Here's the thing about exploiters: without those whom they exploit, they wouldn't be successful. And that's why they oppose unions and any regulations that protect workers. They have no moral qualms about what they do because they perceive themselves to be superior human beings. When in fact their lack of morality makes them inferior.
Indeed. Also why they abhor regulation. Short-term profit is all they are interested in. Destroying the environment and endangering the next generation (or the current generation of workers) is just fine if it increases quarterly profit . .
“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.”
– John Adams
Some money is made by fair trade, some by controlling money, and some by extorting it. Not every dollar is the same.
Hi JL, I like this quote from John Adams very much! It's interesting that he was aware of the arrogance of power but didn't see himself as violating god's laws when, in response to Abigail's entreaty that he "remember the ladies," he laughingly replied, "We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems."
Madeline, I like both John's & Abigail's quotes. Abigail Adams' letters to Jefferson are a rich source of post Revolution writings.
I have posted before that John Adams is the Founder of diligent criminal defense & due process before there was even a United States. Of course, John had a brilliant "jury consultant" Abigail.
He was likely right at the time, as women didn’t exist as a political entity. They barely existed as human, needed only for what women have always been needed for.
Sickening and still true. And there are SOME men who will point and blame and announce "the woman made me do it." And with that Adam granted all cowardly men a scapegoat for their errors.
May we all have the courage of Lincoln, and Anita Hill.
A modern business scapegoat for a failure to get something done is the manager that blames their administrative assistant. If in doubt blame someone one else. Works until it doesn't.
In the Sun, Sept 12, 2005 Chump said " You never blame yourself. You have to blame something else. If you do something bad,, never, ever blame yourself." My Momma should have gotten hold of him. She would have tanned his hide.
But John Adams should not be imagined as a preemptive patriarch. He was extraordinarily uxorious. He disapproved of Ben Franklin's extramarital friendships with women. Adams not only habitually listened to Abigail, he quoted her; and their correspondence shows a personal relationship with her which is about as far away from patriarchal and authoritarian as you could get in the 18th-century West.
Agreed, William, yet he still refused to "consider the ladies" as citizens with the right to participate in the making of laws with which they were required to comply. They had just fought a war over "taxation without representation" yet they were keeping half the population in the position of having no right to be represented when decisions were being made that would profoundly affect their lives. I'm not condemning him, I'm just saying...
Remember “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” When the Hebrew sages wrote that they were trying to be sure humans didn’t die off. And only women could bear children. How do we now persuade men that if we bear more of their children they will only die of starvation? How do we persuade them that we must adopt and care for the millions of orphans who are dying of starvation because with man-caused climate change (greed), the environment will no longer nurture well food for the eight billion to eat? Are we humans capable of reversing accepted wisdom that no longer serves us?
Thank you for all the hearts. I feel very strongly about this, thinking it is the measure of who we are as humans, the measure of what we are capable of achieving.
"Women didn't exist," from whose perspective? I would caution against losing one's own if one is a woman, or committing the same error of arrogance if one is a man.
Remembering, too, that when John Adams wrote the first constitution of the Commonwealth (Republic) of Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, he included clauses prescribing property ownership not only for different public offices, but also for voters. Like all women, propertyless men were disqualified from voting in the West before the 1780s. And although women voting was specifically questioned by Abigail (and others) at the time, the idea of propertyless men voting (which had been quite conceivable for some during the Puritan Revolution and Commonwealth (republic) of England in the 1640s), was a matter of unquestioned law in every state in revolutionary America (except Vermont, which did not join the union until 1791). Give John some credit, though. He, like all the American Framers, was a militant republican (note the small-r) who would not brook monarchy, i.e. rule by one person, male or female. Trump and many other current political leaders are not.
I bring these issues up not to discredit John Adams in any way, but to remind us all that missing from the origins of just about every arena of life in our society are the robust voices of women with our different ways of knowing, thinking, feeling, valuing, and creating. Ours has not been a culture organized around the needs of women and children..
We are grateful that there were men like the enlightened founders who framed a democratic-republic and courageously fought the mighty British Empire to bring it into being. Adams et.al. made sure we didn't have a monarch anymore but men were still allowed to be tyrants in their own homes. Absent from the table were the needs and preferences, not to mention the intellects, of half the population who were birthing and educating children while running households, farms and businesses sometimes single-handedly.
Today we're in a climate crisis, land and oceans are becoming more and more toxic, species are dying off, there are fingers close to nuclear buttons, and in probably half the countries on Earth, women don't have a say in much of anything of general consequence. We need planetary cooperation on a large scale and we need people in decision-making positions who know how to cooperate to protect life on Earth. Certainly some of these people are men, and god-bless nurturing men! But I also advocate for the inclusion of more women, young people of all genders, people of color, and indigenous people because all of us are affected and all of us are needed for creative problem-solving.
We are doing a little better over my lifetime to tap the huge resources of women and people of color. I like to point out that somewhat over half the talent on this earth is female. We still have a long long way to go and the human race is running out of time.
Adams couldn’t have been THAT smart…but it sure has taken us a long time to allow those often rather smart ladies to gain some control. I still mourn the fact that Hillary didn’t make the Presidency. Guess I always will. And, Elizabeth Warren is another smart woman. We’ve a long way yet to go….Sarah Scott
At the time God had not yet been heard to speak about the equality of women, even by acute listeners. On the contrary. But there are exceptions for war leadership (Deborah) and righteous violence (Judith), names still conferred by hopeful mothers (and fathers).
And Adams well knew that he often did and said things that would fit the charge of "arrogant" not to mention bad-tempered. His diaries and journals show that like a good post-Puritan he was hard on himself, regretting such sins rather than trying to act as if he had not committed them. And he hated hypocrites. As for "fool" I think it's a foolish charge. As a one-man traveling state department in the 1770s-80s, Adams secured the first of the alliances (with the Netherlands) that made the Revolution winnable. His correspondence with Jefferson shows that he was a skilled thinker and no less learned than the celebrated TJ (though not as good a writer as TJ, as Adams himself told Jefferson when he quite un-arrogantly urged TJ to be the sole writer of the Declaration of Independence.
You're nice to ask a retired History teacher. I guess I'd start my answer by saying that almost all the Founders were extraordinary. Our politics managed to throw up an exceptional and surprising number of politicians who were intellectually gifted, purposeful, practical, and republican-minded. This has long been noticed.
Favorites? I prefer honest John Adams to Thomas Jefferson who did not quite live up to his rhetoric. I am no fan of Pierce Butler who nearly sank the Constitution in 1787 over slavery and the slave trade, or of James Wilson who is credited with inventing the presidency in 1787 which has threatened in the last twenty years to become constitutionally uncontrollable. I'm a very big fan of Connecticut's delegate Roger Sherman who rose from a rather low estate to serve in every founding U.S. legislative and constitutive body and propose the compromises necessary to U.S. survival. This despite the fact that so many of us now would dearly love to do those compromises over—like two Senators per state regardless of population and the ever less democratic Electoral College. I could go on, but will only add that we weak humans continue to care less about the Several who make our law, than about the One who executes it, whom we now routinely call the "commander-in-chief" though the Constitution makes him or her the "commander-in-chief" of the armed forces only when Congress has declared war.
And I very much regret that great and unsilent Founders like Abigail Adams, Mercy Warren, and other women could not vote or hold office in those times.
I think most of us here have read some history and well understand the many blind spots of the Founding Fathers. (Would that Abigail had had a seat attention table! She would have been a mighty Founding Mother!) Given that, they did a pretty good job of setting goals for us in the Declaration of Independence, and creating a basic framework for governing 13 unruly Colonies that were attempting to form a free nation.
One of my good friends is a direct descendent of John & Abigail Adams. All of the women in her family keep their maiden names. I can assure you that Abigail Adams’ spirit & strength continues on to this day!
The enduring power of our founding documents is not in the so called "originalist" claim of divining the founder's frame of mind but in the practical principles they identified that deliver freedom and justice. Like science, they should, if properly applied, work in anyone's hands, adjusted to ongoing circumstances.
I think it is not so much a matter of one taking precedence over the other as that the Declaration was aspirational and an explanation of why we felt rebellion against the Crown was necessary. The Constitution was more of a nuts and bolts effort to structure a government, and as it was made by white men of property, it of course favored their interests.
It is up to us to remedy the shortcomings and blindness built into the Constitution as we ourselves awaken to its shortcomings. As we have done, to some extent, in the Amendments.
Bringing the Constitution up to actually attempting to achieve the goals stated in the Declaration is a very difficult proposition, especially since our current system is very much purposely skewed toward keeping those already in power right where they are.
I would argue that the rise in popularity of fascism among a certain segment of the population makes needed changes more difficult because that segment seeks to suppress the voting power of those of us who seek equality and justice for all.
Things like getting rid of the Electoral College, which isn't even in the Constitution, could help. And enforcing existing laws against white collar criminals, and corrupt government officials would also do wonders.
A large part of our troubles comes from the longterm corruption in the use of prosecution against the poor and marginalized while refusing to prosecute the rich and powerful.
Exactly. And I give the founders credit of providing a living, amendable charter, not some claim of holy writ. Alas, too many of the founders rebelled again inheritable titles and feudalism yet retained feudalism is a more pernicious form as slavery, but I think that the principles they enunciated undermined racism and sexism as they were passed on to be reanimated by succeeding generations (and still the battle rages).
I wonder to what degree the icon of the Revolutionary War (the details of which seem of little interest to most) feeds the unhealthy culture that glorifies violence as legitimate all-purpose response to discord (such as "Stand Your Ground") beyond repelling violence-enforced subjugation or survival necessity. The devil is in the details.
Thank you, Joseph. Spot on! Thanks largely to the corrupt members of the Supreme Court, the Constitution, even with its built-in weaknesses is being further perverted to meet the ends of ideologues who have abandoned interpreting the Constitution in favor of twisting it into weird co ntortious to achieve the results they want.
Our checks and balances are being severely challenged as well. Trump and his GOP are doing their best to wipe out the checks and balances by discrediting the legislative and judicial branches as much as possible while trying to vest all power in the executive. Remember GWB and the "unitary executive" theory? Well, here it is again! And that means: strongman rule, i.e., authoritarian rule.
Exactly. Monopolies of money and political power are the enemy of "liberty and justice for all. Overly concentrated power tends to corrupt, even with assumed good intentions, let alone malicious greed and hubris.
I think that you may be trying to shrink History here. We weren't a democracy in 1787 (except Vermont for propertyless men and New Jersey for propertied women until 1807) and for just those reasons you mention. The many democratic changes since are thought instead to be original and immemorial,
But many aristocratic institutions remain, and as long as the Electoral College and the two-Senators- per-state composition of the Senate (which decides our judges) continue, the Constitution limits democracy even now. Try imagining what unexceptionable things we do now will be considered horrible breaches of some basic ethic in the future.
Adams quote needs to reflect the need for leaders that insert accountability and a soul/conscience with power. I have worked at state levels of power. We do a poor job as society in cultivating ethical leaders. In fact, as former elected official, who in retirement, created a couple of bi-partisan leadership institutes for emerging young leaders in govt. But, that was before the Gingrich era inaugurated slash and burn politics and the Democrats sat on their hands.
There is a strange degree of vicarious identification we feel with selected celebrities, I think myself included, but I try not to let it go weird. I think for people who might literally fight in response to criticism of "their" sport team, that they only have seen on TV, or perhaps from a grandstand. It's mostly pure fantasy.
It appears to me that Democrats have been on the defensive since Reagan. Perhaps that is changing.
Thanks Susan. I served on Ethics Committees for 12 years in the legislature, then led our state in civil rights investigation. For many, I realize ethics and esthetics are in the eyes of the beholder. Given today's environment of false lies and false news, there are still ethical public figures and I do want to support those.
My background may help explain how I applied my experience. I served as a St. Rep for 9 years and St. Sen. for 4 years. During those years, I served on the legislative Ethics Committees, normally a committee noone wants to serve on. However, we had to address 2 of the biggest scandals facing the legislature and Iowa in the 80's and 90's. Later, I was Director of our state Civil Rights Commission, and was its lobbyist, as I was leading statewide environmental and child and family groups. During 1994, along with key R's, we formed the Institute for Public Leadership and held trainings for several years. Ethics training was a key component. We brought in the creater of Character Counts who challenged Iowans --almost all of our attendees believed they had never done anything unethical. Later, I taught NonProfits at Iowa State University. From law school to the legislature to my NFP work to grad students at ISU, ethics was a subject of a smirk. However, most people lamented the inethical behavior in public officials. I concluded early we needed to train, not just to teach ethics. I think legislators these days receive a couple of hours of one-time introduction to ethics when they are elected. In contrast, lawyers in Iowa have to comply with bi-annual ethical requirements. If you wish, we could communicate on FB messenger or other more private means.
Ethics confused with esthetics? Esthetic theories of ethics (and the contrary) do exist on the outskirts of philosophy, especially in the Romantic Period, but they don't hold much water among modern philosophers.
Should our government protect people of property as they exploit the majority so they can accumulate wealth and move society forward as they wish? Or should we protect the right of ordinary Americans to build their own lives, making sure that no one can monopolize the country’s money and resources, with the expectation that their efforts will build society from the ground up?
I agree Michael, protect and not allow the exploitation of labor. Financially and safety. OSHA and good unions like SEIU are the Checks and Balances of Salary and Safety. Especially now with the high increase of immigrants with limited or no English. Limited skills. Workers that are exploited today.
I say yes to Professor Richardson’s second question above and bring back and understand why a federal holiday was created for the workers, not the owners.
Happy Labor Day folks. And there are good owners and companies out there.
Why did you feel the need to say this: "And there are good owners and companies out there." That is irrelevant to the topic of Labor Day or to this essay.
Monica get your head out of your butt. Without workers, indeed Labor Day would not be needed however, where would a workers aggregate but under Simone, or who could all do all of the negotiations to obtain some money and wealth, shared with workers both are needed – but ethics and morals in the work environment and maintaining those ethics is principle.
Hammond warned, " it was only a matter of time before workers took over northern cities and began slaughtering men of property."
Could we back up a bit and acknowledge that the "property" these men of means claimed as their own was in fact stolen from prior inhabitants who may have been compensated now and then by pennies and trinkets and more often than not were driven from the sacred lands they had known as home for ages - murdered, raped or enslaved if they did not willingly comply?! Is it not true that American prosperity has it's roots not only in uncompensated labor, but also in the 'real estate' comprised of these stolen lands?
Many moneyed Americans complain that progressive change constitutes a "transfer of wealth." Is this not The American Way from the get-go?
So, who has a right to the wealth of this nation?
If someone steals your car do you have a right to reclaim it, or must you simply let it go and 'get a horse' ...?
Thank you for this post, Kathleen. I have long argued that I could make a case that the US was built on slavery, genocide, and stolen land. Now the Rs are trying to hide that history. The current arrogant moneyed Americans can thank St. Ray Gun for helping along the current transfer of wealth upwards. This is one of the reasons Rs continue to stir the culture wars pot so that those who have lost and are angry can have someone to blame. He also left us with a housing and mental health mess which people here and I am sure elsewhere continually whine about.
Thank you too Michele. It looks to me like not only are they trying to hide that history, they also are amping it up in so many ways, I question if anyone realizes how many are counted among the unworthy lessers by entities accelerating the process. We are but ants at a picnic for those promoting the grand vision of a perfect world with no wrinkles ... as hard as folks on the ground work to secure justice and integrity in health and sanity, the deadly beat goes on ... check this out:
From Robert B. Hubbell's Substack site - (9/2/2023)
Judge Ho takes control of nuclear safety in the US.
"You may remember that federal court of appeals judge James Ho recently filed a concurring opinion in which he described the “aesthetic injury” caused by abortion to doctors who are denied the experience of delivering babies. That same judge issued a decision in which three judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals essentially appointed themselves the arbiters of the disposal of nuclear waste in the US."
See Vox, Texas v. NRC: America’s Trumpiest court just put itself in charge of nuclear safety.
"Judge James Ho is not a nuclear scientist, an expert in energy policy, an atomic engineer, or anyone else with any specialized knowledge whatsoever on how to store and dispose of nuclear waste.
"Nevertheless, Ho and two of his far-right colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just put themselves in charge of much of America’s nuclear safety regime — invalidating the power of actual nuclear policy regulators to decide how to deal with nuclear waste in the process."
"Judge Ho’s opinion is a dumpster fire of anti-regulatory broadsides on “the administrative state.” Judge Ho (and his fellow Federalist Society judges) may hate the administrative state, but the US will soon have 200,000 metric tons of nuclear waste on its hands. Congress has ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine how and where nuclear waste should be stored. Under Judge Ho’s decision, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit gets to make those decisions.
"While disposing of nuclear waste is no one’s favorite topic, it is one that should be left to scientists and engineers whose charge is to protect public health and safety. While much of Judge Ho’s decision is nonsense, two paragraphs invoke the “major questions doctrine,” in which the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court granted itself the right to overrule congressional judgments delegating regulatory authority to federal agencies.
"The Supreme Court’s reactionary majority may soon find itself struggling with the question of where to store 200,000 tons of nuclear waste if it rejects the judgments of the NRC and EPA. Is that a decision we should leave up to Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito?
Whenever I read something like this....judges making decisions like this.....I want first to vomit. Then I give thanks for being as old as I am without children. Then I feel rage because I do have very young relatives and I also love the natural world. We have noticed fewer swallows and the apple guy at the Saturday Market reported no bats and many fewer swallows....key species for insect control. I thought I might not live to see some of the climate change events we are seeing. We had our own fire apocalypse in the fall of 2020 when the Santiam Canyon east of us burned as well as other places in Oregon. Today there was an article in the local rag about three fires in three years in the south Salem hill area. Lots of wooded lots and also in the West Salem hills. They have been lucky. The latest one was caused by some ATV dopes riding over very dry grass....but it sounds like nothing will happen to them. So we have nitwits in high places and not so high places. So, the courts are in charge of wetlands, nuclear power, abortion, destroying the wall between church and state, voting rights, polluting the vote with money and more. Btw, thanks for all the cites to various articles about Judge Ho and his fellow regressives.
"So we have nitwits in high places and not so high places." That is worth quoting again and again: a) because the nitwits may never know it, and b) because nitwits may be defined as those who cannot be convinced by non-nitwits.
Indeed - changing times ... hard to believe wee people have any influence - got to do what we can ... me too on age and children (73/0) - I find I still feel concern for the children even though they did not come from my womb ... how can we not care?! Yes, thanks to Robert B. Hubbell for providing the links - he is a reservoir of relevant perspectives!
In addition to really younger relatives, several greats and about a dozen great greats, three of whom started school this year, I was an educator and I do care about kids. Many of ex-students have children and some of them are grandparents. Here 80/0. It also fries me to see nature destroyed.
You can find current status and concerns about high level radioactive contamination at Hanford nuclear waste dump in Washington State on the Energy Matters Substack site:
That is just plain scary Michele. I just finished posting the latest info about Hanford on the "Energy Matters" page today - along with Robert B. Hubbell's review with links - will send to Gerry Pollet at Heart of America NW and post on their Facebook page. I tuned in to an online conference recently - women from the Yakima Nation who are working on this are strong and positive - not giving up - that gives me hope ... for what, I am not sure, but the positive spirit nourishes the soul ... taking it one breath at a time ....
See The New Jim Crow. With measure 110 we in Oregon tried to lessen the penalty for some harder drugs. Unfortunately, we now have open drug use in downtown Portland for example. I think there will be some changes to the law the next election.
"On top are the Haves with power, money, food, security, and luxury. They suffocate in their surpluses while the Have-Nots starve. Numerically the Haves have always been the fewest. The Haves want to keep things as they are and are opposed to change. Thermopolitically they are cold and determined to freeze the status quo."
However, the political class is currently shifting to the Haves, to be among the few who would always want to monopolise land, money, and the means of production to curtai those whom they see as revolutionaries. In America, it seems Republican is keen on carving out an economic model that's based on dishing out tax breaks to the wealth and building economy around the few with an assumption that the country's economy will move forward.
This trend has been more pronounced in Africa where those in power marshall resources and monopolise almost every means of production so to consolidate power and cling for as long as they found another power-hungry individual whom they will keep their "acquired" wealth. From Niger, DRC, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan to Chad, their trickle-down economic model is breeding a recipe for chaos as has been evident.
The middle class - popularly known as Have a little, Want Mores - currently represents the highest number of population in the US. "Torn between upholding the status quo to protect the little they have, yet wanting change so they can get more, they become split personalities. They could be described as social, economic, and political schizoids. Generally, they seek the safe way, where they can profit by change and yet not risk losing the little they have. They insist on a minimum of three aces before playing a hand in the poker game of revolution. Thermopolitically they are tepid and rooted in inertia."
