Coming Soon: Bombshell article by Robert Kagan explains in detail the current threat to our democracy -- why it matters, and some suggested actions to prevent the toppling of our democracy.
URGENT
More later.
(Source: Washington Post, Sunday, September 26, 2021, Section A)
The Great Strike of 1877 brought out the worst of the new American system. This new duopoly was the alliance between the federal government and the Republican Party. And this Republican Party had became the party of big business in relatively quick order.
As strikes of aggrieved workers spread across the country and persisted, the Hayes administration was besieged with anxious requests from governors, towns, and business interests to protect factories and railroads from the strikers, both violent and non-violent. President Hayes responded by sending in the army with few strings attached. This allowed authorities to side with business owners against the workers, and after many battles -- pitched and otherwise -- to quash the workers' movement, if only temporarily.
Thus, we see that along with suppression of the American Natives, every-day hard-working Americans were also confronted with armed encampments of federals. Gone was the army effort to protect Negro rights. In its place was a new order: a unified Federal government and capitalist front determined to destroy workers' rights.
We live with this legacy yet today.
Eric Foner in his book, Reconstruction, summarizes the elevation of Hayes to the Presidency after a protracted political and legal battle. To summarize Foner in turn, the gifted author places the installation of Hayes as more the end of a process starving the Reconstruction effort, rather than the beginning of it. Then there was the fairly rapid turn away from the needs of Freedmen (former slaves) to other efforts, such as the extirpation of the Nez Perce in the West. And in this effort, Hayes was more than complicit in that he was the Guiding Chief of the Army which pursued them.
Thus, after the election of Hayes, the blacks became for all intents and purposes a forgotten race for one hundred years.
to be continued
Briefly --
PART 1
For those who may not know, Reconstruction was the period in the U.S. following the Civil War during which the federal government attempted to assist the South in rebuilding its society and economy.
I have just been reading about the Tilden-Hayes controversy in the Presidential election of 1876, by Eric Foner. This is the most complete account I have read so far. The story is complicated in its techanical aspects, but the out-come was that Hayes would be President and Reconstruction would largely come to an end.
I'll have more to say about how this affects my view of President Hayes later.
Big media -- the system whereby major media companies are bought and sold in a way which limits political discourse -- is becoming a big problem.
Take for example news in today's New York Times that a German (!) company is buying Politico, an online news source valued by many for its insider information and astute commentary. This is the kind of transaction simply should not be.
This sickening buying-in (quite literally) to Washignton, D.C. politics by a foreign company raised instant alarms with me. Is there no hope for prohibiting such journalistic intrusions?
There is at least one important person who wants to take on Big Media -- in this case Big New media. That one person is none other than President Joe Biden, and the company is none other than Facebook. Our home-grown cable news channel this evening alerted me to the desire of the Biden Administration to break up Facebook into independent and smaller companies which would be much less likely to dominate the spread of minsisnformation, for one thing.
May this effort succeed. And may it lead to a more thorough cleaning-up of the rotten power system of Big Media in America.
Espeicially for those interested in world affairs --
In these confusing days of pandemic and other world uncertainties, it may be useful to review the aftermath of the 1961 fiasco at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. This invasion, overseen ultimately by the new and inexperienced President John Kennedy, led the young Chief Executive to consult former President Dwight Eisenhower for advice. In a well-publicized visit to Camp David, Eisenhower delivered to Kennedy the words of wisdom Kennedy sought.
The story of this meeting is told elsewhere, including in a Life special magazine article, I believe. One piece of advice Mr. Eisenhower gave Kennedy was to get all the experts in the room at the same time and let them hash it out. It is not my purpose here to try to analyze what is going on in the world today. But perhaps -- as I say -- a review of the Bay of Pigs disaster may prove more than a little useful.
My new book, It Can Happen Here, is turning out to be a blockbuster of a detective story. I wish it were not so full of frightening details, but the writing is excellent, the research stellar. And I have only read into the first chapter.
To this point -- highly recommended.
(See above for Internet URL directions)
On the occasion of the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as President of the United States, January 20, 2021. The Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Certain writers seem to have nothing better to do than to criticize President Biden for not being dramatic enough -- or something. He's not exciting, they say. He fails to inspire, The New York Times says today. Well, this is in the eye of the beholder certainly. If this is the most serious criticism of Mr. Biden, I'd say he is doing a remarkably fine job. As a matter of fact, I would say he is doing a remarkably fine job.
Some examples:
Pres. Biden and the First Lady, plus Vice-President Harris and the Second Gentleman Honor Military Bands at the 2021 Inauguration.
Note the respect and pomp -- simply, but powerfully executed.
Quickly --
The new July issue of the National Geographic contains a marvelous article on the Shkreli Awards. The Shkreli Awards call out particularly bad actors in the world of Big Pharma and Big Health companies. This seems to be, in essence, the first article of its kind in National Geographic. Highly recommended!
Up-date: Unfortunately, this content is behind a paywall.
