It has been a long time since my one semester Civics course I. High school and my required semester at university.
I have a basic understanding of how government works. Or make that how it is supposed to work.
Sadly, with the advent of the era of Trump and RFP (Republican Fascist Party), I am learning so much.
I had no idea that one Senator, be he the majority leader or just some poor soul with an axe to grind, could hold up nominations such as military, state, or judiciary. How/Why is this possible?
Why is there not a huge outcry?
One guy in the Senate that I can’t vote against because he is from some god forsaken place lime Kentucky or Alabama, can have a huge effect on my life.
In 18th century Poland, a single parliamentarian could block any measure; this was called, I believe, the "Liberum veto". This weakened the state to the point that Poland was partitioned and absorbed by its neighbors..
The Republican Party has allowed itself to become a "host" for the growth of Facism. Over recent years, they have revealed their acceptance of "racism"....those who are fearful that people of color will gain control over them. (even though they have convinced some people of color to "side" with them......)
Observe the treatment of women with the abortion issue. It is manly to impregnate a woman....but some men choose NOT to take responsibility for their offspring.....not even allowing a woman to choose having an abortion if necessary for her wellbeing. Having an abortion is NOT going to a spa for a woman....it is self-care...in a most difficult way.....it can even be a life-saving issue. She should have the right to choose.
Also, I cannot count the number of phone calls I receive asking for support for law enforcement agencies. In the past , it has been maybe once or twice a year. I now receive multiple calls daily.
We are all aware of the rise in gun violence. We have real mental health issues.
Also, I appreciate that we have private schools, charter schools, as well as public schools. It is great to have choices. Are our children being taught well? Is prejudice being encouraged? Are outright lies being deciminated through textbooks chosen by those who are pushing their own personal agendas? Even if we are old...we MUST get in the way!
Our military is an important arm of protection for ALL of us not just a few who want to control their agenda ..... these choices weaken our country.
We must vote! We must respectfully share our opinions with truth, with presentable facts and with respect for our country, our fellow citizens and for freedom.
You are asking the question I have been wanting to be answered. Who do we make a loud voiced, concentrated appeal to to have Tubby stand down and let our country be protected? Biden? McConnell? Schumer? Every major newspaper? MSNBC, CNN, PBS, Etc.? Maybe I don’t remember enough from high school and college re: how government works, but a system that allows one person to put the entire nation in imminent harm’s way does not seem to be what our country’s founders had in mind. I realize a President can (and did) but a committee chair? What do we, the people, do NOW end this?
Schumer has the power to unilaterally hold this antebellum rump Senate in session 24/7 until all this is resolved. Once a bunch a prostates start exploding I guarantee it'd get resolved in minutes.
Such perfidy, while known in the 18th century, was rare in America except during the second half of the 19th century when we were less bound internationally. Ok, historians, let me have it. Ready to learn!
It is more that Tee Tub, Paul, and Mitch can do things unilaterally that I strongly disagree with and I have absolutely no recourse. Examples:
McConnell holding up Garland’s nomination for SCOTUS for 10 mo then and then rushing through Barrett’s. (Oh the hypocrisy!)
The generals are saying that the hold up in promotions/appointments is affecting our military readiness. Apparently Tubby Tom thinks he knows more than the Generals. (Where have we heard that before?)
The situation is similar with the state department stating that the hold up constitutes a risk.
And why is it that the Majority Leader of Senate and House can unilaterally refuse to bring a bill to the floor?
Too much power invested in people that are elected by a small percent of the country.
Thank you Elisabeth. I welcome questions from students interested in learning, but 22 years as a teacher has taught me to discriminate between an honest question and a “gotcha” attempt.
Mr. Taes, this is a loving and supportive group. None of us are here to fight with the likes of you. Please remove yourself or we will ask the admin to block you. We all need respite from the hatred and chaos being pushed on the vast majority of Americans by a very violent and disgusting element in our society. If you are of that element, please get out of this forum.We don’t brook bullies or fools.
Elisabeth ller: I have not bullied anyone on this site. People on this site have insulted me. I rarely respond in kind.
If this a "loving and supportive group" that only wants its own opinions heard, then I suggest that Heather Cox Richardson make that clear in her Substack description.
I paid my money to be on this site.
If you don't like it, fine.
But unless HCR kicks me off the site and refunds my money, I'm staying.
