Thoughts on American Independence Day 2024

"President Joe Biden's debate performance was a disaster. His disjointed responses and dazed look sparked calls for him to drop out of the presidential race.

But lost in the hand wringing was Donald Trump's usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering. His performance demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office.

In fact, the debate about the debate is misplaced. The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump.

Trump, 78, has been on the political stage for eight years marked by chaos, corruption, and incivility. Why go back to that?"

- Editorial in The Philadelphia Enquirer, June 29, 2024

Dear America.

Today is July 4th, Independence Day in the United States, the day when Americans celebrate the birth of the Republic in 1776.  248 years later, the United States faces one of the greatest challenges in its history.  Someone has emerged who wants king-like powers bestowed upon him.  Donald J. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, demands loyalty to himself, not to the United States of America.  This is how authoritarians behave.  Trump's words and deeds are extremely disturbing, a threat to America's freedoms.  If Trump wins the election, he will assume king-like powers, especially after the Supreme Court's decision that would give him immunity in official matters.  

The Supreme Court's decision means that if Trump wins the presidency, the guardrails would be off.  He could order the assassination of a political opponent, organize a military coup, or take a bribe in exchange for a pardon.  It is not difficult to imagine Trump acting in this way if he regains he highest office in the land.  

On his social media platform, Trump has called for a televised military tribunal for former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, and the imprisonment of top elected officials, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.  He has decreed that Cheney is guilty of treason because, even though she is a conservative, she has been severely critical of Trump.  She has bravely defended the rule of law.

"The rule of law means in this country that the law is not used as an instrument of the ruler -- the rule of law is supposed to contain the ruler. The Supreme Court just undid that, and it's binding." 

- Rachel Maddow, MSNBC

As a Canadian, I am profoundly worried about the political climate south of the border as the November 5th election draws closer..  I write this out of the utmost concern and consternation.  It is not an exaggeration to say that the 2024 election is the most consequential in American history.  It must be emphasized that the election is much more than just a choice between two men, Joe Biden and Donald Trump.  The real choice is between democracy and rule of law (represented by President Joe Biden) versus chaos and authoritarianism (represented by former president Donald Trump.  Democracy is on the table.  It is on the ballot.  In fact, American Republic has not been so severely threatened since the Civil War of 1861 to 1865.

Donald Trump will not accept the results of the 2024 election unless he wins.  During the recent debate, he was asked if he would respect the peaceful transfer of power if he lost the election.  He replied that he would absolutely accept the results of a fair election.  For Trump, the only fair election is one in which he is victorious.  Otherwise, he considers the election a scam.

It saddens me that there are people in the United States who wear T-shirts proclaiming "I'm voting for the convicted felon."  Since when has being a convicted felon become a source of pride, something to brag about?  Trump brings out the worst in Americans and he gives them a licence to be crude and rude and racist.  He is a cult leader who has convinced many of his followers that he has been sent by God to save America.  

 

Donald Trump is the biggest whiner and complainer on the planet, constantly portraying himself as a victim.  He's gotten away with far too much for far too long.  If anyone else had done what Trump had done, he or she would be prison right now.  Michael Cohen served prison time for his crime, the same crime that Donald Trump committed.  Isn't justice suppose to be blind to wealth and privilege?

Frankly, the mainstream corporate media are far too easy on Trump, despite the fact that Trump is a clear and present danger to the United States and to the world.  Joe Biden is not a racist or a misogynist.  He did not lead an unruly right-wing mob in an attempt to overturn the results of a valid election.  He has not threatened anyone's life the way Trump's mob threatened to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence.  Biden has not given tax cuts to billionaires.  He has not ignored the threat of climate change.  He has not praised dictators such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.  Nor has had tried to keep classified documents for himself/  Nor has he been found liable for sexual abuse and defamation as Trump has in the E. Jean Carroll Case. Nor has he locked up the children of migrants in detention centres, separating them from their parents.  President Biden has not behaved like a mob boss.

Despite all of this, it is Joe Biden who is facing a whirlwind of criticism over his debate performance, some from his own Democratic party.  However, very few Republicans are calling for Donald Trump to step down in the wake of his criminal behaviour.  Many Republicans have criticized Trump in the past, but are standing by him now.  They are only concerned about winning power, not the welfare of their country.

Trump hates the free press whenever he is criticized.  He has called the media "the enemy of the people." in the chilling language of a despot.  However, as the former host of a reality show, Trump understands that the media thrive on controversy and ratings.  He is a showman, a bully and a con man,  and the press falls right into his hands.  

