Politics – Elections – education and deconstruction.com

Peter the Great

[Please note: The word “Featured” on the left side above was NOT inserted by this blogger, but apparently was inserted by WordPress, and it cannot be removed. NO post in this blog is sponsored.]

The Book of the Week is “Peter the Great, His Life and World” by Robert K. Massie, originally published in 1980. In this hodgepodge of a volume, the author recounted in great detail, from the mid-1600’s to the first quarter of the 1700’s: the territorial conquests of various European countries’ leaders with their infantry, artillery, cavalry and navies, including those of Tsar Peter of Russia; the book’s title was thus misleading.

Russian Tsar Alexis’ wife died giving birth to their fourteenth child in March 1669. In February 1671, the tsar, at forty-one, found another wife. She, nineteen, was raised by a foster royal-family whose wealth and power rivaled the first wife’s. In May 1672, she gave birth to Peter. The tsar died of illness when Peter was three and a half.

Peter’s older sister Sophia became Peter’s regent, a surrogate tsar, until Peter was old enough to lead Russia. There ensued a power struggle for which heir would become tsar, as the other two candidates had health issues. Peter eventually became co-tsar with his older half-brother Ivan. Sophia had military protection from the Streltsy, about twenty thousand soldiers. She was a power-grabber, and for her time and place, afforded opportunities and a well-rounded education unusual for her gender.

When Peter was fourteen, he formed an army of about six hundred of his peers, called the Preobrazhensky Regiment. They were trained and paid like real soldiers. He acquired battle-smarts, rather than academic smarts. His mother hoped to produce a male heir to increase his family’s power, by marrying him off. She also felt the need to rein him in, as he was off learning the design and carpentry of warship-building instead of following protocol by attending royal ceremonies. His arranged marriage took place in January 1689.

At the dawn of the 1700’s, Peter imposed a draconian policy of a mandatory twenty-five years of military service for all young men. By June 1701, one quarter of all the church bells in Russia had been melted down to be used to make cannon because time was too short to refine new metals for arms-making. After the Russians defeated the Swedes in Poltava, many nations tried to curry favor with Russia.

In winter 1711, Peter considered himself the liberator of the Balkan Christians. He tried to solicit the assistance of soldiers of various religions to fight the Muslim Ottomans in Arabia. After losing that war, he transferred his military resources from the Black Sea region to the Baltic Sea, trying to preserve his namesake city, St. Petersburg, at all costs.

Read the book to learn about the shifting alliances and wars among and between Peter’s Russians, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Tatars, Ukrainian Cossacks, Swedes, Danes, Saxons, Poles, Hanoverians, Prussians, French, Scottish, etc.

I Have You, Maine – BONUS POST

As the United States heads for an economy of Jimmy Carter’s administration, it’s midterms time again. Candidates from all different states have all different brands. The ones who profess to be religious, must be careful not to engage in tax evasion in connection with their religion, while candidates who are fixtures in their states must not be complacent. U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is one of the latter. Here’s what she should sing.

I HAVE YOU, MAINE

sung to the tune of “I Got You Babe” with apologies to the Estate of Sonny Bono, Cher and to whomever else the rights may concern.

Platner’s got skeletONS, he’s gone low, said he had PTSD, SOME time ago.

Well, I don’t know if all that’s true, but you have me, and Maine, I have you.

Maine, I have you, Maine. I have you, Maine.

They say I’ve got a liberal bent, but I patiently listen to YOUR every lament.

Well, so the earth’s getting hot. I’m keeping Maine, a cool vacation spot.

Maine, I have you, Maine. I have you, Maine.

I’m mature, in compromi-SING. Serving you well, is my thing. And when I can, I make policy sound. And when it’s time to vote, I’m always around.

There are good reasons I’ve been here so long. With your help, we can keep Maine going strong.

So keep my perfect attendance in mind.

I fear neither bullies not haters. I’m in my prime.

Maine, I have you, Maine. I have you, Maine.

To my constituents, I lend a hand. I’m egalitarian, you understand.

We see so much hypocrisy. I want us to keep democracy.

I help you sleep at night. I honestly do what I think is right.

I have you, I won’t let go. I keep fighting for you, you know.

I have you, Maine.

I have you, Maine…

Dead Center

The Book of the Week is “Dead Center, In Defense of Common Sense” by Joe Manchin, published in 2025.

Born in 1947, Manchin grew up in West Virginia. He was elected governor of West Virginia in 2004. In January 2005, he privatized the state’s workers compensation system, because the system was an extreme financial burden to the state budget.

