Although no one has seen the charges, MAGA Republican lawmakers reacted to the decision of a grand jury of ordinary citizens to charge a former president by preemptively accusing Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg of abusing the power of the government against MAGA Republicans.
"Those who call for a new post-liberal order want to “reconquer public institutions all over the United States,” as Christopher Rufo put it after Florida governor Ron DeSantis appointed him to the board of New College as part of a mission to turn the progressive school into a right-wing bastion. “If we can take this high-risk, high-reward gambit and turn it into a victory,” Rufo told Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times, “we’re going to see conservative state legislators starting to reconquer public institutions all over the United States.”"
This is the key strategy that the post-liberals have adopted and it starts with local elections at the lowest level--the town councils and local school boards all over American. It is where the fight against them needs to be fought--and it is where and how we need to fight for and defend our Democracy.
Lots of us followers of Heather have struggled with how best to make a difference. It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake.
Heather has given us lots of ammunition to use--clear and cogent explanations of what is happening and why it matters and how the post liberal white Christian nationalism threatens democracy.
"It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake."
Join/support your local political town committee and get on the ballot yourself.
Small towns especially have elected boards and committees of ordinary, unpaid citizens who have a lot to say about what goes on. Planning and Zoning, Inland Wetlands, finance, school boards, historic districts, Arts Commissions, and so on are places where good people can make a real difference. In a participatory democracy, these are the places where the rubber meets the road.
And, if you do run for office, be prepared to win. My Town Democratic Committee asked me to run for Zoning Commission. I agreed only because I was sure I wouldn't get elected. I did two six year terms.
Could not agree more. I love your inclusive list. You nailed many of the places of local control over the big issues we are facing in this country today. If you want to live in a more inclusive community get involved in planning and zoning. Planning and zoning and wetlands if your are interested in the environment. School boards if you want to see a more truthful telling of history, teaching of civics and sex education, stopping book banning, ending LBGTQ+ discrimination, support for teachers and unions. Town finance meetings to ensure fair pay for township employees and to see the pros and cons with tax breaks for corporations and developers.
We’re about to have school board elections and it’s never been so crucial! In the district where I teach, our school board just left the state school board association! I didn’t even know you could do that! They said the curriculum under the state association was too woke, encouraged teaching CRT, indoctrination, and wasn’t conservative enough! I can’t vote there but facing the same thing where I live. I don’t know what I’m going to do now! We’re diving into some crazy stuff! Lack of funding, the district developing its own curriculum! People have to get involved, know the candidates and vote!
Barbara, vote in primaries and attend township meetings in an area which interests you. And regularly visit your municipality’s website to what’s going on.
If there is a local Democratic club, join it to learn the ropes. One last point: Don’t expect rapid, magical change. Be prepared for a marathon.
I would be cautious on relying too too much on party affiliation at local level. There are lots of libertarians infiltrating democratic parties in certain regions and municipalities, such as it is in NH where we have "Independent" voters. The best approach may be to articulate your point, stand on facts, and challenge people on facts, not opinions or party affiliation. Editing to include another thought: highlight the principles you stand for.
Meet your city leaders by joining Rotary or Kiwanis (or other community groups) and join your Chamber of Commerce if you are a local business or non-profit. Go to all City Council meetings and pick one or two things you care about. Apply for city or county committees like Human Affairs or Recreation or Planning or Environmental Policy. Meet your City Council members so they know you by name. School Board is also a good choice if you have kids in that district (People without kids in that school should not be making decisions about them).
Maybe people without kids should stop paying taxes to support the schools? "Public" means "public." It means we all have a stake in the education of young people, even those of us who don't have kids.
Part of the problem now is parents trying to micromanage what their kids are taught. If they want to do that, they should home-school or find a private school whose beliefs match their own.
I disagree with your last sentence. I have kids and grandkids and the benefit of experience and wisdom—sometimes younger people ask me for advice, which surprises me until I start talking and realize I have some good advice.
Fortunately, we have a local groups and people who are paying attention and let people know what is going on. School Board elections are coming up and thankfully we have some good people running against the wing nuts. In other local school happenings, we have a couple friends who teach in a town a few mile north of us. They thought they were getting a good super when they hired the guy who had stood up against a wing nut school board (which recently lost in court), but he turned out to be an autocrat and when we talked to them, they were close to a strike. One of my ex-colleagues (who claimed at his interview for a teaching position that there was no history he didn't know much to our amusement) is now super of a rather large district who got rid of their inclusive super. I would love to know what this all-knowing one is actually doing there.
Barbara, while I have nothing to boast about, and I blame reluctance to be an activist on illness, I have found a bit of joy in supporting "my" candidates. Of course that means a few dollars' donations, but also an occasional email or letter to the candidate to thank them for their dedication or a particular focus or piece of legislation that I like. You would be surprised how rare that is for the candidate or official and they often respond with thanks.
Something as simple as a letter to the editor on behalf of a favorite, or a yard sign in my apartment window...I recently tied a sign to the back of my wheelchair...however small, still offers support. In addition, I've carried petitions to get a candidate's name on the ballot and I've organized a meeting for the candidate to speak to a small gathering in the building where I live. I've found such activities to be rewarding for them and me.
Last but not least, sometimes offering to help the candidate's aide is also welcome. Just saying you will deliver a half dozen yard signs to like-minded friends is really helpful. All these are small potatoes, but the ground floor for democracy.
I hear you. Sometimes the best I can do is $5 to a Candidate, making some calls etc.. I need to get back in the habit of writing our Legislators. Great idea on writing to the Candidates.
Join your local municipal committee, they exist in every state. Join you country committee. You will be informed well in advance of any laws being passed by your legislature that will not be beneficial to you. The GOP took over this country by taking over state governments. The Democrats now have to do the same thing.
In texas, there are county commissioners, city council members, neighborhood associations, business management zones and more. I joined a local volunteer group focused on trails and non-motorized transportation and get to talk to representatives from all these various offices. The focus of calm conversations are practical and not political, and political policy can be quietly influenced this way. I also know for whom uI should vote in the next election.
I also answer my front door to canvasers and engage. They're always looking for volunteers, though that type of involvement isn't my cup of tea.
Another important key to preserving and enhancing our Democracy both at the local level and at the Congressional/Presidential level is to concentrate on NONPARTISAN voter registration of potential young voters. The future is about them! WE should take an active role in encouraging THEM in a meaningful way to register and vote, as I will explain HOW in a minute. Why they should be engaged as voters--for example-- is to preserve reproductive rights and instituting really effective local control of assault weapons to save the lives of 9 year olds, as well as the rest of us! YOU can directly help achieve such a result in competitive elections in more than 2,000 localities by going to www.turnup.us/ and contributing with a tax-deductible charitable contribution to amazing Harvard students who are successfully working hard to organize thousands of high school voter registration drives and "relational" registration in key states! This is the most effective youth voter registration effort I have ever seen and I have been at it for seven years with my foundation "Inspire2Vote" in key states all over the country. Inspire2Vote just registered a week or so ago our 102,000th high school student in Iowa! But www.turnup.us/ will be, far more effective with their local student voter reg drives. Please look them up and give them a helping hand to help save our Democracy! Thank you!
Go alone if you have to, but bring a friend if you can. Go to listen. Go to absorb the feelings of the participants. Try to understand the motivations of those there. See if you have something positive and constructive to add. Ask questions. Take notes. Go home and think about what you learned. Don't go in with the point of view that you're going to right the boat in that first meeting. Go in to be part of the conversation. We can cross the great divide with a bridge of civility and respect. Panic, hate, anger are communicable disease. Calm, understanding, curiosity are public health. Choose your path well, our society depends upon it.
I absolutely agree. There are lots of other opportunities for people in their communities to engage and start conversations about in their communities common interests that are not political. Community gardens, emergency services, local volunteer fire companies, senior volunteers, kids robotics clubs. We've been terribly siloes over the past 3 years because of covid.
"It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake."
I sure wish it were that easy. I have gone to and participated in meetings galore, served several times in local politics where I had a "microphone", written letters, etc. I happen to live in a liberal democratic state (and therefore "preaching to the choir") which does have a number of pockets of trump supporters. Regardless of my (or other like-minded residents) efforts and participation, the national psyche has continued to move further away from the ideals of a benevolent and inclusive democracy. Board by board, town by town, city by city, state by state large swaths of the country have continued to move to extreme conservatism with "Christianity" as a political overlay.
The people who lack understanding of what is at stake don't read Heather's Letters and have absolutely no intellectual curiosity or desire to learn or change. They don't get it and don't want to. They are not inherently bad people, but their choice of elected officials certainly is, and they refuse to see the consequences. As an "old" psych major, there is a type of "group think" that fosters cults and aberrant mass behavior that is inherently illogical and dangerous. A so-called "charismatic leader" drives home fear, hate, misinformation, and meaningless empty promises to gain control.
I certainly don't profess to have any solutions. However, with a lifetime of observations as well as a student of history, there is strong evidence that these complicated situations do not change without massive protests/strikes and/or violence.
Janet, there is stronger evidence that violence only begets violence and makes it harder for people to begin the collaboration that leads to healing. Heather and many others have spoken to this, and history shows that violence is counterproductive. I do agree that peaceful protests and strikes are useful and appropriate tools to call attention to critical issues or wrongs. But the moment we introduce violence, things start falling apart. That is one lesson we can learn from what happened to the Republicans following Jan 6.
I certainly don't think violence is preferred and I don't advocate for it, but we have been voting, we have peaceful demonstrations (tens of millions of women peacefully marched in January 2017 and the dial didn't move at all - in fact women lost big time with the repeal of Roe v Wade at the SCOTUS/political level), we participate in local government (at least I have), I've supported and been an advocate of gun control starting with the Brady Bill and now we have two mass shootings a day where children (and adults) are blown to pieces and the number of assault weapons in the hands of civilians is close to tens of millions of the 400 MILLION guns out there (and all we hear is crickets on change because of the 2nd Amendment), we have lunatics in congress who actually have power, and a SCOTUS that has a strangle hold on the rights of people in an entire nation. We spend $billions/$trillions in weaponry around the world to "save" democracy because words don't stop the demonic dictators from invading. Domestically words alone didn't work for our split from England, nor the end of slavery, civil rights, Vietnam, etc. And pieces of paper/words for restraining orders and "common sense gun laws" do nothing when anyone can actually get/3-D print a gun.
I'm all for peaceful protests but they have to be big and long enough to make a real economic impact as a hit to peoples' wallets seems to be the only thing people recognize. As Jack Bauer would say in the show "24", "shut it down, Chloe!"
Look at the violence of Republicans , calling out Mr Bragg for doing his job.
The violent words of Mc Carthy who sold out to Maga orders so he could be Speaker. Stefanik who found her niche in hate and threatens payback to those who don’t pay homage “to her “( I mean DJTs nobility) .
There is no Christianity in any of this . Its a blatant violation of any godlike principles.
Local elections are more important than federal. State elections are the most important. Why we no longer teach civics in schools is to dumb down the public, and it has worked.
Schools across NY State received threats from unknown sources this past week warning them to get rid of a certain "gay" themed book from their libraries. The first school system, Hilton Central, experienced 3 bomb threats. EDITED: I inadvertently added information I couldn't verify. The actual number of schools that received threatening emails was 20, according to a statement Gov. Hochul made last week.
Hilton has bowed to the threats and its school board has voted to "review" the book. They just showed the terrorists that bomb threats are legitimate political dialogue.
Marycat2021, I would like to copy and use your post of FB. I think it is important for as many people as possible to know that we are under attack by the right. May I use your post?
They are a force and have local chapters throughout the country, and what better motivation than preventing the slaughter of our most precious resource?
Georgia, Observing that Democrats, historically, have focused largely on federal elections, I find your comment immeasurably timely. Fortunately, I sense Democrats increasingly understand they have to start mobilizing at the state and local levels, out-organizing Republicans, who ruthlessly, for some time, have been organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people.
Barbara, As someone who follows virtually every battleground state, particularly when a trifecta or triplex is at stake, I’m well aware of the State gains, particularly in 22. Still Republicans have an undue advantage because of their laser-focus over decades of state and local elections.
.." Democrats, historically, have focused largely on federal elections..." comment by Krieger. Hence my response.
We have an opportunity in this comments forum. Many commenters are new, some are trolls. We can deliberately share the wealth of activism experience (such as your experience) to counter what I see as the effort to spread dystopian fear and hopelessness. Share your wisdom and knowledge Barbara Jo.
Barbara, My opening statement, which, by the way, is accurate, was the means I chose to amplify the immeasurable timeliness of Georgia’s comment. My follow-up sentence, you will note, amplified Democrat’s increasing understanding of the importance of defending democracy at the state and local levels.
As for you imploring me to “[s]hare [my]…wisdom and knowledge,” I would note I take great care only to post when I believe I have something meaningful to contribute.
For 40 years. The R's have been strategically targeting low-level (soft targets) power centers -- esp. school boards -- to help their candidates gain political experience before they move up the "political food chain." While there, they started to radicalize curriculum toward arch-conservative tenets (eg: creationism required in science courses alongside evolutionism - KS State School Boards). We were asleep at the wheel, my friends.
Sheila, While I would not dispute the undue advantages you reference, nor would I underestimate the engagement, the energy, the caring, and the work of thousands of Democratic grassroots organizations supported by tens of millions of activists largely targeting battleground states plus every demographic nationwide, save the MAGA base that I understand is receding.
Good additions, Barbara Jo. My point is that we have a lot of ground to catch up, and the R's are decades ahead of us. All is not lost, but we D's must get with a strategic program.
Jon, While your comment is not addressed to me, I expect you and Georgia likely don’t share the same understanding of the term “post-liberals,” whose meaning in much of the literature is blurred with “right wing post liberal populism” or “illiberal populism” or even “Putinist Populism.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall HCR’s LFAA defining the term.
Roxanna, No need to apologize. Your reply amplifies the point of my comment—namely that no intelligent, reasoned discussion can proceed if we don’t take great care to establish our way of understanding a particular term or issue, our way of describing or defining it.
GEORGIA FISANICK - Yes, indeed... our Democracy is threatened by White Supremacy in the intolerance of Rep. Elise Stefanik, the elected Representative from my district in the Adirondacks... our Town of Essex Board is an example, our County Board of Supervisors is an example... Fascists rule. The Democratic Party cannot seem to find a candidate that speaks English to the poorly educated whites of our pathetic population that surrounds us at Lewis Family Farm... READ PALLADIUM MAGAZINE ON ME. THE MOST RECENT ISSUE IS ON LINE - WITH A MOVIE... FOUR COLLEGE BOYS CAME AND LEARNED... OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS WILL NOT COVER WHAT’S HAPPENING TO LOCAL LIVESTOCK. OUR LOCAL DVMs have joined the nation’s DVMs to poison the livestock to make money... the Palladium Magazine piece is in final edit and will take another week or so - then will be printed in the next issue.. costing $50 when mailed.
I just finished reading the article. Amazing... I want everyone to take the time reading it... and I want to learn what more I might able to do to help! I ofter notice the packages in our meta departments that are labeled 'no antibiotics'. I had no idea... How things have gotten so to of control! How can one inspire people to read what is really important! This needs to be circulated widely.... My grandfather was a farmer, small time, in Dubuque. We lived in Chicago and would visit the farm for a couple of weeks every summer. My Mother was the second youngest of 8 kids, and she grew up milking cows, and cleaning the hen house (outdoor plumbing for. many years!). I can't imagine that these antibiotics were widely used then, but I could be mistaken... (she was born in 1914 and there was at least 10 years between her and her oldest sibling... Visiting the farm was so blissful! Thank you for all the work yo have done this far. And the photographs of your farm are beyond lovely. Maybe some day I will have the opportunity to visit... I would love to photograph you and your farm, and write about you and your work. The world needs to know! Thank you again!
Antibiotics were created in the pre-war period as injections. Pill form arrived c. 1950. That was the beginning of trouble. Livestock were fed antibiotics in a growing pattern for decades. This continues. If you visit the Tractors & Supply cash register, two types of chicken feed is sold there. The large bag and the small far more expensive - may be clean of antibiotics. The cheating and lying starts there.
10,000 thank yous!!!! Finally, someone with the power & wisdom to address the 'elephant in the room!' I am a fam doc who practices in 'feedlot city' aka Southern, Alberta. Since I was a resident in the 1990s physicians (over prescribing) have always been chastized as the cause for our prob w antibiotic resistance. The media never seemed to question the impact of factory farmining as the primary driver, even when feedlot runoff was repeatedly causing ecoli outbreaks & death, avian flu from pig farms, etc. Anyway, thank u so much for doing such great work although I can't fathom the meat industry in my province ever abandoning their cash cows, chickens & pigs. None of these creatures should be readied for slaughter in confined lots which are filthy petrie dishes for disease. Your dream farm is a critical beginning. Again I cannot thank you enough for this work & your tenacity & passion to 'right a harmful wrong' which affects us all.
First of all, I am very happy to see you back. You have been missed and it has been discussed a few times in the letters recently. I confess I was concerned enough that I googled to see if you had passed! Glad to see you alive and well.
In my career, I worked in the lab of a major medical facility in Chicago. A few years before I retired, they started a fecal transplant program. I didn't enjoy the smell that permeated the lab when they came down to prep the solution in the lab, but I very much enjoyed talking with the GI docs. For treating C. Diff, one called the transplants "a miracle." And you know, prior to that, they treated C. Diff with antibiotics, with much less success!
Their conversations, and that of articles I read regarding obesity, inspired me to add probiotic supplements to my diet. I was obese. I had dieted many times, very strictly, with little success. I did cut as many refined carbs as I could. I lost 55 pounds. Then I retired, pandemic started, and I got a horribly abscessed tooth. And I started gaining back weight. Since 2018, I've been prescribed antibiotics about 7-8 times. (I am NOT one to take them for no good reason! I even insisted when I had abdominal surgery that they NOT remove my appendix!) Funny that in this time, I am behaving the same, eating the same, but have gained 20 pounds back. :(
I have tried with little success, even with upping my activity levels using a tracker and charting my gym/personal trainer visits. I have cut out all sweets and again, stopped the diet soda, all soda actually. (I believe those sweeteners are more likely to cause weight gain than sugar, but boy are they addictive! And our culture has indoctrinated our brains to believe that we should go for those zero calorie products!!)
