You know the 'ole saying/query: Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Indeed. Being one of those who ever prefers to get the bad news over first, who prefers delayed gratification (as the eminent, brilliant and prolific, long since deceased author *H Scott Peck discusses in intricate detail in his inimitable
The Road Less Travelled), we're gonna begin with the bad news...get it over with ipso pronto...so we can focus/concentrate on the more interesting stuff (and reason I'm bothering to post this at all).
So, the 'bad news' first. Yes, despite my innate (political/ideological) 'sympathies' ever being with both libertarian and non-interventionist Republicans (such as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul) and/or (economically) progressive Democrats of the Bernie Sanders variety, in the matter of **prematurely withdrawing United States ground troops from Syria - while Sissii International continues to run riot, to cause mayhem and terror ('alongside' Al-Assad et al) throughout the length and breadth thereof, surely doing so is a real ****no-brainer...in this case evidencing a real dearth of the grey matter.
*****As now-retiring/quitting Defence Secretary James (Jim) Mattis (effectively and succinctly) declared: It's not what the U.S. oughta be doin'! Or, as me 'ole mate Smeagol-Gollum might've - even more eloquently - expressed it: "Silly [Commander-in-Chief]:
theeze ain't decent [times and]
places!"
But as for the good news...I'm afraid you'll just have to wait awhile...till I've fed my face (and all the rest). But ******hopefully the remaining (more substantial raison d'etre) of this blogpost ain't far away...
*Who, bearing upon the theme of this and my most recent blogpost, himself planned a run for the White House (doubtless as an independent) back in 1984. But of course - even if he
had attempted such, had scant chance thereabouts...though other independents - most notably Ross Perot in 1992, the one-time Republican Theodore Roosevelt (going for a then would-have-been historic third term) back in 1912, and (the effectively, in all but name independent) D J Trump himself (though indeed selected by the Republicans - the party base, that is, if hardly the party establishment)...have given it a fair slice of the whack, or whatever said saying is...
**Or, according to Trump's own (then perceptive) reasoning, whether and even if troops on the ground are sent/deployed and/or withdrawn/recalled,
why the heck let anyone (on the enemy side) even know?!?!? That's surely one large-scale own goal, don't ya think? 'Coz if no formal, official announcement as such was/is ever made to begin with...then conditions on the ground thereafter can (after a certain period) be reevaluated and re-ascertained and if necessary rectified without any major ado let alone loss of credibility to the ***Yanks...much less effective boon for the combined forces of Sissii Internationale...
***Used by myself as a backhand term of endearment (i.e. only a gentle dig in the sense of I happen to like the word and see precious few other opportunities to use it) - after all, I've shared American citizenship from birth.
****Using said term, not as commonly employed, but in its strict(est) technical meaning.
*****And now yet another very senior official, the head of America's Anti-Sissii coordination outfit, has joined him.
******And indeed has long since been scribbled out (in draft form)...I just need to decipher and then translate the same into legible (and understandable) English.
Part Two: A Necessary Bridge from the Bad News to the Good News - admittedly somewhat (i.e. three days, to be precise) later rather than sooner...
So what's to celebrate? Very little ...at all...if you pedantically, scrupulously, and I'd suggest wearisomely (not to mention cringe-worthily and in a highly partisan fashion) follow the standard media script...which is essentially:
if Trump's 'a-fore it' , then hey, ipso facto, I'm agin it.
But seriously, folks, that's the stuff of childish, *'all-black - all-white' thinking, whereby everything ultimately comes/boils down to the glib, simplistic 'my tribe's (ever and always) right, your tribe's (ever and always) wrong' kinda perspective upon all matters under consideration...which gets everybody precisely nowhere in no time at all...
*Thanks or at least credit here to the God-gifted co-authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend. Though in this instance I might not be directly quoting any specific statement they've made on the matter in any of their wonderful books over the years, such as
Boundaries,
Safe People,
The Mom Factor (in particular), this concept comes out clearly especially in the latter two tomes.
Wherein significant life stages, such as early childhood, with its bonding, later infancy with its separation, the teenage/adolescent years with their individuating/independence and adulthood with its maturity, each tends to have its own corresponding developmental needs, challenges and goals (to be successfully mastered), and which if not successfully 'dealt with' at that time, can cause almost endless later life difficulties, headaches, heartaches and complications.
To Be Continued: Part Three: Finally - The Good News!
Yes, folks, there
is indeed - amidst all the current political turmoil in Washington D.C., and all the social and ideological ferment throughout American society (upon all manner of fronts and issues) - some/a *'smidgen' of good news...upon the U S frontier... . No, not vis-a-vis the ongoing immigration 'standoff' (or however you'd describe it) on America's southern/Mexican border, but in the capital itself...
