Features
Trump is toast but the base is looming
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
The House Select Committee concluded its investigation into the January 6 insurrection, and released its final report on Thursday, December 22, with the historic recommendation that former President Donald Trump be criminally prosecuted for his conduct surrounding the insurrection.
The report recommends that the Department of Justice specifically indicts Trump on at least four criminal charges relating to efforts to thwart the constitutional transfer of presidential power: obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the government, conspiracy to make false statements and assisting an insurrection.
These four charges have been recommended because of overwhelming evidence that will make conviction inevitable. There are many other charges waiting in the wings, up to and including sedition, espionage and treason.This evidence, and more, would surely have been garnered by the Department of Justice during its own investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garland is being extra cautious in a case never before faced by an Attorney General, that of indicting and prosecuting a former President.
The January 6 Select Committee had no such temporal luxury. They were compelled to present their final report before the Republicans took over the leadership of the House on January 3, 2023.Hopefully, the report may spur AG Garland and Special Counsel Jack Smith to action, and indict an indubitably guilty president of yesteryear, just an ordinary citizen of today.
Trump’s immediate problems do not involve the Department of Justice and the criminal courts. The end of the road of Trump’s hitherto masterly legal tactics of deny, divert and delay has been reached. His real nemesis, the Republican base, is now looming in the rear-view mirror.
This Base, a motley crew of billionaires, corporations, professionals, media moguls, Evangelicals and white supremacists, is now looking for a leader who will champion the struggle for the Republican Utopia of a radical right, racist, white Christian dictatorship.
This fearsome Base of the Republican Party plans to end democracy in the USA and replace it with a Banana Republic style dictatorship. They damn nearly succeeded in destroying democracy on January 6, 2021. With the experience gained from this attempt, they may not fail the next time, given the opportunity.As social scientist Theodore Caplow argued; “The Republican Party, nationally, moved from the right-center toward the center in the 1940s and 1950s, then moved right again in the 1980s”.
From FDR’s New Deal after WWII, which initiated a revolution in social infrastructure, through Eisenhower’s impressive building of the nation’s physical infrastructure, the USA was treading, if not leading, the path to economic and social prosperity. A path that was taken by most of the developed nations addressing the disastrous societal and environmental situation left at the end of WWII. These progressive social and economic policies, fueled by a rational taxation structure, saw the emergence, by the 1970s, of thriving middle classes in all these developed nations, including the USA.
The rest of the developed nations continued on this path of socialist capitalism, where great technological innovations brought progress and an amazing creation of wealth. With reasonable taxation, where everyone paid their fair share, these nations were able to ensure that all its citizens, the achievers as well the vulnerable, enjoyed what is now recognized as basic human rights – housing, education, women’s right to reproductive freedom, universal health care, a living minimum wage to name a few. All those benefits have put these at the top of ratings of nations with the highest quality of life. Unfortunately, the richest nation in the world, which denies its citizens many of these benefits, no, human rights, languish at the bottom of these ratings.
President Reagan, with his tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and the corporations, the infamous trickle-down economics, destroyed this thriving middle class in the United States. Reagan reduced the maximum tax rate levied on the wealthy and the corporations, which had been running at 46-48% at the beginning of his Presidency to 34% in 1986. Although both Clinton and Obama introduced progressive measures, they were unable to take any steps towards amending taxes to more reasonable levels. Any attempt to increase these rates by even a point was shot down by a hostile Congress, stating that the nation was being dragged down to the horrors of unbridled, corrupt socialism.
The maximum tax payable by the wealthy and corporations of the US are at an all-time low of 21%. Any efforts to increase them are shouted down with the same old “Bloody Commies” slogan. And the loopholes available in the present taxation system ensures that billion-dollar corporations pay less in taxes than a secretary working for them.
The Base has now come to the conclusion that Trump presents a liability, that he has lost the confidence of moderate Republicans and Independents, that he has come to the end of his political career. He is expendable. He has committed the indefensible political crime. He is a loser who could no longer deliver.
Trump has been losing the support of many conservatives since his failed coup and the midterms. He has, however, retained the sycophantic support of the leadership of the Party, opportunists like wannabe Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other senior Senators and Congressmen, who are convinced that their re-election depends on Trump’s support. A total miscalculation. As of today, Trump is toast.
Until the midterms, many Republicans who had their own presidential ambitions for 2024 held their horses, and made no criticism of Trump’s treasonous behavior. Even the theft of top-secret White House documents, a crime tantamount to espionage, which should have been the last straw, did not draw any comment by Republicans. Trump has, yet again, proved that his particular camel has an unbreakable hump.
