20 VII 2020: Trump, the torturer John Yoo, and the return of Nazi rule

It has come out that Trump has been consulting John Yoo, the greatest disgrace to the legal profession in the United States. Why was he not disbarred because of his facilitation of torture in the last Bush administration? Why was he allowed to continue teaching law? He should have sought work with ISIS and others who love torture. But Yoo is probably on his way to becoming Trump’s “Roy Cohn.”

There is also a rumor that Trump is looking into ruling the country by decree. Of course that was the power given to Hitler after the Reichstag fire. That was his real start, and of course, he never gave up ruling by decree until he shot himself in his Bunker. And they say that Trump is unlikely to accept his defeat in the coming election, so I suppose he’ll want to go on ruling by decrees from his Bunker.

16 VII 2020: Barr keeping busy

Another convicted murderer was executed today by our Attorney General, Bill Barr, a noted Roman Catholic, at the behest, I’m sure, of that unbending zealot for justice and candidate for re-election, Donald Trump. Apparently, Wesley Purkey was pretty far gone with progressive dementia, schizophrenia, and severe mental illness, nonetheless justice, delayed since Purkey’s sentencing in 2004, had still to be done. 

Olivia Long, the stepmother of the child he killed, is quoted as saying: “It just took way too long, … We just shouldn’t have to wait this long.” But one Kerri Kupec, a spokesperson for the DOJ, concluded “… Purkey has finally faced justice.”

Could anything mitigate the life-destroying grief of the Long Family? What could calm society’s fears and vent its indignation at sociopathic behavior? So I have to ask: What were the Long Family awaiting for sixteen years? What is that “justice” the DOJ says Purkey finally faced? I would guess that the Long Family were waiting for closure, i.e., vengeance for the murder of their daughter, and the DOJ’s “justice” means simply the conclusion of a murder trial that will be satisfactory to the frightened, vindictive, and self-righteous. 

The DOJ and pseudo-christian enthusiasts for the death penalty will quote to us Exodus 21:23-25: “… thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” etc. They will not quote the rescinding of this law in the Sermon on the Mount Mt 5:38-39: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any strikes you on the right cheek ….” or in Romans 12:19: “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

So the capital-punishment crowd choose the Old Law over the New and claim for themselves a divine prerogative. But we must challenge their use of the term “justice.” Human justice is too often the creation of limited minds confused by unrealized fears and of that ancient enemy, the libido dominandi, the desperate craving for dominance over other human beings. So let’s do an experiment and in our discourse substitute “revenge” for “justice.” I predict that we would be amazed at the number of instances in which “revenge” is clearly the correct term to use.

14 VII 2020: Billy “the Hangman” Barr

Finally, finally, Billy Barr has “got his man,” “made his bones,” or whatever gangland expression might apply to judicial murder. Billy and others like him have shown amazing patience. They’ve waited 17 years to execute a federal prisoner. Authoritarians with less self-control would have been unable to endure so long a delay and would by now have hosted any number of semi-official lynchings. But Billy the Hangman and Sheriff Trump have waited patiently, using the delay to build up their supply of lethal injections. And now, at last! The only flaw I can see is that the victim was not electrocuted, for if he were to be electrocuted, Billy and Trump could have thrown the switch from the Oval Office. 

To prolong the execution high, Billy has scheduled two more executions for this week. Off course, Billy and Trump are not the only ones getting off on the prospect of future executions. A very considerable portion of Trump’s base has been longing for a return to the good old days of capital punishment, for in these times of sudden and unpredictable change it’s so comforting to get back to “the way we used to do it.” Trumpists everywhere are rejoicing, so we can be sure that Trump will look for ways to stoke this grassroots enthusiasm. Public executions at a Trump rally would be ideal, but are not feasible because of bogus social distancing. However, executions could be shown on real-time television using the protocols of professional football coverage, and there would be no shortage of Trumpists who would want to do the play-by-play.

