Growing up under the very real threat of nuclear annihilation was terrifying. As a teenager, I learned to adapt by accepting how "fair" it was. Everyone would die, and quickly if you were lucky. At least the situation was unambiguous. In today's world things are decidedly different. The threats now augmenting what we think of as traditional war are all about misinformation, as today's letter shows: false narratives and manufactured incidents with fake corpses, and the many tendrils of Trump's conspiratorial Big Lie and its ripple effect — the devious efforts to destroy free and fair elections.
Dare I go on? Absolutely. Another form of misinformation is intentionally creating a lack of information in the classroom. Muzzling teachers to churn out automaton kids who are clueless and incurious is, in my mind, war. A war on thinking. I highly recommend today's edition of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Her interview with researcher Jeffrey Sachs explains in chilling detail some of the many laws that states have passed or are considering to drastically limit what can be taught. Causing turmoil in the classroom and driving good teachers from the profession, I fear, are Republican goals. And creating new legions of unquestioning loyalists to embrace the party's authoritarian views.
There are propaganda ads on social media claiming public schools are teaching “our children” liberal indoctrination. Attacking teachers and the public education system.
In North Texas, nine superintendents have resigned. Last year, all of our top administrators were forced out in Southlake Carroll ISD. Some positions remain unfilled. Our association UEA doesn’t even know who to contact to get information from anymore or to discuss issues. Every day, another teacher tells me they’re just doing their time to get retirement and they’ll be out of here this year or next.
I am teaching students to think logically and ask good questions. To be kind and respectful. To be flexible and understanding. If I could “indoctrinate” your kid, I’d start with getting their name on their work!
How did we sink so low that we attack school teachers?! Making it a profession that is considered under paid but willing to do the job anyway because it’s a calling, intolerable. It’s a travesty!
A travesty indeed and an evil omen. One school system I taught in had a goal of making life long learners and it was enough. These conservative school systems as well as the Republican Party leadership have just 1 unspoken goal—wear your tinfoil hat, do as we tell you and no thinking required. Who ever thought a Cheney would be a voice of reason? 1984 arrives late but it’s here.
All of these repressive measures seem to be part of the ongoing cycle of conservative backlash that HCR describes in her book, To Make Men Free. These tactics aren't new, will never completely go away and require vigilance and response. Our local NAACP is suing the parent group that hounded two school board members out with petitions and threats. The suit declares these are illegal acts of voter suppression. Meanwhile, our wonderful new bookstore is organizing a book club featuring currently banned books.
I taught school many years. I loved teaching the kids, but the paperwork, unfounded mandates, etc. were very frustrating. I did consider teaching to be a calling. Now I would not choose to go into education in college. Who wants to incur debt for a degree required for a low paying job where you are grossly disrespected and often attacked for doing that job? No thank you!!
Teachers get attacked because, by tradition, frequently contractually, they're not allowed to respond publicly. I was a teacher for more than three decades, I never wrote a letter to a newspaper until I retired. I don't think I was an outlier.
I have an idea about this. I think if a teacher gives 4 years of service, we should pay off their student loans. Then offer to pay them to get a masters degree for continuing in the field. And repeat.
Jerry I was a professor from 1992-2013. Personally I felt no constraints on what I could teach or say professionally. I published a long article on our failed Iraq policy in a regional newspaper. I taught a course on SOCIETAL DISCRIMINATION: THE what vs. THE who FROM PATRIARCHY TO THE PRESENT, with special emphasis on racism in the United States. Were I teaching as well as writing and making professional presentations today, I fear that I would be paying more than my salary for legal representation.
Education is supposed to be a thoughtful dialogue based on facts. Without this professional interchange and learning process, our system will produce a bunch of dangerous ignoramuses (Trumpistas?)
Pennsylvania and South Dakota are far removed in several respects. Meantime, the question of intestinal fortitude, or the lack therefore, frequently masquerades as prudence. It's possible that whilst claiming the latter I was guilty of the former.
Jerry Some years ago a professor who I tremendously respect conducted a study of government and corporate personnel. He found that, for a diversity of reasons, 90-95% were cautious status quoers, while 5-10% were potential change agents. These change agents were imperative and, because of their persistence, a majority of these change agents were ‘destroyed’ or were obliged to become ‘tree huggers’ because of family obligations or exhaustion. For most of my professional life I was a persistent change agent in the State Department, corporate life, and education. Fortunately I had several ‘godfathers’ who often protected me. Then there were the times that the ‘system’ squashed me. At 88 I am more cautious as to which alligators I choose to wrestle.
Yet now in at least one of the states (NH, I think), teachers can be individually sued for violating a law that is written vaguely and thus subject to wide, subjective interpretation.
Something similar was attempted in Missouri as a result of TFG's attempt to ban the teaching of any subject with the words "gender" or "race" in the syllabus, as well as gutting Title IX regulations for investigating sexual assault. It is still creating a mess for educators here, even though there is no formal law and Biden canceled TFG's "executive" order on his first day in office.
I suspect a majority of Americans don't yet know the extent of what's happening — or the implications, which won't become clear before the next school year. The situation is looking to be tumultuous and bleak. One thing is clear: the forces pushing this are just getting started.
No Jerry, you are not an outlier. I taught Special Ed for 21 years. I did the best I could for my students under the circumstances. My husband once said to me, “ if I didn’t have a good job, we couldn’t afford for you to teach”. Teaching is most definitely a calling.
Thank you Phyllis, especially in Special Ed, where patience is key as is the ability to discover small improvements as progress to celebrate! Bless you.
Thank you for your kind words. I loved that I was given the opportunity to teach. I’m 76 now, and was volunteering in my daughters classroom, until Covid.
The teachers of today have a very difficult time, I retired in 2010. I can’t believe the difference. God Bless them all.
After teachers recorded an administrator saying you have to teach opposing views to the Holocaust, we had a new mandate come along. We are not allowed to talk to the press. Only principals and the superintendent. I think what those teachers did was so wrong! But we still should have first amendment rights.
I think every teaching job I’ve had has stipulated that we were not to talk to the press. Yep it makes me angry too. I have four and a half more years. 😳
Yes, as a former educator I would add to a list of grievances the time spent preparing students for standardized tests (teaching to the test) plus the blatant disrespect leveled at teachers. I once had someone say, to my face, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”
Yes, I've heard that very disparaging remark too. I say to them, Really? Have you ever tried it? It's just a way to put someone down in order to make themselves feel better.
I retired many years ago and as I was also the librarian, I had a few problems. When I see what is happening today, I thank my lucky stars that I had the opportunity to work with kids without all that is happening today. Some of them are still friends and many of my ex-colleagues also count many students as their friends as well. Yesterday one posted a pic of herself and a couple other teachers skiing. One of the comments was from a student who noted that she and her classmates were lucky to have such good teachers. Now in the Oregon legislature one of the many bills is one to have recording devices in every classroom. Thankfully, in our legislature, it won't go anywhere, but...in other places.
Jesus comes and spreads all this nonsense around about "loving your neighbor", accepting those who are reviled and hated, reaching out your hand in kindness,
and....?
Some fundamentalist "christian" churches, and, Prosperity Gospel Churches, completely ignore the message he brought.
Who are "Modern Christians"? I have not heard that label before. Judging from the comments so far, we need to make a distinction at least between religious people whose ideas and behavior the poster finds objectionable, and 'other religious people.' Unfortunately, religion is no protection against intolerance and bigotry. It's also no guarantee of it.
There has been an activist religious left in this country for a long time. Since the Catholic Church has been mentioned, keep in mind Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement and the priests and nuns who went to jail for protesting the Viet Nam War (including burning draft records). Protestant ministers who surely walked their talk include the Reverends Martin Luther King Jr and Senator Raphael Warnock. Among the Jews, we have the rabbis who marched with King, and those who showed up at airports in 2016 at a moment's notice to protest harassment of Muslim travelers. There are multiple Muslim groups who have stood up for their Jewish cousins against hate in this country in the last few years.
None of this cancels out the problems we have from right-wing religious groups. It simply requires more careful language when decrying them.
I have had this discussion with my spouse many times, the latest this week. I do always refer to the far right churches because I know several people whose faith informs their social conscience and who work hard to help others without trying to convert them. Personally, I think fundamentalism is the problem, no matter what the religion.
I disagree. People can believe without becoming narrow and hateful. Unfortunately, the things we emphasize in history in terms of religion show it in an unfavorable light. Since they are human institutions, they have all the problems of every human institution. For an example of the good, the most grounded calm person I know is a practicing Christian...Congregationalist I think. The other most grounded person is a reiki practitioner and deeply imbued with Native American beliefs. I would say both of them are progressive in their politics.
It's part of the problem in a vicious, intensifying cycle. The changes in many "Christian" churches are a response to drastically more radical right-wing politics and vice versa. It's also a cycle that perpetuates among a certain subset of whites the fear of the "other." None of it has to do with the teachings of the New Testament. It's utter hypocrisy to have that book in the pews. It makes my blood boil to think of such churches enjoying tax-exempt status while they spew fear and celebrate "prosperity."
I would say literal interpretation of scriptures, allowing no other religions to be valid, strict adherence to the rules, often if not always paternalistic. In this country far right churches, in Islam groups like the Taliban and Isis, in Judaism, the ultra orthodox including some settlers in Israel, etc. True believers...who can also be found in politics.
Fear that they may not be right. People who are secre in their beliefs do not hate and fear people who are different. Fundamentalists are taght to make everyone think like they do. My brother is one.
I call them Disstians. So-called Christians who diss (slang/abbreviation for ‘disrespect’) the teachings of J*sus in favor of contrary actions & attitudes.
Pillow guy is interested in money and he probably thinks his belief in Jesus helps him along. Given the history the French Revolution, he could have ended up with the guillotine around his neck.
Yes, but you leave out the American Catholic Church. Bishops who think themselves more Catholic than the Pope in Rome. The church militant personified by court packing Federalist honcho and Opus Dei acolyte right wing religious extremist Leonard Leo.
Again the American Catholic Church is far broader than the bishops and others you list. They are indeed terrible. Think about the Berrigans and others! Many nuns. Etc. blanket categories don’t work!!
No need to defend the Bishops who play political hardball. They need calling out by Catholics and other democratic Americans alike. I keep trying to bring attention to the all-conservative Catholic Justices of the SCOTUS. Such a willful use of religion-in-politics, staged by the same bishops is unAmerican and, I fear, a shadow cast by Nazi-ism.
I was referring to those in positions of church authority. Not those dissenting from the American church leadership.
For instance Joe Biden. And the priests who -following Pope Francis' opinion on communion - continue to give Biden communion, despite American Bishops' political schemes.
The "like" feature is not working. Yes, we see what the Catholic church has wrought here, and it can't be erased by the beatific smiles on some SCOTUS tyrants' faces. At least Alito and Thomas scowl!
I’m so sorry Denise. This breaks my heart to hear. Public Education is a human right. The moves you describe weaken our society and country. It is unacceptable. Schools should be temples of learning. Teachers deserve to make a better living commensurate with the critical importance and value they add to their communities.
I appreciate your comment as a former teacher whose career began in the late 1960s and ended in 2017. They let you in young in the old days. :)
I have only one disagreement. The attacks on education serve *further* to weaken a society and country. A country which is fundamentally sound and decent has an education system which is unafraid of the truth, even if that truth reveals failings in its history. Education in an unbroken society presents topics in science, history and geography, as well as those that arise from a well-designed English curriculum, to students at the appropriate age level and then encourages critical thinking and discussion. A strong country knows it has a responsibility to pursue truth and fends off those who would censor it.
At various times I taught the Holocaust, evolution (in a Catholic school system), racism, Canada’s atrocious history in dealing with indigenous people, plate tectonics (in the early stages of my career it was considered a controversial theory), and other sensitive material.
To be truthful, it was not possible in a Catholic school system to promote abortion, and for a time teaching around homosexuality became difficulty. But that was not because of my country’s reticence. That arose from teaching in a publicly funded Catholic school system. The majority of the public education system - not Catholic - did not face those issues.
Certainly there was dissent from individual parents. As a teacher in my early twenties I had a parent take me over the coals for presenting the song “Richard Cory” to my class. The song has a line criticizing corrupt politicians which I had chosen not to discuss unless a child brought it up. It wasn’t germane to the song’s theme. However this parent’s husband was a Member of Parliament and she was deeply offended. I was upset and told the story to my principal. He listened intently and then told me, “Don’t worry. I’ll call her and let her know that I fully support how you taught the song”. To the best of my recollection, that was the only time i ever was a part of, or even witnessed an attempt to censor education.
The current situation in regards to American education as a battlefield is deeply disturbing to me. It is a clear sign that America is even more deeply weakened than I had thought. Education is one of the sacred institutions in a society. When it becomes a political football, children suffer in the moment. And the country slides irretrievably into the abyss.
As an outsider to America, I am loath to say this. It sounds smug and condescending. But as a teacher, I am trying to sound an alarm. A country has to be well and truly primed before it launches ideological attacks on its education system. The parents are eating their offspring.
Education is definitely a political football! When W expanded No Child Left Behind, it undermined all of education! That was when Texas truly became a teach to the test state. Then he took it to the national level. I decided it really was no child left untested.
Our Southlake school board now has three right wing conservative christians on it. And their political agenda is right out front for all to see!
I’d rather students get a quality education, they’re going to be in charge some day.
Thanks! I had a student ask me just this week if education was free. I said no. He was shocked. I said people pay taxes to pay for your education. He said well taxes that’s not the same. I said go home and tell your parents that, Southlake is one of the highest taxed areas in Texas. And about $53 million a year of those taxes go to the Robin Hood law that distributes that money to surrounding school districts. I hope he asked them! Ha!
I sat many years ago at breakfast at a reiki intensive and had a R tell me about how teachers indoctrinated kids. First I told her that as a professional, I did not discuss my political and religious beliefs nor try to force them on students. Then I told her that kids will come up with, on their own, most political views, and my job then was to keep things civil. Then I told her the story of one of my government students (son of one of my colleagues and so knew my political views) who suggested a flat tax. They had just had Consumer Survival, our class for managing a household budget among other things. So I put up two incomes, one much less than the other. They then put items into each budget with costs. At the end, they realized that the flat tax was unfair and they made that decision on their own. She listened, but frowned the whole time. I hope that I at least provided her with an alternative view to consider.
I had a family member tell me we needed a "flat tax". I was an auditor for 26.5 years. I found that sales tax sometimes is not remitted to the government. It is used by those that collect it for personal expenses. There are so many ways to cheat, if you don't have an audit!
I would suggest instead a "transaction tax" that levies a fee any time money is exchanged or moved, particularly from financial institutions, which would be a great way to net the more wealthy fish.
Such a tax applied to stock trades, in addition to raising a lot of money, would also stabilize the market since it would decrease the incentive to push stocks around for a fraction of a cent per share.
If high-income earners had a flat percentage tax with no deductions, exemptions, or other exceptions that was equal to what low-income workers actually pay, those high-income people would pay more tax than they do now. A progressive tax only works if you don't let high-income people exempt all their income from it.
The students wanted the flat tax to apply to everyone with no exemptions. The higher income did pretty well. What struck them is how little the lower income had after paying for the necessities and the tax....not enough for even one movie ticket was their observation. I do understand how the very wealthy work the system which is why I consider most of them parasites....now and historically, and yes, we can find examples of those who are not.
I believe in Montana maybe more than 9 superintendents sent letters of no confidence to the state Superintendent of Instruction. Is this being addressed on the national level?
Do you see these “Primrose School franchise” advertisements on FB? What the heck? The war on teaching is a libertarian plank. Their goal is to privatize all education. To accomplish this goal, state legislatures can starve funding, ban books, ban issues, attack with critical race theory, etc etc.
Beto says that if the federal money given Texas went to public education, every teacher would get an $11,000 a year raise. Our states TEA president and Abbott take our federal funding and send it to other areas, like charter schools. It’s infuriating!
“The war on teaching is a libertarian plank. Their goal is to privatize all education.” I worked in a libertarian private school for fifteen years. When I was hired there were signs of that ideology, but I needed the job and I felt I could be sort of a mole. The kids were smart and motivated and that I really enjoyed, along with the emphasis on music and drama. The parents were not told the school’s mission was to push libertarian ideas, but it became clear that was true. A short Ayn Rand novel was part of the eighth grade curriculum.
As the founding mother (whose schools are in several states) aged, she became more extreme. When I left there was a decree that nothing on classroom walls was allowed that “corporate” had not supplied. (That’s Individualism for you.) Students K-8th grade were given a “liberty survey” based on the fable of the ant and the grasshopper, but with a praying/preying mantis added to represent the government. The eighth grade students could tell what was up and wrote rude responses. Bonuses were on the line, so our principal required the students to re-take it in pencil.
Then six months after Obama’s first inauguration, the annual corporate-style dinner for teaching staff had a theme other than self-congratulation. Take America Back banners and country song, flags on each table. Did they see Obama’s election as illegitimate? Take the country back from whom? We were naive in our shock, but suspected our loony founding mother was being run by a movement.
"You can ignore the reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring that reality."- Ayn Rand.
If we keep ignoring the real threat to Public Education, to Public Health, to the Environment, to our infrastructure, to caring about our fellow citizens, and to democracy, if we can't defeat this Libertarian, obstructionist, and racist path, what are the consequences?
"getting their name on their work" Yes, indeed. Wicked indoctrination! I remember those days long ago. : ) Thank you for keeping on, Denise, especially during these times.
Denise, although the situation now is worse than perhaps ever before, the attack on teachers and public education has been pretty much a constant in my experience as an educator and a student. And that is why people are leaving education in droves.
I got into trouble on social media by replying to a post about using candles and clay pots during Texas Freeze.
Someone wondered about the need to ventilate if using that method to warm a space. I provided an informative link and offered it in a reply where I said that “I hadn’t considered the need for that, so I checked around a bit, and that it seems that it is apparently necessary”.
I got attacked by ‘Christians’ who accused me of fear mongering. They were extremely angry with me for sharing information which could possibly prevent harm, and they attacked me like I was a monster. The article I offered gave general advise about keeping candles away from anything which could burn, etc. It didn’t offer scary stories of what could happen, so was definitely not fear mongering.
These people do not want any restrictions on their lives apparently not even to help them protect themselves. They do not want education. They want to walk on the the 3rd train rail if they so choose without ever learning the possible consequences in advance. They are damning children with this nonsense. “Here kids, play with matches / guns / unknown vegetation, and learn by experience instead of learning by education. It’s God’s Will whether or not you make it to adulthood.”
So essentially they want people to feel free to walk through life as a minefield without sharing knowledge to guide people to success.
I think your summary is accurate for many people now, not just in Texas. I see it here in NY as well, although, the numbers relative to reasonable people are not as out of proportion.
I am not sure what has happened Lisa. I grew up in East Texas and "community" mattered. If your neighbor's well pump went out, and, we could fix it, we did. If it became cold and somebody ran out of firewood (lots of wood stoves in homes back then) we delivered it.
Also, guns were used for hunting rabbits and squirrels mostly. There were so few deer hunting them was not really rewarding.
NOBODY had an assault rifle and nobody would have thought of either selling one or owning one.
The gun stores had shotguns and .22 rifles mostly. Even pistols were not much sold.
So, I am not sure what happened and among my old friends, honestly, not much has changed. None of them own assault rifles and probably won't. They just are too expensive.
I cannot understand where this rabid dog behavior began or how it grew. I wonder if there is any sociologist working on this transition from reasonable community based interaction (1975) to outrageous behavior that denies the existence of community.
Lastly, in the ACTS of the Apostles, the earliest followers of Jesus lived in a communal way sharing everything that they. They were communists. Good thing the USA was not around to shoot em all up. :-)
I think talk radio, Fox, and social media are the source/cause of the decline. Plus the rise of the evangelical prosperity gospel and Milton Friedman’s idea that business should only be concerned with their bottom line (simplistic view but that is the general take away for many of us who were taught his economic model). A whole generation grew up believing Ronald Reagan when he said government was the problem.
A very short, clear statement of origins that does make sense.
Thanks again.
Perhaps we need another Great Depression, which served to remind Americans that Republican policy is a disaster in the last one?
After that, community based programs proliferated for three generations.
Maybe all this printing money to get us out of Republican Policy debacles, like 2008, is a mistake. Maybe we should just hold the printing press and let people starve like in 1930 and that will help them better understand Republican policy and move back toward reasonable, community based management??
I remember very clearly reading, in the late 1980s when I returned to college, that the evangelicals had a plan to take over the governing of the US starting at the local level and then spreading to the state and national level. One of the ways they have done this is to make a huge deal out of their version of family values, which includes everything from LGBTQ, abortion, gun rights and what children should or shouldn’t be taught, all the while telling them that the government only wants to take away their freedoms and that Christians are under attack- fear monger if at its finest. Even then, before social media, the leaders had an organized system whereby they could quickly get their followers to fax letters and make calls to all levels of government to put pressure on if there was something they didn’t like. Couple that with toxic talk radio, Fox News, Newt Gingrich’s “policy” of never working with Democrats and the teaching of some churches that if you aren’t with them then you’re with Satan (I sat in an evangelical church and heard that said- wanted to raise my hand and say that would be me) and here we are with democracy deeply in peril.
