In a time of EMERGENCY. Welcome to The Musical Patriot, a web log of information and inspiration. Also included are events of interest in my own life. Now in its twenty-first year! (Comments to any post may be made by clicking on the "COMMENTS" link. Commenting is moderated.) To get the most out of this blog, a free subscription is recommended; see "Subscribe to” elsewhere on this blog depending on your device format.
Thank you to all readers who have supported this blog through the past Season. Your continuing interest is gratefully noted and means ever so much. Best regards, TMP.
Could rhetoric about a corrupt election set the stage for Republicans to challenge a November defeat? With enough confusion, the Presidential election could be thrown to a “contingent election” in the House of Representatives, where a state-by-state vote would favor Republicans.
However, this seems like an unlikely scenario. Indeed, this is an area where the much-maligned Electoral College helps, by acting like compartments on a ship: if one compartment is compromised, the others can still keep the whole thing afloat.
With the announcement by the Republican Party that it will forego the normal party platform, and instead provide Our Military Leader with unquestioning support, the party of Lincoln has become as good as the first cult to put forth any kind of serious candidate for the Presidency.
If you doubt this judgment, think back to the fall-in-line behavior of the Republicans in Congress during the Impeachment process; or most any other Congressional action -- with very few exceptions. Almost inevitably, Republicans have supported the President. There are some notable exceptions, the most famous being Senator Mitt Romney.
But for the most part we have a symphony of sycophants, singing the song of a solipsist.
This past week produced many headlines, what with the Democratic "virtual convention," and a high-profile indictment.
Joseph Biden delivered what was arguably his best speech ever as he accepted the Democratic nomination for President. This after the nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris as Vice-President.
And Steve Bannon, former White House aide, was indicted for allegedly skimming money off a Build-the Wall fund.
A coming major focus of this blog is planned to be the role of the media in getting us to where we are today. In a real sense, this focus will doubtless be on-going for years to come, as the story stretches back decades.
There is so much to say about all this. For now, we must keep the faith our founding fathers started this country with. The way will not be easy. Let us not shirk our responsibility to defend this near-sacred democracy.
...I would recommend that every subject be taught as history. In this way, children, even in the earliest grades, can begin to understand, as they now do not, that knowledge is not a fixed thing but a stage in human development, with a past and a future.
-- Neil Postman
This idea of Postman's is not exactly new, but he has expressed it in a new way, and a useful way, in his book Technopoly. Certainly, teaching every subject as history is not a complete method of teaching. That matter will await another time.
But Postman's thinking here is sound and needs to be taken up seriously. For it is clear that American education has failed us. Why else would we be caught in a situation in which what I call "a little bug" would stop our economy cold? From one point of view, it can be argued that had school students studied the history of viruses, we might very well not be where we are today.
True, this subject has not been entirely neglected. Students graduating from high school likely are aware of the unsanitary ways of the past -- doctors failing to wash their hands -- and such things.
Yet how did the fact that new viruses can and do appear from time to time -- ones which have no known cure -- bypass the consciousness of society? How did such a basic fact escape our government? Is it too far-fetched to opine that a business masters degree might leave out some important things such as biological issues which could effect everyone's business? This omission would have been especially prevalent in schools of, say, the fifties and sixties, when many of our current leaders got their degrees.
This matter of education is ever so crucial now. In other ways apart from this blog I have tried to stand up for education of the complete kind. There is more to this story than I have time and space to relate here.
But suffice it to say for now, that as educators scratch their heads trying to know how to teach safely during COVID, it is also vitally important to review what is to be taught, and how.
Greg Palast likes the ready pun, and the clever turn-of-phrase. Sometimes, the language gets a bit too cute.
But make no mistake about the seriousness of his message. The election of 2016 was a huge heist. The facts are all there to support the claim of theft.
And in 2018 it was Georgia Secretary of State Kemp who ran for governor while serving as the head of elections! Again, the facts, ma'am, are at hand.
Palast's latest book (titled hubristically How Trump Stole 2020) is already a tour-de-force, and I am only in the early portion.
Internationally known investigative reporter Greg Palast, has -- through years of analysis -- uncovered a slew of under-handed election-stealing techniques used mostly by Republicans (and a few Democrats, as well).
But the shenanigans from Republican operatives this year appear to be rivaling any previous year. The explosive Washington Post article on the subject in today's paper makes it urgent that Americans prepare for a contested election this fall overseen by a hyper-egoist in the White House, who has the power to stir up true mayhem, according to various experts.
While more information can be found at the web site shown above and below, I urge you to send this blog post to everyone on your e-mail list who would possibly be interested and supportive, both within our borders and without. The health and welfare of all the world's citizens ultimately depend on getting the truth out.
