Frank's Musings

Just like Giuliani’s accusations against Georgia election workers, Trump’s defense attorneys in the federal election interference case believe they can convince the trial judge that their client’s claim that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” solely on the basis that Trump’s supporters also believe it.

Israel and the world were outraged by the 7 October 2020 attack by Hamas operatives on non-threatening Israelis in areas surrounding Gaza. The raid killed 1200 Israelis and took over two hundred hostages.

The Israeli government justifiably resolved to retaliate by attempting to extirpate Hamas with violent force. However, it undertook a military campaign of bombing and other destruction of large areas of Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 20,000 residents of the Gaza Strip.

Owing to its professed mission of assassinating all Jews in Israel and eliminating the Israeli state, Hamas merits being forced out of power in Gaza. However, the utter destruction of civilian life in Gaza is not proportionate to the murderous 7 October attack. Moreover, by retaliating in such an indiscriminate manner the Israeli government adopted behavior as reprehensible as was Hamas’s.

A curiously damnable fault of Israel is their complicity in the continued existence of Hamas as the ruler of the Gaza Strip.  Israel not only accepted Hamas’s dominance in Gaza, presumably under the authority of the Palestinian Authority; it has subsidized Hamas’s budget in order to strengthen its ability to resist the insertion of Hezbollah into Gaza’s affairs, if not its replacement of Hamas as Gaza’s government.  That was another illustration of the misjudgment of Israeli intelligence, this time missing the genocidal inclination of Hamas’s leadership.e

Although it is clear that Hamas cannot lead the peaceful confinement of Arab Palestinians, the government of Israel has demonstrated through its blessing of aggressive Jewish settlements in the West Bank its inability to control elements of its own population who do not respect the1948 terms under which formation of the Israeli state was internationally sanctioned.  Regardless of ethnic definitions of justice, there will never be peace in the eastern Mediterranean region without the imposition of international force.  It cannot be denied that the U.S. must take the lead in establishing that force; however, the current alignment of American politics does not promise that such a policy will be adopted, at least following the 2024 Presidential election.  Both possible outcomes will produce blind acquiescence to policies determined by Israeli politics owing either to the strength of the Israeli lobby in the U.S. or to disregard for the relevance of world affairs to the well-being of individual Americans, in particular to that of their leader.

International ambivalence is not a rational attitude in the modern interconnected world.  Personal well-being cannot be separated from the well-being of just about anyone else on the planet and no nation or affinity group can pursue its own goals without considering their impact on other groups.  There are no absolutes; there are no isolated human experiences.   A broken toe will compromise one’s whole body.  Diplomacy constitutes responsible behavior in our interconnected world.  The responsible resolution of the Israel-Hamas War and of the conflict in the entire region from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea will mean sacrificing many abstract religious and ethnic principles.  It is necessary to posit a spiritual world where those principles can be honored absolutely.  But in the material world where I am writing they only cause strife for those of us whose afterlife is nothing more than the notion that those who outlast us will remember us.

Even the amendment of the U.S. Constitution can be done by less than a majority of citizens.  The United States was never a strict popular democracy; it is a federation of similarly less-than-popular democratic states.  Thus, the principle of rule by law, however the law is adopted and consented to, means that a federation, for example, may set rules for conducting the affairs of the community by consent of the governed, including defining the criteria for legitimizing those rules. 

There is no conflict between the shibboleth of democratic government and the primacy of the rule by commonly accepted law.  To believe that how we have agreed to run things--under a basic law like the Constitution--somehow violates our moral commitment to democracy is to fall for the trickery of a demagogue, like Trump, who tries to confuse the public into abandoning good order and support his personal ambition to return to power.

Matthew Schmitz, in the 12/18/2023 NYT, said many voters see the former President as a businessman. It’s important, however, to realize what is the nature of his business background. He and his father built their fortunes on real estate development. The key to success in that field is not satisfying consumer demand. The real estate developer must convince an investor that his project will find adequate potential occupants by appealing to their dreams.

A grandparent is a welcome aide to any daughter-in-law in providing services that help her raise the grandchildren. That includes giving gifts to the children that their mother, in particular, approves of.

In the 13 December 20234 NY Times Charles Blow attributes Trump’s authoritarian appeal to voters to his wish to “bulldoze” through America’s bureaucracy. Democratic institutions and the rule of law protect us from despotism.

It is not the President who normally keeps the civil service in line. Anyone who has worked for a federal Department knows that nothing, and certainly no civilian complaint, gets more attention on Washington than a “congressional inquiry.”

Unfortunately, the recent compulsion of Senators and Representatives to advance their ultimate careers in the private sector has reduced the importance of constituent service in the agendas of many of them. They often are more motivated to curry favor with their future corporate employers. Thus, liberal democracy seems to serve the interests of voters less efficiently than an appealing would-be dictator does. It is up to presidential aspirants to make this anomaly clear to the public.

The testimony to the US Congress on 7 December 2023 by the presidents of three prestigious universities displayed their conviction that the standard for university behavior is not Political Correctness. Politicians must adhere to common public opinion to preserve their jobs. Institutions of higher learning celebrate their protection of academic freedom, regardless of popular sentiments, including ethnic and religious prejudices.

The purchase of carbon-offset credits by polluting countries from corrupt developing country governments is just a scheme for burnishing the reputations of polluting countries and their businesses in the eyes of climate change activists by burying their taxpayers’ funds in the pockets of crafty LDC politicians.  If influential people express their concern for the future livability of planet Earth, the temptation will always exist for scammers to convince the public to devote their resources to soothe their consciences by supporting a trading charade that can be portrayed as a solution to global warming. Of course, there are also eager partners in less advanced economies who are more than willing to participate in the scam by selling credits for the “greenness” of their own unfortunately still undeveloped industries.

Society’s level of concern with the impact of climate change on the survival of life on Earth, and with that impact’s immediacy, will determine whether it takes effective remedial action.   The world will likely simply trust in the innovation of our progeny to correct the problem and  assuage our guilt for leaving them behind in an environment much less promising than the one into which we were born.