I allowed myself a moment of hope only to have it swallowed up in a new crisis. The forced resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and replacement of him with his chief of staff (Matthew Whitaker) is a constitutional crisis of the first order. Not only is this a clear instance of obstruction of justice (without waiting for Whitaker to do anything negative toward the Mueller investigation), it is not clear that anyone will be able to do much of anything about it! In other words, this Charlatan in the Oval Office may have just found a way to triumph over the Constitution and make the Justice Department protect him from any legal jeopardy.
Some folks have speculated that Mueller may have already had some indictments sealed and/or handed over parts of his investigation to various state attorneys general. I hope so, but I wonder if anyone could have seen this coming. Trump is slippery and has demonstrated that he feels like the ends justify any means (the ends in this instance being protecting him). We should all remember that the Democrats will not formally take control of the House until January (Trump obviously hasn't overlooked this fact). Hence, it is foolish to look for the Legislative Branch of our government to fix this (Does anyone honestly believe that ANY Republicans will have the spine to stand up to Trump?) Sure, there have been calls for Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation, but anyone who thinks that is likely to happen is delusional (that's what got Sessions fired in the first place)!
What happens next? I think that's anybody's guess. One thing we know for sure - we all better buckle up and hold on tight - this is going to be a hell of a ride!
Some folks have speculated that Mueller may have already had some indictments sealed and/or handed over parts of his investigation to various state attorneys general. I hope so, but I wonder if anyone could have seen this coming. Trump is slippery and has demonstrated that he feels like the ends justify any means (the ends in this instance being protecting him). We should all remember that the Democrats will not formally take control of the House until January (Trump obviously hasn't overlooked this fact). Hence, it is foolish to look for the Legislative Branch of our government to fix this (Does anyone honestly believe that ANY Republicans will have the spine to stand up to Trump?) Sure, there have been calls for Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation, but anyone who thinks that is likely to happen is delusional (that's what got Sessions fired in the first place)!
What happens next? I think that's anybody's guess. One thing we know for sure - we all better buckle up and hold on tight - this is going to be a hell of a ride!
We are in perilous times, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteThis quote was forwarded to my private e-mail account:
ReplyDelete"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."
-Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (9 Nov 1934-1996)
Thousands of books have been written about charlatans. In my definition a charlatan is usually defined by offering "a quick and easy route" to solutions.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like about the bible is where it states " the route/gate is hard and narrow".
Not that we should make life harder than it is but an easy quick solution is the road to disaster for someone somewhere and usually millions more.
Nck
Depends on the problem, nck. I would agree if you had stated that the mark of a charlatan is ill-conceived or self serving solutions, but in many cases the Occam type solution ends up being the most effective one. Like if you have to pee, go to the bathroom! For most of us, that would be quick and easy, but imagine how complicated it might have been for fundamentalist sabbatarians in the era of pay toilets!
ReplyDeleteIf a solution is unfair, at least it should be equally unfair to everybody. And, there should be exceptions made in cases of extreme hardship, or special circumstances. Since the charlatan is only concerned with himself and his cronies, they will never make exceptions for their marks.
As goes the topic at hand, I believe the Russians most likely worked both sides. The Democrats are trending towards socialism, and the Republicans are trending towards ethnic cleansing and totalitarianism. Believe me, the Russians could find material with which to work on either side!
BB
I will re read "the wizzard of oz" and try to figure out if the charlatan was in fact a wicked person.
ReplyDeleteTwo unfairs don"t make a fair.
You are isolating a problem whilst they are part of a system of false assumptions. There are no problems, all are illusions.
Both socialism and totalitarianism are ecamples of illusions that can be exploited to sow division and weaken.
Both "sides" should understand that they will fall together if they do not recognize that the "easy way" is to believe in ones own illusions and the "hard way" is to work together despite differences of any kind.
Nck
What a gas! I make sense, so you duck into the ethereal. The easy way is actually to work together. When it comes right down to it, we're really not all that different. The spectrum is a circle with both sides ultimately reaching similar conclusions 180 degrees out, but as a byproduct of differing ideologies. It's harder to fight tooth and nail over illusions. You've got to keep on fabricating, faking, and posturing in order to maintain illusions.
ReplyDeleteBB
Hello Byker.
ReplyDeleteInteresting.
Meet on the level part on the square.
I don't know, seeing war and strife since and before modern man appeared, I have concluded it is harder to reach out to the other side than stick to easy illusions. People dont "consider the end thereof" or at least suffer from extreme loss aversion.
Roosevelt was quite profound in noting that "fear" itself is to be feared most.
Science has proven that people most likely to survive extreme circumstance (apart from chance) are the ones who were able to hold to some form of illusion, being communist, protestant or orthodox jew. Most of these are complete systems so no need to fake posture. I'm sure most cars move about the same while operating on completely different systems.
I am in fact not debating you. I do accept that all culture, faith, philosophies and peoples could solve differences over a beer, barbeque and some pretzels. The problem arises when I arrive late, you ate all the pretzels, the beer is warm and actually not my favorite brand and the host was so kind to provide alcohol free only, while I had spent hard earned money to stay in the nearest days inn. Frustration sets in while the sun sets and the crickets come alive, as they have since the beginning of time.
Nck
Yes your pee example makes sense.
ReplyDeleteJust like sex makes sense.
Why the mutilations of women both physical and mental over the centuries? Sense seems to be dependant on a system or view.
For one peeing is a factor of the human condition for the other a result of the fall of man. Without the illegal underpaid cleaning lady we would all die by correction of nature and washing hands with some soap helps too we learned only a hundred years ago.
The charlatan says pee at will, even in the swimming pool in ncks hotel that he booked so he could enjoy the "right" type of beer that wasnt there because of assumptions and local custom of the host and most of all my personal illusionson what constitutes a party.
Nck
Might I recommend something for your reading pleasure?
ReplyDelete“The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment” by Thaddeus Golas.
It changed my outlook and my life when I read it back in the ‘80s while a muffler shop was welding glasspack mufflers on to my ‘51 Mercury. Most of the things you cited as having gone wrong at the party would no longer annoy me.
BB
Of course you may. As long a you know that I hardly express personal sentiments in public. Only those a "wide audience" might recognize. I'm neither a light nor claim to be enlightened but sometimes I hold up mirrors to reflect whatever I receive straight back or in different angle to anyone interested in throwing opinions for the swine. My comments are hardly personal except for a recipient relative to his/her ego.
ReplyDeleteNck
The Cliff's Notes, the essence of the book is that when someone is open, like the air, things just pass through him without major disturbance. When he's concentrated, closed, and hard as a baseball, he can be batted around almost at will, beyond his control. An example was cited in which a person who hated a certain minority went to a party, and because people of that minority were present, for him the whole party was ruined. The other guests, who were open and didn't hate minorities had a wonderful time. Now, certainly, I'm not implying that we should be open to swimming in urine, although the pool chemicals probably do take care of that. Discernment must be used as part of the enlightenment process.
ReplyDeleteBB
Yes that is true.
ReplyDeleteIn the same vein it is said that forgiving can be healing for the wronged person rather than the wrongdoer.
It also reminds me of someone who said that love received should not be held (clenched onto) but rather be passed on.
Enlightenment. Is it a state of being or a path. I did mention "resonate." Perhaps "resonating" is a key rather than "reasoning", "convincing" or "prosetelyzing toward"...
Nck