Assessing Trump’s Character
If interviewed on the subject, most Americans would rate themselves highly in terms of character judgement.
Yet half of U.S. voters put Trump back in the White House.
Why Is American Citizenship on the Decline?
If you or I were creating a set of CDs on the decline of American citizenship, we would probably point out things like the destruction of the U.S. educational system, the fact that 60% of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck, the huge number of people who go bankrupt due to healthcare costs, and the rising tide of fascism and racism.
Of course, we’re not devotees of Hillsdale College, an extreme rightwing Christian institution.
To be honest, I don’t know, and will never find out, what’s in these materials, but I’d wager they contain ideas like the loss of faith in Christ, our constitutionally based laws against forcing our children to read the bible, our failure to force schoolkids to recite the pledge of allegiance, the “open borders” that were ordered by Biden, the invasion of Muslims into the U.S., allowing our liberals to protest against government oppression, our acceptance of basic science, e.g., the theories of evolution and anthropogenic global warming, and the lack of support for Trump, possibly the greatest president our country has ever had.
Tagged with: 60% of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck, allowing our liberals to protest against government oppression, decline of American citizenship, destruction of the U.S. educational system, Hillsdale College an extreme rightwing Christian institution, lack of support for Trump, loss of faith in Christ, our acceptance of basic science, our constitutionally based laws against forcing our children to read the bible, our failure to force schoolkids to recite the pledge of allegiance, people who go bankrupt due to healthcare costs, rising tide of fascism and racism, the "open borders" that were ordered by Biden, the invasion of Muslims into the U.S., theories of evolution and anthropogenic global warming, Why Is American Citizenship on the Decline?
Critical Thinking
It’s a shame that Americans are so down on our educational system, on the basis that it “cranks out liberals” and “punishes those with nonconforming ideas.”
I went to a Quaker school, so most kids were “woke” (though obviously the term didn’t exist at the time). In general, we are anti-war, tolerant of others, environmentally conscious, etc.
Yet I’d like to believe that a young conservative could write a paper and receive a good grade if it was thoroughly researched and well written.
Christ and the Path to Heaven
What would I say?
I’d say that it seems both strange and grossly unfair that Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, Shintoists, and the adherents to the world’s other minor religions have no path to heaven, and, according to the bible, are doomed to burn in hell for all eternity.
High School Kids with Protest Signs
It could be argued that real-world learning about civics, democracy, and the U.S. Constitution is quite valuable, and worth a few hours out of school.
And in this case, there are so many elements of our constitution at work:
The right to free speech and peaceful assembly as guaranteed in the First Amendment
The right to bear arms as guaranteed in the Second Amendment
The right to due process as guaranteed in the 5th and 14th amendments
The assignment of setting up voting systems to the states and to congress, and specifically not to the president
Tagged with: real-world learning about civics, The right to bear arms as guaranteed in the Second Amendment, The right to due process as guaranteed in the 5th and 14th amendments, The right to free speech and peaceful assembly as guaranteed in the First Amendment, the U.S. Constitution, voting systems to the states and to congress
Libertarianism Might Make Sense in Some Alternative Universe
It’s not hard to imagine a world in which countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and the other social democracies did not exist. If that were the case, the type of libertarian blathering at left could possibly make sense.
However, the world that exists today, one can a) look at the World Happiness Rankings, b) realize that these nations are consistently at the very top, and c) fashion a government that emulates them.
If you want further proof, hop on a plane and walk around Oslo, Copenhagen, or whatever, and notice various features: virtually no homelessness or poverty, almost everyone college educated, lots of bicycles and EVs, no one’s dying of a treatable disease or going bankrupt due to astronomical medical expenses, a real sense of community, and very low crime rates, since no one needs to steal.
Tagged with: a real sense of community, almost everyone college educated, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, libertarian blathering, Libertarianism Might Sense in Some Alternative Universe, lots of bicycles and EVs, New Zealand, Norway, social democracies, Sweden, very low crime rates since no one needs to steal, virtually no homelessness or poverty, World Happiness Rankings
Who Decides What is Good and Bad?
Is this really a problem? We can all agree that adequate food and housing are good things, and that hunger and homelessness are bad.
Tagged with: Who Decides What is Good and Bad?
Clint Eastwood (Apparently) Not a Fan of Obama
Not sure if Clint Eastwood actually said this. If he did, I would point out:
Obama is normally ranked #7 out of 47 U.S. presidents by historians. Not so highly by grossly uneducated racist actors.
Tagged with: Clint Eastwood May Not Be a Fan of Obama
Mass Deportations
My response to this piece on social media:
Hell yeah! We Americans have lost any regard we may have once had for rule of law and the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of due process. Just get all these non-whites out of our great country!
We acknowledge that our president is a criminal and a pathological liar, but we don’t care as long as he is a white nationalist.
As so many people from Europe and Asia have told me: “We just feel sorry for you. None of us ever thought for a moment that this level of stupidity ever could have happened in the United States. You used to be the envy of the world.”
Tagged with: Americans have lost any regard we may have once had for rule of law, None of us ever thought for a moment that this level of stupidity ever could have happened in the United States, our president is a criminal and a pathological liar, social media, the United States used to be the envy of the world, Trump white nationalist, U.S. Constitution's guarantee of due process
What Trump Will Have Accomplished in the End
A great deal turns on what we mean by “in the end.”
There is no doubt that the “accomplishments” at left are already achieved. But what happens a few years after he’s removed from office?
The most probable answer is what happened in Germany after the end of the Third Reich. This horrible event in world history culminated in the punishment of criminals, and restitution paid to parties who were injured. It will never be forgotten even if in the unlikely event that we still have an organized society here hundreds of years from now.
But today, Germany democracy is among the strongest of Earth. Only idiots blame the grandparents of the average German for doing nothing to remove Hitler.
Once democracy and our institutions have been restored, it’s perfectly possible that the interrelationships between American friends and families will heal themselves and our allies will breathe a sigh of relief.
Like the Germans, let us forgive but never forget.
