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Miscellaneous thoughts [1]

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Date: 2023-04-07  

It is hard to decide what to address first, but I will start with the indictment of Donald J. Trump announced a week ago. I respond to this not only as one who has taught government — which includes the legal processes -for more than two decades, but as the son of a brilliant lawyer )2nd in her class at Columbia Law in 1937 when she was 21) whoas the first female Assistant Attorney General in NY took 21 cases to the highest court in the state, the Court of Appeals, and never lost. I know I am NOT a lawyer — I have many times pondered going to law school but decided it was not for me — but I have SOME understanding and a long practice not only of reading legal opinions but making my students read them as well.

Far too many who have commented on what Bragg has done do NOT understand the law in NY. There is NO requirement to prove another criminal act in order to elevate the false business records to a felony: all that is require is to show an intent to cover up another crime or and intent in furtherance of another crime — even if no further action towards that crime is taken. Alvin Bragg has multiple paths to achieve that. While I am not a lawyer, it is clear that the burden of proof on that is easily provable by documents znd tapes, even before we get to the testimony of Michael Cohen.

But what is key is note how this is connected with many of the other cases working or in process against Trump, including BOTH of the E Jean Carroll suits. All of the issues were to deny the foter information about Trumo that, especially after the release of the Access Hollywood tape, information showing the pattern of DESPICABLE behavior of Trump towards women. Remember — he got elected by less than 80,000 votes total in WI, MI, and PA, It took these coverups, plus the Comey reopening of an investigation into Hillary while covering up the parallel investigation into Trump, plus the total misbehavior by media in giving Trump free coverage and seeking cliicks and viewers by. pushing anti-Hillary coverage for Trump to eek out a narrow victory in the electoral college with the devastating consequence since, including 1/3 of the Supreme Court.

FWIW I think Trump is petrified, but perhaps more by the lawsuits than the criminal cases. He SHOULD be locked up, but even if convicted he probably would not see the inside of a prison — how could he have his Secret Service protection in a state or federal penitentiary? He would probably only have some sort of house arrest.

But he does not want to be seen as a rapist, which is why I was never worried that he would fail to surrender in Bragg’s case. He has to show up for the lawsuits against him or he gets default judgments against him. With E Jean Carroll that would brand him as a rapist, which his first wife says he was. But in the case brought by the AG Tish James that could cost him up to a quarter billion. If he failed to surrender in the Manhattan case he would be forceably arrested, and handcuffed, when he showed up for the lawsuits.

Switching briefly to Tennessee. It is not clear that the expulsion was constitutional under either the TN or US Constitutions. The fact that only the two Black men were expelled and not the White woman (although she survived by only 1 vote) makes clear the racial animus behind the expulsions. In the case of Jones, people should know that he was instrumental before he got to the State House in getting the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest removed from the state capitol, so that is at peast a subtext as to what happened. OF greater importance are two other issue. The State House has threatened Shelbvy County and the city of Memphis with cutting off or reducing aid if the County commissioner return as is their right Justin Pearson to the state legislature, That might well be a violation of the notion of no bills of attainder. There are also intimations that even if either or both of the men were reelected by their constituents the State House would refuse to seat them. Worth noting that doing so would run smack into a 9-0 decision by SCOTUS when Georgia refused to seat Julian Bond and got slapped down by the Court.

TN has a history of racism that is egregious. So does Georgia. If people knew the complete history of both states and they were not appalled, one would have to worry how racist they are. Perhaps this indicates at least part of why some (Ron DeSantis for example) do NOT want an honest teaching of our history. Yes people are going to be made uncomfortable. They should be — our history is far from free from things that are at least embarrassing, if not downright shameful.

Now I pivot to what has happened with gerrymandering. There are states that are basicall 50-50 or close to it where the state legislatures have super-majorities or close to that for Republicans, and thereby also have misrepresentation in the US House. PA addressed that before the last election, but in WI a 50-50 state is 6-2 in Congress. And yest SCOTUS has refused to say gerrymandering for political advantage is unconstitutional, What this makes clear is that the US is NOT fully a democracy. Clearly the electoral college and the US Senate both illustrate this. BUt if we do not move far closer to being democratic where the will of the people can be properly reflected in legislatures from local to state to national, we will not survive — we are too diverse with far too many guns.

As a teacher of government and of history, I try to challenge my students to thing through implications. Each year as the divisiveness increases, it gets harder to do so with integrity.

Perhaps after this year that will not be my concern. Just after Thanksgiving, I notified my school that this would be my last year. As I had previously posted here, my wife and I plan to move to a Life Care community in Pennsylvania and we had agreed on a target date of next January. But there has been a lot turmoil at myt wife’s place of work and now she would like to work for another six month, until April of 2024, My school has already hired my replacement, and at best might be able to offer me part-time work for next year. I have explored other schools, but very few independent schools want to hire someone for only one year, so there is no guarantee I can find a job -and remember, I wkll be 77. I hae one school which has told me that if they cannot find someone excellent for the long term they might get back to me, and another so far at least wants to talk to me. Both of those are middle school positions where I would be teaching history and not government. So I do not know how these issues will affect me after late May when I stop teaching my seniors (my juniors in history stick around until early June).

So what of my mental meanderings? I am not necessarioy despondent about the political future of this country. I think Republican overreach on guns and voting and abortion and the environment might well be fueling a massive movement by young people that can even overcome some gerrymandering. I like what I see about recent elections, and think the visceral reaction of some Republicans to try to “lock in” their perspective is backfiring.

But I do not know how much of a participant in the events going forward I will be. If I continue in the classroom for another year, I will be limited by time and energy — after all, I will be 77, I have a stent in my aorta, and I am a survivor of a stroke. Perhaps if I am finally fully retired I will write here and speak out more than I have done so recently.

I read. I reflect. And occasionally I will speak out. I am not sure to what end, but that would never stop me — I have a history of speaking out regardless of what risk is involved or who might not want to listen. I will at least have done what I can.

Peace.

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