03-21-2022 - Tucker Carlson, Sweat on Your Brow, SCOTUS, Businesses that put $$$ Ahead of Ukrainian Blood

 

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JL

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Competing with Tucker Carlson

RICHARDSON

Accurate news reporting is hard to come by these days. Too many are fooled by the misleading and opinionated reporting found on such TV sources as Fox News. Too few watch more honest TV news or read newspapers which report the truth.

With that in mind, I recommend that you visit “Letters from an American,” a daily newsletter posted by Professor Heather Cox Richardson of Boston College if you are not already doing so.

It's free, although you can pay a monthly fee to be able to add comments to it and to see the comments made by others, as many do each day. She also publishes a podcast.

Besides providing an intelligent summary of the day’s news (with links to sites where her source material may be read), Professor Richardson often shares her historical expertise with you.

Check out the site by visiting https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/  CLICKING HERE WILL GET YOU THERE TOO.

If you like it, please pass this message on to four or five of your friends and relatives. That’s one way of competing with Tucker Carlson.

 

JL

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“Falsehood flies and truth comes limping after it.” … Jonathan Swift

JL

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Outdoor Sweat on Your Brow

There’s something noble about having sweat on your brow.  To some it’s more wholesome than doing something for a living that doesn’t necessitate physical labor.  And doing it out in the open countryside is better than doing it in a city or in an enclosed structure, if you have the choice.  Beyond being romantic, some consider that to be the essence of being patriotic, American and politically, I sense it to be Republican. 

Clever marketers have capitalized on this by naming a hardware store chain that caters to such non-urban people as the “Tractor Supply Company.”  I doubt that many of its customers own tractors. Similarly, the image of hardworking, muscular stevedores on the docks or loading railroad cars is the theme of hardware stores that call themselves “Harbor Freight Company.”

Very subtly, the image suggested by the very names of these chain stores excludes many Americans from their supposed customer base, even though anyone’s money or credit card is acceptable there.  It is hard to pin down, but there is something vaguely uncomfortable about the idea of individuals being able to do things for themselves and not along with others.  I sense that no one who shops in either place belongs to a union.

There is something about the marketing approach of Tractor Supply and Harbor Freight stores, making individualism appear more important than cooperation, which is not unlike that of undemocratic forces on the far right of our political spectrum. It’s that self-sufficient “cowboy” mentality that elected Ronald Reagan in 1980 showing up again in our culture, the idea that all dressing up requires is a cleaner pair of blue jeans than the ones you wore when you cleaned out your cesspool.

For me, Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware stores seem more democratic, the last mentioned being about the closest one can get to a ‘mom and pop’ operation today. (It's interesting that neither Tractor Supply nor Harbor Freight sells paint, but almost all Ace Hardware locations do, probably the key to their survival.)

Amazon, I won’t even mention.

JL

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 Law - the Last Bulwark

Once in a while I check out “Common Sense,” a daily blog posted by former New York Times editorial staffer, Bari Weiss.  Sometimes she writes the content and often she passes on the thoughts of others.  Ms. Weiss frequently addresses the phenomenon of “institutional capture,”  where she believes some of America’s most important institutions (examples: Medicine, Hollywood, Education, Newspapers) have betrayed their own missions, having been transformed by an illiberal ideology. In fact, Ms. Weiss resigned from the New York Times and started her blog because of that.  The other day, Ms. Weiss addressed the practice of law as follows:

“Ok, so we’ve lost a lot. A whole lot. But at least we haven’t lost the law. That’s how we comforted ourselves. The law would be the bulwark against this nonsense. The rest we could work on building anew.  But what if the country’s legal system was changing just like everything else?

Today, Aaron Sibarium, a reporter who has consistently been ahead of the pack on this beat, offers a groundbreaking piece on how the legal system in America, as one prominent liberal scholar put it, is at risk of becoming “a totalitarian nightmare.”

To read it, visit bariweiss.substack.com where it appears under the title of “The Takeover of America’s Legal System.”  or CLICK HERE .  An example of this “takeover” can be witnessed in the ongoing hearings for the appointment of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Judge Jackson is actually being criticized by some Republicans for having served as a public defender in the past and having had Guantanamo prisoners as clients.  They think this will affect how she will rule on cases before the SCOTUS.  They don’t understand what lawyers do and what the law is all about. To them, everything is politicized and this is what Sibarium warns of and fears.