At that, the unions feared they would lose their benefits. The plaintiffs’ lawyers got mad as hell because the system had been a gravy train for them. Some workers did have legitimate claims because West Virginia’s economy is based on drilling for and mining of natural resources and the major resource– coal– is an extremely dangerous business.

Manchin levied a tax on coal to pay down West Virginia’s crushing debt load. He was a straight shooter. He wrote that he tried to add other kinds of revenue-generators such as tourism, infrastructure and small businesses, to the state’s economy.

Manchin came around to agreeing that term-limits for elected officials, including Congress members, would be good for the country. A limit of two terms would force a public servant to take quick actions in their first term to get reelected, and then, if they want a legacy, they’ll have to continue to try to help their constituents.

If, however, as seems to be the case with career politicians– their motives for getting elected to office are simply power-hunger and greed. If they’re limited to two terms, they’ll accelerate their patronage piggishness and profiteering in their first term, and get complacent in their second term (if they get one) because they know they’ll be long gone when it hits the fan.

Moreover, “It is an iron law of politics: Stopping stuff is always more popular than compromising to get things done.” Read the book to learn what Manchin actually got done; as someone who truly cared about his constituents and voted pursuant to his conscience, he was willing to compromise.

Never on Sunday – BONUS POST

When American playwright Arthur Miller visited China (a one-Party state) in 1978, he commented, “…the Party is the people and cannot oppress itself, and therefore there is no need for lawyers or the Western idea of a separate body of professionals to protect the innocent.”

In these interesting times, the U.S. has shifted to the extreme end of the spectrum– a large number of guilty people have been protected. Societal breakdown is occurring because white-collar criminality has become the new normal. Unlike in 1974, in 2026: The United States Supreme Court is corrupt. The “Nixon” figure (Trump) hasn’t been shamed into resigning, and his cronies aren’t kicking him out.

The only punishment Trump has ever received for crimes in his lifetime has been fining. Neither job loss nor jail time. Fining is hardly a deterrent to bad behavior for someone of his ilk.

So it will take decades longer than it did fifty years ago– to right the ship this time.

In the meantime, Democrats should start to practice what they preach. When they regain sufficient power, they need to get their regulatory game on. It is likely that in 2028, the American people will elect another saintly president like Jimmy Carter, because they are sick of the sinner Donald Trump, who considers himself a saint. The macho men who wish they could get away with what Trump did, are now blaming him for their own personal problems, because he broke his campaign promises.

In connection therewith, this is what U.S. senatorial candidate James Talarico (D-TX) is singing to his opponent Ken Paxton (R-TX).

ON SUNDAY

sung to the tune of “Never on Sunday” with apologies to The Chordettes and to whomever else the rights may concern.

We saw your felony on money-day, on money-day, on money-day, which wasn’t very good.

And we saw your bribery on Tuesday, on Tuesday, on Tuesday, as we knew we would.

And we saw you bailed out on Wednesday, on Thursday, your unfaithfulness on Saturday, no less.

But I won’t oppose-you on Sunday, on Sunday, on Sunday, ’cause that’s my day of rest.

All my days, as you might have guessed, I love thy neighbor, and my day of rest.

I’m anti-billionaire, in my democracy quest.

I’m a Ron Howard-lookalike, in this political contest.

I’m staying moral on a school day, a holiday, a Wednesday, whichever day you choose.

We saw your greedy play, in your heyday, on a payday, and that’s what I refuse.

You were bailed out on a bleak day, a dark day, a weak day, at GOP’s behest.

I won’t oppose you on a Sunday, a Sunday, the one day, I need a little rest.

You were bailed out on a bleak day, a dark day, a weak day, at GOP’s behest.

I won’t oppose you on a Sunday, a Sunday, the one day, I need a little rest.

Strongmen – BONUS POST

The Bonus Book of the Week is “Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present” by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, published in 2021. In this hodgepodge of a volume, the author described the traits and behaviors of a “strongman” through a few real-life examples of dictators of the past hundred years.

A strongman is a male leader who finds ways (that happen to be nefarious) to maximize and maintain his power; including: causing needless deaths and ruined lives in the forms of propaganda (repeated scapegoating, generating crises and other brainwashing techniques), waging war, engaging in sexual conquests, seeking political dominance and enriching himself, usually through looting resources from the territory or territories he rules.

