Update no.1093

 Update from the Sunland

No.1093

19.12.22 – 25.12.22

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

Happy Holidays to all! Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to those so inclined. To our British cousins, Happy Boxing Day as this edition of the Update goes on the wire. ‘Tis the season of generosity and celebration. It was also a very big week for reading and learning.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Monday, 19.December.2022, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol {HSCJ6} [1020its final public hearing and issued its 154-page Introductory Material to the Final Report of the Select Committee document. The report delineates the HSCJ6 criminal referrals to the Department of Justice for prosecution against:

-- Donald Trump – former president of the United States

-- Mark Meadows – former chief of staff to the president

-- Rudy Guuliani – lawyer to [the person who shall no longer be named]

-- John Eastman – lawyer, legal advisor to [the person who shall no longer be named]

-- Jeff Clark – Department of Justice lawyer

The HSCJ6 voted unanimously to send four violations of federal law to the prosecutors for their consideration. The cited federal laws were listed as: 

-- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1512(c))

-- Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371)

-- Conspiracy to Make a False Statement (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001)

-- “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid and Comfort” an Insurrection (18 U.S.C. § 2383)

They also added two cited conspiracy statutes that they apparently felt they had insufficient evidence to include in their referrals, however they wanted the Justice Department to include in their investigation.

-- Other Conspiracy Statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 372 and 2384)

In addition to the criminal referrals for the leaders, instigators, and enablers of the insurrection noted above, the HSCJ6 also recommended four fellow members of the House of Representatives for official censure and investigation by the House Ethics Committee. They are:

-- Representative Kevin McCarthy of California

-- Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio

-- Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania

-- Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona

Several of those representatives sought presidential pardons in the days after the insurrection [991] failed to achieve its objective. None of them received a presidential pardon. While the HSCJ6 limited its recommendation to the Ethics violations, the Department of Justice is not so constrained. While these representatives were not included in the criminal referrals, the report illuminates numerous facts that establish them as significant contributors and enablers of the BIG LIE and the insurrection. In my humble opinion, all of them should be subject to criminal prosecution for federal crimes, but that is not my decision. The judgment will be made by Special Counsel John L. ‘Jack’ Smith. We eagerly await the indictments and charging documents in each case.

-- On Thursday, 22.December.2022, the HSCJ6 [1020] released its 845-page final report. The report begins with the BIG LIE and steps through every step of the insurrection [991]. The report established and documented that “[T]he central cause of January 6^th was one man, former President Donald Trump, whom many others followed. None of the events of January 6^th would have happened without him.” [emphasis and redaction mine.]

Once again [the person who shall no longer be named] has made history. In addition to being the only president to be impeached twice, he is now the only president to be referred by Congress to the Justice Department for prosecution. Just a little reminder FYI: his conviction in the Senate fell just ten votes short as the majority of the fBICP ignored the evidence, the facts, and the reality of what they had done to protect ihr Anführer.

At the bottom line, the HSCJ6 concluded, we all concluded that only one man was ultimately responsible for the January 6^th insurrection—Donald John Trump. History will so record.

Now, the prosecution, conviction, and punishment of the January 6^th insurrection perpetrators rests with Jack Smith. I expect him to move swiftly to that end.

 

Ourmiddle son sent the following query:

“Specifically, the panel [HSCJ6] said Trump ‘oversaw’ the legally dubious effort to put forward fake slates of electors in seven states he lost, arguing that the evidence shows he actively worked to ‘transmit false Electoral College ballots to Congress and the National Archives’ despite concerns among his lawyers that doing so could be unlawful.

“How can it be legally dubious but also unlawful?

My reply:

            This particular issue reaches back to the Electoral Count Act of 1887 [PL 49–90; 24 Stat. 373]. The law uses rather ambiguous language that Eastman argued left open the potential for conflicting information. I have not finished my reading of the HSCJ6 summary document, but I fully expect there should be a recommendation to Congress to amend the 1887 law to tighten the language and close any potential loophole interpretations. There is much more work ahead.

His follow-up comment:

Interesting 

My follow-up reply:

            Indeed!

            The genesis of the act comes from the highly contentious 1876 election. The Congress of the day tried to fix the problems that surfaced in the wake of the 1876 election; that effort was the 1887 law, which was itself a compromise. Eastman tried to exploit that compromise. I expect Eastman to be criminally prosecuted, and all of this will be examined in court in gory detail.

 

An article in our local newspaper induced contemplation and cogitation of the principal premise.

