This morning’s news that former president Trump apparently clogged a White House toilet repeatedly with discarded documents was overtaken this evening by the news that some of the records Trump took from the White House were clearly marked as classified, some of them “top secret.”
It appears to me that there seems to be a “tell” for Republican miscreants: If they say that Democrats are doing “X”, you can bet money on the possibility that is it likely that “X” is actually being done by Republicans instead. Has anyone else noticed this over the last few decades. One great example is the ratio of Rs cheating in the voting arena versus Ds.
Right, we can describe it as "projection," but it is not a reflection of Republicans' psychological dysfunction; it is a strategy for hiding their misconduct while they score political points off the Democrats' having to deny the charges thrown at them. It has been used a number of times by the Republican party. Case in point, the attempt by a coterie of "veterans" (no doubt funded by Republican operatives) to cast doubt on Senator John Kerry's record of valor in Vietnam--the Swift Boat controversy of 2004. All to deflect from evidence--denied and obfuscated by the party--that his opponent George W. went AWOL for months in 1972 during his term of service in the Texas Air National Guard, possibly associated with drug and alcohol use. Dan Rather, attempting to present what was known, was given the axe by CBS after he was accused of improperly vetting one or two pieces of evidence.
What's so disturbing is that these tactics were so effective. Honorable people were discredited while those with something to hide escaped scrutiny. The imbalance is even greater today than it was in 2004.
The "Swift Boat" scandal so effectively used against John Kerry provides a great example of how inept our "Fourth Estate," the press, has become. The scandal appeared to be a political stunt, where some Republican-aligned, 'Nam-era vets claimed that Kerry was a fraud while other, Democrat-aligned vets claimed that Kerry was a hero.
I found only one reporter who went to the trouble of going to the scene in Vietnam to inspect the site, and also interviewing numerous people who were at or near the site at the time. And the answer was very clear -- it's a big river. If you were on the side of the river that Kerry was patrolling, you thought Kerry was a hero. If you were on the other side, or far enough up/downstream, you didn't know that anything happened. The political breast-beating depended on that simple fact being obscured.
The entire SwiftBoating of Kerry leave a bitter taste in the mouth of this veteran who served in Vietnam of 18 months, much during the same time Kerry was there.
I also marched with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War as he testified before a Congressional hearing.
The far right Republicans came after Kerry with this hack job because he was at the lead of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War - Their assertion was that Vietnam was a total waste of people (American and Vietnamese) and treasure to support an ill conceived foreign policy. I might add that it was one largely put into action by the Dulles brothers and their rabid anti-Commie pipe dream of installing a puppet Catholic in Saigon to thwart the free elections mandated by a Geneva Convention plan to unite the nation.
The fact that “one” reporter arrived at the site where Kerry chased down a VC armed with a Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher and killed him some twenty years later was confirmed by surviving locals who actually knew the guy Kerry killed.
Had that VC been able to launch an RPG round at the Swift Boat that Kerry commandeered then it likely that he and most of his crew would be dead or seriously wounded.
Kerry could have “bone-spurred” his way out of Vietnam as a member of Americas elite class and Skull and Bones. He is perhaps the only one from that upper class that ever set foot in Vietnam. I often wonder if had he been President if we would have been in the Trumpian scum pit we are in today.
Kerry should be decorated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom as he had the courage as a Senator to expose the Iran Contra affair and the BCCI a funnel of cash for some of the most evil and nefarious CIA operations against nations with freely elected leaders. Money supplied by CIA operated drug cartels.
There is in my opinion a special place in hell for the summer Swift Boat “Truthers” whose very moniker is of course a cynical projection.
Thank you for explaining some of the circumstances around the whole Swift Boat "Truthers" charade. The entire 8 years of the GW Bush administration was an utter shit show based on lies and deception, all for the advancement of corrupt, corporate oligarchy-friendly policies. Yet in hindsight it looks like a warm up run for the nightmare of the RTrump years. Anyway... I appreciate your shining a little light on one of the more despicable episodes of the "bushie" years.
In a real sense, a boiling pot is thousands of molecules that grow excited over time because of heat. My thesis today is that while we rightly compartmentalize Presidencies to cite a time frame, that we also have this tendency to think that for example, what happened w/ Bush Jr. was not actually causation for where we are now. However, causation in this realm should probably be thought of as more like black mold than specific events like falling dominoes. That is to suggest that Fascism in America is an underlying force that is pushed, fueled and guided by those who clearly sees a state under Christian Nationalist “morality” and crushing authoritarian power where America as the the grand prize. So back to the pot metaphor; who is lighting the burner and turning up the heat? I hold that the increased temperature was the aftermath of WWII, the Cold War, the Dulles Bros, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK and a realization by rich fascist billionaires (i.e. Koch’s, Mercers, Theil) that ending Democracy was for them doable after no price being paid for domestic political assassination.. It’s just money over time for them.
So … NAME the reporter, Mr. Addertongue, and the publication. Please.
If there are journalists out there doing a good, even great, job, let’s name them. Let’s acknowledge the publication. Let’s pinpoint and celebrate the good work. Let’s support the democracy-enhancing information gatherers, the foundation of our form of government.
Journalism, the free and fair exchange of ideas, is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Why? Because that’s how we get to keep our democracy. By keeping our electorate informed about issues, policies, debates, shenanigans.
I completely agree that news organization — even, maybe especially, some of the really good ones — have lost their way. They’re trying to find out how to make a bunch of money to pay really skilled reporters and editors what their expertise is worth, while also telling the truth — which can drive away subscribers who don’t want THAT particular version of “truth.” It’s a mess. But we NEED this kind of reliable information service if we want our democracy to survive.
It’s not that despicable, derisible “MainStreamMedia,” it’s OUR media.
Amazing how history has turned on just such insignificant claims. One falsehood and many fold toward the GOP thus leaving a thousand facts on the table.
There is an old saying that applies here: "To the victors go the spoils." They write the histories that make them seem wonderful. The United States of America is no different.
Oh, I do wish I could name them. But I was just a little Addertongue then, so long ago, and didn't keep notes. Sad, since such forgetfulness can hamstring later debates Over the many years of watching the clown-fight, I find that I've retained the conclusions but have forgotten the supporting evidence.
Okay, SJ, I shall NAME a few: Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! , The Canary, a small British publication, and Heather Cox Richardson and Letters From an American, are a few. There are many more that most of us would need to did deeper to find, since corporations rule so much of the press.
I was just about to write about something Amy Goodman said as the keynote speaker at the International Women's Writing Guild summer conference in 2008. When she said, it, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning: "What this nation needs is a Fourth Estate, not a "for-the-state."
So much 'news' is reported by members of the fourth estate that they learned second, third, or, perish the thought, twentieth-hand. Far too many of these so-called 'journalists' fail to truly did into a story that would have meaning if they had actually interviewed the folks involved. I say, "Shame of them."
This recall galls me to the nth degree to this day. After Walter retired, I watched Rupert and repubs go after Dan every day in every way. A hit job like Ailes and Murdoch became expert at. CBS lost me on that one, but then MSM has become a poor excuse for a “free press.” Chump calling them the “enemy of the people” just cemented their “both-sides bull Schitt” til we are awash in the swill that will circle the drain.
In this article a sickening feeling concerning the NYT. "A 2017 study in the Columbia Journalism Review by Duncan J. Watts and David M. Rothschild found that the New York Times in six days published as many cover stories about Clinton’s emails as they did about “all the policy issues combined in the 69 days leading up to the election.” The network news gave more time to Clinton’s emails than to all policy issues combined."
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Ideas posted here within the past few months from Ellie. First, these are ideas to help with the Georgia election. ~ The path forward from here, as laid out by Robert Hubbell:
"The path forward runs through us. We must blaze the path with small acts of democracy that will light the way for others. We must pave the path with our stubborn refusal to listen to those who tell us “You can’t win” or “Be afraid” or “Imagine the worst.” The path forward requires militant optimism—a vow never to give up, even if our role is only to hold the ramparts until future generations relieve us.
...First, engage in a daily action to make your voice heard.
...Second, help change the negative media narrative.
...Third, arrange group visits to the local field offices of your congressional and state representatives."
This is the question I keep asking. I doin't know what to do. We used to be able to use our right to vote, but the far right is working very hard to neutralize it and is apparently succeeding. Even if we win, states controlled by "Republicans" will simply declare the result "fraud" and cancel our votes.
Then, why aren't Chuck Schumer and other members of Democratic leadership in public every day doubling down on the evidence revealed here in HCR's letter about the former President's treasonous behavior. Isn't Edward Snowden living in Russia because he shared highly sensitive, top secret, very important NSA documents and cannot return home unless he's willing to face arrest?
I've written my congressman (James McGovern) several times about exactly this issue -- the silence of the Dems --, but have gotten either a boilerplate response or no response (and no action, needless to say).
When TFG is found guilty, I think the sentence should be he has to donate his eye to the Capital policeman who lost theirs. Oh, and the fingers too. But in a shocking twist, after the eye and several fingers are removed, the Capital Police change their minds and just take the donations and the Secret Service let’s them flush the organs down the WH toilet.
Great meme features the Keystone Kops as the Gazpacho police with the side car labeled soup patrol. I have seen several great memes featuring Gangrene's stupidity. One of my friends said she was warming up her tomato soup with Jewish space lasers.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Thank you TC, the playbook for decades: Karl Rove in Tx 1994, of course Newt never missed a chance; W/Dickie loved this one although they used more than one of Goebbels propaganda strategies and had Rupert to blast 24/7 at 90 decibels; and don’t forget the tea party, and McCain’s prize Palin. They may have lost but did they? Of course chump cut his teeth on mob/Nazi methods, from his cradle to Roy Cohn. I never thought the American public was so easily flim-flammed. But Chump knew…
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Frankie is also about to discover (the hard way) of how I deal with right wing trolls that get underfoot. Sadly for him, it turns out he's a flagrant violator of Substack rules.
