Strictly speaking. It’s not necessary for the People to prosecute the Swamp. It is however necessary for the Republic. At least as we understand it. To survive.
This whole song and dance has been about leaving enough of a Federal Government behind to start earning back the faith and loyalty to National institutions of the people.
Anything else. You risk creating the conditions for the country to Balkanize. Part of the reason the Constitution was created. The Government of established under the Articles of Confederation. Lost the people’s faith and loyalty in short order. And was barely by the skin of its teeth able to stop the States from going to War with each other over territorial feuds. We needed something stronger to keep the country together.
The United States doesn’t have the storied history’s of Kings and Queens of Europe. No Millenia long shared history. Not even a shared universal national culture.
We’re stitched together from dozens of different cultures and peoples and speaking dozens of different languages. With Thousands of different ideas on how things should work.
Much of the National History we do have today is to one degree or another a carefully constructed and curated work. Originally started by the Founding Fathers. As much Myth and Fabrication as it is Truth. Glossing over our failures. Highlighting our triumphs and unity. Done quite deliberately to promote unity.
Somewhat ironically. The only thing keeping this country together is the Constitution and the National Institutions created by the Government which is supposed to be given Authority to Govern by the self same Document.
We’re as much an experiment in the limits of Humans to Unify and the capacity of the Enlightenment Values to function in the real world as we are a Nation State. One that’s in no small amount of Danger. Even with people controlling the situation behind the scenes.
Given Republics and Classical Liberal values are declining in popularity among the population, because the past century+ of corruption and incompetence has done little to help endear the concepts to the world’s population at large to any meaningful degree. That and at least from appearances sake the foremost example of those ideas when applied to the real world seems to be the source of a not insignificant amount of the worlds suffering.
The fact it’s a Tyrannical Oligarchy wearing a Republic as a skin suit is a finer point that maybe lost on the people who’ve been on the receiving end of its “Assistance”.
So Basically either SA completes in journey to failed state. Or manages to barely pull out of the tailspin at the last moment.
Set up to tell us this current crop of the Elite gets its kicks outta eating people?
I mean Banana Republics are bad for Business. When they aren’t serving the interests of those Businesses.
Quite a bit of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was Corporations and Businesses funding the overthrow of various Governments and installing Dictators and Banana Republics who would let them operate often at the expense of the locals. And it was typically fruit companies doing it at least initially. Which is where the term “Banana Republic” spawned from. Hell that’s how Hawaii was added to the bloody flag.
And in the mid-twentieth century the U.S and Soviets were funding coups left-right and center and installing yet more Banana Republics and Dictators who ultimately took their orders from Washington or Moscow instead of a Corporate Headquarters.
Businessmen and Corporations in conjunction with National Governments have still been pulling similar operations in Africa as early as the 2000s.
Fundamentally the World of Big Business and Big Financial Investment is usually fairly hostile to people with morals. In fact sociopathic or psychopathic traits are generally considered a marker for the wild financial success most of Americas .5-1% Top earners enjoy. It’s not impossible to be a moral person or a good person and reach such lofty heights.
But you will have a far harder time then someone who wouldn’t have any qualms about say. Screwing over their employees. Or deliberately cutting corners and using toxic chemicals to squeeze another couple percentage points onto an earnings report. Or communing with a Cabal of the like minded to ensure your continued rule…..
Which comes to another problem. Most Human societies are fundamentally aristocracies in practice. Stripping away Republicanism and Democratic Principles. We’ve garbed them in. Those with financial means generally are directly or indirectly producing the majorly successful Business leaders, Political Leaders, and the Bureaucracy that runs society. As they are the people who can afford to run political campaigns, or fund other’s campaigns. They can afford better REAL education and Tutors then the average person. Not the crap that passes for public education. Which was created to largely ensure a steady supply of servile factory workers capable of running a factory during the period of industrialization. But not much else. Which is also Part of why Bells are used. To condition people to respond to a “Shift Change” Bell in a factory.
Hell. “The Customer is always right” ethos. That so characterizes modern retail business Stems from NY Department stores catering to the Wealthy. Who could never be told they’re treating the low wage staff badly. Much to the dismay of many Modern retail workers who need to suffer through the abuse of people who are pretending they’re in the 1%.
