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Saturday, August 31, 2024
Regarding Trump and Trumpism and the Power of the Strong Man
by Richard Upchurch, Aug. 31, 2024- Trump and Trumpism seem something very remarkable in the large picture of American politics. We have seen the fanatical zeal he is able to elicit, and does elicit, to a widely varying extent among about half of our fellow citizens--- a wild devotion that produced the mass action of Jan. 6, '21. It is not his policy proposals or judicial appointments, carefully propounded to entice traditionalists and conservatives, that have to concern those of us who want to keep our constitution, but rather it is the absolute and unquestionable political power he has achieved in so short a time, and the total transformation of the Republican Party, such that his thumb down can end immediately what had been a long and productive career. A power that has transformed senators formerly of at least middling integrity into fawning sycophants lest they be primaried out of their offices by an electorate who seem totally carried away by the personal charisma of this man. In world history this is no novel phenomenon.
We saw something like it in Europe a century ago. We saw what the power of the Strong Man and the neediness of the masses for the kind of leadership he seemed to offer could produce. We may want to think such things could not happen here. But I'm afraid such things could. And even a small chance such things might happen here is far too big a chance to take.
seems a master of using the modern media---media of new and extraordinary power and pervasiveness--- to persuade, and of tailoring his message so that for many, including people like me who hold to some traditionalist or conservative views, he seems to be making us an offer we can't refuse.
What is dangerous, it seems to me, is his apparent intent to challenge any institution or authority that lies in his personal way, and even more dangerous, the willingness, even the fervent desire, of such a high percentage of the electorate to follow him, even when challenge means defiance of the law. To challenge the validity of the electoral system, framed so carefully and with such profound wisdom and accurate foresight as it was by the founders, and to challenge the validity of the judiciary including many judges he had himself appointed, and to challenge the constitutional transfer of power, as Trump clearly did by allowing his followers to disrupt traditional congressional ceremony of the transfer of power, and to be followed or at least approved by so many of the pubic---these certainly express a kind of strength, but not strength in supporting the Constitution.
If our Constitution, our congress and our judiciary were indeed corrupt and in need of being changed, we might need to be revolutionaries, as our Declaration lays out so vividly that we should be if such were the case. But I do not see any evidence whatsoever to support Trump's rebellion against our electoral, judicial and legislative systems. I don't see any evidence, not even the least bit, that his rebellious gestures and rhetoric are an any way justifiable. It now seems fairly clear to me that Trump is indeed a leader of strength and charisma, alright, but that he uses his strength and charisma not to support the Constitution but rather to support his own personal appetite for power. Scariest of all is the great numbers of citizen voters who seem to want to follow him, and give him what he wants.
Richard Upchurch is a scholar and a philosopher who lives in Nashville. The above essay is from a Facebook post. To see the full thread of this discussion including comments justifying Trumpism from some Trump supporters and replies from Richard and other Trump critics, follow this link.
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Friday, August 30, 2024
The August Urbanism Meet-up is August 31st.
by Rod Williams, Aug. 25, 2024- If you care about local government or are interested in topics like planning and zoning, crime and public safety, transit and traffic, affordable housing, public safety, local taxation, urban sprawl, parks and public art and amenities, or other topics relating to "urbanism" you may be interested in attending this monthly get together.
I have been attending these meetings for about five months. I am really impressed by the depth of knowledge of those participating. Some of the participants have professional experience or education in the fields being discussed and others are self-educated experts. A wide variety of informed opinion is on display at these gatherings.
If this sounds like something that may interest you, please join us. The Copper Branch is the cafe in the Main Library building. Discounted parking is available at the library public parking garage.
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Thursday, August 29, 2024
Trump is Getting Worse, Reposting QAnon Memes and calling for a Military Tribunal for Barack Obama.
When I would express concern about some of Trump's more bombastic or offensive utterances, my Trump supporting friends would simply dismiss it with a comment such as, "Oh, he was just being funny." Or, "Surely you know he was just exaggerating; don't take him so seriously."
When Q-Anon took part in the January 6th attack on the Capitol or otherwise showed their support for Trump, my Trump supporting friends would dismiss any Trump connection and say that Q-Anon was weird but would assert that Trump had nothing to do with Q-Anon.
When Trump said he would be your retribution and would launch investigations of his opponents, this did not concern a lot of Trump supporters because they saw the Trump prosecutions as politically motivated and thought Trump getting even was justified.
I visit Donald Trump every day on his Truth Social. He has always posted a lot of offensive stuff, such as name calling and outlandish claims of his critic's malfeasance. Now, he is reposting Q-Anon memes. Now is calling for jailing his critic.
"Nothing Can Stop What is Coming," is a Q-Anon phrase signaling that it is inevitable that the Deep State and its collaborators will soon be arrested and punished. Trump repost several variations of this message.
