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United States Launches Largest ANTIFA Operation In History
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"The Story Of A Coward And A Commander" The Lincoln Project Compares Mattis And Trump
"The Story Of A Coward And A Commander" The Lincoln Project Compares Mattis And Trump
Alan: A “Christian” “conservative” friend flatly states that general Jim Mattis accuses Agent Orange of contradicting and jeopardizing the constitution because Mad Dog “hates“ President Trump.
I believe my friend - like most of her fellow “Christian” “conservatives” - is unhinged.
This is a major problem.
It is time for Christian leaders to start addressing the issue of Christian mania and other forms of Christian lunacy.
They could start by drawing a clear line between factual truth and opinionated falsehood.
Another way this distinction could be drawn is to condemn cruelty whenever it masquerades as "God’s will," not to mention calling out Malignant Messiah on his systematic, unrelenting abuse of everyday people - an abusiveness in which he delights and undertakes with malice aforethought.
I believe my friend - like most of her fellow “Christian” “conservatives” - is unhinged.
This is a major problem.
It is time for Christian leaders to start addressing the issue of Christian mania and other forms of Christian lunacy.
They could start by drawing a clear line between factual truth and opinionated falsehood.
Another way this distinction could be drawn is to condemn cruelty whenever it masquerades as "God’s will," not to mention calling out Malignant Messiah on his systematic, unrelenting abuse of everyday people - an abusiveness in which he delights and undertakes with malice aforethought.
New England Journal Of Medicine Determines The Lethality Of Trump's Family Separation Policy
Trump's Vicious -- Even Sadistic - Cruelty
"Conservative Cruelty: Donald Trump And The Relentless Normalization Of Monstrosity"A Critical Mass Of American "Conservatives" Are Stupid, Ignorant, Hateful And Cruel
"Trump's Cruelty Is Not A Marginal Aberration. Trump's Cruelty Is The Point"
"Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Trump, Toxic Christianity And Cruelty As A Moral Obligation"
"The United States Of Barbaria": It Comes Down To Cruelty...
The Perfect Paradigm For "The United States Of Barbaria"
Christian Conservatives, The Republican Party, And Deliberate Cruelty As A Source Of Laughter
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Trump, Toxic Christianity And Cruelty As A Moral Obligation
"The Cruelty Is the Point": Trump And Many Of His Followers Delight In The Suffering Of Enemies
"The Cruelty Is the Point": Trump And Many Of His Followers Delight In The Suffering Of Enemies
In The End, We Choose Between Cruelty And Kindness
Trump's America Is A Deliberately Cruel Place And "Christian""Conservatives" Are The Cruelest
Tennessee Williams' Critique Of Cruelty Should Be Included In The World's Sacred Scripture
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/09/tennessee-williams-critique-of-cruelty.html
Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Explains Why Republicans Are Qualitatively Worse Than Scrooge
Best Pax Posts About Trump's Cruelty, Mendacity And Seduction Of "Conservative""Christians"
"Cruelty Is The Point," An Update On Trump's Policies And His White Christian Base
For Trump And Trumpistas Cruelty (AKA Hellish Torment) Is The Point
"Trump Administration Argues That Caged Migrant Kids Don't Deserve Toothpaste And Soap"
Momma Said There'd Be Days Like This: "Cruelty Is The Point"
Family Separation And The Deportation Of Parents Constitute Kidnapping And Human Trafficking
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Systematic American Cruelty
"When Hate Came To El Paso," Introduced By A Central American Civil Rights Worker
My Own Contact With Family Separation, And The Young Girl Who Died
(The Story Of UNC-CH Public Health Professor John Hatch)
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-own-contact-with-family-separation.html
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Sea Turtle At Home
Alan: Thanks to my Brazilian biologist friend Ursula!
↧
Video: Muscular White Cop Beats The Shit Out Of Black Woman Carrying Shopping Bags
Video: Muscular White Cop Beats The Shit Out Of Black Woman Carrying Shopping Bags
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/california-cop-beats-woman-repeatedly-on-the-freeway/?fbclid=IwAR1zrOZsQPKNEzEPkNOOnRrtVlOQqpAYN93MlO8Jy0qeuNbSrIGq9fk72zk#x
From the first time I saw this footage six years ago, I could see it was uniquely savage and assumed it was uniquely racial.
If you had to wager your eternal salvation/damnation upon this cop’s political affiliation, what would you venture?
There, that wasn’t hard.
If you had to wager your eternal salvation/damnation upon this cop’s political affiliation, what would you venture?
There, that wasn’t hard.
The Woman Above Was Awarded A Settlement Of $1.5 Million
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/25/woman-punched-chp-settles/16192269/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/09/25/woman-punched-chp-settles/16192269/
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Man Who Drove His Pickup Into VA George Floyd Protest Was An Active KKK Member
Man Who Drove His Pickup Into VA George Floyd Protest Was An Active KKK Member
Alan: According to The Southern Poverty Law Center (which keeps the nation's closest eye on such things), 93% of certifiable U.S. hate groups are saturated with right-wing political orientation.
Duh.
Karen! It's your turn to remind us that the KKK is a wing of the Democratic Party.
The fact that you still make that claim -- and with a straight face -- is proof positive that you will say any Goddamn thing, no matter how unhinged or divorced from truth.
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America's Rogue Cops Are Not Just "A Few Bad Apples"
As Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley famously commented during the Democratic National Convention riots in 1968.
"The confrontation was not created by the police; the confrontation was created by the people who charged the police. Gentlemen, let's get the thing straight, once and for all. The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder."
To repeat: "The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder."
To paraphrase: "Trump isn't in the White House to govern. He's in the White House to ensure that chaos prolongs the violent oppression that about half the population has become conditioned to accept as "government."
Near the end of a 2016 Republican presidential candidates' debate, Jeb Bush turned to Malignant Messiah and said: "You are the chaos candidate" --- a line that rivals Hillary's "basket of deplorables" as the most insightful observation made by a presidential candidate in our last quadrennial election.
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Trump Lies About Buffalo Protester, Martin Gugino, A Catholic Worker Hospitalized By Bad Cops
Alan: Let's be straight about two things.
1.) Any Goddamn thing "could" be.
2.) Trump cultists only have to hear Malignant Messiah suggest that something "could" be, and in their malignant minds, it's taken as gospel.
