In the Washington Post today, Marianne LeVine, Isaac Arnsdorf, and Josh Dawsey reported that the Trump camp is eager to get people to stop focusing on Trump’s authoritarian talk, noting that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the presidential candidate was just joking when he said he would be a dictator on the first day of a return to the White House. While the Republican base appears to like Trump’s threats against the people they have come to hate, two Trump advisers told the reporters that “recent stories about his plans for a second term are not viewed as helpful for the general election.”
the times we are in...I am gapemouthed, drop jawed, flabbergasted, and pissed off. The rise of the radical christian right (lower case c on purpose) as evidenced by our purely evil speaker of the house, is beyond the pale. Their sanctimoniously fake piety is worn as the emperor's new clothes, transparent for all to clearly see...and yet. This mf is 3rd in line to the most powerful position on the planet...which, by the way it may not be for long, if these jokers continue to undermine our ability here at home and abroad. There are so few repubes that are worth a damn, that every last one of them needs to be expunged from public life, and any hope of political power and influence. This of course, is pure fantasy...but one can vent. Thank you Dr. Richardson, for keeping us abreast of the times we are in...and continuing to serve as a beacon of light through these darkening and foreboding times.
Funny. Jesus always stuck me as a lefty. Certainly not someone who would beg an RV from a billionaire or try to maximize profits, come hell or high water.
"Jesus always stuck me as a lefty." Let's look at how that worked out for him in the far right, patriarchal, religious society that Jesus lived in.
In the society Jesus was in at the time, a society where if a woman was caught with a man who was not with her husband she was stoned to death (note, nothing happened to the guy she was caught with),
his message of acceptance, not judging, turning the other cheek, valuing differences, and forgiveness was radical in the extreme.
When the Rabbi's of the time, who were also the government, brought a woman to him, "caught in the act of adultery" Jesus took one look, then, looked at the Rabbi's and said: "let him with no sin cast the first stone".
The Rabbi's all turned red, shuffled their feet, looked down at the ground and shuffled away........and off they went.
But Jesus real mistake was to define the "Good Samaritan" because Samaritans were despised by the local society Jesus was in. When he condemned his own society and elevated a Samaritan willing to help someone on the side of the road?
Off to the crucifixion field with him.
So, being a lefty is risky. Right wing societies, as the one Jesus lived in, DO NOT put up with kindness, forgiveness, diversity of thought, acceptance, or differences.
In right wing, religious, societies dominated by bunch of dumb guys?
Better toe the line if you can figure out what it is since the dumb guys running the show really don't know what the line is either.
Every word is Truth, Mike S. Far Right “Christians” abandoned their roots in the Gospels long ago, much in the same way that Jihadists abandoned the teachings of the Koran. In fact, there is little daylight between Christian and Muslim Jihadists.
At least, the MAGA "Christians," who really don't want to follow the commandments to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. I had a person to tell me that he didn't want to hear sermons about loving your neighbor because that was too political. These people don't want to feed the hungry, look after "widows and orphans" (the most vulnerable members of society) or stop selling weapons of war to the civilian population because it's profitable. These people are the party of death, just like the Nazis in the 30's and 40's. So many people died to bring an end to Hitler's murderous regime.
Wealth and property were seen as signs of Godde's approval from the earliest beginnings of religion; it's one of the things the Jesus movement was most adamantly against.
Manifest Destiny developed out of the Doctrine of Discovery.
With all due respect, I am not sure you know what Manifest Destiny means and if you do why you raise it in the context of HCR's newsletter. We don't need useless verbiage here and distraction.
In the comment section of The Washington Post they use /S to designate sarcasm. I've noticed that it isn't used here. I'm not sure if it's a "universally accepted designation or not. I've only seen it there.
Oh yes, loving your neighbor is too political, but let's indulge in a menage a trois on the side while screaming to high heaven about certain books in schools and anyone who defends inclusiveness is a grooming pedophile. I wasn't prepared for the juicy details about Moms for "Liberty" and her husband charged with rape. In general, I believe people who yell the loudest are hiding something. And then there's hubris....the Speaker is the new Moses...spare me. I always refer to today's Rs as the party of death because that is what they are all about. Think of anything you value and be sure that they working to see it die.
I could NOT believe my eyes reading that from Heather! ...but, that was the juicy and disgusting truth. It seems that being a far right goodie goodie causes one to go very very naughty.
In my mind, there is no daylight between fundamentalists of any ilk. They are all true believers who tolerate no deviation from how they interpret things.
Christians have also done some pretty violent acts. I think murder is in the human race's DNA. It's fortunate there was never a gun available to me. I've had my "moments".
Listen to Sam Harris' podcast on the tenets of jihad. Don't confuse YOUR understanding and interpretation of what "serving god " is with another cultures's understanding of that very thing. The podcast is #340 The Bright Line Between Good and Evil.
It seems to me that homicidal, or just plain bullying zealots of whatever variety must be malignant narcissists. How else to explain the conviction (or pose) of supremacy that legitimizes a self-assumed right to coerce or kill others just because they're not in your club. Jesus was definitely making a point by choosing a Samaritan to illustrate a "loving" neighbor.
One of the biggest misogynists in the Bible was Saul/Paul.
If Saul were alive today he would be a Hamas leader. He came after the disciples and anyone that followed Jesus, until God had had enough and struck him blind.
Three days of blindness and it totally changed him into a disciple of Jesus. But, if you read his various letters, he values women as much as the christian nationalists do.
Oh, thank you, Gary. I can’t stand Paul/Saul. And the whole modern Christian religion of all flavors, is based on his letters. Even lovely, uninformed people in weekly Christian Bible study think his mess is the word of Jesus (“but it’s in the Bible!”). I once told my dad that Paul never even met Jesus. “Yes, he did: On the road to Damascus.” This from a beautiful, once-witty, pre-Fox News engineer who also believed the world started ~6,000 years ago.
(Geez, I’m on a tear this morning. No more coffee for me.)
"Those in the Know" know that the universe was created by the FSM in a drunken moment - approximately 5000 years ago. When he awakened (WOKE up :) he was so embarrassed by the mess he had made, that he flew off - never to be heard from again - except at the Olive Garden. It's all there in another Gospel (available at Amazon and book stores everywhere). And just like the "Bible", you can't prove it didn't happen. Also, OUR "prophet" went to college!
I have found The Golden Rule is a nice, non-sectarian creed to live by. No concepts of sin or guilt or tithing to mega church, non-profit corporations. Just simple "Do unto others..." It does not work so well with those who are full of self-hatred and wish to harm themselves or others. That is more about mental health.
Love is always/usually the antidote to hatred, fear-mongering and lies at the feet of listening, diplomacy and right action for the good of the whole.
No middlemen needed to connect with whatever higher entity/source/unified field you might need. Nothing is perfect, but Love might be. I am sticking with John Lennon's "Imagine," however naive.
Still, and this is for the good of the whole mind you, I would LOVE to see a lot more higher-up the chain arses slapped in jail for destructive, brainwashing, narcissistic creeds about their wannabe dictatorial power—many hiding behind the mask of christianity... (I ain't no fool about love...).
Thank you for that. “Love “ has never been very real for me, mixed as it has been in cruelty. So I appreciate the reminder. Yes, Lennon’s Imagine is a theme song, and aspiration. The voice of a man murdered by a narcissist.
Ugh, I didn’t want to go there.
But do unto others is the only creed that matters. And those who want to harm themselves or others… they need help. And maybe love too.
I don't think "Imagine" is naive. Warfare is beyond naive! It presumes to right wrongs by the very violence it seeks to suppress. I have supported the Ukrainian offensive; nevertheless 10,000 have died and not that much ground has been regained. "When will we ever learn?"
"People do not need religion to be good people. In fact, religion is the tool used for cruelty more than anything else."
I'm an atheist yet I disagree. Religion has done both good and evil throughout history. It's highly complex nonsense but has generally been the world's morality teacher and the basis for legal systems that imposed good laws as well as bad. Religion is not divinely inspired but an invention of men who used it to create and maintain social order. Unfortunately, misogyny preceded everything, and for at least 2,000 years women have been oppressed by religion, which is my biggest objection to the very concept of "God."
Thanks, Marycat! "Religion" as developed by humans is very complex with both good and bad components. I feel it's simplistic to put it down entirely, not recognizing the good it has done. As you remind us, religion has given us the basis for human morality which then has been written into some laws for the common good.
Religion has fallen short, imo, regarding women. It has been slow to change as society has changed, whereas it should have been leading the charge. Shame, shame.
"Peace on earth and good will toward all," we would say nowadays. God wants everyone to flourish.
We need ways to sort our own goals and impulses, to examine and converse about our own values and find communities that support this sort of seeking. Religion in one way, but for me that process remains an eternal work in progress, while orthodox faiths seem to believe the important questions were settled long ago. What most troubles me when people claim to have all the answers look down on those who are less sure. Especially when they suppose that they are thus empowered to force their conclusions on everybody else.
If you ever get the chance to read "The Dawn of Everything" cowritten by an archeologist and anthropologist, there is strong speculation that early humans lived in circular villages peacefully together. What's more, while the 'boys' were out hunting, the women built homes and gardens, raised children and generally were tribal leaders, and maybe objects of worship, thus so many early figurines of women. It was that way for centuries.
At LEAST 2,000 years.....right?....Or, only when "civilization" began? I recall when Women's Studies was a new major. I thought it was ridiculous. I have come to realize that there is SO MUCH to learn. We girls took for granted that we had some equality .....Until the SCOTUS outlawed "choice"............WHAT!!!
No, people do not need religion to be good, but I know some people of faith whose religion informs their social conscious and behavior. The most grounded person i know is a person of faith. I do not like painting all people of faith with the same brush. And yes, religion can be used for bad things just as all human institutions can be.
One of my sweetest cousins became a missionary in Papua New Guinea. She lived there, learned their spoken language, taught them to read it by reading Christian teachings. I thought she was depriving them of whatever nature gods they had and it might not work for them. This place has since become riddled with gangs and violence. Not her fault. But, I thought, what a waste of time, effort and energy. (plus she couldn't eat their diet ; it was slugs and stuff.)
I believe Desmond Tutu was a critical element in the peaceful transition from South African Apartheid. MLK and his faith was a historical influence for promoting peace and justice. Such a leader need not be religious, but the compassionate side of religion has motivated many such people, often in the face of vociferous resistance that also claims a religious inspiration. It seems to me that the varieties of religious interpretation range from the humble humanitarian to hubristic depredation.
According to the NT, on the road to Damascus Paul had an epiphany and a complete conversion. A blinding light altered his thinking forever. A study was done several years back with LSD. Remember Timothy Leary? Anyhow, 300 well educated people participated in the study. Their report was that it was the "most profound experience" of their lives. In Paul's time, Syrian rue was the common drug of choice. Jesus criticizes some of the hypocrites claiming that they even tithe rue. (Luke 11:42) So what happened to Paul, if he existed? He had two "trips" on the road to Damascus, and it changed his life and later history.
Thanks Richard, I had never heard of Syrian rue. So Paul may have been on a drug trip. I am going to have to look up Syrian rue because I rued the day, I handled some of the her rue as I am allergic to it. Also once heard Leary talk about LSD (and earned chapel points for it) at Kalamazoo College in the middle 60s.
Michele, I have the study that was reported in a magazine that I subscribe to. It's at least ten years old but I keep them. I'll look for it. Yes, Paul's seeing the bright, blinding flashing lights is what those who tripped out on LSD report. It's ironic, isn't it, that if it happened it changed the course of history?
I think you should take a fuller reading of Paul. He was certainly a traditional Jewish patriarchal kind of guy, not exceptional there, so no sense projecting modern mores on him, at least in my mind. 1 Corinthians you'll find both a patriarchal attitude and a give and take attitude when it comes to this thing. I liked his even handed approach to sexual desire. He also had quite a few women he collaborated with, help fund his missions. The latter day problem is that esp Evangelicals patriarchal views dominate, and societally of course, most evangelical women concur. Quite the thing with that Republican three-some sex thing eh!!!
It’s important to take out our contemporary values when searching for the meaning, but it’s also important to not preach the old values in our times without weighing the meaning carefully.
Amen, Gary. I am truly sorry that Paul managed to prevail in early Christianity over the brothers of Jesus in Jerusalem. This comes from the book Zealot which I recommend as an excellent history of what was going on in first century Palestine.
Mike, not sure if you are being facetious with your Samaritan tale, but Jesus was crucified because he was a threat to Roman rule. It had nothing to do with his parable of the good Samaritan.
The Good Samaritan story was just one nail in Jesus's coffin, so to speak. The society of the day considered Samaritans impure because they were Jews who intermarried with the local pagan population. Jesus also called the religious leaders whitewashed tombs, full of decay on the inside. A huge insult, as he was calling them unclean. Jesus called to account leaders, who wanted to protect their positions of power, so they conspired with the Romans to kill him.
I have to disagree here. He was a threat to the Temple hierarchy who used the Romans to crucify him. The threat to Roman rule continued among Jews in first century Palestine after Jesus was crucified. Romans did tolerate different religions, but not rebellion against their rule. Since they granted to Jews certain exemptions like not having to worship the emperor, they couldn't understand why the Jews rebelled. Hence, Titus, the destruction of the Temple, and the dispersal of Jews.
It’s complicated. Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, sentenced Jesus to death and had him crucified. The crime was being a threat to Roman rule, with Jesus claiming to be king of the Jews and resisting Roman authority. Jesus’ growing popularity was also a threat to corrupt Jewish leaders, who cooperated with Pilate, and who supported Pilate’s prosecution of Jesus. Decades later, after Jews began to rebel more widely against Roman rule, the Roman army destroyed the Temple in an effort to quell the rebellion. The crucifixion and the destruction of the Temple are separated by decades, and not directly connected.
Yes, it's complicated, but we have very little actual information on the historical Jesus and I wouldn't give the Gospels too much credit in terms of what actually happened. First century Palestine was full of self described messiahs and the Romans were mystified by the continued rebellion including Masada. I know that the cruxifixction and Titus were about 40 years apart and Biblical scholarship sees the earliest, Gospel, Mark, being written about the time of the Titus.
