April 18, 2024 - Supreme Court Reform, Dead Ends, a Published Letter, Shakespeare's Input, and Iranian Troublemaking

 

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Supreme Court Building

Fixing the Supreme Court – The Politics of the SCOTUS

The Justices of the Supreme Court have their personal political opinions and that is the key to the way they vote. They can find a reason to justify whatever they choose to do. They can stick to any statute's precise wording or expand upon it, go back to the intent of the framers of a Constitutional provision, pay attention to or choose to ignore 'stare decisis' (previous decisions), or even base their decisions on their foreseeable future consequences, not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution or in any statute. There is no rule book by which they always play. They do what they want to do, what their politics dictate, and find a way to justify their action. That's why Donald Trump might enjoy a pleasant retirement playing golf and hosting events at Mar-a-Lago, unless President Biden is re-elected along with a Senate majority, enabling him to add four Justices, changing the politics of the SCOTUS. 

Right now, if re-elected along with a Democratic Senate, I support Biden doing precisely that, because today, the present political orientation of the SCOTUS has been extremely damaging to the country.  A new majority must be created to undo the harm done by the three political appointments of Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett.  The SCOTUS was never intended to be a political football until the Republicans made it into one under the leadership of Mitch McConnell, in obedience to Donald Trump’s wishes.  That’s the game they played, so the Democrats must play it too, at least at this time. 

But such Court expansion should not be a permanent solution, something to be frequently turned to when the presidency and Senate make it possible.  That would not be good for the country either.  

The politics of the SCOTUS Justices reflect the mood of the country, and because Justices are given a lifetime position, what they reflect is rarely the current mood.  No SCOTUS Justice is apolitical. They reflect what the nation's mood was at the time of their lifetime appointments.  I believe that while SCOTUS’ politics should take that past mood into consideration, there should be significant limitations regarding the weight it should be given.  The problem is how to accomplish that.  Doing so via Constitutional amendments would take far too long, so periodic Judiciary Acts, passed by Congress would seem to be the best course of action. 

I suggest that once President Biden is able to expand the SCOTUS to undo the terrible harm the present majority has caused, especially in the areas of womens’ rights, gun violence, voting rights, environmental protection and business regulation, its number of Justices should be fixed to a permanent number, with no further expansion.  I also think we need to limit the terms of SCOTUS Justices to about a dozen years, so that appointees come closer to reflecting the nation’s political mood and not what it was generations ago.  Further, I would  limit the nominating abilities of a president in his second and final term in office to less than that, perhaps with Justices then appointed to serve for half that period, so that he or she cannot ‘load the Court’ during their last days in office with Justices who would be around for a dozen years.  

The past then would be honored and respected but not dominate the Court’s decisions, as it does today where is it far out of step with the political mood of the country, made possible by Justices appointed decades ago, reflecting the nation’s mood at that time.                                   

 JL                                        

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Trumpublican Dead-Ends

Professor Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack posting on ‘Letters From an American,’ dated April 13 thoroughly describes the dead-ends into which their bankrupt policies have led both Donald John Trump and the Republican Party. 

Yet there are, as I have often pointed out, a significant number of voters who because of their bigotry, selfishness, greed, ignorance, gullibility, or just plain stupidity (or varying combinations of these qualities) seem comfortable in that ‘dead-end’ cul de sac where autocracy and dictatorship fester.  You cannot ignore their presence.  They are there, just as they were in other ‘democracies’ where noble endeavors were thwarted by those of evil intent whom democracy allowed to take charge. Examples?  The French Revolution, the Weimar Republic, and the Russian Revolution. We must be eternally vigilant.

You can find Professor Richardson’s daily (they are written the prior evening) postings at  https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ where I recommend you check them out each morning.  They are free unless you want to comment.  Give it a try by CLICKING HERE.