Here's the crux of the matter:
1.) Any Goddamn thing "could" be.
2.) Trump cultists only have to hear Malignant Messiah suggest that something "could" be, and in their malignant minds, it's taken as gospel.
Here's the crux of the matter:
"Trump Is A Traitor By Virtue Of Normalizing Falsehood And Teaching Americans To Do The Same"
Alan: There is NO evidence that the 75 year old man whom police knocked unconscious, bleeding from his ears on the pavement, was a member of Antifa, a marginal organization with cumulative damage to property and person less that a fiftieth the damage caused by American GI, White Supremacist Timothy McVeigh. (And then there are all the other right-wing, violent hate groups who - according to Southern Poverty Law Center - comprise 93% of all American hate groups.)
"What Trump Gets Wrong About Antifa"Atlantic Magazinehttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/what-trump-gets-wrong-about-antifa/537048/
Trump is a deplorable human being.
His white "Christian""conservative" supporters are at least as bad for enabling his monstrosity, and often they are even more morally culpable.
Unlike Trump, white "Christian""conservatives" (who are neither) usually had souls before they sold them to the satanic manifestation of Malignant Messiah.
Now, they've moved from stupidity to stupefaction, deliberately destroying their moral compass so they would not be challenged by finding some fault with a man who slag/damages anyone who crosses his will or opposes his policies.
With "quotation marks" in place, google the following sentence: "Divine Revelation: Donald Trump Killed His Personal Assistant Carolyn Gombel In October, 2000"
I do not believe in post-mortem hell as a place of torment without surcease - indeed without possibility of surcease.
But if a hell does exist, Trumpista Christians are among the most likely candidates to spend eternity going around in circles on Satan's roasting spit.
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Blue State Secession And Subsequent Global Boycotting Of The Rogue Red State Left Behind
Dear Byron,
Thanks for your email and thanks for running the experiment of trying to post a link of mine from your machine.
At my end, I can post external links, but not my own.
This prohibition is a significant nuisance, but I take a measure of cold comfort in some people's observation that it may be a badge of "honor."
As I look out on th"the issues" I want to advocate, the following blog post (still undergoing revision) probes one of them.
If you have any thoughts, I'd be happy to hear what they are.
A Liberal Billionaire Or A Consortium Of Rock And Roll Stars Should Create A New, Progressive "Facebook"
The other issue where I want to raise consciousness is the matter of "Blue State secession."
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts About Blue State Secession
On my list of "things to write" is an amplification of the growing perception that the rapidly-fraying "United" States could end up on the wrong side of a global boycott, as happened with South Africa.
I am satisfied that Trumplandia (aka Jesusland) meets the definition of a Rogue State.
Were blue states to break away -- preferably entering into federation with Canada (and perhaps Mexico) -- I can see the European Union (and the new breakaway state) boycotting that portion of the United States which remains after secession.
Except for industrial strength banking services which can be performed anywhere (as we currently see in the relocation of post-Brexit banking services from London to Paris) "Jesusland" doesn't produce much that can't be easily gotton elsewhere.
Even I was surprised to see that oil is far from an "exclusive" Jesusland commodity with California, Colorado and New Mexico figuring in the Top 7 oil-producing states. https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/oil-production-by-state/ And, of course, Canada could provide additional petroleum. (Plus, being rid of Texas, Louisiana and the "stacked" states from Oklahoma to North Dakota would provide additional impulse to develop sustainable energy.)
Although "the yankee in me" partially prompts the following observation, I think what mostly fuels the south is grievance.
And if red states are forced to live under the kind of meanspirited regime they propose as a "shining Christian city upon a hill," I think it won't be long before all that hatefulness and spite (in the absence of whipping "boys" like Hillary, Obama, "the abortion issue" and libtards) cause them to cannibalize their own.
To a significant extent, bible bangers are agree, vengeful, militant people always on the lookout for people "who need killing" as southerners like to say.
So, if you combine self-cannibalization with the outbound flight of intellectual elites and the real hardship caused by global boycott and good ol boy ineptitude, the geo-political result would be even more chaotic than what they've already perped through Trump Cult.
I can see Jesusland -- its tail between its legs -- begging for "re-entry" to "The United States," but by then the "Good Christians" would have to swallow even more of their bizarrely inflated pride, agreeing to terms set down by The United States of Compassion And Education, chief of which would be kindness, charitableness and strict adherence to the findings of Science.
After ten to twenty years of global boycott, the Neo-Confederacy would be frantic for readmittance to The Union.
Who knows? By then, they might find themselves obliged to rejoin the United States of Compassion, Education and Socialist Europe --- with an American hemisphere federation "just around the corner."
To Compete With China, The United States Should Promote A "Hemispheric Federation"
Paz contigo,
Alan
On Wed, Jun 10, 2020 at 1:11 PM Byron C. Howes wrote:
Alan,
Try simply reposting The Borowitz Report without linking to your own
blog. I'm wondering if your "lady friend" has reported anything in
paxonbothhouses as what's abusive -- whether it's the URL rather than
the content.
--Byron
On 6/10/2020 11:50, Alan Archibald wrote:
>
> *Facebook Notification: "Your message couldn't be sent because it
> includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as
> abusive*."
>
>
> It is now standard operating procedure for Facebook to block every link
> to my own writing.
>
> One friend's response to Facebook's message was to wonder if Putin's
> hackers have reported me as abusive in order to eliminate an insightful,
> persistent critic of "Un-Potty-Trained-73-Year-Old."
>
> However that may be, I realize Facebook is (at least) legally entitled
> to impose whatever editorial standards it wants.
>
> But even so, the apparent ease with which "anybody" can silence a critic
> on Facebook is cautionary.
>
>
> Borowitz: Putin Rejects Trump’s Request for Ten Thousand Russian
> Troops to Guard White House
>
> https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/borowtiz-putin- rejects-trumps-request.html
>
>
>
> The Urge To "Shut Down Social Media" To Protect Electoral
> Integrity & Plato's 5 Kyklos Regimes
>
> https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-urge-to- shut-down-social-media-to.html
>
>
> Here is how Facebook's "Warning" appears on my computer screen when I
> try to post a link to my own writing.