JL

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More About the Composition of the SCOTUS

With six "originalists" on the SCOTUS, the almost certain appointment of Justice Jackson will change little. Waiting for their retirement or death and hoping it occurs during a presidency and Senate that values democracy over traditionalism is not a viable solution because by then, democracy in America will be dead and buried, with the philosophy of Antonin Scalia, or even worse, Robert Bork, in the ascendency. Expansion of the SCOTUS must be on the agenda of any Democratic administration that has a majority in the Senate.

JL

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To supplement the list of companies still doing business with Russia despite their invasion of Ukraine, contained in the following article, check out https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-400-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain   or just CLICK HERE TO GET THERE.

But first, read Dana Milbank’s recent Washington Post column

Millbank

Zelenskyy Says Peace over Profit – Look Who Disagrees

Dana Milbank

Washington Post Columnist

 

In his gut-wrenching address to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the United States for more — and more he will get.

 

U.S. leaders across the spectrum saluted Zelenskyy after he spoke to them Wednesday from Kyiv in his olive-drab T-shirt — part Winston Churchill and part Che Guevara. Neither lawmakers nor the administration support a U.S.-led no-fly zone or troop commitment.

But Zelenskyy made another ask and it’s something all Americans can help with. We can stop buying the products of businesses that continue to fund Vladimir Putin’s war machine, even after its full horrors are obvious to the world.

 

'All American companies must leave Russia. . . . Leave their market immediately, because it is flooded with our blood,' the young leader said, asking lawmakers 'to make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy our people in Ukraine. . . . Peace is more important than income.'

 

Most American companies get that. Some 400 U.S. and other multinational firms have pulled out of Russia, according to Yale’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, who has kept the authoritative list. Oil companies (BP, Shell, ExxonMobil) and tech companies (Dell, IBM, Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter) led the way, and many others (McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola) eventually followed.

 

But at the other extreme, 33 companies (as of Wednesday) form a 'hall of shame,' defying demands that they exit Russia or reduce activities there.

'They are funding the Russian war machine, and they are undermining the whole idea of the sanctions,' Sonnenfeld told me. 'The whole idea is to freeze up civil society, to get people out on the streets and outraged. They’re undermining an effective resolution.'

 

Those who want to stop Russia’s murderous attack against Ukraine should stop investing in or buying the products of these companies.

 

Koch Industries, whose owners gave to right-wing causes for years, is now financing Putin’s war. The people who make Brawny paper towels, Dixie cups, Quilted Northern toilet paper, Vanity Fair napkins and Georgia-Pacific lumber are abetting the spilling of Ukrainians’ blood.

Like Reebok shoes? They’re being used to stomp on Ukraine. Authentic Brands Group, which also owns Aeropostale, Eddie Bauer, Brooks Brothers and Nine West, among others, is in the hall of shame.

 

Before you bite into a Cinnabon (or Carvel ice cream, Schlotzsky’s sandwich or Auntie Anne’s pretzel) consider that parent company Focus Brands is taking a bite out of democracy in Ukraine. So is Subway, selling you the All-American Club while refusing to cut loose 446 Russian franchises.

 

Several other household brands — Truvia and Diamond Crystal salt (Cargill), Avon cosmetics (Natura), LG appliances, ASUS laptops, Mission tortillas (Gruma) and Pirelli tires — are produced by companies on the shameful list.

 

Let’s name and shame all the others among the 33: advertising firms BBDO, DDB and Omnicom; accountant Baker Tilly; industrial companies Air Liquide, Air Products, Greif, IPG Photonics, Linde, Mettler Toledo, Nalco and Rockwool; French hotelier Accor and retailers Auchan, Decathlon and Leroy Merlin; German wholesaler Metro; cloud service Cloudflare; International Paper; and Sweden’s Oriflame Cosmetics.

An additional 72 multinationals have made only partial pullbacks from Russia, such as reducing current operations or holding off on new investments — actions Sonnenfeld calls 'smokescreens.' Included here: Dunkin’ Donuts, General Mills, Mondelez (Oreos and other Nabisco products), candymaker Mars, Procter & Gamble, Yum Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott.

 

All these businesses could be doing more to stop Putin’s savagery and war crimes. Because they won’t, we all should do more to stop them and reward the vast majority of companies that share Zelenskyy’s belief that peace is more important than profit.

