QOTD 0
Neil Dudgeon, in the voice of DCI John Barnaby:
Once upon a time, there was a thing called books. They could be quite useful.
“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes’* 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Kim Shinkoskey listens to current events and hears four rhymmes from the past. Here’s one of them; follow the link for the others and for his reasoning.
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*Mark Twain.
Lemon Squash and the Power of Repress 0
At Above the Law, Joe Patrice dissects the Trump maladministration’s vendetta against news report Don Lemon. It’s a blistering send of duplicity and dissimulation on the part of Pam Bondi’s Department of you-can-no-longer-call-it Jusstice.
A snippet:
This should have marked the end of a troubling campaign to punish a journalist for journalisming, but what this DOJ lacks in professionalism and legal acumen they more than make up for in creativity. Unable to secure a warrant, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she directed federal agents to arrest the journalists.
Afterthought:
On his podcast, Bob Cesca has often advanced the theory that the point of such legal actions isn’t necessarily to win in court, but rather to cause the targets financial and spiritual pain. Trump, after all, has a long history of using protracted court actions to wear down those he perceives as opponents.
Methinks Cesca makes sense.
Chaos Agents 0
David points out that “chaos is politically useful to authoritarians” and argues convincingly that creating chaos is a conscious tactic of the Trump maladministration.
American Stasi 0
Thom tells the stories of legal immigrants illegally detained by ICE.
Dis Coarse Discourse 0
Ira Hyman looks at stories coming out of ICE’s occupation of Minnesota and reminds us that
“An Armed Society Is a Polite Society” 0
More courtesy on the concrete, more politeness on the pavement.
This New Gilded Age 2
At the Portland Press-Herald, James McGuire argues that the increasing concentration of great wealth in few hands is harming the polity. A snippet:
Meanwhile, those who shape policy often live entirely insulated from its consequences. They do not rely on public transportation, wait weeks for medical appointments or wonder whether the heat can stay on through winter. They speak easily about “belt tightening” and “market discipline” because they will never feel the belt or the discipline themselves.
Methinks he makes some good points.