You wonder if any sociologists are studying this behavioral transition. If there are, they better work quickly because I suspect there may not be any sociologists around in the future.
Talk radio gave my older brother excuses for being angry and posing as a know-it-all with regards to things about which he knew absolutely nothing. He was also, almost pornographically interested in money, especially other people’s money. He never had much and spent it in showy and extravagant ways when he had a bit. He liked talking with an unsettling glee about wealthy people. He was never able to make the connection between wealth and the abuses of power that often come with it. He relieved himself of thinking and learning by letting other people focus his anger on their agenda and bigotries.
The same thing is happening with my husband only it's Joe Rogan this time. After 40 years of marriage I am watching him become a different person and I don't know what to do about it.
Neither did I. My brother seethed with anger and raging self pity. His partner was a fine woman, intelligent, patient, kind and reliable. She was at a loss, too. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.
Two Reagan stories: When he was a B movie actor in the '50s, he learned to swirl a prop pistol because he told my father (a writer/publicist) it gave him a way to distract the press because he didn't know how to answer their questions. I met him briefly as a teenager in 1954 when I attended the Academy Awards with my father. Prior to the ceremony in the lobby of the Pantages Theatre, with Nancy at his side gazing up at him, he said that when the expected best actor award was announced for Bill Holden in Stalag 17, he was going to bound onto the stage to accept it. "We look so much alike it will fool people, and I know I'll never win anything like that in my life." If only.
Blind Faith - the Virgin Mind ... they have a right to that choice for themselves - not to force it on others any more than others have a right to force them to adopt beliefs that do not ring true for them (in my version of a free world) ....
It is a pretty concept, but driving a car with your eyes closed is a bad idea. The Dark Ages makes for interesting tales, but I don’t want to live that way.
Sure Lisa - of course, they didn't have cars in the Muddle Ages - and there is no virtue in driving blind ... so how do we open peoples' eyes/minds/hearts to see where they are being manipulated and deceived?
Ok, I hear you Peter, and that applies to those who are invested in coveting wealth, who manipulate the economy and laws to serve their advantage ... people on the ground who probably do not have much wealth, and buy into the idea that government and educational institutions are instruments of evil may well support this agenda believing they are serving God.
So, how do we 'rent the veil' of deceptive influence to empower enlightened government that allows people to choose and live by what rings true in their hearts?
... well Peter, I'm not so sure how innocent my eyes are - I have not seen the bloody gore of war, true - or even the worst of poverty and human depravity - if that is what we must slog through to find peace, I trust I'll be in for a rude awakening ... I, for one, am not willing to pick up a weapon and start killing people - I would rather die. I'll contribute what I can to healing process and the quest for Peace On Earth, Goodwill Toward All through honest discourse, music, art, poetry ... if that amounts to nothing, I guess I can register as just another dander-flake off the cosmic scalp ....
Luckily in colleges, we have far more wiggle room, especially in the NE. I would go up the wall if I couldn't teach freely. It's unbelievable the number of times my students ask: why wasn't I ever taught this before?
“What are Republicans for?” They are for war on truth, war on books, war on learning, war on thinking, war on teachers, war on kids by kids, no war on violence just more guns please, war on public Education, war on the environment, war on women’s health, war on Public Health, war on masks, war on planes over masks, war on reason, war on debate, war on compromise, war on science, war on scientist, war on vaccines, war on hospitals, war on roads & bridges, war on elections, war on journalists, war on democracy. War. On. Governance. War on government.
In other words, Republicans are for separation from non-Republicans by any means necessary.
If Democrats / Liberals stand for education, science, and critical thinking, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for ignorance and blind faith.
If Democrats / Liberals stand (or aim to) for Community, sharing, good neighbors, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for Individualism, Me-First-ism, Eff-Everyone-ism, and per Ted Keyes: (Opposite of community is Selfishness/aloneness not individualism).
If Democrats / Liberals stand for Democracy, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for a Dictatorshop.
If Democrats / Liberals stand for diversity, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for homogeneity.
Maybe Democrats should just push the opposite message towards Republicans?
Even before the Renaissance, despots always burned books. It's no different now. The aim is to keep the peasants ignorant, vulnerable, and hold all treasure under the despots' control.
Whom does this bother? All of us, I hope, but the key to saving democracy is mobilizing the votes of those Americans, especially women and persons of color, attacked by these Republican abominations. Nine months to Election Day!
My Dad actually had a Bomb Shelter built. Several people did where I live did.The only book banned was “ Catcher In The Rye “. And if I’m not mistaken that was during the time that Movies began to see the “Ratings “ ? I was so scared hiding under my desk in “ Bomb Drills “. Yep, they would save us. This time is different. There’s No Where to Hide .
I remember looking out my fourth grade classroom windows just north of San Francisco to see whether there was a mushroom cloud out there yet. I expected it any day. . . .
A high school friend from a well-to-do family had one. Apparently it doubled as an underground make-out hideaway. I also remember seeing bomb shelter designs in a magazine back in those days. In truth, the shelters might have protected people from nuclear blasts if they had enough warning to take cover. But I doubt any of the shelters were sufficiently equipped and stocked so people could avoid ever going outside and being exposed to the deadly radioactive fallout that would persist for years and years.
As a teen, I read three novels about nuclear war that intensified my fear at the time, books that I will never forget:
And let's not forget the Stanley Kubrick film "Dr. Strangelove," a brilliant dark comedy featuring so many great actors, including Peter Sellers, with a plot that actually had a ring of plausibility. At the end of this trailer are some real-life glimpses of how afraid Americans were of The Bomb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rF5XftjRGM
"Dr Strangelove" is my favorite movie, partially because at one point in his career my father was a Cold War B52 squadron commander carrying enough firepower to light up half the world from half a world away but also because of Slim Pickens, George C Scott and of course, Sellers!
In my fair city, we still have regular siren tests each month, which is an eery way to punctuate the mourning.
OMG ! Yes ! The Pink bathrooms, toilets, tubs and sinks. Kitchens also. The bathroom floors had the 1” little squares( maybe 2” ? ) such a pain to get the grout clean. They weren’t just Ugly ! They were U-gly !!!!
It all comes together in the unannounced agenda of the Republican Party. If you need a wake-up call, watch Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham on Fox some night. I guarantee that you won't sleep well. HCR certainly 'sets things straight' but not with the urgency that an Election Day nine months off, demands. The Democratic Party should right now be mobilizing the votes of women and persons of color, groups that are often the targets of Republican politics especially at the State level. Their votes will be the keys to saving democracy, despite Republican efforts to limit voting. I hope.
I’m in a women’s Democratic club. We go to events and help register people to vote. Like Opal Lee’s march, and the abortion rights march. We help at the polls, some do door to door walks. At the Beto kickoff rally, when I had my two seconds with him I said I’m a teacher in Southlake, help us! Ha! He had time with education leaders this week and is focusing on our situation.
Democrats are mobilizing! In Tarrant County Texas, it is making a difference.
Trying to push that heart. I'll try again later. I do want to thank you- at last a letter from somebody who is actually DOING something instead of just venting. I know that lots of others are too. And lots more who get tired of the venting. I love the thoughtful letters that enlarge my sense of things. Just tired of reading letter after letter about the same things that have been said again and again. That's not getting anywhere. I am happy to hear that Tarrant County has a group like yours- and it's making a difference. Thanks, Denise
Thank you for the link, Michael. Excellent! I have to include my rant of the day on this topic. The state of education today should scare all of us. How many Americans who are suspicious of education, believe in conspiracy theories, and are undereducated, have been participants in riots and racist groups? Yes, a generalization, I know. Who are initiating and limiting the teaching of facts? Political, social, religious influences? Now, or continuing, some schools want to provide even fewer opportunities and omit the truth in their curriculum. In my Northern California mountain community, in 1990, parents picketed the school board with signs against the use of a wonderful series of books. The reason: there were some stories that could undermine parental authority. Sorry, that was absurd. But that was the forerunner to current times. Education today and really for many children at least since Bush 2000, has been in a fragile state, especially for low-income children and perhaps in states that shut down the truth, like a modern Scopes! More so than ever, manipulation and the lies are out in the open and sometimes driven by parents and politics, especially as we have seen, with any racial justice, Truth, aka Critical Race Theory in the curriculum. I taught for 25 years, from preschool to adults, much of it Title I low income families and ESL, as well as classroom. I left the field in 2009 and while I loved the children and families, and my colleagues, and teaching with our developmentally appropriate and thematic curriculum for many years, there is not enough money to pay me to turn back the clock and be a teacher. In today's educational climate, teachers may experience long hours, high stakes student testing, amazing amounts of paper work for "accountability", conflicts with administration and sometimes parents, poor pay for the amount of education as a professional, often low public respect and a lack of autonomy. With a BA in Child Development, California Teaching Credential with specializations in Elementary Education, Title I, English as a Second Language, and a Masters in Human Development, specialization in Peace and Justice, as well as Education, (teachers are constantly taking classes and workshops and advanced degrees, not only as a love of learning, but required to advance on the salary schedule), I left the field as a well educated and experienced professional, but with significantly less retirement salary than other professions. Now there is a bigger crisis than ever in filling the teacher needs in this nation. I can't imagine teaching today in this environment between Pandemic and Politics; would you want the job?
Irenie, your experience is illuminating, so thank you. It's a cautionary tale. Why does America treat its teachers this way? It's shameful. After all, kids generally spend way more time with them than do parents and have so much influence on who they become. It's been remarkable recently to see so many parents suddenly get interested in what and how their children are being taught, spurred on more by politics more than anything else.
A member of my extended family, a teacher who's received many accolades, is retiring several years earlier than planned. The stress and demands have simply become too much.
Thank you, Michael, I had to stop myself from writing a book! Education is critical in any society, and we have to ask ourselves what we want our children to learn and how to help them grow up to be fair-minded, honest, intelligent citizens. Getting there? That's the challenge.
I fear I come to this party late, and find tempers and tongues quite on edge. Well here goes.
This may sound a little naive, but I just finished Jonathan Karl’s book “Betrayal “. He references the Dec. 18 th meeting in the White House. It stood out because it is my birthday. He gives other details that are head-shaking. The story he tells, full of authoritative quotes, is chilling from beginning to end. I thought I knew enough of the details of these events, but I was wrong. I recommend this book.
Till the Jan. 6th debacle I had a deep loathing for Liz Cheney and her father. I am now forced to give her credit for standing up to the criminality of djt and his cult. But remember she most likely voted for djt. And her conservative stance on government is antithetical to everything I believe government should be. And the same goes for the rest of the Republican Party that should have disavowed djt from the moment he took his infamous escalator ride and brought the country to the door of hell.
Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the best of humanity into beasts. Qurayshi is responsible for killing the women and children. ISIS, like others of their ilk, has an insanity of religion that defies explanation. It compels brutal resistance.
Restful sleep and inner peace is rare these days. Angry and indecent language has maybe a place inside a personal space. But as soon as it escapes it defiles even the best arguments. Evidence and testimony is seeping out into the light on a daily timetable. It is our strongest weapon. Because it will compel us to vote. In every election.
"Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the best of humanity into beasts." I quibble only because of the edit I suggest. "Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the worst and even the best of humanity into beasts."
Actually, humans have it all over other beasts for violence and cruelty. The term 'inhumane' applied to human violence and cruelty is almost an oxymoron.
According to the moral & Christian "just war theory", war should always be the LAST resort. Responsible citizens should trust this timeless wisdom. Moreover, today's GOP has a national platform which provides they will trust the intuition of nihilist Donald Trump. How can GOP leadership provide HOPE for America's future, when we do not trust science & reason to address the problems we encounter, but the intuition of Trump? What is the source of Trump's wisdom, as he does NOT read? Like my friend Charlie Munger says, echoing Benjamin Franklin, I never met a wise person who did not read a lot.
The Republicans like to play their own game of charades. A large population of evangelicals have wrapped themselve with the cloth of the fascist Republican Party. "Christian" is total FAKERY.
So-called “Christians“ are often white racists, especially the ones voting for Trump. You are correct in calling out their hypocrisy. The source of the name Christian is Crystos, which means crystalline, pure. True Christians don’t usually self-identify that way. They are quietly being the best they can be and wishing the best for society. You, Vince, are likely a follower of the Kristos. Ever think of that? Most people here are. If you are reading these words, consider the possibility that you might be a true Christian, in its original form and meaning.
Χρίστος is the Greek, meaning "The Anointed". The "X" in Xmas actually is intented to represent the Chi / "X". Actually, I am an ordained graduate Seminarian (with a very long career in the private business sector). Over the years, I have become increasingly dismayed and disappointed over the corruption and contamination of evil that has inserted itself into the Faith.
Well satd Bill, thank you. djt's "infamous escalator ride" was a down escalator ... truly symbolic. The Dispatch this am has sourced background info on Qurayshi's personal history since 2014 in Iraq. The NYT has published detailed visual investigation footage of Qurayshi`s three story compound on rising ground on the porous Syrian-Turkish border. The LFAA Community gets real-time history, extensively sourced from HCR. Thank you again for your calm thoughts.
"Qurayshi is responsible for killing the women and children."
Please post the evidence for this statement if you do not mind. Five American helicopters with US Special forces showed up to kill this guy and I think it is a good bet that in the firefight they killed all the women and children as well.
Blaming the father of the kids for his own kids death? Do you think ISIS Dads are any different than any other human fathers?? Have we demonized Muslim's so much that we think they kill their own children now?
WE, the USA just killed some more kids. Just like our helicopter shot up 12 young boys in Village in Afghanistan 12 or so years ago.
WE (you and I, yep) have killed thousands of kids since this whole debacle bagan. THOUSANDs.
You and I are also killing women and children. We just did.
Mike, I agree that most of the last 20 years have been a horror in terms of the killing we did and the reaction from that has only increased the appeal of terrorism.
But this time, I believe we got it right. The evidence that this monster blew himself up is clear and he took his family with him.
Do I think that ISIS dads are different form others? OF COURSE they are. They use women and children as shields regularly. They blow up schools and hospitals. They slaughter their own children to make a point. I don't believe in Satan - but if I did, that's where I would find him - in that house. ISIS is a disease. Religious extremism even worse than the Taliban. They are vicious enough to sacrifice their own babies.
You could be right and I will cede that to you up front.
However, ALL of the evidence you have is based on what the US Government is telling us. In the White Helmet's report I don't see any hint of how the women and children were killed.
In fact, an announcer with an Iraqi accent indicated through a loudspeaker that missles would be fired if the occupants did not exit.
Sure, the US says he had a giant suicide vest on that went off (if I got that right).
BUT, remember Vietnam? Remember all the stuff that the US government told us that was lies back then?
Do you think that the US Government would now come out and say:
We flew five helicopters in to kill the next Muslim we could find to kill, after demonizing him, and as part of the operation we killed four women and six kids OOOOOPS?
Mike, according to the news reports (yes, I know that they're not always factual), the helicopters were sent in, and were blasting messages telling everyone to evacuate, and Qurayshi to surrender, because they didn't want to kill civilians by using drones and bombs, a la the Kabul disaster. They were not shooting. BTW, doing it this way is much more dangerous to our troops than drones. Yes, we have, either intentionally or otherwise, killed many civilians, including women and children, over the years, but I tend to believe this account. With our many faults, these fanatics have the corner on the market in deliberate murder, even of their own.
He was flexing his muscle, and hoping to reenergize ISIS' grip on the Middle East. While perhaps not an immediate threat to us, a similar group of fanatics did take down the Trade Center, attacked the Pentagon, and made a run at the Capitol.
Mike, You asked a fellow commentator to substantiate his comments regarding proof of responsibility. Then you proposed a counter claim…isn’t it fair to ask you to substantiate your comment as well? You offered up that a similar alleged occurrence more than a decade earlier offers “proof” for your claim’s accuracy. While it may be true or not…I doubt it would actually “hold water” In todays media driven toxic atmosphere even a mis-spoken word can prove to be dangerous. Unfortunately, I can imagine there have been many, many innocent Women and Children killed when people shoot at one another…whether it be justified or not!
Bill, welcome! To get the irrelevant out the way, we share a birthday. I claim 1938 as my starting point.
I like the general thrust of your perspective, but find a hair or two that I feel I must split.
Singling out Qurayshi as a killer of women and children seems to ignore the reality of any major our minor conflict in the history of mankind; and I use MANkind with intent. An example in recent memory is the errant U.S. drone strike in Kabul and its “collateral” civilian toll. But the examples of innocents slaughtered in violent disputes could, and does, fill uncounted history books.
Let me be clear, however; this is in no way a defense of Qurayshi, but an attempt to put a millennial perspective on this one example of the horrors of human beings acting in inhuman ways toward other human beings.
While the Cheneys rank high on my roster of despicables, I, too, am thankful for Rep. Liz providing a basic example of reasonable morality in the face of unimagined depravity and atrocities. Her actions, however, stand out primarily because most of her political kin are behaving in the most immaturely evil and unconscionably destructive ways.
Finally, the smallest hair to be sliced refers to voting. That is the most basic of all the actions we must take in this time of existential peril. Our civilization, globally, requires total reconstruction. If there is an institution left that is not terminally corrupted, I am completely unaware of its existence.
The Nazis staged a similar "event" so they could claim "self defense" when they attacked Poland in September 1939. they built a "radio station" just inside the German side of the Polish-German border, then dressed prisoners in Polish uniforms and had them "attack" the radio station, where they were shot to death by Waffen-SS "defenders" and then the "attackers" were photographed.
And yes, nobody but Charles Lindbergh and the America First movement were dumb enough to say that was "proof" we should stay away from the "foreign war."
Magnificent TC. Thanks again for the history lesson. A perfect job for the Waffen-SS, one of several precursors to Putin’s secret agents. Now watch who shows up here with a reply, sounding defensive.
TC: nobody but Charles Lindbergh and the America First movement were dumb enough to say that was "proof" we should stay away from the "foreign war."
I am not sure if this means you are advocating that the US become involved militarily if Russia invades?
I know a lot of military contractors (and hence elected Representatives) that would be ECSTATIC about our entry into another giant war where they (representatives and contractors) can make BILLIONS of dollars on the backs of our (poorly paid) dead soldiers.
That's why the British and American exposition of such possibilities is important. It's not about having a shooting war. It's about holding the Western Coalition together.
Last night on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” Ronald Goldman suggested that, among others, the Justice Department should be pursuing charges under the RICO statute (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) against TFG and his fellow conspirators in their attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.
I’ve said it repeatedly in this forum and others, that RICO is tailor-made for TFG across the entire spectrum of his business and political activities.
If the Justice Department is not vigorously investigating the full range of potential crimes committed by TFG and his gang, we are (to use the vernacular) screwed.
As for the ongoing criminal conspiracy, so much has been said already that it's difficult to see how much more we need to disclose before we conclude that enough is enough. What's telling are those who are refusing to disclose what they know. If it were up to me to decide, I would hold that anyone who took the Oath of Office who declines to testify is ipso facto a supporter of insurrection and therefore ineligible to hold any public office or employment by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, section three. That amounts to a lifetime ban. A refusal to testify is a felony punishable by a year's imprisonment. We want them to testify. If they bear criminal responsibility for their actions, I want to see them prosecuted. The punishment need not be draconian, except for those who planned and coordinated their efforts; but having to face a judge and allocute to the crimes is an essential part of the process, especially those who cut a deal to reduce their punishment. This is what Richard Nixon should have been required to do in return for his presidential pardon.
Be careful here. These types of blanket assumptions reek of an authoritarian State. Facing judges solely for the purpose of humiliation is draconian.
One thing I cherish about the United States is our basic decency down through its history. Nixon had suffered enough through the loss of the things he craved the most which was power. The Country had suffered enough with the Vietnam War and 3 years of Watergate. It was time to heal and President Ford knew that. I am always grateful for his wisdom.
"suffered enough" is not a consequence for egregious acts. President Ford's wisdom is out of compassion, however, it appears the lack of consequences then, is haunting us today.
Fair point. During that time we never, ever could have imagined what we are going through today. Today looks like a prequel to the book 1984.
All we as a Nation and as a person can do is make the best decision possible with the information we have in that moment. We had been through 3 years of exhaustive legal examination of the Watergate incident and everything that spiraled out from there. I don't know if you are old enough to remember but the Vietnam war bloodied and tore this Nation asunder. We were traumatized from MLK's murder. And then Bobby Kennedy. The bloody debacle of the Chicago Democratic Convention. And on and on. I just remember there being a feeling of death everywhere. So given my poorly done encapsulation of those times the decision to pack Nixon off to California seemed the best option. I doubt prison for Nixon would have kept Stone from deifying him.
