Today, President Joe Biden designated a new national monument in honor of Frances Perkins, secretary of labor under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Once more, your letter is here to somehow lift our spirits. Hard to realize that Biden made a speech today, but all we hear about is Trump, and his inane, rambling, press conference. The legacy media is gone, and your letter is more important than ever. Thank you Professor 🙏
Accurate journalism informs the public, protecting truth and democracy when authoritarian forces seek to manipulate, divide, and suppress. Truth is resistance.
Democracy is as fragile or as strong as our individual and collective dedication to its maintenance.
Plato’s thoughts on democracy can never be understood outside his trauma at the judicial murder of Socrates, his mentor. That murder was carried out not by a tyrant, but by the ignorance of the Athenian citizens who completely misunderstood the value of what Socrates had been trying to teach them for decades, and following the overthrow of the Thirty who had taken power with the help of the Spartans after their defeat of the complacent Athenian fleet at Goat's Creek.
Tyranny follows Democracy if and only if we let it.
Or if enough of us want it. Apparently, roughly 60% of white voters, 70% of white working class voters, and 80% of white evangelicals prefer tyranny to a government that tries to treat black people and other marginalized groups fairly.
I rather think the problem is that far too many of us simply don’t understand what we were designed to be, which makes them nearly perfect prey for a man who is almost wholly ignorant of that design, and disdains what he does understand because it gets in the way of his megalomania.
Yes, ignorance is the culprit. So is pathology. I swear, once a day at least, I find myself saying, "What the ...." at the sheer willful idiocy of the President-elect and his bad boys.
Socrates was a teacher of some of the prominent members of the 30, and Plato thought democracy a great beast incapable, in the end, of governance. He loathed, as did Socrates, democratic governance. The Gorgias is where this is most clearly articulated. Those who overthrew the 30 were the same who put Socrates to death.
If I remember my history/philosophy lessons correctly, Aristotle, too, was not a fan of the pure democracy of Athens, which allowed for mobs to be manipulated. He thought that it was wrong for the masses of poor to redistribute wealth taken from the wealthy. Nor was he a fan of oligarchy, rule by the wealthy. Instead Aristotle proposed the benefits of constitutional democracy that was grounded on a large middle class and governance constituency inducted by the well educated. Without a large middle class, Aristotle theorized, the oligarchs would strive to arrange things to benefit themselves.
Yes, he was. Also of Alcibiades who, like Benedict Arnold was at different times a brilliant commander, a hero, and a traitor.
But that doesn’t mean that Socrates was responsible for them or for the 30. Also, because he wrote nothing down himself, we have to be a bit careful about how we interpret Plato’s interpretation of him, just as the plays about your namesake and about the Trojan War have to be taken with a grain of salt.
No one with any political experience or historical understanding thinks that a pure democracy would be any kind of ideal. The Greeks experimented with it and failed. Our Founders understood that, which is why they tried to create a form of government that would allow for the maximum of individual freedom and rights without a corresponding descent into the maelstrom of demagoguery and the mob. What they did hope, in creating a Republic of virtue, was that enough of us would understand that freedom and individual rights come with an equivalent responsibility to, among other things, maintain a proper balance between those rights and the needs of the community.
We are engaged in the most crucial, the riskiest, and the most complex experiment in human government ever attempted. We could do with a Socrates to remind us to define our terms far more clearly than we often do, to understand that wisdom is also an acceptance of what we don’t yet understand, and to continually ask ourselves that most difficult question - how should men live - and his answer.
Perhaps size matters. Many Native American tribes seemed to practice government by council and included women. Smaller than states and varying in governance, tribal councils would discuss until a consensus was reached, but on a huge scale, that wouldn't be possible.
Bill, I have been wondering if, in fact, what is happening now is what’s supposed to happen. Oftentimes after a time of chaos things change for the better. We shall see…
After college I dated an economics professor. We talked about different governments and economic systems. It was interesting to know that the government and its economy evolve. It is my hope that we are evolving to a higher level of democracy. We shall see….
I hadn't heard that quote so I looked it up and discovered that there was more implied in his quote: “Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal's alike.” “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” A couple of things...Ron Paul wrote a missive entitled "Sorry Mr. Franklin, we are all democrats now." Paul refers to a Ben Franklin response to a reporter's question regarding the form of government the framers agreed on. He said: " “A republic, if you can keep it". You think Franklin was of a like mind with Plato? We lefties here love our 20th century progressive governance, I do anyway but the unrestricted accumulation of wealth has taken hold and is contradictory to equality, human rights, minimum sustainable income and all the rest. And to drive my point home, we fight wars to prevent communism, socialism, and the redistribution of wealth from taking hold. I was a Marine in one of those wars, Vietnam. Remember, the domino theory? Stopping communism from spreading. Some vets take pride in their effort and I don't blame them but there were three sixties songs Dylan's "Master's Of War", Buffy Saint Marie's "Universal soldier" and Fogerty's "Fortunate Son". If you know them, they describe what was wrong wit war. Those vets were not defending against a threat to our Country, we were fighting to protect our system of economics, capitalism and market economies.
Karl Marx also thought that capitalism is a cycle of prosperity and decline. He predicted that eventually the proletariat would rise up and revolt with world communism as the ultimate result. I don't advocate communism, but I do find it interesting that Plato and Marx agree about the cyclical nature of capitalism. I hope that rather than communism we end up with a mixed economy modeled after Sweden's.
Yeah, my wife identifies with the economic systems of the Scandinavian countries (Maiden name Knudsen). We like how they blend market economy with government controlled social services. Bernie suggested that we should look to the Norse for ideas about how to run an economy. I don't think that the Scandinavian systems will work in our country, I want them to. George Carlin had a great bit about us and our "wealthy owners". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT03vCaL-F0 Take a look. It is human nature to be dumb, at least half of us. The average IQ score is around 100. Think of it this way: at least half of the people in our country are below that number. Don't get me wrong, I am not arrogant, I don't scoff at these folks, I don't mock them. I am one of them but I've wised up some. I don't mock Donald Trump. He's baffling, and if he causes harm to people, I am angry at him, but the progressive ideas I/we believe in are not attractive to these people. It's something simpler they are attracted to: unrestricted freedom.
That's a nice thought, but for that to happen we'd have to be way closer to income equality than we are now. We give way too much political power to those who have a ton of money in this country. We gave up on all men are created equal a long, long time ago.
Sharing on Facebook: at the bottom of the column, under the citations, there is a "share" button. On my screen it's a sort of turquoise color. When you click on that, it gives you several options, and one of them is Facebook. Click on that, and that should do it. Thanks! I need to share too.
Yes, we need to instill the reasons why we common folks should hate and detest the MAGA oligarchs and their theft of our security, our rights to a better life.
Hello Rex, as I mentioned earlier, and the reason the majority of white Americans reject the truth is because in the recent words of Lucian Truscott IV, “Facts leave bite marks.”
Truth is resistance, indeed. Let me know when the bumper stickers are available for purchase. I don't put bumper stickers on my vehicle but I'd slap one of these on in half a second!
President Biden has been expediting the appointment of federal U.S. District Judges in the last days of his Presidency with success. Every lifetime trial level appointment counts as thousands of yearly federal cases that are adjudicated at local district court level. Only 80 or so make it to SCOTUS.
Biden just placed SERENA RAQUEL MURILLO on the Senate Executive Calendar. Judge Murillo is headed for the Central District of California a very active federal Bench in CA.
Finally, a National Monument for FRANCES PERKINS whose public works projects are still the living flesh & bones of many New Deal projects across the land! Check out the Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico; the Perkins' building is architectural art & the aerial photo of the construction of the Norris Dam above the Tennessee River.
Many historical photos, graphs & data of Frances' government work are still with us & are collected in the August 2010 IRLE Working Paper: "The Living New Deal: the Unsung Benefits of the New Deal for the United States & California" by RICHARD WALKER & GRAY BRECHIN. Those benefits are not unsung now.
You can access the history & photos including well executed photographs of Gray Brechin at https/:/www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpaper. Tel or Cell: (510) 643-8140.
"IRLE" stands for Institute of for Research on Labor & Employment. Well done.
Thank you Barbara, one of the many Substack’s I look for and read every day.
Thank you Joe Biden for the best example of Best President ever🙌
Getting rich gets so much more thought than being fair
Avoiding accountability costs far surpass waste, your donations pay for it . Not fair, but elected regardless.
Word salads, double talk, broken trust, lies upon lies, ethics tossed for egos sake..grew out of the promise to …Make America Great Again which became known as…
MAGA
What has come of this is what caused it in the first place …fairness ,equality, laws ,established rights ..broken, greed bringing the richest county - once upon a time #1 ….to laughing supreme stocks of the world courted treasonously/sadly …to its knees …no longer ‘The Dream’ .
Oh, people are thinking where can I move that’s safe from this ?
But wait…we got 600 millionaires …plus some billionaires …rolling ,shaking up, replacing YOUR fair for the now acceptable ‘fuck you’ face of failure .
Be sure to thank those 49% voters , the stink tanks Heritage /Federalist/Facists for the next 4 or more year’s ride delivered by the groveling whittled out gop.
Ugh! Haven’t seen those yet. In my town, there’s a billboard that the religious right keeps trying to put up about protecting babies but nothing about protecting mothers. Someone, bless them, keeps tearing them down! I hope it’s a woman doing that.
The hope that keeps me from utter despair are the midterms. If what is outlined in Project 25 is implemented, this country will swiftly be seeing rock bottom. Maybe then those 49% voters will wake up....
Me too Frank, being on a limited fixed income I am unable to afford a paid subscription to most SubStacks—I was a free subscriber to LFAA for a time until I was able to budget it in—and orgs/causes I’d like to support. The least I could do is spread the word so others could discover the resource.
Thats abt the size of it. I wouldn't mind seeing some consolidation. Likely i'm returning to LFAA free to me in April, been 2 years of paid. Maybe 3? After all for me its abt $7 CAD monthly. A TH meal equivalent.
Thank you for the other readers. I’ve been following this Substack for about two years and always find solace in it. Can anyone imagine 47 having such a daily statement made about him? Hah!!
What did JoeBiden do today is committed to doing the same for the next president, so I subscribed. It’s amazing how little of Biden’s actions are mentioned in the press. Trump is so much more entertaining, I guess.
Thank you for noting the absence of the press today at Biden's speech. This has been happening for months, though. And thank you Professor Richardson for reminding us of the great work this country has accomplished at the hands of true civil servants, which unfortunately are mostly Democrats.
