Our government is definitely a sham. Congress and SCOTUS are bought, and most people are going along like all will return to normal after Trump leaves. Things will get really, really bad before most people will respond, I fear. The MSM spins lies, helping to advance our fascistic future.
That always seems to be the pattern doesn't it? The "popular" and self appointed 'voices of the people' (the MSM) have always accomodated themselves to whatever's coming to ensure their well compensated lives continue - even if in the current circumstances it means subjecting oneself to direct personal abuse from the orange blob.
Clean out the last of the Lib-tards from the MSM!! Right, Donald? :-( I remember the years when even somewhat sane "conservatives" insisted on calling The NY Times "the ultra-liberal NY Times"!
Recently came across reference to Levitsky and Ziblatt’s “How Democracies Die” which through “incisive analysis and historical examples, examines the gradual decay of political institutions through the actions of authoritarian leaders, highlighting how established democracies are vulnerable to collapse not by external forces, but from within, via the erosion of unwritten rules of political conduct.”
Call it what you will, “slippery slope” or “greased skids,” the trajectory is steepening downward for this country: the 1% already has the most toys (though that won’t stop them from grabbing more), so they’ve won; the pinnacle of the judiciary, the Supreme Court, concocts legal interpretations and decisions green-lighting further aggrandizement, thus thievery is legalized; the press is complacent, merely echoing, not telling truth to power; more is spent on “guns” – now on the order of over $1 trillion per year – than on “butter” – $900 billion cut in Medicaid over ten years only partly to pay for all that, the rest being put on the credit card, the interest on which consumes more and more of the Federal budget, leaving less and less for things like infrastructure, itself graded D+ by the Society of Civil Engineers, and so on, and so on, and so on… until it no longer can possibly go on.
Yes, and the larger they (the 1%) grow the Federal Debt with their military madness, the LESS of a burden they face themselves, thru manipulating the tax code. Mighty convenient.
Trump, a lifelong grifter with an innate capacity to understand the deep hopes and resentments of his audience, could only have risen to the top in a society and system of governance well on the way to collapse.
Congress was bought and paid for decades before he rode down the escalator to become a political powerhouse. The Supreme Court has always looked to the political winds (increasingly conservative) in making its decisions - with a major low point occurring when Clarence Thomas joined the Court (thanks in no small measure to Joe Biden) - a reliable reactionary vote in any ruling.
Many are claiming Trump is so odious (no argument) that everyone must hold their noses and vote Democrat this year.
But we’ve seen this movie before. The Democrats in 2006 said we must elect them so impeachment proceedings could begin against Bush and the execrable Cheney. After the election, Pelosi then said it would be a distraction and attention must be given to the 2008 election.
The 2008 election was held - with those “hopey/changey” promises - and Obama said it was time to look ahead. So he protected the banksters after the 2008 financial crisis; gave the country the corporate Affordable Act; crushed the Occupy Wall Street movement; and claimed he was “good at killing people” with drone strikes.
And this year the Democrats ‘autopsy’ on the 2024 election failed to mention Gaza or the limitations of the appointed Kamala Harris - and reading between the lines: there was the proven Democratic pattern of blaming the voters. No matter the campaign slogans and ‘fresh faces’, it is the same corporate party run by the DNC.
Against all that there is the malignant narcissist Donald Trump and whatever mental disorders have become apparent in his second term. There are no limits to what he demands.
There is no salvation coming at the ballot box - even if a ‘fair’ election is actually held.
All too true, Tom. Sadly. The GOP pulled a slicker trick than palming off Clarence as a shining star of jurisprudence, however. They put John Roberts over on the Dems as a "reasonable, moderate" member of the high court. And now we know that Roberts had dedicated his life to TRASHING the Voting and Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s. And how "fair" will an election be if ICE agents, etc., loom at voting places in parts of the country "expected" to vote Democrat??
Under the War Powers Resolution, a U.S. president can initiate unauthorized military action or hostilities for a maximum of 60 days before NEEDING Congressional consent.
