We awoke this morning to news that President Joe Biden was in Kyiv, Ukraine, where he pledged “our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine’s democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.” Air raid sirens blared as Biden and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky walked through the streets during the U.S. president’s five-hour stay.
Such stark contests. Biden and Zelensky. Carlson and Taylor Greene. Decency and integrity vs hate and self-interest. When will people open their eyes to truth? Thanks, Professor, for continuing the good fight of truth telling. It matters. YOU matter. Thank you.
I hope someone files for a restraining order to stop McCarthy from giving Congresses video to FNC. That video was assembled by the government, owned by the taxpayers of America, and should not be given to any corporation for their use.
How does Kevin McCarthy have the right to release all those hours of tapes EXCLUSIVELY to Tucker Carlson?
Those tapes contain information about security measures at the Capitol. Is McCarthy trying to get them leaked to insurrectionists without his fingerprints directly on them?
I keep hearing and reading the downcast sentiment that it feels as if we don't have any heroes anymore.
But, frankly, I think we just have become ill at ease with having heroes. We have figured out that hero worship makes you a sucker. We have been disillusioned so many times, and that has been so because we are bad at recognizing what makes a hero in the first place, and what does not.
In the real world, there are no superheroes, only people. Superheroes are mythical and always save the day. People are fallible and make endless mistakes. As yesterday's Letter showed, some folks cannot seem to appreciate flawed heroes. Some would rather whitewash the mistakes of our cultural heroes, preserving the myth, and denying the full story. Others see the mistakes, but refuse to esteem anyone they judge as failing the righteous tests of today.
A hero - whether a revered historical figure, a currently inspiring leader, your sports star of choice, or your Mom who made you soup when you were sick - is not someone who never made any errors, or has only admirable qualities, or can lift the Earth with one finger. A hero is a human being who steps up when they are needed, who brings aid to other human beings in need, who does what they believe to be right when the pressure is on. Heroes are all around us.
Hero worship may be unhealthy. Yet hero recognition deserves a comeback.
Happy to see photos of two of my current heroes together in Kiev today.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explicitly called for dividing the nation. She tweeted: “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.”
You have NOT spoken to me, MTG! If you did, I would suggest YOU separate yourself from the Union you are attempting to dysfunction, and move to Russia or China—they should be red enough for you!
Pretty obvious to me. The train-wreck (no pun intended) in Ohio was due in part to big business being 'in charge' of protecting our safety, having been given the license to do so by the tRump administration loosening the EPA.., along with the NHTSA (elaine chow). The 'Heads' of these agencies are the ones who need to have their noses shoved into the sludge on the ground along with the governors of those two states.., not the President. The mess there and at the border are the job of an effective government being in-charge, not big business. Congress...anybody home?
Perhaps because of his long political career, and maybe because after age 70 you swap your license to drive for a license to say exactly what you think, Biden has done some fine rhetorical counterpunching vis-a-vis the Republicans' flat-footed bile. You can feel the Republicans and Fox running out of narrative. They have nothing to offer their constituents except sustenance for their fear and rage. Eventually, you have to deliver more than that or you'll be tuned out.
"And over 50 nations stepped up to make sure the rules-based international order in place since World War II, which prevents one country from attacking another, held."
Vietnam
Afghanistan
Iraq
Iran
All of the above countries were attacked by the United States of America outside the "rules based order".
In the case of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh sought to throw off the yoke of French Colonialism and free his people. The US stepped in to attempt to make sure that did not happen by invading.
In the case of Afghanistan the US posed the false narrative that Afghanistan had something to do with 911. It did not. That was a lie. The US invaded Afghanistan based on a lie and occupied it for 20 years.
In the case of Iraq, The US SUPPORTED Iraq in the war against Iran (although Reagan ALSO sold arms to Iran). Then, The US invaded Iraq based on known lies that the CIA directly refuted and that a British MI5 agent outed as lies (Weapons of Mass Destruction).
In 1953 the US, after a Democratic election in Iran elected a leader that the US did not like, the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government and installed the brutal Shah of Iran.
It is a not true that there has been a "rules based order" since WW II.
It IS true that in countries with white Europeans that there has been a rules based order since WWII.
But, it is equally true that the US has ignored the rules based order where non-white nations are relevant.
Russias borders end nowhere because Russia is nowhere.