“Elon Musk didn't ruin Twitter. He exposed the left's appetite for total control – Opinion: Democrats want to control the political narrative, so of course, they have no qualms using government to attack Elon Musk and Twitter.”

by Phil Boas

Arizona Republic

Published 8:00 a.m. MT Dec 20, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/philboas/2022/12/20/elon-musk-didnt-ruin-twitter-exposed-democrats-appetite-control/69741108007/?utm_source=azcentral-OpinionsNewsNow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline&utm_term=hero&utm_content=PPHX-1531AR-E-NLETTER39

The central premise is “Democrats want to control the political narrative.” I do not agree.

To me, this is the inverse of the MAGA folks wrapping themselves in the flag and calling themselves patriots as if the symbolism makes the argument.

I think a more appropriate definition of the issue is where do the boundaries of tolerance lay with general rights like free speech. I do believe most of us recognize that shouting “fire” in a crowded theater just to see the stampede of people trying to escape is over the line. There are multiple thresholds of tolerance. One is the legal threshold threat to the common good, e.g., shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater. Another is the moral threshold, e.g., lying to someone to induce threatening conduct. Yet another is a propriety threshold, e.g., it is just wrong by any standard of common decency. Just because someone crossed one threshold does not mean they cross them all. Yet, some transgressions cross all the thresholds. If Democrats seek to control the political narrative, it is to maintain some semblance of propriety and morality.

 

The Congress finally passed a very broad spending bill. The publicly available bill bears no resemblance to what is being reported. The available text is so convoluted that it is worthless. Even the title has nothing to do with what Congress passed yesterday. The Press is reporting that the US$1.7T spending bill passed by Congress funds the federal government (at least for now), provides US$45B more in aid to Ukraine, US$40B in additional emergency disaster relief, bans TikTok from all federal devices, and overhauls the Electoral Count Act of 1887. The last one is of particular interest given the discussion above in this week’s Update, but I am not yet able to access the specific language of the legislation. Thus, this is a very expensive trust-me bill that forces us to hope for the best.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1092:

Comment to the Blog:

“The Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t go far enough because people will have to go out of state to marry, and may have to meet residency requirements. However, it’s probably the best that would pass Congress.

“Football in any form doesn’t concern me, but those enormous stadiums with no further uses do.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my, yes, absolutely . . . nowhere near far enough. Parsing the fundamental rights of citizens by states is an affront and offense to the U.S. Constitution and the very founding principles of this Republic. Under the dark cloud of Justice Thomas’s ominous pronouncement in his Dobbs concurring opinion, the law at least installs a stopgap to protect rights as best they could. I expect the far right to challenge the new law on Thomas’s foundation observation, i.e., marriage is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution, and neither is freedom of choice.

With the likes of Justice Thomas interpreting our laws, we need a constitutional amendment that once and for all explicitly protect every citizen’s fundamental right to privacy, freedom of choice, and the exclusion of the government from the private domain.

Thank you for your declaration. Quite understandable, and you are not alone. However, football in the international sense is of keen interest to a very large number of people. The Qatari stadiums built for the World Cup tournament have multiple uses beyond just football matches. They are magnificent architectural works—very impressive.

 . . . Round two:

“I still wonder at Justice Thomas writing an opinion that could invalidate his own marriage. Then again, his wife’s activities might make him nervous, as they should.

“I certainly agree that we need to enshrine the rights to privacy and bodily autonomy in the Constitution.

“The history of the Olympics and other world-class athletic spectacles shows that they harm ordinary citizens of the host city and country most of the time. The facilities typically fall into disuse and the cost of demolition adds to the burden.”

 . . . my response to round two:

You are not alone in that wonder. However, Thomas’s rigidity to conservative dogma and selective citation of the law in his opinions suggests he may have ulterior motives for such radical positions. He summarily, broadly, and generally rejects “substantive due process” as a means for interpretation, and in that stance, I believe he is categorically wrong. I do not think the Founders were ever as rigid as he is. Yes, his wife’s activities in direct support of the insurrection should make him very nervous and uneasy. However, again, his rationalization in case law seems to be consistent. He would vacate his own marriage to make a strict constructionist point.

We are agreed. Now, we just need to get ‘er done.

Somehow I suspect your rendition of an abysmal future will not be the case in Qatar. We shall see. They are beautiful structures . . . for however long they last. I was not an Olympic or world-class athlete, but athletics was an important part of my younger life.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1092

 Update from the Sunland

No.1092

12.12.22 – 18.12.22

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- On Tuesday, President Biden finally signed into law the Respect for Marriage Act [PL 117-228; H.R.8404; House: 258-169-1-4(3); Senate: 61-36-0-3(0); 136 Stat. xxx] [1071]. The new law codifies marriage for all citizens regardless of any one or combination of the social factors. The law also compels the states to recognize interracial or non-heterosexual marriages but does not require states to sanction such marriages. Congress decided to act in the wake of the tragic Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization [597 U. S. ____ (2022)] [1067, 1068] decision, and especially Justice Thomas’s terrible and ominous concurring opinion.

