Kings Fall Apart: Or, It's Not Always Good to be King, Mr Trump

TRUMP has been trying to make himself the first King of the USA since a revolting people gave George III the boot in 1776. Laying aside the argument that the Donald is a much worse leader than the last king, the King of Orange should think twice about being on a throne, however golden. George III, a Far Better Man Than Trump

The history of monarchy in the British Isles, which I know best, should not inspire a desire to play Macbeth and Don a crown. Few kings or queens have been able to enjoy their reigns, short or long. Only one British king has been called "The Merry Monarch," Charles II, and even he faced a sea of troubles, partly of his own making. 

Charles II did manage to last twenty-five years and die in bed with his crown on his head, a fate denied many other monarchs. The last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, was killed in battle against the 1066 Norman Invasion led by Duke William of Normandy. Tradition holds that an arrow landed in Harold's eye. He had been king for only a few months. 

William I, Harold's Conqueror, did much better time-wise. But he had to deal with an Anglo-Saxon populace which did not welcome being ruled by a king who rewarded his French-speaking warriors with their lands. He dealt with the opposition by killing lots of peasants and destroying their homes. His corpulent body exploded when he was being forced into a too small tomb, emitting a foul smell and showering those nearby with unmentionables.

William II, the Conqueror's eldest son, had a nasty and short reign, cut short by an arrow again. On this occasion, the archer may have been an assassin hired by his brother Henry, who succeeded as king. Henry I he had a fairly lengthy reign. Legend has it that he died from eating a surfeit of lampreys. It is more probable that  a stroke killed him. Or maybe he died of worry about the succession.

Henry had no male successor, only a daughter, Matilda. He named her as his heir, but when he died, the alpha males among his barons decided they could not stomach being ruled by a woman, and chose his nephew Stephen as king. Those familiar with the US election of 2024, when Americans chose Trump over Kamala Harris, will understand. 

The result was nearly twenty years of fighting between the supporters of Stephen and those of Matilda. The Anarchy, as this period is called, was not a good time for anybody, except for some robber barons. Peasants, as always, paid a heavy price. 

In the end, the two sides reached a deal: Stephen would remain king, but on his death, the throne would pass to Matilda's son Henry of Anjou. When Henry II became king in 1154, he started a line of kings known as the Angevins or Plantagenets. Henry also inherited a large part of France, directly, or through his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was always moving about to keep control his large and diverse territories. He faced many rebellions among his nobles and vassals. The rebels eventually included his sons and Eleanor. 

Two of his sons became king after him. Richard and John, of Ivanhoe and Robin Hood fame. That's all fantasy, but so is Richard's "Lion-Heart" reputation. He is the only king to have a statue outside of Parliament, for some unfathomable reason. Richard spent a mere six months of his ten year reign in England, and like Trump, treated the country like a cash cow. He massacred thousands of Muslims, Jews, and even Christians while Crusading for Christ in the oddly named Holy Land. He also died when struck by an arrow, while besieging a rebel castle. Gangrene set in, and that did for him.

Richard I had no children. Enter his brother John, the only English king of that name. Let's see why. (NB: This is not John)

End of Part I.

 

Remarkable Charlestonians in the American Revolution

 

The Death of Major Pierson by John Singleton Copley, 1782. Tate Britain 

If you are convinced that Mel Gibson portrayed the Revolution correctly in "The Patriot" this book may not be your cup of tea. (Pun intended).

The American Revolution was a struggle for liberty, but not in the uncomplicated way we learned in school. The traditional story holds that Patriots fought to free themselves from arbitrary taxation by a tyrannical king, George III. The tyrant, if there was one, was the British Parliament. It passed the laws that angered the colonists. That was true enough. 

What is often left out of the story is that supporters of the British government also fought for liberty, but of a different sort. People on both sides viewed their actions as patriotic, even if they were sometimes self-serving. Enslaved blacks fought to free themselves from slavery. The War for Independence, especially in  the southern colonies, was also in part a war to to preserve slavery. Slaveholders feared that an arbitrary British government might grant their slaves freedom after Lord Mansfield declared slavery illegal in English law in 1773. In that sense the Revolution had more in common with the later Civil War than is generally acknowledged. 

Many white Loyalists throughout the thirteen colonies supported the mother country because they believed that the constitutional monarchy, checked by Parliament, was the best protector of their inherited liberties.  

Charleston, South Carolina is famous as the place where the American Civil War began. Less well known is its significant role in an earlier civil war. For South Carolina, the American War for Independence was more truly a civil war than the conflict of 1861-1865. During the 1860s, South Carolinians were united in defence of their state. During the Revolutionary War, they were bitterly divided. South Carolina witnessed some of the most violent episodes of the conflict.

