History shows that letting dictators get away with land grabs & genocidal attacks on nearby nations leads not to peace but to even worse wars than stopping that activity early would have done
History shows that letting dictators get away with their rules and broken rules that hurt the population of the country makes things much worse.
I’m paraphrasing, but the general idea, reminds me of Donald Trumps leadership , which has been calamitous at best , and criminal at worst .It has gotten us exactly dead centered on authoritarian means.
His followers have jumped on the mess he has made.
Let remember who assisted him in this endeavor, Putin, the Supreme Court, ( Citizens United) . Allowing federal funds to go to Christian based schools( because we ignore separation of church and state ) this country was founded on.
They have changed the rules this country was founded on.
Fifty years of legal precedent thrown down , because their Church demands it.
76% of Americans support abortion.
Not of concern for these conservative judges, who just happen to be Christian.
This is the ‘new Christianity ‘one where haters seek cover under Jesus, and He isn’t having it.
Remember when Democracy was about majority rule.
Now its about Corporate money funding the far right.
These monied candidates and their followers are not the majority in this country.
So , the fact that money makes the rules, and not the people. ‘Of the people , for the people and by the people’.
This is our Neville Chamberlain moment. Thom; I also have liberal friends who want to stop the war in Ukraine and let Russia keep what they have stolen. To allow the maniacal genocidal Putin to cleave out parts of a Democratic nation and keep it is nonsense. You are correct. We cannot abandon Ukraine. Besides; I do not think the valiant people of Ukraine will ever except a peace agreement with this murderer. This madman dictator will not stop there and the time for DEMOCRACY'S to draw the line is now.
The American people., if they WANT to keep democracy have a lot of work to do. If I pick the most important one - it’s somehow UNDOING Citizens United. It’s insulting to ALL is us that this tiny proportion - 0.1% - of Americans are invited to basically RUN our country. Biden must expand the Supreme Court AND we have to just hope for the best. This current form of governance by the ultra-rich is oppressive. And damn depressing. I detest fighting this uphill battle with my one vote for democracy. The corrupt SCOTUS is the worst part. Thanks Thom for all the truths you impart. I believe we need a Cabinet member in charge of History. We must stop this forgetfulness!!! I nominate you or Heather Cox Richardson.
Yes Dana, a lot of work to do. The upcoming midterms could be the pivotal moment in your democracy. If the Republicans gain any sort of momentum, you know Trump will jump on it. In that case, the best thing Biden could do would be to tank the economy, artificially of course, so that the Republicans are left with a disaster in the area that's most important to people's lives. Make a bunch of executive orders that give everything back to the people that's been taken from them.
Sadly our country seems to have become a victim of her own success. The citizens have taken our democracy for granted and now it's imperiled. I'm praying that there's a blue wave in November.
Yes, I think there was a lot of complacency that the repeal of Roe wasn't really going to happen. Now if the word is only getting out, that the Repubs. mean it when they say they want to decide whether America can afford Social Security every year! I'll bet a lot of people will pooh-pooh it, just like they said, they said Roe was solid precedent. Until it happens, surprise, surprise.
I am really afraid that they will get rid of social security, I'm close to the age that I can benefit from it. The republicans can't wait to privatize it. Unfortunately the shock of not upholding Roe has worn off so that is not as big as an influence as I'd like.
How Britain Hoped To Avoid War With Germany In The 1930s
Instituted in the hope of avoiding war, appeasement was the name given to Britain's policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. Most closely associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is now widely discredited as a policy of weakness.
I found the Madison quote: "...No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” particularly dire for us. Personally, I think Biden is a hero for pulling the plug on Afghanistan. Forget about it was a fiasco! The definition of "bloody chaos" in the dictionary is: Afghanistan! Their only true religion is xenophobia, although misogyny would be a contender, but that is the core of most religion, so what's special is the xenophobia.
Addendum: The the Great Soviet Encyclopedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx. When I read the reasoning behind it, I was convinced that this was not just another attempt to co-opt capitalism. Look up Adam Smith in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, had recourse to the edition in Pacific Lutheran University.
