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~ USA Headed for a 5th Revolution! Why?

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Monthly Archives: January 2023

#472. Is There a Black Elephant in the Room?

31 Tuesday Jan 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Rebranding Black Community, Societal Issues, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1.  Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Entry #430 was the most recent “sense check.”

BEGIN ENTRY #472: The beating and eventual death of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police was a tragedy. Nothing about the police behavior seems rational.

Since Mr. Nichols death numerous people have expressed outrage, and rightfully so. My question is where should the outrage be directed?  Change is obviously needed, but where should we start?

In previous deaths by police of seemingly innocent black men, George Floyd, for example, the rage, especially in the black community, was directed at white police officers. The solution, many suggested, was more diversity throughout the police force, from senior officers to cops on the beat.

Such suggestions seemed perfectly rational. More black officers would better understand issues affecting the black community. More black officers also would help white officers better understand the issues.

The City of Memphis adopted many of these recommendations. Memphis installed a black, female chief of police and hired a substantial number of black police officers.

So, who was directly involved with the beating of Mr. Nichols? Black police officers. Not one or two officers, but five black officers.

 When the inevitable blame game started, who did the “talking heads” in the black community cite as the cause of Mr. Nichols death? The cause was not the five black officers, who were later terminated, but the cause was always something else.  Causes cited ranged from systematic racism by the police force, even though those directly involved were black, to the “boys in blue” are always unfair to the black community, even if the boys in blue are black, to as one high-profile columnist wrote, “America has failed the black community again.”

Huh?  Explain this to me, please.  Five black officers were part of a special unit established by the black chief of police to address excessive crime in a predominantly black area of Memphis. Part of that area is where Mr. McNichols lived. One the problems the special unit was to address included excessive speed on neighborhood streets. The police officers were directed to get tough on violators.

Well, based on the police videos taken when Mr. Nichols was pulled over, the police were way out of line given the possible infraction.  So, rather than automatically blaming someone, some system or some systemic attitude for Mr. Nichols death, maybe it’s time to look in the mirror and ask, “what’s the real problem here? Is there a black elephant in the room we don’t want to talk about? How much of that problem is being caused or being aggravated by members of the black community?”

The City of Memphis seems to have done virtually all of what black leaders previously asked of the police departments. More black managers, and more black officers. From all the evidence, Mr. Nichols did nothing outlandishly wrong, and did not resist. Yet five, yes five black officers savagely beat him. Does a blue uniform make one automatically racist? I think not, although to be fair I talked to a long-time black friend today who claimed the white police trained the black officers to be racist.  I let that comment slide and went on with the conversation.

Maybe it’s time to quit blaming others for many of the problems in the black community and for blacks to start taking more responsibility for making changes.  One thing is for certain.  Continuing to blame others for seemingly every ill in the black community is a surefire way to end up losing support of many outside the community trying to help. END ENTRY #472

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/

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#471. One Simple Step toward Ensuring Progress. Hang Up the Spikes.

15 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1.  Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Entry #430 was the most recent “sense check.”

ENTRY #471 BEGINS: What a week! The right-wing wackos were out in full force.  As Republicans took control of the House,  spineless Kevin McCarthy capitulated to the wackos on every demand. I mean, it only took McCarthy 15 votes to be named Speaker, which gave him plenty of time to give away the store.  Doesn’t every baseball team want a key hitter with a .066 (1/15) batting average? 

Then to demonstrate their wackiness further, the right-wing House members refused to put on their big-boy pants and address real societal problems. Instead, they charged ahead by establishing a select committee to study and then overturn supposed tactics used by the Biden administration to weaponize the Federal government agencies.

Excuse me, little boys, but who weaponized the Federal agencies?  Try the Donald.  Oh, I forgot that in Trump world everything is backwards. Up is down; good is bad; bad is good.  Little boys, start your investigation with Trump.  He and his cronies managed to weaponize the agencies. After you objectively investigate Trump and recommend appropriate charges to DOJ, then you can start on the Biden administration.

To add a scoop of ice cream to the Republican-revenge cake, the House voted to defund the IRS, because…well, because the IRS was trying to collect taxes under laws passed by Congress.  The alleged “expansion” of the IRS claimed by Republicans was no expansion but designed to: (i) hire replacements for retiring employees over the next 10 years; (ii) return staffing to about the 1990 level.  In Trump world, I guess telling the truth is a sin. 

Public support for Republican extreme hyperbole and silliness seems to be turning away from the right wing.  Apparently, the hard-right Republicans learned nothing from the results of the midterms, when Republicans gained far fewer House seats than expected – and elected Mr. Tell-No-Lies, George Santos. At the same time, one can sense some moderate Republicans at least trying to become more rational.

Ah, but just when it appeared that sanity might prevail, yet another setback. DOJ, then the White House, confirmed a press report that a small cache of classified documents – apparently about a dozen – had been found in a locked closet in an office Biden used between being VP and president.  The documents were from the VP days. A second cache, apparently six (6) documents, was found in his locked garage in the Biden’s house in Delaware.

Even though Biden’s lawyers found the documents, then immediately notified the National Archives, and returned the documents, none of that seemed to matter to Republicans, especially the hard right. In the hard-right world of false equivalency, Biden having the documents was exactly the same as, if not worse, than Trump’s cache at Mar-a-Lago.  Therefore, in Trump world, the investigation of Trump should be stopped, and Trump fully exonerated.

Attorney General Garland, likely sensing a political problem, appointed a special counsel rather than using internal DOJ personnel to investigate how Biden came to hold the documents. Unlike Trump and the AG Barr, who always appointed Republicans to investigate Republicans, Garland appointed a Republican to investigate Trump and to investigate Biden. Of course, going overboard to be fair didn’t matter to the hard right, even though the special counsel had been a Trump appointee.  The appointee was now considered biased and will soon be labeled as a traitor.