I also have a grandchild on the autism spectrum, so this story hit home on so many levels!! After reading, I have forwarded the link to over a dozen people.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this link! And please don't stay away as so many of us value your perspective on the issues discussed here.
A truly excellent endocrinologist might help. The best at BIDMC is Johanna Antonia Pallotta MD. She’s in her 80s. Thyroid illnesses plague many. I know. She is treating me.
Enlightening and simultaneously frightening to learn about the disastrous consequences of antibiotics overuse. Sad to know this drug, originally designed for and thought to be life-saving, could be at the root of so much pain and loss. I have been personally curious for some time now about the meteoric rise of auto-immune diseases that have/are destroying so many lives. Reading about this pharmaceutical “link” supports my long-held belief that finding the “cause” of any single auto-immune disease will swiftly bring about the eradication of all types. Thank you for sharing this article.
Thank you for the gift of this amazing piece and your tenacity in fighting this scourge. I’m forwarding this to my four daughters, all of whom have developed autoimmune problems and my grandson on the spectrum. You have been missed on LFAA.
Jack Lippman, I was born in Manhattan New York on Friday, January 27, 1939. Members of the House of Representatives run every two years to maintain seniority in the House and to rise in Committee assignments. Voters elect younger members over older for potential for longevity.
Thank you for sharing the link, Sandy. And more importantly thank you for asking important questions about the damage being caused by the over use of antibiotics, and for your efforts to bring about changes.
Thank you for sharing this. I may reach out to you with our family's story. It had consumed me 15-20 years ago. The "you are talking crazy" factor and life beat it out of us. I am now going to revisit.
It's good to see you here again, Sandy. I missed you and worried about you. I had a nice vacation, but missed the forum, so came back. Also decided I have things that need to be said. And so do you.
"The Democratic Party cannot seem to find a candidate that speaks English to the poorly educated whites of our pathetic population that surrounds us at Lewis Family Farm."
Good day S B, I also am in the turncoat's district, and am reminded that she ran as a moderate from a district she did not live in, near Saratoga I think, and became what she is soon after. Harvie too.
But the reason I reply is to address your comment I quoted; I wonder why you think the Dems can't communicate with the locals. I have my own ideas, but I would like to hear yours.
Single Elise Stefanik claimed Willsboro Point as her residence. Her Plywood seller father owns a summer camp on the point. Many up here are the Black, Hispanic and Jew hating racists of The North Country. The National Bank president is one of them, was valedictorian of his class at Princeton University, denied partnership at Sullivan & Cromwell for his arrogance.
Thank you sir for your reply. I am reading the Palladium article with interest, since I have tried to research the reasons why a farmer tends to be unwilling to accept new methods. "Accepted practice" doesn't really explain the concept for me, but "herd mentality" comes close. Your experience with the Cornell Vet program is an example. Maybe the Dem candidate who has difficulty communicating isn't viewed as a member of the herd. Here in the Eastern Lake Ontario region the same problems are found.
Tetracycline misuse in livestock to address anaplasmosis is deadly to birds and to us. Kills insect food in the soil. Distressing gut microbial system in livestock and consumers. This creates emotional instability in beef and our young males. The beef will attack farmers addressing their newborn calves. The human teen male get depressed and become suicidal.. generating suicide by cop stuff.
Sandy, these are precisely some of the issues I worked on during my professional career as well as before and after. My work was with the larger ag community, as well as the agencies and corporations. Challenging, sometimes scary. But at the same time, because of the way I set up how I worked with that varied community, I got to know the members of it who stood up to share their concerns about the use of chemicals and worked to help redirect research and policy. Some remarkable successes, but lots still to do: while the movement to soil and water health has grown stronger, the die-hards are pig-headed about not changing, and just dig in, funded by those whose greed created this situation in the first place. This dynamic has become part of the culture in parts of our country. I am distressed by the emphasis on "organic food" as the goal. It is a result of the process, but the point is recreating ways of producing food that does not contaminate everything else, with some of the consequences being the very things you mention.
I just read the article. Absolutely fascinating and understandable, even for this English major. Two things: keep raising hell and maybe we should have a Heather Cox Richardson fan club convention on your farm!
Great article Sandy. While my mother pushed antibiotics on me like aspirin when I was a kid I thought being cautious in their use was wise in light of the resistance issue. I’d no idea how prevalent the use of antibiotics in our food system had become, nor their human systemic effect. I’ll be changing my habits. Super work you’re supporting. ❤️
This - running for every government office in order to take over and undermine government - has been the winning strategy since Ralph Reed put the religious right into bed with Ronald Reagan. I think the term we want is clerical fascism.
Yes! Thank you. The Lewis Powell memo set up the systematic takeover of our nation by the corporate oligarchy. They have a 50-year track record of success for us believers in separation of church and state, rule of law, corporations as legal entities and not as people, for us to counter.
Their work has been methodical and destructive. Only by countering with our own strategy of being everywhere all the time all at once, and giving people an understating of why this matters -- without going into what the other side says -- will it all work. At least that’s what I believe.
The reason we must care and make this effort is our children. Our common love for our children. The oligarchic right has sold out to the NRA. Our nation isn’t safe. Our children are dying of gunshot wounds by war-grade weapons used by people who, if we banned assault rifles and did legitimate background checks, couldn’t get their hands on these weapons of immediate proximate mass destruction.
We have failed because we allowed those in power to gauge our success as a nation by our Gross Domestic Product instead of by the happiness and well-being of our people.
We suck at joy because we live in systematically induced poverty, inequity, racism, lack, greed, comparison, TRAUMA. Homelessness, domestic violence, devaluing our children (Arkansas Gov signing new child labor legislation weakening restrictions on child labor so teens who should be going to school and getting proper rest are instead pulling shifts at dangerous meat-packing plants!) and sending hundreds of thousands of Black and Brown men to prisons where they are unavailable for their families and are a new form of enslaved person as the corporate prison scheme makes millions off of keeping them locked up in their privatized prison systems that should be illegal.
All of this fuels generational trauma, insecure attachment, our people living in a perpetual state of survival and flight,fight, freeze. This makes us easy to manipulate.
We must break this cycle with the truth that safe, stable, nurturing environments are the antidote. Supporting pregnant and parenting families is paramount. Home nurse visits are an investment with a tremendous ROI. I believe it is about $8 for every dollar invested to help mothers and babies bond. This cuts child abuse and teen pregnancy and crime rates because kids have the strong brain and character building experiences that literally wire their brains for better outcomes.
“we’re going to see conservative state legislators starting to reconquer public institutions all over the United States.”. . . "Reconquer public institutions" should be raising the hair on the backs of every neck. Control the narrative, control the outcome. The Rufos of our world want to control how one thinks, what one does; how one believes. That is right out of the fascist playbook.
It has become defeating. I know the majority is people who are like minded on this page. Unfortunately, there is a rather large group who have chosen to just block it out, say nothing. I am holding onto hope that the next election to save us from the extreme right.
And don’t forget Tending To Democracy, https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy. This giving circle was started by a group of us who met here and raised some serious money for the last election. We welcome you to join us and bring your friends. The more the merrier❗️
It's hard to believe "they" have gained so much ground while I have been complacent. That is to say, I never could have imagined such an ignorant an loosely organized cabal gaining so much traction. While I was busy fighting for an end to racism and misogyny, and I thought a medical perspective about abortion would be safe from religious repression...all the things I've fought for... I never saw it coming.
To some degree, I fault the media. Too much of the media shoots for ratings often secured by intentional hyperbole. And, then of course, there is FOX which is a lying machine. I doubt you have been complacent. Each of us has only so much energy and only so much time where we can capture what is critical at any one point in time.
So the “lock her up” people who for years pleaded for the legal system to be weaponized to incarcerate a political opponent are now crying crocodile tears and are accusing the Manhattan district attorney and the members of the grand jury of weaponizing the legal system because their leader has been indicted. It’s true; every accusation by the current GOP is a confession.
Excellent point about the current GOP! And “Biden Crime Family” is the new “Lock Her Up.” AND, it’s OK to remind Republicans that Hillary is still freely walking around, even though Trump had FOUR YEARS to indict/incarcerate her. It is also probably OK to point out that it has only taken TWO YEARS since Trump left office for him to be experiencing one Indictment Day with perhaps as many as FOUR MORE in the near future.
It is also VERY IMPORTANT to emphasize that Trump is considered to be INNOCENT until a jury of his peers find him guilty. DA Bragg is also INNOCENT until a jury has its say.
The GOP is good at messaging, and the Democrats need to improve that aspect of their communication. For example: When Gym Jordan (et al) begin using FEDERAL AUTHORITY to “control” a STATE, the Democrats should simply say, “Gym, have you heard of the 10th Amendment?”
I doubt that Gym has heard it; I doubt that he has read it; I doubt that he could understand it; and I know he would not defend it as he has sworn to do.
It’s all the same in a corrupt government - using institutions they claim are persecuting their own to persecute others. It bends the understanding of that institution’s purpose until it is only known to be an arm of the will of the political leaders - corruption complete.
Fran, for sure!! The last sentence is etched in stone truth. I’m sitting here reading the replies to Heather wondering who votes for supremacists? These aren’t Republicans we’re talking about. These are bought and paid for insurrectionists. The moles have been in place since FDR? Eisenhower? Clearly by the time of Kennedy and Nixon.
Lindsay Graham is a shining example. Prior to Trump, I could never have imagined Graham spewing and backing hatred. This was a conservative senator who I’d had a few moments of respect for, lost his friggin’ MIND after the death of John McCain. Became hair on fire crazy, and a fevered cult follower of Trump. Why would Graham debase himself so willingly? His entire demeanor became bizarrely unfamiliar. He is supporting a hate filled destruction of America. They all are.
Two things that comes to mind as a catalyst, 1st; subverted lawmakers saw to not only did dark money flow into their pockets, but also into forming and recruiting from fringe groups of white supremacists. The G.W. Bush administration is when it went into high gear. Giving these fringe groups rise and confidence to follow a “leader” who would blatantly commit crimes in front of the world with no one willing to hold him accountable. Bush absolutely did that.
2nd; Barrack Obama. The election of Barrack Obama inflamed the hatred of white supremacy so deeply, they began recruiting more fervently and deeply indoctrinated the members to hate everyone and everything they didn’t identify with.
Trump didn’t expect to win in 2016. Someone else did, they made it happen. Someone who knew what a malleable, corruptible, narcissistic personality disorder, so morally bankrupt, would throw puppies in a river if it meant another fix of attention, useful idiot he could be turned into. Just look at the path of devastation of human rights in our country since his placement in the Oval Office. The SCOTUS has been taking rights of Americans away and granting more and more power to white supremacy backed ideals for 40 years, but the last 20 (since Bush) have been deeply harmful to our democracy.
Women, all women are the targeted group. Once women are controlled by forced birthing laws, their rights will become less and less. Until we’re back to none whatsoever.
Now that they’ve clearly stated their intentions to rule, not govern, I am watching the whole power hungry party collapse in on itself. Willing to cannibalize their own, by refusing women necessary health services in red states, first and foremost. Then they’ll dummy themselves down to no healthcare for anyone. They’ll dwindled down to nothing but Sarah Huckabee Sanders governing a swamp to Kristie Noem talking to dirt. Idaho will look like a landscape on Mars. They’ve killed off plenty of their own with the anti vaccine COVID B.S. alone. The implosion will be spectacular. It will finally end a civil war that began 163 years ago. Hopefully more than 2 parties emerge from this crisis.
“This is an extreme move to use the resources of Congress to interfere with a criminal investigation at the state and local level and block an indictment.” It is, he said, “the kind of political culture you find in authoritarian dictatorships.”
The scary and sad and infuriating thing is that Sargent is not exaggerating. This is part and parcel of how despotic states routinely operate.
Have the committees in the House of Representatives violated local or state laws with their tactics of intimidation and attempted interference in a law enforcement matter?
They have no "oversight" responsibilities of a local grand jury or DA. They have no justification for reviewing the "judiciary" of a city. I wish I knew the law better. It just seems to me that we have some loonies in DC who are attempting to interfere in a legal proceeding. Can't they be busted for that?
Could they be charged with obstruction of justice? Sued for defamation? Anything?
Why get caught up in a side bar with these people? Remember they like to distract and delay. I prefer to focus on the legalities of pursuing trump in NY, Willis' work in Georgia and Garland's case.
Bragg has written brilliant responses to Jordan and friends. From my readings of his responses he has profoundly, eloquently and decisively informed the Jordan folks they are drastically out of their lane. I invite you to read Bragg's responses. I tried to read Jordan's letters to Bragg, but they were so full of bully gibberish I got a headache : ))
Of course but he didn't write it. He certainly would have reviewed it before it was sent, though. It was written and signed by the General Counsel to the DA's Office (Leslie Dubeck), probably in consultation with attorneys within her office.
The responses to Jordan et al were written by the General Counsel to the NY DA's office, Leslie Dubeck. Seems likely she consulted with other attorneys within her particular office of General Counsel and that the letters were reviewed by DA Bragg before sending but let's give credit where it's due. She did a superb job, especially with the third letter. Here's a link to letter #3, it's a doozy: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/politics/manhattan-district-attorney-office-letter-house-gop/index.html
Not to mention they are taking valuable time and resources away from the actual work they should be doing like, for example, making sure the U.S. doesn’t default on the national debt. They were not elected to blindly interfere and intervene in a state prosecution.
The short answer on legal recourse is no. They are protected by the Speech and Debate clause. The speech and debate clause does not protect them from public ridicule, peaceful protest, or from being voted out of office. Those are rights we all have under the first amendment.
With the current so called GOP, the only one of those that will have any effect is the last, VOTE them out! I’m so hoping that the upcoming election in WI will be a loud pro-democracy statement 🙏🙏
How does Trump serve the interests of other right-wing, authoritarian leaders around the world?
‘For Leaders Abroad, the Prospect of a Trump Revival Is Ever-Present’ (excerpts from Mark Landler’s, London bureau chief of The New York Times, Opinion in today’s paper).
‘Trump is a phenomenon, but no longer unique,” said Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the United States. “He has spawned a whole generation of mini-Trumps and Trump-lites.”
“So if you believe that isolationism is growing in America, or it suits you politically to assert this, you don’t have to hang it all on Trump,” said Mr. Darroch, who was forced to leave his post in Washington after critical cables he wrote about the Trump administration were leaked in 2019. “There are plenty of alternatives.”
‘None of this is to say that Mr. Trump does not remain a singular figure, or that his legal woes are not drawing attention abroad. The case against the former president, with its lurid accusations of “hush money” paid to a pornographic film actress, is the kind of only-in-America spectacle that lends itself to tabloid headlines.’
“The Bigly Usual Suspect,” said London’s Daily Star tabloid, with a collage of unflattering photographs of Mr. Trump against a backdrop used for mug shots.
‘But The Daily Telegraph, which leans to the right, focused on the potential upside for Mr. Trump with his hard-right political base, declaring, “Indictment is a golden opportunity for Trump.” The sense that Mr. Trump’s legal troubles could play out unpredictably extended to Parliaments and government offices.’
‘For one thing, Mr. Darroch said, only those who follow the Trump saga closely will recognize that this is the first of potentially several indictments, in cases involving election interference and mishandling of classified documents. More casual observers will shrug it off, focusing instead on his lead in the polls over Republican rivals.’
‘In Britain, some on the right openly pine for the return of Mr. Trump, who championed Brexit and dangled the prospect of a trans-Atlantic trade agreement. President Biden shelved that, and while his relationship with Britain is cordial, he is less gushing than Mr. Trump was. Mr. Biden is skipping the coronation of King Charles III, the kind of showy, attention-saturated ceremony his predecessor would have savored.’
‘In France, President Emmanuel Macron has advanced European “strategic autonomy,” the theory that Europe needs to defend itself more independently of the United States. Mr. Trump’s derision of NATO was a key motivating factor, and a second Trump term, in which he might actually pull out of the alliance, would make it all but imperative.’
‘In the Middle East, too, countries are hedging their bets about Mr. Trump’s return to power. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have invested in a private-equity fund started by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner. The investments, experts say, reflect their desire to stay on good terms with Mr. Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s elder daughter, Ivanka Trump.’
“The Saudis, in particular, are betting on a return of Trump, or at least a Republican president,” said Martin S. Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel. “The relationship between Biden and M.B.S. is so fraught that A.B.B. — anybody but Biden — is his approach,” Mr. Indyk said, referring to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.’
‘In Israel, analysts said, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also likely welcome the return of Mr. Trump, not least because they share the same problems. Both face legal charges: in Mr. Netanyahu’s case, allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he has fought with a highly unpopular — and now temporarily halted — attempt to exert more control over the judiciary. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu has accused prosecutors of waging a politically motivated attack on him.’
‘Yet for adversaries like Russia and China, the prospect of Mr. Trump mounting another campaign for the presidency, while at the same time defending himself from criminal charges, plays into their narrative of American chaos and decline.’
‘Evan S. Medeiros, a former China adviser to President Barack Obama, said, “The Chinese will use this to reinforce the argument they’ve long made: that America is consumed by its democratic dysfunction, and that China is a better bet.”
‘To American allies, Mr. Trump’s unrelenting assault on the U.S. legal system, and the fact that he has been backed up by so many other Republicans, is perhaps the most alarming short-term fallout from his indictment.’ (NYTimes) Sorry, gifted link is not available.
Good Sunday, to you, dear Lynell. I am very happy to see you. I took note earlier with how politely you corrected a commenter with a smile of encouragement. Great Sunday lesson in good citizenship and communication. Thank you, Lynell!
I would like to remind everyone here that over 1 million people died of Covid. Some are still dying. Not all were Repubs but many were so they won’t be able to vote. We cannot lose that perspective. We are dealing with the worst of the worse crazies in Congress. They are quite frankly, equal in their nonsensical rhetoric. Let’s take our fear out of it. What’s left? Some very worried and scared folks who know their asses may be next in getting indicted. This is their way of lashing out. They need to create diversions, just like their fearless leader taught them. Be not afraid of them as they are desperate men and women.