The 60-Day Limit: Military action must terminate after 60 days unless Congress explicitly declares war or passes a specific statutory authorization for the use of military force
The 30-Day Extension: The president can legally extend the 60-day window by an extra 30 days—bringing the total to 90 days—if they certify to Congress in writing that an "unavoidable military necessity" regarding the safety of U.S. troops requires the additional time to safely withdraw.
Republicans in Congress appease Trump more than Chamberlain appeased Hitler!
I understood that when Trump authorized the US Navy to blow up any boat in the Caribbean, and authorized the US Navy to pirate a Merchant vessel delivering oil from Venezuela to Cuba so far from the US applying US Law as if it is International Law.and he got away with it in the US and the US led International Community.
I warned where this will lead to on December 10 2025, when the US started murdering Civilians on the High Seas, acting like Judge, Jury and Executioner.
A lesson in cause and effect, for those who believe they are above the law: When a nation’s power operates as piracy with a flag—seizing tankers in international waters, enforcing its unilateral will as global law—it does not merely break treaties.
It breaks the civic covenant at home. It teaches its own people, in a language clearer than any sermon, that law is not principle, but the will of the strongest. That rules are for the weak. That sovereignty is a fiction to be ignored when inconvenient.
Now add the accelerant of a contracting economy: stagnant wages, impossible debt, a generation with no stake in the future.
The lesson learned abroad becomes the survival logic at home.
The result is the volatile cocktail of our generation: the vigilante, the politician defying courts, the citizen who no longer believes the system is legitimate—only that it is rigged.
You cannot break international law abroad and expect domestic law to be revered at home.
The seed of lawlessness, sown by imperial edict, is now sprouting in your own streets. This is not a political forecast. It is a spiritual law, as old as the prophets: “They sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7).
The aircraft carrier that seized the tanker is the same power that arms the siege of Gaza. The domestic unravelling is the inevitable reflux of that exported violence.
You are building a world on the principle that might makes right. Your own people are now learning the lesson. What will you build when they have learned it completely?
It's not a matter of Pride or a Boast, but I was pleased to see the Esteemed Professor Jeffery Sachs, Economist, Diplomat and Peace Maker make the very same points in the December 10 tweet in this recent video anyone can compare with if they so desire"
You don't need to be a prophet to predict that bank robberies, shoplifting, robberies of "high-end" retail outlets, etc. will rise as the economy continues to decline. Might makes right indeed. "Dear Bank Teller: This is a .44 Magnum pointed at your chest. Kindly stuff all the cash into this bag and hand it over. And quickly! And keep your hand away from that silent alarm."
Presidents like to claim that they can initiate military actions based on their Constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief. But that's not what the Constitution says. The Constitution says that wars can only be declared by Congress. Once the war has been declared the president is the ultimate decision maker on how the war is conducted. So when was the last time Congress declared war? That would be 1942, when we declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, all in connection of course with our earlier declaration of war on Germany and Italy in 1941.
Alex, I get your point - but to be specific, Article II, Section 2 does not specifically say the President is the ultimate decision maker; it says the President is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
How much power that actually confers has been a subject of debate by Constitutional scholars - with acknowledgment that every President pushes the limits. Madison's understanding was that power would give the President the ability to repel attacks.
But I doubt the founders saw that as akin to a Roman imperator - having imperial and regal powers with no requirement to consult anyone.
Just another part of the Constitution that has caused over 230 years of problems.
Isn't POTUS only authorized to strut about as C-in-C of the Armed Forces AFTER hostilities have actually erupted?? (Of course that's almost all the time nowadays. And that's the real problem with an imperial power.) So that he is merely the civilian chief Executive officer prior to launching military action?
All you hear right now from the Democrat party and a host of leaning blue - uncritical pundits, is Trump, Trump, Trump. Exactly what you heard when Kamala ran her celebrity driven, vapid campaign.
The irony is: this time, there is even more reason than ever to be anti-Trump 24/7, despite the obvious corruption of the DNC.