Remarkable Charlestonians in the American Revolution relates the stories of a spectrum of the city's residents during this turbulent time. Its subjects were famous, obscure, rich, poor, black, white, men and women. Some supported the "Patriot" cause; others were loyal to the British crown, or tried to remain neutral. A few switched sides, one more than once. Collectively, their experiences highlight the often grim reality of the revolutionary era. 

The public memory of the American Revolution is encrusted with layers of convenient forgetfulness, dubious facts, distorted legends, and outright myths. History, as Sir Lewis Namier wrote, is not a visit of condolence. Nor should it be. This book seeks to portray the complexity of a chaotic, turbulent, and fascinating time. Its pages provide, I hope, a nuanced sense of what it was like to live in Charleston during the American War for  Independence, 250 years ago. It also, I believe, sheds light on the situation in the USA today. 

The premise of Remarkable Charlestonians is that people on both sides of the War for Independence fought for liberty, although with a different sense of what liberty meant. The majority black population wanted to rid themselves of enslavement, and many joined the British, who promised them freedom. Many white Loyalists believed that the British government was the best protector of "the rights of Englishmen" against what they saw as mob rule. White revolutionaries (Patriots) opposed what they perceived as the arbitrary actions of the British government. One of the things they feared and fought to prevent was the possibility that an overpowerful Parliament would declare slavery illegal in the colonies. 

For more information, visit Remarkable Charlestonians in the American Revolution – Arcadia Publishing $24.95 

Available at all good bookstores and even some bad ones.

The New Declaration of Independence: From Trump

 

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is fast approaching. The present  state of the USA demands a new declaration -- against Trump and Trumpism. 

The original declaration of 1776 blamed George III for the conflict. Most of the blame lay with Parliament, but focusing on the king made the argument for independence simple: the people versus a tyrant. The argument is much stronger today than in 1776, because Trump, unlike George III, truly is a tyrant. 

The original Declaration of Independence, in the part few read today, listed a long series of "repeated injuries and usurpations" designed to establish "an absolute Tyranny over these States." 

The New Declaration of Independence from Trump should contain a similar list of the injuries and usurpations he and his toadies have inflicted on the USA. I propose something like the following:

He has repeatedly violated the Constitution and the laws, and corrupted the legal system.

He is destroying the fabric of American institutions designed to advance education, health, and the general welfare. 

He has attacked and is attacking freedom of speech, the press, and assembly. 

He has violated the norms of diplomacy and human rights, killing and arresting people without evidence of any crime. 

He has made enemies of traditional allies and friends of the USA.

He is destroying one of the strongest economies on earth.

He has repeatedly violated the norms of human morality.

He has brought the USA into global contempt.

He has praised and assisted the enemies of human freedom, decency, and democracy.

He is a felon guilty of bribery, rape, pedophilia, tax evasion, extortion, and other crimes. 

He is a six times bankrupt who has repeatedly failed to pay his creditors.

He golfs on the taxpayers' money while the country burns.

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A Poetic Piss-Potpourri: In Honor of Donald Trumpstein

Trump and Vance say he's a dope

I'm sure you know I mean the pope. 

Pope Leo's ignorant of theology,

They sneer with no apology.

He prays for peace and love,

What's this crap about a dove?

Trump is Jesus, Vance a Catholic,

What a pair, they're psychopathic.

The Third Coming Kings Fall Apart; the Ballroom Cannot Hold More than one lone gunman, I am told Pure anarchy is loosed upon the world With much blood and passionate intensity The best show spine of little density The Epstein Class Coming is at hand The Rough Beast born and in command

Here's a little advisory

I will keep it cursory

Just a brief summary

Send Trump to the nursery

Before he steals our bursary.

You can't always get what you want, 

You can't always get what you need,

But if you try sometimes,

You might get what you deserve.

The Epstein Files are waiting, 

And they will make you bleed.

America Once Beautiful

Once beautiful for spacious skies,

And amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties,

Above the fruited plain,

This land is your land,

This land is my land,

At least it used to be.

Till oligarchy stole it, 

From sea to filthy sea,

America! Amerika!

God took his grace from thee.

America! Amerika!

God mend thy biggest flaw

Make Trump our Orange Master

Obey the God Damn law!

Let Trump our Great Disaster, 

Example Nature's claw.

America, Amerika!

Let’s go against the grain,

Make America Beautiful Again.

 

In 2026 we took a little trip, 

To Iran in a really bigly ship. 

We won the war in a day or two,

Gave 'em hell, I swear it's true.

Killed eyetollah the first night,

Next day they resumed the fight.

Missiles, drones a' flyin' round,

Some of 'em even hit the ground.