However, in the past, the middle class has produced creative leaders who have been keen on protecting against the exploitation of the working class or labourers. Martin Luther, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Currently, it seems big corporations are fighting with the labor unions. While they don't want anything to do with labor unions, they own the means of production and want to maximize profit. AI has been a disruption and it is a threat to modern employer-worker relationships and most of the tech workers have been dismissed. From Facebook to Google, AI has replaced workers. Inside, some Republicans receive donations from corporations to protect their interests.
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Sorry, you managed to list several of history's great monsters on the "good guys" list. I refer to Napoleon, whose wars killed proportionately as many Europeans as World War I did after he declared himself Emperor (dictator). Mao Tse Tung killed at least 90 million of his fellow Chinese, 50 million of them in his "great leap forward." Lenin led to Stalin who killed a good 40 million in the USSR, and Lenin did a pretty good job himself in the civil war. Danton was the author of The Terror which was the overthrow of the French Revolution. So I think you might want to re-think how you classify the good guys.
And losing his own head very shortly afterwards. And to think it began with a peaceful walk to admire the palace... It was all that American's fault, with his Rights of Man stuff.
They were among the leading legislators of the First French Republic, a democratic republic, which Napoleon put an end to by becoming sole ruler. The debate about who was best for France, or worst, was continuing robustly when I presented a paper in the Bicentennial Conference on the French Revolution in 1989. It's still on now, though somewhat muted. Bienvenu a` l'histoire de France.
They all should be on the "enemies of the people list." I was actually low on Mao's score. 50 million dead from famine in the "great leap forward" and another 30-35 million in the "cultural revolution." Plus all the "incidentals" from the civil war.
Not all tyrants are murderous. And I know that President Lincoln, responsible for more deaths than Napoleon, was called a "murderous tyrant" in some rebellious quarters.
TCinLA may find that Historians might buy your Napoleon, but not your Danton. Both were elected by the very novel method of manhood suffrage (one man one vote whether propertied or propertyless). The system was called "democracy" a system that the brand-new United States of America had disallowed in every state but Vermont. Napoleon was a military dictator, but an elected one whom most historians regard as an extraordinary statesman, and don't call a monster. Danton was a member of the sovereign legislature of the republic that Napoleon overthrew, and as such was only one of the authors of the Terror, a cabinet which extended and enforced the Revolution rather than "overthrowing" it. Another more important Terror-ist, Robespierre, got that same legislature to agree to Danton's execution. Republics are polyarchic.
Reaganomics claims that massive tribute delivered to the very richest creates jobs, while both in logic and actuality, consolidators want to shed as many jobs as possible. I agree, that like climate abuse, we are not taking AI automation seriously, in terms of it's potential impact on both the landscape of employment, and potential Orwellian control.
“… makes them inferior.” By declaring a group of people to be inferior, you accept the same societal construct as Hammond. Your point would have been just as powerful without the last sentence.
The have and the have nots. Among the “working class” a system evolved wherein some workers were chosen to supervise others and thus a third class was formed and persevered. Of course, men regarded themselves as set apart from all women because they were stronger, bigger and/or more aggressive than women. Additionally, religious distinctions arose early in this process to create many multiple subgroups of workers which discriminated against one another. And then, to add another distinction, white workers believed they were superior to Black workers, thereby adding another series of subclasses. So unions were formed but they were “white” only to start (and some still remain so in practice while not officially). So, racism and discrimination of all sorts exists and in some circumstances, flourishes. Mr. Lincoln’s example has gotten far more complicated in reality.
So how does a pluralistic and democratic society prevail, grow, and expand with all these “power” enablers exercising their will against others? It seems to me that the great leverlers of power to sort out at least some of these discriminatory practices must be the political institutions and the political parties. At least they can establish and enforce laws which bridge the discriminatory gaps in society. Democratic politicians and local, state and federal—for the most part— Democratic party institutions perform that function! There are so many examples currently in play. But we are faced with a different set of choices now and in next November because this Republican Party at virtually all levels has bee overtaken by a discriminatory and hateful class which cannot be allowed to govern at the risk of losing our pluralistic society! So the eternal societal battle continues at a much greater level.
Will each of us on this Substack pledge to make a real and effective difference from now to November 2024? One way is to generously support the brilliant Harvard students at www.TurnUp.us/ which is tremendously effective in registering online 18 to 29s and then to encourage and motivate them to vote! We have a job to do, each of us, as it is not an exaggeration to state that our small d democracy is at risk! Please help! Thank you, each and every one and I apologize for this overly long diatribe!
You have to know how to scream self-righteously to be a member of the contemporary Republic party of domestic terrorism. They must hold auditions or something to get the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, as well as the ever screaming Jim Jordan.😝
Auditions! There's a GOP Central Casting! Their general heading is whacko, but then they look for specific peculiarities: odd theories; racism; closet nazis; proud white nationalists; anti-immigrant; anti-science; anti-woman's rights; anti-anything-but-straight; pro gun but anti-book..., then they lure them into their service by acting as if they're all sane and endlessly broadcast their "findings" and "evidence" until they become "alternative facts" that filter into the collective consciousness sufficiently to alter the outcome of elections based upon the votes of a gigantic minority of the ignorant but self-assured populace — all for the benefit of a tiny minority of self-serving white, wealthy men; religious zealots; and fabulists of every stripe.
You got THAT right, Russ! It would be funny if it weren't so threatening.
Because that's what THEY'RE doing, It falls to the rest of us to empower one another to speak, and act in accordance with OUR values and to not cede the stage or yield the microphone to the loudest, craziest person in the room. It's been a collective mistake on the part of the media, beginning with Les Moonvess of CBS who shamelessly stated, "Donald Trump may not be good for America but he's good for CBS," to give the orange imposter massive amounts of air-time. Many in the media continue to show clips and repeat the dog-whistle messages he covertly sends to his crazy followers, regarding his need for them to exact revenge on his behalf.
I wish that every time his name was mentioned it was coupled with the word "dangerous," or something similar, e.g. "Is it possible that this dangerous man could still be the Republican nominee for President?" or, "Is it acceptable that a man who told his followers that he loved them after they'd smashed windows, beat police, ransacked the Capitol, and threatened the lives of duly-elected legislators, could still be qualified to run for President?" I realize this is a grey area of journalism but continuing to talk about him and the R's as if they aren't an increasing threat to the safety of all of us, is unwittingly participating in the gaslighting that the R's perpetuate themselves.
Reading your reply again, I realized my follow-up was a more complicated version of everything you wrote and with which I agreed. The whole spectrum of arraignments, trials, the coming election and all that could possibly go wrong have me wired.
"I wish that every time his name was mentioned it was coupled with the word "dangerous," or something similar."
Yes, Madeline! Like the revolving warnings on cigarette packs!
Les Moonvess; I didn't know he said that. There is money-machine journalism and journalism that attempts responsible reportage. It may be that the "grey area" of journalism — where facts' transparency becomes lies' opacity — is represented by organizations that, for profit, intentionally blur the exact location of that divide by claiming "reporting" covers the wide swath of "anything said"; a neat, logical-sounding, workaround to appeal to the greatest swath of readers and listeners that their company's conscience can bear. No doubt feeling righteously smug if not slick, the illustrious NYT went down that path by gradually separating news from opinion while simultaneously cultivating, by invitation, outrageous opinion pieces to achieve "balance"; and to encourage readers to engage in a new category of "news": pointless polemics — which wouldn't exist if fact was given the platform "polemics" now occupies. But to solve that moral quandary, increasingly, the Times designates special columns dedicated to parsing the divide between fact and opinion — giving the publication a veneer of fairness and patina of correctness — as if including fact within its reportage is unnecessary if they provide it elsewhere. Thus, the truth gradually becomes a bridge too far, and by example, the Times engenders a sense of truth's irrelevancy. Progressives' frequent call to action is important: they warn that a passive society relinquishes freedom by disengaging; by not speaking out; and declare that responsible citizens must refuse to equivocate. Failing to include fact within the body of reporting is a form of equivocation. "The whole truth..." ought to be a newspaper's proud banner.
A distant chorus of dead republicans, from Brutus, John Adams and Danton to Sam Ervin, Eliot Richardson, and even Robespierre might be heard lamenting those ignorant spiritual monarchists.
Right, William. It's as serious as a heart attack that democracy is directly under attack by white, mostly male or male identified women who truly know not what they do. Those societies that hand power to sociopathic "strongmen," invariably suffer the silencing of their individuality and all of their rights in order to be obedient to a tyrannical overlord.
Those of us who can see that nightmare approaching are trying to assert the virtues of democracy to wider and wider circles of the voting populous. I cast my lot with people like us who are trying to preserve the right to think for ourselves...the freedom of mind, as Steve Hassan puts it. ♥️
I am one of the wage slaves and I don’t like the trends that I have witnessed since 1981. Too much wealth in the hands of a few. Banks that are too big to fail but not too big to get even bigger. The hope and promise of a more humane society by the adoption of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, now being undermined by the Supreme Court. Surely it is time for the arc of history to bend toward justice as once described by Martin Luther King. The people can make the change begin and the sooner the better.
The people can effect the change, but they must be informed and committed. We have a number of problems in this area. The MAGA/KKK are so intent on installing white supremacy that all else is irrelevant. On top of that we have the propaganda machine aimed at the white Christians, as well documented in Thomas Frank's 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" The wealthy use wedge issues (abortion, immigration, racism, homophobia) to induce working class people to vote against their own best economic issues, and this has been going on full speed since 1981. G.W. Bush was right on 3/31/2001 when at the White House Correspondents' Dinner he said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."
Thank you for repeating that quote from W, didn’t know where it came from but have posted it often. Damn, he didn’t waste any time crowing about that massive cheat. Couldn’t believe how they hit the ground running with the bull Schitt; Dems seemed frozen and stunned. Well, I sure was, but mad as hell.
Jeri, it may be the only truthful things Dubya ever said. I thought of him as a hopeless narcissist. Wow, was I ever misinformed about what a true malignant narcissist is.
My feelings exactly, Jeri. I was angry when Gore conceded so quickly. I was stunned when the Brooks Brothers crowd was banging on the door to the room where the recount was taking place in Florida, screaming and carrying on like the arrogant white supremacists they were. I didn't know how to understand what they were doing at the time but now I do. Just creating chaos caused the counting to be shut down, I think, and thrown over to the Florida State Supreme Court. That's the "steal" WE should have stopped.
And a steal it was, by arse wipe Stone. Not just him. Mr Republican Jim Baker helped or orchestrated. Bet Cheney was sneaking around somewhere. That was the moment when they all realized that cheating was easier than winning. Wish some enterprising journalist(s) would take that on, but of course, now we have a dire emergency.
The quote from W is priceless. Honestly it seems that our democratic republic has too many citizens that are apathetic or lazy, but this is changing. The MAGA types have had the motivation, energy , organization and money behind them and succeeded in installing a conman in the White House. The progressive side and the independents did wake up in 2020 to defeat TFG. The hard work is still ahead. Pass the ERA and protect women’s rights, voting rights and civil rights. I am encouraged by the fact that J6 came after the last election, what is the Defendant’s political power now really? A crushing defeat of the republicans at all levels, may be in our future. T**** will be leading the way.
I think that there is the real possibility that TFG will be emasculated politically in the very near future, cutting a deal to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. His best hope would be the U.S. Supreme Court interfering.
Frankly, my dear...I don't give a damn about what happens to TFG...it's way beyond time that he feel the consequences of his life of self-aggrandizing cruelty. My concern is that we Americans make it plain that no one abuses us and gets away with it. Thank goodness for Jack Smith, Fani Willis, the entire J6 Committee, the amazing Democrats who conducted the two impeachment trials, and everyone pulling for democracy.
Madeline, that is very well put. We do need to make it crystal clear that "no one abuses us and gets away with it." That is what TFG and the KKK/MAGA group has done, they've abused us, they've abused the system.
TFG will be feeling the consequences of his actions, there is no doubt about it now. With indictments in four jurisdictions and multiple felony counts in each, he has no way out. I think he knows it too, but also still believes he will find a way to get over it and win. He won’t win, not this time.
I really hope so, Jack. It's essential for us to send a clear, unequivocal message to all other wanna-be dictators that this population will not be subordinated.
I would not count on help from the Supremes, except for Alito and Thomas, if I were him. It is time to expand the court for a number of reasons, though.
Wow., Richard...I hadn't heard that quote from W. but he said it right out loud. Since Nixon, the Republicans have gotten more brazen about their sense of entitlement to power and more open about how they get it. W. also said, "If this were a dictatorship it would be a lot easier...as long as I was the dictator. HeeHeeHee." This last was said with a cocky grin like the fantasy was tantalizing. It didn't take long for the R. party to produce a real dictator.
I remember that, too, Madeline. G.W. Bush was worse than worthless. We almost went into an economic depression. Nixon's Southern Strategy to bring the racists into the party worked. But, it looks as though it could be the demise of the Republican Party as we now know it. The term "Conservative" has no present meaning. It has been hollowed out and replaced with racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. The GOP is now the KKK.
Correct...the GOP is now the KKK and they're not even hiding it any longer. I hope that the millions of people who swept Obama and then Biden into office are as fired up to defend progressive values as the hate-filled crazies are to destroy them. Roe being overturned, pregnant women being hunted, books being banned, Black history being erased, trans-kids being socially disappeared...it's enraging how quickly that all happened. We're always ten steps behind these miserable people. I also wonder why they're still being called "Conservative" when they're as Reactionary as it gets. The media has to catch up and see them as they really are, with or without the white sheets.
Jack, Intended merely as amplification, I would submit that ordinary women and men, not necessarily heroic but likely anxious and uncertain, nonetheless, at the very least, must share in the responsibility for bringing forth a far more cooperative environment in which there is a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of people who feel marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
Jack, I agree. Accordingly, we must press Democrats to focus more on their pro-worker agenda that, along with passage of the PRO Act, would entail a $15 hourly minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, extension of the child tax credit, affordable, quality child care, universal healthcare, investments in housing, in eldercare, and more, all of which have received zero Republican support.
Robert Reich wrote $24 minimum wage a few years ago. Having calculated that $15 an hour will get you either food or a roof but not both (unless you work 2-3 jobs, I vote for Reich’s math.
Virginia, I agree that a $15 hourly minimum wage is not a livable wage anywhere in the country. However, as a pragmatic progressive, I view doubling the minimum wage as laudable progress. Still, admittedly insufficient, I will continue to press Democrats to prioritize the comprehensive pro-worker agenda I enumerated in my reply to Jack.
Always amazing to me that the Republican Party of Lincoln could swing 180 degrees on so many core beliefs… and not for the better. The mob is fickle. And I do think Democrats should claim Lincoln posthumously as one of our best presidents 😁.
There is just no way he would stand for the core beliefs of today’s Republican Party, deconstructing and radical force that it is.
Well-said. I think you’re on to something. A few ads using Lincoln’s words (great time for a deep fake so he can “speak” them himself), followed by a clear message: “which party is working to implement Lincoln’s goals? NOT the Republicans. Vote Democratic. “
No deep fakes, please. Actors and/ or narrators. Lincoln’s words are the clear message. Contrasting with Hammond’s. Who volunteers to be a member of the permanent underclass, which Hammond thought was necessary?
Narration can be powerful. We seem to have abandoned the art of evocative public speaking for TV razzle dazzle, but I think there is still potential there. Some of Biden's utterances deserve more presentation.
Ryan Lincoln would be as likely to join the Trumpublicans today as Jesus would step forward to sing ‘Onward Christian Soldiers, marching off to war, with the cross of Jesus….’
Lincoln reflected the soul of united America while Jesus embodied love and forgiveness. Evangelical ‘Christians’ (Trumpublicans) represent none of this.
Keith, as a youngster I was astonished at a documentary depicting the activity of the KKK. I noticed them carrying and wearing the crucifix. Constructing then burning a crucifix on a hillside. This confused me no end, so I asked my mother if KKK people go to church. Her response was “ yes and they need to go to church! They might learn something there”. Of course they never did learn anything in church and continued their terrorist activities until the FBI finally cracked down on them, after many years of lack of action by law enforcement. Today’s evangelicals are in some cases, the KKK but without hoods and robes.
Jack I recalling reading that KKK members, both in the 1970s and 1920s, would put KKK robes and hoods over their clothes as pastors, policemen, businessmen, or whatever.
A living Jekyll and Hyde situation! Today the Trumpublican hoods don’t even bother with robes.
Sadly the election of Obama ignited something in the Trumpublicans. His election instead of marking a final end of the Civil War, created a fear and anger that gave victory to the bigot who rode down the golden escalator. On J6 those people you describe were there in large numbers.This has to end and I believe it will. And your
There are two great marching tunes to go with the hymn, but it needs new words to reflect the current state of the world. Had to laugh thinking that I have marched to both tunes, but like most things I sang as a child, it’s the tunes, not the words, that I loved. (Although the patriotism of WWII did lend a certain Jr ne sais quoi to the marching tunes which fitted in quite well with “The Caissons Go Rolling Along.”
As for Lincoln: thank you to all who quoted his and Hammond’s words. Thinking of Nicki Haley in the Hammond context, not certain it’s impossible that her addled brain might not embrace him like her SC base. (I have definitely racist “Christian” family in SC, so watch Haley carefully.)
Keith, glad to find you today. When I don’t, wonder if you’ve either lost a cane or been “disabled” for assault.
We are fortunate to have an elder statesman in HCR’s mix.
Virginia When I’m dragging bit [a tired dragon?] I remember seeing the cane dance in Egypt, where a grandfather with his cane would dance with his grandkids, they moving a bit faster than their Grampie.
Actually, I have been posting quite regularly—three last night and this morning. We are a bit hustled, since we have just bought a condo in Princeton and face the move, selling our home of 26 years, and sorting through a lifetime of stuff. Lots of nostalgia. In choosing the books that I shall take with me, I have decided to only take a few and keep the reviews I have posted on perhaps 100 others.
I won a WW II contest to link three songs—winning $4, half of which went to my favorite serviceman.
“There will be a hot time in the old town tonight when the Yanks come home after marching through Berlin.” I was only 10.
I vividly remember having dinner with Edward R. Murrow and the Andrews Sisters at a bond rally in Camden, NJ. They sang their marvelous Boogie Woogie song.
So sorry I missed it. Any suggestions on how to retrieve it? I read Shirer in the 1960’s, but never Murrow because I never was confronted with anything he wrote. I know about his excellence and courage, but not at first hand in his telling.
Keith, description of moving, priceless. Moving from Richmond to Chicago in 1997 from four storeys (1825 house), I culled, and now in a condo am facing the culling again. Who wants my treasures other than antiques? Though my three diplomas from UNC-CH have decided to frame and send to my grandson. When I got them to frame and hang was considered “show off. I’ve moved 11 times , so know the game, and enjoyed your description. Have been at VA GOTV postcards and got engrossed in “The Heat will Kill You First,” so am behind on comments. Shall try, as always to find yours. Perspective is so refreshing. It comes first after the wonderful quotes we get showered with. If you meet my favorite historian at Princeton
Virginia This move should be better than my 1962 move to Congo with an 11-month-old daughter. The State Department provided us 600 pounds of air freight, since getting stuff to Congo by ship/land was antsy. 300 pounds of the air freight disappeared, including much that was essential for a baby. Imports from Denmark took about 4 months. At one time I wrote my ‘bat shit’ memos, but that’s another story.
Lincoln achieved wealth as a lawyer earning around $25,000/year in the 1850's. And then he dedicated his life to the service of the country at a time when we needed his leadership and intellect the most.
Similarly, Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals, the Franklin Stove, made great progress with our understanding of electricity and he created the swimming flipper which earned him a spot in the Swimming Hall of Fame. And he gave all of these inventions away. If Franklin was born 20 years later, he may have been one of the first Presidents, instead he served as an ambassador to France to obtain the funds necessary to win the Revolutionary War.
And there are other great American leaders like Teddy Roosevelt and FDR who have stood against the principles HCR lays out in the first paragraph. They were both born into wealth but understood that wealth isn't a zero sum game. Millions of Americans have been fortunate enough to build wealth through labor and as a country, we depend on this to continue.
So Ryan, I agree with you that Democrats share the Lincolnian vision and it seems to me that Joe Biden does as well. They both have known tragedy but have been able to rise above it to lead our country.
Great thoughts from many of you on this Labor Day Weekend!
