“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Paine wrote in that fraught moment, “yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
These words from a hero of the American Revolution are relevant to Ukraine today.
Not just to Ukraine, as all of us must surely be thinking! 🇺🇦 🇺🇸
For better or worse, we are engaged in re-taking our own country back from tyranny, sham royalty, the fake aristocracy of money, quackery, fakery, fuckupery. Nothing about the decaying regime using our own institutions against us is anything but a newer, more insidious form of tyranny, coming from within, rather than from without.
So take heart, all of us still largely untested summer patriots! Winter is coming. And they are as unprepared now as were the drunk Hessians passed out on Christmas Eve in Trenton. We must be both brave and smart, biding our time in the cold and dark if need be, but woe to us if we fail to take our fragile republic back.
The US today is indelibly intertwined with Ukraine's fortunes. It should not be forgotten that the bookend thugs constricting two democracies and attempting to keep them shelved is no accident. tRump is as complicit in the authoritarian malignancy as much as Putin. If Ukraine falls, the US will be that much weaker; if the US falls due to tRump and his malignant sycophants, Ukraine as we know it, will not survive.
Don is indelibly intertwined with Victor Orban. He wants to make America a third world country so he can be a dictator like Orban. To do this he has to change the Constitution, control the courts and control the legislative bodies. He is doin a good job of accomplishing those necessities. 2026 is a crucial year. As important as 1776. Donate to your Democratic candidates.
At the risk of being off-topic, today the DOJ is required by law, to release the complete Epstein files they have been telling us they would release since Trump took office.
If the complete Epstein files are not released bombard your Republican Senators and Congressmen by phone and email and in person at their homes and offices.
I honestly don't care and am sick of hearing about the Epstein files, although I sort of enjoy seeing tRump tie himself in knots over them. We basically know what's in them and what he is. I'm not certain that his acolytes will do anything other than scream about fake news. The real attention should be on his graft and "emoluments."
The reason us decent humans should care is solely for the justice for the young women who were so abused by the rich and powerful. Period. It has taken way too long for these women to be vindicated and for the perpetrators to be held to account. THAT is why this is so important. And THAT is alongside so many other issues. ALL must be addresses. We must WALK AND CHEW GUM. We have a very full plate os issues, all of which MUST be addressed. We can do it!!
penny, absolutely. The Epstein files do not keep me from noticing all the corrupt criminal destructive things this regime is doing. They are making him and some of his minions very uncomfortable which they should. And they seem to be the reason some Rs are parting company with him.
Of course you're correct. At this point, it isn't that we don't care; it's that the attention to the "celebrities" seems to have taken over. Though I believe we're all of the same mind, I was inept in how I expressed my thoughts, but I shall try to walk and chew gum (and shut up).
Do not mean to imply you should shut up. Me being a woman who was abused by male family and acquaintances and mother of 2 daughters, etc. I find little to nothing more important or more devastating to women. Just because it has been going on since the beginning of humanity does not mean it is unimportant and worthy of a no holds barred battle, along with a no holds bared battle for gun safety laws, and a no holds barred battle for ridding money in our politics!!
Folks only have so much energy! This topic is draining of the collective psyche, and will push more and more good people to quit paying attention to the politics. Another year of focus on this issue ( with no justice in sight) could significantly worsen voter turnout. Let the wheels of justice grind on Epstein, but our energy should be spent creating a positive narrative that motivates voters with hope! This is what will move the dial at the polls in November and 2028.
That’s a tactic of this administration: flood the zone so that we Americans, not known for our staying power and attention spans, look away and get on with the business of immediate gratification. Who says that keeping the focus on this administration - including the Epstein files - is not a positive narrative about fighting to do the right thing and get justice? By all means, take a break from it all - we all need that from time to time - but don’t think there aren’t many of us who recognize this moment for what it is and will dig deep to stay engaged and resisting. If being tired and disheartened about Epstein is what you think will keep people from voting, well, I guess we know different people.
I don’t think so. Hope you are mistaken. This is a major inflection point for our dear country and the stakes are very high. To quote Martin Luther King, WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Hi Penny! I completely agree with you that ALL of Trump's crimes must me pursued with justice every minute of every day. Unrelenting coverage of his corruption, sadism, negligence and ineptitude. No opportunity for normalizing this stuff.
I often wonder if the first impeachment was too narrow. Why not list every crime and then the length of the list becomes yet another crime - that of being something rotten to the core.
That is not how the legal system works. The more issues listed, the more it looks like the Dems are just whining. To be impeached and convicted is the goal. This will only happen with incontrovertible evidence. One major thing.
The DOJ, Pam Bondi & many others have failed have failed to comply with the Epstein Files Disclosure Act today. The search function is not functional.
One document, a Grand Jury evidentiary document, has been blacked out on every single of over 100 pages in contemptuous violation of the Act.
****
UPDATE:
CNN's M.J. LEE & Epstein files vindicate survivor, MARIA FARMER who filed a criminal report in 1996 on Epstein creepy photography. Today, Maia's attorney confirmed it was her client, MARIA FARMER, that filed the complaint. The FBI took no action at the time.
*************************************************
I found digital functionality at the "EPSTEIN ARCHIVE" website:
..... Epstein-docs.gitub.
I was able to access 66 dockets that contained the name ............
"ANNIE FARMER".
I sampled 6 documents circa 2020-2021, all letters: Document Nos: 87, 100-1, 191, 241 & Court record Doc-cr-330.
Historical analysis requires careful review along with any newly uncovered files.
I agree absolutely, but that issue really has been totally overshadowed by the sick persons involved. It's the degree of media hype about the perpetrators' personalities rather than the victims that bothers me.
This is no longer about child abuse i am afraid, i must agree that too much energy is being spent on this hollow topic. It is awful, yes, was trump present and possibly participating, almost certainly! Will we see the full extent of the evidence? No way. Will this help us move past this awful moment, and sink this toxic administration? I don’t think so. Let’s move on, and create a vision of our nation that makes voters want to move forward towards a future centered on the real American dream.
I'm sorry Sean, but this is and will always be about child abuse along with the perps who created it. This rape of the conscience of all of us with the children involved taking, what is clearly the biggest hit, is not something from which we should move on. We may not see the full extent of the evidence in our lifetime; however, at some point close after we all may die, those surviving us may see all the evidence. I can only hope that tRump's children and his associates and family members of those associates who contributed to the stealth of the evidence may take on the remnants of deserved retribution. The topic is far from hollow. The vision for which you hope must include the comeuppance of the involved so that it is not only a "vision", but the purest one can possible make.
We should not give up this battle before a single shot is fired. If we do give up, we not only lose this battle, but the next one too, and the one after that, and the next one . . . Our elites are spitting in our faces by ignoring us and ignoring justice.
It’s ok. Not every fight is for every person. I trust you will point your efforts to other areas that need attending to. As for me, having experienced sexual abuse as a child, I am in for the long haul on the Epstein files.
As Heather often says just pick one and make your efforts there.
There is so much on which our attention should be kept. The Epstein files will keep tRump and Bondi on the hot seat. At least 4 republicans have shown the courage to mandate Blondie (with apologies to all blonds) to release, in full, the files. This particular issue, I think, is most likely the most important that demonstrates the right to know by and for the public. It may not be the most important issue; however, I believe it is likely the most important for demonstrable purposes for the rights of our citizenry.
The problem, Skepticat, is that too few people care about his graft and emoluments, and too many other politicians, mostly but not all Republicans, are engaged in the same thing on a smaller scale.
I've tried talking to Trumpists about the Constitution. They either don't know what it says, or they tell me Trump is justified in violating it to "save the country". They don't understand that to go against the Constitution is to be anti- or un-American.
I think the majority of us DO care about graft emoluments & try, as individuals, on some level to make our disgust known. I can't march all the time though: I wear my great shirts around town. Boy, I get great smiles & thumbs up. Along with a few serious frowns & middle finger- waving!
The reason behind the release was justice for the young girls who were sexually abused by Epstein's commands. All those pictured were sure enjoying themselves at the great parties. I just want justice/ arrests of those who took part in the sex acts!
Also see Phil Weiss's column in Mondoweiss, about Epstein's connection to Israel, which the NY Times ignored. More interesting, for me, was what he said about the Times than what he said about Epstein.
The NYTimes Told the story of how Epstein rose from a teacher at the Dalton school through wealthy parents to Bear Stearns and onwards to connect with so many wealthy and powerful people despite not being very competent at anything but charming those people. Astonishing!
Redacting..? You know it Christine! Emails - lots of em. DVD's - Please excuse that examiner so he/she can 'burn a copy' of one...will ya! Hahahah. And it takes more time, but you can bet the examiners want to interview anyone whose name appears to have appeared along with everyone else who have chosen to remain quiet for personal reasons of safety. Someone.., "the someone" who is in charge of this 'exercise of extreme scrutiny' has been told there will be NO screw-ups. ZERO. I doubt that Ms Bondi is in charge or mr Patel. That's why this is taking so long to do. Simple.
Totally blacked out pages are not 'a release of the Epstein files'. I get blocking some names & dates/ places but, DOJ wants us to feel as though they delivered what was asked of them. BS.
Agreed. Virginia Guiffre's family said today that they think they only released about 10% of the files. And victim #1 said that her entire deposition was redacted.
Donald J Trump, this court of public opinion finds you guilty of aggravated FUCKUPERY and condemns you and your lackeys to all eternity rotting in Hell, or ASAP floating around the Universe as mere dust. Whatever...
To be honest, since we are calling on history with today's letter, rather than rotting in hell, I'd like to take these criminals back to the days of "the stocks" where they could stand in public squares around the country with their head & hands placed unceremoniously in between hand carved wooden stocks. Let them stand there uncomfortably for hours in rain, snow, sun. As an added benefit vendors could sell rotten tomatoes for folks to throw at them, the proceeds going to paying down the national debt. Fanciful thought indeed but since they force us to watch the demise of our Republic I'd prefer watching them squirm as modern day patriots take aim with rotten produce.
When Trump finally does pass, which looks more and more as though it will be sooner rather than later, it would be wise for his family to bury him at sea. If his final resting place is anywhere on land, they best surround it with a well drained moat, as the number of people coming to piss on it would make it soggier than the Everglades.
Miselle, I wouldn't suggest 💩to any in his criminal enterprise family on where he should be buried. None are deserving of kindness. I do however, like John's suggestion.
Good idea Miselle. Remember how tRumps star of fame was repeatedly defaced? I would suggest he be placed on a wooden boat, set afire & shoved out to sea. Wouldn't want any of our US ships contaminated.
"Damnatio memoriae (Latin for "condemnation of memory") was an ancient Roman practice of erasing a disgraced person, usually a tyrant or traitor, from history by destroying their images, chiseling their name from inscriptions, rewriting records, and removing them from public memory, essentially making it as if they never existed, though often failing due to existing records and monuments. It involved defacing statues (like removing heads), removing names from documents, and altering historical accounts, with notable examples targeting emperors like Caligula and Geta."
Now it's our time to buckle down, and cross the Delaware [in the other direction], and run the Hessians out of Washington [not Trenton]. Trump truly thinks he is King. He believes he's better than us. He's not - he's not fit to muck out the stables.
My concern is we aren’t dealing with only him, or maybe not even him. He’s checked out and legally untouchable. Instead we have zealots Vought and Kennedy who want to see us die. We have Miller and Hegseth whose respect for human life, despite their platitudes, is less than zero. We have Mike Johnson, manipulating every arcane rule to deprive fellow reps of the ability to (try to) govern in Ed’s orders. We face a wall of desperation and no morality.
Absolutely! Trump is checked out mentally. Those who act for him, Vought, Miller, Mike Johnson, Hegseth, crazy Kennedy, Noem, Bondi, etc., are the ones who need to be held accountable. I would like to see them taken to court and prosecuted.
Janet, I would really rather see them receive the same "due process" as the Venezuelan fishermen.
Unlike most criminals who commit their crimes enshrouded in secrecy and the dark, Trump's criminals committed their crimes in broad daylight, in full public view. We don't need to waste time and money on legal proceedings because we already know who did what and when.
Just load them up on a sport fishing vessel and send them on a one-way Caribbean cruise with an incendiary ending. "Double tap" if necessary.
He wouldn’t know what you even mean “to muck out the stable” and doing that is a positive to help the horses…. ‘HELP’ anything or anyone other than dt ???
A ps…. When “Crossing the Delaware” was published several years ago, a friend was ‘FURIOUS’ that she had been teaching a lie about the Hessians and the Revolutionaries in that Christmas Eve battle…. Not drunk, tired and cold…. Guess lies just ‘ARE’ and whoever gets to write ‘the history’ ……
I stand corrected! Myths are powerful, indeed. General Washington apparently spoke well of Hessian fortitude. The more accurate thing to have said was that the passion for liberty turned out to be stronger than the passion of simply being a mercenary.
Each time history repeats, we are given the chance to change how we react, and therefore to steer our society in a different direction. I have been steeped in 1700's history for the last several months and it is so interesting how the same themes are presented to us over and over again, resulting in different choices depending on the circumstances.
The war in Ukraine will go on for far longer because of this, and even more so because of Trump's fealty to Putin and the abdication of America's role as leader of the free world.
Many of us in Europe are FURIOUS with the EU's ridiculous hand-wringing. Belgium needs to give the oligarchs' assets to Ukraine NOW! Ceeding Ukrainian territory to Putin is ceeding EUROPE to Putin. Estonia and Poland will be next. The message must be, "You cannot invade a sovereign country! You get nothing!" We cannot give Putin an inch or this war will never end.
As a US citizen living in Italy, I am acutely aware of the distance from here to Kiev. Just under 1,000 miles and a few minutes as the Russian hypersonic missile flies. Let us not forget Neville Chamberlain's "Peace in Our Time" Sudetenland agreement with Hitler in 1938. If we give Putin another inch, we're screwed. And, Americans, the Atlantic Ocean is not nearly as wide as it once was. In case you haven't noticed.
Astutely said there David. Memories are so so short. But what's worse is during the 10.., 20.., or 60 years time.., 'history' is re-written in a more convenient form, and photos are re-touched (KGB style). We see very few of the ones Ike had taken. Of course, Palestine and why West Bank haven't been fully re-landscaped yet. Orban is well. And Assad is safely housed in style amongst friends. Down in Saudi-land, why it's business. As usual.
Each of us can support Ukraine by donating at United24, their official website, where they have raised nearly $3 billion for humanitarian aid and military equipment. Here is a link to their website which is interesting to read even if you don't donate.
You have cowards in Europe we have cowards here - when will people learn you can never appease a bully or a dictator, they just get worse and take more. We have so many institutions, corporations and billionaires kowtowing to the felon child rapist and actively participating in the destruction of our democracy. I guess it's up to us the regular people to take control and force them to do the right thing.
After reading “Injustice,” fear of taking action for fear of retaliation and too much reverence for the office of President—overlooking the glaring fact the President was a CRIMINAL (Jan 6 proved it)—led us to Trump 2.0. I appreciate the art of politics requires moving slowly and deliberately, but this handwringing in the face of confirmed not theoretical five-alarm fires, is stupid.
Europe is behaving like a broom un-bound. UK has apparently fallen and cannot reach its beer, while the "royals" continue to deliver champagne to horny-ole Andrew (Lord Woh-begotton) and his missus (Saggie-rack). Brexit - Such a bowell-movement.
Thanks Georgia. Sadly, a classic EU compromise. The UK itself holds some 25 GBP of Russian frozen assets, which if we have a spine should be used now, on top of the agreed EU loan. Worth remembering too that the US official Administration position is strongly against using the frozen assets, because Witkoff / Kushner etc want to use them as sweeteners for Putin. However, they currently remain frozen, despite huge US pressure.
And, by the way, no hard feelings about that minor tea taxation issue back in 1776. Thomas Paine was, after all, an Englishman resident in Lewes ( East Sussex) at the time. And please keep your Republic!
