I find it astounding that Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema seems to understand the rule of law better than our current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and several of his Republican colleagues.
I find it astounding that Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema seems to understand the rule of law better than our current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and several of his Republican colleagues.
President Hichilema summarized fundamentals that any member of a democratic society should know, though it is refreshing to hear it clearly articulated now and again. A member of Congress should know it backwards and forward.
They do know it well enough. The rule of law in their opinions must bend and change according to their whims and needs. They have no use for democracy whatsoever. Witness the latest manifestation of corrupting the Floridian justice system to enable DeSantis to retain his political office while seeking the presidency. If that doesn’t spell out clearly the danger of radical political espionage to the country as a whole then Chicken Little was correct in her assessment that “the sky is falling.” Out here in the hinterlands of the nation we bluntly call that “shitting a little close to the house.” I don’t find that tolerable. Not even in a state as tits up as Idaho. Out here the sheer beauty slaps you in the face yet people drop their pants and stink it up to high Heaven. I can only imagine the odor in Florida! What the hell are you people thinking?
Very well put, Pat. And then there is the greater Idaho movement here in Oregon. If they don't get their way, then the pols here in Salem are not listening to them. Whining is what they do well as well as making a supreme effort, as you have noted, to destroy the environment that sustains them.
I lived for about 5 years in Curry county. We fished logged milked cows cut Christmas trees worked at the plywood mill mostly sustained by extractive industry. That is a geographically isolated area. When it wasn’t dumping 125 inches of rain, the wind blew off the ocean at 60. I lived at the Knapp ranch on the ocean front just by Cape Blanco. We had 5 days a year of fairy tale weather. The people rarely looked in the direction of Salem until industry matured and extraction took its inevitable toll. With all their toys gone the people began to disappear as well. Our youth sought other environs. To say Oregon is conflicted is understating. Education is still Oregon’s best known characteristic. Having been schooled in Mt. Utah, Colorado, SouthDakota, Wyoming, and Oregon I think your state has a large margin of victory. We always said that might cause dismay among those who prefer ignorance.
When we visited Cape Blanco, it was shrouded in fog....couldn't see a thing. Got a flat in the middle of nowhere on 101 in the rain, but did get help from someone coming out of the road we had pulled into. We went back to a small place with an incredible junkyard and he fixed the tire, so we could get back to Florence. I would say that in comparison to the states you mention, we do well in education although you wouldn't know it by the constant complaints about it. Already the new super for the Salem Keizer school district is being dissed as being too woke as she believes in inclusiveness. She begins the job in the summer.
"Ignorance is bliss"., There are millions of bliss-filled morons in the U.S. To learn properly takes commitment and work. For too many, being in the know is far too demanding. Their ignorance makes them hostile to the world around them.
Ally we were south on the mouth of Elk River. I have to admit trading the blizzards of Montana and Wyoming for the Sandstorms of Oregon was about a trade off. Being in a30 foot boat in 50 foot waves was actually more fun than riding bucking horses. I left a huge chunk of heart on The Knapp Ranch. Harold and Mary and Mike and David and Carol Ann and Mary2. Salt of the earth. Should mention Ken too as he ran off with Carol Ann.
Eastern Washington periodically tries to merge with the Idaho panhandle. There's a lot of red in this part of the state. And we have the same whining. (And Cathy McMorris Rodgers for our rep.....ugh)
Hey hey!!! Having grown up in a kinder, gentler Idaho I am pleased to hear there are still great people living there. Pat, you made my day! Thank you.🤗🦋🌈
Idaho has great people even my relatives aren’t too bad. You know how it is. You don’t talk politics or religion here and everyone will put up with you.
I liked NYS. Spent some time trying to freeze to death at Ft. Drum one winter. Bear hunters as I recall. Twenty two below zero. Yer right. No politics no religion just a bunch of tough people. Had to go back to Montana to warm up. Famous smokejumper Steve Stutzbach was from NYS. Charming man, tough, good with his fists. If death didn’t get ya dynamite did. He stood up.
There’s a lot of good people everywhere. The need is to establish what’s good for the whole, and work the best with the marginalized/mentally ill/lower functioning, and the rich. The balances are sometimes delicate. From the get-go coming to this country and colonizing we see where much had to change , by now we should have grasped the principles and set in place what works best for the whole. The most important aspects -water, food, housing, medical care, security all need an understanding how to respect. Water needs kept clean ,food needs good agricultural practices, housing needs solid construction - environmentally designed for endurance, medical care needs to be available to all ,security doesn’t mean enough bombs to eradicate the human race, and education is key to let potential develop and sustain even greater progress. We certainly know irradiating a certain country, race, or population isn’t an answer .Yet, over and over this has been done, is being done.
The American (or whosever )Dream seems to be get rich...so what is enough? Beyond that the wealth dispersed to provide for the ALL. Greed and power -how to identify- how to reign in the abuse of it- what defines THAT?
Everyone is perfectly aware climate change is happening. Whether it’s a cycle or a result of_ _ _ _ ....you can’t pollute the water, cut most of the trees, eat only junk food, or keep extracting when the supply is gone.
Got to be a lot of BALANCES agreed upon .
As Joyce marvelously says: ‘We’re all in this together.’
The only other Pat Cole I know is the Pat Kole I met in the nursery when he arrived a couple hours after I was born. Our parents later became good friends. Pat later became an attorney and chief Idaho potato spokesman and promoter!
I did reside in Michigan from time to time. I always put up at Charlie’s Country Corner off I-75 at Greyling. I loved Michigan except for its scolds er cold wind.
Across the highway from Kirtland Community College! I live closer to Traverse City, but covered all of northern Michigan in my work. Through lots of scolds!
I find it astounding that most high school civics students "understand the rule of law better than our current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and several of his Republican colleagues." I don't understand why it would be astounding to anyone that an intelligent, eloquent, democratically elected leader of an African country would not be expected to have a thorough understanding of the rule of law.
I am afraid we don’t teach civics & government as effectively as we should.
My wife & I are well educated. We have over our life times been members via volunteering and elections to many organizations, school board, town board and now officers in our town and county political party organizations. Every opportunity & responsibility is a learning experience that we were never taught about in K-12 nor college. Though I did take political science.
All of our community work mentioned above, has been “political” in the sense of working with people. Some of whom were driven by personal ambition, rigid ideology, and belief systems that affected if not impeded our organization’s work. But in practical terms, our work has been about accomplishing the “business” of operating a school, town, library, farmers market, a local economy, and providing good candidates to be elected to also do this “business”. No school other than my general high quality education prepared us for this. I think we could have had much better education in terms of the specifics “why” and “how” of government and community organizations, and their operations.
Even with my experience, I could not rise above our political discourse and put the relationships of law, people and government into such succinct words as President Hichilema. As a nation and people, we must learn to do this to make our government and our personal responsibility towards government more useful and effective.
I’m a high school teacher. We haven’t stopped teaching civics. I don’t know why so many people think we have. Maybe because Republican voters are so belligerently ignorant about civics? People choose ignorance, often, even when they were taught well. Republican voters who shout about the Constitution are very selective of the parts they like, and those they ignore. For example, the First Amendment is clear in its ban of government promotion of religion. Yet Republicans find ways to ignore that and make bogus claims that “the Founders created America as a Christian nation”. We didn’t teach them that, they adopted it after high school. I don’t know if they believe such BS, or if they’re just spouting it to support their worldview.