As with ALL of the social issues, if you do not approve of or support any particular matter, just do not engage in that behavior. At the bottom line, we do not have the right to deny freedom of choice to any other citizens that does not involve the public domain and the common good. Denial of freedom to any one of us is a denial to all. Freedom is not about conformity; it all about respecting the rights of others and allowing them the same freedom you enjoy regardless of the social factors.

 

Congratulations to the Argentina Football Association—their men’s national team—for their World Cup 2022 victory in Qatar. Argentina dominated virtually every category of play. They led 2-0 at the half. France tied it up at 2-2 at full time. They both scored in overtime ending at 3-3, which sent the match to penalty kicks. Argentina won 4-2 on penalty kicks. Argentina looked sharper and more precise throughout the match and deserved to win. It was a worthy final match.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1091:

Comment to the Blog:

“One more issue with considering corporations as if they were people: they can’t be imprisoned. Today’s examples are companies named for 45POTUS.

“Senator Sinema has dropped the label of Democrat, but the DNC allows her to continue using their power. Like Senator Manchin, who keeps the label, she retains her committee assignments, a key source of power. Manchin’s assignments are the more important. Manchin made his money in coal and chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Manchin also sits on Appropriations, a most powerful committee. The DNC could change all that but hasn’t.

“The United States Government is the enforcer for the railroad companies, among others. We shall overcome.

My response to the Blog:

True. But on rare occasions, the contemporary officers of those corporations, those responsible for the operations (conduct, behavior), have been charged, tried, convicted, and imprisoned. That detail aside, your point remains valid as we have discussed in other forms. Corporations are NOT citizens, despite what SCOTUS declared.

Manchin keeps the label for now, but I am hearing rumblings that he may do the same as Sinema, or even switch to what used to be the GOP. He may be clandestinely planting those seeds to forestall any move by the Senate party leadership to sideline him. Yeah, we will find out next month how all this plays out.

That’s a little too far for me. Railroads are as vital as water, sewer, electricity, the Interstate highway system, and heating (gas & oil). The USG’s responsibility is the common good. While the USG has a moral obligation to all citizens, when one group harms another group, or the whole, then the common good becomes paramount. It is a very difficult and precarious balancing act. I want paid sick leave for all citizens even those in the lowest entry level jobs. My concern here is the means to the end.

The days come whether we want them or not. Life does not always play out the way we want it to. We deal with what comes.

 . . . Round two:

“We shall see what the morrow brings to DC, but Manchin’s presence on anything dealing with energy is a conflict of interest, and the DNC uses him to avoid standing up for what they promise.

“Railroads are indeed vital, labor even more so. The U.S. Government’s function in this is to choose which group to ‘harm,’ as you put it. In the history of labor, when the Government has remained neutral, labor wins and the crisis ends. The history of railroad labor and coal mining bears this out.

“I’m truly sad if you don’t want the days to come. Please take care of yourself.”

 . . . my response to round two:

Indeed! The world will continue to turn. Perhaps so, but he is not the only committee member; he does not decide. Further, do we recuse former soldiers from serving on the Armed Forces Committee? Politics is ugly, but like sewers, they are necessary.

No, I think the USG’s function is to find balance between often widely divergent forces. Taken in the negative perspective, to harm both sides equally, or close to equally. H.J.Res. 100 does not give us substantive insight into the railroad labor situation. We do know that the companies have NOT justified their ‘no paid sick leave’ stance. To me, that is unacceptable. The electricity generation industry is highly regulated (some might argue not regulated enough), and the railroad industry deserves to be equally regulated for the exact same reasons. I do not like that H.J.Res.100 was necessary, but the USG really needs a follow-up to induce compromise, or a law to require paid sick leave may be necessary. Black lung has not gone away, but it is one helluva lot less than a century ago. As I have stated before, on this one, I am on the side of labor. I think the railroad companies are flat wrong. But, a national railroad strike is an atomic bomb to swat a fly. There has to be a better way.

I am not included in your second-person plural. I continue to fight for every day I can reach. I only note that some do not.

 . . . Round three:

“The Chair of a Senate committee has a great deal of power in that committee’s workings, and a veteran doesn’t have the financial conflicts of interest that Manchin does.

“The Government’s function is to serve the interests of the people more generally, not to serve or harm one side of any given conflict. The greatest good of the greatest number would be served by Biden & Co. staying out of the way of progress. The disastrous outcome of a strike is a bogeyman the companies could easily avoid.

“Perhaps I misread your comment.”