Mike, Jesus died on the cross because that was the plan all along. The Pharisees were the ones fearing the power of the multitudes following Jesus around. Pilate relented to the mob that demanded an end to the growing threat of Christ’s influence over Jewish society. Pilate avoided the unrest by eliminating the prognosticator, sending the disciples into hiding
Christ died for the Purpose of being resurrected
Today’s “professed christians that follow Trump and the GOP are as far from Christianity as one can get
Jesus died by being hanged on a tree by the Sanhedrin. Acts 5:30. The New Testament is written in Greek. The Greek words for cross and crucify are completely different from tree and hang. How to explain these contradictions, or how to explain Matthew 24: 34 - "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." We're still here.
Human beings invent religion because they need it. All versions of religion have good basics to start but humans are fond of hierarchies and those create opportunities for power. Power corrupts so all religions are susceptible to corruption. Today the most corrupt versions of religion are getting the most attention but there are small groups who stave off the corruption and keep religions alive because humans need it.
In Acts Jesus' followers were living as a communal society. With Paul, that was entirely gone, and acceptance of society at large was in, despite some mixed apocalyptic views, which in due course, took a back seat to the long run. As you know, Evangelicals have been taking a renewed run at End Times, a confused hodgepodge of apocalyptic thinking, Hell, my Baptist freres when i was a kid were doing that, sans all the political aspirations mind you.
Bart Ehrman, a well known scholar on the NT and early Christianity, works out of Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina and makes a career now championing skepticism on scriptural inerrancy etc, was a totally into it born again evangelical during his adolescence, in the 80s sometime i believe. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the members on this site followed him.
Excellent post, Mike. Jesus was disgusted by the behavior of the Temple elite and called it out numerous times. Since the Temple elite were hand in glove with the Romans, off to be crucified for him.
Mike, Jesus was cursed from the start: as a meme circulating currently states, Mary & Joseph were a middle-eastern couple unhoused and seeking shelter.
Too bad that much of society avoids being wise men and bringing gifts to help the new parents and babe.
Sorry to point this out, but in the days of Jesus, the rabbi's of the Temple were not the government. Herod was, to some degree, the government and had a lot of power as a toady of the real rulers, the Romans, who sentenced the radical Jesus to death by crucifixion. Jesus's fellow Jews never had that power and didn't do it, no matter what anti-Semites have proclaimed for the past 2,000 years.
Jesus did not come to change the government - he came to change hearts. His people were awaiting a messiah, but they were looking for one who would overthrow the Roman government so they could govern themselves (in what might, possibly, have been a theocracy? See Netanyahu). Their disappointment led them to crucify him. Today's far right "Christian" political block is doing the opposite of what Jesus modeled: they are trying to gain control of the government through whatever means necessary and set up a theocracy. Members of this block are not interested in the hard work of changing their own hearts, loving others and, by example, encouraging others to do the same.
If Jesus was the son of God (which I believe) and if he'd wanted to take control of the government and to compel people to obey God, he could have. That was pretty clearly not his goal.
I don't believe in God but I do believe there was a man like Jesus....he was just wrong about his Dad. Mary and Joseph told him that to cover up the pre-marital sex.
Word! And please don’t forget that a host of people are voting for Trump BECAUSE he doesn’t put up with kindness and diversity of thought. “I can’t believe anyone would support such a horrible presidential candidate!” Well, surprise, a lot of people are supporting him BECAUSE he is an asshole, and because he teaches them it is fully ok to BE an asshole.
That is if he actually existed. It's really weird that so many in the 21st century still take the words of people who lived over 2000 years ago as "gospel". Perhaps they also believe in "blood letting" as a legitimate medical treatment, and drawing and quartering people as reasonable punishment? Religion is the only socially sanctioned delusion. It's unbelievable that it still is an acceptable topic for discussion.
Cultures of storytelling can relate to the telling of fables to bring out the best in us. It’s not rocket science that we can choose to be good (prosocial, life-affirming) or bad(anti-social, destructive). In the tale of two wolves the grandpa tells the grandson it depends on which one you feed. Well, fables, (and without intent to offend anyone’s religion) the stories from the Bible, are intended to show us the way towards peace, (life affirming behaviors). Originators cannot foresee how their stories will be used centuries into the future.
I think that people who currently represent Christianity to the American populace are doing all religion a disservice. I’m not religious, but I do believe that religion, and many of its basic ideas, can be very valuable. Anyone who takes the Bible literally, and so does believe that stoning is a good punishment for crimes, is, in my opinion, missing the point. Everyone has a right to believe whatever they believe, with however much intensity, in my opinion, until it harms others. The fake religion Christian nationalists are brainwashing their followers with is a conglomeration of “values”. Real religion can, I think, be valuable, regardless of how deluded it may appear. We’re always searching for meaning, and some people find it there.
While I agree that people have the right to believe whatever they want to, they don't have the right to impose those beliefs on others. And, with religion, mostly believers think they know the truth, which leads them to use those beliefs to judge others, to shape public policy, and to deny many people their civil rights. As long as our society accepts religion as a legitimate way to (not) think there will be extremists who insist on doing damage to others with those beliefs. And, telling young children the lies about these delusions is tantamount to child abuse, as it often denies the child the right to choose for her/himself. By the time the child can actually reason he/she is often already brainwashed. It's still bewildering to me, that a delusion is given so much credibility in our society. Churches are exempt from paying their fair share of taxes, children can be abused with impunity in the name of religion. and many of us are in danger of losing our civil rights and have to repeatedly fight for them, because of religious nonsense. Many religions hold that aspects of a very central part of humanness, our sexuality, are sinful and shameful, often driving those normal desires underground where they can resurface in deviance such as pedophilia and rape. Many people grow up feeling ashamed of their natural sexual feelings causing so much suffering all because some self-righteous nut cases with their own deviant sexual drives hammer the message that anything but heterosexual sex within marriage is bad. "Imagine no religion".
I absolutely agree that people do not have the right to impose their beliefs on others. That’s the thing I hate the most about Christian fundamentalists/nationlists/those people. Like the Moms for Liberty, they think they are right and want to impose that on everyone, like you’re saying. But I don’t believe that religion needs to be excised from society. Yes, it’s dangerous to have to continue for rights, but we will have to do that time and time again, from various sources. What needs to be excised is the parts of religion which have harmful consequences as you said, whether it be shaming and humiliating others, discrimination, the removal of civil rights. That stuff isn’t allowed in culture, so it shouldn’t be allowed in religion. We need to get rid of the self-righteous nuts. But what you see as a delusion is a meaningful purpose to others. I can’t agree with keeping people from telling their children about religion because people have the right to educate their children. Maybe it’s harmful, I mean, it totally can be. And this is where finding the line is so difficult. When should the government get involved? When something harms somebody else. Well, is that action harmful? Some say yes, some say no. Personally I don’t, of course, believe in abusing children in any form. But I don’t know about church taxes, I’d probably lean towards some tax but a bit less if I thought about it more. I suppose my main opinion is that, well, your belief about religion is also a belief. Can you impose that on others?
following ‘this daze’ letter, and reflections about it on religion is that there’s a vast difference between ‘believing in something’ or ‘experiencing it’. I’m sure most readers here know of Kabir 15-16 cen, and Rumi 13th cen. And of course many contemporary men and women, who speak eloquently of experiences rather than beliefs. It seems to me that believers need followers whereas ‘experiencers’ feel a need to share rather than accumulate a following.
This is a delicate subject of course, and of course simply my personal opinion.
The Christian Evangelical Nationalists, the MAGAists, and Frump declaring his intentions to destroy America as we know it, are of a piece. Certainly Ms. Graham hopes, wishes, thinks we are stupid enough to dismiss his threats as a joke. Just Trump being Trump. These are his enablers. These people like Graham, Johnson, and those GOP legislators who helped in the first insurrection attempt, still 'serving' in Congress, do not dismiss his threats as jokes. They are counting on him doing just what he says, because many of them have criminal liabilities.
I was confident in 2016 that the American citizens were too smart to fall for his lies. Now, my confidence is a little shaky.
I've read Shakespeare's Richard III, Stephen Greenblatt's Shakespeare on Politics, and World History. Everything that Trump is saying and doing is exactly what the typical tyrant has always done, and what the MAGA/GOP people are doing is just what every despot needs: Enablers stupid enough to think that he has any shred of respect or loyalty to them.
Nobody who comes to his aid will leave with their character, career, or integrity intact. They seem to have no shame. They are not embarrassed when they behave in public as they do now. The rest of their lives depend on a successful overthrow of democracy. It must be by their hands because Trump could never do it alone.
I believe it was on April 17, 2017 that Steve Bannon sat before a gathering of corporate members and informed them of the plan for the Trump administration to 'deconstruct the administrative state.' That project is still in the works.
Of course Jesus existed, born of a virgin, didntcha” know?? No rape or incest happened here, let’s just say she was a virgin because rape victims were always at fault and dear mother Mary had to come across as pure.... ughhh... and here we are again, 40% of our country believes maga propaganda, in fact needs that propaganda so they can continue to hate and “other” people who are different. Thanks Heather, for always giving us the news of the day straight and to the point, I don’t know how you have the energy, but this American is grateful for you.
Sadly, people stopped believing in bloodletting about the time my grandmother was born (1890's) with never diagnosed hemacromatosis - an exhausting, painful condition of too much heme (iron) in the blood. Bloodletting DID help for that condition, and the treatment now is to "give blood" monthly.
Therapeutic phlebotomy (blood letting) is used in both hemochromatosis, and polycythemia (a disease of too many red blood cells) in modern medicine today! Unfortunately it is ineffective for MAGA psychosis...
Not really. Different stories depending on who you read. The bible itself, was probably written at least a hundred years after Jesus was supposed to have lived. A lot of distortions happen in that length of time.
The "books" used to compile the Bible were numerous. Their authors questionable. The bishops choosing which pleased them. No higher authority involved.
I’ll pass. As an atheist, not interested in deep diving religious texts. Closest I came was with a Karen Armstrong book about two decades ago, and a book titled Nature’s God, which delved into the Founders religious philosophies.
I could have sworn Jesus called *me* to be the “new Moses”. Are you sure he really called you, Mike? Maybe it was just something you ate coming back on you.
You see Jesus told me he’s fine with all his creation. Then he added, “Well, mostly all”. And He got pretty inflamed when he started talking about children. “What part of ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’ do these guys not understand”? And there was more in that vein. I couldn’t get it all down, but I have to tell you that he’s got a worse temper than Jim Jordan.
He specifically asked me to go to Mount Sinai, go up on the mountain, and come down with a tablet that has an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not rail against any gender.
I complained about how ruinously expensive this would be and He told me: “Look, 5000 years and I send one Moses. Now I’m fed up and coming to you. Enough with the grousing about money. Do you want to be the second Moses, or not”?
When he put it that way, I didn’t think I had a real choice. So I’ve got my iPad packed and I’ve booked a flight. Hope it’s the right tablet.
But Mike if you’re sure he called you first, I’m glad to step back and let you got. But really, your message has gotta change. You’re just not on board with Jesus. I think he’d be more than pissed if you went on with this ‘nation is going to hell because every kid wants to be a different gender” thing. He’s 100% pro-kid, regardless of color or gender.
Totally agree and well said. There comes a time (which we have long passed) where it is impossible to get one's head around how messed up and destructive the republicans have become - they have zero capacity to lead or govern and the bottom line is they all are evil. Their supporters haven't a clue what is going on and I don't get how they can possibly support trump as president as they sure wouldn't want him in a classroom with their kids . . . appalling!
Make no mistake about it . . . trump is not joking. "Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the presidential candidate was just joking when he said he would be a dictator on the first day of a return to the White House."
Trump supporters are filled with hate, wanting their Great White Leader to pummel and crush the hated opposition, i.e., all non-whites, all immigrants, all those who are Jewish, Muslim, atheist, women's rights advocates, and more. Trump now realizes this and that is what, in part, now guides his rhetoric. His dedicated followers love it. So much for their fealty to the teachings of Jesus. "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" along with Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," leaves me with no doubt but that MAGA is the 21st century KKK and that we're now involved in a Second Civil War to preserve and protect our Constitution that provides one person, one vote, majority rule. We need to think seriously about the time and money each of us needs to devote to this effort. Let's not have regrets on Nov. 6, 2024.
Yes. Cruelty is the point. Jeff Sessions said this out loud, early on. Now, finally, even the tightly-corseted, cripplingly cautious editors at the NYT are starting to let their reporters point it out.
Yup. Plural of amygdala. You know, the "flight or fight" center of our midbrain. I stumbled onto that a couple years ago; "collective amygdalae" is a fun thing to type.
Yes, Frank, that is the MESSAGE. This is an "all-hands-on-deck" moment. As Thomas Paine would have put it: Now is not the time to be a summer soldier or a sunshine patriot.
Trump IS their voice; all he wants is their adoration which enables him to take out all his anger and misery on those who dare not love him. He doesn't have enough life to live to get the therapy he needs. The majority of the party knows he's a mess but they're sycophantic enough to not care, cowardly, and lacking in morality and courage.
It's not so much that I don't love him, but rather I hate him and all he has done to ruin the country and the Republican Party.
It used to be I would look at all the candidates for an office and vote for the one that I thought was the best choice. But for several elections I will only vote for Democrats and Independents that are moderate to progressive.
I used to think it was lazy to vote straight party line, but now I think it's self preservation.
Welcome to the right side of history. Republicans have been on the wrong side for all but about a decade or two, and that was over 150 years ago. The current state of affairs is not Trump’s doing. He’s just collecting the chits. The Republican Party did this to/for themselves. It is well within reason to extend your hatred to all 74 million Americans who voted for Trump. The world would be substantially improved without them.
Yeah... It's super sad and dangerous that he's using them for his own empowerment. And, at the same time, not doing anything to actually help the average American! Sickening.
Well said. This is why we can't afford to be divided within the Democratic party. We must be united and vote for Biden. We can't afford for the other 2 candidates to run for the presidency within our party. It will definitely take the votes away from Biden. Trump would win if not convicted.