>
> // Error
>
> _*Warning*_/_
> _/
>
>
> *Your message couldn't be sent because it includes content that other
> people on Facebook have reported as abusive*.
--
Byron C. Howes
1505 Jon Hus Court
Burlington, NC 27215
336-584-2067
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"When It Works To Defund The Police," Nicholas Kristof (Re-Building Police Depts From Scratch)
|
Some Americans hear “Defund the Police” and imagine a home invasion, a frantic call to 911 — and then no one at the other end. Let’s be clear — that’s not in the cards. But because of those fears, I have reservations about the phrase. It’s catchy and bold, but a poll found only 16 percent of Americans supported it. President Trump clearly sees “Defund the Police” as a political gift to him and the G.O.P., for he has been tweeting about it. |
Yet the idea behind “Defund the Police” seems to me not only sound but overdue — and that’s the topic of my column today. We should seek public safety not only from the policing toolbox but also from every other kind of intervention possible. Yet we’ve turned police officers in some cities into quasi-military forces, even as 3 million children attend schools with police officers but no nurses. |
Police shootings are a risk above all for young black men, but they should concern people of every complexion. My column notes that a white friend of mine in Oregon had his son shot dead two years ago by police in a hail of six bullets. What Kelly desperately needed was drug treatment, not gunfire. |
My column highlights an example of how moving from policing to public health to address drug addiction in Portugal has been very successful. That’s a model of “Defund the Police” — but of course we still want someone to answer when we dial 911. Please read. |
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Mike Mullen, A Retired Admiral And 17th Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, Blasts Trump
 Mullen interviewed by Chris Wallace on Fox News |
Admiral Mike Mullen (Ret.) Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff In a stunning rebuke of the elected commander in chief, several generals – from former secretary of defense James Mattis to former chief of staff John Kelly – have taken a stance against the president's handling of this crisis. But it was retired Admiral Mike Mullen, former chair of the joint chiefs of staff, who started this public conversation with an article titled “I Cannot Remain Silent.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/american-cities-are-not-battlespaces/612553/  General James Mattis Describes Trump As A Near-Nazi Turncoat Enemy Of The American PeopleStatement By General Mattis: If He's Not Saying Trump's A Traitor, What Does "Traitor" Mean?Former Trump Chief Of Staff John Kelly Dismisses Trump's Claim That Mattis Was Firedhttps://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/former-trump-chief-of-staff-john-kelly.html Former White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly: "I Agree" With Jim Mattis On TrumpMattis, Kelly And Defense Secretary William Cohen All Denounce Trump As A Dangerous Autocrat I Cannot Remain SilentIt sickened me yesterday to see security personnel—including members of the National Guard—forcibly and violently clear a path through Lafayette Square to accommodate the president's visit outside St. John's Church. I have to date been reticent to speak out on issues surrounding President Trump's leadership, but we are at an inflection point, and the events of the past few weeks have made it impossible to remain silent. Whatever Trump's goal in conducting his visit, he laid bare his disdain for the rights of peaceful protest in this country, gave succor to the leaders of other countries who take comfort in our domestic strife, and risked further politicizing the men and women of our armed forces. There was little good in the stunt. While no one should ever condone the violence, vandalism, and looting that has exploded across our city streets, neither should anyone lose sight of the larger and deeper concerns about institutional racism that have ignited this rage. As a white man, I cannot claim perfect understanding of the fear and anger that African Americans feel today. But as someone who has been around for a while, I know enough—and I’ve seen enough—to understand that those feelings are real and that they are all too painfully founded. We must, as citizens, address head-on the issue of police brutality and sustained injustices against the African American community. We must, as citizens, support and defend the right—indeed, the solemn obligation—to peacefully assemble and to be heard. These are not mutually exclusive pursuits. And neither of these pursuits will be made easier or safer by an overly aggressive use of our military, active duty or National Guard. The United States has a long and, to be fair, sometimes troubled history of using the armed forces to enforce domestic laws. The issue for us today is not whether this authority exists, but whether it will be wisely administered. I remain confident in the professionalism of our men and women in uniform. They will serve with skill and with compassion. They will obey lawful orders. But I am less confident in the soundness of the orders they will be given by this commander in chief, and I am not convinced that the conditions on our streets, as bad as they are, have risen to the level that justifies a heavy reliance on military troops. Certainly, we have not crossed the threshold that would make it appropriate to invoke the provisions of the Insurrection Act. Furthermore, I am deeply worried that as they execute their orders, the members of our military will be co-opted for political purposes. Even in the midst of the carnage we are witnessing, we must endeavor to see American cities and towns as our homes and our neighborhoods. They are not “battle spaces” to be dominated, and must never become so. We must ensure that African Americans—indeed, all Americans—are given the same rights under the Constitution, the same justice under the law, and the same consideration we give to members of our own family. Our fellow citizens are not the enemy, and must never become so. Too many foreign and domestic policy choices have become militarized; too many military missions have become politicized. This is not the time for stunts. This is the time for leadership. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. MIKE MULLEN is a retired admiral from the U.S. Navy and was the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. |
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The Outrageous Tragedy Of American Slavery's Auction Block
Slave Auction
My Own Contact With Family Separation, And The Young Girl Who Died
(The Story Of UNC-CH Public Health Professor John Hatch)
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-own-contact-with-family-separation.html
Slavery In America
History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-history
The Abolitionist Movement
History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/abolitionist-movement?fbclid=IwAR3fPZjrltp80kgkLNrc8dTtsFBeMJzrc_4-qjyCWnDyjoHI6iza-mhQhV4
History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-history
The Abolitionist Movement
History.com
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/abolitionist-movement?fbclid=IwAR3fPZjrltp80kgkLNrc8dTtsFBeMJzrc_4-qjyCWnDyjoHI6iza-mhQhV4
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Hey, Robert E. Lee!!! "How Many Weren't Filmed?"
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"Who Will Get Erased Next?" White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany's Wild Speculation
"Who Will Get Erased Next?"
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Says George Washington And Thomas Jefferson Could Have Their Names Removed If Confederate Generals' Names Are Stripped From Bases - Then Says Joe Biden Could Be A Victim Too
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8407979/McEnany-asks-white-leader-erased-Trump-says-wont-rename-bases.html
Hey, Robert E. Lee!!! "How Many Weren't Filmed?"
