On June 3, 2021, President Biden vowed to combat international corruption in order to protect democracy. [C]orruption threatens United States national security, economic equity, global antipoverty and development efforts, and democracy itself,” he said. “[B]y effectively preventing and countering corruption and demonstrating the advantages of transparent and accountable governance, we can secure a critical advantage for the United States and other democracies.”
I am in the field of psychology, and I want to nudge the focus of the perception of the type of power an authoritarian leader has over their followers. It is a form of identity grooming, extended to groups that are hungry for a positive self-identity. The self-identity offered by the authoritarian leader to their followers quickly gives them the status of being favored by a powerful person or party, of being special, and of being right. It is an intensely experienced sudden elevation of their perceived status, and contributes to their intense loyalty. They have not experienced such importance, and high regard, in their lives previously. That the extension of this positive identity is manipulative, dangerous and untrue is not visible to those who have embraced it until something happens to reveal the dishonesty of their leader. And even then, for the loyal followers, the betrayal of their loyalty is hard for them to believe. It is important to recognize, that the strong emotional bonds the follower has are not only to the leader, but also to the positive self-identity which the manipulative leader bestowed on them.
'President Trump’s legacy of corruption, four years and 3,700 conflicts of interest later'
'Here’s what you need to know:'
'As president, Donald Trump has flouted all kinds of norms, starting with his decision not to divest from his business interests while in office. That set the stage for an administration marked by self-interest, profiteering at the highest levels and more than 3,700 conflicts of interest.' (CREW)
'corruption, .. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.' (Britannica).
“We're now working within the framework of a Big Lie .. so long as we're in that framework of a Big Lie, we can expect one of the parties to try to rig the system."
'Like other fascist and fake populist movements, Trumpism draws its power and a type of life force from the slavish loyalty of Trump's followers. Normal politics is fundamentally ill-equipped to grapple with fascism and its commands to ignore reality in deference to the Great Leader, the elevation of that leader into a type of God and extension of the self, and its collective celebration of narcissism and other anti-social behavior including violence and hatred. Ultimately, Trumpism is a cult movement: If Trump and other leaders are the brain and the arms, Trump's followers serve as a hammer meant to smash multiracial democracy.' (Historian, Timothy Snyder) Link is 2nd from last.
"Nothing remotely compares to this," said Akhil Amar of Yale Law School, who is among the most-cited constitutional scholars in the country. "His actions since the election have threatened the very existence of our constitutional democracy. This looms large in the history of not just this administration, but the history of America. This is what history will remember most harshly."(CNN) Link below is the last.
Delighted to see Janet Yellen and Samantha Power working together on the summit on saving democracy -- two powerhouses and women of vision!
And while mentioning exemplary superstars, I must pay tribute to the all-encompassing presence of a third powerhouse -- our own HCR -- who fearlessly provides us with inestimable information, insights, and hope on a daily basis. Thank you, Heather, for another invaluable letter❣️
Heather, what a powerful letter! gratitude to you!
It seems that someone in the Biden administration has been reading Sarah Chayes on corruption, and that is refreshing, to say the least. Her two texts on corruption are not to be missed reads. And high time to address local, endemic corruption... Cheers to Yellen and Power for their integrity. Biden can indeed bring down Putin with sanctions and global limitations to the point of crashing the economy of his very over-extended country.
So thankful to have Devin Nunes out of congress! I follow his cow on social media. What a trip. He would not have been re-elected.
Cheers for Matthews and Short, who are speaking truth to power and may change the world in their efforts.
The idjt is unable to refrain from telling all. Whether the Department of justice will act on his true confessions is yet another matter.
May the DOJ prevail against Texass, where the attorney general is a tool in the arsenal of the idjts. Despair at the thought of such a suit moving to the ideologically corrupt supremes...
May our congresscritters have the courage to do what it takes to pass the bills paving the way toward actual voting rights.
Blessings upon you, Heather, for your truth-telling in the face of oppression, autocracy, and fascism. You know, perhaps as few others, the consequences for such brave actions should the fascists gain power. You have my pagan prayers and unconditional positive regard.
Alexis de Tocqueville: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
Democrats suffer from a different failure of imagination. They regularly sound the alarm about the threat to democracy, but it is one of many alarms, along with those over the pandemic, child care, health care, criminal justice, guns, climate change. All of these deserve urgent attention, but they can’t be equally urgent. Biden has spent far less of his political capital on saving democracy than on passing an infrastructure bill. According to a Grinnell College poll in October, only 35 percent of Democrats believe that American democracy faces a “major threat.” The figure is twice as large for Republicans—whose belief in a major threat is the threat. Delusion about the danger prevails in both parties.