Getting convicted might increase Trump’s share of the vote, just like the indictments have benefited his fund-raising. People who vote for the likes of Trump are shameless fascists who don’t give a damn whether he’s in jail or out.
People like the Koch brothers and other billionaires are supporting Nikki Haley for president. They see where this is heading. I believe he will be convicted and not allowed to run. She's the one that can gravitate moderate Republicans interests even though her agenda is the same as Trump. She just has an smoother approach towards the people. This would be a huge threat for Biden in 24.
I found the Republicans frantic walking back of Trump's authoritarian words hysterically funny--in a way. It is excruciatingly clear that what we see (the "verbal slips, trips and flashes of honest-albeit horrifying-rhetoric) is not the face of the MAGA party they wish us to see
I'm hoping Kevin got so mad and is so humiliated that he'll spill some tea on his old buddy Donald who did nothing to help him keep the speakership. I know, wishful thinking.
I truly hope this inept messaging from Johnston et al blows up for them come the 2024. I also wonder if this piling behind Trump for so long, apart from the true MAGA bunch, is a fear the Republican Party will split three ways to Sunday if the non magas really try to take him on. Been a slippery slope to perdition, afraid to say.
You are right Janet W. Trump was not joking, and he would only need to be “dictator for a day” to pardon all the fake electors, condemn all the defenders of democracy, and destroy any remaining freedoms we cherish.
Janet, you're bringing some great outrage today, too. I am so grateful for everyone here who steps up to vent for the rest of us. It's exhausting, this constant insanity.
Can a more apt name be given "Radical Christian Right"? They are merely a cult of Trojans riding into battle with a big hollow cross -- their agenda holds little reflection of alleged core Christian values, but then radicals historically have perverted every organized religion.
Once upon a time, Christians believed displaying a good example of their faith would convert others; it was a basic foundation for increasing their flock. Somewhere along the line, their more extremist offshoots decided good examples and persuasion weren't cutting it and force was necessary- a perfect power grab and vehicle for the GOP. And as if that wasn't galling enough, the hypocrisy is breathtaking!
We get through this on the right side of reason and sanity, the backlash against them is gonna hurt- I think they know it and it's way they're all in.
I agree that the traitors (election deniers) should be expunged from public life. Our soft power is being shredded by the stupidity and meanness of Republicans.
David French in today's NYT has a great column about Fundamentalism, the grist for the Republican mill: "And while fundamentalist ideas can often be quite variable and complex, I’ve never encountered a fundamentalist culture that didn’t combine three key traits: certainty, ferocity and solidarity."
AND
"Certainty is the key building block. The fundamentalist mind isn’t clouded by doubt. In fact, when people are fully captured by the fundamentalist mind-set, they often can’t even conceive of good-faith disagreement. To fundamentalists, their opponents aren’t just wrong but evil. Critics are derided as weak or cowards or grifters. Only a grave moral defect can explain the failure to agree."
THERE'S MORE, IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ THE COLUMN. It explains a lot...
Curious, is a radical progressive left? Are they poisoning the country? Are they worth a damn? Time to see how honest you are? I doubt you will respond.
Is anyone in the world surprised that the head of the Florida Republican Party stands accused of rape and that his Moms for "Liberty" wife is an outrageous hypocrite? This is the Republican M.O.
And the Rs are going to be way more concerned about the threesome than the rape.
That the FL Republicans were far more concerned about the threesome than the rape did not surprise me, but I did think it odd, since a consensual threesome is not illegal and rape most definitely is. So much for the party of law and order.
Interesting point, at the time women were property in a paternalistic society. Perhaps not coveting ‘thy neighbor’s wife’ was intended to protect his property! It makes me uneasy for writing that!
They most likely don't consider want happened as rape, since the victim had participated in consensual sex before with him. That is the mindset of many of that sort of so called christians.
Sorry, that was snide, but it does beg two questions: how is our educational system doing that so many people turn against it, and with all respect for privacy, what happened in her life that drew forth such venom? Some failure somewhere.
No, not surprised the party of misogynistic, rape apologists, homophobics, wife beaters, guns for all, White christians Nationalists, bigots, throw in a few pedophiles( the Republican that got busted doing his thing in his pants in front of a grade school), liars and Facists. Nope not at all.
I am old enough to remember when Franklin Roosevelt, in an isolationist America, crafted a remarkable Lend Lease program to support Winston Churchill’s England survivAL against a Hitler-occupied Europe.
I recall how the United States spearheaded the creation of NATO (and the sharing of our ‘national sovereignty’) to form an international military coalition to confront Stalin in Europe.
I applaud President Biden for orchestrating the global riposte to Putin’s brutal initiative against the sovereign state of Ukraine, as he sought to create a Greater Russia.
This commitment to preserve sovereign Ukraine has a two-forked objective:
1) to prevent Putin’s creeping into sovereign countries that border Russia; and
2) demonstrate to China that the ‘free world’ is galvanized to prevent Chinese territorial creep, especially as it relates to Taiwan.
Regarding Ukraine, the citizens have been fighting a courageous and deadly war against a much larger Russian military for close to two years. The United States and others, especially European countries, have been providing imperative military and financial support to the Ukrainian boots on the ground.
Initially it seemed routine to obtain essential funding to provide continued support to Ukraine. A recent request to Congress was for an additional $60 billion, with another $14 billion for Israel, and further billions for the immigration imbroglio.
Initially House Joker Johnson ignored the Ukrainian funding and sought to link the Israeli $14 billion to a financial offset of reducing the previous funding commitment to enhance the IRS by a similar amount. This ridiculous Trumpublican initiative swiftly evaporated.
Now the Trumpublicans have launched a more dangerous ‘hostage-taking’ initiative. As the funds to support Ukraine’s desperate battle for survival are running out, these Trumpublicans—including ‘pro-Ukraine’ Mitch-the-Switch McConnell— are demanding that there be a major initiative on ‘border immigration’ before Ukrainian funding could be considered. PSHAW!
Immigration has been an ongoing American historical issue for many generations. In recent decades it has been exacerbated by the swelling desire of foreigners to seek safety and a new life in the United States. This is not simply an American problem. In Europe millions of foreigners desperately seek an European refuge. Many thousands have died in their desperate efforts to obtain a new life.
Linking desperate Ukrainian funding to some immediate ‘resolution’ of the intractable immigration issue is an unconscionable Trumpublican blackmail. These two issues are totally disconnected.
Our national commitment to Ukraine harkens back to the creation of NATO in 1949. This is directly related to protecting the sovereignty of Ukraine against a Putin (Stalinist) Russia. If America’s leadership of the coalition supporting Ukraine crumbles, this would greatly weaken the global pro-Ukraine advocates.
By contrast, the ‘immigration border’ issue is an ongoing imbroglio that has not been greatly ameliorated by Republican or Democratic administrations.
Certainly some ameliorations of the current situation are possible. This would require a bipartisan commitment to address real-world issues AND to work with a willingness to consider common sense compromises. For many years the Republicans have not been willing to engage in such bipartisanship. More recently, the Trumpublicans have chosen to bloviate rather than negotiate.
Congress will soon leave on its extended Christmas vacation. Currently there seems to be scant possibility that additional imperative Ukrainian funding is a priority for Trumpublicans, as they use ‘immigration’ as their nonsensical hostage.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IS AMERICA’S COMMITMENT TO PRESERVE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF UKRAINE AND OTHER COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE. THE TRUMPUBLICANS ARE UNDERMINING THIS COMMITMENT BY THEIR THROWING IN THE HOSTAGE HEDGEHOG OF BORDER IMMIGRATION.
In my 90 years I have seldom seen anything as unAmerican.
Well stated. Not yet 90, but a long 67 and I have to agree that the conservatives died long ago. They have eaten away at the federal government, destroyed many state legislatures to help facilitate that destruction. They have used the strategy put forth in the Lewis Powell memo with surgical precision fully financed and funded by trust fund baby billionaires who claim they are helping return America to its originality. Pure hogwash. They want a regessive America where the government only does their bidding. They only want their followers to vote, not everyone.
Thank you for spelling out what I am too angry to elucidate clearly now. To abandon Ukraine at this time is to invite Putin to do his worst world wide. The attachment of the border funding and plans was simply a ploy for the GOP to get what they want without negotiating. To abandon Ukraine and its blood red soil with dead soldiers who have given all to secure a legitimate sovereignty is heresy or worse. It is to abandon Democracy or sovereignty by any nation so desirous of same. This is my worst nightmare. Biden gave his word that we would not abandon Ukraine and we throw them under the bus because we cannot this day get bipartisan support on the border issues? My God, what are our members of governance thinking? I will not call myself a citizen of any nation who plays such games with power and the money behind it. This is Putin’s bidding! Are legislators too damned stupid to see? Or are there too many of Putin’s puppets already in place to overcome? There must be a way back from this scenario. Was this a final vote or can another be crafted? I am horrified at the end game in sight. Every person calling themselves American should be screaming from the rooftops for justice and support for all the dead Ukrainian soldiers who have fought not just for themselves but for us in a proxy war. Protecting American boots in the ground. DEMAND FURTHER ACTION AND DO NOT SEND HOME FOR ANY HOLIDAYS LEGISLATORS WHO FAIL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Judith, I am sick with exhaustion about all of this but you have put my thoughts down perfectly. These are not Christian people. They are greedy and evil and I fear for our future. Can you imagine what the people of Ukraine are thinking? We need to help them and avoid Putin taking over.
Thank-you Keith. Legislative hostage takers, and hostage takers in general, know they are in a weak position, and they are lazy. The laziness shows in an almost entire lack of consideration for the real-world consequences of their actions (not a lot of thinkin' goin' on). Criminal acts like taking hostages is viewed by the perpetrators as shortcuts to getting what they want - essentially these Republicans are operating like a crime family, and have somehow convinced themselves and a chunk of the public that they are somehow "sticking it to the man" by behaving in this way. They are not. Nothing gets fixed by breaking things. Nothing really gets done without the willingness to compromise. Gawd what awful things these people are up to. I can't help but think there is some sort of giant ambush being planned, and these actions are part of it somehow.
Keith, well said! You have laid this out to the point, exactly. If Putin takes Ukraine, his march to the sea will be swift through the other countries, especially since he has the war going the way he wanted in Israel and the Hamas.
Kathy I posted a similar commentary on the NYT website yesterday. To me it’s very simple. I don’t take kindly to blackmail> Also, I voluntarily put my life at risk in service to my country in Congo operating with an M 16, .45., and Beretta.. I won’t let Bone Spurs destroy my country.
Keith, I too greatly appreciate your wise, considered and knowledgeable offerings here. Indeed now that LFFA has multiple 100’s of comments, I find it hard to give all proper attention, so I sometimes scroll through looking for those who I’ve come to know have sage advice/experience to share. You, sir, are at the top of my list! I truly appreciate you sharing the observations of your amazing life/career experience. Oh, and I love that you are still feisty in safeguarding our country & democracy!!!
Tuba queen Toot your tuba with “bloviate rather than negotiate.” I smiled when I wrote this at 4 a.m. I almost felt like the author of Kubla Khan [you gotta look up this reference]
We are on a deadly seesaw, Keith, without the organization of Pro-Democracy forces spelling out that our freedom is at stake. 'Bidenomics' doesn't do it, and Biden as much as he has accomplished and committed to the mission does not inspire most Americans. It feels paltry to hope that enough American voters are wary enough of Trump and his enablers to vote for the Democrat/Biden as president and Democrats for seats in the House and Senate in order to give the country more time to organize and survive.
FERN Biden is a marvelous man and a dull communicator. Several weeks ago I commented on what Biden had accomplished in a month compared to Trump.The rough score was Biden 98 and Trump -10.
Domestically and globally Biden has an excellent record. For a gourmet this is pate compared to Trump s++t.
The Biden administration has an excellent message. Jon Stewart and the likes could devise an advertising campaign that could, in a sentence or paragraph, vividly contrast to what Biden has provided compared to Trump’s presidency and what he is threatening to do, if he returns to the White House.
Keith, yes, Biden's record is known to the gourmet, for the most part, but to regular eaters, not nearly well enough. I have not heard the 'excellent messaging' that as imaginative and usually realistic you are hasn't registered even with me, who is very eager for it to spread through the land. My hearing is still okay, Keith. So turn it on team Biden; make it strong, powerful, true and clear, so that all Americans will hear it!
FERN I agree. You and I are assiduous news purveyors. Neither of us could list the many achievements of the Biden administration, domestically and globally. I recall putting together sort sort of list a while ago.
If this is not clear to us gourmets, what about the Big Mac booboos? I come from an advertising background. It is possible to present this a highly visceral form. I remember, during WW II, that the army used comic books to teach their recruits. Some akin—social media?—shown be utilized to spread the word NAD compare Biden to Trump.
You are absolutely right, & they scare the hell out of me. The American people deserve better than the likes of maggie reps. Could we export them to rUssiA? See what they have no clue about!
President Biden: “Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.” Everyday we are losing our two party system and watching the repubs compromise our Democracy. Today’s letter is another collection of repubs’ choice of control and destruction over governing. Read it carefully and share with friends, neighbors, colleagues who aren’t paying attention or are weary of the continuing conflicts. Some people say they are tired of the games repubs are playing. We better all get serious because destroying our Democracy is not a game.
Putin runs Trump and Trump runs the GOP. The GOP since WWII and before have been rabid anti soviet communists,
Now they work and support the Soviets and like Joe Biden says can engage us ultimately into a war and the great potential for a Nuclear Holocaust. We may be talking about the death of democracy and possibly the world as we know it. Vote, Vote, Vote!!!! Thanks Heather.
And so the Americans who fell at Omaha beach and Gettysburg and Lexington died for nothing. The modern Republican Party would gladly trade what cost so much in blood and treasure to promote autocrats everywhere, and especially to elevate a criminal psychopath as the first American dictator.
This. All for naught so that their collective fired up amygdalae can be "right" until they find themselves in as bad or worse shape as the rest of us and wondering what the hell happened.