Excellent mention of some American pillars of beneficent leadership, Franklin being one of my favorites. Really enjoyed the PBS series about him a couple years ago, and a biography I read!
Zero sum game! I believe this perspective is at the root of our societal problems. “If you have more I will have less.” Couldn’t be further from the truth, but it takes a bit of wisdom to see it.
The Republican party was always what it is: it was created by an amalgamation of the Abolitionists (pretty much run out of the party by 1880), the Know Nothings (who run it nowadays) and the Whigs, the party of industrial capitalism. The Republicans were creating the Gilded Age within 10 years of taking power in 1860, they created the Panic of 1873, the Panic of 1893, and the Great Depression. Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower, the only three good Republican presidents, were all flukes and cordially hated by the "real" Republicans. They went with Lincoln because his oratory won him the nomination (against the party establishment); Roosevelt was sidelined as Vice President until McKinley was assassinated; they went with Eisenhower because they figured all the WW2 GIs would vote for the Supreme Commander and they'd get back in power after 20 years in the wilderness.
I think Ike recognized Joe McCarthy's evil, but was intimidated by the size of his following, until he wasn't. He let Nixon play Checkers, but I doubt he had much faith in him. Nixon did a number of evil things and was a chip off the McCarthy block. Still, he had vestiges of civic responsibility compared to the "GOP" today.
Read a quote somewhere that chump made one wish for the old abusive boyfriend that they just thought was the worst. Not me. W and Dickie are always scum I. My eyes. We don’t need to keep electing the same type of dysfunctional arses like some women (and men) keep attracting the same God-awful partners. Time to break that pattern. Obama did, but guess what got stirred up. Racism disguised as socialism has led to overt and proud racism. The cult is fascism, not very well disguised
Yes. The Republican elites were happy to put Theodore Roosevelt into the Vice President job, figuring it was the place he’d cause the least amount of trouble.
The opening of David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback with tycoons on their way to McKinley's funeral is one of the most memorable scene-setting passages I think I've read. It's been years since I read it, and I must have given my copy to someone, but I still remember it.
Don't they still hate Lincoln? The South (having spread to the Midwest) is making a very determined effort these days to "rise again" and marginalize Blacks and other minorities, which they fear are becoming the majority (they are.)
They still do. That’s what makes me laugh when Repubs say they are the party of Lincoln. Unfortunately it’s just a way of being racist while pretending they are not.
Luckily for us, many northerners moved there & now Dems have a fighting chance (the newcomers being more informed?, or just less attached to Southern attitudes)
Minorities collectively are becoming the majority. But that's kind of a complicated statement. I think it's better to say that in the near future, if not already, whites become one of our major minorities.
John Birch's grandparents lived in my Georgia home county. He often visited as a child, I was told by someone who claimed to have played with him. His parents were missionaries in China. The figure for whom the right wing society is named bears little resemblance to the actual person, except that he died in Chinese hands. Nevertheless, Birchers abounded there (and probably still do). Their leader is MTG.
I read that his name was hijacked for the "cause;" thought Koch's were behind much of it. They are, and have been, conspiracy idiots since I was a pup. Thank you
Wasn't the Kochs, I think, but the Hunts, who went down with the price of silver. They have since rehabilitated themselves, I'm told. Of course, the same process continues in Texas so that "the people" can speak.
There was a 180 degree swing of Democrats in the South, in the late 1800's. Many became part of the Republican party. However, since then, the Republican party has morphed into another kind of party altogether, and many have become Democrats.
It is part of the style of government we "enjoy?" in the United States. People, their opinions and their politics swing and sway and, over the years, change. However, because we have laws, we survive. Any candidates that says they want to get rid of our Departments of Justice and other agencies that serve our country, should NOT be elected.
It seems significant to me that Lincoln's birthday was was a national holiday and now it is not. Like MLK Day, a lot of the observance was perfunctory, but it was a day to observe and reflect on Lincoln's character and legacy.
In 1968, congress (Legislation # 15951) passed a bill that changed several federal holidays, in order for them to fall on a Monday, thus creating a 3-day weekend. The act took affect 3 years later in 1971. Because their b'days were so close it made sense to combine them while at the same time also honoring the other presidents (or so my sources said).
Ryan, I think you and everyone else on the string fail to talk about the intellect and the wealth of this country and those who hold the wealth or forgetting one thing. Each of them is human and they have done things in their lives They’re not proud of. History often forgets to report these failings. As human beings, we have two sides or maybe three or 4 or 5 to each of us but again, I go back to ethics and morals. It’s what one believes truly, believes in their deepest soul, and we should except that belief, whether it be shared by us or the others . Some of those have learned from the crib to today what is right and what is wrong but sometimes the wrongs are not universal. They are individual wrongs and require revenge.
“If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected – those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most! – and listens to their testimony.”
– No Name on the Street
“Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.”
– If Beale Street Could Talk
“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.”
- The Devil Finds Work
“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”
Outside of the US James Baldwin is thought of as an American writer of genius. In France, he’s thought of as a great world writer who chose France as his home. The United States have a very unusual attitude towards race (racism exists everywhere, but race plays an outsized political and social role in the US - the role played by class elsewhere.)
James Baldwin, 1963. Courtesy: CSU Archives/Everett Collection
By Liz Kaufman
'James Baldwin was one of America’s greatest thinkers and writers on the subject of race. What would he have thought about present-day protests against police brutality and for racial equity? ... Here are some quotes from James Baldwin, most from over half a century ago, that are particularly resonant today:'
–From “The Fire Next Time,” 1963: “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were Black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.”
–Chair of Princeton’s Department of African American Studies and author of “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” Eddie Glaude quoting Baldwin in 1980: “What we are dealing with really is that for Black people in this country there is no legal code at all. We’re still governed, if that is the word I want, by the slave code.”
–Dick Cavett interview, 1969: “If any white man in the world says give me liberty or give me death, the entire white world applauds. When a black man says exactly the same thing – word for word – he is judged a criminal and treated like one, and everything possible is done to make an example of this bad nigger so there won’t be any more like him”.
–Dick Cavett interview, 1969: “(The police) are a very real menace to every black cat alive in this country. And no matter how many people say, ‘You’re being paranoid when you talk about police brutality’ – I know what I’m talking about. I survived those streets and those precinct basements and I know. And I’ll tell you this – I know what it was like when I was really helpless, how many beatings I got. And I know what happens now because I’m not really helpless. But I know, too, that if he (police) don’t know that this is Jimmy Baldwin and not just some other nigger he’s gonna blow my head off just like he blows off everybody else’s head. It could happen to my mother in the morning, to my sister, to my brother… For me this has always been a violent country – it has never been a democracy.”
–From “Florida Forum” on WCKT-Miami in 1963, answering the question on whether the racial conflict in Alabama and Mississippi could happen in Florida: “The situation in Alabama and Mississippi which is spectacular and surprises the country is nationwide. Not only could it happen in Florida, it could happen in New York or Chicago, Detroit or anywhere there’s a significant Negro population. Because until today, all the Negroes in this country in one way or another, in different fashions, North and South, are kept in what is, in effect, prison. In the North, one lives in ghettos and in the South, the situation is so intolerable as to become sinister not only for Mississippi or Alabama or Florida but for the whole future of this country.”
–Nearing the end of his life in the mid-1980s, Baldwin’s patience had run out. The anger he had channeled into his writing could no longer be quelled. He expressed his outrage and frustration in these words from an interview in the documentary film James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket: “What is it you want me to reconcile myself to? . . . You always told me it takes time. It has taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brothers’ and my sisters’ time, my nieces’ and my nephews’ time. How much time do you want for your ‘progress’?” (pbs.org) See link below.
Almost nobody held a mirror up to this country's racism better than Baldwin. He made everybody uncomfortable exactly because he forced them to see themselves in all their ugliness. And he expressed it with a learned language and intellectual prowess that directly contradicted what most White people at that time expected to come from a Black man. In many ways he really was ahead of his time, but he was also a product of the times in which he lived. Prophets are so often demonized in the times in which they live. All too often they don't live to see what they prophesy come to pass. Baldwin was just plain brilliant.
Carol C, that is so true of so many black men and women. To my mind they who have fought the hardest to rise to the top are the most accomplished of us all. They are the blacks and indigenous peoples who were viewed as ignorant, virtually untamed creatures and who were stolen from highly developed societies and placed in bondage in a world of which they knew nothing. It is almost unbelievable that they were able to overcome their treatment and scratch their way to the heights of accomplishments.
And now we have the new would-be “enslavers” who long for and work toward the “good old days” and want to keep our children as ignorant as their predecessors wanted to keep the enslaved. Tragic and horrifying.
Sara, being able to overcome their treatment possibly points to some genetic superiority, definitely not inferiority as the white enslavers would have it. On the slave ships where human beings were packed in literally (not figuratively) like sardines, the physically and mentally toughest survived disease and despair, to reach the slave auction. So many others did not.
Fern, Thank you for sharing these insightful Baldwin quotes. Following up on the first from No Name on the Street, I always had understood, contrary to the aristocracy that doesn’t even raise the question, that within a democratic society the question of how the most disadvantaged are afforded protections must continually be raised and pushed.
Remember during Reagan's term in office when the mentally ill were turned out? I saw people sleeping in cardboard boxes, under overpasses and the like. Reagan was a horrible person and president, promoting "trickle down economics" which doesn't work. Trump and the Republicans proved that again in 2017 with the $2 trillion tax cut, helping to increase our national debt $7.8 trillion in his 4 years in office, a record.
Yes, Richard, I remember well those days of de-institutionalization! I was working in mental health at the time and witnessed the lost souls with no family who were thrown out and the scrambling of poorly funded mental health offices to deal with this travesty. Many of the homeless today who suffer from mental illness are examples of Reagan's thoughtlessly carried out decision to supposedly save money by sacrificing the needs of the poor. I do not doubt that some state-run institutions needed reform at the time, but they shouldn't have been all shuttered as a solution. So many of Reagan's disastrous policies still affect us today. And I'm concerned that the disastrous actions by the likes of Trump and DeSantis will be felt for years to come as well.
I was a freshly minted deputy sheriff, and in 1986 was assigned to our court transport section (mostly charged with getting inmates* to medical appointments, court dates, anything that required them being out of the jail building) as well as with transporting people on mental health holds to and from either the State Hospital in Salem** or another institution 20 miles north called the Dammash State Hospital. We were making between 5-15 trips a week with people going one direction or the other. Dammash closed in 1988 as part of the Reagan plan. Transports went way down, but the mental health compromised population swelled and today represent a very large percentage of the unhoused populations that are in every community across the country.
* I knew them as inmates. Today they are called "Adults in Custody" or AIC.
** OSH is featured in "One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest"
They're still on our city streets, and all Republicans want to do is lock them up. Nevermind that we destroy (or convert into AB&B ) housing that might give them some protection.
So true. In Florida, they are in rural areas as well, struggling to find someplace to be safe in a world that doesn't care to address their root problems.
Their root problems are poverty and the escalating cost of rent. If you lost your housing because you were $200 short on your rent, how likely is it that you will have $2-3,000 for first months rent, security deposit, utility deposit, background/application fees?
Only 1 in 4 of the households who qualify for a rental subsidy will ever receive one (and the wait may be many years).
When Clinton’s “Welfare Reform” turned a federal program for poor families into state grant, the cash benefit families use for rent were frozen for a quarter century. Rent was not. Homelessness surged.
I remember reading the idea that discarded and closed shopping malls around the country, with some repairs and tweaks, could be turned into housing for the homeless. Do we have any examples of this happening?
Check the news re: Boston, and the efforts to relieve the situation at 'Mass and Cass'. The mayor is making a great effort to come up with a solution to the problem of the unhoused and/or mentally ill. Let's hope the situation is helped: winter isn't that far away.
Richard, In my view, if not for countervailing forces that emerged during Reagan’s tenure pressing for a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of oppressed and marginalized people, we could have reaped an era of anarchy before the close of the 20th Century. Moving forward, despite setbacks during the W. Bush and Trump Administrations, thankfully, the call for prescribed forms of public accountability for disproportionate amounts of wealth, power, and influence has not abated.
Economic justice? Reagan destroyed it, starting the war on the Middle Class. What we're now experiencing is real anarchy, even at the highest levels - the U.S. Supreme Court, the House and the Senate and in many state legislatures and governorships. We need to recognize that we're dealing with the KKK now resurfaced as MAGA.
Richard, Respectfully, I believe the center, albeit barely, is holding. Consequently, we need everybody in this fight with us if we’re to have a shot at rebuilding, let alone, not further regressing.
Barbara Jo - the wealth disparity in this country keeps growing and growing at a rapid pace. We need desperately to pass to tax legislation. During the time since Reagan was in office, the inheritance tax has virtually disappeared while the tax rate on the wealthy is little more than what it is for average wager earners, and proportionately, probably less. If the Center is holding, it's not by much. Those in their 40's and 50's may never benefit from Social Security or Medicare. We've dumped $32 trillion of debt on them, starting with Reagan, when the national debt was less than $1 trillion.
It would not surprise me if DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, now completely controlled by Republicans, might try to incarcerate alleged mentally ill people again.
Fern, My point, contrary to aristocracy that doesn’t give a damn, is that if we want to live in a democracy we are obliged to raise the question: what are we to do with the most disadvantaged in relation to the public interest? Calls for specific and informed actions, in my view, presumably would ensue.
Barbara, to quote you, 'I always had understood, contrary to the aristocracy that doesn’t even raise the question, that within a democratic society the question of how the most disadvantaged are afforded protections must continually be raised and pushed.' Has that question not been raised continuously over more than two centuries? My response, given current legislative moves restricting access to voting for minorities and 'others' as well as the killings of minority group members, lack of affordable housing, banning books, etc., much of it detailed in our Letters, more concerted action by the federal government and 'pushing' by American citizens is absolutely necessary.
Fern, In response to your comment, currently, both individually and in community, I have prioritized pressing for passage of (1) the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, (2) the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, (3) meaningful gun control legislation, and (4) policy redressing economic disparities due to a disproportionate distribution of wealth, power, and influence.
Given your positions, Barbara, with reference to inequality and economic disparities in the US, I thought, among many, these two sources may be of interest to you.
'In an effort to advance environmental justice solutions across the United States, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, an affiliate of the Columbia Climate School, has partnered with WE ACT for Environmental Justice to launch a suite of model state environmental justice bills for legislators and advocates to introduce and adopt in their state’s 2024 legislative sessions.'
'Dismantling Injustice: A M.O.D.E.L. (Model for Optimizing and Designing Environmental Legislation) For Empowering Communities was created to arm interested legislators with tools to accelerate proposed policy changes. It contains model legislative language, fact sheets, memos, and regulatory briefing information covering five topic areas: (1) cumulative impact reports, (2) indirect source permits, (3) permit renewals, (4) environmental advisory boards, and (5) zoning. (ColumbiaClimateSchool) See link below.
'Public education funding in the U.S. needs an overhaul'
'How a larger federal role would boost equity and shield children from disinvestment during downturns'
'Education funding in the United States relies primarily on state and local resources, with just a tiny share of total revenues allotted by the federal government. Most analyses of the primary school finance metrics—equity, adequacy, effort, and sufficiency—raise serious questions about whether the existing system is living up to the ideal of providing a sound education equitably to all children at all times. Districts in high-poverty areas, which serve larger shares of students of color, get less funding per student than districts in low-poverty areas, which predominantly serve white students, highlighting the system’s inequity. School districts in general—but especially those in high-poverty areas—are not spending enough to achieve national average test scores, which is an established benchmark for assessing adequacy. Efforts states make to invest in education vary significantly. And the system is ill-prepared to adapt to unexpected emergencies.' (EconomicPolicyInstitute) See link below.
My knees have grown wobbly from being too long at the computer, but thank you for the compliment. Your mind, dear Lynell, is very sharp, and your kindness reigns with care for your sisters and brothers.
This question: "Or should we protect the right of ordinary Americans to build their own lives, making sure that no one can monopolize the country’s money and resources, with the expectation that their efforts will build society from the ground up? " explains why I am a Democrat.
And sadly, so many people in rural America would strongly support the same ideas if only they were exposed to honest descriptions of them. Most of these folks are hard-working intelligent people that realize that “the man” is keeping them down, but the only media they are exposed to (along with many “religious” leaders) are telling them that the evil socialist democrats are keeping them down. For folks working at near minimum wage to vote for the party that prevented it from being raised for DECADES is obscene.
Sanders, IMO, made a huge blunder calling himself a Democratic Socialist instead of a Progressive Capitalist, which he is. Socialism doesn't sell in the USA.
EXACTLY, as The *First Church * that PETER, was Appointed to LEAD when JESUS Quoted : AND, UPON This Rock , I WILL ESTABLISH ! , MY CHURCH !! ( GLORY ! ,,,, To HIS NAME ! ) [ Thank You ! JERI !}
I keep wondering whenever I buy an insurance policy, be it auto, home or whatever, am I not buying into a socialist idea where other people's money will help to make me whole when I have a personal loss?
There is a huge difference between a cooperative, which is what an insurance company is, in part. Socialism is where the government controls or owns the means of production. Not even close.
Morning, Ally! By the way, I watched the Music Man last week and kept thinking of you the whole time. There really is nothing like a big brass marching band!
Me too. Democratic Socialist, Social Democrat. Social Safety Net. Social Security. Social Contract. Social Justice. Society of all.
But as Richard said, using the term "socialist" in America in almost ANY context is political suicide. If Bernie had re-framed his "status" differently he may have harvested millions more supporters. In the NH primary, folks were interviewed who said that they were trying to decide whether to vote for Bernie or Trump.
This speaks to the fact that the presidential election pattern is one of voting out a current president or party - not in. It's a statement of dissatisfaction more than one of support. Bernie was spot on with his understanding of the working class plight. He should have packaged it differently. But Bernie isn't one to take a lot of advice.
And so, sadly, if Hillary had managed to communicate her sincere support for the working class in "fly over" country, she might have become a superior president. And I bet Putin would have hesitated before invading any other sovereign nation.
All just idle speculation, of course. But it's fun to imagine what the world would have been like if either one of them were in their second term right now.
Bill, to your shoulda, woulda, coulda, 'If Bernie had re-framed his 'status' (as democratic socialist) differently he may have harvested millions more supporters'; my response to you, after a chuckle, is a loud, Bronx cheer, 'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!' With a bow to, Bernie, knowing that I could never match what he does so well.
I have a graduate degree in psychology, I am a professional healthcare chaplain working in hospice in Northern California. I pay exorbitant rent for a one bedroom 600 sq ft apt in a, frankly, down scale neighborhood considering what with my education and type of work I do should afford me. with little left over to save much. I feel like a slave to a system of greed, and I cannot fathom how people with less education and earning ability are managing. There is something greatly unfair afoot. There are many finger wagings to the 1% but most of the rental property here is owned by small property owners. I do good work that I believe is helpful to society but it is barely enough to live an average life, with slim margins for a budget vacation once a year. There is too much greed and the model for wringing the most out of people possible seems way too acceptable and while I am very glad that the UPS drivers have a fair contract, I do find it amazing that I help people as they are dying and get paid less than half what a delivery driver makes. Why do people think that someone else’s labor should profit them to the detriment of the laborer?
It is maddening, you’re right. All of that education you received did not grant you the salary you should be making. You have taken on a very tough situation on behalf of many who are at the end of their lives on this earth. Your richness is your ability to communicate with this population, to set them forth on a new journey. Social work has never been a great paying job but it can often be rewarding or it can be heartbreaking. Let me tell you, you are very much appreciated. I live in the East Bay so I know of those exorbitant rents you speak about. Wish I could give you a hug.
In other words, why should someone feel justified in exploiting someone else? Or have we accepted Exploit or Be Exploited as the new morality? It seemed briefly during the Covid lockdown period that we came to appreciate the low-paid people we depend on.
Sadly Carol I think you named the cynical motto of the times which too many live by while espousing liberal values. I say that because I live in a fairly liberal leaning area. Also sadly, while so many people during covid had to deal with decreased income, rental moratoriums that no doubt were difficult as a landlord with a mortgage, my landlady raised my rent. It confounded me. I feel lucky that I was an essential worker in that I still had an income, it was offensive to experience the greed of people who werent suffering financially and were so clueless and raised my rent. I dont know what to say except that I think you are correct, too many live by ‘exploit or be exploited’.
Once upon a time Christian churches of all denominations preached against that sort of “do it if you can get away with it.” Some still do, I think. But I am hearing that influential mega church preachers find Jesus’ approach, (turn the other cheek, welcome the stranger, judge not lest ye be judged, etc.,) doesn’t work in today’s world, it’s just “weak.”