Projection. ( I have learned this is it’s name, and it’s hallmark tactic of Roy Cohn, McCarthy, and all Fascists. It’s their playbook of propaganda goodies… their calling card.)
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
The last few years I have been drawing a line there on the personal level. I like to be friends with a lot of different people, but if someone starts accusing me of their own shortcomings, I shut off.
Sweden is now under massive international attack by islamist muslims falsely claiming their children are being kidnapped by Swedish authorities. The few examples mentioned have been shown to follow due legal procedures, and include children who have asked for protection against their parents, grossly criminal families, and drug addictive parents. - A hair cutter just happens to take a video of a man complaining outside a social service office that his children have been stolen, and publish it on internet where he just happens to have some 40 000 followers, and he "had no idea that it would be abused and distorted" the way it has! - Accusing others of your own faults is the pattern from top to bottom. - Admittedly Swedish law is very strict when it comes to parents physical punishment of children, and makes for a cultural shock for a lot of people from other cultures. Over the decades it has been successful in lowering the level of violence in society, but some people fleeing from war tend to still have it on their minds.
Roberto Calasso tells in 'The Wedding Party of Kadmos and Harmonia' of how the ancient Greek used their gods: they stayed innocent from blaming the gods for whatever wrong they did. I think then the words at Delphi: 'Know yourself' must have been kind of therapy to grow up and realize what we do is all part of ourselves. Gudrun Olsson, professor of psychology, confirmed me on this point and said we call it drawing back our projections. So, monoteism not only deprived religion of humor, but also blocked this chance to grow up and take responsibility for what we do.
Olaf, The echoes of the largest diaspora from the Middle East, caused by that "Legacy Admission" to Harvard and Yale, George W. Bush, just never ends does it?
No other person in modern history, except Hitler, has had a more evil set of impacts.
Saddam Hussein called it the mother of all wars. - I would add Samuel P Huntingdon and his 'Clash of Civilizations': stir up the Middle East and the muslims will start fighting each other, and be unable to unite against Jews and Christians. Success in that way, but no wonder really that these young men take the war with them.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
As concerning as Trump’s complete disregard for requirements under the Presidential Records Act and lack of concern for common security of information passing through his office, Do Not Be Distracted by this from far more serious offenses. Under most administrations these would be grievous offenses. However, compared to the far more serious offenses committed by Trump, his close advisors and associates, and his administration this is comparable to simply bad table manners. Deflecting attention from more serious matters has long been a common tactic of DJT. Let’s keep the attention on what really matters and the far more serious offense of his efforts to overturn the results of a legitimate election, prevent the peaceful transition of power to a legitimately elected new administration, and his attempts not just to undermine but end our democracy.
Let ALL of us here keep attention on what really matters!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
When every single swing district in the 2020 election goes red and no one pays any attention because the red side is screaming that the election was stolen from them.
The RIP (stolen from another: Republican Insurrectionist Party) has been the party of projection for a long, long time. Their hands have been in the cookie jar as long as I have been alive (a long time) while they point in the opposite direction and blame others for stealing the cookies.
There's a classic cartoon on that. Three men sit around a small table, each with a plate. The Black working man's plate is empty. The White working man's plate has one cookie. The silk hatted capitalist, plate piled high with cookies, is saying to the White man. "He (pointing to the Black man) wants your cookie."
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
It's not exactly a laughing matter and I don't have much to document it, but I noted this tendency to accuse liberals for Republican sins in the 90s listening to Rush Limbaugh. He was pretty consistent with it, too. Thanks for the note, Ms. Andrews.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
I wake at night and check my cell, have the letters been published yet? Before calling this day complete, I must know about how the letters read. I wrap myself every word, every word I waited for, what is happening, what had happened in the world that lay in this early morning wait, for truth to spill out in the late hours, in the time I spend checking, are they in...and no matter what I find or read, and read again, I feel secure this is the truth. I feel the truth in the letters that gives me some kind of peace no matter how gruesome they are. Knowing truth is healthy. I stop churning, when will "they" take over, when will others not knowing, shuttle "them" in to wreck and destroy people and places and history and each other and nip at the world from pillar to post out of what? the need to possess and control and have...welcome to the dark ages now cleverly disguised as "now". But the letters strips and finds and exposes and speaks truth.
Drop by drop the letters come...salve to my restlessness and them. Feeling hope and promise even at a distance, I can go back to sleep again. The letters hit home, embrace home, calm home. I am grateful.
At 83, i am a first reader, along with thousands, here is the light I wait for every first morning. Amen.
There is a certain calming about Heather's truths. I wait for them before sleep. I read as long as I am able to be awake. This nectar of honesty keeps me sane and able to do the work. Only 67, I hope to have a ways to go to work toward democracy, if the climate catastrophe doesn't catch us first.
As a long, long, long time early riser, I am sleeping by 10pm most nights. But, I always look forward to early mornings now to read HCR and the many insightful comments that follow.
Mornings are better in every way since I joined this board.
Old habits die hard, still an early riser since I had to be for so many years. Early morning coffee and HCR steel me for the inevitable onslaught of bull Schitt .
I find that reading first thing in my morning is the best way for me to experience the Letter and the community here. My two (sometimes three) cups of coffee and the contact with folks in the comments section set the tone for my day.
I wake up, turn on no lights and for goodness sake don’t wake the dog, to escape to the patio to devour the latest letter and first comments. I’m addicted! Beautiful comment.
Even if we could find all these sources, there's no way we as readers could tie them together, offer a historical perspective...and write so beautifully. I am grateful every day for Professor Richardson.
Exactly how I feel about the letters! They give me a sense of peace even though a friend said “but the problems remain”. An analysis of truth written by an historian and no one can throw this out!
My routine precisely, Lynnsy -- but so beautifully put! Working full time at 74, some days I can only read the letter once and then fall asleep again. Just knowing it has come lulls me back to sleep in order to function adequately during the day. 😉
Where are G. Gordon Liddy and Nixon's White House Plumbers when you need them? Was Trump taking Grover Norquist's wish to flush government down the drain literally? Republicans have been using the Constitution to wipe their a•• for decades.
Yes we all need a good laugh...the best one would be is to see ALL those R's in the unemployment line or in prison!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Are you seeing any signs of all of us here joining together to assure Democracy's survival against the determined powers that would kill our democracy.
I am going to risk being off-putting to those who seem less concerned and instead repeatedly plead like every person who is trying succeed in achieving the continuation of the World's greatest Democracy!
OK, I will now risk being repetitious. You have posted this at least a dozen times now. Time to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak.
Anyone can say "this needs to be done." Useful suggestions as to *how* it can be done are what are needed. In terms of useful results, your repeated cut and paste jobs accomplish no more than any other comments here.
Suggest some useful tactics. What actions can we take? How can we stop these criminals? I'm out of ideas myself.
Stephen thank you for expressing your sincere concern about the attack by the NON-Americans in Congress and their supporters...it is a life threatening reality that if "We" do not work together in successfully overcoming all the various strategic attacks on America's democracy then we will NOT have a second opportunity ever again.
So, trying to begin an effort to unite supporters of this newsletter here is my first attempt.
I am possession of no particular magic bullet.
I have never participated in a political activism effort other than diligently studying the issues and candidates.
I would not be a competent leader.
I do have a great fear about America’s future remaining as the preeminent democracy in the history of the world.
The best solution I have discovered so far is contributing as much as I possibly can as of as I can.
ACTBLUE is one of the best resources for contributions.
The other source proven to be one of the most effective is MoveOn
Listed below is contact information for both.
You must have good ideas…please share them repeatedly until you are satisfied your efforts have succeeded in helping save America’s democracy.
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the Republican Party. Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with writing a hit piece about it.
1 You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history. The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists.
2 You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results.
3 At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"
4 Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen election.
5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.
6 That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising efforts so we can stop them."
7 That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today. Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency donation of $20 to MoveOn to power their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their involvement in the insurrection.
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger "compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted coup.
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $20—or whatever you can—to take down Trump's plot to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections?
I 'get' your urgency and sincerity. I worry about a repplay of the deadly disunity of 2016. I am hoping we will build on our united 2020 win.
What signs will you accept of significant concern translated into sufficient activism? We all are here educating ourselves and each other. Taking strength from HCR and the community to work towards our shared goal. It is not a leap of faith to trust that this is true of most people participating in this public forum. And that we are translating this intellectual engagement into effective action.
But if you are doing things to turn out the vote for Democratic candidates, things we have not mentioned, then please share your tactics for victory.
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the Republican Party. Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with writing a hit piece about it.
1 You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history. The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists.
2 You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results.
3 At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"
4 Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen election.
5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.
6 That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising efforts so we can stop them."
7 That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today. Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency donation of $20 to MoveOn to power their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their involvement in the insurrection.
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger "compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted coup.
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $20—or whatever you can—to take down Trump's plot to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections? Thanks for all you do.
I have started looking for your comments! They are worth the search! We all know that Trump has always thought he is way above the law no matter how low he goes! I wish he wasn't continuing to get so much press! All of the lawless folks love him!
Steve Inskeep's 'truth sandwich' interview short circuited Trump. More truth sandwich reporting. Fewer platforms for extremists. Report on and quote Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Taylor Green et al but don't give them OpEd space.
Now it is time to kick all of those R's in their fat white elite moneyed old a****
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Yes. Roll up our sleeves. Work with our local Democratic committees. Write Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds. Run for office.
But please let us not stereotype out opponents. GOP paymaster beneficiaries are more diverse than you imply. The GOP voter base is the religious right working and middle class who the party wedge issued off the Democratic base. Republicans have made inroads in socially conservative minority communities opposed to LGBTQ rights and to abortion.
Know thine enemy. But more importantly try to find ways to reach out to them while working to defeat their agenda.
The Times' treatment of Hilary's emails vs tfg's trips to the loo plus his mishandling of top secret documents is such a sham. She lost an election because of their antics, but will he ever receive his just deserts -- anything beyond a slap on the wrist?!!!