I'm in my gig home stretch; OTE finished its last performance yesterday; I have two more with my buddy Thom (duets). We're playing at the Eugene VA Clinic today and at our Holiday Crafters Market tomorrow. Then Brunhilda (my tuba) is going to Salem for a spa day (cleaning and repair).
We got some wonderful responses from folks today. A dozen employees said they lived hearing us, and lots of former musicians, including a former US Army tuba player!
''Tyranny Is Not Easily Conquered, But It Always Is''
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Thomas Paine wrote in a moment when the outcome of history was genuinely uncertain. He did not write from comfort. He wrote from exposure, danger, and moral clarity. I return to that line now because it names something we still resist admitting. Tyranny is not a glitch. It is a recurring temptation. It emerges wherever fear is rewarded, obedience is confused with virtue, and power detaches itself from accountability.
No, tyranny is not easily conquered. But it always is in the end.
I say that not as optimism, but as theology grounded in history. Tyranny depends on a lie about numbers. It survives by convincing people they are alone, outmatched, and isolated in their dissent. Scripture understands this psychology well. The old biblical stories of rebellion are not about supernatural spectacle. They are about moral alignment. When angels fall, they do so through pride and domination. When resistance rises, it does so through conscience and collective courage. Evil concentrates. Virtue multiplies.
For every hellion, there are more souls of virtue. That is not sentimental language. It is a structural truth. Tyranny requires hierarchy, enforcement, surveillance, and silence. It must organize fear constantly, or it collapses. Virtue, by contrast, spreads horizontally. It requires only recognition. Once people see one another clearly, obedience loses its spell.
This is where theology and democracy meet, not as abstractions but as lived ethics. Democracy is not merely a system of voting. It is a moral discipline. It trains people to see themselves as participants rather than subjects. Tyranny hates this posture because it interrupts the myth of inevitability. The moment citizens recognize their agency, power begins to leak.
The Bible’s language of light and darkness is useful here, not as dogma but as metaphor. Darkness does not advance. It only occupies where light is withheld. Tyranny is the same. It does not create legitimacy. It occupies the vacuum left when people withdraw from responsibility, when truth becomes inconvenient, when fear is mistaken for realism. Light returns the moment people speak, assemble, refuse, and remember.
Paine understood this intuitively. His writing does not flatter the reader. It indicts passivity. When he says that what we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly, he is not glorifying suffering. He is warning against moral amnesia. Rights that arrive without effort feel theoretical. They do not anchor themselves in the body or the conscience. When pressure comes, they are the first to be surrendered.
This is why tyranny often feels strongest just before it breaks. Its displays become louder, its punishments more theatrical, its language more absolute. Like the biblical Pharaoh, it doubles down. It demands loyalty oaths from people who no longer believe. It mistakes compliance for consent. In theological terms, it hardens its heart. In political terms, it overplays its hand.
What ultimately defeats tyranny is not force alone. It is exposure. It is the moment when ordinary people recognize that obedience is no longer moral, that silence has become participation, that neutrality is a fiction that serves only the powerful. That recognition spreads faster than repression can contain it. History bears this out relentlessly. Empires fall not when they run out of weapons, but when they run out of believers.
To say tyranny is always conquered is not to deny suffering. It is to honor resistance. Every generation inherits unfinished work. Democracy is not a possession handed down intact. It is a practice that must be renewed under pressure. The theological language of struggle, rebellion, and redemption reminds us that this renewal is not comfortable. It demands courage, memory, and community.
I return to Paine because he refuses despair without indulging fantasy. He tells us the truth plainly. The conflict will be hard. The cost will be real. But that very cost is what gives freedom its weight. Tyranny cannot outnumber virtue forever. It cannot suppress conscience indefinitely. In the end, it collapses under the combined force of people who remember who they are and refuse to kneel to what they know is wrong.
That is not faith as denial. It is faith as participation.
With Ukraine as our inspiration, and with us as Ukraine’s inspiration, may both countries throw off tyranny and resume their places in the councils of democracy! Even though George Washington was a land speculator, he was a true hero and father of his country. Even though Zelensky is surrounded by corruption, he is also a true hero. And as for the soldiers still at the front line, they deserve the thanks and support of all free people.
Thomas Paine was brilliant and, IMO, an essential part of the successful American Revolution. Sadly, Paine died in New York City in 1809, poor and mostly forgotten, owing in large part to his then radical religious views (The Age of Reason.) I admire Paine for his ability to recognize the fact of religious fiction back then. For me, in our present age, it is so simple. We now know that all life on earth (plants, animals, insects) share the same DNA, obviously descending from a common ancestor (LUCA) going back 3.5 billion years. Earth is not the center of the universe but a small pale blue dot among trillions and trillions of other planets at home in at least two trillion galaxies in the known universe. What's beyond? Multiple universes extending into infinite space. We were lucky for Thomas Paine to come to these shores and to do what he did. Paine inspired our ancestors to complete the task. Another great American's words come to mind during this attack on our system of democratic government "of the people, by the people and for the people:" "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us:" Defeating and sending to the junk pile of history Trumpism along with its Fascist, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic elements. One more person comes to my mind: Frances Perkins, FDR's Sec. of Labor and the person responsible for our having Social Security. Her theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." A government of, by and for the People, not the billionaires. That form of government is not Socialism, but instead is Pragmatic Capitalism.
I like it. Fairness based capitalism. There is no separating the economy and its operations from the government and its functioning. There would be zero billionaires if there were no people. If the U.S. population were only 3.4 million people, probably no billionaires, but because we're 340 million we have 902 billionaires and 900,000 decamillionaires.
It is interesting how some terms can be misleading. In this case, "liberal." And in others, "conservative." Whatever the case clearly the neo-liberal doctrinal economic policy has benefitted the wealthy to the detriment of the mass of citizens. I go back to Frances Perkins: IMO, she hit the nail on the head: government and the economy should be configured to benefit the people as a whole: health care, security, education, employment, housing and more.
Ya know Richard, with so so many billionaires and or decabillionaires whatever and 350 freaking-million people it would seem like the ultra-rich are heavily invested in making sure 'the masses" are being properly fed and cared for. No? I mean, what if "the Masses" just really got pissed off and burned the shit right out from under all them "rich folks".., and sank their fooking yachts..., and ski chalets.., and quit fixing their airplanes.., or couldn't be relied upon to provide those obnoxious security details. Huh? I mean we already have the makings of a rebellion. Look at the homeless; look at the tent cities; look under the freeway overpasses; look at the run-down areas of some towns and cities; look at the admissions to Emergency rooms for what ought to be. routine care needs; look at rural America building in flood zones because property is cheap; lok at Americans who no longer can buy insurance because of environmental risks; Yes yes.., look at all the Americans who ARE doing okay (with 8 year car payments) and $20 thou credit card debt AND jobs! Yes.., we're still fat. Not as healthy as we were, but still "fat".., and getting fatter, right? This past election was largely derailed by misrepresentation of a more liberal concern for the human being in all of us. Then there's the Epstein problem, and what is that? Let me help. Wingsfound.org found that "as often as 60% of the time sexual abuse happens by someone to whom the child is related", "intrafamilial sexual abuse"! Blammm. What might that imply? Simple.., the family structure of our 350 million peoples is not healthy. Whose job is it to endeavor to make things better? Why it's ALL of us. Especially those of us who have some where4withal to effect a more healthy America. And that shoe fits.
Georgia, I believe that, before 2016, we treated our democracy like an old car. Sure, it had some rattling (more when the candidate we favored lost), but we believed that it would still get us where we needed to go. We thought that custom and traditional norms had the rule of law; we thought that the Justice Department and the Supreme Court would uphold follow established precedent and uphold the rule of law. Instead, we found that vandals had taken steps to undermine our car’s integrity so that, one morning the wheels started wobbling and we realized that all the wheels were about to fall off.
Now we’re fighting to keep our democracy in all things great and small against the tyranny of the supper rich oligarchs who believe that they are above the law.
Georgia, I had similar thoughts but could never have put it all together like you did. Thank you. I follow the Ukraine War closely mainly through YouTube channels, RFU and The Military Show. I am also reminded of Hopium Chronicles author, Simon Rosenberg's, response when asked how he continues to fight against the constant onslaught of destruction and lies. He says he remembers Ukraine and Zalenskyy and what that county is going through to try and save their Democracy.
I think we are all thinking of Paine's words today. And I will add some words from the famous John Wayne - at the time an American icon. He claimed that Roosevelt allowed Communists to spread their evil power. Wayne said: "Their (communists) insidious influence now reached into the schools so that America's children were being taught to reject their heritage. Liberal weakness had turned the federal government into a dispenser of handouts to those who just sit around - like blacks and Indians. We'll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money." Nixon and Reagan added to the myth of a rebirth of a glorious future, rugged individualism, etc. and other delusions, rather than resolving our inherent conflicts by engaging in rational analysis.
I highly recommend a visit to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. I was there a few weeks ago. The highlight was a film about General Washington’s struggle to defeat the British, which ended with the unveiling of his actual war tent on the stage — preserved over the years. Simply astonishing.
I lived in Boston and I can recommend a walk on the Freedom Trail, and the sight of the real tea party. And dinner in the North End where Paul Revere lived in his house still stands. And now I live in Canton mass where Paul Revere had his copper foundry which still exists and now is a heritage site. And you can eat at Northern Spy, named for Paul Revere as a spy from the north! I frequently go to Rhode Island, to Newport where on the harbor there is a statue of the French general Rochambeau who met with Washington there and ended up supplying troops and also encouraging Lafayette who of course was responsible for the ultimate victory by sea in Virginia defeating Cornwallis and his British fleet. You can’t get away from history here in the Boston area, nor I suspect in Philadelphia either because I’ve been there too, and my late husband was raised there.
I have been using a pitchfork Bill. I’m afraid it’ll get me killed because I believe in what you say. I can not stand by and watch anyone dragged off for any reason by individuals impersonating both law enforcement and muggers. The real men in blue have real authority and can really enforce the law. Trumps shake and bake brownshirts hiding identity have no such authority. I refuse to recognize them as any kind of law enforcement whatsoever. They get uncivil I get worse that’s just the way of it. I hope we have all made that decision by now. The answer is to take a tough stand together. I don’t think there is an alternative to stopping an ongoing farce except with confrontational force. Do you try to swim or do you just go ahead and drown? I don’t understand why real cops aren’t shadowing these bastards and protecting their citizens. I just don’t understand. Seems almost like pure cowardice to me.
Cover your head and make sure someone is getting it all on video as the blows rain down. Even some of the MAGoids will figure this out sooner or later. If Trump loses them, all he's got left is a handful of chickenshit zillionaires, one vote each.
Im not going to cover my head David. I spend a lifetime on the mats. 19 years of taking opponents apart. My wife’s 80 some year old uncle used a pair of pliers to hold a would-be mugger by the nose until help arrived. He was a tiny little cowboy. Granted he was tougher than whang leather. I may not be that tough at only 75 but I still have my Irish temper and a lifetime of bad decision making on my side.
You ask good questions, Pat. I would have a very hard time following an order that caused me to aid and abet what our federal government is doing. I know that Portland OR PPB* is not supportive of the Feds actions in Portland, and they have not provided assistance to the Feds (who are heavily guarding their own building against protesters in inflatable costumes and brass bands who have the audacity to march and play music in the streets.)
Well Bill they tell me we citizens are the root of power so I’m joining that person who wants a Christmas miracle and mine would be citizen solidarity. They can knock a helpless person down and drag em off. How many of us 250 pound bruisers can they handle? We show up it’s a Christmas Miracle.
I'd be right there with you Bill. I enjoy the responses I get from my shirt: Never underestimate an old woman who votes. I will be trying my best in the battle for liberty.
Pam, I am blessed to have grown up near Valley Forge and had a chance to visit there often. I marveled that the army not only survived at Valley Forge, but became a powerful force due to their time there. I have walked "The Freedom Trail" in Boston and visited the ship Constitution too. All of that was important to me, a history lover from at least age 10. There are so many places of historical importance in our nation, to help us remember where this nation came from, what We the People have been through, and pointing us in a direction that will help to keep us free from the authoritarians and oligarchs who would probably feel nothing if they visited those same sites that helped shape my life.
I grew up in Philadelphia (Fishtown) to be exact, and we went on field trips to Valley Forge multiple times. My heart will always be in Philadelphia, the history is palpable. One day I might be able to go back to stay. Florida is not my heart and living here irritates my sensibilities.
Chris, I suspect Philadelphia would welcome you back. Every time I go into the city, I am reminded of how much fun I had when I commuted for work, during the bicentennial no less. I do appreciate the city! I currently live just outside the oldest English settlement in PA, Chester. It's a great place despite the negatives a lot of folks put out about it.
Living in Florida the past 10 years, I feel exactly the same, Chris. Having grown up in NJ, I do not feel any simpatico here. One day I hope to go back north as well.
With you, Chris. A Philly suburb gal (Abington)-living in swfl-but my heart will always be there. Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market, the Liberty Bell, Washington’s Crossing, Valley Forge, the Art Museum, the Academy of music-my heart sighs with homesickness for the place, the history, the culture, the real-ness of Philly.
Your litany of places, Ruth, reminds me of Sarah Kendzior's most recent book.
In "The Last American Road Trip" she travels (with her husband and two kids) widely across diversely gorgeous American terrain. But she never gets very far from what has also been impinging the whole country for recent decades: historically corrupt politicians, mob bosses, drug, arms, and underage girl traffickers, cynical billionaires, and media cowards.
Phil, I plan to check out that book. There are always negatives because some people don't have the advantage of good parenting, good housing, a supportive environment, a brain that can distinguish between good and bad, and more. That should never keep us from traveling and getting to know people from different places and mindsets. We owe diversity to ourselves.
Phil, in rereading this, I am thinking that perhaps Sarah was looking for the negative. Yes, there are those folks, the scummy ones, but there are so many more who are not criminals or corrupt, etc. We can see that when there is a disaster and people come out to help, to support, to care. We can tell the ones who are the scummy ones because instead of helping, they whine about whose fault it was, and it is never they who made things worse. Maybe we should spend time talking less about them and concentrate more on the "good souls." They are the ones who make the world better despite the folks who would prefer to destroy and do massive harm. It is almost as though we are hypnotized by the negative. It would be far better if we could change the focus, tell people what is happening with the crazies kind of in passing, but quickly move on to talk about the helpers, those who care, the peacemakers, the courageous. Maybe more people would be in that group instead of the harmful ones if they got to see more of the helpers and that they look just like normal people, like themselves.
Well-said, Ruth: "Maybe we should . . . concentrate more on the 'good souls.'"
You've just nabbed one of our best reasons for stressing humanities more in schools. So much good stuff, helpful stuff, sympathetic, apt for better context on today's issues.
Phil. I am with you in increasing the study of the humanities, and they should be part of the curricula of most subjects too. The people who have striven to make the world better, more livable, more kind are worthy of remembrance. I am thinking now of the teen in a falling-apart school in Prince Edward County, VA who had had enough and stood up with her classmates of that all-Black school and said that they deserved better and they were demanding it. She was not just doing that for herself, but for everyone in the community. She is a "good soul" and now has a statue in the US Capitol for the state of VA. That is amazing! I am wondering when someone of the crazies will whisper in Trump's ear that there is a Black woman now represented in the Capitol from that "rogue state of Virginia so he will slander Barbara Johns and tell his MAGA Klanspersons so they will whine and protest. Well, her action will long outlive Donald Trump, Steve Miller, JD Vance and the rest of the toddler pool.
Also in Newport is the Newport Artillery Company museum. It’s the oldest operating militia in the United States, still operating under its original charter that started in 1741 under King George. They changed their allegiance from the king of course through the war but they still are active. Their museum is terrific, lots of canons and a bunch of great guys to talk to.