What a revealing letter of the struggle of a government for the people. all the people. Biden's phrase "decent and fair" so applies to him as well. It hurts so much to keep reading now of the many important things Biden has done and keeps doing. We are down river of a giant dam that has broached.
Remember, too, Martine, Trump 2.0 is a resurgence of white, patriarchal power anchored to evangelical beliefs. This is what's sweeping into Washington and elsewhere already in the wake of Harris' political defeat. Despite the overall narrow margins, they will run to the limit, and as fast as possible, to cement themselves into Washington. As Miller remarked, like a "lightning bolt".
Here's a snippet from the DNI ... The movement's founding nucleus—the word “Taliban” is Pashto for “students”—was composed of peasant farmers and men studying Islam in Afghan and Pakistani madrasas, or religious schools. The Taliban found a foothold and consolidated their strength in southern Afghanistan.
Remember too USA pumped $$$ and materiel into the resistance to the Russian invasion of the country when its socialist regime imploded thanks to local resistance. We may not be comfortable with some of the conservative, Islamically derived social mores esp on women, but this was largely the nature of the country before AHBL when the Americans invaded.
Frank, this is exactly what I noted when I posted Heather's letter to my Facebook page as I do daily. I told my husband just after the election that it was a win for the patriarchy and he agreed. I read threads all over where especially women are worried about everything from finances to safety to their children. I also read of people stocking up on nonperishable foods. And yes, they will try to make things as awful as possible as quickly as possible. Notice that all the pariahs are back even Devin Nunes. I do see some pushback, it actually sounds like mewing, from entities who have realized that their businesses could suffer especially from deportation of the undocumented. And of course there are the corn and soy growers who are worried about wormhead. Now I am seeing stories about polio and pictures of iron lungs.
Frances Perkins is one of the most important persons to serve in our government. Her theory of government is tacked to the wall in my home office, as is her photo with FDR. Her programs have benefited hundreds of millions of Americans. Yet few know her name. We need a new New Deal. Right now the oligarchs are winning.
She is well known at Cornell University where I was an undergraduate 1953-57. I believe she taught at Cornell and the Industrial and Labor Relations building is named for her.
Actually, Daniel these writings are revolutionary's way of giving the finger to the politicians who think they can erase history and have us pretend we never had these rights. President Biden actions concerning Frances Perkins are another way of giving the finger to the people who are salivating come January 20 to strip us of all these rights. I see you have a Substack site. Perhaps you could write about your topic there and share parts of it with us all in these comments.
Actually I worked 20 + years in DC for the Department of Labor, and I fear all for naught. In 2017 Trump attacked the "deep state" by elimination of "merit selection" to hire people like me. From there it got worse.
I supported Biden and everything, but I'm afraid he was ineffective in stopping the death of my subect. federal administrative law, and next will be collective bargaining as Musk and Bezos have a consttutional attack of the National Labor Relations Board.
If MAGATs turn the FBI into a Fascist musieum. they will level the Frances Perkins Building, and salt the ground like the Romans did Carthage. Thats where my former colleagues work -- euphemistically judicial dodo birds or mastadons, awaiting extinction.
The Russian takeover is a hell of a lot more important!
Then write about it in your Substack. Dr. Richardson is a self-avowed historian. Commanding an esteemed author to write about what you want is just plain rude. Again. Sounds like you have some background to write about what you want.
Socrates once noted that he was the wisest of men because he knew how little he knew.
Dr Richardson’s writings, like those of the best of our other historians proves his point in showing those of us who have at best an amateur’s grasp of our history how much about it we still don’t know. Our response ought constantly to be, “Tell me more” rather than, “Let me be, I already think I know enough”'
The latter response is, of course, the essential Trumpist response.
It doesn’t have to if the voting populace is educated and not easily boon/swoggled by billionaires. (And Now the close-the- gov’t -scheme will play out… forcing millions of citizens & their families to deal with no paychecks for an uncertain number of weeks ..
She would want Biden to instruct the national archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment! It is now fully ratified and ready to be added to our Constitution!
We have to encourage Republican women in Congress to abstain from or even vote NO to any Republican bills until they have equal representation in committee leadership.
As of 2024, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has not been ratified by four states: Florida, Louisiana, Utah, and Virginia. These states have state-level equal rights amendments or guarantees.
The ERA would add the concept of women's equality to the US Constitution and prohibit all forms of sex discrimination. The ERA was presented to state legislatures in 1972, with a seven-year deadline to be ratified by 38 states. However, five states have since rescinded their ratification of the ERA:
Nebraska, in 1973
Tennessee, in 1974
Idaho, in 1977
Kentucky, in 1978
South Dakota, in 1979
The U.S. Archivist's certification of the legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive. The Archivist has not yet certified the ERA's ratification and published it in the Federal Register.
On March 22, 1972, the ERA was placed before the state legislatures, with a seven-year deadline to acquire ratification by three-fourths (38) of the state legislatures. A majority of states ratified the proposed constitutional amendment within a year
Right ON! I have written Biden. I hope every substack reader emails, writes, phones Biden. Publish the ERA now - it needs to be added to our Constitution. Why is it taking so long?
Cmon, you know exactly WHY. Personally I would love to see it ratified but there are several remaining legal challenges that must be decided. Those are VERY real and there is no basis for the archivist to declare it ratified until the courts give it a green light.
As with other things that Biden "sat on" there was little pressure applied to get a decision during the four years of Biden's administration. The theoretical last ratification occurred in 2020 while Trump 1.0 was still in office. As with the cases against Trump, for the first two years of Biden, very little was done to move ratification forward. So sadly Biden needs to take responsibility for the foot dragging on the ERA while he was President.
Sorry to be a downer here but this is clearly another albatross on Biden's legacy.
I thought the ERA was held up in the courts due to logistics (and the five states that rescinded their votes to ratify).
Here's an excerpt on legislation that has been proposed last year but not voted upon. Perhaps I'm wrong (I hope I am, because I came here to ask why this bill isn't being voted on to get our equal rights in the Constitution:
"The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation."
Go to VoteEquality.us for great information on why Biden can and should have the National Archivist sign and publish the ERA. Over 400,000 lawyers have concluded that imposing a deadline for an amendment is in and of itself unconstitutional. 46 Senators have written Biden urging him to do it as well as 120 House members. I wish I could send you those letters. They are very strong. And yes it could get challenged but how would that look? For many folks in the know, it's now or never!!
Thank you for this information, Sandy. It seemed petty that filing after a deadline should nullify a ratification of such an important bill that is so long overdue (although I think Professor Richardson made it clear why the Right has been against women's rights--especially since the women's liberation movement (which should be called the Equal Rights Movement).
Sandy, getting back to the ERA-- what, if anything, are the repercussions of the five states that rescinded the ratification?
We only need 38 states.
I have to do some more research.
Thank you for giving me a good place to start. Much appreciated! I agree with you 100% that this should be one of our priorities--- even if 45 tries to bypass the Constitution, I'm hoping that if the ERA is published, Congress could hold it up, as well as the courts, when 45 and Co. going after our rights.
You might remember from your school classes that the courts ultimately decide what is and isn't constitutional. So even if a million attorneys said it was okay, Biden would STILL be required to get a ruling on a very critical issue. He can not unilaterally decide this one the court suits were filed (many years ago). As his justice department has done throughout his presidency, his foot dragging is the reason we don't have an ERA at this point.
While 38 states have, at one time or another, ratified the ERA, there are still legal challenges to final ratification that are in process in various courts based on the 7 year ratification time limit that was imposed in the amendment when it was passed so many year ago. It did NOT (sadly) get the necessary 38 states to ratify in the first 7 years and there have been continued legal challenges to whether that restricting was constitutional.
In the meantime several states that initially ratified have withdrawn their ratification and there are other lawsuits questioning whether such deratification is even possible.
For the moment, the ERA is on hold by the courts and it is at least questionable whether the archivist can legally certify the amendment and that's why it had not been entered into the Constitution.
Even if it were to be entered as such, the legal challenges would continue and in the end the Supreme Court will probably have to make the final decision. Given the court's current status I question whether the ERA will ever become "law of the land".
I am a fan of the very human package that constituted FDR. While imperfect, flawed, prone to acts of selfishness, he simultaneously worked untiringly for individuals who needed assistance. I became aware of France’s Perkins role in creating a government “for” the people through two terrific biographies. H W Brands’ Traitor to his Class, and Doris Kerns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time.
The role of women in our society has consistently been underplayed. Thank you Heather for this wonderful letter recognizing one woman’s contributions.
Our nation missed a real opportunity to do just that, in the spirit of FDR, Biden & Perkins, by electing the Harris/Walz team. We sure shot ourselves in the foot.
I used to think that was THE answer but then along came BBBBB (aka Marjorie Taylor Greene), Lauren Bohnert, Nancy Mace, Kristie Noem, Kay Ivey, Virginia Foxx, Marie LePen, Giorgia Meloni, et alia such that now I accept that not just any woman but one who understands the assignment.
MisTBlu, excellent observation. Those women you listed have given up their sacred feminine for acceptance in the patriarchy and seem to think that if they behave badly, it somehow makes them strong women instead the embarrassments they are.
Michele, there is a 2017 novel (on Obama’s list of books to read in 2017) by Naomi Alderman “The Power” which is a thought-experiment tome with themes of gender, power, control, cults, religion, social media. I found it interesting, thought provoking…sometimes disturbing…other times my response was “hell yeah!!!”. BTW also recommend her novel The Future (climate change, corporations and the 1%).
Thank you for these suggestions. I will put them on my list. In a holding pattern as my husband and I get each other books for Christmas and no book ordering after a certain date. And we have to read the book before we get another one. I saw several packages from Powell's come and I have a big box full ready for the first on Christmas day. Fiction of nonfiction.
So those who understand the assignment might have a turning-point decision to make if they've (or we've) been behaving in arenas of comfortable contribution. Time to sharpen tongues and pens, get out the dancing shoes and bright colors?
Re-reading your comment, Joan, brought back memories of when I had a significant other(SO) or spouse. Used to be “house rules” whoever cooked the meal did not clean up, the other partner would. Well well well….I tend to clean up as I cook (always have), so much less by way of tasks after any meal I prepared. One SO was a strew-it-around-the-kitchen kinda cook, not quite spaghetti on the ceiling, but very close…lol…he always got the better end of that deal!!! I also pick up litter on my hikes…
Mike, have great admiration for Rep Andy Kim, seen on his knees cleaning up after the rioters trashed the capitol…he just rolled up his sleeves (so to speak) and got to work “getting it done”. Hadn’t been aware of him at the time, but my immediate reaction was “I really like this guy”, and have been sort of following him ever since, even tho’ he represents NJ and I’m from CA!
