HenryBriggsColumn

America’s wanna-be king has always liked spectacles, from his publicity seeking bar-crawling as a NY landlord, to his one-line TV stardom (“you’re fired!”), to his paid audience who applauded his ride down the escalator in 2015, to his domination of social and mainstream media as President. 

It has always been about grabbing attention. Why understate when you can overstate? Why overstate when you can create a show? Why create a show when you can create a spectacle?

Israel destroyed most of Iran’s defenses and killed most of it’s leaders over the last 10 days. Then, at Netanyahu’s bidding, Trump ordered 125 aircraft, including seven B-2 Bombers, to attack Iran’s three nuclear sites with 30,000 pound MOP’s (Massive Ordnance Penetrators). First bombing ever: for the B-2 and the MOP’s. No one shot down. No one shot at.

A spectacular military success… in the eyes of Trump.

If any country bombed three US sites, we would be at war. Look what happened when Japan bombed just one site in 1941.

Fear of a real war may be why VP Vance claimed the U.S. wasn’t really at war with Iran, “we’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program.” Which is like the Japanese saying, “we’re not at war with the US; we’re at war with those ships in Pearl Harbor”.

War is not easy. Just ask Putin, with over a million Russian casualties in 3 years. 

Never mind. He doesn’t care.

In waging war on Iran Trump skipped Congress like many presidents before him. 

In the summer of 1787, the disparate but United States of America formalized the modern world’s first democracy with a patchwork of compromises and principals called the US Constitution. It was designed to prevent the remotest possibility of a kingdom.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 states that “Congress shall have the power to declare war…”, not the President. But they also gave President the right to tell the military what to do. Therein lies one, major, ongoing conflict between Congress and the President.

Congress, in its collective wisdom, has only declared war 5 times since the founding: the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. We won four, lost one.

US Presidents frequently ignore the War Powers Clause. Since WWII, they’ve started wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, among many others. Of those we tied one, lost one, won one, tied two. 

Congress, for all its flaws, is pretty wise about wars.

On this one, though, it appears Trump lucked out. Instead of declaring war on the US, Iran launched a few missiles and then accepted a cease-fire offer.

I’ll bet Putin is seething with jealousy right now.(Iпроклинать! Why couldn’t I have attacked Iran instead of Ukraine?)  

Life isn’t fair, Vlad.

Glowing in the media spotlight, Trump wrote last Sunday:  “It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change, but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???”

In 1953, Britain was obligated to pay royalties to Iran for oil it received from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh attempted to audit the AIOC to verify those royalties were being paid. When AIOC refused, Iran nationalized it’s oil industry and expelled foreign interests.

So Eisenhower and Churchill, leaders of the US and Britain at the time, engineered a coup that demolished Iran’s democracy and replaced it with a kingdom led by Shah Reza Pahlavi, which was upended in 1979 by an Islamic (Muslim) dictatorship led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A brutal, dehumanizing dictatorship.

Now there’s irony. Eisenhower and Churchill, heroic defenders of democracy, created 72 years of autocratic rule in Iran. Spectacular irony.

Do you suppose, after 7 decades, Trump is simply trying to right that wrong? (Do you suppose he even knows about it?) 

Which brings to mind something Trump has buried in an avalanche of Israeli and Iran stories: his abandonment of Ukraine, a democracy as courageous as any in history, as it struggles against Putin’s vicious attempt at regime change. 

Now that’s not just spectacular. It’s a spectacle, of shame, dishonor, cowardice. 

1) When country-wide protests are scheduled from 12:00 to 1:00PM on Saturday, June 14, read the papers and find out the biggest protest in the country will be at LOVE Park in Philadelphia. Ask your family and friends if they’re going to that one.

If the replies are “No, we’re too busy” and,  “It can get dangerous – Look at LA,” and (more than once), “you’re over 80,”  ignore them. But gently. Project, the 80 year old motto: “Been there, done all of that.”

2) Look up SEPTA trains. I mean, who wants to drive, right? Your car might be vandalized or towed, never to be seen again.

3) Look on the internet and learn that you might be arrested and have your phone taken away, or worse, have ICE track your every move… 

…And don’t take your wallet, and if you do, don’t take your credit cards or Medicare cards or cash.  Why? See above.

…And take a bottle of water to use in case you get pepper sprayed by police.

…And be alert. You never know when a Trumper might attack.

…And get a lot of sleep the night before, and eat a big breakfast that morning, because if you get arrested, you get thrown into cramped jails where they don’t feed you or let you sleep.