Glad to hear that you teach it, but there are places where it is not taught anymore. I think it is intentional dumbing down for control by the corrupted party that has been planning authoritarian rule for decades.
As of three years ago (February 2020), 11 states reportedly had no civics requirements: Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Requirements are coming back in MA (where I live), and I hope in other states, but I think you'll agree that DE, ME, MA, NJ, OR, RI, and VT are not right-wing strongholds.
We need to stop spreading misinformation about public education. Most of the states you mention teach civics, but don’t call it that. Their Social Studies curricula cover American history, the Constitution, the structure of government, the workings of the executive, judicial and legislative branches, etc. I’m not going to bother googling all of them, but here are the links for Vermont.
States without Civics Course requirements may not be right wing, but notice that in each election there are a surprisingly large number who vote for the right wing agenda. [I am alert to the knowledge that 75 million people voted for Trump...]
" "I would rather have a thousand school board members than one president and no school board members,” Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition, said in a 1996 NewsHour interview, arguing that conservative Christians needed to expand local, grassroots organizing in order to raise money, turn out voters and promote their ideals at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court was reinforcing a ban on school prayer and reaffirming abortion rights."
That's conspiratorial thinking. Let's leave that to QAnon and stay focused. School curricula change all the time and there's nothing nefarious about it. Look what happened to Latin classes, homemaking (I had cooking and sewing lessons, while the boys got to make things out of wood in Shop class), etc. Of course, I'm not talking about the Republicans shutting down teaching about racial discrimination and black history, which is newly rejuvenated from the bowels of Jim Crow history. My point is that there was no federal government decision to end Civics instruction in public schools. Until recently, school district budgets determined which classes were eliminated.
It does seem that many conservatives want to stop funding public education, and that they are afraid of teaching anything to their children that might actually make them learn to think.
Maybe the problem has more to do with understanding English. The conservative wing of the Supreme Court fails to understand the complexities icontained in the phrases "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." or "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."
John R., where are you? As of February 2020, 11 states reportedly had no civics requirement. As noted below, most of them were not Republican-dominated states; in fact, one of them was Massachusetts, where I live. Civics *could* be taught, but it wasn't required. Civics requirements are making a comeback here and I hope in other places.
Ever since the February 2018 killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Florida, I've been impressed by the eloquence and persistence of several of the survivors. At the time they gave credit to both the government courses and the theater program at their school. I can't think of a better argument for including both in any high school curriculum.
I’m in NH. Just because states don’t call it “civics” doesn’t mean they’re not teaching what we mean by “civics”. Many states label it Social Studies, but they still cover everything we consider “civics”. See my post about 4-5 up for specifics (don’t want to repeat myself here).
have you discovered beth felker jones , practicing christian doctrine? theology professor n illinois, previously wheaton? new edition out in july. she's on substack too. i am a witness to progressive christians pushing us beyond God's truth. cancel culture being experienced.
i cannot speak to today's Commonwealth of VA's curriculum but back in my day US/VA government was taught and passing it was required for graduation. Those who failed did not march for diploma.
I'm a teacher too. If students haven't learned, then we haven't taught. Civics is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Are we teaching it at a young enough age and bringing it into every subject every year, not just a unit in it? Are we teaching from a book or lectures only, rather than acting it out and encouraging creativity in identifying problems and looking for ways to solve them?
I-search papers were a great way of citing a problem and seeking solutions. cooperative learning enabled everyone to participate and learn. reporting back from state legislatures, local government meetings, engaging in community services projects, reading several points of view, reading a variety of newspapers. never advocated for talking heads on cable tv.
Okay, I give up. The teachers are to blame. For MAGA, for Trump, for DeSantis, for Marjorie Taylor Greene. If there are ignorant voters anywhere, it’s the fault of teachers. I hope that makes everybody feel better.
I don't think anyone said that. Certified teachers are but one important resource that we have for educating the population. Children learn from many sources. Some states do it better than others. Some parents do it better than others. Some religious leaders do it better than others. It is a good thing that there are many resources.
Great comment, Nancy Jane. Applying it to the real world -- meaning the student's own world -- is key. And I'm guessing that in most communities there are people doing the work who would make great guest speakers and/or mentors for students doing independent projects.
Taking into serious consideration what may be in store for 24' it's my observation that politicians (of all bents) are fearful of letting their true positions be known. The ones harboring good intentions being quiet about them in the hope of getting elected and being able to counter some of this lunacy. Others, leeches if you will, seek only to curry favor with their lunatic pilot fish and the corporate sugar-daddies. We are right to fear fascism, but I would fear the blanket of Communism even more. A society that cultures telling on ones neighbor to cover ones own rear-end, the real fear being the R-word: Retribution.
Yes, in 2020, a friend who lives in Hawaii asked a 20 -somthing year-old grocery store clerk if she was going to vote in the upcoming presidential election. She said no. My friend asked why. The clerk said because the president is apppointed. My friend asked if she had ever had a civics or government course in high school and she asked, what is that?
After the 2020 election a lot of people believed the president was appointed. Or perhaps anointed. Including TFG. what are young people to believe when their first election is corrupt? It’s a tragedy to live in red states or anywhere that make teaching the Truth a crime.
Thank you and your wife for wonderful dedication , we are ALL teachers, and need to be.
Greatest examples are those that lead with loving service. Body language is a wonderfully silent teacher but noticed by intuition far more than words spoken . Animals are keen to take note ( their carriage is a lesson too). The noise makers get headlines only because it sells faster , but the long distance run is consistency ,patience, a GOOD example lived. People shout ...why don’t [we]the Dems defend themselves /shout back? It’s our track record, it’s the non verbal cues of patience and forbearance, it’s the get-er-done pace slow and steady...said the turtle 😉
Thank you for your educated -- and through extensive experience -- eloquence, David. I completely agree with you. Have you and your spouse considered making presentations to your local high schools' civics classes sharing exactly what you shared with us? That would be a great gift to democracy, indeed!
It’s not the teachers. It’s the curriculum and culture. Our culture tends to expect elected and volunteer officials to “take care” of everything while we all go about our own personal business. We outsource everything. Individual self interest is sold as our principal purpose. Cooperation is in a category with “socialism” both of which play an important role in governing and democracy.
Having lived in Southern Africa during the period of the original formation of Zambia (originally Northern Rhodesia), we have maintained an interest in Zambia’s historic and political time-line. So while not surprised at the eloquence of President Hakainde Hichilema’s words, I was and remain very moved by the promise of a very decent future for the Zambians contained in his very dignified statement.
Dan During WW II Ho Chi Minh (later North Vietnam leader) would discuss our constitution and Declaration of Independence with OSS operatives with him. He could have given the Republican roustabouts a lesson in American civics.
Ho Chi Minh asked for our help. He was turned down. He was not thrilled with the communists. American foreign policy dropped the ball. Historically you may recall French Indo-China. The irony and tragedy was enacted in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when the Viet Minh ousted the French colonialists. What could have been diplomacy with Allies turned into confrontation becoming eventually the Viet Nam war. Yes Ho Chi Minh could very much have given lessons on the American politic, but instead we have the black wall. Leadership failed us at the highest level. We simply cannot entertain any more clowns in government.
