thenation--2020-12-04--Senator Manchin, Your Faith Teaches You Better Than This

I am writing on behalf of the Poor People ’ s Campaign , and I hope you will share this appeal with your negotiating partners on the Covid relief plan you are proposing—or , I should say , you are being forced to propose because Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell , his caucus , and the president have been more concerned about power than love , more given to greed than to mercy , and more committed to putting one woman on the Supreme Court than to keeping thousands of poor and low-wealth citizens out of caskets .
One member @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members in Mississippi .
I have one family in my church here in North Carolina that has lost 12 members .
Every week , I counsel health care workers who feel like they are headed to their own death by going to work .
I have spoken to many essential workers who feel expendable .
As a preacher , I can not forget that Jesus said nations will be judged by how we treat the sick .
Our movement is deeply concerned about the proposal to cut unemployment to $ 300 dollars , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Will this plan guarantee health care for those impacted by Covid ?
Does it provide sick leave and protect people from evictions ?
I heard you say the bill should have been $ 1.2 trillion , but the truth is that it should be at least $ 3 trillion .
The banks and corporations got everything they asked for in the CARES Act , plus billions in debt relief from the Federal Reserve .
And let us not forget that even before Covid , there were 140 million poor and low-wealth people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million black , and millions of others .
Two hundred and fifty thousand Americans have been dying each year from poverty because of years of bad public policy .
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said , we give socialism to the wealthy and rugged individualism to the poor .
A Prayer for Justice and Compassion During the Pandemic Now , I admire you for trying to get something done .
But it is shameful to call this a “ compromise ” when the poor people who are dying the most and working @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will get the least .
Why not compromise on what the wealthy get ?
You are , like me , a Christian man , and you know Jesus said to help the least first .
Our own Constitution says to establish justice first .
But the Senate has been helping the wealthy first and establishing injustice first .
The Republicans who have forced this bill down to $ 900 billion are sinful and shameful .
We have members of our campaign in the mountains of West Virginia , where coal miners fought to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appalled by this notion of just “ getting something done ” rather than fighting all out to get the right thing done .
It feels to many like some senators just want to soothe their consciences before Christmas .
I am ashamed of this nation .
I know you want to do the right thing , and Republicans are tying your hands , but please don ’ t call this a “ centrist plan.
” It ’ s more cynical than centrist .
It ’ s damn near criminal that millions are hurting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people are dying , poverty is expanding , and the Senate can ’ t do the right thing .
This so-called “ centrist ” compromise is $ 2.2 trillion less than the Heroes Act and some say it ’ s a “ good deal.
” Corporations have gotten everything they asked for and more , while one in eight Americans reported going hungry last week !
When will we have politicians who love the people and refuse to play games with people ’ s lives ?
When will we have senators who will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take McConnell to task and call on the people to take him on every day until he changes ?
What if the senators who know right from wrong would join people by the thousands , driving around the house of McConnell every day , all day , nonviolently demonstrating our discontent by blowing horns in caravans carrying caskets to remember the dead ?
Many poor and low-wealth people believe you should not compromise .
Instead , use your position and influence to lay out in every form of media the proposal that ought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out so that the entire nation can see how ruthless McConnell and his allies are .
Many believe this would fundamentally shift the narrative in this nation and would create a political awakening that would drive turnout in Georgia and give President Biden the moral atmosphere to engage what needs to be done , in much the same way that FDR was able to approach the New Deal because people could see the moral bankruptcy of the 1920s .
Roosevelt said that in order to fight “ against economic tyranny such as this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the organized power of Government .
The collapse of 1929 showed up the despotism for what it was .
The election of 1932 was the people ’ s mandate to end it.
” FDR understood that he was given a mandate to refuse compromise with the powerful and the wealthy who had abandoned poor and working people .
“ These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America , ” he said .
“ What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the overthrow of this kind of power .
In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution .
In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for .
Now , as always , they stand for democracy , not tyranny ; for freedom , not subjection ; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.
” If those of you in the Senate are willing to stand strong and wage a principled fight , some of your Republican colleagues may be willing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ force a compromise that ultimately covers up their tyranny , they will never change .
I know it might seem strange for me as a preacher to take this position , refusing to just accept something and choosing to let the bottom fall out , even if it produces more suffering temporarily .
But this wisdom comes from my faith .
Do you remember the story ?
Moses would not compromise with Pharaoh .
“ Let my people go ” meant all , not some .
And it resulted in more temporary suffering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We must not forget that this is the week when Rosa Parks sat down on a bus and an entire community walked 381 days in the face of violence because they refused to compromise .
Doing so , they exposed Jim Crow to the world and won new allies .
If they had compromised for a more “ humane ” application of segregation or more “ Negro ” bus drivers , we may have never had the kind of civil rights movement that came into being .
And perhaps you recall what the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter to the Colossians , says about how Jesus could have compromised and not suffered , but it was important to expose the evil and injustice openly .
The point I ’ m making is that many poor and low-wealth people would rather see you and others fight—and they would rather join you in that fight—than to see a so-called compromise that is not even half of what ’ s needed touted as easing pain though most of the pain would continue anyway .
We hear you and others saying now that we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ centrist ” Republicans had the leverage of the Supreme Court seat , they demanded nothing .
Now they want to pass the least amount possible and act as though it is a compassionate act .
They are all over the TV now touting the $ 900 billion .
Where were they when the HEROES Act was first passed ?
For them to act as though they are coming to the rescue now is like throwing a drowning man a life raft with a hole in it when you could have given him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It is cruel hypocrisy .
You may get something done , but we would be mistaken as a society to celebrate your efforts and compromise .
We can not normalize the celebration of mediocre and always accept the least common denominator when it comes to poor and low-wealth people and the essential workers of this nation .
If your gang of six had truly been moved by conscience , stood together , and fought for just relief before the Barrett confirmation , McConnell would have bowed and the president would have given in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pitiful capitulation to a mean-spirited majority leader who is allowing even his own constituents from the mountains to the cities to suffer while he caters to the greedy and those with a lust for power above all else .
9 Months Into Touch-Free Living , What Shall We Birth ?
More in this series To have to compromise in the midst of a deadly pandemic with over 265,000 dead feels like the Three-Fifths Compromise during slavery .
It was wrong then , and compromise is wrong now .
What is needed is character @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wealthy while they let the poor suffer and die will face the judgment of God .
I say this with great love and tears for this nation .
But the blood of all those who suffer and die needlessly is on the hands of the US Senate .
Many of us believe that you all have not fought McConnell hard enough in the open .
We know instinctively that if this disease was destroying the lives of the wealthy , the lives of senators and their families , there would be an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moment that suddenly the pandemic caused every senator to lose their income , their food , their homes , their health , and their lives .
If that happened and McConnell was blocking help , there would be calls for the people to rise up , to march on the communities where politicians live .
If there was compromise after this kind of fight , and it was a principled compromise that cut what the wealthy get so that the poor and low-wealth have everything they need , perhaps that could be morally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now is morally indefensible , constitutionally inconsistent , and economically insane .
Those of you who sit in the Senate can refuse to act or make backroom deals because the poor and low-wealth are so thoroughly dismissed .
The word “ poor ” is hardly if ever even spoken on the Senate floor .
And because the primary pain is felt by poor and low-wealth people and communities like those in Appalachia and Alabama , stalling and compromise have been the order of the day .
This is the great sin of this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do right by the least of these are under judgment , not just in the hereafter but now .
James , the brother of Jesus , speaking as led by the Spirit of God , said it like this : With deep love for the people and hope that you will hear the Spirit of the Lord through my feeble words and human effort ,