And of course then in Boston we have the Ancient and Honorable who always read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House. Followed by music from the Fife and Drum corp, very stirring. I always send a clip of it to all the people in Texas I know who think the Alamo is the best thing going. But the Newport artillery company pointed out that they do not have a con continuously operating charter! Friendly rivalry.
And while you are around Boston, might as well make the trip to Concord and Lexington to the Minute Man National Historical Park. The Adams National Historical Park just outside of Boston is excellent as well.
I agree 100%. I was at Minute Man Visitor Center in 2017 and I took my dog for a walk on Battle Road which crosses the parking lot there.
Minute Man Visitor Center, (aka, Battle Rd. Visitor Center), 250 N Great Rd, Off Route 2A Near The Eastern End Of The Park E, Lincoln, MA 01773-1702 Call for opening time. (978) 369-6993 https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm
Paul Revere Capture Site, located on the side of the road in Lincoln, MA between Minute Man Visitor Center and the Alcott House / Concord. The parking lot is on the right side of the road heading to Concord. “The Regulars are coming out...”
Old Hill Burying Ground, A Graveyard w/ many Minutemen including Colonel John Buttrick Grave, "Fire, fellow soldiers, for God's sake fire!” And they fired the “Shot Heard Round the World.” 2-12 Monument Sq, Concord, For image of the tall headstone see here https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7519886/john-buttrick See the image of the church and graveyard on web page below. The graves are on a hill next to a white church. Walk up the right side of the hill until the steps end and then turn right along the stepping stones toward the small red brick lawn building. Just past the building you will find graves with the Buttrick family name.
North Bridge, 174 Liberty St, Concord. As you approach the foot of the bridge notice the two graves on your left. These are two of the three British Regulars mortally wounded during the morning Battle of Concord, April 19, 1775, the first day of battle in the American War of Independence. The Minutemen approached the bridge from the other side as the Regulars were removing planks. The Statue at North Bridge is on the spot where Captain Isaac Davis died during the battle. The face of the Minuteman Statue was crafted by sculptor Daniel Chester French using photos taken of descendants of Captain Isaac Davis. The current wooden replica built in 2005, is the fifth bridge at that location since the American Revolution. North Bridge Questions, https://www.nps.gov/mima/north-bridge-questions.htm
Waldon Pond, 915 Walden St., Concord.
Lexington Battle Green. Since it is open at night see this last at the end of the day. Point out to the girls the graves of the Patriots who died there. Massachusetts Avenue and Harrington Road,
The Cheese Shop of Concord, (Outstanding sandwiches) 29 Walden St, Concord, MA 01742 (978) 369-5778. http://concordcheeseshop.com/
Bedford Farms Ice Cream, Original location at 18 North Rd, Bedford, is a must! (781) 275-6501, Plus, 68 Thoreau St, Concord, (978) 341-0000
Walden pond, yeah, what is with the fence? I have a disabled placard and when I am there I drive down that bumpy dirt road to the boat launch. Then we park, jump out an d take a few pictures and drive back up to the visitor center. If I could hike I would do so to find where the cabin once stood.
Albert, it is clear you have pride in your community! Kudos for that. So many of us would prefer to disparage our communities instead of appreciating what our community has and working to make it better, even if it means running for office or volunteering to clean up the community, to pressure for affordable housing, etc. Working to make things better is certainly more difficult than whining about the way things are.
Susan, yes, those men from Marblehead were pretty amazing, in integrated troop who could fight on the water as well as on the land. They should be held up as an example of what people can do and be when inspired. By the way, those troops also got Washington and the army to safety across a foggy river during the battle of New York.
Yes, I really enjoyed the depictions of both of these in Ken Burns' wonderful series on the Revolution! And by the way, that series really opened my eyes to how much more complicated that time was than I had ever thought, which gave hope for us getting out from under the current regime.
Pam, tons of years have passed since my step-father, a native Bostonian, took his new family (mom, sister and me) for a visit to Boston where we walked the Freedom Trail. In fact, you remind me that history is alive everywhere you go in the city. My dad's sister lived there and took us all around, pointing out historical sites. I was too young to grasp the significance back then. You inspire me to return!
Morning, Lynell! I've only visited the Boston Tea Party museum and the east terminus of US Highway 20 on my brief trips to Boston. I'd love to go back east and spend time in both Boston and Philly (and not only to eat a real Philly Steak Sandwich).
Let me know when you plan to Ally. I have amazing side trips in mind too. Hell I might be healthy enough to tag along or lead ! Hope springs eternal...
Ally, ah, there is so much good food in Philly that you would have a hard time stopping with one cheese steak or pretty much anything else on offer here. A breakfast with eggs and scrapple or a warm soft pretzel. Oops, I'm making myself hungry and I just ate. Then there's history that is almost endless here. I love it and missed it the times I lived in other parts of the country. However, I did appreciate the history in those places too. This is a great country with so much to offer our people and the people of the world. Right now, in charge, are people who have no clue about our value and are working to destroy us. We don't have to let them. We also need to be more careful of which candidates we vote for. People actually voted for the crew that is in charge in DC and in some state governments. We do need to do better. We have better folks, but they were not as loud and didn't whine as much, so were often ignored or dismissed. We must honor our nation's history, our diversity, and tell the guys in charge right now to grow up and stop acting like spoiled toddlers.
💙 my native state,Rhode Island,the first colony to declare independence from the Brits.Mighty Little Rhody was founded by Roger Williams,who advocated for a “wall of separation” between church and state.So far ahead of his time he was banished from the Mass Bay Colony for his views.RW would tell us to keep resisting against Project 2025 and NEVER.GIVE.UP.
If you are a reader, try David McCullough's "1776." He is a great storyteller, and this is an exciting and sometimes even funny story. It is also inspiring. A perfect winter read for these times.
Anne, you are right, a really good book. I learned a lot from reading it, and I am one of those folks who is obsessed with the American Revolutionary period and have been since I was 10.
Like your "You can't get away from history here in the Boston area," Pam.
I'm thinking, too, of a Clint Eastwood-directed movie from 22 years ago, "Mystic River," with some awful personal history dragging down characters played by Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Sean Penn, and Tim Robbins.
History (as does art) tracks down how people can't escape some hurts. Too many hurts generated by murderer/rapist/insurrectionist/egotist/mob boss/friend to dictators and murderers Donald.
As we go forward, will U.S. schools deal with this history, or just trundle on with the billionaires' packaging requiring the neutering of testing unquestioned above all?
I agree entirely that nothing reminds us of our history like walking past and on the places where it was made. The Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776) was fought, in part, where my house stands. I often walk by the house that was the headquarters of General Howe, the then commander of Britain’s forces. These days, this often causes me to think about what the men and women who made our Revolution a success sacrificed to end an entitled monarchy and replace it with a virtuous democratic republic. My head spins as I wonder what they would make of a president using the power they suffered so mightely to birth to line his own pockets, sell pardons, and willy-nilly ignore the law.
Plus, a big shout out to General Knox and his noble train of artillery! 250 years ago today he and his oxen and sleds were (probably) crossing into Massachusetts! What an unassuming hero he was! If you are in the Boston area on March 17th, there will be a ceremony at Dorchester Heights to memorialize the incredible feat Knox pulled off. Come and celebrate!
Yes, Elizabeth, Dragging cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga on Lake Champlaign in the winter to Boston was incredible. I have read of their journey, but I still can't believe they did it!
Just a tiny item of interest: There is no evidence that the Northern Spy apple was named for Paul Revere. It was discovered in upstate NY in the early 1800s and according to local lore was probably named during the Civil War for a spy from the area, although who is not clear. But do visit the National Heritage Site in Canton! And here’s to Paul Revere, Rochambeau, Lafayette, and of course the gigantic hero, Washington.
I wasn’t talking about the northern spy Apple, I was talking about the Northern Spy restaurant which is located right by Paul Revere’s copper foundry. 😊
Oh, sorry. We are planning a trip to Canton on your advice! Looking forward to it! I never knew Revere had his own copper foundry. He was quite the entrepreneur in his spare time. Thanks for telling about the National Heritage Site.
Elizabeth, don't forget the women as so many would do. Despite Washington at first being opposed to having women moving with the army, he came to appreciate their presence over time as they helped to take care of the army in so many ways, as nurses, preparing food, doing laundry and repairing uniforms, and keeping many soldiers in camp who otherwise would have gone home when their enlistments ended. Having their wives and children with them made a huge difference. Some of the women also fought.
Elizabeth, yep, creeps! I do believe men all along knew that women were their equals in nearly everything, well, except for having babies (women) and beating people up (men), but they could not acknowledge people who could do something as amazing as giving birth could be their equal too. That was too much for their poor brains to manage!
Tanya, I have always wanted to visit Washington's Crossing for the reenactment, but have not yet. A group I sing with, Colonial Revelers, has performed for the March-In at Valley Forge and it is really special. Reenactors discuss with the visitors what it was like the day Washington's army came into camp. It is held December 19th each year or close to that date.
Don’t feel bad I live about an hour away and have never made the reenactment because it falls on Christmas Day. However, earlier in December there’s a practice reenactment that might be an easier time to attend.
Tanya, I heard the "practice" re-enactment was on the 20th. Alas, that evening, I was just a few miles from there presenting with a bunch of friends old and new, a solstice program, down the road in Lambertville, NJ. Missed it again!
I’m surprised, it’s usually earlier in December like 9th or 10th. The 20th didn’t work for me either but enjoying a solstice program with friends sounds perfect to me.
We have been walking the same paths! Newport has more 17th and 18th century buildings than any city in America. I lived in one of them when I was a teen.
And the British destroyed Almost half of the town during the war. Imagine how wonderful it would be if all those buildings were there. In Newport also has the oldest synagogue in the United States
I think this synagogue must have been where Washington spoke, as Dr. Richardson discussed in her post about freedom of religion. Imagine standing on the floorboards where Pres. Washington stood!
Yes, I haven't walked the 'Freedom Trail' in beantown since I was a kid. We are rich in history here. In my town of Scituate we are rehabbing the ancestral home of Abe Lincoln. You may enjoy a visit.
Pam, you have spoken about places I visited when living in MA as a child. Even at a young age, I could feel the significance in my life of every place I saw. I'm sure it would have the same effect today. Thanks for the memory reminder.
I recommend a visit to the grave of Captain Daniel Shays in Union Cemetery, West Lake Road, Route 256s Scottsburg, Livingston County, NY. I was there in 2017 to pay my respects. I posted one of the photos on Find a Grave which shows he was a Minuteman in 1775. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=946&PIpi=144361206
Here are two paragraphs of a Memo I am drafting to We the Citizens of the United States. This follows where Professor HCR left off tonight. The American Revolutionary War officially ended with The Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783. The war was followed by a debt crisis.
In Massachusetts farmers like War hero Captain Daniel Shays, a Minute Man who served under George Washington at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill, both Battles of Saratoga, and later the Battle of Stony Point was being, as were many heroes like him, forced into financial ruin from high taxes, creditors and the courts which were sentencing people to debtors' prisons. A rebellion resulted and Captain Shays led armed groups to close courthouses from August 1786 to February 1787 thus stopping the foreclosures of farms. The United States government being under the Articles of Confederation had no standing army to help Massachusetts quash Shays’ Rebellion. Urgently, as the snow melted several months later in May, a Constitutional Convention was called in Philadelphia which framed our current Constitution. On September 17, 1787, after the signing of the Constitution of the United States, framed with the same Separation of Powers as the Massachusetts Constitution, as delegates were leaving Independence Hall, Elizabeth W. Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it,". Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution states “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,...” This is known as the “Guarantee Clause.” Thus not only is the Federal government a Republic but it is mandated to assure every state within the Union will maintain a "Republican Form of Government". A republic is a state in which power is held by the people (rather than a monarch, dictator, or tyrant) who through a democracy elect representatives to make laws, and which the equal rights of individual persons are secured against a majority vote by a Constitution; the supreme law of the land. The Constitution was ratified by the States in 1788 allowing the new government to began on March 4, 1789. The preamble to the Constitution states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,...” The “domestic Tranquility” part was assured by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, which states the “...President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States,...” The persons among “We the People” who were allowed to vote were only a narrow subset of the States; white landowning adult males. To many persons today these facts, and many more not mentioned here, include contradictions and are self-evident hard truths. Yet still, our independence was based upon the revolutionary and evolving truths we hold to be self-evident which along with our freedom and independence has de facto become all individual persons are endowed with equal non-transferable rights. Yet as Benjamin Franklin said, we have "A republic, if you can keep it,".
Two years after it’s decision in Citizens United the Roberts Court handed down Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013) (hereinafter, Shelby County) which holds Sec. 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (1965) is unconstitutional arguing the "preclearance" requirement for voting law changes was outdated. Thus holding Sec. 4(b) unconstitutional makes Section 5 inoperable. Shelby County resulted in a rapid number of those States gerrymandering voter district boundaries which decreased the number of Representatives elected by African Americans to the House of Representatives and in State legislatures. In 2019, the Roberts Court went further in Rucho v. Common Cause, 588 U.S. 684, ruling that while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles", the federal courts cannot review such allegations, as they present political questions outside the jurisdiction of federal courts thus leaving the issue to state courts and legislatures. Since democratic principles are the core of a Republican Form of Government, which the Federal government is Constitutionally mandated by the Guarantee Clause to assure to every State, then the Roberts Court might have ordered the parties to brief the court as a matter under the Constitution. It surely was wrong to create another Court Doctrine that Federal Courts have no jurisdiction over such gerrymandering thereby again ignoring the truths we hold to be self evident, that governments are instituted to secure equal rights; including not having your vote intentionally neutralized. Finally, the Roberts Court is currently considering whether a Louisiana case focused on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is constitutional. The Court is expected to hold that drawing district boundaries based on race, even to correct past discrimination, is unconstitutional. This would make gerrymandering the law of the land. Gerrymandering creates an unstable pendulum swing back and forth of frequent & untried changes in laws and politics every time a different political party or group gains power in a State Legislature. We must inform all Citizens we need to amend the Constitution and, among other issues, require strict restrictions on the frequency of, and the method used, by States Legislatures when redistricting the boundaries for Congressional Representative districts and State Legislatures.
I passed through Pelham taking a granddaughter to UMass Amherst 3 years ago, telling her what I knew and thought of Shays who had a farm a couple miles away across part of Quabbin Reservoir. I had lived just 13 miles south of Amherst where Shays forces had apparently regrouped after the January raid on the Springfield Amory before fleeing through Pelham, 20 miles NE to Petersham where state militia caught up to, and surprised them, ending most of the resistance (and, to me, sparking the creation of the Constitution that was signed just over 8-1/2 months later.
I didn't know or appreciate the history of the area back in my high school years and it still seems so unassuming passing through all the areas that Shays passed through during that episode, all within 20 to 30 miles of each other.
Lucky granddaughter. What a great tour it would be to follow that area where Shays skirmishes and attacks occurred if given by someone with an eye on the politics as well as the history of those times. By the way, one of the lectures I attended it was put forth that maybe one of the reasons for the powers of Congress to include establishing Post offices and "post roads" in Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution, was also so the Commander in Chief to be able to deliver troops to your front door as quickly as sending a letter in the mail. Then the lecturer added a note that President Ike, also a former General like Washington, championing and signing the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Anyway, that is exactly what Trump is doing now and using the Interstates to do so.
I'm assuming the oldest answer goes back to 1420 as a piked barrier for mostly defense but later became more like a toll road control. I used to be upset that the I-90 (Mass Turnpike) never became free after the construction bonds were paid off but am rather relieved that the tolls have seemed to have stayed much lower than the inflation rate of almost everything else.
There seems to always be some problems with politically related routing and construction (beyond purely money related issues), but, like the transcontinental railroads, we end up with some worldclass useful infrastructure that benefits many more than just the financiers and taxpayers that got them built (far beyond what just private profiteers would want to provide).