And so the oligarchs who are really pulling the strings of both billionaire captured political parties, win again. As if getting rid of Trump (and putting the Democratic party back in power) will fix the disease America is suffering. Trump is just a symptom of the disease - the disease is what is killing the country. And the cancer at the center of it all: moral rot, greed, and the influence of big money in the US government.
I'd say Trump is worse than a symptom. To change the metaphor, he's like an accelerant added to the ongoing fire that's consuming the U.S. Constitution.
It’s almost if the Dems threw the election to the opposition so that once the coup is finally complete, people will e grateful to have a Democratic dictator with impeccable manners.
Because just as Obama didn’t close black sites or get rid of the despicable Patriot act, I sincerely doubt the next “Blue” president will renounce the unchecked power Trump has captured for the executive.
Trump's actions during this second term truly are UNPRECEDENTED. In a truly horrific, nauseating manner of course. And therein lies our problem. Kamala Harris reportedly is seriously looking at the 2028 nomination. Will she offer the same "program"? "Joy" (??) and the "most lethal military in the world"? We already have the latter, leaving aside questions of its efficacy. Joy? I'm not seeing much outside the smug self-centered Billionaire Class. Is there no escape from this being mired in this cesspool? Dennis Kucinich was likely the last hope the Dems had for a breath of fresh air, and of course the DNC said "No thanks, Dennis." :-(
"Wise men" supposedly have said that "Democracy is messy, and the worst means of governance. Except for all the others." I have read Plato's "Republic." Very interesting that he argued for a military caste to be raised by the State, dedicated entirely to serving the State. That might be okay...IF the State could be trusted as BENIGN. Picture soldiers being mobilized to assist in recovery from natural disasters, fighting forest fires, etc. That only happens in the US today in the most desperate disasters. And they have to be specially mobilized from National Guard units. Remember FEMA? Not much surviving of that agency.
The interesting thing is that if one looks at autocratic "regimes" (Putin and Xi, for example), in many cases their leaders are far more are responsive to public opinion and sentiment than "democratic" leaders (at least in recent decades), Trump only being the most extreme example of this.
I would guess most successful countries in the world right now that have a hybrid model of government + free market - are doing better than most. For example, China's hybrid system has made China a country of remarkable economic growth and public good, that rises the quality of living for all Chinese citizens.
The US has gone down the free-market route with very little guard rails, promising we would all be better off when the wealth trickled down, and a privatized healthcare system would be more fruitful for all Americans. Boy, has that turned out to be wrong.
Apparently, Wallstreet's "Greed is Good" can only go so far.
Supply side economics! What happens when 1% have the lion's share of supply and the ordinary American pleb can't even fill up her SUV gas tank anymore, without using a credit card?
No - wrong metric! Your gas tank used to hold only $30 of gas, now look how much bigger it is - it can now hold $160 of gas! Like Dilbert said, the glass isn't half-full, or half-empty, you're using the wrong size of glass!
In the early years of the Bolshevik and Chinese Revolutions, leadership was chosen in a far more democratic manner than our present system in the US. Candidates actually emerged from among the working masses, they weren't put on ballots because they had large bags of money to support them and buy votes.
Of course this practice of waging war without Congress authorizing a formal Declaration has been the model since end of WW II. You'd think that with the "Cold War" raging--Americans being hauled in front of HUAC, the alleged threat of "The International Communist Conspiracy" being thrown in the face of the citizenry non-stop, etc.--that Truman would have sought such a declaration before waging war against the Korean pro-independence movement. But nooooooo, it was simply declared a "UN Police Action" you see, not a war. And possibly two million Korean human beings paid the price for the US's insane drive to dominate the globe. (And of course the Korean Peninsula remains divided, the US still stationing many thousands of troops in the south.) The current model calls for Congress to authorize the spending to continue a war already launched by the Executive. Trump is currently stymying that process by claiming that a ceasefire is in effect. War, what war? "Funny" that the US can resume bombing Iran while swearing a ceasefire is in place.
