Remember to Register and Vote in the November 2022 Elections. If you can, help a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or acquaintance along the way.
It’s time to play offense and work toward a return to sanity and normalcy.
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Source for above Abraham Lincoln cartoon: mike luckovich @mluckovichajc.
Do You Hear the People Sing?
You Still Have a Choice
Lyin’ Ted
A Queen for the Ages
A fair bit has been written about Queen Elizabeth II since she died on Thursday. She was the longest-serving monarch in the United Kingdom’s long history, besting Queen Victoria by over 6 years to serve for a total of seventy years. For many in the UK, her reign represented stability, continuity, and duty to the country.
I lived in England in the 1990s for my first graduate school. I think most Americans have a bit of difficulty understanding the structure of parliamentary democracies, where the president or monarch is the head of the nation. In contrast, an elected prime minister heads the government. Unlike the President of the United States — who is both the head of the nation and the elected head of government — the monarch is more or less a figurehead. The American political system is unique in this respect among democratic countries, one that combines both offices into one. The king or queen does not affect public policy, except perhaps indirectly in private meetings with the prime minister for which no official records are maintained. Affairs of government and charting a policy course are the constitutional responsibility of the elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the ruling party. For example, when Prime Minister Tony Blair acted as George W. Bush’s junior partner and vigorously supported the illegal invasion and Iraq War in 2003, that wasn’t a foreign policy decision made by Queen Elizabeth. Blair and the Labour Party’s voting members in the House of Commons bore that burden.
Symbolic heads of state are not entirely, but, largely, free from the types of criticism directed at elected leaders. I suspect that’s why one saw the sympathetic coverage of Queen Elizabeth’s passing on cable television networks. There are no other world leaders who worked with fourteen American presidents from Harry Truman to Joe Biden (she never met Lyndon Johnson during his presidency) or dealt with fifteen British prime ministers from Winston Churchill to Liz Truss. In that respect, she was one of a kind among major world leaders. Other than the shared historical, linguistic, and cultural ties between the two countries, it is also true that the “Special Relationship” — economic, political, and military ties forged during the difficult years of World War II — has been widely considered the most successful bilateral relationship in the history of international relations. And given her status and experience, she probably deserved the wall-to-wall coverage that she received on most networks.
There was more balanced coverage on the NPR/PBS program, “Democracy Now.” Journalist Amy Goodman didn’t shy away from examing Queen Elizabeth’s complete legacy, which included the disintegration of the once-mighty British Empire. It is safe to say that the panel, which included two guests from the UK, an American academic, and one from Barbados, didn’t think much of the monarchy as an institution. The guests weren’t as much anti-Queen Elizabeth II as a person but felt rather strongly that the monarchy represented wealth inequality and the British plutocracy. They did acknowledge that she was central to the UK’s national image. Even as the outpouring of support and affection for her is genuine, the period of national mourning in the UK isn't as much a “bottoms-up” phenomenon — as when Princess Diana died in 1997 — but, rather, one resulting from the “top-down” actions of the institutions of the state.
To most Americans, being the subject of some king or queen would seem anachronistic. Being a simple, straightforward citizen of a country is good enough. However, one thing I learned while living as a student in England was that regardless of what we Americans think of the ongoing debate in the UK about republicanism vs the monarchy, it is best not to get too enmeshed in that country’s internal debate. It is the political system they have chosen and it seems to work for them — until it doesn’t at some point in the future. As foreign students, if one is interested in academically pursuing the social sciences and the humanities, it is a great place to study and live.
Given that in recent years American political institutions are under relentless attack from within, we should not be dispensing any advice to anyone nor questioning the choices made by the British people.
A Message from Paul McCartney
Sympathies from Mick Jagger
“Lock Him Up”
When the Shoe is On the Other Foot, etc.
Give it Up!
Storage Problems, Your Honor. Honestly.
The Chickens, Roost, Home… and All That
Self-Explanatory
The Devil Made Me Do it
Job Fair
Masterful
In Summary, Your Honor…
About Those 2022 GOP Candidates
Authentic Snake Oil from New Jersey
Irrational Exuberance
Coming This November — The Second Pickett’s Charge in Pennsylvania
Are Rudy, Roger, and Others Right Behind You?
Introducing the New 2002 Fall Fashions
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall…
Reserved for Friends and Family
Finally…
CNN is evolving into something different from what it has been for most of the past 40+ years. What form will the new cable network take? We don’t know for sure but editorial cartoonists aren’t easily fooled.
Neither are we.
Ironic
A New Dawn at CNN
Don’t forget to take the diary poll. Which NFL teams will surprise pundits and fans the most and do better than expected? My choice of surprise teams this season? The Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Las Vegas Raiders. Just win, baby!
Tell us about your choices in the comments section. Thanks.