tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post7301179918357064805..comments2024-03-28T08:00:17.624-04:00Comments on NewGathering: The Civil War and the civility warsDavid Nickolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17769931102661478298noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post-40651610174623333032017-03-12T16:30:10.725-04:002017-03-12T16:30:10.725-04:00Google identifies my under my old nom de plume.
J...Google identifies my under my old nom de plume.<br /><br />Jim McCreaJimmy Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01156445623455211484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post-60839852434893700012017-03-12T16:29:40.727-04:002017-03-12T16:29:40.727-04:00Trumplethinskin has just started to eviscerate the...Trumplethinskin has just started to eviscerate the Federal judiciary this weekend and will soon have control of that branch of government as well. Be very afraid, friends: very, very afraid. Once the SCOTUS is tilted rightward it will be a long, long time of retrograde rulings from that formerly august body, as well.Jimmy Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01156445623455211484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post-74518332653705711892017-03-11T09:21:28.464-05:002017-03-11T09:21:28.464-05:00Time will tell whether we can survive Trumpism as ...Time will tell whether we can survive Trumpism as a nation or not. Some captains of industry were on NPR yesterday taking about how liberal ideas of "diversity" were creating social strains and muddying our identity, particularly Muslims. Yes, there was a flurry of visible/audio opposition at first, but can it be sustained? Will it be allowed to be sustained? <br /><br />Irene, I hope you enjoy the book. I was dubious at first, but ended up really enjoying it. One of the things that becomes clear in Saunders' book is how unpopular the Civil War was in many quarters. One politician objected by saying that if his wife wanted to leave, it would be uncivilized to beat her until she returned. Extracts from letters written to Lincoln by angry parents who had lost sons in the war are devastating and raw.Jeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14702081408526023197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post-28329701028314471692017-03-11T07:07:08.710-05:002017-03-11T07:07:08.710-05:00I just received this book in the Powell's book...I just received this book in the Powell's book club a couple of days ago. It came with a bonus 85 page illustrated fable "The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip"<br /><br />Trump's election makes me very aware that one shouldn't take our democracy for granted, but honestly, my reaction is the opposite of Saunders', I'm impressed by how robust our democratic processes and protections are.<br /><br />So, okay, the wrong guy won for the wrong reasons. BUT: despite the most vile campaign of my lifetime, where the WINNER is constantly trying to delegitimize the process, and where foreign powers intervened to further undermine that process; despite all of that,we nonetheless saw a peaceful transition of power. <br /><br />Said winner is then, right out of the box smacked down by the federal judiciary, when he engaged in over-reach with his Muslim ban.<br /><br />A lot of people who felt left behind made their voices heard and voted for change (that's where the wrong guy winning comes in). <br />And a lot of other people, appalled by the hot mess in the White House, turned out in droves, millions of them, the day after the inauguration, to make their own voices heard. <br /><br />I'm not minimizing the harm Trump can do in his time in office, but I think our democracy will survive him and he might have even given it a shot in the arm.Irene Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04652624159458320672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1315362208709650810.post-10421697198801434592017-03-10T21:45:19.207-05:002017-03-10T21:45:19.207-05:00I don't think we can ever assume that the thin...I don't think we can ever assume that the thing is won for all time, there is the sin of presumption, to which we seem prone as a nation. Katherine Nielsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08309113327087187334noreply@blogger.com