I distinctly recall Trump introduced the notion of "American Carnage" in his 1st Inaugural Speech.
Watching from CanaDa, with so many other countries and Americans only beginning to see it, that appears to be the Destination with Trump-MAGA-Netanyahu leadership!
US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to the President, admitted The Day After, Israel led the US into the WAR to Make Israel Great Again!
Absent a new article from Bill, for the readers who watched Professor Jeffery Sachs and The Judge posted downstream, this is the latest appeal for Peace by the Professor posted online just hours ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgOJXWqk0io
For those who actually watched Jeffery and the Judge linked below, most probably didn't notice how many Times the Professor exclaim, "for God's sake" but I did.
I have no doubt in my mind, Jeffery Sachs, with all his Experience gained over decades, is doing his best and is a living example of the Spirit of the letter in Action and Conversation for the People's sake, "Blessed are the Peace Makers, for THEY shall be called the Children of God"
I have confidence Bill, and every reader of this Blog, has the Intelligence to know the alternative consequences in a World still at WAR with itself!
Thank you, Bill! The Founding Fathers wrapped up the President securely with restrictions on starting wars, by giving sole power to declare war to Congress, in order to rebel against the tyranny of Britain in the 1700s. But, thanks to tRump-45 and Billy Barr and his Unitary Executive program, the U.S. turned out to be a tyranny itself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S3k8gUjxsw
It is NOT true that "we the people" have "accepted with little protest" that Trump can do whatever he wants.
There has been a TON of protest... aTON...and court cases... and attempts to get legislation before our houses of Congress, but the protests are not from enough Republicans, who have maneuvered control
of the most important levers of power, and they won't use it to stop him. Democrats did let that happen, with tepid and feckless resistance to people like Dice Cheney and Mitch McConnell.
NOW, We absolutely MUST keep trying to build more pressure, erode more of Trump's support, and bring the most compelling cases before courts, so that-- even if they WANT to decide for Trump--they will not be able to make a cogent argument to do it. .
There ARE cracks beginning to show in the coalition that is propping Trump up.
We need more savvy ideas to win Over Independents and discouraged Republicans to finally see this regime clearly.
And a platform Of policy ideas and legislative goals to help Convince them to vote for the opposition and not for Trump.
The Left needs to stop bitching and in- fighting, and put its energy where it is needed to convince voters that Democracy is worth voting for, and we are the Defenders of Democracy.
"...we the people, as much as I hate to say this, have accepted with little protest that Trump has total power here."
Well, there was the matter of the last No Kings protest, but that was only 8 million people, up from 7 million the previous time, so in relative terms, I guess you're correct. ; )
All the pundits who protest Rump's doings probably have tens of millions of followers, total, but my guess is that the majority of the citizenry is focused on survival. They probably don't like or support the idiot in the Oval, but what are they gonna do?
So, Smedley Butler got it wrong 90 years ago? War is a Racket, those many usa terror campaigns? Just Trump now. Phillipines and korea and Cuba and Spain and indonesia and Vietnam and and and?
Guatemala Panama grenada salvador nicaragua .... African terror campaigns... West Asia ... Yikes. No cunt Trump in the picture then?
Libya? Dang, too many so called righteous campaigns to list.
Our government is definitely a sham. Congress and SCOTUS are bought, and most people are going along like all will return to normal after Trump leaves. Things will get really, really bad before most people will respond, I fear. The MSM spins lies, helping to advance our fascistic future.
That always seems to be the pattern doesn't it? The "popular" and self appointed 'voices of the people' (the MSM) have always accomodated themselves to whatever's coming to ensure their well compensated lives continue - even if in the current circumstances it means subjecting oneself to direct personal abuse from the orange blob.
They put their careers before their integrity.
You mean MONEY, don't you?
Definitely, $$$
Clean out the last of the Lib-tards from the MSM!! Right, Donald? :-( I remember the years when even somewhat sane "conservatives" insisted on calling The NY Times "the ultra-liberal NY Times"!
