A Double-Dose of Danny

Sorry, liberals, but Nancy Pelosi’s newly announced impeachment inquiry will not end Donald Trump’s presidency prematurely, no matter how badly Democratic voters may want it. Even if he’s found guilty in the House, a Republican-controlled Senate is sure to deny Pelosi the requisite 67 votes needed to remove him from office. Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing, either. After all, evicting Trump would elevate a bonafide Christian fascist to commander in chief in the person of Mike Pence.--DS

A litany of poor presidents.  Impeach everything.

There is a widespread belief that American history is best viewed in a linear context. The United States, the narrative goes, began as a flawed experiment in democracy—replete with slavery and bigotry at the start—but has gradually and consistently improved into a more perfect union, a millenarian nation on its way toward serving as an example for the world, a “city on a hill.” Minorities, according to this notion, may have once been oppressed but have gained equal rights and equal protection under the law; America might have conquered Indian and Mexican land but has long since set aside its imperial ways. As such, both at home and abroad, the U.S., though still imperfect, is a force for good in the world.--DS

Debunking the shining "city on a hill."


TS

Guilty as Charged

Impeachment is as much a political tool as a legal one. If Democrats feel they need the Ukraine story as a legal hook to start the process, that’s one thing — but I hope they won’t forget to make a political case against these much more egregious abuses along the way.

Otherwise they risk sending the message that the worst thing a president can do isn’t to attack the people or the planet, but a fellow elite.--PC

I'm with Peter Certo.   Had Congress a backbone, there is enough to bring the emolument clause of the 25th Amendment into play...


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Our Neighbors to the North

The corporate elite are deeply concerned about the rise of socialist politics, whether my election and reelection as a socialist City Councilmember in Seattle, Bernie’s self-described democratic socialist presidential campaign, or AOC’s election to U.S. Congress. Our victories in Seattle, including our historic $15 minimum wage law and landmark renters rights wins, and the growing national fight for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal, are all completely unacceptable to the ruling class.--KS

Amazon versus the Socialists in Seattle.


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The Weight

My old friend rp sent this my way, so now I'm sharing with y'all.  It's amazing.


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Justice?

Dear Yoko Ono,

Years, years, and years ago, in 1980, a pathetically deranged man murdered the love of your life. You were walking home, into the Manhattan building where you lived, and suddenly this man, seeking the world’s adoration, gunned down your husband, John Lennon. Mark Chapman was given a 20-to-life sentence. After almost four decades, he remains in prison. You want to keep him there for the rest of his life.--SD

A good letter, written with tremendous heart.

Yet, I'm not sure how I would react if some sleaze bag cold bloodily killed my family.  I would like to think that I could see some light, a road to redemption, a change that 40-years might induce in a human being.

I'm against the death penalty, but when we talk about the U.S. justice system we are talking about something few of us really understand.  Prisons are brutal and inhumane, as this letter conveys with clarity.  Should an incarcerated killer--one who has turned docile in advanced years--suffer torture by the state when the intent is clearly vengeance and nothing more?


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The Professor

As we move past the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, it helps to be aware of the changes in U.S. political culture that have transformed this nation over the last two decades. I teach a history class at Lehigh University, “The War on Terrorism in Politics, Media, and Memory,” which is billed as examining the “meaning” of this war, via an exploration of “personal experiences and critical perspectives on the war,” as depicted in official rhetoric, the news media, and popular film.--AD

It's nice to see DiMaggio back on the pages of CP.  If I had money I'd enroll in his history/poli sci classes.  Seems like he's a hella prof.

Yep, that's what we need, more good teachers. Oh, and open tuition.


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On Manson and Didion

What is clear for Didion is that the gruesome violence of the Tate-LaBianca tragedy denoted the end point of the decade, the wages of a strange, unhinged time. Her recounting of the era centers upon the Manson slayings as the grim culmination of all that messy campus activism, dissolute rock musicians, black nationalism and strange new communes popping up like dandelions. In Didion’s telling, “no one was surprised” that five people had been slaughtered in Roman Polanski’s Benedict Canyon mansion—a curious note to strike about a crime that continues to shock to this day.--DO

A good read.


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Clarity

Capitalists seek to maximize profits and reduce the cost of labor. This sums up capitalism at its core. It is defined by these immutable objectives. It is not about democracy. It is not, as has been claimed, about wealth creation for the working class. It has nothing to do with freedom. Those capitalists, especially in corporations, who are not able to increase profits and decrease the cost of labor, through layoffs, cutting wages, destroying unions, offshoring, outsourcing or automating jobs, are replaced. Personal ethics are irrelevant. Capitalists are about acquisition and exploitation.--CH

Chris Hedges is back, refreshed, clear-headed after a long vacation, and ready to rumble on the pages of Truthdig.


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Either/Or

Criticizing the media has become a sensitive issue for many on the left in the age of Trump. With an authoritarian president in office who seeks to discredit the media at every turn and regularly calls the press the “enemy of the people,” being too critical of the journalism business in 2019 can feel a bit like kicking someone when they’re down. Journalists in and beyond the U.S. not only must deal with a hostile president who attacks reporters and publications that don’t offer a steady stream of fawning coverage, but they are also grappling with the fact that their industry is in rapid decline.--CL

This essay makes excellent points about two differing critiques of the U.S. media by the left and right in today's political discourse.

The right regularly labels mainstream news outlets as "liberal," or "socialist," which is absolute  bullshit.

Nudging closer to the truth, the left's critique of big media marks them as capitalist stooges and collaborators.

An interesting read. 


TS