Trump is also reposting memes calling for military tribunals aimed at Barack Obama and the meme calls on viewers to repost if they agree. 
Trump also post a meme calling for imprisonment of his opponents and a meme calling for the inditement of the January 6th committee members for sedition.
This should scare you. This cannot be excused. This is not funny. This is not normal. This is a call for an end to democracy.
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Wednesday, August 28, 2024
Battle wages with sales tax threat over Memphis gun control ballot referendum
Secretary of State Tre Hargett told media outlets he would not allow the measures to reach the Nov. 5 ballot and Tennessee Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins reportedly sent a letter to Shelby County Election Commission Chairman Mark Luttrell saying the same.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Cameron Sexton threatened to withhold shared state sales tax from Memphis is the referendum were on the Nov. 5 ballot.
“Local govt’s who want to be progressive & evade state laws will lose shared sales tax funding,” Sexton wrote. “Subversive attempts to adopt sanctuary cities, allow boys in girl’s sports, limit 2A rights or other attempts will be met with stiff resistance. We hope they change course immediately.”
Memphis received $78 million in shared sales tax last budget year, State Affairs reported.
House Minority Leader Karen Camper said that Shelby County brought in $2 billion in state sales tax last year.
The ballot questions ask about preventing individuals from carrying a handgun without a permit, banning the sale or possession of “assault rifles” in most cases with some exceptions and the addition of extreme risk protection orders, often referred to as red flag laws.
The ballot initiatives conflict with state law, which allows for permitless carry, monitoring firearm sales and prevents red flag laws.
“These proposals represent the will of the people, and their intent is clear: to protect and enhance the safety of our communities,” Camper wrote to Sexton and Lieutenant Gov. Randy McNally. “Threatening to punish an entire county for exercising its democratic right is not only unprecedented but sets a dangerous precedent.”
State Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, believes the state should allow citizens to have their voices heard on the referendum.
"A city holding a referendum so that the people can speak does not break state law," Parkinson said. "To have the threat of Memphis' portion of sales taxes withheld because they made a choice to 'hear' the thoughts of their citizens on a state policy that is harmful to their communities is counter productive to say the least. We can do better."
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Conservative activist's push leads to policy changes at Lowe's, Ford and more
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| Robby Starbuck |
Starbuck previously made public policies at Harley-Davidson, John Deere and Tractor Supply that led to corporate statements on how the companies would shift policies to limit or eliminate DEI priorities.
This week, Lowe’s made a statement that it would stop participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index along with stopping donations to pride events and ending its employee resource groups, which separate employees with specific characteristics such as sexual orientation or gender to provide corporate resources.
On Wednesday, Starbuck said that Ford did the same, ending involvement in HRC's index, pride donations and vowing that ERC groups will be focused on business. Ford also said that it does not have supplier or dealership quotas.
“We’re now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose,” Starbuck wrote. “We are winning and one by one we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America.”
Starbuck said that he was tipped off that Lowe’s was a company to look into after a pair of employees from Lowe’s DEI team visited his LinkedIn profile.
The Lowe’s changes were announced a week after Starbuck messaged its corporate leadership regarding the company’s corporate policies.
Starbuck was a 2022 Republican write-in candidate in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District after being removed from the ballot by the Tennessee Republican Party.
Jack Daniel’s parent company Brown-Forman recently announced changes in its company, just as Starbuck said he was about to write about the company’s policies but after he had gone through many employee LinkedIn pages, meaning they received notification he was looking at their pages.
Jack Daniel’s also left the HRC Corporate Equality Index along with announcing that executive and employee bonuses and goals would be tied to business performance and not DEI and it would end specific training that Starbuck described as “woke.”
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Praise for Price-Gouging
by John H. Cochrane, The Grumpy Economist, Aug. 20, 2024- ... What is price gouging and how could I possibly say that? The classic case of “price gouging” happens in a natural disaster or pandemic. A hurricane is coming, people run down to hardwares stores and clean out the 4’x8’ plywood to board up their windows. Stores raise their prices, people who have them sell at high prices to those that don’t. After the storm, gas trucks can’t get in for a few days. Gas stations raise prices to $10 per gallon. In the pandemic, people got worried about toilet paper and went out to buy, cleaning out shelves. Stores that raised prices were accused of “gouging.”
Price gouging is fundamentally different from monopoly pricing, collusion, or price-fixing. Price gouging happens in perfectly competitive markets. There suddenly isn’t enough to go around, either from a surge in demand or a contraction in supply. Prices rise sharply above what people are used to paying. Those that have inventories, bought when prices were lower, can turn around and make a temporary profit. ...
Price gouging is wonderful for all the reasons that letting supply equals demand is wonderful. ... Hoarding goes with price controls, anticipated empty shelves. Why did people buy tons of toilet paper in the pandemic? They were worried about not being able to get it in the future. ...
