The thing is: it’s probably about a third of the public that shares Trump’s views, but there is a large portion of the public that views trashing the international order and our system of checks and balances and overturning elections as just another set of political issues, like tax policy or education reform.
At some point, it stops being politics and it starts being history.
How can life continue to go on for so many as business as usual. Citizens are mobilizing against the regime and they’re against their disgraceful behavior. People should be demanding that things need to start shutting down. Things like the NFL playoffs and the NBA, anything like the Oscar’s and any celebratory event. Business leaders and law firms need to grow a spine and push back. This is not a time to celebrate or be entertained, this is a time for those with influence to act and show what the regime is doing is not who acceptable . To Continue living as if nothing is seriously wrong is showing this is for them acceptable. People need to demand from those with influence to start to act and stand up to the regime. Sadly I expect this won’t happen and people will continue to go about their daily routines.
2026? 2028? What I cannot shake from my mind concerning the fascist mind is Hermann Göring's Nuremberg testimony, when asked why the Nazi Party annihilated all political opposition. We National Socialists knew what needed to be done, he testified, so why would we have allowed opposing parties to obstruct what was best for Germany? The logic is chilling. And early Trumpist.
American foreign policy has distilled into a murder/suicide pact with the rest of the world. I blame Trump less and the GOP Congress more etc day. Trump has a severe personality disorder and probably dementia. He can't help himself. GOP Congressional representatives are failing utterly to defend their constituents and the country from a madman.
| America’s constitutional order is so ossified that it no longer functions to safeguard
| the will of the people.
Given the nature of the Electoral College, it's ORIGINAL intent (not completely unlike the electors from the Holy Roman Empire), and its transformed role as state-by-state party rubber stamps (thanks, Jefferson), POTUS no longer reflects the will of the people of the nation as a whole, only of the states with the majority of electors.
That is NOT the Founders' fault. The Constitution CAN BE amended. That there's still an Electoral College isn't the Founders' fault, it the fault of subsequent generations, INCLUDING OURS.
The US system was based on good will and secondarily on the notion that voters would exercise informed self-interest. The latter REQUIRES effort, and the typical American isn't willing to expend the effort needed to acquaint themselves with the major issues of the day EXCEPT issues which affect them directly for which they don't need to expend any effort themselves to maintain awareness. Thus the price of eggs mattering more than world peace.
There's a reason the US didn't enter WW2 until Dec 1941, and it doesn't reflect well on us. OTOH, rather quaint that even AFTER Pearl Harbor, FDR went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war. Far too woke for MAGA today.
Thank you, Jonathan. This is brilliant and you are one of the few who realizes "how we got here" is not just because Trump is President but why it is that Trump is President. For the second time. We've met the enemy and it is us.
JVL, I agree with this horribly dark post. It makes me want to scream that this has been allowed to happen. A lot of thanks and blame for this mess goes to the Supreme Court along with the republicans that completely lost any shred of morality. But, I’m praying for a miracle! Love your commentary even when it scares me to death.
If the US occupies Greenland and if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, we have already had our last free and fair election for the foreseeable future. I don’t care so much that the US continues to be the only superpower or that we enforce an international order that oddly benefits us most of all and most of the time. I care to live in a democracy where I have freedom of speech and assembly. I’ll fight for it as long as I can.
So China doesn't have any desire to abide by a rules based order BUT we'll take their hands off and let the yuan float ??
I know things are really tough right now but I won't accept your invitation to throw in the towel because of " something, something,threat to democracy,etc.,etc.'
Tell me why some GD PAC are running nightly commercials with what is happening in our steets and ask the simple question...Is this what you voted for.
Could it be that money in politics has resulted in the capture of American politicians in sufficient numbers that those that are responsible for keeping the executive branch in check don't really care to impeach trump? The same moneyed interests are destroying our education system and building social media platforms that keep the American people from thinking critically. Clearly the Supreme Court is captured by said moneyed interests.
Most Americans are good people trying to raise a family, buy a home, put their kids through school and take a nice vacation once a year. That is becoming more and more difficult for more and more people. They can't even afford health insurance. Isn't that ridiculous?
Honestly, I'm beginning to think we need to blow the whole thing up and start over.
Agree. A rational and logical approach would be to rewrite the whole constitution. This requires either 1) a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or 2) A constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures (34 out of 50 states). The latter has never succeeded and it's hard to imagine in our polarized country that the former would work either. In the absence of these 2 options, only a revolution would change things. And I really don't want a revolution.