Then they closed the Hormuz Strait,

Cuttin' off the world's oil freight.

Now the world is mad at Trump,

They all agree he's quite a Chump. 

From the Halls of Orange TACO

To the shores of far TOFU;

We fight for Mango Wacko

To keep our POTUS clean

Although he's quite cuckoo.

We are proud to claim the title

Defender of  the Great Preteen. 

Trump's Peace Proposal's rejected by Iran,

Hungary says goodbye! to Trump's Orban,

The war and trade disruption will now resume,

The oil roller coaster will continue we presume.

Meanwhile, in Trumpistan, on this date,

The Epstein Files sit patiently and wait. 

There once was a place called Iran,

In truth, a mere flash in the pan. 

I set out to end it, or at least to pretend it.

Why did God create, such a narrow strait?

Iran closed that gate and sealed my fate,

Damn that libtard Hormuz Strait!

It's you that I hate. 

Mine eyes have seen the gory of the coming of the Trump

He is trampling out democracy, the nasty, lousy chump.  

He hath loosed the hateful people scoured from a dump

His lies are marching on

I have seen Him light the fires of a million burning homes

They have builded Him a ballroom from piles and piles of bones

I have heard His muddled sentence in ever noxious tones

His crimes are marching on 

Refrain: 

Gory, Gory, Can he screw yah?

(repeat 2 times)

His lies are marching on

I have read His Chinese bible, printed on the cheap

And sold to His supporters, a bleating bunch of sheep

From tricks and other trinkets, huge profit did He reap

My God! Trump's still marching on

He has blasted out a promise, Iran to defeat

Nothing  under heaven will get Him to retreat 

Oh, be swift, my legs to flee from Him, and His smelly feet

Trump's scent is marching on.

Gory, gory, how he'll screw yah

(Repeat twice)

His crimes are marching on

 

What is wrong with the US?

Why is it such a flaming mess?

Don't expect corrupted Congress

Trump's madness to redress.

The Supremes have even less

Inclination, to act, or impress.

Only this can end the distress:

The people must stop saying yes.

Iran away from the Epstein Files,

Documents, piles upon piles,

Documents will seal my fate,

Unless I show that I am great.

Now I'm stuck in Hormuz Strait,

Iran away from the Files I did,

Now I'm caught in Iran's Grid.

Put some boots upon the ground!

And lots of bombs, I love the sound, 

Their boom is always most profound, 

They will help me to get crowned.

Trump is the god of cheaters, 

And all the bottom feeders.

The Dems, he says, just tax and spend,

He taxes us, gives it to his friends.

He provides bankruptcy for us, 

And wonders why we cuss. 

Onward MAGA soldiers, marching as to War,

Trump's our Royal master, at least he was before.

Alas! Poor Donald's hurt his little toe,

Forward into battle he will never go.

At the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's hordes don't flee,

Where, oh where is NATO, to bring us victory?

I quickly won the Iran war,

Now I need $200 billion more.

Iran has closed Hormuz Strait,

In effect it's shut the gate.

The price of oil is gonna rise,

Hit the roof and then the skies.

Other countries refuse to join,

That's a kick right in my groin.

At least one vile crime a day,

Keeps the Epstein Files at bay.

Even more keeps them away,

What will it be today? 

How can I win again today,

And toss Epstein's Hoax away?

Attack Iran again I say!

That's the bestest way,

To make MY Big and Beautiful Day.

Now that I have crushed Iran,

Fixing Cuba's my next plan.

That's already in the can,

Courtesy of ME the MAN.

Forget the Epstein Files my KKKlan,

Watch as sh*t now hits the fan.

To lock up all the pedophiles,

Just release the Epstein Files.

Not redacted and in full,

Time to cut out all the bull.

One big beautiful dump,

And we can say goodbye to Trump.

Another day, another crime,

They haven't done a day of time.

Trump and Netanyahoo,

Nature's natural bits of slime.

Netanyahoo's tail wags Trump's dog,

And gets his war, the whole damn hog.

Trump and Netanyahu, you're the same, 

There's simply no one else to blame. 

You kill and starve all ages, sexes, 

And joyfully you love to vex us.

A cursed pair of poor pretenders, 

You talk as if you're our defenders.

Carrying out the will of God,

While stealing other people's sod. 

Off

There once was a Bondi named Pam,

Trump's AG she was, and a sham,

Pam went up to Capitol Hill, 

And lied in a voice most shrill, 

Pam's now in a bit of a jam.

You may be Good, you may be Pretti, 

To Trump you are no more than shitty.

A man who diddles little chillun', 

Won't fret about a little killin' 

I broke the law again today,

Blew the constitution clean away!

Congress no longer has a say,

Amerikkka's mine with which to play.