@ Kim Weidmann We don’t need to lop their heads off, so to speak, but I don’t feel removing abusive people from positions which could allow them to continue causing harm is a bad idea either.
No. Just no. It may have seemed a good idea at the time but history has proven to us that tyranny never sleeps. Nixon should have been prosecuted along with all his henchman. If we had, perhaps some of what is happening now might have been avoided.
I disagree with you completely. I was there in Washington for the Nixon debacle. I also served as a staff attorney on President Ford's Clemency Board that was supposed to redress the balance by helping those who were ground up by the Vietnam War. Nixon got a sweetheart deal. No criminal conviction and a comfortable retirement. The Watergate burglars got prison sentences, along with 49 lawyers who worked either in the Nixon White House or at the Committee to Reelect the President.
You write as if all you were concerned about was making this stigma go away. Jerry Ford was a decent guy, but totally unsuited to the job of being President. He could have demanded at least a guilty plea from Nixon before granting that pardon. That would have been the honorable thing to do. Instead, he acted as if the scandal itself was to blame, just like Donald Trump. We got Trump because Ford couldn't apply Republican morality to the party that made Nixon possible.
Democrats are under fire for making a stink about what Trump was doing then, and what he's doing now. Under your theory of the case, prosecutors should not be bringing indictments against people who are their 'betters', because it makes them look bad. Crooks are crooks, whether they wear denim or bespoke Italian suits. With Nixon, it was all about stealing an election, even though the Democratic candidate, George McGovern, was either too inept or too much of a gentleman to fight back. Do bear in mind that two of the Nixon administration's Attorneys General, John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst, were convicted of serious felonies in connection with Watergate; and both went to jail. That history didn't seem to bother Trump's AG, William Barr, from using his office to advance Trump's attempted coup, pulling back only at the last moment. Barr has no shame. And neither do the Senate Republicans.
The only thing I don't get in your otherwise great comment is the bit about Nixon stealing an election. The only state McGovern won is my state--along with the District of Columbia.
Think about the dirty tricks campaign against Nixon's strongest potential opponent, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, and other dirty tricks carried out by Nixon operatives working at CREEP.
If humanity is to progress we need to have rules/laws to which we all live by. There needs to be actual consequences for breaking rules. Consequences that are not just simple incarceration, there needs to be requirements to make amends for the harm done. This should clearly be seen by all as NOT a punishment, but a consequence for antisocial behavior that harms humanity. It should be reparative. Incarceration would be reserved for those incapable of working to make amends. The amends should be established, just, and equal across the board. Retaliation, vengeance, the need to see others suffer, will serve to dig us deeper into the hole of hell. Easier said then done. Consequences are an essential requirement. They must be firm, fair, consistent and most importantly in the spirit of love be for what is best in all of us.
having read a lot about Nixon, I don't think it was power that motivated him so much as his father's lack of confidence in him. He wanted to show that he was better than his father ever thought he was.
On your first-mentioned point, Joe Biden has been constantly under-rated by Republicans. He oversees a focused, surgical strike against ISIS that's in their face that takes out their top leader, while minimizing collateral damage. Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and his wife blew themselves up with suicide vests, killing their children and others, 13 innocents in all. Other civilians on the lower floors of the building fled with their lives. ISIS has long used innocent lives to protect themselves, and this is perhaps the most extreme example of their disregard for human life. Muslims that I know would be horrified at the parents' actions. Nonetheless, President Biden put a team of American military in harm's way so that at least some lives could be saved.
I expect the full story about this assassination is not yet available to anyone who wasn't there. Our government's record of taking responsibility for civilian deaths in this "war on terror" is hardly sterling. This may have been a legitimate case of self-defense against terrorist acts, but it is too soon for us to be sure.
As I recall, one of our final military actions in Afghanistan involved a missile strike on civilians, with predictably tragic results that were not made known immediately. And I have read of a rogue element of our military failing to follow rules of engagement designed to minimize civilian deaths.
The Government including the military is always in a rock and a hard place. We clamor for our National security and the privilege of not going to bed at night worrying about our security but cringe when it gets horrific in the effort. There seems to be a lot of sanctimonious handwringing in the light of day. We elected a President who said he would fight the war on terror. What did you think that would look like?
And unless you have concrete data/proof of that rogue element why mention it? Why undermine Biden?
Barbara, I too feel a tiny sense of relief that there is one less terrorist in the world, and I certainly hold nothing against Joe Biden for ordering (I assume he was in the loop) the assassination, nor do I blame him for the "collateral" damage. None of our recent Presidents have shown any mercy for terrorists, and most Americans, left or right, are okay with that. I would vote for him again against any Republican I can think of.
That said, the whole notion of fighting a "war on terror" is a kind of jingoistic nonsense, as if we can somehow change the minds of those who hate us by killing them. It led us to into a truly stupid and bloody war in Iraq and continues to hold our collective imagination because it nurtures in us the idea of our superiority over people who are not us. I certainly do not believe killing terrorists in far away places will protect us from ourselves.
It was not domestic terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 David. And once again. We are not privy to intelligence reports of threats against the United States. I bet the President's Daily Brief would curl our toes and cause us to have nightmares. BTW. President Biden prevented trump from receiving a version of the PDB because he was deemed a security risk.
No, 9/11 was mostly well-financed Saudi terrorists who cleverly exploited some pretty dire weaknesses in airline security protocols and inadequate communications between the various US govt. entities who were, in fact, trying very hard to figure out what some of them were up to. It would be very hard for that horrific act to be repeated now, but that doesn't mean other evil schemes are not afoot that might be as bad or worse than 9/11. Do you believe a small group of domestic terrorists could not plan and execute something at least as bad, if not far worse, than the attack on the twin towers? Do you imagine the NSA really knows what everyone is thinking and doing, or that the FBI can track down every threat in time to stop it?
Terrorism is one of many dangers in today's world, almost certainly not the worst. During the height of the pandemic, a 9/11's worth of Americans were dying every day, and we still aren't sure how that started or what to do to keep it from happening again. Is our government's budgeting based on the severity of threats or the flow of campaign money? How many people are well enough informed to separate the big dangers from the small or unreal dangers?
Life is one long series of unanswered questions. The big picture is largely invisible.
I don't know what terrorists are out there, but I do believe the world would have been a lot different had Gore been president, and I agree that we need to get away from this war on terror mentality. But I suspect that taking out this particular terrorist was a good thing. I would just like to see a different general approach to the world from War on Terror.
There is seldom such a thing as a "surgical strike". "Collateral damage" is almost inevitable, and there is no acceptable amount of it. Remember the 2003 "Shock and Awe" invasion of Iraq by US forces? It was one enormous exercise in "collateral damage" deliberately inflicted.
For what it is worth, fellow readers, I am so exasperated that I just called Mitch McConnells office and left a message with an aide. Brief but to the point: we NEED a two party system in the US and those parties are the Democrats and the Republicans; the REAL Republicans, not the Trumpists that are destroying our nation. McConnell needs to call out these people and reign the party in.
I know that some here will comment and tell me it is useless. Please do not, I am depressed enough already. If you feel that way, please just shake your head, mutter to yourself and move onto the next posted comment.
A few comments of, yeah, I called too would be helpful. A LOT of posts of, yeah WE ALL CALLED, would be even better.
Miselle, I am glad to see you ask for naysayers to keep it to themselves.
To me it makes no sense to say calling lawmakers is useless. I could go on about why, in philosophical and even spiritual terms, it ALWAYS makes a difference. But maybe better right now to stick to to the practical: We do not know if and when it makes a difference. However, we know for sure that NOT calling does not help.
BTW, in my surfing yesterday, I came across this which was a bit of a bright spot. It's long, but I thought it was worthwhile to listen as I shuffled papers on my desk. Politics Girl interviewing the wonderful Jen Psaki!
Absolutely wonderful. Refreshing. Natural. Down Two earth. Two mothers of young children discussing g the realities of their lives, with lots of focus on current events.
Mike, as some here might know as I posted this awhile back--lost my brother to COVID three weeks ago. Vaxxed and boosted, but so far along in his dementia that it was a blessing, in a way. Even the best of care for dementia patients in our US is what a friend termed "human warehousing."
I can't read all the comments but I have posted there are some I especially look for, yours are among those. (I applaud your for your carefully reading and commenting to so many) TCinLA is another, and perhaps I am reading through the lines but he seems to be feeling as frustrated (depressed?) as I am of late. I hope he is well as his comments are also well received.
I don't know that our calls will matter, either, but thanks for calling and yes, by your doing so, I am feeling a bit less aggrieved this morning. Thank you.
I lost my aunt three weeks ago to covid. She contracted it while in the hospital for knee replacement surgery. We had been making plans for me to visit. So upsetting! Sorry for your loss!
Sorry for you, too. There is no dementia anywhere prior in my family history, so this has baffled and frightened us.
I am astounded how many formerly cautious friends have given up, like they have now thrown all caution to the wind in terms of COVID safety!
I am unable to attach a link or the actual chart, but if you head over the msn.com and click on the CORONAVIRUS, you can see the charts of the number of cases and the number of deaths since the start. They are really something to see! We will hit 900,000 deaths probably tomorrow! This is far from over.
The tide IS turning. Since every call is counted, yours counts. McConnell needs to see the numbers rise before he can risk the switch away from tRump. Thank you Miselle! Let's ALL CALL MITCH!!
I am not fond of word games or puzzles, but terror that I might succumb to the dementia that my brother had sends me to the AARP website every morning to do the mini-Crossword. I have yet to try a Wordle. Thanks for the suggestion.
Always stunning how the US defends its killing of 13 civilians non-chalantly as collateral damage and congratulates itself on a "counter-terrorism" strike. 20,000,000 civilians killed since WWII by the US Army - but these bad, bad Russians and Chinese ...
Non violence is one thing. Knee jerk pacifism is another. There are over 2,500 years of studies in Buddhism on cause and effect. Painting the history of war with such an extremely narrow view is suspect.
Are you aware that the United States chose the on the ground maneuver instead of an air strike because it was less risky in terms of the loss of human life? So in actuality the United States was willing to lay down the lives of its soldiers in order to prevent deaths. In addition how do you know members of the United States military and this Administration were not grieved at the loss of human life? How do you know people in these comments section did not pause and pray for those people?
Some folks might see your charge against the United States as an assault on the decades of humans who willingly laid down their lives in the cause of freedom and human rights.
But, Barbara, if the US had stayed out of Iraq and Afghanistan to begin with, no American soldiers' lives would be at risk; nor would the lives of countless Afghani and Iraqi civilians.
When did ISIS rise? While being aware of post hoc ergo propter hoc, I think we'll find that Western (Thanks, Dubbya!) imperialism set the stage for ISIS to coalesce. And yes, there were radical Islamic groups going back before WW2.
Mike, I'm just getting around to yesterday so take my comments with a good dash of salt. I enjoy the perspective of the comments you make. There is no question of the U.S.'s contributions to the growth of several violent extremist Islamist movements. But direct links between the Taliban regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and ISIS are few, tangled and have changed over time. They share some ideological commitments, particularly the formation of theocratic governments and (to different extents) advocating an extremist takfiri stance that Shi'ite Muslims are apostates. The originators of IS movements were Arab Sunnis who split off from AQI. Some (like al-Zarqawi) had experience in Afghanistan--some influenced by al Quaeda, some simply anti-Soviet. But while they may have preached a global Islamist vision, but their focus was on the middle east--Iraq, Syria, Jordan and (to a lesser extent) Egypt. So yes, we potentiated their rise, but mainly through our bonehead invasion of Iraq and our mishandling of the resulting mess. Their biggest recruitment drives were fed by creating alliances among groups to repel the U.S. occupation, and they benefitted from the Iraqi government's internal struggles against Shi'ite militias. This included lots of U.S. arms and equipment, stolen or passed on by some of our "allies." So, we screwed up in 1980's Afghanistan (though not as bad as the Soviets did), potentiated the rise of bin Laden through our Saudi bases while "saving Kuwait from Hussein," and then by pursuing the phantom WMD's and destroying any coherent governance in Iraq. Fast forward to now and the Afghan Taliban is having a very prickly time negotiating with IS Khorasan Province about the country is to be run.
No, not at all, Stuart. I'm sure the guy we killed deserved it, and there was no other practical way to bring him to "justice". On the other hand, it seems that the ratio of bystanders and family members blown to bits in these raids (13 to 1 in this case?) is nothing to be proud of.
Also, we get front page news about these assassinations when they are the big fish. Does this mean we are letting the little fish go? I'll bet we're not letting them go, and little fish have families and bystanders, too.
Further, we should remember what the US has done -- and continues to do -- in the way of killing very large numbers of people with our unparalleled high tech weapons, how many military bases we have in all corners of the world, how much we spend on all this and how poorly distributed -- some might say ill-gotten -- is the wealth we think we are protecting. There is a reason we are the focus of so much anger and hatred.
We want to go to sleep secure in the knowledge that our Country is being protected but grow queasy in the light of day when those costs of freedom are revealed.
Iraq, probably. Afghanistan, not so much. Have you forgotten 9/11? Surely a response was warranted, not for revenge, but to prevent it from happening again. I'd agree that the associated attempt at nation-building was unwarranted and stupid.
You'd be surprised - that's exactly what the Vietnamese think about the Vietcong, the same that the proud Russians think about their fallen soldiers, the Chinese about theirs and the British about theirs. All great, good, brave people. You just wonder why they all die, don't ya?
Barbara, I think knee-jerk pacifism beats knee-jerk patriotism any day, not that I much like knee-jerk anything.
The US claims to have chosen the on-ground assassination so as to limit the killing. Could be, but it was also likely easier for them to verify the death of their principal target and --perhaps -- gather computer hard-drives and documents than it would have been if they had used smart bombs or drone-launched missiles. But I'm no expert on this.
However, I am very sure neither grief nor prayer can bring back the dead.
Why do Americans who have zero knowledge of the inner workings of International Intelligence, Risks Assessments and Strategic Protection make such emotional statements concerning how the US should manage it's military?
We want to go to sleep secure in the knowledge that our Country is being protected but grow queasy in the light of day when those costs of freedom are revealed.
Well, I'm just a retired teacher of English as a second language, but I do have opinions informed by regular reading of several major newspapers and magazines and of books on world and US history, and by TV, internet and a lifetime of lively conversation with people smarter than I am. I have also lived out in the world for most of the past 40 years, so I have perhaps learned to think about my beloved native land in a somewhat different way than most Americans.
Barbara, there is much more to life than secure sleep and feeling protected from terrorists. And yes, people who are sure that international intelligence, risk assessments and strategic protection are what really matter make me a bit queasy. There's a lot of other stuff that matters, too.
The point is I 100% agree with what you are saying. There is so much more to life. The topic, however, today has been war. I am going to edit photos. learn a new sewing machine and do some baking on this snowy icy day so I am signing off.
Well, Barbara, I have enjoyed our lively conversation, and yes, we likely agree about most things, even war (for the most part). Here in Italy it is time for supper, preceded, of course, by a glass of wine and some hummus. Peace to you, too.
It is my understanding the the dude set off his suicide vest which killed his family as well. Not that our military hasn't killed and maimed incredible numbers of civilians...
The US military is in the habit of telling us what they want us to hear, and lying through their teeth about what really happens. Over time, we will find out the full story. For now I reserve judgment. The early reports in the news are all provided by the US military, not by journalistic investigation.
Yes Roland and lets now see the uninformed, biased main stream media and its viewers start picking apart what is a successful military operation in that it achieved the mission. We are the least qualified to do so. Were any of us in on the inner workings of our intelligence operations, foreign reports and our Government we might not be so judgmental and picky.
Barbara, you’re sounding hurt and defensive, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t state my position. I was merely reporting that you can’t take what the US military is telling you at face value. Most of what they are saying is probably true this time, because they are still chafing about that botched drone strike and how they handled it. They are definitely getting better. I give Biden all the credit for that. I’m just giving you history. Their history has not been good. So a little bit of skepticism is a good idea, until they can be proven true and trustworthy. They are heading there.
Roland I am not cynical as just worn out. I am sorry I jumped on you Sir. Please accept my apologies for that. Yesterday I saw where Jake Tapper had assembled some fellow "journalists" to dissect President Biden's actions in the raid and I thought here comes another Biden bashing frenzy by the Press and Republicans and Democratic voters. When are we going to stand up and support this President? Do we have to join in the Biden bashing fray?
Here is my super major point. We want it both ways. We want to feel secure from terrorists but get queasy when that safety comes with a horrific cost of a life. Can we prayerfully move on from this incident? We simply don't have the expertise to second guess the decision making process that went into this military operation. Yes there have been painful mistakes. Can we as a decent, thinking, compassionate society learn from our mistakes without carrying them around on our backs until the end of time?
We have got to get really laser focused on what the Republicans are doing in their efforts to stage a fascist takeover of this country.
I, for one, am with your opinion 1000% Barbara. The second guessing of President Biden’s administration at this crucial point in time is just so ‘un-strategic’ at best and plays right into Republican bashing of anything our president does.
Hello Barbara, no need to apologize. We are all worn out. Sending you love and support for the burn-out that we are all feeling.
I wouldn’t dream of bashing Biden. I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but in 2021 we had entire days where we were exclaiming in amazement how this guy was a dream come true. When I voted in 2020, I was hoping for so many many of the things that Biden has now accomplished. In many ways, better than my wildest dreams for Bernie.
I have no complaints about the Isis leader mission. None that I’m going to post here anyway. I was just super pissed off when I first posted last night, furious at both the Republican insurrection conspiracy and Putin. Maybe that leaked out.
Sabine I acknowledgement your personal sentiments. However, I have a different perspective. Has the American military done some dastardly things in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere? Is this reprehensible? Of course. War and other violence are dangerous and bad things happen. Facts do matter. Your statement that “20,000,000 civilians killed since WW II by the US Army” is totally false.
That some of these military misdeeds are discussed in the media and in Congress is in sharp contrast to what occurs in Russia, China, Myanmar, and elsewhere. A French history of the Cold War calculates that at least 100 million civilians died under Soviet and Chinese regimes. Do you know about that and have a personal opinion?
I was deeply involved in a. Belgian/American military rescue mission of over 3,000 foreign civilian hostages. How many ‘civilian casualties’ might you find ‘acceptable’ in such a situation?In responding to terrorists, we were fortunate to capture Bin Laden without any civilian casualties. By contrast, many, many civilians have been and are being killed by terrorists world wide.
I wish that there were some antiseptic way that the ‘good guys’ could eliminate the ‘bad guys.’ Are you aware of atrocities on both sides in the American Revolution? Why do you think that the Marines took few Japanese prisoners in WW II? The Germans with the Holocaust and the Japanese with atrocities against Western soldiers as well as the killing of up-to-10,000,000 Chinese civilians are historical facts.
“Collateral damage” is a sad reality in our world. I applaud efforts to minimize it. However, human beings are not a gentle race.
Can't you realize that what you've just done is the intellectual equivalent of setting off a suicide vest, wrecking your own reputation, undermining your own statements when they make good sense, damaging the whole community?
Heaven knows there's cause for nerves, cause for anger in the horrible situation we are living through. But consider... you could have been court-martialled for this kind of indiscipline in an active-service war situation.
For heaven's sake leave carpet chewing to the Hitlers and would- be Hitlers.
You're fortunate. You can place the head you've just blown off back on your shoulders -- and let's hope you will. But this was a gratuitous affront to us all. I am sorry you did it.
I support what TC said. I enjoyed his vigor and honesty. We absolutely are not going to join in groupthink in this online Community. TC and I have tussled before and we are better for it. Please stop the public shaming and trying to put someone back into your idea of a line.
Morning Barbara. Lot of headmasters and headmistresses on here today with a ready switch. TC is right in his remark. A warrior attitude is called for, not a pacifier.
Morning Christine, greetings from late afternoon France! I am with you all the way when you speak of a warrior attitude. But I don’t quite get the feeling that we agree on what that means.
Yet there’s an exemplary American phrase for it, that of Teddy Roosevelt:
“Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”
Warriors, teachers, all of us, have one overriding duty: to be what we are and set aside what we are not, before we go forth to perform our duties.
Hence the samurai ritual of taking tea together before going into battle.
I too like both TC and his passion, we have plenty in common that way. If you read some of my own words, you'll see that I have said many very hard things, saying what no one wants to know, least of all coming from a foreigner. After reading CNN reports I felt revulsion at the gratuitous and irresponsible carping their journalists permit themselves, promoting confusion where it is the last thing that is needed.
If I permit myself to comment here, it is because the threat America faces affects the whole world. I am concerned no less than you.
But under no circumstances can I or anyone else with a modicum of decency accept the fouling of the air we breathe, the water that we drink -- and you can keep your wretched fetish of "free speech" if that is the use you are going to make of it. Just like the poisonous criminal we all face, just like his host of mind poisoners.
Besides...
To attack a man for talking nonsense is like finding your mortal enemy drowning in a swamp and jumping in after him with a knife.