 . . . my response to round three:

You are, of course, quite correct. However, there are always ways around obstacles. Your statement raises a much greater issue of corruption in government from federal to local. We have discussed many times the corruption of money in politics. Senator Manchin is not the sole practitioner. Respectfully, although I do not have hard evidence beyond probable cause or beyond a reasonable doubt, I think if you (the general second-person plural ‘you’) are a politician, you have been corrupted by money. Far too many politicians sell their soul and conscience for money. Senator Manchin is not the only politician.

Yes, exactly, the common good. I do not see the USG choosing sides in H.J.Res.100. In the railroad labor dispute, we face a common dilemma, finding balance between conflicting forces. I see the potential of a national railroad strike in the similar manner as an ordinary public protest against any number of matters. The First Amendment protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That constitutional right does NOT protect looting, damaging property, assaulting police, et al. Once again, I must emphatically state that I am on the side of labor in the ‘paid sick leave’ issue. I think it is unconscionable that skilled employees of any type are denied paid sick leave. I simply see a national railroad strike as quite akin to looting retail stores. There must be a better way than using a nuclear weapon to swat a fly, or perhaps it is a pesky bird.

I appreciate your sensitivity to my mental health. That is what friends do, and I am grateful. I am dealing with a number of serious health issues including one I see as Damocles Sword. I do confess to moments when the Black Dog comes to visit, but on the whole, I appreciate and cherish each and every day that blesses my life. I also intend to reach as many of those days as I am able. I remain in a generally positive, curious, anticipatory mental and emotional state. Again, thank you for your concern.

 . . . Round four:

“The notion of a strike as either a nuclear weapon or as looting strikes me as seriously exaggerated. Please be careful about taking the people on the news too literally.

“I wish you health and longevity. I live in a building dedicated to older people, so I see the obstacles to those goals, but also the people who are achieving them.

“We are having seasonal weather for a change. The precipitation impedes my car-free travels more than the temperatures, but I’m able to go places regardless of most of it.”

 . . . my response to round four:

Exaggeration . . . perhaps. That is my opinion, not anyone else’s opinion.

Thx mate. I intend to be one of those to achieve longevity, but I do not control many of the active variables.

I am glad the weather does not impede your daily travels in any major fashion. Remember, better safe than sorry.

Take love with you everywhere indeed. Encouraging words, but there are more than a few folks out there who want to do their best to disrupt the love through the generous dispersal of their disrespect, anger, resentment, and foolishness. Regardless, we must persevere; love is too important.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)

Update no.1091

Update from the Sunland

No.1091

5.12.22 – 11.12.22

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

A smart salute and hats off to my cousins and the Army football team. They won in second overtime—17-20. It was a tough fought, defensive game. Congratulations to Army. Nonetheless, the loss on the gridiron in Philadelphia does not alter our mantra—Go Navy! Beat Army!

 

The Orion capsule spacecraft successfully re-entered the atmosphere at nearly 50% greater velocity than usual and splashed down off Baja California. The Artemis I mission took flight 25 days ago [1088] sending the unmanned Orion spacecraft to the moon for a complex set of orbits to prepare for the first crewed mission back to the moon since Apollo 17 (9/17.December.1972). Artemis II will be a crewed, close approach mission planned in 2024, while Artemis III will be the first human landing on the moon since Apollo 17 and is expected to take place in 2025.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- We gotta hand it to the MAGA crowd from [the person who shall no longer be named] on down the food chain, they are steady and persistent. They believe. They have swallowed the magic snake-oil elixir, and they believe they are cured of all their ills. The ultimate cure for them is the BIG LIE [982], and they believe. [The person who shall no longer be named] “tweeted” on his Truth Social app: 

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION? A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great "Founders" did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!

Dec 03, 2022 at 7:44 AM

[emphasis mine]

The fBICP candidate for governor of Arizona Kari Lake could not resist and retweeted the above message plus added her two cents:

Fake New, Fake Elections, Fake Government.

Time for Americans to demand Fair & Honest Elections so we can right these wrongs/

Share if you agree.

7:13 AM – Dec. 3, 2022

Of course, other loyal sycophant election deniers had to add their voice to ihr Anführer, Unfortunately, so many of these malignant voices are coming from Arizona.

“On Pearl Harbor Day, Paul Gosar supports Trump's call to 'terminate' the Constitution - Opinion: Rep. Paul Gosar joins Trump's call to 'terminate' the Constitution. Yet in a few weeks, he'll swear an oath to support the Constitution. How does that work?”

by Laurie Roberts

Arizona Republic

Published 12:53 p.m. MT Dec. 7, 2022 | Updated 9:36 a.m. MT Dec. 8, 2022

https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2022/12/07/rep-paul-gosar-supports-trump-call-terminate-constitution/69709462007/?utm_source=azcentral-OpinionsNewsNow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=baseline&utm_term=list_article_thumb&utm_content=PPHX-1531AR-E-NLETTER39

This nonsense gibberish will end one day . . . not soon enough for me. 