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Dear Senator Manchin,
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m writing as a person of faith, mandated to care for the poor and guided by the values of love, truth, and justice. I’m writing to you, but this letter is for all who the media has reported to be working with you on a “compromise bill.” I hope you will share with the other senators.
Your desire to do something to help provide Covid relief is noble and necessary. However, our movement is deeply concerned about the proposal to cut unemployment to $300 dollars, which is just $7.50 an hour. Will this plan guarantee health care for those impacted by Covid? Does it provide sick leave and protect people from evictions? I heard you say the bill should have been $1.2 trillion, but the truth is that it should be at least $3 trillion. A bill that is only $900 billion is more than $2 trillion short of what is needed. The banks and corporations got everything they asked for in the CARES Act, plus billions in debt relief from the Federal Reserve. And let us not forget that even before Covid, there were 140 million poor and low-wealth people in this nation—66 million white, 26 million black, and millions of others. Two hundred and fifty thousand Americans have been dying each year from poverty because of years of bad public policy. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, we give socialism to the wealthy and rugged individualism to the poor. More From Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II The Rev. William Barber II Delivers a Moral Call for Peace December 31, 2022 Reverend William Barber’s Pastoral Letter to the Republican Party November 30, 2022 Reverend Barber's Pastoral Letter to the Democratic Party November 22, 2022
Now, I admire you for trying to get something done. But it is shameful to call this a “compromise” when the poor people who are dying the most and working the hardest to keep the country running will get the least. Why not compromise on what the wealthy get? You are, like me, a Christian man, and you know Jesus said to help the least first. Our own Constitution says to establish justice first. But the Senate has been helping the wealthy first and establishing injustice first.
The Republicans who have forced this bill down to $900 billion are sinful and shameful. We have members of our campaign in the mountains of West Virginia, where coal miners fought to their deaths for justice. They are appalled by this notion of just “getting something done” rather than fighting all out to get the right thing done. It feels to many like some senators just want to soothe their consciences before Christmas.
I am ashamed of this nation. I know you want to do the right thing, and Republicans are tying your hands, but please don’t call this a “centrist plan.” It’s more cynical than centrist. It’s damn near criminal that millions are hurting, billionaires are getting richer, sick people are dying, poverty is expanding, and the Senate can’t do the right thing. This so-called “centrist” compromise is $2.2 trillion less than the Heroes Act and some say it’s a “good deal.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
Corporations have gotten everything they asked for and more, while one in eight Americans reported going hungry last week! Current Issue View our current issue
When will we have politicians who love the people and refuse to play games with people’s lives? When will we have senators who will stand up publicly with righteous indignation and take McConnell to task and call on the people to take him on every day until he changes? What if the senators who know right from wrong would join people by the thousands, driving around the house of McConnell every day, all day, nonviolently demonstrating our discontent by blowing horns in caravans carrying caskets to remember the dead?
Many poor and low-wealth people believe you should not compromise. Instead, use your position and influence to lay out in every form of media the proposal that ought to be and let the bottom fall out so that the entire nation can see how ruthless McConnell and his allies are. Many believe this would fundamentally shift the narrative in this nation and would create a political awakening that would drive turnout in Georgia and give President Biden the moral atmosphere to engage what needs to be done, in much the same way that FDR was able to approach the New Deal because people could see the moral bankruptcy of the 1920s.
Roosevelt said that in order to fight “against economic tyranny such as this, the American citizen could appeal only to the organized power of Government. The collapse of 1929 showed up the despotism for what it was. The election of 1932 was the people’s mandate to end it.” FDR understood that he was given a mandate to refuse compromise with the powerful and the wealthy who had abandoned poor and working people. “These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America,” he said. “What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the Flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the Flag and the Constitution stand for. Now, as always, they stand for democracy, not tyranny; for freedom, not subjection; and against a dictatorship by mob rule and the over-privileged alike.”
If those of you in the Senate are willing to stand strong and wage a principled fight, some of your Republican colleagues may be willing to change. But if they can always force a compromise that ultimately covers up their tyranny, they will never change.
I know it might seem strange for me as a preacher to take this position, refusing to just accept something and choosing to let the bottom fall out, even if it produces more suffering temporarily. But this wisdom comes from my faith. Do you remember the story? Moses would not compromise with Pharaoh. “Let my people go” meant all, not some. And it resulted in more temporary suffering on the path to full freedom. Covid Stimulus McConnell’s Stimulus Scam: Vaccinate Businesses, Expose Workers Elie Mystal
We must not forget that this is the week when Rosa Parks sat down on a bus and an entire community walked 381 days in the face of violence because they refused to compromise. Doing so, they exposed Jim Crow to the world and won new allies. If they had compromised for a more “humane” application of segregation or more “Negro” bus drivers, we may have never had the kind of civil rights movement that came into being.
And perhaps you recall what the Scripture, in St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, says about how Jesus could have compromised and not suffered, but it was important to expose the evil and injustice openly.
The point I’m making is that many poor and low-wealth people would rather see you and others fight—and they would rather join you in that fight—than to see a so-called compromise that is not even half of what’s needed touted as easing pain though most of the pain would continue anyway. We hear you and others saying now that we have to do something, but when “centrist” Republicans had the leverage of the Supreme Court seat, they demanded nothing. Now they want to pass the least amount possible and act as though it is a compassionate act. They are all over the TV now touting the $900 billion. Where were they when the HEROES Act was first passed? For them to act as though they are coming to the rescue now is like throwing a drowning man a life raft with a hole in it when you could have given him a lifeboat with an inboard motor. It is cruel hypocrisy.
You may get something done, but we would be mistaken as a society to celebrate your efforts and compromise. We cannot normalize the celebration of mediocre and always accept the least common denominator when it comes to poor and low-wealth people and the essential workers of this nation. If your gang of six had truly been moved by conscience, stood together, and fought for just relief before the Barrett confirmation, McConnell would have bowed and the president would have given in.
This is not principled compromise but pitiful capitulation to a mean-spirited majority leader who is allowing even his own constituents from the mountains to the cities to suffer while he caters to the greedy and those with a lust for power above all else. Coronavirus Amid Partisan Politicking, Revelations on a Covid Origins Article Jimmy Tobias It’s Not “Unreasonable” to Want to Change Our Rotten Health Care System Gregg Gonsalves Covid Has Left Deep Wounds in America’s Rural Communities Anne N. Sosin
To have to compromise in the midst of a deadly pandemic with over 265,000 dead feels like the Three-Fifths Compromise during slavery. It was wrong then, and compromise is wrong now. What is needed is character. McConnell and any who have helped the wealthy while they let the poor suffer and die will face the judgment of God. I say this with great love and tears for this nation. But the blood of all those who suffer and die needlessly is on the hands of the US Senate.
Many of us believe that you all have not fought McConnell hard enough in the open. We know instinctively that if this disease was destroying the lives of the wealthy, the lives of senators and their families, there would be an all-out public battle. Imagine for a moment that suddenly the pandemic caused every senator to lose their income, their food, their homes, their health, and their lives. If that happened and McConnell was blocking help, there would be calls for the people to rise up, to march on the communities where politicians live. If there was compromise after this kind of fight, and it was a principled compromise that cut what the wealthy get so that the poor and low-wealth have everything they need, perhaps that could be morally justified. But the compromise being suggested now is morally indefensible, constitutionally inconsistent, and economically insane.
Those of you who sit in the Senate can refuse to act or make backroom deals because the poor and low-wealth are so thoroughly dismissed. The word “poor” is hardly if ever even spoken on the Senate floor. And because the primary pain is felt by poor and low-wealth people and communities like those in Appalachia and Alabama, stalling and compromise have been the order of the day. This is the great sin of this moment.
All those who are refusing to do right by the least of these are under judgment, not just in the hereafter but now. James, the brother of Jesus, speaking as led by the Spirit of God, said it like this:
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.
With deep love for the people and hope that you will hear the Spirit of the Lord through my feeble words and human effort,