 

JL

                               

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03-18-2022 - A No Fly Zone, War Criminals, Quislings, and a Bit More to Whet Your Appetite

 

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SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY 

AND OTHERS YOU FEEL MIGHT ENJOY READING IT.

JL

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Kiev Residential Neigborhood

Why No "No Fly Zone"

An ‘opinion’ piece in the March 15 Palm Beach Post, advocating a ‘no fly zone’ over Ukraine, concluded with this suggestion:

 

‘The correct course is to inform the Russians that (1) NATO and the United States are immediately establishing a no-fly zone to enable humanitarian and military supplies to reach the Ukrainian people and forces; (2) if Russia interferes, its offending air defenses and aircraft will be destroyed; and (3) if Russia escalates the matter further, NATO and the United States will escalate further, including use of our nuclear forces if required. 

 

Time is of the essence for Ukraine and for the West. No Russian first strike, tactical or strategic, could eliminate a response that could vaporize Russian forces or cities. Unhinged as he seems to be, Putin and those around him can be expected not to want Russia vaporized.’

 

The author seems to underestimate the ‘unhingedness’ of Vladimir Putin.  I believe the Russian people are beginning to see him for what he is and will find a way to get rid of him as a direct result of his Ukraine aggression, regardless of whether it succeeds or not.  The Russian people, as well as those European nations which thought they could manage to get along with Putin, will suffer from ‘buyer’s remorse,’ if they already are not feeling it.  What they see in Ukraine has awakened them. With a friend like Vladimir Putin, who needs enemies?

 

As for the writer’s suggestion, it reminds me of a weekly poker game in which I participate.  The stakes are relatively minimal (25 cents and 50 cents) and I enjoy it, even when I lose $20.  I really can’t lose very much.  I know there are other games around where the minimum bets are $5 and $10.  I avoid those, just as I would avoid the writer’s ‘no fly zone’ suggestion.  The stakes are just far too high for me. 

 

But there are other steps, besides sanctions and humanitarian aid, which we can take, short of getting involved in a shooting war with Russia, to help Ukraine. Some of these are probably ‘classified’ at this point so you won’t read about them, but I believe they are being carried out.

 

The writer cites JFK’s having successfully stood up to a similar Russian nuclear threat during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. He suggests we wave the ‘nuclear saber’ which we also, like Russia, possess.  What is not often stated is that the Russian missiles were removed from Cuba only after JFK agreed to remove our missile sites from Turkey.  I don’t think we have something similar to trade off today.

The pictures from Ukraine of the terror being directed at non-combatant civilians, turning cities to rubble, are horrible ... but they should motivate us to find solutions other than worse horrors which would come from a nuclear conflict with Russia, in which a failed and unhinged Putin will have less to lose than do we.

JL

 

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War Criminals and Mouthpieces So the Senate voted to declare Vladimir Putin to be a 'war criminal'!  Serbian president Milosovec was similarly cited twenty years ago, indicted, but died in prison in the Hague before the years-long trial was completed.  What Putin is doing in Ukraine qualifies him as a 'war criminal.' Memory of this can either strengthen Putin's resolve to reclaim Ukraine to Russia’s orbit, no matter what it takes, or cause him to back off.   I lean toward the latter alternative.  I believe there will ultimately be a 'deal' guaranteeing Ukraine's independence but not permitting its NATO or EU membership. Originally, I thought such a deal would involve some autonomy for Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine, but because of Putin's indiscriminate bombing, even of cities where Russia had significant support, I think even they have soured on him.  Rebuilding Ukraine’s cities, wrecked by Putin, will take Western aid and despite non-membership in NATO and the European Union, that will bind Ukraine firmly to nations that are members.   The big losers will be Russia and of course, Putin, not to mention their mouthpieces in this country which the First Amendment protects.  And in speaking of European ‘war criminals,’ let’s look at their ‘mouthpieces’ here in the United States.  There were eight Republican members of Congress, Andy Biggs (AZ), Dan Bishop (NC), Lauren Boebert (CO), Matt Gaetz (FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Glenn Grothman (WI), Thomas Massie (KY), and Chip Roy (TX), whom I believe would eagerly serve as 'quislings' if democracy fails here. They made their position clear when they were the only members of the House voting against suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. (Vidkun Quisling was the Nazi collaborator who became the puppet Prime Minister of Norway during the German occupation of that country during WW2, after which he was tried and executed.)  JL    *   *   *

Two Quotes

A well-known quote to think about, which applies today: 'Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.' (John Donne)

Here's one for European nations to benefit from:  'Everybody knows there is no fineness or accuracy of suppression; if you hold down one thing, you hold down the adjoining.' (Saul Bellow in 'Augie March.')