On a positive note, I loved the recognition President Biden is receiving abroad.
"One diplomat for the European Union told Rothkopf these qualities [diplomacy/making alliances] are 'refreshing and, in a way, revolutionary.' A scholar of diplomacy put it like this: 'When there are lots of moving pieces in play, when there appears to be the chance for seismic shifts in power, these can call forth a golden age of diplomacy. And the coalition builders, the conceivers of grand alliances, the ones who work well with others, these almost always prevail in the face of a bullying despot.'"
Thank you for another compelling and most instructive letter, Heather!
This was my favorite part of today’s letter, and probably my favorite one so far this month. Maybe it was my teenage years growing up in Europe, Model United Nations in The Hague, stuff like that, because I feel a strong affinity for Europe and for European American diplomacy, it’s just a thing of mine.
Roland, This is a really cogent article. Thank you for posting it. I thought the comment about if (when?) war broke out, how many young soldiers on both sides would be lost, no longer able to participate in the future stability of their countries. It would skew their demographics (of both countries) even more toward needy elderly. The idea of Putin saber rattling to distract from his poor economic handling is business as usual, isn’t it? I’m interested to know if the Generals comments break through Putin’s rhetoric.
I'm glad I read to the end where in his address to Putin and the Russian people he says: "A big war is a huge tragedy, someone's serious crime." Thanks for this, Roland.
Thank you for this. Truly eye-opening. Of course in the grand scheme of all things Putin (and TFG) -related, nothing will come of it, but it is interesting to see the threats to Ukraine as eye candy to distract from Russian domestic problems. Also the analysis in Heather’s letter of Putin’s choice of timing - transfer of government in Germany, etc.
Let us not lose sight of the fact that installing a private server in the privately owned basement of a United States Secretary of State, so that said Secretary can use email OUTSIDE of the Freedom of Information Act, is, or should be, illegal.
The fact that Trump has topped Hillary Clinton's slimy approach by quite a bit, and in a hilarious way, DOES NOT mean that Hillary Clinton's approach was not illegal or slimy.
Heather is giving us a most magnificent venue to gather and encourage each other in meaningful ways...this newsletter is a wonderful blessing that could be instrumental in saving American democracy!!!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
To the tune of my favorite Gilbert & Sullivan song:
[TRUMP, spoken] As you know, I'm meeting with President Putin on Monday. And we will, of course, ask the favorite question about meddling. I will be asking that question again. You know, what am I gonna do? He may deny it, I mean it's one of those things. All I can do is say, did you? And, don't do it again. But, he may deny it. He will You'll be the first to know. I'm very consistent. I'm a very stable genius. So we'll have to figure out what's going on...
\
[RANDY] He is the very model of a very stable genius
Of all the U.S. presidents he is the Mussoliniest
He learned a lot of things according to his Wikipedia
And demonstrates his ample intellect on social media
When people are in need he is the best at making fun of them
He knows eleven words although he can't spell even one of them
An overly flamboyant, orange, autocratic scuzzy man
Who's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's overly flamboyant and an autocratic scuzzy orange man
[TRUMP, spoken] I'm a very stable genius
[RANDY] He's firmly resolute, but how he thinks and feels and talks depends
On any of the crap he may have heard that day on Fox & Friends
And though his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Although his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I am doing a great job, that I can tell you
[RANDY] He's very good at pushing all the bullshit that he's peddling
But won't concern himself with matters such as Russian meddling
His campaign manager's in jail on charges that are felony
And no one really cares about him less than his wife Melanie
[RANDY, spoken] Sorry, Mel-AY-nie
[RANDY] He's really great with children when it comes to immigration
He thinks he's making progress with denuclearization
He's only hated from Seattle to the Carolinias
And likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vag-ga-ginias
[RANDY, spoken] Queen Elizabeth did not see that coming
[RANDY] He's certainly proficient at hacking hijacking an election
At NATO he is not afraid of not taking direction
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius?
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I'm a very stable genius
[RANDY] He's firmly resolute, but how he thinks and feels and talks depends
On any of the crap he may have heard that day on Fox & Friends
And though his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Although his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I am doing a great job, that I can tell you
[RANDY] He's very good at pushing all the bullshit that he's peddling
But won't concern himself with matters such as Russian meddling
His campaign manager's in jail on charges that are felony
And no one really cares about him less than his wife Melanie
[RANDY, spoken] Sorry, Mel-AY-nie
[RANDY] He's really great with children when it comes to immigration
He thinks he's making progress with denuclearization
He's only hated from Seattle to the Carolinias
And likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vag-ga-ginias
[RANDY, spoken] Queen Elizabeth did not see that coming
[RANDY] He's certainly proficient at hacking hijacking an election
At NATO he is not afraid of not taking direction
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius?
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Must watch. Can see it on You Tube. I will not forget when he uttered that ridiculous statement, “I am a very stable genius”. Pffffft.
Wow! So very wonderfully witty. Admirable composition...
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
ThankYou TC for sharing Randy Rainbow's wonderful parody! I thought it rang a bell and, like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, "the little gray cells" kicked in. Eventually.
In case you all were wondering who "Randy" is in the lyrics quoted by TC. He is the inimitable Randy Rainbow. A Tom Lehrer for our times.
Pity the poor plumbers who had to unclog Trump’s toilet. The very idea of a president destroying documents so blatantly is shocking. Even for Trump. Same for handling top secret material with no concern for national security. Perhaps in prison Trump will receive true justice — cleaning toilets.
But where was the Secret Service? What is their role in this? Remember that TFG had them do their thing in outhouses? That bastard knew all along he was violating the laws of the land. ARREST HIM!
Would the plumbers - or “White House Staff” be liable for not reporting this to the FBI or Justice Dept? Or is this a typical Presidential practice and Americans should just “get over it”? There is a National Archive and a Sewer Archive evidently.
It'd be nice to live in a country where politicians don't consistently break laws without fear of consequences. Half of the Republican party would be in prison right now if the law were applied equally to the rich and powerful. The worst part is they're right for thinking they can get away with it because of course they will.
Politicians and anyone with influence or money. No one takes responsibility for their actions as no one is held accountable. Thinking this is a stronger pattern in the past four decades.
because if we permit "Them" to get away with it this time...
there will NEVER be another time for us to save our American democracy...
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
Why does anyone expect a racist and sexist political party to have integrity? Why does anyone think that the Republicans and Faux Noise, the place where all sexists and racists in America go to feel at home, give a damn about being hypocrites? OF COURSE they are going to attack a woman who wants to be in a position of power, be it Hillary or the new SC Justice. OF COURSE they are going to attack POC. OF COURSE they are going to give their racist hero a pass.
Are we so naïve that we don’t understand how the other side plays?
So many are, shocks me to my core every day. The ploys are so idiotic, the lies so obvious, any idiot should see thru them. Why I have thought so many times. “We are not really that stupid.” But, yes we are, it seems.
Democratic naiveté must NOW change and fight back with all its determined power!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
On one end, the former leader of the free world and orange Buffon at large stands accused of stealing confidential documents, the ones he could not tear up, eat, or shove down the WH toilets.
On the other end, a dictator kleptocrat with nuclear weapons schemes to invade another former satellite state to destabilize Europe, NATO, and the world.
Both, in one way or another are new and old challenges/ threats to democracy. I’m not sure if it’s good to read the letters before bedtime anymore. Whewww!
Daily Mail? consume with great caution. "In February 2017, the Daily Mail became the first source to be deprecated as an "unreliable source" for use as a reference on the English Wikipedia."
Your summarizing statement is also really remarkable in the effective way you expose the enormous powers that would destroy our American democracy!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing — the sharp chirp of the building’s security alarm cut through the air, and the shouting of the word “treason” echoed into the Rotunda as the massive mob poured in through the doors. I paused in the Rotunda, thinking about the irony of the fact that the people who just breached the Capitol building in a violent, seditious manner were shouting “treason” at the top of their lungs. I was in shock.”
I never had Top Secret clearance, only NO FORN (No Foreign), but I worked where other people had Top Secret. We all received training on the proper handling of the documents that came into our possession, with periodic refreshers. One guy with TS clearance was fired for failing to properly lock a file cabinet at the end of the day. Don Jr recently made an offhand remark about reading sensitive materials. If Trump is not prosecuted for this, we are truly lost.
Talk about distractions! Critical NATO diplomacy needed at the same time TFG’s mishandling of official confidential documents continues to make headlines. Former staffers are just now telling their stories after spending four years taping shredded docs together and retrieving them from the toilet? When will TFG just go away? Disappear? And what do the repubs think of the illegal handling of docs? They (or at least trumpees) still claim any Dem especially a presidential candidate should have gone to jail for their claimed mail scandal. And let’s hope at some point TFG and his buddies pay for their misdeeds. We need to get on with critical government business.
I'm just going to LOVE that the Archivists are the ones that are finally gonna bring this house of cards down. Quiet, thorough, and precise. Superheros.
THE NYT HAS ‘IMMORTALIZED’ MY PHRASE “TRUMP IDIOTOLOGY”
“I applaud the backlash of some Republican political realists, including now-Minority-Senate-Leader McConnell, that the TRUMP IDIOTOLOGY on the BIG LIE and the House 1/6 Committee ‘witch hunt’ is harmful to Republican chances in the 2022 Congressional elections.
Though I find distasteful McConnell’s electoral strategy to avoid stating any GOP policies and simply bash the Biden administration, it is far better than fighting lockstep for whatever Trump proclaims.
As a person who lived during years of Joe McCarthy’s demagoguery, I was surprised by how swiftly his bubble was burst.”
You have hit two news stories that have me enthralled. With the increasing reveals of what most of us knew all along, that Trump is a big old criminal and should have been given access to USA national security about as much as Putin. With Putin I wonder whether he is just trying to wear out NATO so that when Xi Jinping steps up to take over Taiwan, NATO will be weakened by handling the "Russian crisis in the Ukraine." I hope that it only serves to improve diplomatic discussions, strategies and outcomes. I am impressed with the straightforwardness of Lithuania's Prime Minister since her country is right next to Russia. I also understand that, other than Putin, no one in Europe wants to have another war. As if we haven't lost enough people to the pandemic. Of course people are dispensable to Oligarchs and Oligarch wannabes, aka DT.