Recently came across reference to Levitsky and Ziblatt’s “How Democracies Die” which through “incisive analysis and historical examples, examines the gradual decay of political institutions through the actions of authoritarian leaders, highlighting how established democracies are vulnerable to collapse not by external forces, but from within, via the erosion of unwritten rules of political conduct.”
Call it what you will, “slippery slope” or “greased skids,” the trajectory is steepening downward for this country: the 1% already has the most toys (though that won’t stop them from grabbing more), so they’ve won; the pinnacle of the judiciary, the Supreme Court, concocts legal interpretations and decisions green-lighting further aggrandizement, thus thievery is legalized; the press is complacent, merely echoing, not telling truth to power; more is spent on “guns” – now on the order of over $1 trillion per year – than on “butter” – $900 billion cut in Medicaid over ten years only partly to pay for all that, the rest being put on the credit card, the interest on which consumes more and more of the Federal budget, leaving less and less for things like infrastructure, itself graded D+ by the Society of Civil Engineers, and so on, and so on, and so on… until it no longer can possibly go on.
Yes, it's been a long, slippery slope, indeed.
One giant - tsunami! - "Whoops!" to come.
Yes, and the larger they (the 1%) grow the Federal Debt with their military madness, the LESS of a burden they face themselves, thru manipulating the tax code. Mighty convenient.
It's the path to Making America Great Again.
Trump, a lifelong grifter with an innate capacity to understand the deep hopes and resentments of his audience, could only have risen to the top in a society and system of governance well on the way to collapse.
Congress was bought and paid for decades before he rode down the escalator to become a political powerhouse. The Supreme Court has always looked to the political winds (increasingly conservative) in making its decisions - with a major low point occurring when Clarence Thomas joined the Court (thanks in no small measure to Joe Biden) - a reliable reactionary vote in any ruling.
Many are claiming Trump is so odious (no argument) that everyone must hold their noses and vote Democrat this year.
But we’ve seen this movie before. The Democrats in 2006 said we must elect them so impeachment proceedings could begin against Bush and the execrable Cheney. After the election, Pelosi then said it would be a distraction and attention must be given to the 2008 election.
The 2008 election was held - with those “hopey/changey” promises - and Obama said it was time to look ahead. So he protected the banksters after the 2008 financial crisis; gave the country the corporate Affordable Act; crushed the Occupy Wall Street movement; and claimed he was “good at killing people” with drone strikes.
And this year the Democrats ‘autopsy’ on the 2024 election failed to mention Gaza or the limitations of the appointed Kamala Harris - and reading between the lines: there was the proven Democratic pattern of blaming the voters. No matter the campaign slogans and ‘fresh faces’, it is the same corporate party run by the DNC.
Against all that there is the malignant narcissist Donald Trump and whatever mental disorders have become apparent in his second term. There are no limits to what he demands.
There is no salvation coming at the ballot box - even if a ‘fair’ election is actually held.
All too true, Tom. Sadly. The GOP pulled a slicker trick than palming off Clarence as a shining star of jurisprudence, however. They put John Roberts over on the Dems as a "reasonable, moderate" member of the high court. And now we know that Roberts had dedicated his life to TRASHING the Voting and Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s. And how "fair" will an election be if ICE agents, etc., loom at voting places in parts of the country "expected" to vote Democrat??
Why do they leave war-making to the whims of one greedy and power-driven man?
He pays the MIC! He makes Netanyahu/AIPAC happy.
Yes the "power" of the CinC is derived from a declaration of war, but there is too much money to go that route.
Shamocracy it is.
Under the War Powers Resolution, a U.S. president can initiate unauthorized military action or hostilities for a maximum of 60 days before NEEDING Congressional consent.
The 60-Day Limit: Military action must terminate after 60 days unless Congress explicitly declares war or passes a specific statutory authorization for the use of military force
The 30-Day Extension: The president can legally extend the 60-day window by an extra 30 days—bringing the total to 90 days—if they certify to Congress in writing that an "unavoidable military necessity" regarding the safety of U.S. troops requires the additional time to safely withdraw.