Outstanding, simply outstanding. My optimism and hope for coming back from the brink is on life support. I think the young Aryans (my comment to an earlier missive) are committed to a CAUSE. Young supporters of liberalism (however that is defined at any moment) are too easily distracted by shiney objects. Maybe everything will be fine.
“America’s constitutional order is so ossified that it no longer…”
This phrase made me wonder ‘when was the last time, that America’s constitutional order was NOT ossified’? Do you all indeed know your constitution? I suppose; but it is not mine, so I looked it up: In the last 105 yrs, there’s only 2 Amendments that have fundamentally and permanently expanded the rights of American citizens, the 19th(I think?)-Amendment giving women a vote, and the 26th which permanently ensures all citizens age 18 & over can vote.
Some other significant expansions-of-Rights, have happened as Supreme Court interpretations of the constitution, but now it appears that SCOTUS can “take those back”, any time it likes!!
—Meanwhile, in the last less than 55 years, Canada had a “written in the 20th-Century” New Constitution, and a parallel, internationally-acclaimed “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, from which our not-politically-appointed Supreme Court Justices (who also, must retire by age 75) make rulings. We can also throw Our Whole government out, and get a whole new federal election, if ever they could not keep not keep operating government services!!
So, from here, it looks like you have a pretty “ossified” system, wherein the major significant votes that they take, seem to be about whether or not the Federal Government will stay open; while the most “dysfunctional bit”, the White House itself, would keep going no matter what!
Agree our Constitution is ossified and very difficult to change. I wish that we had a parliamentary form of government, like in so many European countries. Therein, if the parliament wants to change leaders (usually a Prime Minister) it can be done. And the power of the PM and/or President is much more limited than in the U.S. The question becomes can the U.S. learn from democracies that have been created in the past 50-100 years, democracies that have learned from the mistakes of the U.S., the oldest democracy in the past 250 years.
This is the darkness I look forward to every day.
The thing is: it’s probably about a third of the public that shares Trump’s views, but there is a large portion of the public that views trashing the international order and our system of checks and balances and overturning elections as just another set of political issues, like tax policy or education reform.
At some point, it stops being politics and it starts being history.
How can life continue to go on for so many as business as usual. Citizens are mobilizing against the regime and they’re against their disgraceful behavior. People should be demanding that things need to start shutting down. Things like the NFL playoffs and the NBA, anything like the Oscar’s and any celebratory event. Business leaders and law firms need to grow a spine and push back. This is not a time to celebrate or be entertained, this is a time for those with influence to act and show what the regime is doing is not who acceptable . To Continue living as if nothing is seriously wrong is showing this is for them acceptable. People need to demand from those with influence to start to act and stand up to the regime. Sadly I expect this won’t happen and people will continue to go about their daily routines.
2026? 2028? What I cannot shake from my mind concerning the fascist mind is Hermann Göring's Nuremberg testimony, when asked why the Nazi Party annihilated all political opposition. We National Socialists knew what needed to be done, he testified, so why would we have allowed opposing parties to obstruct what was best for Germany? The logic is chilling. And early Trumpist.
American foreign policy has distilled into a murder/suicide pact with the rest of the world. I blame Trump less and the GOP Congress more etc day. Trump has a severe personality disorder and probably dementia. He can't help himself. GOP Congressional representatives are failing utterly to defend their constituents and the country from a madman.
| America’s constitutional order is so ossified that it no longer functions to safeguard
| the will of the people.
Given the nature of the Electoral College, it's ORIGINAL intent (not completely unlike the electors from the Holy Roman Empire), and its transformed role as state-by-state party rubber stamps (thanks, Jefferson), POTUS no longer reflects the will of the people of the nation as a whole, only of the states with the majority of electors.
That is NOT the Founders' fault. The Constitution CAN BE amended. That there's still an Electoral College isn't the Founders' fault, it the fault of subsequent generations, INCLUDING OURS.
The US system was based on good will and secondarily on the notion that voters would exercise informed self-interest. The latter REQUIRES effort, and the typical American isn't willing to expend the effort needed to acquaint themselves with the major issues of the day EXCEPT issues which affect them directly for which they don't need to expend any effort themselves to maintain awareness. Thus the price of eggs mattering more than world peace.
