Yesterday, voters in both France and Slovenia rejected far-right candidates for leadership. French voters preferred leaving Emmanuel Macron in place as president by 58.5% over Marine Le Pen (41.5%). Le Pen is supported by fascists and antisemites, and she promised to take France out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to turn against the U.S. influence, and to end multiculturalism, which she maintains is a failure.
I don’t have words for it all anymore, no words for what is happening and has happened for so many years. I only have what I can describe as what was concern that became determined to try to discuss and now, I have awakened to just a seething rage. I watched PBS’ Ben Franklin the other day to find inspiration and comfort. It helped. France and Slovenia having election that did not turn to autocracy and worse is a small bright spot.
Sigh. I don’t know how you do it HCR, but I have such immense respect and gratitude for your letters. Thank you.
The ONLY reason Musk is buying Twitter is to put Doofus tRump back on the airwaves (along with the rest of his GOP and QAnon supporters) They’re all giddy with excitement at this powerful tool that will soon again be at their complete disposal. Personally, I’d love to see Facebook, Twitter, Instagram turned OFF. The stupidity outweighs the benefit.
I WISH y'all could get a sample of some of the political ads we're being subjected to down here. Just this evening (it showed up at dinner time and almost made me hurl...) one appeared for the first time for Perdue for governor that is the voice of T***p peddling the same lies about the fraudulent election being stolen from him and that Gov. Kemp wouldn't do the right thing and stand up for election integrity...bah blah blah. The two candidates for Lt. Governor have spots, each trying to see who can go further to the right, though only one has T***p's endorsement, which he wastes no time in trumpeting. Kemp's ads attacking Perdue are very gingerly avoiding saying anything negative about T***p, and he even quotes T***p talking about how China has benefited from the outsourcing of our jobs, implying this is Perdue's fault. But then, Perdue blames Kemp for everything going wrong right now, even the war in Ukraine, saying it all started here in Georgia. Um...yeah. Kemp is also already attacking Abrams, figuring he'll be the one more than likely be running against her--calling her a hypocrite, only out for herself, and blaming her for mask mandates, etc. etc. It's all I can do to keep from throwing things at the television. Thank goodness I only have it on for local and national news and Jeopardy!...then I flip it over to baseball, or PBS if there's something on, or turn it off. It's gonna be this and more for the next 6+ months...Lord, give me strength!!
Thank you Heather for your information. I am relieved by the election outcomes in France and Slovenia. And so disgusted with the Republican insurrectionists. I am thankful to the Jan 6 committee for all of their hard work and hope the DOJ will start moving on this. I’m afraid Elon Musk owning Twitter is ominous.
Wondering however, that 30% of French voters did not vote. Worried about GOTV in the US, we need to focus on good voters caring enough to vote no matter what the obstacles! Big turnout in 22 and 24 will matter in a positive way.
You stated it as “Those deep in the insurrection have flat out lied about their participation in it, suggesting they know it was illegal.” What chance do you think that the Justice Department has to bring the actors identified in McCarthy’s text messages to Justice for sedition?
This morning I had an email from an American friend who has lived in Italy most of her adult life and married a concert violinist who was born in the former soviet republic of Georgia. Her husband who died of COVID last year admired Putin. Today she told me that she was hearing news trying to convince Europeans "that the real blame for this horrible war should be given to the USA, since they want to DOMINATE Russia and want to use the excuse of the Ukrainian thing to be able to do this." She wanted my opinion on this. My response was I thought what Putin is saying is that he's mad at the United States for not letting him just walk in and take over a sovereign country. I went on to talk about how Putin had underestimated how this would go etc. ... all the stuff the readers here know very well. I found it sobering that Putin was trying his disinformation campaign on the Europeans but then we here in America certainly are getting too much crazy disinformation from our own politicians. Let's do what we can to defang disinformation everywhere starting in our own backyards.
Tucker Carlson is no more an impartial serious journalist than my Great Aunt Ruth was and she has been dead a long time. Even in the grave she has more integrity than he has ever had. He is an entertainment talking head that is only interested in pushing what will bring in the most $$$ for Faux News and keep him in the spotlight. They should be forced to change their name from Fox News to Fox Infotainment.
That France and Slovenia can recognize a rat when they see one is a heartening sign, but in France it will be more telling to see how many seats Le Pen can garner.
I wish there were more voters like the five that filed the suit against MTG. It needs to happen all over the country if they are not unseated by their own states.