As I recall, Adam Smith said that while he was anti mercantilist, the needs of the capitalists were diametrically opposed to the needs of the nation and that they would get control of the government and pass laws in their favour.
You sir seem to be one of the rare few that have actually read Adam Smith, there is an equally small club of those who have actually read Marx, admittedly one needs clothes pins to keep the eye lids from shutting.
I am with you Thom, excellent article. I consider myself a real progressive, unfortunately there are those on the left that are in reality unredeemed Marxists, and in my opinion Marx was a proto libertarian. He was a free trader, opposed Britain's Corn laws (tariffs), chastised editors in Charleston and the south for slavery, telling them to free the slaves and hire them back at market wages.
His partner Frederick Engels owned a textile mill and had to buy cheaper and inferior Egyptian Cotton because of the high price of cotton shipped from Charleston, SC.
He was also a gold bug. He claimed that gold was the standard of value (not labor as believed), and the Soviet Union made gold the basis for their ruble. Valuing a ruble at .91 grams fine gold, and only issued enough rubles as were there gold to back it up. The result was a perpetual depression because of a shortage of rubles, and Soviet customs scoured outgoing luggage and packages for rubles, it was a capital offense to take rubles out of Russia, as a holder could present the ruble to the NordBank in Paris and demand gold, which reduced the supply of Rubles in Russia.
Also the 1936 Soviet Constitution, Art 12, says in essence, if you don't work you don't eat, which is pure libertarian.
But I have wandered off the topic. The topic being the affinity of the old left with Russia,Putin has inherited the Soviet Union's mantle, and the old left what the Brits called Tankies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie have this romantic love affair with Russia, and although I have admired Chomsky and Democracy Now as well as the folk at the Nation, I consider them tragic and disgusting, they indeed would rather be Red than dead, only Red this time is not communism, but right wing fascism.
If these people are the left, then I am not a leftist, I am not a libertarian, and I am not a right wing fascist.
I have no label except that of a true small d democrat. I really need to define myself, and that is so hard to do in this factionist world, which Thomas Jefferson warned about.
I used to read Bill Blum until I figured out that the only imperialism he was opposed to was American while Russian and Chinese imperialism was just fine. I have a great deal of admiration for Chomsky and am sad that he has gone the same route as Bill Blum.
I've stopped reading The Nation for their all-too-frequent references to Karl Marx. There has not been one successful, prosperous Marxist nation to date that I have see. The economic advancement of China only began when they moved away from Marxist?Maoist dogma. That said, Marx did bring many of the great evils of capitalism to light....
I quit the NYT because they were too pro Russia. I never read the WSJ.
Unfettered Capitalism is a disaster. Monopoly game in real life. The evils of capitalism must be controlled. Governments are to provide the common good and set and enforce the rules for the private good. Political parties ought to be formed on how best to do both but one of them usually gets bought out by the capitalists and want to do as little as possible of either.
I still believe that America can beat the fascists but I worry that voting alone will not over come the loaded dice at the state level.
Three statements concerning WAR, capitalism, and democracy:
As long as we have an anti-democratic economic system, authoritarian capitalism, that profits from WAR and empowers oligarchs to buy our government, democracy is the primary larget for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
As long as the oligarchs, who profit from WAR-oriented auhoritarian capitalism, can monopolize our Free Press, our democratic politial system lacks protection and is the primary target for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
Until we create a democratic economic system to disempower oligarchs, empower workers and protect our democratic political system via a Free Press, our democratic politial system is the primary target for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
I'm now printing some of these articles and sending them to NaziRepublican Party worshippers. It's working. The finish line is coming in sight, keep the foot on the throttle folks, we are almost back to freedom, then we can restore a free market economy.
I want to relate a graduate level history paper my wife wrote. She researched every war with records. Two facts were clear.
About 100 years ago, wars no longer brought land to reduce overpopulation, because all land was already overpopulated. Gaining territory full of people who speak funny and have a different culture makes things worse, not better.
My wife's research showed that in every war, BOTH sides would have saved money surrendering. Yes, surrendering. Why? Let me relate my neighbor's history.
