Author Archives: Chris
Andrew Bacevich “How We Got Trump”
Prof. Bacevich’s sermon begins at about the 33:00 mark. I recommend listening to the entire service though. It was good.
Why Don’t We Care About America’s Wars?
Thought for the Day – November 16, 2016
What’s the threshold for expulsion from the Senate?
Article I, Section 5, of the United States Constitution provides that “Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member.”
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen of its entire membership. Of that number, fourteen were charged with support of the Confederacy during the Civil War. In several other cases, the Senate considered expulsion proceedings but either found the member not guilty or failed to act before the member left office. In those cases, corruption was the primary cause of complaint.
Senators take an oath of office. Violating that oath is presumably grounds for expulsion but what about behavior prior to taking the oath? Should prior behavior be fair game?
If prior behavior is fair game then should only criminal convictions be considered or is allowable to consider socially-inappropriate but non-criminal behavior also?
If prior behavior is to be considered is the threshold for expulsion that the behavior in question violated the “will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies” portion of the oath or is there a different standard? If so then what is it?
Expulsion is extreme. What’s the threshold for demanding a Senator’s resignation? How is it different from expulsion and what’s the rationale for the particular differences?
Some history: Prior to an expulsion vote, Sen Williams resigned in 1982 for taking Abscam bribes while in office. Sen Packwood resigned in 1995 after allegations of sexual assaults committed while in office. Sen Ensign resigned in 2011 after disclosure of improprieties committed while in office.
Sen. Durenberger was censured in 1990 for financial improprieties while in office. He plead guilty to misuse of public funds in 1995. The most recent expulsions were in 1862 – as noted above, for supporting the Confederacy.
Please think hard about thresholds for expulsion and demanding a resignation. There’s no obligation to comply with precedent but be careful what you wish for. Whatever rules you come up with, be creative in imagining how others might choose to apply them.
Why I am a Democrat
Earlier this year I put up a post on the Bedford Democrats Facebook page asking, Why are you a Democrat? I never pulled together my own reasons – one of many things I intended to do but never got around to doing over the past n years. Coincidentally, a few weeks ago George Lakoff (retired UC-Berkeley cognitive scientist and author of “Moral Politics“) posed the same question on his blog and Facebook page. That was sufficient motivation for me to collect my thoughts:
Why I am a Democrat
My wife and I have two children. Our daughter is nine; our son is almost seven. She’s good at math, loves to draw, play with the dog and to dance. She has a part in The Nutcracker again this year and is looking forward to friends and family coming to see the show. She’s not sure what she wants to be when she grows up. Her vision changes from month-to-month – sometimes a scientist, once a waitress, even once a minister. Our son loves to read with us, build with Legos, and to play board games. He just joined Cub Scouts. He and his best friend like to play Matchbox cars and Pokemon before school. He likes school – all subjects – and has had great teachers. He absolutely adored his kindergarten teacher.
I am committed to the well-being of future generations. I want my kids and all of my fellow citizens to have safe housing, fresh air, healthy food, access to medical care and to well-stocked libraries open all week. I want everyone to have the opportunity for joy in their lives. Let us hold open a space in our hearts for the things that make life worth living.
Towards that end, we must stand for diplomacy over militarism and war. We must value the Earth as our common home and recognize the integrated ecology of people, plants, animals, air and water. We must not treat dominion as ownership of the natural world or as a right to extract resources simply as it pleases us.
Thomas Merton wrote: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Let us work to end racism, sexism, and homophobia. Let us treat all our brothers and sisters with respect. Let us ensure everyone receives a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. Let us not be estranged from our humanity.
Political action is how we translate vision into reality. The greatest problems we face as a society are collective action problems. No one is going to end the state of perpetual war on their own. No one is going stop climate change on their own. No one is going to raise wages or end racism through individual action. There is strength in numbers. There is strength in numbers and we need to legislate. I am a Democrat because the Democratic Party provides a means for me to work with people who share at least some of the vision above and because the Party knows how to legislate. While legislation alone won’t bring about a better society it is critical to doing so. Being a Democrat provides a mechanism for me to work with others to build a foundation for a better society.
CMG, 10/30/2017
On Compromise and The Civil War
First tweet in a good Twitter thread
Regarding John Kelly’s creationist theorizing on Lee and the Civil War, its worth pointing out a few things.
— Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisicoates) October 31, 2017
Automatic Voter Registration
As Election Day approaches, it’s a good time to think about what we can be doing to increase participation in the democratic process.
One reform before the Legislature this session which would do just that is Automatic Voter Registration (AVR). 15% of eligible residents – nearly 700,000 potential voters – are not currently registered to vote, and their voices deserve to be heard.
In short, AVR (H.2091/S.373) would require that every eligible citizen who interacts with the Registry of Motor Vehicles or other agency covered by the “motor voter” law be automatically registered to vote, unless they request not to be. In other words, it moves the system from opt-in, to the far more efficient opt-out. AVR would save many people from having to take time off from work in order to go register at the Town Clerk’s office. If you’re renewing your driver’s license at the RMV or letting them know that your address has changed, your voter registration will be updated as well. AVR would reduce bureaucracy, increase the accuracy of the voter rolls, and save cities and towns money. It’s a win-win-win situation.
Ten other states and the District of Columbia have adopted AVR, including our neighbors of Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. We have a great opportunity to join them. Bedford is lucky to have a state representative, Ken Gordon, and a state senator, Mike Barrett, who are supporters of AVR. We are thankful for their leadership. Both are on the Joint Committee on Election Laws as well, so they are well-positioned to bring their colleagues on board with this vital reform. You can reach the Joint Committee on Election Laws at 617-722-1540 (Senate contact) and 617-722-2460 (House contact) to let them know that you support AVR.
Massachusetts has always played a key role in advancing American democracy. Let’s continue that legacy.
Corey Robin on the US post-9/11
For me, 9/11 will always be a time of tremendous fear, stifling conformism, forced patriotism, and vicious nationalism. Which is why I’ve always found the claim that Trump represents a new authoritarianism, even fascism, to be so fanciful and false. There was a moment in the recent memory of this country when dissent really was stifled, when opposition really was suppressed, when the military and police were sanctified and sacralized, when the Constitution was called into question (not a suicide pact, you know), when the two-party system was turned into a one-party state, when the entire nation was aroused and compelled and coerced to rally behind the dear leader, when questioning the nation-state’s commitment to violence and war provoked the most shameless heresy hunts. When intellectuals and journalists and academics dutifully—and shamefully—performed their parts in the Gleichschaltung of the moment, instructing the unreconstructed among us to understand that we were living in a new age when all the old truths no longer held. Thankfully, the intensity of that moment didn’t last too long—the fiasco in Iraq did it in—though we’re still living with its consequences. But, yeah, when I hear about the unprecedented authoritarianism of Trump, I think to myself: either you weren’t around after 9/11 or you were part of the problem.
Happy Labor Day