We are in every respect part of an interactive ecosystem, including in terms of international relations. Some bozo shoots some obscure archduke, and anything could happen, depending on the context. We never expect an accident when we take off in our car, but we buy insurance and use the seat-belt, and, if we are wise, just don't cut too many safety corners, just in case this is the one time that a moment's inattention makes the difference. The counsel of Dan Quayle, of all people, may have saved our nation a lot of heartache. We are driving with brake fluid leaking from all four wheels while relying on "Republicans" on the maintenance team.
No offense Timmy but unless you have served in the State Dept. or the Pentagon, I'll take their opinion over yours. And please don't tell me they are all corrupt unless you have some definitive proof about the individuals who are expressing their concerns.
Rolyac I have served in the Foreign Service and, during 6 years in Congo, have captured Congolese rebels at gunpoint. I have served beside some top-flight military and CIA colleagues with whom I have entrusted my life.
I have also dealt with ass holes in government, business, and academe.
Currently I have a high opinion of top Biden officials in State, CIA, and the military. Since they are the best we have—and in sharp contrast to Trump administration senior officials—I support rather than denigrate them.
Maybe this is all indicating how thoroughly polarised US politics have become - and, it's not only in this group - as an outsider, I can only marvel and/or weep.
Christine: A dick is an asshole who thinks he's better than you me or anyone. A dick has no empathy. Dick's Drive-in is also a popular fast food chain in the Seattle area.
Lisa Winfeld: I always read HCR's substack first. She doesn't answer answer questions. She spreads government propaganda IMO. I think she is on the CIA payroll as part of Operation Mockingbird.
"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." - John Adams
And this “bug in our system” is being exploited chaotically, but effectively. Death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Dissolve it, weaken it from all sides at once. trump is their standard-bearer because he identified long ago ( and takes great pleasure in) showing the government’s weakness for bending to strong-men-tactics. trump violated his court order immediately after getting it. He wins no matter what. He’ “owned the libs” by flouting the norm of contrition after being indicted, he threatens ominously because he gets a two-fold bump from that: headlines everywhere, and more support-money flooding in, and the courts actions to quiet him, he can appeal and cause trial delays, which is to his benefit. I say “Follow-The-Money”. He knew running for president in 2016 was a perfect grift. It surprised him to actually become president. Then he figured out how to defy norms and exploit money-making off the presidency --and after- by absconding with top-secret intelligence documents worth billions to foreign and domestic enemies. Now, it’s even a better situation for him. He has less reason to believe he will be elected this time around, AND the money flow is bigger than ever. AND all you get from MSM and all republican-interviewed “guests” is talk about Hunter Biden. And they downplay any worth of actually imprisoning trump for his crimes, ala Gerald Ford. trump knows he won’t go to jail. Losing money is not a deterrent. Grifters rarely are deterred by losing money. trump’s the perfect culmination of anarchists’ dreams.
He has morphed into the perfect Bull in the world-democracy-china-shop. No Justice, No Peace.
All true, AND "we the people" still have some arrows in our quiver. Democrats have been on the back foot since Ronald Reagan and we've let the plutocratic conspiracy (and yes, it really is a conspiracy) get away with outrage after outrage until the abuses of Watergate, for years the biggest scandal in my lifetime, look almost quaint. Reagan and his handlers went full Goebbels, and the press fell into line, escaping the opprobrium of lying and cheating by just brazening it out. The more that Republicans and other opportunists have got away with, the worse they have become; and they have never been worse, at least in my lifetime, than now; and that's at a level that now literally threatens the foundations of the republic.
A couple of years ago, Washington Governor Jay Inslee said “I don’t think you can be overly concerned about this. The American psyche has not recognized we were one vice-president away from a coup.” We could question whether Pence playing along would, in and of itself, made the coup successful, but the results would have been ugly. The professionally-conducted and empirically January 6th Committee has damaged The Empire's shields, and ongoing due process of law is the first concerted and adequately sustained battle with the four-decade-long erosion of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" I am aware of.
But the law alone is not enough, as the plutocrats (and Al-Qaeda) have proved the even plowshares can be wielded as weapons. Lincoln said, and I think history supports that “In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions.” Indeed, that is the ultimate root of a republic. We are in times that try our souls. We are distracted with confidence games and road-ragers while our society skids toward multiple hazards; and "we the people" desperately need to respond and take the wheel.
I can see the appeal of corruption to those who would be kings, but but other than feeding narcissistic mind games, what's in it for the rank and file? In his first presidential bid, Reagan got mileage out of asking "Are you better off ?" OK, who has gained and who has suffered at the hands of practitioners of "Reaganomics"? It's not "rocket science".
