Last night, New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin released more of the audio recording of Republican leadership that they obtained in the process of writing their forthcoming book.
Here's what I wish: I wish investigative journalists, particularly those investigating the Trump presidency, The Big Lie, January 6, etc, would recognize the urgent need for information to be released in order to save our democracy rather than release information in dribs and drabs to generate prepublication interest the book. I'm just saying.
Dr. Richardson has released more than enough "information" just on this website, to jail Trump and all in his merry men (some in drag apparently based on today's letter).
She, and MANY others, have plenty enough information already available for Americans to see the Republican Party with clarity, yet, those Americans persist in Trump love and Biden hate,
....do you think "information" on reality matters at all to the people in the Republican party?
I do not think reality is something the folks in the Republican Party are seeking Daria. I think some sort of vision of a fantasy, combined with demons (Democrats) has been placed in front of them by Fox News, (some) of their churches, some of their local leaders and, more importantly, their own mental apparatus.
I think Republicans will chase this fantasy, as reality, no matter what actual reality flashes in front of them, temporarily, before they jerk the fantasy back in place.
Fantasy has firmly supplanted reality in many minds in America.
I am not hugely optimistic that reality, presented by anyone, will matter one tiny little bit to that large segment of America.
Only when, bit by bit, when those living in fantasy land run into the reality they wanted AFTER it is in place, and, end up locked up for speaking out about something local that they disagreed with, will they wake up.
Way too late by then.
I hate to be the guy writing this. I really do. I am doing everything that I know how to do (which is tiny amount of stuff) to try to reveal fantasy for what it is in minds I care about, including, making myself unpopular with my own family and some friends and some local town guys.
But, I think fantasy land, as seen by the minds of brainwashed Republicans, has a high probability of occurrence. I hope I am wrong.
I gave your comment a heart as a confirmation. But I don't really mean heart, if you know what I mean. The commitment to the "Big Lie", Tucker's tirades, the so-called "Christian values" nonsense are all reminiscent of our long, long history of fanatical obsession. History is littered with the bodies of innocent lives destroyed by such madness.
Revealing facts to those sucked up into the vortex of fantasy is never effective. Their whole journey began with ignoring the difference between verifiable facts and fantastic ideas promoted by fear mongering political hacks. TFG knows this. He took his lessons from Hitler seriously.
There is only one solution. Scare enough people who care about democracy and truth to show up and vote. No point in talking to walls of reality denial. Are there enough of us?
Bill, I love you too with a heart! I agree but don't know if enough folks recognize what might be coming.
I guess America has always been susceptible to those who will hold a fantasy (some perfect landscape) plus demons to offer a clear enemy.
Salem MA fell victim to men who were willing to play this game (and then it spread to women). Those demonized paid a high price, those not demonized were scared to say anything lest the preacher (Tucker Carlson) called them out too.
From our very founding principals. Fantasy and Demonization.
John Adams overcame it briefly to run a revolution and write a Constitution.
I wonder how fast it all vanished after he was gone?
I am going to hazard an opinion of what occurs in my mind when you speak of fantasy(which peals loudly by the way). We have many such fantasies which have, subsequently turned themselves into cults and grown into current Christian churches whose doctrines are clearly fantasy. Perhaps we may see the mutation of this current mess coalescing into the United Pentecostal Trumpets of the Death Star Temple. As such we might be able to get other Republican Christian faithful to distance themselves thus remanding them to an enduring obscurity. Yes they will probably knock on our doors, or send missionaries among us. Feel free to add Fern’s cast as the original apostles.
The ignorance and abject stupidity boggle the mind. It is insanity according to Rupert, since he was the first in my memory, to broadcast lying drivel to the masses. The lessons from Hitler/Goebbels have indeed been studied, by Vlad as well.
Oh Jeri, Jeri, Jeri. Your generosity astounds. Truly Texan. For my own part I say their reading comprehension skills are relegated to magazines with large glossy photos.
As for the number of judgeships Trump appointed, just for the record, Pat, I go in for accuracy as your know. Sorry to load you up. There is a lot to this story, and I just provided you with a smattering.
'Trump stands out for the large number of federal appeals court judges he appointed in only four years. Not surprisingly, the overall number of judges appointed by Trump in his single term (226) is well below the totals of recent two-term presidents, including Obama (320), George W. Bush (322) and Bill Clinton (367). But when it comes to the nation’s 13 federal appeals courts – which have the final word on most legal appeals around the country – Trump’s influence is clear.
'Trump appointed nearly as many federal appeals court judges as Obama – in half the time.
Trump appointed 54 federal appellate judges in four years, one short of the 55.'(PewResearchCenter)
'To date, President Biden has nominated the most demographically diverse set of judicial candidates in history, including the first LGBTQ woman to serve on a court of appeals, the first Muslim American to serve as a federal judge, and the first Black woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. Twenty-six percent of all Black women currently serving as active judges were nominated by President Biden. Nearly 30 percent of Biden’s nominees have served as public defenders.'
'Using data from the Federal Judicial Center, this article analyzes how much President Biden can alter the aggregate demographics of the federal bench during his current term. For context, we examine pertinent demographic characteristics of all 782 active federal district and circuit judges. The article then focuses on 277 active federal District and Circuit Court judges who represent likely potential federal judicial vacancies because they are or will be eligible to retire or take senior status during the remaining three years of this administration (the “Cohort”). How many vacancies result, coupled with the results of the 2022 congressional elections, will likely determine the president’s success towards this goal.'
A number of young and prominent Trump-appointed judges are writing their opinions with provocative language, diving into the culture wars in ways offering an audition for a future Supreme Court opening.
Why it matters: Most judges who are would-be justices try to avoid controversy, preserving themselves for a confirmation hearing. But with the specter of former President Trump mounting another run for office, their opinions may not only create opportunity but curry favor with the person who could fulfill their ambitions.
During his term, Trump had tremendous impact on the federal bench.
He appointed 234 judges who will rule on some of the most consequential issues for decades to come.
One of them, 35-year-old Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, recently — and single-handedly — struck down the federal mask mandate on public transportation.
What we're watching: James Ho, 45, sitting on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has called abortion a "moral tragedy."
In his very first opinion about campaign finance, he wrote extrajudicially: “If you don’t like big money in politics, then you should oppose big government in our lives."
Yes, for the people in my extended friend group in Texas, they often mention how they find Trump distasteful but LOVE the fact that he appointed a bunch of nuts to the Bench.
It seems that when those otherwise well meaning folk speak of freedom, they do not mean freedom to be gay, freedom to think on their own without Tucker Carlson telling them what to think, freedom to love whomever we want, and freedom to choose our life's path including hard choices if we make mistakes.
Yep, freedom for Pubs means: Restricting everyone not like them.
Pat, the "other Christian faithful" are solidly behind the 300 judges that were appointed under Trump. They view Trump as a "distasteful necessity" in their march toward zero abortion, no gay marriage, etc.
In other words, they back up the complete fantasy with the full faith and credit of Jesus Christ.
The way it is for sure. For sure. There are way more of us. Way more. They are no longer amoebic we have them sized up. And I predict when the sky falls it will be on them.
'Hazzard County is a six-piece Modern Country, high-energy party band looking to change the way you think about the sweet sounds of the South. Based in …'
Is HCR ready to be the screenwriter of a combined gangster/horror flick? Wouldn’t we love to see ‘TRUMP, IVANKA, DONNIE Jr., KURSHNER, KOCH, McConnell, McCarthy, GAETZ, BROOKS, GOHMERT, BOEBERT, MOORE, CARLSON, HANNITY, De SANTIS, ABBOTT, JORDAN, CAWTHORN, etc., etc., etc. v. DEMOCRACY at our neighborhood movie theater; a full-scale musical on Broadway and a graphic novel … ? Wouldn't we rather see the shenanigans of these weird traitors immortalized on stage and screen instead of in our lives?
R, With all the copious material the epic/opus, and I forgot opera -- this is great material for opera -- will be updated, adapted and serialized. We could have daylong performances. What do you think now?
Please add Cruz to that list of miscreants. I was envisioning another Batman movie. The fantasy world they have chosen to inhabit reminds me of Gotham City and they are the dregs of society.
I truly believe there are. Republicans at large are only a third of the country, and the serious MAGA/QANON are only half of that third. Choosing to register as an Independent implies that there is a some kind of responsible thought process so if a majority of those voters live in reality we can and will be at 65%. The only problem is this is our one chance. If we all don't "Vote like We're Ukranians" then next time it will not matter if we are the majority of the country!
In Michigan, we Dems are rallying to defeat 3 term U.S. Rep Jack Bergman, who was bought and paid for by oil, lives in Louisianna, but could then afford a little cabin in our Upper Peninsula and claim he represents us, so he can vote down all our attempts to stop the dangerous Enbridge Canadian crude oil Line 5 which is lying (and rotting) under Lake Michigan. Our superb Democratic candidate is Dr. Bob Lorinser from Marquette, physician who also worked for 11 years with the state department abroad:
The saying here goes, "If you're still voting for Bergman, you don't know Jack." We need a better message (this is insulting to the voter, too), with an action verb and a clear view, like "Send Jack Back to Louisianna!" Or, "Vote like we're Michiganders!"
I woke up this morning with the idea of 'social media' as the former 'gossip at the well'; people fetching water and having a chat; on a gigantic scale. Marshal McLuhan's 'Media, the Medium is the Message', came to mind. The true message of social media is still to be understood, but maybe 'instant global gossip' is a possible start.
The phrase is, as you say, "the medium is the message". But the title of McLuhan's book was "The Medium is the Massage". The Wikipedia article on 'The medium is the message' explains the book title. 'Instant global gossip' is a very benign description of what social media have (not 'has') become.
There isn’t enough of us distributed properly to counter gerrymandering and general red state f$$$ery. If democrats with power still see republicans as gettable then we deserve the hellhole this country will become.
Why do we care what extremist Republicans (and that is most of the party) think? They are a minority of the nation and their numbers shrink with every passing day. We criticize Republicans and the media for normalizing extremism, but then we play into their hands by crediting the extremists with far, far more power than they have. There are six months until the fall elections. If we stop crying out that the sky is falling and get to work now, there is still time to remind the American majority of the threat that the nation faces from Trump and his allies at home and abroad. We need to stop bemoaning our fate and get to work, calling out the would-be authoritarians and their oligarchic allies full-time, in full voice. That means telling editors that they need to stop treating everything as if it must be Joe Biden’s fault, and getting to work for Democratic candidates who will tell it like it is and not mince words because they are afraid of offending donors. If you are on social media, it means speaking your mind, and not just to your friends who already agree with you. If we all get to work, we can defy history and give democracy and the Constitution a big push in the right direction.
"but then we play into their hands by crediting the extremists with far, far more power than they have." I saw this in spades yesterday with Chuck Todd speaking off handedly as if the Republican return to power this November were a foregone conclusion. It isn't "if" but "when" with many in the media. That definitely doesn't help - any viewer who is already despondent, and disappointed their party has not done what they said they would do (failing to recognize that the Republican tactic of blocking the entire agenda is working on them to perfection), will feel even more despondent, and maybe sit it out come November. Thanks Chuck. To me, this midterm cycle is like no other. It is true that rational people hold the majority in this country - all that has to happen is to get them out to vote. That is all. BTW Val Demings said last night that in Florida it doesn't matter what Desantis does; that Democrats will come out and vote anyway. While I don't believe that is the case in reality, in theory it is true. The key I believe is letting despondent or lethargic people (gen-z, college kids, black/brown) know that they stay home and they slit their own throats.
When I get text requests from Val Demings as well as Sen. Warnock and one or two others, I make a donation (however small, whatever I can) and I feel a little less powerless about having any impact on the bigger picture.
Chuck Todd is a disgrace to his profession (journalism and investigative reporting). His is a lazy, short-range thought process, and it's pretty obvious, at least to me, that he curries the favor of the ruling class (big business and billionaires). He tells them what they want to hear far too often to be taken seriously by a thinking public.
I think maybe we need to give the 'gen-z, college kids, black/brown' and whoever else you may think is slacking a little bit of credit. It's because of their efforts in 2020, which gave us the win, thar the GOP has set their hair on fire and attacked every facet of the electoral system to stop them from voting again. They attack those who have hurt them the worst. Just a thought.
Remains to be seen. If my own family is any indication, 2022 is going to e a disaster.
We have a daughter who has essentially fled the country (now lives in S. Korea), a daughter who is so disgusted with the failure of the Biden administration to come through on their promises, that she promises to sit out 2022. And a son who is of the same bent as the daughters except leans communist and therefore hates Democrats as well, and thinks the country deserves the hell it is going to get. There are three votes in 2020 that in all likelihood will not be there in 2022, in just one household. Despite my efforts to convince them to stay the course. Republicans are nothing if not politically savvy. Their "block everything" agenda is working to perfection.
We need to remember that “the enemy of our enemy is our friend”. Why do we feel the need to keep carping on our own loyalty and not spend that time pointing out the Trumpists non-loyalty to their own country?
One of the problems with comedy news is the conflict of laughing at the comedian which means laughing at the story, usually something very serious. I once saw a study that some less sophisticated viewers or channel surfers often don’t know the difference between truth and sarcasm in the comedy news.
I agree and write frequently about any journalist who makes it looks worse and blames the democrats instead of themselves. I don’t think it’s at all hopeless this election cycle.
I tried so hard to convince some friends in a very left FB group in 2016 that if they didn't vote for Hilary and "Putin's friend" got in, Roe would be in great danger. They wouldn't listen. Sigh.
Well said, Jon. Now, how to stem the tide of outright lies that keep the voters in a frenzy of fear that they're going to lose their ... everything, if the Democrats stay in control for another two years? As a nation, we've been conditioned to desire immediate gratification. If we don't get what we want right this minute, well, the other guys are promising to deliver it, so switch quickly to the other side. I'm tired of being on the extreme seesawing that has become our norm, and wish we could somehow get back to the business of making the nation work bottom-up FOR the people, rather than top-down AGAINST the people.
For my part, I do everything I can to encourage people to go vote, even if they live in places where they believe they can't make a difference. I tell them, start with local elections, and get sane people in. Go to the next level with state elections, and oust the extremists and ideologues. Only then can the federal elections reflect the actual will of the people.
We stem the tide of lies by doing what you’re doing. A tide can’t be stopped in an instant, so we should not expect instant success. The secret is to keep on keepin’ on.
I just watched Lawrence O'Donnell announce on "The Lat word" that Bennie Thompson said the first Jan 6 investigation hearings will begin on June 9 2022.
It’s like I told my wife Jon. (True) Honey I know we can get this truck through the bog. 16 hours later I showed her! She talked about it for the next 40 miles. She had no quit in her!
One of the best things that needs to happen is anti-gerrymandering laws. Gerrymandering needs to be illegal and punishable by law, since it infringes on the majority of voters from having their voice count.
Well we just learned that the NY State democratic party didn't follow our own d___ anti-gerrymandering laws passed several years ago and had its redistricting maps thrown out by NY State courts! ...hoist on our own petard!
Just noted yesterday a post that mentions that one of the 19 Ds vying for District 6 here in Oregon has called himself a Democrat Socialist. She thinks this is great; I think it is the kiss of death. We have some good candidates who are progressive and smart enough not to tag themselves in this way. This is Matt West and not the Flannel Shirt Crypto Flynn. I hope once the primary is over, we can all work on getting the Ds elected and not be deflected by this other nonsense. We plan personally to start donating to particular candidates across the country also. Right now our donations go to organizations who work to register voters. I am trying not to be pessimistic for the next election, but it is difficult given all the R efforts to suppress the vote. All the sane Rs I know here do not support death star, but the area is full of people who do.
"If we stop crying out that the sky is falling and get to work now, there is still time to remind the American majority of the threat that the nation faces from Trump and his allies at home and abroad. We need to stop bemoaning our fate and get to work, calling out the would-be authoritarians and their oligarchic allies full-time, in full voice. "
John, I agree that we need to work hard. I agree there is still time.
I am not sure all that will overcome Gerrymandering and Fox News and a good sized number of churches and their preachers and followers.
Churches have been the biggest propaganda spewers, sorry to say. Not all, but a majority in my opinion. Bought Fox across the board. Started in 2006, thanks, Karl Rove
Jeri, yes, I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. Plus, even attended some Friday night tent revivals. No joke, no lie, they were still coming through in the mid 70's.
Breaking free (that's what I call it) from that indoctrination and control methodology was difficult, painful and took a bit of time for sure.
I look back to the me before and the me after and shake my head.
I completely understand how it is that people can believe in a fantasy that is not reality because: I remember when I was that person.
Note: Some aspects of the fantasy are not bad, like, "drinking alcohol is a sin and you will go to hell". That kept me completely cold sober for many years, helping enable stellar academic performance, and by the time I realized that was all a crock, I understood that alcohol can be a life killer and STILL did not drink much even today.
This quote may ring true for you too. From George Saunders acceptance speech….”What seems other is actually not other at all, But just us on a different day.” Hard to think that I could have been some of these cult nuts though.
well Mike, we could start by following our own anti-gerrymandering laws here in NY State, about which NY State court reminded us by rejecting democratic party's redistricting maps on Tuesday.
My mailboxes are full of solicitations from Democratic legislator. Each one highlights a 'critical' comment from Republicans from both houses, which they failed to push back at the time in either the House or the Senate, or else the reporters never turn their cameras onto their responses. However, a couple, like Raskin and McMorrow have been shown. I think maybe the Dems are afraid to confront them. I can't blame the media if they don't have an opportunity to report.
There is little profit in supporting people who are going to do nothing, and I have responded to many of those solicitations with comments such as this. No responses yet, just reminders thar I have helped in the past and really need to step up the donations.
When all those GOP Legislators went to Moscow before the 2016 election, when we learned that the majority of Trump's administration was people with recent and continued ties to Russia, it was dismissed and poohpoohed as not a thing. When McConnell led the push to undo Obama's sanctions against Russia, there was no connection made to the donations he and other GOP members received from Putin.
Now we have a host of GOP legislators, conservatives and rightwing new outlets dedicated to Putin's agenda. All GOP, Republicans, Christian Nationalists, and white supremacists are doing everything possible to destroy democracy.
Now do we understand the appointment to the SC? When the J6 committee pushes for prosecution, I cannot imagine that the Supreme Court will uphold democracy.
Yes, they are a minority and should not be able to exercise their power, but that is the way of all despots. It is not as though this insurrection was planned after the election.
Senator McMorrow said that they could not bully their way to victory unless people like her allowed it. This also applies to the voters, like us.
Somehow the cameras found her at the podium, bitch-slapping one of those people the taxpayers are funding to destroy our Republic.
I remember being shocked, yes, “SHOCKED” at the Texas Rangers, en masse, going to a “seminar” in Moscow. I think it was in 2014, but can’t remember. Does anyone else remember?
I’m in the camp you speak of, Jon. It is very difficult for me to “care” about their platforms which are ignorant. My focus is on we the people, all of us.
I had a vision of a circular firing squad when I read this LFAA. Maybe that's just my wishful thinking, but it seems to me a lot of fingers are being pointed and not all of them are pointing at the "demon" (Democrats) right now.