“Excess mortality is the difference between expected and observed mortality in a given period and has emerged as a leading measure of the overall impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that is not biased by differences in testing or cause-of-death assignment. Spatially and temporally granular estimates of excess mortality are needed to understand which areas have been most impacted by the pandemic, evaluate exacerbating and mitigating factors, and inform response efforts, including allocating resources to affected communities. We estimated all-cause excess mortality for the United States from March 2020 through February 2022 by county and month using a Bayesian hierarchical model trained on data from 2015 to 2019. An estimated 1,159,580 excess deaths occurred during the first two years of the pandemic (first: 620,872; second: 538,708). Overall, excess mortality decreased in large metropolitan counties, but increased in nonmetro counties, between the first and second years of the pandemic. Despite the initial concentration of mortality in large metropolitan Northeast counties, beginning in February 2021, nonmetro South counties had the highest cumulative relative excess mortality. These results highlight the need for investments in rural health as the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on rural areas continues to grow.”
I misread this sentence: “Some very worried and scared folks who know their asses may be next in getting indicted.”
I thought you were saying that people are scared to lose their ASSETS. I could not agree more!
While we are discussing what kind of civil unrest the vast majority of overworked, underpaid, and unprotected Americans should be participating in to solve all these problems when the Constitution and judicial framework were already painstakingly put in place for just this purpose, maybe we should spend some time considering the contributions (and lack thereof) of those people whose FULLTIME JOB it is to make the laws and to defend the laws. And then we should look at how much their assets rise in proportion to their inaction to concretely do the jobs they were elected and hired to do.
Tweeting is not legislating. Giving interviews that are only watched by members of your own choir is not enough.
I am getting progressively depressed about the future of this country. Predictions of a new "Civil War" are starting to sound increasingly realistic, rather than fantastical. Of course, such a Civil War would not be a "War Between the States," but a highly disorganized right-wing insurrection, in all parts of the country against the existing institutions of our Democracy and Rule of Law. And it would be violent because of the high prevalence of weapons of war in the hands of ordinary American people.
In any case, what will undoubtedly happen--indeed, is already happening--is an increasingly growing emigration of educated, liberal Americans out of this benighted country, into other countries not run by brain-washed, right-wing hoards of undereducated White racist rednecks.
It is possible, but recall Jesse Jackson saying something about how you only sink once you've stopped swimming. I'm seeing more signs of life in the resistance to plutocratic demagoguery than I have seen in 40 years. The Jan 6th committee and the current Trump indictment could just fizzle out, but I seeing cracks in the "GOP" offensive that might offer a path to something big, given continuing efforts.
Mr. Williams, while "educated, liberal Americans" may in fact be emigrating to other countries, I fear they have for some 30 years now been "immigrating" to large cities and population centers. As Joel Abrams wrote recently in The Conversation on 3/28/23 (<https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-explaining-elections-in-congress-gerrymandering-is-overrated-201454>) "there has been a "geographic sorting of the two parties over the past 30 or more years... Democrats have diminished as a presence in rural counties, particularly in the South and Midwest, while gaining numbers in counties with large cities like Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago..Because Democrats live in denser, more tightly packed places, they can’t distribute their votes as efficiently among geographic districts throughout a state...Because Republican support is more evenly distributed geographically, there are more and better options for them to win lots of districts, rather than just lots of votes. Put simply, because of where they tend to live, Republicans are wasting fewer of their votes than Democrats."
Truth. And because those flyover states are largely homogeneous they largely have no experience outside of that bubble. A Carnival cruise doesn’t count.
Gail, do you suppose that with all the book-banning and anti-woke legislation that what the "post-liberal" movement is really fighting is education? ...that education is dangerous to our republic as well as to our souls? Hmmmm...a sad thought.
Perhaps it's just dangerous to Republicans running for election.
I think that the dumbing down of America began in the Reagan years and intensified during the 2nd Bush’s administration. By coupling the declines in funding of public education and the rise of the concept of public funding of private/Christian schools we’ve created a system of dumbed down basic education.
Absolutely. Hence the emphasis on STEM rather than the humanities. I can’t remember the source to attribute but the quote was “I don’t need thinkers, I need workers”.
Massive commercial enterprises want robots, and if the electronic/mechanical variety isn't available, they will settle for the human equivalent. It has seemed to me that since the 1970s there has been a trend toward encouraging our education system to "job training" over systemic critical thinking skills. and the kit that aid the negotiation of the overall vicissitudes of life, including civics.
I get the feeling that STEM is being approached from this robotic perspective, different from the post-Sputnick boost for science that I experienced in my middle and high school years in the 1960's. I have the impression that science is too often taught as a catalog of technical vocabulary, techniques and findings, but the essence of science is careful observation, measurement, and evidence gathering, organized and interpreted by "clean" and unbroken chains of logic. Science professionals do that in a very formal way, but that way of thinking can be applied to some degree by anyone, even small children; and can be of benefit on a trip the the grocery store as well as to Mars. Evidence-based thinking is exactly what despots and swindlers DON'T want.
And while our powers of thinking are always shaped and constrained by being human, science attempts to define the world around what nature (including our own) seems to be telling us; the way it would presumably be even were we not here to experience it.
And yet, we are in the end experiential creatures with inner and interactive sentience. I have thought since college that Descartes missed the target with "I think therefore I am" as experience is meaningless without an emotional/feeling component. The sensation of sunshine on my shoulder is an experiential dimension of it own, apart from, yet related to, thermonuclear photons exciting the the molecular motion of a substrate; or even the neuronal bucket brigade that lets me know it's happening. Science and the arts are not logically hostile or separate, except to keep straight which is which. Science explores and identifies how the world works and the arts explore and share what is means to be an experiential human being.
I can only echo your incites GL. This is a deep and complex train of thought for so many of our Binary thinkers who want to "keep it simple stupid". These people are generally Followers not leaders. It is incumbent for those who understand to learn to speak to those who seek knowledge in a language they can easily comprehend. Don't cha think?
Which, honestly, the complete distortion of religious “values” rears it’s ugly head. There was a time when devout lovers of life could skip the war front by conscientious objection... NOW for a total mind f*€£ they’re the ones calling for war 😵💫
Their “civil war” consists of inciting the vulnerable to take their assault weapons into public places and slaughter innocents, in particularly, defenseless children. The yellow bellied, maliciously driven, elected insurrectionists, will never put themselves in the midst of any risk for physical harm.
The irony in your statement is the fact that it was the most advanced highly educated ones among us who dropped two atomic bombs on Japan killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, and those in power continue today to make continuous war, rape lands, destroy democracies, and threatened all who get in the way of the powerful and greedy.
And it is many of the so called deplorables who want a better life here and want to stop the MIC wars and foreign engagements.
Of course I do not excuse the danger of the extreme fascist Christian movement. But danger comes in many forms, it is best to remove the blindfolds and see through the propaganda, and listen and communicate. The radical left does not like this government anymore then the radical right. The real threat is the monied powers that pull the strings. As this Empire is fraying apart from corporate greed and overextended wars and debt, and as support for the commons and its peoples has deteriorated causing angry and desperate forces, our present government is bringing its weapons of war home to fight its own citizens.
So the end result is what we have, people fighting people over books and gender and what not, distractions, while the rich and powerful oligarchs fortify their bunkers and watch, ready to support whoever meets their needs. So is history, but the stakes now seem higher than ever.
To stop the madness, it would help to restore a democracy attempt by getting the monied interests out of the halls of government, redistribute the wealth in this country, rewrite our Constitution to include representation and fairness for all, including the environment. And stop the need for more and more. An over optimistic dream?? Are we humans so defective that we will destroy our incubator.
Michael Green, the problem with the suggestion of rewriting the Constitution is that you’d have to call a Constitutional Convention. In that arena, the entire document and all its parts are at risk, both the regrettable parts (2nd Amendment, lack of required qualifications to run for President beyond age and citizen by birth, the Electoral College, etc.) and the parts that are still accessible to fend off takeovers by the white nationalist religio-fascists.
Suz-an, and Michael: Your posts are full of excellent points nicely stated. I agree with you on almost everything. I agree we shouldn’t be run by our fears but that is not my state of mind in posing my one objection. It’s an attractive idea to rewrite the Constitution, agreed, and we are in the middle of a major realignment, agreed. But we need to be deliberative and strategic in the major moves we make, evaluating all current evidence to weigh how likely each move is to have the effect we’re aiming for, versus backfiring. To evaluate when would be a propitious moment to take a huge transformative step like holding a Constitututional Convention, we would have to assume not only that the white nationalist religio-fascist movement in this country would come with their own agenda, but in fact, their strategic thinkers probably have a version of a new Constitution all ready to propose, that they’ve been developing for the past 30 years, spearheaded by people like Leonard Leo. And they have been manipulating the beliefs and opinions of a large segment of American voters for 30 years, to be in line with their aims. We can abhor their goals, but we have to acknowledge that they have been very effective at playing the long game. Our political situation at the moment is emblematic of the problems we must contend with. Yes, we have a Democratic president and narrowly, a Democratically controlled Senate. But the House is narrowly controlled by a bunch of far right extremists. Donald Trump, in spite of his immense baggage and obvious massive flaws as a human being and huge mistakes during his first term, is still polling in the lead to be the Republican candidate in 2024. And we Democrats and progressives are not nearly as good as the Rs in uniting behind a single vision. We have not prepared the ground nearly well enough (yet), neither in voter knowledge and opinions, nor in strategic thinking and planning, nor in creating if not total unity, at least coalescence around one set of ideas and goals. In my humble opinion, we are a long way from the sort of political moment in which opening a Constitutional Convention would result in us achieving a next-gen Democratic/progressive document. Imho, it would be much more likely to yield a new document much more in line with a white nationalist religio-fascist vision than ours.
"while the rich and powerful oligarchs fortify their bunkers and watch, ready to support whoever meets their needs. So is history, but the stakes now seem higher than ever." And they want to support the twice impeached defeated former president.
Hi Cathy. Actually I think the oligarchs will abide and work with any political power that meets their needs. But I think they want to dump DT. He doesn’t fit the accepted mold, and he wanted to stop the foreign wars, which does not play well with the arms industry. All the indictments, one and others pending, I suspect are given the green light by the oligarchs. Normally they do not go after a person of their own kind. DT gave them reduced taxes and deregulation. Maybe they are ungrateful!
“Are we humans so defective that we will destroy our incubator” sounds to me that you already answered your own question. We humans are human. Defectiveness is relative to the goal
In spite of my fear from the violence and ungodly rhetoric from the neo confederates, I am learning - from your scholarship and soul - and applying it every way I know how - as is my patriotic duty.
This 'nouveau retrumplican' party is revealing its authoritarian roots, attempting to hurdle the United States toward a fascist dictatorship at full speed ahead. They want a country where white men rule, women 'know their place', and children quietly obey their fathers. They need that blithering dummy to 'pretend lead' them because he has worked the 'patriotic clown' figure to perfection with the semi-literate cult. Thank goodness for people like District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the intelligent voters of New York, The Attorney General, and Department of Justice, and the legal segment of the City of Atlanta Georgia; with these real patriots we will prevail. Thank you Dr. Richardson for keeping us so well informed
These MAGA Republicans are making me feel I need to pinch myself to wake up from this frightening dream of their hypocrisy and forcing a minority rule theocracy on us. Oh, I forgot ... we are "woke" already -- this is not a dream!
***correction, thank you to Rose! It’s scheduled to be aired tonight, NOT last night. So sorry!
Insanely unbelievable that 60 Minutes highlighted MTG last night. It is the breakdown of institutions like this that scares me the most. I hope CBC gets many letters from the millions wanting to preserve our Constitution and law and order. Here’s a link to their feedback form in case anyone is so inclined to use it:
We should never be hesitant about watching something highlighting those we strongly disagree with! I cannot stomach watching Fox, but a 60 Minutes segment on MTG sort of makes my mouth water because whomever of the 60 Minutes crew interviews her will do a superb job. As always.
People that should know better are giving her power that she should not have to continue to incite violence, to lie, when under oath she states she could not remember anything which were obvious lies. She is malicious, destructive and unfit for office. Did we not learn anything by giving tffg a megaphone to spew his 💩💩💩💩? There is a domestic terrorist cult attempting to win over vulnerable minds to grab power. I’m strongly against “feeding the bad wolf” by elevating their voices
Does it occur to anyone that putting MTG on such a large national stage might well inform many viewers of just how totally nuts that woman is? 60 Minutes is a program watched by many people who likely have never watched the Fox cable channel and many of whom may be more liberal than "conservative".
What do I think of Marjorie Taylor Greene? There are obvious signs that she is unwell, dangerous, and criminally-minded. Disease will spread where conditions are set up for their spreading, and this is why I have advocated for attention to mental health, not purely politics.
10:19 PM · Jan 30, 2021
A more recent tweet regarding what can be done to decrease the risk of violence:
As long as Donald Trump has a public megaphone, the country will continue to grow more dangerous. Taking it away from him is the first step toward our safety.
12:02 PM · Mar 31, 2023
Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Tim Snyder give the same warnings. The violence is contagious. It’s a serious public health issue more than a political issue.
Find it hard to believe that anyone hasn’t heard the 💩💩💩 she spews. Normalizing the sickest among them is a big mistake. They did it to tffg in 2015-16. It’s happening again, only she’s even sicker.
I knew all I needed to know when she lied under oath about not being able to remember anything. The only thing I would care to hear from her is testimony under oath. 60 minutes has failed miserably. I have made my formal complaint
How has 60 Minutes failed? The program has not even aired yet, so it's not possible to make a meaningful assessment of it. Or do you have access to it not available to most? I am concerned because one of the most damaging things one can do is criticize something without knowing what it is one is criticizing.
60 minutes is not Fox News. Just by choosing to put her words on air they give her power. Have you not heard the violence she has tried to incite? Just because McCarthy is getting his ass licked by her doesn’t mean anyone with any recognizable sense of human dignity should give any weight to anything she could say. Feeding the bad wolves. I don’t understand how that is not crystal clear.
Gail Adams, I know what you mean! I have to have a constant check on my mind's attitude and reactions, trying to not just immediately react with words. It is extremely hard to do with "those people."
Just watched the MTG interview on 60 Minutes. I believe Lesley Stahl did a terrific job: she was well-prepared, conducted fair and balanced questioning (as much as I dislike MTG, I believe a true journalist does not attack the person interviewed but elicits responses that elucidate in their own terms), and held her cool while holding MTG accountable for her aberrant actions and absurd accusations. The interview lived up to Stahl’s and 60 Minutes’ high journalistic standards.
Sorry. There can be NO fair and balanced with an elected representative who calls on their cult of armed extremists to kill their political opponents. It is extremely distressing to me that good people here don’t “get” that simple premise. It’s no different than tffg guy saying there were good people on both sides in Charlottesville. MTG is an abomination, too sick to have such a powerful position, and good, humane people should not normalize her. I’m sorry, but it’s just shocking to me that this is not a shared point of view and I feel it’s so important that I have to speak up. There are not 2 sides to this. One is violence and death of innocent people. It cannot be normalized.
I understand other people's POV in feeling MTG should be held to account by a competent network journalist, who's not a Faux mouthpiece, to expose her outrageous ideas. As much as I get that, I have to side with you, Christy.
60 minutes is one of, if not the most, venerated TV news programs in our country. Appearance on it is often seen as validation of a person's ideas and acknowledgement of them as a tastemaker, power broker, rightful policy maker or all of the above. Tonight's interview subject has shown herself to be unsophisticated, not just in speech or manners, but in matters of reason or intellect. This appearance will be seen by her and spun by her camp as confirmation of her savvy, smarts and awesome power, both in her party and in the HoR. Many of the more uncritical thinkers who support her will see it the same way. The same reasons that no POTUS, until 45, met with N. Korea's leader, because it would signify an equality between our President and a despot, is the same way respected journalists can't invite crackpots onto their primetime news programs to give them the air of respectability.
TFG used his Time MOTY cover as vindication of his greatness. No matter how Time editors and staff writers tried, he refused to grasp that the selected person can be chosen for worldwide impact from doing the most bad, as well as good. This Rep. will view this the same way. Her and her cohorts will spin it as the moment 'the lamestream mediuhh' discovered what a braintrust she is. Mark my words, slo-mo, audio-free clips of her and Leslie Stahl, faced off in interview chairs, are being cut into reelection propaganda by her people as we post comments.
Thank you Cathy for articulating that so well ❤️. I see it as an endorsement for fascism and a promotion of violence by 60 minutes, a show I once had significant respect for.
Just to keep the comments “fair and balanced”, I’m sharing this spout by Dr. Joanne Freeman, Heather’s respected co-host of Now and Then.
Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755
Agreed.
The interview advertised & normalized a blatantly anti-democratic movement during a political crisis.
And it defused its usefulness. There could have been questions re: assertions & generalizations, & clear explanations of what those "in your face" claims truly mean--to MTG & more broadly
Dan Wentzel
@DanWentzel
60 Minutes crossed a unforgivable line with its softball interview of Marjorie Taylor Greene. The need by many in the corporate media to try and normalize fascism in the Republican Party because they cannot come to terms with its fundamental threat to American democracy is a danger to all of us.
Thank you Rose for your correction! I would not watch it for obvious reasons and when I saw the many headlines this morning had misunderstood and thought that it had already happened. (Yesterday felt like Sunday to me for a variety of reasons.)
Don’t suppose they would reconsider airing it, though?
No worries, Christy! I barely watch tv, other than PBS. I do watch 60 Minutes and CBS’s Sunday Morning show, which just advertised MTG’s 60 Minutes segment. I will watch, of course! Ignorance is not necessarily bliss when it comes to politics. I do hope the interview itself does not cast a positive light on MTG’s dark derangements…
Garbage. She speaks garbage. She makes up lying 💩 and incites violence against our most vulnerable. I wouldn’t listen to a word of it if I was paid a million dollars. Now if you want to put her back under oath and see if she can remember any of the nasty crap she’s done or said then that’s a different story.
I'll watch the segment on Empty G just out of morbid curiosity. If the 60 Minutes interviewer is as good as they usually are, she'll come off looking rather oafish, perhaps even deranged. I am reminded of Sarah Palin's remark about putting lipstick on a pig...