There used to be other legs of the “Elite” from which we could draw leaders. That being the Religious Class and the ‘Nobility’ or blue bloods as it were.
But we largely got rid of them centuries ago. In fact predating the official falls of monarchy and rise of Democracy and Republicanism. It’s no coincidence so many Noble Houses were annihilated root and stem in the Wars and Feuds of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. And so many Monasteries, Religious Leaders, Religious Sects, Churches, and Religious Institutions were put to the Sword and Torch.
And the current Corporate and Economic Culture. From which people earn their ‘means’ now. Well for the most part it incentivizes the promotion of traits in the extremely successful Elite Class and the wannabe “Elites” the successful use as puppets, you absolutely do not want in people in leadership. Sociopathic and Psychopathic traits, greed, delusions of grandeur, narcissism etc.
Fun fact. Mount Rushmore. Like most National American Monuments has never been finished. At least when you compare it to it’s Original Concept Models.
People keep treating an appeal as if it’s guaranteed to overturn it. Some of the same people were swearing up and down the court would throw Braggs case out every other week during the trial.
Should really stop pretending any of the people prosecuting give a shit about the law and Legal Precedent. Or that an appeals court in the same bloody state will either. Hell the Supreme Court isn’t necessarily a guarantee either. They may refuse to hear it for whatever reason. And the precedent has been established for States and the Government to ignore Legal Decisions they don’t like. Albeit to much social unrest. But irrespective they can and have.
The Judiciary can’t do shit if the executive or Legislative isn’t willing to supply the Men and Guns necessary to enforce their decisions.
As the Supreme Court has found out already. The Apocryphal Jackson quote “John Marshall has made his decision. Now let him enforce it” springs to mind.
Unlike Trump. The Romans didn’t actually want to kill Jesus. He hadn’t broken their laws. Yet. The Roman Garrison and Governor however were threatened by the Pharisees with a Rebellion they would organize if Jesus was not crucified.
Which would have killed 10s of Thousands. Potentially Hundreds of Thousands. Both in Battle and the ensuing Roman crackdowns.
Three separate Rebellions later in the 1st Century roughly grouped together under the term Roman-Jewish Wars between 66-135CE are believed to have killed between 400,000-1.4 Million according to some period estimates And outright destroyed 1 Legion in its entirety in heavy fighting. And left 3 others badly mauled. With at least 1 of the 3 having lost its Eagle.
A little perspective on the potential Devastation that the Pharisees could have willingly unleashed on the region in their hatred of 1 man. It really takes some skill, and being absolutely horrendous people, to leave the Roman Empire looking like the good guys caught between 2 shitty choices.
That likely wouldn’t have happened a few years ago.
50/50 odds the Appeals Court will refuse to even hear the case. It is New York after all.
Honest opinion. We’re seeing the flaws of Classical Liberalism and Republicanism laid bare. Those two ideologies have largely defined Western Life and Western Political Thought for the past few centuries. And now their flaws are being laid bare. In a way that can’t be sidelined or ignored as we’ve been want to do in the past. People have endlessly reflected on and highlighted the flaws or perceived flaws of the multitude of other isms and ideologies. Over the worlds many centuries.
But for the most part serious mainstream reflection on these two has been studiously avoided by society at large.
One of the few things groups on both sides of the American political spectrum can agree on. Is hating the Government. Arguably it’s one of the most American things there is.
Fed Boi is banking on the various political factions hatred of each other outweighing their hatred of the asshats in Washington. While it maybe a logical assumption to make. Especially given the past few years of political rhetoric. It however is not a guarantee.
PETAs quite literal intended goal is the abolition of even the concept of Pets and Livestock.
Most of their stupidity makes perfect sense when view from that angle. They don’t actually give a rats ass about the Welfare of Pets, Livestock, or really Animals in general for that matter.
The organization is fundamentally Anti-Animal and Anti-Human.
Indeed. Abraham was promised Descendants as numerous as the stars in the heavens and sands on the shores. And that promise was reiterated to Issac. With the promise all the lands would belong to them and great nations would be forged from their descendants.
Most take that to mean. Earth would belong to the descendants of Abraham. But one could just as easily take it as a promise that the stars in the heavens would also belong to them and one day feel the tread of human feet.