JL

 

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Your Support of Ukraine is Needed 

Recommended agencies for donations to aid Ukrainians in that country and those who have already fled may be made online to many agencies.  Among them are the Joint Distribution Committee, World Central Kitchen, Catholic World Services, the American Jewish Congress, Americacares, HIAS and UNICEF.  All have websites through which donations can be made.  There are many others, but to be sure of their legitimacy, check them out on www.charitynavigator.org.

 JL

 

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Affordable Cities

A company called “GoodHire” offers services to employers regarding things like investigations of new employees, comparative salaries, etc.  They recently reported on the most and least affordable cities in which to live, a factor important to companies attempting to hire employees.  Here’s their list of the most affordable cities: 1. Sioux Falls SD, 2. Reno NV,  3. Provo UT,  4. Madison WI, 5. Huntsville AL, 6. Charleston SC, 7. Fayetteville AK, 8. Ogden UT,  9. Salt Lake City UT,  10. Spartanburg SC.  These are places where firms can cut back on salaries.  I won’t bother with the least affordable cities because you probably can guess them.

This information should also work for those planning to move when they retire.  Most of these cities are sizable and offer cultural, recreational, health care and educational opportunities approaching those in far less affordable large metropolitan areas.  Of course, note that nowhere on this list is any city in Florida, a State to which many retirees mistakenly head.

JL

 

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I Still Write Letters

Here are a couple of letters I recently sent to the Palm Beach Post.  Both dealt with ‘State’ issues.  If they are published, I will let you know.

1.  Could the recent article about the roofer who bilked both homeowners and insurance companies be just the tip of the iceberg that is causing Florida homeowners insurance premiums to spiral widely out of control?  The "Roof Claim Bowl" was an appropriate new name for the football game played each year in Boca Raton.  Regardless of the sponsoring company's performance, the name and the location seem appropriate. 

2.  He’s against “woke,” against LGBTQ, against vaccination, against masking, against protecting 

voting rights, against abortions, against independent thinking in State colleges, against books 

and teachers that comment unfavorably on our history.  In fact, he’ll be against anything that 

promises the votes of groups that are against those things.  And yet millions of  Floridians 

voted for Governor DeSantis and will again.  Next will come broccoli, followed by kale, 

which even I dislike.

JL

 

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03-14-2022 - What's Wrong With Us?, Covid Winding Down, Picture of the Week, Keeping a 'Republic' and Ukraine Notes

 

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What is Wrong With Us?

I recently emailed a friend, pointing out that throughout history, even in biblical times as documented in the Torah, human beings did not hesitate to kill those with whom they disagreed, including  'non-combatants.' 

The Inquisition, the Crusades and the Holocaust did not spare innocents either, nor did wars throughout the past half dozen centuries in Europe, Asia and North America. (Most recently, both World Wars, Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, etc.).

We massacred innumerable innocent Native Americans in our Westward expansion.  Andrew Jackson was as much a murderer as is Putin.  Think about those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  They weren't soldiers.  Vicious animals (lions, tigers, bears, wolves, poisonous snakes, etc.) do not hesitate to prey upon and kill, usually for food, those creatures below them in the food chain, BUT THEY LEAVE THEIR OWN SPECIES ALONE (except when two males are fighting over a potential mate).  Homo Sapiens is the only species that routinely, throughout history, has killed its own kind, for a variety of reasons. 

As the King in "The King and I" said, "Is a puzzlement."  What is wrong with us?

Well, my friend tried to answer that question, as follows:

‘Jack, in answer to your question, I don’t know.  But it’s true, that thru the ages, humans have killed each other.  When we were given free will, I guess that went with it.  But there’s also humans helping each other in times of war, and we have to hope that that’s the part of human nature that wins out.  You gotta have hope!’

JL

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‘Keeping’ Our Republic – Time to Beat the Drum

If believers in the survival of democracy in the United States are counting on success in the litigation aimed at bringing to justice those responsible for the January 6 insurrection and similar acts associated with the defeated former president, they should realize that these court cases will endure well into the next decade or two, and regardless of the decisions, it will then be too late!   