My name is Donald Trump

You know, it rhymes with dump.

The US must take Greenland now,

This Denmark must us allow.

Polar bears are a danger great,

A fact you must appreciate.

TRUMP IN DAVOS

Trump has gone to Davos, 

To turn a few centavos.

The rich and powerful are all there, 

Lining up to get their share. 

Or have they just come to see,

Trump shower them with golden pee?

They watch as things fall apart,

Do any of them have a heart?

He'll destroy Iran's theocracy,

And bring it real democracy.

At home he likes autocracy, 

Combines it with plutocracy, 

And adds corrupt bureaucracy.

It's nothing but hypocrisy,

Let's thank the idiocracy.

Who decides what's moral?

No need for any quarrel!

Trump guides our morality,

He equates it with brutality,

Cheers every new fatality,

And welcomes more mortality, 

Some call it rank insanity,

Others pure banality.

It's all a mere formality, 

Just the new US reality. 

Congress has no vitality,

And SCOTUS no legality,

BlueSky requires frugality,

Thus I end with some hilarity.

Trumpy Dumpy! Oh so Lumpy, 

How does your garden grow?

With racists and rapists, 

And a FAT ORANGE PEDO. 

Lined up in a felonious row.

I introduce Vice Charlatan Vance,

Who decided to take a big chance.

He married a liar named Shitler,

Who once he had called Herr Hitler,

What a wonderful MAGA Bromance! 

Great Fatsby achieves a new low,

Whenever he puts on a show

At His Christofascist bordello,

That pile he calls Mar a Lago,

A gold and turdish farrago.

There once was a prince name of Andy,

Who reputedly leaned towards randy.

Prince Andy fell down, 

And off went his crown,

Isn't this story just dandy?

Hey kids! Come along to Mr. Trumps’ Neighborhood

You bet you should, and I promise I’ll be good.

My friends Jeff and Ghislaine will make you tea.

We’ll have such fun at Epstein Island By the Sea.

THE BALLAD OF WHISKEY PETE

Gridley, you may fire when ready,

God man, why's your hand unsteady?

Fire the missiles, Pete's ordered it!

I must tell Hegseth they've been hit.  

But Admiral, can't you see?

They're only fishing boats to lee;

We'll blow them all to smitheries, 

Just as we did at Wounded Knee.

Gridley, dammit, move aside,

Such cowardice I can't abide.

Killing drug lords is our job,

So missiles at them we must lob.

I'll press the button and send

Them on their way to wend.

Watch them blaze across our bow, 

That's it -- the battle's over now.

Oh, damn, some are still alive!

Pete said no one should survive,

Another salvo'll do the trick,

Send them down to bad Old Nick.

Our God FOTUS will be clapping,

Lots of backs he'll be a'slapping,

Put some lefties in the pen,

Gridley, America's Great Again.

Chicago, Blues Brothers Town,

Where ICE will be a'goin' down.

Chicago, City of Broad Shoulders, 

Will not welcome rebel soldiers.

Chicago, Noble Windy City,

Will crush Orange Turd the Shitty.

Chicago, Chicago, Toddling Town,

Will in its river fascists drown.

The Epstein Hoax is such a Joke!

Says Agent Trump a'snortin' coke,

I know the truth believe you me,

Ask Madame Maxwell, yes siree, 

At Epstein Island by the Sea.

The FBI hired me to show, 

That Epstein ran a bordello.   

I love tariffs, they're so good for me, 

Slap them on all countries, they are my enemy.

Tariffs with my coffee, tariffs with my tea,

Send me golden trinkets to match my golden pee, 

I love to threaten tariffs when I am on TV. 

I like my women on the younger side,

12 to 17 I can abide.

Epstein stole the best from me,

But still I had a bigly spree,

At Epstein Island by the sea.

There once was a FOTUS most arrogant

Who spewed nonsense incredibly arrant

His mind is quite broken 

His knowledge mere token

And his brain like a wrinkled currant.  

This fellow named Trump is quite comical

With words he is not economical

They flow from his rump 

Like a fast-flowing dump

What a marvel he is anatomical.

God has sent us a wonderful gift

To save us all from devilish drift

He may be a rapist,

A crook, and a racist

But God knows we're not very swift.

Trump's a fascist his critics declare.

Trump says my MAGATS don't care.

In fact, they quite like it.

No way shall I drop it,

When my fascism they all share.

There once was a FOTUS named Trump,
Who called the White House a dump.

"There's no golden potty

It's driving me dotty
I guess I will just have a hump."

Trump wanted to buy Greenland I've heard.

Denmark said, "that's completely absurd."

His deal thus upended, 

Herr Trump was offended, 

And acted once more like a turd.