Republicans in Congress appease Trump more than Chamberlain appeased Hitler!
I understood that when Trump authorized the US Navy to blow up any boat in the Caribbean, and authorized the US Navy to pirate a Merchant vessel delivering oil from Venezuela to Cuba so far from the US applying US Law as if it is International Law.and he got away with it in the US and the US led International Community.
I warned where this will lead to on December 10 2025, when the US started murdering Civilians on the High Seas, acting like Judge, Jury and Executioner.
@Pontifex @realDonaldTrump @netanyahu @_FriedrichMerz @MarkJCarney
A lesson in cause and effect, for those who believe they are above the law: When a nation’s power operates as piracy with a flag—seizing tankers in international waters, enforcing its unilateral will as global law—it does not merely break treaties.
It breaks the civic covenant at home. It teaches its own people, in a language clearer than any sermon, that law is not principle, but the will of the strongest. That rules are for the weak. That sovereignty is a fiction to be ignored when inconvenient.
Now add the accelerant of a contracting economy: stagnant wages, impossible debt, a generation with no stake in the future.
The lesson learned abroad becomes the survival logic at home.
The result is the volatile cocktail of our generation: the vigilante, the politician defying courts, the citizen who no longer believes the system is legitimate—only that it is rigged.
You cannot break international law abroad and expect domestic law to be revered at home.
The seed of lawlessness, sown by imperial edict, is now sprouting in your own streets. This is not a political forecast. It is a spiritual law, as old as the prophets: “They sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.” (Hosea 8:7).
The aircraft carrier that seized the tanker is the same power that arms the siege of Gaza. The domestic unravelling is the inevitable reflux of that exported violence.
You are building a world on the principle that might makes right. Your own people are now learning the lesson. What will you build when they have learned it completely?
It's not a matter of Pride or a Boast, but I was pleased to see the Esteemed Professor Jeffery Sachs, Economist, Diplomat and Peace Maker make the very same points in the December 10 tweet in this recent video anyone can compare with if they so desire"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0NXAouh_4Y&t=130s
You don't need to be a prophet to predict that bank robberies, shoplifting, robberies of "high-end" retail outlets, etc. will rise as the economy continues to decline. Might makes right indeed. "Dear Bank Teller: This is a .44 Magnum pointed at your chest. Kindly stuff all the cash into this bag and hand it over. And quickly! And keep your hand away from that silent alarm."
I'm not the only voice crying in the Wilderness!
Presidents like to claim that they can initiate military actions based on their Constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief. But that's not what the Constitution says. The Constitution says that wars can only be declared by Congress. Once the war has been declared the president is the ultimate decision maker on how the war is conducted. So when was the last time Congress declared war? That would be 1942, when we declared war on Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania, all in connection of course with our earlier declaration of war on Germany and Italy in 1941.
Alex, I get your point - but to be specific, Article II, Section 2 does not specifically say the President is the ultimate decision maker; it says the President is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
How much power that actually confers has been a subject of debate by Constitutional scholars - with acknowledgment that every President pushes the limits. Madison's understanding was that power would give the President the ability to repel attacks.
But I doubt the founders saw that as akin to a Roman imperator - having imperial and regal powers with no requirement to consult anyone.
Just another part of the Constitution that has caused over 230 years of problems.
Isn't POTUS only authorized to strut about as C-in-C of the Armed Forces AFTER hostilities have actually erupted?? (Of course that's almost all the time nowadays. And that's the real problem with an imperial power.) So that he is merely the civilian chief Executive officer prior to launching military action?
All you hear right now from the Democrat party and a host of leaning blue - uncritical pundits, is Trump, Trump, Trump. Exactly what you heard when Kamala ran her celebrity driven, vapid campaign.
The irony is: this time, there is even more reason than ever to be anti-Trump 24/7, despite the obvious corruption of the DNC.