No, I don't think "information on reality" matters at all to most Republicans at present. What matters to them is keeping their power. Period. Whatever dishonesty and criminality that entails. Their playbook is right out of the abuser's playbook--keep the person you want to control always off balance, afraid of what you'll do next, amazed that you never stop lying and hurting them, and amazed at how low you will go. It's the people who are not Republicans who need to continue to pay attention to reality, and especially the reality that abusers do not care what they do to retain power. And their abusive actions tend to escalate over time. That's what therapists know, and what needs to be general knowledge.
Mike, I tend to agree with you; I think that the heart of this Republiqan party has no interest whatsoever in the world outside their "true belief" in what is being fed to them by Faux, tfg, etc. The Daily Kos piece link that Hugh sent out says some interesting things.
Just FYI, I am in Verona NY this morning on my cross-country journey. The drive along the NY Throughway was very similar to land in western Oregon, although the farming operations appeared to be more in line with the larger ones that I've seen east of the Cascades. What is the attraction with pontoon boats (I happen to think they are the perfect lake vessel, and would love to have one, but they are not real common where I'm from.)
I think a pontoon boat is simply a better balanced party boat. Less apt to tip over as you get tipsy. I could be wrong, but that's been my observation.
In days of yore my family would get picked up on the shore by relative who had a cottage on island, on their pontoon, putt, putt, putt. The funniest thing I saw in later years was a pontoon boat racing to beat all get out, like the turtle that just found roller skates 😁
Also, Ally, Verona is not far from me but I have no real way to invite you to where I am without leaving behind my contact info for the entire world, which, I am loathe to do.
It’s utterly depressing reading Heather’s posts about the squalid, sordid infighting among the ranks of those who somehow got a seat at the big table.
I’d say “childish” as well, but what have children done to deserve such a comparison?
I am not prone to hate, but I feel it welling up with each new factual recitation I hear. These people are debasing humanity.
And on the genuinely sad side, I doubt I’ll ever hear the word “lingerie” again without a visual image of MC leaping, unbidden and unwelcome, to mind. through
Mike, you said: "Dr. Richardson has released more than enough "information" just on this website, to jail Trump and all in his merry men..."
I absolutely respect and appreciate Heather's work. However, I am going to make what some might perceive to be a heretical comment: Heather does not release her own newly discovered information about current political affairs that she has dug up and researched using various sources. Heather taps into a broad spectrum of sources, reads, analyzes, and aggregates current political affairs, often comparing what's going on today in a historical context. I'm not diminishing what Heather does, what I am saying is that many of us, unless Heather is one's sole source for news, have already read, digested and formed an opinion about the topics presented in her daily Letters. And that's as it should be.
Journalists( or politicians/fixers/former cabinet members) who write a book and sit on info is only concerning to me IF the relevant and damning information hasn't been submitted to the appropriate authorities prior to public leaks to generate buzz and sales for an upcoming book release. In my mind, our democracy is far more important than someone's personal gain. Obviously there are plenty of people out there who believe otherwise.
I agree that Republicans have built a fantasyland for their constituency. There is no way most Republicans will shift gears and change lanes without having the crimes committed by Republicans at ALL levels of government* exposed and successfully prosecuted. This, of course, includes prosecuting right wing talking heads** who have participated in any of the illegal acts. Sunlight is a powerful disinfectant.
Sadly, I share your pessimism. If people really cared we wouldn't be where we are now.
Information in the form of audio transcripts, testimony at Jan. 6 Commission hearings, telephone recordings, photographs and video together PROVE that there was a conspiracy to overturn the election. The only missing ingredient is the will to proceed with indictments. So, the remaining question is WHERE IS MERRICK GARLAND?
"I'm not diminishing what Heather does, what I am saying is that many of us, unless Heather is one's sole source for news, have already read, digested and formed an opinion about the topics presented in her daily Letters"
At least for me, Dr. Richardson's letters are often new information. I read the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal but I have limited time in the mornings for this.
My perception of her letters is different than yours though: I think the vast majority of Americans would learn something new every day reading them.
Mike, indeed, I do learn something new from her most days - not usually the news she analyzes and presents but more often context. We are very fortunate that there is someone who is willing to put in the long hours necessary to sift through and present levelheaded food for thought. Would we be better off if more folks read HCR? I think so too.
Apropos of this topic, I'd like to post a quote from Facebook that has given me no shortage of consternation. This is from a fellow I knew in high school -- a petroleum engineer (retired) who now lives in Texas. Verbatim (WARNING: potentially triggering):
"On the day Bye Den implements his Gun Surrender Order, drive to a place far from your home and leave your phone at that location and leave it turned on. That will tell the IRS Agents that you aren't at home and they will believe that they will face no resistance when they storm your home. Keep in mind, that under the Bye Den Order, a search warrant is not required because you have been pre-classified as a domestic terrorist and you no longer have the right to due process. So, when the IRS Agents show up, fire away. They are not expecting you and you are the last line of defense our Constitution will ever have. Aim carefully because local law enforcement officers will be employed to accompany the IRS Agents. Bye Den knows you won't shoot your local law enforcement officers (that you have probably known for years), so your friends are actually being used as Pawns in Bye Den's scheme to disarm everyone and rewrite the Constitution to his liking."
I don't believe this is a poor imitation of a right-wing Andy Borowitz: he and I had a short exchange, and I think he is serious. I also don't think this guy is a paid propagandist, though I can't guarantee it.
So a couple of interesting things.
At core, he is worried about exactly the same thing we are worried about here: the collapse of the US into some kind of authoritarianism. If you read past all the nonsense, it's clear he is terrified. We ALL see what is coming.
The argument is nonsense, but what I find most interesting is that it is ACTUALLY NONSENSE, meaning it has verged over into a world where pigs fly and water runs uphill. Assuming that "the government" really wanted to take away everyone's guns -- just for the sake of argument -- there is no world in which it would ever be attempted this way. The proposed reaction is even more unhinged: mistargeted (IRS???), murderously violent, and ultimately, a form of quasi-religious suicide.
This isn't politics, and it isn't about information bubbles. This is much more akin to a religious hysteria.
I’ve “liked” your post, which convinces me I made the right choice in never signing up for Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram.) Just two observations:
Did you ever notice that conservatives demonize liberals because of what they are GOING to do (take away our guns, declare martial law and implement sharia law, open the borders and allow hordes of immigrants to overrun the country, re-make the U.S. into a socialist state), whereas liberals fear conservatives because of what they have ALREADY DONE (re-make states into white Christian nationalist theocracies, justify the packing of the Supreme Court with conservative judicial activists with malleable and hypocritical arguments as to when it is acceptable to hold up or ram through confirmations, disenfranchise voters opposed to them, using the power of the state to punish corporations who disagree with them, and attempt to violently overthrow the results of a free and fair election)?
The diatribe presented by your high school classmate is truly delusional – right up there with lining one’s headgear with tin foil to keep the aliens from beaming thoughts to one’s brain. I was taught in medical school that it is futile to try to dissuade people suffering from paranoid delusions using rational arguments, because the false beliefs that possess them are irrational at their root, and being willing to debate them, in their troubled minds, validates those beliefs. (It is better to medicate them heavily and return at a later date when their thoughts are less muddled.)
If it is true, as has been discussed elsewhere in this forum, that rational debate is no longer effective in this post-truth society, is our only option to ignore Michelle Obama’s counsel, and when they go low, we go lower? Is the only way to save democracy from the crazies by becoming our enemy? A sad dilemma….
Like every human endeavor -- it seems -- the real magic in a "thing" is in the months or years before it becomes a "thing." Once it has become a "thing," the magic has already turned to "hype," and the objective is to make money, which pokes a hole in the bottom, and all the magic drains out.
Yes, I have noticed that. I've also noticed that "conservatives," on the whole, are more inclined to "Better that a thousand be hanged, than one guilty might escape."
"....do you think "information" on reality matters at all to the people in the Republican party?"
While I would perhaps have chosen the word "truth" rather than "information", I sadly think your observation is spot on. The GOP have learned their lessons well from the Russian principles of propaganda: deny, dismiss, distort, distract, dismay, divide.
They'll use what keeps them in power, and the "D"s are clearly working well in that regard. (McCarthy's obedient bending of the knee to Trump is but one of many examples.)
What scares the heck out of me is the conclusion one must draw: if information and truth no longer matter, then rational evidence-based debate is doomed to fail, and what options are left to us?
It doesn't justify capitulation, but it sure makes me pessimistic.
Mike S upstate NY - on a separate note - I watched the movie Fair Game last night. After reading your post earlier in the week, talking about the "Big Lie" the Bush administration generated about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, I was curious to learn more of the details of what went on in the CIA. It was eye-opening. Thanks for mentioning the movie in your post.
I think completely understanding how evil the Bush administration was as it jockeyed to invade IRAQ, a stable nation filled with beatiful cities, wonderful bazaars, doctors, hospitials, Schools with GIRLS GOING TO THEM, and a variety of civil services is important.
We killed around 200,000 !!! Iraqi civilians during that war and it is still going on.
The statistics are staggering - approximately 200,000 civilian deaths... As you alluded to earlier in the week, we were just as guilty during the Bush administration, as Putin is now. Incredible plot twists politicians will fabricate to support their agendas. Thanks again!
Not many people thank me for pointing out the horros of what we have permitted and supported on the good people of the Middle East. Let's say responses to me vary from "yawn" (70%) to shouting me down before I even get done with lies fed to them about terrorism.
Iraq was ZERO terrorist threat to the world in 2003. GIRLS were going to school there.
Now? Iraq is a failed state with a corrupt government waiting to become a terroist state.
Speaking of fantasy land, here's a book you might enjoy (maybe "enjoy" is not the right word): Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, by Kurt Andersen (2017).
The issue isn't how much information concerning January 6 is being released the real issue is who is listening. As Mike said below "I do not think reality is something the folks in the Republican Party are seeking Daria. I think some sort of vision of a fantasy, combined with demons (Democrats) has been placed in front of them by Fox News, (some) of their churches, some of their local leaders and, more importantly, their own mental apparatus."
I just checked FOX News. The headline is about Biden's tanking economy. There is ZERO information/reality about what we see and talk about. And then there is MTG diatribe (700 words) against Catholics today. The Catholics have sleep walked their single issue voting into a shit storm and they don't even realize it. I had a nice man and good Catholic tell me the other day in all seriousness that "Our President has dementia." I told him that if enough edited, spliced footage of me was made I could look like I was running a terrorist operation out of my office. I believe it came out with a forceful "oh for God's sake" blast of anger.
So. This is what we are dealing with.
But I do know one thing. I am going to put MTG's diatribe against Catholics right under some Catholics' noses and tell them the quote from Nazi Germany which begins "First they came for the Jews." Hitler hated Catholics also. Something has to wake people up.
As I recall, it was essentially investigative journalists that brought Nixon down, and for far, far less than we've seen in today's scenario with the past administration and the actions of certain elected congresscritters, both representative and senatorial. Of course, it was the congresscritters who went to Nixon and told him to resign; now, our congresscritters (and others) who are jumping on that bandwagon.
Ally Sorry, but you are writing about the Woodward-Bernstein myth that was fostered in All The President’s Men. I wrote a synopsis on Watergate that I submitted to the president of the Washington Post and to Dick Helms (father of a member of my Investor’s Club), who was CIA director during Watergate.
The WP president (a good friend for whom I was a reference for this job in an hour conversation with Katie Graham—head of The Washington Post Company) argued that I had underplayed the role of Woodward/Bernstein. Inn contrast, Director Helms ‘indicated’ (spooks are cagey) that I was spot on.
The fact is that, despite Woodward/Bernstein exposes, Nixon won a smashing re-election victory and the White House thought that Watergate was behind them
A massive turning point was courageous Judge Sirica. When the Watergate Five (those directly involved) pleaded guilty (financed by White House bribes), Sirica said that there was something smelly and threatened to throw the book at them. McCord, a former CIA operative who was head of security at CREP (Committee to re-elect the president) was in his 50s. He thought that he had been serving his country working for ex-Attorney General John Mitchell. He didn’t want to spend years in jail. He wrote Judge Sirica a letter detailing the involvement of the White House, especially the Plumbers Unit of Liddy and Hunt.
This triggered the Erwin Senate Watergate hearings in Spring, 1973. Though the revelations were considerable, the question was ‘What did President know and when did he know it.’
Former White House Counsel John Dean spelling out the conspiracy in an astonishing 7-hour presentation. However, it was still Dean’sword vs. Nixon’s, until Colonel Butterfield revealed that Nixon had been taping himself.
The fight to get the full Nixon tapes took over a year, including the Saturday Night Massacre, when Attorney General Elliot Richardson put country over President Nixon’s subversive order to fire special counsel Archibold Cox.
Only in the second half of 1974, as the House had voted impeachment proceedings, was Nixon’s goose cooked. The Supreme Court unanimously voted that Nixon was obliged to turn over the unadulterated White House Watergate tapes.
By then Nixon’s public support had plummeted and, finally, a Republican Senate delegation went to Nixon and said that the Senate would vote to impeach him. On August 9th Nixon resigned.
I don’t believe that a smattering of reporters’ revelations will have a major impact on the 74 million folks who voted for Trump in 2020. The more promising route would be a House 1/6 committee public hearing together with a series of indictments of the BIG LIE perpetrators initiated by Garland and DOJ prosecutors.
The challenge is to demolish the ‘false facts’ that have mesmerized so many Americans.
Mike My admiration of Elliot Richardson was sparked in 1969 when, as Acting Secretary of State, he spent an hour of intense conversation conducting my exit interview from the Foreign Service. This unprecedented intervener in the exit of a mid-level Foreign Service Officer (an effective pain in the ass) was my hero when, four years later, he placed country and Constitution over Tricky Dick’s imperial order.
Would like to hear more of your analysis and stories.
I think we are going to need to rely on the Jan 6th Committee hearings this summer combined with the wake up call that is Ukraine. AG Garland is unlikely to act until after the mid terms.
(i wonder if you new my father, FSO Dale Fisher who we lost in Ethiopia in ‘61, or my godfather, Ambassador Philip Bonsal?)
David I don’t recall your dad. Wasn’t that about the time that the exalted emperor had to get his ass out the window with American assistance? I knew your godfather by reputation—I was in Chile 1966-1969 after 1960-1966 in/on Congo. As I read into Latin America, your godfather’s distinction was writ large.
I read his father’s Unfinished Business at an early age was was greatly impressed.
Mike Come visit me at our summer home in Orient. My house beer is Lagunitas Maximus. I normally have only one at dinner, but exceptional circumstances are cause for rule breaking.
This is quite compelling, Keith! Question. During Watergate, did the journalists publish whatever news they had on a particular day as opposed to the "dribs and drabs" as Daria has described is happening now with J6? Thanks for your reply.
Lynell Woodward and Bernstein aggressively published whatever they uncovered, under the watchful eye of managing editor Ben Bradlee. On several occasions they misfired and prompted a scathing White House rebuke.
I am unaware of any reporter who, at that time, held back info for a forthcoming book. A exception was Theodore White, THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT, whose book, published 1961, revolutionized presidential election books. I suspect that he was under strictures that permitted him to get inside the presidential campaigns with his promise to publish nothing until after the election.
In recent years Woodward has written a number of topical political books on presidents that include explosive, often anonymous, quotes that had not previously appeared in the Washington Post.
Lynell I wish that, at 88, my body was functioning as well as my mind. That I was on Nixon’s White House Enemies list made all of Watergate unforgettable. Ditto with Joseph McCarthy. I co-organized a student trip to Russia after Stalin’s death. President Griswold of Yale courageously supported it, while Harvard President Conant was frightened by McCarthy. After the uprising in East Germany in June, 1953, the Soviets nixed our trip, which is why I spent the next seven years in the Middle East, where I made a documentary, Egypt Today, and published NASSER’S NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (1960) before joining the Foreign Service and enjoying the ‘tranquility’ of Congo—1960-1966.
Now the congresscritters mostly just shrug their shoulders and say, “So what?” The previous congresscritters did have some respect for the law; the current ones have none.
Unfortunately, today, unlike in the Nixon era, there are "news" stations and social media outlets who are not calling out illegal behavior, in fact just the opposite (see Mike S's post).
Political views aside, there isn't anyone in the current Congress with the stature that Sens. Goldwater and Scott and Rep. Rhodes had when they went to the White House and told Nixon, in the greater interest of the nation and the Party, he had to resign because he was going to be impeached. It's possible that if/when the Jan. 6 committee starts televised hearings people's interest will be renewed because it was the daily presentation of Nixon's behavior that led most people to support impeachment and conviction. It's also, unfortunately, possible that the whole mess has dragged on so long that even TV won't rekindle and overwhelming concern.
The news had ‘watergate’ every day. I agree with Daria the dribs and drabs aren’t helpful to motivate the majority who apparently don’t want the Republican agenda to become America. This majority needs to find their voice. The media can help that happen. January 6 bad actors should be exploding in the news as watergate once did. Yet, it’s strangely pushed to dribs and drabs.
Morning everyone. Thought some might be interested in a bit of armchair investigative journalism to share regarding the math textbook ruse in DeSantisworld (apparently in his pea brain, a more significant corporate entity than Disneyworld.
Noting early on the “small print” fact of guv Youngkin of Va participation in the single math book approved for FL schools told me exactly what I needed to know as an educator and parent regarding the charged public school landscape in Florida. Apparently, some others noticed also and they added another book citing no approval criteria. Heat is on.
For those without time to read the article, the salient point is that Glen Youngkin was co-CEO of the investment firm Carlyle Group that acquired Accelerate Learning (relatively unknown in school publishing world amongst the biggies) in December of 2018. Accelerate Learning math series only one chosen by Desantisworld this past month. Information sketchy as to company’s ability to supply meeting demand for books.
Unless their was a plan in place……..
DeSantis and Youngkin…two more wannabe oligarchs supported by real oligarchs mucking up the works with governance based on political theater.
Thanks, Christine. I read about Accelerate Learning/Youngkin the other day. Can't remember whether I posted it, but glad you did. Interesting that he couldn't get it to Virginia due to strong pushback from Dem majority in State Senate.
Then there's this latest from my county:
"And, thus, it came to pass that on the 102nd Day of Mad King Glenn’s reign, the Senate defeated his attempt to nullify the will of Loudoun County voters by a tally of 22-18, with one republican joining the Senate's 21 Democrats.
"We celebrate a great victory for our community and for democratic values, protecting our right to vote into office who we see fit to serve – specifically, the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) – and have them complete their terms without interruption by the whims of a madly ambitious Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who seeks to rule by stunts and royal decrees in order to thrill the Republican rabble.
"It was, after all, insane to think that Democrats, with a majority in the Senate, would permit him to single out the LCSB, cutting short their terms of office by one year. You might reasonably think, well, there must have been some rationale, some underlying issue, that led the governor to this action. But, actually, NO, there wasn’t. He was merely joining in a race to the bottom with fellow culture warriors and presidential aspirants DeSantis and Abbott, attacking public education, equity and diversity.
"If you’re just joining us, the background is this: A bipartisan bill, HB1138, intended to restructure LCSB elections, staggering members’ terms, passed both houses unanimously. Youngkin, rather than merely signing the measure, amended it to require all members of the LCSB, elected to serve until 2023, face election this fall.