 

On Tuesday the 6^th, a Manhattan jury found two units of the Trump Organization—Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporation—guilty on all 17 counts of criminal tax fraud in New York State Court. They were guilty on multiple charges of criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records connected to a 15-year scheme to defraud tax authorities by failing to report and pay taxes on compensation for top executives. The organization’s former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg had pled guilty to 15 criminal counts in August and agreed to testify against the organization but not the family. What is next is unknown so far. [The person who shall no longer be named] continues to stay just ahead of the law and escape justice to date. Whether the Manhattan and New York State prosecutors will charge and try the real perpetrator in these crimes is yet to be determined or at least announced.

His lawyers have indicated they are going to appeal the verdict. It is not real until the proper papers are filed in court. Given past performance, [the person who shall no longer be named] will do anything and everything to forestall the inevitable.

 

Regardless of what we think of Herschel Walker in his campaign in the special runoff election in Georgia, he deserves credit and recognition for the dignity of his loss in the election. Despite monumental support from [the person who shall no longer be named] and his supporters in the fBICP, Walker showed the strength to defy his sponsor and concede the election to his opponent Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Thank you, Herschel.

 

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs certified the 2022 election results for the state. In those results, Hobbs became governor-elect. 

True to form, sore loser, fBICP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, trying desperately to emulate ihr Anführer, filed suit to rescind and block the election results based on what amounts to one reason—she lost. Like ihr Anführer, she cites a plethora of imagined transgressions without offering any evidence to the “beyond a reasonable doubt” level. I expect she will attain the same fate as ihr Anführer.

 

A goodly portion of the Press label an announcement this week as a gut punch to the Democratic Party. The public statement at issue is from Senator Kyrsten Lea Sinema, the senior senator for Arizona. She publicly declared that she was switching her political party affiliation from Democratic Party to Independent (like Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine). Sinema stated that she would continue to caucus with the Democrats and expects to retain her committee assignments and leadership. Gut punch? I think not. From my perspective, the only thing that has changed is a name—what we call it. The speculation among some talking heads is she wanted to avoid or bypass the corrosive hyper-party primaries in her next election. If true, I would say well played.

 

There are multitudinous examples of the fBICP insanity and anti-American conduct since before the 2020 election, and it has only gotten worse. When will it end? When will they come to their senses? God only knows. I offer the latest evidence.

“It's official: Kari Lake, Kelli Ward and the Arizona GOP have lost their minds”

by Laurie Roberts

Arizona Republic

Published: Tue, December 6, 2022 at 12:30 PM

https://www.yahoo.com/news/official-kari-lake-kelli-ward-183604132.html

For those who are not familiar with Arizona politics, Kari Ann Lake was the fBICP candidate for governor, and Kelli Ward, née Kaznoski, is the chair of the Arizona faction of the fBICP. Both are election deniers and staunch supporters of ihr Anführer. Ward is also facing potential criminal charges for her participation in the alternate elector scheme as part of the BIG STEAL. The pervasiveness of the fBICP within Arizona politics is staggering, discouraging, and disgusting. Will we ever grow up?

 

A friend, colleague and frequent contributor to this humble forum sent along an apropos and poignant meme.

So apparently selling a wedding cake to an LGBTQ couple is participating in the marriage, but selling a gun to a shooter isn’t participating in the crime.

The two-faced hypocrisy is staggering. Like so many social and political issues, we see a contest of power and control by those who make and enforce the laws. We, the People, pay a dreadful price when we allow our individual rights to be played like a ping-pong ball—back & forth. We have not attained that threshold of tolerance, but I certainly hope we reach that point eventually. We must mature as a society and sovereign nation.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1090:

Comment to the Blog:

“It’s nice that the courts concerned with January 6, 2021, have worked their way up to the Oath Keepers’ leadership. Perhaps they’ll get around to 45POTUS someday.

“We’ll see what happens to the Respect for Marriage Act. I confess I haven’t yet studied it.

“The Democrats are on TV this morning defending their strike-breaking. Meanwhile, the DNC has announced a performative change to their primary season favoring identity politics. That will not mollify labor (or me) and get the DNC the votes they need. (It’s a matter of record that the DNC controls the actual nomination.)”

