Update no.1135

 Update from the Sunland

No.1135

9.10.23 – 15.10.23

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

 

To all,

 

At 10:19 [R] EDT, Friday morning, 13.October.2023, the NASA Psyche spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Pad 39A. These launches are becoming a matter of routine. It was a flawless launch, from what I could tell, and we watched the two boosters shut down, detach, and return to a safe landing back at Cape Canaveral. The spacecraft is on its way to the 170-mile wide asteroid Psyche orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is a metal-rich body that scientists hope will give us new clues regarding the origins of the solar system. The spacecraft will also test a new LASER-based optical communications technology to significantly increase the bandwidth for data transmission. The mission plan calls for the craft to enter orbit around the Psyche asteroid in August 2029 and is expected to stay there for 26 months. We will be watching.

 

We were also treated to a rare astronomical event on Saturday, an annular, ‘ring of fire’ eclipse. Here, we were in the 70% of totality region, so the sky darken, but not as completely as on the centerline of the path of totality. In this instance, the Moon was slightly farther away from Earth, which meant an incomplete blocking of the Sun’s brilliance. We can imagine indigenous peoples of ancient times without access to science reacting to the temporarily covering sunlight. The next event will be a proper total eclipse on 6.April.2024.

 

The follow-up news items:

-- With the unprovoked Hamas attack into southern Israel last Saturday [1134], the on-going war in Ukraine [1050] has been completely overshadowed. As the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) deals with the Hamas terrorist group, let us not forget the brutal defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion continues unabated.

The evidence is beginning to point to the participation of ISIL [591] in this latest attack on Israel. Some of the hallmark brutality of ISIL has been on graphic display in Israel. The Press has been captivated by the Hamas attack and the pending counteraction by the IDF in Gaza. We have heard nothing from the situation in Ukraine.

-- After the ouster of Representative Kevin McCarthy of California [1134], the Republican Conference took many steps backward, perpetuating the chaos induced by the withdrawal of Representative Scalise on Thursday from the speakership selection process. With the terrorist attack on Israel (above), the continuing Ukraine defense operations, and the looming federal government funding issue, the House of Representatives remains paralyzed, unable to take any action on anything until the Republican Conference decides upon a leader to become speaker of the House and second in succession to the presidency. It only takes four dissenters in the Republican ranks to upset the apple cart, and so far there are far more than four. Then, the MAGA, Freedom Caucus, Tea Party bunch nominated one of their own, Jim Jordon of Ohio, and he received a majority of votes, although now with 55 moderates declaring their resistance. So the strong-arming begins in hopes of bullying enough moderates to give him the 217 votes he needs for the MAGA, Freedom Caucus, Tea Party bunch to complete their takeover of the former Republican Party.

 

As a citizen of a nation, I watch, listen, and learn. The current situation in Gaza is quite akin to other conditions that have plagued mankind. The Palestinian people are cannon fodder and human shields for the Hamas terrorist group that dominates them in Gaza, just like Putin dominates the majority of Russian people. A small autocratic minority dictates to the majority. We see the scenario play out in so many places. We are on the verge of doing exactly the same in the United States of America.

I publicly declare that I am pro-Palestinian just like I am pro-life. I also publicly condemn, reject, despise, and revile Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIL, the Taliban, and all far-right autocrats in Russia, Hungary, the United States, and elsewhere. 

I want and advocate for the Palestinian people to have and enjoy a homeland like I do. Just as we must not confuse the disgusting brutality of Hamas with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. Palestine deserves our support, but intermixed and intertwined with Hamas that worthy objective is unattainable.

Whether Israel will be successful in finally ridding Gaza of the Hama disease and allow the Palestinians to choose a proper democratic government that can make peace with Israel is yet to be determined, but Israel appears to be intent upon that objective. They have a bumpy road ahead.

 

A friend and frequent contributor opened this discussion thread topic:

“Israel and Hamas.”

To which I replied:

[The Israel and Hamas situation] seems to be more than Hamas, although they are the head of this incursion. I suspect the viciousness is a product of the infusion of ISIL radicals. This is not going to end soon.

S/he continued:

“Cap-agreed this will sadly dominate our concern for a long time. The world doesn’t need anymore incursions into the civilianised life we aim and strive for. I shudder when I think of the stress I suffered when responsible for powerful weapons. We do not need those dark times to return.”

To which I replied:

Yes, indeed, but perhaps not as long as the Ukrainian fight against the Russian invasion. Our congressional dysfunction will not help either situation. Someday, probably not in my remaining lifetime, we will collectively learn to avoid letting bad men gain control over the instruments of state and carryout these offenses against their neighbors. Let us just respect each even when we disagree.

