Friends, elections have consequences, as we all know. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro's very narrow loss to a raving socialist means that he's been charged with various imaginative "crimes" and will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. In other words, in Brazil, they do lawfare a with a heck of a lot more verve and competence than the Democrats do it here. What we must hope is that this epic overreach gives conservatives the moral high ground, and thus they claim victory in Brazil's next election -- if indeed Brazil's Supreme Court would allow such a dreadful thing to happen. That might be more "democracy" than they had in mind.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceq2lv20rp4o
In other news, the revisions to official jobs numbers are getting bigger and bigger. Either the numbers themselves are being politicized, or the quality of the data is awfully poor. In any case, we may be seeing the beginnings of an AI-based jobs crisis in America and throughout the world. I mean, why hire an obnoxious human when a computer can do the job better and cheaper?
https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/us-job-growth-revision-a9777d98?st=L7Y8v8
Finally, all indications are that Zohran Mamdani is on course to become NYC's next mayor. Couldn't happen to a nicer city, if you ask me! Let them stew in their own socialist juices. No bailouts for the Big Apple!!!
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Re NYC: I resent NYC's onerous cultural and political influence on Upstate and on America as a whole . But I loath to think of the injustices Mamdani will work on millions of good people in NYC who are part of the proscribed classes all Marxists make haste to identify and oppress. I'm thinking in large part of common sense blue collar, working NYC, the group which, for example , gave us the forever hallowed fire fighters who entered those towers knowing they were going to die. It also gives NYC the police, who have endured detested castigation for doing their jobs but have stuck with it.
ReplyDeleteWhen USSR President Podgorny visited the UK in , I believe , the "80s and expressed a desire to meet British workers, a prominent labor union leader declared "Podgorny is very unwelcome! He knows only how to oppress workers." The same is true of all Marxists in executive power. They confiscate the goods and property honest hard working people have labored to accumulate. Marxists reduce working people to near serfdom and of course savagely deprive them of any right or ability to organize. Marxists justify all of the hardship they wreak (and personally avoid)by insisting that they are building a socialism which never manifests the well being it so cynically promises. Its doctrine is condemned by over a century of totalitarian catastrophe and anyone who still advocates it should be expected to follow in its inhuman tradition if they achieve power.
Those NYCers who support this very badly intended man will deserve the dysfunction he will undoubtedly foster with detached enthusiasm.
I definitely concur with the last point, Jack! As for Marxism, it bears remembering that pretty much every modern American politician (including -- gasp! -- Trump???) is tainted by socialism, to one extent or another. I mean, who wants to shut down the post office? Who wants to close public schools? Who wants to ditch Social Security and Medicare? Arguably, these are all ingredients of socialism in America's rich socio-economic and political stew. I guess what I'm saying is that Mamdani is in good (or bad) company, depending on how you look at it.
ReplyDeleteNah, I shouldn't say that; some good people will probably vote for Mamdani thinking "he can't be that bad". But. . . . Jack
ReplyDeleteI meant my comment above , I hadn't yet seen your comment. Jack
ReplyDeleteDr. Waddy from Jack: You are right: we should acknowledge that some originally socialist measures enacted by loyal Americans like FDR and Johnson, have been beneficial. The democratic process of enactment tempered these measures and ( in large part but with exceptions to some of those advanced by Johnson)prevented far left radicals like Debs, LaFollette and Wallace under FDR, from using them to advance their proto commie ideas.
ReplyDeleteHowever radicals like Mamdani and AOC (and the Obamas although they were quickly seduced into relative quiescence by the perks of office)are motivated by the conviction that America is unjust to the core and deserving of punishment and summary "fundamental transformation". That America does not give way to this "irrefutable truth" generates in them explosive hatred which moves them all the very much more. They are the antitheses of such as FDR and Johnson. Surely, those who accused FDR of betraying his social class and the '60s radical punks who celebrated their "loathing" for everything cherished in America were of a kind. And similarly they were prevented from exercising power in the initial decision making process for now established measures, first proposed by nominal socialists .
History proves that unopposed socialists often give way to radicals who make haste to turn totalitarian. Mamdani must be regarded , from his expressed convictions , as such an opportunistic radical.
Dr. Waddy from Jack: Well, who knows? Did Bolsonaro enact a coup? If so, is it not possible he was justified in expecting customary far left oppression from the new regime?Those who overthrew Marxist Allende in Chile knew just what to expect from his rule.
ReplyDeleteJudging by historically proven far left behavior, it would appear unlikely that Brazil can conduct an election in which decisive opposition to the present regime can be expressed.
In a country far closer to our democratic tradition, it may be that Labor is already wearing out its welcome in the UK, especially in perceived incipiently totalitarian suppression of free speech. Such repression is of course fully to be expected from the even semi far left when it gains the power it thinks give them doctrinal license to command. Widespread demonstration against measures perceived to favor illegal immigrants over British citizens may be revealing. So too may be polls showing NIgel Farage's party leading both the Conservatives and Labor.
I agree, Jack: sometimes a good coup is just what the doctor ordered! Of course, violence and "illegality" are always a last resort, but our own Revolution encompassed both, after all.
ReplyDelete