Well so far women are 0 for 2 in getting the highest office of the land. India has had a women leader. Israel has had a women leader. Mexico has a woman leader right now. Even a Muslim country like Pakistan has had a woman leader.
The US has a difficult time acting like a true leader in the world when it is really pretty backward sigh.
Many years ago I read The Woman Behind the New Deal - The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins by Kirsten Downey. It was engaging, wonderfully written and so informative. I highly recommend it.
I'm going to look for a shirt that says 'Men of Quality are Not Threatened by Women's Equality.' That saying (or something similar) was popular back in the 70's, and we need to bring it back so we can thank all the men who are brave enough to fight alongside us!
I hate to hijack a request for Ned but my thoughts are that there are serious legal claims about the viability of the ratification process which are being dealt with in the court system. The courts have put a hold on ratification until those cases are decided. Biden's Justice department (as it did in many cases) has dragged its heels on getting a decision and is now paying the price. Actions have consequences.
Personally I'd like to see the ERA ratified but there are two major legal questions that MUST be decided. The first is whether the original 7 year limitation on ratification which was written into the legislation for the amendment is legal and binding (if so, ratification was ended long ago before enough states had ratified). The second is whether a state which had ratified can withdraw that ratification before the amendment is in fact completely ratified (five states which ratified early attempted to withdraw). Both cases are in the courts right now and that is why ratification has stalled.
The delay is on Biden's administration. They didn't pursue this very diligently and now want to rush it in but they are blocked by the courts.
Hi, Barbara, thank you for asking. I suspect that Jon is covering anything I would say. 🤝
These days, I wonder how permissible a ruling like Dobbs would have been with the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) in place. With the E.R.A. in the Constitution,, a woman's right to privacy or, in the case of reproductive choice, her exercise of that right might have been stronger. 💔
Barbara, I do not know the answer as I am not trained in the law. Some say that the nineteenth amendment -- the right to vote for women -- brought women into the body politic. My feeling has been that I would rather live with belts and suspenders rather than any ambiguity. ⚖️
Perkins should be the inspiration for a New Democratic Party that focuses on ECONOMIC JUSTICE. The "Perkins Plan" could bolster what she achieved and add a layer to include Medicare for All, Childcare. Eldercare. And a renewed effort to change the tax code from rewarding the oligarchs to helping the Working Class.
Americans are HURTING within the best economy in years. All those happy "stats" we have been justifiably proud of are meaningless if you can't provide for yourself or your family with two full time jobs.
The Waltons have over $400 billion. Their employees are on Medicaid and use food stamps. Ask why that makes sense. Ask why tax payers are subsidizing billionaires.
"By 1979, religious traditionalists had rejected the modern move toward women’s rights and made common cause with Republicans eager to derail the New Deal."
I am really sick of the Left ceding ground to conservatives who are little better than Pharisees.
Let’s review since it is the season of Christmas:
Jesus and his family were political refugees – that is the Christmas story; the president elect rejects refugees. Jesus stood for helping the stranger; the president elect rejects them. Jesus was about challenging the power structure; the president elect lusts after it. Jesus stood for the disenfranchised and deviant; the GOP hates them. Jesus told his followers to put down their swords; the GOP says pick up your guns. Jesus stood for helping the poor and disabled; the GOP is about mocking and making life even more difficult for them. Jesus called on us to sacrifice; Trump is all about consumption instead. Jesus fed the hungry; Trump would starve them. The president elect covets the kingdoms of the earth; Jesus, tempted by Satan, rejected them. Trump and his party are all about conformity; Jesus, who consorted with tax-collectors and prostitutes, is all about the disenfranchised and the deviant. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees as hungry for gain and as hypocrites; Trump embodies the same hypocrisy and selling of religion. Trump says “pick up your guns”; Jesus says put away your sword. Trump and his party persecute the sexually different; his apostles welcomed them into the fold, as in the case of Philip and the eunuch.
Is the former GOP president the Anti-Christ? Maybe, maybe not. But he and is party are as anti-Christian as anything that can be imagined.
Because if Caesar is right, then Jesus is wrong. If guns are right, then Jesus is wrong. If supporting power and laying the weak by the heal is right, then Satan and Trump are right, and Jesus is wrong. I have no idea what scripture the GOP reads. I’ve had the good fortune to pour over it in Greek and publish books on Jesus’ radicalism. Jesus was a wildly radical Jewish heretic. The GOP? Intellectually and morally sloven and shabby.
I too am not Christian yet admire Jesus's kindness and consider kind Christians allies. I keep hoping that those who admire what Jesus is reported to have said rather than greed and sociopathy will join and speak louder and more clearly about what they respect, and how it differs from self-centered MAGA.
In this you are in league with Nietzsche who was agnostic or atheist, but could not reject Jesus as he was truly the only Christian. This is not the fault of atheists or agnostics, it is the fault of CINOs, who seem to forget that helping your neighbor is central to the gospel - and defined the neighbor as the enemy instead.
Jesus wasn’t trying to get people to memorize his Sermon on the Mount. He was trying to tell us who he is and who we all are but don’t yet know it.
Because many didn’t understand Jesus’s message, his words were misinterpreted, often on purpose for nefarious reasons, targeting those who were looking for a savior.
CINOs (Christians In Name Only)? How about HINO (Human in Name Only)?
Search for 'Human in Name Only'. Google returns:
Human in name only" means someone who is technically considered a human, but lacks the essential qualities or behaviors typically associated with being human, like empathy, compassion, or morality, essentially acting in a way that is not aligned with what is considered "human" behavior."
And so ,the description, "Christian" has been used to slaughter persons of other faiths. "Christianity" has been used to divide us. You are correct.
Sadly this is an insult to the name of Christ, who at His time to suffer and die for us...allowed Himself to be taken and beaten and spat upon...taken to the cross where He suffered "for OUR sins and for OUR rebellion".
He loved, He healed, He cared for each of us especially for those who were "rejected". Christ NEVER forced Himself upon us.
It is some of we humans who call ourselves "believers" yet allow ourselves to be guided and deceived by the enemies of Christ.
We are cowards. Instead of demonstrating the love and forgiveness towards others, the love and forgiveness, we have received through Christ, and with that FREEDOM and knowledge and power to love, to comfort whether someone believes as we do or NOT; we choose to hate and demonstrate dominance and cruelty and judgement. Or as Peter, one of the disciples, in the Bible, we run away, trying to hide from our "calling". We have the duty to choose to provide to others, the same unconditional love....understanding...we each receive when we surrender our lives to Christ. We are "called" to give the same to those placed in our path.
These are the ways of Christ! In my belief, Christ will come again. Those who have USED His Name TO DO EVIL, will receive their just reward. Those who have LIVED OUT their faith, with a thankful heart....even if it means rejection, or persecution, the same.
No matter our faith...or No faith...let us live a life that demonstrates a concern and care for humanity and for this earth and the space beyond.
I would concur. Their use of Christianity to drive a politics of division is contemptible, and it is not at all new. What is new is how much it drives much of the Republican agenda. They are misogynistic, and it shows.
But, true to form, my brother’s Baptist church forbids women from even speaking out loud in their services. They must tell their husbands what they want to say, and the husband decides if it’s “from god” and “worthy,” and he will say it. Sounds like the taliban.
I especially like "shabby." Yes - what a scruffy lot - from trump in his too big suits to Two Shirts Bannon who never looks washed - to Big Plastic Boots Ron. An absolute shower.
It may seem paradoxical to say that "I'm a Christian," and then say "I'm also an atheist."
But when someone says, they are Southern Baptist or Catholic or an Evangelical do we think, "Wow, they must be a good person because the leaders of their church are such good examples of what a Christian should be" or "The church is such a shining example of what the golden rule says."
Estimates are there are around 10,000 religions in the world most of them based on Christianity, Judaism, Muslim, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. How many of the religions suggest that we should kill those that don't follow our religion? Millions of people have died or been persecuted because they refuse to say they are Christians.
Isn't this one of the basic tenets of today's Republican Party under Trump?
I think a person can embrace the teachings of religious figures like Jesus or Buddha about how to live a fulfilling life and get along without belief in the whole nebulous all knowing paternal power.
cameron, I have a dear friend (high school bandmate) who is a rock solid conservative Christian who is also one of the few Christians that I see who walk Christ's path (as I, as a non-theist, understand it to be.) She told me years ago (after leaving our local university to attend the college affiliate with her flavor of Christianity**side bar** there's a clue for you**) told me "After being surrounded by people of faith, learning far more about the Bible and Christ than I could ever have imagined, I have to tell you that, as a non-believer, you are one of the most Christian people I know".
I distill it to "I don't need a book or an imaginary sky pilot to tell me how to be or coerce me into being a good person."
Gary...I'm reading Tim Alberta's newest book. It's an eye opener. I'm about halfway through and I feel nauseous. An elderly neighbor wanted me to read it. He is a devoted christian who can't believe what is happening to our country.
Thank you. This needs to be said more widely, very loudly, and repetitively by all Democratic candidates. The forces of enlightenment have ceded the language of morality to the regressive side. The political and religious right wing claims - very loudly - that they are moral, when they are not. They claim decency while being grotesquely indecent.
Thank you, Philoctetes, for the contrast between the teachings of Jesus and Trump. I am going to turn them into a series similar to the “Kamala:Trump” signs that were so prominent during the election campaign. Example: Jesus - Put away your sword. Trump: Pick up your gun.
Your insights brought to mind the motto of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship: “Cross before Flag.” To me, that means we must strive to live a life according to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth first, so that we can put our patriotism into a compassionate context. That is the way to orient our moral compass to “true North.” I am sure the other great world religions carry the same core wisdom and message.
People may argue about policy, and debate ideology,but there’s no denying history.
Joe Biden will go down as a champion of women, minorities, and the marginalized. His presidency will be remembered as one “of the people,by the people, and for the people”.
His decency and dogged determination to fight hate and defend democracy will be what historians write about for the decades to come.
They say that you get the government you deserve. We didn’t deserve Joe Biden, he was too good for America. We did not appreciate him. We cast him aside, and for what?
Thank you, Joe Biden, for over half a century of putting people over property!