And so the oligarchs who are really pulling the strings of both billionaire captured political parties, win again. As if getting rid of Trump (and putting the Democratic party back in power) will fix the disease America is suffering. Trump is just a symptom of the disease - the disease is what is killing the country. And the cancer at the center of it all: moral rot, greed, and the influence of big money in the US government.
I'd say Trump is worse than a symptom. To change the metaphor, he's like an accelerant added to the ongoing fire that's consuming the U.S. Constitution.
No kidding. :(
It’s almost if the Dems threw the election to the opposition so that once the coup is finally complete, people will e grateful to have a Democratic dictator with impeccable manners.
Because just as Obama didn’t close black sites or get rid of the despicable Patriot act, I sincerely doubt the next “Blue” president will renounce the unchecked power Trump has captured for the executive.
Trump's actions during this second term truly are UNPRECEDENTED. In a truly horrific, nauseating manner of course. And therein lies our problem. Kamala Harris reportedly is seriously looking at the 2028 nomination. Will she offer the same "program"? "Joy" (??) and the "most lethal military in the world"? We already have the latter, leaving aside questions of its efficacy. Joy? I'm not seeing much outside the smug self-centered Billionaire Class. Is there no escape from this being mired in this cesspool? Dennis Kucinich was likely the last hope the Dems had for a breath of fresh air, and of course the DNC said "No thanks, Dennis." :-(
You gotta hand it to them. All they now have to do is cry, Trump, Trump, Trump and not change a damn thing.
Agree completely about Dennis.
From Plato, democracy will eventually descend into state of chaos and then tyranny.
"Wise men" supposedly have said that "Democracy is messy, and the worst means of governance. Except for all the others." I have read Plato's "Republic." Very interesting that he argued for a military caste to be raised by the State, dedicated entirely to serving the State. That might be okay...IF the State could be trusted as BENIGN. Picture soldiers being mobilized to assist in recovery from natural disasters, fighting forest fires, etc. That only happens in the US today in the most desperate disasters. And they have to be specially mobilized from National Guard units. Remember FEMA? Not much surviving of that agency.
The interesting thing is that if one looks at autocratic "regimes" (Putin and Xi, for example), in many cases their leaders are far more are responsive to public opinion and sentiment than "democratic" leaders (at least in recent decades), Trump only being the most extreme example of this.
I would guess most successful countries in the world right now that have a hybrid model of government + free market - are doing better than most. For example, China's hybrid system has made China a country of remarkable economic growth and public good, that rises the quality of living for all Chinese citizens.
The US has gone down the free-market route with very little guard rails, promising we would all be better off when the wealth trickled down, and a privatized healthcare system would be more fruitful for all Americans. Boy, has that turned out to be wrong.
Apparently, Wallstreet's "Greed is Good" can only go so far.
When it comes to wealth, it's trickle down, gusher up!
Supply side economics! What happens when 1% have the lion's share of supply and the ordinary American pleb can't even fill up her SUV gas tank anymore, without using a credit card?
Answer: America in the year 2026.
No - wrong metric! Your gas tank used to hold only $30 of gas, now look how much bigger it is - it can now hold $160 of gas! Like Dilbert said, the glass isn't half-full, or half-empty, you're using the wrong size of glass!
$30 dollars of gas could get you laid in the 80s. Now, you can't even get to first base.
In the early years of the Bolshevik and Chinese Revolutions, leadership was chosen in a far more democratic manner than our present system in the US. Candidates actually emerged from among the working masses, they weren't put on ballots because they had large bags of money to support them and buy votes.
