already on the AG's team in NYC pouring over the finacial archives;
Thinking about the loss of the vote to unionize at Amazon and President Biden’s plea to keep wearing masks, I’m wondering if the former failed 45, the iDJT, and his followers have turned into smarmy 2 year olds saying “You’re not the boss of me.” The mass murderer should be ashamed to show his face. I recently watched the outstanding Ken Burns film on Mark Twain (Amazon Prime) who was embarrassed that he had to declare bankruptcy and worked years to repay all his debts. Before his publishing company failed, General Grant’s autobiography was Clemens’ biggest moneymaker. Now our democracy is threatened by a bully who declared bankruptcy 6 times, left thousands unpaid, and said not paying taxes makes him smart. Fauci and others needed protection against threats by bullies. Biden’s election should have given him setup time and money to form a new government but he was shut out for almost three months. He has done an amazing job since January 20 righting the wrongs Republicans would like us to forget. Thank you HCR and other historians for keeping truth alive. Let’s do our part!
I'm loving "iDJT" as I struggle as many do to avoid using the former president's name. I was slow on the uptake, thinking at first it was a typo! I prefer "idgit" to "idiot" so "iDJT" fits right in with my style. Consider it adopted!
Very succinct! Thanks.
I'm still fond of "Der Pu$$enGropenFuhrer."
Delirium J. Tremens
A proud RINQ
?
Republican in Name Qanon. RIHO - is Republican in name only.
I had never noticed how the initials fit until I saw it in capitals. Apologies to the person on this list who originated it. Please show yourself and take a bow.
Although I have been using it frequently especially on FB, I can’t claim making it up. I try to rotate monikers.
iDJT is going to stick. Nice one Kelly!
I repeated it from Gigi above. I love it!
Alabama is a very tough nut for unions to crack. It's a right-to-work state, the hallmark of which is that no one is actually guaranteed a job. Bah.
Still, I think that soon enough there will be a breakthrough at an Amazon facility somewhere else, in a more hospitable organizing environment. A successful union drive in the heart of the global online economy could be a turning point in putting movement back in the labor movement.
As for Grant, the general and president of freedom, it was long rumored that his Memoirs were brilliant because Twain actually wrote the majority. Not so. The same brilliance also appears in Grant's letters, wartime dispatches and orders. It's unmistakably the same level of talent.
I was born & raised in Alabama, daughter of URW Local 351. We had many parades in Tuscaloosa, maybe 5 a year? Just a guess. High School Bands from all over West Alabama joined in. The Milliin Dollar Band from UA often participated. Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, floats galore. The biggest parade of the year was the Labor Day Parade. It was an all day event for many. The year Gulf States Paper Corp. closed the paper mill was the beginning of the end to union strength, at least in Tuscaloosa. The owner told striking workers that he would close the plant before giving them what they wanted. The history buffs among you might enjoy this piece about it.
Defender of Robber Barons Who Spends Like a King https://nyti.ms/1kjrijh
Thank you for your response. I was feeling that President Biden’s mention of the union vote was what turned it negative. There are so many nasty lying trolls out there, from Fox News on down, or rather, on up. I’m looking forward to reading Grant. My high school history teacher called him Useless and now I’m wondering why.
Thank you too, Gigi. Grant's "Personal Memoirs" are very detailed, and only the annotated edition released about the same time as Chernow's biography has adequate maps to ID numerous place names. It takes effort to read, but may be worth it. Chernow's "Grant" is among the great American biogs; you may prefer to start there. Happy reading.
Its pretty crazy to see "Sado Populism" at work. When people vote against their own long term interest. I agree.
There is something similar to voting not to unionize, and refusing to mask and vaccinate. I've thought that we need better communications from the CDC to pull at peoples heart strings to change their behavior. Biden needs a stronger/better PR campaign to communicate to the masses. Biden Admin needs to fund more convincing messages for public health. We needed to do this from the start and are not. I still don't think we are communicating effectively to change behavior, and until we do, this pandemic will go to extra innings.
This is how the admin could pull harder on the heart strings of all Americans, its a messaging ad of empathy from Cleveland Clinic....but it would be an easy format to adjust to promote masks and vax: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8
Governments are only as good or bad as the people elected to run them. This should be our new national motto.
Yes! Pass S1, S4. 561,956 reasons and counting. Never Forget. ❤️🤍💙
Never forget, unfortunately it is what we are good at.
Excellent phrasing, Deborah. 561,956 reasons (and counting) to pass S1/S4
Posted this. Thanks.