"And then, today, as they have throughout this year, Senate Democrats stood their ground defeating regressive GOP policy initiatives. The original bill now goes back to Youngkin for his signature or veto.
"We are grateful for the outpouring of support from both partisans and non-partisans, editorial writers and, of course, the general public writing to their senators to defeat Youngkin’s amendment.
"But we must remain vigilant and united. This was nothing more than a political feint; we expect more stunts as Youngkin contemplates the presidency in 2024.
"Today is day 102… There are 1,358 remaining in his term."
Morning Stephen. McCarthy is deliberately walking into the “trap”. It’s merely a ruse of the week. And meticulously calculated to get feathers in a ruffle. Keep people glued to the soap opera and not what really is happening literally hour by hour in some of the worst world crisis since WWII.
What information we have is because dedicated, diligent, and courageous investigative reporters are in the trenches, every single day for years, gathering and sharing information we would never so easily have without their formidable efforts.
That the takeaway for so many here is to complain they are not doing enough - or might personally benefit from their work - truly shocks me.
I think you are right, Lin. The investigative reporter provides something different than an investigator preparing a case for civil or criminal prosecution. The dribs and drab might sound an alarm, but more than likely get lost at the tip line. The Woordwards of the journalistic world shed light and create a plausible narrative to explain; a standard much lower than that required for conviction by a jury. I might wish they blew the lid off the cesspool, but what then? We get enough of that breaking news and sensationalism from Fox and if they became the standard we'd get plenty of swift convictions (think of the pilloring of the innocent in public opinion and lynchings predicated upon reported facts) but not justice. Just saying.
I tend to agree with Lynell (below) about the dribs and drabs. I recognize that these are useful for promoting a book, but today's viewers seem to be more inclined to stay tuned if the information of the day is short and dramatic. For more lengthy background, Rachel Maddow spends quite a bit of her opening laying out detailed information supporting whatever topic she focuses on for the night. Same with Ari Melber - he opens with a rather long and detailed monologue, somewhat legalese, but not what one might called "sensational" in style.
There may be a desire here not to throw too much out at once for public consumption. At this advanced stage of my life, I tend to be overwhelmed when presented with a tsunami of info. And yes, we're talking about news not a court of law.
lin, with all due respect, I am not devaluing the work of investigative reporters OR the risk they take doing their work. I understand those things far better than you can ever know. But, to be clear, to think that the release of information just prior to a book's publication isn't driven to boost sales and profits is naive. Publishers and authors both want the biggest bang for their buck and this is how they get it, releasing juicy tidbits, or red meat, if you prefer, in dribs and drabs.
You're shocked by my opinion? What should shock you is even the remotest possibility that information gathered might not have been turned over to the appropriate authorities.
"What should shock you is even the remotest possibility that information gathered might not have been turned over to the appropriate authorities."
And exactly what evidence can you present to support your hypothesis - that there is even the remotest chance these reporters have withheld information from the appropriate authorities? Who are the appropriate authorities you are referring to?
Do you believe that DOJ and the Jan 6 Committee et al have not scoured the same public record and private sources that the reporters have delved into? Do you think making information public prematurely carries no risks to the cases being built?
lin, It is OK to propose a reasonable hypothesis that book publishers and book authors withhold information to spring for the book release.
btw: Hypothesis don't have to stand the "fact" test. They just have to be reasonable, which, honestly, daria's and yours are both imminently reasonable.
What evidence do you have to support your notion that these (or other) reporters have turned over evidence to the DOJ and the January 6 Committee? Why is it wrong for me to question the timing and motive of leaks prior to yet another exposé being released? Assuming that all the "right" things have been done and that all rocks have been looked under is part of the problem. We the people too often trust that the right things are being done when they may not be. We spend hours bashing the Right who, with glazed eyed, drooling obedience pay fealty to a man and a party because their mantra is: Trust me because I/Fox said so". Are you saying we on the Left should do the same? No thank you, lin.
If a case is being built information that can damage that case should not be released unless there is other information to support the premise of the case.
There is a third possibility. The release of information is actually strategic — letting those who have not yet testified that their accusers know more than the stalled testifies wanted them to know? I’m just guessing and hope that what I’ve written makes sense — but . . .
Drips and drabs can also be part of the overall strategy. The closer we get to the midterms in November, the more the info will come together and become (hopefully) a dominant narrative. Having hearings live in late August/early Sept gives the energy to move toward Election Day and hopefully NOT allow the gop to capture the congress.
I prefer getting info out there. Media have failed us in holding it for getting a book published or a more timely for them exposure. We are at a very critical time for our constitutional republic. It the Jan 6 committee releasing information or is it reacting to what the media are doing?
Yes, Daria. Agree. Success of the book being published is what is taking precedence in “investigative journalism”. It no longer is focused on what is being investigated to bring nefarious practices to an end. The focus is on the success of the book and the scheme to get people hooked on the dark intent and look at it as a soap opera fantasy.
I’ll make a simple statement about all that the authors have juiced up in their “let’s play telephone he said she said scandal”. Republicans, even those that follow McCarthy with loyalty, see the following as gospel. They want Jim Jordan as Speaker of a Republican majority in the house and that’s that. That’s the current soup du jour and this new “blockbuster” will be used by the Repubs to further that end.
I do marvel and detest at the same time their ability to take any news and concoct it as palatable bites for their political palate. And their number one in the kitchen sous chef? Tuckems. Do not count him out in a political career. He is salivating at the prospect.
Continue to be fierce, Daria. Love that about you. Crunch time coming with summer season close.
Seriously. Think a moment. What are you doing to turn the tide of authoritarianism and kleptocracy? Do you think HCR does this for the dollars? These investigative reporters don't either.
It's important to realize that the release of said information has already happened, to little effect. It's what Democrats do with that information that matters. Where is Merrick Garland?
I agree, but we are so good at forgetting that I think there is some merit to having it come out in dribs and drabs, letting the whole thing build up until the election. The last minute release of more email news from FBI director James Comey cut into Hillary Clinton’s vote. We forget. Covid helped warp our sense of time. Some of us even forgot what we saw with our own eyes on Jan. 6. It is a faded memory of something once pretty shocking and important. But not as faded for people who need to believe the idea Jan. 6 was a tourist visit or patriots trying to save America.
Daria...I totally agree...since the onset I've felt the information, such as what's in todays "letters from an American" that HCR puts in her daily commentaries should be broadcast far and wide. The old adage "A strong Offense is the best Defense" is applicable. Make no mistake...the enemies of our American democracy won't be swayed...But, perhaps the rest of America, especially the silent many, or the truly unaware will finally take heed. Does anyone really believe that the onslaught against our Democracy will be defeated in one or two election cycles? Face the fact that if the Repugnant Republicans gain the majority in the next few months we will be lost. Look what they have done to date, and continue to do, to steal the upcoming elections. If and when they do steal it...look carefully at what they are proposing, eg, Social Security, Obama Care cuts or elimination as well as, broad reach tax increases on lower income folks.
Thank you, Professor, for providing a lens for us to clearly see the repubs doing their job, which appears to be fighting among themselves, lying and not working for the voters who sent them to Washington. In the meantime, millions of people are suffering from Russia’s war in Ukraine, gas prices and sources are a concern, we’re worried about Putin’s next move, we have diplomats and professionals including our president, Joe Biden, working with NATO trying to prevent a World War. At home the Democrats are governing. But our Democracy depends on our representatives working for the people, a two party system that requires the cooperation and attention of both parties. While one party attempts to govern, the other is focusing on reelection in 2024 and the last election. It seems there’s an addiction to repub political drama and corruption that is clearly interfering with necessary progress in our government. We should be worried. I am.
Not working for their constituents, absolutely. But it’s powerful propaganda that makes those constituents overlook it. I wonder how Texas, etc., got away with not accepting federal money for enabling more Texans to get medical insurance.
The last three LFAA have been a virtual informational firehose of information. I think that the next 6 months will be critical in the outcome of our country and whether we get to keep our democracy, have another civil war, or self-destruct.
I agree, Ally. And if Jamie Raskin is right....that the open hearings of the Jan 6 committee will "Blow the roof off", then let's get out the popcorn and watch/listen. It's gonna be an interesting summer.
I haven't had popcorn since my last trip to the cinema, before the Pandemic. But yesterday, I included Orville's "movie theater" popcorn in my curbside order, in preparation! Seriously!
He is going up against 3 term seditionist Republican Jack Bergman, who was bought and paid for by OIL to keep Enbridge Line 5 open, and who bought a cabin in the U.P. so he could claim residence when he actually lives in Louisianna. "Vote like a Michigander" might become our clarion call.
Honestly, MaryPat. I don't know how anyone can vote for a nonresident! And "ick" on Enbridge.
Fetterman, A Democrat who is running for Senate in PA, watched the Republican debates several days ago, he said so we didn't have to! He says in his email: "Honestly, one of the biggest moments happened about 2 minutes in… when the moderators’ very first question to frontrunners David McCormick and Dr. Oz was why voters should support them when they haven’t even lived in Pennsylvania. That’s right — the PA Republican primary is a race between a millionaire from New Jersey + a millionaire from Connecticut. (Or as another candidate on their stage put it, “the two tourists”.)
This is exactly what Goldwater predicted would happen when he warned the GOP to not court the evangelicals. What he didn't foresee, of course, was Fox News. The cult members will never change their minds; they are the very definition of sunk cost fallacy. And the business wing of the GOP will continue to kowtow to them. Meanwhile, nationwide, local elections have installed cultists in school boards, mayor's offices, and city councils. The cancer runs deep now.
I've spent the last several years translating a book that kept me squashed up against the basics of Christ's religion... and frankly, what is commonly referred to in America as "the Christian religion" is all too often a travesty, perpetrated by both so-called "evangelicals"... who seem totally unfamiliar with the gospel... and by Catholic conservatives with a very political social agenda...
It's quite remarkable how human beings can so misrepresent a message as to proclaim the opposite of what it clearly states.
It's not "The truth shall set you free" but rather, "You shall tie the truth in knots and use that knotted cord to beat and bind your brothers and sisters..."
An evangelical pastor I admire for his heart and actions noted in passing that he (and close congregants) are now referring to themselves as Jesus followers to separate themselves from the politicized Christians who now dominate churches.
The politicized “Christians” seem to have missed the political stance of Jesus. Anti-misogyny. Anti-greed. Anti-xenophobia. Anti-self-righteousness. Pro-Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Is the present abuse of Christian labels for political ends not the consequence of many failed far-right politicians discovering, a few decades ago, that the role of minister of religion provided them with perfect tax-free cover for controlling (and exploiting) an obedient captive audience?
The ploy was so successful that, from marginal, it became mainstream and severely infected the religion that made the Elmer Gantry figures respectable. (Sorry, I shouldn't speak so ill of Elmer Gantry...).
Also there is the authoritarian nature of religion, the belief that their beliefs and rules should apply (be enforced) among everyone. So when your way of life, once dominant and now threatened, the actions go toward casting out apostasy and commanding faith and prayer over bringing light to truth. A closed system must resist cracks at all costs, even that involving perversions of core values and fundamental teachings of the once leader or God-representative.
Do understand. Being with faith and skeptical keeps one honest and able to grow faith into truth and belief neither a fixed state of mind nor a weapon with which to defend and persecute. I started questioning at age 9 and asked to leave, an age when I probably couldn't understand the answers offered. 🙃
Oh dear, Christine, maybe I should be more careful about how I express myself, but am particularly horrified by the use of religion for nefarious purposes -- just consider the record over the past twenty years or so, from Al-Qaida to Daesh/ISIS all the way down to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch's blessing on the "special operation" undertaken by the Kremlin on February 24th. [Not to forget President George W. Bush's dreadful gaffe in using the term "crusades" in connection with the war against Islamic terrorists -- cfr. https://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0919/p12s2-woeu.html]
I'm not quite clear about current availability on Amazon.com, but this website gives full details of the book, Roberto PLA: Man, Temple of the Living God, a hidden exegesis of Christ´s religion based on the Gospel of Thomas. https://evangeliodetomas-interpretacion.com/en/the-gospel/
It is not easy reading and was correspondingly difficult to translate. You'll see that I entitled my own foreword Getting Lost in Translation. Nevertheless, I'm sure of the central message, rarely touched on by Churches despite being theologically orthodox: the indwelling Deity.
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it here, but it is true that it had me reading both the Gospel of Thomas -- brief, but often hard to interpret -- and the detail of the canonical gospels... for years. I learned much but have far more to learn. And it will take the rest of my life to digest all this...
The writer, Roberto Pla, was a musician and musicologist, as well as being plainly something of a polymath. He studied Sanskrit and translated works by the major Indian philosopher Sankara as well as translating and/or editing other major works of wisdom literature. Here is his bibliography: https://www.robertopla.com/libros?lang=en
While I suspect you too may well be a polymath, you’re clearly polylingual. Since my youth, I’ve gravitated to languages (thus far, mastery only of German and get-by French, unless you count a handful of Latin years). I’ve had micro-tastes of translation work — yet an entire, masterful book, I’m smitten!
Of course you mention it, Peter. Scholars and historians have different purpose than journalists. Imposed filters stifle journalists at times in releasing information until it reflects a particular slant.
Scholars and historians sift and sort and study and process searching for truth to share. And then search for more to learn.
Christine, When you say 'slant' with reference to a journalist, that seems to imply something other that getting story to as close to the truth as possible and achieving accuracy being the most important aspect of the work. Organizing material, cutting down to size, deciding what needs more emphasis and what less, how to shape it to be readable and interesting... are all part of the job. There's no question that Trump and his band of traitors have made the truth the enemy with journalists and reporters who seek the facts 'the enemy of the people'. There are other culprits, including a few 'journalists' who have undermined the public's trust, but journalism is alive at this very moment and crucial to democracy. I am an advocate of it. Below are links, which will provide a better sense of what I am getting at: 'The elements of journalism - American Press Institute; SPJ Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalists; Who We Are - Ethical Journalism Network
One of my favorite books is Elaine Pagel's "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas." What an amazing endeavor that translating must have been Peter!
Good Morning, All! I’m wondering if anyone else had difficulty finding Heather’s letter today (Wednesday April 27)? Considering the very low amount of likes and comments, I’m thinking there’s definitely an issue on Substack.
I didn’t find the letter in my inbox (or spam) either in my email or in my Substack app. I had the go to my library and then find it under “latest”.
This letter is too important not to be found easily.
If I’m mistaken, I’m sorry for the alarm. But to have less than 50 likes by this time indicates a wider problem.
I have LFAA bookmarked for an easy find, though I did spend a bit of time looking in my spam and trash folders to make sure it actually hadn't come yet before using said bookmark. Reading LFAA is how I start my day. Nothing happens before (well, coffee in cup first), not even Wordle! LOL
Kari: "I’m wondering if anyone else had difficulty finding Heather’s letter today (Wednesday April 27)? ... I didn’t find the letter in my inbox (or spam) either in my email or in my Substack app."
I didn't receive the Wednesday email notification until 6:40am (MT) today (Thursday)... 20 minutes ago.
In her video chats, HCR has mentioned the frustration of rural internet service. If that was not the reason for a late post on Substack, I figure she fell asleep after posting on Facebook.
I seriously am in awe at how prolific Professor Richardson is and her reach to readers and viewers. I missed your FB reference. Her podcasts the past couple weeks have been amaze.
I got it late -- 5:35 am PDT, but there have been days recently when I had to go to Substack to find it, which makes me wonder if Substack is growing faster than its systems are designed to accommodate.
Twitter is not the digitized public square: "The actual digital public square is the open Internet."
"The simple truth is that content moderation is much, much less about “free speech” or unpopular opinions than some random guy DMing pictures of his penis every day for a year to a woman he’s harassing, or hoaxes about people dying, or copyright infringement. Of course, as Musk knows as well as anyone, Twitter is also a great tool for market manipulation and securities fraud. In other words, it’s less about “speech” than the digital amplification of the predatory dimensions of people’s personality disorders."
Unfortunately true with our biggest platforms. Once in a while content moderation has actually been about keeping conversations civil and safe. Apple’s E-World and its daughter Talk City were like that. (Full disclosure: my brother ran both). Notice the past tense. The predators seem to have generated a lot more money.
Twitter gets more credit that it deserves. Like Josh said "..the open internet is the digital public square." IOW Twitter is off in one of the corners of the internet.
It's really a place for journalists to hang out to pickup on the latest musings of the biggest newsmakers. Those of us who are hangers-on spend our time either posting what we think is important, supporting those tweets with similar points of view or flaming on the opposition.
My Twitter days are about through regardless of what Musk does or doesn't do. I've been off FB over 2 years and don't miss it one iota. Twitter will be much the same after a while but I know anything of value said on Twitter will surface in the blogs, substacks, media I read or watch daily.
Substacks are my main source these days. I scan online newspapers out of habit. Twitter and FB are partly for news, mainly to reinforce stuff I want amplified.
I start the day with LFAA to get up to speed then peruse headlines on The Independent, The Guardian, NYT and WaPo. I'm down to 2 substacks (from 5) with The,Ink being the second one. Anand Giridharadas is good company with HCR as both are clear, calm, collected and cogent to a fault. ;-)
My blogs/sites/media are Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, The New Republic, Mother Jones, Intercept, Media Matters, The Nation and a few others.
My big problem with social media sites like Twitter and FB is rarely does anything good come from them, they are great vehicles for spreading bad information. That's not to say you won't see some good stuff in either one but you have to seek it out because the AI in both are geared to keep you scrolling, FB more than Twitter.
The truth is you could just read the Sunday paper and probably be as current as you need to be. Living in the news cycle has taught me to move somewhere else. ;-)
It's too much to do AND spend a lot of time on Twitter. Another way to stay current in a smart (and lazy) way would be to just check out all of HCR's daily Notes. I'm not ashamed to admit I also do that a lot .
I think I am becoming numb by what news is breaking regarding January 6th. At this point, nothing surprises me. I know I'm not in the minority. How sad is that?
I do find it interesting, disturbing, disgusting that 18 Republicans strong armed Twitter to sell to Elon Musk. If, that sale goes to the finish line it will prove that extortion is what will potentially bring Trump back to the social media limelight.
I read on Reuters last night that the transaction may not actually happen.
I read yesterday that Musk lost about 21B after Tesla stock lost value when stock holders began selling off expecting the stock to go down. That 21B was Musk's insurance to buy Twitter. Seems he may have trouble now getting funding. Hahahaha on Musk-man
That and the fact that he did something quite similar when he "said" he was going to buy Warren Buffett's See's Confectionery Co. . Reuters is expressing doubt this offer will actually go to the end.
I also heard something about the SEC telling him that he cannot use his twitter account for any Tesla business. I didn't follow that report closely enough to elaborate, but apparently it set him back a bit! LOL!
Good info, Linda, as usual updated for me. Funny that Elon’s Twitter bid is just that, twittering. He’s very good at that, Asperger’s being what it is. It’s interesting talking to a few young men I know that have worked for Space X as very talented engineers. The climate was not conducive to a long career there.