They do not wish to buck his announced statement of a run for a second term, which he repeated last week, even in the aftermath of the release of the January 6 Select Committee. The Report provides conclusive evidence of the most dire crimes committed by Trump against the United States of America. They have decided to support Trump to the end, even as the Republican nominee for 2024, because they feel that challenging his leadership may cost them their jobs in 2024. Their jobs were all that counted, screw the well-being of the country.
These Republican supporters of Trump have made a grievous error of judgment. They assumed that Trump controlled the Base, whose support they felt was needed for re-election. But Trump only controlled the violent white supremacist section of the Base, groups like the KKK, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, many of whose leaders are now languishing in prison, facing years of hard time for their actions of January 6.
Republicans will argue that 74 million Americans voted for Trump during the 2020 presidential election. About right, there is about a third of the American electorate fearful of losing their white privileges, when they surrender their white majority to non-white citizens, predicted for 2040. In any event, 81 million votes for President Biden beat the 74 million cast for Trump. 74 beats 81 only if you are playing golf, a fact that may have confused Trump.
The Republican Base has now reached the conclusion that Trump presents a liability to Republican political aspirations, that he has lost the confidence of moderate Republicans and Independents, that he has come to the end of his political future. He has committed the ultimate political crime. He could no longer deliver.
So while the Party was losing support of moderate conservatives and Independents, the Base was actively looking for an alternative leader who would continue to serve their political ends, dreams of a white authoritarian Christian Utopia ruled by the corporations and billionaires. An economy concentrated on the Ayn Rand ideology of Capitalism, where economic achievement and wealth creation were the only criteria of success, and the Devil take the hindmost.
Make no mistake. The January 6 coup was a deliberate, premeditated attempt to remove a legally elected government and replace it with a Capitalist dictatorship. A government which will continue to bring about economic prosperity, the like of which has never been equaled before. A political ideology which has amassed great wealth though private enterprise and innovation. A government which will recognize only personal achievement, and pay no attention to the lives of those who in their eyes are merely leeches, gaming the system. These massive rewards, in the billions of dollars, went to the entrepreneurs and the achievers. The workers who kept these enterprises thriving were left with the choice of working two jobs just to put food on the table. In the richest country in the world.
A government in which the top 1% of the population own 90% of the nation’s wealth.The Base has found one such potential leader, whom they are now grooming for Republican Party leadership, while they are ditching Trump. The new darling of the Base is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
A man totally different from the education, political experience, speech and appearance of his predecessor. A man whose political opinions and ambitions are exactly the same as those of his predecessor.44-years old, Ronald Dion DeSantis is the idea of a model politician in the American psyche. Graduating from Yale University and Harvard Law School, he then joined the United States Navy in 2004. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007, and was honorably discharged by the Navy in 2010.
DeSantis entered the political arena and was elected to Congress in 2012. During his tenure as a Congressman, he became an ally of Donald Trump. In 2018, he was elected Governor of Florida, re-elected in 2022 with a large majority. The perfect resume for an aspirant to the highest political office in the land.
Ron DeSantis is a younger and less vulgar version of Donald Trump. A Donald with a genuine Ivy League education, a better vocabulary and enunciation, regular skin colour with actual hair and dressed in perfectly fitting Savile Row suits.
Inside, though, there is no difference. He is exactly the same ruthless, racist, wannabe dictator, with the same regressive radical right-wing ideology of the new Republican Party.
It is true that the USA, keeping taxation on entrepreneurs at the lowest levels, has succeeded in the most astonishing innovations in American industry. America has the largest companies, whose management is paid salaries beyond imagination in other developed countries; whose CEOs are outbidding each other as to who has the most luxury yachts, the most private jets, the most castles. The recent story goes that when Elon Musk heard that Jeff Bezos was building a $500 million yacht, he immediately started work on a $600 million iceberg.
The new Republican Base has again shifted the goalposts, way to the right. Their new Utopia remains a Capitalist dictatorship, one which will be controlled by a white, Christian autocracy. Their manipulations of the Voting Rights Act will ensure that 2024 will be the last presidential election. In DeSantis, Republicans have found an able protagonist to achieve their radical right dreams. In a head-to-head poll for the 2024 Republican nomination, DeSantis currently enjoys 20+ point lead over Trump.
Old Joe continues to do a fine job, and will complete his first term with success and honour. But if he has any ideas about a second term, at age 82, his probable Republican challenger will be 42 -year-old Ron DeSantis, who will eat him for breakfast.The 2024 Presidential election is one that Democrats cannot afford to lose. They must make sure they put their best candidate/team to overcome DeSantis. That candidate surely can’t be 82-year-old Joe.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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