JL                                        

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Another Letter of Mine Published

The Palm Beach Post, which has an infinitely wider circulation than Jackspotpourri, published another letter from me, with just a few very minor changes, this one on April 17.  The editorial to which it refers described the many shortcomings of Florida’s Governor and Legislature.  The letter was brief but to the point, making it very simple:   

“Sunday’s Post editorial, ‘We’re heading in the wrong direction; fix it, DeSantis,’ was aimed at the wrong person.  The Post knows that he will not ‘fix it.’  The editorial should have been directed toward those who have the ability to ‘fix it,’ the voters of the state of Florida.  All they have to do is to avoid voting for Republicans, especially those running for seats in the Florida Legislature.”

I encourage followers of this blog to write letters to whatever newspapers, magazines, or social medial sources they follow.  You have a voice.  Use it. 

 JL                                        

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Israel vs Iran - an Open Secret

The strangest thing about the Iranian drone and rocket attack on Israel was that it was neither a secret nor a surprise.  Iran had said that it would do something when Israel bombed a meeting of its generals in Damascus involved in organizing Hamas and Hezbollah attacks on Israel, killing a few of them.  And Iran let Turkey know what it was about to do as revenge for that, who passed the word on to the United States, which told the Turks to tell Iran to keep their operation ‘within certain limits.’  Which they did. 

It is safe to conclude that Israel was made fully aware by Washington of what Iran was about to do, enabling them (with British, French, and Jordanian assistance) to disable 99% of the Iranian drones, missiles, and rockets.  Iran was able to say they had retaliated for the Damascus bombing and Israel was able to say they had successfully survived that Iranian retaliation, satisfying both governments’ need to declare their successes. Both sides were playing to their political audiences.   But more than that was at stake.  Muslim nations are quick to see that Iran is a far greater threat to them than is Israel.  That recognition is what this was a part of. 

Meanwhile, Israel was still trying to recover the hostages held by Hamas, simultaneously working to destroy that group’s military presence in Gaza, losing support of many in Israel and elsewhere along the way, and dealing with significant domestic disagreements, primarily centered on the right-wing support essential to Bibi Netanyahu’s survival in office.  Diversion of their energies and resources to Iran and its Hezbollah followers can wait for the time being.  But it will come at a time of Israel’s choosing.

JL                                        

 

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Shakespeare In the Criminal’s Mind – Listen to the Lawyers

There are two generally accepted interpretations of Shakespeare’s lines from Act IV, Scene II of his play, Henry VI, Part II.  The words ‘The first thing we do is, let’s kill all the lawyers,’ are spoken by Dick the Butcher, and from one viewpoint, paints lawyers as part of, and supporters of, a corrupt legal system that prevents the people from receiving justice, and as a profession that favors the powerful and wealthy, justifying in his eyes their being ‘killed.’  This viewpoint omits the fact that Dick was an admitted criminal, if not a terrorist. 

On the other hand, however, another interpretation recognizes that omission and suggests that Shakespeare is saying that lawyers should be praised because they stand in the way of such criminals as Dick the Butcher who understandably, from a law-breaker’s standpoint, would want society to be rid of lawyers who supposedly work within the existing framework of laws.  This paints lawyers as a great benefit to society. 

I am pretty sure that both the lawyers defending Donald John Trump and those prosecuting him in his New York ‘hush money’ trial all agree with the second interpretation, believing they are doing the right thing in the pursuit of justice.  But in listening to their arguments, particularly those of the former president’s defense attorneys, the non-lawyer public might be more sympathetic to Dick the Butcher’s position, even though he is a scoundrel and criminal. 

I suppose the audience in those days saw both sides of the coin, depending on where they stood politically, because then, as is the case today, current political issues lurked in the background, with the well-meaning but dangerous dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell taking power a few decades after the play was written. 

Follow the lawyers, on both sides, carefully, and decide if their actions warrant anything near the level of punishment Dick suggests. In Seventeenth century England, they weren’t ‘killed,’ but certainly some were thought of as an obstruction by a less than democratic government. 

