Author: johncla

We recently suffered a breakdown of civil society in major American cities. First, a string of civilian killings by police, notably in Minneapolis, Louisville, and Atlanta. Second, violent protests, looting, arson and attacks on police as a response to the civilian killings.

One aspect of all this is mostly ignored – American cities for the last several decades have largely been governed by the left. Start with the three cities where the police killings occurred. Chronologically:

• Louisville, where Breonna Taylor died on 3/13/2020. 100% Democrat mayors since 1969. 50-plus years of governance by Democrats, without interruption.
• Minneapolis, where George Floyd died on 5/25/2020. 100% Democrat mayors since 1977. 23 years, more or less, of governance by Democrats. No interruption.
• Atlanta, where Rayshard Brooks died on 6/12/2020. 100% Democrat mayors since 1879. 120 years, approximately, of unbroken governance by Democrats.

Let’s broaden the focus, and look at the ten largest US cities. How did they fare in the Black Lives Matter uprising, and what role did Democrats play in their governance?

• 1. New York City — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 1/1/14.
  NYC stores destroyed by looters, riots during George Floyd protests
  “Looters stormed Lower Manhattan on Saturday night — destroying store windows and lighting fires in another night of violent George Floyd protests.”
• 2. Los Angeles — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 7/1/2001.
  L.A. reels from looting and arrests not seen in decades
  “Parts of the crowd rampaged through the Grove shopping center before moving toward West Hollywood. The demonstrators faced off with police, who responded in some cases by firing rubber bullets as police helicopters hovered overhead. Protesters defaced or destroyed about a dozen squad cars…Later Saturday evening, Garcetti asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to call out the National Guard, a rare step that reflected the gravity of the situation.”
• 3. Chicago — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 1931.
  Protesters Cause Massive Damage During Violent Demonstrations After The Death Of George Floyd
  “An overnight curfew has now ended as Chicagoans wake up to a damaged and unrecognizable city following a chaotic night of violence and looting.”
• 4. Houston — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 1981.
  Houston rally over George Floyd’s death leads to damage, injuries
  “hundreds of protesters blocked roads and hurled objects, injuring police officers and damaging patrol cars.”
• 5. Phoenix — Full-time mayors since 1/2/04 are all Democrat.
  Phoenix march to protest George Floyd’s death turns violent
  “protesters in Arizona’s largest city threw rocks and bottles at officers, broke windows at police headquarters, and damaged businesses and vehicles, officials said.”
• 6. Philadelphia — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 1952.
  Center City retailers endure epic looting on top of coronavirus closures
  “Few if any police were in the retail section as the throngs arrived and some people began breaking into dozens of stores. Officers began slowly advancing from the east, securing blocks one-by-one as looting continued along streets where police were not yet — or were no longer — present.”
• 7. San Antonio — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors from 2001 through 2017. Current mayor is an Independent.
  Peaceful protest over George Floyd’s death erupts into violence in downtown San Antonio
  “3 SAPD officers injured, windows broken at Rivercenter Mall, police launch tear gas at crowds”
• 8. San Diego — The most-recent 4 mayors are split evenly, 2 Republican, 2 Democrat.
  Banks Ablaze, Stores Looted Amid Unrest in La Mesa
  “Windows were smashed at many businesses, including a Goodwill store, a Sotheby’s real estate office and a popular bar. Around 11:30 p.m., the Chase Bank and the Union Bank on Spring Street were broken into and set on fire.”
• 9. Dallas — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 2011. Of the last six mayors, one is Republican, five Democrat.
  Protesters Clash With Police During March for George Floyd in Downtown Dallas
  “looted businesses like Sneaker Politics and the Point Skate Shop. They also broke the windows and slashed the tires of four Dallas police cruisers.”
• 10. San Jose — Uninterrupted Democrat mayors since 1967.
  George Floyd death: 38 people arrested, several officers injured in violent San Jose protests
  “The San Jose Police Department announced 38 people were arrested during Friday night’s violent protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.”

Governance by Democrats has been a disaster for American cities. Protestors are destroying their own communities, cities governed by officials they chose. I’d like those voters to consider their choices, and where those choices have led their cities.

What’s in the future? I’m afraid that police will retreat, crime rates will go up, communities will become more unlivable, and the press will avoid honest reporting. As a final note, not completely on topic but related, I encourage you to view the KOMO TV documentary Seattle is Dying.

The Bottom Line
This is a result of decades of one-party rule. Democrats have had a pretty free hand. Things do not seem better to me.

A fractious republic

Some accuse Trump of being an autocrat. I don’t agree.

My favorite pithy summary of Trump’s nature comes from Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal columnist: “a bad man and half-crazy”. Add to that badness and craziness a healthy dash of PT Barnum and Huey Long. I think Trump is ALL OVER THE MAP, and pretty hard to pin down in a conventional left versus right framework.

I offer three points as evidence that Trump is at least not consistently autocratic: first, he turned over management of the covid virus response to the state governors; second, he opposed renewal of FISA surveillance authority; and third he sparked a wave of deregulation, with the administration ‘ focused on reducing regulations for the purpose of “furthering individual liberty and property rights” ‘.

No one needs to fear Trump exerting control like a Mao or Maduro. He couldn’t if he wanted to. Too many Americans are born with a streak of independence. They won’t accept much central control from Washington DC, or even their state capitol. A couple of examples might make my point that rebelliousness is normal here:

One: city mayors are notably independent from Federal control. Various cities across the US, like Seattle and San Francisco, declared themselves sanctuary cities, defying Federal immigration rules

Two: city mayors can bolster their independence with access to military support from their own state governors, who in turn are pretty independent from Federal control. After protests in downtown Seattle where stores were looted and police vehicles torched, the mayor called for help from the governor. National Guard personnel were sent. The press reported they would be operating under the direction of Seattle’s mayor. The National Guard is not a Federal force, they’re controlled by State governors. So, a mayor facing civil unrest got military backup from the governor, and the force was placed under command of the mayor. A case of civil unrest, dealt with entirely by local leaders using local resources.

