These ten weeks between his election and his inauguration mark the peak, the culmination of Mr. Trump’s actual power. During this time he can hint or insinuate or promise or even announce his appointments of a certain few to positions of higher office. That done, on January 20 (barring any legislative shenanigans on January 6)Continue reading “The Incoming Lame-Duck President”
Tag Archives: Liberty and Union
President Trump and Freedom
Mr. Trump has always promoted the American virtue of Freedom. He almost holds it to be THE great American entitlement. It certainly appeals to his so-called “MAGA” supporters. I phrase it that way because he actually does not limit it to Americans, but encourages others in the world embrace it. Earlier this year, forContinue reading “President Trump and Freedom”
The Long Clasp (Post 15)
Part III THE RESPONSE The Fundamental Conundrum (Thoughts at the Finish of Rob Reiner’s Podcast, “Who Killed JFK?” 1/24/24) As Rob Reiner said towards the end, it is probably less important now to determine with certitude the names of the individuals who fingered the triggers than to consider the larger implications of the facts ofContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 15)”
The Long Clasp (Post 14)
Part III– THE RESPONSE First Principles Newly Named In the previous Post we considered the necessary corollaries to the principal principles of the Constitution. Herein we propose a similar exercise with respect to the newly named purposes of the Constitution as laid out in its Preamble, its Mission Statement. First and foremost, with respect toContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 14)”
The Long Clasp (Post 13)
Part III — THE RESPONSE First Principles and Identity The evidence is in. After sifting several millennia of written reports, experts conclude that human nature in its total expression and manifestation has not changed. And the evidence projects to an irreducibly small number the likelihood that it ever will. The short-handed characterization of the unchangingContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 13)”
The Long Clasp (Post 9)
Part IIThe Threat **THE PEOPLE §§ Slavery and The People Madison was a slave-holder. So was Washington. So was Jefferson. Madison is credited as the chief author of the Constitution. That document does not contain the words slave or slavery anywhere, until the 13th Amendment abolished it after the Civil War. That the author ofContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 9)”
Democratic Republicanism vs. Republican Demockery
The authors of the US Constitution gave detailed account of the purposes and the bases of the governmental structure which they had proposed for adoption by the People of the United States. They did this in a series of 85 essays, later collected as “The Federalist Papers.” Characteristic of their account are these remarks ofContinue reading “Democratic Republicanism vs. Republican Demockery”
The Long Clasp (Post 7)
Part IIThe Threat *UNION §§ The Defect In considering the necessity to throw over utterly the Articles of Confederation as inadequate to sustain the Union, Hamilton, in particular, analyzed nine major defects of that document. The great and radical vice in the construction of the existing Confederation is the principle of LEGISLATION for STATESContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 7)”
The Long Clasp (Post 6)
Part IIThe Threat *UNION § Politics How shall we understand “power”? Without waxing prolix and philosophical, I offer the following thoughts by limiting its use to the everyday world of human beings. “Power” refers to the wherewithal to direct and control desired outcomes. The strength of that power may emanate from the character, the will,Continue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 6)”
The Long Clasp (Post 5)
Part IIThe Threat *UNION USAmerican exceptionalism lies not in the hand of God, nor in its economic/military dominance of the world, nor in the accident that this is my country. Human beings, thoughtful, serious, profoundly capable human beings, two-and-a-half hundred years before our time at a moment of economic and military ebb tide, acted onContinue reading “The Long Clasp (Post 5)”
The Long Clasp 