I am just old enough to remember the satirical pictures of King Richard I of the House of Nixon of California. Oh, how history repeats itself.
The six Right-wing Supremes on Thursday did their best to smooth the way for an authoritarian monarch. For, a president who cannot be held accountable, becomes a dictator. No one in his right mind would wish for this. You may draw your own conclusion about the state of mind of certain Justices.
The election of socialist Bernard Sanders as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, stunned the country in 1981.
In this interview with Phil Donahue, on the Today show, Mr. Sanders appears as one of the most refreshing and most sane new politicians of America. What could have been if Mr. Sanders had been elected president in 2016? Yet such was not to be.
However, we still have Bernard Sanders with us in 2024, thank the Lord. His message is still pertinent, even more so.
Second edition —
Ethical questions are continuing to be raised over various Supreme Court ethics issues. As confidence in the court continues to erode, the question of the integrity of the court continues.
Several issues in recent years have raised alarms. Both justices Thomas and Alito have come under scrutiny for questionable dealings. Following on was the controversial Dobbs decision repealing the Roe v. Wade decision of some five decades ago.
In today’s news comes analysis of the decision of the Supreme Court to take up the matter of whether the insurrectionists of January 6, engaged in obstruction of an official government activity. Legal experts are asking why the Supreme Court has even taken up this matter at all. Today’s report heard over SiriusXM satellite radio includes commentary and analysis from legal experts, indicating that this decision is highly dubious.
I am also informed that the national Supreme Court has fewer ethical standards and methods of oversight than practically any state Supreme Court in the nation. The reality of the situation is that the Supreme Court has begun to move into the role of the superior branch of government in what is supposed to be an equal separation of powers.
In light of all this it is past time for the country, through its Congress, to exercise appropriate oversight. The alternative is a Court currently dominated by justices appointed by Republican rightists. The Court seems, at best, not up to the job, and at worst, a threat to our democracy.
Legal teams around Mr. Trump have their hands full, keeping up with all the machinations of the several court cases underway. In fact, one wonders how they do keep up.
Now come reports that Mr. Trump himself may be reaching the limits of what he can orchestrate in order to pay, not only lawyers bills, but now fines and even payments required in order to advance appeals. One could quite easily predict that the political end of Mr. Trump is coming. But not being a believer in prognostications of this sort, I shall refrain for now, Howevrr, it doesn’t take a tremendous amount of foresight to see that Mr. Trump is in serious legal, and perhaps even political, trouble.
I have just watched a video on the YouTube channel called Blanco Lirio on the crash of the Pakistani International Airlines plane in Karachi in 2020. The host of the channel, Juan Brown, goes through the entire sequence of events which led to a crash which killed 91 people. He reports on the written analysis of the causes of the crash, which was made by the authorities.
There were a number of cascading events which were recorded. These eventually led to what is called an unstabilized approach, damage to both engines resulting in loss of power, which then caused the plane to descend and crash into a building.
There are people now who believe that one of the two major parties in the United States is on a dangerous glide path to disaster. One of the causes for the situation is – – to borrow from airline safety jargon — a lack of quality control. We have had another example of this today, according to the New York Times. It seems that the Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, will not continue in his role after the end of 2024. The New York Times says that a part of the reasoning of McConnell is that he knows he is out of step in his foreign-policy views with the presumed Presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Putting aside for a moment the major questions about the ability of Trump to run for office under the 14th amendment, this demonstrates that the GOP is putting the needs of one man ahead of all other considerations, including the needs of the American people. What do I mean by this? This indicates, in effect, that the grand old party cares more about power than it does ethics, or even the safety of the country.
How this plays out, is yet to be seen. But it is clear that the party, and thus the country is in danger of putting into the leadership role of President a man who has openly declared his opposition to the constitution. This opposition would lead to autocratic government under Trump very soon. I will have one or two recommendations about actions which can be taken based on many years of following American politics, plus considerable study, reading, and thought. You are cordially invited to return here and check out these recommendations in the near future .
The book alternates chapters between Hitler and Roosevelt. In this way both figures exist together, yet separately. The choice two different countries made is apparent. But in America, the United States already had a long history of democracy, whereas Germany's democratic history was short indeed. Thus, Germany was susceptible to fascism in a way American fascists could only dream of.
