The Future of our Democracy is in Our Hands. Vote Wisely
From Jamelle Bouie, NY Times Opinion Writer:
We don’t, in 2024, hear much talk of guardrails anymore. And for good reason. The guardrails failed. Every single one of them. The Republican Party failed to police its own boundaries, welcoming Trump when it should have done everything it could to expel him. The impeachment process, designed to remove a rogue president, was short-circuited, unable to work in a world of rigid partisan loyalty. The criminal legal system tried to hold Trump accountable, but this was slow-walked and sabotaged by sympathetic judges (and justices) appointed by Trump or committed to the Republican Party.
When the states tried to take matters into their own hands, citing the clear text of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a Republican-appointed majority on the Supreme Court stepped in to rewrite the amendment, turning a self-executing prohibition on insurrectionists in office into a mechanism that required a congressional vote those justices knew would never come.
Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, that same majority effectively delayed the federal trial for Trump’s role in the plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election. It also tried to nullify the case itself with a ruling that gave Trump, and any future president, immunity to criminal prosecution for a broad suite of “official acts.”
To do this, Roberts twisted the Constitution into a fun house mirror of itself, reading into the document an almost unlimited presidential impunity that cuts against the text, history and traditions of constitutional government in the United States. The court’s ruling in Trump v. United States is a vision of presidential power that, as Matt Ford observes in The New Republic, exists in a world “without John Locke, without Montesquieu, without Thomas Jefferson or James Madison or Alexander Hamilton.”
It is a ruling that ignores the classical republican ideas that underpin the American constitutional order. It is the imposition of pure ideology and a declaration from Roberts that his court doesn’t just interpret the Constitution, it is the Constitution.
The truth, at this point, is that the only real guardrails in the American system are the voters — the people, acting in their own defense.
For too long, too many of us have acted as if democracy can run on autopilot — as if self-government will, well, take care of itself. But it won’t. The reality is that the future of the American Republic is up to us.
In his own words
This morning as I was heading to the gym, as usual I stopped by the local convenience store to pick up my two diet cokes. The clerk is younger than me, but not young. After talking about the Lions, he said you are not a Trumper, right? I said I am not a Trumper. He then eloquently told me why he could not vote for Trump. Here is what he said.
- Trump’s unwillingness to accept the 2020 election results is reason enough to not vote for Trump.
- Trump’s actions leading to the January 6, 2021 insurrection is reason enough to not vote for Trump.
- Every president has taken classified documents with them when they left office. When previous presidents have been told about the classified documents, they returned them. Trump’s taking of classified documents and not returning them when told to is reason enough to not vote for Trump.
- Trump’s sharing the classified documents with donors is reason enough to not vote for Trump.
- Trump’s being found guilty in civil court for violating a woman is reason enough to not vote for Trump.
He went on to say Trump does not represent the majority of the country. He has lost the majority vote in the 2016 and 2020 election. He will probably lose the majority vote again in 2024, but he still may get elected because of the electoral vote. He hopes that does not happen.
Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones, musical talent extraordinaire and one of the most powerful forces in American popular music for more than half a century, died on Sunday in California. He was 91.
Per the NY Times, Jones’s music has been sampled and reused hundreds of times, through all stages of hip-hop and for the theme to the “Austin Powers” films (his “Soul Bossa Nova,” from 1962). He has the third highest total of Grammy Awards won by a single person…He was given honorary degrees by Harvard, Princeton, Juilliard, the New England Conservatory, the Berklee School of Music and many other institutions, as well as a National Medal of Arts and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master fellowship.
He composed the soundtracks to “The Pawnbroker” (1964), “In Cold Blood” (1967) and “The Color Purple” (1985), among many other movies; his film and television work expertly mixed 20th-century classical, jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban, street, studio and conservatory. And the three albums he produced for Michael Jackson between 1979 and 1987 — “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” — arguably remade the pop business with their success, by appealing profoundly to both Black and white audiences at a time when mainstream radio playlists were becoming increasingly segregated.