The cadre of Jim Jordan and his ilk is nothing short of ignorant. A legislator acting like a broker is ridiculous. I loathe him. I have roots and family and property in Ohio. I don’t even believe people when they praise him. His ignorance and obsequious fealty is muck and manure.
I'm really hoping that the midterms don't go as predicted. Word is that will put Jim Jordan front and center. I can't imagine having to listen to him screaming every damn day. He seems to be cut from the same cloth as Rand Paul or is it Paul Rand? You know, it's the eye doctor that had his license pulled but feels he is significant enough to go toe to toe with Dr Fauci. I have felt that people that praise Jordan are lying. Yet he is elected.
I was on Twitter last night and saw a bizarre Tweet from what appeared to be from the actual account of Elon Musk. The tweet said, paraphrasing, "Now I'm going to buy Coca-Cola and put cocaine back in it". I laughed it off, but I'm not sure. Those type grandeur statements are inclined with someone with Aspergers. I worked with a fully functioning guy with Aspergers. Brilliant guy, but some of his statements were out there. I haven't heard to the contrary so far.
When SecState Blinken and SecDef Austin met Zelensky in Kyiv, they publicly said something that I haven’t heard since FDR/Churchill’s demand for ‘unconditional surrender’ in 1943.
Blinken/Austin spoke of a commitment to winning and a strategy to severely lessen Putin. WOW!
In Korea, except for Dugout Doug McArthur’s proposal to ‘nuke China,’ there was no winning strategy. When SecDef Clark Clifford asked his generals in early 1968 what was their winning strategy in Vietnam, they had none. Ditto in Iraq and Afghanistan.
President Biden and his key team members remind me of President Truman on the Cold War—unceasingly firm in confronting Stalin (Putin). My sense is that there is no face-saving-deal in the offing for Putin.
Biden is Trumanesque in seeking to confront Killer Putin. This means a total commitment to expelling Russian troops from Ukraine and returning Russian satellite provinces to the government of Ukraine.
President Biden has a tough task to keep this 40-country coalition committed to preserving Ukrainian sovereign independence and to counter Putin’s threats and shenanigans.
Perhaps Biden’s greatest challenge is to sustain this commitment within the United States, where many Americans seem more concerned with the price of gas and short-term inflation than the Western fight against brutal autocracy.
On this, I do not expect bipartisanship, as Republican sleaze balls wage their anti-Biden election campaign.
I parked at my favorite beach yesterday before heading to the Town Hall Meeting in Traverse City with our superb Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress for Northern Michigan and the U.P., Dr. Bob Lorinser.
We must oust Big Oil annointed Rep. Jack Bergman (who is NOT from Michigan and actually lives in Louisianna). His (and Oli's) only goal is to preserve the aging Enbridge crude oil Line 5 which lies, rotting and rusting, under Lake Michigan. As I got out of my car, I was so heartened when I saw 8 electric charging stations in the small parking lot!! Take THAT big oil!
The Death of Bishop Evans: Per The Guardian's Ramon Antonio Vargas reporting on 4/24 & 4/25 covering Governor Abbott's grandstanding deployment of the Texas National Guard to the Rio Grande, "field artilleryman", Bishop E. Evans shed his radio & "body armor" and dove into the river attempting to save 2 persons crossing the river that Bishop thought were in trouble. Bishop the soldier, the human being's body was recovered earlier this week after a lengthy search. Bishop was 22 years old, Artillery Regiment, New Braunfels.
So sad, the current in the RioGrande can be extremely strong … this young, intrepid guardsman has more integrity and courage than Abbott could ever imagine. Abbott sends ill-equipped, under paid citizens to the border to prop up his conservative bona fides, and 22-year olds wind up dying, jumping in the river - trying to save the lives of vulnerable, frightened migrants. Texas needs a BETO Governor, hopefully it will happen in November!
Often in these letters and in your Facebook chats you have provided evidence that Joe Biden is doing a good job (e.g., jobs are up, American’s international standing on the rise). Yet, Fox News Channel and main stream media generally seem not to report much on these issues and seem to focus on casting his presidency as weak, directionless, and ineffective. And the Democratic Party offers little in his defense.
Last night I finished reading Mark Bowden’s The Three Battles of Wanat and Other True Stories, a collection of some of his Vanity Fair and Atlantic articles. One of them, Abraham Lincoln Is an Idiot, was perhaps the most interesting. In it Bowden wrote about the contemporary reporting on Lincoln. Among the general criticisms are that he “is universally considered a failure, has no will, no courage, no executive capacity” (from Ohio Republican William M. Dickson in 1862); he is “weak as water” (from Maine Republican William P. Fessenden; the Jersey City American Standard criticized his first Inaugural Address as “ involved, coarse, colloquial, devoid of ease and grace, and bristling with obscurities and outrages against the simple rules of syntax”. A local Gettysburg newspaper critiqued his famous address by saying “we pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them, and they shall be no more repeated or thought of.” His second Inaugural Address was called “one of the most awkwardly expressed documents I have ever read.” And the Chicago Times wrote “We did not conceive it possible that even Mr. Lincoln could produce a paper so slip-shod, so loose-jointed, so puerile, not alone in literary construction, but in ideas, sentiment, and grasp.” With friends and party members like these, who needed enemies?
It seems to me that Joe Biden is doing A very good job in the face of a 50-50 Senate a slim majority in the House, traitorous behavior on the part of the GOP, and damned little vocal support from his party or balanced coverage inform the media. He is getting the Lincoln treatment. I fear that he will not get the support he needs to help us recover from the previous administration and only when history looks back on his presidency from a distance of several decades will see his competency and leadership be more widely appreciated.
Fran It took decades for historians/political scientists, in C-Span presidential rankings, to acknowledge that Truman was among America’s best presidents. Hopefully recognition of President Biden’s accomplishments will come far more swiftly.
WE need to assure that Biden gets the support he needs! In Michigan, our mission is to oust oil-owned seditionist 3 term Republican U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman with the superb Democratic candidate, Dr. Bob Lorinser. Appreciate any donations to the cause!
I struggle to think what would be worse: tfg as president again or Tuckums. I can’t stand the voices of either (talk about whining) and one worships Putin and the other worships Orban. And McCarthy showed a spark of conscience right after the insurrection and then the spark was extinguished. McCarthy is. ⚽️🏀🎾-less piece of masculinity.
Recently came across this utterly prescient quote from our 18th President, Ulysses S Grant:
"If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other."
Thank you Prof Richardson for another day with another spot-on read. I hope to engage with at least one crazy person today, not because I expect to change their mind but because I hope to drop the smallest seed of doubt in their otherwise fetid swamp of ambition and ignorance.
That is an impressive piece of writing. It does seem to all boil down to white nationalism. Every time. I love her comment: "Our technology has evolved around us, but we ourselves, as creatures of meat, are still wired with the same brains that see the outlines of human faces in tree bark and get frightened from it."
More than white nationalism. It is also the big elephant in the room - evangelical Christianity. Never in my life could I have predicted that evangelical Christianity would take a stand against rationality and decency to the degree it has. Who can forget Paula White quivering and quaking along with (totally non-believing) Trump and his evangelical advisory board in the oval office. Quite literally making a deal with the devil.
Wow! Most people I know spend a lot of time with trees and have most often been inspired and comforted by them, even by the lovely designs of their bark. Am I missing something, or did we evolve beyond our ancient fear without realising it?
I believe the reference is to those who see “the face of God” everywhere and take it as a Devine sign. I’d have use a tortilla chip as my example myself…
There was a woman someplace who saw the face in a Dorito. Were I a follower of Christ, my inclination would be to see its representation in nature. Not on a snack. Although I do like my snacks.... so who knows??
Seeing the face of Gd everywhere is supposed to create respect for creation, for all living and non living beings. Are you saying some people take it to mean a subset of people are entitled to trash every one else?
I have tried four times now to respond to this: final try.
On my continuing trip across country, we were driving east through Utah. We created a hill, and came into a vale, where grass was just greening up, there were general hills, and sunlight illuminating it all. I commented to my friend “if I were in a religion that was seeking a promised land, and came upon this, I might think that this was divinely inspired and my new home.” I see the beauty of nature, but do not impose divinity upon it; I do not follow that path.
I think it is bonkers to se the face of God in a cheese sandwich, a dorito chip, or on a rumpled bedsheet (all examples I have seen.)
I’m curious in your choice of words “a subset of people entitled to trash everyone else”. I am not trying to foist my beliefs on anyone, unlike Christianity has done for its entire existence.
Ally, I don't at all think that you are trying to foist your beliefs on anyone. I apologize for any way in which my writing implied anything like that.
Looking back on the posts, I think I was combining ideas from different parts of the conversation.
First: For anyone who actually believes (as I do) that Gd is one and/or that the world is fundamentally all connected, the logical result is that that oneness is literally everywhere.
Second: Too many people(not you) twist that religious perspective from where it belongs - an injunction to be kind to all - into a sick justification for harming anyone who does not see the world exactly as they do, or does not belong to their self-defined superior group. It's a very big leap from "all people are created in the image of Gd" to "stomp on everyone who doesn't look or think like us."
Periodically, I find myself asserting that the first idea does not in any way imply the second. It looks like I jumped into that when no one had actually said it.
As for snacks, I have a lot more trouble seeing Gd in human bad behavior than in odd physical things. Maybe good coffee before corn chips. Natural beauty and the faces of people I love are a lot easier. You thinking the whole idea is bonkers does me no harm whatsoever. I agree with you that great harm has been done in the name of Christianity, and little if any on behalf of skepticism.
Am reading White Too Long about racism in white churches by a Baptist minister who is currently head of the PRRI polling company. It’s very good. And eye-opening.
Chilling but not surprising. It is not hard to connect the dots so to speak, at least not hard for me. I grew up, for the most part, in southern states. I have seen abject racism and watched it evolve as the country tries to tamp it down over the decades (or lately try to reverse it) I have also seen hyper-Christianity, more prevalent in the south than anywhere else (where else do you have mega-churches all over the place). I know racists whether in the closet or out of the closet. I know anti-intellectuals (can still remember being denigrated in junior high by some kids just for making good grades) . I know evangelical Christians whose faith is in the word of god as they interpret it, and any other facts they see as contrary be damned as the devil's work. I know gullible willfully ignorant people. Mix that up and you get a toxic brew. What is new, I think, is the political power they have attained. And what is perhaps most alarming to me - that the percentage of people in my country who have fallen prey to this is much larger than I had thought (not just in the south, but in rural areas across the entire country). If somehow that percentage were decreased 10 or 15 points, then voting rights wouldn't be an issue. Gerrymandering wouldn't be an issue. It wouldn't be enough to turn the tide. So how do we decrease that percentage....
What an interesting article!! I am not well schooled in all of the teachings in the bible, but have believed that tfg is the anti-Christ almost from the time he rode down the elevator to announce his candidacy. He is so transparently evil that I’m truly and thoroughly gobsmacked that there are people, literally millions of them, who don’t/can’t see it. Even if you believe there is no actual anti-Christ, it’s hard to believe that reasonable people don’t recognize evil in their midst.
I'm really glad I'm not a Republican campaign and media operative any more. I actually worked helping Republican candidates craft TV spots and media messages back in the 80's. These were mostly local & state level races, but one was a first time Congressional candidate. Compared to this current group, these were pretty decent people...but I got to see first hand what the pressure to win does to people. 3 of them literally "melted down" during their races and could not function for awhile from the stress. One ended up in the hospital and that became national news, because his top campaign people would not tell anyone where he was. He lost a race that he was 20 points ahead in. The other 2 happened in the week before the elections and we were able to contain the fact, they could not make a personal appearance. They both won. There came a time I became disgusted with the whole thing. It was fun at first...a sort of "bloodless war". But honestly the Christian Right did me in. The most petty and juvenile people I ever dealt with. After staying away from politics I came to my senses and now am here and love this forum. These current Republican "leaders" are a train wreck...and I know one when I see it.
Here's what I wish: I wish investigative journalists, particularly those investigating the Trump presidency, The Big Lie, January 6, etc, would recognize the urgent need for information to be released in order to save our democracy rather than release information in dribs and drabs to generate prepublication interest the book. I'm just saying.
Daria,
Serious question:
Dr. Richardson has released more than enough "information" just on this website, to jail Trump and all in his merry men (some in drag apparently based on today's letter).
She, and MANY others, have plenty enough information already available for Americans to see the Republican Party with clarity, yet, those Americans persist in Trump love and Biden hate,
....do you think "information" on reality matters at all to the people in the Republican party?
I do not think reality is something the folks in the Republican Party are seeking Daria. I think some sort of vision of a fantasy, combined with demons (Democrats) has been placed in front of them by Fox News, (some) of their churches, some of their local leaders and, more importantly, their own mental apparatus.
I think Republicans will chase this fantasy, as reality, no matter what actual reality flashes in front of them, temporarily, before they jerk the fantasy back in place.
Fantasy has firmly supplanted reality in many minds in America.
I am not hugely optimistic that reality, presented by anyone, will matter one tiny little bit to that large segment of America.
Only when, bit by bit, when those living in fantasy land run into the reality they wanted AFTER it is in place, and, end up locked up for speaking out about something local that they disagreed with, will they wake up.
Way too late by then.
I hate to be the guy writing this. I really do. I am doing everything that I know how to do (which is tiny amount of stuff) to try to reveal fantasy for what it is in minds I care about, including, making myself unpopular with my own family and some friends and some local town guys.
But, I think fantasy land, as seen by the minds of brainwashed Republicans, has a high probability of occurrence. I hope I am wrong.
I gave your comment a heart as a confirmation. But I don't really mean heart, if you know what I mean. The commitment to the "Big Lie", Tucker's tirades, the so-called "Christian values" nonsense are all reminiscent of our long, long history of fanatical obsession. History is littered with the bodies of innocent lives destroyed by such madness.
Revealing facts to those sucked up into the vortex of fantasy is never effective. Their whole journey began with ignoring the difference between verifiable facts and fantastic ideas promoted by fear mongering political hacks. TFG knows this. He took his lessons from Hitler seriously.
There is only one solution. Scare enough people who care about democracy and truth to show up and vote. No point in talking to walls of reality denial. Are there enough of us?
Bill, I love you too with a heart! I agree but don't know if enough folks recognize what might be coming.
I guess America has always been susceptible to those who will hold a fantasy (some perfect landscape) plus demons to offer a clear enemy.
Salem MA fell victim to men who were willing to play this game (and then it spread to women). Those demonized paid a high price, those not demonized were scared to say anything lest the preacher (Tucker Carlson) called them out too.
From our very founding principals. Fantasy and Demonization.
John Adams overcame it briefly to run a revolution and write a Constitution.
I wonder how fast it all vanished after he was gone?
I am going to hazard an opinion of what occurs in my mind when you speak of fantasy(which peals loudly by the way). We have many such fantasies which have, subsequently turned themselves into cults and grown into current Christian churches whose doctrines are clearly fantasy. Perhaps we may see the mutation of this current mess coalescing into the United Pentecostal Trumpets of the Death Star Temple. As such we might be able to get other Republican Christian faithful to distance themselves thus remanding them to an enduring obscurity. Yes they will probably knock on our doors, or send missionaries among us. Feel free to add Fern’s cast as the original apostles.
The ignorance and abject stupidity boggle the mind. It is insanity according to Rupert, since he was the first in my memory, to broadcast lying drivel to the masses. The lessons from Hitler/Goebbels have indeed been studied, by Vlad as well.
Oh Jeri, Jeri, Jeri. Your generosity astounds. Truly Texan. For my own part I say their reading comprehension skills are relegated to magazines with large glossy photos.
As for the number of judgeships Trump appointed, just for the record, Pat, I go in for accuracy as your know. Sorry to load you up. There is a lot to this story, and I just provided you with a smattering.
'Trump stands out for the large number of federal appeals court judges he appointed in only four years. Not surprisingly, the overall number of judges appointed by Trump in his single term (226) is well below the totals of recent two-term presidents, including Obama (320), George W. Bush (322) and Bill Clinton (367). But when it comes to the nation’s 13 federal appeals courts – which have the final word on most legal appeals around the country – Trump’s influence is clear.
'Trump appointed nearly as many federal appeals court judges as Obama – in half the time.
Trump appointed 54 federal appellate judges in four years, one short of the 55.'(PewResearchCenter)
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/13/how-trump-compares-with-other-recent-presidents-in-appointing-federal-judges/
'To date, President Biden has nominated the most demographically diverse set of judicial candidates in history, including the first LGBTQ woman to serve on a court of appeals, the first Muslim American to serve as a federal judge, and the first Black woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court. Twenty-six percent of all Black women currently serving as active judges were nominated by President Biden. Nearly 30 percent of Biden’s nominees have served as public defenders.'
'Using data from the Federal Judicial Center, this article analyzes how much President Biden can alter the aggregate demographics of the federal bench during his current term. For context, we examine pertinent demographic characteristics of all 782 active federal district and circuit judges. The article then focuses on 277 active federal District and Circuit Court judges who represent likely potential federal judicial vacancies because they are or will be eligible to retire or take senior status during the remaining three years of this administration (the “Cohort”). How many vacancies result, coupled with the results of the 2022 congressional elections, will likely determine the president’s success towards this goal.'
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/diversity-federal-judicial-selection-during-biden-administration
A number of young and prominent Trump-appointed judges are writing their opinions with provocative language, diving into the culture wars in ways offering an audition for a future Supreme Court opening.
Why it matters: Most judges who are would-be justices try to avoid controversy, preserving themselves for a confirmation hearing. But with the specter of former President Trump mounting another run for office, their opinions may not only create opportunity but curry favor with the person who could fulfill their ambitions.
During his term, Trump had tremendous impact on the federal bench.
He appointed 234 judges who will rule on some of the most consequential issues for decades to come.
One of them, 35-year-old Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, recently — and single-handedly — struck down the federal mask mandate on public transportation.
What we're watching: James Ho, 45, sitting on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has called abortion a "moral tragedy."
In his very first opinion about campaign finance, he wrote extrajudicially: “If you don’t like big money in politics, then you should oppose big government in our lives."
https://www.axios.com/trump-judges-audition-for-supreme-court-96e08552-3739-477e-80bb-27e8ed363ba8.html
Fern, GREAT POST. I read the whole thing twice.
Yes, for the people in my extended friend group in Texas, they often mention how they find Trump distasteful but LOVE the fact that he appointed a bunch of nuts to the Bench.
It seems that when those otherwise well meaning folk speak of freedom, they do not mean freedom to be gay, freedom to think on their own without Tucker Carlson telling them what to think, freedom to love whomever we want, and freedom to choose our life's path including hard choices if we make mistakes.
Yep, freedom for Pubs means: Restricting everyone not like them.
Pat, the "other Christian faithful" are solidly behind the 300 judges that were appointed under Trump. They view Trump as a "distasteful necessity" in their march toward zero abortion, no gay marriage, etc.
In other words, they back up the complete fantasy with the full faith and credit of Jesus Christ.
The way it is for sure. For sure. There are way more of us. Way more. They are no longer amoebic we have them sized up. And I predict when the sky falls it will be on them.
Jesus weeps
Ride'm cowboy...
'Hazzard County is a six-piece Modern Country, high-energy party band looking to change the way you think about the sweet sounds of the South. Based in …'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=242hZIldwOg
Don’t forget Savonarola . . .
