Comments on: “Our military is so proud. They were not proud at all. They had their heads down. Now they have their heads up. …”

By: hank

hank — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 01:07:51 +0000

Hayes’ book is not political, it refers to something much deeper and fundamental in the society. Perhaps it is elliptically connected to the mindless careerism and arrogance of the “elites” (whatever that means) and that might be part of the bottomless greed and rapacity which, if not a cause of modern Capitalism, then is one of its inevitable results. Still, even that is just a speculation on my part. So far, Hayes
has made no moral judgments, he is only identifying a trend.

My comments on the Founders was a lame attempt at irony. Although those early Americans were certainly warriors, for them a standing army was simply a tool of tyranny. You might need an armed citizenry to fight to gain or preserve your freedom, or repel a foreign invasion, but the idea of a permanent professional peacetime army would have been anathema to them, little better than a gang of mercenary thugs. Their constitutional solution was a “well-regulated militia” to “bear arms” to combat insurrections, put down Indian uprisings, and chase down fugitive slaves. Their ideal was the citizen armies of the Greek polis and Roman Republic, not the professional legions of Caesar’s Empire.

To think that a highly professionalized standing army is the most respected institution in 21st century America would have been an obscenity to them.

By: RL

RL — Tue, 25 Apr 2017 00:29:59 +0000

It is embracing treason and selling out our nation to a hostile foreign power, and it is slaughtering the middle class to feed the never ending gluttony of the billionaires.

By: hank

hank — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 21:10:43 +0000

which examines this phenomenon in great detail. In fact, its his insights that prompted me to phrase my post in response to RL in the way I did.

You would profit from studying his analysis, although Hayes’ proudly lefty politics are clearly evident, his conclusions are remarkably non-partisan. He blames the Left as much as he does the Right. This is not an ideological book, at least far as I’ve gotten in it (I’m about half-way through) he percieves the phenomenon as cultural and social, not political. He sees it as a failure of our meritocratic system.

I really like this kid, he is probably one of the most astute and original social and political commentators since Barbara Ehrenreich. “Twilight” is available in paperback from Amazon for $18. Its probably available electronically as well.

By: TB

TB — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 19:24:59 +0000

By: hank

hank — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 17:31:18 +0000

Just think. We are living in a society that mistrusts all its major institutions. Just check them off the list: the legislature, the courts, the schools, academia, the intelligentsia, the banks, the diplomatic corps, the financial institutions, the government bureaucracy, politics, the arts, the press, the political parties, the entertainment media…and science.

But we lavish praise and respect on big business, sports, the churches, the police and the military.

By: RL

RL — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 04:23:44 +0000

AP: Do you feel that one of the things with cable is there’s such real-time reaction with everything you say?

TRUMP: Yeah.

AP: Can you separate that sometimes from that actual decision?

TRUMP: The one thing —

AP: That you have to do —

TRUMP: OK. The one thing I’ve learned to do that I never thought I had the ability to do. I don’t watch CNN anymore.

AP: You just said you did.

TRUMP: No. No, I, if I’m passing it, what did I just say (inaudible)?

AP: You just said —

TRUMP: Where? Where?

AP: Two minutes ago.

TRUMP: No, they treat me so badly. No, I just said that. No, I, what’d I say, I stopped watching them. But I don’t watch CNN anymore. I don’t watch MSNBC. I don’t watch it. Now I heard yesterday that MSNBC, you know, they tell me what’s going on.

AP: Right.

TRUMP: In fact, they also did. I never thought I had the ability to not watch. Like, people think I watch (MSNBC’s) “Morning Joe.” I don’t watch “Morning Joe.” I never thought I had the ability to, and who used to treat me great by the way, when I played the game. I never thought I had the ability to not watch what is unpleasant, if it’s about me. Or pleasant. But when I see it’s such false reporting and such bad reporting and false reporting that I’ve developed an ability that I never thought I had. I don’t watch things that are unpleasant. I just don’t watch them.

AP: And do you feel like that’s, that’s because of the office that you now occupy —

TRUMP: No.

AP: That you’ve made that change?

TRUMP: I don’t know why it is, but I’ve developed that ability, and it’s happened over the last, over the last year.

AP: That’s interesting.

TRUMP: And I don’t watch things that I know are going to be unpleasant. CNN has covered me unfairly and incorrectly and I don’t watch them anymore. A lot of people don’t watch them anymore, they’re now in third place. But I’ve created something where people are watching … but I don’t watch CNN anymore. I don’t watch MSNBC anymore. I don’t watch things, and I never thought I had that ability. I always thought I’d watch.

AP: Sure.

TRUMP: I just don’t. And that’s taken place over the last year. And you know what that is, that’s a great, it’s a great thing because you leave, you leave for work in the morning you know, you’re, you don’t watch this total negativity. I never thought I’d be able to do that and for me, it’s so easy to do now. Just don’t watch.

AP: That’s interesting.

TRUMP: Maybe it’s because I’m here. I don’t know.