Day: July 19, 2023

“Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death”

I love these Right wing d/bags….they just cannot help themselves….

Pretty much every Americans knows that quote by Patrick Henry before he was hanged by the British….

It seems that Radical Right winger Josh Hawley, senator from Missouri is so enamored with Patrick Henry that he used another of his quotes in one of Hawley’s 4th of July stump stops.

The quote goes like this….

“Patrick Henry: ‘It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.’,”

How lovely….but it is total bullshit!

The catch: Founding Father Patrick Henry — a slave owner most famous for his declaration, “Give me liberty or give me death,” — never said the quote Hawley tweeted.

Nor did any of the other Founding Fathers.

The line was reportedly originally published in a white nationalist publication in 1956 — 157 years after the founding father’s death.

It is similar to all those quotes by Jefferson that the Right are always throwing about…..the problem there as well he made none of those quotes….like…”My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government”

Jefferson never said that!

There is a wealth of spurious quotes by Jefferson…..read some the others.

https://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-jefferson-quotes-that-were-actually-just-made-up-2013-9

Cherry picking quotes and even making up quotes from the Founding Fathers has fed the misinformation fire.

Politicians, pundits and angry uncles all enjoy sharing quotes from the Founders. But they often don’t particularly care if Jefferson, Madison or others actually wrote what they claim they did. Invoking the words of key figures from the Founding period is a rhetorical strategy that aims to mobilize the intellectual giants of American history to support modern-day political positions.

It is the very opposite of what history should be. Serious scholars begin with questions and then seek answers in historical sources. Politicians (both the professional and the amateur variety) do the opposite. They begin with answers — their preferred political positions on an issue of the present-day — and then seek out a short, pithy quote from the Internet to help bolster their argument.

The Internet, I think we’ve all learned over the past few years, is not the most reliable source. Cyberspace is awash with bogus quotations from the Founders and other key historical figures, like Abraham Lincoln. You can easily shop around to find Washington or Theodore Roosevelt espousing a 21st century political cause that would have been completely unimaginable to them in their own time; Alexander Hamilton did not go on the record about his views on cryptocurrency. The danger to our political discourse, though, is that many of these fraudulent quotes are all too easy to believe when you’re looking to confirm what you’ve already decided.

https://www.inlander.com/comment/cherry-picking-quotes-from-founding-fathers-has-become-another-insidious-form-of-misinformation-24099356

I do not mind the use of quotes just please get them right and do not make them up to suit your bias.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Post-Putin Russia

With the war raging in Ukraine and a few minor shots at his authority many Americans want to see Putin gone and soon forgotten.

I know most people just want Putin gone does not matter how but it does matter and things could be worse.

But what would be the pathways that Russia could take to get to a Post-Putin Russia?

From time to time I get some post doc papers and I enjoy other people’s take on international situations…..this one is about the post-Putin Russia possibilities.

What is clear is that Putin will not take up Prigozhin’s suggestion of blaming others for the disastrous war in Ukraine in order to end it on terms short of what now appears to be an unattainable Russian victory. It might not be until Putin is succeeded by another leader that Russia can do this. But the Wagner rebellion, even though unsuccessful, has raised the possibility that Putin is vulnerable, and that a successor to him could arise.

Putin, of course, may continue to exert his rule over Russia through the end of the 2020s, the 2030s, or possibly even longer. He succeeded, after all, in facing down the Wagner rebellion. But the Wagner rebellion raises the possibility that he may suddenly and unexpectedly fall from power some time soon. Nobody, including Putin himself, knows for sure when or how his rule over Russia will come to an end. But whether as a result of his death, incapacity, overthrow, or decision not to run for re-election in 2024 (this last being the least likely), Putin’s reign will definitely come to an end at some point.

Just as it is uncertain when Putin’s hold on power will come to an end, it is also uncertain how much or even whether Russia will change after it does. This article will explore the likelihood of five possible post-Putin pathways for Russia: 1) Putinism without Putin; 2) democratization; 3) prudent authoritarianism; 4) Chinese overlordship; and 5) the breakup of Russia.

Just as important, this article will also explore the possibilities for six of Putin’s current domestic and foreign policy priorities to be continued or revised under each of these five potential pathways. These six Putin priorities are: 1) maintaining dictatorship over Russia; 2) maintaining or even enhancing Russia’s great power status; 3) continuing the ongoing war against Ukraine in order to at minimum retain control of Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces; 4) continuing to see America and the West as Russia’s principal security threats; 5) continuing Russia’s strategic partnership with China despite any misgivings Moscow may have over increasing Russian dependence on Beijing; and 6) maintaining Russia’s territorial integrity. First, though, something needs to be said about Putin’s own commitment to these priorities as well as his ability to pursue them.

Post-Putin Russia: Five Potential Pathways

Some interesting takes on the possibilities….my thought is that there will be a form of what this paper calls ‘prudent authoritarianism’….that will replace Putin for a time.

I know it is a long paper but do road it and let me know what direction you  think Russia would take after Putin.

Just something to think about….you can do it if you try.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”