To me, his greatest musical gift to the world, was his production of We are the World, sung by some of the greatest legends of Rock and Pop. See my Video of the Day.
The Lions
For the second straight week, if you look at the stats sheet, it looks like the Lions were walloped. For the first time since the 1950s, an NFL team won consecutive games despite getting outgained by 150 or more yards. Instead, the Lions had yesterday’s game against the Packers sewed up with 10 minutes to go in the third quarter, when the Lions took a 24-3 lead. In horrendous conditions at historic Lambeau Field, the Lions played mistake free, while the Packers kept shooting themselves in the foot with dropped passes, fumbled snaps, and untimely penalties.
No play epitomizes the Packers problem more than the offside penalty the Packers received when the Lions had it fourth and goal from the five-yard line on their first drive of the game. With the Packers leading 3-0, the Lions lined up like they were going to go for it. I believe everyone watching the game on TV and everyone in the stands and on both sidelines knew the Lions were not going to go for it. They were going to try to draw the Packers offside. If the Packers didn’t bite, the Lions would take the five-yard penalty and kick a game tying field goal.
Unfortunately, for the Packers, their left tackle didn’t get the message. When Jared Goff gave a hard count and center Frank Ragnow suddenly raised his head (which he is allowed to do as the center) the Packers’ left tackle jumped offsides. The ball was moved to the 2.5-yard-line. The Lions then went for it and converted on one of the prettiest touchdown passes I have seen in a long time.
This is an Absurd Stat
Per the Detroit Free Press today, “Everyone at home, pay attention to this,” former Lions quarterback-turned analyst Dan Orlovsky said on ESPN’s “Get Up” show Monday. “This is the most ridiculous thing you’ll hear all week: Jared Goff has not thrown an incompletion to Amon-Ra. St. Brown since September (22nd). They’ve completed their last 30 straight pass attempts. In games, not on air. That is absolutely absurd. I’ve never heard of anything like that in the history of the NFL.”
The last incompletion targeted at St. Brown came in Week 3 at the Arizona Cardinals.
According to the NFL’s NextGenStats, St. Brown’s catch streak had a .0001% chance of happening “based on the difficulty of each throw.” That’s a one in 780,000 chance. St. Brown’s 30-reception streak is tied for the longest of any wide receiver since 2016 (Buffalo’s Khalil Shakir).
College Basketball Seasons Starts the Week
For MSU and U of M football fans, college basketball couldn’t have come at a better time. After the thrashing their respective football teams took on Saturday, it is likely that neither team will be able to salvage their seasons by becoming bowl eligible. I look forward to the basketball season. MSU under Tom Izzo will always be strong, and I am optimistic about U of M under first year coach Dusty May.
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Quote of the Day: “The court’s ruling in Trump v. United States is a vision of presidential power that, as Matt Ford observes in The New Republic, exists in a world “without John Locke, without Montesquieu, without Thomas Jefferson or James Madison or Alexander Hamilton… For too long, too many of us have acted as if democracy can run on autopilot — as if self-government will, well, take care of itself. But it won’t. The reality is that the future of the American Republic is up to us.” Jamelle Bouie, NY Times Opinion Writer.
Orchid of the Day: Gordon Cohours, my 104-year-old neighbor in Ypsilanti for shipping his car to his niece in Florida, who lost her car in hurricane Helene. Gordon told me he is scanning the web for a replacement vehicle for himself. Gordon never ceases to amaze me.
Onion of the Day: The estimated $16 billion that will be spent on this year’s presidential race. Per Forbes, the 2024 election will go down as the most expensive in U.S. history, with a projected $15.9 billion in spending across all federal races, eclipsing the 2020 record of $15.1 billion and making 2016’s $6.5 billion look downright paltry.
Question of the Day: The president’s annual salary is $400,000. Why spend $16 billion for a job paying $400,000 annually? The math doesn’t add up.
Video of the Day: Quincy Jones’ greatest musical production.