White and Christian supremacy was established some 500 years ago, with the beginning of colonization of the New World, Africa, and Asia. Today's Trump voters are people who still cling to that same belief of supremacy; they may not even fully understand the history of it, but it is so engrained in their world view that it's almost an instinct. They may be living lives much like ours, but in their minds they are still on the wild frontier, keeping a shotgun close by, just in case.
America’s original sin casts a long shadow indeed. The Founding Fathers’ decision to compromise on the wording of the Declaration of Independence led to a century of slavery in the South. Andrew Johnson’s decision to compromise on “Reconstruction” led to another century of “Jim Crow”.
I wonder if Mr. Harwood believes that there’s a way to dig ourselves out of our current polarization through compromise. I no longer feel optimistic about that prospect but I also can’t think of a better solution.
I went to buy some lumber in a bucolic rural area of CT and was amazed to see many Trump signs but also a number of signs about crime??? Are their lawn care providers stealing their foundation plantings? My neighbor thinks there is rampant crime down the street in a public park which if true is news to the police…
Yes. This is being ignored way too much. Garrison Keillor was on to something when he recalled the Divided Nation speech and said, "I'm ready for a duplex." So am I. If only the red states would secede, but the oligarchs won't allow it, just like the last time. They want it all. Even the 14th Amendment was but a necessary evil for them. It's all on the line now. Can we prove Plato wrong at long last? I begin to doubt it. We are on the verge of throwing everything away. The billionaires have captured the bigots again.
Well-written summary of the Blue vs Red situation. I'd like to add that in some states, such as MO, the Blue dot (St Louis, St Louis County, Kansas City and Columbia) voters have successfully used ballot initiatives to implement laws to overcome some of the Republican's bad legislation. By using initiatives, MO has removed right-to-work laws, expanded Medicaid, raised the minimum wage and legalized medical and recreational marijuana. Mo is one of the 10 states with an abortion rights initiative on the Nov. ballot as well as one to raise the minimum wage again. Red states are mostly taking more money from the Federal government than they return to the fisc. School vouchers are giving tax dollars to parents who are, mostly, already sending their children to private schools. Many rural school districts are so short on funding they've gone to a 4-day school week. Teacher pay in MO is ridiculously low and the very restrictive anti-abortion ban is responsible for closing some OB/GYN offices and rural hospital departments, and for MO having difficulty attracting medical residents. Josh Hawley will, hopefully, lose his re-election bid because during his 6-year tenure in the Senate he's done nothing for MO. Unfortunately, there's also an initiative to allow online sports betting along with some other types of sports betting. The problem is the initiative allows this gambling revenue to be reduced by undefined "deductions", including Federal income taxes, and it's estimated that state revenue could be anywhere from $0 - $28.9M annually. Yes, $0 revenue is distinctly possible with some creative, and legal, accounting. While MO would receive $11.7M from initial license fees, it's estimated to cost MO $5.2M annually for this proposal with no guarantee of any future revenue to offset the costs.
White and Christian supremacy was established some 500 years ago, with the beginning of colonization of the New World, Africa, and Asia. Today's Trump voters are people who still cling to that same belief of supremacy; they may not even fully understand the history of it, but it is so engrained in their world view that it's almost an instinct. They may be living lives much like ours, but in their minds they are still on the wild frontier, keeping a shotgun close by, just in case.
America’s original sin casts a long shadow indeed. The Founding Fathers’ decision to compromise on the wording of the Declaration of Independence led to a century of slavery in the South. Andrew Johnson’s decision to compromise on “Reconstruction” led to another century of “Jim Crow”.
I wonder if Mr. Harwood believes that there’s a way to dig ourselves out of our current polarization through compromise. I no longer feel optimistic about that prospect but I also can’t think of a better solution.
Lincoln's biggest mistake was winning the Civil War.
I went to buy some lumber in a bucolic rural area of CT and was amazed to see many Trump signs but also a number of signs about crime??? Are their lawn care providers stealing their foundation plantings? My neighbor thinks there is rampant crime down the street in a public park which if true is news to the police…
Yes. This is being ignored way too much. Garrison Keillor was on to something when he recalled the Divided Nation speech and said, "I'm ready for a duplex." So am I. If only the red states would secede, but the oligarchs won't allow it, just like the last time. They want it all. Even the 14th Amendment was but a necessary evil for them. It's all on the line now. Can we prove Plato wrong at long last? I begin to doubt it. We are on the verge of throwing everything away. The billionaires have captured the bigots again.
Well-written summary of the Blue vs Red situation. I'd like to add that in some states, such as MO, the Blue dot (St Louis, St Louis County, Kansas City and Columbia) voters have successfully used ballot initiatives to implement laws to overcome some of the Republican's bad legislation. By using initiatives, MO has removed right-to-work laws, expanded Medicaid, raised the minimum wage and legalized medical and recreational marijuana. Mo is one of the 10 states with an abortion rights initiative on the Nov. ballot as well as one to raise the minimum wage again. Red states are mostly taking more money from the Federal government than they return to the fisc. School vouchers are giving tax dollars to parents who are, mostly, already sending their children to private schools. Many rural school districts are so short on funding they've gone to a 4-day school week. Teacher pay in MO is ridiculously low and the very restrictive anti-abortion ban is responsible for closing some OB/GYN offices and rural hospital departments, and for MO having difficulty attracting medical residents. Josh Hawley will, hopefully, lose his re-election bid because during his 6-year tenure in the Senate he's done nothing for MO. Unfortunately, there's also an initiative to allow online sports betting along with some other types of sports betting. The problem is the initiative allows this gambling revenue to be reduced by undefined "deductions", including Federal income taxes, and it's estimated that state revenue could be anywhere from $0 - $28.9M annually. Yes, $0 revenue is distinctly possible with some creative, and legal, accounting. While MO would receive $11.7M from initial license fees, it's estimated to cost MO $5.2M annually for this proposal with no guarantee of any future revenue to offset the costs.