Pat Some of the Americans associated with Ho during and just after WW II were later drummed out of American government for their ‘communist’ tendencies.
Ho sought to get a hearing at the post-WW I peace negotiations. Ignored, in frustration he joined the French Communist Party. Ho, Ho, Ho.
At Dien Bien Phu, where the French were trapped by the Vietnam Minh who amazingly located artillery on the surrounding hills, the CIA was providing air support to the French until the final moments.
An historical insight: during the American revolution the same surprise happened to the Brits in Boston. Alexander Knox, a book dealer turned artillery expert, dragged cannon from Ticonderoga hundreds of miles to a hill overlooking Boston. The Brits were amazed-‘impossible’-and were forced to abandon Boston.
This was the same Knox who provided artillery to the Battle of. Trenton, where, in Washington’s Hail Mary, 900 Hessians were captured and the Americans suffered no deaths. Artillery was essential in this battle.
On a boat transporting fat Knox across the Delaware River to Trenton, Washington joshed him ‘Move your fat ass or you’ll swamp’ the boat. Soldiers appreciated this, not not Knox, who became War. Secretary in Washington’s first cabinet.
It is my understanding via an American operative in China (Weaver) before during and after WWII who worked closely with HCM that his attempts to be taken seriously were deflected by the state department and that they never considered him to be a player. As a result of that stonewalling his option was to seek the backing of the communists. His objective had not wavered in trying to oust the French. He did oust the French. American politicians dropped the ball cold turkey. The mess laid at their door was self inflicted . Entirely. On my return from Viet Nam Mr. Weaver and I had long talks about the politics which led to my war. He knew the players.
Pat this was the aftermath of the ‘loss of China,’ the false dominos theory, and our Cold War desire to placate France in Europe. I believe that Algeria was festering at this time.
Judith The Versailles Peace Conference where Ho was snubbed was after WWi in 1919. Wilson was a major snubber, despite his self-determination pronouncements.
The current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee doesn’t understand the rule of law, because he doesn’t want to understand the rule of law. He wants power.
I laugh every time some sanctimonious leftist gets on TV and no one is above the rule of law.
What rule of law?
The FEC, DOJ, The former DA, and even Bragg initially declined bringing charges against Trump.
Why? Because there was no case.
Bragg got bullied into it and what is his case?
An expired misdemeanor bootstrapped to a federal crime.
Bragg invented a crime. He is trying to use a misdemeanor (who's statue of limitations has expired) and bootstrapped to a federal election violation (where he has no jurisdiction)
Add the DOJ tried prosecute John Edwards for a similar action and lost. In Edwards case
he used campaign funds to pay his mistress.
In this case Trump paid personal funds to Daniels.
Unless you sat on the grand jury you have no idea of what crimes he‘s being charged with. Obviously the citizens on the grand jury felt crimes were committed.
It is no surprise to me, at all, that a black man in Africa understands better, and values more, the rule of law than a white man in our Congress here in the USA.
Not even slightly surprising to me actually. One need look no further than Angola prison in Louisiana to know how the rule of law is applied in the United States in reality.
Thank you, Mike. I was too busy choking on my coffee to respond intelligently to his comment on finding it "astounding" that the head of an African Country could understand the law so thoroughly.
The whole Congress? I think not. Watch Raskin, Goldman, Lieu and other Democrats effectively rebut, shame and extinguish the MAGAs. The Democrats are prepared, aggressive and effective.
BUT (1) no one is watching or listening except those of us who are left with no joy in public affairs other than seeing the idiots exposed to just ridicule (Jamie Raskin is a hero!), and (2) the MAGAts can't be "shamed" because either they're *congenital* sociopaths or their mamas never inculcated a sense of shame, or a morality distinct from Ayn Rand's worship of selfish egoism and Maggie Thatcher's dictum that "[t]here is no such thing as society" to which any individual owes anything, to their formative personalities (*raised* to be sociopaths).
I thought that you might like to know about the woman you called a hooker and prostitute without any evidence for calling her such. The following is an article about Stormy Daniels that was published in The Washington Post yesterday.
'Who is Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star linked to Trump’s indictment?'
'This week Donald Trump became the first former president to be charged with a crime, after a grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict him late Thursday.'
'At the heart of the case the grand jurors had been hearing is evidence about a $130,000 payment made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.'
'Here’s what to know about Daniels, and what she says happened with Trump.' (WAPO) Gifted link to the article is below.
Mike, thanks for shining a light on this from a slightly different perspective. I took the statement at face value as commentary on the self-serving willful ignorance of Jordan et al. And willful ignorance it is; they know exactly what they're doing. It's their values that are found in the depths of their stinking, overflowing toilets.
I’m pretty sure Gym Jordan and his thugs understand the Rule of Law: they choose, CHOOSE to ignore it. The road may be a little bumpy at the moment, but the repair crew is hard at work
Well said. Jordan purposely uses his position as a legislator to demand perceived “perks”. His stance is that of a bully; no limits for him; but the Other Guy? Watch out.
So disturbing that many in the repub party may say they hate what their party is doing to take this country down, but in the end say they’re voting republican. I think logic is just a word in the dictionary for many people.
Yes, socialism but increase my medicare and social security you promised. And why are my meds so expensive ? Plus why aren't you fixing the potholes on my street. My taxes, right? And my schools. And..
Jim Jordan understands the rule of law, but he is a criminal who wants to break the rule of law for his own benefit and gain. If you think of him as a criminal, rather than an honest but misguided or stupid politician, his actions are not “astounding”, but predictable. The astounding thing is that the media, law enforcement, the voters of his state, and the institution he seeks to corrupt, all continue to go along with the fiction that he is a politician, rather than a criminal.
They are literally some the original building blocks of civilization. Couldn't have the Pyramids at Giza without rocks! But nothing of import will fall down if Jim Jordan and his kind just disappear!
I meant no insult to rocks, so I offer them my sincerest apologies! My best friend is a geologist, and we love rocks. It's true, rocks are far better and more useful than Gymmie.
I think it's more complicated than that. For some reason that I cannot put my finger on, people like Gym Jordan abhor the liberal world view from top to bottom. He hates it so much that in his mind he can justify nearly anything to fight it. His mind is so made up that it twists wrongdoing into right-doing. He cannot tell up from down and down from up, he is so overwhelmed by this hatred. He actually believes that the Bragg thing is literally an activist lefty DA who hates Trump and is going after him solely to sink his re-election chances. And using the rule of law to do it. If you thought that way, you might do the same thing. After all, alot of our "founding fathers" decided to revolt against the country they were citizens of, and thought the reasons were good. It was literally treason in the minds and laws of the English. I have zero sympathy for Jordan and his ilk. Their world view is absolutely toxic. But when you have such a world view, you do things like that.
I have seen Mr. Jordan get caught off guard by reporters. I don't think he believes that stuff at all. It's as phoney as his rolled up sleeves. It's performance art.