And still today. Biden gets little to no coverage but the lying felon elect gets covered for every little comment. BTW, msm does not have the balls to challenge the lies in real time. And because they don’t call him out, people believe what he says as truth and fact. Shameful.
Long overdue recognition on a grand scale of all that Frances Perkins had accomplished in her time!
Quoting Dr. Heather:
"The creation today of the Frances Perkins National Monument tied together Perkins’s expansion of the government and the centrality of women to the American story. The event took place in the Frances Perkins Building, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where acting secretary of labor Julie Su noted that Biden has been “the most pro-worker, pro-union president in history,” protecting pensions, defending unions, creating good jobs, and unapologetically wielding the power of the presidency on behalf of working people."
One wonders, given how she has impacted our lives, why she is not more honored with a prominent place on a coin or monetary note, a monument or even museum on the National Mall, a Monday holiday. She has impacted and improved far more lives than some presidents (hello George, good morning Donnie!)
Look to the patriarchy whose members are excellent at feathering their own nests and advancing their own interests at the expense of, well, women. Time to defeat the patriarchy, starting with Trump. I only hope he lives long enough to see historians trash him.
Trump has been thoroughly trashed by historians, journalists , world leaders, and politicians. It’s like pissing in the wind,; it has no effect other than poking the bear. The man is incapable of critical self reflection. I hope he does NOT live long enough to destroy our country.
Alas, the US has done a really subpar job establishing any female role models on currency. In Sweden there Astrid Lindgren (20 SEK smallest/common paper currency), Birgit Nilsson (500sek largest common paper currency) and Greta Garbo( 100 SEK). Dag Hammarskjöld is I’m the 1000, not a note you see much. https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb/payments--cash/notes--coins/notes/valid-banknotes/
Thanks for planting another flag on the steep hill Frances Perkins climbed to lay the groundwork for some of the great social actions of the twentieth century.
To really honor women and protect us from the reassertion of the patriarchy, Biden should instruct the national archivist to publish the now fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment as the 28thAmendment to our Constitution. We need deeds, not mere words, Mr. President!
Morning, Ally! Just fyi, I am not being notified of replies for some reason. But anyway, I always think of you whenever music takes center stage. So wanted to make sure you saw this Carol of the Bells or Shchedryk from Ukraine. Always a pleasure to listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXyg6HkuDo
I am always amazed as I read - and today re-read - the list of Frances Perkins accomplishments - how much of what we think of as the accomplishments of the New Deal were really programs, services and values championed by her.
It is also important to remember that Frances Perkins was a devout Christian - Episcopalian - and that, for her, promoting the objectives for which she worked so devotedly was, for her, a fulfillment of her Christian faith and deeply consistent with it.
She was also basically a single mother. Her husband had been committed to an asylum for the mentally ill; at that time in history this was something kept quiet. She was responsible for working to pay the bills for his care and for herself and their daughter.
Biden's tribute today was long-overdue, particularly as we enter a period when small-minded men are going to try to undo everything she accomplished. Let's hope they are not successful and do our best to stop them. Perkins represented everything that Christianity used to stand for, but too often today does not. Why do we never learn about the accomplishments of such women in our history classes?
No doubt, Heather, that your writings kept Frances Perkins in the president’s vision. I know I’ve learned about her through your writings. Keeping her legacy noticed surely helped this acknowledgment! We need more history to all Americans so they can see where it all began and how important our history is towards our future. Here’s hoping enough people are ready to take up oxygen and fight for our democracy!
I think we’d be best served to LIVE OUR DEMOCRACY in our daily lives. It’s 3AM so I’m
Not certain how this will work out, but if we at least began each day with the freedom to be the best we can be for this day, there’s a chance the “living democracy”could flourish 🤗🇺🇸💕💕
Carol, I have always had as my mantra "Do the absolute best I can today". Some days, that is about half of "normal". Other days (fewer, but so, so notable) I can give far, far more. Just give it my best of what I have to give today.
Heather Thank you so much for your letter as the story of Frances Perkins needs to be told and her memory honored.
What a wonderful remembrance of a remarkable woman who deserves recognition for her many accomplishments. Sadly, President Biden's actions are not being reported to the American people by the major media outlets. Thank you for recognizing the significance of the event.
Ralph, I tried to tell folks that 2016 was not as much about the presidency as it was about SCOTUS. I had far, far too many friends sit out that election because they "just couldn't" vote for her.
The US has run two female candidates for President in this century. One was a former Senator, First Lady, and Secretary of State. The other was a State Attorney General, a Senator, and a Vice President. Both of them lost to a con man, a convicted felon, and a failed businessman who had a TV show. If those two resumes' do not convince people to vote for a woman, nothing will.
<returns to sputtering profanity, blasphemy, and vulgarities in anger and dismay>
My thoughts too, Ally. Sure chaps my azz! Even knowing our country’s much-checkered past, events of the last decade have really caused me to rethink what our country is really all about. Sobering…but I don’t want to give up hope of what COULD be if we’d only commit to be better & know that there ARE folks doing their best to make it so….still, we’re swimming upstream against the current. 🏊🏻♀️
In successive Letters, Heather has spoken eloquently about two major issues we as a society continue to grapple with, our environmental and labor standards, highlighted by two distaffed Colossuses, in Rachel Carson and Frances Perkins.
Once more, your letter is here to somehow lift our spirits. Hard to realize that Biden made a speech today, but all we hear about is Trump, and his inane, rambling, press conference. The legacy media is gone, and your letter is more important than ever. Thank you Professor 🙏
Accurate journalism informs the public, protecting truth and democracy when authoritarian forces seek to manipulate, divide, and suppress. Truth is resistance.
TRUTH IS RESISTANCE.
H A L L E L U J A H 🇺🇸
Just made a beautiful tee shirt saying that on lines waving amidst amber waves of grain. Doesn't matter that it's imaginary, I'm wearing it.
Democracy is fragile. Perhaps there is some truth to the quote from Plato: “Tyranny follows Democracy.”
Democracy is as fragile or as strong as our individual and collective dedication to its maintenance.
Plato’s thoughts on democracy can never be understood outside his trauma at the judicial murder of Socrates, his mentor. That murder was carried out not by a tyrant, but by the ignorance of the Athenian citizens who completely misunderstood the value of what Socrates had been trying to teach them for decades, and following the overthrow of the Thirty who had taken power with the help of the Spartans after their defeat of the complacent Athenian fleet at Goat's Creek.
Tyranny follows Democracy if and only if we let it.
Or if enough of us want it. Apparently, roughly 60% of white voters, 70% of white working class voters, and 80% of white evangelicals prefer tyranny to a government that tries to treat black people and other marginalized groups fairly.
I rather think the problem is that far too many of us simply don’t understand what we were designed to be, which makes them nearly perfect prey for a man who is almost wholly ignorant of that design, and disdains what he does understand because it gets in the way of his megalomania.
Well, they will have to live under it until they realize it is not really all it was cooked up to be.
Yes, ignorance is the culprit. So is pathology. I swear, once a day at least, I find myself saying, "What the ...." at the sheer willful idiocy of the President-elect and his bad boys.
James thank you for this crucial piece of history.
Socrates was a teacher of some of the prominent members of the 30, and Plato thought democracy a great beast incapable, in the end, of governance. He loathed, as did Socrates, democratic governance. The Gorgias is where this is most clearly articulated. Those who overthrew the 30 were the same who put Socrates to death.
If I remember my history/philosophy lessons correctly, Aristotle, too, was not a fan of the pure democracy of Athens, which allowed for mobs to be manipulated. He thought that it was wrong for the masses of poor to redistribute wealth taken from the wealthy. Nor was he a fan of oligarchy, rule by the wealthy. Instead Aristotle proposed the benefits of constitutional democracy that was grounded on a large middle class and governance constituency inducted by the well educated. Without a large middle class, Aristotle theorized, the oligarchs would strive to arrange things to benefit themselves.
Yes, he was. Also of Alcibiades who, like Benedict Arnold was at different times a brilliant commander, a hero, and a traitor.
But that doesn’t mean that Socrates was responsible for them or for the 30. Also, because he wrote nothing down himself, we have to be a bit careful about how we interpret Plato’s interpretation of him, just as the plays about your namesake and about the Trojan War have to be taken with a grain of salt.
No one with any political experience or historical understanding thinks that a pure democracy would be any kind of ideal. The Greeks experimented with it and failed. Our Founders understood that, which is why they tried to create a form of government that would allow for the maximum of individual freedom and rights without a corresponding descent into the maelstrom of demagoguery and the mob. What they did hope, in creating a Republic of virtue, was that enough of us would understand that freedom and individual rights come with an equivalent responsibility to, among other things, maintain a proper balance between those rights and the needs of the community.
We are engaged in the most crucial, the riskiest, and the most complex experiment in human government ever attempted. We could do with a Socrates to remind us to define our terms far more clearly than we often do, to understand that wisdom is also an acceptance of what we don’t yet understand, and to continually ask ourselves that most difficult question - how should men live - and his answer.
Perhaps size matters. Many Native American tribes seemed to practice government by council and included women. Smaller than states and varying in governance, tribal councils would discuss until a consensus was reached, but on a huge scale, that wouldn't be possible.
Bill, I have been wondering if, in fact, what is happening now is what’s supposed to happen. Oftentimes after a time of chaos things change for the better. We shall see…
I hope you are on to something
After college I dated an economics professor. We talked about different governments and economic systems. It was interesting to know that the government and its economy evolve. It is my hope that we are evolving to a higher level of democracy. We shall see….
I’d like to see the stats on that issue. My guess is that something worse emerges from chaos more often than something better.
Hope so. But not optimistic. Our nemesis is the agent of chaos, and he's been really really good at it. For a very long time.
I hadn't heard that quote so I looked it up and discovered that there was more implied in his quote: “Democracy, which is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequal's alike.” “Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty.” A couple of things...Ron Paul wrote a missive entitled "Sorry Mr. Franklin, we are all democrats now." Paul refers to a Ben Franklin response to a reporter's question regarding the form of government the framers agreed on. He said: " “A republic, if you can keep it". You think Franklin was of a like mind with Plato? We lefties here love our 20th century progressive governance, I do anyway but the unrestricted accumulation of wealth has taken hold and is contradictory to equality, human rights, minimum sustainable income and all the rest. And to drive my point home, we fight wars to prevent communism, socialism, and the redistribution of wealth from taking hold. I was a Marine in one of those wars, Vietnam. Remember, the domino theory? Stopping communism from spreading. Some vets take pride in their effort and I don't blame them but there were three sixties songs Dylan's "Master's Of War", Buffy Saint Marie's "Universal soldier" and Fogerty's "Fortunate Son". If you know them, they describe what was wrong wit war. Those vets were not defending against a threat to our Country, we were fighting to protect our system of economics, capitalism and market economies.