Red Thread: Where have these curriculum goals been tested out and incorporated? Please send a link to Florida Board of Education, governor and Ed Commissioner. No, forget the governor, who, (I believe I read) was a Yale history major before Harvard law school?? From the sound of his rhetoric, clearly, he prefers fairy tales.
Dear Red, I worked for forty years in the public high schools of New York City to improve science education and boost admissions to colleges for black, brown and immigrant students. I loved my work, I loved the people I worked with and encouraged and think it is one of the most important professions on the planet. Thank you.
It has been a long time since my one semester Civics course I. High school and my required semester at university.
I have a basic understanding of how government works. Or make that how it is supposed to work.
Sadly, with the advent of the era of Trump and RFP (Republican Fascist Party), I am learning so much.
I had no idea that one Senator, be he the majority leader or just some poor soul with an axe to grind, could hold up nominations such as military, state, or judiciary. How/Why is this possible?
Why is there not a huge outcry?
One guy in the Senate that I can’t vote against because he is from some god forsaken place lime Kentucky or Alabama, can have a huge effect on my life.
How is this right?!!!!!
In 18th century Poland, a single parliamentarian could block any measure; this was called, I believe, the "Liberum veto". This weakened the state to the point that Poland was partitioned and absorbed by its neighbors..
Oh dear.
Those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it……
Though at this point I wouldn’t mind being part of Canada.
Change senate rules
I'm afraid that Canada might not risk having us!
I heard Senator Sherrie Brown speak last night and he said they’ll try to do so in September when they’re back in session.
Members of the Seym sold out the country. Hadn’t realized how similar the Republicans are. Thank you. We need to get our Poles on this one.
The Republican Party has allowed itself to become a "host" for the growth of Facism. Over recent years, they have revealed their acceptance of "racism"....those who are fearful that people of color will gain control over them. (even though they have convinced some people of color to "side" with them......)
Observe the treatment of women with the abortion issue. It is manly to impregnate a woman....but some men choose NOT to take responsibility for their offspring.....not even allowing a woman to choose having an abortion if necessary for her wellbeing. Having an abortion is NOT going to a spa for a woman....it is self-care...in a most difficult way.....it can even be a life-saving issue. She should have the right to choose.
Also, I cannot count the number of phone calls I receive asking for support for law enforcement agencies. In the past , it has been maybe once or twice a year. I now receive multiple calls daily.
We are all aware of the rise in gun violence. We have real mental health issues.
Also, I appreciate that we have private schools, charter schools, as well as public schools. It is great to have choices. Are our children being taught well? Is prejudice being encouraged? Are outright lies being deciminated through textbooks chosen by those who are pushing their own personal agendas? Even if we are old...we MUST get in the way!
Our military is an important arm of protection for ALL of us not just a few who want to control their agenda ..... these choices weaken our country.
We must vote! We must respectfully share our opinions with truth, with presentable facts and with respect for our country, our fellow citizens and for freedom.
This is a crisis of ignorance. It hurts every one.
Well said.
You are asking the question I have been wanting to be answered. Who do we make a loud voiced, concentrated appeal to to have Tubby stand down and let our country be protected? Biden? McConnell? Schumer? Every major newspaper? MSNBC, CNN, PBS, Etc.? Maybe I don’t remember enough from high school and college re: how government works, but a system that allows one person to put the entire nation in imminent harm’s way does not seem to be what our country’s founders had in mind. I realize a President can (and did) but a committee chair? What do we, the people, do NOW end this?
Schumer has the power to unilaterally hold this antebellum rump Senate in session 24/7 until all this is resolved. Once a bunch a prostates start exploding I guarantee it'd get resolved in minutes.
Sadly I think they are gone.
YEP ! , So TRUE ! , Sky !
It is totally wrong and the Democrats are not doing enough to smear them with their outrageous tactics.
ABSOLUTE TRUTH ! , Will WIN !, in the END ! , Jack ! ( Full FAITH !)
Such perfidy, while known in the 18th century, was rare in America except during the second half of the 19th century when we were less bound internationally. Ok, historians, let me have it. Ready to learn!
Using "god forsaken place" as a descriptor is much too similar to Trump's "shit-hole countries." Please don't go there.
Sky 777: How does some general being promoted or not affect your life? How does some diplomat going to Niger or not affect your life?
It is more that Tee Tub, Paul, and Mitch can do things unilaterally that I strongly disagree with and I have absolutely no recourse. Examples:
McConnell holding up Garland’s nomination for SCOTUS for 10 mo then and then rushing through Barrett’s. (Oh the hypocrisy!)