Reports have said that they are among the documents in the 15 boxes, as well as is the letter President Obama left on the Oval Office desk for his successor. I don't care to know what's in the "love letters" but would love to read what President Obama had to say to his successor.
I am so interested in your comment. I, also, wonder about a quiet alliance between Putin and Xi Jinping. Is Putin simply doing a solid for Xi by wearing out NATO? We are scrambling and positioning ourselves to aid NATO, but know very well we won’t go into Ukraine. Putin knows this also. But he can enjoy the theater of improving the alpha male. All the while forcing us to schuttle diplomatic and military forces all around. Not a cheap thing to do. Putin knows America has no stomach for war, especially on the heels of our Afghanistan mess. But wearing us down so Xi can ( after the Olympics) put the screws to Taiwan and leave us with two major fronts? Why not? Geopolitically, China could care less what Putin wants in Eastern Europe. “Take what you want”. Putin doesn’t care that China wants Taiwan. They are a match made in dictator-heaven.
It appears to me that there seems to be a “tell” for Republican miscreants: If they say that Democrats are doing “X”, you can bet money on the possibility that is it likely that “X” is actually being done by Republicans instead. Has anyone else noticed this over the last few decades. One great example is the ratio of Rs cheating in the voting arena versus Ds.
As Josef Goebbels once said, "always accuse your opponent of doing that which you yourself are doing."
Right, we can describe it as "projection," but it is not a reflection of Republicans' psychological dysfunction; it is a strategy for hiding their misconduct while they score political points off the Democrats' having to deny the charges thrown at them. It has been used a number of times by the Republican party. Case in point, the attempt by a coterie of "veterans" (no doubt funded by Republican operatives) to cast doubt on Senator John Kerry's record of valor in Vietnam--the Swift Boat controversy of 2004. All to deflect from evidence--denied and obfuscated by the party--that his opponent George W. went AWOL for months in 1972 during his term of service in the Texas Air National Guard, possibly associated with drug and alcohol use. Dan Rather, attempting to present what was known, was given the axe by CBS after he was accused of improperly vetting one or two pieces of evidence.
What's so disturbing is that these tactics were so effective. Honorable people were discredited while those with something to hide escaped scrutiny. The imbalance is even greater today than it was in 2004.
It may be that the same amount was happening in 2004 as today, but then there was less access to information compared with the technology of today.
The "Swift Boat" scandal so effectively used against John Kerry provides a great example of how inept our "Fourth Estate," the press, has become. The scandal appeared to be a political stunt, where some Republican-aligned, 'Nam-era vets claimed that Kerry was a fraud while other, Democrat-aligned vets claimed that Kerry was a hero.
I found only one reporter who went to the trouble of going to the scene in Vietnam to inspect the site, and also interviewing numerous people who were at or near the site at the time. And the answer was very clear -- it's a big river. If you were on the side of the river that Kerry was patrolling, you thought Kerry was a hero. If you were on the other side, or far enough up/downstream, you didn't know that anything happened. The political breast-beating depended on that simple fact being obscured.
I saw that story printed once. Only once.
The entire SwiftBoating of Kerry leave a bitter taste in the mouth of this veteran who served in Vietnam of 18 months, much during the same time Kerry was there.
I also marched with the Vietnam Veterans Against the War as he testified before a Congressional hearing.
The far right Republicans came after Kerry with this hack job because he was at the lead of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War - Their assertion was that Vietnam was a total waste of people (American and Vietnamese) and treasure to support an ill conceived foreign policy. I might add that it was one largely put into action by the Dulles brothers and their rabid anti-Commie pipe dream of installing a puppet Catholic in Saigon to thwart the free elections mandated by a Geneva Convention plan to unite the nation.
The fact that “one” reporter arrived at the site where Kerry chased down a VC armed with a Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher and killed him some twenty years later was confirmed by surviving locals who actually knew the guy Kerry killed.
Had that VC been able to launch an RPG round at the Swift Boat that Kerry commandeered then it likely that he and most of his crew would be dead or seriously wounded.
Kerry could have “bone-spurred” his way out of Vietnam as a member of Americas elite class and Skull and Bones. He is perhaps the only one from that upper class that ever set foot in Vietnam. I often wonder if had he been President if we would have been in the Trumpian scum pit we are in today.
Kerry should be decorated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom as he had the courage as a Senator to expose the Iran Contra affair and the BCCI a funnel of cash for some of the most evil and nefarious CIA operations against nations with freely elected leaders. Money supplied by CIA operated drug cartels.
There is in my opinion a special place in hell for the summer Swift Boat “Truthers” whose very moniker is of course a cynical projection.
I also hope that some day the sunshine of sanity will come to this sorry state of affairs the U.S. has been in for many years.
Thank you for explaining some of the circumstances around the whole Swift Boat "Truthers" charade. The entire 8 years of the GW Bush administration was an utter shit show based on lies and deception, all for the advancement of corrupt, corporate oligarchy-friendly policies. Yet in hindsight it looks like a warm up run for the nightmare of the RTrump years. Anyway... I appreciate your shining a little light on one of the more despicable episodes of the "bushie" years.
In a real sense, a boiling pot is thousands of molecules that grow excited over time because of heat. My thesis today is that while we rightly compartmentalize Presidencies to cite a time frame, that we also have this tendency to think that for example, what happened w/ Bush Jr. was not actually causation for where we are now. However, causation in this realm should probably be thought of as more like black mold than specific events like falling dominoes. That is to suggest that Fascism in America is an underlying force that is pushed, fueled and guided by those who clearly sees a state under Christian Nationalist “morality” and crushing authoritarian power where America as the the grand prize. So back to the pot metaphor; who is lighting the burner and turning up the heat? I hold that the increased temperature was the aftermath of WWII, the Cold War, the Dulles Bros, the assassinations of JFK, RFK, MLK and a realization by rich fascist billionaires (i.e. Koch’s, Mercers, Theil) that ending Democracy was for them doable after no price being paid for domestic political assassination.. It’s just money over time for them.
Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickins put his fortune behind the slander. no confusion there...
So … NAME the reporter, Mr. Addertongue, and the publication. Please.
If there are journalists out there doing a good, even great, job, let’s name them. Let’s acknowledge the publication. Let’s pinpoint and celebrate the good work. Let’s support the democracy-enhancing information gatherers, the foundation of our form of government.
Journalism, the free and fair exchange of ideas, is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. Why? Because that’s how we get to keep our democracy. By keeping our electorate informed about issues, policies, debates, shenanigans.
I completely agree that news organization — even, maybe especially, some of the really good ones — have lost their way. They’re trying to find out how to make a bunch of money to pay really skilled reporters and editors what their expertise is worth, while also telling the truth — which can drive away subscribers who don’t want THAT particular version of “truth.” It’s a mess. But we NEED this kind of reliable information service if we want our democracy to survive.
It’s not that despicable, derisible “MainStreamMedia,” it’s OUR media.
How can we help the industry to heal itself?
Amazing how history has turned on just such insignificant claims. One falsehood and many fold toward the GOP thus leaving a thousand facts on the table.
There is an old saying that applies here: "To the victors go the spoils." They write the histories that make them seem wonderful. The United States of America is no different.
Oh, I do wish I could name them. But I was just a little Addertongue then, so long ago, and didn't keep notes. Sad, since such forgetfulness can hamstring later debates Over the many years of watching the clown-fight, I find that I've retained the conclusions but have forgotten the supporting evidence.
Okay, SJ, I shall NAME a few: Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! , The Canary, a small British publication, and Heather Cox Richardson and Letters From an American, are a few. There are many more that most of us would need to did deeper to find, since corporations rule so much of the press.
I was just about to write about something Amy Goodman said as the keynote speaker at the International Women's Writing Guild summer conference in 2008. When she said, it, I felt like I'd been struck by lightning: "What this nation needs is a Fourth Estate, not a "for-the-state."
It was true then, and it is true now.
Forgot about Amy Goodman. Thank You.
So much 'news' is reported by members of the fourth estate that they learned second, third, or, perish the thought, twentieth-hand. Far too many of these so-called 'journalists' fail to truly did into a story that would have meaning if they had actually interviewed the folks involved. I say, "Shame of them."
This recall galls me to the nth degree to this day. After Walter retired, I watched Rupert and repubs go after Dan every day in every way. A hit job like Ailes and Murdoch became expert at. CBS lost me on that one, but then MSM has become a poor excuse for a “free press.” Chump calling them the “enemy of the people” just cemented their “both-sides bull Schitt” til we are awash in the swill that will circle the drain.
That matches my experience with national "news" as well.
In this article a sickening feeling concerning the NYT. "A 2017 study in the Columbia Journalism Review by Duncan J. Watts and David M. Rothschild found that the New York Times in six days published as many cover stories about Clinton’s emails as they did about “all the policy issues combined in the 69 days leading up to the election.” The network news gave more time to Clinton’s emails than to all policy issues combined."
Thanks to Maggie Haberman
Nous ne trumpons pas ici.
Interesting: look how close that word is to “tampon.” Hey, a new business idea for the Trump family!
Had to look it up, Nous ne trumpons pas ici, "We are not cheating here."
they should go for that!!!
Thank heavens I'm post-menopausal!!!
Amen!
Hear hear Spooky!
Nicely done, Spooky. Thank you for that.
“Projecting” is a subconscious impulse.
This repetitive behavior by R’s should be named for what it is - gaslighting.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Ideas posted here within the past few months from Ellie. First, these are ideas to help with the Georgia election. ~ The path forward from here, as laid out by Robert Hubbell:
"The path forward runs through us. We must blaze the path with small acts of democracy that will light the way for others. We must pave the path with our stubborn refusal to listen to those who tell us “You can’t win” or “Be afraid” or “Imagine the worst.” The path forward requires militant optimism—a vow never to give up, even if our role is only to hold the ramparts until future generations relieve us.