Make no mistake. Joe isn't bluffing. And yet the Republicans seem to think they are playing Russian roulette.
Seriously, what's the difference between a Republican, a Trump Republican, and a MAGA Republican? I know some will say 'when they've got a gun to your head, what's the difference?'. But still I wonder.
Lindsey is full of crap as usual. Have you ever seen Trump joke? I don't think he's capable of it. When he tells you the truth, believe him.
Mike Johnson, Holy Moses! Does he think he's fighting a religious war?
Where we went wrong was when we followed Ronald Reagan down the rabbit hole of neoliberal economics and compliant Democratic politicians went along with it. The resulting extreme economic inequality and exploding national debt caused the populist outrage we are experiencing now.
We have to find a way to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
He was a broke actor when he was scouted for the job of governor. The Reagans got a new house out of the deal. He did as he was told to do. It was the biggest acting job of his life. We can thank him and his backers for taking a blow torch to Unions. Look at the situation with the air traffic controllers today. The Reagan Era stoked racism.
History's irony. Reagan was just fair as a Hollywood actor. B level at best. Kind of hokey.
But in the White House he found the role of a lifetime. "So, guys, you want me to play a president? Should I do it tough or nice? Oh, a little of both? Sure, I can do that. And what's that? Just sign any bills we slap on the desk? Sure, easy peasy. Will there be cameras on me when I pass out those pens? I just want to ask that I get more than one nap every day."
The Oligarchs celebrated: "We've got our man!...I mean puppet."
"Get him a horse and a new cowboy hat and a fake ranch. Silence on the set, ready, camera, action!"
Linda, David Skogland in his response touches on it - it began with Reagan. The Conservative [sic] groups ( Federalist Society and others) with the funding of the ultra wealthy (Koch brothers, et al.) ramped up the propaganda and used wedge issues (abortion, women's rights advocates, immigration, minority rights, etc.) to induce white Protestants across this land to vote against their own best economic interests. This is well covered in Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter with Kansas," published in 2004. We're now dealing with an anti-Christian white Christian Protestant nationalist movement fueled by hate.
He's alive and living in Bethesda, according to Wikipedia. He's written books since then, but it seems that the rest of world has caught up with him since he put us on to Kansas. The entry does say he was one of the first to warn that Trump could win.
Yes, Jeri, much more promising and better than today with climate change threatening every one of us, no matter party affiliation. Giving away Democracy and future for money and power in the guise of governing. Our children and grandchildren will not thank us.
True, but at least some of us through those years have tried to make this a better country for the betterment of everyone. And so far voicing dissent isn't a crime (yet).
Republicans just repeat making fools of themselves.
But they also play games beyond risky.
Tommy football brain Tuberville risked U.S. military security. The high-placed Florida Republicans playing sex trio games risked only underlining their public posturing morality hypocrisies. And Senate Republicans risk much, much more by playing their games at the expense of Ukraine aid, as Heather Cox Richardson well quotes the adult Biden on the cost of continuous Republican foolishness.
She further puts it all in proper context by noting the high-placed Republicans either quitting now, or announcing they're so fed up they won't run for more time in their fools' offices.
This leaves their orange clown-in-chief making the biggest charades of all, underlining what fools, dolts, hypocrites, and football brains at best remain in the clown show.
A clown show indeed, but a lot of scary stuff is breaking loose and all hands are needed on deck. The adult first responders need to have the hooligans get out of the way. Seems that Biden's been finding words for it lately, but it must rise into a chorus:
“Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”
“Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies,” he said.
Yes, JL, great quotes from Biden and we need so see/hear such words memorialized in tasty and delicious ads to appear during the upcoming political season. As previously suggested here, maybe we can recruit Michael Moore and other talented filmmakers/actors/spokespersons to craft relevant and memorable political ads (and billboards) during this election season??? Let's not waste such memorable quotes.
But now I'm hearing that maybe Nikki Haley isn't so bad, so the same folks might be willing to take her as a back-up with no change in the Republican agenda. Even without Trump, they're on a path that is lethal for democracy.
“ Republicans in Congress…are willing to give [Russian president Vladimir] Putin the greatest gift he could hope for”
Well, there you have it. Could it be any clearer? Maybe Biden should just spell it out for the common people to understand: the Republicans are paid by Putin and his associates to deliver America to him.
We have very short memories.....we think, bad things cannot happen to us....
Those who are supporting Putin....when their usefulness is gone....may find themselves in an airplane, being wined and dined....their last experience on this earth. as the plane they are in EXPLODES!!!!
No one gets involved with Putin ....whom he does not control but for sheer, cold power. Some Republicans and others who believe they can play games with him are living in a fantasy. Putin is as cold as ice and he does not play games. He is focused on achieving success!
We must support Ukraine!!!!!!! We must stand up for freedom!!!! We must vote!!!! If we do not help Ukrainians who have fought and are fighting .... paying the price of freedom with their blood....the loss of home, family....then WHO ARE WE SUPPORTING?????
Putin is as wise as he is evil....he is dividing us...his friends in the middle east are keeping us busy ....diverting our attention and causing us to question our loyalies here at home.
Those of us who love and respect and want to work towards freedom....for the greater good for the health of our planet and all the life that inhabits it, need to think!!!! We cannot be just followers and exist!!!
Thanks to the peacekeepers and negotiators....may they receive the strength and wisdom and discernment they need .... bless their families and may they be given some deep rest if even for a short time. Their work never ends......
That's exactly the thing, Emily. Putin has an antisocial personality disorder (aka psychopath). He will let you serve him, but as soon as he has no more use for you, he will have you killed off or disposed in another way. But this is something the Putin fans don't want to see. One day you're in his camp, serving camp, next day it's "off to gulag". All at a whim.
Oh, definitely. Putin is very good at the long game, and plays "divide and conquer" very well, too. And too many people here are still thinking: "Nooo, he cannot be THAT evil, can he?" Err, well, yes, he is. We shouldn't underestimate Putin's megalomania, malicious intent, nor his utter cruelty.
Actually, I think he's been playing the long game. He knows exactly what they're up to. Where I questioned his judgment was in unconditional support with Israel while Netanyahu is calling the shots, and he seems to be laying down conditions there finally.
Where are the Democratic voices loudly criticizing the Speaker of the House for blurring faces of Jan 6 protestors before making the films public? All those unidentified protestors won’t be recognized by friends and family— he is covering up their crimes. We were all witnesses to Jan 6 including him. Some like Jim Jordan even planned it. Why is this tolerated?? The Senate Democrats have a majority right now. Why don’t they use it instead of wringing their hands and asking for money? Kamala Harris has cast over 50 votes in the Senate to break a tie so thank goodness for that. It cannot be emphasized enough that voting in the primaries is vital. The usual 20% turnout will not stop the bullies.
The ten agreed to withdraw their paperwork with the false information, explain in writing to the federal offices that the filings had been “part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” and acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election.
And why didn't Senator Ron Johnson get charged for trying to change the slate of Wisconsin electors on January 6th?
We keep saying that they are going to destroy democracy. What democracy? Where’s majority rule? THAT’S democracy. This 60-vote ‘bovine scatology’ should end. Because of it, we have unlimited guns on the street--majority does not want; women have lost a right--majority does not want; money drowning the political system--majority does not want! There needs to be profound adjustments to our political system to return it to majority rule. And by the way, get rid of the freakin’ Electoral College! Anyone thinking that massive voting by the left in 2024 is going to result in a non-chaotic adjustment to the left, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale for you.
the times we are in...I am gapemouthed, drop jawed, flabbergasted, and pissed off. The rise of the radical christian right (lower case c on purpose) as evidenced by our purely evil speaker of the house, is beyond the pale. Their sanctimoniously fake piety is worn as the emperor's new clothes, transparent for all to clearly see...and yet. This mf is 3rd in line to the most powerful position on the planet...which, by the way it may not be for long, if these jokers continue to undermine our ability here at home and abroad. There are so few repubes that are worth a damn, that every last one of them needs to be expunged from public life, and any hope of political power and influence. This of course, is pure fantasy...but one can vent. Thank you Dr. Richardson, for keeping us abreast of the times we are in...and continuing to serve as a beacon of light through these darkening and foreboding times.
Funny. Jesus always stuck me as a lefty. Certainly not someone who would beg an RV from a billionaire or try to maximize profits, come hell or high water.
JL,
"Jesus always stuck me as a lefty." Let's look at how that worked out for him in the far right, patriarchal, religious society that Jesus lived in.
In the society Jesus was in at the time, a society where if a woman was caught with a man who was not with her husband she was stoned to death (note, nothing happened to the guy she was caught with),
his message of acceptance, not judging, turning the other cheek, valuing differences, and forgiveness was radical in the extreme.
When the Rabbi's of the time, who were also the government, brought a woman to him, "caught in the act of adultery" Jesus took one look, then, looked at the Rabbi's and said: "let him with no sin cast the first stone".
The Rabbi's all turned red, shuffled their feet, looked down at the ground and shuffled away........and off they went.
But Jesus real mistake was to define the "Good Samaritan" because Samaritans were despised by the local society Jesus was in. When he condemned his own society and elevated a Samaritan willing to help someone on the side of the road?
Off to the crucifixion field with him.
So, being a lefty is risky. Right wing societies, as the one Jesus lived in, DO NOT put up with kindness, forgiveness, diversity of thought, acceptance, or differences.
In right wing, religious, societies dominated by bunch of dumb guys?
Better toe the line if you can figure out what it is since the dumb guys running the show really don't know what the line is either.
Every word is Truth, Mike S. Far Right “Christians” abandoned their roots in the Gospels long ago, much in the same way that Jihadists abandoned the teachings of the Koran. In fact, there is little daylight between Christian and Muslim Jihadists.
At least, the MAGA "Christians," who really don't want to follow the commandments to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. I had a person to tell me that he didn't want to hear sermons about loving your neighbor because that was too political. These people don't want to feed the hungry, look after "widows and orphans" (the most vulnerable members of society) or stop selling weapons of war to the civilian population because it's profitable. These people are the party of death, just like the Nazis in the 30's and 40's. So many people died to bring an end to Hitler's murderous regime.
loving your neighbor, the bedrock of Jesus' teachings is "too political".
Be ready folks. The people who want to control the country are not Christian, they are Nazi's. Plain and Simple.
Be careful.
Gandhi? MLK? Jesus? Advocating non-violence can get you killed.
Somehow, Manifest Destiny got into their blood, i.e. wealth and property are the signs of God's approval. (Although meant for white males only.)
the new "prosperity gospel" stuff
A self-serving, predatory establishment always has self-righteous cover story.
Wealth and property were seen as signs of Godde's approval from the earliest beginnings of religion; it's one of the things the Jesus movement was most adamantly against.
Manifest Destiny developed out of the Doctrine of Discovery.
With all due respect, I am not sure you know what Manifest Destiny means and if you do why you raise it in the context of HCR's newsletter. We don't need useless verbiage here and distraction.
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”-JC
That most assuredly sounds pretty political to me (sarcasm intended)
In the comment section of The Washington Post they use /S to designate sarcasm. I've noticed that it isn't used here. I'm not sure if it's a "universally accepted designation or not. I've only seen it there.
(I'm telling you this out of love). /S
Oh yes, loving your neighbor is too political, but let's indulge in a menage a trois on the side while screaming to high heaven about certain books in schools and anyone who defends inclusiveness is a grooming pedophile. I wasn't prepared for the juicy details about Moms for "Liberty" and her husband charged with rape. In general, I believe people who yell the loudest are hiding something. And then there's hubris....the Speaker is the new Moses...spare me. I always refer to today's Rs as the party of death because that is what they are all about. Think of anything you value and be sure that they working to see it die.
'Moms for Liberty' - my foot! What an insult and insolence to 'moms' and a misuse of 'liberty'!
I could NOT believe my eyes reading that from Heather! ...but, that was the juicy and disgusting truth. It seems that being a far right goodie goodie causes one to go very very naughty.
That is the LEAST political thing! That's straight out of the Gospels!
In my mind, there is no daylight between fundamentalists of any ilk. They are all true believers who tolerate no deviation from how they interpret things.
Beliefs often enforced with violence; often extreme violence.
Amen, Maureen, amen.
Do you know what "jihad" actually means? Jihad is the struggle to know and serve God. Do not call murderers and terrorists "jihadists."
But if they think beheading people is serving god is that not the same kind of misuse of a term as white Nationalists calling themselves “Christians”?
Christians have also done some pretty violent acts. I think murder is in the human race's DNA. It's fortunate there was never a gun available to me. I've had my "moments".
Listen to Sam Harris' podcast on the tenets of jihad. Don't confuse YOUR understanding and interpretation of what "serving god " is with another cultures's understanding of that very thing. The podcast is #340 The Bright Line Between Good and Evil.
I was a Muslim for 10 years. I studied with 2 Egyptian teachers and lived in Egypt for 6 years. But I guess I don't know what I'm talking about.
Yes!
It seems to me that homicidal, or just plain bullying zealots of whatever variety must be malignant narcissists. How else to explain the conviction (or pose) of supremacy that legitimizes a self-assumed right to coerce or kill others just because they're not in your club. Jesus was definitely making a point by choosing a Samaritan to illustrate a "loving" neighbor.
"F the patriarchy." Emma Watson
One of the biggest misogynists in the Bible was Saul/Paul.
If Saul were alive today he would be a Hamas leader. He came after the disciples and anyone that followed Jesus, until God had had enough and struck him blind.
Three days of blindness and it totally changed him into a disciple of Jesus. But, if you read his various letters, he values women as much as the christian nationalists do.
Oh, thank you, Gary. I can’t stand Paul/Saul. And the whole modern Christian religion of all flavors, is based on his letters. Even lovely, uninformed people in weekly Christian Bible study think his mess is the word of Jesus (“but it’s in the Bible!”). I once told my dad that Paul never even met Jesus. “Yes, he did: On the road to Damascus.” This from a beautiful, once-witty, pre-Fox News engineer who also believed the world started ~6,000 years ago.
(Geez, I’m on a tear this morning. No more coffee for me.)