I dont know. I am not Christian myself, more Taoist than anything, and probably the area I live in, north of San Francisco, is average in religious diversity, and I bet if people were asked to categorize themselves, 50% would say they aren’t religious, unless one counts capitalism as a religion, which it seems to be. I do not know what guides people’s ethics here.
Tina, I go along with the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words."
I need to much improve my actions.
Heather and other wonderful writers are out there in the world with their gift of words which are pushing me to action as well as amazing and ACTIVE participants within this group.
Our individual faith or ideals should motivate us. In the end we are each humans sharing this world and its resources. I need to live a more thankful life. I need to give more....it is just a human responsibility and a healthy one. Let's do it!!!!
Kathy...this article is OUTSTANDING! Should be required reading for ALL humans. "Raised in a culture without ethical structure, you become internally fragile." I plan to copy and distribute this to all 6 of my grandkids (ages 18-24). Thank you, thank you!
I agree. “We inhabit a society in which people are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and consideration. Our society has become one in which people feel licensed to give their selfishness free rein.” Children learn from observing how their parents, especially, treat other people.
Carol , We know, JESUS, was Setting, the EXAMPLE, for ALL, of US! . To LIVE, LOVE. Show & DO, Compassion, AND Most of ALL !,,,,, BE, ,,,,MEEK ! , ( not WEAK ! ) HIS HOLY SPIRIT !, WILL Emminate, From HIS, True, CHOSEN ! ( You WILL Notice IT ! ) ,,,,,,FAITH !
PS Carol ,, You said, Those TEACHINGS Do not 'WORK ' , In this World, TODAY, AND That is TRUE. But ! ,,,,Our TEACHER !, is PREPARING Us for The KINGDOM ! ,,,, Coming !!
I think the teachings of Jesus DO work for this world. Love Thy Neighbor, especially, if “neighbor” is expanded to mean all human beings and future generations.
Tina ! The *MAMMONITES ! , * Will NOT !. be ABLE ! , to . " Take IT !, ,,,,,,, With THEM !! " ( OH ! , what a NAKID BODY ! , BEFORE, Our LORD/GOD ! ) { I AM, Included , With ALL, of MANKIND ! . ALSO ! .... }
Tina….I too live in your area and have a similar background….and I hear you on the fiscal stuff….
BUT I think your fiscal challenges have a lot to do with California and the Bay Area…housing costs and general fiscal realities as hugely expensive…for housing et Al.
I have a grand daughter in Dallas representing the Biden Administration in its homelessness efforts and Texas built a whole lot more low income housing years ago and their homelessness situation..while a concern is nowhere near the problems here in CA .
We have by far the worse homeless problems in the county…our land is terribly expensive and we haven’t built anywhere near enough low income housing….I have other family involved in this as well who are doing their level best to get way more low income housing in LA (45,000 homeless) the Bay Area et Al.
Home buyers look at total cost: purchase price, annual real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. California decided to to have minimal real estate taxes (bad choice), for example a $500,000 assessed value house in San Francisco (assessed value is usually far less than actual value) pays only $3700. A $500,00 house in Baltimore would pay $8600. Soooo pay less taxes, more available money to bid up property values and have the same monthly payment in total. https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-property-tax-calculator#aJ9iKYNeX4
My parents' house, in a rural California county, is assessed at a very low value due to Prop. 13. As a result of the taxation regime required by Prop. 13, that particular county gets minimal tax revenue and has almost no way of raising enough to offset the services it provides. However my house insurer assigns that house a much higher value, which results in a substantial fire insurance payment.
Tina the unions in America must be rebuilt because not only do union contracts benefit their members but everyone else as well. Propaganda carefully delivered for decades gave the unions an image of being big, greedy, powerful and corrupt. They were in fact , the first line of defense from the ultra rich and huge corporations. All workers, public, private and professional need unions.
Maybe a year before the pandemic, I read The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski. Being in Northern California, Tina, I suspect you know he was the co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project. Although I am not a mental health professional, I have partaken of many of that profession's services. I greatly benefited from Ostaseski's insight that death is always with us, hiding in plain sight and helping us discover what matters most. That doesn't pay the rent or even cover a vacation, but I hope you sense that what you do is really important. Frankly, I don't know if we will survive the next election or certainly how long late stage capitalism can rage, but I do know that whatever benefits UPS drivers get will come from the company's outrageous profits, and that is a cause to celebrate.
Yes I know Frank. As someone wrote in a previous post, actions speak louder than words. I am glad that people appreciate what I do, it would be nice if that appreciation extended to pay/housing options that allow me to recharge in even a small corner of some of the bucolic beauty here.
I did pay a fair amount. What keeps me in the game? Dental insurance? Health insurance? At midlife switching to what profession would generate even more income? The point is a generation or two ago a white male with this job would have been paid enough to buy a house and raise a family. As for me and UPS driver. I based my comment on the recent articles out: “UPS drivers will earn an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits at the end of a five-year contract agreement”. Thats a lot of money/benefits. They may well deserve it due to the pressure they are under and the conditions they work in. Mine is half that.
One can hope fervently that the words of Lincoln in this instance will prevail against those of Hammond. Both visions exist in this world---Hammond states in clear words the animating vision of the GOP and the oligarchs who rule this country with their "ill gotten gains", so to speak. The vision of President Biden, with Bidenomics, seeks in a new context to "build up from the bottom" and envision a world in which workers are again empowered and enabled to rise from humble beginnings to high places in the world---or to the not insignificant economic location of the fading and indeed vanishing "middle class" which powered the American success post WWII. Lincoln's insight and eloquence presented in your essay this evening, Prof. Richardson, remind us of the vision for the future for America and Democracy that is threatened by the malign leadership and membership of the GOP. Time to buckle down and do the hard work of winning across the board and down the ticket in 2024. Thanks for your powerful words and for the opportunity for conversation and sharing that this community provides.
'...do the hard work of winning across the board and down the ticket in 2024.' Yes, we will SUPPORT and EDUCATE OUR fellow citizens to KNOW and to VOTE on the entire ticket!
"Citizens United" pretty well supported the rights of a wealthy ruling class. In addition, the "founding fathers" seems to have embraced the vision of women as property or at least as men's indentured servants and with no vote in governance. There's no justification to sugar coat any of this. The Republican Party had a long way to fall from the party as it was under Dwight Eisenhower to the present party trying to ressurect the Confederacy, and it fell ALL of that distance.
Speaking of Citizens United, this, from its Wikipedia article, (under Concurrences:)
"Justice Thomas wrote a separate opinion concurring in all but the upholding of the disclosure provisions. In order to protect the anonymity of contributors to organizations exercising free speech, Thomas would have struck down the reporting requirements."
If the public schools I grew up in included James Henry Hammond’s speech alongside the stirring speeches of the original Revolutionaries or the likes of Lincoln and FDR, I don’t remember reading it. If I don’t remember it because it wasn’t offered, I’d call that a missed opportunity on the part of educators. Either democracy works better than autocracy for purposes of enabling the people to live purposeful and satisfying lives ... or it doesn’t. Understanding the differences in details and implications of competing visions for government might still facilitate profoundly engaging classroom discussions. I think we should try it.
I remember being taught about the disastrous rise of Hitler to power, but little about the threat of authoritarianism right here at home. Keep in mind that pleasing the Texas school boards, puts a certain twist on the history presented in the textbooks.
In college, I was required to take a U.S.history class (I was in Engineering, but as a land-grant college, Mizzou required all students to take at least one history class). I took “since 1865” (you can guess what the alternative was), and it was outstandingly taught. Probably what triggered my love for learning history ever since.
The professor wasn’t interested in memorizing names and dates (I.e. trivia exams), but wanted us to understand the key issues and how they effected the country moving forward. I wish I remembered the professor’s name, sadly I don’t but they have had a lifetime imprint on me.
Great points. This website https://thinkingispower.com/ is run by Melanie Trecek-King, an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts. In my sometimes less than humble opinion, Prof. Trecek-King absolutely "nails" it. Misinformation is a formidable problem today. When I was in Texas at the family reunion a nephew of mine was convinced beyond any doubt that Trump had won the election. What are his sources of disinformation/misinformation? Fox News, OAN (One American Network) and Newsmax, the latter two being undeniable conspiracy spreading vehicles.
Richard, "Disinformation and our lack of the teaching of histories of our people and cultures and the results of dangerous, self-centered, controlling and cruel "leaders" should be throughly taught with time for discussions along with the composing of papers to share in class. Our education is much too "light". We just go to our phones or TVs for information and as we can observe....disinformation is being spread and believed. Citizens are accepting many lies, as we can observe. "Herd" mentality is NO mentality.
I believe persons who spread disinformation should be fined. It is an act of insurrection and against the values of a free nation.
Emily, proof of the correctness of your statement that our education "is much too 'light,'" is evidenced by the current mess we're in. Here's something to think about:
Think of something that yoiu believe is true . . . .
Good point. I have my daughter's high school history book (2000) entitled, "Lies My Teacher Told Me," by James Loewen. A better title would have been, "Truths/facts deleted from my history books," but it wouldn't have sold as well. Wasn't the teachers' fault necessarily.
I looooove Loewen's book, based on Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", and used it as reference in planning lessons for my 4th and 5th graders.
Nope. Retired 2018. As to your point of books not selling well, we had a rather crappy Social Studies curriculum - can't remember the publisher. BUT I was lucky to be in the TAH (Teaching American History) two-year program and took several week-long teacher workshops at two museums in LA area - which is where I introduced to Zinn, et al.
And Mel and Norma Gabler made sure that Texas textbooks had a “Christian” slant. And, because of its size, influenced purchases by other states. Shame on those “good people.”
Didn't know that but not surprised. They had the self-righteous bs down pat. Wrote many letters to Houston Chronicle about them. They may be dead but their bs lives.
Exactly. I think the fact that a whole political party can actually condemn being awake to the truth speaks volumes about their intent. They prefer the same sort of manufactured history as Hitler and Stalin did.
If one isn't proud to be "Woke" one must want to be asleep, unaware, not conscious of, oblivious to and dismissive of .... facts, truth, actual history, reality itself. All for a purpose.
Oppression. Authoritarian dominance of the "other".
Woke, by definition, is a good thing and it applies to the individual and their ability to be self-aware and aware of the world around them. The gop fights against it because awareness threatens them personally and politically. It shouldn’t take a deep thinker to figure that out!
I'm thinking that James Henry Hammond would be very comfortable in today's Senate. Almost all of whose members are multi-millionaires and supported by interest groups whose goal is to protect their stockholders.
This explains the resistance to what the Biden Administration has tried to help middle and lower income citizens. Add the current Supreme Court to the resistance as well i.e. declaring Biden's plan to eliminate student debt.
The large and growing imbalance between workers' pay and that of executives, exemplifies what Lincoln referred to as Hammond's failure to recognize that labor creates capital and not vice-versa.
What's interesting to me is that until today, I never heard of James Henry Hammond. It's one reason that I read HCR every day, because I realize how incomplete my education has been.
Trickle down economy promoted for years by the Republican Party does not work. Lincoln knew it. So why did we buy into it years ago? Now we have corporations and wealthy running the country. By the way, when the Supreme Court decided that a corporate entity was an individual as far as political contributions, they put political power into the hands of corporations.
Diana ‘Trickle down’ economics results in the very wealthy peeing on their underlings. Republicans in Congress don’t even wish to provide diapers for the great majority of Americans.
Will Rogers knew it on Nov 26, 1932 “The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.” Mr. Hoover knew, so does ever republican billionaire today. It’s just the poor smucks who buy the bull Schitt.
"Trickle down" was obviously a fraud supported by politics and billions in advertising and propaganda. I would assume that Republicans at the top know very well it is a fraud, but it seems to be their purpose in life to promote it.
About 4 years ago I was asked if I wanted to get in on the formation of a new consulting company based out of Phoenix. My answer was absolutely not. I said, "What we need are fewer consulting companies and more companies that employ workers that produce tangible goods and pay fair wages." I feel the USA is top heavy on white color jobs. We need more laborers paid decent wages. We need more unions to protect our laborers. The Republicans have been union busting for years making people the slaves of corporate America. I call it corporate slavery.
Diana, agreed ! I would also add, we should try to keep older youth in school until they graduate including migrant youth! Afterschool jobs, that leave enough time to complete school assignments are great.
Also employers of young workers should provide education opportunites along with fair wages. Through training, businesses could improve their longer term work force.
Too many immigrants are habitually used and abused and treated with disrespect. Though this has been a reality, we should continue to address this mistreatment.
Many immigrants choose to take the opportunity to work over many of our own American citizens who are unwilling to do the jobs the immigrants do....to work to earn enough just to survive.
I am distressed at the inhumanity of desparate persons at the border who are coming to us because they believe America offers HOPE....A CHANCE FOR A DECENT LIFE. It is heartrending.
Thanks to many persons at the border who have worked for years to help those who come to us. Thanks to those who help fill out so many forms, doctors and nurses who provide immediate needed care, those who provide food and shelter. And those who help them find decent jobs.
The small town (Pop 5,000) where I was the contract deputy had a gas station owned by a man who owned that station (two others in town were owned by other people), the tire shop, and his wife owned the Dairy Queen. All of their student employees were offered a school savings plan: their wages would be $1 more if they saved that at a 1-1 rate in a savings account. When they left employment (regardless of the path; I know of kids who were fired and kids who left to go to other jobs/college/military) he would match the money they had in that dedicated account. He gave bonuses for honor roll, participation in band, sports, FFA, DECA, and other student groups.
My son is a technical writer. Here in Silicon Valley, the employees of a vast majority of companies are not permanent, full-time employees with benefits, but contractors with 6 month gigs that may or may not be renewed. My son, with a BA in English and a coding certification from UC Berkeley extension, has had several such jobs with highly reputable companies which make his resume stand out to recruiters (an underworld in and of itself). This all seems like a modern version of serfdom. The contractor has no rights except to produce for the corporation (my son was not allowed to speak directly to his manager. All questions, comments, concerns had to be routed through the recruiter even when a permanent employee was making things very difficult for him, which may have lead to his contract not being renewed) and then to get another job for the recruiting company to leach from. The hiring company has made no investment in the temporary hire other than paying a lot of money to the recruiter.
His most recent contract was not renewed with a one day notice. He wasn’t given a reason and the company was not required to do so. He doesn’t seemed too fazed. He left yesterday to surf in Costa Rica for a week or so. Seems like I’m doing the worrying for both of us!
Clearly society should bring everyone to the party with opportunity to improve one’s future and participate in a ‘circular’ society….not a ‘top down’ one.
John Henry Hammond was one vile human being. What constitutes "forward" as a society moves? Does having one's labor stolen from him either by enslavement or by pathetically low wages, so that he cannot afford to support himself or a family constitute "forward"? Lincoln realized that slave labor in Kentucky actually made it very difficult for him to get ahead. People who were enslavers were unlikely to pay a free man to work. I think a society that is moving "forward" affords everyone the opportunity to become independent and take care of themselves. That society comes together to educate the population, provide healthcare, create infrastructure to get goods to market, and enforce laws to protect life and property.
John Henry Hammond used the term "mudsills" to describe the foundational members of society, essential workers, if you will. But if you build a building on wood laid in the mud, that wood will rot, then that "stately building " will collapse. Hammond was trying to justify the injustice of slavery. He may have been a congressman, but he was not honorable.
Here's the thing about exploiters: without those whom they exploit, they wouldn't be successful. And that's why they oppose unions and any regulations that protect workers. They have no moral qualms about what they do because they perceive themselves to be superior human beings. When in fact their lack of morality makes them inferior.
Indeed. Also why they abhor regulation. Short-term profit is all they are interested in. Destroying the environment and endangering the next generation (or the current generation of workers) is just fine if it increases quarterly profit . .
SPOT ON ! George ! ,,,,, " The GOTTA' HAVE IT , YESTERDAY !!! , MAMMONITES !"
“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all his laws.”
– John Adams
Some money is made by fair trade, some by controlling money, and some by extorting it. Not every dollar is the same.
Hi JL, I like this quote from John Adams very much! It's interesting that he was aware of the arrogance of power but didn't see himself as violating god's laws when, in response to Abigail's entreaty that he "remember the ladies," he laughingly replied, "We know better than to repeal our Masculine systems."
Madeline, I like both John's & Abigail's quotes. Abigail Adams' letters to Jefferson are a rich source of post Revolution writings.
I have posted before that John Adams is the Founder of diligent criminal defense & due process before there was even a United States. Of course, John had a brilliant "jury consultant" Abigail.
He was likely right at the time, as women didn’t exist as a political entity. They barely existed as human, needed only for what women have always been needed for.
Sickening and still true. And there are SOME men who will point and blame and announce "the woman made me do it." And with that Adam granted all cowardly men a scapegoat for their errors.
May we all have the courage of Lincoln, and Anita Hill.
A modern business scapegoat for a failure to get something done is the manager that blames their administrative assistant. If in doubt blame someone one else. Works until it doesn't.
In the Sun, Sept 12, 2005 Chump said " You never blame yourself. You have to blame something else. If you do something bad,, never, ever blame yourself." My Momma should have gotten hold of him. She would have tanned his hide.
And this is the failure for many modern businesses. Accountability counts.
I don't mean to be annoying, but again, "It works until it doesn't," for whom?
But John Adams should not be imagined as a preemptive patriarch. He was extraordinarily uxorious. He disapproved of Ben Franklin's extramarital friendships with women. Adams not only habitually listened to Abigail, he quoted her; and their correspondence shows a personal relationship with her which is about as far away from patriarchal and authoritarian as you could get in the 18th-century West.
That's what I remember.
I took his quote to mean we men like being in charge too much to offer women equality.
But he knew himself that Abigail was his equal and partner. She ran the farm while he was in Europe. How many years was that?
Agreed, William, yet he still refused to "consider the ladies" as citizens with the right to participate in the making of laws with which they were required to comply. They had just fought a war over "taxation without representation" yet they were keeping half the population in the position of having no right to be represented when decisions were being made that would profoundly affect their lives. I'm not condemning him, I'm just saying...
Remember “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth.” When the Hebrew sages wrote that they were trying to be sure humans didn’t die off. And only women could bear children. How do we now persuade men that if we bear more of their children they will only die of starvation? How do we persuade them that we must adopt and care for the millions of orphans who are dying of starvation because with man-caused climate change (greed), the environment will no longer nurture well food for the eight billion to eat? Are we humans capable of reversing accepted wisdom that no longer serves us?
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you for all the hearts. I feel very strongly about this, thinking it is the measure of who we are as humans, the measure of what we are capable of achieving.
"Women didn't exist," from whose perspective? I would caution against losing one's own if one is a woman, or committing the same error of arrogance if one is a man.
I think I said as a political entity way back there
You're right, Jeri...sorry to have been nit-picky. :(
Remembering, too, that when John Adams wrote the first constitution of the Commonwealth (Republic) of Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War, he included clauses prescribing property ownership not only for different public offices, but also for voters. Like all women, propertyless men were disqualified from voting in the West before the 1780s. And although women voting was specifically questioned by Abigail (and others) at the time, the idea of propertyless men voting (which had been quite conceivable for some during the Puritan Revolution and Commonwealth (republic) of England in the 1640s), was a matter of unquestioned law in every state in revolutionary America (except Vermont, which did not join the union until 1791). Give John some credit, though. He, like all the American Framers, was a militant republican (note the small-r) who would not brook monarchy, i.e. rule by one person, male or female. Trump and many other current political leaders are not.
Thanks for this great history lesson William!
I bring these issues up not to discredit John Adams in any way, but to remind us all that missing from the origins of just about every arena of life in our society are the robust voices of women with our different ways of knowing, thinking, feeling, valuing, and creating. Ours has not been a culture organized around the needs of women and children..
We are grateful that there were men like the enlightened founders who framed a democratic-republic and courageously fought the mighty British Empire to bring it into being. Adams et.al. made sure we didn't have a monarch anymore but men were still allowed to be tyrants in their own homes. Absent from the table were the needs and preferences, not to mention the intellects, of half the population who were birthing and educating children while running households, farms and businesses sometimes single-handedly.
Today we're in a climate crisis, land and oceans are becoming more and more toxic, species are dying off, there are fingers close to nuclear buttons, and in probably half the countries on Earth, women don't have a say in much of anything of general consequence. We need planetary cooperation on a large scale and we need people in decision-making positions who know how to cooperate to protect life on Earth. Certainly some of these people are men, and god-bless nurturing men! But I also advocate for the inclusion of more women, young people of all genders, people of color, and indigenous people because all of us are affected and all of us are needed for creative problem-solving.