...First, engage in a daily action to make your voice heard.
...Second, help change the negative media narrative.
...Third, arrange group visits to the local field offices of your congressional and state representatives."
DO IT!
Yes, absolutely.
How?
This is the question I keep asking. I doin't know what to do. We used to be able to use our right to vote, but the far right is working very hard to neutralize it and is apparently succeeding. Even if we win, states controlled by "Republicans" will simply declare the result "fraud" and cancel our votes.
DO IT.......VOTE!
More ideas from Ellie ~ "There's an app for that." For real: Mobilize
https://www.mobilize.us/
You're in the home state of Stacey Abrams, whose Fair Fight welcomes allies:
www.fairfight.com
Sen. Warnock is up for re-election in 2022.
https://ballotpedia.org/Raphael_Warnock
Want to connect with like minds in action? Find your local Democratic Party, League of Women Voters, or Indivisible.
https://www.georgiademocrat.org/
https://www.lwv.org/
https://indivisible.org/
Thanks! Going to bookmark those.
ME TOO!
Then, why aren't Chuck Schumer and other members of Democratic leadership in public every day doubling down on the evidence revealed here in HCR's letter about the former President's treasonous behavior. Isn't Edward Snowden living in Russia because he shared highly sensitive, top secret, very important NSA documents and cannot return home unless he's willing to face arrest?
I've written my congressman (James McGovern) several times about exactly this issue -- the silence of the Dems --, but have gotten either a boilerplate response or no response (and no action, needless to say).
And Mr. Rather was given humiliating assignments like the one I remember where he interviewed Swinger couples
CBS really blew it with me. Would love to see a 60 Minutes Show where they placed the blame where it belonged, Karl Rove, in my book
Neither he nor his cult nuts pretend anymore
Freakin’ Goebbels, Viva la Gazpacho
The Capitol Police: Gestapo or Gazpacho? Vote here.
[This is my new clickbait ad to target you either with leftist recipes or racist political causes]
When TFG is found guilty, I think the sentence should be he has to donate his eye to the Capital policeman who lost theirs. Oh, and the fingers too. But in a shocking twist, after the eye and several fingers are removed, the Capital Police change their minds and just take the donations and the Secret Service let’s them flush the organs down the WH toilet.
Hmm, dark. I kinda like it.
I wish I’d said that!
Hybrid cuisine: Gestacho. With Gazstapo for dessert, with a drizzle of chocolate....
Interesting. In Italian the word "gestaccio" --same pronunciation as "gestacho" with a soft g -- refers to the raised middle finger.
I keep seeing Vladimir Putin’s head exploding. Now why is that?
Don't defile chocolate!🤣
Clearly Joseph is contributing a California cuisine recipe, perhaps à la Alice Waters.
Leftist recipes? I am interested.
Roland’s Diversity Apfelstrudel, a blended hybrid of traditional old German and utopian new world flavors baked into delicious goodness.
What’s your contribution to the recipe book, Carol?
Careful. If 'they' are caught by the gazpacho they might be throw into the goulash.
A meme I came across: "Go ahead. Laugh. But gazpacho police will lead to sangria law."
Great meme features the Keystone Kops as the Gazpacho police with the side car labeled soup patrol. I have seen several great memes featuring Gangrene's stupidity. One of my friends said she was warming up her tomato soup with Jewish space lasers.
🤣
Recipes ! Recipes ! 😂
I'm thinking fig balsamic drizzled over mango
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
A classic A/B test.
LOL, Roland. Too funny.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
👍
Clever ... but Goebbels and Greene are really just distractions from what must accomplished on November 8.
Jack, I feel that November 8th will be here and gone and we will again be caught flat footed.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
😂
Thank you TC, the playbook for decades: Karl Rove in Tx 1994, of course Newt never missed a chance; W/Dickie loved this one although they used more than one of Goebbels propaganda strategies and had Rupert to blast 24/7 at 90 decibels; and don’t forget the tea party, and McCain’s prize Palin. They may have lost but did they? Of course chump cut his teeth on mob/Nazi methods, from his cradle to Roy Cohn. I never thought the American public was so easily flim-flammed. But Chump knew…
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Classic tactics of abusers in relationships.
The republicans are good at this. So is Putin.
That works up to a point - the point at which people notice that a pattern is emerging!
Talia,
Don't get your hopes up.
GOP = Gaslighters Only Party
Please May I paste this all over kingdom come?
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
No offense, but how many times are you going to do this copy-and-paste job? I don't disagree with the sentiment, but this is starting to look abusive.
I now simply scroll past these repetitive posts.
TC, you should check out Frank Lee’s Social Misfits Newsletter… you have an honorable mention in his most recent screenshot.
"Frank Lee" is a well-known right wing troll and a fucking moron.
Frankie is also about to discover (the hard way) of how I deal with right wing trolls that get underfoot. Sadly for him, it turns out he's a flagrant violator of Substack rules.
Where did he say that?
Projection. ( I have learned this is it’s name, and it’s hallmark tactic of Roy Cohn, McCarthy, and all Fascists. It’s their playbook of propaganda goodies… their calling card.)
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
(Sweden)
The last few years I have been drawing a line there on the personal level. I like to be friends with a lot of different people, but if someone starts accusing me of their own shortcomings, I shut off.
Sweden is now under massive international attack by islamist muslims falsely claiming their children are being kidnapped by Swedish authorities. The few examples mentioned have been shown to follow due legal procedures, and include children who have asked for protection against their parents, grossly criminal families, and drug addictive parents. - A hair cutter just happens to take a video of a man complaining outside a social service office that his children have been stolen, and publish it on internet where he just happens to have some 40 000 followers, and he "had no idea that it would be abused and distorted" the way it has! - Accusing others of your own faults is the pattern from top to bottom. - Admittedly Swedish law is very strict when it comes to parents physical punishment of children, and makes for a cultural shock for a lot of people from other cultures. Over the decades it has been successful in lowering the level of violence in society, but some people fleeing from war tend to still have it on their minds.
Roberto Calasso tells in 'The Wedding Party of Kadmos and Harmonia' of how the ancient Greek used their gods: they stayed innocent from blaming the gods for whatever wrong they did. I think then the words at Delphi: 'Know yourself' must have been kind of therapy to grow up and realize what we do is all part of ourselves. Gudrun Olsson, professor of psychology, confirmed me on this point and said we call it drawing back our projections. So, monoteism not only deprived religion of humor, but also blocked this chance to grow up and take responsibility for what we do.
Olaf, The echoes of the largest diaspora from the Middle East, caused by that "Legacy Admission" to Harvard and Yale, George W. Bush, just never ends does it?
No other person in modern history, except Hitler, has had a more evil set of impacts.
Saddam Hussein called it the mother of all wars. - I would add Samuel P Huntingdon and his 'Clash of Civilizations': stir up the Middle East and the muslims will start fighting each other, and be unable to unite against Jews and Christians. Success in that way, but no wonder really that these young men take the war with them.
You might enjoy "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" for the unjust war in Iran by famed criminal prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi in 2008.
Accusation is confession.
Exactly, but the cult hasn’t figured that out.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
As concerning as Trump’s complete disregard for requirements under the Presidential Records Act and lack of concern for common security of information passing through his office, Do Not Be Distracted by this from far more serious offenses. Under most administrations these would be grievous offenses. However, compared to the far more serious offenses committed by Trump, his close advisors and associates, and his administration this is comparable to simply bad table manners. Deflecting attention from more serious matters has long been a common tactic of DJT. Let’s keep the attention on what really matters and the far more serious offense of his efforts to overturn the results of a legitimate election, prevent the peaceful transition of power to a legitimately elected new administration, and his attempts not just to undermine but end our democracy.
"Mike Pence should have overturned the election for us"
But her emails!
Yes!
Let ALL of us here keep attention on what really matters!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Patricia,
Exactly correct. It's like the 2nd grade kid accusing another kid of hitting him on the playground, when, in fact, that kid was doing the hitting.
Hey, maybe that kid in in the Senate now!!
Senate full of them
I've adopted that rule since about 2017, and so far, I haven't seen any major deviations.
Or consequences?
Brings to mind a few R's that were extremely homophobic, campaigned on "family values" who were then caught in gay relationships.
Yes, and it has led me to wonder if any brands of voting machines were corruptly switching votes to Republicans in 2020.
When every single swing district in the 2020 election goes red and no one pays any attention because the red side is screaming that the election was stolen from them.
and Mitch McConnell gets 59% of the vote with an 18% approval rating
Me too.
It's called gaslighting.
The RIP (stolen from another: Republican Insurrectionist Party) has been the party of projection for a long, long time. Their hands have been in the cookie jar as long as I have been alive (a long time) while they point in the opposite direction and blame others for stealing the cookies.
There's a classic cartoon on that. Three men sit around a small table, each with a plate. The Black working man's plate is empty. The White working man's plate has one cookie. The silk hatted capitalist, plate piled high with cookies, is saying to the White man. "He (pointing to the Black man) wants your cookie."
LBJ got that one:
"If you can convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he'll empty his pockets for you."
:’-(
Exactly. :’-(
Dont listen to what the Trumplicans say, watch what they do!
Projection, a transfer of blame from the guilty onto the innocent person. Used by all good bullies and narcissists.
It's not exactly a laughing matter and I don't have much to document it, but I noted this tendency to accuse liberals for Republican sins in the 90s listening to Rush Limbaugh. He was pretty consistent with it, too. Thanks for the note, Ms. Andrews.
Absolutely.
