Category Archives: American Domestic Affairs

FTAC: A Thought About Present Day Social Chaos and Drift for America’s Youth

12 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, FTAC - From The Awesome Conversation

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Inspiration: an older gent’s complaint from Oklahoma about a brush with two drifted young people possibly wanted for crime elsewhere.

Here’s the reflection From the Awesome Conversation –>

A reminder at this point: https://conflict-backchannels.com/2019/10/04/an-american-report-card/ (10/4/2019). It’s hard believing the post has aged more than a year. Nonetheless, we have a large complex system for about 328 million people, and there’s a level of chaos in it served by criminal networks. The old “hippies” that would go on to “find themselves” may have distilled down to a wretched lot without a forward-moving cohort for channeling. The two cultures, criminal and not, glorified drifters and made an industry of the set loose young a long time ago. It still looks pretty on stage —

The American reality has not been so pretty for or with those so lost and rattling around desperate for basics and belonging.

Children, pretty much, depending on connections, family, and personal issues may be thrown into a . . . nothing, actually, deeply impersonal and mercenary, and one may wonder what that’s like today, so much attention having been paid to the “Baby Boom” generation and some successive as cohorts. Whoever they are now, they were all in it together (at Woodstock or Altamont or the Isle of Man — or places as meaningful in their generational journey).

Where are today’s American “set loose young”?

I’ve been at this desktop for so many years that I may even wonder at the look of the latest in disaffected lost youth. Sneakers, jeans, backpacks, and gadgets? Who holds on to what? How? Where are they going? What’s open (beyond the Amazon depot — or is that it?).

–33–

America Medieval Might Explain that ‘Supine’ Republican Senate

11 Wednesday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, North America, United States of America

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

WHAT IF the United States of America were returned to aristocracy?

WHAT IF Americans less connected were returned to obedience to absolute authority?

Along the way, the Trump-hated Left has been off on its liberation trip with its eyes on universal basics and trashing of white male this and patrician that. What if the White Male Kingdom and America’s Old Money were gambling on some powerful representation themselves with the cooperation, of course, of police and military forces?

What if Trump’s World was primping to look like Putin’s World ordered by his loyal New Nobility and bounded by a corrupt faked up marriage between Church and State?

Related Online

Cagaptay, Soner. “From Ataturk to Erdogan: Reshaping Turkey.” The Washington Institute, August 14, 2011.

Collinson, Stephen. “Alarm grows over Trump’s ‘dictator moves’ as he denies defeat.” CNN Politics, November 11, 2020.

Fang, Lee. “Another Official Dismissed at the Pentagon as Trump Continues Unusual Shake-Up.” The Intercept, November 11, 2020. (Addendum).

Kenez, Levent. “Erdoğan forced out nearly all generals and admirals from Turkish military.” Nordic Monitor, November 23, 2019.

Oppenheim, James S. “Basic Training.” BackChannels, February 2, 2017.

Oppenheim, James S. “Putin’s Mirror?” BackChannels, July 15, 2020.

Seligman, Lara and Daniel Lippman. “‘Devastating’: Top Pentagon leadership gutted as fears rise over national security.” Politico, November 10, 2020.

Tait, Robert. “Turkey Says Farewell to the Generals.” RFE/RL, August 2, 2011.

It took a century and a democratic revolution invoked by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) — a coalition of conservatives, reformed Islamists and Islamists that came to power in 2002 — for Turkey’s “Kemalist Occident,” or dalliance with the West, to end. With the mass resignation of Turkey’s military leadership last month, the last standing Kemalist institution, the army, has succumbed to the AKP’s decade-long political tsunami.

This political bookend for Kemalism suggests that AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is Turkey’s “new” Ataturk. He doesn’t have the cachet of being Turkey’s liberator, but he enjoys as much power as Ataturk once had.

https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/from-ataturk-to-erdogan-reshaping-turkey 8/14/2011.
Posted to YouTube August 4, 2011.
Posted to YouTube, November 9, 2020.

The firing of Defense Secretary Mark Esper kicked off a rapid-fire series of high-level departures at the Pentagon on Tuesday, setting off alarms on Capitol Hill that the White House was installing loyalists to carry out President Donald Trump’s wishes during an already tense transition.