Laws limiting price gouging also reduce supply. ... “Windfall” profits belong in the pantheon of saints along with price-gouging. In competitive industries, that’s what encourages people to enter and offer new supply. ... companies are very reluctant to price-gouge. Costco let the shelves run out of toilet paper rather than raise prices. Other stores rationed: you can only have 4 rolls ... Uber surge pricing was an important lesson to me. I loved it. I could always get a car if I really needed one, and I could see how much extra I was paying and decide if I didn’t need it. I was grateful that Uber let me pay other people to postpone their trip for a while, and send a loud signal that more drivers are needed. (read it all)
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Hill Dems try to tamp down backlash to Harris’ grocery price gouging pitch
Politico: Hill Dems try to tamp down backlash to Harris’ grocery price gouging pitch. In private, some lawmakers are telling voters and food industry officials her proposals will never pass through Congress.
Rod's Comment: This sounds familiar. Whenever I say one of Trump's proposals is just nuts, his defenders will say don't worry, he could never enact that anyway. Now Dems are using the same argument about Harris' nuttier ideas.
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This is Funny, Weird, Pathetic and Sad. Trump Does Infomercial Touting Trump Digital Trading Cards
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| This card has an actual piece of the suit Trump wore during a debate |
by Rod Williams, August 28, 2024 - First there was the God Bless the USA Bible, then there were the Trump sneakers; now, it is The Trump Digital Trading Cards. Please watch the above pitch. This is just bizarre. This is for real, not a parody. To view this ad on the official site, follow this link.
There are cards of Trump doing his little campaign dance that he does, there is one of him holding a Bitcoin globe, and one of him looking tough with bodybuilder biceps. 
With every so many digital cards you purchase you get an actual physical card, and one of them has an actual piece of one of his suits that he wore in a debate attached to the card.
Who would want these? Maybe the same people who would buy a pet rock? No, this is weirder than paying money for a rock. No, I think this is more like someone who would pay thousands of dollars to attend a Taylor Swift concert to set in the nosebleed section of a football stadium. Or, maybe it more like the people who will send money to a faith-healer TV evangelist and get a prayer cloth in the mail.
Can you imagine Ronald Reagan doing this, or Jimmy Carter, or Barack Obama or Mitt Romney, or any former president or candidates? Trump has no dignity. I think a president should be serious and dignified. From the first time Trump appeared on the political scene, I had a hard time taking his seriously. I thought he was a reality TV star and a con man. I have referred to him as a carnival barker. I think he gives carnival barkers a bad name.
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Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Mayor O'Connell's Anit-Nazi Public Safety Ordinances
Metro Nashville Press Release, August 23, 2024-
From Mayor Freddie O’Connell:
“I have worked with the Department of Law and Metro Council to introduce four pieces of legislation that boost public safety while simultaneously protecting First Amendment rights to peacefully gather and speak. Political tensions are high, and this legislation will help us discourage behavior that can spark violence. When political violence prevents government functions or creates public safety issues, we must have the tools in our toolkit to respond effectively.
The four pieces of legislation introduced include:
- An ordinance to create buffer zones to maintain public safety around public buildings and parking lots
- An adjustment to our mask-wearing ordinance
- An ordinance prohibiting the placement of distracting signs over a highway
- An ordinance prohibiting the distribution of handbills on private property before sunrise or after sunset”
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Rod's Comment: See my post, Be Cautious in Targeting Nazi Protest. One Cannot Pass Laws to Curtail Speech You Don't Like Without Curtailing Speech You do Like.
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Be Cautious in Targeting Nazi Protest. One Cannot Pass Laws to Curtail Speech You Don't Like Without Curtailing Speech You do Like.
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| Nazis March in Nashville |
They have thrown handbills around town, demonstrated in front of a synagogue, marched through streets with the Nazi flag, jeered the Black boys who bang plastic buckets on Broadway for tips, and showed up at a Metro Council meeting and spoke out of turn or somehow caused a disturbance. A lot of people are demanding something be done.
Mayor O'Connell has proposed several ordinances to counter these Nazi demonstrations. We need to be cautious.
I think back about other protest in Nashville is recent years. I was appalled that Black Lives Matter and Antifa protestors were allowed to spray paint buildings and monuments with impunity. Vandalism is already against the law, however, laws against vandalism were not enforced during those protest. The Nazis have not engaged in vandalism, but if they do, the law should be enforced, but it should have been enforced against BLM protestors also. Sometimes we do not need more laws but we need law enforcement.
During the BLM protest, protestors took to the Interstate interloop and closed it, and they staged a set-in the street on Lower Broadway blocking traffic. That should not be allowed to occur and was already against the law and since then the State has increased the severity of the punishment for blocking a State road. I support that. Closing an interstate highway, where one is trapped in a car with no way to exit is dangerous and should absolutely be prohibited. Protestors should not be allowed to close roadways. The Nazis have not done that, but we have a law to handle that if they do.
