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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Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 9

Mugshot No. 9: 

Racketeering and trying 

to influence witnesses.

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 8

 

Mugshot No. 8: 

12 charges: Racketeering, solicitation of 

oath violation by a public officer 

and plenty more.

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 7

Mugshot No. 7: 

As a publicist, I know a damn good 

  book cover picture when I see one.  

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 6

Mugshot No. 6:

Legal advice from Hell. 

 

'The Harder They Come' Sneak Preview

Jimmy Cliff as Ivan.

One autumn day in 1973, some 18 months into my job as manager of Richmond's Biograph Theatre, one of my bosses in D.C., David Levy, asked me to look at a new movie to evaluate its potential. From time to time he did that for various reasons. In this case he had a new 35mm print of “The Harder They Come” (1972) shipped to me, via Clark Transfer.

Note: "The Harder They Come": Color. 120 minutes. Directed by Perry Henzell; Cast: Jimmy Cliff, Janet Bartley, Carl Bradshaw. In this Jamaican production, Cliff plays Ivan, a pop star/criminal on the lam. The music of Cliff, The Maytals, The Melodians and Desmond Dekker is featured.

In the after-hours we occasionally had screenings of films we came by, one way or another. For instance, being in the same city as three universities meant access to 16mm films that could be borrowed briefly. Usually on short notice, the word would go out to friends that we would be watching a particular movie at a certain time.

These gatherings were essentially impromptu movie parties. Once it was 1940s and '50s boxing films from a private collection. The Beatles' then out-of-release "Magical Mystery Tour" (1967) in 16mm was the centerpiece to another one of those parties. Such watch parties happened more often in the Biograph's early days

Although I don’t remember any moments, in particular, from that private screening of “The Harder They Come," I do recall the gist of my telephone conversation with Levy the next day. After telling him how much I liked the Jamaican movie and its music, he asked me how I would promote it.

Well, I was ready for that question, as I had smoked it over thoroughly with Dave DeWitt (my collaborator in making Biograph radio spots) and a few friends after the screening. Consequently, I told Levy we ought to have a free, open-to-the-public-on-short-notice, sneak preview of the movie. Most importantly, we should use WGOE exclusively to promote the screening, since its engaging music made this film a natural for radio.

Because Levy liked the comedic radio campaigns for the Biograph's midnight shows that DeWitt and I had produced over the last year, he went for the idea right away. DeWitt was easily the best radio production guy I have known.

Note: In the early-'70s, long before the era of giant corporations owning hundreds of stations, a locally-programmed daytime radio station with a weak signal played a significant role in what success was enjoyed at the Biograph. For a few years we had an especially good business arrangement with WGOE-AM, the station that then owned the hippie market in Richmond.

Subsequently, on a November Friday morning the DJs at WGOE began reading announcements of a free showing of “The Harder They Come” that would take place at the Biograph that afternoon at 3 p.m. Then they would play a soundtrack cut by Jimmy Cliff, the film’s star. This pattern was continued maybe three times per hour, leading up to the time of the event. Since we presented it as a "WGOE-presents sneak preview," the announcements cost the Biograph nothing.

Of course, reggae music was being heard in Richmond before our free screening, but it was still mostly on the periphery of popular culture on the East Coast. As I recall, some 300 people showed up that day and the movie was extremely well received.

In a couple of previous runs in other markets, “The Harder They Come” had been handled as an underground movie. As it was shot in 16mm and blown up to 35mm for its American distribution, it had a grainy, documentary look. Upon hearing about the test-audience's approval, Levy got excited and decided to book it to run as a first-run feature, rather than as a midnight only show.

Later on Levy became a sub-distributor for “The Harder They Come.” He told me that when he rented it to theaters in other cities within his region, he advised them to use the same radio-promoted, free-preview tactic.

While it didn’t set any records for attendance at the Biograph, “The Harder They Come” did fairly well and returned to play several more dates, both at regular hours and as a midnight show.