My response to the Blog:

Yea verily! There is always hope, until there isn’t. I can perhaps naïvely say I fully expect charges against the whole lot of ‘em up to and including 45POTUS. What he did was crimes of the highest order; his seditious actions are akin to the murder of the Republic . . . not just one or two people, but the whole damn country down to its very core. Further, he deserves solitary confinement for the rest of his natural life, or GenPop at the worst prison we can find. He is worthy of nothing less. And now, he has had the stupidity and audacity to publicly state the U.S. Constitution should be terminated, so he can be installed as president (i.e., dictator or king). But even worse than all that, there are more than a few so-called American citizens who fly his flag and believe in his worthless snake-oil elixir. I doubted the future of the Republic in the 60s & 70s, but that era was nothing compared to what we face today as a consequence of the destruction that man has inflicted upon this once grand Republic. No, he deserves nothing but the absolute worst punishment we can render to him; but we must charge, try, convict, and sentence the man and his enablers.

The news reported the disciplinary action has begun against Rudi Giuliani. He is one of those enablers who deserves criminal conviction and punishment.

I do not share your opinion of the Democratic Party. I do agree they displayed more than a few flaws, but I am struggling with what you expect Congress and the president to do in the face of a crippling national railroad strike. Please educate me, how does the DNC control nominations?

Yes, absolutely, every citizen deserves paid sick leave, but even that can be abused. Many years ago, Beech Aircraft implemented an unqualified 80-day paid sick leave benefit, thinking employees would respect the generous offering. Unfortunately, too many employees abused the benefit; I was not one of those, and I resented the abuse. That benefit lasted one year only. I worked my entire employed life with paid sick leave. I do not understand why railroad executives are resisting paid sick leave. I support the use of labor strikes, like war, as an absolute last resort. What I am struggling with in this issue is punishing the entire country and the world over a labor dispute. It is the sheer magnitude and consequences of such a national strike that causes me to balk.

 . . . Round two:

“The ‘crippling national railroad strike’ wouldn’t last long once the money stopped coming into railroad coffers. Obviously, the railroads want every last dollar, and losing even a week’s income would cost more than giving sick leave. There’s no way they could work scabs, either.

“That the DNC controls nominations has been established by court cases over what they did to Bernie Sanders. Their statement is that they are a private corporation and, therefore, they control who becomes the nominee. I seem to recall the most blatant case was tried in Florida, but I’m sure you can find the record with your paralegal skills. Also, consider last time’s process. There’s a reason South Carolina will become the spotlight state.

“Anything can be abused. Most of the abuse corporate types worry aloud about is unusual.”

 . . . my response to round two:

You may well be correct . . . but that is a huge assumption. The profit motive is what business does. We need the railroads to be profitable. As I stated before, I find it unconscionable that a large, profitable corporation like Union Pacific or BNSF do not provide medical & dental coverage and paid sick leave, like many other industries. Viewed in the broad scale, healthy employees are in the company’s best interests. Why they resist such rudimentary treatment of their employees is beyond my comprehension? The situation reminds me of the worker abuse common 130 years ago, when the union movement reached its stride. The most visible of the worker abuse was the mining industry, e.g., black lung, child labor, fatal work conditions, et cetera. Railroad unions waited far too long to force the issue. I will give them that change is long overdue. What I am struggling with is the work stoppage (strike) of essential infrastructure. Railroads often hold exclusive service to whole regions, so even a limited strike would punish an entire region. The union position as I understand it is all-for-one-one-for-all—a laudable stance. My problem is, we are not talking about children’s toys or automobiles, we are dealing with essential infrastructure like water, sewage, electricity, and such. We must find a better way. We do not know what the USG has done as an arbiter for the labor dispute, but I assume they have tried to find some mutually acceptable position. I wish I knew more, but we do not. Without that knowledge, I am left with the crippling consequences of a national railroad strike, and I support the USG’s implementation of H.J.Res.100 to avoid those consequences. At the end of the day, people are NOT a consumable resource. How the railroad industry has gotten this far is baffling.

We are back into definitions, semantics, and context. The degree of “control” exercised by the national political parties is not what it was a century ago. The most obvious example I can think of is the selection of Harry Truman to replace Henry Wallace as FDR’s VP running mate for the 1944 election. Perhaps the best contrary example is the selection of the GOP nominee for president in 2016. The national political parties are organizations. They want to control the face and message of their organization. Yes, there are probably many reasons the DNC wants to replace Iowa with South Carolina, and that is their choice. I am far more troubled with qualified candidates being kept off the ballot independent of the political parties.

Yea verily! Corporations do not often seek public scrutiny of their internal decisions. Abuse is up to us to illuminate and force correction. Case in point, unions a century ago were vital instigators of necessary change. Most, if not all, corporations of that day would not have sought the needed change; they could not see past their profit motive. The railroad situation is an important example of the need for and place of unions in our culture.

