In the beginning there was agony. Under the empires of old, the strong did what they willed and the weak suffered what they must.
But over the centuries, people built the sinews of civilization: Constitutions to restrain power, international alliances to promote peace, legal systems to peacefully settle disputes, scientific institutions to cure disease, news outlets to advance public understanding, charitable organizations to ease suffering, businesses to build wealth and spread prosperity, and universities to preserve, transmit and advance the glories of our way of life. These institutions make our lives sweet, loving and creative, rather than nasty, brutish and short.
Trumpism is threatening all of that. It is primarily about the acquisition of power â power for its own sake. It is a multifront assault to make the earth a playground for ruthless men, so of course any institutions that might restrain power must be weakened or destroyed. Trumpism is about ego, appetite and acquisitiveness and is driven by a primal aversion to the higher elements of the human spirit â learning, compassion, scientific wonder, the pursuit of justice.
So far, we have treated the various assaults of President Trump and the acolytes in his administration as a series of different attacks. In one lane they are going after law firms. In another
they savaged U.S.A.I.D. In another theyâre attacking our universities. On yet another front theyâre undermining NATO and on another theyâre upending global trade.
But thatâs the wrong way to think about it. These are not separate battles. This is a single effort to undo the parts of the civilizational order that might restrain Trumpâs acquisition of power. And it will take a concerted response to beat it back.
I think he is right...back to my point on how the democrats cant sit this out or treat it like just another republican offensive.
The universities is probably a good place to start organizing...a g20 summit type meeting where they organize a response as a whole
David Brooks. Establishment centrists of the world unite!
Centrist? I like that he gets described that way, but Brooks is everything a conservative was 20-40 year ago. Mostly I'd call it a good thing. He does have the ability to see other sides of an issue and can empathize with other people. But he's only centrist in the sense that the right moved so far it put him in the middle. They moved the average, he hasn't changed much.
I generally like him (some of his positions on war and violence are difficult, but he sure got Sarah Palin right), and I acknowledge labels can be limiting. But I still have a hard time thinking of him as a centrist. Rational conservative?
Aren't there several members of the cabinet with assault charges? Just googled and most of them are just straight up sexual assault, not battery. Well at least we know you have a limit somewhere.
Fourth Circuit on the case of the deportation to El Salvador of Kilmar Abrego Garcia:
The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done.
This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.
Location: Perched on the precipice of the cauldron of truth
Posted:
Apr 17, 2025 - 5:24pm
Fourth Circuit on the case of the deportation to El Salvador of Kilmar Abrego Garcia:
The government is asserting a right to stash away residents of this country in foreign prisons without the semblance of due process that is the foundation of our constitutional order. Further, it claims in essence that because it has rid itself of custody that there is nothing that can be done.
This should be shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear.
