Lindsey Graham – The Poster Child of Unprincipled Politics

The dead will have their eulogies.  People will search for the good in them and pretend it was their essence. But let’s not kid ourselves.  Lindsey Graham was an unprincipled political animal, only in it for himself.  The list of Trump sycophants who jettisoned all scruples to feast at the MAGA trough is long, but Graham rightfully holds an exalted status in this list of self-serving opportunists.  

Graham’s flip-flopping on Trump and the MAGA world was not an outlier in his career.  He completely changed his position on multiple issues – gun control, abortion, immigration, climate change, election denial, etc.  Early on, he famously promised to serve no more than 12 years as an elected official, then died in his 31st year.  After using tortured logic to rationalize the refusal of a republican led congress to accept Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 2016, he chaired the Judiciary Committee that cynically turned that logic on its head to drive through the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.  

In foreign affairs, Graham was a saber rattler and chest beater extraordinaire, a cheerleader for every huge foreign intervention mistake that the USA has made in the last 30 years.  His jingoism was particularly focused on the Middle East and his unequivocal support of every Israeli military operation and oppression of Palestinians is part of why we have Netanyahu and his Nazi-like settler movement in charge of Israel today.

Yes, Graham would occasionally cross the aisle to work with Democrats.  And from time to time he did demonstrate a bit of true conviction.  But if we are to learn from the mistakes of the Trump era, then we must recognize that the crass opportunism that has kept Trump in power must be exposed and denounced in no uncertain terms.  Lindsey Graham, along with JD Vance and Marco Rubio, is a perfect example.  Whether he was a purely cynical operator, or somehow drank some of the MAGA kool aid and fell under Trump’s spell, his mercurial turnabout is a cautionary tale about how the lust for power can take away all conscience and integrity.

Meta Pervert Glasses – The Technology That Only A Creep Can Love

Mark Zuckerberg is a toxic, tough guy wannabe who clearly nurses deep neuroses from childhood.  So it is no surprise that his company Meta has launched the most invasive, cringy technology that one can imagine – eyeglasses that allow people to spy on and video everyone around them.  If there is a better example of technology run amok I cannot imagine it.

Facebook, later Meta, became a juggernaut by fouling the waters of social media and amplifying the insecurities of vulnerable tweens and adolescents with their addictive algorithms.  After a pathetic, failed fever dream of creating the metaverse, Zuckerberg pivoted to the final frontier of privacy - glasses that assault both the users and every unwitting person they encounter with unneeded and despised technology.

We have smart phones and watches and oura rings.  We have ipads and air pods and headphones, and a few of us still use computers.  How much of our bodies and our lives can we smother in technology before we have finally had enough?

Zuckerberg’s pervert glasses seem to be hitting a brick wall lately.  People talk about being ridiculed and shamed for wearing them.  There are huge privacy issues when people have the means to record voice and video without consent of people around them.  Who could have possibly thought this was a good idea?  Zuckerberg, of course.  

If there is any justice in this universe, then meta glasses will die a quick death and be a huge failure for Meta and its broligarchic founder, Zuckerberg.  If not, then they will be one more nail in the coffin of humanity’s chance to lead a life unfettered by constant technological irritations. 

Is the So-Called Radical Left Really Radical?

Recent election wins by more left-leaning candidates have sent shock waves through both republican and democratic power structures.  The republicans are delighted, as this offers them the time-tested ‘socialism’ bogeyman to use as a scare tactic in the midterms.  The democrats are anxious that the new, more strident wing of their party might alienate independents or middle-of-the-roaders.

But what are the actual issues and policies that motivate these ‘radical left’ candidates, and are they really radical at all given the current state of our economy and country?  The first alarm bells go off with the use of the label ‘democratic socialist’ by New York City’s mayor Mamdani and many others.  This term strikes terror into the hearts of those Americans who have been conditioned to associate the word socialist with Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and other failed authoritarian states.  

Socialism is primarily an economic concept that postulates full ownership of industry by the state.  It has long been abandoned by serious politicians.  But the term ‘democratic socialist’ implies a democratic political system that uses government effectively to smooth the rough edges of capitalism and ensure a more egalitarian and benevolent society.

It is true that many of the new left are strongly advocating more aggressive redistribution of wealth and income in our society.  But given the gilded age levels of wealth disparity, the growing national debt and the heavy economic burdens that lower-middle working-class families bear, can there really be any doubt that a fresh look at taxation is needed?  With AI delivering an even more absurd bounty to the ultra-wealthy and billionaires using their wealth to gain ever greater control of politics, who can argue that we are not in desperate need of new ideas?

Another issue that has animated the new left is the unconditional support of Israel.  The USA is an extreme outlier in the world in this regard.  The militaristic and extreme right wing Netanyahu regime, with its genocidal war on Gaza, its winking nod to extremist settlers taking over the West Bank, and its use of assassinations and disproportionate attacks, is fast turning Israel into a pariah.  

Even many US and Israeli Jews have recognized the foolhardiness of our unequivocal support and the need for the US to exert massive pressure on Israel to change its ways and truly work toward Middle East peace.  This is no longer radical, but simply sensible. Calling every attempt to discipline Israel antisemitism is disingenuous and dishonest.  And sincere criticism of the influence of the Jewish/Israeli lobby in our politics is needed and should not be conflated with older anti-Jewish tropes.

The passion of the new left to deal with these two major issues may be unsettling to some, and they may at times advocate dramatic measures that are not realistic.  But this is the way that the pendulum swings.  If there is no passion and no conflict, then there is little chance for change.  The status quo is no longer workable.  And it is far better for this change to come through democratic, legislative processes than through depression, revolution or war.