It was one sentence from TC. Is it really necessary to drag CNN, journalism, the threat America faces and the practicalities of freedom of speech all into one sentence?
If you are concerned about the abusive content of TC's sentence then I invite you to examine the uncivil tone of your comment to me.
But of course , Barbara... and your talking down to me, and... and... All of this nonsense which is going to get us nowhere. Unless we get the point: namely that, regardless of our passion, we damned well have to police the discourse we share and avoid polluting it.
I was and am making a point of order, one that concerns us all and how we conduct ourselves here. This doesn’t concern my personal view but the use of the space we are sharing. If, however, enough people in this community want me out for raising points of order, I will bow out. After all, it isn’t the first time I have been involved in a ruckus here over trading in insults and the abuse of free speech.
I’m sure none of us here has any objection to freedom per se, or to free speech. Yet the abuse of free speech is like leaking all the oil from a hot engine, then putting a foot on the gas pedal. Or putting sand in the works. Whether intentionally so or not, it amounts to sabotage. Just look at the waste of energy to which this lack of minimum self-discipline is giving rise!
I'm sorry, Barbara, if I upset you by objecting, not to TC, not to his irritation, but to his action, polluting our discourse, the consequences of which action are continuing in our current exchange. I am sorry, too, if my expletive-free vehemence in response to the words you addressed to me upset you, but I’m sure we have all seen too much poison in comments threads elsewhere. Also, if my non-linear way of thinking and expressing myself bother you, I’m sorry, too, but… if diverse allies can’t find a modus vivendi, how shall we ever heal the real divisions we’re facing?
Besides all of which, TC is a big boy and he can look after himself without your help or mine; and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t know that I and he share the same basic outlook—if not all the same macabre fantasies… Same hot temper, by the look of it…
Aren’t we going to need all the calm and self-discipline we can muster in the coming months?
I’ll just add one note: my conviction that the best friends are those who know when to play the enemy, telling us all that we don’t want to hear.
What? Better that the foul, evil, murderous lead of ISIS was less of a coward and chose not to blow himself and his family up? Please. Better we had taken him alive but that’s not in the ISIS playbook.
IF the killing of of the previous ISIS "leader", al-Baghdadi (we killed him too) did not result in the absence of ISIS or a the promotion of a new leader, then, why would killing al-Qurayshi (and his wife and kids) matter either?
I wonder: Might it make sense to sit down with these leaders of their community and learn what they want? Understand their challenges and grievances and hopes for their (now dead) children?
In other words, negotiate with them like they are people instead of wild animals that we can wantonly kill apparently without abandon or any limit?
Apology for not being impressed with yet another President beating his chest over having killed another Muslim in the Middle East WITHOUT explaining how he was actually a risk to the USA.
I mean, we have been killing Muslims in the Middle East for more than 20 years and apparently it has made no difference at all.
Maybe there is a different approach than just killing these guys (and their wives and their kids) and then killing them again, and again, and again, and again, ad nauseum?
"Sit down with them?" There have been attempts at outreach but this is an extremist group mixing geo-politics with fundamentalist religion. There's a long tradition in the Islamic world of killing leaders who attempt negotiation or in any other way "betray the cause."
They. Don't. Negotiate.
I'm not saying we should stop trying or adopt a simple eradication strategy. Don't forget, either, how limited we may be in negotiating by our ties to Israel and/or the ISIS goal of Israel's elimination.
Kind of makes you think there should be an investigation of the electors for the 2016 presidential election. I always thought there was tampering in THAT election.
As a former Foreign Service Officer during the Cold War, I have familiarity with how America and and western Allies dealt with saber-rattling bullying from Stalin, Khrushchev, and subsequent Soviet apparatchiks. I applaud President Biden and our NATO allies (almost all of them) for how they are responding to Putin’s outrageous demands and military threats.
Dealing firmly with the Soviet Union at one time was a clear cut, bipartisan position [Reagan/Gorbachev was eventually a smashing success applauded by Republicans and Democrats.]
I am gobsmacked as to where the Republicans (aka Trumpistas) stand regarding America’s policy towards Russian aggression and intimidation. I have not seen any indication that Trump has abandoned his bromance with Putin. The Republican jerk from Missouri, Harley, is prattling nonsense about Ukraine not being part of NATO, and I haven’t bothered to research Rand Paul’s prattling on our policy towards Russia.
All this underscores that the Trumpistas have no clear foreign policy, as witnessed by the failure, for the first time in modern Republican history, to exclude foreign policy from their 2020 presidential convention. Putin was thrilled by his self-serving bromance with Trump and is heartened by the prospective of promoting divisiveness that undercuts a crystal-clear, bipartisan policy on Putin’s hard jabs and feints.
CLEARLY TRUMPISTA FOREIGN POLICY IS TO CRITICIZE WHATEVER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DOES, WITHOUT PRESENTING A COHERENT FOLICY POLICY OF THEIR OWN.
(Perhaps they are waiting for the their latest guidance from Caudillo Trump.)
It seems like there's a perhaps unstated anti-NATO policy to realign and bond with Putin and other authoritarians like Orban. I fear Germany may also be headed in that direction. Is Germany just desperate for natural gas, or is there something more to the relationship with Russia? I applaud Biden for seeking alternative sources for Germany. If successful, we'll know where Germany stands. I don't see how democracy and democratic values maintain sway if alignment with corrupt authoritarians occurs.
Duke You’ve highlighted a key issue in formulating a cohesive American/NATO riposte to Putin’s sustained strategic bullying/threatening to ease the West out of ex-Soviet satellites in eastern Europe. Germany has major trade with Russia and currently also has an energy dependence. Today there is heated debate within Germany as to the costs of a hard line towards Russia.
The Biden administration has taken extraordinary initiatives in order to provide replacement LNG (natural gas) to Germany and others, in the event that Putin sharply cuts Russian energy supplies to both western and eastern Europe. Putin seeks to divide, Biden seeks to unify. This seems to me a critical time for ongoing West/Russia relations—-it’s called ‘power politics.’
I'm certainly glad that Biden is continuing to handle our business on the international front. Individual terrorists must understand that there is a moral and physical hazard for their behavior. Along those lines, I understand that there is a strong coalition fomenting sanctions, with teeth, against Russia. It's very cool that our intelligence services have revealed a possible Russian staged fake video of some type of Ukrainian aggression to justify an invasion. Thank you HCR for your analysis.
If you can hear me Repubs, don’t spend your precious time censoring the only patriots in your party. Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) if you can hear me, trade in your R for a D and join the party that mostly upholds Truth, Justice and Democracy, ideals lost on your colleagues. And thank you for your dedication and your work on the 1/6 comm. We have two in our party who call themselves Dems but they’re really DINOS so let the trade begin. Of course, you’ll have to make some changes in your philosophy, but that’s possible, isn’t it?
Or at least be Independent and continue to uphold truth and integrity without the partisan cloak ... I am not politically astute, but do feel Cheney and Kinzinger are bold and courageous to stand up to the team players in this real time game - I applaud them.
I would sure take Liz and Adam over those self serving DINO’s Manchin and Sinema….those talking turds are beholden to the evil whims of their donors. Manchin licks the boots of planet roasting coal sellers and Family that spawned Betsy DeVos and the Blackwater Prince have their hands up in Sinema so far they can make her mouth say what ever they want to hear her say. But don’t lose sight if the plain truth.. Cheney and Kinzinger are egregious purveyors of inequality, innocent faced liars that will market the supply side shell game and shovel wealth uphill. Have you forgitten how Daddy Dick Cheney made big bucks from the company supporting the war Bush started?
It really is mind boggling . . . . it's as though the only explanation is republicans were taken over by aliens which is beginning to make more sense than "reality"!
"And yet, the Republican National Committee is doubling down on its support for Trump, its resolution committee tonight voting unanimously to censure the two Republican representatives on the January 6 committee: Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)."
As Matthew Dowd pointed out tonight, Trump is nothing but a reflection of what the Republican base had already become after being marinated in Faux Snooze for 20 years.
In another time, Liz Cheney would be a formidable presidential candidate. No, I wouldn't vote for her, but her seriousness and commitment to principle reminds me of some prominent Republicans leaders of my youth — leaders whom today's Republican Party would censure as well and declare them to be leftist Democrats.
Liz is going to become a scapegoat. She already is. Like Curt Flood, the baseball player who insisted on economic justice for baseball players (who are now often multimillionaires), she will likely not benefit from her courage. But others will take advantage of the principled stance that she and Adam (and others) are taking. On her shoulders.
My admiration for Ms Cheney is always sharply limited by the knowledge that she and her loathsome father fully participated in bringing the Republican Party to this extreme position. She and Rep. Kinsinger have both regularly voted against the Biden administration and were full-throated supporters of Trumpian legislation. It's trivial, perhaps, but telling to recall what a stink Cheney tried to make when the new Democratic majority in 2018 voted in, as was their prerogative, a new chaplain for the House. The enemy of your enemy can still be YOUR enemy, too.
It’s mind-boggling if you are a sensitive human being with integrity who believes in human rights. These people are sometimes labeled “Democrats.” If, however, you believe firmly if blindly in your whiteness being superior to someone else’s non-whiteness, then you can justify any action, immoral criminal and illegal, to suppress those non-whites and to enhance your own white society. These days, those people often identify as Republicans.
Like you, Janet, it’s easy for me to wonder if they have been taken over by Sigourney Weaver’s aliens.
It seems to have all boiled down to just that, tribal bull Schitt. No alien would do anything but leave us to our own destruction. Always wondered why so much hatred for the Jews, they are mostly white as snow; that Jesus thing is just a ruse, probably just jealousy. Hate doesn’t seem to dissipate through the ages, just snowballs onto unsuspecting generations yet to be. Human’s Achilles heel…. Sorry Jesus, you died in vain
Without planting doubts about Democratic support for a modern, capable military and national defense, Democrats might consider a long-range strategy of leveraging Democratic support for a credible national defense for Republican support of domestic investment. The size of US investment in a military at this late hour in the post World War II era is obscene and a serious drain on the available resources of the national budget for making the national community health, well educated and united as a national community. It was the national community working cooperatively and with great person sacrifice that produced the fascist state into economic ruin. But, yes, the rapid centralization of executive power needed to build the effective war materials producer of our whole country, which was a major concern Hitler understood was the biggest threat to his ambition to dominate Europe and its failing colonial empires. Of course, the concentration of productive force required, effectively undermined local economies and its corollary tight dependence of capital markets on local competitive forces.
No one should think the productive conditions required for the war-powers economy would be sustainable when the emergency was over. Russia's continuation of a war-powers mobilized economy and community was the major reason the USSR failed to return to peacetime governance conditions in order to encourage entreprenuarial innovation and died economically. The transition in the US back to peacetime conditions proved difficult and only partially possible due to the role of the US in the chaos of the postwar period, a period in which the general failure of institutions of ordinary governance for the major nations needed time and protection against the real forces of endless disorder.
But, the world has largely adapted to the new conditions of a global reality and community of concern, and the US has become a respected and appreciated best among equals. It is time for us to transition from a world power with separatist reflexes anchored to an outsized, dominant world power status, with an outsized military, and to a fortress mentality fearful of newcomers with unfamiliar experiences and ways, i.e., the basic condition upon which the USA experiment in incusive, cooperative democracy thrived. It is hardly surprising that the insurgent forces of reaction today are the same as they've always been: those who have never accepted the defeat of the Confederacy, and those who hated FDR for the New Deal and national level efforts to keep the country from what historians understand as real conditions of possible anti-capitalist revolution.
The globalizing "World Wars" have made for a world of extra-national states in which no nation will ever again hide behind its cliffs and beaches and hallucinate itself into a self-destructive pipe-dream drugged on its own fantasies of destiny. The present military budget in the US is unsustainable and, on guns or butter economic logic, is serving as an anti-stimulus for home-base productivity and innovation. Democrats should oppose reactionary initiatives to prevent the postwar spread of the community cost of security and distribution of military spending and responsibility to a global community that needs to create the institutional framework all our guns and nuclear missiles are incapable of serving otherwise than as dangerous bluff.
What is not up for doubt is the absolute need to keep the nuclear football and the control of our military forces far from the little fingers and bone spurs of a Donald Trump whose delusions of grandure has to be a matter of discussion between him and his mental controller, not a matter of death wish bedtime stories and tired blood momentary urges to set off collective suicide.
“…insurgent forces of reaction today are the same as they have always been.” Yep, and they love the biggest loser in the land. Send this to Rupert, he rules
Good points about sustainability of living with a wartime commitment to military size and budget. Is being the biggest military force (by a factor of 10 or 100) an effective deterant to war or merely a temporary placeholder for semi-peace? The ROI very good in a world were technology, sanctions, and propaganda are the strategies effectively holding back the hounds of war?
The out-of-proportion USA defense capability is a negative drag on the development of an anti-nationalist global community where we, the global citizens, face in common a shared reality dominated by concerns about climate change, careful uses of fragile natural resources, prevention of unintentional nuclear disaster, and the equitable expansion of the benefits of technology, education and evidence-based, scientific information. Punitive disincentive are just stop-gap, ad-hoc solutions. Change in the Russian military mind might evolve when the soldier-for-bluff tire of spending Christmas camping out in tents in the ice and snow while Mr. Putin lies in his hot-tub puffing Havana's and wondering if his favorite dessert will be served at dinner.
The disproportionate size of the defense industry budget in the USA relative to other wealthy nations is a global tax unfairly distributed on moderate income earning USAmericans. If anyone out there has a good study on how the military-industrial complex has impacted the USA postwar community please give me the reference. I don't think the pharaonic transformation of the USA at the time of World War II, into a top-down, command economy for war materials production, is fully appreciated today; the USA economy was rapidly centralized at the national lever and it was already clear from prior to WWI that the dominant market was increasingly global. Some historians ascribe to post French and American Revolutions and the unbridled development of industry and finance capital that was liberated, accelerated the trend to globalization (prefigured by the period of exploration and colonization) from the mid-1850's. And, they contend it was the forces propelling globalization that made the World Wars themselves inevitable. Conservatives, with the help of the localizing cultural drive of Pioneer era religion, continue to defend the ideal of an isolated, self-sufficient, vision—story of origins—of the USAmerican experiment as fixed in stone. In fact, the USA experiment in democracy (that was extremely negative for Native Americans) is more a product of "modernity", i.e., of not being tangled up in the deep roots of past cultural practices and models, than it was a sign of spiritual superiority. So, Eisenhower was right about the predictable negative effects of the military-industrial-complex. As our USA generations move farther from the tumultuous time of World War II, the social cost of a legacy, top-heavy military is going to be more difficult to defend since its main purpose is to bluff by holding a gun to the planet's head, to stare down unlikely challengers who, absent the unique defense tax on USA producers, will prefer to just compete advantageously with us by allowing us our self-indulgent pride infected wastefulness." Good thinking Mother Tucker and friends. We can leave Brandon out of this.
Growing up under the very real threat of nuclear annihilation was terrifying. As a teenager, I learned to adapt by accepting how "fair" it was. Everyone would die, and quickly if you were lucky. At least the situation was unambiguous. In today's world things are decidedly different. The threats now augmenting what we think of as traditional war are all about misinformation, as today's letter shows: false narratives and manufactured incidents with fake corpses, and the many tendrils of Trump's conspiratorial Big Lie and its ripple effect — the devious efforts to destroy free and fair elections.
Dare I go on? Absolutely. Another form of misinformation is intentionally creating a lack of information in the classroom. Muzzling teachers to churn out automaton kids who are clueless and incurious is, in my mind, war. A war on thinking. I highly recommend today's edition of NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Her interview with researcher Jeffrey Sachs explains in chilling detail some of the many laws that states have passed or are considering to drastically limit what can be taught. Causing turmoil in the classroom and driving good teachers from the profession, I fear, are Republican goals. And creating new legions of unquestioning loyalists to embrace the party's authoritarian views.
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077878538/legislation-restricts-what-teachers-can-discuss
There are propaganda ads on social media claiming public schools are teaching “our children” liberal indoctrination. Attacking teachers and the public education system.
In North Texas, nine superintendents have resigned. Last year, all of our top administrators were forced out in Southlake Carroll ISD. Some positions remain unfilled. Our association UEA doesn’t even know who to contact to get information from anymore or to discuss issues. Every day, another teacher tells me they’re just doing their time to get retirement and they’ll be out of here this year or next.
I am teaching students to think logically and ask good questions. To be kind and respectful. To be flexible and understanding. If I could “indoctrinate” your kid, I’d start with getting their name on their work!
How did we sink so low that we attack school teachers?! Making it a profession that is considered under paid but willing to do the job anyway because it’s a calling, intolerable. It’s a travesty!
A travesty indeed and an evil omen. One school system I taught in had a goal of making life long learners and it was enough. These conservative school systems as well as the Republican Party leadership have just 1 unspoken goal—wear your tinfoil hat, do as we tell you and no thinking required. Who ever thought a Cheney would be a voice of reason? 1984 arrives late but it’s here.
All of these repressive measures seem to be part of the ongoing cycle of conservative backlash that HCR describes in her book, To Make Men Free. These tactics aren't new, will never completely go away and require vigilance and response. Our local NAACP is suing the parent group that hounded two school board members out with petitions and threats. The suit declares these are illegal acts of voter suppression. Meanwhile, our wonderful new bookstore is organizing a book club featuring currently banned books.
I’d join that book club!
Thank you for sharing how others are resisting!
quoting someone..."if someone banned it, you should read it"
Every time I see a book being removed from libraries or banned in schools, I go out of my way to purchase read and promote the work!
I taught school many years. I loved teaching the kids, but the paperwork, unfounded mandates, etc. were very frustrating. I did consider teaching to be a calling. Now I would not choose to go into education in college. Who wants to incur debt for a degree required for a low paying job where you are grossly disrespected and often attacked for doing that job? No thank you!!
Teachers get attacked because, by tradition, frequently contractually, they're not allowed to respond publicly. I was a teacher for more than three decades, I never wrote a letter to a newspaper until I retired. I don't think I was an outlier.
Thank you too. Such important work, teaching our children, 3 decades, like many others dedicated to the work of education!
Three decades is impressive! I think we should get a special monetary award for that!
I have an idea about this. I think if a teacher gives 4 years of service, we should pay off their student loans. Then offer to pay them to get a masters degree for continuing in the field. And repeat.
Imagine that. Republicans attacking someone or an institution that can not defend themselves. Hmmmm.
Jerry I was a professor from 1992-2013. Personally I felt no constraints on what I could teach or say professionally. I published a long article on our failed Iraq policy in a regional newspaper. I taught a course on SOCIETAL DISCRIMINATION: THE what vs. THE who FROM PATRIARCHY TO THE PRESENT, with special emphasis on racism in the United States. Were I teaching as well as writing and making professional presentations today, I fear that I would be paying more than my salary for legal representation.
Education is supposed to be a thoughtful dialogue based on facts. Without this professional interchange and learning process, our system will produce a bunch of dangerous ignoramuses (Trumpistas?)
Pennsylvania and South Dakota are far removed in several respects. Meantime, the question of intestinal fortitude, or the lack therefore, frequently masquerades as prudence. It's possible that whilst claiming the latter I was guilty of the former.
Jerry Some years ago a professor who I tremendously respect conducted a study of government and corporate personnel. He found that, for a diversity of reasons, 90-95% were cautious status quoers, while 5-10% were potential change agents. These change agents were imperative and, because of their persistence, a majority of these change agents were ‘destroyed’ or were obliged to become ‘tree huggers’ because of family obligations or exhaustion. For most of my professional life I was a persistent change agent in the State Department, corporate life, and education. Fortunately I had several ‘godfathers’ who often protected me. Then there were the times that the ‘system’ squashed me. At 88 I am more cautious as to which alligators I choose to wrestle.
Yet now in at least one of the states (NH, I think), teachers can be individually sued for violating a law that is written vaguely and thus subject to wide, subjective interpretation.
I think that’s part of how fascism works.
Something similar was attempted in Missouri as a result of TFG's attempt to ban the teaching of any subject with the words "gender" or "race" in the syllabus, as well as gutting Title IX regulations for investigating sexual assault. It is still creating a mess for educators here, even though there is no formal law and Biden canceled TFG's "executive" order on his first day in office.
I suspect a majority of Americans don't yet know the extent of what's happening — or the implications, which won't become clear before the next school year. The situation is looking to be tumultuous and bleak. One thing is clear: the forces pushing this are just getting started.
No Jerry, you are not an outlier. I taught Special Ed for 21 years. I did the best I could for my students under the circumstances. My husband once said to me, “ if I didn’t have a good job, we couldn’t afford for you to teach”. Teaching is most definitely a calling.
Thank all of you teachers for your service.
Thank you Phyllis, especially in Special Ed, where patience is key as is the ability to discover small improvements as progress to celebrate! Bless you.
Thank you for your kind words. I loved that I was given the opportunity to teach. I’m 76 now, and was volunteering in my daughters classroom, until Covid.