We are doing a little better over my lifetime to tap the huge resources of women and people of color. I like to point out that somewhat over half the talent on this earth is female. We still have a long long way to go and the human race is running out of time.
Adams couldn’t have been THAT smart…but it sure has taken us a long time to allow those often rather smart ladies to gain some control. I still mourn the fact that Hillary didn’t make the Presidency. Guess I always will. And, Elizabeth Warren is another smart woman. We’ve a long way yet to go….Sarah Scott
Yes, I always thought of him as an A number one elitist. The above quote piqued my interest to research more into the man.
At the time God had not yet been heard to speak about the equality of women, even by acute listeners. On the contrary. But there are exceptions for war leadership (Deborah) and righteous violence (Judith), names still conferred by hopeful mothers (and fathers).
JL,
John Adams is my favorite founding father! Thanks for the quote.
Not at all mine . Hypocritical arrogant fool in my view.
And Adams well knew that he often did and said things that would fit the charge of "arrogant" not to mention bad-tempered. His diaries and journals show that like a good post-Puritan he was hard on himself, regretting such sins rather than trying to act as if he had not committed them. And he hated hypocrites. As for "fool" I think it's a foolish charge. As a one-man traveling state department in the 1770s-80s, Adams secured the first of the alliances (with the Netherlands) that made the Revolution winnable. His correspondence with Jefferson shows that he was a skilled thinker and no less learned than the celebrated TJ (though not as good a writer as TJ, as Adams himself told Jefferson when he quite un-arrogantly urged TJ to be the sole writer of the Declaration of Independence.
What do you think of the rest of the founding fathers?
You're nice to ask a retired History teacher. I guess I'd start my answer by saying that almost all the Founders were extraordinary. Our politics managed to throw up an exceptional and surprising number of politicians who were intellectually gifted, purposeful, practical, and republican-minded. This has long been noticed.
Favorites? I prefer honest John Adams to Thomas Jefferson who did not quite live up to his rhetoric. I am no fan of Pierce Butler who nearly sank the Constitution in 1787 over slavery and the slave trade, or of James Wilson who is credited with inventing the presidency in 1787 which has threatened in the last twenty years to become constitutionally uncontrollable. I'm a very big fan of Connecticut's delegate Roger Sherman who rose from a rather low estate to serve in every founding U.S. legislative and constitutive body and propose the compromises necessary to U.S. survival. This despite the fact that so many of us now would dearly love to do those compromises over—like two Senators per state regardless of population and the ever less democratic Electoral College. I could go on, but will only add that we weak humans continue to care less about the Several who make our law, than about the One who executes it, whom we now routinely call the "commander-in-chief" though the Constitution makes him or her the "commander-in-chief" of the armed forces only when Congress has declared war.
And I very much regret that great and unsilent Founders like Abigail Adams, Mercy Warren, and other women could not vote or hold office in those times.
Thanks, William, for your response. I will use it as a jumping off point for further research. Sometimes I try to imagine living back then.
I think most of us here have read some history and well understand the many blind spots of the Founding Fathers. (Would that Abigail had had a seat attention table! She would have been a mighty Founding Mother!) Given that, they did a pretty good job of setting goals for us in the Declaration of Independence, and creating a basic framework for governing 13 unruly Colonies that were attempting to form a free nation.
One of my good friends is a direct descendent of John & Abigail Adams. All of the women in her family keep their maiden names. I can assure you that Abigail Adams’ spirit & strength continues on to this day!
YES!!!
The enduring power of our founding documents is not in the so called "originalist" claim of divining the founder's frame of mind but in the practical principles they identified that deliver freedom and justice. Like science, they should, if properly applied, work in anyone's hands, adjusted to ongoing circumstances.
I think it is not so much a matter of one taking precedence over the other as that the Declaration was aspirational and an explanation of why we felt rebellion against the Crown was necessary. The Constitution was more of a nuts and bolts effort to structure a government, and as it was made by white men of property, it of course favored their interests.
It is up to us to remedy the shortcomings and blindness built into the Constitution as we ourselves awaken to its shortcomings. As we have done, to some extent, in the Amendments.
Bringing the Constitution up to actually attempting to achieve the goals stated in the Declaration is a very difficult proposition, especially since our current system is very much purposely skewed toward keeping those already in power right where they are.
I would argue that the rise in popularity of fascism among a certain segment of the population makes needed changes more difficult because that segment seeks to suppress the voting power of those of us who seek equality and justice for all.
Things like getting rid of the Electoral College, which isn't even in the Constitution, could help. And enforcing existing laws against white collar criminals, and corrupt government officials would also do wonders.
A large part of our troubles comes from the longterm corruption in the use of prosecution against the poor and marginalized while refusing to prosecute the rich and powerful.
Exactly. And I give the founders credit of providing a living, amendable charter, not some claim of holy writ. Alas, too many of the founders rebelled again inheritable titles and feudalism yet retained feudalism is a more pernicious form as slavery, but I think that the principles they enunciated undermined racism and sexism as they were passed on to be reanimated by succeeding generations (and still the battle rages).
I wonder to what degree the icon of the Revolutionary War (the details of which seem of little interest to most) feeds the unhealthy culture that glorifies violence as legitimate all-purpose response to discord (such as "Stand Your Ground") beyond repelling violence-enforced subjugation or survival necessity. The devil is in the details.
Yes. Cherry picking history, just like the so-called Christians Cherrypick from the Bible.
Feeding the NRA with all the fodder it needs to sell ever more and sophisticated weapons to everyone!
Thank you, Joseph. Spot on! Thanks largely to the corrupt members of the Supreme Court, the Constitution, even with its built-in weaknesses is being further perverted to meet the ends of ideologues who have abandoned interpreting the Constitution in favor of twisting it into weird co ntortious to achieve the results they want.
Our checks and balances are being severely challenged as well. Trump and his GOP are doing their best to wipe out the checks and balances by discrediting the legislative and judicial branches as much as possible while trying to vest all power in the executive. Remember GWB and the "unitary executive" theory? Well, here it is again! And that means: strongman rule, i.e., authoritarian rule.
Yes, we do have TONS of work to do!
Exactly. Monopolies of money and political power are the enemy of "liberty and justice for all. Overly concentrated power tends to corrupt, even with assumed good intentions, let alone malicious greed and hubris.
I think that you may be trying to shrink History here. We weren't a democracy in 1787 (except Vermont for propertyless men and New Jersey for propertied women until 1807) and for just those reasons you mention. The many democratic changes since are thought instead to be original and immemorial,
But many aristocratic institutions remain, and as long as the Electoral College and the two-Senators- per-state composition of the Senate (which decides our judges) continue, the Constitution limits democracy even now. Try imagining what unexceptionable things we do now will be considered horrible breaches of some basic ethic in the future.
Adams quote needs to reflect the need for leaders that insert accountability and a soul/conscience with power. I have worked at state levels of power. We do a poor job as society in cultivating ethical leaders. In fact, as former elected official, who in retirement, created a couple of bi-partisan leadership institutes for emerging young leaders in govt. But, that was before the Gingrich era inaugurated slash and burn politics and the Democrats sat on their hands.
There is a strange degree of vicarious identification we feel with selected celebrities, I think myself included, but I try not to let it go weird. I think for people who might literally fight in response to criticism of "their" sport team, that they only have seen on TV, or perhaps from a grandstand. It's mostly pure fantasy.
It appears to me that Democrats have been on the defensive since Reagan. Perhaps that is changing.
Once D's acknowledge this defensive nature, that will change. Over 40 years of being on one's political heels causes political cramps and clumsiness.
Be adults, but Give 'Em Hell.
There's that word "ethics" again.
I hear it every five years or so...it has an odd ring to it. Most people confuse it with esthetics, and end up in a confusing conversation...
Thanks Susan. I served on Ethics Committees for 12 years in the legislature, then led our state in civil rights investigation. For many, I realize ethics and esthetics are in the eyes of the beholder. Given today's environment of false lies and false news, there are still ethical public figures and I do want to support those.
Hi Ralph,
Thanks for your note. I'd like to hear more about the study of ethics and it's application. Any suggestions?
My background may help explain how I applied my experience. I served as a St. Rep for 9 years and St. Sen. for 4 years. During those years, I served on the legislative Ethics Committees, normally a committee noone wants to serve on. However, we had to address 2 of the biggest scandals facing the legislature and Iowa in the 80's and 90's. Later, I was Director of our state Civil Rights Commission, and was its lobbyist, as I was leading statewide environmental and child and family groups. During 1994, along with key R's, we formed the Institute for Public Leadership and held trainings for several years. Ethics training was a key component. We brought in the creater of Character Counts who challenged Iowans --almost all of our attendees believed they had never done anything unethical. Later, I taught NonProfits at Iowa State University. From law school to the legislature to my NFP work to grad students at ISU, ethics was a subject of a smirk. However, most people lamented the inethical behavior in public officials. I concluded early we needed to train, not just to teach ethics. I think legislators these days receive a couple of hours of one-time introduction to ethics when they are elected. In contrast, lawyers in Iowa have to comply with bi-annual ethical requirements. If you wish, we could communicate on FB messenger or other more private means.
Ethics confused with esthetics? Esthetic theories of ethics (and the contrary) do exist on the outskirts of philosophy, especially in the Romantic Period, but they don't hold much water among modern philosophers.
I prefer content over form. Saramago. Mark Twain....
Beautiful
Should our government protect people of property as they exploit the majority so they can accumulate wealth and move society forward as they wish? Or should we protect the right of ordinary Americans to build their own lives, making sure that no one can monopolize the country’s money and resources, with the expectation that their efforts will build society from the ground up?
I agree Michael, protect and not allow the exploitation of labor. Financially and safety. OSHA and good unions like SEIU are the Checks and Balances of Salary and Safety. Especially now with the high increase of immigrants with limited or no English. Limited skills. Workers that are exploited today.
I say yes to Professor Richardson’s second question above and bring back and understand why a federal holiday was created for the workers, not the owners.
Happy Labor Day folks. And there are good owners and companies out there.
JB
Why did you feel the need to say this: "And there are good owners and companies out there." That is irrelevant to the topic of Labor Day or to this essay.
Hi Monica, thanks for commenting,
There are companies like AT&T that I retired from. Unions and safety practices.
Today, it is now “Labor Day Sales”, open resteraunts, sporting events, travel, etc.
It’s a day off without reason now.
Monica get your head out of your butt. Without workers, indeed Labor Day would not be needed however, where would a workers aggregate but under Simone, or who could all do all of the negotiations to obtain some money and wealth, shared with workers both are needed – but ethics and morals in the work environment and maintaining those ethics is principle.
The Heritage Foundation thinks so.
The Heritage Foundation has really turned into a factory for creating fascist rule in America!😡
My question is whether it can be identified for what it is and disavowed or prosecuted.
Indeed, Michael.
Hammond warned, " it was only a matter of time before workers took over northern cities and began slaughtering men of property."
Could we back up a bit and acknowledge that the "property" these men of means claimed as their own was in fact stolen from prior inhabitants who may have been compensated now and then by pennies and trinkets and more often than not were driven from the sacred lands they had known as home for ages - murdered, raped or enslaved if they did not willingly comply?! Is it not true that American prosperity has it's roots not only in uncompensated labor, but also in the 'real estate' comprised of these stolen lands?
Many moneyed Americans complain that progressive change constitutes a "transfer of wealth." Is this not The American Way from the get-go?
So, who has a right to the wealth of this nation?
If someone steals your car do you have a right to reclaim it, or must you simply let it go and 'get a horse' ...?
Thank you for this post, Kathleen. I have long argued that I could make a case that the US was built on slavery, genocide, and stolen land. Now the Rs are trying to hide that history. The current arrogant moneyed Americans can thank St. Ray Gun for helping along the current transfer of wealth upwards. This is one of the reasons Rs continue to stir the culture wars pot so that those who have lost and are angry can have someone to blame. He also left us with a housing and mental health mess which people here and I am sure elsewhere continually whine about.
Thank you too Michele. It looks to me like not only are they trying to hide that history, they also are amping it up in so many ways, I question if anyone realizes how many are counted among the unworthy lessers by entities accelerating the process. We are but ants at a picnic for those promoting the grand vision of a perfect world with no wrinkles ... as hard as folks on the ground work to secure justice and integrity in health and sanity, the deadly beat goes on ... check this out:
From Robert B. Hubbell's Substack site - (9/2/2023)
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/impeach-ready-aim!
Judge Ho takes control of nuclear safety in the US.
"You may remember that federal court of appeals judge James Ho recently filed a concurring opinion in which he described the “aesthetic injury” caused by abortion to doctors who are denied the experience of delivering babies. That same judge issued a decision in which three judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals essentially appointed themselves the arbiters of the disposal of nuclear waste in the US."
See Vox, Texas v. NRC: America’s Trumpiest court just put itself in charge of nuclear safety.
https://www.vox.com/2023/8/29/23849054/supreme-court-nuclear-safety-fifth-circuit-james-ho-radioactive-texas-commission
"Per Vox,
"Judge James Ho is not a nuclear scientist, an expert in energy policy, an atomic engineer, or anyone else with any specialized knowledge whatsoever on how to store and dispose of nuclear waste.
"Nevertheless, Ho and two of his far-right colleagues on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just put themselves in charge of much of America’s nuclear safety regime — invalidating the power of actual nuclear policy regulators to decide how to deal with nuclear waste in the process."
"Judge Ho’s opinion is a dumpster fire of anti-regulatory broadsides on “the administrative state.” Judge Ho (and his fellow Federalist Society judges) may hate the administrative state, but the US will soon have 200,000 metric tons of nuclear waste on its hands. Congress has ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine how and where nuclear waste should be stored. Under Judge Ho’s decision, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit gets to make those decisions.
"While disposing of nuclear waste is no one’s favorite topic, it is one that should be left to scientists and engineers whose charge is to protect public health and safety. While much of Judge Ho’s decision is nonsense, two paragraphs invoke the “major questions doctrine,” in which the reactionary majority on the Supreme Court granted itself the right to overrule congressional judgments delegating regulatory authority to federal agencies.
"The Supreme Court’s reactionary majority may soon find itself struggling with the question of where to store 200,000 tons of nuclear waste if it rejects the judgments of the NRC and EPA. Is that a decision we should leave up to Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito?
I vote no!!"
*****
Also, see:
From Ian Millhiser at Vox.com:
The edgelord of the federal judiciary
"Imagine a Breitbart comments forum come to life and given immense power over innocent people. That’s Judge James Ho."
https://www.vox.com/scotus/23841718/edgelord-federal-judiciary-james-ho-fifth-circuit-abortion-guns
*****
More on Judge James Ho
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-16-2023
(Last 6 paragraphs at end of letter)
Whenever I read something like this....judges making decisions like this.....I want first to vomit. Then I give thanks for being as old as I am without children. Then I feel rage because I do have very young relatives and I also love the natural world. We have noticed fewer swallows and the apple guy at the Saturday Market reported no bats and many fewer swallows....key species for insect control. I thought I might not live to see some of the climate change events we are seeing. We had our own fire apocalypse in the fall of 2020 when the Santiam Canyon east of us burned as well as other places in Oregon. Today there was an article in the local rag about three fires in three years in the south Salem hill area. Lots of wooded lots and also in the West Salem hills. They have been lucky. The latest one was caused by some ATV dopes riding over very dry grass....but it sounds like nothing will happen to them. So we have nitwits in high places and not so high places. So, the courts are in charge of wetlands, nuclear power, abortion, destroying the wall between church and state, voting rights, polluting the vote with money and more. Btw, thanks for all the cites to various articles about Judge Ho and his fellow regressives.
"So we have nitwits in high places and not so high places." That is worth quoting again and again: a) because the nitwits may never know it, and b) because nitwits may be defined as those who cannot be convinced by non-nitwits.
Thank you....I am smiling.
Indeed - changing times ... hard to believe wee people have any influence - got to do what we can ... me too on age and children (73/0) - I find I still feel concern for the children even though they did not come from my womb ... how can we not care?! Yes, thanks to Robert B. Hubbell for providing the links - he is a reservoir of relevant perspectives!
In addition to really younger relatives, several greats and about a dozen great greats, three of whom started school this year, I was an educator and I do care about kids. Many of ex-students have children and some of them are grandparents. Here 80/0. It also fries me to see nature destroyed.
You can find current status and concerns about high level radioactive contamination at Hanford nuclear waste dump in Washington State on the Energy Matters Substack site:
https://kathleenallen.substack.com/p/of-all-the-many-issues-hitting-the?sort=top
Yes, we are in that neighborhood as it is near the Columbia.
That is just plain scary Michele. I just finished posting the latest info about Hanford on the "Energy Matters" page today - along with Robert B. Hubbell's review with links - will send to Gerry Pollet at Heart of America NW and post on their Facebook page. I tuned in to an online conference recently - women from the Yakima Nation who are working on this are strong and positive - not giving up - that gives me hope ... for what, I am not sure, but the positive spirit nourishes the soul ... taking it one breath at a time ....
Brilliant reference to Reagan! Thank you, Michele!! And let us not forget the “war on drugs”
that he so malevolently established. Millions are incarcerated still on that basis, for no reason.
See The New Jim Crow. With measure 110 we in Oregon tried to lessen the penalty for some harder drugs. Unfortunately, we now have open drug use in downtown Portland for example. I think there will be some changes to the law the next election.
"On top are the Haves with power, money, food, security, and luxury. They suffocate in their surpluses while the Have-Nots starve. Numerically the Haves have always been the fewest. The Haves want to keep things as they are and are opposed to change. Thermopolitically they are cold and determined to freeze the status quo."
However, the political class is currently shifting to the Haves, to be among the few who would always want to monopolise land, money, and the means of production to curtai those whom they see as revolutionaries. In America, it seems Republican is keen on carving out an economic model that's based on dishing out tax breaks to the wealth and building economy around the few with an assumption that the country's economy will move forward.
This trend has been more pronounced in Africa where those in power marshall resources and monopolise almost every means of production so to consolidate power and cling for as long as they found another power-hungry individual whom they will keep their "acquired" wealth. From Niger, DRC, Libya, Sudan, South Sudan to Chad, their trickle-down economic model is breeding a recipe for chaos as has been evident.
The middle class - popularly known as Have a little, Want Mores - currently represents the highest number of population in the US. "Torn between upholding the status quo to protect the little they have, yet wanting change so they can get more, they become split personalities. They could be described as social, economic, and political schizoids. Generally, they seek the safe way, where they can profit by change and yet not risk losing the little they have. They insist on a minimum of three aces before playing a hand in the poker game of revolution. Thermopolitically they are tepid and rooted in inertia."
However, in the past, the middle class has produced creative leaders who have been keen on protecting against the exploitation of the working class or labourers. Martin Luther, Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Mahatma Gandhi.
Currently, it seems big corporations are fighting with the labor unions. While they don't want anything to do with labor unions, they own the means of production and want to maximize profit. AI has been a disruption and it is a threat to modern employer-worker relationships and most of the tech workers have been dismissed. From Facebook to Google, AI has replaced workers. Inside, some Republicans receive donations from corporations to protect their interests.
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Sorry, you managed to list several of history's great monsters on the "good guys" list. I refer to Napoleon, whose wars killed proportionately as many Europeans as World War I did after he declared himself Emperor (dictator). Mao Tse Tung killed at least 90 million of his fellow Chinese, 50 million of them in his "great leap forward." Lenin led to Stalin who killed a good 40 million in the USSR, and Lenin did a pretty good job himself in the civil war. Danton was the author of The Terror which was the overthrow of the French Revolution. So I think you might want to re-think how you classify the good guys.
Danton? Robespierre!
Both of them start ed The Terror, with Robespierre killing Danton
And losing his own head very shortly afterwards. And to think it began with a peaceful walk to admire the palace... It was all that American's fault, with his Rights of Man stuff.
Don't forget Jean-Paul Marat, that diseased monster.
Yet the French have become the most civilized country in so many ways. Living there I could see our adolescence quite clearly.
They were among the leading legislators of the First French Republic, a democratic republic, which Napoleon put an end to by becoming sole ruler. The debate about who was best for France, or worst, was continuing robustly when I presented a paper in the Bicentennial Conference on the French Revolution in 1989. It's still on now, though somewhat muted. Bienvenu a` l'histoire de France.
Sorry, I forgot to add extra information about each of those guys. 🙏 for reminding me.
They all should be on the "enemies of the people list." I was actually low on Mao's score. 50 million dead from famine in the "great leap forward" and another 30-35 million in the "cultural revolution." Plus all the "incidentals" from the civil war.