Devin Nunes is going to run Trump's new media company; probably right into the ground. When the most important attribute of one's key personnel is unflinching, unthinking fealty to the boss, who will tell him only what he wants to hear, failure is all but guaranteed. Trump's trail of bankruptcies are evidence.
Nunes is a political hack. He operated a dairy farm in California, but a career change to politician indicates he probably wasn't much of a farmer. I know a few farmers. No way are they leaving the farm. They'll stay with their livestock and orchards and kvetch about "goddamned politicians", but they prefer to shovel only one kind of manure.
Nunes has traced a career descent from "farmer" to Republican hack to Trump toady. It's good he's leaving Congress. I bet his cows don't miss him much either.
How many "newsletters" are filled with so much critical concentrated and cohesive content that you keep re-reading it to be sure you have digested it all? Wow. This one is loaded. And it's structure weaves the tale beautifully. Artfully. Just wow. Powerful facts and hope for justice. And just plain progress after we have plodded through poop for years.
Per AG Merrick Garland's 12/6 Statement, the DOJ lawsuit against the state of Texas is based on Section II of the Voting Rights Act basically a cocification of the 14th Amendment & cannot be overturned by a 6-3 SCOTUS. Texas' "redisricting" is a direct attack on millions of Texas' Voters.
Lots happened today! Rubin is correct. The United States has to come to strong terms of being able to handle its own craziness before we try to influence other nations. I do, however, understand that Biden wants to re-create our standing in the world by having this summit. It isn’t a bad idea but why can’t we demonstrate that we will begin indicting the big players? TFG has just perjured himself over and over again enough to be imprisoned. These others like Bannon and Clark who plead the “Fifth” after the Special Committee have found many improprieties, is an absolute joke. Democracy is in peril.
I hope the military top brass take the Matthews (DC national guard) memo seriously. If they do (and if their reputation as honorable patriots reflects reality, they will), the careers of Michael Flynn and Walter Piatt will be toast.
If you haven’t read Barton Hellman’s piece in the Atlantic, it’s worth the time, for a clear overview of how tfg is rigging the system to throw the next election for himself. The urgency is growing.
Dr. Richardson, thank you. The first thing I do, even before I make my coffee, is to look for your post. Over here in Germany, the time diff is 6 hours, and this morning the "news," which you bring together along with your sources, makes it possible for me to find my way through the mostly horrible news of nearly every day.
I had a mini breakdown yesterday as I worked on the book I’m writing. It’s a follow up on former gifted children who are now gifted adults. I started to do interviews with the subjects in 2014. Imagine how much we’ve all changed in that time! I had no idea that I had tons of racist assumptions. I kept stepping back while writing because as I learned, and as my understanding and views evolved, I needed to tweak and alter so much of what I was writing about. Yesterday was particularly hard because I’d created a category of school types back in the early 2000s to help parents know which types would and wouldn’t fit their gifted children’s needs well. As I was editing my review of school types, I realized the whole thing was underlaid with racist roots - both schools themselves and in myself. There are no good reasons why all schools can’t be great! Systemic racism and soft pervasive racism had been at work all along! And, I realized that I’d broken through finally on the erroneous view that most poor people (of any race culture, whatever) are poor because they were likely not smart enough to learn the skills our society values and pays highly for. The positive side of my view (I like to think) was that pay and standard of living shouldn’t be based on intellect at all and we needed a social safety net that guaranteed a good quality of life as a baseline for everyone. It hadn’t occurred to that entire racial groups had all these huge barriers in their lives. The sad, bad side of my view was that I did believe those differences in group IQs and the related poverty and struggles. I have come so far in the last 7 years that I wondered how I could help others see all the “aha lights” 💡) I am finally seeing. There were many inputs that include NPR (where I learned about red lining) and recommended to me books and book club selections. What only occurred to me yesterday, though, is that LFAA, Heather’s steady diet around such subjects in an historical context for the two years I’ve been reading her work are probably at the core of my intellectual actions and activism as I looked more and more for the truth. And all of you. It’s happened to more than just me. Isn’t it great? I am just so darned grateful to you all!