thenation--2020-12-04--Why the Trumpists’ Calls for Dictatorship Should Worry Us

We are less than seven weeks away from the inauguration , and I ’ d be lying if I said I wasn ’ t counting down the seconds .
For the last spasms of Trumpist rule are truly a sight and sound to behold .
Trumpism is at this point nothing more than a blend of cultism and fascism , a violent , nihilistic howl against the pillars of American democracy unparalleled in presidential history .
Donald Trump and his acolytes know their gig is up ; they can file lawsuits till they are blue in the face , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the election results in multiple states simultaneously .
They have reached a fork in the road : Accept the results and move on , or attempt to flex the presidential muscle in a way that launches America into an experiment with dictatorship .
They have decided , at least rhetorically , to opt for the latter .
And while they almost certainly don ’ t have the bite to match their bark , the very fact that people surrounding Trump are calling for dictatorship ought to send a chill up all Americans ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of some of the Trump team ’ s doings this past week .
Trump campaign attorney Joe DiGenova said that Chris Krebs , the election security official whom Trump fired by tweet last month after he defended the integrity of the election , should be “ drawn and quartered ” and “ taken out at dawn and shot.
” Stalin couldn ’ t have said it better himself when talking about his perceived enemies in the Soviet bureaucracy .
Removing Trump Is Not Enough .
He Must Be Prosecuted .
Former Trump campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after pushing conspiracy theories ( including that the long-deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez intervened to help Joe Biden ) that were recognized as deranged even by the conspiracy-mongerers surrounding Trump—retweeted a call to invoke the Insurrection Act , suspend the meeting of the Electoral College , and set up military tribunals to deal with Trump ’ s enemies .
The following day , former national security adviser Michael Flynn , coming off a recent presidential pardon from Trump , urged his erstwhile boss to declare martial law , suspend the Constitution , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the military .
Far-right media personalities have joined the fascist clamor .
Lou Dobbs of Fox Business recently called for Trump to take unspecified “ drastic action ” against his enemies .
The One America News Network has also suggested that Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act as a way to remain in office .
And Trump himself—America ’ s isolated , mad , lonely king—seems increasingly besotted by a version of his story in which he rides in as the knight in shining armor to save America from a “ rigged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump posted on Facebook a bizarre 46-minute video in which he regurgitated a myriad of conspiracy theories .
He said it may be the “ most important ” speech he has ever given .
Critics were less impressed .
The Washington Post ’ s Philip Rucker interpreted the rambling speech as a call to arms and wrote that it called into question the peaceful transfer of power .
What horrifies me isn ’ t simply that the cranks and sycophants surrounding Trump have dived into this moral cesspit .
Rather , it ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , especially at the federal level , has remained silent in the face of this escalating assault on the democracy .
It is the reductio ad absurdum , the inane and insane end point of four years of the GOP ’ s collusion with Trump ’ s full-frontal assault on the institutions and culture of democracy .
In such a moment , when a fanatical movement ’ s hold on power starts to diminish , the extremists have a tendency to eat their own .
When Attorney General Barr announced that the Justice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent years—had found no evidence of election fraud , one would have expected the GOP grandees to get Trump to call it a day and concede .
Instead , most GOP senators remained silent or continued to indulge Trump in his fantasies , their cowardice a blazing beacon for all to see .
And , filling the vacuum left by the Senate , the conservative media and social media ecosystem turned on Barr with all the fury they could muster against a man they now saw as a turncoat .
Trump himself is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his attorney general , who until this week had been one of his most reliable and destructive foot soldiers .
When Republican officials in Georgia and Arizona , many of whom have faced a barrage of death threats in recent weeks , begged Trump to stop his attacks on the integrity of the vote count in their states before someone got killed , Trump instead ramped up those attacks and escalated the threatening nature of his tweets .
Once again , the GOP Senate remained shockingly silent .
Trump ’ s fascist yammering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ collaborationist behavior , isn ’ t just a footnote to the 2020 election campaign .
Rather , it ’ s a prologue to what could come next .
Even while Republican state officials have pushed to protect the integrity of their election systems , at a federal level their fellow party members have happily left them to the tender mercies of Trump and his army of trolls .
The GOP as an institution has entirely abandoned its commitment to the democratic process .
In tolerating Trump ’ s dangerous nonsense and his increasingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it has embraced the dangerous notion that any outcome that doesn ’ t result in its holding power in perpetuity is illegitimate .
That ’ s a hell of a Signal—a Thousand Year Reich–kind of signal—to send the country and the world .
And it ’ s a hell of a warning shot as to how the Grand Old Party intends to conduct itself in the months and years ahead .

We are less than seven weeks away from the inauguration, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t counting down the seconds. For the last spasms of Trumpist rule are truly a sight and sound to behold. Trumpism is at this point nothing more than a blend of cultism and fascism, a violent, nihilistic howl against the pillars of American democracy unparalleled in presidential history.
Donald Trump and his acolytes know their gig is up; they can file lawsuits till they are blue in the face, but they’re not going to overturn the election results in multiple states simultaneously. They have reached a fork in the road: Accept the results and move on, or attempt to flex the presidential muscle in a way that launches America into an experiment with dictatorship. They have decided, at least rhetorically, to opt for the latter. And while they almost certainly don’t have the bite to match their bark, the very fact that people surrounding Trump are calling for dictatorship ought to send a chill up all Americans’ spines.
Here’s a sampling of some of the Trump team’s doings this past week.
Trump campaign attorney Joe DiGenova said that Chris Krebs, the election security official whom Trump fired by tweet last month after he defended the integrity of the election, should be “drawn and quartered” and “taken out at dawn and shot.” Stalin couldn’t have said it better himself when talking about his perceived enemies in the Soviet bureaucracy. More Signal:Noise Removing Trump Is Not Enough. He Must Be Prosecuted. Sasha Abramsky The GOP: Grotesque, Outrageous Putschists Sasha Abramsky
Former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell—who was dismissed last month after pushing conspiracy theories (including that the long-deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez intervened to help Joe Biden) that were recognized as deranged even by the conspiracy-mongerers surrounding Trump—retweeted a call to invoke the Insurrection Act, suspend the meeting of the Electoral College, and set up military tribunals to deal with Trump’s enemies.
The following day, former national security adviser Michael Flynn, coming off a recent presidential pardon from Trump, urged his erstwhile boss to declare martial law, suspend the Constitution, and order new presidential elections under the supervision of the military.
Far-right media personalities have joined the fascist clamor. Lou Dobbs of Fox Business recently called for Trump to take unspecified “drastic action” against his enemies. The One America News Network has also suggested that Trump should invoke the Insurrection Act as a way to remain in office. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Current Issue View our current issue
And Trump himself—America’s isolated, mad, lonely king—seems increasingly besotted by a version of his story in which he rides in as the knight in shining armor to save America from a “rigged” electoral disaster. On Wednesday, Trump posted on Facebook a bizarre 46-minute video in which he regurgitated a myriad of conspiracy theories. He said it may be the “most important” speech he has ever given. Critics were less impressed. The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker interpreted the rambling speech as a call to arms and wrote that it called into question the peaceful transfer of power.
What horrifies me isn’t simply that the cranks and sycophants surrounding Trump have dived into this moral cesspit. Rather, it’s that much of the broader GOP, especially at the federal level, has remained silent in the face of this escalating assault on the democracy. It is the reductio ad absurdum, the inane and insane end point of four years of the GOP’s collusion with Trump’s full-frontal assault on the institutions and culture of democracy.
In such a moment, when a fanatical movement’s hold on power starts to diminish, the extremists have a tendency to eat their own. When Attorney General Barr announced that the Justice Department—hardly a bastion of anti-Trumpist sentiment in recent years—had found no evidence of election fraud, one would have expected the GOP grandees to get Trump to call it a day and concede. Instead, most GOP senators remained silent or continued to indulge Trump in his fantasies, their cowardice a blazing beacon for all to see. And, filling the vacuum left by the Senate, the conservative media and social media ecosystem turned on Barr with all the fury they could muster against a man they now saw as a turncoat. Trump himself is reportedly chomping at the bit to ax his attorney general, who until this week had been one of his most reliable and destructive foot soldiers.
When Republican officials in Georgia and Arizona, many of whom have faced a barrage of death threats in recent weeks, begged Trump to stop his attacks on the integrity of the vote count in their states before someone got killed, Trump instead ramped up those attacks and escalated the threatening nature of his tweets. Once again, the GOP Senate remained shockingly silent.
Trump’s fascist yammering, and the GOP Senate’s collaborationist behavior, isn’t just a footnote to the 2020 election campaign. Rather, it’s a prologue to what could come next. Even while Republican state officials have pushed to protect the integrity of their election systems, at a federal level their fellow party members have happily left them to the tender mercies of Trump and his army of trolls.
The GOP as an institution has entirely abandoned its commitment to the democratic process. In tolerating Trump’s dangerous nonsense and his increasingly frantic efforts to overturn the election, it has embraced the dangerous notion that any outcome that doesn’t result in its holding power in perpetuity is illegitimate. That’s a hell of a Signal—a Thousand Year Reich–kind of signal—to send the country and the world. And it’s a hell of a warning shot as to how the Grand Old Party intends to conduct itself in the months and years ahead.