…And give your kids a time-line, so they’ll know when to send lawyers to look for you, assuming Habeas Corpus still works.

4) Look for an alternative protest site, say West Chester, PA,  and go there. (Actually, you might make this number 1 or 2.)

5) Get there early, and luck into a parking lot a few blocks from the Courthouse and right next to a Farmer’s Market and… doesn’t charge a fee on Saturdays! 

6) Leave your phone in the glove compartment, take your wallet with just your license, along with the water bottle, and a face mask in case you get pepper sprayed – 

Oops! Forgot the mask. Oh sh…!  Oh well…

7)  Walk three blocks, past blocked off streets in which kids are playing and restaurants are serving brunch, to the courthouse,  where early birds have gathered and are chit-chatting, signs by their sides.  Thank the woman who hands you and others tiny American flags, as other wear and wave them. 

(Hey! Does this mean MAGA no longer owns the American flag?)

When a Big Black Pickup roars by, horn blaring, Trump flag flapping above the cab, follow the crowd: a friendly wave, no middle fingers. 

(Wait! I thought these protests were going to be dangerous!)

8) Watch as the crowd builds. Parents with kids, mostly white, some black and brown people, and lots of gray hairs.

(Wow! Other old people!  Cool!)

9) Count the number of times the horn blaring Big Black Pickup roars by.  Three, maybe four, before it gives up and disappears. 

10) Mingle in the crowd as it fills the sidewalks and flows all the way up the steps of the Greek Revival Courthouse, built fourteen years before the Civil War.  Chat with police who are keeping people on the sidewalks and off of the street. 

Me to officer: “How’s it going?” 

Officer:  “Good, thanks. And you?” 

Me: “Yep. Me too.” 

Officer: “Have a good time”. 

11) Go back and get your phone. 

12) Ask a tall guy with a white beard where he  got his t-shirt that says “Presidents are not Kings!” 

“Amazon.” 

Of course. 

Chat with him and his wife…“It’s unbelievable.” “Marines on the streets of LA, squaring off against fellow citizens.” “How could a Marine grab that guy!?”

13) Look around and notice how many people are older, some wearing Army fatigues, some with crutches, one lady in a wheel chair. Commiserate with them about never- ever- imagining this country could fall so far.  

14)  Start taking pictures. Then notice all those signs. Not just “No Kings” but funny ones, sharp ones, emotional ones. 

An elementary school boy carrying a sign as tall as he is:  “I pledge allegiance to the flag, not a dictator” 

A gray hair’s t-shirt: “Vets Against Trump” 

A middle aged woman’s hand-written: ”Ice is best when crushed”

A gray hair’s: “Jail to the Chief”

A mom-type: “are we great yet? I’m just embarrassed” 

A 20-something: “So much wrong, so little cardboard”

Indeed.

“No Faux King”

“Alexa, Change the President” 

“Do Not Reign on us” 

“86-47 No Kings No Nazis” 

“No Dick Tator”

“Orange Lies Matter”

”Keep the immigrants, Deport the fascists!” 

“I don’t usually carry a sign but WTF!” 

“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention” 

“Is he dead yet?” 

15) Just before 1:00PM struggle through the dense throng. “Excuse me. Just trying to beat the crowd.” People smile and squeeze aside to make room. Back to the car. Drive home, stopping for Mexican food.

16) Enjoy feeling energetic, charged, hopeful.

In the summer of 1777, some very bright, very dedicated people cobbled together the US Constitution. It was considered imperfect at best, because there were so many compromises in it. In fact, some of the writers expected it not to last more than 25 years.

One of the items was the Presidential pardon. They figured that, although President could never be a king, it would be nice to give him the power of a pardon should the Justice System fail and innocent people need help.

Sweet, huh?

In 1985 Mitch McConnell III became Kentucky’s Senator. He is the longest serving Senate party leader in US History: Senate minority leader from 2007 – 2015; Senate majority leader from 2015-2021; Senate minority leader from 2021-2024. During those 40 years he has successfully pursued a life-long goal of filling the Judiciary with conservative judges, including the six out of nine in the current Supreme Court.  

It’s not the Roberts Supreme Court; it’s the McConnell Supreme Court.

In 1991, Clarence Thomas, supported by McConnell,  became the second African American justice of the Supreme Court after Thurgood Marshall, the first African American Justice and one of the best justices in US history.  

Thomas’ confirmation was challenged by Professor Anita Hill of Brandeis University who accused him of sexual harassment. The Senate, led by Joe Biden, defended Thomas and crushed Professor Hill. During his tenure, Thomas has accepted free vacations and free loans, $2.4 million so far, with another $1.8 million probable.  