DON'T LET TRUMP STEAL YOUR TAX MONEY

On the 15^th of April in ‘75,

Hardly a tax was then alive.

A tiny British tax on tea,

And Patriots made the British flee.

 

Today Americans meekly send,

Tax money for the rich to spend.

Loopholes and subsidies do the job,

The rich need not the people rob.

 

Your money does much godly work,

It pays for bombs and missiles, jerk.

Destroying Iran is a worthy job,

And turning fishermen into blobs.

What about health care? you might ask.

Take a swig from this here flask. 

Health care's not for the likes of you,

For Congress yes, for sure that's true.

You have "insurance" for a bigly fee,

Congress get their health care free.

Education? That's for nerds,

MAGAts have no need for words.

Alas! Do not in misery wallow,

Bread and football you may swallow.

Let’s drink a toast to celebrate,

Though Miller and Bud is all we rate.

Champagne and yachts belong to others,

Even though we all are brothers.

Someday their dough will trickle down,

And we can all then go to town.

 

With abject apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Join ICE! Save Amerika! Kill Americans! Make Money!

Do you get kicks out of kicking and dragging people out of their houses or cars without a warrant? Do you get thrills from separating children from their parents and sending them to concentration camps? Do you like to shoot people whose  "crime" is helping others? Do you get off watching films of the Nazi death camps? Do you want to make good money doing all these things? 

A job with ICE can make your dreams come true! Your country needs you -- bigly-- to defend American Culture from people who are not like us. PEDOTUS Trump says that criminals, thugs, and rapists have infiltrated the pure body of our great nation. It is time to take the gloves off and show them how Americans deal with this poison in our bloodstream - - by behaving like criminals, thieves, and rapists. 

The objects you seek are easy to find. Most have Hispanic or Haitian  names, brown or black skins, and dark eyes and hair. They are especially numerous in Californication, Minneasocialist, Chicagoillanoise, and Portlandoregasm. 

I know you are eager to serve your country without reward. But if you join ICE you will receive a signing bonus of up to $50,000, a salary between $50,000 and $90,000, and performances bonuses of $10,000 a year. And you wanted to be a teacher, a nurse, a policemen or a fireman! Don't be a loser like those in the Army!

In addition to the big bucks, you get a package of federal benefits, including all health care, that will free you from the anxieties that keep loser Americans working at shitty jobs they hate. We know you despise higher education, but ICE will pay off your student loans if you the misfortune to have any. 

If this isn't enough to tantalize you, you get a black balaclava to hide your identity, a bullet proof vest with the letters ICE emblazoned across the chest, and a shiny badge in gold plate, modelled after Trump's potty. 

And did we tell you? ICE is waiving the age requirements. We will take you from 18 to Joe Biden. In fact, there are no requirements to join other than a criminal record or proof of being in the mob attacking the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021.

And here's the biggest bonus of all: an autographed photo of PEDOTUS with his good friends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter!

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The GOD-KING of Dumbfuckistan

I present His Majesty and Savior, The God-King, divine instrument of the Lord, chosen to lead America to the Promised Land of Dumbfuckistan via Proposition 2025.  

Dumbfuckistan has NEW RULES. 1. Worship the God-King. 2. Obey the God-King. 3. All other rules are hereby repealed. 

The God-King's road to total power as FOTUS was greatly smoothed by the six SUPREME SAINTS of SCOTUS. Directed by God, they ruled that he can do anything he wants, from stealing classified documents and inciting insurrection, to rape, bribery, theft, and pedophilia. His powers include shooting someone on Fifth Ave  -- as long as he is president.   

In his quest to unify the USA, the God-King chose as his vice-president a man dedicated to the values of the Lord's People. Magas love that he hates immigrants. They are less thrilled that he is married to one. 

Like his Superior FOTUS, the Senator from OWHYO defended the peaceful tourists who visited the capitol on January 6, 2021 to get some souvenirs. He dutifully calls the UK a "Muslim country" but magnanimously decides to vacation there. He showed the same compassion to the deprived people of Vermont and LA.

In 2016, Senator ADVANCE denounced the God-King as "America's Hitler" and "an idiot." But that was before GOD sent the senator an epiphany on the Road to Washington. A huge donation from a billionaire, and polls showing Trump was likely to win changed his perspective. Like St. Paul, ADVANCE shifted to the side of the Angels of Trump.  

Some Americans who voted for Trump in 2024 have been confused by recent events, especially Trump's refusal to release the Epstein Files, which he told them were filled with the names of Democrat pedophiles. But most of them will forgive the God-King for that minor lapse. They have drunk the Kool Aid and internalized the Gospel of Trump. Their evolution to that godly state was helped by endless hours of watching and listening to FOX News.