Is HCR ready to be the screenwriter of a combined gangster/horror flick? Wouldn’t we love to see ‘TRUMP, IVANKA, DONNIE Jr., KURSHNER, KOCH, McConnell, McCarthy, GAETZ, BROOKS, GOHMERT, BOEBERT, MOORE, CARLSON, HANNITY, De SANTIS, ABBOTT, JORDAN, CAWTHORN, etc., etc., etc. v. DEMOCRACY at our neighborhood movie theater; a full-scale musical on Broadway and a graphic novel … ? Wouldn't we rather see the shenanigans of these weird traitors immortalized on stage and screen instead of in our lives?
Please add the dramatic, forgetful, gun-totin' MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE to your list , although an "etc." is all she should get.
Thank you, Mona. She will be the comic relief.
I don’t want to see/hear any one of those traitors in any venue for the rest of my time on earth. I also do not want to share heaven or hell with any.
I have tenure. Neither side wants me.
I was thinking tenuous time maybe.
Too soon, Fern.
I like the idea - maybe "Book of Mormon'' meets ''Rocky Horror'' - but our nightmare is still unfolding.
R, With all the copious material the epic/opus, and I forgot opera -- this is great material for opera -- will be updated, adapted and serialized. We could have daylong performances. What do you think now?
The actual first thought that came to mind was Wagner.
Please add Cruz to that list of miscreants. I was envisioning another Batman movie. The fantasy world they have chosen to inhabit reminds me of Gotham City and they are the dregs of society.
Cruz, of course! You're definitely on the creative team, Ellen. Tell us more.
Yes, Fern. Or at least finalized.
After elimination of the filibuster; duels; competitive wrestling matches; gladiatorial feats; a plethora of audio tapes and imprisonment?
And where is your international hook up!
I truly believe there are. Republicans at large are only a third of the country, and the serious MAGA/QANON are only half of that third. Choosing to register as an Independent implies that there is a some kind of responsible thought process so if a majority of those voters live in reality we can and will be at 65%. The only problem is this is our one chance. If we all don't "Vote like We're Ukranians" then next time it will not matter if we are the majority of the country!
In Michigan, we Dems are rallying to defeat 3 term U.S. Rep Jack Bergman, who was bought and paid for by oil, lives in Louisianna, but could then afford a little cabin in our Upper Peninsula and claim he represents us, so he can vote down all our attempts to stop the dangerous Enbridge Canadian crude oil Line 5 which is lying (and rotting) under Lake Michigan. Our superb Democratic candidate is Dr. Bob Lorinser from Marquette, physician who also worked for 11 years with the state department abroad:
https://www.votedrbob.com/allaboutbob
The saying here goes, "If you're still voting for Bergman, you don't know Jack." We need a better message (this is insulting to the voter, too), with an action verb and a clear view, like "Send Jack Back to Louisianna!" Or, "Vote like we're Michiganders!"
I send Bob Lorsiner a monthly contribution and let my friends in his district know about his candidacy. and I live in Minnesota!
WONDERFUL!!! Thank You Deborah!! I will let our group know! And when I can visit my twin cousin south of Minbeapokis, I will let you know!
P.S. a fair number of Republicans signed Dr. Bob's candidate petition, once informed about Jack.
How about "Jack? Who Dat?" Just Kidding!
I think it is worse than has been historically proven. We have social media now.
I woke up this morning with the idea of 'social media' as the former 'gossip at the well'; people fetching water and having a chat; on a gigantic scale. Marshal McLuhan's 'Media, the Medium is the Message', came to mind. The true message of social media is still to be understood, but maybe 'instant global gossip' is a possible start.
The phrase is, as you say, "the medium is the message". But the title of McLuhan's book was "The Medium is the Massage". The Wikipedia article on 'The medium is the message' explains the book title. 'Instant global gossip' is a very benign description of what social media have (not 'has') become.
I can't see the comparison because Russian interference in social media is new; algorithms used to divide and radicalize are new.
There isn’t enough of us distributed properly to counter gerrymandering and general red state f$$$ery. If democrats with power still see republicans as gettable then we deserve the hellhole this country will become.
You bet yah!!! There Are Enough Of Us!!!!
Not Giving Up!!!🙂🙃
Yeah, Hitler, Mussolini, the Salem Witch Trials…
I certainly hope so.
Why do we care what extremist Republicans (and that is most of the party) think? They are a minority of the nation and their numbers shrink with every passing day. We criticize Republicans and the media for normalizing extremism, but then we play into their hands by crediting the extremists with far, far more power than they have. There are six months until the fall elections. If we stop crying out that the sky is falling and get to work now, there is still time to remind the American majority of the threat that the nation faces from Trump and his allies at home and abroad. We need to stop bemoaning our fate and get to work, calling out the would-be authoritarians and their oligarchic allies full-time, in full voice. That means telling editors that they need to stop treating everything as if it must be Joe Biden’s fault, and getting to work for Democratic candidates who will tell it like it is and not mince words because they are afraid of offending donors. If you are on social media, it means speaking your mind, and not just to your friends who already agree with you. If we all get to work, we can defy history and give democracy and the Constitution a big push in the right direction.
"but then we play into their hands by crediting the extremists with far, far more power than they have." I saw this in spades yesterday with Chuck Todd speaking off handedly as if the Republican return to power this November were a foregone conclusion. It isn't "if" but "when" with many in the media. That definitely doesn't help - any viewer who is already despondent, and disappointed their party has not done what they said they would do (failing to recognize that the Republican tactic of blocking the entire agenda is working on them to perfection), will feel even more despondent, and maybe sit it out come November. Thanks Chuck. To me, this midterm cycle is like no other. It is true that rational people hold the majority in this country - all that has to happen is to get them out to vote. That is all. BTW Val Demings said last night that in Florida it doesn't matter what Desantis does; that Democrats will come out and vote anyway. While I don't believe that is the case in reality, in theory it is true. The key I believe is letting despondent or lethargic people (gen-z, college kids, black/brown) know that they stay home and they slit their own throats.
Chuck Todd should not have a platform. I hope we can get voters out and that Demings is right. She is one where we will donate.
I agree! Chuck Todd is even more offensive than Carlson - because he pretends to be on our side. He is NOT!
When I get text requests from Val Demings as well as Sen. Warnock and one or two others, I make a donation (however small, whatever I can) and I feel a little less powerless about having any impact on the bigger picture.
Make that Upchuck Toad.
Chuck Todd is a disgrace to his profession (journalism and investigative reporting). His is a lazy, short-range thought process, and it's pretty obvious, at least to me, that he curries the favor of the ruling class (big business and billionaires). He tells them what they want to hear far too often to be taken seriously by a thinking public.
I completely agree. I NEVER watch him. He should be fired IMO.
Cheesey Chuck was a poor replacement, huh?
I think maybe we need to give the 'gen-z, college kids, black/brown' and whoever else you may think is slacking a little bit of credit. It's because of their efforts in 2020, which gave us the win, thar the GOP has set their hair on fire and attacked every facet of the electoral system to stop them from voting again. They attack those who have hurt them the worst. Just a thought.
Remains to be seen. If my own family is any indication, 2022 is going to e a disaster.
We have a daughter who has essentially fled the country (now lives in S. Korea), a daughter who is so disgusted with the failure of the Biden administration to come through on their promises, that she promises to sit out 2022. And a son who is of the same bent as the daughters except leans communist and therefore hates Democrats as well, and thinks the country deserves the hell it is going to get. There are three votes in 2020 that in all likelihood will not be there in 2022, in just one household. Despite my efforts to convince them to stay the course. Republicans are nothing if not politically savvy. Their "block everything" agenda is working to perfection.
We need to remember that “the enemy of our enemy is our friend”. Why do we feel the need to keep carping on our own loyalty and not spend that time pointing out the Trumpists non-loyalty to their own country?
______(Word that rhymes with Chuck) CHUCK!!
I am telling anyone who will listen that it is not about "Politics" this time.
The vote will be simple: Anti-Trump/Democracy or Trump/EndOfDemocracy!
Colbert recently joked about Dems losing the midterms. Not funny.
One of the problems with comedy news is the conflict of laughing at the comedian which means laughing at the story, usually something very serious. I once saw a study that some less sophisticated viewers or channel surfers often don’t know the difference between truth and sarcasm in the comedy news.
Colbert is clear in his leanings. Todd, not so much
Remember when some folks thought Jon Stewart's Daily Show was a news show?
Not a joke!
I agree and write frequently about any journalist who makes it looks worse and blames the democrats instead of themselves. I don’t think it’s at all hopeless this election cycle.
I don't either. I have a sense that the leaked SCOTUS doc about overturning Roe might just wake up enough of those 82% who believe abortion should be legal when the health of the mother is in danger and 79% when the pregnancy was caused by rape or incest to think about what it will mean if republicans gain (more) control of the government. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/03/most-americans-say-supreme-court-should-uphold-roe-post-abc-poll-finds/
And the Bots stayed home or went third party over their disgust with Hillary and along came Trump.
Cast your vote.
I tried so hard to convince some friends in a very left FB group in 2016 that if they didn't vote for Hilary and "Putin's friend" got in, Roe would be in great danger. They wouldn't listen. Sigh.
Well said, Jon. Now, how to stem the tide of outright lies that keep the voters in a frenzy of fear that they're going to lose their ... everything, if the Democrats stay in control for another two years? As a nation, we've been conditioned to desire immediate gratification. If we don't get what we want right this minute, well, the other guys are promising to deliver it, so switch quickly to the other side. I'm tired of being on the extreme seesawing that has become our norm, and wish we could somehow get back to the business of making the nation work bottom-up FOR the people, rather than top-down AGAINST the people.
For my part, I do everything I can to encourage people to go vote, even if they live in places where they believe they can't make a difference. I tell them, start with local elections, and get sane people in. Go to the next level with state elections, and oust the extremists and ideologues. Only then can the federal elections reflect the actual will of the people.
We stem the tide of lies by doing what you’re doing. A tide can’t be stopped in an instant, so we should not expect instant success. The secret is to keep on keepin’ on.
I just watched Lawrence O'Donnell announce on "The Lat word" that Bennie Thompson said the first Jan 6 investigation hearings will begin on June 9 2022.
It’s like I told my wife Jon. (True) Honey I know we can get this truck through the bog. 16 hours later I showed her! She talked about it for the next 40 miles. She had no quit in her!
This shirt I proudly wear can’t hurt either 😉: https://bsgeneralstore.com/collections/bitter-apparel/products/vote-dammit
(The “BS” has quite a few dandy items)
Passing on my t-shirt ideas:
"WALK the VOTE"
"If you want Democracy, GET IN LINE!"
These are great, Liz. And how about this standby: Vote Blue in '22 and Once More in '24!
Then Jeff Carpenter's "We, the People, All of Us This Time!"
I LOVE The Bitter Southerner. I’ve been a subscriber for years, and have several of their t-shirts. ❤️
What a great site; thank you! I liked "Practice Radical Empathy"
I just saw that the Vote t is on sale for $16 instead of $30 so I ordered one! Thanks for the introduction!
You’re welcome, Chaplain Terry! I’m quite fond of “Practice Radical Empathy” as well.
Oh, that is fabulous, Ashley.
Hmm, I won't usually wear T's anymore but for this one I'd make an exception. Thanks, Ashley!
Lynell, even if you only wear it during yard work, grocery shopping, something of that ilk, packs a potent, little punch. 😉
Also, the site has other offerings besides shirts, with the same powerful messages.
One of the best things that needs to happen is anti-gerrymandering laws. Gerrymandering needs to be illegal and punishable by law, since it infringes on the majority of voters from having their voice count.
Well we just learned that the NY State democratic party didn't follow our own d___ anti-gerrymandering laws passed several years ago and had its redistricting maps thrown out by NY State courts! ...hoist on our own petard!
Just noted yesterday a post that mentions that one of the 19 Ds vying for District 6 here in Oregon has called himself a Democrat Socialist. She thinks this is great; I think it is the kiss of death. We have some good candidates who are progressive and smart enough not to tag themselves in this way. This is Matt West and not the Flannel Shirt Crypto Flynn. I hope once the primary is over, we can all work on getting the Ds elected and not be deflected by this other nonsense. We plan personally to start donating to particular candidates across the country also. Right now our donations go to organizations who work to register voters. I am trying not to be pessimistic for the next election, but it is difficult given all the R efforts to suppress the vote. All the sane Rs I know here do not support death star, but the area is full of people who do.
"If we stop crying out that the sky is falling and get to work now, there is still time to remind the American majority of the threat that the nation faces from Trump and his allies at home and abroad. We need to stop bemoaning our fate and get to work, calling out the would-be authoritarians and their oligarchic allies full-time, in full voice. "
John, I agree that we need to work hard. I agree there is still time.
I am not sure all that will overcome Gerrymandering and Fox News and a good sized number of churches and their preachers and followers.
Nothing is certain but death and taxes, and I still hope to live forever. We can but try.
I am with you and I am trying.
Churches have been the biggest propaganda spewers, sorry to say. Not all, but a majority in my opinion. Bought Fox across the board. Started in 2006, thanks, Karl Rove
Jeri, yes, I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church. Plus, even attended some Friday night tent revivals. No joke, no lie, they were still coming through in the mid 70's.
Breaking free (that's what I call it) from that indoctrination and control methodology was difficult, painful and took a bit of time for sure.
I look back to the me before and the me after and shake my head.
I completely understand how it is that people can believe in a fantasy that is not reality because: I remember when I was that person.
Note: Some aspects of the fantasy are not bad, like, "drinking alcohol is a sin and you will go to hell". That kept me completely cold sober for many years, helping enable stellar academic performance, and by the time I realized that was all a crock, I understood that alcohol can be a life killer and STILL did not drink much even today.
This quote may ring true for you too. From George Saunders acceptance speech….”What seems other is actually not other at all, But just us on a different day.” Hard to think that I could have been some of these cult nuts though.
Started in the 1970s — most of us simply didn’t take it seriously.
well Mike, we could start by following our own anti-gerrymandering laws here in NY State, about which NY State court reminded us by rejecting democratic party's redistricting maps on Tuesday.
My mailboxes are full of solicitations from Democratic legislator. Each one highlights a 'critical' comment from Republicans from both houses, which they failed to push back at the time in either the House or the Senate, or else the reporters never turn their cameras onto their responses. However, a couple, like Raskin and McMorrow have been shown. I think maybe the Dems are afraid to confront them. I can't blame the media if they don't have an opportunity to report.
There is little profit in supporting people who are going to do nothing, and I have responded to many of those solicitations with comments such as this. No responses yet, just reminders thar I have helped in the past and really need to step up the donations.
When all those GOP Legislators went to Moscow before the 2016 election, when we learned that the majority of Trump's administration was people with recent and continued ties to Russia, it was dismissed and poohpoohed as not a thing. When McConnell led the push to undo Obama's sanctions against Russia, there was no connection made to the donations he and other GOP members received from Putin.
Now we have a host of GOP legislators, conservatives and rightwing new outlets dedicated to Putin's agenda. All GOP, Republicans, Christian Nationalists, and white supremacists are doing everything possible to destroy democracy.
Now do we understand the appointment to the SC? When the J6 committee pushes for prosecution, I cannot imagine that the Supreme Court will uphold democracy.
Yes, they are a minority and should not be able to exercise their power, but that is the way of all despots. It is not as though this insurrection was planned after the election.
Senator McMorrow said that they could not bully their way to victory unless people like her allowed it. This also applies to the voters, like us.
Somehow the cameras found her at the podium, bitch-slapping one of those people the taxpayers are funding to destroy our Republic.
What the hell does 'woke' mean?
I remember being shocked, yes, “SHOCKED” at the Texas Rangers, en masse, going to a “seminar” in Moscow. I think it was in 2014, but can’t remember. Does anyone else remember?
I’m in the camp you speak of, Jon. It is very difficult for me to “care” about their platforms which are ignorant. My focus is on we the people, all of us.
I had a vision of a circular firing squad when I read this LFAA. Maybe that's just my wishful thinking, but it seems to me a lot of fingers are being pointed and not all of them are pointing at the "demon" (Democrats) right now.
No, I don't think "information on reality" matters at all to most Republicans at present. What matters to them is keeping their power. Period. Whatever dishonesty and criminality that entails. Their playbook is right out of the abuser's playbook--keep the person you want to control always off balance, afraid of what you'll do next, amazed that you never stop lying and hurting them, and amazed at how low you will go. It's the people who are not Republicans who need to continue to pay attention to reality, and especially the reality that abusers do not care what they do to retain power. And their abusive actions tend to escalate over time. That's what therapists know, and what needs to be general knowledge.
"What matters to them is keeping their power. Period. "
Exactly, exactly correct.
Thank you! Brilliant observation.
Mike, I tend to agree with you; I think that the heart of this Republiqan party has no interest whatsoever in the world outside their "true belief" in what is being fed to them by Faux, tfg, etc. The Daily Kos piece link that Hugh sent out says some interesting things.
Just FYI, I am in Verona NY this morning on my cross-country journey. The drive along the NY Throughway was very similar to land in western Oregon, although the farming operations appeared to be more in line with the larger ones that I've seen east of the Cascades. What is the attraction with pontoon boats (I happen to think they are the perfect lake vessel, and would love to have one, but they are not real common where I'm from.)
I think a pontoon boat is simply a better balanced party boat. Less apt to tip over as you get tipsy. I could be wrong, but that's been my observation.
Which is why I like it!! I've just never seen such a concentration of them as we saw driving past.
Fun stuff. The only downside is if they putt putt near your tranquil lakeside location and blast the music you can't stand.
Pontoon, stable platform for fishing, swimming, cruising, sun bathing with elbow room. They are the new Van Conversion rides for water play
In days of yore my family would get picked up on the shore by relative who had a cottage on island, on their pontoon, putt, putt, putt. The funniest thing I saw in later years was a pontoon boat racing to beat all get out, like the turtle that just found roller skates 😁
Ally, yes, Republican leadership are playing a cynical game.
Republican rank and file believe the fantasy game is reality and appear to be uninterested in actual reality.
Also, Ally, Verona is not far from me but I have no real way to invite you to where I am without leaving behind my contact info for the entire world, which, I am loathe to do.
It’s utterly depressing reading Heather’s posts about the squalid, sordid infighting among the ranks of those who somehow got a seat at the big table.
I’d say “childish” as well, but what have children done to deserve such a comparison?
I am not prone to hate, but I feel it welling up with each new factual recitation I hear. These people are debasing humanity.
And on the genuinely sad side, I doubt I’ll ever hear the word “lingerie” again without a visual image of MC leaping, unbidden and unwelcome, to mind. through
Speaking of “what does ‘woke’ mean, anyway?” — What was that black bra about, anyway?
Mike, you said: "Dr. Richardson has released more than enough "information" just on this website, to jail Trump and all in his merry men..."
I absolutely respect and appreciate Heather's work. However, I am going to make what some might perceive to be a heretical comment: Heather does not release her own newly discovered information about current political affairs that she has dug up and researched using various sources. Heather taps into a broad spectrum of sources, reads, analyzes, and aggregates current political affairs, often comparing what's going on today in a historical context. I'm not diminishing what Heather does, what I am saying is that many of us, unless Heather is one's sole source for news, have already read, digested and formed an opinion about the topics presented in her daily Letters. And that's as it should be.