11 VII 2020: Long live death??

Fascists took over a celebratory meeting at the University of Salamanca on 12 – X – 1936. A conspicuous presence among them was General Millán Astray, founder of the Spanish Foreign Legion. The General, with his supporters, was shouting the Spanish Legion’s motto: Viva la muerte! i.e., “Long live death!” He was vigorously rebuked by the meeting’s chair, Miguel de Unamuno, Rector of the University. Astray then shouted in reply “Death to intelligence!” (or, in other versions, “Death to traitor intellectuality!”), “Long live death!” 

Trump’s Department of Justice has been given the go-ahead to resume administration of the death penalty, and the Trumpists are salivating at the prospect of killing criminals. A series of executions is sure to boost Trump’s popularity with the barbarians in his base. As for intelligence, it, along with truth, has been under unrelenting attack since Trump’s nomination, an attack that has intensified lately in the Trumpist response to the pandemic, so “Death to intelligence! Death to truth!’

Is it, or is it not a coincidence that the while the Department of Justice is itching to kill criminals Trump is giving a pardon to Roger Stone, his friend and fellow criminal. I find it hard to believe that Trump was motivated solely by friendship. Trump doesn’t do friendship. I think Trump was motivated by a desire to show his dictatorial power, to undo the results of the Mueller investigation, and to ease his nervousness at seeing someone like himself go to prison just for lying. People for whom lying is their way of life are, of course, appalled at the injustice of punishing someone for lying under oath, so “Death to truth!”

10 VII 2020: Gee, Tucker, those women are really scary!

I’ve been reading about Tucker Carlson’s attempts to vilify Senator Tammy Duckworth. Carlson is following the now-traditional Trump method, i.e., use only short words to accuse your critics of the very faults of which you are yourself guilty. So in this case, Carlson, who if he doesn’t suffer from bone-spurs, surely could suffer from bone-spurs if needed, has called Sen. Duckworth a coward. That makes me think that cowardice is something he knows a thing or two about. Likewise, Tucker, a comedian who does a prime-time burlesque of political commentary, has called Sen. Duckworth a fraud. Again, that makes me think that this preppy-pseudo-populist-pundit knows a good deal about fraud. Finally, he denounced her as one who “hates America.” Here too he is closely imitating his Leader, for Trump has said that the members of the so-called Squad in the House of Representatives “hate America.” I’m guessing Carlson seized on this particular canard because Sen. Duckworth and members of the Squad share some notable features that are sure to make reactionaries pee in their pants. They are all courageous women, they’ve all been elected to high office, they are all terrifyingly smart, they are all women of color, and are all effective critics of the right-wing fraudsters whose camp-followers tune in to Tucker’s show. They are, for people like Carlson, menace incarnate.

8 VII 2020: Re-run of Massacre of the Innocents?

Donald Trump, the Pig Of The United States, is demanding that schools re-open in the Fall, regardless of the COVID-19 situation. His neglect and stupidity have already contributed to the deaths of many, many Americans, and now he’s ready to sacrifice schoolchildren in his futile attempt to force a diseased population “back to normal.” Makes me think of King Herod who, with plenty of blood on his hands already, organized a massacre of children to make his political position more secure.

4 VII 2020: Taxpayers’ dollars wasted on jet exhaust

The Dept. of Defense has announced that there will be multiple “flyovers” on Independence Day. It is said “Flyovers will travel from Boston to New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore before they ‘join other Department of Defense and heritage aircraft in the Salute to America over our nation’s capital.'” I suppose this is to be an aerial parade to pump up Trump’s deflating ego and distract Americans from their growing remorse for the genocides and slavery upon which its wealth has been founded.

I’d like the answer, also, to some practical questions. How much are these flyovers going to cost? How many flights will have to be re-directed to accommodate this aerial razzle-dazzle? What will be the cost in wear and tear to planes worth multi-millions of dollars each? What is the cost to American morals to celebrate Independence is this way? This bit of aerial arrogance will be a re-run of May Day flyovers in Red Square, a display of brute force from a brutal regime.