Image: Trump astride his Golden Throne. 

Trump, Manifest Destiny, and the Epstein Files.

[Image: "American Progress" by John Gast, 1872]

The term "Manifest Destiny" describes the belief of many 19th century Americans that they were destined to rule the North American continent; that they had a "divine right" to dominate the lands between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The idea, if not the term, was unabashedly imperialist but even today, many political commentators seem to shy away from calling US expansion "imperialist." Donald Trump is a firm believer in Manifest Destiny, even if he knows little if anything about its history.

The phrase "Manifest Destiny" came into use after 1845, when newspaper editor and expansionist advocate John O'Sullivan used it. The timing was not coincidental. The US was in the process of annexing Texas, which had gained independence from Mexico in 1836. The US would soon be at war with Mexico, a war that was driven by expansionist ambitions. 

The plunder included what are now the states of California, Arizona, and New Mexico, and parts of Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Some expansionists, including Jane Cazneau, who used the term "manifest destiny" before O'Sullivan, advocated the annexation of the rest of Mexico. 

That never happened, mainly because Manifest Destiny was a thoroughly racist ideology. It envisioned an American empire made up of white Europeans (plus their African slaves). Mexico was inhabited by large numbers of Native Americans (AKA "Indians") and people of mixed race who could not be part of the divine American mission.

The same thinking operates today. Trump has never spoken of annexing Mexico, because it is full of the sort of "criminal" and "inferior" people he claims are threatening the US. He has, however, repeatedly spoken of a US annexation of Canada, a predominately European white country. 

Advocates of manifest destiny also viewed Canada as a an area ripe for US expansion. Some expansionists demanded that Great Britain cede all of the Northwest Oregon Territory up to the border of Alaska. |Their cry was "54-40 or Fight". War threatened in 1846 but was avoided when the two countries agreed to a border on the 49th parallel. The peaceful resolution was partly due to the fact that the US was about to embark on the war against Mexico. To fight the British Empire at the same time would have been foolhardy. Of course, no one consulted the Native Americans who lived in the region.

Although the term "Manifest Destiny" emerged during the 1840s, the idea was expressed much earlier in American history, indeed at the very birth of the nation. It was annunciated clearly by William Henry Drayton of South Carolina in 1776. In that year, Cherokee bands attacked European settlers encroaching on their lands in the upcountry of the Carolinas and Virginia. The war that followed ended in a crushing defeat for the Cherokee. Many of their towns were destroyed, and they lost much of their historic land.

Drayton, a fervent advocate of American independence, viewed the war as an opportunity. At the time, he was serving as the Chief Justice of the newly independent state South Carolina. Drayton proposed that the defeated Cherokee be "extirpated" as a nation, that their lands "become the property of the American public," and that captives "become the property of the taker."

Drayton declared that the new nation had a divine mission. God had chosen the "American Empire" as his tool to advance the cause of liberty. The Lord had previously chosen Britain for this mission, but the British government had violated divine intentions by "trying to enslave the American people." Like other "Patriot" slaveholders, Drayton failed to see the irony in his political rhetoric. 

In his role as Chief Justice, Drayton also recommended the suspension of due process. A state court charged fourteen "Tories" with treason and sentenced them to death. Their "crime" had been fighting with the Cherokee against the new independent states. Drayton commented that he would have hanged them without a trial, thus advocating what soon became known as "lynching." The sitting "President" of South Carolina, John Rutledge, pardoned them. 

During the War for Independence, partisans on both sides employed lynchings. Nowhere was it more common than the backcountry of South Carolina. Among those lynched were blacks who supported the British, something Rutledge did support. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, blacks became the main victims of lynchings. 

Drayton may not have used the term "manifest destiny" but his statements and actions show that the idea a divine mission was present from the infancy of the American Republic. The popularity of his ideas and methods was an unfortunate omen for the new nation. 

Like Trump, Drayton employed populist rhetoric to convey his ideas of a divine mission to the public. Trump may not use the term "manifest destiny" either, but he is echoing it when he says that Greenland and Canada should belong to the US. It is also noteworthy that Trump has not threatened to annex Mexico, because it is supposedly inhabited by the sort of "bad people," he has sworn to deport from the USA. 

That may change. In his latest buccaneering ventures, Trump has threatened to annex or destroy various countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. His motive in these cases seems to be to distract people from his numerous appearances in the Epstein Files. But appealing to a "divine mission" of the USA helps him with his gullible base.

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The US Constitution: A More Perfect Union?

