When a country is too out of whack, dictatorship in the classical sense may be the best solution. Alas, most dictators want to become emperors.
A good modern example was Alberto Fujimori of Peru. Trial by jury is not feasible when terrorists can intimidate juries. Only extrajudicial wielding of the iron fist can restore enough order such that such niceties as trial by jury can work.
The upside of temporary dictatorship is it doesn't set precedents. It is emergency measure only.
Alas, given our situation of tens of millions of invaders and general breakdown of the rule of law here in the US, a bit of dictatorship may be in order. Doing things by the book is too slow, and loosening the book (as per Glen Reynold's recent Substack) sets precedents that can be abused later.
The problem won't be fixed until we fix our legislatures. Gerrymandering and seniority for committee seats put the most radical elements in charge. Very unstable. And our Congressional districts are way too big. Range Voting for the lower house, a return to indirect election of Senators, and breaking up are largest states is required. We might need a new capital building. Maybe move the capital to Missouri to be more centrally located.
We covered ‘Great Man Theory’ in the Second Council of Wizards. The discussion began with trends in Western literature & how that ideologically impacts the majority of Western notions regarding themselves... & toward the middle, we also covered ‘Great Man Theory.'
Sir Malcom made the following observations regarding figures like Simon Bolivar, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Napoleon & others (I’ll paraphrase the key points he made):
“All these guys (Alexander, Charlemagne, etc) have a Ballistic, Meteoric Arc. They Make these Titanic structures & empires & in almost no Time at all, they inflict their will onto their foe & friend alike. Yet, because of their own personal failings & the catabolic nature of these structures themselves... they eventually end up seeing everything crumble before them. Yet, if they survive (like Napoleon), they unmake with their own two hands... everything they made.”
Therefore, I find it fascinating that you used the Napoleon metaphor. No question, he is France’s second greatest statesman (the first being Charles Martel, given his defence of the Western World a la the Battle of Tours in 732 CE), & so if Trump is truly America’s Bonaparte, then it is by his two hands that America will have this Impressive, Ballistic Arc... which then brutally crumbles & is unmade entirely by Trump’s own actions, just like Napoleon & France before him.
So basically, Pater... in this essay, you did a Masterclass, 'The DOOM Cometh...!' that is subtle yet rich with tone & tenor for all the true connoisseurs... Well Done! 😍🥰😘❤️
Definitely not 'Too Optimistic' once this broader context is understood. 🥳👏🙌
We keep coming back to the broken link in the chain -- the institution of Congress, the scum who occupy it (usually for life), and their failure to perform their duty.
The right way to deal with out-of-control judges is for Congress to pass a law or initiate a Constitutional Amendment to define (democratically) the appropriate scope of judicial power. But the scum whom we "elect" are more interested in lining their own pockets than in doing the job for which we are paying them. Things will have to get much worse before Congress can be reformed. Woe indeed!
I have no doubt that Trump's team anticipated this, given it's been used against them before. Just what they will do about it will be quite interesting to observe. I seriously doubt that Team Trump will simply shrug and give up.
Fascinating history illustrating, in part, how precedents set via reasonable logic can lead to significant unintended outcomes. Not at all surprising to political actors leverage the “law.”
Quite worth contemplating Trump’s attack on the system and its predictable response on the tree of woe. While important, this news is unwelcome as it throws a cold wet blanket on the optimism I was experiencing.
Thanks? Well, yes but a woeful thank you to be sure.
When a country is too out of whack, dictatorship in the classical sense may be the best solution. Alas, most dictators want to become emperors.
A good modern example was Alberto Fujimori of Peru. Trial by jury is not feasible when terrorists can intimidate juries. Only extrajudicial wielding of the iron fist can restore enough order such that such niceties as trial by jury can work.
The upside of temporary dictatorship is it doesn't set precedents. It is emergency measure only.
Alas, given our situation of tens of millions of invaders and general breakdown of the rule of law here in the US, a bit of dictatorship may be in order. Doing things by the book is too slow, and loosening the book (as per Glen Reynold's recent Substack) sets precedents that can be abused later.
The problem won't be fixed until we fix our legislatures. Gerrymandering and seniority for committee seats put the most radical elements in charge. Very unstable. And our Congressional districts are way too big. Range Voting for the lower house, a return to indirect election of Senators, and breaking up are largest states is required. We might need a new capital building. Maybe move the capital to Missouri to be more centrally located.
We covered ‘Great Man Theory’ in the Second Council of Wizards. The discussion began with trends in Western literature & how that ideologically impacts the majority of Western notions regarding themselves... & toward the middle, we also covered ‘Great Man Theory.'
Sir Malcom made the following observations regarding figures like Simon Bolivar, Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, Napoleon & others (I’ll paraphrase the key points he made):
“All these guys (Alexander, Charlemagne, etc) have a Ballistic, Meteoric Arc. They Make these Titanic structures & empires & in almost no Time at all, they inflict their will onto their foe & friend alike. Yet, because of their own personal failings & the catabolic nature of these structures themselves... they eventually end up seeing everything crumble before them. Yet, if they survive (like Napoleon), they unmake with their own two hands... everything they made.”
https://www.notesfromtheendofti.me/p/eurabiamania-83-the-second-council
Therefore, I find it fascinating that you used the Napoleon metaphor. No question, he is France’s second greatest statesman (the first being Charles Martel, given his defence of the Western World a la the Battle of Tours in 732 CE), & so if Trump is truly America’s Bonaparte, then it is by his two hands that America will have this Impressive, Ballistic Arc... which then brutally crumbles & is unmade entirely by Trump’s own actions, just like Napoleon & France before him.
So basically, Pater... in this essay, you did a Masterclass, 'The DOOM Cometh...!' that is subtle yet rich with tone & tenor for all the true connoisseurs... Well Done! 😍🥰😘❤️
Definitely not 'Too Optimistic' once this broader context is understood. 🥳👏🙌
We keep coming back to the broken link in the chain -- the institution of Congress, the scum who occupy it (usually for life), and their failure to perform their duty.
The right way to deal with out-of-control judges is for Congress to pass a law or initiate a Constitutional Amendment to define (democratically) the appropriate scope of judicial power. But the scum whom we "elect" are more interested in lining their own pockets than in doing the job for which we are paying them. Things will have to get much worse before Congress can be reformed. Woe indeed!
A depressing, and therefore excellent and true to type, overview.
I have no doubt that Trump's team anticipated this, given it's been used against them before. Just what they will do about it will be quite interesting to observe. I seriously doubt that Team Trump will simply shrug and give up.
Excellent.
Fascinating history illustrating, in part, how precedents set via reasonable logic can lead to significant unintended outcomes. Not at all surprising to political actors leverage the “law.”
Quite worth contemplating Trump’s attack on the system and its predictable response on the tree of woe. While important, this news is unwelcome as it throws a cold wet blanket on the optimism I was experiencing.
Thanks? Well, yes but a woeful thank you to be sure.