JL                                        

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Playing in the outfield for the San Francisco Giants is Mike Yastremski.  I had assumed he was the son of acclaimed Boston Red Sox ballplayer, Carl Yastremski, but I was wrong.  He is his grandson.  Oy!

JL                                        

 

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them.  

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog.

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

 JL

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April 13, 2024 - Two Soccer Shoe Makers, Russian Manipulation of Republicans, Arizona's Confusion, and a Wrap on Basketball

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Adidas and Puma

Then

Back in the 1950s, when I was stationed at an army base just outside of the German town of Herzogenaurach, about a third of the way between Nuremberg and Munich to its south, I was aware that most of Herzo’s inhabitants worked for either one of two brothers, each of whom had a small factory there manufacturing soccer shoes.  One was Adolf I. Daesner, whose firm survives today as Adidas, playing off of his name, and whose international headquarters now occupies my old army base, along with an office complex, a shopping mall, and a hotel.

Now

 

  

    

I don’t know the subsequent history of his brother’s firm, whose soccer shoes were labeled ‘Puma,’ other than that name is still around in the sports footwear business.  I recently read that Puma was making an effort to compete with the industry’s giants, Nike and of course, Adidas, in getting athletes to wear their products in the upcoming Paris Olympics.  

It’s interesting that both Adidas and Puma had their origins in that sleepy Bavarian town, down the hill from the old U.S. army base (before that it was a Luftwaffe training facility) where we were told not to drink the water, but that the beer was okay.

JL

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Russia Still Manipulating the Trumpublicans

The Russian government is constantly grinding out propaganda, injecting it into social media and news reporting in this country.  Republicans who are fooled into believing this stuff are sometimes aware of its source, but usually not.  It seems that they just don’t care.  It is as if they have been hypnotized.

In ‘The Bulwark,’ while pointing out that Republicans are still pushing their big lies (including their disputing the indisputable results of the 2020 presidential election), conservative commentator Mona Charen noted that Ukraine president Zelensky this week warned the U.S. that Ukraine will lose the war against Russia’s aggression if it does not get U.S. aid.  House Speaker Johnson is allied with Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in trying to make sure that they do not get this aid, Putin as part of his agenda to revive the old Soviet Union and Johnson (as ordered by Trump) as an attempt to lock in isolationist votes. 

‘Putin seems to have pulled off the most successful foreign influence operation in American history,’ Charen wrote. “If Trump were being blackmailed by Putin, it’s hard to imagine how he would behave any differently.  And though it started with Trump, it has not ended there. Putin now wields more power over the Republicans than anyone other than Trump…. They mouth Russian disinformation without shame. Putin,” she said, “must be pinching himself.”  He cannot believe Americans are that dumb, but he really doesn't understand Republicans, or maybe he just does. 

And Zelensky wasn’t alone in recognizing the importance of the role of the United States.  Japanese prime minister  Kishida, who met with President Biden this week, said that ‘the leadership of the United States is indispensable,’ and asked ‘Without U.S. support, how long before the hopes of Ukraine would collapse under the onslaught from Moscow? ‘Without the presence of the United States, how long before the Indo-Pacific would face even harsher realities?’ 

The answer to Zelensky’s and Kishida’s questions is simple.  Most of the Republicans who believe these lies are either bigoted, selfish, gullible, ignorant, stupid, or combinations of these categories in varying degrees.  When their likely presidential candidate mouths Russian lies, draped in the American flag, they fall into line like the puppet he himself is, and this includes the pathetic Speaker of the House, who confuses Trump with Moses and leans on a religious crutch to mask his ignorance, either real or feigned.

This is the Achilles heel of democracy.  And is all the more reason for those who are not thusly misinformed and misdirected (hopefully you, dear readers) to fight hard to preserve representative democracy in this country.  That is your job leading up to the election on November 5!