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/hey-robert-e-lee-how-many-werent-filmed.html
Where do today's generals (and admirals) stand?
"The Outrageous Tragedy Of American Slavery's Auction Block"
My personal experience
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-outrageous-tragedy-of-american.htmlMy personal experience
Hey, Robert E. Lee!!! "How Many Weren't Filmed?"
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2020/06/hey-robert-e-lee-how-many-werent-filmed.html
Where do today's generals (and admirals) stand?
Mike Mullen, A Retired Admiral And The 17th Chairman Of The Joint Chiefs Of Staff, Blasts Trump
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Trump Dodges Police Reform As Americans Show Huge Shift In Favor Of Black Lives Matter
| |
|
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White Americans' Treatment Of Native Americans: A Glimpse Of The Horror
"America’s Other Original Sin"
By Rebecca Onion
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/01/native_american_slavery_historians_uncover_a_chilling_chapter_in_u_s_history.html
The Enslavement of Native American People:
"Europeans didn’t just displace Native Americans—they enslaved them, and encouraged tribes to participate in the slave trade, on a scale historians are only beginning to fathom... Between 1670 and 1715, more Indians were exported into slavery through Charleston than Africans were imported."
Snopes: "Did Christopher Columbus Seize, Sell, and Export Sex Slaves?"
General George Washington Orders "Complete Destruction" Of Iroquois Settlements
The Origin Of White Supremacy: "An Indigenous People's History Of The United States"
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Who Are The Two Failed Politicians Famous For Holing Up In Their Bunkers?
↧
"Buffalo's Catholic Bishop Honors Martin Gugino After Attack By Police And Smear By Trump"
Buffalo Catholic Bishop Honors Martin Gugino After Attack By Police And Smear By Trump
Alan: Trump's outlandish assertion that Catholic peace and justice activist Martin Gugino is an Antifa operative, coupled with his outrageous suggestion that Gugino fell on the pavement as a theatrical "ruse" complete with a "fake blood bladder" in his ear so he could stage bleeding onto the concrete where he lay unconscious, are -- like so much of Trump's malicious, luciferian oratory -- the most salient proof to date that "His Toxicity" is fully qualified to "put on a clinic for Satan."
Those bereft souls who continue to accept Trump's nefarious falsehoods as "God's Truth" --- bullshit pronouncements that are immediately identifiable as soon as Tantrum Toddler begins a statement with the words: "It could be..." or, "We don't really know..." or, "Many smart people are telling me..." or, "I've heard from some of the best people..." --- those withered, self-mangled souls have a receipt somewhere signed Satan.
From now on, white, "Christian""conservatives" (who are neither) proclaim their alliance with The Dark Side whenever they come to the defense of the only public figure in America who doesn't just delight in cruelty but tries to persuade others that cruelty is a source of amusement, if not laughter.
Christian Conservatives, The Republican Party, And Deliberate Cruelty As A Source Of Laughter
Only God knows what "Dorian's picture" looks like by now.
Rest assured it is not pretty.
Any glimpse of Trump's current spiritual status lifts a manhole cover on fulminating excresence.
In that black hole resides a soul who projects his own psycho-spiritual fetidness onto innocent others by continually demeaning, belittling and trashing the reputation of honorable people.
It's as if His Malignancy has progressed from pussy-grabbing to "virgin sacrifice" - feeding on and parasitizing the best of humanity -- an open sewer of filth and toxic sludge whose gushing torrent has swept 60 million American adults into a moral and spiritual abyss.
Christian Ministers Have A Moral Obligation To Call Bullshit On Trump Cultists Spreading Lies
https://paxonbothhouses.
https://paxonbothhouses.
Republicans Generally - And Trump Specifically - Are Eager To Lie And Cheat If It Expands Their Power
"Millions Of Deplorables Voted For Trump Because He Was The Only Candidate As Crazy As They"
"Trump's Bullshit"
"Donald Trump Just Makes Shit Up"
Bullshit And Bafflegab: How To Separate Truth From Conspiratorial Falsehood
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/12/bullshit-and-bafflegab-how-to-separate.html
Fr. Thomas Merton Explains -- In 16 Words -- Why "Christian""Conservatives" Are Always Wrong
"The Moral Confusion Of Trump Christians," John Pavlovitz
https://paxonbothhouses.
"The Love Of Money Is The Root Of All Evil" - An Open Invitation To Christian Conservatives
If Trump Cult Liars Do Not Repent, Their Descendants Will Be Ashamed Of Them Forever
https://paxonbothhouses.
https://paxonbothhouses.
"Conservative""Christians" Refuse To Distinguish Between Punishment And Compassion
https://paxonbothhouses.Merton: "God Is Sick Of The Rich People And The Powerful And The Wise Men Of The World"
"Thomas Merton: Adolf Eichmann, Sanity and Normality"
Armageddon Cheerleaders: "Christian""Conservatives" Pining For Nuclear Conflagration
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts: What I Think About Christianity
Aquinas Discovers That "Divine Truth" Cannot Contradict Nature And "The Natural Light"
American Conservatives Are The Apotheosis Of Pharisaism. (Conservatives, Please Weigh In)
The Pharisee Party And The Devolution Of GOP Leaders Into Oligarchs Who Despise Democracy
The Pharisees Are Always With Us: A Field Guide
The Pharisees Are Always With Us: Here's What They "Look Like" Today
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspoJesus Rages Against The Hypocrisy Of Religious Leaders: "Woe To You Religious Leaders!"
Compendium Of Best Pax Posts On Organized Religion And The Everyday Validation Of Violence
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspoBibliolatry... And How To Live Happily Ever After
Why Doesn't This Trump Quote Reveal His Satanic Mendacity To Anyone With A Single Synapse?
"Hey, Christian! How Many Of Jesus' Moral Stands Do You Approve? Take The Test!"
"A Simple Test For Trump Supporters: Are You Hateful, Racist Or A White Nationalist/Supremacist?"
"My Attempt To Supply A Rigid Christian Friend With A Theological Alternative To Self-Strangulation"
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"De-Fund The Police": A Discussion WIth Another Leftist Who Has A Significantly Different View
Dear Patrick,
!["When Liberals And Progressives Say "Defund The Police," Are They Trying To Lose Votes? Proper Framing Would Say: "Rebuild EVERY Police Force FROM SCRATCH." | made w/ Imgflip meme maker]()
Alan
As a practical matter, I think the phrase "defunding police" is counterproductive.
