Month: September 2022

The Original AUMF

Part 2 —the untaught history of America.

Some think that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) was when the US retaliated for the 9/11 attacks on the US….if you think that then you are wrong….off by 200 years…..

First of all, what is the AUMF?

Basically it is a law from Congress that allows the use of military might against an ‘enemy’……

Now to the very first AUMF.

The year was 1801……

According to the United States Constitution, if a sitting president wants to use the U.S. military against another nation, the office holder must first ask Congress for a specific declaration of war.

The United States has only actually declared war a handful of times. Since its ratification, the Constitutional function of war has only been used against Great Britain in 1812, Mexico in 1846, Spain in 1898, the Triple Alliance powers in World War I and the Axis Powers in World War II. But the U.S. has engaged in more than 102 conflicts since its inception.

The problem with a declaration of war (for Congress) is that a state of war gives the Office of the President incredible power under the Constitution. Instead of doing that, legislators would prefer to give the president limited power using an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF).

It’s the kind of legislation that has allowed presidents since George W. Bush to wage war for the past 20 years. But Authorizations for the use of military force are nothing new, though the names the U.S. government uses for it might be. The first AUMF-style authorization came before the first declared war, skirting the Constitution and allowing President Thomas Jefferson to bring the U.S. Navy to bear against American enemies.

Pirates from the coastal states of North Africa terrorized the Mediterranean Sea for centuries, even while the United States was still a colony of Great Britain. Ships from nations who refused to pay tribute to the Barbary Coast rulers were targeted for attack, their cargoes seized, and the crews sold into slavery.

America’s first authorization for use of military force came in 1801

So you see the AUMF is not something new….presidents have been using it for a couple of centuries….especially for wars that are not needed.

Class Dismissed!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

How Did Student Debt Come To This?

I realize this is not a big story these days, especially with the death of the queen….but I post this because this will happen again….greed will make it so.

Since Biden has come up with the debt forgiveness thing for students struggling with their student debt there has been a swell of opinions in blogs and social media….some say it is about time someone did something about this problem and others that say it could end this country once and for all…..and yes I had a post on the Biden decision on student debt….

Did Students Win?

I also gave the reservations that some hold about this decision….

Reservations On Student Debt

Now that both sides have their day….how about the history of how this all began….

My thought is…..
College tuition is a full-on scam in the U.S. The thing I hate about the current educational system in the United States is that it is designed to put a college student in debt. As of 2022-2023, the average a student can expect to pay for one year’s in-state tuition, school-related expenses, and fees is $25,707 at a four-year state university, and for an out-of-state student it’s $43,421. As of 2022, the maximum amount of Federal Pell Grant money a student can get [per year is only $6895. That leaves the in-state student with $18,812 they have to cover somehow–and that almost always means borrowing the money. As a result, it’s common to see a student graduate college with a bachelor’s degree, and well over $50,000-$60,000 in debt that they’ll have to start paying off about six months after they get out of college. The government knows this, and the lending institutions know this. Students are actively getting screwed by this system.

As usual the Old Professor wants to give the history behind this situation…..

With the vociferous debate over President Joe Biden’s announcement that the federal government will cancel a portion of outstanding student debt, it’s important to understand how Americans came to owe the current cumulative total of more than $1.6 trillion for higher education.

In 1970, Ronald Reagan was running for reelection as governor of California. He had first won in 1966 with confrontational rhetoric toward the University of California public college system and executed confrontational policies when in office. In May 1970, Reagan had shut down all 28 UC and Cal State campuses in the midst of student protests against the Vietnam War and the U.S. bombing of Cambodia. On October 29, less than a week before the election, his education adviser Roger A. Freeman spoke at a press conference to defend him.

Freeman’s remarks were reported the next day in the San Francisco Chronicle under the headline “Professor Sees Peril in Education.” According to the Chronicle article, Freeman said, “We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. … That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow [to go to college].”

“If not,” Freeman continued, “we will have a large number of highly trained and unemployed people.” Freeman also said — taking a highly idiosyncratic perspective on the cause of fascism —“that’s what happened in Germany. I saw it happen.”

https://theintercept.com/2022/08/25/student-loans-debt-reagan/

Could any of this problem have been the doing of the feds?