“His mind is so made up that it twists wrongdoing into right-doing”
Again, I implore that Jordan’s deplorability has absolutely nothing to do with his mind, but everything to do with his lack of a heart. How do you explain his looking away while the youth in his flock were sexually preyed upon by power?
I am strongly in favor of recognizing and verbalizing the malevolence in our midst. These monsters are not dumb!! They know very very well what they are doing!!
james wheaton (Jay) my opinion for what it is worth is the following: I believe Gym Jordan and those like him sit around and think how "loud" can I be with whatever crazy idea I can come up with to get "media" attention! Unless they are stopped or ignored they will continue what they are currently doing. How many of the quieter ones holding like kind offices do we remember their names? Name recognition gets votes and keeps them in power. I am sure nearly everyone has heard the "loud ones" names and many people that vote have no clue how bad these people happen to be.
Jaye, I think you're getting to the nub of the matter. Having lived through 6+ decades of dramatic social change in the US, I believe that most "conservatives" were gradually more appalled by about a dozen of those changes. Limbaugh, Alex Jones, Fox news, etc. relentlessly propagandized them for 20 to 30 years, and created that hugely powerful mindset - The Victim. Now we have a furious and radicalized dominant arm of the Republican Party.
Since 2008, that group has developed a take-no-prisoners, ends-justify-the means mentality. In essence, they are now REVOLUTIONARIES willing to overthrow our government and much of our institutional life, as they try to remake America according to their fantasy.
Decades of propaganda and fury will do strange things to people's abilities to justify outragrous behavior. Many of us abhorred what we saw coming from those media liars over many years, but didn't want to believe it would lead to such radicals actually gaining power. We vainly hoped that they would stay on the "fringe". But here we are. ☹️
So, IMO, Step 1 has been, for 7 yrs., to recognize that this isn't a political battle. It's a destructive revolutionary mindset that must be seen exactly for what it is. DT, Jordan, Greene, DeSantis, Gaetz, etc. are just the point of the spear. They speak for tens of millions of deeply aggrieved Americans who lost their ability to support the rule of law.
Kenneth Kaunda was the first president of Zambia 1964-1991. Unlike neighboring Zimbabwe and many other African countries, Kaunda lost his presidency in a democratic election in 1991.
Thank you Ann! I keep repeating over and over, it’s malice, not ignorance!! Part of asking the world to be honest is to call a spade a spade. Too many people calling tffg and his Congressional goons dumb. The goons know what they are doing and are intentionally doing it.
Yes President HH of Zambia DOES know the ‘rule of law’ HEAR HEAR🙌 Yes, THEY certainly do have a bumpy road ahead...while we will stick to task at hand -that which involves huge amounts of America AND the worlds population, homelessness, housing shortages for the marginalized, medical costs/corruption and availability , daily gun deaths Tennessee btw has NO RED FLAG laws 🙁, and unfair tax laws ...to mention a few.
Of course the Republicans in Congress that are attacking Bragg understand the rule of law. They reject it, because it runs counter to their purposes. Which is retaining power and protecting Trump. If they can use their Congressional power to derail Bragg’s indictments, they will. Rule of law be damned.
Y’all going to get tired of me saying this often but WE CAN , we have to, we will 💙VOTE THE CLEAN SWEEP ! THE BLUE TSUNAMI💙 Vote them out of office ( and PS there are still some dang good Republicans in there, let’s put THEM in place of the MAGAs!
It’s more than that Jon. HH’s imprisonment and torture and mistreatment of his immediate family by the former president of Zambia makes him larger than life in dealing with delinquents like Jordan who willingly abuse power. His ability to speak well against those who denigrate the laws comes from real experience. What I particularly liked was his empathetic leadership.
Please, don't be so astounded. Let us acknowledge the way in which Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema responds to the Wall Street Journal reporter who showed interest in eliciting a response from our VP, Kamala Harris, when our P, Joe Biden, has made it clear we will not chime in and "opinionate"! Pretty sophisticated.
Astonishing and frightening, is it not, that a "black" man would be so much more sophisticated and cogent than all those "white" men in the Republican House Judiciary Committee! The fleecing of the United States always finds an agent willing to destroy us.
Unfortunately get the meaning of KW's comment all too clearly. Good Lord Ann. The casual racism running through so many comments today is unbelievable.
My comment is sarcasm. White nationalist Republicans are the rot in our country. I watched the video clip of the confrontation between Congressmen Bowman and Massie. Bowan brought sense and knowledge to that argument. Massie simply made himself yet another foolish Republican.
Still want to understand what is so confusing to Ann W.
Oh gosh! I honestly didn't know. Thanks for the clarification. Now that I reread it in the light of your intent it is a really good commentary on some of the other comments. Thanks!
Far from a universal audience. One may expect intelligence and understanding of nuance, if anywhere, here in HCR-space. Not to put down AnnW; she asked, and appreciated the answer.
I honestly believe that is the only way they get through life: Lies, deceptions, distortions, distractions and diversions. Their hollow promises, their shallow mentality and their uncultivated grasp of most of society make them a very dangerous species. Each is their own centerpiece of their tight and strangled world, with little room left for anyone else.
I find it astounding that Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema seems to understand the rule of law better than our current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and several of his Republican colleagues.
I'm afraid we've got a bumpy road up ahead.
President Hichilema summarized fundamentals that any member of a democratic society should know, though it is refreshing to hear it clearly articulated now and again. A member of Congress should know it backwards and forward.
They do know it well enough. The rule of law in their opinions must bend and change according to their whims and needs. They have no use for democracy whatsoever. Witness the latest manifestation of corrupting the Floridian justice system to enable DeSantis to retain his political office while seeking the presidency. If that doesn’t spell out clearly the danger of radical political espionage to the country as a whole then Chicken Little was correct in her assessment that “the sky is falling.” Out here in the hinterlands of the nation we bluntly call that “shitting a little close to the house.” I don’t find that tolerable. Not even in a state as tits up as Idaho. Out here the sheer beauty slaps you in the face yet people drop their pants and stink it up to high Heaven. I can only imagine the odor in Florida! What the hell are you people thinking?
Very well put, Pat. And then there is the greater Idaho movement here in Oregon. If they don't get their way, then the pols here in Salem are not listening to them. Whining is what they do well as well as making a supreme effort, as you have noted, to destroy the environment that sustains them.
I lived for about 5 years in Curry county. We fished logged milked cows cut Christmas trees worked at the plywood mill mostly sustained by extractive industry. That is a geographically isolated area. When it wasn’t dumping 125 inches of rain, the wind blew off the ocean at 60. I lived at the Knapp ranch on the ocean front just by Cape Blanco. We had 5 days a year of fairy tale weather. The people rarely looked in the direction of Salem until industry matured and extraction took its inevitable toll. With all their toys gone the people began to disappear as well. Our youth sought other environs. To say Oregon is conflicted is understating. Education is still Oregon’s best known characteristic. Having been schooled in Mt. Utah, Colorado, SouthDakota, Wyoming, and Oregon I think your state has a large margin of victory. We always said that might cause dismay among those who prefer ignorance.