The teachers of today have a very difficult time, I retired in 2010. I can’t believe the difference. God Bless them all.
After teachers recorded an administrator saying you have to teach opposing views to the Holocaust, we had a new mandate come along. We are not allowed to talk to the press. Only principals and the superintendent. I think what those teachers did was so wrong! But we still should have first amendment rights.
Keep recording and send the records to The NY Times.
Wait. Full stop. Teachers not allowed to speak? Isn’t that unconstitutional? wTF? I’m angry.
I think every teaching job I’ve had has stipulated that we were not to talk to the press. Yep it makes me angry too. I have four and a half more years. 😳
No, you weren't.
Thank you for doing the most important work, teaching our children!
Yes, as a former educator I would add to a list of grievances the time spent preparing students for standardized tests (teaching to the test) plus the blatant disrespect leveled at teachers. I once had someone say, to my face, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”
Oh yeah my brothers use to say that to me. I tell them people who can do anything, teach!
Yes, I've heard that very disparaging remark too. I say to them, Really? Have you ever tried it? It's just a way to put someone down in order to make themselves feel better.
Those who can, do. Those who can do more, teach.
If Art didn’t improve test scores, I doubt we’d have it in schools.
I retired many years ago and as I was also the librarian, I had a few problems. When I see what is happening today, I thank my lucky stars that I had the opportunity to work with kids without all that is happening today. Some of them are still friends and many of my ex-colleagues also count many students as their friends as well. Yesterday one posted a pic of herself and a couple other teachers skiing. One of the comments was from a student who noted that she and her classmates were lucky to have such good teachers. Now in the Oregon legislature one of the many bills is one to have recording devices in every classroom. Thankfully, in our legislature, it won't go anywhere, but...in other places.
I told my daughter at an early age, don’t go into education! I was thrilled that she got her degree in Art History. She has an amazing job, too.
Funny,
Jesus comes and spreads all this nonsense around about "loving your neighbor", accepting those who are reviled and hated, reaching out your hand in kindness,
and....?
Some fundamentalist "christian" churches, and, Prosperity Gospel Churches, completely ignore the message he brought.
NICE!
Who are "Modern Christians"? I have not heard that label before. Judging from the comments so far, we need to make a distinction at least between religious people whose ideas and behavior the poster finds objectionable, and 'other religious people.' Unfortunately, religion is no protection against intolerance and bigotry. It's also no guarantee of it.
There has been an activist religious left in this country for a long time. Since the Catholic Church has been mentioned, keep in mind Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement and the priests and nuns who went to jail for protesting the Viet Nam War (including burning draft records). Protestant ministers who surely walked their talk include the Reverends Martin Luther King Jr and Senator Raphael Warnock. Among the Jews, we have the rabbis who marched with King, and those who showed up at airports in 2016 at a moment's notice to protest harassment of Muslim travelers. There are multiple Muslim groups who have stood up for their Jewish cousins against hate in this country in the last few years.
None of this cancels out the problems we have from right-wing religious groups. It simply requires more careful language when decrying them.
I have had this discussion with my spouse many times, the latest this week. I do always refer to the far right churches because I know several people whose faith informs their social conscience and who work hard to help others without trying to convert them. Personally, I think fundamentalism is the problem, no matter what the religion.
Yes, fundamentally, religion is the problem.
I disagree. People can believe without becoming narrow and hateful. Unfortunately, the things we emphasize in history in terms of religion show it in an unfavorable light. Since they are human institutions, they have all the problems of every human institution. For an example of the good, the most grounded calm person I know is a practicing Christian...Congregationalist I think. The other most grounded person is a reiki practitioner and deeply imbued with Native American beliefs. I would say both of them are progressive in their politics.
It's part of the problem in a vicious, intensifying cycle. The changes in many "Christian" churches are a response to drastically more radical right-wing politics and vice versa. It's also a cycle that perpetuates among a certain subset of whites the fear of the "other." None of it has to do with the teachings of the New Testament. It's utter hypocrisy to have that book in the pews. It makes my blood boil to think of such churches enjoying tax-exempt status while they spew fear and celebrate "prosperity."
That could be it. How would you define fundamentalism?
I would say literal interpretation of scriptures, allowing no other religions to be valid, strict adherence to the rules, often if not always paternalistic. In this country far right churches, in Islam groups like the Taliban and Isis, in Judaism, the ultra orthodox including some settlers in Israel, etc. True believers...who can also be found in politics.
Fear that they may not be right. People who are secre in their beliefs do not hate and fear people who are different. Fundamentalists are taght to make everyone think like they do. My brother is one.
Well said!
Thank You Joan.
I call them Disstians. So-called Christians who diss (slang/abbreviation for ‘disrespect’) the teachings of J*sus in favor of contrary actions & attitudes.
I like it!!
“No one ever expects The Spanish Inquisition!”
I like the easter bunny much better. The Bunny could hop on water and famously warned us never to put our rainbow eggs in one basket.
So, if jesus lived during the French Revolution would Mike Lindell wear a tiny gold guillotine around his neck?
Asking for a heathen friend....
Pillow guy is interested in money and he probably thinks his belief in Jesus helps him along. Given the history the French Revolution, he could have ended up with the guillotine around his neck.
lol!
I think he’d wear it in his pants as a show of faith in his leader.
How emasculating and kinky
😂
Too funny.
“Modern Christians” is a category far broader than narrow ignorant intolerant evangelicals. Take another look.
Yes, but you leave out the American Catholic Church. Bishops who think themselves more Catholic than the Pope in Rome. The church militant personified by court packing Federalist honcho and Opus Dei acolyte right wing religious extremist Leonard Leo.
Again the American Catholic Church is far broader than the bishops and others you list. They are indeed terrible. Think about the Berrigans and others! Many nuns. Etc. blanket categories don’t work!!
No need to defend the Bishops who play political hardball. They need calling out by Catholics and other democratic Americans alike. I keep trying to bring attention to the all-conservative Catholic Justices of the SCOTUS. Such a willful use of religion-in-politics, staged by the same bishops is unAmerican and, I fear, a shadow cast by Nazi-ism.
I was referring to those in positions of church authority. Not those dissenting from the American church leadership.
For instance Joe Biden. And the priests who -following Pope Francis' opinion on communion - continue to give Biden communion, despite American Bishops' political schemes.
And there's Pope St. Francis.
Jerry Berrigan was often a dinner guest at our home.
The "like" feature is not working. Yes, we see what the Catholic church has wrought here, and it can't be erased by the beatific smiles on some SCOTUS tyrants' faces. At least Alito and Thomas scowl!
True as well.
Mike, are you familiar with the works of Edmond Bordeaux Szekely?
Mike, thank you for the responsive edits clarifying your meaning.
I’m so sorry Denise. This breaks my heart to hear. Public Education is a human right. The moves you describe weaken our society and country. It is unacceptable. Schools should be temples of learning. Teachers deserve to make a better living commensurate with the critical importance and value they add to their communities.
I appreciate your comment as a former teacher whose career began in the late 1960s and ended in 2017. They let you in young in the old days. :)
I have only one disagreement. The attacks on education serve *further* to weaken a society and country. A country which is fundamentally sound and decent has an education system which is unafraid of the truth, even if that truth reveals failings in its history. Education in an unbroken society presents topics in science, history and geography, as well as those that arise from a well-designed English curriculum, to students at the appropriate age level and then encourages critical thinking and discussion. A strong country knows it has a responsibility to pursue truth and fends off those who would censor it.
At various times I taught the Holocaust, evolution (in a Catholic school system), racism, Canada’s atrocious history in dealing with indigenous people, plate tectonics (in the early stages of my career it was considered a controversial theory), and other sensitive material.
To be truthful, it was not possible in a Catholic school system to promote abortion, and for a time teaching around homosexuality became difficulty. But that was not because of my country’s reticence. That arose from teaching in a publicly funded Catholic school system. The majority of the public education system - not Catholic - did not face those issues.
Certainly there was dissent from individual parents. As a teacher in my early twenties I had a parent take me over the coals for presenting the song “Richard Cory” to my class. The song has a line criticizing corrupt politicians which I had chosen not to discuss unless a child brought it up. It wasn’t germane to the song’s theme. However this parent’s husband was a Member of Parliament and she was deeply offended. I was upset and told the story to my principal. He listened intently and then told me, “Don’t worry. I’ll call her and let her know that I fully support how you taught the song”. To the best of my recollection, that was the only time i ever was a part of, or even witnessed an attempt to censor education.
The current situation in regards to American education as a battlefield is deeply disturbing to me. It is a clear sign that America is even more deeply weakened than I had thought. Education is one of the sacred institutions in a society. When it becomes a political football, children suffer in the moment. And the country slides irretrievably into the abyss.
As an outsider to America, I am loath to say this. It sounds smug and condescending. But as a teacher, I am trying to sound an alarm. A country has to be well and truly primed before it launches ideological attacks on its education system. The parents are eating their offspring.
Education is definitely a political football! When W expanded No Child Left Behind, it undermined all of education! That was when Texas truly became a teach to the test state. Then he took it to the national level. I decided it really was no child left untested.
Our Southlake school board now has three right wing conservative christians on it. And their political agenda is right out front for all to see!
I’d rather students get a quality education, they’re going to be in charge some day.
Thanks! I had a student ask me just this week if education was free. I said no. He was shocked. I said people pay taxes to pay for your education. He said well taxes that’s not the same. I said go home and tell your parents that, Southlake is one of the highest taxed areas in Texas. And about $53 million a year of those taxes go to the Robin Hood law that distributes that money to surrounding school districts. I hope he asked them! Ha!
“Nothing is for free.” Just ask the former guy about his unpaid Dueche Bank loan debts. Did TFG ( like Manafort) get “whole” during his presidency?
(Heart)
Way to go, Denise!!
😂
I sat many years ago at breakfast at a reiki intensive and had a R tell me about how teachers indoctrinated kids. First I told her that as a professional, I did not discuss my political and religious beliefs nor try to force them on students. Then I told her that kids will come up with, on their own, most political views, and my job then was to keep things civil. Then I told her the story of one of my government students (son of one of my colleagues and so knew my political views) who suggested a flat tax. They had just had Consumer Survival, our class for managing a household budget among other things. So I put up two incomes, one much less than the other. They then put items into each budget with costs. At the end, they realized that the flat tax was unfair and they made that decision on their own. She listened, but frowned the whole time. I hope that I at least provided her with an alternative view to consider.
I had a family member tell me we needed a "flat tax". I was an auditor for 26.5 years. I found that sales tax sometimes is not remitted to the government. It is used by those that collect it for personal expenses. There are so many ways to cheat, if you don't have an audit!
I would suggest instead a "transaction tax" that levies a fee any time money is exchanged or moved, particularly from financial institutions, which would be a great way to net the more wealthy fish.
Such a tax applied to stock trades, in addition to raising a lot of money, would also stabilize the market since it would decrease the incentive to push stocks around for a fraction of a cent per share.
That is a great point about limiting stock volatility!
If high-income earners had a flat percentage tax with no deductions, exemptions, or other exceptions that was equal to what low-income workers actually pay, those high-income people would pay more tax than they do now. A progressive tax only works if you don't let high-income people exempt all their income from it.
The students wanted the flat tax to apply to everyone with no exemptions. The higher income did pretty well. What struck them is how little the lower income had after paying for the necessities and the tax....not enough for even one movie ticket was their observation. I do understand how the very wealthy work the system which is why I consider most of them parasites....now and historically, and yes, we can find examples of those who are not.
It is the high earners that make the laws! That is currently!
Some people just go to seed early. Their intellectual curiosity clock just stops.
I believe in Montana maybe more than 9 superintendents sent letters of no confidence to the state Superintendent of Instruction. Is this being addressed on the national level?
Do you see these “Primrose School franchise” advertisements on FB? What the heck? The war on teaching is a libertarian plank. Their goal is to privatize all education. To accomplish this goal, state legislatures can starve funding, ban books, ban issues, attack with critical race theory, etc etc.
Beto says that if the federal money given Texas went to public education, every teacher would get an $11,000 a year raise. Our states TEA president and Abbott take our federal funding and send it to other areas, like charter schools. It’s infuriating!
Beto can win.
“The war on teaching is a libertarian plank. Their goal is to privatize all education.” I worked in a libertarian private school for fifteen years. When I was hired there were signs of that ideology, but I needed the job and I felt I could be sort of a mole. The kids were smart and motivated and that I really enjoyed, along with the emphasis on music and drama. The parents were not told the school’s mission was to push libertarian ideas, but it became clear that was true. A short Ayn Rand novel was part of the eighth grade curriculum.
As the founding mother (whose schools are in several states) aged, she became more extreme. When I left there was a decree that nothing on classroom walls was allowed that “corporate” had not supplied. (That’s Individualism for you.) Students K-8th grade were given a “liberty survey” based on the fable of the ant and the grasshopper, but with a praying/preying mantis added to represent the government. The eighth grade students could tell what was up and wrote rude responses. Bonuses were on the line, so our principal required the students to re-take it in pencil.
Then six months after Obama’s first inauguration, the annual corporate-style dinner for teaching staff had a theme other than self-congratulation. Take America Back banners and country song, flags on each table. Did they see Obama’s election as illegitimate? Take the country back from whom? We were naive in our shock, but suspected our loony founding mother was being run by a movement.
OH CAROL! do tell us more!
"You can ignore the reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring that reality."- Ayn Rand.
If we keep ignoring the real threat to Public Education, to Public Health, to the Environment, to our infrastructure, to caring about our fellow citizens, and to democracy, if we can't defeat this Libertarian, obstructionist, and racist path, what are the consequences?
Good question.
As a writing teacher, I essentially taught analytical thinking to students aged 18-53. Better late. . . .
"getting their name on their work" Yes, indeed. Wicked indoctrination! I remember those days long ago. : ) Thank you for keeping on, Denise, especially during these times.
I love teaching Art! Thanks!
And if they work to get their retirement....will that retirement be available if those that can cancel it?
I don’t know it’s not much. The heavy investment in Enron really screwed up our retirement system.
Denise, although the situation now is worse than perhaps ever before, the attack on teachers and public education has been pretty much a constant in my experience as an educator and a student. And that is why people are leaving education in droves.
And Trump supporters will allow this.
I got into trouble on social media by replying to a post about using candles and clay pots during Texas Freeze.
Someone wondered about the need to ventilate if using that method to warm a space. I provided an informative link and offered it in a reply where I said that “I hadn’t considered the need for that, so I checked around a bit, and that it seems that it is apparently necessary”.
I got attacked by ‘Christians’ who accused me of fear mongering. They were extremely angry with me for sharing information which could possibly prevent harm, and they attacked me like I was a monster. The article I offered gave general advise about keeping candles away from anything which could burn, etc. It didn’t offer scary stories of what could happen, so was definitely not fear mongering.
These people do not want any restrictions on their lives apparently not even to help them protect themselves. They do not want education. They want to walk on the the 3rd train rail if they so choose without ever learning the possible consequences in advance. They are damning children with this nonsense. “Here kids, play with matches / guns / unknown vegetation, and learn by experience instead of learning by education. It’s God’s Will whether or not you make it to adulthood.”
So essentially they want people to feel free to walk through life as a minefield without sharing knowledge to guide people to success.
I think your summary is accurate for many people now, not just in Texas. I see it here in NY as well, although, the numbers relative to reasonable people are not as out of proportion.
I am not sure what has happened Lisa. I grew up in East Texas and "community" mattered. If your neighbor's well pump went out, and, we could fix it, we did. If it became cold and somebody ran out of firewood (lots of wood stoves in homes back then) we delivered it.
Also, guns were used for hunting rabbits and squirrels mostly. There were so few deer hunting them was not really rewarding.
NOBODY had an assault rifle and nobody would have thought of either selling one or owning one.
The gun stores had shotguns and .22 rifles mostly. Even pistols were not much sold.
So, I am not sure what happened and among my old friends, honestly, not much has changed. None of them own assault rifles and probably won't. They just are too expensive.
I cannot understand where this rabid dog behavior began or how it grew. I wonder if there is any sociologist working on this transition from reasonable community based interaction (1975) to outrageous behavior that denies the existence of community.
Lastly, in the ACTS of the Apostles, the earliest followers of Jesus lived in a communal way sharing everything that they. They were communists. Good thing the USA was not around to shoot em all up. :-)
I think talk radio, Fox, and social media are the source/cause of the decline. Plus the rise of the evangelical prosperity gospel and Milton Friedman’s idea that business should only be concerned with their bottom line (simplistic view but that is the general take away for many of us who were taught his economic model). A whole generation grew up believing Ronald Reagan when he said government was the problem.
Elizabeth, thank you.
A very short, clear statement of origins that does make sense.
Thanks again.
Perhaps we need another Great Depression, which served to remind Americans that Republican policy is a disaster in the last one?
After that, community based programs proliferated for three generations.
Maybe all this printing money to get us out of Republican Policy debacles, like 2008, is a mistake. Maybe we should just hold the printing press and let people starve like in 1930 and that will help them better understand Republican policy and move back toward reasonable, community based management??
I know one of those people! Scary.
I remember very clearly reading, in the late 1980s when I returned to college, that the evangelicals had a plan to take over the governing of the US starting at the local level and then spreading to the state and national level. One of the ways they have done this is to make a huge deal out of their version of family values, which includes everything from LGBTQ, abortion, gun rights and what children should or shouldn’t be taught, all the while telling them that the government only wants to take away their freedoms and that Christians are under attack- fear monger if at its finest. Even then, before social media, the leaders had an organized system whereby they could quickly get their followers to fax letters and make calls to all levels of government to put pressure on if there was something they didn’t like. Couple that with toxic talk radio, Fox News, Newt Gingrich’s “policy” of never working with Democrats and the teaching of some churches that if you aren’t with them then you’re with Satan (I sat in an evangelical church and heard that said- wanted to raise my hand and say that would be me) and here we are with democracy deeply in peril.
Their plan worked. Sure hope the good religions have a plan on this scale now.
You wonder if any sociologists are studying this behavioral transition. If there are, they better work quickly because I suspect there may not be any sociologists around in the future.
Talk radio gave my older brother excuses for being angry and posing as a know-it-all with regards to things about which he knew absolutely nothing. He was also, almost pornographically interested in money, especially other people’s money. He never had much and spent it in showy and extravagant ways when he had a bit. He liked talking with an unsettling glee about wealthy people. He was never able to make the connection between wealth and the abuses of power that often come with it. He relieved himself of thinking and learning by letting other people focus his anger on their agenda and bigotries.
The same thing is happening with my husband only it's Joe Rogan this time. After 40 years of marriage I am watching him become a different person and I don't know what to do about it.
Neither did I. My brother seethed with anger and raging self pity. His partner was a fine woman, intelligent, patient, kind and reliable. She was at a loss, too. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth.
"Cowboy" Reagan.
Two Reagan stories: When he was a B movie actor in the '50s, he learned to swirl a prop pistol because he told my father (a writer/publicist) it gave him a way to distract the press because he didn't know how to answer their questions. I met him briefly as a teenager in 1954 when I attended the Academy Awards with my father. Prior to the ceremony in the lobby of the Pantages Theatre, with Nancy at his side gazing up at him, he said that when the expected best actor award was announced for Bill Holden in Stalag 17, he was going to bound onto the stage to accept it. "We look so much alike it will fool people, and I know I'll never win anything like that in my life." If only.
Here is a great tune about Ronnie. It's got nice historical context, too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLt4e-l4DxQ
Yes.
If only...
Explains their ignorance about the vaccines too.
Blind Faith - the Virgin Mind ... they have a right to that choice for themselves - not to force it on others any more than others have a right to force them to adopt beliefs that do not ring true for them (in my version of a free world) ....
It is a pretty concept, but driving a car with your eyes closed is a bad idea. The Dark Ages makes for interesting tales, but I don’t want to live that way.
Sure Lisa - of course, they didn't have cars in the Muddle Ages - and there is no virtue in driving blind ... so how do we open peoples' eyes/minds/hearts to see where they are being manipulated and deceived?
By replacing mis/disinformation campaigns with evidence based campaigns using cult deprogramming techniques.
Green light on that!!
But Kathleen, it's blind faith in God AND Mammon.
Double bind and guaranteed madness, poor things.
Poor us.
Poor world, flooded with all this gratuitous -- and poisonous -- nonsense.
Ok, I hear you Peter, and that applies to those who are invested in coveting wealth, who manipulate the economy and laws to serve their advantage ... people on the ground who probably do not have much wealth, and buy into the idea that government and educational institutions are instruments of evil may well support this agenda believing they are serving God.
So, how do we 'rent the veil' of deceptive influence to empower enlightened government that allows people to choose and live by what rings true in their hearts?
Kathleen, you have innocent eyes and unconditional goodwill.
Is that not a beginning?