Until 1965, the cost of college at private and public institutions remained fairly in line with inflation — these were the good old days, when a minimum wage summer job could cover all of one’s annual tuition, and then some. So what happened in 1965? President Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Higher Education Act, which created guaranteed student loans by subsidizing capital for banks that would provide loans to low and middle income students. 

This simultaneously expanded college access, especially for less privileged students seeking to attend private institutions, while keeping loan burdens manageable because private banks still controlled who could receive student loans and for how much. From 1964-77, the tuition at slowly growing private universities grew 11.5% more than inflation, while that at public institutions, it grew 1.6% less than inflation as the government massively expanded public college systems to accommodate an exploding college-age population fueled by the Baby Boom. 

https://www.realclearhistory.com/2022/08/26/credit_feds_for_spiraling_college_costs_850148.html

This is an op-ed but all the hub-bub….

The greed, self interest and racism of US citizens never ceases to amaze and appall me.

President Biden was dragged, against his own wishes, into using his executive authority to cancel a paltry $10.000 in federally insured student college debt for all those former students with current income of less than $125,000, and an extra $10,000 in forgiveness for those former students who had qualified for Pell Grants — a need-based federal scholarship frant limited to students whose families had annual incomes of below the poverty time at the time they were attending college.

Now most Republicans in Congress or running for Congress — an institution known appropriately as a “millionaires’ club” because so many of its elected members either ran for office having millions of dollars in assets or became millionaires in office because of the corruption of the US political system — are opposing this Biden executive order, claiming it will be inflationary, will cost too much, isn’t fair to taxpayers. But perhaps even worse, are many ordinary Americans, most of them upper middle class or wealthier, who are grousing because they paid off their student loans on their own and don’t think their taxes should have to go to fund a cancellation of debt for poorer former students who have not repaid theirs.

How pathetic is that!

Enough With the Unseemly Whining About Student Debt Forgiveness!

A little something to think about (if you have the time)……

Trump had more than $280 million in loans forgiven and failed to pay taxes on most of the money he pocketed.

Why are neoliberals and cultural conservatives opposed to student debt relief? Look no further than the reasons Ronald Reagan ended free-tuition in California’s state university system, when he was governor. Roger Freeman, one of Reagans top advisors in the 60s, who was later to help craft Nixon’s ruinous education policy, spelled it out pretty starkly: “We are in danger of producing an educated proletariate. That’s dynamite! We have to be selective on who we allow to go through higher education. If not, we will have a large number of highly trained and unemployed people.”

Personally when it comes to college I think if a student goes to college in their home state then the first 2 years should be free….

But that is just me.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

12 September–Sabra And Shatila

Forty years ago today a massacre of women and children was committed by the Israeli army and the world just shrugged…..

I have written about this massacre several times….but for those too damn lazy to use the ‘search’….let me remind everyone…..

Forty years ago, during the week of September 12, we were working in a Palestine Red Crescent Society facility, Gaza Hospital, in Sabra Shatila camp in West Beirut. As health care workers, we were trying to heal the wounds and repair the mutilated and destroyed bodies of those injured by Israel’s Invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. We had been working there following the evacuation of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), mediated by US Middle East envoy Philip Habib. Crucial to the evacuation agreement was the protection of the civilians left behind after the evacuation of the PLO, and Israel’s undertaking not to invade and occupy Beirut. With the guarantee of protection by the multinational peace keeping force, thousands of displaced civilian war victims returned to Sabra Shatila to rebuild their homes and lives.

Unknown to these people who returned hoping to pick up and mend their shattered lives, the multinational peace keeping force left West Beirut on 11 September 1982. On the evening of September 14, 1982, we became aware that the President-elect of Lebanon had been assassinated. Around the break of dawn on the following day, we heard planes flying low into Beirut. Within hours, sounds of heavy artillery and machine guns could be heard close by. It continued all day and soon the periphery of the camp was hit relentlessly. We went to an upper floor of the hospital where we watched as flares went off, lighting areas of the camps, followed by gunfire. As hours passed, we hectically received and tended to the thousands of camp residents who fled to us or were brought into the hospital seeking emergency medical care, safety, and security. The hospital ran out of food, water, medication – and blood for the wounded.

