'...possessed of considerable talents...'
Otherwise it is perfect.

God knows Trump has perfected it.

True

He is the reason the term “blarney” was created, and has the low cunning of the professional con artist, the tent revivalist, the sideshow barker. I’ve got a lifelong fascination with those people, which frankly he’s soured a bit because we can’t walk away or get behind the curtain.

Ever read Ray Bradbury’s “The Jar”? I think of it often these days.

Thanks

He knew how to turn psychological reality into fantasy better than almost anybody.

and the instinct of an aviator

Clearly you are right and I am wrong - talent is talent for good or evil.

Sometimes I just don't state the obvious. Have a nice day, week, year and life time.

I was at my Annual Science Fiction/Fantasy convention this past weekend. Attending were numerous women dressed in the Handmaiden's Tale ensembles. As I processed them through Registration as they picked up their Badges, I said to many of them..."You are dress appropriately for the times we are living in." Many replied, "Amen sister." They gave me high 5's.

If anything, Hamilton was a proponent of centralized authority and despised true democracy. His fears were of a popular revolt against the moneyed classes by the mob such as had occurred in France. He certainly wasn't afraid of the propertied class hijacking the entire government for their own purposes...that was the reality of that period. The moneyed class wrote the laws and interpreted them. It's always been about money.

It has only been in the rise of ideological tyranny .. ie the partisan republicans... and the willingness of congress to cede its oversight role ... that we have become an endangered country

It was a tyrant from whom they sought to break away.

It was more of the Electoral College ceding its oversight that has brought us to the mess we find ourselves today. The founders put the Electoral College in place to protect our republic from the rubes (uneducated, bigots, haters, cowards) that vote for men like Trump. I was never in favor of direct elections for president, but I've changed my mind. It's time for amending the Ol'charter.

His explanation for the electoral college and support thereof were incorrect. Prior to primaries the parties picked their nominees in a variety of smoke-filled rooms will horse trading deals. While this was not arbitrarily bad the end result was a lot of presidents who were less than up to the job. Basically the electoral college was a sap to the slave states. Now with primaries we have basically beauty contests prior to the election. Was the old way better or this way? Since the electorate can be counted on to be imbecilic it is difficult to determine.

The quote comes from Hamilton's response to a letter sent to him by George Washington.

Letter from Washington to Hamilton:
https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-12-02-0104

From https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-12-02-0184-0002#ARHN-01-12-02-0184-0002-fn-0005

Thanks.

a good time for interested people to read or reread The Federalist Papers, as the writers were very afraid of many of the things that we see happening today. The Founders did a good deal of research into what had caused other government systems to fail catastrophically and tried to avoid many of the same problems. Successfully so far and unsuccessfully, depending on the situation. Humans being humans, however, they were as accurate in their worries today as they were 230 years ago.

Thanks for the thread kpete.

do not have the education or vocabulary to understand the meaning in this statement,

It will only encourage me to redouble efforts.

Last edited Mon Jul 8, 2019, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Trump is their hatchett man -- their tool and diversion.

It's a dark money cabal, led by Trump, McConnell's GOP, and oligarchs of the world. These are the true enemies of American democracy.

who for some inexplicable reason ENTHUSIASTICALLY eat the shit sandwich the GOP, conservative media, 45, McConnell and every other elected republicans serves up to them.

This shit is STONE cold obvious.

The complete suspension of common sense, decency and civility by our friends and neighbors is beyond any reason.

This book, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (2012), gives incredible perspective as to why so many people act and vote the way do.

It's an awesome read. Are you familiar with it? https://righteousmind.com

And yes, while enough of them voted for Trump, too many didn't bother to vote for Clinton, or voted for Gary Johnson, or didn't vote at all. They may have hated Trump, but they did help to elect him.

But I don't hold these people in contempt. They're just acting like silly, emotional humans. That isn't going to change.

You and I am not possessed of greater intellect or some kind of superpowers to see through this shit.

It is all plain as day.

I have to live with people and find a way to wall it off.

45 does not bother me in the least, he is what he is.

But, I can't get past how absurd it is that otherwise seemingly decent people so gleefully vote R.

it's mind-boggling. But I found that book I mentioned helped me gain some insight. My friends too.

...and the traitors who would help them for money.

Otherwise, Hamilton was on target.

This is why the Constitution is a living document. Although to amend is hard to do, we could definitely tweak a thing or two.

It's scary how on target that is....

popularity and seeks to 'direct the whirlwind,' more often than not reaps that very same whirlwind.

I think that will ultimately happen to Trump and ripple among those around him.

that only our vote can make this so. Let’s hope and GOTV.

and probably read more than 99% of Americans today. They read Gibbon, knew all about the fall of Rome, and studied Locke, Montesquieu, Hobbes, Machiavelli, the Glorious Revolution, the Enlightenment, Rousseau, and probably many theologians. They knew human nature better than most. That Hamilton might make such an observation reflected the age in which he lived.

In a way I find this very reassuring, don't you agree? We can trust the original framers of the Constitution for their awesome judgment. They couldn't foresee everything, but they got a lot right.

at the airport while his flight was delayed.

Is the plan I’ve heard from three different Trumpbillies.

So appropriate. Mentally, they're 6th grade dropouts.

We're greedy, tribal chimps.

We are tribal chimps who do what we believe is necessary to ensure our survival and that of our genes. I don't like dividing our instincts into positive and negative. They are simply instincts. Sometimes the result of them is positive and sometimes it is negative.

is that he wrote all this while in the baggage claim area waiting for his luggage!

who put that quote up there? And he said I know you did....then I said no truer words huh? And he has nothing to say but he admitted a few weeks ago that rump is doing a 'terrible job'.

into simple words for trump.

I see two groups who are quick to grasp at their propaganda. The wealthy who see it as an opportunity to enhance their grasp on power and money and the ill informed who are looking for scapegoats to blame for their failure to adequately prepare themselves. The fact of the matter is that the industrial revolution provided millions of well paying jobs for people with a minimal education. People who could barely read or write could find gainful employment doing rote jobs.

Increasingly, more advanced robotics will put those who were exploited due to low standards of living will be in jeopardy as wages become lesser of a factor in production. Another factor is demographics that is often ignored, but can be the most important criteria for future societies. For example an article in the July/August issue of "Foreign Affairs" reveals some critical information. China's great leap forward was made possible because of two factors.

Deng Xiaoping's market orientated policies that stimulated the entire economy and favorable demographics. Between 1975 and 2010 China's working age population doubled and coupled with Deng's policies led to a rapid increase in wealth and education. However, the future is less than rosy. The fertility rate is now 1.4 to 1.6 well below the replacement level of 2.1. In some major cities it is under 1.0. China's population will soon peak and begin a dramatic down spiral. The working age population will rapidly diminish by at least 100 million between 2015 and 2040. Its over 65 age population will explode and rise during the same period from 135 million to 325 million. The situation will be acerbated by their drastic one child policy that resulted in the abortion of girls in favor or male children. The result is ten of millions of male without prospects of marriage.

The situation for the United States is dramatically healthier with a positive replacement ration with resulting improvements in every category, health, education, employment, etc. I will not trouble with all the statistics, buy to conclude that the United States' future is very favorable. I would encourage anyone to read the article for detailed information.