The generals are saying that the hold up in promotions/appointments is affecting our military readiness. Apparently Tubby Tom thinks he knows more than the Generals. (Where have we heard that before?)
The situation is similar with the state department stating that the hold up constitutes a risk.
And why is it that the Majority Leader of Senate and House can unilaterally refuse to bring a bill to the floor?
Too much power invested in people that are elected by a small percent of the country.
Sky, I think it’s time to stop feeding Timmy. He sounds like a troll.
Good advice. He has obviously fallen down the well and Lassie is no where to be found.
👏🏼👏🏼🤣🤣
Sky 777: I have heard the lame retort about falling down the well and Lassie nowhere to be found several times already.
Come up with some new material.
Danielle, I just reported him to the admin. I hope they boot is rancid ass out.
Thank you, Elisabeth. Trolls are not welcome to this site.
Thank you Elisabeth. I welcome questions from students interested in learning, but 22 years as a teacher has taught me to discriminate between an honest question and a “gotcha” attempt.
Big time. Can’t the admin block him?
Danielle (NM): And you sound like a censor from the State of Allowable Opinions.
Mr. Taes, this is a loving and supportive group. None of us are here to fight with the likes of you. Please remove yourself or we will ask the admin to block you. We all need respite from the hatred and chaos being pushed on the vast majority of Americans by a very violent and disgusting element in our society. If you are of that element, please get out of this forum.We don’t brook bullies or fools.
Elisabeth ller: I have not bullied anyone on this site. People on this site have insulted me. I rarely respond in kind.
If this a "loving and supportive group" that only wants its own opinions heard, then I suggest that Heather Cox Richardson make that clear in her Substack description.
I paid my money to be on this site.
If you don't like it, fine.
But unless HCR kicks me off the site and refunds my money, I'm staying.
We are in every respect part of an interactive ecosystem, including in terms of international relations. Some bozo shoots some obscure archduke, and anything could happen, depending on the context. We never expect an accident when we take off in our car, but we buy insurance and use the seat-belt, and, if we are wise, just don't cut too many safety corners, just in case this is the one time that a moment's inattention makes the difference. The counsel of Dan Quayle, of all people, may have saved our nation a lot of heartache. We are driving with brake fluid leaking from all four wheels while relying on "Republicans" on the maintenance team.
Sky 777: Yes, Too much power invested in people that are elected by a small percent of the country.
That is Congress, the bureaucracy (which isn't elected at all) and the military.
No offense Timmy but unless you have served in the State Dept. or the Pentagon, I'll take their opinion over yours. And please don't tell me they are all corrupt unless you have some definitive proof about the individuals who are expressing their concerns.
Rolyac I have served in the Foreign Service and, during 6 years in Congo, have captured Congolese rebels at gunpoint. I have served beside some top-flight military and CIA colleagues with whom I have entrusted my life.
I have also dealt with ass holes in government, business, and academe.
Currently I have a high opinion of top Biden officials in State, CIA, and the military. Since they are the best we have—and in sharp contrast to Trump administration senior officials—I support rather than denigrate them.
Keith W...THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, and informed opinion.
Rolyac: I have met several people from the State Department and the CIA over the years. All of them were complete dicks.
Maybe this is all indicating how thoroughly polarised US politics have become - and, it's not only in this group - as an outsider, I can only marvel and/or weep.
Define “Dick’s” put some context around your reasoning. Perhaps you might make a point that someone will listen to...
Christine: A dick is an asshole who thinks he's better than you me or anyone. A dick has no empathy. Dick's Drive-in is also a popular fast food chain in the Seattle area.
You like Trump are projecting your traits on others.
Hale Irwin-VT: What traits? What projections are you talking about.
Has anyone mentioned you need a brain?
TCnLA , SOMEHOW !,, ALL, off Us, That have HEART, NEED to keep Mr TIMMY, ON OUR PRAYER LIST ! ( Yes, I know , its DIFICULT ! )
TCinLA: If you can't make a witty insult or at least something original, go away. You are boring.
You go away, TROLL. little Timmy. You are an insult.
John T Phillips: But you just threw the insult saying I'm a troll.
You know the saying about a duck.
Please stop commenting if you aren’t going to read Heather’s Substack first. She answered your questions.
Lisa Winfeld: I always read HCR's substack first. She doesn't answer answer questions. She spreads government propaganda IMO. I think she is on the CIA payroll as part of Operation Mockingbird.
This, exactly.