Remembering the Sabra Shatila Massacre, Forty Years Later

The world should never forget this atrocity….or the unprovoked attack on the USS Liberty in 1967…..

My one question is….why is Israel allowed to act as they do with disregard for human life?  Why?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Russian Sanctions

At the start of the Ukraine/Russia mash-up the US did what we always do….imposed sanctions.

I have not been a fan of sanctions because I do not believe they are all that effect…… as I wrote in the past…..

Sanctions, What Are They Good For?

I post this because of the news from this weekend….

Russia’s gas giant Gazprom is set to rake in 85% higher revenues this year, to around $100 billion, as natural gas prices surged following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the significant cut to Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe, an analyst told the Financial Times on Friday.

By choking supply to Europe, Gazprom has driven natural gas prices three times higher than last year’s price, which more than offsets the lower volumes Russia is sending to Europe, Ron Smith, an oil and gas analyst at BCS Global Markets, told FT.

“You can make a solid case that Gazprom will earn more from supplying less gas,” according to the analyst.

…

The EU is looking to limit Putin’s revenues from gas, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the Commission would propose a price cap on Russian gas as “We must cut Russia’s revenues which Putin uses to finance this atrocious war against Ukraine.”

Also on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin threatened the West that Russia would stop supplying all energy products to Europe if the EU and its Western allies impose price caps on Russian oil and natural gas.

Several EU member states are opposed to the Commission’s plan on a price cap on Russian gas amid concerns that Putin would retaliate with a complete halt of all pipeline gas deliveries to Europe. 

(oilprice.com)

Sanctions do not always achieve the desired goal…..

If you are interested in more information then I suggest this post on IST…..

Sanctions And Tariffs

Now you know….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Not My Usual Sunday News

All the news that we cannot use for anything other than entertainment……

On the local front…..my A/C crapped out…..but at least for now the weather is mild so it may not be as unbearable as it could be….

There are a wealth of people that are all consumed with the American West….what were the choices for grub of our famous cow pokes?

When you think of cowboy food, what comes to mind? For many of us, it’s a tired and dusty cowhand sitting by the fire with a pot of beans and a cup of coffee. Though beans and coffee were staples of their diet, a cowboy’s daily meals weren’t always as mundane as you might think, especially for anyone who rode with a chuck wagon.

The term “chuck wagon” is a Southern term, according to America Eats (via Montana State University). It was known as the “mess wagon” on the Dakota prairies. The Dutch oven was often the preferred cooking tool. The cook held great power, meaning that cowboys would do favors for the cook so they could get a little extra food in the evenings. The cook had so much influence in the group that even the mighty trail boss often deferred to him.

According to Legends of America, the cook (or Cookie, as he was sometimes called) brought easy-to-preserve items in the wagon, such as beans, cured meats, coffee, lard, and potatoes. Because they were driving cattle, beef was readily available, but many also hunted and foraged along the way. So, what did the trail drive’s VIP do to keep hungry cowboys fed and morale high? Here’s what Cookie served up on a regular basis.

Read More: https://www.mashed.com/992116/what-did-cowboys-really-eat-in-the-old-west/

If you have a canine friend…. are you walk him/her in the proper way?

Walking your dog seems simple enough—it’s just you, your pup, and the great outdoors. But without the right equipment and approach, a much-anticipated W-A-L-K can be disappointing.

Search for “walking a dog” online and you’ll find pages of photos with people holding leashes attached to a collar around a dog’s throat, which is exactly what the experts we spoke to advise against.

“I’m not a big fan of anything around the neck that’s pulling,” says Anna Mynchenberg, a manager at Bark, the company behind BarkBox. “I can’t imagine having any pressure on my neck, so I wouldn’t want to do that to my dog.”

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-right-way-to-walk-your-dog

Okay enough with the mundane…..now we move onto the eeewwww category…..

First what is it with not shaving the underarms?

There’s an old adage about fashion being cyclical. What came and went out of style will be back in again, in due time — and we’re not just talking about clothes. Makeup trends, hair-dos, and even the way we keep our body hair are all subject to change with the passing of time. This time around we’re seeing a revival of some of Woodstock’s famous looks — long locks, bell bottom pants, and a little pop of armpit hair.