It's a failed state, that can't exist without plundering. it is unable to create anything but chaos. Maybe if enough Russian men escape, the women will take over and clean up the mess.
Good morning all. May I interject something? (sorry for the rhetorical question: it's a Tuesday . . .) I would like to point out, briefly, something that will clarify the starkest contrast I can think of. Here goes:
In the last few days I have been thinking about Georgia. There are two of them, really. The Georgia of MTG, whose growing power is accompanied by her growing confidence that she can say and do anything, as long as it is utterly outrageous, hateful, and ludicrous. She is the face--quite literally--of a disturbingly large percentage of the USA. And she has a platform because of the wholehearted embracing of the nazification of the Right by corporate interests, in particular in the media outlets that provide her, for free, with such a platform. Why? Because--like Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz discovered in the 1930s and 40s--nazi policies means big business gets really, really rich. Often by embracing a policy that includes the enslavement of populations deemed "degenerate" or "inferior." The Right is headed in that direction.
But there's another Georgia, one I have been thinking a lot about in the last few days. The Georgia that, in the 1970s, elected Jimmy Carter as governor and embraced--and continues to embrace--his vision of the world from his presidency to his post-presidency. People often forget that Jimmy has lived in Georgia his entire life (except for his stint at Annapolis and in the Navy) and that Plains is a small rural community that should be the mirror for MTG's hate-filled affect but is not. Because Jimmy and Rosalind live there.
I am not a fan of Christianity, which, for the vast majority of its existence as an institution, has been one of the most malign influences in the history of the world. It has embraced the politics of exclusivity and exclusion, perpetuated patriarchy in the most violent ways, and justified the slaughter of millions because of a vision of the Divine and the afterlife that appeals to the worst, most base, urges of the ruling class. And yet, Christianity is the driver of what Jimmy Carter believes and how he has acted. Because Jimmy is a follower of Jesus (and, to be honest, Buddha--he and the Dalai Lama are good buds), not Paul, not the Church as a monolithic institution, and certainly not the Southern Baptist conference out of which his faith developed. Jimmy is also a product of Georgia. And his life's work has been devoted to making Georgia a better place to be.
Georgians who are now waiting, mourning, for Jimmy Carter's end as he slips away from us are probably also, at least in part, those who adore MTG's nazi rants. I know that making political hay out of the passing of one of the great men of our era is considered inapt, but we need to do this--and Jimmy would agree.
To MTG and those who think like her...that separation thing didn't work out so well for those who attempted it in 1861. It basically destroyed their cherished way of life. I'm suitably impressed by our President visiting Ukraine this week. Putin must be spitting nails. This will be quite a week in the history books.
It's also, as Rachel Maddow described, the anniversary of the 2014 protests against the then Russian-backed authoritarian government in Ukraine, when protestors were gunned down by their own troops. (We've had that happen here, too, at Kent State).
I am writing this a couple of hours after reading this. I read some brief news stories since and thought about other unrelated things and I just realized I’m feeling unsettled and disquieted. What happened today and these few days in general seems seminal, not unlike the feelings I had just after the January 6th riot.
When I watched the rioting on the television, it was like watching a movie. Is this real?! What would this be like if it were real? IT IS REAL!!!
That is the way I feel right now! McCarthy handing over 40,000 hours of Capital video tapes of Jan. 6 *exclusively* to Tucker Carlson! Marjorie Taylor Greene’s saying that the US needs to get a divorce from itself! President Biden in an ACTIVE WAR ZONE without US military protection!
Something is up. It’s in the air. I feel like birds before an earthquake. It’s not a comfortable spot.
"Greene echoed authoritarian leaders Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Putin himself when she called for splitting the nation over “the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats” and “the Democrat’s [sic] traitorous America Last policies.” "
"Splitting the country into red and blue states" is sedition and given McCarthy's past statements about "always supporting that woman" is profoundly troubling.
Not sure who the puppet-master is controlling those two but the release of all those tapes and this language from Greene is setting the stage for another attack on the Capitol. McCarthy has the right as Speaker to invite Trump to the Capitol....Perhaps to give a speech on the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ...
"watch how support for Ukraine is framed as incompatible with US national interests.” She notes that a similar narrative in Canada argues that support for Ukraine hurts Canadian veterans."
