It’s true that a well-ordered society would not be governed by (an unrepentent) former KGB agent. It’s just as true that a well-ordered society would not be governed by a bigoted, autocratic, dissolute liar. Yet here we are, and there they are. .@tolokno was imprisoned for speaking out against Vladimir Putin's presidency in Russia. She…
Bigotry
Alt-Right, Bigotry, Politics, Russia, Trump, Trump-Russia, Tyranny
Their Friends Are America’s Enemies
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
It’s not easy to stand up to Vladimir Putin, just ask Alexei @Navalny – a look at life in Russia’s opposition pic.twitter.com/FhUNDB963u — The Guardian (@guardian) October 10, 2017 It’s no surprise, truly, that white nationalists who returned to Charlottesville chanted three main slogans: ‘You will not replace us,’ ‘Russia is our friend,’ and ‘the South will…
Babbittry, Bigotry, City, Law, Liberty, Local Government, Trump
The Somber Trio
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Among the most serious harms are those to liberty and physical well-being. One can compensate adequately for many injuries, but damages at law are slight compensation for lost liberties and physical injuries. We’ve a new national environment, in which actions once impermissible are now encouraged, and redress once required is now no longer recognized. If…
Alt-Right, America, Assault Awareness & Prevention, Babbittry, Bigotry, Conflicts of Interest, Local Government, School District, University
Priorities: Fighting Bigotry Over Babbittry
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Common men and women can learn from the examples of great men and women. In this way, one can learn how to prioritize between concurrent challenges, applying lessons from a prior and intense conflict even to present but lesser conflicts. Some threats are worse than others, and so our it’s reasonable that one places more…
Alt-Right, Bigotry, Immigration
The Catholic Church Catches a Break…from Steve Bannon
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
I’m from a Lutheran & Catholic family, and believe that there are sound, religious reasons to support immigration, and especially to support Dreamers’ continued residency in America. (Indeed, the are sound reasons of free markets in labor to support an immigration policy as open as possible.) For today, though, let’s consider – as a purely…
Alt-Right, America, Babbittry, Bigotry, City, Culture, Liberty, Local Government, Politics
The Existential (Imagined and Real)
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
It was Michael Anton (writing as Publius Decius Mus) who exactly one year ago famously declared that 2016 was “The Flight 93 Election,” an existential fight for survival for state-loving conservatives: 2016 is the Flight 93 election: charge the cockpit or you die. You may die anyway. You—or the leader of your party—may make it…
America, Bigotry, Federal Government, Television, Trump
Sec. of State Tillerson Distances America from Trump
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I’m no fan of Rex Tillerson, an American Secretary of State who is a recipient — from dictator Vladimir Putin — of the Russian Order of Friendship, but even Tillerson had the sense to disclaim the stain that Trump has spread over this country. In the clip below, on Fox News, Tillerson makes clear that…
Bigotry, Immigration
Ryan Chose This
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
Paul Ryan’s had quite the career: Congressman, House budget chairman, vice presidential candidate, Speaker. He chose each of these positions; not one was the result of conscription. Ryan chose again, this morning, freely and deliberately. RT if you agree? It is time for The Wall. pic.twitter.com/s5MO8SG7SL — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) August 1, 2017 There is…
Alt-Right, America, Bigotry, Liberty, Race
So Much for the ‘Master Race’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
I’m white. (I’ll joke and say that, in fact, I’ve been white for as long as I can remember). It’s simply a natural characteristic for me. (It’s easier, unquestionably, to describe matters this way – as though without a social context – if one has not experienced discrimination). One can’t say the same about Richard Spencer, white…
Bigotry
Resourceful New Yorkers Take Action
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
After New York subway passengers saw anti-semitic symbols & phrases on their train car, they came up with a plan: “Everyone stared at each other, uncomfortable and unsure what to do,” Gregory Locke, a New York attorney on the train, wrote in a Facebook post describing the scene. Then another passenger in the car —…
Alt-Right, Bigotry, Politics
Trump’s Surrogates Know Exactly What the Alt-Right Is
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
A few days ago, during a panel discussion, New York Times columnist Charles Blow and Trump surrogate former Congressman Jack Kingston clashed over the racism of Trump’s alt-right supporters. Kingston claimed not to know what the term alt-right meant, and Blow scolded Kingston for Kingston’s professed ignorance. (Their exchange begins after 6:30 on the video.)…
Bigotry, Politics, Press
‘Critics Say So’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Is Stephen Bannon, newly-appointed chief strategist to Donald Trump, a racist. A headline to a story on that subject comes with a limitation: critics say so. (See, Is Trump’s new chief strategist a racist? Critics say so.) There’s the weakness of a legacy press: big money, high self-regard, but a small appetite for declaring definitely the character of a person’s…