To me the best example of public infrastructure is the Tennessee Valley Authority that provided navigation, flood control, and power generation physically throughout 8 states but benefiting our whole country (as in providing massive power for the Oak Ridge project.
I like the stories of roads like US-20 and the Erie Canal that really changed our ability to expand west (and keep the Canadian border a bit further north than it would have been without the NY state funded Erie Canal.
In looking up Canals as the privately funded way to improve the usefulness of the rivers that were the best natural infrastructure for transportation, I found out the first one was in South Hadley Falls, about a mile from where I graduated from high school (chartered the same year as construction of the White House, and my daughter's house were started).
"...Canal companies had also been chartered in the states, and like turnpikes these early canals were constructed, owned, and operated by private joint-stock companies. The first to complete this work was the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Connecticut River, which was chartered on February 23, 1792 with the signature of Governor John Hancock..."
I have no idea what it looks like; can't recall. I live in Calif. It would seem to me it e should be something like a Liberty Pole. Do you know what it is and why?
It is my experience that it is not the knowledge among any family member but more the inspiration given. For example, 30 years ago when my first granddaughter was a little girl I worked in Construction and read a little about American history and some edited books on Supreme Court opinions. She and I had many conversations. She now teaches history in high school with a degree from U.C. Berkeley and is working on a M.A. degree.
I agree on the inspiration, no matter how much or little knowledge can be absorbed in my case.
Looking back at my previous comment, I should have said my "knowledge" about Shays would be more like a few concepts derived from faulty AI versions of Cliff Notes I would consider better sources.
I appreciated his actions during the Revolution but would have been more likely in the state militia opposing his forces at the Springfield Armory. Though I tend to think his cause was more justified than the Jan 6 crowd, I could never imagine allowing the armory t be taken by force. I am so glad, though, that in the end, great reforms were made in the form of a great start on a Constitution that was always intended to be able to better adapt to the times, almost always getting closer to the ideals o the Declaration of Independence.
Phil, I like that thought. But more likely the bully is too much of a coward to give us such a gift. Nor can I see him taking a Nixon exit. He still thinks he can lie his way out of any mess. I hope I am wrong.
So far it has worked very well for him throughout his entire life. He hoodwinked enough Americans to re-elect him to the presidency even after the insurrection, the felony convictions, stealing government records…and now has the fealty of republicans in congress and most of the Supreme Court, and many of the billionaire class, and the capitulation of universities, law firms, and corporations.
A damn cult. Some starstruck, others fear people different than themselves, and then the ones who play them all for the fools they are, the cult of money who are willing to throw the Constitution under the bus for a dime.
The Epstein focus just gives trumpy more attention which is what he loves, bad or good, it doesn’t matter. So long as you are giving him attention, you are fueling his fire. Think about that. I don’t want him to die, i want him to fade away as the irrelevant POS that he is. Quit talking about it, he will never face consequences while in office, and once he is gone who cares!
I think it is great. California also requires that. Voters however changed it to respond to Texas making a change. Now the Supreme Court may step in as they just did saying Texas is ok because they claim to have done it to stop discriminating on the bases of race or color. Which is a lie like most of the Roberts court opinions. I expect they will stop California saying we are changing to give people of color a bigger say. Because we have a corporatist fascist majority on the court, and because computer programs may be different among the states, it is my opinion we must amend the constitution such to stop them from swinging one way here but another way there. I have been trying to edit an idea to fit that mold. Below is my work in progress. Please feel free to say what you think of it. I am not perfect and enjoy input to open my eyes. One helpful person said I need to speak with someone on the board that oversees California's district lines. My Thanks.
"A principle of one person, one vote in local democracies being necessary for the trust of the citizenry in the Government of the United States and of every State, electoral redistricting of the districts for Representatives and all single-member electoral districts of the States shall be apportioned among the States according to the States respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, and the district boundaries shall be computer-generated one-time forthwith following the publication of every official decennial census of the United States with each district to be as nearly as practicable to have equal population of persons, and all such district boundaries within the State’s borders to be drawn parallel to the lines of the Geographic coordinate system with a maximum of four boundaries for each district, and all boundary lines are to be uninterrupted from State border to State border, and vertical boundary lines must be equally spaced within the State’s borders, and in the case of an odd number of districts the most northern horizontal boundary line shall be the termination point for all vertical boundary lines."
I wondered about that, too. The Museum of the American Revolution is a private non-profit, so…fingers crossed for them. Other exhibits around Independence Hall are run by the National Park Service, and those exhibits are currently quite frank about slavery and other civil/human rights abuses, not to mention the checks and balances our three branches of government are supposed to have upon each other. If I could post photos here, I would, as it was a surreal experience. It’s hard to imagine they’ll be the same by July. Since October 2024, I’ve been visiting as many early American historical sites as I can in NY, DC (three trips in a year), Cape Cod, Boston, Newport, Philly — to see them before they are stripped of real meaning.
I find it appalling that Dr. Fauci and Jack Smith get so much hate from the maga faithful. I can’t understand how they’re so entrenched in their beliefs that they can’t see goodness.
Thank you so much for bringing our attention back to what is meaningful - right now in each of our lives...... so familiar you would think we didn't need a rereading of history....but we do.
Familiarity can get in the way of curiosity, and therefore better understanding. I think science and just plain "horse sense" profits by endless reexamination.
Yes, Jean: ". . . you would think we didn't need a rereading of history....but we do."
History shows reverberations. Old hurts may hide, bide their potency, but watch what's coming around corners we take for granted.
One of the reasons I hate testing so is its relentless enthroning of linearity's conceits -- that life proceed chronologically always, ever in simpleton 1-2-3 causality.
These conceits reward elites who know nothing of human beings (or landscapes, natural environments). They allow no room for good questions -- those outside the one-correct-answer-only from the elites' given Mickey Mouse A)-B)-C)-or-D) only.
When our boys waded ashore on D-Day on the Normandy beaches, they were not risking their lives to combat fascism abroad only to see it being rolled out at home.
My mother's brother, my uncle, was 19 years old when he was killed in France fighting the Nazis. His photograph was always on our fireplace mantle to remind us of his sacrifice. We are sickened to see what is happening today.
I played in several concert bands with a short, unassuming man who played clarinet. He was a parachute platoon leader who jumped onto Omaha Beach on D-Day. He would be so angry at what is happening today.
Of course earlier Americans had it rougher than we do now.
Not to downplay the continued criminality, corruption, lies, cover-up, and more lies from Donald.
But who could have been in the shoes of those men (if they had footwear) just prior to Trenton and Princeton? Or in those of union armies prior to Vicksburg and Gettysburg?
So thanks to Heather not just for that reminder, but for standing as a rallying point for all of us who can encourage each other, from the individual personalities who encourage individual life in others to the spreadsheets of Megan R., for whom many are grateful at access to many different public officials.
Phil, and as we remember those who came before us, it is good to remember that they were not perfect, each had their flaws, but did great things anyway. Knowing that can help people who feel lost in the current Trumpian insanity. You don't have to be perfect to make a positive difference; you must be willing to try, to do your part of the whole, and work together with others to move us forward.
Heather, Thank you for reminding us that we cannot give up. We must keep rising up to save our Constitution and our country. We cannot allow fascism to take over.
I think it's time for American Revolution 2.0. We are no longer represented, we are being manipulated and ruled by a criminal enterprise that is raping and pillaging our country out from under us. When will we decide enough is enough and spend everyday in the streets until this regime crumbles...
My heart has a special place for Thomas Paine and The American Crisis. My 11th grade English students learned about aphorisms through this amazing piece, and their history classes reinforced the time period and our struggles as a nation to become independent.
Paine's words ring true today, and we must refuse to give up or give in. We fought too long and too hard for this nation, and our triumph has been and will be glorious. Stay strong.
I can remember Strunk and White decades ago in "The Elements of Style" devoting an entire paragraph to hashing out alternative introductions to Paine's pamphlet. 'Soulwise, these are trying times,' etc. Nope, doesn't do it. With great care, they explained the value of the present, active tense to convey meaning and emphasis --- "these are the times that try men's souls." No doubt readers in 1776-77 felt the same.
Thank you Virginia. Our nation, and the world, deserve such teachers as you. As for me, I hadn't heard the name Thomas Paine until I joined my college roommate in watching Meeting of Minds, on a small black and white television, on PBS, a show written, produced and hosted by Steve Allen. It was a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. On one episode Thomas Paine was portrayed by one of four actors having an imaginary discussion. This encouraged me to go to the college library and check out books about the writings by Paine. This was in 1976 or 1977. It changed my life. Not just regarding my patriotism, but also in my thinking about religion. Thank you for inspiring your students.
HCR - I ❤️ your variety of mini interviews and I luv tonite’s ‘Summer Soldier’ insert/video. Do you think redoing the current Republican party into a newer, more ethical PAINE RED political party, and call them ‘Patriots’ could replace the soiled MAGA REPUBLICANS? And bring on the Independents too!
Thank you for the enouraging reminder dear professor. Our months ahead are fraught as well and we must all pull together or all perish as could have been our fate back then.
Heather Cox Richardson. thank you so much for this fine article tonight! It reminds me of a book I especially appreciated a few years ago and should reread. It is “Thomas Jefferson’s Second Father”. In it I started studying names and discovered people in my direct family line.
At times when we experience challenges here, the encouragement from reading of that time period seems even stronger than usual, and whether or not we realize the fact, many of us probably or possibly are descended from some of the people who put so much of their lives into making our country what it became. There have been many more brave people in many times in our history, both here and elsewhere. Even if we have family who came later, the appreciation from reading historical non-fiction is such an uplifting treat. So is reading the stories of the brave people who vsme at any time. Everybody has a valuable story.
I appreciate that you share so much, HCR, to bring it strongly near and dear in our hearts and minds. #HOLDFAST
Exactly - this is a criminal enterprise in the republikkkan party, encompassing the supreme court members, the senate and congress members as well as the president and his minions. This has been planned for at least 50 yrs to take over and take down our country for money and power. When will we decide to stop it...
Thomas Paine wrote of King George what can also be said today of Trump and his toadies: “I should suffer the misery of devils,were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish,stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man…who at the last day shall be shrieking to the rocks and mountains to cover him and fleeing in terror from the orphan, the widow, and the slain of America.” NO KINGS OR COURTIERS IN A FREE AMERICA.
These are the times that try all person's souls even a custodian at Brown university who made several critical factual observations that led to the perpetrator of the Brown & related MIT University Professor's murders.
The Perp killed himself in a storage unit rented in November in Salem, New Hampshire as multiple agencies Brown, local, several state & federal authorities closed in.
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Paine wrote in that fraught moment, “yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
These words from a hero of the American Revolution are relevant to Ukraine today.
Slava Ukraini!
Not just to Ukraine, as all of us must surely be thinking! 🇺🇦 🇺🇸
For better or worse, we are engaged in re-taking our own country back from tyranny, sham royalty, the fake aristocracy of money, quackery, fakery, fuckupery. Nothing about the decaying regime using our own institutions against us is anything but a newer, more insidious form of tyranny, coming from within, rather than from without.
So take heart, all of us still largely untested summer patriots! Winter is coming. And they are as unprepared now as were the drunk Hessians passed out on Christmas Eve in Trenton. We must be both brave and smart, biding our time in the cold and dark if need be, but woe to us if we fail to take our fragile republic back.
Our battle is as critical as Ukraine, and may be what faces us if we don’t wise up.
Heather is our 21st century Thomas Paine! We must all spread her message.
The US today is indelibly intertwined with Ukraine's fortunes. It should not be forgotten that the bookend thugs constricting two democracies and attempting to keep them shelved is no accident. tRump is as complicit in the authoritarian malignancy as much as Putin. If Ukraine falls, the US will be that much weaker; if the US falls due to tRump and his malignant sycophants, Ukraine as we know it, will not survive.
Don is indelibly intertwined with Victor Orban. He wants to make America a third world country so he can be a dictator like Orban. To do this he has to change the Constitution, control the courts and control the legislative bodies. He is doin a good job of accomplishing those necessities. 2026 is a crucial year. As important as 1776. Donate to your Democratic candidates.
Will be a miracle if we survive, Vlad wants us and Ukraine
At the risk of being off-topic, today the DOJ is required by law, to release the complete Epstein files they have been telling us they would release since Trump took office.
If the complete Epstein files are not released bombard your Republican Senators and Congressmen by phone and email and in person at their homes and offices.
I honestly don't care and am sick of hearing about the Epstein files, although I sort of enjoy seeing tRump tie himself in knots over them. We basically know what's in them and what he is. I'm not certain that his acolytes will do anything other than scream about fake news. The real attention should be on his graft and "emoluments."
The reason us decent humans should care is solely for the justice for the young women who were so abused by the rich and powerful. Period. It has taken way too long for these women to be vindicated and for the perpetrators to be held to account. THAT is why this is so important. And THAT is alongside so many other issues. ALL must be addresses. We must WALK AND CHEW GUM. We have a very full plate os issues, all of which MUST be addressed. We can do it!!
penny, absolutely. The Epstein files do not keep me from noticing all the corrupt criminal destructive things this regime is doing. They are making him and some of his minions very uncomfortable which they should. And they seem to be the reason some Rs are parting company with him.
The files and the glaring discomfort brought to those attempting to dismiss them are a simple easily comprehended battle between good and evil.
It's not very often the line between the two is so starkly drawn.
No equivocation. No deflection, "Are people still talking about that?".
Standing up for truth, justice and the American way is difficult.
We need to woman and man up- find our capes and get the facts.
Of course you're correct. At this point, it isn't that we don't care; it's that the attention to the "celebrities" seems to have taken over. Though I believe we're all of the same mind, I was inept in how I expressed my thoughts, but I shall try to walk and chew gum (and shut up).
Do not mean to imply you should shut up. Me being a woman who was abused by male family and acquaintances and mother of 2 daughters, etc. I find little to nothing more important or more devastating to women. Just because it has been going on since the beginning of humanity does not mean it is unimportant and worthy of a no holds barred battle, along with a no holds bared battle for gun safety laws, and a no holds barred battle for ridding money in our politics!!
Skepticat, I did smile at your last few words.
I think we are all tired of hearing about Epstein BUT, if the laws would work, we could focus on some other important things.
Folks only have so much energy! This topic is draining of the collective psyche, and will push more and more good people to quit paying attention to the politics. Another year of focus on this issue ( with no justice in sight) could significantly worsen voter turnout. Let the wheels of justice grind on Epstein, but our energy should be spent creating a positive narrative that motivates voters with hope! This is what will move the dial at the polls in November and 2028.
That’s a tactic of this administration: flood the zone so that we Americans, not known for our staying power and attention spans, look away and get on with the business of immediate gratification. Who says that keeping the focus on this administration - including the Epstein files - is not a positive narrative about fighting to do the right thing and get justice? By all means, take a break from it all - we all need that from time to time - but don’t think there aren’t many of us who recognize this moment for what it is and will dig deep to stay engaged and resisting. If being tired and disheartened about Epstein is what you think will keep people from voting, well, I guess we know different people.
I don’t think so. Hope you are mistaken. This is a major inflection point for our dear country and the stakes are very high. To quote Martin Luther King, WE SHALL OVERCOME!
Hi Penny! I completely agree with you that ALL of Trump's crimes must me pursued with justice every minute of every day. Unrelenting coverage of his corruption, sadism, negligence and ineptitude. No opportunity for normalizing this stuff.
I often wonder if the first impeachment was too narrow. Why not list every crime and then the length of the list becomes yet another crime - that of being something rotten to the core.
That is not how the legal system works. The more issues listed, the more it looks like the Dems are just whining. To be impeached and convicted is the goal. This will only happen with incontrovertible evidence. One major thing.
Eileen, wish I understood the impeachment laws better. How many convictions are needed to make it a slam dunk?
The DOJ, Pam Bondi & many others have failed have failed to comply with the Epstein Files Disclosure Act today. The search function is not functional.