Karl Marx also thought that capitalism is a cycle of prosperity and decline. He predicted that eventually the proletariat would rise up and revolt with world communism as the ultimate result. I don't advocate communism, but I do find it interesting that Plato and Marx agree about the cyclical nature of capitalism. I hope that rather than communism we end up with a mixed economy modeled after Sweden's.
Yeah, my wife identifies with the economic systems of the Scandinavian countries (Maiden name Knudsen). We like how they blend market economy with government controlled social services. Bernie suggested that we should look to the Norse for ideas about how to run an economy. I don't think that the Scandinavian systems will work in our country, I want them to. George Carlin had a great bit about us and our "wealthy owners". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT03vCaL-F0 Take a look. It is human nature to be dumb, at least half of us. The average IQ score is around 100. Think of it this way: at least half of the people in our country are below that number. Don't get me wrong, I am not arrogant, I don't scoff at these folks, I don't mock them. I am one of them but I've wised up some. I don't mock Donald Trump. He's baffling, and if he causes harm to people, I am angry at him, but the progressive ideas I/we believe in are not attractive to these people. It's something simpler they are attracted to: unrestricted freedom.
That's a nice thought, but for that to happen we'd have to be way closer to income equality than we are now. We give way too much political power to those who have a ton of money in this country. We gave up on all men are created equal a long, long time ago.
Democracy takes constant courage and commitment to truth.
Which is why, on a daily basis, I share the Professor's letters on Facebook, with the title, "Today's truth".
Good for you…great idea!
Good going, Daniel.
Daniel. How do you put it on Facebook. Can you enlighten me?
Sharing on Facebook: at the bottom of the column, under the citations, there is a "share" button. On my screen it's a sort of turquoise color. When you click on that, it gives you several options, and one of them is Facebook. Click on that, and that should do it. Thanks! I need to share too.
That's exactly how I get it out there!!
Resistance is what these criminals are doing.
These authoritarian forces are the resistance.
They’re trying to foist lies on people’s natural impulse toward simple common sense.
It’s an onslaught against truth and facts.
It’s truth and facts that stand immovable. Truth and facts don’t need to resist anything.
They need to be fought for.
Yes, we need to instill the reasons why we common folks should hate and detest the MAGA oligarchs and their theft of our security, our rights to a better life.
That tactic hasn’t been effective. His lies are stronger than our reasons. I don’t waste energy on hate. My drive is to end their terrorism.
Thank you Susan Burgess. I’m sending your writing on to as many people as are in my Substack email list in my cell phone.
Past time for us all to “walk our walk.”
Truth is resistance.
A majority of white Americans have no interest in truth. The opposite. They go out of their way to reject it.
Hello Rex, as I mentioned earlier, and the reason the majority of white Americans reject the truth is because in the recent words of Lucian Truscott IV, “Facts leave bite marks.”
Yes, and . . .
Truth is resistance, indeed. Let me know when the bumper stickers are available for purchase. I don't put bumper stickers on my vehicle but I'd slap one of these on in half a second!
And, "still she persisted"!!
Martine, I posted a link to this SubStack recently here, but never know who all sees it, so will post again…covers a lot that the MSM doesn’t: What Did Joe Biden Do Today? https://whatdidbidendotoday.substack.com/p/what-did-joe-biden-do-today-e54?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=954002&post_id=153241499&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=6wq7j&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Superlative links Barbara Keating. 🙏
President Biden has been expediting the appointment of federal U.S. District Judges in the last days of his Presidency with success. Every lifetime trial level appointment counts as thousands of yearly federal cases that are adjudicated at local district court level. Only 80 or so make it to SCOTUS.
Biden just placed SERENA RAQUEL MURILLO on the Senate Executive Calendar. Judge Murillo is headed for the Central District of California a very active federal Bench in CA.
Finally, a National Monument for FRANCES PERKINS whose public works projects are still the living flesh & bones of many New Deal projects across the land! Check out the Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico; the Perkins' building is architectural art & the aerial photo of the construction of the Norris Dam above the Tennessee River.
Many historical photos, graphs & data of Frances' government work are still with us & are collected in the August 2010 IRLE Working Paper: "The Living New Deal: the Unsung Benefits of the New Deal for the United States & California" by RICHARD WALKER & GRAY BRECHIN. Those benefits are not unsung now.
You can access the history & photos including well executed photographs of Gray Brechin at https/:/www.irle.berkeley.edu/workingpaper. Tel or Cell: (510) 643-8140.
"IRLE" stands for Institute of for Research on Labor & Employment. Well done.
Thank you Bryan
The link didn't work for me, but this one did where you can download the file. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6c1115sm
Thank you Lee. I must get better rather than post the URL.
Thank you Barbara, one of the many Substack’s I look for and read every day.
Thank you Joe Biden for the best example of Best President ever🙌
Getting rich gets so much more thought than being fair
Avoiding accountability costs far surpass waste, your donations pay for it . Not fair, but elected regardless.
Word salads, double talk, broken trust, lies upon lies, ethics tossed for egos sake..grew out of the promise to …Make America Great Again which became known as…
MAGA
What has come of this is what caused it in the first place …fairness ,equality, laws ,established rights ..broken, greed bringing the richest county - once upon a time #1 ….to laughing supreme stocks of the world courted treasonously/sadly …to its knees …no longer ‘The Dream’ .
Oh, people are thinking where can I move that’s safe from this ?
But wait…we got 600 millionaires …plus some billionaires …rolling ,shaking up, replacing YOUR fair for the now acceptable ‘fuck you’ face of failure .
Be sure to thank those 49% voters , the stink tanks Heritage /Federalist/Facists for the next 4 or more year’s ride delivered by the groveling whittled out gop.
I’m disappointed…and NOT done😉
Patricia. You and Many others are not only disappointed WE ARE DEVASTATED. so much ignorance about who the orange idiot is, I call him dumpster😡.
I have noticed more flags saying "Take America Back" rather than the usual MAGA. Chilling to me.
Ugh! Haven’t seen those yet. In my town, there’s a billboard that the religious right keeps trying to put up about protecting babies but nothing about protecting mothers. Someone, bless them, keeps tearing them down! I hope it’s a woman doing that.
Ugg. What town? Anywhere near the “State of Jefferson”?
MAGA - make America gag again. The vomit follows.
The hope that keeps me from utter despair are the midterms. If what is outlined in Project 25 is implemented, this country will swiftly be seeing rock bottom. Maybe then those 49% voters will wake up....
Hooray for this, Patricia !
I also subscribe to what did joe biden do today.
Me too.
Thanks, Barbara, signed up, free to me though!
Me too Frank, being on a limited fixed income I am unable to afford a paid subscription to most SubStacks—I was a free subscriber to LFAA for a time until I was able to budget it in—and orgs/causes I’d like to support. The least I could do is spread the word so others could discover the resource.
Thats abt the size of it. I wouldn't mind seeing some consolidation. Likely i'm returning to LFAA free to me in April, been 2 years of paid. Maybe 3? After all for me its abt $7 CAD monthly. A TH meal equivalent.
Thank you for the other readers. I’ve been following this Substack for about two years and always find solace in it. Can anyone imagine 47 having such a daily statement made about him? Hah!!
What did JoeBiden do today is committed to doing the same for the next president, so I subscribed. It’s amazing how little of Biden’s actions are mentioned in the press. Trump is so much more entertaining, I guess.
Barbara. Thank you. I subscribed !
Thank you for noting the absence of the press today at Biden's speech. This has been happening for months, though. And thank you Professor Richardson for reminding us of the great work this country has accomplished at the hands of true civil servants, which unfortunately are mostly Democrats.
What a revealing letter of the struggle of a government for the people. all the people. Biden's phrase "decent and fair" so applies to him as well. It hurts so much to keep reading now of the many important things Biden has done and keeps doing. We are down river of a giant dam that has broached.
Remember, too, Martine, Trump 2.0 is a resurgence of white, patriarchal power anchored to evangelical beliefs. This is what's sweeping into Washington and elsewhere already in the wake of Harris' political defeat. Despite the overall narrow margins, they will run to the limit, and as fast as possible, to cement themselves into Washington. As Miller remarked, like a "lightning bolt".
That "white, patriarchal power" is nothing more than the American Taliban.
Yep and in case you haven't noticed, the Taliban is still in control in Afghanistan.
And in case either of you didn't notice, the Taliban belong to the Pashtun, by far Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, who are also spread into Pakistan, where I believe the Taliban originally developed. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Ethnic_groups_in_Afghanistan#Pashtuns
Here's a snippet from the DNI ... The movement's founding nucleus—the word “Taliban” is Pashto for “students”—was composed of peasant farmers and men studying Islam in Afghan and Pakistani madrasas, or religious schools. The Taliban found a foothold and consolidated their strength in southern Afghanistan.
Remember too USA pumped $$$ and materiel into the resistance to the Russian invasion of the country when its socialist regime imploded thanks to local resistance. We may not be comfortable with some of the conservative, Islamically derived social mores esp on women, but this was largely the nature of the country before AHBL when the Americans invaded.
Frank, this is exactly what I noted when I posted Heather's letter to my Facebook page as I do daily. I told my husband just after the election that it was a win for the patriarchy and he agreed. I read threads all over where especially women are worried about everything from finances to safety to their children. I also read of people stocking up on nonperishable foods. And yes, they will try to make things as awful as possible as quickly as possible. Notice that all the pariahs are back even Devin Nunes. I do see some pushback, it actually sounds like mewing, from entities who have realized that their businesses could suffer especially from deportation of the undocumented. And of course there are the corn and soy growers who are worried about wormhead. Now I am seeing stories about polio and pictures of iron lungs.
Thanks Michelle. Any Kennedy Jr denials about not cutting off polio and other vaccination policies likely can be taken with a grain of salt.
I take any denials from this group as lies.
Frances Perkins is one of the most important persons to serve in our government. Her theory of government is tacked to the wall in my home office, as is her photo with FDR. Her programs have benefited hundreds of millions of Americans. Yet few know her name. We need a new New Deal. Right now the oligarchs are winning.
She is well known at Cornell University where I was an undergraduate 1953-57. I believe she taught at Cornell and the Industrial and Labor Relations building is named for her.
so true
Another deflction to aviod talking about the Russian takeover.