In October 1922, in an Italy of about forty million people, approximately thirty thousand people comprising the Fascist Party appointed Mussolini as prime minister. In the next two decades, in order to rule by fear and force, Mussolini formed various political and military groups, and passed laws that violated human rights. He incited excessive violence, and had dissidents killed.

In July 1925, Mussolini pardoned all political criminals (those who would help him stay in power). But by 1926, he had run out of money. Fortunately for him, he had friends in high places. Thomas Lamont– his contact at the American financial institution, J.P. Morgan, arranged a loan of one hundred million dollars for him. At that time, Hitler actually looked up to Mussolini and eventually got friendly with him, in order to get mentored. By 1933, the German industrialists had fallen for Hitler’s populist rhetoric.

In 1965, Mobutu, who engaged in drugs and arms sales, (with the help of the CIA) came to power in Zaire. He, along with a number of other dictators, had been war heroes, so they had military backing. Beginning in 1969, oil money allowed Gaddafi to give his government a socialistic bent– funding Libyans’ education, housing and other basic needs.

In 1994, Italy’s Berlusconi controlled very nearly all the messaging heard and seen by his people. He crafted laws to: give himself a get-out-of-jail-free card, and his businesses, to weasel out of legal and financial trouble. His propaganda screamed that immigrants were criminals. Gaddafi and Berlusconi (who should have been enemies) became besties– keeping their friends close and their enemies closer. Libya got weapons from Italy, and Italy got oil from Libya.

In Trump’s United States, “Women advance their careers by making it easier for the leader and his inner circle to harm other women.” Another strongman technique Trump uses is to put his assets in foreign bank accounts. In 2014, Eric Trump said, “We [Trump Organization] don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need from Russia.”

Like Berlusconi, Trump and his media outlet, Fox News, have repeatedly, emphatically smeared immigrants as criminals, and he has used his military, ICE, to detain or deport them. The author named locations of various detention camps that had inhumane conditions: in Florida– Homestead, and in Texas– Clint, McAllen, Rio Grande, and El Paso del Norte.

In sum, once the strongman has stolen all he can get from his citizens, his next tricks are to negotiate a peace treaty and schedule elections.

Read the book to learn much more about how the above-named and a few others have used strongman tactics to turn into not-so-benign dictators.

ENDNOTE: Here’s a song that describes Trump’s strongman tactics.

MODERN STRONGMAN

sung to the tune of “Modern Woman” with apologies to Billy Joel and to whomever else the rights may concern.

You see Trump on the idiot box touting his high-tech war-toys of his cronies’ design.

With his continual cruel smears he aggravates the tension. Tries to save face while losing his mind.

Now Trump’s in trouble. He fired all the intellectuals. He always figures voters aren’t very smart.

Or maybe he hopes his hype covers up his conflicts. Oh, he’s got to use PR tricks ’cause his wrongdoing’s off the charts.

He always puts on an ACT of ranting-frat-boy modern strongman. And he’s an old fascist man. He understands just what he’s doing. He’s a modern strongman.

His mean streak is exceptionally unprofessional. He’s got a lot of cockiness, it’s easy to see. You don’t want to be rude but you get so furious when he’s so injurious to American democracy.

He’s got bile and he’s got billionaires’ money and lots of attorneys so his-foes, he quickly disarms. His slow rise means you may not realize, YOU’RE jeopardized by his gradual harm.

He’s got his plan of attack and got the power-play knack of modern strongman. And he’s an old fascist man. He understands just what he’s doing. He’s a modern strongman.

The king won’t die. There is no president. He says he loves you but he treats you unkind. In the morning he detains you. You’re accused by your neighbors. It’s a cagey situation for an old fascist guy.

Times have changed, and you cry in vain, lately. He’s become extreme in his bad attitude. His cock-and-bull just used to be for kicks. But now he controls your politics. After 2026, you might get a clue.

You can’t relax and face the facts of modern strongman. And he’s an old fascist man, he forces your hand in the things he’s doing.

He’s a modern strongman. He’s a modern strongman.

He’s got the sociopathic zip that allows the grip of the modern strongman.

The Rebels

The Book of the Week is “The Rebels, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (hereinafter referred to as “AOC”) and the Struggle for a New American Politics” by Joshua Green, published in 2024. In this hodgepodge of a volume, the author described some practices of the U.S. government that has led to its currently precarious economic state of affairs.

As of early 1978, president Jimmy Carter had failed to keep three economics-related campaign promises with which he tried to incite the hard-working American masses: income-tax reform (angry at the rich’s business tax-deductions); a stimulus (because stagflation was dogging everyone’s pocketbook); and an energy bill (due to rising oil prices). June 1978 saw California’s voters approve a huge reduction in property tax.

