February, 2021 archive
A Shining Tarnished City on a Hill
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Michael Judge argues that Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the recent election was stolen from him have provided a playbook for autocrats abroad. A snippet:
A Quibble:
I find Judge’s condescension towards the name of Myanmar problematical.
Myanmar has been Myanmar (in its native language, Mranma Prañ) for almost a thousand years. The name, “Burma,” was a legacy of British colonialism discarded three decades ago.
Legacy of the Trumpling, a Notion of Immigrants Dept. 0
A naturalized American citizen born in Australia wonders whether he did the right thing in becoming an American citizen. Here’s how he introduces his article:
The Voter Fraud Fraudsters 0
As Farron mentioned, documented cases of voter fraud seem invariably to fall at the feet of Republicans.
Instigation 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, H. Colleen Sinclair examines the tactics that demagogues (and would-be demogogues) use to persuade their followers to hate and to follow the hate with hate-full actions, such as, say, just to pick an exammple, overrunning a national legislative hall. She idendifies three elements:
- Firing Up Emotions
- Constructing the Threat
- Disengaging (the) Moral Compass
Follow the link for an examination of each one.
Have Cake, Eat It Too 0
At the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Gene Collier muses about the upcoming impeachment trial of the former federal executive. A snippet:
On the same topic, a constitutional lawyer considers the matter at the San Francisco Chronicle. Here’s a bit.
A Tune for the Times 0
Warning: Mild language.
“A House Divided” 0
At The Roanoke Times, Glen Rose offers a theory as to the divisions within the United States, specifically as regards the impeachment of the former federal executive. He is speaking particularly of three Congressmen from western Virginia. An excerpt; follow the link for the full article.
Their argument is, “We need to unite the country and not do something so divisive.”
The country is already divided! But not between Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, rural and urban, rich and poor.
Our country is divided into one group which believes in truth, civility, egalitarianism, science, and our Constitution.
The other group is its antithesis, accepting lies, eschewing civility, nurturing bigotry and xenophobia, rejecting science, and ignoring our Constitution and rule of law.
Home on Derange 0
Seth skewers a shibboleth.
Along the same lines, but not quite so humorous, is Paul Krugman’s recent column.
A Reader Writes . . . 0
. . . a colorful letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
Aside:
I flew into Charlotte once many years ago (it was so long ago that you could check one bag at no charge). The wait to get my checked luggage was longer than the flight from Philadelphia.
QOTD 0
Albie Woodington, in the voice of Sergeant Warden:
These are desperate times, Brother. Desperate men don’t think.
Meta: Reading Rainbow 0
I’ve added a new item to the sidebar, over there, on the right ——>, entitled “Reading Rainbow” (with apologies to PBS).
It points to Project Gutenberg, where you can get public domain ebooks which work quite nicely with FBReader (or the ebook reader of your choice) and Libribox, which offers public domain audio books, which work with the audio player of your choice (I usually use VLC).
Both sites have given me hours of enjoyment and learning.
Enjoy.
The Privilege Flew 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice explains why the Morgan Lewis law firm’s attempts to claim attorney-client privilege regarding certain Trump transactions and conferences that were not subject to said privilege were rejected by the judge. A nugget; follow the link for the details.