Three: in the state of Virginia, a newly elected Democrat majority in the legislature moved to “require universal background checks for any gun sales or transfers”. In response, five counties passed resolutions declaring themselves a “Second Amendment Sanctuary”.

‘ ”Counties are saying, ‘Look, we are not going to enforce any unconstitutional gun laws in our jurisdiction,'” Phil Van Cleave, with the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said. “A sheriff is a constitutional officer … he can take the lead of the county if he wishes and say, ‘We’re not enforcing any of this stuff.’ And some sheriffs are going to do that”.

Finally: I experienced some of this independent spirit myself recently in Chelan County, here in Washington state. The story begins with the US Forest Service closing a road, to support Gov Jay Inslee’s declaration of COVID 19 stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions. A neighbor’s truck was ticketed while parked on the road near his cabin. The neighbor believed he had permission to be there, since the Forest Service had specified that property owners may use the road to access their property. My wife agreed to investigate. She called the county sheriff’s office, and was transferred to a deputy who had knowledge of the situation. After Betsy’s explanation, the sheriff’s first response was off-topic but enlightening. The deputy said the governor was overreaching his authority with his stay-at-home restrictions, and citizens properly should be in the state capitol, protesting.

Yes, we did resolve the questions about the ticket, but the point is that we heard directly and clearly from a deputy that in Chelan County they were not eager to do Olympia’s bidding, and thought the governor was getting too big for his britches. County Sheriffs in Washington state are elected, so they are sensitive to interests and opinions in their counties. If there was second-guessing in Chelan County, what about other counties even further away from Olympia; like Douglas, Grant, or Adams counties?

Then, we can compare our response to what happened in Canada. I talk regularly with an aunt from Nova Scotia, now living in the US near Detroit. While discussing Gov. Whitmer’s problems with gun-toting protestors, my aunt was very clear that there were no such protests in Canada against shutdown protocols even more severe than those in Michigan. As a Canadian she thought it was incredible that gun-carrying protestors invaded a state capitol.

I refer you also to a recent and lovable Danny Westneat column in the Seattle Times titled “Is America too rebellious to beat the Coronavirus?”. Westneat cites crazy behavior in Spokane, and described “the American essential nature…It’s as if we have a primal need to rebel.” (Westneat closes by noting British Columbia’s compliance with restrictions, and that the case rate in BC is running at 20% per capita of that in Washington state.)

The Bottom Line
Even our beloved and god-like first president was forced to put down a revolt, the Whiskey Rebellion.
The title of this article is a pun. ‘Trump’ refers both to our president, and to the fate of any attempt at autocracy here in America. No need to fear Trump, or anyone else. Any autocrat will have a tough with us. We’re not Canada.

Not flinty or harsh words, but difficult words; words I trip on when reading Henry James novels (rebarbitive), sci-fi by Kim Stanley Robinson (piste), and books on economics (limn). Scientific or technical terms are out of bounds.
I’m surprised, being an over-educated native speaker aged 67 years, that I don’t have a better command of the non-technical vocabulary of English. Sometimes it’s words I hear often but ignore – like ‘bespoke’. Now I’m on a hunt for these odd words.

Abnegate: renounce or reject something desired or valuable.
Adumbrate: represent in outline.
Aphorism: a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Apotheosis: culmination or climax.
Apposite: apt in the circumstances or in relation to something.
Bedizen: dress up or decorate gaudily.
Bespoke: made for a particular customer or user.
Bruxism: involuntary habitual grinding of the teeth, typically during sleep.
Calumny: slander.
Category error: the error of assigning to something a quality or action that can properly be assigned to things only of another category, for example, treating abstract concepts as though they had a physical location.
Dialectic: a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to establish the truth through reasoned arguments.
Dirigisme: state control of economic and social matters. See also ‘barack obama’.
Disingenuous; not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
Emollient: having the quality of softening or soothing the skin.
Epigram: a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. My favorite: “slippery-er than deer guts on a doorknob.”
Epistolary: in the form of letters.
Genotype: the genetic constitution of an individual organism.
Hermetic: airtight, or relating to an ancient occult tradition.
Hermetist: an esoteric tradition.
Incommensurate: out of proportion.
Ligature: a thing used for tying or binding something tightly.
Limn: depict or describe.
Ludic: showing spontaneous and undirected playfulness.
Meme: an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture—often with the aim of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme, or meaning represented by the meme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas.
Mimetic: exhibiting mimicry.
Obloquy: verbal abuse.
Obtuse; annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.
Ontology: a set of concepts and categories in a subject area or domain that shows their properties and the relations between them.
Pathos: a quality that evokes pity.
Phenotype: the composite of the organism’s observable characteristics or traits.
Piste: a ski run of compacted snow.
Proleptic: anticipating.
Rebarbitive: unattractive and objectionable.
Selfsame: exactly the same.
Semiotics: study of signs and symbols.
Stochastic: randomly determined.
Trope: a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.
Vastation: the process of emptying or purifying.
Vouchsafe: give or grant (something) to (someone) in a gracious or condescending manner.

The Bottom Line
I look up definitions, and now ‘bespoke’ no longer mystifies me. I look forward to the day when Lester Holt uses ‘rebarbitive’ when reading the news on NBC; and now, I’m intrigued by etymology. How does one explain a word like ‘ludic’? Now where could ‘ludic’ possibly come from? Answer: it comes from Latin, and French.