Not all tyrants are murderous. And I know that President Lincoln, responsible for more deaths than Napoleon, was called a "murderous tyrant" in some rebellious quarters.
TCinLA may find that Historians might buy your Napoleon, but not your Danton. Both were elected by the very novel method of manhood suffrage (one man one vote whether propertied or propertyless). The system was called "democracy" a system that the brand-new United States of America had disallowed in every state but Vermont. Napoleon was a military dictator, but an elected one whom most historians regard as an extraordinary statesman, and don't call a monster. Danton was a member of the sovereign legislature of the republic that Napoleon overthrew, and as such was only one of the authors of the Terror, a cabinet which extended and enforced the Revolution rather than "overthrowing" it. Another more important Terror-ist, Robespierre, got that same legislature to agree to Danton's execution. Republics are polyarchic.
Reaganomics claims that massive tribute delivered to the very richest creates jobs, while both in logic and actuality, consolidators want to shed as many jobs as possible. I agree, that like climate abuse, we are not taking AI automation seriously, in terms of it's potential impact on both the landscape of employment, and potential Orwellian control.
“… makes them inferior.” By declaring a group of people to be inferior, you accept the same societal construct as Hammond. Your point would have been just as powerful without the last sentence.
Certainly not my intent. Morally bankrupt?
Well said!
Thank w Mr. Bales. So well put and in such few words.
Thank you!
The have and the have nots. Among the “working class” a system evolved wherein some workers were chosen to supervise others and thus a third class was formed and persevered. Of course, men regarded themselves as set apart from all women because they were stronger, bigger and/or more aggressive than women. Additionally, religious distinctions arose early in this process to create many multiple subgroups of workers which discriminated against one another. And then, to add another distinction, white workers believed they were superior to Black workers, thereby adding another series of subclasses. So unions were formed but they were “white” only to start (and some still remain so in practice while not officially). So, racism and discrimination of all sorts exists and in some circumstances, flourishes. Mr. Lincoln’s example has gotten far more complicated in reality.
So how does a pluralistic and democratic society prevail, grow, and expand with all these “power” enablers exercising their will against others? It seems to me that the great leverlers of power to sort out at least some of these discriminatory practices must be the political institutions and the political parties. At least they can establish and enforce laws which bridge the discriminatory gaps in society. Democratic politicians and local, state and federal—for the most part— Democratic party institutions perform that function! There are so many examples currently in play. But we are faced with a different set of choices now and in next November because this Republican Party at virtually all levels has bee overtaken by a discriminatory and hateful class which cannot be allowed to govern at the risk of losing our pluralistic society! So the eternal societal battle continues at a much greater level.
Will each of us on this Substack pledge to make a real and effective difference from now to November 2024? One way is to generously support the brilliant Harvard students at www.TurnUp.us/ which is tremendously effective in registering online 18 to 29s and then to encourage and motivate them to vote! We have a job to do, each of us, as it is not an exaggeration to state that our small d democracy is at risk! Please help! Thank you, each and every one and I apologize for this overly long diatribe!
YAY! Michael.
L&B&L
L&B&L?
Well this clearly defines the difference between Biden and the GOP. Thanks Heather, history repeats itself.
HCR..Oh how I would love to see you moderate the presidential debates.
Right! And the Republicans would demand Screaming Jim Jordan for "balance".
Right, Russell! 😂
You have to know how to scream self-righteously to be a member of the contemporary Republic party of domestic terrorism. They must hold auditions or something to get the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, as well as the ever screaming Jim Jordan.😝
Auditions! There's a GOP Central Casting! Their general heading is whacko, but then they look for specific peculiarities: odd theories; racism; closet nazis; proud white nationalists; anti-immigrant; anti-science; anti-woman's rights; anti-anything-but-straight; pro gun but anti-book..., then they lure them into their service by acting as if they're all sane and endlessly broadcast their "findings" and "evidence" until they become "alternative facts" that filter into the collective consciousness sufficiently to alter the outcome of elections based upon the votes of a gigantic minority of the ignorant but self-assured populace — all for the benefit of a tiny minority of self-serving white, wealthy men; religious zealots; and fabulists of every stripe.
You got THAT right, Russ! It would be funny if it weren't so threatening.
Because that's what THEY'RE doing, It falls to the rest of us to empower one another to speak, and act in accordance with OUR values and to not cede the stage or yield the microphone to the loudest, craziest person in the room. It's been a collective mistake on the part of the media, beginning with Les Moonvess of CBS who shamelessly stated, "Donald Trump may not be good for America but he's good for CBS," to give the orange imposter massive amounts of air-time. Many in the media continue to show clips and repeat the dog-whistle messages he covertly sends to his crazy followers, regarding his need for them to exact revenge on his behalf.
I wish that every time his name was mentioned it was coupled with the word "dangerous," or something similar, e.g. "Is it possible that this dangerous man could still be the Republican nominee for President?" or, "Is it acceptable that a man who told his followers that he loved them after they'd smashed windows, beat police, ransacked the Capitol, and threatened the lives of duly-elected legislators, could still be qualified to run for President?" I realize this is a grey area of journalism but continuing to talk about him and the R's as if they aren't an increasing threat to the safety of all of us, is unwittingly participating in the gaslighting that the R's perpetuate themselves.
Reading your reply again, I realized my follow-up was a more complicated version of everything you wrote and with which I agreed. The whole spectrum of arraignments, trials, the coming election and all that could possibly go wrong have me wired.
"I wish that every time his name was mentioned it was coupled with the word "dangerous," or something similar."
Yes, Madeline! Like the revolving warnings on cigarette packs!
Les Moonvess; I didn't know he said that. There is money-machine journalism and journalism that attempts responsible reportage. It may be that the "grey area" of journalism — where facts' transparency becomes lies' opacity — is represented by organizations that, for profit, intentionally blur the exact location of that divide by claiming "reporting" covers the wide swath of "anything said"; a neat, logical-sounding, workaround to appeal to the greatest swath of readers and listeners that their company's conscience can bear. No doubt feeling righteously smug if not slick, the illustrious NYT went down that path by gradually separating news from opinion while simultaneously cultivating, by invitation, outrageous opinion pieces to achieve "balance"; and to encourage readers to engage in a new category of "news": pointless polemics — which wouldn't exist if fact was given the platform "polemics" now occupies. But to solve that moral quandary, increasingly, the Times designates special columns dedicated to parsing the divide between fact and opinion — giving the publication a veneer of fairness and patina of correctness — as if including fact within its reportage is unnecessary if they provide it elsewhere. Thus, the truth gradually becomes a bridge too far, and by example, the Times engenders a sense of truth's irrelevancy. Progressives' frequent call to action is important: they warn that a passive society relinquishes freedom by disengaging; by not speaking out; and declare that responsible citizens must refuse to equivocate. Failing to include fact within the body of reporting is a form of equivocation. "The whole truth..." ought to be a newspaper's proud banner.
A distant chorus of dead republicans, from Brutus, John Adams and Danton to Sam Ervin, Eliot Richardson, and even Robespierre might be heard lamenting those ignorant spiritual monarchists.
Right, William. It's as serious as a heart attack that democracy is directly under attack by white, mostly male or male identified women who truly know not what they do. Those societies that hand power to sociopathic "strongmen," invariably suffer the silencing of their individuality and all of their rights in order to be obedient to a tyrannical overlord.
Those of us who can see that nightmare approaching are trying to assert the virtues of democracy to wider and wider circles of the voting populous. I cast my lot with people like us who are trying to preserve the right to think for ourselves...the freedom of mind, as Steve Hassan puts it. ♥️
I am one of the wage slaves and I don’t like the trends that I have witnessed since 1981. Too much wealth in the hands of a few. Banks that are too big to fail but not too big to get even bigger. The hope and promise of a more humane society by the adoption of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, now being undermined by the Supreme Court. Surely it is time for the arc of history to bend toward justice as once described by Martin Luther King. The people can make the change begin and the sooner the better.
The people can effect the change, but they must be informed and committed. We have a number of problems in this area. The MAGA/KKK are so intent on installing white supremacy that all else is irrelevant. On top of that we have the propaganda machine aimed at the white Christians, as well documented in Thomas Frank's 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" The wealthy use wedge issues (abortion, immigration, racism, homophobia) to induce working class people to vote against their own best economic issues, and this has been going on full speed since 1981. G.W. Bush was right on 3/31/2001 when at the White House Correspondents' Dinner he said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on."
Thank you for repeating that quote from W, didn’t know where it came from but have posted it often. Damn, he didn’t waste any time crowing about that massive cheat. Couldn’t believe how they hit the ground running with the bull Schitt; Dems seemed frozen and stunned. Well, I sure was, but mad as hell.
Jeri, it may be the only truthful things Dubya ever said. I thought of him as a hopeless narcissist. Wow, was I ever misinformed about what a true malignant narcissist is.
dumb spoiled brat more like it. puppet for Cheney, etc. Yep, we have had a lesson, still lost on so many
Don't forget that he had "good" writers.
So did Reagan, Peggy Noonan should hang her head in shame.
Should have been apparent from the day she saw print.
My feelings exactly, Jeri. I was angry when Gore conceded so quickly. I was stunned when the Brooks Brothers crowd was banging on the door to the room where the recount was taking place in Florida, screaming and carrying on like the arrogant white supremacists they were. I didn't know how to understand what they were doing at the time but now I do. Just creating chaos caused the counting to be shut down, I think, and thrown over to the Florida State Supreme Court. That's the "steal" WE should have stopped.
And a steal it was, by arse wipe Stone. Not just him. Mr Republican Jim Baker helped or orchestrated. Bet Cheney was sneaking around somewhere. That was the moment when they all realized that cheating was easier than winning. Wish some enterprising journalist(s) would take that on, but of course, now we have a dire emergency.
The quote from W is priceless. Honestly it seems that our democratic republic has too many citizens that are apathetic or lazy, but this is changing. The MAGA types have had the motivation, energy , organization and money behind them and succeeded in installing a conman in the White House. The progressive side and the independents did wake up in 2020 to defeat TFG. The hard work is still ahead. Pass the ERA and protect women’s rights, voting rights and civil rights. I am encouraged by the fact that J6 came after the last election, what is the Defendant’s political power now really? A crushing defeat of the republicans at all levels, may be in our future. T**** will be leading the way.
I think that there is the real possibility that TFG will be emasculated politically in the very near future, cutting a deal to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. His best hope would be the U.S. Supreme Court interfering.
Frankly, my dear...I don't give a damn about what happens to TFG...it's way beyond time that he feel the consequences of his life of self-aggrandizing cruelty. My concern is that we Americans make it plain that no one abuses us and gets away with it. Thank goodness for Jack Smith, Fani Willis, the entire J6 Committee, the amazing Democrats who conducted the two impeachment trials, and everyone pulling for democracy.
Madeline, that is very well put. We do need to make it crystal clear that "no one abuses us and gets away with it." That is what TFG and the KKK/MAGA group has done, they've abused us, they've abused the system.
TFG will be feeling the consequences of his actions, there is no doubt about it now. With indictments in four jurisdictions and multiple felony counts in each, he has no way out. I think he knows it too, but also still believes he will find a way to get over it and win. He won’t win, not this time.
I really hope so, Jack. It's essential for us to send a clear, unequivocal message to all other wanna-be dictators that this population will not be subordinated.
I would not count on help from the Supremes, except for Alito and Thomas, if I were him. It is time to expand the court for a number of reasons, though.
They are completely focused on the ones they are bamboozling. All Abe fought for is in jeopardy.
Wow., Richard...I hadn't heard that quote from W. but he said it right out loud. Since Nixon, the Republicans have gotten more brazen about their sense of entitlement to power and more open about how they get it. W. also said, "If this were a dictatorship it would be a lot easier...as long as I was the dictator. HeeHeeHee." This last was said with a cocky grin like the fantasy was tantalizing. It didn't take long for the R. party to produce a real dictator.
I remember that, too, Madeline. G.W. Bush was worse than worthless. We almost went into an economic depression. Nixon's Southern Strategy to bring the racists into the party worked. But, it looks as though it could be the demise of the Republican Party as we now know it. The term "Conservative" has no present meaning. It has been hollowed out and replaced with racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. The GOP is now the KKK.
Correct...the GOP is now the KKK and they're not even hiding it any longer. I hope that the millions of people who swept Obama and then Biden into office are as fired up to defend progressive values as the hate-filled crazies are to destroy them. Roe being overturned, pregnant women being hunted, books being banned, Black history being erased, trans-kids being socially disappeared...it's enraging how quickly that all happened. We're always ten steps behind these miserable people. I also wonder why they're still being called "Conservative" when they're as Reactionary as it gets. The media has to catch up and see them as they really are, with or without the white sheets.
Jack, Intended merely as amplification, I would submit that ordinary women and men, not necessarily heroic but likely anxious and uncertain, nonetheless, at the very least, must share in the responsibility for bringing forth a far more cooperative environment in which there is a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of people who feel marginalized by institutionally oppressive forces largely beyond their individual control.
Barbara, they need unions, without them it is one individual unable to combat large powerful business interests.
Jack, I agree. Accordingly, we must press Democrats to focus more on their pro-worker agenda that, along with passage of the PRO Act, would entail a $15 hourly minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, extension of the child tax credit, affordable, quality child care, universal healthcare, investments in housing, in eldercare, and more, all of which have received zero Republican support.
Robert Reich wrote $24 minimum wage a few years ago. Having calculated that $15 an hour will get you either food or a roof but not both (unless you work 2-3 jobs, I vote for Reich’s math.
Virginia, I agree that a $15 hourly minimum wage is not a livable wage anywhere in the country. However, as a pragmatic progressive, I view doubling the minimum wage as laudable progress. Still, admittedly insufficient, I will continue to press Democrats to prioritize the comprehensive pro-worker agenda I enumerated in my reply to Jack.
Unfortunately, the arc of history does not bend itself.
Steve, you are 100% right. We have to bend it in the right direction.
RIGHT ON ! AGAIN , Jack ! GOOD MANKIND ! ,,,,, WAKE UP ! & Vote BLUE ! BOTTOM, All The WAY, ,,,, To TOP ! ( GODSPEED ! )
Always amazing to me that the Republican Party of Lincoln could swing 180 degrees on so many core beliefs… and not for the better. The mob is fickle. And I do think Democrats should claim Lincoln posthumously as one of our best presidents 😁.
There is just no way he would stand for the core beliefs of today’s Republican Party, deconstructing and radical force that it is.
Well-said. I think you’re on to something. A few ads using Lincoln’s words (great time for a deep fake so he can “speak” them himself), followed by a clear message: “which party is working to implement Lincoln’s goals? NOT the Republicans. Vote Democratic. “
No deep fakes, please. Actors and/ or narrators. Lincoln’s words are the clear message. Contrasting with Hammond’s. Who volunteers to be a member of the permanent underclass, which Hammond thought was necessary?
Narration can be powerful. We seem to have abandoned the art of evocative public speaking for TV razzle dazzle, but I think there is still potential there. Some of Biden's utterances deserve more presentation.
Ryan Lincoln would be as likely to join the Trumpublicans today as Jesus would step forward to sing ‘Onward Christian Soldiers, marching off to war, with the cross of Jesus….’
Lincoln reflected the soul of united America while Jesus embodied love and forgiveness. Evangelical ‘Christians’ (Trumpublicans) represent none of this.
Keith, as a youngster I was astonished at a documentary depicting the activity of the KKK. I noticed them carrying and wearing the crucifix. Constructing then burning a crucifix on a hillside. This confused me no end, so I asked my mother if KKK people go to church. Her response was “ yes and they need to go to church! They might learn something there”. Of course they never did learn anything in church and continued their terrorist activities until the FBI finally cracked down on them, after many years of lack of action by law enforcement. Today’s evangelicals are in some cases, the KKK but without hoods and robes.
Jack I recalling reading that KKK members, both in the 1970s and 1920s, would put KKK robes and hoods over their clothes as pastors, policemen, businessmen, or whatever.
A living Jekyll and Hyde situation! Today the Trumpublican hoods don’t even bother with robes.
Sadly the election of Obama ignited something in the Trumpublicans. His election instead of marking a final end of the Civil War, created a fear and anger that gave victory to the bigot who rode down the golden escalator. On J6 those people you describe were there in large numbers.This has to end and I believe it will. And your
Your Jekyll and Hyde observation is apt. These people are good people in many way but then.....comes the darkness.
Yes. Not thinking.
TELL IT ! , Keith ! PSEUDO cHRISTIANS ! ,,,,, Do NOT ! QUALIFY !!
Imagine Jesus endorsing cutting aid to the poor, the Iraq War, "Stand Your Ground" or Donald Trump. No way.
There are two great marching tunes to go with the hymn, but it needs new words to reflect the current state of the world. Had to laugh thinking that I have marched to both tunes, but like most things I sang as a child, it’s the tunes, not the words, that I loved. (Although the patriotism of WWII did lend a certain Jr ne sais quoi to the marching tunes which fitted in quite well with “The Caissons Go Rolling Along.”
As for Lincoln: thank you to all who quoted his and Hammond’s words. Thinking of Nicki Haley in the Hammond context, not certain it’s impossible that her addled brain might not embrace him like her SC base. (I have definitely racist “Christian” family in SC, so watch Haley carefully.)
Keith, glad to find you today. When I don’t, wonder if you’ve either lost a cane or been “disabled” for assault.
We are fortunate to have an elder statesman in HCR’s mix.
Virginia When I’m dragging bit [a tired dragon?] I remember seeing the cane dance in Egypt, where a grandfather with his cane would dance with his grandkids, they moving a bit faster than their Grampie.
Actually, I have been posting quite regularly—three last night and this morning. We are a bit hustled, since we have just bought a condo in Princeton and face the move, selling our home of 26 years, and sorting through a lifetime of stuff. Lots of nostalgia. In choosing the books that I shall take with me, I have decided to only take a few and keep the reviews I have posted on perhaps 100 others.
I won a WW II contest to link three songs—winning $4, half of which went to my favorite serviceman.
“There will be a hot time in the old town tonight when the Yanks come home after marching through Berlin.” I was only 10.
I vividly remember having dinner with Edward R. Murrow and the Andrews Sisters at a bond rally in Camden, NJ. They sang their marvelous Boogie Woogie song.
The song link brings back the spirit of the times. Do write about meeting Murrow.
I posted a long personal account on Murrow some weeks ago.
I'd like to read it, too.
So sorry I missed it. Any suggestions on how to retrieve it? I read Shirer in the 1960’s, but never Murrow because I never was confronted with anything he wrote. I know about his excellence and courage, but not at first hand in his telling.
Keith, description of moving, priceless. Moving from Richmond to Chicago in 1997 from four storeys (1825 house), I culled, and now in a condo am facing the culling again. Who wants my treasures other than antiques? Though my three diplomas from UNC-CH have decided to frame and send to my grandson. When I got them to frame and hang was considered “show off. I’ve moved 11 times , so know the game, and enjoyed your description. Have been at VA GOTV postcards and got engrossed in “The Heat will Kill You First,” so am behind on comments. Shall try, as always to find yours. Perspective is so refreshing. It comes first after the wonderful quotes we get showered with. If you meet my favorite historian at Princeton
(Bromwich), please smile at him for me.
Virginia This move should be better than my 1962 move to Congo with an 11-month-old daughter. The State Department provided us 600 pounds of air freight, since getting stuff to Congo by ship/land was antsy. 300 pounds of the air freight disappeared, including much that was essential for a baby. Imports from Denmark took about 4 months. At one time I wrote my ‘bat shit’ memos, but that’s another story.
Improvise, improvise, improvise. She has a good story too.
Lincoln achieved wealth as a lawyer earning around $25,000/year in the 1850's. And then he dedicated his life to the service of the country at a time when we needed his leadership and intellect the most.
Similarly, Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals, the Franklin Stove, made great progress with our understanding of electricity and he created the swimming flipper which earned him a spot in the Swimming Hall of Fame. And he gave all of these inventions away. If Franklin was born 20 years later, he may have been one of the first Presidents, instead he served as an ambassador to France to obtain the funds necessary to win the Revolutionary War.
And there are other great American leaders like Teddy Roosevelt and FDR who have stood against the principles HCR lays out in the first paragraph. They were both born into wealth but understood that wealth isn't a zero sum game. Millions of Americans have been fortunate enough to build wealth through labor and as a country, we depend on this to continue.
So Ryan, I agree with you that Democrats share the Lincolnian vision and it seems to me that Joe Biden does as well. They both have known tragedy but have been able to rise above it to lead our country.
