One of my top-tier American President's, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the ultimate principled conservative "was Woke" too, and intended the Republican Party to be as well. WTH happened?
I’m grateful for your kind words George. I cannot figure it out either. One clue could be found in the religious rhetoric on both sides of the Civil War. Our Narrative Identity or specific identity is tough to alter and can last for several generations, sometimes centuries.
On a related note, I often wonder if your dad’s scholarship on Lincoln was published somewhere that I could read it. My dad always spoke so highly of him and his work.
No, my father never published anything except an expanded family tree. That shows our relationship to Abe's brother through my mom. Probably just us and a thousand others.
Thank you for the kind words and sharing this article. Yes, I do agree with the author on a variety of fronts. Most troubling to me and of course all of the working folks in our nation, is the income disparity. I have been turning over an article to yet be written about American Oligarchy that will echo some of the article's sentiments about undue privilege for the so-called 1%. Oligarchy has no place in our constitutional republic, especially due to the wielding of influence that comes with proximity of power and to the law-making that extends those privileges.
Sep 13, 2023·edited Sep 13, 2023Liked by Paul Cobaugh
I think another thing to worry about as well, and goes hand in hand with the troubles with Oligarchy; for what little examples the founding fathers had to go off of, they planned exceptionally well to diffuse the concentration of power.
Further, they recognized the dangers of standing armies, both as expensive and as a threat to the government, which is the brilliance of having the military top brass ultimately subservient to civilian masters and that service members pledge allegiance to the constitution.
Thanks to outsourcing, we now have parallel shadow private armies that range from your typical "Black Water" type companies to the newer and even more concerning digital + traditional type mercenary groups like Wagner or Psygroup. As Wagner demonstrated, things can go sideways very quickly, and soon that private army ally could be marching on the capital. Not sure if we have the American version just yet, but whatever Flynn has been organizing in the dark is concerning.
Further, the reliance on private firms like Palantir and Starlink is frightening, given both are run by private individuals who aren't fond of the rule of law despite it having been key to their success. Unlike the more established military contractors who are happy to fleece but haven't bitten the hand that feeds, these new tech/mil billionares are something I'm not sure our constitution knows what to do with.
They have even escaped traditional controls from share holders and board members by structuring their companies in ways that their votes through F class shares render the market mostly powerless.
Interesting and thoughtful comments Rogelio. The only place I would partially disagree is that Madison in particular, but with support from the overwhelming majority of our delegates at the constitutional convention and that of ratification, were adamant about concentrating power in the Federal Government. The "checks and balances" worked until recent history that sees the current version of the GOP, undermining Madison's brilliance, with full intention. Even SCOTUS is doing this by passing several powers to the states, rather than defending Madison's genius.
As for Flynn and his unholy alliances, which include a variety of private armies, is doing his best to destroy America's constitutional republic. As for defense contracting, it has become precisely what the last "principled conservative" president foresaw, a threat to our nation. The nepotism and willingness to pay any amount for success or failure, is hard cooked into the existing paradigm.
Thank you kindly for the comments and again, we are largely in agreement.
Unitary Executive plus State rights is the Federalist Society's dream. It feels like they are trying to split the country when not in power and when in power, consolidating power in the executive branch while the judicial branch renders independent federal government regulatory institutions into powerless entities by narrowing their functions. In this way, states can deny rights to American citizens, leaving the federal government unable to intervene because of purposeful dysfunction in Congress.
Given the level of groupthink and pruning of dissenters, the red states tend to stop their state's rights nonsense and quickly fall in line with the Federal government under GOP presidents, particularly Trump. Yet, even if Democrats control the executive and the legislative branches, we get the antics of governors like Desantis and Abbott, which further tear the country apart.
I am a bit confused about the Madison part though, can you help me?
I agree with your sentiments here and this goes directly to what is called, the "Federal Negative." Please see the following link from Harvard Business School: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50399
Well written, Madison was a true genius. I have yet to figure out how any could support MAGA and claim to be a Christian.
I’m grateful for your kind words George. I cannot figure it out either. One clue could be found in the religious rhetoric on both sides of the Civil War. Our Narrative Identity or specific identity is tough to alter and can last for several generations, sometimes centuries.