Have another coffee :)
"Those in the Know" know that the universe was created by the FSM in a drunken moment - approximately 5000 years ago. When he awakened (WOKE up :) he was so embarrassed by the mess he had made, that he flew off - never to be heard from again - except at the Olive Garden. It's all there in another Gospel (available at Amazon and book stores everywhere). And just like the "Bible", you can't prove it didn't happen. Also, OUR "prophet" went to college!
So... as Ted Lasso said: "Believe!"
Tha reminds me of the series "Good Omens." The believers in the literal translation of the Bible had coronaries over the blasphemy in Good Omens.
The Terry Pratchett novel that it is adapted from is also very good.
To funny Bill. And perfectly true.
When are we going to figure out that the magic sky daddy crap is just that?
It’s fiction.
Yes there are good ideas in the Bible. I expect you might find a few in Mein Kampf too.
Religion is all about power and tribalism, with a healthy dose of misogyny thrown in.
We do not need it. It is a dead historic error, useful for study by historians but nothing else. And psychiatrists.
People do not need religion to be good people. In fact, religion is the tool used for cruelty more than anything else.
Dispense with this superstition and move forward.
I have found The Golden Rule is a nice, non-sectarian creed to live by. No concepts of sin or guilt or tithing to mega church, non-profit corporations. Just simple "Do unto others..." It does not work so well with those who are full of self-hatred and wish to harm themselves or others. That is more about mental health.
Love is always/usually the antidote to hatred, fear-mongering and lies at the feet of listening, diplomacy and right action for the good of the whole.
No middlemen needed to connect with whatever higher entity/source/unified field you might need. Nothing is perfect, but Love might be. I am sticking with John Lennon's "Imagine," however naive.
Still, and this is for the good of the whole mind you, I would LOVE to see a lot more higher-up the chain arses slapped in jail for destructive, brainwashing, narcissistic creeds about their wannabe dictatorial power—many hiding behind the mask of christianity... (I ain't no fool about love...).
Thank you for that. “Love “ has never been very real for me, mixed as it has been in cruelty. So I appreciate the reminder. Yes, Lennon’s Imagine is a theme song, and aspiration. The voice of a man murdered by a narcissist.
Ugh, I didn’t want to go there.
But do unto others is the only creed that matters. And those who want to harm themselves or others… they need help. And maybe love too.
I don't think "Imagine" is naive. Warfare is beyond naive! It presumes to right wrongs by the very violence it seeks to suppress. I have supported the Ukrainian offensive; nevertheless 10,000 have died and not that much ground has been regained. "When will we ever learn?"
"People do not need religion to be good people. In fact, religion is the tool used for cruelty more than anything else."
I'm an atheist yet I disagree. Religion has done both good and evil throughout history. It's highly complex nonsense but has generally been the world's morality teacher and the basis for legal systems that imposed good laws as well as bad. Religion is not divinely inspired but an invention of men who used it to create and maintain social order. Unfortunately, misogyny preceded everything, and for at least 2,000 years women have been oppressed by religion, which is my biggest objection to the very concept of "God."
Thanks, Marycat! "Religion" as developed by humans is very complex with both good and bad components. I feel it's simplistic to put it down entirely, not recognizing the good it has done. As you remind us, religion has given us the basis for human morality which then has been written into some laws for the common good.
Religion has fallen short, imo, regarding women. It has been slow to change as society has changed, whereas it should have been leading the charge. Shame, shame.
"Peace on earth and good will toward all," we would say nowadays. God wants everyone to flourish.
We need ways to sort our own goals and impulses, to examine and converse about our own values and find communities that support this sort of seeking. Religion in one way, but for me that process remains an eternal work in progress, while orthodox faiths seem to believe the important questions were settled long ago. What most troubles me when people claim to have all the answers look down on those who are less sure. Especially when they suppose that they are thus empowered to force their conclusions on everybody else.
If you ever get the chance to read "The Dawn of Everything" cowritten by an archeologist and anthropologist, there is strong speculation that early humans lived in circular villages peacefully together. What's more, while the 'boys' were out hunting, the women built homes and gardens, raised children and generally were tribal leaders, and maybe objects of worship, thus so many early figurines of women. It was that way for centuries.
At LEAST 2,000 years.....right?....Or, only when "civilization" began? I recall when Women's Studies was a new major. I thought it was ridiculous. I have come to realize that there is SO MUCH to learn. We girls took for granted that we had some equality .....Until the SCOTUS outlawed "choice"............WHAT!!!
No, people do not need religion to be good, but I know some people of faith whose religion informs their social conscious and behavior. The most grounded person i know is a person of faith. I do not like painting all people of faith with the same brush. And yes, religion can be used for bad things just as all human institutions can be.
One of my sweetest cousins became a missionary in Papua New Guinea. She lived there, learned their spoken language, taught them to read it by reading Christian teachings. I thought she was depriving them of whatever nature gods they had and it might not work for them. This place has since become riddled with gangs and violence. Not her fault. But, I thought, what a waste of time, effort and energy. (plus she couldn't eat their diet ; it was slugs and stuff.)
I believe Desmond Tutu was a critical element in the peaceful transition from South African Apartheid. MLK and his faith was a historical influence for promoting peace and justice. Such a leader need not be religious, but the compassionate side of religion has motivated many such people, often in the face of vociferous resistance that also claims a religious inspiration. It seems to me that the varieties of religious interpretation range from the humble humanitarian to hubristic depredation.
According to the NT, on the road to Damascus Paul had an epiphany and a complete conversion. A blinding light altered his thinking forever. A study was done several years back with LSD. Remember Timothy Leary? Anyhow, 300 well educated people participated in the study. Their report was that it was the "most profound experience" of their lives. In Paul's time, Syrian rue was the common drug of choice. Jesus criticizes some of the hypocrites claiming that they even tithe rue. (Luke 11:42) So what happened to Paul, if he existed? He had two "trips" on the road to Damascus, and it changed his life and later history.
Thanks Richard, I had never heard of Syrian rue. So Paul may have been on a drug trip. I am going to have to look up Syrian rue because I rued the day, I handled some of the her rue as I am allergic to it. Also once heard Leary talk about LSD (and earned chapel points for it) at Kalamazoo College in the middle 60s.
Michele, I have the study that was reported in a magazine that I subscribe to. It's at least ten years old but I keep them. I'll look for it. Yes, Paul's seeing the bright, blinding flashing lights is what those who tripped out on LSD report. It's ironic, isn't it, that if it happened it changed the course of history?
Apparently, his conversion wasn't complete enough. He still kept the rule making Saul part.
I think you should take a fuller reading of Paul. He was certainly a traditional Jewish patriarchal kind of guy, not exceptional there, so no sense projecting modern mores on him, at least in my mind. 1 Corinthians you'll find both a patriarchal attitude and a give and take attitude when it comes to this thing. I liked his even handed approach to sexual desire. He also had quite a few women he collaborated with, help fund his missions. The latter day problem is that esp Evangelicals patriarchal views dominate, and societally of course, most evangelical women concur. Quite the thing with that Republican three-some sex thing eh!!!
It’s important to take out our contemporary values when searching for the meaning, but it’s also important to not preach the old values in our times without weighing the meaning carefully.
Yep, what i said i thought.
Amen, Gary. I am truly sorry that Paul managed to prevail in early Christianity over the brothers of Jesus in Jerusalem. This comes from the book Zealot which I recommend as an excellent history of what was going on in first century Palestine.
Mike, not sure if you are being facetious with your Samaritan tale, but Jesus was crucified because he was a threat to Roman rule. It had nothing to do with his parable of the good Samaritan.
The Good Samaritan story was just one nail in Jesus's coffin, so to speak. The society of the day considered Samaritans impure because they were Jews who intermarried with the local pagan population. Jesus also called the religious leaders whitewashed tombs, full of decay on the inside. A huge insult, as he was calling them unclean. Jesus called to account leaders, who wanted to protect their positions of power, so they conspired with the Romans to kill him.
Yes.
If i recall correctly Samaritans were distinct enough that they wrecked each other's temples.
I have to disagree here. He was a threat to the Temple hierarchy who used the Romans to crucify him. The threat to Roman rule continued among Jews in first century Palestine after Jesus was crucified. Romans did tolerate different religions, but not rebellion against their rule. Since they granted to Jews certain exemptions like not having to worship the emperor, they couldn't understand why the Jews rebelled. Hence, Titus, the destruction of the Temple, and the dispersal of Jews.
It’s complicated. Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, sentenced Jesus to death and had him crucified. The crime was being a threat to Roman rule, with Jesus claiming to be king of the Jews and resisting Roman authority. Jesus’ growing popularity was also a threat to corrupt Jewish leaders, who cooperated with Pilate, and who supported Pilate’s prosecution of Jesus. Decades later, after Jews began to rebel more widely against Roman rule, the Roman army destroyed the Temple in an effort to quell the rebellion. The crucifixion and the destruction of the Temple are separated by decades, and not directly connected.
Yes, it's complicated, but we have very little actual information on the historical Jesus and I wouldn't give the Gospels too much credit in terms of what actually happened. First century Palestine was full of self described messiahs and the Romans were mystified by the continued rebellion including Masada. I know that the cruxifixction and Titus were about 40 years apart and Biblical scholarship sees the earliest, Gospel, Mark, being written about the time of the Titus.
Excellent post.
John. It was the Jewish crowd that insisted on Jesus death. Pilate wanted nothing to do with Jesus death.
Doubt that the Samaritans were fans of the Roman invaders!
Mike, Jesus died on the cross because that was the plan all along. The Pharisees were the ones fearing the power of the multitudes following Jesus around. Pilate relented to the mob that demanded an end to the growing threat of Christ’s influence over Jewish society. Pilate avoided the unrest by eliminating the prognosticator, sending the disciples into hiding
Christ died for the Purpose of being resurrected
Today’s “professed christians that follow Trump and the GOP are as far from Christianity as one can get
Thank you and yes. Trump and his buddies are not Christian.
Jesus died by being hanged on a tree by the Sanhedrin. Acts 5:30. The New Testament is written in Greek. The Greek words for cross and crucify are completely different from tree and hang. How to explain these contradictions, or how to explain Matthew 24: 34 - "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." We're still here.
Thank you Richard
Human beings invent religion because they need it. All versions of religion have good basics to start but humans are fond of hierarchies and those create opportunities for power. Power corrupts so all religions are susceptible to corruption. Today the most corrupt versions of religion are getting the most attention but there are small groups who stave off the corruption and keep religions alive because humans need it.
Great summary! Very well written. Thank you.
Could you post that on fox entertainment?
In Acts Jesus' followers were living as a communal society. With Paul, that was entirely gone, and acceptance of society at large was in, despite some mixed apocalyptic views, which in due course, took a back seat to the long run. As you know, Evangelicals have been taking a renewed run at End Times, a confused hodgepodge of apocalyptic thinking, Hell, my Baptist freres when i was a kid were doing that, sans all the political aspirations mind you.
In the SBC every year is the last one and Armageddon is nigh.
Nutty as can be.
Bart Ehrman, a well known scholar on the NT and early Christianity, works out of Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina and makes a career now championing skepticism on scriptural inerrancy etc, was a totally into it born again evangelical during his adolescence, in the 80s sometime i believe. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the members on this site followed him.
Excellent post, Mike. Jesus was disgusted by the behavior of the Temple elite and called it out numerous times. Since the Temple elite were hand in glove with the Romans, off to be crucified for him.
Yep. Jesus was not one for currying favor with the powerful.
Mike, Jesus was cursed from the start: as a meme circulating currently states, Mary & Joseph were a middle-eastern couple unhoused and seeking shelter.
Too bad that much of society avoids being wise men and bringing gifts to help the new parents and babe.
Agree
Sorry to point this out, but in the days of Jesus, the rabbi's of the Temple were not the government. Herod was, to some degree, the government and had a lot of power as a toady of the real rulers, the Romans, who sentenced the radical Jesus to death by crucifixion. Jesus's fellow Jews never had that power and didn't do it, no matter what anti-Semites have proclaimed for the past 2,000 years.
Jesus did not come to change the government - he came to change hearts. His people were awaiting a messiah, but they were looking for one who would overthrow the Roman government so they could govern themselves (in what might, possibly, have been a theocracy? See Netanyahu). Their disappointment led them to crucify him. Today's far right "Christian" political block is doing the opposite of what Jesus modeled: they are trying to gain control of the government through whatever means necessary and set up a theocracy. Members of this block are not interested in the hard work of changing their own hearts, loving others and, by example, encouraging others to do the same.
If Jesus was the son of God (which I believe) and if he'd wanted to take control of the government and to compel people to obey God, he could have. That was pretty clearly not his goal.
He knew that politics was a dirty ungodly business.
Well said.
I believe Jesus did think he was the son of God. No doubt.
I don't believe in God but I do believe there was a man like Jesus....he was just wrong about his Dad. Mary and Joseph told him that to cover up the pre-marital sex.
Kudos! A thought provoking synopsis!
Word! And please don’t forget that a host of people are voting for Trump BECAUSE he doesn’t put up with kindness and diversity of thought. “I can’t believe anyone would support such a horrible presidential candidate!” Well, surprise, a lot of people are supporting him BECAUSE he is an asshole, and because he teaches them it is fully ok to BE an asshole.
Or insisting that owning multiple assault rifles is his “gahdamn right” and his freedom…
That is if he actually existed. It's really weird that so many in the 21st century still take the words of people who lived over 2000 years ago as "gospel". Perhaps they also believe in "blood letting" as a legitimate medical treatment, and drawing and quartering people as reasonable punishment? Religion is the only socially sanctioned delusion. It's unbelievable that it still is an acceptable topic for discussion.
Cultures of storytelling can relate to the telling of fables to bring out the best in us. It’s not rocket science that we can choose to be good (prosocial, life-affirming) or bad(anti-social, destructive). In the tale of two wolves the grandpa tells the grandson it depends on which one you feed. Well, fables, (and without intent to offend anyone’s religion) the stories from the Bible, are intended to show us the way towards peace, (life affirming behaviors). Originators cannot foresee how their stories will be used centuries into the future.
