The skuds of the world can say what they want about Biden or any other previous Democrat who has been elected in the recent era. This includes Obama, Clinton and Carter.
But those men all adhered to the idea that records were central to ur country understanding both the good and the bad of their presidencies. The receipts matter and ever since Nixon, the United States has seen it as important to have and to keep the memos, the doodles, the records of discussions about issues that take place during their administrations. This has been so not just for the sake of history, but because since the Watergate tapes, we've seen this as a fundamental part of getting to the truth of what our presidents are about and because it is the law.
If not for this viewpoint and the preservation of records, the Turner Joy and other Vietnam lies of of the Johnson presidency might have never become widely known. In fact it is respect for these same laws and customs that allowed us to learn recently that during the Reagan Admin, the president proposed to Gorbachev a nuclear free option. Which Reagan's administration, against the president's wishes, slow walked and buried.
The Trump Admin, famous for telling people to never write anything down, so as not to come in conflict with the law and have to preserve records, has no use for keeping records.
And his MAGA followers cheer him on.
But let's be honest here... his followers, many skeptics like our friends -FJ, Joe Con and skud, folks who regularly chide us liberals for trusting the government, only know about the lies and deceit of our government in their lifetimes, because of our history of keeping the very records they cite.
As one thinks about history, how it written, described and preserved, the Trump Admin's views towards people holding US green cards should bring an important inflection point...
All 55 million current visa holders will face "continuous vetting" for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States."
It's a pretty sweeping statement from among others, Sec of State Rubio.
So let's pause and reflect on it. If this is a universally held truth as something good for America, why do we allow people with Nazi sympathies to be here? Clearly, unless I am mistaken, Nazism is an indication of hostility towards the government.
How about leaders and others who do not respect the rule of law, or the right, enshrined in the Constitution, to due process? Is that an indication of hostility towards our government or founding principles?
Finally, what about the Confederacy? Did we err in welcoming those who sought to destroy our union? Because when they waged war against the north, I think any sentient being would agree that was an indication of hostility towards our government, culture, institutions and more.
As the Trump Admin seeks to bend our tortured history to simply the "Good Time Story Hour", we will see more of this stuff, right out of the Orwell playbook.
According to the 2024 popular vote, more Americans voted for someone other than Trump. Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote; he won a plurality.
But unlike democratic countries around the world, the US does not elect its president by popular vote, but rather by a system devised to increase the power of slave-holding states and also as a check on direct democracy, which the founding fathers distrusted.
And now, according to the polls that track how Americans feel about their president and his policies at a moment in time, Trump is overwhelmingly unpopular, as is his policies. This is remarkable for a president at this point (only 7 months) into his second term.
We are living under the tyranny of the minority. Comparable to what's happening in Hungary:
"Large anti-government protests have occurred, fueled by outrage over corruption scandals and anti-democratic legislation. Recent controversial laws banning public LGBTQ+ events have been met with massive, defiant Pride marches."
History inevitably self-corrects. " Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away." But we like Orwell, are not patient.
I’ve lived long enough to know that weak men like Trump (and his followers actually) will fail, along with the futility of their tyrannies and the inevitable decay of his power. This has happened to all self-aggrandizing tyrants.
Hopefully when tRump ultimately fails (he actually is strong on that path) Evangelical Fundamentalism and Christian Nationalism fails and dies with him.
Using the National Academies’ estimate of immigrants’ net fiscal impact by education level, we estimate that the lifetime fiscal drain (taxes paid minus costs) for each illegal immigrant is about $68,000.
11 comments:
Orwell: Prophetic, but who wouldda thunk America.
The skuds of the world can say what they want about Biden or any other previous Democrat who has been elected in the recent era. This includes Obama, Clinton and Carter.