My neighbor Robert's family has an oral history going back thousands of years. He said they were farmers and ranchers, peaceful and cultured. When the Comanche came through, they surrendered, endured some abuse, but remained a people. They learned to speak Comanche, retaining their language, which is similar to Navajo. When the Apache came through, they surrendered, learned Apache, and remained. When the Spanish came through, they learned Spanish, etc. He said "you anglos haven't been here long, but we surrendered and learned English for while you are here". They surrendered to protect the fields and herds. Robert said they are the same tribe they were thousands of years ago, with somewhat different genes. Robert said to live in the high mountain valley of his people, you have to become their culture.
I think this is true everywhere. Let's end war. Instead of helping expand the slaughter in what sure looks like male chest thumping, in that we are fine killing everyone and destroying everything just to say "this is my land", let's absorb the attackers.
If invaders really are right, and have a better culture, great, we improve. If not, they will become us. Either way, killing isn't the answer.
John Lennon was right, all we need is love. Seriously, it's not a dream, it's correct human behavior.
Boy the last two words of that Snyder quote says it all, "worth it". That's the real discussion here. Once the going gets very, very expensive the weak-willed here in our country waver. No surprise! Money makes the world go round---until it stops. As the expense increases, cheap talk about democracy decreases.
We cannot back-off and let our allies down. They jumped right in there and are doing their part. What they have done and are willing to suffer will NEVER be enough for the damn Republicans. They will beat that money drum till you can't hear anything else.
No matter what WE do at this stage, the Ukrainians have a democracy and they have chosen. That is soooo not up to any of the rest of the world at this stage. It's arrogant and stupid for these tin gods to sit on their thrones and declare what the Ukrainians should do.
It's been obvious from the beginning what the right thing to do is. The democratic coalition fighting these CRAZY dictators must endure. Thanks Thom, because it is "worth it" now more than ever. This group of free-world allies are the best hope to do anything about the climate crisis as well.
There was a Kirk-Trek episode in which Kirk went crazy trying to get these people to resist being brutalized by the Klingons, and the council just kept pacifism-bombing him, but wait! It turned out the natives being invaded were actually sublimated energy beings that were above being harmed by the barbarians anyhow. There wasn't a red-blooded American Trek watcher that wasn't on Kirk's side! What was wrong with these people? Well; they weren't human. Thus endeth the lesson.
So you won't call me names or accuse me of spreading Putin propaganda as you did on your radio program, perhaps you should refer to something more nuanced that puts Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the dangers posed by Biden's excuse for foreign policy in proper perspective. And no Thom, I'm not making excuses for Putin and so you and your minions won't call me names I will call his invasion of Ukraine criminal: https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-national-security-strategy-is-a-defense-of-us-domination-not-democracy/
I have been a life-long pacifist, but I am wondering if our democratic structures have been so damaged by what Thom so aptly calls the "corrupt Supreme Court" that, in the end, the defense of democracy might require more than GOTV campaigns. Throughout our history, Democracy has had to be defended by those willing to take up arms. Diplomacy and "reaching across the aisle" were clearly not the needed response when the Confederacy attacked the United States. We may need to do more than issue sanctions and resolutions, in the end, to stop the likes of Putin and Xi, and Orban, and their army of supporters here in this country. Just sayin'.
Oye. "Ukrainian resistance is a model." A model of war being the way to settle disputes. Argue for your limitations and you know what. But what a pickle the world is in. Nobody knows what to do as an alternative, but I urge you to not schill for war. "We don't do war" could be a starting point. What then? We don't know the answer, but at the cost of the salvation of humanity we ought to be looking for it.
So, the salvation of humanity is Ukraine under the tyranny of Putin, Taiwan under the thumb of China, and Yemen devastated by SA? All three of which populations will be treated as resistance scum by their conquerors? And there's some kind of honor to the rest of us to just stand by? You make me sick.
History shows that letting dictators get away with their rules and broken rules that hurt the population of the country makes things much worse.