One document, a Grand Jury evidentiary document, has been blacked out on every single of over 100 pages in contemptuous violation of the Act.
****
UPDATE:
CNN's M.J. LEE & Epstein files vindicate survivor, MARIA FARMER who filed a criminal report in 1996 on Epstein creepy photography. Today, Maia's attorney confirmed it was her client, MARIA FARMER, that filed the complaint. The FBI took no action at the time.
*************************************************
I found digital functionality at the "EPSTEIN ARCHIVE" website:
..... Epstein-docs.gitub.
I was able to access 66 dockets that contained the name ............
"ANNIE FARMER".
I sampled 6 documents circa 2020-2021, all letters: Document Nos: 87, 100-1, 191, 241 & Court record Doc-cr-330.
Historical analysis requires careful review along with any newly uncovered files.
Wow Bryan! Thank you for all the research. Stuff is out there if you know where to look.
i'd say that was worth at LEAST a nickel...
We should always care about child abuse.
I agree absolutely, but that issue really has been totally overshadowed by the sick persons involved. It's the degree of media hype about the perpetrators' personalities rather than the victims that bothers me.
Something about alligators and swamp clearing.
This is no longer about child abuse i am afraid, i must agree that too much energy is being spent on this hollow topic. It is awful, yes, was trump present and possibly participating, almost certainly! Will we see the full extent of the evidence? No way. Will this help us move past this awful moment, and sink this toxic administration? I don’t think so. Let’s move on, and create a vision of our nation that makes voters want to move forward towards a future centered on the real American dream.
The rug has a big lump.
I'm sorry Sean, but this is and will always be about child abuse along with the perps who created it. This rape of the conscience of all of us with the children involved taking, what is clearly the biggest hit, is not something from which we should move on. We may not see the full extent of the evidence in our lifetime; however, at some point close after we all may die, those surviving us may see all the evidence. I can only hope that tRump's children and his associates and family members of those associates who contributed to the stealth of the evidence may take on the remnants of deserved retribution. The topic is far from hollow. The vision for which you hope must include the comeuppance of the involved so that it is not only a "vision", but the purest one can possible make.
We should not give up this battle before a single shot is fired. If we do give up, we not only lose this battle, but the next one too, and the one after that, and the next one . . . Our elites are spitting in our faces by ignoring us and ignoring justice.
It’s ok. Not every fight is for every person. I trust you will point your efforts to other areas that need attending to. As for me, having experienced sexual abuse as a child, I am in for the long haul on the Epstein files.
As Heather often says just pick one and make your efforts there.
me too.
There is so much on which our attention should be kept. The Epstein files will keep tRump and Bondi on the hot seat. At least 4 republicans have shown the courage to mandate Blondie (with apologies to all blonds) to release, in full, the files. This particular issue, I think, is most likely the most important that demonstrates the right to know by and for the public. It may not be the most important issue; however, I believe it is likely the most important for demonstrable purposes for the rights of our citizenry.
Riad, also anybody who participating in the sex abuse should be kicked to the curb.
No question about, Michelle. Still waiting for those with courage on the right to bring Matt Gaetz to justice.
I do believe the medical info that has shown adverse effects from repeated bleaching or dying of hair. Chemicals don't just sit on your hair!
The problem, Skepticat, is that too few people care about his graft and emoluments, and too many other politicians, mostly but not all Republicans, are engaged in the same thing on a smaller scale.
And their deep ties to the crimes as well as their basic immorality must be exposed.
Sigh; you're right. I imagine only those people who wrote or those who follow the Constitution give a damn.
I've tried talking to Trumpists about the Constitution. They either don't know what it says, or they tell me Trump is justified in violating it to "save the country". They don't understand that to go against the Constitution is to be anti- or un-American.
I think the majority of us DO care about graft emoluments & try, as individuals, on some level to make our disgust known. I can't march all the time though: I wear my great shirts around town. Boy, I get great smiles & thumbs up. Along with a few serious frowns & middle finger- waving!
The reason behind the release was justice for the young girls who were sexually abused by Epstein's commands. All those pictured were sure enjoying themselves at the great parties. I just want justice/ arrests of those who took part in the sex acts!
I want the same—as do we all.
Also see Phil Weiss's column in Mondoweiss, about Epstein's connection to Israel, which the NY Times ignored. More interesting, for me, was what he said about the Times than what he said about Epstein.
The NYTimes Told the story of how Epstein rose from a teacher at the Dalton school through wealthy parents to Bear Stearns and onwards to connect with so many wealthy and powerful people despite not being very competent at anything but charming those people. Astonishing!
Reva, I read that. Astonishing indeed.
Just another klingon...
I've been wondering what he actually did for a living.
Unfortunately, deeply redacted.
Honestly? I think there will be more excuses not to release them.
Honestly? There is no approximation to that virtue in any of this.
I think they’ll be mostly redacted.
DOJ HAS BEEN REDACTING THEM LIKE CRAZY!
Redacting..? You know it Christine! Emails - lots of em. DVD's - Please excuse that examiner so he/she can 'burn a copy' of one...will ya! Hahahah. And it takes more time, but you can bet the examiners want to interview anyone whose name appears to have appeared along with everyone else who have chosen to remain quiet for personal reasons of safety. Someone.., "the someone" who is in charge of this 'exercise of extreme scrutiny' has been told there will be NO screw-ups. ZERO. I doubt that Ms Bondi is in charge or mr Patel. That's why this is taking so long to do. Simple.
Totally blacked out pages are not 'a release of the Epstein files'. I get blocking some names & dates/ places but, DOJ wants us to feel as though they delivered what was asked of them. BS.
Agreed. Virginia Guiffre's family said today that they think they only released about 10% of the files. And victim #1 said that her entire deposition was redacted.
Call me a doubter.
See my similar comment above.
Down with fuckupery!
Excellent comment ICTT, I agree 100%.
Donald J Trump, this court of public opinion finds you guilty of aggravated FUCKUPERY and condemns you and your lackeys to all eternity rotting in Hell, or ASAP floating around the Universe as mere dust. Whatever...
To be honest, since we are calling on history with today's letter, rather than rotting in hell, I'd like to take these criminals back to the days of "the stocks" where they could stand in public squares around the country with their head & hands placed unceremoniously in between hand carved wooden stocks. Let them stand there uncomfortably for hours in rain, snow, sun. As an added benefit vendors could sell rotten tomatoes for folks to throw at them, the proceeds going to paying down the national debt. Fanciful thought indeed but since they force us to watch the demise of our Republic I'd prefer watching them squirm as modern day patriots take aim with rotten produce.
When Trump finally does pass, which looks more and more as though it will be sooner rather than later, it would be wise for his family to bury him at sea. If his final resting place is anywhere on land, they best surround it with a well drained moat, as the number of people coming to piss on it would make it soggier than the Everglades.
Yes, set his bloated criminal carcass adrift, let the sharks take care of the rest. He’s deathly afraid of sharks, I say let them have him.
Miselle, I wouldn't suggest 💩to any in his criminal enterprise family on where he should be buried. None are deserving of kindness. I do however, like John's suggestion.
Good idea Miselle. Remember how tRumps star of fame was repeatedly defaced? I would suggest he be placed on a wooden boat, set afire & shoved out to sea. Wouldn't want any of our US ships contaminated.
Or even better, eternity playing golf without paid off caddies secretly placing miss-hit drives back on the fairway. And everyone booooing.
And snakes. And alligators.
Gail. And windmills/wind turbines 😊
Well sure, why not? First the stocks, then Hell, then eternal dust. Where can we sign?
Don't forget the tar and feathers.
From your ‘reply’ to action….
Return to normalcy. Good idea. I agree!
Rotten eggs!
Yes Return!! what a great idea! I have a couple of squishy tomatoes on the counter right now.
David I prefer that they all get to go to El Salvador to suffer🤬
Google AI:
"Damnatio memoriae (Latin for "condemnation of memory") was an ancient Roman practice of erasing a disgraced person, usually a tyrant or traitor, from history by destroying their images, chiseling their name from inscriptions, rewriting records, and removing them from public memory, essentially making it as if they never existed, though often failing due to existing records and monuments. It involved defacing statues (like removing heads), removing names from documents, and altering historical accounts, with notable examples targeting emperors like Caligula and Geta."
Sen tRump & the others on a Musk- designed space rocket. No return gear.
Now it's our time to buckle down, and cross the Delaware [in the other direction], and run the Hessians out of Washington [not Trenton]. Trump truly thinks he is King. He believes he's better than us. He's not - he's not fit to muck out the stables.
My concern is we aren’t dealing with only him, or maybe not even him. He’s checked out and legally untouchable. Instead we have zealots Vought and Kennedy who want to see us die. We have Miller and Hegseth whose respect for human life, despite their platitudes, is less than zero. We have Mike Johnson, manipulating every arcane rule to deprive fellow reps of the ability to (try to) govern in Ed’s orders. We face a wall of desperation and no morality.
Absolutely! Trump is checked out mentally. Those who act for him, Vought, Miller, Mike Johnson, Hegseth, crazy Kennedy, Noem, Bondi, etc., are the ones who need to be held accountable. I would like to see them taken to court and prosecuted.
Janet, I would really rather see them receive the same "due process" as the Venezuelan fishermen.
Unlike most criminals who commit their crimes enshrouded in secrecy and the dark, Trump's criminals committed their crimes in broad daylight, in full public view. We don't need to waste time and money on legal proceedings because we already know who did what and when.
Just load them up on a sport fishing vessel and send them on a one-way Caribbean cruise with an incendiary ending. "Double tap" if necessary.
Plane ride for all to El Salvador! They should enjoy amenities.
My hope is to see Jack Smith leading the equivalent of the Nuremberg trials when this regime collapses.
Yes.
Perfect descriptions!
He wouldn’t know what you even mean “to muck out the stable” and doing that is a positive to help the horses…. ‘HELP’ anything or anyone other than dt ???
A ps…. When “Crossing the Delaware” was published several years ago, a friend was ‘FURIOUS’ that she had been teaching a lie about the Hessians and the Revolutionaries in that Christmas Eve battle…. Not drunk, tired and cold…. Guess lies just ‘ARE’ and whoever gets to write ‘the history’ ……
I stand corrected! Myths are powerful, indeed. General Washington apparently spoke well of Hessian fortitude. The more accurate thing to have said was that the passion for liberty turned out to be stronger than the passion of simply being a mercenary.
January 20, 2026, would be a great time for winter soldiers to take up the cause of defending democracy in our nation’s capital.
So well said!
This is OUR Thomas Paine moment!
Each time history repeats, we are given the chance to change how we react, and therefore to steer our society in a different direction. I have been steeped in 1700's history for the last several months and it is so interesting how the same themes are presented to us over and over again, resulting in different choices depending on the circumstances.
Thank you for your post.
When Trump spoke about the enemy within he was telling us “we have met the enemy and” I are it ! ( apologies to Pogo)
Perfectly said ICTT! We must repulse them!
Excellent
Beautifully said ICTT!
Well Said!
Excellent thoughts and comments, as usual ICTT. Bravo ~
You can read the details of the EU's overly cautious and underly funded choice on aid to Ukraine here:
https://georgiafisanick.substack.com/p/tyranny-like-hell-remains-not-easily
The war in Ukraine will go on for far longer because of this, and even more so because of Trump's fealty to Putin and the abdication of America's role as leader of the free world.
Many of us in Europe are FURIOUS with the EU's ridiculous hand-wringing. Belgium needs to give the oligarchs' assets to Ukraine NOW! Ceeding Ukrainian territory to Putin is ceeding EUROPE to Putin. Estonia and Poland will be next. The message must be, "You cannot invade a sovereign country! You get nothing!" We cannot give Putin an inch or this war will never end.
As a US citizen living in Italy, I am acutely aware of the distance from here to Kiev. Just under 1,000 miles and a few minutes as the Russian hypersonic missile flies. Let us not forget Neville Chamberlain's "Peace in Our Time" Sudetenland agreement with Hitler in 1938. If we give Putin another inch, we're screwed. And, Americans, the Atlantic Ocean is not nearly as wide as it once was. In case you haven't noticed.
Astutely said there David. Memories are so so short. But what's worse is during the 10.., 20.., or 60 years time.., 'history' is re-written in a more convenient form, and photos are re-touched (KGB style). We see very few of the ones Ike had taken. Of course, Palestine and why West Bank haven't been fully re-landscaped yet. Orban is well. And Assad is safely housed in style amongst friends. Down in Saudi-land, why it's business. As usual.
Each of us can support Ukraine by donating at United24, their official website, where they have raised nearly $3 billion for humanitarian aid and military equipment. Here is a link to their website which is interesting to read even if you don't donate.
https://u24.gov.ua/
You have cowards in Europe we have cowards here - when will people learn you can never appease a bully or a dictator, they just get worse and take more. We have so many institutions, corporations and billionaires kowtowing to the felon child rapist and actively participating in the destruction of our democracy. I guess it's up to us the regular people to take control and force them to do the right thing.
After reading “Injustice,” fear of taking action for fear of retaliation and too much reverence for the office of President—overlooking the glaring fact the President was a CRIMINAL (Jan 6 proved it)—led us to Trump 2.0. I appreciate the art of politics requires moving slowly and deliberately, but this handwringing in the face of confirmed not theoretical five-alarm fires, is stupid.
Draw the line or get out of the way. Surely somebody will…..
That sounds a lot like John McCain in 2014.
Europe is behaving like a broom un-bound. UK has apparently fallen and cannot reach its beer, while the "royals" continue to deliver champagne to horny-ole Andrew (Lord Woh-begotton) and his missus (Saggie-rack). Brexit - Such a bowell-movement.
Thanks Georgia. Sadly, a classic EU compromise. The UK itself holds some 25 GBP of Russian frozen assets, which if we have a spine should be used now, on top of the agreed EU loan. Worth remembering too that the US official Administration position is strongly against using the frozen assets, because Witkoff / Kushner etc want to use them as sweeteners for Putin. However, they currently remain frozen, despite huge US pressure.
And, by the way, no hard feelings about that minor tea taxation issue back in 1776. Thomas Paine was, after all, an Englishman resident in Lewes ( East Sussex) at the time. And please keep your Republic!
Slava Ukraini.
25 bn
And the frozen assets remain available for use at a later date……
Hello Georgia... The Ukrainians deserve the Right of Self-Determination... Their Republic is being Reborn in Fire... Slavii Ukrainii!!!...
Here is the link to the official Ukrainian government website. You can choose the direction for your donations.
https://u24.gov.ua/
Worthy of our attention.
Been there; doing that...thanks, Georgia!
Thanks for the link. I will put my money where my mouth is!
Morning, Ally!
Still not getting emails on my computer. Just so happened to catch your comment on my phone!
Oh, those computer gremlins!!!
I'm in my gig home stretch; OTE finished its last performance yesterday; I have two more with my buddy Thom (duets). We're playing at the Eugene VA Clinic today and at our Holiday Crafters Market tomorrow. Then Brunhilda (my tuba) is going to Salem for a spa day (cleaning and repair).
Yay Ally. How wonderful to have a talent that makes people smile. ☀️
We got some wonderful responses from folks today. A dozen employees said they lived hearing us, and lots of former musicians, including a former US Army tuba player!
YAY! She will feel better after she gets all spruced up, I'm sure!!
''Tyranny Is Not Easily Conquered, But It Always Is''
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Thomas Paine wrote in a moment when the outcome of history was genuinely uncertain. He did not write from comfort. He wrote from exposure, danger, and moral clarity. I return to that line now because it names something we still resist admitting. Tyranny is not a glitch. It is a recurring temptation. It emerges wherever fear is rewarded, obedience is confused with virtue, and power detaches itself from accountability.
No, tyranny is not easily conquered. But it always is in the end.
