Wednesday links: America, the banana republic?
RWL #335
Greetings from the University of New Hampshire! Thank you to all of you who donated yesterday to the annual fund raising campaign for my Department (and UNH). For those of you who missed yesterday’s note - UNH is doing its annual fundraiser and my Department is participating. We are trying to get 100 donors to my Department, regardless of the amount. Please consider making a small donation to help my colleagues and I promote health management education by giving here: http://bit.ly/3KnqRUd
For me, spring officially begins when the crocuses (croci?) appear. It’s a little color in what I call “the long, gray time” of spring. The daffodils and tulips are also sprouting, but they are still a week or two away from blooming. The croci (I kind of like the ring of that, even if it’s wrong) are always the first. Delicate little flowers that promise the end of cold and the return of green. Summer in New Hampshire is so lush and beautiful. Too bad it only lasts three days. JK - we have a good five months of green coming soon. I’m really ready for it. So welcome, croci, heralds of spring!
This week’s links are about the pending Trump indictment. I usually stay away from straight politics here, but I don’t see this as straight politics. I see this as an assault on our system and I am deeply concerned. We are headed toward banana republic status if we can’t get the operators in our two parties to start acting like adults.
So happy Wednesday. I’ll be back Sunday with an essay, which will hopefully not be this gloomy. And thank you for supporting my students.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
Read
What: The Free Press, Alvin Bragg’s Dangerous Stunt
Why: If you are living under a rock and reading this, then you might not know that Donald Trump has been indicted in a New York court. We don’t know what the charges will be, but they are widely expected to be connected to hush money he paid to a former porn star to conceal his affair. Everything I am reading and hearing about this indictment is it is going to be flimsy at best, and either unlikely to result in a conviction, or result in a conviction that will be appealed and likely overturned. (I am writing this on Tuesday afternoon - things might change by the time you read this)
Like the author of this piece, I don’t like Donald Trump. I don’t like Joe Biden, either, but that is a story for another day - maybe when the shoe is on the other foot and an overzealous Republican tries to charge him. And “what is good for the goose is good for the gander” is the real problem here. These charges are precedent setting. One of the strengths of the US system of democracy has been the peaceful transfer of power. This includes not throwing the losers of elections in jail. This is a thing that is done in banana republics, not advanced democracies. I am deeply concerned that Mr. Bragg is primarily working for Mr. Bragg’s best interests, and not the well-being of our society. Trump broke a lot of informal rules and crashed through informal guard rails that keep our system healthy. It was bad. But this only makes it worse.
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Watch
What: Peter Zeihan, The Winner of the 2024 US Presidential Election Is… (13 min)
Why: I don’t really know Zeihan’s politics - I think he has said he is center-left. But I like how he looks at data and systemic factors.
If he’s right, and Bragg starts a trial, we could have a former president running for re-election while on trial or from a jail cell. How much of a mess is this? Again, banana republic kind of stuff. (even if he is right that Biden wins, which is only good because he’s not Trump)
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Listen
What: Advisory Opinions, Trumped Up? (75 min)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/trumped-up/
Why: I have a hard time believing I listen to a legal issues podcast, but I really like listening to these two and I feel like I learn a lot from their discussions. This pod aired last week, but it’s a useful analysis.