Be forewarned.I clocked on the url (thank you) and then spent 15 frustrating minutes as it refused to allow me to indicate which show I was feeding back on, and so it never got posted. For the rest of you this is what I tried to post:
MTG? "Not afraid"?? "Speaks her mind"???
How about "whacko" or "what mind?", to say nothing of your obligation to exercise judgment in crafting your reporting framework to sustain the Republic rather than undermine it?
You should be ashamed of yourselves airing such a puff piece without as part of the segment also posting a sampling of her posts over just the preceding 48 hours.
Dr. Joanne Freeman also tweeted how they are “normalizing” her thoughts/words by the way they framed their advertisements for the show by using her language that you described.
Sorry that it did not let you submit. I too had missed the selections at the start for both the choose the category and then choose the program. Eventually, I did get it to go. 🙏 thank you for your time and energy
Cathy, it is our collective responsibility to Awaken those who's thinking has been clouded by the Disinformation being incessantly excreted by those who would imprison the thoughts and beliefs of a well-educated citizenry.
Don't drink the KoolAid!! I first read this article on the final phase of Narcissistic Personality Disorder in April 2016 when I realized DT would likely be the Republican nominee for President. I posted this comment in August 31, 2022 here on LFAA: Beware the Meltdown! For the first time commenters are saying DT is off the rails. Although we've all known DT is the posterchild of narcissistic personality disorder for years, we are now possibility witnessing the end phase of NPD where he feels trapped. Will his end phase be like Jim Jones and have all his followers drink the KoolAid? Read about it at: https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=40230
I’m sitting here thinking; Now we know why we don’t name tornadoes, they are like narcissists and just too many of them. So give them rankings of destructive intensity instead.
Oh, Cathy! Stalin, Hitler, Jim Jones, and now Trump. The NPD diagnosis, and alarmingly, the prognosis, fits to a "T." Listening to Michael Cohen on the news yesterday confirms it:
"Costa asked, 'Trump keeps projecting confidence, but you sense fear?'
"As the window of power begins to fade and family and friends begin to isolate the narcissist, many narcissists panic emotionally and this fuels their desire to try and re-assert control over what they feel they have lost. This desire to re-assert control usually leads to increasing attempts to harm family and friends who threaten to leave the narcissist. The fear of loss of power and the failed attempts to re-assert control can sometimes lead the narcissist to create a permanent solution to the rapid implosion of their life. Many times this permanent solution takes the shape of a murder-suicide or mass-murder event."
I must be naive to have believed that guys that claim to be Republican moderates, like Youngkin and Jeb Bush, would allow the legal process in New York to proceed without legitimizing the far-right response.
I think Trump needs to be held to account but I find no pleasure in his indictment nor will I his conviction. That said, I have faith in the jury system that all of these Republican politicians appear not to trust when it is one of them subject to trial and not a young black male.
That juxtaposition needs to be spoken. It also needs to be repeated ad nauseam that it was Attorney General Barr’s federal Justice Department that not only prosecuted Cohen for the same crime, stating it was done at the bequest and interest of “Individual One” (Trump) who was not prosecuted because he was a sitting president. Cohen, after his release, was re-imprisoned because he he wouldn’t silence himself.
Their defense of Trump and attacks on Bragg are de facto proof that they do not believe in equal justice under the law. It is they who weaponize the levers if government and we need to be vigilant in protecting the rule of law from fascist attacks.
“It also needs to be repeated ad nauseam that it was Attorney General Barr’s federal Justice Department that not only prosecuted Cohen for the same crime, stating it was done at the bequest and interest of “Individual One” (Trump) who was not prosecuted because he was a sitting president. Cohen, after his release, was re-imprisoned because he he wouldn’t silence himself.”
After reading this extraordinary article from Dr. Richardson, and these extremely detailed replies, I find that everything going through my head has been pretty well versed.
I would like to point out, and remind everyone, that we the people have a hell of a lot of work ahead of us. Not only for the 2024 election, but every election after that. We must, MUST, get these radical republicans out of office.
We know every one of them have committed crimes against democracy. We know that every one of them are interested in one thing, and one thing only. Getting TFG back in office so they can finish turning this country from a democracy to a dictatorship. IF TFG gets back in office, the United States 🇺🇸 of America will cease to exist as it is today. As our forefathers intended it to be.
When TFG gained access to the Oval Office, he started his attack. He did away with free trade, he did away with our involvement with NATO, and other world organizations we had been member, and a leading country of, so we would be lined up to ally with the likes of Russia, China, North Korea, and other communist nations in the world.
We have our work cut out for us, across this nation, to get these republicans out of office in all levels of government. We need to identify them in every single state in this country, list them for all to see, and fight to get them removed from office.
We have a lot of work to get done, and a short time to do it. I’m confident that democracy will prevail. We just have to work hard to keep it.
Wonderful post Dan. I can almost hear Jethro Tull playing the Battle Hymn of the republic in the background. A great and heartfelt thanks for this moment today!
Hold on a minute. The sky really isn't falling! Remember this. There is a Democratic President who happens to have veto power, a Democratic Senate, an extremely capable Cabinet and we are internationally respected once again. At this very moment the Government of the United States of America is functioning exactly as it should. All 3 branches are still separate and equal.
As to the House of Representatives. There are 435 members in the House. Of these 435 members:
Committee on the Judiciary:
24 Republicans (9 trumpers)
19 Democrats
Committee on Oversight:
25 Republicans (11 trumpers)
20 Democrats
This makes 20 trumpers out of the total 88 members on these Committees.
Now ask yourself this. What laws have they passed? What has been Bragg's responses to Jordan? If you have a moment from needlessly worrying watch some tube moments of Raskin, Bush, Porter, AOC, Garcia, Goldman, Connolly, Moskowitz etc. successfully rebutting, humiliating and holding to task the unprepared, fact free, circus work of the Republican members. The Democratic members of the Committee and the Democratic witnesses came prepared, aggressive and credible.
Sargent is exaggerating. He is selling papers/clicks. Stay out of the rabbit hole because we have better things to do. I strongly urge you to check out Simon Rosenberg on his Substack blog Hominum.
You are our spiritual leader today. I had been trying to compose something on this theme. But you said it beautifully! Well done. Thank you.
The grieving and complaining is all justified. There are terrible people attempting terrible things. But that news is stealing the oxygen from the discussion. It is way over amplified.
Thank you for the reminders! We have a very fine President who is on the right page on most issues who leads us with intelligence and dignity. Bragg, Willis and Smith are doing their jobs.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't demand justice or fight to elect the correct people. But the sky is not falling today. And I am going to have a wonderful Sunday.
Thank You very much Bill. As you know our stance is not a popular one in comments boards so positive feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy your wonderful Sunday. I am heading out for a bird song filled walk.
Grand job bringing us back to reality and out of the weeds of panic and pessimism, Barbara. Thank you. You laid it out beautifully. Your post succinctly demonstrated that at the federal level, we are actually in a pretty good position right now. And a lot of people are getting involved in various ways in local/state politics- and that will make us stronger for 2024 at all levels. I am feeling hopeful.
Let's hold each other up with fact based information, tools to combat the dystopian main stream media and trolls who show up in comments preaching "America is doomed" messages. We can prevail in 2024 if we keep our heads. Good people are working in Government and good citizens are working as well.
I think history demonstrates that killing the people who disagree with you is never a lasting resolution, TCinLA. In this case, wanting to kill some of the people who want to destroy democracy because they don’t want to live by the essential principles of democracy, damages democracy in and of itself. Freedom to make personal choices, taking responsibility for the choices you make, respect for others and the rule of law-these are not easy principles to live by. Right now we have a number of people who are refusing to take responsibility for their own actions, many of which are criminal in nature. We can hold accountable people who break our laws, as long as we ourselves abide by them.
Although it took little while, the earliest white power on this land annihilated vast numbers of indigenous people here who are greatly marginalized and still have no power or voice. They may beg to differ thinking killing off their people was not a lasting resolution by those who think they are superior.
I am always shocked, when I visit friends at Pine Ridge, at how many of them accepted the white man's religion even today. Their own nature-based spiritual paths are so connected with gratitude and the earth. I am not seeing that in these cults of mostly white people who appear to have zero gratitude for anything but a golden calf that wants to squeeze every fricking dime and applause from them possible. And they relish in it, and could give a sh_t about the rest of the world and the earth. TCinLA has a point. If our systems of checks and balances were stronger, most of these republicans in our government would be in jail with the proud boys (who have nothing to be proud of by their false sense of superiority backed by the phallic symbols they carry to make sure they are top dogs. In my dreams of a sane world, none of them would exist.
They should be deported and let other people come here who want to live in a democracy because they KNOW the stifling oppression of an authoritarian regime.
If our justice system would get it together, much of the loudmouthed swamp would be cleaned out of our government.
For me, the essential trust I had in our institutions as basically trying to “do the right thing” has been trampled. I’m not naive but as a child of the ‘60’s/‘70’s I saw the striving to do the right thing. The power accrual of the ‘90’s saw us asleep at the wheel, manipulated by those seeking their riches. Who knew it would take such a self serving clown to wake me. We must assure that our institutions hold, and I’m encouraged by all those, including here, that are working to ensure they do.
You're right. But the good news is, these people are doing it to themselves (which is also what I was advocating). The records show that Republicans, who are more likely to be antivaxxers and refuse vaccination, have died at a higher rate (3:1) over Democrats who are likely to believe in science and be vaccinated. So, since we're plumb out of sabretooth cats to eat the morons and keep Darwinian evolution working, I'll take a virus and stupidity to lower their numbers today.
"The position of those embracing a post-liberal order is a far cry from the Reagan Republicans’ claim to want small government and free markets."
It seems to me that Reaganomics was essentially a fraud and was always a slight-of-hand coup by plutocrats. For all of the vocal government-bashing, Reagan Republicans have sure been drawn to the levers of governmental power, displaying by many forms or antidemocratic treachery that they want them all for themselves. No one want's to be micromanaged, and the cry of "small government" has some appeal to it, but notice how heavy-handed government has become, even under Reagan, and certainly Bush the Second, and Trump. It's only those features of government that aid or protect the disadvantaged, the public interest, or corporate or official accountability, that have been ended, eroded, or sidetracked. Republicans actually love government, so long as it's by them, and for them.
And is a "free market" one (as in a free society) in which there is equal opportunity? Or is it one that puts up no barrier to monopolies and cartels (trusts)? Republicans appear to very much prefer the latter description; but then, is substantial domination by any segment of society of the rest of its citizens, economically, politically, or both, meaningfully labeled "free"?
I wouldn't say that Republicans love government: what they seem to be doing, with great gusto, is play at governing, as very young children pretend to be mothers and fathers, or teachers and pupils. They are parroting words of which they don't know the meaning. Anyone ever read that nightmarish novel "Let's go and play at the Adams"?
I think that's true of most of the following, cosplaytriots and all, but there is some major society money flow being diverted over a period of decades, and which begs to be followed.
Thank you Heather Cox Richardson for another enlightening letter. Sadly, I think you have brought to light how this deranged group are continuing their assault on the very democracy that we all love. The right wing fanatics have always been afraid of letting go of their power and respecting the rights of us ordinary Americans. It reminds me of the millions of uninformed and easily lead people who put men like Hitler, Stalin, Bolsonaro, Noriega, Castro, etc., etc. on a pedestal and then followed them to their own doom. I am saddened and frightened that they seemingly have such loud voices and power. We can take away their power with our votes...their loud voices..hopefully, that will be their issue
To counter the distorted MAGA narrative advanced not just by Republican leaders but also by a bloc I sense increasingly is abating, I contend we are obligated repeatedly to amplify that the system that led to Trump’s indictment demonstrates that the rule of law depends on our having institutions we can trust, a mutuality that, in turn, depends on the idea that no one is above the law. I imagine that all of us at some time since 2016 likely contemplated a possible fatal weakening of our civic institutions and also a Presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjugated to an individual. Accordingly, however important other things are, speaking for myself, I take heart from sensing that the mind of the country, overall, at this moment, is focused on the idea that protecting the key mechanisms of American democracy entails holding everyone, as the facts warrant, accountable for their actions.
Ally, Excluding MAGA supporters, whose numbers I understand are receding, I imagine everyone paying attention understands we’d be giving up on democracy were anyone not subject to the rule of law.
"Those who call for a new post-liberal order want to “reconquer public institutions all over the United States,” as Christopher Rufo put it after Florida governor Ron DeSantis appointed him to the board of New College as part of a mission to turn the progressive school into a right-wing bastion. “If we can take this high-risk, high-reward gambit and turn it into a victory,” Rufo told Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times, “we’re going to see conservative state legislators starting to reconquer public institutions all over the United States.”"
This is the key strategy that the post-liberals have adopted and it starts with local elections at the lowest level--the town councils and local school boards all over American. It is where the fight against them needs to be fought--and it is where and how we need to fight for and defend our Democracy.
Lots of us followers of Heather have struggled with how best to make a difference. It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake.
Heather has given us lots of ammunition to use--clear and cogent explanations of what is happening and why it matters and how the post liberal white Christian nationalism threatens democracy.
"It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake."
Join/support your local political town committee and get on the ballot yourself.
Small towns especially have elected boards and committees of ordinary, unpaid citizens who have a lot to say about what goes on. Planning and Zoning, Inland Wetlands, finance, school boards, historic districts, Arts Commissions, and so on are places where good people can make a real difference. In a participatory democracy, these are the places where the rubber meets the road.
And, if you do run for office, be prepared to win. My Town Democratic Committee asked me to run for Zoning Commission. I agreed only because I was sure I wouldn't get elected. I did two six year terms.
Could not agree more. I love your inclusive list. You nailed many of the places of local control over the big issues we are facing in this country today. If you want to live in a more inclusive community get involved in planning and zoning. Planning and zoning and wetlands if your are interested in the environment. School boards if you want to see a more truthful telling of history, teaching of civics and sex education, stopping book banning, ending LBGTQ+ discrimination, support for teachers and unions. Town finance meetings to ensure fair pay for township employees and to see the pros and cons with tax breaks for corporations and developers.
We’re about to have school board elections and it’s never been so crucial! In the district where I teach, our school board just left the state school board association! I didn’t even know you could do that! They said the curriculum under the state association was too woke, encouraged teaching CRT, indoctrination, and wasn’t conservative enough! I can’t vote there but facing the same thing where I live. I don’t know what I’m going to do now! We’re diving into some crazy stuff! Lack of funding, the district developing its own curriculum! People have to get involved, know the candidates and vote!
How can people get involved? Got any tips for folks?
Barbara, vote in primaries and attend township meetings in an area which interests you. And regularly visit your municipality’s website to what’s going on.
If there is a local Democratic club, join it to learn the ropes. One last point: Don’t expect rapid, magical change. Be prepared for a marathon.
I would be cautious on relying too too much on party affiliation at local level. There are lots of libertarians infiltrating democratic parties in certain regions and municipalities, such as it is in NH where we have "Independent" voters. The best approach may be to articulate your point, stand on facts, and challenge people on facts, not opinions or party affiliation. Editing to include another thought: highlight the principles you stand for.
Thank You. I already knew this, but it is important to mention HOW to get involved when telling people TO get involved.
Meet your city leaders by joining Rotary or Kiwanis (or other community groups) and join your Chamber of Commerce if you are a local business or non-profit. Go to all City Council meetings and pick one or two things you care about. Apply for city or county committees like Human Affairs or Recreation or Planning or Environmental Policy. Meet your City Council members so they know you by name. School Board is also a good choice if you have kids in that district (People without kids in that school should not be making decisions about them).
And, volunteer volunteer volunteer!
Maybe people without kids should stop paying taxes to support the schools? "Public" means "public." It means we all have a stake in the education of young people, even those of us who don't have kids.
Part of the problem now is parents trying to micromanage what their kids are taught. If they want to do that, they should home-school or find a private school whose beliefs match their own.
I disagree with your last sentence. I have kids and grandkids and the benefit of experience and wisdom—sometimes younger people ask me for advice, which surprises me until I start talking and realize I have some good advice.
Fortunately, we have a local groups and people who are paying attention and let people know what is going on. School Board elections are coming up and thankfully we have some good people running against the wing nuts. In other local school happenings, we have a couple friends who teach in a town a few mile north of us. They thought they were getting a good super when they hired the guy who had stood up against a wing nut school board (which recently lost in court), but he turned out to be an autocrat and when we talked to them, they were close to a strike. One of my ex-colleagues (who claimed at his interview for a teaching position that there was no history he didn't know much to our amusement) is now super of a rather large district who got rid of their inclusive super. I would love to know what this all-knowing one is actually doing there.
Yes!
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
We are a group who met here and are supporting state and local candidates.
Great group.
Barbara, while I have nothing to boast about, and I blame reluctance to be an activist on illness, I have found a bit of joy in supporting "my" candidates. Of course that means a few dollars' donations, but also an occasional email or letter to the candidate to thank them for their dedication or a particular focus or piece of legislation that I like. You would be surprised how rare that is for the candidate or official and they often respond with thanks.
Something as simple as a letter to the editor on behalf of a favorite, or a yard sign in my apartment window...I recently tied a sign to the back of my wheelchair...however small, still offers support. In addition, I've carried petitions to get a candidate's name on the ballot and I've organized a meeting for the candidate to speak to a small gathering in the building where I live. I've found such activities to be rewarding for them and me.
Last but not least, sometimes offering to help the candidate's aide is also welcome. Just saying you will deliver a half dozen yard signs to like-minded friends is really helpful. All these are small potatoes, but the ground floor for democracy.
I hear you. Sometimes the best I can do is $5 to a Candidate, making some calls etc.. I need to get back in the habit of writing our Legislators. Great idea on writing to the Candidates.
Join your local municipal committee, they exist in every state. Join you country committee. You will be informed well in advance of any laws being passed by your legislature that will not be beneficial to you. The GOP took over this country by taking over state governments. The Democrats now have to do the same thing.
Yes, show up at all the town meetings.
In texas, there are county commissioners, city council members, neighborhood associations, business management zones and more. I joined a local volunteer group focused on trails and non-motorized transportation and get to talk to representatives from all these various offices. The focus of calm conversations are practical and not political, and political policy can be quietly influenced this way. I also know for whom uI should vote in the next election.