Actually, Daniel these writings are revolutionary's way of giving the finger to the politicians who think they can erase history and have us pretend we never had these rights. President Biden actions concerning Frances Perkins are another way of giving the finger to the people who are salivating come January 20 to strip us of all these rights. I see you have a Substack site. Perhaps you could write about your topic there and share parts of it with us all in these comments.
Actually I worked 20 + years in DC for the Department of Labor, and I fear all for naught. In 2017 Trump attacked the "deep state" by elimination of "merit selection" to hire people like me. From there it got worse.
I supported Biden and everything, but I'm afraid he was ineffective in stopping the death of my subect. federal administrative law, and next will be collective bargaining as Musk and Bezos have a consttutional attack of the National Labor Relations Board.
If MAGATs turn the FBI into a Fascist musieum. they will level the Frances Perkins Building, and salt the ground like the Romans did Carthage. Thats where my former colleagues work -- euphemistically judicial dodo birds or mastadons, awaiting extinction.
The Russian takeover is a hell of a lot more important!
Then write about it in your Substack. Dr. Richardson is a self-avowed historian. Commanding an esteemed author to write about what you want is just plain rude. Again. Sounds like you have some background to write about what you want.
Socrates once noted that he was the wisest of men because he knew how little he knew.
Dr Richardson’s writings, like those of the best of our other historians proves his point in showing those of us who have at best an amateur’s grasp of our history how much about it we still don’t know. Our response ought constantly to be, “Tell me more” rather than, “Let me be, I already think I know enough”'
The latter response is, of course, the essential Trumpist response.
Amen!
The Russian takeover of what?
Of Donald Trump, lol.
These LFAA are where I get my news. I had no idea that President Biden did this wonderful support of American women. Thank you HCR!
Many of us have fallen for Donnie’s long con, the performance President and Demagoguery vs reality of substance and leadership of President Biden.
DJT is a sugar high, the excessive comfort the Greeks warned about.
And to add, please don’t stop writing your letter Professor HCR. It’s like a candle flame of light in the darkness some days.
It doesn’t have to if the voting populace is educated and not easily boon/swoggled by billionaires. (And Now the close-the- gov’t -scheme will play out… forcing millions of citizens & their families to deal with no paychecks for an uncertain number of weeks ..
Truly carrying our torch of freedom and integrity for both men and women. This has always been Letters from an American!
Agreed, 100%. Thank you, Heather.
So grateful to Frances Perkins for being the the motivator she was. She had vision and was able to find support for those. Forever in her debt.
She would want Biden to instruct the national archivist to publish the Equal Rights Amendment! It is now fully ratified and ready to be added to our Constitution!
Are we waiting for men to decide if women are equal?
We have to encourage Republican women in Congress to abstain from or even vote NO to any Republican bills until they have equal representation in committee leadership.
The thought that stays front of mind these days is this - is there any chance, however slim, to finally get the ERA done before January 20th?
How did we get a society where we needed one?
Status of the ERA?
As of 2024, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has not been ratified by four states: Florida, Louisiana, Utah, and Virginia. These states have state-level equal rights amendments or guarantees.
The ERA would add the concept of women's equality to the US Constitution and prohibit all forms of sex discrimination. The ERA was presented to state legislatures in 1972, with a seven-year deadline to be ratified by 38 states. However, five states have since rescinded their ratification of the ERA:
Nebraska, in 1973
Tennessee, in 1974
Idaho, in 1977
Kentucky, in 1978
South Dakota, in 1979
The U.S. Archivist's certification of the legal sufficiency of ratification documents is final and conclusive. The Archivist has not yet certified the ERA's ratification and published it in the Federal Register.
But then google also said.
Did the Equal Rights Amendment ever get ratified?
On March 22, 1972, the ERA was placed before the state legislatures, with a seven-year deadline to acquire ratification by three-fourths (38) of the state legislatures. A majority of states ratified the proposed constitutional amendment within a year
https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
Lawrence Ferlinghetti
What about Lawrence Ferlinghetti?
He wrote a poem: I am waiting… it’s pretty long and in my high school senior year, 1961, it was pretty cool.
……. I am waiting for the rebirth of wonder.
I am waiting for Jesus to come down off the cross……
I would have to find my book to know the rest of it.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti turned 100 last week
What was the name, I’ll look it up.
Right ON! I have written Biden. I hope every substack reader emails, writes, phones Biden. Publish the ERA now - it needs to be added to our Constitution. Why is it taking so long?
Here’s a link:
https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
Cmon, you know exactly WHY. Personally I would love to see it ratified but there are several remaining legal challenges that must be decided. Those are VERY real and there is no basis for the archivist to declare it ratified until the courts give it a green light.
As with other things that Biden "sat on" there was little pressure applied to get a decision during the four years of Biden's administration. The theoretical last ratification occurred in 2020 while Trump 1.0 was still in office. As with the cases against Trump, for the first two years of Biden, very little was done to move ratification forward. So sadly Biden needs to take responsibility for the foot dragging on the ERA while he was President.
Sorry to be a downer here but this is clearly another albatross on Biden's legacy.
Along with him sleeping on the border issue for the first 3 years. Boy I’m i disappointed.
I thought the ERA was held up in the courts due to logistics (and the five states that rescinded their votes to ratify).
Here's an excerpt on legislation that has been proposed last year but not voted upon. Perhaps I'm wrong (I hope I am, because I came here to ask why this bill isn't being voted on to get our equal rights in the Constitution:
"The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed to the states in 1972. The original proposal included a deadline for ratification of March 22, 1979; Congress subsequently extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. Although the requisite 38 states have ratified the amendment, three of these states did so after the deadlines, and five states subsequently rescinded their ratifications. The status of the amendment has been the subject of litigation."
HERE'S A LINK TO THE LEGISLATION ITSELF:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-joint-resolution/25#:~:text=Although%20the%20requisite%2038%20states,been%20the%20subject%20of%20litigation.
I REALLY hope I'm wrong on this one.
Take good care,
B
Go to VoteEquality.us for great information on why Biden can and should have the National Archivist sign and publish the ERA. Over 400,000 lawyers have concluded that imposing a deadline for an amendment is in and of itself unconstitutional. 46 Senators have written Biden urging him to do it as well as 120 House members. I wish I could send you those letters. They are very strong. And yes it could get challenged but how would that look? For many folks in the know, it's now or never!!
Now or never is right! I don't trust Trump and his cronies at all.... I can see them sending us back to the 1800's and turning us into chattel!
Thank you for this information, Sandy. It seemed petty that filing after a deadline should nullify a ratification of such an important bill that is so long overdue (although I think Professor Richardson made it clear why the Right has been against women's rights--especially since the women's liberation movement (which should be called the Equal Rights Movement).
Sandy, getting back to the ERA-- what, if anything, are the repercussions of the five states that rescinded the ratification?
We only need 38 states.
I have to do some more research.
Thank you for giving me a good place to start. Much appreciated! I agree with you 100% that this should be one of our priorities--- even if 45 tries to bypass the Constitution, I'm hoping that if the ERA is published, Congress could hold it up, as well as the courts, when 45 and Co. going after our rights.
Wishing you a peaceful day.
: )
You might remember from your school classes that the courts ultimately decide what is and isn't constitutional. So even if a million attorneys said it was okay, Biden would STILL be required to get a ruling on a very critical issue. He can not unilaterally decide this one the court suits were filed (many years ago). As his justice department has done throughout his presidency, his foot dragging is the reason we don't have an ERA at this point.
https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
👍
what is the hesitation on Biden's part?
The rules for passing an amendment stop him. The majority of white women voting for Trump stop him.
I agree. I think this is what feminists are waiting for from Biden.
Beautiful! So timely in these final days of Joe Biden ‘s Presidency !
While 38 states have, at one time or another, ratified the ERA, there are still legal challenges to final ratification that are in process in various courts based on the 7 year ratification time limit that was imposed in the amendment when it was passed so many year ago. It did NOT (sadly) get the necessary 38 states to ratify in the first 7 years and there have been continued legal challenges to whether that restricting was constitutional.
In the meantime several states that initially ratified have withdrawn their ratification and there are other lawsuits questioning whether such deratification is even possible.
For the moment, the ERA is on hold by the courts and it is at least questionable whether the archivist can legally certify the amendment and that's why it had not been entered into the Constitution.
Even if it were to be entered as such, the legal challenges would continue and in the end the Supreme Court will probably have to make the final decision. Given the court's current status I question whether the ERA will ever become "law of the land".
https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
I am a fan of the very human package that constituted FDR. While imperfect, flawed, prone to acts of selfishness, he simultaneously worked untiringly for individuals who needed assistance. I became aware of France’s Perkins role in creating a government “for” the people through two terrific biographies. H W Brands’ Traitor to his Class, and Doris Kerns Goodwin’s No Ordinary Time.
The role of women in our society has consistently been underplayed. Thank you Heather for this wonderful letter recognizing one woman’s contributions.
As the singer/songwriter Keb’ Mo’ sang…Put A Woman In Charge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FciQeRGYFlw
Our nation missed a real opportunity to do just that, in the spirit of FDR, Biden & Perkins, by electing the Harris/Walz team. We sure shot ourselves in the foot.
I used to think that was THE answer but then along came BBBBB (aka Marjorie Taylor Greene), Lauren Bohnert, Nancy Mace, Kristie Noem, Kay Ivey, Virginia Foxx, Marie LePen, Giorgia Meloni, et alia such that now I accept that not just any woman but one who understands the assignment.
MisTBlu, excellent observation. Those women you listed have given up their sacred feminine for acceptance in the patriarchy and seem to think that if they behave badly, it somehow makes them strong women instead the embarrassments they are.
Michele, there is a 2017 novel (on Obama’s list of books to read in 2017) by Naomi Alderman “The Power” which is a thought-experiment tome with themes of gender, power, control, cults, religion, social media. I found it interesting, thought provoking…sometimes disturbing…other times my response was “hell yeah!!!”. BTW also recommend her novel The Future (climate change, corporations and the 1%).
Thank you for these suggestions. I will put them on my list. In a holding pattern as my husband and I get each other books for Christmas and no book ordering after a certain date. And we have to read the book before we get another one. I saw several packages from Powell's come and I have a big box full ready for the first on Christmas day. Fiction of nonfiction.
So those who understand the assignment might have a turning-point decision to make if they've (or we've) been behaving in arenas of comfortable contribution. Time to sharpen tongues and pens, get out the dancing shoes and bright colors?