Journalists( or politicians/fixers/former cabinet members) who write a book and sit on info is only concerning to me IF the relevant and damning information hasn't been submitted to the appropriate authorities prior to public leaks to generate buzz and sales for an upcoming book release. In my mind, our democracy is far more important than someone's personal gain. Obviously there are plenty of people out there who believe otherwise.
I agree that Republicans have built a fantasyland for their constituency. There is no way most Republicans will shift gears and change lanes without having the crimes committed by Republicans at ALL levels of government* exposed and successfully prosecuted. This, of course, includes prosecuting right wing talking heads** who have participated in any of the illegal acts. Sunlight is a powerful disinfectant.
Sadly, I share your pessimism. If people really cared we wouldn't be where we are now.
* Including dog catcher
**There are probably more than a few.
Information in the form of audio transcripts, testimony at Jan. 6 Commission hearings, telephone recordings, photographs and video together PROVE that there was a conspiracy to overturn the election. The only missing ingredient is the will to proceed with indictments. So, the remaining question is WHERE IS MERRICK GARLAND?
Daria, thanks,
"I'm not diminishing what Heather does, what I am saying is that many of us, unless Heather is one's sole source for news, have already read, digested and formed an opinion about the topics presented in her daily Letters"
At least for me, Dr. Richardson's letters are often new information. I read the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal but I have limited time in the mornings for this.
My perception of her letters is different than yours though: I think the vast majority of Americans would learn something new every day reading them.
I definitely do.
Mike, indeed, I do learn something new from her most days - not usually the news she analyzes and presents but more often context. We are very fortunate that there is someone who is willing to put in the long hours necessary to sift through and present levelheaded food for thought. Would we be better off if more folks read HCR? I think so too.
Daria: “In my mind, our democracy is far more important than someone's personal gain.“
With this statement you have distilled the malaise of U.S.A. Into the perfect summation. Thank you.
Patricia, thank you.🌷
Apropos of this topic, I'd like to post a quote from Facebook that has given me no shortage of consternation. This is from a fellow I knew in high school -- a petroleum engineer (retired) who now lives in Texas. Verbatim (WARNING: potentially triggering):
"On the day Bye Den implements his Gun Surrender Order, drive to a place far from your home and leave your phone at that location and leave it turned on. That will tell the IRS Agents that you aren't at home and they will believe that they will face no resistance when they storm your home. Keep in mind, that under the Bye Den Order, a search warrant is not required because you have been pre-classified as a domestic terrorist and you no longer have the right to due process. So, when the IRS Agents show up, fire away. They are not expecting you and you are the last line of defense our Constitution will ever have. Aim carefully because local law enforcement officers will be employed to accompany the IRS Agents. Bye Den knows you won't shoot your local law enforcement officers (that you have probably known for years), so your friends are actually being used as Pawns in Bye Den's scheme to disarm everyone and rewrite the Constitution to his liking."
I don't believe this is a poor imitation of a right-wing Andy Borowitz: he and I had a short exchange, and I think he is serious. I also don't think this guy is a paid propagandist, though I can't guarantee it.
So a couple of interesting things.
At core, he is worried about exactly the same thing we are worried about here: the collapse of the US into some kind of authoritarianism. If you read past all the nonsense, it's clear he is terrified. We ALL see what is coming.
The argument is nonsense, but what I find most interesting is that it is ACTUALLY NONSENSE, meaning it has verged over into a world where pigs fly and water runs uphill. Assuming that "the government" really wanted to take away everyone's guns -- just for the sake of argument -- there is no world in which it would ever be attempted this way. The proposed reaction is even more unhinged: mistargeted (IRS???), murderously violent, and ultimately, a form of quasi-religious suicide.
This isn't politics, and it isn't about information bubbles. This is much more akin to a religious hysteria.
I’ve “liked” your post, which convinces me I made the right choice in never signing up for Facebook (or Twitter, or Instagram.) Just two observations:
Did you ever notice that conservatives demonize liberals because of what they are GOING to do (take away our guns, declare martial law and implement sharia law, open the borders and allow hordes of immigrants to overrun the country, re-make the U.S. into a socialist state), whereas liberals fear conservatives because of what they have ALREADY DONE (re-make states into white Christian nationalist theocracies, justify the packing of the Supreme Court with conservative judicial activists with malleable and hypocritical arguments as to when it is acceptable to hold up or ram through confirmations, disenfranchise voters opposed to them, using the power of the state to punish corporations who disagree with them, and attempt to violently overthrow the results of a free and fair election)?
The diatribe presented by your high school classmate is truly delusional – right up there with lining one’s headgear with tin foil to keep the aliens from beaming thoughts to one’s brain. I was taught in medical school that it is futile to try to dissuade people suffering from paranoid delusions using rational arguments, because the false beliefs that possess them are irrational at their root, and being willing to debate them, in their troubled minds, validates those beliefs. (It is better to medicate them heavily and return at a later date when their thoughts are less muddled.)
If it is true, as has been discussed elsewhere in this forum, that rational debate is no longer effective in this post-truth society, is our only option to ignore Michelle Obama’s counsel, and when they go low, we go lower? Is the only way to save democracy from the crazies by becoming our enemy? A sad dilemma….
Like every human endeavor -- it seems -- the real magic in a "thing" is in the months or years before it becomes a "thing." Once it has become a "thing," the magic has already turned to "hype," and the objective is to make money, which pokes a hole in the bottom, and all the magic drains out.
Yes, I have noticed that. I've also noticed that "conservatives," on the whole, are more inclined to "Better that a thousand be hanged, than one guilty might escape."
Joseph,
" meaning it has verged over into a world where pigs fly and water runs uphill."
That has been the entire Republican Party since 1980.
If "information" mattered, the problem would never have arisen. Trump would have come down his escalator and kept going. Down.
"If "information" mattered, the problem would never have arisen"
BEST POST OF THE DAY TC. :-)
Exactly correct.
"....do you think "information" on reality matters at all to the people in the Republican party?"
While I would perhaps have chosen the word "truth" rather than "information", I sadly think your observation is spot on. The GOP have learned their lessons well from the Russian principles of propaganda: deny, dismiss, distort, distract, dismay, divide.
They'll use what keeps them in power, and the "D"s are clearly working well in that regard. (McCarthy's obedient bending of the knee to Trump is but one of many examples.)
What scares the heck out of me is the conclusion one must draw: if information and truth no longer matter, then rational evidence-based debate is doomed to fail, and what options are left to us?
It doesn't justify capitulation, but it sure makes me pessimistic.
The politics of reality and truth.
There are those in the fantasy, and also those in reality that cheer the anarchy.
Mike S upstate NY - on a separate note - I watched the movie Fair Game last night. After reading your post earlier in the week, talking about the "Big Lie" the Bush administration generated about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction, I was curious to learn more of the details of what went on in the CIA. It was eye-opening. Thanks for mentioning the movie in your post.
Laurie K, thank you.
I think completely understanding how evil the Bush administration was as it jockeyed to invade IRAQ, a stable nation filled with beatiful cities, wonderful bazaars, doctors, hospitials, Schools with GIRLS GOING TO THEM, and a variety of civil services is important.
We killed around 200,000 !!! Iraqi civilians during that war and it is still going on.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War#:~:text=The%20Iraq%20Body%20Count%20project%20(IBC)%20figure%20of%20documented%20civilian,violence%20and%20increased%20criminal%20violence.
We, us here in the US, are guilty of the crime of ignorance around what we did.
The statistics are staggering - approximately 200,000 civilian deaths... As you alluded to earlier in the week, we were just as guilty during the Bush administration, as Putin is now. Incredible plot twists politicians will fabricate to support their agendas. Thanks again!
A good reason to keep republicans out of office.
Laurie,
Not many people thank me for pointing out the horros of what we have permitted and supported on the good people of the Middle East. Let's say responses to me vary from "yawn" (70%) to shouting me down before I even get done with lies fed to them about terrorism.
Iraq was ZERO terrorist threat to the world in 2003. GIRLS were going to school there.
Now? Iraq is a failed state with a corrupt government waiting to become a terroist state.
Thank you.
I knew, but was alone in my W-worshipping crowd.
Yes, our ignorance of our deeds, those long past and those recent and ongoing, is a crime. But Exceptional Americans pardon ourselves.
Carol, I do not pardon myself. I do hold myself responsible.
I did not vote for a Republican, or any politician that supports the wars in the Middle East since.
I routinely lobby my local representatives to cut military spending.
The US is a death colony for the Middle East spreading death and destruction in many ways.
Me, neither. I hope people who take responsibility are not exceptions.
Somebody had to write (say) it Mike; might as well be you, you said it well.
I refer to my family as “The Land of the Lost.”
Timothy Snyder calls this "cognitive colonization". Trying to take over what people think and replace previous ideas with fascist ideas.
I just wrote and inadvertently erased a response to you. I'll rewrite and post, Mike.
Speaking of fantasy land, here's a book you might enjoy (maybe "enjoy" is not the right word): Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, by Kurt Andersen (2017).
The issue isn't how much information concerning January 6 is being released the real issue is who is listening. As Mike said below "I do not think reality is something the folks in the Republican Party are seeking Daria. I think some sort of vision of a fantasy, combined with demons (Democrats) has been placed in front of them by Fox News, (some) of their churches, some of their local leaders and, more importantly, their own mental apparatus."
I just checked FOX News. The headline is about Biden's tanking economy. There is ZERO information/reality about what we see and talk about. And then there is MTG diatribe (700 words) against Catholics today. The Catholics have sleep walked their single issue voting into a shit storm and they don't even realize it. I had a nice man and good Catholic tell me the other day in all seriousness that "Our President has dementia." I told him that if enough edited, spliced footage of me was made I could look like I was running a terrorist operation out of my office. I believe it came out with a forceful "oh for God's sake" blast of anger.
So. This is what we are dealing with.
But I do know one thing. I am going to put MTG's diatribe against Catholics right under some Catholics' noses and tell them the quote from Nazi Germany which begins "First they came for the Jews." Hitler hated Catholics also. Something has to wake people up.
My deceased husband lived with Alzheimer's for years. POTUS is not afflicted with any sort of dementia.
Yes. I know that. This, however, is how FOX Newsmax and Oan work.
My AlzHeimer’s person may be demented but he’s not bat-shit crazy, even after 14 years
Am sorry Jeri. I hope all is well.
Barbara, I just read your post, and, yep, you are definitely an American terrorist.
You have written all that is true. A real danger to America.
:-)
You can lead a horse to water....
WHAOEU, WEUL/KWRUPH! SO TKPWAOD TO SAOE U!
As I recall, it was essentially investigative journalists that brought Nixon down, and for far, far less than we've seen in today's scenario with the past administration and the actions of certain elected congresscritters, both representative and senatorial. Of course, it was the congresscritters who went to Nixon and told him to resign; now, our congresscritters (and others) who are jumping on that bandwagon.
Ally Sorry, but you are writing about the Woodward-Bernstein myth that was fostered in All The President’s Men. I wrote a synopsis on Watergate that I submitted to the president of the Washington Post and to Dick Helms (father of a member of my Investor’s Club), who was CIA director during Watergate.
The WP president (a good friend for whom I was a reference for this job in an hour conversation with Katie Graham—head of The Washington Post Company) argued that I had underplayed the role of Woodward/Bernstein. Inn contrast, Director Helms ‘indicated’ (spooks are cagey) that I was spot on.
The fact is that, despite Woodward/Bernstein exposes, Nixon won a smashing re-election victory and the White House thought that Watergate was behind them
A massive turning point was courageous Judge Sirica. When the Watergate Five (those directly involved) pleaded guilty (financed by White House bribes), Sirica said that there was something smelly and threatened to throw the book at them. McCord, a former CIA operative who was head of security at CREP (Committee to re-elect the president) was in his 50s. He thought that he had been serving his country working for ex-Attorney General John Mitchell. He didn’t want to spend years in jail. He wrote Judge Sirica a letter detailing the involvement of the White House, especially the Plumbers Unit of Liddy and Hunt.
This triggered the Erwin Senate Watergate hearings in Spring, 1973. Though the revelations were considerable, the question was ‘What did President know and when did he know it.’
Former White House Counsel John Dean spelling out the conspiracy in an astonishing 7-hour presentation. However, it was still Dean’sword vs. Nixon’s, until Colonel Butterfield revealed that Nixon had been taping himself.
The fight to get the full Nixon tapes took over a year, including the Saturday Night Massacre, when Attorney General Elliot Richardson put country over President Nixon’s subversive order to fire special counsel Archibold Cox.
Only in the second half of 1974, as the House had voted impeachment proceedings, was Nixon’s goose cooked. The Supreme Court unanimously voted that Nixon was obliged to turn over the unadulterated White House Watergate tapes.
By then Nixon’s public support had plummeted and, finally, a Republican Senate delegation went to Nixon and said that the Senate would vote to impeach him. On August 9th Nixon resigned.
I don’t believe that a smattering of reporters’ revelations will have a major impact on the 74 million folks who voted for Trump in 2020. The more promising route would be a House 1/6 committee public hearing together with a series of indictments of the BIG LIE perpetrators initiated by Garland and DOJ prosecutors.
The challenge is to demolish the ‘false facts’ that have mesmerized so many Americans.
You are so f-ing brilliant Keith and then you stir in your very real experience. I love your historian story postings. I always look for them.
Salud!
I love our Keith Wheelock! His wife need not worry — I’ll keep my adoration in check. 😉
Dear Not-Doc, thanks for the backstage pass and VIP tour!
Keith,
Attorney General Elliot Richardson helped Nixon out the door as well. He played a key role as a non-lackey, actual honest man.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualties_of_the_Iraq_War#:~:text=The%20Iraq%20Body%20Count%20project%20(IBC)%20figure%20of%20documented%20civilian,violence%20and%20increased%20criminal%20violence.
Mike My admiration of Elliot Richardson was sparked in 1969 when, as Acting Secretary of State, he spent an hour of intense conversation conducting my exit interview from the Foreign Service. This unprecedented intervener in the exit of a mid-level Foreign Service Officer (an effective pain in the ass) was my hero when, four years later, he placed country and Constitution over Tricky Dick’s imperial order.
Would like to hear more of your analysis and stories.
I think we are going to need to rely on the Jan 6th Committee hearings this summer combined with the wake up call that is Ukraine. AG Garland is unlikely to act until after the mid terms.
(i wonder if you new my father, FSO Dale Fisher who we lost in Ethiopia in ‘61, or my godfather, Ambassador Philip Bonsal?)
David I don’t recall your dad. Wasn’t that about the time that the exalted emperor had to get his ass out the window with American assistance? I knew your godfather by reputation—I was in Chile 1966-1969 after 1960-1966 in/on Congo. As I read into Latin America, your godfather’s distinction was writ large.
I read his father’s Unfinished Business at an early age was was greatly impressed.
Keith, some day let's have a beer together. Upstate NY is not a bad place to visit in summer. Just have to figure out logistics.
Mike Come visit me at our summer home in Orient. My house beer is Lagunitas Maximus. I normally have only one at dinner, but exceptional circumstances are cause for rule breaking.
Jives with my memory, but, oh those details. Priceless.
This is quite compelling, Keith! Question. During Watergate, did the journalists publish whatever news they had on a particular day as opposed to the "dribs and drabs" as Daria has described is happening now with J6? Thanks for your reply.
Lynell Woodward and Bernstein aggressively published whatever they uncovered, under the watchful eye of managing editor Ben Bradlee. On several occasions they misfired and prompted a scathing White House rebuke.
I am unaware of any reporter who, at that time, held back info for a forthcoming book. A exception was Theodore White, THE MAKING OF A PRESIDENT, whose book, published 1961, revolutionized presidential election books. I suspect that he was under strictures that permitted him to get inside the presidential campaigns with his promise to publish nothing until after the election.
In recent years Woodward has written a number of topical political books on presidents that include explosive, often anonymous, quotes that had not previously appeared in the Washington Post.
Keith, thank you for this. I'm glad I read through the comments before responding to several others here. You took the words out of my mouth.
Thanks, Keith. Your memory is stellar!
Lynell I wish that, at 88, my body was functioning as well as my mind. That I was on Nixon’s White House Enemies list made all of Watergate unforgettable. Ditto with Joseph McCarthy. I co-organized a student trip to Russia after Stalin’s death. President Griswold of Yale courageously supported it, while Harvard President Conant was frightened by McCarthy. After the uprising in East Germany in June, 1953, the Soviets nixed our trip, which is why I spent the next seven years in the Middle East, where I made a documentary, Egypt Today, and published NASSER’S NEW EGYPT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS (1960) before joining the Foreign Service and enjoying the ‘tranquility’ of Congo—1960-1966.
True. But Woodward and Bernstein were not investigating for a book. The book followed the investigation.
Bingo!
Now the congresscritters mostly just shrug their shoulders and say, “So what?” The previous congresscritters did have some respect for the law; the current ones have none.
Fox News was not around to keep Nixon innocent in the fantasy of Republican minds.
The most important words in our country today. The lying, skewing and “haloing” would make Goebbels proud
Unfortunately, today, unlike in the Nixon era, there are "news" stations and social media outlets who are not calling out illegal behavior, in fact just the opposite (see Mike S's post).
Political views aside, there isn't anyone in the current Congress with the stature that Sens. Goldwater and Scott and Rep. Rhodes had when they went to the White House and told Nixon, in the greater interest of the nation and the Party, he had to resign because he was going to be impeached. It's possible that if/when the Jan. 6 committee starts televised hearings people's interest will be renewed because it was the daily presentation of Nixon's behavior that led most people to support impeachment and conviction. It's also, unfortunately, possible that the whole mess has dragged on so long that even TV won't rekindle and overwhelming concern.
The news had ‘watergate’ every day. I agree with Daria the dribs and drabs aren’t helpful to motivate the majority who apparently don’t want the Republican agenda to become America. This majority needs to find their voice. The media can help that happen. January 6 bad actors should be exploding in the news as watergate once did. Yet, it’s strangely pushed to dribs and drabs.
It is frustrating, but I want to believe that just because its not been shared with us, does not mean it’s not been shared with Garland.
I'd like to think that too, runragged.
Morning everyone. Thought some might be interested in a bit of armchair investigative journalism to share regarding the math textbook ruse in DeSantisworld (apparently in his pea brain, a more significant corporate entity than Disneyworld.
Noting early on the “small print” fact of guv Youngkin of Va participation in the single math book approved for FL schools told me exactly what I needed to know as an educator and parent regarding the charged public school landscape in Florida. Apparently, some others noticed also and they added another book citing no approval criteria. Heat is on.
https://sarasotaheraldtribune-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=221b7dacb_1348430
For those without time to read the article, the salient point is that Glen Youngkin was co-CEO of the investment firm Carlyle Group that acquired Accelerate Learning (relatively unknown in school publishing world amongst the biggies) in December of 2018. Accelerate Learning math series only one chosen by Desantisworld this past month. Information sketchy as to company’s ability to supply meeting demand for books.
Unless their was a plan in place……..