The House Select Committee's damning information about the Republican party and the supporters of the defeated former president, and himself as well, must be widely disseminated to the public right now so that they can vote to throw these rascals out of office at all levels, from local on up to national in November.

The depth of Republican commitment to autocracy is illustrated by former AG William Barr saying he still will vote Republican, even for the defeated former president, despite his having himself writing a book about his lies. They see Democratic progressivism as a greater threat.

I do not know how Americans can be optimistic. Unless Democrats start beating their drums right now, Benjamin Franklin's worst fears about our having a republic 'only if we can keep it' may come to fruition.

JL

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Ukraine Notes

Turning cities to Rubble - Russia, finding that regime change in Ukraine will not come easy, has reverted to turning its cities into rubble, a tactic they used with success in Chechnya where its capital, Grozny, was destroyed in 2003 and in Syria in support of Bashar when they did that to Aleppo. The Germans did the same to Rotterdam in World War Two (Amsterdam and Paris survived with little damage) but Rotterdam was rebuilt as a beautiful steel and glass city after the war. Hopefully, if Ukraine's independence survives, the same will happen there. Of course, our hands are not clean, recalling Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  More information on Putin’s tactics is available  BY CLICKING HERE.  It will take you to:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/11/world/europe/russia-ukraine-bombardment-chechnya.html?campaign_id=2&emc=edit_th_20220312&instance_id=55642&nl=todaysheadlines&regi_id=78918068&segment_id=85399&user_id=02fa158150d34dc186b01b1b8ec7a224

 

Can the Russians Rein In Putin? - In this blog’s March 9 posting, I pointed out that the way Putin’s attack on Ukraine can be stopped is through pressure on the oligarchs who back him in exchange for his protection and the growing awareness on the part of the Russian people.  Our Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, more or less agreed with me last week when she testified before Congress that “The way this conflict will end is when Putin realizes that this adventure has put his own leadership standing at risk with his own military, with his own people.  He will have to change course, or the Russian people take matters into their own hands.”  She didn’t include the oligarchs, but when she mentioned Putin’s ‘own people,’ that obviously included them.

 

Donations for Relief in Ukraine - There are many agencies attempting to provide relief for Ukrainians caught in the onslaught carried out against their country by Vladimir Putin.  All are asking for your donations.  I recommend that after verifying its credentials on charitynavigator.org, you pick one and make your donations to that agency.  That's the most simple way to help.

Occasionally, an agency with access to wealthy donors might offer a ‘matching’ program which could double your donation.  In such situations, if the agency looks okay on charitynavigator.org, go for it.  Personally, I have done both.  

And if you choose to do so, spreading donations among several deserving organizations is perfectly fine.  Considering that the United States will not become active militarily in opposing Putin’s aggression because of the nuclear risks involved, donating is the very least you can do.

JL

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Picture of the Week

 

But safely over border into Poland, trailing behind his mother.

JL

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Covid is Still With Us

There are far fewer Covid infections this month than last month. Although knowledgeable physicians and scientists point out that Covid19 will be with us for a long, long time, those infected are less likely to be hospitalized and infections will be fewer.  Death rates are dropping.  Clearly, this is the result of a sufficient number of Americans having taken steps like social distancing, vaccinations, and wearing a mask in indoor public areas, curtailing the virus’ spread, as well as the pandemic slowly, very slowly, burning itself out as the public acquires some degree of immunity, physically and statistically.

I read somewhere that the end of the pandemic will gradually take place in three areas:  1. Medically, as described above. 2. Governmentally, as regulations and the financing regarding them are phased out along with funding for research. 3. Personally, as people resume their pre-pandemic behavior patterns.

But really, there will be no definite, final, end to it.  Aspects of the pandemic will remain to some minimal degree in all of these areas. Things will never be quite the same as they were before.  We cannot entirely drop our guard.  It will always lurk there, as does the flu, and other diseases (many for which we have vaccines), ready to reassert themselves when conditions permit it to.

Dishonest and immoral politicians, such as the governors of Florida and Texas, who preached against and discouraged the steps Americans took to end the pandemic, as described above, and thereby delayed its decline, will claim the decline proves they were right all along. That is not the case. 

DeSantis and Abbott risked many lives and allowed numerous deaths to occur as they tried to curry the favor of gullible supporters. History books (access to which they are trying to limit) will label both, and others like them, as phonies and charlatans. 

People who vote for them deserve what they get, but unfortunately, others end up suffering as well.

JL

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