Indeed! Maybe our pols need to be reminded of this. I keep returning to 14th century Siena and Lorenzetti’s allegory: “The Allegory of Good and Bad Government is a series of three fresco panels painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti between February 1338 and May 1339. The paintings are located in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico—specifically in the Sala dei Nove ("Salon of Nine"), the council hall of the Republic of Siena's nine executive magistrates,[2] elected officials who performed executive functions (and judicial ones in secular matters). The paintings have been construed as being "designed to remind the Nine [magistrates] of just how much was at stake as they made their decisions".[3]
Considered Lorenzetti's "undisputed masterpiece",[4] the series consists of six different scenes (the titles are all modern conveniences):
Allegory of Good Government
Allegory of Bad Government
Effects of Bad Government in the City
Effects of Bad Government in the Country
Effects of Good Government in the City
Effects of Good Government in the Country“ Thanks to Wikipedia.
Gotta love History!!!
Thank you! Here’s a link. https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a35375363/allegory-good-and-bad-government-painting/
Lovely. Thank you!
Thank you for this.
Kate, This gift is absolutely precious. Many thanks.
Thank You!!
Mary, what a delight to find out about this. I visited Siena but did not know to look for it. I found it interesting that “ The virtues of Good Government are represented by six crowned, stately female figures: Peace, Fortitude, and Prudence on the left, Magnanimity, Temperance, and Justice on the right. On the far left of the fresco the figure of Justice is repeated as she is balancing the scales held by Wisdom. All women.
Jan, thank YOU for pointing this out. The "all women" observation somehow passed me by!I I guess it all seemed totally natural! However, I did enjoy this: https://youtu.be/NouQ7eoPFUs. Worth 2 min and 27 secs of your time!
Inspiring video! It's time the U.S. caught up to the rest of the world.
WOW!
Thank you Mary, for highlighting these famous frescos. A few years ago they were described on TV in a memorable scene from The Good Wife, to explain running for office.
https://www.google.com/search?q=siena+fresco+good+government&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjbwv7mkvXvAhW4FVkFHVuWAoEQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1025&bih=491
Thank you TPJ. Spent the day - first in over a year - in little community 40 miles or so south of San Fran, to visit a well known goat dairy and check out the baby goats, and buy fresh goat cheese. It was wonderful to be out and about (carefully, of course), enjoy the ocean, and once again the local family-run tavern where I first ate artichoke soup, fresh fish, and their famous Olallieberry pie in 1973. I came home exhausted from walking around the goat farm and checking out the lovely creatures, and actually seeing so many people again. I am looking forward to checking out your source tomorrow, when I have recovered. It's lovely to linger over "pleasures".
I'm not surprised but I am assured by your history lesson. It further strengthens my belief that history repeat (more like rhymes) but through the course of human existence, it slowly improves.
The frustrating thing is human behavior severely lags behind human technology. The tech/internet/social media boom is the most recent example.
Every time we get new tools to raise the human condition, humans find a way to pound it back into the ground.
So liberals can keep aspiring to new heights and conservative can keep insisting change is bad but that takes me back to my good/bad people comment. It's the most simplest things that are often the hardest to achieve.
Gosh!
"Slowly improves" might slightly understate the changes to civilization in the past 500 years versus those in the previous 1000 years when little change occurred. And the rate of change (and the requirements for change) seems to still be increasing. What was true 75 years ago when I was born (such as a submissive response to overwhelming force) isn't happening anymore. Poor Third World countries are standing up to Superpowers and outlasting them (eg: Afghanistan vs USSR & US; Vietnam vs US & China) A very different result than when South America bowed before European guns and diseases.
When I think of change, I think of the Iroquois concept of "seven generations," and the lyrics to Susan Werner's song, "May I Suggest," especially this verse:
There is a hope / That's been expressed in you / The hope of seven generations, maybe more. And this is the faith / That they invest in you / It's that you'll do one better than was done before. Inside you know / Inside you understand / Inside you know what's yours to finally set right...
There are blinders on all of us ... love and loyalty render us unable to rebel against the past; unable to see the present; unable to conjure a better future. Intelligence and wisdom are no guarantee against these powerful forces which bind us together in families, clans, tribes, nations, and religious armies. Yet there are subtle forces that, like gravity, gently tug on our souls to be kind to a stranger, to hug an orphan, and to embrace a former enemy. It is these more subtle yearnings that bind all souls together, that unite humankind and earthlifekind. It may be justified for us to think ourselves special but it comes at a horrible price when it compels us to think others "evil."
Mary you gave of the place, the time, the subject matter - a perfect representations for the meaning of today's Letter. Thank you. Now I want to see the pictures.
Fern, I remember the first time I saw them, and was “blown away”! Wish I could go back and see them again! But that’s a big question mark at my age, however no harm in “dreaming” that maybe I’ll go back, and maybe our “pols” will “get it”.
We have dreams to keep alive, Mary.
Indeed😊
I’ve been to Siena many times, but did not se this. Thanks for sharing!