Politics 2021

[Buster's Uncle]

I think Biden is just another representative for the ruling classes and government establishment. I think he will undo only the most blatant injustices added by [Sleezebag] and do very little about the long-standing issues, but I would love to be proven wrong and see him adopt more of Bernie's platform.

Without that, the USA will almost certainly remain a disgrace in terms of greenhouse gas emissions per capita, criminal justice, and economic equality. For climate, especially, there is very little time left in which to change path. The pussyfooting gradualism and empty rhetoric of the Obama era won't be enough to achieve anything of note there.

Strong agreement.

Biden did impress as President-Elect.  Looks like he's done that thing politicians do his whole career, being pragmatic hoping to be his best Biden when he Reached The Top.  Difference being, I don't know of one compromising for decades w/o losing the plot - and various appointments and plans announced look like maybe he did keep the plot.

[Buster's Uncle]

So there was an old man, rather well-off, with 13 strapping sons who fought each other endlessly.  Just eternally competitive and greedy towards each other, and it got mighty rough/mean/ugly.

So, finding himself on his deathbed and anticipating what those young men would do to each over his estate, he summoned the lot to bedside.

Handing each a three foot wooden dowel about pinky finger thickness, he bade each break his stick, which they proceeded to do, each trying to top the last in the ease of destruction.

Whereupon the old father produced the same number of sticks tied tight in a neat bundle, and asked his belligerent progeny to, in turn, break that, which, puffing and straining, none of the red-faced 13 strapping men could manage.

"Each of you is a stick, easily broken," Father said.  "But bound all together in fraternal amity, nothing can prevail against all of you."

---

I think that's a Roman story -I do not recall for sure- 'cause it fits so well with the upcoming about the heralds of the Roman magistrates.  Do jump in if you see where this is going...

[DrazharLn]

And they call those bundles of sticks fasces, from which a famous Italian named a political movement.

They said that we must all be united to be strong, which might sound fair enough, but has some unpleasant corollaries.

[Geo]

Unity of purpose is nice, as long as the purpose is a noble one.
Domination through force is all but noble.

[Buster's Uncle]

Oh.  Both correct, of course, but jumping ahead to Moose, as far as the heralds.

-For those who came in late, the game is trying to look at groups/movements/whatev pretty universally considered fascist, and usefully defining fascism.  Fine to ignore me going into some details of origin, and compare/contrast fascist movements, looking for what all hold in common.  Indulge me with laying off googling at first - I want your own thinking, not someone else's.  We're trying to come up with our own definition.

[Buster's Uncle]

Seen on Facebook, not yet read: 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/conspiracy-oath-keeper-arrest-capitol-riot/2021/01/19/fb84877a-5a4f-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html

“In charging papers, the FBI said that during the Capitol riot, Caldwell received Facebook messages from unspecified senders updating him of the location of lawmakers. When he posted a one-word message, “Inside,” he received exhortations and directions describing tunnels, doors and hallways, the FBI said.

"Some messages, according to the FBI, included, “Tom all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3floors down,” and “Go through back house chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps.” Another message read: “All members are in the tunnels under capital seal them in. Turn on gas,” the FBI added.”



-Sounds like someone in our national legislature -possibly just police- is totally going to prison forever/at least done for politics once named.  This is active knowing participation in a murdery/kidnappy plot where felony murder rule murders happened.

[Buster's Uncle]

Lunch conversation: we're still, when it comes to mind, feeling elation to have an Actual President.  This is not to say that Joe is even good; he may be great, but it's WONderful just to have an Actual President wearing his Big Boy Pants and trying to do the job at all.

(The previous is effectively, and actually morally, a mass-murderer who killed Mary Ann, and I'm not exaggerating much.  I think I'll put its name back in the swear filter now that it's over.  Seriously, y'all log your protests early and often, or I'll do it soon.)

Mom saw an editorial cartoon in the paper:  normal folk walking around a normal street on a 'normal' day - all a foot off the ground.

[Buster's Uncle]

So, and this part is not real interesting, but it's there in the origin story of Mussolini's 'creation' of fascism - the Romans had tiers of elected political offices that, for the sort of powers they held, were what we'd call executive offices even at lower levels.  Magistracies, the Romans called them; they were actual judges, like in court, among other duties.  That's all the political ranks outside senator you'd have heard of, clear up to Consul.  Not sure how Tribunes fit into all that, mind.

And, not unlike a judge now, there was some ceremony when a Magistrate was working in public, or at least out being seen - imagine if the Bailiff preceded His Honor into Court holding aloft, instead of a gavel, a sort of scepter.  The Roman version was a -get this- bundle of tight-bound sticks (I believe explicitly symbolizing strength in unity, like the old man/sons/sticks/bundle story, bound together by the Authoritas of the State vested in the person of the Magistrate presiding) w/ a rather puny little ax blade at the top.  Symbolism to that, too, seems obvious; the Magistrates held power of life and death, like literally on the Roman label.

This scepter-ax-thing was called the Fasces.

So, Mussolini hardly invented fascism, exactly; more just named it.  I just think the classical inspirations/symbolism -and fascists do love their symbols (and mangled history), don't they?- was worth bringing up.  The Romans had much to do with the iconography and rhetoric and inspiration of the Germans, too.  "Third Reich" was a direct reference, Holy Roman being the Second Reich and the actual Romans the First in that...

[Edit: added one dropped word in the first sentence.  And corrected an autocorrect error of 'Magistrates'.]

[DrazharLn]

You can also see this Roman inspiration in the beliefs of the elites of the antebellum South, as featured and discussed in the podcast I linked a few pages back.

[Buster's Uncle]

See, as I pointed out about the US Founding Fathers, used to be -up to roughly 80 years ago, I think- educated men knew Latin and the Classics; like, as in the Romans.  -So pointing out Roman influence, knowing about that stuff yourself, is a key to understanding much in history long after the Empire, not all so long ago for us.

Was the Confederacy (proto)fascist?  Maybe not, being fundamentally decentralized in government structure.  But there are surely good counter arguments in other areas, and I tend to think you have to classify much American fascism as a different kind from the other obvious examples, or it just plain bucks Moose's first/central principal...

[Buster's Uncle]

-Nobody's said anything, so putting back the Traitor's name as smilie code is on today's to-do list.

[Buster's Uncle]

I'm Actually Surprised Uno saw that and didn't speak up.

Smilie coding in progress...

[Geo]

Don't look at me for commenting on CSA parallels with fascism. US history isn't exactly my strongest suite.

[Buster's Uncle]

Well, [Sleezebag] no more, thank goodness.

[Geo]

There was a pic in the newspaper today, with a procession of Congressmen&women on their way to the Senate, for delivering impeachment papers.