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
I wake at night and check my cell, have the letters been published yet? Before calling this day complete, I must know about how the letters read. I wrap myself every word, every word I waited for, what is happening, what had happened in the world that lay in this early morning wait, for truth to spill out in the late hours, in the time I spend checking, are they in...and no matter what I find or read, and read again, I feel secure this is the truth. I feel the truth in the letters that gives me some kind of peace no matter how gruesome they are. Knowing truth is healthy. I stop churning, when will "they" take over, when will others not knowing, shuttle "them" in to wreck and destroy people and places and history and each other and nip at the world from pillar to post out of what? the need to possess and control and have...welcome to the dark ages now cleverly disguised as "now". But the letters strips and finds and exposes and speaks truth.
Drop by drop the letters come...salve to my restlessness and them. Feeling hope and promise even at a distance, I can go back to sleep again. The letters hit home, embrace home, calm home. I am grateful.
At 83, i am a first reader, along with thousands, here is the light I wait for every first morning. Amen.
There is a certain calming about Heather's truths. I wait for them before sleep. I read as long as I am able to be awake. This nectar of honesty keeps me sane and able to do the work. Only 67, I hope to have a ways to go to work toward democracy, if the climate catastrophe doesn't catch us first.
Lynnsy,
As a long, long, long time early riser, I am sleeping by 10pm most nights. But, I always look forward to early mornings now to read HCR and the many insightful comments that follow.
Mornings are better in every way since I joined this board.
Old habits die hard, still an early riser since I had to be for so many years. Early morning coffee and HCR steel me for the inevitable onslaught of bull Schitt .
Lynnsy…💯👍
that just turned every subscription into a prayer. I can sleep peacefully now 🙏🙏🙏
I find that reading first thing in my morning is the best way for me to experience the Letter and the community here. My two (sometimes three) cups of coffee and the contact with folks in the comments section set the tone for my day.
What you wrote here is pure balm to the soul.
I wait until my second cup, but happily sit, read and "talk with friends here. Nice way to start the day.
Ditto
I wake up, turn on no lights and for goodness sake don’t wake the dog, to escape to the patio to devour the latest letter and first comments. I’m addicted! Beautiful comment.
My cats are waiting, no matter the time
My cat too! So we read it together!
Yes, purrfection! 😻😻
Exactly! Don’t wake the household - cherish the morning letter and this community of readers.
“The best part of wakin’ up….”
83 is a prime number.
Beautifully stated, Lynnsy. Truth is a balm, for certain.
Having coffee with my good friend Heather is what starts my day every morning.
Even if we could find all these sources, there's no way we as readers could tie them together, offer a historical perspective...and write so beautifully. I am grateful every day for Professor Richardson.
Exactly how I feel about the letters! They give me a sense of peace even though a friend said “but the problems remain”. An analysis of truth written by an historian and no one can throw this out!
Dear Lynnsy -
Beautifully stated.
I actually feel a little better now.
My routine precisely, Lynnsy -- but so beautifully put! Working full time at 74, some days I can only read the letter once and then fall asleep again. Just knowing it has come lulls me back to sleep in order to function adequately during the day. 😉
Full time at 74 - I’m so impressed! I’ve told my husband - 3 more yrs to 68 but secretly I’m planning on 70😊
So true
Love it.
Yes, addicted to the letters here. And not just slightly, because of comments like yours, which resonate deeply. 🙏
With you way before first light
The late night quips write themselves.
Where are G. Gordon Liddy and Nixon's White House Plumbers when you need them? Was Trump taking Grover Norquist's wish to flush government down the drain literally? Republicans have been using the Constitution to wipe their a•• for decades.
Trevor Noah
https://mobile.twitter.com/thedailyshow/status/1491968132461867008
Lincoln Project
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aThPCCvVGAg
You’ve done your homework. Good job, thanks for the laugh.
Trevor Noah just has a way of delivering the punch line. A pandemic connection. Hahahahaha
😂 These are way too funny. Thanks, Lin, for giving me such a good laugh.
Randy is soo good!
Yes we all need a good laugh...the best one would be is to see ALL those R's in the unemployment line or in prison!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
George, the repetitive messaging is unnecessary and rather off-putting. The vast majority of comment readers “get it,” methinks.
Indeed. It's starting to annoy me.
You think the comment readers "get it" Hmmmmm...
Are you seeing any signs of all of us here joining together to assure Democracy's survival against the determined powers that would kill our democracy.
I am going to risk being off-putting to those who seem less concerned and instead repeatedly plead like every person who is trying succeed in achieving the continuation of the World's greatest Democracy!
OK, I will now risk being repetitious. You have posted this at least a dozen times now. Time to put your money where your mouth is, so to speak.
Anyone can say "this needs to be done." Useful suggestions as to *how* it can be done are what are needed. In terms of useful results, your repeated cut and paste jobs accomplish no more than any other comments here.
Suggest some useful tactics. What actions can we take? How can we stop these criminals? I'm out of ideas myself.
Stephen thank you for expressing your sincere concern about the attack by the NON-Americans in Congress and their supporters...it is a life threatening reality that if "We" do not work together in successfully overcoming all the various strategic attacks on America's democracy then we will NOT have a second opportunity ever again.
So, trying to begin an effort to unite supporters of this newsletter here is my first attempt.
I am possession of no particular magic bullet.
I have never participated in a political activism effort other than diligently studying the issues and candidates.
I would not be a competent leader.
I do have a great fear about America’s future remaining as the preeminent democracy in the history of the world.
The best solution I have discovered so far is contributing as much as I possibly can as of as I can.
ACTBLUE is one of the best resources for contributions.
The other source proven to be one of the most effective is MoveOn
Listed below is contact information for both.
You must have good ideas…please share them repeatedly until you are satisfied your efforts have succeeded in helping save America’s democracy.
SEE LINK: https://front.moveon.org/
Dear MoveOn member,
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the Republican Party. Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with writing a hit piece about it.
1 You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history. The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists.
2 You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results.
3 At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"
4 Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen election.
5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.
6 That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising efforts so we can stop them."
7 That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today. Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency donation of $20 to MoveOn to power their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their involvement in the insurrection.
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger "compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted coup.
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $20—or whatever you can—to take down Trump's plot to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections?
Thanks for all you do.
I 'get' your urgency and sincerity. I worry about a repplay of the deadly disunity of 2016. I am hoping we will build on our united 2020 win.
What signs will you accept of significant concern translated into sufficient activism? We all are here educating ourselves and each other. Taking strength from HCR and the community to work towards our shared goal. It is not a leap of faith to trust that this is true of most people participating in this public forum. And that we are translating this intellectual engagement into effective action.
But if you are doing things to turn out the vote for Democratic candidates, things we have not mentioned, then please share your tactics for victory.
Here you go Lin...Thanks for your support
I am possession of no particular magic bullet.
I have never participated in a political activism effort other than diligently studying the issues and candidates.
I would not be a competent leader.
I do have a great fear about America’s future remaining as the preeminent democracy in the history of the world.
The best solution I have discovered so far is contributing as much as I possibly can as of as I can.
ACTBLUE is one of the best resources for contributions.
The other source proven to be one of the most effective is MoveOn
Listed below is contact information for both.
You must have good ideas…please share them repeatedly until you are satisfied your efforts have succeeded in helping save America’s democracy.
SEE LINK: https://front.moveon.org/
Dear MoveOn member,
A message I sent you in December hit a nerve with Fox News and the Republican Party. Last week, I found out that Fox News officials had read my message—and that it sent Fox News and the Republican Party scrambling, starting with writing a hit piece about it.
1 You see, MoveOn is doing something it's never done in its 23-year history. The powerhouse grassroots organization has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to protect our elections by stopping Donald Trump from replacing the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists.
2 You may remember from my message in December that Trump is focusing on a previously obscure elected state official: the secretary of state, who in most states oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results.
3 At his first rally of the year, Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"
4 Trump has already endorsed candidates for secretary of state in multiple battleground states, and the candidates all spout the Big Lie of a stolen election.
5 As disturbing as it is, you need to know that candidates endorsed by Trump nearly always win the GOP nomination—98% of the time.
6 That's why MoveOn's campaign meets the moment and why our message last month hit a nerve over at Fox News. A GOP spokesperson responded to MoveOn's campaign by saying the GOP will "accelerate our fundraising efforts so we can stop them."
7 That's what is concerning, and it's why I'm writing to you again today. Because if we allow Republicans, their billionaire donors, and dark-money groups to steamroll our efforts with their fundraising, Trump's plot to use secretaries of state to install him to another term as president might just work.
Will you join me in rushing an emergency donation of $20 to MoveOn to power their campaign to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state? On top of fueling this critical effort, your donation will show the GOP and Fox News that their tactics won't intimidate us.
Let me tell you a little bit about just two of the candidates that Trump is working overtime to elect to these positions.
In Arizona, Trump has endorsed an extremist named Mark Finchem, a GOP state lawmaker who attended the January 6 insurrection; continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona; and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged earlier this month with "seditious conspiracy" related to their involvement in the insurrection.
Finchem spoke at a Trump rally this month in Arizona, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."
And in Georgia, where Trump famously asked then-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" for him in 2020, Trump has endorsed Jody Hice, a member of Congress who attempted to stop the certification of Georgia's election in 2020, has supported the blatantly racist voter suppression laws being passed in the state, and claimed that Raffensperger "compromised" the 2020 election by refusing to bow to Trump's attempted coup.
Imagine how different the 2020 election could have ended if Jody Hice had been secretary of state in Georgia and agreed to "find" those votes for Trump, or if Mark Finchem refused to certify President Biden's victory in Arizona?
That is what is at stake in these midterm elections, and why—for the first time in its 23-year history—MoveOn is dedicating millions of dollars to help elect secretaries of state who will put our democracy first and stand up to wannabe tyrants like Trump.
Please, if you are able, will you chip in $20—or whatever you can—to take down Trump's plot to put his loyalists in charge of overseeing elections? Thanks for all you do.
Lin, be careful. You could break the internet.
I predict you’re going to be the top ❤️ getter tonight.
Nice, Lin!