In quick succession, top officials overseeing policy, intelligence and the defense secretary’s staff all had resigned by the end of the day Tuesday, replaced by political operatives who are fiercely loyal to Trump and have trafficked in “deep state” conspiracy theories.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/10/pentagon-top-policy-official-resigns-435693 – 11/10/2020.
Posted to YouTube October 26, 2020.

–33–

FTAC: Medieval v Modern – A Short Passage

09 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, FTAC - From The Awesome Conversation, Political Psychology

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

From the Awesome Conversation

I don’t support Fascism on the Left.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-the-trump-officials-making-government-a-family-business

Why support it on the right?

Escape the echo chamber you’ve been in and get a breath of fresh air.
Some additional reading, not necessarily for you but any curious about bridging the worlds of medieval absolute and modern democratic power –>
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hungary-orban-balaton-procurement-exc/exclusive-hungary-premiers-friends-and-family-win-more-and-more-public-business-idUSKCN1GR213 – 3/15/2018

https://theblacksea.eu/stories/malta-files/erdogan-family-in-secret-offshore-ship-deal/ – 5/26/2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/12/us/politics/trump-erdogan-family-turkey.html – 11/12/2019

In the way of some older men growing gray and tired, my patience for writing longer copy — and responding to endless online arguments — may be growing thin, so above I hope I’ve telegraphed a statement about political bullying, the sometimes ironic destruction of freedom by those who most pretend to represent it, and the related plundering of states by their own leaders. The “by any means” Far Out Left has indeed shouted down its favored targets, time and again, and it has carried forward from Russian anti-Semitic traditions its own brand of Jew-hate (reading recommended from other history: Michael Kellogg’s The Russian Roots of Nazism, Cambridge UP, 2009), but Orwellian Left seems to me far from the moderate liberalism known to the best of America’s Democratic and Republican Parties.

Similarly, one cannot overlook the effects of 9/11 (2001 for kiddies) on both the promotion of necessary state security organizations and (less necessary) reactionary nationalists. On that tack, Erdogan, Orban, and Trump suffice for examples of a want of return to a medieval and frequently ugly political absolutism. All who would become dictators cannot wait to get their mitts on a state’s army and treasury — and then have at it with their perceived competitions — while “the people”, Left or Right leaning, may be seduced by dogma and made ready for plundering and damnation, and much to the delight of breathtakingly enriched family and friends.

Related online from 2017: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-opccrp-report-inner-circle-wealth/28814462.html.

I will have to find again historian Richard Pipes’ observations on Russia’s struggle with constitutional monarchy and with the concept of sovereignty. For the most part, Russia’s assertion of sovereignty considered property and persons alike in its dominion, and proof would be the right to destroy either at will and with impunity.

Think of that when you reflect, if ever, on Russia’s behavior across the so far long nine years of the Syrian Tragedy.

Europe chose a different direction in its comprehension and — in the end — consideration of others.

–33–

Two Tweets Defending the Southern Heritage in Civil War Era Statuary

09 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, North America, United States of America

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

The “they” should be “thy”. 😦 I don’t know how I missed “typos” and apologize for such errors. Fresh eyes? Proofing? I try.

Advice to Black Lives Matters and others who have taken up the cause of destroying American memory in its totality: let the past remain where it fell and where it has been remembered, but while attending to that preservation of memory, let’s build a better nation now and for the future. Since the Civil Rights Era — and from before it and far after — American political activists have confronted prejudice and sought corrections. Well, we are all still on it.

No truth (clear, complete, accurate, valid, reliable)?

No justice ever!

America’s Civil War ended the institution of slavery in America and affirmed the Federal government as sovereign throughout. It didn’t erase evil; it didn’t fix the more venal of hearts; it didn’t redress wrongs: what it did was set a much, much better course in and through our collective democratic modernity.

Related Online

Trump in June stunned NATO allies and senior DoD leaders when he directed the withdrawal of thousands of troops from Germany. Days later, he blindsided the Pentagon yet again by tweeting his opposition to the removal of Confederate leaders’ names from Army bases, just two days after Esper opened the door to doing so.