... well Peter, I'm not so sure how innocent my eyes are - I have not seen the bloody gore of war, true - or even the worst of poverty and human depravity - if that is what we must slog through to find peace, I trust I'll be in for a rude awakening ... I, for one, am not willing to pick up a weapon and start killing people - I would rather die. I'll contribute what I can to healing process and the quest for Peace On Earth, Goodwill Toward All through honest discourse, music, art, poetry ... if that amounts to nothing, I guess I can register as just another dander-flake off the cosmic scalp ....
"If America is to wage war,
in all fairness,
she also needs to wage peace
. . . if, in fact,
choice is of the essence,
if . . . justice, equity and integrity
are core principles at the heart of
virtuous governance -- in the land of the free."
https://tahomahome.weebly.com/
Oh, my!
Michael, spot on! Again.... 100% agreement here.
Luckily in colleges, we have far more wiggle room, especially in the NE. I would go up the wall if I couldn't teach freely. It's unbelievable the number of times my students ask: why wasn't I ever taught this before?
“What are Republicans for?” They are for war on truth, war on books, war on learning, war on thinking, war on teachers, war on kids by kids, no war on violence just more guns please, war on public Education, war on the environment, war on women’s health, war on Public Health, war on masks, war on planes over masks, war on reason, war on debate, war on compromise, war on science, war on scientist, war on vaccines, war on hospitals, war on roads & bridges, war on elections, war on journalists, war on democracy. War. On. Governance. War on government.
In other words, Republicans are for separation from non-Republicans by any means necessary.
If Democrats / Liberals stand for education, science, and critical thinking, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for ignorance and blind faith.
If Democrats / Liberals stand (or aim to) for Community, sharing, good neighbors, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for Individualism, Me-First-ism, Eff-Everyone-ism, and per Ted Keyes: (Opposite of community is Selfishness/aloneness not individualism).
If Democrats / Liberals stand for Democracy, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for a Dictatorshop.
If Democrats / Liberals stand for diversity, Republicans / Conservatives must stand for homogeneity.
Maybe Democrats should just push the opposite message towards Republicans?
(Opposite of community is Selfishness/aloneness not individualism)
Sorry I will edit
Lisa, I’ve been reading “The Road to Unfreedom” by Tim Snyder. Chapter 1 :Individualism or Totalitarianism
If u read it, u will see what I mean. Communities create support ( basic social safety net)… so individuals can flourish.
Yes. Time to push.
You forgot war on Muslims, or any non white human.
Even before the Renaissance, despots always burned books. It's no different now. The aim is to keep the peasants ignorant, vulnerable, and hold all treasure under the despots' control.
Bracing for the book burnings to come. What nonsense.
Another unnecessary carbon footprint from the "First Worlders"
Bingo!
Whom does this bother? All of us, I hope, but the key to saving democracy is mobilizing the votes of those Americans, especially women and persons of color, attacked by these Republican abominations. Nine months to Election Day!
My Dad actually had a Bomb Shelter built. Several people did where I live did.The only book banned was “ Catcher In The Rye “. And if I’m not mistaken that was during the time that Movies began to see the “Ratings “ ? I was so scared hiding under my desk in “ Bomb Drills “. Yep, they would save us. This time is different. There’s No Where to Hide .
I remember looking out my fourth grade classroom windows just north of San Francisco to see whether there was a mushroom cloud out there yet. I expected it any day. . . .
A high school friend from a well-to-do family had one. Apparently it doubled as an underground make-out hideaway. I also remember seeing bomb shelter designs in a magazine back in those days. In truth, the shelters might have protected people from nuclear blasts if they had enough warning to take cover. But I doubt any of the shelters were sufficiently equipped and stocked so people could avoid ever going outside and being exposed to the deadly radioactive fallout that would persist for years and years.
As a teen, I read three novels about nuclear war that intensified my fear at the time, books that I will never forget:
- "Fail Safe" (excellent movie, too, starring Henry Fonda) https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a/jeannette-kamins-2/fail-safe-2/
- "On the Beach" (also turned into a movie starring Gregory Peck) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38180.On_the_Beach
- "Alas Babylon" (set in a small town in Central Florida, 30 miles from my childhood home) https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20160905
And let's not forget the Stanley Kubrick film "Dr. Strangelove," a brilliant dark comedy featuring so many great actors, including Peter Sellers, with a plot that actually had a ring of plausibility. At the end of this trailer are some real-life glimpses of how afraid Americans were of The Bomb. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rF5XftjRGM
"Dr Strangelove" is my favorite movie, partially because at one point in his career my father was a Cold War B52 squadron commander carrying enough firepower to light up half the world from half a world away but also because of Slim Pickens, George C Scott and of course, Sellers!
In my fair city, we still have regular siren tests each month, which is an eery way to punctuate the mourning.
I live in an older 50s/60s community that has most of the original homes with bomb shelters and cool tile bathrooms.
Pink and black tile or Green and Black ?
Pink and mint green!
OMG ! Yes ! The Pink bathrooms, toilets, tubs and sinks. Kitchens also. The bathroom floors had the 1” little squares( maybe 2” ? ) such a pain to get the grout clean. They weren’t just Ugly ! They were U-gly !!!!
Catcher in the Rye? banned? That's crazy! I remember the movie, "The Day After" and I remember the discussions about it in Social Studies Class.
‘Catcher ‘ had S…E…X in it . We weren’t supposed to know about that either . LOL ! We girls may not have known but the guys sure did ! 😂
oh no, "god forbid"
Haven't these people seen Kevin Bacon in Footloose? ha ha
😂
It all comes together in the unannounced agenda of the Republican Party. If you need a wake-up call, watch Carlson, Hannity and Ingraham on Fox some night. I guarantee that you won't sleep well. HCR certainly 'sets things straight' but not with the urgency that an Election Day nine months off, demands. The Democratic Party should right now be mobilizing the votes of women and persons of color, groups that are often the targets of Republican politics especially at the State level. Their votes will be the keys to saving democracy, despite Republican efforts to limit voting. I hope.
I’m in a women’s Democratic club. We go to events and help register people to vote. Like Opal Lee’s march, and the abortion rights march. We help at the polls, some do door to door walks. At the Beto kickoff rally, when I had my two seconds with him I said I’m a teacher in Southlake, help us! Ha! He had time with education leaders this week and is focusing on our situation.
Democrats are mobilizing! In Tarrant County Texas, it is making a difference.
Trying to push that heart. I'll try again later. I do want to thank you- at last a letter from somebody who is actually DOING something instead of just venting. I know that lots of others are too. And lots more who get tired of the venting. I love the thoughtful letters that enlarge my sense of things. Just tired of reading letter after letter about the same things that have been said again and again. That's not getting anywhere. I am happy to hear that Tarrant County has a group like yours- and it's making a difference. Thanks, Denise
Biden won Tarrant County in 2020. Keep it up!
A war on thinking. That must enter the lexicon. Thank you.
Thank you for the link, Michael. Excellent! I have to include my rant of the day on this topic. The state of education today should scare all of us. How many Americans who are suspicious of education, believe in conspiracy theories, and are undereducated, have been participants in riots and racist groups? Yes, a generalization, I know. Who are initiating and limiting the teaching of facts? Political, social, religious influences? Now, or continuing, some schools want to provide even fewer opportunities and omit the truth in their curriculum. In my Northern California mountain community, in 1990, parents picketed the school board with signs against the use of a wonderful series of books. The reason: there were some stories that could undermine parental authority. Sorry, that was absurd. But that was the forerunner to current times. Education today and really for many children at least since Bush 2000, has been in a fragile state, especially for low-income children and perhaps in states that shut down the truth, like a modern Scopes! More so than ever, manipulation and the lies are out in the open and sometimes driven by parents and politics, especially as we have seen, with any racial justice, Truth, aka Critical Race Theory in the curriculum. I taught for 25 years, from preschool to adults, much of it Title I low income families and ESL, as well as classroom. I left the field in 2009 and while I loved the children and families, and my colleagues, and teaching with our developmentally appropriate and thematic curriculum for many years, there is not enough money to pay me to turn back the clock and be a teacher. In today's educational climate, teachers may experience long hours, high stakes student testing, amazing amounts of paper work for "accountability", conflicts with administration and sometimes parents, poor pay for the amount of education as a professional, often low public respect and a lack of autonomy. With a BA in Child Development, California Teaching Credential with specializations in Elementary Education, Title I, English as a Second Language, and a Masters in Human Development, specialization in Peace and Justice, as well as Education, (teachers are constantly taking classes and workshops and advanced degrees, not only as a love of learning, but required to advance on the salary schedule), I left the field as a well educated and experienced professional, but with significantly less retirement salary than other professions. Now there is a bigger crisis than ever in filling the teacher needs in this nation. I can't imagine teaching today in this environment between Pandemic and Politics; would you want the job?
Irenie, your experience is illuminating, so thank you. It's a cautionary tale. Why does America treat its teachers this way? It's shameful. After all, kids generally spend way more time with them than do parents and have so much influence on who they become. It's been remarkable recently to see so many parents suddenly get interested in what and how their children are being taught, spurred on more by politics more than anything else.
A member of my extended family, a teacher who's received many accolades, is retiring several years earlier than planned. The stress and demands have simply become too much.
Thank you, Michael, I had to stop myself from writing a book! Education is critical in any society, and we have to ask ourselves what we want our children to learn and how to help them grow up to be fair-minded, honest, intelligent citizens. Getting there? That's the challenge.
I fear I come to this party late, and find tempers and tongues quite on edge. Well here goes.
This may sound a little naive, but I just finished Jonathan Karl’s book “Betrayal “. He references the Dec. 18 th meeting in the White House. It stood out because it is my birthday. He gives other details that are head-shaking. The story he tells, full of authoritative quotes, is chilling from beginning to end. I thought I knew enough of the details of these events, but I was wrong. I recommend this book.
Till the Jan. 6th debacle I had a deep loathing for Liz Cheney and her father. I am now forced to give her credit for standing up to the criminality of djt and his cult. But remember she most likely voted for djt. And her conservative stance on government is antithetical to everything I believe government should be. And the same goes for the rest of the Republican Party that should have disavowed djt from the moment he took his infamous escalator ride and brought the country to the door of hell.
Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the best of humanity into beasts. Qurayshi is responsible for killing the women and children. ISIS, like others of their ilk, has an insanity of religion that defies explanation. It compels brutal resistance.
Restful sleep and inner peace is rare these days. Angry and indecent language has maybe a place inside a personal space. But as soon as it escapes it defiles even the best arguments. Evidence and testimony is seeping out into the light on a daily timetable. It is our strongest weapon. Because it will compel us to vote. In every election.
"Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the best of humanity into beasts." I quibble only because of the edit I suggest. "Lastly, war is a moral failure. It turns the worst and even the best of humanity into beasts."
Actually, humans have it all over other beasts for violence and cruelty. The term 'inhumane' applied to human violence and cruelty is almost an oxymoron.
By and large, I just go directly to “inhuman” and skip the quibbles inherent in the word “inhumane”.
According to the moral & Christian "just war theory", war should always be the LAST resort. Responsible citizens should trust this timeless wisdom. Moreover, today's GOP has a national platform which provides they will trust the intuition of nihilist Donald Trump. How can GOP leadership provide HOPE for America's future, when we do not trust science & reason to address the problems we encounter, but the intuition of Trump? What is the source of Trump's wisdom, as he does NOT read? Like my friend Charlie Munger says, echoing Benjamin Franklin, I never met a wise person who did not read a lot.
"Moral" and "Christian" no longer fit in the same context.
Certainly not in any context involving the Republican Party or its representatives.
The Republicans like to play their own game of charades. A large population of evangelicals have wrapped themselve with the cloth of the fascist Republican Party. "Christian" is total FAKERY.
So-called “Christians“ are often white racists, especially the ones voting for Trump. You are correct in calling out their hypocrisy. The source of the name Christian is Crystos, which means crystalline, pure. True Christians don’t usually self-identify that way. They are quietly being the best they can be and wishing the best for society. You, Vince, are likely a follower of the Kristos. Ever think of that? Most people here are. If you are reading these words, consider the possibility that you might be a true Christian, in its original form and meaning.
Χρίστος is the Greek, meaning "The Anointed". The "X" in Xmas actually is intented to represent the Chi / "X". Actually, I am an ordained graduate Seminarian (with a very long career in the private business sector). Over the years, I have become increasingly dismayed and disappointed over the corruption and contamination of evil that has inserted itself into the Faith.
Well satd Bill, thank you. djt's "infamous escalator ride" was a down escalator ... truly symbolic. The Dispatch this am has sourced background info on Qurayshi's personal history since 2014 in Iraq. The NYT has published detailed visual investigation footage of Qurayshi`s three story compound on rising ground on the porous Syrian-Turkish border. The LFAA Community gets real-time history, extensively sourced from HCR. Thank you again for your calm thoughts.
Bill,
"Qurayshi is responsible for killing the women and children."
Please post the evidence for this statement if you do not mind. Five American helicopters with US Special forces showed up to kill this guy and I think it is a good bet that in the firefight they killed all the women and children as well.
Blaming the father of the kids for his own kids death? Do you think ISIS Dads are any different than any other human fathers?? Have we demonized Muslim's so much that we think they kill their own children now?
WE, the USA just killed some more kids. Just like our helicopter shot up 12 young boys in Village in Afghanistan 12 or so years ago.
WE (you and I, yep) have killed thousands of kids since this whole debacle bagan. THOUSANDs.
You and I are also killing women and children. We just did.
Mike, I agree that most of the last 20 years have been a horror in terms of the killing we did and the reaction from that has only increased the appeal of terrorism.
But this time, I believe we got it right. The evidence that this monster blew himself up is clear and he took his family with him.
Do I think that ISIS dads are different form others? OF COURSE they are. They use women and children as shields regularly. They blow up schools and hospitals. They slaughter their own children to make a point. I don't believe in Satan - but if I did, that's where I would find him - in that house. ISIS is a disease. Religious extremism even worse than the Taliban. They are vicious enough to sacrifice their own babies.
Bill,
You could be right and I will cede that to you up front.
However, ALL of the evidence you have is based on what the US Government is telling us. In the White Helmet's report I don't see any hint of how the women and children were killed.
In fact, an announcer with an Iraqi accent indicated through a loudspeaker that missles would be fired if the occupants did not exit.
Sure, the US says he had a giant suicide vest on that went off (if I got that right).
BUT, remember Vietnam? Remember all the stuff that the US government told us that was lies back then?
Do you think that the US Government would now come out and say:
We flew five helicopters in to kill the next Muslim we could find to kill, after demonizing him, and as part of the operation we killed four women and six kids OOOOOPS?
Based on what the BIDEN led US government is telling us. Had it been the tRump led government, I'd share your doubt.
Mike, according to the news reports (yes, I know that they're not always factual), the helicopters were sent in, and were blasting messages telling everyone to evacuate, and Qurayshi to surrender, because they didn't want to kill civilians by using drones and bombs, a la the Kabul disaster. They were not shooting. BTW, doing it this way is much more dangerous to our troops than drones. Yes, we have, either intentionally or otherwise, killed many civilians, including women and children, over the years, but I tend to believe this account. With our many faults, these fanatics have the corner on the market in deliberate murder, even of their own.
How exactly was this dead guy threatening the USA? Nobody knows.
He was flexing his muscle, and hoping to reenergize ISIS' grip on the Middle East. While perhaps not an immediate threat to us, a similar group of fanatics did take down the Trade Center, attacked the Pentagon, and made a run at the Capitol.
Terrorists strap bombs on children....they have no benefit of the doubt
I thought terrorists bombed other people and their children into submission?
Mike, You asked a fellow commentator to substantiate his comments regarding proof of responsibility. Then you proposed a counter claim…isn’t it fair to ask you to substantiate your comment as well? You offered up that a similar alleged occurrence more than a decade earlier offers “proof” for your claim’s accuracy. While it may be true or not…I doubt it would actually “hold water” In todays media driven toxic atmosphere even a mis-spoken word can prove to be dangerous. Unfortunately, I can imagine there have been many, many innocent Women and Children killed when people shoot at one another…whether it be justified or not!
I agree!
Here's a very relevant tune from 40 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMbn3hGkpeo
Sometimes the diplomats and wise ones arrive late to the party. Really nice post Bill, thank you.
Well said.
Bill, welcome! To get the irrelevant out the way, we share a birthday. I claim 1938 as my starting point.
I like the general thrust of your perspective, but find a hair or two that I feel I must split.
Singling out Qurayshi as a killer of women and children seems to ignore the reality of any major our minor conflict in the history of mankind; and I use MANkind with intent. An example in recent memory is the errant U.S. drone strike in Kabul and its “collateral” civilian toll. But the examples of innocents slaughtered in violent disputes could, and does, fill uncounted history books.
Let me be clear, however; this is in no way a defense of Qurayshi, but an attempt to put a millennial perspective on this one example of the horrors of human beings acting in inhuman ways toward other human beings.
While the Cheneys rank high on my roster of despicables, I, too, am thankful for Rep. Liz providing a basic example of reasonable morality in the face of unimagined depravity and atrocities. Her actions, however, stand out primarily because most of her political kin are behaving in the most immaturely evil and unconscionably destructive ways.
Finally, the smallest hair to be sliced refers to voting. That is the most basic of all the actions we must take in this time of existential peril. Our civilization, globally, requires total reconstruction. If there is an institution left that is not terminally corrupted, I am completely unaware of its existence.
Thank you.
The Nazis staged a similar "event" so they could claim "self defense" when they attacked Poland in September 1939. they built a "radio station" just inside the German side of the Polish-German border, then dressed prisoners in Polish uniforms and had them "attack" the radio station, where they were shot to death by Waffen-SS "defenders" and then the "attackers" were photographed.
And yes, nobody but Charles Lindbergh and the America First movement were dumb enough to say that was "proof" we should stay away from the "foreign war."
Magnificent TC. Thanks again for the history lesson. A perfect job for the Waffen-SS, one of several precursors to Putin’s secret agents. Now watch who shows up here with a reply, sounding defensive.
TC: nobody but Charles Lindbergh and the America First movement were dumb enough to say that was "proof" we should stay away from the "foreign war."
I am not sure if this means you are advocating that the US become involved militarily if Russia invades?
I know a lot of military contractors (and hence elected Representatives) that would be ECSTATIC about our entry into another giant war where they (representatives and contractors) can make BILLIONS of dollars on the backs of our (poorly paid) dead soldiers.
Yes indeed.
That's why the British and American exposition of such possibilities is important. It's not about having a shooting war. It's about holding the Western Coalition together.
Thanks, Carol and Jim. Yours is the main point in all this.
Macron is meeting with Putin in Moscow on Monday, Zelensky in Kiev on Tuesday. Scholz is lining up to do likewise.
I’d love to see Stefanik show up on Tucker Carlson. She’s not towing the pro-Putin line?
Stefanik will do whatever Trump wants. She's given herself over to naked ambition.
My stomach churns every time I read Stef*k’s name. A poor excuse for a human. I live in NY-21, but she is emphatically NOT my Representative.
Remember the Maine!
Last night on MSNBC’s “The Last Word” Ronald Goldman suggested that, among others, the Justice Department should be pursuing charges under the RICO statute (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act) against TFG and his fellow conspirators in their attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election.
I’ve said it repeatedly in this forum and others, that RICO is tailor-made for TFG across the entire spectrum of his business and political activities.
If the Justice Department is not vigorously investigating the full range of potential crimes committed by TFG and his gang, we are (to use the vernacular) screwed.
As for the ongoing criminal conspiracy, so much has been said already that it's difficult to see how much more we need to disclose before we conclude that enough is enough. What's telling are those who are refusing to disclose what they know. If it were up to me to decide, I would hold that anyone who took the Oath of Office who declines to testify is ipso facto a supporter of insurrection and therefore ineligible to hold any public office or employment by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment, section three. That amounts to a lifetime ban. A refusal to testify is a felony punishable by a year's imprisonment. We want them to testify. If they bear criminal responsibility for their actions, I want to see them prosecuted. The punishment need not be draconian, except for those who planned and coordinated their efforts; but having to face a judge and allocute to the crimes is an essential part of the process, especially those who cut a deal to reduce their punishment. This is what Richard Nixon should have been required to do in return for his presidential pardon.
Be careful here. These types of blanket assumptions reek of an authoritarian State. Facing judges solely for the purpose of humiliation is draconian.
One thing I cherish about the United States is our basic decency down through its history. Nixon had suffered enough through the loss of the things he craved the most which was power. The Country had suffered enough with the Vietnam War and 3 years of Watergate. It was time to heal and President Ford knew that. I am always grateful for his wisdom.
"suffered enough" is not a consequence for egregious acts. President Ford's wisdom is out of compassion, however, it appears the lack of consequences then, is haunting us today.
More like a "Quid pro quo" for his resignation.
Yep, but he lived to be admired by evil. Check out the tattoo on Stone’s back.
No accounting for taste
I very rarely say this. Roger Stone is pure evil. Look into his eyes sometime.
Fair point. During that time we never, ever could have imagined what we are going through today. Today looks like a prequel to the book 1984.