I also answer my front door to canvasers and engage. They're always looking for volunteers, though that type of involvement isn't my cup of tea.
Jerry everything is political, that this the structure of our country. Getting involved is the most important step. Get your neighbors involved also.
Another important key to preserving and enhancing our Democracy both at the local level and at the Congressional/Presidential level is to concentrate on NONPARTISAN voter registration of potential young voters. The future is about them! WE should take an active role in encouraging THEM in a meaningful way to register and vote, as I will explain HOW in a minute. Why they should be engaged as voters--for example-- is to preserve reproductive rights and instituting really effective local control of assault weapons to save the lives of 9 year olds, as well as the rest of us! YOU can directly help achieve such a result in competitive elections in more than 2,000 localities by going to www.turnup.us/ and contributing with a tax-deductible charitable contribution to amazing Harvard students who are successfully working hard to organize thousands of high school voter registration drives and "relational" registration in key states! This is the most effective youth voter registration effort I have ever seen and I have been at it for seven years with my foundation "Inspire2Vote" in key states all over the country. Inspire2Vote just registered a week or so ago our 102,000th high school student in Iowa! But www.turnup.us/ will be, far more effective with their local student voter reg drives. Please look them up and give them a helping hand to help save our Democracy! Thank you!
Check out Chop Wood Carry water by Jessica Craven. https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/
Get the Indivisible guidelines. Just Google it.
Go alone if you have to, but bring a friend if you can. Go to listen. Go to absorb the feelings of the participants. Try to understand the motivations of those there. See if you have something positive and constructive to add. Ask questions. Take notes. Go home and think about what you learned. Don't go in with the point of view that you're going to right the boat in that first meeting. Go in to be part of the conversation. We can cross the great divide with a bridge of civility and respect. Panic, hate, anger are communicable disease. Calm, understanding, curiosity are public health. Choose your path well, our society depends upon it.
Great post and good advice. This is how we can be effective in creating good changes in our communities- and from there up. Thanks so much!
Well stated!
I absolutely agree. There are lots of other opportunities for people in their communities to engage and start conversations about in their communities common interests that are not political. Community gardens, emergency services, local volunteer fire companies, senior volunteers, kids robotics clubs. We've been terribly siloes over the past 3 years because of covid.
Well said! Thank You.
"It just requires that you go to these meetings and speak to show support, to get to know your local candidates and support those who understand what is at stake."
I sure wish it were that easy. I have gone to and participated in meetings galore, served several times in local politics where I had a "microphone", written letters, etc. I happen to live in a liberal democratic state (and therefore "preaching to the choir") which does have a number of pockets of trump supporters. Regardless of my (or other like-minded residents) efforts and participation, the national psyche has continued to move further away from the ideals of a benevolent and inclusive democracy. Board by board, town by town, city by city, state by state large swaths of the country have continued to move to extreme conservatism with "Christianity" as a political overlay.
The people who lack understanding of what is at stake don't read Heather's Letters and have absolutely no intellectual curiosity or desire to learn or change. They don't get it and don't want to. They are not inherently bad people, but their choice of elected officials certainly is, and they refuse to see the consequences. As an "old" psych major, there is a type of "group think" that fosters cults and aberrant mass behavior that is inherently illogical and dangerous. A so-called "charismatic leader" drives home fear, hate, misinformation, and meaningless empty promises to gain control.
I certainly don't profess to have any solutions. However, with a lifetime of observations as well as a student of history, there is strong evidence that these complicated situations do not change without massive protests/strikes and/or violence.
Janet, there is stronger evidence that violence only begets violence and makes it harder for people to begin the collaboration that leads to healing. Heather and many others have spoken to this, and history shows that violence is counterproductive. I do agree that peaceful protests and strikes are useful and appropriate tools to call attention to critical issues or wrongs. But the moment we introduce violence, things start falling apart. That is one lesson we can learn from what happened to the Republicans following Jan 6.
I certainly don't think violence is preferred and I don't advocate for it, but we have been voting, we have peaceful demonstrations (tens of millions of women peacefully marched in January 2017 and the dial didn't move at all - in fact women lost big time with the repeal of Roe v Wade at the SCOTUS/political level), we participate in local government (at least I have), I've supported and been an advocate of gun control starting with the Brady Bill and now we have two mass shootings a day where children (and adults) are blown to pieces and the number of assault weapons in the hands of civilians is close to tens of millions of the 400 MILLION guns out there (and all we hear is crickets on change because of the 2nd Amendment), we have lunatics in congress who actually have power, and a SCOTUS that has a strangle hold on the rights of people in an entire nation. We spend $billions/$trillions in weaponry around the world to "save" democracy because words don't stop the demonic dictators from invading. Domestically words alone didn't work for our split from England, nor the end of slavery, civil rights, Vietnam, etc. And pieces of paper/words for restraining orders and "common sense gun laws" do nothing when anyone can actually get/3-D print a gun.
I'm all for peaceful protests but they have to be big and long enough to make a real economic impact as a hit to peoples' wallets seems to be the only thing people recognize. As Jack Bauer would say in the show "24", "shut it down, Chloe!"
Look at the violence of Republicans , calling out Mr Bragg for doing his job.
The violent words of Mc Carthy who sold out to Maga orders so he could be Speaker. Stefanik who found her niche in hate and threatens payback to those who don’t pay homage “to her “( I mean DJTs nobility) .
There is no Christianity in any of this . Its a blatant violation of any godlike principles.
Though thats how they assure themselves they’re
doing right . They’re not .
They are however, cheering on evil .
And that is their twisted offering of “ Right”.
Our democracy is still strong enough to survive with words, voting, support of democratic principles. Violence is unnecessary. Give away copies of https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/on-tyranny-twenty-lessons-from-the-twentieth-century_timothy-snyder/13462819/#edition=13124516&idiq=24622759
out on the street or door to door.
VIOLENCE
The big fish in a little pond makes a lot of difference. Repubs know this, so should we. Good on you
Amen. Become involved and VOTE.
Local elections are more important than federal. State elections are the most important. Why we no longer teach civics in schools is to dumb down the public, and it has worked.
Schools across NY State received threats from unknown sources this past week warning them to get rid of a certain "gay" themed book from their libraries. The first school system, Hilton Central, experienced 3 bomb threats. EDITED: I inadvertently added information I couldn't verify. The actual number of schools that received threatening emails was 20, according to a statement Gov. Hochul made last week.
Hilton has bowed to the threats and its school board has voted to "review" the book. They just showed the terrorists that bomb threats are legitimate political dialogue.
Marycat2021, I would like to copy and use your post of FB. I think it is important for as many people as possible to know that we are under attack by the right. May I use your post?
No. I despise Facebook.
You know, I dont recall this happening to school libraries ever before. Do you think it has?
Yes. Published last September: https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7vyvb/libraries-across-the-us-are-receiving-violent-threats
From a year ago: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/accounts-of-book-bannings-and-threats-to-librarians-soared-in-2021-says-study
I would just like to add a shout out to:
https://momsdemandaction.org/about/chapters/
They are a force and have local chapters throughout the country, and what better motivation than preventing the slaughter of our most precious resource?
Georgia, Observing that Democrats, historically, have focused largely on federal elections, I find your comment immeasurably timely. Fortunately, I sense Democrats increasingly understand they have to start mobilizing at the state and local levels, out-organizing Republicans, who ruthlessly, for some time, have been organizing to fill state and local positions with their own people.
The Democrats have changed their strategy. I invite you to look at their State gains in 2020 and 2022.
Barbara, As someone who follows virtually every battleground state, particularly when a trifecta or triplex is at stake, I’m well aware of the State gains, particularly in 22. Still Republicans have an undue advantage because of their laser-focus over decades of state and local elections.
.." Democrats, historically, have focused largely on federal elections..." comment by Krieger. Hence my response.
We have an opportunity in this comments forum. Many commenters are new, some are trolls. We can deliberately share the wealth of activism experience (such as your experience) to counter what I see as the effort to spread dystopian fear and hopelessness. Share your wisdom and knowledge Barbara Jo.
Barbara, My opening statement, which, by the way, is accurate, was the means I chose to amplify the immeasurable timeliness of Georgia’s comment. My follow-up sentence, you will note, amplified Democrat’s increasing understanding of the importance of defending democracy at the state and local levels.
As for you imploring me to “[s]hare [my]…wisdom and knowledge,” I would note I take great care only to post when I believe I have something meaningful to contribute.
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
For 40 years. The R's have been strategically targeting low-level (soft targets) power centers -- esp. school boards -- to help their candidates gain political experience before they move up the "political food chain." While there, they started to radicalize curriculum toward arch-conservative tenets (eg: creationism required in science courses alongside evolutionism - KS State School Boards). We were asleep at the wheel, my friends.
Sheila, While I would not dispute the undue advantages you reference, nor would I underestimate the engagement, the energy, the caring, and the work of thousands of Democratic grassroots organizations supported by tens of millions of activists largely targeting battleground states plus every demographic nationwide, save the MAGA base that I understand is receding.
Good additions, Barbara Jo. My point is that we have a lot of ground to catch up, and the R's are decades ahead of us. All is not lost, but we D's must get with a strategic program.
They are not “post-liberals.” They are reactionaries and bigots. And, yes, fascists. Let’s be clear and honest about that.
Jon, While your comment is not addressed to me, I expect you and Georgia likely don’t share the same understanding of the term “post-liberals,” whose meaning in much of the literature is blurred with “right wing post liberal populism” or “illiberal populism” or even “Putinist Populism.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t recall HCR’s LFAA defining the term.
I find the term 'post-liberal' confusing along with the other terms you mentioned. Sorry.
Roxanna, No need to apologize. Your reply amplifies the point of my comment—namely that no intelligent, reasoned discussion can proceed if we don’t take great care to establish our way of understanding a particular term or issue, our way of describing or defining it.
GEORGIA FISANICK - Yes, indeed... our Democracy is threatened by White Supremacy in the intolerance of Rep. Elise Stefanik, the elected Representative from my district in the Adirondacks... our Town of Essex Board is an example, our County Board of Supervisors is an example... Fascists rule. The Democratic Party cannot seem to find a candidate that speaks English to the poorly educated whites of our pathetic population that surrounds us at Lewis Family Farm... READ PALLADIUM MAGAZINE ON ME. THE MOST RECENT ISSUE IS ON LINE - WITH A MOVIE... FOUR COLLEGE BOYS CAME AND LEARNED... OUR LOCAL NEWSPAPERS WILL NOT COVER WHAT’S HAPPENING TO LOCAL LIVESTOCK. OUR LOCAL DVMs have joined the nation’s DVMs to poison the livestock to make money... the Palladium Magazine piece is in final edit and will take another week or so - then will be printed in the next issue.. costing $50 when mailed.
https://www.palladiummag.com/2022/12/13/are-farm-antibiotics-destroying-our-health/
I just finished reading the article. Amazing... I want everyone to take the time reading it... and I want to learn what more I might able to do to help! I ofter notice the packages in our meta departments that are labeled 'no antibiotics'. I had no idea... How things have gotten so to of control! How can one inspire people to read what is really important! This needs to be circulated widely.... My grandfather was a farmer, small time, in Dubuque. We lived in Chicago and would visit the farm for a couple of weeks every summer. My Mother was the second youngest of 8 kids, and she grew up milking cows, and cleaning the hen house (outdoor plumbing for. many years!). I can't imagine that these antibiotics were widely used then, but I could be mistaken... (she was born in 1914 and there was at least 10 years between her and her oldest sibling... Visiting the farm was so blissful! Thank you for all the work yo have done this far. And the photographs of your farm are beyond lovely. Maybe some day I will have the opportunity to visit... I would love to photograph you and your farm, and write about you and your work. The world needs to know! Thank you again!
Antibiotics were created in the pre-war period as injections. Pill form arrived c. 1950. That was the beginning of trouble. Livestock were fed antibiotics in a growing pattern for decades. This continues. If you visit the Tractors & Supply cash register, two types of chicken feed is sold there. The large bag and the small far more expensive - may be clean of antibiotics. The cheating and lying starts there.
Any chance it could be cracked down on? Exposed? Stopped?
If more people knew about it...?
10,000 thank yous!!!! Finally, someone with the power & wisdom to address the 'elephant in the room!' I am a fam doc who practices in 'feedlot city' aka Southern, Alberta. Since I was a resident in the 1990s physicians (over prescribing) have always been chastized as the cause for our prob w antibiotic resistance. The media never seemed to question the impact of factory farmining as the primary driver, even when feedlot runoff was repeatedly causing ecoli outbreaks & death, avian flu from pig farms, etc. Anyway, thank u so much for doing such great work although I can't fathom the meat industry in my province ever abandoning their cash cows, chickens & pigs. None of these creatures should be readied for slaughter in confined lots which are filthy petrie dishes for disease. Your dream farm is a critical beginning. Again I cannot thank you enough for this work & your tenacity & passion to 'right a harmful wrong' which affects us all.
Lethbridge is home to a powerful beef DVM operation … exclusively livestock.. important in Alberta.
Sandy,
First of all, I am very happy to see you back. You have been missed and it has been discussed a few times in the letters recently. I confess I was concerned enough that I googled to see if you had passed! Glad to see you alive and well.
In my career, I worked in the lab of a major medical facility in Chicago. A few years before I retired, they started a fecal transplant program. I didn't enjoy the smell that permeated the lab when they came down to prep the solution in the lab, but I very much enjoyed talking with the GI docs. For treating C. Diff, one called the transplants "a miracle." And you know, prior to that, they treated C. Diff with antibiotics, with much less success!
Their conversations, and that of articles I read regarding obesity, inspired me to add probiotic supplements to my diet. I was obese. I had dieted many times, very strictly, with little success. I did cut as many refined carbs as I could. I lost 55 pounds. Then I retired, pandemic started, and I got a horribly abscessed tooth. And I started gaining back weight. Since 2018, I've been prescribed antibiotics about 7-8 times. (I am NOT one to take them for no good reason! I even insisted when I had abdominal surgery that they NOT remove my appendix!) Funny that in this time, I am behaving the same, eating the same, but have gained 20 pounds back. :(
I have tried with little success, even with upping my activity levels using a tracker and charting my gym/personal trainer visits. I have cut out all sweets and again, stopped the diet soda, all soda actually. (I believe those sweeteners are more likely to cause weight gain than sugar, but boy are they addictive! And our culture has indoctrinated our brains to believe that we should go for those zero calorie products!!)
I also have a grandchild on the autism spectrum, so this story hit home on so many levels!! After reading, I have forwarded the link to over a dozen people.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this link! And please don't stay away as so many of us value your perspective on the issues discussed here.
84, not dead - yet.
A truly excellent endocrinologist might help. The best at BIDMC is Johanna Antonia Pallotta MD. She’s in her 80s. Thyroid illnesses plague many. I know. She is treating me.
Graves’ Disease is amusing.
Sugar is a killer. Alcohol is trouble. Sudden weight loss is trouble.
Enlightening and simultaneously frightening to learn about the disastrous consequences of antibiotics overuse. Sad to know this drug, originally designed for and thought to be life-saving, could be at the root of so much pain and loss. I have been personally curious for some time now about the meteoric rise of auto-immune diseases that have/are destroying so many lives. Reading about this pharmaceutical “link” supports my long-held belief that finding the “cause” of any single auto-immune disease will swiftly bring about the eradication of all types. Thank you for sharing this article.
Very eye-opening article, thanks for sharing!
The article will be edited. Strengthened.
Thank you for the gift of this amazing piece and your tenacity in fighting this scourge. I’m forwarding this to my four daughters, all of whom have developed autoimmune problems and my grandson on the spectrum. You have been missed on LFAA.
Auto immune and spectrum stuff is often label and little more. I’ve worked with each. Dislike labels. They confuse and cause confusion.
Isn't Stefanik your Representative in Congress? Would you consider running against her?
Elise is our Representative in NY’s 21st. It’s a Republican district. Democrats bomb out. The GOP primary is meaningless without Party support.
Stefanik's predecessor, Bill Owens, was a Democrat... but redistricting has obviously made the 21st more Republican than before.
Rep. Bill Owens (D) was a cigar store Indian. Not bright. Sen. Ron Stafford helped him. It did not matter.
Jack Lippman, I was born in Manhattan New York on Friday, January 27, 1939. Members of the House of Representatives run every two years to maintain seniority in the House and to rise in Committee assignments. Voters elect younger members over older for potential for longevity.
Sandy ... I am seven years your senior and see your point.
Hang on.
Perhaps... aging in place...
YES! DO it!
Thank you for sending this article. Read it and then shared it too.
Sandy it’s so nice to have you back!
https://www.palladiummag.com/2022/12/13/are-farm-antibiotics-destroying-our-health/
Thank you for sharing the link, Sandy. And more importantly thank you for asking important questions about the damage being caused by the over use of antibiotics, and for your efforts to bring about changes.
Thank you for sharing this. I may reach out to you with our family's story. It had consumed me 15-20 years ago. The "you are talking crazy" factor and life beat it out of us. I am now going to revisit.
Excellent article!! Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing this article. I agree, the evidence is building regarding the dangers of inappropriate antibiotic use.
And, so glad to see you here again!
Jeanne
Yes. I got lonely.
It's good to see you here again, Sandy. I missed you and worried about you. I had a nice vacation, but missed the forum, so came back. Also decided I have things that need to be said. And so do you.
Phew! Your absence was worrisome! I love the work you are doing, it’s an immense project.
Well, it is my honor to learn about you, and your work. And, thanks so much for posting the link to Palladium.
I’m going to learn more on these subjects and want to learn how I can become a consumer of your products!
Congratulations and best wishes to you Mr. Lewis.
I’ve been hoping you were working on an autobiography
A memoir… more than one.
😁🥳🎉👏🏼
Welcome Back Sandy!
❤️
😃
"The Democratic Party cannot seem to find a candidate that speaks English to the poorly educated whites of our pathetic population that surrounds us at Lewis Family Farm."
Good day S B, I also am in the turncoat's district, and am reminded that she ran as a moderate from a district she did not live in, near Saratoga I think, and became what she is soon after. Harvie too.
But the reason I reply is to address your comment I quoted; I wonder why you think the Dems can't communicate with the locals. I have my own ideas, but I would like to hear yours.
