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========== Was H Rap Brown being historic or prophetic when he made headlines in the 1960's? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Rap_Brown Historic AND prophetic, it turned out - looking back to Judge Lynch of the American Revolution - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lynch_(judge) and forward to the Capitol Insurrection of Jan 6, not to mention the sad and violent trajectory of Brown's personal life after his 15 minutes of fame were over. == One of the inducements offered by rich white planters to poor whites to get the poor whites to protect the rich whites, was to offer unlimited violent recreation against black people. It was a matter of LAW that it was not possible for a slaveowner to commit a crime against a slave - https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/thomas-ruffin-1787-1870/ and a matter of CUSTOM that no white people were prosecuted or convicted for crimes against black people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_discrimination_in_jury_selection#History And since the KKK terrorized white people as well as black people, and sheriffs running for election had to be careful not to annoy any powerful clans, it was inevitable that only an external intervention by the Federal government could break the back of segregation and all its ills. That was due to an unusual coincidence of JFK, MLK, and LBJ that made it possible to enact the civil rights and voting rights acts of the 1960's against the KKK and their enablers. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/1619/lomax.html The Dixiecrats have been trying to undo that legacy ever since, and with a reactionary Supreme Court, they eventually will. It's obvious that the Trumpists will never alienate their base by enacting voting rights or civil rights for anybody else. The only solution might be regional federalism https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-regional.html so the minority can live and pay their way and the majority can live and pay its way. == About political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Rap_Brown ===== impact 29 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-12-07 ratio 62 react 1 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 title Was H Rap Brown being historic or prophetic when he made topic theory wordrate 0 words 287 epoch Lifetime ID 1821704451507399 impress 72 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "12/07/2022 18:12" rcs 2 reach 62 reactions 1 sharesimpress 1 title "H. Rap Brown - Wikipedia" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1821704451507399 ========== Job's Friends - preachers of the oldest religion on earth! Job's own final theology is difficult and has had only limited uptake over millenia - especially among poor people who realize why the rich and powerful are always preaching it. But no matter what their nominal creed, the rich and powerful of all times and places mostly embrace the theology of Job's friends because it's so convenient for them - God is good and rewards good people and punishes bad people. THEREFORE if I am rich and powerful and you are poor and weak, it is because you are a bad person punished by God. FURTHERMORE it would be counter to God's will for me to help you, so I shouldn't and won't. Of course, bad things happen to good people all the time - some due to bad luck in an unpredictable universe, but often due to acts of free will by other people. God gave man reason and free will - made him a little lower than the angels. But will is not free unless it is free to choose to do good or evil. And many people choose evil, some knowingly, some not. Either way, it's not God's will - it's theirs. But the rich and powerful would rather that the poor and weak not reflect on that. So they invented a divine right of kings, which by extension applies to all the rich and powerful - it's God's will! - to choose leaders for the people who will carry out God's will for the people, for the benefit of the people. Of course the briefest examination of history shows that kings and dictators choose themselves by exercise of their own free will, often by killing their rivals, to carry out their own will, for their own benefit. So Constantine, Hitler, Stalin, and Putin found church leaders who would - by their own free will - endorse them as God's choice - in return for advantages - often an exclusive franchise enforced by the state. So religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions - but only for the people at the bottom, never the people at the top. Socialism for the rich, free enterprise for the poor! And in our present day, tax enforcement for the poor, tax avoidance for the rich. It's God's will! https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/23/politics/rick-scott-rescue-america-plan-gop/index.html https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/t_share/MTc2NDU4MDc5MDU4NjY2NzA5/unveiling-the-hidden-truth-of-the-book-of-job.jpg == More about political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory ===== comments 19 impact 24562 impactrate 2 negative 0 posted 2022-10-30 ratio 9 react 602 reactrate 0 shares 15 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 568 title Job's Friends - preachers of the oldest religion on earth! topic theory wordrate 0 words 408 audclicks 568 commentsimpress 19 epoch Lifetime ID 1792247641119747 impress 8182 matchedlinkclicks 128 matchedotherclicks 440 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/30/2022 22:10" rcs 83 reach 5565 reactions 49 sharesimpress 15 title "ages.saymedia-content.c" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1792247641119747 ========== What's different about dictators and mass shooters? For everybody, thrice a day meals must be eaten and digested: thrice a century a new generation must be engendered https://www.bartleby.com/157/3.html But animals have the same needs. What distinguishes humans? death above all, make them slaves of reality Consciousness of death has led men to seek immortality of some kind. Most women have the option of bearing children. So it's no coincidence that mass killers of strangers are almost always men, whether emperors or lone wolves. Although most spiritual traditions emphasize humility and disregard for worldly success, the desire for immortality seems - immortal. Roman emperors announced that they were immortal gods - and then died like everybody else. How many can you name? What's worse than being dead? Being forgotten! == So from time immemorial, dictators have ignored the uncertain immortality offered by religion - which many such leaders profess to defend, perhaps for political reasons - in favor of striving to avoid the fate of Ozymandias - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozymandias Most strove, and strive, and will strive, in vain. Putin is the latest to launch perhaps endless wars, perhaps nuclear, in hopes of being remembered as long as Stalin, Hitler, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, or Alexander. Who cares how many nameless losers perish in terrible mortality, if the leader gains immortality. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-rues-soviet-collapse-demise-historical-russia-2021-12-12/ == And now we have our secular culture that embraces celebrity in all forms - from sports and entertainment stars to social media influencers to presidents. No wonder some of the losers in the fame and fortune game pick up guns to set things straight. it's better than being forgotten! https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/opinion/mass-shooters-motive.html It's not insanity. The insanity is the celebrity culture that breeds them. If you can't get at least the immortality of Ozymandias, maybe you can get on the front page and cable news for a day or two! More if you set a new world record for single-handed civilian slaughter. And thus the highest of the high and the lowest of the low meet and sometimes collide in their quests for unachievable immortality. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Bremer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins_(musical) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavrilo_Princip https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Lucheni == More on political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/07/opinion/mass-shooters-motive.html ===== comments 40 impact 64032 impactrate 4 negative 0 posted 2022-10-30 ratio 3 react 1856 reactrate 0 shares 9 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1807 title What's different about dictators and mass shooters? topic theory wordrate 0 words 345 audclicks 1807 commentsimpress 40 epoch Lifetime ID 1792223161122195 impress 12543 matchedlinkclicks 723 matchedotherclicks 1084 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/30/2022 22:10" rcs 73 reach 7198 reactions 24 sharesimpress 9 title "Opinion | Why Mass Shooters Do the Evil They Do" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1792223161122195 ========== Was H Rap Brown being historic or prophetic when he made headlines? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Rap_Brown violence is as American as cherry pie Historic AND prophetic, it turned out - looking back to Judge Lynch of the American Revolution - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lynch_(judge) and forward to the Capitol Insurrection of Jan 6, not to mention the sad and violent trajectory of Brown's personal life after his 15 minutes of fame were over. == One of the inducements offered by rich white planters to poor whites to get the poor whites to protect the rich whites, was to offer unlimited violent recreation against black people. It was a matter of LAW that it was not possible for a slaveowner to commit a crime against a slave - https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/thomas-ruffin-1787-1870/ and a matter of CUSTOM that no white people were prosecuted or convicted for crimes against black people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_discrimination_in_jury_selection#History And since the KKK terrorized white people as well as black people, and sheriffs running for election had to be careful not to annoy any powerful clans, it was inevitable that only an external intervention by the Federal government could break the back of segregation and all its ills. That was due to an unusual coincidence of JFK, MLK, and LBJ that made it possible to enact the civil rights and voting rights acts of the 1960's against the KKK and their enablers. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/1619/lomax.html The Dixiecrats have been trying to undo that legacy ever since, and with a reactionary Supreme Court, they eventually will. It's obvious that the Trumpists will never alienate their base by enacting voting rights or civil rights for anybody else. The only solution might be regional federalism https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-regional.html so the minority can live and pay their way and the majority can live and pay its way. == More about political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Rap_Brown ===== impact 22513 impactrate 1 negative 0 posted 2022-10-30 ratio 0 react 771 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 769 title Was H Rap Brown being historic or prophetic when he made topic theory wordrate 0 words 292 audclicks 769 epoch Lifetime ID 1792196294458215 impress 286 matchedlinkclicks 739 matchedotherclicks 30 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/30/2022 21:10" rcs 10 reach 244 reactions 8 sharesimpress 2 title "H. Rap Brown - Wikipedia" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1792196294458215 ========== soldiers be content with your wages When John the Baptist offered that advice, was he speaking about economic inequality in the Roman Empire? Probably not. He might have been referring to the always implicit, sometimes explicit motivation for military service - in most times and places - freedom to murder, rape, pillage, and burn. We can read about it in Homer, hear about it in Verdi's Il Trovatore https://www.opera-arias.com/verdi/il-trovatore/libretto/english/ see about it in Two Women https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Women based on history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marocchinate and it's disputed whether French Marshal Juin promised to look the other way - For fifty hours you will be the absolute masters of what you will find beyond the enemy. Nobody will punish you for what you will do, nobody will ask you about what you will get up to. - if the Moroccans were