I say that not as optimism, but as theology grounded in history. Tyranny depends on a lie about numbers. It survives by convincing people they are alone, outmatched, and isolated in their dissent. Scripture understands this psychology well. The old biblical stories of rebellion are not about supernatural spectacle. They are about moral alignment. When angels fall, they do so through pride and domination. When resistance rises, it does so through conscience and collective courage. Evil concentrates. Virtue multiplies.
For every hellion, there are more souls of virtue. That is not sentimental language. It is a structural truth. Tyranny requires hierarchy, enforcement, surveillance, and silence. It must organize fear constantly, or it collapses. Virtue, by contrast, spreads horizontally. It requires only recognition. Once people see one another clearly, obedience loses its spell.
This is where theology and democracy meet, not as abstractions but as lived ethics. Democracy is not merely a system of voting. It is a moral discipline. It trains people to see themselves as participants rather than subjects. Tyranny hates this posture because it interrupts the myth of inevitability. The moment citizens recognize their agency, power begins to leak.
The Bible’s language of light and darkness is useful here, not as dogma but as metaphor. Darkness does not advance. It only occupies where light is withheld. Tyranny is the same. It does not create legitimacy. It occupies the vacuum left when people withdraw from responsibility, when truth becomes inconvenient, when fear is mistaken for realism. Light returns the moment people speak, assemble, refuse, and remember.
Paine understood this intuitively. His writing does not flatter the reader. It indicts passivity. When he says that what we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly, he is not glorifying suffering. He is warning against moral amnesia. Rights that arrive without effort feel theoretical. They do not anchor themselves in the body or the conscience. When pressure comes, they are the first to be surrendered.
This is why tyranny often feels strongest just before it breaks. Its displays become louder, its punishments more theatrical, its language more absolute. Like the biblical Pharaoh, it doubles down. It demands loyalty oaths from people who no longer believe. It mistakes compliance for consent. In theological terms, it hardens its heart. In political terms, it overplays its hand.
What ultimately defeats tyranny is not force alone. It is exposure. It is the moment when ordinary people recognize that obedience is no longer moral, that silence has become participation, that neutrality is a fiction that serves only the powerful. That recognition spreads faster than repression can contain it. History bears this out relentlessly. Empires fall not when they run out of weapons, but when they run out of believers.
To say tyranny is always conquered is not to deny suffering. It is to honor resistance. Every generation inherits unfinished work. Democracy is not a possession handed down intact. It is a practice that must be renewed under pressure. The theological language of struggle, rebellion, and redemption reminds us that this renewal is not comfortable. It demands courage, memory, and community.
I return to Paine because he refuses despair without indulging fantasy. He tells us the truth plainly. The conflict will be hard. The cost will be real. But that very cost is what gives freedom its weight. Tyranny cannot outnumber virtue forever. It cannot suppress conscience indefinitely. In the end, it collapses under the combined force of people who remember who they are and refuse to kneel to what they know is wrong.
That is not faith as denial. It is faith as participation.
https://essayx.substack.com/p/tyranny-is-not-easily-conquered-but
An amazing essay—thank you so much for posting it here. It is so full of light and hope!
Thank you!
I Hope you're right. I believe you are. We may find out sooner rather than later. Nice essay!
Thanks!
With Ukraine as our inspiration, and with us as Ukraine’s inspiration, may both countries throw off tyranny and resume their places in the councils of democracy! Even though George Washington was a land speculator, he was a true hero and father of his country. Even though Zelensky is surrounded by corruption, he is also a true hero. And as for the soldiers still at the front line, they deserve the thanks and support of all free people.
These time try our souls for sure. Remember when the GOP complained about Biden being too old and prices being too high? Those were the days!
Now Trump is too old and prices are still too high? Sounds like a blue wave building, about to crash down on GOP hypocrites.
an old Persian saying: it has to become dark before you can see the stars. Just always loved that one.
Thomas Paine was brilliant and, IMO, an essential part of the successful American Revolution. Sadly, Paine died in New York City in 1809, poor and mostly forgotten, owing in large part to his then radical religious views (The Age of Reason.) I admire Paine for his ability to recognize the fact of religious fiction back then. For me, in our present age, it is so simple. We now know that all life on earth (plants, animals, insects) share the same DNA, obviously descending from a common ancestor (LUCA) going back 3.5 billion years. Earth is not the center of the universe but a small pale blue dot among trillions and trillions of other planets at home in at least two trillion galaxies in the known universe. What's beyond? Multiple universes extending into infinite space. We were lucky for Thomas Paine to come to these shores and to do what he did. Paine inspired our ancestors to complete the task. Another great American's words come to mind during this attack on our system of democratic government "of the people, by the people and for the people:" "It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us:" Defeating and sending to the junk pile of history Trumpism along with its Fascist, racist, xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic elements. One more person comes to my mind: Frances Perkins, FDR's Sec. of Labor and the person responsible for our having Social Security. Her theory of government: "The people are what matter to government, and a government should aim to facilitate the means by which all the people under its jurisdiction can access the best possible life." A government of, by and for the People, not the billionaires. That form of government is not Socialism, but instead is Pragmatic Capitalism.
Or fairness based capitalism.
I like it. Fairness based capitalism. There is no separating the economy and its operations from the government and its functioning. There would be zero billionaires if there were no people. If the U.S. population were only 3.4 million people, probably no billionaires, but because we're 340 million we have 902 billionaires and 900,000 decamillionaires.
Neo-classicist and neo-liberal doctrinal economic policy gave us the gazillionaire burden, perhaps not population.
It is interesting how some terms can be misleading. In this case, "liberal." And in others, "conservative." Whatever the case clearly the neo-liberal doctrinal economic policy has benefitted the wealthy to the detriment of the mass of citizens. I go back to Frances Perkins: IMO, she hit the nail on the head: government and the economy should be configured to benefit the people as a whole: health care, security, education, employment, housing and more.
Ya know Richard, with so so many billionaires and or decabillionaires whatever and 350 freaking-million people it would seem like the ultra-rich are heavily invested in making sure 'the masses" are being properly fed and cared for. No? I mean, what if "the Masses" just really got pissed off and burned the shit right out from under all them "rich folks".., and sank their fooking yachts..., and ski chalets.., and quit fixing their airplanes.., or couldn't be relied upon to provide those obnoxious security details. Huh? I mean we already have the makings of a rebellion. Look at the homeless; look at the tent cities; look under the freeway overpasses; look at the run-down areas of some towns and cities; look at the admissions to Emergency rooms for what ought to be. routine care needs; look at rural America building in flood zones because property is cheap; lok at Americans who no longer can buy insurance because of environmental risks; Yes yes.., look at all the Americans who ARE doing okay (with 8 year car payments) and $20 thou credit card debt AND jobs! Yes.., we're still fat. Not as healthy as we were, but still "fat".., and getting fatter, right? This past election was largely derailed by misrepresentation of a more liberal concern for the human being in all of us. Then there's the Epstein problem, and what is that? Let me help. Wingsfound.org found that "as often as 60% of the time sexual abuse happens by someone to whom the child is related", "intrafamilial sexual abuse"! Blammm. What might that imply? Simple.., the family structure of our 350 million peoples is not healthy. Whose job is it to endeavor to make things better? Why it's ALL of us. Especially those of us who have some where4withal to effect a more healthy America. And that shoe fits.
Or fairness based capitalism.
It's the tide that raises all ships.
Surely - relevant to the US in these times of an encroaching kleptocracy.
Yes, and recall Paine’s fate after triumph was realized.
Georgia, I believe that, before 2016, we treated our democracy like an old car. Sure, it had some rattling (more when the candidate we favored lost), but we believed that it would still get us where we needed to go. We thought that custom and traditional norms had the rule of law; we thought that the Justice Department and the Supreme Court would uphold follow established precedent and uphold the rule of law. Instead, we found that vandals had taken steps to undermine our car’s integrity so that, one morning the wheels started wobbling and we realized that all the wheels were about to fall off.
Now we’re fighting to keep our democracy in all things great and small against the tyranny of the supper rich oligarchs who believe that they are above the law.
The good news? We are no longer sleepwalking.
Georgia, I had similar thoughts but could never have put it all together like you did. Thank you. I follow the Ukraine War closely mainly through YouTube channels, RFU and The Military Show. I am also reminded of Hopium Chronicles author, Simon Rosenberg's, response when asked how he continues to fight against the constant onslaught of destruction and lies. He says he remembers Ukraine and Zalenskyy and what that county is going through to try and save their Democracy.
I think we are all thinking of Paine's words today. And I will add some words from the famous John Wayne - at the time an American icon. He claimed that Roosevelt allowed Communists to spread their evil power. Wayne said: "Their (communists) insidious influence now reached into the schools so that America's children were being taught to reject their heritage. Liberal weakness had turned the federal government into a dispenser of handouts to those who just sit around - like blacks and Indians. We'll all be on a reservation soon if the socialists keep subsidizing groups like them with our tax money." Nixon and Reagan added to the myth of a rebirth of a glorious future, rugged individualism, etc. and other delusions, rather than resolving our inherent conflicts by engaging in rational analysis.
Hope is life , we must never give up
Not only to Ukraine but also to America under Trump and MAGA and Gaza Palestinians attacked by Isralel.
I highly recommend a visit to the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. I was there a few weeks ago. The highlight was a film about General Washington’s struggle to defeat the British, which ended with the unveiling of his actual war tent on the stage — preserved over the years. Simply astonishing.
I lived in Boston and I can recommend a walk on the Freedom Trail, and the sight of the real tea party. And dinner in the North End where Paul Revere lived in his house still stands. And now I live in Canton mass where Paul Revere had his copper foundry which still exists and now is a heritage site. And you can eat at Northern Spy, named for Paul Revere as a spy from the north! I frequently go to Rhode Island, to Newport where on the harbor there is a statue of the French general Rochambeau who met with Washington there and ended up supplying troops and also encouraging Lafayette who of course was responsible for the ultimate victory by sea in Virginia defeating Cornwallis and his British fleet. You can’t get away from history here in the Boston area, nor I suspect in Philadelphia either because I’ve been there too, and my late husband was raised there.
Give me liberty or give me death. Patrick Henry
I will not allow hooded jack-booted thugs to drag a woman down my street. I know not what kind of resistance I will take but I shall not be silent.
I have been using a pitchfork Bill. I’m afraid it’ll get me killed because I believe in what you say. I can not stand by and watch anyone dragged off for any reason by individuals impersonating both law enforcement and muggers. The real men in blue have real authority and can really enforce the law. Trumps shake and bake brownshirts hiding identity have no such authority. I refuse to recognize them as any kind of law enforcement whatsoever. They get uncivil I get worse that’s just the way of it. I hope we have all made that decision by now. The answer is to take a tough stand together. I don’t think there is an alternative to stopping an ongoing farce except with confrontational force. Do you try to swim or do you just go ahead and drown? I don’t understand why real cops aren’t shadowing these bastards and protecting their citizens. I just don’t understand. Seems almost like pure cowardice to me.
Pat...I like your statement..."take a tough stand together," instead of the word "fight." Swim or drown?
Cover your head and make sure someone is getting it all on video as the blows rain down. Even some of the MAGoids will figure this out sooner or later. If Trump loses them, all he's got left is a handful of chickenshit zillionaires, one vote each.
Im not going to cover my head David. I spend a lifetime on the mats. 19 years of taking opponents apart. My wife’s 80 some year old uncle used a pair of pliers to hold a would-be mugger by the nose until help arrived. He was a tiny little cowboy. Granted he was tougher than whang leather. I may not be that tough at only 75 but I still have my Irish temper and a lifetime of bad decision making on my side.
You ask good questions, Pat. I would have a very hard time following an order that caused me to aid and abet what our federal government is doing. I know that Portland OR PPB* is not supportive of the Feds actions in Portland, and they have not provided assistance to the Feds (who are heavily guarding their own building against protesters in inflatable costumes and brass bands who have the audacity to march and play music in the streets.)
Pat, thugs they are. Shameless bullies. Bet most of them have an inferiority complex of some sort.
Well Bill they tell me we citizens are the root of power so I’m joining that person who wants a Christmas miracle and mine would be citizen solidarity. They can knock a helpless person down and drag em off. How many of us 250 pound bruisers can they handle? We show up it’s a Christmas Miracle.
I want you on my side, Pat!
I'd be right there with you Bill. I enjoy the responses I get from my shirt: Never underestimate an old woman who votes. I will be trying my best in the battle for liberty.
Pam, I am blessed to have grown up near Valley Forge and had a chance to visit there often. I marveled that the army not only survived at Valley Forge, but became a powerful force due to their time there. I have walked "The Freedom Trail" in Boston and visited the ship Constitution too. All of that was important to me, a history lover from at least age 10. There are so many places of historical importance in our nation, to help us remember where this nation came from, what We the People have been through, and pointing us in a direction that will help to keep us free from the authoritarians and oligarchs who would probably feel nothing if they visited those same sites that helped shape my life.
I grew up in Philadelphia (Fishtown) to be exact, and we went on field trips to Valley Forge multiple times. My heart will always be in Philadelphia, the history is palpable. One day I might be able to go back to stay. Florida is not my heart and living here irritates my sensibilities.
Chris, I suspect Philadelphia would welcome you back. Every time I go into the city, I am reminded of how much fun I had when I commuted for work, during the bicentennial no less. I do appreciate the city! I currently live just outside the oldest English settlement in PA, Chester. It's a great place despite the negatives a lot of folks put out about it.
Living in Florida the past 10 years, I feel exactly the same, Chris. Having grown up in NJ, I do not feel any simpatico here. One day I hope to go back north as well.
With you, Chris. A Philly suburb gal (Abington)-living in swfl-but my heart will always be there. Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market, the Liberty Bell, Washington’s Crossing, Valley Forge, the Art Museum, the Academy of music-my heart sighs with homesickness for the place, the history, the culture, the real-ness of Philly.
Always! I want to go back and breath it all in!
Your litany of places, Ruth, reminds me of Sarah Kendzior's most recent book.
In "The Last American Road Trip" she travels (with her husband and two kids) widely across diversely gorgeous American terrain. But she never gets very far from what has also been impinging the whole country for recent decades: historically corrupt politicians, mob bosses, drug, arms, and underage girl traffickers, cynical billionaires, and media cowards.
Phil, I plan to check out that book. There are always negatives because some people don't have the advantage of good parenting, good housing, a supportive environment, a brain that can distinguish between good and bad, and more. That should never keep us from traveling and getting to know people from different places and mindsets. We owe diversity to ourselves.
Phil, in rereading this, I am thinking that perhaps Sarah was looking for the negative. Yes, there are those folks, the scummy ones, but there are so many more who are not criminals or corrupt, etc. We can see that when there is a disaster and people come out to help, to support, to care. We can tell the ones who are the scummy ones because instead of helping, they whine about whose fault it was, and it is never they who made things worse. Maybe we should spend time talking less about them and concentrate more on the "good souls." They are the ones who make the world better despite the folks who would prefer to destroy and do massive harm. It is almost as though we are hypnotized by the negative. It would be far better if we could change the focus, tell people what is happening with the crazies kind of in passing, but quickly move on to talk about the helpers, those who care, the peacemakers, the courageous. Maybe more people would be in that group instead of the harmful ones if they got to see more of the helpers and that they look just like normal people, like themselves.
Well-said, Ruth: "Maybe we should . . . concentrate more on the 'good souls.'"
You've just nabbed one of our best reasons for stressing humanities more in schools. So much good stuff, helpful stuff, sympathetic, apt for better context on today's issues.
Phil. I am with you in increasing the study of the humanities, and they should be part of the curricula of most subjects too. The people who have striven to make the world better, more livable, more kind are worthy of remembrance. I am thinking now of the teen in a falling-apart school in Prince Edward County, VA who had had enough and stood up with her classmates of that all-Black school and said that they deserved better and they were demanding it. She was not just doing that for herself, but for everyone in the community. She is a "good soul" and now has a statue in the US Capitol for the state of VA. That is amazing! I am wondering when someone of the crazies will whisper in Trump's ear that there is a Black woman now represented in the Capitol from that "rogue state of Virginia so he will slander Barbara Johns and tell his MAGA Klanspersons so they will whine and protest. Well, her action will long outlive Donald Trump, Steve Miller, JD Vance and the rest of the toddler pool.
