by Barry Hastings

The first lesson was, Maryland residents need not apply (apparently, rightly so).

Second came via Ben Carson, viz., The meek shall not inherit the earth (and they’ll quickly sign on with the wolves).

Third came via Ted Cruz and becomes more obvious daily, The ‘Tea Party’ patriots are really a bunch of right-wing religious twi(s)t,s, who’d like to pry into your life’s most intimate sides, including medical care. They’d like to forget every bit of progress, and return to the good old days of the early 19^th century.

Some of them believe they can get elected, then flaunt a flagrant sexual relationship inside one of the State Capitol office suites. Then lie, and (attempt to) mislead investigators. Both subjects had temerity enough to believe they’d be re-named to the House following ejection (for her), resignation (for him). Cocky, prying, incompetent in government (and, apparently, in winning primaries, and at keeping secrets).

From Chris Christie came proof Americans will object to a dough-boy with a bullying manner faster than to a bullying freak with lacquered hair. Crisco also proved the dough-boy will quickly ‘kow-tow to Massah.’ Pa – freaking – thetic!

What we learned from Carly Fiorina is the time for women who look, sound, or act ‘uppity,’ ‘snottfe,¹ or ‘brusque,’ has not yet ‘arrived’ in politics. She’s the one who should have taken on the Donald. Had he insulted her, she’d (likely) have ripped-off his unlikely hair, and beaten hell out of him with it.

From Gov. John Kasich, we learned that what flies in Dayton, might not in Detroit. Up here, John, we’re pretty tired of incompetent Republican government. Yes, the usual suspects can’t bring themselves to support open, competent, honest, legislative and executive branches. Those two branches of Michigan government have insulated their workings from the public by opting out of FOI laws. Everyone liable but the most crooked. (If people ran their lives the way elected officials run government. . . , why, why, why, they’d be belly-up, at best or in the State-run Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, at worst.)

From South Carolina’s Senator Linsey Graham, I can only ask, “what in the world ever convinced you there was the slightest, itsy-bitsy-est, chance of you being a presidential nominee?” It had to be a ‘Delusion of Grandeur/ of the first magnitude, even considering the (hot gas) party you represent so perfectly. They all seem to see the man with improbable hair as their Fuhrer.

These Trump rallies are very reminiscent of Germany through the last half of the 1930s, where the big man’s Blackshirts and Brownshirts took care of security and ‘interference,’ with blackjacks, cudgels, revolvers, concentration camps. His followers eat it up. Cops who volunteer providing Trump’s security, hear the candidate urge the violence on. (Ya gotta’ wonder about them.) I wonder if Trump’s mom ever told him about “Reaping what one sows?” Where-ever she is, she just can’t be proud of what he’s doing. He should be arrested and charged with “inciting to violence.” (A good electoral ass kicking would be acceptable.)

Senator Marco Rubio demonstrated as fact, the proposition that boys should stay out of grown-up work. (Florida, how could you?)

From Jeb Bush we learned that a notorious and/or criminally-associated name is not a godsend (especially when you try to bring the notorious and/or criminally-associated person into play, politically.) People know Jeb’s brother was the dumbest, most-ignorant president since the great Indian killer and knife-fighter, Andy Jackson. (Far from being the brightest light in our constellation.)

From Rick Perry. Not the biggest pair of horn-rimmed eye-glasses can broaden knowledge and increase perspicacity.

There are more of them (16 in all), some of them sadder than those above, but they’re the ones we’ll (almost) certainly never hear from again. Some of those above will return to haunt us, some of them to plague us. Mostly the latter, I suspect.

On another matter… and better people. Good on ‘the Big Apple’s’ former Mayor Bloomberg, a man of immense wealth, businesslike mind, good works, and public service. He elected not to run as a third party presidential candidate. The political situation being so volatile, Bloomberg knows he’s missing an opportunity, but didn’t want to chance a miscalculation that might allow election of, you guessed it, Donald Trump. Thanks for thinking of the nation, Mr. Mayor, rather than yourself.

Bernie, take note, immediately above.

And that’s hard to write, Bernie being the candidate of most decent disposition toward ^“the bottom 98 percent” of us. And there’s no way he’d pare and peel people off. And he’s right, the enemy of the people isn’t the government, it’s the wealthy, the big corporations, and big finance who corrupt government (on every level), the “two percent” who all but own, and constantly toy with, the rest of us. The only way to stop it, is to regulate, regulate, regulate and enforce, enforce, enforce, ’til they get the message. Even if it takes prison time to convince them. Dismantle Apple, for a start, or decipher the damn phone.