It requires too much time and energy to smooth ruffled feathers and red alert conservative hormones just to get to Square One.
Here is an NPR interview which I think points in a more politically advantageous direction.
NPR: New Police Force From Scratch: N.J. Proves It's Advantageous To Reform The Police
What does "rebuild every police force from scratch" leave out?
I understand the temptation to argue that it leaves out the need to rededicate a HUGE chunk of the police budget to other ends.
But "Defund the Police" doesn't say that either.
Rebuild every police force from scratch - right down to the philosophical underpinnings.
Not only does the sentence work well. It doesn't require undoing all kinds of psycho-social knots to get to Square 1.
I think the populace is ready to make this happen.
Let's not make it unnecessarily hard on ourselves.
Pax et amore
Alan
On Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 7:17 PM wrote:
This is an amazing shift in thinking among many parties -- citizens and the media especially -- re. police brutality and asking the startling question: Is it even possible to salvage American policing in its current state of racist failure? Peace and Blessings, Patrick
-----Original Message-----
From: FAIR <fair@fair.org>
To: pmtoneill <pmtoneill@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, Jun 11, 2020 05:37 PM
Subject: Media Acknowledge Drive to Defund Police—but Seek to Blunt Its Radical Edge
Media Acknowledge Drive to Defund Police—but Seek to Blunt Its Radical Edge
Julie HollarCorporate media are typically loath to cover protests (at least, those not of the right-wing variety), as years of FAIR analysis can attest. But the remarkable ongoing nationwide protests against racism and police brutality have not only drawn widespread media coverage, they've shifted the national conversation on public safety.In the little more than two weeks since George Floyd's brutal death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, the idea of defunding the police was mentioned on the nation's TV networks and in its national newspapers at least 300 times. In the entire year preceding that, it was mentioned exactly twice (Washington Post, 1/10/20; CNN, 6/22/19)—both times using the specter of police defunding as a political weapon, and completely disconnected from any activism advocating for it.Today, nearly every major outlet has published an article attempting to explain what "defund the police" means—and most are treating the call with seriousness rather than derision. This remarkable shift comes as media outlets have become increasingly critical of the widespread violence by police departments across the country against nonviolent protesters, and against journalists themselves (FAIR.org, 6/9/20). This reporting on protester demands is a welcome change, and a testament to the power of nonviolent popular uprising.The public's perception that crime was rising when it was actually falling (Pew, 11/16/16) was a media failure.It's important to remember that media have been complicit in the steady increase in police budgets over the years. While violent crime has dropped dramatically since the early 1990s, people have consistently reported for the past 20 years that they believe it is increasing. (See Gallup and Pew research.) Media have played no small role in those misperceptions. The New York Times, for example, mentioned "homicide" or "murder" in 129 headlines in 1990, when the city's murder rate was 31 per 100,000. In 2013, when the rate had plummeted to 4 per 100,000, it ran more murder headlines—135 (HuffPost, 3/16/15).And newspapers have long been cheerleaders for expanded policing, like the discredited "broken windows" strategy of ramping up policing of low-level offenses in the hopes of having an impact on violent crimes (FAIR.org, 7/3/16). As Josmar Trujillo has pointed out (FAIR.org, 2/12/16), in the wake of the 2014 protests over the police killings of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in New York City, reporters and pundits steered the national conversation on police reform toward the idea of "community policing"—a term as agreeable-sounding as it is vague, and which in practice typically means more police, and more reliance on police for community problem-solving—exactly the opposite of what protesters were (and still are) calling for.Today, even as ideas for police reform that barely surfaced in corporate media in the past are becoming part of the mainstream conversation, media continue to try to steer that conversation away from its radical edge.Are we sure this is the Washington Post (6/9/20)? "It makes sense to consider changes to ways of doing things that were never optimal but have seemed, until now, so baked-in as to be beyond questioning."First, the remarkable: The Washington Post editorial board (6/9/20)—not known for its friendliness to revolutionary ideas—called the "provocative slogan...a welcome call to reimagine public safety in the United States." The editorial asked whether police really ought to be responding to mental health emergencies, dealing with homelessness, and funding local governments by "extracting fees from citizens," and opined that "onlookers are rightfully alarmed at plans to slash social services while sparing police budgets."The Los Angeles Times editorial board (6/8/20), which, as it openly acknowledged, "has consistently backed the expansion of the LAPD," argued that the city government's proposed 8% cut to the police budget should be "the beginning of a larger rethinking of the mission and scope of the LAPD," and that the city should stop "treating the LAPD as the answer to all public safety problems." At the same time, the paper clearly attempted to stake out limits on the debate, dismissing local organizations' call for a 90% police budget cut—with the funds redirected to community services and investment—as "extreme."At the Baltimore Sun, the editorial board (6/8/20) weighed in with ambivalent support that served to defang protester demands. "Defund the Police: Not as Scary (or New) as It Sounds," read the headline, under which the board explained:Here in Baltimore where the post-Freddie Gray police reform efforts have barely taken root, there’s an urgency to addressing police misconduct and criminal justice disparities (as well as broader societal inequities that transcend policing) but not necessarily to fundamentally changing course.They concluded: "This much is clear: Defunding is not an anarchist’s plot so much as a continuation of reform efforts, many of which have proven effective."Editorial support for protester demands, however tepid, was hardly uniform. The ever-reliably right-wing Wall Street Journal editorial board (6/8/20), for instance, held fast to fear-mongering under the headline, "Defund Police, Watch Crime Return," and many big local papers likewise pushed back against calls for police budget cuts (e.g., Chicago Tribune, 6/10/20; San Francisco Chronicle, 6/9/20; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/8/20)."Experts Say Not So Fast" (6/7/20), on the other hand, may be the most Washington Post–y headline ever.There are plenty of other examples of journalists and pundits throwing cold water on protester demands. Under the headline, "Protesters Hope This Is a Moment of Reckoning for American Policing. Experts Say Not So Fast,"Washington Post reporters (6/7/20) warned hopeful protesters that "Floyd's killing might not be the watershed moment that civil rights advocates are hoping for."Elsewhere in the Post (6/7/20), a team of reporters describing the defund police movement framed the dilemma facing politicians:Officials face a politically fraught decision about how to respond, weighing whether to stand with protesters who are demanding an extreme overhaul at the risk of jeopardizing public safety and taking authority away from police officers in communities that have sought more protection against violent crime.So to “stand with protesters” means “jeopardizing public safety”—thanks for clarifying, Washington Post!But this pat framing contradicts some of its own sources, who attempted to