We have a great deal of work to do if we are to regain our intelligence and standing of moral uprightness on the world stage, and a great deal of that happens in our schools.
The blogger “ceeks” featured at left seems to understand this, and takes a good whack against our national stupidity in the meme here.
If we still have a civilization here 100 years hence, it will feature a great number of things that are unrecognizable today.
One of them is the receding dominance of religion in our lives. The growth of atheism is a result of the recognition that science has a better explanation for what we see around us, and that religion cannot exist without a certain amount of bigotry, cruelty, and foolish behavior.
The meme here presents a laughable example. Unfortunately, many aspects of religious fanaticism around the globe are completely tragic.
Yesterday, my wife and I attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a non-profit foundation that helps low-income people get access to legal services.
The emcee made a lovely talk about justice in America: how it’s a part of both the preamble to the Constitution and in our pledge of allegiance. She did not mention the fact that we have a multi-tiered justice system, and, more to the point, that our 45th president committed treason and has yet to be charged for it.
Talk about an elephant in the room.
I’ve been thinking about this since the recent testimony concerning how violent and unhinged Trump’s behavior is. I.e., we dodged a big fat bullet in having a childish lunatic in power for four years with no real irreversible harm.
Yes, the planet took a beating, the fires of racism received solid dousings of gasoline, COVID was far worse than it should have been, the evaporation of the middle class got a booster shot, and a nearly successful attempt was made to overthrow the government.
Yet, there was not a single exchange of nuclear weapons. Thank God for small favors.
Let’s not test our luck with another sociopath in the White House.
FWIW, I agree with Woodward. It’s hard to imagine that too many Americans at this point would want this sociopath anywhere near U.S. politics. Of course, it would be foolish to expect Trump voters to visibly retract their support, but that’s unimportant.
OK, so Trump’s political future is hard as a carp. His legal position is more interesting, and it’s only going to get worse from here. A legal expert said that Hutchinson’s testimony provided evidence of six federal crimes.
It would certainly be a good thing if a few higher level White House staffers flip. The DoJ will have to make a tough set of decisions as to whom they grant immunity in exchange for testimony.
Right now, all eyes are on White House counsel Pat Cipollone, but he’s just one of several who could decide to be on the right side of history.
As we all expected, the U.S. Supreme Court has voted to restrict the EPA’s authority to limit power utilities’ greenhouse gas emissions.
The United States has become a nation in which the well-being of the common person means very little in comparison to the demands of greed.
Look for the subject of Ketchup to be trending for the next few days.
The mental picture conjured when Chief of Staff aide Cassidy Hutchinson described the White House dining room valet’s cleaning this everyday condiment off the wall will be hard to expunge from our collective imaginations.
In a post from yesterday, Today’s Biggest Loser: Donald Trump, I noted that Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony made it far easier for others in similar positions to come forward on their own, which is important because staffers understand that crossing the former president comes at great cost in terms of their future career prospects.
I want to recant that last part. Telling the truth is always good policy, and especially in this case, where doing so actively helps to protect and defend the United States democracy.
During the Trump presidency, I wrote often that staffers should quit immediately, and that a resume that included four years working in the then-president’s White House would have less appeal to a future employer as an equivalent amount of time selling heroin or trafficking children.
Congressional Republicans want us to believe that we’re more concerned about gas prices than we are about the attempted coup and the abortion ban. While some voters feel that way, it’s a minority.
What happens in 2024 is anyone’s guess. Two and one half years is a great deal of time in which virtually anything can happen.
What looks most likely at this point is that the Democrats nominate some new, younger candidate. More interestingly, Trump and his coconspirators will be in prison or on their way, and will have no more relevance in U.S. politics than Mickey Mouse.
Today’s under-oath testimony from White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson materially improved the condition of U.S. democracy. In particular, it:
Made it far easier for others in similar positions to come forward with testimony of their own. Staffers understand that crossing the former president comes at great cost in terms of their future career prospects, and perhaps their personal safety as well, but it’s possible that Hutchinson opened the flood gates.
Made it virtually impossible for Trump to survive politically and return in 2024. The world has stunning testimony to the effect that he is a lunatic who attempted to overthrow the U.S. government. He lost by seven million votes in 2020, and there seems to be no mechanism by which he can improve on that now.
Helped pave the way for the Justice Department to indict Trump, not to mention the others who conspired with him. The idea that a jury would not find criminal intent here is a joke.
Again, great day.