With any kind of luck, the hyperbole over the documents will settle down as the cases proceed.  Settle down except for the constant stream of unsubstantiated claims by Jim Jordan and company, who seem to support every conspiracy theory. But what do you expect from Jordan?  He’s been trying to thwart an investigation of his seemingly unethical behavior while a wrestling coach at Ohio State.  Keep trying to divert attention Jim.

The head scratcher for Democrats is, “Joe, why did you have the documents?  And why wasn’t the disclosure made before?  The drip, drip, drip of disclosure is killing your credibility.“

One more twist to the plot. One explanation I heard from a friend with a long history with inside-the-Beltway media is the documents could’ve been planted. The contact was a bit embarrassed about buying into a conspiracy.  However, given the history of Republican dirty tricks, and the given the grade-school adage of “those who smelt it, dealt it,“ the possibility of the documents being planted makes sense…well sort of.  Republicans who scream the loudest about being framed or persecuted are usually ones who are guilty.

Let’s end this entry with a suggestion that may help most of the country start to move on.  Hard-right Republicans are going to scream and make false claims no matter what, so it is time to ignore them.

The recommendation is simple. Joe, announce you are hanging up your spikes. You’re not going to seek re-election and you’re going to step down after one term.  You’ve done an excellent job.  Quit while you’re ahead and quit while your physical and mental health are OK.

Stepping down and letting someone younger carry the load will divert take much of the wind out of Republican sails and generate new energy for the country.  And, not running might, just might, encourage some moderate Republicans to join Democrats and get something meaningful done in the House.  ENTRY #471 ENDS

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/

#470. Where’s There’s Smoke, There’s Hope.

06 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by Jordan Abel in Societal Issues, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Welcome to a discussion about the upcoming 5th Revolution in the US, which I’ve titled the “Revenge Revolution.” For more about the Revenge Revolution and the author, Entry #1.  Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether a revolution in the US is possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Entry #430 was the most recent “sense check.”

ENTRY #470 BEGINS: On the 2nd Anniversary of one of the worst days in American history, I thought it might be worthwhile to discuss why I believe, “When There’s Smoke, There’s Hope.” When someone or some group starts to burn down something, there is always smoke and that sickening feeling. Those who are standing by have an option of doing nothing and watching something be destroyed or taking action and try to save whatever has been torched.

2023 seems to be a turning point for the US populace, where parts of society are saying “no” to the hard-right Republican torch carriers who want to burn the foundations of government and beginning to take action to save societal and cultural foundations.

Let’s look at a couple of examples of what’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the coming weeks. What will these activities mean for the US Revolution V, the Revenge Revolution? First, as noted in earlier blog entries, the Revenge Revolution has started, and the Revenge Revolution will continue. However, what is starting to occur now is a coalescence of groups to counter the forces promulgating the Revenge Revolution. 

The end result should be the good guys win. Like all revolutions, however, life post revolution will be different. Fortunately, post Revenge Revolution core societal values will remain intact.

What’s likely to happen near term? We the (American) people – in today’s political climate, “We the people” seems like an oxymoron – will begin to start working together rather pulling in opposite directions.  And while “We the people” might seem like an oxymoron, even thinking “We the people” will make progress might make me a moron. 

Regardless of progress, 2023 looks to be filled with lots of smoke. In the last four (4) days – 01/03/23 to 01/06/23, members of the House of Representatives have been voting to select a Speaker of the House.  To be elected Speaker requires a simple majority of votes from members.  After 3.5 days, and 12 votes, no speaker has been elected.  Republicans, who have a thin majority in the House, cannot decide who should be awarded the Speaker’s gavel. [Late afternoon 01/06, McCarthy was 0 for 13, although picked up some votes.]

Republicans have been so fractured, that until the 12th vote, a Democrat received more votes than any Republican.  Taking this long to elect the Speaker hasn’t happened since 1859, and we all know what came a few years later.

The Republican front-runner for Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, apparently has been willing to compromise on any issue in order to be elected. Such behavior does not bode well for governing. On the contrary, such behavior might bode well for getting the American public, particularly Republicans, to finally understand that both parties need to be reasonably rational in their approach.

Why does the ineptness of the Republican Party and the resulting chaos provide a ray of hope?  The ray of hope is a growing percentage of Republicans appear to be disgusted with the behavior and demands of the far-right Trump MAGAts.  Many of these Republicans seem to be rethinking how the Party should operate. How soon they will take action is another story since they’ve proved to be remarkably spineless the past six plus (6+) years.

Another ray of hope is the likely prosecution of Trump for an array of illegal activities while president. The January 6th Committee recently released numerous transcripts that added to the pile of evidence about criminal behavior by Trump and his family.

How many Republicans will finally admit Trump is a crook remains to be seen. But, the results of the midterm elections and the constant smoke from the January 6th committee is a hopeful sign.

OK, so you still think I’m a moron for being so optimistic. The Revenge Revolution, as noted in a couple of previous entries, effectively started when Trump was elected president. The Revenge Revolution has grown more insidious – the 01/06/21 insurrection is a good example – and now we have a Republican Party going at least 0 for 12 in being able to elect someone to hold the gavel to manage meetings.

An old saying suggests it is always darkest before dawn. The darkest part of the night is not yet over. However, at the beginning of 2023 we seem closer to dawn than we do to dusk — a positive sign. More to come. ENTRY #470 ENDS

Other Topics. Interested in more info about climate change, what’s required to electrify a fleet of cars/trucks, what it was like to work day-to-day with Lee Iacocca and an array of other topics? Visit another page of this website, https://usrevolution5.com/jrd-thought-comments/

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