I am in the field of psychology, and I want to nudge the focus of the perception of the type of power an authoritarian leader has over their followers. It is a form of identity grooming, extended to groups that are hungry for a positive self-identity. The self-identity offered by the authoritarian leader to their followers quickly gives them the status of being favored by a powerful person or party, of being special, and of being right. It is an intensely experienced sudden elevation of their perceived status, and contributes to their intense loyalty. They have not experienced such importance, and high regard, in their lives previously. That the extension of this positive identity is manipulative, dangerous and untrue is not visible to those who have embraced it until something happens to reveal the dishonesty of their leader. And even then, for the loyal followers, the betrayal of their loyalty is hard for them to believe. It is important to recognize, that the strong emotional bonds the follower has are not only to the leader, but also to the positive self-identity which the manipulative leader bestowed on them.
'President Trump’s legacy of corruption, four years and 3,700 conflicts of interest later'
'Here’s what you need to know:'
'As president, Donald Trump has flouted all kinds of norms, starting with his decision not to divest from his business interests while in office. That set the stage for an administration marked by self-interest, profiteering at the highest levels and more than 3,700 conflicts of interest.' (CREW)
'corruption, .. It exists where there is community indifference or a lack of enforcement policies.' (Britannica).
“We're now working within the framework of a Big Lie .. so long as we're in that framework of a Big Lie, we can expect one of the parties to try to rig the system."
'Like other fascist and fake populist movements, Trumpism draws its power and a type of life force from the slavish loyalty of Trump's followers. Normal politics is fundamentally ill-equipped to grapple with fascism and its commands to ignore reality in deference to the Great Leader, the elevation of that leader into a type of God and extension of the self, and its collective celebration of narcissism and other anti-social behavior including violence and hatred. Ultimately, Trumpism is a cult movement: If Trump and other leaders are the brain and the arms, Trump's followers serve as a hammer meant to smash multiracial democracy.' (Historian, Timothy Snyder) Link is 2nd from last.
"Nothing remotely compares to this," said Akhil Amar of Yale Law School, who is among the most-cited constitutional scholars in the country. "His actions since the election have threatened the very existence of our constitutional democracy. This looms large in the history of not just this administration, but the history of America. This is what history will remember most harshly."(CNN) Link below is the last.
https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/president-trump-legacy-corruption-3700-conflicts-interest/
https://www.salon.com/2021/07/19/dr-john-gartner-on-america-after-trump-dystopian-science-fiction--is-actually-happening/
https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/24/politics/trump-worst-abuses-of-power/index.html
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me."
-Emily Dickenson
Slowly but surely grind the wheels of justice. I feel hopeful...
Thank you, Dr. Heather! Rest well. 💜
Delighted to see Janet Yellen and Samantha Power working together on the summit on saving democracy -- two powerhouses and women of vision!
And while mentioning exemplary superstars, I must pay tribute to the all-encompassing presence of a third powerhouse -- our own HCR -- who fearlessly provides us with inestimable information, insights, and hope on a daily basis. Thank you, Heather, for another invaluable letter❣️
Heather, what a powerful letter! gratitude to you!
It seems that someone in the Biden administration has been reading Sarah Chayes on corruption, and that is refreshing, to say the least. Her two texts on corruption are not to be missed reads. And high time to address local, endemic corruption... Cheers to Yellen and Power for their integrity. Biden can indeed bring down Putin with sanctions and global limitations to the point of crashing the economy of his very over-extended country.
So thankful to have Devin Nunes out of congress! I follow his cow on social media. What a trip. He would not have been re-elected.
Cheers for Matthews and Short, who are speaking truth to power and may change the world in their efforts.
The idjt is unable to refrain from telling all. Whether the Department of justice will act on his true confessions is yet another matter.
May the DOJ prevail against Texass, where the attorney general is a tool in the arsenal of the idjts. Despair at the thought of such a suit moving to the ideologically corrupt supremes...
May our congresscritters have the courage to do what it takes to pass the bills paving the way toward actual voting rights.
Blessings upon you, Heather, for your truth-telling in the face of oppression, autocracy, and fascism. You know, perhaps as few others, the consequences for such brave actions should the fascists gain power. You have my pagan prayers and unconditional positive regard.
Alexis de Tocqueville: “The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
From "Are We Doomed" in the Atlantic:
Democrats suffer from a different failure of imagination. They regularly sound the alarm about the threat to democracy, but it is one of many alarms, along with those over the pandemic, child care, health care, criminal justice, guns, climate change. All of these deserve urgent attention, but they can’t be equally urgent. Biden has spent far less of his political capital on saving democracy than on passing an infrastructure bill. According to a Grinnell College poll in October, only 35 percent of Democrats believe that American democracy faces a “major threat.” The figure is twice as large for Republicans—whose belief in a major threat is the threat. Delusion about the danger prevails in both parties.