And a follow-up comment:

“Good day Cap. Yes indeed we still have some extremely valuable lessons to learn but I really don’t know how we might control nations that are governed by people who have brain washed society into believing that they are the right person for the job. Do you know that if we were all of the same religious following these quarrels would be unneeded. But that’s a pipe dream Cap and will never happen. Is that your view too?”

With my reply:

LOL. Brainwashed society like us Americans . . . millions have succumbed to the Sirens' Song of [the person who shall no longer be named]. To me, this is exactly the same phenomenon that occurred in Germany in the early 1930s, and history recorded the consequences. I do not have a solution other than voting for representatives who will keep such men from the instruments of state. I have long stated my beliefs that religion has killed more people than any other cause. The parochialism of religion is a terribly divisive and corrosive agent. And yet, I also recognize and acknowledge that religion is arguably the single greatest civilizing force in human history. Any ideology that promotes us versus them is not consistent with a freedom-loving people or society. I must also say that there are also bad men in religious garb not just political spheres.

 

Comments and contributions from Update no.1134:

Comment to the Blog:

“The entire situation with Tiny and his kind embarrasses the USA globally. Can you imagine a diplomat trying to explain away this insanity?

“Jim Jordan hails from Ohio. His past would’ve kept him out of Congress in prior times.

“Matt Gaetz and his MAGAt crew have no legislative priorities or they wouldn’t have paralyzed the House.

“Many undocumented immigrants overstay their visas, often working in IT, construction, agriculture, and restaurants. Immigration will continue, with or without papers, as long as so many employers hire the immigrants—and they work cheaper than Americans or immigrants with papers.”

My response to the Blog:

Oh my goodness, yes; in fact, embarrassment is probably an understatement. It is important to remember that these far-right elements have existed within the nation for centuries, since well before the founding. The racism, white supremacy, xenophobia, the “not like us” mentality have been documented by history back to at least the arrival of European belligerents. Those beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation by parents. Until Tiny’s presidency, those elements were largely unseen except for spot flare ups like the murders of James Byrd, Jr., [7.6.1998] and Matthew Wayne Shepard [6.10.1998]. What is different today and since 2015 is Tiny gave pseudo-legitimacy and public support for those once-distant elements. He brought them out of the shadows to the forefront of public view. It is an ugly reality of American society. Until we can deal with Tiny properly and legally, break the connections he made, and render them back to the shadows, we must endure and confront the atrocious embarrassment that is those elements. Like so many of our damnable flaws, like senseless gun violence, the “not like us” mentality is an artifact of ignorance within the sphere of freedom of choice. This will be a generational process.

The rise of Newt Gingrich and subsequently the Tea Party gave substance to the Freedom Caucus, which is the embodiment of those darker forces in Congress and within our society. Jordon, Meadows, et al, have been and remain leaders of that group. Whether his past would have kept Jordon out of office in the past is a point of conjecture. You may well be correct, but the circumstances of today have made him the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, one of the most powerful House committees, and he is now on the verge of becoming second in line of succession for the presidency. The tentacles of the Freedom Caucus have attained far deeper penetration into the very structure of our nation. Most of us cannot vote in Ohio’s 4^th District, but residents of that district would do us all an extraordinary favor by voting him out of office next year.

Quite correct! That was clearly on display with House Resolution 757 and Gaetz’s associated public pronouncements. Yesterday, the Republican Conference, such as it is, began close-door (isolated) machinations to achieve a speaker choice. How long they will be at it is yet to be seen. From my perspective, the Freedom Caucus seeks total chaos, presumably to create a fertile environment for an autocrat dictator of their making (and at present we all know who their choice for that strongman is). The speaker election process will tell us a lot about how deep and pervasive the Freedom Caucus has achieved.

I agree completely, which is precisely why proper immigration reform must be a defense in depth solution that includes all of the states and businesses. Other countries have done it successfully. We can do it too. No system is perfect, but we are a very long way behind. What we cannot tolerate is that MAGAt bunch defining our immigration regulation and control.

 . . . Round two:

“I agree that racists are always among us. Racism was necessary for taking the land from the indigenous people. The other xenophobia comes right along with it. I think of it as aggressive ignorance. Ronald Reagan sheltered that flame; the Bushes and the Tea Party fanned it. All the while, the controversies diverted attention from banking and finance law changes for the wealthy. Then Trump came along. His aggressive xenophobia made him “one of us” to the hateful, who burst into the open. Here we are. We must put all of them, not just Tiny, back in their places (including prison). The wealthy still control banking and finance laws, and the Democrats play along with that part.