Zuckerbot Pulling illicit activities with user data? I am shocked. Shocked! Well not that shocked
True enough point there.
I’m becoming more and more certain. This whole thing will end up with Canada being annexed by the U.S.
I’m told it’ll be practically raining men. For those so inclined
“All I wanted was bread for a Sandwich. And somehow I ended up here.”-That Dude.
Personally I’ve never thought that. I’ve seen far too much organic stupidity to believe Natural Selection ended for people.
The longer things go on. The more I understand how and why “Elites” of varying status and backgrounds always seem to manage to obtain power. Regardless of the system in place. And legislation meant to keep them out.
And why many thinkers and philosophers. Never seriously entertained the masses actually ever having a say in Government was a viable way of governing anything.
Even initially the U.S was set up to be a Republic for more or less an Elite class. Typically that was the Wealthy. Though a few exceptionally talented people who weren’t exceptionally wealthy, at least initially cropped up periodically.The Number of people who could vote and hold Office was a fraction of the overall population. And the number of people who actually had the resources and wealth to campaign for state and federal office was a fraction of that fraction.
Printing Presses and Newspapers were almost universally owned directly or indirectly by the Wealthy or the Political Parties. With few exceptions. Meaning the Colonial Elite class had a surprisingly tight grip on what was published period let alone published as news. So while technically they had freedom of the Press it certainly wasn’t an independent press.
The General Public was kept sedate with the novel concept of “Inalienable Rights”. And the portion of the population that could read. Let alone the ones who could vote was told how and what to think by one of the assorted various newspapers or publishers they most agreed with. Meanwhile the Colonial Elite were free to actually do the Governing.
Somewhat ironically it was essentially the much maligned Aristocracies of Europe. Just with a few extra steps, a Republican Veneer, and the peasantry given a few freedoms they didn’t have elsewhere to keep them happy. When they for all intents and purposes didn’t actually have much if any say in what the Government was actually doing.
It was only a few decades and several expansions of the franchise later. You saw the whims of the public at large start having some affect on the Governments direction.
I can think of quite a few people that would piss off on both sides of the political spectrum.
When the Constitution was penned. And the Government and it’s associated checks and balances initially laid out. Only a fraction of the population could vote. And only an even smaller proportion of that. Had the resources to run for state or Federal Elections. That and there wasn’t lawyers under every bloody rock like there is now. Given the crop of people who could stand for office was small. And ran in similar circles. There was just as much social and professional consequences to keep a Judge in check as there was legal repercussions should any malfeasance be found out. Or particularly unpopular rulings be made.
Not to mention Congress, the States, and President have the option to ignore a court’s ruling as has been several times. Though to much social upheaval.
But to answer you question. Let’s pose a Hypothetical Scenario. Let’s say a Judge is hearing a case. And it comes out there’s a potential conflict of interest.
Let’s say an Anonymous Hypothetical committee of other Judges. Let’s say 5. Is appointed by a Legislator with appropriate authority to decide if the potential conflict of interest of is sufficient enough to affect the Judges ruling on the case.
They must rule at a 60% majority. 3/5 either way. Whether the judge must be removed and a new one appointed. Or whether he’s clear to proceed with the case.
Not an ideal check. But it’s something more than exists now. Though you run into the same issue. As the same concerns can be had of whoever is placed in charge of appointing these committees.
Somewhat ironically. To fix the culture. You’ll run smack dab into Americans obsession with Liberty, Freedom, Materialism and the “Free Market”.
Also the well known rather cynical observations of many leaders over the years. About the average voters sheer stupidity and self-destructive tendencies.
At this point. Yeah the FBI should be disbanded. And if any agency replaces it. It’s primary duty should be assisting State,Local, and territorial Law Enforcement in coordinating strategies with each other and functioning as a go between for all the Agencies and providing services Smaller Agencies and Rural Departments may not necessarily be able to afford or do on their own. Like Forensics and CSI.
No launching it’s own investigations and task forces. There’s enough other Federal Law Enforcement Agencies that could easily do or preform investigative duties previously handled by the FBI.
Could have potentially meant they found the vehicle with the body in it on the side of the road.
But they are Journalists. So they might just be stupid
Not Voting and Dem Voting Trump are the leaders so far.