For - perhaps entirely unbeknownst to the vast majority of international onlookers closely following all the ins and outs of the present Trump Administration and all the various attempts to bring about its premature demise, and no doubt no thanks to the mainstream media with its never-ending and **quite frankly wholly unprecedented, highly partisan attempts to ever and only portray Trump & Co in the very worst light possible (till it's become incredibly wearisome to those who still value the long-established principle of true journalism, i.e. dispassionate impartiality, balance and fair play)...
Guess what, folks? Under all our noses - no, there has been
some, however minimal, coverage here in God's Own (and c/o the internationally-respected and renowned BBC) - ******the First Step Act, a major prison reform bill, has now been passed through both/***all three of America's legislative and executive arms of government.
***********Following an overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives passing the original draft of the legislation back in May, the Senate just recently gave it the thumbs up with an exceedingly uncommon massive bipartisan majority (of 87 to 12), and pretty well immediately thereafter it readily gained the enthusiastic, expected sign-off by the President himself.
For the time being let's just say the new law, coming only a couple years after a similar (I believe more limited) ********Obama-initiated bill was indefinitely held up on the order paper by Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell in the run-up to Presidential Election 2016, thereby effectively putting (thankfully, only temporary) paid to it, is a good, great ******first step towards overhauling America's
federal justice system. Innovative legislation which the BBC characterized as a sweeping criminal justice reform bill seeking to address concerns the U.S. locks up too many of its citizens.
Championed by President Trump, spearheaded by his nephew-in-law, White House Advisor Jared Kushner, and passed by sweeping legislative majorities, the law will actually only deal with those incarcerated in America's federal penitentiaries, 10% (i.e. around about 220,000) of the nation's 2.2 million jailed citizens.
But surely that's a worthy and worthwhile start, especially when one considers, however cursorily, the endemic problems in the United States justice system as revealed to one and all through the systemic issues brought into the open by the
Black Lives Matter movement. And when one also realizes that the U S of A has long 'led the world' (proportionately-speaking as well as numerically) in the sheer number of its jailed citizens.
*Understated for emphasis, you'll realize.
**Need I repeat yet again how personally I am neither an especial supporter of Trump himself or his Administration? Surely not, but as a budding journalist from my early teenage years I still do happen to value the (these days, admittedly rare) existence of a truly independent media... -and incidentally, the former (Trump et al) are most definitely not the only purveyors of
fake news in our day and age!
***Technically speaking, America has three basic arms of government, the executive (i.e. the President), the legislative/legislature (i.e. both the Senate and the House of Representatives) and the judiciary (the Supreme Court)...a fact which is the basis for the well-known '
separation of powers' and '
checks and balances' so fundamental to the American system of government.
But strictly-speaking, in all legislation passed into law it takes (all of) the Senate and House and ****President to come to agreement...hence I said 'all three of America's legislative and executive arms', which didn't thereby omit or exclude the Supreme Court, it's just that they are not involved in the drafting and enacting of legislation, only in the later reviewing and possible overturning/rescinding of any and every law passed onto the statute books... . *****Whew!
****Who also holds a **********veto power over any and all legislation previously enacted by the House and Senate.
*****Nevertheless probably necessary in our times of increasingly superficial political understanding.
******Yes, my vocab is verily highly original these days, folks, but sometimes one simply can't express things any better than has been already done. Though, interestingly enough, and to my immense surprise, the law's title is not just some sort of cute catch-all name, but a brilliant acronym: *******'The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act'!!!
*******Again I'm indebted (here as elsewhere in this blogpost) to Wikipedia's online entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Step_Act. As I am also (throughout) to the BBC, and here to its online version: Https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46613564. (And occasionally to that reputable left-wing British newspaper, the Guardian: c/o Https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/18/first-step-act-criminal.)
********The (2015) Sentencing Reform and Corrections *********Act.
**********Which (i.e. both Senate and House of Representatives) can themselves override said veto of the President! Yes, those aforementioned 'pesky little' checks and balances.
*********Of course Obama's legislation was only drafted and not ultimately enacted, so really just (what we'd call in New Zealand) a 'bill'.
***********Actually Wikipedia online contradicts some of the other (online) timeline versions, and according to its useful sidebar thereabouts the following is how it's come about (legislatively-speaking):
(1) Unanimously passed by U S Senate (August 3, 2017).
(2) Voice-approved by U S House of Representatives (July 25)
with amendment.
(3) Senate agrees (December 18th) to H of R amendment
with further amendment.
(4) H of R agrees (Dec 20th) to Senate amendment by 358 to 36.