explain that calls for defunding the police are not calls for abandonment of public safety, but rather reinvesting in resources that will enhance public safety without the threat or use of force—and not such that “someone just flips a switch and there are no police,” in the quoted words of sociologist Alex Vitale, but over time.It also quoted Minneapolis City Council president Lisa Bender, who explained the majority's decision to disband the city's police department:It’s our commitment to end policing as we know it, and re-create systems of public safety that actually keep us safe…. Our efforts at incremental reform have failed. Period.The paper countered these views with several law enforcement voices, like acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, who called the idea of defunding police "an absurd assertion"—and it's those voices that come through in the paper's "neutral" reporting voice.Further down, the reporters wrote:Though a popular rallying cry at a tense moment, defunding police departments is not always what residents really want, and the issue of just how many officers to put in neighborhoods is complex, particularly in areas with high rates of crime.As evidence of what residents "really want," the paper pointed to a forum in Washington, DC, abouthow to ensure children and teenagers have safe routes to and from school after students were killed on their commutes. Students said they wanted more officers to patrol their routes, but they also said they hated walking out of their school buildings in the afternoon and seeing police cars parked outside.That's the whole point: what people "really want" is safety from violence, but for many, the sources of that violence include the police. When increased policing has always been the only solution given serious discussion in media, most people have had no way to even have a conversation about how to keep safe without having to rely primarily on a force trained in the use of militarized, violent tactics—which leaves them with seemingly contradictory and impossible responses to questions of public safety.Black Lives Matter has moved public opinion on racism and police violence nearly as much in the past two weeks as it has in the past two years--but Chris Cillizza (CNN, 6/8/20) is here to tell them how politics really works.CNN's Chris Cillizza (6/8/20) devoted a recent column to the rhetorical question, "Is 'Defund the Police' a Massive Political Mistake?" Cillizza's main evidence is a series of tweets by Donald Trump about the "Radical Left" and "Law & Order," and his campaign's farcical attempts to link Joe "Shoot 'Em in the Leg" Biden to the Defund Police movement.The "heart of the problem," Cillizza argued, is that while "it is likely that what most people involved in these protests want is not to take all money away from police departments and get rid of cops," but rather "an examination of the budgets for police departments and a look at the increased militarization of local law enforcement," Trump will destroy the nuance of that call.In fact, "defund the police" means different things to different people saying it, but for nearly all of them it means much more than "looks" and "examinations." They point out that reform has been tried in many places—including Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed—to no effect, which is why alternatives to policing are needed.But after watering down their demands, Cillizza's solution to the problem he laid out isn't using the power of journalism to make sure the conversation doesn't succumb to Trump's efforts. Instead, he advocated for politicians to likewise water down calls for deep, systemic change:Democratic leaders need to change the conversation to be about reforming police departments and re-allocating some resources for more community building and less militarization.By asking protesters to be less bold, to not overreach, Cillizza adheres to one of corporate media's most important roles: placing limits on the acceptable and the possible.Many of those calling to defund the police do mean exactly that. While nearly every outlet has been quick to ridicule the idea of defunding the police entirely as ridiculous—parroting the message coming from police themselves—police abolitionists are indeed pushing people to envision a world where police (and prisons) as we know them are obsolete.Chicago Reader (8/25/16) on police abolitionist Jessica Disu: "In light of relentless police violence against black people, she says it's clear that 'our police is not working—we need to replace it with something new.'"Taking away 90% of the LAPD's budget, as local activists have demanded, is essentially police abolition. As Mohamed Shehk of the abolitionist organization Critical Resistance argues:Those in power work very hard to make us believe that imprisonment and policing are natural, but we know the opposite to be true. These systems had to be put in place, and must be constantly reinforced and legitimized to the point that we are made to believe that our society will descend into chaos if they don't exist. In reality, the prison industrial complex is responsible for the chaos that many people experience through separation, destabilization and state violence, especially in Black, Indigenous and communities of color.Communities past and present have long used practices of resolving harm and conflict without relying on punitive measures, like caging or policing. There are many communities today who by default address conflict themselves because they simply don't trust the police—for good reason. More and more people have been exploring and practicing restorative and transformative justice models to hold people accountable for harm committed, many of which are inspired by Indigenous and non-Western practices and values. Harm and conflict predate cops and cages, will outlive them, and communities ultimately will continue to have creative ways of addressing and overcoming them.In a lengthy exploration of police abolition in the independent Chicago Reader (8/25/16), activist Mariame Kaba explains to reporter Maya Dukmasova that the abolitionist project is not just about police, but the whole prison industrial complex, and that it requires rethinking entire systems of crime, punishment, property and social relations: "Abolition is not about changing one thing. It's about changing everything, together."Media wave away this possibility as absurd, but how to move beyond the US’s racist, shockingly violent criminal justice system is a discussion our country not only can but desperately needs to have.Research assistance: Loretta Graceffo
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Cherokee Nation Debates Its Confederate Statue: How To Re-Dedicate Monuments Meaningfully
Dear A,
Here is an unexpected view of "confederate statues" broadcast earlier today on NPR's "Here And Now."
Cherokee Nation Debates Its Confederate Statue
WBUR's discussion Cherokee Confederate Statue focuses the need to establish "statue gardens" in museums and cemeteries where "the meaning" of statues can be contextualized with full input from "both sides."
At the get-go, I encourage people to display any-and-all revered symbols, even those that espouse hatred, on their own private property. (My Dad was fond of citing a quotation attributed to Voltaire: "I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.")
At the get-go, I encourage people to display any-and-all revered symbols, even those that espouse hatred, on their own private property. (My Dad was fond of citing a quotation attributed to Voltaire: "I may disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.")
Although statues that inflame people's "confederate sentiments" may "require" removal to statue gardens, imagine how our historical "conversation" would be transformed if every American statue (and other historic memorials) were labeled with a web address so that interested parties (using cellphone or computer) would be able to post their view of what a given statue/memorial represents historically, emotionally, culturally and in any other way contributors deem important.