thenation--2020-12-04--The American Empire Is Falling Apart

The American Empire Is Falling Apart

We ’ re now living in an age of opacity , as Rudy Giuliani pointed out in a courtroom recently .
Here was the exchange : Big words indeed !
And he couldn ’ t have been more on the mark , whether he knew it or not .
Thanks in part to him and to the president he ’ s represented so avidly , even as hair dye or mascara dripped down his face , we find ourselves in an era in which , to steal a biblical phrase from Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman , all of us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ darkly.
” As in Election Campaign 2016 , Donald Trump isn ’ t the cause but a symptom ( though what a symptom ! )
of an American world going down .
Then as now , he somehow gathered into his one-and-only self so many of the worst impulses of a country that , in this century , found itself eternally at war not just with Afghans and Iraqis and Syrians and Somalis but increasingly with itself , a true heavyweight of a superpower already heading down for the count .
Here ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back in June 2016 about The Donald , a reminder that what ’ s happening now , bizarre as it might seem , wasn ’ t beyond imagining even so many years ago : “ It ’ s been relatively easy…—at least until Donald Trump arrived to the stunned fascination of the country ( not to speak of the rest of the planet ) —to imagine that we live in a peaceable land with most of its familiar markers still reassuringly in place… In truth , however , the American world is coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one we still claim as ours , or rather that older America looks increasingly like a hollowed-out shell within which something new and quite different has been gestating .
“ After all , can anyone really doubt that representative democracy as it once existed has been eviscerated and is now—consider Congress Exhibit A—in a state of advanced paralysis , or that just about every aspect of the country ’ s infrastructure is slowly fraying or crumbling and that little is being done about it ?
Can anyone doubt that the constitutional system—take war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for that matter , American liberties—has also been fraying ?
Can anyone doubt that the country ’ s classic tripartite form of government , from a Supreme Court missing a member by choice of Congress to a national security state that mocks the law , is ever less checked and balanced and increasingly more than ‘ tri ’ ?
” Even then , it should have been obvious that Donald Trump was , as I also wrote in that campaign year , a wildly self-absorbed symptom of American-style imperial decline on a planet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of course , was four years before the pandemic struck or there was a wildfire season in the West the likes of which no one had imagined possible and a record 30 storms that more or less used up two alphabets in a never-ending hurricane season .
In the most literal sense possible , The Donald was our first presidential candidate of imperial decline and so a genuine sign of the times .
He swore he would make America great again , and in doing so , he alone , among American politicians @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country wasn ’ t great then , that it wasn ’ t , as the rest of the American political class claimed , the greatest , most exceptional , most indispensible country in history , the sole superpower left on Planet Earth .
An American World Without “ New Deals ” ( Except for Billionaires ) In that campaign year , the United States was already something else again and that was more than four years before the richest , most powerful country on the planet couldn ’ t handle a virus in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did .
Instead , it set staggering records for Covid-19 cases and deaths , numbers that previously might have been associated with third-world countries .
You can practically hear the chants now as those figures continue to rise exponentially : USA !
USA !
We ’ re still number one ( in pandemic casualties ) !
Somehow , in that pre-pandemic year , a billionaire bankruptee and former reality TV host instinctively caught the mood of the moment in an ever-less-unionized American heartland , long in decline if you were an ordinary citizen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the white working class and lower middle class by the “ new Democrats ” was history .
The party of Bill and Hillary Clinton had long been , as Thomas Frank wrote recently in The Guardian , “ preaching competence rather than ideology and reaching out to new constituencies : the enlightened suburbanites ; the ‘ wired workers ’ ; the ‘ learning class ’ ; the winners in our new post-industrial society.
” Donald Trump arrived on the scene promising to attend to the abandoned ones , the white Americans whose dreams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children had largely been left in the dust in an ever-more-unequal country .
Increasingly embittered , they were , at best , taken totally for granted by the former party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt .
( In the 2016 campaign , Hillary Clinton didn ’ t even consider it worth the bother to visit Wisconsin and her campaign underplayed the very idea of focusing on key heartland states . )
In the 21st century , there were to be no “ new deals ” for them and they knew it .
They had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2.5 trillion a year since 1975—to the very billionaires whom The Donald so proudly proclaimed himself one of and to a version of corporate America that had grown oversized , wealthy , and powerful in a fashion that would have been unimaginable decades earlier .
On entering the Oval Office , Trump would still offer them blunt words , which would ring bells in rally after rally where they could cheer him to death .
At the same time , with the help of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell , he continued the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tax cut to the 1 percent and those very same corporations , enriching them ever so much more .
So , of course , would the pandemic , which only added yet more billions to the fortunes of billionaires and various corporate giants ( while granting the frontline workers who kept those companies afloat only the most meager and passing “ hazard pay ” ) .
Today , the coronavirus here in the United States might be more accurately relabeled “ the Trump virus.
” After all , the president really did make @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Via ignorance , neglect , and a striking lack of care , he managed to spread it around the country ( and , of course , the White House itself ) in record ways , holding rallies that were visibly instruments of death and destruction .
All of this would have been clearer yet if , in Election Campaign 2020 , he had just replaced MAGA as his slogan with MASA ( Make America Sick Again ) , since the country was still going down , just in a new way .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Donald Trump , wrapped up eternally in his own overwrought self , has come to personify the very essence of a bifurcated country that was heading down , down , down , if you weren ’ t part of that up , up , up 1 percent .
The moment when he returned from the hospital , having had Covid-19 himself , stepped out on a White House balcony , and proudly tore off his mask for all the world to see summed up the messaging of this all-American 21st century moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seem in this moment and overwhelming as Covid-19 might be for now , the American story of recent years is anything but unique in history , at least as so far described .
From the Black Death ( bubonic plague ) of the 14th century to the Spanish Flu of the early 20th century , pandemics have , in their own fashion , been a dime a dozen .
And as for foolish rulers who made a spectacle of themselves , well , the Romans had their Nero and he was anything but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As for going down , down , down , that ’ s in the nature of history .
Known once upon a time as “ imperial powers ” or “ empires , ” what we now call “ great powers ” or “ superpowers ” rise , have their moments in the sun ( even if it ’ s the shade for so many of those they rule over ) , and then fall , one and all .
Were that not so , Edward Gibbon ’ s classic six-volume work , The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Roman Empire , would never have gained the fame it did in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries .
Across the planet and across time , that imperial rising and falling has been an essential , even metronomic , part of humanity ’ s story since practically the dawn of history .
It was certainly the story of China , repeatedly , and definitely the tale of the ancient Middle East .
It was the essence of the history of Europe from the Portuguese and Spanish empires to the English empire that arose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( in essence , to our own ) in the middle of the last century .
And don ’ t forget that other superpower of the Cold War , the Soviet Union , which came into being after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and grew and grew , only to implode in 1991 , after a ( gulp ! )
disastrous war in Afghanistan , less than 70 years later .
And none of this , as I say , is in itself anything special , not even for a genuinely global power @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other country ever had at least 800 military garrisons spread across the whole planet ? )
If this were history as it ’ s always been , the only real shock would perhaps be the strikingly bizarre sense of self-adulation felt by this country ’ s leadership and the pundit class that went with it after that other Cold War superpower so surprisingly blew a fuse .
In the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union ’ s plunge to its grave in 1991 , leaving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ Russia , ” they engaged in distinctly delusional behavior .
They convinced themselves that history as it had always been known , the very rise and fall and rise ( and fall ) that had been its repetitious tune , had somehow “ ended ” with this country atop everything forever and beyond .
Not quite three decades later , in the midst of a set of “ forever wars ” in which the United States managed to impose its will on essentially no one and in an increasingly chaotic , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t doubt that this was delusionary thinking of the first order ?
Even at the time , it should have been obvious enough that the United States would sooner or later follow the Soviet Union to the exits , no matter how slowly , enveloped in a kind of self-adoration .
A quarter-century later , Donald Trump would be the living evidence that this country was anything but immune to history , though few then recognized him as a messenger of the fall already underway .
Four years after that , in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wreck , its military power deeply frustrated , its people divided , angry , and increasingly well-armed , that sense of failing ( already felt so strongly in the American heartland that welcomed The Donald in 2016 ) no longer seems like such an alien thing .
It feels more like the new us—as in United States .
Despite the oddity of The Donald himself , all of this would just be more of the same , if it weren ’ t for one thing .
There ’ s an extra factor now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guaranteed to make the history of the decline and fall of the American empire different from the declines and falls of centuries past .
And no , it has next to nothing to do with ( blare of trumpets ! )
Donald Trump , though he did long ago reject climate change as a “ Chinese hoax ” and , in every way possible , thanks to his love of fossil fuels , give it as much of a helping hand as he could , opening oil lands of every sort to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might have impeded the giant energy companies .
And don ’ t forget his mad mockery of alternative power of any sort .
I could go on , of course , but why bother .
You know this part of the story well .
You ’ re living it .
Yes , in its own distinctive fashion , the United States is going down and will do so whether Donald Trump , Joe Biden , or Mitch McConnell is running the show .
But here ’ s what ’ s new : For @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power is falling just as the earth , at least as humanity has known it all these thousands of years , seems to be going down , too .
And that means there will be no way , no matter what The Donald may think , to wall out intensifying storms , fires , or floods , mega-droughts , melting ice shelves and the rising sea levels that go with them , record temperatures , and so much more , including the hundreds of millions of people who are likely to be displaced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those greenhouse gases released by the burning of the fossil fuels that Donald Trump loves so much .
Undoubtedly , the first genuine twist in the rise-and-fall version of human history—the first story , that is , that was potentially all about falling—arrived on August 6 and 9 , 1945 , when the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki .
It soon became apparent that such weaponry , collected in vast and spreading arsenals , had ( and still has ) the power to quite literally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In this century , even a “ limited ” regional war with such weaponry could create a nuclear winter that might starve billions .
That version of Armageddon has at least been postponed time and again since August 1945 , but as it happened , humanity proved quite capable of coming up with another version of ultimate disaster , even if its effects , no less calamitous , happen not with the speed of an exploding nuclear weapon , but over the years , the decades , the centuries .
Donald Trump was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a falling empire on a failing planet .
Whether , on such a changing world , the next empire or empires , China or unknown powers to come , can rise in the normal fashion remains to be seen .
As does whether , on such a planet , some other way of organizing human life , some potentially better , more empathetic way of dealing with the world and ourselves will be found .
Just know that the rise and fall of history , as it always was , is no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is still ours to discover , for better or for worse .