JL

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Arizona is a State of Confusion

Even Donald Trump recognized that Arizona’s citing 1864 legislation prohibiting abortion in a court action in that State, dating back to before it even was a State, is crazy.  But he didn’t come out for Federal legislation banning abortion either, and said 'to leave it to the States.'  That was the unfortunate decision the Supreme Court, bolstered by his three handpicked appointees, made when they reversed Roe vs Wade.

This shifting of the question from a woman’s body to ‘States’ rights’ annoyed the Republican right, of course, because they want a national ban, and leaving it to the States might result in far less than that.  When put to them, voters usually favor leaving such 'choices' to the woman involved, even in 'red' States. Usually, Trumpublicans oppose anything Federal (or national) in scope, so this amounted to their disliking an approach they typically would endorse.  Meanwhile, Trump fancies he can have it both ways.  To say there is disunion and confusion among the Republicans is a gross understatement.

This will all be settled in the November elections when I believe pro-choice candidates will rout those who want to limit women’s rights all over the country.  That will be the death knell of the Republican Party, moving them to the oblivion where the Whigs ended up about 170 years ago. It is your job to make that happen!  That is worth repeating.  It isn’t automatic.   It is your job to make that happen! 

JL

 

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Wrapping Up March Madness

So my prediction for the men's NCAA basketball final was wrong.  Zach Edey played a great game but the rest of the Purdue Boilermakers didn’t show up, at least the ones that so well backed him up during the season.  Incidentally, more TV viewers watched the women's final game than watched UConn's victory over Purdue.  South Carolina defeated Iowa, despite the performance of Caitlin Clark, whose popularity (but not her wealth) is approaching that of Taylor Swift.

Congratulations to the UConn Huskies and of course, to the transfer portal, which played a significant role for many of the teams playing in this year’s March Madness, helping to destroy college sports in the process.

JL                                     

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If today’s postings have a pessimistic tone, what else should we expect in a culture that values the meaningless simplicity of country music lyrics and the violence of pro football over more searching ideas and more peaceful pursuits?

JL                                        

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them.  

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog. 

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

JL

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April 8, 2024 - Antisemitism, Winning Florida in November, What Shakespeare Knew, Letters from an American, and Basketball Advice.

 

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Antisemitism and Israel

In dealing with antisemitism, the Anti Defamation League is an invaluable resource.  Check their site out at https://support.adl.org or CLICK HERE.  The ADL monitors, documents, and opposes antisemitism in this country and elsewhere and is well worth supporting.  

The increase in antisemitism in the United States since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 can be attributed to those who for various reasons, criticize Israel’s understandably powerful reaction to that attack, and who wrongly extend that criticism, sometimes violently, to Jews everywhere, including in the United States.  

Bear in mind that opposing some policies of the government of Israel does not make an American (or an Israeli for that matter) an antisemite!  

Unfortunately, antisemites (generally defined as those with a hatred of Jews) do not make that distinction and take the opportunity to associate all Jews, wherever they may be, with policies of the Israeli government concerning conduct of their war against Hamas and Palestinians in general, to which they object. 

Two State-Solution Possibility

(On several occasions, I have pointed out in Jackspotpourri (1) that proposing a ‘one-state’ solution' is the position of both the present Israeli government and Hamas, but for diametrically opposed purposes, and would only serve to increase the animosity of those that 'one state' would not represent, (2) that only a ‘two-state’ solution with a peaceful Palestinian state existing next to its Israeli neighbor will lead to peace there, and (3) that should be the goal of those seeking a peaceful solution.  I also pointed out that all Muslim states in the area, including those under the influence of Iran, must willingly cease their opposition to such a peaceful ‘two-state’ solution, accepting the permanent existence of the State of Israel, and that Israeli settlements in the area that would form a Palestinian state are an impediment to such a solution and must be ended. It is my opinion that the resolution of these two issues is  the crux of the problem.)

