29 Comments

Ms Richardson, I love your articles. Keep them coming. I am a retired Cardiologist, age 96, living in Sacramento, CA. I was a teen ager in the great depression in Iowa when there was much argument between Franklin Roosevelt and the Republicans--mostly about govt spending. My Dad hated Roosevelt, but Roosevelt saved the country. I have never seen the country so divided now and thinking so poorly. Mr. Trump is an evil man. He is not an American and cannot be trusted. He called our Soldiers in Europe "Suckers." How much evidence do we need to tell us this is the wrong direction? What ever happened to mutual respect? The MAGA is a misnomer. The country was already great when Mr. Trump appeared on the scene. America was already great and any problems we faced could have been solved, as we usually did, by sitting down with mutual respect with the other party, and developed a plan to solve any problems. Trump convinced too many people that we had problems that only he could solve. Richard J. Frink MD

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Thank you, Dr. Frink, for your service to the care of humanity.

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I am a retired history/civics teacher, age 83, living in Sacramento, CA. My parents told me stories of their childhoods and young adulthoods during the Great Depression. My dad revered Franklin Roosevelt. I feel great guilt that the country they loved and helped build has been destroyed under my watch.

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Dr. Frink, thank you so much for this comment and your life. I am 75 and my grandfather was a lifelong Dem, as am I. Biden's spending to bail the country out of the Pandemic, so reminiscent of FDR's Depression spending, naturally caused inflation to spike, which would probably have been understood without the right-wing mass media machine, with which we are suffering under.

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Dick - this is Dick & Adele letting you know we agree with you 100,000%!!!!! I have been a subscriber to Heather's insights for at least 2 years - don't miss a day!!! Everything Trump does is cloaked in secrecy, fraud, and deceit - always with a personal motive of making money for himself. Hope you & Charlotte continue to be well and the Frinks we know. Miss the Wednesday sessions with you & Don. Dick

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Hear hear sir ! Agreed :)

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- Pulled Quote -

''Although tech companies and various media outlets have accepted Trump’s language, the Associated Press has continued to use the internationally accepted, historic name: the Gulf of Mexico.''

And were banned from the Oval Office, thereby sending a message to all others. Democracy dies in darkness? You bet. Protecting free speech has to be job one.

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We need more media outlets to hold the line and push back.

I certainly hope someone is keeping track of all the damage being done across our country and our government. There will be more repair work for the next democratic president than there was in 2021.

And…that last paragraph was very intriguing. I’d like to see that list of the Republican closeted gays in Congress. A few I probably could name, but “a list,” and “it’s not a short one.” Hhhmmm🤔😏

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Dear Ms. Cox: As a Canadian who has lived in the U.S. I am more than impressed by what you are doing. It must take up every minute of your time, and more. As a retired academic I know how precious one's time becomes as our careers begin to wind down, leaving us with projects we very much want to finish and ideas we want to develop while we still can. Your work is not only a great contribution to your country and to future historians but also a great example of the exercise of integrity, common sense, honesty and courage in the face of mindless attacks on ideals and principles that, from time to time, did seem to justify U.S. claims to greatness. If those principles and ideals survive current efforts to undermine them, you will deserve much of the credit for helping to keep them alive.

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Sen. Wicker, Thank you for speaking the truth concerning the Sec of Defense's international speech. I was horrified when I heard it, and could only think of the thousands of Ukranian men and women who have died defending their sovereign territory from the unprovoked invasion by Putin's Russia. I'm afraid we are just beginning to see the ramifications of having unqualified, loyalists in key government positions.

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Please Stewart Stevens list the individuals who are gay which I have absolutely no problem with just that they are BIGOTS!!!

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I’ve always maintained there are A LOT of closeted gays in the GOP. It’s odd to me but it seemed obvious at the same time.

All I can say is “ Just Do IT!, Stuit”

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Why is this never brought up when the US threatens to take away support for Ukraine?

Why Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons and what that means in a Russian invasion

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/1082124528/ukraine-russia-putin-invasion#:~:text=I%20would%20say%2C%20after%20having,not%20face%20this%20aggression%20alone.

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You have to be a real history "nut" to know this. :-(

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Ms. Richardson , you are nothing short of a Spaulding Revere yelling out the obvious warninig of idiots hungry for power not People , what Trump and Elon are doing is quite discusting and dis respectful and dangerious

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I have wondered why you comment about policy regarding Ukraine but not Israel and Gaza.

Why is that?

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I am proud of those who have the knowledge and the willingness to stand to up those who would change our government by using new language and words reshape American beliefs.

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Gulf of Mexico it will remain!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Just ment Paul Revere

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What a clusterfuck.

I hope everyone is prepared to vote strategically in the 2026 primaries. Hopefully, there will be Republican primary challengers who haven't completely lost their minds. That's where 90% of races are decided. Better late than never.

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In my opinion, we shouldn't wait for 2026 to act. Important state-wide elections in 2025 are happening in Wisconsin (Supreme Court), Florida (special elections), Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia. State-wide elections have become even more meaningful, because of the federal level chaos.

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Good point!

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Praying constantly for midterms to flip the switch. Every second

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I certainly hope whoever said they'd out the rebuticinz who are on their knees for the orange pos. It wouldn't be slander if it's true, right?

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Explain this:

The Trump administration fired 18 immigration judges on Friday, despite a pledge from the president to hire more judges to address the growing backlog of 3.7 million cases, a union official said.

In addition to the 18 fired on Friday, the Trump administration had fired two immigration judges earlier in the week, Matthew Biggs, the president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, said on Saturday. The union represents the judges and other federal workers. The administration did not give the judges a reason for why they were fired.

There are more than 700 immigration judges, each of whom handles between 500 and 700 cases a year, Mr. Biggs said. Most of the cases are related to deportation, which is one of the top issues Mr. Trump is focused on.

“It’s inexplicable,” Mr. Biggs said in an interview on Saturday. “It’s contrary to what the president campaigned on, and it makes no sense at all.”

Immigration judges are part of the administrative court system and housed in the Justice Department. They make decisions about asylum claims and decide who should be removed from the country. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Immigration courts have been facing a growing backlog, which has contributed to the number of undocumented immigrants in the country. Because cases take so long to wind through the system, many of those waiting start putting down roots in their communities.

One of the immigration judges who were dismissed, Kerry E. Doyle, announced her firing on LinkedIn. She was among the incoming class of new judges and had not yet announced her new position on social media, she said.

“Unfortunately, I was unable to avoid the political pink slip,” Ms. Doyle wrote on LinkedIn. She served as the principal legal adviser at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “This firing occurred despite the fact that among my peers in my court, I had the longest and most extensive experience in immigration law,” she wrote.

Ms. Doyle wrote a memo during the Biden administration, instructing lawyers at ICE to review cases and try to clear those considered low priority.

The Trump administration has been carrying out mass firings across the government. During Mr. Trump’s first administration, immigration judges were told to speed their decision-making, raising concerns about whether the immigrants received due process. In most cases, immigrants can appeal a judge’s decision.

Soon after Mr. Trump took office again last month, he fired the acting head of the U.S. immigration court system and three other top officials. The additional firings this week have left many judges wondering what Mr. Trump’s plans are for the court system.

“It begs the question: Is this administration going to try to unilaterally do away with that process?” Mr. Biggs said.

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