Yesterday – well, actually all this week I have been sleeping later than usual. I’m pretty cool with that, except that I don’t want to do it Saturday – the radio opera will be Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. It premiered in 1986… so it’s about time it came to the Met. Two of his four other operas have been “The Central Park Five,” for which he won a Pulitzer (but which I have not heard) and “Amistad,” which I have heard, on the radio, from Chicago Lyric Opera, and which choked me up. That must be almost 20 years ago – or more – , since I attempted to capture it on cassette tape, and only partially succeeded. Do I need to say that this Anthony Davis does not play pro basketball? So if you wasnt to learn more, be sure to Google (or Duck Duck Go) “Anthony Davis composer.”
Robert Reich has posted an article which is, or ought to be, pretty scary. How do you even prepare for something like that?And we know there are a lot of people who would gladly go along with it. We need our best legal minds to start getting on it right now (yesterday would be even better.)
Joyce Vance explains the border “crisis” as well as possible. But it’s hard to explain why states like Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Ohio are so worried. We don’t actually have a problem with illegals from Canada – do we? (By the way the answer to that first question is “No.” If you secede, you lose your citizenship. It’s not like someone who moves to another country but retains US citizenship.
Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”
There has been a lot of discussion (to put it chartably) about secession lately. Red staters want to get out from under the Constitution and the Federal Government whose duty, among other duties, is to enforce it. A lot of blue staters would be happy to see them go – if only there were an obvious place for them to go which would free us from having to listen to them. What I have not heard, until now, is a theory the secession is already happening, and to an extent, has happened, except that we are still stuck with them. I’m not sure I totally buy it, but I do think it is something we should think about.
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Secession is here: States, cities and the wealthy are already withdrawing from America
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, wants a “national divorce.” In her view, another Civil War is inevitable unless red and blue states form separate countries.
But all this secession talk misses a key point that every troubled couple knows. Just as there are ways to withdraw from a marriage before any formal divorce, there are also ways to exit a nation before officially seceding.
This scale begins with smaller, targeted exits, like a person getting out of jury duty, and progresses to include the larger ways that communities refuse to comply with state and federal authorities.
Such refusals could involve legal maneuvers like interposition, in which a community delays or constrains the enforcement of a law it opposes, or nullification, in which a community explicitly declares a law to be null and void within its borders. At the end of the scale, there’s secession.
From this wider perspective, it is clear that many acts of departure – call them secession lite, de facto secession or soft separatism – are occurring right now. Americans have responded to increasing polarization by exploring the gradations between soft separatism and hard secession.
These escalating exits make sense in a polarized nation whose citizens are sorting themselves into like-minded neighbhorhoods. When compromise is elusive and coexistence is unpleasant, citizens have three options to get their way: Defeat the other side, eliminate the other side or get away from the other side.
Imagine a national law; it could be a mandate that citizens brush their teeth twice a day or a statute criminalizing texting while driving. Then imagine that a special group of people did not have to obey that law.
This quasi-secession can be achieved in several ways. Maybe this special group moves “off the grid” into the boondocks where they could text and drive without fear of oversight. Maybe this special group wields political power and can buy, bribe or lawyer their way out of any legal jam. Maybe this special group has persuaded a powerful authority, say Congress or the Supreme Court, to grant them unique legal exemptions.
These are hypothetical scenarios, but not imaginary ones. When groups exit public life and its civic duties and burdens, when they live under their own sets of rules, when they do not have to live with fellow citizens they have not chosen or listen to authorities they do not like, they have already seceded.
Schools to taxes
Present-day America offers numerous hard examples of soft separatism.
Over the past two decades, scores of wealthy white communities have separated from more diverse school districts. Advocates cite local control to justify these acts of school secession. But the result is the creation of parallel school districts, both relatively homogeneous but vastly different in racial makeup and economic background.
As one reporter wrote, “If you didn’t want to attend school with certain people in your district, you just needed to find a way to put a district line between you and them.”
Many other examples of legalized separatism revolve around taxes. Disney World, for example, was classified as a “special tax district” in Florida in 1967. These special districts are functionally separate local governments and can provide public services and build and maintain their own infrastructure.
The company has saved millions by avoiding typical zoning, permitting and inspection processes for decades, although Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently challenged Disney’s special designation. Disney was only one of 1,800 special tax districts in Florida; there are over 35,000 in the nation.
Jeff Bezos paid no federal income taxes in 2011. Elon Musk paid almost none in 2018. Tales of wealthy individuals avoiding taxes are as common as stories of rich Americans buying their way out of jail. “Wealthier Americans,” Robert Reich lamented as far back as the early 1990s, “have been withdrawing into their own neighborhoods and clubs for generations.” Reich worried that a “new secession” allowed the rich to “inhabit a different economy from other Americans.”
Hoping to become a separate state independent of Chicago’s political influence, over two dozen rural Illinois counties have passed pro-secession referendums. Some Texas Republicans back “Texit,” where the state becomes an independent nation.