Presidential niece, Mary Trump, said on CNN's "Cuomo Prime Time" that her uncle, Donald, should resign. His presidency is not good for the country nor for Donald, she stated. She further told host Chris Cuomo that it was her hope that the American people would no longer stand for this presidency. She concluded her remarks on this subject by airing her wish that with Donald Trump's resignation the country could begin the difficult but necessary task of healing the divisions, one citizen for another.
Kudos to Ms. Trump. And Americans do have a choice. In coming days I hope to comment more on just what this choice is.
America, you can stop hiding your face in shame: you are not guilty.
Trump didn’t win in 2016. And I’m not talking about Trump losing the
popular vote. Trump lost the Electoral College. That is, he lost if you
count all the votes burgled, jacked, swiped, shoplifted, purloined,
filched, fiddled and snatched from citizens not of a whitish orange hue.
And unless we wise up, 2020 will be déjà vu all over again.
So opens my new book How Trump Stole 2020,...
Late in the nineteenth century an avalanche of water came roaring down the river toward Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Unsuspecting citizens found themselves caught up in the nightmare event of their lives, and many did not survive.
Today we have a flood of information roaring at us twenty-four hours a day. Fortunately, this avalanche of information can be somewhat controlled, but only partially, and barely. This data flows and flows, often with various biases admixed.
Through a judicious use of time, and a careful setting of priorities I have been able to keep this blog afloat for over fourteen years. I plan to stay afloat awhile longer. But in order to accomplish this, I feel a further refining and re-focusing is going to be necessary. Just what the result will be I am not yet clear about. It will help once the Covid situation is sorted out, and once the Presidency returns to normality.
Until the time of relative Nirvana I will attempt to slog on, joyously at times, with sorrow at others, but with pride at all times -- I hope. I hope, too, that you the reader will be encouraged to stick around, to bring your own powers of observation. May this make for clearer vision for us all.
Roger McNamee's new paperback edition -- revised and up-dated -- is a priceless look at, and into, the world of Facebook, and the other large Internet companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
McNamee says that most users are not aware that much has changed since these companies came into existence, and that predominately the changes are for the worse, and are even dangerous. I highly recommend this book to one and all. This knowledge could save your freedom.
Progress seems to come in fits and starts. There are lurches forward, followed by a falling back. At least this seems common.
Looking through my high school yearbook from some years ago, I see several African-Americans in leadership roles. I thought it would be good to share with you the names of some of these leaders and the leadership positions they filled. The list includes both faculty, administration, and students.
Our high school was quite diverse, with Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Italian-Americans, and others. Few of us seemed to think about the nationalities of our fellows. We were of a time rather far-removed from the early influxes of immigrants, or so we thought. The few fights that occured were mostly within ethnic groups, not across them.
What a story to be told! America -- that great repository of learning and experience.
Here are the African-American leaders from my high school:
Faculty
Mr. M. -- Boys' Physical Education, department head
Mrs. W. -- Business Education, department head
Sports Faculty Coaches
Coach M. -- Varsity Football, Golf Team
Coach J. -- Varsity Basketball, Junior Varsity Football, Field Events Coach G. -- Cross Country
Clubs
Mr. H --, Brotherhood co-sponsor
Mr. C. -- Distributive Cooperative Training, sponsor Students Miss Loretta. M. -- Junior Class President
Miss Belinda W. -- Freshman Cheerleaders co-captain
Lauvenia B. -- Secretary, Girls' Athletic Association Greg. F., Parliamentarian, Sophomore Class Administration Mr. J. -- Dean
Other Ethnic --
Mrs. H. M. -- Foreign Language, department head
Miss. G., Sr. D., Mrs. M. -- International Club
and many others of various ethnic backgrounds in membership roles
National TV News report today says the Biden campaign is increasingly worried about voter rights in the current campaign. This concern was expressed long ago by this blog.
I'll have more on the specific concerns about the 2020 election soon.
For posts on this blog already published search especially for "Greg Palast" on my search function on this page.
The past days have been rich with news, profoundly difficult, yet somehow simultaneously hopeful.
As for this writer, I have been at alternating times fascinated and sickened by events, as have many. But today, fascination seems to be winning over horror, and this is a positive development.
As Joe Biden is said to be moving toward and FDR-style agenda, there is finally hope that the problem of police violence may be seriously addressed -- at least in Minnesota. If these two developments constitute a trend, we can indeed by hopeful.
What stands in the way of this progress? Two things, one an emotion, the other a group of people led by one very particular person. The emotion is fear -- fear of difference, fear of the unknown, fear of loss of power and status. These are the fears motivating the far right and Der Fuehrer. The special person is the one I call OML -- Our Military Leader. This is a moniker I created for this chief executive some few years ago. Now, the meaning of this appellation is clearer and stronger than ever. Guns stop people, but guns never stop ideas. And ideas are what made America great in the first place. So there is our hope.
