The more absurd he looks, the more vulnerable he becomes.

From the historian’s pen (or laptop)

“Large public demonstrations, if not as effective as some think in changing outrageous government policies, are a very effective tool for a nation’s citizens to differentiate themselves from a criminal administration in the eyes of the larger world community.”

From the historian’s pen (or laptop)

“It’s not enough for intellectuals to point out the undermining of constitutional order. Regular people have to feel the impact of outrageous policies in their daily lives for an opposition to grow.”

The National Moratoriums of the late 1960s were an important tool to show public dissatisfaction. Such national demonstrations remain important along with the various general strikes that have often been effective beyond our shores.

Thinking about Joseph the Second who forcibly pushed Austria toward a more progressive future in the 18th century and Charles the Tenth of France who in the early 19th century tried the same thing in reverse, that is he tried to force France backwards. BOTH FAILED MISERABLY.

We are moving into one of the most unstable geo-political eras in modern history as Trump threatens countries from Denmark to Panama while, given the inexperience of those Trump has appointed and the experts he has fired within the national security staff, America is at its most vulnerable.

If I were Xi Jinping I would think —given the chaos in the US— that now was the time to try to retake Taiwan.

It is hard not to think that at this moment America is more vulnerable to attack than at any time in our history.

Back in early 1993 Bill Clinton had almost no “presidential honeymoon” because the issue of “don’t ask don’t tell” came up so quickly. This time it looks like Trump will beat even that record for having no presidential honeymoon at all given all his very controversial acts in the last 72 hours.

Looking forward to Trump pardoning all those January 6th traitors. Can’t think of a better way for him to upstage his own inauguration with images too many Americans have already forgotten.

Thoughts on watching Jimmy Carter’s funeral

The word “character” is getting a lot of mileage today…. More so perhaps than it might have under other circumstances.