But those men all adhered to the idea that records were central to ur country understanding both the good and the bad of their presidencies. The receipts matter and ever since Nixon, the United States has seen it as important to have and to keep the memos, the doodles, the records of discussions about issues that take place during their administrations. This has been so not just for the sake of history, but because since the Watergate tapes, we've seen this as a fundamental part of getting to the truth of what our presidents are about and because it is the law.
If not for this viewpoint and the preservation of records, the Turner Joy and other Vietnam lies of of the Johnson presidency might have never become widely known. In fact it is respect for these same laws and customs that allowed us to learn recently that during the Reagan Admin, the president proposed to Gorbachev a nuclear free option. Which Reagan's administration, against the president's wishes, slow walked and buried.
The Trump Admin, famous for telling people to never write anything down, so as not to come in conflict with the law and have to preserve records, has no use for keeping records.
And his MAGA followers cheer him on.
But let's be honest here... his followers, many skeptics like our friends -FJ, Joe Con and skud, folks who regularly chide us liberals for trusting the government, only know about the lies and deceit of our government in their lifetimes, because of our history of keeping the very records they cite.
How ironic...
As one thinks about history, how it written, described and preserved, the Trump Admin's views towards people holding US green cards should bring an important inflection point...
All 55 million current visa holders will face "continuous vetting" for "any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States."
It's a pretty sweeping statement from among others, Sec of State Rubio.
So let's pause and reflect on it. If this is a universally held truth as something good for America, why do we allow people with Nazi sympathies to be here? Clearly, unless I am mistaken, Nazism is an indication of hostility towards the government.
How about leaders and others who do not respect the rule of law, or the right, enshrined in the Constitution, to due process? Is that an indication of hostility towards our government or founding principles?
Finally, what about the Confederacy? Did we err in welcoming those who sought to destroy our union? Because when they waged war against the north, I think any sentient being would agree that was an indication of hostility towards our government, culture, institutions and more.
As the Trump Admin seeks to bend our tortured history to simply the "Good Time Story Hour", we will see more of this stuff, right out of the Orwell playbook.
But hey! We voted for chaos, so let's have it.
Sayeth the clowns...
"But hey! We voted for chaos, so let's have it."
Actually, we didn't.
According to the 2024 popular vote, more Americans voted for someone other than Trump. Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote; he won a plurality.
But unlike democratic countries around the world, the US does not elect its president by popular vote, but rather by a system devised to increase the power of slave-holding states and also as a check on direct democracy, which the founding fathers distrusted.
And now, according to the polls that track how Americans feel about their president and his policies at a moment in time, Trump is overwhelmingly unpopular, as is his policies. This is remarkable for a president at this point (only 7 months) into his second term.
We are living under the tyranny of the minority. Comparable to what's happening in Hungary:
"Large anti-government protests have occurred, fueled by outrage over corruption scandals and anti-democratic legislation. Recent controversial laws banning public LGBTQ+ events have been met with massive, defiant Pride marches."
From the NYTimes: Homeland Security Dept. Says It Hasn’t Kept Text Message Data Since April
"The agency’s response to public records requests indicated potential violations of federal records laws, experts said."
Trump is running a lawless regime, and the majority conservatives on the SCOTUS gave him free rein to do so.
History inevitably self-corrects.
" Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
But we like Orwell, are not patient.
Shelley was prescient about someone like Trump.
I’ve lived long enough to know that weak men like Trump (and his followers actually) will fail, along with the futility of their tyrannies and the inevitable decay of his power. This has happened to all self-aggrandizing tyrants.
Hopefully when tRump ultimately fails (he actually is strong on that path) Evangelical Fundamentalism and Christian Nationalism fails and dies with him.
For it was that group the republicans manipulated to insure the Felon's rise.
55 million.
Using the National Academies’ estimate of immigrants’ net fiscal impact by education level, we estimate that the lifetime fiscal drain (taxes paid minus costs) for each illegal immigrant is about $68,000.
Trump spends that much on every tacky gold geegaw he hangs in the Awful Office.
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