"The Constitution in Danger!" is a cry we hear constantly now. The illegitimate fascist Trump regime violates the document on a daily basis. What is too often overlooked in the analysis of what is happening is the fact that the constitution itself contains weaknesses and loopholes that allowed a traitorous felon like Trump to become POTUS and act with utter disregard for the law. 

I grew up learning that the "Founding Fathers" were supremely wise; that they drew up a "more perfect" constitution for the new United States. Leaving aside the problem of the phrase "more perfect," how perfect was it? The rise of Trump exposed major imperfections. 

We should remember that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention were white men, mostly wealthy white men, many of whom owned other human beings, and that they created a constitution that reflected their time and interests. 

For too long people believed, or said, that the constitution would protect the US against such an outcome. Separation of powers, the courts, Congress -- all have failed to do what they were designed to do, prevent rule by an illegitimate and lawless president and administration. 

The 14th amendment of the 1860s should have prevented Trump from even running for president, for inciting the January 6 insurrection. Many people believed it would. I thought it might. Again, it proved useless because the courts and congress failed to act.

We can blame greed, corruption, bigotry, stupidity, treachery or fear, for the present mess, but those are things the constitution is supposed to guard against: human failings. But the constitution is a document. It relies on humans to uphold it. 

If the voters elect severely flawed officials, who appoint other severely flawed officials, the constitution will not be the protector of rights it is alleged to be. That is exactly where we are. 

"We can impeach the president!" many people cry. Impeachment has been tried twice in Trump's case, and failed both times. He is the first president to be impeached twice. No president has ever been removed through impeachment, only by the undertaker, resignation (Nixon)  or the end of their term. 

The constitution provides for impeachment in Article 2, Section 4. It can also be used to remove the vice-president, cabinet, and all high ranking civil officers as well, for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours. 

That sounds great, but Article 4, Section 2 requires impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction by the Senate. The first is extremely hard to get, the second virtually impossible, especially if the president's party controls Congress or is even close to a majority. If an attempt to use impeachment to remove the Felonious Trump failed twice, what are the chances of impeaching and convicting the whole festering administration? The process could take years, and fail, s it almost always does.

The more recent 25th Amendment (1967) supposedly added another layer of protection against a crazy or incapacitated POTUS. But it relies on the Vice President and cabinet to implement it. Good luck with that. Even if by some miracle that bunch of criminal loonies did act, it would give us President Vance, which would not be an advance at all.

One of the goals of the constitution was to cement the union of the former colonies, now states. The new constitution was an improvement in that sense on the country's first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, drawn up during the War for Independence. 

The Articles gave the states too much power and the central government too little. But the improvements made by the new constitution didn't prevent the secession of eleven "Confederate States" in 1860-1861, leading to a bloody civil war.

The main reason for that tragedy was the failure of the Founding Fathers to solve the problem of slavery. Many of them were disturbed by the existence of slavery in a country that famously proclaimed human equality and liberty in its Declaration of Independence. But nearly half of the delegates "owned" human beings. They included George Washington and James Madison, who wrote the first drafts of the Constitution. 

The delegates, including anti-slavery delegates, nevertheless voted for the flawed document. Their failure to deal with the slave issue in 1787 reminds me of St. Augustine's oft-quoted prayer, "Lord, make me chaste, but not yet."

The framers did agree to end the African slave trade, but not until 1807. The horrors of the Middle Passage continued legally for twenty more years, and to some extent illegally afterwards. A fugitive "labor" clause required that the enslaved who escaped to another state must be returned their "rightful owners." 

The words "slave" and "slavery" were not used in the Constitution. The framers avoided them, believing that they would sully the document. What was there was sullying enough. 

The infamous 3/5ths clause allowed states to count the enslaved as 3/5ths of a person for purposes of representation, a concession that gave the southern states more representation in the House of Representatives and the Electoral College than they should have had if only whites were enumerated. Thus the legitimacy of slavery was enshrined into the Constitution and the spread of slavery into new states became a contentious issue until it ended in civil war.

Democracy was another thorny issue the makers of the Constitution had to confront. Contrary to claims that the Founding Fathers favored democracy, they tried to prevent it. Democracy, they believed, led to chaos, tyranny, and expropriation of the wealthy (people like themselves). 

The Constitution they designed contained several sections designed to minimize popular influence in politics. It provided that Senators be elected by state legislatures, and that presidents be elected by an "Electoral College" chosen by the same bodies. Voters chose the members of the House of Representatives, but who were the voters? 

All of the states placed various restrictions on voting such as poll taxes or literacy tests. Women were excluded from voting until 1919. The enslaved could technically vote after 1865, but after Reconstruction ended in 1877, they were generally prevented from exercising their voting rights for nearly a century, especially in Southern states.   