How women keep or don’t keep their body hair has a long history of public scrutiny. In fact, a 2004 study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly reported that body hair on women elicited a disgust response in both male and female participants. However, much like they did in the 60s and 70s, some modern women have tossed out their razors as a symbol of rebellion against that notion (per Wall Street Journal). Others leave their underarm hair simply because it’s their personal preference to do so. Whatever the motivation, there are a few good reasons science supports not shaving your underarms.

Read More: https://www.healthdigest.com/991480/the-health-benefits-of-not-shaving-your-armpits/

And now for a real eewwww moment…..

There have been many reports but how our fresh water may soon run out…..what will we do if that event arrives?

Garden hose bans are in place across much of Britain, where rivers and reservoirs are at unusually low levels following months of low rainfall. In the future, part of the solution will be “to reprocess the water that results from sewage treatment and turn it back into drinking water,” James Bevan, head of Britain’s Environment Agency, writes in the Sunday Times, urging Britons to become “less squeamish” to the concept, which is “perfectly safe and healthy.” Though recycled drinking water isn’t used in Britain, it is in Australia, Singapore, Namibia, and parts of the US, reports the New York Times. And with climate change triggering more severe droughts, more US cities are looking to sign on.

For decades, cities have used water derived from a system called indirect potable reuse, or IPR. Here, sewage water goes through a wastewater treatment plant, an advanced purification facility, then an environmental buffer, like an underground aquifer. Direct potable reuse, or DPR—legal in Texas and “on a case-by-case basis” in Arizona, per CNBC—skips this final, expensive, and time-consuming step. According to experts, the water that exits the advanced purification facility already meets or exceeds state and federal drinking water quality standards and can be sent directly to a drinking water system. Residents of Big Spring and Wichita Falls quickly got over the ick factor as the Texas cities utilized DPR in response to severe droughts in 2014.

Some 96% of citizens who toured a demonstration facility in El Paso in 2016 were also on board, leading to plans to build a large-scale facility, which will produce 10 million gallons of drinking water daily, by 2026. “It’s a way to make sure that El Paso will thrive 50 years out from now,” Christina Montoya, communications and marketing manager at El Paso Water Utilities, tells CNBC. “We can’t just be planning when an emergency happens. We need to be planning all the time for the future.” Other states, including California, Colorado, and Florida, are formulating regulations to legalize DPR, and Los Angeles plans to open a demonstration facility in 2024. In Britain, there will be a public consultation on wastewater recycling proposals in November, per the New York Times.

Speaking of urine…how about a little history on this Saturday…..

But Rome certainly needed many taxes in order to pay for the organization of its vast empire and the military machine which had won it. This public purse also paid for landmarks in Rome such as the Colosseum, more properly known as a Flavian amphitheater.

The Flavian emperors may have built it, but they did not pay for it: that cost was shouldered by the citizens they ruled. And in order to fund all these projects, taxation needed to get more and more creative.

One of the most peculiar of these taxes the Roman empire turned to in apparent desperation was the Urine Tax. But where did it come from, and what did it do for Rome?

The Urine Tax of Ancient Rome: A Novel Income Stream?

I told you it was absolutely worthless news….

Enjoy your weekend…..

Peace Out my friends.

King Charles III

This is solely an info post…I do not expect many people to care (but I have been mistaken before)

The Queen is dead….Long live King Charles III…..

In Britain, the second Elizabethan age ended Thursday, and the era of King Charles III began—a huge change for a country and Commonwealth where most people weren’t alive in 1952, the last time there was a change of monarch. At 73, Charles is the oldest person ever to accede to the British throne, and it will be up to him to ensure the institution has a future in changing times. More:

  • His first day. Charles, who automatically became king upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, will travel to London Friday for a busy first full day as king, the Guardian reports. Charles is expected to meet Prime Minister Liz Truss, record an address to the nation to be broadcast Friday evening, and approve plans for a period of national mourning. He will be traveling from Scotland with his wife Camilla, who now has the title Queen Consort.
  • A lifetime in preparation. NBC looks at the life of Charles, who became the heir apparent at age 3 when his mother became queen. When he was 21, he told the BBC that he had dreamed of becoming a train driver, a soldier, or even a big-game hunter, “until I realized I was rather stuck.” His popularity with the British public dropped after the end of his troubled marriage to Diana and her death in a 1997 car crash, though it steadily recovered in the following decades as he took on a growing share of royal duties.
  • The “climate king.” While the British monarchy is powerful on paper—Charles is now the head of state of the UK, Canada, Australia, and 12 other countries—in reality the monarch only has “soft power,” and some analysts expect him to use it to advocate for environmental causes, Vox reports. He has long embraced such causes and has been warning about climate change since the 1990s.
  • Staying out of politics? But while Charles has long been outspoken on on climate change, including architecture and genetically modified crops, Max Foster at CNN says his approach will change now that he is king. “Elizabeth’s legendary ability not to offend and alienate was more strategic than many realize, but Charles has always insisted he intends to follow her lead and stop meddling when he takes the throne,” Foster writes. He notes that when the BBC asked him in 2018 if the campaigning would continue when he becomes king, Charles said: “I’m not that stupid.”
  • A “different style.” Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at King’s College London, says Charles will have a different style than his mother, but not to an extent that could cause a constitutional crisis, the New York Times reports. “He will be an active king and he will probably push his prerogatives to the limits, but he won’t go beyond them.” The Times notes that some of the biggest challenges Charles will face as king include healing the rift with his son Prince Harry—and dealing with the fallout from his brother Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

And now the King’s Queen Consort….what the Hell?  What about the rest of the royals?

If you think you’re going to have a hard time remembering to call Charles “king” instead of “prince” from here on out (don’t forget the “III”!), try to master that soon, because a number of other royal titles are about to undergo a shift. Here’s how the name game is set to play out for the other royals in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death:

  • Camilla: Charles’ wife will now be known as Queen Consort, which, per USA Today, is simply a “fancy name for the wife of a reigning king.” Fox News notes that when Camilla married Charles in 2005, it was announced she’d one day be called Princess Consort if Charles ever became king, out of respect to his deceased ex-wife, Princess Diana. Queen Elizabeth changed her mind on that earlier this year, noting she wanted Camilla to have the Queen Consort title. If you want to call her Queen Camilla, though, that’s said to be acceptable, too. (Read much more on the Queen Consort’s role here.)
  • illiam and Kate: The man who’s now next in line to the throne and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, were known until Thursday as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their new main title: the Prince and Princess of Wales, a label previously held by Charles and Diana, per Today. Charles announced the update on Friday, and their social media has already been modified to reflect this change.The pair will also retain a secondary title, Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge, per the Independent. The Cornwall title, which is typically held by the eldest son of the reigning monarch, was also handed down to William from Charles, per People.
  • Harry and Meghan: Nothing changes for them personally, but their kids, Archie and Lilibet, are now in the running to become prince and princess, respectively. That’s per a century-old decree handed down by King George V granting those titles to the children and grandchildren of a reigning sovereign. Charles has the right to amend that decree, however, which Fox notes “he may do in order to fulfill his reported stated objective of slimming down the royal family.”
  • Something for Edward? Charles inherited the Duke of Edinburgh title from his father, Prince Philip, when Philip died last year. But because that title has now “merged back into the Crown” with Charles’ ascension to king, Charles could opt to hand it down to Prince Edward, the youngest of Charles’ siblings, who currently goes by the Earl of Wessex.

Finally there is this diamond held in the Tower of London that India is pissed about…..

In the Tower of London, housed with other crown jewels of England, lies a platinum crown created for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, so she’d have something to wear for her husband King George VI’s coronation in 1937. Earlier this year, the queen announced that headpiece would transfer to Camilla, wife of then-Prince Charles, when he one day ascended to the throne and earned Camilla the title of Queen Consort, reports NDTV. That day has come, after the death of the queen on Thursday, but now there’s controversy over what happens next to the crown—not because of an issue with Camilla, per se, but because of the giant gemstone that’s set into the head-topper. The problem with the 105.6-carat Kohinoor (or Koh-i-Noor) diamond? The people of India, where it was originally found, want it back, reports Time.