 . . . Round three:

“The history of the Federal Government with respect to labor, specifically railroad unions, hasn't changed over time. They want to force obedience regardless of worker well-being. The only way to bring about change is through direct resistance.

“As far as the DNC, I stand by my statement.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Well, that is quite a statement. I suppose so much of it depends upon expectations and interpretation. Prima facie, I cannot go that far. The USG is not the union enforcer. Further, I believe there is ample evidence that the USG has tried to find a balance point, e.g., OSHA. Exactly what is meant by “direct resistance” is a significant definition.

And, I stand by my statement as well. We shall respectfully disagree.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-) 

Update no.1090

 Update from the Sunland

No.1090

28.11.22 – 4.12.22

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

 

To all,

 

The follow-up news items:

-- The U.S. Justice Department is working its way up the chain to the ultimate perpetrator on the January 6^th insurrection [991]. The jury found five Oath Keeper leaders guilty of various felonious criminal counts. The most serious of the convictions was against Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs—seditious conspiracy. For that crime, they get 20 years in prison or more. Rhodes faces a maximum of 60 years in prison. Meggs faces an 86-year maximum sentence. Watkins faces 56 years, Harrelson faces 46 years, and Caldwell faces 40 years. The presiding judge, United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Amit Priyavadan Mehta, will eventually sentence all five convicts. No sentencing date has yet been set. So far, 900 plus insurrection participants are in various stages of prosecution from arrest to imprisonment for their crimes.

On the public announcement of Rhodes conviction, our middle son sent a text message:

Word of the day: Schadenfreude.

For those unfamiliar with the German language, schadenfreude means pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune—a perfect word choice, quite apropos. Those five convicts deserve all that is coming to them. At the age of Rhodes and others, they will likely serve the rest of their days in federal confinement, contemplating the error of their ways. I hope they think it was worth it.

-- Congress passed, but the president has not yet signed into law, H.R.8404 - Respect for Marriage Act to codify the long-running struggle to protect the freedom of choice of ALL Americans with respect to the private and personal matter of marriage regardless of any one or combination of the social factors. The law was passed by a notable bipartisan majority [Senate: 61-36-0-3(0); House: 267-157-0-7(4)]. Whether the law will stand up to the inevitable U.S. Supreme Court scrutiny is yet to be determined. Nonetheless, the new law will be a worthy and appropriate action. Individual rights should never be subject to constriction or restriction without substantial public domain justification and rationale. The same principle applies to medical decisions between any and all citizens and their medical treatment professionals. The State does not belong and should be pushed out of our private lives and choices.

-- Cochise County, Arizona, steadfastly refused to certify the 2022 election results [1086] and defied court orders to certify the election results in accordance with established state law. Under threat of further Judicial command. Cochise County finally certified the county’s 2022 election results, more than a week after the deadline. Whether the state presses the lawsuit to make a point for rogue counties is yet to be disclosed is yet to be seen. Cochise County represents what dysfunctional or autocratic government looks like.

-- A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11^th Circuit soundly rejected Judge Cannon’s order for a special master in the Mar-a-Lago document seizure case { DONALD J. TRUMP v. United States of America [USDC FL SD Case 9:22-cv-81294-AMC (2022)] [1077]}. In their unanimous ruling { DONALD J. TRUMP v. United States of America [11CCA No. 22-13005 (2022)], the court concluded, “The district court improperly exercised equitable jurisdiction in this case.”

Unfortunately, Judge Cannon’s erroneous order handed [the person who shall no longer be named] a significant unrecoverable gift—time. He was able to delay the U.S. Government’s (USG) criminal investigation of his actions. The court was quite clear—a former president gets NO special treatment under the law.

 

Congress passed and President Biden signed into law H.J.Res.100 to avoid a national railroad labor strike. Of particular note regarding this legislation, the law was passed by a substantial bipartisan majority in both chambers of Congress [Senate: 80-15-1-4(0); House: 290-137-0-5(3)].

I hold mixed feelings and opinions on this issue, but I am grateful that the USG acted to avoid crippling the economy especially while we are struggling with inflation and the continuing recovery from the pandemic lockdown consequences.

I wonder if the Chief Executive Officer or the Senior Vice President for Operations of Union Pacific or BNSF Railway have paid sick leave? In the aviation industry, the CEO had the same benefits as an engineer or a mechanic. I do not understand why the railroad industry executives are resisting what is the correct and fair path?

 

Associated with the potential railroad strike noted above, a long-time friend, colleague, and consistent contributor to this humble forum send along the following collateral article for discussion.