If you recall from some years ago, the Nashville version of Occupy Wallstreet, occupied legislative plaza for weeks or maybe it was month, denying its use to the public. Since then, the State has passed a law making it illegal to camp overnight on public property not designated for camping. If the Nazis go camping, we got a law to cover that.
More recently, following the Covenant School shooting in Nashville, several protests occurred advocating restrictions on firearms. One occurred in the House chamber and made famous "the Tennessee Three." If you think that protest was acceptable, you should extend the same right to Nazi protestors to disrupt legislative bodies.
Students from Hume-Fogg marched from the school to the Capitol, without obtaining a permit, in order to make their anti-gun views known. I am unsure if the Hume Fogg students needed a permit or not. If we pass a law, or if we enforce a law, requiring a permit before a group can march in protest then the same law that applies to Nazis would have to apply to Hume-Fogg students protesting gun violence.
I am not sure of the legal status of covering one's face during a protest. I thought there was already a law against that and had been for a long time, originally passed targeting the Ku Klux Klan. During the BLM/Antifa riots, many of the rioters identified as Antifa covered their face. Rioter or protestors could cover their face to protect themselves from criminal liability for crimes committed during the protest or they could cover their face to intimidate. I understand the concern, but I think people should be permitted to hide their identify when protesting. In any event, if such a law applies to Nazis, it has to apply to Antifa also.
I think we have sufficient laws to regulate yet protect the right to protest. Illegally occupying building, vandalism, and closing a street are already illegal. We need to be careful in how far we go to prohibit protest. If you think pro-lifers should be permitted to protest in front of an abortion clinic, then you must support the right of Nazis to protest in front of a synagogue or pro-Palestinian students to do so too.
If you want to ban handbills from being thrown in yards, then it must apply to everyone who does it, including that guy trying to solicit your business to spray for mosquitoes. One cannot ban speech you do not like and permit speech you do. I do not trust our Metro Council to wisely consider these issues. We have seen the Councils lack of concern for free speech when it failed to approve a routine ordinance allowing a sign to overhand a sidewalk. The sign was rejected for no other reason than they did not like the person whose name was on the sign. That is not an opinion, Council members said so.
I hope that before the Council passes and the mayor proposes laws restricting speech, they will ask themselves, would I want these same restrictions to apply to BLM protest, or anti-gun violence protest, or pro-choice protest.
To read the Nashville Scene's take on this issue follow this link.
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Monday, August 26, 2024
"An Unserious Man:" The Most Important Line at the DNC.
by William Kristol, The Bulwark, Aug 26, 2024- Before Kamala Harris’s convention speech fades into the mists of history, I want briefly to discuss one passage:William Kristol
In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
Harris didn’t dwell on the first point at all—that Trump is an unserious man. She did spend a fair amount of time discussing the very serious consequences of putting Trump back in the White House.
But why even mention the fact that Trump is an unserious man? Because I think the Harris campaign understands that it’s precisely Trump’s unseriousness—his showmanship, his buffoonery, his shtick—that can make it hard to appreciate just how dangerous he is. So somehow one has to stipulate Trump’s apparent unseriousness in order to get to his dangerousness. (read the rest)
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Sunday, August 25, 2024
Gen. McMaster’s blistering account of the Trump White House
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| Gen. H.R. McMaster |
In his blistering, insightful account of his time in the Trump White House, McMaster describes meetings in the Oval Office as “exercises in competitive sycophancy” during which Trump’s advisers would flatter the president by saying stuff like, “Your instincts are always right” or, “No one has ever been treated so badly by the press.” Meanwhile, Trump would say “outlandish” things like, “Why don’t we just bomb the drugs?” in Mexico or, “Why don’t we take out the whole North Korean Army during one of their parades?”
... McMaster’s account of the Trump team is not pretty. Steve Bannon, Trump’s “chief strategist” early in the presidency, is portrayed as a “fawning court jester” who played “on Trump’s anxiety and sense of beleaguerment … with stories, mainly about who was out to get him and what he could do to ‘counterpunch.’”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis were often at odds with Trump, ... McMaster writes that Tillerson and Mattis viewed Trump as “dangerous” and seemed to construe their roles as if “Trump was an emergency and that anyone abetting him was an adversary.” Trump himself also contributed to the dysfunction: “He enjoyed and contributed to interpersonal drama in the White House and across the administration.”
.... The assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, seems to have marked a decisive break from Trump for McMaster, ... McMaster writes that in the aftermath of his 2020 electoral defeat, Trump’s “ego and love of self… drove him to abandon his oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution,’ a president’s highest obligation.” (read it all)
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