All we as a Nation and as a person can do is make the best decision possible with the information we have in that moment. We had been through 3 years of exhaustive legal examination of the Watergate incident and everything that spiraled out from there. I don't know if you are old enough to remember but the Vietnam war bloodied and tore this Nation asunder. We were traumatized from MLK's murder. And then Bobby Kennedy. The bloody debacle of the Chicago Democratic Convention. And on and on. I just remember there being a feeling of death everywhere. So given my poorly done encapsulation of those times the decision to pack Nixon off to California seemed the best option. I doubt prison for Nixon would have kept Stone from deifying him.
@ Kim Weidmann We don’t need to lop their heads off, so to speak, but I don’t feel removing abusive people from positions which could allow them to continue causing harm is a bad idea either.
No. Just no. It may have seemed a good idea at the time but history has proven to us that tyranny never sleeps. Nixon should have been prosecuted along with all his henchman. If we had, perhaps some of what is happening now might have been avoided.
As well as a different outcome if Reconstruction had happened differently.
And Lincoln had not been assassinated.
I disagree with you completely. I was there in Washington for the Nixon debacle. I also served as a staff attorney on President Ford's Clemency Board that was supposed to redress the balance by helping those who were ground up by the Vietnam War. Nixon got a sweetheart deal. No criminal conviction and a comfortable retirement. The Watergate burglars got prison sentences, along with 49 lawyers who worked either in the Nixon White House or at the Committee to Reelect the President.
You write as if all you were concerned about was making this stigma go away. Jerry Ford was a decent guy, but totally unsuited to the job of being President. He could have demanded at least a guilty plea from Nixon before granting that pardon. That would have been the honorable thing to do. Instead, he acted as if the scandal itself was to blame, just like Donald Trump. We got Trump because Ford couldn't apply Republican morality to the party that made Nixon possible.
Democrats are under fire for making a stink about what Trump was doing then, and what he's doing now. Under your theory of the case, prosecutors should not be bringing indictments against people who are their 'betters', because it makes them look bad. Crooks are crooks, whether they wear denim or bespoke Italian suits. With Nixon, it was all about stealing an election, even though the Democratic candidate, George McGovern, was either too inept or too much of a gentleman to fight back. Do bear in mind that two of the Nixon administration's Attorneys General, John Mitchell and Richard Kleindienst, were convicted of serious felonies in connection with Watergate; and both went to jail. That history didn't seem to bother Trump's AG, William Barr, from using his office to advance Trump's attempted coup, pulling back only at the last moment. Barr has no shame. And neither do the Senate Republicans.
Could not agree more, been watching the disaster for 60 years. You are 100% right
The only thing I don't get in your otherwise great comment is the bit about Nixon stealing an election. The only state McGovern won is my state--along with the District of Columbia.
Think about the dirty tricks campaign against Nixon's strongest potential opponent, Maine Senator Edmund Muskie, and other dirty tricks carried out by Nixon operatives working at CREEP.
You've got a good point. It's been so long, I wasn't thinking about that.
If humanity is to progress we need to have rules/laws to which we all live by. There needs to be actual consequences for breaking rules. Consequences that are not just simple incarceration, there needs to be requirements to make amends for the harm done. This should clearly be seen by all as NOT a punishment, but a consequence for antisocial behavior that harms humanity. It should be reparative. Incarceration would be reserved for those incapable of working to make amends. The amends should be established, just, and equal across the board. Retaliation, vengeance, the need to see others suffer, will serve to dig us deeper into the hole of hell. Easier said then done. Consequences are an essential requirement. They must be firm, fair, consistent and most importantly in the spirit of love be for what is best in all of us.
One of those dreams for humanity…
And Roger Stone rejoiced, so did all the plotters, even the ones who did jail time.
having read a lot about Nixon, I don't think it was power that motivated him so much as his father's lack of confidence in him. He wanted to show that he was better than his father ever thought he was.
We simply have got to stop electing Presidents with Daddy issues. #45 ran over us with his unresolved issues.
45 had 'em in spades. I read Mary Trump's book. Boy was that family effed up. Far far worse than the Nixons.
On your first-mentioned point, Joe Biden has been constantly under-rated by Republicans. He oversees a focused, surgical strike against ISIS that's in their face that takes out their top leader, while minimizing collateral damage. Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi and his wife blew themselves up with suicide vests, killing their children and others, 13 innocents in all. Other civilians on the lower floors of the building fled with their lives. ISIS has long used innocent lives to protect themselves, and this is perhaps the most extreme example of their disregard for human life. Muslims that I know would be horrified at the parents' actions. Nonetheless, President Biden put a team of American military in harm's way so that at least some lives could be saved.
I expect the full story about this assassination is not yet available to anyone who wasn't there. Our government's record of taking responsibility for civilian deaths in this "war on terror" is hardly sterling. This may have been a legitimate case of self-defense against terrorist acts, but it is too soon for us to be sure.
As I recall, one of our final military actions in Afghanistan involved a missile strike on civilians, with predictably tragic results that were not made known immediately. And I have read of a rogue element of our military failing to follow rules of engagement designed to minimize civilian deaths.
The Government including the military is always in a rock and a hard place. We clamor for our National security and the privilege of not going to bed at night worrying about our security but cringe when it gets horrific in the effort. There seems to be a lot of sanctimonious handwringing in the light of day. We elected a President who said he would fight the war on terror. What did you think that would look like?
And unless you have concrete data/proof of that rogue element why mention it? Why undermine Biden?
Barbara, I too feel a tiny sense of relief that there is one less terrorist in the world, and I certainly hold nothing against Joe Biden for ordering (I assume he was in the loop) the assassination, nor do I blame him for the "collateral" damage. None of our recent Presidents have shown any mercy for terrorists, and most Americans, left or right, are okay with that. I would vote for him again against any Republican I can think of.
That said, the whole notion of fighting a "war on terror" is a kind of jingoistic nonsense, as if we can somehow change the minds of those who hate us by killing them. It led us to into a truly stupid and bloody war in Iraq and continues to hold our collective imagination because it nurtures in us the idea of our superiority over people who are not us. I certainly do not believe killing terrorists in far away places will protect us from ourselves.
It was not domestic terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 David. And once again. We are not privy to intelligence reports of threats against the United States. I bet the President's Daily Brief would curl our toes and cause us to have nightmares. BTW. President Biden prevented trump from receiving a version of the PDB because he was deemed a security risk.
No, 9/11 was mostly well-financed Saudi terrorists who cleverly exploited some pretty dire weaknesses in airline security protocols and inadequate communications between the various US govt. entities who were, in fact, trying very hard to figure out what some of them were up to. It would be very hard for that horrific act to be repeated now, but that doesn't mean other evil schemes are not afoot that might be as bad or worse than 9/11. Do you believe a small group of domestic terrorists could not plan and execute something at least as bad, if not far worse, than the attack on the twin towers? Do you imagine the NSA really knows what everyone is thinking and doing, or that the FBI can track down every threat in time to stop it?
Terrorism is one of many dangers in today's world, almost certainly not the worst. During the height of the pandemic, a 9/11's worth of Americans were dying every day, and we still aren't sure how that started or what to do to keep it from happening again. Is our government's budgeting based on the severity of threats or the flow of campaign money? How many people are well enough informed to separate the big dangers from the small or unreal dangers?
Life is one long series of unanswered questions. The big picture is largely invisible.
"This is the dance of appearances. Mind is dancing with phenomena in the field of the senses." Dzogchen Ponlop The Mind Beyond Death
I don't know what terrorists are out there, but I do believe the world would have been a lot different had Gore been president, and I agree that we need to get away from this war on terror mentality. But I suspect that taking out this particular terrorist was a good thing. I would just like to see a different general approach to the world from War on Terror.
Hey David, sounds like we're on the same page.
That was my thought.
There is seldom such a thing as a "surgical strike". "Collateral damage" is almost inevitable, and there is no acceptable amount of it. Remember the 2003 "Shock and Awe" invasion of Iraq by US forces? It was one enormous exercise in "collateral damage" deliberately inflicted.
For what it is worth, fellow readers, I am so exasperated that I just called Mitch McConnells office and left a message with an aide. Brief but to the point: we NEED a two party system in the US and those parties are the Democrats and the Republicans; the REAL Republicans, not the Trumpists that are destroying our nation. McConnell needs to call out these people and reign the party in.
I know that some here will comment and tell me it is useless. Please do not, I am depressed enough already. If you feel that way, please just shake your head, mutter to yourself and move onto the next posted comment.
A few comments of, yeah, I called too would be helpful. A LOT of posts of, yeah WE ALL CALLED, would be even better.
Here's the number: 202.224.2541
Miselle, I am glad to see you ask for naysayers to keep it to themselves.
To me it makes no sense to say calling lawmakers is useless. I could go on about why, in philosophical and even spiritual terms, it ALWAYS makes a difference. But maybe better right now to stick to to the practical: We do not know if and when it makes a difference. However, we know for sure that NOT calling does not help.
I am off to call.
BTW, in my surfing yesterday, I came across this which was a bit of a bright spot. It's long, but I thought it was worthwhile to listen as I shuffled papers on my desk. Politics Girl interviewing the wonderful Jen Psaki!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmigMddSDdk
Absolutely wonderful. Refreshing. Natural. Down Two earth. Two mothers of young children discussing g the realities of their lives, with lots of focus on current events.
Thank you for sharing this. It was wonderful!
That's so good! I've forwarded it.
💙💙💙
Miselle, I called. I don't know if it will matter. But, thanks for the pointer.
I trust all is well with you and yours.
Mike, as some here might know as I posted this awhile back--lost my brother to COVID three weeks ago. Vaxxed and boosted, but so far along in his dementia that it was a blessing, in a way. Even the best of care for dementia patients in our US is what a friend termed "human warehousing."
I can't read all the comments but I have posted there are some I especially look for, yours are among those. (I applaud your for your carefully reading and commenting to so many) TCinLA is another, and perhaps I am reading through the lines but he seems to be feeling as frustrated (depressed?) as I am of late. I hope he is well as his comments are also well received.
I don't know that our calls will matter, either, but thanks for calling and yes, by your doing so, I am feeling a bit less aggrieved this morning. Thank you.
I lost my aunt three weeks ago to covid. She contracted it while in the hospital for knee replacement surgery. We had been making plans for me to visit. So upsetting! Sorry for your loss!
Sorry for you, too. There is no dementia anywhere prior in my family history, so this has baffled and frightened us.
I am astounded how many formerly cautious friends have given up, like they have now thrown all caution to the wind in terms of COVID safety!
I am unable to attach a link or the actual chart, but if you head over the msn.com and click on the CORONAVIRUS, you can see the charts of the number of cases and the number of deaths since the start. They are really something to see! We will hit 900,000 deaths probably tomorrow! This is far from over.
That simple story is horrifying. Condolences, Denise. We need all our courage and common-sense.
Miselle, first, I am really sorry for your loss of your brother. That is tough.
I am not sure you should read all my posts. :-) Probably not good for you.
I should comment less but, it is winter here. I am out every day but not ALL day like summer.
I can't read them all, Mike, you DO post alot! :) But they are all so well thought out! Keep posting!
Thanks Miselle. Stay well.
Miselle, sending love for your loss.
Thank you.
The tide IS turning. Since every call is counted, yours counts. McConnell needs to see the numbers rise before he can risk the switch away from tRump. Thank you Miselle! Let's ALL CALL MITCH!!
(And really bother his aides...)
Calling is important! It does help effect change!
Just tried to call but the mailbox was full.Perhaps a good sign he’s getting an earful !
Wordle. How did you do today?
A pleasant distraction from reality.
I am not fond of word games or puzzles, but terror that I might succumb to the dementia that my brother had sends me to the AARP website every morning to do the mini-Crossword. I have yet to try a Wordle. Thanks for the suggestion.
I play Wordscape on my cell phone for the same reason!
Always stunning how the US defends its killing of 13 civilians non-chalantly as collateral damage and congratulates itself on a "counter-terrorism" strike. 20,000,000 civilians killed since WWII by the US Army - but these bad, bad Russians and Chinese ...
Non violence is one thing. Knee jerk pacifism is another. There are over 2,500 years of studies in Buddhism on cause and effect. Painting the history of war with such an extremely narrow view is suspect.
Are you aware that the United States chose the on the ground maneuver instead of an air strike because it was less risky in terms of the loss of human life? So in actuality the United States was willing to lay down the lives of its soldiers in order to prevent deaths. In addition how do you know members of the United States military and this Administration were not grieved at the loss of human life? How do you know people in these comments section did not pause and pray for those people?
Some folks might see your charge against the United States as an assault on the decades of humans who willingly laid down their lives in the cause of freedom and human rights.
But, Barbara, if the US had stayed out of Iraq and Afghanistan to begin with, no American soldiers' lives would be at risk; nor would the lives of countless Afghani and Iraqi civilians.
Are we forgetting what ISIS does around the world here?
When did ISIS rise? While being aware of post hoc ergo propter hoc, I think we'll find that Western (Thanks, Dubbya!) imperialism set the stage for ISIS to coalesce. And yes, there were radical Islamic groups going back before WW2.
Carol and Jim,
The origins of ISIS lie in the origins of the Taliban, which, the USA created to "fight Russian aggression" in Afghanistan.
We even printed extremist Islamic books to hand out in Afghanistan to promote extremism to fight the Russians.
WE are the origin of ISIS.
Osama bin Laden was once paid by the CIA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban
Mike, I'm just getting around to yesterday so take my comments with a good dash of salt. I enjoy the perspective of the comments you make. There is no question of the U.S.'s contributions to the growth of several violent extremist Islamist movements. But direct links between the Taliban regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and ISIS are few, tangled and have changed over time. They share some ideological commitments, particularly the formation of theocratic governments and (to different extents) advocating an extremist takfiri stance that Shi'ite Muslims are apostates. The originators of IS movements were Arab Sunnis who split off from AQI. Some (like al-Zarqawi) had experience in Afghanistan--some influenced by al Quaeda, some simply anti-Soviet. But while they may have preached a global Islamist vision, but their focus was on the middle east--Iraq, Syria, Jordan and (to a lesser extent) Egypt. So yes, we potentiated their rise, but mainly through our bonehead invasion of Iraq and our mishandling of the resulting mess. Their biggest recruitment drives were fed by creating alliances among groups to repel the U.S. occupation, and they benefitted from the Iraqi government's internal struggles against Shi'ite militias. This included lots of U.S. arms and equipment, stolen or passed on by some of our "allies." So, we screwed up in 1980's Afghanistan (though not as bad as the Soviets did), potentiated the rise of bin Laden through our Saudi bases while "saving Kuwait from Hussein," and then by pursuing the phantom WMD's and destroying any coherent governance in Iraq. Fast forward to now and the Afghan Taliban is having a very prickly time negotiating with IS Khorasan Province about the country is to be run.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/isis-origins-anbari-zarqawi/577030/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/isis-origins-anbari-zarqawi/577030/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/11/isis-origins-anbari-zarqawi/577030/
cheers
No, not at all, Stuart. I'm sure the guy we killed deserved it, and there was no other practical way to bring him to "justice". On the other hand, it seems that the ratio of bystanders and family members blown to bits in these raids (13 to 1 in this case?) is nothing to be proud of.
Also, we get front page news about these assassinations when they are the big fish. Does this mean we are letting the little fish go? I'll bet we're not letting them go, and little fish have families and bystanders, too.
Further, we should remember what the US has done -- and continues to do -- in the way of killing very large numbers of people with our unparalleled high tech weapons, how many military bases we have in all corners of the world, how much we spend on all this and how poorly distributed -- some might say ill-gotten -- is the wealth we think we are protecting. There is a reason we are the focus of so much anger and hatred.
And you think there was any choice at the time? A soldier’s life is always one of risk. Since the creation of military solution.
We want to go to sleep secure in the knowledge that our Country is being protected but grow queasy in the light of day when those costs of freedom are revealed.
Iraq, probably. Afghanistan, not so much. Have you forgotten 9/11? Surely a response was warranted, not for revenge, but to prevent it from happening again. I'd agree that the associated attempt at nation-building was unwarranted and stupid.
And we wouldn't have had ISIS in consequence.
You'd be surprised - that's exactly what the Vietnamese think about the Vietcong, the same that the proud Russians think about their fallen soldiers, the Chinese about theirs and the British about theirs. All great, good, brave people. You just wonder why they all die, don't ya?
Barbara, I think knee-jerk pacifism beats knee-jerk patriotism any day, not that I much like knee-jerk anything.
The US claims to have chosen the on-ground assassination so as to limit the killing. Could be, but it was also likely easier for them to verify the death of their principal target and --perhaps -- gather computer hard-drives and documents than it would have been if they had used smart bombs or drone-launched missiles. But I'm no expert on this.
However, I am very sure neither grief nor prayer can bring back the dead.
Why do Americans who have zero knowledge of the inner workings of International Intelligence, Risks Assessments and Strategic Protection make such emotional statements concerning how the US should manage it's military?
We want to go to sleep secure in the knowledge that our Country is being protected but grow queasy in the light of day when those costs of freedom are revealed.
Well, I'm just a retired teacher of English as a second language, but I do have opinions informed by regular reading of several major newspapers and magazines and of books on world and US history, and by TV, internet and a lifetime of lively conversation with people smarter than I am. I have also lived out in the world for most of the past 40 years, so I have perhaps learned to think about my beloved native land in a somewhat different way than most Americans.
Barbara, there is much more to life than secure sleep and feeling protected from terrorists. And yes, people who are sure that international intelligence, risk assessments and strategic protection are what really matter make me a bit queasy. There's a lot of other stuff that matters, too.
The point is I 100% agree with what you are saying. There is so much more to life. The topic, however, today has been war. I am going to edit photos. learn a new sewing machine and do some baking on this snowy icy day so I am signing off.
Peace.
Well, Barbara, I have enjoyed our lively conversation, and yes, we likely agree about most things, even war (for the most part). Here in Italy it is time for supper, preceded, of course, by a glass of wine and some hummus. Peace to you, too.
It seems to me that it was the ISIS leader that killed the 13....and not the US troops... rather than let them live with the consequences of his acts
The fact that there were loud-hailer warnings to evacuate would support that.
It is my understanding the the dude set off his suicide vest which killed his family as well. Not that our military hasn't killed and maimed incredible numbers of civilians...
The US military is in the habit of telling us what they want us to hear, and lying through their teeth about what really happens. Over time, we will find out the full story. For now I reserve judgment. The early reports in the news are all provided by the US military, not by journalistic investigation.
Remember this botched drone strike that was mischaracterized when it happened? Info just two weeks old. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/01/19/politics/military-releases-videos-august-drone-strike-killed-civilians/index.html
Yes Roland and lets now see the uninformed, biased main stream media and its viewers start picking apart what is a successful military operation in that it achieved the mission. We are the least qualified to do so. Were any of us in on the inner workings of our intelligence operations, foreign reports and our Government we might not be so judgmental and picky.
Barbara, you’re sounding hurt and defensive, and I’m sorry for that. I didn’t state my position. I was merely reporting that you can’t take what the US military is telling you at face value. Most of what they are saying is probably true this time, because they are still chafing about that botched drone strike and how they handled it. They are definitely getting better. I give Biden all the credit for that. I’m just giving you history. Their history has not been good. So a little bit of skepticism is a good idea, until they can be proven true and trustworthy. They are heading there.
Roland I am not cynical as just worn out. I am sorry I jumped on you Sir. Please accept my apologies for that. Yesterday I saw where Jake Tapper had assembled some fellow "journalists" to dissect President Biden's actions in the raid and I thought here comes another Biden bashing frenzy by the Press and Republicans and Democratic voters. When are we going to stand up and support this President? Do we have to join in the Biden bashing fray?
Here is my super major point. We want it both ways. We want to feel secure from terrorists but get queasy when that safety comes with a horrific cost of a life. Can we prayerfully move on from this incident? We simply don't have the expertise to second guess the decision making process that went into this military operation. Yes there have been painful mistakes. Can we as a decent, thinking, compassionate society learn from our mistakes without carrying them around on our backs until the end of time?
We have got to get really laser focused on what the Republicans are doing in their efforts to stage a fascist takeover of this country.
I, for one, am with your opinion 1000% Barbara. The second guessing of President Biden’s administration at this crucial point in time is just so ‘un-strategic’ at best and plays right into Republican bashing of anything our president does.
Hello Barbara, no need to apologize. We are all worn out. Sending you love and support for the burn-out that we are all feeling.
I wouldn’t dream of bashing Biden. I don’t know how long you’ve been here, but in 2021 we had entire days where we were exclaiming in amazement how this guy was a dream come true. When I voted in 2020, I was hoping for so many many of the things that Biden has now accomplished. In many ways, better than my wildest dreams for Bernie.
I have no complaints about the Isis leader mission. None that I’m going to post here anyway. I was just super pissed off when I first posted last night, furious at both the Republican insurrection conspiracy and Putin. Maybe that leaked out.