Divide and conquer is as old as dirt. Too often in works, but only when too many let it.
Such stark contests. Biden and Zelensky. Carlson and Taylor Greene. Decency and integrity vs hate and self-interest. When will people open their eyes to truth? Thanks, Professor, for continuing the good fight of truth telling. It matters. YOU matter. Thank you.
I hope someone files for a restraining order to stop McCarthy from giving Congresses video to FNC. That video was assembled by the government, owned by the taxpayers of America, and should not be given to any corporation for their use.
How does Kevin McCarthy have the right to release all those hours of tapes EXCLUSIVELY to Tucker Carlson?
Those tapes contain information about security measures at the Capitol. Is McCarthy trying to get them leaked to insurrectionists without his fingerprints directly on them?
I keep hearing and reading the downcast sentiment that it feels as if we don't have any heroes anymore.
But, frankly, I think we just have become ill at ease with having heroes. We have figured out that hero worship makes you a sucker. We have been disillusioned so many times, and that has been so because we are bad at recognizing what makes a hero in the first place, and what does not.
In the real world, there are no superheroes, only people. Superheroes are mythical and always save the day. People are fallible and make endless mistakes. As yesterday's Letter showed, some folks cannot seem to appreciate flawed heroes. Some would rather whitewash the mistakes of our cultural heroes, preserving the myth, and denying the full story. Others see the mistakes, but refuse to esteem anyone they judge as failing the righteous tests of today.
A hero - whether a revered historical figure, a currently inspiring leader, your sports star of choice, or your Mom who made you soup when you were sick - is not someone who never made any errors, or has only admirable qualities, or can lift the Earth with one finger. A hero is a human being who steps up when they are needed, who brings aid to other human beings in need, who does what they believe to be right when the pressure is on. Heroes are all around us.
Hero worship may be unhealthy. Yet hero recognition deserves a comeback.
Happy to see photos of two of my current heroes together in Kiev today.
I am proud of President Biden showing such courage in visiting President Zelenskyy in Kiev. Thank you for this inspiring report.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explicitly called for dividing the nation. She tweeted: “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this.”
You have NOT spoken to me, MTG! If you did, I would suggest YOU separate yourself from the Union you are attempting to dysfunction, and move to Russia or China—they should be red enough for you!
Pretty obvious to me. The train-wreck (no pun intended) in Ohio was due in part to big business being 'in charge' of protecting our safety, having been given the license to do so by the tRump administration loosening the EPA.., along with the NHTSA (elaine chow). The 'Heads' of these agencies are the ones who need to have their noses shoved into the sludge on the ground along with the governors of those two states.., not the President. The mess there and at the border are the job of an effective government being in-charge, not big business. Congress...anybody home?
Perhaps because of his long political career, and maybe because after age 70 you swap your license to drive for a license to say exactly what you think, Biden has done some fine rhetorical counterpunching vis-a-vis the Republicans' flat-footed bile. You can feel the Republicans and Fox running out of narrative. They have nothing to offer their constituents except sustenance for their fear and rage. Eventually, you have to deliver more than that or you'll be tuned out.
"And over 50 nations stepped up to make sure the rules-based international order in place since World War II, which prevents one country from attacking another, held."
Vietnam
Afghanistan
Iraq
Iran
All of the above countries were attacked by the United States of America outside the "rules based order".
In the case of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh sought to throw off the yoke of French Colonialism and free his people. The US stepped in to attempt to make sure that did not happen by invading.
In the case of Afghanistan the US posed the false narrative that Afghanistan had something to do with 911. It did not. That was a lie. The US invaded Afghanistan based on a lie and occupied it for 20 years.
In the case of Iraq, The US SUPPORTED Iraq in the war against Iran (although Reagan ALSO sold arms to Iran). Then, The US invaded Iraq based on known lies that the CIA directly refuted and that a British MI5 agent outed as lies (Weapons of Mass Destruction).
In 1953 the US, after a Democratic election in Iran elected a leader that the US did not like, the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government and installed the brutal Shah of Iran.
It is a not true that there has been a "rules based order" since WW II.
It IS true that in countries with white Europeans that there has been a rules based order since WWII.
But, it is equally true that the US has ignored the rules based order where non-white nations are relevant.
Russias borders end nowhere because Russia is nowhere.