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Here are some "nuts and bolts" of how "popular history" would work.
Engraved pedestal information will be limited to "name and date."
All those posting a view or explanation about a historic monument will identify themselves as "right,""left" or "center" to enable the creation of three "directories" that can orient citizens' database search.
Using cellphones or computers, individuals can vote for the online "view or explanation" that appeals to them most.
Every "monument webpage" will display a running tally of how many votes each "view" has received, and all posts will be listed in order of "voter popularity".
Although many details can only be worked out over time, people may vote once (a year?) from any given device.
Every "monument webpage" will display a running tally of how many votes each "view" has received, and all posts will be listed in order of "voter popularity".
The Top Ten "view/explanations" in each category - "left, right, center" - will be arranged on the "bottomless" webpage in three columns corresponding to the author's self-described political oriention.
Notably, it will be possible to search each column by keyword.
Although many details can only be worked out over time, people may vote once (a year?) from any given device.
All posts containing vulgarity will be deleted, or perhaps relocated in a NSFW "bin."
It is not necessary for participants to identify themselves although they are welcome to list their names.
It is not necessary for participants to identify themselves although they are welcome to list their names.
Creation of this fourth category will provoke heated discussion since many citizens believe that "fake news" has so polluted "the mainstream press" and "the halls of Academia" that professional historians do not deserve a separate category.
Although we human beings are "subjects" who, to some extent, view "objects" subjectively, it is essential that we pay special attention to professional historians just as we pay special attention to academically-trained physicians, nurses, engineers and architects.
As Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's "The Vietnam War" demonstrates, it is possible through long study of "opposing views" to marshal data, facts and information so that "the distilled view" of long, even-handed study is more meaningful and more truthful than "making things up" or pretending that "my opinion is just as good as your knowledge."
NPR: Ken Burns And Lynn Novick Discuss "The Vietnam War"
Here, in these "United" States, we are undergoing a linchpin epistemological crisis.
Tryanny's Best Kept Secret: It's ALL About Epistemology
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspo
We find ourselves in dire straits because too many Americans believe that "alternative facts," "out-of-the-blue opinions," and "whole-cloth fabrication" are as meaningful as views developed through sustained application of intellectual rigor.
If anti-intellectualism prevails -- and it must be noted that contempt for the so-called "intellectual elites" got the upper hand in last November's election -- "the center will not hold and things will fall apart."![Pax on both houses: Carl Sagan On Mystery: Why Common Sense Blinds ...]()
I should have been aware from the moment Trump appointed Steve Bannon as "Chief White House Strategist" that "the center not holding and things falling apart" was a central aspiration of the Trump administration, guided by the arrogant, indeed hubristic, belief that fundamental social and political change can only be worked when the existing order is destroyed.
In that destruction -- and in that destruction alone -- do Bannon and Trump see any real possibility of reversing the inexorable march of "the liberal world order," thus enabling re-construction of something "new" from the exploded materials of the putrescently decadent "old."
To this deliberately destructive end, even chaos is considered a blessing.
Trump's Master Plan
In that destruction -- and in that destruction alone -- do Bannon and Trump see any real possibility of reversing the inexorable march of "the liberal world order," thus enabling re-construction of something "new" from the exploded materials of the putrescently decadent "old."
To this deliberately destructive end, even chaos is considered a blessing.
Facebook Exchange With A Friend About The Planned Destructiveness Of Trump's Administration
Trump's Master Plan
It's Not That The Assholes Are Uninterested In Truth.
They Are Hostile To Truth.
"The Hardest Truth: People Want To Be Lied To"
https://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-hardest-lesson-people-want-to-be.html
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Quora: ¿Hubo Algún Emperador Romano Que Fuera Mucho Peor Que Nerón?
The Times Nero Tried To Kill His Mother (And The One Time He Succeeded)
Yo diría que sí.
En este momento en la comunidad histórica, hay cierto grado de debate en torno a Nerón y exactamente qué tan malo era. Se han publicado artículos recientes que afirman que gran parte de las acusaciones formuladas contra él son pura ficción, resultado de propaganda y exageración.
Sin embargo, aun así, mantengo que era al menos un emperador muy por debajo de la media. Si descartamos todas las afirmaciones más extravagantes y nos atenemos solo a los hechos, todavía revela que Nerón no era un buen emperador.
Sin tener en cuenta la quema cristiana, el asesinato de la madre y la crueldad que a menudo se atribuye a Nerón,
Quemado a través del tesoro construyendo un gran palacio dorado en Roma
Fui a la guerra con Partia y perdí
Esta fue una guerra que Roma era capaz de ganar. Roma era un imperio mucho más grande y rico y podía formar ejércitos significativamente más grandes que Partia. Nero carecía de seguimiento, compromiso y, sobre todo, envió generales por debajo del par para comandar el esfuerzo de guerra.
Como resultado de esta derrota, Armenia se perdió y la posición de Roma en el Este se debilitó.
Volvió a la gente, el Senado y las legiones contra él. Este es un desafío, ya que cualquier emperador con medio cerebro al menos tratará de mantener contento a uno de estos grupos. Al final, Nero era tan impopular que ni siquiera pudo encontrar a nadie que lo ayudara a suicidarse.
Después de su muerte, el imperio se vio sumido en la guerra civil y la destrucción. Su terrible reinado lleva al colapso de su dinastía, la dinastía establecida por Julio César y Augusto. Ni siquiera Calígula pudo lograr esto.
Estoy divagando. En cuanto a los emperadores peores, había muchos.
Más emperadores locos: si creemos que los reclamos pendientes contra Nero son ciertos, todavía hay casos más significativos de "emperadores locos". Por ejemplo
Elagabalus: Su principal "reforma" fue convertir a la fuerza el imperio al culto del dios oriental del Sol Elgabul (de ahí su nombre). Su breve reinado se gastó en privaciones y depravaciones excesivas. Le gustaba travestirse y llamarse a sí mismo como la esposa de Heirocles (su conductor de carro / amante gay) que REALMENTE molestó a los romanos rígidamente patriarcales. Famoso convirtió el palacio imperial en un burdel donde arrojaría orgías casi constantes, según los informes, incluso de pie en la entrada de la sala principal y solicitando a los transeúntes como una prostituta común. También jugó "bromas" a sus amigos, como servir comidas falsas y hacer que sus amigos comieran comida falsa o arrojar miles de flores sobre personas desprevenidas. Realmente pasó sus pocos años bebiendo poder, asistiendo a orgías y adorando a su extraño dios. Ah, y nombró personas para cargos políticos en función de la longitud de su pene.