successful on Monte Cassino - as they were, climbing rocky mountains in the dark and dispatching German sentries with knifes rather than guns, for stealth. == And today, it's part of the unspoken premise of the Wagner Group - from Africa to Ukraine. https://nypost.com/2022/02/24/wagner-group-private-mercenaries-fighting-in-ukraine/ So 2000 years later, soldiers are not content with their wages, and expect their historic fringe benefits to continue. == And it's not just far away. One of the inducements offered by rich white planters to poor whites to protect them, was to offer unlimited violent recreation against black people. It was a matter of LAW that it was not possible for a slaveowner to commit a crime against a slave, https://northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/thomas-ruffin-1787-1870/ and a matter of CUSTOM that no white people were prosecuted or convicted for crimes against black people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_discrimination_in_jury_selection#History == More about political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marocchinate ===== impact 5658 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-10-30 ratio 1 react 208 reactrate 0 shares 3 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 205 title soldiers be content with your wages topic theory wordrate 0 words 272 audclicks 205 epoch Lifetime ID 1792183051126206 impress 304 matchedlinkclicks 188 matchedotherclicks 17 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/30/2022 20:10" rcs 8 reach 212 reactions 5 sharesimpress 3 title "Marocchinate - Wikipedia" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1792183051126206 ========== Bush won by 359 votes in 2000, Trump by 78000 votes in 2016, Biden by 43000 votes in 2020. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-election.html Such big change resting on such small shifts is not healthy for democracy.” https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/10/politics-stress-swing-states-elections/671729/ The knife-edge instability of our political system - based on an equal number of solid red and solid blue states and districts, plus a tiny number of closely contestable states and districts - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-tossups.html has proven to be an irresistible temptation to do anything to win, from the Brooks Brothers Riot - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks_Brothers_riot to the Jan 6 insurrection - https://news.yahoo.com/watch-live-jan-6-hearing-house-select-committee-trump-capitol-riot-140037781.html Interestingly, dirty-trickster Roger Stone was involved in both affairs. He pled the Fifth. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10322177/Pardoned-Trump-ally-Roger-Stone-pleads-fifth-January-6-committee.html == More about political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/10/politics-stress-swing-states-elections/671729/i ===== comments 16 impact 4197 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-10-28 ratio 1 react 385 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 367 title Bush won by 359 votes in 2000, Trump by 78000 votes in topic theory wordrate 0 words 109 audclicks 367 commentsimpress 16 epoch Lifetime ID 1790517421292769 impress 766 matchedlinkclicks 268 matchedotherclicks 99 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/28/2022 16:10" rcs 18 reach 479 sharesimpress 2 title "Why Politics Has Become So Stressful" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1790517421292769 ========== The desire for a hereditary nobility, like that of the Cavaliers who brought their medieval culture to America, especially in the South, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion%27s_Seed has been an issue in America from the beginning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_the_Cincinnati#Membership_rules https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/was-george-washington-really-offered-king-us.htm The opposing desire to elevate earned merit, rather than inherited wealth or lineage, is just as old. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry#North_America Nowadays the GOP cleverly arouses its voters against an imagined liberal elite, that somehow secretly controls every aspect of government, education, culture, and media, while defending its megadonors' real wealth and power, whether earned or inherited, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/top-election-donors-2022/ by such means as nominally progressive taxation which is actually regressive in practice - how much do YOU know about carried interest or pass-through deduction? Your senator knows - educated by his major donors if necessary! Accompanied by intense opposition to enabling the IRS to audit wealthy GOP megadonors https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-congress-business-government-and-politics-0f645387cac1ebbe1551f95524cf3ce1 And equally intense opposition to estate and wealth taxes on those same megadonors. https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/gop-lawmakers-push-to-permanently-eliminate-estate-tax They used to be quiet about it - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-credos.html#gop but no more! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/27/republican-midterm-debates-abortion-trump/ == Inherited wealth inequality was just as hot an issue for Sam and John Adams! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/26/john-samuel-adams-thomas-hutchinson-elites/ And for the same reasons. == More on political scrapbook at https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory ===== impact 4950 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-10-27 ratio 3 react 269 reactrate 0 shares 2 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 267 title The desire for a hereditary nobility, like that of the topic theory wordrate 0 words 184 audclicks 267 epoch Lifetime ID 1789546461389865 impress 1126 matchedlinkclicks 196 matchedotherclicks 71 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/27/2022 12:10" rcs 11 reach 820 reactions 9 sharesimpress 2 title "Opinion | America’s allergy to aristocracy goes back to John and Samuel Adams" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1789546461389865 ========== Why did George Washington wear an apron to lay the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in 1793? When we ask What's wrong with Trump and Trumpists and Trumpism? - it's not just high crimes and misdemeanors against the Constitution, or violent insurrection against the Capitol where Washington laid the cornerstone, but also mortal sins betraying the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-enlightenment.html #PS1theory ===== comments 94 impact 10074 impactrate 1 negative 0 posted 2022-10-13 ratio 5 react 1599 reactrate 0 shares 30 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1475 title Why did George Washington wear an apron to lay the topic theory wordrate 0 words 63 audclicks 1475 commentsimpress 94 epoch Lifetime ID 1778029015874943 impress 12524 matchedlinkclicks 413 matchedotherclicks 1062 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/13/2022 17:10" rcs 200 reach 8044 reactions 76 sharesimpress 30 title "Enlightenment Ideals of America's Founders" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1778029015874943 ========== How did rich Southern slaveowners get poor whites to fight for slavery, against their own interests? The same way that GOP megadonors and politicians get poor whites to vote for benefits to billionaires, against their own interests. It's a matter of making elections SEEM to be about culture war issues that the voters have gotten excited about, thanks to years of megadonor funded propaganda - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-credos.html#gop when the elections are really about preserving and increasing the power of the megadonor class. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-minority.html Thus Trump started out campaigning for a fairly radical change in income tax to benefit the middle class, but quickly lost interest and happily signed off on billionaire tax relief delivered by Mitch McConnell, then bragged about it at Mar-a-Lago - https://www.one-flat-tax.net/ ===== Only 27 percent of registered voters identify as liberal. But 62 percent of Americans want to raise taxes on millionaires. An even greater number — 71 percent — approve of labor unions. And 83 percent support raising the federal minimum wage. Those are very liberal Democratic objectives, overwhelmingly popular with most Republican voters - but the GOP megadonors say no, so the GOP politicians piously talk about the burden of the federal deficit, even while adding to it with job creator billionaire tax relief. And so they have to find something else to distract the voters. ===== Frederick Douglass understood all this 150 years ago. Barack Obama came to the same conclusions 30 years ago and worked out a plan that might address it. It involves seeking racial justice as a byproduct of economic justice for everybody. Thus rather than reparations for black people, which is a non-starter in a majority white country, a guaranteed annual income for everybody, such as https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-ubi.html Obama realized that counting on judges to deliver policy victories was a poor substitute for a political realignment and we see now what a dead-end that is. Many Trump voters in 2016 had voted for Obama in 2012. They're still feeling left out. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/trump.html#First%20Trump%20Constituency Eventually the GOP might elect another unlucky Herbert Hoover whose bad luck with the world economy might drive blue-collar workers back to the Democrats. Obama was hopeful that the Democrats can get their act together without waiting that long. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/07/opinion/obama-lost-book-manuscript.html Democrats exist because the country belongs to all of us, not just the 1 percent. With this guiding principle in mind, everything else becomes easier — picking fights that focus the media spotlight on a game that’s rigged in favor of the rich; calling the bluff of right-wing populists who can’t stomach a capital-gains-tax hike; corralling activists in support of the needs of working people; and, ultimately, putting power back in the hands of ordinary Americans. == More about political scrapbook at https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory ===== comments 133 impact 219834 impactrate 13 negative 0 posted 2022-10-07 ratio 2 react 4907 reactrate 0 shares 59 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 4715 title How did rich Southern slaveowners get poor whites to fight topic theory wordrate 0 words 448 audclicks 4715 commentsimpress 133 epoch Lifetime ID 1772901026387742 impress 18702 matchedlinkclicks 1185 matchedotherclicks 3530 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "10/07/2022 15:10" rcs 316 reach 13477 reactions 124 sharesimpress 59 title "Opinion | A Lost Manuscript Shows the Fire Barack Obama Couldn’t Reveal on the Campaign Trail" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1772901026387742 ========== How does the devil corrupt politicians? It's easy - just whisper in their ears I know that this is really important but there’s a thing I care about more, and if I am not in office … I won’t be able to do that thing I care about more. And so step by step, compromise by compromise, the idealism that motivated a person to go into politics to do good, becomes a motivation to stay in office by any means necessary. Henry Clay said I'd would rather be right than be president and perhaps he meant it. As the Great Compromiser, he did a lot of good - helped defer the Civil War for 40 years - but had many faults and blind spots. https://politicaldictionary.com/words/id-rather-be-right/ In our day we have Liz Cheney. She has plainspokenly rejected the advice of the devil echoed by most of her GOP colleagues, yet without compromising any of her genuine conservative principles. She's decided she'd rather be right than re-elected. This show of character is so threatening to her GOP colleagues that they can't stop denouncing her, worse than Democrats ever did. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/01/opinion/liz-cheney-trump-jan-6.html One of Clay's successors, Sam Rayburn, was famous for saying if you want to get along, go along. What would he have done today? We know which whispered voice Kevin McCarthy and most of his caucus follow. If they are successful they will achieve historical notoriety for destroying American democracy, forever stained by their embrace of lies and corruption, while Liz Cheney might appear in some future version of Profiles in Courage. The survival of democracy and rule of law depend both on constitutional structures and the characters of individuals who choose whether to support or ignore those structures. More about political scrapbook - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory ===== comments 173 impact 77959 impactrate 4 negative 0 posted 2022-08-01 ratio 2 react 2679 reactrate 0 shares 22 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 2484 title How does the devil corrupt politicians? It's easy - topic theory wordrate 0 words 291 audclicks 2484 commentsimpress 173 epoch Lifetime ID 1722010971476748 impress 11292 matchedlinkclicks 526 matchedotherclicks 1958 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "08/01/2022 20:08" rcs 361 reach 7328 reactions 166 sharesimpress 22 title "Opinion | Liz Cheney Is Prepared to Lose Power, and It Shows" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1722010971476748 ========== “People every week fill the tank. They see these big prices” https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/07/04/will-gas-prices-get-republicans-control-of-the-u-s-house/ People who don't follow politics - or economics - can read the price on the pump and be unhappy and vote the rascals out. The great thing for those on the outside is that they only have to provide a sympathetic ear and a promise to DO SOMETHING. They don't have to have an actual credible solution to a global problem. Of course that will come back to bite them in two years if the problem still isn't solved by unpredictable external world events. All they can do is blame their predecessors and hope for the best. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-07-10 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title “People every week fill the tank. They see these big topic theory wordrate 0 words 109 epoch Lifetime ID 1705831329761379 impress 15 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "07/10/2022 19:07" reach 13 title "Midterm forecast: Gas prices get GOP control of U.S. House" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1705831329761379 ========== How minority rule works - Norquist's tax pledge was a neat way to synchronize the interests of the very rich and the defiant antigovernment streak of the white middle class See Albion's Seed for the influence of the English cavaliers and borderlanders that persists to this day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albion's_Seed Striking back against a distant oppressive government was the way that the rich white southern slaveowners (and their local oppressive government) got the poor whites to fight for slavery. Then they didn't point out that slavery decreased the value of free white labor. Now they don't point out (unless they are Rick Scott) that the whole point of no new taxes (and government shutdowns over budget) is to undo the safety net entitlements - medicaid, obamacare, medicare, social security. So now should Democrats try to harness the outrage over abortion by putting tests to candidates? After all, in 2018 MeToo energy helped propel many Democrats into Congress. But not enough to make enough difference. One way to frame such a test - Do you need to conduct a poll to decide whether there is a constitutional right to privacy? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/opinion/democrats-abortion-midterms.html The radical right is clear that their intent is to undo everything that depends on an imputed right of privacy, including contraception and extramarital sex. And move on to Independent State Legislatures that are gerrymandered to perfect one-party rule - as was the case in the South for a century. And from there to an imperial presidency - for Republican presidents. They have the Supreme Court they need to do all this. And it appears they have the Senate enablers too. Maybe these kinds of tests can help motivate the left wing of the Democrats to vote instead of staying home. Test questions are a way of simplifying complicated issues into a form that casual voters who don't follow politics can grasp. So they are invariably over-simplified. These kinds of tests are designed to make sure that single-issue voters stay excited enough to go and vote. There is seldom any chance that they would go vote for the opposition. One could say that part of the Democrats' problem is that their voters aren't as doggedly single-issue oriented as Republicans' voters. And the single issue that does motivate swing voters the most is - gas prices - a global problem. Which Democrats can't do much about quickly, and neither can Republicans. But educated suburban voters that Democrats target are much more likely to vote Republican if unhappy, whereas unhappy Republicans just stay home. Democrats have to do it the hard way, upholding the rule of law, eschewing outright lies. But to do it the GOP way is to surrender. Then we might as well have just one party. Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer! #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-07-10 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title How minority rule works - topic theory wordrate 0 words 460 epoch Lifetime ID 1705809053096940 impress 20 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "07/10/2022 18:07" reach 15 title "Opinion | Democrats Can Win if They Embrace the Politics of Fear" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1705809053096940 ========== Why America's founders embraced the Enlightenment ideal of separation of church and state. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/05/05/kirill-bartholomew-orthodox-church-putin/ They had their own examples in their day, but today we have the Russian Orthodox Church supporting Russia politically and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church supporting Ukraine politically. When church and state prostitute themselves together, both are degraded. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-05-05 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Why America's founders embraced the Enlightenment ideal topic theory wordrate 0 words 51 epoch Lifetime ID 1657783021232877 impress 14 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "05/05/2022 20:05" reach 14 title "Opinion | Russia’s assault on Ukraine is entwined with a religious war" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1657783021232877 ========== No different from 1860, really - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/theory.html#political%20ideology%20for%20the%20masses In 2019 Trumpists pretended to be outraged by the New York Times suggestion that American history started in 1619. Where had they been? This was old news in reactionary Virginia school textbooks in 1957 and liberal civil rights activist speeches in 1965. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/1619/ Of course, the outraged were not interested in historical accuracy, only in a present-day culture wars wedge issue to indoctrinate the masses. More here - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/about.html #PS1theory =PS1boost https://www.political-scrapbook.net/1619/ ===== comments 2 impact 8003 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-05-03 ratio 8 react 1067 reactrate 0 shares 1 sharesrate 0 sumclicks 1064 title No different from 1860, really - topic theory wordrate 0 words 75 audclicks 1064 commentsimpress 2 epoch Lifetime ID 1656318428046003 impress 16023 matchedlinkclicks 1038 matchedotherclicks 26 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "05/03/2022 21:05" rcs 5 reach 8722 reactions 2 sharesimpress 1 title "1619 - an Eventful Year for America" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1656318428046003 ========== All politics is personal? https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/08/conservatives-liberals-personal-is-political/ It's definitely the case that swing voters in swing states don't follow politics much and usually vote their pocketbooks. That's going to be bad for any party in power during rising inflation, even if it's global. FDR finally had to impose wage and price controls. If the war continues, will Biden? #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-04-08 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title All politics is personal? topic theory wordrate 0 words 56 epoch Lifetime ID 1638448956499617 impress 8 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "04/08/2022 20:04" reach 7 title "Opinion | Liberals forgot the personal is political. But conservatives didn’t." type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1638448956499617 ========== Precepts of Rule of Law that you might hope that anybody who cherishes the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders might embrace - == Epistemology We affirm reason over superstition. There is an objective reality that can be better understood by diligent study and empirical inquiry. Subjective ideas of reality are not equally valid nor equally worthy of study. By definition there is only one set of facts; there are no alternative facts. We affirm consideration of well-earned authority over unthinking deference to received wisdom from self-declared authority. The truth of a person depends on the truth of what he says. The truth of a statement does NOT depend on the identity of the person who said it. We affirm the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders. == Rule of Law We affirm the Rule of Law and reject Cult of Personality. Nobody is above the law and it applies to everybody equally. Voluntary self-restraint is a foundation of liberty. Individual rights only exist in the context of the rights of others. Long-standing precedents from the past should not be overturned without full and careful consideration, and similar consideration should precede new precedents set for the future. We reject any and all political or financial support from racists, Nazis, fascists, communists, rioters, terrorists, insurrectionists, and individuals or organizations advocating or engaging in violence or attempting to overthrow government or change it by unconstitutional means, or knowingly disseminating blatant false propaganda to foment unrest. Established international borders must not be changed except by consent of all parties involved, and never by force or threat. == Essence of America and Americanism We believe that human progress is possible for individuals and institutions, and reject the idea that all governments are corrupt and thus no one is better or worse than another. America is an idea and an ideal, constantly striving toward more perfect realization - rather than a matter of ethnicity, sect, class, or other accident of birth. America honors personal and collective achievement rather than accident of birth. We affirm equal political and economic opportunity for all and reject a hereditary political and economic nobility. Concentration of power is inherently harmful. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition, in government, economy, media, and religion. When church and state lie together, both are corrupted. == Democracy Public service in a large complex society is a full-time job and a solemn responsibility, not an opportunity for self-enrichment. Statutory compensation should suffice, and all other prohibited. It should be as easy as possible for every eligible voter to vote in every election. Every vote in an election counts equally. Election administration must be scrupulously non-partisan and governed by law. Comparisons to Trumpism at Precepts of Rule of Law that you might hope that anybody who cherishes the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders might embrace - == Epistemology We affirm reason over superstition. There is an objective reality that can be better understood by diligent study and empirical inquiry. Subjective ideas of reality are not equally valid nor equally worthy of study. By definition there is only one set of facts; there are no alternative facts. We affirm consideration of well-earned authority over unthinking deference to received wisdom from self-declared authority. The truth of a person depends on the truth of what he says. The truth of a statement does NOT depend on the identity of the person who said it. We affirm the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders. == Rule of Law We affirm the Rule of Law and reject Cult of Personality. Nobody is above the law and it applies to everybody equally. Voluntary self-restraint is a foundation of liberty. Individual rights only exist in the context of the rights