It's a failed state, that can't exist without plundering. it is unable to create anything but chaos. Maybe if enough Russian men escape, the women will take over and clean up the mess.
Good morning all. May I interject something? (sorry for the rhetorical question: it's a Tuesday . . .) I would like to point out, briefly, something that will clarify the starkest contrast I can think of. Here goes:
In the last few days I have been thinking about Georgia. There are two of them, really. The Georgia of MTG, whose growing power is accompanied by her growing confidence that she can say and do anything, as long as it is utterly outrageous, hateful, and ludicrous. She is the face--quite literally--of a disturbingly large percentage of the USA. And she has a platform because of the wholehearted embracing of the nazification of the Right by corporate interests, in particular in the media outlets that provide her, for free, with such a platform. Why? Because--like Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz discovered in the 1930s and 40s--nazi policies means big business gets really, really rich. Often by embracing a policy that includes the enslavement of populations deemed "degenerate" or "inferior." The Right is headed in that direction.
But there's another Georgia, one I have been thinking a lot about in the last few days. The Georgia that, in the 1970s, elected Jimmy Carter as governor and embraced--and continues to embrace--his vision of the world from his presidency to his post-presidency. People often forget that Jimmy has lived in Georgia his entire life (except for his stint at Annapolis and in the Navy) and that Plains is a small rural community that should be the mirror for MTG's hate-filled affect but is not. Because Jimmy and Rosalind live there.
I am not a fan of Christianity, which, for the vast majority of its existence as an institution, has been one of the most malign influences in the history of the world. It has embraced the politics of exclusivity and exclusion, perpetuated patriarchy in the most violent ways, and justified the slaughter of millions because of a vision of the Divine and the afterlife that appeals to the worst, most base, urges of the ruling class. And yet, Christianity is the driver of what Jimmy Carter believes and how he has acted. Because Jimmy is a follower of Jesus (and, to be honest, Buddha--he and the Dalai Lama are good buds), not Paul, not the Church as a monolithic institution, and certainly not the Southern Baptist conference out of which his faith developed. Jimmy is also a product of Georgia. And his life's work has been devoted to making Georgia a better place to be.
Georgians who are now waiting, mourning, for Jimmy Carter's end as he slips away from us are probably also, at least in part, those who adore MTG's nazi rants. I know that making political hay out of the passing of one of the great men of our era is considered inapt, but we need to do this--and Jimmy would agree.
To MTG and those who think like her...that separation thing didn't work out so well for those who attempted it in 1861. It basically destroyed their cherished way of life. I'm suitably impressed by our President visiting Ukraine this week. Putin must be spitting nails. This will be quite a week in the history books.
It's also, as Rachel Maddow described, the anniversary of the 2014 protests against the then Russian-backed authoritarian government in Ukraine, when protestors were gunned down by their own troops. (We've had that happen here, too, at Kent State).
I am writing this a couple of hours after reading this. I read some brief news stories since and thought about other unrelated things and I just realized I’m feeling unsettled and disquieted. What happened today and these few days in general seems seminal, not unlike the feelings I had just after the January 6th riot.
When I watched the rioting on the television, it was like watching a movie. Is this real?! What would this be like if it were real? IT IS REAL!!!
That is the way I feel right now! McCarthy handing over 40,000 hours of Capital video tapes of Jan. 6 *exclusively* to Tucker Carlson! Marjorie Taylor Greene’s saying that the US needs to get a divorce from itself! President Biden in an ACTIVE WAR ZONE without US military protection!
Something is up. It’s in the air. I feel like birds before an earthquake. It’s not a comfortable spot.
"Greene echoed authoritarian leaders Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Putin himself when she called for splitting the nation over “the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats” and “the Democrat’s [sic] traitorous America Last policies.” "
"Splitting the country into red and blue states" is sedition and given McCarthy's past statements about "always supporting that woman" is profoundly troubling.
Not sure who the puppet-master is controlling those two but the release of all those tapes and this language from Greene is setting the stage for another attack on the Capitol. McCarthy has the right as Speaker to invite Trump to the Capitol....Perhaps to give a speech on the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ...
"watch how support for Ukraine is framed as incompatible with US national interests.” She notes that a similar narrative in Canada argues that support for Ukraine hurts Canadian veterans."
Divide and conquer is as old as dirt. Too often in works, but only when too many let it.