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To stay on top of important articles like these, sign up to receive the latest updates from TomDispatch.
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We’re now living in an age of opacity, as Rudy Giuliani pointed out in a courtroom recently. Here was the exchange:
“In the plaintiffs’ counties, they were denied the opportunity to have an unobstructed observation and ensure opacity,” Giuliani said. “I’m not quite sure I know what opacity means. It probably means you can see, right?” “It means you can’t,” said U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann. “Big words, your honor,” Giuliani said.
Big words indeed! And he couldn’t have been more on the mark, whether he knew it or not. Thanks in part to him and to the president he’s represented so avidly, even as hair dye or mascara dripped down his face, we find ourselves in an era in which, to steal a biblical phrase from Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, all of us see as if “through a glass darkly.”
As in Election Campaign 2016, Donald Trump isn’t the cause but a symptom (though what a symptom!) of an American world going down. Then as now, he somehow gathered into his one-and-only self so many of the worst impulses of a country that, in this century, found itself eternally at war not just with Afghans and Iraqis and Syrians and Somalis but increasingly with itself, a true heavyweight of a superpower already heading down for the count.
Here’s a little of what I wrote back in June 2016 about The Donald, a reminder that what’s happening now, bizarre as it might seem, wasn’t beyond imagining even so many years ago: Current Issue View our current issue
Even then, it should have been obvious that Donald Trump was, as I also wrote in that campaign year, a wildly self-absorbed symptom of American-style imperial decline on a planet increasingly from hell. And that, of course, was four years before the pandemic struck or there was a wildfire season in the West the likes of which no one had imagined possible and a record 30 storms that more or less used up two alphabets in a never-ending hurricane season.
In the most literal sense possible, The Donald was our first presidential candidate of imperial decline and so a genuine sign of the times. He swore he would make America great again, and in doing so, he alone, among American politicians of that moment, admitted that this country wasn’t great then, that it wasn’t, as the rest of the American political class claimed, the greatest, most exceptional, most indispensible country in history, the sole superpower left on Planet Earth.
An American World Without “New Deals” (Except for Billionaires)
In that campaign year, the United States was already something else again and that was more than four years before the richest, most powerful country on the planet couldn’t handle a virus in a fashion the way other advanced nations did. Instead, it set staggering records for Covid-19 cases and deaths, numbers that previously might have been associated with third-world countries. You can practically hear the chants now as those figures continue to rise exponentially: USA! USA! We’re still number one (in pandemic casualties)!
Somehow, in that pre-pandemic year, a billionaire bankruptee and former reality TV host instinctively caught the mood of the moment in an ever-less-unionized American heartland, long in decline if you were an ordinary citizen. By then, the abandonment of the white working class and lower middle class by the “new Democrats” was history. The party of Bill and Hillary Clinton had long been, as Thomas Frank wrote recently in The Guardian, “preaching competence rather than ideology and reaching out to new constituencies: the enlightened suburbanites; the ‘wired workers’; the ‘learning class’; the winners in our new post-industrial society.”
Donald Trump arrived on the scene promising to attend to the abandoned ones, the white Americans whose dreams of better lives for themselves or their children had largely been left in the dust in an ever-more-unequal country. Increasingly embittered, they were, at best, taken totally for granted by the former party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. (In the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton didn’t even consider it worth the bother to visit Wisconsin and her campaign underplayed the very idea of focusing on key heartland states.) In the 21st century, there were to be no “new deals” for them and they knew it. They had been losing ground—to the tune of $2.5 trillion a year since 1975—to the very billionaires whom The Donald so proudly proclaimed himself one of and to a version of corporate America that had grown oversized, wealthy, and powerful in a fashion that would have been unimaginable decades earlier.
On entering the Oval Office, Trump would still offer them blunt words, which would ring bells in rally after rally where they could cheer him to death. At the same time, with the help of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, he continued the process of abandonment by handing a staggering tax cut to the 1 percent and those very same corporations, enriching them ever so much more. So, of course, would the pandemic, which only added yet more billions to the fortunes of billionaires and various corporate giants (while granting the frontline workers who kept those companies afloat only the most meager and passing “hazard pay”).
Today, the coronavirus here in the United States might be more accurately relabeled “the Trump virus.” After all, the president really did make it his own in a unique fashion. Via ignorance, neglect, and a striking lack of care, he managed to spread it around the country (and, of course, the White House itself) in record ways, holding rallies that were visibly instruments of death and destruction. All of this would have been clearer yet if, in Election Campaign 2020, he had just replaced MAGA as his slogan with MASA (Make America Sick Again), since the country was still going down, just in a new way.
In other words, ever since 2016, Donald Trump, wrapped up eternally in his own overwrought self, has come to personify the very essence of a bifurcated country that was heading down, down, down, if you weren’t part of that up, up, up 1 percent. The moment when he returned from the hospital, having had Covid-19 himself, stepped out on a White House balcony, and proudly tore off his mask for all the world to see summed up the messaging of this all-American 21st century moment perfectly.
Waving Goodbye to the American Moment
Unique as Donald Trump may seem in this moment and overwhelming as Covid-19 might be for now, the American story of recent years is anything but unique in history, at least as so far described. From the Black Death (bubonic plague) of the 14th century to the Spanish Flu of the early 20th century, pandemics have, in their own fashion, been a dime a dozen. And as for foolish rulers who made a spectacle of themselves, well, the Romans had their Nero and he was anything but unique in the annals of history.
As for going down, down, down, that’s in the nature of history. Known once upon a time as “imperial powers” or “empires,” what we now call “great powers” or “superpowers” rise, have their moments in the sun (even if it’s the shade for so many of those they rule over), and then fall, one and all. Were that not so, Edward Gibbon’s classic six-volume work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, would never have gained the fame it did in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Across the planet and across time, that imperial rising and falling has been an essential, even metronomic, part of humanity’s story since practically the dawn of history. It was certainly the story of China, repeatedly, and definitely the tale of the ancient Middle East. It was the essence of the history of Europe from the Portuguese and Spanish empires to the English empire that arose in the 18th century and finally fell (in essence, to our own) in the middle of the last century. And don’t forget that other superpower of the Cold War, the Soviet Union, which came into being after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and grew and grew, only to implode in 1991, after a (gulp!) disastrous war in Afghanistan, less than 70 years later.
And none of this, as I say, is in itself anything special, not even for a genuinely global power like the United States. (What other country ever had at least 800 military garrisons spread across the whole planet?) If this were history as it’s always been, the only real shock would perhaps be the strikingly bizarre sense of self-adulation felt by this country’s leadership and the pundit class that went with it after that other Cold War superpower so surprisingly blew a fuse. In the wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union’s plunge to its grave in 1991, leaving behind an impoverished place once again known as “Russia,” they engaged in distinctly delusional behavior. They convinced themselves that history as it had always been known, the very rise and fall and rise (and fall) that had been its repetitious tune, had somehow “ended” with this country atop everything forever and beyond.
Not quite three decades later, in the midst of a set of “forever wars” in which the United States managed to impose its will on essentially no one and in an increasingly chaotic, riven, pandemicized country, who doesn’t doubt that this was delusionary thinking of the first order? Even at the time, it should have been obvious enough that the United States would sooner or later follow the Soviet Union to the exits, no matter how slowly, enveloped in a kind of self-adoration.
A quarter-century later, Donald Trump would be the living evidence that this country was anything but immune to history, though few then recognized him as a messenger of the fall already underway. Four years after that, in a pandemicized land, its economy a wreck, its military power deeply frustrated, its people divided, angry, and increasingly well-armed, that sense of failing (already felt so strongly in the American heartland that welcomed The Donald in 2016) no longer seems like such an alien thing. It feels more like the new us—as in United States.
Despite the oddity of The Donald himself, all of this would just be more of the same, if it weren’t for one thing. There’s an extra factor now at work that’s all but guaranteed to make the history of the decline and fall of the American empire different from the declines and falls of centuries past. And no, it has next to nothing to do with (blare of trumpets!) Donald Trump, though he did long ago reject climate change as a “Chinese hoax” and, in every way possible, thanks to his love of fossil fuels, give it as much of a helping hand as he could, opening oil lands of every sort to the drill, and dismissing environmental regulations that might have impeded the giant energy companies. And don’t forget his mad mockery of alternative power of any sort.
I could go on, of course, but why bother. You know this part of the story well. You’re living it.
Yes, in its own distinctive fashion, the United States is going down and will do so whether Donald Trump, Joe Biden, or Mitch McConnell is running the show. But here’s what’s new: For the first time, a great imperial power is falling just as the earth, at least as humanity has known it all these thousands of years, seems to be going down, too. And that means there will be no way, no matter what The Donald may think, to wall out intensifying storms, fires, or floods, mega-droughts, melting ice shelves and the rising sea levels that go with them, record temperatures, and so much more, including the hundreds of millions of people who are likely to be displaced across a failing planet, thanks to those greenhouse gases released by the burning of the fossil fuels that Donald Trump loves so much.
Undoubtedly, the first genuine twist in the rise-and-fall version of human history—the first story, that is, that was potentially all about falling—arrived on August 6 and 9, 1945, when the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It soon became apparent that such weaponry, collected in vast and spreading arsenals, had (and still has) the power to quite literally take history out of our hands. In this century, even a “limited” regional war with such weaponry could create a nuclear winter that might starve billions. That version of Armageddon has at least been postponed time and again since August 1945, but as it happened, humanity proved quite capable of coming up with another version of ultimate disaster, even if its effects, no less calamitous, happen not with the speed of an exploding nuclear weapon, but over the years, the decades, the centuries.
Donald Trump was the messenger from hell when it came to a falling empire on a failing planet. Whether, on such a changing world, the next empire or empires, China or unknown powers to come, can rise in the normal fashion remains to be seen. As does whether, on such a planet, some other way of organizing human life, some potentially better, more empathetic way of dealing with the world and ourselves will be found.
Just know that the rise and fall of history, as it always was, is no more. The rest, I suppose, is still ours to discover, for better or for worse.