“The one thing you need to know about the railroads – It's not that a rail strike would be bad for the economy”

by Robert Reich

Published: Dec 1 [2022]

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-about?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=365422&post_id=87898002&isFreemail=true&utm_medium=email

 . . . with comment:

“Reich is a former Secretary of Labor. Also, he clearly understands labor history.”

My response to the submittal:

I agree with Reich, but I'm a little troubled by the timing. Some of the labor grievances have been around for decades. I also agree with the USG that a rail strike would be devastating to the economy.

 . . . Round two:

“I'm not sure what you mean by timing. The fact that railroads make obscene profits by understaffing and by not allowing time off even for illness is the overriding fact in this for me, as it is for Reich.”

 . . . my response to round two:

So you are OK with bringing the country to her knees again for a resolution of a labor dispute that should have been raised decades ago? Is that correct?

I did say I agreed with Reich and you, but why should the country suffer?

 . . . Round three:

“Also, if the Democrats would behave like the pro-labor party they claim to be, they could avert this.”

 . . . my response to round three:

The USG is trying to find balance.

I wonder if the CEO of Union Pacific has paid sick leave?

 . . . Round four:

“It's a pretty good assumption all the CEOs have paid sick leave. I'm hearing rumblings of a general strike, which I will support.”

 . . . my response to round four:

I confess to my mixed feelings on this topic.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1089:

“‘morning Cap-goodness you’re about early today!

“Good to hear your Thanksgiving family event went so well. We’re looking forward to seeing a large number of our family over the Christmas period. Like you we also are separated from many of our ‘tribe.’ Yes agreed less distance than you two. We are just hoping the weather holds out!

“Good to hear your latest ‘To So Few’ book is published-I shall have to look out for it over here in Blighty. If not then there must be a solution. You’ve kept very busy writing this series, well done Cap.

“My writing seems to have lost that urge!”

My reply:

Yep, up early that morning. These things happen at my age. I haven’t used an alarm clock in decades. I just go with the flow.

Yep, again, the holiday went quite well despite the fullest house we’ve had in many years. It was an exceptional week of family and celebration.

We shall pray for Mother Nature to bless you with clear, dry weather for your family Christmas holiday.

Thank you. Publishing a new book feels a little like birthing a child. Any bookstore should be able to order a copy. Yes, I guess most folks would classify my passion as an obsession. I just enjoy the writing process. I am halfway through the writing of the first draft of Book 11, provisionally titled, Victory. Once that one is done, I will take a break from the TSF series to write the 3^rd book of Anod and perhaps another one-off historical fiction illuminating and celebrating my great-uncle’s service with the 6^th Marines in France a century ago. After that, I planned to return to Brian Drummond to get him through Korea and Vietnam before he retires.

 . . . follow-up comment:

“You aren’t retiring are you! You can’t let Drummond retire- I can remember doing a runner across the border into Canada!”

 . . . my follow-up comment:

I retired from the Marine Corps in 1995 and from the corporate world in 2014. I will only retire from writing when I can no longer create coherent sentences (TBD). [Some can argue that date is long passed.] 

Brian will retire from service as a major general in 1982 after 38 years of broken service (1945-1949) [presently Book 16]. Yep, he was a runner in June 1939 against his parents’ wishes and made it across the border to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with the assistance of Group Captain Spencer, RAF. Thank you for your help. Love the story. Book 11 will cover 1945. Korea and Vietnam lay ahead. Even after Brian retires from service, I’ve plans to pick up with Brian’s son, Scott, and his service in uniform under arms. The epic saga continues.

 

Comment to the Blog:

“Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays I take seriously, for the concept of gratitude it carries. Its history is a bit more complicated than that, though. I’ll also note that Native American Heritage Day is overshadowed by the sickness of Black Friday.

“Whatever one’s feelings about HSCJ6, their time is pretty much expired without actual results. Democratic underachievement goes back to Clinton, and Liz Cheney could only do so much.”

My response to the Blog:

Yes, absolutely! My few sentences were a simplistic snapshot, not intended to be a definitive treatise. I am not a fan nor participant in Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The commercialization of Christmas has destroyed the true, root meaning of the holiday, but we still celebrate, along with Boxing Day—picked up during our time in England.

Native American Heritage Day is a great opportunity to remember.

HSCJ6 is not done, yet. Let us not write them off so soon. Nonetheless, their days as we have known them are certainly numbered. The findings and recommendations from the HSCJ6 effort are important, but it is the court record that matters. I am optimistic that Special Counsel Smith will move quickly and precisely. The Department of Justice has moved against and successfully prosecuted hundreds of insurrectionists from that day, but we are still waiting for the leaders to face justice, and specifically, the paramount perpetrator, who still walks free breaking bread with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, Holocaust-deniers, and anti-Semites.

 

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)