When we visited Cape Blanco, it was shrouded in fog....couldn't see a thing. Got a flat in the middle of nowhere on 101 in the rain, but did get help from someone coming out of the road we had pulled into. We went back to a small place with an incredible junkyard and he fixed the tire, so we could get back to Florence. I would say that in comparison to the states you mention, we do well in education although you wouldn't know it by the constant complaints about it. Already the new super for the Salem Keizer school district is being dissed as being too woke as she believes in inclusiveness. She begins the job in the summer.
"Ignorance is bliss"., There are millions of bliss-filled morons in the U.S. To learn properly takes commitment and work. For too many, being in the know is far too demanding. Their ignorance makes them hostile to the world around them.
It’s kinda like sitting on an anthill. Stirring em up is not too advantageous. Best not. There may be some experts who think they can do it.
I’ve been to Cape Blanco Lighthouse several times; and had both clear days and foggy days; my admiration for having worked on that ranch!
Ally we were south on the mouth of Elk River. I have to admit trading the blizzards of Montana and Wyoming for the Sandstorms of Oregon was about a trade off. Being in a30 foot boat in 50 foot waves was actually more fun than riding bucking horses. I left a huge chunk of heart on The Knapp Ranch. Harold and Mary and Mike and David and Carol Ann and Mary2. Salt of the earth. Should mention Ken too as he ran off with Carol Ann.
Eastern Washington periodically tries to merge with the Idaho panhandle. There's a lot of red in this part of the state. And we have the same whining. (And Cathy McMorris Rodgers for our rep.....ugh)
Hey hey!!! Having grown up in a kinder, gentler Idaho I am pleased to hear there are still great people living there. Pat, you made my day! Thank you.🤗🦋🌈
Idaho has great people even my relatives aren’t too bad. You know how it is. You don’t talk politics or religion here and everyone will put up with you.
Well, heck, Pat, the no politics or religion issue works the same here in NYS - has since 2016, anyhow.
I liked NYS. Spent some time trying to freeze to death at Ft. Drum one winter. Bear hunters as I recall. Twenty two below zero. Yer right. No politics no religion just a bunch of tough people. Had to go back to Montana to warm up. Famous smokejumper Steve Stutzbach was from NYS. Charming man, tough, good with his fists. If death didn’t get ya dynamite did. He stood up.
I like their potatoes!
Me too! Best potatoes for baking!🤪
And, tasty!!
There’s a lot of good people everywhere. The need is to establish what’s good for the whole, and work the best with the marginalized/mentally ill/lower functioning, and the rich. The balances are sometimes delicate. From the get-go coming to this country and colonizing we see where much had to change , by now we should have grasped the principles and set in place what works best for the whole. The most important aspects -water, food, housing, medical care, security all need an understanding how to respect. Water needs kept clean ,food needs good agricultural practices, housing needs solid construction - environmentally designed for endurance, medical care needs to be available to all ,security doesn’t mean enough bombs to eradicate the human race, and education is key to let potential develop and sustain even greater progress. We certainly know irradiating a certain country, race, or population isn’t an answer .Yet, over and over this has been done, is being done.
The American (or whosever )Dream seems to be get rich...so what is enough? Beyond that the wealth dispersed to provide for the ALL. Greed and power -how to identify- how to reign in the abuse of it- what defines THAT?
Everyone is perfectly aware climate change is happening. Whether it’s a cycle or a result of_ _ _ _ ....you can’t pollute the water, cut most of the trees, eat only junk food, or keep extracting when the supply is gone.
Got to be a lot of BALANCES agreed upon .
As Joyce marvelously says: ‘We’re all in this together.’
Nicely done!
And good discussion, especially for a New Englander to read.
The only other Pat Cole I know is the Pat Kole I met in the nursery when he arrived a couple hours after I was born. Our parents later became good friends. Pat later became an attorney and chief Idaho potato spokesman and promoter!
I did reside in Michigan from time to time. I always put up at Charlie’s Country Corner off I-75 at Greyling. I loved Michigan except for its scolds er cold wind.
Across the highway from Kirtland Community College! I live closer to Traverse City, but covered all of northern Michigan in my work. Through lots of scolds!
I find it astounding that most high school civics students "understand the rule of law better than our current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and several of his Republican colleagues." I don't understand why it would be astounding to anyone that an intelligent, eloquent, democratically elected leader of an African country would not be expected to have a thorough understanding of the rule of law.
I am afraid we don’t teach civics & government as effectively as we should.
My wife & I are well educated. We have over our life times been members via volunteering and elections to many organizations, school board, town board and now officers in our town and county political party organizations. Every opportunity & responsibility is a learning experience that we were never taught about in K-12 nor college. Though I did take political science.
All of our community work mentioned above, has been “political” in the sense of working with people. Some of whom were driven by personal ambition, rigid ideology, and belief systems that affected if not impeded our organization’s work. But in practical terms, our work has been about accomplishing the “business” of operating a school, town, library, farmers market, a local economy, and providing good candidates to be elected to also do this “business”. No school other than my general high quality education prepared us for this. I think we could have had much better education in terms of the specifics “why” and “how” of government and community organizations, and their operations.
Even with my experience, I could not rise above our political discourse and put the relationships of law, people and government into such succinct words as President Hichilema. As a nation and people, we must learn to do this to make our government and our personal responsibility towards government more useful and effective.
I’m a high school teacher. We haven’t stopped teaching civics. I don’t know why so many people think we have. Maybe because Republican voters are so belligerently ignorant about civics? People choose ignorance, often, even when they were taught well. Republican voters who shout about the Constitution are very selective of the parts they like, and those they ignore. For example, the First Amendment is clear in its ban of government promotion of religion. Yet Republicans find ways to ignore that and make bogus claims that “the Founders created America as a Christian nation”. We didn’t teach them that, they adopted it after high school. I don’t know if they believe such BS, or if they’re just spouting it to support their worldview.
Glad to hear that you teach it, but there are places where it is not taught anymore. I think it is intentional dumbing down for control by the corrupted party that has been planning authoritarian rule for decades.
As of three years ago (February 2020), 11 states reportedly had no civics requirements: Alaska, Delaware, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Requirements are coming back in MA (where I live), and I hope in other states, but I think you'll agree that DE, ME, MA, NJ, OR, RI, and VT are not right-wing strongholds.
We need to stop spreading misinformation about public education. Most of the states you mention teach civics, but don’t call it that. Their Social Studies curricula cover American history, the Constitution, the structure of government, the workings of the executive, judicial and legislative branches, etc. I’m not going to bother googling all of them, but here are the links for Vermont.
https://vtdigger.org/2021/02/02/a-civics-graduation-requirement-vermont-already-kind-of-has-one/
https://education.vermont.gov/sites/aoe/files/documents/edu-proficiency-based-education-global-citizenship-social-studies.pdf (scroll down to pages 4 & 5).
States without Civics Course requirements may not be right wing, but notice that in each election there are a surprisingly large number who vote for the right wing agenda. [I am alert to the knowledge that 75 million people voted for Trump...]
Do you really think local schoolboards 20 years ago were secret political operatives? Seriously?
Do I think local school boards had their own agenda 20 years ago
In 2003?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_school_curricula_in_the_United_States
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitzmiller_v._Dover_Area_School_District
Then there's Ralph Reed:
" "I would rather have a thousand school board members than one president and no school board members,” Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition, said in a 1996 NewsHour interview, arguing that conservative Christians needed to expand local, grassroots organizing in order to raise money, turn out voters and promote their ideals at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court was reinforcing a ban on school prayer and reaffirming abortion rights."
