[FRIAM] And so it begins: the dark times

[Jochen Fromm]

I have watched the large demonstrations of the women's march today on CNN, it is pretty impressive. Finally some protests, why did it take so long? It looks like there is still some hope.
It feels a bit like an American Civil War, not between south and north, between Confederate and United States, but between angry white males represented by Donald Trump and peaceful women represented by Hillary Clinton.
In Europe we had at least two traumatic periods of war: the 30 years war from 1618-1648 between catholic and protestant states, and the 30 years from the beginning of WW I in 1914/15 until the end of WW II 1945 between various forms of *-isms (fascism in Italy and nazism in Germany vs communism in Russia and capitalism in the rest of the world). Every time Germany was in ruins afterwards.
If America should slide into authoritarianism like Turkey and all the *-stan countries such as Turkmenistan or Kazakhstan it will not end well. 
-J

-------- Original message --------From: Steven A Smith <sasmyth at swcp.com> Date: 1/21/17  21:53  (GMT+01:00) To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com> Subject: Re: [FRIAM] And so it begins: the dark times 

    Jochen, et al -
    I have to say I accept or agree with the idea of a sitting
      President (or any high official) having close access to their most
      trusted advisors, whether they are family or friends.  It is only
      natural IMO and in principle will allow them to do a better job. 
      I understand the anti-nepotism rules to avoid there being any
      "profiting" which is moot among the uber-wealthy such as Trump and
      Kushner.   I understand restricting cabinet and other "conserved"
      positions such as the one Bobby Kennedy held from 60-6-4 as
      Attorney General.  We deserve a broader base of perspective than
      that of a "dynasty"... 

    
    All that said, Kushner (or Ivanka or ???) in the White House is
      disturbing for the conflict of interest reasons.  If Trump
      pretends he (and he alone, because HE is so mighty and great)
      could run both Trump Inc. and Trump USA at the same time, he is
      admitting to an intended conflict of interest (or complete
      unawareness of the basic meaning of the term?).   If he claims
      handing his day-to-day in Trump Inc off to Ivanka and Kushner and
      ???  waives the conflict of interest, he is mistaken, and by
      installing Kushner IN the White-House makes that conflict explicit
      again.  Nothing I would not expect from him.   

    
    

    
    - Steve

    
    

    On 1/21/17 9:23 AM, Eric Charles wrote:

    
    
      Actually Jochen, this one is squarely on the
        Clintons. When Bill appointed Hillary to a White House task
        force back in the early 1990s, this went through the court
        system. The judges in that case ruled that the law applied to
        Cabinet appointments and paid positions within the larger
        government, but not to White House staff. Kushner will similarly
        be in a unpaid position. 

        

        “We doubt that Congress intended to include the White House or
        the Executive Office of the President” D.C. Circuit Judge
        Laurence Silberman wrote in the 1993 decision, “So, for example, a President
        would be barred from appointing his brother as Attorney General,
        but perhaps not as a White House special assistant.”

        

        

      
      

        
          
            
              
                

                  -----------

                  Eric P. Charles, Ph.D.

                  Supervisory Survey Statistician

                
                U.S. Marine Corps

                
              
            
          
        
        

        On Sat, Jan 21, 2017 at 4:57 AM, Jochen
          Fromm <jofr at cas-group.net>
          wrote:

          
            
              First it was not clear what *-ism mix it will be -
                authoritarianism, nepotism, cronyism, nationalism or a
                mixture of it. Sarah Kendzior and Paul Krugman predict
                we will end up in an authoritarian dictatorship. What do
                you think, which *-ism will it be?
              

              
              Maybe you could say the new minority president
                teaches nationalism, practices nepotism and cronyism and
                leads inevitably to authoritarianism. Will he be allowed
                to break the law? Isn't hiring of Jared Kushner already
                illegal?
              

              
              The law clearly says: "A public official may not
                appoint, employ, promote [..] in or to a civilian
                position in the agency in which he is serving or over
                which he exercises jurisdiction or control any
                individual who is a relative of the public official."
              https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/5/3110
              
                  

                  
                  -J.
                  

                  
                  
                    

                    
                  
                
            

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