DeSantis and Youngkin…two more wannabe oligarchs supported by real oligarchs mucking up the works with governance based on political theater.
Thanks, Christine. I read about Accelerate Learning/Youngkin the other day. Can't remember whether I posted it, but glad you did. Interesting that he couldn't get it to Virginia due to strong pushback from Dem majority in State Senate.
Then there's this latest from my county:
"And, thus, it came to pass that on the 102nd Day of Mad King Glenn’s reign, the Senate defeated his attempt to nullify the will of Loudoun County voters by a tally of 22-18, with one republican joining the Senate's 21 Democrats.
"We celebrate a great victory for our community and for democratic values, protecting our right to vote into office who we see fit to serve – specifically, the Loudoun County School Board (LCSB) – and have them complete their terms without interruption by the whims of a madly ambitious Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who seeks to rule by stunts and royal decrees in order to thrill the Republican rabble.
"It was, after all, insane to think that Democrats, with a majority in the Senate, would permit him to single out the LCSB, cutting short their terms of office by one year. You might reasonably think, well, there must have been some rationale, some underlying issue, that led the governor to this action. But, actually, NO, there wasn’t. He was merely joining in a race to the bottom with fellow culture warriors and presidential aspirants DeSantis and Abbott, attacking public education, equity and diversity.
"If you’re just joining us, the background is this: A bipartisan bill, HB1138, intended to restructure LCSB elections, staggering members’ terms, passed both houses unanimously. Youngkin, rather than merely signing the measure, amended it to require all members of the LCSB, elected to serve until 2023, face election this fall.
"And then, today, as they have throughout this year, Senate Democrats stood their ground defeating regressive GOP policy initiatives. The original bill now goes back to Youngkin for his signature or veto.
"We are grateful for the outpouring of support from both partisans and non-partisans, editorial writers and, of course, the general public writing to their senators to defeat Youngkin’s amendment.
"But we must remain vigilant and united. This was nothing more than a political feint; we expect more stunts as Youngkin contemplates the presidency in 2024.
"Today is day 102… There are 1,358 remaining in his term."
Very interesting article, someone's making some $$$$$, eh? Thanks, Christine, for sharing another slice of life from Desantisworld. Be well🌷💙🌷
Christine, I read your post from earlier in the week and followed up.
Yep, the new company that can supply all the books was a former employer of Yongkin.
So, really, the book thing in Florida is all about MONEY. No surprise to me.
Cha ching!
Agreed Daria... still, I find it interesting when they leave a trap for McCarthy who then walks right into it... then they release the audio.
And the process dares beg them “do it again (lie) and we expose you”
Problem is, Republicans now celebrate the lying , business as usual
Morning Stephen. McCarthy is deliberately walking into the “trap”. It’s merely a ruse of the week. And meticulously calculated to get feathers in a ruffle. Keep people glued to the soap opera and not what really is happening literally hour by hour in some of the worst world crisis since WWII.
It is interesting, Stephen, in this day and age of technology people actually think they can say: "I didn't say/do/write that" and get away with it.
What information we have is because dedicated, diligent, and courageous investigative reporters are in the trenches, every single day for years, gathering and sharing information we would never so easily have without their formidable efforts.
That the takeaway for so many here is to complain they are not doing enough - or might personally benefit from their work - truly shocks me.
I think you are right, Lin. The investigative reporter provides something different than an investigator preparing a case for civil or criminal prosecution. The dribs and drab might sound an alarm, but more than likely get lost at the tip line. The Woordwards of the journalistic world shed light and create a plausible narrative to explain; a standard much lower than that required for conviction by a jury. I might wish they blew the lid off the cesspool, but what then? We get enough of that breaking news and sensationalism from Fox and if they became the standard we'd get plenty of swift convictions (think of the pilloring of the innocent in public opinion and lynchings predicated upon reported facts) but not justice. Just saying.
I tend to agree with Lynell (below) about the dribs and drabs. I recognize that these are useful for promoting a book, but today's viewers seem to be more inclined to stay tuned if the information of the day is short and dramatic. For more lengthy background, Rachel Maddow spends quite a bit of her opening laying out detailed information supporting whatever topic she focuses on for the night. Same with Ari Melber - he opens with a rather long and detailed monologue, somewhat legalese, but not what one might called "sensational" in style.
There may be a desire here not to throw too much out at once for public consumption. At this advanced stage of my life, I tend to be overwhelmed when presented with a tsunami of info. And yes, we're talking about news not a court of law.
lin, with all due respect, I am not devaluing the work of investigative reporters OR the risk they take doing their work. I understand those things far better than you can ever know. But, to be clear, to think that the release of information just prior to a book's publication isn't driven to boost sales and profits is naive. Publishers and authors both want the biggest bang for their buck and this is how they get it, releasing juicy tidbits, or red meat, if you prefer, in dribs and drabs.
You're shocked by my opinion? What should shock you is even the remotest possibility that information gathered might not have been turned over to the appropriate authorities.
"What should shock you is even the remotest possibility that information gathered might not have been turned over to the appropriate authorities."
And exactly what evidence can you present to support your hypothesis - that there is even the remotest chance these reporters have withheld information from the appropriate authorities? Who are the appropriate authorities you are referring to?
Do you believe that DOJ and the Jan 6 Committee et al have not scoured the same public record and private sources that the reporters have delved into? Do you think making information public prematurely carries no risks to the cases being built?
lin, It is OK to propose a reasonable hypothesis that book publishers and book authors withhold information to spring for the book release.
btw: Hypothesis don't have to stand the "fact" test. They just have to be reasonable, which, honestly, daria's and yours are both imminently reasonable.
What evidence do you have to support your notion that these (or other) reporters have turned over evidence to the DOJ and the January 6 Committee? Why is it wrong for me to question the timing and motive of leaks prior to yet another exposé being released? Assuming that all the "right" things have been done and that all rocks have been looked under is part of the problem. We the people too often trust that the right things are being done when they may not be. We spend hours bashing the Right who, with glazed eyed, drooling obedience pay fealty to a man and a party because their mantra is: Trust me because I/Fox said so". Are you saying we on the Left should do the same? No thank you, lin.
If a case is being built information that can damage that case should not be released unless there is other information to support the premise of the case.
There is a third possibility. The release of information is actually strategic — letting those who have not yet testified that their accusers know more than the stalled testifies wanted them to know? I’m just guessing and hope that what I’ve written makes sense — but . . .
Oy. I think you are sacrificing reason to a rhetorical exercise to justify what looks more like reflexive suspicion than diligence. At least to me.
Sigh, ok.
Drips and drabs can also be part of the overall strategy. The closer we get to the midterms in November, the more the info will come together and become (hopefully) a dominant narrative. Having hearings live in late August/early Sept gives the energy to move toward Election Day and hopefully NOT allow the gop to capture the congress.
I prefer getting info out there. Media have failed us in holding it for getting a book published or a more timely for them exposure. We are at a very critical time for our constitutional republic. It the Jan 6 committee releasing information or is it reacting to what the media are doing?
Rep Raskin contends the public hearings will blow the roof off. Dribs and drabs may upset that.
I tend to think J6 has wraps on the roof-blower info yet to be heard by us.
Yes, Daria. Agree. Success of the book being published is what is taking precedence in “investigative journalism”. It no longer is focused on what is being investigated to bring nefarious practices to an end. The focus is on the success of the book and the scheme to get people hooked on the dark intent and look at it as a soap opera fantasy.
I’ll make a simple statement about all that the authors have juiced up in their “let’s play telephone he said she said scandal”. Republicans, even those that follow McCarthy with loyalty, see the following as gospel. They want Jim Jordan as Speaker of a Republican majority in the house and that’s that. That’s the current soup du jour and this new “blockbuster” will be used by the Repubs to further that end.
I do marvel and detest at the same time their ability to take any news and concoct it as palatable bites for their political palate. And their number one in the kitchen sous chef? Tuckems. Do not count him out in a political career. He is salivating at the prospect.
Continue to be fierce, Daria. Love that about you. Crunch time coming with summer season close.
Salud!
It's all about the Benjamin$, baby.
Seriously. Think a moment. What are you doing to turn the tide of authoritarianism and kleptocracy? Do you think HCR does this for the dollars? These investigative reporters don't either.
They sometimes risk their personal safety to do the job.
It's important to realize that the release of said information has already happened, to little effect. It's what Democrats do with that information that matters. Where is Merrick Garland?
I agree, but we are so good at forgetting that I think there is some merit to having it come out in dribs and drabs, letting the whole thing build up until the election. The last minute release of more email news from FBI director James Comey cut into Hillary Clinton’s vote. We forget. Covid helped warp our sense of time. Some of us even forgot what we saw with our own eyes on Jan. 6. It is a faded memory of something once pretty shocking and important. But not as faded for people who need to believe the idea Jan. 6 was a tourist visit or patriots trying to save America.
Commerce "trumps" the public's wellbeing.
Daria...I totally agree...since the onset I've felt the information, such as what's in todays "letters from an American" that HCR puts in her daily commentaries should be broadcast far and wide. The old adage "A strong Offense is the best Defense" is applicable. Make no mistake...the enemies of our American democracy won't be swayed...But, perhaps the rest of America, especially the silent many, or the truly unaware will finally take heed. Does anyone really believe that the onslaught against our Democracy will be defeated in one or two election cycles? Face the fact that if the Repugnant Republicans gain the majority in the next few months we will be lost. Look what they have done to date, and continue to do, to steal the upcoming elections. If and when they do steal it...look carefully at what they are proposing, eg, Social Security, Obama Care cuts or elimination as well as, broad reach tax increases on lower income folks.
Wake up America.
Word!
Thank you, Professor, for providing a lens for us to clearly see the repubs doing their job, which appears to be fighting among themselves, lying and not working for the voters who sent them to Washington. In the meantime, millions of people are suffering from Russia’s war in Ukraine, gas prices and sources are a concern, we’re worried about Putin’s next move, we have diplomats and professionals including our president, Joe Biden, working with NATO trying to prevent a World War. At home the Democrats are governing. But our Democracy depends on our representatives working for the people, a two party system that requires the cooperation and attention of both parties. While one party attempts to govern, the other is focusing on reelection in 2024 and the last election. It seems there’s an addiction to repub political drama and corruption that is clearly interfering with necessary progress in our government. We should be worried. I am.
We have one political party. The R’s are a cult.
As am I.
Me too, Ally...Morning!
Not working for their constituents, absolutely. But it’s powerful propaganda that makes those constituents overlook it. I wonder how Texas, etc., got away with not accepting federal money for enabling more Texans to get medical insurance.
The last three LFAA have been a virtual informational firehose of information. I think that the next 6 months will be critical in the outcome of our country and whether we get to keep our democracy, have another civil war, or self-destruct.
I agree, Ally. And if Jamie Raskin is right....that the open hearings of the Jan 6 committee will "Blow the roof off", then let's get out the popcorn and watch/listen. It's gonna be an interesting summer.
If only there were time to make it into a docuseries, like Succession. Secession?
I haven't had popcorn since my last trip to the cinema, before the Pandemic. But yesterday, I included Orville's "movie theater" popcorn in my curbside order, in preparation! Seriously!
With that, Ally, I'm off to do something critical for the country!
Me, Too! We have an excellent Democratic candidate for the U.S. House from Michigan, Dr. Bob Lorinser
https://www.votedrbob.com/
He is going up against 3 term seditionist Republican Jack Bergman, who was bought and paid for by OIL to keep Enbridge Line 5 open, and who bought a cabin in the U.P. so he could claim residence when he actually lives in Louisianna. "Vote like a Michigander" might become our clarion call.
Honestly, MaryPat. I don't know how anyone can vote for a nonresident! And "ick" on Enbridge.
Fetterman, A Democrat who is running for Senate in PA, watched the Republican debates several days ago, he said so we didn't have to! He says in his email: "Honestly, one of the biggest moments happened about 2 minutes in… when the moderators’ very first question to frontrunners David McCormick and Dr. Oz was why voters should support them when they haven’t even lived in Pennsylvania. That’s right — the PA Republican primary is a race between a millionaire from New Jersey + a millionaire from Connecticut. (Or as another candidate on their stage put it, “the two tourists”.)
😠
The more internal dissent within the GOTP, the better.
"Let them fight"
Yep. Tear each other to shreds.
I agree Terri.
Let them Bury Themselves!!!
This is exactly what Goldwater predicted would happen when he warned the GOP to not court the evangelicals. What he didn't foresee, of course, was Fox News. The cult members will never change their minds; they are the very definition of sunk cost fallacy. And the business wing of the GOP will continue to kowtow to them. Meanwhile, nationwide, local elections have installed cultists in school boards, mayor's offices, and city councils. The cancer runs deep now.
HCR referred today to "the Christian religion".
I've spent the last several years translating a book that kept me squashed up against the basics of Christ's religion... and frankly, what is commonly referred to in America as "the Christian religion" is all too often a travesty, perpetrated by both so-called "evangelicals"... who seem totally unfamiliar with the gospel... and by Catholic conservatives with a very political social agenda...
It's quite remarkable how human beings can so misrepresent a message as to proclaim the opposite of what it clearly states.
It's not "The truth shall set you free" but rather, "You shall tie the truth in knots and use that knotted cord to beat and bind your brothers and sisters..."
An evangelical pastor I admire for his heart and actions noted in passing that he (and close congregants) are now referring to themselves as Jesus followers to separate themselves from the politicized Christians who now dominate churches.
The politicized “Christians” seem to have missed the political stance of Jesus. Anti-misogyny. Anti-greed. Anti-xenophobia. Anti-self-righteousness. Pro-Love thy neighbor as thyself.
Is the present abuse of Christian labels for political ends not the consequence of many failed far-right politicians discovering, a few decades ago, that the role of minister of religion provided them with perfect tax-free cover for controlling (and exploiting) an obedient captive audience?
The ploy was so successful that, from marginal, it became mainstream and severely infected the religion that made the Elmer Gantry figures respectable. (Sorry, I shouldn't speak so ill of Elmer Gantry...).
Also there is the authoritarian nature of religion, the belief that their beliefs and rules should apply (be enforced) among everyone. So when your way of life, once dominant and now threatened, the actions go toward casting out apostasy and commanding faith and prayer over bringing light to truth. A closed system must resist cracks at all costs, even that involving perversions of core values and fundamental teachings of the once leader or God-representative.
Yes, the problem goes back a long way: to the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.
You'll find this hard to understand, but I myself am a natural skeptic and keener on stripping away beliefs than on subscribing to them.
But there is authority -- that which is genuine -- and then there is the (secondary) authoritarian use and abuse of authority.
Do understand. Being with faith and skeptical keeps one honest and able to grow faith into truth and belief neither a fixed state of mind nor a weapon with which to defend and persecute. I started questioning at age 9 and asked to leave, an age when I probably couldn't understand the answers offered. 🙃
Much like Putin's control in Russia.
Morning Peter. Your last sentence chilling. Succinct as usual. What is the book you give scholarly translation time to?
Oh dear, Christine, maybe I should be more careful about how I express myself, but am particularly horrified by the use of religion for nefarious purposes -- just consider the record over the past twenty years or so, from Al-Qaida to Daesh/ISIS all the way down to the Russian Orthodox Patriarch's blessing on the "special operation" undertaken by the Kremlin on February 24th. [Not to forget President George W. Bush's dreadful gaffe in using the term "crusades" in connection with the war against Islamic terrorists -- cfr. https://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0919/p12s2-woeu.html]
I'm not quite clear about current availability on Amazon.com, but this website gives full details of the book, Roberto PLA: Man, Temple of the Living God, a hidden exegesis of Christ´s religion based on the Gospel of Thomas. https://evangeliodetomas-interpretacion.com/en/the-gospel/
It is not easy reading and was correspondingly difficult to translate. You'll see that I entitled my own foreword Getting Lost in Translation. Nevertheless, I'm sure of the central message, rarely touched on by Churches despite being theologically orthodox: the indwelling Deity.
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it here, but it is true that it had me reading both the Gospel of Thomas -- brief, but often hard to interpret -- and the detail of the canonical gospels... for years. I learned much but have far more to learn. And it will take the rest of my life to digest all this...
I’m intrigued as well, Peter! You translated it into English from?
From Spanish, Ashley.
The writer, Roberto Pla, was a musician and musicologist, as well as being plainly something of a polymath. He studied Sanskrit and translated works by the major Indian philosopher Sankara as well as translating and/or editing other major works of wisdom literature. Here is his bibliography: https://www.robertopla.com/libros?lang=en
You'll find other details about the author in the same website, as well as in the main site concerning the book translated: https://evangeliodetomas-interpretacion.com/en/
These include mention of some of the difficulties for translation, such as the writer's way of stuffing a single sentence with mixed metaphors...
Fascinating!
While I suspect you too may well be a polymath, you’re clearly polylingual. Since my youth, I’ve gravitated to languages (thus far, mastery only of German and get-by French, unless you count a handful of Latin years). I’ve had micro-tastes of translation work — yet an entire, masterful book, I’m smitten!
Of course you mention it, Peter. Scholars and historians have different purpose than journalists. Imposed filters stifle journalists at times in releasing information until it reflects a particular slant.
Scholars and historians sift and sort and study and process searching for truth to share. And then search for more to learn.
Christine, When you say 'slant' with reference to a journalist, that seems to imply something other that getting story to as close to the truth as possible and achieving accuracy being the most important aspect of the work. Organizing material, cutting down to size, deciding what needs more emphasis and what less, how to shape it to be readable and interesting... are all part of the job. There's no question that Trump and his band of traitors have made the truth the enemy with journalists and reporters who seek the facts 'the enemy of the people'. There are other culprits, including a few 'journalists' who have undermined the public's trust, but journalism is alive at this very moment and crucial to democracy. I am an advocate of it. Below are links, which will provide a better sense of what I am getting at: 'The elements of journalism - American Press Institute; SPJ Code of Ethics - Society of Professional Journalists; Who We Are - Ethical Journalism Network
https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/journalism-essentials/what-is-journalism/elements-journalism/
https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/who-we-are
One of my favorite books is Elaine Pagel's "Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas." What an amazing endeavor that translating must have been Peter!
“Proclaim the opposite of what it clearly states.” Shocks me to my core every day…
Sarcasm worn daily with panache is becoming, Jeri Chilcutt. 😉
I am a Jesusist.
Good Morning, All! I’m wondering if anyone else had difficulty finding Heather’s letter today (Wednesday April 27)? Considering the very low amount of likes and comments, I’m thinking there’s definitely an issue on Substack.
I didn’t find the letter in my inbox (or spam) either in my email or in my Substack app. I had the go to my library and then find it under “latest”.
This letter is too important not to be found easily.
If I’m mistaken, I’m sorry for the alarm. But to have less than 50 likes by this time indicates a wider problem.
Thanks for your help! ❤️
I have LFAA bookmarked for an easy find, though I did spend a bit of time looking in my spam and trash folders to make sure it actually hadn't come yet before using said bookmark. Reading LFAA is how I start my day. Nothing happens before (well, coffee in cup first), not even Wordle! LOL
Kari: "I’m wondering if anyone else had difficulty finding Heather’s letter today (Wednesday April 27)? ... I didn’t find the letter in my inbox (or spam) either in my email or in my Substack app."