“The Freedom Caucus directly represents the aggressively ignorant. It’s self-destructive, but the Democrats must speed that process along to save the country.”

 . . . my response to round two:

I absolutely agree that indigenous people were treated badly and to an extent still are today. There are myriad examples. like the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee. However, the implication of your statement was that racism was an essential element of that poor treatment. I see that whole era in slightly different terms. Contributing factors in my view of history include language, a paucity of written or legal documentation, and a distinct reliance upon violence to defend and expand “their land.” The tribes often fought among themselves, which made violence the tool of choice. I think the Americans of the day tried to do the proper thing, but there was such a vast difference between a tribal nomadic culture and a society based on law and order, and property. There are many other contributing factors, but it is not just about racism.

Tiny, like all grifters, needed a trick or many tricks to further his con of susceptible people. Tiny found those tools among the racist, xenophobic, far right social conservatives, evangelicals, and other far right political groups. His standing in the polls today is testament to his effectiveness as a grifter. Tiny has marketed his worthless snake-oil elixir as a cure-all for everything, and millions of people believe.

Yes, I absolutely agree—ignorance over knowledge. The phenomenon is not new or unique to our times. I see the Inquisition and the condemnation of Galileo in similar terms. I have come to see conservatives as typically seeking to suppress knowledge to further their aims of isolation, dominance, control, and autocracy. The current Freedom Caucus is simply the contemporary version of that ideology, and its objectives have absolutely nothing to do with freedom. To that bunch, freedom is only what they believe, tolerate, allow, support, and how they define it; everything else beyond that tiny sphere is not freedom to them. Yes, absolutely, the rest of us must speed up the process of running that bunch to the irrelevant shadows of the periphery where they belong. We must support and defend their right to believe and espouse what they wish—freedom of choice. But we must remove them from the reins of power, influence, and control.

 . . . Round three:

“With reference to the indigenous peoples, study the history of treaties in general versus treaties with them and the specific experience of the Five Civilized Tribes. Violence was rarely a first resort of indigenous peoples here or anywhere. Racism (‘they’re savages’) was used to justify breaking treaties and brutal conquests. The reality wasn’t the First Thanksgiving myth; it was Sand Creek.

“Tiny’s market is the usual resource of despots. ‘The rest of us’ don’t have the power to neuter the Republican Party; the Democrats do.”

 . . . my response to round three:

Oh, I have read a number (not all) of treaties, laws, and Supreme Court decisions related to the plight of some of the indigenous peoples. To be clear and precise, I never claimed or suggested that violence was a first resort. Further, I do not deny that racism played into U.S. Government treatment of the indigenous peoples; racism was a fact and was clearly discernible in the language of various treaties and court rulings. I was only trying to point out that other factors were at play as well. There were also more than a few abuses by individuals and groups for their own selfish reasons. Another excellent example was the Black Hill Gold Rush of 1876. I only seek a broad, balanced approach to the history.

Yes, quite correct; they are a fertile ground for grifters like Tiny to operate. Yes, we do; there are more of us than there are of them, but we must vote.

 . . . Round four:

“Reading the official documents is a fine thing to a degree, but study the actual outcomes.

“My point about the Democrats acting is that in the immediate situation, the elected Democrats are the only ones who can put a stop to the Republican antics.”

 . . . my response to round four:

Oh I have done that as well. There is a plethora of examples of abuses of indigenous people in our history. That history must never be forgotten and must be taught to our children, so that we can continue to learn. My only point is and remains that in the study of historical mistreatment of indigenous people, we seek some semblance of balance in our analysis. Those events involve many complex factors in the clash of cultures that stimulated those abuses. I am not defending American actions, and likewise, I will not defend so many of the tribal offenses. We must seek balance in our assessment of history.

That is oh so true . . . nature of the beast and a tenant of representative democracy. Like you, I hope the Democrats can find the means and the will to do just that.

The factionalism and dysfunction within the House Republican Conference are a disaster 30+ years in the making. The Tea Party / Freedom Caucus have been allowed fertile ground within the Republican Conference; now, they reap the whirlwind. Unfortunately, the entire body of the American people, including you and me, will pay the dreadful price. I see the shutdown of the federal government as approaching inevitability because of the Freedom Caucus and their supporters.

 

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

Cheers,

Cap                  :-)