The magazine notes the gem was mined sometime between the 12th and 14th centuries, in what’s now the southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh. The Kohinoor changed hands multiple times after its discovery, first ending up with the Moguls, then the Persians, and then the Afghans. It made its way back to India at one point, but then was “acquired” by the British during Punjab’s annexation in 1849 and eventually presented to Queen Victoria, per Time. The diamond was originally nearly 800 carats uncut, but it was said to have been trimmed down in 1852 at the request of Prince Albert. The UK’s Historic Royal Palaces website notes that was done “to improve its brilliance and conform to contemporary European tastes.”

India has asked for the diamond back in the past, to no avail, but now that the queen has died, the request is springing up anew on social media. “If the King is not going to wear Kohinoor, give it back,” one commenter wrote, per Time. Another claimed the diamond was “stolen” by the Brits, who “created wealth” via “death,” “famine,” and “looting.” Indian citizens aren’t the only ones clamoring for the gem: The governments in Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan have also staked claims to it. More on the diamond’s centuries-long journey at India’s ThePrint.

Now don’t you feel better that you have all that information?

(Where is Pete when we need him?)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Shades Of 2008

Here we go again!

Does anyone remember the crash of 2008…..well do not look now but it is happening all over again (as predicted because Congress could not rein in the greed and corruption of the banks.)

A year ago, mortgage rates were below 3%. On Thursday, Freddie Mac data showed the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was up to 5.89%, the highest point since 2008, NBC News reports. Rates briefly dropped this summer as the Federal Reserve raised the key interest rate in an effort to slow inflation. The housing market already was cooling off, per the Wall Street Journal. It’s a sector the Fed can exert great influence over because the market responds to changes in interest rates. “We’re all focused on the housing sector,” Fed Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard said at a conference Wednesday.

The mortgage industry boomed during the pandemic, as many companies refinanced borrowers seeking loans at lower rates. Companies often were able to expand, but that’s over now that rates are rising again, with some having to lay off employees or shut down, per the Journal. Chairman Jay Powell indicated Thursday that the Fed wants to keep rates higher for a while. The climb in mortgage rates is a reaction to Powell’s comments last week, said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for a real estate data firm, “in which he reiterated his unwavering focus on bringing inflation down to its 2% target level.”

If there is yet another crash we can lay the blame at the feet of Congress and the president…..the powers are scrambling to try and head off this inevitability until after the mid-terms.

Watch your mortgage rates closely…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Queen Is Dead–Long Live The King

The news of the day is that Queen Elizabeth II has passed…..and Charles becomes king…..

Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign is over. Buckingham Palace said Thursday that the queen has died at age 96. The news came after members of the royal family were summoned to her side at the royal Balmoral estate in Scotland by doctors concerned about her health. Elizabeth’s 73-year-old son, Prince Charles, will now become king, with his son Prince William second in line.

  • The statement: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon,” the palace announced, per the BBC. Referring to Charles and Camilla: “The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
  • Her life: For a timeline of highlights from her life and reign, with photos, see Metro. She was crowned queen at age 27 in 1953 following the death of her father, King George VI.
  • Big picture: The AP sums things up: “Since assuming the throne after the death of her father on Feb. 6, 1952, Elizabeth has been a symbol of stability as Britain negotiated the end of empire, the dawn of the information age and the mass migration that transformed the country into a multicultural society.”
  • Big picture, II: “There is no analogous public figure who will have been mourned as deeply in Britain—Winston Churchill might come closest—or whose death could provoke a greater reckoning with the identity and future of the country,” per the New York Times. “Elizabeth’s extraordinary longevity lent her an air of permanence that makes her death, even at an advanced age, somehow shocking.”
  • No Meghan: One notable absence as the royal family was gathering at Balmoral: that of Meghan, wife of Prince Harry. The pair, who no longer have royal duties, were already in the UK for a series of engagements. However, Harry was traveling to Balmoral alone, reports the BBC. On the other hand, Prince William also traveled there without his wife, Kate, who was remaining behind in Britain for the time being because it was the first day of school for their children.
  • Failing health: Buckingham Palace has been relative sparse with details about the queen’s health, but it had been in decline over the last year. She recovered from a bout of COVID earlier this year, though the palace said it left her exhausted, per the Times. Elizabeth also had been using a cane of late as her mobility diminished.

And now for a few words from King Charles III……as well as a few others….