Barbara, thank You for posting the link to "Put a Woman in Charge". Makes me happy!
Keb Mo get's it...and a lot of other things...everyone wants to party, but no one wants to clean up....
I love to clean up -- it's the quiet communal dance (so to speak). Sometimes I clean up in the midst of parties, like being a fly on the wall.
Re-reading your comment, Joan, brought back memories of when I had a significant other(SO) or spouse. Used to be “house rules” whoever cooked the meal did not clean up, the other partner would. Well well well….I tend to clean up as I cook (always have), so much less by way of tasks after any meal I prepared. One SO was a strew-it-around-the-kitchen kinda cook, not quite spaghetti on the ceiling, but very close…lol…he always got the better end of that deal!!! I also pick up litter on my hikes…
Mike, have great admiration for Rep Andy Kim, seen on his knees cleaning up after the rioters trashed the capitol…he just rolled up his sleeves (so to speak) and got to work “getting it done”. Hadn’t been aware of him at the time, but my immediate reaction was “I really like this guy”, and have been sort of following him ever since, even tho’ he represents NJ and I’m from CA!
Good one ! Thanks.
so perfect a song for this moment. What a huge opportunity squandered.
It is definitely time to put a woman in charge. Look where we are with men in charge.
Well so far women are 0 for 2 in getting the highest office of the land. India has had a women leader. Israel has had a women leader. Mexico has a woman leader right now. Even a Muslim country like Pakistan has had a woman leader.
The US has a difficult time acting like a true leader in the world when it is really pretty backward sigh.
Keb' Mo' sings another song: The Worst is Yet to Come.
Thank you Barbara. I always enjoy your well thought out comments.
Many years ago I read The Woman Behind the New Deal - The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins by Kirsten Downey. It was engaging, wonderfully written and so informative. I highly recommend it.
Thanks, I’ll look for it at my library.
Eleanor was behind many of FDR’s contributions to improve the lives of everyone.
No Ordinary Time is one of my favorite books!
And this comment is coming from a man. Can we clone you Gary?
I'm going to look for a shirt that says 'Men of Quality are Not Threatened by Women's Equality.' That saying (or something similar) was popular back in the 70's, and we need to bring it back so we can thank all the men who are brave enough to fight alongside us!
There are people with that vision and heart out there. Somehow we need to back them up.
Can you give us your thoughts on the status of the Equal Rights Amendment?
I hate to hijack a request for Ned but my thoughts are that there are serious legal claims about the viability of the ratification process which are being dealt with in the court system. The courts have put a hold on ratification until those cases are decided. Biden's Justice department (as it did in many cases) has dragged its heels on getting a decision and is now paying the price. Actions have consequences.
Personally I'd like to see the ERA ratified but there are two major legal questions that MUST be decided. The first is whether the original 7 year limitation on ratification which was written into the legislation for the amendment is legal and binding (if so, ratification was ended long ago before enough states had ratified). The second is whether a state which had ratified can withdraw that ratification before the amendment is in fact completely ratified (five states which ratified early attempted to withdraw). Both cases are in the courts right now and that is why ratification has stalled.
The delay is on Biden's administration. They didn't pursue this very diligently and now want to rush it in but they are blocked by the courts.
Actions have consequences.
Hi, Barbara, thank you for asking. I suspect that Jon is covering anything I would say. 🤝
These days, I wonder how permissible a ruling like Dobbs would have been with the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) in place. With the E.R.A. in the Constitution,, a woman's right to privacy or, in the case of reproductive choice, her exercise of that right might have been stronger. 💔
Barbara, I do not know the answer as I am not trained in the law. Some say that the nineteenth amendment -- the right to vote for women -- brought women into the body politic. My feeling has been that I would rather live with belts and suspenders rather than any ambiguity. ⚖️
Barbara — please join the groundswell of people calling on Joe Biden to direct the archivist to publish the ERA: https://www.bidenpublishtheera.org/
Behind a great man, there's always a greater woman. It's time to bring them forward!!!
Yes!
Perkins should be the inspiration for a New Democratic Party that focuses on ECONOMIC JUSTICE. The "Perkins Plan" could bolster what she achieved and add a layer to include Medicare for All, Childcare. Eldercare. And a renewed effort to change the tax code from rewarding the oligarchs to helping the Working Class.
Americans are HURTING within the best economy in years. All those happy "stats" we have been justifiably proud of are meaningless if you can't provide for yourself or your family with two full time jobs.
The Waltons have over $400 billion. Their employees are on Medicaid and use food stamps. Ask why that makes sense. Ask why tax payers are subsidizing billionaires.
-And……I know the perfect Sculptor for her monument. See…..bryanrappsculpture.com
"By 1979, religious traditionalists had rejected the modern move toward women’s rights and made common cause with Republicans eager to derail the New Deal."
I am really sick of the Left ceding ground to conservatives who are little better than Pharisees.
Let’s review since it is the season of Christmas:
Jesus and his family were political refugees – that is the Christmas story; the president elect rejects refugees. Jesus stood for helping the stranger; the president elect rejects them. Jesus was about challenging the power structure; the president elect lusts after it. Jesus stood for the disenfranchised and deviant; the GOP hates them. Jesus told his followers to put down their swords; the GOP says pick up your guns. Jesus stood for helping the poor and disabled; the GOP is about mocking and making life even more difficult for them. Jesus called on us to sacrifice; Trump is all about consumption instead. Jesus fed the hungry; Trump would starve them. The president elect covets the kingdoms of the earth; Jesus, tempted by Satan, rejected them. Trump and his party are all about conformity; Jesus, who consorted with tax-collectors and prostitutes, is all about the disenfranchised and the deviant. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees as hungry for gain and as hypocrites; Trump embodies the same hypocrisy and selling of religion. Trump says “pick up your guns”; Jesus says put away your sword. Trump and his party persecute the sexually different; his apostles welcomed them into the fold, as in the case of Philip and the eunuch.
Is the former GOP president the Anti-Christ? Maybe, maybe not. But he and is party are as anti-Christian as anything that can be imagined.
Because if Caesar is right, then Jesus is wrong. If guns are right, then Jesus is wrong. If supporting power and laying the weak by the heal is right, then Satan and Trump are right, and Jesus is wrong. I have no idea what scripture the GOP reads. I’ve had the good fortune to pour over it in Greek and publish books on Jesus’ radicalism. Jesus was a wildly radical Jewish heretic. The GOP? Intellectually and morally sloven and shabby.
A very important reminder, thanks for posting this! We should rub this in the face of all these CINOs (Christians In Name Only)….
And I write that as no Christian, but a militant and confirmed agnostic.
I too am not Christian yet admire Jesus's kindness and consider kind Christians allies. I keep hoping that those who admire what Jesus is reported to have said rather than greed and sociopathy will join and speak louder and more clearly about what they respect, and how it differs from self-centered MAGA.
this is just how I feel also.
Well articulated, J L.
I am not a follower of Christ, or any religion.
In this you are in league with Nietzsche who was agnostic or atheist, but could not reject Jesus as he was truly the only Christian. This is not the fault of atheists or agnostics, it is the fault of CINOs, who seem to forget that helping your neighbor is central to the gospel - and defined the neighbor as the enemy instead.
Jesus wasn’t trying to get people to memorize his Sermon on the Mount. He was trying to tell us who he is and who we all are but don’t yet know it.
Because many didn’t understand Jesus’s message, his words were misinterpreted, often on purpose for nefarious reasons, targeting those who were looking for a savior.
. . . A savior they COULD understand.
They found one!
CINOs (Christians In Name Only)? How about HINO (Human in Name Only)?
Search for 'Human in Name Only'. Google returns:
Human in name only" means someone who is technically considered a human, but lacks the essential qualities or behaviors typically associated with being human, like empathy, compassion, or morality, essentially acting in a way that is not aligned with what is considered "human" behavior."
Michael Stayton,
And so ,the description, "Christian" has been used to slaughter persons of other faiths. "Christianity" has been used to divide us. You are correct.
Sadly this is an insult to the name of Christ, who at His time to suffer and die for us...allowed Himself to be taken and beaten and spat upon...taken to the cross where He suffered "for OUR sins and for OUR rebellion".
He loved, He healed, He cared for each of us especially for those who were "rejected". Christ NEVER forced Himself upon us.
It is some of we humans who call ourselves "believers" yet allow ourselves to be guided and deceived by the enemies of Christ.
We are cowards. Instead of demonstrating the love and forgiveness towards others, the love and forgiveness, we have received through Christ, and with that FREEDOM and knowledge and power to love, to comfort whether someone believes as we do or NOT; we choose to hate and demonstrate dominance and cruelty and judgement. Or as Peter, one of the disciples, in the Bible, we run away, trying to hide from our "calling". We have the duty to choose to provide to others, the same unconditional love....understanding...we each receive when we surrender our lives to Christ. We are "called" to give the same to those placed in our path.
These are the ways of Christ! In my belief, Christ will come again. Those who have USED His Name TO DO EVIL, will receive their just reward. Those who have LIVED OUT their faith, with a thankful heart....even if it means rejection, or persecution, the same.
No matter our faith...or No faith...let us live a life that demonstrates a concern and care for humanity and for this earth and the space beyond.
Yes, that is quite a fitting description, sir. ;)
I like “sociopath” also.
Hmm, who does that sound like?!? 🤔
His name is on the tip of my tongue, but I keep spitting it out. 🙃
I would concur. Their use of Christianity to drive a politics of division is contemptible, and it is not at all new. What is new is how much it drives much of the Republican agenda. They are misogynistic, and it shows.
But, true to form, my brother’s Baptist church forbids women from even speaking out loud in their services. They must tell their husbands what they want to say, and the husband decides if it’s “from god” and “worthy,” and he will say it. Sounds like the taliban.
Egad! Where is this? What if a single woman or a widow has something to say?
What’s next? Women banned from touching Bibles to keep them protected from female cooties?
"Intellectually and morally sloven and shabby."
What a great description!
I especially like "shabby." Yes - what a scruffy lot - from trump in his too big suits to Two Shirts Bannon who never looks washed - to Big Plastic Boots Ron. An absolute shower.
Thank you. Well said...and "intellectually and morally sloven and shabby"is about as concise and accurate as it can be described.
It may seem paradoxical to say that "I'm a Christian," and then say "I'm also an atheist."