Politico – “Trump expected to keep Esper at the Pentagon despite clashes” – 11/7/2020.

–33–

A Note on the Far Right’s Epoch Times

09 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

For those who have encountered the wild disinformation at times disseminated by The Epoch Times and either swallowed the bait, as with QAnon Conspiracy agitation and propaganda, or confronted and dismissed the same but didn’t fight, here’s a short list of additional reference online –>

https://magazine.atavist.com/stranger-than-fiction-epoch-times-falun-gong-trump-election-2020 – 10/23/2020

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/epoch-times-begins-hiding-its-connection-huge-pro-trump-ad-n1045416 – 8/22/2019
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/epoch-times-coronavirus-bioweapon-1.5548217 – 4/29/2020
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-reviews-incident-involving-epoch-times-photographer-handing-a-folder-to-trump/2018/09/18/e9d8b8ba-bac5-11e8-bdc0-90f81cc58c5d_story.html – 9/18/2018
https://www.westword.com/news/why-is-far-right-conspiracist-newspaper-epoch-times-being-stocked-at-colorado-capitol-11537390 – 10/29/2019
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/the-epoch-times/ – 11/9/2020
https://www.abc10.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/verify-unsolicited-paper-spreads-outlandish-covid-claims/103-9290495e-a501-44fa-b7df-0bb0e385328b – 5/20/2020

https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2020/jun/27/fake-news-what-epoch-times-and-why-did-it-arrive-m/ – 6/27/????

The Epoch Times opposes the Chinese Communist Party,[20] and promotes far-right politicians in Europe,[3][5] and backs President Donald Trump in the U.S.;[21] a 2019 report by NBC News showed it to be the second-largest funder of pro-Trump Facebook advertising after the Trump campaign.[22][23][24] The Epoch Media Group’s news sites and YouTube channels have spread conspiracy theories such as QAnon and anti-vaccination propaganda.[18][25][26] The organization frequently promotes other Falun Gong affiliated groups, such as the performing arts company, Shen Yun.[14][21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Epoch_Times

Soviet Era Communist Party power gave up the ghost at noon on December 25, 1991 when the Soviet Union officially acknowledged its dissolving in bankruptcy and Party nomenklatura (elites) turned into jackals tearing away the assets of the former state piece by piece. While the Communist Party persists in Russia, it is no longer a power there. President Vladimir Putin has made himself a “Vertical of Power” surrounded by politically enfeebled but immensely wealthy and otherwise powerful oligarchs, quite a few of which have made the sanctions list of the United States government.

Regarding China’s Communist Party: it has proven helpful in the minting of billionaires.

Posted to YouTube September 29, 2019.

Loyalty to Party | Loyalty to Putin | Loyalty to Trump

The most important loyalty of all: the worship of money.

Where are The Communists?

China’s zeitgeist — from predatory international lending to its passion for totalitarian political, religious, and social control — is troubling for the west, and I will have a post out on that soon. In the meantime, true American conservatives would do well to shift their talk away from communists and globalists and a horde of made-up and talked-up bogeys and move toward engagement with more authentic and challenging domestic and global issues and themes.

China produced nearly four in every 10 new billionaires this year, outpacing the number of new faces in the US and allowing Shanghai to leapfrog Hong Kong for the first time in terms of the number of super-rich, Hurun Report Inc said.

The world’s second-largest economy added 182 of 479 new billionaires, taking the tally in China to 799, according to the latest Hurun Global Rich List 2020. The US minted 59 new ones to raise its total to 626.

SCMP – “China produces 182 new billionaires, triple the new faces in the US, while Shanghai overtakes Hong Kong for the first time: Huron Report” – 2/26/2020

Klett said that during his stint at the Epoch Times, he had a front-row seat to the epistemic crisis triggered by Trump’s ascendancy, one that has made distinguishing truth from political fiction increasingly difficult. “In that first interview, I was being honest when I said I could be neutral. I really believed that was possible,” Klett admitted, hands shoved deep into his pockets as we walked down a Brooklyn street in search of a quieter bar. “By the time I left, just a few days before the election, I realized what everyone is still coming to terms with.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“That there’s no difference between the news and propaganda. That objectivity is about who has power.”

https://magazine.atavist.com/stranger-than-fiction-epoch-times-falun-gong-trump-election-2020 – 10/23/2020

–33–

A Reminder for Government Officials and Military

09 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

All who serve the United States of America take an oath of loyalty to her Constitution.