Great thoughts from many of you on this Labor Day Weekend!
Excellent mention of some American pillars of beneficent leadership, Franklin being one of my favorites. Really enjoyed the PBS series about him a couple years ago, and a biography I read!
We just watched the Ken Burns documentary; it is really well done.
Zero sum game! I believe this perspective is at the root of our societal problems. “If you have more I will have less.” Couldn’t be further from the truth, but it takes a bit of wisdom to see it.
The Republican party was always what it is: it was created by an amalgamation of the Abolitionists (pretty much run out of the party by 1880), the Know Nothings (who run it nowadays) and the Whigs, the party of industrial capitalism. The Republicans were creating the Gilded Age within 10 years of taking power in 1860, they created the Panic of 1873, the Panic of 1893, and the Great Depression. Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower, the only three good Republican presidents, were all flukes and cordially hated by the "real" Republicans. They went with Lincoln because his oratory won him the nomination (against the party establishment); Roosevelt was sidelined as Vice President until McKinley was assassinated; they went with Eisenhower because they figured all the WW2 GIs would vote for the Supreme Commander and they'd get back in power after 20 years in the wilderness.
The party of the flukes is gone forever. Wonder if Ike recognized Nixon’s inherent evil…
Jeri should we encourage the flukes to flounder? (Broil with butter and a squeeze of lemon)
The "flukes" were the only decent repubs. Sounds good to me
Jeri So fluke the flounders.
I think Ike recognized Joe McCarthy's evil, but was intimidated by the size of his following, until he wasn't. He let Nixon play Checkers, but I doubt he had much faith in him. Nixon did a number of evil things and was a chip off the McCarthy block. Still, he had vestiges of civic responsibility compared to the "GOP" today.
Vestiges only, and only compared to the cult today.
I thought Bush II made Nixon look (somewhat) good. I thought Trump made GWB look (somewhat) good. The Cult looks worse every day.
Read a quote somewhere that chump made one wish for the old abusive boyfriend that they just thought was the worst. Not me. W and Dickie are always scum I. My eyes. We don’t need to keep electing the same type of dysfunctional arses like some women (and men) keep attracting the same God-awful partners. Time to break that pattern. Obama did, but guess what got stirred up. Racism disguised as socialism has led to overt and proud racism. The cult is fascism, not very well disguised
Yes. The Republican elites were happy to put Theodore Roosevelt into the Vice President job, figuring it was the place he’d cause the least amount of trouble.
The opening of David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback with tycoons on their way to McKinley's funeral is one of the most memorable scene-setting passages I think I've read. It's been years since I read it, and I must have given my copy to someone, but I still remember it.
Tom You are doing such a great job in my ‘domain’ of American history that I might ‘retreat’ into WW II US military history!
I laughed out loud. :-)
Remember, the Republicans had NO platform during the 2020 election.
“No.”
🤣
Southerners used to hate Lincoln with a passion.
Don't they still hate Lincoln? The South (having spread to the Midwest) is making a very determined effort these days to "rise again" and marginalize Blacks and other minorities, which they fear are becoming the majority (they are.)
They still do. That’s what makes me laugh when Repubs say they are the party of Lincoln. Unfortunately it’s just a way of being racist while pretending they are not.
Luckily for us, many northerners moved there & now Dems have a fighting chance (the newcomers being more informed?, or just less attached to Southern attitudes)
Minorities collectively are becoming the majority. But that's kind of a complicated statement. I think it's better to say that in the near future, if not already, whites become one of our major minorities.
And every time the media proclaim that, it fuels racism.
I remember as a child in NC. But I liked Ike, everybody did. Didn’t know any John Birchers then.
John Birch's grandparents lived in my Georgia home county. He often visited as a child, I was told by someone who claimed to have played with him. His parents were missionaries in China. The figure for whom the right wing society is named bears little resemblance to the actual person, except that he died in Chinese hands. Nevertheless, Birchers abounded there (and probably still do). Their leader is MTG.
I read that his name was hijacked for the "cause;" thought Koch's were behind much of it. They are, and have been, conspiracy idiots since I was a pup. Thank you
Wasn't the Kochs, I think, but the Hunts, who went down with the price of silver. They have since rehabilitated themselves, I'm told. Of course, the same process continues in Texas so that "the people" can speak.
There was a 180 degree swing of Democrats in the South, in the late 1800's. Many became part of the Republican party. However, since then, the Republican party has morphed into another kind of party altogether, and many have become Democrats.
It is part of the style of government we "enjoy?" in the United States. People, their opinions and their politics swing and sway and, over the years, change. However, because we have laws, we survive. Any candidates that says they want to get rid of our Departments of Justice and other agencies that serve our country, should NOT be elected.
It seems significant to me that Lincoln's birthday was was a national holiday and now it is not. Like MLK Day, a lot of the observance was perfunctory, but it was a day to observe and reflect on Lincoln's character and legacy.
In 1968, congress (Legislation # 15951) passed a bill that changed several federal holidays, in order for them to fall on a Monday, thus creating a 3-day weekend. The act took affect 3 years later in 1971. Because their b'days were so close it made sense to combine them while at the same time also honoring the other presidents (or so my sources said).
Ryan, I think you and everyone else on the string fail to talk about the intellect and the wealth of this country and those who hold the wealth or forgetting one thing. Each of them is human and they have done things in their lives They’re not proud of. History often forgets to report these failings. As human beings, we have two sides or maybe three or 4 or 5 to each of us but again, I go back to ethics and morals. It’s what one believes truly, believes in their deepest soul, and we should except that belief, whether it be shared by us or the others . Some of those have learned from the crib to today what is right and what is wrong but sometimes the wrongs are not universal. They are individual wrongs and require revenge.
QUOTES BY JAMES BALDWIN
“If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected – those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most! – and listens to their testimony.”
– No Name on the Street
“Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.”
– If Beale Street Could Talk
“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.”
- The Devil Finds Work
“Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it.”
– Notes of a Native Son
Too bad he is thought of as a Black writer of genius. More people
might know his work if he were just thought of as an American writer of genius. Not just saved for Black history month.
Outside of the US James Baldwin is thought of as an American writer of genius. In France, he’s thought of as a great world writer who chose France as his home. The United States have a very unusual attitude towards race (racism exists everywhere, but race plays an outsized political and social role in the US - the role played by class elsewhere.)
James Baldwin, 1963. Courtesy: CSU Archives/Everett Collection
By Liz Kaufman
'James Baldwin was one of America’s greatest thinkers and writers on the subject of race. What would he have thought about present-day protests against police brutality and for racial equity? ... Here are some quotes from James Baldwin, most from over half a century ago, that are particularly resonant today:'
–From “The Fire Next Time,” 1963: “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were Black and for no other reason. The limits of your ambition were, thus, expected to be set forever. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence: you were expected to make peace with mediocrity.”
–Chair of Princeton’s Department of African American Studies and author of “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own,” Eddie Glaude quoting Baldwin in 1980: “What we are dealing with really is that for Black people in this country there is no legal code at all. We’re still governed, if that is the word I want, by the slave code.”
–Dick Cavett interview, 1969: “If any white man in the world says give me liberty or give me death, the entire white world applauds. When a black man says exactly the same thing – word for word – he is judged a criminal and treated like one, and everything possible is done to make an example of this bad nigger so there won’t be any more like him”.
–Dick Cavett interview, 1969: “(The police) are a very real menace to every black cat alive in this country. And no matter how many people say, ‘You’re being paranoid when you talk about police brutality’ – I know what I’m talking about. I survived those streets and those precinct basements and I know. And I’ll tell you this – I know what it was like when I was really helpless, how many beatings I got. And I know what happens now because I’m not really helpless. But I know, too, that if he (police) don’t know that this is Jimmy Baldwin and not just some other nigger he’s gonna blow my head off just like he blows off everybody else’s head. It could happen to my mother in the morning, to my sister, to my brother… For me this has always been a violent country – it has never been a democracy.”
–From “Florida Forum” on WCKT-Miami in 1963, answering the question on whether the racial conflict in Alabama and Mississippi could happen in Florida: “The situation in Alabama and Mississippi which is spectacular and surprises the country is nationwide. Not only could it happen in Florida, it could happen in New York or Chicago, Detroit or anywhere there’s a significant Negro population. Because until today, all the Negroes in this country in one way or another, in different fashions, North and South, are kept in what is, in effect, prison. In the North, one lives in ghettos and in the South, the situation is so intolerable as to become sinister not only for Mississippi or Alabama or Florida but for the whole future of this country.”
–Nearing the end of his life in the mid-1980s, Baldwin’s patience had run out. The anger he had channeled into his writing could no longer be quelled. He expressed his outrage and frustration in these words from an interview in the documentary film James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket: “What is it you want me to reconcile myself to? . . . You always told me it takes time. It has taken my father’s time, my mother’s time, my uncle’s time, my brothers’ and my sisters’ time, my nieces’ and my nephews’ time. How much time do you want for your ‘progress’?” (pbs.org) See link below.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/6-james-baldwin-quotes-race/15142/
Fern McBride, you have knocked it out of the park! Thank you for your impeccable research.
Thank you, Judith Smith, for being an engaged citizen and supportive sister!
Almost nobody held a mirror up to this country's racism better than Baldwin. He made everybody uncomfortable exactly because he forced them to see themselves in all their ugliness. And he expressed it with a learned language and intellectual prowess that directly contradicted what most White people at that time expected to come from a Black man. In many ways he really was ahead of his time, but he was also a product of the times in which he lived. Prophets are so often demonized in the times in which they live. All too often they don't live to see what they prophesy come to pass. Baldwin was just plain brilliant.
As true today as when he spoke them.
Carol C, that is so true of so many black men and women. To my mind they who have fought the hardest to rise to the top are the most accomplished of us all. They are the blacks and indigenous peoples who were viewed as ignorant, virtually untamed creatures and who were stolen from highly developed societies and placed in bondage in a world of which they knew nothing. It is almost unbelievable that they were able to overcome their treatment and scratch their way to the heights of accomplishments.
And now we have the new would-be “enslavers” who long for and work toward the “good old days” and want to keep our children as ignorant as their predecessors wanted to keep the enslaved. Tragic and horrifying.
Sara, being able to overcome their treatment possibly points to some genetic superiority, definitely not inferiority as the white enslavers would have it. On the slave ships where human beings were packed in literally (not figuratively) like sardines, the physically and mentally toughest survived disease and despair, to reach the slave auction. So many others did not.
Thanks for the quotes, Fern. Baldwin speaks the truth.......
Fern, Thank you for sharing these insightful Baldwin quotes. Following up on the first from No Name on the Street, I always had understood, contrary to the aristocracy that doesn’t even raise the question, that within a democratic society the question of how the most disadvantaged are afforded protections must continually be raised and pushed.
Remember during Reagan's term in office when the mentally ill were turned out? I saw people sleeping in cardboard boxes, under overpasses and the like. Reagan was a horrible person and president, promoting "trickle down economics" which doesn't work. Trump and the Republicans proved that again in 2017 with the $2 trillion tax cut, helping to increase our national debt $7.8 trillion in his 4 years in office, a record.
Yes, Richard, I remember well those days of de-institutionalization! I was working in mental health at the time and witnessed the lost souls with no family who were thrown out and the scrambling of poorly funded mental health offices to deal with this travesty. Many of the homeless today who suffer from mental illness are examples of Reagan's thoughtlessly carried out decision to supposedly save money by sacrificing the needs of the poor. I do not doubt that some state-run institutions needed reform at the time, but they shouldn't have been all shuttered as a solution. So many of Reagan's disastrous policies still affect us today. And I'm concerned that the disastrous actions by the likes of Trump and DeSantis will be felt for years to come as well.
I was a freshly minted deputy sheriff, and in 1986 was assigned to our court transport section (mostly charged with getting inmates* to medical appointments, court dates, anything that required them being out of the jail building) as well as with transporting people on mental health holds to and from either the State Hospital in Salem** or another institution 20 miles north called the Dammash State Hospital. We were making between 5-15 trips a week with people going one direction or the other. Dammash closed in 1988 as part of the Reagan plan. Transports went way down, but the mental health compromised population swelled and today represent a very large percentage of the unhoused populations that are in every community across the country.
* I knew them as inmates. Today they are called "Adults in Custody" or AIC.
** OSH is featured in "One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest"
They're still on our city streets, and all Republicans want to do is lock them up. Nevermind that we destroy (or convert into AB&B ) housing that might give them some protection.
So true. In Florida, they are in rural areas as well, struggling to find someplace to be safe in a world that doesn't care to address their root problems.
Their root problems are poverty and the escalating cost of rent. If you lost your housing because you were $200 short on your rent, how likely is it that you will have $2-3,000 for first months rent, security deposit, utility deposit, background/application fees?
Only 1 in 4 of the households who qualify for a rental subsidy will ever receive one (and the wait may be many years).
When Clinton’s “Welfare Reform” turned a federal program for poor families into state grant, the cash benefit families use for rent were frozen for a quarter century. Rent was not. Homelessness surged.
I remember reading the idea that discarded and closed shopping malls around the country, with some repairs and tweaks, could be turned into housing for the homeless. Do we have any examples of this happening?
Check the news re: Boston, and the efforts to relieve the situation at 'Mass and Cass'. The mayor is making a great effort to come up with a solution to the problem of the unhoused and/or mentally ill. Let's hope the situation is helped: winter isn't that far away.
Richard, In my view, if not for countervailing forces that emerged during Reagan’s tenure pressing for a modicum of social and economic justice for increasing numbers of oppressed and marginalized people, we could have reaped an era of anarchy before the close of the 20th Century. Moving forward, despite setbacks during the W. Bush and Trump Administrations, thankfully, the call for prescribed forms of public accountability for disproportionate amounts of wealth, power, and influence has not abated.
Economic justice? Reagan destroyed it, starting the war on the Middle Class. What we're now experiencing is real anarchy, even at the highest levels - the U.S. Supreme Court, the House and the Senate and in many state legislatures and governorships. We need to recognize that we're dealing with the KKK now resurfaced as MAGA.
Richard, Respectfully, I believe the center, albeit barely, is holding. Consequently, we need everybody in this fight with us if we’re to have a shot at rebuilding, let alone, not further regressing.
Barbara Jo - the wealth disparity in this country keeps growing and growing at a rapid pace. We need desperately to pass to tax legislation. During the time since Reagan was in office, the inheritance tax has virtually disappeared while the tax rate on the wealthy is little more than what it is for average wager earners, and proportionately, probably less. If the Center is holding, it's not by much. Those in their 40's and 50's may never benefit from Social Security or Medicare. We've dumped $32 trillion of debt on them, starting with Reagan, when the national debt was less than $1 trillion.
Richard, SCOTUS helped with O'Connor v. Donaldson in 1975. I remember it well.
It would not surprise me if DeSantis and the Florida Legislature, now completely controlled by Republicans, might try to incarcerate alleged mentally ill people again.
Justice for the disadvantaged and discriminated against in America is to take action, so that their rights and liberty are strongly protected.
Fern, My point, contrary to aristocracy that doesn’t give a damn, is that if we want to live in a democracy we are obliged to raise the question: what are we to do with the most disadvantaged in relation to the public interest? Calls for specific and informed actions, in my view, presumably would ensue.
Barbara, to quote you, 'I always had understood, contrary to the aristocracy that doesn’t even raise the question, that within a democratic society the question of how the most disadvantaged are afforded protections must continually be raised and pushed.' Has that question not been raised continuously over more than two centuries? My response, given current legislative moves restricting access to voting for minorities and 'others' as well as the killings of minority group members, lack of affordable housing, banning books, etc., much of it detailed in our Letters, more concerted action by the federal government and 'pushing' by American citizens is absolutely necessary.
Fern, In response to your comment, currently, both individually and in community, I have prioritized pressing for passage of (1) the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, (2) the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, (3) meaningful gun control legislation, and (4) policy redressing economic disparities due to a disproportionate distribution of wealth, power, and influence.
Given your positions, Barbara, with reference to inequality and economic disparities in the US, I thought, among many, these two sources may be of interest to you.
'In an effort to advance environmental justice solutions across the United States, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, an affiliate of the Columbia Climate School, has partnered with WE ACT for Environmental Justice to launch a suite of model state environmental justice bills for legislators and advocates to introduce and adopt in their state’s 2024 legislative sessions.'
'Dismantling Injustice: A M.O.D.E.L. (Model for Optimizing and Designing Environmental Legislation) For Empowering Communities was created to arm interested legislators with tools to accelerate proposed policy changes. It contains model legislative language, fact sheets, memos, and regulatory briefing information covering five topic areas: (1) cumulative impact reports, (2) indirect source permits, (3) permit renewals, (4) environmental advisory boards, and (5) zoning. (ColumbiaClimateSchool) See link below.
'Public education funding in the U.S. needs an overhaul'
'How a larger federal role would boost equity and shield children from disinvestment during downturns'
'Education funding in the United States relies primarily on state and local resources, with just a tiny share of total revenues allotted by the federal government. Most analyses of the primary school finance metrics—equity, adequacy, effort, and sufficiency—raise serious questions about whether the existing system is living up to the ideal of providing a sound education equitably to all children at all times. Districts in high-poverty areas, which serve larger shares of students of color, get less funding per student than districts in low-poverty areas, which predominantly serve white students, highlighting the system’s inequity. School districts in general—but especially those in high-poverty areas—are not spending enough to achieve national average test scores, which is an established benchmark for assessing adequacy. Efforts states make to invest in education vary significantly. And the system is ill-prepared to adapt to unexpected emergencies.' (EconomicPolicyInstitute) See link below.
https://dismantlinginjustice.org/
https://www.epi.org/publication/public-education-funding-in-the-us-needs-an-overhaul/
Thank you, Fern. If bees really have knees, yours would most assuredly be among the most prominent!
My knees have grown wobbly from being too long at the computer, but thank you for the compliment. Your mind, dear Lynell, is very sharp, and your kindness reigns with care for your sisters and brothers.
So true. Thank you
Thank you, George, for your attention and engagement as a citizen of the US and for reading the words of James Baldwin.
Great quotes, Fern, and so very timely.
Thank you once again Fern. 💕
This question: "Or should we protect the right of ordinary Americans to build their own lives, making sure that no one can monopolize the country’s money and resources, with the expectation that their efforts will build society from the ground up? " explains why I am a Democrat.
And sadly, so many people in rural America would strongly support the same ideas if only they were exposed to honest descriptions of them. Most of these folks are hard-working intelligent people that realize that “the man” is keeping them down, but the only media they are exposed to (along with many “religious” leaders) are telling them that the evil socialist democrats are keeping them down. For folks working at near minimum wage to vote for the party that prevented it from being raised for DECADES is obscene.
I guess I should also identify myself as a Democratic Socialist, along with Bernie Sanders. : )
Me, too! Feelin’ the Bern!
(& yes, of course I voted for Hilliary & Joe!)
Sanders, IMO, made a huge blunder calling himself a Democratic Socialist instead of a Progressive Capitalist, which he is. Socialism doesn't sell in the USA.
As HST said “Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps ALL the people.”
EXACTLY, as The *First Church * that PETER, was Appointed to LEAD when JESUS Quoted : AND, UPON This Rock , I WILL ESTABLISH ! , MY CHURCH !! ( GLORY ! ,,,, To HIS NAME ! ) [ Thank You ! JERI !}
Have you ever wondered why all of the Apostles have European names instead of Hebrew names?
I keep wondering whenever I buy an insurance policy, be it auto, home or whatever, am I not buying into a socialist idea where other people's money will help to make me whole when I have a personal loss?
There is a huge difference between a cooperative, which is what an insurance company is, in part. Socialism is where the government controls or owns the means of production. Not even close.
Thanks, Richard. I needed that explanation, even though I recognized the part about the government owning/controlling the means of production.
Interesting thought, Lynell.
Good morning!!
Morning, Ally! By the way, I watched the Music Man last week and kept thinking of you the whole time. There really is nothing like a big brass marching band!
Me too. Democratic Socialist, Social Democrat. Social Safety Net. Social Security. Social Contract. Social Justice. Society of all.
But as Richard said, using the term "socialist" in America in almost ANY context is political suicide. If Bernie had re-framed his "status" differently he may have harvested millions more supporters. In the NH primary, folks were interviewed who said that they were trying to decide whether to vote for Bernie or Trump.
This speaks to the fact that the presidential election pattern is one of voting out a current president or party - not in. It's a statement of dissatisfaction more than one of support. Bernie was spot on with his understanding of the working class plight. He should have packaged it differently. But Bernie isn't one to take a lot of advice.