1 VII 2020: Rant vs. reason, lies vs. truths

Sen Rand Paul of Tennessee sometimes chews on his feet in public. I watched a news reel of his harangue addressed at Dr. Fauci. Sen Paul is confused about COVID19 and he’s not going to take it anymore. He wants simple answers and he wants them right away. Dr. Fauci confronted Sen Paul’s passion with his usual genial rationality, explained the realities to him, and refused to try to predict the future.

I see that Trump’s younger brother was plucked out of the psychiatric ward to obtain a temporary restraining order to block publication of Mary Trump’s memoir. Of course, Robert Trump is a cat’s-paw for the President. I suppose Donald feels he has over-burdened his personal law firm, the former Justice Department, and decided to let the private sector handle this one. This case shows dramatically how our legal system is riddled with inconsistencies: the law allows Trump to block publication of the truth but cannot keep him from publishing an inexhaustible gush of lies.

29 VI 2020: Miscellanea

I just watched newsreel footage of a couple on Portland Place, one of St. Louis’ ritziest and closely guarded residential areas, waving firearms at demonstrators passing their house. Observations: It is a waste of a beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood to have it inhabited by a couple of rednecks who would be more at home in a double-wide. She kept brandishing a pistol while he cradled an assault rifle, occasionally aiming it at the demonstrators passing by. Waving deadly firearms around in public has somehow become one of the inalienable rights of Americans, even if they are as obviously unhinged as these two. How pathetic! These people are emblematic of American gun culture.

Who knew?!!! So the Russians put a bounty on the lives of U.S. soldiers, and some Afghans have already collected it. Trump denies knowing anything about this crisis of national security. He is trying to shift blame by saying “Nobody ever tells me anything.” But if he really was not informed about this crisis, it would be more accurate to claim “Nobody ever tells me anything that I don’t want to hear.” Another excuse might be “If they told me, I don’t remember, because the deaths of G.I.s in a distant place are a lot less deserving of my attention than plans for campaign rallys.” Or, again, Trump might claim “Putin wouldn’t ever do anything like that. It must be the work of Obama people sent over there to make me look bad.” Trump is wholly egocentric and knows little and cares less about national security.

[ It occurs to me that in the Hitler Rants parodies on youtube Hitler could represent Trump and Obama could be Fegelein. ]

24 VI 2020: Nazification of immigration policy

I have been reading some reactions to the latest white-supremacist effort from the White House. Obersturmbannführer Stefan Miller is taking advantage of the Covid-19 crisis to further restrict immigration, even to the point of barring entry into the U.S. of medical professionals who bring us desperately needed help and of technologists who help to keep us abreast of the latest foreign developments. The pretended excuse for this radical change is the old “Them furreners are gonna come in and take away your jobs!” I don’t know whose jobs would be taken, given that America is woefully short of fine scientists and skilled medical personnel. 

Aged as I am, I need the care of many physicians to keep me going. Now my urologist is an American, as is my cardiologist, but my internist is from Armenia, my nephrologist from Croatia, my psychiatrist from India, and my dermatologist from Pakistan. Where would I be without these physicians?

As we are not turning out enough physicians and nurses, so too are we lacking in well-trained scientists and technologists. Our public education system has collapsed. American students emerge from school ignorant of math and science in comparison to students in other developed countries. We need these foreign scientists and technologists to close the science/technology gap between us and our commercial and military rivals.

The new restrictions are designed to make it virtually impossible to obtain asylum and to obstruct all immigration with unendurable delays. This is simply a sneaky way of trying to end immigration altogether. Miller and his like are mono-maniacal extremists, like the Know Nothings and America Firsters of old. Their legally questionable obstructions and their SS tactics are continuing a shameful reversal of American immigration policy. I look forward to Trump’s resounding defeat and the return of these monsters into the jungles of the Far Right.