As it happened, in late-1973, watching a then-virtually unknown, low-budget Jamaican film -- after operating hours -- with a small group of co-workers and friends had seemed somewhat exotic that night. Of course, on that occasion, we had no idea how popular reggae music was about to become ... in some part because of that movie's influence.

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Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 5

Mugshot No. 5:

The fake electors scheme 

architect wants swift justice.

 

Court Dates for Trump (so far)

Trump's RICO expression.

On Monday, Aug. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C., it's expected that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will set the date for what many observers are calling the most significant criminal trial in American history. That trial will consider the Justice Department's case against Donald Trump, to do with alleged actions he deliberately took to overturn the last presidential election results in several states.

However, since the former president is also a defendant in other cases, both criminal and civil, Chutkan is going to have to find a hole in Trump's crowded calendar for court ordered appearances. 

Highlights of Trump's upcoming ordeals in various courts are listed below: 

• Trial date set in New York City: Oct. 2, 2023. This is the business fraud civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Tish James. Financial mismanagement and malfeasance by Trump's company are alleged.
• Trial date set in Atlanta: Oct. 23, 2023. At this writing, this case, Kenneth Chesebro's, will be the first of the RICO cases Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will present. Other members of the RICO 19 group that Willis charged on Aug. 14 may also try to separate their cases from Trump's request for a trial date in 2026. So there's no telling how many defendants will eventually follow Chesebro to ask for a swift trial. 

• Meanwhile, in D.C., Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked Chutkan for a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date. That, while Trump's attorneys filed a request to begin his D.C. trial sometime in April of 2026. (At this desk, it's not known whether Chutkan appreciated the snicker imbedded in Trump's request. Don't forget, the judge has already warned Trump that if he continues making “inflammatory” cracks about the case she might have to accelerate the process.)

• Trial date set in NYC: Jan. 15, 2024. E. Jean Carroll won $5 million from a jury in a defamation civil lawsuit against Trump earlier this year. Afterward, Trump kept on talking trash about Carroll, so here we go again. Meanwhile, on the primary calendar, the Iowa caucus' process will also happen on Jan, 15, 2024. 
• Trial date set in NYC: Jan. 29, 2024. Trump faces yet another civil trial that targets his notorious business practices. This federal lawsuit accuses Trump himself and his company of fraud.              
• Trial date (proposed by Willis) in Atlanta: Mar, 4, 2024. The second RICO trial (for the defendants who want to slow-walk it) is still in flux.
• Trial date in NYC: March 25, 2024. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records connected to Trump’s efforts to conceal his extramarital affair with a porn star.
• Trial date in Fort Pierce, Fla: May 20, 2024. Smith has charged Trump with hording national security papers at Mar-a-Lago, plus eight additional charges to do with Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct the government's legit efforts to recover those classified materials.

Thus, I'm predicting Chutkan will pick a trial date sometime in February of 2024. Stay tuned... 

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Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 4

Mugshot No. 4:

Beyond the fringe. Beyond the 

crazy zone. Beyond the pale.

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 3

Mugshot No. 3:

"Breakin' rocks in the hot sun

I fought the law and..."

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions No. 2

Mugshot No. 2:
A look his
wives have seen.

 

Fulton County Mugshots w/captions

Mugshot No. 1:
Lost Soul.

 

A Confluence of Evils

We've all known people who seem to hate government at all levels -- local, state and federal. The government they hate the most is the one that most recently made them angry. 

Of course, the majority of the government-haters probably aren't all that dangerous (I hope!). Unfortunately, some of them are stockpiling weapons of war and getting more dangerous every day. Some are loners. Some are members of bad boys groups. 

And, we've all encountered people who crave power. Some of them are merely tyrants who operate within their own sphere of influence. They simply take pleasure from bending people to their will. Others must have political power, Rather than hate government they covet access to the levers of power governments possess.

In their travels in the past those two antiestablishment factions weren't usually answering to the same boss. However, for the time being, it appears they are and MAGA cult leader Donald Trump is directing this confluence of evils. 

