There are differences in these three lives. How each died can be interesting for conversation. Each engaged in self-promotion. At the core of their beliefs, one can argue with a reasonable amount of support, the only differences are nuances. 1/10

The first: held a high position in government. He, and his boss, took joy when those beneath him suggested he was a monster. The nicknames made him chuckle. His actions had a great impact after what he launched at Wannsee. 2/10

The…

"I think empathy is a made up New Age term that does a lot of damage." [FN1] Charlie kirk said this over three years ago, and does not appear to have changed his views on empathy, or on any political issues, since. Yesterday, Kirk was shot and killed as he spoke in Utah. 1/11

The Southern Poverty Law Center issued a statement w/which I agree: “Violence is never the answer. We condemn the shooting of Charlie Kirk and all violence in any form. Our history shows violence only fuels…

Cynicism about U.S. military involvement in Vietnam [FN1] ran high in the 1970s. [FN2] One of the first movies about U.S. military in Vietnam [FN3] was “Apocalypse Now.” In a memorable scene, a major, played by Robert Duvall, revels in an attack on a village for the surf: 1/10

“Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find…

In 2017, we challenged the validity of 2016's election for Pres/VP in two cases before SCOTUS. [FN1] I’d never encountered trolls and made the mistake of responding to a couple of posts from trolls. I wasted time, but learned, as shown yesterday. A “person” attacked me online. 1/4

I had replied to a news item from the IndyStar. The troll, in a short reply using a fake account and a pseudonym, tossed in some petty insults & hateful suggestions at my rather benign post. Here’s a…

One person’s irony [FN1] could be another’s hypocrisy [FN2] or, to someone else, pure bullshit. [FN3] Negatives around us today aren’t new, but they flared up, driven, like forced air from old bellows, by a militant embrace of ignorance-as-cudgel. In undergrad, during summers, 1/8

I worked construction. An “energy crisis” made ppl treat gas mileage seriously. During a break on a job site, a guy was defiant when he said, “I’ll always drive my gas guzzler.” He didn’t cite love of…

When I read that rumors were circulating that trump, who has not been seen “in public” since last Tuesday, is dead, I launched into action. We’ve had experience with this type of rumor. In 1967, rumors were about that Paul McCartney was dead. I looked for: 1/5

photographs of trump walking barefoot and out of step in a cross-walk with others (cover of “Abbey Road”). Nope.

cryptic badges or patches (e.g., “OPD” on “Sgt Pepper”). Huh-uh. 2/5

costumes worn that signify “death”…

The Russian asset in the Oval Office signs executive orders almost by the minute. His latest is aimed at burning the American flag. trump dodged the draft and was spared going to Vietnam, unlike the losers and suckers who had no choice. I want to be clear. 1/8

We had no legitimate reason to send military personnel to Vietnam. Pres Nixon was angry about the release of the Pentagon papers because they disclosed that U.S. military leaders and elected officials of the U.S. knew there…

By exec order [FN1], trump seeks “to ensure alignment w/the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.” [FN2] trump is telling museums what can’t be displayed. 1/6

We study history is to avoid repeating it. [FN3] trump lies to say the past was good for everyone. The maga just nod & follow along. This lie is most notable when rights are at issue, the rights are at…

“While I appreciate and welcome lively debate, unfortunately, there were individuals with less than good intentions and resorted to uncivil conduct against each other and law enforcement.” [FN1] Thus spake IN Lt Gov Christofascist Micah Beckwith. Only problem: 1/6

Beckwith is lying. On 2/1/20, Beckwith tagged me on (then-) Twitter w/a snotty insult & never disputed my inference that it was a challenge to debate. [FN2] On “the campaign trail,” Beckwith agreed that we arrange time,…

Today in her blog, Heather Cox Richardson details the 2016 election hack whereby Russian Pres Putin handed the Oval Office to trump [FN1] & how White House officials are revisiting Putin’s interference in the 2016 election “to distract voters” from trump/Epstein; one observer 1/8

speculates “Putin might possess ‘some form of the Epstein files’” that trump wants kept secret. [FN2] I’ve said for several years that Putin has “kompromat” [FN3] on trump. [FN4] As the past few months…