The new king of England’s first formal statement is, not surprisingly, about his mom. “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family,” wrote King Charles III in a statement posted by Buckingham Palace. “We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.” He added that he and other members of the royal family will be “comforted and sustained” by that knowledge.

At Glamour, Kathleen Walsh likes the tribute. “There’s no easy way to say goodbye to a beloved mother, so I can only imagine what it’s like to have to publicly mourn your mum the queen.” In the US, presidents and first ladies, both current and past, were paying their respects as well, per the AP and the Daily Mail:

  • Biden: “Queen Elizabeth II was a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock Alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” said the statement from the Bidens. “She helped make our relationship special.”
  • Trump: “Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor,” said a statement from former President Trump. “What a grand and beautiful lady she was—there was nobody like her!”
  • Obama: “Back when we were just beginning to navigate life as President and First Lady, she welcomed us to the world stage with open arms and extraordinary generosity,” Barack and Michelle Obama said in their statement. “Time and again, we were struck by her warmth, the way she put people at ease, and how she brought her considerable humor and charm to moments of great pomp and circumstance.”
  • Clinton: “We will always be grateful for the kindness she showed us through the years, particularly during our visits to Buckingham Palace in 1995 and 2000, and for all she did to deepen the Special Relationship,” said former President Clinton, referring to himself and Hillary. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Royal Family and all the people Her Majesty inspired throughout her lifetime of service.”
  • Bush: “Laura and I were honored to have known her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” wrote former President George W. Bush. “She was a woman of great intellect, charm, and wit.” He added that “spending time at Buckingham Palace, and having tea with Her Majesty—and her Corgis—is among our fondest memories of the presidency.”
  • Carter: “Rosalynn and I extend our condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II and the citizens of the United Kingdom,” said Jimmy Carter. “Her dignity, graciousness, and sense of duty have been an inspiration, and we join the millions around the world in mourning a remarkable leader.”

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

George Washington–American Hero?

Time for the ‘untaught’ history of the United States….Part One….

Back in my university days I studied Political History….focusing on the years 1750-1820….I have always been interested in the early history of this country…..the years leading up to the revolution….the founding….the years after the founding….war of 1812….and all the events in between.

George Washing was he a true American hero or just a construct of historians?

One event that has been overlooked about Washington….in his early years he may have helped ignite the 7 Years War (French and Indian War)…..

In the early 1750s, tensions between the French and British in North America were at an all-time high. In the area of the Ohio River Valley, forces from both sides were vying for control over the region as the French began to establish forts there. Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie took it upon himself to meet the French threat by sending a force to demand their withdrawal (via History). Washington, then a major of the Virginia provincial militia, was initially tasked with delivering this demand to the French in 1753. When the demand was rebuffed, Washington was ordered to attack them the following year, per the National Park Service.

At the age of just 22, Major Washington led his men in what became known as the Battle of Jumonville Glen (Jumonville Glen being a French fort). Certain that nearby French soldiers and allied Natives intended to attack, Washington struck the first blow in what was, initially, a very successful surprise attack (via Britannica). This was his first time seeing combat and might have earned him great accolades from the crown. However, several of Washington’s Iroquois allies began to kill the French prisoners in brutal fashion, leaving nine dead before they were stopped. The French learned of the brutal executions after a prisoner managed to escape, after which they attacked Washington’s position and caused him to withdraw.

At the subsequent Battle of Fort Necessity, Washington was forced into his first and only surrender. While he and his men were released soon after, the skirmish led to an immediate build-up of British and French soldiers in North America, marking an escalation of the conflict that would lead to the French and Indian War (though a formal state of war was not established until 1756). This conflict was substantial in its own right, lasting for years as British, French, and Native tribes fought one another until 1763. The French were ultimately defeated and were forced to surrender all of their territory, leaving French-speaking communities, such as the Cajuns, under British authority. However, this became just one theater of the larger Seven Years’ War.

Read More: https://www.grunge.com/649000/how-george-washington-helped-ignite-a-world-war/

There are other incidents about Washington’s life that go untaught for the most part….like his use of booze to help convince people to his way of thinking….or his forcing Native Americans to join the US….all this and he was the richest presidents….