Devin Nunes is going to run Trump's new media company; probably right into the ground. When the most important attribute of one's key personnel is unflinching, unthinking fealty to the boss, who will tell him only what he wants to hear, failure is all but guaranteed. Trump's trail of bankruptcies are evidence.
Nunes is a political hack. He operated a dairy farm in California, but a career change to politician indicates he probably wasn't much of a farmer. I know a few farmers. No way are they leaving the farm. They'll stay with their livestock and orchards and kvetch about "goddamned politicians", but they prefer to shovel only one kind of manure.
Nunes has traced a career descent from "farmer" to Republican hack to Trump toady. It's good he's leaving Congress. I bet his cows don't miss him much either.
How many "newsletters" are filled with so much critical concentrated and cohesive content that you keep re-reading it to be sure you have digested it all? Wow. This one is loaded. And it's structure weaves the tale beautifully. Artfully. Just wow. Powerful facts and hope for justice. And just plain progress after we have plodded through poop for years.
Twp must-read's in the new Atlantic issue:
Trump's Coup Has Already Begun
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/
Are We Doomed?
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/imagine-death-american-democracy-trump-insurrection/620841/
Per AG Merrick Garland's 12/6 Statement, the DOJ lawsuit against the state of Texas is based on Section II of the Voting Rights Act basically a cocification of the 14th Amendment & cannot be overturned by a 6-3 SCOTUS. Texas' "redisricting" is a direct attack on millions of Texas' Voters.
Lots happened today! Rubin is correct. The United States has to come to strong terms of being able to handle its own craziness before we try to influence other nations. I do, however, understand that Biden wants to re-create our standing in the world by having this summit. It isn’t a bad idea but why can’t we demonstrate that we will begin indicting the big players? TFG has just perjured himself over and over again enough to be imprisoned. These others like Bannon and Clark who plead the “Fifth” after the Special Committee have found many improprieties, is an absolute joke. Democracy is in peril.
I hope the military top brass take the Matthews (DC national guard) memo seriously. If they do (and if their reputation as honorable patriots reflects reality, they will), the careers of Michael Flynn and Walter Piatt will be toast.
If you haven’t read Barton Hellman’s piece in the Atlantic, it’s worth the time, for a clear overview of how tfg is rigging the system to throw the next election for himself. The urgency is growing.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/january-6-insurrection-trump-coup-2024-election/620843/
Dr. Richardson, thank you. The first thing I do, even before I make my coffee, is to look for your post. Over here in Germany, the time diff is 6 hours, and this morning the "news," which you bring together along with your sources, makes it possible for me to find my way through the mostly horrible news of nearly every day.
I had a mini breakdown yesterday as I worked on the book I’m writing. It’s a follow up on former gifted children who are now gifted adults. I started to do interviews with the subjects in 2014. Imagine how much we’ve all changed in that time! I had no idea that I had tons of racist assumptions. I kept stepping back while writing because as I learned, and as my understanding and views evolved, I needed to tweak and alter so much of what I was writing about. Yesterday was particularly hard because I’d created a category of school types back in the early 2000s to help parents know which types would and wouldn’t fit their gifted children’s needs well. As I was editing my review of school types, I realized the whole thing was underlaid with racist roots - both schools themselves and in myself. There are no good reasons why all schools can’t be great! Systemic racism and soft pervasive racism had been at work all along! And, I realized that I’d broken through finally on the erroneous view that most poor people (of any race culture, whatever) are poor because they were likely not smart enough to learn the skills our society values and pays highly for. The positive side of my view (I like to think) was that pay and standard of living shouldn’t be based on intellect at all and we needed a social safety net that guaranteed a good quality of life as a baseline for everyone. It hadn’t occurred to that entire racial groups had all these huge barriers in their lives. The sad, bad side of my view was that I did believe those differences in group IQs and the related poverty and struggles. I have come so far in the last 7 years that I wondered how I could help others see all the “aha lights” 💡) I am finally seeing. There were many inputs that include NPR (where I learned about red lining) and recommended to me books and book club selections. What only occurred to me yesterday, though, is that LFAA, Heather’s steady diet around such subjects in an historical context for the two years I’ve been reading her work are probably at the core of my intellectual actions and activism as I looked more and more for the truth. And all of you. It’s happened to more than just me. Isn’t it great? I am just so darned grateful to you all!