January, 2021 archive
The Man from Martial 0
Writing at the Las Vegas Sun, Ed Koch (not the late New York Mayor, the Sun reporter) explores the legal and political history of martial law in the United States. It is, sadly, a timely read; here’s a bit:
There was an attempt in 2006 to give the chief executive the right to call out state national guards without getting the OK from state governors. It rode in as part of much larger legislation.
The Senate later repealed that part of the law and restored the 1807 Insurrection Act to limit the president’s martial law powers to its original — and current — limits.
My guess is that 14 years ago, lawmakers must have feared that one day a lunatic wannabe autocrat would wind up in the White House and would not want to leave after losing a reelection bid in a lawful balloting procedure. For the sake of the republic, I pray that never happens.
Afterthought:
Methinks his prayers were not answered.
Rosy-Colored Glasses 0
Paul Krugman is an optimist.
Even though what he says is true, the falsehoods have become too deeply ingrained to be dislodged by something as trivial as evidence.
Light Bloggery 0
Connectivity issues. I’ll be troubleshooting some connectivity issues on my home network this afternoon.
Addendum:
So, of course, when I go to shoot the trouble, everything is working smooth like butter.
Intermittent problems are the hardest to solve.
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
The polite just keep on truckin’.
Stray Thought 0
I used to look forward to watching college football on New Year’s Day. but the venality and corruption of the NCAA has cured me of that.
Now I spend my New Year’s reading (gasp) books.
But, if you want to wallow in the fascination of large men running into each other, check out AL.com.
It’s an excellent website, but it does indeed reflect Alabama’s fascination with corpulent collisions.
War Correspondence 0
In a fascinating read full of history that may surprise you (some of it certainly did surprise me), Charles Ludington reviews the history of Christmas as a celebration, as well as explores its use as a political weapon by the right-wing. A nugget:
An Accidental Truth 0
David Farmer has a Pence-ive thought.