I think that people who currently represent Christianity to the American populace are doing all religion a disservice. I’m not religious, but I do believe that religion, and many of its basic ideas, can be very valuable. Anyone who takes the Bible literally, and so does believe that stoning is a good punishment for crimes, is, in my opinion, missing the point. Everyone has a right to believe whatever they believe, with however much intensity, in my opinion, until it harms others. The fake religion Christian nationalists are brainwashing their followers with is a conglomeration of “values”. Real religion can, I think, be valuable, regardless of how deluded it may appear. We’re always searching for meaning, and some people find it there.
While I agree that people have the right to believe whatever they want to, they don't have the right to impose those beliefs on others. And, with religion, mostly believers think they know the truth, which leads them to use those beliefs to judge others, to shape public policy, and to deny many people their civil rights. As long as our society accepts religion as a legitimate way to (not) think there will be extremists who insist on doing damage to others with those beliefs. And, telling young children the lies about these delusions is tantamount to child abuse, as it often denies the child the right to choose for her/himself. By the time the child can actually reason he/she is often already brainwashed. It's still bewildering to me, that a delusion is given so much credibility in our society. Churches are exempt from paying their fair share of taxes, children can be abused with impunity in the name of religion. and many of us are in danger of losing our civil rights and have to repeatedly fight for them, because of religious nonsense. Many religions hold that aspects of a very central part of humanness, our sexuality, are sinful and shameful, often driving those normal desires underground where they can resurface in deviance such as pedophilia and rape. Many people grow up feeling ashamed of their natural sexual feelings causing so much suffering all because some self-righteous nut cases with their own deviant sexual drives hammer the message that anything but heterosexual sex within marriage is bad. "Imagine no religion".
I absolutely agree that people do not have the right to impose their beliefs on others. That’s the thing I hate the most about Christian fundamentalists/nationlists/those people. Like the Moms for Liberty, they think they are right and want to impose that on everyone, like you’re saying. But I don’t believe that religion needs to be excised from society. Yes, it’s dangerous to have to continue for rights, but we will have to do that time and time again, from various sources. What needs to be excised is the parts of religion which have harmful consequences as you said, whether it be shaming and humiliating others, discrimination, the removal of civil rights. That stuff isn’t allowed in culture, so it shouldn’t be allowed in religion. We need to get rid of the self-righteous nuts. But what you see as a delusion is a meaningful purpose to others. I can’t agree with keeping people from telling their children about religion because people have the right to educate their children. Maybe it’s harmful, I mean, it totally can be. And this is where finding the line is so difficult. When should the government get involved? When something harms somebody else. Well, is that action harmful? Some say yes, some say no. Personally I don’t, of course, believe in abusing children in any form. But I don’t know about church taxes, I’d probably lean towards some tax but a bit less if I thought about it more. I suppose my main opinion is that, well, your belief about religion is also a belief. Can you impose that on others?
To Mac and JNol, my now fried brain
following ‘this daze’ letter, and reflections about it on religion is that there’s a vast difference between ‘believing in something’ or ‘experiencing it’. I’m sure most readers here know of Kabir 15-16 cen, and Rumi 13th cen. And of course many contemporary men and women, who speak eloquently of experiences rather than beliefs. It seems to me that believers need followers whereas ‘experiencers’ feel a need to share rather than accumulate a following.
This is a delicate subject of course, and of course simply my personal opinion.
Great post and writing.
Yes. Amen.
The Christian Evangelical Nationalists, the MAGAists, and Frump declaring his intentions to destroy America as we know it, are of a piece. Certainly Ms. Graham hopes, wishes, thinks we are stupid enough to dismiss his threats as a joke. Just Trump being Trump. These are his enablers. These people like Graham, Johnson, and those GOP legislators who helped in the first insurrection attempt, still 'serving' in Congress, do not dismiss his threats as jokes. They are counting on him doing just what he says, because many of them have criminal liabilities.
I was confident in 2016 that the American citizens were too smart to fall for his lies. Now, my confidence is a little shaky.
I've read Shakespeare's Richard III, Stephen Greenblatt's Shakespeare on Politics, and World History. Everything that Trump is saying and doing is exactly what the typical tyrant has always done, and what the MAGA/GOP people are doing is just what every despot needs: Enablers stupid enough to think that he has any shred of respect or loyalty to them.
Nobody who comes to his aid will leave with their character, career, or integrity intact. They seem to have no shame. They are not embarrassed when they behave in public as they do now. The rest of their lives depend on a successful overthrow of democracy. It must be by their hands because Trump could never do it alone.
I believe it was on April 17, 2017 that Steve Bannon sat before a gathering of corporate members and informed them of the plan for the Trump administration to 'deconstruct the administrative state.' That project is still in the works.
Seeing beyond the veil!
Of course Jesus existed, born of a virgin, didntcha” know?? No rape or incest happened here, let’s just say she was a virgin because rape victims were always at fault and dear mother Mary had to come across as pure.... ughhh... and here we are again, 40% of our country believes maga propaganda, in fact needs that propaganda so they can continue to hate and “other” people who are different. Thanks Heather, for always giving us the news of the day straight and to the point, I don’t know how you have the energy, but this American is grateful for you.
Gwen.
So. Here is a thought.
Mary and Joseph were together but not yet married.
Boom. She shows up pregnant.
Now. Mary could be put to death for not being married and also pregnant.
Unless, if course, God himself was the father.
A way out.
That’s a distinct possibility, but who knows?
Sadly, people stopped believing in bloodletting about the time my grandmother was born (1890's) with never diagnosed hemacromatosis - an exhausting, painful condition of too much heme (iron) in the blood. Bloodletting DID help for that condition, and the treatment now is to "give blood" monthly.
Therapeutic phlebotomy (blood letting) is used in both hemochromatosis, and polycythemia (a disease of too many red blood cells) in modern medicine today! Unfortunately it is ineffective for MAGA psychosis...
My aunt and cousin were diagnosed with it a few years after my grandmother died with all the symptoms.
Its pretty well historically documented that Jesus lived at that time. The rest is opinion.
Not really. Different stories depending on who you read. The bible itself, was probably written at least a hundred years after Jesus was supposed to have lived. A lot of distortions happen in that length of time.
The "books" used to compile the Bible were numerous. Their authors questionable. The bishops choosing which pleased them. No higher authority involved.
Actually, there's almost no historical record of the existence of Jesus. Which is amazing because the Romans kept very good records.
The existence of a man named Jesus who taught a renewal of Judaism is not important. The teachings are important.
Exactly correct.
The mysticism is irrelevant.
The message is the key.
Yep.
By definition, “Jesus was a liberal”, a truism guaranteed to raise hackles in every Christian Church in Red States
Jesus was a socialist. He met the same fate as MLK. And that truism raises hackles in every Christian Church in Blue States as well.
No it doesn’t. You’d know that if you studied the history
We have socialist christian churches? Enlighten me.
And don’t give me some beatitudes deflection.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/12/07/socialisms-self-criticism-and-real-democracy/
You think I didn’t notice your flipping the topic from Liberal to Socialism? Nice try. Two separate definitions
What’s your definition of Liberal vs Socialism?
Take a position, otherwise discussion on this topic has no foundation
Tom. You are correct.
Churches are all Capitalist. No socialist. You nailed it man.
Tom.
Jesus was a communist not a socialist. Get it straight man.
Read The Acts of the Apostles.
I’ll pass. As an atheist, not interested in deep diving religious texts. Closest I came was with a Karen Armstrong book about two decades ago, and a book titled Nature’s God, which delved into the Founders religious philosophies.
Jesus is FAR too woke for the Evangelicals. Hardly the first time whoever Jesus was he gets misrepresented. bar beyond all recognition.
“Jesus is FAR too woke for the Evangelicals.”
LOL. 🤣 So true
But I'm sure he had blue eyes ad blonde hair. /S
I could have sworn Jesus called *me* to be the “new Moses”. Are you sure he really called you, Mike? Maybe it was just something you ate coming back on you.
You see Jesus told me he’s fine with all his creation. Then he added, “Well, mostly all”. And He got pretty inflamed when he started talking about children. “What part of ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’ do these guys not understand”? And there was more in that vein. I couldn’t get it all down, but I have to tell you that he’s got a worse temper than Jim Jordan.
He specifically asked me to go to Mount Sinai, go up on the mountain, and come down with a tablet that has an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt not rail against any gender.
I complained about how ruinously expensive this would be and He told me: “Look, 5000 years and I send one Moses. Now I’m fed up and coming to you. Enough with the grousing about money. Do you want to be the second Moses, or not”?
When he put it that way, I didn’t think I had a real choice. So I’ve got my iPad packed and I’ve booked a flight. Hope it’s the right tablet.
But Mike if you’re sure he called you first, I’m glad to step back and let you got. But really, your message has gotta change. You’re just not on board with Jesus. I think he’d be more than pissed if you went on with this ‘nation is going to hell because every kid wants to be a different gender” thing. He’s 100% pro-kid, regardless of color or gender.
Get back to me on this, will you Mike.
Think
Sounds like halustrobation ie: self induced hallucinations!
Jesus shook up the religious right. We should do the same..
https://yadontknow.blogspot.com/2023/11/sheeps-clothing.html
Totally agree and well said. There comes a time (which we have long passed) where it is impossible to get one's head around how messed up and destructive the republicans have become - they have zero capacity to lead or govern and the bottom line is they all are evil. Their supporters haven't a clue what is going on and I don't get how they can possibly support trump as president as they sure wouldn't want him in a classroom with their kids . . . appalling!
Make no mistake about it . . . trump is not joking. "Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the presidential candidate was just joking when he said he would be a dictator on the first day of a return to the White House."
Trump supporters are filled with hate, wanting their Great White Leader to pummel and crush the hated opposition, i.e., all non-whites, all immigrants, all those who are Jewish, Muslim, atheist, women's rights advocates, and more. Trump now realizes this and that is what, in part, now guides his rhetoric. His dedicated followers love it. So much for their fealty to the teachings of Jesus. "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election, and Why?" along with Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland," leaves me with no doubt but that MAGA is the 21st century KKK and that we're now involved in a Second Civil War to preserve and protect our Constitution that provides one person, one vote, majority rule. We need to think seriously about the time and money each of us needs to devote to this effort. Let's not have regrets on Nov. 6, 2024.
I think your assessment is accurate, Richard. The hatred, anger, and fear is what tickles the amygdalae of the "modern" RepubliKan party base.
Yes. Cruelty is the point. Jeff Sessions said this out loud, early on. Now, finally, even the tightly-corseted, cripplingly cautious editors at the NYT are starting to let their reporters point it out.
Had to look that word up. Thanks.
Ally, “amygdalae”? 😃
Yup. Plural of amygdala. You know, the "flight or fight" center of our midbrain. I stumbled onto that a couple years ago; "collective amygdalae" is a fun thing to type.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala
Quite a read.
MAGA = American Taliban. Or al-Qaeda lite.
Message, Vote and get out the vote.
Yes, Frank, that is the MESSAGE. This is an "all-hands-on-deck" moment. As Thomas Paine would have put it: Now is not the time to be a summer soldier or a sunshine patriot.
Trump IS their voice; all he wants is their adoration which enables him to take out all his anger and misery on those who dare not love him. He doesn't have enough life to live to get the therapy he needs. The majority of the party knows he's a mess but they're sycophantic enough to not care, cowardly, and lacking in morality and courage.
Well, he wants the MAGA's monetary contributions, too
IF he’s staying in politics. I think he’s really mad.
He plans to stay because his only other option is life in prison.
It's not so much that I don't love him, but rather I hate him and all he has done to ruin the country and the Republican Party.
It used to be I would look at all the candidates for an office and vote for the one that I thought was the best choice. But for several elections I will only vote for Democrats and Independents that are moderate to progressive.
I used to think it was lazy to vote straight party line, but now I think it's self preservation.
Welcome to the right side of history. Republicans have been on the wrong side for all but about a decade or two, and that was over 150 years ago. The current state of affairs is not Trump’s doing. He’s just collecting the chits. The Republican Party did this to/for themselves. It is well within reason to extend your hatred to all 74 million Americans who voted for Trump. The world would be substantially improved without them.
Yeah... It's super sad and dangerous that he's using them for his own empowerment. And, at the same time, not doing anything to actually help the average American! Sickening.
Well said. This is why we can't afford to be divided within the Democratic party. We must be united and vote for Biden. We can't afford for the other 2 candidates to run for the presidency within our party. It will definitely take the votes away from Biden. Trump would win if not convicted.
Getting convicted might increase Trump’s share of the vote, just like the indictments have benefited his fund-raising. People who vote for the likes of Trump are shameless fascists who don’t give a damn whether he’s in jail or out.
People like the Koch brothers and other billionaires are supporting Nikki Haley for president. They see where this is heading. I believe he will be convicted and not allowed to run. She's the one that can gravitate moderate Republicans interests even though her agenda is the same as Trump. She just has an smoother approach towards the people. This would be a huge threat for Biden in 24.
You are correct.
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=KxWbIQWlYzPrxvqE
How can we be most unlike them?
I found the Republicans frantic walking back of Trump's authoritarian words hysterically funny--in a way. It is excruciatingly clear that what we see (the "verbal slips, trips and flashes of honest-albeit horrifying-rhetoric) is not the face of the MAGA party they wish us to see
Anyone else think that Trump maybe fired Kevin McCarthy???
Kevin should've been bonked with that gavel like he joked about doing to Nancy Pelosi.
It's been suggested he will recruit candidates to run against those far-right Representatives who voted him out of the Speakership.
I really need to believe that.
Me too. It came from a WaPo article about his resignation.
I'm hoping Kevin got so mad and is so humiliated that he'll spill some tea on his old buddy Donald who did nothing to help him keep the speakership. I know, wishful thinking.
Of course he did.
Kevin should be tarred and feathered
If he did, Trump really shot the GOP in the foot. Kevin is a HUGE fundraiser for the party.