JL                                     

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There’s More at Stake than Electing a Senator in November

If you live in Florida, it is important to donate to Democratic candidates who are in close races where your support is crucial.  That means voting for Debbie Muscarsel-Powell for the United States Senate.  She has a great chance of putting Rick Scott (who seems to be against everything good and decent about America) out to pasture.  Learn about her, and donate, at https://www.debbieforflorida.com/ or JUST CLICK HERE . Doing so can help maintain a Democratic majority in the Senate, and defeat a long-time opponent of Social Security, Medicare, and Abortion rights.

Because there will also be a State constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot in November, the passage of which will guarantee women the right to make their own choices concerning abortion, canceling the Florida legislature’s strict anti-abortion laws, I believe that it is likely that Ms. Muscarsel-Powell will, because of the large voter turnout that question will bring about, be elected to the Senate!  

But that turnout might accomplish a great deal more!  

It is conceivable that the Florida legislature might end up with Democratic majorities as well, coming into office on her coattails!   Florida’s electoral votes might even go to President Biden!  All of this might be far too much to hope for, but some of it should certainly happen!  But you must do your part to make any of it happen!  On election day, and every day until then!

Wherever you are, please make sure that you are registered to vote, and you have taken the necessary steps to 'vote by mail.'  Who knows?  We might have a late season hurricane on November 5.  In Palm Beach County, call the Supervisor of Elections at (561) 656-6208.  

Take on the responsibility of checking to see that your friends and neighbors are similarly registered to vote, and of course, by mail!  That is the very least you can do!

JL                                      

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Shakespeare, Macbeth, and Donald Trump

Here a quote from Maureen Dowd’s weekend New York Times column, which deals with Shakespeare and Trump:

‘As Stephen Greenblatt writes in “Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics,” usurpers don’t ascend to the throne without complicity. Republican enablers do all they can to cozy up to their would-be dictator, even introducing a bill to rename Dulles airport for Trump. Democrats responded by introducing a bill to name a prison in Florida for Trump.

“Why, in some circumstances, does evidence of mendacity, crudeness or cruelty serve not as a fatal disadvantage but as an allure, attracting ardent followers?” Greenblatt asked. “Why do otherwise proud and self-respecting people submit to the sheer effrontery of the tyrant, his sense that he can get away with saying and doing anything he likes, his spectacular indecency?”

 

Like Macbeth’s castle, the Trump campaign has, as Lady Macbeth put it, “the smell of blood,” and “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten it."

 

Dowd doesn’t answer the questions posed in the second paragraph reproduced above.  Can you?

JL                                        

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A Great Start to Each Morning

History tends to repeat itself.  That’s why a historian’s view of what is occurring today is important.  Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson, whose specialty is American history during the last half of the Nineteenth century, posts her *free ‘Letters from an American’ late every evening.  It touches all the bases that comprise the day’s news with links to her source material provided.  As philosopher George Santayana (and probably others as well) said, “Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it.”  Find her postings at https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/ or JUST CLICK HERE.  This is an extremely valuable source of information today!  Try it today!

Professor Richardson’s April 5 posting quotes President Biden’s comment on the economy (‘My plan is growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, investing in all Americans, and giving the middle class a fair shot') and points out how dependence on the private sector benefits only the wealthy and that crucial tasks, such as dealing with the Baltimore bridge collapse, are best done by the government.  It is well worth reading.

*(If you wish to add your comments, as hundreds do every day, that costs $5 a month.)

JL                                        

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How to Predict Winners of College Basketball Games - (including Purdue vs UConn)

When college basketball reaches the tournament stage, with most teams reaching that point having excellent shooters and ball handlers, it’s no longer a matter of which team makes the most baskets.  That’s what shows up in the final score but that number is not entirely the result of ‘shots made’ but also depends on what occurs after the ‘shots that miss the basket.’  The ability to seize the rebound and make a successful follow-up basket is what counts.  Failing to do that lets the other team recover the ball immediately after the missed shot. 

The women’s final in which South Carolina defeated Iowa illustrates this, with South Carolina out-rebounding Iowa by 61 to 29!   Too often, when the Hawkeyes missed a shot, that was it, and South Carolina immediately went on the offense, and usually had more than one shot at the basket due to their rebounding skill. 