I am still baffled that the statements from Perjury Taylor Greene have not gotten the ride out that they should have by the media. Is this a precursor to another round of actions by the GOP that will be without consequences? Probably.
On my way to the dentist this morning I noticed the Republicans are putting out their "F*ck Biden next to their brand new Trump 2024 flags in earnest. What I did notice were that these flags weren't flying infront of what should be condemned trailers. I'm seeing these on very nice houses. Is that an indication of the cross over from Democrats to Republicans . A reflection of the current polling of Biden.
Sometimes I think my husband and I need to get prepared to live in an autocracy because it seems inevitable. The only thing is most Americans have only lived in a free, democratic society. How do we prepare? Buy a gun now if you don’t have one and learn how to defend ourselves? Save more money because the economy could sink into recession or a depression? Do both? Find another country to move to? This is the most scared I have ever been for my family’s future economic stability and happiness. I do not want to live in a country under a dictatorship. Everyday I think about selling our house and moving out of the country. I am a retired teacher and have taught foreign students whose families came here to America for political asylum. It seems unbelievable to me that Americans could be moving to other countries in the near future to escape political instability and violence. I am especially upset today because long time friends of ours are devoted Fox News watchers and Trump cult members. Our friendship is disintegrating, they refuse to listen to any other view but what Fox News tells them to think. They bash democrats even though they know we are democrats, if we give any opinion that is different from theirs, they become visibly angry. It is so sad and upsetting. We have met for 20 years once a month for dinner but I think we won’t be eating together much longer. If this happens between good friends, how will long will it be before our country descends into political violence, and chaos. We could become like Ireland was before the Good Friday peace agreement. My guess is we will find out after the midterm elections at the earliest and by 2024 for sure.
I continue to fear the possibility of the Country falling into a fascist autocracy but the elections in France and Slovenia give me hope, as does the continued work here in this post and elsewhere to push forward the truth and let it energize the people to do the same in our elections.
Between the age of 11 and 16 1/2 I was raised at The Orthogenic School of The University of Chicago. I slept in a dorm room of eight for 6.5 years. Only severely disturbed were admitted. I entered Monday, January 9, 1950. I tested 160 on the Stanford Binet. I had refused to read. The Director of The School was Bruno Bettelheim, a PhD in art history. He authored books and articles that explored the work he directed and the children. Love Is Not Enough was his first best seller. He was imprisoned in Dachau and Buchenwald before WW II. He undoubtedly bought his way out. I knew him well and we remained close until he killed himself.
In 1955, Dr. B, as he preferred, suggested The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. He wanted me to understand the past and prepare for the future. We discussed the Holocaust and European concentration camps, Auschwitz and many others, the gas chambers and crematoriums, Hitler’s final solution, Mussolini, the gestapo, fascism, anti-semitism, prejudice, restricted real estate, US slavery, intolerance, and American fanatics.
Bettelheim was clear. In your lifetime, Sandy, you will experience fascism and prejudice, fanatics and dangerous people and mobs, this will not end. Human nature does not change, he said.
Historians, educated people, political and military, and top educators are infected with blinding intolerance. The need to feel superior masks inferiority, fear and insecurity. Groups are often dangerous. Intolerance is common. I learned. Americans are easily duped and often violent.
Bettelheim would not admit kids or hire therapeutic staff with colored skins. He said they were inferior. The School kitchen, cleaning and support staff were all dark skinned. I worked in the kitchen.
The dark skinned support staff was far more stable than the therapeutic staff.
In Wall Street, in 1965, White, Weld & Company, a WASP NYSE general partnership of snobs and Ivy League lightweights, held a partners’ meeting to decide if hiring a Jewish part-time secretary for full time was appropriate: she’s still alive. Her maiden name was Mildred Bergman. She not well. She knew White, Weld.
Wall Street antisemitism is a given. No one hired a Negro or Hispanic in sales, research or trading. Many firms blocked Jews. Law firms were similar.
Academics that do not evidence empathy are common.
Thank you, Heather. As the world turns! That was the name of an old daytime soap opera. That had less drama than we are currently seeing in our world today.
Very strange, but I'm not able to "heart" this letter. When I click on the icon, I get an error message. Hoping it's just me and not something with the Substack site. Anyway, another fantastic roundup of today's most important news. Thank you, Heather.
I don’t have words for it all anymore, no words for what is happening and has happened for so many years. I only have what I can describe as what was concern that became determined to try to discuss and now, I have awakened to just a seething rage. I watched PBS’ Ben Franklin the other day to find inspiration and comfort. It helped. France and Slovenia having election that did not turn to autocracy and worse is a small bright spot.