Now, in 2024, we have an ill-informed American public, most persons of which are insufficiently schooled in the the history of the rise of Hitler. This book helps remedy that lack.
But even with books like 1932, the right-leaning capitalist media of America with its emphasis on the trivial and superficial, presents American patriots with the task of overcoming the intellectual torpor, and simple ignorance of a very wide swath of the public. We can only hope and pray that the ground-level efforts of the people will overcome the propaganda front of smoke, and clouds, and mirrors.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Republican victory in 2024 depends on their being able to do this. <a href="https://t.co/uyiyVKsHzK">pic.twitter.com/uyiyVKsHzK</a></p>— Patrick Ruffini (@PatrickRuffini) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrickRuffini/status/1752773165044891904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
An increase in an unappetizing-sounding illness known as “scromitting” has arisen in certain areas in the wake of legalization of marijuana. This is according to reports. There is more on this phenomenon at the link below.
The statement above proclaims a truth. And yet to say it can engender confusion. Still it is no prevarication.
At the link below you will find a most useful article about corporate hijacking of the Constitution. It may well be one of the most important modern articles on the Constitution, The idea that a corporation is not a person, but rather a collection of individuals seems straight-forward, most obvious.
But beyond this, it is a construct clever on the surface, but awkward and nonsensical underneath. It is a false artifice built upon wishful thinking and opportunism.
The damage done by this single mirage is truly beyond measure. As you will see in the article the idea has its logic, but is in reality a skewed idea which absolutely skewers the true meaning of a self-governing people.
Quickly --
A knowledgeable guest on one of the right-thinking cable news channels last night spoke about the fissures in the OpenAI organization. He summarized by saying he had never seen anything like this, and further, the concepts of service mankind (Open AI) v. the goals of capitalism (Microsoft) are in conflict to such a degree that capitalism itself is being threatened. A most interesting interview.
More details later.
For the observant to say, the times they are a-changin', is an understatement. To your author here, the statement is cataclysmic -- for real.
For people all around the world there is a palpable undercurrent of uncertainty, even hostility. This simmering pot is experienced in ever so many ways and places -- Ukraine, Gaza, Africa, the streets of America, and other places.
As for me, the events of the past weeks and months with their felony charges directed at high-level former officials, wars and rumors of wars, democracies threatened -- mostly from organized right-wing groups -- have meant a pause had to be taken in posting here. For both the quantity and the quality of such events have verily overwhelmed the ability to keep up. And, also, a blog sometimes seems hardly an adequate medium for such tumultuous happenings. So, a re-evaluation is occurring in this office. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this evaluation. Stay in touch here for the outcome.
Coming Soon:
A new series of articles on the decline and fall of the profit system
Former military officers and others form new group to defeat Trumpism
A new group of 500 former U.S. officials have banded together to form what looks to be a powerful group fighting to save democracy and essentially defeat fascism. Members of the new group Operation Saving Democracy spoke on MSNBC yesterday. If this trio of highly credentialed speakers is any indication, this new organization is sure to be quite helpful in the effort to stop Trumpism.
Even with such powerful voices, I believe more is needed. First, without in any way excusing the far-right, we need to recognize that the pain and suffering of many Americans has deep roots in historic racism, economic and financial systems which suffocate individuals, as well as the diminution of the authority of major institutions, especially the church.
Let us wish Operation Saving Democracy all the best in their patriotic mission.
In the video linked to below, former Secretary of Labor, Bob Reich, succinctly and brilliantly explains why airplane travel has become unpleasant — and expensive. The cost of add-ons for services which were formerly included at no extra charge, has led to higher prices, and frustration. Yet, Secretary Reich says, the airline companies are flush with cash.
Informative and entertaining:
The land of the free has become in many instances The Land of the Free-Wheeling. At this point, your Musical Patriot is reduced to a review of some "rules" of common courtesy. Since the American culture doesn't seem to care much for "rules," let us call these guidelines. Here, then, is a short excerpt from a respected book on simple -- but important -- manners.
A Gentleman Says the Right Thing
______________
A gentleman does not brag.
_______________
A gentleman does not whine.
_______________
How to Be a Gentleman. A Timely Guide to Timeless Manners, by John Bridges. Harper Horizon, 2022, p. 95.
N. B. Any similarity to any living person is not necessarily coincidental.