Roland. Correct. At the moment we only know we sponsored the deaths of 15 more Muslims in the middle. East.
Sabine I acknowledgement your personal sentiments. However, I have a different perspective. Has the American military done some dastardly things in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere? Is this reprehensible? Of course. War and other violence are dangerous and bad things happen. Facts do matter. Your statement that “20,000,000 civilians killed since WW II by the US Army” is totally false.
That some of these military misdeeds are discussed in the media and in Congress is in sharp contrast to what occurs in Russia, China, Myanmar, and elsewhere. A French history of the Cold War calculates that at least 100 million civilians died under Soviet and Chinese regimes. Do you know about that and have a personal opinion?
I was deeply involved in a. Belgian/American military rescue mission of over 3,000 foreign civilian hostages. How many ‘civilian casualties’ might you find ‘acceptable’ in such a situation?In responding to terrorists, we were fortunate to capture Bin Laden without any civilian casualties. By contrast, many, many civilians have been and are being killed by terrorists world wide.
I wish that there were some antiseptic way that the ‘good guys’ could eliminate the ‘bad guys.’ Are you aware of atrocities on both sides in the American Revolution? Why do you think that the Marines took few Japanese prisoners in WW II? The Germans with the Holocaust and the Japanese with atrocities against Western soldiers as well as the killing of up-to-10,000,000 Chinese civilians are historical facts.
“Collateral damage” is a sad reality in our world. I applaud efforts to minimize it. However, human beings are not a gentle race.
Thank you for your wisdom Keith.
Why don't you go stick your head back up your ass, you fuckwitted lefty moron supporter of ISIS?
There you go again.
Can't you realize that what you've just done is the intellectual equivalent of setting off a suicide vest, wrecking your own reputation, undermining your own statements when they make good sense, damaging the whole community?
Heaven knows there's cause for nerves, cause for anger in the horrible situation we are living through. But consider... you could have been court-martialled for this kind of indiscipline in an active-service war situation.
For heaven's sake leave carpet chewing to the Hitlers and would- be Hitlers.
You're fortunate. You can place the head you've just blown off back on your shoulders -- and let's hope you will. But this was a gratuitous affront to us all. I am sorry you did it.
I support what TC said. I enjoyed his vigor and honesty. We absolutely are not going to join in groupthink in this online Community. TC and I have tussled before and we are better for it. Please stop the public shaming and trying to put someone back into your idea of a line.
Morning Barbara. Lot of headmasters and headmistresses on here today with a ready switch. TC is right in his remark. A warrior attitude is called for, not a pacifier.
Morning Christine, greetings from late afternoon France! I am with you all the way when you speak of a warrior attitude. But I don’t quite get the feeling that we agree on what that means.
Yet there’s an exemplary American phrase for it, that of Teddy Roosevelt:
“Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”
Warriors, teachers, all of us, have one overriding duty: to be what we are and set aside what we are not, before we go forth to perform our duties.
Hence the samurai ritual of taking tea together before going into battle.
Folks just seem a little wound up today. We are weary for sure. Have a good day Christine.
I too like both TC and his passion, we have plenty in common that way. If you read some of my own words, you'll see that I have said many very hard things, saying what no one wants to know, least of all coming from a foreigner. After reading CNN reports I felt revulsion at the gratuitous and irresponsible carping their journalists permit themselves, promoting confusion where it is the last thing that is needed.
If I permit myself to comment here, it is because the threat America faces affects the whole world. I am concerned no less than you.
But under no circumstances can I or anyone else with a modicum of decency accept the fouling of the air we breathe, the water that we drink -- and you can keep your wretched fetish of "free speech" if that is the use you are going to make of it. Just like the poisonous criminal we all face, just like his host of mind poisoners.
Besides...
To attack a man for talking nonsense is like finding your mortal enemy drowning in a swamp and jumping in after him with a knife.
Karl Popper
It was one sentence from TC. Is it really necessary to drag CNN, journalism, the threat America faces and the practicalities of freedom of speech all into one sentence?
If you are concerned about the abusive content of TC's sentence then I invite you to examine the uncivil tone of your comment to me.
But of course , Barbara... and your talking down to me, and... and... All of this nonsense which is going to get us nowhere. Unless we get the point: namely that, regardless of our passion, we damned well have to police the discourse we share and avoid polluting it.
I was and am making a point of order, one that concerns us all and how we conduct ourselves here. This doesn’t concern my personal view but the use of the space we are sharing. If, however, enough people in this community want me out for raising points of order, I will bow out. After all, it isn’t the first time I have been involved in a ruckus here over trading in insults and the abuse of free speech.
I’m sure none of us here has any objection to freedom per se, or to free speech. Yet the abuse of free speech is like leaking all the oil from a hot engine, then putting a foot on the gas pedal. Or putting sand in the works. Whether intentionally so or not, it amounts to sabotage. Just look at the waste of energy to which this lack of minimum self-discipline is giving rise!
I'm sorry, Barbara, if I upset you by objecting, not to TC, not to his irritation, but to his action, polluting our discourse, the consequences of which action are continuing in our current exchange. I am sorry, too, if my expletive-free vehemence in response to the words you addressed to me upset you, but I’m sure we have all seen too much poison in comments threads elsewhere. Also, if my non-linear way of thinking and expressing myself bother you, I’m sorry, too, but… if diverse allies can’t find a modus vivendi, how shall we ever heal the real divisions we’re facing?
Besides all of which, TC is a big boy and he can look after himself without your help or mine; and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t know that I and he share the same basic outlook—if not all the same macabre fantasies… Same hot temper, by the look of it…
Aren’t we going to need all the calm and self-discipline we can muster in the coming months?
I’ll just add one note: my conviction that the best friends are those who know when to play the enemy, telling us all that we don’t want to hear.
You can make this argument without inflammatory, ad hominem insults. Do better.
Not cool.
Go tell the fuckwit what's "cool" and isn't. the keys to your volvo are on the table.
Hope you feel better soon. And how’d you know I drive a Volvo? 😉
TC. You are always professional in your posts which I read.
Take it easy.
1. the USA created ISIS (osama bin laden was once on CIA payroll)
2. We have killed more than 220000 innocent civilians trying to kill what we created.
At this point reasonable skepticism about US goals in the Middle East is, reasonable.
Blessings on you Sabine Hahn. I hadn't seen your comment when I struggled against sleep to write mine. The sound of your conscience is sweet.
What? Better that the foul, evil, murderous lead of ISIS was less of a coward and chose not to blow himself and his family up? Please. Better we had taken him alive but that’s not in the ISIS playbook.
I didn't say that. See my answer above to Peter Burnett.
Sabine. I agree.
Syrian White Helmet's report:
"The bodies of at least 13 people were found by the local White Helmets rescue service,
-----> with six children and four women among them."<--------
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-special-forces-conduct-counterterrorism-mission-syria-pentagon-says-rcna14692
I have a question:
IF the killing of of the previous ISIS "leader", al-Baghdadi (we killed him too) did not result in the absence of ISIS or a the promotion of a new leader, then, why would killing al-Qurayshi (and his wife and kids) matter either?
I wonder: Might it make sense to sit down with these leaders of their community and learn what they want? Understand their challenges and grievances and hopes for their (now dead) children?
In other words, negotiate with them like they are people instead of wild animals that we can wantonly kill apparently without abandon or any limit?
Apology for not being impressed with yet another President beating his chest over having killed another Muslim in the Middle East WITHOUT explaining how he was actually a risk to the USA.
I mean, we have been killing Muslims in the Middle East for more than 20 years and apparently it has made no difference at all.
Maybe there is a different approach than just killing these guys (and their wives and their kids) and then killing them again, and again, and again, and again, ad nauseum?
"Sit down with them?" There have been attempts at outreach but this is an extremist group mixing geo-politics with fundamentalist religion. There's a long tradition in the Islamic world of killing leaders who attempt negotiation or in any other way "betray the cause."
They. Don't. Negotiate.
I'm not saying we should stop trying or adopt a simple eradication strategy. Don't forget, either, how limited we may be in negotiating by our ties to Israel and/or the ISIS goal of Israel's elimination.
Carol and Jim,
Well, whatever we have been doing, which, is mostly killing women, children and once in a while an ISIS fighter,
is not working.
So, what will?
I think killing is all part of winning the hearts and minds of the people. 🤦🏼♂️
H.A.
I think the killing in Afghanistan and Iraq is all about money. BIG money for everyone but the US Soldier.
Kind of makes you think there should be an investigation of the electors for the 2016 presidential election. I always thought there was tampering in THAT election.
Thanks, Prof. Richardson for this Letter, which is more required reading for everyone.
As a former Foreign Service Officer during the Cold War, I have familiarity with how America and and western Allies dealt with saber-rattling bullying from Stalin, Khrushchev, and subsequent Soviet apparatchiks. I applaud President Biden and our NATO allies (almost all of them) for how they are responding to Putin’s outrageous demands and military threats.
Dealing firmly with the Soviet Union at one time was a clear cut, bipartisan position [Reagan/Gorbachev was eventually a smashing success applauded by Republicans and Democrats.]
I am gobsmacked as to where the Republicans (aka Trumpistas) stand regarding America’s policy towards Russian aggression and intimidation. I have not seen any indication that Trump has abandoned his bromance with Putin. The Republican jerk from Missouri, Harley, is prattling nonsense about Ukraine not being part of NATO, and I haven’t bothered to research Rand Paul’s prattling on our policy towards Russia.
All this underscores that the Trumpistas have no clear foreign policy, as witnessed by the failure, for the first time in modern Republican history, to exclude foreign policy from their 2020 presidential convention. Putin was thrilled by his self-serving bromance with Trump and is heartened by the prospective of promoting divisiveness that undercuts a crystal-clear, bipartisan policy on Putin’s hard jabs and feints.
CLEARLY TRUMPISTA FOREIGN POLICY IS TO CRITICIZE WHATEVER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DOES, WITHOUT PRESENTING A COHERENT FOLICY POLICY OF THEIR OWN.
(Perhaps they are waiting for the their latest guidance from Caudillo Trump.)
Putin is still tRump's marionettist.
My perspective is that Putin pulls TFGs strings.
It seems like there's a perhaps unstated anti-NATO policy to realign and bond with Putin and other authoritarians like Orban. I fear Germany may also be headed in that direction. Is Germany just desperate for natural gas, or is there something more to the relationship with Russia? I applaud Biden for seeking alternative sources for Germany. If successful, we'll know where Germany stands. I don't see how democracy and democratic values maintain sway if alignment with corrupt authoritarians occurs.
Duke You’ve highlighted a key issue in formulating a cohesive American/NATO riposte to Putin’s sustained strategic bullying/threatening to ease the West out of ex-Soviet satellites in eastern Europe. Germany has major trade with Russia and currently also has an energy dependence. Today there is heated debate within Germany as to the costs of a hard line towards Russia.
The Biden administration has taken extraordinary initiatives in order to provide replacement LNG (natural gas) to Germany and others, in the event that Putin sharply cuts Russian energy supplies to both western and eastern Europe. Putin seeks to divide, Biden seeks to unify. This seems to me a critical time for ongoing West/Russia relations—-it’s called ‘power politics.’
I'm certainly glad that Biden is continuing to handle our business on the international front. Individual terrorists must understand that there is a moral and physical hazard for their behavior. Along those lines, I understand that there is a strong coalition fomenting sanctions, with teeth, against Russia. It's very cool that our intelligence services have revealed a possible Russian staged fake video of some type of Ukrainian aggression to justify an invasion. Thank you HCR for your analysis.
If you can hear me Repubs, don’t spend your precious time censoring the only patriots in your party. Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) if you can hear me, trade in your R for a D and join the party that mostly upholds Truth, Justice and Democracy, ideals lost on your colleagues. And thank you for your dedication and your work on the 1/6 comm. We have two in our party who call themselves Dems but they’re really DINOS so let the trade begin. Of course, you’ll have to make some changes in your philosophy, but that’s possible, isn’t it?
Or at least be Independent and continue to uphold truth and integrity without the partisan cloak ... I am not politically astute, but do feel Cheney and Kinzinger are bold and courageous to stand up to the team players in this real time game - I applaud them.
Kathleen- I was thinking the same thing!
Isn't partisan politics unconstitutional? Just asking ...
George Washington warned us.
Was it just a warning Ted, or is it written into law?
Don’t ask Neil Gorsuch
I would sure take Liz and Adam over those self serving DINO’s Manchin and Sinema….those talking turds are beholden to the evil whims of their donors. Manchin licks the boots of planet roasting coal sellers and Family that spawned Betsy DeVos and the Blackwater Prince have their hands up in Sinema so far they can make her mouth say what ever they want to hear her say. But don’t lose sight if the plain truth.. Cheney and Kinzinger are egregious purveyors of inequality, innocent faced liars that will market the supply side shell game and shovel wealth uphill. Have you forgitten how Daddy Dick Cheney made big bucks from the company supporting the war Bush started?
All true from my vantage point, hard to find heroes
The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend.
Hahahaha
Wouldn’t it be awesome if this bit of humor didn’t tell the truth?
Everything humorous has a kernel of truth.
Really sweet, Irenie. Thank you.
It really is mind boggling . . . . it's as though the only explanation is republicans were taken over by aliens which is beginning to make more sense than "reality"!
"And yet, the Republican National Committee is doubling down on its support for Trump, its resolution committee tonight voting unanimously to censure the two Republican representatives on the January 6 committee: Representatives Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)."
As Matthew Dowd pointed out tonight, Trump is nothing but a reflection of what the Republican base had already become after being marinated in Faux Snooze for 20 years.
Faux Snooze is a good one! It really does lend itself to pertinent adaptation.
Exactly, been thinking that the sane outnumbered the insane cult, but Rupert is as good as Goebbels.
A bit older. And he's been working at it longer.
A link for the Dowd piece? Couldn’t find it.
He was on MSNBC
I saw him on Deadline White House
In another time, Liz Cheney would be a formidable presidential candidate. No, I wouldn't vote for her, but her seriousness and commitment to principle reminds me of some prominent Republicans leaders of my youth — leaders whom today's Republican Party would censure as well and declare them to be leftist Democrats.
Liz is going to become a scapegoat. She already is. Like Curt Flood, the baseball player who insisted on economic justice for baseball players (who are now often multimillionaires), she will likely not benefit from her courage. But others will take advantage of the principled stance that she and Adam (and others) are taking. On her shoulders.
Don’t count her out, yet
A vote of confidence for Liz. We’ll take it!
My admiration for Ms Cheney is always sharply limited by the knowledge that she and her loathsome father fully participated in bringing the Republican Party to this extreme position. She and Rep. Kinsinger have both regularly voted against the Biden administration and were full-throated supporters of Trumpian legislation. It's trivial, perhaps, but telling to recall what a stink Cheney tried to make when the new Democratic majority in 2018 voted in, as was their prerogative, a new chaplain for the House. The enemy of your enemy can still be YOUR enemy, too.
She’s too matronly for that inane party. Gotta be hot like Palin or Roehm to catch their attention. Waiting for Stefanik’s total makeover here:)
It’s mind-boggling if you are a sensitive human being with integrity who believes in human rights. These people are sometimes labeled “Democrats.” If, however, you believe firmly if blindly in your whiteness being superior to someone else’s non-whiteness, then you can justify any action, immoral criminal and illegal, to suppress those non-whites and to enhance your own white society. These days, those people often identify as Republicans.
Like you, Janet, it’s easy for me to wonder if they have been taken over by Sigourney Weaver’s aliens.
It seems to have all boiled down to just that, tribal bull Schitt. No alien would do anything but leave us to our own destruction. Always wondered why so much hatred for the Jews, they are mostly white as snow; that Jesus thing is just a ruse, probably just jealousy. Hate doesn’t seem to dissipate through the ages, just snowballs onto unsuspecting generations yet to be. Human’s Achilles heel…. Sorry Jesus, you died in vain
Without planting doubts about Democratic support for a modern, capable military and national defense, Democrats might consider a long-range strategy of leveraging Democratic support for a credible national defense for Republican support of domestic investment. The size of US investment in a military at this late hour in the post World War II era is obscene and a serious drain on the available resources of the national budget for making the national community health, well educated and united as a national community. It was the national community working cooperatively and with great person sacrifice that produced the fascist state into economic ruin. But, yes, the rapid centralization of executive power needed to build the effective war materials producer of our whole country, which was a major concern Hitler understood was the biggest threat to his ambition to dominate Europe and its failing colonial empires. Of course, the concentration of productive force required, effectively undermined local economies and its corollary tight dependence of capital markets on local competitive forces.
No one should think the productive conditions required for the war-powers economy would be sustainable when the emergency was over. Russia's continuation of a war-powers mobilized economy and community was the major reason the USSR failed to return to peacetime governance conditions in order to encourage entreprenuarial innovation and died economically. The transition in the US back to peacetime conditions proved difficult and only partially possible due to the role of the US in the chaos of the postwar period, a period in which the general failure of institutions of ordinary governance for the major nations needed time and protection against the real forces of endless disorder.
But, the world has largely adapted to the new conditions of a global reality and community of concern, and the US has become a respected and appreciated best among equals. It is time for us to transition from a world power with separatist reflexes anchored to an outsized, dominant world power status, with an outsized military, and to a fortress mentality fearful of newcomers with unfamiliar experiences and ways, i.e., the basic condition upon which the USA experiment in incusive, cooperative democracy thrived. It is hardly surprising that the insurgent forces of reaction today are the same as they've always been: those who have never accepted the defeat of the Confederacy, and those who hated FDR for the New Deal and national level efforts to keep the country from what historians understand as real conditions of possible anti-capitalist revolution.
The globalizing "World Wars" have made for a world of extra-national states in which no nation will ever again hide behind its cliffs and beaches and hallucinate itself into a self-destructive pipe-dream drugged on its own fantasies of destiny. The present military budget in the US is unsustainable and, on guns or butter economic logic, is serving as an anti-stimulus for home-base productivity and innovation. Democrats should oppose reactionary initiatives to prevent the postwar spread of the community cost of security and distribution of military spending and responsibility to a global community that needs to create the institutional framework all our guns and nuclear missiles are incapable of serving otherwise than as dangerous bluff.
What is not up for doubt is the absolute need to keep the nuclear football and the control of our military forces far from the little fingers and bone spurs of a Donald Trump whose delusions of grandure has to be a matter of discussion between him and his mental controller, not a matter of death wish bedtime stories and tired blood momentary urges to set off collective suicide.
“…insurgent forces of reaction today are the same as they have always been.” Yep, and they love the biggest loser in the land. Send this to Rupert, he rules
Good points about sustainability of living with a wartime commitment to military size and budget. Is being the biggest military force (by a factor of 10 or 100) an effective deterant to war or merely a temporary placeholder for semi-peace? The ROI very good in a world were technology, sanctions, and propaganda are the strategies effectively holding back the hounds of war?
The out-of-proportion USA defense capability is a negative drag on the development of an anti-nationalist global community where we, the global citizens, face in common a shared reality dominated by concerns about climate change, careful uses of fragile natural resources, prevention of unintentional nuclear disaster, and the equitable expansion of the benefits of technology, education and evidence-based, scientific information. Punitive disincentive are just stop-gap, ad-hoc solutions. Change in the Russian military mind might evolve when the soldier-for-bluff tire of spending Christmas camping out in tents in the ice and snow while Mr. Putin lies in his hot-tub puffing Havana's and wondering if his favorite dessert will be served at dinner.
The disproportionate size of the defense industry budget in the USA relative to other wealthy nations is a global tax unfairly distributed on moderate income earning USAmericans. If anyone out there has a good study on how the military-industrial complex has impacted the USA postwar community please give me the reference. I don't think the pharaonic transformation of the USA at the time of World War II, into a top-down, command economy for war materials production, is fully appreciated today; the USA economy was rapidly centralized at the national lever and it was already clear from prior to WWI that the dominant market was increasingly global. Some historians ascribe to post French and American Revolutions and the unbridled development of industry and finance capital that was liberated, accelerated the trend to globalization (prefigured by the period of exploration and colonization) from the mid-1850's. And, they contend it was the forces propelling globalization that made the World Wars themselves inevitable. Conservatives, with the help of the localizing cultural drive of Pioneer era religion, continue to defend the ideal of an isolated, self-sufficient, vision—story of origins—of the USAmerican experiment as fixed in stone. In fact, the USA experiment in democracy (that was extremely negative for Native Americans) is more a product of "modernity", i.e., of not being tangled up in the deep roots of past cultural practices and models, than it was a sign of spiritual superiority. So, Eisenhower was right about the predictable negative effects of the military-industrial-complex. As our USA generations move farther from the tumultuous time of World War II, the social cost of a legacy, top-heavy military is going to be more difficult to defend since its main purpose is to bluff by holding a gun to the planet's head, to stare down unlikely challengers who, absent the unique defense tax on USA producers, will prefer to just compete advantageously with us by allowing us our self-indulgent pride infected wastefulness." Good thinking Mother Tucker and friends. We can leave Brandon out of this.