Calígula: el famoso emperador loco. Calígula disfrutaba haciendo un montón de cosas locas como acostarse con sus hermanas, pasear a su esposa desnuda frente a sus amigos, violar a cualquier mujer que encontrara deseable y torturar a la gente por diversión. Él famoso instruyó a sus verdugos a "hacerlos sentir como si estuvieran muriendo". Quemaría las arcas imperiales en proyectos ridículos como construir un bote masivo para poder cruzar un lago y ganar una apuesta.
Sin embargo, aquí está la cosa: Nero es peor que estos dos emperadores. Elagabalus y Caligula no reinaron por mucho tiempo y después de que fueron asesinados, todas sus reformas fueron derogadas o reemplazadas. No perdieron ninguna guerra ni colapsaron la economía (bueno, Calígula lo hizo) y Roma se movió no más débil que antes. Notablemente, no hubo guerras civiles después de su muerte, lo cual es una ventaja en la compleja historia de la política imperial romana. Nerón, por otro lado, perdió guerras, perdió territorio, perjudicó la economía y su muerte condujo a una inestabilidad desenfrenada.
Entonces, ¿quién era peor? Bueno, hubo un puñado pero me quedaré con 3- Commodus, Caracalla y Thrax.
Cómodo
Cómodo nunca quiso ser emperador, quería ser gladiador. Él llevaría a la bancarrota al imperio arrojando constantes espectáculos de gladiadores donde él era la atracción principal.
Una cosa a tener en cuenta aquí: los gladiadores eran esclavos. En la jerarquía social romana había esclavos y gladiadores en el fondo, luego prostitutas y actores, luego las masas urbanas pobres, etc. Ver al emperador peleando en la arena era una locura por todos los estándares. Sería como un presidente estadounidense vendiendo su cuerpo en un burdel para financiar una adicción a la metanfetamina, pero aún peor. Es difícil contextualizar lo loco que esto era para el pueblo romano, pero les encantaban los juegos, por lo que nadie estaba demasiado molesto.
Commodus disfrutaba matando a sus "oponentes" lentamente. Los pocos que fueron capaces recibieron armas opacas o dañadas. La mayoría de las veces, aunque a Commodus le gustaba matar a personas que encontraba "extrañas", lo que significaba mujeres, personas discapacitadas y personas deformadas.
Cómodo renunció a la larga campaña germánica de su padre. Las guerras marcomanas iniciadas por Marco Aurelio estuvieron muy cerca de traer a Alemania al imperio como provincia. En lugar de terminar las guerras que estaban a meses de ser ganadas, Commodus buscó términos el primer momento que pudo y regresó a Roma. Esta sería la última oportunidad de Roma para tomar Alemania y Commodus la desperdició.
Como Commodus estaba ocupado luchando en la arena, nombró a sus amigos esclavos para dirigir el imperio. Estaban más allá de la corrupción y causaron hambrunas, colapso económico, desestabilización política e inestabilidad general. Se llenaron los bolsillos con esquemas locos como causar una hambruna para que sus reservas de granos se vendieran por un precio más alto.
Commodus era un gran admirador de los odiados juicios por traición donde cualquier persona que al emperador simplemente no le gustaba sería asesinada y su propiedad y fortuna serían confiscadas. Así es como Commodus financió gran parte de sus juegos.
Caracalla
Donde Nerón, Calígula y Cómodo volvieron a entrenar sus espectáculos de terror en Roma, Caracalla lo llevó a la carretera. Fue de pueblo en pueblo torturando, matando y siendo sádico. Todo el imperio fue su víctima.
Caracalla decidió que podía ignorar a la gente y al Senado si mantenía feliz al ejército. Entonces elevó el sueldo de las legiones a un salario inaudito, sembrando las semillas para el colapso total. Esta nueva tasa salarial era tan alta que requería impuestos mucho más altos. Incluso los nuevos altos impuestos no fueron suficientes, por lo que los agentes fiscales de Caracalla literalmente torturaron el dinero de las personas. Esto causó pobreza generalizada, desestabilización económica y el colapso general.
Caracalla comenzó una guerra estúpida y costosa con Partia por nada. Esta guerra se prolongaría y se dejaría a sus sucesores para tratar.
Caracalla mató a su hermano frente a su propia madre. Cuando llegó a Alejandría, fue testigo de una obra burlándose de él por esto: respondió matando a decenas de miles de civiles inocentes y casi destruyendo la ciudad.
Cuando Caracalla murió, el imperio cayó en la inestabilidad. Habría una guerra civil donde los nuevos emperadores verían el daño que los aumentos salariales de Caracalla habían causado e intentarían reducir el pago de las legiones, solo para ser asesinados y reemplazados por hombres que pagarían las legiones. Después de una serie de violentas luchas internas, Elagabalus surgiría como el ganador. Elagabalus moriría solo unos años en su reinado loco y su sucesor, Alexander Severus, hizo todo lo posible.
Thrax mataría a Alexander Severus y luego tomaría el trono él mismo. Alexander era un buen emperador y Thrax no lo era, así que esta fue una gran mancha en su legado
Thrax era un soldado de carrera y su primer movimiento sería aumentar el salario de las legiones, nuevamente. Ahora la tasa de pago increíblemente alta establecida por Caracalla empeoró. Continuaría la práctica de ir de pueblo en pueblo y torturar el poco dinero que quedaba de la gente.
El colapso económico y sus brutales actos de violencia contra el pueblo de Roma causaron dificultades significativas para todos.
Cuando Thrax murió, solo 3 años después de su reinado, el imperio se sumió en la crisis del siglo III, un período en el que todo el imperio colapsó y casi fue destruido.
Entonces, en general, había emperadores más locos y peores que Nerón. Tan malo como fue Nerón, estos hombres pueden ser culpados por la muerte del Imperio Romano.
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