There's a reason the US didn't enter WW2 until Dec 1941, and it doesn't reflect well on us. OTOH, rather quaint that even AFTER Pearl Harbor, FDR went to Congress to ask for a declaration of war. Far too woke for MAGA today.
The new tulip mania: crypto currency. Fear and false hopes... Get out, before it is too late.
We are all in this together.
Thank you, Jonathan. This is brilliant and you are one of the few who realizes "how we got here" is not just because Trump is President but why it is that Trump is President. For the second time. We've met the enemy and it is us.
JVL, I agree with this horribly dark post. It makes me want to scream that this has been allowed to happen. A lot of thanks and blame for this mess goes to the Supreme Court along with the republicans that completely lost any shred of morality. But, I’m praying for a miracle! Love your commentary even when it scares me to death.
Everything you said, except you said it much better than I could!
If the US occupies Greenland and if Trump invokes the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, we have already had our last free and fair election for the foreseeable future. I don’t care so much that the US continues to be the only superpower or that we enforce an international order that oddly benefits us most of all and most of the time. I care to live in a democracy where I have freedom of speech and assembly. I’ll fight for it as long as I can.
It was nice while it lasted. We are an unserious country, and as a result, we deserve what’s coming our way. I worry about my kids futures.
Looks like Tucker Carlson got everything he wanted.
Things are dire, BUT this isn’t who we are. This is a dangerous sociopathic demagogue layered on 30 years of Fox et al propaganda.
So China doesn't have any desire to abide by a rules based order BUT we'll take their hands off and let the yuan float ??
I know things are really tough right now but I won't accept your invitation to throw in the towel because of " something, something,threat to democracy,etc.,etc.'
Tell me why some GD PAC are running nightly commercials with what is happening in our steets and ask the simple question...Is this what you voted for.
Could it be that money in politics has resulted in the capture of American politicians in sufficient numbers that those that are responsible for keeping the executive branch in check don't really care to impeach trump? The same moneyed interests are destroying our education system and building social media platforms that keep the American people from thinking critically. Clearly the Supreme Court is captured by said moneyed interests.
Most Americans are good people trying to raise a family, buy a home, put their kids through school and take a nice vacation once a year. That is becoming more and more difficult for more and more people. They can't even afford health insurance. Isn't that ridiculous?
Honestly, I'm beginning to think we need to blow the whole thing up and start over.
Agree. A rational and logical approach would be to rewrite the whole constitution. This requires either 1) a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or 2) A constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures (34 out of 50 states). The latter has never succeeded and it's hard to imagine in our polarized country that the former would work either. In the absence of these 2 options, only a revolution would change things. And I really don't want a revolution.
Outstanding, simply outstanding. My optimism and hope for coming back from the brink is on life support. I think the young Aryans (my comment to an earlier missive) are committed to a CAUSE. Young supporters of liberalism (however that is defined at any moment) are too easily distracted by shiney objects. Maybe everything will be fine.
“America’s constitutional order is so ossified that it no longer…”
This phrase made me wonder ‘when was the last time, that America’s constitutional order was NOT ossified’? Do you all indeed know your constitution? I suppose; but it is not mine, so I looked it up: In the last 105 yrs, there’s only 2 Amendments that have fundamentally and permanently expanded the rights of American citizens, the 19th(I think?)-Amendment giving women a vote, and the 26th which permanently ensures all citizens age 18 & over can vote.
Some other significant expansions-of-Rights, have happened as Supreme Court interpretations of the constitution, but now it appears that SCOTUS can “take those back”, any time it likes!!
—Meanwhile, in the last less than 55 years, Canada had a “written in the 20th-Century” New Constitution, and a parallel, internationally-acclaimed “Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, from which our not-politically-appointed Supreme Court Justices (who also, must retire by age 75) make rulings. We can also throw Our Whole government out, and get a whole new federal election, if ever they could not keep not keep operating government services!!
So, from here, it looks like you have a pretty “ossified” system, wherein the major significant votes that they take, seem to be about whether or not the Federal Government will stay open; while the most “dysfunctional bit”, the White House itself, would keep going no matter what!
Agree our Constitution is ossified and very difficult to change. I wish that we had a parliamentary form of government, like in so many European countries. Therein, if the parliament wants to change leaders (usually a Prime Minister) it can be done. And the power of the PM and/or President is much more limited than in the U.S. The question becomes can the U.S. learn from democracies that have been created in the past 50-100 years, democracies that have learned from the mistakes of the U.S., the oldest democracy in the past 250 years.