And so, sadly, if Hillary had managed to communicate her sincere support for the working class in "fly over" country, she might have become a superior president. And I bet Putin would have hesitated before invading any other sovereign nation.
All just idle speculation, of course. But it's fun to imagine what the world would have been like if either one of them were in their second term right now.
Bill, to your shoulda, woulda, coulda, 'If Bernie had re-framed his 'status' (as democratic socialist) differently he may have harvested millions more supporters'; my response to you, after a chuckle, is a loud, Bronx cheer, 'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!' With a bow to, Bernie, knowing that I could never match what he does so well.
I think that is wrong - I identify myself as a Social Democrat: Concerned with social issues but very much a democrat.
The power of propaganda
And why I'm now an Australian.
Good choice.
Me too
I have a graduate degree in psychology, I am a professional healthcare chaplain working in hospice in Northern California. I pay exorbitant rent for a one bedroom 600 sq ft apt in a, frankly, down scale neighborhood considering what with my education and type of work I do should afford me. with little left over to save much. I feel like a slave to a system of greed, and I cannot fathom how people with less education and earning ability are managing. There is something greatly unfair afoot. There are many finger wagings to the 1% but most of the rental property here is owned by small property owners. I do good work that I believe is helpful to society but it is barely enough to live an average life, with slim margins for a budget vacation once a year. There is too much greed and the model for wringing the most out of people possible seems way too acceptable and while I am very glad that the UPS drivers have a fair contract, I do find it amazing that I help people as they are dying and get paid less than half what a delivery driver makes. Why do people think that someone else’s labor should profit them to the detriment of the laborer?
It is maddening, you’re right. All of that education you received did not grant you the salary you should be making. You have taken on a very tough situation on behalf of many who are at the end of their lives on this earth. Your richness is your ability to communicate with this population, to set them forth on a new journey. Social work has never been a great paying job but it can often be rewarding or it can be heartbreaking. Let me tell you, you are very much appreciated. I live in the East Bay so I know of those exorbitant rents you speak about. Wish I could give you a hug.
TINA, & MARLENE ! The STRUGGLE, is Real ! , AND ! , ,,,, In, Your LIFE ! . * TO COME ! " Your REAPINGS ! , Will BE ,,,,IMMEASURABLE ! "
In other words, why should someone feel justified in exploiting someone else? Or have we accepted Exploit or Be Exploited as the new morality? It seemed briefly during the Covid lockdown period that we came to appreciate the low-paid people we depend on.
Sadly Carol I think you named the cynical motto of the times which too many live by while espousing liberal values. I say that because I live in a fairly liberal leaning area. Also sadly, while so many people during covid had to deal with decreased income, rental moratoriums that no doubt were difficult as a landlord with a mortgage, my landlady raised my rent. It confounded me. I feel lucky that I was an essential worker in that I still had an income, it was offensive to experience the greed of people who werent suffering financially and were so clueless and raised my rent. I dont know what to say except that I think you are correct, too many live by ‘exploit or be exploited’.
Once upon a time Christian churches of all denominations preached against that sort of “do it if you can get away with it.” Some still do, I think. But I am hearing that influential mega church preachers find Jesus’ approach, (turn the other cheek, welcome the stranger, judge not lest ye be judged, etc.,) doesn’t work in today’s world, it’s just “weak.”
I dont know. I am not Christian myself, more Taoist than anything, and probably the area I live in, north of San Francisco, is average in religious diversity, and I bet if people were asked to categorize themselves, 50% would say they aren’t religious, unless one counts capitalism as a religion, which it seems to be. I do not know what guides people’s ethics here.
Tina, I go along with the old saying, "Actions speak louder than words."
I need to much improve my actions.
Heather and other wonderful writers are out there in the world with their gift of words which are pushing me to action as well as amazing and ACTIVE participants within this group.
Our individual faith or ideals should motivate us. In the end we are each humans sharing this world and its resources. I need to live a more thankful life. I need to give more....it is just a human responsibility and a healthy one. Let's do it!!!!
Beautifully said Emily
Have you read this article: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/us-culture-moral-education-formation/674765/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
It addresses these issues. I am finding that it offers a lot of food for thought.
Kathy...this article is OUTSTANDING! Should be required reading for ALL humans. "Raised in a culture without ethical structure, you become internally fragile." I plan to copy and distribute this to all 6 of my grandkids (ages 18-24). Thank you, thank you!
I agree. “We inhabit a society in which people are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and consideration. Our society has become one in which people feel licensed to give their selfishness free rein.” Children learn from observing how their parents, especially, treat other people.
Bookmarked and will read. Thank you!
They have made Christianity a dirty word, to me
Carol , We know, JESUS, was Setting, the EXAMPLE, for ALL, of US! . To LIVE, LOVE. Show & DO, Compassion, AND Most of ALL !,,,,, BE, ,,,,MEEK ! , ( not WEAK ! ) HIS HOLY SPIRIT !, WILL Emminate, From HIS, True, CHOSEN ! ( You WILL Notice IT ! ) ,,,,,,FAITH !
PS Carol ,, You said, Those TEACHINGS Do not 'WORK ' , In this World, TODAY, AND That is TRUE. But ! ,,,,Our TEACHER !, is PREPARING Us for The KINGDOM ! ,,,, Coming !!
I think the teachings of Jesus DO work for this world. Love Thy Neighbor, especially, if “neighbor” is expanded to mean all human beings and future generations.
Tina ! The *MAMMONITES ! , * Will NOT !. be ABLE ! , to . " Take IT !, ,,,,,,, With THEM !! " ( OH ! , what a NAKID BODY ! , BEFORE, Our LORD/GOD ! ) { I AM, Included , With ALL, of MANKIND ! . ALSO ! .... }
Tina….I too live in your area and have a similar background….and I hear you on the fiscal stuff….
BUT I think your fiscal challenges have a lot to do with California and the Bay Area…housing costs and general fiscal realities as hugely expensive…for housing et Al.
I have a grand daughter in Dallas representing the Biden Administration in its homelessness efforts and Texas built a whole lot more low income housing years ago and their homelessness situation..while a concern is nowhere near the problems here in CA .
We have by far the worse homeless problems in the county…our land is terribly expensive and we haven’t built anywhere near enough low income housing….I have other family involved in this as well who are doing their level best to get way more low income housing in LA (45,000 homeless) the Bay Area et Al.
Home buyers look at total cost: purchase price, annual real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. California decided to to have minimal real estate taxes (bad choice), for example a $500,000 assessed value house in San Francisco (assessed value is usually far less than actual value) pays only $3700. A $500,00 house in Baltimore would pay $8600. Soooo pay less taxes, more available money to bid up property values and have the same monthly payment in total. https://smartasset.com/taxes/california-property-tax-calculator#aJ9iKYNeX4
PS Purchase price reduced to monthly payment is mortgage, of course.
My parents' house, in a rural California county, is assessed at a very low value due to Prop. 13. As a result of the taxation regime required by Prop. 13, that particular county gets minimal tax revenue and has almost no way of raising enough to offset the services it provides. However my house insurer assigns that house a much higher value, which results in a substantial fire insurance payment.
Get you coming and going, don't they.
Tina the unions in America must be rebuilt because not only do union contracts benefit their members but everyone else as well. Propaganda carefully delivered for decades gave the unions an image of being big, greedy, powerful and corrupt. They were in fact , the first line of defense from the ultra rich and huge corporations. All workers, public, private and professional need unions.
I completely agree Jack. Nurses have them which is great, the other players in healthcare should have them available too
Maybe a year before the pandemic, I read The Five Invitations by Frank Ostaseski. Being in Northern California, Tina, I suspect you know he was the co-founder of the Zen Hospice Project. Although I am not a mental health professional, I have partaken of many of that profession's services. I greatly benefited from Ostaseski's insight that death is always with us, hiding in plain sight and helping us discover what matters most. That doesn't pay the rent or even cover a vacation, but I hope you sense that what you do is really important. Frankly, I don't know if we will survive the next election or certainly how long late stage capitalism can rage, but I do know that whatever benefits UPS drivers get will come from the company's outrageous profits, and that is a cause to celebrate.
Yes I know Frank. As someone wrote in a previous post, actions speak louder than words. I am glad that people appreciate what I do, it would be nice if that appreciation extended to pay/housing options that allow me to recharge in even a small corner of some of the bucolic beauty here.
Anything at Spirit Rock for mental health professionals? I know that there are special week-ends with a sliding scale at a conference center I attend.
I am speechless you earn less than a truck driver earns . You likely paid thousands of dollars for your education too. Disturbing at best.
I wonder what keeps you in the game? Many I am sure are grateful for your choice.
I did pay a fair amount. What keeps me in the game? Dental insurance? Health insurance? At midlife switching to what profession would generate even more income? The point is a generation or two ago a white male with this job would have been paid enough to buy a house and raise a family. As for me and UPS driver. I based my comment on the recent articles out: “UPS drivers will earn an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits at the end of a five-year contract agreement”. Thats a lot of money/benefits. They may well deserve it due to the pressure they are under and the conditions they work in. Mine is half that.
One can hope fervently that the words of Lincoln in this instance will prevail against those of Hammond. Both visions exist in this world---Hammond states in clear words the animating vision of the GOP and the oligarchs who rule this country with their "ill gotten gains", so to speak. The vision of President Biden, with Bidenomics, seeks in a new context to "build up from the bottom" and envision a world in which workers are again empowered and enabled to rise from humble beginnings to high places in the world---or to the not insignificant economic location of the fading and indeed vanishing "middle class" which powered the American success post WWII. Lincoln's insight and eloquence presented in your essay this evening, Prof. Richardson, remind us of the vision for the future for America and Democracy that is threatened by the malign leadership and membership of the GOP. Time to buckle down and do the hard work of winning across the board and down the ticket in 2024. Thanks for your powerful words and for the opportunity for conversation and sharing that this community provides.
'...do the hard work of winning across the board and down the ticket in 2024.' Yes, we will SUPPORT and EDUCATE OUR fellow citizens to KNOW and to VOTE on the entire ticket!
Well said. Cheers.
"Citizens United" pretty well supported the rights of a wealthy ruling class. In addition, the "founding fathers" seems to have embraced the vision of women as property or at least as men's indentured servants and with no vote in governance. There's no justification to sugar coat any of this. The Republican Party had a long way to fall from the party as it was under Dwight Eisenhower to the present party trying to ressurect the Confederacy, and it fell ALL of that distance.
Speaking of Citizens United, this, from its Wikipedia article, (under Concurrences:)
"Justice Thomas wrote a separate opinion concurring in all but the upholding of the disclosure provisions. In order to protect the anonymity of contributors to organizations exercising free speech, Thomas would have struck down the reporting requirements."
Because of course he did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#:~:text=The%20court%20held%205%E2%80%934,labor%20unions%2C%20and%20other%20associations.
Because he was reaping the benefits of largess.
If the public schools I grew up in included James Henry Hammond’s speech alongside the stirring speeches of the original Revolutionaries or the likes of Lincoln and FDR, I don’t remember reading it. If I don’t remember it because it wasn’t offered, I’d call that a missed opportunity on the part of educators. Either democracy works better than autocracy for purposes of enabling the people to live purposeful and satisfying lives ... or it doesn’t. Understanding the differences in details and implications of competing visions for government might still facilitate profoundly engaging classroom discussions. I think we should try it.
I remember being taught about the disastrous rise of Hitler to power, but little about the threat of authoritarianism right here at home. Keep in mind that pleasing the Texas school boards, puts a certain twist on the history presented in the textbooks.
Sadly very true.
In college, I was required to take a U.S.history class (I was in Engineering, but as a land-grant college, Mizzou required all students to take at least one history class). I took “since 1865” (you can guess what the alternative was), and it was outstandingly taught. Probably what triggered my love for learning history ever since.
The professor wasn’t interested in memorizing names and dates (I.e. trivia exams), but wanted us to understand the key issues and how they effected the country moving forward. I wish I remembered the professor’s name, sadly I don’t but they have had a lifetime imprint on me.
Great points. This website https://thinkingispower.com/ is run by Melanie Trecek-King, an associate professor of biology at Massasoit Community College in Massachusetts. In my sometimes less than humble opinion, Prof. Trecek-King absolutely "nails" it. Misinformation is a formidable problem today. When I was in Texas at the family reunion a nephew of mine was convinced beyond any doubt that Trump had won the election. What are his sources of disinformation/misinformation? Fox News, OAN (One American Network) and Newsmax, the latter two being undeniable conspiracy spreading vehicles.
Richard, "Disinformation and our lack of the teaching of histories of our people and cultures and the results of dangerous, self-centered, controlling and cruel "leaders" should be throughly taught with time for discussions along with the composing of papers to share in class. Our education is much too "light". We just go to our phones or TVs for information and as we can observe....disinformation is being spread and believed. Citizens are accepting many lies, as we can observe. "Herd" mentality is NO mentality.
I believe persons who spread disinformation should be fined. It is an act of insurrection and against the values of a free nation.
Emily, proof of the correctness of your statement that our education "is much too 'light,'" is evidenced by the current mess we're in. Here's something to think about:
Think of something that yoiu believe is true . . . .
1. How SURE are you that it's true? (0-100%)
2. What is the SOURCE of the belief?
3. What are your REASONS for believing it's true?
4. How could you FIGURE OUT if it's true?
5. How would you FEEL if you were WRONG?
6. What facts would CHANGE YOUR MIND?
Good point. I have my daughter's high school history book (2000) entitled, "Lies My Teacher Told Me," by James Loewen. A better title would have been, "Truths/facts deleted from my history books," but it wouldn't have sold as well. Wasn't the teachers' fault necessarily.
I looooove Loewen's book, based on Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", and used it as reference in planning lessons for my 4th and 5th graders.
Now that is what I call a "head start." Good for you. Are you still teaching, Beth?
Nope. Retired 2018. As to your point of books not selling well, we had a rather crappy Social Studies curriculum - can't remember the publisher. BUT I was lucky to be in the TAH (Teaching American History) two-year program and took several week-long teacher workshops at two museums in LA area - which is where I introduced to Zinn, et al.
One of the reasons I don't like digital books, is that it is too easy to change the words. The author may never have actually said them.
And Mel and Norma Gabler made sure that Texas textbooks had a “Christian” slant. And, because of its size, influenced purchases by other states. Shame on those “good people.”
They were funded by the wealthy Hunt family, you know. I believe Mel had been an airport baggage handler.
Didn't know that but not surprised. They had the self-righteous bs down pat. Wrote many letters to Houston Chronicle about them. They may be dead but their bs lives.
I fear teaching about Mr Hammond’s thinking would be consider “Woke” and therefore banned... 😡
Exactly. I think the fact that a whole political party can actually condemn being awake to the truth speaks volumes about their intent. They prefer the same sort of manufactured history as Hitler and Stalin did.
If one isn't proud to be "Woke" one must want to be asleep, unaware, not conscious of, oblivious to and dismissive of .... facts, truth, actual history, reality itself. All for a purpose.
Oppression. Authoritarian dominance of the "other".
Woke, by definition, is a good thing and it applies to the individual and their ability to be self-aware and aware of the world around them. The gop fights against it because awareness threatens them personally and politically. It shouldn’t take a deep thinker to figure that out!
I'm thinking that James Henry Hammond would be very comfortable in today's Senate. Almost all of whose members are multi-millionaires and supported by interest groups whose goal is to protect their stockholders.
This explains the resistance to what the Biden Administration has tried to help middle and lower income citizens. Add the current Supreme Court to the resistance as well i.e. declaring Biden's plan to eliminate student debt.
The large and growing imbalance between workers' pay and that of executives, exemplifies what Lincoln referred to as Hammond's failure to recognize that labor creates capital and not vice-versa.
What's interesting to me is that until today, I never heard of James Henry Hammond. It's one reason that I read HCR every day, because I realize how incomplete my education has been.
I only learned about him here from a previous post.
Happy Labor Day weekend. Never forget that without labor, the billionaire class would have nothing to sell and nobody to whom they could sell it.
And, FWIW, here's another example of how the former "Party of Lincoln" now spits on the grave of the former POTUS.
Trickle down economy promoted for years by the Republican Party does not work. Lincoln knew it. So why did we buy into it years ago? Now we have corporations and wealthy running the country. By the way, when the Supreme Court decided that a corporate entity was an individual as far as political contributions, they put political power into the hands of corporations.
Diana ‘Trickle down’ economics results in the very wealthy peeing on their underlings. Republicans in Congress don’t even wish to provide diapers for the great majority of Americans.
Will Rogers knew it on Nov 26, 1932 “The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.” Mr. Hoover knew, so does ever republican billionaire today. It’s just the poor smucks who buy the bull Schitt.
"Trickle down" was obviously a fraud supported by politics and billions in advertising and propaganda. I would assume that Republicans at the top know very well it is a fraud, but it seems to be their purpose in life to promote it.
About 4 years ago I was asked if I wanted to get in on the formation of a new consulting company based out of Phoenix. My answer was absolutely not. I said, "What we need are fewer consulting companies and more companies that employ workers that produce tangible goods and pay fair wages." I feel the USA is top heavy on white color jobs. We need more laborers paid decent wages. We need more unions to protect our laborers. The Republicans have been union busting for years making people the slaves of corporate America. I call it corporate slavery.
Diana, agreed ! I would also add, we should try to keep older youth in school until they graduate including migrant youth! Afterschool jobs, that leave enough time to complete school assignments are great.
Also employers of young workers should provide education opportunites along with fair wages. Through training, businesses could improve their longer term work force.
Too many immigrants are habitually used and abused and treated with disrespect. Though this has been a reality, we should continue to address this mistreatment.
Many immigrants choose to take the opportunity to work over many of our own American citizens who are unwilling to do the jobs the immigrants do....to work to earn enough just to survive.
I am distressed at the inhumanity of desparate persons at the border who are coming to us because they believe America offers HOPE....A CHANCE FOR A DECENT LIFE. It is heartrending.
Thanks to many persons at the border who have worked for years to help those who come to us. Thanks to those who help fill out so many forms, doctors and nurses who provide immediate needed care, those who provide food and shelter. And those who help them find decent jobs.
The small town (Pop 5,000) where I was the contract deputy had a gas station owned by a man who owned that station (two others in town were owned by other people), the tire shop, and his wife owned the Dairy Queen. All of their student employees were offered a school savings plan: their wages would be $1 more if they saved that at a 1-1 rate in a savings account. When they left employment (regardless of the path; I know of kids who were fired and kids who left to go to other jobs/college/military) he would match the money they had in that dedicated account. He gave bonuses for honor roll, participation in band, sports, FFA, DECA, and other student groups.
My son is a technical writer. Here in Silicon Valley, the employees of a vast majority of companies are not permanent, full-time employees with benefits, but contractors with 6 month gigs that may or may not be renewed. My son, with a BA in English and a coding certification from UC Berkeley extension, has had several such jobs with highly reputable companies which make his resume stand out to recruiters (an underworld in and of itself). This all seems like a modern version of serfdom. The contractor has no rights except to produce for the corporation (my son was not allowed to speak directly to his manager. All questions, comments, concerns had to be routed through the recruiter even when a permanent employee was making things very difficult for him, which may have lead to his contract not being renewed) and then to get another job for the recruiting company to leach from. The hiring company has made no investment in the temporary hire other than paying a lot of money to the recruiter.
His most recent contract was not renewed with a one day notice. He wasn’t given a reason and the company was not required to do so. He doesn’t seemed too fazed. He left yesterday to surf in Costa Rica for a week or so. Seems like I’m doing the worrying for both of us!
Clearly society should bring everyone to the party with opportunity to improve one’s future and participate in a ‘circular’ society….not a ‘top down’ one.
John Henry Hammond was one vile human being. What constitutes "forward" as a society moves? Does having one's labor stolen from him either by enslavement or by pathetically low wages, so that he cannot afford to support himself or a family constitute "forward"? Lincoln realized that slave labor in Kentucky actually made it very difficult for him to get ahead. People who were enslavers were unlikely to pay a free man to work. I think a society that is moving "forward" affords everyone the opportunity to become independent and take care of themselves. That society comes together to educate the population, provide healthcare, create infrastructure to get goods to market, and enforce laws to protect life and property.
John Henry Hammond used the term "mudsills" to describe the foundational members of society, essential workers, if you will. But if you build a building on wood laid in the mud, that wood will rot, then that "stately building " will collapse. Hammond was trying to justify the injustice of slavery. He may have been a congressman, but he was not honorable.
Excellent analysis, Jenn. That wood will indeed rot, and the building will collapse.