Many of the original anti-democratic provisions of 1787 have been reversed by amendments to the Constitution. But not entirely. All eligible voters can now vote for president. But it is not the popular vote that decides the winner. It's the undemocratic Electoral College of 1787. Twice in this young century the winner of the popular vote has failed to win the presidency.  

Senators are now elected by popular vote. But the Senate remains a fundamentally undemocratic body. The Constitution provided that each state could elect two senators. That was a concession to the smaller states, who feared being dominated by the larger ones if the Senate was based on population, as the House of Representatives was. Thus, we have the absurdity that Wyoming with a little over 500,000 people, and California with 40 million, both elect two senators.  

The House of Representatives is theoretically democratic, but the distribution of House seats is often skewed undemocratically by gerrymandering the borders of electoral districts. This is done by the parties who control the state legislatures. Republican attempts to purge certain voters from the voting rolls make things even worse. 

The opposition to the Trump presidency stresses its commitment to "Save Democracy." I fully support that. But we should acknowledge that we are working with an imperfect constitution, and its imperfections have paved the way for an aspiring fascist dictatorship. We should be calling for a movement to "Create a Real Democracy."  

In 1787 a member of the public allegedly asked delegate Ben Franklin what the framers had created. "A republic, if you can keep it," Franklin replied. Notably, Franklin did not say a "democracy." Today, we should be saying that our goal is "A democracy, if we can make it."

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Robert Burns and Women's Rights

The 25th of January is the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796). On the evening of that day, millions of his fans around the world gather for a "Burns' Supper" in his honor. After a meal of haggis, neeps, and tatties* they drink a toast of whisky to "The Bard" and listen to some of his poems. At midnight on January 1, much of the world sings "Auld Lang Syne," the song based on Burns' poem of that name. They pledge to "take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne!" 

Kindness appears in short supply around the world these days, and the supply is dwindling as rapidly as the number of eggs in Trump's USA. I wonder how many MAGAts sang those words about kindness this New Years with sincerity. 

But kindness, however crucial, is not my main theme here. It is human rights. Burns was a staunch defender of the rights of women as well as men. He wasn't always sensitive to that need. He was something of a womanizer, to put it bluntly. 

Before he became famous for his poetry, he had decided to take a job as an overseer and bookkeeper on a Jamaican sugar plantation, which was worked by enslaved Africans. He changed plans after his book of poetry was published to great acclaim in 1786. It is not clear if he ever denounced African slavery, at least directly. But he denounced injustice and inequality, notably in  "A Man's a Man for a' That."

For a few years after the publication of his book, Burns was the toast of Edinburgh, mingling with and lionized by Scotland's elite. That changed after the French Revolution began in 1789. Like many young men in Europe, he supported that revolution, and the earlier American one. The Scottish elite did not, and most of them distanced themselves from the radical Burns. He left Edinburgh and returned to farm near Dumfries, close to his birthplace. He married and became an exciseman (collector of customs duties), a government job that may have restrained his political radicalism. 

In 1792, Burns wrote "The Rights Of Women." The first stanza sets the tone:

While Europe's eye is fixed on mighty things,

The fate of empires and the fall of Kings;

While quacks of State must each produce his plan, 

And even children lisp the Rights of Man;

Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention,

The Rights of Woman merit some attention.

The poem was highly topical. Thomas Paine had just published The Rights of Man and Mary Wollstonecraft A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. These works alarmed and horrified the elites of Britain and much of Europe. By echoing their rhetoric in poetry, Burns marked himself as suspect in their eyes. 

The last stanza of the poem quoted approvingly a rallying cry of the French revolutionaries, "ca ira!" ("it will be fine") and seemed to place the "Majesty of Woman" above that of kings. 

By today's standards, Burns' list of women's rights may seem rather conservative. The rights he demanded were not political or even legal. They included protection, decorum (good manners), admiration and respect for women's opinions and influence. Good romantic that he was, Burns argued that the power of women lay in their ability to soften the harsher aspects of man's nature. 

All that may sound old-fashioned and anti-feminist, and certainly the sentiments were seized on by Victorian conservatives as an argument against women's suffrage and legal rights. But juxtapose Burns' praise of women to MAGAt statements and behavior toward women, and the difference is stark. Burns may have been something of a womanizer, but he never claimed things like "Your body, my choice." 

On this January 25, let's "take a cup of kindness" and have a wee dram in honor of "Rabbie" Burns, recently voted "The Greatest Scot." He narrowly beat out William Wallace, "Braveheart." 

*Neeps are turnips, tatties are potatoes.

PS. The first Burns Supper took place in Greenock, the town where I was born, on January 29th, 1801, which the organizers mistakenly though to be his birthday. It was later changed to the correct date of January 25th and has been held every year since on that day.

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