thenation--2020-12-04--Crooked David Perdue Is Afraid to Debate His Record of Self-Dealing

Sunday night ’ s Georgia Senate debate between appointed Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock is attracting national attention .
Rightly so ; the Loeffler-Warnock race is one of two January 5 contests that will decide control of the Senate .
What ’ s weird is that there won ’ t be a debate between the candidates in the other January 5 race : Republican Senator David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff .
Perdue and Ossoff were also supposed to face each other Sunday , just before Loeffler and Warnock .
But Perdue refused the invite from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has refused other debate invitations during the high-stakes runoff campaign .
Why ?
He ’ s afraid .
Ossoff shredded Perdue in their last debate before the November 3 election .
Referring to complaints that Perdue had engaged in self-serving stock trades during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic , when senators were being briefed on Covid-19 ’ s potential impact but before the danger was widely understood , Ossoff explained during an October 28 debate : Perhaps Senator Perdue would have been able to respond properly to the Covid-19 pandemic if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multiple federal investigations for insider trading .
It ’ s not just that you ’ re a crook , senator .
It ’ s that you ’ re attacking the health of the people that you represent .
You did say Covid-19 was no deadlier than the flu .
You did say there would be no significant uptick in cases .
All the while , you were looking after your own assets and your own portfolio .
The exchange went viral , to devastating effect .
Ossoff , who is mounting his first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the campaign and forced the runoff .
Do Not Hire This Man Donald Trump Just Paid $ 3 Million to Expand Joe Biden ’ s Margin of Victory Trump ’ s Trying to Take the Internet Down With Him Now , Perdue fears that another debate—or , if Ossoff had his way , many debates—could create a surge that sweeps the Republican from office .
That ’ s a legitimate concern on the part of a senator whose troubles have mounted since the runoff campaign began .
A New York Times report @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate ’ s most prolific stock trader by far , sometimes reporting 20 or more transactions in a single day.
” Based on an analysis of data compiled by Senate Stock Watcher , a nonpartisan website that aggregates publicly available information on trading by members of Congress , the Times concluded : “ Mr .
Perdue ’ s transactions accounted for nearly a third of all senators ’ trades reported in the past six years .
His 2,596 trades , mostly in stocks but also in bonds and funds , roughly equal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ five most active traders in the Senate.
” And they look to have been the swampiest of swampy trades .
“ The data also shows the breadth of trades Mr. Perdue made in companies that stood to benefit from policy and spending matters that came not just before the Senate as a whole , but before the committees and subcommittees on which he served , ” explained the Times .
For instance , “ as a member of the Senate banking , housing , and urban affairs committee since 2017 , Mr. Perdue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of financial companies his panel oversaw , including JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America and Regions Financial.
” The Times story was just one of many exposés of Perdue ’ s self-dealing .
For instance , Salon has reported that Perdue purchased Pfizer stock one week before the pharmaceutical giant publicly revealed that it would be developing a coronavirus vaccine .
As the watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington noted , “ In a series of transactions in late February , Senator Perdue invested up to $ 245,000 in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one week before Pfizer announced that it would develop a vaccine , raising questions about what he knew , and when.
” A recent Associated Press examination of the record was headlined , “ Georgia Senator Perdue Boosts Wealth With Well-Timed Stock Trades.
” And on Thursday , Fox5 Atlanta was reporting that the Republican urged fellow members of the Senate Banking Committee “ to support a bill rolling back Obama era regulation on smaller regional and community banks ” after “ Perdue began buying stock in one of the regional banks that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The steady stream of revelations about Perdue ’ s abuses of office have provided more than enough fodder for Ossoff , who has delighted in pointing out , “ Like I said : he ’ s a crook.
” Trump Is Blowing Up the Georgia GOP—and It Couldn ’ t Happen at a Better Time This week , the Democrat held a press conference where he told reporters , “ What ’ s come out in the last week is that Senator Perdue has been lying to the public , and to you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the last year about his financial misconduct.
” Ossoff says Perdue should “ come out of hiding.
” Even as polls suggest the race is close , however , Perdue is refusing to take the debate stage .
The Atlanta Press Club is keeping its invitation open , but at this point the plan is for Ossoff to appear on his own .
The press club says , “ Senator Perdue will be represented by an empty podium.
” The Democratic challenger is prepared to recount the sordid details of the Republican incumbent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has a message for the voters of Georgia : “ If Senator Perdue doesn ’ t want to answer questions , that ’ s fine , he just shouldn ’ t run for re-election to the U.S. Senate .
”