I’m paraphrasing, but the general idea, reminds me of Donald Trumps leadership , which has been calamitous at best , and criminal at worst .It has gotten us exactly dead centered on authoritarian means.
His followers have jumped on the mess he has made.
Let remember who assisted him in this endeavor, Putin, the Supreme Court, ( Citizens United) . Allowing federal funds to go to Christian based schools( because we ignore separation of church and state ) this country was founded on.
They have changed the rules this country was founded on.
Fifty years of legal precedent thrown down , because their Church demands it.
76% of Americans support abortion.
Not of concern for these conservative judges, who just happen to be Christian.
This is the ‘new Christianity ‘one where haters seek cover under Jesus, and He isn’t having it.
Remember when Democracy was about majority rule.
Now its about Corporate money funding the far right.
These monied candidates and their followers are not the majority in this country.
So , the fact that money makes the rules, and not the people. ‘Of the people , for the people and by the people’.
Where are we now?
Just a quibble: got any evidence that "He isn't having it?"
This is our Neville Chamberlain moment. Thom; I also have liberal friends who want to stop the war in Ukraine and let Russia keep what they have stolen. To allow the maniacal genocidal Putin to cleave out parts of a Democratic nation and keep it is nonsense. You are correct. We cannot abandon Ukraine. Besides; I do not think the valiant people of Ukraine will ever except a peace agreement with this murderer. This madman dictator will not stop there and the time for DEMOCRACY'S to draw the line is now.
The American people., if they WANT to keep democracy have a lot of work to do. If I pick the most important one - it’s somehow UNDOING Citizens United. It’s insulting to ALL is us that this tiny proportion - 0.1% - of Americans are invited to basically RUN our country. Biden must expand the Supreme Court AND we have to just hope for the best. This current form of governance by the ultra-rich is oppressive. And damn depressing. I detest fighting this uphill battle with my one vote for democracy. The corrupt SCOTUS is the worst part. Thanks Thom for all the truths you impart. I believe we need a Cabinet member in charge of History. We must stop this forgetfulness!!! I nominate you or Heather Cox Richardson.
Yes Dana, a lot of work to do. The upcoming midterms could be the pivotal moment in your democracy. If the Republicans gain any sort of momentum, you know Trump will jump on it. In that case, the best thing Biden could do would be to tank the economy, artificially of course, so that the Republicans are left with a disaster in the area that's most important to people's lives. Make a bunch of executive orders that give everything back to the people that's been taken from them.
Ouch! So much for Michele O. "We go high." I do think going big on executive orders would be honorable.
Sadly our country seems to have become a victim of her own success. The citizens have taken our democracy for granted and now it's imperiled. I'm praying that there's a blue wave in November.
Yes, I think there was a lot of complacency that the repeal of Roe wasn't really going to happen. Now if the word is only getting out, that the Repubs. mean it when they say they want to decide whether America can afford Social Security every year! I'll bet a lot of people will pooh-pooh it, just like they said, they said Roe was solid precedent. Until it happens, surprise, surprise.
I am really afraid that they will get rid of social security, I'm close to the age that I can benefit from it. The republicans can't wait to privatize it. Unfortunately the shock of not upholding Roe has worn off so that is not as big as an influence as I'd like.
How Britain Hoped To Avoid War With Germany In The 1930s
Instituted in the hope of avoiding war, appeasement was the name given to Britain's policy in the 1930s of allowing Hitler to expand German territory unchecked. Most closely associated with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, it is now widely discredited as a policy of weakness.
https://www.iwm.org.uk › history
I found the Madison quote: "...No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” particularly dire for us. Personally, I think Biden is a hero for pulling the plug on Afghanistan. Forget about it was a fiasco! The definition of "bloody chaos" in the dictionary is: Afghanistan! Their only true religion is xenophobia, although misogyny would be a contender, but that is the core of most religion, so what's special is the xenophobia.
Addendum: The the Great Soviet Encyclopedia hailed Adam Smith as one of their own and the intellectual father of Marx. When I read the reasoning behind it, I was convinced that this was not just another attempt to co-opt capitalism. Look up Adam Smith in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, had recourse to the edition in Pacific Lutheran University.
