CSotD: A Republic, If We Can Keep It
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Brodner hits on a couple of levels with this one. When Nikita Khruschev said “We will bury you,” most Americans took it as a threat, given that it was the middle of the Cold War. But it was an idiomatic expression meaning “We will be here when you’re gone,” similar to saying “We will dance on your grave,” though, admittedly, with a little more bite.
Well, he may have spoken too soon, because the Soviet Union fell first, though Brodner is correct that the United States has similarly self-destructed. Putin dreams of reconstituting the old USSR, but as he is finding, it’s not so easy to persuade independent nations to once more put themselves under Moscow’s direction.
On the other hand, he’s done a good job of undoing perestroika and glasnost and reviving Russia’s tradition of heavy-handed ruling by the central government.
Meanwhile, on this side of the planet, Brodner points out that Dear Leader has made a symbolic gesture of burying America in a flood of excrement in his childish video, and matched that with a succession of outrageous vanity projects that could not possibly have gone forward in a functioning democracy.
I suppose that, if you are a Kazakh or Lithuanian, you’re content to say that Khruschev was wrong, because your country has regained its independence, though you may sometimes feel the breath of the Russian bear on the back of your neck.
For an American, however, Khruschev may have been right, because Moscow is still around, despite a brief bout of democracy and free market economics.
However, we won’t know if his prophecy has come true until we see if America can recover from Donald J. Trump and the political party that has rolled over to let him scratch its belly.
Juxtaposition of the Day
Speaking of submissive puppies, Bunday and Ariail chose to illustrate the on-again, off-again Ukraine peace process by depicting Trump as Putin’s dog. Bunday at least shows him being fooled by the cagey former KGB operative, while Ariail has him more willingly cooperating with his master.
I don’t suppose motivation matters as long as nobody steps in to break the cycle.
The battle to keep Zohran Mamdani from becoming mayor of New York City continues, as screaming “Commie!” is giving way to pure Islamophobic racism.
Not that conservative commentators aren’t still asking how he’s going to pay for the social benefits he’s promising, which is a reasonable question.
On the other hand, as a Granite Stater, I’m well aware that the state can successfully operate liquor stores, which makes me suspect that the city could run a few groceries. Not sure about the other benefits, but I don’t picture a lot of millionaires moving to Connecticut to avoid a tax increase they could likely find a way to write off.
But fighting socialism requires an intellectual argument. Racism, on the other hand, does not.
So, given the massive advantage polls are giving Mamdani, Kelley reminds us that all Muslims are responsible for the 9/11 attacks, including those who were born in Uganda, which isn’t even on the same continent as the Saudis who carried out the hijacking. And including those who, like Mamdani’s father, went to the American South to register voters during the Civil Rights Movement, or who, like his mother, were responsible for creating art like the film Mississippi Masala.
On the topic of immigrants, Garth German reminds us that rounding up and deporting asylum seekers is not only cruel but senseless, given that they are following the law.
Even people who sneak across the border are not committing a crime, but, rather, are violating a regulation. It’s “law breaking” on the same level as not getting your car inspected, though I suppose we should prepare ourselves for life in a country where people with expired inspection stickers are dragged from their cars, slammed to the ground, handcuffed and imprisoned without hearings.
Marlette points out that people who violate the rules about signing up for legal presence in this country not only provide needed services and that all that dragging and beating and deporting is expensive.
We know that there aren’t a lot of born-Americans who are willing to pick vegetables or cut meat and that migrants — documented or not — are a needed labor pool in those industries, but I’ve also talked to builders and landscapers who can’t find workers, and I don’t see that situation improving any time soon.
I had a friend whose executive position ceased to exist, meaning that he lost his job shortly before he was old enough to sign up for Medicare. He took a job stocking shelves at, IIRC, Target in order to get health coverage. Another friend worked at Trader Joes for the same reason.
I’m old enough to be retired on purpose, but inflation is at three percent, and Social Security is going to give recipients a 2.8% cost of living boost. No word on Medicare premiums, but my experience has been that the increase in basic premiums pretty much gobbles up that COLA, which equals out the cost of Medicare but isn’t much help at the grocery store or the gas station or with utilities.
Matson proposes that, if Dear Leader can tap into the government money pile to pay his attorney fees, maybe regular folks should also be given money to cover their personal bills. If the courts aren’t going to stop him, why should they stop us?
Dear Leader has said he’s going to cut us each a check to cover the tariffs he refuses to admit we’re paying, but as projections pile up, the refund he’s promising becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of the increased prices we’ll end up paying.
However, the math won’t matter until the promises turn into negotiable funds. Don’t stand on one leg while you wait.
I’d better use this World Series cartoon before the whole thing is over; I’ve already held it long enough for Horsey’s hometown reference to have expired.
It still works now that the series is between LA and Toronto, though going to the Jays’ home games is cheaper.
Particularly if you bring all your stuff with you.
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