Sigh. I don’t know how you do it HCR, but I have such immense respect and gratitude for your letters. Thank you.
Oh for goodness sake’s. These people. Still pissing on us and telling us it’s raining.
The ONLY reason Musk is buying Twitter is to put Doofus tRump back on the airwaves (along with the rest of his GOP and QAnon supporters) They’re all giddy with excitement at this powerful tool that will soon again be at their complete disposal. Personally, I’d love to see Facebook, Twitter, Instagram turned OFF. The stupidity outweighs the benefit.
I WISH y'all could get a sample of some of the political ads we're being subjected to down here. Just this evening (it showed up at dinner time and almost made me hurl...) one appeared for the first time for Perdue for governor that is the voice of T***p peddling the same lies about the fraudulent election being stolen from him and that Gov. Kemp wouldn't do the right thing and stand up for election integrity...bah blah blah. The two candidates for Lt. Governor have spots, each trying to see who can go further to the right, though only one has T***p's endorsement, which he wastes no time in trumpeting. Kemp's ads attacking Perdue are very gingerly avoiding saying anything negative about T***p, and he even quotes T***p talking about how China has benefited from the outsourcing of our jobs, implying this is Perdue's fault. But then, Perdue blames Kemp for everything going wrong right now, even the war in Ukraine, saying it all started here in Georgia. Um...yeah. Kemp is also already attacking Abrams, figuring he'll be the one more than likely be running against her--calling her a hypocrite, only out for herself, and blaming her for mask mandates, etc. etc. It's all I can do to keep from throwing things at the television. Thank goodness I only have it on for local and national news and Jeopardy!...then I flip it over to baseball, or PBS if there's something on, or turn it off. It's gonna be this and more for the next 6+ months...Lord, give me strength!!
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/04/kemp-and-perdue-get-nasty-in-georgia-gubernatorial-debate.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Intelligencer%20-%20April%2025%2C%202022&utm_term=Subscription%20List%20-%20Daily%20Intelligencer%20%281%20Year%29
Thank you Heather for your information. I am relieved by the election outcomes in France and Slovenia. And so disgusted with the Republican insurrectionists. I am thankful to the Jan 6 committee for all of their hard work and hope the DOJ will start moving on this. I’m afraid Elon Musk owning Twitter is ominous.
Name the names. Shame the names. Charge the names. Indict the names.
Try the names. Convict the names. Incarcerate the names. That is the rule of law.
Wondering however, that 30% of French voters did not vote. Worried about GOTV in the US, we need to focus on good voters caring enough to vote no matter what the obstacles! Big turnout in 22 and 24 will matter in a positive way.
Heather, As Rachel Maddow said today, “the only thing that disqualifies you in today’s Republican Party is not going along with the insurrection”.
https://youtu.be/t_7lmgZxAV4
You stated it as “Those deep in the insurrection have flat out lied about their participation in it, suggesting they know it was illegal.” What chance do you think that the Justice Department has to bring the actors identified in McCarthy’s text messages to Justice for sedition?
This morning I had an email from an American friend who has lived in Italy most of her adult life and married a concert violinist who was born in the former soviet republic of Georgia. Her husband who died of COVID last year admired Putin. Today she told me that she was hearing news trying to convince Europeans "that the real blame for this horrible war should be given to the USA, since they want to DOMINATE Russia and want to use the excuse of the Ukrainian thing to be able to do this." She wanted my opinion on this. My response was I thought what Putin is saying is that he's mad at the United States for not letting him just walk in and take over a sovereign country. I went on to talk about how Putin had underestimated how this would go etc. ... all the stuff the readers here know very well. I found it sobering that Putin was trying his disinformation campaign on the Europeans but then we here in America certainly are getting too much crazy disinformation from our own politicians. Let's do what we can to defang disinformation everywhere starting in our own backyards.
Tucker Carlson is no more an impartial serious journalist than my Great Aunt Ruth was and she has been dead a long time. Even in the grave she has more integrity than he has ever had. He is an entertainment talking head that is only interested in pushing what will bring in the most $$$ for Faux News and keep him in the spotlight. They should be forced to change their name from Fox News to Fox Infotainment.
That France and Slovenia can recognize a rat when they see one is a heartening sign, but in France it will be more telling to see how many seats Le Pen can garner.
I wish there were more voters like the five that filed the suit against MTG. It needs to happen all over the country if they are not unseated by their own states.