As I recall, Adam Smith said that while he was anti mercantilist, the needs of the capitalists were diametrically opposed to the needs of the nation and that they would get control of the government and pass laws in their favour.
You sir seem to be one of the rare few that have actually read Adam Smith, there is an equally small club of those who have actually read Marx, admittedly one needs clothes pins to keep the eye lids from shutting.
I read it for bragging rights and learned a great deal in the process. Have not read Marx.
I am with you Thom, excellent article. I consider myself a real progressive, unfortunately there are those on the left that are in reality unredeemed Marxists, and in my opinion Marx was a proto libertarian. He was a free trader, opposed Britain's Corn laws (tariffs), chastised editors in Charleston and the south for slavery, telling them to free the slaves and hire them back at market wages.
His partner Frederick Engels owned a textile mill and had to buy cheaper and inferior Egyptian Cotton because of the high price of cotton shipped from Charleston, SC.
He was also a gold bug. He claimed that gold was the standard of value (not labor as believed), and the Soviet Union made gold the basis for their ruble. Valuing a ruble at .91 grams fine gold, and only issued enough rubles as were there gold to back it up. The result was a perpetual depression because of a shortage of rubles, and Soviet customs scoured outgoing luggage and packages for rubles, it was a capital offense to take rubles out of Russia, as a holder could present the ruble to the NordBank in Paris and demand gold, which reduced the supply of Rubles in Russia.
Also the 1936 Soviet Constitution, Art 12, says in essence, if you don't work you don't eat, which is pure libertarian.
But I have wandered off the topic. The topic being the affinity of the old left with Russia,Putin has inherited the Soviet Union's mantle, and the old left what the Brits called Tankies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tankie have this romantic love affair with Russia, and although I have admired Chomsky and Democracy Now as well as the folk at the Nation, I consider them tragic and disgusting, they indeed would rather be Red than dead, only Red this time is not communism, but right wing fascism.
If these people are the left, then I am not a leftist, I am not a libertarian, and I am not a right wing fascist.
I have no label except that of a true small d democrat. I really need to define myself, and that is so hard to do in this factionist world, which Thomas Jefferson warned about.
Did I just coin a word?
I used to read Bill Blum until I figured out that the only imperialism he was opposed to was American while Russian and Chinese imperialism was just fine. I have a great deal of admiration for Chomsky and am sad that he has gone the same route as Bill Blum.
I've stopped reading The Nation for their all-too-frequent references to Karl Marx. There has not been one successful, prosperous Marxist nation to date that I have see. The economic advancement of China only began when they moved away from Marxist?Maoist dogma. That said, Marx did bring many of the great evils of capitalism to light....
I quit the NYT because they were too pro Russia. I never read the WSJ.
Unfettered Capitalism is a disaster. Monopoly game in real life. The evils of capitalism must be controlled. Governments are to provide the common good and set and enforce the rules for the private good. Political parties ought to be formed on how best to do both but one of them usually gets bought out by the capitalists and want to do as little as possible of either.
I still believe that America can beat the fascists but I worry that voting alone will not over come the loaded dice at the state level.
Three statements concerning WAR, capitalism, and democracy:
As long as we have an anti-democratic economic system, authoritarian capitalism, that profits from WAR and empowers oligarchs to buy our government, democracy is the primary larget for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
As long as the oligarchs, who profit from WAR-oriented auhoritarian capitalism, can monopolize our Free Press, our democratic politial system lacks protection and is the primary target for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
Until we create a democratic economic system to disempower oligarchs, empower workers and protect our democratic political system via a Free Press, our democratic politial system is the primary target for destruction by the oligarchs and their billions.
I'm now printing some of these articles and sending them to NaziRepublican Party worshippers. It's working. The finish line is coming in sight, keep the foot on the throttle folks, we are almost back to freedom, then we can restore a free market economy.
I want to relate a graduate level history paper my wife wrote. She researched every war with records. Two facts were clear.
About 100 years ago, wars no longer brought land to reduce overpopulation, because all land was already overpopulated. Gaining territory full of people who speak funny and have a different culture makes things worse, not better.