School boards were hijacked a long time ago.
Absurd to think that either there’s been a dumbing down or that it’s intentional.
That's conspiratorial thinking. Let's leave that to QAnon and stay focused. School curricula change all the time and there's nothing nefarious about it. Look what happened to Latin classes, homemaking (I had cooking and sewing lessons, while the boys got to make things out of wood in Shop class), etc. Of course, I'm not talking about the Republicans shutting down teaching about racial discrimination and black history, which is newly rejuvenated from the bowels of Jim Crow history. My point is that there was no federal government decision to end Civics instruction in public schools. Until recently, school district budgets determined which classes were eliminated.
It does seem that many conservatives want to stop funding public education, and that they are afraid of teaching anything to their children that might actually make them learn to think.
Maybe the problem has more to do with understanding English. The conservative wing of the Supreme Court fails to understand the complexities icontained in the phrases "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." or "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."
John R., where are you? As of February 2020, 11 states reportedly had no civics requirement. As noted below, most of them were not Republican-dominated states; in fact, one of them was Massachusetts, where I live. Civics *could* be taught, but it wasn't required. Civics requirements are making a comeback here and I hope in other places.
Ever since the February 2018 killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS in Florida, I've been impressed by the eloquence and persistence of several of the survivors. At the time they gave credit to both the government courses and the theater program at their school. I can't think of a better argument for including both in any high school curriculum.
I’m in NH. Just because states don’t call it “civics” doesn’t mean they’re not teaching what we mean by “civics”. Many states label it Social Studies, but they still cover everything we consider “civics”. See my post about 4-5 up for specifics (don’t want to repeat myself here).
selective like progressive christians who use parts of holy scripture to promote what God likely never intended. feelings over truth!
have you discovered beth felker jones , practicing christian doctrine? theology professor n illinois, previously wheaton? new edition out in july. she's on substack too. i am a witness to progressive christians pushing us beyond God's truth. cancel culture being experienced.
i cannot speak to today's Commonwealth of VA's curriculum but back in my day US/VA government was taught and passing it was required for graduation. Those who failed did not march for diploma.
It is easier to be choose ignorance than to choose the harder path of greater knowledge.
I'm a teacher too. If students haven't learned, then we haven't taught. Civics is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Are we teaching it at a young enough age and bringing it into every subject every year, not just a unit in it? Are we teaching from a book or lectures only, rather than acting it out and encouraging creativity in identifying problems and looking for ways to solve them?
I-search papers were a great way of citing a problem and seeking solutions. cooperative learning enabled everyone to participate and learn. reporting back from state legislatures, local government meetings, engaging in community services projects, reading several points of view, reading a variety of newspapers. never advocated for talking heads on cable tv.
Okay, I give up. The teachers are to blame. For MAGA, for Trump, for DeSantis, for Marjorie Taylor Greene. If there are ignorant voters anywhere, it’s the fault of teachers. I hope that makes everybody feel better.
I don't think anyone said that. Certified teachers are but one important resource that we have for educating the population. Children learn from many sources. Some states do it better than others. Some parents do it better than others. Some religious leaders do it better than others. It is a good thing that there are many resources.
Great comment, Nancy Jane. Applying it to the real world -- meaning the student's own world -- is key. And I'm guessing that in most communities there are people doing the work who would make great guest speakers and/or mentors for students doing independent projects.
Taking into serious consideration what may be in store for 24' it's my observation that politicians (of all bents) are fearful of letting their true positions be known. The ones harboring good intentions being quiet about them in the hope of getting elected and being able to counter some of this lunacy. Others, leeches if you will, seek only to curry favor with their lunatic pilot fish and the corporate sugar-daddies. We are right to fear fascism, but I would fear the blanket of Communism even more. A society that cultures telling on ones neighbor to cover ones own rear-end, the real fear being the R-word: Retribution.
What state do you teach civics class please?
Thanks also. Well said ❤️
Yes, in 2020, a friend who lives in Hawaii asked a 20 -somthing year-old grocery store clerk if she was going to vote in the upcoming presidential election. She said no. My friend asked why. The clerk said because the president is apppointed. My friend asked if she had ever had a civics or government course in high school and she asked, what is that?
After the 2020 election a lot of people believed the president was appointed. Or perhaps anointed. Including TFG. what are young people to believe when their first election is corrupt? It’s a tragedy to live in red states or anywhere that make teaching the Truth a crime.
Thank you and your wife for wonderful dedication , we are ALL teachers, and need to be.
Greatest examples are those that lead with loving service. Body language is a wonderfully silent teacher but noticed by intuition far more than words spoken . Animals are keen to take note ( their carriage is a lesson too). The noise makers get headlines only because it sells faster , but the long distance run is consistency ,patience, a GOOD example lived. People shout ...why don’t [we]the Dems defend themselves /shout back? It’s our track record, it’s the non verbal cues of patience and forbearance, it’s the get-er-done pace slow and steady...said the turtle 😉
I totally agree with you. Why did American education stop teaching civics? It should be a required course with a final exam.
Thank you for your educated -- and through extensive experience -- eloquence, David. I completely agree with you. Have you and your spouse considered making presentations to your local high schools' civics classes sharing exactly what you shared with us? That would be a great gift to democracy, indeed!
Don't blame the teachers . . .
It’s not the teachers. It’s the curriculum and culture. Our culture tends to expect elected and volunteer officials to “take care” of everything while we all go about our own personal business. We outsource everything. Individual self interest is sold as our principal purpose. Cooperation is in a category with “socialism” both of which play an important role in governing and democracy.
Who is blaming teachers?
Having lived in Southern Africa during the period of the original formation of Zambia (originally Northern Rhodesia), we have maintained an interest in Zambia’s historic and political time-line. So while not surprised at the eloquence of President Hakainde Hichilema’s words, I was and remain very moved by the promise of a very decent future for the Zambians contained in his very dignified statement.
Dan During WW II Ho Chi Minh (later North Vietnam leader) would discuss our constitution and Declaration of Independence with OSS operatives with him. He could have given the Republican roustabouts a lesson in American civics.
Ho Chi Minh asked for our help. He was turned down. He was not thrilled with the communists. American foreign policy dropped the ball. Historically you may recall French Indo-China. The irony and tragedy was enacted in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 when the Viet Minh ousted the French colonialists. What could have been diplomacy with Allies turned into confrontation becoming eventually the Viet Nam war. Yes Ho Chi Minh could very much have given lessons on the American politic, but instead we have the black wall. Leadership failed us at the highest level. We simply cannot entertain any more clowns in government.
Pat Some of the Americans associated with Ho during and just after WW II were later drummed out of American government for their ‘communist’ tendencies.
Ho sought to get a hearing at the post-WW I peace negotiations. Ignored, in frustration he joined the French Communist Party. Ho, Ho, Ho.
At Dien Bien Phu, where the French were trapped by the Vietnam Minh who amazingly located artillery on the surrounding hills, the CIA was providing air support to the French until the final moments.