I directly attribute that to the height edge that its players had, and why I had picked South Carolina to win that game.  Using that same logic, Purdue will defeat Connecticut in the men’s final tonight because their center, Zach Edey is 7’4’’ while the Huskies’ center, Donovan Clingan, is a mere 7’2”.  Otherwise, the two teams’ starters are similar, height-wise.  But that two-inch difference between the two centers means a lot and that is why I predict a Purdue victory by about two points, possibly increased by intentional UConn fouling in the final thirty seconds of the game. 

Edey at Work

Someday, recruiting for college basketball players might be directed exclusively toward seven footers.  I think that would be a disaster.  Imagine a team of five Zach Edeys or Donovan Clingans.  A good solution for this might be for there to be a limit, somewhere around 6’6” for college basketball players. Those taller than that would be relegated to using their education to prepare for the challenges of life, as those students not in competitive athletics already are doing.  Or they might build up their musculature and consider becoming wide receivers on a school’s football team.  

JL                                        

 

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Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them.  

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com. 

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog.

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting. 

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

JL

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April 3, 2024 - A Letter from a President, Twenty-Seven Books, the Latest from the Indicted Ex-President, and a Nod to Tennessee Williams

 

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 A Letter from George Washington

Here’s a column written by a ‘guest columnist’ that appeared in the Palm Beach Post on March 27.  The supposed message that our first president might have sent to our forty-fifth president would have centered on these words taken from the following letter, written by George Washington to the Jewish congregation in Newport, Rhode Island: ‘…everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.’ 

Donald Trump, even in his campaigning, threatens retribution and punishment to those who oppose him, and certainly is one who makes other Americans, not only non-Christians, afraid. 

Incidentally, the ‘vine and fig tree’ imagery, frequently used by Washington, comes from Hebrew Scripture.  To learn more about this, check out https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/vine-and-fig-tree/ 

Here’s the full column as published in the Palm Beach Post:  (Another reason to read a daily newspaper, any one !!)

 

 

“Did George Washington leave a message for Donald Trump?

    

   “Many good citizens have been pained by long-standing anti-Islamic, anti-   immigrant, and now anti-Semitic talk by a candidate today for president of the United States. So it is worth remembering what our nation’s first president wrote in his 'Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island,' on Aug. 18, 1790:   

                 

Touro Synagogue, Newport R.I.

                             

 

   'Gentlemen:

'…If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good government, to become a great and a happy people.

'The citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. For happily the government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.

'…May the children of the stock of Abraham, who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants; while everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.

'— Geo. Washington'

 

   “At a time when Vladimir Putin is surreptitiously supporting a candidate for president of the United States, it is also worth remembering that King George III was surprised that Washington did not seek to become our autocratic ruler. Washington in 1783 voluntarily resigned as commander in chief of the Continental Army, and then in 1796 he said farewell when again he would have been elected president by acclamation.”

Richard Emory, Guest columnist 

 

JL                                      

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A Headline from ‘Book Bub’ 

(which I sometimes look at online.)

‘These 27 Uplifting Books Are Spring’s Must Reads’ -  Come on, other than someone in jail with no TV, do you know anyone who will read 27 books this Spring, or even this year? 

JL                                        

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 A Thought or Two  (or Three) About Donald Trump’s Actions

 It appears that both China and Russia are supporting Trump in the upcoming election, trying to influence this country’s media.  Trump’s ‘America First’ isolationism allows them to try to control their neighbors without any interference from us, and that includes Ukraine and Taiwan, both still preventing rows of dominoes from tumbling. 

News that a Trump-appointed judge has reversed the conviction of the traitor who ran through the Capitol on January 6, waving a Confederate flag is disappointing at best.   At least it wasn’t a Nazi swastika.  Sometimes I wonder If and when President Biden is re-elected with majorities in both Houses of Congress, such politically motivated judicial decisions as well as numerous politically motivated pardons of convicted criminals, might be subject to review, especially if President Biden adds four Justices to the Supreme Court. 