Hell, big business is killing us every day, in every way from toxic emissions and faulty automobiles, to ads featuring reckless driving, to lead-laced water (and there is more of it in Michigan than will please folks). We’re beset by their lying advertisements all day, every day. (Who’d have believed there are so many medicines (and with so many cautions?) Nor are our fine natural resources, the big lakes in particular, being properly protected. State government has allowed deterioration of highways and secondary roads to a point well below dangerous condition. The Feds could apply some pressure (or some money) here. Basically, Michigan’s whole physical infrastructure is a pot-hole Republicans have done closer to little, than some, to improve.

‘Bernie’ or ‘Hillary’ is my mantra now, but I believe her to be toughest and personally the strongest-willed. Saddle up. (You go, girl!)

If corporations are people, as the big court has decreed, let their officers be liable to criminal penalties for 50-cent parts that take scores of lives because they don’t want the hassle (and loss) of a recall. THERE IS HARDLY A BUSINESS OR INDUSTRY, NOT ONLY IN MICHIGAN, BUT ACROSS AMERICA, THAT DOESN’T REGULARLY ABUSE ITS CLIENTELE, THIS SPECIFICALLY INCLUDES THE FOOD INDUSTRY — WITH THEM IT’S POISON, POISON, POISON. And they know it.

A response to recent comments by ‘fleamarketman’

I understand (by word of mouth) I must have kicked the fleamarketman’s crazy bone. He has a love affair going with memory of those crazy Civil War cavaliers, and answered a few simple queries and statements with a long-winded list of might-have-beens, could-have-beens, should-have-beens. But the fact is their first mistake, was their worst mistake, firing on troops of the federal government in a federal fortress (at Fort Sumter in 1862). It was an insane attempt to protect and preserve the “Peculiar Institution” of buying, selling, owning, abusing other human beings, in a system designed to keep wages low for po’ whites, comfortably upper class for plantation owners. They hoped the English would join the fight on their side, but the Brits would have none of it.

The poor fellow seems to believe people like J.E.B. Stuart and R.E. Lee (not to mention a much longer list) who were willing to cause the deaths of just under a million soldiers (North an South combined), to preserve a comfy way of life for themselves, and their families, while the families of their soldiers, in the best of times, were for a long time before and after their surrender, living on squirrels, bunnies, poke salad, and white lightning. President Lincoln and his Generals (Grant, Sherman) offered the hand of friendship and assistance re­integrating… and they spit on it. Never before in history had such a badly defeated people (who fought so hard to preserve slavery) been offered such an easy road to forgiveness. But the hatred they’d stirred up among people of the south bore fruit with the assassination of Lincoln — whose plan for them was much milder than what they got through bull-headed hatred and murder of the man.

Yes, the Union military had a tough time at the start. The problem occurs regularly in history of democracies, who have to hash things out. The Northern Army was saddled by a number of old (and younger) fuddy-duddy general officers early in the fight. But when they found a good one, they kept him employed. No matter what happened early-on, once Grant was installed as overall Army commander, the road was all downhill for the Rebs. Toward the end, their army was in pathetic shape — many, many desertions from Lee’s force (and others) occurred as Sherman crushed Georgia, South and North Carolina. They never accomplished anything worthwhile, worth remembering. When things got tough for the south, they quit.

Why did black men swarm to service in the Union army and navy (where they proved to be remarkable soldiers)? Southerners have been trying to re-write history of those sorry times since the war ended in their defeat, and to their utter discredit. They fired the first shot, Uncle Sam the last. They ended with an economically ruined South (30, 35 years worth), and with thoroughly kicked butts. When Lee surrendered (s-u-r-r-e-n-d-e-r-e-d) at Appomattox Court House, most of his soldiers hadn’t eaten in days – they cheered arrival of food rations sent by General Grant, and other generous acts.

I’d be happy to supply you with list of books (none by Shelby Foote) that will make the fact of Southern defeat absolutely clear, even to a buffoon. The Confederate will to continue, civilian and military, died while Sherman marched through the deep South, Grant daily pressed their army in Virginia, and the navy kept any further help from arriving on their shores. Nothing romantic about it.