In October 1978, the Carter administration passed a tax-bill– the Revenue Act– that actually favored the rich and Wall Street. The bill cut capital gains taxes; funds were shifted from investing in factories and equipment to gambling in the securities markets. The president could have vetoed the bill, but instead, he sold out because his party would benefit with mere weeks to go before midterm election-day. Ironically, Ralph Nader, who was known for advocating for consumers, urged the government to deregulate airlines and trucking. It turned out that deregulation of these exceptional industries was to hurt consumers (and their employees!) in a few short years.

There also occurred the privatizing of retirement funds in the form of 401(k). As is well known, it was touted as a tax shelter, but it gave Wall Street more control over Americans’ hard-earned money.

After Carter lost his bid for reelection, Democrats such as Paul Tsongas, Mike Dukakis, Bill Bradley and Bill Clinton pivoted toward neoliberalism– appeasing the corporate community with anti-union legislation, deregulation, and allowing monopolistic practices.

Unsurprisingly, the above, and the implementation of a bunch of other unwise economic policies, led to the 2008 financial crash. The American people were understandably very angry to learn that the government bailed out the crash’s institutional perpetrators (whose obscenely paid executives had jobs that weren’t pay-for-performance, and who still got their bonuses); never mind helping hard-working ordinary Americans.

According to the author, the bailout cost U.S. taxpayers $32 billion instead of between $700 billion and $1.5 trillion. It is impossible for laypeople to believe that “experts” can accurately estimate those kinds of numbers, given the pressure on “experts” to propagandize. Ever since, there is almost total disbelief of all economics numbers spouted by those “experts.” It is actually the age-old activity of lying with statistics.

The author wrote that, as a newly elected U.S. senator from New York State, Hillary Clinton paid her dues by playing well with others, making friends with strange bedfellows, while U.S. senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, nearly a decade later, behaved in a confrontational manner that garnered applause from the little people– grassroots supporters.

The author contended that the aforementioned Warren paved the way for the Independent Bernie Sanders’ surprising popularity among the young voters in the 2016 Democrat primary election for president. His presence in the primary affected the choices of voters in the general election, adversely affecting Hillary’s chance to win.

The author explained why AOC achieved what most politicos thought was going to be impossible. “Running as a Democratic Socialist, she [AOC] drew a large, multiracial progressive coalition that overwhelmed an incumbent, in [Joseph] Crowley, who personified the Wall Street-friendly Democrat uninterested in local concerns but assumed to be too powerful to be held to account.”

Read the book to learn much more about how the individuals named in the book’s title have influenced American politics in a major way in the last fifteen years.

ENDNOTE: In sum, American voters would like to see their government return to rule of law, civility and transparency! They would also like to see political workers and candidates: answer the questions asked of them, and clarify what they mean. Various terms of late have been given emotionally-charged interpretations to incite people who easily get upset at political news. For example, climate change and woke mean different things to different people. Instantaneous communication among Americans has made them hyper-aware of shenanigans in the staged and scripted reality show that is currently American politics.

Election Meltdown

The Book of the Week is “Election Meltdown” by Richard L. Hasen, published in 2020.

This short, slightly sloppily-edited volume named names of incompetent or criminal election workers, and unethical, influential political workers, in connection with specific political races of the past couple of decades. The offenders are listed below, in no particular order. The location of their actions, where applicable, is in parentheses.

The incompetent ones included:

Brenda Snipes (Florida)
Susan Bucher (Florida)

The criminal ones included:

Brian Kemp (Georgia)
Mark Harris (North Carolina)
Mark Anderson (Florida)
Leslie McCrae Dowless, Jr. (North Carolina)

The unethical ones who spread disinformation (one or more lies) via social media included:

Ken Paxton (Texas)
Donald Trump
Kris Kobach (Kansas)
Hans von Spakovsky (Kansas, Missouri)
Jesse Richman (Kansas)
J. Christian Adams (Florida)
Hillary Clinton
Kamala Harris
Michael Cohen (Trump’s former New York attorney)
Paul Ryan (former Speaker of the House)
Kayleigh McEnany
Christie McCormick

The author also named elections experts, lawyers and judges who refuted the claims of the above.

The author related that the Clintons argued that the reason for investigating voter suppression is to make sure it doesn’t affect the outcome of the election. But that should not be the most important reason. The most important reason to make sure there is no voter suppression, is to ensure that everyone eligible to vote, has a chance to vote. The reason Americans should vote is to show they believe in the process of free and fair elections.