Sunday night’s Georgia Senate debate between appointed Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock is attracting national attention. Rightly so; the Loeffler-Warnock race is one of two January 5 contests that will decide control of the Senate.
What’s weird is that there won’t be a debate between the candidates in the other January 5 race: Republican Senator David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff.
Perdue and Ossoff were also supposed to face each other Sunday, just before Loeffler and Warnock. But Perdue refused the invite from the Atlanta Press Club, as he has refused other debate invitations during the high-stakes runoff campaign.
Why? He’s afraid. Ossoff shredded Perdue in their last debate before the November 3 election. Referring to complaints that Perdue had engaged in self-serving stock trades during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, when senators were being briefed on Covid-19’s potential impact but before the danger was widely understood, Ossoff explained during an October 28 debate:
Perhaps Senator Perdue would have been able to respond properly to the Covid-19 pandemic if you hadn’t been fending off multiple federal investigations for insider trading. It’s not just that you’re a crook, senator. It’s that you’re attacking the health of the people that you represent. You did say Covid-19 was no deadlier than the flu. You did say there would be no significant uptick in cases. All the while, you were looking after your own assets and your own portfolio.
The exchange went viral, to devastating effect. Ossoff, who is mounting his first statewide race, surged in the days of the campaign and forced the runoff. More From John Nichols A GOP Debate Without Trump Is the Definition of Pointlessness August 11, 2023 A Win for Abortion Rights, a Win for Democracy: Ohio Voters Reject Issue 1 August 9, 2023 The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself August 4, 2023
Now, Perdue fears that another debate—or, if Ossoff had his way, many debates—could create a surge that sweeps the Republican from office.
That’s a legitimate concern on the part of a senator whose troubles have mounted since the runoff campaign began.
A New York Times report published this week identified Perdue as “the Senate’s most prolific stock trader by far, sometimes reporting 20 or more transactions in a single day.” Based on an analysis of data compiled by Senate Stock Watcher, a nonpartisan website that aggregates publicly available information on trading by members of Congress, the Times concluded: “Mr. Perdue’s transactions accounted for nearly a third of all senators’ trades reported in the past six years. His 2,596 trades, mostly in stocks but also in bonds and funds, roughly equal the combined trading volume of the next five most active traders in the Senate.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
And they look to have been the swampiest of swampy trades. “The data also shows the breadth of trades Mr. Perdue made in companies that stood to benefit from policy and spending matters that came not just before the Senate as a whole, but before the committees and subcommittees on which he served,” explained the Times. For instance, “as a member of the Senate banking, housing, and urban affairs committee since 2017, Mr. Perdue bought and sold shares of a number of financial companies his panel oversaw, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Regions Financial.” The Runoffs Can Democrats Really Win Georgia’s 2 Senate Seats? Joan Walsh
The Times story was just one of many exposés of Perdue’s self-dealing. For instance, Salon has reported that Perdue purchased Pfizer stock one week before the pharmaceutical giant publicly revealed that it would be developing a coronavirus vaccine. As the watchdog group Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington noted, “In a series of transactions in late February, Senator Perdue invested up to $245,000 in the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. That was just one week before Pfizer announced that it would develop a vaccine, raising questions about what he knew, and when.” A recent Associated Press examination of the record was headlined, “Georgia Senator Perdue Boosts Wealth With Well-Timed Stock Trades.” And on Thursday, Fox5 Atlanta was reporting that the Republican urged fellow members of the Senate Banking Committee “to support a bill rolling back Obama era regulation on smaller regional and community banks” after “Perdue began buying stock in one of the regional banks that stood to benefit from the legislation.”
The steady stream of revelations about Perdue’s abuses of office have provided more than enough fodder for Ossoff, who has delighted in pointing out, “Like I said: he’s a crook.” Trump and Georgia Trump Is Blowing Up the Georgia GOP—and It Couldn’t Happen at a Better Time Joan Walsh
This week, the Democrat held a press conference where he told reporters, “What’s come out in the last week is that Senator Perdue has been lying to the public, and to you, members of the press, for the last year about his financial misconduct.”
Ossoff says Perdue should “come out of hiding.”
Even as polls suggest the race is close, however, Perdue is refusing to take the debate stage. The Atlanta Press Club is keeping its invitation open, but at this point the plan is for Ossoff to appear on his own. The press club says, “Senator Perdue will be represented by an empty podium.”
The Democratic challenger is prepared to recount the sordid details of the Republican incumbent’s sordid self-dealing. And Ossoff has a message for the voters of Georgia: “If Senator Perdue doesn’t want to answer questions, that’s fine, he just shouldn’t run for re-election to the U.S. Senate.”


thenation--2020-12-04--Movie Theaters Aren’t Dying—They’re Being Murdered

The Covid-19 pandemic has provided powerful evidence for the irrepressibility of human sociability .
Most people aren ’ t hermits .
They not only enjoy company ; they positively hunger for contact with family , friends , and even strangers .
Despite the pandemic and despite restrictions from government health care officials , tens of millions around the world have risked their health to go to restaurants , bars , dance clubs , and even orgies .
Earlier this week , right-wing Hungarian politician Jozsef Szajer , who had sponsored anti-LGBTQ laws in his native land , was caught participating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scandal in Belgium because it violated Covid-19 protocols .
Despite rogue figures like Szajer , most people are maintaining Covid restrictions , which means that entertainment industries that rely on social gathering have suffered .
The movie industry has been hit particularly hard because it faces competition from streaming services like Netflix , HBO Max ( which started during the pandemic ) , and Disney+ .
With the rise of streaming and easy availability of high-quality home entertainment networks , it ’ s now possible for members of the middle class to replicate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least a highly fragmented and individualistic version of that experience .
In October , New York Times movie critic A.O .
Scott asked , “ Will a return to normalcy herald the next stage in an emerging duopoly , with the two dominant companies—Netflix and Disney—using big screens to showcase selected content , treating theaters as a kind of loss leader for their lucrative subscription services ?
” This prophecy seems increasingly likely .
On Thursday , the last great living auteur of European avant-garde cinema , Jean-Luc Godard , celebrated his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Warner Media announced that it is radically restructuring how it is going to release movies for the next year .
Instead of the usual pattern of movies appearing first at theaters and then becoming available for streaming and rental months later , Warner Media plans to simultaneously release movies on its streaming service HBO Max and in theaters .
This will be done with such highly anticipated releases as Dune , The Suicide Squad , Matrix 4 , and Godzilla vs. King Kong .
Most of these films are popular entertainment , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Black Messiah , about the murder of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton ) is a high-end drama .
Will Biden Condemn the Assassination of an Iranian Scientist ?
Warner Media claims that simultaneous release on HBO Max and movie theaters is a temporary measure in response to Covid-19 .
But theater owners see it as a threat to their industry .
In a statement , Adam Aron , CEO of AMC Entertainment , the world ’ s largest theater chain , noted , “ Clearly , Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studio division , and that of its production partners and filmmakers , to subsidize its HBO Max start up .
As for AMC , we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense.
” Aron ’ s alarm is justified .
We ’ re witnessing a transformation of what it means to watch a movie .
For over a century , film was at its core a theatrical art form : While it ’ s true that movies could be watched on TV , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a theater surrounded by strangers .
Now there is a push to make the movie theater merely one platform among others , offering an experience deemed no more meaningful than watching the same feature-length visual narratives on a home entertainment system , a laptop , or even a cell phone .
For media giants like Warner Media , Covid-19 is a wonderful alibi .
It allows them to disguise their murder of the moviegoing experience as death by natural causes .
It ’ s entirely possible that the long-term project of companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drive independent movie chains out of business and then set up their own theater chains , so they won ’ t have to split the profit .
In such a scenario , moviegoing would be even more dominated by a handful of media giants .
As media giants like Netflix , Disney , and Warner Media try to downgrade the moviegoing experience , it ’ s important to articulate how essential immersive theatrical watching is .
When we watch a movie at home , or on an airplane , or on a treadmill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a small part of the environment .
It ’ s easy to be distracted from the movie by everything else all around us , even if we have a giant wall-screen TV .
When we watch a movie in a theater , the movie isn ’ t part of the environment ; it is the environment .
We ’ re enveloped in the movie and taken away from our humdrum existence .
But even as theatrical moviegoing is more all-encompassing , it is also more social .
At home , we watch a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In a theater , we watch a movie with strangers , who are as immersed in the narrative as we are .
In March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was starting , New York Times critic Manohla Dargis reflected on what made theatrical film watching special : “ And while you can watch them sitting alone on your couch ( I regularly do although usually with a few cats ) , there is something qualitatively different about going to a designated space and sitting , and staying , in the enveloping dark @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know and maybe some you do .
It is an exquisite , human thing to sit with all those other souls , to be alone with others.
” It ’ s a unique experience of dreaming with your eyes open in company .
When in a horror movie the serial killer jumps out of the shadows , we all gasp in unison .
When a comedian like Jim Carrey does a pratfall , the laughter in the crowd is infectious .
When the romantic couple finally unites and kisses after endless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unison .
Speaking about the documentary Watching Movies , the film critic Johanna Schneller observed that “ there is a collective emotional energy that floats above the people who are watching movies.
” Film is one of the most social of art forms .
We first go to movies in the company of our parents , then with friends and lovers .
Shared memories of movies is part of the glue that binds together relationships .
As Pauline Kael , the greatest of all film critics , once noted , “ Being able @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the giddy high excitement you feel—is enough for a friendship.
” To be sure , there ’ s always been a downside to theatrical film watching .
Writing in The New Republic in 1943 , Manny Farber ( who would later be film critic for The Nation ) took stock of “ the trouble with movies , ” which included “ the cashier in her glass house ” who couldn ’ t understand customers , “ the location of the men ’ s room , the poor quality of the candy.
” All @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to lead to the triumph of television .
To Farber ’ s litany of petty aggravations one could add people who talk too loud , people who answer cell phones in the middle of screenings , and the high cost of parking .
Still , Farber was wrong in thinking that television meant the end of movies , a common mistake in his era .
But the future is never inevitable .
The fate of theatrical moviegoing is not just a matter of ineluctable technological change : It involves deeply political decisions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in .
Corporate giants like Netflix , Disney , and Warner Media are empowered by political decisions strengthening monopoly power .
Disney ’ s current war against repertory theaters showing old movies is made possible by copyright laws that favor big business .
Disney prefers that we watch current remakes rather than the original classics—and is using its stranglehold on copyright to enforce its will .
The streaming future that these media giants are creating is very much a future that is favorable to capitalism : a deeply privatized , fragmented world where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and is incapable of forming a collective identity .
It ’ s the ideal autocracy as imagined by Plato—with Mickey Mouse as the philosopher king .
But just as political choices have empowered the media giants , political resistance can fight back and reclaim the experience of moviegoing .