STOP

Today, trump said he ordered “two nuclear submarines” to be moved to “‘appropriate regions.’” [FN1] A move closer to nuclear war was prompted by crap. trump called Dmitry Medvedev Russia’s “failed former president” who should “watch his words.” [FN2] 1/9

Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, replied: “‘Russia is right on everything” & will “go its own way” [FN3] & said to remember “‘how dangerous the fabled ‘Dead Hand’ can be.” That refers to…

“ICE” [FN1] agents, in masks, grab people who “look like” they are neither U.S. citizens nor in the U.S. with proper documentation. Parallels can be drawn between agents of ICE & agents of of other police States. Germany, 1933-45, is one such State. 1/6

There is a difference between ICE and agents of the NSDAP, including the SS and the SA. ICE personnel seek to hide their identities with masks. Perhaps they realize there’s no immunity from prosecution because they only are…

John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” shows economic devastation of the 1930s. Made into a movie, the story is about the Joad family, evicted, like many families, from their Oklahoma farm. Banks seized a lot of land thanks to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. 1/5

In an op-ed on Daily Kos this week, AuntieB wrote of her conversation w/a family member of the owners of an orchard near her: “A few years ago, the family refinanced to install solar panels and new walk-in…

Our country is being destroyed. Since January our Federal government has been chopped up & pieces tossed aside. The qualifications to head an agency seem to require holding views antithetical to the reasons the agency was created. [FN1] And then there’s ICE. 1/12

ICE seems to be everywhere and its masked agents act like secret police the U.S. once trained in other countries. [FN2] Of course we have election interference in favor of GOP candidates, and it consists of more than the…

By degrees on a continuum or by categories of qualitative distinction, there are different kinds of surprise. From pleasant albeit mundane to mind-shatteringly & life altering, some types of surprise are far and away clearly different. Yesterday, I experienced the latter. 1/8

Saturday morning’s rain gave way to an afternoon of clear skies and high temperatures. Humidity also was high. River City Pride was held in downtown Peoria on the riverfront. A lot of people stopped at the…

Stephen Colbert’s Late Show is being canceled. For those of the “maga” world, who espouse the freedom of speech in the marketplace of ideas, please understand: Colbert succeeds. [FN1] The show is being canceled because it airs on CBS. CBS is owned by Paramount. 1/8

A sale of Paramount to Skydance Media is pending, but requires trump administration approval. [FN2] CBS already wimped out & paid damages to trump for a segment of “60 Minutes” trump didn’t like. History shows that…

These past few months, individuals, under the aegis of “ICE,” [FN1] carried out trump administration seizures of immigrants. [FN2] I’ve referred to ICE as equal to the SA, or “brown shirts,” who were the muscle of the Third Reich. [FN3] They were typified by: 1/11

“‘the bulky, bloated forms with that special development of the upper neck, the roundish faces, the uninspired eyes.” [FN4] The “first Nazi strong-arm squads” they were an “army of storm troopers.” [FN5] Hitler’s support for…

The latest is that “Elon Musk has said that he’s formed a new political party, but it’s unclear what steps — if any — he’s taken to do so, or how the effort might affect upcoming elections.” [FN1] So Dear Mr Musk: starting a political party in the land of liberty isn’t easy. 1/16

You know pesky laws of physics from rocketing into space & regulatory statutes from conquests in business, but more imposing are election laws & not like SCOTUS tossed in Citizen’s United, [FN2] where…

Your wish in your 7/4 op-ed, that “people who live in the United States and hate it” should leave, implies you long for the time when “men and women far more courageous than I am broke Britain's chains of tyranny.” You miss a dynamic of our history: grand ideals. 1/21

Our founding documents [FN1] include “all men are created equal” & were written by white males who owned property. No woman signed any of the documents. No woman could vote. [FN2] Another contradiction for “a land…

Delaware was first to ratify the Constitution [FN1] & is among several States whose ratification conventions [FN2] left few records. Elliot’s Debates [FN3] has few entries for Delaware. [FN4] In no record does anyone declare Delaware is part of a Christian nation. [FN5] 1/19

Another collection of documents for this period is relatively recent in publication. [FN6] Edited by Prof Merrill Jensen, [FN7] relevant history of Delaware is noted [FN8] and descriptions of sources are…