I have started looking for your comments! They are worth the search! We all know that Trump has always thought he is way above the law no matter how low he goes! I wish he wasn't continuing to get so much press! All of the lawless folks love him!
Coverage. Yeah. Catch22.
Steve Inskeep's 'truth sandwich' interview short circuited Trump. More truth sandwich reporting. Fewer platforms for extremists. Report on and quote Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Taylor Green et al but don't give them OpEd space.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyCBPEM-pHw
Thank you! Trevor Noah and Lincoln Project were both wonderful! LOL.
Now it is time to kick all of those R's in their fat white elite moneyed old a****
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Yes. Roll up our sleeves. Work with our local Democratic committees. Write Letters to the Editor and Op-Eds. Run for office.
But please let us not stereotype out opponents. GOP paymaster beneficiaries are more diverse than you imply. The GOP voter base is the religious right working and middle class who the party wedge issued off the Democratic base. Republicans have made inroads in socially conservative minority communities opposed to LGBTQ rights and to abortion.
Know thine enemy. But more importantly try to find ways to reach out to them while working to defeat their agenda.
Indeed.
Aww, Grover must be so impressed. Excessive greed will get you mockery, and a New Zealand compound.
The Times' treatment of Hilary's emails vs tfg's trips to the loo plus his mishandling of top secret documents is such a sham. She lost an election because of their antics, but will he ever receive his just deserts -- anything beyond a slap on the wrist?!!!
On a positive note, I loved the recognition President Biden is receiving abroad.
"One diplomat for the European Union told Rothkopf these qualities [diplomacy/making alliances] are 'refreshing and, in a way, revolutionary.' A scholar of diplomacy put it like this: 'When there are lots of moving pieces in play, when there appears to be the chance for seismic shifts in power, these can call forth a golden age of diplomacy. And the coalition builders, the conceivers of grand alliances, the ones who work well with others, these almost always prevail in the face of a bullying despot.'"
Thank you for another compelling and most instructive letter, Heather!
This was my favorite part of today’s letter, and probably my favorite one so far this month. Maybe it was my teenage years growing up in Europe, Model United Nations in The Hague, stuff like that, because I feel a strong affinity for Europe and for European American diplomacy, it’s just a thing of mine.
It’s a “thing” for a lot of us. Lots of roots in Europe.
Morning Roland!
Take a look at this fascinating article by top Russian general who opposes Putin’s Ukraine folly
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10484417/Top-hardline-Russian-general-warns-Putin-NOT-invade-Ukraine-accuses-criminal-policy.html
Roland, This is a really cogent article. Thank you for posting it. I thought the comment about if (when?) war broke out, how many young soldiers on both sides would be lost, no longer able to participate in the future stability of their countries. It would skew their demographics (of both countries) even more toward needy elderly. The idea of Putin saber rattling to distract from his poor economic handling is business as usual, isn’t it? I’m interested to know if the Generals comments break through Putin’s rhetoric.
I'm glad I read to the end where in his address to Putin and the Russian people he says: "A big war is a huge tragedy, someone's serious crime." Thanks for this, Roland.
Thank you for this. Truly eye-opening. Of course in the grand scheme of all things Putin (and TFG) -related, nothing will come of it, but it is interesting to see the threats to Ukraine as eye candy to distract from Russian domestic problems. Also the analysis in Heather’s letter of Putin’s choice of timing - transfer of government in Germany, etc.
Whatever would I do without this community!
It IS fascinating, Roland! Thank you.
Wow -
Has anyone actually SEEN Ivashov lately?
Rowshan,
Let us not lose sight of the fact that installing a private server in the privately owned basement of a United States Secretary of State, so that said Secretary can use email OUTSIDE of the Freedom of Information Act, is, or should be, illegal.
The fact that Trump has topped Hillary Clinton's slimy approach by quite a bit, and in a hilarious way, DOES NOT mean that Hillary Clinton's approach was not illegal or slimy.
Thanks.
Heather is giving us a most magnificent venue to gather and encourage each other in meaningful ways...this newsletter is a wonderful blessing that could be instrumental in saving American democracy!!!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Dear Rowshan,
Thank you for sharing this diplomatic scholar’s positive words!
To the tune of my favorite Gilbert & Sullivan song:
[TRUMP, spoken] As you know, I'm meeting with President Putin on Monday. And we will, of course, ask the favorite question about meddling. I will be asking that question again. You know, what am I gonna do? He may deny it, I mean it's one of those things. All I can do is say, did you? And, don't do it again. But, he may deny it. He will You'll be the first to know. I'm very consistent. I'm a very stable genius. So we'll have to figure out what's going on...
\
[RANDY] He is the very model of a very stable genius
Of all the U.S. presidents he is the Mussoliniest
He learned a lot of things according to his Wikipedia
And demonstrates his ample intellect on social media
When people are in need he is the best at making fun of them
He knows eleven words although he can't spell even one of them
An overly flamboyant, orange, autocratic scuzzy man
Who's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's undermining everything Obama did because he can
He's overly flamboyant and an autocratic scuzzy orange man
[TRUMP, spoken] I'm a very stable genius
[RANDY] He's firmly resolute, but how he thinks and feels and talks depends
On any of the crap he may have heard that day on Fox & Friends
And though his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Although his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I am doing a great job, that I can tell you
[RANDY] He's very good at pushing all the bullshit that he's peddling
But won't concern himself with matters such as Russian meddling
His campaign manager's in jail on charges that are felony
And no one really cares about him less than his wife Melanie
[RANDY, spoken] Sorry, Mel-AY-nie
[RANDY] He's really great with children when it comes to immigration
He thinks he's making progress with denuclearization
He's only hated from Seattle to the Carolinias
And likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vag-ga-ginias
[RANDY, spoken] Queen Elizabeth did not see that coming
[RANDY] He's certainly proficient at hacking hijacking an election
At NATO he is not afraid of not taking direction
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius?
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I'm a very stable genius
[RANDY] He's firmly resolute, but how he thinks and feels and talks depends
On any of the crap he may have heard that day on Fox & Friends
And though his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Although his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
[TRUMP, spoken] I am doing a great job, that I can tell you
[RANDY] He's very good at pushing all the bullshit that he's peddling
But won't concern himself with matters such as Russian meddling
His campaign manager's in jail on charges that are felony
And no one really cares about him less than his wife Melanie
[RANDY, spoken] Sorry, Mel-AY-nie
[RANDY] He's really great with children when it comes to immigration
He thinks he's making progress with denuclearization
He's only hated from Seattle to the Carolinias
And likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vaginias
He likes to greet his lady friends by grabbing their vag-ga-ginias
[RANDY, spoken] Queen Elizabeth did not see that coming
[RANDY] He's certainly proficient at hacking hijacking an election
At NATO he is not afraid of not taking direction
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius?
Aside from all his ignorance, the chaos and subpoenias
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Part 2:
TRUMP, spoken] I would say the highest level of special
[RANDY] He's always been a pro at things like violating protocols
And reproducing other egotistical neanderthals
To all our greatest allies he decides to say, "Get outta here"
While doing all he can to satisfy his daddy Vladimir
There's no one more accomplished in the art of the distraction
Of anything that's factual he orders a retraction
When greeting foreign leaders he prefers the pomp and circumstance
Then vomits verbal diarrhea to satisfy his sycophants
There never was a military draft he couldn't dodge and he is
Excellent at advocating racists and misogyny
He likes to make up stories with convenient exclusion
Of topics that he finds make him feel threatened like collusion
He expertly persuades his base that Mueller's hunting for a witch
Instead of their own president who's obviously Putin's bitch
He calls reporters fake and says the democrats are sour grapes
Then lies awake at night and thinks about those Russian pee-pee tapes
He lies awake at night and thinks about those Russian pee-pee tapes
He lies awake at night and thinks about those Russian pee-pee tapes
He lies awake at night and thinks about those Russian creepy pee-pee tapes
Oh never has there been a stable genius as smart as he
And if you don't believe me you can just ask Sarah Huckabee
And though his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable genius
Although his brain is smaller than his tiny little penius
He is the very model of a very stable...
[TRUMP, spoken] I'm a very stable genius
[RANDY, spoken] Whatever, girl
TC’s on a roll. Are we having fun yet? 😘
Randy Rainbow on YouTube
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A
LOVE RR!
Yes!
Oh, my!!! Well done TC!
And here is more of Randy Rainbow - this time on Sedition
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wT5kafhG3Qw
Randy Rainbow got me thru 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Hahahahahahahahahahaha. Must watch. Can see it on You Tube. I will not forget when he uttered that ridiculous statement, “I am a very stable genius”. Pffffft.
https://youtu.be/k-LTRwZb35A
Smiling ear to ear, thank you TC!
Best to check out where this originally appeared in 2018. Randy Rainbow's accompanying graphics are great. Visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A
Insomnia has its rewards. Thanks TC.
So does a night's sleep. Woke up with Randy Rainbow on my mind.
Wow! So very wonderfully witty. Admirable composition...
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
ThankYou TC for sharing Randy Rainbow's wonderful parody! I thought it rang a bell and, like Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, "the little gray cells" kicked in. Eventually.
In case you all were wondering who "Randy" is in the lyrics quoted by TC. He is the inimitable Randy Rainbow. A Tom Lehrer for our times.
Written and sung by Randy Rainbow himself! Enjoy!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A
https://genius.com/Randy-rainbow-a-very-stable-genius-lyrics
https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/randy-rainbow-takes-on-donald-trumps-stable-genius-claims-in-latest-must-see-parody/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Rainbow
And analyzed by Mariko Manabe:
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Traits-Identified-in-Trump-Parodies-of-the-Major-General-Song-Randy-Rainbow-Very-Stable_fig6_343695764
Elementary my dear HeathersHerd;)
Tom Lehrer's "Elements" to Gilbert and Sullivan's "Modern Major General"
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AcS3NOQnsQM
Thanks Lin
"Mussoliniest" - amazing!