Thomas is no Thurgood Marshall.

McConnell backed him in 1991, as he did Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, who was also accused of sexual harassment, this time by another professor, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. (Actually Ford accused Kavanaugh of sexual “assault”, not “harassment. I know,  tomato – tomato, right?)

Clearly integrity has been less of a requirement for McConnell than a conservative bent.

In 2010, the McConnell Supreme Court ruled that restricting corporations or unions from donating to political campaigns restricted free speech, in effect saying that corporations and unions (with a few or thousands of workers) had the same rights as individual Americans. 

Big Money has run politics ever since.

On July 1, 2024, Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointed during Mitch McConnell’s terms, ruled that a president has immunity from prosecution for criminal acts.

We now have the most corrupt, money grubbing President in history. Between 140,000 people (claimed by the Trump administration) and around 40,000 people (according to news reports) have been deported this year, in defiance of the Due Process Clause of the Constitution. The amount of money collected by Trump from foreign leaders as well as US billionaires, in defiance of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, is unknown, but large, including his new Air Force One,  Crypto profits, Gold Card visa program, etc… 

So, to review: 

1) Like most contemporary politicians, national and local, Trump got elected by Big Money, this despite no political experience, a record of six bankruptcies, racism, constant lies (30,000 in his first term alone), etc…  

2) The McConnell Supreme Court has given Trump, as President, immunity for any crime, for example: sending 40 thousand people to San Salvador prisons without due process.

3) Trump can order his underlings to commit any crime and simply pardon them if they’re caught, for example: Jan 6. insurrection.

Only kings and dictators can do that, right?

The other day I went to Costco to see about getting hearing aids (Yes, it is that time of my life). Not only did Costco tell Trump to take a hike when he ordered them to cancel DEI, they also sell hearing aids for far less than most places. So, I really like Costco.

Anyway, while waiting to have my hearing tested I read that Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, was asked by Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H, to define Habeas Corpus. 

Her answer? “Habeas corpus is a constitutional right that the President has to be able to remove people from this country.”

OK. Let’s pause right there. 

If you think Noem was right, raise your hand. If you think she was wrong, go ahead and laugh at those with their hands up.

End pause. 

I asked the hearing aid expert if she knew what habeas corpus was. “No”, she said in a tone that said “and don’t care.”

Fair enough. She doesn’t have to care, because the writers of the Constitution cared for her, as have most lawmakers since.

Republican Kristi Noem grew up in rural South Dakota. She got a  high school degree in 1990, went to college, dropped out, then went back years later, graduating with a BA in political science in 2012, while also serving as a US Representative.

Let’s pause again.

She is a member of the President’s Cabinet, people who enforce and obey the law. She  an ex-Governor, one who supports and enforces the law. She is an ex-Congresswoman, one who makes the law.   

There’s no way she doesn’t know that habeas corpus is a Latin phrase meaning “you should have the body” and refers to a legal order to bring a suspect to a court. It’s origin goes back to the Magna Carta of 1215, which said that no free man (as opposed to slaves, I guess) can be imprisoned without lawful judgement. It is also a US Constitutional right that protects against illegal imprisonment. Article One, Section 9, Clause 2 of the US Constitution says: “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” 

The last invasion of the US was in the Civil War, unless you count the British invasion of the 1960’s by the Beatles, Rolling Stones and others.

End pause again.

I understand how a hearing aid technician may not be familiar with habeas corpus. But how a person sworn to uphold the Constitution could describe it as a dictatorial tool floored me.

Then I remembered that Noem works for Donald Trump, the UPenn graduate who brags about his Penn degree, but blocked the school from releasing any of his grades.  Did he and Steve Miller, Trump’s new Roy Cohn, come up with the new definition? (Remember Roy Cohn, Sen Joseph McCarthy’s and later Trump’s political hitman?)

And was it Trump or Miller who just inspired her to halt (or try to) Harvard’s ability to enroll international students? 

Oh well, that’s Trumpworld, I thought.

Which brings up a bigger question: Does the average American know about Joe McCarthy. Or habeas corpus? Or the Magna Carta? Or basic American history? 

It’s unfortunate for a hearing aid technician to be ignorant of her basic rights. But what about an elected lawmaker? Is Noem’s 16 years of education worthless? Or is she just a Trump toady and liar? Does she think we’re all so uneducated, we won’t notice?

If so, is she right?

There’s an old saying, attributed in essence to Thomas Jefferson. “You can’t have democracy without an educated populace.”

That should give us all pause.