Those possessed of clear conscience and integrity may be asked to choose between a wannabee dictator and their oath of office.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Donald Trump is facing pressure to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s team to ensure a smooth transfer of power when the new administration takes office in January.

The General Services Administration is tasked with formally recognizing Biden as president-elect, which begins the transition. But the agency’s Trump-appointed administrator, Emily Murphy, has not started the process and has given no guidance on when she will do so.

AP – “Trump faces calls to work with Biden team on transition” – 11/9/2020.

If you believe President Trump’s cause righteous, consider tracking the failure of his election-related lawsuits.

11/6/2020
11/6/2020

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-virus-outbreak-wilmington-324eac6eb0e19778aa747fde8e01319c – “Trump faces calls to work with Biden team on transition” – 11/9/2020.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-gsa-letter-biden-transition/2020/11/08/07093acc-21e9-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html – “A Little-known Trump appointee is in charge of handing transition resources to Biden — and she isn’t budging” — 11/8/2020.

–33–

Why the Humanities? Seamus.

08 Sunday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs, Conflict - Culture - Language - Psychology, Extreme Brown vs Red-Green, North America, United States of America

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

Posted to YouTube January 22, 2018.

A fellow said to me last week that he took up law because there was no money or point to having taken a degree in philosophy.

He was wrong.

Are the humanities the “icing on the cake” of civilization — or the yeast that gives rise to civilization?

If you are American — or modern as opposed to feudal or medieval — you are part of a great western experiment and experience that has for its foundation Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman history, both beautiful in parts and in some horrendous (the signals of the end may be read in the inhumanity of Caligula and Elagabalus).

E Pluribus Unum

However arrived or stanced, we may all agree on our commitment to our Constitutional mission and the reshaping of so many fears and passions in the face of changing demographics and the presence of advancing and revolutionary communication and other technologies.

We have been witness to at least two NATO states marching forward into the past — Hungary and Turkey — and we should wonder why WE should have wanted to do that ourselves.

Well, that was a bit Hyde Park, wasn’t it?

🙂

Here’s a glimpse into how I believe we got here and became so temporarily given to an autocratic/authoritarian and medieval old nutty soul.

https://www.businessinsider.com/exploring-al-qaedas-murky-connection-to-russian-intelligence-2014-6 I believe: 9/11 Reflexive Control -> New Nationalism EU/NATO -> +Syrian Tragedy (refugees) -> Boost for American Christian White Nationalism & Supremacism

It takes a little patience to get the Moscow-in-America story and what it portended — or still portends — for authentic dignity, freedom, and security in America as well as a compassionate and working politics that adds to our national — and natural — political cohesion and coherence.

In consideration of present and future generations, a little intellectual exploration into the greater and more accurate image of our working democracy might be worth it.

Related and Recommended Online

TG – “Mary Trump on the end of Uncle Donald: all he has now is breaking things” – 11/8/2020.

TNY – “The Biden Era Begins” – David Remnick – 11/7/2020.

–33–

Biden’s Win – One Remark

07 Saturday Nov 2020

Posted by in 21st Century Feudal, 21st Century Modern, American Domestic Affairs

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

From the Awesome Conversation

Our military may be unprepared for a crisis involving a petulant CNC, rendered lame by a good election, who may choose to use military force to favor his followers and beat up his opposition. By his words, plus so many actions, Trump has signaled his willingness to weaken our democracy in the cause of his own potential nationalist dictatorship, so we’re going to be sensitive to the potential for political violence here in the aftermath of this election. I hope Barr and the FBI plus the many generals now serving or retired find their way to keeping their forces loyal to our Constitution and American Rule of Law while avoiding the potential for an obvious pseudo-democracy as a cover for dictatorship. I listened to the cheering of multitudes today — and I think that’s how it must feel to feel free of the prospect of absolute control and absolute power.

–33–