Randy Rainbow take a bow!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cFJWmqMzvJU
Mockery rules
Ahhh ... where is Mel Brooks when we need him? Hopefully this will be some Spring Time for Trump on the Witness Stand.
Oh dear, you just added another ear worm to my brain.
Best to check out where this originally appeared in 2018 by visiting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-LTRwZb35A Randy Rainbow's accompanying graphics are great.
Pity the poor plumbers who had to unclog Trump’s toilet. The very idea of a president destroying documents so blatantly is shocking. Even for Trump. Same for handling top secret material with no concern for national security. Perhaps in prison Trump will receive true justice — cleaning toilets.
But where was the Secret Service? What is their role in this? Remember that TFG had them do their thing in outhouses? That bastard knew all along he was violating the laws of the land. ARREST HIM!
Question I haven't seen answered, did the plumbers keep the documents?
The plumbers should have been the Secret Service, just not the ones who protect TFG. Those may have become tainted.
Same question occurred to me.
Would the plumbers - or “White House Staff” be liable for not reporting this to the FBI or Justice Dept? Or is this a typical Presidential practice and Americans should just “get over it”? There is a National Archive and a Sewer Archive evidently.
Oh what a happy thought
It'd be nice to live in a country where politicians don't consistently break laws without fear of consequences. Half of the Republican party would be in prison right now if the law were applied equally to the rich and powerful. The worst part is they're right for thinking they can get away with it because of course they will.
Politicians and anyone with influence or money. No one takes responsibility for their actions as no one is held accountable. Thinking this is a stronger pattern in the past four decades.
:’-(
When we fail to keep them accountable it gives the other dirty players an open door….
Oh no "They" won't...
not this time, we can not let it happen...
because if we permit "Them" to get away with it this time...
there will NEVER be another time for us to save our American democracy...
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Why does anyone expect a racist and sexist political party to have integrity? Why does anyone think that the Republicans and Faux Noise, the place where all sexists and racists in America go to feel at home, give a damn about being hypocrites? OF COURSE they are going to attack a woman who wants to be in a position of power, be it Hillary or the new SC Justice. OF COURSE they are going to attack POC. OF COURSE they are going to give their racist hero a pass.
Are we so naïve that we don’t understand how the other side plays?
Apparently so, Roland. "They go low, we go high" does not get you very far. Bring a plastic spoon to a gunfight. et al.
So many are, shocks me to my core every day. The ploys are so idiotic, the lies so obvious, any idiot should see thru them. Why I have thought so many times. “We are not really that stupid.” But, yes we are, it seems.
Apparently even the liberal media is fooled in many ways. Jeri you are at least as smart as the NYT. :)
Thanks, I think
Democratic naiveté must NOW change and fight back with all its determined power!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
The bookends of this letter is really remarkable.
On one end, the former leader of the free world and orange Buffon at large stands accused of stealing confidential documents, the ones he could not tear up, eat, or shove down the WH toilets.
On the other end, a dictator kleptocrat with nuclear weapons schemes to invade another former satellite state to destabilize Europe, NATO, and the world.
Both, in one way or another are new and old challenges/ threats to democracy. I’m not sure if it’s good to read the letters before bedtime anymore. Whewww!
See if you can find "Dr Strangelove" and watch it instead.
“Gee, I sure wish we had one of those doomsday machines”
substack won't let me heart this, so hey, there Ted, I agree!
Hi Kim. This happens to me too - including on this thread. I closed and reopened the page and all was right as rain.
Thanks, I will try that
What makes you think we don't, Ted?
We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when.....
Love this song - and quote it often.
Take a look at this fascinating article by top Russian general who opposes Putin’s Ukraine folly
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10484417/Top-hardline-Russian-general-warns-Putin-NOT-invade-Ukraine-accuses-criminal-policy.html
Daily Mail? consume with great caution. "In February 2017, the Daily Mail became the first source to be deprecated as an "unreliable source" for use as a reference on the English Wikipedia."
Basis of the article is real. McFaul knows this guy: https://mobile.twitter.com/McFaul/status/1490784886470463488
Is he soon to be invited to a Putin tea party?
Ah … where is poison is not optional.
About time one of Putin’s own speaks out about how crazy he is for surrounding Ukraine!!
Your summarizing statement is also really remarkable in the effective way you expose the enormous powers that would destroy our American democracy!
For the next nine+ months these very clever highly educated supremely informed determined individuals who daily prove their concerns about the state of emergency American democracy is experiencing as set out in this newsletter must now come together as one powerful resource to activate every person who loves America into a successful campaign to save The United States Of America from all those who would destroy our freedoms forever!
We can continue exhibiting our sage comments on various topics but we all must now work together to insure the continuance of the greatest Democracy in the history of this World.
DO IT!
DO IT NOW!
PLEASE!
Yeah. Same conundrum for me.
And have you seen this?
Watch the Jan. 6 assault from a press photographer's POV - Los Angeles Times:
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-01-04/photographers-point-of-view-of-the-capitol-riot-jan-6-anniversary
“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and hearing — the sharp chirp of the building’s security alarm cut through the air, and the shouting of the word “treason” echoed into the Rotunda as the massive mob poured in through the doors. I paused in the Rotunda, thinking about the irony of the fact that the people who just breached the Capitol building in a violent, seditious manner were shouting “treason” at the top of their lungs. I was in shock.”
Projection. It’s their schitck.
And the rabble believe it, but the instigators don’t.
I never had Top Secret clearance, only NO FORN (No Foreign), but I worked where other people had Top Secret. We all received training on the proper handling of the documents that came into our possession, with periodic refreshers. One guy with TS clearance was fired for failing to properly lock a file cabinet at the end of the day. Don Jr recently made an offhand remark about reading sensitive materials. If Trump is not prosecuted for this, we are truly lost.
He WILL be prosecuted, but it has to be a sure thing. We only get one shot.
I think he’ll need to be washed down in industrial degreaser to get any charges to stick.
I wish I had that confidence. He’s as slippery as an eel. But maybe not as smart. What will be his undoing ?
Talk about distractions! Critical NATO diplomacy needed at the same time TFG’s mishandling of official confidential documents continues to make headlines. Former staffers are just now telling their stories after spending four years taping shredded docs together and retrieving them from the toilet? When will TFG just go away? Disappear? And what do the repubs think of the illegal handling of docs? They (or at least trumpees) still claim any Dem especially a presidential candidate should have gone to jail for their claimed mail scandal. And let’s hope at some point TFG and his buddies pay for their misdeeds. We need to get on with critical government business.
I'm just going to LOVE that the Archivists are the ones that are finally gonna bring this house of cards down. Quiet, thorough, and precise. Superheros.
Yes!!
I hope he called Nixon's plumbers to unclog the toilet.
Don’t I Wish ! 😂
😆
THE NYT HAS ‘IMMORTALIZED’ MY PHRASE “TRUMP IDIOTOLOGY”
“I applaud the backlash of some Republican political realists, including now-Minority-Senate-Leader McConnell, that the TRUMP IDIOTOLOGY on the BIG LIE and the House 1/6 Committee ‘witch hunt’ is harmful to Republican chances in the 2022 Congressional elections.
Though I find distasteful McConnell’s electoral strategy to avoid stating any GOP policies and simply bash the Biden administration, it is far better than fighting lockstep for whatever Trump proclaims.
As a person who lived during years of Joe McCarthy’s demagoguery, I was surprised by how swiftly his bubble was burst.”
Congratulations!
Mary Pat To celebrate my ‘idiotology’ claim to fame I thought, since the Bozo can’t read, I would send Trump a DVD of the movie IDIOT’S DELIGHT.
You have hit two news stories that have me enthralled. With the increasing reveals of what most of us knew all along, that Trump is a big old criminal and should have been given access to USA national security about as much as Putin. With Putin I wonder whether he is just trying to wear out NATO so that when Xi Jinping steps up to take over Taiwan, NATO will be weakened by handling the "Russian crisis in the Ukraine." I hope that it only serves to improve diplomatic discussions, strategies and outcomes. I am impressed with the straightforwardness of Lithuania's Prime Minister since her country is right next to Russia. I also understand that, other than Putin, no one in Europe wants to have another war. As if we haven't lost enough people to the pandemic. Of course people are dispensable to Oligarchs and Oligarch wannabes, aka DT.
Not hard to imagine Putin working out a dark room deal with Xi, quid pro quo or just Mutual Alliance Pact.
Not everyone in Russia is behind Putin, in fact I would venture to say that practically nobody in Russia is behind Putin.
General Leonid Ivashov, who probably speaks for a lot of people, published a piece opposing Putin’s folly of threatening the Ukraine https://nypost.com/2022/02/07/ex-russia-general-warns-putin-against-criminal-ukraine-invasion/
Just ask Alexei Novalny. Dissent in Russia is deadly. From 2021. https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/22254292/alexei-navalny-prison-hunger-strike-end-russia-protests-vladimir-putin
😔
But are Ivashov's days now numbered?
There was also a news story about TFG has stayed in touch with Kim Jong Il. I wonder if the 15 boxes are their love letters to each other?
Reports have said that they are among the documents in the 15 boxes, as well as is the letter President Obama left on the Oval Office desk for his successor. I don't care to know what's in the "love letters" but would love to read what President Obama had to say to his successor.
I am so interested in your comment. I, also, wonder about a quiet alliance between Putin and Xi Jinping. Is Putin simply doing a solid for Xi by wearing out NATO? We are scrambling and positioning ourselves to aid NATO, but know very well we won’t go into Ukraine. Putin knows this also. But he can enjoy the theater of improving the alpha male. All the while forcing us to schuttle diplomatic and military forces all around. Not a cheap thing to do. Putin knows America has no stomach for war, especially on the heels of our Afghanistan mess. But wearing us down so Xi can ( after the Olympics) put the screws to Taiwan and leave us with two major fronts? Why not? Geopolitically, China could care less what Putin wants in Eastern Europe. “Take what you want”. Putin doesn’t care that China wants Taiwan. They are a match made in dictator-heaven.