Awash with Ideas

"“Make no mistake, as the press is finally catching up to the facts, which we desperately tried to present to them during the last months of the campaign,” Mrs. Clinton told the group, which collectively poured roughly $1 billion into her effort. “This is not just an attack on me and my campaign, although that may have added fuel to it. This is an attack against our country. We are well beyond normal political concerns here. This is about the integrity of our democracy and the security of our nation.”"

read more: Clinton Says Putin, Out of ‘Personal Beef,’ Played Role in Loss

While I accept the Obama administration's assertions about the Russians, let's be clear: James Comey cost Hillary (and us) the election. Hillary had beaten back the challenges that the Russians put in front of her and was flying high until James Comey decided to administer the coup de grace on behalf of the Republicans who misused Congressional power to attack a citizen and sway the election.

"The Russians, she said, sought to “undermine our democracy” through cyberattacks on Democratic targets."

read more: Clinton Says Putin, Out of ‘Personal Beef,’ Played Role in Loss

This is a good development.

"After the story is flagged, Facebook's partners at four prominent fact checking organizations—Snopes, Politifact, FactCheck.org, and ABC—will then help determine whether the story in question is in fact fake."

read more: Facebook Is Finally Cracking Down on Fake News | Mother Jones

The article explains that a decent legal system is no protection if the social norms that prevent all out political competition are no longer in force. The treatment of Obama represents an example.

An even more basic norm under threat today is the idea of legitimate opposition. In a democracy, partisan rivals must fully accept one another’s right to exist, to compete and to govern. Democrats and Republicans may disagree intensely, but they must view one another as loyal Americans and accept that the other side will occasionally win elections and lead the country. Without such mutual acceptance, democracy is imperiled. Governments throughout history have used the claim that their opponents are disloyal or criminal or a threat to the nation’s way of life to justify acts of authoritarianism."**

read more: Is Donald Trump a Threat to Democracy?

The good news is that the only direction Trump can go is down.

read more: There Are Plenty of Jobs Out There, America