An historical insight: during the American revolution the same surprise happened to the Brits in Boston. Alexander Knox, a book dealer turned artillery expert, dragged cannon from Ticonderoga hundreds of miles to a hill overlooking Boston. The Brits were amazed-‘impossible’-and were forced to abandon Boston.
This was the same Knox who provided artillery to the Battle of. Trenton, where, in Washington’s Hail Mary, 900 Hessians were captured and the Americans suffered no deaths. Artillery was essential in this battle.
On a boat transporting fat Knox across the Delaware River to Trenton, Washington joshed him ‘Move your fat ass or you’ll swamp’ the boat. Soldiers appreciated this, not not Knox, who became War. Secretary in Washington’s first cabinet.
It is my understanding via an American operative in China (Weaver) before during and after WWII who worked closely with HCM that his attempts to be taken seriously were deflected by the state department and that they never considered him to be a player. As a result of that stonewalling his option was to seek the backing of the communists. His objective had not wavered in trying to oust the French. He did oust the French. American politicians dropped the ball cold turkey. The mess laid at their door was self inflicted . Entirely. On my return from Viet Nam Mr. Weaver and I had long talks about the politics which led to my war. He knew the players.
Pat this was the aftermath of the ‘loss of China,’ the false dominos theory, and our Cold War desire to placate France in Europe. I believe that Algeria was festering at this time.
Keith, you might want to edit your second paragraph above to "WW II" and not "WW I".
Somewhere, sometime ago, I read about the amazing 'impossible' transport of cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga to Boston. Human ingenuity at its finest.
Judith The Versailles Peace Conference where Ho was snubbed was after WWi in 1919. Wilson was a major snubber, despite his self-determination pronouncements.
The current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee doesn’t understand the rule of law, because he doesn’t want to understand the rule of law. He wants power.
Bill Perhaps we have to speak with these dodos in language they understand. Using their vocabulary, simply shout LOCK HIM UP!
LOL!
What a ridiculous post?
I laugh every time some sanctimonious leftist gets on TV and no one is above the rule of law.
What rule of law?
The FEC, DOJ, The former DA, and even Bragg initially declined bringing charges against Trump.
Why? Because there was no case.
Bragg got bullied into it and what is his case?
An expired misdemeanor bootstrapped to a federal crime.
Bragg invented a crime. He is trying to use a misdemeanor (who's statue of limitations has expired) and bootstrapped to a federal election violation (where he has no jurisdiction)
Add the DOJ tried prosecute John Edwards for a similar action and lost. In Edwards case
he used campaign funds to pay his mistress.
In this case Trump paid personal funds to Daniels.
This is not a crime. NDA's happen all the time.
THERE IS NO CRIME HERE
Unless you sat on the grand jury you have no idea of what crimes he‘s being charged with. Obviously the citizens on the grand jury felt crimes were committed.
Every heard the expression - A DA could indict a ham sandwich?
Its a joke.
Kenneth,
It is no surprise to me, at all, that a black man in Africa understands better, and values more, the rule of law than a white man in our Congress here in the USA.
Not even slightly surprising to me actually. One need look no further than Angola prison in Louisiana to know how the rule of law is applied in the United States in reality.
Thank you, Mike. I was too busy choking on my coffee to respond intelligently to his comment on finding it "astounding" that the head of an African Country could understand the law so thoroughly.
What is astounding is that our Congress has no understanding of the rule of law! That's how I interpreted Kenneth's use of the word "astounding."
My interpretation is that it is appalling but not surprising that Jim Jordan seems to have no understanding of the rule of law.
They have enough kmowledge of the law to abuse it.
The whole Congress? I think not. Watch Raskin, Goldman, Lieu and other Democrats effectively rebut, shame and extinguish the MAGAs. The Democrats are prepared, aggressive and effective.
BUT (1) no one is watching or listening except those of us who are left with no joy in public affairs other than seeing the idiots exposed to just ridicule (Jamie Raskin is a hero!), and (2) the MAGAts can't be "shamed" because either they're *congenital* sociopaths or their mamas never inculcated a sense of shame, or a morality distinct from Ayn Rand's worship of selfish egoism and Maggie Thatcher's dictum that "[t]here is no such thing as society" to which any individual owes anything, to their formative personalities (*raised* to be sociopaths).
My pleasure and thank you.
Meacham nailed it - elemental...we're up against a class of mens' grill enablers...
Don't know anything about this Comment except John Meachan. What does it mean please. Thank you.
Mike S,
I thought that you might like to know about the woman you called a hooker and prostitute without any evidence for calling her such. The following is an article about Stormy Daniels that was published in The Washington Post yesterday.
'Who is Stormy Daniels, the adult-film star linked to Trump’s indictment?'
'This week Donald Trump became the first former president to be charged with a crime, after a grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict him late Thursday.'
'At the heart of the case the grand jurors had been hearing is evidence about a $130,000 payment made to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.'
'Here’s what to know about Daniels, and what she says happened with Trump.' (WAPO) Gifted link to the article is below.
https://wapo.st/3ZEgzTP
Mike, thanks for shining a light on this from a slightly different perspective. I took the statement at face value as commentary on the self-serving willful ignorance of Jordan et al. And willful ignorance it is; they know exactly what they're doing. It's their values that are found in the depths of their stinking, overflowing toilets.
I’m pretty sure Gym Jordan and his thugs understand the Rule of Law: they choose, CHOOSE to ignore it. The road may be a little bumpy at the moment, but the repair crew is hard at work
Well said. Jordan purposely uses his position as a legislator to demand perceived “perks”. His stance is that of a bully; no limits for him; but the Other Guy? Watch out.
yes, the assume and rightly that their constituents mostly do not understand or care about the rule of law
Trump specifically stated that he loves the uneducated. (easier to control and brainwash).
So disturbing that many in the repub party may say they hate what their party is doing to take this country down, but in the end say they’re voting republican. I think logic is just a word in the dictionary for many people.
But, but (clutch pearls) SOCIALISM! Gullible fools.
Yes, socialism but increase my medicare and social security you promised. And why are my meds so expensive ? Plus why aren't you fixing the potholes on my street. My taxes, right? And my schools. And..
And choose to abuse it.
Jim Jordan understands the rule of law, but he is a criminal who wants to break the rule of law for his own benefit and gain. If you think of him as a criminal, rather than an honest but misguided or stupid politician, his actions are not “astounding”, but predictable. The astounding thing is that the media, law enforcement, the voters of his state, and the institution he seeks to corrupt, all continue to go along with the fiction that he is a politician, rather than a criminal.
Yes Gym has criminal instincts, certainly...but he also has all the brains of a box of rocks.
Oh! Please don't insult rocks like that! ; )
They are literally some the original building blocks of civilization. Couldn't have the Pyramids at Giza without rocks! But nothing of import will fall down if Jim Jordan and his kind just disappear!
I meant no insult to rocks, so I offer them my sincerest apologies! My best friend is a geologist, and we love rocks. It's true, rocks are far better and more useful than Gymmie.