Democrats and Republicans in the District are equally racist. The Common Denominator of American Politics is Racism.
That's a bumper sticker for sure: The Common Denominator of American Politics is Racism. Explains a lot. Thank you, sir.
Single Elise Stefanik claimed Willsboro Point as her residence. Her Plywood seller father owns a summer camp on the point. Many up here are the Black, Hispanic and Jew hating racists of The North Country. The National Bank president is one of them, was valedictorian of his class at Princeton University, denied partnership at Sullivan & Cromwell for his arrogance.
Thank you sir for your reply. I am reading the Palladium article with interest, since I have tried to research the reasons why a farmer tends to be unwilling to accept new methods. "Accepted practice" doesn't really explain the concept for me, but "herd mentality" comes close. Your experience with the Cornell Vet program is an example. Maybe the Dem candidate who has difficulty communicating isn't viewed as a member of the herd. Here in the Eastern Lake Ontario region the same problems are found.
Tetracycline misuse in livestock to address anaplasmosis is deadly to birds and to us. Kills insect food in the soil. Distressing gut microbial system in livestock and consumers. This creates emotional instability in beef and our young males. The beef will attack farmers addressing their newborn calves. The human teen male get depressed and become suicidal.. generating suicide by cop stuff.
Sandy, these are precisely some of the issues I worked on during my professional career as well as before and after. My work was with the larger ag community, as well as the agencies and corporations. Challenging, sometimes scary. But at the same time, because of the way I set up how I worked with that varied community, I got to know the members of it who stood up to share their concerns about the use of chemicals and worked to help redirect research and policy. Some remarkable successes, but lots still to do: while the movement to soil and water health has grown stronger, the die-hards are pig-headed about not changing, and just dig in, funded by those whose greed created this situation in the first place. This dynamic has become part of the culture in parts of our country. I am distressed by the emphasis on "organic food" as the goal. It is a result of the process, but the point is recreating ways of producing food that does not contaminate everything else, with some of the consequences being the very things you mention.
Ed, never too old...
Sandy! Been wondering where you were.
Me too!
Glad to hear from you Sandy. I have missed your comments of late.
s B Lewis, for those of us not in your local area, what does DVM stand for?
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
Doctor of veterinary medicine
I can't wait to read it...but you said it costs $50? Can it be downloaded for less?
Free on the internet, I think. It’s being edited next week. A few details are still being worked.
I just read the article. Absolutely fascinating and understandable, even for this English major. Two things: keep raising hell and maybe we should have a Heather Cox Richardson fan club convention on your farm!
Why not? We will serve organic grass fed beef 🥩 and food from Essex Farm and Echo Farm.
Great article Sandy. While my mother pushed antibiotics on me like aspirin when I was a kid I thought being cautious in their use was wise in light of the resistance issue. I’d no idea how prevalent the use of antibiotics in our food system had become, nor their human systemic effect. I’ll be changing my habits. Super work you’re supporting. ❤️
I will look for it.
Mr. Lewis, sir, good to see you back here!
This - running for every government office in order to take over and undermine government - has been the winning strategy since Ralph Reed put the religious right into bed with Ronald Reagan. I think the term we want is clerical fascism.
Perfect analogy, clerical fascism. Love it.
Yes! Thank you. The Lewis Powell memo set up the systematic takeover of our nation by the corporate oligarchy. They have a 50-year track record of success for us believers in separation of church and state, rule of law, corporations as legal entities and not as people, for us to counter.
Their work has been methodical and destructive. Only by countering with our own strategy of being everywhere all the time all at once, and giving people an understating of why this matters -- without going into what the other side says -- will it all work. At least that’s what I believe.
The reason we must care and make this effort is our children. Our common love for our children. The oligarchic right has sold out to the NRA. Our nation isn’t safe. Our children are dying of gunshot wounds by war-grade weapons used by people who, if we banned assault rifles and did legitimate background checks, couldn’t get their hands on these weapons of immediate proximate mass destruction.
We have failed because we allowed those in power to gauge our success as a nation by our Gross Domestic Product instead of by the happiness and well-being of our people.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/happiest-countries-in-the-world
https://worldhappiness.report/?utm_source=link_wwwv9&utm_campaign=item_394172&utm_medium=copy
https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/democracy/the-lewis-powell-memo-a-corporate-blueprint-to-dominate-democracy/
We suck at joy because we live in systematically induced poverty, inequity, racism, lack, greed, comparison, TRAUMA. Homelessness, domestic violence, devaluing our children (Arkansas Gov signing new child labor legislation weakening restrictions on child labor so teens who should be going to school and getting proper rest are instead pulling shifts at dangerous meat-packing plants!) and sending hundreds of thousands of Black and Brown men to prisons where they are unavailable for their families and are a new form of enslaved person as the corporate prison scheme makes millions off of keeping them locked up in their privatized prison systems that should be illegal.
All of this fuels generational trauma, insecure attachment, our people living in a perpetual state of survival and flight,fight, freeze. This makes us easy to manipulate.
We must break this cycle with the truth that safe, stable, nurturing environments are the antidote. Supporting pregnant and parenting families is paramount. Home nurse visits are an investment with a tremendous ROI. I believe it is about $8 for every dollar invested to help mothers and babies bond. This cuts child abuse and teen pregnancy and crime rates because kids have the strong brain and character building experiences that literally wire their brains for better outcomes.
Learn more here:
https://www.pacesconnection.com/blog/aces-101-faqs
Peace.
Carey, I just came across this 2011 paper today for the first time. Perhaps you are already aware of it, but if not looks like it could have some good supporting data. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Why+Some+Politicians+Are+More+Dangerous+Than+Others-p-9780745649818
I’ve read some of James Gilligan’s work and intend to read more. Mind bending.
Thank you!
“we’re going to see conservative state legislators starting to reconquer public institutions all over the United States.”. . . "Reconquer public institutions" should be raising the hair on the backs of every neck. Control the narrative, control the outcome. The Rufos of our world want to control how one thinks, what one does; how one believes. That is right out of the fascist playbook.
Exactly!
It has become defeating. I know the majority is people who are like minded on this page. Unfortunately, there is a rather large group who have chosen to just block it out, say nothing. I am holding onto hope that the next election to save us from the extreme right.
VOTE, VOTE, VOTE, VOTE including in local elections as if your way of life depends upon it. Because it does.
And don’t forget Tending To Democracy, https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy. This giving circle was started by a group of us who met here and raised some serious money for the last election. We welcome you to join us and bring your friends. The more the merrier❗️
It's hard to believe "they" have gained so much ground while I have been complacent. That is to say, I never could have imagined such an ignorant an loosely organized cabal gaining so much traction. While I was busy fighting for an end to racism and misogyny, and I thought a medical perspective about abortion would be safe from religious repression...all the things I've fought for... I never saw it coming.
To some degree, I fault the media. Too much of the media shoots for ratings often secured by intentional hyperbole. And, then of course, there is FOX which is a lying machine. I doubt you have been complacent. Each of us has only so much energy and only so much time where we can capture what is critical at any one point in time.
Thank you!
So the “lock her up” people who for years pleaded for the legal system to be weaponized to incarcerate a political opponent are now crying crocodile tears and are accusing the Manhattan district attorney and the members of the grand jury of weaponizing the legal system because their leader has been indicted. It’s true; every accusation by the current GOP is a confession.
Fran,
Frame that last phrase:
EVERY ACCUSATION BY THE CURRENT GOP IS A CONFESSION
Truth, plainly put.
Spread it.
It needs spreading to millions.
Write it on the heart of every human who cares for genuine freedom and for institutions that uphold and protect man's dignity.
Peter, Had you not isolated Fran’s stunning concluding gem, I wouldn’t have thought repeatedly to enlist it as warranted. Deeply grateful.
Excellent point about the current GOP! And “Biden Crime Family” is the new “Lock Her Up.” AND, it’s OK to remind Republicans that Hillary is still freely walking around, even though Trump had FOUR YEARS to indict/incarcerate her. It is also probably OK to point out that it has only taken TWO YEARS since Trump left office for him to be experiencing one Indictment Day with perhaps as many as FOUR MORE in the near future.
It is also VERY IMPORTANT to emphasize that Trump is considered to be INNOCENT until a jury of his peers find him guilty. DA Bragg is also INNOCENT until a jury has its say.
The GOP is good at messaging, and the Democrats need to improve that aspect of their communication. For example: When Gym Jordan (et al) begin using FEDERAL AUTHORITY to “control” a STATE, the Democrats should simply say, “Gym, have you heard of the 10th Amendment?”
I doubt that Gym has heard it; I doubt that he has read it; I doubt that he could understand it; and I know he would not defend it as he has sworn to do.
It’s all the same in a corrupt government - using institutions they claim are persecuting their own to persecute others. It bends the understanding of that institution’s purpose until it is only known to be an arm of the will of the political leaders - corruption complete.
Take this right to the feet of Newt Gingrich.
He has cloven hooves, not feet. Just sayin’.
Yes indeed. And if anyone needs a refresher, Dana Milbank's THE DESTRUCTIONISTS is an excellent place to start.
And a projection of their own thoughts and deeds.
Same paranoid finger-pointing-in-the-mirror as Putin labelling the West an existential threat to Russia when HE is the existential threat to Russia.
This is what despotism leads to:
"L'Etat, c'est moi." / "I am the State, the State is me."
So when by my actions "I" endanger myself, I become a danger to the State and to the people. And contrariwise.
Now we see American citizens, both men and women, competing to endanger the USA. Including one who tried with some success and wants to try again.
Fran, for sure!! The last sentence is etched in stone truth. I’m sitting here reading the replies to Heather wondering who votes for supremacists? These aren’t Republicans we’re talking about. These are bought and paid for insurrectionists. The moles have been in place since FDR? Eisenhower? Clearly by the time of Kennedy and Nixon.
Lindsay Graham is a shining example. Prior to Trump, I could never have imagined Graham spewing and backing hatred. This was a conservative senator who I’d had a few moments of respect for, lost his friggin’ MIND after the death of John McCain. Became hair on fire crazy, and a fevered cult follower of Trump. Why would Graham debase himself so willingly? His entire demeanor became bizarrely unfamiliar. He is supporting a hate filled destruction of America. They all are.
Two things that comes to mind as a catalyst, 1st; subverted lawmakers saw to not only did dark money flow into their pockets, but also into forming and recruiting from fringe groups of white supremacists. The G.W. Bush administration is when it went into high gear. Giving these fringe groups rise and confidence to follow a “leader” who would blatantly commit crimes in front of the world with no one willing to hold him accountable. Bush absolutely did that.
2nd; Barrack Obama. The election of Barrack Obama inflamed the hatred of white supremacy so deeply, they began recruiting more fervently and deeply indoctrinated the members to hate everyone and everything they didn’t identify with.
Trump didn’t expect to win in 2016. Someone else did, they made it happen. Someone who knew what a malleable, corruptible, narcissistic personality disorder, so morally bankrupt, would throw puppies in a river if it meant another fix of attention, useful idiot he could be turned into. Just look at the path of devastation of human rights in our country since his placement in the Oval Office. The SCOTUS has been taking rights of Americans away and granting more and more power to white supremacy backed ideals for 40 years, but the last 20 (since Bush) have been deeply harmful to our democracy.
Women, all women are the targeted group. Once women are controlled by forced birthing laws, their rights will become less and less. Until we’re back to none whatsoever.
Now that they’ve clearly stated their intentions to rule, not govern, I am watching the whole power hungry party collapse in on itself. Willing to cannibalize their own, by refusing women necessary health services in red states, first and foremost. Then they’ll dummy themselves down to no healthcare for anyone. They’ll dwindled down to nothing but Sarah Huckabee Sanders governing a swamp to Kristie Noem talking to dirt. Idaho will look like a landscape on Mars. They’ve killed off plenty of their own with the anti vaccine COVID B.S. alone. The implosion will be spectacular. It will finally end a civil war that began 163 years ago. Hopefully more than 2 parties emerge from this crisis.
3rd. Blackmail???
I thought the same. Did anybody notice how red Graham’s eyes were in his interview? It was the look of loss - surrender.
Poor man, if that's the case.
If it is, he'll surely be one among many: there'll either be threats to expose politicians or worse, threats to them and their families.
Absolutely! I was reaching that conclusion in my post, but veered off on a tangent. Consider it a given, especially in Graham’s case.
Excellent point, Fran Talarowski! Thank you for that.
I wish I could post your comment. It’s golden.
“This is an extreme move to use the resources of Congress to interfere with a criminal investigation at the state and local level and block an indictment.” It is, he said, “the kind of political culture you find in authoritarian dictatorships.”
The scary and sad and infuriating thing is that Sargent is not exaggerating. This is part and parcel of how despotic states routinely operate.
Here's a legal question:
Have the committees in the House of Representatives violated local or state laws with their tactics of intimidation and attempted interference in a law enforcement matter?
They have no "oversight" responsibilities of a local grand jury or DA. They have no justification for reviewing the "judiciary" of a city. I wish I knew the law better. It just seems to me that we have some loonies in DC who are attempting to interfere in a legal proceeding. Can't they be busted for that?
Could they be charged with obstruction of justice? Sued for defamation? Anything?
Why get caught up in a side bar with these people? Remember they like to distract and delay. I prefer to focus on the legalities of pursuing trump in NY, Willis' work in Georgia and Garland's case.
Bragg has written brilliant responses to Jordan and friends. From my readings of his responses he has profoundly, eloquently and decisively informed the Jordan folks they are drastically out of their lane. I invite you to read Bragg's responses. I tried to read Jordan's letters to Bragg, but they were so full of bully gibberish I got a headache : ))
Actually, I believe the response was crafted by the “legal” office of the District Attorney. Even better!
Under the auspices of Bragg. Right?
Of course but he didn't write it. He certainly would have reviewed it before it was sent, though. It was written and signed by the General Counsel to the DA's Office (Leslie Dubeck), probably in consultation with attorneys within her office.
The responses to Jordan et al were written by the General Counsel to the NY DA's office, Leslie Dubeck. Seems likely she consulted with other attorneys within her particular office of General Counsel and that the letters were reviewed by DA Bragg before sending but let's give credit where it's due. She did a superb job, especially with the third letter. Here's a link to letter #3, it's a doozy: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/31/politics/manhattan-district-attorney-office-letter-house-gop/index.html
Not to mention they are taking valuable time and resources away from the actual work they should be doing like, for example, making sure the U.S. doesn’t default on the national debt. They were not elected to blindly interfere and intervene in a state prosecution.
Good point, but I think they would fall back on the speech and debate clause when threatened.
The short answer on legal recourse is no. They are protected by the Speech and Debate clause. The speech and debate clause does not protect them from public ridicule, peaceful protest, or from being voted out of office. Those are rights we all have under the first amendment.
With the current so called GOP, the only one of those that will have any effect is the last, VOTE them out! I’m so hoping that the upcoming election in WI will be a loud pro-democracy statement 🙏🙏
From your keyboard to God’s ears!
I’m relying more on all the postcards and calls made by an engaged pro-democracy public 😁
Wasn't it Sargent who was reporting what Raskin said?
Correct. I erred.
No worries!
How does Trump serve the interests of other right-wing, authoritarian leaders around the world?
‘For Leaders Abroad, the Prospect of a Trump Revival Is Ever-Present’ (excerpts from Mark Landler’s, London bureau chief of The New York Times, Opinion in today’s paper).
‘Trump is a phenomenon, but no longer unique,” said Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to the United States. “He has spawned a whole generation of mini-Trumps and Trump-lites.”
“So if you believe that isolationism is growing in America, or it suits you politically to assert this, you don’t have to hang it all on Trump,” said Mr. Darroch, who was forced to leave his post in Washington after critical cables he wrote about the Trump administration were leaked in 2019. “There are plenty of alternatives.”
‘None of this is to say that Mr. Trump does not remain a singular figure, or that his legal woes are not drawing attention abroad. The case against the former president, with its lurid accusations of “hush money” paid to a pornographic film actress, is the kind of only-in-America spectacle that lends itself to tabloid headlines.’
“The Bigly Usual Suspect,” said London’s Daily Star tabloid, with a collage of unflattering photographs of Mr. Trump against a backdrop used for mug shots.
‘But The Daily Telegraph, which leans to the right, focused on the potential upside for Mr. Trump with his hard-right political base, declaring, “Indictment is a golden opportunity for Trump.” The sense that Mr. Trump’s legal troubles could play out unpredictably extended to Parliaments and government offices.’
‘For one thing, Mr. Darroch said, only those who follow the Trump saga closely will recognize that this is the first of potentially several indictments, in cases involving election interference and mishandling of classified documents. More casual observers will shrug it off, focusing instead on his lead in the polls over Republican rivals.’
‘In Britain, some on the right openly pine for the return of Mr. Trump, who championed Brexit and dangled the prospect of a trans-Atlantic trade agreement. President Biden shelved that, and while his relationship with Britain is cordial, he is less gushing than Mr. Trump was. Mr. Biden is skipping the coronation of King Charles III, the kind of showy, attention-saturated ceremony his predecessor would have savored.’
‘In France, President Emmanuel Macron has advanced European “strategic autonomy,” the theory that Europe needs to defend itself more independently of the United States. Mr. Trump’s derision of NATO was a key motivating factor, and a second Trump term, in which he might actually pull out of the alliance, would make it all but imperative.’
‘In the Middle East, too, countries are hedging their bets about Mr. Trump’s return to power. Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have invested in a private-equity fund started by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner. The investments, experts say, reflect their desire to stay on good terms with Mr. Kushner, who is married to Mr. Trump’s elder daughter, Ivanka Trump.’
“The Saudis, in particular, are betting on a return of Trump, or at least a Republican president,” said Martin S. Indyk, a former American ambassador to Israel. “The relationship between Biden and M.B.S. is so fraught that A.B.B. — anybody but Biden — is his approach,” Mr. Indyk said, referring to the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.’
‘In Israel, analysts said, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would also likely welcome the return of Mr. Trump, not least because they share the same problems. Both face legal charges: in Mr. Netanyahu’s case, allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he has fought with a highly unpopular — and now temporarily halted — attempt to exert more control over the judiciary. Like Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu has accused prosecutors of waging a politically motivated attack on him.’
