Barr is not a person any of us- regardless of political viewpoint - should be comfortable with as AG.
He is of the small tribe that believes in the “Unitary Executive” which is about as opposed to the structure and roles of our government as could be imagined. He is authoritarian in nature and not to be trusted.
That describes most of the current leadership in the Republican Party, though, does it not?
“ Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or “things to be seized.
Barr and others would rather require every door to not have a lock, nothing be encrypted, and police, FBI and DOJ have free access to everything--except their own things. No laws about protecting citizens--except for them. This is what Hitler did--for those of you who slept during history class, I suggest you read about this and while you're at it read about J. Edgar Hoover. He has been reincarnated in William P. Barr. Both had/have total lack of respect for our constitution and laws.
I second the notion of discovering more about history, ideally from multiple perspectives. The sad thing is, I never slept through history class in grade school but we weren’t really taught anything useful about history, even contemporary history like WW1 and later. It was just names and dates and trivial simplifications of events. I wouldn’t even call it education because it didn’t impart any useful knowledge, unless you’re a Jeopardy contestant.
The glossing over of history in the US education system is really too bad. If you discover history as an adult you’ll quickly realize that history is the cultural DNA that makes us what we are today. Going back and reading about WW1 and WW2, or most any historical event, as an adult, is always an eye opening experience.
There’s a tendency in the US to treat history as buried refuse of a more primitive time with far less enlightened and educated population, and that we’ve now all risen above what happened then during our current lifetimes as modern humans. That’s simply not true. The people, cultures, and collective consciousness that allowed the events and turmoil of WW2 to take place are still with us today, baked into the cultural DNA that influences everyday life. The technology in our lives has evolved tremendously in the past 65 years but we as humans have evolved very little, if at all.
Yes, that's true. We used the education system to whitewash and simplify our history.
I think part of it (at least for me) came about through the cold war: The Soviet Union was trying to gain world domination of their system and influence. So, we were in a very real battle with them for the high ground -- we had to be able to claim that "We were the good guys". So, our past land grabs, genocides, corporate corruption, etc., as well as the ongoing clandestine activities (say to undermine foreign elections) just didn't support the way we wanted to see ourselves or for the rest of the world to see us.
So, our history got white washed as much as possible -- or more accurately, repainted to show the picture that we wanted to see.
Curiously, just last night I was watching a documentary on the industrial tycoons (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Frick, etc.). They were brutal, amoral characters whose only use of honor and ethics was to advance their own goals. But, they built the foundation that our modern industrial complex stands on today.
But, my grandson is in 7th grade and studying American history. Truthfully, I am not at all sure that I want him being taught the truth -- it may be best for him to (first) learn the white washed version.
“ Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or “things to be seized.
Barr and others would rather require every door to not have a lock, nothing be encrypted, and police, FBI and DOJ have free access to everything--except their own things. No laws about protecting citizens--except for them. This is what Hitler did--for those of you who slept during history class, I suggest you read about this and while you're at it read about J. Edgar Hoover. He has been reincarnated in William P. Barr. Both had/have total lack of respect for our constitution and laws.
I second the notion of discovering more about history, ideally from multiple perspectives. The sad thing is, I never slept through history class in grade school but we weren’t really taught anything useful about history, even contemporary history like WW1 and later. It was just names and dates and trivial simplifications of events. I wouldn’t even call it education because it didn’t impart any useful knowledge, unless you’re a Jeopardy contestant.
The glossing over of history in the US education system is really too bad. If you discover history as an adult you’ll quickly realize that history is the cultural DNA that makes us what we are today. Going back and reading about WW1 and WW2, or most any historical event, as an adult, is always an eye opening experience.
There’s a tendency in the US to treat history as buried refuse of a more primitive time with far less enlightened and educated population, and that we’ve now all risen above what happened then during our current lifetimes as modern humans. That’s simply not true. The people, cultures, and collective consciousness that allowed the events and turmoil of WW2 to take place are still with us today, baked into the cultural DNA that influences everyday life. The technology in our lives has evolved tremendously in the past 65 years but we as humans have evolved very little, if at all.
Yes, that's true. We used the education system to whitewash and simplify our history.
I think part of it (at least for me) came about through the cold war: The Soviet Union was trying to gain world domination of their system and influence. So, we were in a very real battle with them for the high ground -- we had to be able to claim that "We were the good guys". So, our past land grabs, genocides, corporate corruption, etc., as well as the ongoing clandestine activities (say to undermine foreign elections) just didn't support the way we wanted to see ourselves or for the rest of the world to see us.
So, our history got white washed as much as possible -- or more accurately, repainted to show the picture that we wanted to see.
Curiously, just last night I was watching a documentary on the industrial tycoons (Rockefeller, Carnegie, Frick, etc.). They were brutal, amoral characters whose only use of honor and ethics was to advance their own goals. But, they built the foundation that our modern industrial complex stands on today.
But, my grandson is in 7th grade and studying American history. Truthfully, I am not at all sure that I want him being taught the truth -- it may be best for him to (first) learn the white washed version.
9th grade I was handed Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and quickly realized that “white washed version” was complete bullshit, and I had a hard time trusting the American education system after that. I would’ve rather been told the truth.
What about our consent? These people are deciding whether they should have access to our data without even consulting us. I'm sure if there's a poll. Almost every customer will oppose it.
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That describes most of the current leadership in the Republican Party, though, does it not?
Yes, that's true. We used the education system to whitewash and simplify our history.