Rather, I’m hoping McCarthy realized his best future might be in ditching the goons
No if anything Kevin will get a job working in another capacity for Trump
Trump fired Kevin when the MAGAS voted him out of the Speakership
I truly hope this inept messaging from Johnston et al blows up for them come the 2024. I also wonder if this piling behind Trump for so long, apart from the true MAGA bunch, is a fear the Republican Party will split three ways to Sunday if the non magas really try to take him on. Been a slippery slope to perdition, afraid to say.
Like it or lump the trump....IT IS WHAT IT IS ...and “here’s your sign”
The only decades of fetid joke is linny Graham! Why does the media seek him out for one of his insipid comments?
Project 2025, their new bible. Terrifying evil.
https://youtu.be/9k3UvaC5m7o?si=KxWbIQWlYzPrxvqE
Yes. Terrifying and unconstitutional.
You are right Janet W. Trump was not joking, and he would only need to be “dictator for a day” to pardon all the fake electors, condemn all the defenders of democracy, and destroy any remaining freedoms we cherish.
Every word, Ralph. Thanks for being so eloquently angry today so I can coast on your outrage today.
Great line and exactly how I feel!
Janet, you're bringing some great outrage today, too. I am so grateful for everyone here who steps up to vent for the rest of us. It's exhausting, this constant insanity.
Yes, it is exhausting as those in charge of Purgatory are relentless!
Ralph, how about 'gobsmacked'. I like that expression too. So English
me too, only heard it first a few years ago, from and English lady of course! Along with knackered....
Ralph, very eloquently stated - thanks.
Thank you for this, Ralph. "...sanctimoniously fake piety..." is absolutely stellar as a description of those who use their faith as a cudgel.
Sad that these two words, faith and cudgel, are used adjacent to each other in a sentence. Realize it’s not limited to Christianity…..
Oh, I do indeed.
Ziegler is no Christian; he's a founder of moms & dads for fascism.
Can a more apt name be given "Radical Christian Right"? They are merely a cult of Trojans riding into battle with a big hollow cross -- their agenda holds little reflection of alleged core Christian values, but then radicals historically have perverted every organized religion.
"Crusades", "Inquisition", then a Pope who aids Hitler and now Mike Johnson.
There are Christians who are fighting this cruelty. But they don't get enough air time because it's not salacious and juicy enough for prime time.
https://www.christiansagainstchristiannationalism.org/
Previously cautious jounalists are starting to describe MAGAs as fascists, Christo-fascists, and/or white Christo-fascists.
Rex, ‘bout time!!!
Just invoking Christ's name makes any name we give them seem hypocritical and oxymoronic.
I'd love to hear a good suggestion.
I've been pondering - All I've come up with is Faux-christian nationalists.
Once upon a time, Christians believed displaying a good example of their faith would convert others; it was a basic foundation for increasing their flock. Somewhere along the line, their more extremist offshoots decided good examples and persuasion weren't cutting it and force was necessary- a perfect power grab and vehicle for the GOP. And as if that wasn't galling enough, the hypocrisy is breathtaking!
We get through this on the right side of reason and sanity, the backlash against them is gonna hurt- I think they know it and it's way they're all in.
Somewhere alog the line, some Christians realized "Christianity" could be their cash cow.
Yep, you got it!
I agree that the traitors (election deniers) should be expunged from public life. Our soft power is being shredded by the stupidity and meanness of Republicans.
The Republicans truly live on another planet and they don't need a spaceship to get here.
Actually he is second in line but an otherwise totally accurate analysis.
David French in today's NYT has a great column about Fundamentalism, the grist for the Republican mill: "And while fundamentalist ideas can often be quite variable and complex, I’ve never encountered a fundamentalist culture that didn’t combine three key traits: certainty, ferocity and solidarity."
AND
"Certainty is the key building block. The fundamentalist mind isn’t clouded by doubt. In fact, when people are fully captured by the fundamentalist mind-set, they often can’t even conceive of good-faith disagreement. To fundamentalists, their opponents aren’t just wrong but evil. Critics are derided as weak or cowards or grifters. Only a grave moral defect can explain the failure to agree."
THERE'S MORE, IF YOU'D LIKE TO READ THE COLUMN. It explains a lot...
Are Christians asking the following questions yet?
Which branch of Christianity will take over America?
Will the “winner” allow other branches of Christianity to practice ?
Will there the winner Christian’s power groups close the door to success for the loser Christians?
Separation of Church and State is a good thing.
Curious, is a radical progressive left? Are they poisoning the country? Are they worth a damn? Time to see how honest you are? I doubt you will respond.
honesty and your false equivalency are as oil and water held in a not-so-subtle arrogance.
What false equivalency?
Yep Ralph, that about sums it up!
Is anyone in the world surprised that the head of the Florida Republican Party stands accused of rape and that his Moms for "Liberty" wife is an outrageous hypocrite? This is the Republican M.O.
And the Rs are going to be way more concerned about the threesome than the rape.
That the FL Republicans were far more concerned about the threesome than the rape did not surprise me, but I did think it odd, since a consensual threesome is not illegal and rape most definitely is. So much for the party of law and order.
No commandment against rape in the bible, though.
Interesting point, at the time women were property in a paternalistic society. Perhaps not coveting ‘thy neighbor’s wife’ was intended to protect his property! It makes me uneasy for writing that!
Well, exactly, Louis - it was intended to protect his property.
They most likely don't consider want happened as rape, since the victim had participated in consensual sex before with him. That is the mindset of many of that sort of so called christians.
he showed up without his wife, right???
Yes, after being told no.
Not too curious that so much of the Republican anti-abortion, anti-books, anti-LBGTQ+ has sexual roots.
I noticed that Pete Buttegieg called the speaker on that the other day.
They want to control sexual relations between two people, when, with whom, how and why’! Only allowed if the purpose is to procreate!
But not for them!
But they think they should be allowed their own “ transgressions”.
They are preoccupied.
Wonder what books she read as a child? Or did she ever read a book?
Sorry, that was snide, but it does beg two questions: how is our educational system doing that so many people turn against it, and with all respect for privacy, what happened in her life that drew forth such venom? Some failure somewhere.
No, not surprised the party of misogynistic, rape apologists, homophobics, wife beaters, guns for all, White christians Nationalists, bigots, throw in a few pedophiles( the Republican that got busted doing his thing in his pants in front of a grade school), liars and Facists. Nope not at all.
If “…..grab them by the pu$$y….” Did not derail the orange monster’s election then the affair d’ z is inconsequential!
Extraordinary masters of projection, those republicans.
It’s always the ones you most expect......
Word.
Wait…I thought DeSantis was the “new Moses” ??🤔
“And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a protector.’ So God made a fighter,” DeSantis’s ad begins.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3720540-desantis-releases-new-2022-ad-god-made-a-fighter/
Puke
Double puke.
Yes. Puke.
ALL the puke. DeSantis is Vomit Man.
Love Vomit Man
For so long their ruse has been up! It’s akin to the WORST JOKE EVER
case after case ... cacophony , chaos, callous choirs, corruption, now “small c christians”
lol most likely! He needs to be stoned for sure
TRUMPUBLICANS: PUTIN’S PET POODLE
I am old enough to remember when Franklin Roosevelt, in an isolationist America, crafted a remarkable Lend Lease program to support Winston Churchill’s England survivAL against a Hitler-occupied Europe.
I recall how the United States spearheaded the creation of NATO (and the sharing of our ‘national sovereignty’) to form an international military coalition to confront Stalin in Europe.
I applaud President Biden for orchestrating the global riposte to Putin’s brutal initiative against the sovereign state of Ukraine, as he sought to create a Greater Russia.
This commitment to preserve sovereign Ukraine has a two-forked objective:
1) to prevent Putin’s creeping into sovereign countries that border Russia; and
2) demonstrate to China that the ‘free world’ is galvanized to prevent Chinese territorial creep, especially as it relates to Taiwan.
Regarding Ukraine, the citizens have been fighting a courageous and deadly war against a much larger Russian military for close to two years. The United States and others, especially European countries, have been providing imperative military and financial support to the Ukrainian boots on the ground.
Initially it seemed routine to obtain essential funding to provide continued support to Ukraine. A recent request to Congress was for an additional $60 billion, with another $14 billion for Israel, and further billions for the immigration imbroglio.
Initially House Joker Johnson ignored the Ukrainian funding and sought to link the Israeli $14 billion to a financial offset of reducing the previous funding commitment to enhance the IRS by a similar amount. This ridiculous Trumpublican initiative swiftly evaporated.
Now the Trumpublicans have launched a more dangerous ‘hostage-taking’ initiative. As the funds to support Ukraine’s desperate battle for survival are running out, these Trumpublicans—including ‘pro-Ukraine’ Mitch-the-Switch McConnell— are demanding that there be a major initiative on ‘border immigration’ before Ukrainian funding could be considered. PSHAW!
Immigration has been an ongoing American historical issue for many generations. In recent decades it has been exacerbated by the swelling desire of foreigners to seek safety and a new life in the United States. This is not simply an American problem. In Europe millions of foreigners desperately seek an European refuge. Many thousands have died in their desperate efforts to obtain a new life.
Linking desperate Ukrainian funding to some immediate ‘resolution’ of the intractable immigration issue is an unconscionable Trumpublican blackmail. These two issues are totally disconnected.
Our national commitment to Ukraine harkens back to the creation of NATO in 1949. This is directly related to protecting the sovereignty of Ukraine against a Putin (Stalinist) Russia. If America’s leadership of the coalition supporting Ukraine crumbles, this would greatly weaken the global pro-Ukraine advocates.
By contrast, the ‘immigration border’ issue is an ongoing imbroglio that has not been greatly ameliorated by Republican or Democratic administrations.
Certainly some ameliorations of the current situation are possible. This would require a bipartisan commitment to address real-world issues AND to work with a willingness to consider common sense compromises. For many years the Republicans have not been willing to engage in such bipartisanship. More recently, the Trumpublicans have chosen to bloviate rather than negotiate.
Congress will soon leave on its extended Christmas vacation. Currently there seems to be scant possibility that additional imperative Ukrainian funding is a priority for Trumpublicans, as they use ‘immigration’ as their nonsensical hostage.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IS AMERICA’S COMMITMENT TO PRESERVE THE SOVEREIGNTY OF UKRAINE AND OTHER COUNTRIES WORLDWIDE. THE TRUMPUBLICANS ARE UNDERMINING THIS COMMITMENT BY THEIR THROWING IN THE HOSTAGE HEDGEHOG OF BORDER IMMIGRATION.
In my 90 years I have seldom seen anything as unAmerican.
SHAME ON YOU TRUMPUBLICANS!
Well stated. Not yet 90, but a long 67 and I have to agree that the conservatives died long ago. They have eaten away at the federal government, destroyed many state legislatures to help facilitate that destruction. They have used the strategy put forth in the Lewis Powell memo with surgical precision fully financed and funded by trust fund baby billionaires who claim they are helping return America to its originality. Pure hogwash. They want a regessive America where the government only does their bidding. They only want their followers to vote, not everyone.
I agree.
In "The Man in the High Tower" people that contribute nothing to society, are dubbed "worthless eaters" and they are removed from society.
Warren Buffett calls inheritance, "welfare for the rich."
But yet, these people buy political favor with their inheritance urging the politicians to cut tax rates and inheritance taxes.
Given a choice, between banishing trustifarians or DACAs from the US, I choose DACAs.
Gary Trusifarians are Trumpites and DACANs are Democrats. Yeah, verily and forsooth!
Do you mean "The Man in the High Castle" by Phillip Dick? I watched the series and liked it, but I'm sure the book was better.
Yes. I didn't read the book either, but I loved the series. But I usually like altered history series.
Thank you for spelling out what I am too angry to elucidate clearly now. To abandon Ukraine at this time is to invite Putin to do his worst world wide. The attachment of the border funding and plans was simply a ploy for the GOP to get what they want without negotiating. To abandon Ukraine and its blood red soil with dead soldiers who have given all to secure a legitimate sovereignty is heresy or worse. It is to abandon Democracy or sovereignty by any nation so desirous of same. This is my worst nightmare. Biden gave his word that we would not abandon Ukraine and we throw them under the bus because we cannot this day get bipartisan support on the border issues? My God, what are our members of governance thinking? I will not call myself a citizen of any nation who plays such games with power and the money behind it. This is Putin’s bidding! Are legislators too damned stupid to see? Or are there too many of Putin’s puppets already in place to overcome? There must be a way back from this scenario. Was this a final vote or can another be crafted? I am horrified at the end game in sight. Every person calling themselves American should be screaming from the rooftops for justice and support for all the dead Ukrainian soldiers who have fought not just for themselves but for us in a proxy war. Protecting American boots in the ground. DEMAND FURTHER ACTION AND DO NOT SEND HOME FOR ANY HOLIDAYS LEGISLATORS WHO FAIL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
Judith, I am sick with exhaustion about all of this but you have put my thoughts down perfectly. These are not Christian people. They are greedy and evil and I fear for our future. Can you imagine what the people of Ukraine are thinking? We need to help them and avoid Putin taking over.
This is Putin's money, buying USA government.
I get that, too!
Thank-you Keith. Legislative hostage takers, and hostage takers in general, know they are in a weak position, and they are lazy. The laziness shows in an almost entire lack of consideration for the real-world consequences of their actions (not a lot of thinkin' goin' on). Criminal acts like taking hostages is viewed by the perpetrators as shortcuts to getting what they want - essentially these Republicans are operating like a crime family, and have somehow convinced themselves and a chunk of the public that they are somehow "sticking it to the man" by behaving in this way. They are not. Nothing gets fixed by breaking things. Nothing really gets done without the willingness to compromise. Gawd what awful things these people are up to. I can't help but think there is some sort of giant ambush being planned, and these actions are part of it somehow.
Keith, well said! You have laid this out to the point, exactly. If Putin takes Ukraine, his march to the sea will be swift through the other countries, especially since he has the war going the way he wanted in Israel and the Hamas.
Always appreciate your posts, Keith.Today’s needs to be an Op-Ed.💙
Kathy I posted a similar commentary on the NYT website yesterday. To me it’s very simple. I don’t take kindly to blackmail> Also, I voluntarily put my life at risk in service to my country in Congo operating with an M 16, .45., and Beretta.. I won’t let Bone Spurs destroy my country.