No one knows how long Trump can keep those two different camps harnessed and cooperating under the Republican banner. Meanwhile, we already know some foot soldiers in those two camps are crazy as hell and they're "standing by," awaiting the signal from Boss Trump. 

However, given election trends over the last five years, Trump's lieutenants must have deduced that winning a majority of the votes in most fair elections in the future is going to be out of reach. Nonetheless, using money, propaganda and the threat of force to create fear, they mean to seize control of those aforementioned governmental levers of power. ASAP. 

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Words and art by F.T. Rea.

The Coldest Warrior

Note: The piece below this note is an OpEd I wrote for Richmond.com 24 years ago; did the Nixon illustration back then, too. The piece was published to coincide with the 25th anniversary of Nixon's 1974 resignation. So the anniversaries mentioned in the first graf date from 1999.

*

August 9, 1999: August is usually a slow month for news, especially political news. So we are spoon-fed anniversaries to contemplate: Hiroshima’s 54th; Woodstock’s 30th; it was 25 years ago that Pres. Richard M. Nixon took the fall. The entire culture shifted gears the day Nixon threw in the towel.

The brilliant strategist, the awkward sleuth, the proud father, and the coldest of warriors had left the building. August 9, 1974 was a day to hoist one for his enemies, many of whom must have enjoyed his twisting in the wind of Watergate’s storm. It was the saddest of days for his staunch supporters, whose numbers were still legion.

Either way, Richard Nixon’s departure from D.C. left a peculiar void that no personality has since filled in anything close to the same way. For the first time since his earliest commie-baiting days, in the late-‘40s, Dick Nixon suddenly had no clout. 

Upon Nixon's departure, concern for social causes went out of style for a lot of young Americans. It was time to party. Soon what remained of the causes and accouterments of the ‘60s was packed into cardboard boxes to be tossed out, or stored in basements.

Watergate revelations killed off the Nixon administration’s chance of instituting national health insurance. On top of that, many people have forgotten that he was also rather liberal on environmental matters, at least compared to the science-doubting Republicans who have followed. Although he was a hawk, Nixon was moderate on some of the social issues.

Nixon's opening to China and efforts toward détente with the Soviets are often cited as evidence of his ability to maneuver deftly in the realm of foreign affairs. No doubt, that was his main focus. Still, at the bottom line, Nixon is remembered chiefly as the president who was driven from office. And for good reason.

Nixon’s nefarious strategy for securing power divided this country like nothing since the Civil War. Due to his fear of hippies and left-wing campus movements, Nixon looked at ex-Beatle John Lennon and instead of a sarcastic musician, in his view Nixon saw a raw power to galvanize a generation’s anti-establishment sentiments. Fearful of that imagined potential, the sneaky Nixon administration did everything it could to hound Lennon out of the country.

Nixon deliberately drove a wedge between fathers and sons. To rally support for his prosecution of the Vietnam War, he sought to expand the division between World War II era parents and their baby boomer offspring. The families that never recovered from that time's bitterness were just more collateral damage.

However, Nixon’s true legacy is that since his paranoia-driven scandal, the best young people have no longer felt drawn into public service. Since Watergate the citizens who’ve gravitated toward politics for a career have not had the intellect, the sense of purpose, or the strength of character of their predecessors. We can thank Tricky Dick for all that and more.

So weep not for the sad, crazy Nixon of August, 1974. He did far more harm to America than whatever good he intended.

Some commentators have suggested that he changed over that period, even mellowed. Don't buy it. The rest of us changed a lot more than he did. On top of that, Nixon had 20 years to come clean and clear the air. But he didn’t do it. He didn't even come close. In the two decades of his so-called “rehabilitation,” before his death in 1994, Nixon just kept on being Nixon.

So, spare me the soft-focus view of the Nixon White House years. Tricky Dick's humiliating downfall should be a lesson to us all -- he surely got what he deserved.