I didn't receive the Wednesday email notification until 6:40am (MT) today (Thursday)... 20 minutes ago.
I had the same issue.
Yes, that happens occassionaly & easily recovered via Google LFAA search & other methods.
In her video chats, HCR has mentioned the frustration of rural internet service. If that was not the reason for a late post on Substack, I figure she fell asleep after posting on Facebook.
Also, Ellie, do you know if she gave a FB chat last Tuesday? I could not find it if she did.
This is Tuesday of last week. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/tax-dollars-and-tech-dollars-who?r=l2aa7&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct k.
TY, Christine.
This was Tuesday of this current week. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/american-jews-and-the-american-story?r=l2aa7&s=r&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=direct
Thanks, Christine. I was looking for the video chat on FB but am told she didn't have one.
No. Not this week. She posted a podcast instead.
Thanks, Kathy. Good to know. I had already listened to the podcast.
I seriously am in awe at how prolific Professor Richardson is and her reach to readers and viewers. I missed your FB reference. Her podcasts the past couple weeks have been amaze.
Yes--this has happened twice in the last week. I think her auto-send has gone wonky.
I got it late -- 5:35 am PDT, but there have been days recently when I had to go to Substack to find it, which makes me wonder if Substack is growing faster than its systems are designed to accommodate.
Hurray! I just received the email copy (5 hours late)...problem solved for today? Thanks everyone :)
Same thing happened to me—twice this week unfortunately.
Same! Seems to be a recurring problem.
Yep, same problem.
Yes, it was late again! I found it on Facebook first. I always share it with 3 close friends and it’s very frustrating for substack to be so slow!!!
Same here, but I go to my "history" tab to find yesterdays. When I go there, I get the latest.
The letter arrived six or seven hours later than usual.
Mine came 6 hours late. Was searching for it.
Yeah. This is becoming a more frequent problem. Didn’t show up in my inbox.
On The Elon Musk Razzmatazz
Josh Marshall/TPM
Twitter is not the digitized public square: "The actual digital public square is the open Internet."
"The simple truth is that content moderation is much, much less about “free speech” or unpopular opinions than some random guy DMing pictures of his penis every day for a year to a woman he’s harassing, or hoaxes about people dying, or copyright infringement. Of course, as Musk knows as well as anyone, Twitter is also a great tool for market manipulation and securities fraud. In other words, it’s less about “speech” than the digital amplification of the predatory dimensions of people’s personality disorders."
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/on-the-elon-musk-razzmatazz/sharetoken/gAzGnJRH0kSs
Unfortunately true with our biggest platforms. Once in a while content moderation has actually been about keeping conversations civil and safe. Apple’s E-World and its daughter Talk City were like that. (Full disclosure: my brother ran both). Notice the past tense. The predators seem to have generated a lot more money.
Twitter gets more credit that it deserves. Like Josh said "..the open internet is the digital public square." IOW Twitter is off in one of the corners of the internet.
It's really a place for journalists to hang out to pickup on the latest musings of the biggest newsmakers. Those of us who are hangers-on spend our time either posting what we think is important, supporting those tweets with similar points of view or flaming on the opposition.
My Twitter days are about through regardless of what Musk does or doesn't do. I've been off FB over 2 years and don't miss it one iota. Twitter will be much the same after a while but I know anything of value said on Twitter will surface in the blogs, substacks, media I read or watch daily.
Substacks are my main source these days. I scan online newspapers out of habit. Twitter and FB are partly for news, mainly to reinforce stuff I want amplified.
I start the day with LFAA to get up to speed then peruse headlines on The Independent, The Guardian, NYT and WaPo. I'm down to 2 substacks (from 5) with The,Ink being the second one. Anand Giridharadas is good company with HCR as both are clear, calm, collected and cogent to a fault. ;-)
My blogs/sites/media are Talking Points Memo, The American Prospect, The New Republic, Mother Jones, Intercept, Media Matters, The Nation and a few others.
My big problem with social media sites like Twitter and FB is rarely does anything good come from them, they are great vehicles for spreading bad information. That's not to say you won't see some good stuff in either one but you have to seek it out because the AI in both are geared to keep you scrolling, FB more than Twitter.
The truth is you could just read the Sunday paper and probably be as current as you need to be. Living in the news cycle has taught me to move somewhere else. ;-)
Oh, your last sentence is so clever and true, Christopher.
And your daily lineup is fabulous.
It's too much to do AND spend a lot of time on Twitter. Another way to stay current in a smart (and lazy) way would be to just check out all of HCR's daily Notes. I'm not ashamed to admit I also do that a lot .
Same here.
Thank you Heather.
I think I am becoming numb by what news is breaking regarding January 6th. At this point, nothing surprises me. I know I'm not in the minority. How sad is that?
I do find it interesting, disturbing, disgusting that 18 Republicans strong armed Twitter to sell to Elon Musk. If, that sale goes to the finish line it will prove that extortion is what will potentially bring Trump back to the social media limelight.
I read on Reuters last night that the transaction may not actually happen.
Be safe. Be well.
I read yesterday that Musk lost about 21B after Tesla stock lost value when stock holders began selling off expecting the stock to go down. That 21B was Musk's insurance to buy Twitter. Seems he may have trouble now getting funding. Hahahaha on Musk-man
That and the fact that he did something quite similar when he "said" he was going to buy Warren Buffett's See's Confectionery Co. . Reuters is expressing doubt this offer will actually go to the end.
Fingers tightly crossed.
I also heard something about the SEC telling him that he cannot use his twitter account for any Tesla business. I didn't follow that report closely enough to elaborate, but apparently it set him back a bit! LOL!
YAY SEC!!
Good info, Linda, as usual updated for me. Funny that Elon’s Twitter bid is just that, twittering. He’s very good at that, Asperger’s being what it is. It’s interesting talking to a few young men I know that have worked for Space X as very talented engineers. The climate was not conducive to a long career there.
The cadre of Jim Jordan and his ilk is nothing short of ignorant. A legislator acting like a broker is ridiculous. I loathe him. I have roots and family and property in Ohio. I don’t even believe people when they praise him. His ignorance and obsequious fealty is muck and manure.
Salud, Linda!
Muck and manure....Perfect. Scum, too.
I'm really hoping that the midterms don't go as predicted. Word is that will put Jim Jordan front and center. I can't imagine having to listen to him screaming every damn day. He seems to be cut from the same cloth as Rand Paul or is it Paul Rand? You know, it's the eye doctor that had his license pulled but feels he is significant enough to go toe to toe with Dr Fauci. I have felt that people that praise Jordan are lying. Yet he is elected.
I was on Twitter last night and saw a bizarre Tweet from what appeared to be from the actual account of Elon Musk. The tweet said, paraphrasing, "Now I'm going to buy Coca-Cola and put cocaine back in it". I laughed it off, but I'm not sure. Those type grandeur statements are inclined with someone with Aspergers. I worked with a fully functioning guy with Aspergers. Brilliant guy, but some of his statements were out there. I haven't heard to the contrary so far.
My Ohio friends in his serpentine district hate him. We need more friends like that.
When SecState Blinken and SecDef Austin met Zelensky in Kyiv, they publicly said something that I haven’t heard since FDR/Churchill’s demand for ‘unconditional surrender’ in 1943.
Blinken/Austin spoke of a commitment to winning and a strategy to severely lessen Putin. WOW!
In Korea, except for Dugout Doug McArthur’s proposal to ‘nuke China,’ there was no winning strategy. When SecDef Clark Clifford asked his generals in early 1968 what was their winning strategy in Vietnam, they had none. Ditto in Iraq and Afghanistan.
President Biden and his key team members remind me of President Truman on the Cold War—unceasingly firm in confronting Stalin (Putin). My sense is that there is no face-saving-deal in the offing for Putin.
Biden is Trumanesque in seeking to confront Killer Putin. This means a total commitment to expelling Russian troops from Ukraine and returning Russian satellite provinces to the government of Ukraine.
President Biden has a tough task to keep this 40-country coalition committed to preserving Ukrainian sovereign independence and to counter Putin’s threats and shenanigans.
Perhaps Biden’s greatest challenge is to sustain this commitment within the United States, where many Americans seem more concerned with the price of gas and short-term inflation than the Western fight against brutal autocracy.
On this, I do not expect bipartisanship, as Republican sleaze balls wage their anti-Biden election campaign.
I parked at my favorite beach yesterday before heading to the Town Hall Meeting in Traverse City with our superb Democratic Candidate for U.S. Congress for Northern Michigan and the U.P., Dr. Bob Lorinser.
https://www.votedrbob.com/
We must oust Big Oil annointed Rep. Jack Bergman (who is NOT from Michigan and actually lives in Louisianna). His (and Oli's) only goal is to preserve the aging Enbridge crude oil Line 5 which lies, rotting and rusting, under Lake Michigan. As I got out of my car, I was so heartened when I saw 8 electric charging stations in the small parking lot!! Take THAT big oil!
The Death of Bishop Evans: Per The Guardian's Ramon Antonio Vargas reporting on 4/24 & 4/25 covering Governor Abbott's grandstanding deployment of the Texas National Guard to the Rio Grande, "field artilleryman", Bishop E. Evans shed his radio & "body armor" and dove into the river attempting to save 2 persons crossing the river that Bishop thought were in trouble. Bishop the soldier, the human being's body was recovered earlier this week after a lengthy search. Bishop was 22 years old, Artillery Regiment, New Braunfels.
So sad, the current in the RioGrande can be extremely strong … this young, intrepid guardsman has more integrity and courage than Abbott could ever imagine. Abbott sends ill-equipped, under paid citizens to the border to prop up his conservative bona fides, and 22-year olds wind up dying, jumping in the river - trying to save the lives of vulnerable, frightened migrants. Texas needs a BETO Governor, hopefully it will happen in November!
😔
Often in these letters and in your Facebook chats you have provided evidence that Joe Biden is doing a good job (e.g., jobs are up, American’s international standing on the rise). Yet, Fox News Channel and main stream media generally seem not to report much on these issues and seem to focus on casting his presidency as weak, directionless, and ineffective. And the Democratic Party offers little in his defense.
Last night I finished reading Mark Bowden’s The Three Battles of Wanat and Other True Stories, a collection of some of his Vanity Fair and Atlantic articles. One of them, Abraham Lincoln Is an Idiot, was perhaps the most interesting. In it Bowden wrote about the contemporary reporting on Lincoln. Among the general criticisms are that he “is universally considered a failure, has no will, no courage, no executive capacity” (from Ohio Republican William M. Dickson in 1862); he is “weak as water” (from Maine Republican William P. Fessenden; the Jersey City American Standard criticized his first Inaugural Address as “ involved, coarse, colloquial, devoid of ease and grace, and bristling with obscurities and outrages against the simple rules of syntax”. A local Gettysburg newspaper critiqued his famous address by saying “we pass over the silly remarks of the President. For the credit of the nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them, and they shall be no more repeated or thought of.” His second Inaugural Address was called “one of the most awkwardly expressed documents I have ever read.” And the Chicago Times wrote “We did not conceive it possible that even Mr. Lincoln could produce a paper so slip-shod, so loose-jointed, so puerile, not alone in literary construction, but in ideas, sentiment, and grasp.” With friends and party members like these, who needed enemies?
It seems to me that Joe Biden is doing A very good job in the face of a 50-50 Senate a slim majority in the House, traitorous behavior on the part of the GOP, and damned little vocal support from his party or balanced coverage inform the media. He is getting the Lincoln treatment. I fear that he will not get the support he needs to help us recover from the previous administration and only when history looks back on his presidency from a distance of several decades will see his competency and leadership be more widely appreciated.
Fran It took decades for historians/political scientists, in C-Span presidential rankings, to acknowledge that Truman was among America’s best presidents. Hopefully recognition of President Biden’s accomplishments will come far more swiftly.
WE need to assure that Biden gets the support he needs! In Michigan, our mission is to oust oil-owned seditionist 3 term Republican U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman with the superb Democratic candidate, Dr. Bob Lorinser. Appreciate any donations to the cause!
https://www.votedrbob.com/
I struggle to think what would be worse: tfg as president again or Tuckums. I can’t stand the voices of either (talk about whining) and one worships Putin and the other worships Orban. And McCarthy showed a spark of conscience right after the insurrection and then the spark was extinguished. McCarthy is. ⚽️🏀🎾-less piece of masculinity.
Here's one to make you laugh....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/19/toxic-emasculinity/?fbclid=IwAR3RhPFsI096Pp4_ein2atYx2Kl6NqeOdnrmFNElS7EItdHNHuvChkymfGQ
EXCELLENT!
And another!!
Wow, three is a lot of minuses! ;-)
I see the middle one is tanned .😂
Thank you both for the much needed laughs this morning!
Recently came across this utterly prescient quote from our 18th President, Ulysses S Grant:
"If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other."
Thank you Prof Richardson for another day with another spot-on read. I hope to engage with at least one crazy person today, not because I expect to change their mind but because I hope to drop the smallest seed of doubt in their otherwise fetid swamp of ambition and ignorance.
How prescient of Grant and spot on in relation to our current divide.
Some interesting (and chilling) observations in the current Daily Kos https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/4/26/2093972/-Fascism-Evangelical-conservatives-are-still-pressing-for-the-end-of-American-democracy.
That is an impressive piece of writing. It does seem to all boil down to white nationalism. Every time. I love her comment: "Our technology has evolved around us, but we ourselves, as creatures of meat, are still wired with the same brains that see the outlines of human faces in tree bark and get frightened from it."
More than white nationalism. It is also the big elephant in the room - evangelical Christianity. Never in my life could I have predicted that evangelical Christianity would take a stand against rationality and decency to the degree it has. Who can forget Paula White quivering and quaking along with (totally non-believing) Trump and his evangelical advisory board in the oval office. Quite literally making a deal with the devil.
Wow! Most people I know spend a lot of time with trees and have most often been inspired and comforted by them, even by the lovely designs of their bark. Am I missing something, or did we evolve beyond our ancient fear without realising it?
I believe the reference is to those who see “the face of God” everywhere and take it as a Devine sign. I’d have use a tortilla chip as my example myself…
Ally, do you keep the chip in a container by your bed?🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbvIM0TC3NI
There was a woman someplace who saw the face in a Dorito. Were I a follower of Christ, my inclination would be to see its representation in nature. Not on a snack. Although I do like my snacks.... so who knows??
😹
Seeing the face of Gd everywhere is supposed to create respect for creation, for all living and non living beings. Are you saying some people take it to mean a subset of people are entitled to trash every one else?
Thanks, Joan. I always appreciate your educated comments.
I’m truly not trying to trash anyone.
I live in Florida. I need humor…
I have tried four times now to respond to this: final try.
On my continuing trip across country, we were driving east through Utah. We created a hill, and came into a vale, where grass was just greening up, there were general hills, and sunlight illuminating it all. I commented to my friend “if I were in a religion that was seeking a promised land, and came upon this, I might think that this was divinely inspired and my new home.” I see the beauty of nature, but do not impose divinity upon it; I do not follow that path.
I think it is bonkers to se the face of God in a cheese sandwich, a dorito chip, or on a rumpled bedsheet (all examples I have seen.)
I’m curious in your choice of words “a subset of people entitled to trash everyone else”. I am not trying to foist my beliefs on anyone, unlike Christianity has done for its entire existence.
Ally, I don't at all think that you are trying to foist your beliefs on anyone. I apologize for any way in which my writing implied anything like that.
Looking back on the posts, I think I was combining ideas from different parts of the conversation.
First: For anyone who actually believes (as I do) that Gd is one and/or that the world is fundamentally all connected, the logical result is that that oneness is literally everywhere.
Second: Too many people(not you) twist that religious perspective from where it belongs - an injunction to be kind to all - into a sick justification for harming anyone who does not see the world exactly as they do, or does not belong to their self-defined superior group. It's a very big leap from "all people are created in the image of Gd" to "stomp on everyone who doesn't look or think like us."
Periodically, I find myself asserting that the first idea does not in any way imply the second. It looks like I jumped into that when no one had actually said it.
As for snacks, I have a lot more trouble seeing Gd in human bad behavior than in odd physical things. Maybe good coffee before corn chips. Natural beauty and the faces of people I love are a lot easier. You thinking the whole idea is bonkers does me no harm whatsoever. I agree with you that great harm has been done in the name of Christianity, and little if any on behalf of skepticism.
Am reading White Too Long about racism in white churches by a Baptist minister who is currently head of the PRRI polling company. It’s very good. And eye-opening.
Chilling but not surprising. It is not hard to connect the dots so to speak, at least not hard for me. I grew up, for the most part, in southern states. I have seen abject racism and watched it evolve as the country tries to tamp it down over the decades (or lately try to reverse it) I have also seen hyper-Christianity, more prevalent in the south than anywhere else (where else do you have mega-churches all over the place). I know racists whether in the closet or out of the closet. I know anti-intellectuals (can still remember being denigrated in junior high by some kids just for making good grades) . I know evangelical Christians whose faith is in the word of god as they interpret it, and any other facts they see as contrary be damned as the devil's work. I know gullible willfully ignorant people. Mix that up and you get a toxic brew. What is new, I think, is the political power they have attained. And what is perhaps most alarming to me - that the percentage of people in my country who have fallen prey to this is much larger than I had thought (not just in the south, but in rural areas across the entire country). If somehow that percentage were decreased 10 or 15 points, then voting rights wouldn't be an issue. Gerrymandering wouldn't be an issue. It wouldn't be enough to turn the tide. So how do we decrease that percentage....
Could American Evangelicals spot the Antichrist? Benjamin L. Corey.
https://www.benjaminlcorey.com/could-american-evangelicals-spot-the-antichrist-heres-the-biblical-predictions/
What an interesting article!! I am not well schooled in all of the teachings in the bible, but have believed that tfg is the anti-Christ almost from the time he rode down the elevator to announce his candidacy. He is so transparently evil that I’m truly and thoroughly gobsmacked that there are people, literally millions of them, who don’t/can’t see it. Even if you believe there is no actual anti-Christ, it’s hard to believe that reasonable people don’t recognize evil in their midst.
Exactly, Cathy!!
FWIW: 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗞𝗼𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁. 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝘃𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝘀.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/daily-kos/
Zelensky is showing them how precious democracy is and we have to fight for it and humanity, kindness and leadership.
I'm really glad I'm not a Republican campaign and media operative any more. I actually worked helping Republican candidates craft TV spots and media messages back in the 80's. These were mostly local & state level races, but one was a first time Congressional candidate. Compared to this current group, these were pretty decent people...but I got to see first hand what the pressure to win does to people. 3 of them literally "melted down" during their races and could not function for awhile from the stress. One ended up in the hospital and that became national news, because his top campaign people would not tell anyone where he was. He lost a race that he was 20 points ahead in. The other 2 happened in the week before the elections and we were able to contain the fact, they could not make a personal appearance. They both won. There came a time I became disgusted with the whole thing. It was fun at first...a sort of "bloodless war". But honestly the Christian Right did me in. The most petty and juvenile people I ever dealt with. After staying away from politics I came to my senses and now am here and love this forum. These current Republican "leaders" are a train wreck...and I know one when I see it.