The dropping of nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and then Nagasaki was more the first shot of the Cold War than a necessary action to compel Japan to lay down its arms and surrender in the final days of WW II. It is a big and unremovable stain on the bloody resume of U.S. imperialism and its ruling circles. We shouldn’t allow ‘ole’ Harry from Fulton Missouri to escape responsibility for this horrific and singularly unique atrocity. It happened on his watch and he made the final decision, even if he was’t the only decision maker.

To say that Trump is a product of longer terms trends in our society is true, but not necessarily helpful if it occludes in the slightest way the particular uniqueness of Trump’s ascendancy to power, the immense dangers of his presidency, and the existential urgency of defeating him in November.

Maneuvering in politics is a critical skill. We see it today in the struggle around a stimulus package. Trump’s announcement of of a series of executive actions to break the impasse in the Senate over the passage of a second stimulus bill is an attempt to make himself the champion of working America and worthy of a second term, while casting the Democrats as indifferent to the pressing needs of millions at this moment. Democrats and the larger anti-Trump movement should greet this maneuver with a full throated response that is heard across the county. And on the substance (not so much their constitutionality) of Trump’s proposals as compared to the Democratic stimulus package. They can’t allow Trump to outmaneuver them, which is what he is hoping to do. It’s nowhere near enough to have NY Senator Schumer on a few talk shows. Democrats should use their deep bench to blast Trump’s executive actions and remind voters of their much better alternative.

China has made impressive economic advances, thanks to Deng in no small part. I saw its advances first hand on two trips there. But socialism should be judged, first of all, by the degree to which its extends the boundaries of freedom, democracy, egalitarianism, and decision making to its citizens. Growth rates and technological development matter as do lifting people out of poverty and providing a first class education to the many, but they don’t constitute the essence of socialism nor represent the overarching aims of socialist society. If China is socialist, it is an authoritarian variety. And that should be a concern of socialists here. As for the relations between our country and theirs, the accent of our leaders should be on de-escalating tensions, cooperation and non-interference. Trump’s current heightening of tensions with China is a serious and potentially dangerous mistake. Finally, we’ve been battling authoritarian rule here for nearly 4 years and hopefully we will make a positive turn in this struggle in November. It seems too obvious to say, but China’s form of political rule wouldn’t sit well with millions of people here and rightly so. As the much maligned Michael Gorbachev correctly said. “More democracy, more socialism.”

Reading “How Democracies Die” last night and one point that the authors make is that the ascent to power of right authoritarians doesn’t depend on popular support as much as enablers on the right. In Germany and Italy, it was conservatives in each government that greased the skids for Hitler and Mussolini’s climb to power. Here the Republican Party has performed the same role as enabler of Trump and white nationalist, dictatorial rule. They too should pay a high price for their actions on election day.