Keith, I too greatly appreciate your wise, considered and knowledgeable offerings here. Indeed now that LFFA has multiple 100’s of comments, I find it hard to give all proper attention, so I sometimes scroll through looking for those who I’ve come to know have sage advice/experience to share. You, sir, are at the top of my list! I truly appreciate you sharing the observations of your amazing life/career experience. Oh, and I love that you are still feisty in safeguarding our country & democracy!!!
Well said.
Keith, this comment is fire!
I am going to steal "...bloviate rather than negotiate." It is so descriptive.
Tuba queen Toot your tuba with “bloviate rather than negotiate.” I smiled when I wrote this at 4 a.m. I almost felt like the author of Kubla Khan [you gotta look up this reference]
Keith! This is an outstanding comment. Kudos (again :)
We are on a deadly seesaw, Keith, without the organization of Pro-Democracy forces spelling out that our freedom is at stake. 'Bidenomics' doesn't do it, and Biden as much as he has accomplished and committed to the mission does not inspire most Americans. It feels paltry to hope that enough American voters are wary enough of Trump and his enablers to vote for the Democrat/Biden as president and Democrats for seats in the House and Senate in order to give the country more time to organize and survive.
FERN Biden is a marvelous man and a dull communicator. Several weeks ago I commented on what Biden had accomplished in a month compared to Trump.The rough score was Biden 98 and Trump -10.
Domestically and globally Biden has an excellent record. For a gourmet this is pate compared to Trump s++t.
The Biden administration has an excellent message. Jon Stewart and the likes could devise an advertising campaign that could, in a sentence or paragraph, vividly contrast to what Biden has provided compared to Trump’s presidency and what he is threatening to do, if he returns to the White House.
Remember KISS: Keep it simple stupid.
Keith, yes, Biden's record is known to the gourmet, for the most part, but to regular eaters, not nearly well enough. I have not heard the 'excellent messaging' that as imaginative and usually realistic you are hasn't registered even with me, who is very eager for it to spread through the land. My hearing is still okay, Keith. So turn it on team Biden; make it strong, powerful, true and clear, so that all Americans will hear it!
FERN I agree. You and I are assiduous news purveyors. Neither of us could list the many achievements of the Biden administration, domestically and globally. I recall putting together sort sort of list a while ago.
If this is not clear to us gourmets, what about the Big Mac booboos? I come from an advertising background. It is possible to present this a highly visceral form. I remember, during WW II, that the army used comic books to teach their recruits. Some akin—social media?—shown be utilized to spread the word NAD compare Biden to Trump.
Absolutely, Wheelock...and THERE IS NO TIME TO LOSE!
WOW!
You are absolutely right, & they scare the hell out of me. The American people deserve better than the likes of maggie reps. Could we export them to rUssiA? See what they have no clue about!
And Putin wins.
As ever, every Republican accusation is a confession.
BINGO!
President Biden: “Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.” Everyday we are losing our two party system and watching the repubs compromise our Democracy. Today’s letter is another collection of repubs’ choice of control and destruction over governing. Read it carefully and share with friends, neighbors, colleagues who aren’t paying attention or are weary of the continuing conflicts. Some people say they are tired of the games repubs are playing. We better all get serious because destroying our Democracy is not a game.
My thoughts exactly. Reality is not a game. Reality is where we actual live.
Destroying the Republic is war.
Putin runs Trump and Trump runs the GOP. The GOP since WWII and before have been rabid anti soviet communists,
Now they work and support the Soviets and like Joe Biden says can engage us ultimately into a war and the great potential for a Nuclear Holocaust. We may be talking about the death of democracy and possibly the world as we know it. Vote, Vote, Vote!!!! Thanks Heather.
Not exactly Soviets, but left, right, theocratic, or just plain criminal, all dictatorships are more similar than different.
Putin is policies are Soviet diametrically opposed to any form of democracy or world order
And so the Americans who fell at Omaha beach and Gettysburg and Lexington died for nothing. The modern Republican Party would gladly trade what cost so much in blood and treasure to promote autocrats everywhere, and especially to elevate a criminal psychopath as the first American dictator.
This galls me more than anything, having seen the pain of loss in that war.
This. All for naught so that their collective fired up amygdalae can be "right" until they find themselves in as bad or worse shape as the rest of us and wondering what the hell happened.
"And then they came for me."
Thanks Ralph. Quite a hard nutshell to have to swallow. “Jesus told them…”.
Make no mistake. Joe isn't bluffing. And yet the Republicans seem to think they are playing Russian roulette.
Seriously, what's the difference between a Republican, a Trump Republican, and a MAGA Republican? I know some will say 'when they've got a gun to your head, what's the difference?'. But still I wonder.
Lindsey is full of crap as usual. Have you ever seen Trump joke? I don't think he's capable of it. When he tells you the truth, believe him.
Mike Johnson, Holy Moses! Does he think he's fighting a religious war?
In answer to your last statement: yes.
MAGA Mike would be happy in Margaret Atwood’s Gilead.
As would his wife with their covenant marriage.
Precisely.
Yes indeed
Thank you Heather.
I just finished reading tonight's Robert Hubbells Substack article regarding Trump not hiding his intent to become Dictator.
Heather's Letter is pretty much putting icing on the cake for the plans we never dreamt were possible for the Country I grew up in.
Where did we go so horribly wrong, so fast?
Be safe. Be well.
Linda;
Where we went wrong was when we followed Ronald Reagan down the rabbit hole of neoliberal economics and compliant Democratic politicians went along with it. The resulting extreme economic inequality and exploding national debt caused the populist outrage we are experiencing now.
We have to find a way to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
Very tall order.
David,
I agree. The slippery slope started with Reagan and how enamored a Country could be with an actor as President.
The ramping up of insidious violence and corruption as normal acceptance began before Trump, but he certainly cemented the deal.
He was a broke actor when he was scouted for the job of governor. The Reagans got a new house out of the deal. He did as he was told to do. It was the biggest acting job of his life. We can thank him and his backers for taking a blow torch to Unions. Look at the situation with the air traffic controllers today. The Reagan Era stoked racism.
You said it first :)
History's irony. Reagan was just fair as a Hollywood actor. B level at best. Kind of hokey.
But in the White House he found the role of a lifetime. "So, guys, you want me to play a president? Should I do it tough or nice? Oh, a little of both? Sure, I can do that. And what's that? Just sign any bills we slap on the desk? Sure, easy peasy. Will there be cameras on me when I pass out those pens? I just want to ask that I get more than one nap every day."
The Oligarchs celebrated: "We've got our man!...I mean puppet."
"Get him a horse and a new cowboy hat and a fake ranch. Silence on the set, ready, camera, action!"
And trump - failed wannabe actor and president.
Give Nixon his due, also Truman had a few words about repubs
Linda, David Skogland in his response touches on it - it began with Reagan. The Conservative [sic] groups ( Federalist Society and others) with the funding of the ultra wealthy (Koch brothers, et al.) ramped up the propaganda and used wedge issues (abortion, women's rights advocates, immigration, minority rights, etc.) to induce white Protestants across this land to vote against their own best economic interests. This is well covered in Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter with Kansas," published in 2004. We're now dealing with an anti-Christian white Christian Protestant nationalist movement fueled by hate.
What the hell ever happened to Thomas Frank? He doesn't seem to write anything anymore since "The People, No". I miss his voice.
He's alive and living in Bethesda, according to Wikipedia. He's written books since then, but it seems that the rest of world has caught up with him since he put us on to Kansas. The entry does say he was one of the first to warn that Trump could win.
He’s been blacklisted, just like most every writer who critiques American Empire, the liberal establishment, or capitalism.
"One Market Under God" and "The Wrecking Crew" are also authored by Thomas Frank. He's relatively young - 58 years old.
It hasn’t been fast
Given the 240+ year existence, these last couple of decades have been detrimental in speeding up to where we are today.
We never were "the greatest country in the world". That was nothing more than a used car slogan that stuck.
I'm old, I remember when we were way better than we are now. MUCH BETTER
I'm old too Jeri. I remember better times than now.
This country never lived up to the hype.
But I felt that the promise was there.
Yes, Jeri, much more promising and better than today with climate change threatening every one of us, no matter party affiliation. Giving away Democracy and future for money and power in the guise of governing. Our children and grandchildren will not thank us.
So did I.
True, but at least some of us through those years have tried to make this a better country for the betterment of everyone. And so far voicing dissent isn't a crime (yet).
I’m about half-way through Heather’s book. It hasn’t been “going wrong so fast” but a slow creep to where we are today.
Annie, except someone installed a supercharger in the old Ford during TFG's term and his cult keeps taking it for a spin
"Johnson apparently believed he was speaking privately. He told the audience that the Lord called him to be “a new Moses.”"
There are few things more dangerous than a human being who claims to be the voice of God.
More than enough proof
Just the idea of betraying the Ukraine weakens the USA, much less actually plunging into that abyss.
Republicans just repeat making fools of themselves.
But they also play games beyond risky.
Tommy football brain Tuberville risked U.S. military security. The high-placed Florida Republicans playing sex trio games risked only underlining their public posturing morality hypocrisies. And Senate Republicans risk much, much more by playing their games at the expense of Ukraine aid, as Heather Cox Richardson well quotes the adult Biden on the cost of continuous Republican foolishness.
She further puts it all in proper context by noting the high-placed Republicans either quitting now, or announcing they're so fed up they won't run for more time in their fools' offices.
This leaves their orange clown-in-chief making the biggest charades of all, underlining what fools, dolts, hypocrites, and football brains at best remain in the clown show.
A clown show indeed, but a lot of scary stuff is breaking loose and all hands are needed on deck. The adult first responders need to have the hooligans get out of the way. Seems that Biden's been finding words for it lately, but it must rise into a chorus:
“Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”
“Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies,” he said.
Yes, JL, great quotes from Biden and we need so see/hear such words memorialized in tasty and delicious ads to appear during the upcoming political season. As previously suggested here, maybe we can recruit Michael Moore and other talented filmmakers/actors/spokespersons to craft relevant and memorable political ads (and billboards) during this election season??? Let's not waste such memorable quotes.
But now I'm hearing that maybe Nikki Haley isn't so bad, so the same folks might be willing to take her as a back-up with no change in the Republican agenda. Even without Trump, they're on a path that is lethal for democracy.
“ Republicans in Congress…are willing to give [Russian president Vladimir] Putin the greatest gift he could hope for”
Well, there you have it. Could it be any clearer? Maybe Biden should just spell it out for the common people to understand: the Republicans are paid by Putin and his associates to deliver America to him.
Dutch Mike,
We have very short memories.....we think, bad things cannot happen to us....
Those who are supporting Putin....when their usefulness is gone....may find themselves in an airplane, being wined and dined....their last experience on this earth. as the plane they are in EXPLODES!!!!
No one gets involved with Putin ....whom he does not control but for sheer, cold power. Some Republicans and others who believe they can play games with him are living in a fantasy. Putin is as cold as ice and he does not play games. He is focused on achieving success!
We must support Ukraine!!!!!!! We must stand up for freedom!!!! We must vote!!!! If we do not help Ukrainians who have fought and are fighting .... paying the price of freedom with their blood....the loss of home, family....then WHO ARE WE SUPPORTING?????
Putin is as wise as he is evil....he is dividing us...his friends in the middle east are keeping us busy ....diverting our attention and causing us to question our loyalies here at home.
Those of us who love and respect and want to work towards freedom....for the greater good for the health of our planet and all the life that inhabits it, need to think!!!! We cannot be just followers and exist!!!
Thanks to the peacekeepers and negotiators....may they receive the strength and wisdom and discernment they need .... bless their families and may they be given some deep rest if even for a short time. Their work never ends......
That's exactly the thing, Emily. Putin has an antisocial personality disorder (aka psychopath). He will let you serve him, but as soon as he has no more use for you, he will have you killed off or disposed in another way. But this is something the Putin fans don't want to see. One day you're in his camp, serving camp, next day it's "off to gulag". All at a whim.
Basic Mafia stuff. "It's not personal! It's just business." Putin plays a long game of 3D chess. We (as a nation) are naive.
Oh, definitely. Putin is very good at the long game, and plays "divide and conquer" very well, too. And too many people here are still thinking: "Nooo, he cannot be THAT evil, can he?" Err, well, yes, he is. We shouldn't underestimate Putin's megalomania, malicious intent, nor his utter cruelty.
I think Biden has come a long way in how he thinks about the other side of the aisle.
Actually, I think he's been playing the long game. He knows exactly what they're up to. Where I questioned his judgment was in unconditional support with Israel while Netanyahu is calling the shots, and he seems to be laying down conditions there finally.
Where are the Democratic voices loudly criticizing the Speaker of the House for blurring faces of Jan 6 protestors before making the films public? All those unidentified protestors won’t be recognized by friends and family— he is covering up their crimes. We were all witnesses to Jan 6 including him. Some like Jim Jordan even planned it. Why is this tolerated?? The Senate Democrats have a majority right now. Why don’t they use it instead of wringing their hands and asking for money? Kamala Harris has cast over 50 votes in the Senate to break a tie so thank goodness for that. It cannot be emphasized enough that voting in the primaries is vital. The usual 20% turnout will not stop the bullies.
The ten agreed to withdraw their paperwork with the false information, explain in writing to the federal offices that the filings had been “part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” and acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election.
And why didn't Senator Ron Johnson get charged for trying to change the slate of Wisconsin electors on January 6th?
Very good question, Gary.
We keep saying that they are going to destroy democracy. What democracy? Where’s majority rule? THAT’S democracy. This 60-vote ‘bovine scatology’ should end. Because of it, we have unlimited guns on the street--majority does not want; women have lost a right--majority does not want; money drowning the political system--majority does not want! There needs to be profound adjustments to our political system to return it to majority rule. And by the way, get rid of the freakin’ Electoral College! Anyone thinking that massive voting by the left in 2024 is going to result in a non-chaotic adjustment to the left, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn for sale for you.
"“Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”"
Truly memorable, quotable words. Take note.