It's Biden who is on the defensive, while Trump seemingly gets away with everything.  For the most part, Trump's delaying tactics have prevented the courts from giving him the justice his deserves.  However, his luck can' last forever.  Sooner or later, he's destined for a reckoning.  This is not to argue that Biden should not be under scrutiny, or that there should no be questions about his performance during the debate, but why hasn't Trump been criticized more strongly for his outright lies during the debate?

Why is Tramp allowed to run for the office of President of the United States after all he has done?  He is a sick man and he is becoming more unhinged every day.  Democracy in America has a strong heartbeat. but is it strong enough to withstand the onslaught from Donald Trump and his supporters?  We'll find out on November 5th.  Meanwhile, I will continue to alert you to the consequences if Trump is returned to the Oval Office.  Don't ever say I didn't warn you.

Sincerely,

Joanne

Viva L'Italia! Reflections on Italy and Italians

THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

Italians have discovered America for the Americans; taught poetry, statesmanship, and the ruses of trade to the English; military art to the Germans; cuisine to the French; acting and ballet dancing to the Russians; and music to everybody.

- Luigi Barzini
From The Italians

Today is the national day of Italy.  In Italian, the celebration is called Festa della Repubblica and it commemorates the day when the Italian Republic was born.  On June 2, 1946, Italians were asked to decide which form of government they preferred for their country after World War II and the fall of Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.  They chose a republican form of government.

Every June 2nd, there is a military parade through central Rome.  The gates of the official residence of the President of the Italian Republic are opened to the public for celebrations and concerts.  There is an abundance of cheeses, wines and other Italian delicacies.

My grandparents were hard-working immigrants from Sicily.  My maternal grandparents came from Ragusa, Sicily, and my paternal grandparents from a small town called Trabia, in the Province of Palermo.  Although I am first and foremost a Canadian, I will always be proud of my Italian heritage.  I have only been to Italy once, in the summer of 1996, but I certainly hope to make a return visit. 

In honour of Italy's national day, Number 16 presents some interesting and thought-provoking quotations on Italy and Italians.

While stands the Coliseum Rome shall stand;
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall;
And when Rome falls - the World.

- Lord Byron (1788-1824), English poet
Childe Harold's Pilgrimage


Lump the whole thing! say that the Creator made Italy from designs by Michel Angelo!

- Mark Twain
From Innocents Abroad [1869] 


Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy.

- Bertrand Russell
From The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell [1967]


In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and the Renaissance.  In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce?  The cuckoo clock!

- Orson Welles, as the character Harry Lime in the Graham Greene film, The Third Man (1949)


Sign language is useful to the deaf but vital to the Italians.

- Paul Carvel, Belgian writer and editor


LANGUAGE CORNER

Here is a list of items, particularly food items, which have been named after places in Italy.

Venetian blinds (Venice)

Bologna sausages (Bologna) - similar to the Italian mortadella that originated in the city of Bologna

blue jeans (Genoa) - comes from the French phrase bleu de Gênes, literally ``the blue of Genoa``

Neapolitan ice cream (Naples) - Ice cream made up of blocks of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream and named in the 19th after the city of Naples (Napoli), where it was presumed to have originated

Roman candles (Rome) - Italy played a prominent role in the development of fireworks for celebratory purposes.

Parmesan cheese (Parma) - Parma, a city in the Emila-Romangna region of Italy is famous for its cheese, ham and architecture

Leghorn hens - a breed of chicken with origins in Tuscany, in central Italy, generally thought to come from  the city of Leghorn (Livorno),


SPORTS

Hockey

What a week for hockey in Canada!  The NHL will return to Winnipeg and the Vancouver Canucks are facing the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals.  I'm so glad pro hockey is returning to the 'Peg.  It belongs there and I hope the team is a resounding success.  Gary Bettman isn't exactly thrilled about  the of the league's imminent return to the Manitoba capital.  CBC host George Stroumboulopoulos remarked that Betmann appeared as if he were delivering a.eulogy when he made the announcement.  Winnipeggers, however, and indeed all Manitobans, are extremely excited.  They really really want this team.

The Vancouver Canucks have taken a 1-0 lead against the Boston Bruins. Go Canucks Go!  They need three more wins in their quest for the Stanley Cup.


NOTE

I am writing this from beautiful Quebec City where I will be for the next five days.

- Joanne