I believe that Trump’s excesses have been generated within himself by a natural process of upping his ante, since what worked the last time won’t work again.
His audience has evolved with him and so have we. His excesses must be forced beyond their natural pace so that his lunacy becomes apparent. Perhaps even to his followers.
Like abruptly upping the heat under a slowly cooking lobster to maximum, so that it realizes what’s happening.
The thesis of this article is that Trump’s crazy rants demonstrate his craziness. He is NOT crazy on the basis of his rants. To be sure he is crazy – megalomania – but his rants demonstrate – ultimately to our profound regret – his genius for keeping our eyes off the ball.
His rants are imaginative streams of consciousness, succeeding magnificently in their purpose: Distraction! Rope-a-dope!
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/06/trump-shark-rant/678666/
The very last words of an Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court regarding Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment:
“As Missouri Republican John B. Henderson declared the day he cast his vote for the Fourteenth Amendment in the Senate, “The language of this section is so framed as to disenfranchise from office the leaders of the past rebellion as well as the leaders of any rebellion hereafter to come.” May the curse of that hereafter never come again.”
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The whole conclusion:
The meaning of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment is best discerned in the actual history of Reconstruction. Haunted by the nation’s suffering and fearful of disloyalty and ongoing political violence, Congress conducted an investigation into conditions in the South and determined that the disqualification of office-holders who had engaged in an insurrection against the Constitution was necessary for the security of the republic. Their concerns included a possible bid for the presidency by Jefferson Davis. Section Three also gave the federal government the authority to guide reconstructed ex- Confederate states to find new leadership committed to equal rights for all. With an eye toward establishing enduring fundamental law and ensuring domestic tranquility, they framed a provision designed to hold future insurrectionists accountable by the same means. They knew that no one in the United States is above the law, not even the President, and that no republican government can afford to return insurrectionists to office.
As Missouri Republican John B. Henderson declared the day he cast his vote for the Fourteenth Amendment in the Senate, “The language of this section is so framed as to disenfranchise from office the leaders of the past rebellion as well as the leaders of any rebellion hereafter to come.” May the curse of that hereafter never come again.
Link to the entire brief:
What is American democracy? American Democracy is what it is defined to be by the American Constitution!
If a citizen not born here is ineligible to be president, that is American Democracy.
If a citizen younger than 35 is ineligible to be president, that is American Democracy.
A citizen who has sworn allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and has later engaged in insurrection is ineligible to be president. That is American Democracy.
First I would ask any of our constitutional gurus to write an extensive opinion on the eligibility of a 30-year-old or non-native citizen to run for president. I would expect their opinions to encompass just two words, not qualified.
Then I would ask them to write an extensive opinion on the eligibility of an insurrectionist to run for president. I would hope their opinions would be similarly extensive and encompass the same two words, not qualified.
We shouldn’t and we don’t usually dismiss history because it is in the past. That Trump was President is in the present. He paid for and clearly believed that the “Catch and Kill Scheme” could control information that could have lost him the election. The content is sleazy – that’s on him – but if we had known about these things when we needed to know about them, the horrific consequences of his regime might never have been.
One of those consequences – hardly, if ever mentioned – are the people who are now dead on account of his politically motivated handling of the COVID catastrophe. How many thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousand out of the over a million of us who are gone have their blood on his hands?
At first glance, the other cases might seem weightier than this one, the very survival of our Country being at stake and that is mighty weighty, but even without holding him accountable in those, we might survive.
The people who would still be with us if he had lost the election – there’s no hope for them – they’re dead.
I was on my way home from visiting with my wife Janet in the hospital. My route not only took me alongside Prospect Park, but to a miraculously available spot. The park was very busy, with families of the Orthodox all over the place, celebrating Sukkot. I waved the lulav and etrog for my first time.
I decided early on in my walk that I would take every path or stair that went up. There were many.
Prospect Park is spectacular. Since the park is roughly a huge square, you have no sense of the city surrounding, because you never see it. The possibilities of wandering around and getting lost are limitless. And I did. I ended up at the diagonally opposite point, Grand Army Plaza, from where I started my walk at Park Circle, at the foot of Ocean Parkway.
Along my way I passed a gorgeous lake, a monument to George Washington – “GOOD GOD! WHAT BRAVE FELLOWS I MUST THIS DAY LOSE”
A monument to Lafayette, and horse back riders, a taste of Autumn, and many paths and stairs going up and down. All this while listening to Bach’s Art of the Fugue and Cantatas.
Today I got lucky again and parked at the Ocean Avenue entrance. Prospect Park is wonderful!
It is truly a shame that villains – like Trump – have an exquisite sense of right and wrong, especially wrong! Years ago I read Nixon’s memoir – written to be part of his self-rehabilitation. I was struck by his pitch perfect sense of ethics and responsibility. Knowing right and wrong is one thing, but being a subscriber is another.
As we all know, on February 7th Bob Woodward caught Trump on tape clearly understanding the dangers of the Virus and outright acknowledging its calamitous potential. Just now, Trump correctly called out Bob Woodward for not speaking out immediately after it became clear that he, Trump, was grossly downplaying the situation, etc. And Woodward, like John Bolton, is guilty of holding out for publication at the expense of the National Good.
We will now be arguing about the comparative responsibilities of Woodward and Trump. Trump clearly understands the “right” of speaking out, and the “wrong” of holding back. He’s surely not a subscriber to ethics and morality, but his clear sense of them ably arms him against those who screw up.
My question:
Is there a test that can tell us that someone had the virus already, and can no longer communicate the disease to others? This, for any who had symptoms, or had no symptoms at all. These would then be safe to join the workforce. Some official certification, like a pin or badge, could indicate to others that they were safe. The consequences of such a test that reveals to us those who are safe are vast.
We will know who is safe!
These will not have to sequester themselves, and therefore be available to help others. This especially applies to heath care and other essential personnel. These would be safe to congregate, among themselves and with others. We would know who can join the “emerging return to society” and hasten its return.
At the moment there are more pressing needs for testing and allocation of resources, but the time for this test SHOULD come.
Our media needs to incorporate into their presentations a retinue of mantra issues. Take note: That is exactly what Trump’s choir does all day long. We must help the public to understand and appreciate key issues in depth. There are many issues left adrift. Often mentioned, but hardly ever explained, is that Trump’s solicitation of a Ukraine investigation of the Bidens damages our national security. But how does it do that? I have heard the “how” just two, or perhaps only three times.
If Ukraine helps Trump to avoid impeachment, or to get re-elected, Ukraine will lose the support of Democrats. Ukraine is fighting a hot war with Russia right now. Given the “coincidence” that most everything we have been doing in international affairs benefits Putin, losing Democratic resistance to protecting Ukraine will jeopardize Ukraine’s independent existence. Losing Ukraine to Russia would be a disaster!
There are other critical issues that should be brought up every day AND explained. Here, reiterating, however often, that Ukraine working on behalf of Trump is bad for national secutity has little power without explaining how. The power of understanding is in the HOW: Losing Democratic support could lose Ukraine to Russia and Putin. This knowledge MUST be kept in the public mind.
This, and all other KEY elements to a crystal clear BIG Picture sense of what is happening, must be brought home to all of us – especially to those who without it would have muddled impressions – and must be brought home each and every day!