‘Yet for adversaries like Russia and China, the prospect of Mr. Trump mounting another campaign for the presidency, while at the same time defending himself from criminal charges, plays into their narrative of American chaos and decline.’
‘Evan S. Medeiros, a former China adviser to President Barack Obama, said, “The Chinese will use this to reinforce the argument they’ve long made: that America is consumed by its democratic dysfunction, and that China is a better bet.”
‘To American allies, Mr. Trump’s unrelenting assault on the U.S. legal system, and the fact that he has been backed up by so many other Republicans, is perhaps the most alarming short-term fallout from his indictment.’ (NYTimes) Sorry, gifted link is not available.
FERN MCBRIDE (NYC) "NYTimes) Sorry, gifted link is not available."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/02/world/europe/trump-indictment-world-leaders.html?unlocked_article_code=TsvcBdinrEA_rh92h2qq9glg651jHKk_acXrth6bl1xTL3HxyHvjt_VwIWf9NNkfyuSnWVxRaiQxABHpv5W2Enth_EQ3LYACmimdDMptW04OYs7zGvUz5BFesiR2vgYNkALXLKJd7veQ7FCg9vtrYfs73S4LdR7oaZPsA9g2nlBrEmrevYFY25yyGdYRPsMBKCtHt2khh8ISoc4MoHLaYYeSQvZBMECeNCaSrRXgJEHca0LayTJEzpHXVfOAC6YMqm8GyrOBMUCpU5gG0Y1Tyvh6vZHM6-afIU7QHf98WRSSMqJKVXm8b_GMmSctBa3-URQn-q6XqyreL15EY-j3XE-ZXWRyzZGzntX3yGo&smid=url-share
Subscribers, please note that Ron Boyd has provided a link to the Opinion,
‘For Leaders Abroad, the Prospect of a Trump Revival Is Ever-Present’, which appeared in The New York Times today, 4/2/23. Thank you, Ron.
Good Sunday, Fern. Well-put-together world view. Thank you!
Good Sunday, to you, dear Lynell. I am very happy to see you. I took note earlier with how politely you corrected a commenter with a smile of encouragement. Great Sunday lesson in good citizenship and communication. Thank you, Lynell!
Awesome. Thanks for posting this here.
Yes, Sargent is exaggerating. The lack of perspective here is what is truly frightening.
I would like to remind everyone here that over 1 million people died of Covid. Some are still dying. Not all were Repubs but many were so they won’t be able to vote. We cannot lose that perspective. We are dealing with the worst of the worse crazies in Congress. They are quite frankly, equal in their nonsensical rhetoric. Let’s take our fear out of it. What’s left? Some very worried and scared folks who know their asses may be next in getting indicted. This is their way of lashing out. They need to create diversions, just like their fearless leader taught them. Be not afraid of them as they are desperate men and women.
We can also register GenZ voters. They are coming of voting age, about 1m per year.
And many Fox entertainment watchers are old and dying.
In Arizona for sure. Maybe Florida also?
Look to the League of Women Voters high school voter registration programs!
https://www.lwv.org/educating-voters/high-school-voter-registration
Some data to support your post.
“Excess mortality is the difference between expected and observed mortality in a given period and has emerged as a leading measure of the overall impact of the Covid-19 pandemic that is not biased by differences in testing or cause-of-death assignment. Spatially and temporally granular estimates of excess mortality are needed to understand which areas have been most impacted by the pandemic, evaluate exacerbating and mitigating factors, and inform response efforts, including allocating resources to affected communities. We estimated all-cause excess mortality for the United States from March 2020 through February 2022 by county and month using a Bayesian hierarchical model trained on data from 2015 to 2019. An estimated 1,159,580 excess deaths occurred during the first two years of the pandemic (first: 620,872; second: 538,708). Overall, excess mortality decreased in large metropolitan counties, but increased in nonmetro counties, between the first and second years of the pandemic. Despite the initial concentration of mortality in large metropolitan Northeast counties, beginning in February 2021, nonmetro South counties had the highest cumulative relative excess mortality. These results highlight the need for investments in rural health as the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on rural areas continues to grow.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9094106/
Thanks for this data. Important stuff.
Very interesting, Christy. Thank you!
I misread this sentence: “Some very worried and scared folks who know their asses may be next in getting indicted.”
I thought you were saying that people are scared to lose their ASSETS. I could not agree more!
While we are discussing what kind of civil unrest the vast majority of overworked, underpaid, and unprotected Americans should be participating in to solve all these problems when the Constitution and judicial framework were already painstakingly put in place for just this purpose, maybe we should spend some time considering the contributions (and lack thereof) of those people whose FULLTIME JOB it is to make the laws and to defend the laws. And then we should look at how much their assets rise in proportion to their inaction to concretely do the jobs they were elected and hired to do.
Tweeting is not legislating. Giving interviews that are only watched by members of your own choir is not enough.
😃
Thank you!
I am getting progressively depressed about the future of this country. Predictions of a new "Civil War" are starting to sound increasingly realistic, rather than fantastical. Of course, such a Civil War would not be a "War Between the States," but a highly disorganized right-wing insurrection, in all parts of the country against the existing institutions of our Democracy and Rule of Law. And it would be violent because of the high prevalence of weapons of war in the hands of ordinary American people.
In any case, what will undoubtedly happen--indeed, is already happening--is an increasingly growing emigration of educated, liberal Americans out of this benighted country, into other countries not run by brain-washed, right-wing hoards of undereducated White racist rednecks.
It is possible, but recall Jesse Jackson saying something about how you only sink once you've stopped swimming. I'm seeing more signs of life in the resistance to plutocratic demagoguery than I have seen in 40 years. The Jan 6th committee and the current Trump indictment could just fizzle out, but I seeing cracks in the "GOP" offensive that might offer a path to something big, given continuing efforts.
Mr. Williams, while "educated, liberal Americans" may in fact be emigrating to other countries, I fear they have for some 30 years now been "immigrating" to large cities and population centers. As Joel Abrams wrote recently in The Conversation on 3/28/23 (<https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-explaining-elections-in-congress-gerrymandering-is-overrated-201454>) "there has been a "geographic sorting of the two parties over the past 30 or more years... Democrats have diminished as a presence in rural counties, particularly in the South and Midwest, while gaining numbers in counties with large cities like Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago..Because Democrats live in denser, more tightly packed places, they can’t distribute their votes as efficiently among geographic districts throughout a state...Because Republican support is more evenly distributed geographically, there are more and better options for them to win lots of districts, rather than just lots of votes. Put simply, because of where they tend to live, Republicans are wasting fewer of their votes than Democrats."
Truth. And because those flyover states are largely homogeneous they largely have no experience outside of that bubble. A Carnival cruise doesn’t count.
Gail, do you suppose that with all the book-banning and anti-woke legislation that what the "post-liberal" movement is really fighting is education? ...that education is dangerous to our republic as well as to our souls? Hmmmm...a sad thought.
Perhaps it's just dangerous to Republicans running for election.
I think that the dumbing down of America began in the Reagan years and intensified during the 2nd Bush’s administration. By coupling the declines in funding of public education and the rise of the concept of public funding of private/Christian schools we’ve created a system of dumbed down basic education.
Absolutely. Hence the emphasis on STEM rather than the humanities. I can’t remember the source to attribute but the quote was “I don’t need thinkers, I need workers”.
Massive commercial enterprises want robots, and if the electronic/mechanical variety isn't available, they will settle for the human equivalent. It has seemed to me that since the 1970s there has been a trend toward encouraging our education system to "job training" over systemic critical thinking skills. and the kit that aid the negotiation of the overall vicissitudes of life, including civics.
I get the feeling that STEM is being approached from this robotic perspective, different from the post-Sputnick boost for science that I experienced in my middle and high school years in the 1960's. I have the impression that science is too often taught as a catalog of technical vocabulary, techniques and findings, but the essence of science is careful observation, measurement, and evidence gathering, organized and interpreted by "clean" and unbroken chains of logic. Science professionals do that in a very formal way, but that way of thinking can be applied to some degree by anyone, even small children; and can be of benefit on a trip the the grocery store as well as to Mars. Evidence-based thinking is exactly what despots and swindlers DON'T want.
And while our powers of thinking are always shaped and constrained by being human, science attempts to define the world around what nature (including our own) seems to be telling us; the way it would presumably be even were we not here to experience it.
And yet, we are in the end experiential creatures with inner and interactive sentience. I have thought since college that Descartes missed the target with "I think therefore I am" as experience is meaningless without an emotional/feeling component. The sensation of sunshine on my shoulder is an experiential dimension of it own, apart from, yet related to, thermonuclear photons exciting the the molecular motion of a substrate; or even the neuronal bucket brigade that lets me know it's happening. Science and the arts are not logically hostile or separate, except to keep straight which is which. Science explores and identifies how the world works and the arts explore and share what is means to be an experiential human being.
Yes, change minds by first changing hearts, one heart at a time.
Wow. Beautifully expressed! Thank you.
I can only echo your incites GL. This is a deep and complex train of thought for so many of our Binary thinkers who want to "keep it simple stupid". These people are generally Followers not leaders. It is incumbent for those who understand to learn to speak to those who seek knowledge in a language they can easily comprehend. Don't cha think?
If you prosper by spreading disease, you're going to hate disinfectant.
Read the book "Whiteshift".
Thanks, looks interesting. Ordered. 🙂
Do Not be afraid and buy into the CIVIL WAR BS...........
And ow are those states going to survive with out the funding provided by the blues states... I say let them eat cake...
Which, honestly, the complete distortion of religious “values” rears it’s ugly head. There was a time when devout lovers of life could skip the war front by conscientious objection... NOW for a total mind f*€£ they’re the ones calling for war 😵💫
Their “civil war” consists of inciting the vulnerable to take their assault weapons into public places and slaughter innocents, in particularly, defenseless children. The yellow bellied, maliciously driven, elected insurrectionists, will never put themselves in the midst of any risk for physical harm.
The irony in your statement is the fact that it was the most advanced highly educated ones among us who dropped two atomic bombs on Japan killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, and those in power continue today to make continuous war, rape lands, destroy democracies, and threatened all who get in the way of the powerful and greedy.
And it is many of the so called deplorables who want a better life here and want to stop the MIC wars and foreign engagements.
Of course I do not excuse the danger of the extreme fascist Christian movement. But danger comes in many forms, it is best to remove the blindfolds and see through the propaganda, and listen and communicate. The radical left does not like this government anymore then the radical right. The real threat is the monied powers that pull the strings. As this Empire is fraying apart from corporate greed and overextended wars and debt, and as support for the commons and its peoples has deteriorated causing angry and desperate forces, our present government is bringing its weapons of war home to fight its own citizens.
So the end result is what we have, people fighting people over books and gender and what not, distractions, while the rich and powerful oligarchs fortify their bunkers and watch, ready to support whoever meets their needs. So is history, but the stakes now seem higher than ever.
To stop the madness, it would help to restore a democracy attempt by getting the monied interests out of the halls of government, redistribute the wealth in this country, rewrite our Constitution to include representation and fairness for all, including the environment. And stop the need for more and more. An over optimistic dream?? Are we humans so defective that we will destroy our incubator.
Michael Green, the problem with the suggestion of rewriting the Constitution is that you’d have to call a Constitutional Convention. In that arena, the entire document and all its parts are at risk, both the regrettable parts (2nd Amendment, lack of required qualifications to run for President beyond age and citizen by birth, the Electoral College, etc.) and the parts that are still accessible to fend off takeovers by the white nationalist religio-fascists.
Suz-an, and Michael: Your posts are full of excellent points nicely stated. I agree with you on almost everything. I agree we shouldn’t be run by our fears but that is not my state of mind in posing my one objection. It’s an attractive idea to rewrite the Constitution, agreed, and we are in the middle of a major realignment, agreed. But we need to be deliberative and strategic in the major moves we make, evaluating all current evidence to weigh how likely each move is to have the effect we’re aiming for, versus backfiring. To evaluate when would be a propitious moment to take a huge transformative step like holding a Constitututional Convention, we would have to assume not only that the white nationalist religio-fascist movement in this country would come with their own agenda, but in fact, their strategic thinkers probably have a version of a new Constitution all ready to propose, that they’ve been developing for the past 30 years, spearheaded by people like Leonard Leo. And they have been manipulating the beliefs and opinions of a large segment of American voters for 30 years, to be in line with their aims. We can abhor their goals, but we have to acknowledge that they have been very effective at playing the long game. Our political situation at the moment is emblematic of the problems we must contend with. Yes, we have a Democratic president and narrowly, a Democratically controlled Senate. But the House is narrowly controlled by a bunch of far right extremists. Donald Trump, in spite of his immense baggage and obvious massive flaws as a human being and huge mistakes during his first term, is still polling in the lead to be the Republican candidate in 2024. And we Democrats and progressives are not nearly as good as the Rs in uniting behind a single vision. We have not prepared the ground nearly well enough (yet), neither in voter knowledge and opinions, nor in strategic thinking and planning, nor in creating if not total unity, at least coalescence around one set of ideas and goals. In my humble opinion, we are a long way from the sort of political moment in which opening a Constitutional Convention would result in us achieving a next-gen Democratic/progressive document. Imho, it would be much more likely to yield a new document much more in line with a white nationalist religio-fascist vision than ours.
"while the rich and powerful oligarchs fortify their bunkers and watch, ready to support whoever meets their needs. So is history, but the stakes now seem higher than ever." And they want to support the twice impeached defeated former president.
Hi Cathy. Actually I think the oligarchs will abide and work with any political power that meets their needs. But I think they want to dump DT. He doesn’t fit the accepted mold, and he wanted to stop the foreign wars, which does not play well with the arms industry. All the indictments, one and others pending, I suspect are given the green light by the oligarchs. Normally they do not go after a person of their own kind. DT gave them reduced taxes and deregulation. Maybe they are ungrateful!
“Are we humans so defective that we will destroy our incubator” sounds to me that you already answered your own question. We humans are human. Defectiveness is relative to the goal
Thank you Heather.
In spite of my fear from the violence and ungodly rhetoric from the neo confederates, I am learning - from your scholarship and soul - and applying it every way I know how - as is my patriotic duty.
This 'nouveau retrumplican' party is revealing its authoritarian roots, attempting to hurdle the United States toward a fascist dictatorship at full speed ahead. They want a country where white men rule, women 'know their place', and children quietly obey their fathers. They need that blithering dummy to 'pretend lead' them because he has worked the 'patriotic clown' figure to perfection with the semi-literate cult. Thank goodness for people like District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the intelligent voters of New York, The Attorney General, and Department of Justice, and the legal segment of the City of Atlanta Georgia; with these real patriots we will prevail. Thank you Dr. Richardson for keeping us so well informed
Nice post Fay. A well stated Rant if ever I have seen one.
Thank you, Rebekha
These MAGA Republicans are making me feel I need to pinch myself to wake up from this frightening dream of their hypocrisy and forcing a minority rule theocracy on us. Oh, I forgot ... we are "woke" already -- this is not a dream!
Cathy, I'm afraid it's not a dream, but a nightmare we are living in. I never thought I would live to see this.
***correction, thank you to Rose! It’s scheduled to be aired tonight, NOT last night. So sorry!
Insanely unbelievable that 60 Minutes highlighted MTG last night. It is the breakdown of institutions like this that scares me the most. I hope CBC gets many letters from the millions wanting to preserve our Constitution and law and order. Here’s a link to their feedback form in case anyone is so inclined to use it:
https://www.cbs.com/showfeedback/
We should never be hesitant about watching something highlighting those we strongly disagree with! I cannot stomach watching Fox, but a 60 Minutes segment on MTG sort of makes my mouth water because whomever of the 60 Minutes crew interviews her will do a superb job. As always.
People that should know better are giving her power that she should not have to continue to incite violence, to lie, when under oath she states she could not remember anything which were obvious lies. She is malicious, destructive and unfit for office. Did we not learn anything by giving tffg a megaphone to spew his 💩💩💩💩? There is a domestic terrorist cult attempting to win over vulnerable minds to grab power. I’m strongly against “feeding the bad wolf” by elevating their voices
Does it occur to anyone that putting MTG on such a large national stage might well inform many viewers of just how totally nuts that woman is? 60 Minutes is a program watched by many people who likely have never watched the Fox cable channel and many of whom may be more liberal than "conservative".
Judith, are you familiar with Dr. Bandy Lee?
A tweet from her in Jan.: 2021
Bandy X Lee, MD, MDiv
@BandyXLee1
What do I think of Marjorie Taylor Greene? There are obvious signs that she is unwell, dangerous, and criminally-minded. Disease will spread where conditions are set up for their spreading, and this is why I have advocated for attention to mental health, not purely politics.
10:19 PM · Jan 30, 2021
A more recent tweet regarding what can be done to decrease the risk of violence:
As long as Donald Trump has a public megaphone, the country will continue to grow more dangerous. Taking it away from him is the first step toward our safety.
12:02 PM · Mar 31, 2023
Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Tim Snyder give the same warnings. The violence is contagious. It’s a serious public health issue more than a political issue.
Dr. Lee on contagion of violence:
https://www.salon.com/2020/07/22/trumps-psychosis-has-infected-his-followers-heres-how-to-get-them-better_partner/
Find it hard to believe that anyone hasn’t heard the 💩💩💩 she spews. Normalizing the sickest among them is a big mistake. They did it to tffg in 2015-16. It’s happening again, only she’s even sicker.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/28/marjorie-taylor-greene-kevin-mccarthy-republicans-house-committee
I hope you’re right! One must know the opposition. ( just refrained from using “enemy” although that’s how I feel. Sad.)
I knew all I needed to know when she lied under oath about not being able to remember anything. The only thing I would care to hear from her is testimony under oath. 60 minutes has failed miserably. I have made my formal complaint
How has 60 Minutes failed? The program has not even aired yet, so it's not possible to make a meaningful assessment of it. Or do you have access to it not available to most? I am concerned because one of the most damaging things one can do is criticize something without knowing what it is one is criticizing.
60 minutes is not Fox News. Just by choosing to put her words on air they give her power. Have you not heard the violence she has tried to incite? Just because McCarthy is getting his ass licked by her doesn’t mean anyone with any recognizable sense of human dignity should give any weight to anything she could say. Feeding the bad wolves. I don’t understand how that is not crystal clear.