-- 30 --

Right and Wrong ... and Whatever

Note: Here's a piece I wrote for Style Weekly's Back Page in the summer of 1999. I don't remember what the title I suggested was. Doesn't matter now. The editor of that page, Rozanne Epps, changed it to "Do Unto Others," which now sounds almost sarcastic. Today, 24 years later, swimming in a sea of disinformation and hate-driven politics, I suppose I would write it somewhat differently, too. 

Do Unto Others
by F.T. Rea

The Ten Commandments have made an unexpected comeback this season. In the wake of recent teen violence, we have heard from pundits and legislators alike who say that posting this excerpt of the Bible on public school walls will help potentially dangerous students avoid running off the tracks.

OK, what’s the harm?

Well, when the guy across the street claims the Koran says it better, what do you say back to him? Next, the lady down the block says that the I Ching is more to the point. And so forth …

Ultimately, I’ve got to believe that the Supreme Court is going to have a serious quarrel with the notion of displaying selected portions of the Old Testament in public schools.

So regardless of the good intentions of those who would put the law according to Moses in the classroom, the First Amendment and a mile of legal precedent tells us: The state can’t establish one particular religion.

Yet I do sympathize with those who want to introduce children to the concept of absolutes. And, I wholeheartedly agree with those who observe that morality seems to be evaporating out of modern life.

The essential line between a healthy desire to improve one’s lot in life and in being so greedy that you’re a menace to society is getting more blurred all the time. Without morality, I’m not sure it is discernible.

Without morality perhaps the only perceived downside to theft, or any other crime, is getting caught.

If it’s ethical guidelines that are scarce, why not look to history?

Right beside the Ten Commandments, put up a copy of Hammurabi’s Code. After that, maybe we toss in some Aristotle. In short, let’s bring the basic rules of all major religions and philosophies into the classroom. Some of us may be surprised to see how similar the ethical precepts are.

In the name of “citizenship studies,” let’s put the history of ethics and laws in the classroom as a course of study.

I’m sure it would be possible to design a streamlined course that would offer second or third graders a basic overview of the subject matter. A subsequent look at the same kind of material might be offered in high school, with greater detail and more opportunity for discussion.

As long as we don’t tell students in public schools to pray, or we seek to raise one faith over the other, religion itself can’t be taboo. As we all know, much of the history of art and literature can’t be told without picking through religious relics.

Now, I’m proposing that the actual tenets of the body of thought be examined as well as the artifacts.

The approach of the course would be to focus on the original purpose of particular precepts, together with the way religious canon has become custom and law through the ages.

If the reader is concerned that we must include every faith or philosophy, including such aberrations as devil worship, never fear. When we study art history we don’t cover every artist, or art movement, in a survey course.

Therefore only the religions and philosophies that have had the most impact on the tides of history would need to be covered.

As the 20th century winds down, this scribbler is not at all confident that most children in the United States have much of a grasp of the classic concepts of right and wrong — much less why. And let’s face it, some kids draw a bad hand when it comes to parents.

Good parents or not, for many children the buzz of popular culture is so loud and prevalent that it overwhelms all other information.

Please don’t confuse me with those aboard the “Hollywood is evil” bandwagon. Nonetheless, I am comfortable saying that TV, pop music and the mass media in general aren’t good either. While they aren’t intrinsically good or evil, as they compete to make a buck they will jam pack a child’s head with sights and sounds.

If we expect all the busy parents in the real world to teach their offspring to see the vital connection between their acts and the inevitable consequences, we are indulging in wishful thinking.

Furthermore, if we expect children to pick up a clear sense of morality from popular culture, we are simply fools.

There is no set of instructions as to how to go about injecting morality into a secular society. In the past, like it or not, much of that sort of thinking came from the dominant religion in a region seeping into every fabric of the culture. So the parents were never expected to do the job alone.

Can there be any doubt that a society hoping to prosper has to find an effective way to instill in its young citizens an awareness of, and hopefully a respect for, its collective sense of right and wrong?

Finally, if it isn’t done in the schools, then where and when?