😆😁
I think it's more complicated than that. For some reason that I cannot put my finger on, people like Gym Jordan abhor the liberal world view from top to bottom. He hates it so much that in his mind he can justify nearly anything to fight it. His mind is so made up that it twists wrongdoing into right-doing. He cannot tell up from down and down from up, he is so overwhelmed by this hatred. He actually believes that the Bragg thing is literally an activist lefty DA who hates Trump and is going after him solely to sink his re-election chances. And using the rule of law to do it. If you thought that way, you might do the same thing. After all, alot of our "founding fathers" decided to revolt against the country they were citizens of, and thought the reasons were good. It was literally treason in the minds and laws of the English. I have zero sympathy for Jordan and his ilk. Their world view is absolutely toxic. But when you have such a world view, you do things like that.
(Jay),
I have seen Mr. Jordan get caught off guard by reporters. I don't think he believes that stuff at all. It's as phoney as his rolled up sleeves. It's performance art.
“His mind is so made up that it twists wrongdoing into right-doing”
Again, I implore that Jordan’s deplorability has absolutely nothing to do with his mind, but everything to do with his lack of a heart. How do you explain his looking away while the youth in his flock were sexually preyed upon by power?
I am strongly in favor of recognizing and verbalizing the malevolence in our midst. These monsters are not dumb!! They know very very well what they are doing!!
https://www.karnacbooks.com/product/born-for-love-why-empathy-is-essential-and-endangered/32507/
james wheaton (Jay) my opinion for what it is worth is the following: I believe Gym Jordan and those like him sit around and think how "loud" can I be with whatever crazy idea I can come up with to get "media" attention! Unless they are stopped or ignored they will continue what they are currently doing. How many of the quieter ones holding like kind offices do we remember their names? Name recognition gets votes and keeps them in power. I am sure nearly everyone has heard the "loud ones" names and many people that vote have no clue how bad these people happen to be.
Jaye, I think you're getting to the nub of the matter. Having lived through 6+ decades of dramatic social change in the US, I believe that most "conservatives" were gradually more appalled by about a dozen of those changes. Limbaugh, Alex Jones, Fox news, etc. relentlessly propagandized them for 20 to 30 years, and created that hugely powerful mindset - The Victim. Now we have a furious and radicalized dominant arm of the Republican Party.
Since 2008, that group has developed a take-no-prisoners, ends-justify-the means mentality. In essence, they are now REVOLUTIONARIES willing to overthrow our government and much of our institutional life, as they try to remake America according to their fantasy.
Decades of propaganda and fury will do strange things to people's abilities to justify outragrous behavior. Many of us abhorred what we saw coming from those media liars over many years, but didn't want to believe it would lead to such radicals actually gaining power. We vainly hoped that they would stay on the "fringe". But here we are. ☹️
So, IMO, Step 1 has been, for 7 yrs., to recognize that this isn't a political battle. It's a destructive revolutionary mindset that must be seen exactly for what it is. DT, Jordan, Greene, DeSantis, Gaetz, etc. are just the point of the spear. They speak for tens of millions of deeply aggrieved Americans who lost their ability to support the rule of law.
Exactly. But astounding has positive connotations. I would use the word appalling.
It's not Jim Jordan's actions that I feel are astounding. I responded to Kenneth James' comments.
Kenneth Kaunda was the first president of Zambia 1964-1991. Unlike neighboring Zimbabwe and many other African countries, Kaunda lost his presidency in a democratic election in 1991.
I believe these Republicans understand the rule of law all too well--they are deliberately choosing to ignore and corrupt it.
Thank you Ann! I keep repeating over and over, it’s malice, not ignorance!! Part of asking the world to be honest is to call a spade a spade. Too many people calling tffg and his Congressional goons dumb. The goons know what they are doing and are intentionally doing it.
I'm not so sure they even understand.
Yes President HH of Zambia DOES know the ‘rule of law’ HEAR HEAR🙌 Yes, THEY certainly do have a bumpy road ahead...while we will stick to task at hand -that which involves huge amounts of America AND the worlds population, homelessness, housing shortages for the marginalized, medical costs/corruption and availability , daily gun deaths Tennessee btw has NO RED FLAG laws 🙁, and unfair tax laws ...to mention a few.
I think it's more a matter of not liking the rule of law than of not understanding it.
Of course the Republicans in Congress that are attacking Bragg understand the rule of law. They reject it, because it runs counter to their purposes. Which is retaining power and protecting Trump. If they can use their Congressional power to derail Bragg’s indictments, they will. Rule of law be damned.
Another ‘well said’ 🙌
Y’all going to get tired of me saying this often but WE CAN , we have to, we will 💙VOTE THE CLEAN SWEEP ! THE BLUE TSUNAMI💙 Vote them out of office ( and PS there are still some dang good Republicans in there, let’s put THEM in place of the MAGAs!
Though I believe many of them do "understand" the rule of law, I believe many of them don't.
The Black president of an African nation taking the white congressional chairs to school. Way to go!
What do you mean?
Jorden, Comer ...et al
Not what I was referring to. Look again at his comment.
If Ray didn't understand you, then neither do I.
It’s more than that Jon. HH’s imprisonment and torture and mistreatment of his immediate family by the former president of Zambia makes him larger than life in dealing with delinquents like Jordan who willingly abuse power. His ability to speak well against those who denigrate the laws comes from real experience. What I particularly liked was his empathetic leadership.
This is the very best, well informed response of all. Thank you.
Please, don't be so astounded. Let us acknowledge the way in which Zambian president Hakainde Hichilema responds to the Wall Street Journal reporter who showed interest in eliciting a response from our VP, Kamala Harris, when our P, Joe Biden, has made it clear we will not chime in and "opinionate"! Pretty sophisticated.
Astonishing and frightening, is it not, that a "black" man would be so much more sophisticated and cogent than all those "white" men in the Republican House Judiciary Committee! The fleecing of the United States always finds an agent willing to destroy us.
One of the more confusing comments I've read on here today.
Unfortunately get the meaning of KW's comment all too clearly. Good Lord Ann. The casual racism running through so many comments today is unbelievable.
My comment is sarcasm. White nationalist Republicans are the rot in our country. I watched the video clip of the confrontation between Congressmen Bowman and Massie. Bowan brought sense and knowledge to that argument. Massie simply made himself yet another foolish Republican.
Still want to understand what is so confusing to Ann W.
The sarcasm didn't come through for me; thanks for clearing that up.
Oh gosh! I honestly didn't know. Thanks for the clarification. Now that I reread it in the light of your intent it is a really good commentary on some of the other comments. Thanks!
I don't know what is confusing to Ann.
When addressing a universal audience, subtlety is not a good idea. Be clear on what you mean and more will quickly join your challenges.
Far from a universal audience. One may expect intelligence and understanding of nuance, if anywhere, here in HCR-space. Not to put down AnnW; she asked, and appreciated the answer.
What is confusing and I will attempt to clarify. I did find one typo and corrected it. I could change "fleece" to "cheat".
Why would that be astounding?
It's no accident the GOP lies and distorts things constantly. It is part of their game plan.
I honestly believe that is the only way they get through life: Lies, deceptions, distortions, distractions and diversions. Their hollow promises, their shallow mentality and their uncultivated grasp of most of society make them a very dangerous species. Each is their own centerpiece of their tight and strangled world, with little room left for anyone else.
Astounding? Perhaps. I find it inspiring.