But when someone says, they are Southern Baptist or Catholic or an Evangelical do we think, "Wow, they must be a good person because the leaders of their church are such good examples of what a Christian should be" or "The church is such a shining example of what the golden rule says."
Estimates are there are around 10,000 religions in the world most of them based on Christianity, Judaism, Muslim, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. How many of the religions suggest that we should kill those that don't follow our religion? Millions of people have died or been persecuted because they refuse to say they are Christians.
Isn't this one of the basic tenets of today's Republican Party under Trump?
I think a person can embrace the teachings of religious figures like Jesus or Buddha about how to live a fulfilling life and get along without belief in the whole nebulous all knowing paternal power.
cameron, I have a dear friend (high school bandmate) who is a rock solid conservative Christian who is also one of the few Christians that I see who walk Christ's path (as I, as a non-theist, understand it to be.) She told me years ago (after leaving our local university to attend the college affiliate with her flavor of Christianity**side bar** there's a clue for you**) told me "After being surrounded by people of faith, learning far more about the Bible and Christ than I could ever have imagined, I have to tell you that, as a non-believer, you are one of the most Christian people I know".
I distill it to "I don't need a book or an imaginary sky pilot to tell me how to be or coerce me into being a good person."
Good Ally, for those who want to find religion, my advice is to not search outside your own self for it.
Gary...I'm reading Tim Alberta's newest book. It's an eye opener. I'm about halfway through and I feel nauseous. An elderly neighbor wanted me to read it. He is a devoted christian who can't believe what is happening to our country.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112975131-the-kingdom-the-power-and-the-glory?from_search=true
Yep...I read this a while ago also.
Thank you. This needs to be said more widely, very loudly, and repetitively by all Democratic candidates. The forces of enlightenment have ceded the language of morality to the regressive side. The political and religious right wing claims - very loudly - that they are moral, when they are not. They claim decency while being grotesquely indecent.
Philoctetes , I always think about what you have posted, but t not so summarized and organized. Thank you.
I’m not even religious and I like your comments! I hope I can remember them when I am around people in the next week or so!
Excellent comment. Could you please clarify the following?
If supporting power and laying the weak by the heal is right, …”
“by the heal?“
Trodding them underfoot, i.e., actively hating them because they are unable to care for themselves.
Thank you, Philoctetes, for the contrast between the teachings of Jesus and Trump. I am going to turn them into a series similar to the “Kamala:Trump” signs that were so prominent during the election campaign. Example: Jesus - Put away your sword. Trump: Pick up your gun.
Your insights brought to mind the motto of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship: “Cross before Flag.” To me, that means we must strive to live a life according to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth first, so that we can put our patriotism into a compassionate context. That is the way to orient our moral compass to “true North.” I am sure the other great world religions carry the same core wisdom and message.
A progressive, principled, tireless advocate/educator from Maine whose work is immensely relevant today. Remind you of anyone else?
Read my mind!
I had that thought too....
People may argue about policy, and debate ideology,but there’s no denying history.
Joe Biden will go down as a champion of women, minorities, and the marginalized. His presidency will be remembered as one “of the people,by the people, and for the people”.
His decency and dogged determination to fight hate and defend democracy will be what historians write about for the decades to come.
They say that you get the government you deserve. We didn’t deserve Joe Biden, he was too good for America. We did not appreciate him. We cast him aside, and for what?
Thank you, Joe Biden, for over half a century of putting people over property!
I appreciate him mightily and lament that the bloviating bully was the “shiny object” the MSM gave all the air time to….same as it ever was.
And still today. Biden gets little to no coverage but the lying felon elect gets covered for every little comment. BTW, msm does not have the balls to challenge the lies in real time. And because they don’t call him out, people believe what he says as truth and fact. Shameful.
And still is!
“Bright Shining Lie”.
Thank you Herbert! SO true!
Long overdue recognition on a grand scale of all that Frances Perkins had accomplished in her time!
Quoting Dr. Heather:
"The creation today of the Frances Perkins National Monument tied together Perkins’s expansion of the government and the centrality of women to the American story. The event took place in the Frances Perkins Building, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., where acting secretary of labor Julie Su noted that Biden has been “the most pro-worker, pro-union president in history,” protecting pensions, defending unions, creating good jobs, and unapologetically wielding the power of the presidency on behalf of working people."
One wonders, given how she has impacted our lives, why she is not more honored with a prominent place on a coin or monetary note, a monument or even museum on the National Mall, a Monday holiday. She has impacted and improved far more lives than some presidents (hello George, good morning Donnie!)
Look to the patriarchy whose members are excellent at feathering their own nests and advancing their own interests at the expense of, well, women. Time to defeat the patriarchy, starting with Trump. I only hope he lives long enough to see historians trash him.
Trump has been thoroughly trashed by historians, journalists , world leaders, and politicians. It’s like pissing in the wind,; it has no effect other than poking the bear. The man is incapable of critical self reflection. I hope he does NOT live long enough to destroy our country.
Our Father who art etc. is patriarchal bullshit.
Alas, the US has done a really subpar job establishing any female role models on currency. In Sweden there Astrid Lindgren (20 SEK smallest/common paper currency), Birgit Nilsson (500sek largest common paper currency) and Greta Garbo( 100 SEK). Dag Hammarskjöld is I’m the 1000, not a note you see much. https://www.riksbank.se/en-gb/payments--cash/notes--coins/notes/valid-banknotes/
Thanks for planting another flag on the steep hill Frances Perkins climbed to lay the groundwork for some of the great social actions of the twentieth century.
🥰😍
To really honor women and protect us from the reassertion of the patriarchy, Biden should instruct the national archivist to publish the now fully ratified Equal Rights Amendment as the 28thAmendment to our Constitution. We need deeds, not mere words, Mr. President!
You can tell him yourself here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/share/
Thankyou for making it so easy to do this ( again, & again)!
Thanks Lynell: done!
Thank you. Done
Done!
Morning, Lynell, and thanks for the link!
Morning, Ally! Just fyi, I am not being notified of replies for some reason. But anyway, I always think of you whenever music takes center stage. So wanted to make sure you saw this Carol of the Bells or Shchedryk from Ukraine. Always a pleasure to listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXyg6HkuDo
Substack isn’t advising of “replies” any longer, only “likes”. I usually check , just to be sure if there’s also a reply.
Thanks for letting me know, Ally. Yikes. I hope I remember to check.
Thanks! Done!
Linda, I have contacted the WH several times to request just that. Nary a whisper of info/possibility that I have heard about it tho. Keeping my 🤞!
I am always amazed as I read - and today re-read - the list of Frances Perkins accomplishments - how much of what we think of as the accomplishments of the New Deal were really programs, services and values championed by her.
It is also important to remember that Frances Perkins was a devout Christian - Episcopalian - and that, for her, promoting the objectives for which she worked so devotedly was, for her, a fulfillment of her Christian faith and deeply consistent with it.
She was also basically a single mother. Her husband had been committed to an asylum for the mentally ill; at that time in history this was something kept quiet. She was responsible for working to pay the bills for his care and for herself and their daughter.
Biden's tribute today was long-overdue, particularly as we enter a period when small-minded men are going to try to undo everything she accomplished. Let's hope they are not successful and do our best to stop them. Perkins represented everything that Christianity used to stand for, but too often today does not. Why do we never learn about the accomplishments of such women in our history classes?
Because the wieners write history
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Indeed they do. In indelible ink.
That's why as a woman , Heathers letters are so important!!
No doubt, Heather, that your writings kept Frances Perkins in the president’s vision. I know I’ve learned about her through your writings. Keeping her legacy noticed surely helped this acknowledgment! We need more history to all Americans so they can see where it all began and how important our history is towards our future. Here’s hoping enough people are ready to take up oxygen and fight for our democracy!
I think we’d be best served to LIVE OUR DEMOCRACY in our daily lives. It’s 3AM so I’m
Not certain how this will work out, but if we at least began each day with the freedom to be the best we can be for this day, there’s a chance the “living democracy”could flourish 🤗🇺🇸💕💕
Carol, I have always had as my mantra "Do the absolute best I can today". Some days, that is about half of "normal". Other days (fewer, but so, so notable) I can give far, far more. Just give it my best of what I have to give today.
Heather Thank you so much for your letter as the story of Frances Perkins needs to be told and her memory honored.
What a wonderful remembrance of a remarkable woman who deserves recognition for her many accomplishments. Sadly, President Biden's actions are not being reported to the American people by the major media outlets. Thank you for recognizing the significance of the event.
IF every person reading this does a search for Perkins on their online media news feed of choice, it might start to trend.
Great idea!!
Trundles off to my news feed...
“Perkins’s work to build FDR’s New Deal sparked the modern American state.”
It seems to me it was FDR who worked to build Frances Perkins’ New Deal. It was much more her ideas than his.
ObamaCare would more accurately be called PelosiCare given Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to enact the ACA.
I think neither woman would care much about the semantics as long as the laws were passed.
In both instances, it was women who did the heavy lifting. And, it is a.woman who brought us this illuminating history lesson today.
Thank you, Heather Cox Richardson, and Frances Perkins, and Nancy Pelosi, and all the women who hold the world together.
Maybe things would be better if…….
….if Harris/Walz had won the election perhaps? A step, hell, stride in the right direction it would have been!
And what would SCOTUS look like if Hillary had won.
That’s why I was thinking maybe things would be better if…. women ran things for a while.
Ralph, I tried to tell folks that 2016 was not as much about the presidency as it was about SCOTUS. I had far, far too many friends sit out that election because they "just couldn't" vote for her.
The US has run two female candidates for President in this century. One was a former Senator, First Lady, and Secretary of State. The other was a State Attorney General, a Senator, and a Vice President. Both of them lost to a con man, a convicted felon, and a failed businessman who had a TV show. If those two resumes' do not convince people to vote for a woman, nothing will.
<returns to sputtering profanity, blasphemy, and vulgarities in anger and dismay>
My thoughts too, Ally. Sure chaps my azz! Even knowing our country’s much-checkered past, events of the last decade have really caused me to rethink what our country is really all about. Sobering…but I don’t want to give up hope of what COULD be if we’d only commit to be better & know that there ARE folks doing their best to make it so….still, we’re swimming upstream against the current. 🏊🏻♀️
In successive Letters, Heather has spoken eloquently about two major issues we as a society continue to grapple with, our environmental and labor standards, highlighted by two distaffed Colossuses, in Rachel Carson and Frances Perkins.
Touche!
I’m grateful for every day Joe Biden is President.
Thank you for this. You ate a gift to so very many of us.