It affects all of us because it weakens the (once)United States. Think Timmy think!
Hale Irwin-VT: What is "It"? Please, start with a noun in your comments so we know what you are talking about.
What is so great about the United States? The States were independent before the Constitution was ratified. They still beat the British Empire.
Just tha fact that you don't know the answer to that I swear to christ...
LORD/GOD ! , , , Have MERCY !! For US ! ALL !
Runfastandwin: As usual I don't know what you are talking about. What is the "that" I don't know the answer to? And BTW, Christ should be capitalized.
I’ve been asking exactly those same questions myself. What can we do?
It's not.
It is clearly a bug in our system.
"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." - John Adams
And this “bug in our system” is being exploited chaotically, but effectively. Death-by-a-thousand-cuts. Dissolve it, weaken it from all sides at once. trump is their standard-bearer because he identified long ago ( and takes great pleasure in) showing the government’s weakness for bending to strong-men-tactics. trump violated his court order immediately after getting it. He wins no matter what. He’ “owned the libs” by flouting the norm of contrition after being indicted, he threatens ominously because he gets a two-fold bump from that: headlines everywhere, and more support-money flooding in, and the courts actions to quiet him, he can appeal and cause trial delays, which is to his benefit. I say “Follow-The-Money”. He knew running for president in 2016 was a perfect grift. It surprised him to actually become president. Then he figured out how to defy norms and exploit money-making off the presidency --and after- by absconding with top-secret intelligence documents worth billions to foreign and domestic enemies. Now, it’s even a better situation for him. He has less reason to believe he will be elected this time around, AND the money flow is bigger than ever. AND all you get from MSM and all republican-interviewed “guests” is talk about Hunter Biden. And they downplay any worth of actually imprisoning trump for his crimes, ala Gerald Ford. trump knows he won’t go to jail. Losing money is not a deterrent. Grifters rarely are deterred by losing money. trump’s the perfect culmination of anarchists’ dreams.
He has morphed into the perfect Bull in the world-democracy-china-shop. No Justice, No Peace.
All true, AND "we the people" still have some arrows in our quiver. Democrats have been on the back foot since Ronald Reagan and we've let the plutocratic conspiracy (and yes, it really is a conspiracy) get away with outrage after outrage until the abuses of Watergate, for years the biggest scandal in my lifetime, look almost quaint. Reagan and his handlers went full Goebbels, and the press fell into line, escaping the opprobrium of lying and cheating by just brazening it out. The more that Republicans and other opportunists have got away with, the worse they have become; and they have never been worse, at least in my lifetime, than now; and that's at a level that now literally threatens the foundations of the republic.
A couple of years ago, Washington Governor Jay Inslee said “I don’t think you can be overly concerned about this. The American psyche has not recognized we were one vice-president away from a coup.” We could question whether Pence playing along would, in and of itself, made the coup successful, but the results would have been ugly. The professionally-conducted and empirically January 6th Committee has damaged The Empire's shields, and ongoing due process of law is the first concerted and adequately sustained battle with the four-decade-long erosion of "government of the people, by the people, for the people" I am aware of.
But the law alone is not enough, as the plutocrats (and Al-Qaeda) have proved the even plowshares can be wielded as weapons. Lincoln said, and I think history supports that “In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions.” Indeed, that is the ultimate root of a republic. We are in times that try our souls. We are distracted with confidence games and road-ragers while our society skids toward multiple hazards; and "we the people" desperately need to respond and take the wheel.
Thank you.
John Adams nailed it. This right wing, fundamentalist bs will get us all killed. And for what?
I can see the appeal of corruption to those who would be kings, but but other than feeding narcissistic mind games, what's in it for the rank and file? In his first presidential bid, Reagan got mileage out of asking "Are you better off ?" OK, who has gained and who has suffered at the hands of practitioners of "Reaganomics"? It's not "rocket science".
Red Thread: Where have these curriculum goals been tested out and incorporated? Please send a link to Florida Board of Education, governor and Ed Commissioner. No, forget the governor, who, (I believe I read) was a Yale history major before Harvard law school?? From the sound of his rhetoric, clearly, he prefers fairy tales.
This topic should be a regular feature of MSM.
The later
Dear Red, I worked for forty years in the public high schools of New York City to improve science education and boost admissions to colleges for black, brown and immigrant students. I loved my work, I loved the people I worked with and encouraged and think it is one of the most important professions on the planet. Thank you.
Than you for this. I just signed up for the Circle newsletter. Civic engagement is vital to a healthy democracy.