Also in Newport is the Newport Artillery Company museum. It’s the oldest operating militia in the United States, still operating under its original charter that started in 1741 under King George. They changed their allegiance from the king of course through the war but they still are active. Their museum is terrific, lots of canons and a bunch of great guys to talk to.
And of course then in Boston we have the Ancient and Honorable who always read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony of the Old State House. Followed by music from the Fife and Drum corp, very stirring. I always send a clip of it to all the people in Texas I know who think the Alamo is the best thing going. But the Newport artillery company pointed out that they do not have a con continuously operating charter! Friendly rivalry.
And while you are around Boston, might as well make the trip to Concord and Lexington to the Minute Man National Historical Park. The Adams National Historical Park just outside of Boston is excellent as well.
I agree 100%. I was at Minute Man Visitor Center in 2017 and I took my dog for a walk on Battle Road which crosses the parking lot there.
Minute Man Visitor Center, (aka, Battle Rd. Visitor Center), 250 N Great Rd, Off Route 2A Near The Eastern End Of The Park E, Lincoln, MA 01773-1702 Call for opening time. (978) 369-6993 https://www.nps.gov/mima/index.htm
Paul Revere Capture Site, located on the side of the road in Lincoln, MA between Minute Man Visitor Center and the Alcott House / Concord. The parking lot is on the right side of the road heading to Concord. “The Regulars are coming out...”
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, (Little Women) 399 Lexington Road in Historic Concord, http://www.louisamayalcott.org/
Old Hill Burying Ground, A Graveyard w/ many Minutemen including Colonel John Buttrick Grave, "Fire, fellow soldiers, for God's sake fire!” And they fired the “Shot Heard Round the World.” 2-12 Monument Sq, Concord, For image of the tall headstone see here https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7519886/john-buttrick See the image of the church and graveyard on web page below. The graves are on a hill next to a white church. Walk up the right side of the hill until the steps end and then turn right along the stepping stones toward the small red brick lawn building. Just past the building you will find graves with the Buttrick family name.
https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1962042/old-hill-burying-groun
North Bridge, 174 Liberty St, Concord. As you approach the foot of the bridge notice the two graves on your left. These are two of the three British Regulars mortally wounded during the morning Battle of Concord, April 19, 1775, the first day of battle in the American War of Independence. The Minutemen approached the bridge from the other side as the Regulars were removing planks. The Statue at North Bridge is on the spot where Captain Isaac Davis died during the battle. The face of the Minuteman Statue was crafted by sculptor Daniel Chester French using photos taken of descendants of Captain Isaac Davis. The current wooden replica built in 2005, is the fifth bridge at that location since the American Revolution. North Bridge Questions, https://www.nps.gov/mima/north-bridge-questions.htm
Waldon Pond, 915 Walden St., Concord.
Lexington Battle Green. Since it is open at night see this last at the end of the day. Point out to the girls the graves of the Patriots who died there. Massachusetts Avenue and Harrington Road,
The Cheese Shop of Concord, (Outstanding sandwiches) 29 Walden St, Concord, MA 01742 (978) 369-5778. http://concordcheeseshop.com/
Bedford Farms Ice Cream, Original location at 18 North Rd, Bedford, is a must! (781) 275-6501, Plus, 68 Thoreau St, Concord, (978) 341-0000
It's a great place where you can really feel the history. Walden pond...not so much. LOL
Walden pond, yeah, what is with the fence? I have a disabled placard and when I am there I drive down that bumpy dirt road to the boat launch. Then we park, jump out an d take a few pictures and drive back up to the visitor center. If I could hike I would do so to find where the cabin once stood.
Albert, it is clear you have pride in your community! Kudos for that. So many of us would prefer to disparage our communities instead of appreciating what our community has and working to make it better, even if it means running for office or volunteering to clean up the community, to pressure for affordable housing, etc. Working to make things better is certainly more difficult than whining about the way things are.
And Marblehead, where the men who ferried the troops across the Delaware were from!
Susan, yes, those men from Marblehead were pretty amazing, in integrated troop who could fight on the water as well as on the land. They should be held up as an example of what people can do and be when inspired. By the way, those troops also got Washington and the army to safety across a foggy river during the battle of New York.
Yes, I really enjoyed the depictions of both of these in Ken Burns' wonderful series on the Revolution! And by the way, that series really opened my eyes to how much more complicated that time was than I had ever thought, which gave hope for us getting out from under the current regime.
Pam, tons of years have passed since my step-father, a native Bostonian, took his new family (mom, sister and me) for a visit to Boston where we walked the Freedom Trail. In fact, you remind me that history is alive everywhere you go in the city. My dad's sister lived there and took us all around, pointing out historical sites. I was too young to grasp the significance back then. You inspire me to return!
Morning, Lynell! I've only visited the Boston Tea Party museum and the east terminus of US Highway 20 on my brief trips to Boston. I'd love to go back east and spend time in both Boston and Philly (and not only to eat a real Philly Steak Sandwich).
Let me know when you plan to Ally. I have amazing side trips in mind too. Hell I might be healthy enough to tag along or lead ! Hope springs eternal...
Ally, ah, there is so much good food in Philly that you would have a hard time stopping with one cheese steak or pretty much anything else on offer here. A breakfast with eggs and scrapple or a warm soft pretzel. Oops, I'm making myself hungry and I just ate. Then there's history that is almost endless here. I love it and missed it the times I lived in other parts of the country. However, I did appreciate the history in those places too. This is a great country with so much to offer our people and the people of the world. Right now, in charge, are people who have no clue about our value and are working to destroy us. We don't have to let them. We also need to be more careful of which candidates we vote for. People actually voted for the crew that is in charge in DC and in some state governments. We do need to do better. We have better folks, but they were not as loud and didn't whine as much, so were often ignored or dismissed. We must honor our nation's history, our diversity, and tell the guys in charge right now to grow up and stop acting like spoiled toddlers.
💙 my native state,Rhode Island,the first colony to declare independence from the Brits.Mighty Little Rhody was founded by Roger Williams,who advocated for a “wall of separation” between church and state.So far ahead of his time he was banished from the Mass Bay Colony for his views.RW would tell us to keep resisting against Project 2025 and NEVER.GIVE.UP.
If you are a reader, try David McCullough's "1776." He is a great storyteller, and this is an exciting and sometimes even funny story. It is also inspiring. A perfect winter read for these times.
Anne, you are right, a really good book. I learned a lot from reading it, and I am one of those folks who is obsessed with the American Revolutionary period and have been since I was 10.
Like your "You can't get away from history here in the Boston area," Pam.
I'm thinking, too, of a Clint Eastwood-directed movie from 22 years ago, "Mystic River," with some awful personal history dragging down characters played by Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Sean Penn, and Tim Robbins.
History (as does art) tracks down how people can't escape some hurts. Too many hurts generated by murderer/rapist/insurrectionist/egotist/mob boss/friend to dictators and murderers Donald.
As we go forward, will U.S. schools deal with this history, or just trundle on with the billionaires' packaging requiring the neutering of testing unquestioned above all?
I agree entirely that nothing reminds us of our history like walking past and on the places where it was made. The Battle of White Plains (October 28, 1776) was fought, in part, where my house stands. I often walk by the house that was the headquarters of General Howe, the then commander of Britain’s forces. These days, this often causes me to think about what the men and women who made our Revolution a success sacrificed to end an entitled monarchy and replace it with a virtuous democratic republic. My head spins as I wonder what they would make of a president using the power they suffered so mightely to birth to line his own pockets, sell pardons, and willy-nilly ignore the law.
Plus, a big shout out to General Knox and his noble train of artillery! 250 years ago today he and his oxen and sleds were (probably) crossing into Massachusetts! What an unassuming hero he was! If you are in the Boston area on March 17th, there will be a ceremony at Dorchester Heights to memorialize the incredible feat Knox pulled off. Come and celebrate!
Yes, Elizabeth, Dragging cannons from Ft. Ticonderoga on Lake Champlaign in the winter to Boston was incredible. I have read of their journey, but I still can't believe they did it!
Just a tiny item of interest: There is no evidence that the Northern Spy apple was named for Paul Revere. It was discovered in upstate NY in the early 1800s and according to local lore was probably named during the Civil War for a spy from the area, although who is not clear. But do visit the National Heritage Site in Canton! And here’s to Paul Revere, Rochambeau, Lafayette, and of course the gigantic hero, Washington.
I wasn’t talking about the northern spy Apple, I was talking about the Northern Spy restaurant which is located right by Paul Revere’s copper foundry. 😊
Oh, sorry. We are planning a trip to Canton on your advice! Looking forward to it! I never knew Revere had his own copper foundry. He was quite the entrepreneur in his spare time. Thanks for telling about the National Heritage Site.
Elizabeth, don't forget the women as so many would do. Despite Washington at first being opposed to having women moving with the army, he came to appreciate their presence over time as they helped to take care of the army in so many ways, as nurses, preparing food, doing laundry and repairing uniforms, and keeping many soldiers in camp who otherwise would have gone home when their enlistments ended. Having their wives and children with them made a huge difference. Some of the women also fought.
Yes! Where would they have been without the women, though they declined to give us the vote and any rights! Creeps!
Elizabeth, yep, creeps! I do believe men all along knew that women were their equals in nearly everything, well, except for having babies (women) and beating people up (men), but they could not acknowledge people who could do something as amazing as giving birth could be their equal too. That was too much for their poor brains to manage!
Every year in Washington Crossing, PA there’s a reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas Eve…a beautiful sight!
Tanya, I have always wanted to visit Washington's Crossing for the reenactment, but have not yet. A group I sing with, Colonial Revelers, has performed for the March-In at Valley Forge and it is really special. Reenactors discuss with the visitors what it was like the day Washington's army came into camp. It is held December 19th each year or close to that date.
Don’t feel bad I live about an hour away and have never made the reenactment because it falls on Christmas Day. However, earlier in December there’s a practice reenactment that might be an easier time to attend.
Tanya, I heard the "practice" re-enactment was on the 20th. Alas, that evening, I was just a few miles from there presenting with a bunch of friends old and new, a solstice program, down the road in Lambertville, NJ. Missed it again!
I’m surprised, it’s usually earlier in December like 9th or 10th. The 20th didn’t work for me either but enjoying a solstice program with friends sounds perfect to me.
We have been walking the same paths! Newport has more 17th and 18th century buildings than any city in America. I lived in one of them when I was a teen.
And the British destroyed Almost half of the town during the war. Imagine how wonderful it would be if all those buildings were there. In Newport also has the oldest synagogue in the United States
I think this synagogue must have been where Washington spoke, as Dr. Richardson discussed in her post about freedom of religion. Imagine standing on the floorboards where Pres. Washington stood!
And do not miss the statue of Rochambeau in Newport Harbor!
Yes, it does! As for the buildings, we owe a debt of gratitude to Doris Duke, whose Preservation Society restored many of those old homes.
Yes, I haven't walked the 'Freedom Trail' in beantown since I was a kid. We are rich in history here. In my town of Scituate we are rehabbing the ancestral home of Abe Lincoln. You may enjoy a visit.
I always enjoy going to Situate, and had some sailor friends who kept their boat in the harbor there and lived there.
Pam, you have spoken about places I visited when living in MA as a child. Even at a young age, I could feel the significance in my life of every place I saw. I'm sure it would have the same effect today. Thanks for the memory reminder.
I recommend a visit to the grave of Captain Daniel Shays in Union Cemetery, West Lake Road, Route 256s Scottsburg, Livingston County, NY. I was there in 2017 to pay my respects. I posted one of the photos on Find a Grave which shows he was a Minuteman in 1775. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=946&PIpi=144361206
Here are two paragraphs of a Memo I am drafting to We the Citizens of the United States. This follows where Professor HCR left off tonight. The American Revolutionary War officially ended with The Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783. The war was followed by a debt crisis.
In Massachusetts farmers like War hero Captain Daniel Shays, a Minute Man who served under George Washington at the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga, the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill, both Battles of Saratoga, and later the Battle of Stony Point was being, as were many heroes like him, forced into financial ruin from high taxes, creditors and the courts which were sentencing people to debtors' prisons. A rebellion resulted and Captain Shays led armed groups to close courthouses from August 1786 to February 1787 thus stopping the foreclosures of farms. The United States government being under the Articles of Confederation had no standing army to help Massachusetts quash Shays’ Rebellion. Urgently, as the snow melted several months later in May, a Constitutional Convention was called in Philadelphia which framed our current Constitution. On September 17, 1787, after the signing of the Constitution of the United States, framed with the same Separation of Powers as the Massachusetts Constitution, as delegates were leaving Independence Hall, Elizabeth W. Powel asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" He replied, "A republic, if you can keep it,". Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution states “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,...” This is known as the “Guarantee Clause.” Thus not only is the Federal government a Republic but it is mandated to assure every state within the Union will maintain a "Republican Form of Government". A republic is a state in which power is held by the people (rather than a monarch, dictator, or tyrant) who through a democracy elect representatives to make laws, and which the equal rights of individual persons are secured against a majority vote by a Constitution; the supreme law of the land. The Constitution was ratified by the States in 1788 allowing the new government to began on March 4, 1789. The preamble to the Constitution states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility,...” The “domestic Tranquility” part was assured by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, which states the “...President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States,...” The persons among “We the People” who were allowed to vote were only a narrow subset of the States; white landowning adult males. To many persons today these facts, and many more not mentioned here, include contradictions and are self-evident hard truths. Yet still, our independence was based upon the revolutionary and evolving truths we hold to be self-evident which along with our freedom and independence has de facto become all individual persons are endowed with equal non-transferable rights. Yet as Benjamin Franklin said, we have "A republic, if you can keep it,".
Two years after it’s decision in Citizens United the Roberts Court handed down Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013) (hereinafter, Shelby County) which holds Sec. 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (1965) is unconstitutional arguing the "preclearance" requirement for voting law changes was outdated. Thus holding Sec. 4(b) unconstitutional makes Section 5 inoperable. Shelby County resulted in a rapid number of those States gerrymandering voter district boundaries which decreased the number of Representatives elected by African Americans to the House of Representatives and in State legislatures. In 2019, the Roberts Court went further in Rucho v. Common Cause, 588 U.S. 684, ruling that while partisan gerrymandering may be "incompatible with democratic principles", the federal courts cannot review such allegations, as they present political questions outside the jurisdiction of federal courts thus leaving the issue to state courts and legislatures. Since democratic principles are the core of a Republican Form of Government, which the Federal government is Constitutionally mandated by the Guarantee Clause to assure to every State, then the Roberts Court might have ordered the parties to brief the court as a matter under the Constitution. It surely was wrong to create another Court Doctrine that Federal Courts have no jurisdiction over such gerrymandering thereby again ignoring the truths we hold to be self evident, that governments are instituted to secure equal rights; including not having your vote intentionally neutralized. Finally, the Roberts Court is currently considering whether a Louisiana case focused on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is constitutional. The Court is expected to hold that drawing district boundaries based on race, even to correct past discrimination, is unconstitutional. This would make gerrymandering the law of the land. Gerrymandering creates an unstable pendulum swing back and forth of frequent & untried changes in laws and politics every time a different political party or group gains power in a State Legislature. We must inform all Citizens we need to amend the Constitution and, among other issues, require strict restrictions on the frequency of, and the method used, by States Legislatures when redistricting the boundaries for Congressional Representative districts and State Legislatures.
Thank You, Albert. I think. Even more dire than I had allowed myself too believe. We must "keep it."
Yes, and at all cost.