I am one of those that think all aspects of our Founders and president’s lives should be taught….what better way to understand how they fit into history…instead we sanitize their history which does no favors to anyone.

Class Dismissed!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Why Do Dems Suck At Politics?

AS this country prepares for our next election which is looming large on the horizon there is a burning question at begs an answer…..why do Dems keep losing elections?

As I have always said….”Dems have great ideas that just suck at politics”……

Proof….The Democrats are using a playbook from the late 1980s. It didn’t work very well then and it’s pretty much worthless now, but apparently it still seems like the latest thing to the octogenarians running the party.

Every Congress the Dems offer up some dynamite ideas and they always seem to go down in flames each and every time.

Why is this?

Virginia’s new governor, Glenn Youngkin, kicked off his term with a political magic trick. In the first of nine executive orders issued on Jan. 15, the day he took office,1 he banned the teaching of “inherently divisive concepts, including critical race theory” in K-12 public schools. It was a smart way to show his base he’s already jumping on issues they care about. Education policy, particularly the alleged role critical race theory plays in public school curricula, was a centerpiece of Youngkin’s campaign. But the impact of this executive order is less straightforward than it seems, because critical race theory isn’t actually taught in Virginia public schools.

This kind of tactic is increasingly familiar in politics today. Republican politicians, in particular, build entire campaigns around false or misleading information, then implement policies that respond to those falsehoods, cementing them further in our political landscape. 

The debate over critical race theory — a complex academic framework for understanding racism that would never actually be taught to second-graders but that at least nine state legislatures have tried to ban anyway — is just one such example. There’s an entire gamut of culture wars where this dynamic has taken hold. Abortion, one of the most powerful and long-lasting social issues in modern politics, is another example where arguments are increasingly framed in ways that tend to benefit Republicans. And because of that, Democrats frequently appear to be ceding ground, even though voters typically trust them more than Republicans on these issues and public opinion is often on the Democrats’ side.

The rebuttal to these issues seems like it should be simple. Why not just tell voters that critical race theory isn’t being taught and move on? Or say that abortions are safe and increasingly rare but will always be necessary for some women? But so far, Democrats haven’t really figured out a way to convince voters that some GOP messages aren’t based in reality. Experts told us that’s because Republicans’ often misleading framing is effective not because Americans believe it wholeheartedly or because they know all that much about the issue. Rather, the reason why abortion rights and critical race theory sticks in people’s minds is that these issues touch on broader anxieties.

Why Democrats Keep Losing Culture Wars

The Dems take their great ideas and pack them into several bills….and as could be predicted these bills are picked apart and in the end nothing of those great ideas makes it beyond the first draft of a bill.

The Democrats are using a playbook from the late 1980s. It didn’t work very well then and it’s pretty much worthless now, but apparently it still seems like the latest thing to the octogenarians running the party.

They pretend that they are all in for the working class and once in DC they forget those very same people…..the working class has been lied to for too long and those Dem games will not play well this time around.

For Democrats, meanwhile, memos on how to hold on to or win back the working class are perennial favorites from pollsters and strategists. This has been especially true during the midterm cycle as Democrats sound the alarm that their party is out of touch with their constituents. “The starting point for the strategy is seeing that both our base and our target persuasion audiences are working-class and struggling, and we see them and wear their shoes,” the longtime pollster Stanley Greenberg wrote in a polling memo in November. What’s left unsaid but is heavily implied in these appeals, though, is that Democrats are primarily concerned with losing the white working class.

Why Democratic Appeals To The ‘Working Class’ Are Unlikely to Work

Instead they should take those great ideas and make a separate bill for each one then when they go down in flames they have the GOP on record as opposing these ideas.

Something they can run on in the future….instead the Dems just keep trying the same worn out tactic they gets them nothing in return.

If they want to win then the Dems need a new strategy…..something they are unwilling to formulate (follow the money)…..instead….They–the Democratic elites, I mean–fall for this kind of wishful thinking every time. Why? Because they’re much more comfortable with neocon Republicans than they are the base of their own party, whose aspirations & pleas they usually spend 3 out of every 4 four years suppressing.

Until they find some guts and some brains they will continue to lose the game of politics….the same losers they have been since the 1980s.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”