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The Covid-19 pandemic has provided powerful evidence for the irrepressibility of human sociability. Most people aren’t hermits. They not only enjoy company; they positively hunger for contact with family, friends, and even strangers. Despite the pandemic and despite restrictions from government health care officials, tens of millions around the world have risked their health to go to restaurants, bars, dance clubs, and even orgies. Earlier this week, right-wing Hungarian politician Jozsef Szajer, who had sponsored anti-LGBTQ laws in his native land, was caught participating in a 25-man sex party in Brussels—a scandal in Belgium because it violated Covid-19 protocols.
Despite rogue figures like Szajer, most people are maintaining Covid restrictions, which means that entertainment industries that rely on social gathering have suffered. The movie industry has been hit particularly hard because it faces competition from streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max (which started during the pandemic), and Disney+. With the rise of streaming and easy availability of high-quality home entertainment networks, it’s now possible for members of the middle class to replicate the moviegoing experience in their own homes—or at least a highly fragmented and individualistic version of that experience.
In October, New York Times movie critic A.O. Scott asked, “Will a return to normalcy herald the next stage in an emerging duopoly, with the two dominant companies—Netflix and Disney—using big screens to showcase selected content, treating theaters as a kind of loss leader for their lucrative subscription services?”
This prophecy seems increasingly likely. On Thursday, the last great living auteur of European avant-garde cinema, Jean-Luc Godard, celebrated his 90th birthday. That same day, Warner Media announced that it is radically restructuring how it is going to release movies for the next year. Instead of the usual pattern of movies appearing first at theaters and then becoming available for streaming and rental months later, Warner Media plans to simultaneously release movies on its streaming service HBO Max and in theaters. This will be done with such highly anticipated releases as Dune, The Suicide Squad, Matrix 4, and Godzilla vs. King Kong. Most of these films are popular entertainment, but at least one (Judas and the Black Messiah, about the murder of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton) is a high-end drama. More From Jeet Heer The Indigenous Roots of Robbie Robertson’s Rock and Roll Revolution August 14, 2023 Why Does This Racist Keep Getting Silicon Valley Money? August 11, 2023 When Phallocrats Go Limp August 4, 2023
Warner Media claims that simultaneous release on HBO Max and movie theaters is a temporary measure in response to Covid-19. But theater owners see it as a threat to their industry.
In a statement, Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest theater chain, noted, “Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max start up. As for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense.” Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. My Homeland Is Being Ruled by Terror. The World Must Pay Attention. Manny Maung
Aron’s alarm is justified. We’re witnessing a transformation of what it means to watch a movie. For over a century, film was at its core a theatrical art form: While it’s true that movies could be watched on TV, the primary cinematic experience was immersive viewing in a theater surrounded by strangers. Now there is a push to make the movie theater merely one platform among others, offering an experience deemed no more meaningful than watching the same feature-length visual narratives on a home entertainment system, a laptop, or even a cell phone. Current Issue View our current issue
For media giants like Warner Media, Covid-19 is a wonderful alibi. It allows them to disguise their murder of the moviegoing experience as death by natural causes. It’s entirely possible that the long-term project of companies like Disney and Warner Media is to drive independent movie chains out of business and then set up their own theater chains, so they won’t have to split the profit. In such a scenario, moviegoing would be even more dominated by a handful of media giants.
As media giants like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Media try to downgrade the moviegoing experience, it’s important to articulate how essential immersive theatrical watching is.
When we watch a movie at home, or on an airplane, or on a treadmill at the gym, the movie is a small part of the environment. It’s easy to be distracted from the movie by everything else all around us, even if we have a giant wall-screen TV. When we watch a movie in a theater, the movie isn’t part of the environment; it is the environment. We’re enveloped in the movie and taken away from our humdrum existence.
But even as theatrical moviegoing is more all-encompassing, it is also more social. At home, we watch a movie alone or with people we know. In a theater, we watch a movie with strangers, who are as immersed in the narrative as we are.
In March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was starting, New York Times critic Manohla Dargis reflected on what made theatrical film watching special: “And while you can watch them sitting alone on your couch (I regularly do although usually with a few cats), there is something qualitatively different about going to a designated space and sitting, and staying, in the enveloping dark with a lot of people you don’t know and maybe some you do. It is an exquisite, human thing to sit with all those other souls, to be alone with others.”
It’s a unique experience of dreaming with your eyes open in company. When in a horror movie the serial killer jumps out of the shadows, we all gasp in unison. When a comedian like Jim Carrey does a pratfall, the laughter in the crowd is infectious. When the romantic couple finally unites and kisses after endless complications, everyone watching can swoon in unison.
Speaking about the documentary Watching Movies, the film critic Johanna Schneller observed that “there is a collective emotional energy that floats above the people who are watching movies.”
Film is one of the most social of art forms. We first go to movies in the company of our parents, then with friends and lovers. Shared memories of movies is part of the glue that binds together relationships. As Pauline Kael, the greatest of all film critics, once noted, “Being able to talk about movies with someone—to share the giddy high excitement you feel—is enough for a friendship.”
To be sure, there’s always been a downside to theatrical film watching. Writing in The New Republic in 1943, Manny Farber (who would later be film critic for The Nation) took stock of “the trouble with movies,” which included “the cashier in her glass house” who couldn’t understand customers, “the location of the men’s room, the poor quality of the candy.” All of these were enough, Farber predicted, to lead to the triumph of television. To Farber’s litany of petty aggravations one could add people who talk too loud, people who answer cell phones in the middle of screenings, and the high cost of parking.
Still, Farber was wrong in thinking that television meant the end of movies, a common mistake in his era. But the future is never inevitable. The fate of theatrical moviegoing is not just a matter of ineluctable technological change: It involves deeply political decisions about the world we want to live in.
Corporate giants like Netflix, Disney, and Warner Media are empowered by political decisions strengthening monopoly power. Disney’s current war against repertory theaters showing old movies is made possible by copyright laws that favor big business. Disney prefers that we watch current remakes rather than the original classics—and is using its stranglehold on copyright to enforce its will.
The streaming future that these media giants are creating is very much a future that is favorable to capitalism: a deeply privatized, fragmented world where everyone watches in their own individual cave and is incapable of forming a collective identity. It’s the ideal autocracy as imagined by Plato—with Mickey Mouse as the philosopher king. But just as political choices have empowered the media giants, political resistance can fight back and reclaim the experience of moviegoing.