Thank you Heather.
I am still baffled that the statements from Perjury Taylor Greene have not gotten the ride out that they should have by the media. Is this a precursor to another round of actions by the GOP that will be without consequences? Probably.
On my way to the dentist this morning I noticed the Republicans are putting out their "F*ck Biden next to their brand new Trump 2024 flags in earnest. What I did notice were that these flags weren't flying infront of what should be condemned trailers. I'm seeing these on very nice houses. Is that an indication of the cross over from Democrats to Republicans . A reflection of the current polling of Biden.
I really, for all of our sakes hope not.
Be safe. Be well.
Sometimes I think my husband and I need to get prepared to live in an autocracy because it seems inevitable. The only thing is most Americans have only lived in a free, democratic society. How do we prepare? Buy a gun now if you don’t have one and learn how to defend ourselves? Save more money because the economy could sink into recession or a depression? Do both? Find another country to move to? This is the most scared I have ever been for my family’s future economic stability and happiness. I do not want to live in a country under a dictatorship. Everyday I think about selling our house and moving out of the country. I am a retired teacher and have taught foreign students whose families came here to America for political asylum. It seems unbelievable to me that Americans could be moving to other countries in the near future to escape political instability and violence. I am especially upset today because long time friends of ours are devoted Fox News watchers and Trump cult members. Our friendship is disintegrating, they refuse to listen to any other view but what Fox News tells them to think. They bash democrats even though they know we are democrats, if we give any opinion that is different from theirs, they become visibly angry. It is so sad and upsetting. We have met for 20 years once a month for dinner but I think we won’t be eating together much longer. If this happens between good friends, how will long will it be before our country descends into political violence, and chaos. We could become like Ireland was before the Good Friday peace agreement. My guess is we will find out after the midterm elections at the earliest and by 2024 for sure.
I continue to fear the possibility of the Country falling into a fascist autocracy but the elections in France and Slovenia give me hope, as does the continued work here in this post and elsewhere to push forward the truth and let it energize the people to do the same in our elections.
Between the age of 11 and 16 1/2 I was raised at The Orthogenic School of The University of Chicago. I slept in a dorm room of eight for 6.5 years. Only severely disturbed were admitted. I entered Monday, January 9, 1950. I tested 160 on the Stanford Binet. I had refused to read. The Director of The School was Bruno Bettelheim, a PhD in art history. He authored books and articles that explored the work he directed and the children. Love Is Not Enough was his first best seller. He was imprisoned in Dachau and Buchenwald before WW II. He undoubtedly bought his way out. I knew him well and we remained close until he killed himself.
In 1955, Dr. B, as he preferred, suggested The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. He wanted me to understand the past and prepare for the future. We discussed the Holocaust and European concentration camps, Auschwitz and many others, the gas chambers and crematoriums, Hitler’s final solution, Mussolini, the gestapo, fascism, anti-semitism, prejudice, restricted real estate, US slavery, intolerance, and American fanatics.
Bettelheim was clear. In your lifetime, Sandy, you will experience fascism and prejudice, fanatics and dangerous people and mobs, this will not end. Human nature does not change, he said.
Historians, educated people, political and military, and top educators are infected with blinding intolerance. The need to feel superior masks inferiority, fear and insecurity. Groups are often dangerous. Intolerance is common. I learned. Americans are easily duped and often violent.
Bettelheim would not admit kids or hire therapeutic staff with colored skins. He said they were inferior. The School kitchen, cleaning and support staff were all dark skinned. I worked in the kitchen.
The dark skinned support staff was far more stable than the therapeutic staff.
In Wall Street, in 1965, White, Weld & Company, a WASP NYSE general partnership of snobs and Ivy League lightweights, held a partners’ meeting to decide if hiring a Jewish part-time secretary for full time was appropriate: she’s still alive. Her maiden name was Mildred Bergman. She not well. She knew White, Weld.
Wall Street antisemitism is a given. No one hired a Negro or Hispanic in sales, research or trading. Many firms blocked Jews. Law firms were similar.
Academics that do not evidence empathy are common.
The suburbs are segregated.
Private clubs are unfailingly restricted.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is unique.
Thank you, Heather. As the world turns! That was the name of an old daytime soap opera. That had less drama than we are currently seeing in our world today.
Very strange, but I'm not able to "heart" this letter. When I click on the icon, I get an error message. Hoping it's just me and not something with the Substack site. Anyway, another fantastic roundup of today's most important news. Thank you, Heather.