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Viewing the Greater Good as Nostalgia

The Constitution's first 10 amendments are known as the Bill of Rights; it's a list of the basic rights of a citizen. Thus, among other things the Bill of Rights appears to recognize that protecting every person's dignity is a worthwhile pursuit for a Democracy. 

Yet, "majority rules" is at the heart of democracy; as a principle it appears to recognize that what's seen as best for the community is sometimes more important than any one individual's rights and desires. 

 

As those two basic vantage points often conflict with one another, an orderly society needs governments to strive to serve the greater good. It needs laws and courts to settle arguments, establish guidelines and set absolutes. 

 

As well, society has had customs and it has had standards of morality. However, in the current age, millions of so-called "conservatives" seem to think that caring about their neighbors' interests is old hat. 

Collectively, the MAGA cult appears to believe that most liberals are only pretending to care a lot about the commonweal. That's because, the cultists seem to think that no one really cares about humanity more than they care about satisfying the desires of good ol' Number One.  

It says here that Trump's January 6th terrorists and their admirers view crafting a sensible political agenda, a platform designed to benefit the greater good as a nostalgia trip. To most of today's Republicans, serving society's greater good pretty much became too yesterday the day Trump was sworn in. 

After all, wasn't the turn to the crazy right the GOP made in 2016 powered by gathering and focusing the hateful reactions to Obama's two terms in the White House? To be clear, I'm talking about bitter reactions to enduring eight years of having a Black president?

It's far too soon to say if the Republican Party has begun to recover from its anti-democracy MAGA era. So, Biden still likes to use this spot-on quip: "This isn't your father's Republican Party." 

In 2023, that old saw packs more punch.    

-- 30 -- 

Words and Art by F.T. Rea

The Contrast Is Real

In my view, contrast, as a theme, should be at the heart of the Democratic Party's campaign message for the upcoming season. Spotlighting the contrast between the USA's two major political parties presents the D's strong suit in a flattering context.

Examples of the contrast are everywhere one looks. Whether we're talking about the nation's voters or their elected officials, the difference between the Republicans and Democrats is dramatic.    

Aiming to have a brighter future, it's fair to say Democrats generally think the government should facilitate problem-solving. However, gloomy Republicans seem to think most big problems cannot be solved, only managed.  

So, Democrats think about the future. Republicans think about the Gilded Age.  

The old hat saying alleging that there wasn't a "dime's-worth-of-difference" between the two national political parties may have been apt decades ago. Saying it now is totally out of touch with reality. 

Here's another easy contrast: When it comes to infrastructure, Democrats think worn out bridges should be repaired or replaced BEFORE they fall down. Democrats also think low unemployment is a good thing, which is another reason to deal with dilapidated bridges, ASAP. 

That, while Republican fat cats tend to like their labor cheap and hungry. Thus, high unemployment is preferable. Plus, as a byproduct, the traditional empty campaign promises to create new jobs have more traction. Truth be told, for Republican legislators, tax breaks for billionaires are way more of a high priority than responding to infrastructure obligations.

Most Democrats believe women should have the say-so over their own bodies. In contrast, the Big Brothers that Republican-led state governments have become mean to impose their decisions on the pregnancies of American women. 

Democrats want to make voting for all citizens to be more accessible when possible. Unlike Republicans, Democrats want fair elections. However, more and more, Republicans have been trying to manage the voting process in a way to benefit a desired end. So, to the shameless MAGA crowd, controlling who votes matters more than standing on a platform of popular policies. 

Elected Democrats are now keenly aware that democracy, itself, is under attack in this country. Part of the reason for that bubbling trouble is that elected Republicans are still trembling in fear of offending one man -- a power-hungry cult leader whose whims have come to matter much more than abiding by the Constitution or respecting the rule of law. 

2023's Democrats dream abut harmony. 2023's Republicans dream about dominance. Given what's happened in plain sight over the last seven years, only willfully blind eyes can't see the many contrasts. 

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