“Cal-exit,” a plan for California to leave the union after 2016, was the most acute recent attempt at secession.
And separatist acts have reshaped life and law in many states. Since 2012, 21 states have legalized marijuana, which is federally illegal. Sanctuary cities and states have emerged since 2016 to combat aggressive federal immigration laws and policies. Some prosecutors and judges refuse to prosecute women and medical providers for newly illegal abortions in some states.
Estimates vary, but some Americans are increasingly opting out of hypermodern, hyperpolarized life entirely. “Intentional communities,” rural, sustainable, cooperative communes like East Wind in the Ozarks, are, as The New York Times reported in 2020, proliferating “across the country.”
In many ways, America is already broken apart. When secession is portrayed in its strictest sense, as a group of people declaring independence and taking a portion of a nation as they depart, the discussion is myopic, and current acts of exit hide in plain sight. When it comes to secession, the question is not just “What if?” but “What now?”
============================================================== Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, is this actually happening? Has it happened? Some of the passive-aggressive tactics are in my opinion simply irresponsible, such as not voting. Others involve breaking laws, so far mostly at such a low level as to fly under the radar and avoid prosecution. Some, such as actions which restrict voting and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution, are frankly horrendous. None address the problem that, whether secesion is individual and passive-aggressve, or by states with or without bloodshed, there is no way to make them work without innocent people getting hurt.
It’s another sore day here in the CatBox, but better today than yesterday. I plan to be in the saddle tomorrow, but Sunday is often a slow news day. Time will tell. It’s also a holy day in the Church of the Ellipsoid Orb. My Broncos are playing the Panthers, but the game won’t be televised here. Have a fine weekend.
Jig Zone Puzzle:
Today’s took me 3:24 (average 5:48). To do it, click here. How did you do?
Cartoon:
They would again, if they had the slightest excuse.
Short Takes:
From Daily Kos: After World War II, Germany was subject to a round of de-Nazification. When Saddam Hussein was routed, Iraq underwent de-Bathefication. When Joe Biden moves into the White House, there’s no doubt the whole government is going to need a serious round of de-Trumpification to clear the lobbyists, zealots, and simple incompetents that Donald Trump has spread around federal agencies. But before any of that can happen, Biden is calling in the cleaners to scrape away the heavy coating of Trump-shed coronavirus.
As Politico reports, the General Services Administration (GSA) is bringing in a private contractor once Trump has been escorted off the premises. The specialist will go over every surface in both the East and West Wing. The plan is to “thoroughly clean and disinfect” everything from doorknobs to desks before anyone on the Biden team has to touch them. The GSA will also bring in a commercial mister to kill viruses in the air and on fabrics. It is not known whether this will remove the odor of Filet O’ Fish or clean up orange stains that could be either nacho cheese or excess “bronzer.”
I’m having a triple size helping of my infamous green-cloud chili, normally used for fumigating the Sasquatch. I will allow federal staff to compress several clouds for use in fumigating the White House. RESIST!!
From Crooks and Liars: Suddenly Rush Limbaugh doubts two different outlooks can exist in the same country while ignoring that he has stoked the fires of hate and division for decades. In the end stages of lung cancer, not only does Rush argue this dishonest point, but he also argues for secession. We just can’t all get along anymore.
Here’s where it begins (transcript courtesy of Media Matters):
I thought you were asking me something else when you said, “Can we win?” I thought you meant, “Can we win the culture, can we dominate the culture.” I actually think — and I’ve referenced this, I’ve alluded to this a couple of times because I’ve seen others allude to this — I actually think that we’re trending toward secession. I see more and more people asking what in the world do we have in common with the people who live in, say, New York? What is there that makes us believe that there is enough of us there to even have a chance at winning New York? Especially if you’re talking about votes.
For 240 years or so we’ve had plenty in common with one another, or at least we DID until the likes of Rush Limbaugh came along and began pointing fingers at “The Other.” Then suddenly it’s time to secede because God knows we couldn’t get along with New Yorkers.
LimBarf Bag Alert!!
Actually, secession might not bad idea. Remove everything of value from a few acres of wasteland somewhere, build a wall around it, call it the Confederated National Socialist State of Bullshitania and let Rush Limbarf be the pied puker to draw the Republicans in. RESIST!!
Trump is a symptom. How many times have you seen me say that? On a scale of one (low) to ten (high), give Trey a fifty for this one! RESIST!!
From YouTube (MSNBC Channel): Supreme Court Derails Trump Legal Fight And FDA Clears Vaccine
These are the two biggest stories of the weekend. I only wish we would get rid of Trump’s* Republican plague as well as we seem to be succeeding in getting rid of Trump*! RESIST!!
From YouTube (a blast of Christmas): O Holy Night (1968 Version)
This is my favorite carol. In my younger days, our choral group did a medley of carols in which each of us sung one as a solo. This was mine. Ah… the memories! HUGS!!