I passed through Pelham taking a granddaughter to UMass Amherst 3 years ago, telling her what I knew and thought of Shays who had a farm a couple miles away across part of Quabbin Reservoir. I had lived just 13 miles south of Amherst where Shays forces had apparently regrouped after the January raid on the Springfield Amory before fleeing through Pelham, 20 miles NE to Petersham where state militia caught up to, and surprised them, ending most of the resistance (and, to me, sparking the creation of the Constitution that was signed just over 8-1/2 months later.
I didn't know or appreciate the history of the area back in my high school years and it still seems so unassuming passing through all the areas that Shays passed through during that episode, all within 20 to 30 miles of each other.
Lucky granddaughter. What a great tour it would be to follow that area where Shays skirmishes and attacks occurred if given by someone with an eye on the politics as well as the history of those times. By the way, one of the lectures I attended it was put forth that maybe one of the reasons for the powers of Congress to include establishing Post offices and "post roads" in Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution, was also so the Commander in Chief to be able to deliver troops to your front door as quickly as sending a letter in the mail. Then the lecturer added a note that President Ike, also a former General like Washington, championing and signing the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Anyway, that is exactly what Trump is doing now and using the Interstates to do so.
And as a knowledgeable person, do you know where the “turnpike” moniker came from? There are a lot of them in the Boston/Massachusetts area.
I'm assuming the oldest answer goes back to 1420 as a piked barrier for mostly defense but later became more like a toll road control. I used to be upset that the I-90 (Mass Turnpike) never became free after the construction bonds were paid off but am rather relieved that the tolls have seemed to have stayed much lower than the inflation rate of almost everything else.
There seems to always be some problems with politically related routing and construction (beyond purely money related issues), but, like the transcontinental railroads, we end up with some worldclass useful infrastructure that benefits many more than just the financiers and taxpayers that got them built (far beyond what just private profiteers would want to provide).
To me the best example of public infrastructure is the Tennessee Valley Authority that provided navigation, flood control, and power generation physically throughout 8 states but benefiting our whole country (as in providing massive power for the Oak Ridge project.
I like the stories of roads like US-20 and the Erie Canal that really changed our ability to expand west (and keep the Canadian border a bit further north than it would have been without the NY state funded Erie Canal.
In looking up Canals as the privately funded way to improve the usefulness of the rivers that were the best natural infrastructure for transportation, I found out the first one was in South Hadley Falls, about a mile from where I graduated from high school (chartered the same year as construction of the White House, and my daughter's house were started).
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_turnpikes_and_canals_in_the_United_States
"...Canal companies had also been chartered in the states, and like turnpikes these early canals were constructed, owned, and operated by private joint-stock companies. The first to complete this work was the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Connecticut River, which was chartered on February 23, 1792 with the signature of Governor John Hancock..."
What an excellent reply!.
I have no idea what it looks like; can't recall. I live in Calif. It would seem to me it e should be something like a Liberty Pole. Do you know what it is and why?
Unfortunately my "knowledge" is more like a few concepts of Cliff Notes
It is my experience that it is not the knowledge among any family member but more the inspiration given. For example, 30 years ago when my first granddaughter was a little girl I worked in Construction and read a little about American history and some edited books on Supreme Court opinions. She and I had many conversations. She now teaches history in high school with a degree from U.C. Berkeley and is working on a M.A. degree.
I agree on the inspiration, no matter how much or little knowledge can be absorbed in my case.
Looking back at my previous comment, I should have said my "knowledge" about Shays would be more like a few concepts derived from faulty AI versions of Cliff Notes I would consider better sources.
I appreciated his actions during the Revolution but would have been more likely in the state militia opposing his forces at the Springfield Armory. Though I tend to think his cause was more justified than the Jan 6 crowd, I could never imagine allowing the armory t be taken by force. I am so glad, though, that in the end, great reforms were made in the form of a great start on a Constitution that was always intended to be able to better adapt to the times, almost always getting closer to the ideals o the Declaration of Independence.
No thanks to Shay we have the Second Amendment and the confusion we have over the wording today.
Albert, this long, meditative piece from you prompts one Q from me.
Will Donald kill himself as the DOJ's Epstein files get released? Will he be gone in the next 24 hours?
Suicide? Never, he's a narcissist unable to feel shame or regret.
BTW, I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Phil, I like that thought. But more likely the bully is too much of a coward to give us such a gift. Nor can I see him taking a Nixon exit. He still thinks he can lie his way out of any mess. I hope I am wrong.
So far it has worked very well for him throughout his entire life. He hoodwinked enough Americans to re-elect him to the presidency even after the insurrection, the felony convictions, stealing government records…and now has the fealty of republicans in congress and most of the Supreme Court, and many of the billionaire class, and the capitulation of universities, law firms, and corporations.
All true Deborah. I'm impatiently awaiting his fall.
A damn cult. Some starstruck, others fear people different than themselves, and then the ones who play them all for the fools they are, the cult of money who are willing to throw the Constitution under the bus for a dime.
Let’s try to remember he’s just the rodeo clown and serves at the will of the Heritage Foundation.
Reagan II.
His mind will never let go of his body that easily. He loves himself beyond anything, God included.
I believe he believes in a God, but I also believe he believes he is that God.
Not a chance.
Exactly
The Epstein focus just gives trumpy more attention which is what he loves, bad or good, it doesn’t matter. So long as you are giving him attention, you are fueling his fire. Think about that. I don’t want him to die, i want him to fade away as the irrelevant POS that he is. Quit talking about it, he will never face consequences while in office, and once he is gone who cares!
Could have told you FOJ wouldn’t release all the files. Only the ones mentioning Clinton.
Mary Trump had said that if he thinks he's going down, he'll try to take everyone else with him.
Iowa currently requires redistricting by computer. What do you think of that idea?
I think it is great. California also requires that. Voters however changed it to respond to Texas making a change. Now the Supreme Court may step in as they just did saying Texas is ok because they claim to have done it to stop discriminating on the bases of race or color. Which is a lie like most of the Roberts court opinions. I expect they will stop California saying we are changing to give people of color a bigger say. Because we have a corporatist fascist majority on the court, and because computer programs may be different among the states, it is my opinion we must amend the constitution such to stop them from swinging one way here but another way there. I have been trying to edit an idea to fit that mold. Below is my work in progress. Please feel free to say what you think of it. I am not perfect and enjoy input to open my eyes. One helpful person said I need to speak with someone on the board that oversees California's district lines. My Thanks.
"A principle of one person, one vote in local democracies being necessary for the trust of the citizenry in the Government of the United States and of every State, electoral redistricting of the districts for Representatives and all single-member electoral districts of the States shall be apportioned among the States according to the States respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, and the district boundaries shall be computer-generated one-time forthwith following the publication of every official decennial census of the United States with each district to be as nearly as practicable to have equal population of persons, and all such district boundaries within the State’s borders to be drawn parallel to the lines of the Geographic coordinate system with a maximum of four boundaries for each district, and all boundary lines are to be uninterrupted from State border to State border, and vertical boundary lines must be equally spaced within the State’s borders, and in the case of an odd number of districts the most northern horizontal boundary line shall be the termination point for all vertical boundary lines."
Splendid essay Al. Thank you.
My Thanks. It is maybe 10% of the Memo I am drafting in support of the model Amendment I am also drafting.
Has the Trump regime had a chance to white wash the museum? If not, they will.
I wondered about that, too. The Museum of the American Revolution is a private non-profit, so…fingers crossed for them. Other exhibits around Independence Hall are run by the National Park Service, and those exhibits are currently quite frank about slavery and other civil/human rights abuses, not to mention the checks and balances our three branches of government are supposed to have upon each other. If I could post photos here, I would, as it was a surreal experience. It’s hard to imagine they’ll be the same by July. Since October 2024, I’ve been visiting as many early American historical sites as I can in NY, DC (three trips in a year), Cape Cod, Boston, Newport, Philly — to see them before they are stripped of real meaning.
Agree it is an excellent museum
Will do!
Jack Smith is a hero.
Indeed he is – a worthy exemplar of a citizen who will not be cowed.
💙💙💙
I find it appalling that Dr. Fauci and Jack Smith get so much hate from the maga faithful. I can’t understand how they’re so entrenched in their beliefs that they can’t see goodness.
Propaganda works.
It sure does. They don’t know what integrity is anymore. I have first hand experience and it really gets to me.
He’s a forgotten hero… why do you people have to pin your hopes on ancient history instead of today instead of reality
Thank you so much for bringing our attention back to what is meaningful - right now in each of our lives...... so familiar you would think we didn't need a rereading of history....but we do.
Familiarity can get in the way of curiosity, and therefore better understanding. I think science and just plain "horse sense" profits by endless reexamination.
Yes, Jean: ". . . you would think we didn't need a rereading of history....but we do."
History shows reverberations. Old hurts may hide, bide their potency, but watch what's coming around corners we take for granted.
One of the reasons I hate testing so is its relentless enthroning of linearity's conceits -- that life proceed chronologically always, ever in simpleton 1-2-3 causality.
These conceits reward elites who know nothing of human beings (or landscapes, natural environments). They allow no room for good questions -- those outside the one-correct-answer-only from the elites' given Mickey Mouse A)-B)-C)-or-D) only.
I agree Phil. When it comes to anything trying to anticipate human behavior, poll testing is not science. And neither is AI.
When our boys waded ashore on D-Day on the Normandy beaches, they were not risking their lives to combat fascism abroad only to see it being rolled out at home.
My mother's brother, my uncle, was 19 years old when he was killed in France fighting the Nazis. His photograph was always on our fireplace mantle to remind us of his sacrifice. We are sickened to see what is happening today.
I played in several concert bands with a short, unassuming man who played clarinet. He was a parachute platoon leader who jumped onto Omaha Beach on D-Day. He would be so angry at what is happening today.
🥺
And here we are at another turning point., 250 years later. Hope for the people to rise. For we cannot give up. 🇺🇸🚣♂️
Of course earlier Americans had it rougher than we do now.
Not to downplay the continued criminality, corruption, lies, cover-up, and more lies from Donald.
But who could have been in the shoes of those men (if they had footwear) just prior to Trenton and Princeton? Or in those of union armies prior to Vicksburg and Gettysburg?
So thanks to Heather not just for that reminder, but for standing as a rallying point for all of us who can encourage each other, from the individual personalities who encourage individual life in others to the spreadsheets of Megan R., for whom many are grateful at access to many different public officials.
Phil, and as we remember those who came before us, it is good to remember that they were not perfect, each had their flaws, but did great things anyway. Knowing that can help people who feel lost in the current Trumpian insanity. You don't have to be perfect to make a positive difference; you must be willing to try, to do your part of the whole, and work together with others to move us forward.
All valuable reminders, Ruth.
Even though we are all so imperfect, there are true heroes.
Mirror? ! George Dan said it best that I didn’t come for me. Read up his post non-political not biased just fact
I love these historical reminders, Phil. With all of my comforts, I can be at least as strong as these principled people.
Heather, Thank you for reminding us that we cannot give up. We must keep rising up to save our Constitution and our country. We cannot allow fascism to take over.
I think it's time for American Revolution 2.0. We are no longer represented, we are being manipulated and ruled by a criminal enterprise that is raping and pillaging our country out from under us. When will we decide enough is enough and spend everyday in the streets until this regime crumbles...
They’ll shoot us down like rabbits.
While true patriots still possess guns?
They’re not the only ones… and who exactly are the patriots?
Dr Richardson looked and sounded tired on her live call last night. She needs help. She can't fight this war alone. I decided to up my game.
I noticed that too…we’re all tired. I hope she gets some rest in the next couple of weeks.
My heart has a special place for Thomas Paine and The American Crisis. My 11th grade English students learned about aphorisms through this amazing piece, and their history classes reinforced the time period and our struggles as a nation to become independent.
Paine's words ring true today, and we must refuse to give up or give in. We fought too long and too hard for this nation, and our triumph has been and will be glorious. Stay strong.
I can remember Strunk and White decades ago in "The Elements of Style" devoting an entire paragraph to hashing out alternative introductions to Paine's pamphlet. 'Soulwise, these are trying times,' etc. Nope, doesn't do it. With great care, they explained the value of the present, active tense to convey meaning and emphasis --- "these are the times that try men's souls." No doubt readers in 1776-77 felt the same.
Thank you Virginia. Our nation, and the world, deserve such teachers as you. As for me, I hadn't heard the name Thomas Paine until I joined my college roommate in watching Meeting of Minds, on a small black and white television, on PBS, a show written, produced and hosted by Steve Allen. It was a series of historical dramas presented in a talk format. On one episode Thomas Paine was portrayed by one of four actors having an imaginary discussion. This encouraged me to go to the college library and check out books about the writings by Paine. This was in 1976 or 1977. It changed my life. Not just regarding my patriotism, but also in my thinking about religion. Thank you for inspiring your students.
✊ right on virginia lambert
"The harder the conflict....
the more glorious the triumph".
THAT is what keeps me going!
THAT is the day America yearns for.
Thank you, Heather! Merry Christmas to you ALL!
And likewise! We will persevere through this Nightmare Before Christmas....
https://sylvestercat.substack.com/p/a-nightmare-before-christmas
Magnificent and inspiring column, as we always expect from you and are never dissatisfied!
HCR - I ❤️ your variety of mini interviews and I luv tonite’s ‘Summer Soldier’ insert/video. Do you think redoing the current Republican party into a newer, more ethical PAINE RED political party, and call them ‘Patriots’ could replace the soiled MAGA REPUBLICANS? And bring on the Independents too!
When chump stole the name of the Republican Party, he stole their soul. Take it back.
Just scrap it.
Thank you for the enouraging reminder dear professor. Our months ahead are fraught as well and we must all pull together or all perish as could have been our fate back then.
All hang together.
Thank you Ben Franklin😉
Who better than HCR to echo the rallying cry of our nascent nation, today, faced with a man who would be king.
Thank you, Professor Richardson.
Heather Cox Richardson. thank you so much for this fine article tonight! It reminds me of a book I especially appreciated a few years ago and should reread. It is “Thomas Jefferson’s Second Father”. In it I started studying names and discovered people in my direct family line.
At times when we experience challenges here, the encouragement from reading of that time period seems even stronger than usual, and whether or not we realize the fact, many of us probably or possibly are descended from some of the people who put so much of their lives into making our country what it became. There have been many more brave people in many times in our history, both here and elsewhere. Even if we have family who came later, the appreciation from reading historical non-fiction is such an uplifting treat. So is reading the stories of the brave people who vsme at any time. Everybody has a valuable story.
I appreciate that you share so much, HCR, to bring it strongly near and dear in our hearts and minds. #HOLDFAST
Though it is not just the one egomaniacal man. We have watched to public's aggregate power depreciate for decades, and now we have to pull it back.
Exactly - this is a criminal enterprise in the republikkkan party, encompassing the supreme court members, the senate and congress members as well as the president and his minions. This has been planned for at least 50 yrs to take over and take down our country for money and power. When will we decide to stop it...
Remarkable historical sermon applies to now. Do not lose heart, but fight. Incredible insight from a really good writer who knows history.
Thomas Paine wrote of King George what can also be said today of Trump and his toadies: “I should suffer the misery of devils,were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish,stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man…who at the last day shall be shrieking to the rocks and mountains to cover him and fleeing in terror from the orphan, the widow, and the slain of America.” NO KINGS OR COURTIERS IN A FREE AMERICA.
Well remembered. Made me smile and laugh. So sad, though.
2025:
These are the times that try all person's souls even a custodian at Brown university who made several critical factual observations that led to the perpetrator of the Brown & related MIT University Professor's murders.
The Perp killed himself in a storage unit rented in November in Salem, New Hampshire as multiple agencies Brown, local, several state & federal authorities closed in.
Ever true.
Me too.
Salem, New Hampshire
Thank you. The 35 page application for a search warrant should be available shortly.