On a related note, I often wonder if your dad’s scholarship on Lincoln was published somewhere that I could read it. My dad always spoke so highly of him and his work.
No, my father never published anything except an expanded family tree. That shows our relationship to Abe's brother through my mom. Probably just us and a thousand others.
Thank you for the answer George. Well, it is still nice to know that you're related to American royalty. ;)
My very best to you and yours, for a most remarkable Christmas and holiday season.
Paul thought I would share this article, which I think pairs well with your excellent article.
https://misinformationkills.substack.com/p/wtf-is-woke?utm_source=%2Fsearch%2Fwoke&utm_medium=reader2
Rogelio,
Thank you for the kind words and sharing this article. Yes, I do agree with the author on a variety of fronts. Most troubling to me and of course all of the working folks in our nation, is the income disparity. I have been turning over an article to yet be written about American Oligarchy that will echo some of the article's sentiments about undue privilege for the so-called 1%. Oligarchy has no place in our constitutional republic, especially due to the wielding of influence that comes with proximity of power and to the law-making that extends those privileges.
I think another thing to worry about as well, and goes hand in hand with the troubles with Oligarchy; for what little examples the founding fathers had to go off of, they planned exceptionally well to diffuse the concentration of power.
Further, they recognized the dangers of standing armies, both as expensive and as a threat to the government, which is the brilliance of having the military top brass ultimately subservient to civilian masters and that service members pledge allegiance to the constitution.
Thanks to outsourcing, we now have parallel shadow private armies that range from your typical "Black Water" type companies to the newer and even more concerning digital + traditional type mercenary groups like Wagner or Psygroup. As Wagner demonstrated, things can go sideways very quickly, and soon that private army ally could be marching on the capital. Not sure if we have the American version just yet, but whatever Flynn has been organizing in the dark is concerning.
Further, the reliance on private firms like Palantir and Starlink is frightening, given both are run by private individuals who aren't fond of the rule of law despite it having been key to their success. Unlike the more established military contractors who are happy to fleece but haven't bitten the hand that feeds, these new tech/mil billionares are something I'm not sure our constitution knows what to do with.
They have even escaped traditional controls from share holders and board members by structuring their companies in ways that their votes through F class shares render the market mostly powerless.
Interesting and thoughtful comments Rogelio. The only place I would partially disagree is that Madison in particular, but with support from the overwhelming majority of our delegates at the constitutional convention and that of ratification, were adamant about concentrating power in the Federal Government. The "checks and balances" worked until recent history that sees the current version of the GOP, undermining Madison's brilliance, with full intention. Even SCOTUS is doing this by passing several powers to the states, rather than defending Madison's genius.
As for Flynn and his unholy alliances, which include a variety of private armies, is doing his best to destroy America's constitutional republic. As for defense contracting, it has become precisely what the last "principled conservative" president foresaw, a threat to our nation. The nepotism and willingness to pay any amount for success or failure, is hard cooked into the existing paradigm.
Thank you kindly for the comments and again, we are largely in agreement.
Unitary Executive plus State rights is the Federalist Society's dream. It feels like they are trying to split the country when not in power and when in power, consolidating power in the executive branch while the judicial branch renders independent federal government regulatory institutions into powerless entities by narrowing their functions. In this way, states can deny rights to American citizens, leaving the federal government unable to intervene because of purposeful dysfunction in Congress.
Given the level of groupthink and pruning of dissenters, the red states tend to stop their state's rights nonsense and quickly fall in line with the Federal government under GOP presidents, particularly Trump. Yet, even if Democrats control the executive and the legislative branches, we get the antics of governors like Desantis and Abbott, which further tear the country apart.
I am a bit confused about the Madison part though, can you help me?
There is some more on Madison at this link that I believe will help to expand knowledge on Madison's contributions, especially in regard to Judicial Review. https://constitutioncenter.org/news-debate/special-projects/a-madisonian-constitution-for-all/essay-series/james-madison-and-the-judicial-power
I agree with your sentiments here and this goes directly to what is called, the "Federal Negative." Please see the following link from Harvard Business School: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50399
Thanks!