Of course this practice of waging war without Congress authorizing a formal Declaration has been the model since end of WW II. You'd think that with the "Cold War" raging--Americans being hauled in front of HUAC, the alleged threat of "The International Communist Conspiracy" being thrown in the face of the citizenry non-stop, etc.--that Truman would have sought such a declaration before waging war against the Korean pro-independence movement. But nooooooo, it was simply declared a "UN Police Action" you see, not a war. And possibly two million Korean human beings paid the price for the US's insane drive to dominate the globe. (And of course the Korean Peninsula remains divided, the US still stationing many thousands of troops in the south.) The current model calls for Congress to authorize the spending to continue a war already launched by the Executive. Trump is currently stymying that process by claiming that a ceasefire is in effect. War, what war? "Funny" that the US can resume bombing Iran while swearing a ceasefire is in place.
I distinctly recall Trump introduced the notion of "American Carnage" in his 1st Inaugural Speech.
Watching from CanaDa, with so many other countries and Americans only beginning to see it, that appears to be the Destination with Trump-MAGA-Netanyahu leadership!
US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to the President, admitted The Day After, Israel led the US into the WAR to Make Israel Great Again!
Absent a new article from Bill, for the readers who watched Professor Jeffery Sachs and The Judge posted downstream, this is the latest appeal for Peace by the Professor posted online just hours ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgOJXWqk0io
For those who actually watched Jeffery and the Judge linked below, most probably didn't notice how many Times the Professor exclaim, "for God's sake" but I did.
I have no doubt in my mind, Jeffery Sachs, with all his Experience gained over decades, is doing his best and is a living example of the Spirit of the letter in Action and Conversation for the People's sake, "Blessed are the Peace Makers, for THEY shall be called the Children of God"
I have confidence Bill, and every reader of this Blog, has the Intelligence to know the alternative consequences in a World still at WAR with itself!
Thank you, Bill! The Founding Fathers wrapped up the President securely with restrictions on starting wars, by giving sole power to declare war to Congress, in order to rebel against the tyranny of Britain in the 1700s. But, thanks to tRump-45 and Billy Barr and his Unitary Executive program, the U.S. turned out to be a tyranny itself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S3k8gUjxsw
It is NOT true that "we the people" have "accepted with little protest" that Trump can do whatever he wants.
There has been a TON of protest... aTON...and court cases... and attempts to get legislation before our houses of Congress, but the protests are not from enough Republicans, who have maneuvered control
of the most important levers of power, and they won't use it to stop him. Democrats did let that happen, with tepid and feckless resistance to people like Dice Cheney and Mitch McConnell.
NOW, We absolutely MUST keep trying to build more pressure, erode more of Trump's support, and bring the most compelling cases before courts, so that-- even if they WANT to decide for Trump--they will not be able to make a cogent argument to do it. .
There ARE cracks beginning to show in the coalition that is propping Trump up.
We need more savvy ideas to win Over Independents and discouraged Republicans to finally see this regime clearly.
And a platform Of policy ideas and legislative goals to help Convince them to vote for the opposition and not for Trump.
The Left needs to stop bitching and in- fighting, and put its energy where it is needed to convince voters that Democracy is worth voting for, and we are the Defenders of Democracy.
And we have to BE it.
Love that fight! My point wasn't that protest is nonexistent but that it's been ineffective (so far) in stopping Trump and war.
If protest is to work, it must be massive and sustained. And focused.
Yes!
"...we the people, as much as I hate to say this, have accepted with little protest that Trump has total power here."
Well, there was the matter of the last No Kings protest, but that was only 8 million people, up from 7 million the previous time, so in relative terms, I guess you're correct. ; )
All the pundits who protest Rump's doings probably have tens of millions of followers, total, but my guess is that the majority of the citizenry is focused on survival. They probably don't like or support the idiot in the Oval, but what are they gonna do?
So, Smedley Butler got it wrong 90 years ago? War is a Racket, those many usa terror campaigns? Just Trump now. Phillipines and korea and Cuba and Spain and indonesia and Vietnam and and and?
Guatemala Panama grenada salvador nicaragua .... African terror campaigns... West Asia ... Yikes. No cunt Trump in the picture then?
Libya? Dang, too many so called righteous campaigns to list.
https://paulokirk.substack.com/p/the-boys-from-err-brazil-err-tel?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=5i319