Gail Adams, I know what you mean! I have to have a constant check on my mind's attitude and reactions, trying to not just immediately react with words. It is extremely hard to do with "those people."
Just watched the MTG interview on 60 Minutes. I believe Lesley Stahl did a terrific job: she was well-prepared, conducted fair and balanced questioning (as much as I dislike MTG, I believe a true journalist does not attack the person interviewed but elicits responses that elucidate in their own terms), and held her cool while holding MTG accountable for her aberrant actions and absurd accusations. The interview lived up to Stahl’s and 60 Minutes’ high journalistic standards.
Rose, I watched it, and your review was right on the money.
Thanks, Rose, for your own good review of the broadcast. I'll be watching it soon.
Sorry. There can be NO fair and balanced with an elected representative who calls on their cult of armed extremists to kill their political opponents. It is extremely distressing to me that good people here don’t “get” that simple premise. It’s no different than tffg guy saying there were good people on both sides in Charlottesville. MTG is an abomination, too sick to have such a powerful position, and good, humane people should not normalize her. I’m sorry, but it’s just shocking to me that this is not a shared point of view and I feel it’s so important that I have to speak up. There are not 2 sides to this. One is violence and death of innocent people. It cannot be normalized.
I understand other people's POV in feeling MTG should be held to account by a competent network journalist, who's not a Faux mouthpiece, to expose her outrageous ideas. As much as I get that, I have to side with you, Christy.
60 minutes is one of, if not the most, venerated TV news programs in our country. Appearance on it is often seen as validation of a person's ideas and acknowledgement of them as a tastemaker, power broker, rightful policy maker or all of the above. Tonight's interview subject has shown herself to be unsophisticated, not just in speech or manners, but in matters of reason or intellect. This appearance will be seen by her and spun by her camp as confirmation of her savvy, smarts and awesome power, both in her party and in the HoR. Many of the more uncritical thinkers who support her will see it the same way. The same reasons that no POTUS, until 45, met with N. Korea's leader, because it would signify an equality between our President and a despot, is the same way respected journalists can't invite crackpots onto their primetime news programs to give them the air of respectability.
TFG used his Time MOTY cover as vindication of his greatness. No matter how Time editors and staff writers tried, he refused to grasp that the selected person can be chosen for worldwide impact from doing the most bad, as well as good. This Rep. will view this the same way. Her and her cohorts will spin it as the moment 'the lamestream mediuhh' discovered what a braintrust she is. Mark my words, slo-mo, audio-free clips of her and Leslie Stahl, faced off in interview chairs, are being cut into reelection propaganda by her people as we post comments.
Thank you Cathy for articulating that so well ❤️. I see it as an endorsement for fascism and a promotion of violence by 60 minutes, a show I once had significant respect for.
Just to keep the comments “fair and balanced”, I’m sharing this spout by Dr. Joanne Freeman, Heather’s respected co-host of Now and Then.
Joanne Freeman
@jbf1755
Agreed.
The interview advertised & normalized a blatantly anti-democratic movement during a political crisis.
And it defused its usefulness. There could have been questions re: assertions & generalizations, & clear explanations of what those "in your face" claims truly mean--to MTG & more broadly
Dan Wentzel
@DanWentzel
60 Minutes crossed a unforgivable line with its softball interview of Marjorie Taylor Greene. The need by many in the corporate media to try and normalize fascism in the Republican Party because they cannot come to terms with its fundamental threat to American democracy is a danger to all of us.
01:11 AM - Apr 03, 2023
60 Minutes runs on Sundays. Did they have a special Saturday night edition?
Thank you Rose for your correction! I would not watch it for obvious reasons and when I saw the many headlines this morning had misunderstood and thought that it had already happened. (Yesterday felt like Sunday to me for a variety of reasons.)
Don’t suppose they would reconsider airing it, though?
No worries, Christy! I barely watch tv, other than PBS. I do watch 60 Minutes and CBS’s Sunday Morning show, which just advertised MTG’s 60 Minutes segment. I will watch, of course! Ignorance is not necessarily bliss when it comes to politics. I do hope the interview itself does not cast a positive light on MTG’s dark derangements…
Watch and be unafraid!!
Garbage. She speaks garbage. She makes up lying 💩 and incites violence against our most vulnerable. I wouldn’t listen to a word of it if I was paid a million dollars. Now if you want to put her back under oath and see if she can remember any of the nasty crap she’s done or said then that’s a different story.
I'll watch the segment on Empty G just out of morbid curiosity. If the 60 Minutes interviewer is as good as they usually are, she'll come off looking rather oafish, perhaps even deranged. I am reminded of Sarah Palin's remark about putting lipstick on a pig...
Be forewarned.I clocked on the url (thank you) and then spent 15 frustrating minutes as it refused to allow me to indicate which show I was feeding back on, and so it never got posted. For the rest of you this is what I tried to post:
MTG? "Not afraid"?? "Speaks her mind"???
How about "whacko" or "what mind?", to say nothing of your obligation to exercise judgment in crafting your reporting framework to sustain the Republic rather than undermine it?
You should be ashamed of yourselves airing such a puff piece without as part of the segment also posting a sampling of her posts over just the preceding 48 hours.
Dr. Joanne Freeman also tweeted how they are “normalizing” her thoughts/words by the way they framed their advertisements for the show by using her language that you described.
Sorry that it did not let you submit. I too had missed the selections at the start for both the choose the category and then choose the program. Eventually, I did get it to go. 🙏 thank you for your time and energy
Cathy, it is our collective responsibility to Awaken those who's thinking has been clouded by the Disinformation being incessantly excreted by those who would imprison the thoughts and beliefs of a well-educated citizenry.
Don't drink the KoolAid!! I first read this article on the final phase of Narcissistic Personality Disorder in April 2016 when I realized DT would likely be the Republican nominee for President. I posted this comment in August 31, 2022 here on LFAA: Beware the Meltdown! For the first time commenters are saying DT is off the rails. Although we've all known DT is the posterchild of narcissistic personality disorder for years, we are now possibility witnessing the end phase of NPD where he feels trapped. Will his end phase be like Jim Jones and have all his followers drink the KoolAid? Read about it at: https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=40230
I’m sitting here thinking; Now we know why we don’t name tornadoes, they are like narcissists and just too many of them. So give them rankings of destructive intensity instead.
Speaking as a Kansas native, the nice thing about tornadoes is that they don't last very long.
Oh, Cathy! Stalin, Hitler, Jim Jones, and now Trump. The NPD diagnosis, and alarmingly, the prognosis, fits to a "T." Listening to Michael Cohen on the news yesterday confirms it:
"Costa asked, 'Trump keeps projecting confidence, but you sense fear?'
'Oh, yes. Not fear; he's petrified."
"As the window of power begins to fade and family and friends begin to isolate the narcissist, many narcissists panic emotionally and this fuels their desire to try and re-assert control over what they feel they have lost. This desire to re-assert control usually leads to increasing attempts to harm family and friends who threaten to leave the narcissist. The fear of loss of power and the failed attempts to re-assert control can sometimes lead the narcissist to create a permanent solution to the rapid implosion of their life. Many times this permanent solution takes the shape of a murder-suicide or mass-murder event."
MaryPat: Michael Cohen. I had to stop and think a moment to understand who you were referencing.
Thanks Judith!!
I must be naive to have believed that guys that claim to be Republican moderates, like Youngkin and Jeb Bush, would allow the legal process in New York to proceed without legitimizing the far-right response.
I think Trump needs to be held to account but I find no pleasure in his indictment nor will I his conviction. That said, I have faith in the jury system that all of these Republican politicians appear not to trust when it is one of them subject to trial and not a young black male.
That juxtaposition needs to be spoken. It also needs to be repeated ad nauseam that it was Attorney General Barr’s federal Justice Department that not only prosecuted Cohen for the same crime, stating it was done at the bequest and interest of “Individual One” (Trump) who was not prosecuted because he was a sitting president. Cohen, after his release, was re-imprisoned because he he wouldn’t silence himself.
Their defense of Trump and attacks on Bragg are de facto proof that they do not believe in equal justice under the law. It is they who weaponize the levers if government and we need to be vigilant in protecting the rule of law from fascist attacks.
This⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
“It also needs to be repeated ad nauseam that it was Attorney General Barr’s federal Justice Department that not only prosecuted Cohen for the same crime, stating it was done at the bequest and interest of “Individual One” (Trump) who was not prosecuted because he was a sitting president. Cohen, after his release, was re-imprisoned because he he wouldn’t silence himself.”
After reading this extraordinary article from Dr. Richardson, and these extremely detailed replies, I find that everything going through my head has been pretty well versed.
I would like to point out, and remind everyone, that we the people have a hell of a lot of work ahead of us. Not only for the 2024 election, but every election after that. We must, MUST, get these radical republicans out of office.
We know every one of them have committed crimes against democracy. We know that every one of them are interested in one thing, and one thing only. Getting TFG back in office so they can finish turning this country from a democracy to a dictatorship. IF TFG gets back in office, the United States 🇺🇸 of America will cease to exist as it is today. As our forefathers intended it to be.
When TFG gained access to the Oval Office, he started his attack. He did away with free trade, he did away with our involvement with NATO, and other world organizations we had been member, and a leading country of, so we would be lined up to ally with the likes of Russia, China, North Korea, and other communist nations in the world.
We have our work cut out for us, across this nation, to get these republicans out of office in all levels of government. We need to identify them in every single state in this country, list them for all to see, and fight to get them removed from office.
We have a lot of work to get done, and a short time to do it. I’m confident that democracy will prevail. We just have to work hard to keep it.
Wonderful post Dan. I can almost hear Jethro Tull playing the Battle Hymn of the republic in the background. A great and heartfelt thanks for this moment today!
Your welcome. Thanks for your wonderful reply. I meant every word of it, too.
Hold on a minute. The sky really isn't falling! Remember this. There is a Democratic President who happens to have veto power, a Democratic Senate, an extremely capable Cabinet and we are internationally respected once again. At this very moment the Government of the United States of America is functioning exactly as it should. All 3 branches are still separate and equal.
As to the House of Representatives. There are 435 members in the House. Of these 435 members:
Committee on the Judiciary:
24 Republicans (9 trumpers)
19 Democrats
Committee on Oversight:
25 Republicans (11 trumpers)
20 Democrats
This makes 20 trumpers out of the total 88 members on these Committees.
Now ask yourself this. What laws have they passed? What has been Bragg's responses to Jordan? If you have a moment from needlessly worrying watch some tube moments of Raskin, Bush, Porter, AOC, Garcia, Goldman, Connolly, Moskowitz etc. successfully rebutting, humiliating and holding to task the unprepared, fact free, circus work of the Republican members. The Democratic members of the Committee and the Democratic witnesses came prepared, aggressive and credible.
Sargent is exaggerating. He is selling papers/clicks. Stay out of the rabbit hole because we have better things to do. I strongly urge you to check out Simon Rosenberg on his Substack blog Hominum.
Barbara M,
You are our spiritual leader today. I had been trying to compose something on this theme. But you said it beautifully! Well done. Thank you.
The grieving and complaining is all justified. There are terrible people attempting terrible things. But that news is stealing the oxygen from the discussion. It is way over amplified.
Thank you for the reminders! We have a very fine President who is on the right page on most issues who leads us with intelligence and dignity. Bragg, Willis and Smith are doing their jobs.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't demand justice or fight to elect the correct people. But the sky is not falling today. And I am going to have a wonderful Sunday.
Thank You very much Bill. As you know our stance is not a popular one in comments boards so positive feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy your wonderful Sunday. I am heading out for a bird song filled walk.
Grand job bringing us back to reality and out of the weeds of panic and pessimism, Barbara. Thank you. You laid it out beautifully. Your post succinctly demonstrated that at the federal level, we are actually in a pretty good position right now. And a lot of people are getting involved in various ways in local/state politics- and that will make us stronger for 2024 at all levels. I am feeling hopeful.
Let's hold each other up with fact based information, tools to combat the dystopian main stream media and trolls who show up in comments preaching "America is doomed" messages. We can prevail in 2024 if we keep our heads. Good people are working in Government and good citizens are working as well.
Why can't these scum go catch COVID and die? Make America Great Again with their permanent departures.
I think history demonstrates that killing the people who disagree with you is never a lasting resolution, TCinLA. In this case, wanting to kill some of the people who want to destroy democracy because they don’t want to live by the essential principles of democracy, damages democracy in and of itself. Freedom to make personal choices, taking responsibility for the choices you make, respect for others and the rule of law-these are not easy principles to live by. Right now we have a number of people who are refusing to take responsibility for their own actions, many of which are criminal in nature. We can hold accountable people who break our laws, as long as we ourselves abide by them.
Although it took little while, the earliest white power on this land annihilated vast numbers of indigenous people here who are greatly marginalized and still have no power or voice. They may beg to differ thinking killing off their people was not a lasting resolution by those who think they are superior.
I am always shocked, when I visit friends at Pine Ridge, at how many of them accepted the white man's religion even today. Their own nature-based spiritual paths are so connected with gratitude and the earth. I am not seeing that in these cults of mostly white people who appear to have zero gratitude for anything but a golden calf that wants to squeeze every fricking dime and applause from them possible. And they relish in it, and could give a sh_t about the rest of the world and the earth. TCinLA has a point. If our systems of checks and balances were stronger, most of these republicans in our government would be in jail with the proud boys (who have nothing to be proud of by their false sense of superiority backed by the phallic symbols they carry to make sure they are top dogs. In my dreams of a sane world, none of them would exist.
They should be deported and let other people come here who want to live in a democracy because they KNOW the stifling oppression of an authoritarian regime.
If our justice system would get it together, much of the loudmouthed swamp would be cleaned out of our government.
For me, the essential trust I had in our institutions as basically trying to “do the right thing” has been trampled. I’m not naive but as a child of the ‘60’s/‘70’s I saw the striving to do the right thing. The power accrual of the ‘90’s saw us asleep at the wheel, manipulated by those seeking their riches. Who knew it would take such a self serving clown to wake me. We must assure that our institutions hold, and I’m encouraged by all those, including here, that are working to ensure they do.
Hear! Hear! Your last sentence says it all in its brevity and context / content.
You're right. But the good news is, these people are doing it to themselves (which is also what I was advocating). The records show that Republicans, who are more likely to be antivaxxers and refuse vaccination, have died at a higher rate (3:1) over Democrats who are likely to believe in science and be vaccinated. So, since we're plumb out of sabretooth cats to eat the morons and keep Darwinian evolution working, I'll take a virus and stupidity to lower their numbers today.
Wonderful Post, Meredith. You bring me hope that we can rise above this attack on our hearts and souls.
"The position of those embracing a post-liberal order is a far cry from the Reagan Republicans’ claim to want small government and free markets."
It seems to me that Reaganomics was essentially a fraud and was always a slight-of-hand coup by plutocrats. For all of the vocal government-bashing, Reagan Republicans have sure been drawn to the levers of governmental power, displaying by many forms or antidemocratic treachery that they want them all for themselves. No one want's to be micromanaged, and the cry of "small government" has some appeal to it, but notice how heavy-handed government has become, even under Reagan, and certainly Bush the Second, and Trump. It's only those features of government that aid or protect the disadvantaged, the public interest, or corporate or official accountability, that have been ended, eroded, or sidetracked. Republicans actually love government, so long as it's by them, and for them.
And is a "free market" one (as in a free society) in which there is equal opportunity? Or is it one that puts up no barrier to monopolies and cartels (trusts)? Republicans appear to very much prefer the latter description; but then, is substantial domination by any segment of society of the rest of its citizens, economically, politically, or both, meaningfully labeled "free"?
I wouldn't say that Republicans love government: what they seem to be doing, with great gusto, is play at governing, as very young children pretend to be mothers and fathers, or teachers and pupils. They are parroting words of which they don't know the meaning. Anyone ever read that nightmarish novel "Let's go and play at the Adams"?
I think that's true of most of the following, cosplaytriots and all, but there is some major society money flow being diverted over a period of decades, and which begs to be followed.
“cosplaytriots” - yes!
Don't "like", but have to agree.
Adopting “cosplaytriots”!
Me too!!
I adopted it as well from another discussion.
"....but there is some major society money flow being diverted over a period of decades, and which begs to be followed."
Indeed!!
Another well written post filled with clear observations. Eyes Open as always JL.
Thank you Heather Cox Richardson for another enlightening letter. Sadly, I think you have brought to light how this deranged group are continuing their assault on the very democracy that we all love. The right wing fanatics have always been afraid of letting go of their power and respecting the rights of us ordinary Americans. It reminds me of the millions of uninformed and easily lead people who put men like Hitler, Stalin, Bolsonaro, Noriega, Castro, etc., etc. on a pedestal and then followed them to their own doom. I am saddened and frightened that they seemingly have such loud voices and power. We can take away their power with our votes...their loud voices..hopefully, that will be their issue
To counter the distorted MAGA narrative advanced not just by Republican leaders but also by a bloc I sense increasingly is abating, I contend we are obligated repeatedly to amplify that the system that led to Trump’s indictment demonstrates that the rule of law depends on our having institutions we can trust, a mutuality that, in turn, depends on the idea that no one is above the law. I imagine that all of us at some time since 2016 likely contemplated a possible fatal weakening of our civic institutions and also a Presidency eager and able to consolidate power, wherein the rule of law could be subjugated to an individual. Accordingly, however important other things are, speaking for myself, I take heart from sensing that the mind of the country, overall, at this moment, is focused on the idea that protecting the key mechanisms of American democracy entails holding everyone, as the facts warrant, accountable for their actions.
Its always good to hear from you in these discussions, Barb.
Rebekha, I always value your affirming replies.
I sure hope that your feelings of hope that protecting the “key mechanisms of government” is accurate. I do not see that in my former cohort.
Ally, Excluding MAGA supporters, whose numbers I understand are receding, I imagine everyone paying attention understands we’d be giving up on democracy were anyone not subject to the rule of law.
Thank you Heather for the 3 truest words:
REPUBLICAN'TS are wrong.
Criminals belong in jail not in the White House.
Wrong-Wing extremists.