What the Internet is for

I can appreciate what people felt like when they heard about this thing called “television.”  It would allow viewers to bring theatrical productions and concerts and political discussions and college classes into their own living rooms.  What we got was Judge Judy and Fox News and televangelists and “Survivor.” 

I was here for the beginning of the World Wide Web.  I remember the hype and the hope when we were first learning how to send messages by computer.  This was going to allow instant communication.  This was going to allow us to do research from our offices.  This had the potential to unite the globe.

And we got Facebook, an off-shoot of a program at Harvard to rate the hottest girls.  We got Pornhub and dick pics and Nigerian princes and AI deep fakes and conspiracy theories.  As a recent book title put it, we got “enshittification.”

I like it when I can still look at things I didn’t know; when I can find topics made clear that I didn’t understand.  I’ve always had trouble grasping the rules on “pass interference” in the NFL.  So tonight Linda and I watched a film on YouTube and saw a step-by-step explanation with various clips to illustrate types of pass interference, both offensive and defensive.  This afternoon I listened to Ringo Starr sing “Fastest Growing Heartache in the West.”  I saw a report about how CBS censored a news story on the imprisonment of deportees because it was embarrassing to the Trump administration.  

There are still a few positive things left in the on-line world.  You just have to find them.

Foreign Affairs magazine

There’s supposed to be a way to monetize this blog.  I think Google would let me put ads on it, and depending on how many people would view it, I could reap some rewards.  I think.

In any case, I’m putting in an ad for the magazine Foreign Affairs published by the Council on Foreign Relations.  The magazine comes out every two months, and the articles are amazingly good.  The last issue discusses why the great powers are stagnant and what could go wrong.  Another article looks at the problems for the U.S. national security caused by Trump’s trade wars.  What could happen in Iran after the Ayatollah dies?  Find out here.  What are former U.S. allies are doing to strengthen themselves as the U.S. pulls away from them?  Read “The New Eurasian Order.”

The articles are written by experts across the political spectrum. They are written for non-experts.  Arguments and disagreements occur.

The good news is that you can subscribe online.  I don’t.  I’m a print person, but the online subscription is cheaper.  Check it out.  

I should tell you that Foreign Affairs did not pay me for this ad. 

Holding office in the U.S.

In a democracy every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics,“holds office”; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities.

–John F. Kennedy

Congratulations to the Lumbee Indian Tribe

Finally the federal government has recognized the Lumbee Indian Tribe in North Carolina.  The recognition came in an amendment to the $900 billion military appropriations bill which passed with bipartisan support.

The Lumbees live in southeastern North Carolina and number about 60,000 members.  They were descendants from a number of tribes, and they intermarried with slaves and white settlers.  

If you are wondering why Trump would support recognition, Robeson County, where many Lumbees live, went for Trump by 28%  Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina also supported recognition, and the measure did have bipartisan support.

As one member of the tribe said of the bill, “It’s an acknowledgment that we’re still here.  After all these years–centuries–we’re still here.”

Information for this post was taken from Rick Rojas, Eduardo Medina, and Emily Cochrane, “After Fighting Through Generations, a Tribe is Recognized,”  New York Times, (Dec. 20, 2025), p. A19.

Goodbye Elise

Elise Stefanik has announced she is dropping out of the race for New York’s governor.  She was a moderate Republican when she was first elected to the House from upstate New York, but when Trump won his second term, she fell into line.  She should have learned that loyalty to Trump does not mean anything to him.

He appointed her to be Ambassador to the U.N., then pulled that appointment back when he realized it would reduce his margin in the House.  When she decided to run for governor, she expected his endorsement as a reward for being a good little girl.  She didn’t get it.  Now she is not running for governor and not running for reelection.  

I, for one, will not miss her even a tiny bit.

More Stupid Shit

Russell Vought, he of the Heritage Foundation and now director of the OMB, announced that the Feds would be dismantling the National Center of Atmospheric Research in Colorado because it was “...one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country.”  It is also the center of scientific research on what is happening to our planet.

Has Vought seen the data on climate?  Does he not understand that now is the time for alarm, although it may be too late?  Does he not know about desertification, declining snow pack, rising oceans, massive woodland fires, species eradication?

These guys are supposed be smart.  Supposed to make America great again.  How dumb can they be?

The presidential power to pardon

If we ever manage to take our country back and return to normal, and that is a big if, we must have a huge reform movement.  The Supreme Court needs term limits, the E.P.A. needs to return to its original mission, the independence of the Independent Regulatory Agencies like the FCC and the Fed must be protected, place names will need to be returned.  There are big tasks and little tasks, and it will take years, if....

One of the necessary changes is that the Presidential pardon power must be defined and limited.  This was actually a worry when the Constitution was up for ratification.  At least one commentator at the time noted that a President could be involved in crimes and then pardon the henchmen.  

We have had pardons in the past that were controversial, including some by Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.  What we didn’t have was the pardoning of literally thousands of law breakers, including dangerous and vicious criminals.  The power to pardon has usually been used to right wrongs, but we must make sure it can’t be abused as Trump has done so often.