Isn't It Time to Change?

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in D.C. to beg the USA for yet more billions in weapons aid, it seems to me there's a big-ass, two-part question looming that shouldn't be ignored much longer: Please, isn't it about time to change tactics? 

Behind Door Number One is the future a ratcheted up aggressive strategy will buy; short of nukes, support Ukraine in attacking Russia however Zelenskyy's generals see fit. Ukrainian forces try to make the price on continuing the war too great for Russia to bear. 

Behind Door Number Two is the future that calling for a negotiated end to the fighting, ASAP, will buy. Tell Zelenskyy that to bring about an armistice, new mutually agreed upon boundary lines -- based on current conditions -- need to be established. Yes, for peace, be willing to give up on some land claims. 

One way or another, isn't it time for some end-game thinking?    

Too Late for the 14th Amendment?

After the Civil War the Constitution's 14th Amendment was passed in 1868. Although I think the 14th Amendment, Section 3 was designed to prevent someone exactly like Donald Trump from running for president, timing is so important. 

Consequently, I'm starting to think now it's too late to launch a movement to block Trump from being on the 2024 ballot.

Note: The 14th Amendment, Section 3 says: 

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

If the movement to use the 14th Amendment's power to block insurrectionists had been launched in most of the 50 states right after Trump announced his candidacy, on Nov. 15, 2022, it would have framed it as a direct reaction to his campaign announcement. (Like Attorney General Merrick Garland's appointment of Jack Smith was.) 

So, it would already be making its way through the court systems in many states. And on its way to the Supremes.

It would also have latched onto the momentum established by the January 6th Select Committee's remarkable televised presentations, June 9 - Oct. 13, 2022. 

In that context, to many independents it may have seemed to have been less of a political ploy fashioned to provide what the Senate's impeachment trials didn't, and what the federal and Georgia indictments may not be able to deliver before the Republican convention, July 15-18, 2024.

Perhaps most importantly, by starting the process nine months ago, it might have seemed to have been more about adhering to the Constitution's 14th Amendment and less about not trusting the voters to reject Trumpism on election day. Appearance matters.

A Year of Trials

The upcoming year of trials will tell us much about the Donald Trump Mob and its self-absorbed boss. Evidence and testimony will amplify lots of familiar details and probably reveal new scandalous information. 

Although the stated overarching goal in each of the trials will be justice, let's face it -- that's only part of what this country's citizens need. Those of us who give a damn about truth surely need to get some satisfaction from this process. Satisfaction that tells more than just what happened; we need to better understand how the hell we got here. 

For instance, I don't just want to see Trump convicted of stealing and hiding secret files. Satisfaction will entail learning WHY those particular files were selected. Hey, I don't buy it that they were merely souvenirs of an outrageously vain man's days in power. 

Plus, the ordeal of this parade of trials will likely have an effect on 2024's national and statewide elections. Nonetheless, at this writing, who knows what shape that effect will take? 

Anyway, I've got high hopes that a year's worth of Trump-related trials and verdicts is going to be consequential. And, regardless of who the big winners or losers in each of the trials turn out to be, my guess is we're going to find out much about what kind of country the USA really is ... and isn't, anymore. 

One of the lessons we ought to learn in 2024 is that court system isn't going to swoop in and fix the nation's most vexing problems -- those to do with the environment, with abortion, with race, with democracy, with guns, with wealth disparity, and so forth. 

Along with helpful verdicts from courts, the culture needs to evolve its way out of the same ol' ruts. Snares that have been hobbling society's ability to make progress on several fronts.   

Bottom line: Next year is calling for we the people to take the Rooftop Singers advice and find, "a new way of walkin'."  

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