(5) President Trump signs it into law on December 21st.
Part Four: Considering All That This Landmark Legislation Signifies
(Hopefully posted by the end of the year!)
True to my word, here goes...on New Years Eve, 2018, no less
As succinctly as time allows, and the indulgence of viewers may tolerate, according to various (afore-cited) media sources - i.e. the BBC News, the Guardian, and Wikipedia - the bill 'would overhaul the U.S. justice system by giving more discretion to judges during sentencing and by strengthening prisoner rehabilitation efforts.' 'Three Strikes' provisions - such as we have here in New Zealand these days (since 2009 I believe), and recently entrenched by deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters against Labour Party and Green Party opposition - will be reduced to 25 *(!) years for 'drug felons'...though **evidently these are not hardcore violent individuals (as I've latterly discovered).
Mandatory minimum sentences for serious drug crimes will be simultaneously reduced. And $375 million has been authorized in federal spending on jobs training and educational programmes for prisoners. While halfway house and home confinement provisions mean families will have easier access to incarcerated relatives, and there will be gentler treatment of pregnant (and other) female prisoners (in various ways).
Though it would seem Donald Trump, ***however late in the piece, appears to be taking some of the glory - hey, what's new, folks? - for the legislation going through, it
was his special advisor, Jared Kushner, apparently, who played a major role in facilitating the bill's ultimate passage through all tiers of the American legislature, so really - in the final analysis -
who cares who gets the credit? And certainly Trump's tweet, moments after its successful passage, that "my job is to fight for all Americans, even those who have made mistakes" effectively signposts in simplicity its real utility.
He went on to declare: "This will keep our communities safer, and provide hope and a second chance - to those who earn it. In addition to everything else, billions of dollars will be saved."
However the two - one a Democrat, the other a Republican - chief 'movers and shakers' in the whole process has apparently been, according to Jessica Jackson Sloan, national director of 'twt.50'(?) - a criminal justice reform advocacy group - Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Dick Durban...who she - and no less than ******Pat Robertson of the 700 Club, upon their weekday telecast - 'singled out for praise for "leading their respective parties to consensus on one of the most important challenges our country faces [given] the catastrophic [situation] of the incarceration industry."
Cory Booker, a rising New Jersey Senator in the Democratic Party *******with eyes on the 2020 Presidential Election, himself 'said that the nation's prisons were full of Americans struggling with mental illness and addiction and who are overwhelmingly poor'...and suggested that America's 'criminal justice system feeds on certain communities and not on others...add[ing] that the bill represented a step toward healing for these communities'.
In conclusion, though we might be somewhat disinclined to, let's herein give the penultimate words/summation on the legislation to Mr Trump, who trumpeted that "This will keep our communities safer, and provide hope and a second chance - to those who earn it. In addition to everything else, billions of dollars will be saved."
But surely the final word - 'verdict' - goes to Senator Booker, who declared: "Let's make no mistake, this legislation, which is one small step, will affect thousands and thousands of lives." Although he could well have said - without a shade of exaggeration - '
significantly affect tens and hundreds and even thousands - of thousands - i.e. millions - of American lives.'
*In view of NZ's own 'softly, softly' approach to all but our most serious offenders, and even then the ability to gain parole (within two decades or so) has made many throughout our nation perplexed and frankly flabbergasted - not to mention appalled and disgusted! - in recent times.
**'Except for those who prove serious violent felons' (as one reference put it).
***Which isn't to imply that he hasn't philosophically supported the basic idea of the legislation from the get-go, only that the matter was already well on the political boiler, from President ****Obama's uncompleted tasks, upon Trump's assuming office in 2016. Which latterly staunch, unwavering support is yet another reason why - though you'll rarely if ever hear about it from ye politically partisan (to a fault) mainstream media (throughout the West) - Trump's *****approval ratings among black Americans have been in the region of 37%...surely somewhat impressive for a Republican per se,
let alone one constantly vilified from pillar to post as someone intolerant of minorities either in America or abroad!
Which might just also explain why noted neurosurgeon and also wannabe 2016 Republican presidential nominee, Ben Carson, was so willing to serve in President Trump's cabinet post-the election. As Urban (Affairs) and Housing Secretary, if I remember rightly.
****Who, through no real fault of his own - as I explain earlier - was simply unable to (successfully) progress his own initial legislation, through an extremely gridlocked, partisan legislature.
So what else is new!
*****That is, they entertain a positive opinion of him (I recall it being expressed).
******Though I certainly don't share much of Robertson's political/ideological perspective on matters American, he suggested that ye 'ole 'lock 'im up and throw away the key' mentality appears bankrupt.
*******Or at least there is much speculation abroad about this progressive black American.
