David Brook's Call To Arms Philosophically

I studied Economics, Math, Political Science and Business, not philosophy.  I am quite sure my liberal arts college tried to introduce me to philosophy, but I was really a here and now kind reality based person in terms of the areas where I could get good grades.  Psychology for example was a GPA killer for me.

But anyway, David Brooks went to the U of C and he has a good base in philosophy.   We are in a philosophical war.  That is where the politicians have to figure out how to win this war and right this government.

"Today’s anti-Enlightenment movements don’t think truth is to be found through skeptical inquiry and debate. They think wisdom and virtue are found in the instincts of the plain people, deep in the mystical core of the nation’s or race’s group consciousness."

"Today’s anti-Enlightenment movements believe less in calm persuasion and evidence-based inquiry than in purity of will. They try to win debates through blunt force and silencing unacceptable speech."

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"They don’t see history as a gradual march toward cooperation. They see history as cataclysmic cycles — a zero-sum endeavor marked by conflict. Nations trying to screw other nations, races inherently trying to oppress other races."

"These movements are hostile to rules-based systems, multilateral organizations, the messy compromises of democratic politics and what Steve Bannon calls the “administrative state.” They prefer the direct rule by one strongman who is the embodiment of the will of the people."

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"When Trump calls the media the “enemy of the people” he is going after the system of conversation, debate and inquiry that is the foundation for the entire Enlightenment project."

Link to Entire Brooks column

The American Police State is a Reality

From a NYT news article.

"In Virginia, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents waited outside a church shelter where undocumented immigrants had gone to stay warm.  In Texas and in Colorado, agents went into courthouses, looking for foreigners who had arrived for hearings on other matters."

"At Kennedy International Airport in New York, passengers arriving after a 5 hour flight from San Francisco were asked to show their documents before they were allowed to get off the plane."

I don't fly very much any more, but I can guarantee you that if I am asked to show a document to get off the plane, I will refuse and dial 911 to report a kidnapping if I am made a prisoner.  There is no legal requirement in this country that requires providing documents to get off a means of transportation.

It Would Be LOL if it Were Not Reality

No one has ever had more gall than King Donald.  For years he has been making things up and promulgating them as facts:  His favorite pattern is "people are saying" or "it is possible" or simply saying something that is not true as a fact.

Now he says the news media should always disclose their source by name and position.  Clearly, this is a policy Trump would never follow himself.  Never mind that the established news industry has a universal policy of needing at least two sources to confirm the authencity of a story line before they publicize it.  Never mind that the Supreme Court has upheld the right of the news media to protect sources from being disclosed except in rare circumstances when the reporter goes to jail rather than disclose the source.

Steve Bannon and King Donald are right.  This is a war and since they have declared it, I think it behooves all of us to fight it.  The problem with war's is there are unforeseen consequences and collateral damage.  So here we go, take no prisoners Democratic legislators.

Another Example of Paid Pundits Writing Better Than I Do

Gail Collins:

"Talk about keeping your campaign promises.  The president vowed to get rid of useless regulations, and already he's opened the road for dirty Appalachian water and oil companies bribing other governments.  With mentally deranged gunmen waiting on his desk."


Link to Gail Collins column


And Nicholas Kristoff reminds liberals that they can disagree with Trump with all their fury but do not disrespect Trump voters.  They had a variety of reasons for voting for Trump, many of which were not racist or based upon prejudice.  Democrats need to convert a million or so those 62 mm people to voting for them and insulting them will not be a fruitful path to winning in the future.

Link to Kristoff column

Meanwhile in Kansas we see how the GOP does not respect majority rule if they have a sufficient minority representation to block things they do not want.  Just as we did in the Congress the last 4 years.  This is something the Democrats need to remember.

Link to Kansas GOP legislature upholding a Veto on Tax Increases based by same GOP legislature


Glad I don't live in Kansas.

King Donald Would Enjoy Today's NYTimes

It's all about him.  There is little else written on any other topic.

But I found two items worth noting for my loyal readers review.

The 1st is Frank Bruni's analysis of King Donald's style and how it wears us out so we are too tired to oppose him or remember his most outrageous behavior because there is a new outrageous behavior.  And yes readers, elections have consequences, which is why I ripped John Podesta's column in a comment on it.  No single person is more responsible for the situation Democrats are in than he is. He failed to come up with a winning strategy in the rust belt and for that failure he should rot in hell.

Link to Bruni Column

Meanwhile, some liberals are not reading the tea leaves correctly.  There were a number of Trump voters who are not enamored of him, but want some respect from the Democrat's.  While I know Hillary wanted to run in the middle as a Centrist, her campaign staff felt compelled to tack toward Bernie Sander's and the failure of the Clinton campaign has emboldened those liberals into action which offends these people who are necessary to have as Democrat's in the Rust Belt if Democrats are to win.  These people want economic fairness for their situation and want to be respected for their views that identity politics have been won and don't need to be emphasized as much or they may even disagree with them.

I saw a wonderful piece on PBS about an African American musician who plays honky tonk and country music and has a personal vendetta to reach out to individuals in the KKK and work to convince them that all individuals are human and deserving of respect.  He has some success with this over the last 25 years.  It is something liberals should remember.  It takes a big tent to win Presidential elections.

Link to "How Liberals are Helping Trump"


And, finally, a piece on how the GOP can remove Trump in a hurry if they want to.

Link to Column on Section 4 of the 25th Amendment


So, while Congress would still have to agree with the outcome, the impeachment process would not be necessary.  Of course, Democrats should have no illusion that this would improve policy.  Vice President Pence is a very conservative person who does not see any issue the way Democrats do.

Dear President Trump, You Did Not Inherit a Mess

OK, if you were talking about the Affordable Care Act, I can see how you might have believed it was a mess.  I disagree with the term, but improvements are needed.  It is working well in Massachusetts and New York, but not in some other states.

But everywhere else in Government you did not inherit a mess.  While Congress was dysfunctional, that was by their choice and everything under the direct control of The White House was functioning smoothly on January 19th.

So if things are a mess today, there is only one reason.  Your Administration!!!

The balance the GOP Leadership Wants in Health Insurance Reform

"Now that they’ll be held accountable for the changes they make, Republicans aren’t all sure they want to get rid of all that. Republicans might want to kill the taxes, but that would mean they’re going to have trouble paying for a replacement. Republicans would like to convert those subsidies to refundable tax credits, but it’s not yet clear how Republicans would design them. Many Republican states took the Medicaid expansion — and saw their uninsured rates plunge. They like the flexibility involved in Republican plans to turn Medicaid into a block grant, but they don’t want to give up the money they’re getting from the federal government."

"In short, this stuff is complicated, especially if you want to avoid the enormous public backlash that would increase exponentially if you just repealed the law. There may be no way to avoid that backlash, particularly since everything Republicans are considering is guaranteed to produce more uninsured people, higher out-of-pocket costs, and enormous disruption to the system (and that’s if it works as planned). But Ryan and other GOP leaders are hoping to finesse it all with a carefully constructed Jenga tower of a bill that minimizes the political damage they’ll suffer. Some parts of the ACA (the popular ones) will likely be kept in some form, and the whole thing will be rolled out gradually, perhaps with a delay that pushes the most dangerous parts of the transition past the 2018 midterm elections (or even the 2020 elections). And it’s already clear that Ryan doesn’t want to rush into anything when the political stakes are so high."

From WAPO column by Paul Waldman