Democracy requires that a significant number of people believe in it for it to work.

The bottom line is: Democracy is compromised when political workers engage in voter suppression, election crimes, or spreading of disinformation. All of those can result in low voter turnout, which in turn, can end badly. For example, in 1972, low voter turnout resulted in the reelection of the war-criminal Richard Nixon.

Read the book to learn many additional details regarding the above-named individuals’ actions, and about those who called out the liars.

Perpetual War / A Mysterious Country – BONUS POST

“To be fair, one cannot entirely blame the current Oval One for our incoherence. Though his predecessors have generally had rather higher IQ’s than his, they too, assiduously served the 1 percent that owns the country while allowing everyone else to drift.”

-written NOT about American “president” Donald Trump, but about George W. Bush, by Gore Vidal

The first Bonus Book of the Week is “Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace, How We Got to be so Hated” by Gore Vidal, published in 2002. America’s arrogance and international meddling obviously play a role in why it is hated by most of the rest of the world.

In this hodgepodge of a short volume, Vidal lamented over how the Bill of Rights was slowly becoming violated by American presidents’ signing of freedom-curbing legislation over decades. Just one current manifestation of that is the ever-present, ubiquitous government’s spying on Americans without their consent.

In 1996, president Bill Clinton signed the Anti Terrorism Act and in 2002, president George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act. The contents of both laws smack of Hitler’s 1933 Enabling Act. Clinton and Bush at least involved Congress in most of their actions. Trump has not. His goal is to outdo all presidents who came before him, in terms of abusing his powers in war, profiteering and political retaliation while evading punishment. He will not stop until he dies.

Anyway, to the date of the book’s writing, Vidal listed all military actions in which US troops were sent overseas to do “peace keeping” in regions of conflict from 1990 onward (but there may have been numerous other operations that are classified). Needless deaths, ruined lives, no doubt.

Asia: at least through the 1990’s, 607,600 troops;
Africa: 1992-1995, 1998-1999, 32,752 troops;
the Balkans: 1992-1996, 1998 at least through the book’s writing, 21,600 troops;
Central America: 1998-1999, 5,700 troops;
Haiti: 1994-1995, 21,000 troops

…not to mention 4,500 troops sent to Los Angeles, CA in 1992.

Read the book to learn additional information about how the United States is becoming a dictatorship, and on when and why the author started to feel this way.

The second Bonus Book of the Week is “A Mysterious Country, the Grace and Fragility of American Democracy” by Norman Mailer [his previous writings], edited by J. Michael Lennon and John Buffalo Mailer, published in 2023. This hodgepodge of a volume showed that decades after Mailer described political, cultural and social affairs in the United States– the old cliche still applies– The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Mailer reviewed LBJ’s book, My Hope For America in 1964. He wrote that 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater proposed there be a federal police force to protect ordinary Americans (especially young ladies) from “hate groups and bigots, Southern bullies and oil pirates.” In the 2020’s, the latter are alive and well.

Behind George W. Bush’s war, was the goal of eventual world domination. His supporters, who insecurely waved around the American flag as a way of showing they were patriotic, might not have even been aware how power-hungry Bush was. Mailer also thought Bush attacked Iraq to send a message to China that the U.S. was hegemonically superior.

According to Mailer’s description– “Terrorism is not attracted to negotiation. Rather, it would insist on no termination short of victory.”– Trump is a terrorist.

Read the book to learn much more information about the tenor of the times of Mailer’s generation, and how there has occurred more of same, in spades.

ENDNOTE: One Bertrand Russell quote in connection herewith bears repeating:

“There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths. Almost inevitably some part of him is aware that they are myths and that he believes them only because they are comforting. But he dare not face this thought! Moreover, since he is aware, however dimly, that his opinions are not rational, he becomes furious when they are disputed.”

Such is the situation with Trump and his henchmen. Here’s a song Trump is singing now. [To avoid a spit-take, do not drink anything while singing this.]

I OWN THE WORLD

sung to the tune of “We Are the World” with apologies to USA For Africa, and to whomever else the rights may concern.

This is the time, when I maximize my gall, when the world must come under my rule.

There are people dying, and it’s time to force your hand.

My life’s the greatest of them all.

I will go on, spending every day, bossing everyone, everywhere.

My globe is making a change.

You are all part of helping my family, and the truth,

you know the world is all I need.