of others. Long-standing precedents from the past should not be overturned without full and careful consideration, and similar consideration should precede new precedents set for the future. We reject any and all political or financial support from racists, Nazis, fascists, communists, rioters, terrorists, insurrectionists, and individuals or organizations advocating or engaging in violence or attempting to overthrow government or change it by unconstitutional means, or knowingly disseminating blatant false propaganda to foment unrest. Established international borders must not be changed except by consent of all parties involved, and never by force or threat. == Essence of America and Americanism We believe that human progress is possible for individuals and institutions, and reject the idea that all governments are corrupt and thus no one is better or worse than another. America is an idea and an ideal, constantly striving toward more perfect realization - rather than a matter of ethnicity, sect, class, or other accident of birth. America honors personal and collective achievement rather than accident of birth. We affirm equal political and economic opportunity for all and reject a hereditary political and economic nobility. Concentration of power is inherently harmful. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition, in government, economy, media, and religion. When church and state lie together, both are corrupted. == Democracy Public service in a large complex society is a full-time job and a solemn responsibility, not an opportunity for self-enrichment. Statutory compensation should suffice, and all other prohibited. It should be as easy as possible for every eligible voter to vote in every election. Every vote in an election counts equally. Election administration must be scrupulously non-partisan and governed by law. Comparisons to Trumpism at https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-credos.html America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-03-07 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Precepts of Rule of Law that you might hope that anybody topic theory wordrate 0 words 911 epoch Lifetime ID 1615965958747917 impress 14 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "03/07/2022 20:03" reach 6 title "Political Credos" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1615965958747917 ========== Political credos for Trumpists, traditional GOP, and Rule of Law - https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2022-credos.html #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-03-07 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Political credos for Trumpists, traditional GOP, and Rule topic theory wordrate 0 words 12 epoch Lifetime ID 1615739808770532 impress 5 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "03/07/2022 11:03" reach 5 title "Political Credos" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1615739808770532 ========== we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor - Declaration of Independence That's what patriots do. They're doing it right now in Ukraine, and shaming Europeans into action. Germany, for instance, long shamed for its historic crimes of agression against democracy, has met the moment with a realization that now is its time to champion democracy against agression and support Ukraine in every possible way. But not everybody. It's not what Putinist/Trumpist Dixiecrat personality cultists do. For them, it's grab whatever you can and devil take the hindmost. Other people's lives, other people's fortunes, and other people's honor. Only suckers put their own skin in the game. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-02-27 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes topic theory wordrate 0 words 114 epoch Lifetime ID 1610580615953118 impress 9 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "02/27/2022 22:02" reach 8 title "" type Text URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1610580615953118 ========== Men are qualified for liberty, in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites…men of intemperate minds cannot be free. - Burke Every GOP politician used to be able to quote Burke, but that was before Thurmond, Gingrich, and Trump. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/opinion/spotify-joe-rogan-covid-free-speech.html Self-restraint is a fundamental prerequisite for and basis of liberty. If everybody is free to do whatever they want - eventually most people aren't free to do anything they want. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-02-08 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Men are qualified for liberty, in exact proportion to topic theory wordrate 0 words 76 epoch Lifetime ID 1597421327269047 impress 6 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "02/08/2022 21:02" reach 5 title "Opinion | America 2022: Where Everyone Has Rights and No One Has Responsibilities" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1597421327269047 ========== Epistemological disputes on rural main streets - https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-minnesota-religion-9574b717faebdba81f749a0501a8167b And about Anthony Fauci - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/01/27/fauci-pandemic-threats/ And about the Holocaust - https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/27/opinions/holocaust-remembrance-day-politicization-wilf/index.html But it's a lost cause for a third of the electorate. That third doesn't care about objective external reality, only their internal feelings, and there is a huge media industry built upon monetizing those feelings and legions of self-serving opportunist politicians catering to that third. Historical revisionism doesn't bother any of them at all - they embrace it - just as their spiritual forebears did in Germany in the 1930's. Epistemology is the essential political issue of 2022 and 2024 in America - and indeed worldwide - yet most voters have never heard the word or thought about the issues. How do we know WHAT is true? How do we know what we ourselves CAN determine the truth about? How do we decide WHO to believe? Is it even possible for some sincere assertions to be more true than others? It's a debate well known to ancient Greek philosophers and revived in modern times with the Renaissance, leading to the Enlightenment and ultimately the ideals of America's founders - periodically waxing and waning with civil war, great depression, Obama's election - and now Trumpism - and Putin/Xi/Kim-isms. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-01-27 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title Epistemological disputes on rural main streets - topic theory wordrate 0 words 205 epoch Lifetime ID 1589079098103270 impress 7 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "01/27/2022 07:01" reach 6 title "Opinion: Politicizing the Holocaust dehumanizes us all" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1589079098103270 ========== It's time to realize that the big issue of 2022 and 2024 will not be Republican vs Democrat, or Conservative vs Liberal, but Cult of Personality vs Rule of Law. We already know what the Trumpist Dixiecrat platform will be - https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-no-new-2020-platform-trump-agenda Is it possible to draft a platform of rule-of-law principles that can be endorsed by traditional conservative Republicans as well as Democrats, Libertarians, and Greens? They'll still be wildly different in their other ideologies and legislative agendas, but can they endorse and support some of these ideas? === = We affirm reason over superstition. = There is an objective reality that can be better understood by diligent study and empirical inquiry. Alternative ideas of reality are not equally valid or equally worthy of study. By definition there is only one set of facts; there are no alternative facts. = We affirm consideration of well-earned authority over unthinking deference to received wisdom from self-declared authority. = The truth of a person depends on the truth of what he says. The truth of a statement does NOT depend on the identity of the person who said it. = We affirm the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders. = We affirm the Rule of Law and reject Cult of Personality. = Nobody is above the law and it applies to everybody equally. = We believe that human progress is possible for individuals and institutions, and reject the idea that all governments are corrupt and thus none better than another. = America is an idea and an ideal, constantly striving toward more perfect realization - rather than a matter of ethnicity, sect, class, or other accident of birth. = America honors personal and collective achievement rather than accident of birth. = We reject any and all political or financial support from racists, Nazis, fascists, communists, rioters, terrorists, insurrectionists, and individuals or organizations advocating or engaging in violence or attempting to overthrow government or change it by unconstitutional means, or knowingly disseminating blatant false propaganda to foment unrest. = Voluntary self-restraint is a foundation of liberty. = Individual rights only exist in the context of the rights of others. = Long-standing precedents from the past should not be overturned without full and careful consideration, and similar consideration should precede new precedents set for the future. = Public service is a full-time job and a burden, not an opportunity for self-enrichment. Statutory compensation should suffice, and all other prohibited. = It should be as easy as possible for every eligible voter to vote in every election. = Every vote in an election counts equally. = Election administration must be scrupulously non-partisan and governed by law. = Concentration of political and economic power is inherently harmful. = We affirm equal political and economic opportunity for all and reject a hereditary political and economic nobility. === Is that enough, or too much? Traditional conservatives and libertarians might balk at the last two points. It's an ideological and philosophical platform, not the platform of a political party, though one would hope that the Democrats and Greens would include all of it in their platforms, and the Libertarians and anti-Trumpist traditional conservatives most of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Union_Party_(United_States) If Trumpism can be put into remission, then liberals and conservatives can resume contention as usual over the best practical methods to achieve common higher goals. In contrast, the Trumpist platform consists of one simple point - = We affirm whatever Trump says. But now DeSantis and maybe others are trying to advance a slight modification - = We affirm whatever Trump SHOULD HAVE SAID. #PS1theory ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-01-16 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title It's time to realize that the big issue of 2022 and 2024 topic theory wordrate 0 words 591 epoch Lifetime ID 1581405462203967 impress 11 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "01/16/2022 00:01" reach 8 title "National Union Party (United States) - Wikipedia" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1581405462203967 ========== If you read the words of the men who appear on America's money, you find they all believed in God, but none were Christian nationalists. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/jan-6-christian-nationalism.html Christian nationalists were, however, an important part of the Nazi and Fascist movements, the KKK - and even Putin's party, and the rest of the European countries backsliding toward autocracy. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/1619/lomax.html Now Christian nationalism is one of the places where reactionary voters meet reactionary donors meet reactionary candidates, to plot the overthrow of America's Enlightenment ideals, in order to preserve minority rule. https://www.political-scrapbook.net/2020-minority.html #PS1theory https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/opinion/jan-6-christian-nationalism.html ===== impact 0 impactrate 0 negative 0 posted 2022-01-07 reactrate 0 sharesrate 0 title If you read the words of the men who appear on America's topic theory wordrate 0 words 87 epoch Lifetime ID 1575758812768632 impress 9 pageid 534332363577954 pagename "Political scrapbook" posted "01/07/2022 10:01" reach 5 title "Opinion | Christian Nationalism Is One of Trump’s Most Powerful Weapons" type Link URL https://www.facebook.com/politicalscrapbooknet/posts/1575758812768632