My wife's research showed that in every war, BOTH sides would have saved money surrendering. Yes, surrendering. Why? Let me relate my neighbor's history.
My neighbor Robert's family has an oral history going back thousands of years. He said they were farmers and ranchers, peaceful and cultured. When the Comanche came through, they surrendered, endured some abuse, but remained a people. They learned to speak Comanche, retaining their language, which is similar to Navajo. When the Apache came through, they surrendered, learned Apache, and remained. When the Spanish came through, they learned Spanish, etc. He said "you anglos haven't been here long, but we surrendered and learned English for while you are here". They surrendered to protect the fields and herds. Robert said they are the same tribe they were thousands of years ago, with somewhat different genes. Robert said to live in the high mountain valley of his people, you have to become their culture.
I think this is true everywhere. Let's end war. Instead of helping expand the slaughter in what sure looks like male chest thumping, in that we are fine killing everyone and destroying everything just to say "this is my land", let's absorb the attackers.
If invaders really are right, and have a better culture, great, we improve. If not, they will become us. Either way, killing isn't the answer.
John Lennon was right, all we need is love. Seriously, it's not a dream, it's correct human behavior.
Boy the last two words of that Snyder quote says it all, "worth it". That's the real discussion here. Once the going gets very, very expensive the weak-willed here in our country waver. No surprise! Money makes the world go round---until it stops. As the expense increases, cheap talk about democracy decreases.
We cannot back-off and let our allies down. They jumped right in there and are doing their part. What they have done and are willing to suffer will NEVER be enough for the damn Republicans. They will beat that money drum till you can't hear anything else.
No matter what WE do at this stage, the Ukrainians have a democracy and they have chosen. That is soooo not up to any of the rest of the world at this stage. It's arrogant and stupid for these tin gods to sit on their thrones and declare what the Ukrainians should do.
It's been obvious from the beginning what the right thing to do is. The democratic coalition fighting these CRAZY dictators must endure. Thanks Thom, because it is "worth it" now more than ever. This group of free-world allies are the best hope to do anything about the climate crisis as well.
There was a Kirk-Trek episode in which Kirk went crazy trying to get these people to resist being brutalized by the Klingons, and the council just kept pacifism-bombing him, but wait! It turned out the natives being invaded were actually sublimated energy beings that were above being harmed by the barbarians anyhow. There wasn't a red-blooded American Trek watcher that wasn't on Kirk's side! What was wrong with these people? Well; they weren't human. Thus endeth the lesson.
So you won't call me names or accuse me of spreading Putin propaganda as you did on your radio program, perhaps you should refer to something more nuanced that puts Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the dangers posed by Biden's excuse for foreign policy in proper perspective. And no Thom, I'm not making excuses for Putin and so you and your minions won't call me names I will call his invasion of Ukraine criminal: https://truthout.org/articles/bidens-national-security-strategy-is-a-defense-of-us-domination-not-democracy/
I have been a life-long pacifist, but I am wondering if our democratic structures have been so damaged by what Thom so aptly calls the "corrupt Supreme Court" that, in the end, the defense of democracy might require more than GOTV campaigns. Throughout our history, Democracy has had to be defended by those willing to take up arms. Diplomacy and "reaching across the aisle" were clearly not the needed response when the Confederacy attacked the United States. We may need to do more than issue sanctions and resolutions, in the end, to stop the likes of Putin and Xi, and Orban, and their army of supporters here in this country. Just sayin'.
Oye. "Ukrainian resistance is a model." A model of war being the way to settle disputes. Argue for your limitations and you know what. But what a pickle the world is in. Nobody knows what to do as an alternative, but I urge you to not schill for war. "We don't do war" could be a starting point. What then? We don't know the answer, but at the cost of the salvation of humanity we ought to be looking for it.
So, the salvation of humanity is Ukraine under the tyranny of Putin, Taiwan under the thumb of China, and Yemen devastated by SA? All three of which populations will be treated as resistance scum by their conquerors? And there's some kind of honor to the rest of us to just stand by? You make me sick.