Trump frequently complains that the Department of Justice, under Merrick Garland, is ‘weaponized’ against him, while he, and his allies, are the ones who have used it as a weapon in the appointment of prosecutors, judges, SCOTUS justices, and issuing pardons for other than compassionate reasons.  Even Garland’s supposed evenhandedness in assigning a Trump-appointed prosecutor to look into Hunter Biden’s supposed business activities’ relationship to his father, then Vice President, fell into this trap when that prosecutor tried to ‘weaponize’ that issue. Give a Trumpublican an inch, and they take a mile.  Never forget that they are not on the side of democracy for others than themselves!

Convicted criminals like Roger Stone and Paul Manafort are pardoned from their sentences (which doesn’t ‘unconvict’ them) by Trump and he has even hired the latter to help with his present campaign.  He has also announced his intention, if elected again, to pardon all of those convicted of crimes in the Trump-inspired insurrection of January 6, 2021.  Historians in the future will seek out the problems in our country that caused so many Americans to actually vote for Donald John Trump.  What they will find, I am afraid, will be shameful.   Too many Americans deny bigotry, but practice hypocrisy in their daily existence. 

And while we have the spotlight on the forty-fifth president, this self-proclaimed very, very, very, rich man is now hawking, in addition to his golden-hued sneakers, a patriotic edition of his ‘favorite book,’ the Bible. The only connection between Trump and Bibles is the usual presence of that book in drawers in hotel rooms, accommodations that those who on occasion don't wish to sleep at home for various reasons, might frequent. I wonder if the guest rooms at Mar-a-Lago are provided with Bibles. 

On paper, Donald Trump might build a case supporting the idea that he is wealthy, but that wealth is not now (and may never had been nor will be) transferable to ‘liquidity’.  For that, he depends on the same ‘charity of others’ that Blanche Dubois depended upon in ‘Streetcar Named Desire,’ only he seeks it from the checkbooks of his MAGA base as a sign of their love for him.  Both Donald and Blanche live in a world of ‘alternate facts,’ but Donald’s isn’t just part of a play  … or maybe it is, at least in his mind, or what’s left of it.  Blanche lost her mind in Tennessee Williams’ play and Donald is well on the way to losing his in the morass of legal entanglements in which he is ensnared.  Just watch and listen when he speaks.  He is very close to the edge.

JL                                      

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 Housekeeping on Jackspotpourri

Strange “Hits’!  The large number of those accessing Jackspotpouri from Singapore has suddenly ceased. In their place, however, there have appeared large numbers of ‘hits’ on each posting in the hundreds, and as was the case with those from Singapore, but this time from Hong Kong!  I suspect that the Chinese are playing around with internet transmissions, possibly to try to identify who is reading them. 

 

Email Alerts:  If you are NOT receiving emails from me alerting you each time there is a new posting on Jackspotpourri, just send me your email address and we’ll see that you do.  And if you are forwarding a posting to someone, you might suggest that they do the same, so they will be similarly alerted. You can pass those email addresses to me by email at jacklippman18@gmail.com.

Forwarding Postings: Please forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it. Friends, relatives, enemies, etc.

If you want to send someone the blog, you can just tell them to check it out by visiting https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com or you can provide a link to that address in your email to them. 

There’s another, perhaps easier, method of forwarding it though!   Google Blogspot, the platform on which Jackspotpourri is prepared, makes that possible.  If you click on the tiny envelope with the arrow at the bottom of every posting, you will have the opportunity to list up to ten email addresses to which that blog posting will be forwarded, along with a brief comment from you.  Each will receive a link to click on that will directly connect them to the blog.

Either way will work, sending them the link to https://jackspotpourri.blogspot.com, or clicking on the envelope at the bottom of this posting.

Again, I urge you to forward this posting to anyone you think might benefit from reading it, particularly if they are a registered voter.  This is an election year.  Spread the word.

JL

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